The Untouchable Chief of Baghdad  

Iraq veterans often say they are confused by American news coverage, because their experience differs so greatly from what journalists report. Soldiers and Marines point to the slow, steady progress in almost all areas of Iraqi life and wonder why they don’t get much notice – or in many cases, any notice at all.

Part of the explanation is Rajiv Chandrasekaran, the Baghdad bureau chief for the Washington Post. He spent most of his career on the metro and technology beats, and has only four years of foreign reporting, two of which are in Iraq. The 31-year-old now runs a news operation that can literally change the world, heading a bureau that is the source for much of the news out of Iraq.

Very few newspapers have full-time international reporters at all these days, relying on stringers of varying quality, as well as wire services such as Reuters and Agence France-Presse, also of varying quality. The Post's reporting is delivered intravenously into the bloodstream of Official Washington, and thus a front-page article out of Iraq can have major repercussions in policy-making.

This effect is magnified because of the Post's influence on what other news organizations report. While its national clout lags behind the New York Times, many reporters look to the Post for cues on how to approach a story. The Post interprets events, and the herd of independent minds bleat their approval and start tapping on their keyboards with their hooves.

Chandrasekaran's crew generates a relentlessly negative stream of articles from Iraq – and if there are no events to report, they resort to man-on-the-street interviews and cobble together a story from that. Last week, there was a front-page, above-the-fold article about Iraqis jeering U.S. troops, which amounted to a pastiche of quotations from hostile Iraqis. It was hardly unique. Given the expense of maintaining an Iraq bureau with a dozen staffers, they have to write something to justify themselves, even if the product is shoddy.

This week, Chandrasekaran has a Pulitzer-bait series called "Promises Unkept: The U.S. Occupation of Iraq." The grizzled foreign-desk veteran -- who until 2000 was covering dot-com companies -- now sits in judgment over a world-shaking issue, in a court whose rulings echo throughout the media landscape. He finds the Bush Administration guilty. Such a surprise.

Before major combat operations were over, Chandrasekaran was already quoting Iraqis proclaiming the American operation a failure. Reading his dispatches from April, you can already see his meta-narrative take shape: basically, that the Americans are clumsy fools who don’t know what they’re doing, and Iraqis hate them. This meta-narrative informs his coverage and the coverage of the reporters he supervises, who rotate in and out of Iraq.

How do I know this? Because my fellow Marines and I witnessed it with our own eyes. Chandrasekaran showed up in the city of Al Kut last April, talked to a few of our officers, and toured the city for a few hours. He then got back into his air-conditioned car and drove back to Baghdad to write about the local unrest.

"The Untouchable 'Mayor' of Kut," his article's headline blared the next day. It described a local, Iranian-backed troublemaker named Abbas Fadhil, who was squatting in the provincial government headquarters. He had gathered a mob of people with nothing better to do, told them to camp out in the headquarters compound, and there they sat, defying the Marines of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade.

Chandrasekaran was very impressed with the little usurper: "'We thank the Americans for getting rid of Saddam's regime, but now Iraq must be run by Iraqis,' Fadhil thundered during a meeting today with his supporters in the building's spacious conference room. 'We cannot allow the Americans to rule us from this office'....Fadhil has set up shop in an official building and appears to have rallied support across this city of 300,000 people.

"The refusal of Marine commanders to recognize Fadhil's new title has fueled particularly intense anti-American sentiments here," Chandrasekeran continued. "In scenes not seen in other Iraqi cities, U.S. convoys have been loudly jeered. Waving Marines have been greeted with angry glares and thumbs-down signs."

Readers must have concluded that Kut was on the verge of exploding. The entire city was ready to throw out the despised American infidel invaders and install their new "mayor" as their beloved leader.

What utter rubbish. In our headquarters, we had a small red splotch on a large map of Kut, representing the neighborhood that supported Abbas Fadhil. When asked about him, most citizens of Kut rolled their eyes. His followers were mainly poor, semi-literate, and not particularly well-liked. They were marginal in every sense of the word, and they mattered very little in the day-to-day life of a city that was struggling to get back on its feet.

We knew the local sentiment intimately, because as civil affairs Marines, our job was to help restore the province's water, electricity, medical care, and other essentials of life. Our detachment had teams constantly coming and going throughout the city, and Chandrasekeran could have easily accompanied at least one of them.

Since he didn't, he couldn’t see how the Iraqis outside of the red splotch reacted to us. People of every age waved and smiled as we rumbled past (except male youths, who, like their American counterparts, were too cool for that kind of thing.) Our major security problem was keeping friendly crowds of people away from us so we could spot bad guys.

None of those encouraging things made it into the article. Nor did anything about how we had been helping to fix the city’s problems as soon as we arrived. Just a quick-and-dirty sensationalistic piece about a local Islamist thug bravely going toe-to-toe with the legendary United States Marines. The general reaction to Chandrasekeran’s article was either laughter or dumb bewilderment.

Soon afterwards, a Marine commander met privately with Fadhil and told him he would be forcefully removed if he did not leave the government building. Fadhil, chastened, asked if he could slither into exile without the appearance of coercion, so he could save face. The commander agreed. Suddenly faced with a real confrontation, the "mayor" had backed down, and he left without any riots or bloodshed. The Americans took over the office that Fadhil said we should never occupy. The Post didn't cover any of that, either.

Don't take my word for it that the Post’s reporting is substandard and superficial. Take the word of Philip Bennett, the Post's assistant managing editor for foreign news. In a surprisingly candid June 6 piece, he admits that "the threat of violence has distanced us from Iraqis." Further, "we have relied on Iraqi stringers filing by telephone to our correspondents in Baghdad, and on embedding with the military. The stringers are not professional journalists, and their reports are heavy on the simplest direct observation." Translation: we are reprinting things from people we barely know, from a safe location dozens of miles away from the fighting.

Bennett flatly concedes that they have a “dim picture” of what is happening in Iraq, (not that you would know it from the actual news articles he approves for publication.) "The people of Iraq...are leading their country, and ours, down an uncertain path. This is a story waiting to be told."

Waiting to be told? They have four or five full-time reporters there at any given time. What are they doing, if they're not telling the story of Iraq's new birth?

Bennett might have added that not only are the reporters "distanced" from Iraqis, they're distanced from Iraq itself. Covering it from Baghdad is like covering California from a secure bunker in south-central Los Angeles. Sure, a lot happens in L.A., but you're going to miss important things if you don't go to San Diego or San Francisco, or even Bakersfield once in a while.

