Thursday, December 3, 2009
Delta Force: Operation Kill Bin Laden
The officer who led the Delta Force mission to kill Osama bin Laden after 9/11 reveals what really happened in Tora Bora, Afghanistan, when the al-Qaeda leader narrowly escaped.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Friday, July 31, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Friday, July 24, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Friday, July 3, 2009
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Police Draw Guns On Black Men Opening Bank Accounts
Skokie police drew their guns and surrounded a Bank of America Monday morning because two “suspicious” men wanted to open an account.
Oops.
The men who were targeted by police called it “racial profiling” and a police over-reaction.
The two were apparently trying to open an account, but employees thought they appeared suspicious and called police. A bank employee said there is no security at the branch, which is across from the Old Orchard Mall.
After police surrounded the bank, both men surrendered. One man left the bank with his arms up, while the other sat on the sidewalk with two officers pointing machine guns at him. The men had no weapons.
After checking out the men’s story, Skokie police shook hands with them and let them go on their way.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
State Trooper vs. Paramedic [Serve & Protect ???]
Cell Phone Vid
Full Dash Cam Vid
Fox 23 in Tulsa had had a Freedom of Information request in for the dash cam for more than two weeks. Late last night, the OHP finally stopped stonewalling and released the trooper's video dash cam.
It's not pretty. And, a warning--there is totally unacceptable language for a family setting.
Let me walk it down for you. An ambulance, with Maurice White acting as supervisor and paramedic, is taking an elderly woman, who had collapsed, to the hospital for treatment. Her worried family follows.
Trooper Daniel Martin, who was responding to a stolen car report, came up behind the ambulance on a two-lane country road. In Oklahoma, those shoulders are notoriously tricky for even a car to pull off onto. But there's another factor involved.
As the dash cam clearly shows, a car is on the right-hand shoulder, partially obstructing the highway. Just as the highway patrol pulls up behind the ambulance, the medical unit must swing out to avoid colliding with the parked car.
Let me repeat that, because it's important: if the ambulance's driver, Paul Franks, had immediately pulled over when the racing trooper came up behind him, he would have created an accident. It is impossible to safely pull over while slamming into another vehicle.
After the ambulance gets past the parked vehicle, Franks slows and safely pulls over for the trooper. As Martin zooms by--at a speed that I would call excessive for just a stolen car report--he uses the radio to reprimand the ambulance for not pulling over.
Later in the tape, it's shown that the sheriff's department is already on scene at the stolen car incident. Martin is released from any need to be at the scene.
Then he whips around, guns his car, and goes out hunting the ambulance. When he catches up with the ambulance, what happens next is a textbook case for bad judgment and abuse of power.
Before the encounter is over, Martin has assaulted the paramedic, frightened the patient, and created a neighborhood scene that is so unprofessional that it's just about unbelievable. Enraged, he calls for backup, repeatedly threatens the unit's operators, curses, chokes and slams White up against the ambulance several times--an action the patient later said rocked the unit, frightening her.
He also keeps screaming "you insulted me." The trooper later says that Franks made an obscene hand gesture as Martin passed the ambulance, a charge Franks denies.
Martin plans a press conference on Monday, according to Fox 23. Martin, who had his wife in the patrol car with him for an as-yet unknown reason, later declared that he'd recently come back from service in Iraq, a fact the OHP has not yet addressed.
Although Martin's on leave, it took awhile for the OHP to admit that, and then officials noted that the trooper had requested the paid administrative lead. It's a tangled mess that never had to happen.
As a graduate of the Bartlesville Police Department's Citizen Police Academy, I'm qualified to ride patrol with local officers, and have done so. I have seen three officers required to safely subdue and arrest a crazed, drunken multiple offender, with a track record for assaulting officers, who was in the middle of the road attacking cars while raging and cursing.
They accomplished the task without rage, profanity or violence. It's just one example of how tense and dangerous situations are handled every day, on all three shifts.
The stress on officers is immense--but I have never seen one of our officers responding to actual threats and verbal abuse like Martin responded to another emergency responder on duty. Not only that, but as a non-law enforcement professional, I've also been cursed, threatened, and insulted.
In fact, I've had drunken offenders not only call me names while enroute to jail, but also describe, clearly, the sexual services they expect from me and intend to get. I didn't lose my cool, nor did my patrol partner.
If a civilian can handle extreme duress and verbal abuse, why can't a supposedly well-trained professional officer handle an ambulance's driver choosing not to pull his unit into another vehicle while transporting a patient? What made it necessary for this trooper to hunt down the ambulance and escalate the situation into a public brawl rather than just going on?
