text:
REVIEW: 10184 Town Plan
Posted 21 September 2009 - 03:45 AM
I walked into Toys R Us yesterday, knowing full well a couple of Indy sets were half price, as well as the Speed Racer sets . Low and behold, this beauty was on sale. It's normally 20,000 yen, over $200 U.S, so when I saw it marked down to 10,000 yen... I couldn't stop thinking about it. I'd been admiring it for a year, but just wasn't willing to put the cash out. My wife was nice, and put it on her card. I have to pay her back in a few weeks
Set#: 10184
Name: Town Plan
Theme: Town
Year: 2008
Pieces: 1981
Minifigs: Octan - Eight in total: Blue Oil, Dark Bluish Gray Legs, Blue Hat, Stubble (10184), Octan - Blue Oil, Dark Blue Legs, Blue Cap (10184), Yellow Flowers - Reddish Brown Ponytail Hair, White Skirt (10184), Chef - White Torso with 8 Buttons, Dark Red Legs, Black Ponytail Hair (10184), Town Vest Formal - Top Hat, Black Vest with Blue Striped Tie, Dark Red Legs, Dark Red Hat, Moustache, Plaid Button Shirt, Light Bluish Gray Legs, Reddish Brown Male Hair (10184), Surfboard on Ocean - Blue Legs, Red Cap, Glasses (10184)
Price: 10,298 yen
The box
There were three left, none in beautiful condition, but that's the lowest on my list of set requirements, a pristine box. The cover is a recreation of a set from 50 years ago, featuring the grandson of the founder of TLG. He's not the most handsome man to stick on a box, but it's appropriate to the theme of the set, a 50's style town.
The back shows various vignettes of the town in action. I particularly like the movie theater scenes, and the lighting on it. It screams of fun. I like the couple eloping as well. As a guy who had a town hall marriage, I can relate.
The sides show the features of the theater and service station respectively.
The booklets
The Pieces
Wow, what a pile, too much to photograph at once. There are a few loose plates, but otherwise, everything is put into four numbered groups.
Once in groups, they look a heck of a lot more manageable.
There are three long plates, a half plate, and a long piece that is cleverly used for a roof.
The stickers are hit and miss. I placed most of them on correctly (I'll get to that when they appear) and have a nice color scheme, and they have a good sense of humor about them.
Some of the tools need to be punched out of this single piece. A rarity for me, I don 't recall them being included in any other set I got.
Build One: The service station
The Octan Oil man. He's a standard head, and his uniform is simple, but seems appropriate for a fifties worker.
I'll be showing the build roughly every six steps. Here you can see the pivot piece is placed, and the counter is being built. It has an odd selection for sale: apple, banana, croissant. The tool bench has been built on the left side, with a vice and all. Nice detailing there.
A bit in, the garage door has been put in, with a some unique long clear pieces that are able to roll back like a real garage door
At this point, the walls are basically up. The front window uses some really interesting SNOT techniques to follow the contours of the window correctly, though it might be hard to replicate in a MOC. Also, it is semi flat on top so that the roof will be able to be removed. On the right, the car wash is mostly built, including a loose elastic to keep them in place after a car leaves.
The roofs are placed, with a nice lip sticking out, and a three color design approximate to the Octan logo.
Lastly, the details are put in, the signage, the tools, and a tree.
From the back, the station is open, and we can see how it looks as it pivots from here to the next picture.
And voila!
The car wash includes even a brush for the roof. This set is all about detailing, isn't it. Thanks to the plentiful windows, the set is fairly well lit.
The door to the station is open: Come in!
Here we see the garage door opened and sitting along the ceiling. Again, very nice detailing.
The roof includes a skylight made of clear pieces.
This sign uses ridiculous SNOT to make this shape, and it looks great... but they expect me to place a sticker on that If I was resigned to never use those pieces again, I might, but it seems a bit crazy to me, and I'm really disappointed they didn't create an oval plate for this set.
And here it is, with the sticker, nothing special.
Here's the car wash in action. All clean!
A fair amount of little pieces are left over, nothing I didn't have lots of though.
Build Two: gas pump, cars, and fountain
Part two has three mini-figs. Surfer guy, oil truck man, and newspaper reader. The bodies and two of three heads are new for me (this is only my fourth town set ). I love the stubble on the oil man, and the plaid on the newspaper man. The surfer is nice too.
And look at the news! Again, this set has a certain sense of humor, it's somewhat of meta humor, I guess.
The gas pumps are simple, but detailed. There is a special piece on the pump, the nozzle and hose are a single piece. The stickers are fine, but I forgot to pay attention to where they attach, so mine aren't quite perfectly upright.
The other special pieces are the metallic tops for the lamps. They reflect the light beautifully.
Surfer guy's vehicle is nice, subtly giving a fifties feel. Little fins on the back are a nice touch.
It's boxy, but that's how cars looked back then, didn't they.
The roof can come off for a summertime convertible
The oil truck is a slightly more complicated build. The particularly nice touches are the stripes along the side which call back to the roof of the service station and Octan's colors. The hood as well really evokes the those early trucks.
The back has a spooled pump, but no winch to reel it back when it comes out.
The fountain is a quick build, making an interesting use of battle droid arms to hold the back up. The famed gold bricks appear, which may be good in some other MOCs, but are pretty concisely used as a monument to Lego here. Could this be the reported "New brick in town"?
The water is done in a translucent blue to capture a watery feel. It's a great piece I wish was used more often.
Here is build two together. They aren't so great all on their own, but they're an important addition to the set, adding a lot of texture to the town.
And a melange of leftover pieces.
<part one of two>
Did I review your Academy review and you've waited more than three days for a follow up after you fixed it? PM me. I'll get it done.
I am a Satanist and not ashamed.
Posted 21 September 2009 - 04:06 AM
The cinema comes with two workers, a lovely lady and a frankly stern looking fellow. Note the burgundy of their clothes matches the burgundy of the theater. Great detail!
The theater has nice tiling, and an interesting use of a hinge to create a 45 degree wall.
A few steps later, the seats have been put in, the projector is installed, and the refreshment stand is open for business.
I like the loose pieces used as popcorn, as well as the gumball machine on the right.
Next, the ticket booth is put in, as well as the coming attractions.
On the inside, the movie screen is showing tonight's feature.
Turns out, it's a Western.
"I need to see some I.D."
The marquee sign is put together, but unfortunately I'm not going to put stickers over a number of pieces. Again, the company really should have built special plates to put the stickers on. That is the major complaint of this set.
This plate on top is really interesting and useful. It's a single piece to make up the roof, and it's only loosely locked in, making it easy to remove so you can place mini-figs inside.
As the roof comes together, you can really see the coloring come to life. Retro colors, and retro lines.
And using lots of great SNOT techniques, the cinema sign goes up.
Again, I can't use the stickers here unless I commit to never taking it apart again
And so it goes, it gets its stickers.
The marquee stickers make it look a heck of a lot better.
As do the cinema sign's stickers. A shame it couldn't have been on flat 2x2 plates.
Handy rails help keep the public in line.
I like the catch phrase for this flick.
I'm not sure I understand the catch phrase here. I have too many Legos?
And a shot from the back. The top isn't so fantastic, but they went all out on the interior.
And a bunch of leftovers.
Build Four: town hall
This has the eloping couple. I like the design, but I don't love it. The woman doesn't actually have a great 'bride' quality.
The foundations of the town hall is set.
The steps and garden are put in. The flowers here are a little flimsy, and fall off repeatedly.
Monochromatic tiling It's the little things that make this work.
The rails are an interesting use of battle droid arms.
On the inside of the building, potted plants are put in, and a reception desk. This is the most spartan interior of the three buildings.
As the roof gets put on, more architectural details surface. I like the grey over the windows and the inset over the door.
Here, the columns go in. The pieces are long individual builds attached SNOT-wise.
And we're finished, with a lamp and town map added.
And our happy couple on their special day. If only he knew what was ahead of him for the next 30 years.
Apparently, this is where we are.
And a clean lamp lights the area.
As mentioned before, a spartan interior.
And the leftovers.
The Final Verdict
Design: 9/10 Even my complaints about stickers don't hurt this set much. The design is impeccable; the details, the colors, the balance of the whole set. A perfect set, without stickers.
Build: 10/10 Each building has its own technique and its own things going for it. It goes a long way to breaking up build fatigue in such a large set.
Playability: 8/10 The service station is great, the theater is great, the vehicles great, but the town hall doesn't do anything.
Minifigures: 9/10 I'm sure most people buying this have mini-figs already, but the set could have thrown in a few more citizens, to buy tickets or watch the movie. But the figures it does come with are all one of a kind.
Price: 8/10 I got it for about $100, so that's a good deal, but at its MSRP it's quite fair, not too special. Though a great piece count (1921 pieces), a lot of those are single studs and tiny bricks.
Overall: 9/10 While I hate to say it's a must have, it kind seems like it is I'd been admiring this on the shelf for a year, and nobody else was buying because of the price, but on sale, there was no question of getting it. A set aimed at adult collectors, heck, they even put an adult on the box! The design and details would be wasted on a kid. Go out and get this set if you can find it at the right price since it seems to be out of production.
