Car bomb defused in central London

Friday, June 29, 2007

A car containing an large explosive device has been defused in the Haymarket, London. A second device was later found in a car park in Park Lane.

A car, a light metallic green Mercedes-Benz E Class saloon (produced 1984-1995), parked near the nightclub ‘TigerTiger’, contained petrol, gas cylinders and nails. Police described it as a “potentially viable explosive device”.

Police carried out a controlled explosion at 2:00 a.m. BST and the car has been taken to a forensic explosives laboratory for further investigation.

Eyewitnesses saw the car driving “erratically” and colliding with bins before being abandoned. An ambulance crew in the area alerted police after seeing smoke inside the car.

Deputy Assistant Police Commissioner Peter Clarke said there could have been “significant injury or loss of life”.

A meeting of COBRA, chaired by new Home Secretary Jacqui Smith was held about the incident.

Police say it is too early to tell who is behind the threat. Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the country faces a “serious and continued security threat” and urged people to “be vigilant at all times”.

Disruption has been caused to transport in the area with roads closed and bus routes diverted. Piccadilly Circus tube station has reopened after an earlier closure

Police are reviewing major events to be held in London over the weekend.

CBS News has reported that a message appeared on the widely used jihadist Internet forum Al-Hesbah at 8:09 a.m. June 28, saying: “Today I say: Rejoice, by Allah, London shall be bombed.” The message went on to mention the recently announced knighthood of Satanic Verses author Salman Rushdie.

Following an incident at Glasgow airport, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith announced the elevation of the UK’s national threat level from “Severe” to “Critical”, indicating that an attack could be expected “imminently”.

Two people have been arrested in Cheshire in connection with the Glasgow International Airport attack and attempted London car bombings.

Park Lane was closed to the public due to a suspicious car parked in the underground car park beneath Hyde Park. Police, who believed the two incidents to be linked, cordoned off Park Lane and Hyde Park to allow the bomb disposal unit access to the vehicle. The car was illegally parked on Cockspur Street and was towed to the pound on Park Lane, it was then discovered that the car contained an explosive device.

Why Choosing Urgent Care In Queens Makes Sense

byalex

If you or one of your family members is not feeling very well one day, you have a few alternatives. One is to just wait it out and see what happens. This can be an okay option because many times little problems will resolve themselves with some common-sense treatment and/or over-the-counter medications. Of course, sometimes by the time evening rolls around you actually feel worse or your fever gets higher, or you just start to notice that what you thought was a little problem has suddenly taken a turn for the worse. In that case, you may decide you want to get seen right away but would prefer to be seen by a physician nearby in your community rather than go into the hospital. In this case, urgent care in Queens may be the answer for you. Typically urgent care clinics are located in communities, have extended hours, and also are open on weekends so you can go in apart from regular business hours but still be treated by a general physician rather than an emergency room physician.

Another option when you are not feeling well is to call and try to get an appointment with your regular physician and hopefully get in and get seen. Many times, however, your doctor is not available when you need to be seen. He may have the day or week off because doctors deserve vacations, too. Or perhaps he just does not have any openings in his schedule. Sometimes your doctor’s office may try to squeeze you in, but sometimes there is just not room even for that or you would rather not wait until you can be seen. If that is the case you can probably see another doctor who works with yours, but you may not like that option either. In that case, going to see the urgent care in Queens doctor might be the best option. They will usually just let you come at any time and typically you will have waiting periods much shorter than at a hospital emergency room.

And of course the main reason that going to urgent care in Queens is a good option is much lower cost than going to the emergency room. Not only will you likely have a lower co-pay than if you were go to an emergency room, but the entire visit is going to be less so if you pay a percentage of any costs there, you are definitely saving money by going to urgent care in Queens.

There are many times where going to urgent care in Queens is really the best option for you or your family member. You will typically save money and get faster treatment, if you choose to go to a clinic for urgent care in Queens rather than into the emergency room.

Caroline Kennedy drops bid for New York Senate seat

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Caroline Kennedy, considered to be among the front-runners for the United States Senate seat vacated by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, yesterday withdrew her name from consideration for the seat. New York state Governor David Paterson had been reported as intending to name her as Clinton’s replacement this Saturday.

Caroline Kennedy, the only surviving child of former U.S. President John F. Kennedy, issued a statement at midnight saying she had quit her bid because of “personal reasons”.

A close associate of Kennedy, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, said that the decision was not related to the recent health issues of Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA), Caroline Kennedy’s uncle. The senator suffered a seizure Tuesday while attending a luncheon with the newly inaugurated U.S. President Barack Obama in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.. He was rushed out of the event in a wheelchair and taken for treatment to Washington Hospital, where he remains. In May 2008 he was diagnosed with brain cancer, which required an operation.

