[FOX] ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. ‐ An observatory in the mountains of southern New Mexico that had been closed since early September because of an undisclosed security concern is now scheduled to reopen on Monday, officials managing the facility said.
The Sunspot Solar Observatory no longer faces a security threat to staff, the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy said in a statement Sunday. The facility closed on Sept. 6.
The association has hired a temporary security team to patrol the observatory when it reopens. "Given the significant amount of publicity the temporary closure has generated, and the consequent expectation of an unusual number of visitors to the site, we are temporarily engaging a security service while the facility returns to a normal working environment," the association said.
Authorities have not revealed the nature of the security threat the observatory faced. The FBI has referred all questions to the association.
"We recognize that the lack of communications while the facility was vacated was concerning and frustrating for some. However, our desire to provide additional information had to be balanced against the risk that, if spread at the time, the news would alert the suspect and impede the law enforcement investigation. That was a risk we could not take," the association said.
Located atop Sacramento Peak, the observatory was established in 1947.
It overlooks the Tularosa Basin -- an expanse of desert that includes the city of Alamogordo, Holloman Air Force Base, White Sands Missile Range, White Sands National Monument and the site of the world's first atomic bomb test.
The telescope at Sunspot was originally built by the U.S. Air Force. After several years of operation, it was transferred to the National Solar Observatory, which is part of the National Science Foundation.
New Mexico State University in 2016 launched an initiative funded by the foundation to upgrade and update the facility through the newly formed Sunspot Solar Observatory Consortium.
Officials said Sunspot's one-of-a-kind telescope produces some of the sharpest images of the sun available in the world. Data from observations done at Sunspot is sent to New Mexico State University servers and can be used by researchers around the world.
[News24] Ethnic violence in Ethiopia left 23 people dead at the weekend, state media reported on Monday, as protests against the killings gripped the capital Addis Ababa where an angry crowd gathered in the city centre.
The state-owned Ethiopia News Agency (ENA) said an organised mob carried out a spree of murder and looting in and around Burayu town, leaving 23 people dead and 886 displaced, citing Oromia regional police commissioner Alemayehu Ejigu.
ENA reported that over 70 people had been arrested.
On Twitter, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's chief of staff, Fitsum Arega, said the leader "strongly condemns the killings and acts of violence against innocent citizens."
"These cowardly attacks represent a grave concern to the unity and solidarity of our people and will be met with an appropriate response," he said, without providing a toll.
[The Sun] A POISONING panic gripped Salisbury as two restaurant diners were today taken ill close to where the Skripals collapsed.
Police in bio-hazard suits shut down part of the city centre on Sunday as they dealt with a "medical incident" in a branch of Prezzo.
They evacuated nearby restaurants and pubs while they investigated why the man and woman were taken ill ‐ amid reports from Sky News that one is Russian.
PA reported that a source briefed by emergency services said the police were called as the symptoms were consistent with Novichok poisoning.
They said: "The ambulance crew at the site took the decision that the symptoms seemed consistent with Novichok poisoning which is why they called their colleagues in the police.
They added: "The symptoms of Novhichok poisoning and particular types of narcotic abuse are very similar."
#5
With grave reservations, a booking
For five, very warily looking --
"What ho, gone-off Stroganov!"
"Who turned the oven off?" --
For Russians to blame for their cooking.
[Breitbart TX] Three cartel hitmen dressed as mariachis sprayed gunfire in one of Mexico City’s most popular plazas. Casualty reports range from three to five victims killed ‐ as many as seven others were injured.
The attack took place in Mexico City’s Plaza Garibaldi, an area visited primarily by tourists looking for mariachi performers. According to preliminary information released by Mexican authorities, three gunmen dressed as mariachis arrived at the Plaza riding on motorcycles. They began firing directly into the crowd.
Soon after the attack, law enforcement investigators collected approximately 50 shell casings ejected from the weapons the gunmen used while firing into the crowd. Authorities have not revealed how many of the shooting victims were innocent bystanders and how many were intended targets.
Law enforcement sources in Mexico City have revealed to Breitbart Texas that the attack is tied to a turf war between the dominant cartel called "La Union de Tepito" currently led by David "El Pistache" Garcia Ramirez and a splinter of the cartel led by Sergio "El Tortas" Flores Concha who labeled themselves as the "Anti-Union".
Some Donetsk military formations, formed and operated under the commander of the late Donetsk president Aleksandr Zakharchenko, will be shifted to internal security and other duties, according to data supplied the the Russian military correspondent, Aleksandr Kots.
According to an article published in Komsomol Pravda, many of the combat units were volunteer units formed back in 2014, when the civil war between Russian backed separatists and the Ukraine government became hot. Some of those units consisted of foreign nationals.
Some of the duties for the newly shifted units will include policing and patrol.
Among the units to be shifted to security work include the units Battalion "Prilepin" and Battalion "Legion." Kots added that volunteers who do not want to leave the front line will not be forced to, and can continue their duties.
Kots also said the supervisory work for the changes was being done in Moscow, or under Muskovite supervision. Much of the impetus for the change was to remove command of those units from the Donetsk president's office to ministry level supervision.
Zakharchenko was killed in a bombing attack at a cafe in Donetsk August 31st. He had served as president of Donetsk since July of 2014.
Citing inflation concerns, the Central Bank of Russia announced Friday it would raise a key interest rate to 7.5 percent, by 25 basis points, according to data supplied by regnum.ru.
According to the article, inflation in Russia is expected to hit 5.5 percent, before easing to 4 percent in 2020.
