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The Fed hiked the rate it charges banks for emergency loans by 25 basis points to 0.75%, fueling expectations for further rises in long-term interest rates, to the benefit of the U.S. unit, dealers said.

Kinney, an architect, helped design the building at 9430 Research Blvd. some 30 years ago. Built in 1983, the four-story Echelon I was the first of four buildings in the Echelon Office Park.

The original tenant was one of Austin’s first high-tech firms, the Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corp. research consortium, Kinney said.

The 64,000-square-foot building, which has an exterior clad in black glass and a two-story atrium, won several design awards, Kinney said.

The Internal Revenue Service now occupies much of the building, with some businesses on the first floor, as well as some unoccupied space.

John Podolak to Oversee Transition of Team’s Anti-Missile System to Commercial Applications

AUSTIN, Texas, February 25, 2004 – AVISYS, Inc., a defense technologies and system integration company, today announced John Podolak as the infrared countermeasure (IRCM) program manager for its Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Counter-MANPADS (Man-Portable Air Defense Systems) initiative. Podolak will oversee a strong team of more than 10 IRCM defense suppliers who will perform research studies and lead the transition of the team’s proposed CAPS (Commercial Airliner Protection System) technology to the airline industry.

In keeping with an “airline-centric” solution, Podolak brings a wealth of commercial aviation experience to the United Airlines (OTCBB: UALAQ: OB) led team. The team was one of the three companies awarded a $2 million contract in early January by the DHS Counter-MANPADS Special Projects Office. The award represents Phase I of a two-year, $100 million DHS research and development program to design and demonstrate infrared countermeasures) against the potential MANPADS missile threat to U.S. commercial airliners. AVISYS is the IRCM technology lead and systems architect for CAPS.

“Having led teams that load and maintain expendable countermeasures (ALE-39) and having trained pilots to defensively employ them, John Podolak is the perfect choice to lead the transition of this technology to the airline industry with our team,” said Ron Gates, president of AVISYS, Inc. “CAPS provides an affordable and highly effective countermeasures capability for both wide- and narrow-body aircraft. John and his experienced IRCM team will help prove CAPS is the best solution for DHS and the commercial airline industry.”

Podolak is a veteran pilot of two major airlines, having flown several U.S. commercial aircraft including the A-320 and B-727. As a former naval officer flying the S-3B Viking, Podolak served as a Weapons Training Officer and as an Avionics/Armament and Quality Assurance Division Officer.

“Our team is a highly qualified mix of companies experienced in all aspects of the aviation industry and in airborne self-protection systems,” said John Podolak, IRCM program manager for AVISYS DHS Counter-MANPADS Program. “We will work to define a system design and implementation approach for our CAPS solution while being sensitive to the demands of airline operations.”

A Naval Academy graduate, Podolak recently served as a reservist at Central Command during the Iraq war. Since then, he has been serving as a program manager in support of AVISYS Air Force operations in San Antonio, Texas. Podolak is also a flight instructor and an award winning aerobatic and glider pilot with experience in over 50 different aircraft.

About AVISYS, Inc.

AVISYS, Inc., provides domestic and international customers with affordable, reliable, self-protection systems including electronic warfare and countermeasure systems, and avionics systems integration. AVISYS developed the Wide-body Integrated Platform Protection System (WIPPS), a combat-proven, decoy-based infrared defense system providing automatic threat detection and protection against attack by shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles. For more information, visit http://www.L-3com.com/AVISYS.

About the CAPS team

The CAPS team represents the world’s leaders in IRCM systems and the aviation industry. The team has the capability to rapidly develop and demonstrate a counter-MANPADS system for commercial aircraft applications. Each team member brings specific industry experience and expertise to ensure the successful deployment of an operationally reliable and cost-effective infrared countermeasures system.

In the engineering world one’s past accomplishments are a good indicator of what might be expected in the future. We’re justifiably proud of the company we keep and our contribution to the industry, and we think that our record speaks for itself. Here is a list of some of our customers, their projects and a brief description of part of our contribution to the effort.

