3 due in court charged with publisher attack plot October 3, 2008 - 7:25am
LONDON (AP) - Three men charged with plotting to attack the publisher of a novel about the wife of the Prophet Muhammad are due in court in London.
Ali Beheshti, Abrar Mirza and Abbas Taj were charged late Thursday with plotting to damage the offices of Gordon Square publishers. Beheshti was also charged with possession of a weapon designed or adapted for the discharge of a noxious liquid or gas.
The three men were arrested early Sept. 27 under anti-Terrorism laws, but were not charged with any terrorist offenses.
Gordon Square has announced it will publish "The Jewel of Medina" by U.S. journalist Sherry Jones. The novel is focused on the prophet's wife Aisha.
The book was dropped by Random House, which was concerned it could incite violence.
http://wtop.com/?nid=114&sid=1490342
God rest your souls
Navy confirms lost WWII sub has been found October 3, 2008 - 3:45am
In this 2006 file photo provided by Williamson & Associates via Bruce Abele shows an underwater sonar image of a black shape near Kiska Island that may be the USS Grunion, which sank off of the island, at the tip of Alaska's Aleutian chain in 1942. The Navy Thursday Oct. 2, 2008 has confirmed the wreckage of a sunken vessel found last year off the Aleutians Islands is that of the USS Grunion, which disappeared during World War II. (AP Photo/Williamson & Associates via Bruce Abele, File)
PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (AP) - The Navy has confirmed the wreckage of a sunken vessel found last year off the Aleutians Islands is that of the USS Grunion, which disappeared during World War II.
McAneny said the Navy was very grateful to the Abele family.
"We hope this announcement will help to give closure to the families of the 70 crewmen of Grunion," he said.
The Grunion was last heard from July 30, 1942. The submarine reported heavy anti-submarine activity at the entrance to Kiska, and that it had 10 torpedoes remaining forward. On the same day, the Grunion was directed to return to Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base. The submarine was reported lost Aug. 16, 1942.
Japanese anti-submarine attack data recorded no attack in the Aleutian area at the time of the Grunion's disappearance, so the submarine's fate remained an unsolved mystery for more than 60 years, the Navy said.
Abele's son's, Bruce, Brad, and John, began working on a plan to find the sub after finding information on the Internet in 2002 that helped pinpoint USS Grunion's possible location.
In August 2006, a team of side scan sonar experts hired by the brothers located a target near Kiska almost a mile below the ocean's surface. A second expedition in August 2007 using a high definition camera on a remotely operated vehicle yielded video footage and high resolution photos of the wreckage. http://wtop.com/?sid=1490262&nid=104
Religious discrimination, give me a break. What a waste for time and money.
Justice Department Accuses Metro of Religious Discrimination
POSTED: 12:29 pm EDT October 2, 2008 WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Justice Department is suing Metro over its policy of prohibiting employees from altering their uniforms to accommodate religious beliefs, The Washington Examiner reported.
That's religious discrimination, according to the government.
The lawsuit cites the case of Gloria Jones, an Apostolic Pentecostal Christian, who in 2005 applied to be a Metro bus driver. Jones said she didn't get the job because her religious beliefs prohibit her from wearing pants, which are part of a bus driver's uniform.
Metro spokeswoman Angela Gates confirmed that Metro doesn't allow any deviations from the standard uniform, but she declined to comment on the lawsuit.
The agency is reviewing its uniform policy, Gates said.
http://www.nbc4.com/traffic/17607998/detail.html?rss=dc&psp=news
Revised financial bailout bill dangles pork to lure votes
WASHINGTON — For most, race cars have little to do with the $700 billion economic recovery plan lawmakers will consider Friday. But in Congress, they could make a difference.
That's because Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-N.J., who voted against the bailout, now must decide on a revised bill that carries a tax break for owners of motorsports complexes, a proposal he has supported in the past.
From income tax breaks that could affect millions of Americans to tax breaks for racetracks, the economic recovery bill scheduled for a vote Friday is loaded with provisions that may tempt House members who previously voted "no" to change their mind.
Tax breaks for fishermen harmed by the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989 are supported by Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, who voted against the bailout. And subsidies now included for people who bike to work are backed by Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., who also voted "no."
