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Locked on 01/30/2005 12:18:25 AM PST by Lead Moderator, reason:
Thread Twenty-four here: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1331735/posts |
Posted on 12/23/2004 10:30:10 PM PST by nwctwx
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Re: post 1408.
Just grew a few more gray hairs here. ~~shudder~~
More than two explosions near underground gas lines knocked out power to part of Downtown late this morning.
"It was like, wow!" said Brian Freije, owner of Matrix Imaging, a business at 118 W. North Street. Freije said, "You saw this yellow, toxic stuff coming out."
Freije said as many as eight explosions erupted from a manhole cover in front of his graphics business, shaking the building. The manhole cover flew 4 feet into the air as the blast threw off a bright yellow light and acrid yellow smoke.
No injuries were reported, but it was not known when power would be restored to local businesses and offices, including the Minton-Capehart Federal Building and The Indianapolis Star.
The Indianapolis Fire Department received a call at 11:17 a.m. with a report of an explosion in the 100 block of West North Street.
At first, authorities thought the blast was a gas explosion, fire department spokesman Gregg Harris said, but by early afternoon investigators were still not certain.
Citizens Gas spokesman Dan Considine said one of the utility's crews had just arrived to the North Street address to restore gas service to a nearby building just before the first explosion. In the aftermath of the blasts, gas crews checked the area thoroughly and found no gas leaks, he said.
"We haven't ruled anything out yet," he said of the possible cause. "There's no indication gas was involved."
Power was out to many locations between New York and North streets, and West and Delaware streets, according to Crystal Livers-Powers, a spokeswoman for Indianapolis Power & Light.
Some of the power was shut off deliberately by IPL for safety reasons, the spokeswoman said.
This story will be updated.
Yuck! Too much information.
Take care of yourself. :-)
Will ping you to anything crucial.
That's certainly a possibility.
.
The FBI the government's main informer, Mohamed Alanssi is the man who set himself on fire in front of the White House last year; and was set to testify in this trial that will start on January 10th.
As an aside, I believe that the Sept. 11th attacks happened at about the same time as the trial for one of the shieks who was involved in the initial WTC bombing in 1993. So the timing of some of the recent threats, the upcoming elections in Iraq...this just makes me somewhat uneasy.
Defense for Sheik and Aide Is Suspicious of Gaps in Tapes
By WILLIAM GLABERSON 
Sheikh Ali Hassan al-Moayad, shown in this file photo, was arrested last winter in Germany.
Published: January 5, 2005 By WILLIAM GLABERSON Lawyers for a Yemeni sheik and an aide who are charged with financing terrorism said yesterday that there were gaps in secretly recorded tapes that are at the heart of the prosecution's case, and suggested that they may have been doctored.
"There are many gaps we can't explain," Jonathan Marks, a defense lawyer, said in Federal District Court in Brooklyn. He added that one recording "may have been doctored in such a way" as to obscure a conversation that could help the defense.
A prosecutor, Kelly Moore, acknowledged that there were gaps on the tapes, which were recorded surreptitiously by law enforcement agents, but said they were only a few seconds in length....
William H. Goodman, another defense lawyer, said that on at least one of a series of recordings made by agents in a hotel in Frankfurt, there was one gap of nearly a minute. He said the gaps might have covered up statements made by the defendants "that may be extremely helpful to the defense."
The remarks did not prompt any ruling from the judge, Sterling Johnson Jr. They were made at a routine hearing before the trial of the two defendants, Sheik Mohammed Ali Hassan al-Moayad and his aide, Mohammed Mohsen Yahya Zayed.
Jury selection is to begin Monday. The charges, which claim that the men raised millions of dollars at mosques in Brooklyn and elsewhere, drew international attention when they were announced in 2003 by Attorney General John Ashcroft. The men are charged with providing money to Al Qaeda, Hamas and other terrorist organizations.
The case made news again in November when the government's main informer, Mohamed Alanssi, a Yemeni with a troubled past that included bad debts and criminal charges , set himself on fire outside the White House, partly because of a dispute with the F.B.I. over his treatment.
Prosecutors have since suggested that they may not call him as a witness.
The recordings at issue yesterday were made by law enforcement agents who secretly monitored meetings among Mr. Alanssi, a second informer, the sheik and Mr. Zayed. The second informer was posing as a former Black Panther eager to contribute to terrorist causes....
