But I had to throw this out here.
French hostages freed off Somalia
I have heard some say "Good on the French for taking it into their own hands." As a matter of fact, SB is one of them. I understand that sentiment. And for the record.....should I ever be in such a situation, feel free to blow up everything in sight. Do not take my wellbeing into account in the least. After all, that is the upside to having incurable, drug-resistant cancer.And I am sure the French military did the best they could. But they lost a hostage.
And not for nothing, but the couple who owned the yacht were repeatedly warned not to go there. What the eff? And they took their child. Assclowns.
Eagle1 addressed this episode here.
However, I am content to give talking a little more time in the matter of CAPT Phillips. I'd like my hostage back alive.
Friday, April 10, 2009
What A Bummer! But BZ CAPT Phillips!
I woke up this morning to FoxNews reporting that CAPT Phillips tried to eacape his captors and swim to the safety. Unfortunately, he was recaptured.
American Ship Captain Held Hostage Unsuccessfully Tries to Escape
As always, lots of really good info at Information Dissemination
Observing the Obama Administration Somali Piracy Policy
and Eagle Speak
Somali Pirates: Captain Of Maersk Alabama Still Held; Pirates, Navy Sending Reinforcements
where yet another stupid TV "expert" is called out for incorrectly identifying USS Bainbridge DDG-96.
Wonder if the TV people will wise up and do a little more research before discussing the next two ships set to arrive - USS Halyburton
& USS Boxer.
If any of them are reading here - I recommend a trip to Gal or Mark's place....or both before you start talking.
American Ship Captain Held Hostage Unsuccessfully Tries to Escape
As always, lots of really good info at Information Dissemination
Observing the Obama Administration Somali Piracy Policy
and Eagle Speak
Somali Pirates: Captain Of Maersk Alabama Still Held; Pirates, Navy Sending Reinforcements
where yet another stupid TV "expert" is called out for incorrectly identifying USS Bainbridge DDG-96.
Wonder if the TV people will wise up and do a little more research before discussing the next two ships set to arrive - USS Halyburton
& USS Boxer. If any of them are reading here - I recommend a trip to Gal or Mark's place....or both before you start talking.
Thursday, April 09, 2009
I'm Exhausted
I have to head to bed. We stayed out much too late. But it was a tough night. We went to Charlestown for a wake. The younger brother of one of Jen's crew had passed. I don't remember him. I know I saw him, but he was easily 15 years younger than me. I remember his sister Julie quite well and very fondly.
At dinner Jen and I talked about lots of stuff; the BU hockey game was on the TV and we were rooting hard for Jack Parker's boys......even if Jen gets mad if Jack doesn't call time out when she thinks he should.
The conversation between us moves like a leaf floating along a brook, moved by the current in different directions, from one topic to another, with lots of common places where we laugh at living much of the same experiences nine years apart (our age difference). Our mother has referred to us as her twins born nine years apart.
Yet strangely enough, despite how often we see each other and how much we talk - I can still learn something new. Jen told me a story about an incident at Pope John in her sophomore or junior year ...... that mirrored an incident my sophomore or junior year at Pope John. I was astonished.
I won't go into the details in this post, maybe someday, but it's late now. But it was a formative experience that always made me conscious of two things, well three really - First, don't make a decision until you hear both sides - Second, never trust anyone who singles out a group for the actions of one or two members - Third, never forget you are from Charlestown and you take care of your own.
So, you're thinking - "Get to the point Maggie." Ok, this business with the pirates and the Maersk Alabama and CAPT Phillips and the USS Bainbridge.
Of course, I am enamored of the Navy and dote on them to a ridiculous extent.
Of course, I am affronted that anyone would dare interfere with the peaceful transit of an American flagged ship.
Of course, I am furious that anyone is harassing a fellow Massachusetts native.
However, let us not forget that for all that we are disdainful of the "pirates" and their lawlessness - these aren't people who turned their back on civilization and chose to harm others merely out of greed and spitefulness. These are people whose current actions have grown out of a need to survive and protect what little they have. They live in a failed state. For all the bitching and moaning people do about the United States and direction this country is headed in - there isn't anyone here who would trade their worst day for a great day in Somalia.
The world turned their back on Somalia long ago. These pirates grew out of a ragtag group of sailors who were trying to stop illegal fishing in their territorial waters. Countries who have overfished their own waters know that can violate Somalia's waters with impunity. Somalia is also the helpless victim of illegal dumping of medical and possibly nuclear waste from Europe and China.
