text:
Monday, March 18, 2019
Comfort Reads
For a day or two, my head/eyes couldn't handle any screens. When my head cleared enough to read, I reached for one of my all-time favourite books.
I've owned it for decades. The spine is broken from so many reads and it brings me comfort just holding the book.
I have several comfort reads, but this time I pulled out Lord Of The Rings: Fellowship of the Ring.
Reading it is like seeing a friend you've lost touch with for a few years, but as soon as you get together, it's perfect.
The language is gorgeous, the characters complex, the story pulls me in again.
What about you? Do you re-read your favourite books? What are some of your favourite comfort reads?
26 comments:
The only book I reread is the Bible. Although I did reread the Lord of the Rings trilogy before the movies came out.ReplyDelete
Usually I resort to comfort movies like The Princess Bride.Replies
That's such a fun movie - I've only seen it once but I will definitely fix that some day! :)Delete
That sounds like a crappy week.ReplyDelete
I don't get to read often anymore, but Watership Down was always my comfort read.Replies
It has been a rough week! Watership Down is a faint memory for me - I'll have to pick that up again one day!Delete
What a great book to re-read!ReplyDelete
So sorry you had the flu! It's been nasty this year. And I hear you on the water main break...happened to us a few years ago. Expensive! The town decided it was our problem instead of theirs, even though it was on the sidewalk in front of our house. There's no arguing with city hall, ha. Hope it's all resolved for you!Replies
It is great - I'm in the mines of Moria right now! :)Delete
We were lucky - no question it was on city property. thankfully, because you're so right - you can't argue with them!!!
I'm rereading a book right now because I need to remember what happened previously before I finish the series.ReplyDeleteReplies
I've done that too - I like to remember the really good details before I go on!Delete
I rarely reread but currently I am reading The Warden by Anthony Trollope for the second time, that is truly a comfort read.ReplyDeleteReplies
I don't know that one - I'll go have a peek! :)Delete
I loved that one too. But now it might not move fast enough with me because books go at a faster speed. Books are always a comfort to me. Hope you're feeling better.ReplyDeleteReplies
Thanks Natalie - still low on energy, but getting better! It is most definitely a slower read - and not like my usual books these days - but it's wonderful!Delete
Years ago I would reread a book by Kathleen Woodiwiss and now unfortunately I can't even remember the name of it. Hope you continue to feel better. The flu makes life rough.ReplyDeleteReplies
It was a yucky flu this time for sure! Even after a week of no symptoms, the energy levels just aren't there!Delete
I hope you find your book sometime! :)
Sorry you've been sick!ReplyDelete
I do re-read books, but much less often than I used to. My most recent re-reads are Joanne Fluke's cozy mystery series, the Hannah Swenson "Murder She Baked" books. There are several set at Christmas that are fun to revisit during the holidays.Replies
I haven't read those ones - but I have enjoyed the movies. I'll definitely check those ones out!! :)Delete
Bleah to the flu, and to broken water mains! Hope you're all better! I don't have comfort reads, exactly, but I do have books I go back to and re-read on a regular basis because...just because. It. The Grapes of Wrath. A Prayer for Owen Meany. All the King's Men. Not exactly comfort reads!ReplyDeleteReplies
We're over the flu symptoms and working on building up the energy levels again! Thank goodness!Delete
LOL - definitely NOT comfort books for sure! I have a hard time reading hard things more than once
Hope you're feeling better. It has definitely been a hard winter.ReplyDelete
I don't have a favorite read but I go back to the books that I enjoyed more for the characters than the plot. It's like touching base with old friends.Replies
It really is - one of the main reasons I've reread Anne of Green Gables more than once! :)Delete
That is certainly one of my comfort reads. I also have Michael J. Sullivan's first series and John Hart's The Last Child I can read over and over again.ReplyDeleteReplies
I don't know those other 2 - I'll have to check them out! :)Delete
Sorry you were sick. My allergies have had me feeling yucky this week.ReplyDelete
Glad you found comfort in a book that's like an old friend! <3 I love rereading the Harry Potter books!
I hope things ease up and that you feel well now!Replies
Thanks Dawn - things have definitely improved! I adore the Harry Potter books - they may be my next reread!! :)Delete
That is totally one of my comfort reads! There's nothing better then settling in for a long journey.ReplyDeleteReplies
I agree! Just finished Two Towers and will start on Return of the King tomorrow! :)Delete


