In 1932 the motor industry began to experiment with adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assist and emergency braking. In the interested of economy all three systems were tested on the same day, albeit in separate vehicles. Sufficient difficulties were identified to ensure that there was a gap of 60 years before any further trials were attempted.
Yesterday an Arabic-English interpreter managed to confuse the al Qaeda magazine “Inspire” with the “gentlemen’s” (interesting definition) magazine “Esquire” during a pretrial hearing in the Guantanamo war crimes tribunal.
The confusion arose in a hearing for prisoners who could face execution if convicted.
During a week-long hearing attention focused on whether military & intelligence agents at the Guantanamo Bay US Naval Base intercepted legal documents & privileged attorney-client conversations that are supposed to be inviolate. Defence attorneys said “extreme” restrictions on their communications had interfered with attempts to prepare their case.
The legal adviser for the unpopular detention operation, Navy Captain Thomas Welsh, told the hearing that attorney-client mail was carefully screened to prevent the introduction of “physical & informational contraband.” He said the rules were tightened after a defence lawyer tried to send a copy of “Inspire” magazine to one of the defendants.
“I’m told that their is an error in the translation,” interrupted defence attorney Cheryl Bormann.
She said the interpreter translating Welsh’s testimony for the defendants had identified the contraband publication to them as “Esquire.” That magazine describes its focus as “beautiful women, men’s fashion, best music, & cool drink recipes,” a well known favorite amongst Islamic terror cells everywhere.
Boring old “Inspire” magazine bills itself as the publication of Yemeni-based group al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula & famously published an article titled, “Make a bomb in you mom’s kitchen.” The US considers the magazine it a “propaganda weapon” (it can cause a nasty bruise if rolled-tightly & used to deliver a hard slap) & recruitment vehicle for the group. Maybe that’s why they killed its editor in a drone strike last year.
After the interpreter apologized, an attorney for Pakistani defendant Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, suggested that Inspire might contain relevant information, useful to the defence.
Captain Welsh said he was more concerned with Inspire’s encouragement of attacks on U.S. personnel.
The hearing then recessed for the day to examine Esquire magazine & ascertain whether or not it might be useful to the defence, the prosecution or their teenage sons.
ThursdayAgain 
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