Most people are paying attention to the Horn of Africa piracy problem for the first time because Americans are involved and I understand that. Just don't come into this discussion now, with no background information - or only one side of the story - and talk smack.
I have listened to people, in person and on talk radio who talk absolute rubbish about this situation. The answer to the piracy problem is not arming merchant ships. The answer to this situation is not tricking CAPT Phillips' captors by paying ransom so you can shoot them later.
The answer to this problem, like with most problems, is much more complicated.
So to those who know very little about this; to those who ask "What is the Navy waiting for?".....
I would remind you of the very wise words of Mark Twain "It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.”
At dinner Jen and I talked about lots of stuff; the BU hockey game was on the TV and we were rooting hard for Jack Parker's boys......even if Jen gets mad if Jack doesn't call time out when she thinks he should.
The conversation between us moves like a leaf floating along a brook, moved by the current in different directions, from one topic to another, with lots of common places where we laugh at living much of the same experiences nine years apart (our age difference). Our mother has referred to us as her twins born nine years apart.
Yet strangely enough, despite how often we see each other and how much we talk - I can still learn something new. Jen told me a story about an incident at Pope John in her sophomore or junior year ...... that mirrored an incident my sophomore or junior year at Pope John. I was astonished.
I won't go into the details in this post, maybe someday, but it's late now. But it was a formative experience that always made me conscious of two things, well three really - First, don't make a decision until you hear both sides - Second, never trust anyone who singles out a group for the actions of one or two members - Third, never forget you are from Charlestown and you take care of your own.
So, you're thinking - "Get to the point Maggie." Ok, this business with the pirates and the Maersk Alabama and CAPT Phillips and the USS Bainbridge.
Of course, I am enamored of the Navy and dote on them to a ridiculous extent.
Of course, I am affronted that anyone would dare interfere with the peaceful transit of an American flagged ship.
Of course, I am furious that anyone is harassing a fellow Massachusetts native.
However, let us not forget that for all that we are disdainful of the "pirates" and their lawlessness - these aren't people who turned their back on civilization and chose to harm others merely out of greed and spitefulness. These are people whose current actions have grown out of a need to survive and protect what little they have. They live in a failed state. For all the bitching and moaning people do about the United States and direction this country is headed in - there isn't anyone here who would trade their worst day for a great day in Somalia.
The world turned their back on Somalia long ago. These pirates grew out of a ragtag group of sailors who were trying to stop illegal fishing in their territorial waters. Countries who have overfished their own waters know that can violate Somalia's waters with impunity. Somalia is also the helpless victim of illegal dumping of medical and possibly nuclear waste from Europe and China.
Most people are paying attention to the Horn of Africa piracy problem for the first time because Americans are involved and I understand that. Just don't come into this discussion now, with no background information - or only one side of the story - and talk smack.
I have listened to people, in person and on talk radio who talk absolute rubbish about this situation. The answer to the piracy problem is not arming merchant ships. The answer to this situation is not tricking CAPT Phillips' captors by paying ransom so you can shoot them later.
The answer to this problem, like with most problems, is much more complicated.
So to those who know very little about this; to those who ask "What is the Navy waiting for?".....
I would remind you of the very wise words of Mark Twain "It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.”
Marine acquitted of murder in Iraq slaying
Marine acquitted of murder in Iraq slaying
By ELLIOT SPAGAT, Associated Press Writer Elliot Spagat, Associated Press Writer 27 mins ago
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – A military jury on Thursday acquitted a Marine sergeant on charges of murdering an unarmed detainee during battle in Fallujah, Iraq. The jury also acquitted Sgt. Ryan Weemer of dereliction of duty in the November 2004 death.
The panel of eight Marines who served in Iraq or Afghanistan got the case Wednesday and deliberated more than four hours.
Weemer, of Hindsboro, Ill., could have faced a maximum sentence of life in prison and dishonorable discharge if convicted of murder. The maximum sentence for dereliction is six months in prison and a bad conduct discharge.
In closing arguments Wednesday, a defense attorney said the 26-year-old Weemer acted in self-defense.
The prosecutor, Capt. Nicholas Gannon, recounted that Weemer said in recorded interviews that he shot the man and told a squadmate that he would have to live with that for the rest of his life.
Weemer also said in interviews that he and other Marines shot a total of four men in a house after their squad suffered its first fatality.
"I can't bring you an autopsy report," Gannon said. "I don't have one, but we have a lot of evidence that shows you beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused shot an individual in the chest twice.... The killing was unlawful."
