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HERMANN MISSOURI OKTOBERFEST 2010
HERMANN MISSOURI OKTOBERFEST 2010 - CLICK ON PHOTO FOR THIS YEARS SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
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May 3, 2011
No people were injured but up to four dogs were believed to have died in a fire that destroyed a Gerald home Tuesday morning. Gerald Fire Chief Gary Smith described the home in the 8000 block of Champion City Road as a "total loss".
No one was home when the fire started, Smith said. The fire was reported by a passerby. As of late Tuesday morning, a cause had not been determined. Homeowners Walter and Rita Shain were not at home. The property is also known as Champion City Stables. No horses were hurt.
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The FBI today warns computer users to exercise caution when they receive e-mails that purport to show photos or videos of Usama bin Laden’s recent death. This content could be a virus that could damage your computer. This malicious software, or “malware,” can embed itself in computers and spread to users’ contact lists, thereby infecting the systems of associates, friends, and family members. These viruses are often programmed to steal your personally identifiable information.
The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) urges computer users to not open unsolicited (spam) e-mails, including clicking links contained within those messages. Even if the sender is familiar, the public should exercise due diligence. Computer owners must ensure they have up-to-date firewall and anti-virus software running on their machines to detect and deflect malicious software.
The IC3 recommends the public do the following:
Adjust the privacy settings on social networking sites you frequent to make it more difficult for people you know and do not know to post content to your page. Even a “friend” can unknowingly pass on multimedia that’s actually malicious software.
Do not agree to download software to view videos. These applications can infect your computer.
Read e-mails you receive carefully. Fraudulent messages often feature misspellings, poor grammar, and nonstandard English.
Report e-mails you receive that purport to be from the FBI. Criminals often use the FBI’s name and seal to add legitimacy to their fraudulent schemes. In fact, the FBI does not send unsolicited e-mails to the public. Should you receive unsolicited messages that feature the FBI’s name, seal, or that reference a division or unit within the FBI or an individual employee, report it to the Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.
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Release of photograph delayed due to 'gruesome' nature
Taliban demands to see proof of Al Qaeda leader's death
White House may also release video of Bin Laden's burial at sea
Three sets of photos taken - at Afghanistan airbase, on raid itself and at sea
U.S. used 'multiple means' to identify bin Laden
One report said he had a 'massive head wound above his left eye, with brains and blood visible'
The White House has delayed the release of photographs showing Osama bin Laden's body. White House officials are afraid that releasing the images, described as 'gruesome' and thought to show the dead al-Qaeda leader with a massive head wound, would offend 'sensitivities' in the Muslim world. It had been previously thought President Barack Obama had decided to release at least one photo showing Osama Bin Laden shortly after he was killed by U.S. Navy SEALs. The news came as a Taliban spokesman demanded to see photographic evidence of the assassination.
The White House says the photograph of a dead Osama bin Laden is 'gruesome' and that 'it could be inflammatory' if released.
White House press secretary Jay Carney said the White House is mulling whether to make the photo public, but he said officials are concerned about the 'sensitivity' of doing so. Senior military officials confirmed to CNN there were three sets of pictures of bin Laden. The first set was taken during the raid itself, and is thought to show two dead brothers, and bin Laden's dead teenage son. The second, and most 'identifiable' set of pictures were taken of his mutilated body at an Afghan airbase. These are the most troubling set of images as they show 'massive open head wounds' - but are the most clear pictures of bin Laden's face. The third set were taken aboard the USS Carl Vinson, and show a washed and shrouded bin Laden being lowered into his watery grave.
Gone but not forgotten: Muslim clerics are predicting revenge attacks against American targets because of the way the government decided to dispose of the leader's body
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said in a statement emailed to journalists: 'This news is only coming from one side, from Obama's office, and America has not shown any evidence or proof to support this claim. 'On the other side, our sources close to Osama bin Laden have not confirmed or denied the news. 'Until there is news from sources close to Osama bin Laden it will be too early to provide any reaction.' Officials are also considering whether to release a video showing Osama Bin Laden being buried at sea. The dead terror chief was given an Islamic burial in the North Arabian Sea in a bid to stop his fanatical followers turning his final resting place into a shrine. Officials did not reveal the exact location where sailors on the American aircraft carrier the USS Carl Vinson lowered his body in to the water. But two Pentagon officials said the burial was videotaped and that it probably will be released soon. As news of the burial filtered out yesterday, new details have emerged about the daring raid on bin Laden's compound. The operation - code named 'Geronimo' - was watched by the President in real time from the helmet mounted camera of an elite Navy SEAL commando. Although President Obama saw the terror chief killed by a single bullet to the head, it was only when he received the signal 'Geronino E-KIA' - which stands for 'Enemy Killed In Action'- that he knew Bin Laden was dead. It is understood bin Laden, code named 'Jackpot', was unarmed but did 'resist'. It had previously been claimed the terror chief also used a woman thought to be his wife as a human shield - but this has now been retracted by officials. According to reports bin Laden's 12-year-old daughter was present when U.S. forces shot and killed her father. Obama had earlier ruled out killing bin Laden with two air dropped bombs and an as yet undisclosed third option, in favour of the more risky raid which would provide DNA and bodily evidence Osama was dead.
