Man Sets Self On Fire At White House

[heyjupiter678]

http://www.nbc4.com/news/3919821/detail.html

Police: Man Sets Self On Fire At White House

WASHINGTON -- A man with a message for President George W. Bush set himself on fire in front of the White House Monday afternoon, District officials said.

U.S. Park police and Secret Service are investigating the incident that forced the closure of the newly reopened Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House.

At about 2:05 p.m., the man approached the northwest gate at the White House, which is the gate visitors normally use. He said he had a letter for the president, and Secret Service told him he would have to mail it.

The man then stepped away from the gate, pulled out a lighter and set himself on fire. The flames were put out but the area was evacuated as authorities investigated a nearby backpack. No explosives were found.

"Just got in front of the White House when I heard a Secret Service radio go off that some guy just set himself on fire in front of the White House," said witness Jim Clarke. "I turned around and this guy was fully engulfed in flames."

Clarke said the fire was extinguished quickly. Other witnesses said they heard the man screaming in pain.

The man, believed to be about 60 years old, was taken to Washington Hospital Center's Burn Unit to be treated for burns to 30 percent of his body, according to D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services spokesman Alan Etter. He suffered burns to his face, head, hands and back. He has not yet been identified publicly.

Investigators said they have the letter that he wanted to send to the president but they have not revealed its contents.

--

[dissention]

They showed the footage of this on TV, yet wouldn't touch Saving Private Ryan with a ten foot pole. :rolleyes:

[amber]

He just did what we're all feeling :p

[GODDESS6]

:distress: :shrug: :distress:

[greatdarkwing]

What an idiot. Shame he survived. :mad: :angel:

~Alex

[ontheEdgeof17]

Eh. This will prob shut down the Avenue once more.

[estranged4life]

They showed the footage of this on TV, yet wouldn't touch Saving Private Ryan with a ten foot pole. :rolleyes:

Censor-land a subsidiary of Jesus-land :nod:

"Deplorable violence & sex on TV are okay as long as we don't have to hear any dirty language"-Kyle's Mom in "South Park-The Movie"...

Brian "Do unto others before they get the chance to f**k ya over" j.

[greatdarkwing]

Censor-land a subsidiary of Jesus-land :nod:

"Deplorable violence & sex on TV are okay as long as we don't have to hear any dirty language"-Kyle's Mom in "South Park-The Movie"...

Brian "Do unto others before they get the chance to f**k ya over" j.

Now now, as a resident of Jesus-land, I had no problem with Saving Private Ryan, thats why they invented the little box at the top of the screen that rates the programs...

OMG, That was very Democrat of me! :eek: ;)

~Alex

[estranged4life]

Now now, as a resident of Jesus-land, I had no problem with Saving Private Ryan, thats why they invented the little box at the top of the screen that rates the programs...

OMG, That was very Democrat of me! :eek: ;)

~Alex

I could give a rats' ass about the lil' ratings for TV...

Personally they should change the format and be more honest by using the following ratings system:

S-Suck ass show...you would waste time watching

B-Bore-fest...Suicide would be more fun than this show

C-Utter Crap...Combination of Rating S & B

WWBIHFHTFWONTV,BS&VISK-We will burn in Hell for hearing those foul words on TV, But sex & violence is still King

C-PTDVDYHCWS9kCIT2HOTB-Censored...Play the DVD's ya have cause we will show 9000 commercials in the 2 hours of the broadcast

Brian j.

ps-ABC/CBS/NBC/FOX/WB/UPN-Will cause uncontrollable urges to eat bowls full of glass and downing it down with a great big 32oz. glass of Clorox!!! Um-um Good!!!

[gldstwmn]

What an idiot. Shame he survived. :mad: :angel:

~Alex

When are you going to Iraq? :mad: :angel:

[amber]

When are you going to Iraq? :mad: :angel:
well, I'm sad that he's all burned, but that was a bit idiotic, you have to admit...right? Or do intelligent normal people set themselves afire near the whitehouse nowadays? Tell me if i missed the memo...

