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What the heck is going on in PA????

I don't know, but whatever it is it's been going on for a while:

1980s LATE & EARLY 1990s : (PHILADELPHIA PA AREA : FOLLOWERS OF THE "BLIND SHEIKH" OMAR ABDUL RAHMAN CONDUCT TRAINING EXCERCISES -- See LEFTWING LAWYER LYNNE STEWART {See RAMSEY CLARK}) Throughout the late 1980s (even before he arrived in this country) and early 1990s, militants reporting directly to `Abd ar-Rahman (by telephone or in person) conducted paramilitary training exercises in rural areas outlying New York City and Philadelphia. ------ "Prosecuting the New York Sheikh," Andrew C. McCarthy, March 1, 1997, This article was first published by Middle East Quarterly in March 1997

AUGUST 3, 1993 : (NY ARRESTS -- GANG OF TEN AFRICAN-AMERICAN MUSLIMS ARE ARRESTED FOR SELLING ILLEGAL WEAPONS; THEY CLAIM TO BE INSPIRED BY "BLIND SHEIKH" OMAR ABDUL RAHMAN{see LYNNE STEWART [see NLG]}-- See HOLDER, RODNEY HAMPTON-EL aka ABD AL RASHID ABDALLAH aka "DR RASHID" {see GULBUDDIN HIKMATYAR'S HIZB AL ISLAMI aka HIA}, 1993 WTC BOMBING, LANDMARKPLOT ) New York - A gang of ten gun and explosives dealers are arrested in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island for allegedly selling illegal weapons. The gang was led by a group of African-American Muslims who claimed inspiration from Sheikh'Umar Abd al Rahman. A member of the group, a private security guard named Lamont Holder (a.k.a. Masoud Shaheed) reportedly offered to obtain pipe bombs from a person he described as "a friend of 'Rashid"' (i.e., Clement Rodney Hampton- El). After Hampton-El's arrest in June, Holder lost hope of obtaining the pipe bombs, saying that "Rashid's" arrest cancelled the possibility of securing them.---------- "Al Fuqra: Holy Warriors of Terrorism," Anti-Defamation League (pdf), 1993