Cylink Corporation
Project: The Cylink CY8300 IPSec high-performance security processor

* Design the instruction set for the CY8300 internal CPUs (dual RISK processors)
* Write and document the CY8000 Cross Assembler
(Hosted on Windows NT, Sun Solaris, and Linux)
* Develop the CPU functional validation test suite using the CY8300 assembly language
* Develop the CPU simulation environment using Verilog HDL & PLI
* Perform validation simulation using both the Verilog “NCSim” environment and on prototype hardware
* Write an IPSec Datagram generation/encryption utility for packet generation, encryption/decryption (using DES, TDES, & SHA-1) and authentication (using SHA-1, MD5, HMAC-SHA1, HMAC-MD5, & DES-MAC)

DMC Stratex Networks
Project: The Spectrum and Altium product lines, high-capacity wireless communication platforms (i.e., microwave radios)

* Add SNMP Agent support to the highly successful Spectrum II radio
* Design and implement the control algorithm for unit failure detection and recovery
* Resolve numerous integration and configuration issues from legacy code
* Port legacy code base to the new Altium hardware platform and map a maintenance path for the future
* Integrate and resolve issues with HTTP Server and Network Management User Interface web page
* Work with the QA team to characterize outstanding functionality issues

Occasionally, as experienced software engineering consultants a we are called on to provide more than firmware development services. For this particular client, for example, this involved providing department management and development team strategic advice for the Director of Software Engineering. It also meant serving as mentor and tutor for programmers of all experience levels.
Western Digital Corporation
Project: A high-performance multi-function ESDI/SCSI/Floppy controller for the Apollo networked workstations and high-end PCs.

* Design and implement production firmware
* Design and implement the host multi-tasking software test platform and implement other Apollo-based utilities to exercise the product for SQA
* Serve as technical liaison between Apollo Computer (Chelmsford, MA) and WDC (Irvine, CA)

Equinox Industries/Warner Brothers Studio Stores
Project: Distribution Center Processing Automation

* Architect data center automation processing
* Implement PM-GUI functionality and complete initial distribution center management software integration effort
* Define and design implement and integrate software for:
o host merchandising control processing
o automated sorting equipment
o conveyer management equipment
o hand-held RF data entry terminals
o shipping dock merchandise management and tracking
* Administrate the network equipment deployment and management effort

Interstate Electronics Corporation
Project: IEC 9002 GPS-based Flight Management System

* Design and implement firmware to manage the display, keyboard, and communications hardware

Everett Charles Technologies
Project: ECT 9090(tm) Bare Board Tester

* Provide firmware support and update releases for AMD 2900-based measurement controller hardware
* Provide user field support and problem tracking and resolution management
* Provide software support for OS/2 PM-based test management control software
* Implement Version 2 release for test management control software

MOST, Inc.
Project: 2.6GB SCSI II read/write CD-ROM (Magneto/Optical) drive

* Design and implement cache algorithms and code featuring anticipatory pre-fetch and write-back cache allowing immediate write command completion with timed write data synchronization
* Implement SCSI II compliant cache control command set
* Performance analysis and tuning, and debugging

Emulex Corporation
Project: SCSI/ATA(IDE) chipset firmware base (early C++)

* Design and implement hardware interface library components

Cable & Computer Technology, Inc.
Project: An AMD-2900 based bit-slice magnetic tape controller

* Design and implement upgrades and enhancements
* Prepare delivery components and complete end-user acceptance procedure

AEI Kongsberg
Project: AEI Container Maker (a Windows-based CAD package for designing specialized containers)

* Design and implement GUI Dialogs and Components

Controlled Induction
Project: A DOS-based, commercial engine analysis & design tool

* Design and implement the User Interface and develop processing algorithms
* Write and produce the User Manual
* Administer the first production run for the product

Taradactyl Technovation, Inc.
Project: The Mileage Elephant (vehicle usage tracker)

* Design and implement prototype user interface for host database application.

Teledyne Systems Corporation
Project: An AMD-2900 based bit-slice emulation/simulation of IBM’s 32-bit AP101-F floating-point processor

* Design and implement fixed and floating-point math functions as well as SIN, COS, and ARC TAN trigonometric functions (using the Cordic Algorithm w/Taylor Series Expansion algorithm developed by IBM)
* Design and implement instruction decode processing
* Design and implement instruction execution time tracking

Hughes Aircraft, Fullerton
Project: A multi-processor control system composed of six 68000 processors, twenty-two 8085 processors and various dedicated interface hardware

* Design and implement hardware fault monitoring processing

Sorrento Electronics, Inc.
Project: Process Control System

We are all taught as children that without laws there would be no society, only anarchy. Sadly, starting at early ages we in this country have been brainwashed to believe that, in return for our dedication and service, our government stands for justice for all. We are further brainwashed to believe that there is freedom in this place, and that we should be ready to lay our lives down for the noble principals represented by its founding fathers. Remember? One of these was “no taxation without representation”. I have spent the total years of my adulthood unlearning that crap from only a few years of my childhood. These days anyone who really stands up for that principal is promptly labeled a “crackpot”, traitor and worse.

