http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_4412265
Article Launched: 9/28/2006 04:29 PM
Single-engine plane crashes at El Paso airport (4:28 p.m.)
By Daniel Borunda / El Paso Times
El Paso Times
A single-engine airplane crashed at about 4:07 p.m. today at El Paso International Airport, an airport spokeswoman confirmed.
One witness said the experimental home-built plane landed and then flipped over.
The pilot, who was the only person on board, was killed. The crash occurred on runway 422 and is under investigation.
Four flights were diverted to Midland and Albuquerque during the time the airport was not accepting flights for 48 minutes. The airport was expected to return to normal at about 6:15 p.m. Check back to elpasotimes.com later for further updates.
September 28, 2006 PM Anti-Terrorism News
Al-Qaeda in Iraq's New Leader (Abu Hamza al-Muhajir) Issues Message: call to Jihadists to kidnap "some dogs of the Christians" to liberate "our imprisoned sheikh" (Omar Abdul Rahman); 20-minute long audio file - "Come to a Word that is Just Between Us and You" (Surah Imran, verse 64, the Koran) was posted on Jihadist web sites
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level.php?cat=Terrorism&loid=8.0.345181510&par=0
http://siteinstitute.org/bin/articles.cgi?ID=publications214606&Category=publications&Subcategory=0
Audiotape From Al Qaeda in Iraq Leader Calls on Scientists to Join Jihad - and use radioactive, biological weapons on USA bases in Iraq
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,216262,00.html
U.N. Report: Taliban relies on al-Qaida
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060928/ap_on_re_us/un_terrorist_sanctions
(Pakistan) Local Taliban open office in Miranshah, Pakistan
http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-234/0609282657115758.htm
(Iran) Ahmadinejad: Iran Will Not Give Up Enrichment Activities - "even for one day"
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,216252,00.html
(Afghanistan) Dozens of Taleban Killed in (Wednesday) Afghan Operation
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4§ionfiltered=0&article=87295&d=28&m=9&y=2006
Bin Laden loses Iraqi hearts, minds
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=52190
UN report says U.S. breaking Qaeda in Iraq - Al Qaeda "may see more losses than gains" in Iraq
http://www.nydailynews.com/09-28-2006/news/story/456361p-384073c.html
(Iraq) HVT #8 - Al-Qaeda Shura Leader of Mosul Captured in Mosul - "Fourth Rail" post on latest capture in Iraq
http://billroggio.com/archives/2006/09/hvt_8_alqaeda_shura.php
US Anti-Terror Experts: Hizbullah Still a Threat
http://www.israelnn.com/news.php3?id=112827
Palestinian militant jailed for life over bus bombing
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2006/September/middleeast_September625.xml§ionfiltered=middleeast&col=
Israel bomb victims get green light to sue Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) - for knowingly providing services to a charity linked to Hamas
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,200-2379108,00.html
(Israel) Terrorist Arrested in Jericho
http://www.israelnn.com/news.php3?id=112824
Update: Palestinian imam explains Islam: "The only dialogue we will accept is when all other religions agree to convert to Islam" (different detail in this version of news story)
http://www.religionandspirituality.com/view.php?StoryID=20060928-085427-3994r
Syria defies US threat, still backs Hamas, Hezbollah
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=51693
Somalia suicide bombing arrests
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5389636.stm
Somali Islamists shoot to disperse protest in port
http://www.metimes.com/storyview.php?StoryID=20060928-075309-8971r
(India) Seven militants held in J&K
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2036728.cms
More Muslim violence against Christians - church in Indonesia attack by mob for "illegal" prayer meetings - started demolishing roof
http://www.religionandspirituality.com/view.php?StoryID=20060927-045248-6943r
CAIR hosts Ramadan outreach in Washington - nine members of House of Representatives attended
http://www.religionandspirituality.com/view.php?StoryID=20060927-042905-1521r
(France) Writer of 'anti-Islam' article gets death threats
http://www.expatica.com/actual/article.asp?subchannel_id=25&story_id=33407
(UK) Emergency staff to get anti-terror gas masks
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/09/28/nmasks28.xml
US Coast Guard Patrol Great Lakes To Combat Terrorists from Canada (my title)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060928.wlakes28/BNStory/National/home
(Columbia) Treasury Designation Targets Nine Leaders and Key Figures of the FARC - see also chart of latest designation
http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/hp119.htm
http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/reports/0928_farc_chart.pdf
Behind the NIE: Scheuer Parses the Intelligence from the Politics
http://www.nationalinterest.org/Article.aspx?id=12318
Chocolate Bread Pudding
1 one ounce squares unsweetened chocolate
3 cups milk, scalded
3 cups dry 1/2 inch bread cubes
2 beaten eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
Melt chocolate in milk. Soften bread cubes in milk mixture. Combine eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla; beat well. Combine both mixtures; blend. Pour into greased 8 inch round baking pan. Bake by placing in another pan containing 1/2 inch of hot water. Bake 45 minutes in 350 degree oven. Serve with whipped topping if desired.
Recipes from Brenda Hyde of Old Fashioned Living.com
Recipe courtesy of MomsMenu.com
http://www.momsmenu.com
Says for pets, but bet you could play with it and get a good cracker type snack...................LOL
Doggie Biscuits
1 teaspoon instant beef bouillon
1/2 cup hot water
2 1/4 cups whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup nonfat dry milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 jar (about 31/4 ounces) bacon-flavored pieces
1 tablespoon firmly, packed brown sugar
1 egg
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a medium bowl, dissolve bouillon
in water. Add remaining ingredients, stirring until well blended. On a
lightly
floured surface, use a floured rolling pin to roll out dough to 1/8-inch
thickness. Use a 2-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out dough.
