QUOTE
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discu...ess=102x4118756
Palm Beach police: Jeffry Picower has died
Sun Oct-25-09 04:57 PM
Source: Associated Press
PALM BEACH, Fla. — Authorities say Jeffry Picower, a Florida philanthropist and a friend of Bernard Madoff for decades, has died. He was 67.
Picower was the former New York lawyer and accountant alleged to have extracted billions of dollars from the Bernard Madoff investment scheme...
http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navcl...l=en&tab=wn
Palm Beach police: Jeffry Picower has died
Sun Oct-25-09 04:57 PM
Source: Associated Press
PALM BEACH, Fla. — Authorities say Jeffry Picower, a Florida philanthropist and a friend of Bernard Madoff for decades, has died. He was 67.
Picower was the former New York lawyer and accountant alleged to have extracted billions of dollars from the Bernard Madoff investment scheme...
http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navcl...l=en&tab=wn
QUOTE
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2009/1...29151256317997/
U.N. says dead staffer not linked to Iran
Published: Oct. 25, 2009 at 11:32 AM
VIENNA, Oct. 25 (UPI) -- U.N. nuclear officials discredited claims a nuclear engineer who died after a 17-story fall from the Vienna International Center was linked to talks with Iran.
(New father) Timothy Hampton died Tuesday when he fell from the 17th floor of the Vienna International Center. Several media reports last week stated Hampton had joined a U.N. team in negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program, describing the circumstances of his death as suspicious...
U.N. says dead staffer not linked to Iran
Published: Oct. 25, 2009 at 11:32 AM
VIENNA, Oct. 25 (UPI) -- U.N. nuclear officials discredited claims a nuclear engineer who died after a 17-story fall from the Vienna International Center was linked to talks with Iran.
(New father) Timothy Hampton died Tuesday when he fell from the 17th floor of the Vienna International Center. Several media reports last week stated Hampton had joined a U.N. team in negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program, describing the circumstances of his death as suspicious...
QUOTE
http://austriantimes.at/news/General_News/...40-metre_plunge
...UN staff told the Austrian Times that there had been a similar case recently in which an employee died when he fell from a comparable height.
...UN staff told the Austrian Times that there had been a similar case recently in which an employee died when he fell from a comparable height.
QUOTE
From an unvetted, unverified BLOG...
I received a very touching email this morning from a colleague of the late Timothy Hampton who died this week under mysterious circumstances in Vienna. Hampton worked for the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization of the UN and his colleague reported he was NOT the kind of man to suicide - had a new baby and more. With his colleague's kind permission:
"Since about a year I am following your urbansurvival blog on a daily basis. When I read over the note "Silenced? - British nuclear expert falls 120 ft to his death in Vienna" I had a really strange feeling, since I have a good friend matching the description in the short Telegraph article. There are not many Brits working in the relatively small CTBTO. I tried to find more info by searching through Austrian Newspapers, but apparently none of them had mentioned this 'accident'. Since it was late night I didn't call the person's wife and just wrote an email to her. In the morning the reply came, confirming, that it indeed was him, who died.
So now it was clear - the man who fell from the UN building was Tim Hampton. I am really sorry about this since the just got a baby. I also know handful of suicide candidates (Austria is statistics-leader with Japan in this stuff) and some of those really ended up doing it. So, what I mean, is that I have a certain gut-feeling who is considering suicide and who not. There are some signs.
However, I went to the mountains with Tim and we travelled together. He was a silent person and had no easy Life before; though this sounds like a cliché again: I think he was not the suicide type.
Apart from his work of watching whether some shaking earth is an earthquake or an illegal nuclear test (what is a legal nuclear test), he was interested in many side applications during the last years, and involved in setting up a tsunami warning system. He too was responsible for the CTBTO computer network - kind of super-admin and strategy planner. Ugh - still can't believe this!