Chandrasekeran’s meta-narrative admits of no ambiguity. For him and his reporters, they report in straightforward, declarative sentences, with none of the caveats that Bennett mentions. The Americans are still bumbling, the Iraqis continue to seethe. So it shall be in the Washington Post, until Iraq succeeds and they can no longer deny it, just like journalists were forced to admit reality at the end of the Cold War. Or else their words will have their effect, and Western journalists have to flee the country as it disintegrates.

Since I saw Rajiv Chandrasekaran's integrity up close, I haven't believed a word he writes, or any story coming out of the bureau he runs. You shouldn't, either.

Eric M. Johnson, a writer in Washington D.C., participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom as a Marine Corps reservist.

http://www.commentarypage.com/johnson/johnson062904.php

posted by Matthew LeFande 8:00 AM
matt@lefande.com

Terrorist's deportation answers sought  

Key lawmakers, including a Republican committee chairman, are asking the Justice Department to explain why it released a terror suspect to Syria when several prosecutors and FBI agents had collected evidence for possible criminal charges against the man.

The circumstances surrounding Nabil al-Marabh's release, detailed in a recent Associated Press story, are "of deep concern and appear to be a departure from an aggressive, proactive approach to the war on terrorism," Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, wrote Tuesday to Attorney General John Ashcroft.

"Al-Marabh was at one time No. 27 on the Federal Bureau of Investigations list of Most Wanted Terrorists," wrote Grassley, who leads the committee that controls federal spending and is a member of the Judiciary Committee that oversees the Justice Department. "He appears to have links to a number of terrorists and suspected terrorists in several U.S. cities."

Justice officials told the Associated Press that despite concerns about al-Marabh's possible ties to terrorism, deportation was "determined to be the best option available under the law to protect our national security," including intelligence sources and methods.

"The odd handling of this case raises questions that deserve answers from the Justice Department," Sen. Patrick Leahy, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, said Tuesday. "Why was a suspected terrorist returned to a country that sponsors terrorism? We need to know that the safety of the American people and our strategic goals in countering terrorism are paramount factors when decisions like this are made."

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/nation/2653938

posted by Matthew LeFande 7:58 AM
matt@lefande.com

France vetoes Afghan mission  

France yesterday blocked a U.S.-backed plan to use a special NATO force to safeguard elections in Afghanistan this fall, despite a plea from Afghan leaders that the troops are badly needed.

French President Jacques Chirac's veto of the plan on the second and final day of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's summit in Istanbul was the latest in a string of direct rebukes to President Bush in recent days and a sign that French-U.S. relations have not overcome the bitter divisions stemming from the Iraq war last year.

The Afghanistan mission was vetoed despite a direct plea from Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who said continuing violence by Islamic fundamentalist forces in the country was a threat to the fledgling democratic government.

"I would like you to please hurry, as NATO, to Afghanistan. Come sooner than September," said Mr. Karzai, who traveled to Istanbul to make his appeal.

While President Bush in recent days has talked up trans-Atlantic unity and praised the early transfer of sovereignty in Iraq, Mr. Chirac has pointedly criticized U.S. positions on Afghanistan, Iraq, Turkey, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/world/20040630-120807-9389r.htm

posted by Matthew LeFande 7:56 AM
matt@lefande.com

Police Whistle-Blower Comes to Aid of Fired New York Cop  

Frank Serpico still gets emotional when he speaks about his old job as a New York City cop.

Serpico, whose 1971 testimony about rampant corruption in the New York Police Department continues to resonate in law enforcement circles, paused to control his emotions Sunday as he described the scene of two police officers he recently watched working outside a subway station in the city he protected for 12 years.

"God, I really used to love that job," Serpico said. "It is the best job, only when the cause is just and our leaders are honorable."

Speaking at a fund-raiser for Christian D'Alessandro, an Albany police commander who supporters said was fired after he exposed corruption in the 340-member Albany Police Department, Serpico described supervisors who ignored his warnings of corruption and fellow officers who left him to die when a criminal shot him in the face.

At the end of his speech at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church on North Main Street, Serpico walked across the church floor to give D'Alessandro his monthly pension check -- a donation for D'Alessandro's legal fund.

At least 125 people attended the fund-raiser, organized to help D'Alessandro pay for a legal challenge to get back his job with the Albany Police Department. His supporters contend that D'Alessandro's demotion two years ago and firing in February stemmed from his investigation into misuse of overtime and drug asset forfeiture funds. But former Police Chief Robert Wolfgang, who retired in April, said D'Alessandro was terminated for distributing a derogatory flier aimed at another police commander. Other officers complained D'Alessandro was racist.

D'Alessandro and his supporters, including David Soares, a candidate for Albany County district attorney who is black, called those allegations false. D'Alessandro said he was touched by the number of supporters who filled the church Sunday. D'Alessandro noted that several current members of the Police Department were in attendance, supporting D'Alessandro's effort despite knowing it could be detrimental to their careers.

"The threat of retribution still exists," D'Alessandro said. "It's real and it's alarming."

http://officer.com/article/article.jsp?id=14339&siteSection=1

posted by Matthew LeFande 7:54 AM
matt@lefande.com

Monday, June 28, 2004

Evidence of Niger uranium trade 'years before war'  

When thieves stole a watch and two bottles of perfume from Niger's embassy on Via Antonio Baiamonti in Rome at the end of December 2000, they left behind many questions about their intentions.

The identity of the thieves has not been established. But one theory is that they planned to steal headed notepaper and official stamps that would allow the forging of documents for the illicit sale of uranium from Niger's vast mines.

The break-in is one of the murkier elements surrounding the claim - made by the US and UK governments in the lead-up to the Iraq war - that Iraq sought to buy uranium illicitly from Niger.

The British government has said repeatedly it stands by intelligence it gathered and used in its controversial September 2002 dossier on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction programmes. It still claims that Iraq had sought uranium from Niger.

Human intelligence gathered in Italy and Africa more than three years before the Iraq war had shown Niger officials referring to possible illicit uranium deals with at least five countries, including Iraq.

This intelligence provided clues about plans by Libya and Iran to develop their undeclared nuclear programmes. Niger officials were also discussing sales to North Korea and China of uranium ore or the "yellow cake" refined from it: the raw materials that can be progressively enriched to make nuclear bombs.