Transfer
to a greased baking sheet. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until firm. Transfer to
a
wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.
Yield: about 6 dozen doggie biscuits
Recipe courtesy of MomsMenu.com
http://www.momsmenu.com
Man accused of attempting to bomb neighbor's home
(http://www.post-trib.com/news/74759,Bombo.article)
September 28, 2006
By POST-TRIBUNE STAFF
HAMMOND-- A Hammond man has been charged in Lake Superior Court with attempting to bomb his neighbor's home.
David Levi Michielsen, 27, of Alexander Avenue, is charged with possessing, transporting, receiving, placing or detonating a destructive device with intent to injure or destroy property, a Class A felony. He also is charged with possession, manufacture, transportation or distribution of a destructive device, a Class C felony.
Hammond police were called to Michielsen's neighbor's home at 12:05 a.m. Monday after the neighbor smelled something burning and discovered an ignited explosive device on her window air conditioning unit.
The woman pulled out the wick before police arrived. She told police she heard a thumping sound coming from the window with the air conditioner and saw Michielsen running away.
The previous night, Michielsen had asked to borrow a screw to repair his wife's glasses, which were broken by the woman's children and Michielsen's wife's children. Michielsen became upset about the glasses, court records state.
He called the woman at about 10 p.m. to ask for a pair of her son's glasses to repair his wife's glasses, but the parts didn't fit.
Hammond police found a long piece of green wick matching the wick that had been set on fire and attached to the explosive device, court records state.
© Copyright 2006 Sun-Times News Group |
[Even I know his name, see the middle of the article, another Angel gone home]
Gun victim the nicest man you and I never met
(http://www.post-trib.com/news/73488,victim.article)
September 27, 2006
By JERRY DAVICH Post-Tribune metro columnist
The camera crews have fled. The reporters have left for the day. The parking lot is empty again, like usual.
It's Tuesday afternoon at East Point Grocery on Gary's east side and I'm probably the very last person who's with the media or police to visit the store since Sunday morning.
That's when Harold L. Jones was shot to death behind his store counter by two assailants.
That's when he tried shooting back with his own gun, but missed, according to family.
That's when returning gunfire before a church service would be the last thing on anyone else's mind.
Probably yours, too. But not in Gary, right? Not in the murder capital of our minds, right?
Let's face it, when those of us living outside of Gary first heard about Jones' death, our initial reaction was "Another Gary homicide." Be honest now. At least to yourself.
OK, I admit I did, too.
This is why I drove to East Point Grocery on Tuesday. I could have driven to a dozen other places in Northwest Indiana for today's column. In fact, I had other plans lined up.
But something kept tapping me on the shoulder -- who is Harold L. Jones? -- so I drove to his store to find out.
Here's what I discovered.
On the store's front counter display case, taped amid several old photos and some dusty memorabilia, is one telling newspaper clipping. Its headline warns store customers, "House bill OKs right to shoot."
"Mr. Harold," as he was called, and "Miss Jessie" Cain, his sister, taped it up to warn potential criminals that the law now allows them to defend themselves if needed.
And darn it if Mr. Harold, a 79-year-old Army veteran, didn't try on Sunday morning.
Behind the store counter, on the front door of an old refrigerator, is a fresh bullet hole.
"That came from his gun, not the boys who killed him," Miss Jessie told me, shaking her head.
"They got the jump on him," she sighed.
That morning, Mr. Harold stopped in before church, dressed to the nines. A customer called to ask if she could send her grandson to pick up a pair of pantyhose.
Of course, Mr. Harold said yes.
"He'd give you a thousand dollars if he had it," Miss Jessie said.
"Mmm-hmmmm," piped in her son, Mr. Harold's nephew.
It was the lady's grandson who found Mr. Harold's body, shot in the neck.
The killers got all of $50, the regular kitty for each new day of business.
"Those boys should get lethal injection," Miss Jessie said, rubbing her hand over the bullet hole in the fridge.
Police said two suspects have been held on unrelated charges, but not officially fingered as Mr. Harold's killers.
That's how Mr. Harold died. Here's how he lived.
Store customers called him "Wild Bill" and "Fuzzy," nicknames that stuck long ago. Kids called him "Mr. Harold," from his decades as a bus driver before he called it quits.
Still, even after retirement, Mr. Harold woke up early every weekday to be a school crossing guard before running the store. He didn't have to be. He wanted to be.
"Good morning, Mr. Harold," the familiar-faced kids would say.
"Good morning yourself," he'd reply.
Despite handwritten signs in the store warning "NO CREDIT" and "NO PASS OUTS!," Mr. Harold often issued credit to regular customers until the first of the month, and wink-and-nod pass outs to needy neighbors.
The lifetime Gary man worked seven days a week and didn't like calling off. The store was his life, not his livelihood.
In his youth, he was the Jessie Owens of Indiana, setting track and field records all the way to North Carolina State University, where he majored in physical education.
He was eventually inducted in the Indiana Association of Track & Field Hall of Fame in 1994. A weathered Post-Tribune clipping of this feat is still taped to a store wall.
As an adult, the father of eight ran for 5th District committeeman as a Democrat under the platform of "Your friendly bus driver."