Kill all humans!
<taken from the Lego short film, Kill All Humans!>
Did I review your Academy review and you've waited more than three days for a follow up after you fixed it? PM me. I'll get it done.
I am a Satanist and not ashamed.
Posted 21 September 2009 - 04:30 AM
Hover here - Eurobricks logo ASCII drawings - Flickr - Brickshelf - [When Moderated] Largest LEGO City 2010 Gallery - What the... - Kjeld carried away
Posted 21 September 2009 - 08:14 AM
def, on Sep 21 2009, 04:45 AM, said:
That's an easy fix, especially with freshly applied stickers, here is what you do:
~Warm the piece up by breathing on it
~Place your thumb on the sticker
~Turn the sticker with your thumb, applying some pressure
Worked for me!
Link to folder with larger picture of my avatar
Steam-engine City Riot!
Posted 21 September 2009 - 08:28 AM
4012 Wave Cops | 6689 Post Station* | 6563 Gator Landing | 6661 Mobile TV Studio* | 6357 Stunt 'Copter N' Truck* | 6355 Derby Trotter* | 6264 Forbidden Cove | 6983 Ice Station Odyssey** | 6394 Metro Park & Service Tower*/**
* Blogged on Classic-Town.net
** Front-paged on Eurobricks.com
Posted 21 September 2009 - 08:38 AM
I think the set has some strengths, particularly in the colours and the overall shapes of the buildings, and although overall I am not very interested, if it came out here on the local Toys'r Us for 100e I'd consider it. Definitely not for the 150e+shipping from S@H.
I noticed from your review that while some of the detailed building techniques are indeed interesting, others are in my opinion a waste of pieces (ex. the gas station sign and glass roof, the blue car...). It's a pity that there are so many 1x1 pieces in all sets nowadays.
Posted 21 September 2009 - 10:46 AM
I want this set very badly, because it reminds me a lot of "Back to the Future" which I was countless times when I was a kid.
My Danish Bricklink store: Blackbeard's Bricks
Posted 21 September 2009 - 12:39 PM
Posted 21 September 2009 - 01:35 PM
Zzz, on Sep 21 2009, 08:39 PM, said:
Did I review your Academy review and you've waited more than three days for a follow up after you fixed it? PM me. I'll get it done.
I am a Satanist and not ashamed.
Posted 21 September 2009 - 02:12 PM
def, on Sep 21 2009, 04:35 PM, said:
I'm not 100% certain if that still holds true for the Exclusive sets. My guess is different pricing policy in Japan (and sometimes in the US, like the times when the Millenium Falcon was reduced). I can't see the Green Grocer or the Cafe Corner being reduced though, or at least definitely not in Europe, and as far as I can remember, the Market Street sold at regular prices before it was sold out... after which point the prices went through the roof.
So I'd buy the Town Plan now if I get the chance... which I did (110 EUR seemed like a great price to me). Can't wait for it to finally arrive so that I can get my paws on it!
Edited by TheOtters, 21 September 2009 - 02:13 PM.
Posted 21 September 2009 - 04:03 PM
TheOtters, on Sep 21 2009, 10:12 PM, said:
Buying through Lego, I think it's unpredictable, but a company like Toys R Us always liquidates after a certain time (I worked there for five years, I know!). It's not guaranteed that something is in stock in your area, or even easy to detect (this set is not listed on their website, though it's still in store). But, if it's in stock somewhere, they will transfer it to your area for you and give you a call when it arrives. When I worked there (near 10 years ago) the computer could show the inventory for every store in the country (Canada) and would transfer to and from anywhere.
I'm sure you'd be a pain in the megablocks to do it, but if there is an older set, ask them at the counter what the price is, and what stores are showing inventory, and they could have a great deal for you. I saw an old Castle set there at new years, maybe four years old labeled at about $50. I didn't buy it, but years on, it was priced to sell.
I feel like an ad for Toys R Us here. Their prices are crap, but if you work their system, they have their advantages. So maybe this isn't on sale in your area, but keep your eyes opened for it
Did I review your Academy review and you've waited more than three days for a follow up after you fixed it? PM me. I'll get it done.
I am a Satanist and not ashamed.
Posted 21 September 2009 - 07:16 PM
Problem is, I live in Bulgaria and we don't have Target or Toys-r-us or even official LEGO shops, for that matter. S@H doesn't even ship to Bulgaria , so we're stuck with a distributor that puts 20% on top of almost each set they try to sell and they would never even consider importing 10*** sets. Fortunately, there's a new LEGO-specialized store which imports sets, but they're still a tad bit overpriced and getting a deal is never an option...
Anyway, sorry for being off topic. Once again, cheers for the review ;)
Posted 21 September 2009 - 10:15 PM
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I'm reading Charlie Savage's Power Wars. While I disagree with some parts of it and have additional information that isn't included in others (the book is already 700 pages, so it's possible they were left out because of length), it is absolutely worth reading and provides a ton of insight about what Obama's legal insiders were willing to share with Savage. Here's a long interview with Glenn Greenwald about it.
As it happens, last year I wrote but never finalized a post on an area that is misleading in Savage's chapter on the Obama Administration's serial prosecution of leakers, about the prosecution of Donald Sachtleben, the retired FBI guy who, after being busted for kiddie porn, ultimately got prosecuted for being the leaker behind the AP's UndieBomb 2.0 story. I'm tweaking it and posting it now. This post explains his bust.
Savage claims that Sachtleben never got IDed because he didn't access any classified documents about the bomb and hadn't signed the sign-in sheet of the room where it was being investigated — which is all stuff claimed in a Statement of Offense that is obviously designed to be misleading (though Sachtleben's FBI badge did show him entering the examination space where the bomb was being examined; the Statement doesn't say whether the specific room tracked badge entries). Savage states, Sachtleben "had visited the Quantico lab where the new underwear bomb was being examined on May 1, 2012, a few hours before Goldman and a colleague, Matt Apuzzo, first called government officials to say they knew the FBI had intercepted a new underwear bomb from Yemen" [that date of the call in the Statement is May 2]. That suggests (again, as the statement does) that Sachtleben was therefore the source for the things the AP told the government it knew on May 2.
As I've noted, Sacthleben contested this claim at his sentencing, which is actually consistent with what the text messages with him show: Goldman and Apuzzo were looking for confirmation of something they already knew.
"I was neither the sole nor the original source of information to 'Reporter A' about the suicide bomb," Sachtleben said in a statement sent by his law firm. "The information I shared with Reporter A merely confirmed what he already believed to be true. Any implication that I was the direct source of a serious leak is an exaggeration."
But in CIA Public Affairs emails obtained by FOIA by The Intercept last year, there's further support for this. The emails reveal that by April 25, 2012 — 5 days before talking to Sachtleben — Goldman was already asking roughly the same questions about Ibrahim al-Asiri asked of Sachtleben. (PDF 548-9)
"We're hearing about aqap activity that has USG spun up and Ibrahim al-asiri is back on agency's radar." None of that's surprising, of course, since AP sourced the initial story to numerous officials, and it's unlikely two Pulitzer Prize winners would single source a story.
The Statement misleadingly suggests that the when Goldman and Apuzzo called the government on May 2, two and a half hours after speaking with Sachtleben (and a full week after Goldman's email to the CIA Public Affairs office), they stated for the first time that "they believed, but had not confirmed, that the bomb was linked to AQAP's premier bomb-maker, Ibrahim al-Asiri." Except the government knew, but did not reveal in the Statement, that the AP reporters had already reached out via official government channels a week earlier with some of that information. Contrary to what Savage suggests, the call on May 2 was not the "first" that government officials learned the AP was working on the story, though it may have been the first time they claimed to have confirmed details about the bomb.
The emails also show the extent of AP's efforts to provide CIA an opportunity to weigh in on the story.
After several exchanges the week before (including a "chat" between Deputy CIA Director Mike Morell and an AP editor in which the AP agreed to hold the story), CIA's press office set up a meeting between Goldman, Apuzzo, and Morell at 9:30 on the morning they released their story, May 7. An Apuzzo email describes the purpose. "[T]his meeting is just the one the DDCIA [Morell] suggested, to offer some details to the story we agreed to hold for a few days." (PDF 308)
This confirms a point the AP long insisted on — that they heeded an administration request for a few days before they published the story. And in response, Apuzzo's email makes clear, Morell had offered to provide further details on the plot. That of course means that Mike Morell was himself a source for the story, probably including for the detail that CIA had just drone-killed Fahd al-Quso. Last I checked, Morell is not in prison for leaking to the AP (though of course his influence on the story would be considered official declassification and therefore cool).
Apuzzo followed up on the meeting and the story later that day. "I know that there were some strained conversations between our bosses this evening, but as far as Adam and I are concerned, I hope you found the story fair, accurate and responsible." (PDF 308)
Of course, CIA had no reason to be pissed, given that the AP story celebrated their successful interception of a plot. Indeed, there is a very high likelihood that the CIA talked the AP reporters out of including more sensitive details — such as that the plot was really a sting run by a Saudi asset — that detail came out in other outlets, thanks in part to John Brennan and Peter King (the latter of whom was in turn blabbing about something the CIA had just briefed him), within a day. Or, something implied by the story but not stated directly, that the Administration had deployed a bunch of Air Marshals to Europe to protect against a threat that had never really been a threat and that they had already neutralized anyway. Those are the damning details of the story, but they weren't in the AP's version of it.
