FBI plans social network map alert mash-up application

The FBI is seeking to develop an early-warning system based on material "scraped" from social networks.


It says the application should provide information about possible domestic and global threats superimposed onto maps "using mash-up technology".

The bureau has asked contractors to suggest possible solutions including the estimated cost.

Privacy campaigners say they are concerned that the move could have implications for free speech.

The FBI's Strategic Information and Operations Center (SOIC) posted its "Social Media Application" market research request onto the web on 19 January, and it was subsequently flagged up by New Scientist magazine.

The document says: "Social media has become a primary source of intelligence because it has become the premier first response to key events and the primal alert to possible developing situations."

It says the application should collect "open source" information and have the ability to:

• Provide an automated search and scrape capability of social networks including Facebook and Twitter.
• Allow users to create new keyword searches.
• Display different levels of threats as alerts on maps, possibly using colour coding to distinguish priority. Google Maps 3D and Yahoo Maps are listed among the "preferred" mapping options.
• Plot a wide range of domestic and global terror data.
• Immediately translate foreign language tweets into English.

The FBI says the information would be used to help it to predict the likely actions of "bad actors", detect instances of people deliberately misleading law enforcement officers and spot the vulnerabilities of suspect groups.Privacy permissions

The FBI issued the request three weeks after the US Department of Homeland Security released a separate report into the privacy implications of monitoring social media websites.

It justified the principle of using information that users have provided and not opted to make private.

"Information posted to social media websites is publicly accessible and voluntarily generated. Thus the opportunity not to provide information exists prior to the informational post by the user," it says.

It noted that the department's National Operations Center had a policy in place to edit out any gathered information which fell outside of the categories relevant to its investigations.

It listed websites that the centre planned to monitor. They include YouTube, the photo service Flickr, and Itstrending.com - a site which shows popular shared items on Facebook.

It also highlighted words it looked out for. These include "gangs", "small pox", "leak", "recall" and "2600" - an apparent reference to the hacking-focused magazine.'Dragnet effect'

The London-based campaign group, Privacy International, said it was worried about the consequences of such activities.

"Social networks are about connecting people with other people - if one person is the target of police monitoring, there will be a dragnet effect in which dozens, even hundreds, of innocent users also come under surveillance," said Gus Hosein, the group's executive director.

"It is not necessarily the case that the more information law enforcement officers have, the safer we will be.

"Police may well find themselves overwhelmed by a flood of personal information, information that is precious to those it concerns but useless for the purposes of crime prevention."

Whole story at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16738209

Reference: Picture of California Driver License or Identification Card Application DL 44

Picture of California Driver License or Identification Card Application DL 44 - Front

California Driver License or Identification Card Application DL 44

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California Driver License or Identification Card Application DL 44

Global war on drugs has failed / Governments should legalize #marijuana

Major Panel: Drug War Failed; Legalize Marijuana
Report by the Global Commission on Drug Policy argues that the decades-old worldwide "war on drugs has failed, with devastating consequences for individuals and societies around the world."

AP Story: NEW YORK-- The global war on drugs has failed and governments should explore legalizing marijuana and other controlled substances, according to a commission that includes former heads of state, a former U.N. secretary-general and a business mogul.

A new report by the Global Commission on Drug Policy argues that the decades-old "global war on drugs has failed, with devastating consequences for individuals and societies around the world." The 24-page paper will be released Thursday.

"Political leaders and public figures should have the courage to articulate publicly what many of them acknowledge privately: that the evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates that repressive strategies will not solve the drug problem, and that the war on drugs has not, and cannot, be won," the report said.

The 19-member commission includes former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and former U.S. official George P. Schultz, who held cabinet posts under U.S. Presidents Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon. Others include former U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker, former presidents of Mexico, Brazil and Colombia, writers Carlos Fuentes and Mario Vargas Llosa, U.K. business mogul Richard Branson and the current prime minister of Greece.

Instead of punishing users who the report says "do no harm to others," the commission argues that governments should end criminalization of drug use, experiment with legal models that would undermine organized crime syndicates and offer health and treatment services for drug-users in need.

The commission called for drug policies based on methods empirically proven to reduce crime, lead to better health and promote economic and social development.

The commission is especially critical of the United States, which its members say must lead changing its anti-drug policies from being guided by anti-crime approaches to ones rooted in healthcare and human rights.

"We hope this country (the U.S.) at least starts to think there are alternatives," former Colombian president Cesar Gaviria told The Associated Press by phone. "We don't see the U.S. evolving in a way that is complatible with our (countries') long-term interests."

The office of White House drug czar Gil Kerlikowske said the report was misguided.

"Drug addiction is a disease that can be successfully prevented and treated. Making drugs more available -- as this report suggests -- will make it harder to keep our communities healthy and safe," Office of National Drug Control Policy spokesman Rafael Lemaitre said.

That office cites statistics showing declines in U.S. drug use compared to 30 years ago, along with a more recent 46 percent drop in current cocaine use among young adults over the last five years.

The report cited U.N. estimates that opiate use increased 34.5 percent worldwide and cocaine 27 percent from 1998 to 2008, while the use of cannabis, or marijuana, was up 8.5 percent.

MSNBC Story Link: NEW YORK — The global war on drugs has failed and governments should explore legalizing marijuana and other controlled substances, according to a commission that includes former heads of state, a former U.N. secretary-general and a business mogul.

A new report by the Global Commission on Drug Policy argues that the decades-old worldwide "war on drugs has failed, with devastating consequences for individuals and societies around the world." The 24-page paper was released Thursday.

"Political leaders and public figures should have the courage to articulate publicly what many of them acknowledge privately: that the evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates that repressive strategies will not solve the drug problem, and that the war on drugs has not, and cannot, be won," the report said.

The 19-member commission includes former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and former U.S. official George P. Schultz, who held cabinet posts under U.S. Presidents Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon.


Others include former U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker, former presidents of Mexico, Brazil and Colombia, writers Carlos Fuentes and Mario Vargas Llosa, U.K. business mogul Richard Branson and the current prime minister of Greece.

A former British ambassador to Colombia during Cesar Gaviria's presidency (1990-1994) and a longtime advocate of the legal regulation of drugs told msnbc.com that policy makers should come to terms with the enormous toll the war on drugs was having around the world.

"The United States should look at the extraordinary costs that the policies it has pursued have brought about," said Sir Keith Morris, who is on the advisory board of the International Council on Security and Development, a think tank that seeks to reform drug policies.
Story: Ex-ambassador: US drug policies wrongheaded
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"It should look at the huge costs of incarcerating large number of people, the damage it's done ... (and) the extraordinary situation with armed conflicts and militant groups — financed by consumption in the U.S. and U.K. — killing British and American troops."

