#8
Having done both track & field and martial arts, that was definitely an overhand strike, IMAO.
The fractured skull/concussion sounds like media distortion BS, given the hollow aluminum baton.
Curious that perp girl is leaking tears from only one eye. Maybe she suffers from blocked tear ducts as well as poor impulse control. Or maybe she picked up a menthol tear stick on Amazon.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] A top 'DEI' activist is caught on voicemail allegedly offering minority air traffic controller candidates the chance to cheat in a make-or-break entry exam.
Shelton Snow, a powerful figure in the National Black Coalition of Federal Aviation Employees (NBCFAE), can be heard promising advance access to test answers in a shocking audio clip obtained by DailyMail.com.
'There are some valuable pieces of information that I have taken a screenshot of and I am going to send that to you via email,' says Snow, an air traffic operations supervisor based out of New York.
'I am about 99.99 percent sure that it is exactly how you need to answer each question.'
The inside info was made available in 2014 to African Americans, females, and other minority candidates – but whites were left out of the loop to 'minimize competition'.
Exactly how many applicants were able to capitalize on Snow's brazen offer to secure coveted controller jobs responsible for the safety of millions of fliers remains a mystery.
Make every controller hired from 2014 on sit a basic skills exam. Those who don’t pass shouldn’t be working there anyway. And try Mr. Snow for the crime — there will be emails in the archives, I assume, if it really happened.
But one former NBCFAE member, Matthew Douglas, told DailyMail.com: 'I know several people who cheated and I know several people who are controlling planes as we speak.'
The voicemail comes to light as President Donald Trump vows to purge DEI – diversity, equity and inclusion – from US aviation, among other federal agencies, in the wake of the deadly midair collision at Reagan National airport in January that claimed 67 lives.
Snow's message was recorded just weeks after the FAA announced the biggest hiring shake up in its history during an Obama-era push to 'widen the aperture' for women and minorities.
As DailyMail.com exclusively revealed, the federal government agency had controversially replaced its peer-reviewed cognitive exam with a 'biographical' quiz asking things like 'how would you describe your ideal job' and 'classmates would remember me as humble or dominant?' "If you could be a tree, what kind of tree would you be?"
Critics say the quixotic blend of multiple-choice questions was designed to screen out elite, mostly white students from FAA-accredited college courses who excelled in traditional aptitude tests.
Nonetheless, it was proving incredibly tricky for anyone to pass – with a 90 percent failure rate – when Snow decided to intervene.
The then-President of the NBCFAE's Washington Suburban chapter contacted members in January 2014 with a list of HR 'buzz words' to insert into job applications.
'These buzzwords will flag your resume, thereby giving you the advantage over thousands of resumes that may flood the system,' he wrote.
At a separate teleconference, applicants were urged to highlight their association with the NBCFAE, the largest employee association within the FAA.
An agenda for the December 2023 powwow read: 'This is for us to know who our people are in the case that we have one of our own on the board.
Update from NoMoreBS at 10:30 p.m. ET:
DEI activist caught allegedly giving out air traffic control exam answers to minorities.
Deconflict Airplane and Helicopter Traffic in the Vicinity of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
The NTSB's investigation of this accident is ongoing; however, preliminary findings suggest that the existing separation distances between helicopter traffic operating on Route 4 and aircraft landing on runway 33 are insufficient. Therefore, the NTSB concludes that existing separation distances between helicopter traffic operating on Route 4 and aircraft landing on runway 33 are insufficient and pose an intolerable risk to aviation safety by increasing the chances of a midair collision.
Therefore, the NTSB recommends that the FAA prohibit operations on helicopter Route 4 between Hains Point and the Wilson Bridge when runways 15 and 33 are being used for departures and arrivals, respectively, at DCA. As noted previously, runway 15/33 only accounts for 5% of departures and 4% of arrivals, respectively, so the prohibition of using Route 4 would likely be infrequent, although it could still negatively impact public safety helicopter operations.
#1
I am not an expert, but this long tolerated situation at DCA seemed like an "intolerable risk" from the very beginning. Consensual stupidity is still stupidity.
#2
I'm with Hup on this one. Gotta be the only grid square on earth that permits such air traffic activity. The normal rules and good common sense never applied until two plane loads of innocent people perished.
[FoxNews] Portugal-flagged Solong cargo ship was found to have multiple deficiencies before collision with MV Stena Immaculate.