[greatdarkwing]

When are you going to Iraq? :mad: :angel:

Why go to Iraq.....They will need me for Iran ;)

~Alex

[greatdarkwing]

well, I'm sad that he's all burned, but that was a bit idiotic, you have to admit...right? Or do intelligent normal people set themselves afire near the whitehouse nowadays? Tell me if i missed the memo...

She'll defend him until shes blue in the face :(

~Alex

[gldstwmn]

Why go to Iraq.....They will need me for Iran ;)

~Alex

Whatever... :shrug:

[amber]

She'll defend him until shes blue in the face :(

~Alex
yeah, but still, you wished death upon him, which is a step further... :o I mean, I feel that way about bush too, but it takes an extra crazy gene to set yourself on fire because of it...nevertheless, i wouldn't wish him to die, really.

[gldstwmn]

well, I'm sad that he's all burned, but that was a bit idiotic, you have to admit...right? Or do intelligent normal people set themselves afire near the whitehouse nowadays? Tell me if i missed the memo...

Riddle me this, amber. What if this guy was just mentally ill? Does he deserve to die?

[gldstwmn]

yeah, but still, you wished death upon him, which is a step further... :o I mean, I feel that way about bush too, but it takes an extra crazy gene to set yourself on fire because of it...nevertheless, i wouldn't wish him to die, really.

Yep. The Repigs always show their true colors. It ain't pretty, is it?

[amber]

Riddle me this, amber. What if this guy was just mentally ill? Does he deserve to die?
you probably already saw my feelings on this, but no, of course not. did you know Reagan randomly let out all the crazy people in Berkeley, and i think elsewhere, when he was governor (I think). Without money or anything. Just closed the loony bins...and said get out. isn't that bizarre :confused: Sorry, you just reminded me of my immense, all consuming hate of Reagan... :D Worst President Ever.

[DrummerDeanna]

Sorry, you just reminded me of my immense, all consuming hate of Reagan... :D Worst President Ever.

No no....no no...I think he may have a contender for the worst president title :nod:

[gldstwmn]

you probably already saw my feelings on this, but no, of course not. did you know Reagan randomly let out all the crazy people in Berkeley,

Yes, I know.
Here's some irony. They're going to release John Hinckley because they say he's no longer mentally ill.

[gldstwmn]

No no....no no...I think he may have a contender for the worst president title :nod:

Hands down.

[amber]

No no....no no...I think he may have a contender for the worst president title :nod:
A contender, yes...but in my head, Nothing compares with Reagan...and what makes it 10 times more diabolical is that he was the Teflon President. That dude practically single handedly turned inner cities into what they became...trickle down economics is a joke. 12 indictments and convictions related to Iran Contra...GOD I HATE HIM!!! Oh, and first he f**cked up California's education system as gov. whew, ok, sorry...it's just a thing i have. yes, i hate Bush too, and he is evil...

[amber]

Yes, I know.
Here's some irony. They're going to release John Hinckley because they say he's no longer mentally ill.
really? hard to believe. that said, i wish Reagan...well, nevermind, even i don't wish that, i guess. (she said grudgingly) That is ironic :nod:

[gldstwmn]

A contender, yes...but in my head, Nothing compares with Reagan...and what makes it 10 times more diabolical is that he was the Teflon President. That dude practically single handedly turned inner cities into what they became...trickle down economics is a joke. 12 indictments and convictions related to Iran Contra...GOD I HATE HIM!!! Oh, and first he f**cked up California's education system as gov. whew, ok, sorry...it's just a thing i have. yes, i hate Bush too, and he is evil...

The whole Neoconservative movement started with Reagan. And yes, he ruined the middle class.
Reagan's presidency made Nixon's look holy. I will say though, that he was seemingly more interested in peace, while the current resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is not. That's what makes him so scary.