Instead of punishing users who the report says "do no harm to others," the commission argues that governments should end criminalization of drug use, experiment with legal models that would undermine organized crime syndicates and offer health and treatment services for drug-users in need.

"Vast expenditures on criminalization and repressive measures directed at producers, traffickers and consumers of illegal drugs have clearly failed to effectively curtail supply or consumption," the report added. "Apparent victories in eliminating one source or trafficking organization are negated almost instantly by the emergence of other sources and traffickers."

The commission called for drug policies based on methods empirically proven to reduce crime, lead to better health and promote economic and social development.

"Arresting and incarcerating tens of millions of these people in recent decades has filled prisons and destroyed lives and families without reducing the availability of illicit drugs or the power of criminal organizations," the report said. "There appears to be almost no limit to the number of people willing to engage in such activities to better their lives, provide for their families, or otherwise escape poverty. Drug control resources are better directed elsewhere."

'Alternatives'

The commission is especially critical of the United States, saying it must change its anti-drug policies from being guided by anti-crime approaches to ones rooted in healthcare and human rights.

"We hope this country (the U.S.) at least starts to think there are alternatives," former Colombian president Gaviria told The Associated Press by phone. "We don't see the U.S. evolving in a way that is compatible with our (countries') long-term interests."
Story: Why it's so hard to win war against US oxycodone epidemic

The office of White House drug czar Gil Kerlikowske said the report was misguided.

"Drug addiction is a disease that can be successfully prevented and treated. Making drugs more available — as this report suggests — will make it harder to keep our communities healthy and safe," Office of National Drug Control Policy spokesman Rafael Lemaitre said.

That office cites statistics showing declines in U.S. drug use compared to 30 years ago, along with a more recent 46 percent drop in current cocaine use among young adults over the last five years.

The report cited U.N. estimates that opiate use increased 34.5 percent worldwide and cocaine 27 percent from 1998 to 2008, while the use of cannabis, or marijuana, was up 8.5 percent.

Meanwhile, TIME reported that Southeast Asia's so-called Golden Triangle narcotics zone "has reinvented itself — and is more dangerous than ever."

It said that poppy cultivation in Burma increased 76 percent last year to about 639 tons. Cultivation has also grown in Thailand and Laos, the magazine reported.

"We are worried about the prospects of further expansion in 2011," Gary Lewis, East Asia and Pacific representative for the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, told TIME. "The international community has taken its eye off the ball on drug production and trafficking in Southeast Asia."

Published June 02, 2011
Sources: #MSNBC / Associated Press

Got Junk? Anthony Weiner underwear picture - I did not send that picture out!

#WeinerGate Wiener junk package "Tony the Sausage Pic"

Anthony Weiner "Can't Say with Certitude" If Dick In Pic Is His? 

Anthony Weiner Twitter Picture

The Daily Show - Distinguished Member of Congress
Tags: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Anthony Weiner's stonewalling of reporters yesterday—refusing to even answer the very basic question of whether the wang in that fateful Twitter picture was his. Now he claims in an interview that even he doesn't know.

YouTube Interview short link: http://youtu.be/Ch1Vj1F7Sxw 

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More Toyota Bad News: CHP report backs driver of runaway Prius

CHP report backs driver of runaway Prius

John Gibbins / UNION-TRIBUNE

James Sikes described how he was able to stop his Toyota Prius after its accelerator stuck.

- AP

Driver James Sikes talks about his experiences in his Toyota Prius during a news conference held at Toyota of El Cajon Tuesday, March 9, 2010, in El Cajon, Calif. Sikes' 2008 Toyota Prius raced out of control on a San Diego freeway Monday. A California Highway Patrol officer helped him stop the car. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

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The continuing debate over whether James Sikes of Jacumba faked his runaway Prius incident got more fuel Wednesday with a California Highway Patrol report appearing to support the driver’s contention that his hybrid’s machinery failed.

Sikes, 61, called 911 on March 8 to say his 2008 vehicle was speeding out of control on Interstate 8. A CHP officer eventually came up alongside Sikes and helped him to stop the car by turning off the engine, pressing the brake pedal and activating the emergency brake. The entire incident, which lasted about 20 minutes, generated headlines worldwide.
The CHP report came two days after Toyota held a news conference to challenge Sikes’ story. Toyota officials said the company’s technicians couldn’t replicate the incident during their tests and said the hybrid’s brakes were working normally.
But on Wednesday, CHP Officer Brian Pennings said “there is nothing we have that could discredit (Sikes’) statement.”
Asked about the timing of the announcement, Pennings said it was released as soon as the investigation was completed.
“We have to go on the facts, not speculation,” Pennings said.
Neither Sikes nor his attorney, John Gomez, were immediately available.
In the new six-page report, CHP Officer Todd Neibert wrote that his examination of the Prius after it was stopped showed a “large amount of brake dust and brake pad material in and around the wheels and on the ground near the front wheels. The brake pads located on the outer section of the brake caliper were worn down to what appeared to be nearly metal to metal.”
Sikes has said he struggled to control his 2008 Prius for about 30 miles, at speeds up to 94 mph, as he repeatedly stepped on the brakes and checked the gas pedal.
Toyota has been embroiled for months in a crisis concerning the safety of its vehicles. The automaker has recalled more than 8 million vehicles worldwide for brake, gas-pedal and floor-mat problems.

Source: http://www.signonsandiego.com Article Link

Author: By Tanya Mannes, Susan Shroder, Union-Tribune Staff Writers

Wednesday, March 17, 2010 at 4:08 p.m.

More Latest updates and developments:

CHP report backs driver of runaway Prius

Toyota steps up effort to rebut runaway Prius

Toyota rebuts runaway report

Issa butts heads with NHTSA over Prius probe

Feds probe Toyota Prius crash in NYC suburb

Police probe Toyota Prius crash in NYC suburb

Runaway Prius is more bad news for Toyota

Toyota to expand recall of Tundra pickups for rust

Major Toyota events leading up to runaway Prius

Summary Box: Class-action suits against Toyota

IRS agents visit California Car wash business to collect on 4-cent debt.

Bob Shallit: Sacramento business owner settles 4-cent IRS tab amid media frenzy

Midtown business owner Aaron Zeff has settled his beef with the IRS, resolving an issue that drew national media attention after we wrote about it Saturday.

"We're moving forward," he says, after sending the feds a check for 4 cents – and additional checks to cover $202.31 in interest and penalties.

Zeff, the owner of Harv's Metro Car Wash, was upset last week after two IRS agents visited his business to collect on the debt.

He couldn't understand how a 4-cent debt could generate so much in penalties and interest.

He now thinks he may know the answer. It didn't.

What most likely happened, he says, is Harv's was late on a large quarterly payroll tax filing.

