A New, Permanent Presence of U.S. Troops on Australian Soil
November 12th, 2011Via: ABC News:
Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd has refused to give details of the extra military ties expected to be announced when US president Barack Obama visits Darwin next week.
Media reports suggest Mr Obama will announce the US will begin rotating Marines through a base in Darwin, with a new permanent presence on Australian soil.
Mr Rudd was asked today if he would confirm the report and he was very diplomatic in his response, but less so in comments directed at the Greens who have suggested any decision to boost US troop numbers should be put before Parliament.
Australia and the US have been working together for a year on ways to boost military cooperation.
They want to bring in more US troops to strategic areas including Darwin, as well as increase the number of joint exercises and the amount of training.
Mr Obama will announce the details during his visit. Defence Minister Stephen Smith has called it the biggest operational addition to the alliance since the 1980s.
Mystery Radiation Detected ‘Across Europe’
November 12th, 2011Via: ABC News:
The hunt is on for the source of low level radiation detected in the atmosphere “across Europe” over the past weeks, nuclear officials said today.
Trace amounts of iodine-131, a type of radiation created during the operation of nuclear reactors or in the detonation of a nuclear weapon, were detected as early as three weeks ago by Austrian authorities and then two weeks ago by the Czech Republic’s State Office for Nuclear Safety. Today the International Atomic Energy Agency released a statement revealing similar detections had been made “in other locations across Europe.”
The IAEA said the current levels of iodine-131 are far too low to warrant a public health risk, but the agency still does not know the origin of the apparent leak and an official with the agency would not say where else it has been detected. Considering iodine-131 has a radioactive decay half-life of about eight days, continued detection means the leak occurred over a period of several days at least and is possibly ongoing.
The IAEA said it does not believe the radiation was left over from the nuclear disaster at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi plant in March and the Czech Republic’s State Office for Nuclear Safety said it was unlikely to have been caused by an incident at any nuclear plant’s core. A meltdown there, the Czech agency said, would have released several other radioactive isotopes in addition to iodine-131.
Gitmo Costs $800K/Year Per Detainee
November 11th, 2011Via: Mother Jones:
The Miami Herald’s Carol Rosenberg, returning to Gitmo for the arraignment of alleged USS Cole bomber Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, reports how much the island prison is costing American taxpayers these days.
The Pentagon detention center that started out in January 2002 as a collection of crude open-air cells guarded by Marines in a muddy tent city is today arguably the most expensive prison on earth, costing taxpayers $800,000 annually for each of the 171 captives by Obama administration reckoning.
That’s more than 30 times the cost of keeping a captive on U.S. soil.
U.S. Soldier Gets Life Sentence for ‘Thrill-Killings’ of Afghan Civilians
November 11th, 2011Via: AP:
A military jury sentenced an Afghan war veteran to life in prison after the Army staff sergeant was convicted of murder, conspiracy and other charges in the deaths of civilians, in one of the most gruesome cases to emerge from the conflict.
Staff Sgt. Calvin Gibbs, of Billings, Mont., was accused of exhorting his bored underlings to slaughter three Afghan civilians for sport.
The jury for the court martial at Joint Base Lewis-McChord south of Seattle sentenced Gibbs Thursday to life in prison, but he will be eligible for parole in less than nine years.
Rumor Claims Sandusky “Pimped Out” Boys to Rich Donors
November 10th, 2011See:
The Franklin Cover-up: Child Abuse, Satanism, and Murder in Nebraska by John W. DeCamp
—
Update: Joe Paterno Dies
Via: Reuters:
Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, the winningest coach in major college football history who was fired in November over a child sexual abuse scandal involving an assistant that rocked America, died on Sunday of lung cancer. He was 85.
—End Update—
Update: Sandusky’s Second Mile Charity One of Bush Senior’s Thousand Points of Light
Via: ESPN:
Sandusky, 67, was recognized by Congress. His charity was named one of President George H.W. Bush’s Points of Light.
Research Credit: KB
—End Update—
Update: Many Missed Chances to Investigate Jerry Sandusky as Early as 1995
Via: PennLive:
What did they know and when did they know it?