Still, Blumenauer said, "It's real hard for me to justify changing" his vote. (rest of the story is at this link)
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2008-10-02-bailout-rescue-pork_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip
Brits run to 'guaranteed' banks
LONDON — The great savings rush is on in Britain, as worried investors flock to put their money into one of several safe banks that guarantee 100% of deposits — and are shaking up the banking industry throughout Europe.
Mike Bellhouse lined up Thursday to open an account at Northern Rock. The bank failed last year, but the government took it over and fully guarantees customers' deposits.
"It's all about security," says Bellhouse, 31, a London real estate agent.
It's also a big relief for savers nervous about the safety of their money in the credit crisis that began in the USA and washed across Britain and Europe. Ensuring the safety of people's bank deposits is one reason the financial bailout plan before Congress would increase the amount of personal savings guaranteed in U.S. banks to $250,000 from $100,000.
Across Europe, the amount protected in banking accounts varies widely — from $26,400 in Switzerland to $212,000 in Italy, according to a survey by the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Feeling secure
But there's nothing like 100% insurance on an unlimited amount, says Peter Ryan, 65, a doctor. He opened an account at Northern Rock — one of the few nationalized banks in Britain — after selling a house several months ago and looking for a single bank to safely deposit the proceeds.
"It's 100% guaranteed by the Bank of England and the government," Ryan says at a Northern Rock branch in central London. (For the rest of the article go to the following link)
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/banking/2008-10-02-britbank_N.htm
Anti Gun Rights to Pro Gun Rights--My conversionI have been anti-gun all my life. When my sons were little, I wouldn't allow them to ever own a toy gun. But events in the past few years have radically changed my views. It starts with September 11, 2001.On September 11, my children were in school. I wondered if the teachers had turned on televisions in their classrooms. I wondered what they might be hearing. Most of all I wondered how many children in their classes were directly effected because we live close to Washington, D.C. How many of them lost parents or other relatives? I worried about how frightened my children must be. Needless to say, they were terrified. Even though we live miles from the Pentagon, we could smell the smoke. The children came home from school that day in what looked like a snow flurry except that it wasn’t snow; it was ashes. When I heard that the terrorists were not able to hit their second D.C. target, I wondered “When will they be back with another tactic?” I thought of the various possible scenarios including armed groups coming through our streets.The following year my children were again terrorized by the “Beltway Sniper.” The sniper was shooting people in front of their own homes as well as in public places. He shot them as they walked into schools and shopping malls. He seemed to prefer areas with quick egress. One of my daughters was attending Cooper Middle School which is located less than a block from the Beltway. Because all K-12 schools in Virginia are “gun-free zones,” I knew that the only person with a gun would be the sniper. The school administration would not be able to protect the students.My daughter talked about her school day. It is hard to understand that these conditions exist within our U.S. borders:Day after day the story was the same. She told me that all of the windows in her school were blacked out, and she could not tell whether it was day or night. The school was locked so nobody could get in. The children were not allowed outside for any reason, and all after-school activities were cancelled. The school requested that all children be sent to school on busses. One day I said to her, “I’m glad you feel safe on the bus and in the school, but what about when you’re walking between the bus and the school?” I will never forget her answer, and neither will you. She replied, “The teachers line up between the bus and the school, and we walk between them.” I just started crying as I typed that. Those defenseless teachers had no way to protect the children other than to put their own bodies between the students and any potential bullets.During that time I tried to stay home as much as possible. I heard that if you got out of your car, you should weave back and forth while walking so that you were a more difficult target. When I had to go to the grocery store, I ran and weaved like a madwoman as I went from my car to the store. I knew that I could not protect myself.A year or so later, I went to a rental property owned by one of my older sons. On this day my son and I were pulling up to the house. A man ran up to my car and slammed into my window, screaming at me. I was too scared to listen to what he said, and I did not get out of the car. We restarted the car and drove