The SEAL team also used a facial recognition system to positively identify the body of bin Laden. The commander of the operation took a digital image of bin Laden's remains and fed them back to the CIA, where a facial recognition system confirmed the identity. Bin Laden's widow, a 19-year-old Yemeni woman in the compound was also brought to identify the body. As well as bin Laden, one of his adult sons - possibly 19-year-old Hamza Bin Laden - the courier who led the CIA to bin Laden and the courier's brother were also killed. The New York Times reported a Pakistani official as saying there were nine children, from 2 to 12 years old, left behind in the compound. Intelligence experts in Afghanistan are today sifting through a treasure trove of computer hard drives and other intelligence captured from the compound in Pakistan - described by one official as 'the mother load'. Speaking to CNN, a senior U.S. official said Navy SEALs had recovered 10 hard drives, 5 computers and more than 100 storage devices from the compound - including discs, DVDs and thumb drives. Officials today have given hints that photos of the body prior to its disposal in the North Arabian Sea may be released. John Brennan, the White House counter-terrorism chief, told reporters that the administration was still deliberating on release of the material. Making it public might satisfy those who would otherwise doubt that it was bin Laden who was killed.
The U.S. military today outlined the exact process of burying bin Laden's body at sea. An official said preparations for the al Qaeda leader's burial lasted nearly an hour. His body was washed aboard the USS Carl Vinson before being covered in a white sheet and religious remarks translated into Arabic by a native speaker were read over the corpse. 'The burial of bin Laden's remains was done in strict conformance with Islamist precepts and practices,' said John Brennan, U.S. President Barack Obama's top counter-terrorism adviser. Preparations for burial began at 1:10 am EST (0510 GMT) and were completed at 2 am EST. His corpse was lowered toward the sea on one of the aircraft carrier's elevators. 'The body was placed in a weighted bag. A military officer read prepared religious remarks which were translated into Arabic by a native speaker,' the U.S. official said. 'After the words were complete, the body was placed on a prepared flat board, tipped up, whereupon the deceased's body eased into the sea.' Muslim clerics are predicting revenge attacks against American targets because of the way the government decided to dispose of the leader's body. A wide range of Islamic scholars interpreted it as a humiliating disregard for the standard Muslim practice of placing the body in a grave with the head pointed toward the holy city of Mecca. Sea burials can be allowed, they said, but only in special cases where the death occurred aboard a ship far from the coast.
Burial place: Osama bin Laden's body was taken out to sea and dumped in the North Arabian Sea from the deck of the USS Carl Vinson officials have confirmed
A U.S. official said the burial decision was made after concluding that it would have been difficult to find a country willing to accept the remains. The Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. government asked Saudi Arabia - where bin Laden was born - to take his remains, but the government declined. The U.S. is also thought to have been anxious to avoid burying the corpse on land over fears the grave would become a rallying point for militants, even if left unmarked. The Pentagon confirmed that the body was placed in to the waters of the Arabian sea after adhering to the customs - which call for a speedy washing, wrapping and burial of the corpse - aboard the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson. But Omar Bakri Mohammed, a radical cleric in Lebanon, said it should not have been done in this way: 'The Americans want to humiliate Muslims through this burial, and I don't think this is in the interest of the U.S. administration.' The haste has also been questioned, as the U.S. has not always observed the 24-hour rule for Muslim burials. In 2003 the bodies of Saddam Hussein’s sons Uday and Qusay were embalmed and held for 11 days before they were released for burial. Mohammed al-Qubaisi, Dubai's grand mufti, said about bin Laden's burial, said: 'They can say they buried him at sea, but they cannot say they did it according to Islam. If the family does not want him, it's really simple in Islam: You dig up a grave anywhere, even on a remote island, you say the prayers and that's it.
'Sea burials are permissible for Muslims in extraordinary circumstances. This is not one of them.'
Another Islamic scholar from Iraq, Abdul-Sattar al-Janabi, said: 'What was done by the Americans is forbidden by Islam and might provoke some Muslims. It is not acceptable and it is almost a crime to throw the body of a Muslim man into the sea. 'The body of bin Laden should have been handed over to his family to look for a country or land to bury him.' Prominent Egyptian Islamic analyst and lawyer Montasser el-Zayat said bin Laden's sea burial was designed to prevent his grave from becoming a shrine. He said: 'They don't want to see him become a symbol, but he is already a symbol in people's hearts.'