—End Update—
Update: District Attorney Who Chose not to Prosecute Sandusky in 1998 Went Missing in 2005; Computer Found Without Hard Drive
Via: New York Times:
One of the questions surrounding the sex-abuse case against Jerry Sandusky is why a former district attorney chose not to prosecute the then-Penn State assistant coach in 1998 after reports surfaced that he had inappropriate interactions with a boy.
The answer is unknowable because of an unsolved mystery: What happened to Ray Gricar, the Centre County, Pa., district attorney?
Gricar went missing in April 2005. The murky circumstances surrounding his disappearance — an abandoned car, a laptop recovered months later in a river without a hard drive, his body was never found — have spawned Web sites, television programs and conspiracy theories. More than six years later, the police still receive tips and reports of sightings. The police in central Pennsylvania continue to investigate even though Gricar’s daughter, Lara, successfully petitioned in July to have her father declared legally dead so the family could find some closure and begin dividing his estate.
Yet as the Sandusky investigation moves forward, questions will be asked anew about why Gricar did not pursue charges against him 13 years ago. A small but strident minority believes Gricar did not want to tackle a case that involved a hometown icon. Others who knew and worked with Gricar say he was a meticulous, independent and tough-minded prosecutor who was unbowed by Penn State, its football program and political pressure in general.
“No one got a bye with Ray,” said Anthony De Boef, who worked as an assistant district attorney under Gricar for five years. “He didn’t care who you were; he had a job to do.”
—End Update—
Update: Joe Paterno Received Masonic ‘Humanitarian Medal’
Via: The Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Pennsylvania:
Legendary Penn State University head football Coach Joseph V. Paterno was honored by the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Pennsylvania with the presentation of the John Wanamaker Masonic Humanitarian Medal.
R.W. Grand Master Robert L. Dluge, Jr. presented the award to Joe Paterno following a Committee on Masonic Homes meeting at the Carnegie House, State College, during a private luncheon held in the Coach’s honor.
Joe Paterno is recognized by many as one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, having coached for more than 50 years. His volunteer services and philanthropic endeavors make him unique among colleges and universities nationwide. “Mr. Paterno does not only emulate good sportsmanship, he practices it in his daily life,” said Robert L. Dluge, Jr., R.W.G.M., while presenting the award. “He is the most outstanding example, in my opinion, of what a true sportsman should be.”
Paterno said during his address after receiving the Wanamaker medal, “I get a lot of different awards, but this represents a very special group of people and I’m very honored for you to honor me, to reach out and say ‘here is somebody we admireand appreciate what he has done’ — and, I hope is going to do a few more things before it is all said and done. I appreciate it and I’m very humbled.”
The John Wanamaker Masonic Humanitarian Medal was created by resolution of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania in 1993 and is awarded to a non-Mason, male or female, who supports the ideals and philosophy of the Masonic Fraternity.
Famous Philadelphia merchant and Mason, John Wanamaker (1838-1922), for whom the medal is named, was an outstanding public-spirited citizen who devoted his life to doing good for the betterment of humanity. His Masonic character was intimately tied to his business practice and summed up in a memorial tablet surmounting the Wanamaker department store (now Lord and Taylor), Philadelphia, on the celebration of its Completion Day in 1910. It reads: “Let those who follow me continue to build with the Plumb of Honor, the Level of Truth, and the Square of Integrity, Education, Courtesy and Mutuality. John Wanamaker”
The John Wanamaker Masonic Humanitarian Medal has been presented sparingly, to maintain the great prestige associated with an award created by resolution of the Grand Lodge. Since 1993, only five persons have been honored with the Wanamaker medal.
Research Credit: almaverdad2
—End Update—
Update: Joe Paterno Hires Lawyer Who Represented George H.W. Bush in the Iran-Contra Affair
Via: MSNBC:
Joe Paterno has reached out to a prominent Washington criminal defense lawyer to represent him in the Penn State sex abuse case, a source close to the case told NBC News.
J. Sedgwick Sollers, who once represented President George H.W. Bush in the Iran-Contra affair, was contacted by Paterno’s advisers on Thursday. But Sollers has not yet met with Paterno, and a formal retainer agreement has not been signed.
