Monday, April 13, 2009
1: The Leadership School at Camp Kieve
At first I thought that I wasn't going to like solo, but once I had the class it really wasn't that bad. It gave you a chance to relax and think about stuff, chill, just take some time for yourself in the middle of a very busy day.
Evening program was usually a lot of fun. I don't remember one evening program that I didn't enjoy. All together, The Leadership School at Camp Kieve was a lot of fun.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
1: Electronics in school
Monday, March 9, 2009
1: Local Story
Thursday, December 4, 2008
2: Immigration: Build a 700 mile fence or That makes no sense.
Monday, December 1, 2008
1: International Story
India: Pakistan must act over Mumbia attacks
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- India on Monday demanded Pakistan take "strong action" on those behind last week's massacre in Mumbai, raising diplomatic tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals.
Onlookers in Mumbai read messages posted outside Oberoi hotel, the site of one of the terror attacks.
But Pakistan's prime minister has dismissed accusations his country played a role, saying the claims were made "out of anger."
India's foreign ministry said it had summoned Islamabad's chief envoy to New Delhi to reiterate claims that elements from Pakistan carried out the attacks that left 179 dead and 300 injured.
India's Ministry of External Affairs told Pakistan's High Commissioner Shahid Malik that it expects "strong action" against the those behind the siege.
Pakistani authorities say Islamabad has not received any evidence that militants from within its borders carried out Wednesday's coordinated attacks in India's financial capital.
"Now that the dust has settled down, I hope they will be considering all such things which they have said in the past," Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told CNN on Monday. Watch Gilani say Pakistan will defuse tensions »
Also Monday, India's top envoy in Islamabad was summoned by the Pakistani Foreign Ministry.
Pakistan's foreign secretary met with the diplomat and "refuted the unsubstantiated allegations by the Indian media of Pakistan's complicity in the Mumbai incident," a ministry spokesman said.
The attacks have damaged India's already strained relationship with Pakistan. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is heading to New Delhi on Wednesday to help quell the tensions between two key U.S. allies. Watch how attacks could damage relations »
"It is extremely important that there be the highest levels of cooperation between Pakistan and India at this point, and that means all institutions," Rice said Monday as she headed to London.
Indian officials said the only surviving suspected attacker is in custody and has told police that he is Pakistani. Sources told CNN's partner network in India, CNN-IBN, that the suspect said he was trained by Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, a Pakistan-based terror group allied with al Qaeda.
Lashkar-e-Tayyiba has denied any role in the attacks, and said it has no links to the Deccan Mujahideen, the unknown group that claimed responsibility for the massacre.
Pakistan and India have fought three major wars since independence in 1947, and conducted tit-for-tat nuclear weapons tests in 1998. The Indian government is reportedly considering suspending the five-year-old cease-fire with Pakistan and perhaps even ending the dialogue process with the country.
Gilani vowed "full cooperation" with Indian investigators and predicted that the incident would not lead to an escalation of tensions between the nuclear neighbors.
"With India, we had good relations, but I feel sorry that this incident naturally disturbed the people of India for which we are very sympathetic," Gilani said.
"Pakistan will act very responsibly, and we have talked to all our friends that they should use their good offices to defuse the situation."
He hinted that the recent resignations by Indian officials amounted to an admission of an intelligence failure.
"(Tensions) will not escalate because some responsible people have owned the responsibility of intelligence failure," Gilani told CNN.
Indian Home Minister Shivraj Patil announced his resignation Sunday amid criticism of the response to the attacks. Patil, whose ministry oversees internal security, had been accused of failing to improve intelligence before the attacks. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh immediately tapped India's finance minister to take over the post.
The head of the Indian state Maharashtra -- which includes Mumbai -- said Monday that he would also step down after his deputy resigned. The chief minister, Vilasrao Deshmukh, said he would leave it up to his ruling Congress party to decide whether to accept his resignation.
Mumbai police lowered the casualty toll from Wednesday's attacks and the sieges that followed to 179 dead and about 300 wounded. That does not include the nine gunmen killed in three days of battles with police and the Indian military, police said Monday.
At least 28 foreigners were among the victims, including six Americans and six Israelis.
A Mumbai police official said Monday that no one has come to claim the bodies of the nine attackers, which are lying in the city's morgue "as of now."
Pakistan and India have fought three major wars since independence in 1947, and conducted tit-for-tat nuclear weapons tests in 1998. The Indian government is reportedly considering suspending the five-year-old cease-fire with Pakistan and perhaps even ending the dialogue process with the country.
The head of Pakistan's Interior Ministry Rehman Malik said India has not provided any evidence linking the attacks to Pakistan. Malik vowed to "take action" if there is any proof that the attack was launched from Pakistani soil.
Pakistan's civilian government, which took office earlier this year, continues to battle Islamic extremists along the rugged border with Afghanistan, where U.S. and NATO troops have been fighting al Qaeda and Taliban militants since al Qaeda's 2001 attacks on New York and Washington.
Haqqani said the militants want India and Pakistan to remain "at each other's throats so they can flourish," but he said his government has seen no sign of an Indian buildup along the border.
Interpol had said it would send a delegation to India to aid in the investigation. But on Sunday, the international law enforcement agency was still waiting official permission into the country, a spokesman said.