The raw intelligence on the negotiations included indications that Libya was investing in Niger's uranium industry to prop it up at a time when demand had fallen, and that sales to Iraq were just a part of the clandestine export plan. These secret exports would allow countries with undeclared nuclear programmes to build up uranium stockpiles.

One nuclear counter-proliferation expert told the FT: "If I am going to make a bomb, I am not going to use the uranium that I have declared. I am going to use what I acquire clandestinely, if I am going to keep the programme hidden."

This may have been the method being used by Libya before it agreed last December to abandon its secret nuclear programme. According to the IAEA, there are 2,600 tonnes of refined uranium ore - "yellow cake" - in Libya. However, less than 1,500 tonnes of it is accounted for in Niger records, even though Niger was Libya's main supplier.

Information gathered in 1999-2001 suggested that the uranium sold illicitly would be extracted from mines in Niger that had been abandoned as uneconomic by the two French-owned mining companies - Cominak and Somair, both of which are owned by the mining giant Cogema - operating in Niger.

"Mines can be abandoned by Cogema when they become unproductive. This doesn't mean that people near the mines can't keep on extracting," a senior European counter-proliferation official said.

He added that there was no evidence the companies were aware of the plans for illicit mining.

When the intelligence gathered in 1999-2001 was thrown into the diplomatic maelstrom that preceded the US-led invasion of Iraq, it took on new significance. Several services contributed to the picture.

The Italians, looking for corroboration but lacking the global reach of the CIA or the UK intelligence service MI6, passed information to the US in 2001 and to the UK in 2002.

The UK eavesdropping centre GCHQ had intercepted communications suggesting Iraq was seeking clandestine uranium supplies, as had the French intelligence service.

The Italian intelligence was not incorporated in detail into the assessments of the CIA, which seeks to use such information only when it is gathered from its own sources rather than as a result of liaison with foreign intelligence services. But five months after receiving it, the US sent former ambassador Joseph Wilson to Niger to assess the credibility of separate US intelligence information that suggested Iraq had approached Niger.

http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1087373295039&p=1012571727085&ww=2999

posted by Matthew LeFande 8:43 AM
matt@lefande.com

Friday, June 25, 2004

David Lee Roth, NYC EMT  

Legendary rocker David Lee Roth, the famed front man for the '80s megaband Van Halen, is apparently reinventing himself as an emergency medical technician.

The other night at the Four Seasons restaurant, the 48-year-old millionaire musician revealed to dinner companions that he has been living in a modest apartment on the lower East Side and showing up most days for EMT training.


"I used to be a surgical orderly in South Central L.A.," he told me yesterday. "I started that when I got out of junior college in the early '70s, and that led to a variety of things in the outdoor medical fire force and training with the Green Berets. ... My father was a surgeon and uncles and my cousins were also in the medical community, so I come by it natural."

Roth, who said he has relocated to New York from his estate in Pasadena, Calif., specifically to train as an EMT, said he hopes to obtain his certification in November and work as a volunteer one weekend per month.

"I want to be working in the outer boroughs. This city promises great color and insight in each and every neighborhood," Roth said. "On the upper East Side, it's gonna be heart attacks and stomach aches. But in other neighborhoods, it's all trauma."

Presumably Roth won't be singing "Jump!" to a distraught person on a ledge.

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/206086p-177878c.html

posted by Matthew LeFande 10:18 AM
matt@lefande.com

Speed cameras pay off  

For the third consecutive month, the District has collected more than $2 million in speed-camera citations, bringing to more than $51 million the total revenue generated by the program since its 2001 inception.

The city collected $2,155,211 last month, after a record-setting month in April, when officials collected $2,324,888 in fines. More than $10 million has been generated by the program so far this year.

The cameras generating the most revenue for the District are on the limited stretches of highways under city jurisdiction, such as the outbound lanes of New York Avenue and the cross-town section of the Anacostia Parkway.

Police have monitored the 2800 block of New York Avenue NE — the program's most profitable zone in March, April and May — since January.

The zone — a six-lane, divided highway between two service roads — produced 10,868 speeding citations, more than 17 percent of issued citations in May, according to police statistics. At the program's minimum fine — $30 — the zone generated at least $326,040 that month.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/metro/20040624-101543-7529r.htm

posted by Matthew LeFande 7:28 AM
matt@lefande.com

Local-federal pact targets crime  

Metropolitan Police officers will join specially trained federal agents to combat violent crime in the city, the U.S. Justice Department announced yesterday.

The newly formed Violent Crime Impact Team will spend six months focusing on the 3rd and 4th police districts in Northwest, in which officials say there has been an increase in gang activity and drug-related violent crime.

Federal agents will be on loan from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); the U.S. Marshals Service; and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). A Justice Department prosecutor also will be assigned to the District and the 14 other U.S. cities participating in the initiative.

Investigators using high-tech surveillance and crime-mapping technology are expected to focus on firearms violations committed by the worst offenders — gangs, drug cartels and other organized-crime groups.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/metro/20040624-101543-5935r.htm

posted by Matthew LeFande 7:24 AM
matt@lefande.com

Thursday, June 24, 2004

Car Thief on Crack Kills 2 Cops, Blames Them for Their Deaths  

Lawyers for an Tennesse woman charged in the deaths of two lawmen suggested yesterday that the two officers may have been at fault in their own deaths, a contention that angered prosecutors.

Tallent's defense lawyers angered prosecution attorneys yesterday by suggesting that the crash that killed Wilson County Sheriff's Deputy John Musice, 49, and Mt. Juliet Police Sgt. Jerry Mundy, 43, on Interstate 40 could have been caused by the two officers' using incorrect police procedures. Musice and Mundy were killed as they laid ''spike strips'' on the interstate to stop a speeding, stolen car Tallent was driving.

''We're going to question the procedure of administering the spike strips,'' said David Boyd, who along with Craig Garrett is serving on Tallent's defense team. The lawyers said she is being ''bulldozed and railroaded'' in the case.

''That was really, really improper,'' District Attorney General Tommy Thompson said of the timing of the accusation, levied by Tallent's attorneys during jury selection.

Musice and Mundy ''were trying to protect the public. … They're trying to say it's their fault,'' Thompson said. ''We didn't present evidence — we didn't get into facts. There's a time and place for that, and the facts will come out in trial.''

Boyd and Garrett said they would show that Mundy walked to the middle lane of I-40 in the seconds just before the crash, when Tallent was approaching westbound in the left lane at speeds greater than 100 mph.

