Saturday, September 8, 2007

Teamsters President Hoffa Rips Bush for Opening Border to Mexican Truckers

As expected, the Teamsters Union has come out swinging as President Bush's initiative to open U.S. roads to Mexican truckers gets into gear.


On Saturday, Teamsters President James Hoffa wasted no time in taking a verbal tire iron to Bush's plan.

Earlier coverage of truckers' protests is here.



President Bush has "sucker punched" American workers and threatened national security by opening the nation's southern border to Mexican truckers, Teamsters President James Hoffa said Saturday.


Speaking to the union's annual women's conference, Hoffa said the Bush administration's new pilot program, which took effect Thursday, shows a lack of concern for homeland security.



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Russian Rocket Crashes, Dumping Toxic Fuel

The Proton Rocket failed slightly more than 2 minutes after launch from Baikonur, sending rocket and payload debris crashing down in Kazakhstan. The rocket carried 220 tons heptyl, which is highly toxic, at the time of launch.


There have been several crashes of Russian rockets. In 2006, one accident dumped 100 tons of toxic fuel in Central Asia's steppes.


In 1999, Kazakhstan officials temporarily banned launches from Baikonur after two rockets crashed within four months. The multi-million-dollar contract with Russia to house Baikonur in many ways has been a devil's contract, as local officials and residents worry about long-term effects of soil and water from crashes..


An unmanned Russian rocket carrying a Japanese communications satellite malfunctioned after liftoff Thursday, sending parts crashing in an uninhabited part of Kazakhstan and triggering concerns about environmental damage.


Nobody was hurt, but it was a potential blow to Russia's program for commercial satellite launches.


The Proton-M rocket failed to put the JCSAT-11 satellite into orbit because of a problem during operation of the second stage, the U.S.-based American-Russian joint venture International Launch Services said.


The rocket failed 139 seconds after its launch from the Russian-rented Baikonur facility in Kazakhstan, and its second and third stages veered from the planned trajectory at an altitude of 46 miles, said Alexander Vorobyov, a spokesman for the Russian space agency Roskosmos.


Parts of the rocket fell in an uninhabited area about 30 miles southwest of the central Kazakh town of Zhezkazgan, Vorobyov said



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Michigan Crater Caused by Massive Asteroid, Researchers Find

Forget Paris Hilton, Brittany's panties, and the Hooter Girl who couldn't fly despite her bounce--this news is hot, sexy, and solves an ancient mystery.



The Michigan Crater has long been the focus of scientific research and speculation. A "Himalaya-sized object", about 12 miles across, whacked into Earth millions of years ago.

The second-largest impact--the largest crater is in South Africa--led to a scientific mystery: how'd that big hole get there? Now researchers are convinced they know what happened millions of years ago: a science fiction scenario that actually happened.


Eighteen hundred million years ago, an area that now spans the U.S.-Canadian border near Lake Huron was battered by a rain of molten debris and mega-tsunamis caused by what is thought to be the second largest impact in Earth's history. But the source of that collision has long been a mystery.


Now, telltale signs of what's called the Sudbury impact of southern Ontario — including shocked quartz, once-molten rock spherules and extraterrestrial iridium — are ruling out a comet and making a strong argument that it was an asteroid that struck southern Canada all those eons ago.


"It was a Himalaya-sized object that slammed into the Earth," said geologist Peir Pufahl of Acadia University in Nova Scotia.



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Supervision Camera Takes to Skies in Steve Fossett Search

It flies higher than a normal search and rescue plane, but its techno-eyes are among the most advanced. Searchers hope that the Civil Air Patrol's ARCHER imaging system will aid in the search for missing adventurer Steve Fossett, who disappeared with his plane Monday in Nevada.


As the search for missing adventurer Steve Fossett continues, rescuers are turning to a supervision camera that can distinguish objects like wreckage far more efficiently than the human eye.


The Civil Air Patrol has brought in a special plane from its Utah branch fitted with supervision equipment from the Overland Park, Kan.-based Archer Technologies Inc.