A Russian national was revealed to be the captain of the cargo ship that collided with a U.S. tanker off the coast of England in an incident that sparked a massive fire, spilled jet fuel into the sea and left one person feared dead.
The 59-year-old man remained in United Kingdom police custody Wednesday after being detained on suspicion of manslaughter by gross negligence, according to Ernst Russ, the owner of the Portugal-flagged Solong cargo ship. It added that the ship’s 14 crew members were a mix of Russian and Filipino nationals. One of them remains missing and is presumed dead.
The Solong collided Monday with MV Stena Immaculate, a U.S.-flagged tanker transporting jet fuel for the American military. U.S.-based Crowley Ship Management said the MV Stena Immaculate was anchored near Hull when it was struck and that all 23 onboard are "safe and accounted for" with no reported injuries.
Leading up to the collision, the Solong was inspected in Dublin, Ireland last July and was found to have 10 deficiencies, according to the Associated Press.
Port inspection documents show the Solong failed steering-related safety checks with the vessel's "emergency steering position communications/compass reading" unreadable. It also had "inadequate" alarms, survival craft "not properly maintained" and fire doors "not as required."
Then a second inspection in Scotland in October found two more deficiencies, but the ship wasn’t detained after either inspection, the AP reported.
However, U.K. authorities said they don’t suspect foul play in the crash.
The 596-foot Stena Immaculate was operating as part of the U.S. government’s Tanker Security Program, a group of commercial vessels that can be contracted to carry fuel for the military when needed.
"Crowley continues to work closely with U.K. agencies to support the incident response, salvage and environmental impact mitigation operations resulting from container ship Solong striking the Crowley-managed tanker Stena Immaculate while at anchor on Monday, March 10," the ship’s owner said Tuesday.
"It remains uncertain at this time what volume of fuel may have been released as a result of the incident, but initial review shows impacts have been limited due to exposure to the fire and evaporation of the Jet A1 fuel," Crowley continued. "In addition, U.K agencies are closely monitoring air quality and any possible public health impacts resulting onshore. Both are currently measuring low or within normal levels."
[Powerline] Defendants contend that Dr. Michael Mann engaged in prejudicial, sanctionable conduct through the knowing introduction to the jury of misleading and false testimony and exhibits in support of his claim for damages resulting from an alleged loss of grant funding as a consequence of Defendants’ statements.
***
Here, the Court finds, by clear and convincing evidence, that Dr. Mann, through Mr. Fontaine and Mr. Williams, acted in bad faith when they presented erroneous evidence and made false representations to the jury and the Court regarding damages stemming from loss of grant funding. Specifically, the Court finds that Mr. Fontaine and Mr. Williams knowingly violated the rules of professional conduct in eliciting testimony and offering evidence related to (1) the post-publication unfunded grant amounts depicted in Exhibit 517A, and as reproduced in Exhibit 117, and (2) the post-publication funded grant amounts in Exhibit 116.
------------------- Nothing in any of the mainstream press yet.
[FoxNews] After taking office, Hegseth pledged to restore high standards for all US military branches
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is ordering a review of military fitness and grooming standards as the Trump administration continues to reverse policies critics say have made America's fighting force appear weaker on the global stage.
In a memo Wednesday to senior Pentagon leadership, Hegseth ordered Darin Selnick, the under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, to gather existing standards in all U.S. military branches related to physical fitness, body composition and grooming, including regulations on beards.
"We must remain vigilant in maintaining the standards that enable the men and women of our military to protect the American people and our homeland as the world's most lethal and effective fighting force," Hegseth said in a statement. "Our adversaries are not growing weaker, and our tasks are not growing less challenging."
Leaders will look at how those standards have changed since Jan. 1, 2015, and provide insight into how they have evolved and the effect of those changes.
Hegseth has vowed to bring back tougher standards while reversing "woke" policies that don't align with restoring the warrior ethos, rebuilding the military and reestablishing deterrence.
[FoxNews] 'People want change,' said Demokraatit leader Jens-Frederik Nielsen
Greenland’s center-right Demokraatit party pulled off a surprise victory in the country’s parliamentary elections, taking Greenlandic Prime Minister Múte Egede’s party, Inuit Ataqatigiit, out of power. Independence from Denmark became a focal point of the election amid President Donald Trump’s repeated talk of the U.S. taking control.