Penalties and interest then were assessed. When the late payment was received, it wiped out all but 4 cents of the payroll obligation, but left the interest and penalties in place.

What's still a mystery is why Zeff was never informed about the tardy payment (and resulting fees) before last week's visit by agents. One possibility: He changed payroll services several years ago, and the old firm may have received notices but didn't forward them.

In any case, he still thinks the agents' visit was "inappropriate – whether it was for 4 cents or $500."

But he tells us he's glad the issue was resolved – and he finds himself uncomfortable with the online anti-government firestorm his case generated.

He reports that he's been "inundated" with interview requests from national media organizations but hasn't returned their calls.


"My goal," he says, "was not to become the next Joe the Plumber."

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/03/16/2609531/bob-shallit-car-wash-owner-amazed.html#ixzz0iLnjjlrP
Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/03/16/2609531/bob-shallit-car-wash-owner-amazed.html#ixzz0iLrWkkSe

New Balloon Boy Story: Runaway Toyota Prius story raises questions about the driver?

Jim Sikes: Prius driver who claimed uncontrolled acceleration

(Credit: CBS News)

 Toyota Prius owner Jim Sikes is in the spotlight after reporting the accelerator pedal of his blue 2008 Toyota Prius got stuck, pushing his car to speeds above 90 miles per hour on Interstate 8 in San Diego County on Monday afternoon.

While the California Highway Patrol doesn't question his story, bloggers and radio listeners are wondering whether this is another "balloon boy" style hoax, done for the publicity or the money.

 Who is Jim Sikes? 

He's been on TV before, and seems to cherish the attention. In 2006 he was on television, winning $55,000 on "The Big Spin." As a real estate agent in San Diego, he boasts of his celebrity clients, including Constance Ramos of "Extreme Home Makeover."

All reports state that Sikes, who filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2008, had large debt loads. And USA Today says Sikes had cars repossessed in the past and that his leased Prius was his only remaining car, which he would have to give back in a few months. Though these facts alone do not necessarily add up to an indictment, the veracity of his claims are now being questioned on technical grounds by car Web site www.Edmunds.com.

 A report from a local Sacramento TV station FOX40 investigated Sikes' past, also calling into question his motives.

In 2001, Sikes filed a police report with the Merced County Sheriff's Department for $58,000 in stolen property, including jewelry, a pro-sumer mini-DV camera and gear, and $24,000 in cash.

Two years ago, Sikes filed for bankruptcy in San Diego. Documents show he was more than $700,000 in debt and owed Toyota $19000 for his Prius.

He has since told the media that he was never behind in payments.

FOX40 News uncovered a new business that Sikes appears to have started: the website AdultSwingLife.com, registered with the California Business Registry's database asAdultSwingLife, LLC. James Sikes is listed as an "agent and member" according to records obtained by FOX40 News, and an online listing with an affiliated adult website lists a personal cell phone number of Sikes' as a point of contact for AdultSwingLife.com
Sikes did not return calls to his business.

The case of the runaway Toyota Prius in San Diego highlights the challenges facing Toyota when claims are made about hard-to-trace glitches. 
In the past 10 weeks, 271 other people have reported similar problems, and there's no reason to believe any of their stories are hoaxes.

The incident: Received wide national coverage (CBS story), happened Monday near Sacramento California when James Sikes called 911, saying the accelerator in his Prius was stuck and he couldn't slow down. The happening was thought to be another in a string of alleged incidents related to glitches which, in rare cases, may cause uncontrolled acceleration in the Toyota Prius.
But now, Sikes' motives are being questioned by car site Jalopnik, as well as by USA Today.

Edmunds.com road tests a similar Prius

Dan Edmunds tried to recreate the San Diego "runaway" Prius incident 

(see embedded video below).(Credit: www.Edmunds.com)

"It doesn't add up," said Dan Edmunds, director of vehicle testing at Edmunds.com, which just completed a test Friday of a Toyota Prius that's the same generation as the Prius in Sikes' case. (See the Edmunds.com video here.) "I just held the throttle wide open with my right foot and then I pressed on the brakes with my left foot. When you overlap the brake and the throttle in that car, the engine decouples, and the brakes take over completely."
"That's protection that's in the Prius drive train because of the hybrid nature of the vehicle," Edmunds said.
Sikes has claimed otherwise. "I pushed the gas pedal to pass a car and it did something kind of funny...it jumped and it just stuck there," Sikes said at a news conference earlier this week. Sikes said he tried the brakes but this didn't stop the car. "Next thing (that happened was) the officer was on the side of me and told me what to do. And I was standing on the brake pedal. And (the officer) said push the emergency brake too....(Then) it finally started slowing down," he said.
An electronic malfunction, which Sikes may be alleging, is hard to trace and sometimes impossible to replicate, making it difficult for people who have experienced these problems to make a credible case to car manufacturers.


Another option for Sikes--which he elected not to do--was to put the car in neutral. "The other thing we did is something Mr. Sikes was allegedly afraid to do--putting it in neutral," according to Edmunds. "I floored the car, slid the shifter into neutral. It's even less dramatic in a Prius than in a regular car. In a regular car, when you put it into neutral, the engine revs climb dramatically. In the Prius, when you put in neutral, the engine dies."
Sikes said at the news conference that he was afraid to put the car in neutral because he thought it would "flip the car."

"I've since found out that's not possible," Sikes said, "but I had no idea."

Story sources: 
FOX40 - Article Link
Edmunds.com - Article Link
CNet.com - Article link

Maddow Blog: Best. Graph. Ever.

Best. Graph. Ever. (Modified)

News Type: Event — Thu Mar 4, 2010 1:05 PM EST

The Maddow Blog

Modified by Everett Hervey on our Facebook page.

Consider three bills -- two of them passed under budget reconciliation, the third heading for budget reconciliation. Each had an effect on the fiscal health of the nation, calculated by the Congressional Budget Office. The first two, the tax cuts pushed by President George W. Bush, blew a hole in the budget. The third, the Senate's health reform bill? As you can see from the CBO projection, that's a different story.
Original Source: Maddow Blog article Link

iRobot 710 Warrior unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) tested for crowd control

Metal Storm Weapons Participate in UGV Live-Fire Scenario at China Lake Naval Weapons Center, Calif.

China Lake Naval Weapons Center, California - Metal Storm, a manufacturer of projectile launching systems in Brisbane, Australia, demonstrated a FireStorm 40-millimeter, 4-barrel, 24-shot remote weapons system mounted to an iRobot 710 Warrior unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) in a crowd control and road-clearing demonstration at China Lake Naval Weapons Center, Calif.

China Lake, located on the edge of California's Mojave Desert, was chosen to provide a realistic environment for the demonstrations.

