It’s unclear what Panasenko was doing with the bombs on the train and at his home but I do know that there hasn’t been any discussion of Mykyta Panasenko’s religion or non-stop media attention behind his motivations and plans.

Hmmmm, I wonder why that is?

Jersey City man charged with having explosives on train 8 days before Marathon bombings: cop

(NJ.com)

More than a week before three people were killed and more than 260 people were injured in the Boston Marathon bombings, a Jersey City man carried two homemade explosives on an NJ Transit train, authorities say.

Police also found explosive devices in the Newport Parkway home of Mykyta Panasenko, 27, Jersey City police said today. According to a criminal complaint, Panasenko is charged with having “two destructive devices, specifically improvised explosive devices (IEDs) constructed from a cylinder containing Pyrodex (black powder)” on April 5, the criminal complaint says.

He is also charged with recklessly creating widespread risk of injury or damage to a building which normally contains 25 or more persons by constructing the explosive devices, according to the charges filed by the FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Force and the Port Authority Police Department.

The FBI did not return calls for more details and no one answered the door at Panasenko’s home this afternoon.

Although the arrest was made more than a week ago, it was not reported by authorities. The Jersey Journal learned about the incidents when Panasenko appeared in Central Judicial Processing court to hear the charges Wednesday.

Authorities also charged Panasenko with having two improvised explosive devises at 4 p.m. on April 7 aboard an NJ Transit train leaving Hoboken and bound for Suffern, N.Y., the complaint says.

Earlier this month the Jersey City Police Department’s Bomb Squad responded to the home of Panasenko after getting information from the New York Police Department and the FBI, Jersey City Police Deputy Chief Peter Nalbach said this afternoon.

Inside the residence police found “materials that may have been used to make an explosive device,” Nalbach said, adding that the information came from a tip provided by someone who knows Panasenko.

The complaint charging Panasenko with having explosive devices at his home was signed on April 15, the day of the Boston Marathon bombings, and the complaint charging him with having explosive devices on the train was signed on April 16.

The Neoconservative Zionist website Harry’s Place whose commenters we’ve engaged in the past is taken to task by Bob Pitt of Islamophobia-Watch for hypocrisy, double standards and Islamophobia.

Sarah Brown, a regular commenter on articles here is also criticized. (h/t: Frank P.)

Harry’s Place contributor says rape isn’t that bad

by Bob Pitt

Last year we ran a piece on former English Defence League activist Andy Hughes, proprietor of the Islamic Far-Right in Britain blog, whose articles denouncing the Islamist threat to western civilisation are regularly crossposted at the notorious Islamophobic blog Harry’s Place.

We pointed out that, in addition to declaring his admiration for convicted thug Joel Titus, the ex-leader of the EDL’s youth section, Hughes had made antisemitic comments on the Expose Facebook page under the pseudonym of Arry Bo. Expressing his dislike of “Yids” who “think they are superior beings and the rest of us are scum”, Hughes wrote that this explained “why Jews have been kicked out of so many countries” .

Given HP’s readiness to denounce opponents of the state of Israel as antisemites, you might have thought they would be quick to dissociate themselves from Hughes and his vile remarks. But no. Sarah Annes Brown, who presents herself as the voice of reason at Harry’s Place (competition isn’t exactly fierce), happily accepted Hughes’ laughable explanation that in posting these antisemitic comments he was simply trying to wind people up. She attributed this to the fact that Hughes is “a bit – skittish”!

Earlier today Hughes joined a discussion at Expose, posting comments under one of his other aliases, Arry Ajalami. Although he has in the past insisted that he has broken with the EDL and rejects its current methods and ideology (which is why HP say they have no problem with publishing his articles), this didn’t prevent Hughes from posting a number of comments that show he still identifies closely with this gang of racists and fascists.

Even more disgusting, however, was Hughes’ reaction to the posting of a screenshot from the EDL LGBT Division’s Facebook page, in which one EDL supporter advocated a sexual assault on Expose admin Darcy Jones. A denunciation of “these muslim dogs and the liberal garbage who protect them”, was followed by: “Let them rape Darcy. She likes these dogs so much.”