"You would have loved him. Everyone did," said longtime customer Gwendolyn Blackmon, whose grandkids visited Mr. Harold for free snacks and pop. "He'd play with them and laugh and laugh."
On Tuesday afternoon, Miss Jessie looked weary, as much from the flash flood of media attention as her brother's death.
So she propped herself up alongside the fridge -- the one with the bullet hole -- and pondered her sibling's life and death.
"You couldn't find a better person than Harold," she said. "Go ahead, ask around. They'll tell you the same."
It seems that Mr. Harold was the nicest man you and I never met.
He was, quite frankly, someone I should have known while he was alive, not dead. But here I am showing up too late, writing a eulogy instead of a column.
Miss Jessie said funeral arrangements for her brother are pending.
Sadly, so too were our sympathies when we first heard about his death.
Contact Jerry Davich at 648-3107 or jdavich@post-trib.com
© Copyright 2006 Sun-Times News Group |
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/police/all-3shootsep28,0,5333912.story
From The Morning Call
September 28, 2006
2 Shot While In Car On Easton's South Side, Police Say
Two men were shot about 10:15 p.m. Wednesday while in a vehicle near the Delaware Terrace housing project on Easton's South Side, according to police.
While police went to the scene in the 200 block of E. Lincoln Street to investigate a report of shots being fired, police said they received a second call from the shooting victims.
The victims drove several blocks west from the scene of the shooting to Reynolds Street, where police found them bleeding in a parked car.
According to police, the driver and a passenger were both wounded and taken to area hospitals by ambulance. At least one was taken to St. Luke's Hospital-Fountain Hill.
Police towed away their sport utility vehicle, a white Mercury with a Pennsylvania license plate.
Residents from the neighborhood said the vehicle belonged to people who lived in a house at the corner of Reynolds and Williams streets. They said one of the victims was taken immediately in the ambulance while the second, who appeared to be less seriously injured, was taken away 15 minutes later.
Police said the identities of the victims and more information about the shooting would be released today.
Officers were combing E. Lincoln Street near the Boys and Girls Club of Easton for bullet casings and other evidence. After the vehicle was towed from Reynolds Street, officers left the scene.
Copyright © 2006, The Morning Call
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/police/all-4blowdartsep26,0,7023002.story
From The Morning Call
September 26, 2006
Cat May Have Been Hit By Blow Dart, Police Say
Police are investigating an animal cruelty case after they said someone inserted what appeared to be a silver blow dart into a cat.
Sylvia Popichak, 25, of 1032 Main St., told police the cat was treated by a veterinarian and the object was removed.
According to police:
Popichak said the gray female cat got out the rear door of her home around 10 a.m. Sunday. She said about an hour later, she heard the cat scratching to come back inside. She said the cat appeared to be pierced by a large metal needle.
Police said the item appeared to be a blow dart.
The item was removed and the cat was not seriously injured and didn't appear to be in pain, according to police.
Copyright © 2006, The Morning Call
This terrorist tied up traffic for quite awhile in Conn.
http://www.nbc30.com/slideshow/slideshows/9954252/detail.html?qs=;s=1;w=320
http://www.nbc30.com/news/9954175/detail.html
Student Found Dead In SCSU Dorm
POSTED: 10:05 am EDT September 28, 2006
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WEST HARTFORD, Conn. -- A 20-year-old student has been found dead in his dorm room at Southern Connecticut State University.
The body was found Wednesday.
A police representative said that authorities do not suspect foul play.
An autopsy is being planned.
TerroristWarning.com Terrorism Headlines 09/28/2006 # 1
National:
[CBS42] TEXAS - Suspicious Package Causes Scare At State Building
"letter with a suspicious-looking substance inside "
http://keyetv.com/topstories/local_story_268151220.html
[KCCI] IOWA - Bomb Goes Off Inside Altoona Woman's Vehicle
http://www.kcci.com/news/9931266/detail.html
[WPXI] PENNSYLVANIA - Police Find Suspicious Remote In Stolen Car
http://www.wpxi.com/news/9927013/detail.html
[WPMT] PENNSYLVANIA - Bomb Scare Shuts Down New Oxford [Briefcase under car, false alarm]
http://fox43.trb.com/news/wpmt-092506-bombscare,0,2944279.story?coll=wpmt-news-3
See also http://www.eveningsun.com/localnews/ci_4398104
[AP] CALIFORNIA - Suspicious powder forces quarantine at radio station
"scare came on the same day a suspicious powder was found in the mail at an investment firm in Woodside"
http://www.kesq.com/Global/story.asp?S=5459126&nav=9qrx
See also http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2006/September/26/local/stories/01local.htm
[KLAS TV] LAS VEGAS - Mystery Shrouds Accidents Involving Cement Trucks
"not ruling out sabotage"
"Two different cement trucks from the same company were involved in separate accidents Monday morning and both happened on the same road, just a few miles apart"
http://www.klas-tv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5456982&nav=menu102_2
[AP] COLORADO - White powder, threatening notes prompt scare at 4 Colorado buildings
http://www.newspress.com/Top/Article/article.jsp?Sectionfiltered=NATIONAL&ID=564811448350802012
[Rocky Mountain News] COLORADO - Hoaxes put state on alert
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5021656,00.html
[Danville Register-Bee] VIRGINIA - Police arrest man in bomb scare
"charged with making a threat to blow up Food Lion"
http://www.registerbee.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=DRB/MGArticle/DRB_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149190824254
[Dow Jones] USA - US Agriculture Still Vulnerable To Terrorist Threat – FBI
http://www.cattlenetwork.com/content.asp?contentid=71210
[WTVC] TENNESSEE - Suspicious Package Left at Bank [What delivery company leaves medical supplies outside a bank?]