text:
!! History Commons Alert, Exciting News
This is a scalable context timeline. It contains events related to the event February 2001: US, German Intelligence Analysts Discuss Curveball's Veracity. You can narrow or broaden the context of this timeline by adjusting the zoom level. The lower the scale, the more relevant the items on average will be, while the higher the scale, the less relevant the items, on average, will be.
Curveball, as a college student. [Source: CBS News]The Iraqi engineering student later known to the US and German intelligence communities as "Curveball" graduates last in his class from engineering school at Baghdad University and is hired to work at the Chemical Engineering and Design Center. [Los Angeles Times, 11/20/2005] Curveball, identified thirteen years later as Rafid Ahmed Alwan (see November 4, 2007), will tell German intelligence officials that he graduated first in his class and went on to oversee a secret Iraqi bioweapons laboratory. His claims are entirely fictional (see June 2003-Late 2003), but will become a linchpin of the US's case for the necessity of invading Iraq (see February 5, 2003).
Entity Tags: 'Curveball'
Timeline Tags: Events Leading to Iraq Invasion
Bob Drogin. [Source: CBS News]Reporter Bob Drogin, in his 2007 book Curveball: Spies, Lies and the Con Man Who Caused a War, notes that when the Iraqi defector known as "Curveball" appears in Germany (see November 1999), the US intelligence community knows very little about the state of affairs with Iraq's secret weapons programs. Saddam Hussein had been fascinated with chemical and biological weapons for a long time, and had a history of using chemical weapons both against the Iranians and allegedly against his own citizens. UN inspectors found thousands of chemical munitions after the 1991 Gulf War; in 1996, UN engineers destroyed what many thought could have been a bioweapons factory. The inspectors were thrown out in 1998, and after that, reliable information about Iraq's weapons programs was scanty at best. One top CIA official will tell Drogin that the US was "almost in Chapter 11 in terms of our human intelligence collection." But most US officials believe that Hussein has something going on, they just don't know exactly what. According to the 2007 reflections of Defense Intelligence Agency chief Vice Admiral Thomas Wilson, the "mind-set [is] we're going to see the WMD. I don't know anybody who [doesn't] believe it [is] there." [Los Angeles Times, 10/21/2007]
Entity Tags: Central Intelligence Agency, Bob Drogin, Saddam Hussein, Thomas Wilson, 'Curveball'
Iraqi defector "Curveball." [Source: ABC News]"Curveball," an Iraqi in his late 20s later identified as Rafid Ahmed Alwan (see November 4, 2007), travels to Germany on a tourist visa and applies for political asylum, telling German immigration officials that he embezzled money from the Iraqi government and fears prison or worse if he returns home. The Germans send him to Zirndorf, a refugee center near Nuremberg, where other Iraqi exiles seeking German visas are being held. There, he changes his story, telling German intelligence (BND) officers that he was a chemical engineer (see 1994) who had been promoted to direct a secret mobile biological weapons plant at Djerf al Nadaf, just outside of Baghdad. The plant masqueraded as a "seed purification plant," he claims. Curveball tells the Germans that in Iraq, he designed laboratory equipment to convert trucks into biological weapons laboratories. He offers the names of six sites where Iraq might be hiding them, three of which, he says, are already in operation. He also says that a farm program to boost crop yields is a front for Hussein's new biological weapons production program. He tells the Germans of a warehouse at the plant that housed trucks; the trucks had been equipped to create and transport biological weapons. His story dovetails with the long-held fears by Western intelligence agencies that Saddam Hussein was cooking up biological and chemical weapons; the Germans stash him away, nickname him "Curveball," and interrogate him every few days for the next eighteen months (see January 2000-September 2001). Curveball refuses to meet with Americans; therefore, only summaries of his debriefings will be sent to Washington. CIA analysts will be mesmerized by Alwan's information. Former senior CIA official Tyler Drumheller recalls in late 2007, "Curveball was the one piece of evidence where they could say, 'Look at this. If they have this capability, where they can transport biological weapons, anthrax, all these horrible weapons, they can attack our troops with them. They can give them to terrorist groups.'" Most arresting is Curveball's story that in 1998 he saw an accidental release of a biological weapon that killed 12 people. His story is almost entirely false. [Los Angeles Times, 11/20/2005; CBS News, 11/4/2007] Vincent Cannistraro, former head of the CIA's Counter Terrorism Center, will tell the New Yorker in 2004 that the CIA believes that Aras Habib, the INC intelligence chief later accused of providing US intelligence to Iran, played a part in Curveball's going to Germany. "The CIA is positive of it," he says. [New Yorker, 6/7/2004] Bob Drogin, author of the 2007 book Curveball: Spies, Lies and the Con Man Who Caused a War, will write that Curveball gives the Germans detailed diagrams of germ-making equipment, fermenters, mixing vats, controllers, and other items, which appear "plausible," even though they can't be reverse-engineered to "brew anthrax" or "build a bio-lab in a garage." Instead, he will write, Curveball's inconsistent information will be "interpreted, summarized, reformatted and analyzed at every stage," but will never be verified. Drogin will call the entire affair "the dark side of intelligence," and will write that, to the CIA's top officials, the risk of going so far on uncorroborated evidence would take care of itself once US forces found the fabled Iraqi WMDs. Once the weapons were in hand, Drogin will write, they will figure "no one would remember a bogus defector." As a CIA supervisor will later e-mail to a frustrated agency whistleblower, "Let's keep in mind the fact that this war's going to happen regardless of what Curveball said or didn't say, and that the Powers That Be probably aren't terribly interested in whether Curveball knows what he's talking about." [Los Angeles Times, 10/21/2007]
Entity Tags: Tyler Drumheller, Bob Drogin, Vincent Cannistraro, Iraqi National Congress, Central Intelligence Agency, Aras Habib, Bundesnachrichtendienst, 'Curveball'
Models of the biological weapons facility described by Curveball. [Source: CBS News]Two German intelligence (BND) case officers debrief Iraqi defector "Curveball" with help from a team of chemists, biologists, and other experts. Curveball claims to have knowledge of a clandestine Iraqi biological weapons program (see November 1999). He speaks to his BND debriefers in Arabic through a translator, and also in broken English and German. Curveball says that he worked for Iraq's Military Industrial Commission after graduating first in his class from engineering school at Baghdad University in 1994. (He actually graduated last—see 1994.) A year later, he says, he was assigned to work for "Dr. Germ," British-trained microbiologist Rihab Rashid Taha, to construct mobile biological weapons labs. But Curveball never says that he actually produced biological weapons or witnessed anyone else doing so and the BND is unable to verify his claims. Curveball's statements are recorded in German, shared with a local Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) team, and sent to the US, where they are translated into English for analysis at the DIA's directorate for human intelligence in Clarendon, Virginia, though CIA agents are not allowed to talk to Curveball themselves. "This was not substantial evidence," one senior German intelligence official later recalls in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. "We made clear we could not verify the things he said." The reports are then sent to the CIA's Weapons Intelligence, Non-Proliferation and Arms Control Center (WINPAC), whose experts analyze the data and share it with artists who use Curveball's accounts to render sketches. The Clarendon office sends a total of 95 reports to WINPAC during this period. US spy satellites are directed to take pictures of sites named by Curveball as biological weapons facilities. According to a later investigation by the Los Angeles Times, "At the CIA, bio-warfare experts viewed [Curveball's] reports as sophisticated and technically feasible. They also matched the analysts' expectations." [Los Angeles Times, 11/20/2005] The Germans also share some of Curveball's allegations with the British. However, according to Robin Butler, head of the British inquiry into prewar intelligence, what the Germans provided was "incomplete." For instance, German intelligence misled them to believe that the alleged mobile weapon labs were capable of producing weapons-grade bio-agents such as anthrax spores, when Curveball's actual statements only suggested they had the capability to produce a liquid slurry that would not be suitable for bombs or warheads. [Los Angeles Times, 11/20/2005] In 2007, reporter Bob Drogin, author of Curveball: Spies, Lies and the Con Man Who Caused a War, will write extensively of the tensions between the BND and the CIA that lead to the Germans' reluctance to provide the CIA direct access to Curveball, and result in the CIA building a huge case for Iraqi bioweapons on Curveball's unsubstantiated, unverified assertions. The Germans repeatedly state that Curveball speaks no English, and hates Americans; in fact, Curveball speaks better English than he does German, and likes Americans. The fault lies with both agencies, Drogin will write, saying the CIA routinely refuses to allow other agencies to meet with their sources, either. "The CIA won't even let other US intelligence agencies interview a CIA source," Drogin will note. "The fact is the US went to war after relying in part on information from a guy they had never met, so they've tried really hard to blame others." [Alternet, 10/22/2007]
Entity Tags: Bob Drogin, Bundesnachrichtendienst, Central Intelligence Agency, Defense Intelligence Agency
Satellite photo of the Djerf al Nadaf site. [Source: CBS News]US and German intelligence experts meet in Munich to discuss the information provided by the Iraqi defector code-named "Curveball" (see November 1999). Using satellite imagery, they examine photos of the Djerf al Nadaf site, where Curveball claimed to have been a senior project director for a secret mobile biological weapons laboratory. The photos match with Curveball's description, except for one detail. According to former CIA official Tyler Drumheller, "If you look at the photos, all the way back to 1998, there was a wall that was built there. Like a cinderblock wall that was built there, that nothing could go through." The wall stood exactly where Curveball claimed the trucks would go into the warehouse. But CIA analysts convinced of Curveball's veracity has an explanation: "There was an idea that it could have been a fake wall," Drumheller recalls. [CBS News, 11/4/2007]
Entity Tags: 'Curveball', Bundesnachrichtendienst, Central Intelligence Agency, Tyler Drumheller
Dr. Basil al-Sa'ati. [Source: CBS News]The Iraqi defector known as Curveball (see November 4, 2007), who is providing German and US intelligence analysts with fascinating but fallacious stories of his involvement with what he claims is a secret Iraqi mobile biological weapons laboratory (see November 1999), provides the names of real Iraqis with whom he claims to have worked, further convincing the analysts of his veracity. One name he cites is that of nuclear scientist Dr. Basil al-Sa'ati, whom he claims was one of the mobile bioweapons program's senior officials. In late 2007, long after Curveball has been proven to be a complete fabricator, a reporter asks al-Sa'ati, "[Curveball] told German intelligence that you personally were fully involved in the project to use [a laboratory site at] Djerf al Nadaf for mobile biological weapons." Al-Sa'ati's reply: "Big lie." Had anything of that nature gone on there, he will say, he would "definitely" have known about it. "It was… really seed purification" and not a bioweapons facility, al-Sa'ati will say. Al-Sa'ati is equally dismissive with the Germans. If Curveball were involved in something so secret, al-Sa'ati asks the Germans, why did Saddam Hussein let him emigrate in 1999? Curveball had not known of al-Sa'ati's emigration and subsequent availability to Western intelligence agencies, and becomes less cooperative and more reticent. Doubts about Curveball's veracity began to grow among the Germans. [CBS News, 11/4/2007]
Entity Tags: Basil al-Sa'ati, Central Intelligence Agency, 'Curveball', Bundesnachrichtendienst
CIA official Margaret Henoch. [Source: CBS News]Doubts as to the veracity and reliability of the information provided about Iraq's secret bioweapons program by the Iraqi defector known as "Curveball" are growing among German intelligence analysts (see February 2001), and among some CIA analysts and officials as well, who are receiving summations of Curveball's assertions from their German counterparts. Central group chief Margaret Henoch is one of those who questions Curveball's reliability. Henoch later recalls in a CBS report revealing Curveball's true identity (see November 4, 2007), "I said, 'You know, I don't know who this guy is. There's no proof that he is who he is. There's no proof that any of this ever happened. And, from my perspective, I just don't think we should trust this.'" When the top CIA analyst working with Curveball's information tries to prove his identity by showing Henoch a picture of a man in a hazmat (hazardous materials) suit, she recalls responding, "'How do you know that was him if he's completely covered? 'Cause it could be me.' And, as God as my witness, she looked at me like a pig looking at a wristwatch. And I thought it was over. And, when I went back, I sort of said to my boss, 'Well, I'm such a genius.'" Henoch is mistaken in believing that Curveball's reliability had been holed. She later recalls, "[I]t was whack-a-mole. I mean, he just popped right back up." Her superiors want Curveball to be credible, and are prepared to overlook the inconsistencies and unverifiable claims he is making. [CBS News, 11/4/2007]
Entity Tags: CBS News, Bundesnachrichtendienst, Margaret Henoch, Central Intelligence Agency, 'Curveball'