The targets of the attacks included luxury hotels packed with foreign tourists. The 105-year-old Taj Mahal hotel was the site of the attackers' final stand, as gunmen held hostages and refused to leave the facility.1: National Story
Shuttle Endeavour lands at California air base.
(CNN) -- Space shuttle Endeavour landed safely Sunday afternoon at California's Edwards Air Force Base after NASA waved off two opportunities for a Florida landing because of poor weather.
Endeavour glides in for a landing Sunday at California's Edwards Air Force Base.
The shuttle, steered by commander Christopher Ferguson, landed at 1:25 p.m., ending a mission that lasted more than two weeks.
Wind, rain and reports of thunderstorms within 30 miles of the shuttle landing facility at Florida's Kennedy Space Center prompted NASA to cancel the landing attempts there. Those had been scheduled for 1:19 p.m. and 2:54 p.m. ET.
After determining Monday's weather forecast at Kennedy Space Center was equally unpromising, flight controllers decided they would try to land the shuttle and its seven astronauts at Edwards AFB, about 100 miles from Los Angeles, California, where Sunday's forecast was sunny.
Flight controllers prefer landings at Kennedy Space Center because of cost and schedule. NASA has estimated it costs about $1.7 million to bring a shuttle home to Kennedy Space Center from California. Watch Endeavour's Sunday landing in California »
It also takes at least a week to get the shuttle ready for the trip, but schedule is not a major factor for the Endeavour; it is not scheduled to fly again until May.
Endeavour's 15-day mission to the international space station began on November 14 and included four spacewalks.
During that time, the crew brought key pieces -- including exercise equipment, more sleeping berths and a urine recycling system -- for a project to double the capacity of the station from three in-house astronauts to six.
The recycling system was installed to turn urine and sweat from the astronauts into drinking water.
Other modules are scheduled to arrive on a February shuttle flight. The goal of expanding the station's capacity to six astronauts is expected to be reached by the summer.
The crew also worked on a joint that helps generate power for the space station. Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper and Steve Bowen spent hours cleaning and lubricating the Solar Alpha Rotary Joint, which is designed to allow the solar panels on the left side of the station to rotate and track the sun.
The astronauts also removed and replaced several trundle bearing assemblies.
The mission went according to plan, despite a minor interruption on the first spacewalk when a grease gun in Stefanyshyn-Piper tool's bag leaked, coating everything inside with a film of lubricant. While she was trying to clean it up, the bag -- with $100,000 in tools -- floated away.1: Local Story
BELFAST (Nov 26): A tropical storm with gusty winds and heavy rain toppled trees and knocked out power Tuesday night across Waldo County.
The extent of the damage was still unknown Wednesday morning, though a recorded message at Central Maine Power said outages had been reported in Belfast, Islesboro, Waldo, Brooks, Searsport and Swanville.
Diana Story at the Belfast Police Department said a large pine tree in her Monroe driveway was uprooted and fell away from five vehicles that were parked there. Parts of the Back Brooks Road were flooded Wednesday morning when she drove to Belfast for work, she said.
Winds blew at a reported 70 miles per hour at Belfast harbor, though most boats had been stored for the winter and minor damage was evident.
Malcolm Gater holds up a piling carved by Ron Cowan. The piling stood in the harbor until Tuesday night when it was blown ashore. (Photo by Ethan Andrews) |
A metal gangway shifted off the wharf by high winds and water in Belfast Harbor (Photo by Ethan Andrews) |
A shed near the Belfast Boathouse narrowly escaped damage from a falling tree. (Photo by Ethan Andrews) |
In Searsport, Police Chief Dick LaHaye said the portion of the Mt. Ephraim Road near the Loop Road was closed due to a downed tree and power lines in the roadway.
Downed trees were also reported on the Mortland and Savery roads, as well as Black Road North.
Emergency crews were restoring power and cutting fallen trees from roadways, and Waldo County Emergency Management Agency Director Dale Rowley said all 26 communities in the county had experienced power outages. The least affected area of the county, he said, was between Winterport and Stockton Springs. There was not a lot of damage, Rowley added, but many trees and limbs were down, as were roadside power lines.
As of 12:55 p.m. Wednesday, Rowley said most roads were cleared of debris. "As far as I know I think all the roads are back open again," he said.
One lane of the Prairie Road in Unity was still blocked off due to flooding, but Rowley said flooding is common on that road. "Our communication center radios were down for a short time, too, but that was rectified fairly quickly," Rowley said.
Fire crews from each town were out all night assisting with debris removal, and many local EMA directors had set up emergency operation center. At about 10 p.m. Tuesday, Rowley said, Gov. John E. Baldacci declared the situation an emergency. That allowed power crews to work overtime to rectify the outages, Rowley said, and to garner assistance from out-of-state power companies.
CMP spokesperson Gail Rice said that as of 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 26, there were 17,200 customers without power in the company’s Rockland district. The district includes Waldo and Knox counties. That figure is down from the peak number of outages early Wednesday morning, which Rice said reached 18,500.
“That was our hardest hit area from the storm,” said Rice.
Rice said out-of-state crews have come in to assist CMP workers in restoring service, but it is likely that some remote customers will be without power through Thursday morning.
“The rain saturated the ground to the point that entire trees were uprooted, bringing down a lot of power lines and causing a lot of damage,” Rice said.