off. Still shaking, I asked my son, “Why do you think he did that?” My son answered, “He was dealing drugs on the corner, Mom, and you looked at him.” I did not remember looking at anyone, but I knew that something as simple as an accidental look could put my life or my children’s lives in danger. I never went back to that neighborhood. I returned to my "safe" home.My second daughter is very sensitive and more fearful than the others. In 2005 when she applied to colleges, she only considered those in Virginia and Maryland because she didn’t want to be too far from home. Among the best schools, she chose the one where she felt safest. She chose Virginia Tech. You know what happened there. She is still alive, although traumatized. She cried for days on end. She still cries. I remember one time in particular. She was sobbing, ”Look at what one person can do. Look at how many lives he changed–the 25,000 students at Virginia Tech, the more than 50,000 people in the surrounding community, the families, the friends. Look at what one person can do!” I said, “Yes, and conversely, look at what one person can do.” She immediately understood what I meant and said, “I have thought about that, and I wonder what I’m supposed to do with my life.”It is well known that criminals, terrorists, and psychopaths choose victims who are likely to be unarmed. The problem with Virginia Tech is that it’s another “gun-free zone, ” which should be more correctly called a "criminal protection zone." The killer, Cho, wanted to do the most damage possible, and he reportedly was armed with 400 rounds of ammunition so that he could carry on for a long time. NOBODY could stop him. The entire campus is unarmed, so they had to wait for someone to come from the outside to stop his rampage. It was only when the police arrived that Cho realized he couldn’t go on, and he shot himself. If he knew in advance that students were likely to be armed, he may never have tried, or if he did, he would not have been able to kill as many people before someone stopped him.Again, an unarmed teacher knew the only way he could save his students was to put his own body between them and the gunman. Professor Liviu Librescu blocked the door to his classroom so that his students could jump out the window. A survivor of the Holocaust, Librescu clearly had the will to live. He was shot several times through the door and lost his life saving his students.The tragedy at Virginia Tech was the final straw. I was not going to be a victim anymore. My children were not going to be victims anymore.I took my first gun safety class, and I got my first concealed carry permit. Some people may be surprized that I have changed. I am surprized that some of them haven't. http://politicalwrite.blogspot.com/2008/09/anit-gun-rights-to-pro-gun-rights-my.html
Interesting, too bad they don't have a clue about the date.
Big fossil found in paleontologist's yard post-Ike October 3, 2008 - 4:24am
(to view photo go to the link) This photo released by Lamar University shows Jim Westgate, a trained paleontologist and a research associate with the Vertebrate Paleontology Laboratory at the University of Texas Memorial Museum, posing in Beaumont,Texas, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2008, with a fossil tooth of a mammoth that he found in Caplen, Texas, in the debris from Hurricane Ike. Westgate believes the fossil discovered in the Ike-damaged debris is from a Columbian mammoth. (AP Photo/Lamar University, Brian Sattler)
CAPLEN, Texas (AP) - A paleontologist whose beachfront home in Texas was destroyed during Hurricane Ike has found a football-size tooth in the debris.
Dorothy Sisk and Jim Westgate are scientists at Lamar University. They discovered the fossil tooth in the front yard of Sisk's home in Caplen on the devastated Bolivar Peninsula.
Westgate believes the fossil is from a Columbian mammoth common in North America until around 10,000 years ago.
The tooth looks like a series of boot soles or slices of bread wedged together. It is expected to be sent to the Texas Memorial Museum in Austin.
More than 1 million people fled the Texas coast because of Hurricane Ike.
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On the Net:
Lamar University: http://www.lamar.edu/
Doubt the dummy was smoking a cigarette, probably smoking dope.
What a show: Cigarette sets off fireworks in car October 2, 2008 - 9:09pm
CENTRAL FALLS, R.I. (AP) - A Rhode Island man faces charges after the cigarette he was smoking inside a car apparently ignited fireworks.
Police arrested the 28-year-old Sunday after an officer found a sedan smoking in the middle of the street. Firefighters were called to extinguish the blaze. No one was injured.
The man told police he was smoking a cigarette in the car when fireworks near his feet ignited. Witnesses told police they saw a passenger tossing fireworks out shortly before police arrived.
The man is charged with the use or possession of fireworks under $500.
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Information from: The Times, http://www.pawtuckettimes.com/
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