Larry Wilkerson. [Source: CBS News]Secretary of State Colin Powell, preparing for his critically important presentation to the United Nations that will assert the reality of Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction (see February 5, 2003), sends his chief of staff, Larry Wilkerson, to the CIA to prepare for the presentation. CIA Director George Tenet and his experts regale Wilkerson with the information about mobile bioweapons labs provided by the Iraqi defector Curveball (see November 1999). In 2007, Wilkerson will recall, "They presented it in a very dynamic, dramatic, 'we know this is accurate,' way." Curveball's assertion that he is a firsthand witness is very important, Wilkerson will say. "This was a man who had actually been in the belly of the beast. He had been in the lab. He had been there when an accident occurred. He'd seen people killed. And the implication was, strong implication, that they weren't killed because of the accident in the explosion, they were killed because they were contaminated. Yes, the source was very credible. As it was presented by the CIA." Wilkerson later says that both he and Powell accept the claims because they depend on the intelligence community for good information: "And you depend on the director of central intelligence to assimilate all the intelligence community's input and give it to you." Wilkerson feels the section on mobile bioweapons is the strongest part of the presentation, as does Powell. Others at the CIA are not so convinced of Curveball's truthfulness (see September 2002, January 27, 2003, and December 2002). [CBS News, 11/4/2007]
Entity Tags: Saddam Hussein, Central Intelligence Agency, Colin Powell, 'Curveball', United Nations, George J. Tenet, Lawrence Wilkerson
CIA Deputy Director John McLaughlin's executive assistant sends a memo to Tyler Drumheller requesting that he look into the whereabouts of Curveball. McLaughlin wants to be certain that Curveball won't pop up after Colin Powell's UN speech (see February 5, 2003) and say something to the press that would contradict the information presented by Powell. "[W]e want to take every precaution against unwelcome surprises that might emerge concerning the intel case; clearly, public statements by this emigre, press accounts of his reporting or credibility, or even direct press access to him would cause a number of potential concerns," the memo states. [Isikoff and Corn, 2006, pp. 183] Drumheller is astonished to learn that Powell's presentation will include a claim that Iraq's mobile bioweapons labs can create enough toxins "in a single month to kill thousands upon thousands of people." Drumheller recognizes the claim as originating with the Iraqi defector Curveball (see November 1999). Drumheller meets with McLaughlin, who promises an immediate investigation. What McLaughlin does or does not do is unclear, but Powell never hears about Drumheller's objections. UN weapons inspector David Kay will later note, "[A]ll the fine-grained stuff that might have caused [Powell] not to use it, he wasn't given an opportunity to hear firsthand." (McLaughlin will later deny that Drumheller ever warned him about the Curveball intelligence: "If someone had made these doubts clear to me, I would not have permitted the reporting to be used in Secretary Powell's speech.") [Unger, 2007, pp. 281, 283]
Entity Tags: Tyler Drumheller, John E. McLaughlin, David Kay
Colin Powell and George Tenet, at the UN presentation. [Source: CBS News]US Secretary of State Colin Powell presents the Bush administration's case against Saddam to the UN Security Council, in advance of an expected vote on a second resolution that the US and Britain hope will provide the justification to use military force against Iraq. [US Department of State, 2/5/2003] At the insistence of Powell, CIA Director George Tenet is seated directly behind him to the right. "It was theater, a device to signal to the world that Powell was relying on the CIA to make his case that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction," Vanity Fair magazine will later explain. [Bamford, 2004, pp. 371-2; Vanity Fair, 5/2004, pp. 232] In his speech before the Council, Powell makes the case that Iraq is in further material breach of past UN resolutions, specifically the most recent one, UN Resolution 1441 (see November 8, 2002). Sources cited in Powell's presentation include defectors, informants, communication intercepts, procurement records, photographs, and detainees. [US Department of State, 2/5/2003] Most of the allegations made by Powell are later demonstrated to be false. "The defectors and other sources went unidentified," the Associated Press will later report. "The audiotapes were uncorroborated, as were the photo interpretations. No other supporting documents were presented. Little was independently verifiable." [Associated Press, 8/9/2003] Iraq's December 7 Declaration Was Inaccurate - Powell contends that Iraq's December 7 declaration was not complete. According to UN Resolution 1441 the document was supposed to be a "currently accurate, full and complete declaration of all aspects" of its programs to develop weapons of mass destruction. But Saddam has not done this, says Powell, who explains that Iraq has yet to provide sufficient evidence that it destroyed its previously declared stock of 8,500 liters of anthrax, as it claimed in the declaration. Furthermore, notes the secretary of state, UNSCOM inspectors had previously estimated that Iraq possessed the raw materials to produce as much as 25,000 liters of the virus. [New York Times, 2/5/2003; US Department of State, 2/5/2003; Washington Post, 2/6/2003] Iraq Has Ties to Al-Qaeda - Powell repeats earlier claims that Saddam Hussein's government has ties to al-Qaeda. Powell focuses on the cases of the militant Islamic group Ansar-al-Islam and Abu Musab Zarqawi, a Jordanian-born Palestinian, who had received medical treatment in Baghdad during the summer of 2002 (see December 2001-Mid-2002). [US Department of State, 2/5/2003] However, just days before Powell's speech, US and British intelligence officials—speaking on condition of anonymity—told the press that the administration's allegations of Iraqi-al-Qaeda ties were based on information provided by Kurdish groups, who, as enemies of Ansar-al-Islam, should not be considered reliable. Furthermore, these sources unequivocally stated that intelligence analysts on both sides of the Atlantic remained unconvinced of the purported links between Iraq and al-Qaeda (see February 3-4, 2003). [Independent, 2/3/2003; Daily Telegraph, 2/4/2003] Powell also claims that Iraq provided "chemical or biological weapons training for two al-Qaeda associates beginning in December 2000." The claim is based on a September 2002 CIA document which had warned that its sources were of "varying reliability" and that the claim was not substantiated (see September 2002). The report's main source, Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi, an al-Qaeda operative who offered the information to CIA interrogators while in custody, later recounts the claim (see February 14, 2004). [CNN, 9/26/2002; New York Times, 7/31/2004; Newsweek, 7/5/2005] Larry Wilkerson, Powell's chief of staff, will later say that neither he nor Powell ever received "any dissent with respect to those lines… indeed the entire section that now we know came from [al-Libi]." [Newsweek, 11/10/2005] Senior US officials will admit to the New York Times and Washington Post after the presentation that the administration was not claiming that Saddam Hussein is "exercising operational control" of al-Qaeda. [New York Times, 2/6/2003; Washington Post, 2/7/2003] Iraq Has Missiles Capable of Flying Up to 1,200 Kilometers - Describing a photo of the al-Rafah weapons site, Powell says: "As part of this effort, another little piece of evidence, Iraq has built an engine test stand that is larger than anything it has ever had. Notice the dramatic difference in size between the test stand on the left, the old one, and the new one on the right. Note the large exhaust vent. This is where the flame from the engine comes out. The exhaust vent on the right test stand is five times longer than the one on the left. The one of the left is used for short-range missiles. The one on the right is clearly intended for long-range missiles that can fly 1,200 kilometers. This photograph was taken in April of 2002. Since then, the test stand has been finished and a roof has been put over it so it will be harder for satellites to see what's going on underneath the test stand." [US Department of State, 2/5/2003; New York Times, 2/5/2003] But according to the Associated Press, "… UN missile experts have reported inspecting al-Rafah at least five times since inspections resumed Nov. 27, have studied the specifications of the new test stand, regularly monitor tests at the installation, and thus far have reported no concerns." [Associated Press, 2/7/2003] Similarly, Reuters quotes Ali Jassem, an Iraqi official, who explains that the large stand referred to in Powell's speech is not yet in operation and that its larger size is due to the fact that it will be testing engines horizontally. [Reuters, 2/7/2003; Guardian, 2/15/2003] Several days later, Blix will report to the UN that "so far, the test stand has not been associated with a proscribed activity." [Guardian, 2/15/2003] Iraqis Attempted to Hide Evidence from Inspectors - Powell shows the UN Security Council satellite shots depicting what he claims are chemical weapons bunkers and convoys of Iraqi cargo trucks preparing to transport ballistic missile components from a weapons site just two days before the arrival of inspectors. "We saw this kind of housecleaning at close to 30 sites," Powell explains. "We must ask ourselves: Why would Iraq suddenly move equipment of this nature before inspections if they were anxious to demonstrate what they had or did not have?" [US Department of State, 2/5/2003] But the photos are interpreted differently by others. An unnamed UN official and German UN Inspector Peter Franck both say the trucks in the photos are actually fire engines. [Mercury News (San Jose), 3/18/2003; Agence France-Presse, 6/6/2003] 'Literally Removed the Crust of the Earth' - Another series of photos—taken during the spring and summer of 2002—show that Iraqis have removed a layer of topsoil from the al-Musayyib chemical complex. This piece of evidence, combined with information provided by an unnamed source, leads Powell to draw the following conclusion: "The Iraqis literally removed the crust of the earth from large portions of this site in order to conceal chemical weapons evidence that would be there from years of chemical weapons activity." [US Department of State, 2/5/2003; Washington Post, 2/6/2003] Showing another series of pictures—one taken on November 10 (before inspections) and one taken on December 22—Powell says that a guard station and decontamination truck were removed prior to the arrival of inspectors. Powell does not explain how he knows that the truck in the photograph was a decontamination truck. [US Department of State, 2/5/2003; Washington Post, 2/6/2003; Washington Post, 2/6/2003] AP reporter Charles Hanley says that some of Powell's claims that Iraq is hiding evidence are "ridiculous." Powell says of a missile site, "This photograph was taken in April of 2002. Since then, the test stand has been finished and a roof has been put over it so it will be harder for satellites to see what's going on underneath the test stand." Hanley later says, "What he neglected to mention was that the inspectors were underneath, watching what was going on." [PBS, 4/25/2007] Communication Intercepts Demonstrate Iraqi Attempts to Conceal Information from Inspectors - Powell plays recordings of three conversations intercepted by US intelligence—one on November 26, another on January 30, and a third, a "few weeks" before. The conversations suggest that the Iraqis were attempting to hide evidence from inspectors. [New York Times, 2/5/2003; US Department of State, 2/5/2003; London Times, 2/6/2003; Sydney Morning Herald, 2/7/2003] Senior administration officials concede to the Washington Post that it was not known "what military items were discussed in the intercepts." [Washington Post, 2/13/2003] Some critics argue that the intercepts were presented out of context and open to interpretation. [Sydney Morning Herald, 2/7/2003; Sydney Morning Herald, 2/9/2003] Others note that the conversations were translated from Arabic by US translators and were not analyzed or verified by an independent specialist. [Newsday, 2/6/2003] Biological Weapons Factories - Colin Powell says that US intelligence has "firsthand descriptions" that Iraq has 18 mobile biological weapons factories mounted on trucks and railroad cars. Information about the mobile weapons labs are based on the testimonies of four sources—a defected Iraqi chemical engineer who claims to have supervised one of these facilities, an Iraqi civil engineer (see December 20, 2001), a source in "a position to know," and a defected Iraqi major (see February 11, 2002). Powell says that the mobile units are capable of producing enough dry biological agent in a single month to kill several thousand people. He shows computer-generated diagrams and pictures based on the sources' descriptions of the facilities. Powell says that according to the chemical engineer, during the late 1990s, Iraq's biological weapons scientists would often begin the production of pathogens on Thursday nights and complete the process on Fridays in order to evade UNSCOM inspectors whom Iraq believed would not conduct inspections on the Muslim holy day. [New York Times, 2/5/2003; US Department of State, 2/5/2003; Washington Post, 2/6/2003; Reuters, 2/11/2003] Powell tells the delegates, "The source was an eyewitness, an Iraqi chemical engineer, who supervised one of these facilities. He actually was present during biological agent production runs. He was also at the site when an accident occurred in 1998. Twelve technicians died from exposure to biological agents." He displays models of the mobile trucks drawn from the source's statements. [CBS News, 11/4/2007] Responding to the allegation, Iraqi officials will concede that they do in fact have mobile labs, but insist that they are not used for the development of weapons. According to the Iraqis, the mobile labs are used for food analysis for disease outbreaks, mobile field hospitals, a military field bakery, food and medicine refrigeration trucks, a mobile military morgue and mobile ice making trucks. [Guardian, 2/5/2003; ABC News, 5/21/2003] Iraq's explanation is