The No Fly List

There's an interesting article on MSNBC.com about a graduate student who set up a Web site that generates fake airline boarding passes. These boarding passes are similar to those any traveler can print at home to help "bypass the ticket counter."

Check out the article here.

Spycast

The folks at the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C. are starting to offer free monthly podcasts of interviews and information with figures from the intelligence world. The October edition has a 20 minute interview with Oleg Kalugin, former Major General in the KGB.

You can listen to the podcast on your computer from here (broadband connection recommended), or you can go to http://www.spymuseum.org/spycast/ and right-click on the file to save it to your computer.

Homegrown Terrorism

Here's an interesting piece from the Jamestown Terorrism Monitor:

The Danger of Homegrown Terrorism to Scandinavia

By Lorenzo Vidino

The recent rounds of arrests in North America and in Europe highlight the changed face of jihadi terrorism in the West. The profile of the cells dismantled in Toronto and London this past summer confirms a trend that had become apparent after the November 2004 assassination of Theo van Gogh in Amsterdam and the 7/7 London bombings: the majority of terrorist activities inside the West come from independent, homegrown networks. Composed mostly of extremely young, second- and third-generation Muslim immigrants in the West (with the notable addition of a growing number of converts), these spontaneous networks have only an ideological affiliation with al-Qaeda, while generally operating with virtually total autonomy. Although it is unlikely that these groups, given their relatively simple structures and often amateurish preparation, could carry out large operations, they are nevertheless dangerous. Their deep knowledge of Western cultures and languages, possession of Western passports and relative lack of overt ties to large terrorist organizations make their detection a difficult task for authorities. Their proven determination to strike their own countries, combined with the relatively easy access to explosive substances and weapons, makes them an immediate threat to the security of Western countries.

UK is the Main al-Qaeda Target

An article on the BBC News site mentions how al-Qaeda is setting up an IRA-like structure in the UK. The article also mentions that

"Each cell has a leader, a quartermaster dealing with weapons, and volunteers.

According to our correspondent, each cell works on separate, different plots, with masterminds controlling several different cells.

Those involved in the cells were often aware they were being followed and so were meeting in public spaces.

In addition, training is taking place in the UK and Pakistan."

You can find the complete article here.