I've been following the story pretty closely and the best report I have seen so far is the one from the Christian Science Monitor.

The most interesting parts to me were the following:

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN – A new videotape that has surfaced in Pakistan threatens a massive attack against the United States by a purported American member of Al Qaeda. It is not yet known if the tape is an authentic Al Qaeda production, but it bears enough resemblance that some experts are taking the tape seriously.

The chilling 75-minute digital videotape, seen by a Christian Science Monitor reporter in Pakistan, where it was obtained by ABC News, shows a high degree of sophistication and bears the logo of Al Qaeda's video production house, As-Sahab.

...

"Allah willing, the streets of America will run red with blood, matching drop for drop the blood of America's victims," says the speaker, who calls himself Azzam al Amriki (or Azzam the American). "What took place on September 11th was but the opening salvo in the global war on America."

The next attacks, he adds, "could come at any moment."

...

"As-Sahab is an Al Qaeda propaganda outfit and engages in psychological warfare," says Bruce Hoffman, an expert on terror at the RAND Corp. in Washington. "Given the hype of the US election in general, that the jihadists claim credit for affecting the outcome of the Spanish elections, and the heightened chatter that intelligence agencies acknowledge, I'm surprised we haven't seen something like this sooner."

...

The tape, delivered to ABC in Islamabad last Sunday by a courier who was paid a $500 transport fee, contains a lengthy Q&A session between "Mr. Amriki" and an off-camera interviewer. It ends with his warning, which cuts off abruptly when the tape runs out.

Analysts at Pakistan's spy agency, the ISI, say the tape is genuine, explaining the material bears the same "signature" as previous As-Sahab video releases, which are unique in the world of jihadi video for their sophisticated editing techniques.

It features the same gold logo that appeared, among other places, in a 2003 statement from Mr. bin Laden.

There's also simultaneous Arabic subtitling - a complicated and time consuming process to put together - and a scrolling message across the bottom of the screen (similar to the news tickers on CNN and Fox) that was featured on a recent statement from al-Zawahiri.

Also of extreme interest is this claim from Drudge:

A top goverment source said from Washington that ABC withheld the final 15 minutes of the tape from the feds -- the portion of the tape where the man warns of retribution for Americans electing Bush and Cheney.

"The FBI did not see the last 15 mins," the source claims.

And

ABC NEWS TO AIR TERROR TAPE ON WORLD NEWS TONIGHT AT 6:30 EST

The way I read it is that most likely it is a from the source claimed (al Qaeda) and that chances are good that is it just a mostly empty threat.  But still, I'm advising friends to stay out of D.C., New York, and Los Angles in the near future.  One person asked for my opinion on when the most likely time the attack would occur.  This is just a guess on my part, but I would guess within the next two weeks or during the State of the Union speech in January.

ABC News reports:

Israel, fearing it will be blamed for any further deterioration in Arafat's condition, said Thursday it is ready to lift its travel ban and allow Arafat to leave.

...

Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said a Palestinian Authority without Arafat could become a partner for peace. "We always said we would be willing to talk to a Palestinian leadership that would be willing once and for all to bring an end to the bloodshed," Shalom told Israel Radio.

Good news all the way around as near as I can tell.

Monash University researchers released a study “Firearm Related Deaths: the Impact of Regulatory Reform” and it made big news in Australia.   None of the stories below include input from critics of the study.

• The Australian
• The Herald Sun
• The Age requires username a username (MolonLabe works) and password (MolonLabe).
• News.Com.Au
• The Daily Telegraph
• The Advertiser
• The Courier-Mail

GUN law reforms in the past 25 years have led to a 65 per cent drop in gun-related deaths in Victoria, a study has found.

The study, by the Monash University Accident Research Centre, showed the annual average frequency of firearm-related deaths fell by 65 per cent from 1979 to 2000, with suicide deaths down 54.5 per cent and gun assault deaths down by half.

...

The centre's injury prevention chairwoman, Professor Joan Ozanne-Smith, said Victoria was a world leader in gun law reform. She said a handgun buyback established in 2000 after shootings at Monash University that year had furthered the downward trend.

