Day: August 16, 2006

…never stop investigating.

JonBenet suspect named

A man arrested in Thailand is being held in connection with the slaying of JonBenet Ramsey, law enforcement officials said today.

John Karr, 41, a former Atlanta, Ga., resident, was arrested today in Bangkok, according to two people familiar with the investigation who spoke on the condition they not be identified.

The connection to the Ramsey family was not immediately clear.

Federal officials familiar with the case, who spoke with the Associated Press on condition of anonymity, said the suspect was being held in Bangkok on unrelated sex charges.

A third source close to the case who spoke anonymously identified the suspect as one-time resident of Conyers, Ga., and said he was a school teacher.

That source said that authorities had been focusing on him for some time and that Patsy Ramsey had been made aware prior to her death on June 24 that his arrest was being pursued.

Boulder District Attorney Mary Lacy today confirmed the arrest,without naming the suspect. She said it followed several months of a focused and complex investigation. “John and Patsy Ramsey both were consulted during the course of the investigation,” Lacy said in a brief press release this afternoon.

I’ll be the first to admit that I was sure John and Patsy Ramsey had something to do with the murder of JonBenet. In each interview I saw with these two, the ‘creepy’ factor was just too prevalent. Then, when Patsy died I was sure the truth died with her. It appears I was wrong.

I’ll be following the progress on the investigation of suspect John Karr.

Andrew Sullivan comments on the lack of publicized evidence which led British and U.S. authorities to bust-up a terror plot whose trigger was to be pulled today (allegedly, of course). Never mind that the investigation is still ongoing. Never mind that tools used to uncover the plot are classified. Now, because neither government has presented to Sir Andy any evidence supporting the contention that such a plot was indeed imminent, he’s become a skeptic.

And a conspiracy theorist.

I wonder if Lieberman’s defeat, the resilience of Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the emergence of a Hezbollah-style government in Iraq had any bearing on the decision by Bush and Blair to pre-empt the British police and order this alleged plot disabled. I wish I didn’t find these questions popping into my head. But the alternative is to trust the Bush administration.

It appears as though Mr. Sullivan has been reading Daily Kos a bit more than usual. His transformation into full brotherhood with the clan o’ Michael Moore is nearly complete.

How soon before we read an article on how 9/11 was sponsored by the U.S. government, Andrew?

Today was supposed to be the day a major terrorist attack was to be executed against the United States and the United Kingdom. Up to 10 airplanes were to be exploded in mid-air over the Atlantic Ocean. But for the grace of God, the plan was up-ended by British intelligence with the help of the U.S. Still, it isn’t clear that all the terrorists were caught last week, so it’s no wonder that people are a little edgy today as they travel to and fro by air.

A couple of incidents have already popped up. A flight from London bound for Washington D.C. was diverted to Boston on a report of an unruly passenger. As of now, it doesn’t appear to be terrorism.

A woman panicking from claustrophobia forced a Washington-bound flight from London to make an emergency landing in Boston on Thursday, sparking a major security alert.

United Airlines flight 923, carrying 182 passengers and 12 crew, was escorted by fighter jets to Boston after crew members confronted a 59-year-old U.S. woman who became unruly due to an apparent panic attack, officials said.

Police and other officials said there was no apparent terrorist threat, but the incident set off a major security response a week after British authorities said they had foiled a plot to blow up planes from London to the United States.

The woman was carrying hand cream and matches but was not a terrorist threat, said Christopher White, a Transportation Security Administration spokesman. Those items are not banned on commercial flights, he said.

“There are no known links to terrorism regarding this event at this time,” said White.

Meanwhile, at Charlotte International Airport, authorities arrested a drunken man early yesterday after he was found on the tarmac.

Given the heightened security alert status, it’s unlikely that any act of terrorism will arise today, but that doesn’t mean people aren’t nervous. It’s too bad our vigilance isn’t always this strong, for it’s just a matter of time before security levels are lowered and we all just get back to doing what we do day in and day out.

Yet, we should never forget what happened when we didn’t believe terrorism could hit America. NYC officials released a vivid reminder today, in the form of over 1600 taped calls to 911. The calls recount the heroism of that day, September 11, 2001.