A 47-year-old East Greenwich man was arrested this week after attempting to sell brass markers stolen from veterans' gravesites in Gloucester County, officials said.
Edward Wentz tried to sell 11 markers, 10 of which were for military veterans, to a recycling firm here on March 6, police said. He would have made $500 off the sale, but a worker at the firm, Cumberland Recycling Corp., became suspicious, officials said. Instead of issuing Wentz a check, he asked for further proof that the markers were his. Wentz said he would bring back a letter, but never did. The employee then contacted police.
Because Cumberland Recycling Corp. provided police with Wentz's name and license plate number, filing charges against Wentz was "just a matter of tracking him down," said Millville Police Lt. Tom Romanishin.
Investigators also discovered the markers had been stolen from Hillcrest Memorial Cemetery in Washington Township, Romanishin said. Romanishin would not say how that was determined or how the markers were stolen.
George Luciano, president of Cumberland Recycling Corp., said people often attempt to sell stolen metal to his company because of record high prices. Luciano's company buys from about 600 people a day, he said, and is buying brass at $2 a pound. "(The prices are) the highest they've ever been," he said. "Everybody wants to be in the scrap business now."
In order to combat buying stolen items, those selling metal are required to show a form of identification and are paid by check, Luciano said. Employees are also trained to keep an eye out for unusual items like grave markers, manhole covers and storm drains. "We have certain items on our hit list that put a red flag up for us," he said. "If it's a private person, he shouldn't have manhole covers."
Wentz was charged with receiving stolen property and taken to Cumberland County Jail on $15,000 bail.
Excerpt. Long, excellent article.
Warrior was ready. It was 9.30 on the morning of March 30, Holy Saturday, 1918. He had somehow survived four years of shell and bullet and privation, and Passchendaele, but now, in the little hamlet of Castel, not 10 miles south-west of Amiens, the horse faced his most dangerous mission of all.
He would lead one of the last great cavalry charges in history - at Moreuil Wood, on the banks of the Avre river in France. Victory would not only secure the river bank, it would help stem the German Spring Offensive of 1918.
Behind Warrior were the 1,000 horses of the Canadian Cavalry. In the 10 days since the German breakthrough against the Fifth Army at St Quentin, they had trekked a 120 mile, anti-clockwise loop south from Peronne to cross the Oise east of Noyon and then worked back north to get round the spearhead of the enemy advance. In Warrior's saddle - as so often in the 10 years since he had bred the little bay thoroughbred back home on the Isle of Wight - was my grandfather.
General Jack Seely, 51, was no shrinking violet, and legend has it that he later recommended Warrior for the Victoria Cross with the simple, if not very modest, citation: "He went everywhere I went."
Jack and Warrior had first arrived in France on August 11, 1914. Before that he had been an MP for the Isle of Wight, elected while serving in the Boer War. But although he became a senior member of the Asquith Cabinet, his political career foundered when, on March 30, 1914, he had to resign as Secretary of State for War over the mishandling of the drama known as the Curragh Crisis - when Kildare-based officers refused to march against the Ulster Unionists.
Since February 1915, Seely had commanded the assorted bunch of ranchers, clerks, expats, Mounties and Native Americans who made up the three regiments of the Canadian Cavalry. Jack Seely was a popular general. But not as popular as his horse.
If ever an animal was a symbol of indomitability for weary soldiers to follow, it was this short-legged, wide-eyed, star-foreheaded, independent-spirited but kindly gelding who, in January 1918 had been immortalised in the first of the portraits painted by Alfred Munnings as war artist to the Canadian Cavalry.
Warrior was brave but not stupid, fast but not fragile, tough but not thick. His father, Straybit, had won the lightweight race at the Isle of Wight point-to-point in 1909.
Warrior was a survivor. In September 1914, his groom Jack Thompson had to gallop him 10 miles across country to escape encirclement by the advancing enemy. In 1915, a shell cut the horse beside Warrior clean in half, and a few days later another destroyed his stable, seconds after he had left it.
