News of the Force: Thursday, January 3, 2013 - Page 1

[Newsoft...@aol.com]

            

                                Thursday, January 3, 2013

---

 

The greatest manhunt in history

    

    Homepage for Heroes and Zero Dark Thirty have joined together to create a special tribute to the men and women who work to keep us safe. The movie opens in theaters everywhere on Jan. 11. Watch the trailer for Zero Dark Thirty .

    Zero Dark Thirty is a 2012 American action thriller directed and co-produced by Kathryn Bigelow with the screenplay by Mark Boal. Billed as "The story of history's greatest manhunt for the world's most dangerous man," the film chronicles American efforts to capture or kill Osama bin Laden. It stars Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Joel Edgerton, Chris Pratt, Kyle Chandler, and Mark Strong. The film had its premiere in Los Angeles, Calif., on Dec. 18.

 

President Obama signs 'fiscal cliff' bill

    

    President Obama has signed a bill that boosts taxes on the wealthiest Americans, while preserving tax cuts for most American households.

    The bill, which averts a looming "fiscal cliff" that had threatened to plunge the nation back into recession also extends expiring jobless benefits, prevents cuts in Medicare reimbursements to doctors and delays for two months billions of dollars in across-the-board spending cuts in defense and domestic programs.

    The GOP-run House approved the measure by a 257-167 vote late Tuesday, nearly 24 hours after the Democratic-led Senate passed it 8 9-8.

    Obama, who is vacationing in Hawaii, signed the bill using an autopen, a mechanical device that copies his signature.

    President Obama and congressional Republicans face even bigger budget battles in the next two months after a hard-fought "fiscal cliff" deal narrowly averted devastating tax increases and spending cuts. The agreement, approved late on Tuesday by the Republican-led House of Representatives and signed by Obama yesterday, was a victory for the president, who had won re-election in November on a promise to address budget woes, partly by raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans.

    In the wake of bruising fights in their own ranks over the "fiscal cliff" and aid for victims of super-storm Sandy - Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives open a new Congress today more divided than ever. While their leader, Speaker John Boehner, seems in no danger of losing his position because of the divisions, his ability to speak for his membership in the House appears greatly diminished. That could not come at a worse time for Republicans as they prepare for their next attempt to get more spending cuts out of President Obama.

    Obama also signed into law yesterday H.R. 4310, the "National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013," which authorizes fiscal year 2013 appropriations for Department of Defense programs and military construction, Department of Energy national security programs, and Department of Transportation maritime security programs; authorizes recruitment and retention bonuses, special payments, and other authorities relating to the U.S. armed forces; and makes other modifications to national security, foreign affairs and other related programs.

 

---

    Cousin Jim's Thought for the Day: I joined a health club last year and spent nearly $400.00. Haven't lost a pound - apparently, you have to go there.

---

 

Police 'rape teams' to oversee cases in single police force reforms

    A raft of new measures to help rape victims is being planned with the introduction of Scotland’s new national police force.

 

Record gun sales in the U.S.

    

    Record gun sales were recorded in December with over 2.7 million background checks being conducted through the FBI’s National Instant Check System (NICS), the agency said yesterday. For 2012, more background checks were conducted than any year since 1998. In December, 2,783,765 total background checks were carried out to purchase firearms, surpassing the previous record from November 2012 when 2,006,919 checks were performed. For the year, 19,592,303 background checks carried out for firearm purchases – a 19 percent rise from 2011.

 

Fighting over Sandy relief continues

    Elected officials from the New York area erupted with outrage yesterday after the U.S. House refused to take up a federal aid package for states that suffered damages from Hurricane Sandy, and even local Republicans blasted their Congressional leaders for their inaction.

    Last week, the Senate adopted a $60.4 billion aid package, and yesterday GOP Rep. Peter King and other local politicians said they had been promised that the House would bring it up for a vote before the current legislative session ends.