consistent with earlier assessments of the UN weapons inspectors. Before Powell's presentation, Hans Blix had dismissed suggestions that the Iraqis were using mobile biological weapons labs, reporting that inspections of two alleged mobile labs had turned up nothing. "Two food-testing trucks have been inspected and nothing has been found," Blix said. And Ewen Buchanan, spokesman for the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission, said, "The outline and characteristics of these trucks that we inspected were all consistent with the declared purposes." [Guardian, 2/5/2003; ABC News, 5/21/2003] 'Curveball' Primary Source of Claims - Powell's case is further damaged when it is later learned that one of the sources Powell cited, the Iraqi major, had been earlier judged unreliable by intelligence agents at the Defense Intelligence Agency (see February 11, 2002). In May 2002, the analysts had issued a "fabricator notice" on the informant, noting that he had been "coached by [the] Iraqi National Congress" (INC) (see May 2002). But the main source for the claim had been an Iraqi defector known as "Curveball," who was initially believed to be the brother of a top aide to Ahmed Chalabi. The source claimed to be a chemical engineer who had helped design and build the mobile labs. His information was passed to Washington through Germany's intelligence service, the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), which had been introduced to the source by the INC. In passing along the information, the BND noted that there were "various problems with the source." And only one member of the US intelligence community had actually met with the person—an unnamed Pentagon analyst who determined the man was an alcoholic and of dubious reliability. Yet both the DIA and the CIA validated the information. [Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity, 8/22/2003; Los Angeles Times, 3/28/2004; Knight Ridder, 4/4/2004; Newsweek, 4/19/2004; Newsweek, 7/19/2004] Powell says that the US has three other intelligence sources besides Curveball for the mobile bioweapons labs. Powell will be infuriated to learn that none of those three sources ever corroborated Curveball's story, and sometimes their information contradicted each other. One of the three had failed a polygraph test and was determined to have lied to his debriefers. Another had already been declared a fabricator by US intelligence community, and had been proven to have mined his information off the Internet. [Buzzflash (.com), 11/27/2007] In November 2007, Curveball is identified as Rafid Ahmed Alwan. Serious questions about Curveball's veracity had already been raised by the time of Powell's UN presentation. He will later be completely discredited (see November 4, 2007). Further Problems with Mobile Lab Claims - In addition to the inspectors' assessments and the dubious nature of the sources Powell cited, there are numerous other problems with the mobile factories claim. Raymond Zilinskas, a microbiologist and former UN weapons inspector, argues that significant amounts of pathogens such as anthrax, could not be produced in the short span of time suggested in Powell's speech. "You normally would require 36 to 48 hours just to do the fermentation…. The short processing time seems suspicious to me." He also says: "The only reason you would have mobile labs is to avoid inspectors, because everything about them is difficult. We know it is possible to build them—the United States developed mobile production plants, including one designed for an airplane—but it's a big hassle. That's why this strikes me as a bit far-fetched." [Washington Post, 2/6/2003] After Powell's speech, Blix will say in his March 7 report to the UN that his inspectors found no evidence of mobile weapons labs (see March 7, 2003). [CNN, 3/7/2003; Agence France-Presse, 3/7/2003; CNN, 3/7/2003] Reporter Bob Drogin, author of Curveball: Spies, Lies and the Con Man Who Caused a War, says in 2007, "[B]y the time Colin Powell goes to the UN to make the case for war, he shows the world artists' conjectures based on analysts' interpretations and extrapolations of Arabic-to-German-to-English translations of summary debriefing reports of interviews with a manic-depressive defector whom the Americans had never met. [CIA director George] Tenet told Powell that Curveball's information was ironclad and unassailable. It was a travesty." [Alternet, 10/22/2007] 'Four Tons' of VX Toxin - Powell also claims that Iraq has "four tons" of VX nerve toxin. "A single drop of VX on the skin will kill in minutes," he says. "Four tons." Hanley later notes, "He didn't point out that most of that had already been destroyed. And, on point after point he failed to point out that these facilities about which he was raising such alarm were under repeated inspections good, expert people with very good equipment, and who were leaving behind cameras and other monitoring equipment to keep us a continuing eye on it." [PBS, 4/25/2007] Iraq is Developing Unmanned Drones Capable of Delivering Weapons of Mass Destruction - Powell asserts that Iraq has flight-tested an unmanned drone capable of flying up to 310 miles and is working on a liquid-fueled ballistic missile with a range of 745 miles. He plays a video of an Iraqi F-1 Mirage jet dispersing "simulated anthrax." [US Department of State, 2/5/2003; New York Times, 2/5/2003; Washington Post, 2/6/2003] But the Associated Press will later report that the video was made prior to the 1991 Gulf War. Apparently, three of the four spray tanks shown in the film had been destroyed during the 1991 military intervention. [Associated Press, 8/9/2003] Imported Aluminum Tubes were Meant for Centrifuge - Powell argues that the aluminum tubes which Iraq had attempted to import in July 2001 (see July 2001) were meant to be used in a nuclear weapons program and not for artillery rockets as experts from the US Energy Department, the INR, and the IAEA have been arguing (see February 3, 2003)
(see January 11, 2003)
(see August 17, 2001)
(see January 27, 2003). To support the administration's case, he cites unusually precise specifications and high tolerances for heat and stress. "It strikes me as quite odd that these tubes are manufactured to a tolerance that far exceeds US requirements for comparable rockets," he says. "Maybe Iraqis just manufacture their conventional weapons to a higher standard than we do, but I don't think so." Powell also suggests that because the tubes were "anodized," it was unlikely that they had been designed for conventional use. [US Department of State, 2/5/2003; Washington Post, 2/5/2003; Washington Post, 3/8/2003] Powell does not mention that numerous US nuclear scientists have dismissed this claim (see August 17, 2001)
(see September 23, 2002)
(see December 2002). [Albright, 10/9/2003] Powell also fails to say that Iraq has rockets identical to the Italian Medusa 81 mm rockets, which are of the same dimensions and made of the same alloy as the 3,000 tubes that were intercepted in July 2001 (see After January 22, 2003). [Washington Post, 8/10/2003] This had been reported just two weeks earlier by the Washington Post. [Washington Post, 1/24/2003] Moreover, just two days before, Powell was explicitly warned by the US State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research not to cite the aluminum tubes as evidence that Iraq is pursuing nuclear weapons (see February 3, 2003). [Financial Times, 7/29/2003] Iraq Attempted to Acquire Magnets for Use in a Gas Centrifuge Program - Powell says: "We… have intelligence from multiple sources that Iraq is attempting to acquire magnets and high-speed balancing machines. Both items can be used in a gas centrifuge program to enrich uranium. In 1999 and 2000, Iraqi officials negotiated with firms in Romania, India, Russia and Slovenia for the purchase of a magnet production plant. Iraq wanted the plant to produce magnets weighing 20 to 30 grams. That's the same weight as the magnets used in Iraq's gas centrifuge program before the Gulf War." [US Department of State, 2/5/2003; New York Times, 2/6/2003] Investigation by the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA] will demonstrate that the magnets have a dual use. IAEA Director Mohamed ElBaradei said a little more than a week before, on January 27, in his report to the Security Council: "Iraq presented detailed information on a project to construct a facility to produce magnets for the Iraqi missile program, as well as for industrial applications, and that Iraq had prepared a solicitation of offers, but that the project had been delayed due to 'financial credit arrangements.' Preliminary investigations indicate that the specifications contained in the offer solicitation are consistent with those required for the declared intended uses. However, the IAEA will continue to investigate the matter…."
(see January 27, 2003) [Annan, 1/27/2003 ] On March 7, ElBaradei will provide an additional update: "The IAEA has verified that previously acquired magnets have been used for missile guidance systems, industrial machinery, electricity meters and field telephones. Through visits to research and production sites, reviews of engineering drawings and analyses of sample magnets, IAEA experts familiar with the use of such magnets in centrifuge enrichment have verified that none of the magnets that Iraq has declared could be used directly for a centrifuge magnetic bearing."
(see March 7, 2003) [CNN, 3/7/2003] Iraq Attempted to Purchase Machines to Balance Centrifuge Rotors - Powell states: "Intercepted communications from mid-2000 through last summer show that Iraq front companies sought to buy machines that can be used to balance gas centrifuge rotors. One of these companies also had been involved in a failed effort in 2001 to smuggle aluminum tubes into Iraq." [US Department of State, 2/5/2003; New York Times, 2/6/2003] Powell Cites Documents Removed from Home of Iraqi Scientist Faleh Hassan - Powell cites the documents that had been found on January 16, 2003 by inspectors with the help of US intelligence at the Baghdad home of Faleh Hassan, a nuclear scientist. Powell asserts that the papers are a "dramatic confirmation" that Saddam Hussein is concealing evidence and not cooperating with the inspections. The 3,000 documents contained information relating to the laser enrichment of uranium (see January 16, 2003). [Daily Telegraph, 1/18/2003; Associated Press, 1/18/2003; BBC, 1/19/2003; US Department of State, 2/5/2003] A little more than a week later, in the inspectors' February 14 update to the UN Security Council (see February 14, 2003), ElBaradei will say, "While the documents have provided some additional details about Iraq's laser enrichment development efforts, they refer to activities or sites already known to the IAEA and appear to be the personal files of the scientist in whose home they were found. Nothing contained in the documents alters the conclusions previously drawn by the IAEA concerning the extent of Iraq's laser enrichment program." [Guardian, 2/15/2003; BBC, 2/17/2003; Associated Press, 8/9/2003] Iraq is Hiding Missiles in the Desert - Powell says that according to unidentified sources, the Iraqis have hidden rocket launchers and warheads containing biological weapons in the western desert. He further contends that these caches of weapons are hidden in palm groves and moved to different locations on a weekly basis. [US Department of State, 2/5/2003] It will later be suggested that this claim was "lifted whole from an Iraqi general's written account of hiding missiles in the 1991 war." [Associated Press, 8/9/2003] Iraq Has Scud Missiles - Powell also says that according to unnamed "intelligence sources," Iraq has a few dozen Scud-type missiles. [Associated Press, 8/9/2003] Iraq Has Weapons of Mass Destruction - Secretary of State Colin Powell states unequivocally: "We… have satellite photos that indicate that banned materials have recently been moved from a number of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction facilities. There can be no doubt that Saddam Hussein has biological weapons and the capability to rapidly produce more, many more." Elsewhere in his speech he says: "We know that Saddam Hussein is determined to keep his weapons of mass destruction, is determined to make more." [US Department of State, 2/5/2003; CNN, 2/5/2003] Governments, Media Reaction Mixed - Powell's speech will fail to convince many skeptical governments, nor will it impress many in the European media. But it will have a tremendous impact in the US media (see February 5, 2003 and After).
Entity Tags: Bureau of Intelligence and Research, Bush administration (43), Bundesnachrichtendienst, Bob Drogin, Central Intelligence Agency, Ansar al-Islam, 'Curveball', Al-Qaeda, Charles Hanley, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Ahmed Chalabi, Ali Jassem, Colin Powell, Ewen Buchanan, Faleh Hassan, Saddam Hussein, United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission, United Nations Special Commission, Raymond Zilinskas, Peter Franck, United Nations Security Council, Lawrence Wilkerson, Hans Blix, Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi, Iraqi National Congress, Mohamed ElBaradei, George J. Tenet
Timeline Tags: Events Leading to Iraq Invasion, Niger Uranium and Plame Outing
Satellite photo of the Djerf al Nadaf site, showing the wall blocking the truck route. Red arrows indicate where trucks were supposed to pass through the wall. [Source: CBS News]The day after Colin Powell gives his presentation to the UN alleging proof of Iraq's WMDs (see February 5, 2003, UN inspectors visit Djerf al Nadaf, the site the Iraqi defector Curveball claims was used to create secret bioweapons. Previously, satellite photos have shown that while the site looks much as Curveball described, there was one discrepancy: the area that Curveball said was used by trucks to enter and exit a warehouse to receive and deliver biological toxins was blocked by a wall (see February 2001). US intelligence analysts were disturbed by the existence of the wall, though some hypothesized the wall was a fake. The UN inspectors find a solid, very real wall in place. There was no way trucks could have gotten in and out of the warehouse. Jim Corcoran, whose job is to relay intelligence to the UN inspectors, will recall in 2007, "When the inspectors examined the facility, they found that this was an impossibility." Curveball had insisted that hidden doors at the other end of the warehouse allowed the trucks to enter and exit, but no such doors exist. Corcoran recalls, "Again, there was a wall there, no doors. And outside there was a stone fence that would have made it impossible for this to have occurred." Tests for traces of biological agents in the warehouse come up empty (see February 8, 2003 and June 2003-Late 2003). Though the inspectors' discoveries cast serious doubt on Powell's allegations, few outside of the intelligence community hear about the discoveries for a long time. [CBS News, 11/4/2007]
