Links - News 3
From Bwtm
| Revision as of 18:25, 23 October 2010 Beachblogger (Talk | contribs) Ships and Ship Building ← Previous diff |
Revision as of 17:06, 24 October 2010 Beachblogger (Talk | contribs) Iraq Next diff → |
||
| Line 43: | Line 43: | ||
| Iraq war logs: secret files show how US ignored torture. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/22/iraq-war-logs-military-leaks | Iraq war logs: secret files show how US ignored torture. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/22/iraq-war-logs-military-leaks | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===Terror=== | ||
| + | |||
| + | In a 48-minute recording posted on the Internet, Adam Gadahn -- a native of California who is now al-Qaida's American spokesman -- specifically called upon Muslims living in what he called "the miserable suburbs of Paris, London, Detroit" to attack Americans, citing as examples the Ft. Hood shooting last November in Texas and the Dec. 25 attempted bombing of an airplane descending into Detroit Metro Airport. The region is known for its sizable Muslim population, and Detroit was the only American city mentioned by the al-Qaida leader. London and Paris also have significant Muslim communities. Gadahn's comments were condemned by Dawud Walid, head of the Michigan branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "He obviously doesn't know Muslims in Detroit," Walid of Detroit said Saturday. "It appears to be a desperate plea by al-Qaida, which has virtually no support among Muslims in any Western countries." This was the first time in memory that al-Qaida referenced metro Detroit's Muslim population, local leaders said. Read more: Al-Qaida message aimed at region | freep.com | Detroit Free Press http://www.freep.com/article/20101024/NEWS01/10240544/1322/Al-Qaida-message-aimed-at-region#ixzz13IVXPIBE | ||
| ===Troops=== | ===Troops=== | ||
Revision as of 17:06, 24 October 2010
Contents |
Environment
Pollution
Oil on water. Sheens spotted off the coast of San Diego remain a mystery for the Coast Guard. http://www.sdcitybeat.com/sandiego/article-8255-oil-on-water.html
Recycling
Trash Inc. http://www.cnbc.com/id/38830389
Wildlife
Biologists scour Mojave in desert tortoise roundup. Reptiles are being moved to make way for a solar-powered generating station. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-tortoise-removal-20101009,0,5440740.story
Crime
Shootings
Officials hope Carlsbad school where gunman wounded two students can open Monday. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/10/carlsbad-school-where-gunman-wounded-two-students-to-be-open-monday.html#more
Detroit
Missing banker purchased gun. http://www.macombdaily.com/articles/2010/10/08/news/doc4cae99210d845339881161.txt
DETROIT – Police said Shawn Patrick, coach of the Ferndale High school girls basketball team, was shot and killed Wednesday night on Milwaukee Street in front of his two teenaged children. According to a published report, neighbors of Patrick said the children's mother died earlier this year. Police said two men wearing masks shot Patrick execution-style just after 9 p.m. No motive has been established and police are seeking help in identifying the killers. http://www.macombdaily.com/articles/2010/10/08/news/doc4caf03b7ef363539787832.txt
Lawsuit says missing bank CEO bilked senior. The disappearance of David Widlak, president and CEO of a Mt. Clemens bank, puts in limbo a lawsuit that accuses him of bilking a Windsor woman of $150,000. Read more: Lawsuit says missing bank CEO bilked senior | freep.com | Detroit Free Press http://www.freep.com/article/20101002/NEWS04/10020308/1322/Lawsuit-says-missing-bank-CEO-bilked-senior#ixzz11FW3GABw
LA Area
Woman drove with mummified remains in front seat of car for months, Costa Mesa police say. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/10/costa-mesa-police-are-investigating-a-bizarre-case-in-which-a-woman-drove-around-with-a-mummified-body-for-months-before-auth.html
Sheriff's deputy mistakenly shoots at West Hollywood liquor store clerk. A sheriff's deputy fired eight shots early Sunday morning at a man he believed had just robbed a West Hollywood liquor store, only to learn that his target was the clerk who had been held up, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The clerk was not hit, and the suspects, described as a black man armed with a handgun and a black woman, escaped. The shooting happened about 1:15 a.m. near Havenhurst Drive and Santa Monica Boulevard, said sheriff’s Deputy Lillian Peck. “Deputies responded to a robbery call of a liquor store in the 8200 block of Santa Monica Boulevard,” she said. “The call indicated the suspects were armed with a handgun.” Peck said one deputy fired after seeing a man who matched the description of one suspect run from the area of the liquor store, holding what he believed to be a gun. “The man was detained by deputies and was determined not to be a suspect,” Peck said. Windows at a store across the street from the robbery site were shattered by the gunfire. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/10/sheriffs-deputy-shoots-at-west-hollywood-liquor-store-clerk-.html
10 charged in group attack on pedestrian in Costa Mesa. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/10/10-charged-in-group-attack-on-pedestrian-in-costa-mesa.html#more
War
Iraq
A Grim Portrait of Civilian Deaths in Iraq. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/23/world/middleeast/23casualties.html?_r=1&ref=world
Iraq war logs: secret files show how US ignored torture. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/22/iraq-war-logs-military-leaks
Terror
In a 48-minute recording posted on the Internet, Adam Gadahn -- a native of California who is now al-Qaida's American spokesman -- specifically called upon Muslims living in what he called "the miserable suburbs of Paris, London, Detroit" to attack Americans, citing as examples the Ft. Hood shooting last November in Texas and the Dec. 25 attempted bombing of an airplane descending into Detroit Metro Airport. The region is known for its sizable Muslim population, and Detroit was the only American city mentioned by the al-Qaida leader. London and Paris also have significant Muslim communities. Gadahn's comments were condemned by Dawud Walid, head of the Michigan branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "He obviously doesn't know Muslims in Detroit," Walid of Detroit said Saturday. "It appears to be a desperate plea by al-Qaida, which has virtually no support among Muslims in any Western countries." This was the first time in memory that al-Qaida referenced metro Detroit's Muslim population, local leaders said. Read more: Al-Qaida message aimed at region | freep.com | Detroit Free Press http://www.freep.com/article/20101024/NEWS01/10240544/1322/Al-Qaida-message-aimed-at-region#ixzz13IVXPIBE