    The House of Representatives will vote tomorrow on a down payment for federal disaster aid related to Superstorm Sandy to be followed later in the month with a vote on a larger chunk of funding, Rep. King said yesterday. King, a Republican from New York, which was hit hard by the gigantic storm, said House Speaker John Boehner has promised a vote tomorrow on $9 billion in money for the federal flood insurance program to help victims. Another vote - on the remaining $51 billion in aid - would come on Jan. 15, King said.

 

Mom says her son didn't steal plane that crashed

By Jim Corvey, News of the Force St. Louis

    A teen pilot killed along with two friends in an Alabama plane crash had his own key to the aircraft and had flown it many times, his mother said yesterday, denying authorities' assertion that the plane had been taken without permission.

    Sherrie Smith said her 17-year-old son, Jordan Smith, was the one flying the plane that went down in the Alabama woods on Tuesday night. The FAA said the Piper PA 30 crashed less than a mile from the Walker County Airport in Jasper, which is northwest of Birmingham. Smith says the owner of the plane had let her son fly it many other times and had given him his own key. Her son was a high school junior who fell in love with flying at an early age and was one test short of earning his private pilot's license. "He had used the plane many times before," she said.

    Her son had left the house around 6 p.m. to meet some friends at another airport in the area, and she said she last spoke to him by cell phone about four hours later. One of her son's friends called later about reports of a plane crash, and she tried to reach Jordan again but couldn't.

    Walker County sheriff's Chief Deputy James Painter said earlier yesterday that authorities believed the three teenagers took off in the plane without permission. "We don't know for sure but we think it was some teenagers who stole the plane and were sort of joyriding it," Painter said.

    Walker County Coroner J.C. Poe said the other two people killed in the crash were Brandon Tyler Ary, 19, and Jordan Seth Montgomery, 17.

    The plane had departed from the small airport around 10:30 p.m. in overcast skies and a low cloud ceiling, airport manager Edwin Banks said. "It was a student pilot flying an airplane without permission, an airplane that he was not qualified to fly at night," Banks said. Banks said Smith had flown single-engine planes in the past, but the plane in the crash was a double-engine aircraft.

    The Piper PA 30 is also called a Piper Twin Comanche. It is a low-wing plane with two propellers and can seat four to six, depending on the model. The planes were built from 1963 until 1972, and were popular with flight schools because of their fuel efficiency and relatively inexpensive price tags, according to the International Comanche Society, an enthusiasts' group.

    Sherrie Smith said the plane was parked behind a security gate, but that her son had been given a security code to access it. She also said her son had enough promise as a pilot that he'd already earned a scholarship to Wallace State Community College to study aviation. "He started going to the airport when he was 14, and friends would take him up," she said.

    Jordan Smith's father is an Alabama state trooper and a member of the Alabama Army National Guard who is currently serving in Afghanistan.

    "We were working on getting him his own plane when he was a senior," she said of her son.

    The plane went down in a wooded, swampy area just over the fence from Margaret Swann's hay farm. She said training flights from the airport circle over her farm routinely and she guessed that Jordan Smith was flying the same pattern before the plane went down. "It's just three kids making a wrong decision," she said.

 

USS Bremerton arrives in Subic Bay
    

    Sailors and civilian mariners from the submarine tender USS Emory S. Land (AS 39) conducted a coordinated tended mooring to bring the Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine USS Bremerton (SSN 698) into Subic Bay, Republic of the Philippines, on Dec. 29.

    The visit to Subic Bay marks Bremerton's first routine port visit while on a scheduled Western Pacific deployment. "My crew has worked hard and I am honored to allow them the opportunity to explore all that the Republic of the Philippines has to offer during this holiday season," said Cmdr. Caleb A. Kerr, Bremerton's commanding officer. "The sailors of the USS Bremerton look forward to engaging the community and strengthening the historic ties and friendship that our countries share."