Court Records Tell of Sheik's Promise to Spread Around Financing for Terrorists
The filing included previously undisclosed excerpts from sealed transcripts of conversations during a sting operation in Germany last year. In secretly recorded meetings in a Frankfurt hotel, the sheik, Mohammed Ali Hassan al-Moayad, met with an American agent playing the part of a former Black Panther who was eager to contribute $2.5 million to terrorist causes.......
The sheik said he would pass on money raised in America to 'everybody that we learn is fighting jihad to raise God's word,' according to the prosecutors. 'The way we see it is to support all organizations,' including 'Hamas, Al Qaeda, prisoners, mujahedeen and such,' the prosecutors quoted the sheik as saying.
The comments were among the most damaging attributed to Sheik Moayad by the federal prosecutors in Brooklyn in a case that they have said may be the largest terrorism-financing case in the country.
The filing portrayed the sheik, who is now in jail in Brooklyn awaiting trial, as applauding and laughing about deaths caused by a suicide attack in Israel. It also quoted him vowing revenge after his arrest in 2003 by German authorities who were working with American law enforcement officials.
'Allah will bring storms to Germany and America,' the prosecutors quoted the sheik as saying.
Link to Search of Shiek Mohammed & more Articles
Agent Fuller continues to work in counterterrorism. He will probably testify in January at the trial of the Yemeni sheik Mohammed Ali Hassan al-Moayad, who is accused of providing money, weapons, equipment and recruits to Al Qaeda and Hamas. The case will apparently go on despite the fact that the chief confidential informant involved, a Yemeni immigrant, set himself on fire in front of the White House to protest his treatment by F.B.I. agents. In the F.B.I. sting operation, Mr. al-Moayad was taped in Europe telling the confidential informant (who was posing as an Al Qaeda sympathizer) and another intelligence agent that he'd funneled millions of dollars to Mr. bin Laden and was his spiritual advisor.
From your link:
"Freije said as many as eight explosions erupted from a manhole cover in front of his graphics business, shaking the building. The manhole cover flew 4 feet into the air as the blast threw off a bright yellow light and acrid yellow smoke."
Heightened awareness at that courthouse is probably prudent.
Thank you for the links.
Crosspost
Feds search for Middle Eastern man who tried to buy same explosive McVeigh used
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1314651/posts?page=22#22
North Korea has ordered its citizens to be ready for a protracted war against the United States, issuing guidelines on evacuating to underground bunkers with weapons, food and portraits of leader Kim Jong Il.
all4one- where is little Kim these days?
Also note that Chinese troops have massed on the north korean border.
Just trying to catch up on world events:
2005-01-03 10:46 * RUSSIA * DEFENSE MINISTRY * CHINA * MANEUVERS *
LARGE-SCALE RUSSIAN-CHINESE MANEUVERS TO BE CONDUCTED IN CHINA
MOSCOW, January 3 (RIA Novosti) - In the second half of 2005, Russia and China plan to conduct large-scale military maneuvers on the Chinese territory, the Russian Defense Ministry press service announced.
"For the first time in history, Russia and China will conduct large-scale joint military exercises in which Russia will not deploy a large number of military personnel but rather a variety of modern combat vehicles, warships, aviation, including strategic, and submarines," a press service spokesperson told RIA Novosti.
He said that the maneuvers would not be conducted near the borders with neighboring countries. The development of detailed plans and schedules for upcoming maneuvers is under way.
The Russian Defense Ministry sources also announced that the ministry is developing a plan of combat training for the Russian Armed Forces in the near future. According to the ministry's spokesperson, priority is given to cooperation in the framework of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) which includes Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. In 2005, Russia plans to conduct joint military maneuvers with Tajikistan.
Speaking about international cooperation, the defense ministry spokesperson noted that the Russia-NATO Council is developing a plan for joint maneuvers. In particular, the sides envision joint Russian-French navy maneuvers with deployment of strategic nuclear forces.
In addition, the sides plan to conduct joint actions in the Mediterranean with participation of the U.S. Armed Forces and troops from non-NATO countries.
