Interesting development in the attempted terrorist attack in NYC

Apparently this wasn't done by a terrorist. The esteemed Herald Sun of Melbourne says so:

Crude New York Time Square car bomb no signature of a terrorist

THE failed car bomb used in New York's Times Square does not match records of those used by professional terrorists and contained 50kg of fertiliser that was incapable of exploding, police said today.

MyFOXny.com quoted investigators as saying that professional terrorists tend to use the same "bomb signature" over and over again but the Times Square bomb did not match any on their database.

This has led investigators to believe that although the bomb was dangerous, it was probably not made by an expert or trained terrorist.

Uh-huh. To be fair, the actual text of the article isn't quite as egregious as the headline, but it's interesting to note this:

"There is no evidence that this is tied in with al-Qaeda or any other big terrorist organisation," Mayor Bloomberg said.

I wonder if what they'll say if this guy is tied in with a militia? Will anyone in a position of authority be prepared to investigate whether some of these organizations are terrorist organizations? They tend to avoid the term in this context for some strange reason, and that goes doubly so for any media outlet owned by News Corporation (like, say, the Herald Sun)...

Religious extremists arrested in Michigan terrorist plot

And guess which religion this time? Hint -- it's not Islam:

Nine members of the Christian militia group Hutaree have been indicted on multiple charges involving an alleged plot to attack police, including seditious conspiracy and attempted use of weapons of mass destruction, the U.S. Attorney in Michigan announced this morning.

"Six Michigan residents, along with two residents of Ohio and a resident of Indiana, were indicted by a federal grand jury in Detroit on charges of seditious conspiracy, attempted use of weapons of mass destruction, teaching the use of explosive materials, and possessing a firearm during a crime of violence," according to the government's press release, which you can read in full below.

Source (h/t Blaque). It should be noted that the "weapons of mass destruction" referred to are "Improvised Explosive Devices with Explosively Formed Projectiles", which seems bit of a stretch (it's a far cry from nuclear or biological weapons). Still, this is serious business, and requires serious action on the part of the authorities.

The night the grow lights came on in Massachusetts

Lost in the shuffle in the coverage of Obama's victory (either a squeaker or a landslide, depending on whether you're counting popular vote or electoral college votes) is the fact that virtually every US election is accompanied by numerous referenda on various issues. In Massachusetts, and Michigan, the term could be "reeferendum":

Michigan became the 13th state to legalise marijuana for medical use, while Massachusetts decriminalised possession of one ounce or less of the substance, making the offence punishable with a citation and a $100 fine.

"Tonight's results represent a sea change," said Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project, which backed the Massachusetts and Michigan ballot proposals. "Voters have spectacularly rejected eight years of the most intense government war on marijuana since the days of 'Reefer Madness.'"

Not every ballot initiative was so positive, of course. Final results are still pending, but it's looking like California may have the ignominious distinction of becoming the first US state to ban same-sex marriage after it was legal. Probably supported by folks whose preachers told them that they'd burn in hell if they voted No. Oh well, that's how America works, I guess.

Incidentally, remember those "militia" organizations that were so prominent during the Clinton years and faded into the background during the last eight years? (I use quotes around the word "militia" because really, as Chomsky points out, militias are raised by states; these are really private armies, or in some cases actual terrorists). In any case, expect to see these folks being a lot more visible in the next little while, because most of them are not going to be happy with Obama's win at all.

And bugsybrown reminds us that Bush will still be president for 76 more days from today, which gives him time to do an awful lot of damage.