The ARCHER -- an acronym for Airborne Real-time Cueing Hyperspectral Enhanced Reconnaissance -- is capable of panchromatic aerial imaging far more detailed than plain sight or ordinary photography can gather.



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College Student Beaten to Death In Random Act of Violence

More and more, it seems as though "A Clockwork Orange" was prescient. The growing surge of violence seems to be a hallmark of the genesis of the new millenium.



The questions are: why? What are we going to do about it?



A Kutztown University student was beaten to death on a downtown sidewalk early Friday by three men who evidently chose their victim at random, police said.


The suspects, all from Allentown, were charged with assaulting Kyle Quinn, 19, who was pronounced dead at a hospital about an hour after the attack. The district attorney said he anticipated filing homicide charges pending the results of an autopsy scheduled for Saturday.



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Friday, September 7, 2007

The Invisible Border: Denial of Treaty Rights for Natives on Canadian-U.S. Border

The border crossing issues basically shouldn't be an issue. Various treaties, including, for Anishinaabe (Ojibwe/Chippewa) peoples, the Jay Treaty, make it clear that status cards from certain indigenous tribes are as valid as any other national ID.


However, my personal experience is that border crossings either go very smoothly, or very hard. I've had my van tossed and the dogs called out simply because one agent didn't want to believe that I was visiting a friend on a reserve for the afternoon--or so he said.


By the time even his supervisor was sick of his shenanigans, the "tossing" had left nice clothing jammed down in a greasy tool area, plus other problems. On the other hand, in commuting between NY and Mohawk reserves, using the favored Mohawk crossing, things have gone very well.


The short distance between the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol and the Canada Border Services Agency can seem like no man's land to many Native North Americans who attempt to pass freely across the border. Forced by U.S. law to show identification issued by a country from which one does not accept citizenship is one thing. It is outright humiliating to be told that one's tribal or First Nations-issued identification means ''nothing'' to a border agent. A recent incident at an Ontario border crossing sparked controversy in Canada, but with the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative requiring passports for all travelers entering the states imminent, the story should have raised more eyebrows here in the midsection of Turtle Island.


Brandon Nolan, a professional Ojibway hockey player (and son of Ted Nolan, a well-known National Hockey League playmaker and coach), said he was harassed and denied entry into his native Canada in August by a pair of customs officials. According to media reports, Nolan presented a New York state driver's license and a First Nation status card. The license, said one officer, did not provide proof of U.S. residence, and the status card meant ''nothing'' to him. Nolan was sent back to the United States and it was suggested he try another port of entry, specifically the crossing at ''Cornwall.'' The guard referred to the only customs house in Canada located on Native territory, on Cornwall Island, Ontario (known locally by its Mohawk name, Kawennoke). Nolan was offended by the comment, aware that the port at Akwesasne is often associated with drug smuggling and other illegal activities. ''I was treated like a criminal,'' the young man said.


This sentiment is common among residents of the Akwesasne territory. Mohawks comprise three-quarters of the border crossers there, according to a study conducted by Transport Canada, and often experienced similar incidents. Despite a traffic lane designated specifically for Akwesasne Mohawks, complaints of harassment by customs officers continue.



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Fake Tribal Chief of Fake "Tribe" Charged For Scamming Immigrants

About time they shut this well-known fraud and con man down.


The leader of an unrecognized American Indian tribe is facing charges including trying to defraud the federal government and harboring illegal immigrants.


Prosecutors say he offered to sell tribal memberships to immigrants, by falsely claiming that the documents would make them U.S. citizens.


The federal complaint names Malcolm Webber, who's also known as Grand Chief Thunderbird the Fourth.



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New Yorker Finds Roommate Dead, Second Time in a Year

Prediction: his next "roommate wanted" ad may not get a lot of response.




For the second time in a year, a man who lives in downtown Manhattan's trendy SoHo district has discovered a roommate dead in the same bedroom.