Hughes’ response was: “Well my cousin’s mate was raped and she said it wasn’t THAT bad. She didn’t like it but said it wasn’t as bad as when she got beaten up by a gang of Muslims.” Quite rightly, the comment was almost immediately removed, but not before Expose had taken a screenshot which can be viewed here. You’ll notice, by the way, that Hughes had adopted the National Front logo as his profile picture.

During the past week Harry’s Place has been making hay over the Socialist Workers Party’s failure to deal properly with an accusation of rape against one of its leading figures. Before that, HP attacked George Galloway over his remarks trivialising the rape charges against Julian Assange. So you might think that, in all consistency, they would have to sever links with Hughes over his own reprehensible views on sexual violence and cease crossposting articles from his Islamic Far-Right in Britain blog.

But, again, this would almost certainly be a mistaken assumption. If you’re prepared to assist in the witch-hunting of Muslim organisations, then you can announce your admiration for a violent hooligan, express atrocious antisemitic views, declare your support for a street movement of anti-Muslim thugs, claim that being raped isn’t such a bad experience after all, and you’ll probably get a free pass from Harry’s Place. They’ll put it all down to your skittish personality.

Does this mean Christianity is an inherently misogynistic religion? This sounds similar to many Conservative institutions in the USA such as Liberty University, the Moody Bible Institute, etc. (h/t: SarahB)

What if they were Muslim?

Bristol Uni Christian Union maintains ban on women

by Sunny Hundal (Liberal Conspiracy)

Bristol University’s Christian Union is under investigation after it turns out it is not going to allow women speakers at its weekly meetings.

The controversy erupted after the Bristol Tab website revealed yesterday that ‘women will be seen but not heard’.

However the move is being reported as a new ban when it’s not.

It turns out the BUCU had always banned women speakers at meetings. But when there was a move to allow women to speak in certain settings, controversy erupted and some members resigned.

The Christian Union then sent out an email clarifying that women can speak with their husbands but unmarried women must remain silent.

The Bristol Tab reports:

Having spent ‘a lot of time exploring this issue, seeking God’s wisdom on it and discussing it together’ the CU executive committee decided that it is not appropriate for women to teach alone at weekly meetings, or be the main speaker at the CU weekend away.

Women are also banned from speaking alone at the group’s mission weeks.

According to the Guardian, the students union is now looking into whether discrimination rules have been broken.

The Bristol University Feminist Society said in a statement:

The CU’s position seems to be implying that they have reached a compromise on the issue, however it is still hugely discriminatory, deeply offensive and sexist to women. They are suggesting that women have more worth as speakers if speaking with their husband while assuming that all women are interested in marriage, or men for that matter.

Surely the Christian Union should have investigated over this years ago?

It also seems that Bristol CU deactivated their Twitter and Facebook accounts last night.

Not much news coverage about this, but you can bet if the suspect’s last name was Ahmed or Mahmoud instead of “Stewart” he would immediately be labeled a “terrorist.”

What if he were Muslim? (h/t: CriticalDragon)

Suspect Throws Bombs, Leads Police on 40-Mile Chase

A suspect with an anti-police agenda and wanted for attempted murder in Virginia is under arrest in Great Falls, Mont., after leading police Thursday on a wild 40-mile chase during which he tossed seven ignited pipe bombs into the path of pursuing officers.

Laurence Alan Stewart II, 25, is believed to have fled Stafford County, Va., on Tuesday during the height of Hurricane Sandy after separate pipe bombs exploded at the homes of a sheriff’s deputy, a detective and Stewart’s ex-girlfriend. No one was injured.

On Thursday, 1,800 miles away from where the saga began, a Montana state trooper stopped a red Hyundai for speeding on U.S. Highway 87 southeast of Great Falls. As the trooper returned to his vehicle to check the driver’s license, the fugitive’s car sped off with Montana license plates stolen the night before from a Wal-Mart parking lot.

