Minimum wage earners in 7 states getting raises - Yahoo! News: "DENVER – It will be a happier New Year for nearly 650,000 workers earning minimum wage. They're getting small raises in seven states that tie their salaries to the cost of living.
The minimum wages in those states will go up between 9 cents and 12 cents an hour Saturday because their consumer price indexes rose in 2010.
The extra pennies can't come soon enough for Joe Martinez of Denver, who works odd jobs such as lawn maintenance for minimum wage. In Colorado, the wage is rising 11 cents, from the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour to $7.36 an hour."
Cut and paste this link to see what the minimum wage is in your state:
http://www.dol.gov/whd/minwage/america.htm
Friday, December 31, 2010
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Sister's kidney donation condition of Miss. parole - Yahoo! News
Sister's kidney donation condition of Miss. parole - Yahoo! News: "JACKSON, Miss. – For 16 years, sisters Jamie and Gladys Scott have shared a life behind bars for their part in an $11 armed robbery. To share freedom, they must also share a kidney.
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour suspended the sisters' life sentences on Wednesday, but 36-year-old Gladys Scott's release is contingent on her giving a kidney to Jamie, her 38-year-old sister, who requires daily dialysis.
The sisters were convicted in 1994 of leading two men into an ambush in central Mississippi the year before. Three teenagers hit each man in the head with a shotgun and took their wallets — making off with only $11, court records said.
Jamie and Gladys Scott were each convicted of two counts of armed robbery and sentenced to two life sentences"
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour suspended the sisters' life sentences on Wednesday, but 36-year-old Gladys Scott's release is contingent on her giving a kidney to Jamie, her 38-year-old sister, who requires daily dialysis.
The sisters were convicted in 1994 of leading two men into an ambush in central Mississippi the year before. Three teenagers hit each man in the head with a shotgun and took their wallets — making off with only $11, court records said.
Jamie and Gladys Scott were each convicted of two counts of armed robbery and sentenced to two life sentences"
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Husband Facing Prison for Hacking Wife's E-Mail
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Pastor Sandy McGriff channeled her inner Grinch, allegedly breaking into a parishioner's home on Christmas Eve!
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he Associated Press: Where are the jobs? For many companies, overseas
The Associated Press: Where are the jobs? For many companies, overseas: "Corporate profits are up. Stock prices are up. So why isn't anyone hiring?
Actually, many American companies are — just maybe not in your town. They're hiring overseas, where sales are surging and the pipeline of orders is fat.
More than half of the 15,000 people that Caterpillar Inc. has hired this year were outside the U.S. UPS is also hiring at a faster clip overseas. For both companies, sales in international markets are growing at least twice as fast as domestically.
The trend helps explain why unemployment remains high in the United States, edging up to 9.8 percent last month, even though companies are performing well:"All but 4 percent of the top 500 U.S. corporations reported profits this year, and the stock market is close to its highest point since the 2008 financial meltdown.
But the jobs are going elsewhere. The Economic Policy Institute, a Washington think tank, says American companies have created 1.4 million jobs overseas this year, compared with less than 1 million in the U.S. The additional 1.4 million jobs would have lowered the U.S. unemployment rate to 8.9 percent, says Robert Scott, the institute's senior international economist
Actually, many American companies are — just maybe not in your town. They're hiring overseas, where sales are surging and the pipeline of orders is fat.
More than half of the 15,000 people that Caterpillar Inc. has hired this year were outside the U.S. UPS is also hiring at a faster clip overseas. For both companies, sales in international markets are growing at least twice as fast as domestically.
The trend helps explain why unemployment remains high in the United States, edging up to 9.8 percent last month, even though companies are performing well:"All but 4 percent of the top 500 U.S. corporations reported profits this year, and the stock market is close to its highest point since the 2008 financial meltdown.
But the jobs are going elsewhere. The Economic Policy Institute, a Washington think tank, says American companies have created 1.4 million jobs overseas this year, compared with less than 1 million in the U.S. The additional 1.4 million jobs would have lowered the U.S. unemployment rate to 8.9 percent, says Robert Scott, the institute's senior international economist
Retired Marine Charles Clements Gets Probation for Killing Man Whose Dog Peed on His Lawn
Retired Marine Charles Clements Gets Probation for Killing Man Whose Dog Peed on His Lawn: "An Illinois judge has sentenced a retired U.S. Marine to four years of probation for killing a man whose dog urinated on his award-winning lawn.
Will County Judge Daniel Rozak made the ruling in the case this afternoon. As a result, Charles J. Clements, 69, will not serve any jail time for the May shooting of 23-year-old Joshua Funches, Chicago's NBC 5-TV reported.
Funches was walking his fox terrier in the Chicago suburb of University Park on May 9 when the dog urinated on Clements' front lawn, Will County prosecutors said. An argument between the two men ensued, during which Clements pulled out a .45-caliber handgun and pointed it at Funches, police say."
Will County Judge Daniel Rozak made the ruling in the case this afternoon. As a result, Charles J. Clements, 69, will not serve any jail time for the May shooting of 23-year-old Joshua Funches, Chicago's NBC 5-TV reported.
Funches was walking his fox terrier in the Chicago suburb of University Park on May 9 when the dog urinated on Clements' front lawn, Will County prosecutors said. An argument between the two men ensued, during which Clements pulled out a .45-caliber handgun and pointed it at Funches, police say."
China Reducing Rare Minerals Exports
Rare Earth Exports From China To Be Reduced By 11 Percent, Could Lead To More U.S. Mining: "BEIJING — China said Tuesday it is reducing the amount of rare earths it will export next year by more than 10 percent – likely to be an unpopular move worldwide since the minerals are vital to the manufacture of high-tech products.
China accounts for 97 percent of the global production of rare earths, which are essential to devices as varied as cell phones, computer drives and hybrid cars. Countries were alarmed when Beijing blocked shipments of the minerals to Japan earlier this year amid a dispute over disputed islands."
China accounts for 97 percent of the global production of rare earths, which are essential to devices as varied as cell phones, computer drives and hybrid cars. Countries were alarmed when Beijing blocked shipments of the minerals to Japan earlier this year amid a dispute over disputed islands."
Monday, December 27, 2010
Report: One-Quarter of Army Enlistees Fail Exam
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Sunday, December 26, 2010
Banks and WikiLeaks - NYTimes.com
Banks and WikiLeaks - NYTimes.com: "The whistle-blowing Web site WikiLeaks has not been convicted of a crime. The Justice Department has not even pressed charges over its disclosure of confidential State Department communications. Nonetheless, the financial industry is trying to shut it down.
RelatedTimes Topic:WikiLeaks
Visa, MasterCard and PayPal announced in the past few weeks that they would not process any transaction intended for WikiLeaks. Earlier this month, Bank of America decided to join the group, arguing that WikiLeaks may be doing things that are “inconsistent with our internal policies for processing payments.”"
RelatedTimes Topic:WikiLeaks
Visa, MasterCard and PayPal announced in the past few weeks that they would not process any transaction intended for WikiLeaks. Earlier this month, Bank of America decided to join the group, arguing that WikiLeaks may be doing things that are “inconsistent with our internal policies for processing payments.”"
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
12 Things Besides Elvis That Became Obsolete This Decade
12 Things That Became Obsolete This Decade (PHOTOS): "We're entering 2010 with all kinds of new gadgets, gizmos, and tech tools, but let's not forget that we've lost a few things this decade, too.
HuffPostTech took a look back at 12 things that became obsolete this decade.
From fax machines to landline phones check them out (and get nostalgic) in the slideshow below!
Vote for the gadgets you'll miss -- and those you think we're better off without."
HuffPostTech took a look back at 12 things that became obsolete this decade.
From fax machines to landline phones check them out (and get nostalgic) in the slideshow below!
Vote for the gadgets you'll miss -- and those you think we're better off without."
Grace Nasri: Exercise Calories: 10 Activities That Burn The Most Calories (PHOTOS)#s211860
Grace Nasri: Exercise Calories: 10 Activities That Burn The Most Calories (PHOTOS)#s211860: "With the New Year comes New Year's resolutions. Each year, a large percentage of Americans resolve that they will get in shape and lose weight. A survey conducted last year by FranklinConvey Products found that two of the top three New Year's resolutions in both 2009 and 2010 involved exercising more and losing weight. Yet despite resolving to get in shape year after year, 68 percent of adult Americans continue to be overweight, with 33.8 percent classified as obese, according to the National Institutes of Health.
The breakdown based on gender is: 64.1 percent of women and 72.3 percent of men are obese or overweight. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the average American woman weighs 164.7 pounds with a height of 63.8 inches, while the average man weights 194.7 pounds with a height of 69.4 inches. But despite growing waist lines and continued resolutions to lose weight, by the time February and March roll around many of us have gone back to our old routines that often do not include a healthy amount of exercise. After all, it's often hard to find time to exercise between work, taking care of a family, running errands, making dinner and dealing with all the other things life throws our way."
The breakdown based on gender is: 64.1 percent of women and 72.3 percent of men are obese or overweight. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the average American woman weighs 164.7 pounds with a height of 63.8 inches, while the average man weights 194.7 pounds with a height of 69.4 inches. But despite growing waist lines and continued resolutions to lose weight, by the time February and March roll around many of us have gone back to our old routines that often do not include a healthy amount of exercise. After all, it's often hard to find time to exercise between work, taking care of a family, running errands, making dinner and dealing with all the other things life throws our way."
Monday, December 20, 2010
LAPD Releases 'Grim Sleeper' Victim's Photos
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Sunday Soundbite Analysis 12/19
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Qur’an Written in Saddam’s Blood Stirs Debate
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Friday, December 17, 2010
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Beck vs. Zakaria: How Many Muslims are Terrorists?
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Florida Drawing Criticism for School Voucher Plan
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ABC Meteorologist Busted in Rape Lie
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This is what we have come too. Move over Black men, they are falsely accusing hispanics too now.