When Mundy threw out the spike strip, Tallent had to swerve to avoid it, the defense lawyers said. In doing so, she hit the policeman, causing the stolen Mercedes to go out of control and then hit Musice, who was on the side of the interstate.

The officers ''lost their lives trying to make sure everyone was safe. They did it right,'' an emotional Wilson County Sheriff Terry Ashe said yesterday.

http://www.tennessean.com/local/archives/04/06/53239597.shtml?Element_ID=53239597

posted by Matthew LeFande 9:19 AM
matt@lefande.com

Teens Accused Of Stealing From Police Department Evidence Room  

EATONVILLE, Fla. -- Juveniles broke into an evidence room and stole guns, drugs and money, all while they were supposed to be performing community service. Now, three teenagers are under arrest and a police explorer is being questioned.

Eatonville police say they broke into the evidence room while helping the town move to a new building. Channel 9 has learned the teenagers got their hands on drugs, money, and guns. They were helping cops move out of one building and into a new one.

Now, even the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is involved in the investigation surrounding the Eatonville Police Department's security.

The evidence room at the police department is locked up tight, but it didn't keep the three teens, ages 13 to 15, out. Even a police explorer was somehow involved.

"At the same time, while not being supervised, they managed to find keys," says Captain Eugene Arrington.

The keys were left out in the open on a desk. Capt. Arrington says it all happened the first week of June.

Officers were moving out of the old Eatonville police building and into a new one. At one point, the police explorer was in charge of the other three kids who were doing community service because of prior arrests.

"We kind of gave him a little bit of authority," says Capt. Arrington.

After apparently trying a screwdriver, the keys were found and the evidence lock-up at the old department was opened. Police say the teens stole $360 in cash, possibly drug money, three guns and a small bag of mixed drugs.

"Maybe a little bit of marijuana, a little bit of cocaine, maybe a blunt," comments Capt. Arrington.

No one knew anything until this week, after police say the suspects started bragging on the street. Now changes in security have to be made while police wonder how this could've happened.

"Very disappointed," says Capt. Arrington. "Bring this kind of embarrassment to the Eatonville Police Department."

Even Capt. Arrington admits he's part of an internal investigation now.

Detectives are still out looking to arrest two of the teens. One is already in the juvenile lock-up. Police are still trying to determine if the explorer will be arrested.

http://www.wftv.com/news/3452897/detail.html

posted by Matthew LeFande 8:02 AM
matt@lefande.com

D.C. Area Anti-Terror Spending Criticized  

As much as $340 million in federal money to secure the Washington area against terrorism has been spent without a coordinated plan or a system for measuring how safe the region is, according to a new congressional report.

The 53-page study by the General Accounting Office criticizes the Department of Homeland Security's regional office for failing to track the spending and being unable to tell Congress whether critical security gaps remain.

State and local governments in the Washington region received a massive two-year infusion of federal anti-terrorism funds after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in Washington and New York. Last year, Congress asked the GAO to assess the department's performance in protecting the capital area, identifying vulnerabilities and monitoring use of the federal grants.

The GAO report says that state and local governments took seven months to provide its investigators with grant amounts and that many lacked basic documentation of how money was spent. The study also found cases of likely duplication in purchasing decisions, including $2 million spent by local governments on similar police and fire command vehicles or similar hazardous-materials equipment.

The GAO report says its auditors could find no reliable, readily available information on how local security budgets were developed, how priorities were set or how money was actually spent. It also said that no data on security gaps were available because no regionwide benchmarks on readiness had been developed.

As a result, it is difficult for the Homeland Security Department's regional coordinator "to fulfill its statutory responsibility to oversee and coordinate federal programs and domestic preparedness initiatives," GAO investigators concluded.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A765-2004Jun23.html

posted by Matthew LeFande 7:36 AM
matt@lefande.com

Wednesday, June 23, 2004

Flight attendants still trained to cooperate  

Flight attendants on commercial airlines are still being trained to cooperate with hijackers and be victims rather than fight back, despite the attcks of September 11.

"Their wrists were bound, their throats slashed," Patricia Friend, president of the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), told the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee yesterday.

The September 11 panel revealed that hijackers "beat the last line of defense on the four flights, because the professionals had been trained to cooperate with hijackers, not fight them," Miss Friend said.

"Unfortunately, I am here to report to you that nothing has changed since that horrible day. We are no better prepared today to handle a situation like that which occurred on September 11th and our training is still woefully inadequate."

http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20040623-124647-6248r.htm

posted by Matthew LeFande 9:30 AM
matt@lefande.com

Tuesday, June 22, 2004

Police to trial plasma stun gun  

Police in the US and Europe could soon be testing a stun gun capable of delivering 50,000 volts to its target without using wires.

The gun, developed by XADS for the US Marine Corps as a crowd control device, has concerned human rights groups because of its potential for indiscriminate use. Furthermore, according to a report in the forthcoming edition of New Scientist, no independent safety testing has been carried out.

Conventional stun guns - the best known of which is the Taser - work by firing darts into the target. The darts trail wires connected to the gun by which the electric shock is delivered. However, its use is limited to single targets at very close range. It is also highly controversial: 40 people have died following shocks from a Taser, although in every case the death has been attributable to other factors, including alcohol or drug use.

The new device works very differently: it fires a stream of plasma, or ionised gas, at its target. This provides a conductive channel for the electricity. Early versions have a limited range - just 3 metres - but because of the way it works, it will be possible to sweep the beam across multiple targets.

"We will be able to fire a stream of electricity like water out of a hose at one or many targets in a single sweep," said XADS president Peter Bitar.

XADS has plans for a more advanced version that will have a range of around 100m. This will use high powered lasers to ionise the air itself, creating the conduit for the current flow. To do this, the company says, the laser pulse can be very brief but must be very intense. They plan to use a UV laser to fire a 5-joule pulse lasting less than half a picosecond. The plasma conduits this creates can be sustained, researchers say, if the laser is fired repeatedly, every few milliseconds.

http://www.theregister.com/2004/06/18/set_phasers_to_stun/

posted by Matthew LeFande 8:16 AM
matt@lefande.com

Drug Impaired Driving Enforcement Act of 2004  

A bill in the US House of Representatives to amend Title 23, United States Code, relating to improving safety and enforcement with respect to individuals operating motor vehicles while under the influence of, or having used, drugs.

a) In General- Not later than one year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall develop and provide to the States a model statute relating to drug impaired driving which incorporates the provisions described in this section.