The driver of the vehicle, later identified as Stewart, led state troopers and sheriff’s deputies from two counties on a 40-mile chase, Bradley Beyersdorf, a spokesman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, told Hatewatch today. Local schools were locked down as a squad of police cars chased the fugitive vehicle while it sped across the Montana plains.

“He tossed out approximately seven devices (pipe bombs) during this high-speed chase with police,” Beyersdorf said.

After spike strips failed to stop the vehicle, a deputy finally forced Stewart’s vehicle into a ditch.

“At that point, he gets out and runs with a handgun,” Beyersdorf said. Stewart eventually surrendered without gunfire as a Department of Homeland Security helicopter and several police officers arrived on scene.

After Stewart was arrested, a bomb squad found several more pipe bombs in his car. Beyersdorf declined to provide a more precise description of the munitions or say whether other bomb-building components were found in the vehicle.

A 40-mile stretch of the highway was closed until 4 a.m. Friday as police and evidence technicians picked up remains of the pipe bombs, some of which exploded. No one was hurt by the explosions.

“From what we know at this point, he was angry at law enforcement in Virginia for investigating him,” the ATF spokesman said. “There is no indication that he had any extremist agenda outside of his propensity for violence toward law enforcement officers.”

It’s not known why Stewart was fleeing to Montana, a state that is regarded as a haven for assorted anti-government extremists and white supremacists.

Investigators at this point also don’t know when or where the suspect built his arsenal of pipe bombs, or where he obtained plans to build them, Beyersdorf said.

Stewart is charged in Stafford County, Va., with two counts of attempted murder of law enforcement officers and two counts of arson of an occupied dwelling and one count of use of a weapon for a terrorist act. Additionally, he is charged in Fredricksburg, Va., with one count of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, firing a missile into an occupied dwelling and arson of an occupied dwelling.

He is being held in the Cascade County jail in Montana, where additional state or federal charges are expected to be filed.

Stewart was arrested on a domestic assault charge on June 26 in Stafford County, Va., and failed to show up for a court hearing on that case, the Fredricksburg News reported in today’s editions.

Prior to the bombings, Stewart set up a website and claimed he has been unfairly treated in Stafford, the newspaper reported. “He had particularly harsh words for the former girlfriend and several of the officers involved in the misdemeanor cases against him,” the newspaper account said.

“With all of the lies and dirty dealings I feel like I do not have a chance for justice,” he wrote.

“At this point, I might as well commit some crimes,’’ Stewart wrote, according to the Fredricksburg newspaper. “If I am to be blamed for wrongdoing I should at least have some fun and do whatever I want without regard. Tell a man he is something enough times and eventually even he will start to believe it.”

Double standards when it comes to extradition in the UK. This is highly problematic from a legal and human rights standpoint. (h/t: Sarah Brown)

Gary McKinnon Extradition Block Sees Government Accused Of ‘Double Standards’ Over Human Rights

(Huffington Post)

The Home Office has been accused of double standards after blocking the extradition of Gary McKinnon, who has Asperger’s, just two weeks after allowing the extradition of another British citizen with the same condition.

On Tuesday Home Secretary Theresa May ruled that there was such a high risk of Mr McKinnon ending his life that “a decision to extradite would be incompatible with his human rights”.

But Green MP Caroline Lucas questioned why “other British citizens including Babar Ahmad and Talha Ahsan – detained in the UK without charge or trial for eight and six years respectively – were not extended the same fair treatment” as Gary McKinnon.

“That neither was tried on British soil before being extradited to the US earlier this month, despite the fact that any alleged offences are said to have been committed here, is completely unacceptable,” she said.

Ahmad and Ahsan were extradited to America two weeks ago to face terror charges, after spending a combined 14 years detained without trial in the British justice system.

They are accused of running a jihadist website and raising funds for terrorism.

