WTF IS WRONG WITH THIS WORLD?



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From the AP:

Spectators and family members of some of the 17 Muslim men accused of plotting terror attacks in Canada were stunned Tuesday when they heard allegations of plans to storm Parliament, take hostages and behead the prime minister.

Authorities during a hearing at the Ontario Court of Justice further alleged that one of the suspects, Steven Vikash Chand, also plotted to take over media outlets, including Canadian Broadcasting Corp.

The details of the charges _ notably the purported plot to take political leaders hostage and behead them if Muslim prisoners were not freed in Afghanistan _ added a chilling dimension to a case that has led U.S. authorities to toughen security along the border and unsettled Canada's large Muslim community.

Police say they expect more arrests, and intelligence officers are probing whether 12 adults and five juveniles arrested over the weekend had any ties to Islamic terror cells in the United States and five nations in Europe and Asia.

Chand, a 25-year-old restaurant worker from Toronto, was one of 15 suspects who made brief court appearances Tuesday. They were held behind a glass enclosure, brought in as groups of four or five, chained together in ankle shackles and handcuffs.

Chand, bearded with shoulder-length hair, blew a kiss to supporters as he was led away as formal bail hearings for him and the 14 others were postponed until at least Monday.

"There's an allegation apparently that my client personally indicated that he wanted to behead the prime minister of Canada," said Chand's lawyer, Gary Batasar. "It's a very serious allegation. My client has said nothing about that."

Speaking outside the courthouse, Batasar said the charges were based on fear-mongering government officials.

"It appears to me that whether you're in Ottawa or Toronto or Crawford, Texas, or Washington, D.C., what is wanting to be instilled in the public is fear," he said.

He also suggested that Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who expressed happiness at the arrests, should "keep out of the case."

In Ottawa, Harper appeared to take the alleged beheading threat in stride. "I can live with these threats as long as they're not from my caucus," he joked.

The Ontario Court of Justice in Brampton, a small city just west of Toronto, had said earlier that the suspects faced charges that included participating in a terrorist group, importing weapons and planning a bombing. The specific details were made public Tuesday.

Lawyers and family members said they were being given too little information about the case, and charged that the suspects' rights were not being respected.

Rocco Galati, a lawyer for suspect Ahmad Mustafa Ghany, 21, told the judge that his client's constitutional rights had been violated because he was only able to interview him in the presence of an armed guard.

"The right to private counsel was afforded even at Nuremberg," Galati said.

Outside the court, Donald McLeod, a lawyer for Jahmaal James, 23, also complained of restricted access to his client, including only being allowed to speak to the accused through Plexiglas and not being allowed to have private discussions.

Arif Raza, who represents Saad Khalid, 19, said he had never been allowed to speak to his client and was not even allowed to slip him his business card so Khalid could attempt to call the lawyer from the Maplehurst Correctional Center outside of Toronto.

U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins praised Canadian authorities.

"We appreciate the swift and effective action taken by Canadian law enforcement officials," Wilkins said in Montreal. "They stepped in decisively and I think helped defuse a very dangerous situation. No country is immune to terrorism and we frankly applaud their swift, decisive, heroic efforts."

The U.S. Border Patrol, meanwhile, put agents on high alert along the 4,000-mile border and stepped up inspections of traffic from Canada.

Some American commentators and politicians have accused Canada of having a lax immigration policy and suggested building a fence along the border. But Harper told Parliament on Tuesday most Americans admire Canada for "our shared concern about the security of this continent."

The case has stunned many Canadians, who have not experienced such a major anti-terrorism case since security measures were intensified after the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States.

"It's breathtaking that this is going on in Canada," International Trade Minister David Emerson told the CBC. "To see the homegrown nature of it is shocking to me."

Police say there is no evidence the suspect group had ties to al- Qaida, but describe its members as sympathetic to al-Qaida's violent jihadist ideology. Officials are concerned that many of the 17 suspects are about 20 years old and became radicalized in a short amount of time.

Officials announced the arrests Saturday, saying the sweep was ordered after the group acquired three tons of ammonium nitrate, which can be mixed with fuel oil to make a powerful explosive. One-third that amount was used in the deadly bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building in 1995.

The 12 adult suspects all are charged with one count of participating in a terrorist group.

Three of them _ Fahim Ahmad, 21, Mohammed Dirie, 22, and Yasim Abdi Mohamed, 24 _ also are charged with importing weapons and ammunition for the purpose of terrorist activity.

Nine face charges of receiving training from a terrorist group, while four are charged with providing training. Six are charged with intending to cause an explosion that could cause serious bodily harm or death.

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What do you guys think? Right wing media or actual cause of worry?