"There's something like a 75 per cent reduction in firearm deaths since 1979 (up to 2002) which is quite remarkable, and we think this is a model for the rest of the world," she said.

...

Given present trends, it was conceivable that gun-related deaths could be eliminated in the future, Professor Ozanne-Smith said.

The study appears to be well done with the assumptions given.  However there is a major assumption which is totally bogus.  That assumption is that if you reduce the number of injuries or death that occurring using a particular type of tool that you have accomplished something useful.  It appears they even include legitimate self-defense shooting by police and private citizen in their statistics.  I know it's difficult to distinguish from the truly tragic but there are some firearms injuries and deaths that are justifiable and even praiseworthy.  Any legitimate study should at least make an effort to account for the benefits of firearms ownership.  Furthermore, if you look at the overall homicide rate and include more recent data you will find it was essentially unchanged while the propagandists claim a nearly 30% reduction in “firearm related deaths by assault”.  I wasn't able to quickly find stats on suicide but in other countries there has been no significant decrease in the overall suicide rate after firearms have been restricted. 

So what is the point of restricting firearms if there is no overall benefit in tragic death and/or injury prevention?  The only point I can think of is something hinted at in some of the articles:

Researcher Stuart Newstead said a colleague witnessed the shooting deaths of two students at Monash's Clayton campus in October 2002 and many staff members and students were touched by the shooting.

The researchers most likely are indeed 'touched'.  Typically people wishing to restrict firearms have an emotional involvement and, perhaps even with the best of intentions, don't see the entire picture.

Yassar Arafat has been ill for a couple weeks now.  But earlier today he lost consciousness.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, 75, has lost consciousness, Israeli public radio reported, quoting Palestinian sources.

He lost consciousness "several hours ago", it said.

Arafat's senior adviser Nabil Abu Rudeina, meanwhile, confirmed that a team of doctors was examining the veteran Palestinian leader.

I don't have any particular wish for Arafat to die but I would celebrate his removal from power.  I just wonder what the impact will be if he does die.  I would like for Israel to solve their conflict in some manner.  Arafat has been an obstacle in this for decades and maybe this will be an opportunity for Israel to make some progress.  If they can solve the problem that will be one less obstacle for us when dealing with Muslims.

Late last week and this weekend I started hearing rumors of  “something big” about to happen newswise.  It was my impression it would happen on Monday.  Nothing materialized. I wonder if this is it. Drudge reported the following:

In the last week before the election, ABCNEWS is holding a videotaped message from a purported al Qaeda terrorist warning of a new attack on America, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.

The terrorist claims on tape the next attack will dwarf 9/11. "The streets will run with blood," and "America will mourn in silence" because they will be unable to count the number of the dead. Further claims: America has brought this on itself for electing George Bush who has made war on Islam by destroying the Taliban and making war on Al Qaeda.

My further wonder is if they are planning to detonate a nuke.  My advice is to stay out of D.C., New York, and possibly Los Angles for a couple weeks.  Again, it appears they don't understand how to motivate us in a way to achieve their goals.  An attack of this nature will not inspire us to let them have their way.  More likely is that we will be inclined to “go medival” or do a Dresden on them.

From the Washington Times:

BAGHDAD — Leaders and supporters of the anti-U.S. insurgency say their attacks in recent weeks have a clear objective: The greater the violence, the greater the chances that President Bush will be defeated on Tuesday and the Americans will go home.
    "If the U.S. Army suffered numerous humiliating losses, [Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John] Kerry would emerge as the superman of the American people," said Mohammad Amin Bashar, a leader of the Muslim Scholars Association, a hard-line clerical group that vocally supports the resistance.

    Resistance leader Abu Jalal boasted that the mounting violence had already hurt Mr. Bush's chances.
    "American elections and Iraq are linked tightly together," he told a Fallujah-based Iraqi reporter. "We've got to work to change the election, and we've done so. With our strikes, we've dragged Bush into the mud."

