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FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
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Posted on 01/22/2003 12:35:53 PM PST by GeneD
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A fire investigators said was suspicious gutted the New York office of civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton on Wednesday, a day after he officially entered the Democratic Party race for president.
Sharpton, 48, was not in the Harlem headquarters of his National Action Network advocacy group at the time of the fire, which started at 8:30 a.m. EST and lasted about an hour, officials said.
Earlier, officials said there was no reason to believe the fire had been deliberately set, but investigators who asked not to be identified later said it was suspicious.
They said federal agents had joined the probe and the fire was being treated as a politically sensitive case following Sharpton's filing of papers on Tuesday entering the race for the White House in 2004.
The minister, who has been at the center of some of New York's most heated controversies, was in Washington when the fire broke out. Sharpton filed papers to form a committee to raise funds for his long-shot bid. Sharpton promised to speak for the disaffected in his campaign.
The blaze began in the second floor reception area and fire, smoke and water damage from firefighting efforts completely gutted an office Sharpton normally uses.
Officials said three people were being interviewed by fire marshals about the blaze in the second floor office of the three-story brick building. One person suffered severe smoke inhalation, but otherwise there were no injuries, a fire department spokesman said.
Sharpton became well known for his advocacy in 1987 on behalf of Tawana Brawley, who claimed she was raped by a gang of white men. The allegation stoked racial tensions in New York and was eventually found by a jury to be a hoax.
Sharpton eventually was found to have defamed a white prosecutor during the episode and was fined $65,000.
Gee.......this is a big suprise!
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FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
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However his spokesman did add that one of the great advantages of wearing a sheet and hood is that, during a fire, you can use it to breath through and avoid inhaling smoke.
Very convenient...
Black conservative ping
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Yeah, I imagine the reaction would be denial. Why open your eyes to reality when fantasy feels so good?
BINGO!
Crazy World Of Arthur Brown
I am the god of hell f ire and I bring you:
Fire, I'll take you to burn.
Fire, I'll take you to learn.
I'll see you burn!
You fought hard and you saved and learned,
but all of it's going to burn.
And your mind, your tiny mind,
you know you've really been so blind.
Now 's your time burn your mind.
You're falling far too far behind.
Oh no, oh no, oh no, you gonna burn!
Fire, to destroy all you've done.
Fire, to end all you've become.
I'll feel you burn!
You've been living like a little girl,
in the middle of your little world.
And your mind, your tiny mind,
you know you've really been so blind.
Now 's your time burn your mind,
you're falling far too far behind.
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