News Stories

[LynnieS]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

The last picture seems pretty fake. I pass by the harbors to work everyday and the ports don't seem so empty.

Without knowing which city's harbors you pass, it's hard for me to comment. However - and for those who work in the shipping industry and would know for sure - my thinking is that harbors typically work 24/7, and there are always ships loading and unloading - and lots of trucks taking goods out directly or to train yards. If that last photo was taken at a time when things were usually busy, that would be a pretty big problem, IMHO. Without knowing the context, though...

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

Why don't we turn these ships into floating farms, or install wave-motion cannons and ion thrusters for space journeys?

Likely for the same reasons you have mothballed airplanes out in the deserts of the U.S. In case you need the ships returned to service, having them available fast is a big plus. Building a ship of that size takes a long time, and not every ship yard can do the work. For farms also, clean-up would be very expensive.

No comment on the space ship idea, though, except: Space Battleship Yamato lives!

U.S. judge rejects BoA and SEC settlement. NY AG Cuomo may be preparing charges.

NEW YORK – A federal judge on Monday rejected a $33 million settlement between the Securities and Exchange Commission and Bank of America Corp., saying the SEC's accusations of inadequate disclosure by the bank over bonuses paid at Merrill Lynch must now go to trial.

Separately, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office is preparing to file charges within the next couple of weeks against several high-ranking executives at Bank of America, claiming they failed to disclose details about the bank's acquisition of Merrill Lynch, according to a person familiar with the investigation.

For Cuomo, his actions (if happens and given the letter his office had sent earlier) would not be a huge surprise. Judge Rakoff's rejection is new to this legal area, however, but I like the idea of a judge actually reviewing the settlement and terms instead of "rubber stamping" the document outright.

China files WTO complaint over U.S. tires tariff

BEIJING – As Beijing launched a case Monday against new U.S. tariffs on Chinese tires, President Barack Obama defended the duties, saying trading agreements must be enforced in order for trading systems to work.

The conflict adds to a series of disputes over poultry, auto parts and other goods that have threatened to strain relations as Beijing and Washington cooperate on complex issues including the economic crisis and North Korea.

Nothing new or unexpected, to be honest. There was bound to be something coming out after the U.S. placed the tariff on China-made tires last week. In the end, I expect things to end in a friendly way - instead of an outright trade war - given the U.S. needing China's money and support and China needing the U.S.'s purchases; however, it'll likely hurry the split. The tire tariff might not last long either; there were, I believe, already requests from other U.S. groups asking for the tire tariff to not be placed.

[LusterFlare]

No one posted anything on Kanye's antics at the VMA?

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by LusterFlare

No one posted anything on Kanye's antics at the VMA?

You could have.... its just that most everyone else couldn't give a flying flip.

[mg1942]

Originally Posted by LusterFlare

No one posted anything on Kanye's antics at the VMA?

he's outraged that a country singer won VMAs!

Also, tennis players have been throwing fits lately (Williams, Federer)

[Kaioshin Sama]

Originally Posted by Vexx

You could have.... its just that most everyone else couldn't give a flying flip.

Exactly, it's just Kanye being Kanye.

And Swayze is dead, but I bet you he had the time of his life and has certainly never felt this way before. Sorry, couldn't resist. It seems like all the 80's icons are fading fast. and with it it feels like a part of my childhood is going with it. Even as we're slowly entering a period of 80's retro pop culture. It'll still never be quite the same as it was back then, no matter how we try to simulate it.

[SaintessHeart]

SAS hero's son KIA

This news is abit old, but people have been paying tribute.

John McAleese, the first man on the balcony on the Iranian Embassy Siege in 1980, had a son who was killed by an IED in Afghanistan. Judging from a few googled pictures, it seems that his son is a recce trooper (moving observer wards for those who play WC3).

This is not going to bode well for the British Army's Public Relations in the future. The Taliban probably pissed off a few hundred thousand soldiers hard this time, so I supposed that we will see a "sharp rise in war crimes amongst British troops".

[MrTerrorist]

Originally Posted by LusterFlare

No one posted anything on Kanye's antics at the VMA?

We don't give a damm. He maybe a great rap artist & producer but he has one of the worst Egos i ever seen. He complain & rants on almost anything if he can't get an award, not considered number 1, fans don't like him, etc

[mg1942]

he's the same dude who claimed George (W) Bush "hates black people" 4 years ago

[Ja-Y-Ce]

some random news - Crayon Shin-chan Manga Creator Usui has gone missing....

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news...g-since-friday

oh noes for Shin-chan .... :\

[Kaioshin Sama]

Originally Posted by Ja-Y-Ce

some random news - Crayon Shin-chan Manga Creator Usui has gone missing....

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news...g-since-friday

oh noes for Shin-chan .... :\

Is he going to turn up in Thailand in about a week courting a mistress?

[cors8]

Originally Posted by Kaioshin Sama

Is he going to turn up in Thailand in about a week courting a mistress?

He's obviously hiking the old Appalachian Trail in Argentina.

Hope it's nothing serious.

[Knight Hawk]

Hopkins student kills intruder with samurai sword

A Johns Hopkins University student armed with a samurai sword killed a man who broke into the garage of his off-campus residence early Tuesday, a Baltimore police spokesman said.