Entity Tags: Colin Powell, United Nations, Jim Corcoran, 'Curveball'
UN inspectors at Djerf al Nadaf. [Source: CBS News]Three days after Colin Powell's speech to the UN Security Council (see February 5, 2003), Team Bravo, a UN inspection team led by US biological weapons experts, conducts the first inspection of Curveball's former work site, Djerf al Nadaf. According to Curveball, Djerf al Nadaf was the site of a 1998 accident involving bio-warfare material. The visit lasts 3 1/2 hours. Samples taken from the facility are tested for trace amounts of biological agents, but test results are negative. During the visit, the inspectors also note that the walls surrounding the facility would have made it impossible for trucks to enter and leave the building in the way described by Curveball. [Los Angeles Times, 11/20/2005]
Entity Tags: 'Curveball', United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission
Babel TV facility, from which Curveball stole equipment. [Source: CBS News]Curveball, the Iraqi defector (see November 4, 2007) whose claims that Saddam Hussein has mobile bioweapons became an integral part of Secretary of State Colin Powell's presentation to the UN (see February 5, 2003) "proving" the existence of Iraqi WMDs, continues to disintegrate as a reliable intelligence source. His fundamental claims of being a senior Iraqi chemical engineer working on the secret bioweapons project falls apart as both German intelligence analysts and the CIA gather more information on him. Veteran CIA bio-weapons analyst publicly identified only as "Jerry," who before the war had championed Curveball's claim that Iraq had mobile biological weapons laboratories, leads a unit of the Iraq Survey Group to Baghdad to investigate Curveball's background. His team locates Curveball's personnel file in an Iraqi government storeroom and learns that the Iraqi defector's allegations consisted of a string of lies. Curveball came in last in his engineering class, not first, as he had told his debriefers (see 1994 and January 2000-September 2001). Nor was he a project chief or site manager, as he had claimed. Rather he was just a low-level trainee engineer. Dr. Basil al-Sa'ati, whom Curveball cited as his supervisor at the Djerf al Nadaf seed purification plant (Curveball claimed that the plant was a secret bioweapons production facility), confirmed that Curveball did indeed work for him at the plant, where al-Sa'ati was the head of production design. But Curveball only worked there a few months, while the facility was being built, and was fired in 1995, the very year that he presumably began working on the alleged program to convert trucks into biological weapons laboratories. The following years were not auspicious for Curveball: he was jailed for a sex crime, briefly drove a taxi in Baghdad, and worked for Iraq's Babel television production company until he was charged with stealing equipment (the charges were dropped when he agreed to reimburse the company for his theft.) He even sold "homemade cosmetics," according to his friend Dr. Hillal al Dulaimi. Curveball claimed to have witnessed a biological accident that killed 12 people at Djerf al Nadaf in 1998, but he wasn't even in Iraq by that time. He had left the country, traveled around the Middle East, and wound up in Morocco. No trace exists of Curveball between that time and when he defected to Germany in 1999. Curveball's former bosses at the engineering center tell CIA officers that they got duped, falling for "water cooler gossip" and "corridor conversations." "The Iraqis were all laughing," a member of the Iraq Survey Group will later recall. "They were saying, 'This guy? You've got to be kidding.'" The team even interviews Curveball's childhood friends who also corroborate what others have said about him. They say he was a "great liar," a "con artist," and "a real operator." Everyone's description of Curveball is the same: "People kept saying what a rat Curveball was." Jerry and another CIA analyst, having heard enough, end the investigation and return to Washington. According to David Kay, by this time Jerry is close to having a nervous breakdown. "They had been true believers in Curveball," Kay says. "They absolutely believed in him. They knew every detail in his file. But it was total hokum. There was no truth in it. They said they had to go home to explain how all this was all so wrong." But the CIA doesn't want to hear it. Jerry is accused of "making waves" and then transferred out of the weapons center. According to Michael Scheuer, another dissident CIA analyst, "Jerry had become kind of a nonperson. There was a tremendous amount of pressure on him not to say anything. Just to sit there and shut up." [Los Angeles Times, 11/20/2005; CBS News, 11/4/2007]
Entity Tags: Michael Scheuer, Bundesnachrichtendienst, Hillal al Dulaimi, United Nations, Saddam Hussein, Central Intelligence Agency, "Jerry", Colin Powell, 'Curveball', Basil al-Sa'ati
The CIA sends one of its best officers to Germany to interrogate the Iraqi defector known as Curveball (see November 1999 and November 4, 2007). Until now, both Curveball and German intelligence officials have resisted allowing the US to interview Curveball for themselves, but evidence that Curveball is not who he says he is has already surfaced (see June 2003-Late 2003). The CIA officer, fluent in German and experienced at questioning reluctant sources, quickly determines that Curveball is a fabricator. Each night, the officer files a report summarizing the day's interrogation session, and then follows up with a phone call to Tyler Drumheller, the head of CIA spying in Europe. "After the first couple of days, he said, 'This doesn't sound good,'" Drumheller later recalls. "After the first week, he said, 'This guy is lying. He's lying about a bunch of stuff.'" [Los Angeles Times, 11/20/2005] Unable to Explain Discrepancy in Statements - One key item was Curveball's inability to explain the discrepancies between his description of the supposed mobile bioweapons facility at Djerf al Nadaf, in particular why there was a wall blocking what Curveball claimed was a secret entrance to a warehouse where mobile bioweapons trucks entered (see Mid- and Late 2001). Drumheller says in 2007, "[T]he key thing, I think, was the wall. He showed him pictures of the wall." Curveball retorts, according to Drumheller, "'You doctored these pictures.' And [the CIA interrogator] said, 'No, we didn't.'" Curveball would have no way of knowing about the wall because it had been built in 1997, two years after he had left Djerf al Nadaf. Drumheller recalls, "… Curveball said, 'I don't think I'm gonna say anything else.'" [CBS News, 11/4/2007] Curveball never admits he's lying. "He never said, 'You got me,'" according to Drumheller. "He just shrugged, and didn't say anything. It was all over. We told our guy, 'You might as well wrap it up and come home.'" [Los Angeles Times, 11/20/2005] Reporter: Curveball a Liar and Con Artist - In October 2007, reporter Bob Drogin, author of Curveball: Spies, Lies and the Con Man Who Caused a War, calls Curveball "a twitchy, possibly mentally disturbed drunk who was prone to rapid mood-swings and whose story tended to shift according to what he thought investigators wanted to hear." [Alternet, 10/22/2007]
Entity Tags: Tyler Drumheller, 'Curveball'
Rafid Ahmed Alwan. [Source: CBS News]CBS News reveals the identity of the infamous Iraqi defector, "Curveball," whose information was used by the Bush administration to build its case for Iraqi biological weapons. Curveball's real identity is Rafid Ahmed Alwan, an Iraqi who defected to Germany in November 1999, where he requested asylum at a refugee center near Nuremberg (see November 1999). The evidence Curveball provided was detailed, compelling, and completely false, but instrumental in driving the US towards invading Iraq. Former senior CIA official Tyler Drumheller, who was unable to convince either his superiors in the agency or senior officials in the White House that Curveball was untrustworthy (see September 2002), says of Curveball's contribution to the rhetoric of war, "If they [the Bush administration] had not had Curveball they would have probably found something else. 'Cause there was a great determination to do it. But going to war in Iraq, under the circumstances we did, Curveball was the absolutely essential case." CBS reporter Bob Simon says Curveball is "not only a liar, but also a thief and a poor student instead of the chemical engineering whiz he claimed to be." The CIA eventually acknowledged Alwan as a fraud. The question remains, why did he spin such an elaborate tale? Drumheller thinks it was for the most prosaic of reasons. "It was a guy trying to get his Green Card, essentially, in Germany, playing the system for what it was worth. It just shows sort of the law of unintended consequences." Alwan is believed to be still living in Germany, most likely under an assumed name. [CBS News, 11/4/2007]
Entity Tags: Bundesnachrichtendienst, Bob Simon, Tyler Drumheller, CBS News, 'Curveball', Bush administration (43)
Journalist Seymour Hersh says that a new CIA assessment concludes, in his words, that "there's no evidence Iran is doing anything that puts them close to a bomb. There's no secret program of significant bomb making." However, the White House is ignoring that assessment and still moving forward with plans to launch a military strike against Iran. 'Stovepiping' - Hersh says that President Bush and Vice President Cheney are "stovepiping" intelligence [funnelling selected intelligence directly to top officials] and keeping information provided by the Israelis hidden from the CIA. According to Hersh, the Israelis have informed White House officials that Israel has a reliable agent inside Iraq, and that agent reports that Iran is working on a trigger for a nuclear device (see November 2005). "[T]he CIA isn't getting a good look at the Israeli intelligence. It's the old word, stovepiping. It's the President and the Vice President, it's pretty much being kept in the White House. Of course the people in the CIA want to know who [the agent] is, obviously," Hersh tells a reporter. "They certainly want to know what other evidence he has of actual making of a warhead. This is the internecine fight that's going on—the same fight, by the way, that we had before Iraq." The CIA has no way of verifying the Israeli intelligence claims, but in light of recent events with unverifiable evidence such as the "Curveball" debacle (see November 1999), that agency is understandably wary of such dramatic claims that contradict their own findings. [CNN, 11/19/2007] Israeli Claims Unverifiable - A former senior intelligence official says of the Israeli's claim: "The problem is that no one can verify it. We don't know who the Israeli source is. The briefing says the Iranians are testing trigger mechanisms," simulating a zero-yield nuclear explosion without any weapons-grade materials, "but there are no diagrams, no significant facts. Where is the test site? How often have they done it? How big is the warhead—a breadbox or a refrigerator? They don't have that." But the report is being used by the White House to "prove the White House's theory that the Iranians are on track. And tests leave no radioactive track, which is why we can't find it." Another problem that evokes the "stovepiping" of pre-war Iraq intelligence is the fact that White House officials have asked the Israelis for the raw intelligence, the original, unanalyzed, and unvetted material. Similar requests were used to draw false conclusions about Iraq's WMD program before the US invasion of that country. A Pentagon consultant says, "Many presidents in the past have done the same thing, but intelligence professionals are always aghast when presidents ask for stuff in the raw. They see it as asking a second grader to read Ulysses." [New Yorker, 11/27/2006] Similar to Iraq Intelligence Problems - Former State Department intelligence expert Greg Thielmann noted in October 2003 that before the Iraq war, "garbage was being shoved straight to the President." [New Yorker, 10/27/2003] Hersh suggests the same effect is happening now. [CNN, 11/19/2007] White House Hostile to CIA Analysis - According to a current senior intelligence official, the White House is actively hostile to the CIA analysis, which is based on satellite imagery and other empirical evidence such as measurement of the radioactivity of water samples and highly classified radiation-detection devices surreptitiously placed near the Iranian nuclear facilities. Empirical data or not, the CIA analysis does not fit the White House's needs, the intelligence official says. In its analysis, the CIA specifically warns that it would be a mistake to conclude that the failure to find a secret nuclear-weapons program in Iran is evidence that the Iranians are hiding it well. According to a former senior intelligence official, at the height of the Cold War, the Soviets were quite effective at deception and misdirection, but the US intelligence community was readily able to discern the details of their nuclear weapons and long-range missile programs. But, the former official says, many in the White House, particularly in Cheney's office, are making just such an assumption: "the lack of evidence means they must have it." [New Yorker, 11/27/2006]
Entity Tags: Seymour Hersh, George W. Bush, 'Curveball', Central Intelligence Agency, Greg Thielmann, Bush administration (43), Richard ("Dick") Cheney
Timeline Tags: US confrontation with Iran
Receive weekly email updates summarizing what contributors have added to the History Commons database
Developing and maintaining this site is very labor intensive. If you find it useful, please give us a hand and donate what you can.Donate Now
If you would like to help us with this effort, please contact us. We need help with programming (Java, JDO, mysql, and xml), design, networking, and publicity. If you want to contribute information to this site, click the register link at the top of the page, and start contributing.Contact Us
Except where otherwise noted,
the textual content of each timeline is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike

