Posted on 06/26/2006 2:22:16 PM PDT by Diver Dave
Edited on 06/26/2006 2:59:44 PM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
PORT HUENEME, Calif. Authorities sealed off a Southern California port Monday afternoon after a possible terrorist threat was found scrawled in a cargo ship's hold, a port official said.
Authorities closed off the Port Of Hueneme in Ventura County after a dockworker discovered the message scrawled in marker on a metal pillar in the hold of a ship carrying bananas from Guatemala, said Will Berg, the port's marketing director.
Berg said message read: "This nitro is for you Mr. George W. Bush and your Jewish cronies."
Big deal!
I think every Kia in the world comes through Long Beach.
Good afternoon.
California, up the coast from LA, down the coast from of Santa Barbara. I used to sail out of Channel Islands Marina nearby.
Michael Frazier
And it is not "port of.."
It's just Port Hueneme.
And, no, I don't know what a hueneme is.
Yes, WABC radio news conveniently leaving off the rest of the story. This is for President George W Bush and his jewish cronies.
It's south of Mexnard.
doh!
Can someone with a chemistry knowledge make any connection between Nitrogen and bananas instead of Nitogrycerin that might make more sense?
It's pronounced why.nee.me, and it's located on the Pacific coast between Los Angeles and Oxnard in Southern California.
And also, the use of the word "cronies" sounds more like a disgruntled longshoreman than a terrorist.Sounds like the EARLY reports using that word were incorrect.
The Associated Press story NOW reads:
Possible terror threat closes Calif. port
JEFF WILSON
Associated PressPORT HUENEME, Calif.A Southern California port was closed for several hours Monday afternoon while authorities investigated a possible terrorist threat on a cargo ship.
A dock worker at the Port of Hueneme in Ventura County discovered a threatening message written in the cargo hold of a ship carrying bananas from Guatemala, said Will Berg, the port's marketing director.
Federal authorities said the message was written in English and read: "Nitro + glycerin my gift for G. W. Bush and his Jewish gang."
No nitroglycerine or other explosives were found during a thorough search, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said.
The message was scrawled in marker on a metal pillar in the ship.
Authorities were investigating, and divers were called in to inspect surrounding waters.
About 20 people were evacuated from the 30,000-ton refrigerated vessel the Wild Lotus, which arrived from the Port of Quetzal in Guatemala on Sunday evening, officials said.
The 135-acre port is the only deep-ocean port between Los Angeles and San Francisco, though it handles far less cargo than the Los Angeles-Long Beach complex, the nation's largest harbor.
It is the top seaport in the United States for citrus exports and ranks in the top 10 in the country for imports of automobiles and bananas, according to the port's Web site.
your right, it been a long time for me too
I think one of you knows Will Berg.
nope pt magu is up on top of the point, been there a couple of times to see the air show.. back in the 60's
If you know of Oxnard, you know of Port Hueneme. Port Hueneme borders Oxnard. Lots of cars come in thru PH.
Where are you in Camarillo? I moved from there Dec 04 after having lived there 6 years. I actually work for Port Huenme right now (PCS'd to the east coast).
Actually the MOST important thing about Port Hueneme is that it is the home of the US Navy Seabees. Two US Navy ships, one the USS Stethem names for Robert Stethem who was thrown from the TWA airliner (1986), have been commissioned at Port Hueneme.
"Now, a ripe banana delivered by Harry Belafonte to the first non-local who knows how to pronounce Hueneme!"
I'm not a local, but I'm a Native Californian, and I was born in Port Hueneme in 1958 when my Dad was in the Navy!
It's pronounced "Y-nee-mee". :)
Scrawled Bush threat sparks California port scare
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-06-27 08:57A bomb threat against President George W. Bush and his "Jewish gang" scrawled in a cargo ship prompted authorities to shut down part of a major California port on Monday until investigators determined that no explosives were on the vessel.
Port Hueneme, 60 miles (97 km) north of Los Angeles, California, is seen in this undated aerial handout photo. Authorities closed a major California port on June 26, 2006 after finding a written threat, apparently directed at U.S. President George W. Bush, in the hold of a cargo ship. 'We got a report that there was a threatening message written on one of the stanchions in the cargo hold of a ship called Mild Lotus,' outside California's Port Hueneme, U.S. Coast Guard Spokesman Patrick Sullivan said. [Reuters]Officials shut down a terminal at Port Hueneme, about 60 miles north of Los Angeles, after a dock worker discovered the message inside the refrigerated cargo ship, arriving from Guatemala with a load of bananas.
Laura Eimiller, a spokeswoman for the FBI, said the threat, which was written on a metal pillar in the hold of the ship, the Mild Lotus, read: "nitro + glycerin, a gift for gw bush and his jewish gang."
Nitroglycerine is an explosive liquid that can be used to manufacture explosives like dynamite and for construction and demolition purposes.
Authorities initially said that the entire port was shut down as a precaution but later said that only the terminal and surrounding area were closed to civilian traffic while bomb squads searched for explosives.
Bomb-sniffing dogs were used to search the ship, several surrounding vessels, cargo and buildings. Divers inspected the hull of the ship.
A U.S. Coast Guard spokesman said ship had Panamanian registry but had last docked in Guatemala. An investigation was underway.
State officials who assess possible threats discounted a link to terrorism, but said they would monitor the situation.
"We don't see any apparent connection to terrorism," said Chris Bertelli, a spokesman for the California Office of Homeland Security.
The port of Hueneme, 60 miles north of Los Angeles, is the only commercial deep water port between Los Angeles and San Francisco and serves as a point of import and export for automobiles, produce and forest products.
It is also the only military deep water port between San Diego and Puget Sound in Washington state.
With about half of all U.S. imports arriving at the country's 361 ports each year, a militant attack on the maritime sector could cause hundreds of billions of dollars in damage, in addition to the human toll.
But despite a series of security improvements since September 11, 2001 -- including physical security, ship tracking and identification procedures -- officials say large gaps remain in the long supply chain between the origin of goods and their final destination.
About 10,000 different ships make roughly 72,000 port calls in the United States each year. Only 5 percent of the roughly 9 million containers that come to the United States are examined upon arrival. Officials check them based largely on risk assessments.
Find a Chumash Indian and ask. That's how I found out what a Pismo is.
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