On July 1, 1916, that fateful first day of the Somme, he and the Canadians were readied to gallop through a gap in the enemy line that never came. In 1917, only frantic digging extricated him from mud in Passchendaele, and only three days before March 30, 1918, a direct hit on the ruined villa in which he was housed left him trapped beneath a shattered beam. Yes, a survivor: but could he survive Moreuil Wood?
It's just as you suspected - this has been the snowiest winter ever in the Ann Arbor area, or at least since 1880 when record-keeping started.
And it's not over yet. That's because we're not even into April, a month that normally averages almost 2.5 inches of that pesky white stuff. If this winter continues the way it's been going, we could be in store for more than that.
Consider this month. Normally in March, we get about 8.3 inches of snow, said Dennis Kahlbaum, a University of Michigan weather observer. So far in March, with more than a week to go, we've seen 16.7 inches of fluffy precipitation.
A good chunk of that came Friday night and early Saturday morning. The storm - a narrow band across southern Michigan - dropped 7.5 inches of snow in Ann Arbor, Kahlbaum said. That was enough to send this winter into the record books and shove the 2004-05 winter aside. In 2004-05, 83.9 inches of snow fell. This year, we're sitting at 85 inches. That's a lot of shoveling. "It seems like I've shoveled a lot this year," said Tori Williamson, 49, who was in front of her Ypsilanti home Saturday. "I've always been fine with shoveling, but now I'm thinking about a snowblower for next winter."
#1
DRUDGEREPORT > THE AUSTRALIAN - CLIMATE FACTS TO WARM TO/SCIENTIST EXPLAINS THAT GLOBAL WARMING STOPPED A DECADE AGO [Gaia in GLOBAL COOLING?]; + IHT - ON AN ISLAND, BRANSON AND FRIENDS RY TO SAVE A "WORLD ON FIRE"; + FREEREPUBLIC > LOVELOCK: PARIS A DESERT, CHINA UN-INHABITABLE BY YEAR 2040.
*Year 2040 - roughly the same timeline for when "Death Star" binary WR104 can explode in gamma ray burst righteous indignation, as based on curr datums.
Ironically, the most truly dangerous, and immediate or near term, threat to Earth IS THE FAILURE OF MANY TOP SCIENTISTS TO RELY/TRUST THEIR OWN QUANTIT MODELS AND THEORIES OF SOLAR ACTIVITY, and choose instead to risk wholly discrediting themselves and their professional field for the sake of GLOBALIST, OWG-NWO PCORRECTNESS + DENIABILITY.
PROFESSN PROTOCOL + PROPER COURTESY, ETC. DEMAND THAT I ASK THE QUESTION AGAIN - mainly, IS THE SUN OKAY OR NORMAL? DOES THE USG ANDOR WORLD GOVTS + PERTS TRUST THEIR OWN ANALYSES, i.e. DO THEY KNOW EMPIRICALLY AND DETERMINATIVELY WHAT IS HAPPENING TO THE SUN OR DON'T THEY? OR WILL THE SUN BEGIN PRELIMIN EXPANSION BY YEAR 2015?
Don't let me send MICHELLE OBAMA down to NASA-JPL, etc. to lecture 'em.
President Robert Mugabe made a defiant campaign speech Saturday a week ahead of perhaps his toughest election battle, saying Zimbabwe's main opposition party would never rule during his lifetime. That's OK. Either time or man can solve this problem.
Mugabe, 84, the only head of state Zimbabwe has known since independence ...
... someone is rewriting history, he was the second head of state, not the first ...
... in 1980, also threatened to expel companies from former colonial ruler Britain after the March 29 polls. They still have companies there? Oh, I forgot. Kinko's is probably doing fine.
