New Britain Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Child Sex Trafficking Charges

Amplify’d from newhaven.fbi.gov

New Britain Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Child Sex Trafficking Charges

David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that JARELL SANDERSON, 31, of New Britain, pled guilty yesterday, January 20, before United States District Judge Mark R. Kravitz in New Haven to one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of children and two counts of sex trafficking of children.

According to court documents and statements made in court, SANDERSON and co-defendant Hassanah Delia recruited two 14-year-old girls to work as prostitutes. In July 2009, SANDERSON and Delia transported the girls to hotels in Hartford and East Hartford, where the girls engaged in sexual conduct with men in exchange for money that was paid either to SANDERSON or Delia. The men who paid to engage in sexual conduct with the girls had responded to an advertisement placed on a website by SANDERSON by calling a phone that was answered by Delia, who then set up appointments for the girls.

On December 7, 2010, Delia, of East Hartford, plead guilty to two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion.

“Prostituting children is a heinous crime, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners are committed to prosecuting those who exploit children,” stated U.S. Attorney Fein. “I want to thank the FBI, East Hartford Police, and the Department of Justice’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section for their tremendous efforts in bringing these defendants to justice.”

“As a result of the joint efforts of the FBI, East Hartford Police Department, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office on this priority investigation, this guilty plea will assure that this offender will no longer be in a position to endanger children,” stated Kimberly K. Mertz, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Judge Kravitz scheduled sentencing for April 12, 2011, at which time SANDERSON faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a maximum term of life imprisonment. SANDERSON also will be ordered to pay restitution to compensate the victims of his crimes.

Delia also awaits sentencing.

This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the East Hartford Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David E. Novick and Trial Attorney Alecia Riewerts Wolak of the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section of the Department of Justice. Read more at newhaven.fbi.gov

 

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Two Men Convicted in Connection with Death of a Juvenile Girl Found Near Arapahoe

Amplify’d from denver.fbi.gov

Two Men Convicted in Connection with Death of a Juvenile Girl Found Near Arapahoe

U.S. Attorney Christopher A. Crofts announced today that two men have been convicted in U.S. federal district court in the death of a juvenile girl whose body was found near Arapahoe, Wyoming on April 7, 2010.

Robert Spoonhunter, 21, of Arapahoe, pled guilty to the charge of voluntary manslaughter before U.S. District Court Judge Alan Johnson on January 3, 2011. Spoonhunter is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Johnson on March 14, 2011.

On January 20, 2011, Kyrean Tillman, 19, of Arapahoe was found guilty of accessory after the fact (voluntary manslaughter) and sexual abuse of a minor after a three-day jury trial in U.S. District Court in Cheyenne. Tillman is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Johnson on March 31, 2011.

The investigation into the death of the female juvenile was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of the Bureau of Indian Affairs/Wind River Police Department, the Riverton Police Department, the Riverton Fire Department, the Fremont County Sheriff's Department, and the Fremont County Coroner's Office. Read more at denver.fbi.gov

 

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Red Lake Man Pleads Guilty to Assaulting, Shooting a Woman

Amplify’d from minneapolis.fbi.gov

Red Lake Man Pleads Guilty to Assaulting, Shooting a Woman

A 25-year-old Red Lake man pled guilty yesterday in federal court in St. Paul to assaulting and shooting a woman near the Redby Post Office on April 29, 2010. Appearing before United States District Court Judge Donovan W. Frank, Joseph Joshua Jackson pled guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon and discharge of a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence. He was indicted on June 7, 2010.

In his plea agreement, Jackson admitted that on April 29, he assaulted the woman by kicking her three times and then shooting her in the abdomen. According to a law enforcement affidavit filed in the case, Red Lake tribal police responded to a reported shooting and found the victim outside the Redby Post Office. She claimed Jackson had kicked her in the head and shot her with a pistol. The victim sustained injuries to the head as well as a gunshot wound to her right torso. Jackson was arrested on May 3, 2010, and remains in custody.

For his crimes, Jackson faces a potential mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison on the weapon discharge charge and a potential maximum of 10 years on the assault charge. Judge Frank will determine his sentence at a future hearing, yet to be scheduled.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI, the Red Lake Tribal Police Department, and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen B. Schommer and Clifford B. Wardlaw.

