News: French unrest part of a terrorist plan?

Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.

Interesting theory. Its plausible, Im just not sure its probable. However, the scenario laid out is certainly within the means of even the most basic organization. Hell, any high school class could do it.l
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To the media, France is blaming poverty, unemployment, ethnic discrimination, social alienation, and frustrated youngsters for the arson riots in France. Behind closed doors, French intelligence is blaming Iranian, Syrian and Hizballah clandestine agencies operating in France. That's why French interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy suddenly ordered Wednesday that foreign nationals implicated in the riots be deported. The French secret service is now convinced that Iranian and Syrian agents, supported by the Hizballah’s extensive covert field networks, are behind the riots. French intelligence dismisses the claim that the woes of a ghettoized immigrant community, religion, poverty or unemployment provided the catalysts for the disorders. There was no apparent religious motivation for the riots. Youths interviewed on the streets by the media declared outright that they have no respect for religion or law. Poverty was not the motivation. The troubles began in suburbs with reasonable living standards, where the government had laid out budgets for kindergartens, schools, libraries, covered sports centers, health services and parks. French intelligence analysts noticed that no TV camera caught a single arsonist in action. From the beginning, they were unable to catch them because many roared into action in small bands of motorcyclists too fast to be picked up on film or by the police. They collected their supplies of petrol bombs from pick-up vans waiting at distribution points prearranged by SMS messages on their cell phones or communicated through Internet blogs. Young people with no money cannot afford pick-up vans, motorcycles, cell phones and computers for accessing the Internet.

The conclusions drawn by French intelligence? 1) The outbreaks were organized by a hand that supplied the equipment, weapons and orders to the arson gangs and planned the attacks down to the last detail including precise timing. The fires followed each other serially to ascertain constant flames through the night in places that were far apart. This created the effect of spontaneity and forced security forces and firefighters to dash up and down the country, always arriving too late to catch the petrol bombers. 2) The riots spread quickly to some 300 towns and smaller locations, which also lent them a semblance of spontaneity. But, except for isolated cases, the modus operandi of the attacks and internal communications was identical and clearly orchestrated. 3 This offensive must have been planned for some time, over months if not two or three years. A countrywide network of hundreds of sleeper cells was in place, all drilled in the same patterns of operation with enough funds to go into action at a signal. None of this is within the capabilities of local gangs. They style of this whole thing suggests that it was ordered and organized by Iran. Intelligence circles note that Iranian clandestine agencies show a distinct preference for striking indirectly through surrogate terrorist groups. They direct their offensives against US targets in Iraq through Sunni Muslim insurgent bands and against the British through local Shiite militias in southern Iraq and Hizballah. Tehran’s mode of operation in France fits this pattern. Read more on this at Debka Net Weekly. (subscription required)

News: French unrest part of a terrorist plan?

Interesting theory. Its plausible, Im just not sure its probable. However, the scenario laid out is certainly within the means of even the most basic organization. Hell, any high school class could do it.l
=====

To the media, France is blaming poverty, unemployment, ethnic discrimination, social alienation, and frustrated youngsters for the arson riots in France. Behind closed doors, French intelligence is blaming Iranian, Syrian and Hizballah clandestine agencies operating in France. That’s why French interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy suddenly ordered Wednesday that foreign nationals implicated in the riots be deported. The French secret service is now convinced that Iranian and Syrian agents, supported by the Hizballah’s extensive covert field networks, are behind the riots. French intelligence dismisses the claim that the woes of a ghettoized immigrant community, religion, poverty or unemployment provided the catalysts for the disorders. There was no apparent religious motivation for the riots. Youths interviewed on the streets by the media declared outright that they have no respect for religion or law. Poverty was not the motivation. The troubles began in suburbs with reasonable living standards, where the government had laid out budgets for kindergartens, schools, libraries, covered sports centers, health services and parks. French intelligence analysts noticed that no TV camera caught a single arsonist in action. From the beginning, they were unable to catch them because many roared into action in small bands of motorcyclists too fast to be picked up on film or by the police. They collected their supplies of petrol bombs from pick-up vans waiting at distribution points prearranged by SMS messages on their cell phones or communicated through Internet blogs. Young people with no money cannot afford pick-up vans, motorcycles, cell phones and computers for accessing the Internet.

