Monthly Archives: February 2013

Random Events, Free Will or Something Darker?

DORNER REMAINS POSITIVELY IDENTIFIED

UPDATED February 15, 2013

View Dorner Timeline in a larger map

The San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department confirmed the identity of the remains found in the burnt out cabin in the Big Bear Area. Because the remains were burned beyond recognition, dental records were used to identify the ex-LAPD officer Christopher Dorner. This comes just one day after Sheriff John McMahon made a statement that the manhunt for the fugitive had been called off.

In events that started on February 3, with the murder of an engaged couple, and escalating with a massive multi-state and multi-country search, which began on February 7 when Dorner tried to steal a boat in San Diego and shot at officers in Corona and Riverside killing Michael Crain. The trail lead up to Big Bear where his truck was found burned with a broken axle. That is where the trail went cold until February 12.

Tuesday afternoon Jim and Karen Reynolds went to their unoccupied apartment in Big Bear surprising Dorner who was hiding out there. Their apartment was directly across the street from the command outpost of those searching for him. According to Karen Reynolds, Dorner stated he would not kill them. He tied them up, put wash cloths in their mouths, and tied pillows over their heads. Dorner then stole their car, at which time the Reynolds’ broke free and contacted the authorities.

Dorner was then chased by California Department of Fish and Wildlife personnel who identified the stolen car. The pursuit culminated with a shoot out between the two vehicles and one of the wardens exiting the car to fire 20 high powered rounds at Dorner as he continued past them.

During the pursuit, Dorner crashed the car he had stolen and carjacked Richard Heltebrake’s silver truck. According to Heltebrake, Dorner came out of the trees and stood in the road telling Heltebrake to get out, take his dog and walk up the road. As with the Reynolds’, Dorner said he did not want to harm Heltebrake.

A San Bernardino Sheriff patrol car with 2 deputies (found the truck parked in front of a cabin. The deputies were discussing how to proceed when they saw footprints in the snow leading up to one of the cabins. Dorner then ambushed the deputies from the cabin in question) and a shoot out ensued. (Other officers arrived on scene about the same time the shots were fired.) Detective Jeremiah MacKay and Officer Andrew Tachias were both shot, MacKay fatally. The cabin became the last place Dorner would be as he became trapped by officers surrounding the area.

At one point Dorner tried to escape, but was forced back into the cabin by surrounding officers. As night approached, a highly flammable “hot gas” was used to try to force Dorner out. The use of this incendiary device accidentally caught the cabin on fire. There was one shot heard from inside and then the sounds of other ammunition exploding as the fire grew. The cabin was allowed to burn out on its own with no other events reported.

Christopher Dorner’s remains were found after the scene was deemed to be safe to enter. His remains were transferred to the (Riverside County Coroner’s Office) for identification.

UPDATED 2/15/13- San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department’s John McMahon held a press conference today at 4:00pm PST. He stated that the Reynolds’ condominium was checked on Thursday night February 7th. The door was found locked and there was no answer. The Reynolds’ stated that the door had been left unlocked the last time they had left. Officers were instructed not to force entry if the door was locked, there was no answer, and there was not cause to suspect forced entry. The building was then tagged as searched.

Cold gas was used first to try to force Dorner out of the cabin. It was only after the failure of the attempts to coax him out of the cabin using multiple strategies that the more flammable device was used. It was also revealed that the sound of the single shot after the fire started had a different sound than the other shots Dorner had been firing.

Captain Kevin Lacey stated the coroner’s report’s cause of death was a single gun shot wound to the head. It seems to have been self inflicted. His remains were transferred to San Bernardino County Morgue upon completion of the autopsy.

Read More
Big Bear residents say Dorner bound, gagged them
Riverside Officer Wounded in Dorner Ambush Identified
Dorner manhunt: ‘Hot gas’ that burned cabin was last resort

News, Religion

LIGHTENING STRIKES THE BASILICA OF ST PETER’S HOURS AFTER THE POPE ANNOUNCES RESIGNATION

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Hours after the 85 year old Pontiff announced his intension to resign at the end of the month, a bolt of lightening struck the basilica of St Peter, at the heart of the Vatican. The strange event made many ask if this was some kind of “sign from God”.

Roman Catholic’s have been shocked by the surprise announcement by Pope Benedict XVI, who said he no longer has the strength to carry out his duties, due to his advanced years.

He is the first Pope to resign since Gregory XII in 1415. In total only four or five Pope’s have stepped down from the position, most were forced out by political rivals. Pope Benedict will be the first to resign on health grounds.

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News

WOMAN HIT, KILLED BY SUBWAY AFTER FAINTING IN BROOKLYN STATION

A woman was hit by a train and killed after she fainted on a train platform in Brooklyn Tuesday morning.

The MTA said the woman was struck at the Eastern Parkway and Utica Avenue station at about 10:30 a.m.

Brooklyn-bound 3 trains are running express from Atlantic Avenue to Utica Avenue, and some southbound 4 trains are rerouted. There are delays in both directions, and Brooklyn-bound trains are bypassing Utica Avenue.