1993. : (PHILADELPHIA, PA : HAMAS SUMMIT & CAIR'S NIHAD AWAD, OSLO ACCORDS -- See PHILLY CELL) The executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Nihad Awad, participated in a three-day summit of U.S.-based HAMAS members and supporters in 1993.
Until now, he had been identified only as Nihad LNU (last name unknown) in FBI reports and analyses. The meeting occurred in a Philadelphia hotel in the wake of a White House ceremony formalizing the Oslo Accords, a peace deal with the potential to end the decades-old conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.
CAIR, which touts itself as America’s premier Muslim civil rights organization, was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the terror support trial of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development and five of its officials. Omar Ahmad, who founded CAIR with Awad in 1994 and was previously identified as attending the Philadelphia meeting, also was named as an unindicted co-conspirator.(snip)----------------- "CAIR Executive Director Placed at HAMAS Meeting," By The Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT)http://counterterrorismblog.org/2007/08/cair_executive_director_placed_1.php
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OCTOBER 1993 : (PHILADELPHIA, PA : FBI RECORDS HAMAS LEADERS MEETING WITH HLF CHARITY) The FBI secretly records top Hamas leaders meeting in a Philadelphia hotel. Five Hamas leaders meet with three leaders of the Texas-based Holy Land Foundation charity (see 1989), including CEO Shukri Abu Baker and chairman Ghassan Elashi. A peace accord between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) had just been made, and this group meets to decide how to best oppose that. It is decided that “most or almost all of the funds collected [by Holy Land] in the future should be directed to enhance [Hamas] and to weaken the self-rule government” of Palestinian and PLO leader Yasser Arafat. According to an FBI memo released in late 2001 that summarizes the surveillance, “In the United States, they could raise funds, propagate their political goals, affect public opinion and influence decision-making of the US government.” The FBI also learns from the meeting that Hamas leader Mousa Abu Marzouk gave Holy Land large sums of cash to get the charity started. Holy Land will eventually grow to become the largest Muslim charity in the US....[Emerson, 2002, pp. 89-90; New York Times, 12/6/2001; CBS News, 12/18/2002]
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1993 : (PHILADELPHIA : AL HANOOTI ATTENDS HAMAS MEETING -- see WATSON MEMO) In his classified memo in November, the bureau's counterterrorism director made it clear that the FBI believes Al-Hanooti is more than a vibrant speaker and Islamic scholar.
"In April 1992 ... an FBI source, who has been found to be reliable in the past that Al-Hanooti was a big supporter of Hamas," Watson's memo says. "The source further stated that it was well-known in the Palestinian community in the northern New Jersey area that Al-Hanooti was an active Hamas supporter, purportedly holding fund-raising activities, as well as supporting visitors to the United States from Israel and Jordan, to speak on behalf of Hamas."
The 49-page FBI memorandum, which is a broad examination of Hamas fund-raising activities and supporters in the United States, goes on to state that in 1993, "Al-Hanooti collected over 6 million U.S. dollars for support of Hamas in Israel." Much of the money received by Hamas was funneled through the Holy Land Foundation, a nonprofit, Texas-based organization that was raided by the FBI after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and had its bank accounts here and abroad frozen by U.S. Treasury authorities.
Al-Hanooti vehemently disputes the FBI report -- especially a portion that states he attended a three-day 1993 meeting at a Marriott hotel in Philadelphia where federal authorities using electronic and physical surveillance determined Al-Hanooti and senior leaders of three terrorist fronts discussed fund-raising efforts in the United States. "I didn't attend that meeting," Al-Hanooti said. "They said I collected $6 million. Nothing of that is true. ... I have nothing to do with anything they wrote."
The FBI report states the goal of the 1993 meeting was to develop a strategy to defeat the Israeli-Palestinian peace accord. "During the meeting, the participants went to great length and spent much effort hiding their association with the Islamic Resistance Movement, aka Hamas," the FBI report states. "Instead, they referred to Hamas as 'Samah,' which is Hamas spelled backwards. ... It was mentioned that the United States provided them with a secure, legal base from which to operate."
Al-Hanooti contends if the federal government had proof he had done anything illegal or was a supporter of Hamas, they would have arrested him. --- "Religious leader tied to terror Imam of Capital Region mosque disputes FBI report he raised funds for Hamas, condemns terrorism against U.S.," By BRENDAN LYONS, Staff writer , Times Union, First published: Sunday, June 30, 2002

?SEPTEMBER? 2001 : (NY CITY : WTC : ALLENTOWN PA INTRIGUE JEWELERS EMPLOYEE ASHAR BUTT PHOTOGRAPHS THE SOON-TO-BE-DESTROYED WTC COMPLEX -- SEE , CAMERA INCIDENTS, WTC) [Ashar] Butt was working at an Intrigue Jewelers kiosk in suburban Allentown when he was arrested Sept. 12 [2001] after a clerk at a photo developing shop saw he had taken an entire roll of pictures at the World Trade Center complex days before the towers were destroyed. A second worker at the kiosk was later detained on immigration charges...------- "Pakistani who took photos of WTC sentenced," outlookindia.com, SEP 13, 2002

SEPTEMBER 12, 2001 : (ALLENTOWN, PA? : INTRIGUE JEWELERS KIOSK : ASHAR BUTT IS ARRESTED-- SEE INTRIGUE JEWELRY STORES , GEMSTONE TRADE, CAMERA INCIDENTS, WTC) [Ashar] Butt was working at an Intrigue Jewelers kiosk in suburban Allentown when he was arrested Sept. 12 after a clerk at a photo developing shop saw he had taken an entire roll of pictures at the World Trade Center complex days before the towers were destroyed. A second worker at the kiosk was later detained on immigration charges...------- "Pakistani who took photos of WTC sentenced," outlookindia.com, SEP 13, 2002