(b) Mandatory Provisions- Provisions of the model statute under this section shall include, at a minimum, a provision that the crime of drug impaired driving is committed when a person operates a motor vehicle--

(1) while any detectable amount of a controlled substance is present in the person's body, as measured in the person's blood, urine, saliva, or other bodily substance; or

(2) due to the presence of a controlled substance or a controlled substance in combination with alcohol or an inhalant, or both, in the person's body, the person's mental or physical faculties are affected to a noticeable or perceptible degree.

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c108:H.R.3922:

posted by Matthew LeFande 8:03 AM
matt@lefande.com

Monday, June 21, 2004

Supreme Court: No Right to Keep Names From Police  

The Supreme Court ruled Monday that people do not have a constitutional right to refuse to tell police their names.

The 5-4 decision frees the government to arrest and punish people who won't cooperate by revealing their identity.

The decision, reached by a divided court, was a defeat for privacy rights advocates who argued that the government could use this power to force people who have done nothing wrong to submit to fingerprinting or divulge more personal information.

Police, meanwhile, had argued that identification requests are a routine part of detective work, including efforts to get information about terrorists.

The justices upheld a Nevada cattle rancher's misdemeanor conviction. He was arrested after he told a deputy that he didn't have to reveal his name or show an ID during an encounter on a rural road in 2000.

Larry "Dudley" Hiibel was prosecuted, based on his silence and fined $250. The Nevada Supreme Court sided with police on a 4-3 vote last year.

Justices agreed in a unique ruling that addresses just what's in a name.

The ruling was a follow up to a 1968 decision that said police may briefly detain someone on reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing, without the stronger standard of probable cause, to get more information. Justices said that during such brief detentions, known as Terry stops after the 1968 ruling, people must answer questions about their identities.

Justices had been asked to rule that forcing someone to give police their name violated a person's Fourth Amendment protection from unreasonable searches and the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, writing for the majority, said that that it violated neither.

"Obtaining a suspect's name in the course of a Terry stop serves important government interests," Kennedy wrote.

The case is Hiibel v. Sixth Judicial District Court of the State of Nevada, 03-5554.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/SCOTUS_POLICE_IDENTIFICATION

posted by Matthew LeFande 10:50 AM
matt@lefande.com

Speed Demons  

It looked like a Hollywood stunt. But it wasn’t. A high speed takedown on the 401 near Nielson turned the highway into a scene of real life drama early Wednesday. And it ended as suspensefully as it began.

O.P.P. Whitby officers were at the wheel, when they were forced to ram a fleeing van into the concrete divider just after 5am. That stopped the vehicle in a shower of sparks, as it skidded to a reluctant halt.

But the chase, which had reached speeds of over 160 kilometres an hour, didn’t end there – two suspects immediately jumped out and made a mad dash for freedom, running across the road to try and escape.

But they didn’t get far. Cops were in hot pursuit, jumping one man right away, and running down another in the median of the highway.

Police say the chase was triggered by a complaint about an erratic driver at 4:35am on the 401 westbound in the area of Holt Road in Clarington Township, but eventually crossed the border into Toronto.

Several other local forces joined the chase, but it was the Whitby cops who finished what they started.

Miraculously, no one was injured in the wild pursuit. And police are grateful it ended when it did. Just a few kilometres away, at Yonge St., other crews were busy with a mess of their own, trying to clean up from a truck rollover that scattered frozen food all over the highway. The collison between the two could have been disastrous.

A 20-year-old man and his 17-year-old male passenger, both from Toronto, are facing charges of possession of stolen property under $5,000 and possession of burglary tools. The driver faces additional charges of dangerous driving and flight from police. Both were wanted for an earlier home invasion.

http://www.pulse24.com/News/Top_Story/20040602-005/page.asp

posted by Matthew LeFande 10:44 AM
matt@lefande.com

Iraqi officer in al Qaeda, papers show  

A senior officer in Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's security services was a member of the terrorist group that committed the September 11 attacks, a member of the commission investigating the suicide hijackings said yesterday.

"There is at least one officer of Saddam's Fedayeen, a lieutenant colonel, who was a very prominent member of al Qaeda," said September 11 commission member and former Navy Secretary John Lehman.

Although he stressed that the intelligence "still has to be confirmed," Mr. Lehman said that the information came from "captured documents" shown to the panel after the September 11 commission's staff report had been written.

The report maintained that Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network had ties with Iraq, but did "not appear to have resulted in a collaborative relationship."

Mr. Lehman yesterday said the latest development demonstrates the difficulty that the commission has had resulting from tremendous political pressures.

"Everything we come out with, one side or the other seizes on in this election year to try to make a political point on," he said.

He stressed that the Bush administration "has never said that [Saddam] participated in the 9/11 attack."

"They've said, and our staff has confirmed, there have been numerous contacts between Iraqi intelligence and al Qaeda over a period of 10 years," Mr. Lehman said. "Now there's new intelligence ... because, as you know, new intelligence is coming in steadily from the interrogations in Guantanamo and Iraq, and from captured documents."

Commission member Richard Ben-Veniste said he hoped the panel would get intelligence "with respect to the individual that John Lehman has talked about."

Although Mr. Lehman did not give names, a Fedayeen lieutenant colonel has the same name as Ahmed Hikmat Shakir, an Iraqi with al Qaeda ties.

According to published accounts, Shakir attended a planning meeting for the September 11 attacks in January 2000. The meeting in Malaysia also was attended by two of the hijackers, Khalid Almihdhar and Nawaf Alhazmi, and by senior al Qaeda leaders.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20040621-124414-5078r.htm

posted by Matthew LeFande 7:54 AM
matt@lefande.com

Friday, June 18, 2004

Russia 'warned U.S. about Saddam'  

Russian intelligence services warned Washington several times that Saddam Hussein's regime planned terrorist attacks against the United States, President Vladimir Putin has said.

The warnings were provided after September 11, 2001 and before the start of the Iraqi war, Putin said Friday, according to the Interfax news agency.

The planned attacks were targeted both inside and outside the United States, said Putin, who made the remarks in Kazakhstan.

However, Putin said there was no evidence that Saddam's regime was involved in any terrorist attacks.

