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10-13-2002, 09:46 AM
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Super Moderator
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Join Date: Aug 2000
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Bombing in Bali
Bombing in Bali Nightclub Kills 187
Sun Oct 13, 5:36 AM ET
By IRWAN FIRDAUS, Associated Press Writer
A car bomb destroyed a crowded nightclub on the tourist island of Bali Saturday, sparking a devastating inferno that killed at least 187 people and wounded 300 — many of them foreigners. Officials said it was the worst terrorist act in Indonesia's history.
Authorities said a second bomb exploded near the island's U.S. consular office. Police said there were no casualties in that explosion, but the Embassy was on edge Sunday after its recreation club in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, was evacuated because of a bomb threat.
The blasts came three days after the U.S. State Department issued a worldwide alert for terror attacks and highlighted fears by the United States and others that Indonesia — the most populous Muslim nation — is becoming a haven for terrorists and that al-Qaida operatives are active.
There was no claim of responsibility for the bombing in the Sari Club at the Kuta Beach resort, which officials said killed Indonesians along with Australians, Canadians, Britons, and Swedes. More than 300 people were injured, at least 90 of them critically, officials said.
"This is the worst act of terror in Indonesia's history," Gen. Da'i Bachtiar, the national police chief, told reporters at the site of the blast. "We have to be more alert for other acts of terror."
Bachtiar said the bomb exploded in a Kijanj, a jeep-like vehicle.
President Megawati Sukarnoputri, whose government has been accused by the United States and its neighbors of being slow to respond to the terror threat, flew to Bali and promised to cooperate with the international community in fighting terrorism.
The government's crisis center in Bali said 187 people had died and that 309 were hurt, about 90 of them critically.
"The bombings, once again, should be a warning for all of us that terrorism constitutes a real danger and potential threat to the national security," Megawati said. She later visited the site, tears in her eyes, with security ministers and top generals.
Asked about the suspected origins of the bombers or a possible link to al-Qaida, she said: "That will be continuously investigated to that this can be uncovered as soon as possible."
The explosion went off about 11 p.m. and left a huge crater at the entrance to the nightclub, which was located in the center of Kuta. It is Bali's biggest tourist area and a maze of clubs, restaurants, shops, hotels and beach bungalows. It caters to a younger crowd of tourists and surfers.
The blast ignited a huge blaze — apparently caused by exploding gas cylinders — which collapsed the flimsy roof structure, trapping hundreds of revelers inside. Footage from Associated Press Television News showed several bodies strewn among the rubble.
"The place was packed, and it went up within a millisecond," Simon Quayle, the coach of an Australian rules football team, told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.
Quayle, whose team was visiting Bali, said he made it safely out of the building but eight of his 19 players were missing.
The blaze then engulfed a nearby nightclub before racing through about 20 other buildings on the block, heavily damaging many of them.
The second explosive detonated a few minutes after the first in the nearby city of Denpasar, Bali's capital, about 300 feet from a U.S. consular office, Suyatno said.
A bomb squad was investigating both blasts but Indonesian officials declined to provide a motive or blame any group.
Australia's Foreign Minister Alexander Downer blamed it on terrorism. "It looks as though this was a terrorist attack," he said on Australian Broadcasting Corp. television.
He said he believed the Sari nightclub was targeted because it was popular with Australians and other foreigners. He said Australians were almost certainly among the dead, estimating that at least 40 Australians were wounded, about 15 of them seriously.
Later Sunday, Australian Prime Minister John Howard said he will launch an urgent review of national security in the wake of the attack. He said the attack demonstrated Australia was not immune from terror.
Wayan Putra, a driver at the nearby Poppies hotel, said that after the blast, hundreds of townspeople rushed toward the nightclub but could not get near it because of the intense flames.
White House spokeswoman Jeanie Mamo said Washington was monitoring the situation and working with Indonesian authorities. U.S. officials said they didn't know if there were any Americans among the casualties.
The blasts occurred on the second anniversary of the al-Qaida linked attack against USS Cole (news - web sites) off Yemen that left 17 sailors dead. Australia has also been one of the United States' staunchest allies in its war on terror and has 150 elite troops serving in Afghanistan (news - web sites).
Indonesian officials have denied the claims that terrorists are using Indonesia as a base. But the U.S. Embassy in the national capital of Jakarta closed Sept. 10 and remained shut for six days due to what U.S. officials said were threats possibly linked to al-Qaida. And Americans traveling in central Java were warned to be vigilant.
Days later, a hand grenade exploded in a car near a house belonging to the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, killing one man. There was conflicting information as to whether the device was meant to harm Americans.
Authorities in Malaysia and Singapore have alleged that members of Jemaah Islamiyah — a group said to be seeking to set up an Islamic state in Southeast Asia — are based in Indonesia.
Singapore has been pressing Indonesia to arrest Jemaah Islamiyah's alleged leader, Abu Bakar Bashir, who lives in Indonesia. But Indonesian officials say they have no evidence against him.