Terrence Lakin Sentence: 'Army Birther' Gets 6 Months In Military Prison: "Do you like this story?
310228
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Email Comments 1,163 FORT MEADE, Md. — An Army doctor who disobeyed orders to deploy to Afghanistan because he questioned President Barack Obama's eligibility to be commander in chief was sentenced by a jury Thursday to six months in a military prison and dismissal from the Army.
The military jury spent nearly five hours deliberating punishment for Lt. Col. Terrence Lakin on Thursday after three days of court martial proceedings at Fort Meade, outside Baltimore."
I feel better when men just say they are cowards! Do not hide behind BS!
310228
views1,171 Get Politics Alerts
Email Comments 1,163 FORT MEADE, Md. — An Army doctor who disobeyed orders to deploy to Afghanistan because he questioned President Barack Obama's eligibility to be commander in chief was sentenced by a jury Thursday to six months in a military prison and dismissal from the Army.
The military jury spent nearly five hours deliberating punishment for Lt. Col. Terrence Lakin on Thursday after three days of court martial proceedings at Fort Meade, outside Baltimore."
I feel better when men just say they are cowards! Do not hide behind BS!
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Wis. Postal Worker Delivers Mail In The Buff
Wis. Postal Worker Delivers Mail In The Buff « CBS Minnesota – News, Sports, Weather, Traffic, and the Best of Minnesota: "WHITEFISH BAY, Wis. (AP) – A Wisconsin postal carrier says he simply wanted to cheer up a woman on his mail rounds who seemed “stressed out.” But, upon further review, the postal worker says delivering the mail in the nude probably wasn’t such a good idea.
A police report says the 52-year-old man told the woman he would deliver the mail to her office in Whitefish Bay completely naked to make her laugh. He says the woman dared him to do it, so he took the dare Dec. 4 and brought the mail wearing only a smile.
The mail carrier was arrested for lewd and lascivious behavior several days later at the North Shore Post Office. The Journal Sentinel says the man admitted delivering the mail naked was a stupid thing to do"
This guy has grapefruits!! Blue ones now :-)
A police report says the 52-year-old man told the woman he would deliver the mail to her office in Whitefish Bay completely naked to make her laugh. He says the woman dared him to do it, so he took the dare Dec. 4 and brought the mail wearing only a smile.
The mail carrier was arrested for lewd and lascivious behavior several days later at the North Shore Post Office. The Journal Sentinel says the man admitted delivering the mail naked was a stupid thing to do"
This guy has grapefruits!! Blue ones now :-)
Monday, December 13, 2010
Soundbite Sunday
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Medicaid Cuts Hurt At The State Level
Medicaid Cuts Hurt At The State Level: "320
Email Comments 280 CHICAGO — In Illinois, a pharmacist closes his business because of late Medicaid payments. In Arizona, a young father's liver transplant is canceled because Medicaid suddenly won't pay for it. In California, dentists pull teeth that could be saved because Medicaid doesn't pay for root canals.
Across the country, state lawmakers have taken harsh actions to try to rein in the budget-busting costs of the health care program that serves 58 million poor and disabled Americans. Some states have cut payments to doctors, paid bills late and trimmed benefits such as insulin pumps, obesity surgery and hospice care"
Email Comments 280 CHICAGO — In Illinois, a pharmacist closes his business because of late Medicaid payments. In Arizona, a young father's liver transplant is canceled because Medicaid suddenly won't pay for it. In California, dentists pull teeth that could be saved because Medicaid doesn't pay for root canals.
Across the country, state lawmakers have taken harsh actions to try to rein in the budget-busting costs of the health care program that serves 58 million poor and disabled Americans. Some states have cut payments to doctors, paid bills late and trimmed benefits such as insulin pumps, obesity surgery and hospice care"
Saturday, December 11, 2010
LEAKED EMAIL: Fox boss caught slanting news reporting | Media Matters for America
LEAKED EMAIL: Fox boss caught slanting news reporting | Media Matters for America: "At the height of the health care reformdebate last fall, Bill Sammon, FoxNews' controversial Washington managing editor, sent a memo directing hisnetwork's journalists not to use the phrase 'public option.'
Instead, Sammon wrote, Fox's reportersshould use 'government option' and similar phrases -- wording that a topRepublican pollster had recommended in order to turn public opinion against theDemocrats' reform efforts.
Journalists on the network's flagship newsprogram, Special Report with Bret Baier, appear to have followedSammon's directive in reporting on health care reform that evening."
Who didn't know this?
Instead, Sammon wrote, Fox's reportersshould use 'government option' and similar phrases -- wording that a topRepublican pollster had recommended in order to turn public opinion against theDemocrats' reform efforts.
Journalists on the network's flagship newsprogram, Special Report with Bret Baier, appear to have followedSammon's directive in reporting on health care reform that evening."
Who didn't know this?
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Tensions Rise as Sudan Nears Referendum
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Cyber Warfare At It's Best
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Outrage As Taxpayers Pay to Cover Alleged Killer's Tattoos
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'Jihad' suspect held in alleged military bomb plot - U.S. news - Security - msnbc.com
'Jihad' suspect held in alleged military bomb plot - U.S. news - Security - msnbc.com: "BALTIMORE — A 21-year-old part-time construction worker obsessed with jihad was arrested Wednesday when he tried to detonate what he thought was a bomb at a military recruitment center — the second time in less than two weeks that an alleged homegrown terrorist was nabbed in a sting operation.
Antonio Martinez, a naturalized U.S. citizen who goes by the name Muhammad Hussain, faces charges of attempted murder of federal officers and attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, according to court documents filed Wednesday.
The bomb he's accused of trying to detonate was fake and had been provided by an undercover FBI agent. It was loaded into an SUV that Martinez parked in front of the recruiting center, authorities said, and an FBI informant picked him up and drove him to a nearby vantage point where he tried to set it off.
'There was never any actual danger to the public during this operation this morning,' U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein said Wednesday. 'That's because the FBI was controlling the situation.'"
Dang more home grown
Antonio Martinez, a naturalized U.S. citizen who goes by the name Muhammad Hussain, faces charges of attempted murder of federal officers and attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, according to court documents filed Wednesday.
The bomb he's accused of trying to detonate was fake and had been provided by an undercover FBI agent. It was loaded into an SUV that Martinez parked in front of the recruiting center, authorities said, and an FBI informant picked him up and drove him to a nearby vantage point where he tried to set it off.
'There was never any actual danger to the public during this operation this morning,' U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein said Wednesday. 'That's because the FBI was controlling the situation.'"
Dang more home grown
racial profiling: Cabbies Racially Profiling to Save Lives - KTXL
racial profiling: Cabbies Racially Profiling to Save Lives - KTXL: "SACRAMENTO — In just the last month, taxi cab drivers here and abroad have been robbed, shot, stabbed and killed. The suspects have been predominately black or Hispanic.
But now, cabbies are firing back - racially profiling fares and being told not to pick them up.
'I don't care about racial profiling. Sometimes it's good that we are racially profiling. The God's honest truth is 99 percent of the people that are robbing, stealing, killing these drivers are blacks and Hispanics,' said New York Taxi Cab Union President, Fernando Mateo.
He makes no apology about profiling, in the wake of one driver who was shot seven times last Friday. He is clinging to life."
Now who can blame them?
But now, cabbies are firing back - racially profiling fares and being told not to pick them up.
'I don't care about racial profiling. Sometimes it's good that we are racially profiling. The God's honest truth is 99 percent of the people that are robbing, stealing, killing these drivers are blacks and Hispanics,' said New York Taxi Cab Union President, Fernando Mateo.
He makes no apology about profiling, in the wake of one driver who was shot seven times last Friday. He is clinging to life."
Now who can blame them?
Filipinos sue CA hospital over English-only rule - Yahoo! News
Filipinos sue CA hospital over English-only rule - Yahoo! News: "LOS ANGELES – Dozens of Filipino hospital workers in California sued their employer Tuesday alleging they were the sole ethnic group targeted by a rule requiring them to speak only English.
The group of 52 nurses and medical staff filed a complaint accusing Delano Regional Medical Center of banning them from speaking Tagalog and other Filipino languages while letting other workers speak Spanish and Hindi.
The plaintiffs are seeking to join an August complaint filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in Kern County federal court over the hospital's enforcement of a rule requiring workers to speak English."
And the band played on. It still exist and we are the only country that would try to make people speak one language.
The group of 52 nurses and medical staff filed a complaint accusing Delano Regional Medical Center of banning them from speaking Tagalog and other Filipino languages while letting other workers speak Spanish and Hindi.
The plaintiffs are seeking to join an August complaint filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in Kern County federal court over the hospital's enforcement of a rule requiring workers to speak English."
And the band played on. It still exist and we are the only country that would try to make people speak one language.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
To Kill or Not to kill? That is the question and many more
How is it that judicial approval is required when the United States decides to target a U.S. citizen overseas for electronic surveillance, but . . . judicial scrutiny is prohibited when the United States decides to target a U.S. citizen overseas for death?"
That's just one of many intriguing questions raised -- but not answered -- by the D.C. District Court today in its decision dismissing the case of Anwar al-Awlaki, a challenge to the government's authorization to kill a U.S. citizen allegedly tied to Al Qaeda overseas. Ultimately, the court won't answer any of these critical questions because it decided that Al-Awlaki's father lacks standing to sue, since he's not directly harmed by the U.S. action.
Significantly, though, Judge John Bates did not dismiss the case on the merits. Instead, he went out of his way to write that the case raises important legal questions regarding whether the government can target its own citizen for death in a foreign country without so much as a hearing to determine that he's done anything wrong.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/daphne-eviatar/al-awlaki-decision-leaves_b_793348.html
That's just one of many intriguing questions raised -- but not answered -- by the D.C. District Court today in its decision dismissing the case of Anwar al-Awlaki, a challenge to the government's authorization to kill a U.S. citizen allegedly tied to Al Qaeda overseas. Ultimately, the court won't answer any of these critical questions because it decided that Al-Awlaki's father lacks standing to sue, since he's not directly harmed by the U.S. action.