http://www.newschannel9.com/engine.pl?stationfiltered=wtvc&id=6659&template=breakout_story1.shtml&dateformat=%25M+%25e,%25Y
[Bluefield Daily Telegraph] VIRGINIA - 3 face federal charges after missing explosives recovered
http://www.bdtonline.com/local/local_story_268215449.html?keyword=topstory
[ClickOnDetroit.com] MICHIGAN - FBI Clears Southfield Charity
http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/9935040/detail.html
[Daily Freeman] NEW YORK - Fake bomb found in truck
"fairly elaborate and sophisticated hoax"
http://www.dailyfreeman.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1769&dept_id=72585&newsid=17249809&PAG=461&rfi=9
[Witchita Eagle] KANSAS - Two bomb threats may be related
http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/15614191.htm
[San Antonio Express-News] MEXICO - Mexican drug cartels' new scare tactic: beheadings
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/09/26/MNGJELCP391.DTL
[CNN] USA - Former FBI agent: Clinton never approved a plan to kill bin Laden
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/09/26/coleman.cnna/
[WLNS] MICHIGAN - Local Bomb Scare Causes Search Spanning 2 Counties
http://www.wlns.com/Global/story.asp?S=5457836
[RGJ] NEVADA - Vandals target power line along river [Stolen copper, damaged power lines]
"50 electric poles have been destroyed"
http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060927/NEWS15/609270325/1144
[CNN] COLORADO - High school siege ends; one hostage shot, gunman dead
"gunman had a backpack and told police there was a bomb in it"
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/09/27/school.shooting/
[NBCSandiego.com] CALIFORNIA - Neighbors Rattled By Series Of Pipe-Bomb Explosions
http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/9947528/detail.html
[AP] WISCONSIN - Student arrested for threatening to bomb buildings at UW Oshkosh
http://nbc15.madison.com/news/headlines/4248716.html
[AP] WASHINGTON D.C. - Federal courthouse reopens; no bomb found
http://www.examiner.com/a-313771~Federal_courthouse_reopens__no_bomb_found.html
[First Coast News ] FLORIDA - Bomb Squad Called to FBI Offices [False alarm]
"landscaper saw a small globe with wires coming from it, down in the bushes"
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/local/news-article.aspx?storyid=65773
[AP] USA - NJ Congressman wants Briefing on FBI Anthrax Probe
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?sectionfiltered=local&id=4600630
[Reuters] NEW YORK - NY plot suspect associated with militants: expert
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060927/us_nm/security_plot_dc;_ylt=A86.I1NBKxtF9x8BphAWIr0F;_ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA--
[TransitSecurityReport.com] GLOBAL - View the latest edition of TransitSecurityReport.com for transportation terrorism and security news items
http://www.terroristwarning.com/index.php?pageID=1&sp=Transit
International:
[AP] ISRAEL / MEXICO - 'Suspicious' object found near Israeli Embassy in Mexico City
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/09/26/america/LA_GEN_Mexico_Israel_Embassy.php
[Reuters] ISRAEL / IRAN - Israel seen lifting nuclear veil in Iran stand-off [4 page article]
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-09-25T123752Z_01_L19902440_RTRUKOC_0_UK-NUCLEAR-ISRAEL-IRAN.xml&archived=False
[Reuters] ISRAEL - Arab attempt to reveal Israeli nukes thwarted
http://www.jnewswire.com/article/1160
[MENL] RUSSIA / IRAN - Russia offers SAMs to protect nukes
"Russia, pledging to complete the Busheher reactor, has offered to sell a range of surface-to-air missile systems to protect Iran's nuclear facilities"
http://www.menewsline.com/stories/2006/september/09_22_1.html
[AFP] AFGHANISTAN - Suicide bomb hits southern Afghanistan town, 18 killed: police
"attacker detonated explosives strapped to his body at a crowded ceremony "
http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?id=143770
[Jerusalem Post] ISRAEL - Car bomb explodes in Tel Aviv; none hurt
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1159193318434&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
[Itar-Tass] RUSSIA - 16.5 tonnes of explosives, 2,000 weapons seized in police operation
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=10829183&PageNum=0
[Vanguard] AFRICA - Red Alert as Drug Resistant TB Goes Airborne
"pandemic of the new drug resistant strain of tuberculosis which has since become airborne"
http://allafrica.com/stories/200609260509.html
[KUNA] PAKISTAN - Osama is alive and in good health -- Taliban
http://www.kuna.net.kw/Home/Story.aspx?Language=en&DSNO=908487
[AFP] ALGERIA - Al Qaeda ‘recruiter’ arrested
"Algerian authorities have arrested an alleged Islamist, suspected of having ties to the Al Qaeda terrorist network and accused of recruiting fighters for Iraq"
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=109566&versionfiltered=1&template_id=37&parent_id=17
[Xinhua] AFGHANISTAN - Bomb explosion injures 4 in university in E. Afghanistan
"bomb attack wounded three teachers and one student on Tuesday in Khost University"
http://english.people.com.cn/200609/27/eng20060927_306590.html
[Irish Examiner] IRELAND - Three injured in petrol bomb attack on Belfast house
http://www.irishexaminer.com/breaking/story.asp?j=12810034&p=yz8yxx8x&n=12810122&x=
[Pakistan News Service] PAKISTAN - Bomb blast claims 3 lives in Swat
http://paktribune.com/news/index.shtml?155532
[ÈTK] PRAGUE - U.S. Embassy recommends precautions over terrorist threat
http://www.ceskenoviny.cz/news/index_view.php?id=211838
[AKI] MIDDLE EAST - Terrorism - Al-Qaeda video threatening Pope imminent [TW Editor - also be on the lookout for a video/audio to prove UBL is alive]
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Politics&loid=8.0.344684154&par=
See also http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601100&sid=awfGUmfeJCRA&refer=germany
[PTI] INDIA - Powerful bomb recovered in Manipur
"more than 20 powerful bombs, planted at different places in Manipur valley by militants targetting security forces, had been recovered and defused in the past some weeks"
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/004200609281231.htm
http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/09/dozens_of_forei.html
Dozens of Foreign Pilots Training Illegally at US Flight Schools
September 25, 2006 1:09 PM
Brian Ross and Eric Longabardi Report:
Dozens of foreign student pilots with questionable visas have been able
to
slip between the cracks and gain entry to American flight schools,
federal
officials tell ABC News.