Metal Storm has received video footage from the US Navy of Metal Storm weapon systems taking part in an unmanned systems-based live-fire demonstration. This footage is now being made available on the Metal Storm website.

China Lake, located on the edge of California's Mojave Desert, was chosen to provide a realistic environment for the demonstrations. With temperatures reaching 110 degrees Fahrenheit, its hot, dry, dusty environment is very similar to that encountered in Afghanistan, providing a harsh but realistic field-test for equipment.

Metal Storm demonstrated a FireStorm™ 40mm 4 barrel 24 shot remote weapons system mounted to an iRobot® 710 Warrior® unmanned ground vehicle for a crowd control and road clearing demonstration.

The trial culminated in Metal Storm's FireStorm™ producing a series of live fire volleys in semi-automatic fire modes. The less lethal frangible nose ammunition delivered both blunt force trauma and a simulated irritant accurately to each target. 
Video:

On the video the viewer will see projectiles accurately hit the target producing a cloud of simulated irritant, while the plastic sabot that protects each frangible nose splits and falls away harmlessly as each projectile leaves the barrel.

Metal Storm Inc. (MSI) General Manager Peter D. Faulkner said that participating in the event was important as it allowed a broad, influential international military audience to see what the technology was capable of. "Public demonstrations of this type are important to us as they allow potential customers to see firsthand, the maturity and readiness of our products in an operationally relevant environment," said Faulkner.

Metal Storm Limited CEO Dr Lee Finniear lauded the iRobot team for the successful outcome.
"Our work with iRobot since 2007 has been very productive for Metal Storm as it has allowed us to demonstrate FireStorm as a complete system solution. The companies have worked well together over the last two years, and we are proud to have worked with them once again on this exciting project."
Video footage supplied by the US Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division can now be accessed from the Metal Storm website at http://www.metalstorm.com/release/MS_US_Navy_Mar_2010_Video.html

About Metal Storm
Metal Storm Limited is a multi-national defence technology company engaged in the development of electronically initiated ballistics systems using its unique "stacked projectile" technology. The company is headquartered in Brisbane, Australia and incorporated in Australia. Metal Storm Limited technology and products are represented in the USA by Metal Storm Inc., which has offices in Arlington Virginia.
Notes: Metal Storm's Australian Stock Exchange trading code: MST
Metal Storm's OTC Symbol: MTSXY
Metal Storm Limited (ASX: MST) (PINKSHEETS: MTSXY).
Source: Metal Storm Weapons - press release

LODD Georgia: Forest Service Law Enforcement Officer killed by night hunter

#LODD - USDA Forest Service Law Enforcement Officer Killed in Accidental Shooting
The following is a joint release from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division and the USDA, Forest Service.

Georgia Department of Natural Resources

Monticello, GA -- A USDA Forest Service Law Enforcement Officer was fatally shot Friday, March 5, at the Ocmulgee Bluff Equestrian Recreation Area on the Oconee Ranger District of the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest in Jasper County.
The officer, Christopher Arby Upton, 37, of Monroe, GA, was on routine patrol in the area about 11 p.m. Two individuals were hunting coyote with a high-powered rifle equipped with night vision and apparently mistook the officer for game. After the shooting, the hunters dialed 911 and reported a hunting incident.

“This is a tragic incident where the loss of a Federal officer’s life could have been avoided,” said Steven Ruppert, Special Agent-in-Charge for the Southern Region of the Forest Service. “This is a devastating loss for Chris’ family, our agency, other law enforcement officers and his friends and neighbors in Monroe.

“All of our thoughts and prayers are with his family,” Ruppert said. “The standard procedure for a hunter is to identify your target and then shoot,” said Homer Bryson, Law Enforcement Colonel for Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Wildlife Resources Division (WRD). “The hunter failed to do this, and mistook the officer for game. He then shot and instantly killed the officer.”

The shooter, Norman Clinton Hale, 40, McDonough, GA, and an observer, Clifford Allen McGouirk, 41, of Jackson, GA, were hunting coyotes. The incident investigation is being conducted jointly by the Forest Service and GDNR WRD and is ongoing.
Upton, a 4-year veteran of the Forest Service, had previously worked as a game warden for the Department of Defense, US Marine Corps, at Beaufort, South Carolina, and as a conservation officer, game warden and pilot with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission. He is survived by his wife, Jessica, and a 4-year-old daughter, Annabelle. Arrangements are pending.

BREAKING NEWS: Remains Of Amber Dubois Found #RIP

ESCONDIDO, Calif. -- BREAKING NEWS: The skeletal remains of Amber Dubois were discovered during a search in the Pala area Saturday and identified by dental records, it was announced in a Sunday press conference about the case.

Just a day after the search of a pond at Escondido's Kit Carson Park proved to be unfruitful in the search for missing teenager Amber Dubois, authorities Sunday scheduled an afternoon news conference about the case.Police refused to tip their hand as to any development sparking the news conference, which had originally been called by the Sheriff's Department for its headquarters, but then moved to the Escondido Police Department station.

The Sheriff's Department has not had a major role in the Dubois case, as the girl disappeared in Escondido and the Escondido Police Department has been the lead law enforcement agency investigating her disappearance.
However, Amber returned to public attention since the arrest, by the Sheriff's Department, of John Albert Gardner III in connection with the disappearance and death of 17-year-old Chelsea King in nearby Rancho Bernardo.
Gardner is a registered sex offender who lived recently in Escondido. Investigators were looking into any involvement he might have had with Amber, or in other unsolved crimes.
Amber was 14 when she disappeared more than a year ago while walking to Escondido High School. She has not been seen since.
The search at Kit Carson Park stemmed from a tip received Thursday that last May, three girls found a black plastic bag and human hair at the edge of a pond, said Escondido police Lt. Craig Carter.
Detectives found a bag Thursday night, but it contained only mud and debris, Carter said. It was given to the FBI to analyze.

