Free Republic

A sophisticated cross-border tunnel equipped with a rail system, ventilation and fluorescent lighting has been shut down by U.S. and Mexican officials — the second discovery of a major underground drug passage in San Diego this month, authorities said Friday. The tunnel found Thursday is 2,200 feet long — more than seven football fields — and runs from the kitchen of a home in Tijuana, Mexico, to two warehouses in San Diego...

WEEHAWKEN, N.J. (AP) -- A dance troupe from Florida caused a rush-hour terror scare when they ditched their cars in the Lincoln Tunnel and tried to run to a TV appearance in Manhattan while wearing their camouflage costumes. The dancers drove about 1,000 miles so they could appear Wednesday on BET's live "106 & Park" show. But they hit traffic at the tunnel, which connects New Jersey and New York City and is just two miles from the TV studio. The five young women and three young men decided to sprint the rest of the way. They left their adult...

A camouflage-clad Florida dance troupe desperate to make it to a live TV talent show set off a rush-hour terror scare when they ditched their cars in merciless Lincoln Tunnel traffic and tried to sprint through the tube.The FBI-NYPD Joint Terrorism Task Force was called in -- and a massive contingent of heavily armed cops surrounded the harmless performers, who stood teary-eyed in their showy costumes as hundreds of angry drivers were stuck in the snarl."They drew their guns on us at first," said Landon Burse, 24, the group's executive director who arranged the appearance on BET's "106 & Park"...

It could give a sense of superior American organisation, or be an indicator of a deep-set persecution complex. It could also be a manifestation of Uncle Sam’s penchant for a show of strength. ....................................................... Since it is difficult to monitor such a congested area, they came up with a quick solution which left the Indians accompanying them amazed: A bomb-proof over-ground tunnel — to be installed by US military engineers in just an hour. The tunnel would be a kilometre long and measure 12ft by 12ft — enough to let Obama’s cavalcade pass through. The tunnel would be centrally air-conditioned,...

It could give a sense of superior American organisation, or be an indicator of a deep-set persecution complex. It could also be a manifestation of Uncle Sam’s penchant for a show of strength. The matter pertains to US president Barack Obama’s planned visit to Mani Bhavan —the Gandhi museum — on November 6, soon after he reaches Mumbai. On Monday, US secret agents visited the museum to plan Obama’s security detail. They were accompanied by officers of Mumbai Police and civic officials of the D ward (where Mani Bhavan is located). While inspecting the route and the buildings lining up...

EXCERPT Since it is difficult to monitor such a congested area, they came up with a quick solution which left the Indians accompanying them amazed: A bomb-proof over-ground tunnel — to be installed by US military engineers in just an hour. The tunnel would be a kilometre long and measure 12ft by 12ft — enough to let Obama’s cavalcade pass through. The tunnel would be centrally air-conditioned, fitted with close-circuit television cameras, and will be heavily guarded at every point, including, of course, its entry and exit. Details about when exactly the tunnel would be made were not forthcoming. But...

A phony track worker triggered a terror scare inside a lower Manhattan subway tunnel Friday morning - but he turned out to be a despondent college student who wanted to kill himself by ingesting sodium cyanide, police said. A 20-year-old Pace University student who has been on the school's Dean's List told police he wanted to find a discreet alcove, mix the cyanide pellets with water and ingest it. "He did not want to be found," said Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne, the NYPD's top spokesman. "He had no ID on him. He was looking for some isolated place in the...

Bomb-proof tunnel with air conditioning: Obama's security go to extraordinary measures for his tour of the Gandhi museum President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle arrived in India's commercial hub of Mumbai on Saturday, days after voters punished his Democrats in mid-term elections. Probably not since the days of the Pharaohs or the more ludicrous Roman Emperors has a head of state travelled in such pomp and expensive grandeur as the President of the United States of America.

Students have vowed to protest or block North Carolina State University's Free Expression Tunnel until the university's chancellor gives guarantees that no hate speech will be allowed there. About 40 students painted the tunnel black overnight to protest racist and homophobic graffiti involving President Barack Obama painted there Sunday night. Slurs and the name "Obama" were painted over the picture of a black man. "It's not about the N-word. It's not about Obama. It's about racism, period,"

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- Under pressure from the Obama administration, Republican Gov. Chris Christie agreed Friday to rethink his decision to cancel construction of a $9 billion rail tunnel connecting New Jersey and New York City. Christie, a rising star in the GOP with a reputation as a fearless protector of the taxpayers' money, announced on Thursday that he was pulling the plug on the project because of runaway costs - a decision that led to an outcry from Democrats who said it would cost the state thousands of badly needed construction jobs and cripple New Jersey's long-term economy.