Because the Red Lake Indian Reservation is a federal jurisdiction reservation, some of the crimes that occur there are investigated by the FBI in conjunction with the Red Lake Tribal Police Department. Those cases are prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Read more at minneapolis.fbi.gov

 

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Michigan Man Sentenced 48 Months for Attempting to Spy for the People’s Republic of China

Amplify’d from washingtondc.fbi.gov

Michigan Man Sentenced 48 Months for Attempting to Spy for the People’s Republic of China

WASHINGTON—Glenn Duffie Shriver, 28, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, was sentenced today to 48 months in prison for conspiring to provide national defense information to intelligence officers of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

Neil H. MacBride, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Court Judge Liam O’Grady.

On Oct. 22, 2010, Shriver pleaded guilty to a one-count criminal information charging him with conspiracy to communicate national defense information to a person not entitled to receive it.

“Mr. Shriver sold out his country and repeatedly sought a position in our intelligence community so that he could provide classified information to the PRC,” said U.S. Attorney MacBride. “Attempts to gain access to sensitive information are a serious threat to our national security. We are doing everything in our power to find and punish those who seek to betray our country.”

According to a statement of facts filed with his plea agreement, Shriver is proficient in Mandarin Chinese and lived in the PRC both as an undergraduate student and after graduation. While living in Shanghai in October 2004, Shriver developed a relationship with three individuals whom he came to learn were PRC intelligence officers. At the request of these foreign agents, Shriver agreed to return to the United States and apply for positions in U.S. intelligence agencies or law enforcement organizations.

Shriver admitted in court that he knew that his ultimate objective was to obtain a position with a federal department or agency that would afford him access to classified national defense information, which he would then transmit to the PRC officers in return for cash payments.

From 2005 to 2010, Shriver attempted to gain employment as a U.S. Foreign Service Officer with the Department of State and as a clandestine service officer with the Central Intelligence Agency. Shriver admitted that, during this time, he maintained frequent contact with the PRC intelligence officers and received more than $70,000 in three separate cash payments for what the officers called his “friendship.”

In December 2009, Shriver received notice that he was to report to Washington, D.C., in May 2010 for employment processing activities with the CIA. Shriver admitted that he communicated with a PRC intelligence officer that he was “making some progress” in obtaining a position with the CIA and that he would not be free to travel to PRC for another meeting because it could raise suspicion with federal agents conducting his background investigation.

Shriver admitted that he made false statements on the CIA questionnaire required for employment stating that he had not had any contact with a foreign government or its representative during the last seven years, when in fact he had met in person with one or more of the officers approximately 20 times since 2004. He also deliberately omitted his travel to PRC in 2007 when he received a $40,000 cash payment from the PRC for applying to the CIA. In addition, Shriver made false statements during a series of screening interviews at the CIA, and he admitted he made each of the false statements to conceal his illicit relationship with the PRC intelligence officers.

This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen M. Campbell of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Brandon L. Van Grack of the Counterespionage Section in the National Security Division are prosecuting the case. Read more at washingtondc.fbi.gov

 

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Minnesota-Based St. Jude Medical Pays U.S. $16 Million to Settle Claims That Company Paid Kickbacks to Physicians

I guess you know where your donations to St. Jude are going to go!

Amplify’d from boston.fbi.gov

Minnesota-Based St. Jude Medical Pays U.S. $16 Million to Settle Claims That Company Paid Kickbacks to Physicians

WASHINGTON—St. Jude Medical Inc. of St. Paul, Minn., has agreed to pay the United States $16 million to resolve allegations that the company used post-market studies and a registry to pay kickbacks to induce physicians to implant the company’s pacemakers and defibrillators, the Justice Department announced today.

Post-market studies are intended to assess the clinical performance of a medical device or drug after that device or drug has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Registries are collections of data maintained by a device manufacturer concerning its products that have been sold and implanted in patients.

The United States contends that St. Jude used three post-market studies and a device registry as vehicles to pay participating physicians kickbacks to induce them to implant St. Jude pacemakers and defibrillators. Although St. Jude collected data and information from participating physicians, it is alleged that the company knowingly and intentionally used the studies and registry as a means of increasing its device sales by paying certain physicians to select St. Jude pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillator for their patients. In each case, St. Jude paid each participating physician a fee that ranged up to $2,000 per patient. The United States alleges that St. Jude solicited physicians for the studies in order to retain their business and/or convert their business from a competitor’s product.

“When companies pay kickbacks to health care providers in order to pad their bottom line, it taints the information patients rely on to make informed choices about their health,” said Tony West, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division. “It is critical that physicians base their decisions on which medical device to implant on the best interest of the patient, not on whether a device manufacturer will pay an extra fee or honoraria for the implant.”