Research Credit: Holey Shite
—End Update—
Via: Yahoo Contributor Network:
Just when you thought the Penn State child sex-abuse scandal couldn’t possibly get any worse, we may have just scratched the surface. Joe Paterno being fired could be just the start of arguably the biggest downfall in the history of college athletics.
Pittsburgh radio personality Mark Madden, who penned a column for the Beaver County Times back in April of this year named “Sandusky a State secret,” a column which foreshadowed the recent scandal which has absolutely gutted those of us in the Penn State family, was a guest on the Dennis & Callahan Morning Show on WEEI sports talk radio out of Boston on Thursday morning. During his appearance, Madden, who has been mostly right regarding this issue from the very start, dropped what can only be called a bombshell, an announcement which could mean far more than the end of Joe Paterno’s career.
Madden stated that two “prominent columnists” are currently investigating a rumor that Jerry Sandusky’s Second Mile Foundation, a non-profit organization aimed to serve underprivileged youths, was “pimping out young boys to rich (Penn State) donors.” Madden went on to say that Jerry Sandusky was told by those running the show at Penn State football that Sandusky had to retire after allegations made in 1998 that the defensive coordinator was guilty of “improper conduct with an underage male.” Sandusky, thought by some to be Joe Paterno’s successor at the time, abruptly and somewhat shockingly retired from coaching in 1999.
It actually gets worse. Madden went on to say “When Sandusky quit, everybody knew; not just at Penn State. It was a very poorly kept secret around college football, in general. That is why he never coached in college football again and retired at the relatively young age of 55, young for a coach.” Madden also called the Second Mile Foundation “the perfect cover” for Sandusky’s scheme.
I want to be absolutely clear about a few things. These reports, as of the writing of this piece, are coming only from Mark Madden, and they are currently only rumors and speculation. With that said, Mark Madden has been mostly correct about a grand jury investigation which was sealed until very recently.
European Crisis Explained
November 10th, 2011Alabama: Jefferson County Filed Largest Ever Municipal Bankruptcy
November 10th, 2011Via: Bloomberg:
Jefferson County, Alabama, filed the biggest U.S. municipal bankruptcy after an agreement among elected officials and investors to refinance $3.1 billion in sewer bonds fell apart.
The county, home to Birmingham, the state’s most-populous city, listed assets and debt of more than $1 billion in Chapter 9 papers filed today in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Birmingham.
The county’s bankruptcy attorney, Kenneth Klee, said the filing was necessary because talks with creditors and the receiver in charge of the sewer system built by the bonds broke down.
“There was an impasse reached,” Klee said in an interview today. “None of the creditors — zero — signed up to the deal that we have been negotiating for six weeks.”
Member of Family Closely Linked to Eugenics Movement Makes Film Promoting, Among Other Things, Free Energy Technology from Aliens
November 10th, 2011Update: Impressions After Seeing the Film
I saw Thrive and, on balance, I definitely recommend it.
With regard to eugenics, my concern about Foster Gamble seems to have been a case of guilt by association. The film actually mentions eugenics. While it would have been nice to see some kind of disclosure about his family’s involvement with those atrocities, Gamble seems genuinely interested in trying to help people move through a very difficult and disturbing learning curve about what has happened to the political and economic systems on this planet.
My concerns about how the alien issue would be dealt with (which I did not describe in the original post) were unfounded. This is a huge area of inquiry. It’s something that I follow very closely, but I don’t deal with it in public. So, let it suffice to say that of everyone interviewed in the film, I have the most problems with Steven Greer. Thankfully, Gamble used much more footage of Disclosure Project witnesses than he did of Greer. My position on the Disclosure Project has always been to consider what the witnesses have to say and ignore Greer. People like to point out the problems with Greer in an attempt to trash the value of what Disclosure Project witnesses have to say. Don’t make that mistake.
Obviously, individuals will choose to accept or reject different aspects of the film as they see fit, but if you like Cryptogon, my guess is that you would like Thrive.
