America on Fire: The Untold History of Police Violence and Black Rebellion Since the 1960s

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The town itself was a tinderbox waiting to ignite. Most of its structures were made of wood, as were its sidewalks. Even the streets were paved in wood chips. a b "Cities | Radiolab". WNYC Studios. Archived from the original on 2019-11-17 . Retrieved 2019-12-01. The negotiators' log showed that when the tape was reviewed, there was concern that the tape's release to the media would gain sympathy for Koresh and the Branch Davidians. [70] Videos also showed the 23 children still inside the compound, and child care professionals on the outside prepared to take care of those children as well as the previous 19 released. [24] As the siege continued, Koresh negotiated for more time, allegedly so that he could write religious documents he needed to complete before surrendering. His conversations, which were dense with Biblical imagery, alienated the federal negotiators, who treated the situation as a hostage crisis. Among themselves, the negotiation teams took to calling Koresh's words "Bible babble." [71]

The first documentary films critical of the official versions were Waco, the Big Lie [153] and Waco II, the Big Lie Continues, both produced by Linda Thompson in 1993. Thompson's films made several controversial allegations, the most notorious of which was her claim that footage of an armored vehicle breaking through the outer walls of the compound, with an appearance of orange light on its front, [154] was showing a flamethrower attached to the vehicle, setting fire to the building. As a response to Thompson, Michael McNulty released footage to support his counter-claim that the appearance of light was a reflection on aluminized insulation that was torn from the wall and snagged on the vehicle. (The vehicle is an M728 CEV, which is not normally equipped with a flamethrower. [155]) McNulty accused Thompson of "creative editing" in his film Waco: An Apparent Deviation. Thompson worked from a VHS copy of the surveillance tape; McNulty was given access to a beta original. However, McNulty in turn was later accused of having digitally altered his footage, an allegation he denied. [156]Weather was the match that turned those dangerous conditions into an unprecedented fire. Smaller wildfires had raged in the area for days, but on the night of the 8th, winds whipped up and the flames reached Peshtigo. Between 500 and 800 people died in Peshtigo—half the town’s population—and between 1,200 and 2,400people died in the regionthrough northeastern Wisconsin and Upper Michigan. However, since the records of most of the communities ravaged by fire burned, too, it wasn't possible to identify or count all the victims. The fire and its effects were featured in 2013 on America Declassified on the Travel Channel, and on Radiolab's Cities episode. [29] [17] Increased air pressure induced by the heat from the mine fires has interacted with heavy rainfalls in the area that rush into the abandoned mines to form Pennsylvania's only geyser, the Big Mine Run Geyser, which erupts on private property in nearby Ashland. The geyser has been kept open as a means of flood control. [28] The Real Story Behind the Waco Siege: Who Were David Koresh and the Branch Davidians?". Time.com. January 24, 2018.

Higgins, Steve (July 2, 1995). "The Waco Dispute – Why the ATF Had to Act". The Washington Post . Retrieved September 11, 2023.On March 7, the FBI began consulting with Bible scholars Phillip Arnold and James Tabor, who studied a transcript of Koresh's radio broadcast to try to understand Koresh's theology. That week, Arnold and Tabor were guests on talk radio programs on Dallas radio stations KRLB and KGBS. Koresh heard the programs on a battery powered radio. On March 16, he asked the FBI for permission to discuss the Bible with Arnold directly. The FBI denied this request. [72] A number of competing hypotheses have arisen about the source of the Centralia mine fire. Some of them claim that the mine fire started before May 27, 1962. David DeKok says that the borough's deliberate burning of trash on May 27 to clean up the landfill in the former strip mine ignited a coal seam via an unsealed opening in the trash pit, which allowed the fire to enter the labyrinth of abandoned coal mines beneath Centralia. [7] While Scholz has signaled that halting Nord Stream 2, a natural gas pipeline between Germany and Russia awaiting final regulatory approval, would “have to be discussed” if Russia invades Ukraine, he has stopped well short of pledging to do so. a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Neil Rawles (February 2, 2007). Inside Waco (Television documentary). Channel 4/HBO. Albert, Jessica (June 17, 2018). "Getting to the Bottom of This Gushing Geyser in Schuylkill County". WNEP-TV. Archived from the original on December 7, 2021 . Retrieved December 7, 2021.