    For some of Bremerton's crew, the port of call in the Republic of the Philippines is considered a milestone. "Having served in the Navy for a few years, I've always heard great stories about my fellow submariners travels to the Philippines," said Sonar Technician (Submarine) 3rd Class Rigo Baca, assigned to Bremerton. "Now, I can finally say that I've made it here. I look forward to unwinding with my shipmates and creating lasting memories."

    During Bremerton's visit, sailors from both Bremerton and Land will participate in various local events. "The sailors onboard Land and our extended Bremerton family will be involved in a city parade this holiday," said Lt. Aaron Roberton, Land's command chaplain. " We are also involved in a few ongoing projects to help out the city of Olongapo and neighboring communities."

    USS Bremerton, homeported in Pearl Harbor, is on a Western Pacific deployment while Land, homeported in Diego Garcia, is undergoing a voyage repair period in Subic Bay. Land is a forward deployed expeditionary submarine tender on an extended deployment conducting coordinated tending moorings and afloat maintenance in the U.S. 7th Fleet's Area of Operations.

 

CAP's new governance structure fully implemented

    

    The Civil Air Patrol (CAP) begins the new year with a new way of doing business, according to a CAP press release.

    The organization’s new governance structure, which is now fully implemented, has changed the role of the CAP's leadership and even the relationship between its 61,000 volunteers and CAP's National Headquarters' 100 employees. The changes reinforce the Board of Governors' authority to make strategic policy, shift non-strategic issues to the national commander, focus the wing commanders' role on operations and establish a "one CAP" approach to decision-making in which volunteers and national headquarters work together to achieve common goals.

    "Merging of the two staffs – paid and unpaid professionals – provides for a seamless organizational structure," said CAP's national commander, Maj.-Gen. Chuck Carr. "We are all on one team now."

    CAP Board of Governors chairman Brig.-Gen. Rich Anderson described the changes as a "paradigm shift" for policy-level decisions that will prove correct: "With the wing commanders focused on day-to-day missions, making decisions that are important to the membership, that’s where there will be considerable benefit to be realized."

    The CAP’s new governance structure was unveiled on Aug. 24 at the CAP's 2012 annual conference in Baltimore, Md. Initial implementation took place on Oct. 1 when the Board of Governors approved an updated CAP constitution and by-laws that incorporated the provisions of the new governance structure.

    In keeping with the new constitution and by-laws, Gen. Carr, whose appointment as national commander was confirmed by the Board of Governors, submitted the name of Brig. Gen. Joe Vazquez for confirmation as vice commander and he was confirmed. Vazquez has no specified term and may serve sequential commanders if nominated and confirmed by the Board of Governors.

    On Nov. 3, the newly created CAP Senior Advisory Group selected Col. Tim Verrett, of the CAP's Pacific Region, and Lt.-Col. Jayson Altieri, of the CAP's North Carolina Wing, as CAP at-large Board of Governors members. The selections, which increased the number of at-large members from two to four, were the first made under the new governance structure.

    Another key initiative associated with the new governance structure – updating 48 regulations to reflect the changes – was completed by the CAP's staff on Dec. 31.

    With the governance structure in place, the members and staff will now focus on implementation of the organization’s two-year strategic plan – the first ever developed jointly by CAP and the Board of Governors. Achievement of the plan’s six priorities – which emphasize funding; resource, skill and youth development; public awareness; aerospace education; and institutional excellence – will be used as the basis for the national commander's and chief operating officer's annual performance evaluations.

    "It’s a 360-degree evaluation with input from the CAP-U.S. Air Force commander," said Gen. Carr, "so it is incumbent on all of us to do our very best for the organization in implementing the plan."

    CAP California Wing commander Col. Jon Stokes summed up the organization's sentiments about the CAP's changes in governance: "Though there were a lot of concerns about the changes and who would be affected in the organization, the concerns were for naught. Five years from now, we will reflect on these changes and know they were for the good and for our continued growth as an organization."

    The Civil Air Patrol is the civilian Auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force.