“Medical device and pharmaceutical companies can use post-market studies legitimately to obtain information about how their products work in the field, but they cannot use those studies, and the honoraria associated with them, to induce physicians to select their products. Cardiologists and electrophysiologists should make their decisions on which pacemaker or defibrillator to implant in a patient based on their independent medical judgment, not based on how much the manufacturer is paying them to implant the device,” said Carmen Ortiz, U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts.

This action was initiated by the filing of a qui tam action under the False Claims Act (FCA) by a relator, Charles Donigian. The FCA permits a whistle blower to recover a share of the government recovery, and in this case Mr. Donigian will recover $2.64 million.

This resolution is part of the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud and another step for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team initiative, which was announced by Attorney General Eric Holder and Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services in May 2009. The partnership between the two departments has focused efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid financial fraud through enhanced cooperation. One of the most powerful tools in that effort is the False Claims Act, which the Justice Department has used to recover more than $6.8 billion since January 2009 in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs.

The settlement was the result of an investigation by the Justice Department’s Civil Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, the Office of Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the FBI. Read more at boston.fbi.gov

 

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Woman Indicted on Charges of Enticing a Minor to Engage in Sexual Activity and Production of Child Porn

Amplify’d from buffalo.fbi.gov

Woman Indicted on Charges of Enticing a Minor to Engage in Sexual Activity and Production of Child Pornography

BUFFALO, NY—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that a federal grand jury in Buffalo has returned a three-count indictment charging Angie L. Jenkins, 35, of Lowell, Michigan, with enticing a minor to engage in sexual activity, production of child pornography, and receipt of child pornography. The charges carry a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison and a maximum of life imprisonment.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron J. Mango, who is handling the case, stated that beginning in October 2009, Jenkins developed an online relationship with a 15-year-old minor victim through the online video game World of Warcraft. The relationship then progressed into online chats, e-mails, and telephone calls. In the spring of 2010, the conversations turned sexual in nature and in late May 2010, the defendant told the victim that she wanted to travel to Buffalo so that they could engage in sexual activity. On June 11, 2010, Jenkins traveled from Michigan to Buffalo, met up with the victim, then 16 years old, and had sex in a parked car in a park in Amherst, NY. The relationship was discovered after the minor’s parents, upon reviewing his cell phone, noticed multiple calls from an out of state number. After learning that Jenkins traveled to Buffalo, the parents contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation. On August 31, 2010, the defendant was arrested at her home in Michigan and a computer was seized from her residence. A forensic examination revealed graphic images sent from the victim to the defendant at the defendant's request.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The Indictment is the culmination of an investigation on the part of special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation under the direction of James H. Robertson, Special Agent in Charge.

Arraignment on the indictment is scheduled for January 25, 2011 at 2:00 p.m. before Magistrate Judge Hugh B. Scott.

The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. Read more at buffalo.fbi.gov

 

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Church, Congregations Increase Focus on "Spiritual Formation"

Amplify’d from endrtimes.blogspot.com

Church, Congregations Increase Focus on "Spiritual Formation"