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol has a serious problem--both with this trooper and within the agency. Their actions in stonewalling media and the public has set a bad example. Had a family member not been on hand with a cellphone camera during the episode, Martin's actions in choking White would have been undocumented as they were out of range of the camera. Not only that, but the backup trooper turned off his dash cam, accrding to earlier reports.
Full Dash Cam Vid
Fox 23 in Tulsa had had a Freedom of Information request in for the dash cam for more than two weeks. Late last night, the OHP finally stopped stonewalling and released the trooper's video dash cam.
It's not pretty. And, a warning--there is totally unacceptable language for a family setting.
Let me walk it down for you. An ambulance, with Maurice White acting as supervisor and paramedic, is taking an elderly woman, who had collapsed, to the hospital for treatment. Her worried family follows.
Trooper Daniel Martin, who was responding to a stolen car report, came up behind the ambulance on a two-lane country road. In Oklahoma, those shoulders are notoriously tricky for even a car to pull off onto. But there's another factor involved.
As the dash cam clearly shows, a car is on the right-hand shoulder, partially obstructing the highway. Just as the highway patrol pulls up behind the ambulance, the medical unit must swing out to avoid colliding with the parked car.
Let me repeat that, because it's important: if the ambulance's driver, Paul Franks, had immediately pulled over when the racing trooper came up behind him, he would have created an accident. It is impossible to safely pull over while slamming into another vehicle.
After the ambulance gets past the parked vehicle, Franks slows and safely pulls over for the trooper. As Martin zooms by--at a speed that I would call excessive for just a stolen car report--he uses the radio to reprimand the ambulance for not pulling over.
Later in the tape, it's shown that the sheriff's department is already on scene at the stolen car incident. Martin is released from any need to be at the scene.
Then he whips around, guns his car, and goes out hunting the ambulance. When he catches up with the ambulance, what happens next is a textbook case for bad judgment and abuse of power.
Before the encounter is over, Martin has assaulted the paramedic, frightened the patient, and created a neighborhood scene that is so unprofessional that it's just about unbelievable. Enraged, he calls for backup, repeatedly threatens the unit's operators, curses, chokes and slams White up against the ambulance several times--an action the patient later said rocked the unit, frightening her.
He also keeps screaming "you insulted me." The trooper later says that Franks made an obscene hand gesture as Martin passed the ambulance, a charge Franks denies.
Martin plans a press conference on Monday, according to Fox 23. Martin, who had his wife in the patrol car with him for an as-yet unknown reason, later declared that he'd recently come back from service in Iraq, a fact the OHP has not yet addressed.
Although Martin's on leave, it took awhile for the OHP to admit that, and then officials noted that the trooper had requested the paid administrative lead. It's a tangled mess that never had to happen.
As a graduate of the Bartlesville Police Department's Citizen Police Academy, I'm qualified to ride patrol with local officers, and have done so. I have seen three officers required to safely subdue and arrest a crazed, drunken multiple offender, with a track record for assaulting officers, who was in the middle of the road attacking cars while raging and cursing.
They accomplished the task without rage, profanity or violence. It's just one example of how tense and dangerous situations are handled every day, on all three shifts.
The stress on officers is immense--but I have never seen one of our officers responding to actual threats and verbal abuse like Martin responded to another emergency responder on duty. Not only that, but as a non-law enforcement professional, I've also been cursed, threatened, and insulted.
In fact, I've had drunken offenders not only call me names while enroute to jail, but also describe, clearly, the sexual services they expect from me and intend to get. I didn't lose my cool, nor did my patrol partner.
If a civilian can handle extreme duress and verbal abuse, why can't a supposedly well-trained professional officer handle an ambulance's driver choosing not to pull his unit into another vehicle while transporting a patient? What made it necessary for this trooper to hunt down the ambulance and escalate the situation into a public brawl rather than just going on?
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol has a serious problem--both with this trooper and within the agency. Their actions in stonewalling media and the public has set a bad example. Had a family member not been on hand with a cellphone camera during the episode, Martin's actions in choking White would have been undocumented as they were out of range of the camera. Not only that, but the backup trooper turned off his dash cam, accrding to earlier reports.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Monday, June 1, 2009
White Cop Shoots Black Cop In Harlem
Details of the shooting death of an off-duty cop last night in Harlem slowly started to emerge today as family members mourned the loss of the rookie officer.
Officer Andrew Duton, a 4 ½ year NYPD veteran, unleashed a hail of bullets on plain-clothed officer Omar Edwards, 25, in a tragic case of mistaken identity.
Edwards, a rookie cop who lived with his wife and two small children in Brooklyn, confronted a suspect who was trying to break into his car at about 10:30 p.m. last night.
