Del Taco Hit

The mixture of a date, a name, and a location come rushing at us in the news today, to remind us to not let our twilight language guard down.

On June 19, 1982, the dead, limp body of God's Banker, Roberto Calvi was found hanging beneath Blackfriars Bridge in London.



Before George Jo Hennard crashed his truck into Luby's Cafeteria in Killeen, Texas, on October 16, 1991, and sprayed it with gunfire. killing 23, including himself, wounding 20, he had watched a documentary video at home about a similar scenario carried out by James Oliver Huberty, who killed 21 people and wounded 19 at a San Ysidro, California, McDonald's on July 18, 1984. Huberty was shot dead at the McDonald's by law enforcement personnel.



On March 1, 2000, a man opened fire at a Burger King and a McDonald's in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, killing 3 and injuring 2 others. On May 24, 2000, a Queens. New York, Wendy's was shattered by gunfire that left 5 dead and 2 wounded. On January 20, 2003, a man walked into a Burger King in Pomona, California, killed 2 and was shoot by police, in what was called a "suicide by cops."

The ripples continue.

A man walked into a Southern California fast food restaurant and shot his stepdaughter and her family of four as they ate lunch together, killing the woman's husband and 8-year-old son before fatally shooting himself Saturday afternoon, June 19, 2010, one day before Father's Day.

The gunman, who was identified as Jimmy Schlager, 56, of Lancaster, rode a bicycle to the Del Taco restaurant restaurant in San Bernardino, California, before opening fire at his family, who were having lunch. The name Schlager is German, and is loosely translated as a "hit," formerly, as in a "musical hit." There are apparent records of Schlager having a criminal record of some violence.

Both his stepdaughter, 29, and her five-year-old son sustained multiple gunshot wounds and were taken to hospital in critical condition. His stepdaughter's 33-year-old husband and his six-year-old son died from their wounds.

Schlager arrived at the Del Taco restaurant in San Bernardino on a bike at about 1 p.m., walked over to a table and opened fire on his stepdaughter, her husband, and their sons, San Bernardino police Lieutenant Jarrod Burguan said. While the motive remains unclear, authorities believe "there’s a domestic connection," Burguan said.

Witnesses offered the police "very vague" accounts of what Mr. Schlager said to the family, Burguan said: "Something to the effect of, ‘Well, what do you think of me now?’"

The woman's husband, 33, was declared dead at the restaurant and the 8-year-old was declared dead at a hospital, San Bernardino Fire Department spokesman Steve Tracey said.

The woman and the 6-year-old boy were hospitalized in critical condition, Tracey said.

Police said several other people were in the restaurant, but the gunman clearly walked in seeking the four victims. They said the gunman had a long and violent criminal record, but did not give further details.

Owners of nearby businesses said horrified patrons streamed out of the restaurant after the shots were fired.

"I saw some people yelling and all of a sudden I heard 'boom, boom, boom, boom'," Jorge Garcia, who works at a recycling trailer in the same parking lot as the restaurant, told the Riverside Press-Enterprise. "I saw two employees run out of the employee door and then I saw eight or 10 people run out of the restaurant and across the street."

What will the next week deliver to our consciousness via forthcoming breaking headlines?

Real Killer Clowns

According to the UK's Daily Mail:

More than 100 professional clowns marched through the Salvadoran capital [on June 9, 2010] to protest against the killing of a bus passenger by two imposter clowns.

A man was shot five times in the face and stomach on Monday when he declined to give money to two assailants dressed as clowns who boarded a public bus in San Salvador. No-one has been arrested. Clowns make money by performing on public buses in the city.

Wearing oversized bow ties, tiny hats and big yellow trousers, the protesters...marched down San Salvador's main street in an effort to both entertain and educate passers-by. Several held signs insisting that real clowns are not criminals.

Ana Noelia Ramirez, a professional clown, said: 'We are protesting so that people know we are not killers.

'The people who did this are not clowns. They unfortunately used our costume and our make-up to commit a monstrous act.'



Clown union leader Carlos Vasquez said he plans to issue IDs to all real clowns and urged police to detain those who do not have them.

About a dozen people are killed daily in El Salvador, murders police attribute primarily to gang members, drug traffickers and other organized crime.

More than six million people live in the Central American country.

"Killer Clowns" by brownsk8ermm (deviant art).

Bird Killings

A mass shooting and the shooter's suicide have occurred in the United Kingdom.

At least 12 people are dead and 25 are wounded after a gunman opened fire in small, picturesque villages in northwest England on Wednesday morning, June 2, 2010, British police say. The rampage, in a region famed for its tranquil beauty, shocked a country where handguns are banned and multiple shootings rare. It was Britain's deadliest mass shooting since 1996.

Cumbria police released this picture of Derrick Bird, 52, considered the main suspect in deadly shootings Wednesday morning. (Cumbria Constabulary)

Police have found the body of a man believed to be the alleged gunman, Derrick Bird, 52, a taxi driver described as quiet but friendly. They found the body in a wooded area near the Lake District village of Boot, where it was believed Bird had fled. They also found a gun alongside the body.

The discovery ended a harrowing morning for residents of the country's West and Central Lakes areas, whom police ordered to stay indoors as the search for Bird ensued.

"Police are asking those who were sheltering to now go about their normal day-to-day activities," the Cumbria Constabulary said on its website. "[We] thank them for their patience in incredibly difficult circumstances."

