Thursday, August 14, 2008

Burger King / Wash It Your Way

Xenia, Ohio Burger King declares a 2319 after an employee takes a bath in the kitchen sink. Timothy "Mr. Unstable" Tackett gets canned, along with several co-workers, after posting the clip to his MySpace page. BK orders the sink sterilized twice, liquidates all utensils involved:

I have low expectations of cleanliness anytime I dine out. So I'll ask: What made Mr. Unstable's baño any less hygienic than use of the sink to clean, say, pests and pest droppings, spoiled food, employee hands, vomit, stuff that fell on the floor, or any of the other contaminants that routinely need to be cleaned up even in the best restaurants?

"My first thought was oh my God," Greene County health commissioner Mark McDonnell tells WDTN's Megan O'Rourke, and his second and third thoughts aren't much more coherent. Mr. Unstable hosts a clip of McDonnell free-associating on the possible dangers involved in letting a tattooed punker take a birthday bath in a kitchen sink: "Contaminating a food utensil, cleaning sink; employee health; spreading bacteria all over food contact surfaces; spreading bacteria all over... Bacteria that happened to be on his skin could be deposited on the utensils too. Could promote a food poisoning."

Again, are these risks rendered any greater by a guy taking a bath? I say this is another case of aesthetic disapproval pretending to be a public safety concern.

Which isn't to say Burger King shouldn't have fired the guy (pity Xenia, where this is what an underappreciated show business genius has to do for fun on his birthday), though it's a shame to see that the real protagonist of the video — money-grubbing manager "Karen," the only person doing any real work in the joint — seems to have taken a fall as well.

Comments

He looks like he really does need a bath... I'm pretty sure most of us who've patronized most fast food chains have ingested something we'd rather never know about... This actually is far more tame than some of stories I've heard about things that go on... and he's kinda cute... so that makes it better too...

I saw this video on break.com last nite and the only thing I could think of was his dirty butt was soaking in the sink they clean the dishes in. YUCK!

In regards to the above article... I don't think that BK washes rodents or rodent droppings in their sink...

I'm glad he was fired. He was obviously an idiot looking for attention. I bet if he was to stand up during that video and show everything we'd see how really inept he is as a man. lol!

Burger King Employee in BK Sink No shit





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Xenia BURGER KING Employee caught taking bath in restaurant sink

XENIA, Ohio-- An unbelievable video is now showing on myspace and now on our sister station, WHIO-TV. An employee celebrated his birthday by taking a bath in the utility sink at the Burger King in Xenia. Greene County Health Commissioner Mark McDonnell was emailed the video and is now using it as evidence. In the video, the teenager dumps water on himself using a bucket marked with the words, "sanitary solution." More... See the shock raw video.

Burger King does not want its employees to take baths

Xenia, Ohio Burger King declares a 2319 after an employee takes a bath in the kitchen sink. Timothy "Mr. Unstable" Tackett gets canned, along with several co-workers, after posting the clip to his MySpace page. BK orders the sink sterilized twice, liquidates all utensils involved:

I have low expectations of cleanliness anytime I dine out. So I'll ask: What made Mr. Unstable's baño any less hygienic than use of the sink to clean, say, pests and pest droppings, spoiled food, employee hands, vomit, stuff that fell on the floor, or any of the other contaminants that routinely need to be cleaned up even in the best restaurants?

"My first thought was oh my God," Greene County health commissioner Mark McDonnell tells WDTN's Megan O'Rourke, and his second and third thoughts aren't much more coherent. Mr. Unstable hosts a clip of McDonnell free-associating on the possible dangers involved in letting a tattooed punker take a birthday bath in a kitchen sink: "Contaminating a food utensil, cleaning sink; employee health; spreading bacteria all over food contact surfaces; spreading bacteria all over... Bacteria that happened to be on his skin could be deposited on the utensils too. Could promote a food poisoning."

Again, are these risks rendered any greater by a guy taking a bath? I say this is another case of aesthetic disapproval pretending to be a public safety concern.

Which isn't to say Burger King shouldn't have fired the guy (pity Xenia, where this is what an underappreciated show business genius has to do for fun on his birthday), though it's a shame to see that the real protagonist of the video — money-grubbing manager "Karen," the only person doing any real work in the joint — seems to have taken a fall as well.

Comments

He looks like he really does need a bath... I'm pretty sure most of us who've patronized most fast food chains have ingested something we'd rather never know about... This actually is far more tame than some of stories I've heard about things that go on... and he's kinda cute... so that makes it better too...

I saw this video on break.com last nite and the only thing I could think of was his dirty butt was soaking in the sink they clean the dishes in. YUCK!

In regards to the above article... I don't think that BK washes rodents or rodent droppings in their sink...

I'm glad he was fired. He was obviously an idiot looking for attention. I bet if he was to stand up during that video and show everything we'd see how really inept he is as a man. lol!

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Ottawa man found dead in Denver hotel

Last Updated: Tuesday, August 12, 2008 | 9:16 PM ET Comments0Recommend3

An Ottawa man whose body was discovered in a Denver hotel might have died of cyanide poisoning, according to authorities.

Saleman Abdirahman Dirie was found dead at a room in the Burnsley Hotel, located several blocks from Colorado state capitol building. Police said he had been dead for several days.

Investigators found a bottle of white powder in Dirie's fourth-floor room. Police said they are trying to identify the powder, but that foul play is not suspected.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has said it is participating in the investigation.

An autopsy will be performed soon, according to the local medical examiner's office.

With files from the Associated Press

Marmalade: Bears Unveil new Look Like Shit Offense

Marmalade: Bears Unveil new Look Like Shit Offense

Bears Unveil new Look Like Shit Offense




http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/bears_unveil_new_look_like

July 31, 2008

BOURBONNAIS, IL—The Chicago Bears put on a display of inaccurate passing, sluggish route running, and careless ball-handling Wednesday as the team exhibited their new-look-like-shit offense to fans and media attending training camp to view a full-squad practice. "We finally have the personnel to implement a game plan of high-percentage incomplete passes, completed passes of four yards or less, and a rushing attack that lets us lose control of the game clock with complex plays that take forever to develop and generate negative yardage," offensive coordinator Ron Turner
said, explaining why the Bears abandoned the "West-Coast-My-Fat-Ass" offense they ran last year. "I'm confident that both Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton possess the ability to overthrow a receiver on a deep fly pattern or find an open defender and deliver the ball with laser-like precision, so we'll be switching between them often and at random intervals to avoid either one getting into a rhythm or developing any confidence." According to Turner, the offense is starting to malfunction as a cohesive unit and has shown much more consistency at blowing assignments, missing blocks, and fumbling snaps.

http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/bears_unveil_new_look_like

China not going to Olympics?

(from www.theonion.com/sports)

BEIJING—In an 11th-hour move that shocked the international athletic and political communities alike, the Chinese Olympic Team announced Wednesday that it will not be attending the XXIX Olympiad in Beijing due to "shocking, shameful, and ultimately dangerous environmental conditions" in the host city.

"Given the unconscionably bad environmental state of the area in and around the site of the 2008 Summer Games, we cannot in good conscience allow Chinese athletes to compete in China," said Olympic committee spokesman Sun Weide. "We deeply apologize to China for the bitter disappointment they will feel at not being represented in these Games. However, we place the blame squarely on China for their failure to prepare a suitable venue for international competition."

"Frankly, it seems to me that in terms of air quality, water purity, and general contamination, Beijing is barely even capable of supporting human life, let alone strenuous activities such as team sports, swimming, and long-distance running," added Weide, who has lived in Beijing all his life. "We can only hope our refusal to compete in this city will result in real change for its long-suffering residents."

Weide's sentiments were echoed by other high-ranking members of China's Olympic athletic community.

"China's Olympic athletic community should be deeply ashamed of itself," said Zhang Tianbai, deputy director of the PRC's Athletic Sciences and Education Department and director of China's Olympic Committee. "When factories have to be shut down for a month beforehand just to clear the air, when automobile traffic is artificially thinned to reduce smog, when thousands of uniformed men have to dredge the river mere days before the regatta, in a city that is supposed to be the pride of a nation and the athletic center of the world for two weeks—disgusting is not too strong a word."

Director Tianbai joined Li Furong, vice president of the Chinese Olympic Committee, in calling for the immediate resignation and possible indictment of the entire Chinese Olympic Committee.

The 639 athletes chosen to represent China were informed Wednesday night that they would not in fact be competing in Beijing. Although all were shocked at the suddenness of the decision, most took the news stoically.

"I was very much looking forward to making China proud," said 100-meter hurdling champion Liu Zhang, who had expected to defend his gold medal in Beijing. "But, if I am honest, China should be ashamed of itself."

"I shall regret this for the rest of my life, but I think the current conditions Beijing are currently worse than the ones I encounter in my polluted, petroleum-fume-choked home town," said Rockets center Yao Ming, easily the team's most prominent athlete. "Which is Beijing. Things have gotten even worse since I moved."

"It brings me great sorrow to say this, as I had hoped that Chinese athletes would return from Beijing triumphant, having demonstrated our nation's greatness on a global stage," Hu Jintao, president and paramount leader of the People's Republic of China. "However, China's blatant disregard for its responsibility to the basic health, welfare, and safety of its Olympic participants has forced us to withdraw China's athletes for their own protection, and I urge the Olympic teams of all other nations to do the same."

China's Olympic team will spend one last night in their Olympic quarters before returning Friday to Beijing, where they will resume training for next year's Pan-American Games.

story is from:

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/citing_poor_conditions_china
(from www.theonion.com/sports)

philadephlia_sports

http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/crushed_philadephlia_sports

July 31, 2008
PHILADELPHIA—Hockey, baseball, basketball, and football fans alike are mourning the Philadelphia Soul's victory in ArenaBowl XXII, a 59-56 win over the San José SaberCats which continues the city's seemingly endless championship title drought. "It's been over 20 years since a sports team from this city won a national championship," said mayor Michael Nutter. "This arena league championship title just rubs salt in that wound." Locals are saying the damage to Philadelphia's morale and civic pride is equal to that done by Boyz II Men, the crack cocaine epidemic, and the acquisition of the Philadelphia Soul by New Jersey pop star Jon Bon Jovi.

http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/crushed_philadephlia_sports

DID PIN THIEVES GRAB HACKING'S HOLY GRAIL?

Posted: Tuesday, August 12 at 05:00 am CT by Bob Sullivan

Could a hacker steal enough information from a store you’ve shopped at to print up fake debit cards in your name and withdraw cash from your checking account at an ATM? Even if you’ve never told a soul your PIN code?

In fact, said the Justice Department last week, it’s already happened, possibly to millions of people.

Buried in last week’s indictments of 11 alleged international computer hackers accused of stealing 40 million credit and debit account numbers from U.S. retailers was something far more unsettling: At at least one retail chain, the indictments accuse the group of swiping encrypted versions of debit card PINs, decrypting them, then using the information to print debit cards and get cash from ATMs.

If proven true, that could mean criminals have crossed a new threshold in the pursuit of plastic card fraud -- PIN hacking.

For decades, the only security layer standing between criminals and cash from stolen debit cards has been the secret PIN code, which has proven surprisingly robust. When hackers steal a large set of debit cards numbers, there is generally no way to obtain their corresponding PINs, limiting the value of the stolen data.

Criminals have stolen small numbers of PINs in old fashioned ways, such as installing tiny cameras on ATMs that record PINs while they are entered.

But uncovering a way to obtain PINs from a stolen batch of debit card account data would give hackers the ability to withdraw thousands of dollars at a time from any ATM in the world – a holy grail of sorts for card thieves. That's precisely what the U.S. government says some of the suspects did as part of their five-year scheme, detailed last week.