While very few working people would say they haven’t had their fair share of taxes (as can I), in my lifetime I can say with a great degree of certainty that there has never been a politician cast a vote on any matter with the likes of me or my interests in mind. Nor, for that matter, are they the least bit interested in me or anything I have to say.

Why is it that a handful of thugs and plunderers can commit unthinkable atrocities (and in the case of the GM executives, for scores of years) and when it’s time for their gravy train to crash under the weight of their gluttony and overwhelming stupidity, the force of the full federal government has no difficulty coming to their aid within days if not hours? Yet at the same time, the joke we call the American medical system, including the drug and insurance companies, are murdering tens of thousands of people a year and stealing from the corpses and victims they cripple, and this country’s leaders don’t see this as important as bailing out a few of their vile, rich cronies. Yet, the political “representatives” (thieves, liars, and self-serving scumbags is far more accurate) have endless time to sit around for year after year and debate the state of the “terrible health care problem”. It’s clear they see no crisis as long as the dead people don’t get in the way of their corporate profits rolling in.

And justice? You’ve got to be kidding!

How can any rational individual explain that white elephant conundrum in the middle of our tax system and, indeed, our entire legal system? Here we have a system that is, by far, too complicated for the brightest of the master scholars to understand. Yet, it mercilessly “holds accountable” its victims, claiming that they’re responsible for fully complying with laws not even the experts understand. The law “requires” a signature on the bottom of a tax filing; yet no one can say truthfully that they understand what they are signing; if that’s not “duress” than what is. If this is not the measure of a totalitarian regime, nothing is.

How did I get here?

My introduction to the real American nightmare starts back in the early ‘80s. Unfortunately after more than 16 years of school, somewhere along the line I picked up the absurd, pompous notion that I could read and understand plain English. Some friends introduced me to a group of people who were having ‘tax code’ readings and discussions. In particular, zeroed in on a section relating to the wonderful “exemptions” that make institutions like the vulgar, corrupt Catholic Church so incredibly wealthy. We carefully studied the law (with the help of some of the “best”, high-paid, experienced tax lawyers in the business), and then began to do exactly what the “big boys” were doing (except that we weren’t steeling from our congregation or lying to the government about our massive profits in the name of God). We took a great deal of care to make it all visible, following all of the rules, exactly the way the law said it was to be done.

The intent of this exercise and our efforts was to bring about a much-needed re-evaluation of the laws that allow the monsters of organized religion to make such a mockery of people who earn an honest living. However, this is where I learned that there are two “interpretations” for every law; one for the very rich, and one for the rest of us… Oh, and the monsters are the very ones making and enforcing the laws; the inquisition is still alive and well today in this country.

That little lesson in patriotism cost me $40,000+, 10 years of my life, and set my retirement plans back to 0. It made me realize for the first time that I live in a country with an ideology that is based on a total and complete lie. It also made me realize, not only how naive I had been, but also the incredible stupidity of the American public; that they buy, hook, line, and sinker, the crap about their “freedom”… and that they continue to do so with eyes closed in the face of overwhelming evidence and all that keeps happening in front of them.

Before even having to make a shaky recovery from the sting of the first lesson on what justice really means in this country (around 1984 after making my way through engineering school and still another five years of “paying my dues”), I felt I finally had to take a chance of launching my dream of becoming an independent engineer.

On the subjects of engineers and dreams of independence, I should digress somewhat to say that I’m sure that I inherited the fascination for creative problem solving from my father. I realized this at a very young age.

The significance of independence, however, came much later during my early years of college; at the age of 18 or 19 when I was living on my own as student in an apartment in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. My neighbor was an elderly retired woman (80+ seemed ancient to me at that age) who was the widowed wife of a retired steel worker. Her husband had worked all his life in the steel mills of central Pennsylvania with promises from big business and the union that, for his 30 years of service, he would have a pension and medical care to look forward to in his retirement. Instead he was one of the thousands who got nothing because the incompetent mill management and corrupt union (not to mention the government) raided their pension funds and stole their retirement. All she had was social security to live on.