[amber]

The whole Neoconservative movement started with Reagan. And yes, he ruined the middle class.
Reagan's presidency made Nixon's look holy. I will say though, that he was seemingly more interested in peace, while the current resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is not. That's what makes him so scary.
first i thought "good point" and then i thought that he was not as interested in peace, what with the ongoing south american thing. But, i think he may have been slightly more interested in peace than Bush. Still, he just strikes me as more evil, somehow. maybe because it's more hidden? he was more sneaky with his warmongering? i hate how he inflated the defense budget based on practically nothing. And, hello, Star Wars? geez louise! god what a moron! I dunno...but that's like comparing crap with turds :laugh: But still, in my heart, Reagan will always hold that special place of utter and complete hatred. Maybe cause he was after Carter? anyways...Me and work guy were actually waxing nostalgic about Nixon, in comparison. he said, Nixon didn't like it, but at least he was the last Repub president to realize his job was to respect and uphold the constitution. And Reagan put Scalia in. And tried to make a fricking anti flag burning ammedment to the constitution!!! WTF?!

[gldstwmn]

first i thought "good point" and then i thought that he was not as interested in peace, what with the ongoing south american thing. But, i think he may have been slightly more interested in peace than Bush. Still, he just strikes me as more evil, somehow. maybe because it's more hidden? he was more sneaky with his warmongering? i hate how he inflated the defense budget based on practically nothing. And, hello, Star Wars? geez louise! god what a moron! I dunno...but that's like comparing crap with turds :laugh: But still, in my heart, Reagan will always hold that special place of utter and complete hatred. Maybe cause he was after Carter? anyways...Me and work guy were actually waxing nostalgic about Nixon, in comparison. he said, Nixon didn't like it, but at least he was the last Repub president to realize his job was to respect and uphold the constitution. And Reagan put Scalia in. And tried to make a fricking anti flag burning ammedment to the constitution!!! WTF?!

I did say seemingly... :) Nancy wanted Ronnie to win a Nobel Peace prize and to that end she encouraged him not to come off as a warmonger. When our Marines were killed in Lebanaon, we left.
Reagan appointed many, many conservative judges. He also appointed Kennedy, O'Connor and Rehnquist. They were three of the five in the 5-4 decision that selected our current resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

[amber]

I did say seemingly... :) Nancy wanted Ronnie to win a Nobel Peace prize and to that end she encouraged him not to come off as a warmonger. When our Marines were killed in Lebanaon, we left.
Reagan appointed many, many conservative judges. He also appointed Kennedy, O'Connor and Rehnquist. They were three of the five in the 5-4 decision that selected our current resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Right, exactly. My friend just said today, that after the body count came back from Lebanon (? can't remember) that 3 days later we sent troops into Grenada...cause he had to work the spin... :distress: ha, O'Conner...who is now one of our only hopes...who woulda thought? I get really p'od about that eliminate the middle class thing, though. I think that is extremely detrimental.

[strandinthewind]

Riddle me this, amber. What if this guy was just mentally ill? Does he deserve to die?

No he does not, but I am glad he hurt himself instead of others.

In other situations though, I say if you are pissed at the world and a la OBL you want to take lives in protest - do the world a favor and take your own - thus killing two birds with one stone :cool:

[strandinthewind]

Hands down.

I disagree. W is the worst President ever in the history of the U.S. - and we have had some pretty bad ones :laugh:

[dissention]

What an idiot. Shame he survived. :mad: :angel:

~Alex

:rolleyes: Is that the compassionate conservative in you?

[dissention]

well, I'm sad that he's all burned, but that was a bit idiotic, you have to admit...right? Or do intelligent normal people set themselves afire near the whitehouse nowadays? Tell me if i missed the memo...

That wasn't the point. The point was that it's pretty heartless to be disappointed that an obviously disturbed man didn't die.

[strandinthewind]

I did say seemingly... :) Nancy wanted Ronnie to win a Nobel Peace prize and to that end she encouraged him not to come off as a warmonger. When our Marines were killed in Lebanaon, we left.
Reagan appointed many, many conservative judges. He also appointed Kennedy, O'Connor and Rehnquist. They were three of the five in the 5-4 decision that selected our current resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

O'Conner is far from a conservative, especialy in comparison to people like Scalia - who are against things like zoning - its just too liberal :shrug: :laugh: She really is neither liberal nor conservative when her voting record is examined. She is the classic middle of the road or the Swing vote. That is why she is widely considered to be the most important member of the Court.