Source: News10 - Article Link

Pakistan has announced arrest of indicted U.S. Traitor Adam Gadahn

Traitor Adam Gadahn Captured in Pakistan say Reports

KARACHI, Pakistan- An American citizen, who joined the Al-Qaeda leadership in the lawless Pakistan-Afghanistan border region, Adam Gadahn, has been nabbed by security and commando forces in Pakistan, reports said.
31-year-old Adam Gadahn is often quoted by media and seen as a spokesman for Al-Qaeda in the region, as recently as the March 7, 2010, Adam Gadahn can be heard in video calling for attacks by Muslims on western nations.
Adam Gadahn was indicted for treason in 2006 by a federal grand jury for the capital crime of treason for aiding an enemy of the United States. Adam Gadahn was the first American charged with such a treason law since 1952.
From as far back as 2004, Adam Gadahn has appeared in a number of videos produced by Al-Qaeda, identified as “Azzam the American.”
In 1995, at age 17, Gadahn began studying Islam at the Islamic Society of Orange County, California. Members of Gadahn’s study group were young fundamentalists who “targeted the mosque’s chairman, Haitham ‘Danny’ Bundakji,” whom they referred to as ‘Danny the Jew’ for his practice of “wearing Western clothes and being overly friendly with Jews.”
Gadahn converted to Islam later that year, and shortly thereafter posted an essay to the USC website describing his conversion, entitled “Becoming a Muslim.”
According to his parents, Adam was “arrested and convicted of assaulting his former mentor Haitham Bundakji in May 1997,” as seen in the picture above. He served two days in jail, but his failure to do 40 hours of community services leaves a warrant for his arrest active.
Gadahn reportedly moved to Pakistan in 1998, where he married an Afghan refugee and maintained intermittent contact with his family.
Details about Adam Gadahn’s reported Pakistan capture are still forthcoming, but widely reported in Pakistan media, citing security sources.
Article link 

Taser News: SF police commission rejects Tasers

San Francisco's police commission has rejected a plan backed by the police chief to arm officers with stun guns.

The commission voted 4-3 Wednesday night against drafting a policy for the use of the devices by officers after hearing from researchers and experts who said stun guns could be lethal.
Some commissioners have expressed concerns about the device's safety.
But Chief George Gascon says arming officers with stun guns would reduce the number of police injuries, save some suspects' lives and save the city money.
He cites a study that found as many as a third of officer-involved shootings in San Francisco over the past five years could have been avoided with Tasers.
San Francisco is one of the few major U.S. cities that does not arm its officers with the devices.
___
Information from: KCBS-AM

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/03/04/state/n071702S22.DTL&feed=rss.bayarea#ixzz0hEZslgQj

Drunk walker falls under bus receives $7+ million settlement

OCTA To Pay $7M To Man Who Fell Under Bus

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) ―

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The Orange County Transit Authority has agreed to pay more than $7 million to settle a lawsuit filed by a man who was drunk when he fell under a bus and was run over.

The settlement was reached late Tuesday, the night before Ronald Cunningham's case was scheduled to go to trial.

Cunningham sued after he was severely injured in the December 2007 accident.

The transit authority argued that Cunningham fell under the bus because his blood-alcohol level was more than three times the legal limit.

His attorney, David Callahan, claims that the driver saw Cunningham and heard him knocking on the side of the bus to ask her to stop.

Transit spokesman Joel Zlotnik says the agency would have preferred to see the case go to trial, but attorneys for its insurance company chose to settle the lawsuit.

Source: cbs2.com AP Article Link

Second Amendment News: Constitutional right to keep and bear arms, - Chicago

'Right To Bear Arms' Means Just That

Posted 07:01 PM ET

Otis McDonald, 76, stands before the Supreme Court, which Tuesday heard arguments in his suit to overturn Chicago's handgun ban. AP View Enlarged Image

Gun Rights: Otis McDonald, 76, an Army vet who lives in a high-crime area of Chicago, thinks the Constitution gives him the right to bear arms to protect himself and his wife as he protected his country. We think so too.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court heard arguments on behalf of four Chicago residents led by homeowner McDonald, the Second Amendment Foundation and the Illinois State Rifle Association to overturn Chicago's three-decade-old ban on owning handguns.

In a 5-4 decision in 2008, Heller v. District of Columbia, written by Justice Antonin Scalia, the Supreme Court overturned the District of Columbia's draconian, 32-year-old ban on the private ownership of handguns. Scalia wrote that an individual right to bear arms is supported by "the historical narrative" before and after the Second Amendment was adopted.

The joy of Second Amendment defenders was short-lived. A three-judge panel of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, led by Judge Frank Easterbrook, rejected subsequent suits brought by the National Rifle Association against the city of Chicago and its suburb of Oak Park, Ill.

According to Easterbrook, the Revolution was fought and independence won so that the Founding Fathers could write a Constitution with a Bill of Rights that applied only to the District of Columbia.
"Heller dealt with a law enacted under the authority of the national government," he wrote, "while Chicago and Oak Park are subordinate bodies of a state."

We're all for federalism, but the U.S. Constitution is the U.S. Constitution. Surely he can't be serious.
Alan Gura, the Alexandria, Va., lawyer who won the Heller case, has expanded the argument to include the 14th Amendment, adopted in 1868 to prevent infringement on constitutional rights by states and others concerned about newly freed slaves owning firearms.

Introducing the 14th Amendment to Congress, Sen. Jacob Howard of Michigan referred to "personal rights" such as "the right to keep and bear arms, " explaining that his amendment would compel the states "to respect these great fundamental guarantees."

In 2008, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott filed an amicus brief on behalf of 32 states that also challenged the constitutionality of the D.C. ban. Now he represents a group of 38 states fighting the Chicago ban. "The Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms is a critical liberty interest, essential to preserving individual security and the right to self-defense," Abbott explained.

Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass wrote in 2008 that in Chicago only two classes of people can possess firearms: "The criminals and the politicians."
 Source :www.investors.com -Article Link

LAPD: reserve officer fatally shoots his son

LAPD

Authorities say a Los Angeles police reserve officer has shot and killed his teenage son in self-defense during a confrontation in their home. The shooting was reported Thursday evening near Monrovia.
The names of the officer and his son weren't immediately released.
Sheriff's Department spokesman Deputy Ed Hernandez says the shooting was in self-defense. He says the officer opened fire after the teenager attacked him.
He says the case is under investigation and didn't provide any other details.

Source: The Associated Press - Daily News Article Link

Breaking News: Joran van der Sloot has confessed on Video

Report: Suspect in Natalee Holloway case confesses

AMSTERDAM (BNO NEWS) -- Dutch suspect  has confessed to disposing the body of missing American student Natalee Holloway while on the Caribbean island of Aruba, a Dutch newspaper reported on Tuesday. He made the statements in front of an RTL television camera.
The statements by van der Sloot follow a similar confession more than two years ago during an undercover operation by Dutch crime reporter Peter R. de Vries, which prosecutors said did not constitute new legal evidence.
Natalee Holloway went missing on May 30, 2005 during a high school graduation trip to Aruba. The case received international media attention, but her body was never found.
The prosecutor's office on Aruba, which reportedly confirmed Tuesday's report, did not immediately respond to inquiries left by BNO News as its officers were closed.

 Source: www.wireupdate.com BNO News - Article link

Posted by California Fire news
Labels: Joran van der Sloot, Natalee Holloway

The Joe stack Manifesto - Writings of ranting Tea-bagger!