 

Federal judge rules drone documents can be kept secret

    A federal court judge has ruled that President Obama's administration doesn't have to publicly disclose its legal justification for the drone attacks and other methods it has used to kill terrorism suspects overseas.

 

U.S. drone strike kills key Pakistan Taliban commander

    A U.S. drone strike killed a key Taliban commander, his deputy and eight others in northwest Pakistan, intelligence sources and tribal leaders today, deaths that could substantially alter the power balance in the Taliban heartland of Waziristan. Maulvi Nazir Wazir, also known as Mullah Nazir, was killed last night when missiles struck a mud house in South Waziristan, near the Afghan border, intelligence sources and residents said.

 

Taliban likens U.S.' role in Afghanistan to the Vietnam War

    The Taliban yesterday likened the planned withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan to America's pull-out from South Vietnam, calling it a "declare victory and run" strategy.

 

News from the National Guard

    

    Former Nevada Army National Guard officer Steve Ranson, who is also editor of the Lahontan Valley News in Fallon, Nev., was embedded with soldiers from the Silver State who deployed for the war in Afghanistan last year.

    The U.S. Senate has confirmed Lt. Gen. Stanley Clarke to be the Air National Guard's next director, succeeding Lt. Gen. Bud Wyatt, who is retiring later this month. Senators voted in favor of Clark's nomination on Jan. 1, according to the Senate's web site. "I look forward to the opportunity to lead the best Air National Guard in our nation's history," said Clarke. "The Air National Guard and the 106,000 men and women who make it work have served our nation and our communities with great distinction in combat and during numerous domestic crises." President Obama last month tapped Clarke for the post. Clarke has been commander of the Continental U.S. NORAD Region and the 1st Air Force at Tyndall AFB, Fla., since August 2011. He was the Air Guard's deputy director from May 2007 to June 2008. Wyatt has led the Air National Guard since February 2009. He began his Air Force career in January 1972.

 

ISAF Joint Command operational update

    

    During a security operation, Mubariz Jaan, a Taliban leader, was killed by an Afghan and Coalition security force in the Andar district of Ghazni Province, yesterday. Mubariz Jaan was responsible for gathering intelligence and directing attacks against local Afghan civilians and government officials. Prior to his death, Mubariz Jaan was coordinating attacks against the Afghan local police in the province.

    In other International Security Assistance Force news throughout Afghanistan: 
    An Afghan and Coalition security force arrested a Taliban leader during a security operation in the Pul-e Khumri district of Baghlan Province, yesterday. The leader was responsible for financing improvised explosive devices, weapons and ammunition for insurgent attacks against Afghan and Coalition forces. Prior to his detention, he was facilitating the movement of IEDs and suicide bombers for attacks in the province. During the operation, the security force also positively identified an individual engaged in threatening activity, and killed him. 
    A Taliban leader in the Shah Wali Kot district of Kandahar Province was arrested by an Afghan and Coalition security force today. The leader was responsible for the planning and execution of vehicle-borne IED and in-ground IED attacks against Afghan and Coalition forces. He oversaw the transfer and delivery of IEDs to insurgents operating throughout the district. 
    An Afghan and Coalition force killed Taliban leader, Abdullah, along with four additional insurgents, during a security operation in the Hisarak district of Nangarhar Province, yesterday. Abdullah was responsible for directing and participating in attacks against Afghan and Coalition forces. Prior to his death, Abdullah was reporting the movement of Afghan and cCalition forces to leaders in the province.

    And during a security operation in search of a Haqqani facilitator in the Khost district of Khost Province, three insurgents were arrested by an Afghan and Coalition force today. The facilitator coordinates the movement and transfer of weapons, explosives and IED components to insurgents within the district.