The veteran leader, whose bid for a sixth term must overcome an economy crippled by record inflation, dismissed the electoral aspirations of Zimbabwe's main opposition party -- the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). "It will never happen as long as we are still alive -- those (of us) who planned the liberation struggle," Mugabe told thousands of supporters at his first rally in the capital since hitting the campaign trail last month. Liberation? Ah, you mean that time where you took over for personal gain through political means!
He made no mention of Simba Makoni, who has broken ranks with the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) to stand against Mugabe as an independent.
Mugabe has called Makoni a "prostitute" for taking him on and the former finance minister was expelled from the ZANU-PF last month after announcing his challenge.
But on Saturday, his barbs were directed fully at the MDC and its leader Morgan Tsvangirai. "You in the MDC, it's treasonous to continue assisting the British to make sure they have a say here," he said -- although the opposition denies any direct links with Britain.
Mugabe warned Britain to stay out of Zimbabwean politics if it wanted to safeguard the interests of British companies still allowed to work in the former colony. "They still have companies which are still here and we did nothing to them... 400 British companies and so they must take care, after elections," he said.
Britain, which has led international criticism of Mugabe for violating political and human rights in his country and plunging it into a disastrous economic crisis, says only 40 British firms remain operating in the country. But Bob says . . . . Oh, nevermind. I think I see part of the problem.
Mugabe's relations deteriorated with Western nations after he embarked in 2000 on a controversial land reform scheme that saw some 4,000 white-owned farms seized and handed over to landless blacks. Who have no clue WTF they are doing.
Mugabe also urged Zimbabweans on Saturday to help acquire a majority stake in mining and manufacturing firms after a new equity law that only allows firms to restructure or merge if locals hold 51 percent of shares. 51% of soon-to-be nothing.
There are fears the law could plunge the country even deeper into the economic mire. ???
Once a net agricultural exporter, Zimbabwe is currently reeling under food shortages, while the economy buckles under a mindboggling annual inflation rate of 100,000-plus percent. Schools are switching to logarithmic graphis in their economic textbooks.
Both unemployment and poverty rates hover above 80 percent and at least a quarter of the population has fled misery to seek economic refuge elsewhere.
Tsvangirai has warned that the March 29 poll could be rigged in favour of Mugabe and has threatened to pull out of the elections if presidential ballots are counted at a separate venue from concurrent legislative and local votes. Have Jimmy come over and make sure things are fair across the entire country.
He told a news conference on Thursday that independent investigations had revealed that 90,000 names appearing on the roll for 28 rural constituencies could not be accounted for. His MDC has also deplored new electoral regulations passed this week by Mugabe which allow police officers into polling stations during the elections. The regulations allow policemen in polling stations to assist illiterate or physically challenged voters. What about voters who choose the wrong candidate?
They'll 'assist' with that too ...
The southern African country's police have often used brutal force against opponents of Mugabe and the police boss recently warned that his force could use firearms if necessary to crush protests after the polls. Does voting for the wrong candidate count as a protest?
THIMPU - The insular kingdom of Bhutan stands poised to become the worlds newest democracy on Monday with historic polls ordered by its revered royal family to end their reign. The tiny Buddhist state wedged between the Himalayas of India and China will elect members for a lower house, ending the century-old absolute rule by the hugely popular Wangchuk dynasty.
The countrys young Oxford-educated King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk made a forceful last-minute appeal on Saturday to his subjects-some of whom were initially reluctant to bring in democracy-to cast their vote. As you approach the duty of voting at the elections that will bring democracy, do so with pride and confidence of a people that have achieved so much, the king said in a statement published in the nations newspapers. First and foremost, you must vote. Every single person must exercise his or her franchise, said the king-the fifth ruler in the Wangchuck dynasty, which came to power in 1907.
"Everyone must Wangchuck tonight! ..."
The kingdoms path to democracy began in 2001, when former king Jigme Singye Wangchuk handed over daily government to a council of ministers, and finally stepped down in favour of his son in late 2006. Since then, both father and son have travelled tirelessly around the state to explain to its 670,000 people why the nation should embrace democracy.