ANN Feature: Church, Congregations Increase Focus on "Spiritual Formation" Spiritual formation is a topic being raised by many pastors and church leaders in a growing number of Christian denominations. It's no longer enough to just know doctrine and facts--in today's hectic society people are searching for something deeper and... 3 Feb 2004, Spiritual formation is a topic being raised by many pastors and church leaders in a growing number of Christian denominations. It's no longer enough to just know doctrine and facts--in today's hectic society people are searching for something deeper and more meaningful, something that makes sense in their whirlwind lives. For the Seventh-day Adventist Church, a "wake-up call" was sounded after a 2002 survey showed that though doctrinal understanding was high, there were several "areas of concern," including low involvement in daily prayer and Bible study, active Christian witness to the community, and participation in community service (see ANN October 9, 2002). These concerns can be linked to how the church rates in the area of spiritual formation, which has been defined by one Adventist Church pastor as "the process of becoming a mature Christian disciple of God." Another person describes it as "whatever you do to specifically nourish your relationship with God." Today this subject is receiving serious emphasis in Adventist institutions, as well as in local congregations. Though the church doesn't have an accredited educational program dealing with spiritual formation at any of its theological schools, it's seeing this subject become more common in today's modern, seeking world. Spiritual formation is not a new idea or concept, and "a lot of Protestants are in the same boat--we are rediscovering it," says Dr. Jon Dybdahl, president of Walla Walla College, an Adventist institution in Washington State. And, he adds, the Adventist Church has some work to do. "Traditionally the Adventist Church has emphasized intellectual truth and accepting certain facts and ideas about God," Dybdahl says. "At least in many places it has not talked so much about the importance of directly experiencing God. The difference is between knowing about God and knowing God. Sometimes what we teach people is knowing about God ... That's part of the nature of things. It's much easier to communicate a fact than it is to wield people to experience." Pastor Martin Feldbush, associate director for Adventist Chaplaincy Ministries whose work brings him in contact with leaders of several other denominations, says that the Adventist Church is not alone in its quest for deeper spiritual formation among members. "A lot of churches out there are struggling with the same issues as we are. We're not in isolation as though there's something wrong with us. I think churches particularly that are conservative in their orientation and take their mission very seriously, and I believe we should do all of that, may have a tendency to stress the 'doing' as opposed to the 'being' and the formation." But why is there a need for spiritual formation? If people are part of a religious organization, shouldn't they already be at a certain level of spiritual formation? John Jenson, pastor of the 150-member South Bay Adventist Church in Torrance, California, says, "There's a need for spiritual formation with the [Adventist] Church because we have been so doctrinally oriented that people might be able to quote some or all of the 27 fundamental beliefs [of the church], and may have neglected having daily devotions that day or week or month." He explains that there's an overload of knowledge and information, but how to translate that into meaningful instruction and "marching orders" for daily living is key. Jenson says that without spiritual formation, a person would be "spiritually uncivilized." It "is the process by which they can go from being a spiritual infant to spiritual maturity ... developing the potential that God's put within you." Dybdahl adds that people need to "Begin to recognize that knowledge without life experience can be dead. [They need to] recognize how crucial it is to people's lives [and] how much the younger generation values experience." Dr. Jane Thayer, assistant professor of Religious Education and coordinator of the Religious Education Program at Andrews University, adds, "We have a big blank when it comes to taking care of people once they have accepted the Lord ... I think what people need to know is 'how do you live the life.' Spiritual formation or discipleship needs to show how you live like Christ." Nikolaus Satelmajer, from the church's Ministerial Association responsible for continuing education for Adventist clergy, believes there's now a shift from emphasis on doctrine to more emphasis on spiritual formation within the Adventist Church. He also says that, "We're finding a serious lack of knowledge of our people [church founders], our doctrines ... I think we have de-emphasized them." Satelmajer says this is true particularly with the younger generation, and the cause of any spiritual formation growth stunt is not because of a focus on doctrine. Though it's not a concept that's easy to grasp for an organization as a whole, spiritual formation is something each individual member can work on, Feldbush says. "When you think about it as an individual, we're so used to gearing our spiritual experience on the 'wow' moments--the ones [in which] we can see the great things happening, whether it's personally or organizationally. It's easy to see God's movement in those times. Real spiritual formation is a process of growing more and more in tune to discernment of God's voice as well as more and more tuned to discernment of God's moving in my life, in the ordinary of life, as well as even in the difficult times of life. That's where real spiritual formation, or at least the value of spiritual formation, is seen." Spiritual formation is not about what one does, but what the motivations behind one's actions are. Dr. Roger Dudley, professor emeritus of Christian Ministry and director of the Institute of Church Ministry at Andrews University Theological Seminary, and the 2002 survey coordinator, says there are stages of moral development. "A person who studies the Bible every day because he'll be lost if he doesn't has a low level of moral development; or a person who pays tithes and offerings because he expects an extra blessing. Higher levels would be a different level of motivation." "That overemphasis on doing to the detriment of being and particularly the detriment of being in the spirit and being in Christ as the very formational and foundational experience of the individual member and the church itself, I think that's one of the big challenges," says Feldbush. He adds that the three strategic values of the church--unity, growth and quality of life--adopted in 2002, demonstrate personal spiritual growth. Spiritual formation takes on several forms: "There are disciplines of devotion, meditation, prayer, listening and so on," Feldbush explains. "It's a discipline which can be heeded through the assistance of a person who is trained in helping people grow in these ways." But, he says, it's mostly "growing more and more tuned to God's movement in my life here and now." And, he says, spiritual formation is not something that happens overnight. "We [as a church] think that spiritual formation comes through socialization. But we need to be intentional about it," says Thayer. "The culture we live in is so pervasive that the models there are more persistent and prevalent than the little models we have just in terms of the time we've spent." Thayer refers to a need for showing others how to live like Christ in the real world. Dudley adds that if more members are encouraged to study and pray more and are able and willing to share their faith, there may be spiritual development for the church as a whole. "Spiritual development is something that happens with individuals." Satelmajer adds, "And within congregations as well. Spiritual formation is the implementation of spiritual principles in my life and in my actions," he says. "I think we're missing something. It's not just learning how to 'meditate'--spiritual formation is learning how to implement spiritual things that I know or am learning or experiencing into my life and then into my everyday life..." The Adventist world church created the International Board of Ministerial and Theological Education (IBMTE) in September 2001, designed to provide overall guidance and standards to the professional training of pastors, evangelists, theologians, teachers, chaplains and other denominational employees involved in ministerial and religious formation, or spiritual formation, in each of the church's 13 regions around the world. Silver Spring, Maryland United States, Wendi Rogers/ANN . Source: Adventist News Network© . Source . Read more at endrtimes.blogspot.com