Two recent pushing deaths, one in Queens and another in Manhattan, have drawn attention to the dangers underground.

Fifty-five people died last year after they were pushed, fell or jumped onto the tracks, up from 47 in 2011, according to the MTA. On average, about 135 people a year are hit by New York City subways; most survive.

At a City Council hearing last week, Transportation Committee Chairman James Vacca said the recent deaths should be “a wake-up call to our transit system.”

MTA officials say they’re working toward testing barriers on platform edges and technology that sounds alarms when someone or something is on the tracks.

The subway workers’ union, meanwhile, is pushing another approach: telling drivers to enter stations as slowly as 10 mph. The trains’ average speed is about 30 mph.

The MTA says slowing the trains would lengthen commutes by about 30 seconds per station, make platforms more crowded and reduce the frequency of arriving trains by about 20 percent unless more trains were added.

Vacca and other council members pushed MTA officials to move faster on evaluating the bigger measures, noting that the agency started gathering information two years ago about the barriers. They have been installed in subway systems from Shanghai and Dubai to Paris.

“Why haven’t we had action?” Vacca asked outside the hearing, adding that he wasn’t sure he favored the idea but wanted the analysis to move faster.

View 2012-2013 NYC deaths in a larger map

more at Woman Hit, Killed by Subway After Fainting in Brooklyn Station: MTA | NBC New York.

News

POPE BENEDICT XVI RESIGNS DUE TO ILL HEALTH

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Pope Benedict has announced he will be resigning at the end of the month. The 85 year old pontiff told cardinals of his resignation, citing a lack of strength due to his age.

“After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths due to an advanced age are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry,” he told the cardinals. “I am well aware that this ministry, due to its essential spiritual nature, must be carried out not only by words and deeds but no less with prayer and suffering.”

Pope Benedict will be the first Pope in 600 years to resign from the post, with only four of five popes resigning in the churches history.

Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana and Cardinal Francis Arinze of Nigeria are early possible successors for the position. With others suggesting a cardinal from Latin America may be Pope Benedict’s successor.

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France 24

News

QUEEN OF THE NETHERLANDS GIVES UP HER THRONE


View Queen of Netherlands abdicates throne in a larger map

The Netherlands

Jan. 28, 2013

In 1980, Queen Juliana abdicated as the Queen of the Netherlands, giving the throne to her daughter, Queen Beatrix.

On April 30th this year, Queen Beatrix will abdicate from her throne and give it to her son, The Prince of Orange, Prince Willem-Alexander.

Her reasoning for giving up the throne is to make way for the new generation.

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News

LAPD OFFICER HUNTED IN BIG BEAR, CA; SUSPECT IN 3 MURDERS


View Dorner Timeline in a larger map

The man hunt continues for ex-LAPD officer Christopher Dorner in Big Bear, CA today. He has been accused of three murders including that of a police officer in Riverside, CA and an engaged couple in Irvine, CA.

Last Sunday night, Monica Quan, an assistant coach at Cal State Fullerton, and her fiance, Keith Lawrence, were found in the parking garage of an upscale condominium in Irvine shot to death. On
Monday morning, Christopher Joedan Dorner posted a manifesto on his Facebook page stating that he had murdered the couple. It also included at least 40 other people he threatened violence against. In San Diego, “police equipment” was found in a dumpster and was believed to be his.

Tuesday, military bases were put on alert when it was revealed that Dorner had used his military identification to check into a hotel on the San Diego Naval base days before. Dorner was considered a “person of interest as of Wednesday in the murders of the couple in Irvine. That night around 10:30, he tried to steal a boat from an 81 year old man in Southwestern Yacht Club, Point Loma with speculation he was going to flee to Mexico. The boat became inoperable when a rope became tangled around the propeller.

Early Thursday morning, an officer in Corona was grazed in the head with a bullet while protecting a family mentioned in the manifesto. A short time later, two Riverside offers were shot while on their regular patrol, one fatally. About the same time, Dorner’s badge and briefcase were found near Lindbergh Field in San Diego. The search was then expanded to include the entire state of California as well as Nevada.

By Thursday evening, a burned out truck that was found about 8:30 am in Big Bear, CA was identified as belonging to Dorner. A full scale search for the suspect was initiated including cars, houses and the forest areas surrounding the area. The search continued throughout the snow on Friday and resumed again today. The search will continue until either Dorner is found or officials are given a reason to stop, possibly a lead that takes them elsewhere.

Dorner’s mother’s house in La Palma, CA as well as his house in Las Vegas, NV have been searched in hopes that some other leads may be revealed.

Read More
Couple dead in shooting remembered as stars off the court and on
Ex-LAPD cop tried to steal boat, flee to Mexico, authorities say
Dorner manhunt: Officers opened fire on mother, daughter
Riverside officer shot, killed, honored at vigil
Big Bear visitors undeterred by ongoing Dorner manhunt
Manhunt manifesto

News

DALAI LAMA – DELHI GANG RAPISTS SHOULD NOT BE EXECUTED

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The Dalai Lama, visiting the Jaipur region near New Delhi in India, has asked that mercy be shown in the case of the men accused of last month’s brutal gang rape and murder of a woman on a bus in New Delhi.