The former king said, today you have a good king, but what if you have a bad king tomorrow, said Kinley Dorji, managing director of the national Kuensel newspaper. The argument was irrefutable.
Despite the royal familys efforts at persuasion, concerns persist about the sweeping changes ahead for country, which closely guards its traditions and identity. It allowed television only in 1999, permits few foreigners and bans cigarette sales. People are expected to wear traditional clothes for office and public functions and the country has strict rules to protect its environment, architecture and heritage.
The two political parties-Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT) or Bhutan United Party-have similar manifestos promising growth and better infrastructure. Both are led by two-time former prime ministers and are in a tight race for 47 seats.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/23/2008 00:42 ||
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Link ||
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#1
Interesting that the 'king' believes in the people far more than our own nanny state Donks.
Bhutan's prince has also joined anti-insurgency operations
Prince Jigyel Wangchuck, second son of Bhutan's monarch, has joined the army's military operation to evict anti-India militants from the country.
The junior Wangchuck was away studying in Oxford when he learnt about the trouble back home as the militants had refused to shut down the bases set up for conducting subversive activities against India.Once it was decided that military action was inevitable, the prince wasted no time in returning to his motherland to clear the kingdom of the intruders.
Posted by: john frum ||
03/23/2008 10:49 Comments ||
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#3
Operation All Clear was preceded by raids on camps to test the defences and ultimatums to quit. When the main operation was launched on December 14, it achieved both tactical and strategic surprise. It was in three phases: Attacking the main camps; eliminating subsidiary camps and mopping up scattered and fleeing insurgents which is the current phase of the operations. Led by the King and Prince Jigyel, All Clear has been a resounding success. Of the 2,000 or so insurgents, m ore than 100 have been killed or wounded and about 200 captured or have surrendered so far.
Posted by: john frum ||
03/23/2008 10:49 Comments ||
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How much more localized can one get than the International Space Station, after all?
Japanese astronaut Takao Doi has thrown a boomerang in space and found, to the surprise of many, that it does come back.
Doi tested the boomerang in an American experimental module on the ISS, using a paper boomerang made by world boomerang-throwing champion Yasuhiro Togai. It was not immediately clear how the boomerang actually flew, but a photograph suggested that Doi had thrown it vertically, and it had returned to his hand. "It flew just like on Earth," Doi said.
It had been thought that gravity was necessary for a boomerang to return, and many people had expected that the boomerang would fly upwards if it was released in space.
#1
Somewhat deceptive headline. Boomerangs operate as rotating wings, which require airflow and thus an atmosphere. So in the vacuum of space they most definitely would NOT return, but inside a space station it flies as on earth.
#6
"a photograph suggested that Doi had thrown it vertically, and it had returned to his hand"
This just in: Laws of Gravity still work. Film at 11.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
03/23/2008 12:09 Comments ||
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#7
thrown it vertically
A somewhat unfortunate phrase. When you launch a boomerang (horizontally), the boomerang is thrown so it rotates in a vertical plane. (Slightly off vertical actually, so the lift from the rotating arms helps keep it in the air longer) The 'upper' arm is advancing into the wind so it has greater airspeed and generates more force than the retreating arm. Due to one of the quirks of rotating body physics, a force applied to a rotating body like a gyroscope, bicycle wheel or boomerang appears 90 degrees later. The net effect, for a right-hander, is that the boomerang curves to the left and circles back to the thrower.
Non-returning boomerangs used for hunting and Hopi throwing sticks are launched in a more horizontal plane. They are not intended to return but use the lift to stay in the air longer, increasing the range.
#8
I agree with the gyroscopic effect causing the return. The effect of air would be for lift, which in this case is unnecessary. It would be great for a physics class if they could measure the route of the boomerang in vacuum and zero gravity, compared to that of one on Earth.
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.
It's just as you suspected - this has been the snowiest winter ever in the Ann Arbor area, or at least since 1880 when record-keeping started.