In retrospect, the situation was laughable because here I was living on peanut butter and bread (or Ritz crackers when I could afford to splurge) for months at a time. When I got to know this poor figure and heard her story I felt worse for her plight than for my own (I, after all, I thought I had everything to in front of me). I was genuinely appalled at one point, as we exchanged stories and commiserated with each other over our situations, when she in her grandmotherly fashion tried to convince me that I would be “healthier” eating cat food (like her) rather than trying to get all my substance from peanut butter and bread. I couldn’t quite go there, but the impression was made. I decided that I didn’t trust big business to take care of me, and that I would take responsibility for my own future and myself.

Return to the early ‘80s, and here I was off to a terrifying start as a ‘wet-behind-the-ears’ contract software engineer… and two years later, thanks to the fine backroom, midnight effort by the sleazy executives of Arthur Andersen (the very same folks who later brought us Enron and other such calamities) and an equally sleazy New York Senator (Patrick Moynihan), we saw the passage of 1986 tax reform act with its section 1706.

For you who are unfamiliar, here is the core text of the IRS Section 1706, defining the treatment of workers (such as contract engineers) for tax purposes. Visit this link for a conference committee report (http://www.synergistech.com/1706.shtml#ConferenceCommitteeReport) regarding the intended interpretation of Section 1706 and the relevant parts of Section 530, as amended. For information on how these laws affect technical services workers and their clients, read our discussion here (http://www.synergistech.com/ic-taxlaw.shtml).

SEC. 1706. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN TECHNICAL PERSONNEL.

(a) IN GENERAL – Section 530 of the Revenue Act of 1978 is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection:

(d) EXCEPTION. – This section shall not apply in the case of an individual who pursuant to an arrangement between the taxpayer and another person, provides services for such other person as an engineer, designer, drafter, computer programmer, systems analyst, or other similarly skilled worker engaged in a similar line of work.

(b) EFFECTIVE DATE. – The amendment made by this section shall apply to remuneration paid and services rendered after December 31, 1986.

Note:

· “another person” is the client in the traditional job-shop relationship.

· “taxpayer” is the recruiter, broker, agency, or job shop.

· “individual”, “employee”, or “worker” is you.

Admittedly, you need to read the treatment to understand what it is saying but it’s not very complicated. The bottom line is that they may as well have put my name right in the text of section (d). Moreover, they could only have been more blunt if they would have came out and directly declared me a criminal and non-citizen slave. Twenty years later, I still can’t believe my eyes.

During 1987, I spent close to $5000 of my ‘pocket change’, and at least 1000 hours of my time writing, printing, and mailing to any senator, congressman, governor, or slug that might listen; none did, and they universally treated me as if I was wasting their time. I spent countless hours on the L.A. freeways driving to meetings and any and all of the disorganized professional groups who were attempting to mount a campaign against this atrocity. This, only to discover that our efforts were being easily derailed by a few moles from the brokers who were just beginning to enjoy the windfall from the new declaration of their “freedom”. Oh, and don’t forget, for all of the time I was spending on this, I was loosing income that I couldn’t bill clients.

After months of struggling it had clearly gotten to be a futile exercise. The best we could get for all of our trouble is a pronouncement from an IRS mouthpiece that they weren’t going to enforce that provision (read harass engineers and scientists). This immediately proved to be a lie, and the mere existence of the regulation began to have its impact on my bottom line; this, of course, was the intended effect.

Again, rewind my retirement plans back to 0 and shift them into idle. If I had any sense, I clearly should have left abandoned engineering and never looked back.

Instead I got busy working 100-hour workweeks. Then came the L.A. depression of the early 1990s. Our leaders decided that they didn’t need the all of those extra Air Force bases they had in Southern California, so they were closed; just like that. The result was economic devastation in the region that rivaled the widely publicized Texas S&L fiasco. However, because the government caused it, no one gave a shit about all of the young families who lost their homes or street after street of boarded up houses abandoned to the wealthy loan companies who received government funds to “shore up” their windfall. Again, I lost my retirement.

Years later, after weathering a divorce and the constant struggle trying to build some momentum with my business, I find myself once again beginning to finally pick up some speed. Then came the .COM bust and the 911 nightmare. Our leaders decided that all aircraft were grounded for what seemed like an eternity; and long after that, ‘special’ facilities like San Francisco were on security alert for months. This made access to my customers prohibitively expensive. Ironically, after what they had done the Government came to the aid of the airlines with billions of our tax dollars … as usual they left me to rot and die while they bailed out their rich, incompetent cronies WITH MY MONEY! After these events, there went my business but not quite yet all of my retirement and savings.

