] In Washington, the national security agency used Echelon,
] an intelligence system coordinated by the United States
] but involving several of its allies, including the UK, to
] monitor more than 10 mobile phones used by Mohammed.

There are also some other interesting links at the bottom of the page, which trace connections between the hijackers and other members of Al Qaeda.

Echelon Helped Capture 9/11 Planner

] The blimp which was up until this moment a fun toy here
] embarked on a career of evil.

Amusing story about a family's encounter with one of those 3-foot helium blimp toys.

The Horror of Blimps

] Two North Korean MiG29 fighters and two other aircraft
] that Davis said appeared to be MiG23 fighters intercepted
] the Air Force RC-135S reconnaissance plane, which Davis
] said was conducting a routine intelligence mission over
] the Sea of Japan about 150 miles off North Korea's coast.
]
] The closest the fighters came was about 50 feet, Davis
] said.

This wasn't going after a high-altitude spyplane on an overflight of Korean airspace. This was going 150 miles into international waters, sending fighters to buzz a wing's length away from a 707....

N. Korea Jets Intercept U.S. Spy Plane

] Finally, there was a knock on his hotel door. "I'm the
] mystery caller," the visitor said, instructing Fouda to
] take a cab to yet another location, where he was
] blindfolded and driven to another spot in Karachi. When
] the blindfold was removed, he recognized Binalshibh and a
] high-ranking associate, Khalid Sheik Mohammed. Fouda
] stayed with them for two days, eating catered rice
] dishes, kebabs and salads.

This is an account from last September about how Fouda, the Al Jazeera reporter, interviewed Binalshibh and Mohammed in Pakistan last year. Binalshibh was arrested shortly thereafter, and now we have Mohammed too.

Al Jazeera Reporter's Account of Interview with Binalshibh and Khalid Sheik Mohammed

] Government officials said Abdel-Rahman ran a training
] camp in Afghanistan before the Sept. 11 attacks
] and also had a role in operational planning.
] He is considered a senior al-Qaida operative, one of
] several operations chiefs who rank one tier below
] Mohammed in the al-Qaida hierarchy. He is known as
] Asadullah, "the Lion of God."

This caught my eye, because of the "lion" reference in that MEMRI threat about an attack within 10 days, "and the lions have taken their positions". Might just be coincidence though...

Authorities Cite 3 Major Terror Catches

] Under threat of severe penalties, the vast majority of
] North Korea's 22 million people are not allowed any
] contact with the outside world -- letters, telephone
] calls, travel, radio or television programs.
]
] All citizens are required to register their radios with
] the local police. On registration, foreign-made radios
] are tuned to the state radio frequency, soldered into
] place, and sealed.

Some Korean-American activist groups are advocating the smuggling in of thousands of tiny radios, capable of receiving foreign broadcasts.

I *like* this idea.

(Note: This link is for a NY Times article, so registration may be required)

Infiltrators of North Korea: Tiny Radios

] I was in a dinner with heads of Saudi and German FBI,
] plus the foreign minister of Afghanistan. They all said
] that at its peak Al Qaeda had 70,000 members. Only 10% of them
] were trained in terrorism -- the rest were military recruits.
] Of that 7000, they say all but about 200 are dead or in jail.

Supposedly this is from a compromised private Email, from a Newsday reporter at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. There's a thread on slashdot about how the Email was compromised, and the various privacy implications, etc. etc. But I have to say, now that it's public, I still found the Email fascinating!

Slashdot thread here:
http://slashdot.org/articles/03/02/28/1823256.shtml?tid=158

Newsday Reporter's 'Spilled' Email

] A U.S. attack on Iraq might destroy Saddam Hussein's
] presidential palaces, but don't worry about him becoming
] homeless. With an estimated $2 billion fortune, he will
] still have plenty of pocket money to find suitable digs
] elsewhere.

On the Forbes list of the world's richest heads of state, Saddam Hussein comes in at #4.

Forbes.com: What's Saddam Worth?

] WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) - Anti-terror police
] issued a public warning about a security threat to the
] America's Cup Tuesday after letters containing cyanide
] crystals and white powder were seized by postal workers.

This occurred on February 25th, two days ago. My guess is that if it would have been anthrax in the envelopes, this would have gotten much more news coverage. But just plain ol' cyanide seems to be relegated to a minor news blurb? In the *Sports* section of USA Today??

New Zealand - Terror Warning at America's Cup

] Islamist Website: An Imminent Terrorist Attack (Possibly
] by Al-Qa'ida) Within "About Ten Days" (Apparently in the
] U.S.)

This site contains the English-translated text of a message that was posted on the Arabic-language www.alfjr.com site a couple days ago. It may just be general ranting, or then again, it may not. It's unusual for MEMRI to post something like this, so I found it worth noting.

MEMRI: Terrorist Attack Within 10 Days?