Capt_Picard

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Posts posted by Capt_Picard

  1. Posted

    This story comes close to where I live...

    Monroe family threatened over video of soldier throwing pup

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    Story Published: Mar 4, 2008 at 5:38 PM PST

    Story Updated: Mar 4, 2008 at 5:47 PM PST

    By KOMO Staff

    fisher_videoicon.gif Watch the story

    MONROE, Wash. -- The controversial Internet video that purports to show a Marine throwing a puppy off a rocky cliff has triggered threats against a local family related to the soldier shown in the video.

     

    The U.S. Marine Corps has identified the man who appears to throw the dog as a 22-year-old lance corporal. KOMO 4 News has learned the Marine's family lives in Monroe, though his name has not been released by military officials.

     

    The Marine belongs to the 1st Battalion, 3rd Regiment based in Hawaii -- a unit that has returned from a tour in Iraq. Military officials said the video was apparently taped in the town of Haditha, Iraq. Military officials say the Marine has been pulled from training for the duration of the investigation.

     

    "This is a shocking and deplorable video that contrary to the highest standards we set for every Marine," said Christopher Perrine with the U.S. Marine Corps. "We will investigate this and take appropriate action."

     

    Military officials have not confirmed the authenticity of the tape, nor have they addressed the speculation that the puppy may have already been dead when the video was shot. The speculations stem from the grainy nature of the video which blurs the details, including the puppy's facial expression while being held by the scruff of the neck.

     

    The 15-second video, which was posted to the video sharing Web site bebo.com, triggered public outrage. Some who believed they knew the Marine posted the phone number and address of his Monroe family on the Internet, prompting harassment.

     

    The family reportedly received threatening phone calls over the weekend, but did not report them to the police. Snohomish County sheriff's spokesperson Rebecca Hover said patrol cars have been circling the home to make sure the family is left alone. The family has disconnected the phone line, according to the Everett Herald newspaper.

     

    The video has also made the Marine himself the target of a firestorm.

     

    "I cannot fathom the kind of stress our men and women are going through overseas but regardless of that, these kinds of activities and these kids are just unacceptable," said Kawehi Yim with the Hawaiian Humane Society.

     

    On the Internet, a number of Web sites and blogs have posted comments calling him a "puppy killer."

  16. Posted

    RELATED SECTIONS: Future Tech

    German scientists use the blazing sun to chill their frosty brewskies

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    If you've even poked around the back of your fridge to dig out that stray bag of catnip the cat batted behind there, you might have been surprised to notice that the coils on the back of the fridge actually get hot as part of the effort to keep your munchies cold. The truth is, most cooling devices like fridges and air conditioners use a heat exchange process that cools one area by creating heat in another.

     

    Following simple logic, a group of scientists at the Innovationszentrum Wiesenbusch Gladbeck and University of Applied Science in Gelsenkirchen, have developed a prototype of a fridge using a process called ammoniac-water absorption, that harnesses the power of the sun for cooling. This should be a tremendous boon in parts of Asia and Equatorial Africa where refrigeration and or conditioning is rare.

     

    From DW-World

    I have to ask if that is Kor in that picture from his early days...

  22. Posted

    The Schrammie: Trade your job for your rights?

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    Story Published: Feb 6, 2008 at 2:22 PM PST

    Story Updated: Feb 6, 2008 at 2:22 PM PST

    By Ken Schram

    SEATTLE - Do you want your job, or do you want your rights?

     

    When forced to choose, which would you pick?

     

    And who would create such a dilemma?

     

    For the answer, I'd like to invite David Zeeck, Executive Editor of Tacoma's News Tribune to stop the presses and come on down.

     

    In an article published earlier this week, David explained why journalists in his employ must give up "privileges" in order to limit the perception of bias.

     

    And just what "privileges" do reporters at his newspaper surrender?

     

    Why, the "privileges" of voting in the presidential primary and participating in the state caucuses.

     

    Well, hang my chad, but I was unaware that voting was just a privilege.

     

    Stupid me, I always thought voting was a right.

     

    Being the magnanimous guy he is, David does allow his reporters to vote in the general election.

     

    Be that as it may, for pulling off a stunt that Joe Stalin would be proud of; for pitting public perception against citizen participation and for buying off constitutional rights with a paycheck, take a bow David Zeeck, because this "Schrammie" is for you.