http://www.sott.net Signs of the Times, featuring news and commentary on world events. Never wavering in our unending search for the light of truth in a pathocracy driven world! en-us Original content Copyright 2009 by Signs of the Times. For other content, see our Fair Use Policy at www.sott.net Sat, 07 Nov 2009 08:18:01 -0500 http://www.sott.net/images/sottlogo_rss.jpg SOTT.net http://www.sott.net http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196352-US-boy-10-allegedly-shot-father-in-head A recording of a six-minute call to emergency dispatchers obtained today reveals the moments after a 10-year-old boy allegedly shot his father in the head. "Just get a doctor over here!" the boy is heard to say. "Please hurry up. It looks like he's dying." His father, 42-year-old Byron Hilburn, was found on the floor, still breathing, when police arrived at the family home in Belen, south of Albuquerque, on 27 August. He died that night in hospital. The boy faces a charge of first-degree murder, but will not face adult sanctions as he is under 14. He remains in the custody of his mother, and his name is being withheld because of his age. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196352-US-boy-10-allegedly-shot-father-in-head Sat, 07 Nov 2009 08:17:18 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196346-Surviving-Fort-Hood-shooting-suspect-arrested-at-golf-course-officer-says A senior officer who was playing golf Thursday near Fort Hood, Texas, told CNN he witnessed the arrest of one of the two surviving suspects of the shooting at the Army installation. Shortly after the shooting, the officer said, military police told him to clear the course and he saw other MPs surround the building that held the golf carts, he said. The senior officer said he ducked into a nearby house for cover as 30 to 40 cars carrying MPs approached. He said he saw a soldier in battle-dress uniform, his hands in the air. The MPs ordered him to lie on the ground and open his uniform, presumably to ensure he was not carrying explosives, the senior officer said. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196346-Surviving-Fort-Hood-shooting-suspect-arrested-at-golf-course-officer-says Sat, 07 Nov 2009 05:15:20 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196322-Toxic-overload-A-third-of-U-S-youth-too-fat-sickly-to-serve More than a third of American youth of military age are unfit for service, mainly because they are too fat or sickly, the Army Times reports, quoting the latest Pentagon figures. Most of the rest are too dumb or have used too many drugs to qualify, the study shows. The report says 35% of the 31 million Americans aged 17 to 24 are unqualified because of physical and medical issues. "The major component of this is obesity," Curt Gilroy, the Pentagon's director of accessions, tells the Times. "We have an obesity crisis in the country. There's no question about it." He also said young people, by and large, can't do push-ups. "And they can't do pull-ups," Gilroy says. " And they can't run." The Times says the Pentagon gets its data from the Centers for Disease Control, which has found that the percentage of youth 18 to 34 who are considered obese has jumped from 6% in 1987 to 23% now. Here's the Pentagon's breakdown of the ineligible population, according to the Times: Medical/physical problems, 35%. Illegal drug use, 18%. Mental Category V (the lowest 10% of the population), 9%. Too many dependents under age 18, 6%. Criminal record, 5%. Update at 1:06 p.m. ET: The Times reports that Education Secretary Arne Duncan and a group of retired military officers will issue a report on Thursday warning that the situation is so dire it amounts to a threat to national security. That study will show that when all factors are considered, 75% of military-age youth are not eligible to serve. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196322-Toxic-overload-A-third-of-U-S-youth-too-fat-sickly-to-serve Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:12:44 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196315-Propaganda-Alert-Top-GOP-recruit-says-Ft-Hood-shooting-shows-enemy-is-infiltrating-our-military- A top Republican congressional recruit said on Friday that the shooting at Ft. Hood, Texas yesterday by a solider allegedly sympathetic to suicide bombers shows that the "enemy is infiltrating our military." Allen West (R-Fla.), a retired military colonel who served as a commander at the Texas base, said in a release that Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan's attack may indicate a broader effort by Islamic extremists to recruit downtrodden members of the military. "This enemy preys on downtrodden soldiers and teaches them extremism will lift them up," West said in a statement. "Our soldiers are being brainwashed." The release added that West claims "the horrible tragedy at Fort Hood is proof the enemy is infiltrating our military." http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196315-Propaganda-Alert-Top-GOP-recruit-says-Ft-Hood-shooting-shows-enemy-is-infiltrating-our-military- Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:26:26 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196314-Brainwashing-Fox-Host-Alleged-Ft-Hood-shooter-s-name-tells-us-a-lot- "This is going to get very dark," reads the headline of a blog posting late Thursday by TalkingPointsMemo's Josh Marshall. Marshall was referring to news reports stating that the alleged primary shooter killed in today's rampage at the army base in Fort Hood, Texas, has a "Muslim-sounding" name -- and what that will mean for the political debate surrounding the shooting in post-911 America. "The fact that the primary assailant has an Arabic name and is presumably, though we don't know this yet, of Muslim extraction if not a practicing Muslim, is going to be the focus of attention," Marshall wrote. And indeed, no sooner had Marshall made his prediction than Fox News made that prediction come true. In an interview with US Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), Fox host Shepard Smith asked: "The names tells us a lot, does it not, senator?" http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196314-Brainwashing-Fox-Host-Alleged-Ft-Hood-shooter-s-name-tells-us-a-lot- Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:17:05 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196311-Shame-Humiliation-as-Kerik-Pleads-Guilty-8-Times Former NYPD Commish pleads guilty to lying to White House, Tax Crimes Former New York City police commissioner Benard Kerik gave up and copped a plea deal, and could now spend the next three years in prison for lying to the White House and the IRS. Kerik stood before Judge Stephen Robinson and pleaded guilty to eight felony crimes, mired in shame and humiliation eight years after standing with Rudy Giuliani on 9/11 and five years after standing with President Bush at the White House. "It's just the most dramatic fall from the pinnacle of power," said Ben Gershman of Pace Law School. "It's just kind of breathtaking how quickly and how far this man fell." Gershman, a former prosecutor, said it's a stunning fall, two years after Kerik vowed to clear his name. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196311-Shame-Humiliation-as-Kerik-Pleads-Guilty-8-Times Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:40:55 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196310-Florida-Wife-Faked-Own-Abduction-to-Scam-Hubby A wealthy health care executive came home one night in September to find a terrifying note from his wife, Quinn Gray: The 37-year-old housewife and mother of two had been abducted from her posh Florida beach community. "There are three men holding me right now and they want $50,000 cash," Gray wrote. "Do not do anything stupid. NO COPS!" Authorities say the 25-year-old mechanic charged with trying to extort thousands from Gray's husband wasn't her captor - but her accomplice and lover. Her husband, however, has stuck by his wife's side. Gray said she went along with her captor's demands, eventually having audiotaped sex with him. Gray says she wasn't scheming, but went insane and started to believe the kidnapper's claims that her husband wanted her dead. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196310-Florida-Wife-Faked-Own-Abduction-to-Scam-Hubby Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:35:39 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196302-Airplane-Part-Falls-onto-New-York-Home-s-Front-Lawn An engine tail cone popped off a Delta airlines jet shortly after takeoff from New York's Kennedy Airport. It plummeted thousands of feet into a Long Island neighborhood before landing harmlessly on someone's lawn. FAA spokeswoman Arlene Salac (SAHL'-ak) said Friday the jet doesn't need the part to fly and passengers weren't in any danger. Neither the pilots nor people on the ground noticed the mishap when it happened Thursday evening. The flight continued to its destination. Salac says Delta personnel reported the part missing after the plane landed in Tokyo. The 20-pound part measured 4-feet long and 3-feet in diameter. A resident spotted it hours later and called police. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196302-Airplane-Part-Falls-onto-New-York-Home-s-Front-Lawn Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:23:20 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196301-Two-Killed-6-Injured-in-Orlando-Shooting Two people were killed and six injured by a gunman who opened fire in a high-rise office building in Orlando, Florida on Friday, local media reported. A police spokeswoman said there were multiple victims in the shooting at the Gateway Center in downtown Orlando, but she could not immediately confirm any fatalities. The Orlando Sentinel newspaper and local TV networks reported that two people had been killed. Police evacuated the building and said the gunman was still at large. The Orlando Sentinel said bodies were found on the 12th and 8th floors of the building. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196301-Two-Killed-6-Injured-in-Orlando-Shooting Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:18:32 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196300-Nidal-Hasan-Ft-Hood-Shooter-Participated-in-Homeland-Security-Disaster-Preparation The gunman who killed 12 people today at Ft. Hood appears, based on current media reports, to be Army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan who was listed as a participant in a Homeland Security Policy Institute's presidential transition task force last year. The task force was not officially affiliated with the White House. It was a project of the Homeland Security Policy Institute, an independent thinktank housed at George Washington University, aimed at drafting policy recommendations for the incoming Obama administration. According to the task force's May 2009 report [pdf], a "Nidal Hasan" from the Uniformed Services University School of Medicine was a task force event participant. Other participants included Senate and House staffers, Department of Homeland Security officials, Defense Department officials, and reporters for Politico, the Washington Post, and the London Times http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196300-Nidal-Hasan-Ft-Hood-Shooter-Participated-in-Homeland-Security-Disaster-Preparation Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:11:57 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196299-Florida-Former-Employee-Opens-Fire-at-Orlando-Office-Tower A gunman opened fire Friday in the offices of an engineering firm where he was let go more than two years ago. At least six people were hurt and police were searching for a gunman in a sport utility vehicle. People streamed out of the 16-story Legion Place office building around lunchtime and some told local television stations they had barricaded themselves inside their offices. Orlando Fire Department District Chief Michael Droege said an unknown number of people were still in the building and could be injured. He said the SWAT team was trying to pull people out. "The building is not secure now," he said. "It's still unfolding." Orlando police spokeswoman Barbara Jones identified the gunman as Jason Rodriguez, 40, and said he might be in a 2002 silver Nissan SUV with license plate D119UX. She said he used to work at the building but did not say where or when he left. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196299-Florida-Former-Employee-Opens-Fire-at-Orlando-Office-Tower Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:10:11 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196298-Profile-Major-Nidal-Malik-Hasan-was-trained-to-treat-post-traumatic-stress The man who turned guns on his fellow soldiers is an army psychiatrist trained to help his comrades come to terms with precisely the same scenes of terror that he himself brought to Fort Hood yesterday. Major Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, is a mental health professional assigned to a base that is home to the US Army's "warrior reset programme", set up to help soldiers returning from war zones cope with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He attracted the attention of police six months ago for internet postings analysing the motives of suicide bombers but was not formally investigated. Major Hasan had also complained to relatives of harassment by fellow-officers mocking him for "being Middle Eastern", according to a cousin who came forward last night. Born and educated in Virginia, Major Hasan is a US citizen whose parents came from a small Palestinian town near Jerusalem. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196298-Profile-Major-Nidal-Malik-Hasan-was-trained-to-treat-post-traumatic-stress Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:05:14 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196292-California-Slain-Student-s-Parents-Stunned-by-Hospital-Bill-Letter The parents of a Sacramento State student beaten to death by a dorm mate last month said they were stunned to receive a $30,000 bill from the UC Davis Medical Center as well as a letter asking their murdered son not to return because of payment issues. Gerald and Elizabeth Hawkins said last weekend -- ten days after their son Scott was killed -- they got a bill to their Santa Clara home for $29,186.50 from the UC Davis Medical Center. In addition to documenting the 5 minutes of emergency room work done, the envelope also included a letter to "the patient," saying Scott Hawkins was considered indigent and shouldn't come back for further treatment. "I can't believe that in any country besides the U.S., any civilized country, that the parents of a murdered boy would receive this bill for $29,000 and such an insulting letter," Gerald Hawkins said. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196292-California-Slain-Student-s-Parents-Stunned-by-Hospital-Bill-Letter Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:44:38 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196277-Fort-Hood-shootings-How-often-do-soldiers-kill-soldiers- Military officials say the shootings at Fort Hood were an 'isolated incident.' But the stress of repeated wartime deployments has led to several such incidents in recent years. The shootings at the Army's Fort Hood in Texas Thursday were an "isolated incident," according to military officials. But there have been other attacks by military personnel in recent years - some in the United States, some in the war zone in Iraq - and they happened over a period of sustained combat and multiple deployments when increasing numbers of soldiers are experiencing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and committing suicide. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196277-Fort-Hood-shootings-How-often-do-soldiers-kill-soldiers- Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:12:56 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196276-Suspect-was-Mortified-about-Deployment-to-War Washington - Born and reared in Virginia, the son of immigrant parents from a small Palestinian town near Jerusalem, he joined the Army right out of high school, against his parents' wishes. The Army, in turn, put him through college and then medical school, where he trained to be a psychiatrist. But Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the 39-year-old man accused of Thursday's mass shooting at Fort Hood, Tex., began having second thoughts about a military career a few years ago after other soldiers harassed him for being a Muslim, he told relatives in Virginia. He had also more recently expressed deep concerns about being sent to Iraq or Afghanistan. Having counseled scores of returning soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder, first at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington and more recently at Fort Hood, he knew all too well the terrifying realities of war, said a cousin, Nader Hasan. "He was mortified by the idea of having to deploy," Mr. Hasan said. "He had people telling him on a daily basis the horrors they saw over there." http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196276-Suspect-was-Mortified-about-Deployment-to-War Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:47:48 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196268-Washington-Voters-Approve-R-71-Expanding-Rights-for-Gay-Couples-to-Everything-but-Marriage- Gay partnership measure approved by voters. Washington voters have approved the state's new "everything but marriage" law, expanding rights for domestic partners and marking the first time any state's voters have approved a gay equality measure at the ballot box. With about 72 percent of the expected vote counted Thursday in unofficial returns, Referendum 71 was leading 52 percent to 48 percent, with a margin of about 60,000 votes. Sen. Ed Murray, a Seattle Democrat who spearheaded the law, called it "a great step forward for equality in Washington state." "I'm relieved," he said. "I was very concerned that if the voters had said no, it would have been a major setback for gay and lesbian families in Washington state." http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196268-Washington-Voters-Approve-R-71-Expanding-Rights-for-Gay-Couples-to-Everything-but-Marriage- Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:42:21 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196263-Mass-Shooting-Indicates-Breakdown-of-Military At approximately 1:30 p.m. CST today, a soldier went on a shooting rampage at Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas, killing 12 people and wounding at least 31 others, according to base commander Lieutenant-General Bob Cone. Truthout spoke with an Army Specialist who is an active-duty Iraq war veteran currently stationed at the base. The soldier spoke on condition of anonymity since the base is now on "lockdown," and all "non-authorized" military personnel on the base have been ordered not to speak to the press. "A soldier entered the 'Soldier Readiness Center (SRC)' with two handguns and opened fire," the soldier, who is currently getting treatment for traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) explained. "That facility is where you go just before you deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan." http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196263-Mass-Shooting-Indicates-Breakdown-of-Military Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:32:39 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196258-Update-Fort-Hood-shooter-still-alive An Army psychiatrist set to be shipped overseas opened fire at the Fort Hood Army post Thursday, authorities said, a rampage that killed 12 people and left 31 wounded in the worst mass shooting ever at a military base in the United States. The gunman, first said to have been killed, was wounded but alive and in stable condition under military guard, said Lt. Gen. Bob Cone at Fort Hood. "I would say his death is not imminent," Cone said. Col. Ben Danner said the suspect was shot at least four times. The man was identified as Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, a 39-year-old, eight-year veteran from Virginia. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196258-Update-Fort-Hood-shooter-still-alive Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:21:07 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196257-New-Mexico-Boy-Tells-911-Operator-He-Shot-Father-in-Anger Desperation filled the voice of the boy on the other end of the phone line. Through fits of agitation and sobbing, he pleaded repeatedly with the emergency operator on the other end to send someone quickly. "Oh, I hope he'll live ... Just get a doctor over here!" the boy demands. "Hurry up! Please hurry up. It looks like he's dying," the boy begs the operator, as his 6-year-old sister sobs in the background. A recording of a six-minute 911 call obtained Thursday by the Associated Press details the moments that Aug. 27 night after the boy allegedly shot his father in the head with a shotgun. Police arrived soon after to find the boy waving them down outside the family's home in Belen, just south of Albuquerque. His father, 42-year-old Bryon Hilburn, was on the floor inside, still breathing, when officers arrived. He died later that night at an Albuquerque hospital. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196257-New-Mexico-Boy-Tells-911-Operator-He-Shot-Father-in-Anger Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:34:53 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196245-Update-12-die-31-wounded-in-Fort-Hood-Texas-shooting A soldier opened fire at a U.S. Army base in Fort Hood, Texas on Thursday, unleashing a stream of gunfire that left 12 people dead and 31 wounded. Authorities killed the gunman, and apprehended two other soldiers suspected in what appears to be the worst mass shooting at a U.S. military base. The shooting began around 1:30 p.m., Lt. Gen. Bob Cone said at a news conference. He said all the casualties took place at the base's Soldier Readiness Center, where soldiers who are about to be deployed or who are returning undergo medical screening. "It's a terrible tragedy. It's stunning," Cone said. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196245-Update-12-die-31-wounded-in-Fort-Hood-Texas-shooting Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:29:21 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196231-7-killed-12-wounded-in-Texas-shooting-report At least seven people were killed and 12 wounded in a shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, on Thursday, MSNBC reported. It said one gunman was in custody and another was on the loose. It added the two suspects were in military uniform. No further details were immediately available. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196231-7-killed-12-wounded-in-Texas-shooting-report Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:38:02 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196230-U-S-30th-in-Global-Infant-Mortality The United States ranks 30th in terms of infant mortality, an important measure of the quality of healthcare, according to a report released on Tuesday. Most of the deaths are among pre-term infants and the United States has a very high rate of pre-term births, according to the report from the National Center for Health Statistics. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196230-U-S-30th-in-Global-Infant-Mortality Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:27:03 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196210-Florida-Baby-Missing-for-5-Days-Found-Alive-Under-Bed A baby missing for five days was found alive and well under her baby sitter's bed, and Florida authorities said Thursday they plan to charge the sitter, her husband and the child's mother. Investigators found 7-month-old Shannon Dedrick in a box tucked under a bed surrounded by items intended to hide the child at Susan Elizabeth Baker's home near Chipley, a rural Panhandle town, Washington County Sheriff Bobby Haddock said in an interview early Thursday. The baby was placed in protective custody. "Statistically speaking this should not have ever happened, that we found this child alive, especially after so many days. Time was against us," Haddock said. Shannon was taken to a hospital but appeared healthy, Haddock said http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196210-Florida-Baby-Missing-for-5-Days-Found-Alive-Under-Bed Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:41:25 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196207-H1N1-Swine-Flu-Infects-Commercial-Swine-in-USA The pork industry desperately wants you to believe "the Big Lie" about swine flu: That it can't infect pigs, and therefore it's perfectly safe to buy and eat lots and lots of pork products. It's a merry little tale, and it would be a nice little piece of information to pass along if only it were true. But it isn't. H1N1 swine flu can and does infect pigs. And the safety margin for eating pork products from H1N1-infected pigs is not well known. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196207-H1N1-Swine-Flu-Infects-Commercial-Swine-in-USA Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:29:59 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196204-Dear-Jon-and-Message-to-The-Media On 10/28/09, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart did what the mainstream media has failed to report about-the rapidly growing global nonviolent solidarity movement of resisters to the occupation of Palestine, by hosting a Palestinian politician and American Jewish scholar and activist author. The News Media should be interviewing Dr. Mustafa Barghouti & Anna Baltzer, Jon's job is to entertain us, but once again, he led the mainstream media to where many of US already are. Jon also performed under duress from 'friends' who put him under pressure to censor the highly anticipated appearances of Dr. Barghouti and Baltzer. As of this writing on October 31, 2009, The Daily Show forum conversation regarding the BB show has attracted 21,059 reads to its first page and over 500 messages. One of mine says: The morning after Anna Baltzer wrote: Dear friends, Last night Dr. Barghouti and I were on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart talking about Palestine. The show was overwhelmed with angry emails and phone calls prior to the appearance, and up until the last minute it seemed like they might cancel. During the taping the show had its only heckler in 11 years. The entire staff were very nervous and may come to regret the monumental decision (and not make it again) as they will surely be inundated now that the show has aired. That is why it is CRUCIAL that the show receive letters of support from anyone who appreciated the interview. PLEASE take a moment to give a quick thank you to The Daily Show. I'm sure they will likely be affected by numbers rather than length, so it's OK to make it short, but spread the word to others! Be sure to put "Thank you" in the subject, and maybe Dr. Barghouti's and my name. Fill out the form here. Or email the Comedy Central Network here: mail@thecomedynetwork.ca http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196204-Dear-Jon-and-Message-to-The-Media Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:05:56 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196201-New-Jersey-and-Virginia-tell-Obama-we-blame-you-for-the-economy The Republican victories in the New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial elections have revealed significant cracks in the coalition that swept Barack Obama into the White House last year, and delivered an ominous warning to the President and Democrats: they now own America's ailing economy. Off-year elections such as yesterday's are notoriously unreliable markers in predicting the political future, but the results strongly suggest that the very voters who were crucial to Mr Obama's victory last year - independents and moderates - are increasingly disaffected with his policies. The movement that swept Mr Obama to power already looks a diminished force, and a year after his historic win it is striking how the political landscape has shifted, with stubbornly high unemployment and a massive budget deficit making it difficult for the President to turn his 2008 victory into legislative success. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196201-New-Jersey-and-Virginia-tell-Obama-we-blame-you-for-the-economy Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:28:30 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196195-Animals-Provide-Navy-with-a-Better-View-Under-the-Water-Aiding-Security-Efforts- Sea lions and other ocean-going animals are proving to the Navy that they're worth their salt. The Navy has enlisted the natural talents of sea lions, seals and dolphins to help in the recovery of underwater objects and provide security in the water, much as military working dogs do on land. Outfitted with a special harness, sea lions carry cameras that help researchers get a better view of the ocean floor or perhaps catch divers attempting to gain unauthorized access to ports or vessels. The animals also can carry tools such as tow lines to attach to underwater objects. Four sea lions and their handlers from Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command in San Diego took part in a series of demonstrations in late October off the island of Elba in northern Italy held by the NATO Undersea Research Center. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196195-Animals-Provide-Navy-with-a-Better-View-Under-the-Water-Aiding-Security-Efforts- Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:31:03 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196169-Bullets-Are-Speeding-Faster-Out-of-Gun-Shops-in-U-S- A Shortage of Ammunition, Demand is up despite drop in crime rate. In a year of job losses, foreclosures and bag lunches, Americans have spent record-breaking amounts of money on guns and ammunition. The most obvious sign of their demand: empty ammunition shelves. At points during the past year, bullets have been selling faster than factories could make them. Gun owners have bought about 12 billion rounds of ammunition in the past year, industry officials estimate. That's up from 7 billion to 10 billion in a normal year. It has happened, oddly, at a time when the two concerns that usually make people buy guns and bullets -- crime and increased gun control -- seem less threatening than usual. The explanation for the run on bullets lies partly in economics: Once rounds were scarce, people hoarded them, which made them scarcer. But the rush for bullets, like this year's increase in gun sales, also says something about how suspicious the two sides in the gun-control debate are of each other, even at a time when the issue is on Washington's back burner. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196169-Bullets-Are-Speeding-Faster-Out-of-Gun-Shops-in-U-S- Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:58:36 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196150-Country-Joe-Kenny-Rogers-and-Obama Country Joe McDonald said it best in his iconic "Fixin' to Die" Rag: "Oh, it's one, two, three, what are we fightin' for? Don't ask me. I don't give a damn." In fact, we were fighting for nothing in Vietnam. It was a war that started out because the US didn't want the Commies to win a battle in the so-called Cold War, and even though it was on the farthest side of the world, in a poor nation of peasants, even though they had been struggling to throw off colonialism for years and we had simply become the new colonists, no president dared to admit the obvious--we had no business being there, and all the killing and dying had no point. Afghanistan is the same thing all over again. Country Joe McDonald at Woodstock Nation: "What are we fightin' for?" http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196150-Country-Joe-Kenny-Rogers-and-Obama Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:41:55 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196137-US-scientist-could-face-death-sentence-for-Israel-spy-plot A leading NASA scientist credited with helping discover water on the Moon has pleaded not guilty to charges he tried to sell US defence secrets to Israel for $US2 million ($2.2 million). Judge Deborah Robinson rejected a bail request from Stewart David Nozette, who was arrested in an October 18 sting operation, saying he was considered a flight risk and should remain in jail pending trial. Nozette, 52, is charged with two counts of attempted espionage for allegedly trying to sell secrets to an FBI agent posing as an Israeli intelligence officer. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196137-US-scientist-could-face-death-sentence-for-Israel-spy-plot Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:18:45 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196121-North-Carolina-Father-Killed-Wife-2-Children-Self North Carolina police say a real estate developer known as an active member of his church shot and killed his wife and two teen children and then committed suicide in their Fayetteville home. Authorities did not hint at a motive into the slayings by William Maxwell in an upscale neighborhood of the city Monday night. Police said Tuesday that 47-year-old Maxwell killed his wife, Kathryn, and their children, 17-year-old Connor and 15-year-old Cameron, before turning a gun on himself. Friends and neighbors say the Maxwells were a friendly family who kept a meticulous yard and were active in their church and their children's religious high school. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196121-North-Carolina-Father-Killed-Wife-2-Children-Self Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:02:56 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196110-Six-bodies-found-in-Cleveland-home-of-convicted-rapist-Anthony-Sowell Six bodies that were found in the home of a convicted rapist were women, officials said. Police found two of the bodies when they went to the home of Anthony Sowell to arrest him on a rape charge. Mr Sowell, 50, of Cleveland, spent 15 years in prison for a rape in 1989. A spokesman for the Cuyahoga County coroner said that five of the victims had been strangled. The other body was too decomposed to determine a cause of death. Police have not been able to identify the bodies. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196110-Six-bodies-found-in-Cleveland-home-of-convicted-rapist-Anthony-Sowell Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:26:33 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196098-Just-Say-No-to-NIST-The-Mysterious-Collapse-of-World-Trade-Center-7 A review of The Mysterious Collapse of World Trade Center 7: Why the Official Report about 9/11 is Unscientific and False, A book by David Ray Griffin The headline, "Just Say No to NIST" (the National Institute of Standards and Technology) is purposely patterned after Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No to Drugs." In the case of David Griffin's new book, The Mysterious Collapse of World Trade Center 7, the NIST lies, half truths, omissions, and the outright corruption of honest science are the administration's dope, administered by NIST, to lull inquiring minds into believing the fantasy of their lies. NIST's violations of scientific method, as Griffin clearly explains, represent what he terms the "politicization of science," used to delude Americans to accept the Bush administrations' conspiracy theory. That is, the World Trade Center Tower 7, the Tower not hit by an airliner, fell into its own footprint in six seconds at 5:20 PM on 9/11 as a result of minor fires, not explosives planted in the 47-story steel-framed building to create a classic internal demolition - uncannily resembling so many we've seen in movies or on TV. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196098-Just-Say-No-to-NIST-The-Mysterious-Collapse-of-World-Trade-Center-7 Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:58:03 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196086-GOP-senator-dodges-tearful-rape-victim-s-questions Confronted by an impassioned rape survivor at a town hall Saturday night, Sen. David Vitter tried everything from sympathizing to deflecting blame onto the Obama administration for his decision to vote against an anti-rape amendment. Finally, amid shouts from protesters, the Louisiana Republican simply walked away. Vitter was one of 30 Republican senators who voted against Sen. Al Franken's amendment, passed in the Senate last month, that would de-fund government contractors who prevent employees from seeking justice when they have been raped. The inspiration for the amendment was Jamie Leigh Jones, who was allegedly gang-raped by co-workers at Halliburton subsidiary KBR while on assignment in Baghdad, and was then prevented from pursuing the matter in courts. At the town hall meeting Saturday, a woman identifying herself as a "rape survivor" confronted Vitter and asked him why he voted against the amendment. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196086-GOP-senator-dodges-tearful-rape-victim-s-questions Tue, 03 Nov 2009 08:37:34 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196078-Man-of-Peace-Obama-okays-130-billion-for-Afghanistan-Iraq-wars President Barack Obama Wednesday signed the fiscal 2010 National Defence Authorization Act during a ceremony at the White House. Obama hailed the act, which contains $680.2 billion in military budget authority, as transformational legislation that targets wasteful defence spending. The authorization act contains $130 billion to fund overseas contingency operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and it also provides $6.7 billion for thousands of all-terrain, mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles now arriving in Afghanistan. The president was accompanied by Vice President Joe Biden, congressional leaders and other senior officials, including Defence Secretary Robert M. Gates and Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196078-Man-of-Peace-Obama-okays-130-billion-for-Afghanistan-Iraq-wars Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:56:27 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196062-Estimate-Half-of-U-S-kids-will-get-food-stamps Chicago - Nearly half of all U.S. children and 90 percent of black youngsters will be on food stamps at some point during childhood, and fallout from the current recession could push those numbers even higher, researchers say. The estimate comes from an analysis of 30 years of national data, and it bolsters other recent evidence on the pervasiveness of youngsters at economic risk. It suggests that almost everyone knows a family who has received food stamps, or will in the future, said lead author Mark Rank, a sociologist at Washington University in St. Louis. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196062-Estimate-Half-of-U-S-kids-will-get-food-stamps Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:10:26 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196060-Texas-March-Spotlights-Executions Laura Brady reports on Texas's Tenth Annual March to Abolish the Death Penalty--and the botched cases that are leading more people to question the death penalty. Nearly 500 people rallied against the death penalty in Texas as the issue of wrongful convictions and state killing of innocent people has come center stage. Days after the march, anti-death penalty activists in the state lost one of their strongest fighters: Reginald Blanton. Blanton was executed by Texas Gov. Rick Perry on October 27, despite compelling evidence that he was innocent--including coerced testimony from witnesses and a shoe print that did not match his. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196060-Texas-March-Spotlights-Executions Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:45:20 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196056-Ford-Union-Workers-Overwhelmingly-Reject-Contract-Concessions Ford Motor Co. (F) and United Auto Worker leaders must now seek contract changes through informal talks after the union's rank-and-file soundly rejected the auto maker's demands for more cost concessions. A total of 70% of the voting production members and 75% of the skilled trade workers turned down the contract modifications, the UAW officially announced Monday. The results weren't a surprise, given early voting returns last week which showed building momentum against the changes. "While we will not be returning to the bargaining table, our leadership will continue to work with Ford on a daily basis in an effort to keep new products coming into our plants," UAW President Ron Gettelfinger and Vice President Bob King said in a joint statement. "We will also continue to work with Ford to ensure they maintain the highest ratings in quality and productivity and insure that they remain competitive. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196056-Ford-Union-Workers-Overwhelmingly-Reject-Contract-Concessions Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:09:00 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196055-Federal-Reserve-Policy-Audit-Legislation-Gutted-Paul-Says Representative Ron Paul, the Texas Republican who has called for an end to the Federal Reserve, said legislation he introduced to audit monetary policy has been "gutted" while moving toward a possible vote in the Democratic-controlled House. The bill, with 308 co-sponsors, has been stripped of provisions that would remove Fed exemptions from audits of transactions with foreign central banks, monetary policy deliberations, transactions made under the direction of the Federal Open Market Committee and communications between the Board, the reserve banks and staff, Paul said today. "There's nothing left, it's been gutted," he said in a telephone interview. "This is not a partisan issue. People all over the country want to know what the Fed is up to, and this legislation was supposed to help them do that." http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196055-Federal-Reserve-Policy-Audit-Legislation-Gutted-Paul-Says Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:02:05 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196052-Nevada-Power-Restored-to-South-Reno-after-Mysterious-Outage The lights are back on for about 4,200 residents and businesses in south Reno, after a power outage Monday morning. NVEnergy spokesman Karl Walquist says power has been restored to the Donner Springs Subdivision, after being out for an hour. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196052-Nevada-Power-Restored-to-South-Reno-after-Mysterious-Outage Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:43:50 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196028-Ron-Paul-tweaks-Michael-Moore-on-capitalism-still-agrees-with-him Speaking to veteran CNN interviewer Larry King on Sunday, Texas Republican Congressman Ron Paul argued that he is just as upset with America's economic system as activist filmmaker Michael Moore -- except the longtime doctor does not believe the illness is purely based on capitalism. "We have lost our faith and confidence and understanding in how free markets work," he said. "We turned it upside-down by saying that any time corporations get benefits, we call it capitalism and freedom, and it's corporatism. It's the military industrial complex. It's all the special interests." Paul continued: "This is where Michael Moore gets it all wrong. He believes diligently in free markets because he believes in the First Amendment. He believes in making films. He doesn't believe in prior restraints. So, why should he condemn capitalism? He's condemning corporatism. I condemn it too. Special privileges for corporations is a big problem." http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196028-Ron-Paul-tweaks-Michael-Moore-on-capitalism-still-agrees-with-him Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:26:11 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196024-Cousin-Japanese-Captured-Amelia-Earhart Wally Earhart of Carson City, the fourth cousin of Amelia Earhart, says the U.S. government continues to perpetrate a "massive coverup" about her mysterious disappearance in the Pacific 72 years ago. Because of the current surge in interest about the pilot's fate spurred by the recent release of the film Amelia, starring Richard Gere and Hilary Swank, it is time the American public "know the truth about Amelia's last days," said Earhart, who will portray Abraham Lincoln as grand marshal of the Nevada Day parade today. Amelia and her navigator, Fred Noonan, did not die as claimed by the government and the Navy when their twin-engine Electra plunged into the Pacific on July 2, 1937, Wally Earhart said in an interview. "They died while in Japanese captivity on the island of Saipan in the Northern Marianas," claims Earhart, a 38-year Carson City resident who often portrays Lincoln and other historical figures at appearances sponsored by groups such as the Nevada Historical Society. "The Navy and the federal government would have you believe that Amelia and Noonan died on impact when their plane ran out of gas while attempting to reach Howland Island during their flight around the world," Earhart said. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196024-Cousin-Japanese-Captured-Amelia-Earhart Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:09:04 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196023-What-s-Behind-the-False-Flag-Flu-Emergency- On Friday I stood before an audience in Phoenix, Arizona and attempted to shock them with something similar to a repeat of Orson Welles' War Of The Worlds radio broadcast, a 1938 Halloween night radio announcement that said, in a series of news bulletins, Martians had landed on the earth. The public cowered in fear then, even when Welles announced it was just a radio drama, not reality. The contrived crisis I created was the President of the United States had just announced a national emergency because of a massive number of deaths attributed to a fast-spreading strain of flu virus that had combined with a mortal form of flu virus. My hand was shaking as I read the announcement. People in the audience thought it was real. The audience began to squirm and wonder, before I finished my melodrama, just how they were going to return home without having to undergo forced vaccination at the airport. They were relieved when I told them this crisis was purely fictional. I added the announcement for just such a contrived crisis was probably already programmed into the President's teleprompter. Little did I know how true these words were to become. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196023-What-s-Behind-the-False-Flag-Flu-Emergency- Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:02:31 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196012-Ship-Built-with-World-Trade-Center-Steel-Comes-to-Namesake-City The new Navy assault ship USS New York, built with World Trade Center steel, arrived in its namesake city Monday with a 21-gun salute near the site of the 2001 terrorist attack. First responders, families of Sept. 11 victims and the public gathered Monday at a waterfront viewing area, where they could see the crew standing at attention along the deck of the battleship gray vessel. The big ship paused. Then the shots were fired, with a cracking sound, in three bursts. The bow of the $1 billion ship, built in Louisiana, contains about 7.5 tons of steel from the fallen towers. "It's a transformation ... from something really twisted and ugly," said Rosaleen Tallon, who lost her firefighter brother, Sean, on 9/11. "I'm proud that our military is using that steel." http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196012-Ship-Built-with-World-Trade-Center-Steel-Comes-to-Namesake-City Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:01:50 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/195981-Too-Big-to-Fail-Why-All-the-President-s-Afghan-Options-Are-Bad-Ones In the worst of times, my father always used to say, "A good gambler cuts his losses." It's a formulation imprinted on my brain forever. That no-nonsense piece of advice still seems reasonable to me, but it doesn't apply to American war policy. Our leaders evidently never saw a war to which the word "more" didn't apply. Hence the Afghan War, where impending disaster is just an invitation to fuel the flames of an already roaring fire. Here's a partial rundown of news from that devolving conflict: In the last week, Nuristan, a province on the Pakistani border, essentially fell to the Taliban after the U.S. withdrew its forces from four key bases. Similarly in Khost, another