Google May Pull Out

Search Giant Google may end operations in China, after human rights activists accounts were recently attacked and breached.  Google announced that a “highly sophisticated and targeted attack on our corporate infrastructure originating from China.” has led to an investigation. The company revealed that “a primary goal of the attackers was accessing the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists.” It should be known that Google has not directly placed blame on the Chinese government, however they did announce that they are not willing to continue censoring results to comply with government requirements. This may lead to the Google China site being shut down and closing all offices in the country.

I think that this is the right thing to do, regardless of whether the government is responsible or not with so much work being done to comply with Chinese requirements they can't be dealing with people who breach others' privacy. I would whole heatedly support this, as i feel that they shouldn't even be censoring Chinese internet. The unfortunate part is that many jobs would be lost if the company were to shut down their branches in these regions.

Give a Pint, Get a Pint!

A new deal has been offered at a Washington state blood bank... Give a pint get a pint! All those above the age of 21 can donate blood and receive a pint of beer. And you thought cookies and juice was good! It has been stated that this blood for beer system has been so successful that it is being expanded to other areas. Donors above 21 are given a coupon for a free pint of beer. To keep people safe restaurants and bars participating must not give the donor their beer until at least 4 hours after donating. When you give blood you already feel faint and to add beer is potentially dangerous. It has been said that it gets more blood and increases restaurant business.

I acknowledge that this is an effective method of encouraging people to donate, however i feel that to offer alchohol as an incentive is somewhat inappropriate. First of all giving blood is a big thing, literally saving peoples lives, and I feel that it is very shallow if one pint of beer would change a persons opinions on donating. However it is also true that by doing this more  blood is being collected and this more lives saved.

Armed Siege Ends Peacfully!

Heavily armed members of the the Bermuda Police department surrounded the home of a suspected fire arms offender. People in the neighborhood were denied access to their homes due to the great danger. This man was arrested 90 minutes after his house was seized by officers who saw him enter at 10 a.m. It is believed that the suspect ran out the back of the house while officers waited for reinforcements. Once backup officers arrived they called for the man to pick up his cell phone before warning him of their entry. Six officers and one canine unit charged the home to find that there was no one inside. A representative from the police department stated “We had confirmation that he was there. We went through the options, we wanted to give the suspect an opportunity to come out. When we entered no-one was in the house and no firearms were found.”This man was later arrested at 2:50pm however the location is yet to be released.

I find this quite scary, I remember when i was younger and there were absolutely no guns in Bermuda. Look how far we have come, going from small island Utopian paradise to a place where police officers walk around with guns. I have to compliment the Bermuda police department, they really stepped up their game on this one and got the job done. I'm very relieved that there is one less gun slinging thug wandering our island. 

Washington DC takes the Lead!

It was recently reported that Washington D.C. has taken over New York City's lowest office vacancy record. AS large government agencies such as TARP  increase in size jobs drain out of NYC. This is more important than meets the eye. American culture has focused on the separation between business and politics but it seems that they are becoming more and more connected, something that is not encouraged by the constitution. To prevent this the capitol was built far from the thriving founding area of Boston, and New York. As time went by the distance between these cities and the nations capitol have shrunk to the point where DC has taken the lead. Previously defense contractors were the only ones with such proximity to the government, where as now hundreds of firms require this same attribute. The Federal Government is now a majority owner of many companies such as General Motors and AIG merging the gap between government and business. This decreases the American idea of a capitol city having a specialized location for a specific task.
I think that this decreases the very idea of capitalism. It is not good for a market economy to have too much government interference. However in hard economic times it is good to have government involved and halping out. I am interested to see that new york is falling behind the capitol but hopefully it wont last too long. 

Arrest in B.C. pipeline bombings!

A series of bombing of B.C. gas pipelines has led to a massive search resulting in the arrest of one man, while the search for others goes on. Around 8 a.m in the morning a man of 50-60 years was taken into custody 25 km from the border of B.C and Alberta. Police still withhold the name of the suspect, as he has not been formally charge. Ludwig and Richard Boonstra were charged and convicted in two gas well bombings in Alberta. In 1998 three gas wells were hit, and another blast made a large crater in the road going to Norcen Energy. "A letter to local media called EnCana "terrorists" and demanded that the company stop operating in the region.

