Showing posts with label USA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label USA. Show all posts
Saturday, May 6, 2017
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Star Wars Fans... the Real X-Wing and Possibly the Real Death Star Created
$11 million sought to build X-wing, counter Kickstarter Death Star
(Credit: Lucasfilm)
There's no disturbing lack of faith among Kickstarter supporters.
After all, a crowdfunded project to construct the Death Star that was launched less than a week ago already has nearly 1,500 backers and an astonishing $364,772 in pledges.
Well, the Rebels aren't taking that threat sitting down. A rival Kickstarter campaign to build X-wing fighters has just taken off. Its goal is to build one of the famous spaceships from "Star Wars" and then more.
"If George Lucas produced 'Star Wars IV, A New Hope,' for $11,000,000 we figure we can finance a prototype of an X-Wing and train a pilot," organizer Simon Kwan, a product designer in Shanghai, writes on the campaign page.
"One update we'd like to include for our updated X-Wing is iPhone and Siri integration."
The stretch goal is to build a squadron of X-wings for $4,485,672,683, the worldwide box office take of all the films in the franchise, according to The Numbers, a film sales tracking site.
A further goal is "13 million Galactic Standard Credits: A Class YT-1300 Freighter (heavily modified) and a crew consisting of a Corellian smuggler and a Wookie co-pilot."
Tech Crunch, however, politely points out that such credits have been estimated at only 62 cents, making the Falcon cost only $8 million, which is of course less than the campaign's basic goal.
Details, details. What matters is we get an X-wing built, stat!
At least then we'll have a chance of countering a real threat to our planet: asteroids.
Source: CT
(Credit: Lucasfilm)Death Star not dead? Star Wars fans raise $380k for open source project, aim for more
Published: 10 February, 2013, 16:00
The Death Star. (Image from starwars.wikia.com)
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Israel Likely To Strike Iran Prior To American Elections. Details Leaked.
In Israel, speculation rises of pending attack on Iran's nuclear facilities
Iran has denied it is seeking to build nuclear weapons, saying its nuclear program is peaceful and aimed at producing electricity and radioisotopes used to treat cancer patients.
The remarks by Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, head of the Revolutionary Guard's air force, were reported Saturday by the official IRNA news agency.
Israel has been carrying on an increasingly public debate about whether to attack Iran's nuclear facilities. Israel's official position is to favor diplomatic and economic measures to persuade Iran to halt its uranium enrichment program, but Israel insists that Iran must not be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons. Israeli leaders say "all options are on the table," a clear reference to a military strike, if they determine that other measures have failed.
Iran and Israel have been bitter enemies for decades. Khamenei has called Israel a "cancerous tumor" that must be wiped out.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/08/17/iran-calls-israel-existence-insult-to-all-humanity/#ixzz23vua0fgc
Any Israeli attack on Iran will open with a "coordinated strike, including an unprecedented cyber-attack which will totally paralyze the Iranian regime and its ability to know what is happening within its borders," American blogger Richard Silverstein wrote Wednesday.
Silverstein claims to have obtained an Israeli briefing document outlining the Jewish state's war plans against Iran, which, according to him, include the launching of dozens of missiles, an aerial attack, a sophisticated cyber attack and even the assassination of senior Iranian military and intelligence officials.
'Two-headed warrior.' Barak (L) and Bibi (Photo: Eliad Levy)
"Bibi’s sleight of hand here involves no mention whatsoever of an Iranian counter-attack against Israel. The presumption must be that the bells and whistles of all those marvelous new weapons systems will decapitate Iran’s war-making ability and render it paralyzed. The likelihood of this actually happening is nearly nil."
According to Silverstein, an Israeli strike on Iran will include a "barrage of tens of ballistic missiles" launched from Israeli territory towards Iran, as well as a barrage of "hundreds of cruise missiles" which will "pound command and control systems, research and development facilities, and the residences of senior personnel in the nuclear and missile development apparatus.
"Intelligence gathered over years will be utilized to completely decapitate Iran’s professional and command ranks in these fields," according to the blogger.
Silverstein says the attack will open with an unprecedented cyber-attack which will take the internet, telephones, radio and television, communications satellites, and fiber optic cables leading to and from critical installations—including underground missile bases at Khorramabad and Isfahan - out of action.