[dissention]

She'll defend him until shes blue in the face :(

~Alex

I didn't know that defending the actions of a disturbed individual was the same as simply taking issue with someone saying that they're disappointed he didn't die. :shrug: That's **** logic, if you ask me.

[dissention]

you probably already saw my feelings on this, but no, of course not. did you know Reagan randomly let out all the crazy people in Berkeley, and i think elsewhere, when he was governor (I think). Without money or anything. Just closed the loony bins...and said get out. isn't that bizarre :confused: Sorry, you just reminded me of my immense, all consuming hate of Reagan... :D Worst President Ever.

He did more than that. He initially kicked them all out onto the streets and then cut funding even more for the people still in the hospitals. He was a cold bastard.

[SuzeQuze]

Yes, I know.
Here's some irony. They're going to release John Hinckley because they say he's no longer mentally ill.

Is this true? And I had no idea about Reagan doing that to the mentally ill, that's horrible. I know someone who is ill and in and out of the system out there, it would be really bad if she were just kicked out when in crisis. She is schizophrenic.

[strandinthewind]

He did more than that. He initially kicked them all out onto the streets and then cut funding even more for the people still in the hospitals. He was a cold bastard.

Here is a pretty cool article on it - note there were many, many written, but this one I thought was interesting because it provides an overview and the tenor of the times.

http://www.sociology.org/content/vol003.004/thomas.html

Happy Reading!!!!! :cool:

[gldstwmn]

I disagree. W is the worst President ever in the history of the U.S. - and we have had some pretty bad ones :laugh:

That's what I was saying. :confused:

[strandinthewind]

That's what I was saying. :confused:

I am sorry :sorry: mea culpa - I thought you were replying to Amber by saying RR was the worst ever. I got confused. I was like, well RR was not bed of roses, but when compared to W :eek:

[gldstwmn]

O'Conner is far from a conservative, especialy in comparison to people like Scalia - who are against things like zoning - its just too liberal :shrug: :laugh: She really is neither liberal nor conservative when her voting record is examined. She is the classic middle of the road or the Swing vote. That is why she is widely considered to be the most important member of the Court.

I never said O'Connor was a conservative. I said she was one of the five Justices who voted in Bush's favor in Bush v. Gore. Having problems with your comprehension this morning?

[gldstwmn]

I am sorry :sorry: mea culpa - I thought you were replying to Amber by saying RR was the worst ever. I got confused. I was like, well RR was not bed of roses, but when compared to W :eek:

No harm done. :shrug:

[dissention]

Man Who Ignited Self at White House an Informant
Tue Nov 16, 1:08 AM ET Top Stories - Reuters
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=578&ncid=578&e=8&u=/nm/20041116/ts_nm/bush_fire_dc

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A man who set himself on fire outside the White House on Monday was a Yemeni federal informant on terrorism upset over how the FBI (news - web sites) had managed his case, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday.

Mohamed Alanssi, who had recently discussed his work as an informant in interviews with The Washington Post, told the newspaper by faxed letter and telephone on Monday he intended to "burn my body at unexpected place," the newspaper reported.

He told the newspaper that he suffers from diabetes and heart problems and that his wife suffers from stomach cancer. Alanssi said he could not travel to Yemen because he has no money and because the FBI, which expects him to testify at a terrorism trial in New York, was keeping his Yemeni passport.

Alanssi said he became a major informant for the FBI after the 2001 al Qaeda attacks on the United States. He said he was paid $100,000 in 2003 but had expected much more and had not received the permanent residency status he was promised, the newspaper reported.

[strandinthewind]

You are assuming that is the case. From what I have read, this guy never said anything about Bin Laden or being pissed at the world.

I think it remains to be scene whether this was a political protest - I mean lighting yourself on fire at the White House while screaming Allah and while essentially the entire Muslim population of the world at the least is displeased with the current occupant of the WH does at least hint at a political protest on some level :shrug: Again, I am not saying that it was a political protest. I am just saying nothing I have read has 100% ruled that out.

