Thirty-three pilots across Canada have reported being flashed in the eyes by a laser beam while flying, including at least five incidents near Toronto's Pearson International Airport. Transport Canada is now investigating the incidents, which date back to 2005 and include at least 12 in Ontario.
"It is certainly a concern for us and we're watching it closely," spokesperson Kirsten Goodnough told CTV.ca, saying she has no explanation for the increasing frequency of incidents. The pilots have complained about someone on the ground shining a laser at their planes, penetrating the cockpit window and flashing the pilots in the eye. The source of the light is unclear.
Goodnough said some of the incidents around Toronto could have involved the small laser pointers used in boardrooms, but the devices would have to be relatively close to the plane to have a serious effect. She said the more powerful lasers that may be involved would be those used in surgery rooms or at laser light shows, but those are a lot bigger and require heavy machinery. The devices also require permits from Health Canada.
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Landing pilots blinded by bright light (Canada)
March 5, 2008
Someone is trying to blind pilots landing at Pearson International Airport, and other GTA airports, by shining a laser beam from the ground. At least five incidents have been reported by pilots since the beginning of the year, including one on Jan. 7 in which someone flashed a bright light at an Air Canada Jazz pilot from the time he was more than five kilometres from Pearson until he landed the airplane.
Air Canada spokesperson Deborah Baxter said there have been at least 11 incidents in the past year, with many more suspected of going unreported. "Transport Canada is very concerned about the increasing frequency of laser-related incidents," Baxter said.
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It would seem to me there would be some way for pilots to radio coordinates to law enforcement for near immediate dispersal to those locations...?
Islamist website allegedly under pressure from US Intelligence
"Elimination [of Jihad Material] from the Site Cannot Eliminate [Jihad] from Our Hearts" The message from the website administrator to its subscribers read: "We decided to remove the jihad sections because the [site] administration and its hosting company... received a letter from the American intelligence [agency indicating that] the site contains topics which, as usual, worry the American intelligence [agency]. The letter gave the site administration two options: [Either the agency] takes the site off the main host, 'Data Center' (i.e. SoftLayer), which is located in the USA, and reports it to the intelligence agency in our city, or we eliminate those jihad topics and close the [jihad] sections [on the website]. We had no choice but to accept the second option, to ensure the continuation of our communication with you... [You should know, however,] that eliminating [jihad content] from the website's sections cannot eliminate [jihad] from our hearts..."
However, a review of the content of http://www.al-farooq.net after the supposed removal of jihad content shows that the changes made by the site administration are merely cosmetic. While the site no longer includes designated jihad sections, it is still saturated with jihad-promoting material.