The prosecutor told jurors they should convict Weemer of lesser charges of voluntary manslaughter or assault if they acquit him of murder.
During the one-week court-martial, the defense argued that the government could not prove Weemer killed the unarmed captive because there are no bodies, no relatives complaining of a lost loved one and no forensic evidence.
Weemer's civilian attorney, Paul Hackett, said in his closing argument that Weemer fired while he and other Marines were trying to seize a house from insurgents. He recounted testimony and statements of Weemer's squadmates that portrayed a confusing scene.
"This was chaos!" he said. "(The detainees) were not cooperating. If they're not cooperating, they're not under control. If they're not under control, they pose a threat to these Marines."
Hackett told jurors to be skeptical of a 2006 recorded interview that Weemer gave to Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents in which he describes shooting the detainee. He said one agent was an experienced interrogator who knew how to wear Weemer down.
"It is a very, very, very complicated, confusing interview," Hackett said.
Weemer told two NCIS agents that he was covered with the blood of his best friend, who had been killed by a sniper, just before his squad leader ordered him to kill the prisoner, according to a tape recording played at the court martial.
"I grabbed a gun and took him to the back of the house," Weemer, 26, said on the tape. "I shot him twice in the chest."
Weemer said he argued with his squad leader, former Sgt. Jose Luis Nazario, before complying with the order to kill the man, who was taken prisoner when Marines stormed a house on the first day of the assault on Fallujah.
"I definitely wasn't the type to disobey an order," he said.
Last August, Nazario was acquitted in Riverside federal court of killing two prisoners and ordering Weemer and another Marine to each kill one.
Another sergeant, Jermaine Nelson, has pleaded not guilty to unpremeditated murder and dereliction of duty, but his court-martial has been indefinitely postponed because of a flurry of last-minute motions filed by his attorney.
By ELLIOT SPAGAT, Associated Press Writer Elliot Spagat, Associated Press Writer 27 mins ago
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – A military jury on Thursday acquitted a Marine sergeant on charges of murdering an unarmed detainee during battle in Fallujah, Iraq. The jury also acquitted Sgt. Ryan Weemer of dereliction of duty in the November 2004 death.
The panel of eight Marines who served in Iraq or Afghanistan got the case Wednesday and deliberated more than four hours.
Weemer, of Hindsboro, Ill., could have faced a maximum sentence of life in prison and dishonorable discharge if convicted of murder. The maximum sentence for dereliction is six months in prison and a bad conduct discharge.
In closing arguments Wednesday, a defense attorney said the 26-year-old Weemer acted in self-defense.
The prosecutor, Capt. Nicholas Gannon, recounted that Weemer said in recorded interviews that he shot the man and told a squadmate that he would have to live with that for the rest of his life.
Weemer also said in interviews that he and other Marines shot a total of four men in a house after their squad suffered its first fatality.
"I can't bring you an autopsy report," Gannon said. "I don't have one, but we have a lot of evidence that shows you beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused shot an individual in the chest twice.... The killing was unlawful."
The prosecutor told jurors they should convict Weemer of lesser charges of voluntary manslaughter or assault if they acquit him of murder.
During the one-week court-martial, the defense argued that the government could not prove Weemer killed the unarmed captive because there are no bodies, no relatives complaining of a lost loved one and no forensic evidence.
Weemer's civilian attorney, Paul Hackett, said in his closing argument that Weemer fired while he and other Marines were trying to seize a house from insurgents. He recounted testimony and statements of Weemer's squadmates that portrayed a confusing scene.
"This was chaos!" he said. "(The detainees) were not cooperating. If they're not cooperating, they're not under control. If they're not under control, they pose a threat to these Marines."
Hackett told jurors to be skeptical of a 2006 recorded interview that Weemer gave to Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents in which he describes shooting the detainee. He said one agent was an experienced interrogator who knew how to wear Weemer down.
"It is a very, very, very complicated, confusing interview," Hackett said.
Weemer told two NCIS agents that he was covered with the blood of his best friend, who had been killed by a sniper, just before his squad leader ordered him to kill the prisoner, according to a tape recording played at the court martial.
"I grabbed a gun and took him to the back of the house," Weemer, 26, said on the tape. "I shot him twice in the chest."
Weemer said he argued with his squad leader, former Sgt. Jose Luis Nazario, before complying with the order to kill the man, who was taken prisoner when Marines stormed a house on the first day of the assault on Fallujah.
"I definitely wasn't the type to disobey an order," he said.