Significantly, though, Judge John Bates did not dismiss the case on the merits. Instead, he went out of his way to write that the case raises important legal questions regarding whether the government can target its own citizen for death in a foreign country without so much as a hearing to determine that he's done anything wrong.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/daphne-eviatar/al-awlaki-decision-leaves_b_793348.html
Assange Jailed and Refused Mail
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New Gene Discovered!
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Monday, December 6, 2010
China Nailed For Attacks On Google
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Well I would like to see proof.
Cold Blooded In AZ (Real America)
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Friday, December 3, 2010
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Police fooled by lifelike mask in Ohio robberies
CINCINNATI -- A white man who pleaded guilty to six robberies in Ohio used a black mask so lifelike that police initially arrested a black man for one of the crimes, authorities said Tuesday.
The mother of the wrongly accused man even thought a photo of the robbery suspect she saw on television was a photo of her son, the Hamilton County prosecutor's office and the attorney for the white defendant said.
Conrad Zdzierak, 30, pleaded guilty Monday in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court to one count of aggravated robbery and five counts of robbery in a plea deal with prosecutors. He faces up to 35 years in prison at his Jan. 7 sentencing.
In exchange, prosecutors dismissed 12 charges and decided not to seek indictments for other crimes, prosecutor's spokeswoman Julie Wilson said Tuesday.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/30/AR2010113005336.html
The mother of the wrongly accused man even thought a photo of the robbery suspect she saw on television was a photo of her son, the Hamilton County prosecutor's office and the attorney for the white defendant said.
Conrad Zdzierak, 30, pleaded guilty Monday in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court to one count of aggravated robbery and five counts of robbery in a plea deal with prosecutors. He faces up to 35 years in prison at his Jan. 7 sentencing.
In exchange, prosecutors dismissed 12 charges and decided not to seek indictments for other crimes, prosecutor's spokeswoman Julie Wilson said Tuesday.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/30/AR2010113005336.html
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Patriotic 'Hacktivist' Claims He Took Down Wikileaks Site
Computer hacker is claiming he temporarily disabled the Wikileaks site Sunday afternoon, right as the latest dump of leaked State Department memos were scheduled to publish on the site.
"www.wikileaks.org - TANGO DOWN - for attempting to endanger the lives of our troops, 'other assets' & foreign relations," he tweeted late Sunday morning.
"Tango down" is a special forces military term for having eliminated a terrorist.
He goes by the Twitter handle "th3j35t3r", which is leetspeak for "The Jester."
On his website, th3j35t3r calls himself a "hacktivist for good." A "hacktivist" -- a hacker-activist, supposedly hacks for a good cause. His cause is preventing young people from being recruited online by jihadists. He does this by hacking jihadist websites, and temporarily disabling them.
"PS for me personally WL is a sideshow target, I am more interested in the big jihad recruiting and training sites," he said Sunday in a direct message to ABC News via Twitter, referring to hacking the Wikileaks website.
Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer of global information technology security software vendor F-Secure, said today that he's familiar with The Jester.
He says the reason he takes down jihadist websites is "multi-fold."
"big thing is the fact that we waste billions on troops risking their lives in the field (hats off)" he writes.
"but the real threat now is the way they can radicalize 'normal' muslims into doing awful stuff on their own countries ground?.." he continues, "they can groom. recruit, train, and manourvre, home grown terrorists without ever having to meet them."
He says his aim was "initially to make those sites sporadically unavailable," yet he did not want to tread on the toes of countries' secret services. He says he used an attack tool he developed, "XerXeS", which will "pull down a site at will."
He claims to be a former member of a special operations unit, but provided no details. He says he has worked with U.S. forces, and has the "utmost respect for their conduct in the field."
http://abcnews.go.com/US/patriotic-hacktivist-claims-wikileaks-site/story?id=12272776
You gotta like this guy!!
"www.wikileaks.org - TANGO DOWN - for attempting to endanger the lives of our troops, 'other assets' & foreign relations," he tweeted late Sunday morning.
"Tango down" is a special forces military term for having eliminated a terrorist.
He goes by the Twitter handle "th3j35t3r", which is leetspeak for "The Jester."
On his website, th3j35t3r calls himself a "hacktivist for good." A "hacktivist" -- a hacker-activist, supposedly hacks for a good cause. His cause is preventing young people from being recruited online by jihadists. He does this by hacking jihadist websites, and temporarily disabling them.
"PS for me personally WL is a sideshow target, I am more interested in the big jihad recruiting and training sites," he said Sunday in a direct message to ABC News via Twitter, referring to hacking the Wikileaks website.
Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer of global information technology security software vendor F-Secure, said today that he's familiar with The Jester.
He says the reason he takes down jihadist websites is "multi-fold."
"big thing is the fact that we waste billions on troops risking their lives in the field (hats off)" he writes.
"but the real threat now is the way they can radicalize 'normal' muslims into doing awful stuff on their own countries ground?.." he continues, "they can groom. recruit, train, and manourvre, home grown terrorists without ever having to meet them."
He says his aim was "initially to make those sites sporadically unavailable," yet he did not want to tread on the toes of countries' secret services. He says he used an attack tool he developed, "XerXeS", which will "pull down a site at will."
He claims to be a former member of a special operations unit, but provided no details. He says he has worked with U.S. forces, and has the "utmost respect for their conduct in the field."
http://abcnews.go.com/US/patriotic-hacktivist-claims-wikileaks-site/story?id=12272776
You gotta like this guy!!
Monday, November 29, 2010
Soundbite Sunday
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18 Former ACORN Workers Have Been Convicted or Admitted Guilt in Election Fraud
The scandal-plagued ACORN may no longer exist, but its tarnished legacy lives on in court, as the activist group and its former employees face criminal punishment.
So far this year, at least 18 former workers have admitted guilt or been convicted on varying charges of election fraud. The punishment has ranged from probation to several months of prison time.
ACORN, once a powerful advocate for low-income and minority voters, shuttered its operations amid plummeting revenues in March, six months after conservative activists posing as a pimp and prostitute caught on video some of the group's employees offering them tax advice.
But the group is still facing charges in Nevada on conspiracy to commit the crime of compensation for registration of voters.The trial, originally scheduled to begin Monday, has been postponed likely until next year.
Former workers across the country already are being punished for their criminal activities.
YOU MIGHT ALSO BE INTERESTED IN Christmas Fight! Teamsters vs. Toys R Us Socialism: Rearing its Ugly Head Again Mystery Surrounds Cyber Missile That Crippled Iran's Nuclear Weapons Ambitions Incoming Postmaster General Taking Over Mail Service in Disarray Furor Over Picture Depicting Suicide Bombing in Britain In Miami, seven former ACORN voter registration canvassers were convicted of "false swearing-in an election," and sentenced to probation and community service and banned from participating in future political campaigns, according to court documents.
In Pennsylvania, six of seven former ACORN workers who were charged in an investigation were convicted of unsworn falsification and interference with election officials. Four have reached a plea agreement on reduced charges and will serve two years of probation. Cases against two others who entered pleas to reduced charges are pending.
So far this year, at least 18 former workers have admitted guilt or been convicted on varying charges of election fraud. The punishment has ranged from probation to several months of prison time.
ACORN, once a powerful advocate for low-income and minority voters, shuttered its operations amid plummeting revenues in March, six months after conservative activists posing as a pimp and prostitute caught on video some of the group's employees offering them tax advice.
But the group is still facing charges in Nevada on conspiracy to commit the crime of compensation for registration of voters.The trial, originally scheduled to begin Monday, has been postponed likely until next year.
Former workers across the country already are being punished for their criminal activities.
YOU MIGHT ALSO BE INTERESTED IN Christmas Fight! Teamsters vs. Toys R Us Socialism: Rearing its Ugly Head Again Mystery Surrounds Cyber Missile That Crippled Iran's Nuclear Weapons Ambitions Incoming Postmaster General Taking Over Mail Service in Disarray Furor Over Picture Depicting Suicide Bombing in Britain In Miami, seven former ACORN voter registration canvassers were convicted of "false swearing-in an election," and sentenced to probation and community service and banned from participating in future political campaigns, according to court documents.
In Pennsylvania, six of seven former ACORN workers who were charged in an investigation were convicted of unsworn falsification and interference with election officials. Four have reached a plea agreement on reduced charges and will serve two years of probation. Cases against two others who entered pleas to reduced charges are pending.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Cheat Sheet - Breaking News, World, U.S. & Entertainment - The Daily Beast
Cheat Sheet - Breaking News, World, U.S. & Entertainment - The Daily Beast: "As South Korea and the United States began naval war drills, China finally broke its silence about the tensions mounting between the two Korean nations. On Sunday, China called for emergency talks among the nations previously involved in negotiations with North Korea over its nuclear program. The U.S. and South Korea have been calling for days on China to rebuke North Korea’s deadly artillery attack on a Yellow Sea island populated by South Koreans. It remains unclear if China is hoping to re-start talks about North Korea’s nuclear program or if the meeting it suggested was to discuss the North’s recent aggressive behavior. The naval exercises were intended by the U.S. and South Korea to deter further attacks from the North and signal to China that if it does not intervene, it may see a larger American presence in the region.
Read it at The New York Times"
Read it at The New York Times"
Saudi king urged U.S. to attack Iran: WikiLeaks | Reuters
Saudi king urged U.S. to attack Iran: WikiLeaks | Reuters: "(Reuters) - Saudi King Abdullah has repeatedly urged the United States to attack Iran's nuclear program and China directed cyberattacks on the United States, according to a vast cache of U.S. diplomatic cables released on Sunday in an embarrassing leak that undermines U.S. diplomacy.