But the government came after them anyway. And, after members of Congress — including Peter King, who had served as a source for journalists!! — demanded a head, Donald Sachtleben served as a convenient one to offer up.
The story the government has told about Sachtleben — that they found he had a Secret CIA cable among his kiddie porn but didn't pursue it any further until they exposed the sources of the entire AP newsroom — has never made sense. But as a guy who had already confessed to kiddie porn charges and had actually only served as the confirming source for some of the least sensitive information in the leak, he was convenient.
And while Savage appropriately lays into the Administration for the damage they did to journalism with their pursuit of leakers, the back story behind the scapegoating of Sachtleben suggests DOJ has been far more cynical about leaks and who gets prosecuted for them than suggested in Savage's chapter.
I'm going to take a break from noting how Lawfare ignores the public record on NSA spying — both of past failures to inform Congress, and of Intelligence Community lies about having done so — to note how Lawfare ignores the public record on drone killing.
On Sunday, Lawfare posted a long review of Jeremy Scahill's book Dirty Wars. While it is not entirely negative, it stakes a claim on what the public record shows to argue that Scahill glossed over what a dangerous man Anwar al-Awlaki was. Yet the review itself ignores key details in the public record.
First, full disclosure. I'm friends with Scahill, and he acknowledged me in the book. But given that I'm not quoted, I suspect he acknowledged me because I've followed certain aspects of the narrative he covered — especially the evidence in the Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab case and the shoddy OLC case to support Awlaki's killing — in more detail than most other reporters.
It's for that reason that I find the review to be so problematic.
After spending two paragraphs praising the on-the-ground reporting Scahill did, Lawfare reviewer Nick Basciano complains,
Scahill simply skips over facts that don't promote his narrative of Awlaki. One such example comes in Awlaki's relationship with Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the "Christmas Day Bomber" who attempted to detonate almost three ounces of PETN aboard Northwest flight 253 on its descent to Detroit. A publically-available and widely-cited sentencing memorandum for Abdulmutallab describes how Awlaki housed Abdulmutallab in Yemen and took him to AQAP's primary bomb-maker, Ibrahim Al Asiri. There, they "discussed a plan for martyrdom mission" and Awlaki himself gave the bombing plot "final approval and instructed Defendant Abdulmutallab on it." Awlaki's "last instructions," the memorandum continues, "were to wait until the airplane was over the United States and then to take the plane down." Without dealing with this evidence from the Abdulmutallab trial, Scahill admits that Awlaki was only "in touch" with Abdulmutallab, insisting that "no conclusive evidence [was] presented, at least not publicly, that Awlaki had played an operational role in any attacks." Why such a relevant piece of evidence isn't included in Scahill's retelling of the Abdulmuttallab plot is unclear, but it isn't the only instance of turning a blind eye to evidence linking Awlaki's directly to terrorism.
The trial, of course, took place several weeks after the final event of Scahill's narrative, the killing of Abdulrahman al-Awlaki [Correction: The trial took place on October 11 and 12, 2009, before Abdulrahman's death. But as I note, the narrative presented there differs in key ways from the one Basciano adopts]. The sentencing took place several months later. That doesn't mean Scahill couldn't have included the evidence from "the trial." But it was not part of the narrative arc Scahill told in the book.
Moreover, Basciano's description ignores the reporting Scahill did do on Awlaki's role in Abdulmutallab's attempted attack, reporting based on talking to people who knew of Abdulmutallab's movements in Yemen.
A local trial leader from Shabwah, Mullah Zabara, later told me he had seen the young Nigerian at the farm of Fahd al-Quso, the alleged USS Cole bombing conspirator. "He was watering trees," Zabara told me. "When I saw [Abdulmutallab], I asked Fahd, 'Who is he?'" Quso told Zabara the young man was from a different part of Yemen, which Zabara knew was a lie. "When I saw him on TV, then Fahd told me the truth."
Awlaki's role in the "underwear plot" was unclear. Awlaki later claimed that Abdulmutallab was one of his "students." Tribal sources in Shabwah told me that al Qaeda operatives reached out to Awlaki to give religious counseling to Abdulmutallab, but that Awlaki was not involved in the plot. While praising the plot, Awlaki said he had not been involved with its conception of planning. (318)
After having complimented Scahill's efforts to speak to people on the ground, Basciano did not mention that he had done so, too, in regards to the Abdulmutallab attack.
Moreover, if Scahill had used the material released in relation to the trial, the evidence would be much muddier than Basciano lays out. Continue reading
I was at a funeral Monday and Tuesday. So when I heard the FBI had busted the guy who leaked the UndieBomb 2.0 story, I assumed they had finally arrested John Brennan.
But, as bmaz emphasized in his post on Donald Sachtleben's plea agreement, there's no hint of prosecuting Brennan, who leaked Top Secret details about the British/Saudi double agent into AQAP, even while they're imprisoning Donald Sachtleben, who is only accused of leaking details he knew to be Secret.
A law enforcement official indicated that the case has not been officially closed but the charges against Sachtleben are the only ones expected.
(Sure, the evidence that Sachtleben was involved with kiddie porn seems solid, but then Brennan drone-killed children, so he's not above reproach for his treatment of children either.)
But that is by no means the weirdest thing about the government's treatment of the UndieBomb 2.0 leak investigation.
The entire premise of the FBI narrative is that they exercised greater care with a kiddie porn accusee they had dead to rights than they did the 100 or so AP reporters who got sucked up in their overbroad dragnet. They would have you believe that, even after seizing a CD holding a November 2, 2006 SECRET CIA intelligence report at Sachtleben's house in May 2012 pursuant to a kiddie porn warrant (which they have not produced in the docket), they just sat on his devices for almost a year until they obtained the phone records for 20 AP phone lines, in a seizure far more intrusive into journalism than any recent known subpoena.
Sachtleben was identified as a suspect in the case of this unauthorized disclosure only after toll records for phone numbers related to the reporter were obtained through a subpoena and compared to other evidence collected during the leak investigation. This allowed investigators to obtain a search warrant authorizing a more exhaustive search of Sachtleben's cell phone, computer, and other electronic media, which were in the possession of federal investigators due to the child pornography investigation.
(I may be mistaken, but I don't think the FBI made this claim in any court document, so I assume it is bullshit, especially since they had had to do extensive forensic searches of Sachtleben's computer and he had already signed a plea deal forfeiting it.)
They would also have you believe the AP had no inkling of the UndieBomb plot until ABC reported inflammatory claims about cavity bombs on April 30, 2012, even in spite of ABC's reference to TSA head John Pistole's earlier fear-mongering about it and in spite of additional reporting about broad Air Marshall mobilization. DOJ goes to great lengths to make you believe AP first texted Sachtleben on April 30 and not, say, on April 28 (which would mean the kiddie porn investigation accelerated after such contact), though there's no reason to believe that's true and the AP call records DOJ obtained apparently go back to well before April 30. They also suggest AP was asking Sachtleben about an Asiri bomb, though the first text they include is an assertion — not a question — that Asiri has been busy.
They would have you believe that two Pulitzer Prize winners would defy White House and CIA wishes with a story sourced to a single source who, just a day earlier, had provided a mistaken guess about the excitement. Continue reading
The State Department announced a broad but vague warning today.
The Department of State alerts U.S. citizens to the continued potential for terrorist attacks, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa, and possibly occurring in or emanating from the Arabian Peninsula. Current information suggests that al-Qa'ida and affiliated organizations continue to plan terrorist attacks both in the region and beyond, and that they may focus efforts to conduct attacks in the period between now and the end of August. This Travel Alert expires on August 31, 2013.
Terrorists may elect to use a variety of means and weapons and target both official and private interests. U.S. citizens are reminded of the potential for terrorists to attack public transportation systems and other tourist infrastructure. Terrorists have targeted and attacked subway and rail systems, as well as aviation and maritime services. U.S. citizens should take every precaution to be aware of their surroundings and to adopt appropriate safety measures to protect themselves when traveling.
We continue to work closely with other nations on the threat from international terrorism, including from al-Qa'ida. Information is routinely shared between the U.S. and our key partners in order to disrupt terrorist plotting, identify and take action against potential operatives, and strengthen our defenses against potential threats.
There's a part of me that thinks this might be credible and serious.
After all, between Iraq, Pakistan, and Libya, up to 1,750 men have just escaped prison, and extremists claim responsibility for the first two prison breaks. That's a lot of men running around who might make mischief (though you'd think it would take a bit of time to organize after the breaks).
That said, there are aspects of this that remind me of the politicized alert surrounding the April 2012 thwarting of our own plot in Yemen (which was rolled out in May 2012, well after any threat had subsided). There's John Pistole's ostentatious boosting of AQAP bomb-maker Ibrahim al-Asiri as "our greatest threat."