Last August, Nazario was acquitted in Riverside federal court of killing two prisoners and ordering Weemer and another Marine to each kill one.
Another sergeant, Jermaine Nelson, has pleaded not guilty to unpremeditated murder and dereliction of duty, but his court-martial has been indefinitely postponed because of a flurry of last-minute motions filed by his attorney.
What I Woke Up To
Yeah, I know, I sleep a lot. Cancer, recovering from chemo, compromised immune system, lazy, whatever. Anyway, here's where we are on the Maersk Alabama.
Eagle1's update - Somali Pirates: Navy Destroyer on Scene of Hostage Event
Fox is reporting that the ship and it's contents is moving on the Mombassa. After all, it is food aid for Kenya and they can't hang around indefinitely. Still I am sure leaving the scene was really tough on that crew. There's really no way a group of people can live/work together like that and not be tight-knit. It must be like leaving family behind. I hope it is some consolation that the best this country has to offer, the United States Navy, is staying with CAPT. Phillips.
Eagle1's update - Somali Pirates: Navy Destroyer on Scene of Hostage Event
Fox is reporting that the ship and it's contents is moving on the Mombassa. After all, it is food aid for Kenya and they can't hang around indefinitely. Still I am sure leaving the scene was really tough on that crew. There's really no way a group of people can live/work together like that and not be tight-knit. It must be like leaving family behind. I hope it is some consolation that the best this country has to offer, the United States Navy, is staying with CAPT. Phillips.
April 9, 1939
Easter Sunday - Seventy years ago. Contralto Marian Anderson gave a free open-air concert before more than 75,000 people from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington after the Daughters of the American Revolution denied her use of Constitution Hall because of her race.
****In case you are too lazy to follow Stella's link in the comments -
Stella has left a new comment on your post "April 9, 1939":
You lit up my day with this one. Eleanor Roosevelt resigned from the DAR in protest of the way the organization discriminated against Anderson. Her resignation letter is brief and scathing. The Roosevelts were directly responsible for this historical performance. Thank you.
****In case you are too lazy to follow Stella's link in the comments -
Stella has left a new comment on your post "April 9, 1939":
You lit up my day with this one. Eleanor Roosevelt resigned from the DAR in protest of the way the organization discriminated against Anderson. Her resignation letter is brief and scathing. The Roosevelts were directly responsible for this historical performance. Thank you.
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
USS Bainbridge Reaches Somali Coast
OK, one last post. I have to go to bed. I'm now on antibiotics, thanks to my most recent visit to the oncologist. Everytime I visit one of these docs and sit in their petri dish/waiting rooms, I pick up something.
Oh well, here's the latest from the BBC. I can't wait to wake up tomorrow and see what develops!
US warship reaches Somali coast
An American warship, the USS Bainbridge, has reached the area off the coast of Somalia where a cargo ship was seized by pirates a day earlier.
Please keep CAPT Richard Phillips and his family in your thoughts and prayers. I can't imagine how difficult this ordeal must be for them.
Oh well, here's the latest from the BBC. I can't wait to wake up tomorrow and see what develops!
US warship reaches Somali coast
An American warship, the USS Bainbridge, has reached the area off the coast of Somalia where a cargo ship was seized by pirates a day earlier.
Please keep CAPT Richard Phillips and his family in your thoughts and prayers. I can't imagine how difficult this ordeal must be for them.
Here's A Funny Coincidence
Guess what's been going on at the Naval War College in Newport?
NWC Explores Legal and Policy Issues at Piracy Workshop
NWC Explores Legal and Policy Issues at Piracy Workshop
NEWPORT, R.I. (April 8, 2009) Capt. Martin Klüver, German Navy, gives his presentation during the “Legal Expert’s Workshop on Maritime Piracy in the Horn of Africa” held at the Naval War College. The workshop brings together a select group of US and overseas naval officers, scholars, international organizations, and shipping industry representatives to discuss ways to develop new legal approaches for disrupting maritime piracy off the Horn of Africa. (U.S. Navy photo by MCC(AW/AC) Robert Inverso)LOL, the workshop concluded today.
Timing is everything.
Come On Gal - He's an Army Guy
Galrahn twittered '"Col. Jack Jacobs said on MSNBC the USS Bainbridge is an old nuclear cruiser"
I, of course, understand your frustration that someone would not know that the USS Bainbridge is a destroyer, lol...............but come on.........he's an Army guy. And an MOH recipient.
We can cut him some slack for not knowing that the USS Bainbridge CGN-25 was decomm'd in '96.