subset: commoncrawl


text:
- SunSport Reporters
- Invalid Date,
HUGO LLORIS suffered a horror arm injury in Tottenham's 3-0 defeat at Brighton.
The French goalkeeper is now out of hospital after falling awkwardly, with Spurs confirming he's dislocated his elbow and will be out until New Year.
Get all the latest Spurs news, updates and gossip here...
Joe Miles2 months ago8th October 2019
🇫🇷 @MoussaSissoko begins preparations with France.#EURO2020 ⚪ #COYS pic.twitter.com/CO3tpCz3Np
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) October 8, 2019
Joe Miles2 months ago8th October 2019
CHRISTIAN ERIKSEN does not think Tottenham's poor run of form is a result of transfer speculation.
Speaking to Danish news outlet Ekstra Bladet, he said: "It's definitely my hardest time right now at Tottenham.
"We as players must try to keep all the negative things completely out.
"Everyone is professional and in all clubs there is talk of players going away.
"That side of the matter has no bearing on how we have performed so far this season.
"If I, as a football player, took all the rumours to me, I would float on a cloud. But I know that it can't all be true. It does not affect me what is written."
Joe Miles2 months ago8th October 2019
TOBY ALDERWEIRELD will be in action for Belgium against San Marino on Thursday.View this post on Instagram
@tobyalderweireld gets to work with @belgianreddevils 🇧🇪 💪 #THFC #COYS
A post shared by Tottenham Hotspur (@spursofficial) on
Joe Miles2 months ago8th October 2019
PAULO DYBALA did not want to join Manchester United or Tottenham this summer.
The Argentine ace was linked with a move to the Premier League after struggling to impress at Juventus.
Speaking to Corriere della Sera, Dybala said: "It wasn't an easy summer. Hearing your name linked to every team and every place, where you don't want to go, isn't a nice thing.
"But this is football, even if the transfer opened I said: I want to stay here.'"
Joe Miles2 months ago8th October 2019
LEICESTER star James Maddison has praised Harry Winks.
The 22-year-old was asked who has caused the Foxes the most problems this season.
He told Sky Sports: "From who we've played this season – and we've played Chelsea – and Jorginho is very good at it. He is a very good footballer.
"I know maybe last year he got a little bit of stick and stuff here and there but he's a very good footballer. He controls and dictates games.
"Harry Winks is another example who is a very good passer of the ball.
"Obviously we played Tottenham and the job was to stop the danger players forcing it through the lines because that's where they will hurt you."


text:
Introduction: Bangladesh is a land of rice, a land of song and a land of beauty. We are too much dependent on rice for a living. It is our main food crop.
What it is: rice is a kind of food grains. It is obtained from a plant called paddy. It is a one-time breeding plant. It grows from two to three feet high. It feeds the millions of people of the world.
Where grown: rice grows well in hot and moist climate. Sufficient rainfall is required for the proper growth rich. Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, China, Japan, Thailand are the main rice-producing countries of Asia.
Kinds of rice: there are four kinds of rice in our country. They are Aus, Aman, Boro, and IRRI. Aus is sown in the month of Baisakh and reaped in Shravan or Bhadra. Aman is sown is Aasar or Shravan and reaped in Agrahayan or Poush. Boro is sown in winter and reaped in spring. IRRI is cultivated all the years found.
Method of cultivation: farmers plow and harrow their lands again and again and prepare them well for sowing seeds. Weeding and maturing and required for the proper growth of the plants.
Who obtained: paddy becomes ripe is four of five months. Then they are cut, tied into boundless, carried home and thrashed. Next, they are boiled, dried and husked. This is how rice is obtained.
Utility: rice is our staple food. We get many kinds of food from rice. We make Chira, muri, Khai, cake, Polau, Biriani etc. from rice. Straw and husk are used as fuel. They are also used as fodder for the cattle.
Conclusion: we are not self-sufficient in rice production. We should, therefore, make all efforts to grow more and more in our country.


text:
Lightravels® World Executive Explorer Map (NGEWM)
With an antique-style color palette, this laminated National Geographic map features present-day political
boundaries, possessions, territories, and place-names. It also contains fact boxes listing key geographic
superlatives: the world's largest and most populated countries, and the world's largest cities.
See this map really come to life when you insert our
Lightravels® light pegs anywhere you want into the map surface!
At roughly 10 pounds, this one-of-a-kind map is lightweight, easy to hang, and appropriate for both
home and office. Track your most memorable trips and vacations, or your business and customer
locations with the Lightravels® Illuminated World Executive Explorer Map.
Each map includes 60 pcs of Light Pegs (6 colors, 10 pc each color) and 1 Puncher Tool.
Personalized Plaques and 100 pc extra Light Peg bags are also available for purchase.
You can find these items on our Order Form page.
Inner map dimensions: 30"w x 19"h
Complete product, including genuine wood frame and shadow box: Approximately 33"w x 22"h x 3"d


text:
Keep Your Kids Safe
- Keep Your Kids Safe
- Filtering Software
- Kids' Browsers and Services
- Monitoring Software
- Resources for Parents
In September 2003, 53-year-old John Zuccarini was arrested at a Florida hotel and, after admitting to his crimes in a plea bargain, became the first person convicted under the national Truth in Domain Names Act. The crime: According to the United States Attorney's office for the Southern District of New York, Zuccarini registered and used more than 3,000 misleading domain names, many of which directed children to hard-core porn sites and graphic depictions of young people engaged in sex acts. The domains included www.teltubbies.com and www.bobthebiulder.comboth misspellings of the addresses for popular children's TV shows.
Porn is just one of many issues parents should be concerned about when their kids go online. Problems could be as dangerous as encountering a predator in a chat room, as common as sharing music and software illegally via peer-to-peer file-sharing services, or as simple as spending far too much time playing games and chatting with friends.
Recent market research suggests that many parents consider online chatting more dangerous than Web surfing. Last year, Microsoft's MSN service shut down its chat rooms in 28 countries partly because of concerns about sexual predators preying on minors. And in a study published by Harris Interactive in November 2003, 24 percent of 550 U.S. teens surveyed said they had been contacted online by a stranger who tried to arrange an off-line meeting.
Meanwhile, the amount of time kids spend online is just as important an issue. A November study performed by the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that almost 70 percent of young users say they would find it "very hard to give up" the Internet, compared with only 48 percent who said the same about television. Computers have become a hub for social activity. And for the most part, it is an unsupervised environment. Many parents go to sleep every night convinced that their kids are sleeping too, while some of the kids are actually chatting online with friends and strangers. And not surprisingly, some kids are also chatting when they should be doing homework.
The Internet has so much good to offer, however, that you can't just take your kids' access away permanently. It's a great educational resource and an essential form of communication today. And the more your kids learn about using the Internet now, the better prepared they'll be for using it in the future.
Parents need to protect their kids online. Just as they want some control over where their kids go and whom they talk to in real life, parents need to establish some rules on where they go and whom they talk to online. Which strategy is best for your needs is your decision. The good news is that the products on the market offer a variety of approaches, so finding the right solution shouldn't be too difficult.
For this story, we tested many types of parental-control tools. We reviewed seven traditional Web-filtering apps, which remain the most popular first line of defense in protecting children from accessing inappropriate content on the Web. We also tested ISPs that provide parental controls, as well as some that offer special browsers designed for children. Home networking gear manufacturers are also addressing these issues, so we looked at two wireless routers that include filtering capabilities and other parental controlsan interesting solution if you have a home network. And we tested four monitoring applications; these apps provide the most aggressive approach, letting you view the sites your kids have visited, read their instant-messaging conversations, and review information about the applications they have used.
Don't be fooled by the category names, though. While each product emphasizes a particular function, most offer a variety of tools. For example, many of the filtering products include time management capabilities, and the monitoring products offer filtering and other parental controls. So we suggest you read through each section to find the solution that best fits your needs.Continue reading >


