8 I MONDAY, Nov. 29, 2010
Site plans to publish classified does
By Matthew Lee
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON The online
website WikiLeaks said Sunday it
will release hundreds of thou
sands of classified State
Department doc
uments in defi-
ance of U.S.
demands not to
publish the files
The WikiLeaks
website appeared
to be inaccessi
ble, and
WikiLeaks said in Assange
its Twitter feed
that it was experiencing a denial
of service attack Nevertheless,
WikiLeaks said that publications
in the U.S. and Europe would
print the leaked diplomatic cables
even if it could not.
The group's founder, Julian
Assange, also told the U.S.
ambassador to Britain that
WikiLeaks would not bow to
Washington's demands.
The Obama administration has
been bracing for the release for
the past week. Top officials have
notified allies that the contents of
the diplomatic cables could prove
embarrassing because they con-
Muslims
fear attacks
after arrest
By Jonathan Cooper
ASSOCIATED PRESS
CORVALLIS, Ore. Someone
set fire to an Islamic center on
Sunday, two days after a man who
worshipped there was accused of
trying to blow up a van full of
explosives during Portland's
Christmas tree lighting ceremo
ny. Other Muslims fear it could be
the first volley of misplaced retri
bution.
The charges against Mohamed
Osman Mohamud, a Somali-born
19-year-old who was caught in a
federal sting operation, are test
ing tolerance in a state that has
been largely accepting of
Muslims. Muslims who know the
suspect say they are shocked by
the allegations against him and
that he had given them no hint of
falling into radicalism.
The fire at the Salman Alfarisi
Islamic Center in Corvallis was
reported at 2:15 a.m., and evi
dence at the scene led authorities
believe it was set intentionally,
said Carla Pusateri, a fire preven
tion officer for the Corvallis Fire
Department.
Authorities don't know who
started the blaze or exactly why,
but they believe the center was
targeted because Mohamud
occasionally worshipped there.
"We have made it quite clear
that the FBI will not tolerate any
kind of retribution or attack on
the Muslim community," said
Arthur Balizan, special agent in
charge of the FBI in Oregon.
Mohamud was being held on
charges of plotting to carry out a
terror attack Friday on a crowd of
housands at Portland's Pioneer
Courthouse Square. He is sched
uled to appear in court on
Monday, and it wasn't clear if he
had a lawyer yet.
On Friday, he parked what he
thought was a bomb-laden van
near the ceremony and then went
Collegian tip
with li
the Great
tam candid assessments of for
eign leaders and their govern
ments, as well as details of
American policy.
WikiLeaks said on Twitter that
Spain's El Pais, France's Le
Monde, Germany's Der Spiegel,
Britain's Guardian newspaper
and The New York Times "will
publish many US embassy cables
tonight, even if WikiLeaks goes
down." Shortly before, WikiLeaks
said its website was "currently
under a mass distributed denial
of service attack."
There was no way to immedi
ately confirm the cyberattack,
although the WikiLeaks website
was not available online.
The State Department's top
lawyer warned Assange late
Saturday that lives and military
operations would be put at risk if
the cables were released.
Legal adviser Harold Koh said
WikiLeaks would be breaking the
law if it went ahead and he also
rejected a request from Assange
to cooperate in removing
sensitive details from the docu
ments.
Assange, in a response
released Sunday by his London
lawyer, said he had no intention of
halting the release. He claimed
Jesse Skoubo/Corvallis Gazette -Times
Ahson Saeed, of Corvallis, Ore., reacts over a pile of burnt debris
pulled from a local mosque in Corvallis, Ore. Sunday, Nov. 28, 2010
where an alleged arsonist set a fire in the early morning hours.
to a nearby train station, where
he dialed a cell phone that he
believed would detonate the vehi
cle, federal authorities said.
Instead, federal authorities
moved in and arrested him. No
one was hurt. There were also no
injuries in Sunday's fire, which
burned 80 percent of the center's
office but did not spread to wor
ship areas or any other rooms.
said Yosof Wanly, the center's
imam.
After daybreak, members gath
ered at the center, where a bro
ken window had been boarded up.
"I've prayed for my family and
friends, because obviously if
someone was deliberate enough
to do this, what's to stop them
from coming to our homes and
our schools? - said Mohamed
Alyagouri, a 31-year-old father of
two who worships at the center
"I'm afraid for my children get
ting harassed from their teach
ers, maybe from their friends."
Wanly said he was thinking
about temporarily relocating his
family because of the possibility of
hate crimes.
"We know how it is, we know
some people due to ignorance are
going to perceive of these things
and hold most Muslims account
able," Wanly said.
"We do what we can, but it's a
tough situation."
The imam said Corvallis. a col
lege town about 75 miles south-
S T :-=.B, 'l' E & N ..,Al7 1
the administration was trying to
cover up alleged evidence of seri
ous "human rights abuse and
other criminal behavior" by the
U.S. government.
