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Thread Twenty-four here: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1331735/posts |
Posted on 12/23/2004 10:30:10 PM PST by nwctwx
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Definitely. Times Square, the theater district and most of midtown is packed even on the weekends. Also, given that it's a holiday weekend, people do take off and head for places like casinos. There are as many people concentrated in those large hotels/casinos as there are in an office building on a work day.
I just Googled "Al Qaeda Lshifra". Nothing there. But.........."Shifra" was stated to be "....the acrid glue that unites Saddam, Arafat, al-qaeda, Hezbollah, Iran and the Saudis..."
I don't know what Lshifra means.
Will dig around, though.
I've since been told that we're not supposed to post exerpts from that link...
Do you have this?
http://groups.msn.com/islameyat-com/messages.msnw
Which piece at Jill's site is this excerpt from exactly? I'd like to take a look at it.
Could they still be mad about our bombing their Al Shifra pharmaceuticals plant in Sudan and be seeking retaliation?
Aha, ok.
Is there anything from any other source. Dateline? etc.
At the top part of her home page.
It's not just here: Laser beams aimed at aircraft landing in Australia
By Steve Creedy
Laser beams have been directed at the cockpit windows of planes landing at a Queensland, Australia, airport three times in the last month, putting passengers' lives at risk.
Aviation officials believe a strong green laser was aimed at two 18-passenger planes and a 125-seat Jetstar Boeing 717 as they lined up to land at Maroochydore Airport.
Two, including the Jetstar incident, took place in December while the third was reported last week about 22 kilometers from the airport as the plane was on a final approach in the evening.
The Australian Federal Government has grave concerns about the incidents. Transport Minister John Anderson's spokesman warned that "any act that would potentially endanger the flying public will not be tolerated."
"The Government treats the shining of lasers into the cockpits of landing aircraft very seriously and there are extremely heavy penalties for anybody found to be deliberately engaging in this stupid and dangerous practice," the spokesman said.
Source: www.news.com.au
_______________________________________________________
Feds Respond to Lasers Aimed at Aircraft
OKLAHOMA CITY (Jan. 12) - Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta announced changes Wednesday to the way pilots report lasers being beamed at airplanes - a response to a rash of such incidents in recent weeks.
Mineta also issued a stern warning that federal officials will aggressively prosecute those caught shining laser beams into cockpits. The bright lasers - usually green - can temporarily blind pilots.
''We will not allow careless people making stupid choices to put pilots and their passengers at risk,'' Mineta said.
He said authorities do not believe that people shining lasers at airplanes have terrorist motivations. They suspect that copycats who have heard news reports about the lasers apparently have been involved in some of the more recent incidents.
Mineta said the Federal Aviation Administration will now require pilots to immediately report laser incidents to air traffic controllers, who would then repeatedly broadcast warnings and quickly notify law officers.
There appears to be no current problem with the way pilots report the lasers to authorities, but the changes will standardize the reporting system and provide police with more timely and detailed information.
A cluster of laser incidents received wide attention between Christmas and New Year's Day.
Mineta said in a news conference at the FAA's aeronautical research center in Oklahoma City that 31 of these incidents have been reported since Dec. 31, including one Tuesday night involving a Southwest Airlines flight in Phoenix, Ariz. Nobody was arrested.
He said there have been 400 reports of lasers being beamed at airplanes since 1990.
''Shining these lasers at an airplane is not a harmless prank,'' Mineta said. ''It's stupid and dangerous. You are putting other people at risk and law enforcement authorities are going to seek you out and if they catch you, they are going to prosecute you.''
Mineta said officials are working on possible devices to protect pilots from lasers, including modifications to windshields, but no one solution has emerged. Research into the issue is being done at the aeronautical center in Oklahoma City.
Key Dates: Laser Incidents
Dec. 30: Government says six commercial airliners reported having cockpits illuminated by laser beams while attempting to land from Dec. 25 to 29.
Jan. 3: Authorities rule out terrorism in laser incidents.
Jan. 4: David Banach of Parsippany, N.J., charged with pointing laser at plane Dec. 29 near Teterboro Airpot.
Jan. 6 Airline pilots urge government to do more to alert them about incidents and to give guidance on how to react.
Jan. 11 Government says at least four more laser incidents have been reported.
Source: CNN, AP
He also said an effort will be made through government regulatory agencies to ensure that laser devices are better labeled to warn about the dangers of using them improperly.
Terry McVenes, executive air safety chairman for the Air Line Pilots Association, said in a telephone interview that pilots are on board with Mineta's plan.
''We're very happy with what the secretary has done here,'' McVenes said. ''It does provide a means of collecting data so we can assess what the threat really is, or if there is a threat.''
A New Jersey man was arrested and charged under the Patriot Act last week for aiming a green laser at a small jet flying over his home near Teterboro Airport. The man, David Banach, said he had been using the device to point at the stars from his back yard.
That type of laser pointer, which sells for $119, is the most powerful that can be used in a public place without government regulation, according to Bigha, the company that manufactures it. It produces a bright green beam that can be seen up to 25,000 feet away, and is used by bird watchers, astronomers and lecturers to point out faraway objects.
The FBI and Homeland Security Department sent a memo to law enforcement agencies in November saying they had evidence terrorists have explored using lasers as weapons.
Associated Press writer Leslie Miller contributed to this story.
INDONESIAN EMBASSIES RECEIVE BOMB THREATS
1/13/2005, 3:06 p.m. ET
The Associated Press
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) Britain suspended services at its embassy in Jakarta after Indonesian police said Thursday that officials had received bomb threats for the British and Thai embassies in the city.
Police stepped up security around the embassies, which are in the same neighborhood.
The British Foreign Office said services at the embassy would remain suspended while officials monitor the security situation in the Indonesian capital.
"Obviously the safety of staff and visitors is paramount," it said in a statement, adding that the closure would not hurt tsunami relief operations.
The British Foreign Office's travel Web site warned the threat of terrorism remains high in Indonesia.
"We continue to receive reports that terrorists in Indonesia are planning further attacks on Westerners and Western interests," it said. "Attacks could occur at any time, anywhere in Indonesia and are likely to be directed against locations frequented by foreigners."
"Terrorists have shown in previous attacks, like the attack on the Australian Embassy and the Bali bombings, that they have the means and the motivation to carry out successful attacks."
Hacker penetrates T-Mobile systems
http://www.securityfocus.com/news/10271
Thanks, Godzilla, but for some reason that's not even coming up on my computer. I have to get a different server. I recently moved and my computer's been a disaster.
Try this link.
http://www.homelandsecurityus.net/
In Aceh, only mosques left standing
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/988830.cms
US releases 5 terror suspects without charge
http://www.isn.ethz.ch/news/sw/details.cfm?id=10542
The Muslim Public Affairs Council's War on Steve Emerson
http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=16606
Hmmmm, well here's a source that would be acceptable.
A report on FR about the Dateline show:
http://freerepublic.com/focus/news/727172/posts#17
Thanks again, Godzilla. I get to the site, but it doesn't display the top of the page. My page opens with the Aarron Brown material at the top.
Report: Terror Witnesses' Visas Canceled
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/breaking_news/10617621.htm?1c
Here's the entire post from Jill's site.
Thank you Jill for all your hard work:
Check the 'address' line. You may have spyware hijacking you to another site.
Funny I was vibing on Atlanta
Do you know where Jill got this info?
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