Meanwhile you should go over to ID for a great timeline and lots of good background.
Also, for the quick giggle - Abu Muqawama's At this moment, we can neither confirm nor deny that Steven Seagal played a role
I, of course, understand your frustration that someone would not know that the USS Bainbridge is a destroyer, lol...............but come on.........he's an Army guy. And an MOH recipient.
We can cut him some slack for not knowing that the USS Bainbridge CGN-25 was decomm'd in '96.
Meanwhile you should go over to ID for a great timeline and lots of good background.
Also, for the quick giggle - Abu Muqawama's At this moment, we can neither confirm nor deny that Steven Seagal played a role
Commodore William Bainbridge, USN, (1774-1833)
You know, the only way to describe this turn of events is..........poetic. To have the USS Bainbridge responding to an incidence of piracy is simply poetic.
From the Naval Historical Center -
William Bainbridge was born in Princeton, New Jersey, on 7 May 1774. He went to sea in the merchant marine in 1789 and was captain of a ship before reaching the age of twenty. Bainbridge was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy in August 1798. Though his first command, the schooner Retaliation, was captured by two much more powerful French frigates in November, Lieutenant Bainbridge was subsequently promoted to the rank of Master Commandant and then to Captain. During 1800-1803 he commanded the U.S. warships George Washington, Essex and Philadelphia during operations in the Mediterranean, but was taken prisoner with his entire crew when Philadelphia ran aground off Tripoli on 31 October 1803.
After regaining his freedom in 1805, Captain Bainbridge supervised naval facilities and the construction of gunboats and, while on leave, again served in the merchant marine. He returned from the last of his commercial voyages in 1812, shortly before the United States went to war with Great Britain. In September he was given command of the frigate Constitution, took her to sea on the second of her War of 1812 cruises, and destroyed HMS Java in battle on 29 December 1812. Bainbridge was stationed at Boston, in charge of building the ship of the line Independence, during most of the rest of the war. In July-November 1815, she was flagship of his squadron during an expedition to the Mediterranean to supress the renewed threat posed by the Barbary states.
Commodore Bainbridge was commander of Navy forces afloat at Boston for much of the rest of the decade, and in 1820-21 flew his flag in the ship of the line Columbus during another Mediterranean cruise. He was later Commandant of the Boston Navy Yard, served as a Naval Commissioner in 1825-1828 and then was Commandant of the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Bainbridge returned to the Boston command in 1832, but ill health forced him to leave that post in 1833. He died at Philadelphia on 27 June of that year.
The U.S. Navy has named four ships in honor of William Bainbridge, including: USS Bainbridge (1842-1863); USS Bainbridge (Destroyer # 1), 1902-1920; USS Bainbridge (DD-246), 1921-1945; and USS Bainbridge (DLGN-25, later CGN-25), 1962-1997.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As always, Princess Crabby appreciates all the effort made at the Naval Historical Center...but, baby, it's the Charlestown Navy Yard!
USS Bainbridge DDG 96 Video
So.....what pops up in my email a few minutes ago? A YouTube video about USS Bainbridge DDG 96. I have the best readers!
God speed CDR Frank Castellano and success to all the officers and Sailors aboard.
God speed CDR Frank Castellano and success to all the officers and Sailors aboard.
"Competence, Dedication, Discipline"
USS Bainbridge DDG-96
There is a destroyer headed to wrap up the Maersk Alabama matter. How fitting that it is the USS Bainbridge. William Bainbridge started out in the merchant service, much like CAPTs Phillips and Murphy.
Bainbridge was also CO of Old Ironsides during the War of 1812.
Some Guys From Mass Maritime....
.....tossed some Somali pirates in the drink!
******UPDATE******Capt. Phillips is being held hostage according to Fox.****
BZ, Capt. Richard Phillips & Capt. Shane Murphy and all the crew of the Maersk Alabama!
American Crew Regains Control of Hijacked Ship, One Pirate in Custody
For details the best sources are, of course, Eagle1 & Galrahn.
******UPDATE******Capt. Phillips is being held hostage according to Fox.****
BZ, Capt. Richard Phillips & Capt. Shane Murphy and all the crew of the Maersk Alabama!
American Crew Regains Control of Hijacked Ship, One Pirate in Custody
For details the best sources are, of course, Eagle1 & Galrahn.
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Why Wasn't This Plane Shot Down?
Authorities: Pilot of stolen plane captured after fleeing on foot
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The pilot of a small Cessna 172 aircraft reported stolen from a Canadian flight school has been captured, authorities said.