"After September 11, 2001, and before the start of the military operation in Iraq, the Russian special services ... received information that officials from Saddam's regime were preparing terrorist attacks in the United States and outside it against the U.S. military and other interests," Interfax quoted Putin as saying.

"Despite that information about terrorist attacks being prepared by Saddam's regime, Russia's position on Iraq remains unchanged," Putin said.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/06/18/russia.warning/index.html

posted by Matthew LeFande 8:03 AM
matt@lefande.com

Iowa Councilman Speaks Out Against Women Police Officers  

People who attended a Granger City Council meeting last week say they were shocked by one council member's statement against women police officers.

Last Wednesday, Paula Aunspach, of Granger, went before the council and requested a reserve police force be added to the city. Aunspach also said that she'd like to be a member of the force.

Witnesses said that after some discussion, council member Gerry Moorehead said he didn't think women should be on the police force.

"He started his conversation out with, 'You all know me, you know that I'm a male chauvinist. But I just don't believe that women need to be on a police force,'" eyewitness Robert Butters said.

Butters was there as past president of the Iowa Reserve Officers Association. He said he was shocked by Moorehead's remarks.

Butters said Moorehead pointed at Aunspach and said, "You don't deserve to be on the police force. You don't need to be on the police force. The force is no place for a woman."

Dallas County News reporter Matt Tomkins was taking notes at the meeting for the newspaper.

"[Moorehead] did come out and say that he had a problem with any women police officers. He thought it was a bad idea, he thought there were jobs that women shouldn't have in society," Tomkins said.

Despite Moorehead's objection, the council approved the reserve force 4 to 1. A committee will decide who is qualified to serve.

Aunspach released a statement, saying, "Even though the first words out of Councilman Moorehead's mouth were 'I don't have a problem with the reserve program...' After his tirade against women in law enforcement, he was the only city council member to vote against the program. This shows that decisions made for the city of Granger are affected by the prejudice and ignorance of at least one vote."

http://www.theomahachannel.com/news/3421451/detail.html

posted by Matthew LeFande 7:58 AM
matt@lefande.com

Bush reasserts Iraq link to al Qaeda  

President Bush yesterday said Saddam Hussein had ties to al Qaeda before and after the September 11 attacks, in his first response to an investigative panel's portrayal of the relationship as not a "collaborative" one.

"This administration never said that the 9/11 attacks were orchestrated between Saddam and al Qaeda," Mr. Bush said after a meeting with his Cabinet. "We did say there were numerous contacts between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda."

Mr. Bush said intelligence reports since the fall of Iraq also have shown links between Saddam's regime and al Qaeda.

The relationship, Mr. Bush said, included Saddam's regime giving a safe haven to Abu Musab Zarqawi before the Iraq war — a man now considered the most dangerous terrorist in Iraq and the leader of an al Qaeda offshoot.

The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States on Tuesday said there is "no credible evidence" Saddam had any connection to September 11. It also said meetings between Iraqi officials and al Qaeda leaders, including Osama bin Laden, "do not appear to have resulted in a collaborative relationship."

The commission's report neither addressed Zarqawi's group, Tawhid, nor Ansar al-Islam, a radical Islamist group in northern Iraq that emerged days before September 11 and had possible links to bin Laden and Saddam."

"What we have found is, were there contacts between al Qaeda and Iraq? Yes. Some of them were shadowy, but they were there," said Thomas H. Kean, head of the commission and a former Republican governor of New Jersey.

Mr. Bush has been criticized repeatedly by Democrats who say the administration implied Saddam participated in the September 11 attacks — a view that polls show the public has held since immediately after the attacks — and used it as a central premise for overthrowing Saddam.

"The administration misled America and the administration reached too far," Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry said Tuesday. "They did not tell the truth to Americans about what was happening or their intentions."

Mr. Bush said his administration never fostered the perception of Saddam's participation in the attacks and reiterated why Saddam posed danger to the United States.

"He was a threat because he had used weapons of mass destruction against his own people," Mr. Bush said. "He was a threat because he was a sworn enemy to the United States of America, just like al Qaeda. He was a threat because he had terrorist connections — not only al Qaeda connections, but other connections to terrorist organizations."

http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20040618-121906-3054r.htm

posted by Matthew LeFande 7:16 AM
matt@lefande.com

Wednesday, June 16, 2004

New Poll Says Police Chiefs Expect Trouble  

The National Association of Chiefs of Police recently released its 16th Annual Survey of Police Chiefs and Sheriffs and, according to Vice President and Public Affairs Specialist Jim Kouri, some of the survey findings are surprising and compelling.

"The survey had some surprising results on topics including terrorism, gun control, homeland security, drug enforcement and others," says Kouri.

Kouri asserts that the public perception of how police view certain issues is based on media coverage, which is not necessarily accurate. "When police chiefs and sheriffs are allowed to respond to poll questions anonymously, the politics may be removed from their answers," claims Kouri.

Terrorism: When asked if the United States would be attacked by terrorists within the next year, 88.2 percent said yes. Meanwhile 64 percent of police commanders said they received training and other resources from the federal government to combat terrorism, while only 42 percent said their departments participated in terrorism-response simulations.

Homeland Security: When police commanders were asked if they observed more cooperation between federal and local agencies, 69.8 percent said yes. Sixty-seven percent of the respondents stated they found the color-coded threat matrix an effective way of informing the public of terrorist threats. When asked if the process of arming commercial airline pilots is too burdensome, 53.6 percent of the police executives answered yes.

Gun Control: With regard to private citizens owning firearms for sport or self-defense, 94 percent of the respondents supported civilian gun-ownership rights. Ninety-six percent of the police chiefs and sheriffs believe criminals obtain firearms from illegal sources and 91 percent revealed they hadn't arrested anyone for violation of the so-called "waiting period" laws. When asked if they opposed citizens obtaining concealed-weapons permits, only 34 percent said yes.

http://www.insightmag.com/news/2004/06/11/National/New-Poll.Says.Police.Chiefs.Expect.Trouble-687719.shtml

posted by Matthew LeFande 5:37 PM
matt@lefande.com

$50,000 reward offered in hunt for bank robbers  

The FBI and police in the District and Prince George's County are offering $50,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a dangerous and skilled gang that has robbed five area banks of more than $300,000 this year.

"We're asking for the public's assistance to put an end to these violent bank robberies," said Kevin L. Perkins, FBI special agent in charge of the Baltimore field office.