The FAA says it is conducting an investigation of a number of flight
instructors and schools, including one school which was attended by
9-11
hijackers Mohammed Atta and Marwan al-Shehhi.
An internal Homeland Security document obtained by ABC News, says the
post
9-11 program to prevent terrorists from entering US flight schools has
been
marked by "confusion and misinterpretations."
Under the program, no foreign national can receive flight training in
the
United States without approval from the Transportation Security
Administration.
In a July, 2006 memo, the TSA complains the program has been flawed
because
other agencies, including the Department of State, have provided
"conflicting and ambiguous" information about whether applicants had
valid
visas for flight training.
continued...............
http://www.iht.com/bin/print_ipub.php?file=/articles/2006/09/25/news/denmark.php
<http://www.iht.com/bin/print_ipub.php?file=/articles/2006/09/25/news/denmar
k.php
Danish wake-up call on Islam
By Dan Bilefsky International Herald Tribune
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2006
COPENHAGEN On Sept. 5, the day Danish police arrested nine Muslim
suspects
in connection with a foiled terrorist plot, a slender book warning of
conquest by Islamic fundamentalists in Europe appeared in bookstores
here.
"Islamists and Naivists," by Karen Jespersen and Ralf Pittelkow, has
since
risen to the top of the best-seller list and is causing a sensation in
Denmark - in part because the authors are establishment figures
previously
known for their progressive attitudes toward Islam and integration.
The book is also gaining notice because Denmark, a country celebrated
for
its fairy tales, is on the front line of the culture wars between Islam
and
the West following publication in a Danish newspaper late last year of
cartoons lampooning the Prophet Muhammad.
The book's main argument is that Europeans who ignore the threat posed
by
Islamists belong to a new and dangerous tribe of "naivists," a term
coined
by the authors. This may not sound so radical at a time when the pope
has
upset the Islamic world by quoting a medieval passage calling Islam
"evil
and inhuman" and when Islamic terrorist plots have put Europe on edge.
But the book also equates Islamic fundamentalists with Nazis and
Communists
- a provocative stand on the heels of the cartoon crisis, which
strengthened
a backlash against immigrants that was already brewing here.
Pittelkow says the new book's publication on the day of the terror
arrests,
while a coincidence, was a prescient reminder.
"The threat is that the Islamists and their values are gaining ground
in
Europe, especially among the younger generation," he said in an
interview.
"They try to interfere in people's lives, telling them what to wear,
what to
eat, what to think and what to believe. They warn Muslims to create
their
own societies within Europe or risk disappearing like salt in water."
Muslim leaders here have denounced the book, accusing Pittelkow and
Jespersen of giving Muslim-bashing a respectable face in Denmark, a
country
that views itself as a tolerant and open society.
Danish analysts say the book reflects the extent to which skepticism
about
Islam has invaded the European political mainstream.
"The book is significant because it shows how attacks against Islam are
no
longer limited to people on the right, but have become acceptable, even
fashionable, among people close to the establishment," said Jakob
Nielsen, a
commentator for the left-leaning newspaper Politiken, which Pittelkow
labels
"naivist" for underestimating the threat of the Islamists. "The reality
is
that nobody in Denmark bats an eye anymore when people talk about the
threat
that Islam poses to Danish values because this is viewed, however
wrongly,
as a fact of life."
The authors' backgrounds could hardly be more mainstream. Pittelkow, a
former literature professor and prominent Social Democrat, advised
former
Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen before becoming a commentator for
Jyllands-Posten, the newspaper that published the Muhammad cartoons.
Jespersen, Pittelkow's wife, is a former interior minister and social
affair
minister who belonged to a leftist revolutionary party in her youth.
Pittelkow says that Denmark's cherished openness is under attack by
Islamists due to a clash of values epitomized by the cartoons. He
argues
that Islamic radicalism nearly triumphed during the crisis because many
editors and political figures in Denmark and elsewhere accepted Islamic
arguments that publishing the caricatures was an affront to Islam,
turning
their backs on free speech.
"The mixture of political correctness and fear all too often leads to
compliance with Islamism," Pittelkow writes in the book. "The fatal
mistake
of the naivists was to cave into demands for Islamic-style censorship."