JUNE 26, 2002 : (PITTSBURGH, PA : INTRIGUE JEWELERS' KIOSK IS SEARCHED, OWNER TARIQ HUSSEIN IS QUESTIONED) Tariq Hussain, 27, a recently discharged U.S. Army mechanic whose Intrigue Jewelers kiosk in suburban Pittsburgh was searched on June 26, said FBI agents questioned him for several hours and wanted to know if he had connections to the al-Qaida terrorist network or its leader, Osama bin Laden. "They took everything, my paperwork, bills, my computer, my checks," he said. "I told them, 'I don't have any links to anything like that.'" ---------FBI and INS Raid Dozens of Jewelry Stores in Search for Terrorist Financiersand Immigration Violators AP via APO ^ | 7/8/02 | Christopher Newton

MAY 8, 2003 : (NORRISTOWN, PA : FBI SEARCHES AATIQUE'S APARTMENT -- See PAINTBALL CELL/VA JIHAD, LeT, PAKISTAN)... at Aatique's apartment in Norristown, where he had moved, agents came up with little. During the five-hour search, Aatique freely acknowledged to FBI agent Barry Cole that he went to Pakistan and the LET camp and fired weapons. According to the government, Cole then asked Aatique if he would rule out the United States as a valid target for jihad. Aatique replied, "No." - "Tracing the case of 'Virginia jihad' , Terror charges link Montco to Kashmir" by Jennifer Lin, Mark Fazlollah, Maria Panaritis and Jeff Shields, Philadelphia Enquirer, Fri, Jul. 25, 2003

MAY 27, 2004 : (PHILADELPHIA, PA : RAID ON MOSQUE--------SEE NICK BERG?) Philadelphia, hmmm. Yesterday there was a raid on a mosque in NE Philly, computers seized and the imam arrested on immigration violations. Seems IRS, local police and FBI were involved, maybe more.---333 posted on Friday, May 28, 2004 9:16:52 AM by MizSterious | To 279

MAY 27, 2004 Thursday : (PHILADELPHIA, PA : MOHAMED GHORAB IS ARRESTED--- See ANSAAR ALLAH ISLAMIC SOCIETY MOSQUE ) an Egyptian in Philadelphia, Mohamed Ghorab, during a financial investigation. The FBI said there are no immediate links to terrorists in Ghorab's case.--89 posted on 05/27/2004 11:40:56 PM PDT by kcvl

JUNE 22? 2004 : (PHILADELPHIA, PA : MAYOR'S 'FRIEND' TIED TO TERRORIST MONEY LAUNDERING?--- See PHILLY CELL) ... Many events planned in Philadelphia for the July 4th week-end. The president of Afghanistan will be in town with the president for a Freedom Medal ceremony. Tall ships, parades, concerts, fireworks, etc. The past references to the "Liberty Bell melting" or some such wording has always made me concerned. In the last few months there have been incidents at the Philadelphia airport (undocumental illegals trying to board flight with gunlike object....calls of bomb threats, etc)... city government issues relating to an "friend" of the mayor who is being investigated by the FBI for money laundering related to an Islamic school....two tapes with paper airplanes affixed to poles on downtown street adjacent to Masonic temple and city hall.....hidden devices found near SEPTA train tracks.....soda bottles with clear liquid found hanging by strings in train stations and underground tunnels..... The following are some additional odd occurances in Philadelphia in the past few days. -- unnamed Freeper

