Posted on 10/15/2001 7:27:29 AM PDT by JohnHuang2
Rocks may give away bin Laden
San Francisco Chronicle
Geologists are examining rocks visible in a recent videotape of Osama bin Laden in hopes of shedding light on his whereabouts.
In theory, by identifying the rock types, they might provide new clues to bin Laden's movements.
So far, however, they disagree in their interpretations of the videotape. That is partly because of uncertainty about the rocks' color and distance from the camera.
``You would be surprised at how many people wonder whether or not the geologic information in the picture will be useful. The short answer is `yes, most definitely,' '' said John Shroder, a geologist at the University of Nebraska at Omaha who has worked in Afghanistan. He and other geologists complained that the available tape is frustratingly short -- just several minutes -- and the image is of poor quality. The U.S. government apparently has approached geologists for their advice about the videotape.
The San Francisco Chronicle electronically transmitted color still pictures from the available videotape to several geologists with experience in Afghanistan and asked them to evaluate the images.
The most specific reply came from Shroder, who has field experience in Afghanistan. In the 1970s, with funding from the State Department, he developed an atlas of Afghanistan. The Afghan government suspected him of spying and imprisoned him briefly.
He said, ``The photo image appears staged, probably with special lighting, in front of rocks that indicate [bin Laden] was probably in a ravine deep inside Paktia, which is a southwestern province in Afghanistan, and Pushtun tribal territory.''
In that region, ``the rock has a number of natural caves, as well as hand-dug ones,'' Shroder said in an e-mail.
For Education And Discussion Only. Not For Commercial Use.
Once the interpretation of the colors as recorded by videotape is sorted out, they will identify Osama's location.
So9
Osama was a fool, no doubt about it -- he has indeed given a gun to the ducks.
I sense your meaning.
They need to start locking some of these people up. The charge? Treason
During WWII, when Japan was sending baloons carrying bombs across the Pacific on the Jet stream, The US Geological Survey identified the beach in Japan which suplied the balast sand on a dud bomb.
And I am sure our news media published this news at the time /not!
I saw this story on a cable channel, and if I remember correctly, the very fact that Japan was even sending these balloons was consider a secret. Don't we have any secrets that our present day news media would not tell if they knew?
Then he'll go somewhere else.
I'll consult with my geologist & physicist friends.
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