 

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Christians Suspect Cover-Up in Pastor’s Death in Orissa, India

Amplify’d from www.compassdirect.org

Christians Suspect Cover-Up in Pastor’s Death in Orissa, India

Police refuse to follow leads pointing to murder.

NEW DELHI, January 21 (CDN) — Relatives of a pastor who was found dead in a secluded area in eastern Orissa state’s Kandhamal district last week have accused local police of a cover-up. The body of Saul Pradhan, a 45-year-old independent pastor whose house was burned by Hindu extremists two years ago, was found near a pond in Pakala village in Kandhamal’s Raikia Block on Jan. 11 and bore marks of assault, Catholic activist Ajay Singh told Compass. “I spoke to the widow of the pastor, and she told me that the hands and legs of the deceased looked twisted, and there was blood in his mouth. His pants were also torn,” Singh said by phone from Orissa’s capital, Bhubaneswar. “Why should it not arouse suspicion when Pastor Pradhan was last seen with two Hindu men, Marda Pradhan and Baiju Mallick, who were among the rioters who burned houses of Christians in 2008?” A local activist with the Evangelical Fellowship of India said he visited the site after the body had been removed and saw blood stains on a stone. Kandhamal witnessed two of India’s deadliest waves of anti-Christian violence in December 2007 and August-September 2008; the latter killed over 100 people, destroyed thousands of homes and displaced more than 60,000 others after a Hindu nationalist leader was killed by Maoists; Hindu nationalist groups blamed it on local Christians. Christian residents of Kandhamal say the antagonism toward them by those who engaged in the attacks under the influence of extremist Hindu nationalists remains strong. Singh said that the two Hindu men who burned houses of Christians in 2008, Marda Pradhan and Mallick, came to Pastor Pradhan’s house the evening of Jan. 10 and asked him to come out.   “The pastor’s wife was about to serve dinner and so asked him to wait,” he said. “But he said he wouldn’t take long.” When the pastor did not return the next day, his wife went to the house of Marda Pradhan with a few villagers. Marda Pradhan’s wife told them her husband had been in the jungle for three days because of a leg injury, Singh said. That afternoon, the pastor’s wife and the villagers again went to the house of Marda Pradhan, whose wife claimed he was not there. They could see him inside the house, however, and asked him to take them to the spot in the jungle where he had taken Pastor Pradhan the previous night. After walking for around half an hour, Marda Pradhan ran away, Singh said. “The villagers got suspicious and began to look around,” he said. “That’s when they found the body lying near a pond.” Some area residents told the villagers that they had heard loud quarreling the previous night. Police, however, say they have found little reason to suspect foul play. “There were no injury marks on the body of the man,” Inspector Ravi Narayan Barik told Compass, refuting the claims of the dead man’s family. “The doctor who performed the autopsy said it was just an unnatural death.” According to police, Pastor Pradhan and two other men got drunk on the night of Jan. 10. The two others were able to return to their homes, Barik said, while the pastor could not and died in the cold. “Drinking country-made liquor is normal behavior here,” said Barik, of the Raikia police station. “We called one of the two men who was with the deceased for interrogation but did not find anything suspicious.” An official autopsy report was still awaited at press time. Asked what sections of the Indian Penal Code or the Criminal Procedure Code were mentioned in the First Information Report or the formal police complaint, the official said, “None.” “The family is spreading rumors about murder in hope of receiving compensation from the government, as many victims of the 2008 violence got compensated,” the inspector said. Activist Singh said when the family went to police to report the suspected murder, officers were unwilling to listen. “The police scolded them,” Singh said. “They said he must have died from the cold. When the family asked for an autopsy, the police asked them to collect the body, take it to the village and bring it to the police station the following day.” But after the family insisted, the police asked them to bring the body the same day, he said. “So the family and friends carried the body on a bicycle and brought it to the police station,” Singh said. Asked why police did not go to collect the body, Singh said, “This is how it happens here.” Singh also said he heard that some local politicians from the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) visited the Raikia police station after the death was reported, though he added that he “could not confirm if that actually happened.” Until March 2009, the BJP was a ruling party in Orissa in coalition with a regional party, the Biju Janata Dal, for 11 years. Dr. Sajan George of the Global Council of Indian Christians called for an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation, the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency reported on Monday (Jan. 17). “The killing of Saul [Pradhan] seemed to be an organized crime by a section of people who had threatened him a few months ago, his family members alleged, adding that his house was also torched during the Kandhamal riots in 2008,” George told PTI. END Read more at www.compassdirect.org