The New York Post has reported that Kennedy withdrew her bid because Paterson was not going to choose her for the position. Citing the anonymous source, the Post said that “her poor performances in media interviews and in private sessions with various officials” is Paterson’s reason for not appointing her to the position. Paterson will reportedly make his decision by Saturday, January 26.

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is the highest-profile candidate still up for consideration for the last two years of Clinton’s term. Cuomo, who has not commented on this recent turn of events, was the housing secretary during former President Bill Clinton‘s time in office, and in his current role as attorney general has overseen nation-wide reforms for student loans and participated in limiting Wall Street corporate spending.

U.S. actor Charlie Sheen questions 9/11 theories

Thursday, March 30, 2006

Charlie Sheen, appearing on cable television news network station CNN on March 24, questioned the credibility of the theory that 19 hijackers caused all of the destruction to the World Trade Center.

Sheen said; “It seems to me like, you know, 19 amateurs with box cutters taking over four commercial airliners and hitting 75 percent of their targets, that feels like a conspiracy theory… I am an American citizen that loves my country…. People want the truth. They want the truth. And what’s been offered to us resembles nothing of the sort.“

In recounting his reaction on the day of the event, Sheen said,”I was up early and we were gonna do a pre-shoot on Spin City, the show I used to do. I was watching the news and the north tower was burning. There was a feeling, it just didn’t look like any commercial jetliner I’ve flown on any time in my life and then when the buildings came down later on that day I said to my brother, ‘Call me insane but did it sorta look like those buildings came down in a controlled demolition?’”

Writer Marc Jacobson, of the New York magazine, who co-appeared with Sheen on the same program said in response: “Well, I think he’s doing a reasonable rendition of what other people that believe in this stuff say. And when he says he has his facts straight, I mean, I think the facts are in question. I mean, I think, just because you know what it says on all of these different Web sites doesn’t mean that that’s necessarily the fact. That’s the reason why the United States government, with their endless amounts of resources, let us down by not doing the proper work on the 9/11 Commission. That’s a real problem. Well, you know, but, I mean, it’s just one of those kind of things where you do this work and nobody really cares, but then Charlie Sheen is interested, so then everybody is interested, and that’s fine. You know, obviously, this material needs to be looked at again, because there’s been a lot of problems with the 9/11 Commission report. People feel it’s not adequate. Most of the people who had lost people during that time feel it’s not adequate. And it’s just I think we’re living in a truth vacuum, in a sense, that any time there’s a truth vacuum, these ideas — because people are smart. They put two and two together. Sometimes they get five; sometimes they get 12, but sometimes they get 11, like 9/11, but sometimes they get four. And the thing is that, if you have a situation where the so-called facts are covered up and aggressively covered up, then you’re going to get these conspiracy theories.” One website is claiming that Google had been censoring out any news articles relating to Sheen and 9/11 from it’s search engine.

Regarding the plane that hit the Pentagon, Sheen also has questions: “Just show us how this particular plane pulled off these maneuvers… It is up to us to reveal the truth. It is up to us because we owe it to the families, we owe it to the victims, we owe it to everyone’s life who was drastically altered, horrifically, that day and forever. We owe it to them to uncover what happened.”

Some supporters of Sheen’s theories have complained about the lack of mainstream media coverage. They point to CNN’s recent cancellation of Ed Asner’s interview on Showbiz Tonight, where he was expected to support Sheen’s position, as an example of the “media blackout”.

Marina Hyde of The Guardian proposed a theory of her own with regard to Sheen: “Frankly, with dentistry as expensive as yours, you simply can’t afford to let The Man stamp his jackboot down on your face, and so it is that when faced with the inquiry ‘did Lee Harvey Oswald act alone?’, you find yourself thinking: ‘God, I mean… do any of us? Like, he had to have people, you know? At least an agent and a publicist.'”

Should You Have Your Car’s Transmission Flushed?

By Lawrence Reaves

Depending on the make and model of your vehicle, and whether you purchase a rebuilt or new transmission, replacing the assembly can cost up to $3,500. For this reason, you should do everything possible to prolong its life. As with your engine, regular maintenance can go a long way toward protecting your transmission from premature failure. The good news is that maintenance is as easy as changing the fluid.

You may have noticed that the mechanics at your dealership or local repair shop recommend transmission flushes. But is the service necessary? More importantly, could it cause a problem with your car’s tranny? In this article, we’ll present both sides of the issue, so you’ll be able to make an informed decision about the service. We’ll also provide a quick “how to” guide for changing the automatic transmission fluid (ATF) in your vehicle.

Advantage Of Replacing The ATF

Some automakers claim that drivers do not need to change the fluid in their transmissions. They suggest the ATF can last the life of the assembly. Unfortunately, this claim may not be entirely true.