It's the ARC tunnel or nothing at all. WHY ARE we so intent on making the perfect the enemy of the good? The Access to the Region's Core tunnel project has been subject to a lot of criticism lately — most of it directed at particular elements of the project that detractors see as falling somewhere short of perfection. Yet considering the extremely difficult physical constraints an infrastructure project of this magnitude has to overcome in an already intensely developed region, the ARC tunnel has emerged from 20 years of exhaustive study as the best possible solution for meeting the...

How does a city lose 2,500 feet of tunnels under its streets? North Miami Beach would like to know. Over a four-year period, the city contracted with a construction company to build 254 manholes -- the tunnels that run down from street level to utility pipes 8 to 10 feet below.

NOTE: THIS IS THE NEW ISRAEL-RELATED THREAD Note The following news brief is a quote: Report: IDF attacks targets in south, central Gaza Strip Published: 08.17.10, 23:45 / Israel News Palestinians reported that the IDF had fired towards open ground in Khan Younis and attacked the smuggling tunnels in the south of the Gaza Strip. No injuries were reported. Two IDF soldiers were lightly wounded Tuesday morning from shells fired into the western Negev. (Ali Waked)

The North Shore Connector is No. 3 in the nation among stimulus-funded projects that waste taxpayer money, two Republican senators say. In a report released Tuesday, Oklahoma's Tom Coburn and Arizona's John McCain said the $528.8 million light-rail extension beneath the Allegheny River to bring T riders to destinations such as PNC Park and Heinz Field is an example of stimulus dollars spent to fund projects with "questionable goals," or those that "are being mismanaged or were poorly planned." The "Summertime Blues" report, their third in a series, identifies 100 projects throughout the country that received money from the $787...

SNIPPET: "Police are working to figure out the origin of the rocket that was fired from the Gaza Strip Saturday evening and exploded near Kibbutz Nahal Oz, without causing damage or injures. A total of four rockets and two mortar shells were fired at Israel on Saturday, causing no injuries. An initial examination revealed that the rocket fired at Nahal Oz was manufactured using professional means, most likely outside of the borders of the Gaza Strip. The rocket had a diameter of 115 millimeters, and police sappers were working to locate fragments of it to be tested."

IDF strikes in Gaza in response to rocket Air Force planes target weapons warehouse, two smuggling tunnels in Strip; no injuries reported Hanan Greenberg Published: 06.25.10, 07:57 / Israel News Israel Air Force aircraft bombed a weapons warehouse in northern Gaza and two smuggling tunnels in the southern Strip on Thursday night. The Israel Defense Forces said the targets were hit and that all planes returned safely to their base. There were no reports of injuries. The attack was a response to the firing of a rocket and mortar shells at western Negev communities on Thursday. The IDF stressed that...

Port Authority cops who staff the agency’s bridges and tunnels were read harrowing details of a terrorist threat today advising them to be on the lookout for a fuel-filled tanker meant to explode prior to a secondary blast designed to decimate any first responders, The Post has learned. The chilling warning was read at roll call for four police commands – cops assigned to the Holland and Lincoln Tunnel; the George Washington Bridge; and also the Staten Island command, which incorporates the Bayonne and Goethals Bridge and the Outerbridge Crossing, a source said.

SNIPPET: "Israel Air Force jets attacked three tunnels in the Gaza Strip in a joint Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet operation on Thursday night, several hours after a Qassam rocket hit the Ashkelon Coast Regional Council. Two of the targets attacked were in the southern Strip and one was in the northern Strip. According to the IDF, terrorists were using the tunnels to try to infiltrate Israel. The IDF Spokesperson's Office said the tunnels were located about 1 kilometer (0.62 miles) from the border fence and that the targets were hit. There have been no reports of injuries among...

Note: Video and photos included at link. Photos reveal inside look at East Austin tunnel home by NOELLE NEWTON / KVUE News Posted on May 18, 2010 at 5:34 PM Updated today at 6:14 PM SNIPPET: "The City of Austin Tuesday released photos of the web of tunnels a man dug underneath his East Austin home. Under the yellow home are three stories of tunnels. For at least two years, neighbors suspected owner Jose Del Rio was up to something strange, but had no idea just how busy he'd been." SNIPPET: "On Tuesday, the city released pictures from below taken...

NEAR KERMIT, W.Va. Floodlights glared deep in a century-old tunnel under an Appalachian hillside. An excavator poked at the arched ceiling like a pterodactyl. Chunks of sandstone shattered and fell thunderously into an empty rail car. Work has gone on like this for nearly a year. Crews begin at 2 a.m. and call it a day about noon. In late March, they still were a few hundred feet from the south end of Norfolk Southern’s Big Sandy 1, a 2,627-foot railroad tunnel burrowed through a hill that sits along the Big Sandy River separating West Virginia from Kentucky. Their task:...