A firsthand account of the Navy SEAL raid that killed Osama bin Laden contradicts previous accounts by administration officials, raising questions as to whether the terror mastermind presented a clear threat when SEALs first fired upon him.
Bin Laden apparently was shot in the head when he looked out of his bedroom door into the top-floor hallway of his compound as SEALs rushed up a narrow stairwell in his direction, according to former Navy SEAL Matt Bissonnette, writing under the pseudonym Mark Owen in “No Easy Day.” The book is to be published next week by Penguin Group (USA)’s Dutton imprint.
Mr. Bissonnette says he was directly behind a point man going up the stairs in the pitch-black hallway. Near the top, he said, he heard two shots, but the book doesn’t make it clear who fired them. He wrote that the point man had seen a man peeking out of a door on the right side of the hallway.
The author writes that the man ducked back into his bedroom and the SEALs followed, only to find the man crumpled on the floor in a
Read more: SEAL book raises questions about bin Laden's death - Washington Times
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Human body parts found in Florida storage locker
A man who purchased the contents of a Florida storage locker made a grisly discovery when he found a batch of crudely preserved human organs inside, including hearts, brains and lungs.
One heart was reportedly found in a 32-ounce drink cup filled with formaldehyde.
Pensacola police are still trying to determine the source of the organs, locate survivors and figure out why the owner -- a former medical examiner -- had them. They're also trying to assess whether any laws were broken in the disposal of the human remains.
A phone call to Pensacola police was not immediately returned Tuesday by the time this story was posted. But the Associated Press reported that the locker contents had been traced to the previous renter, Dr. Michael Berkland.
Berkland worked at the District 1 office of the Florida Medical Examiner from 1997 until 2003, when he was fired for not completing autopsy reports, according
One heart was reportedly found in a 32-ounce drink cup filled with formaldehyde.
Pensacola police are still trying to determine the source of the organs, locate survivors and figure out why the owner -- a former medical examiner -- had them. They're also trying to assess whether any laws were broken in the disposal of the human remains.
A phone call to Pensacola police was not immediately returned Tuesday by the time this story was posted. But the Associated Press reported that the locker contents had been traced to the previous renter, Dr. Michael Berkland.
Berkland worked at the District 1 office of the Florida Medical Examiner from 1997 until 2003, when he was fired for not completing autopsy reports, according
Hantavirus outbreak at Yosemite considered 'unprecedented'
Health officials described the outbreak of hantavirus at Yosemite National Park as rare as the park took steps to warm the public.
Jana McCabe, a Yosemite park ranger, called the hantavirus outbreak "unprecedented."
"We take this extremely seriously," she said. "We want to know what's going on."
After learning that a Pennsylvania visitor's death was caused by hantavirus, Yosemite officials sent emails Monday evening to those who stayed in the "signature tent cabins" in Curry Village between mid-June and late August, said park spokesman Scott Gediman. Letters were sent to visitors whose email addresses were not on record.
The fatality marked the third confirmed case of the rare rodent-borne disease linked to the park. Last week, park officials said a 37-year-old Bay Area man had died and an Inland Empire woman in her 40s was recovering after being exposed to the virus. Park officials believe there may be a fourth case but had yet to receive confirmation Tuesday.
All four stayed separately at the signature tent cabins in June, Gediman said. Officials have traced the outbreak to deer mouse droppings in the area.
Repeated cases of hantavirus at the same location within a year is "very rare," said Dr. Barbara Knust, an epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There have been 587 cases of human infection from hantavirus recorded between 1993, when the virus was first identified in the Four Corners area, and 2011, according to the CDC. About one-third have been fatal.
Transmitted through urine, droppings or saliva of infected rodents, hantavirus pulmonary syndrome takes between one and six weeks to manifest itself in humans, officials said. The symptoms — fatigue, fever, muscle aches, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain — are often confused with the flu, Knust said, but can quickly worsen as one's lungs begin to fill with fluid.