The conclusions drawn by French intelligence? 1) The outbreaks were organized by a hand that supplied the equipment, weapons and orders to the arson gangs and planned the attacks down to the last detail including precise timing. The fires followed each other serially to ascertain constant flames through the night in places that were far apart. This created the effect of spontaneity and forced security forces and firefighters to dash up and down the country, always arriving too late to catch the petrol bombers. 2) The riots spread quickly to some 300 towns and smaller locations, which also lent them a semblance of spontaneity. But, except for isolated cases, the modus operandi of the attacks and internal communications was identical and clearly orchestrated. 3 This offensive must have been planned for some time, over months if not two or three years. A countrywide network of hundreds of sleeper cells was in place, all drilled in the same patterns of operation with enough funds to go into action at a signal. None of this is within the capabilities of local gangs. They style of this whole thing suggests that it was ordered and organized by Iran. Intelligence circles note that Iranian clandestine agencies show a distinct preference for striking indirectly through surrogate terrorist groups. They direct their offensives against US targets in Iraq through Sunni Muslim insurgent bands and against the British through local Shiite militias in southern Iraq and Hizballah. Tehran’s mode of operation in France fits this pattern. Read more on this at Debka Net Weekly. (subscription required)

$3.99 Win. 9mm ammo

Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.

Well, waaaah!

Gart Sporting goods had an advertisement in the paper yesterday. Winchester white box 9mm for $4.49 a box. So that woulda made a case of the stuff $89.80…and then there was a $10 off coupon for a purchase over $50….so the $89.80 becomes $79.80…so, when all is said and done that woulda been $3.99 a box. Needless to say, I was all up for getting a case or ten.

Sold. Out.

Grrrrr! Probably to a buncha weasels who were just gonna re-sell it at a gun show. Dammit, dont these people know who I am? What Im preparing for? How much 9mm my girlfriend can go through in a day!?!?!

Bah.

Not a total wipeout though….OEM Glock mags for her G26 were $8.97 ea. so she got two spares. A small, hollow, empty victory…but a victory nonetheless.

$3.99 a box!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
NO they wouldnt substitute. NO they wont give rain checks. NO this price wont be good when they get more.

Too slow, Commander, too slow.

$3.99 Win. 9mm ammo

Well, waaaah!

Gart Sporting goods had an advertisement in the paper yesterday. Winchester white box 9mm for $4.49 a box. So that woulda made a case of the stuff $89.80…and then there was a $10 off coupon for a purchase over $50….so the $89.80 becomes $79.80…so, when all is said and done that woulda been $3.99 a box. Needless to say, I was all up for getting a case or ten.

Sold. Out.

Grrrrr! Probably to a buncha weasels who were just gonna re-sell it at a gun show. Dammit, dont these people know who I am? What Im preparing for? How much 9mm my girlfriend can go through in a day!?!?!

Bah.

Not a total wipeout though….OEM Glock mags for her G26 were $8.97 ea. so she got two spares. A small, hollow, empty victory…but a victory nonetheless.

$3.99 a box!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
NO they wouldnt substitute. NO they wont give rain checks. NO this price wont be good when they get more.

Too slow, Commander, too slow.

Storage, Ferfal's post, SF ban,

Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.

Did some re-arranging in the bunker last night. Discovered four 5-gallon containers of water I didnt even know were down there. Bonus. Wound up getting things organized in such a manner that I now have a tiny bit more room for future goodies. And, trust me, there are always future goodies….