In the indictment of alleged ringleader Albert Gonzalez, the Department of Justice accuses him of:
• Downloading "tens of millions of credit and debit cards and PIN blocks associated with millions of debit cards.”
• Obtaining “technical assistance from criminal associates in decrypting encrypted PIN numbers."
• Cashing out “by encoding the data on magnetic stripes of blank credit/debit cards and using these cards to obtain tens of thousands of dollars at a time from ATMs."

The Justice Department would not comment on the indictments or on the specific methods that might have been used to perform the decryption. A spokeswoman would only confirm that the agency is indeed accusing some of the suspects of decrypting PINs.

Speculation for years
Encrypted PIN codes are supposed to be impenetrable. After a consumer enters their code into a PIN pad at a store, or at an ATM, the data is immediately converted into an unintelligible string of text called a "PIN block." That block of text is then sent along the payment processing network, ultimately back to the cardholders' bank, where the PIN is verified.

There has been speculation for years that criminals had found some way around the PIN encryption. In 2006, after a spate of fraudulent ATM withdrawals, Citibank began cutting off ATM cash access to some overseas travelers. Consumers around the country reported phantom withdrawals from their checking accounts of $1,500 or more from far-flung places like Bulgaria.

At the time Citibank, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Washington Mutual all reissued some debit cards. There was conjecture that criminals might have stolen PIN information that was accidentally left "in the clear," or unencrypted, by a retailer.

Earlier this year, Wired News reported that a Citibank server that processes transactions initiated at 7-11 stores ATMs had been "breached," according to an affidavit filed by an FBI investigator. The affidavit claims a single suspect, who has now been arrested and charged with theft, stole $750,000 from ATMs in a single month during early 2008.

But last week's indictment accuses the criminals of taking everything they need to print fake debit cards and steal money directly from retailers. The specific case outlined in the indictments involved downloading PIN blocks from a Florida OfficeMax store in 2004 through a vulnerable wireless network, then later decrypting them. The indictments also accuse the group of downloading PIN blocks associated with millions of debit cards,” hinting that the PIN problem might be even wider.

The scheme was apparently so successful that at several times the suspects allegedly sent boxes full of cash through express mail services to make payments to one another.

How it might have happened
PIN blocks are transmitted from retailers to credit card processors and are sometimes stored on computers along the way, where they would be available for the taking by criminals who knew how to decrypt the secret codes. This is sometimes called stealing data “at rest.” Retailers have no need to keep PIN blocks in the stores, but poorly configured systems sometimes store this information anyway.

The hacking gang indicted last week also was capable of stealing data on the move, according to the indictments. The group is accused of using various methods to install "sniffer" programs that grabbed account numbers and PIN blocks as they flew by on computer networks. Initially the suspects sat in parking lots and used insecure wireless networks to gain unauthorized access, the government charges. For example, in July 2005, while sitting in a Miami TJ Maxx parking lot, the criminals are accused of worming their way into the firm's central credit card server in Framingham, Mass.

Later, some of the suspects brazenly walked into stores and physically installed sniffer software onto computers in other stores, the indictments say.

In May 2007, for example, they entered a Dave & Buster's restaurant in Islandia, N.Y., and installed sniffer software. Afterward they re-entered the store every month to empty the catch from their virtual net, eventually stealing 5,000 account numbers from that store alone and using those numbers to steal $600,000. In that case, they are accused of stealing only debit and credit card numbers.

Still, even with data stolen using such hands-on methods, stolen PIN blocks should be useless to criminals -- unless they can be unscrambled.

Encryption expert Ross Anderson, a professor at Cambridge University in England, has testified before about the possibility of "phantom withdrawals" involving PIN codes stolen from British banks. He says potential vulnerabilities in bank encryption software have been known by researchers for years. In 2003, a British court imposed a gag order on Anderson, preventing him from revealing some elements of his research.

He called this week's indictment "the first documented recent case" of PIN hacking, but added that it was "not surprising."

"The banks have encryption boxes that are claimed to be 'secure' but the claim is of course untrue," he said. "

Not so alarming
Mike Urban, who runs a debit card fraud-fighting service called CardAlert at Fair Isaac Corp., counters such talk by saying the most likely explanation for the crime is also the least alarming: Hackers didn’t reverse engineer PINs; they simply managed to steal encryption keys from the same retailers where they stole the data, he said.

“I'm speculating here, but more than likely, to compromise that many PIN blocks they would have to have gotten the encryption keys somehow,” he said. “More than likely there was a breakdown in management of keys wherever the keys were compromised. “ Armed with the keys and a little know-how, he said, criminals could readily discern PIN codes from PIN blocks.

Urban said it would not be terribly alarming if the hackers obtained PINs that way, noting that retailers routinely secure keys carefully and that PIN compromises are “extremely rare.” He also said that while the government’s case against the hackers mentions theft of PIN blocks from several retailers, evidence of actual PIN-block decryption is offered in only one case – the one involving OfficeMax. He said he believed that could be an isolated incident.

“Fraud on PIN-based transactions is much lower than signature-based debit or credit transactions,” he said.
Gonzalez, the alleged ringleader of the hacking ring, who also went by the moniker soupnazi -- apparently a reference to the “Seinfeld“ character -- is being held in New York while awaiting trial. He faces life in prison if he is convicted of all charges. Only two other suspects out of the 11 indicted are in custody. Ukranian national Maksym Yastremskiy is being held in Turkey, and Aleksandr Suvorov is in Germany. Both are facing extradition.

RED TAPE WRESTLING TIPS
There’s no need to panic over the possibility that hackers could steal PINs from places you shop. Consumers who are hit with fraud related to debit cards have strong legal protections. Losses reported within two days of discovery are limited to $50, and most banks give full refunds to consumers. Still, debit fraud can be a huge hassle, because consumers who are victims may find their bank accounts emptied and their ability to access cash severely limited until the money is replaced. The hassle factor is much higher than with standard credit card fraud.

But possible PIN theft is another incentive to use debit cards only to withdraw cash at ATMs – not for purchasing. There are already plenty of other good arguments for keeping your debit card in your wallet. We’ve written about the case for credit here; so has Consumer Reports.

If you really want to buy things with your debit card, perhaps as part of a monthly budgeting plan, consider signing the sales slip instead of entering your PIN, to keep your PIN a secret. And if you really want to enter your PIN, consider setting up a separate checking account, isolated from your standard account, for your purchases. That way, if your account is hacked, the criminals won’t have access to all your money. But be sure to keep that fully stocked with cash; overdrawing your debit account can lead to costly overdraft fees.
Also, resist the urge to use the same PIN code for all your accounts.

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Assistant principal jumped from bridge, authorities say

***(This story is from earlier in the year.....just never posted it back then as I did not have a computer at that time.)***

The Post and Courier
Wednesday, January 2, 2008


Kathryn Dozier

Kathryn Dozier

The assistant principal of a Mount Pleasant middle school died Tuesday morning after authorities said she jumped 200 feet off the Arthur Ravenel Jr. bridge.

Kathryn Dozier, 31, of Charleston, was pronounced dead at Medical University Hospital shortly after a witness saw her jump from the top of the bridge just after midnight Monday, Charleston County Deputy Coroner Bobbi Jo O'Neal said.

Dozier was on medical leave from Thomas C. Cario Middle School in Mount Pleasant and had previously taught at Alston Middle School in Summerville.

Maurice Milligan, 45, of Mount Pleasant, witnessed the incident. Milligan and his fiancee were trying to make it home by midnight and said there was little traffic on the bridge. They saw a car in the far right lane with its emergency flashers on as they approached the top of the bridge.

"I glanced over at the jogging area, and I saw someone just release and let go," Milligan said.

He told his fiancee, Donna Campbell, he'd just seen someone jump off the bridge and called 911. Campbell said that was at 12:03 a.m. Tuesday.

Witnesses on the sailing vessel Buena Vida reported a body in the water at 12:13 a.m., said Lee Bower, search and rescue coordinator. A Coast Guard boat located Dozier two minutes later and took her to Remleys Point Boat Landing in Mount Pleasant, where an ambulance was waiting.

Milligan and Campbell found it difficult to forget what had happened.

"We talked about it all night long. We didn't sleep. I was so sorry," Campbell said.

Dozier graduated with a 4.0 grade point average from Clemson University and was a state student teacher of the year, Alston Middle School principal Sam Clark said.

Dozier was a math teacher at Alston for six years, Clark said. He and Charleston County School District Superintendent Nancy McGinley described Dozier as a tremendous advocate for children.

"She was a gifted educator. All of our staff that worked with her are just sick," Clark said.

He said he had hoped that Dozier would stay with the school district, but she left in the summer of 2006 for the position in Mount Pleasant.

McGinley said Dozier had been on medical leave since November and was waiting for her doctor to release her so she could return to work. McGinley said she could not comment on the nature of the medical leave.

The faculty had a great deal of respect for Dozier, McGinley said.

"Everybody is very much in shock over this," she said.

Reach Nita Birmingham at 745-5858 or nbirmingham@postandcourier.com.

BERNIE MAC Bernie Mac's death puts sarcoidosis in spotlight

Those with sarcoidosis often live with fear of sudden death

Bernie Mac

Comedian and actor Bernie Mac (Tribune photo by Bob Fila / December 6, 2000)


Andrea Wilson felt sick to her stomach Saturday when she heard comedian Bernie Mac had died in a Chicago hospital.

It was her private fear—the fear of sudden death—suddenly splashed across the news.

Like Mac, Wilson has sarcoidosis, a mysterious and sometimes devastating immune system disorder that causes cells to cluster and can damage organs throughout the body.

Last year, the disease jumped to her brain and started causing stroke-like symptoms—vision changes, numbness in her left side, tingling in her face and mouth—as well as extreme pain. When sarcoidosis flares up in her skin, she gets lesions on her face, knees and legs and lumps "like cauliflower growing out of your body," said Wilson, 43, who lives in Chicago.
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When it becomes active inside her heart, she gets palpitations and feels like she's going to faint or have a heart attack. Wilson has had two exploratory heart surgeries related to sarcoidosis. The disease has also made a home in her lungs, causing its signature symptoms—shortness of breath, wheezing and difficulty breathing.

There is no cure for sarcoidosis, an affliction that hits adults younger than 40 and disproportionately affects African-Americans, especially women. Sometimes the illness is mild and goes into remission, but sometimes it is severe and unremitting, causing progressive damage to multiple organs. Often misdiagnosed, sarcoidosis remains a little known disorder, even in the medical community.

Bernie Mac's publicist has said the comedian's illness was in remission and wasn't related to the pneumonia that killed him at age 50. Still, pneumonia is a frequent complication of sarcoidosis, and the medications people take to control the condition make them vulnerable to infections.

Faith Lundy of Houston said she was diagnosed with pneumonia twice last year before doctors performed a chest X-ray in December and discovered evidence of sarcoidosis.

"It felt like I was dying," she said Monday afternoon. "I was running a fever of 104 degrees and it was hard to breathe. I was weak and I couldn't sweat it off."

In May, Lundy, 41, collapsed at her job at Houston's Public Works Department during a flare-up of the disease. Her eyes are so dry she needs to put in drops daily; blindness is a potential complication. Lundy's chest aches, and climbing stairs now takes all the wind out of her.

"It's hard because a lot of people don't understand what I'm going through these days. Nobody has heard of sarcoidosis. Nobody knows anything about it," Lundy said.

Like many people with sarcoidosis, the news of Mac's death hit her hard. "It scared me real deep," she admitted. "I was like, oh my goodness, could that happen to me?"