The use of a new explosive has been previously reported, but Pistole continued with less familiar details about Underwear 2 that reflect the growing sophistication of Asiri's sinister craftsmanship. He said the device included redundancy, by mean of two different syringes to mix liquid explosive compounds–"a double initiation system," apparently a response to a failure of Abdulmutallab's initiation process. In essence, Pistole said, "they made two devices."
Finally, Pistole said, the new bomb was encased in simple household caulk in an effort to trap vapors that might alert any bomb-sniffing machines or dogs that did happen to be capable of identifying the explosive.
"So you really have a twisted genius in Yemen," Ross observed. "That is our greatest threat," Pistole replied. "All the intel folks here [at the forum] know that is a clear and present danger."
Similar sensationalized reporting preceded and followed the exposure of the UndieBomb 2.0 plot last year.
There's the increased drone activity in Yemen. Who knows! Maybe, like last year, the plot has already been rolled up and we're just waiting to confirm one of the several recent drone strikes have taken out our target?
And there's the apparent disparate treatment of the threat, with the US issuing a broad alert across the Middle East but with the Brits focusing thus far only on their Yemeni Embassy.
The State Department just happened to announce its support for Yemen in conjunction with President Hadi's visit this morning, of which security aid remains the largest part, not long before this alert went out. Last year the thwarted plot was designed to coincide with the approval of signature strikes in Yemen.
Last year, the many people the US deployed to prevent a threat that had already been rolled up may have been one of the sources that revealed the threat had already been rolled up. If this is kabuki, then perhaps the same thing would happen again: some guy sent to protect flights in the Middle East might complain that it's just show. Perhaps someone like the AP could report that the threat has been thwarted and we can go back to worrying about climate change as the most urgent threat to "the homeland."
Except for one thing. Since last year, DOJ went positively nuclear on the AP, which exposed the kabuki last year. Without warning, DOJ obtained records of 20 AP phone lines, identifying the sources of up to 100 journalists, for at least a 2 week period. We've heard not one peep about DOJ prosecuting anyone in the UndieBomb 2.0 leak (especially not CIA Director John Brennan, who made the leak far worse). But DOJ did make sure sources are going to be far warier about speaking with the guys who undermined the White House kabuki last year.
So as you wonder about the seriousness of a plot that feels like a lot of the vague warnings the Bush White House used to release, remember how useful it was back when reporters were allowed to do their jobs.
A recently unsealed decision from Colleen Kollar-Kotelly just changed the interpretation of the Espionage Act for Washington DC to cover leaks that wouldn't even harm the US.
Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ruled that the prosecution in the pending case of former State Department contractor Stephen Kim need not show that the information he allegedly leaked could damage U.S. national security or benefit a foreign power, even potentially. Her opinion was a departure from a 30 year old ruling in the case of U.S. v. Morison, which held that the government must show that the leak was potentially damaging to the U.S. or beneficial to an adversary. (In that case, Samuel L. Morison was convicted of unauthorized disclosure of classified intelligence satellite photographs, which he provided to Jane's Defence Weekly. He was later pardoned by President Clinton.)
"The Court declines to adopt the Morison court's construction of information relating to the 'national defense' insofar as it requires the Government to show that disclosure of the information would be potentially damaging to the United States or useful to an enemy of the United States," Judge Kollar-Kotelly wrote in a May 30 opinion. The opinion was redacted and unsealed (in partially illegible form) last week.
The prosecution must still show that the defendant "reasonably believed" that the information "could be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of a foreign nation" and that the defendant "willfully" communicated it to an unauthorized person. But it would no longer be necessary for prosecutors to demonstrate that the information itself could potentially damage national security or benefit an adversary.
Imagine how this ruling could empower prosecutors in the AP UndieBomb 2.0 investigation, in which the AP's story reported only that the US had thwarted an UndieBomb plot. They didn't report it until after the White House said they had cleared up a sensitive issue relating to the plot (which in practice ended up being the drone death of Fahd al-Quso).
This would make it easier for the government to prosecute AP's sources for leaking information that even the government had suggested, to the AP, wouldn't harm US interests.
And of course, all that builds on top of the now routine treatment of leaks to the press as Espionage, something fairly unusual before the Obama Administration.
A lot of people are responding furiously with what should not be news: that Eric Holder approved the warrants in the investigation into Fox report James Rosen's story.
Attorney General Eric Holder signed off on a controversial search warrant that identified Fox News reporter James Rosen as a "possible co-conspirator" in violations of the Espionage Act and authorized seizure of his private emails, a law enforcement official told NBC News on Thursday.
Holder previously said he recused himself from the AP subpoena because he had been questioned as a witness in the underlying investigation into a leak about a foiled bomb plot in Yemen. His role in personally approving the Rosen search warrant had not been previously reported.
DOJ policy requires Attorney General sign-off on such warrants and subpoenas, Holder has no apparent reason to recuse in this case, so we should have all expected he signed off on them.
To be clear, I don't defend the warrant to get Rosen's emails; the claims he conspired in a leak are terribly dangerous. So I won't defend Holder for having approved the warrant in the least.
But people seem to be suggesting that because Holder approved the Rosen warrant, he could have approved the UndieBomb 2.0 subpoena, so must be dodging some issue by recusing.
Consider a few basic details. First, the UndieBomber 2.0 mole reportedly infiltrated AQAP up to a year in advance, which would put him in Yemen, at least, if not AQAP, before Anwar al-Awlaki was killed September 30, 2011. And UndieBomber 2.0 was eventually working with Fahd al-Quso, who had a role — perhaps a more dominant role — in some of the attacks used to justify Awlaki's killing, including UndieBomb 1.0 and the toner cartridge plot.
As I noted, for some reason DOJ did not implicate Fahd al-Quso in Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's sentencing memo 2 months before the UndieBomb 2.0 "plot" was "thwarted," even though he clearly had a role in the earlier UndieBomb plot. But to the extent that sentencing memo was about providing a public justification for the Awlaki killing (and it was billed as such when it was rolled out), then it would have gone through review if not have been developed in the Attorney General's office, as that's where everything else on transparency on the Awlaki killing went (and probably still goes, up to Wednesday's letter on the topic).
In other words, to the extent that an operation to get either Ibrahim al-Asiri or Quso would be tied up with the at that point recent killing of Awlaki, the AG's office would be involved (and all that assumes things went down generally as the government claims it does; the AG's office could be far far more involved, and therefore exposed by the leak, in a number of other scenarios).
Then there's the question of the security theater rolled out for the Osama bin Laden anniversary, the "scores" of Air Marshals sent to Europe to prevent a threat that had already been rolled up. While the implementation of such security would be directed primarily out of Department of Homeland Security, the decision to deploy it likely involved discussions of the President's entire national security team, including Eric Holder.
And all this makes sense. The only way the UndieBomb 2.0 leak could have anywhere near the gravity Eric Holder claims it does (even though the claimed reasons for its seriousness appear totally bogus) is if this kind of high level operation and deception were going on.
Which really ought to raise more questions about why the Administration (or Holder) panicked so much about the leak in the first place.
On February 10, 2012, the government went out of its way to hide Fahd al-Quso's ongoing involvement in terrorist attacks against the US. Three months later, on May 6, 2012 — the day before the AP published its story about CIA thwarting an UndieBomb attack — the government killed Quso in a drone strike.
DOJ's narrative of UndieBomb 1.0 hides Quso's role in it
On February 10, 2012, as part of his sentencing, DOJ submitted a narrative telling one version of how Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab attempted to bomb Northwest Flight 253 over Detroit. In it, the government tied Abdulmutallab (who, after all, had pled guilty to a conspiracy to commit terrorism) to three AQAP figures: It claimed Anwar al-Awlaki, among other things, gave Abdulmutallab his final instructions that the attack be directed at a US plane and the bomb be set off over US soil. It explained how AQAP bomb-maker Ibrahim al-Asiri constructed the bomb and personally trained Abdulmutallab on its use. And it noted that while Abdulmutallab was training with AQAP, he met Samir Khan who (the narrative helpfully noted in a footnote) would go on to publish Inspire.
The narrative DOJ submitted on February 10 did not mention Fahd al-Quso by name.
Watering trees with UndieBomber 1.0
That's odd, because Quso reportedly did play a role in Abdulmutallab's attack. According to a March 2011 AP story, Quso may have been the last person Abdulmutallab met with before he set off on his attack.
Before Abdulmutallab set off on his mission, he visited the home of al Qaeda manager Fahd al-Quso to discuss the plot and the workings of the bomb.
Al-Quso, 36, is one of the most senior al Qaeda leaders publicly linked to the Christmas plot. His association with al Qaeda stretches back more than a decade to his days in Afghanistan when, prosecutors said, bin Laden implored him to "eliminate the infidels from the Arabian Peninsula."
From there he rose through the ranks. He was assigned the job in Aden to videotape the 1998 suicide bombing of the USS Cole, which killed 17 sailors and injured 39 others, but fell asleep. Despite the lapse, he is now a mid-level manager in the organization. Al-Quso is from the same tribe as radical U.S.-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who had an operational role in the botched Christmas attack.
In December, al-Quso was designated a global terrorist by the State Department, a possible indication that his role in al Qaeda's Yemen franchise has grown more dangerous.