Apparently our enemies don't believe Kerry when he says, “When I am President, I will fight a tougher, smarter, more effective war on terror. We will hunt down, capture, and kill the terrorists wherever they are. “

I believe if we show weakness and retreat from engaging the Islamic extremists and creating a “shining beacon“ of freedom in the Mideast they will be emboldened.  If this happens they will be better able to pursue their agenda of converting the world to a theocratic Islamic state.  And as the above news story demonstrates the hard-line clerics believe John Kerry is their best hope to douse that beacon and further the Islamic extremist agenda.

We stayed less that a quarter mile from the Flamingo Hotel and walked by several times.  But we were there a week earlier than the outbreak occurred.

Remember children, wash your hands after using the bathroom and before eating.

There is talk of riots if the Kerry-Edwards team doesn't win.  There have been shootings and trashing of campaign offices.

On Monday, the Bush campaign provided a list of more than 40 examples it said had occurred since July, including the burglary from campaign offices of several items: two laptop computers in Seattle; a banner in Thousand Oaks; petty cash in Spokane, Wash.; as well as break-ins last Friday in Flagstaff, Ariz., and Cincinnati.

Also included were examples of lesser crimes including the defacement or theft of supporters’ lawn signs as well as broken windows, slashed tires, shots fired, bullet holes and thrown eggs at campaign offices.

In response to the Bush campaign’s incident list, Democrats countered with a list of 19 incidents aimed at the campaign of Sen. John Kerry, including a bullet that was fired into a supporter’s house, graffiti at campaign offices, the smashing of a mailbox bearing Kerry campaign stickers and the theft of a laptop in Norristown, Pa.

I don't recall this happening on this scale before.  Is my memory off?  Or is something else going on?  I remember when I was involved on the no on I-676 campaign that there were lots of complaints of our yard signs being stolen (Boomershooter Steve M. was losing about three or four a week) but our offices were never broken into and there weren't any reports of intimidation by either side.  But election violence, in other countries, is actually quite common according to what some people tell me.

So why the change in our country now?  My hypothesis is that people are getting violent because the government has more control than it used to.  It used to be the government stayed within the bounds of the constitution to a greater extent than now.  When the consequences of a change in power of the government was highly constrained it just didn't matter that much who was in power.  But now that the Federal government is involved in so many things it didn't use to have control over such as health care, education, firearm ownership, gay marriage, etc. the consequences of “your side” loosing are significant enough that people can justify, in their own minds, the violence.  This is just as people in other countries with few limits to government control can justify their violence.

It is my prediction that as the power of government increases the frequency and intensity of election related violence will increase.  Vote Liberatarian and stop the violence.

The video tapes found in Afganistan show kids holding rifles and talking of killing Jews, the book American Jihad tells of kids coloring books that show how to kill infidals, and now there is a television show that encourage kids to use an AK-47 to committ a massacre if someone (Israeli soldiers) cuts down a tree.

To win the “war on terrorism” (it really is a war against Islamic extremists) in the long term we need to destroy their culture.  As long as they raise their children to kill non-believers we will continue to be faced with the choice as given in the Qur'an, to convert to Islam, be killed, or kill the Muslim plotters and attackers.

The October 15th issue of Chicago Reader has a picture of Stephanie Sailor shooting a Barrett .50 BMG at Boomershoot 2001.  She was wearing my coat at the time.

Barb's brother, Dow, sent us three copies of the newspaper.  You can read the article here. 

As always, there are errors in the story. But it was reasonably positive.  Especially considering this is Chicago we are talking about.  Illinois and Chicago in particular are exceedingly anti-gun.  Stephanie is very pro-gun.  The article does not attempt to hide that part of her position, but the headline is a bit discomforting.  It's not in the online version but it was the caption for the picture of Stephanie with the Barrett .50 BMG and said, “Can This Woman Take Down Jesse Jackson Jr.“ As Ry said, “I know it's a good headline, but you know, perhaps they could have reworded it.“

The Liberty Committee just sent out an alert.  Anymore it is rare for me to urge people to send letter and contact their congress critters or other low life people, with power over them.  However this issue is one I am very passionate (and I believe rational) about.  Please read the alert and decide for yourself whether you want a national ID card and database.  Then do the appropriate thing.  The following was my confirmation and letter from my efforts on this.  Please also consider the contents of my web page on this issue.