For Pittelkow and Jespersen, the best defense against the threat from
Islamic fundamentalists is to tighten Europe's immigration policies,
which
they argue have allowed pockets of unintegrated Muslim communities to
flourish.
"Denmark and the rest of Europe need to integrate their existing Muslim
communities," Pittelkow said. "Multiculturalism has gone too far."
One "naivist," Pittelkow says, is Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain.
He
cites the existence of Sharia councils in Britain that rule on divorce
and
inheritance cases, and notes a recent poll by Britain's Channel 4
indicating
that 28 percent of young British Muslims want Britain to become an
Islamic
state and that 30 percent would rather live under Sharia than British
law.
Danish analysts say the largely enthusiastic reception for the book
reflects
the growing popularity of the Danish People's Party, which has 13
percent of
seats in the Danish Parliament and has pushed through some of the
toughest
anti-immigration rules in Europe.
Pittelkow denies that his views mirror those of the party, whose
leaders
have equated Muslims with cancer cells. But he acknowledges that the
party
has forced Denmark to engage in an immigration debate that he says has
been
pushed to the sidelines by political correctness in other countries.
The book has been sharply criticized by Muslim leaders.
"Pittelkow and Jespersen are Islam- bashers who show how acceptable it
has
become to attack Islam," said Imam Wahid Pedersen, a prominent Muslim
leader
who converted to Islam. "They are dangerous because by pushing the
debate to
the edges, they are making it harder for moderate Muslims in this
country to
find a middle ground."
Pittelkow strenuously rejects these arguments, saying that his critique
is
of Islamic radicalism, not of Islam itself. He also denies that the war
in
Iraq and other conflicts between the West and the Muslim world are the
root
causes of Muslim extremism. "Britain and France do not have tight
immigration policies and they have a far more serious terrorist threat
than
we do," he said. "Germany has no troops in Iraq, yet it has been
targeted by
terrorists. Many things can be used a pretense to fight Western
societies
that Islamists hate."
For many Muslims, the book's most incendiary passages are those
comparing
"Islamism" with Nazism and communism. But Pittelkow insists that all
three
movements have totalitarian impulses and seek to control people's
lives.
Islamists, he says, include not just terrorists but also include
Muslims who
seek to impose their values on Europe in the name of religion.
"If a woman doesn't wear a headscarf, the Islamists will exert maximum
pressure and use the threat of violence to make sure that she does," he
says. "It is that zealous attempt to apply Islamist principles that is
as
authoritarian as Nazism or communism.
Al Qaeda's novel death technique: Detonating hundreds of simultaneous explosions through cell phone and Internet
DEBKAfile Exclusive: Al Qaeda's novel death technique: Detonating
hundreds
of simultaneous explosions through cell phone and Internet
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=3321
September 27, 2006, 1:46 PM (GMT+02:00)
DEBKAfile's counter-terror sources report extreme concern among
security
services in the United States, Europe, the Far East and Israel, after
the
source of 350 multiple attacks in Bangladesh on Aug. 17, 2005, was
traced to
Tripoli, Lebanon
French counter-terror experts leading an international inquiry into the
attacks discovered that a facility, set up there by Abu Musab al
Zarqawi, al
Qaeda's late Iraq commander, had developed the new design which works
through Internet messengers like Skype or MSN.
Network-connected mobile phones can remotely detonate over the Internet
simultaneous explosions hundreds of miles apart, anywhere on the world.
US
forces located and killed Zarqawi on June 7, 2006.
This system, seen only in Bangladesh so far, is more complex than any
used
by al Qaeda before. A year ago, some 350 explosions in quick succession
in
36 districts hit government facilities and hotels in Dhaka and 16 other
Bangladeshi towns. One person was killed and 115 people injured.
The French team was led to Tripoli by a tip-off that al Qaeda operative
Kaci
Warab, seen at Bangladesh's international Zia airport shortly after the
multiple blasts and followed since, had turned up in the north Lebanese
city. The materials found at the al Qaeda lab there were removed to
forensic
facilities in Paris and produced the following picture:
For its Bangladesh operation, al Qaeda had prepared 350 cell phones.
Communications software was installed in each, together with a simple
interface program designed in the Tripoli lab. Loaded onto the master
computer in Tripoli linked to global Internet was the readily available
Skype or MSN software. The cell phones were given 350 different
usernames -
or rather the same one with a different numeral, e.g. Tom1, Tom2, and
so
forth up to Tom350. The program was relayed to the mobile phones which
then
transmitted the operational signal to detonate the explosives.
The Bangladesh method would be hard to apply in the United States,
Europe or
Israel. Anti-terror security measures are more stringent there and
would
make it difficult to plant 350 hidden bombs without some being
detected. On
the other hand, DEBKAfile's counter-terror sources point out that
setting
off 20 or even 10 simultaneous explosions would have a disastrous
effect if
the bombs were planted, say, on express trains in different countries.
So
far, this has not happened, but it is possible that Al Qaeda's hi-tech
experts are working on improvements to the system, such as adapting it
to
satellite phones.
SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2006, Issue No. 103
September 27, 2006
Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
Support Secrecy News:
http://www.fas.org/static/contrib_sec.jsp
** PRESIDENT BUSH SPEAKS OUT ON OPENNESS, CLASSIFICATION
** SELECTED CRS REPORTS
PRESIDENT BUSH SPEAKS OUT ON OPENNESS, CLASSIFICATION
"We believe that the more we inform our American citizens, the better
our government will be," President Bush said Tuesday.