As said before, he was a silent and introverted man. He initially studied bio-chemistry and had a good position in a bio-lab, before he quit his job and worked as a construction worker for several years in the UK. Just because he was not satisfied with what he was doing before. Later on, he switched again and started at CTBTO. Few people change their Lives so radically. He was one of the few out of the box fellows. I knew him as a person with lots of integrity and little fear."
The real clincher that something more than meets the eye is going on here is this from the report in the Austrian Times: "UN staff told the Austrian Times that there had been a similar case recently in which an employee died when he fell from a comparable height."
Is working for the UN CTBTO suddenly the most dangerous profession in the world? If yes (which seems a bit obvious) then the "Why?" question comes up. Seems to me that either 1) someone is going to extreme lengths to make it look like Iran is hiding something more or 2) Iran really is hiding something more.
In either case, a damn shame about the experts dying and it will no doubt drive further speculation as to what's really going on in those hidden Iranian labs.
I received a very touching email this morning from a colleague of the late Timothy Hampton who died this week under mysterious circumstances in Vienna. Hampton worked for the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization of the UN and his colleague reported he was NOT the kind of man to suicide - had a new baby and more. With his colleague's kind permission:
"Since about a year I am following your urbansurvival blog on a daily basis. When I read over the note "Silenced? - British nuclear expert falls 120 ft to his death in Vienna" I had a really strange feeling, since I have a good friend matching the description in the short Telegraph article. There are not many Brits working in the relatively small CTBTO. I tried to find more info by searching through Austrian Newspapers, but apparently none of them had mentioned this 'accident'. Since it was late night I didn't call the person's wife and just wrote an email to her. In the morning the reply came, confirming, that it indeed was him, who died.
So now it was clear - the man who fell from the UN building was Tim Hampton. I am really sorry about this since the just got a baby. I also know handful of suicide candidates (Austria is statistics-leader with Japan in this stuff) and some of those really ended up doing it. So, what I mean, is that I have a certain gut-feeling who is considering suicide and who not. There are some signs.
However, I went to the mountains with Tim and we travelled together. He was a silent person and had no easy Life before; though this sounds like a cliché again: I think he was not the suicide type.
Apart from his work of watching whether some shaking earth is an earthquake or an illegal nuclear test (what is a legal nuclear test), he was interested in many side applications during the last years, and involved in setting up a tsunami warning system. He too was responsible for the CTBTO computer network - kind of super-admin and strategy planner. Ugh - still can't believe this!
As said before, he was a silent and introverted man. He initially studied bio-chemistry and had a good position in a bio-lab, before he quit his job and worked as a construction worker for several years in the UK. Just because he was not satisfied with what he was doing before. Later on, he switched again and started at CTBTO. Few people change their Lives so radically. He was one of the few out of the box fellows. I knew him as a person with lots of integrity and little fear."
The real clincher that something more than meets the eye is going on here is this from the report in the Austrian Times: "UN staff told the Austrian Times that there had been a similar case recently in which an employee died when he fell from a comparable height."
Is working for the UN CTBTO suddenly the most dangerous profession in the world? If yes (which seems a bit obvious) then the "Why?" question comes up. Seems to me that either 1) someone is going to extreme lengths to make it look like Iran is hiding something more or 2) Iran really is hiding something more.
In either case, a damn shame about the experts dying and it will no doubt drive further speculation as to what's really going on in those hidden Iranian labs.
QUOTE
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1256249579...=googlenews_wsj
MIDDLE EAST NEWS
OCTOBER 23, 2009
U.S., Israel Start Defense Drill
Tensions Over Iran's Growing Arsenal Fuel Military Partnership
By CHARLES LEVINSON
European Pressphoto Agency
Brig. Gen. Doron Gavish, commander of the Israeli Air Defense Corps, at left, with U.S. Rear Adm. John Richardson in Tel Aviv on Thursday.