In Zion, Brenda Harris knows a lot about how vulnerable sarcoidosis patients are, physically and emotionally.

Since being diagnosed in April 1989, Harris has had four bouts of pneumonia and six hospitalizations. "The medications you take suppress your immune system and then you get staph infections, fungal infections and bacterial infections," she said.

Harris is lucky in a way; her disease is relatively stable and confined only to her lungs. But there, it's wreaked significant damage, and the upper right lobe of her lung has been removed.

Emotionally, the uncertainty associated with sarcoidosis—never knowing when you're going to have a flare-up or how serious it will be—is one of the hardest parts of dealing with this disease, patients say.

And then, there's the loneliness of "having this disease with the funny name that no one knows about. You feel very isolated," said Harris, who this year started a sarcoidosis support group in Lake County.

One day, you might be racing around the house and the next day you might not be able to even get out of bed—that's how fickle this illness can be, said Gwen Mitchell, 54, who's lived with sarcoidosis for 18 years.

Back in 1990, before she got the diagnosis, doctors told her for six months that she had walking pneumonia. "I couldn't talk, I'd be coughing so hard, and it'd go on for 15 or 20 minutes. They kept giving me stuff and none of it would help," Mitchell said.

After collapsing on her way home from work, her husband's physician suggested she be tested for sarcoidosis and doctors confirmed the diagnosis. Mitchell has had pneumonia twice since then and tends to be hospitalized multiple times a year with complications.

As for Mac's death, Mitchell said: "I'm sorry to see him gone, but he's bringing a lot of awareness of sarcoidosis to the forefront, and that's a good thing."

It took four years for Sandra Conroy, 62, to be diagnosed with sarcoidosis after symptoms started to appear in 1980. Often, the condition is mistaken for other diseases, from arthritis and asthma to fibromyalgia.

For three years, Conroy's left leg would start dragging—she'd try but couldn't pick it up—then return to normal. Multiple tests and visits to several medical centers were inconclusive. Eventually a bout of pneumonia put Conroy in the hospital for six weeks. Her vision was the next to go, as the outlines of objects blurred and "all I could see was shadows."

Two sets of experts delivered two diagnoses. One group thought she had multiple sclerosis, the other sarcoidosis. A biopsy eventually confirmed sarcoidosis in her lungs and evidence of the disease in her brain.

Today, Conroy is confined to a wheelchair, unable to walk. "The hardest thing for me is, doctors still aren't really sure how to treat [sarcoidosis] symptoms," she said. "There's a lot of research on what to do for other diseases, but not for this one. So, it can be hard to get the proper treatment."

jegraham@tribune.com

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MontCo referendum seen as guide to nixing transgender laws in U.S.

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WASHINGTON (Map, News) - Religious conservatives are hoping a referendum on a Montgomery County law protecting transgender people could become a template to repeal similar measures across the country.

Montgomery County Council members unanimously approved a measure last fall that prohibits discrimination against transgender people in housing, employment, public accommodations, and taxicab and cable service. Council members included an exemption for “personal and private” places, but nonetheless drew the ire of local conservatives, who said they feared men would be allowed in women’s bathrooms and locker rooms.

A local group, Citizens for Responsible Government, ran a successful petition drive to get the 25,000 signatures required to put the law on the county’s November ballot for possible recall.

Bruce Hausknecht, judicial analyst for national conservative group Focus on the Family, said his organization is tracking the Montgomery issue.

His Colorado Springs-based group is waging its own battle against a new Colorado transgender rights law, along with other groups. Focus on the Family ran radio and print ads focusing on one thing: bathroom access.

“There’s no strategy, there’s just similar concerns among people in Montgomery County, Maryland, Colorado and Gainesville, Florida, where they’re also facing a referendum on a similar law,” Hausknecht said. “This is precisely what the transgender community ultimately wants: to open up bathrooms, locker rooms across the country.” Transgender rights advocates say the bills are about ensuring no one is denied a meal at a restaurant or an apartment because of gender issues, rather than bathroom access. But they acknowledge what they call a campaign of “fear and misinformation” has been tough to fight, even in liberal strongholds like Montgomery County and Gainesville.

“Transgender is still new to a lot of people,” said Chris Edelson, state legislative director for the Human Rights Campaign. “[Opponents] know they are working on a blank slate and if they can write something scary on it, it gets them a long way to accomplishing their goals.”

Since Minnesota outlawed discrimination against transgender people in 1993, 11 other states and the District have followed suit, as did more than 90 cities and counties, Edelson said, adding that no crimes have been linked to the measure.

“As the public becomes far more accepting of gays and lesbians, the religious right is looking for a new way to drive out their support base at election time, and they think this is going to be it,” said Steve Ralls, communications director for Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.

Representatives of the Family Research Council did not return several phone calls. Its Web site, however, showed it is activating prayer networks to kill new laws (“including one in a D.C. suburb”) that ban discrimination against transgender people.

“May God move the Church and morally minded Americans to exercise their citizenship to restore balance before it is too late,” a prayer on the site reads. “May efforts to impose sexual identity confusion upon our children through law fail at the federal, state and local levels.”

kmiller@dcexaminer.com

Maryland recall vote of trans rights law could have national impact

Gay & Lesbian Leadership SmartBrief | 08/05/2008

Anti-gay activists hope that, if their ballot recall of a Montgomery County, Md., anti-transgender bias law is successful, they will be able to use the campaign as a model for similar recall efforts across the country. "Transgender is still new to a lot of people," said Chris Edelson, state legislative director for the Human Rights Campaign. "[Opponents] know they are working on a blank slate and if they can write something scary on it, it gets them a long way to accomplishing their goals." Examiner, The (08/04)

Monday, August 11, 2008

U.S. Tourist Killed in Beijing

A Chinese man killed a relative of a U.S. men's volleyball coach and injured another family member in a stabbing at a popular tourist spot in Beijing.
Saturday, August 9, 2008

BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese man killed a relative of a U.S. men's volleyball coach and injured another family member in a stabbing at a popular tourist spot in Beijing on Saturday.

The dead man was a U.S. citizen and the injured victim was an American woman, police said, adding the attacker jumped to his death after the killing. The murder cast a shadow over the first day of sporting action at the Olympic Games.

"While at the Drum Tower in central Beijing, the two family members were stabbed during an attack by what local law enforcement authorities have indicated was a lone assailant. One of the family members was killed and the other seriously injured," the U.S. Olympic Committee said in a statement.

A Chinese tour guide was also injured in the attack carried out by a Chinese man just after midday. Assaults on foreigners are rare in Beijing, site of the 2008 Olympic Games.

Tang Yongming, 47, from the eastern city of Hangzhou, jumped to his death from the second storey of tourist site the Drum Tower after the attack, police said in a statement.

"We need further investigation to find out the motive since the man has killed himself. We have no more information to provide for the moment," a spokesman for the Beijing Public Security Bureau said.

A White House official said U.S. President George W. Bush, who is in Beijing for the start of the Games, was aware of the attack.

"The President has been informed and his heart goes out to the families of the victims," a White House official said.

"The White House and U.S. Embassy have offered whatever assistance the family needs. U.S. officials have also been in touch with Chinese authorities on the matter."

A U.S. embassy spokeswoman said diplomats had been dispatched to the Beijing hospital where the surviving tourist and the local tour guide had been rushed shortly after noon.

"We're actively following the situation right now and U.S. Embassy officials are already at the hospital," a U.S. embassy spokeswoman said.

Beijing has been calm in the run-up to the Summer Games, with security tight across the capital and thousands of security officials patrolling Games venues and streets.

A crowd had gathered around the Drum Tower, in bustling central Beijing, which had been closed off by police.

The U.S. volleyball team are due to play their opening game against Venezuela on Sunday.

Photo Copyright Getty Images

Copyright 2008 Reuters. click for restrictions


Area 51 - 1996 - 60 Minutes Transcript

http://www.ufomind.com/area51/articles/1996/60min_960317.html

ACTUAL VERBAL TRANSCRIPT
CBS-TV -- 60 MINUTES
March 17, 1996.

Transcribed with permission.
Public domain. Distribute without editing.

This 60 Minutes segment orignally aired on March 17,
1996. It follows the
controversy at a top secret air base which supposedly
doesnít exist. For
more information regarding the lawsuit and / or Area
51, point your web
brouser at:
http://www.cris.com/~psyspy/area51/


Leslie Stahl: Why this story is called Area 51 /
Catch 22 will become
clear as it unfolds. But letís start at the
beginning... What if we told
you that someone is dumping truck loads of toxic
waste in open trenches,
and setting it on fire, endangering the health
and lives of everyone down
wind? Youíd probably want the government to
prosecute. After all, it is
a federal crime, punishable by up to 15 years in
prison, and a one million
dollar fine. But what if we then told you that
the perpetrator, the one
who is doing the open pit burning, is the government.
In this case, the
United States Department of Defense. Well thatís
exactly what dozens of
government whistle blowers are charging. The problem
is, they canít prove
it. Because it took place at a top, top secret air
force base, that
officially, doesnít exist.

Stahl: Las Vegas, McKaren Airport. Every morning,
civilian contractors,
test pilots, and others, board unmarked planes with
whited out windows.
They are flying to an air force installation that
has never appeared on
federal aviation pilot charts, or U.S. geological
survey maps. It exists
only in what is called the "black world". A place
so sensitive, that only
those who take an oath of secrecy for life are
allowed in.

Stahl: The perimeter of the base is blanketed
with ground sensors and
listening devices, and patrolled by security
guards in unmarked white
jeeps who are authorized to use deadly force to keep
intruders out. They
kept a close watch on us as we approached the
border. This is as close as
you can get to the base, which is thirteen miles
back off (points behind
her) in this direction. Itís known as Area 51,
Groom Lake, Dreamland,
any one of a dozen names depending on who you ask.
But just donít ask
anyone at the defense department. They donít want
to talk about it.

Stahl: But Jonathan Turley is only too happy to
talk about it. Heís a
law professor representing Area 51 employees, past
and present, who say
they not only witnessed dumping of toxic waste at
the base, but in many
cases participated in it. Turley is suing the
government on their behalf,
trying to get the defense department to acknowledge
the burning, and to
get a federal court order barring it from happening
again. He isnít
asking for punitive damages, all he wants is
information about what toxins
his clients were exposed to, and help paying their
medical bills.

Stahl: But heís been about as successful as we
were in getting the
defense department to say anything about the base,
seen here by a nearby
mountaintop, even that it exists.

Jonathan Turley: Oh, they would not confirm itís
existence or itís non
existence.

Stahl: They wouldnít say it wasnít there. They
wouldnít say that it was
there?

Turley: Right. The only problem of course is that
you can see the damn
base from public land. You can take a picture of it.
This is in the
middle of the desert!. Itís a large facility. Itís
about as concealable
as a pig in the parlor.

Stahl: And about as secret. UFO groupies from around
the world,
convinced that the air force is hiding flying saucers
there, trek to the
perimeter of the base by the busload. There is an Area
51 research
center, an Area 51 viewers guide, and in downtown
Las Vegas, the base that
doesnít exist has a bar and a video game named after
it.

Turley: We finally said listen, if you are going to
deny the obvious,
then we are going to prove the obvious. Then I took
a series of pictures
and submitted those in evidence. I submitted affidavits
of people who
worked there, which said they were real people and this
is a real base. I
even had satellites from Russian and French satellites
take pictures of
the base

Stahl: The Russians have satellite pictures of this base?

Turley: Not only do they have satellite pictures, under
treaty, the
Russians are required to be flown over this base. Itís
called..

Stahl: Required?? Required to be flown over this base???