According to preliminary reports, a resident of the 300 block of E. University Parkway called police about a suspicious person, department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said. An off-duty officer responded about 1:20 a.m. to the area with university security, according to Guglielmi. They heard shouts and screams from a neighboring house and found the suspected burglar suffering from a nearly severed hand and laceration to his upper body, he said.

The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene. Based on the initial investigation, the student killed the man with only one strike of the sword, according to Guglielmi. The medical examiner will make the final determination, he said.

The student told police that he heard a commotion in the house and went downstairs armed with the sword, Guglielmi said. He saw the side door to the garage had been pried open and found a man inside, who lunged at the student. There was no indication that the suspected burglar was armed, however, according to Guglielmi.

Burglars had already stolen two laptops and a Sony PlayStation from the student's home Monday, Guglielmi said.

Dennis O'Shea, a spokesman for Johns Hopkins, said all four residents of the house are undergraduate students at the university. Police had released three of the roommates by Tuesday afternoon. The student who wielded the sword remained in custody while investigators worked to corroborate his story with evidence and witness statements. Police have not released the name of the residents, but department sources identified the detained student as John Pontolillo, 20, of Wall, N.J.

The city state's attorney's office will determine whether to press charges, Guglielmi said.

Police have also not formally released the name of the suspected burglar, but a department source identified the man as Donald D. Rice, 49, of the 600 block of E. 27th St. in Baltimore. Guglielmi said the suspect had 29 prior convictions for crimes such as breaking and entering, and had been released Saturday from the Baltimore County Detention Center after he was arrested by county police in August 2008 for stealing a car in Baltimore. Rice was found guilty in December on one count of unauthorized removal of property, and he was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Took the guys life with one swing - DAYUM~!

[justsomeguy]

Originally Posted by Knight Hawk

Hopkins student kills intruder with samurai sword


Took the guys life with one swing - DAYUM~!

It would be interesting to see if anybody will argue that the student should be prosecuted for this. I personally believe that he made the world a slightly better place.

[Kamui4356]

Originally Posted by justsomeguy

It would be interesting to see if anybody will argue that the student should be prosecuted for this. I personally believe that he made the world a slightly better place.

If the guy did indeed lunge as it says, and from the injuries discribed there it looks like that's likely the case, then clearly it'd be self defence and the student shouldn't be charged. If the guy was backing away with his hands out defensively saying that he'll go and to just stay away, then yes the student should be prosecuted, since that's not self defence. They'll likely be able to tell by examining the wounds on the body, so until the final report fromt he medical examiner is in, it's too early to say. Of course with that guy's record he probably should have been in jail.

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by justsomeguy

It would be interesting to see if anybody will argue that the student should be prosecuted for this. I personally believe that he made the world a slightly better place.

MOST states in the US believe that if a criminal enters a home while it is occupied, then by definition, the occupants are in mortal danger and may defend with lethal force. There are a few states that whine that such things should be "left to the police" (we'll leave a cot out for the house officer, yeah right).

Burglars with no violent intent work very hard to ensure no one is home before pilfering.

Reminds me a bit of an old news story about an SCA guy who used a broadsword on a burglar who was armed ... he didn't die but apparently the shock factor of "guy screaming and charging with sword" froze him up just long enough. That was back in the 80s sometime so the details are sketchy memory.

[Xion Valkyrie]

Not to mention their entire area is rampant with robberies and what not, and that this wasn't the first time the guy's place got robbed.

[Shadow Kira01]

]Play Console Games On Your PC [Update]

This HDD-looking box seems to be capable of enabling playing console games on the pc or laptop, even if you travel a certain amount of distance. However, not sure how it works or more importantly, why would anybody want to spend 230 bucks just to play some console games on a short trip out to the supermarket or the shopping center...?

Originally Posted by Knight Hawk

Hopkins student kills intruder with samurai sword


Took the guys life with one swing - DAYUM~!

This is clearly self-defense but since the guy took out the burglar with one slash, he must be pretty skilled in iaido. Then again, is it a violation of the weapons control to possess a katana in Baltimore? Hope the Hopkins student will be okay afterwards..

[Xion Valkyrie]

Originally Posted by Shadow Kira01

]Play Console Games On Your PC [Update]

This HDD-looking box seems to be capable of enabling playing console games on the pc or laptop, even if you travel a certain amount of distance. However, not sure how it works or more importantly, why would anybody want to spend 230 bucks just to play some console games on a short trip out to the supermarket or the shopping center...?



This is clearly self-defense but since the guy took out the burglar with one slash, he must be pretty skilled in iaido. Then again, is it a violation of the weapons control to possess a katana in Baltimore? Hope the Hopkins student will be okay afterwards..

In another article I read about the same incident it said that Katanas are legal to own there.

[justsomeguy]

Originally Posted by Shadow Kira01

This is clearly self-defense but since the guy took out the burglar with one slash, he must be pretty skilled in iaido. Then again, is it a violation of the weapons control to possess a katana in Baltimore? Hope the Hopkins student will be okay afterwards..

I'm not a sword user, so I'm wondering why taking out an unarmed guy with one slash would require that much skill. Wouldn't a baseball bat swing be enough?

[killer3000ad]

USAF Splashes one Reaper

So in a nutshell, a Reaper UAV stopped responding to human control and was leaving Afghanistan air space, forcing the USAF to shoot it down.

***cking SKYNET!