But and in any event, I was not assuming this act was a political protest nor was I saying this guy knew OBL, etc. That is why I mentioned this guy first and then started the next paragraph specifiocally with "in other situations" and then referenced OBL and one of the other situations :cool:

Also, while I am sorry this apparently mentally ill person injured himself, I am not sorry he did not injure anyone else - that is what I was saying initially. Perhaps it would have been better termed by "I am glad no one else got hurt" :shrug:

[strandinthewind]

I never said O'Connor was a conservative. I said she was one of the five Justices who voted in Bush's favor in Bush v. Gore. Having problems with your comprehension this morning?

Apparently :laugh:

[gldstwmn]

That is why I mentioned this guy first and then started the next paragraph specifiocally with "in other situations" and then referenced OBL and one of the other situations :cool:

And that's why on rereading you post I deleted mine. :shrug:

[strandinthewind]

And that's why on rereading you post I deleted mine. :shrug:

Opps - I did not see that :cool: Ummmmm - nevermind :laugh: :wavey:

[strandinthewind]

from the NYTimes and if interest -

November 17, 2004

Man Who Burned Himself at White House Is Called Central to Terror Case

By WILLIAM GLABERSON

Yemeni man who set himself on fire in front of the White House on Monday and survived was the main informer for federal prosecutors in a terrorism financing case in Brooklyn, lawyers involved in the case said yesterday.

The man, Mohamed Alanssi, was recovering yesterday in a Washington hospital with extensive burns after law enforcement officers wrestled him to the ground about 2 p.m. on Monday near the White House's northwest gate and doused the flames. He had been expected to be a central witness in a trial in Brooklyn federal court scheduled for January in which prosecutors have charged that a prominent Yemeni cleric used mosques in Brooklyn and elsewhere to raise millions of dollars for Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups.

Last year, when Attorney General John Ashcroft announced the charges in the case that is one of the country's largest terrorism financing prosecutions, he said the cleric, Mohammed Ali Hassan al-Moayad, had boasted that he had personally delivered $20 million to Osama bin Laden.

Defense lawyers in the case yesterday identified Mr. Alanssi as the central informer in the case and said they would seek to undermine his ultimate usefulness to the prosecution because of the bizarre episode.

They said it was Mr. Alanssi who established contact with Mr. al-Moayad in Yemen as part of a sting operation set up by F.B.I. agents. It was Mr. Alanssi, they said, who then lured Mr. al-Moayad to Germany with the promise that he would meet with an American Muslim who wanted to make contributions to Muslim causes.

In Germany, Mr. Alanssi took part in a series of recorded conversations with Mr. al-Moayad and the would-be contributor, who himself was also working with investigators. The tapes are the centerpiece of the prosecution's case, which is expected to continue.

Law enforcement officials said yesterday that Mr. Alanssi had been paid about $100,000 for his work but had been in a dispute with the F.B.I. recently and had been voicing complaints about his treatment by federal agents and threatening suicide. That dispute, first reported yesterday by The Washington Post, included a letter that Mr. Alanssi sent by fax on Monday to one of the agents who had been handling his case, Robert Fuller, an agent in the New York office of the bureau who specializes in terrorism investigations.

"Why don't you care about my life and my family's life," said the letter posted yesterday on The Washington Post's Web site, along with a letter Mr. Alanssi sent at about the same time to the newspaper. "Once I testify," the letter continued, "my family will be killed in Yemen, me too I will be a dead man."

The letter he faxed to the newspaper said he would "burn my body at an unexpected place.''

Spokesmen for the federal prosecutors and the F.B.I. would not comment yesterday. "There is nothing in the public record that would indicate who is or is not cooperating in this particular case," said Joseph Valiquette, an F.B.I. spokesman.

Mr. al-Moayad and an assistant who was also charged in the case in Brooklyn federal court, Mohammed Mohsen Yahya Zayed, were extradited after being arrested by German authorities and are being held in Brooklyn awaiting a Jan. 10 trial.

Their defense lawyers, Howard L. Jacobs and Jonathan Marks, said yesterday that the fire and information about it opened Mr. Alanssi to extensive cross-examination. They portrayed the developments as damaging to the prosecution's case.