Al-Quso was indicted on 50 terrorism counts in New York for his role preparing for the Cole attack and served more than five years in prison in Yemen before he was released in 2007. On the FBI's list, al-Quso ranks behind only bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri among the most sought-after al Qaeda terrorists.
After meeting with al-Quso, Abdulmutallab left Yemen in December 2009 and made his way to Ghana, where he paid $2,831 in cash for a round-trip ticket from Nigeria to Amsterdam to Detroit and back. [my emphasis]
Indeed, Abdulmutallab's tie to Quso is one of the only aspects of Abdulmutallab's trip in Yemen that has been independently verified.
In his book, Dirty Wars, Jeremy Scahill notes,
A local tribal leader from Shabwah, Mullah Zabara, later told me he had seen the young Nigerian at the farm of Fahd al-Quso, the alleged USS Cole bombing conspirator. "He was watering trees," Zabara told me. "When I saw [Abdulmutallab], I asked Fahd, 'Who is he?'" Quso told Zabara the young man was from a different part of Yemen, which Zabara knew was a lie. "When I saw him on TV [after the attack], then Fahd told me the truth." [first bracket original, second bracket mine]
Later in the book, Scahill reports that Zabara was assassinated this January by unknown killers.
Is Fahd al-Quso Abu Tarak?
The details of Quso's ties to Abdulmutallab — particularly that the Nigerian was watering trees on Quso's farm — make me wonder whether Quso isn't the person Abdulmutallab called Abu Tarak in his initial confession on Christmas Day 2009.
In his opening argument in the abbreviated Abdulmutallab trial, AUSA Jonathan Tukel described what Abulmutallab initially confessed after he was captured. Along with all the things later attributed to Awlaki and Asiri, Tukel said Abdulmutallab described having daily talks with Abu Tarak about jihad.
He told the FBI that he and Abu-Tarak spoke daily about jihad and martyrdom and supported al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden.
In a narrative on Abdulmutallab's commitment to jihad also submitted for the sentencing based on his personal reviews of Abdulmutallab's interrogation reports, DOJ expert Dr. Simon Perry suggested that Abdulmutallab was living with Abu Tarak when in Yemen, though he says that was in Sanaa, not Shabwah.
While residing at Abu Tarak's residence in Sana, Yemen he was mainly confined to his residence and discouraged from any communication with the outside world (phone, email). During this period, UFAM spoke regularly with Abu Tarak and three other individuals who visited him daily, speaking with them about Jihad and martyrdom.
In any case, regardless of whether or not Quso is Abu Tarak, or whether Abu Tarak is an amalgam of AQAP figures, it seems clear that Quso played some role in Abdulmutallab's preparation.
And yet DOJ chose not to mention that this guy — who had been trying to attack the US since the October 12, 2000 USS Cole attack — was among the notable AQAP figures who prepared Abdulmutallab to attack the US.
Was DOJ hiding that they knew how to infiltrate AQAP?
Whatever Quso's role in UndieBomb 1.0, the implication of the timing is clear: he was central to the UndieBomb 2.0 plot. Indeed, it is almost certain that CIA asked AP to delay publishing their story to give time to kill Quso, who had just sent our mole off with another UndieBomb.
In other words, one plausible explanation for why DOJ did not confirm what other reports made clear is that it did not want to tip Quso off to what Abdulmutallab told them about him. That is, if they were already planning the op against him, they wouldn't want him to know they knew how Abdulmutallab had found him 2.5 years earlier.
That is just one possibility, of course.
But if that's the case — if DOJ obscured Quso's role in the government's most extensive accusations that Anwar al-Awlaki had an operational role in targeting the US — then are the claims about Awlaki true?
It has taken several days for the government — apparently, almost exclusively DOJ — to try to spin its secret seizure of AP call records. The new version of the government's ever-evolving story is that the reason the AP story was so damaging was because it prevented CIA from using the mole to locate Ibrahim al-Asiri, AQAP's bomb-maker.
Here's how the guy who headed DOJ's Office of Legal Policy until last year explained this on Friday.
About a year ago, someone within the government who had access to highly classified information about an intelligence operation in Yemen involving a double agent saw fit to talk about it with the Associated Press. When senior government officials learned that the Associated Press had this story and intended to publish it, those officials realized that the agent's cover had been blown. Anxious for his safety, the officials prevailed on the AP to delay publication so that first the agent's family and then the agent himself could be extracted to safety. The AP then published its story, which focused on thwarting a plot to use a new and improved underwear bomb to blow up an airplane bound for the United States.
What went completely without mention in the initial coverage was the fact that thwarting this plot was not the objective of the ongoing undercover operation. Its true objective was to gain enough intelligence to locate and neutralize the master bomb builder, Ibrahim Hassan al-Ashiri, who works with an Al-Qaeda affiliate, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). Penetrating AQAP is incredibly difficult. This double agent provided a rare opportunity to gain critical, life-saving information. Whoever disclosed the information obtained by the AP had not only put the agent's life and his family's life in danger. He also killed a golden opportunity to save untold more lives that now remain at risk due to al-Ashiri remaining at large.
Here's how three former high-ranking DOJ officials explained it in an op-ed today.
The United States and its allies were trying to locate a master bomb builder affiliated with Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, a group that was extremely difficult to penetrate. After considerable effort and danger, an agent was inserted inside the group. Although that agent succeeded in foiling one serious bombing plot against the United States, he was rendered ineffective once his existence was disclosed.
And here's how Walter Pincus reported it today.
Whoever provided the initial leak to the Associated Press in April 2012 not only broke the law but caused the abrupt end to a secret, joint U.S./Saudi/British operation in Yemen that offered valuable intelligence against al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
One goal was to get AQAP's operational head, Fahd Mohammed Ahmed al-Quso. That happened one day before the AP story appeared.
A second goal was to find and possibly kill AQAP bombmaker Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri, whose first underwear device almost killed Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, Saudi Arabia's anti-terrorism chief.
Hitting targets in the United States is one of AQAP's goals. In association with Saudi intelligence, the CIA inserted a Saudi who convinced AQAP that he wanted to be a suicide bomber. Eventually he was outfitted with Asiri's newest device, which he was to use on a U.S. aircraft. After the device was delivered to U.S. officials, someone or several people leaked the information to the AP. [my emphasis]
Now, Pincus' story is generally balanced. Unlike the other two, he admits that Fahd al-Quso got killed while the AP held their story and that, in killing Quso, the government accomplished at least one objective of the mole's mission and did so thanks to AP's willingness to cede to government requests about this story. He also admits that before the AP ever came to the government with the story, the mole's UndieBomb had already been delivered to the US.
That chronology is important. And it is one backed by the government's official timeline (not to mention the CNN report that said the mole had turned over the bomb around April 20 and the report that Robert Mueller traveled to Yemen for an unscheduled 45 minute meeting on April 24). The day after the AP story, Jay Carney said that Obama had been informed about the plot in "early April."
Q Do you expect that he'll address at all — I know we got statements yesterday, but the Yemeni al Qaeda plot, do you think he will address that at all in his remarks today?
MR. CARNEY: I don't expect him to address that issue in his remarks. I mean, I will say that he's certainly pleased with the success of our intelligence and counterterrorism officials in foiling the attempt by al Qaeda to use this explosive device. It is indicative of the kind of work that our intelligence and counterterrorism services are performing regularly to counter the threat posed by al Qaeda in general, and AQAP in particular.
So he was regularly — as you know, he was made aware of this development in early April and he was regularly briefed on it by John Brennan. [my emphasis]
The NSC's official statement on that day also said Obama had been informed of the plot in April.
So the government rolled up the plot in April — almost certainly by April 24 — and then the AP came to the CIA and White House with their story about a foiled plot on May 2.
It's that timing that undermines the claim that the government still hoped to use the mole to get at Ibrahim al-Asiri. Because to maintain that claim, you'd have to explain how an AQAP operative who had been entrusted with the latest version of Ibrahim al-Asiri's UndieBomb sometime in early April, had left (at least as far as Sanaa), had not apparently succeeded in his mission (which was, after all, meant to be a suicide bombing), could return to AQAP without the UndieBomb and infiltrate even further than he had the first time.
"Oh, hi, AQAP gatekeeper" — their story must imagine the mole saying as he returned to AQAP — "I've both failed in my mission and somehow lost the bomb you gave me, but based on that would you be willing to let me spend some quality time with even higher-ranking AQAP operatives?"
The government must believe AQAP has far worse counterintelligence than Asiri's longevity would seem to suggest. Alternately, they're just inventing stories right now to justify their seizure.
The same day that the White House released 94 pages of Benghazi emails, which not only show that most at CIA supported the talking points used by the Administration but also include annotations of the CIA roles involved that reveal far more about CIA's structure than any FOIA response I've ever seen, Tommy Vietor went on the record about UndieBomb 2.0 with both the WaPo and MSNBC. It appears he did so to reinforce the fear-mongering language Eric Holder used (though like Holder, Vietor doesn't explain why John Brennan got a promotion after contributing to such a damaging leak). He said this to WaPo.
Vietor said that it would be a mistake to dismiss the unauthorized disclosure because al-Qaeda failed to carry out its plot.