Also, the Russian Defense Ministry does not exclude a possibility of joint military exercises with Germany. The ministry's spokesperson underlined that this issue would be discussed during the visit of the Russian Defense Minister to Germany.
en.rian.ru/rian/index.cfm...do_alert=0
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1314357/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1307764/posts?page=1415#1415
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1307764/posts?page=1430#1430
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1307764/posts?page=1431#1431
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http://news.bostonherald.com/search/?searchSite=recent&keyword=al-Qaeda
http://news.bostonherald.com/images/localRegional/ms20050105.jpg
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http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=61903
"Eastie gang linked to al-Qaeda"
By Michele McPhee
Wednesday, January 5, 2005
ARTICLE SNIPPET: ""MS-13 is the most dangerous gang in the area,'' Fiandaca said. "They are big. They are mobile. Now they have a terrorist connection.''
The theory that Salvadoran criminals manage to smuggle people over the border was bolstered this month when two Boston men described as MS-13 leaders were spotted on the North Shore days before Christmas - a year after they were deported by Boston Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigators for gang-related crimes.
One of the two men, Elmer "Tiger'' Tejada, 24, who had been deported after being convicted of a slew of crimes, including attempted murder charges for hurling a machete at Chelsea cops, was busted in Lynn on New Year's Day. Tejada is described as ``an original MS-13 member'' from East Boston, sources said.
A manhunt has been launched for the second fugitive, who is in the country illegally, Boston police said."
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Courtesy of Mutter's:
Iran Boosts Air Defenses at Nuke Sites
Jan. 5, 2005
Arieh O'sullivan and David Horovitz
The Jerusalem Post
Concerned that the US or Israel may be planning an air strike against its nuclear facilities, Iran has beefed up its air defenses around various nuclear sites, Israeli security sources have told The Jerusalem Post. Iran is also said to be intermittently pointing its Shihab rockets in the general direction of Israel.
A spokesman for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon stressed Tuesday that Israel has no intention of leading any air strike on Iran, and believes that the US-led international diplomatic effort to thwart Iran's nuclear ambitions is the only appropriate path at this stage.
Further underlining Teheran's concerns, an Iranian newspaper reported Wednesday that US warplanes had flown over its nuclear facilities near the borders with Iraq and Afghanistan over the past few days. The US aircraft that entered Iranian air space included F-16 multi-role fighters and F/A-18 attack jets, according to a report in the Aftab newspaper.
The aircraft were said to have flown at high altitude and, according to the Iranian report, appeared to have been sent on reconnaissance missions over Iran's nuclear sites, particularly in the southwestern province of Khuzestan. The intrusions, it said, were also possibly designed to assess Iran's air-defense capabilities.
A few weeks ago, the Iranian Army chief, Gen. Muhammad Salimi, said his forces, led by the air force, had been ordered to stand ready to defend the country against any military strike targeting it nuclear sites.
"The air force has been ordered to protect the nuclear sites, using all its power," he was quoted as saying.
And in late December, Iranian Air Force chief Brig. Karim Qavami was quoted as having ordered his forces to open fire and shoot down any unidentified aircraft violating the country's airspace.
"Given that the intrusion of enemy aircraft over Iran's airspace is possible, all fighter jets of the country have been ordered by the army chief to shoot them down in the event of sighting them," he was quoted as saying.
The Israeli security sources told the Post that Teheran has begun to step up protection of its nuclear facilities immediately on agreeing to European demands that it suspend a uranium enrichment program last November.
"They really believe that the United States and maybe Israel will attack them, so they are improving their defenses," said one security source.
Despite the announced freeze in the program, the Israeli sources said, Iran's secret nuclear program continues to hum along; Teheran is determined to enrich uranium to make nuclear bombs.
Ra'anan Gissin, a spokesman for Sharon, confirmed that Iran is maintaining "a secret program, corroborated also by American intelligence, to produce enriched uranium." This clandestine "fuel-cycle" effort, he said, is the "critical element... the one factor that will determine when the program comes to fruition, when you can build a bomb."
If the international community, led by the US, maintains its diplomatic focus on the "fuel-cycle effort,' he said, "then that could... perhaps delay the necessity to use any other option.
"At this stage," Gissin stressed, "we don't think that the military option is the option that should be used. There are still sufficient measures that can be taken and must be taken before you come to the conclusion that everything's lost... You still have time," he said, though "not much."
And even if all else failed, Gissin added, "we are not going to lead" any resort to military force.
Rather than missile delivery of a nuclear warhead, Gissin said the more immediate "nightmare scenario," if Iran did obtain "nuclear-upgraded material,' is that it would be "able to assemble a dirty bomb, strap it to a couple of suicide bombers... and send them."
The security sources said that, at the moment, the Iranians do not have the capability to arm their medium-range Shihab-3 rockets with nuclear warheads. "We assess that this won't happen for at least three years or more," said one source.