The more than 250,000 documents, given to five media groups by the whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks, provide candid, tart views of foreign leaders and sensitive information on terrorism and nuclear proliferation filed by U.S. diplomats, according to The New York Times.
Among the revelations in Britain's Guardian newspaper, which also received an advance look at the documents, King Abdullah is reported to have 'frequently exhorted the U.S. to attack Iran to put an end to its nuclear weapons program.'
'Cut off the head of the snake,' the Saudi ambassador to Washington, Adel al-Jubeir, quotes the king as saying, according to a report on Abdullah's meeting with General David Petraeus in April 2008.
The leaked documents, the majority of which are from the last three years, also disclose U.S. allegations that China's Politburo directed an intrusion into Google's computer systems, part of a broader coordinated campaign of computer sabotage carried out by Chinese government operatives, private security experts and Internet outlaws, the Times reported."
The more than 250,000 documents, given to five media groups by the whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks, provide candid, tart views of foreign leaders and sensitive information on terrorism and nuclear proliferation filed by U.S. diplomats, according to The New York Times.
Among the revelations in Britain's Guardian newspaper, which also received an advance look at the documents, King Abdullah is reported to have 'frequently exhorted the U.S. to attack Iran to put an end to its nuclear weapons program.'
'Cut off the head of the snake,' the Saudi ambassador to Washington, Adel al-Jubeir, quotes the king as saying, according to a report on Abdullah's meeting with General David Petraeus in April 2008.
The leaked documents, the majority of which are from the last three years, also disclose U.S. allegations that China's Politburo directed an intrusion into Google's computer systems, part of a broader coordinated campaign of computer sabotage carried out by Chinese government operatives, private security experts and Internet outlaws, the Times reported."
New Acer Tablet Expecgted to Outsale IPAD
pp
Multisource political news, world news, and entertainment news analysis by Newsy.com
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Mohamed Osman Mohamud Arrested In Portland Car Bomb Plot
Multisource political news, world news, and entertainment news analysis by Newsy.com
Mohamed Osman Mohamud Arrested In Portland Car Bomb Plot: "PORTLAND, Ore. — A Somali-born teenager plotted 'a spectacular show' of terrorism for months, saying he didn't mind that children would die if he bombed a crowded Christmas tree-lighting ceremony, according to a law-enforcement official and court documents.
He never got the chance. Mohamed Osman Mohamud, 19, was arrested Friday in downtown Portland after using a cell phone to try to detonate what he thought were explosives in a van, prosecutors said. It turned out to be a dummy bomb put together by FBI agents, and authorities said the public was never in danger.
The case is the latest in a string of alleged terrorist planning by U.S. citizens or residents, including a Times Square plot in which a Pakistan-born man pleaded guilty earlier this year to trying to set off a car bomb at a busy street corner.
In the Portland plot, Mohamud believed he was receiving help from a larger ring of jihadists as he communicated with undercover agents, but a law enforcement official who wasn't authorized to discuss the case publicly and spoke on a condition of anonymity told The Associated Press that no foreign terrorist organization was directing him."
Alaska fighting uphill battle to reduce gonorrhea rate
Sarah Palins Alaska!! Which episode is this?
Alaska fighting uphill battle to reduce gonorrhea rate: Health | adn.com: "An outbreak of gonorrhea across Alaska that began in 2009 is continuing this year, and health officials say they are trying new ways to curb it.
The number of gonorrhea cases in Alaska rose an alarming 69 percent, according to a new U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report.
State health officials began calling attention to a spike in gonorrhea cases in Southwest Alaska more than a year ago and highlighted the statewide rise in March.
The new report shows that Alaska ranks ninth in the nation for its rate of gonorrhea, compared with its ranking in recent years in the mid-20s. Alaska also is second in the nation for its high rate of chlamydia, another sexually transmitted disease that often is transmitted along with gonorrhea.
'Hopefully, the high numbers now are more of a success story in that people are coming in and getting tested. Though I am surprised the numbers haven't declined,' said Susan Jones, the state's HIV/STD program manager. 'It's this continuing rise in numbers that we haven't been able to get under control.'"
Alaska fighting uphill battle to reduce gonorrhea rate: Health | adn.com: "An outbreak of gonorrhea across Alaska that began in 2009 is continuing this year, and health officials say they are trying new ways to curb it.
The number of gonorrhea cases in Alaska rose an alarming 69 percent, according to a new U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report.
State health officials began calling attention to a spike in gonorrhea cases in Southwest Alaska more than a year ago and highlighted the statewide rise in March.
The new report shows that Alaska ranks ninth in the nation for its rate of gonorrhea, compared with its ranking in recent years in the mid-20s. Alaska also is second in the nation for its high rate of chlamydia, another sexually transmitted disease that often is transmitted along with gonorrhea.
'Hopefully, the high numbers now are more of a success story in that people are coming in and getting tested. Though I am surprised the numbers haven't declined,' said Susan Jones, the state's HIV/STD program manager. 'It's this continuing rise in numbers that we haven't been able to get under control.'"
Angelo 'Lil Demon' Baligad, 8-Year-Old Break Dancer, Shows Off Incredible Moves During Battle
For those us who remember when break dancing began, it has evolved!!!
My Continuing Education - TimeFrames - TIME
My Continuing Education - TimeFrames - TIME: "Columnists are paid to have opinions. Sometimes those opinions are wrong. Those two sentences are as obvious as a sunrise, but usually unspoken by my fellow opinionmongers. I can point you to many weeks of prescience and sheer genius in my work since I arrived at TIME in January 2003. But I think we'd learn more if we took a look at one of my goofs: I supported George W. Bush's idea of partially privatizing Social Security, which he tried to enact after he was re-elected in 2004. This was a close call for me at the time; it seems positively idiotic now that we've experienced the Great Recession — and the idea of private investment has finally regained proper perspective. Investment is about risk; Social Security is about certainty. A fair amount of certainty is crucial when it comes to retirement. Why, you might ask, was I blind to this simple proposition at the time?"
Well In this case I would have said,"Because you are stupid." If SS would have been private last year, it would have tanked with all other investments.
Well In this case I would have said,"Because you are stupid." If SS would have been private last year, it would have tanked with all other investments.
Friday, November 26, 2010
USS George Washington Visit Poses A Dilemma For China
USS George Washington Visit Poses A Dilemma For China: "BEIJING — This weekend's arrival of a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Yellow Sea poses a dilemma for Beijing: Should it protest angrily and aggravate ties with Washington, or quietly accept the presence of a key symbol of American military pre-eminence off Chinese shores?
The USS George Washington, accompanied by escort ships, is to take part in military drills with South Korea following North Korea's shelling of a South Korean island Tuesday that was one of the most serious confrontations since the Korean War a half-century ago.
It's a scenario China has sought to prevent. Only four months ago, Chinese officials and military officers shrilly warned Washington against sending a carrier into the Yellow Sea for an earlier set of exercises. Some said it would escalate tensions after the sinking of a South Korean navy ship blamed on North Korea. Others went further, calling the carrier deployment a threat to Chinese security.
Beijing believes its objections worked. Although Washington never said why, no aircraft carrier sailed into the strategic Yellow Sea, which laps at several Chinese provinces and the Korean peninsula.
This time around, with outrage high over the shelling, the U.S. raising pressure on China to rein in wayward ally North Korea, and a Chinese-American summit in the works, the warship is coming, and Beijing is muffling any criticisms."
Well as long as the 82nd Airborne is not in the air, we can still get peace
The USS George Washington, accompanied by escort ships, is to take part in military drills with South Korea following North Korea's shelling of a South Korean island Tuesday that was one of the most serious confrontations since the Korean War a half-century ago.
It's a scenario China has sought to prevent. Only four months ago, Chinese officials and military officers shrilly warned Washington against sending a carrier into the Yellow Sea for an earlier set of exercises. Some said it would escalate tensions after the sinking of a South Korean navy ship blamed on North Korea. Others went further, calling the carrier deployment a threat to Chinese security.
Beijing believes its objections worked. Although Washington never said why, no aircraft carrier sailed into the strategic Yellow Sea, which laps at several Chinese provinces and the Korean peninsula.
This time around, with outrage high over the shelling, the U.S. raising pressure on China to rein in wayward ally North Korea, and a Chinese-American summit in the works, the warship is coming, and Beijing is muffling any criticisms."
Well as long as the 82nd Airborne is not in the air, we can still get peace
19 iconic products that america doesn't make anymore: Tech Ticker, Yahoo! Finance
19 iconic products that america doesn't make anymore: Tech Ticker, Yahoo! Finance: "Another American icon has bit the dust: Pontiac.
GM is canceling the 84-year-old brand after winding down production over the past few years. Like other American automakers, it is restructuring and rebranding to compete with foreign companies.
Pontiac joins a long list of iconic products that aren't made anywhere in America.
Meanwhile, plenty of beer is still made here, but many of America’s most-iconic beer brands, including Miller, Coors, and Budweiser, are owned by foreign companies. In 2008, Anheuser-Busch, the St. Louis-based company that has a nearly 50 percent market share in the U.S., was sold to InBev, a Belgium-based conglomerate run by Brazilian executives. In the accompanying video, Julie McIntosh, author of Dethroning the King: The Hostile Takeover of Anheuser-Busch, an American Icon, discusses the deal with Yahoo! Finance economics editor Daniel Gross.
Here are 18 Iconic Products That America Doesn't Make Anymore:"
Rawlings baseballs
Last production date: 1969
Rawlings is the official supplier of baseballs to Major League Baseball. The St. Louis shop was founded in 1887 by George and Alfred Rawlings. In 1969 the brothers moved the baseball-manufacturing plant from Puerto Rico to Haiti and then later to Costa Rica.
Etch a Sketch
Last production date: 2000
Etch A Sketch, an iconic American toy since the 1960s, used to be produced in Bryan, Ohio, a small town of 8,000. Then in Dec. 2000, toymaker Ohio Art decided to move production to Shenzhen, China.