By this time, I’m thinking that it might be good for a change. Bye to California, I’ll try Austin for a while. So I moved, only to find out that this is a place with a highly inflated sense of self-importance and where damn little real engineering work is done. I’ve never experienced such a hard time finding work. The rates are 1/3 of what I was earning before the crash, because pay rates here are fixed by the three or four large companies in the area who are in collusion to drive down prices and wages… and this happens because the justice department is all on the take and doesn’t give a fuck about serving anyone or anything but themselves and their rich buddies.

To survive, I was forced to cannibalize my savings and retirement, the last of which was a small IRA. This came in a year with mammoth expenses and not a single dollar of income. I filed no return that year thinking that because I didn’t have any income there was no need. The sleazy government decided that they disagreed. But they didn’t notify me in time for me to launch a legal objection so when I attempted to get a protest filed with the court I was told I was no longer entitled to due process because the time to file ran out. Bend over for another $10,000 helping of justice.

So now we come to the present. After my experience with the CPA world, following the business crash I swore that I’d never enter another accountant’s office again. But here I am with a new marriage and a boatload of undocumented income, not to mention an expensive new business asset, a piano, which I had no idea how to handle. After considerable thought I decided that it would be irresponsible NOT to get professional help; a very big mistake.

When we received the forms back I was very optimistic that they were in order. I had taken all of the years information to Bill Ross, and he came back with results very similar to what I was expecting. Except that he had neglected to include the contents of Sheryl’s unreported income; $12,700 worth of it. To make matters worse, Ross knew all along this was missing and I didn’t have a clue until he pointed it out in the middle of the audit. By that time it had become brutally evident that he was representing himself and not me.

This left me stuck in the middle of this disaster trying to defend transactions that have no relationship to anything tax-related (at least the tax-related transactions were poorly documented). Things I never knew anything about and things my wife had no clue would ever matter to anyone. The end result is… well, just look around.

I remember reading about the stock market crash before the “great” depression and how there were wealthy bankers and businessmen jumping out of windows when they realized they screwed up and lost everything. Isn’t it ironic how far we’ve come in 60 years in this country that they now know how to fix that little economic problem; they just steal from the middle class (who doesn’t have any say in it, elections are a joke) to cover their asses and it’s “business-as-usual”. Now when the wealthy fuck up, the poor get to die for the mistakes… isn’t that a clever, tidy solution.

As government agencies go, the FAA is often justifiably referred to as a tombstone agency, though they are hardly alone. The recent presidential puppet GW Bush and his cronies in their eight years certainly reinforced for all of us that this criticism rings equally true for all of the government. Nothing changes unless there is a body count (unless it is in the interest of the wealthy sows at the government trough). In a government full of hypocrites from top to bottom, life is as cheap as their lies and their self-serving laws.

I know I’m hardly the first one to decide I have had all I can stand. It has always been a myth that people have stopped dying for their freedom in this country, and it isn’t limited to the blacks, and poor immigrants. I know there have been countless before me and there are sure to be as many after. But I also know that by not adding my body to the count, I insure nothing will change. I choose to not keep looking over my shoulder at “big brother” while he strips my carcass, I choose not to ignore what is going on all around me, I choose not to pretend that business as usual won’t continue; I have just had enough.

I can only hope that the numbers quickly get too big to be white washed and ignored that the American zombies wake up and revolt; it will take nothing less. I would only hope that by striking a nerve that stimulates the inevitable double standard, knee-jerk government reaction that results in more stupid draconian restrictions people wake up and begin to see the pompous political thugs and their mindless minions for what they are. Sadly, though I spent my entire life trying to believe it wasn’t so, but violence not only is the answer, it is the only answer. The cruel joke is that the really big chunks of shit at the top have known this all along and have been laughing, at and using this awareness against, fools like me all along.

I saw it written once that the definition of insanity is repeating the same process over and over and expecting the outcome to suddenly be different. I am finally ready to stop this insanity. Well, Mr. Big Brother IRS man, let’s try something different; take my pound of flesh and sleep well.

The communist creed: From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.

The capitalist creed: From each according to his gullibility, to each according to his greed.

Joe Stack (1956-2010)

Paramedics have set up a triage center at the scene, though it is unclear how many people are injured. EMS officials said one person was unaccounted for.