Edwards had gotten off duty from PSA 5 early, at 10 p.m. -- his scheduled quit time was 2:30 a.m. -- and called 911 when he saw Miguel Santiago, who has five prior arrests for drugs, assault and robbery, breaking into his car at 125th Street and Second Avenue, police sources said.
Edwards had pulled his gun on Santiago as they confronted one another on the misty, rain-drenched streets.
At that moment, Dunton and two other officers from the 25th Precinct anti-crime unit rolled up, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said.
It is unclear if Edwards identified himself as an officer. Santiago told police he heard someone yell to him and Edwards, "Stop! Police!"
Dunton jumped out of the car and fired off six shots -- two of which struck Edwards, who wasn't wearing a bulletproof vest because he was off duty, Kelly said.
Though the official cause of death was a gunshot wound to the chest, the bullet that caused the fatal injury entered the left side of Edward's back before hitting his heart and left lung, said medical examiner spokeswoman Ellen Borakove. It lodged in the front of his chest, and was recovered.
An autopsy also found that another bullet tunneled through the victim's left arm. He also was hit in the left hip by a third bullet.
The officer who fired the gun is white; Edwards was black. Kelly said investigators would try to determine if that played a role in the friendly-fire tragedy.
While exactly what occurred is unclear, the police patrol guide says in officer-on-officer conflicts "the actions of the members in the first few seconds are of vital importance."
Officials said today it's up to the confronted officer to ID himself right away. And even if the confronted cop is chasing a suspect, he should "remain motionless even if it means a fleeing suspect may escape."
Still, the confronting cops are supposed to shout "Police! Don't move!"
The NYPD has already changed their training procedure by adding a class on the procedure for confronting a fellow officer.
Edwards, who lived in Bushwick, Brooklyn, with his wife, Danielle Edwards and their two sons, Xavier, 18 months, and Keanu, 7 months, died at 11:21 p.m. at Harlem Hospital.
"I can't believe another cop shot him. I cannot understand how a police officer can just fire on another police officer," Edwards father, Ricardo, 72, said. "This was my son - a good man. I am very upset and don't know what really happened."
His mother, Natalia Harding, lives in the apartment next to Edwards and his family.
"Before he left to work this afternoon he hugged me and kissed me and told me he would see me in the morning. He won't see me now," Harding said. "He was a good son and a great father.
"You should have seen him with his 2 boys - they were inseparable. I'm missing him badly already. His oldest son, Xavier, wants his father to come home. I miss him so much," she said.
Edwards was only just married. Sources said the civil ceremony took place at the city's Manhattan wedding chapel on April 17.
"This is a sad day for the city and for the New York Police Department," Mayor Bloomberg said at a news conference early this morning.
Kelly added, "I hope the prayers of all New Yorkers are with Police Officer Edwards and his family."
The violence jolted people who happened to be nearby.
"He wasn't moving," said Oni Rodriguez, 23. "He was wearing jeans and a gray sweatshirt with lots of blood. They put him on a stretcher."
Malik Lane, 20, who lives in a nearby shelter, heard the blast of gunfire as far away as 125th and Lexington Avenue.
His friend Christian Becances, 19, said he thought he heard multiple gun pops.
"I said to myself, 'Where's that coming from?' " Becances said.
"It was very chaotic. I heard a lot of police officers. They were hugging each other, and when I asked a cop what happened he said, 'Leave me alone.' "
The shooting eerily recalled an August 1994 confrontation in which an off-duty officer mistook a plainclothes cop for a gunman,
Officer Peter DelDebbio, who is white, was searching for two armed teens on a Midtown subway station when he opened fire, hitting another cop, Desmond Robinson, who is black, five times. Robinson survived and forgave the shooter.
Additional reporting by Murray Weiss and CJ Sullivan
Friday, May 15, 2009
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Art Student Makes Car Disappear With Paint
A design student made a battered old Skoda "disappear" by painting it to merge with the surrounding car park.
Sara Watson, who is studying drawing at the University of Central Lancashire (Uclan), took three weeks to transform the car's appearance.
She created the illusion in the car park outside her studio at Uclan's Hanover Building in Preston.
The car is now being used for advertising by the local recycling firm that donated the vehicle.
'Just amazing'
Ms Watson, a second year student, said: "I was experimenting with the whole concept of illusion but needed something a bit more physical to make a real impact."
She was given the Skoda Fabia from the breaker's yard at local firm Recycling Lives.
Owner Steve Jackson described her work as "amazing".
"When I first saw the photos I was convinced it was something which had been done on the computer," said Mr Jackson.
"But when you look more closely you see the effort and attention to detail she has put into it. It is just amazing."