ISLAMIC BURIAL TRADITION
Funerals in Islam follow specific rites procedures. Sharia law (Islamic religious law) calls for burial of the body which includes a ritual where the body is bathed and shrouded followed by salah (prayer). Cremation of the body is forbidden as most burials occur in a grave with the head facing Mecca. The body should be lowered into the water, 'in a vessel of clay or a weight tied to its feet', and as far as possible, it should 'not be lowered at a point where it is eaten up immediately by sea predators'.
Tradition dictates that the body is washed by Muslim men and a funeral prayer is said, then it is buried as soon as possible, usually within 24 hours. The body is wrapped in a shroud of white cloth and the face is moved toward mecca. The remains are always buried in the earth. Similar to the orthodox Jewish tradition, bodies cannot be embalmed or in any way preserved and the coffin, if used, must be wooden.
It was not clear whether the firefight in which U.S. forces are said to have shot bin Laden to death was videotaped. John Brennan, the White House counter-terrorism chief, told reporters that the administration was still deliberating on release of the material. Making it public might satisfy those who would otherwise doubt that it was bin Laden who was killed. Meanwhile, more graphic details have emerged of bin Laden's death. According to ABC, the pictures the government have of the 54-year-old's body are very gruesome. One report stated: '[Osama] has a massive head wound above his left eye where he took bullet, with brains and blood visible.' One U.S. official who has also seen the photos told the network: 'There's no doubt it's him.' As well as facial recognition and confirmation by his wife DNA analysis on Monday provided certainty that the body was that of bin Laden. The U.S. is believed to have collected DNA samples from bin Laden family members in the years since the 9/11 attacks that triggered the U.S.- led invasion of Afghanistan. He also was visually identified by members of the U.S. raid squad, a senior intelligence official told reporters at a Pentagon briefing. 'Facial recognition' was said to be used as well as this, a reference to technology for mapping unique facial characteristics. Other reports said that it was DNA from his late sister's brain that provided the confirmation. She died from brain cancer several years ago in Boston and the FBI immediately subpoenaed her body.
'Even I'm getting confused': Why has the White House changed its mind over key details of the bin Laden raid?
By Daily Mail Reporter
White House officials have come under fire today after spokesman Jay Carney retracted key details of the raid on Osama bin Laden's Pakistani compound. On Monday afternoon, Deputy National Security Adviser John Brennan said bin Laden joined in the fight against Navy SEALs along with several others at the Abbottabad 'mansion'. He said:'He [bin Laden] was engaged in a firefight with those that entered the area of the house he was in. And whether or not he got off any rounds, I quite frankly don’t know.' Also on Monday a Pentagon official said that when SEALs stormed the room he was in, bin Laden used a woman as a human shield so he could fire shots. 'He was firing behind her,' the official said.
The woman was further identified as bin Laden's wife at a separate, off camera briefing and was said to have died in the ensuing 'fire fight'. All three claims have now been retracted, as today a rather sheepish Mr Carney confirmed the al-Qaeda leader did not in fact have a weapon, but 'resisted' capture. It also emerged it was not bin Laden's wife who died, but the wife of another compound member. Lastly, bin Laden's wife had not been grabbed as a human shield but was instead shot in the thigh as she rushed towards the SEALs when they entered his room. In another discrepancy, Mr Brennan said on Monday that it was bin Laden's son Khalid who was killed in the attack. This was contradicted by the official White House transcript saying it was another son, Hamza, who perished in the raid. Speaking today, Mr Carney said: 'What is true is that we provided a great deal of information with great haste. 'Even I'm getting confused.'
Who said What
Early Monday:
John Brennan: 'He [bin Laden] was engaged in a firefight with those that entered the area' Pentagon official: 'He was firing behind her'-referring to bin Laden using his 'wife' as a human shield John Brennan: bin Laden was: 'Hiding behind women who were put in front of him as a shield' John Brennan: 'Osama died with...the courier and his son Khalid' Late Monday: White House official: 'I'm not aware of him [bin Laden] having a weapon' White House official: 'A different guy’s wife was killed...'Two women were shot here. It sounds like their fates were mixed up.' White House transcript: Said Hamza, not Khalid who was killed Read more:
Latest video from inside the house indicates that it has been stripped almost completely by persons unknown.
The Seals would have taken any evidence for sure, and locals perhaps the rest as souvenirs.
So these are medium resolution images of the outside, showing it in context. Doesn't look like a million dollars worth.
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Note: Liveleak cannot confirm the authenticity of this Osama Bin Laden dead picture______________________________________________________________________________
The above photos are Fake, we are still waiting for the REAL ONES!!!