"The electrical grid throughout Iran will be paralyzed and transformer stations will absorb severe damage from carbon fiber munitions which are finer than a human hair, causing electrical short circuits whose repair requires their complete removal. This would be a Sisyphean task in light of cluster munitions which would be dropped, some time-delayed and some remote-activated through the use of a satellite signal," the blogger claims.
According to the document, the missiles will strike their targets—some exploding above ground like those striking the nuclear reactor at Arak–which is intended to produce plutonium and tritium—and the nearby heavy water production facility; the nuclear fuel production facilities at Isfahan and facilities for enriching uranium-hexaflouride. Others would explode under-ground, as at the Fordo facility.
Following the first wave of attacks, Silverstein says, an Israeli radar satellite will pass over Iran and transfer information directly to war planes making their way covertly toward Iran.
"These IAF planes will be armed with electronic warfare gear previously unknown to the wider public, not even revealed to our US ally. This equipment will render Israeli aircraft invisible. Those Israeli war planes which participate in the attack will damage a short-list of targets which require further assault," the blogger writes.
According to Silverstein, among the targets approved for attack are Shahab 3 and Sejil ballistic missile silos, storage tanks for chemical components of rocket fuel, industrial facilities for producing missile control systems, centrifuge production plants and more.
Silverstein mentions that Iran is divided into 31 districts, each with its own independent command and control facilities and mechanisms. "So Israel wouldn’t be able to knock out a single facility and paralyze the IRG. They’d need to knock out 31 separate sets of facilities–a much harder task," he writes.
read more at http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4269110,00.html
Public statements and anonymous quotes to Israeli media in the past week have raised speculation that an Israeli attack on Iran could come before the U.S. presidential election in November.
The Washington Post
WASHINGTON — Preparations in Israel for a possible war are focusing new attention on whether Israel will attack Iran's nuclear facilities and force an unwelcome debate in the thick of a U.S. presidential campaign about the U.S. role in stopping an Iranian bomb.
Public statements and anonymous quotes to Israeli media in the past week have raised speculation an Israeli attack could come before the U.S. presidential election in November.
The government appears to be readying the country for war by issuing gas masks, building underground bomb shelters and testing an early-warning system for missiles. The departing Israeli homefront defense minister said he had worked to ensure the nation was ready for a monthlong war "on multiple fronts."
The atmosphere grew more heated Friday with comments from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who called Israel's existence an "insult to all humanity."
He was addressing worshippers at Tehran University after nationwide pro-Palestinian rallies, an annual event marking Quds Day on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan.
Israel considers Iran a threat because of its nuclear and missile programs, support for radical anti-Israel groups on its borders and repeated references by Iranian leaders to Israel's destruction.
Iran has denied it is seeking to build nuclear weapons, saying its nuclear program is peaceful and aimed at producing electricity and radioisotopes used to treat cancer patients.
Analysts in the United States and Israel are divided on whether the escalating war of words foreshadows an imminent attack on Iran's nuclear facilities.
Some say Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is bluffing in hopes of forcing President Obama to issue an ultimatum to Iran that America would do the job itself later. Although Obama has said the United States will not allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon, analysts suggest Netanyahu is looking for a deadline on abandoning talks and resorting to military action.
Others argue the Israeli leader appears to be laying the case for unilateral Israeli action over the objections of the U.S. and the majority of Israeli public opinion. This view holds that Netanyahu thinks he cannot rely on Obama for help now or later, and that he cannot afford to wait for a friendlier Romney administration to back him up or do the bombing itself.
A new war in the Middle East would be deeply unpopular among U.S. voters. Even talk of an imminent conflict with Iran could increase gas prices and unsettle the financial markets, possibly worsening the stagnant economy weeks before the November election.
The Obama administration has tried to say as little as possible about the prospect of an Israeli strike or what it might do if talks over Iran's disputed nuclear program — now at an impasse — completely fall apart.
Even if the timing is hazy, it's clear some in the Israeli government do not think they can delay.
"We can't wait to find out one morning that we relied on the Americans but were fooled because the Americans didn't act in the end," an unnamed Israeli official told the newspaper Haaretz last week. The official is widely believed to be Defense Minister Ehud Barak.