TEL AVIV -- The U.S. and Israeli militaries began a combined air-defense exercise on Thursday involving about 1,000 American soldiers and simulating a scenario in which U.S. forces deploy to Israel to help defend the country against incoming missiles.
The three-week drill, the fifth since 2001, is part of a growing partnership between the two militaries that has coincided with rising fears in Israel about Iran's growing arsenal of missiles and nuclear ambitions.
"In time of need the Israel Defense Forces will protect our country, however, if decided, our defenses will be enhanced by the United States' capabilities," Israeli Air Defense Corps commander Brig. Gen. Doron Gavish told a news conference.
Iran and Israel both confirmed Thursday that representatives of their governments attended a conference in Cairo last month focused on global nonproliferation issues, a rare joint appearance by officials from the enemy states.
According to two officials who attended the meeting, the Iranian and Israeli sides got involved in a "give and take" over the issue of Israel's nuclear program. But the officials said the exchange wasn't unlike other spats the two countries have had on the nuclear issue.
Israel has a formal position of neither confirming nor denying its possession of atomic weapons. "There was nothing particularly new here," said one conference participant. "Israel refused to confirm or deny."
Officials from both sides denied, however, that their governments engaged in any direct negotiations or one-on-one meetings.
"The Israeli member was there and the Iranian member was there, but it was not direct talks," said Yael Doron, a spokeswoman for the Israeli Atomic Energy Commission. "They were in the same room around the table and that's it."
Israeli officials have voiced skepticism about recent reports that the U.S. and other powers are close to a deal with Iran to curb its nuclear program by exporting much of its nuclear fuel to Russia.
A senior Israeli defense official said this year's drill was the largest yet, in part because the threat from Iran keeps growing. But U.S. and Israeli commanders leading the exercise have played down reports that the drill is meant to simulate a war with Iran or a potential nuclear attack.
"During the planning, the term nuclear was never brought into any of the discussions. It changes the way we fight," said U.S. Army Col. Tony English, commander of the 357th Air Defense Brigade, which is based in Germany and is one of the lead units in the exercise.
The U.S. and Israeli militaries have strong historic ties. U.S. military aid to Israel in 2009 will total $2.55 billion. Only Iraq receives more. In 1991, during the Gulf War, the U.S. dispatched Patriot missile batteries to Israel in a largely failed attempt to intercept Iraqi Scud missiles targeted at Israel.
In July, when the U.S. and Israel aborted a test of a missile-defense shield under development by the two countries due to what they called a "glitch," Israeli military analysts called the setback a psychological blow to Israel.
Last fall, a detachment of fewer than 200 U.S. soldiers from Col. English's brigade deployed to southern Israel to run an advanced radar system expected to increase the range at which Israel can detect and ultimately intercept Iranian missiles. It was the first permanent deployment of U.S. forces to Israel.
The combined exercise began Thursday with U.S. forces deploying throughout Israel, and will be followed in coming days by a computer simulation in which Israeli and U.S. commanders work together to thwart an attack. The exercise will conclude with a live fire drill in which U.S. and Israeli forces attempt to shoot down 10 incoming warheads.
The U.S. has brought its full arsenal of missile-defense systems to Israel for the exercise, including 24 Patriot missile launchers and a Navy destroyer armed with the advanced Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System.
The drill will also be a closely watched early test of the U.S.'s newest missile-defense system, known as THAAD, which was rolled out in Texas in May 2008 but isn't yet fully operational.
The three U.S. missile-defense systems, working alongside Israel's own missile defenses, are designed to form a multitiered shield capable of intercepting incoming missiles at various points along their trajectory, U.S. and Israeli military officials said.
—Jay Solomon in Washington contributed to this article.
Write to Charles Levinson at charles.levinson@wsj.com
.
MIDDLE EAST NEWS
OCTOBER 23, 2009
U.S., Israel Start Defense Drill
Tensions Over Iran's Growing Arsenal Fuel Military Partnership
By CHARLES LEVINSON
European Pressphoto Agency
Brig. Gen. Doron Gavish, commander of the Israeli Air Defense Corps, at left, with U.S. Rear Adm. John Richardson in Tel Aviv on Thursday.