Converse shoes
Last production date: 2001
Marquis M. Converse opened Converse Rubber Show Company in Massachusetts in 1908. Chuck Taylors– named after All American high school basketball player Chuck Taylor– began selling in 1918 as the show eventually produced an industry record of over 550 million pairs by 1997. But in 2001 sales were on the decline and the U.S. factory closed. Now Chuck Taylors are made in Indonesia.
Stainless steel rebar
Last production date: circa 2001
Many forms of this basic steel product are not available domestically. Multiple waivers to the Buy America Act have allowed purchase of rebar internationally.
Note: The Buy America Act requires government mass transportation spending to use American products.
Dress shirts*
Last production date: Oct. 2002
The last major shirt factory in America closed in October 2002, according to NYT. C.F. Hathaway's Maine factory had been producing shirts since 1837.
*We know there are other shirt manufacturers in America. They do not produce in large quantities or supply major brands.
Mattel toys
Last production date: 2002
The largest toy company in the world closed their last American factory in 2002. Mattel, headquartered in California, produces 65 percent of their products in China as of August 2007.
Minivans
Last production date: circa 2003
A waiver to the Buy America Act permitted an American producer of wheel-chair accessible minivans to purchase Canadian chassis for use in government contracts, because no chassis were available from the United States. The waiver specified: "General Motors and Chrysler minivan chassis, including those used on the Chevrolet Uplander, Pontiac Montana, Buick Terraza, Saturn Relay, Chrysler Town & Country, and Dodge Grand Caravan, are no longer manufactured in the United States."
Note: The Buy America Act requires government mass transportation spending to use American products.
Vending machines
Last production date: circa 2003
You know that thing you put bills into on a vending machine? It isn’t made in America, according to a waiver to the Buy America Act.
Neither is the coin dispenser, according to this federal waiver.
Note: The Buy America Act requires government mass transportation spending to use American products.
Levi jeans
Last production date: Dec. 2003
Levi Strauss & Co. shut down all its American operations and outsourced production to Latin America and Asia in Dec. 2003. The company's denim products have been an iconic American product for 150 years.
Radio Flyer's Red Wagon
Last production date: March 2004
The little red wagon has been an iconic image of America for years. But once Radio Flyer decided its Chicago plant was too expensive, it began producing most products, including the red wagon, in China.
Televisions
Last production date: Oct. 2004
Five Rivers Electronic Innovations was the last American owned TV color maker in the US. The Tennessee company used LCoS (liquid crystal on silicon) technology to produce televisions for Philips Electronics. But after Philips decided to stop selling TVs with LCoS, Five Rivers eventually filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Oct. 2004. As part of its reorganization plan, the company stopped manufacturing TVs.
Now there are ZERO televisions made in America, according to Business Week.
Cell phones
Last production date: circa 2007
Of the 1.2 billion cell phones sold worldwide in 2008, NOT ONE was made in America, according to Manufacturing & Technology publisher Richard McCormick.
After studying the websites of cell phone companies, we could not identify a single phone that was not manufactured primarily overseas.
Railroads (parts including manganese turnout castings, U69 guard bars, LV braces and weld kits)
Last production date: circa 2008
Here's another standout from dozens of waivers to the Buy America Act: railroad turnouts and weld kits.
Manganese turnout castings are used to widen railroad tracks, and they were used to build our once-great railroad system. U69 guard bars, LV braces and Weld Kits, along with 22 mm Industrial steel chain are basic items that were certifiably not available in the US.
Note: The Buy America Act requires government mass transportation spending to use American products.
Dell computers
Last production date: Jan. 2010
In January 2010, Dell closed its North Carolina PC factory, its last large U.S. plant. Analysts said Dell would be outsourcing work to Asian manufacturers in an attempt to catch up with the rest of the industry, said analyst Ashok Kumar.
Canned sardines
Last production date: April 2010
Stinson Seafood plant, the last sardine cannery in Maine and the U.S., shut down in April. The first U.S. sardine cannery opened in Maine in 1875, but since the demand for the small, oily fish declined, more canneries closed shop.
Pontiac cars
Last production date: May 2010
The last Pontiac was produced last May. The brand was formally killed on Halloween, as GM contracts Pontiac dealerships expired.
The 84-year-old GM brand was famous for muscle cars.
Forks, spoons, and knives
Last production date: June 2010
The last flatware factory in the US closed last summer. Sherrill Manufacturing bought Oneida Ltd. in 2005, but shut down its fork & knife operations due to the tough economy. CEO Greg Owens says his company may resume production "when the general economic climate improves and as Sherrill Manufacturing is able to put itself back on its feet and recapitalize and regroup."
Incandescent light bulb
Last production date: Sept. 2010
The incandescent light bulb (invented by Thomas Edison) has been phased out.
Our last major factory that made incandescent light bulbs closed in September 2010. In 2007, Congress passed a measure that will ban incandescents by 2014, prompting GE to close its domestic factory.
Note: A reader pointed out that the Osram/Sylvania Plant in St. Mary's, Penn. is still producing light bulbs to fill old and international contracts. However, the plant has announced plans to wind down incandescent production.
.
GM is canceling the 84-year-old brand after winding down production over the past few years. Like other American automakers, it is restructuring and rebranding to compete with foreign companies.
Pontiac joins a long list of iconic products that aren't made anywhere in America.
Meanwhile, plenty of beer is still made here, but many of America’s most-iconic beer brands, including Miller, Coors, and Budweiser, are owned by foreign companies. In 2008, Anheuser-Busch, the St. Louis-based company that has a nearly 50 percent market share in the U.S., was sold to InBev, a Belgium-based conglomerate run by Brazilian executives. In the accompanying video, Julie McIntosh, author of Dethroning the King: The Hostile Takeover of Anheuser-Busch, an American Icon, discusses the deal with Yahoo! Finance economics editor Daniel Gross.
Here are 18 Iconic Products That America Doesn't Make Anymore:"
Rawlings baseballs
Last production date: 1969
Rawlings is the official supplier of baseballs to Major League Baseball. The St. Louis shop was founded in 1887 by George and Alfred Rawlings. In 1969 the brothers moved the baseball-manufacturing plant from Puerto Rico to Haiti and then later to Costa Rica.
Etch a Sketch
Last production date: 2000
Etch A Sketch, an iconic American toy since the 1960s, used to be produced in Bryan, Ohio, a small town of 8,000. Then in Dec. 2000, toymaker Ohio Art decided to move production to Shenzhen, China.
Converse shoes
Last production date: 2001
Marquis M. Converse opened Converse Rubber Show Company in Massachusetts in 1908. Chuck Taylors– named after All American high school basketball player Chuck Taylor– began selling in 1918 as the show eventually produced an industry record of over 550 million pairs by 1997. But in 2001 sales were on the decline and the U.S. factory closed. Now Chuck Taylors are made in Indonesia.
Stainless steel rebar
Last production date: circa 2001
Many forms of this basic steel product are not available domestically. Multiple waivers to the Buy America Act have allowed purchase of rebar internationally.
Note: The Buy America Act requires government mass transportation spending to use American products.
Dress shirts*
Last production date: Oct. 2002
The last major shirt factory in America closed in October 2002, according to NYT. C.F. Hathaway's Maine factory had been producing shirts since 1837.
*We know there are other shirt manufacturers in America. They do not produce in large quantities or supply major brands.
Mattel toys
Last production date: 2002
The largest toy company in the world closed their last American factory in 2002. Mattel, headquartered in California, produces 65 percent of their products in China as of August 2007.
Minivans
Last production date: circa 2003
A waiver to the Buy America Act permitted an American producer of wheel-chair accessible minivans to purchase Canadian chassis for use in government contracts, because no chassis were available from the United States. The waiver specified: "General Motors and Chrysler minivan chassis, including those used on the Chevrolet Uplander, Pontiac Montana, Buick Terraza, Saturn Relay, Chrysler Town & Country, and Dodge Grand Caravan, are no longer manufactured in the United States."
Note: The Buy America Act requires government mass transportation spending to use American products.
Vending machines
Last production date: circa 2003
You know that thing you put bills into on a vending machine? It isn’t made in America, according to a waiver to the Buy America Act.
Neither is the coin dispenser, according to this federal waiver.
Note: The Buy America Act requires government mass transportation spending to use American products.
Levi jeans
Last production date: Dec. 2003
Levi Strauss & Co. shut down all its American operations and outsourced production to Latin America and Asia in Dec. 2003. The company's denim products have been an iconic American product for 150 years.
Radio Flyer's Red Wagon
Last production date: March 2004
The little red wagon has been an iconic image of America for years. But once Radio Flyer decided its Chicago plant was too expensive, it began producing most products, including the red wagon, in China.
Televisions
Last production date: Oct. 2004
Five Rivers Electronic Innovations was the last American owned TV color maker in the US. The Tennessee company used LCoS (liquid crystal on silicon) technology to produce televisions for Philips Electronics. But after Philips decided to stop selling TVs with LCoS, Five Rivers eventually filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Oct. 2004. As part of its reorganization plan, the company stopped manufacturing TVs.
Now there are ZERO televisions made in America, according to Business Week.
Cell phones
Last production date: circa 2007
Of the 1.2 billion cell phones sold worldwide in 2008, NOT ONE was made in America, according to Manufacturing & Technology publisher Richard McCormick.
After studying the websites of cell phone companies, we could not identify a single phone that was not manufactured primarily overseas.
Railroads (parts including manganese turnout castings, U69 guard bars, LV braces and weld kits)
Last production date: circa 2008
Here's another standout from dozens of waivers to the Buy America Act: railroad turnouts and weld kits.
Manganese turnout castings are used to widen railroad tracks, and they were used to build our once-great railroad system. U69 guard bars, LV braces and Weld Kits, along with 22 mm Industrial steel chain are basic items that were certifiably not available in the US.
Note: The Buy America Act requires government mass transportation spending to use American products.