Detectives were questioning a suspect on Thursday in the latest case — the stabbing of a woman whose decaying body was found by the man on Wednesday.



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Sea Ice Off Alaska in Dire Straits, Report reveals

Plar bears are already suffering. A loss of 40 percent of the sea ice off Alaska will have enormous repercussions.


using the most reliable models, the NOAA scientists reached the same unhappy conclusion: By 2050, summer sea ice in the Beaufort Sea off Alaska's north coast likely will have diminished by 40 percent compared to the 1980s. The same is likely for the East Siberian-Chukchi Sea region off northwest Alaska and Russia. In contrast, Canada's Baffin Bay and Labrador showed little predicted change.


There was less confidence for winter ice, but the models also predict a sea ice loss of more than 40 percent for the Bering Sea off Alaska's west coast, the Sea of Okhotsk east of Siberia and the Barents Sea north of Norway.


A 40 percent loss of summer sea ice off Alaska in the Beaufort Sea could have profound effects on marine mammals dependent on the sea ice such as polar bears, now under consideration by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for "threatened" status under the Endangered Species Act because of changes in the animals' habitat from global warming.



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Disgraced Democratic Donor Norman Hsu Arrested in Colorado

How do I escape thee, oh justice? Let me count the ways, Hus-style.



The Democratic fundraiser, whose antics are now a huge source of embarrassment for Democratic front-runners, first was arrested 15 years ago for conning people out of $1 million in investments. Once he pled "no contest," he went on the lam--to California.

There he rebuilt his life, living large for 15 years and becoming an active and popular Democratic fund-raiser and supporter. When his past came to light, the candidates bailed out of Hsu's goodie basket, vowing to give back hit large donations or give it to charity.

When Hsu went to court again, the judge let him go, with his passport, on a bail bond of $2 million. When Hsu was due to turn up in court--he'd vanished again.

Back in custody, Hsu is now out the $2 million bail.


Disgraced Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu was arrested in Colorado late Thursday after he failed to show up for a court appearance related to a felony theft conviction.


FBI agents took Hsu into custody at St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Junction, Colo., said FBI spokesman Joseph Schadler.


Hsu had been scheduled to appear in court Wednesday to turn over his passport and ask a judge to cut in half the $2 million bail he posted last week when he turned himself in after spending 15 years on the lam from a felony theft conviction.


Instead, Hsu failed to show up at the bail reduction hearing and a judge issued a new arrest warrant for him.


California Attorney General spokesman Gareth Lacy said Hsu's lawyers told prosecutors Hsu arrived by charter jet at the Oakland airport about 5:30 a.m. Wednesday local time and then wasn't heard from again.



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76-Year-Old Woman Survives Two Weeks in Wilderness After Being Lost

Doris Anderson went bow hunting with her husband, so he wouldn't be alone. After their truck got stuck and he broke his wrist, they tried to walk out of the rugged canyons and mountains.



A hunting party stumbled across her disoriented husband, who told them his wife had headed back to their vehicle. Many rescuers had given up hope for the woman, stranded in 30-degree weather without supplies.



A 76-year-old woman missing for almost two weeks in the Wallowa Mountains of Eastern Oregon has been found alive, the Baker County Sheriff's Office said Thursday.


Ora Doris Anderson of Sandy had a hip injury and was dehydrated when she was found just after 2 p.m. But she was conscious and alert, the sheriff's office said in a news release. A helicopter team went to extricate her from the rugged terrain, and she was airlifted to a Baker City hospital.


George Winn, the CEO of St. Elizabeth Health Services, said late Thursday that Anderson was in critical, but stable condition and was being admitted to the intensive care unit.



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Thursday, September 6, 2007

Fake Comedy Motorcade Passes APEC Security Checkpoints

This is simply amazing. A guy in the car dressed like Osama Bin Laden, no credentials, but flags and a 3-car procession and the Sydney, Austrailia police let it roll almost up to President Bush's door.


Members of an Australian TV comedy show, one dressed as Usama bin Laden, drove through two security checkpoints Thursday before being stopped near the Sydney hotel where President Bush is staying.