___________________________________________________________________________________ . WHITE HOUSE RELEASES BIN LADEN DEATH PHOTO
Tue May 03 2011 10:22:50 ET drudgereport.com
President Obama has decided to release at least one photo showing Osama Bin Laden's death.
The images, being described as 'graphic', are bound to stir emotions in the east and the west, and will likely become the most viewed photographs in modern history.
One image shows a bullet wound to his head above his left eye.
Will it remove all doubt about the death? DEVELOPING...
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WASHINGTON — Osama bin Laden was not armed when a U.S. Navy SEAL raiding party confronted him during an assault on his compound in Pakistan, the White House said Tuesday.
White House press secretary Jay Carney acknowledged that bin Laden did not have a weapon even though administration officials have said that bin Laden resisted during the 40-minute raid. Bin Laden was shot in the head and in the chest during the encounter.
Carney said bin Laden's wife "rushed the U.S. assaulter" and was shot in the leg but not killed, contrary to what a White House official said on Monday, when reports said bin Laden used her as a shield.
Carney declined to offer further details on bin Laden's behavior during the raid. Resistance did not require a firearm, he said.
He said the decision to kill rather than capture bin Laden was made by forces on the ground, not by the White House, which earlier authorized the rehearsed raid.
U.S. forces faced a firefight throughout the raid.
"We expected a great deal of resistance and were met with a great deal of resistance. There were many other people who were armed in the compound," Carney said.
There had been conflicting information about the circumstances under which the al-Qaida leader was killed. Some reports said that bin Laden was armed and that the woman was used as a human shield.
Describing the raid, Carney said two other families lived in the bin Laden compound in the outskirts of Abbottabad, some 60 miles from the capital of Islamabad. One family lived on the first floor of the bin Laden building and one family in a second building. One team began the operation on the first floor of the bin Laden house and worked their way to the third floor; a second team cleared the separate building. Slate: Dramatic bin Laden death details may be bogus Carney said Navy SEALs encountered two al-Qaida couriers on the first floor of the compound building holding bin Laden and his family. A woman caught in crossfire there died, he said.
Bin Laden and his family were on the building's third floor.
"There was concern that bin Laden would oppose the capture operation and indeed he resisted," Carney said, reading from a White House narrative obtained by NBC News.
After the firefight, Carney said, noncombatants were moved "to a safe location" as a damaged U.S. helicopter, one of two that landed at the compound, was destroyed.
Earlier reports also noted that as Navy Seals swept through bin Laden's massive compound, they handcuffed those they encountered with plastic zip ties as they continued to pursue their target, code-named Geronimo.
In addition to bin Laden, one of his sons, Khalid, was killed in the raid, Brennan said. Bin Laden's wife was shot in the calf but survived, a U.S. official said Monday. Also killed were bin Laden's trusted personal courier Sheikh Abu Ahmed and his brother, both earlier identified as two of bin Laden's al-Qaida facilitators, and an unidentified woman.
Twenty-three children and nine women were in the compound at the time of the assault and were turned over to Pakistani authorities, said a U.S. official who requested anonymity to discuss an intelligence matter. The SEAL team believes Bin Laden had lived at the compound for six years, the official said.
The BBC reported that the Pakistani intelligence agency, ISI, released raid details that differed from White House version.
Among them:
There were 17-18 people in the compound at the time of the attack.
Americans took away one person still alive, possibly a Bin Laden son.
Those who survived the attack included a wife, a daughter and eight to nine other children, not apparently Bin Laden's; all had their hands tied by the Americans.
A surviving Yemeni wife said they had moved to the compound a few months ago.
Bin Laden's daughter, aged 12 or 13, saw her father shot.
Carney on Tuesday also offered more details about bin Laden's burial at sea:
Aboard the USS Carl Vinson, the burial of bin Laden was done in conformance with Islamic precepts and practices.
The deceased's body was washed and then placed in a white sheet.
The body was placed in a weighted bag; a military officer read prepared religious remarks, which were translated into Arabic by a native speaker.
After the words were complete, the body was placed on a prepared flat board, tipped up, and the deceased body eased into the sea.
Carney also said the photograph of bin Laden dead is "gruesome" and "it could be inflammatory" if released.
The White House is mulling whether to make the photo public, but he said officials are concerned about the "sensitivity" of doing so. Carney said there is a discussion internally about the most appropriate way to handle the photo, but "there is not some roiling debate here about this."
Asked if President Barack Obama is involved in the photo discussion, Carney said the president is involved in every aspect of this issue.
JAY-TALKING: Here’s what you need to know from Tuesday’s White House briefing with press secretary Jay Carney:
-- The White House hasn’t released the photo of Osama bin Laden’s corpse because it is “gruesome” and could inflame enemies’ passions, Carney said. “We are making an evaluation of a need to do that because of the sensitivities involved,” he said.