 

Syrian rebels in push to capture air base

By Lisa Levine, News of the Force Tel Aviv

    

    Rebels battled today to seize an air base in northern Syria, part of a campaign to fight back against the air power that has given President Bashar al-Assad's forces free rein to bomb rebel-held towns. More than 60,000 people have been killed in the 21-month-old uprising and civil war, the United Nations said this week, sharply raising the death toll estimate in a conflict that shows no sign of ending.

    The death toll in Syria now exceeds 60,000, the United Nations says. Another 100,000 may die this year, warns U.N.-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi. About 220 were killed yesterday alone. "When numbers get serious, they leave a mark on your door," goes a song by American musician Paul Simon. But in Syria those bloody notches show no signs of braking a headlong struggle to the death watched from afar by divided outside powers, most of whose leaders seem convinced that the risks of direct intervention outweigh any possible rewards.

    They're young and they are driven. They got half a million Israelis out on the streets demanding social justice. Now they want their votes. The leaders of a grassroots social protest movement that swept Israel in 2011 have shot to the top of a rejuvenated Labor Party that polls say will at least double its power in a Jan/ 22 general election that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing Likud is forecast to win.

    Judaism's most holy site - the Temple Mount - remains off-limits to Jewish worshipers for fear of Muslim violence. A Jewish politician was arrested there for bowing his head in prayer.

    Israeli forces raided the West Bank city of Jenin in search of a suspected Palestinian militant today, setting off clashes with residents who threw rocks and petrol bombs at them, an Israeli security source said. It was the second time this week that Israeli forces had entered the Jenin area to detain suspects. On Tuesday, Israeli soldiers disguised as Palestinians raided the village of Tamoun, arresting a member of the Islamic Jihad group. Several dozen Palestinians were injured in the ensuing clashes, medical officials said.

    And the publisher of an English textbook has apologized for replacing Israel with "Occupied Palestine" following an outcry from our readers.

 

India rape accused charged, victim's father calls for hanging

    

    Five Indian men were formally charged in court today with the gang rape and murder of a physiotherapy student in a case that has generated widespread anger about the government's inability to prevent violence against women. The Dec. 16 attack on the 23-year-old student and a male companion provoked furious protests close to the seat of government in New Delhi and has fueled a nationwide debate about the prevalence of sexual crime in India, where a rape is reported on average every 20 minutes.

    Meanwhile, the court in South Delhi which will hear the case of the medical student who died after she was gang-raped on a Delhi bus was inaugurated today by the Chief Justice of India, Altamas Kabir.

 

Clinton discharged from hospital

    Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was discharged from a New York hospital yesterday after being treated for a blood clot near her brain, and her doctors expect her to make a full recovery, the State Department said. Clinton, who has not been seen in public since Dec. 7, was at New York-Presbyterian Hospital under treatment for a blood clot behind her right ear that stemmed from a concussion she suffered in mid-December, the department said.

 

Sandy Hook kids go back to school for first time since attack

    Hundreds of the children who escaped the harrowing attack on their elementary school in Newtown, Conn., last month headed back to classes today for the first time since a gunman killed 20 of their school mates and six staff members. School officials were preparing for droves of anxious parents to join the fleet of buses carting children to a disused middle school in the neighboring town of Monroe.

 

Illinois cops booted from Denny's for carrying guns

By Jim Corvey, News of the Force St. Louis

    

    The Belleville, Illinois, police have less than a sunny-side-up view of a local Denny's. The police chief there banned his officers from the eatery while on duty after several detectives were told they couldn't carry their guns in the restaurant, but Denny's says the incident stemmed from a misunderstanding.

    The scramble of events began about 10 a.m., local time, on Tuesday when five Belleville detectives went into the Denny's at 1130 South Illinois Street, ordered food and began to eat. The detectives had badges on their belts or on chains around their necks, but weren't in uniform. Belleville Police Capt. Donald Sax said restaurant manager David Rice then approached and told one of the detectives that a diner had complained about seeing one of the detectives carrying a gun. Even though the detective told Rice all at the table were police officers, Rice insisted the detectives take their guns back out to their cars, Sax said. According to Sax, Rice then told the officers that it is company policy to allow only uniformed officers to carry their guns into a restaurant and that a sign on the door stated that policy.