Material from The Associated Press is included in this report.
Iran commander 'welcomes' Israel strike as reason to 'rid of' state
Published August 18, 2012
Associated Press
TEHRAN – A senior Iranian commander says a possible Israeli airstrike against his country's nuclear facilities is "welcome" because it would give Iran a reason to retaliate and "get rid of" the Jewish state "forever."
The remarks by Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, head of the Revolutionary Guard's air force, were reported Saturday by the official
Hajizadeh says in the event of an Israeli strike, Iran's response would be "swift, decisive and destructive." But he also claims Israeli threats of a strike are just part of a psychological war against Iran.
His comments are the latest in a war of words between the archenemies.
Israel considers Iran an existential threat because of its suspect nuclear program. Iran denies seeking atomic weapons, saying its uranium enrichment is for peaceful purposes only.
Iran calls Israel's existence an 'insult,' as prominent rabbi warns it's more than rhetoric
Published August 17, 2012
FoxNews.com
Aug. 17, 2012: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaks at the conclusion of an annual pro-Palestinian rally in Tehran. (AP)
TEHRAN, Iran – Israel's existence is an "insult to all humanity," Iran's president said Friday in one of his sharpest attacks yet against the Jewish state, as Israel openly debates whether to attack Iran over its nuclear program.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said confronting Israel is an effort to "protect the dignity of all human beings."
"The existence of the Zionist regime is an insult to all humanity," Ahmadinejad said. He was addressing worshippers at Tehran University after nationwide pro-Palestinian rallies, an annual event marking Quds (Jerusalem) Day on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan.
The comments are "reminiscent" of a letter written about the Jews and signed by Adolf Hitler in 1919, Rabbi Marvin Hier, Founder and Dean of the Simon Wisenthal Center, says.
"Even though Ahmadinejad is attacking the state of Israel, we know what he means," Rabbi Hier said.
Israel considers Iran an existential threat because of its nuclear and missile programs, support for radical anti-Israel groups on its borders and repeated references by Iranian leaders to Israel's destruction.
Ahmadinejad himself has repeatedly made such calls, as has Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Rabbi Hier compares Ahmadinejad's comments to the notion found in Hitler’s letter referencing the "removal of Jews all together." "Twenty-two years later he implemented everything, and the same is true about Ahmadinejad," Rabbi Hier said.
"We assume it's only rhetoric, but we once paid a very high price for assuming Hitler was talking rhetoric," he said.
The leader of the Lebanese Shiite militant Hezbollah, which has ties to Iran, says his group will transform the lives of millions of Israelis to "hell" if Israel attacks Lebanon.
Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah says the group has a list of Israeli targets that it can hit with few rockets.
"We can transform the lives of millions of Zionists in occupied Palestine to a real hell," he said.
Israel and Hezbollah fought a deadly, inconclusive monthlong war in 2006, when Hezbollah fired about 4,000 rockets at Israel.
Iran has denied allegations that it is seeking to build nuclear weapons, saying its nuclear program is peaceful and aimed at producing electricity and radioisotopes used to treat cancer patients.
Israel has been carrying on an increasingly public debate about whether to attack Iran's nuclear facilities. Israel's official position is to favor diplomatic and economic measures to persuade Iran to halt its uranium enrichment program, but Israel insists that Iran must not be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons. Israeli leaders say "all options are on the table," a clear reference to a military strike, if they determine that other measures have failed.
"You are not going to make a deal with the Iranians, not under their current leadership," Rabbi Hier said.
Iran has warned it would hit back at Israel if it is attacked, also threatening to strike at American interests in the region.
Ahmadinejad called Israel "a corrupt, anti-human organized minority group standing up to all divine values."
"Today, confronting the existence of the fabricated Zionist regime is in fact protecting the rights and dignity of all human beings," said Ahmadinejad, with a black and white scarf many Palestinians wear around his neck.
 |
| Remember the Holocaust? |
"This is a threat to wipe out the state of Israel," Rabbi Hier said. "We should take these people at their word."
Tensions between Iran and Israel have intensified since 2005, when Ahmadinejad said in a speech that Israel will one day be "wiped off the map."
But Rabbi Hier said he does not "subscribe at all with those who say this is a legitimate form of rhetoric."