Ahsan’s brother, London-based art curator Hamja Ahsan, told The Huffington Post UK it seemed “starkly unfair” his brother was now in solitary confinement in a correction facility where as Gary McKinnon is still in the UK.

“My Dad and Gary McKinnon’s Mum spoke on the same platform outside Downing Street and compassion should be extended to our family too,” he said.

“I’m happy for Gary’s family but it’s not fair. It’s very starkly unfair. Both Talha and Gary have Asperger’s and are assessed suicide risks. It seems starkly unfair that both one should be extradited and is not,” he said.

@OwenJones84 
Owen Jones

It’s an injustice if Gary McKinnon is extradited to the US. But the same goes for the all-too-ignored Talha Ahsan toohttp://t.co/RPppn42V

October 16, 2012 11:24 am via web Reply Retweet Favorite

“The Daily Mail spearheads a campaign against British citizens being extradited and it refers to Talha Ahsan and Babar Ahmad as unwanted guests. No government of the day wants to upset the Daily Mail.”

In a statement Babar Ahmad’s family said they welcomed Theresa May halting computer hacker Gary McKinnon’s extradition but questioned whether “some British citizens are more equal than others.”

“Questions do need to be asked as to why within the space of two weeks, a British citizen with Aspergers accused of computer related activity is not extradited, while two other British citizens, one with Aspergers, engaged in computer related activity are extradited. A clear demonstration of double standards,” they said.

“That Theresa May felt compelled to postpone both the McKinnon decision on several occasions and the introduction of the forum bar (which would have prevented Babar’s extradition) demonstrates her willingness to make vulnerable individuals like Gary suffer in her determination to extradite others.

“Many of our supporters are angry at what appears to be blatant old-fashioned racism under which all British citizens are equal but some are more equal than others.”

Friends Extradited Coordinator Melanie Reid told The Huffington Post UK there was a “deep discomfort” about aspects of the Home Secretary’s decision.

“This decision was not about defendants having Asperger’s or not – Gary is clearly very ill. The decision that affects other cases is that of the introduction of a forum test.

@RousseauKhan 
RK

What’s different between Gary Mckinnon & Babar Ahmed? Tories May justifying by using Human Rights? What about Human Rights of Muslims?

October 16, 2012 12:35 pm via Twitter for iPhone Reply Retweet Favorite

“Of course there’s a deep discomfort that this announcement of a forum test comes as soon as Babar Ahmad and Talha Ahsan have been extradited, but I hope their legacy is such that no other British citizens accused of conduct that took place on British soil, is extradited.

“I hope Babar and Talha’s families take some crumb of comfort in that their loss is other British citizens gain. Their efforts will never be forgotten.”

Karl Watkin MBE, an international businessman who has spent the last 12 years campaigning against the UK’s extradition treaty with the States, said that Theresa May had made “a cynical political decision” despite the “great result.”

“The Home Secretary was desperate for a hook to hang her u-turn on and thankfully found one.

“Sadly this will not benefit others including Richard O’Dwyer. The UK needs to stand up to the extraterritorial reach of the US in particular on cyber crime which should be prosecuted where it physically took place not on the tenuous location of servers,” he told The Huffington Post UK by email.

Read the rest…

A very interesting article that discusses the under the radar cases of blasphemy that have gone unnoticed in Christian, European Greece, and the common cause that violent Neo-Nazis and reactionary religious groups are making.

I’m positive we’ll be hearing outrage from Spencer and Geller about the attack on freedom of speech (h/t: Daniel b.).

A delicate blasphemy case in Greece

by Matthaios Tsimitakis (AlJazeeraEnglish)

When Benghazi, Islamabad and capitals across the Muslim world were shaken by protests against an anti-Islam film last month, a case of blasphemy in a Christian European country went largely unnoticed.

In crisis-stricken Greece, a 27-year-old man from the island of Evia was recently arrested on charges of malicious blasphemy and insult of religious beliefs for allegedly hosting a satirical page on Facebook mocking a monk whom some believe to be a saint. Both charges are misdemeanors that could, combined, result in up to two years in prison.