Dell computers
Last production date: Jan. 2010
In January 2010, Dell closed its North Carolina PC factory, its last large U.S. plant. Analysts said Dell would be outsourcing work to Asian manufacturers in an attempt to catch up with the rest of the industry, said analyst Ashok Kumar.
Canned sardines
Last production date: April 2010
Stinson Seafood plant, the last sardine cannery in Maine and the U.S., shut down in April. The first U.S. sardine cannery opened in Maine in 1875, but since the demand for the small, oily fish declined, more canneries closed shop.
Pontiac cars
Last production date: May 2010
The last Pontiac was produced last May. The brand was formally killed on Halloween, as GM contracts Pontiac dealerships expired.
The 84-year-old GM brand was famous for muscle cars.
Forks, spoons, and knives
Last production date: June 2010
The last flatware factory in the US closed last summer. Sherrill Manufacturing bought Oneida Ltd. in 2005, but shut down its fork & knife operations due to the tough economy. CEO Greg Owens says his company may resume production "when the general economic climate improves and as Sherrill Manufacturing is able to put itself back on its feet and recapitalize and regroup."
Incandescent light bulb
Last production date: Sept. 2010
The incandescent light bulb (invented by Thomas Edison) has been phased out.
Our last major factory that made incandescent light bulbs closed in September 2010. In 2007, Congress passed a measure that will ban incandescents by 2014, prompting GE to close its domestic factory.
Note: A reader pointed out that the Osram/Sylvania Plant in St. Mary's, Penn. is still producing light bulbs to fill old and international contracts. However, the plant has announced plans to wind down incandescent production.
.
New drug tunnel found at U.S.-Mexico border - Yahoo! News
New drug tunnel found at U.S.-Mexico border - Yahoo! News: "SAN DIEGO (Reuters) – U.S. border agents said on Friday they had found a multimillion dollar drug-smuggling tunnel under the U.S.-Mexico border that is more sophisticated than one discovered less than three weeks ago in the same area.
The tunnel is half a mile long and reaches to about 90 feet deep, contains two entrances on the U.S. side of the border and is outfitted with advanced rail, electrical and ventilation systems, officials with the San Diego Tunnel Task Force said.
On the Mexican side the underground passage, which is tall enough for a grown man to stand in, emerges in the kitchen of a stucco house in Tijuana, where it is capped with a hydraulic steel door, the officials said.
The tunnel walls are fortified with wood and cinderblock supports, and the Tijuana house has a garage large enough to accommodate deliveries by large trucks."
The tunnel is half a mile long and reaches to about 90 feet deep, contains two entrances on the U.S. side of the border and is outfitted with advanced rail, electrical and ventilation systems, officials with the San Diego Tunnel Task Force said.
On the Mexican side the underground passage, which is tall enough for a grown man to stand in, emerges in the kitchen of a stucco house in Tijuana, where it is capped with a hydraulic steel door, the officials said.
The tunnel walls are fortified with wood and cinderblock supports, and the Tijuana house has a garage large enough to accommodate deliveries by large trucks."
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Is Your New Neighbor a Squatter? | NBC Los Angeles
Is Your New Neighbor a Squatter? | NBC Los Angeles: "In an upscale enclave in the San Fernando Valley, there's a new neighbor on the block. He drives a big Mercedes, sometimes a fancy SUV and residents say he's been living in a three-story mansion, which was empty and going into foreclosure.
His name is Dawud Walli, and neighbors say he moved into a huge empty home last July, furnishing nearly every room of the house.
'We feel unsafe. We can't sleep. We have families,' say some of the residents who live nearby.
They say Walli made this a party house.
Inside a Squatter HouseInside, we found booze and condoms scattered about. But no one really knew what went on here, because some of the windows were covered with tape and garbage bags.
'They don't want to make contact with the neighbors. They do not want to make eye contact with you. They do not talk to you,' says someone who lives nearby.
Prosecutors say this is happening across Southern California.
They've caught squatters illegally living in homes in Bel-Air, Marina Del Rey and Winnetka.
'It's a huge problem and growing every day,' says Los Angeles City Attorney Maureen Rodriguez.
'It's just amazing how nervy they can be: presenting false leases,' says Rodriguez.
Police believe that's what Walli did. When neighbors asked police to evict him, he showed the cops a lease, which says he was renting from the owner, supposedly named Mike Fassi.
We tried to question Walli about that lease. When we asked him if he had a lease to be in the house he said, 'That's none of your business.'"
Maybe banks had it coming.
His name is Dawud Walli, and neighbors say he moved into a huge empty home last July, furnishing nearly every room of the house.
'We feel unsafe. We can't sleep. We have families,' say some of the residents who live nearby.
They say Walli made this a party house.
Inside a Squatter HouseInside, we found booze and condoms scattered about. But no one really knew what went on here, because some of the windows were covered with tape and garbage bags.
'They don't want to make contact with the neighbors. They do not want to make eye contact with you. They do not talk to you,' says someone who lives nearby.
Prosecutors say this is happening across Southern California.
They've caught squatters illegally living in homes in Bel-Air, Marina Del Rey and Winnetka.
'It's a huge problem and growing every day,' says Los Angeles City Attorney Maureen Rodriguez.
'It's just amazing how nervy they can be: presenting false leases,' says Rodriguez.
Police believe that's what Walli did. When neighbors asked police to evict him, he showed the cops a lease, which says he was renting from the owner, supposedly named Mike Fassi.
We tried to question Walli about that lease. When we asked him if he had a lease to be in the house he said, 'That's none of your business.'"
Maybe banks had it coming.
Ron Paul: Crotch Groped by TSA, Calls for Boycott of Airlines
Ron Paul: Crotch Groped by TSA, Calls for Boycott of Airlines: "Appearing on the Alex Jones Show today, Texas Congressman Ron Paul expressed his outrage and disgust with the TSA and its unconstitutional naked body scanners and genital groping under the transparent pretense of protecting the American people from terrorists in distant caves."
Responding to Alex Jones’ assertion that the TSA’s actions are akin to what the Nazis did in Germany during the 1930s, Ron Paul said that we long ago capitulated on “showing our papers” and now routinely provide Social Security numbers to employers and show our government issued driver’s license as an accepted form of identification. “Now the government wants us to show them our genitalia and they want to take pictures of us and put their hands into our pants,” he said.
Paul said due to pervasive coverage of TSA abuses by the corporate media, the American people are now beginning to ask serious questions about government conduct.
“I think it’s a healthy wake-up call to a lot of Americans,” Paul told Jones. “I just hope they can work that in to the whole concept of what’s been going on with our country for a long time – the government is too big and intrusive and abuses our rights and they do the things the shouldn’t be doing and they forget about the things they were instructed to do.”
Congressman Paul said in the course of his work representing the people of Texas he has to endure TSA abuse, including the latest “enhanced pat down” that verges on sexual molestation. “I have to go through that all the time because I have metal in my knees,” he explained. “I get prodded all the time and it is disgusting and I tell them so.”
When asked by Alex Jones if the TSA had subjected him to an “enhanced” screening, Ron Paul answered yes.
“Specifically,” Alex asked, “have you had the enhanced pat down, sir? Have they touched your crotch?”
“Yes. Absolutely, and like I said, absolutely disgusting,” Paul responded.
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He said he believes a boycott of the airlines will be necessary if we are going to force the government to back down and stop acting like a sexual predator. “I am going to be doing everything conceivable to try to change these rules because they are not making us safer, they aren’t better for us – it’s just to enhance the power of the state.”
Responding to Alex Jones’ assertion that the TSA’s actions are akin to what the Nazis did in Germany during the 1930s, Ron Paul said that we long ago capitulated on “showing our papers” and now routinely provide Social Security numbers to employers and show our government issued driver’s license as an accepted form of identification. “Now the government wants us to show them our genitalia and they want to take pictures of us and put their hands into our pants,” he said.
Paul said due to pervasive coverage of TSA abuses by the corporate media, the American people are now beginning to ask serious questions about government conduct.
“I think it’s a healthy wake-up call to a lot of Americans,” Paul told Jones. “I just hope they can work that in to the whole concept of what’s been going on with our country for a long time – the government is too big and intrusive and abuses our rights and they do the things the shouldn’t be doing and they forget about the things they were instructed to do.”
Congressman Paul said in the course of his work representing the people of Texas he has to endure TSA abuse, including the latest “enhanced pat down” that verges on sexual molestation. “I have to go through that all the time because I have metal in my knees,” he explained. “I get prodded all the time and it is disgusting and I tell them so.”
When asked by Alex Jones if the TSA had subjected him to an “enhanced” screening, Ron Paul answered yes.
“Specifically,” Alex asked, “have you had the enhanced pat down, sir? Have they touched your crotch?”
“Yes. Absolutely, and like I said, absolutely disgusting,” Paul responded.
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He said he believes a boycott of the airlines will be necessary if we are going to force the government to back down and stop acting like a sexual predator. “I am going to be doing everything conceivable to try to change these rules because they are not making us safer, they aren’t better for us – it’s just to enhance the power of the state.”
DOD tries to uncover secret of flying snakes
An unusual breed of Asian snakes can glide long distances in the air, and the Department of Defense is funding research at Virginia Tech to find out why.
Most animals that glide do so with fixed wings or a wing-like part. But not the "flying snakes" of Southeast Asia, India and southern China - at least five members of the genus Chrysopelea.
As video of the reptiles show, they undulate from side to side, in almost an air-slithering, to create an aerodynamic system. It allows them to travel from the top of the biggest trees in the region (almost 200 feet high) to a spot about 780 feet away from the tree's trunk.
(Video of an Asian flying snake taking to the air.)
"Basically . . .they become one long wing,"
An unusual breed of Asian snakes can glide long distances in the air, and the Department of Defense is funding research at Virginia Tech to find out why.