Turley: Yeah, itís called the Open Skies Treaty. The
United States
Government must fly the Russians, upon the demand of the
Russians, and
other countries over this facility. And they have to do
the same at their
bases.

Stahl: And they still deny it existed?

Turley: Yeah!

Stahl: "They" meaning the Pentagon?

Turley: Right..You sorta sit there and ya think, ya
know.. this is like
an out take of Maxwell Smart.. (laughs) These guys
are gonna grab a
phone or something..

Stahl: After nine months of hand to hand litigation,
over whether or not
the base exists, Air Force attorneys in November of
1994 finally confirmed
the obvious. That yes it does exist. But then they
dug in on a new
front. This one, over whether or not the base has a
name.

Turley: Well the name was important because we have
a lot of documents
that show that they had hazardous waste here. Weíve
got testimony and
affidavits.

Stahl: You needed to link the name with what you have
in your documents..

Turley: Yes, and by denying Area 51, which was the
common name, they
made, or at least they tried to make all those
documents irrelevant.

Stahl: But if the base has no name, as the Air Force
insists, then how
does the Pentagon explain this old film produced by
Lockheed Skunk Works,
the legendary defense contractor that flight tested
the U2 spy plane, and
the F117 stealth fighter among others, at Area 51?
If you look closely,
you can see this man write ëmove out to Area 51í.
And how do we know that
those planes were flight tested at the base? We
asked Jay Miller, the
man Lockheed Skunk Works hired to write the companiesí
official history.

Jay Miller: Once the manuscript was completed, one of
the things that the
Department of Defense asked me to do is remove the
words Area 51, Groom
Lake, Dreamland, The Ranch, ..those are all names that
have been utilized
for this one particular facility.. and uh.. to refer
to it as the "test
location".

Stahl: So they didnít mind that you described it, but
they did mind that
you named it. Explain that??

Miller: I have no answer for ya, I wish I did.

Stahl: The Air Force also refuses to answer any and
all questions about
the dumping of hazardous waste at Area 51, which as
we said is why the
workers are suing. Workers like John Doe #1, who is
pressing the case
anonymously, since anything he says about the base

would violate his oath
of secrecy, a crime punishable by up to ten years in
prison.

John Doe #1: (producers altered his voice to mask his
identity) You could
not tell anyone that you even worked there. The
acknowledgment of the
operating location is strictly forbidden.

Stahl: He and other Area 51 employees say security
is so complete that
nothing except the workers ever leaves the base, not
even garbage. It is
either burned or buried right there, everything from
food scraps, to
jeeps, to jet parts. And those drums of toxic
chemicals and wastes used
in classified programs.

Stahl: This former Area 51 worker says the open pit
burning was executed
with extraordinary security.

JD#1: There was armed guards which would stop us
approximately 100 yards
or even more near the dump area.

Stahl: There were armed guards?

JD#1: Yes..

Stahl: Come on.. Armed with what?

JD#1: Rifles, side arms..

Stahl: You are talking about something thatís in
the middle of a totally
secure, secret air base, and in the middle of this,
there are armed
guards?

JD#1: Yes maíam..

Stahl: The burning he says, lasted for hours, and
generated plumes of
toxic smoke that swept over the base like London fog.

JD#1: Your eyes would water, sting, your throat would
go dry, and uh, you
felt like you were drug through a pig pen, so to speak.

Stahl: Do you think that you were exposed to something
that was harmful
to your health?

JD#1: Yes. Definitely, yes.

Stahl: And why do you say that?

JD#1: Skin irritation. ..wonít go away. Thereís no
cure for it that I
can find.

Stahl: What do you mean by skin irritation? Is it a rash?

JD#1: Cracking, bleeding. Itís gets pretty scaley.

Turley: Not surprisingly, people that were downwind
from this operation
became ill. And two of them have died.

Stahl: Youíre absolutely sure they died from the wastes
that went up in
this open pit?

Turley: No, Iím not absolutely sure. What Iím trying
to find out is
whether they did die because of this.

Stahl: One of those that did die, Robert Frost, also
had cracking scaley
skin, which can be caused by exposure to cancer causing
chemicals like
dioxin. This anaylsis by a Rutgers University
biochemist found
substantial quantities of dioxins in Robert Frostís fatty
tissue. He also
found other toxic chemical compounds he couldnít
recall having ever seen
in human tissues.

Stahl: Instead of responding to the specific charges,
the defense
department asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit,
arguing that neither
the government nor the workers can make their case
without divulging top
secret information.

Turley: I donít care if theyíve got Jimmy Hoffa buried
in those trenches.
What I care about is whether they burned hazardous
waste and exposed my
clients to the burning of those hazardous wastes.
We can handle that
without getting into sensitive areas.

Stahl: The Air Force maintains that if they answer
your question, then
the enemy will be able to piece together a mosaic
about the specific
operations at Area 51.

Turley: Yes, and thatís just facially absurd.

Stahl: Didnít you ever ask them any specifics?

Turley: Yes.

Stahl: Like what?

Turley: Oh, we asked if they have jet fuel there.

Stahl: Jet fuel.. What did they say?

Turley: They said to "admit or deny the presence of
jet fuel at an air
base would put American lives in danger."

Stahl: They said that?

Turley: Oh yeah..

Stahl: Címon.. What else did you ask?

Turley: We asked about paint.

Stahl: What ? (laughs)

Turley: Not the magic paint, not the stuff that makes
planes disappear..
Paint.. Like in your house.

Stahl: What was the answer?

Turley: "American lives would be put in danger
if we answer that
question."

Stahl: No...

Turley: Yeah...

Stahl: What else did you ask?

Turley: Pesticides.

Stahl: Answer?

Turley: "Oh well.. Thatís a national security
question." We asked what
about if they have a single discarded car battery.?

Stahl: You actually asked that?

Turley: Yeah..

Stahl: What was there response.

Turley: "This is a top secret question that we
could never answer."

Stahl: If itís so top secret, how come this
manual distributed to Area 51
employees, identifies a gas station, a paint
storage building, and yes,
even a motor pool battery shop all on the base.
The manual is available
on the Internet. It was for years, unclassified,
and widely distributed
in the public domain. But when Turley introduced
it into evidence, the
defense department suddenly classified it, and
everything in Turleyís
office that quotes from it including notes and
legal briefs.

Stahl: Congressman Lee Hamilton, former chairman
of the House
Intelligence Committee, has been following the Area
51 lawsuit.

Lee Hamilton: The Air Force is classifying all
information about Area 51
in order to protect themselves from a lawsuit.

Stahl: The Air Force says, quote, "to reveal this
information increases
the risk to the lives of United States personnel,
and decreases the
probability of successful mission accomplishment."
I mean, thatís very
strong..

Hamilton: Itís very strong and itís completely
unsubstantiated. Iím not
personally prepared to take the word of a person
who has, or an entity
which has a huge financial stake in the outcome here,
that this
information needs to be classified.

Stahl: There in court, a judge agreed with that,
and has said yes, that
they can keep these things secret.

Hamilton: I think that judges are often snowed by the
national security
establishment.

Stahl: Because of the lawsuit, the Environmental
Protection Agency
inspected Area 51 last year for the first time, and
prepared a hazardous
waste inventory. They did a hazardous waste
inventory, but they wonít
admit there is hazardous waste there. But it gets
better because they
stated in court that they would put this facility on
the hazardous waste
docket.. Itís a list of federal facilities with
hazardous waste. And
they said, "weíre gonna put it on that list." And
I said, "Well,
Hello!", "doesnít that mean you have hazardous
waste??!!" [Their
response] well, not necessarily...

Stahl: Turley asked to see the hazardous waste
inventory, since the law
requires that it be disclosed to the public,
unless that is, the President
of the United States personally exempts it.
You guessed it.. The Air
Force asked President Clinton for the exemption,
and got it.

Turley: There are very comical aspects to this
case. The government is
so absurd. And even in my office, we sit there
and sort of guffaw they
are claiming these things are secret. But at the
end of the day, Iíve got
two dead clients, Iíve got other people who are
ill, and Iíve got
defendants who committed crimes. They know they
committed crimes. So do
I. And so does the court. And the question is,
whether they are going to
be held accountable? Because ultimately, that is
what this case is
about. Whether there is something unique about
the United States
Government that either makes it accountable or
exempt from it own laws.

Stahl: On March 6, 1996, the Federal judge
overseeing the lawsuit
dismissed it, ruling that pursuing the case risked
"significant harm to
national security". Turley is appealing.

Area 51

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Area_51


Area 51 is a remote tract of land in the southwestern portion of southern Nevada in the western United States. Situated at its center, on the southern shore of Groom Lake, a dry lakebed (salt lake), is a large military airfield, one of the most secretive places in the world. The base's primary purpose is to support development and testing of experimental aircraft and weapons systems.[1][2]

The base lies within the United States Air Force's vast Nevada Test and Training Range. Although the facilities at the range are managed by the 99th Air Base Wing at Nellis Air Force Base, the Groom facility appears to be run as an adjunct of the Air Force Flight Test Center (AFFTC) at Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert, around 160 miles (260 km) from Groom (AFFTC homepage), and as such the base is known as Air Force Flight Test Center (Detachment 3).[3][4]

Other names used for the facility include Dreamland, Paradise Ranch,[5] Home Base, Watertown Strip, Groom Lake[6] and most recently Homey Airport.[7] The area is part of the Nellis Military Operations Area, and military pilots refer to the forbidden airspace around it (R-4808N[8]) as The Box.

The intense secrecy surrounding the base, the very existence of which the U.S. government barely acknowledges, has led it to become the frequent subject of conspiracy theories and UFO folklore.

Geography

Map showing Area 51, NAFR, and the NTS
Map showing Area 51, NAFR, and the NTS

Area 51 shares a border with the Yucca Flat region of the Nevada Test Site (NTS), the location of 739 of the 928 nuclear tests conducted by the United States Department of Energy at NTS.[9] The Yucca Mountain nuclear storage facility is approximately 40 miles (64 km) southwest of Groom Lake.

The designation "Area 51" is contentious, appearing on older maps of the NTS but not newer ones[citation needed], yet the same naming scheme is used for other parts of the Nevada Test Site.[10][11]

The area is connected to the internal NTS road network, with paved roads leading south to Mercury and west to Yucca Flat. Leading northeast from the lake, the wide and well-maintained Groom Lake Road runs through a pass in the Jumbled Hills. The road formerly led to mines in the Groom basin, but has been improved since their closure. Its winding course runs past a security checkpoint, but the restricted area around the base extends further east. After leaving the restricted area, Groom Lake Road descends eastward to the floor of the Tikaboo Valley, passing the dirt-road entrances to several small ranches, before converging with State Route 375, the "Extraterrestrial Highway", south of Rachel.

Operations at Groom Lake

Satellite view of Area 51 from 1968.
Satellite view of Area 51 from 1968.

Groom Lake is not a conventional airbase, as frontline units are not normally deployed there. It instead appears to be used during the development, testing, and training phases for new aircraft. Once these aircraft have been approved by the United States Air Force or other agencies such as the CIA, operation of that aircraft is generally conducted from a normal air force base. Groom is reported, however, to be the permanent home for a small number of Soviet-designed aircraft[12] which are analyzed and used for training purposes.

Soviet spy satellites obtained photographs of the Groom Lake area during the height of the Cold War, and later civilian satellites produced detailed images of the base and its surroundings. These images support only modest conclusions about the base; they depict a nondescript base, long airstrip, hangars and the lake, but nothing that supports some of the claims about underground facilities.