One shot was fired during the most recent robbery on Saturday morning at the Industrial Bank, 2012 Rhode Island Ave. NE, but no one was injured. Neither police nor FBI agents would say how much money was stolen. The robbers escaped in two stolen vehicles that later were found on 19th Street NE, and at 30th and Shepherd streets in Mount Rainier.

Authorities learned from descriptions from bank clerks, other witnesses and videos that the robbers were "four or five" black males in their 20s and 30s, wearing masks and heavy clothing, carrying automatic, assault-style rifles and using stolen vans as getaway vehicles.

The first robbery occurred Jan. 22 when five men reportedly fled with about $140,000 from a Bank of America branch in the 5900 block of Blair Road NW. They used a green Dodge Caravan stolen in Montgomery County, and a silver BMW sport utility vehicle.

On March 5, three men entered Riggs Bank branch in the 7600 block of Georgia Avenue NW, while a fourth waited in a getaway car and a fifth stood nearby on lookout.

They took $94,000 and torched a black Acura on Laurel Street NW.

On May 10, three robbers took $50,000 from a Chevy Chase Bank branch in the 3600 block of St. Barnabas Road in Temple Hills.

Seventeen days later, they hit another Chevy Chase Bank in the 5800 block of Eastern Avenue in Hyattsville for $18,000.

Four stolen vans were set afire after the getaways as the robbers apparently transferred to other means of escape.

"Each [robbery] seems to be very well planned and very well coordinated among the individuals involved," Mr. Perkins said.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/metro/20040615-102018-4978r.htm

posted by Matthew LeFande 8:03 AM
matt@lefande.com

Thursday, June 10, 2004

Half of town's cops are polygamists  

An eight-month investigation by the state of Utah has found that more than half of the police officers in the southern town of Hildale practice polygamy – that is, having more than one spouse.

"Hildale has 13 officers who are certified by Utah, seven by our records are polygamists," Attorney General Mark Shurtleff told the Salt Lake Tribune.

He says some on the force were aware of the illegal activity by fellow officers, but did not take any action.

And though Shurtleff himself ordered the inquiry, he's not pursuing criminal charges on any of the accusations.

"We just don't have the resources to start charging bigamy," Shurtleff told the paper.

http://wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=38877

posted by Matthew LeFande 8:10 AM
matt@lefande.com

Sunday, June 06, 2004

Text Messages May Turn Up in Bryant Case  

A few hours after NBA star Kobe Bryant had sex with a Vail-area hotel worker last summer, the woman exchanged cell phone text messages with a former boyfriend and someone else. What's in those messages could help determine whether the sex was consensual or whether Bryant is guilty of rape as charged. The judge himself said the content may be "highly relevant" to the case.

That the judge could order the woman's cell phone company to produce the messages so long after they were sent shouldn't surprise anyone, analysts say. Texters beware. Like e-mail and Internet instant messages, text messages tend to be saved on servers.

"One of the false assumptions that people make is that when they hit the delete button, messages are gone forever, but nothing can be further from the truth," said Jeff Kagan, an independent telecommunications analyst in Atlanta.

The Bryant case appears to be the first high-profile U.S. criminal case in which cell phone text messages could be entered into the docket. In Europe and Asia, where texting is hugely popular, some criminal cases have hinged on them.

In Sweden, police and prosecutors used text messages to prove that a nanny influenced by a pastor of a religious sect shot and killed his wife while she slept and then killed a neighbor next door with whom she was alleged to be having an affair.

And police in southern Japan are examining e-mail and text messages as part of the investigation into last week's box-cutter killing of a 12-year-old girl, allegedly by an 11-year-old classmate.

http://apnews.myway.com//article/20040606/D831LGT00.html

posted by Matthew LeFande 6:01 PM
matt@lefande.com

Saturday, June 05, 2004

Man gets 2 DWI arrests in 2 hours  

An Ascension Parish sheriff's deputy arrested a Prairieville man twice within a two-hour span on counts of driving while intoxicated.

The man was cited Thursday for driving a motorcycle and later, a pickup truck, while intoxicated, the Sheriff's Office reported.

Sheriff Jeff Wiley on Friday called the double drunken driving arrests involving the same officer and the same driver at the same location an "almost unbelievable" case in the annals of law enforcement.

The incidents began when Deputy Mike Renaud stopped a speeding motorcycle on Airline Highway near La. 44 about 1 a.m. Thursday and arrested the rider.

Wiley said the rider, Kenneth Thibodeaux, 38, 16382 Oakridge, tested twice the state's presumed point of intoxication, Wiley said.

A wrecker was dispatched to pick up the motorcycle.

Thibodeaux was given a summons for first-offense DWI and released from detention, the sheriff said. A friend arrived to pick Thibodeaux up, Wiley said.

The friend gave Thibodeaux a ride to the towing company lot where Thibodeaux's motorcycle had been taken, the sheriff said.

The operator of the towing company agreed to release the motorcycle as long as Thibodeaux agreed to load it into the back of his friend's pickup, the sheriff said.

However, the company operator told deputies Thibodeaux's friend drove off on the motorcycle and Thibodeaux left in the pickup, the sheriff said.

Deputy Renaud was sitting in his patrol car at the same spot where he earlier intercepted Thibodeaux on the motorcycle less than two hours earlier.

Then, Renaud saw someone ride past on Thibodeaux's motorcycle and decided to give chase in his patrol car. The deputy caught up with the motorcycle and noticed the two-wheeler was trailing a pickup being driven by Thibodeaux, the sheriff said.

The deputy stopped the pickup and administered Thibodeaux another alcohol breath test, finding that the results registered considerably over the state's presumed point of intoxication, Wiley said.

Renaud cited Thibodeaux for a second-offense DWI and booked him into the Ascension Parish Jail. Thibodaux was released after posting $1,082 bail.

"To say this is unusual is an understatement," the sheriff said. "I have never, in my 30 years of law enforcement, heard of anyone getting two DWIs in less than two hours.

"For both DWIs to be written by the same deputy at the same location is almost unbelievable," Wiley said.

http://2theadvocate.com/stories/052904/pol_2dwi001.shtml

posted by Matthew LeFande 3:53 PM
matt@lefande.com

Friday, June 04, 2004

Deaths of Two Comrades Leave D.C. Police Shaken  

Each officer had found a niche on the D.C. police force. One specialized in traffic problems, and the other concentrated on cracking down on prostitution.