"The only way to stop what's happening in Iran is for at least the United States and her allies to say, 'How long are we going to sit by and take this threat?'" he said.
The Iranian president has also described the Holocaust, when 6 million Jews were killed by German Nazis and their collaborators during World War II, as a "myth."
"Most intellectuals in 1939 and 1938 did not think Hitler was serious, they thought they knew better, but they didn't know better, and we paid a dear price that we were not on the right side of history," he said.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/08/17/iran-calls-israel-existence-insult-to-all-humanity/#ixzz23vua0fgc
Blogger: Israeli attack in Iran will include, missiles, assassinations
US blogger Richard Silverstein says Israeli source leaked attack plan Bibi, Barak pitching to ministers . According to document, campaign will open with cyber-attack that will paralyze electrical grid
Ynet
|
Any Israeli attack on Iran will open with a "coordinated strike, including an unprecedented cyber-attack which will totally paralyze the Iranian regime and its ability to know what is happening within its borders," American blogger Richard Silverstein wrote Wednesday.
In the blog, Tikkun Olam, Silverstein said the document was leaked to him by a high-level Israeli source who had obtained it from an IDF officer. According to Silverstein, the source told him that normally he would not leak this sort of document, but that "these are not normal times. I’m afraid Bibi (Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu) and (Defense Minister Ehud) Barak are dead serious."
The blogger estimates that the document was leaked to him in order to "expose the arguments and plans advanced by the Bibi-Barak two-headed warrior. Neither the IDF leaker, my source, nor virtually any senior military or intelligence officer wants this war."
According to Silverstein, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is using this "sales pitch" to persuade the eight-member security cabinet to support a strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.
"This is Shock and Awe, Israel-style. It is Bibi’s effort to persuade high-level Israeli officials that Israel can prosecute a pure technology war that involves relatively few human beings (Israeli, that is) who may be put in harm’s way, and will certainly cost few lives of IDF personnel," the blogger wrote.
'Two-headed warrior.' Barak (L) and Bibi (Photo: Eliad Levy)
"Bibi’s sleight of hand here involves no mention whatsoever of an Iranian counter-attack against Israel. The presumption must be that the bells and whistles of all those marvelous new weapons systems will decapitate Iran’s war-making ability and render it paralyzed. The likelihood of this actually happening is nearly nil."
According to Silverstein, an Israeli strike on Iran will include a "barrage of tens of ballistic missiles" launched from Israeli territory towards Iran, as well as a barrage of "hundreds of cruise missiles" which will "pound command and control systems, research and development facilities, and the residences of senior personnel in the nuclear and missile development apparatus.
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| Hungarian Jews at the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp on May 24th, 1944. This was one of the hundreds of concentration camps where Jews were killed, tortured, starved, beaten, shot, or worked in forced labor. |
Silverstein says the attack will open with an unprecedented cyber-attack which will take the internet, telephones, radio and television, communications satellites, and fiber optic cables leading to and from critical installations—including underground missile bases at Khorramabad and Isfahan - out of action.
"The electrical grid throughout Iran will be paralyzed and transformer stations will absorb severe damage from carbon fiber munitions which are finer than a human hair, causing electrical short circuits whose repair requires their complete removal. This would be a Sisyphean task in light of cluster munitions which would be dropped, some time-delayed and some remote-activated through the use of a satellite signal," the blogger claims.
According to the document, the missiles will strike their targets—some exploding above ground like those striking the nuclear reactor at Arak–which is intended to produce plutonium and tritium—and the nearby heavy water production facility; the nuclear fuel production facilities at Isfahan and facilities for enriching uranium-hexaflouride. Others would explode under-ground, as at the Fordo facility.
Following the first wave of attacks, Silverstein says, an Israeli radar satellite will pass over Iran and transfer information directly to war planes making their way covertly toward Iran.
"These IAF planes will be armed with electronic warfare gear previously unknown to the wider public, not even revealed to our US ally. This equipment will render Israeli aircraft invisible. Those Israeli war planes which participate in the attack will damage a short-list of targets which require further assault," the blogger writes.According to Silverstein, among the targets approved for attack are Shahab 3 and Sejil ballistic missile silos, storage tanks for chemical components of rocket fuel, industrial facilities for producing missile control systems, centrifuge production plants and more.