TEL AVIV -- The U.S. and Israeli militaries began a combined air-defense exercise on Thursday involving about 1,000 American soldiers and simulating a scenario in which U.S. forces deploy to Israel to help defend the country against incoming missiles.
The three-week drill, the fifth since 2001, is part of a growing partnership between the two militaries that has coincided with rising fears in Israel about Iran's growing arsenal of missiles and nuclear ambitions.
"In time of need the Israel Defense Forces will protect our country, however, if decided, our defenses will be enhanced by the United States' capabilities," Israeli Air Defense Corps commander Brig. Gen. Doron Gavish told a news conference.
Iran and Israel both confirmed Thursday that representatives of their governments attended a conference in Cairo last month focused on global nonproliferation issues, a rare joint appearance by officials from the enemy states.
According to two officials who attended the meeting, the Iranian and Israeli sides got involved in a "give and take" over the issue of Israel's nuclear program. But the officials said the exchange wasn't unlike other spats the two countries have had on the nuclear issue.
Israel has a formal position of neither confirming nor denying its possession of atomic weapons. "There was nothing particularly new here," said one conference participant. "Israel refused to confirm or deny."
Officials from both sides denied, however, that their governments engaged in any direct negotiations or one-on-one meetings.
"The Israeli member was there and the Iranian member was there, but it was not direct talks," said Yael Doron, a spokeswoman for the Israeli Atomic Energy Commission. "They were in the same room around the table and that's it."
Israeli officials have voiced skepticism about recent reports that the U.S. and other powers are close to a deal with Iran to curb its nuclear program by exporting much of its nuclear fuel to Russia.
A senior Israeli defense official said this year's drill was the largest yet, in part because the threat from Iran keeps growing. But U.S. and Israeli commanders leading the exercise have played down reports that the drill is meant to simulate a war with Iran or a potential nuclear attack.
"During the planning, the term nuclear was never brought into any of the discussions. It changes the way we fight," said U.S. Army Col. Tony English, commander of the 357th Air Defense Brigade, which is based in Germany and is one of the lead units in the exercise.
The U.S. and Israeli militaries have strong historic ties. U.S. military aid to Israel in 2009 will total $2.55 billion. Only Iraq receives more. In 1991, during the Gulf War, the U.S. dispatched Patriot missile batteries to Israel in a largely failed attempt to intercept Iraqi Scud missiles targeted at Israel.
In July, when the U.S. and Israel aborted a test of a missile-defense shield under development by the two countries due to what they called a "glitch," Israeli military analysts called the setback a psychological blow to Israel.
Last fall, a detachment of fewer than 200 U.S. soldiers from Col. English's brigade deployed to southern Israel to run an advanced radar system expected to increase the range at which Israel can detect and ultimately intercept Iranian missiles. It was the first permanent deployment of U.S. forces to Israel.
The combined exercise began Thursday with U.S. forces deploying throughout Israel, and will be followed in coming days by a computer simulation in which Israeli and U.S. commanders work together to thwart an attack. The exercise will conclude with a live fire drill in which U.S. and Israeli forces attempt to shoot down 10 incoming warheads.
The U.S. has brought its full arsenal of missile-defense systems to Israel for the exercise, including 24 Patriot missile launchers and a Navy destroyer armed with the advanced Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System.
The drill will also be a closely watched early test of the U.S.'s newest missile-defense system, known as THAAD, which was rolled out in Texas in May 2008 but isn't yet fully operational.
The three U.S. missile-defense systems, working alongside Israel's own missile defenses, are designed to form a multitiered shield capable of intercepting incoming missiles at various points along their trajectory, U.S. and Israeli military officials said.
—Jay Solomon in Washington contributed to this article.
Write to Charles Levinson at charles.levinson@wsj.com
.