 

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Italian scientists claim to have demonstrated cold fusion (w/ Video)

URL:  http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-01-italian-scientists-...

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Amplify’d from www.dailymail.co.uk

Earth 'to get second sun' as supernova turns night into day

By David Gardner

The Earth could soon have a second sun, at least for a week or two.

The cosmic phenomenon will happen when one of the brightest stars in the night sky explodes into a supernova.

And, according to a report yesterday, the most stunning light show in the planet’s history could happen as soon as this year.

Cosmic phenomenon: The Earth could soon see two suns - just like Luke Skywalker saw on Tatooine in the Star Wars film (pictured)

Earth will undoubtedly have a front row seat when the dying red supergiant star Betelgeuse finally blows itself into oblivion.

The explosion will be so bright that even though the star in the Orion constellation is 640 light-years away, it will still turn night into day and appear like there are two suns in the sky for a few weeks.

The only real debate is over exactly when it will happen.

In stellar terms, Betelgeuse is predicted to crash and burn in the very near future. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to rush out and buy sunglasses.

Brad Carter, Senior Lecturer of Physics at the University of Southern Queensland in Australia, claimed yesterday that the galactic blast could happen before 2012 – or any time over the next million years.

‘This old star is running out of fuel in its centre,’ Dr Carter told te Austalian website news.com.au.

‘This fuel keeps Betelgeuse shining and supported. When this fuel runs out the star will literally collapse in upon itself and it will do so very quickly.

‘This is the final hurrah for the star. It goes bang, it explodes, it lights up - we’ll have incredible brightness for a brief period of time for a couple of weeks and then over the coming months it begins to fade and then eventually it will be very hard to see at all,’ he added.

Look out: Betelgeuse, which is in the Orion constellation, is set to blow itself into oblivion - which will give the effect of two suns in the sky for us on Earth

The Internet is abuzz with doomsday theories linking the supernova to the Mayan calendar’s prediction of an Armageddon in 2012, fuelled by the association of the word ‘Betelgeuse’ with the devil.

But experts claimed that even if the big bang is looming, it will still happen way too far from Earth to do us any harm.

‘When a star goes bang, the first we will observe of it is a rain of tiny particles called nuetrinos,’ said Dr Carter.

‘They will flood through the Earth and bizarrely enough, even though the supernova we see visually will light up the night sky, 99% of the energy in the supernova is released in these particles that will come through our bodies and through the Earth with absolutely no harm whatsoever.’

When it happens, the Betelgeuse supernova will almost certainly be the most dramatic ever seen.

It is the ninth brightest star in the night sky and the second brightest in the constellation of Orion, outshining its neighbour Rigel – or Beta Orionis – only very rarely.

It’s distinct orange-red colour makes it easy to spot in the night sky.

If it was at the centre of our solar system, its surface would extend past the asteroid belt, wholly engulfing Mercury, Venus, Mars and the Earth. Read more at www.dailymail.co.uk

 

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Pear-Shaped UFO Sighted in Scotland

URL:  http://www.aolnews.com/2011/01/21/pear-shaped-ufo-sight...