The fluid is filled with chemicals that help protect your transmission during operation. These chemicals ensure the gears shift smoothly and reliably. The problem is, the heat surrounding the assembly causes the temperature of the ATF to rise. This in turn causes oxidation; the chemicals begin to break down, and provide less protection to the tranny. When this happens, the moving parts begin to generate friction, which causes the shifting to become staggered or uneven. You’ll notice a delayed response, or a jerking sensation when the gears shift.

Replacing the fluid introduces a new batch of protective chemicals into the assembly. They prevent the friction that can eventually destroy the gears and other components. Thus, changing the ATF prolongs its useful life, and postpones an overhaul.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_r-aQMh2Ck[/youtube]

So, how often should you change the fluid? A lot depends on the conditions in which you drive. Many mechanics suggest changing it every 30,000 miles, but placing a load on the assembly will accelerate the fluid’s oxidation. If you normally drive aggressively, or haul heavy items up hills, you may need to change it every 20,000 miles.

Potential Hazards Of “Flushing” The Transmission

This brings us to the question of whether flushing your transmission is necessary and safe. During a flush, a special machine is used to push solvents at high pressure backward through the assembly. The solvents and pressure help to jar loose deposits and debris that have accumulated. By cleaning the system, the ATF can flow through it more easily, providing a higher level of lubrication.

There is a danger, however, that knocking loose the deposits will cause bigger problems down the road. For example, if the deposits are pushed through the assembly, but not expelled, they can create an obstruction that prevents fluid from flowing. This will essentially starve your transmission of ATF, which can quickly lead to costly repairs (or worse, an overhaul).

It is worth noting that flushes are generally not recommended for high-mileage vehicles (those with over 100,000 miles) for this reason.

Examining And Changing The Fluid

Thus far, we have explained why changing the ATF is a good idea, and the reason flushing your transmission is a poor one. We’ll now explain how to do the former.

Before you start, check the scent, color, and consistency of the fluid. If the ATF is completely oxidized, it will smell as if something is burning. Next, place a few drops on a paper towel, and examine its color. If it is darkly colored, it needs to be changed. Observe its consistency as the drops spread on the paper towel. If the fluid is static (i.e. it does not spread), oxidation has already occurred.

Place sturdy jacks under the frame of your vehicle, and lift it. Locate the pan in which the fluid sits (typically, beneath the dipstick), and loosen the bolts that are holding it in place. Position a bowl or container under the pan to drain the ATF. Then, remove the pan. Some pans will be equipped with a drain plug that can be removed in order to drain the fluid.

With the pan removed and the ATF drained, clean any residual transmission fluid that remains in the pan. You’ll likely see small metal particles; remove them, as well.

Next, replace the transmission filter, and the gasket around the perimeter of the pan. Install the new filter and gasket, and replace the pan before tightening the bolts. With everything in place, add the new ATF. Add it slowly, and check the level periodically to avoid overfilling.

The takeaway is that you should check your transmission fluid on a regular basis, and replace it when it becomes oxidized. But avoid having the assembly flushed since doing so can cause more harm than good.

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Source: isnare.com

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Murdoch’s News Corp. Ends Automated Censorship of MySpace

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

In December 2005, MySpace members discovered that mentions and links to content hosted by rival video-swapping site YouTube were disabled. Debate concerning this issue was apparently even stifled on the site’s message boards. Regardless, member unrest grew, culminating in a campaign led by 600 MySpace members to boycott and relocate to rival sites such as Friendster, LinkedIn (linkedin.com), Revver, and Facebook. Subsequently, MySpace reenabled the YouTube links and content in late December. However, it appears that MySpace also closed down a blog forum where members were complaining about this issue.

Wikipedia has more about this subject:

MySpace was also apparently banning Revver, another video swapping site, but had relented as of early January. To this, Revver co-founder Oliver Luckett responded, “References to his service were banned because MySpace saw it as competition”.

Overall, the blocking of video stored on YouTube and other sites or embedded in user profiles has led to accusations of censorship from MySpace members. Chris DeWolfe, MySpace’s chief executive denies any this, as well as any connection between recent events and the advent of MySpace’s own video-sharing service, stating that blocking links or entire sites are sometimes necessary when MySpace investigates complaints of pornography or racism.

There has been concern among groups of bloggers operating out of MySpace that News Corp would monitor or censor their activities, ever since they purchased Intermix, then MySpace’s parent company. Ellis Yu told the Blog Herald that “their CEO said nothing like that would happen. Well, now it has. MySpace was built on an open community and now they’re trying to censor us, putting business interests above its members!”