Another letter sent to the Dawson Creek Daily News in July warned that things "could get a lot worse" if the company did not quit."
Personlly i had no idea that these bombings were even occuring. I dont see why companies would continue operating in the region if there have been so many bombings going on. It is very good that the authorities managed to arrest the one suspect and hopefully they will catch more of them.

Accenture drops Woods

Last month golf legend Tiger Woods was shrouded in controversy over a car crash that later shed light on numerous affairs with women other than his wife. Accenture is a management consulting firm, and an important sponsor for the famed golfer that recently dropped relations with Woods. The firms website stated: "given the circumstances of the last two weeks ... the company has determined that he is no longer the right representative for its advertising." officially ending a sponsorship lasting six years. One of Tiger's biggest sponsors, Gillette announced that it was "limiting Woods' role in its marketing programs to give him the privacy to work on family relationships". Tiger Woods announced on his own site this Friday that he was taking an "indefinite break from professional golf". "After much soul searching, I have decided to take an indefinite break from professional golf. I need to focus my attention on being a better husband, father and person," Woods announced on his web site Friday.

It is very unfortunate that Accenture and Gillette have taken this action with regards to their sponsorships. Tiger woods made many mistakes, but then who doesn't make mistakes. Why do ordinary people think that they have the limited rights to make mistakes. Tiger woods is not a superhuman he is just as prone to mistakes as we are, probably even more than us being an athletic protege does not exempt him from the same evils everyone else experiences. However he is known for his extreme mental toughness and stability so I feel that this is just an obstacle and he will come out of it stronger than he was before, and when he does these companies will regret dropping him. He certainly has all my support and I hope he gets back into pro golf soon.

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$10,000 Student Charity Donation

Students studying the economics of philanthropy at The University of Mary Washington will be able to present $10,000 to local charities on Dember the First. Warren Buffett's sister Doris is currently funding this course through the the Sunshine lady foundation which donates money to charitable causes all across the country. Such courses in philanthropy have been funded by her at some 15 other universities around the U.S.  Buffet, recently met with students of this five year program encouraging them to consider philanthropy as career choce for the future.

I think that this is a great way to learn about the day to day aspect of philanthropy and charity in general. For a topic that requires so much worldly experience, there is no better way to learn. I think that courses such as these help to show people new career choices that usually stay in the shadows. Careers in philanthropy offer exiting, fulfilling and rewarding lifestyles with the end result being the feeling you have done your part.

Tanker Hijaked!

European Naval Forces recently reported that a chemical tanker with a north Korean crew was hijacked of the coast of Somalia. The ship, owned by virgin islands company and operating out of Singapore was seized 180 miles from the Seychelles on Monday as it sailed for Kenya. The ship has been turned around by its captors and is currently sailing north. The government of Somalia has been unable to stop pirate attacks such as this and thus western countries have had to step up their pirate patrols. The number of attempted attacks have increased this year, however due to greater patrol numbers the amount of successful attacks has dramatically dropped. The entirety of 2008 saw some 293 attacks, while 306 have occurred in the first nine months of 2009 nine alone. Of these attacks Somali pirates have been successful in capturing 32 vessels, 533 hostages with 8 others wounded, 4 others killed and 1 other missing.


I am surprised that this is still going on, if it is so well known that the pirates are coming from Somalia then there should be even more patrols and greater numbers of police in the major ports of Somalia. For the people on the ships i think there should be protective weaponry or a security team on board so as to protect the lives and the resources. I am very surprised however that there have been so many more attacks in the first 9 months then all last year, because if there are more patrols and less successes one would assume motivation would decrease.

Baloon Boys Parents Guilty!