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Amplify’d from gawker.com

Glenn Beck's Ranting Sparks Death Threats Against 78-Year-Old Sociologist

Glenn Beck has been railing against 78-year-old CUNY professor Frances Fox Piven for weeks now, claiming she co-authored a devious plan to overthrow the government in the 1960s. Now, some of his fans are issuing death threats against her.

According to the New York Times, Piven has been receiving death threats after being villainized on Beck's show. "Somebody tell Frances I have 5000 rounds ready and I'll give My life to take Our freedom back," wrote one user on Beck's news site, The Blaze.

As a scholar, Piven is famous for her work on social movements. But Glenn Beck has become obsessed with one 1966 essay she and her husband wrote for The Nation, which argued for bringing about social change by overwhelming the welfare system. To Beck, the "Cloward & Piven Strategy" is sort of master plan by Liberals and the Obama administration to collapse the government—he even put her on his "nine most dangerous people in the world" list!

So, inevitably, the crazies started targeting Piven, whose work poses an enormous threat to American undergraduates trying to stay awake in intro sociology, and that's about it. Seems they think they can somehow prevent her from writing an article in a political journal in 1966 that maybe thirteen people outside of Glenn Beck fans have thought about since then? But it's a testament both to Glenn Beck's skill at making shit up, and his fans' ability to be crazy, that some Americans actually care enough about a sociology professor to threaten her.

Image by Zachary Roberts via Flickr

Send an email to Adrian Chen, the author of this post, at adrian@gawker.com. Read more at gawker.com

 

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University researchers create networked flying robots that build complex structures

Amplify’d from www.rawstory.com

University researchers create networked flying robots that build complex structures

By Stephen C. Webster

Imagine a future where massive, flying robots assemble complex structures like skyscrapers or houses, with all the machines working as one, coordinated through a wireless network and custom algorithm.

Granted, a similar process already takes place today on a much smaller scale, albeit guided by human pilots.

But with the potential for human error eliminated, construction times could be drastically reduced. Ultimately, a hyper-streamlined system could result in thousands of construction jobs being eliminated and a surge in urban sprawl.

Such an invention, properly scaled upward, would be simply revolutionary -- and that radical vision, scarcely imagined even in science fiction, took its first step toward becoming a reality in 2011.

University of Pennsylvania PhD candidate Daniel Mellinger, in a project by the school's GRASP Lab (General Robotics, Automation, Sensing and Perception), created a set of flying, networked robot builders that can quickly and accurately assemble structures made out of magnetic rods.

The only input required from a human equipped with such a system would be her choice of blueprint: the drones handle everything else.

The robotic helicopters, equipped with a specialized grabbing mechanism for Mellinger's latest demonstration, were shown last year to be dexterous enough to do mid-air flips, pass through windows, perch on vertical surfaces and swarm in predefined patterns.

While it was just a small-scale project, it was likely to go down as one of the first to truly show the potential of hive-mind robotic assistants.

"I think this work is a first step in autonomous aerial robotic assembly," Mellinger told Raw Story. "I think it is reasonable to say that in the near future we can have large-scale aerial robots autonomously building structures that are useful to humans."

This video is from the University of Pennsylvania's GRASP Lab, published Jan. 13, 2010.

Image credit: 'Back to the Future,' 1985, copyright Universal Pictures. Read more at www.rawstory.com

 

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Homeland Security Doesn’t Electronically Verify Identity Documents of Foreign Seafarers at U.S. Ports, Says GAO

Amplify’d from www.cnsnews.com

Homeland Security Doesn’t Electronically Verify Identity Documents of Foreign Seafarers at U.S. Ports, Says GAO

By Edwin Mora

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

(CNSNews.com) - The Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency, a component of the Department of Homeland Security, does not electronically verify the identity or immigration status of foreign seafarers aboard cargo vessels seeking to enter the United States, according to a government audit.

This lack of verification happens even though the State Department has warned that the visas they issue to foreign seafarers (maritime crew members) are vulnerable to exploitation by extremists seeking to enter America by fraudulent means, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), which issued a Jan. 14 report on the topic.

Instead, “CBP officers have to rely on information vetted before boarding the vessel and their skill sets to identify fraud and grounds of inadmissibility, both in reviewing documents and in interviewing seafarers,” said the GAO.

“By not having the ability to electronically verify the documents, CBP’s methods for inspecting cargo vessel crew offers less assurance that CBP is identifying fraud among documents presented by the foreign seafarers seeking admission into the United States,” added the GAO.