The pilot reportedly stole a small Cessna 172 aircraft from a Canadian flight school, flew hundreds of miles across the Midwest, landed on a dirt road in Missouri late Monday and took off on foot, federal officials said.
Federal, state and local authorities launched a manhunt for the pilot, who was identified by the FBI as Adam Leon, 31, a native of Turkey who became a Canadian citizen last year, according to FBI spokesman Richard Kolko. He was formerly known as Yavuz Berke, though officials did not indicate a reason for the name change.
He was taken into custody at an Ellsinore grocery story after a brief manhunt, according to Missouri state police and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
A federal law enforcement source said the pilot parked the plane under what appeared to be a bridge or culvert, apparently in an attempt to hide it.
The plane had been intercepted and tracked by U.S. military aircraft as it flew from Canada into U.S. airspace and meandered southward for several hours before landing, a Department of Homeland Security spokesman said.
It landed in the town of Ellsinore, population 360, in southern Missouri, a dispatcher with the Carter County Sheriff's Office said.
A spokesman for the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said the pilot flew "erratically" over the course of the afternoon, at time reaching 14,000 feet in altitude, then dropping as low as 3,000 feet.
The Cessna departed the school in Ontario at about 3 p.m. ET and flew over Lake Superior less than half an hour later, according to NORAD officials. F-16 fighter jets intercepted the pilot near Michigan's upper peninsula border with Wisconsin at 4:43 p.m., and tracked the Cessna until its safe landing.
The NORAD spokesman, Mike Kucharek, said military pilots who intercepted the Cessna had tried repeatedly to get the pilot's attention and at one point, the pilot appeared to acknowledge that he saw the other aircraft.
"He looked at them," Kucharek said.
But the pilot had not communicated with NORAD or the Federal Aviation Administration, Kucharek added later in the evening. At 9:20 p.m., the pilot was believed to have had roughly 30 minutes of fuel left, Kucharek said.
"We don't want to suppose the motive of the individual," Kucharek told CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360" after the landing. "But it certainly made a day for the professional pilots that were flying these missions and a very serious situation from a NORAD perspective."
Officials allowed the pilot "to play his hand" because they "[didn't] want to provoke the situation," Kucharek said.
A federal law enforcement official told CNN the pilot is a naturalized Canadian citizen, but declined to give his name or country of origin. The source said the pilot was a flight school student for a "brief" period and only clocked a few hours of flight time.
Canadian officials have received some information that the pilot is "not a happy individual," the official said.
The Cessna departed at about 3 p.m. ET and flew over Lake Superior less than half an hour later, according to NORAD officials. F-16 fighter jets intercepted the pilot near Michigan's upper peninsula border with Wisconsin at 4:43 p.m., and have tracked the Cessna since.
Earlier in the evening, the Wisconsin National Guard deployed two F-16s of its own in an attempt to get the pilot to establish communications with FAA air traffic controllers.
The state capitol in Madison, Wisconsin, was evacuated for less than an hour as a precaution.
FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said the plane was reportedly stolen from a flight school in Thunder Bay, Canada, and the pilot had been identified as a student at the flight school.
Both Lt. Cmdr. Gary Ross of NORAD and Brown of the FAA said the 14,000-feet altitude is above the level at which the FAA requires use of oxygen. Brown said it was not clear whether the Cessna had supplemental oxygen on board.
Ross says the plane is a long-range version of a Cessna 172. It was fully fueled, giving it about seven hours of flying time.
Ross said if NORAD officials believe the aircraft poses a threat, "we take seriously any intent to harm any of our citizens or critical infrastructure."
He added that "all options are on the table although we continue to move towards a resolution that doesn't call for [lethal force]."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SERIOUSLY?????????
Officials allowed the pilot "to play his hand" because they "[didn't] want to provoke the situation," Kucharek said.
Seriously? You didn't want to "provoke the situation"????
So, let me get this straight. In a post 9/11 world, NORAD let a guy born in Turkey, who, odds are was at least born Muslim (99% of Turks are Muslim) steal a plane in the country he had moved to (and changed his name in) and fly hundreds of miles into our country?
I have a headache.
Maybe Gates should cut all your fancy-shmancy toys out of the budget - computers, planes, radar. What the eff? You're not using it anyway. If you're just gonna sit with your thumb up your ass and watch it.....hell, all you need is a good pair of field glasses from LL Bean.
After all, what's the rush, just wait for him to land and then pick him up. I daresay, he wouldn't have been able to blend in with the local population in southern Missouri. Eventually the 360 people who live in Ellsinore would have noticed the Turk with the Canadian accent who didn't eat grits.