Australia tourist Rachel Hughes, 18, said she and a friend had just arrived in Kuta when the blast occurred.
"Standing in the foyer of the Bounty Hotel, people were just walking in, blood dripping off them, burns to their face, skin coming off them," she told Australia's Seven Network.
Downer said Australia had sent an air force plane with a medical team to Bali to help the hard-pressed local hospitals and to possibly evacuate wounded Australians.
National carrier Qantas also was scheduling extra flights to bring people home. Earlier the government had said all flights to the island had been suspended.
Although Indonesia has been wracked by ethnic and religious violence since the overthrow four years ago of former dictator Suharto (news - web sites), Bali itself has remained quiet. Saturday's bombings are likely to be a huge blow to Indonesia's lucrative tourism industry and might also undermine government efforts to revive the economy.
"Bali has always, always been safe. We depend on tourism for our livelihood. Our name has been smeared by this horrible blast," said Putra, the driver.
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Queequeek, sekarang kita harus mencari and tarau mereka di penjara.
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10-14-2002, 11:53 PM
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10-16-2002, 09:21 PM
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Ouch
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10-18-2002, 12:15 AM
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10-19-2002, 02:10 PM
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10-19-2002, 11:22 PM
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10-20-2002, 11:42 AM
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10-20-2002, 12:15 PM
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hafta plug my own article!!
Curbing the use of deadly force
By Rhonda Sciarra Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted on October 20, 2002
Buffalo Grove police today pack beanbag bullets that slam into skin like a 90-mph fastball.
Elgin cops can shoot pepper balls, which leave a nasty bruise and make it hard to see or breathe.
Tasers that stun suspects with 50,000 volts of electricity are now in the hands of Wood Dale police.
More and more, suburban police stock their arsenals with an array of less-lethal weapons.
The new weapons increasingly give police an alternative to deadly force and allow them to simply capture a suspect -- as they did in a standoff with a Des Plaines man in March 1999.
The man said he wanted to die, and he wanted Des Plaines police to be the ones who killed him.
Police call it "suicide by cop."
Officers surrounded the man's apartment after his wife called because he was threatening to take his life.
Six hours of negotiations went nowhere. The man became even more unstable and inched toward police with a butcher knife.
"If I come forward, you will have no choice but to shoot me," the 49-year-old with a history of health problems told the officers.
They fired three rounds that knocked the man to the ground.
He ended up with a bruise and an aggravated assault charge -- his life spared by a beanbag bullet.
"This gives us another option in dealing with people like this," Des Plaines Deputy Police Chief Bill Schneider said.
Police used force in less than 1ćpercent of all calls for service in 2001, the International Association of Chiefs of Police said in a report released in January.
But police are encountering more people willing to put up a fight and challenge officers, authorities said.
"They continue to arm themselves and create dangerous situations on the streets," said Libertyville police Sgt. Edward Mohn, a member of the board of the Illinois Tactical Officers Association.
That's where less-lethal weaponry comes in, said Mohn, who has seen offenders push police to use deadly force in his work in Libertyville and as a Northern Illinois Police Alarm System tactical team leader.
"It is better for everyone involved if we can accomplish our mission, which is to provide safety and protection, and take these people in custody with a lower level of force," he said.
Less-lethal technology, such as the beanbags, has been a staple mostly for state and county corrections departments and multi-departmental tactical teams.
But that is changing.
Police in the suburbs now find themselves in more situations where these weapons can come into play.
"You don't want to be waiting for a tactical response team to come out," Streamwood Deputy Police Chief Al Popp said. "If we have the technology that's available, that's proven and simple to use, we believe it's our responsibility to get that out to the officers and community."
Shocked and stunned
"It's like touching an electric horse fence, only longer," Wood Dale police officer Chris Banaszynski told officers at a September training class about being zapped with the Advanced Taser M26.
The Advanced Taser M26 looks like a handgun.
Using compressed-nitrogen air cartridges, the device propels two barbed darts, trailing thin wires, up to 21 feet.
The wires embed themselves in an attacker's skin and shock him with electricity that immobilizes muscle groups, incapacitates him and lets police subdue him.
The Wood Dale Police Department, which covers a village of about 13,000 people, bought seven of the weapons this summer at a cost of $400 each.
After a second training session Oct.ć5, the weapons are on the street. In three to four years, all of the department's 25 patrol officers will carry one.
The Schaumburg, Vernon Hills, Gurnee and Cook County sheriff's police departments are testing and evaluating the weapons.
Chicago police announced in September they will supply each of the department's 75 sectors with a Taser.
Other departments that have added Tasers to their arsenals include Bloomingdale, Elk Grove Village, the Lake County sheriff and Elmhurst.
Balls of fire
Elgin police were sold on the Jaycor PepperBall system by a demonstration earlier this year.
"We went out in the back, fired it and saw that the possibilities we could use it for are endless," Elgin police Lt. Mike Turner said.