The report further found that of the approximately 5 million seafarers that CBP inspects at U.S. ports each year, about 1 million arrive on-board cargo vessels, while the rest arrive aboard cruise ships.

The GAO pointed out that the “overwhelming majority” of those 5 million seafarers are aliens.

“Given the number of seafarers transiting U.S. ports each year and the continued threats posed by terrorism to the United States, it is important that seafarer risks are identified and actions are taken to ensure security of vessels and port infrastructure, while preventing illegal immigration,” stated the GAO report.

The report casts doubt on the Department of Homeland Security’s data concerning illegal entries by foreign seafarers at U.S. seaports, saying it is of  “undetermined reliability” because “DHS has no accurate and reliable estimate to gauge the extent of the incidents.”

Furthermore, the GAO noted that CBP has not increased its civil monetary penalties for seafarer-related immigration violations, as required by law, in over a decade. Civil monetary penalties are an important element of regulatory enforcement and can lose their ability to deter if unadjusted for inflation., the report said.

Port of Miami, Fla. (Wikipedia Commons)

The responsibility for identifying foreign seafarers who pose a national security threat to the United States is shared among the State Department, which screens them when they are applying overseas, and the U.S. Coast Guard and CBP components of DHS, which screen them upon their arrival at U.S. seaports to determine admissibility into America and prevent illegal immigration.

Although Coast Guard National Maritime Intelligence Center officials states there have been no reported terrorist attacks to date stemming from maritime crewmembers transiting at U.S. seaports, the federal government is “concerned about the possibility of a future terrorist attack in a U.S. port,” said the GAO.

“Federal agencies have identified seafarer-related risks involving either (1) extremists entering U.S. ports as seafarers and their potential threat to vessels or port infrastructure; or (2) risks posed generally by illegal immigration into the United States,” stated the audit report.

Particularly, the GAO noted that the State Department has reported that the exploitation of seafarer non-immigrant visas “is a national security concern because the visas could be used by extremists to enter the United States.”

“State Department and DHS reports chronicle several cases where groups of seafarers have been able to obtain valid visas through fraudulent means and successfully enter the United States,” reported the GAO.

Despite the potential national security threat posed by the fraudulent use of seafarer visas, the CBP does not electronically check the identity and immigration status when determining the admissibility of foreign cargo crew members into the United States.

CBP officials reported that “having mobile or portable technology to electronically verify the identity of seafarers would enhance their efforts to identify fraudulent documents and confirm immigration status,” noted the GAO.

Not electronically verifying the admissibility of foreign seafarers goes against DHS guidance that “verification of immigration status should not rely solely on verification of physical security features present on a credential,” reported the audit.

CBP officials said that the primary barrier to using technology to identity seafarers “is a lack of available connectivity to network communications in the maritime environment,” noted the GAO.

It is expected that it will take “several years” before “hand-held mobile biometrics screening capabilities that can effectively collect data samples from subjects” reaches the hands of CBP officials, said the GAO.

While foreign maritime crew members, or seafarers, are not required to have a visa to enter a U.S. seaport on a vessel, the CBP does require that they hold one to obtain a conditional landing permit for shore leave, which allows an individual to make multiple entries into the United States -- over a period of up to five years – for no more than 29 days at a time, according to GAO.

There are two types of non-immigrant visas issued to foreign seafarers by the State Department, which allow them to come in to the United States temporarily: C1/D and D visas.

Homesland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.

The top five nations to which C1/D visas are issued are the Philippines, India, Russia, Indonesia, and Ukraine; and the top five that are issued D visas are China, Philippines, Burma, Saudi Arabia, and Ethiopia.

According to the GAO, “compared to the total number of arrivals at U.S. land and air ports of entry, the number of foreign seafarers arriving in U.S. seaports is small.”

However, the GAO also noted that “seafarers who overstay visas or desert are in violation of immigration law and contribute to the number of illegal immigrants in the United States.”

The State Department stated that the extent of non-immigrant visa fraud by foreign seafarers “does not constitute a substantial problem” despite their concern with the exploitation of seafarer visas by extremists, according to the GAO.

“GAO recommends that DHS assess risks of not electronically verifying cargo vessel seafarers for admissibility, identify reasons for absconder and deserter data variances, and, with the Department of Justice (DOJ), develop a plan with timelines to adjust civil monetary penalties for inflation,” said the audit report, adding that the  “DHS and DOJ concurred with GAO’s recommendations.” Read more at www.cnsnews.com

 

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