The remark could be considered conventional wisdom. Yet it is
unexpected from this President since by most objective measures --
such as the record number of classification decisions, skyrocketing
expenditures on classification-related activities, and growing
security controls on unclassified documents -- public access to
government information has been markedly curtailed under the Bush
Administration.
Nevertheless, the President reiterated, "We believe that the more
transparency there is in the system, the better the system functions
on behalf of the American people."
It follows that the less transparent aspects of government, such as
the national security decision making process, function less well,
which is manifestly true.
The President spoke at a signing ceremony for the Federal Funding
Accountability and Transparency Act, which will establish a
searchable online database of federal grants and contracts.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/2006/09/wh092606.html
A White House fact sheet presented an argument that the new law "Is
Part Of President Bush's Ongoing Commitment To Improve Transparency,
Accountability, And Management Across The Federal Government."
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/2006/09/wh092606-fs.html
At another event on Tuesday, the President appeared to express doubt
that the national security classification system was working
properly.
Referring to press reports in the New York Times and elsewhere about
a classified National Intelligence Estimate on trends in terrorism,
portions of which were declassified Tuesday, President Bush
complained that "Somebody has taken it upon themselves to leak
classified information for political purposes."
In Washington, he said, "there's no such thing as classification
anymore, hardly."
http://www.fas.org/irp/news/2006/09/wh092606.html
In reality, of course, classification has expanded in size and scope
to unprecedented levels in the Bush Administration.
So the President might have been making a deep point that the
efficacy of classification declines when its use increases sharply,
along the lines of Justice Potter Stewart's familiar dictum that
"when everything is classified, then nothing is classified." Or
maybe he just misspoke.
SELECTED CRS REPORTS
Some noteworthy new reports from the Congressional Research Service
that have not been made readily available to the public include the
following.
"Interrogation of Detainees: Overview of the McCain Amendment,"
updated September 25, 2006:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/intel/RL33655.pdf
"The War Crimes Act: Current Issues," September 25, 2006:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/intel/RL33662.pdf
"U.S. Policy Regarding the International Criminal Court," updated
August 29, 2006:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL31495.pdf
"Agroterrorism: Threats and Preparedness," updated August 25, 2006:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/terror/RL32521.pdf
_______________________________________________
Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the
Federation of American Scientists.
The Secrecy News Blog is at:
http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
Man Hits Flight Attendant After Being Told 'No More Chicken'
Passenger Had A Beef With The Beef
We're not quite sure where to begin with this one. A Maryland man was
arrested Sunday at Kennedy Airport, after allegedly hitting a flight
attendant after she told him there were no more chicken dinners
available on
his flight from Zurich -- and that he'd have to settle for the beef.
The New York Daily News reports Pierre Delis, 36, was flying home from
visiting relatives in Switzerland when the fracas took place. American
Airlines Flight 65 was about 90 minutes into its transatlantic voyage
when
meal service began... and Delis was told, despite his request for a
chicken
dinner, there was only beef to be had.
Air marshal Matthew Lloyd said Delis "became exceedingly irate and and
began
yelling and swearing" before he stood up, and punched the flight
attendant.
Another flight attendant and two passengers restrained Delis, reminding
him
perhaps that resorting to violence is no way to get your meal. Police
met
the flight when it landed in New York... and a criminal complaint was
filed
against Delis in Brooklyn Federal Court.
The flight attendant was treated at an area hospital for bruising and
swelling related to the, well, sucker-punch she received.
The Daily News adds at Delis' arraignment hearing, defense lawyer
Florian
Meidel asked the court to tell officers to feed his client -- as Delis
hadn't had anything to eat since Sunday. Wisely, Meidel did not say if
his
client had a meal preference.
We're guessing there's really no choice in jail.
FMI: www.aa.com
aero-news.net
NTSB: Accident Plane May Have Run Out Of Fuel
Investigators Looking For Others Who Flew On Bonanza
Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board wish to
speak
with passengers who flew onboard a Beech Bonanza that later crashed,
before
the start of the Wings and Wheels air show at the Shelby County Airport
this
weekend.
Birmingham, AL television station FOX6 reports a preliminary
investigation
of the accident found no evidence of fuel onboard the wrecked plane.
Additionally, witnesses told authorities the plane's engine sounded as
if it
was sputtering as it took off.
As Aero-News reported, the plane was able to take off... but then
banked
sharply to the right, and the nose pitched down. The plane remained
largely
intact as it impacted the ground, but all three persons onboard the
plane
were killed.
The pilot, Clayton Reuse, was giving a ride to passenger John
Smitherman and
his 11-year-old son, Landon, when the plane went down. The rides were
part
of a fundraising program offered by the Birmingham Aero Club, for the
Southern Museum of Flight, before the start of Saturday's air show.
Investigators want to ask other passengers who flew on the plane if
they saw
the pilot fuel the aircraft... or if they noticed anything unusual
about
their flights.