“We have no idea right now if there are any patients, or how many,” Austin-Travis County EMS Assistant Director James Shamard said.

Mathilda Sanchez, a spokeswoman for the Seton Family of Hospitals, said University Medical Center Brackenridge received two patients, and that no other hospitals had received any.

The Internal Revenue Service has offices in the building, including its civil enforcement and criminal investigations divisions, said Special Agent Michael Lemoine, a spokesman for the criminal investigations division.

He said that some IRS offices are on the first floor, which Lemoine said was hit by the plane.

He said that the criminal investigations division personnel are safe and accounted for. He did not have information on the civil division workers, who conduct audits and other activity at the offices.

According to an FBI agent who asked not to be identified because he isn’t authorized to release information, the incident is being investigated as an accident, although eyewitnesses said the plane seemed to come in at full throttle. He said the plane was out of Waco and that Federal Aviation Administration officials are en route to the scene.

FBI sources said that the eyewitness accounts saying that the plane did not slow down is making some authorities wonder if it was an intentional act.

FBI spokesman Bill Carter said the building hit by a plane at the Echelon office complex did not contain an FBI office. While the FBI has an office at the complex, the plane did not crash into that particular building, Carter said.

“At this time we have no reason to believe there is a nexus to criminal or terrorist activity,” said Matt Chandler, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, told CNN. “We are in the process of coordinating with state officials and other federal partners to gather more information and at this time we will defer additional questions to local officials and the FAA.”

William Winnie, an Internal Revenue Service agent, said he was in a training session on the third floor of the building when he saw a light-colored, single engine plane coming at the building.

“It looked like it was coming right in my window,” Winnie said. He said the plane veered down and to the left and crashed into the floors below. “I didn’t lose my footing, but it was enough to knock people who were sitting to the floor.”

The building mostly houses IRS offices, said Kathi Hall, with KVSA Asset Management, which manages the property.

Chris Messer was driving to work about 9:50 a.m. when he was on the flyover exiting MoPac Boulevard (Loop 1) to northbound U.S. 183 when he saw a small, single-engine yellow plane in his peripheral vision.

“It flew right in front of me and flew right square into the building,” said Messner, 27. “The fireball was pretty big. It shook my car and the heat came in from my air vents. I was surprised how big the explosion is.”

Messner said the explosion was “as wide as the entire building.”

“The tail was down slightly like it was trying to pull up a little bit,” Messner said. “It happened really fast.”

Sarah Whelan, 28, was also driving on the overpass from MoPac onto U.S. 183 north on her way to work when she saw the plane on her right, flying low over the shops across the street from the building that was hit.

She said all the cars in front of me started slowing down because the plane looked like it could it land on the highway.

“It wasn’t heading into the direction of the building but all of a sudden it took a right and headed straight into it,” Whelan said. “It didn’t look like it was in distress. It wasn’t wavering at all.

“The first thing I did was start praying and saying, ‘I can’t believe it.’” she said. “It was a feeling of disbelief and helplessness.”

Tucker Thurman was driving to work on the U.S. 183 flyover near MoPac Boulevard (Loop 1) when he said he saw a small plane, very low, flying over the highway. He said he saw it then bank heavily to the right before heading into the building.

“There was a huge fireball. It went right into the building,” Thurman said.

EMS officials said they have taken at least two patients to the hospital, but that there are several “walking wounded” at the scene.

Fire Chief Rhoda Mae Kerr said that the department has gone into a “defensive position,” meaning that firefighters have been ordered to retreat from the building because of the danger.

Fire department officials said EMS has begun taking people to University Medical Center Brackenridge.

Cayce Watkins, a server at the Marie Callender’s restaurant at 9503 Research Boulevard across 183 from where the plane crashed, said: “It rattled our windows.”

Watkins said employees heard the roar of the plane and then a boom.

“There was a loud boom, and our windows, our entire building shook,” said Darla LaTour, an operations manager at the Candlewood Suites Extended Stay Hotel, which is about a quarter-mile from the accident site. “When we got out there already were sirens coming.”

Mischelle Diaz, a spokeswoman for St. Edward’s University, said the plane hit a building in the Echelon business complex next to a building where the university’s Professional Education Center provides software training and teaches some graduate students. She said the education center has been evacuated and that university officials were trying to confirm that students and instructors all got out safely.

“We’re just desperately trying to get some information,” Diaz said.