Elder Paisios was a monk who lived an ascetic life on Mount Athos, a peninsula in northern Greece that has hosted monasteries and Orthodox Christian monks for more than 1,000 years. Elder Paisios became famous among the faithful for his gentleness, austere lifestyle, and for having visions and the gift of healing. He passed away in 1994 and since then, some have considered him to be a saint – although the Greek Orthodox Church hasn’t yet made such a decision.

Almost 20 years after his death, the Greek right-wing press often invokes Elder Paisios’ name to advance their cause. These publications frequently prophesise wars and confrontations between religions and ethnicities, such as between Muslim Turkey and Christian Greece.

In order to mock this type of rhetoric, the 27-year-old – whose name has not been made public – created a satirical Facebook page called “Elder Pastitsio the Pastafarian”, featuring a funny picture made with Photoshop, criticising this speech and its consequences. Pastitsio is a traditional Greek dish made out of baked pasta with ground beef and bechamel sauce.

The 27-year-old also supposedly wrote and spread a fictional story about a miracle Elder Paisios performed, in which a comatose young man was healed when his mother put dirt from the monk’s grave under his pillow. The story was published on several right-wing blogs as well as in a far-right newspaper.

Golden Dawn’s involvement

The rest of the story sounds ridiculous, but is revealing about the consequences of the financial and political crisis that has hit Greece. The neo-Nazi group Golden Dawn, whose MPs enjoy parliamentary immunity – despite having been repeatedly accused of involvement in crime – brought the issue to the Greek parliament. MP Christos Pappas condemned the Facebook page and asked the government whether it would tolerate such blasphemous expressions online, and also criticised other online media such as the website Athens Indymedia. Two days later, the Greek police arrested the creator of the page and confiscated his laptop on a controversial legal basis, after a district attorney asked Facebook to hand over to the Greek police the man’s personal data. The district attorney claimed the Facebook page could threaten lives by leading to a revolt of devoutly religious Greeks.

Greek social media users were shocked, and the hashtag #freegeronpastitsios became a global trend on Twitter for almost a day. Ten more Facebook pages satirising Elder Paisios were created shortly thereafter, and have been pretty successful.

Unfortunately, Greeks who are proud they live in a secular democracy protecting the freedom of speech discovered that not only is secularism limited in the country, but also learned that last March, during the governance of a three-party coalition lead by prime minister and former banker Lucas Papademos and the troika, the law against blasphemy was strengthened, widening possible prison sentences to six months. The irony in this case is that the very same day that the author of Elder Pastitsios was arrested, the Greek police brutally cracked down on some Muslim protestors’ attempt to demonstrate outside the American embassy in Athens.

Online speech in Greece is falsely believed to be free and unregulated. Speech on the internet is regulated by various authorities – beginning with the social networks themselves and extending to undemocratic power structures. Social and political rights activists know that they can be targeted, arrested and prosecuted.

Double standards

But neither Facebook nor the Greek justice system has ever attempted to arrest paramilitaries who promote their illegal actions online. Fascists, racists and neo-Nazis who clearly promote hate speech have nothing to fear.

Greek internet users and the public now know well that it might not be democratic consensus but parastate organisations that regulate certain rights in this country. The Greek police announced that it operated under the command of hundreds of claims it received from faithful citizens against the page but the concurrency of the arrest with Golden Dawn’s actions only adds to the feeling.

Golden Dawn may be a parliamentary force today, but it has been accused of operating as a parastate organisation. On many occasions, the Guardian has reported, police officers have referred Greek citizens to Golden Dawn, claiming they are unable to provide security. A few days after the arrest over the Facebook page, a group of antifascist protestors who tried to stop members of Golden Dawn from attacking immigrants and their properties was arrested and reportedlytortured by the Greek police.

The latest example of how Golden Dawn can be influencing the state came just a few days ago, when Golden Dawn MP Ilias Panayiotaros asked the ministry of interior affairs to inform him about the number of kindergarten students who are immigrants. The state is preparing to hand over these facts to Golden Dawn, despite the fact that the party has openly threatened to invade kindergartens and throw immigrant children out.