"We shouldn't pretend that this leak of an unbelievably sensitive dangerous piece of information is okay because nobody died," he said.
But the WaPo account also seems to serve (like the Benghazi email dump does) to place blame on CIA.
It answers a question I hinted at yesterday: whether the CIA and White House were on different pages on what to do with the AP story. Reportedly, after AP had given the CIA time to kill Fahd al-Quso (the WaPo doesn't mention that was the purpose of the delay), CIA's Mike Morell told the AP the security issue had been addressed, but asked for one more day. As AP considered that request, the White House overrode that discussion.
Michael J. Morell, the CIA's deputy director, gave AP reporters some additional background information to persuade them to hold off, Vietor said. The agency needed several days more to protect what it had in the works.
Then, in a meeting on Monday, May 7, CIA officials reported that the national security concerns were "no longer an issue," according to the individuals familiar with the discussion.
When the journalists rejected a plea to hold off longer, the CIA then offered a compromise. Would they wait a day if AP could have the story exclusively for an hour, with no government officials confirming it for that time?
The reporters left the meeting to discuss the idea with their editors. Within an hour, an administration official was on the line to AP's offices.
The White House had quashed the one-hour offer as impossible. AP could have the story exclusively for five minutes before the White House made its own announcement. AP then rejected the request to postpone publication any longer.
This must be the crux of the animosity here. CIA told AP the danger had passed (though according to some reports, our informant was still in Yemen). At that point, the AP should have and ultimately did feel safe to publish. But then the White House made this ridiculous request, effectively refusing to let AP tell this story before the White House had a shot at it.
Which is why this claim, from Tommy Vietor, is so absurd.
But former White House national security spokesman Tommy Vietor, recalling the discussion in the administration last year, said officials were simply realistic in their response to AP's story. They knew that if it were published, the White House would have to address it with an official, detailed statement.
"There was not some press conference planned to take credit for this," Vietor said in an interview. "There was certainly an understanding [that] we'd have to mitigate and triage this and offer context for other reporters."
Jeebus Pete! If your idea of "mitigating and triaging" AP's fairly complimentary story is to make it far, far worse by hinting about the infiltrator, you're doing it wrong!
Vietor, who presumably had a role in setting up the conference all at which Brennan tipped off Richard Clarke (though according to Brennan, he did not sit in on the call), insists to MSNBC that telling someone we had "inside control" of this plot does not constitute a gigantic clue that the entire plot was just a sting.
Tommy Vietor, then chief national security spokesman for the White House, disputed the idea that Brennan disclosed sensitive details in his background briefing and said it was "ridiculous" to equate Brennan's use of the phrase "inside control" with having an "informant."
It's a nonsense claim, of course. Someone fucked up the "mitigating and triaging" process, and that's what made this leak so dangerous, not AP's initial story. But, presumably because AP didn't let White House tell the official story before they reported their scoop (and did they plan on telling us all we had inside control on the op if they got to tell the story first?!?), the AP has, as far as we know, borne the brunt of the investigation into the leak.
For the moment let me reiterate two more details.
It appears that Vietor is blaming CIA for the way this went down. And guess what? The guy who blathered about "inside control" has now taken over the CIA.
Then there's this. Eric Holder noted yesterday that the investigation into David Petraeus for leaking classified information — understood to be limited to his mistress Paula Broadwell, mind you — is ongoing. That means the FBI interview he had on April 10 was not sufficient to answer concerns about his involvement in leaking classified information.
It's interesting this is coming down to a conflict between White House and CIA, isn't it?
It turns out Fahd al-Quso, whom the government alleged was Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula's external operations director when he was killed in a drone strike May 6 of last year, never lived to see the AP's UndieBomb 2.0 story, which presumably described a plot he masterminded. That's because he died during the time period AP was delaying publication at the government's request.
As part of its effort to show how ridiculous it is for the Administration to seize 20 phone lines of call records to investigate a story on which the AP ceded to White House requests, the AP released this timeline of Administration statements surrounding their UndieBomb 2.0 plot.
Most of the dates were previously known (and have appeared in my posts on the subject). But I believe this one–the date AP first went to the White House with the UndieBomb story–is new.
May 2, 2012: Federal government officials ask the AP to delay publishing a story about a foiled plot by al-Qaida's affiliate in Yemen to destroy a U.S.-bound airliner, which the AP had recently discovered. They cite national security concerns. The AP agrees to temporarily delay publishing until national security concerns are allayed.
Which makes the timeline from that period look like this:
April 18: Greg Miller first reports on debate over signature strikes
Around April 20: UndieBomb 2.0 device recovered
Around April 22: John Brennan takes over drone targeting from JSOC
April 22: Drone strike that–WSJ reports, "Intelligence analysts [worked] to identify those killed" after the fact, suggesting possible signature strike
April 24: Robert Mueller in Yemen for 45 minute meeting, presumably to pick up UndieBomb
April 25: WSJ reports that Obama approved use of signature strikes
April 30: John Brennan gives speech, purportedly bringing new transparency to drone program, without addressing signature strikes
May 2: Government asks AP to delay reporting the UndieBomb 2.0 story, citing national security
May 6: Fahd al-Quso killed
May 7: Government tells AP the national security concerns have been allayed; AP reports on UndieBomb 2.0
May 8: ABC reports UndieBomb 2.0 was Saudi-run infiltrator
May 15: Drone strike in Jaar kills a number of civilians
While it was fairly clear in any case (and reporting had linked the UndieBomb 2.0 plot with Quso's death), this timeline makes it crystal clear.
The delay was about killing Fahd al-Quso.
And yet, even after the AP waited 5 days to break the story, allowing the government to drone kill a human being in the interim, the Administration still launched a witch hunt against the AP for a story that became damaging only after John Brennan ran his blabby mouth.


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Ray Donovan Quotes
It felt good. It was liberating. I mean, didn't you ever kill anybody Ray? See? I can tell. I can tell. You saw that. You, you definitely have.Steve
Ray: How's this gonna work?
Cookie: Whatcha mean Ray?
Ray: How do I know for sure you're not gonna hurt my kid?
Cookie: You don't. [bang]
Ray: I didn't think so. [bullet to Cookie's forehead]
Ray: You gonna shoot me Cookie?
Cookie: I don't know Ray. I don't always wanna be lookin' over my shoulder.
Ray: Yeah, I know the feelin'.
They say it's a common thing. That you know you won't do it, but you think that you will. But you know you won't.Bunchy
Ezra: It's all gotten away from you, and I needed to make it right. I love you. Avi loves you.
Ray: It's over Ezra.
Jim: Just because I'm not gonna break the law, doesn't mean I can't protect you.
Abby: What you mean?
Jim: Cookie knows where you live, but he doesn't know where I live.
Take it easy. He's movin'.Mickey
Ray: You're a good man, Terry.
Terry: What the fuck do you know about bein' a good man, Raymond?
Abby's boyfriend just pulled over Cooke Brown and let him go.Avi
You buried a Catholic priest at a Jewish hospital?Ezra
You want to tell me why you paid $2 million to have Sully kill your father?Kate
Mickey: Terry, you're not a criminal. You don't have the stomach for it. Lend me five and I'll give you back ten.


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Hello! WP3.4.2 ATA3.7.9
Links I added to my posts are not showing up as links on my posts page "News", but the links are active when viewing individual posts. I deactivated all plugins and that did not solve my problem.
http://www.springfieldmavericks.com/mavs-reveal-new-2013-uniforms (please note link to video is active)
Posts page http://www.springfieldmavericks.com/news (please note link to video is just text)
Any ideas?


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WunderPhotos Upload
Uploaded by: polymorph
Tuesday January 1, 2013
Embudo, NM (Current Weather Conditions)
Caption: Now the clouds are illuminated by light pollution from below and the rising moon from above. See my wunderblog posted today for a guide to cheaper astrophotography for beginners.
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January 1, 2013 Photo Series
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Welcome to Marina Rejkuba's web site
I am an associate astronomer at the European Southern Observatory (ESO). I divide my work between the scientific research and management of the ESO's User Support Department (USD), which is in charge of providing support to observers who use ESO's Paranal Observatory facilities. USD also provides assistance to Science Operations Teams at the observatories, defines user requirements and oversees the development and implementation of observation tools, and is in charge of organizing Users' Committee meetings at ESO.
In 2008 I became the main USD responsible for the requirements and evolution of
the observation handling tools (OHS):
Phase 2 Preparation
Tool version 3 (P2PP3) used by the PIs or their Phase 2 delegates to prepare
their observations, Observation Tool version 3 (OT3) used by the observatory
staff to review and execute service mode observations,
and the observations execution reporting tool
Between 2012-2015 I was the line manager for the User Support Astronomers Group (USG) in USD and within this role I was responsible to optimize resources, distribute the day-to-day duties and supervise the daily support work of the USG members. I also supported service mode users of VIMOS, FLAMES, and VIRCAM instruments and was a member of the ESO Survey Team, which oversees the implementation, execution and deliverables from large Public Survey observing programmes at ESO.