In general, Knust said, the virus is transmitted when people come in contact with
Families of Aurora shooting victims say fund money going to nonprofits
Survivors and families of victims of the Aurora, Colo., movie massacre are demanding that the more than $5 million raised in donations go directly to them and not to nonprofit groups.
Some of the money collected from the Aurora Victim Relief Fund has been doled out to families of the 12 killed and to the 58 injured in the July 20 shooting, which came during a midnight showing of the Batman movie "The Dark Knight Rises." But some of the parties came forward on Tuesday with claims that the money was not going to those it was promised to.
“I am certain that the public intended 100 percent of those donations to go to the families of victims."
"We are here because we want the public to know what's been going on behind the scenes," Tom Teves, whose son Alex was killed and who now serves as a spokesman for a group of families. “I am certain that the public intended 100 percent of those donations to go to the families of victims, and to use that money to help the healing process. Unfortunately, that does not appear to be the case."
Teves added that of the more than $5 million collected, the first payout went to non-profit groups. He said families were told that no money would go directly to victims — a stark contrast from what they were originally told.
On Aug. 17, The 7/20 Recovery Committee, a group of government officials and community organizations tasked with distributing the remaining $4.6 million, said it had distributed
Limit engineered crops' spread, panel says
A government advisory panel reached a rough consensus Tuesday that growers of genetically engineered crops should try to contain the spread of their genes to organic crops.
But the panel refused to set a threshold level for contamination as would be required by Proposition 37, a California ballot initiative calling for labeling of genetically engineered food.
The panel also refused to hold biotechnology companies that make genetically engineered seeds, including Monsanto, Dupont and Syngenta, responsible for contamination.
Instead, the panel will vote by Nov. 8 on a recommendation to use taxpayer-subsidized crop insurance to encourage farmers to corral the genes and compensate organic farmers whose crops are contaminated by drifting pollen, accidental mixing or other gene "leaks."
Biotech represented
Genetically engineered crops are also known as genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. They entail the insertion or deletion of genes, often from different species, into a plant to produce a desired trait, most commonly resistance to insects and herbicides.
The Advisory Committee on Biotechnology and 21st Century Agriculture, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, included representatives of the organic and biotech industries.
Prop. 37 would permit no more than 0.5 percent contamination of foods by genetically engineered material before requiring a label. After 2019, the initiative would require zero contamination, but organically certified foods would be exempt.
The panel considered a 0.9 percent contamination threshold, roughly the level accepted in most export markets, but rejected it as too specific.
USDA's organic certification does not permit
But the panel refused to set a threshold level for contamination as would be required by Proposition 37, a California ballot initiative calling for labeling of genetically engineered food.
The panel also refused to hold biotechnology companies that make genetically engineered seeds, including Monsanto, Dupont and Syngenta, responsible for contamination.
Instead, the panel will vote by Nov. 8 on a recommendation to use taxpayer-subsidized crop insurance to encourage farmers to corral the genes and compensate organic farmers whose crops are contaminated by drifting pollen, accidental mixing or other gene "leaks."
Biotech represented
Genetically engineered crops are also known as genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. They entail the insertion or deletion of genes, often from different species, into a plant to produce a desired trait, most commonly resistance to insects and herbicides.
The Advisory Committee on Biotechnology and 21st Century Agriculture, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, included representatives of the organic and biotech industries.
Prop. 37 would permit no more than 0.5 percent contamination of foods by genetically engineered material before requiring a label. After 2019, the initiative would require zero contamination, but organically certified foods would be exempt.
The panel considered a 0.9 percent contamination threshold, roughly the level accepted in most export markets, but rejected it as too specific.
USDA's organic certification does not permit
Bolivian Police Seize 2 Tons of Uranium
Lol Yeah I'm sure you wanted to read this one.
Bolivian police on Tuesday confiscated two tons of uranium that was being stored at a building in central La Paz located near the U.S. and Spanish embassies.