Cases like this redirect the public’s attention to issues of minor importance and away from the important ones. For example, many tax-evading Greeks have taken large amounts of money out of the country, while workers and pensioners have seen their salaries and pensions slashed. It was recently revealed the Christine Lagarde, the head of the IMF, handed a list of tax evaders to the previous minister of finance, Giorgos Papakonstantinou, but he did not use the list to raise additional revenue. But they also help construct the sense of fear and authoritarianism that is spreading rapidly now in the country.

Rage misdirected

As Mark LeVine recently wrote in an article for Al Jazeera, “it’s always been far too easy for those with power to misdirect the rage of others away from them and towards whatever social forces might challenge their control”.

This seems to be exactly the case in Greece today. While certain forces in the police and the political establishment were trying to reconstruct the old conservative front (based on religiosity, ethnicity and conservative values) along with reactionary formations like the Golden Dawn, new austerity measures were being decided upon that will make Greek workers and pensioners even more desperate.

Blasphemy, by introducing a divine entity into human affairs, serves only as an empty signifier aiming to create a boundary of “us” towards “them” and solidify questionable principles in stereotypes of religious and national identities. In the case of Paisios, the goal is to bring together the religious with the reactionaries, against progressives and the left.

The strategy has been successful: On Thursday, members of Orthodox Christian organisations along with Golden Dawn members – including MPs – attacked people outside a theatre in the centre of Athens while the police turned a blind eye. The play presents Jesus Christ from a homosexual point of view. One man said a Golden Dawn MP punched him twice in the face while police stood by. It’s been several days now since protestors and counter protestors met outside the theatre fighting over what used to be commonly accepted in this country: The freedom of artistic expression.

In the latest development of this case the Christian orthodox bishop of Siatista condemned Golden Dawn’s actions and whoever joins it’s MPs in actions of violence and provocation as being anti-christian and against the spirit of the church. But the very next day another Bishop, the one of the city of Piraeus filed a lawsuit against the director of the play, Laertis Vasileiou, escorted by five Golden Dawn MPs. The accusation again is malicious blasphemy. So now with God being claimed by fascists, the church has been forced to enter politics.

The best answers to both the anti-Islam film and the Elder Paisios incidents have been given by people from religious communities. In the case of the film, many Muslim scholars and religious leaders around the world condemned the attacks on embassies as having nothing to do with Islam. In the case of Paisios, a religious Greek blogger wrote: “Mocking someone’s belief is not only stupid but also disrespectful to the right of self-determination. Making fun of someone who has passed away is cheap and low. But using someone else’s faith in order to impose fascism is tragic and endlessly dangerous. Those who have a poor spirit are not always blessed – and no court has the right to judge opinions.”

Matthaios Tsimitakis is a freelance journalist based in Athens.

Related Articles:

-The Golden Dawn: A love of power and a hatred of difference on the rise in the cradle of democracy

-Greek Fascists beating police, people

Gregory Arthur Weiler II, mentally ill man who was going to strike Churches. He has a cat in his arms, can you imagine a Muslim who was charged with terrorism being shown with a cute little cat?

Look at the way the story below about Gregory A. Weiler II, an Illinois man who planned to bomb 48 churches is framed. He is not labeled a terrorist, even though one of the charges he faces is “terrorism,” his biography of dealing with life long depression and mental health issues is prominently highlighted. There are many cases in which the FBI has arrested Muslims who have had a history of mental health issues, who were in fact guided by the FBI every step of the way in cases that are either outright or borderline “entrapment.” One can rarely expect that the  nuance afforded Weiler would ever be given to a Muslim suspected of terrorism.

Juan Cole noted the Top Ten differences Between White Terrorists and Others, his article rings particularly true in light of Weiler’s arrest and the subsequent media coverage.