Though no ICAO identifier for the base appears on any official document, in December 2007, airline pilots noticed that the base had appeared in their aircraft navigation systems' latest Jeppesen database revision as "KXTA".[13]

U-2 program

Main article: Lockheed U-2

Groom Lake was used for bombing and artillery practice during World War II, but was then abandoned until 1955, when it was selected by Lockheed's Skunk Works team as the ideal location to test the forthcoming U-2 spy plane.[14] The lakebed made an ideal strip from which they could operate the troublesome test aircraft, and the Emigrant Valley's mountain ranges and the NTS perimeter protected the test site from prying eyes and outside interference.

Lockheed constructed a makeshift base at Groom, consisting of little more than a few shelters, workshops and trailer homes in which to house its small team. The first U-2 flew at Groom in August 1955, and U-2s under the control of the CIA began overflights of Soviet territory by mid-1956.

During this period, the NTS continued to perform a series of atmospheric nuclear explosions. U-2 operations throughout 1957 were frequently disrupted by the Plumbbob series of atomic tests, which detonated over two-dozen devices at the NTS. The Plumbbob-Hood explosion on July 5 scattered fallout across Groom and forced a temporary evacuation.

Blackbird programs

Main article: SR-71 Blackbird
OXCART aircraft on the ramp at Groom Lake/Area 51 in 1964. There are ten aircraft in the photo; the first eight are OXCART machines, and the last two are Air Force YF-12As.
OXCART aircraft on the ramp at Groom Lake/Area 51 in 1964. There are ten aircraft in the photo; the first eight are OXCART machines, and the last two are Air Force YF-12As.

Even before U-2 development was complete, Lockheed began work on its successor, the CIA's OXCART project, a Mach-3 high altitude reconnaissance aircraft, a later variant of which became the famed USAF SR-71 Blackbird. The Blackbird's flight characteristics and maintenance requirements forced a massive expansion of facilities and runways at Groom Lake. By the time the first A-12 Blackbird prototype flew at Groom in 1962, the main runway had been lengthened to 8,500 ft (2,600 m), and the base boasted a complement of over 1,000 personnel. It had fueling tanks, a control tower, and a baseball diamond. Security was greatly enhanced, the small civilian mine in the Groom basin was closed, and the area surrounding the valley was made an exclusive military preserve. Groom saw the first flight of all major Blackbird variants: A-12, SR-71, the abortive YF-12 interceptor variant, and the D-21 Blackbird-based drone project. The A-12 would remain at Groom Lake until 1968.

Have Blue/F-117 program

Main article: Lockheed Have Blue

The Lockheed Have Blue prototype stealth fighter (a smaller cousin of the F-117 Nighthawk) first flew at Groom in December 1977.[15] Testing of a series of ultra-secret prototypes continued there until mid-1981, when testing transitioned to the initial production of F-117 stealth fighters. In addition to flight-testing, Groom performed radar profiling, F-117 weapons testing, and was the location for training of the first group of frontline USAF F-117 pilots. Subsequently, the still highly classified active-service F-117 operations moved to the nearby Tonopah Test Range, and finally to Holloman Air Force Base.

Later operations

Area 51 border and warning sign stating that "photography is prohibited" and that "use of deadly force is authorized" under the terms of the 1950 McCarran Internal Security Act. A government vehicle is parked on the hilltop; from there, security agents observe the approach to Groom Lake.
Area 51 border and warning sign stating that "photography is prohibited" and that "use of deadly force is authorized" under the terms of the 1950 McCarran Internal Security Act. A government vehicle is parked on the hilltop; from there, security agents observe the approach to Groom Lake.

Since the F-117 became operational in 1983, operations at Groom Lake have continued unabated. The base and its associated runway system have been expanded, and daily flights bringing civilian commuters from Las Vegas continue. Some commentators, after examining recent satellite photos of the base, estimate it to have a live-in complement of over 1,000 people, with a similar number commuting from Las Vegas. In 1995, the federal government expanded the exclusionary area around the base to include nearby mountains that had hitherto afforded the only decent overlook of the base. Subsequently, limited views of the area are available only from the summits of several distant mountains east.

Aircraft that have been tested at Groom include the Northrop Tacit Blue stealth demonstrator, various classified UAVs, and a stealthy cruise missile (most likely the AGM-129 Advanced Cruise Missile). Other rumored Groom test programs include a small stealthy VTOL troop-transport aircraft, the Aurora hypersonic spy plane, a "Stealth Blimp", a secret USAF spaceplane codenamed Blackstar,[16] and replacements for the SR-71 and F-117A.

Area 51 commuters

Defense contractor EG&G maintains a private terminal 36°05′31″N 115°09′54″W / 36.092, -115.165 at McCarran International Airport in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. A number of unmarked aircraft operate daily shuttle services from McCarran to sites operated by EG&G in the extensive federally controlled lands in southern Nevada. These aircraft reportedly use JANET radio call signs (e.g., "JANET 6") (the JANET airplanes are now using either call sign "Bland" or "JANET" on the radio, and "WWW" on their flight number identifier), said to be an acronym for "Joint Air Network for Employee Transportation" or (perhaps jokingly) "Just Another Non-Existent Terminal". EG&G advertises in the Las Vegas press for experienced military pilots, requiring applicants to be eligible for government security clearance, and that successful applicants can expect to always stay overnight at Las Vegas. These aircraft, painted white with red trim (the livery of now defunct Western Airlines), include six Boeing 737/T-43As and several smaller turboprops. Their tail numbers are registered to the U.S. Air Force. They are reported to shuttle to Groom, Tonopah Test Range, to other locations in the NAFR and NTS, and reportedly to Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake. Observers tracking the number of departures and cars in the private EG&G parking lot at McCarran estimate several thousand JANET commuters each day. These shuttle flights were previously operated by Key Air, which had flown 22,000 passenger trips on 300 flights from Nellis Air Force Base to Tonopah Test Range per month from 1982 until early 1991.[citation needed]

Commuter service is provided along Groom Lake Road by a bus, catering to a small number of employees living in several small communities beyond the NTS boundary (although it is not clear whether these workers are employed at Groom or at other facilities in the NTS). The bus travels Groom Lake Road and stops at Crystal Springs, Ash Springs, and Alamo, and parks at the Alamo courthouse overnight.

Runways

The airbase, given the ICAO airport identifier code of KXTA and listed as "Homey Airport"[17] in aviation GPS databases, has seven runways including one that now appears to be closed. The closed runway, 14R/32L, is also by far the longest with a total length of approximately 7,093 meters (23,270 feet), not including stopway. The other runways are two asphalt runways, the 14L/32R with a length of 3,658 meters (12,000 feet) and 12/30 with a length of 1,652 meters (5,420 feet), and four runways located on the salt lake. These four runways are 09L/27R and 09R/27L, which are both approximately 3,489 meters (11,440 feet), and 03L/21R and 03R/21L, which are both approximately 3,057 meters (10,030 feet).[18][19]

U.S. government's positions on Area 51

A letter from the USAF replying to a query about Area 51
A letter from the USAF replying to a query about Area 51

On July 14, 2003 the Federal Government admitted the facility's existence, tacitly conceding that the Air Force has an "operating location" near the lake, but does not provide any further information. The base is conspicuously absent from Federal publications and inquiries to the government regarding the facility are rejected for reasons of national security.[citation needed]

Unlike much of the Nellis range, the area surrounding the lake is permanently off-limits both to civilian and normal military air traffic. Radar stations protect the area, and unauthorized personnel are quickly expelled. Even military pilots training in the NAFR risk disciplinary action if they accidentally stray into the exclusionary "box" surrounding Groom's airspace.[20]

A montage of available USGS satellite photography showing southern Nevada.  The NTS and the surrounding lands are visible; the NAFR and neighboring land has been removed
A montage of available USGS satellite photography showing southern Nevada. The NTS and the surrounding lands are visible; the NAFR and neighboring land has been removed

Perimeter security is provided by uniformed private security guards working for EG&G's security subcontractor Wackenhut,[21] who patrol in desert camouflage Jeep Cherokees and HMMWV vehicles, and more recently, champagne-colored Ford F-150 pickups and gray Chevy 2500 4X4 pickups. Although the guards are armed with M16s, no violent encounters with Area 51 observers have been reported; instead, the guards generally follow visitors near the perimeter and radio for the Lincoln County Sheriff. Deadly force is authorized if violators who attempt to breach the secured area fail to heed warnings to halt. Fines of around $600 seem to be the normal course of action, although some visitors and journalists report receiving follow-up visits from FBI agents. Some observers have been detained on public land for pointing camera equipment at the base. Surveillance is supplemented using buried motion sensors[22][23][24] and by HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopters.

The base does not appear on public U.S. government maps;[25] the USGS topographic map for the area only shows the long-disused Groom Mine,[26] and the civil aviation chart for Nevada shows a large restricted area,[27] but defines it as part of the Nellis restricted airspace. Similarly the National Atlas page showing federal lands in Nevada[28] does not distinguish between the Groom block and other parts of the Nellis range. Although officially declassified, the original film taken by U.S. Corona spy satellite in the 1960s has been altered prior to declassification; in answer to freedom of information queries, the government responds that these exposures (which map to Groom and the entire NAFR) appear to have been destroyed.[29] Terra satellite images (which were publicly available) were removed from web servers (including Microsoft's "Terraserver") in 2004,[30] and from the monochrome 1 m resolution USGS data dump made publicly available. NASA Landsat 7 images are still available (these are used in the NASA World Wind). Higher resolution (and more recent) images from other satellite imagery providers (including Russian providers and the IKONOS) are commercially available. These show, in considerable detail, the runway marking, base facilities, aircraft, and vehicles.

Nevada's state government, recognizing the folklore surrounding the base might afford the otherwise neglected area some tourism potential, officially renamed the section of State Route 375 near Area 51 "The Extraterrestrial Highway", and posted fancifully illustrated signs along its length.[31]

Although federal property within the base is exempt from state and local taxes, facilities owned by private contractors are not. Area 51 researcher Glenn Campbell claimed in 1994 that the base only declares a taxable value of $2 million to the Lincoln County tax assessor, who is unable to enter the area to perform an assessment.[32]

Environmental lawsuit

In 1994, five unnamed civilian contractors and the widows of contractors Walter Kasza and Robert Frost sued the USAF and the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Their suit, in which they were represented by George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley, alleged they had been present when large quantities of unknown chemicals had been burned in open pits and trenches at Groom. Biopsies taken from the complainants were analyzed by Rutgers University biochemists, who found high levels of dioxin, dibenzofuran, and trichloroethylene in their body fat. The complainants alleged they had sustained skin, liver, and respiratory injuries due to their work at Groom, and that this had contributed to the deaths of Frost and Kasza. The suit sought compensation for the injuries they had sustained, claiming the USAF had illegally handled toxic materials, and that the EPA had failed in its duty to enforce the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (which governs handling of dangerous materials). They also sought detailed information about the chemicals to which they were allegedly exposed, hoping this would facilitate the medical treatment of survivors. Congressman Lee H. Hamilton, former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, told 60 Minutes reporter Leslie Stahl, "The Air Force is classifying all information about Area 51 in order to protect themselves from a lawsuit."[33]

Citing the State Secrets Privilege, the government petitioned trial judge U.S. District Judge Philip Pro (of the United States District Court for the District of Nevada in Las Vegas) to disallow disclosure of classified documents or examination of secret witnesses, alleging this would expose classified information and threaten national security.[34] When Judge Pro rejected the government's argument, President Bill Clinton issued a Presidential Determination, exempting what it called, "The Air Force's Operating Location Near Groom Lake, Nevada" from environmental disclosure laws. Consequently, Pro dismissed the suit due to lack of evidence. Turley appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, on the grounds that the government was abusing its power to classify material. Secretary of the Air Force Sheila E. Widnall filed a brief that stated that disclosures of the materials present in the air and water near Groom "can reveal military operational capabilities or the nature and scope of classified operations." The Ninth Circuit rejected Turley's appeal,[35] and the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear it, putting an end to the complainants' case.