** Report created 9/26/2006 Record 4
*******
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 8148R Make/Model: BE33 Description: 33 Debonair,
Bonanza (E-24)
Date: 09/23/2006 Time: 1800
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: Fatal Mid Air: N
Missing: N
Damage: Substantial
LOCATION
City: ALABASTER State: AL Country: US
DESCRIPTION
ACFT ON TAKEOFF, LOST POWER AND CRASHED INTO THE AIRPORT PROPERTY
FENCE,
THE THREE PERSONS ON BOARD WERE FATALLY INJURED, SHELBY COUNTY
AIRPORT,
ALABASTER, AL
INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 3
# Crew: 1 Fat: 1 Ser: 0 Min: 0
Unk:
# Pass: 2 Fat: 2 Ser: 0 Min: 0
Unk:
# Grnd: Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0
Unk:
WEATHER: NOT REPORTED
OTHER DATA
Activity: Unknown Phase: Take-off Operation: OTHER
Departed: ALABASTER, AL Dep Date: Dep. Time:
Destination: Flt Plan: Wx
Briefing:
Last Radio Cont:
Last Clearance:
FAA FSDO: BIRMINGHAM, AL (SO09) Entry date:
09/25/2006
FMI: www.ntsb.gov
aero-news.net
FAA: No Fire On Jet Landing At Daytona Beach Airport
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Authorities said a jet's faulty indicator light
is to
blame for a fire scare at Daytona Beach International Airport on
Tuesday
night.
Volusia County officials initially said a fire broke out in the
auxiliary
power unit of a United Express regional jet approaching the airport,
and
that the jet's onboard extinguishing system had the fire out before the
plane landed.
But a Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman said there was no
fire at
all, just a faulty fire indicator in the cockpit.
The plane was coming from Washington Dulles International Airport.
http://www.wftv.com/news/9947831/detail.html
Jumbo jet in 'near-miss' incident
The Boeing 747 was an Israeli registered jet
The pilot of a jumbo jet with 450 passengers ignored autopilot landing
instructions when he realised they had veered off course, a report
said.
The Boeing 747 flew over parts of west London at heights of 1,200ft
(366m)
rather than the normal 2,300ft (701m).
The plane's autopilot was pushing the nose down and gave the pilot
landing
instructions which he did not follow in order to avoid a crash.
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch is continuing its inquiry.
Campaigners opposed to the level of air traffic using Heathrow say the
incident last January highlights the dangers of more planes using the
airport.
'Tragedy averted'
John Stewart, of the campaign group Hacan ClearSkies, said: "The
instruments
were telling the plane not to land at Heathrow but to land in west
London.
"If he (the pilot) had followed those directions there would have been
a
major tragedy. Thankfully he took matters into his own hands and
averted
that tragedy."
It is not yet clear why the incident happened but it is thought that
the
Israeli-registered plane lost touch with the Heathrow guidance beam.
Councillor Serge Laurie said: "It's worrying because a plane that
should
have been flying at 2,600 ft was actually flying at 1,200 ft.
"Cloud cover was 1,500 ft so you can tell that the pilot would have had
limited time to respond.
"It's clear that either the computer on the plane wasn't working
properly or
there was a fault with the landing system on the ground."
The Department for Transport said there was never any risk of a crash
because the pilot took action which air traffic control was aware of.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/5386992.stm
[unknown url, why only 3 bullets? and a surprise to husband?]
Woman at Fla. airport arrested with gun
TAMPA, Fla.(AP) -- A woman was arrested after security screeners at
Tampa
International Airport found a loaded handgun tucked in her carryon bag,
authorities said.
Mavis Cobb Thornton, 58, was taken into custody after a screener
discovered
the .38-caliber revolver, loaded with three bullets, in her bag as she
passed through a security checkpoint Monday, police said.
Thornton is on medical leave from her job as an accounting clerk for
the
Hillsborough County school district, district officials said. She and
her
husband, Charles, had tickets for a Delta flight Monday, but airport
officials didn't know their destination.
Mavis Thornton did not give a statement to police, but her husband told
authorities he did not know his wife had the gun. She does not have a
concealed weapons permit, airport officials said.
She was arrested on charges of carrying a concealed weapon. She was
booked
into the county jail and released after posting bail.
A phone message left at her home was not immediately returned
Wednesday.
[Now God is even planning how close the trees will go, must be just so, for saving blimps, busy that he is.....with thanks]
Pilot Uninjured In Treetop Blimp Landing
Reported Losing Rudder Control
A familiar sight in the skies over Boston's Fenway Park, the Hood-dairy
blimp became stuck in the woods near Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA Tuesday
after
its pilot, the sole person onboard, reported rudder failure during a
routine
flight.
Witnesses told Providence, RI television station WHDH-10 the stricken
blimp
flew in circles, and pitched up and down several times before settling
30-feet above the ground atop several trees. The pilot, Leigh Bradbury,
was
aiming for a nearby beach... but due to winds, couldn't quite make it.
Bradbury told the Associated Press he lost rudder control shortly after
takeoff around 12:00 pm Tuesday.
The pilot was not injured in the incident... but Bradbury did spend a
fretful two hours in the gondola, suspended from the slowly-leaking
envelope, before being rescued by crews on all-terrain vehicles and a
35-foot ladder.
Wednesday morning, a professional tree-clearing service was called in
to
rescue the blimp. The airship -- owned by Lightship Group of Orlando,
FL and
leased to Hood for advertising purposes -- came down with the trees
just
before 7:00 am.
"It was being held by two trees, kind of like being held in a cradle,"
said
police Sgt. Neil Andrews.
FAA investigators are looking into the incident, after which time it
will be
dismantled and removed from the wooded area.
The A-60 airship suffered one puncture near the tail -- but was
otherwise
reported in good shape.
FMI: www.lightships.com
aero-news.net