JUNE 28, 2004 : (PHILADELPHIA, PA :SUBWAY BLUEPRINTS FOUND IN STREET BY RAKIM EL-AMIN; PLANS DIAGRAM CAMERA POSITIONS) Center City, PA June 28, 2004 — SEPTA is in the midst of an investigation into how some sensitive blueprints found their way onto a Center City street, and why the transit authority seemed so reluctant to take them back.
They are supposed to be kept under lock and key, and are sent to the shredder when they're disposed of. But diagrams of electronic gear at one of SEPTA's subway stations somehow ended up on the sidewalk. And the man who found them says he got the "run-around" when he tried to return them.
Last week, Rakim El-Amin found the blueprints on the sidewalk across the street from SEPTA headquarters. After getting nowhere on the phone, he tried to return them in person.
El-Amin then asked Action News to help get the blueprints back to SEPTA. He was worried that whoever dropped them might be up to no good. The plans diagram camera locations at the 15th Street Station of the Market-Frankford line. We called SEPTA from there, and, within minutes, an entourage of security and administrative personnel showed up. They examined the diagrams and determined they were used by an outside contractor to install a system of passenger monitoring cameras.
The cameras are used to give train operators a view of passengers entering and leaving. They operate automatically. The SEPTA officials were relieved that the blueprints didn't reveal any sensitive security information. But they now want to know how the diagrams ended up on the street during times of heightened security alerts.
SEPTA has been warning passengers to be on the alert for anything unusual. Now, they're also trying to find out why Rakim was given the run around when he tried to return the blueprints.
SEPTA is trying to find out if the blueprints came from its building or from a subcontractor. At this point, there's no evidence that the diagrams were being used by anyone for illegitimate reasons.
-- "SEPTA Blueprints Found in City Street," (SEPTA is the Philadelphia transit authority) , http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/news/62804-septaplans.html

JULY 4 WEEKEND, 2004 : (PHILADELPHIA, PA : HAMID KARZAI, PRESIDENT OF AFGHANISTAN TO VISIT) Many events planned in Philadelphia for the July 4th week-end. The president of Afghanistan will be in town with the president for a Freedom Medal ceremony. Tall ships, parades, concerts, fireworks, etc. The past references to the "Liberty Bell melting" or some such wording has always made me concerned. -- unnamed Freeper

JULY 14, 2006 : (NYC : NY TIMES RECEIVES ENVELOPE CONTAINING WHITE POWDER; IT WAS POSTMARKED IN PHILADELPHA---- SEE ISOLATED INCIDENTS--SEE PHILLY CELL, NSA WIRETAPPING MEME)— NEW YORK (Reuters) - The ...[NY] Times said on Fri. it had received in its mailroom an envelope containing white powder, raising fears of a possible recurrence of anthrax-tainted letters sent to newsrooms and other offices in late 2001. "At about 12:30 p.m. (1630 GMT) this afternoon … an employee opened an envelope that contained a white powdery substance. The envelope was handwritten and addressed to the New York Times, not to any individual. The postmark was from Philadelphia with no return address," said Times spokeswoman Catherine Mathis. ...--------- NYT investigates envelope with powder By Mark Egan (Reuters) Jul 14, 2006

JUNE 2007 : (DANI NEMR TARRAF ------- See PHILLY CELL STINGER MISSILES STING) ...documents say [Dani Nemr] Tarraf's dealings with the undercover officer date back to June 2007. -snip-(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...-------Man Arrested in Philadelphia in Alleged Missile Smuggling Plot Fox ^ |Tuesday, Nov 24, 2009

AUGUST 15, 2007? WED 5:47 AM : (PA? : EXPLOSION & AUTOMATIC GUNFIRE HEARD AT PUBLIC SHOOTING RANGE LOCATION PREVIOUSLY USED BY FT DIX SIX PLOTTERS: -- See FT DIX SIX) Residents south of Gouldsboro are used to the sound of gunfire from the public shooting range on State Game Lands 127. So when residents there say there was a big explosion and automatic gunfire, there’s a good chance they’re not crying wolf. The shooting range was used earlier this year by six men now dubbed the Fort Dix Six for a half-baked terrorism plot they are accused of concocting, involving an attack on that New Jersey military base.------------Authorities probe blast at terrorist ‘training site’ near Gouldsboro," Pocono Record , Posted on 08/31/2007 5:24:41 AM PDT by angcat http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1889314/posts

Then there's the recently arrested David Headley aka Daood Gilani.