If you’re reading this, you’re no doubt asking yourself, “Why did this have to happen?”  The simple truth is that it is complicated and has been coming for a long time.  The writing process, started many months ago, was intended to be therapy in the face of the looming realization that there isn’t enough therapy in the world that can fix what is really broken.  Needless to say, this rant could fill volumes with example after example if I would let it.  I find the process of writing it frustrating, tedious, and probably pointless… especially given my gross inability to gracefully articulate my thoughts in light of the storm raging in my head.  Exactly what is therapeutic about that I’m not sure, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

We are all taught as children that without laws there would be no society, only anarchy.  Sadly, starting at early ages we in this country have been brainwashed to believe that, in return for our dedication and service, our government stands for justice for all.  We are further brainwashed to believe that there is freedom in this place, and that we should be ready to lay our lives down for the noble principals represented by its founding fathers.  Remember? One of these was “no taxation without representation”.  I have spent the total years of my adulthood unlearning that crap from only a few years of my childhood.  These days anyone who really stands up for that principal is promptly labeled a “crackpot”, traitor and worse.

While very few working people would say they haven’t had their fair share of taxes (as can I), in my lifetime I can say with a great degree of certainty that there has never been a politician cast a vote on any matter with the likes of me or my interests in mind.  Nor, for that matter, are they the least bit interested in me or anything I have to say.

Why is it that a handful of thugs and plunderers can commit unthinkable atrocities (and in the case of the GM executives, for scores of years) and when it’s time for their gravy train to crash under the weight of their gluttony and overwhelming stupidity, the force of the full federal government has no difficulty coming to their aid within days if not hours?  Yet at the same time, the joke we call the American medical system, including the drug and insurance companies, are murdering tens of thousands of people a year and stealing from the corpses and victims they cripple, and this country’s leaders don’t see this as important as bailing out a few of their vile, rich cronies.  Yet, the political “representatives” (thieves, liars, and self-serving scumbags is far more accurate) have endless time to sit around for year after year and debate the state of the “terrible health care problem”.  It’s clear they see no crisis as long as the dead people don’t get in the way of their corporate profits rolling in.

And justice? You’ve got to be kidding!

How can any rational individual explain that white elephant conundrum in the middle of our tax system and, indeed, our entire legal system?  Here we have a system that is, by far, too complicated for the brightest of the master scholars to understand.  Yet, it mercilessly “holds accountable” its victims, claiming that they’re responsible for fully complying with laws not even the experts understand.  The law “requires” a signature on the bottom of a tax filing; yet no one can say truthfully that they understand what they are signing; if that’s not “duress” than what is.  If this is not the measure of a totalitarian regime, nothing is.

How did I get here? 

My introduction to the real American nightmare starts back in the early ‘80s.  Unfortunately after more than 16 years of school, somewhere along the line I picked up the absurd, pompous notion that I could read and understand plain English.  Some friends introduced me to a group of people who were having ‘tax code’ readings and discussions.  In particular, zeroed in on a section relating to the wonderful “exemptions” that make institutions like the vulgar, corrupt Catholic Church so incredibly wealthy.  We carefully studied the law (with the help of some of the “best”, high-paid, experienced tax lawyers in the business), and then began to do exactly what the “big boys” were doing (except that we weren’t steeling from our congregation or lying to the government about our massive profits in the name of God).  We took a great deal of care to make it all visible, following all of the rules, exactly the way the law said it was to be done.

The intent of this exercise and our efforts was to bring about a much-needed re-evaluation of the laws that allow the monsters of organized religion to make such a mockery of people who earn an honest living.  However, this is where I learned that there are two “interpretations” for every law; one for the very rich, and one for the rest of us… Oh, and the monsters are the very ones making and enforcing the laws; the inquisition is still alive and well today in this country.

That little lesson in patriotism cost me $40,000+, 10 years of my life, and set my retirement plans back to 0.  It made me realize for the first time that I live in a country with an ideology that is based on a total and complete lie.  It also made me realize, not only how naive I had been, but also the incredible stupidity of the American public; that they buy, hook, line, and sinker, the crap about their “freedom”… and that they continue to do so with eyes closed in the face of overwhelming evidence and all that keeps happening in front of them.

Before even having to make a shaky recovery from the sting of the first lesson on what justice really means in this country (around 1984 after making my way through engineering school and still another five years of “paying my dues”), I felt I finally had to take a chance of launching my dream of becoming an independent engineer.

On the subjects of engineers and dreams of independence, I should digress somewhat to say that I’m sure that I inherited the fascination for creative problem solving from my father.  I realized this at a very young age.

The significance of independence, however, came much later during my early years of college; at the age of 18 or 19 when I was living on my own as student in an apartment in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.  My neighbor was an elderly retired woman (80+ seemed ancient to me at that age) who was the widowed wife of a retired steel worker.  Her husband had worked all his life in the steel mills of central Pennsylvania with promises from big business and the union that, for his 30 years of service, he would have a pension and medical care to look forward to in his retirement.  Instead he was one of the thousands who got nothing because the incompetent mill management and corrupt union (not to mention the government) raided their pension funds and stole their retirement.  All she had was social security to live on.

In retrospect, the situation was laughable because here I was living on peanut butter and bread (or Ritz crackers when I could afford to splurge) for months at a time.  When I got to know this poor figure and heard her story I felt worse for her plight than for my own (I, after all, I thought I had everything to in front of me).  I was genuinely appalled at one point, as we exchanged stories and commiserated with each other over our situations, when she in her grandmotherly fashion tried to convince me that I would be “healthier” eating cat food (like her) rather than trying to get all my substance from peanut butter and bread.  I couldn’t quite go there, but the impression was made.  I decided that I didn’t trust big business to take care of me, and that I would take responsibility for my own future and myself.

Return to the early ‘80s, and here I was off to a terrifying start as a ‘wet-behind-the-ears’  contract software engineer... and two years later, thanks to the fine backroom, midnight effort by the sleazy executives of Arthur Andersen (the very same folks who later brought us Enron and other such calamities) and an equally sleazy New York Senator (Patrick Moynihan), we saw the passage of 1986 tax reform act with its section 1706.

For you who are unfamiliar, here is the core text of the IRS Section 1706, defining the treatment of workers (such as contract engineers) for tax purposes. Visit this link for a conference committee report (http://www.synergistech.com/1706.shtml#ConferenceCommitteeReport) regarding the intended interpretation of Section 1706 and the relevant parts of Section 530, as amended. For information on how these laws affect technical services workers and their clients, read our discussion here (http://www.synergistech.com/ic-taxlaw.shtml).

SEC. 1706. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN TECHNICAL PERSONNEL.

(a) IN GENERAL - Section 530 of the Revenue Act of 1978 is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection:

(d) EXCEPTION. - This section shall not apply in the case of an individual who pursuant to an arrangement between the taxpayer and another person, provides services for such other person as an engineer, designer, drafter, computer programmer, systems analyst, or other similarly skilled worker engaged in a similar line of work.