The Tibetan leader has been a steadfast opponent of the death penalty, which contradicts the Buddhist philosophy of nonviolence.

In July 2011, the Dalai Lama, then 76 years old, traveled to Chicago, where he praised Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn for abolishing the death penalty in his state.

The Delhi rape case has sparked debate over the Indian legal system, and public anger has been directed at officials in a city informally christened India’s “rape capital,” according to Reuters.

News

AL QAEDA THREATENS TO STRIKE AMERICA, FRANCE, DENMARK AND CITIES IN EUROPE

In a recent propaganda message on a jihadist forum, Al Qaeda have posted a map of future strikes on countries sympathetic to the French, following French and allied attempts to oust Al Qaeda forces from Mali.

Concern over President Obama’s nominee for Defense Secretary, former Senator Chuck Hagel, who is set to appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday.

Conservative former officers say Mr. Hagel is the wrong person to head the Pentagon because of his soft-line views on Iran, hostility toward Israel and support for cuts in U.S. military and nuclear forces.

Read more..…

 

News

MONSTER SNOWSTORM HITS NORTH EAST, USA

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As much as 3 foot of snow has fallen in the north eastern states of the USA, with Connecticut the worst affected. Around 650,000 homes have been left without power in the region, with roads serving around 25 million people left impassable.

At least 6 deaths have been blamed on the storm. The heavy snow storm was accompanied by 75mph winds, causing snow drifts over 5 feet in places.

Flood warnings are now in place for coastal areas of Massachusetts. The storm comes as residents in the region are still dealing with the aftermath of super storm Sandy.

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Opinion

WHAT IS THE MEDIA DOING TO OUR CHILDREN?

In recent months there has been growing outrage about the sexualisation of children. Psychologists have been shocked by the rapid increase in the numbers of teenage girls in recent years coming through their doors with a wide range of problems from depression, self-harm, eating disorders and anxiety. The experts are beginning to believe the cause is the sexual pressure girls are now under.

In 2009 a Florida teen, Hope Witsell aged 13, committed suicide after sending a topless photo of herself to a boy, which he then shared with his friends. In a similar story Chevonea Kendall-Bryan, also aged 13 from London, fell to her death from a balcony where she was perched, threatening to jump if her boyfriend did not delete topless pictures of her on his phone.

In the UK the children’s charity, the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) conducted a study in 2010. The study revealed how “normal” hard core pornography is, in the lives of teenagers. The study concluded that the access of sexually explicit material is creating a generation of teenage boys who believe that is what relationships are like.

One teenage girl interviewed said, “If they [the boys] want oral sex, they will ask every single day until you say yes.”

A boy the same age said, “Say I got a girlfriend, I would ask her to write my name on her breast and then send it to me and then I would upload it on to Facebook or Bebo or something like that.”

The study discovered it was common place for boys as young as 13 to have dozens of images of girls on their smartphones. The boys would share the photos of these topless girls with their friends, in the same way boys once swapped soccer cards.

The teenagers said that sexting was the new flirting. With boys taking pictures of their genitalia and sending them to a girl they fancied, she then replies with an image of her breasts.

Teachers speak of children unable to sleep without watching porn. Boys “learning” about sex and women from watching porn, and being normalised to sexual violence.

The problem crosses social demographics, it is as commonplace in the most affluent of areas as well as the socially deprived areas.

In this new world where hard core porn is readily available, parents are left feeling bewildered that the world has changed so much. They fear for their daughters, not wanting them to be the target of such high pressure advances; they fear for their sons, not wanting them to access the violent and depraved pornography so easy to find on the internet.

But should parents be surprised? With media teaching that pornography is normal? With children and teenagers listening to pop stars like Rihanna singing “Come on rude boy, boy, can you get it up? Come on rude boy, boy, is you big enough?”, as she looks like a dominatrix simulating sex moves on stage?

With parents frightened and ill prepared they are asking: “what can we do?”

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News

SOLOMON ISLANDS TSUNAMI, 4 DEAD


View Santa Cruz, Solomon Islands Tsunami in a larger map

Today a tsunami hit the Solomon Islands after a series of earthquakes shook the region in the last few days. The earthquake which set off the tsunami was rated at a magnitude of 8.0. Currently there are 4 people confirmed dead, but there are also unconfirmed reports of fishing boats being swept out to sea.

At least 100 homes were also destroyed. Most followed the advice of warnings and made it to higher ground in central Lata, Santa Cruz Islands, Solomon Islands before the waves hit.

Tsunami warning sirens also went off in New Zealand and Fiji which indicated a three foot rise in the levels of the ocean.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has now lifted the tsunami warning which was limited to the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Tuvalu, New Caledonia, Kosrae, Fiji, Kiribati, and Wallis and Futuna.

There was also a lesser alert, a tsunami watch, issued for American Samoa, Australia, Guam, the Northern Marianas, New Zealand and eastern Indonesia.

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USGS – M8.0 – 76km W of Lata, Solomon Islands