The stunt embarrassed Sydney police who have imposed the tightest security measures in city history for a summit of leaders from Pacific Rim countries, including Bush.


Police arrested 11 cast and crew from the TV program, "The Chaser's War on Everything," and impounded three vehicles, the Australian Broadcasting Corp., which airs the show, said on its Web site.



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Search for Fossett Continues In Region of Treacherous Winds

The National Guard, Civil Air Patrol and others are continuing the search for record-setting adventurer Steve Fossett. His small plane vanished sometime Monday in Nevada.



Earlier coverage is here.



Millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett vanished somewhere across a landscape of soaring peaks and sagebrush desert notorious for winds so powerful and tricky they can swirl an airplane like a leaf and even shear off a wing.


The search for Fossett dragged into a second day Wednesday with some false leads but no sign of the 63-year-old aviator or his plane.


Some veteran pilots speculated he may have fallen victim to the treacherous and sometimes deadly Sierra Nevada winds that squeeze through the narrow canyons.



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Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Search for Adventure Steve Fossett Continues in Nevada

Will a small plane prove to be the undoing of noted adventurer Steve Fossett? Missing in Nevada since Monday, Fossett was flying a a single-engine aircraft when he disappeared.


Millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett's admirers were counting on his grit and experience Wednesday as rescuers searched for his small plane, missing for more than a day in the rugged mountains and sagebrush-filled desert of western Nevada.


Fossett's single-engine plane vanished Monday as he was scouting dry lake beds for an attempt to set a world land speed record.


"Steve is a tough old boot. I suspect he is waiting by his plane right now for someone to pick him up," said Sir Richard Branson, the U.K. billionaire who has helped finance many of Fossett's adventures. "Based on his track record, I feel confident we'll get some good news soon."



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Airline sacrifices goats to appease sky god

It's amazing how in the 2lst century, ancient cultures and beliefs thrive right alongside technological advancements.


Officials at Nepal's state-run airline have sacrificed two goats to appease Akash Bhairab, the Hindu sky god, following technical problems with one of its Boeing 757 aircraft, the carrier said Tuesday.



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Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Aviation Adventurer Steve Fosset & Small Plane Missing

Steve Fossett went around the world in a balloon, the first person to achieve that aviation goal. Now he and his small single-engine plane have gone missing in Nevada.




Teams searched rugged terrain Tuesday for a plane carrying aviation adventurer Steve Fossett, the first person to circle the world solo in a balloon, but crews had little idea where the plane might be, federal officials said.


Fossett took off in the single engine Bellanca at 8:45 a.m. Monday at a private airstrip in western Nevada and didn't return as scheduled. A friend reported him missing, said Ian Gregor, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman in Maryland.


"The Civil Air Patrol is looking for him. One problem is he doesn't appear to have filed a flight plan," Gregor said.


"They are working on some leads, but they don't know where he is right now," Gregor said.



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Danish TV Fires Star Reporter for Iraq War "Manipulation" Broadcasts

The reliability of journalists is a key component of professional journalism. In this case, the reporter, Jeppe Nybroe, mis-reported troop locations and also added in repeating sound effects.



Was the first a mistake or deliberate? In the second incident, was the sound editing deceptive?

His employer nixed both actions, and also said that Nybroe denied editing when questioned.

Now he's out of a job.


False TV broadcasts from Iraq have led national broadcaster DR to terminate its contract with its up-and-coming star, Jeppe Nybroe.


Growing evidence revealed that on two separate occasions, Nybroe had manipulated his reports from Iraq to make them more dramatic.


DR first reprimanded Nybroe in August for a misleading report in which the 34-year-old reporter said he could see the last Danish troops withdrawing from Iraq. In reality, the troops were on their way back into Iraq on a patrol.


While DR was investigating the case, Jyllands-Posten newspaper caught wind of another occasion in which Nybroe edited the same background explosion so it sounded three times to create additional effect.



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