Two suicide bombers attack US targets in Casablanca

Saturday, April 14, 2007

Two bombs went off today in Boulevard Moulay Youssef in central Casablanca, Morocco. Two men, reported to be brothers, blew themselves up outside and the United States Consulate and its culture center, respectively. The bombers both died and a woman, who was passing by, was injured.

An eyewitness told BBC News: “I saw a man talking to a policeman, trying to distract him I guess, while another man walked by to the consulate and blew himself up over there.”

Police sources say that the men were part of the same terror cell that police has been trying to track down since a March 11 bombing at an Internet cafe. On April 10, four suspects died after a police raid on the same group.

In the hours following the bombings, police arrested three people, and recovered another explosives belt near Kandara Hotel. A man seen throwing down the belt was among those arrested. Moroccan authorities have been downplaying a possible connection with Wednesday’s bombings in neighboring Algeria.

Your Child Support Attorney In River Forest Will Protect Your Rights

byAlma Abell

If you have had a hard time collecting child support which you have been legally awarded, it may be time to handle things a little differently. After all, when you don’t have enough money to raise your children, life is going to be miserable. You need to set up an appointment with a Child Support Attorney in River Forest today. This way, you can get started with the process of collecting the child support that you are legally owed so that you can take care of your children.

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Of course, before you can collect child support, it needs to be awarded to you. You may have to come up with the court documents stating that you are the custodial parent of the children. Usually, this is in the case. However, it has happened in the past. The next thing that you need to do is to find out where the noncustodial parent is working. This way, your Child Support Attorney in River Forest can possibly help you have wages garnished if necessary.

Many people have the opinion that they don’t want to go after child support because they don’t want to seem like they are greedy. However, if you don’t go after child support, you aren’t going to have enough money to take care of your family. It can be frustrating knowing that your children have to go with out at times because the other parent is making bad choices. Sometimes, we need to force them to do the right thing and even sometimes have the money automatically withdrawn from their paycheck. This is something that your Child Support Attorney in River Forest can help you with.

Gabrielle S. Davis is an excellent Child Support Attorney in River Forest. She will sit down with you and go over everything that you need to know about collecting your child support. She will talk to the judge on your behalf and let him know that you have not been collecting. This way, the judge will hopefully set up a payment plan that very day. It can be uncomfortable at times because you don’t want to have a confrontation with your former spouse. However, if you don’t, they may never pay you.

Electronic voting disputed in France

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

In France, voting has traditionally been a low-tech experience: voters isolate themselves in a booth, put a pre-printed sheet of paper indicating their candidate of choice into an envelope. After officials verify the voter’s identity, the voter drops the envelope into the ballot box and signs the voting roll. French electoral law rather strictly codifies the proceedings. Since 1988, ballot boxes must be transparent so that voters and observers can witness that no envelopes are present at the start of the vote and that no envelopes are added except those of the duly counted and authorized voters. Candidates can send representatives to witness every part of the process. In the evening, votes are counted by volunteers under heavy supervision, following specific procedures.

In the past, voting machines, though authorized by law, were scarce. But this year, during presidential elections (the first round was April 22, the second is on May 6), the country is shaken by controversy about the machines intended to count about 1.5 million votes.

As in the United States, there is a group of academic computer scientists that oppose voting machines. They argue that voting machines replace a public, easily understandable counting process, where large-scale fraud would entail large-scale corruption, by an opaque process where votes are counted by machines that voters have to blindly trust. Voting machines have to be approved by the Ministry of the Interior, but this approval is based on confidential reports by private companies. Opponents to the machines point out that the Ministry was long held by Nicolas Sarkozy, who happens to be the leading candidate. Opponents also list a number of weaknesses and discrepancies that have occurred in other countries using voting machines.

All main political parties except UMP, Mr Sarkozy’s ruling party, oppose the voting machines. Some citizens have filed for court injunctions against the voting machines. Opponents have given detailed instructions that voting witnesses should check whether the machines correspond exactly to an approved type, including software versions, and fulfill all legal conditions. In a sign of the frenzy over the issue, on April 12 the Ministry of the Interior issued a last-minute authorization for a specific model (hardware, firmware). The stakes are high: votes on unapproved machines should be canceled by the Constitutional Council for the official count.

The opposition has crystallized on the Paris suburb of Issy-les-Moulineaux. Issy’s mayor, André Santini is a well-known technophile; his city organizes a “World E-Gov Forum”. Here too, last minute fixes are at work. The machines delivered to the city are of a yet-to-be-approved type. The manufacturer, the American company ES&S voting systems, is now delivering older 2005 machines. Le Monde reports that other municipalities have already replaced their recent machines by an older, approved, model.

Proponents of the machines, such as the French company France Élection, claim they are being defamed and dispute the competence of their critics. Elected officials supporting the machines claim the machines save on paper, time, and the need to find volunteers to count votes.