The President continues to annually issue a determination continuing the Groom exception.[36][37][38] This, and similarly tacit wording used in other government communications, is the only formal recognition the U.S. Government has ever given that Groom Lake is more than simply another part of the Nellis complex.

An unclassified memo on the safe handling of F117 material was posted on an Air Force website in 2005. This discussed the same materials for which the complainants had requested information (information the government had claimed was classified). The memo was removed shortly after journalists became aware of it.[39]

1974 Skylab photography

In January 2006, space historian Dwayne A. Day published an article in online aerospace magazine The Space Review titled "Astronauts and Area 51: the Skylab Incident." The article was based around a recently declassified memo written in 1974 to CIA director William Colby by an unknown CIA official. The memo reported that astronauts on board Skylab 4 had, as part of a larger program, inadvertently photographed a location of which the memo said "There were specific instructions not to do this. was the only location which had such an instruction." Although the name of the location was obscured, the context led Day to believe that the subject was Groom Lake.[40][41]

The memo details debate between federal agencies regarding whether the images should be classified, with Department of Defense agencies arguing that it should, and NASA and the State Department arguing against classification. The memo itself questions the legality of unclassified images to be retroactively classified.

Remarks on the memo,[42] handwritten apparently by DCI (Director of Central Intelligence) Colby himself, read:

He did raise it - said State Dept. people felt strongly. But he inclined leave decision to me (DCI) - I confessed some question over need to protect since:
  1. USSR has it from own sats
  2. What really does it reveal?
  3. If exposed, don't we just say classified USAF work is done there?

The declassified documents do not disclose the outcome of discussions regarding the Skylab imagery, but were not placed in the federal government's archive of satellite imagery along with the remaining Skylab 4 photographs.

UFO and other conspiracy theories concerning Area 51

Its secretive nature and undoubted connection to classified aircraft research, together with reports of unusual phenomena, have led Area 51 to become a focus of modern UFO and conspiracy theories. Some of the activities mentioned in such theories at Area 51 include:

Many of the hypotheses concern underground facilities at Groom or at nearby Papoose Lake, and include claims of a transcontinental underground railroad system, a disappearing airstrip (nicknamed the "Cheshire Airstrip", after Lewis Carroll's Cheshire cat) which briefly appears when water is sprayed onto its camouflaged asphalt,[43] and engineering based on alien technology. In 1989, Bob Lazar claimed that he had worked at a facility at Papoose Lake (which he called S-4) on such a U.S. Government flying saucer.

An editor at www.abovetopsecret.com claimed in 2004 that, during the mid 1990s, the most secret work previously done at Groom was quietly moved to other facilities, including Dugway Proving Ground in Utah, and that the continued secrecy around Groom is largely a successful attempt at misdirection.[44]

The 1996 documentary Dreamland directed by Bruce Burgess included an interview with a 71 year old mechanical engineer who claimed to be a former employee at Area 51 during the 1950s, working on a "flying disc simulator" built to train US Pilots, based on a disc originating from a crashed extraterrestrial craft. During his career at Area 51 he claimed to have worked with an extraterrestrial being whose name was "J-Rod", described as a telepathic translator.[45]

Dan Burisch (real name, Dan Crain) claims to have worked on cloning alien viruses at Area 51, also with the alien "J-Rod".[46][47]

In July 1996, a man named "Victor" announced on Art Bell's Coast to Coast AM radio show that he had a videotape of an alien interrogation that took place in Area 51. He claimed that he had made a copy of the tape during a scheduled transfer of analog videotape files on the base into digital form, and had then smuggled the copy out of Area 51. The video appears to show the head of an alien creature in a dark interrogation room, allegedly using telepathy to communicate with military personnel and scientists.[48][49] The footage was eventually included in a video documentary entitled Area 51: The Alien Interview.

Trivia

Popular culture usually portrays Area 51 as a haven for aliens. The numerous conspiracy theories surrounding Area 51 have granted it a fairly high profile in popular culture, specifically in the area of science fiction. Dozens of movies and television shows deal with fictionalized events or happenings at the site. The most widely seen example is the 1996 action film Independence Day, in which the complex is shown to have been studying the crashed scout ship from the Roswell UFO incident of 1947. The heroes of the film later make their final attack from the airstrips at the base, and in a nod to established fact, Randy Quaid's character Russell Casse at one point refers to the base not being shown on a state map of Nevada.

The base lent its name to a 1995 Atari light gun arcade game, Area 51 as well as to a 1998 sequel, Area 51: Site 4.

The 1998-2001 television series Seven Days took place largely inside the Area 51 complex itself, with the base depicted as being run by a covert National Security Agency operation which used time-travel made possible by alien technology recovered from the 1947 Roswell UFO incident.

Lara Croft infiltrates Area 51 in Tomb Raider 3. She must find a special stone called 'Element 115'. A non-stealthy playing style closes doors and makes the task more difficult.

In the beginning of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, "Hangar 51" is revealed to be the location of the government warehouse where the Ark of the Covenant was stored at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark, and where KGB agents go to recover the remains of the Roswell alien, eventually revealed to be an interdimensional being with a crystalline skeleton. In his review of the film, the scene was likened to "a kind of Area 51" by Popular Mechanics writer Jack Donaldson.[50]

In the television series Stargate SG-1, Area 51 is used as a facility for storage and research of technology brought back to Earth from other planets.

See also

References

General references

Specific references

  1. ^ DREAMLAND: Fifty Years of Secret Flight Testing in Nevada By Peter W. Merlin
  2. ^ Rich, ibid, p57, Rich describes Groom in 1977 as being "...a sprawling facility, bigger than some municipal airports, a test range for sensitive aviation projects"
  3. ^ Area 51 researcher Glenn Campbell claims that AFFTC Detachment 3 is located at Groom, citing the title of a leaked security manual, the mailbox in Henderson, Nevada he believes formerly served Groom, and the NASA biography of astronaut Carl E. Walz who was formerly a manager at AFFTC-DET3 !: "Area 51 is Edwards DET 3", Glenn Campbell, Groom Lake Desert Rat, 6/17/96 ; "Biography of Carl E. Walz (Colonel, USAF, Ret.), NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center
  4. ^ "Black Projects at Groom Lake: Into the 21st Century", Peter W. Merlin
  5. ^ Rich, ibid, p56 Rich writes "Kelly [Johnson, the U2's designer] had jokingly nicknamed this Godforsaken place Paradise Ranch, hoping to lure young and innocent flight crews"
  6. ^ Patton, ibid, p3, lists Paradise Ranch, Watertown, Groom Lake, and Home Base as nicknames
  7. ^ Daily Aviator - Homey Airport, article retrieved January 14, 2008.
  8. ^ FAA aviation chart for the Groom area
  9. ^ US Department of Energy. Nevada Operations Office. United States Nuclear Tests: July 1945 through September 1992 (December 2000)
  10. ^ NTS map showing the different areas overlaid on topographic map, State of Nevada - Division of environmental protection
  11. ^ Annotated NTS map at the Federation of American Scientists website
  12. ^ Moldovan Minister of defense jailed for sale of MiG-29 to USA
  13. ^ Don’t ask, don’t tell: Area 51 gets airport identifier
  14. ^ Rich, ibid, pp141..144, details U2 test pilot Tony LeVier scouting the remote area near Death Valley for locations, saying of Groom "I gave it a ten plus [score]... a dry lake bed around three and a half miles around", and describes LeVier showing the lake to U-2 designer Kelly Johnson and CIA official Richard Bissell, and Johnson deciding to locate the runway "at south end of lake"
  15. ^ Rich, ibid, pp56-60
  16. ^ Two-Stage-to-Orbit 'Blackstar' System Shelved at Groom Lake? William B. Scott, Aviation Week March 5 2006
  17. ^ Don’t ask, don’t tell: Area 51 gets airport identifier
  18. ^ Measurements, runway state and alignment information based upon Google Earth / Digital Globe images as retrieved on 21 December, 2007.
  19. ^ Jeppesen-Sanderson, Inc. (August 2007). "Jeppesen Flightstar Airport Database" (in English). Retrieved on 2007-10-01.
  20. ^ Hall, George. Skinner, Michael. Red Flag, Motorbooks International, 1993, ISBN 0879387599, p.49: "It is an understatement to say that overflying Dreamland is forbidden..."
  21. ^ Patton, p10
  22. ^ "Area 51 hackers dig up trouble" Kevin Poulsen, Security Focus 25 May 2004
  23. ^ "Road sensors", Dreamland Resort
  24. ^ "New Area 51 road sensors", Dreamland Resort
  25. ^ USGS 1:24K/25K Topo map for location UTM 11 605181E 4124095N (NAD27) (map via TopoQuest.com)
  26. ^ USGS 1:24K/25K Topo map for geopoint GROOM MINE,NV (map via TopoQuest.com)
  27. ^ "Airports and Landing strips, 2002", Nevada Department of Transportation, cf section R-4808N
  28. ^ "Federal lands and Indian reservations", The National atlas of the United States of America, United States Department of the Interior, document ID: pagefed_nv7.pdf INTERIOR-GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, RESTON, VIRGINIA-2003
  29. ^ Corona image
  30. ^ Terraserver image
  31. ^ Stephen Regenold (2007-04-13). ""Lonesome Highway to Another World?"" (in English). New York Times. Retrieved on 2007-07-08.
  32. ^ Glenn Campbell (March 1994). "Secret Base Cheats Local Tax Rolls" (in English). The Groom Lake Desert Rat. Retrieved on 8, 2007. Retrieved on July 2007. “In the 93-94 tax year, the Air Force paid taxes of $65,517 on a property assessment (for "Buildings and Improvements" plus "Other Personal Property") of $2,517,781.”
  33. ^ "Area 51 / Catch 22" segment, 60 Minutes broadcast March 17 1996.
  34. ^ Federal judges to hear case involving Area 51 Keith Rogers, Las Vegas Review-Journal, 4 June 2002
  35. ^ US 9th Circuit ruling on Kasza V Browner and related case Frost V Perry, Lake, Widnall
  36. ^ 2000 Presidential Determination
  37. ^ 2002 Presidential Determination
  38. ^ 2003 Presidential Determination
  39. ^ "Warnings for emergency responders kept from Area 51 workers", Keith Rogers, Las Vegas Review-Journal, 21 May 2006
  40. ^ Dwayne A. Day (January 9, 2006). "Astronauts and Area 51: the Skylab Incident". The Space Review.
  41. ^ Presidential Determination No. 2003-39
  42. ^ "CIA memo to DCI Colby". hosted by The Space Review.
  43. ^ "The Cheshire Airstrip", Tom Mahood, October 1996, retrieved April 2 2006
  44. ^ "Dugway Proving Ground - the new Groom Lake?" Above Top Secret June 23 2004, retrieved April 2 2006
  45. ^ Dreamland, Transmedia and Dandelion Production for Sky Television (1996).
  46. ^ Psychic Vibrations (July/August 2004).
  47. ^ http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-124136336.html Skeptical Inquirer, 11 January 2004.
  48. ^ Transcript of Art Bell's Coast to Coast AM interview with Victor
  49. ^ Victor's Alien Interrogation Video
  50. ^ Popular Mechanics. Outdoors. Adventures. 4 Ways Sci-Fi Indy 4 Fails Dr. Jones—and the Trilogy's Legacy. May 23, 2008. Jack Donaldson.