Most animals that glide do so with fixed wings or a wing-like part. But not the "flying snakes" of Southeast Asia, India and southern China - at least five members of the genus Chrysopelea.
As video of the reptiles show, they undulate from side to side, in almost an air-slithering, to create an aerodynamic system. It allows them to travel from the top of the biggest trees in the region (almost 200 feet high) to a spot about 780 feet away from the tree's trunk.
(Video of an Asian flying snake taking to the air.)
"Basically . . .they become one long wing,"
An unusual breed of Asian snakes can glide long distances in the air, and the Department of Defense is funding research at Virginia Tech to find out why.
In Harrisonville, thousands line street to keep Phelps clan away from soldier’s funeral - KansasCity.com
In Harrisonville, thousands line street to keep Phelps clan away from soldier’s funeral - KansasCity.com: "As if a bell tolled a neighbor’s trouble, folks came running.
The first showed up before the sun Tuesday, huddling and shivering in the cold and the dark. Others soon came, and before long their numbers stretched a block on both sides of Mechanic Street in front of Harrisonville’s Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church.
People drove from three or four counties away. Buses arrived, bellowing exhaust into the cold, bringing loads of schoolkids and senior citizens. People took off work. Some brought dogs. Farmers parked pickups nearby.
It wasn’t a fire, but a burning sense of what was the decent thing to do for one of their own who had given his all.
By 9 a.m., an hour before the funeral of Army Cpl. Jacob R. Carver, an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 people, many of them waving American flags, lined nearly a half-mile of the street in front of the church, making sure Fred Phelps and his Westboro Baptist Church/family congregation were crowded out, peacefully kept far from shouting distance of the funeral."
My hats off to these people!
The first showed up before the sun Tuesday, huddling and shivering in the cold and the dark. Others soon came, and before long their numbers stretched a block on both sides of Mechanic Street in front of Harrisonville’s Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church.
People drove from three or four counties away. Buses arrived, bellowing exhaust into the cold, bringing loads of schoolkids and senior citizens. People took off work. Some brought dogs. Farmers parked pickups nearby.
It wasn’t a fire, but a burning sense of what was the decent thing to do for one of their own who had given his all.
By 9 a.m., an hour before the funeral of Army Cpl. Jacob R. Carver, an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 people, many of them waving American flags, lined nearly a half-mile of the street in front of the church, making sure Fred Phelps and his Westboro Baptist Church/family congregation were crowded out, peacefully kept far from shouting distance of the funeral."
My hats off to these people!
Traveler Wears Bikini Through LAX Security
Traveler Wears Bikini Through LAX Security: "Unwilling to submit to the TSA's controversial full-body scan, one enterprising traveler at LAX hoped to bypass the dreaded pat-down by wearing only a bikini through the security checkpoint.
While the merits of wearing a bikini to the airport in the name of advocating personal privacy are debatable, it did provide more fuel to fire this story in this traditionally slow news week."
While the merits of wearing a bikini to the airport in the name of advocating personal privacy are debatable, it did provide more fuel to fire this story in this traditionally slow news week."
Turkey Spared -- But Obama's Compassion For Humans Comes Up Short
Turkey Spared -- But Obama's Compassion For Humans Comes Up Short: "WASHINGTON -- In one of the White House's sillier annual rituals, Barack Obama on Wednesday pardoned the second Thanksgiving turkey of his presidency.
He has, however, yet to pardon a single human.
A president's power to grant clemency is broad, unilateral and absolute. Obama, a constitutional lawyer by training, and the first African-American president, could issue pardons and commutations that make a powerful statement about the justice system past and present.
Indeed, presidents have a responsibility to use their pardon power to correct the excesses and errors of a system that is inevitably imperfect, often overloaded, and especially in this era of mandatory sentences, overly rigid.
Obama's grants could speak volumes about fairness, forgiveness, rehabilitation and renewal. He could restore rights, right wrongs, and bring freedom to the unduly oppressed.
But he chooses not to."
Who knew???? 71 pardons requested. 71 pardons turned down. Only George W. Bush was this slow. Obama is on track to beat him!
He has, however, yet to pardon a single human.
A president's power to grant clemency is broad, unilateral and absolute. Obama, a constitutional lawyer by training, and the first African-American president, could issue pardons and commutations that make a powerful statement about the justice system past and present.
Indeed, presidents have a responsibility to use their pardon power to correct the excesses and errors of a system that is inevitably imperfect, often overloaded, and especially in this era of mandatory sentences, overly rigid.
Obama's grants could speak volumes about fairness, forgiveness, rehabilitation and renewal. He could restore rights, right wrongs, and bring freedom to the unduly oppressed.
But he chooses not to."
Who knew???? 71 pardons requested. 71 pardons turned down. Only George W. Bush was this slow. Obama is on track to beat him!
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Robert Dean Cites 4th Amendment Violation, Sues TSA Over Full-Body Scans
Robert Dean Cites 4th Amendment Violation, Sues TSA Over Full-Body Scans: "LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — An Arkansas man has filed a federal lawsuit against the Transportation Security Administration, claiming that the agency's new screening rules are detrimental to his 'emotional, psychological and mental well-being.'
Robert Dean filed the lawsuit Monday in federal court in Little Rock, even though the Little Rock National Airport does not yet have the full-body scanners that have drawn criticism throughout the country. Dean's lawsuit asks a federal judge to issue an injunction stopping the TSA from conducting full-body pat-down searches and using the full-body imaging scanners.
The lawsuit claims that the new practices violate Dean's civil rights and his Fourth Amendment right protecting against unlawful searches and seizures.
TSA says it does not comment on pending litigation."
Who did not see this coming??
Robert Dean filed the lawsuit Monday in federal court in Little Rock, even though the Little Rock National Airport does not yet have the full-body scanners that have drawn criticism throughout the country. Dean's lawsuit asks a federal judge to issue an injunction stopping the TSA from conducting full-body pat-down searches and using the full-body imaging scanners.
The lawsuit claims that the new practices violate Dean's civil rights and his Fourth Amendment right protecting against unlawful searches and seizures.
TSA says it does not comment on pending litigation."
Who did not see this coming??
Fear Pays: Chertoff, Ex-Security Officials Slammed For Cashing In On Government Experience
Fear Pays: Chertoff, Ex-Security Officials Slammed For Cashing In On Government Experience: "After last month's plot to send bombs from Yemen to the United States aboard a cargo plane, former U.S. Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff's whiskerless visage was ubiquitous on cable news. Solemnly warning that the nation needed stronger security procedures, Chertoff patiently repeated his talking points on ABC News's 'World News Tonight', 'Fox and Friends', CNBC's 'Squawk Box' and Bloomberg TV.
Almost unmentioned in these appearances: Chertoff has a lot to gain financially if some of these measures are adopted. Between his private consulting firm, The Chertoff Group, and seats on the boards of giant defense and security firms, he sits at the heart of the giant security nexus created in the wake of 9/11, in effect creating a shadow homeland security agency. Chertoff launched his firm just days after President Barack Obama took office, eventually recruiting at least 11 top officials from the Department of Homeland Security, as well as former CIA director General Michael Hayden and other top military brass and security officials."
Almost unmentioned in these appearances: Chertoff has a lot to gain financially if some of these measures are adopted. Between his private consulting firm, The Chertoff Group, and seats on the boards of giant defense and security firms, he sits at the heart of the giant security nexus created in the wake of 9/11, in effect creating a shadow homeland security agency. Chertoff launched his firm just days after President Barack Obama took office, eventually recruiting at least 11 top officials from the Department of Homeland Security, as well as former CIA director General Michael Hayden and other top military brass and security officials."
North Korean Attack
Multisource political news, world news, and entertainment news analysis by Newsy.com
Engineering Acceptable Air Transportation Safety with a focus on preventing and reducing worst case scenarios( Was Full Body Scanning Necessary)
What we are doing now is playing on people's fears. Read.
Engineering Acceptable Air Transportation Safety with a focus on preventing and reducing worst case scenarios: "There is too much of a focus on perfecting air travel safety. The USA is spending about $6 billion each year on air travel security and the extra wait times from post-September 11 security procedures add another $8 billion ($50/hour for business and $15/hour for everyone else. Greater use of full-body scanners instead of metal detectors would very likely increase wait times and thus raise those costs. Poole says that getting a passenger through a full-body scanner takes about 30 seconds longer than through a metal detector.
Because driving is so much more dangerous than flying, the thousands of more people who took to the roads rather than the skies after September 11 led to more car accidents. Blalock estimated that from September of 2001 to October of 2003, the enhanced airport security led to 2,300 road fatalities that otherwise would not have occurred. If security delays were to lengthen again, a similar driving fatality effect could happen, Blalock says, as more travelers choose to drive to avoid the increased inconveniences of flying.
So you also have to consider the safety of the overall transportation situation, because more people driving means more fatalities. If we can make the worst case on the airplane the same as bus or train terrorism then that would be a reasonable level. We will not need to overprotect planes if we make buses or trains the targets.
"They placed about 80 grams of PETN's base material, pentaerythritol, near the 747's fuselage where Abdulmutallab was seated. Eighty grams of pentaerythritol contains about the same explosive power as a hand grenade, but lacks the the hot, sharp metal fragments of an actual grenade that cause so much damage. The BBC set up cameras and Wyatt set off the explosives.
In the BBC documentary, entitled "How Safe Are Our Skies," the controlled detonation of the explosives lasted a scant 0.94 milliseconds, but the results were clear to cameras. Shock waves rippled through the exterior aluminum skin of the aircraft like fat water drops of water hitting the surface of a smooth pond.