I organize things in a fairly simple manner. Most stuff is packed into ammo cans and each ammo can has a tag on it describing the contents. Stuff that isnt in ammo cans is stored on wooden shelves with the item's label facing forward for fast ID. 'Like' items are stored together…that is to day flashlights, flashlight batteries, flashlight bulbs, etc are all stored on the same shelf. The shelves themselves are simply sheet plywood I cut and dadoed shelves into. The one special characteristic of them was that they be dimensioned so each shelf had room for two plastic milk crates. I use the milk crates as 'bins' for ltsa stuff…and milk crates are hellaciously durable and stack/store nicely.
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Currently making the rounds of the internet is a firsthand account of Argentina's economic situation. I'd read it before when it originally appeared at another 'survivalist' website. You can head over to ,Rawles' site and see it there. It basically describes how your day-to-day life changes as your economy degrades. Its an interesing read because so much of the preparedness/survivalist scenarios revolve around 'instant' disasters like hurricanes, earthquakes, war, meteor strikes, etc. and this particular disaster is a slow, creeping one that stretches over weeks and months. I've long thought that for my particular neck of the woods, where things like hurricanes and catastrophic earthquakes are unlikely, the more likely scenario to prepare for is an economic one…something that reduces a person to living an existence reminiscent of the old Soviet stand-on-line-for-toilet-paper society. Rolling brownouts, fuel shortages, empty market shelves, overloaded medical facilities, curfews, etc, etc. And, in this post from Argentina, thats exactly what this guy is living with. Go read it…its an excellent example of why theres alot more to survivalism/preparedness than an AK and camoflage clothing.
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San Francisco handgun ban. Whats interesting is it prohibits the manufacture of ammunition. Yup, manufacture. no idea if that means it is now illegal to reload your own ammo in S.F. but Im guessing it does. So…you live in SF and all of a sudden your only choice to get ammo is from outside your town. I suppose you can still mail-order it in and if not you can always drive to a WallyWorld outside SF and get some but think about this – with a stroke of a pen they eliminated the citizens ability to get ammo for their guns. If that can be done on a local level it could be done on a county or even state level. Moral? Have plenty of ammo and plenty of supplies to reload it.

Storage, Ferfal’s post, SF ban,

Did some re-arranging in the bunker last night. Discovered four 5-gallon containers of water I didnt even know were down there. Bonus. Wound up getting things organized in such a manner that I now have a tiny bit more room for future goodies. And, trust me, there are always future goodies….

I organize things in a fairly simple manner. Most stuff is packed into ammo cans and each ammo can has a tag on it describing the contents. Stuff that isnt in ammo cans is stored on wooden shelves with the item’s label facing forward for fast ID. ‘Like’ items are stored together…that is to day flashlights, flashlight batteries, flashlight bulbs, etc are all stored on the same shelf. The shelves themselves are simply sheet plywood I cut and dadoed shelves into. The one special characteristic of them was that they be dimensioned so each shelf had room for two plastic milk crates. I use the milk crates as ‘bins’ for ltsa stuff…and milk crates are hellaciously durable and stack/store nicely.
=====
Currently making the rounds of the internet is a firsthand account of Argentina’s economic situation. I’d read it before when it originally appeared at another ‘survivalist’ website. You can head over to ,Rawles’ site and see it there. It basically describes how your day-to-day life changes as your economy degrades. Its an interesing read because so much of the preparedness/survivalist scenarios revolve around ‘instant’ disasters like hurricanes, earthquakes, war, meteor strikes, etc. and this particular disaster is a slow, creeping one that stretches over weeks and months. I’ve long thought that for my particular neck of the woods, where things like hurricanes and catastrophic earthquakes are unlikely, the more likely scenario to prepare for is an economic one…something that reduces a person to living an existence reminiscent of the old Soviet stand-on-line-for-toilet-paper society. Rolling brownouts, fuel shortages, empty market shelves, overloaded medical facilities, curfews, etc, etc. And, in this post from Argentina, thats exactly what this guy is living with. Go read it…its an excellent example of why theres alot more to survivalism/preparedness than an AK and camoflage clothing.
=====
San Francisco handgun ban. Whats interesting is it prohibits the manufacture of ammunition. Yup, manufacture. no idea if that means it is now illegal to reload your own ammo in S.F. but Im guessing it does. So…you live in SF and all of a sudden your only choice to get ammo is from outside your town. I suppose you can still mail-order it in and if not you can always drive to a WallyWorld outside SF and get some but think about this – with a stroke of a pen they eliminated the citizens ability to get ammo for their guns. If that can be done on a local level it could be done on a county or even state level. Moral? Have plenty of ammo and plenty of supplies to reload it.