Four people, all of them Bolivian nationals, were arrested while they were transferring the uranium from one vehicle to another, Deputy Interior Minister Jorge Perez said.
The radioactive material was in sacks of jute and nylon, he said.
Since Bolivia does not produce uranium, Perez said, authorities assume the consignment originated in either of two neighboring countries that do: Brazil or Chile.
The commander of the elite police unit that
UC rejects anti-Semitism resolution
The University of California says it won't support a resolution condemning anti-Semitism on campus - approved unanimously by the state Assembly on Tuesday - because the resolution says "no public resources will be allowed to be used for any anti-Semitic or any intolerant agitation."
"We think it's problematic because of First Amendment concerns," said Steve Montiel, a UC spokesman.
The nonbinding resolution, says, in effect, that UC and other public universities should ban activity that could be interpreted as intolerant or anti-Semitic, including certain demonstrations, from taking place anywhere on its property.
The move is the latest chapter in a debate that arose this summer over whether students create an intolerable, anti-Semitic environment by staging annual, anti-Israel protests mimicking Israeli guards questioning Palestinians.
The Assembly resolution pitches lawmakers into
"We think it's problematic because of First Amendment concerns," said Steve Montiel, a UC spokesman.
The nonbinding resolution, says, in effect, that UC and other public universities should ban activity that could be interpreted as intolerant or anti-Semitic, including certain demonstrations, from taking place anywhere on its property.
The move is the latest chapter in a debate that arose this summer over whether students create an intolerable, anti-Semitic environment by staging annual, anti-Israel protests mimicking Israeli guards questioning Palestinians.
The Assembly resolution pitches lawmakers into
UC rejects anti-Semitism resolution
http://www.sfgate.com/education/article/UC-rejects-anti-Semitism-resolution-3822759.php
The University of California says it won't support a resolution condemning anti-Semitism on campus - approved unanimously by the state Assembly on Tuesday - because the resolution says "no public resources will be allowed to be used for any anti-Semitic or any intolerant agitation."
"We think it's problematic because of First Amendment concerns," said Steve Montiel, a UC spokesman.
The nonbinding resolution, says, in effect, that UC and other public universities should ban activity that could be interpreted as intolerant or anti-Semitic, including certain demonstrations, from taking place anywhere on its property.
The move is the latest chapter in a debate that arose this summer over whether students create an intolerable, anti-Semitic environment by staging annual, anti-Israel protests mimicking Israeli guards questioning Palestinians.
The Assembly resolution pitches lawmakers into
Ah what an aggravation day.
I had my own story written on the Bayou Corne sinkhole and the hurricane and it was pretty damned good if I do say so myself, but naturally an error occurred (like what else is new) and flushed it all the way (no Drano required) down the toilet.
So I'm going to just do my usual of wire stringing for a day or two until I figure out whats up. Working for waste sucks lol
Damn has this house ever changed since I've been gone.
So the regularly scheduled programing is due to resume shortly, or as soon as I have finished a cup of coffee and cooled off, which ever comes sooner. lol
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Biker chain Dude
No I can’t see the look
But you need the link
What is up with that
Keep it up lol
And we’re gonna demote you right down to
Junior Space Cadet
We’re taking bets on how long it takes you to get your babysitters badge
I can’t decide
The nurse kind of distorts the outline of the picture
Are you taking your turn on point in the middle of the night
Or did you hire someone to do it for you?
I hope not
Bonds are built that way that no other time can replace
Think about it
No I can’t see the look
But you need the link
What is up with that
Keep it up lol
And we’re gonna demote you right down to
Junior Space Cadet
We’re taking bets on how long it takes you to get your babysitters badge
I can’t decide
The nurse kind of distorts the outline of the picture
Are you taking your turn on point in the middle of the night
Or did you hire someone to do it for you?
I hope not
Bonds are built that way that no other time can replace
Think about it
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