  The parents of the famous balloon boy hoax will plead guilty on Friday at Larimer County Court. Mayumi Heene (mother) will plead guilty to a misdemeanor of a false report to authorities on Friday at Larimer County Court. Richard Heene is to plead guilty to a felony offens: atempting to influence public servants. There is a posibility of jail time for the Heene's but the thought is ever more in their heads that Mayumi could be deported, as she is a citizen of Japan and is susceptible to deportation. In October of this year the large silver balloon flew free of tie downs and was watched across the country as military aircraft tracked its whereabouts. Court documents later revealed that Mayumi had instructed her children to lie to officials and press so as to make them marketable for later media interests.
  Personally im glad they are being tried, how desperate do you have to be to come up with the idea that your child is in a balloon. This family wasted the time and resources of officials, the wasted the military's time and they wasted the press's time. Justice must be served as these people need to pay the price that comes from calling the police over nothing.

NATO Soldiers Missing!

     Two NATO soldiers have been missing since Wednesday when they went on a routine resupply mission in Western Afghanistan. Exhaustive search and rescue operations are in action to locate service men, with everything they can do to find them. Names and nationalities are not being released by NATO until the national authority of the servicemen does. Soldiers from 42 countries serve with NATO with U.S. Militar personnel being the majority of the force. The family members are being informed and kept up to date. The men went missing near the border of Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. However further information is being with held until the search is out. 
     Wow this is unfortunate especially when the pullout date so close. I offer my good wishes to the family and hopeful the rescue effort will work. 

Ares I-X Launch Delayed!

   Tuesday morning the launch of the largest rocket in the world the Ares I-X was delayed several times due to bad weather at the Kennedy Space Centre. NASA has until noon to launch the rocket, however as of 9:55 a.m., the go-ahead had not been announced. Upper level clouds and winds, along with a lanyard within the danger zone caused the launch to be delayed from its original time, 8 a.m. This launch focus;s on the testing of three large rocket parachutes measuring a staggering 150 feet in diameter and weighing a ton each! Needless to say it is the largest rocket parachute ever created. The parachutes are the most important element in the rockets deceleration as they will provide the necessary drag to bring the rocket motor to a soft landing in the ocean. The Ares 1-X is the rocket that NASA will use to someday return to the moon and use it as an outpost for exploration to Mars. The launch will not be before 2015, but the launch date hangs on the decision for funding by president obama.
   I think that this is great, shuttle missions were beginning to become too routine and the people stopped really thinking about them, and this is when mistakes are made. Ares I-X will help to gather the necessary information to send astronauts back to the moon and mars safely and most effectively. I only hope that the US government continues to fund their great efforts. 

Airliner overshoots airport, terrorism suspected!

   A Northwest Airlines flight from San Diego to Minneapolis overshot the airport by 150 miles, the crew claims that they were distracted in a heated conversation over airline policy. However the plane lost radio contact and when controllers finally made contact answers were so vague that they suspected either the pilots had fallen asleep or the airplane had been hijacked. In order to ensure pilots control over the flight, controllers ordered a series of unnessacary maneuvers; fighter jets were ready but not deployed. The FAA soon contacted the airline to try and get ahold of the flight but there was no success. The NTSB stated that they were in possession of the Flight Data Recorder and the Cockpit Voice Recorder nicknamed the "Black Box" and will be reviewing it to see if it matches the stories of the crew members.
    I agree with the controllers in that this was suspicious, as a learner pilot i know that one of the worst things you can do to attract suspicion is not talk ATC. It is there job to keep people safe and when you ignore their radio calls you become a suspicion on the radar screen. I wonder what the end result will be.

Tornado!

Yesterday a quick tornado rolled through Southampton damaging homes and cars. It was an odd and unpredicted situation, with many sightings in Tuckers Town and Southampton. Apparently it was so fast that it came and went in seconds, not even leaving enough time to get up. By the time witnesses managed to get outside there were pieces of slate from the roofs scattered all over the ground.
I can say without question that this is the result of climate change. I lived in Bermuda all my life and the most extreme weather has been hurricanes but tornado's are something that i've never heard of anything like this is my life. My heart goes out to those affected by this storm and hope it will serve as a reminder to Bermudians of the drastic affects that Global Warming can have.