-- Carney wouldn’t even say whether President Obama has seen the photo. “I don’t want to get into who’s seen the photos or where they are,” he said.
-- Underscoring the complicated nature of the American team’s attack on bin Laden, Carney was caught in a crossfire of his own when he was asked about the number of floors in the compound in Pakistan. “Even I’m getting confused,” Carney said as he looked through his notes.
-- Carney wouldn’t say whether bin Laden’s sea burial was videotaped, but he urged reporters “to be patient.”.
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Obama aide: Bin Laden not armed when killed
By David Jackson,
USA TODAY
May 3, 2011
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Osama bin Laden was not armed when a U.S. Navy Seal shot and killed him during Sunday's raid, contrary to previous White House accounts.
"He was not armed," spokesman Jay Carney said today while reading a revised White House narrative that corrects other errors from previous readouts of the operation that took the life of the world's most wanted terrorist.
The new account changes the initial claim, later withdrawn, that bin Laden had used a woman believed to be his wife as a "human shield" when confronted by U.S. forces.
The updated version says "a woman -- bin Laden's wife -- rushed the U.S. assaulter and was shot in the leg but not killed."
"Bin Laden was then shot and killed," the narrative adds at that point. "He was not armed."
At a White House briefing yesterday, counter-terrorism adviser John Brennan said that bin Laden "engaged in a firefight with those that entered the area of the house he was in. And whether or not he got off any rounds, I quite frankly don't know."
Brennan also said bin Laden was "hiding behind women who were put in front of him as a shield."
Today, Carney said bin Laden "resisted" during the raid, adding that such resistance does not require a firearm.
The new narrative provided by the White House also provides details of bin Laden's burial at sea, done in accordance with Muslim traditions.
The narrative:
On orders of the President, a small U.S. team assaulted a secure compound in an affluent suburb of Islamabad to capture or kill Osama bin Laden.
The raid was conducted with U.S. military personnel assaulting on two helicopters. The team methodically cleared the compound moving from room to room in an operation lasting nearly 40 minutes. They were engaged in a firefight throughout the operation and Osama Bin Laden was killed by the assaulting force.
In addition to the bin Laden family, two other families resided in the compound: one family on the first floor of the bin Laden building and one family in a second building. One team began the operation on the first floor of the bin Laden house and worked their way to the third floor; a second team cleared the separate building.
On the first floor of bin Laden's building, two Al Qaeda couriers were killed along with a woman who was killed in cross-fire. Bin Laden and his family were found on the second and third floor of the building. There was concern that bin Laden would oppose the capture operation and indeed he resisted.
In the room with bin Laden, a woman -- bin Laden's wife -- rushed the U.S. assaulter and was shot in the leg but not killed. Bin Laden was then shot and killed. He was not armed.
Following the firefight, the non-combatants were moved to a safe location as the damaged helicopter was detonated.
The team departed the scene via helicopter to the USS Carl Vinson in the North Arabian Sea.
Aboard the USS Carl Vinson, the burial of bin Laden was done in conformance with Islamic precepts and practices. The deceased's body was washed and then placed in a white sheet. The body was placed in a weighted bag; a military officer read prepared religious remarks, which were translated into Arabic by a native speaker. After the words were complete, the body was placed on a prepared flat board, tipped up, and the deceased body eased into the sea.
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Police Identify Man Who Jumped From Route 47 Bridge
May 2, 2011 www.emissourian.com
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Washington police have identified the man who jumped from the Missouri River bridge Monday night as Martin Kehl, 49, of Washington. Police Chief Ken Hahn said that Kehl fell approximately 80 feet and landed on the railroad tracks on the west side of the bridge. First responders confirmed that Kehl was deceased before his body was struck by an eastbound freight train. The incident happened shortly before 8 p.m. Monday evening. According to an eyewitness, Kehl, driving a vehicle northbound on the Route 47 Missouri River bridge, pulled the car over near the Washington side of the bridge and quickly exited his vehicle. The witness, who was walking with his wife near the bridge at the time of the incident, said Kehl pulled himself over the railing and leaped off the west side of the bridge. Kehl landed on the railroad tracks below the bridge and was then struck by an approaching train. The eyewitness said the train attempted to stop before it struck the victim. Firemen used chain saws to cut through swampy brush to get to the body. Washington Fire Chief Bill Halmich was among the first responders to arrive at the scene. He said emergency workers had determined that Kehl was deceased just before an eastbound freight train struck the body. "We had contacted dispatchers and told them to notify and stop any trains approaching Washington," Halmich told The Missourian. "At that point, an eastbound train came around a curve without warning," he noted. Halmich said the train did not sound its whistle and two firefighters and a police officer had to "dive for cover" before they were able to pull Kehl's body off the tracks. Police said Union Pacific was notified to stop all trains, but the eastbound freighter hauling coal cars was unable to stop in time. Eyewitnesses Police reported that two people were walking east on Missouri Avenue near the bridge when they saw Kehl stop his SUV on the bridge, get out, walk to the side, climb over the rail and jump to the tracks below. They immediately called 911 to report the incident. The man's vehicle was towed to the police station pending an investigation, Police Chief Ken Hahn said. He said no suicide note had been found. Halmich said first responders had to wade through about 2 feet of water in a swampy area between the riverfront trail and the railroad tracks. They then used chain saws to clear a path in order to carry equipment and lighting to the scene for the medical examiner to view the area. A Union Pacific Railroad detective also responded to investigate, Halmich said. The stopped train blocked the Lafayette Street crossing so later responders had to travel from the east end of the riverfront trail to reach the scene, Halmich said. A spokesman for Union Pacific said the coal train had 105 railcars and was going from Colorado to East St. Louis, Ill. In addition, an Amtrak train was in the area at the time. All trains were stopped in the area during the investigation and rail traffic was allowed to resume at 10:40 p.m., the spokesman said. Hahn said police are continuing an investigation.