My scientific interests are focused on the study of the resolved stellar content and globular cluster systems of nearby galaxies, with the aim to understand their formation and evolution. My favourite galaxy is Centaurus A, or rather the optical counterpart of this famous radio galaxy: NGC 5128. I am also actively involved in the Milky Way bulge project through the VVV survey and the FLAMES Large Programme.
In April 2013 I became a Junior Principal Investigator at the Excellence Cluster Universe at the Garching Research Campus. On the right you'll find the links to places I studied at, worked at, or visited for extended periods to collaborate with my colleagues, and on the top links to my research, curriculum vitae, and contact details.
A final standard disclaimer: the opinions expressed in this site
do not reflect in any way the opinions of ESO.


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As a pro bono project manager at NIST, he unlocked the secrets of teamwork
"Federal 100 winners - From A - D"
William "Curt" Barker said his biggest problem in grade school was starting projects and never finishing them. So he decided to drum that weakness out of himself. "Finishing what I start has become a passion," he said.
Call it ironic or appropriate, but the child who couldn't complete anything is now the man whom government and industry experts applaud for keeping on track a high-stakes process to create a new standard for secure federal credentials.
Barker oversaw federal efforts to produce the Federal Information Processing Standard 201 for Personal Identity Verification of Federal Employees and Contractors. FIPS 201 lays out the requirements for meeting Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12), which requires agencies to start issuing interoperable smart card identity credentials to federal employees and contractors by Oct. 27. He helped Bush administration officials and federal agencies implement the first phase of the PIV program.
Barker supervised the development and implementation of technical guidelines for biometric and smart card interfaces and cryptographic algorithms and key sizes. He also established guidelines and references for conformance testing at 10 labs.
In summer 2004, it was clear that the Bush administration would issue a presidential directive to require a standard for secure credentials within six months, Barker said. He started work before President Bush announced the directive. "If I'm pretty sure something is going to happen, I try to do my homework in advance," he said.
In June 2004, Barker created a "straw man" card, a basic concept of what the new cards could look like to jump-start discussions and reach a solution faster. He started working on the PIV standard in July 2004. Bush issued HSPD-12 a month later.
Creating a standard usually takes two years; Barker and his team had six months. "He did what must have been the fastest FIPS turnaround ever," said Neville Pattinson, director of technology and government affairs at Axalto, which sells smart cards.
Barker got approval from the Homeland Security, Defense, Justice and State departments and administration officials a week before the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Feb. 27 submission deadline. On the evening of Feb. 24, he and his wife delivered the final version of the standard to Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez.
The delivery was classic Barker: They drove in a snowstorm to the department in downtown Washington, D.C., so Gutierrez could sign it before he left town the next day for Florida.
Barker excels at handling a broad range of technical challenges involved in creating the PIV cards — biometrics, identity management, interoperability and more, Pattinson said. Barker knows how to coach government and industry to move them forward, he said. It was Barker's idea to pare down FIPS 201 to the essentials to meet the February deadline and address subsidiary issues in the Special Publication 800 series of documents, he said.
Timothy Grance, manager of NIST's Systems and Networks Security Group, said Barker's people skills are top-notch. "Perhaps his greatest gift is the ability to win the confidence, trust and respect of others in a topic with very high stakes and many contentious and spirited voices," he said.
Barker said it helps that he had done a lot of proposal work in industry, all under hard deadlines. His master's degree in liberal arts helped him express technical concepts in terms that operations and policy experts understand, he said.
Barker has helped the federal government move toward adopting more secure and adaptable credentials that all federal agencies recognize, said David Ferraiolo, a supervisory computer scientist at NIST. Cross-credentialing will revolutionize access control and government efficiency, he said. The PIV cards' biometric and cryptographic features should wean the government from using computer passwords, which are less secure, he said.
Above all, Barker's personal generosity made federal progress on PIV cards possible, Ferraiolo said. As a guest researcher, Barker worked pro bono for four years, until May 2005. NIST could not have complied with the unfunded mandate for HSPD-12 on schedule without Barker's willingness to work without a salary, he said.
Career highlights: Barker worked for the National Security Agency in the 1960s and 1970s and then worked in the private sector for 19 years. He joined a successful information technology start-up and took early retirement in 1997. He became a guest researcher at NIST in November 2001, working on cryptography, card technologies and computer security. He became a full-time employee in May 2005.
Education: Barker earned a bachelor's degree in English from University of Texas Pan-American and a master's degree in liberal arts from Johns Hopkins University.
Family: Barker has been married for 38 years and has two children. He met his wife, an encryption expert, when they worked at NSA.
Hobbies: Barker enjoys Latin dance, running and operating a longhorn cattle ranch, which he owns outside Austin, Texas.
Heroes: Barker respects his brother-in-law, a successful businessman who is a low-profile but generous philanthropist. He also admires Sam Houston, the 19th-century Texas governor who opposed Texas' secession in the Civil War. "It showed moral courage," Barker said. "To stand by one's principles in the face of almost universal condemnation shows a strength of character that you don't see very often."
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Steve Kelman contends that a recent report on agencies' prize challenges tells only half the success story.
OMB's Data Center Optimization Initiative gives agencies new metrics and goals for fiscal 2018.
NSA and the CIA have revamped themselves in the past year. FCW asked officials how well Fort Meade and Langley are collaborating in cyberspace in pursuit of their separate missions.
The latest version of the Defense Department-wide Enterprise Service Management Framework places more emphasis on managing IT risk.
Despite GSA's efforts to accelerate the FedRAMP approval process, the lack of agency reciprocity puts the program's central goals at risk.
Got some early-career colleagues who are doing great things in federal IT? Nominate them for FCW's 2016 Rising Star awards.
The agency software inventories required under the draft category management policy will be treasure maps that lead to efficient, effective, streamlined buying and unprecedented savings.
As experts warned of the "dire" threats posed by outdated federal technology, lawmakers grilled top feds, debated workforce issues and inched closer to backing a $3.1 billion fix-it fund.
The agency is making strides in developing and deploying border technologies but still has some weaknesses.
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With Instructables you can share what you make with the world, and tap into an ever-growing community of creative experts.
I have created a train themed cake for a childrens birthday party a while ago. After I was asked by several people how I made the train, I ...
To make this cake topper you need: - marzipan and food color (use a toothpick to add the color to the marzipan) - a small paintbrush and metallic ...
1. Form a cylinder and flatten it to get a flat block. 2. Form a smaller cylinder and a cube and apply it on the block. Smoth the ...
1+2 Form thin strings of black marzipan and apply the around the funnel and on the cylinder. 3. Form the door frame and the door out of black ...
1. Form small balls. 2.+3. Put them first on the ball tool and press them with the ball tool on the side of the locomotive. 4.+5. Form smaller ...
1. Shape a cone 2. Flatten it 3. Press small dents in it 4. Apply it on the locomotive
1. Form a cylinder out of black marzipan and flatten it to get a flat block. Put a bigger block out of blue marzipan on it. 2. Mold ...
Paint all the black parts except the door on the locomotive with gold food paint. Fill the wagons with little marzipan pellets to add more details.
The Best Swedish Princess Cakeby bryanbrews
How to make Sugar Paste Fondant Train Cake Toppersby HappyFoods
DIY birch-style wedding cakeby Mimikry
Making a wedding cakeby cluracon
Carrot Cake Designby cbayley
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British Rail Class 166
|This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
|British Rail Class 166
Networker Turbo Express
Great Western Railway unit 166208 at Didcot Parkway
Original Interior of 166208 at Reading station
|In service
|1992 - Present
|ABB York
|Family name
|1992 - 1993
|Number built
|21 trainsets
|3 cars per trainset
|Fleet numbers
|166201 - 166221
|Great Western Railway
|Car body construction
|Welded aluminium
|Maximum speed
|90 mph (145 km/h)
|Prime mover(s)
|One per car, Perkins 2006-TWH Diesel
|Power output
|350 hp (261 kW)
|Voith Hydraulic T211r
2 axles driven per car
|Safety system(s)
|Coupling system
|Track gauge
|1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
The British Rail Class 166 Turbo Express is a fleet of diesel multiple units (DMUs), originally specified by and built for British Rail, the then United Kingdom state owned railway operator. They were built by ABB at York Works between 1992 and 1993.[2] The trains were designed as a faster, air conditioned variant of the Class 165 Turbo, intended for longer distance services, and, like the 165s, belong to the Networker family of trains. They were originally known as Networker Turbos to distinguish them from the electrically propelled members of that family.
The class is still in service, and is extensively operated by Great Western Railway on its services out of London Paddington station. The trains, along with that operator's Class 165 trains, are often known as Thames Turbos.
These units are a modification of the Class 165 design. They have a top speed of 90 mph (145 km/h) (suitable for mainline use), are carpeted throughout and have air-conditioning. Externally, the class 166 can be distinguished from a Class 165 by opening hoppers on every other window. Until late 2013 the presence of first class at each end was another distinguishing feature.