Season 2 of World on Fire airs Sunday nights at 9/8c on MASTERPIECE from October 15 to November 19, 2023! Rep Hughes, William J. (1986). "H.AMDT.777 to H.R.4332". Library of Congress THOMAS. Archived from the original on September 30, 2015 . Retrieved August 3, 2010.Until World War II, German views of the U.S. were largely shaped by the vivid travelogues of Karl May, a 19th-century conman turned bestselling adventure writer whose depictions of the American West and its inhabitants captured the imagination of generations. Quigley, Joan (2007). "Chapter Notes to The Day the Earth Caved In" (DOC). p.8. Archived from the original on 2014-02-27 . Retrieved 2012-03-13. The confluence of events that led to the devastating blaze started “a low rumbling noise, like the distant approach of a train,” witnesses to the chaos later recalled. Soon, it became clear the town itself was being consumed by flames. Before townspeople had a chance to react, it was already too late. Survivors describe a cyclone-like firestorm—a whirlwind that consumed everything around it. The Montana Freemen became the center of public attention in 1996 when they engaged in a prolonged armed standoff with agents of the FBI. The Waco siege, as well as the 1992 incident between the Weaver family and the FBI at Ruby Ridge, Idaho, were still fresh in the public mind, and the FBI was extremely cautious and wanted to prevent a recurrence of those violent events. [148] After 81 days of negotiations, the Freemen surrendered to authorities on June 14, 1996 without a loss of life. [149] Media portrayals of Waco [ edit ]

The Waco siege has been the subject of numerous documentary films and books. The first film was a made-for television docudrama film, In the Line of Duty: Ambush in Waco, which was made during the siege, before the April 19 assault on the church, and presented the initial firefight of February 28, 1993 as an ambush. The film's writer, Phil Penningroth, has since disowned his screenplay as pro-ATF "propaganda". [150] Books [ edit ] Waco Siege". HISTORY. December 19, 2017. Archived from the original on September 23, 2020 . Retrieved September 24, 2020. The FBI received contradictory reports on the possibility of Koresh's suicide and was not sure about whether he would commit suicide. The evidence made them believe that there was no possibility of mass suicide, with Koresh and Schneider repeatedly denying to the negotiators that they had plans to commit mass suicide, and people leaving the compound saying that they had seen no preparations for such a thing. [77] There was a possibility that some of his followers would join Koresh if he decided to commit suicide. [77] According to Alan A. Stone's report, during the siege the FBI used an incorrect psychiatric perspective to evaluate Branch Davidians' responses, which caused them to over-rely on Koresh's statements that they would not commit suicide. According to Stone, this incorrect evaluation caused the FBI to not ask pertinent questions to Koresh and to others on the compound about whether they were planning a mass suicide. A more pertinent question would have been, "What will you do if we tighten the noose around the compound in a show of overwhelming power, and using CS gas, force you to come out?" [64] Stone wrote: Waco - The Inside Story". pbs.org. PBS. Archived from the original on September 30, 2017 . Retrieved April 28, 2020. In 2001, another Michael McNulty documentary, The F.L.I.R. Project, researched the aerial thermal images recorded by the FBI, and using identical FLIR equipment recreated the same results as were recorded by federal agencies April 19, 1993. Subsequent government-funded studies [159] contend that the infra-red evidence does not support the view that the FBI improperly used incendiary devices or fired on Branch Davidians. Infra-red experts continue to disagree and filmmaker Amy Sommer stands by the original conclusions presented in Waco: The Rules of Engagement.In fact, Germany’s drift away from the U.S. reflects a deeper shift that began with the Iraq War and has continued in fits and starts ever since, most significantly during Donald Trump’s presidency. CEV2, with battering ram, rips a hole into second floor of compound; minutes later another hole is punched into the rear of one of the buildings of the compound. The vehicles then withdraw. [93] Morning Rundown: Israel reports 'fierce battles' with Hamas inside Gaza, heavily armed man found dead at amusement park, and justice at last for Salem's witches?