The letter to the U.S. ambassa
dor, Louis Sussman, also said
Wild Leaks had no desire to harm
either "individual persons" or
"the national security of the
United States." But he said the
administration's refusal to coop
erate showed that the risks were
"fanciful."
"I understand that the United
States government would prefer
not to have the information that
will be published in the public
domain and is not in favor of
openness," Assange wrote. "That
said, either there is a risk or there
is not."
"You have chosen to respond in
a manner which leads me to con
clude that the supposed risks are
entirely fanciful and you are
instead concerned to suppress
evidence of human rights abuse
and other criminal behavior," he
said.
"We will now proceed to release
the material subject to our checks
and the checks of our media part
ners unless you get back to me, -
Assange wrote.
west of Portland, has long been
accepting of Muslims.
"The common scene here is to
be very friendly, accepting vari
ous cultures and religions,"
Wanly said. "The Islamic center
has been here for 40 years, it's
more American than most
Americans with regards to age."
In Portland, residents are
alarmed by the terror plot, but
Mayor Sam Adams said they are
"not going to let this change our
values of being an open and
embracing city" He said that he
beefed up patrols around
mosques "and other facilities that
might be vulnerable to knuckle
headed retribution" after hearing
of the bomb plot.
The FBI was working closely
with leadership at the Corvallis
center as agents investigated the
fire, Balizan said. A $lO.OOO
reward was offered for informa
tion leading to an arrest.
Authorities have not explained
how Mohamud, an Oregon State
University student until he
dropped out on Oct. 6. became so
radicalized. Mohamud graduated
from high school in the Portland
suburb of Beaverton, although
few details of his time there were
available Saturday.
Duara reported from Portland .
Associated Press writers William
McCall and Tim Fought also
contributed to this report.
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Bill , ilina York Dlsoatch
Shown in this Nov. 4, 2010 file photo is a home where young siblings
were purportedly living in squalor and secrecy in York, Pa.
Police: Pa. couple
hid five children
By Michael Rubinkam
ASSOCIATED PRH.-,,
YORK Pa. -- They lived out
side society. hidden from the
world in a squalid row house kith
no heat, electricity or running
water. They had no birth certifi
cates, no schooling, no immuniza
tions or evidence of medical care
nothing whatsoever to prove
their existence.
Police in this south-central
Pennsylvania city are still piecing
together how the parents of five
children -- ranging in age from 2
to 13 managed to conceal them
for so many years. And why
"I don't know what would pos
sess them at all. - said detective
Dana Ward Jr. who tracked down
the children after a child welfare
agency received an anonymous
tip about the clandestine family.
Ward charged Louann Bowers,
33. and Sinhue Johnson, 45, with
five felony counts of child endan
germent. They are scheduled to
be in court Friday. though
Bowers' lawyer said she will
waive her right to an arraign
ment. Both are locked up in \brk
County Prison.
Bowers ran away from "a very
chaotic household" when she was
16 and "didn't want to be found."
attorney Ronald Gross said.
"I think, unfortunately Mom's
desire to not be found by her fam
ily impacted the children's
growth, - he said. "She realizes
now 'I should have done it differ
ently'
Johnson's public defender did
not return a phone message
seeldng comment on the case.
which was first reported by The
York Dispatch and York Daily
Record.
Years of isolation have taken
their toll on the siblings. Now liv
ing in foster homes. some of the
children suffer health and vision
issues," Ward wrote in an affi
davit. "None of the children are at
their expected education levels.
and there are possible mental
health issues."
THE DAILY COLLEGIAN
Since their discovery, the chil
dren have been vaccinated and
the older ones have been enrolled
in school.
York County Children and
Youth Services became aware of
the family through anonymous
tips in 2003 and again in 2007, but
police said Johnson refused to
cooperate with caseworkers.
The agency got another anony
mous referral in 2009. this time
front someone claiming to be a
family member who had seen the
children. The agency contacted
Johnson again, but he remained
uncooperative. court documents
state.
That led caseworkers to obtain
a court order granting them per
mission to enter the dilapidated
house on South Duke Street. By
the time they arrived. the family
had fled.
Ward said it appeared that all
seven family members had lived
in a single room on the second
floor He said all the utilities were
shut off. Rainwater came through
the leaky roof and was collected
in buckets.
Police tracked the family to a
hotel outside York. Johnson was
gone. but Bowers opened the
door her head concealed by a
dark veil. The detective found the
children hiding in a bathroom,
three girls and two boys. They
hadn't bathed and appeared
unkempt. They left with investi
gators without saying a word -
and refused to provide any infor
mation
Gross disputed the notion that
his client was hiding her children
but acknowledged the family
maintained a - very close network
of individuals. - Gross said the
children were home-schooled,
but Ward said he could find no
evidence of it. Parents of home
schooled children are required by
law to register with the district in
which they live, provide evidence
of immunizations and follow
approved curricula. Gross
declined to comment about the
apparent lack of birth certificates.
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