Thank you for using The Liberty Committee Mail System

Message sent to the following recipients:
Mr. Otter
Message text follows:

Joe Huffman
[snip]
Moscow, ID 83843

October 22, 2004

[recipient address was inserted here]

Dear [recipient name was inserted here],

Please work to have the House-Senate conference committee remove the
provisions that will create a master database on every American (H.R. 10,
section 2173) and the provision that will "standardize" or nationalize the
issuing of state driver's licenses -- an action which takes the final step
in creation a national ID (H.R. 10, section 3052).

I am a senior research scientist for Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
with a very high level security clearance [deleted on May 18, 2005 in an
attempt to please PNNL management].  I recognize the threat we are
facing from the Muslim extremists, but giving up these freedoms does not
make us safer in the long run.  Please do what you can to kill this
national ID proposal.  Please also see the web page I have created
addressing this threat to our freedoms.

http://www.joehuffman.org/Freedom/IDCardFlaws.htm

Sincerely,

Joe Huffman
208-301-4254

In the U.K. they have already banned real guns.  But crimes committed with guns is way up so the only thing left to do is ban imitation guns which is what these morons have proposed now.  This really should be a post for when prophecy fails.  I'll get around to that later.

Complete article follows:

Greens call for tougher gun control

22nd Oct 2004

Conference proposes restrictions on imitation firearms

In response to rising levels of gun crime (1), the Green Party's autumn conference, currently taking place in Weston-Super-Mare has endorsed tough new proposals on gun control.

The Green Party backs restrictions on the sale and ownership of imitation weapons and decommissioned weapons in response to the massive rise in their use in crimes.

Green Party Chairperson and Home affairs spokesperson Hugo Charlton commented;

"These measures are urgently required in order to combat the growing problem of crimes committed using imitation weapons. These replicas are dangerous; they are used in a growing number of crimes; they must be taken off our streets."

"Our proposals on the licensing of active firearms will put public safety above the convenience of shooters: those applying for gun licences will bear the cost of the necessary psychological tests; they will be required to produce character references; they will be made to bear the cost that

Charles Bailey, founder of the "Don't shoot" campaign, endorsed the Green Party?s position: "The Greens are taking the issue of gun crime seriously. They are putting forward policies that will really stop the incidence of gun crime on London's streets."

(1) Yesterday the Home Office released figures showing a 3% annual rise in gun crime over the past year. The figures also show a 35% rise in crimes involving imitation.

Not my Xenia.  Xenia Ohio:

At a town hall meeting Saturday in Xenia, he talked about taking his rosary into battle during the Vietnam War. "I will bring my faith with me to the White House and it will guide me," Kerry said.

I wonder what all the people who criticize Bush on his faith think of that?  Personally, I am very skeptical of anyone who professes that type of faith.  How can faith determine right from wrong or truth from falsity?  It can't.  Faith cannot be trusted and therefore people who rely on faith are suspect.  But it helps to get the vote of certain (suspect, in my book) people.

Of more interest is his hunting trip which was the main point in the article.  I like what the NRA said about it:

"If John Kerry thinks the Second Amendment is about photo ops, he's Daffy," says the ad the NRA said would run in The Vindicator. It features a large photo of Kerry with his finger on a shotgun trigger but looking in another direction.

But this report is even more humorous.

[snip]

So, as Mr. Kerry trundled out into the wilds under a rising sun to hunt ducks eight minutes outside Boardman, we were left with nothing to do but hunt canards.

In lieu of actual information, we put our heads together and came up with some details for this pool report. The primary area of wager was whether Mr. Kerry would return with game at all.

HE WOULD NOT: Fearing a backlash from soccer moms and PETA freaks, he decides to return empty-handed with that age-old phrase employed by failed hunters: I don't do it to kill things; I just like being outdoors. But, that could undermine the manliness that he has so carefully cultivated since launching his campaign.