Stuart Newberg was at a nearby Lexus dealership shortly before 10 a.m. when he said he saw a plane flying low and fast overhead.

“It was flying low and fast and I did a double take. I thought it was a play remote control plane. Then i saw the smoke,” Newberg said.

The move flies in the face of conventional wisdom, which says gadgets like this are best made in a low-cost country. But, he says, outsourcing has led to a loss of control over manufacturing and distribution.

“We’ll make more money this way — because we’ll have better quality and a better image,” says the 66-year-old, who says his company, Farouk Systems Inc., spends about $500,000 a month fighting counterfeits, most of which he says originate in China. The company collects the fake products and tracks the source, and then brings action in China to shut down illegal producers.

A 45-story condo tower — in Federal Way?

That’s the plan longtime Seattle developer Steve Smith and two Korean-American partners unveiled Wednesday.

The Sky Hotel & Residences would be the tallest building between downtown Seattle and downtown Portland, said Patrick Doherty, economic-development director for the low-rise suburb of 87,000 residents.

“It would definitely be the exclamation point on our skyline,” he said.

The $225 million project would be built with money from foreign investors who, under an obscure federal program, can parlay investment in certain neighborhoods into permanent U.S. residency, or “green cards.”

An application by the city and the Sky project’s developer, Twin Development, to include downtown Federal Way in the program was approved by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services last fall.

Without that designation and the inducement of green cards, the proposed condo tower wouldn’t have penciled out, said Smith, Twin’s co-manager.

The twin-engine Cessna 310 hit 60-foot-high transmission lines, and its fuselage was found tangled in wires.

The victims, who were not immediately identified, were employees of Tesla Motors Inc., a San Carlos, Calif.-based firm that builds electric-powered vehicles. They were headed to Hawthorne, where the company has operations.

But now the problem of mounting national debt is worse than it ever has been before with — potentially dire consequences for taxpayers, according to a report by the nonpartisan Peterson-Pew Commission on Budget Reform.

…

Over the past year alone, the amount the U.S. government owes its lenders has grown to more than half the country’s entire economic output, or gross domestic product.

Even more alarming, experts say, is that those figures will climb to an unprecedented 200 percent of GDP by 2038 without a dramatic shift in course.

“Within 12 years…the largest item in the federal budget will be interest payments on the national debt,” said former U.S. Comptroller General David Walker. “[They are] payments for which we get nothing.”

Economic forecasters say future generations of Americans could have a substantially lower standard of living than their predecessors’ for the first time in the country’s history if the debt is not brought under control.

Government debt, which fuels the risk of inflation, could make everyday Americans’ savings worth less. Higher interest rates would make it harder for consumers and businesses to borrow. Wages would remain stagnant and fewer jobs would be created. The government’s ability to cut taxes or provide a safety net would also be weakened, economists say.

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“The American people today are not remotely prepared for the changes that are necessary,” said former Congressional Budget Office director Rudolph Penner.

He says Americans who have been accustomed to buying on credit and living beyond their means at home may soon face a painful reality as the government tightens its belt further.

As the Palmetto Scoop first reported, Pitts, a Republican, introduced legislation this month banning “the unconstitutional substitution of Federal Reserve Notes for silver and gold coin” in South Carolina.

In an interview, Pitts told Hotsheet that he believes that “if the federal government continues to spend money at the rate it’s spending money, and if it continues to print money at the rate it’s printing money, our economic system is going to collapse.”

With European Central Bank president Jean Claude-Trichet pushing hard for Athens to adopt new budget measures, finance ministers in the wider union backed demands from euro-area ministers for fresh cuts and taxes in four weeks if the current plan is shown to have misfired.

The manoeuvre gave Greek prime minister George Papandreou some breathing space, although Germany, Austria and Sweden are already calling for fresh austerity measures.

The EU ministers have reserved the right to impose new austerity policies on Greece by invoking a clause in the Lisbon Treaty that would deprive Athens of a vote on new measures proposed by the European Commission.

Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan suggested yesterday that he would be likely to vote with the commission. “The Government would certainly attach considerable weight to the recommendation of the commission in any such vote,” he told reporters in Brussels. “Clearly I’m not going to pre-commit how I will vote.”

Pressure on Mr Papandreou follows signs that the performance of the Greek economy was weaker than projected in last quarter of 2009, dimming the potential impact of measures already in train to bring its deficit under control. This has fanned concern among the European authorities that Mr Papandreou’s administration is “bluffing” its austerity programme.