Posted on 02/15/2003 1:46:07 AM PST by RandallFlagg
DENVER - Concern among members of the FBI’s Joint Terrorist Task Force has surfaced in Colorado. A semi-truck driving through the state on Thursday afternoon apparently triggered a nationwide alert going out to law enforcement agencies across the state Friday night.
Only a few specifics of the alert were released. Apparently, it stems from what happened at a Sinclair gas station in Byers around 1:30 p.m. Thursday. Byers is about 40 miles east of Denver on I-70.
Two men described as Middle Eastern in an 18-wheeler with a white tractor truck apparently tried to put unleaded gasoline into the truck. An attendant advised them it would not work and told them they needed to use diesel.
The men fueled up with the correct gas, paid in cash and left on Highway 36, which would connect them to I-80 in northeastern Colorado.
The truck has a Quebec, Canada, license plate number RS7-116. The name on the truck is Real Transport.
Authorities ran a check on the license plate and said it was clear, but it does not have a current registration.
The FBI sent out the alert shortly before 5 p.m. Friday. It advises law enforcement officers that if the semi is contacted to identify the occupants and determine if there is a current registration available.
If the FBI has any other reason to be worried about the semi, it's not saying.
There’s no confirmation that this is tied into any possible terrorism, but with the country on high alert, no one wants to take any chances.
Seems to me like truck bombs are a huge possiblity here; coupled with your friend's information, I think we should all keep our eyes open.
How big is Quebec? Bigger than its britches?
--Boot Hill
| boric acid |
| any one of the three chemical compounds, orthoboric (or boracic) acid, metaboric acid, and tetraboric (or pyroboric) acid; the term often refers simply to orthoboric acid. The acids may be thought of as hydrates of boric oxide, B2O3. Orthoboric acid, H3BO3 or B2O3·3H2O, is colorless, weakly acidic, and forms triclinic crystals. It is fairly soluble in boiling water (about 27% by weight) but less so in cold water (about 6% by weight at room temperature). When orthoboric acid is heated above 170°C it dehydrates, forming metaboric acid, HBO2 or B2O3·H2O. Metaboric acid is a white, cubic crystalline solid and is only slightly soluble in water. It melts at about 236°C, and when heated above about 300°C further dehydrates, forming tetraboric acid, H4B4O7 or B2O3·H2O. Tetraboric acid is either a vitreous solid or a white powder and is water soluble. When tetraboric or metaboric acid is dissolved it reverts largely to orthoboric acid. The major uses of the boric acids are in forming other boron compounds and in borate salts, e.g., borax. A dilute water solution of boric acid is commonly used as a mild antiseptic and eyewash. Boric acid is also used in leather manufacture, electroplating, and cosmetics. Boric acid can be crystallized from an acidified borax solution. It occurs as the mineral sassolite in the Tuscan region of Italy, where it is also recovered from hot springs and vapors. In the United States boric acid is recovered from brines from Searles Lake in California. |
I don't know how it could be used to process something nasty but nothing comes to mind.
Maybe the dimwits saw the word "acid" and thought they were getting a different kind.:0)
If it was me, I'd be thinking, "We're on a higher alert. I oughta write down descriptions and make a phone call." Unfortunately, I'd probably get sued in the process.
Noted where? There is nothing on this thread or any other thread (covering the subject of boric acid) that would indicate even one single practical use for it by terrorists. I could make a more dangerous weapon out of dry-ice and 2 liter plastic coke bottles, than I could with boric acid.
--Boot Hill
Mistake at gas station prompts alert
BYERS, Colo. (AP) - Police were on the lookout for a tractor-trailer with expired Canadian plates after two men attempted to fill it up with unleaded gasoline, instead of diesel fuel, the Colorado State Patrol said Friday.
The report is one of many law enforcement officials have received in the past week since the federal government increased its terrorism alert to orange, or high, the second-highest level, said Sgt. Craig LaVere, a patrol spokesman.
The men, who appeared to be of Middle Eastern descent, stopped at a gas station Thursday in this small town off of Interstate 70, about 30 miles east of Denver. After the clerk alerted the men to their mistake, they fueled the truck with diesel, paid with cash and headed east on U.S. 36.
''It was kind of out of place, to make that kind of mistake,'' LaVere said. ''A professional truck driver is not going to put that kind of fuel in their truck.
''Because of the heightened awareness, people are noticing things that don't seem right,'' he said.
The white truck has the words ''Real Transport'' painted on the side. Police want to question the men about the registration.
Also, it is not necessary to travel on interstates. Highway 36 makes a straight shot from Denver to St. Joseph, Missouri, to Hannibal, Missouri, to Indianapolis. My husband is from St. Jo, and we used to travel that route all the time.
The road is a fairly good one, and it is not heavily travelled. They need to patrol Highway 36 as well.
It's early...
expired Quebec license plates according to #33.
Seems as if the truck has been in the USA for at least a year.
(See #15)
There you go again, thinking. I wish more folks would try that.
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