The study’s findings suggest that fundamentalists’ brand connection stems from their need for predictability and certainty in a confusing world that is rapidly changing in ways that threaten their most sacred values.

Georgia Institute of Technology :: News Room :: Study: Religious Fundamentalists and Brand Loyalty

TMV yesterday got to watch extensive cable news and listen to nearly 6 hours of right and left wing talk radio. He is struck by how bitterly partisan the reaction of many callers on both sides have been to the London bombings. Each side is passionate. But the issue of those terrible deaths in London almost seemed superceeded by the need to immediately boot this event into the political realm....

What this portends: a sign that perhaps the U.S. may never again be as united as it was in the immediate aftermath of 911 — even if (God forbid) there is another 911.

The Moderate Voice - London Bombing Sparks Controversy Over Terrorism Flypaper Theory

In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, the locus of the investigation quickly shifted to Europe and the network of radical Islamic jihadis who are part of "Eurabia," the continent's expanding Muslim communities. Since 9/11 America has been spared what authorities feared and expected: a second wave of attacks. Instead Europe, once a logistical base for Islamic radicals and a safe haven, has itself become the target.

You can download the entire contents online.

This program immediately makes a point that I've made several times here and which I thought was both obvious and broadly understood. The program argues that the American administration doesn't get this. I hope this criticism is foolhardy and they are confusing political retoric with actual reality...

Al'Q is not an organization, it is a scene. It works the way any another scene does. Dead Heads. Punk rock. Hackers. Gangs. Bikers. Scifi Conventioniers. Skaters. Ravers. Left wing anti-globalization groups. Right wing millitias. They all work the same way. They are obviously quite different in terms of interests and morals. But they are the same sort of thing. They are scenes. They exist to connect people who share an interest which is not mainstream. They are not controlled or organized. They are networks, not organizations.

Al'Q cells are not formally organized by central planners. Al'Q is not planned. It is a free market approach. Individual groups are entrepreneurial. Their connection to the network is more idealogical then operational. Often, as is the case in Iraq, an individual group may be operational for a long time before being accepted into the fold. Leaders provide guidance, not management. They point to targets. They explain techniques. They rally troops and provide rhetoric. But they don't know or care about specifics. If you cut them down it would hurt morale and remove skillsets, but it can also strengthen resolve and promote new leadership. It doesn't eliminate capability because the nodes do not depend on any particular leader.

Consider Deadheads. That scene predated that band. It jelled around them because they were the only ones who didn't die young or grow up and get real jobs. But when Jerry finally bit the dust, what occured? Did the scene die? No, it fractured into a multitude of smaller groups that continue to operate today. Phish, or Widespread Panic, or Bonaroo... Thats exactly what will happen to Al'Q when we finally nail BL. In some ways this will make the problem even worse, as we'll replace one problem with 5 or more. More variables. More interconnections. An even less coherent mess. And for us, potentially more dangerous...

An odd thought occurs to me as I contemplate this. How do you kill a scene? How do scenes actually die? Scenes die because they cease to be cool. Because they get coopted by the thing they exist to resist, so that participating in them no longer means what it once did. Because the Gap opens up on the corner of Haight and Ashbury. Because the gangster rappers have million dollar video budgets and all drive luxury cars. If there is anything that can take the cultural iconography of radical islam and shuck it of any possible meaning it is our consumer marketing system. Jihadi Cola, indeed.

This idea seems too trite to be reasonable. Its the sort of thing Gibson would use for irony. Maybe you can offer a better one...

frontline: al qaeda's new front | PBS

If you're like me, when you hear about information posted to an al-qaeda website you think, "how the hell do they have a web site"...well the answer to that is actually pretty interesting, I checked into it a little and found some interesting information about how they're hacking websites to keep their content on the net...

wired has a story about it here

also wikipedia has a good collection of information here

al-qaeda website, and how they keep al-neda running

The London bombings are likely part of a wider al Qaeda summer offensive.

There are a number of interesting observations here. Of course, the commentator is partisan, so take with salt. I presume this is mostly a show for the mideast rather then something intended to influence the west. However, we are moving in to the period of time where it is in the interest of the coalition to reduce their presence in Iraq, and Al'Q may attempt to force the west to stay or take credit for withdrawls.

James S. Robbins on 7/7 London Attacks on National Review Online

Wikinews

Flickr pool

All you need.

London Bombing Attacks: Definitive Sources

Nasa's homepage for the Deep Impact mission.

Deep Impact: Your First Look Inside a Comet!

I really can't think of a more underappreciated form of art than firecracker labels. Think about it. Sure you might buy the ones that look the coolest, but soon after you're lighting 'em on fire. The once amazing artwork is now blown to smithereens and you couldn't care less.

Happy 4th of July!

I-Mockery.com | The Underappreciated Art of Firecracker Labels!

This was the moment Nasa's Deep Impact projectile blasted into Comet Tempel 1, more than 130 million km from Earth. The picture was taken by the probe's mothership.

BBC News | Comet impact in pictures

Equipped with a camera and sensors, the Guardrobo D1, developed by Japanese security firm Sohgo Security Services Co, is designed to patrol along pre-programmed paths and keep an eye out for signs of trouble.

Intruder Alert!

DigitalCamera@101reviews - Japanese Robot Guards to Patrol Shops And Offices