External links

General
Maps and photographs

37°14′25″N 115°49′07″W / 37.240203, -115.818558Coordinates: 37°14′25″N 115°49′07″W / 37.240203, -115.818558[citation needed for geo-data.]

Key dates of the conflict in Georgia

Troubled Neighbors


http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121848383259030705.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Key dates of the conflict in Georgia
August 11, 2008 9:48 p.m.

1991: The Soviet Union dissolves, and Georgia wins independence. Violence breaks out as South Ossetia attempts to secede from Georgia.

July 1992: Russian President Boris Yetslin mediates a cease-fire. He deploys a Russian peacekeepers force to South Ossetia.

1994: A Russian-enforced cease-fire brings an end to conflict. Russian troops are permanently stationed.

August 1995: Then-Georgian President Shevardnadze narrowly escapes two assassination attempts allegedly planned by the Russians.


Getty Images
Georgian soldiers escape their burning vehicle.

September 2006: Georgian-Russian relations deteriorate [See photos]further. Both nations engage in shows of military and diplomatic force.

March 2008: South Ossetia asks the world to recognize its independence from Georgia. Russia's parliament urges Kremlin to recognize independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Thursday: Georgian troops enter South Ossetia overnight as tensions rise sharply.

Friday: Russia sends troops and tanks into Georgia's breakaway province of South Ossetia. Fierce fighting ensues in Tskhinvali. A three-hour ceasefire is agreed to allow civilians to flee South Ossetia's shell-ravaged capital.

Saturday: Russian jets bomb targets around Gori. U.N. Security Council meets. President Bush calls the strikes, "a dangerous escalation." Several nations call for a ceasefire. Russia holds veto power over any resolution.

[photo]
Reuters
Georgian soldiers run near a blazing building after a Russian bombardment in Gori Saturday.


Sunday: Georgia says its troops are withdrawing. Georgia's President drives across the country a town just south of Abkhazia to reassure the population. Russia's aerial bombing campaign continues in Georgia. Violence erupts in Abkhazia.

Monday: Georgia's President signs a cease-fire agreement. Russian troops occupy towns outside Georgia's disputed territories. Georgian officials say Russian infantry has taken Gori. Russian troops move out of Abkhazia, seize Georgia's military base, Senaki.

Georgia wants U.N. peacekeepers to halt conflict

LONDON, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Georgia is calling for a United Nations' peacekeeping force to intervene to halt its conflict with Russia, a Georgian diplomat said.

"The statements and expressions of good intentions didn't work. We need a very, very forceful action," Giorgi Badridze, acting head of the Georgian Embassy in London, said when asked what Georgia wanted the European Union to do to try to stop the crisis over the breakaway region of South Ossetia.

"We need troops (on the) ground," he told Reuters in an interview late on Monday.

"Let it be a U.N.-mandated international force, ideally EU," he said.

Russia, as a permanent member of the Security Council, would have the ability to veto any such move.

Badridze said that, ideally, the peacekeeping force should be on the border between Russia and Georgia. "Russian troops have to be thrown out of Georgia, from its entire territory," he said.

The fighting erupted on Thursday when Georgia sent forces to retake South Ossetia, a pro-Russian region that threw off Georgian rule in the 1990s and declared itself independent, albeit without international recognition.

Moscow, which supports South Ossetia's independence, responded by sending its troops into Georgia.

The conflict escalated quickly and, by Monday, Georgia appealed for international help and said its battered forces had retreated to defend its capital city, Tbilisi.

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said earlier he had agreed to a plan proposed by French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner under which hostilities would end, a mixed peacekeeping force would be deployed -- replacing the purely Russian one -- and troops would return to pre-conflict positions. (Reporting by Adrian Croft; Editing by Matthew Jones)

© Thomson Reuters 2008 All rights reserved

Russia Advances Into Georgia as Sarkozy Seeks Peace (Update3)

By Henry Meyer and Paul Abelsky

Aug. 12 (Bloomberg) -- With Russia's superior army overwhelming parts of Georgia, French President Nicolas Sarkozy will fly to Moscow today to try to persuade the government to end its first foreign offensive since the Cold War.

Sarkozy's trip, on behalf of the European Union as its president, comes a day after President George W. Bush said Russia may be trying to overthrow Georgia's Western-backed government and called on Russia to withdraw its troops.

The French president is scheduled to meet with his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, in the Kremlin today. The two will discuss a French peace plan that Georgian leader Mikheil Saakashvili signed yesterday as Russian troops moved further into Georgia and casualties mounted outside the breakaway regions that sparked the war.

France will circulate a draft United Nations Security Council resolution shortly, calling for an ``immediate and unconditional cessation of all hostilities.''

Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said his government won't support the draft, calling it ``premature'' in light of continuing diplomatic efforts and Russia's own military goals in South Ossetia and the other separatist region, Abkhazia.

Civilians Killed

At least 1,600 civilians in South Ossetia have died since fighting erupted Aug. 8, Russian officials said. Georgia said Russian troops yesterday began a ground offensive, prompting the former Soviet republic's army to retreat toward Tbilisi.

Fighting spread over the weekend to Abkhazia. Russia has sent 9,000 soldiers there in addition to a 3,000-strong peacekeeping force on the ground.

Russian artillery rolled deep into western Georgia yesterday and took several towns and a military base, as other forces captured Gori, the Associated Press reported from the central city.

The military thrust threatens to draw the U.S. into confrontation with Russia, its Cold War foe. Bush backs Georgia's bid to join NATO, which Russia views as a security threat. The West views Georgia as a key ally in the region, in part because it has an oil pipeline bypassing Russia.

``It now appears that an effort may be under way to depose Georgia's duly elected government,'' Bush said in a statement at the White House yesterday.

Peacekeeping Force

The French plan seeks to restore a mixed Russian-Georgian peacekeeping force in South Ossetia with a ``strong'' presence by the 56-member Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Saakashvili told reporters in Tbilisi yesterday.

``It's everything we always agreed to,'' he said.

Saakashvili said Russia is seeking to overthrow his government, while Russia said it was protecting South Ossetia as well as Abkhazia.

Georgians feel ``let down'' by lack of support from the U.S. and Europe, Saakashvili said in comments on CNN today.

The combatants gave contradictory accounts of fighting. Georgia says Russia is invading cities, while the Russians insist they are hitting only military targets.

Russian troops abandoned a military base in the town of Senaki, 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Abkhazia, late yesterday after ``eliminating the danger of shelling of Abkhazian territory and peacekeepers' positions,'' RIA Novosti news agency reported, citing an unidentified Russian Defense Ministry official.

The official also denied that Russian forces entered the Black Sea port of Poti, according to RIA. Reconnaissance units approached a bridge near Poti yesterday, he said.

Georgian Helicopters

Russian aircraft destroyed two Georgian helicopters, an Mi- 8 and an Mi-24, on a runway at the Senaki base, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement published on its Web site late yesterday.

Russia seized the Senaki base and invaded Gori near South Ossetia, Georgian Interior Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili said by phone. Russian troops also took control of the main highway linking the east and the west of the country, Saakashvili was cited as saying by RIA.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said in comments on CNN that Russia has ``to attack Georgian military targets'' to ``protect the lives of Russian citizens.''

Most residents of Abkhazia and South Ossetia hold Russian passports.

Military Offensive

Russia has no plans to move on the Georgian capital, the Interfax news service cited a Defense Ministry official as saying. The conflict is Russia's first major military offensive outside its borders since the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union.

Georgia has 26,900 armed forces personnel, compared with 641,000 for Russia, according to Jane's Sentinel Country Risk Assessments. Russia also has more than 13,000 tanks and armored personnel carriers, compared with about 120 in Georgia.

Ivanov said the South Ossetian capital, Tskhinvali, was still being shelled by Georgian artillery near Gori. A Russian Defense Ministry official said ``not a single Russian soldier'' is in the city.

Russia may be seeking to incapacitate the U.S.-armed Georgian military and topple Saakashvili, a U.S.-educated lawyer who came to power in 2003, said Masha Lipman, an analyst with the Moscow Carnegie Center.

``Russia has not brought in its troops, for the first time projecting military force outside its borders since the collapse of the Soviet Union, in order to pull out quickly and return to the status quo,'' Lipman said in an interview on Bloomberg Television. ``I think that Russia has serious goals and Russia will not withdraw until its goals are fulfilled.''

Troops Sent In

Georgia and Russia began fighting when Russia moved in troops and bombed targets after Georgian forces began an offensive into South Ossetia, which split away from Georgia in an early 1990s war.

Russia has said its actions are justified by what it calls a Georgian-waged ``genocide'' in South Ossetia. Russia says most of those killed in the conflict are civilians who died through Georgian military action.

Georgia is a key link in the U.S.-backed ``southern energy corridor'' that connects the Caspian Sea region with world markets, bypassing Russia. The BP Plc-led Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline to Turkey runs about 100 kilometers (60 miles) south of Tskhinvali.

To contact the reporters on this story: Henry Meyer in Moscow at Hmeyer4@bloomberg.net; Paul Abelsky in St. Petersburg at pabelsky@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: August 11, 2008 22:06 EDT

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Soul Calibur 4

The following information is from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul_Calibur_4


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Soulcalibur IV

Developer(s) Project Soul
Publisher(s) Namco Bandai
Ubisoft (Europe)
Composer(s) Masaharu Iwata, Junichi Nakatsuru and Keiki Kobayashi
Series Soul series
Engine Havok (game physics)
Platform(s) PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Release date NA July 29, 2008

JP July 31, 2008
AUS July 31, 2008
EUR July 31, 2008
UK August 1, 2008
NZ August 1, 2008

Genre(s) Fighting
Mode(s) Single player, Multiplayer
Rating(s) ESRB: Teen (T)
PEGI: 16+
CERO: C (15+)
BBFC: 12
Media Blu-ray Disc, DVD-DL[1]
Input methods Gamepad

Soulcalibur IV (ソウルキャリバーIV Sōru Kyaribā Fō?) is the latest installment in Namco's Soul series of fighting games, and was released on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on July 29, 2008, in North America, on July 31, 2008, in Japan, Europe, and Australia, and on August 1, 2008, in the United Kingdom.

Contents

[hide]

[edit] Gameplay

[edit] Modes

The fourth Soulcalibur game features the familiar Story, Arcade, Training and Museum modes. A new mode called Tower of Lost Souls has the player fighting special battles in order to gain rewards.[2]

[edit] Character Creation

Character Creation from Soulcalibur III returned in Soulcalibur IV. Instead of including original weapon styles for use with certain classes of fighters, SCIV now only allows players to simply choose which character from the series they would like to have their created character mimic (excluding Algol, bonus characters, and the Star Wars guest characters). This differs from Soul Calibur III in that many unique styles were also included, such as Grieve Edge, Kunai/Shuriken, Wave Sword, or Tambourine. All in all many styles were removed in the transition, and the character creation has been simplified.

A wide array of new pieces of equipment are available for use in SCIV's Character Creation mode, and new options include a wider range of character voices (now with pitch adjustment) and the ability to change a character's general physique and muscularity.

In addition, equipped items now also affect a character's statistics. Armor, weapons, and accessories may increase health, attack or defense; they may also grant skill points that allow the character to equip special traits that affect the character's playstyle.[3] These traits range from automatically triggered guard impacts, the ability to cause damage against a blocking opponent, or even a stat increase based on parameters such as an opponent's alignment or gender. Standard characters will also be able to be modified in this way to a modest degree, allowing custom costumes and skill sets to be used in Special VS. mode. Custom characters can still be used in Standard VS. mode, but without any of the special abilities gained through equipment or weapon choice.