What's the big deal?
h/t Bigg Bill
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The pilot of a small Cessna 172 aircraft reported stolen from a Canadian flight school has been captured, authorities said.
The pilot reportedly stole a small Cessna 172 aircraft from a Canadian flight school, flew hundreds of miles across the Midwest, landed on a dirt road in Missouri late Monday and took off on foot, federal officials said.
Federal, state and local authorities launched a manhunt for the pilot, who was identified by the FBI as Adam Leon, 31, a native of Turkey who became a Canadian citizen last year, according to FBI spokesman Richard Kolko. He was formerly known as Yavuz Berke, though officials did not indicate a reason for the name change.
He was taken into custody at an Ellsinore grocery story after a brief manhunt, according to Missouri state police and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
A federal law enforcement source said the pilot parked the plane under what appeared to be a bridge or culvert, apparently in an attempt to hide it.
The plane had been intercepted and tracked by U.S. military aircraft as it flew from Canada into U.S. airspace and meandered southward for several hours before landing, a Department of Homeland Security spokesman said.
It landed in the town of Ellsinore, population 360, in southern Missouri, a dispatcher with the Carter County Sheriff's Office said.
A spokesman for the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said the pilot flew "erratically" over the course of the afternoon, at time reaching 14,000 feet in altitude, then dropping as low as 3,000 feet.
The Cessna departed the school in Ontario at about 3 p.m. ET and flew over Lake Superior less than half an hour later, according to NORAD officials. F-16 fighter jets intercepted the pilot near Michigan's upper peninsula border with Wisconsin at 4:43 p.m., and tracked the Cessna until its safe landing.
The NORAD spokesman, Mike Kucharek, said military pilots who intercepted the Cessna had tried repeatedly to get the pilot's attention and at one point, the pilot appeared to acknowledge that he saw the other aircraft.
"He looked at them," Kucharek said.
But the pilot had not communicated with NORAD or the Federal Aviation Administration, Kucharek added later in the evening. At 9:20 p.m., the pilot was believed to have had roughly 30 minutes of fuel left, Kucharek said.
"We don't want to suppose the motive of the individual," Kucharek told CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360" after the landing. "But it certainly made a day for the professional pilots that were flying these missions and a very serious situation from a NORAD perspective."
Officials allowed the pilot "to play his hand" because they "[didn't] want to provoke the situation," Kucharek said.
A federal law enforcement official told CNN the pilot is a naturalized Canadian citizen, but declined to give his name or country of origin. The source said the pilot was a flight school student for a "brief" period and only clocked a few hours of flight time.
Canadian officials have received some information that the pilot is "not a happy individual," the official said.
The Cessna departed at about 3 p.m. ET and flew over Lake Superior less than half an hour later, according to NORAD officials. F-16 fighter jets intercepted the pilot near Michigan's upper peninsula border with Wisconsin at 4:43 p.m., and have tracked the Cessna since.
Earlier in the evening, the Wisconsin National Guard deployed two F-16s of its own in an attempt to get the pilot to establish communications with FAA air traffic controllers.
The state capitol in Madison, Wisconsin, was evacuated for less than an hour as a precaution.
FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said the plane was reportedly stolen from a flight school in Thunder Bay, Canada, and the pilot had been identified as a student at the flight school.
Both Lt. Cmdr. Gary Ross of NORAD and Brown of the FAA said the 14,000-feet altitude is above the level at which the FAA requires use of oxygen. Brown said it was not clear whether the Cessna had supplemental oxygen on board.
Ross says the plane is a long-range version of a Cessna 172. It was fully fueled, giving it about seven hours of flying time.
Ross said if NORAD officials believe the aircraft poses a threat, "we take seriously any intent to harm any of our citizens or critical infrastructure."
He added that "all options are on the table although we continue to move towards a resolution that doesn't call for [lethal force]."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SERIOUSLY?????????
Officials allowed the pilot "to play his hand" because they "[didn't] want to provoke the situation," Kucharek said.
Seriously? You didn't want to "provoke the situation"????
So, let me get this straight. In a post 9/11 world, NORAD let a guy born in Turkey, who, odds are was at least born Muslim (99% of Turks are Muslim) steal a plane in the country he had moved to (and changed his name in) and fly hundreds of miles into our country?
I have a headache.