text:
Lame Duck
At midtown's glitzy new DaDong, the signature dish is overshadowed by the spectacle.
3 Bryant Park (enter at plaza nr. Sixth Ave. bet. 41st and 42nd Sts.); 212-355-9600; dadongny.com
IT'S SAFE TO say that grizzled New Yorkers who've subsisted over the decades on a steady diet of soup dumplings and warmed-over containers of carryout crispy orange beef have never seen anything quite like the eagerly awaited, elaborately hyped midtown Peking-duck palace DaDong. Instead of the usual cramped quarters out in Flushing or down on Mott Street, the glittering outpost of this popular Chinese dining empire occupies two glass-enclosed floors off a pedestrian plaza near Bryant Park. There's a terrace for


text:
Shellac Thickness and Finish Compatibility
I stained then sealed the doors with shellac that I mixed from flakes. I mixed a 2# cut and sprayed the shellac on heavier than I wanted. I sprayed the doors flat so there are no runs. I sprayed it on about 3 mils wet and probably heavier in some areas. Should I sand the shellac back before I topcoat with EM 2000, or can I just scuff sand it and shoot two thin coats?
Forum Responses
From contributor P:
Way too thick. Also, you should only use dewaxed shellac as a sealer.
From the original questioner:
Thanks. I contacted Jeff at Target and he said I should be fine to just scuff sand. I did post at Target's forum when I started this job and Jeff told me to make sure I seal the Minwax stain well. I guess I sealed it too well. Anyway, I just started spraying in my shop a few months ago, so I have a lot to learn, sometimes the hard way.
From contributor K:
Sorry - I thought it was dewaxed. If it isn't then you should sand down and recoat with SealCoat or other dewaxed shellac.
From the original questioner:
I did use de-waxed shellac I mixed from flakes. Jeff at Target told me not to use Zinsser seal coat because they had some problems with crazing when using it under their finishes.
From contributor K:
I've not had problems with SealCoat under Target but I have heard of problems. Then again I've had problems with Target's H20 shellac under their products...
From contributor A:
The ph of the shellac is the concern of the Target folks and Jeff. Shellac from flakes is not dewaxed.
From the original questioner:
Why do you say shellac from flakes is not dewaxed? You can buy them at shellac.net, shellaccshack.com, woodcraft.com and many other places on the net.
From contributor C:
With normal de-waxed, usually with a .2% dewax, you will not have problems unless the liquid coating being applied over it has ingredients such as ammonia, which can dissolve the shellac or other such high ph bases in the mix. I find a 50/50 mix of sandarac and de-waxed shellac give better all around performance as a sealer than shellac itself does. Of course proper plasticizers also play an important role in keeping the coating from being too brittle.
From the original questioner:
Why do you think Target Coatings claims to have some crazing problems over sealcoat but not dewaxed shellac mixed from flakes? I have read it could be from additives such as stabilizers or preservatives.
From contributor C:
Many of their and other's products contain ammonia products, which can act as a stripper/remover or a softener when in contact with dried shellac. This can be magnified by any slow evaporating solvents such as the monoethyleithers like butyl cellosolve, etc., which in combination with any ammonia product will affect the shellac film to varying degrees. Minute amounts of wax could act to a slight degree as a barrier against more severe damages from the over film.
Of course - any other solvents in the formulation that act in a similar way could be at fault. Not knowing their formulations, I can't say. You can look at the MSDS for the products and get a list of the solvents used, which would give you a better idea of why this problem happens, to varying degrees. Though they may not list ammonia.
Why it would react with one type of shellac or another is merely a matter of dryness of the shellac film versus the contents of the overcoat being applied along with thickness. Thinner coats of their finish over shellac would be less aggressive in its nature/heavier coats more injurious.
As was stated, even problems with their inferior H2O shellac happen from time to time. (Inferior in the sense of not having the best properties of alcohol solved shellac.) H20 shellacs have been used for over a century outside the wood coatings industry for such things as stiffening of felt hats so they maintain their shape and coatings for pills/fruit/nuts/etc. It's not something new and great - it's inferior to either waxed or dewaxed shellac as far as wood finishing goes. About the only thing I use it for is to touch up my acrylic art painting.
Would you like to add information to this article?
Interested in writing or submitting an article?
Have a question about this article?
Have you reviewed the related Knowledge Base areas below?
|Home » Knowledge Base » Knowledge Base Article


text:
Strait of Hormuz
Jump to navigation Jump to search
| Strait of Hormuz
|Middle East, Indian Ocean
The Strait of Hormuz is a strait between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. It provides the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean and is one of the world's most strategically important choke points.[1]
On the north coast lies Iran, and on the south coast the United Arab Emirates and Musandam, an exclave of Oman. The strait is about 104 miles (90 nmi; 167 km) long, with a width varying from about 52 nautical miles (96 km) to 21 nautical miles (39 km).[2]
A third of the world's liquefied natural gas and almost 20% of total global oil consumption passes through the strait, making it a highly important strategic location for international trade.[3][4]
|Iran Air Flight 655
Related Documents
|Publication date
|Document:Iran - This Is How We'll Close The Strait of Hormuz
|28 December 2011
|MEMRI editorial staff
|Document:So what actually happened in the Strait of Hormuz on 10th July?
|social media post
|12 July 2019
|Oliver Tickell
|The aggressive posturing of US and UK and the moves to militarise the Strait of Hormuz, taken together with US calls for regime change and other threats to the sovereignty of Iran, constitute a breach of UNCLOS Articles 19 and 39 and are thus unlawful.
|Document:The Geo-Politics of the Strait of Hormuz
|8 January 2012
|Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya
... more about "Strait of Hormuz"
Wikispooks Page +
File:Strait of Hormuz.jpg +
26° 34' 1", 56° 15' 0"Latitude: 26.567
Longitude: 56.25 +
Longitude: 56.25 +
Strait of Hormuz +
Strait_of_Hormuz +
File:Strait of Hormuz.jpg +
Place +
1,564 +
Robin +
true +


text:
Pool & Spa Insurance in Gilbert AZ & Phoenix AZ
Keep your Business Afloat
Miles Insurance Group provides insurance to pool and spa industry businesses in Gilbert, Phoenix, Chandler, Tempe, Scottsdale, Mesa, and surrounding areas.
At Miles Insurance Group, we are proud to offer insurance to those working in the pool and spa industry. Contractors, retailers, and manufacturers alike will be pleased with the business insurance packages we provide. Our industry-specific coverage options will help ensure that you and your business are protected.
Here are some of the insurance options we provide:
- Property damage coverage
- Errors & omissions
- General liability
- Commercial auto
- And much more …
Contact a representative at Miles Insurance Group today to build an insurance package suited for your business.


text:
Submit the online request above to contact VIP services. Our team will fill you in on the best options to make your concert an unforgettable experience. VIP reservations are not inclusive of concert tickets. A ticket is required to gain entry to our shows.
This is an all ages event. Doors open to the public at 6:30pm.
There is an overall 8 ticket limit for this event.
**There will be a $1 Charity Donation to St. Jude's on every ticket purchased.
FOLLOW {{ artist.ArtistName | toUpper }}


text:
Merchant's FAQ
1- What Kind of business can be promoted with Wikideal?
Wikideal represents an excellent sale platform that applies for a variety of businesses. Our categories include restaurants, cafes, bars, health and well-being, activities and events, shops, boutiques, hotels and getaways. You can also suggest additional categories by contacting us at firstname.lastname@example.com.
2- What are the procedures to display my business on Wikideal?
Contact us by E-mail at firstname.lastname@example.com or by phone 514-788-4474. Our representative will guide you through the process of creating an unbeatable deal of 51% and more.
3- What are the benefits of promoting my business with Wikideal?
Promoting your business with Wikideal has several advantages. You have a focused opportunity for FREE targeted marketing for your products, favouring therefore your advertising budget. You are the headliner on our site for a full day. You present an unbeatable offer that differentiates your business and thereby motivates our members to try your products and services. You also attract new clientele without risk because the customer has previously paid for your products and services.
4- When will my offer be posted on Wikideal's website?
Generally, we have a waiting period of one to six weeks after signing your contract. Please note that we take into consideration your needs, your goals and your business type. Our goal is to ensure your success!
5- Can I get help to write my deal?
We have a team that specializes in sales and in the formulation of online deals. Our forms are detailed and easy to use. A representative will assist you through all the steps and help you represent your business as best as possible. To receive proper documentation or to contact a representative, contact us at email@example.com or call 514-788-4474.
6- What do I need to provide to write the description of my offer?
Our representatives will help you prepare your offer. It is important to provide our representatives with all relevant material for drafting an attractive description of your product or service. We ask you to provide the company's logo, link to your website, high resolution photos, videos and any article published on your business.
7- Do I have to provide pictures of my business?
Of course! It is always preferable to provide pictures that represent as best as possible your product. If you do not have a picture of your business, we can provide you with generic photos.
8- When do the vouchers purchased by clients be effective?
All vouchers are sent to the customers once the offer is activated. Typically, the vouchers are effective the following day unless specified otherwise by the merchant.
9- Is the voucher transferable?
Each voucher has a unique code and the name of the person who bought it. Nevertheless, they can be transferred to others as gifts. The voucher can be used only once because following its use, the merchant will proceed to its deactivation thereafter.
10- Need additional information?
For any other questions, please contact us at: firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
The Chiropractic and Natural Therapies Clinic has closed its doors.
Thanks to all our customers for your support over the years.
Introducing ASEA
A breakthrough
in cell signaling
ASEA, a perfectly balanced mixture of Redox Signaling Molecules, may be the single most significant health breakthrough of the twenty-first century.
It activates the body's own native ability to empower the immune system and enhance health.
Now available at the
Chiropractic and Natural Therapy Clinic.
- January 14, 2019
- November 30, 2018
- August 10, 2018
- August 9, 2018


text:
If I might make a general observation, there are far too many men in positions of power in this country, in the political system, in the workplace, in media. Nearly everyone supposed by media outlets to have an interesting opinion on the matter of the recession is male. 100% of economists consulted in the media are male. Last week on the Late Late Show there was the ludicrous spectacle of John Waters (who in fairness came across as the most reasonable – not that this is much praise), Eamonn Dunphy and Eoghan Harris being consulted as though they were three wise men. And now this:
Cowen fills our need for strong father figure – The Irish Times – Fri, Feb 13, 2009
Now, the party's over, we need a different kind of father. Coming to grips with this has been Brian Cowen's problem these past eight months. At first he tried to continue in the Bertie mould, but every instinct – his and ours – told everyone this was wrong. Now, yes, he has found his mojo: his daddy mojo. We have waited and waited, and now our father has come home.
Barking. Absolutely barking.