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Paul Joseph Watson Infowars.com
May 3, 2011
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.
. UPDATE: The White House has announced that it will be releasing a photo of the dead Bin Laden imminently.
The establishment media has manufactured a strawman argument centered around the false premise that when the White House releases an image of Osama Bin Laden with a bullet through his head, which we’re told is imminent, that instantly puts to bed every “conspiracy theory” (ie truth and documented cover-up) surrounding OBL’s dubious history as the head of Al-Qaeda, a US intelligence front.
“The photograph, according to sources who have seen it, is bloody and gruesome, with a bullet wound to his head above his left eye. There are concerns its release could be inflammatory, though officials also say it’s important to put to rest any skepticism about the death of this nation’s public enemy number one,” reports ABC News.
But the “conspiracy theorists” never claimed that Bin Laden was still alive, and indeed before Sunday were lambasted by the corporate media for pointing out the blindingly obvious fact that every respected intelligence professional already knew – that Bin Laden has been dead for a number of years.
And don’t forget that it was the corporate media itself that aggressively circulated fake photos of a dead Bin Laden early yesterday, while the ‘conspiracy theorists’ were busy pointing out that they were fraudulent. Even so, the same mainstream publications that were duped by the images then blamed “conspiracy theorists” for their propagation!
Similarly, when the Obama administration gives us the gory photos of a dead Bin Laden, the corporate media will instantly point to them as irrefutable proof that the “conspiracy theorists” were wrong all along, when the vast majority of “conspiracy theorists” have never doubted the fact that Osama was deceased. Images of Bin Laden with a bullet through his head do not ‘put to bed’ any of the following facts.
- The fact that numerous intelligence professionals and heads of state have publicly stated that Obama has been dead for years and that the U.S. government was waiting to announce his death at the most politically opportune time.
- The fact that Osama Bin Laden was armed and funded by the CIA from 1979 onwards as a proxy to fight the Soviets in Afghanistan.
- The fact that the CIA supported Bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda during the invasion of Yugoslavia and Serbia in 1999.
- The fact that Bin Laden’s right-hand man Anwar Al-Alawki was dining with top brass at the Pentagon months after 9/11.
- The fact that FBI translator Sibel Edmonds testified how Bin Laden worked for the United States all the way up until 9/11.
- The fact that the Bin Laden acolyte and Al-Qaeda member Haroon Rashid Aswat, labeled the mastermind behind the 7/7 bombings in London, was a western intelligence asset.
- The fact that Abu Qatada, the figure labeled ‘Osama bin Laden’s right hand man in Europe’, was a western intelligence asset.
- The fact that the United States is currently arming and funding Al-Qaeda to help conduct regime change in Iran.
- The fact that western intelligence agencies bankrolled a Libyan Al-Qaeda cell controlled directly by Bin Laden to hatch a plot to kill Colonel Gaddafi in 1996.
- The fact that the United States is currently helping Bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda conduct regime change in Libya.
- The fact that every shred of evidence clearly indicates that Al-Qaeda is an intelligence front for the US military-industrial complex.
Images released by the White House of Bin Laden with a bullet through his head do not confound any of these facts, so when the inevitable establishment spin ensues about these images ‘putting the conspiracy theories about Bin Laden to bed,’ we’d like to remind people that they actually do nothing whatsoever to address any of the so-called conspiracy theories (ie documented facts) about Bin Laden and the fact that Al-Qaeda is a US intelligence front.
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The psychological price-point of $4 a gallon is looming straight ahead, and will likely be hit before the end of the week, based on the rate of recent price escalation.
The national average price of self-serve regular today is $3.967 a gallon, according to AAA's Fuel Gauge Survey. That's nearly a dime a gallon more than seven days ago.