"People want change... We want more business to finance our welfare," said Jens-Frederik Nielsen, Demokraatit's leader, according to Reuters. The outlet added that Nielsen said Greenland does not "want independence tomorrow" and would prefer separation from Denmark be based on a "good foundation."
Four of the five main parties on the ballot, including the ones that won first and second place, Demokraatit Party and Naleraq, favor independence from Denmark, but disagree on the pace. Greenland, whose population is approximately 57,000 people, currently operates as a semi-autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. However, Trump’s renewed interest in the island sparked conversations about breaking away from the Danish crown.
Prime Minister Egede, whose party failed to maintain control, said in a Facebook post that he respects the outcome of the election and that the parties are ready for negotiations.
Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen congratulated the Demokraatit Party and said the Greenlandic future would face "massive pressure" from Trump, according to The Associated Press, which cited Danish Broadcasting Corporation DR. Poulsen reportedly added that "the future of Greenland is based on what the Greenlandic people and government want."
The Demokraatit Party saw a major increase in support, winning nearly 30% of the vote compared to just 9% in 2021, according to The Associated Press, which cited Greenlandic Broadcasting Corporation KNR TV.
Earlier this month, Trump brought up Greenland in his address to a joint session of Congress.
"We strongly support your right to determine your own future, and, if you choose, we welcome you into the United States of America," Trump said, eliciting laughter from the crowd. "We need Greenland for national security and even international security, and we’re working with everybody involved to try and get it… One way or the other, we’re going to get it."
In the same address, Trump vowed that the U.S. would "take Greenland to heights like you have never thought possible before."
During a January phone call with Trump, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that Greenland must be allowed to make decisions about its own future. Both Prime Ministers Frederiksen and Egede told Trump that "Greenland is not for sale," Axios reported at the time.
In December 2024, then-President-elect Trump tapped Ken Howery as U.S. ambassador to Denmark. Trump said in a post on Truth Social announcing the pick that "the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity."
President Trump also eyed Greenland during his first term, causing friction between himself and Prime Minister Frederiksen. In 2019, after the Danish leader called the idea of the U.S. buying Greenland "absurd," Trump abruptly canceled his trip to Denmark over the "nasty" comment.
#2
"Oh noes! Yet another far-right populist party seizing the government", he said with a happy smile.
Prediction:
Greenland declares independence from Denmark.
Greenland and the US form a compact of free association.
Everyone lives prosperously ever after.
(at least until UK/NATO/EU manage to start the Big One, bless their hearts)
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] The mission to rescue NASA's stranded astronauts has been delayed yet again, marking another setback in the nine-month-long saga.
SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket was supposed to launch from Kennedy Space Center at 7:48pm ET Wednesday, but the mission was scrubbed at the 11th hour.
The mission was taking four astronauts to replace Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore who have been stuck on the International Space Station (ISS) since June.
The quad of astronauts were all ready to go and strapped into their seats when the mission was aborted less than 30 minutes before they were due to launch.
It's a disappointing outcome for NASA and SpaceX, and undoubtedly the two astronauts stranded in space.
Both NASA and SpaceX will now reconvene on Thursday evening to have a second attempt at launching. Commentators from SpaceX said there would also be an opportunity on Friday if the original backup launch also fails.
This would have let Williams and Wilmore flee the ISS two days later and be back on Earth with the families by Sunday.
The delay comes as Elon Musk said he offered to bring the pair home eight months ago, but the Biden Administration shot it down because it would've made Donald Trump 'look good' in the presidential race against Kamala.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] As you're walking along the street, China's newest surveillance technology could soon be watching you – from space.
Scientists in Beijing have created 'the world's most powerful spy camera' which can pick out facial details from distances exceeding 63 miles (100km).
It means the spy camera could potentially be in space aboard a floating satellite while clearly seeing faces of people on Earth's surface.
It could also take high-resolution images of foreign military satellites operated by other nations that are also orbiting Earth, the South China Morning Post reported.
The technology, detailed by the scientists in a new paper, could be launched aboard a satellite in the near future.
But, unsurprisingly, the powerful laser-based system has sparked worries.
Robert Morton, author and member of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO), called it a 'massive security concern'.
'Millimeter resolution from 60+ miles up? That’s next-level surveillance,' he said in a post on X (Twitter).
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.
[Powerline] Defendants contend that Dr. 
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] As you're walking along the street, China's newest surveillance technology could soon be watching you – from space. 