The news was greeted by an improvement in the ruble exchange rate to 67.70 rubles per dollar. The new exchange rate is not expected to be permanent, as the rate raise will affect growth in the short term.
[AsiaTimes] The J-15 is too heavy to fly high and far from the Liaoning and there aren't enough aircraft to fill both carriers when the second one sets sail.
[ABC] Austrian police say six men have been hospitalized with serious injuries after setting alight the mattresses and bedding of the deportation cell in which they were being held.
Vienna police said Saturday that five Afghans and an Iranian man tried to block the cell door with a locker and left a joint farewell note expressing anguish about their imminent deportations.
Officers were able to force open the cell and some 70 firefighters tackled the blaze late Friday.
Police say the men, ranging in age from 18 to 31, are in intensive care. Fourteen other people, including at least three police officers, were treated at the scene for smoke inhalation.
Austria's government, which includes the far-right Freedom Party, has pledged to step up immigration deportations since coming to power last year.
[gatesofVienna] There was a lot of controversy last month both inside and outside of Italy about a boatload of "rescued" refugees that was impounded in a Sicilian port. Now that they were allowed to disembark, it turns out that a large number of migrants on the Diciotti have simply vanished ‐ surprise, surprise!
Diciotti: 50 migrants entrusted to CEI [Italian Episcopal Conference] disappeared into thin air
In making it known, the undersecretaries of interior: They were so desperate, they preferred to forego guaranteed food and lodging."
1170 migrants on board the ship Diciotti, all disembarked at the port of Catania last 25 August
...
To be precise, of the forty migrants missing, six left on the first day of transfer. While two Eritreans destined for the Diocese of Florence escaped on 2 September, nineteen others (who left) were found on 3 September. Another thirteen disappeared yesterday. The forty migrants who left were limited to showing an interest in formalizing the application of political asylum. As confirmed by Viminale (Ministry of Interior) sources were identified with photos/prints and inserted into a European computer system. Also according to Viminale sources, it is made known that there are other verifications on the exact number of untraceable persons, and it is possible that the group could be more substantial.
...
The immigrants have given it up fast. And there are also those who defend them, such as Father Camillo Ripamonti president of the Astalli Center, the Jesuit structure that deals with migrants, refugees, refugees and asylum seekers: "The reception centers are not centers of detention, and therefore the people lodged there can move away from them freely: theirs is not an escape."
#1
Migrants disappear, some released from Libyan jails and relocated throughout the EU, and that's the plan by Jesuit Astalli Center! What could possibly go wrong?
[IOTW] This is the work of Extortion17 and Larry Beech with the hat tip going to Hot Salsa.
This is an interesting tidbit. It could mean absolutely nothing, and certainly isn’t proof of reprisal, but I don’t think it should be dismissed out-of-hand. Is it simply a coincidence?
This Ford lady is most likely a hard lefty. She most likely abhors Kavanaugh’s politics. Maybe it didn’t take much to get her to participate in a smear campaign.
Update at 1:40 p.m. EDT: Courtesy of Vast Right Wing Conspiracy, Powerline’s commentary on the situation can be read here.
#1
Reader's comments somewhere on the internets:
"Martha G. Kavanaugh, the mother of Brett Kavanaugh was a Maryland district judge in 1996. In an amazing coincidence, Martha Kavanaugh was the judge in a foreclosure case in which Christine Blasey-Ford’s parents were the defendants. Now it all becomes clear. Blasey-Ford is going after Brett Kavanaugh, not because of what he did in high school. Instead, Christine Blasey-Ford is going after Brett Kavanaugh out of spite and revenge for a case ruled on by Brett Kavanaugh mother. Martha Kavanaugh, Brett’s mother was Montgomery County Circuit Court judge from 1993 until she retired in 2001. During a 1996 foreclosure case, Martha Kavanaugh ruled against the parents of Christine Blasey-Ford in a foreclosure case. The foreclosure case against Paula K. Blasey and Ralph G. Blasey was opened on August 8, 1996. The case number is 156006V."
#2
“She admits she doesn’t remember key details like exactly when the incident occurred or where specifically, and she says the first time she told anyone about it was when she was in couples counseling with her husband in 2012 — 30-some years after the night in question.”
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
09/17/2018 14:04 Comments ||
Top||
#7
Holy crap, I had no idea Cohn lasted till 2007. Another for the long, sad list of folks I should've thanked (and tried to visit) while they lived. Not that I had a thing to do with him, but his Pursuit was one of a dozen or so books that made me what I am. Best burn it immediately if ever you get the chance. No idea how it's held up... and come to think of it, I don't seem to care much about that anymore.
[BBC] Magic Leap's new mixed reality headset is available to developers in the US - but how does the device compare to what's already available?
Our North American technology reporter Dave Lee put Magic Leap's new mixed reality headset to the test.
#1
Bah, the Left has been using altered reality for generations without any gizmos. The can see racism, sexism, and homophobia everyday without any context that the rest of us can't, and everyone that doesn't see what they see,seems to be wearing a Nazi uniform.
#2
:Meh: The problem has always been getting one small and light enough to be comfortable... Still waiting.
If they can get one that works then VR is the second use as it would be the breakthrough gadget for many multimedia users-- why buy a wall-sized TV screen when a headset will do the same?
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[FOX] ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. ‐ An observatory in the mountains of southern New Mexico that had been closed since early September because of an undisclosed security concern is now scheduled to reopen on Monday, officials managing the facility said.
[Breitbart TX] Three cartel hitmen dressed as mariachis sprayed gunfire in one of Mexico City’s most popular plazas. Casualty reports range from three to five victims killed ‐ as many as seven others were injured.
[IOTW] This is the work of 