1. White terrorists are called “gunmen.” What does that even mean? A person with a gun? Wouldn’t that be, like, everyone in the US? Other terrorists are called, like, “terrorists.”

2. White terrorists are “troubled loners.” Other terrorists are always suspected of being part of a global plot, even when they are obviously troubled loners.

3. Doing a study on the danger of white terrorists at the Department of Homeland Security will get you sidelined by angry white Congressmen. Doing studies on other kinds of terrorists is a guaranteed promotion.

4. The family of a white terrorist is interviewed, weeping as they wonder where he went wrong. The families of other terrorists are almost never interviewed.

5. White terrorists are part of a “fringe.” Other terrorists are apparently mainstream.

6. White terrorists are random events, like tornadoes. Other terrorists are long-running conspiracies.

7. White terrorists are never called “white.” But other terrorists are given ethnic affiliations.

8. Nobody thinks white terrorists are typical of white people. But other terrorists are considered paragons of their societies.

9. White terrorists are alcoholics, addicts or mentally ill. Other terrorists are apparently clean-living and perfectly sane.

10. There is nothing you can do about white terrorists. Gun control won’t stop them. No policy you could make, no government program, could possibly have an impact on them. But hundreds of billions of dollars must be spent on police and on the Department of Defense, and on TSA, which must virtually strip search 60 million people a year, to deal with other terrorists.

Family: Elk Grove Village man held in bomb plot ‘can’t hurt anyone now’

By Carlos Sadovi and Dawn Rhodes Tribune reporters

By the time Gregory Weiler II was in his late teens, his family said, the Elk Grove Village native was well down a path toward destruction.

Both his mother and father had committed suicide before he was 16, and Weiler had also tried to kill himself in 8th grade. He had been hospitalized for mental illness at least six times. In between, he had become addicted to heroin and alcohol.

When Weiler, 23, left several years ago to join a religious group in Missouri, his family knew they’d eventually hear that “Greg” had again gotten into trouble.

It happened last week, when Weiler was arrested in Miami, Okla. for allegedly gathering materials to make 50 Molotov cocktails, with plans to bomb nearly that many local churches.

On Saturday, his family in Elk Grove Village expressed relief that Weiler had been caught, certain that he would have followed through with what an Oklahoma court affidavit described as a deadly terrorist plot.

“It’s a blessing in disguise that they were able to get there,” said Weiler’s cousin Johnny Meyers in an interview. “He has to be held accountable. It’s a blessing, he can’t hurt anyone now.”

According to court documents, Weiler was arrested after police found the bomb-making equipment in a garbage can at a motel. He has been charged with violating Oklahoma’s anti-terrorism laws, a legacy of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people.

Entering Weiler’s motel room, police found dozens of empty beer bottles fashioned as Molotov cocktails, along with a torn-up page that had hand-written instructions for making the bombs. The document had a hand-drawn map of 48 local churches, and plans to make more bombs, according to the affidavit.

The churches were “grouped and circled with a key detailing how many nights and how many people,” would potentially be affected, according to the affidavit. Officials said Weiler had plans to videotape the explosions. A hand-written journal discovered in his motel room laid out plans to destroy churches across the U.S. “a tiny bit at a time — setting foundation for the years to follow,” the affidavit said.

Miami Police Chief George Haralson said Weiler checked into the motel on Sept. 20 using an Illinois driver’s license with an address in Washington, Ill., just east of Peoria.

Haralson said police have not found any indication of a partner in the plot.

“To be able to fire bomb 48 churches in a week, that’s an awful lot of effort,” Haralson said. “But we’re confident that he was acting alone.”

As for why Weiler might have targeted the rural community of 15,000 people, “I couldn’t even begin to guess,” Haralson said.

His aunt Joanne Meyers said she believes the latest incident is another example how mental illness has devastated their family. She and her husband Chris took in Weiler after his mother committed suicide in 2002 after years of depression and alcoholism, she said.

Weiler’s father suffered from alcohol and drug addiction before he killed himself in 2005.