The car is now being used to advertise a recycling firm that donated the car
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Corolla Spider
The Corolla Spider uses quartz rocks to set a trap for its prey. Once an insect rubs up on the quartz rock, the spider knows where to strike.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Serve & Protect ???
A King County sheriff's deputy kicks a 15-year-old girl, slams her to the floor of a jail cell, strikes her and pulls her hair in violence captured on videotape.
Prosecutors released the surveillance video Friday in the assault case against Deputy Paul Schene, who is accused of using excessive force on the girl. Schene, 31, pleaded not guilty to fourth-degree assault in Superior Court on Thursday.
The incident last November began after the girl was brought in for an auto theft investigation, according to court documents. The footage shows the attack beginning after the girl enters the cell at suburban SeaTac City Hall and kicks off one of her shoes toward the deputy.
"We believe this case is beyond just police misconduct, it's criminal misconduct," King County Prosecutor Daniel Satterberg said. "This is clearly excessive force."
Schene was investigated previously for shooting two people — killing one — in the line of duty in 2002 and 2006. Both times his actions were found to be justified, said Ian Goodhew, prosecutor's deputy chief of staff.
Calls by The Associated Press to Schene's lawyer, Anne Bremner, were not immediately returned Friday. Bremner, however, released a statement to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer in which she said the video does not tell the whole story. Bremner had asked Judge Catherine Shaffer not to release the video to the media.
"As we argued to the judge, it will inflame public opinion and will severely impact the deputy's right to a fair trial," Bremner said.
In the video, a deputy kicks the girl, pushing her back toward the wall. The deputy then strongly backs the girl against the wall and slams her to the floor by grabbing her hair. A second deputy enters the holding cell, while the first deputy holds the girl face down to the floor. The first deputy appears to hit the girl with his hands. The girl is then lifted up and led out of the cell while the first deputy holds her hair.
The second officer shown in the video was a trainee at the time and is not under investigation, Goodhew said.
According to court documents, the girl complained of breathing problems after the incident and medics were called to check her. A short time later, she was taken to a youth detention center and booked for investigation of auto theft and third-degree assault, the latter accusation dealing with her conduct toward the deputy. The girl has pleaded not guilty to taking a motor vehicle without permission, Goodhew said Friday, adding she was never formally charged with assault.
Schene told investigators through an e-mail conversation with his lawyer that once he was assaulted by the girl kicking her shoe at him, he entered the cell to "prevent another assault," according to court documents. Schene also said the girl failed to comply with instructions in the holding area.
Prosecutors said Schene did not explain why he struck the girl after he had her in a holding position on the floor.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Barreleye Fish
The barreleye lives more than 2,000 feet (600 meters) beneath the ocean's surface, where the water is almost inky.
The transparent-headed fish spends much of its time motionless, eyes upward, MBARI scientists discovered while watching the barreleye fish from a remotely operated vehicle.
The green lens atop each of the fish's eyes filters out what little sunlight makes it down from the surface, allowing the fish to focus on the bioluminescence of small jellies or other prey passing overhead.
Then the eyes rotate forward to follow the prey, allowing the fish to home in on its meal.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Alien Videotaped In Peru
A video that might contain footage of an actual Extraterrestrial is making national headlines and causing a sensation amongst UFO and alien hunters in Peru. The video was taken in the Santa Rosa de Quives region of the Canta province. The area is considered to be holy to Peruvian Catholics and a place where people come to pray for miracles.
Every August 30, a pilgrimage takes place here and it is believed the video was shot at that time last year, however only made public this month.
The creature depicted in the video is being referred to as Quives Man. The story has been covered by Perus Capital Radio and Panamerica TV station as well as Channel Peru. Needless to say, English language media have not picked up the story (that is until now).
A group of ufologists in Peru have carried out an analysis of the video and claim it contains a real alien. The Peruvian government and scientists are looking at the video as well. The video can be seen below: Does it show an actual alien? You be the judge.
Every August 30, a pilgrimage takes place here and it is believed the video was shot at that time last year, however only made public this month.
The creature depicted in the video is being referred to as Quives Man. The story has been covered by Perus Capital Radio and Panamerica TV station as well as Channel Peru. Needless to say, English language media have not picked up the story (that is until now).
A group of ufologists in Peru have carried out an analysis of the video and claim it contains a real alien. The Peruvian government and scientists are looking at the video as well. The video can be seen below: Does it show an actual alien? You be the judge.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
Nightmares in Red White and Blue
Featuring exclusive interviews with legendary directors such as John Carpenter, George A. Romero, and Joe Dante and illustrated with clips from over 150 films, Nightmares in Red, White and Blue explores the timeless, universal appeal of horror movies from Lon Chaney to Hannibal Lecter and beyond.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Friday, February 13, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Monday, January 5, 2009
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