Other differences over a 165 are as follows:
- Air conditioning
- Two toilets (a 165 only has one toilet per unit)
- Tables in first class and in one third of the middle carriage
- Dedicated cycle/luggage storage in the middle carriage
- Different interior panelling between the door and seating areas
Twenty-one 3-car units were built, numbered 166201-221. Each unit was formed of two outer driving motors, and an intermediate motor. The technical description of the formation is DMCO+MSO+DMSL. Individual carriages are numbered as follows:
- 58122-58142 - DMSL changed from DMCO in 2013[3]
One driving vehicle of 166209 had serious fire damage, as a result of the Betchworth train fire.[4] During this period, the centre coach 58609 intercepted the middle of 165128 and the unaffected driving vehicle was out of service in Reading Train Care Depot. However, as of 21st May 2016, it was put back in service following repairs for 6 months long.
The units were built to replace elderly Class 117, Class 119 and Class 121 DMUs, and locomotive-hauled trains on services from London Paddington along the Great Western Main Line.
Six cars were added to the original order in 1991 after Network SouthEast acquired some of the Cotswold Line services from Regional Railways to allow Class 158 units to be converted to Class 159s for the West of England services.[5][6]
Class 166 units were some of the first trains in Britain to be designed for Driver Only Operation, in cases where a Guard is required they must carry out their door operation duties via a bell system to signal the Drivers to close doors and start the train. This requires the Guard to return to a vacant cab at each station to carry out these duties, examples of this Great Western Railway services on the Cotswold Line.
When built, these units were operated by the Thames Line and North Downs Line subdivisions of Network SouthEast and therefore carried NSE blue, red and white livery with Turbo Express branding between the two first class windows of the DMCL carriages.
Their main destinations included fast-trains to Reading, Newbury and Oxford, with some services continuing beyond Oxford to Banbury and Stratford-upon-Avon, or along the Cotswold Line to Evesham, Worcester, Great Malvern and Hereford. Units are also used on the Reading to Gatwick Airport services along the North Downs Line. Many services operated by the 166 were branded as Turbo Express in the timetables.
A rail user's group has suggested that Class 165 Turbo and the express variant, Class 166 Turbo Express will work services on the Cardiff Central to Portsmouth Harbour route after the Thames line cascade, subject to line clearance.[7] However, a Network Rail document released in 2011 cast doubts on whether this would actually happen after revealing the gauge between Cardiff and Portsmouth is currently not suitable for Class 166s.[8]
Following privatisation, the units passed to the Thames Trains franchise, who introduced a new blue, white and green livery. There were two variants of this livery; the Class 166 units had the 'express' variant.
In April 2004, operation of the Thames Trains franchise passed to the First Great Western Link, and subsequently to First Great Western. The livery remained the same initially, but FGW Link branding was applied over the obsolete Thames Trains logo.
In 2012, First Great Western took delivery of five Class 180 Adelante units for Cotswold Line services, and three-car Class 150 Sprinter units for Reading to Basingstoke Line services, allowing Class 165 and 166 units to be used to be used entirely for Thames Valley services.[9]
London and Thames Valley Refresh[edit]
Towards the end of January 2010, First Great Western announced an £8,000,000 refresh programme to their fleet of Class 166 Turbo DMU trains.[10] The carpets & seats were retrimmed, interiors repainted, Passenger Information Displays replaced with a GPS based system and toilets upgraded. The refresh work was carried out at Reading Depot. All 151 vehicles have now been refurbished.
2014/15 Refresh[edit]
Since late 2014, First Great Western have started another set of refreshes to the Class 166 fleet. They are progressively being fitted with LED head/tail lights, a new, dark green GWR livery, new toilets which are more accessible than the old toilets, new door buttons which are significantly easier to push than the original buttons, and new door buzzers. All units have now received the refresh. Unit 166204 was named in honour of Twyford Station master Norman Topsom MBE who retired in November 2015, 166205 received a GWR interior and 166201-203, 166207, 166209, 166211, 166215 and 166221 were painted in an all over blue livery.
The changes made during the 2010 refresh remain in place, however the units will all be receiving new 2+2 seating, for use on longer distance services such as Bristol to Weymouth once the fleet are cascaded to the Bristol area.
Fleet details[edit]
|No. Built
|Year Built
|Cars per Set
|Unit nos.
|Class 166
|Great Western Railway
|166201 - 166221
|166209 is currently out of use as a result of the Betchworth train fire
Liveries and interiors[edit]
A 166 in Network SouthEast livery at Oxford.
166202 in Thames Trains livery with First Great Western Link branding.
166205 at Pershore in First Great Western "Dynamic Lines" livery.
- ^ "Mechanical And Electrical Coupling Index". Rail Safety and Standards Board. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
- ^ "First Great Western Info".[dead link]
- ^ "Passengers to benefit from additional carriages" (Press release). First Great Western. 23 February 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
- ^ [1]
- ^ "Turbo-trains". Hansard. 192: 278W. 6 June 1991. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
- ^ "Class 159". Southern E-Group. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
- ^ "London to the Cotswolds - General Information". First Great Western Passengers' Forum. 6 February 2008. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
- ^ Network RUS: Passenger Rolling Stock - Network Rail. September 2011.
- ^ "Return of Adelantes to First Great Western confirmed". Railnews.co.uk. 2011-11-23. Retrieved 2011-11-23.
- ^ "Train operator gives Thames Valley Trains an £8million makeover" (Press release). First Great Western. 25 January 2010. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to British Rail Class 166.


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A draw on Sunday evening at home to Sevilla sees Valladolid sitting 12th in the table on 40 points, 10 clear of the dropzone.
"It is a small point more, we are closer to our goal. We cannot be sure of much, but the feelings are good and I am happy with the team's work, the delivery, fight…" reflected Djukic post-match.
"The second half was more open, we quickly conceded during it for a very controversial move that was really a handball, but it comes from a bounce and was unintentional. We cannot influence that.
"We had more clarity, more opportunities, more shots, we were playing against Sevilla, a team made for the Champions League and we fought face to face, playing one on one.
"Can we get to Europe? We will guarantee survival with 45 points, then we will see if we are capable of something more.
"The goal is survival. We will go forward humbly, quietly and we will not do so by looking for Europe, because we are yet to achieve survival."
Read the original article on Football Espana - The ultimate website for English-speaking fans of Spanish football
- Sports & Recreation
- Soccer


text:
Hotels near Menga Cave
Search hotels near Menga Cave in Antequera
Trending now in Antequera
Hotels within 0.5 miles of Menga Cave
- Most bookedHotel Restaurante La Yedra
25 people looked at this hotel in the last hour
Hotels within 1 mile of Menga Cave
62 people looked at this hotel in the last hour
Most recent review
"The hotel is well placed for the town but free parking is very limited near the hotel. There is ,however, a large area on the edge of town - less than 10 minutes walk away - that is free and can be left overnight. The hotel was great value for money and the buffet breakfast was equally great valu..."
A Traveller, Sep 2014, GB
44 people looked at this hotel in the last hour
Most recent review
"But just an easy 10 minute walk when you want to go into town"
A Traveller, Aug 2016, GB
43 people looked at this hotel in the last hour
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"had an enjoyable visit, cant fault the staff in anyway. lovely comfy bed, room cleaned every day"
A Traveller, May 2016, GB
42 people looked at this hotel in the last hour
Most recent review
"The Hotel Castilla is in the centre of town, where it is quite noisy. There is no parking even on the street. A parking block is ten minutes walk away but there are charges. Reasonable food is available in the hotel. A knowledge of Spanish is useful to aid the friendly staff."
A Traveller, Sep 2014, GB
31 people looked at this hotel in the last hour
Most recent review
"Great holiday. Friendly people. Not too touristy. Reasonable prices. Very good centre to explore classical Spain."
A Traveller, May 2016, GB
26 people looked at this hotel in the last hour
Most recent review
"Our family of four stayed for one night and the location - 5 mins from both train and bus stations - was perfect. If coming from Malaga, get the bus from.Stop 33 at main bus station, next door to Malaga MZ train station. Fare around 8 Euros and pay the driver. Only a few buses each day - inc one..."
A Traveller, Aug 2014, GB
24 people looked at this hotel in the last hour
Most recent review
"Really nice hotel with a very authentic feel, nice bar and restaraunt. In a convenient location, easy to find. Really great value for money"
A Traveller, Feb 2016, GB
Hotels within 2 miles of Menga Cave
32 people looked at this hotel in the last hour
Most recent review
"Room was comfortable, only problem no tea/coffe making facilities at all, i like my cuppa in the morning, went out & bought a kettle & mugs etc, considering its four stars, bit of a let down, also building & grounds could do with a lick of paint & tidy up, didn't eat at hotel so can't comment on ..."
A Traveller, Apr 2015, GB
28 people looked at this hotel in the last hour
Map of hotels near Menga Cave
Hotels in Antequera near Menga Cave
Are you looking for a cheap Menga Cave hotel, a 5 star Menga Cave hotel or a family friendly Menga Cave hotel? You just landed in the best site to find the best deals and offers on the most amazing accommodations for your stay.
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text:
Home › Call International › SMART IDD Services › Call Services
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5 IDD mins. for calls to the Middle East.
P100 reloadable IDD card with lowest IDD rate of P2.50/min.
Regular international call rates are $0.40/min. Regular international SMS rates are P15/text.
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