And, a sister is hospitalized for mental illness after several suicide attempts, said Meyers.

“We just want people to understand how mental illness such as Greg’s affects our whole family,” Meyers said.

Weiler showed signs of mental illness early, she said. After graduating from Elk Grove High School, he went to Bradley University — where he skipped classes and stole money from friends and family through a pyramid scheme, said Meyers.

About three years ago, Weiler joined a church in Missouri that his family called “a cult.”

Several weeks ago, family members began reading odd missives Weiler posted on his Facebook page, which was the only way they kept in touch with him.

A Sept. 25 entry — apparently written from his motel room — referred to his childhood and focused on the Catholic Church, whose leaders he claimed are responsible for “hypocrisy, murder and deceit.”

He ends: “I have not opened a bible in a while, and I haven’t stepped foot into a church building in quite some time — and though I may be very lonely right now, I am hoping that someone, and maybe someday in the future, someone will take notice.”

Weiler is charged with threat to use explosives, incendiary device, simulated bomb to damage or injure persons or property, and a violation of the Oklahoma anti-terrorism act. He is being held without bail in Ottawa County Jail.

Now we are being told that they are “Iran’s main opposition.” Where have we heard such talk before?

“All of those people who took money from the MEK should be immediately arrested!”-Cenk Uygur

We’ve been screaming about the Mujahidin-e Khalq and the cozy “material support for terrorism”  relationship that high ranking politicians have with the group for quite some time now. Other websites have been covering the story as well, particularly Salon.com, but we have not heard much from the mainstream media.

Now the Young Turks have taken up the story and are reporting on it. Cenk Uygur vents and exposes all the hypocrisies and double standards inherent in the USA’s relationship with a group that it’s own State Department has designated a terrorist organization!

Also, in a follow up to our previous story on a court ruling demanding Hilary Clinton choose between either delisting or keeping the group on the terrorist list, the Wall Street Journal reports that the Obama administration was already moving to have the group de-listed:

For more on the MEK and the politicians in their pocket please see our past articles:

US to Delist MeK from Terrorist List? Maybe Not

Salon.com: Likely victory for MeK shills

Who Will Convict the US Government for “Material Support of Terrorism”?

Seymour Hersh Reveals that MEK Terrorists Were Trained in the USA by the Pentagon

Sheila Musaji: The MEK and Terrorism Double Standards

Washington’s High-Powered Terrorist Supporters

US Officials Confirm: Israel Financing, Training and Arming MEK Terrorists to Murder Iranian Scientists

WARWICK, R.I. — Gun components and ammunition were found hidden inside three stuffed animals carried by a passenger at Rhode Island’s T.F. Green Airport on Tuesday, federal transportation officials said.

Authorities later allowed the 4-year-old boy and his father to continue their travel to Detroit after concluding the man didn’t pose a risk, authorities said. He told police that he didn’t know the parts were inside the stuffed toys — which included a Mickey Mouse and a teddy bear.

“It appears to be the result of a domestic dispute,” Rhode Island Airport Police Chief Leo Messier said. “It was jointly investigated by the RI Airport Police, FBI and the RI State Police and it was determined that there was no threat at any time to air safety.”

NBC News station WHDH reported that a magazine loaded with two .40-caliber rounds was discovered inside a bunny and a firing pin was inside Mickey Mouse.

‘Artfully concealed’
Officials with airport police and the Transportation Security Administration declined to comment further, saying the incident remained under investigation.

A TSA officer noticed the disassembled gun components “artfully concealed” inside three stuffed animals. The stuffed animals were inside the child’s carry-on bag, which had been put through an X-ray machine as part of normal security screening.

The parts could have been assembled to make a full firearm, authorities said.

The items were confiscated. Police have not released the man’s name.

Passengers at T.F. Green told WHDH they were thankful the system worked.

“I know a lot of people don’t like the screening procedure, but I’m thankful that they really screen people and we feel much safer because of it,” one woman told the station.

NBC News station WHDH and The Associated Press contributed to this report.