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Author Message   Admin Posted on Saturday, August 17, 2002 - 1:08 pm:        According to MSNBC, the citizens of Portsmouth, New Hampshire had a scare of their own on the twenty seventh day of September this year. An employee of an auto supply warehouse called local authorities stating his concerns over what appeared to be a strategically placed suitcase located in front of the business. Local police arrived on the scene and the lead investigating officer, upon closer examination of the suitcase, found what the report described as "a suspicious metallic, square object." A red button was visual as were the red and black wires attached to the rear of the object, qualifying the incident as "suspicious." The business was evacuated along with a portion of the neighborhood. Automobile and pedestrian traffic were not permitted entry to the area blocked off. Scrutinizing the suitcase even closer than before, officials located an identification label with the name of a homeless man who is well known to local police and citizens. The device turned out to be a non-working hand held cb radio the man was carrying around in his possessions. He may have been attempting to repair it, because according to the report, the unit was partially disassembled. Whether the man left his suitcase near the business intentionally or simply forgot where he left the bag wasn't clear, but the business was allowed to reopen and the area was reopened to traffic. ---- The cross country trucker who attempted to kidnap a woman over the summer in Washington was sentenced in November to one and a half years in prison. On November 16, Roger William Oliver, 37, of Ellensburg, Washington changed his plea from innocent to guilty in a King County courtroom while facing charges of kidnapping, assault, and unlawful imprisonment. Oliver's saga began on July 2 as a female motorist traveling alone on Interstate 90 became aware that a tractor trailer truck was closely following her. Oliver flashed his lights and the woman changed lanes thinking the truck wanted to pass. The truck passed the woman then immediately cut in front of her car and applied his brakes. The woman pulled over, believing a problem may exist with her vehicle due to Oliver's hand gestures he had repeatedly directed toward her. Oliver pulled over in front of the woman. He told her it appeared as if one of her tires had a problem. He walked around the vehicle making a show of pretending to check all the tires. The woman told Oliver she felt confident she would reach her destination, got back in her vehicle and continued to proceed on Interstate 90. In a matter of minutes she heard an abnormal noise coming somewhere from beneath the vehicle. Oliver, who was still following the woman closely, flashed his lights again. She pulled off the road and onto the shoulder once again. Oliver pretended to assist the woman in removing objects from her trunk in order to get to a spare tire. During a moment when the woman's attention was diverted away from Oliver, he grabbed the woman by her waist and attempted to force her into the cab of his semi. Resisting with all the strength she could muster, the woman fought back and Oliver physically assaulted her with a punch to the head. After a brief struggle, she broke away long enough to attract the attention of passing traffic. Oliver ran to his truck and sped off as another vehicle stopped to render assistance to the hysterical woman. The police were called and a short time later Oliver was easily spotted driving the truck that matched the description the woman had reported. An attempt was made to pull Oliver over but he ignored the officer's siren and lights, increasing his speed as he drove. Another police agency joined the chase. One of the officers had a cb radio in his patrol car and attempted to contact Oliver. To his surprise, Oliver responded. The officer managed to talk Oliver in to giving himself up to the authorities. Oliver pulled over at a rest area and was arrested without incident. An inspection of the truck revealed the woman's blood on the exterior passenger side from where Oliver had assaulted her. While authorities had Oliver incarcerated, another woman came forward and identified him as the same man who attempted a similar attack on her a few months earlier in which she had managed to escape. She did not report the incident at that time. Due to the nature of the attacks and the fact that it was not an isolated incident, prosecutors asked for the maximum sentence allowable under the law. Taking into account the credit Oliver received for the four and a half months spent in jail, his release date should be no later than December 2002. ---- The Associated Press reported a judge in Detroit has once again attempted to shut down a controversial pirate radio operator who refers to himself as a preacher. The station that broadcasts from the town of Adrian was raided by US Marshals and various broadcasting equipment was seized. Since 1996 the unlicensed station located in a small church has been espousing anti-government views on the commercial FM dial along with the notion it is unconstitutional for the government to require any special licensing procedure and to do so places undue restrictions on freedoms of speech. Despite many well known celebrity guests that have appeared on the station, consumer advocate and media groups have condemned the station as catering to fringe groups of questionable character with radical views. The FCC claims not only is the station broadcasting without a license, it exceeds the maximum permitted output several thousand times over the allowed limit. Officials stated the station could cause disruption to aviation communications and emergency transmissions. The self described preacher that is the voice of the station disputes the reasoning claiming the government wants only to silence the station. The FCC countered that they were acting on several complaints by legitimate radio stations. This is not the first time the station is under fire from the FCC. In 1997 the FCC filed a complaint against it in federal court alleging interference to other stations in the vicinity and claimed a license was needed to broadcast. In 1999 a judge ruled against the FCC for failure to follow it's own procedures. This round may prove entertaining as well.