Already, motorists in many parts of the country are paying well in excess of $4 a gallon. For example, the average price of gas has hit an all time high in Chicago, $4.39 a gallon. The average price is over $4 a gallon now in 14 states; Alaska, California, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, Washington, Wisconsin and West Virginia.
Falling stockpiles
Despite the rising price, U.S. Gasoline stockpiles have been falling, though it's far from clear that is due to increasing use. Rather, anecdotal evidence suggests demand destruction is taking place.
“The latest Department of Energy report showed a tenth consecutive week of drawdown in U.S. gasoline supply,” said Andrew Delmege, AAA's manager of regulatory affairs. “While a decline is not unusual at this time of year, as suppliers lower stocks during the switch from winter- to summer-blend gasoline, this most recent report has stocks at 205.6 million barrels — 18.1 million barrels below the same period last year. It is worth noting that these numbers came alongside data that showed a slight week-over-week increase in gasoline demand.”
But some analysts have suggested that slight uptick in demand was related to Easter holiday travel and may be masking the extent of demand destruction taking place.
Deja vu
Three years ago, the average price of gasoline peaked at $4.17 a gallon in mid July 2008. From that point on a recession that began seven months earlier began to accelerate. Some economists think the cost of gasoline was a major contributor to the Great Recession, which hit in full force that October.
Meanwhile, consumers are bracing themselves for even more pain at the pump. Gasoline prices don't usually start rising until the beginning of the summer driving season, which begins less than four weeks from now.
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Sky News 2011
May 3, 2011
___________________________________________________________________________________ The circumstances surrounding Osama bin Laden's reported death raise urgent questions over how the US is so sure it got its man.
US officials have said DNA testing has proved the al Qaeda leader was killed in a villa in Pakistan.
They have also identified him by facial recognition.
But photographs of Bin Laden after his reported death have not been released.
The fact his body was buried at sea has so far only added to the speculation, although as a Muslim, he had to be laid to rest as quickly as possible.
Under Islamic law, people can only be buried at sea if they died there, or if there is a risk their body will be exhumed or dug up if buried in the ground.
The release of a photograph purporting to show bin Laden's corpse - which was later confirmed to be a fake - added to the confusion.
Journalists have not yet had the opportunity to ask more than a few questions of the Obama administration about details of Bin Laden's death.
A former British ambassador to the US, Sir Christopher Meyer, told Sky News: "I imagine we will see proof.
"I can't concede the US president would go out to make a statement to the world that bin Laden is dead without being able to produce evidence that he is dead.
"I think we will see some evidence - DNA or photographic - to prove there is not still some phantom Osama bin Laden riding the Tora Bora mountains."
The announcement is not the first time the world has heard of Bin Laden's death. Claims that the US and Britain kept up a pretence he was alive in order to continue their war on terror have been dismissed as conspiracy theories.
It has been suggested that bin Laden died nearly 10 years ago during the battle for Tora Bora in Afghanistan, either from a US bomb or from kidney disease.
And as for his audio and video statements, their authenticity has continually been questioned.
One of his video statements, released just days before the October 2004 US presidential election, was said to have been crucial in helping George Bush secure a second term in office.
But his statement from December 2001, when he was seen to confess to the 9/11 attacks, has attracted the most attention.
Bin Laden had insisted numerous times, through the Arab press and in video statements, that he had no involvement with the atrocities. His sudden confession was picked up on by doubters.
Additionally, his appearance in the December 2001 video was markedly different. He sported a black beard, not his usual grey one, his pale skin had become darker and he had a different shaped nose.
He also looked in good health - a contrast to his earlier gaunt appearance - and critics have pointed to the fact he is seen writing a note with his right hand, although he was left-handed.
In total, Bin Laden is thought to have released around 40 statements since 9/11, many of them with clear references to events at that time.
When Uday and Qusay Hussein - the sons of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein - were killed in a firefight with US troops, authorities relied on photographs of their bodies to convince people they were dead.
And when Saddam himself was executed, video footage of his death and subsequent photographs seemed to give final proof of his death.
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Latest video from inside the house indicates that it has been stripped almost completely by persons unknown.
The Seals would have taken any evidence for sure, and locals perhaps the rest as souvenirs.
So these are medium resolution images of the outside, showing it in context. Doesn't look like a million dollars worth.
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Bin Laden lived in Pakistan compound 5-6 years: U.S
May 3, 2011
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Osama bin Laden lived for the past five to six years in the compound deep inside Pakistan where the al Qaeda leader was killed by U.S. forces, President Barack Obama's counterterrorism adviser said on Tuesday.
Bin Laden, who was living in Afghanistan before a 2001 U.S.-led invasion helped topple its Taliban regime, was holed up in a compound in the military garrison town of Abbottabad in Pakistan before Sunday's operation to kill him.