At the moment only one profile is allowed for offline versus mode, meaning that only one profile's created characters can be loaded at a time. If a friend comes over with their profile and saved characters, the only way to play with their custom characters is to either log off the other profile, or go through the process of recreating all the characters on the other profile. The game does not recognize two profiles and two save files, only one.

[edit] Active Matching Battle

Multi-fighter battles in Soulcalibur IV use a different structure from its predecessors, nicknamed Active Matching Battle (AMB). Similar to the tag system of games such as King of Fighters 2003, the AMB system allows players to switch to other members of a 'party' of fighters with the push of a button. Also, instead of starting a new round for each opponent defeated, new opponents will simply run into the battle immediately after a K.O. - with the exception of certain combatants. Matches utilizing the AMB system only appear in the Story and Tower of Lost Souls modes.


Soul Gauge & Critical Finish

Soulcalibur IV features an all-new Critical Finish system. Next to a player's Health Meter is a colored gem that represents the "Soul Gauge." The gem changes color when the player guards and is attacked. The color gradually changes from blue to green and eventually to red and then flashing red. The player's own Soul Gauge will regenerate if the he or she makes an attack and hits the opponent (guarding or otherwise). If the character manages to empty out the opponent's Soul Gauge, he or she will get a short chance to perform a powerful Critical Finish move, which will defeat the opponent instantly, by pressing all four face buttons at the same time. Each character has his or her own personal Critical Finish move. Namco says that it developed the Soul Gauge to decrease the benefits from constant guarding, thus giving the game a faster tempo and making the matches more offensive.[4]

[edit] Force abilities

The Star Wars guest characters, Darth Vader, Yoda and The Apprentice utilize unique attacks using the Force. Darth Vader is able to utilize Force-based pushes and chokes, Yoda can use the Force to launch himself into the air for complex aerial attacks, and The Apprentice is able to use Force lightning and other dark-side moves. These moves drain a special Force Meter, which recharges gradually when not in use.[5]

[edit] Online Battles

For the first time in the series, Soulcalibur IV has the option to fight against other players online. Confirmed versus-modes available in online battles are "Standard VS" (for classic matches) and "Special VS" (for customized characters).[6] Created characters are playable in the online multiplayer mode.[7]

[edit] Characters

Darth Vader, the Apprentice and Yoda, characters from the Star Wars universe, are the playable guest characters. Darth Vader appears on the PlayStation 3, and Yoda on the Xbox 360. The Apprentice, the main protagonist of LucasArts' upcoming video game Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, also makes an appearance as a playable guest character on both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions.

Recent videos that have appeared online however, suggest that both characters (Darth Vader and Yoda) will eventually become available for both the Xbox 360 and PS3 as downloadable content.[8][9][10][11][12] Furthermore, as of July 29th, 2008, Dale Nardozzi, Senior Editor of TeamXbox.com, confirmed through "somebody in the industry that [had] played with Vader on the 360 version" that both Darth Vader and Master Yoda will eventually be made available as downloadable content for both the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3 consoles.[13][14][15]

Revenant,[16] Frederick Schtauffen[17][18] and several other minor Soul series characters make an appearance in battle.

[edit] Returning characters

Characters are listed in alphabetical order.

[edit] New characters

[edit] Guest characters

The Apprentice battling Yoda in Soulcalibur IV in the Xbox 360 version.
The Apprentice battling Yoda in Soulcalibur IV in the Xbox 360 version.

[edit] Bonus characters

[edit] Premium Edition

The Premium Edition of Soul Calibur IV includes a 48-page softcover art/comic book illustrated in full color, an XL 100% cotton t-shirt, and a tournament chart that allows "fans the opportunity to document the battle amongst friends". This chart is also a poster on the reverse side. It sells in a metal packaging and was released on the same date as the Regular Edition. Gamespot also mentions that there will be exclusive access to extra customization content in this version.[24] The "extra customization content" refers to the unlocking of the "Soul Calibur", "Soul Edge", and joke weapons for each character, as well as clothing items to create a schoolboy or schoolgirl character. In New Zealand, United Kingdom and Australia there will be a Steelbook case edition with bonus DVD containing 4 trailers in HD, 4 wallpapers, exclusive concept art and an exclusive booklet with character biographies.

[edit] Downloadable Content

Shortly after the initial release, various downloadable content was made available.

Soul Calibur 1 Soundtrack - The original 17 music tracks for Soul Calibur were released for 80 MS Points each, or 1,200 for the entire soundtrack. These can be implemented into SCIV via options and integrated into the existing track list.

Customization Equipment 1 - (100 MS Points) Contains nine pieces of equipment that can be equipped to custom fighters or as alternate outfits for existing characters. The items included consist of classic pieces of costumes from SCI and II for Voldo (helms), Yoshimitsu (mask), Nightmare (helms), and a chest piece for Sophitia. [25]

[edit] Reception

[hide]Review scores
Publication Score
1UP.com A[26]
Electronic Gaming Monthly 89%[citation needed]
GameSpot 8.5 of 10[27]
GameSpy 4.5 of 5[28]
IGN 8.7 of 10[29]
X-Play 4 of 5[30]

SoulCalibur IV so far has received mainly positive reviews from most media outlets.

There were certain criticisms directed towards the guest characters from the Star Wars franchise, with several critics maintaining that their presence was unnatural and that Yoda and the Apprentice in particular were "broken" and "absurd", respectively.[31]

There has also been some criticism towards the online multiplayer mode on both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game. It has being known to take upwards of 10 minutes to find a match that typically lasts less than 2 minutes.[citation needed] Also, due to poor network programming, the "auto-matching" feature will attempt to often connect players to an already full or in progress match thus giving the player the error "Match is Full". This is the exact same problem that PlayStation 3 owners were facing with Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection before a patch was released. The best fix for most is to host a match of their own, in which an opponent will typically join within a minute. Namco Bandai has yet to fix this problem, though many suspect it will be fixed with downloadable content.[citation needed]

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Soul Calibur Page". GamePro. Retrieved on 2008-03-21.
  2. ^ Namco Bandai Games America
  3. ^ Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Preview
  4. ^ GameSpot: Soulcalibur IV Updated Hands-On
  5. ^ Electronic Gaming Monthly 229 (June 2008)
  6. ^ Namco Bandai Games America
  7. ^ Soulcalibur IV Goes Online at 1UP.com
  8. ^ The Apprentice
  9. ^ Keighley, Geoff. "Star Wars: The Force Unleashed". GameTrailers.com & Spike TV.
  10. ^ McWhertor, Michael. "Darth Vader's Apprentice Joins Soulcalibur IV Cast". Kotaku.
  11. ^ Gandhi, Mayur. "Exclusive The Force Unleashed Information!". NZGamer.com.
  12. ^ Gandhi, Mayur. "The Force Unleashed: Interview with Dan Wasson". NZGamer.com.
  13. ^ http://reviews.teamxbox.com/xbox-360/1545/Soulcalibur-IV/p1/
  14. ^ http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dhrpgzvp_18fhztnd3d
  15. ^ http://news.filefront.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/vaderyoda1-1.jpg
  16. ^ Revenant
  17. ^ Frederick Schtauffen
  18. ^ "Soul Calibur IV Character Spotlight: Siegfried" via 1UP.com
  19. ^ Ashcraft, Brian. "New Soul Calibur IV Character, Has Sharp Nipples". Kotaku.
  20. ^ Good, Owen. "New Character for Soul Calibur IV: Ashlotte". Kotaku.
  21. ^ McWhertor, Michael. "Soulcalibur IV Adds One More Female Fighter". Kotaku.
  22. ^ Ashcraft, Brian. "New Soul Calibur IV Character". Kotaku.
  23. ^ McWhertor, Michael. "Soulcalibur IV Ups Its T&A Quotient Again". Kotaku.
  24. ^ IV Premium Edition Details at Gamespot.com
  25. ^ Soulcalibur IV Gets DLC at 1UP.com
  26. ^ "Soul Calibur 4 (Xbox 360)". 1UP.com. Retrieved on 2008-07-29.
  27. ^ "Soulcalibur IV Review". GameSpot. Retrieved on 2008-08-03.
  28. ^ "Gamespy: Soulcalibur IV Review".
  29. ^ "IGN: Soulcalibur IV Review".
  30. ^ "X-Play Soul Calibur 4 review". Retrieved on 2008-08-05.
  31. ^ Clements, Ryan. "IGN Review, p.2", IGN. Retrieved on 8 August.

[edit] External links

Fresh questions for John Edwards over affair with Rielle Hunter

From
August 11, 2008

Fresh questions for John Edwards over affair with Rielle Hunter

John Edwards faced fresh questions last night about his adulterous affair with a blonde film-maker, including how much he knew about thousands of dollars paid to her after she became pregnant last year.

Mr Edwards, the Democrats’ vice-presidential candidate in 2004, was forced to admit on Friday, after months of lies and denials, that he cheated on his wife during his White House bid by conducting an affair with Rielle Hunter, a videographer. As he denied allegations that he was the father of Ms Hunter’s baby girl, his former campaign finance director admitted that he made payments to her last year to set her up in a house in California.

Mr Edwards said on Friday that he had not “requested, agreed to or supported” payments of any kind to Ms Hunter, who gave birth in February, but conceded later that friends or supporters might have sent her money without telling him. He was forced to admit the affair after allegations for ten months by The National Enquirer, the supermarket tabloid, that he had an affair with Ms Hunter and was the father of her child. Only after reporters from the publication confronted him in a Beverly Hills hotel on July 21, after he had spent five hours in a room with Ms Hunter, did he confess.

He initially denied the hotel encounter report, but admitted on Friday that it was accurate, and that he had not told his wife, who has incurable cancer, about the meeting before it occurred. He said that the affair began and ended in 2006, and that he could not be the baby’s father because Ms Hunter did not become pregnant until mid2007. A former campaign aide to Mr Edwards, Andrew Young, a married father of three, said at the end of 2007 that he was the father.

When the Enquirer first reported that Ms Hunter was pregnant late last year, she issued a statement saying: “This has no relationship to, nor does it involve, John Edwards in any way.

Andrew Young is the father of my child.” No father was listed on the child’s birth certificate. Mr Edwards said he would be “happy” to take a paternity test. However, the Enquirer will go to press tonight alleging that Mr Edwards orchestrated the payments to Ms Hunter; that he carried on their affair throughout 2007; and that he is the father of the child.

Barry Levine, the Enquirer’s executive editor, told The Times that the magazine would allege details of “regular” visits that Mr Edwards made to Ms Hunter during 2007 and into 2008.When theEnquirerreported that she was pregnant, and claimed that Mr Edwards was the father, she, Mr Young, his wife and his children moved to live under the same roof in a gated community in Santa Barbara, California.

Fred Baron, a wealthy retired Texas lawyer and Mr Edwards’s former finance chairman, said on Friday that he made payments to get Ms Hunter and Mr Young to California and out of the spotlight. He confirmed to The Times that Mr Young’s family were also moved to Santa Barbara. Mr Baron said that he acted without Mr Edwards’s knowledge.

Affairs of state

— Democratic front-runner Gary Hart withdrew from the presidential race in 1987 after a cruise with Donna Rice, 29, on a yacht called Monkey Business

— John F. Kennedy's conquests included actresses, air hostesses, a Mafia moll and Marilyn Monroe

— Bill Clinton was impeached for lying under oath about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky

Source: Times database

I'll save my prayers for Elizabeth Edwards.

Barbara, TN, USA

i demand a full explanation. i have a right to know.

frenz, manchester,

probably the payments were actually to induce her into making the implausible claim that she found him attractive.

frenz, manchester,

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