Troops
If we were interested, we might notice that record numbers of soldiers are killing themselves. At least 125 committed suicide through August of this year, an awful pace that if continued would surpass last year’s all-time high of 162. Stressed-out, depressed and despondent soldiers are seeking help for their mental difficulties at a rate that is overwhelming the capacity of available professionals. And you can bet that there are even higher numbers of troubled service members who are not seeking help. In the war zones, we medicate the troubled troops and send them right back into action, loading them up with antidepressants, sleeping pills, anti-anxiety drugs and lord knows what other kinds of medication. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/23/opinion/23herbert.html?ref=opinion
Crime, Corruption, Cheating, Incompetence, Blackwater
U.S Hires Gun-Runner, Coup-Plotter to Guard Diplos. http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/10/u-s-hires-gun-runner-coup-plotter-to-guard-diplos/
Retired lt. cmdr. charged in bribery scheme. NORFOLK, Va. — A retired Navy officer and two contractors have been charged in a bribery conspiracy involving projects at a military installation in Iraq. Frankie J. Hand Jr., who retired as a lieutenant commander in 2008, made his first appearance in federal court in Norfolk on Thursday. He's charged with defrauding the government, bribery and receiving illegal gratuities. Also charged are contractors Michelle L. Adams and Peter D. Dunn. An indictment unsealed Thursday accuses the defendants of operating a bribery and kickback scheme to obtain contracts for two dining hall projects at Camp Taji near Baghdad. The case was first reported by The Virginian-Pilot. Hand's arraignment was set for Wednesday. Court records did not list an attorney for Hand or the contractors. http://www.navytimes.com/news/2010/10/ap-bribery-scheme-100110/
Never mind the dead civilians. Forget about the stolen guns. Get over the murder arrests, the fraud allegations, and the accusations of guards pumping themselves up with steroids and cocaine. Through a “joint venture,” the notorious private-security firm Blackwater has won a piece of a five-year State Department contract worth up to $10 billion, Danger Room has learned. Apparently, there is no misdeed so big that it can keep guns-for-hire from working for the government. And this is despite a 2008 campaign pledge from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to ban the company from federal contracts. Eight private security firms have won State’s giant Worldwide Protective Services contract, the big Foggy Bottom partnership to keep embassies and their inhabitants safe. Two of those firms are longtime State contract holders DynCorp and Triple Canopy. The others are newcomers to the big security contract: EOD Technology, SOC, Aegis Defense Services, Global Strategies Group, Torres International Services and International Development Solutions LLC. Don’t see any of Blackwater’s myriad business names on there? That’s apparently by design. Blackwater and the State Department tried their best to obscure their renewed relationship. As Danger Room reported Wednesday, Blackwater did not appear on the vendors’ list for Worldwide Protective Services. And the State Department confirms that the company, renamed Xe Services, didn’t actually submit its own independent bid. Instead, they used a blandly named cut-out, “International Development Solutions,” to retain a toehold into State’s lucrative security business. No one who looks at the official announcement of the contract award would have any idea that firm is connected to Blackwater. Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/10/exclusive-blackwater-wins-piece-of-10-billion-merc-deal
Ships and Ship Building
More engine woes found with LPD-17. The troubles of the USS San Antonio, first of a large class of amphibious transport ships, haven’t quite come to an end yet; the Navy and its engineers are continuing to find and fix a host of problems plaguing the 25,000-ton ship. Earlier this year, engineers searching for the cause of vibrations in the drive train discovered that imperfections in the way the ship’s engines and main reduction gears were installed were threatening to eventually wreck the vessel. “The foundation bolts were not properly aligned or tightened. The main reduction gear was not properly installed and checked out,” Adm. John Harvey, commander of Fleet Forces Command, said in a Sept. 20 interview at his headquarters in Norfolk, Va. “There was vibration of the entire diesel which was reflected through the crankshaft, down to the couplings with the reduction gear, to the shaft,” Harvey said. “And you’re trying to figure out where this thing …” he said, pausing. “Over time on that ship we had tremendous alignment problems within the drive train and within the diesel.” http://www.navytimes.com/news/2010/10/navy-more-engine-woes-for-lpd-17-093010w/
Weapons
Test fails for airborne laser designed to shoot down missiles. It's the second consecutive setback for a key missile defense program that is years behind schedule and plagued with cost overruns. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-airborne-laser-20101023,0,6448960.story
Economy
Taxes
Prospect Theory and the Taxpayer Receipt. http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/10/prospect-theory-and-taxpayer-receipt
Spying
news
Caught Spying on Student, FBI Demands GPS Tracker Back. Read More http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/10/fbi-tracking-device/#ixzz11mhE1j4T
Immigration and border fence
Border Fence
Costly virtual border fence in tatters. The U.S. is set to defund the troubled project. It was intended to keep a high-tech eye on the Mexican border. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-invisible-fence-20101022,0,5546525.story