Colleagues said both tackled their assignments in the same way -- through hard and tenacious work. That dedication will be remembered at two funerals in coming days as D.C. police grapple with the sudden deaths this week of two promising, popular sergeants in the performance of their duties.

The last time the D.C. police department recorded line-of-duty deaths in such quick succession was in 1997, when three officers were fatally shot within three months, officials said.

"There were a lot of tears," Assistant Chief Alfred J. Broadbent said. "They were both dedicated. It's definitely a tough loss."

Sgt. John S. Ashley, 37, collapsed and died Sunday as he chased a runaway dog in Northwest Washington. Sgt. Clifton Rife II, 34, died early Wednesday after an off-duty gunfight with a youth who tried to rob him in Oxon Hill.

Ashley's funeral is scheduled for 11 a.m. today at St. Leo's Catholic Church in Fairfax. Services for Rife had not been scheduled as of last night. Scores of police will honor both men, who had many supporters on and off the force. Because Rife was fighting a crime, his death, like Ashley's, was ruled to have been in the line of duty.

"This is going to be tough on a lot of people," Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey said. "They were both very good."

Ashley, a seven-year veteran who lived in Vienna, was on routine patrol at 5 p.m. Sunday when he spotted a dog running away from its handler in the 1600 block of 30th Street NW, according to police officials.

The sergeant jumped from his police car and began chasing the dachshund. He collapsed and was rushed to George Washington University Medical Center, where he died. Police officials said Ashley, the father of a young daughter, suffered a heart attack or a sudden illness from an undiagnosed heart condition.

Later, police learned that the dog had escaped from George Stephanopoulos, a former top official with President Bill Clinton's administration and host of the ABC News show "This Week."

Stephanopoulos had been walking the dog, named Gilbert, with his family in a nearby park when the pet ran away. A neighbor later picked up the dog.

"It's such a sad story," Stephanopoulos said. "It's made me heartsick."

Other officers said they were not surprised that Ashley would leap from his patrol car to help. He was an aggressive officer who enjoyed assisting people and working on neighborhood problems, especially traffic issues.

Even though he was a plainclothes detective stationed in Anacostia before his promotion to sergeant in February, he volunteered for overtime traffic duty.

During his traffic endeavors, he bonded with Alma Gates, a community leader in her Palisades neighborhood. She was so impressed with Ashley's energy and willingness to slow down speeders that she lobbied the 2nd District's commander to put the newly minted sergeant in her neighborhood.

"He was really concerned that our streets should be safe," Gates said. "I am personally devastated. . . . He just made a difference."

The police department honored Ashley two years in a row for his traffic work. "It was one of those things where he felt he could make a difference," said Lt. Patrick Burke, a close friend.

He also was among detectives who investigated the bombing of a Chevy Blazer in a Northwest Washington garage in July 2002. Prescott Sigmund later pleaded guilty to setting the bomb, which seriously injured his half-brother, Wright Sigmund. Agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives credited Ashley with helping to solve the case.

Rife demonstrated that same kind of dedication, according to fellow officers and supervisors. After he had finished serving subpoenas Wednesday morning, he went to visit a friend at an apartment in Oxon Hill, police said.

He was ambushed on the way to the apartment by a masked youth with a gun. Rife and Jonathan M. Washington, 16, exchanged gunfire. Rife died later at Prince George's Hospital Center, and Washington was pronounced dead at the scene.

Rife, a 13-year veteran, lived in Odenton and had two young children. Co-workers said he never forgot his roots on the street and was always focused on the job.

After becoming a supervisor in the prostitution unit in 2002, Rife pushed his detectives to achieve results, and arrests jumped 38 percent within a year. During his career, Rife was commended 16 times by his supervisors for excellent work -- an extraordinary personnel record, top police officials said.

"You just couldn't mold a better supervisor, sergeant or human being," Capt. Mario Patrizio said.

Rife, known for being fearless and willing to take chances, rushed into a burning house in 1996 and rescued several sleeping residents, police officials said.

"He was one of those guys, an all-around guy," Assistant Chief Winston Robinson said. "He made an arrest every day. He was in court every day. He made a lot of cases and a lot of lockups.

"He was a role model."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13934-2004Jun3.html

posted by Matthew LeFande 8:07 AM
matt@lefande.com

Wednesday, June 02, 2004

D.C. Police Officer Killed in Apparent Robery Attempt  

An off-duty D.C. police officer has been killed in an early morning shooting in Oxon Hill, according to spokesman Sergeant Joe Gentile.

Police said 34-year-old Clifton Rife was a 13-year veteran of the force.

Prince George's County police are handling the investigation and a spokeswoman said Rife was at an apartment building on the 5400 block of Livingston Terrace about 4:30 a.m. visiting a friend. He was approached by a man with a gun who attempted to rob him.

According to police, shots were exchanged, and the robbery suspect was killed at the scene.

During the altercation, Sergeant Tammy Sparkman said Rife was also was shot and taken by helicopter to the hospital and was later pronounced dead.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8867-2004Jun2.html

posted by Matthew LeFande 9:59 AM
matt@lefande.com

Tuesday, June 01, 2004

FBI issues alert for stolen propane tankers  

FBI agents in Texas issued a nationwide alert Tuesday for two stolen propane tanker trucks, laden with thousands of gallons of the volatile liquefied gas.

A San Antonio gas company discovered the trucks, one carrying 3,000 gallons and the other carrying 2,500 gallons, had been stolen after employees returned Tuesday from the Memorial Day holiday weekend, the FBI said.

The thefts could have occurred as early as May 25, FBI Agent Patrick Patterson said.

"Propane is one of the elements that terrorists have been trained on, so we're very concerned about it," Patterson told a news conference.

The FBI was concerned the trucks or the propane could be used as a bomb, but Patterson said there was no indication that was the purpose of the theft.

The FBI and San Antonio police said propane thefts were common in south Texas, given its proximity to northern Mexico.

Propane is a commonly used fuel there, and a professional propane theft ring was operating in San Antonio as recently as last year, San Antonio Police Chief Albert Ortiz said.

A tanker was converted into a truck bomb for the Khobar Towers apartment bombing in Dharan, Saudi Arabia, nearly eight years ago, he said. The June 25, 1996, explosion killed 19 U.S. Air Force personnel and wounded 372 other people.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/06/01/fbi.propane.reut/index.html

posted by Matthew LeFande 9:27 PM
matt@lefande.com

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