| This thread has been locked, it will not receive new replies. |
|
Locked on 03/13/2004 7:51:57 AM PST by Admin Moderator, reason:
Thread 4: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1096779/posts |
Posted on 02/24/2004 3:19:05 AM PST by Revel
Edited on 05/26/2004 5:19:43 PM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
February 24, 2004 -- WASHINGTON - The Pentagon has dispatched the elite commando force that hunted down Saddam Hussein to Afghanistan for a new operation aimed at getting Osama bin Laden, officials said yesterday. Military sources confirmed that members of the shadowy Task Force 121, the unit that conducted the high-tech search for Saddam and his henchmen, have recently begun operating in the remote mountainous region along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border where bin Laden and key al Qaeda and Taliban fugitives are believed to be hiding. The Task Force is made up of highly trained Delta and SEAL commandos, as well as CIA paramilitary operators. It operates outside normal military channels.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Zebra: The True Account of the 179 Days of Terror in San Francisco, by Clark Howard:
No offense, but I doubt you could get too many. Unless things get a hell of a lot worse here.
High alert in Tel Aviv lifted - Major Terrorist Attack Thwarted
The 5 MHz amateur "Notice of variation" special licence band provides interest to the short wave listener from time to time; this on-going exercise is rumoured to be a long-standing experiment to test the suitability of this part of the spectrum for inter-UK emergency communications if (when?) the much predicted Islamic terrorist offensive kicks off in this country and the more usual telecommunications systems are knocked out. The clue that there is something more going on here other than the government being kind to the radio amateur fraternity may be deduced from the terms of operation, i.e channelised operation on specified spot frequencies and the use of upper sideband rather than lower which would be the usual convention for an amateur allocation in this part of the RF spectrum. These two requirements ensure communication compatibility with the military stations with the strange callsigns which join in with the QSOs quite frequently. Although the band is often devoid of any activity things are usually lively from 1230z onwards for an hour or two on Sundays when the Radio Society of Great Britain weekly news bulletin is broadcast by one or other of the amateur stations on 5403.5kHz under the callsign GB2RS and is, by the way, the most QRM free reception of this which also goes out on 80 metres, a much more crowded band. When the RSGB news has ended the reader reverts to his own callsign and invites reports from other stations, and the ensuing QSOs from all over the UK - including Scotland , the Isle of Man, Northern Ireland and the far north of Scotland demonstrate that this band is indeed useful for reliable communication within the UK.
The anonymous provider of this information also asks a very pertinent and worrying question: On the subject of the forthcoming big event, is it true that local authorities in the cities have been told to look at open land outside the built -up areas and do an assessment as to its suitability - with regard to soil type, depth of water table and so on - for mass burials in case a terrorist onslaught leaves thousands of dead? - I heard the story on a radio phone-in some time ago. A bit worrying, that; reminds me of the news stories which used to appear from time to time when construction workers digging foundations for new buildings close to London would dig up large numbers of human skeletons which would be identified as the victims of the Great Plague of 1665 taken by the cartload well outside the city limits and put into mass graves.
Read that then see the top headlines at memri, makes one wonder what Assad is up to.
March 2, 2004 IRANIAN DEFENSE MINISTER ALI SHAMKHANI SAID THE ARAB AND ISLAMIC WORLD WOULD STAND BESIDE SYRIA SHOULD IT BE ATTACKED BY ISRAEL. (AL-SAFIR, LEBANON, 3/1/04)
March 2, 2004 SYRIAN DEFENSE MINISTER MUSTAFA TLASS MET WITH UKRAINIAN OFFICIALS FOR TALKS REGARDING MILITARY COOPERATION. (ARABICNEWS.COM, 3/1/04)
March 2, 2004 A SYRIAN SOURCE REVEALED THAT SYRIAN PRESIDENT BASHAR AL-ASSAD RECENTLY SPOKE WITH SYRIAN BUSINESSMEN ABROAD AND 'URGED THEM TO INVEST IN THE HOMELAND.' (AKHBAR AL-SHARQ, SYRIA, 2/29/04)
sorry about all the caps
In the US and the UK there is a new amateur radio band that has been allocated, the first new band in something like 30 years (I think). It operates on frequencies around 5000 kilohertz (your AM radio recieves frequencies from 530 to 1700 kilohertz).
There are a few unique things about this frequency allocation:
1. Every other amateur band has been allocated a frequency range for use (such as 3500 kilohertz to 4000 kilohertz). This band (called the 60 meter band) is allocated for channelized use only, like a CB. There are no other amateur frequency bands like this, and it was a point of contention for some of the grouchier old hams. There are 5 channels on the band (in kilohertz or kHz): 5330.5, 5346.5, 5366.5, 5371.5, 5403.5.
2. The power output is limited to 50 watts. On most other amateur bands in the US, the legal limit is 1500 watts.
3. Communications must be made in a mode called upper sideband. As you might have guessed there is a mode called lower sideband as well. By convention, operation below 10000 kHz when using sideband is done with lower sideband. The reason for bucking the trend in this case is probably to give us hams a way to communicate with the government (as the original author said).
4. It was originaly stated that hams would have secondary access to the band (on most bands we are the primary or the only user), and that the purpose of the band was for effiecient interstate communication in the event of an emergency. I didn't really put 2 and 2 together regarding this band until I read this story.
Anyway, hope this helps. Let me know if you need further clarification. :)
I'll let you know when I can make a sked.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.