Unresponsive pilot crashes!

This wednesday a small plane crashed near Muncie Indiana, with F-16's from the air national gaurd trailing. They were called in after the pilot failed to respond to radio calls. 12:40 p.m. the aeroplane crashed into a Randolph County, Indiana near Winchester. There was only one fatality, that being the sole occupant and pilot of the plane according to indiana state police as nobody in the area was hurt. It is said that this was a medical situation caused by lack of oxygen and investigators have no reason to believe it was an act of terrorism. At about 11:30 AM the India Air National Gaurd F-16's intercepted te aircraft near muncie. The airplane lost all communication with ground air traffic controllers after it departed from grand rapids michigan. F-16 pilots reported that the pilot was unresoponsive upon intercepting. The crash occured in a corn field where police and fire officials examine the Charred wreckage.

This sort of thing happens all the time, medical incident in a lone plane i think that the government takes it too seriously by suspecting it may be terrorism. It seems as though anything bad that happens can be called terrorism. However it's lucky that it happened where it did so that no people were harmed and there wasnt to much damage to the property of the farmer.

Online chats lead to terrorist arrest.

A 19 year old Jordanian was arrested in a sting operation by the FBI. Hosam Maher Husein Smadi, entered th United States illegaly and was living in Texas when he attempted to set of an explosive device in the basement of a 60 story office building. Authorities were reading his posts on extremist websites long before his arrest, however he stood out from all the other violence endorsing extremists as he actually intended on commiting violence. Undercover officers then contacted smadi and after months of conversations decided he was a real threat. Smadi had chosen a few potential targets but in the end chose the home of the Wells Fargo bank so as to try and crush the already weak economy. He continualy stated that he was a soldier of Osama Bin Laden and that he wanted to commit violent Jihad. Smadi contacted the undercover agent and told him that he wanted to commit the act on September 11th but changed the date to coincide with Ramadan. He then recieved what he believed was an explosive device from the undercover agent and proceeded to the car park of the Building. He was told that dialing his phone would set of the device, however the result was a call placed to FBI agents, he was then arrested. People charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction are liable for life in prison and a $250,000 dollar fine.
I think that this was an excellent job by the FBI. This sort of thing is why they are around and i think that it couldnt have been handled better. I cant believe that Smadi was foolish enough to post his intention to commit violence on a website, he should have realized that these kinds of sites are always being watched by the FBI. Alot of times as soon as you visit one you are being watched, however its a saving grace that he did because without these conversations there could have been a massive tragedy which is the last thing the country or the economy wants.

The Queen to visit Bermuda.

     This afternoon it was announced that for the first time in 14 years the Queen is making the journey to Bermuda to celebrate the islands 400th anniversary. The duke of Edinburgh will accompany her majesty to the Island from November 24th to November 26th. At the conclusion of her vist the Queen will travel to Trinidad and Tobego, here she will be opening the 2009 Commonwealth Heads and Government meeting.
      It is my opinion that this visit has a little more substance than meets the eye. The actions by Ewart Brown and the Progressive Labour Party have been aggrivating the British Government for years with activities as trying to raise popularity for independence, and allowing the Uighers (detainees from Guantanamo Bay) entry onto the island despite breaking the Islands constitution. I think that this visit is just what the bermuda people need, so as to remind them where they come from, the lack of visits from British Royalty has allowed bermudians to loose their way and forget that this is our heritage and that we should celebrate it. Bermuda has slowly drifted farthur and farther away from its "main land" to the point where you could visit the island and haver no idea that there was any connection with Britain. I also feel like this is a new opportunity for the United Kingdom to become more involed with us.

Man thought to have killed family.

