Archive
Olympic security secrets left on train
A cop lost the file but a commuter found it and handed it to The Sun.
The shocking security blunder could have provided terrorists planning an attack with invaluable data.
A shamed senior cop has been carpeted.
The chief inspector in Scotland Yard’s Territorial Policing branch is said to be “hugely embarrassed” by the potentially serious blunder.
The dossier contained details that would have helped al-Qaeda terrorists mount a devastating attack on the Games in London this summer. “Restricted” files spell out security plans in place at the sites of events and provide minutes of top-level meetings where ways to beat terrorists were discussed.
The dossier contains dates and details of pre-Olympics rehearsals, explains emergency “lock-down” procedures and sets out plans to avoid traffic congestion.
Worryingly, names and mobile phone numbers of constables, sergeants and inspectors are included.
The dossier also reports at length on damning complaints from officers about the Read more…
The U.S. Military’s Plan for London-Like Riots
With British Prime Minister David Cameron authorizing the use of rubber bullets and water canons in wake of the turbulent London riots spreading through Britain, questions have been raised about how authorities in the U.S. would respond to a similar domestic disturbance threatening the nation’s stability. According to National Journal‘s White House correspondent Marc Ambinder the U.S. already has a game plan in place. “If what happened in London ever happened in the US, the military has plans — CONPLAN 3501 and 3502 — to suppress the ‘insurrection,’ he tweeted. The mysterious reference to a numbered military plan generated a flurry of interest on Twitter as NPR host Michele Norris shot back:”I want to know more about the military’s plan to suppress any potential ‘insurrection.’– CONPLAN 3501 and 3502????”
Interestingly, the CONPLAN (which stands for Read more…
Facial recognition in use after riots
LONDON (AP) — Facial recognition technology being considered for London’s 2012 Games is getting a workout in the wake of Britain’s riots, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press on Thursday, with officers feeding photographs of suspects through Scotland Yard’s newly updated face-matching program.
The official said that the Metropolitan Police’s sophisticated software was being used to help find those suspected of being involved in the worst unrest the force has faced in a generation, although he cautioned that police had a host of other strategies at their disposal.
“A lot of tools are being used to hunt down these criminals, and that’s just one of them,” the official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about an ongoing investigation. “The issue is that you have to have a good picture of a suspect and it is only useful if you have something to match it against. In other words, the Read more…
Anarchy and Austerity: Why London Won’t Be the Last City to Burn
The Great Recession gave birth to a lost generation across the world, where youth unemployment rates stretch into the 20s, 30s and even 40s. Those millions have responded with violence.
REUTERS
The riots and fires consuming London are a story about senseless violence and crime. They are also a story about urban politics, race relations, education inequality, and British culture and society. But underneath all of that, they are part of an economic story that is universal.
For the last year, Great Britain has embraced austerity to a degree that would make some American conservatives blush. The purpose of shrinking government was to reduce debt. But the effect has been to kill the economy. With the UK tottering on the razor’s edge of recession, consumer confidence is at a record low, unemployment is rising, and even the Read more…
London riots: water cannons to be used on ‘sick society’
David Cameron said that the cannon, previously only used in Ulster, would be available at 24 hours’ notice to deal with the “despicable violence” being seen in cities. Police had already been authorised to use baton rounds, he said. In a sign that other, more draconian, measures will now be at their disposal, he added: “We will do whatever is necessary. Nothing is off the table.”
In his strongest comments yet on the perpetrators of the violence, Mr Cameron said: “There are pockets of our society that are not only broken, but Read more…
London Riots: Government Prepares Troops – Martial Law Imminent. – 9th August 2011
LONDON, United Kingdon – Martial law seems imminent as 16,000 police officers, nearly twice the police officers in Haiti, will take to the streets in the captial city of London to hopefully prevent a fourth night of manifestations, rioting and looting.
UK’s Prime Minister David Cameron pledged to restore order, meeting with Parliament on Thursday in response to what he describes as “sickening scenes”. Metropolitcan Police, which has already drafted in support from 30 other forces, says it will consider using plastic bullets. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stephen Kavanagh said use of the ammunition – never before Read more…
North Carolina Most At-Risk Against Rising Sea Levels
If one man could hold back the sea, North Carolina wouldn’t need to worry about rising ocean levels. Neither would New York, Boston or Miami. (Photo: Reuters Photographer/Reuters)The problem with reports about rising sea levels is that the damn thing—the world’s ocean—seems to creep up very, very slowly. In the past 21 centuries it’s raised an average of .07874 an inch every year, about the thickness of a nickel.
That doesn’t sound like much, right? Nothing to worry about! But what makes rising sea levels a deadly serious problem is that the ocean just keeps creeping up, up, up. And the average in recent decades is more like an inch a year.
In fact a new report from the National Academy of Sciences says the rate of Read more…
London set to limit right to protest
Based on a proposal by Home Secretary Theresa May, the police may be given new powers to prevent so-called hooligans from attending rallies and marches while officers will also be authorized to force demonstrators, who do not want to be known, to remove their face-scarves and balaclavas.
The announcement has raised concerns among MPs who say no hasty decision should be made on the issue as the police may abuse the “stop and search” powers to target ordinary people rather than “known hooligans”.
May outlined her plans during an emergency Commons briefing on the violent incidents, which marred the Saturday rally Read more…
Gadhafi’s $30 Billion In US Assets Blocked By Treasury
Libya’s people have taken most of the country, Gadhafi still controls Tripoli – Getty Images via @daylifeIn addition to having his assets frozen by the Swiss and British governments, Colonel Muammar al-Gadhafi’s holdings in the United States have been blocked by the Department of the Treasury, which claims to have located at least $30 billion in Libyan assets.
After an executive order signed by President Barack Obama on Friday declared the “actions of Colonel Muammar Qadhafi [sic], his government, and close associates, […] an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States,” the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and the U.S. Treasury began to track down Libyan assets in Read more…
Air travelers may have been exposed to measles
WASHINGTON (AP) — Public health officials are warning travelers and workers present at four U.S. airports on two recent days that they may have been exposed to measles from a traveler arriving from London.
Authorities said Saturday that a New Mexico woman later confirmed to have measles arrived at Washington Dulles International Airport late in the afternoon of Feb. 20. Two days later, the measles-infected traveler departed from BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport near Baltimore on an evening flight to Denver, Colo., and then on to Albuquerque, N.M.
The traveler became sick and was subsequently diagnosed with measles in New Mexico, said Tom Skinner, a spokesman for the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He said Saturday night that authorities in those states are trying to notify Read more…
![[Most Recent Quotes from www.kitco.com]](https://i0.wp.com/www.kitconet.com/charts/metals/gold/t24_au_en_usoz_2.gif)
![[Most Recent Quotes from www.kitco.com]](https://i0.wp.com/www.kitconet.com/charts/metals/silver/t24_ag_en_usoz_2.gif)
crisisboom
CRISISBOOM 
You must be logged in to post a comment.