A warhead weighing a ton would reduce the current Shihab-3's range by between 250-300 kilometers, thus removing Israel from its 1,300-km. range. At present, these rockets are estimated to have a 500-600 kilogram conventional warhead.
Gissin said the Shihabs were ultimately intended to achieve a range of 2,500 km., which would bring Europe into range. Asked whether Shihabs were intermittently focused on Israel, he said, in "the general direction, that's true." He noted that, at present, "they do have some problems with the guidance system, but no doubt they will solve them."
The Israeli security source described the present Iranian air defenses as "good." It is known that Soviet-origin anti-aircraft systems have recently been deployed around the 1,000 megawatt Busher nuclear reactor.
Iran's air defense systems also features Russian SA-2, SA-5, SA-6 and shoulder-launched SA-7 missiles, according to the Military Balance prepared by Tel Aviv University's Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies. The Iranians also have aged US-made Hawk missiles and have been seeking to purchase the sophisticated S-300P from Russia.
A report from the Middle East Newsline Web site said Iran has also requested that India sell it a radar system, known as the Super Fledermaus, which is designed to detect low-flying objects, like unmanned aerial vehicles.
The radar system is produced by Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL) under license from its American designer Ericsson Radar Electronics. The US is pressuring New Delhi not to make the sale.
www.jpost.com/servlet/Sat...1615860782
Underground fire blows off manhole lids downtown (Detroit, MI - 1/2/05) January 3, 2005 BY AMBER HUNT MARTIN FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
At least a dozen cast-iron covers blew off manholes along Congress in downtown Detroit on Sunday after a fire began beneath the street.
Officials with DTE Energy and Michigan Consolidated Gas said the blaze, under the intersection with Cadillac Square and Randolph, started about 4 p.m. Its cause wasn't known Sunday night.
Manhole Fire Knocks Out Power in Frederick (MD - 12/20/04) NBC 25, MD - Dec 20, 2004 The city has opened two shelters for people who don`t have heat. They are at the William Talley Recreation Center at Baker Park ...
Explosion Knocks Out Power (CT - 12/26/04)
Manhole Blast Rocks Meridian
POSTED: 11:57 am EST December 26, 2004 UPDATED: 12:10 pm EST December 26, 2004
MERIDIAN, Conn. -- The power is back on Sunday for thousands of people in Meriden after an explosion in a manhole. The outage forced the city's hospital to use a backup generator. A manhole explosion rocked State Street shortly before 10 p.m. The blast was quickly followed by massive power outages throughout Meriden. Connecticut Light and Power reported that nearly 5,000 residents were left without power. That figure represents 17 percent of all homes in Merdiden.
There is no word on what may caused the explosion or even whether the two events are related.
Big New Trouble for Con Edison (NY - Summer 2004)
7Online.com, NY - Dec 14, 2004 ... It all stems from last summer's fatal manhole explosions. The Investigators' Jim Hoffer has the story. It was one of the worst accidents ...
2004: the year that was (MA - Summer 2004
Holliston Tab, MA - Dec 29, 2004 ... Eric Brack, 18, who graduated in May from Holliston High, was the victim of a freak accident in which he was hit with a manhole cover that shot through the ...
I haven't found any info. on the whereabouts of Kim...I was wondering the same thing myself after findng this article today...but I will keep looking.
Thank you all4one. Things have been very subdued at our home. I wish I could do something for my father. He is thinking of discontinuing the dialysis as he stated he only underwent it to remain with his wife. I cannot imagine losing someone after 60 years.
Anyway, I am back on TM and am noticing an increase/escalation in actions:
North Korea
US overflights of Iran's nuke sites
Russian statements
Iraq
Chinese and Russian wargames commencing
Everyone and his brother seems to have a nuke at this point or capability to produce one....I fear we will soon see Iran's nuke sites vaporized- soon after the Iraqi elections.... After all, our President said: "Iran will NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON.
Thank you jerseygirl.
It was difficult for my father when my mother passed away after 37 years of marriage....so losing your spouse after 60 years of marriage, plus the holidays...well they say that time heals....personally I think that time lessens the pain.
You father needs to make his decisions....but should be encouraged to wait for a few months before discontinuing his dialysis. Within that time he may find that he enjoys his children and grandchildren and family, and looks forward to more time with them....such a difficult time...I will continue to keep him in my prayers.
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