Maybe Gates should cut all your fancy-shmancy toys out of the budget - computers, planes, radar. What the eff? You're not using it anyway. If you're just gonna sit with your thumb up your ass and watch it.....hell, all you need is a good pair of field glasses from LL Bean.
After all, what's the rush, just wait for him to land and then pick him up. I daresay, he wouldn't have been able to blend in with the local population in southern Missouri. Eventually the 360 people who live in Ellsinore would have noticed the Turk with the Canadian accent who didn't eat grits.
What's the big deal?
h/t Bigg Bill
Sometime Last Night......
.... I rolled over 100,000 visitors.
The person came from a Stanford University computer through a picture of the NYT headline about the Korean War truce being signed.
The person came from a Stanford University computer through a picture of the NYT headline about the Korean War truce being signed.
So Far So Good
I went to Jordan for the Aredia, a bone strengthener that you get via a two hour IV. When I showed up and checked in, I asked if there was an insurance copay. "No, there are no copays with your policy for chemo." That rocked me back a little. I hadn't thought about this as chemo. After all, there is nothing wrong with my bones. They are giving this to me as a precaution. They are sure the cancer will begin to attack my bones and supposedly this puts me in a better position.
So I settled into a comfortable geri chair and opened my book. It was warm there and the only channel that comes in that deep in the hospital is Magic 106.7.
I had a lot of trouble concentrating on the book. I couldn't think of the names of the songs playing behind my head. I thought, "What if I'm not smart anymore?" I kept pushing that thought out of my mind and texting Jen about how the whole thing blows. Next thing I knew, I was asleep.
Other than sucking the life out of me. It's fine. I am slow moving, but not sick, like Zometa.
The kitchen sink sprang a leak, but Frankie and his friends handled it. The sink has never been replaced in the 27 years I've been here. It's porcelain and all nicked and scuffed. They bought a new sink. Now they want a new counter top. Yikes! So far though I've only spent $95.00. The counter top shouldn't be much more and it had to be done.
I fell asleep after Jack and now I am awake again. I forgot the magnesium.
Oh well, more Nyquil, then back to bed to try again.
So I settled into a comfortable geri chair and opened my book. It was warm there and the only channel that comes in that deep in the hospital is Magic 106.7.
I had a lot of trouble concentrating on the book. I couldn't think of the names of the songs playing behind my head. I thought, "What if I'm not smart anymore?" I kept pushing that thought out of my mind and texting Jen about how the whole thing blows. Next thing I knew, I was asleep.
Other than sucking the life out of me. It's fine. I am slow moving, but not sick, like Zometa.
The kitchen sink sprang a leak, but Frankie and his friends handled it. The sink has never been replaced in the 27 years I've been here. It's porcelain and all nicked and scuffed. They bought a new sink. Now they want a new counter top. Yikes! So far though I've only spent $95.00. The counter top shouldn't be much more and it had to be done.
I fell asleep after Jack and now I am awake again. I forgot the magnesium.
Oh well, more Nyquil, then back to bed to try again.
Monday, April 06, 2009
This Isn't Fair
I have a head cold. That's not a big deal. But today, I am supposed to get the stupid Aredia. I have held them at bay with this nonsense since the horrid experience with Zometa just before New Year's Eve. But they have been so cooperative in not trying cripple me with more chemo, I have in on this.
I got back to work on Thursday and was talking about the Aredia and someone, I can't remember who said "Well make sure you don't have a cold when you do it."
And now I do. If I remember who that was they are in trouble.
Of course, it had to happen. Now that I am off chemo, it is obvious that every time I go to a doctors office I get a little bug.
The Air Force pointed out that elementary schools full of germy little kids are more a petri dish than hospitals and I laughed "Who is going to let me near their kids?" He agreed I had a point.
Anyway, now I worry that the head cold will be exacerbated by the Aredia. I have nothing to base that on short of how sick I got New Year's Eve because I had a head cold that day too.
Oh well, orange juice and soup are the order of the day.
I got back to work on Thursday and was talking about the Aredia and someone, I can't remember who said "Well make sure you don't have a cold when you do it."
And now I do. If I remember who that was they are in trouble.
Of course, it had to happen. Now that I am off chemo, it is obvious that every time I go to a doctors office I get a little bug.
The Air Force pointed out that elementary schools full of germy little kids are more a petri dish than hospitals and I laughed "Who is going to let me near their kids?" He agreed I had a point.
Anyway, now I worry that the head cold will be exacerbated by the Aredia. I have nothing to base that on short of how sick I got New Year's Eve because I had a head cold that day too.
Oh well, orange juice and soup are the order of the day.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