—End Update—
A public relations firm has been trying to get me to promote an upcoming film, THRIVE: What On Earth Will It Take? After receiving a few emails from these people, I finally watched the trailer for the film.
Well, they succeeded in getting me to mention the film, but what follows is probably not what they had in mind…
Let’s take a look at the person behind this project:
Foster Gamble.
The last name should sound familiar to Cryptogon readers who happened to read, North Carolina’s Eugenics Victims Speak Out:
Eugenics was a scientific theory that grew in popularity during the 1920s. Eugenicists believed that poverty, promiscuity and alcoholism were traits that were inherited. To eliminate those society ills and improve society’s gene pool, proponents of the theory argued that those that exhibited the traits should be sterilized. Some of America’s wealthiest citizens of the time were eugenicists including Dr. Clarence Gamble of the Procter and Gamble fortune and James Hanes of the hosiery company.
The following excerpt is from, American Eugenics: Race, Queer Anatomy, and the Science of Nationalism by Nancy Ordover:
Sanger and her colleague Clarence Gamble focusses their efforts on eliminating not poverty but the poor. Sanger endorsed and enabled Gamble’s efforts to establish a direct link between welfare and sterilization in the southern states after World War II. Gamble’s vision was not his alone, and in the decades that followed, doctors, social workers, and government agencies took up the cause. Sterilization in the South was referred to as the “Mississippi appendectomy,” not only because it was so common but because medical staff relied on deception to obtain “consent.” Similar “protocol” was followed in clinics across the United States as hysterectomies and tubal ligations were performed on Chicanas, Puerto Ricans, African-Americans and Native Americans without patient (or, in the case of young girls, parental) consent.
…
For the poor and radicalized and criminalized, tubal ligation, hysterectomies, and vasectomies were never value free medical procedures. Rather, they were technological fixes imposed in individual bodies in lieu of meaningful correctives to economic inequality.
I respect some of the people who are interviewed for this film, while others promote rat poison. Most people have never heard about the American eugenics movement and my guess is that many of the people interviewed for this film haven’t either. The PR people who told me that the film is inline with many topics that I cover on Cryptogon are correct. But I also happen to know about eugenics. So, I just find it incredibly curious that a descendant of a monster is making a film about how to fix things.
But wait… The aliens are trying to give us free energy technology?
Nobody likes free energy or alien conspiracies more than me, but mix that stuff in with a family who was, without any doubt, associated with class and race based sterilization programs and where does that leave us? Man, I don’t know. I don’t know if I want to know.
Robot Workers Take Over Warehouses
November 10th, 2011Don’t miss the video.
Via: CNN:
A “startup kit” of robots would cost $1 million to $2 million, and a large warehouse operation with 1,000 robots costs $15 million to $20 million. Setting up the software and grid systems inside the warehouse requires six months of planning, simulated modeling and testing. Then logistics managers must be trained before handing them the keys to the operation.
The first few customers — including Staples– moved cautiously, setting aside a space the size of a basketball court for Kiva robots. Eventually, they moved to full-scale operations with hundreds of robots. “Like any technology, there were bugs, but we never had a crisis,” says Ralph of Staples, which has 1,000 robots working at two of its warehouses.
Today, Kiva Systems is profitable. Backed by $33 million from investors, the Boston company has 240 employees, a list of prominent customers and revenue of more than $100 million, according to Mountz. He says sales grew 130% last year, and that Kiva is hiring 20 to 30 people each quarter to keep up with demand.
Of course, the infiltration of robots translates to fewer new warehouse jobs.
Related:
AOL Launches New Unmanned ‘Lights Out’ Data Center
Some Ikea Warehouses Run 24 Hours Per Day, In the Dark, with the Work Being Done by Robots
The Contiguous United States Visualized by Distance to the Nearest McDonald’s
November 9th, 2011Via: DataPointed:
To gauge the creep of cookie-cutter commercialism, there’s no better barometer than McDonald’s – ubiquitous fast food chain and inaugural megacorporate colonizer of small towns nationwide.
…
Behold, a visualization of the contiguous United States, colored by distance to the nearest domestic McDonald’s!