The system, manufactured by San Diego-based Jaycor Tactical Systems, uses marble-sized projectiles covered in red plastic.
The ball is filled with Oleoresin Capsicum powder, the chemical name for pepper spray.
The rounds work much like a paintball. They can bruise exposed skin and can even break skin that is close to the bone, leaving welts for a couple of weeks.
When the ball bursts, it releases the pepper in a dust form that irritates the eyes, nose and throat.
This July, Elgin police bought ammunition and 10 projectile launchers each costing $1,000. Most Elgin officers were trained with the weapons in July.
Elgin police have deployed the weapon once, but never fired it.
Roselle police trained with the weapon this year. And the systems have also been purchased by Lake, McHenry and Cook County sheriff's departments and by Northbrook, Lake in the Hills, Fox Lake, Lake Zurich, Bloomingdale, Mundelein and Buffalo Grove police departments.
Bullets of another kind
Less-lethal munitions are designed to disable a suspect rather than kill, Mohn said.
Most beanbag rounds, as well as rubber and foam baton rounds, are shot from a 12-gauge shotgun or a 37-millimeter launcher, which resembles a large-barreled gun.
"Because less-lethals are becoming so popular, there are numerous different types of caliber and delivery mechanisms," Mohn said.
The beanbags come in square and tear drop forms and are designed for different distances and situations.
With these munitions, police are taught to avoid aiming at center mass -- a change from what officers have always been taught to do with deadly force, said Lance Todd, a DuPage County sheriff's deputy.
"These rubber batons hit you with the force of a major league baseball," Todd said. "The big, meaty fleshy areas, where the organs aren't right behind, are where you aim."
Police in Prospect Heights, Wheeling, Mount Prospect, Buffalo Grove and St. Charles are bringing beanbag rounds on board this year.
Tactical teams with the Cook County sheriff's and the Geneva police departments also are getting the rounds.
Vernon Hills, Schaumburg, Elburn and Chicago police are exploring the idea of the beanbags; decisions should be made by early next year.
Des Plaines, Wheaton, Bloomingdale, Hanover Park, Streamwood and Wheeling police have had the beanbags for the past couple of years.
DuPage County deputies have had access to less-lethal munitions in past years, but this year they added a second Sage SL6 37-millimeter system, which shoots beanbags and other types of less-lethal projectiles. The first system was bought last year. Each system cost about $1,200.
Not a magic bullet
Less-lethal options have their critics.
Amnesty International has asked law enforcement agencies to stop using electroshock devices for the past several years.
Shawn Gaylord, the organization's acting Midwest regional director out of Chicago, said more research is needed on the effects of these devices.
"There is the belief that people with heart disease or neurological conditions may be affected differently," Gaylord said.
All less-lethal devices that have passed industry standards have immediate shortcomings, said Capt. Charles "Sid" Heal of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, an expert in the field.
Heal coauthored a 2001 evaluation of less-lethal munitions along with Pennsylvania State University's Applied Research Laboratory. The study pointed out accuracy and reliability issues with the munitions.
At least 12 deaths in North America have been linked to the rounds, which have been proven to injure suspects severely.
Authorities stress these weapons are not a substitute for deadly force and are not a magic bullet.
But they do save lives, Heal said.
Police officers are trained along a force continuum that begins with police presence, progresses to verbal and physical touch, and then ends with deadly force, said Bloomingdale Deputy Police Chief Chuck Mader, a member of the Illinois' Use of Force Committee.
These less-lethal options come in just before deadly force, said Mader, who has trained law enforcement agencies across the United States in less-lethal weapons and police use of force.
"These are not one-person weapons, because if they fail they put the officer in jeopardy," Mader said. "These are two-people weapons. You don't engage one of these weapons without lethal cover."
The perfect less-lethal weapon would be discriminating, reusable, completely safe, 100 percent effective and portable, Heal said.
"There is nothing out there that even approaches that," he said.
What is in the future of less-lethal technology includes ways to use directed energy, such as microwaves.
One device in the works heats human skin up to 130 degrees in two seconds, Heal said.
Another area of promise includes chemical agents such as sleep-inducing gas or rounds that cause a person to smell so bad people won't want to be near him.
"He is the functional equivalent of Typhoid Mary," Heal said. "We may be able to disperse a whole crowd with this guy."
Even with the idea that less-lethal technology has far to go, employing some aspect of that technology is crucial for law enforcement agencies, Heal said.
Departments that don't may face a legal battle down the road.
"They can expect to experience in court someone asking why they neglected to use options that did not require them to use deadly force," Heal said.
Force: Some say non-lethal weapons must be safer still
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10-21-2002, 12:00 AM
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GreekChat Member
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J Lo has a personal nipple tweeker.
http://www.scoopy.net/j-lo.htm
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10-21-2002, 01:22 AM
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Where do you find these weird stories? Especially J Lo? 
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10-21-2002, 01:26 AM
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My secret little site that puts up links or random interesting news. 
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