(b) EFFECTIVE DATE. - The amendment made by this section shall apply to remuneration paid and services rendered after December 31, 1986.

Note:

·      "another person" is the client in the traditional job-shop relationship.

·      "taxpayer" is the recruiter, broker, agency, or job shop.

·      "individual", "employee", or "worker" is you.

Admittedly, you need to read the treatment to understand what it is saying but it’s not very complicated.  The bottom line is that they may as well have put my name right in the text of section (d).  Moreover, they could only have been more blunt if they would have came out and directly declared me a criminal and non-citizen slave.  Twenty years later, I still can’t believe my eyes.

During 1987, I spent close to $5000 of my ‘pocket change’, and at least 1000 hours of my time writing, printing, and mailing to any senator, congressman, governor, or slug that might listen; none did, and they universally treated me as if I was wasting their time.  I spent countless hours on the L.A. freeways driving to meetings and any and all of the disorganized professional groups who were attempting to mount a campaign against this atrocity.  This, only to discover that our efforts were being easily derailed by a few moles from the brokers who were just beginning to enjoy the windfall from the new declaration of their “freedom”.  Oh, and don’t forget, for all of the time I was spending on this, I was loosing income that I couldn’t bill clients.

After months of struggling it had clearly gotten to be a futile exercise.  The best we could get for all of our trouble is a pronouncement from an IRS mouthpiece that they weren’t going to enforce that provision (read harass engineers and scientists).  This immediately proved to be a lie, and the mere existence of the regulation began to have its impact on my bottom line; this, of course, was the intended effect.

Again, rewind my retirement plans back to 0 and shift them into idle.  If I had any sense, I clearly should have left abandoned engineering and never looked back.

Instead I got busy working 100-hour workweeks.  Then came the L.A. depression of the early 1990s.  Our leaders decided that they didn’t need the all of those extra Air Force bases they had in Southern California, so they were closed; just like that.  The result was economic devastation in the region that rivaled the widely publicized Texas S&L fiasco.  However, because the government caused it, no one gave a shit about all of the young families who lost their homes or street after street of boarded up houses abandoned to the wealthy loan companies who received government funds to “shore up” their windfall.  Again, I lost my retirement.

Years later, after weathering a divorce and the constant struggle trying to build some momentum with my business, I find myself once again beginning to finally pick up some speed.  Then came the .COM bust and the 911 nightmare.  Our leaders decided that all aircraft were grounded for what seemed like an eternity; and long after that, ‘special’ facilities like San Francisco were on security alert for months.  This made access to my customers prohibitively expensive.  Ironically, after what they had done the Government came to the aid of the airlines with billions of our tax dollars … as usual they left me to rot and die while they bailed out their rich, incompetent cronies WITH MY MONEY!  After these events, there went my business but not quite yet all of my retirement and savings.

By this time, I’m thinking that it might be good for a change.  Bye to California, I’ll try Austin for a while.  So I moved, only to find out that this is a place with a highly inflated sense of self-importance and where damn little real engineering work is done.  I’ve never experienced such a hard time finding work.  The rates are 1/3 of what I was earning before the crash, because pay rates here are fixed by the three or four large companies in the area who are in collusion to drive down prices and wages… and this happens because the justice department is all on the take and doesn’t give a fuck about serving anyone or anything but themselves and their rich buddies.

To survive, I was forced to cannibalize my savings and retirement, the last of which was a small IRA.  This came in a year with mammoth expenses and not a single dollar of income.  I filed no return that year thinking that because I didn’t have any income there was no need.  The sleazy government decided that they disagreed.  But they didn’t notify me in time for me to launch a legal objection so when I attempted to get a protest filed with the court I was told I was no longer entitled to due process because the time to file ran out.  Bend over for another $10,000 helping of justice.

So now we come to the present.  After my experience with the CPA world, following the business crash I swore that I’d never enter another accountant’s office again.  But here I am with a new marriage and a boatload of undocumented income, not to mention an expensive new business asset, a piano, which I had no idea how to handle.  After considerable thought I decided that it would be irresponsible NOT to get professional help; a very big mistake.

When we received the forms back I was very optimistic that they were in order.  I had taken all of the years information to Bill Ross, and he came back with results very similar to what I was expecting.  Except that he had neglected to include the contents of Sheryl’s unreported income; $12,700 worth of it. To make matters worse, Ross knew all along this was missing and I didn’t have a clue until he pointed it out in the middle of the audit.  By that time it had become brutally evident that he was representing himself and not me.

This left me stuck in the middle of this disaster trying to defend transactions that have no relationship to anything tax-related (at least the tax-related transactions were poorly documented).  Things I never knew anything about and things my wife had no clue would ever matter to anyone.  The end result is… well, just look around.

I remember reading about the stock market crash before the “great” depression and how there were wealthy bankers and businessmen jumping out of windows when they realized they screwed up and lost everything.  Isn’t it ironic how far we’ve come in 60 years in this country that they now know how to fix that little economic problem; they just steal from the middle class (who doesn’t have any say in it, elections are a joke) to cover their asses and it’s “business-as-usual”.  Now when the wealthy fuck up, the poor get to die for the mistakes… isn’t that a clever, tidy solution.

As government agencies go, the FAA is often justifiably referred to as a tombstone agency, though they are hardly alone.  The recent presidential puppet GW Bush and his cronies in their eight years certainly reinforced for all of us that this criticism rings equally true for all of the government.  Nothing changes unless there is a body count (unless it is in the interest of the wealthy sows at the government trough).  In a government full of hypocrites from top to bottom, life is as cheap as their lies and their self-serving laws.

I know I’m hardly the first one to decide I have had all I can stand.  It has always been a myth that people have stopped dying for their freedom in this country, and it isn’t limited to the blacks, and poor immigrants.  I know there have been countless before me and there are sure to be as many after.  But I also know that by not adding my body to the count, I insure nothing will change.  I choose to not keep looking over my shoulder at “big brother” while he strips my carcass, I choose not to ignore what is going on all around me, I choose not to pretend that business as usual won’t continue; I have just had enough.

I can only hope that the numbers quickly get too big to be white washed and ignored that the American zombies wake up and revolt; it will take nothing less.  I would only hope that by striking a nerve that stimulates the inevitable double standard, knee-jerk government reaction that results in more stupid draconian restrictions people wake up and begin to see the pompous political thugs and their mindless minions for what they are.  Sadly, though I spent my entire life trying to believe it wasn’t so, but violence not only is the answer, it is the only answer.  The cruel joke is that the really big chunks of shit at the top have known this all along and have been laughing, at and using this awareness against, fools like me all along.

