Canadian Special Forces on Ground in Mali
January 29th, 2013This is from CBC News, What Canada Is Doing in Mali:
Canadian bilateral trade with Mali doesn’t amount to much. In 2011, we exported about $26 million worth of goods to Mali, most of that machinery and equipment. Imports from Mali came to less than $1 million.
But Canadian investment in Mali amounts to considerably more — in the hundreds of millions. And the bulk of that investment can be summed up in one word: gold.
About a dozen Canadian gold miners are actively producing and exploring in Mali. Rich veins of gold were discovered in the country’s southwest region in the late 1980s.
The biggest Canadian company there, Toronto-based Iamgold Corp., operates two joint ventures with South Africa-based AngloGold Ashanti and the Malian government.
Via: CBC News:
Canadian special forces are on the ground inside the troubled West African country of Mali to protect Canadian assets there, CBC News has learned.
The special forces are not there to train Malian troops — and they are not involved in any combat role, as the government has repeatedly stressed and Prime Minister Stephen Harper repeated again Monday in the House of Commons.
The Department of National Defence would not confirm or deny the special forces are in Mali due to issues of security of personnel.
But a spokesperson for Foreign Affairs told CBC News, “Steps have been taken to ensure our mission and Canadian personnel are protected.”
Evan Solomon, host of CBC News Network’s Power & Politics, reports the special forces on the ground are protecting Canadian assets such as the Canadian Embassy in the capital Bamako, according to sources.
Related: UK Troops to Train Mali Forces
Frontline: The Untouchables
January 29th, 2013I haven’t watched this yet, so I don’t know if it’s any good.
Via: PBS:
FRONTLINE investigates why Wall Street’s leaders have escaped prosecution for any fraud related to the sale of bad mortgages.
Watch The Untouchables on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE.
Date on Social Security Death Record for Adam Lanza Is December 13, 2012, One Day Before the Sandy Hook Massacre
January 29th, 2013The main Sandy Hook thread is here.
Geneologybank.com pulls the data directly from the Social Security Administration:
Adam P. Lanza: Social Security Death Index (SSDI) Death Record
Name: Adam P. Lanza
State of Issue: New Hampshire
Date of Birth: Wednesday April 22, 1992
Date of Death: Thursday December 13, 2012
Est. Age at Death: 20 years, 7 months, 21 days
Confirmation: Proven
Screenshot:
Adam Lanza Death Record
Seattle Gun BuyBack Turns Into Gun Show
January 29th, 2013Via: KPLU:
Seattle’s first effort in 20 years to give people money for turning in guns was so popular on Saturday it ran out of gift cards and had to end early. But even if you were one of the people who didn’t get there early enough, there were lots of opportunities outside the event to get money for your weapons.
Dozens of private buyers stood on the sidewalk under I-5 between First Hill and downtown offering stacks of cash for guns before the weapons are handed over to the police and melted down.
Support Received from Cryptogon Readers in December and January
January 29th, 2013Three readers sent contributions near the end of December that I haven’t yet acknowledged. Eileen sent $50, CB sent $10 and Labyrinth sent $100. Thank you.
Total earnings in December came to $1371.74, which is a fantastic result. Thanks to all of you who sent contributions and conducted business via Cryptogon’s affiliate links.
In January, Pookie sent $75, MW1 sent $20 and MW2 also sent $20. Thank you.
There have been several BlueHost signups in January:
rawmanifest.com
mammasmock.com
jamescraigmay.com
sterlingresidentialllc.com
bastrophandyman.com
livinggreenfarm.org
Wow, man, the owners of these sites helped daddy bring home the bacon. That’s $540 in BlueHost commissions. Thank you.
The Victorville Desk
January 29th, 2013Here’s a series of articles about Victorville, CA. Settle in and see what the popped bubbleclave desert ghetto has to offer.
NSFWCorp: The Victorville Desk
Research Credit: ottilie
Military Urban Warfare Training in Florida and Texas
January 29th, 2013Some members of the U.S. military were busy in Miami Thursday night as they conducted exercises in Downtown Miami.
CBS4 captured video of Black Hawk helicopters flying over the city as part of a joint military training exercise.
Thursday night’s training took place near the Stephen P. Clark Center in Miami and a nearby Metrorail station where troops could be seen rappelling from the military choppers onto the Metrorail station platform.
So if you see the helicopters or hear gunfire, it’s only a drill.
V3Solar Spin Cell = 8 Cents/kWh?
January 28th, 2013At a minimum, it’s a neat looking design. Whether or not it will amount to anything more, who knows…
Via: Clean Technica:
“V3Solar has invented, and is now in the process of commercializing, the first major change to flat panel PV technology in over 50 years – the V3 Spin Cell. For too long, the world believed solar was flat,” V3Solar writes.
“Using specialized lensing and a rotating, conical shape, the Spin Cell can concentrate the sunlight 30X onto one sun mono PV with no heat degradation. This increases the Power Density while lowering the Total Cost of Ownership and Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE), which is estimated to be $.08/kWh for the Spin Cell (see spreadsheet).”
Another General Removed
January 27th, 2013Via: Foreign Policy:
Word on the national security street is that General James Mattis is being given the bum’s rush out of his job as commander of Central Command, and is being told to vacate his office several months earlier than planned.
Why the hurry? Pentagon insiders say that he rubbed civilian officials the wrong way — not because he went all “mad dog,” which is his public image, and the view at the White House, but rather because he pushed the civilians so hard on considering the second- and third-order consequences of military action against Iran. Some of those questions apparently were uncomfortable. Like, what do you do with Iran once the nuclear issue is resolved and it remains a foe? What do you do if Iran then develops conventional capabilities that could make it hazardous for U.S. Navy ships to operate in the Persian Gulf? He kept saying, “And then what?”
Inquiry along these lines apparently was not welcomed — at least in the CENTCOM view. The White House view, apparently, is that Mattis was too hawkish, which is not something I believe, having seen him in the field over the years. I’d call him a tough-minded realist, someone who’d rather have tea with you than shoot you, but is happy to end the conversation either way.
Homeland Security Researching New Public Surveillance System
January 27th, 2013Via: Business Insider:
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Secret Service have requested information to support the installation of a gunshot detection system in Washington D.C.
Such a system is already in place in various cities, as outlined last May by The New York Times, and it records a whole lot more than gunshots. A sergeant for the Richmond Police Department told the Times he could hear, “doors slamming, birds chirping, cars on the highway, horns honking.”
These systems can also record conversations, which raises questions about the limits of police surveillance.
