Dear Aletheia
This latest message is really irrelevant trivia. Please address issues of
real substance and of serious interest to contributors to this valuable
internet resource.
Regards
Brian Murphy
----- Original Message -----
From: "aletheia kallos" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, March 28, 2007 1:26 AM
Subject: [INT-BOUNDARIES] is this out of bounds
fresh yesterday at
http://www.usatoday.com/news/offbeat/2007-03-26-hidden-crocodiles_N.htm
Woman found with 3 crocodiles strapped to body
JERUSALEM (AP) - A woman with three crocodiles
strapped to her waist was stopped at the Gaza-Egypt
border crossing after guards noticed that she looked
"strangely fat," officials said Monday.
The woman's shape raised suspicions at the Rafah
terminal in southern Gaza, and a body search by a
female border guard turned up the animals, each about
20 inches long, concealed underneath her loose robe,
according to Maria Telleria, spokeswoman for the
European observers who run the crossing.
"The woman looked strangely fat. Even though she was
veiled and covered, even with so many clothes on there
was something strange," Telleria said.
The incident, which took place on Thursday, sparked
panic at the crossing.
"The policewoman screamed and ran out of the room, and
then women began screaming and panicking when they
heard," Telleria said. But when the hysteria died
down, she said, "everybody was admiring a woman who is
able to tie crocodiles to her body."
In her defense, the woman said she "was asked" to
carry the crocodiles, said Wael Dahab, a spokesman for
the Palestinian guards at the crossing. She was
permitted to cross without the animals.
The reptiles, which had their jaws tied shut with
string, were returned to the Egyptian side of the
border.
Dahab said the animals were likely meant for sale to
Gaza's small zoo or to private owners. The crocodiles
would fetch "good money," even in the impoverished
territory, he said. In Gaza, the animals can fetch
about $500 - roughly two months' salary for a
low-ranking policeman.
The woman was not the first to try to illegally
smuggle exotic wildlife through the Rafah crossing,
Dahab said: another woman tried to bring in a monkey
tied to her chest, and other travelers tried to
smuggle in exotic birds and a tiger cub. Border guards
more frequently confiscate cigarettes, prescription
drugs and car parts.
The crossing is the only way in and out of Gaza for
residents of the crowded coastal strip.
Since Israel pulled out of Gaza in 2005, the crossing
has subject to a complex system of control: Egypt and
the Palestinians are responsible for the crossing,
with European monitors stationed at the terminal and
Israeli inspectors watching from a distance over
closed-circuit TV.
Israel retains final say over whether the crossing can
open, and has kept it closed over 80% of the time
since an Israeli soldier was captured by Hamas-linked
militants in Gaza nine months ago, charging that the
crossing is being used to smuggle money and weapons to
militants.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights
reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
& of course this could never happen in everyones land
either
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