HE WOULD, DEAD: Be bold. Kill something. Come back holding limp ducks by their wrung necks in your bloody fingers. Win back those security moms. This would have been the strategy advised by Bill Clinton, whom Mr. Kerry talks to by phone very often.

HE WOULD, DEAD, CLEANED, DRESSED FROM FOOD LION: Return with several fattened (thought not for their livers as that would come perilously close to something French), beautifully yellowed birds that were purchased from the local supermarket last night. This would allow him to appear bold, willing to hunt down and kill the enemy, but wouldn't be too scarily unfamiliar to people who don't hunt. "You should always come dressed for dinner," he would explain.

HE WOULD, BUT IT ISN'T A DUCK: This theory developed into the most desirous. He returns victorious, but with Osama bin Laden, who had been hiding out in the backside of the farm. Turns out that immediately after President Bush outsourced the capturing of him in Tora Bora to the Afghan warlords, Mr. Bin Laden climbed into a container of poppy gum and arrived through a port in Newark. The container, of course, went uninspected. With so few police officers on the street, Mr. Bin Laden had no problem wandering America unmolested.

[snip]

Absolutely amazing.  Here's the story.

Sen. John Kerry, bracing for a potential fight over election results, will not hesitate to declare victory Nov. 2 and defend it, advisers say.

...

Six so-called "SWAT teams" of lawyers and political operatives will be situated around the country with fueled-up jets awaiting Kerry's orders to speed to a battleground state. The teams have been told to be ready to fly on the evening of the election to begin mounting legal and political fights. Every battleground state will have a SWAT team within an hour of its borders.

The Kerry campaign has recount office space in every battleground state, with plans so detailed they include the number of staplers and coffee machines needed to mount legal challenges.

"Right now, we have 10,000 lawyers out in the battleground states on Election Day, and that number is growing by the day," said Michael Whouley, a Kerry confidant who is running election operations at the Democratic National Committee.

While the lawyers litigate, political operatives will try to shape public perception. Their goal would be to persuade voters that Kerry has the best claim to the presidency and that Republicans are trying to steal it.

Democrats are already laying the public relations groundwork by pointing to every possible voting irregularity before the Nov. 2 election and accusing Republicans of wrongdoing.

I'm compelled to tell a couple lawyer jokes.

A housewife, an accountant and a lawyer were asked "How much is 2+2?"
The housewife replies: "Four!".
The accountant says: "I think it's either 3 or 4.  Let me run those figures through my spreadsheet one more time."
The lawyer pulls the drapes, dims the lights and asks in a hushed voice, "How much do you want it to be?"

-----

A Russian, a Cuban, an American and a Lawyer are in a train.

The Russian takes a bottle of the Best Vodka out of his pack; pours some into a glass, drinks it, and says: "In Russia, we have the best vodka of the world, nowhere in the world you can find Vodka as good as the one we produce. And we have so much of it, that we can just throw it away..." Saying that, he open the window and throw the rest of the bottle thru it. All the others are quite impressed.

The Cuban takes a pack of Havanas, takes one of them, lights it and begins to smoke it saying: "In Cuba, we have the best cigars of the world: Havanas, nowhere in the world there is so many and so good cigars and we have so much of them, that we can just throw them away...". Saying that, he throws the pack of havanas thru the window. One more time, everybody is quite impressed.

At this time, the American just stands up, opens the window, and throws the Lawyer through it...

I just got a call from Stephanie, who does the publicity for Boomershoot.  She received a postcard from Dave Barry declining the invite to Boomershoot 2005.  He has a fundraiser he is attending that weekend but would like to be invited to Boomershoot 2006.

She did have news that someone else of very high status will probably attend.  Details will have to wait until things are confirmed.

Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat has endorsed Kerry. 

"The president [Arafat] is frustrated with Bush's policies," he said. "The president [Arafat] thinks Kerry will be much better for the Palestinian cause and for the establishment of a Palestinian state."

...

"Arafat is waiting for November in the hope George Bush will lose the election to John Kerry," Ze'evi told Army Radio in July. "He also hopes that the Israeli government will fall, so he can take center stage diplomatically."