Silverstein mentions that Iran is divided into 31 districts, each with its own independent command and control facilities and mechanisms. "So Israel wouldn’t be able to knock out a single facility and paralyze the IRG. They’d need to knock out 31 separate sets of facilities–a much harder task," he writes.
read more at http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4269110,00.html
Monday, May 2, 2011
Bin Laden Dead. Reactions. Conspiracy. How To Talk With Your Kids About It.
Reactions to Bin Laden's Death...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. special forces team that hunted down Osama bin Laden was under orders to kill the al Qaeda mastermind, not capture him, a U.S. national security official told Reuters.
Osama Bin Laden's death was met with the hope that the world had turned a page on the War on Terror, but also warnings that the fight was far from over.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
"This momentous achievement marks a victory for America, for people who seek peace around the world, and for all those who lost loved ones on September 11, 2001. The fight against terror goes on, but tonight America has sent an unmistakable message: No matter how long it takes, justice will be done. " — former President George W. Bush
___
"This is a day of great honor to the survivors and victims of terrorism in the world. A day to remember those whose lives were changed forever. A day of great relief to us victims and survivors to see that bin Laden has been killed." — Douglas Sidialo, who lost his eyesight in the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombing in Nairobi, Kenya.
___
"I congratulate the president, the national security team and the members of our armed forces on bringing Osama bin Laden to justice after more than a decade of murderous al-Qaida attacks." — former President Bill Clinton.
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"The battle between us and international tyranny is long and will not be stopped by the martyrdom of our beloved one, the lion of Islam. How many martyrdom seekers have been born today?" — a top al-Qaida ideologue who goes by the online name "Assad al-Jihad2".
__
"This is great news for the security of the American people and a victory in our continued fight against al-Qaida and radical extremism around the world. We continue to face a complex and evolving terrorist threat, and it is important that we remain vigilant in our efforts to confront and defeat the terrorist enemy and protect the American people." — House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.
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"This is the most significant victory in our fight against al-Qaida and terrorism, but that fight is not over. We will continue to support our troops and the American civilians who are fighting every day to protect our homeland." — Senate Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev.
___
"The Americans have previously killed other Islamists leaders... Their students will continue the jihad and we shall retaliate against the Americans, Israel, Europe and Christians in Somalia with destructive explosions and other acts that will harm them." — Mohamed Asman Arus, spokesman for al-Shabab, Somalia's most dangerous militant group.
___
"The news that Osama Bin Laden is dead will bring great relief to people across the world. It is a great success that he has been found and will no longer be able to pursue his campaign of global terror." — British Prime Minister David Cameron.
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"To be quite frank, I am very happy that this man is dead. I was always raised, obviously, never to hope for someone's death, but I'm willing to make an exception in this case... He was evil personified, and our world is a better place without him." — Gordon Felt, head of a family group for United Flight 93, which crashed into a Pennsylvania field on Sept. 11.
Order Was To Kill Not Capture
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. special forces team that hunted down Osama bin Laden was under orders to kill the al Qaeda mastermind, not capture him, a U.S. national security official told Reuters."This was a kill operation," the official said, making clear there was no desire to try to capture bin Laden alive in Pakistan. (Reporting by Mark Hosenball, writing by Matt Spetalnick)
Interesting Stuff
Yes, we were hacked. Starting just moments before President Obama announced the death of Osama bin Laden, our website was hit with what the hosting company described as a massive distributed denial of service attack, no doubt to prevent the public from accessing the documentation showing Bin Laden actually died in December of 2001 of natural causes.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY!
"Those who own the country ought to govern it." -- John Jay, American statesman and first Chief Justice of US Supreme Court, 1745--1829
No MR.
The New York TImes broke with a long-standing precedent on Monday in its coverage of Osama bin Laden's death: it did not refer to him as "Mr."
Romenesko reported on a memo sent to staffers by associate managing editor Tom Jolly. "At Jill and Bill's request, we dropped the honorific for Bin Laden," the memo said in part, referring to Jill Abramson, the paper's managing editor, and Bill Keller, its executive editor. And, indeed, Bin Laden is referred to as simply "Bin Laden" in the Times'coverage.