eastern province bordering Pakistan where U.S. forces once registered much-publicized gains (and which Richard Holbrooke, now President Obama's special envoy to the region, termed "an American success story"), the Taliban is largely in control. It is, according to Yochi Dreazen and Anand Gopal of the Wall Street Journal, now "one of the most dangerous provinces" in the country. Similarly, the Taliban insurgency, once largely restricted to the Pashtun south, has recently spread fiercely to the west and north. At the same time, neighboring Pakistan is an increasingly destabilized country amid war in its tribal borderlands, a terror campaign spreading throughout the country, escalating American drone attacks, and increasingly testy relations between American officials and the Pakistani government and military. Meanwhile, the U.S. command in Afghanistan is considering a strategy that involves pulling back from the countryside and focusing on protecting more heavily populated areas (which might be called, with the first U.S. Afghan War of the 1980s in mind, the Soviet strategy). The underpopulated parts of the countryside would then undoubtedly be left to Hellfire missile-armed American drone aircraft. In the last week, three U.S. helicopters -- the only practical way to get around a mountainous country with a crude, heavily mined system of roads -- went down under questionable circumstances (another potential sign of an impending Soviet-style disaster). Across the country, Taliban attacks are up; deadly roadside bombs or IEDs are fast on the rise (a 350% jump since 2007); U.S. deaths are at a record high and the numbers of wounded are rising rapidly; European allies are ever less willing to send more troops; and Taliban raids in the capital, Kabul, are on the increase. All this despite a theoretical 12-1 edge U.S., NATO, and Afghan troops have over the Taliban insurgents and their allies. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/195981-Too-Big-to-Fail-Why-All-the-President-s-Afghan-Options-Are-Bad-Ones Sun, 01 Nov 2009 21:45:06 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/195969-Barack-Obama-sees-worst-poll-rating-drop-in-50-years The decline in Barack Obama's popularity since July has been the steepest of any president at the same stage of his first term for more than 50 years. Gallup recorded an average daily approval rating of 53 per cent for Mr Obama for the third quarter of the year, a sharp drop from the 62 per cent he recorded from April. His current approval rating - hovering just above the level that would make re-election an uphill struggle - is close to the bottom for newly-elected president. Mr Obama entered the White House with a soaring 78 per cent approval rating. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/195969-Barack-Obama-sees-worst-poll-rating-drop-in-50-years Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:11:39 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/195964-US-politicians-come-to-blows-over-Afghan-war Officials from the Obama administration and the administration of former US President George W. Bush have pointed a finger of blame at each other over the controversial US-led war in Afghanistan. As the southeast Asian nation is suffering from a devastating eight-year war, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs on Thursday accused the Bush administration of neglecting Afghanistan for years. "The vice president was for seven years not focused on Afghanistan," Gibbs said. His remarks came after ex-vice president Dick Cheney, an anti-Obama icon, earlier on Wednesday said President Barack Obama "must stop dithering" on troop decisions. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/195964-US-politicians-come-to-blows-over-Afghan-war Sun, 01 Nov 2009 18:51:07 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/195963-Arrest-made-in-fire-at-New-York-City-chapel-for-9-11-victims An arsonist set fire on Saturday to a chapel where the remains of unidentified victims of Sept. 11 are stored, city officials said. None of the thousands of remains was damaged but virtually all the mementos - pictures, notes and flowers - left by loved ones at Memorial Park were either stolen or damaged in the fire, according to the mayor's office. Mayor Bloomberg said that fire officials determined the blaze was intentionally set and the chapel on E. 30th St. and the FDR Drive would be treated as a crime scene. "Anyone who would set fire to the inviolable Memorial Park chapel is craven and contemptible," said Bloomberg in a press release. Relatives "who visit the Memorial Park chapel and have already gone through such enormous loss have my sympathy." Brian Schroeder, 26, was arrested last night. Schroeder, who may have been from out of town, was apparently drunk when he started the fire, a source said. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/195963-Arrest-made-in-fire-at-New-York-City-chapel-for-9-11-victims Sun, 01 Nov 2009 18:48:12 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/195958-Under-Pressure-Wexler-Leaves-Congress-Washington-Wondering-Why The "fire-breathing liberal" has sucked the air out of the room. A soft-spoken retirement announcement by the usually outspoken U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.) has left Democrats, Republicans, Jews and non-Jews expressing reactions that ranged from baffled to... baffled. "We were stunned," said one source close to the congressional leadership. Figures in the pro-Israel community expressed similar sentiments. What makes the move even more perplexing is that Wexler, who dubbed himself the "fire-breathing liberal" in his manifesto published last year, is ending a very public political career that has had a virtually unimpeded upward swing to become a think-tank diplomat - the kind of figure who does his best work behind the scenes without taking credit. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/195958-Under-Pressure-Wexler-Leaves-Congress-Washington-Wondering-Why Sun, 01 Nov 2009 18:08:36 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/195955-Monsanto-and-Pioneer-duke-it-out-over-biotech-corn-farmers-take-the-hit There is an old African saying "Whether elephants make love or war, the grass suffers." The two elephants in the agricultural seed business are now making real war, although they have been wary of each other for years. Monsanto, a relatively recent entry into the business, has become the "dominant male" in the battle after moving to acquire a large number of formerly independent seed companies. Pioneer, content for years to be the premiere corn breeder in the world, has found itself suddenly defending its turf and trying to find ways to move into the new biotech ball game. The Des Moines Register recently covered this ongoing saga. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/195955-Monsanto-and-Pioneer-duke-it-out-over-biotech-corn-farmers-take-the-hit Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:54:20 -0500