The search for 33 year old Mesac Damas was on after his wife and five children were found dead saturday in their Naples Home. The inabilitiy of the authorities to locate Mr. Damas may be due to the possibility that he fled to Haiti this friday morning. Authorities announced at a news conference that "We don't see at this point any indication of an indicidual out in the neighborhoods commiting additional crimes or homocides, but will look at every opportunity." Since 200 a 'handfull' of domestic disturbance calls to the police have been made involving the Damas couple, which ultimately resulted in Mr. Mesac Damas' arrest earlier in January. Mesac Demas pleaded no contest to battery of Guerline Damas in June, and it was said by Capt Roberts that no jail time was served forthe crime. Authorities are still taking with the families aquaintences to try and figure out just what happended. The six bodies were discovered after a family member had not hear from a resident at the home, thus contacting the authorities to do a welfare check on the Family. Police knocked on the door, however no response failed to arouse suspicions of the officer. The next morning the same member became more concerened and filed a missing persons report. The cause of death has not yet been stated.
      I think that the police not taking concern to no answer at the door was inexusable, they already knew that Mr. Damas had a violent history and thus anything out of the ordinary should have been investigated. In terms of catching him i think that they should contact the airlines for manifests and speak to Haiti officials to take him into custody.

"Uigur men are a 'Moderate' threat"

    Three months ago four Uighurs were secretly brought into the country of Bermuda, and have now been declared a moderate threat by the Bermuda Police Service. These men were cleared as enemy combatants twice before flown into the country on a private plane. However it was decided that this security assesment would have to be completed before these men would be granted permission to stay in the country. Govenor Sir Richard Gozney released a statement say that "a security assessment had been completed on the four men who spengt seven years in the US terrorist detention centre Guantanamo Bay." The Bermuda Police have announced that they have no reason to believe that these men will exhibit criminal behaivior in Bermuda, but will continue monitor the situation. Seperatly the Bermuda government secretly inviting these men to the country strongly violates elements of the Bermuda Constitution. The British and US governments continue discussion on this matter. Should the UK Government allow them to stay in the country the method is undecidend. Attorney General, Kim Wilson says that it is unlikely they will ever be given or be able to apply for Bermuda Citizenship or Permanent Resident Status. Bermuda's general entrustment agreement allows the country to negotiate with other countries on certain matters. The GEA was being reviewed as a direct result of Premier Browns decision to negotiate, however the Govenor says that he had no authority to do so as the matter involved external affairs.
    I remember when Brown did this, himself and

Pakistan Army Linked to Killings in Swat

         Two months ago the Pakistani Army seized power of the Swat Valley from Taliban militants. Since then terror has been spread throughout as people begin to suspect the military is involved in the hundreds of dead bodies dumped in the streets. Society in this region takes a "tit-for-tat" approach to most issues and thus the local government have said that these deaths could be the work of citizens getting revenge against the taliban. However most torture markings and deaths are to similar for people to believe the military has no part in the events, not to mention that the deaths occur in places where the army has a firm control. Despite this the army spokes person acknowleges that the bodies have turned up but denies any involvement of the Pakistani Army. The Human Rights Commission has a different outlook on this as last month "credible reports of retailatory killings by the military" have been made. In some cases witnesses reported seeing mass graves, thus feeding the notion that the military is out to " silence any enthusiasm for the taliban". One family filed a petition for the killing of their son, after being told that he would arrive back the next day, his dead body was on they're doorstep by the next morning. The statement read "There was no place on his body not tortured, nails were hammered into his body and cigarettes burned into the skin."
         I can't believe that people are going to let this go by accepting nothing other than statements from the Pakistani Army, if they are killing hundreds, they aren't going to tell anyone. Pakistan has connections in Washington that were already being questioned by congress. If they wan't to maintain these connections the U.S. should launch some sort of investigation. A regional politition from the area said that these killings would not help bring peace and this is very true I think if it is the army they might stray into the zone where this becomes a war or genocide, especially in times when people are on the alert. Regardless, if the people being killed are members of the Taliban they shoud be locked up but not killed especially since the family of one victim knew that there son wasn't involved and this is most likely the case with many other victims. This style of killing is seen frequently throughout history and it almost always escalates.