It is a nearly sacrosanct tradition of the Times that everyone--from the worst criminals to the most revered heroes--is referred to with some kind of honorific (whether "Mr." or "Ms." or "Dr." or many others) in its hard news pages...
Osama Bin Laden dead: Reaction around the world ranges from joy to fear Al Qaeda will retaliate
Shakil Adil/AP
A Pakistani newspaper hawker tells passerby in Karachi about the killing of Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden by U.S. troops.Osama Bin Laden's death was met with the hope that the world had turned a page on the War on Terror, but also warnings that the fight was far from over.
In much of the Arab world, news of Bin Laden's killing in a U.S. raid was greeted with relief and anticipation that life there would improve.
"Bin Laden's acts robbed us freedom to talk and move around," said Mohammad al-Mansouri in the United Arab Emirates. "He turned us into targets at home and suspects in every foreign country we traveled to."
In other corners of the world, people celebrated but worried that Bin Laden's death would change little.
"This is justice," said Filipino Cookie Micaller, whose sister was killed when the World Trade Center collapsed. "I don't think this is going to stop."
To that end, U.S. facilities went on high alert around the globe, bracing for possible retaliatory attacks.
"If he has been martyred, we will avenge his death and launch attacks against American and Pakistani governments and their security forces," said the militant group's spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan.
In Afghanistan, government leaders erupted in applause when President Hamid Karzai told them the news.
"I hope the death of Osama Bin Laden will mean the end of terrorism," Karzai said.
Afghan Taliban fighters mourned Bin Laden's passing.
"My heart is broken," said one-named militant Mohebullah. "In the past, we heard a lot of rumors about his death, but if he did die, it is a disaster and a black day."
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2011/05/02/2011-05-02_osama_bin_laden_dead_reaction_around_the_world_ranges_from_joy_to_fear_al_qaeda_.html#ixzz1LClBNxtUCan US Offer Final Proof Of Osama's Death?
- The circumstances surrounding Osama bin Laden's reported death raise urgent questions over how the US is so sure it got its man.
Reports suggest Saudi Arabia refused to take Bin Laden's body
US personnel have so far said they identified him by facial recognition, but have declined to say whether they used DNA analysis.
Reports have also suggested that Saudi Arabia was asked to take Bin Laden's body - but refused to do so.
The fact his body was buried at sea has so far only added to the speculation, although as a Muslim, he had to be laid to rest as quickly as possible.
Under Islamic law, people can only be buried at sea if they died there, or if there is a risk their body will be exhumed or dug up if buried in the ground.
The release of a photograph purporting to show Bin Laden's corpse - which was later confirmed to be a fake - added to the confusion.
Journalists have not yet had the opportunity to ask more than a few questions of the Obama administration about details of Bin Laden's death.
A former British ambassador to the US, Sir Christopher Meyer, told Sky News: "I imagine we will see proof.
A photo purporting to be Osama was later confirmed to be a fake
"I can't concede the US president would go out to make a statement to the world that Bin Laden is dead without being able to produce evidence that he is dead.
"I think we will see some evidence - DNA or photographic - to prove there is not still some phantom Osama bin Laden riding the Tora Bora mountains."
The announcement is not the first time the world has heard of Bin Laden's death. Claims that the US and Britain kept up a pretence he was alive in order to continue their war on terror have been dismissed as conspiracy theories.
It has been suggested that Bin Laden died nearly 10 years ago during the battle for Tora Bora in Afghanistan, either from a US bomb or from kidney disease.
And as for his audio and video statements, their authenticity has continually been questioned.
One of his video statements, released just days before the October 2004 US presidential election, was said to have been crucial in helping George Bush secure a second term in office.
But his statement from December 2001, when he was seen to confess to the 9/11 attacks, has attracted the most attention.
Bin Laden had insisted numerous times, through the Arab press and in video statements, that he had no involvement with the atrocities. His sudden confession was picked up on by doubters.
Additionally, his appearance in the December 2001 video was markedly different. He sported a black beard, not his usual grey one, his pale skin had become darker and he had a different shaped nose.
He also looked in good health - a contrast to his earlier gaunt appearance - and critics have pointed to the fact he is seen writing a note with his right hand, although he was left-handed...
How are you talking to your kids about bin Laden's death?
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