"Well I think the latest information is that he was in this compound for the past five or six years and he had virtually no interaction with others outside that compound. But yet he seemed to be very active inside the compound," White House counterterrorism chief John Brennan said on the CBS Early Show program.
"And we know that he had released videos and audios. We know that he was in contact with some senior al Qaeda officials," Brennan added.
"So what we're trying to do now is to understand what he has been involved in over the past several years, exploit whatever information we were able to get at the compound and take that information and continue our efforts to destroy al Qaeda," Brennan added.
The fact that the al Qaeda chief had lived in the compound for such a long time has prompted some U.S. lawmakers to demand a review of the billions of dollars in aid the United States provides Pakistan, which is fighting a Taliban insurgency.
Brennan also said the United States was considering whether to release photographs and video taken during the raid but has not yet made a decision.
"We want to make sure that we're able to do it in a thoughtful manner. We also want to anticipate what the reaction might be on the part of al Qaeda or others to the release of certain information so that we can take the appropriate steps beforehand," Brennan told CNN.
"Any other material, whether it be photos or videos or whatever else -- we are looking at it and we'll make the appropriate decisions," Brennan said.
Asked about any computers, documents and other material seized at the compound, Brennan said the material was being reviewed by U.S. authorities.
"What we're most interested in is seeing if we can get any insight into any terrorist plot that might be underway so that we can take the measures to stop any type of attack planning. Secondly, we're trying to look and see whether or not there are leads to other individuals within the organization or insights into their (al Qaeda) capabilities," Brennan said.
He said the United States was eager to learn from the material about the circumstances of bin Laden's residence in Abbottabad.
"I know the Pakistanis are interested in this -- how did bin Laden stay at that compound for the past six years or so and be undetected? What type of support did he have outside of that compound -- in the Abbottabad area or more broadly within Pakistan?" Brennan said.
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www.politico.com
By JOSH GERSTEIN
May 3, 2011
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The White House backed away Monday evening from key details in its narrative about the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, including claims by senior U.S. officials that the Al Qaeda leader had a weapon and may have fired it during a gun battle with U.S. forces.
Officials also retreated from claims that one of bin Laden’s wives was killed in the raid and that bin Laden was using her as a human shield before she was shot by U.S. forces.
“He [bin Laden] was engaged in a firefight with those that entered the area of the house he was in. And whether or not he got off any rounds, I quite frankly don’t know,” Brennan said.
At a Pentagon briefing earlier in the day, a senior defense official said bin Laden used a woman as a human shield so he could fire shots. “He was firing behind her,” the official said.
In another background briefing early Monday morning, a senior administration official also said bin Laden put up a fight. “He did resist the assault force. And he was killed in a firefight,” the official said.
However, during a background, off-camera briefing for television reporters later Monday, a senior White House official said bin Laden was not armed when he was killed, apparently by the U.S. raid team.
Another White House official familiar with the TV briefing confirmed the change to POLITICO, adding, “I’m not aware of him having a weapon.”
“The bottom line is the team that entered that room was met with resistance and took appropriate action,” said a third American official. The White House on Monday night declined to elaborate on the nature of the resistance bin Laden allegedly put up. However, an official confirmed that the Al Qaeda founder was shot twice, once in the head and once in the chest.
At the Monday evening briefing for TV reporters, a senior official also corrected what Brennan described earlier as “my understanding” that the woman who acted as a shield for bin Laden was one of his wives and was killed.
“A different guy’s wife was killed,” a different official familiar with the briefing for TV reporters said Monday night. Bin Laden’s wife was “injured but not killed,” the official said.
Another official familiar with the operation said it did not appear that any woman was used as a human shield, but that the woman killed and the one injured were hurt in the crossfire. The official said he believed Brennan had mixed up the episode involving bin Laden’s wife with another encounter elsewhere in the compound.
“Two women were shot here. It sounds like their fates were mixed up,” said the U.S. official. “This is hours old and the full facts are still being ascertained as those involved are debriefed.”
In another discrepancy, Brennan said during his on-the-record briefing that bin Laden’s son Khalid was killed in the attack. However, the official White House transcript had the counterterrorism adviser saying it was another son, Hamza, who perished in the raid.
The White House didn’t offer a reason for any of the changes. However, Brennan noted during his televised briefing that his information came from reports from the scene as well as live video feeds of the raid. “I wasn’t there,” he said.
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Shelby Winkelmann of Hermann has been named Miss Show-Me Basketball by the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association. In her senior season, Winkelmann averaged 28-points per game and led the Lady Bearcats to a second place finish in the MSHSAA State Basketball Championships in Columbia. She will attend Nebraska on a volleyball scholarship. On the boys side, Chaminade's Bradley Beal was named Mr. Show-Me Basketball.
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