Literary sleuth offers FBI clues from writing in anthrax-tainted letters

AP via Star-Ledger ^ | 11/8/01 | MICHAEL HILL

[gumbo]

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- The English professor and literary sleuth who identified the author of the political novel "Primary Colors" has analyzed the anthrax-contaminated letters for the FBI and come up with some possible leads.

Among them: the letter writer might have lived in New Jersey for an extended period of time, might have spent time in Canada, and might speak Arabic or Persian.

[Amore]

What a coincidence! It is well known that domestic terrorists NEVER abbreviate, and ALWAYS write right to left!

[gumbo]

There is no Greendale School in that area either, though there are a number of them around North America. Two Greendale Schools in Canada -- one near Montreal and another near Vancouver -- were recently in the news. It is possible that the author heard the name "Greendale School" while spending time in one of those areas, Foster said.

Weren't you doing research on locales where there are "Greendale Schools"?

[gumbo]

It is well known that domestic terrorists NEVER abbreviate

.cilbupeR eerF ta sregniw-thgir ew yllaicepsE

[gumbo]

the letter writer might have lived in New Jersey for an extended period of time, might have spent time in Canada, and might speak Arabic or Persian

FYI

[GVnana]

This doesn't help the domestic terrorist theory at all.

[MindBender26]

What were the names of the appartments where some of the possible perps lived? A deritive of Greendale, Greenvale, etc.?

[gumbo]

I think it was the Green Village apartments. On Norman Road in Hamilton, NJ.

[syriacus]

Thanks for the FYI, gumbo

might speak Arabic or Persian

I wonder if he means the person is a native speaker of one of these languages. Otherwise the FBI has to check into all the RWers who have taken Arabic or Persian in college.

[okie01]

One of the Trenton detainees worked at at Texaco on Greenwood Av.

The Monmouth zip code (08852) is immediately adjacent to the Franklin Park, NJ located between Trenton and New Brunswick. And it is also the zip code for the Central Jersey Islamic Foundation...

[gumbo]

A number of languages, including Arabic and Persian, are written right to left, he said

Urdu is also written right-to-left...

The following example text in Urdu translates as: “Urdu is written right-to-left.” (Urdu is spoken like Hindi and written using an Arabic script.)

ÇÑÏæ ÑÇÆä Óی ÈÇÆä áßåì ÌÇÊì åì

-Hewlett-Packard: International Writing Systems

Oops, I guess FR doesn't recognize Arabic script. If you want to see "Urdu is written right-to-left" written in Arabic, go to link and scroll down about halfway.

[gumbo]

the FBI has to check into all the RWers who have taken Arabic or Persian in college

And all of us right-wingers who learned Urdu in college too! (see post 11)

[gumbo]

One of the Trenton detainees worked at at Texaco on Greenwood Av.

Right, it was the Greenwood Village apartments where several of the detainees lived.

Yes, Islamic Society of Central NJ has same zip code as the Daschle letter's return address.

browardchad discovered that the president of the Islamic Society is a plastic surgeon whose office is next door to the Hamilton accountant who contracted cutaneous anthrax.

[Ann Archy]

Yikes!!

The "T's" and the "A's" were pencilled over a couple of times....I wish I had a copy now, but I don'tthink any other letters were gone over twice EXCEPT the T's and the A's. Did anyone else notice thais??

[gumbo]

I don'tthink any other letters were gone over twice EXCEPT the T's and the A's. Did anyone else notice thais??

I noticed but didn't know what to make of it. Do you see some significance? Like a code for "Atta"?

Here's link to photo of anthrax letters: http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel01/102301.htm

[america76]

"this looks like someone who may have resided in New Jersy"

Analysis- A New Yorker

[Liberal Bob]

T & A man you say? Lot of them around.

[gumbo]

T & A man you say? Lot of them around.

We know the hijackers were into that! Don't know proclivities of the anthrax messengers yet...

[Amore]

re: those backward-writing right-wing domestic terrorists:

.cilbupeR eerF ta sregniw-thgir ew yllaicepsE

LOL! Good one!

[Alamo-Girl]

Yes indeed! I found a Greendale elementary school in South West Virginia, a multi-state region.

I checked a little further and found a rather established Muslim presence in the area. Particularly interesting were the pro-Muslim remarks coming from students of a nearby college in East Tennessee.

I would not be surprised if the perps mingled with other people from the Middle East and were in the area recently, thus remembering the school's name.