August 5, 2004

Group's ad says Kerry lied USA Today - One of the harshest ads of the presidential campaign goes on TV in three states Thursday. Members of the group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth accuse Democratic candidate Sen. John Kerry of lying about his Vietnam War record. The ad, called "any questions" is the toughest political ad since an anti-Bush spot called "Fire Rumsfeld" (showing a hooded Statue of Liberty to remind voters of how U.S. soldiers had abused prisoners in Iraq) was aired by the liberal group MoveOn.org in late May 12:09:44 PM

UK's al-Qaeda leader arrested The Australian, Australia - POLICE are holding a senior al-Qaeda operative in Britain who was said to be in the final stages of planning a terrorist attack on London's main Heathrow airport, The Times newspaper reported today. In a front-page report, it said the man was arrested after a tip-off from Pakistani intelligence, which claimed that he was getting orders direct from Osama bin Laden as head of al-Qaeda operations in Britain. It also quoted Pakistani officials as saying that details about Heathrow were found in the computer of an al-Qaeda member arrested last month in Pakistan whose job it was to send coded messages to al-Qaeda agents worldwide. 9:36:32 AM

Albany Mosque Raided In Terror Plot Sting New York’s WCBS News 88 reports that last night federal agents raid mosque in Albany. The radio stations’s broadcast stated the raid involved a sting operation concerning the purchase of shoulder fired missiles. The written reports don’t mention that but News 88 said their reporter had exclusive information. The men, Yassim Muhhidin Aref, 34 yr, Imam of the Majid Al Salam mosque; and Mohammed Mosharref Hoosain, 49, founder of the mosque, are suspected of ties to the terrorist group Ansar al-Islam, CBS News National Security Correspondent David Martin reports. Ansar al Islam has received funds directly from al Qaeda.  Ansar al Islam, also received money and arms from the former Iraqi regime.  In fact a high ranking officer, a man known as Abu Wael, was also an officer in the Iraqi intelligence Service. 8:21:21 AM

Apple settles with patent holder on iTunes ZDNet.com - Apple Computer has become the latest in a line of companies licensing patents from the relatively obscure E-Data, a company that claims to hold property rights on the process of selling music online. E-Data said Wednesday that it had reached a European agreement with Apple that gave the company worldwide rights for its iTunes Music Store. It has now launched a new round of patent infringement suits against 14 companies including Amazon.com and The New York Times. Previously, E-Data sued and settled with Microsoft, as well as a handful of other companies, largely under European patent rules. 8:14:41 AM

US states threaten legal action against file sharing networks PC Pro - Over forty US states are to write to the major P2P services expressing their concern over the kind of material being shared, the Washington Post reports. The states warn that the sites may face class actions legal suits. 8:11:41 AM

Microsoft to release Windows XP Service Pack 2 "within days" Canada.com - The goal is to plug holes that have led to massive security problems for computer users everywhere. The company is expected to release the Windows XP Service Pack 2, in the coming days. 8:10:18 AM