The metal was permanently bowed out, and a handful of rivets were punched out, but no gaping holes appeared. The pressurized air inside the cabin would have slowly leaked out of the missing rivets, said Joseph, a non- life-threatening situation. The amount of explosives was "nowhere near enough" to bring down the plane, concluded Wyatt and Joseph
Engineering Acceptable Air Transportation Safety with a focus on preventing and reducing worst case scenarios: "There is too much of a focus on perfecting air travel safety. The USA is spending about $6 billion each year on air travel security and the extra wait times from post-September 11 security procedures add another $8 billion ($50/hour for business and $15/hour for everyone else. Greater use of full-body scanners instead of metal detectors would very likely increase wait times and thus raise those costs. Poole says that getting a passenger through a full-body scanner takes about 30 seconds longer than through a metal detector.
Because driving is so much more dangerous than flying, the thousands of more people who took to the roads rather than the skies after September 11 led to more car accidents. Blalock estimated that from September of 2001 to October of 2003, the enhanced airport security led to 2,300 road fatalities that otherwise would not have occurred. If security delays were to lengthen again, a similar driving fatality effect could happen, Blalock says, as more travelers choose to drive to avoid the increased inconveniences of flying.
So you also have to consider the safety of the overall transportation situation, because more people driving means more fatalities. If we can make the worst case on the airplane the same as bus or train terrorism then that would be a reasonable level. We will not need to overprotect planes if we make buses or trains the targets.
"They placed about 80 grams of PETN's base material, pentaerythritol, near the 747's fuselage where Abdulmutallab was seated. Eighty grams of pentaerythritol contains about the same explosive power as a hand grenade, but lacks the the hot, sharp metal fragments of an actual grenade that cause so much damage. The BBC set up cameras and Wyatt set off the explosives.
In the BBC documentary, entitled "How Safe Are Our Skies," the controlled detonation of the explosives lasted a scant 0.94 milliseconds, but the results were clear to cameras. Shock waves rippled through the exterior aluminum skin of the aircraft like fat water drops of water hitting the surface of a smooth pond.
The metal was permanently bowed out, and a handful of rivets were punched out, but no gaping holes appeared. The pressurized air inside the cabin would have slowly leaked out of the missing rivets, said Joseph, a non- life-threatening situation. The amount of explosives was "nowhere near enough" to bring down the plane, concluded Wyatt and Joseph
Monday, November 22, 2010
Mutilated Body Found in Boston Suburb Identified as North Carolina Student - FoxNews.com
Mutilated Body Found in Boston Suburb Identified as North Carolina Student - FoxNews.com: "Police have identified a mutilated body found on a quiet residential street in a Boston suburb as that of a missing North Carolina teenager, MyFoxBoston.com reports.
The Norfolk County district attorney's office confirmed that the body found is 16-year-old Delvonte Tisdale, according to the station.
The North Mecklenburg High School student was reportedly last seen in Charlotte on Sunday. A missing person report was filed Monday, the day the unidentified body was found in Milton, Mass. The victim was not carrying identification.
Police told the Boston Herald that the victim suffered severe head trauma as well as broken arms and legs. His body -- dressed in a pair of jeans over gray boxer shorts with no shirt -- was found on the front lawn of an upscale home, the newspaper reports.
Authorities have described the victim as black, about 5 feet 4 inches to 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighing 120 pounds."
The Norfolk County district attorney's office confirmed that the body found is 16-year-old Delvonte Tisdale, according to the station.
The North Mecklenburg High School student was reportedly last seen in Charlotte on Sunday. A missing person report was filed Monday, the day the unidentified body was found in Milton, Mass. The victim was not carrying identification.
Police told the Boston Herald that the victim suffered severe head trauma as well as broken arms and legs. His body -- dressed in a pair of jeans over gray boxer shorts with no shirt -- was found on the front lawn of an upscale home, the newspaper reports.
Authorities have described the victim as black, about 5 feet 4 inches to 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighing 120 pounds."
JFK's Assassination, 47 Years Later
Multisource political news, world news, and entertainment news analysis by Newsy.com
Body scanner makers doubled lobbying cash over 5 years - USATODAY.com
Body scanner makers doubled lobbying cash over 5 years - USATODAY.com: "WASHINGTON — The companies with multimillion-dollar contracts to supply American airports with body-scanning machines more than doubled their spending on lobbying in the past five years and hired several high-profile former government officials to advance their causes in Washington, government records show.
L-3 Communications, which has sold $39.7 million worth of the machines to the federal government, spent $4.3 million trying to influence Congress and federal agencies during the first nine months of this year, up from $2.1 million in 2005, lobbying data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics show. Its lobbyists include Linda Daschle, a former Federal Aviation Administration official.
Rapiscan Systems, meanwhile, has spent $271,500 on lobbying so far this year, compared with $80,000 five years earlier. It has faced criticism for hiring Michael Chertoff, the former Homeland Security secretary, last year. Chertoff has been a prominent proponent of using scanners to foil terrorism. The government has spent $41.2 million with Rapiscan."
L-3 Communications, which has sold $39.7 million worth of the machines to the federal government, spent $4.3 million trying to influence Congress and federal agencies during the first nine months of this year, up from $2.1 million in 2005, lobbying data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics show. Its lobbyists include Linda Daschle, a former Federal Aviation Administration official.
Rapiscan Systems, meanwhile, has spent $271,500 on lobbying so far this year, compared with $80,000 five years earlier. It has faced criticism for hiring Michael Chertoff, the former Homeland Security secretary, last year. Chertoff has been a prominent proponent of using scanners to foil terrorism. The government has spent $41.2 million with Rapiscan."
Passenger Chooses Strip-Down Over Pat-Down | NBC San Diego
Passenger Chooses Strip-Down Over Pat-Down NBC San Diego: "When a San Diego man opted out of security screening using the Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) at Lindbergh Field Friday, he stripped down to his underwear in an attempt to avoid the pat-down procedures.Samuel Wolanyk took the protest started Nov. 13 by Oceanside's John Tyner to a whole new level.
While Tyner videotaped his refusal to be patted down, telling the agent 'If you touch my junk, I'll have you arrested,' Wolanyk decided to give TSA a look at his body down to his Calvin Klein's.
Through a statement released by his attorney Sunday night, Wolanyk said 'TSA needs to see that I'm not carrying any weapons, explosives, or other prohibited substances, I refuse to have images of my naked body viewed by perfect strangers, and having been felt up for the first time by TSA the week prior (I travel frequently) I was not willing to be molested again.'"
While Tyner videotaped his refusal to be patted down, telling the agent 'If you touch my junk, I'll have you arrested,' Wolanyk decided to give TSA a look at his body down to his Calvin Klein's.
Through a statement released by his attorney Sunday night, Wolanyk said 'TSA needs to see that I'm not carrying any weapons, explosives, or other prohibited substances, I refuse to have images of my naked body viewed by perfect strangers, and having been felt up for the first time by TSA the week prior (I travel frequently) I was not willing to be molested again.'"
Woman on TSA pat downs: 'I feel molested'
Woman on TSA pat downs: 'I feel molested': "Miernik said the worst experience she had came when her 7-year-old granddaughter was at the airport with her. When her granddaughter saw the pat down, “She went ‘Grandmama, they touched you on your special girl spots.’”
Miernik was mortified, as was her granddaughter, she said.. She believes the pat downs are unnecessarily intrusive, and she hasn’t even experienced the “more aggressive” pat downs the TSA started employing Oct. 29.
“If this happened to me in college on a date, I would have called the police,” Miernik said.
TSA, though, has maintained the aggressive pat downs are an important measure in preventing any exploding device from making it onto a plane.
On Saturday, President Obama said the pat downs “cause huge inconveniences for all of us,” adding that he “understood people’s frustrations.”
Miernik said she once wrote a letter to TSA complaining about the pat downs. She said they responded that, as an American, she didn’t have to submit to the body scanners or the pat downs. They added, though, that she would have to find a different form of transportation."
Ok this has got to stop. What is the amount of explosives it takes to bring down an airliner? ALOT (more than can be found in someone's pants)!!! I thought so.
Miernik was mortified, as was her granddaughter, she said.. She believes the pat downs are unnecessarily intrusive, and she hasn’t even experienced the “more aggressive” pat downs the TSA started employing Oct. 29.
“If this happened to me in college on a date, I would have called the police,” Miernik said.
TSA, though, has maintained the aggressive pat downs are an important measure in preventing any exploding device from making it onto a plane.
On Saturday, President Obama said the pat downs “cause huge inconveniences for all of us,” adding that he “understood people’s frustrations.”
Miernik said she once wrote a letter to TSA complaining about the pat downs. She said they responded that, as an American, she didn’t have to submit to the body scanners or the pat downs. They added, though, that she would have to find a different form of transportation."
Ok this has got to stop. What is the amount of explosives it takes to bring down an airliner? ALOT (more than can be found in someone's pants)!!! I thought so.
Pentagon Warns Congress To Hurry Up On DADT Repeal
Pentagon Warns Congress To Hurry Up On DADT Repeal: "SANTA CRUZ, Bolivia — The Pentagon's top leaders warned Sunday that if Congress fails to repeal the ban on gays serving openly in the military, the courts may order changes that military leaders consider too fast or poorly thought-out.
The Pentagon is trying to make it easier for the Senate to consider lifting the ban in the current postelection session. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Sunday he will release a study of the effects of repeal on Nov. 30, a day earlier than planned.
That could allow the Senate Armed Services Committee to hold hearings on the ban the same week.
The report on the impact of lifting the ban is meant as a guide for Congress as it considers what the Pentagon hopes will be a gradual and carefully calibrated change.
The Washington Post has reported that the study concludes the military can lift the ban with only minimal and isolated incidents of risk to the current war efforts."
The Pentagon is trying to make it easier for the Senate to consider lifting the ban in the current postelection session. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Sunday he will release a study of the effects of repeal on Nov. 30, a day earlier than planned.
That could allow the Senate Armed Services Committee to hold hearings on the ban the same week.
The report on the impact of lifting the ban is meant as a guide for Congress as it considers what the Pentagon hopes will be a gradual and carefully calibrated change.
The Washington Post has reported that the study concludes the military can lift the ban with only minimal and isolated incidents of risk to the current war efforts."
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