    The officers all got up to leave, refusing to pay for their meal. As they were leaving, Sax said a Denny's general manager, Michael Van, approached the group to hash out the problem. He told them Rice was wrong and it was fine for them to stay and to keep their guns.

    The detectives, whom Sax described as "embarrassed" by the incident, decided to leave anyway. Sax said the detectives made it a point to check the door on their way out. "There was no sign on the door regarding firearms," Sax said. "They all looked for it."

    Belleville Police Chief William Clay delivered the next course and issued an order to his troops, banning them from eating at that Denny's when they are on duty, or when they're off duty and still in uniform. Off-duty and out of uniform, officers can eat where they want.

    The Belleville Police also issued a press release, naming the managers and pinning the incident on "political stupidness."

    "This was an insult, a slap in the face to those detectives and to all of the men and women who proudly wear the uniform or badge and serve in law enforcement," Clay said in the press release.

    Of course, officers will still show up if Denny's calls for some kind of emergency, police said.

    The Denny's managers, Rice and Van, were not available for comment. Corporate spokesperson Liz DiTrapano called the situation "a mis-understanding" and said there is no ban on armed officers. "Obviously, all law-enforcement officers are permitted to carry their firearms in our restaurants," she said.

    The Belleville Police said they would be following up with Denny's management about the restaurant's policies.

 

Man opens fire in Switzerland village, killing 3

Police patrol the village of Daillon, Switzerland,

after a shooting that left three people dead,    

    A man using an old-model Swiss military rifle shot and killed three women and wounded two men in a Swiss village, and was then arrested by officers who shot and injured him, police said today.

    Police in the southern canton (state) of Valais said they were alerted to the shooting in the village of Daillon just before 9 p.m. (2000 GMT) yesterday. Officers arrived at the scene of the shooting 15 minutes later to find a man with a military rifle, which can be bought in military surplus markets, according to interim cantonal Police Chief Robert Steiner.

    "The shooter pointed his weapon at our colleagues, so they had to open fire to neutralize him, to avoid being injured themselves," police spokesman Jean-Marie Bornet told Swiss radio. He said the shooter lived in Daillon, and the motive for the shooting was not clear.

    Prosecutor Catherine Seppey said the shooter - who was not identified - knew several of the victims, but "he was not known for making threats." In 2005, he was admitted in a psychiatric hospital, she said. Three of the victims, ages 32, 54 and 79, died at the scene, and the two injured men, ages 33 and 63, were taken to hospitals, Seppey said. The youngest of the victims, the 32-year-old woman and 33-year-old man, were a couple with two children.

    "We have no words to express ourselves after an event like this," Christopher Germanier, the head of the Conthey district where the shooting occurred, told a news conference. "The year 2013 started badly. The day was sunny yesterday, but the evening was black," he said.

    It wasn't immediately clear how the shooter obtained his weapon.

 

Altus AFB airmen deliver aid for Haitian children

    

    Members of the 97th Air Mobility Wing, at Altus AFB, Okla., brought 137,000 pounds of food on a C-17 to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, last week, completing the largest single-day delivery of humanitarian supplies to the Caribbean nation since 1998, according to unit officials.

    "We off-loaded more than 130,000 pounds of food that will be delivered to orphanages in Haiti," said Maj. Jody Turk, the 730th Air Mobility Training Squadron's assistant director of operations, of the Dec. 28 mission in Altus' release on the following day.

    The C-17's cargo of rice and beans is expected to feed thousands of Haitian children for about a month, states the release. The non-profit aid organization Operation Ukraine oversees this food assistance.

    The delivery occurred under the auspices of the Denton Program, a joint Pentagon-State Department-USAID initiative that enables humanitarian shipments on Air Force airplanes on a space-available basis.

 

         

 

 

                                                                        Page 1