text:
Man to appear in Limerick court in connection with Martin Clancy murder
The late Martin Clancy
A MAN in his 20s is to be appear in court this week in connection with the murder of Limerick man Martin Clancy.
The accused is to appear at Limerick District Court this Thursday at 10.30am.
On January 8, gardai at Henry Street garda station launched a murder investigation into the death of Martin Clancy.
The 45-year-old was found dead in his apartment on Little O'Curry Street on January 7.
Two men were arrested as part of gardai's investigations.
On January 10, gardai arrested a man in his mid-20s in Cork city, who was later released without charge.
A man in his 40s was detained at Mayorstone garda station on suspicion of withholding information from investigating gardai.
Martin Clancy was buried at Mount St Lawrence Cemetery (Extension) following his funeral Mass at Corpus Christi Church, Moyross on January 15.


text:
This company goes the extra mile for anyone that they work with. If you ever have questions about real estate and how you can sell your house quickly and for cash you have come to the right place!
-Brittany B.
The Future is bright. Watch these guys closely, they have great instincts and a good plan. I very much enjoy working with them.
-Eddie P.
Dear Jeffrey & Jose,
Congratulations on securing long-term financing on your Vernonia 6 unit. Nancy and I both appreciate how you promptly honored your obligations to us without fail each month. Please keep us in mind for any of your short-term financing needs.
-Dan and Nancy L.
P.S. See enclosed voided check for $1,500. The prorated payment for July was paid at closing making this check redundant.


text:
Listed below are links and/or contact information for various organizations related to water. Many of these appear elsewhere on this site, but are compiled here for easy reference.
Neighboring Watershed Groups
Black Warrior Riverkeeper
Cahaba River Society
Coosa River Basin Initiative (Rome, GA)
Coosa Riverkeeper
Friends of Shades Creek
Friends of the Locust Fork River
Logan Martin Lake Protection Association
Neely Henry Lake Association
Statewide & Regional Watershed Groups
Alabama Clean Water Partnership
Alabama Rivers Alliance
Alabama Waterwatch
Freshwater Land Trust
Local Government and Water Agencies
City of Ashville
Ashville Water and Sewer Department: (205) 594-4151
City of Springville
Springville Department of Public Works (Water Department): (205) 467-2704
Etowah County Soil and Water Conservation District (Gadsden): (256) 549-5292
St. Clair County Soil & Water Conservation District (Pell City): (205) 338-7215
St. Clair County Commission: (205) 594-2100
State Agencies
Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM):
ADEM - Construction Stormwater
ADEM - Drinking Water
ADEM - Groundwater
ADEM - NPDES Permitting
ADEM - Water Quality
Alabama Division of Conservation and Natural Resources ("Outdoor Alabama")
Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries
Alabama Forever Wild
Geological Survey of Alabama (GSA)
GSA - Ecosystems Investigations Program
GSA - Groundwater Assessment Program
Alabama Soil and Water Conservation Committee
National AgenciesU.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Mobile District
USACE - Regulatory Division, Public Notices
U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service (Department of Agriculture)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4 (Atlanta)
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service:
USFWS - Alabama Ecological Services Field Office (Daphne)
USFWS - Partners for Fish and Wildlife
USFWS - Strategic Habitat Conservation
Other Area Environmental Organizations
Alabama Environmental Council


text:
Fire Line Automatic 3 in casing A
Create an endless line of fire
Controllable with any smart deviceFire Line Automatic 3 in casing offers the most intelligent and luxurious bio fireplace available today with the simplest installation option. With Planika's casing the FLA3 can be inserted with the assurance that the unit will be operating correctly and look striking in any room.
Long line of real fire
Joining the charm and warmth of natural fire with advanced fire technology and design Planika introduced a unique solution allowing the effect of endless flames in their natural colours – Fire Line Automatic. Our long fire line is an exceptional addition to any interior design. It is a groundbreaking step in modern fireplace design which introduces a unique asset into any interior design idea.
Due to advanced technology, intelligent fireplaces offer unlimited possibilities of arrangement along with simplicity of use. Equipped with an electronic system used for regulating the flame size, the fireplace can be operated with a remote control or smart device and integrated with Smart Home System, giving even more control possibilities - just imagine adjusting the flame level without leaving the comfort of your sofa. Linear fireplace is a luxury product – it's characterized by the highest quality of technological solutions and care about every final detail. If you're looking for a commercial solution - the Fire Line Automatic collection is your answer. These modern and elegant fireplaces blend perfectly into any contemporary home or commercial interior design. Based on innovative technology, products can be tailored to fit any sophisticated project.
Have you ever looked for a fireplace which is a perfect fit for your design? Planika gives unlimited possibilities to personalize the fireplace insert to customer's needs. With no hard connections and exhaust system requirement, Planika fireplaces give unlimited arrangement possibilities to turn any interior design idea into reality. Placing several units together allow the creation of an endless fire line for your open fireplace. A custom fireplace is a unique and exclusive feature, suitable for both commercial and residential projects. Every linear fire, regardless of the length is operable with a single remote control or mobile device.
Modern fireplace designs applies not only to the visual aspects of the fireplace but also to the advanced technological solutions. Creating a long line of real fire wouldn`t be possible without Burning Ethanol Vapours (BEV) technology, which ensures the highest level of safety, fuel combustion efficiency and allows the presentation of a unique fire - natural, golden flame with ideal shape and height. Planika proves, that fireplaces are not only about wood, old style, ...and boredom. The fireplace means innovation and uniqueness - it is a real fire in a modern home décor. The long line of fire is an excellent fireplace solution offering a world of possibilities.
Advanced technology
Planika constantly puts emphasis on technological development. Our products comply with the highest requirements of safety and quality. To capture the real sense of fire, Planika's innovative fireplaces run on a bioalcohol based fuel. Clean and ecological, this is a renewable green source of energy produced from double rectification process. Based on patented BEV technology (Burning Ethanol Vapours) the fire is produced through vapour burning process. Therefore, there is no direct contact between the liquid and the flames. The fireplace burns with no smoke, no ash and no smell. There are no harmful substances emitted. The technology enables flame height regulation and brings the ambience of real fire straight to you. Planika's fireplaces offer unlimited possibilities of arrangement along with simplicity of use as no exhaust system is required. Fireplace inserts can be made to measure according to a specific project.
Planika owns an advanced laboratory in which our staff undertake tests on every manufactured fireplace and continually research new technology ensuring Planika as the market leader in Automatic Bio fireplaces. Our products have obtained several certificates and to increase the users comfort, we have equipped the products with the possibility of Smart Home System integration. The device is also equipped with numerous safety sensors, allowing an immediate reaction from the electronics to any inaccuracies. In order to ensure the highest safety while using Planika products, the temperature and the burning process in general are fully controlled by advanced electronics and a microprocessor.
Fire Line Automatic 3 in casing A
Technical data
Capacity: 6,0 L / [US] 1,56 gal / [UK] 1,32 gal
Burning time: 4 - 10 h
Heat output: 3,3 - 8,4 kW / 11396 - 28490 BTU
Net weight: 37 kg / 81,5 lbs
Air circulation: min. 1/h
Power supply: 230 V / 115 V
Top: brushed stainless steel / optional RAL colours / optional black powder coated
Casing: powder coated steel, brushed stainless steel, galvanized steel / optional frame: brushed stainless steel
X: 1274 mm / 50 3/16"
Y: 622 mm / 24 1/2"
Z: 340 mm / 13 3/8"
Recomended fuel:
Fanola Premium


text:
Dartmoor Nature Journal: From Mountains to the Sea
Discovering a love for Adventures and the Outdoors!
Hiking adventures, close to home.
do what you love, with love
It's a climber's life
Being outdoors is not a choice, it is a necessity.
Feminist reflections on fitness, sport, and health
A blog about getting outside
The North York Moors – forged by nature, shaped by generations. Come and explore our National Park - 554 square miles of secluded dales, magical moors, ancient woodland, historic sites and 26 miles of stunning coastline, all easily reached from York, Teesside and County Durham. Read about our work here, and then pay us a visit!
Hiking, climbing and mountaineering in Ireland
The World's Best Climbing You've Never Heard Of
Climbing and Dirtbag adventures
Seeing the world one step at a time
A fine WordPress.com site
With you every step
Hiking and Trail running for the fun of it
Dog-friendly adventure guides and gear reviews
See Outside is an outdoor lifestyle, adventure and travel journal.
Blog about my travels and adventures around the world


text:
*Portion of each sale goes directly to seaturtlehospital.org*
We recommend hand washing in cold water with mild soap. Never use stain removers on garment washed items. Line drying recommended.
Bought for granddaughter as gift.
I love the gift I bought for my friend. They package was so cute!
I bought 2 shots and a bracelet, they were all great. Shirts are really nice. Great colors. Super soft. I will definitely buy more. Shelly cove rocks!
Love my new Shelly Cove tee!!! Color and design are awesome + fits great!!! Love the cause the most!!! Hope to shop Shelly Cove again soon!!!
Island Marina Mint Short Sleeve Tee
Island Marina Mint Short Sleeve Tee
I bought 2 shirts for my granddaughter at her request. She absolutely loves them. The fit, colors, quality and especially the mission. We both loved the packaging.
love how it's made from recycled water bottles!! ( i think that's what it was ) but it was very stylish and goes with anything!
very nice sizing, nice colors and design and great material
The colors on this tshirt are beautiful! It's soft and fits great! I'll definitely be ordering more!
Get the inside scoop from the turtle hospital! Every order gets a turtle.