"We now have some very valuable information about a very strong motive he had to entrap these people," Mr. Marks said in an interview yesterday. He said that because of the episode the lawyers had reason to argue that Mr. Alanssi, in his role as informer, might have been motivated by concerns about money or the circumstances surrounding his family back in Yemen.

The Washington Post reported yesterday that its reporters had been in contact in recent days with Mr. Alanssi and that he was in anguish about promises he said had been broken by federal agents handling his case, health problems and other issues.

Informers are typically paid for their work, and law enforcement officials have portrayed Mr. Alanssi as an important part of numerous investigations - a court document claims he was responsible for the arrest of 20 people and the recovery of about $1 million - and had been able to infiltrate what they portrayed as Mr. al-Moayad's terrorism financing operation.

If the developments on Monday were a blow to prosecutors, there is no evidence that they intend to abandon the case. The potentially damning recordings of the meetings in Germany could be admitted during the trial, backed up by the testimony of the federal agents who worked with Mr. Alanssi. One of the main F.B.I. agents who worked on the case, Brian Murphy, is now serving in the reserves in Iraq and may have to return to Brooklyn to help the prosecutors bolster the case.

Law enforcement officials said they believed that agents had been treating Mr. Alanssi fairly and said they had believed his intensifying dispute with them in recent days had centered on their expectations for the role he would play at the coming trial.

It is common for informers, some of the officials said, to become caught up in the glamour of working with investigators during the early part of a case and then to become concerned as the date when their full role might be unveiled in court approaches.

In a court filing in Brooklyn on Monday, though, defense lawyers had already begun to lay the groundwork for attacking Mr. Alanssi's credibility. One lawyer, Mr. Marks, asserted that Mr. Alanssi, identified as "CI1,'' the court language for a confidential informer, had often exaggerated and embellished the information he provided to investigators.

During the series of surreptitiously recorded meetings at a hotel in Germany, Mr. Alanssi served as the translator between Mr. al-Moayad and Mr. Zayed, who speak only Arabic, and the man posing as an American Muslim who wanted to contribute to terrorist organizations.

Those transcripts, according to the government, showed that Mr. al-Moayad praised martyrdom and described his ties to terrorist organizations, including Hamas, which was designated as a terrorist group by the United States in 1995.

In Arabic, according to a government translation, Mr. al-Moayad described close ties to Hamas. According to the transcript, evidently of a videotape recording, Mr. al-Moayad locked his fingers together as he described his close ties with Hamas. "I'm in touch and have the knowledge," it quoted him as saying, "with every aspect of Hamas's activities."

The transcript also showed, according to the government, that Mr. al-Moayad described supporting Mr. bin Laden financially during the 1980's and meeting with him as a spiritual adviser. "He tells me that I'm his sheik," the transcript quoted him as saying.

"We offer our lives for the sake of Islam," Mr. al-Moayad said, according to the transcript.

But Mr. Marks argued that the transcript also showed that often during the meetings, Mr. al-Moayad or Mr. Zayed would say something neutral or susceptible to different meanings and Mr. Alanssi would provide a damning translation into English.

Mr. Marks asked that the judge in the case, Sterling Johnson Jr., bar jury members from hearing parts of the recorded conversations in which the two men spoke to each other in English to try to limit the prejudice he said was introduced into the tapes by CI1, Mr. Alanssi.

Time after time, Mr. Marks argued in the legal papers, Mr. Alanssi embellished what were often ambiguous comments, perhaps for the federal investigators who were listening. In one instance, he noted, when the would-be contributor asked for specifics about terror plans, Mr. Alanssi translated the comments of Mr. al-Moayad and Mr. Zayed as saying they would soon know when the next attack would happen and specified Al Qaeda.

Mr. Marks noted that in their Arabic comments that have now been translated, neither defendant said anything about knowing about planned attacks. And, Mr. Marks wrote, "Neither defendant ever mentioned Al Qaeda."

Attempts to reach Mr. Alanssi at Washington Hospital Center were unsuccessful. Hospital officials said he was in a trauma center with burns to his hands, neck and face. They said no visitors other than family members were permitted.


Ian Urbina and David Johnston, in Washington, and William K. Rashbaum, in New York, contributed reporting for this article.