I saw it written once that the definition of insanity is repeating the same process over and over and expecting the outcome to suddenly be different.  I am finally ready to stop this insanity.  Well, Mr. Big Brother IRS man, let’s try something different; take my pound of flesh and sleep well.

The communist creed: From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.

The capitalist creed: From each according to his gullibility, to each according to his greed.

Joe Stack (1956-2010)

02/18/2010

Stop the insanity: The Perphinal Tunnel

The peripheral canal becomes the peripheral tunnel

Underground tunnel gets closer look for shipping water through Delta

By Matt Weiser

A giant tunnel – not a canal – has emerged as the leading option to ship Sacramento River water across the Delta to thirsty Californians from the Silicon Valley to San Diego.
Officials guiding the Bay Delta Conservation Plan chose the tunnel for more detailed study at a meeting Thursday in Sacramento. The plan is an effort to secure California water supplies from environmental problems, flood risk and rising sea levels in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
About 25 million Californians and 2 million acres of farmland depend on the Delta today for at least some of their water supplies.
The decision Thursday only targets the tunnel for more detailed study. It was not a decision to build a tunnel or to exclude other options.
The tunnel would be 43 miles long. Over most of its length it would consist of not one, but two, parallel tunnels about 150 feet underground, each 33 feet in diameter.
They would rank among the largest tunnels of their kind in the world. Multiple tunnelling machines would work simultaneously for about eight years, consuming $284 million worth of electricity to build them.
The tunnels could move water at 15,000 cubic feet per second, or 10 times the volume in the American River today.
Estimated cost: Up to $11.6 billion.
Water agencies and users that benefit, notably San Joaquin Valley farmers and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, have agreed to pay for it. The cost would be passed on to their ratepayers.
"I believe it is a milestone that we just arrived at," said Karen Scarborough, undersecretary of California's Natural Resources Agency, who chairs the group's steering committee. "It's a major thing that we just did."
Participating environmental groups supported further study of the tunnel but have not yet agreed to support its construction.
Their involvement was shaken Thursday by news that U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein plans to amend a jobs bill to alter Delta fish protections. It would guarantee San Joaquin Valley farmers 40 percent of their contract water deliveries for two years. Such diversions could harm threatened salmon and Delta smelt.
Ann Hayden, a senior water analyst at Environmental Defense Fund, said her group would quit the conservation planning process if the Feinstein amendment passes.
She called it an act of betrayal, since some water interests on the committee undoubtedly asked Feinstein for the amendment.
"It doesn't help to know that folks we're partnering with are playing it both ways," Hayden said. "It will make the long-term planning almost meaningless if, in the short term, actions are taken that push some species to the point of extinction."
A draft environmental study is not expected until year's end. It then must be approved by wildlife agencies to satisfy the Endangered Species Act.
In Washington on Thursday, Feinstein said, "I believe we need a fair compromise that will respect the Endangered Species Act while recognizing the fact that people in California's breadbasket face complete economic ruin without help." She discussed the water delivery issue in a conference call with Westlands Water District and others favoring more irrigation deliveries to farms.
The Delta project also hinges on state politics. The Schwarzenegger administration supports the plan and believes it has legal authority to build a canal or tunnel. But a new governor will be in charge by the time a decision must be made. The Legislature also could influence the outcome.
Current estimates are that construction would start in 2013 and finish in 2022.
Some view the tunnel favorably because it minimizes environmental harm on the surface, as well as the amount of land that must be acquired.
That is significant because most Delta residents oppose the project and could mount fierce resistance. Already, the state Department of Water Resources is fighting more than 120 lawsuits with Delta property owners who refuse access for preliminary surveys.
DWR Deputy Director Jerry Johns said his department was pleased that the tunnel option is being studied.
The tunnel, however, comes with greater construction risk, largely because the structure of soils 150 feet beneath the Delta is not well known.
Tunneling of the sort required for the project is actually easier in solid rock than in loose material, because of threats of collapse and flooding.
Ken Verosub, a UC Davis geology professor, said there is no solid material beneath the Delta. Instead, it is probably layer upon layer of loose material deposited as the Delta shrank and expanded with repeated glacial periods.
"There are older Delta sediments – peats and organics and sands – down several hundred feet at least," said Roy Shlemon, a consulting geologist in Newport Beach who has studied the Delta.

Author: Matt Weiser
Source: The Sacramento Bee Article Link

12-year-old student was arrested handcuffed for doodling

FOREST HILLS, N.Y. (WPIX) - A 12-year-old student was arrested and quickly branded a delinquent after she apparently doodled her name on a classroom desk.

Alexa Gonzalez, a student at Junior High School 190 in Forest Hills, was led out of school Monday in handcuffs for simply writing "Lex was here. 2/1/10" accompanied with the classic smiley face. Gonzalez says she was trying to kill time while she waited for her Spanish teacher to pass out homework.

12-year-old Alexa Gonzalez, a student at Junior High School 190 in Forest Hills, was led out of school Monday in handcuffs for doodling on her desk. (PHOTO COURTESY: NY DAILY NEWS / February 5, 2010)

Using an erasable lime-green magic marker, she also wrote "I love my friends Abby and Faith" on the desk.

Gonzalez, who has a spotless attendance record, said she was shocked when she was handcuffed and taken into custody at the police precinct across the street from the school.

According to the 12-year-old's mother, her daughter was questioned and released several hours after she was initially detained.

Gonzalez appeared in family court Tuesday where she was assigned eight hours of community service, a book report and an essay on what she learned from her mistake.

Nearly a week after the incident, Department of Education officials are now acknowledging that Gonzalez' arrest should have never happened.

"The principal made a mistake and has lifted the suspension," a DOE spokesman told PIX News in a statement. "The child may return school. The principal is speaking to the parent today."

Gonzalez' arrest comes just a day after a Staten Island student was nearly suspended from school for bringing in a 2-inch plastic lego gun.

Source: www.ktla.com: Link

Caught on tape: Groped on a Disneyland Ride - California

A California woman was groped on a Disney ride. And the suspected douche bag was photographed.

Cops are looking for the guy for allegedly copping a feel while she rode the "Twilight Zone: Tower of Terror" ride at Disney's California Adventure.
Luckily for the woman, the park snaps pictures during the eight-floor drop to capture riders.
Park cameras seemed to have caught this 30-something sicko smiling moments after groping the gal at the amusement park in Anaheim, Calif., on Friday.
As soon as the man's right paw grabbed her left breast, she immediately took his hand off. He nonchalantly responded: "Sorry."
At the ride's end, the woman and her 12-year-old daughter jumped out of the car, flagged the ride attendant and pointed out the perv who again said: "What? Sorry."
He then ran away and mixed into the California Adventure crowd.   
Source: NY Post - Article Link