The shootings began at about 10:30 a.m. local time in Whitehaven, a town in Cumbria county about 560 kilometres northwest of London.

The BBC reported there had been shootings in 11 locations, not all of them fatal. Witnesses described seeing the gunman driving around shooting out the window of his car.

Peter Watson, a witness, told the BBC he had seen a body lying in the road. "When I first got here, it must have just happened. There was a man lying on the ground with police [standing] over him and a jacket on him," he said.

Another witness, Alan Hannah, told the Sun newspaper he was driving in Whitehaven when he "saw all these officers running out." He then "saw a man with a large shotgun" pull up to a stoplight in a car with a smashed windshield.

"I drove through the red light to get ... out of the way," Hannah, 68, told the newspaper. "I got home safely but was very shaken."

Soon afterwards, a farmer was believed to have been shot dead in Gosforth, several kilometres to the east, according to BBC reporter Chris Stewart.

Police are asking other possible witnesses to come forward.

They have not released the names of those killed.

Sue Matthews, who works at A2B Taxis in Whitehaven, said Bird was self-employed, quiet and lived alone.

"I would say he was fairly popular," Matthews said. "I would see him once a week out and about. He was known as Birdy.

"I can't believe he would do that — he was a quiet little fellow."

Deadly shootings are rare in Britain, where gun ownership is tightly restricted and handguns are banned.

In 1987, gun enthusiast Michael Ryan killed 16 people in the English town of Hungerford. In 1996, Thomas Hamilton killed 16 children and a teacher at a kindergarten in Dunblane, Scotland.

The Three Tramps on Facebook

Like many people, I discovered AJ Weberman via his intriguing book, Coup D'Etat in America, which I hear has been revised and released anew.

When I read the book, during its first release, it gave me a refreshingly new look at 1963's JFK assassination, to say the least.

The image of the three tramps arrested near the Grassy Knoll seems to be the most appropriate one to share on the eve of the man's birthday!

I wonder if people posted this photo today on Facebook, would they "tag" (identify) the people in the picture?

Ah, come to think of it, would the Warren Commission investigation have been different in 1964 with Facebook?

Thai Braveheart Assassinated At Triple Overpass

Sometimes, it is all about location, location, location. Read the news more deeply, everyday.

Khattiya Sawasdipol (Thai: ขัตติยะ สวัสดิผล; RTGS: Khattiya Sawatdiphon; born: June 2, 1951, assassination shooting: May 13, 2010; died: May 17, 2010), alias Seh Daeng (Thai: เสธ.แดง; RTGS: Se Daeng; English: Red Commander), was a major general in the Royal Thai Army, assigned to the Internal Security Operations Command.


The U.K.'s Mirror published the above photo, taken moments after the shooting.

Khattiya Sawasdipol was shot in the head (apparently by a sniper) on May 13, 2010, while being interviewed by The New York Times reporter Thomas Fuller while standing at the Sala Daeng Sky Train station, which is literally a triple overpass, near a famed monument.



Khattiya had previously claimed he had helped the United States spy on North Vietnam during the Vietnam War, and to have taken part in the CIA-financed "Secret War" against the communists in the Plain of Jars, in Laos. Khattiya disguised himself as a Muslim in order to infiltrate rebel groups in Aceh Indonesia.



He called* himself "Braveheart," after Mel Gibson.

He had written several bestsellers in the Thai language about his adventures in a series called Khom...Seh Daeng (คม...เสธ.แดง). Khattiya frequently appeared on television talk shows and had a cult of followers, achieving celebrity status throughout Southeast Asia.

Khattiya made news on October 18, 2008, by announcing "he would mobilize government supporters against any military attempt to seize political power." Khattiya said members of the pro-government Democratic Alliance against Dictatorship (DAAD) would use petrol bombs against tanks and military vehicles taking part in a coup attempt.

Khattiya was reassigned as an aerobics teacher by Gen. Anupong Paochinda, Thai Army commander. Khattiya responded by saying, "The army chief wants me to be a presenter leading aerobics dancers. I have prepared one dance. It's called the 'throwing-a-hand-grenade' dance."

On 14 January 2010, Army Commander Anupong Paochinda ordered a suspension of Khattiya Sawasdipol after an inquiry committee found that Khattiya has supported the DAAD, a political pressure group that called for elections, breaching official disciplines.The following day, Anupong's office in the Royal Thai Army Headquarters was bombed by rockets launched by a M79 rocket launcher, left the office demolished but no one injured. In this event, Khattiya was described by BBC as a "renegade Thai general who backs anti-government protesters." A backer and part of the protesters' more radical wing, he had accused red-shirt leaders - many of whom have distanced themselves from him - of not being hardline enough.

Khattiya Sawasdipol was shot in the head, apparently by a sniper, at the intersection of the Sala Daeng Sky Train station, in the evening of May 13, 2010. Critically wounded, he was admitted to Huachiew hospital. On May 16, 2010, he suffered renal failure and underwent dialysis. Khattiya Sawasdipol's death was announced on May 17, 2010 at 9:20 am (local time).



The site is also the location of the double life-size monument to King Rama VI. The King Rama VI Monument stands at the gate to the Lumpini Park, overlooking the busy Saladaeng junction. Corrado Feroci, an Italian sculptor completed the monument with the help of four Thai artists on June 7, 1941 and it was inaugurated on March 27, 1942. The King Rama VI Monument is a statute of King Vajiravudh standing in his ceremonial uniform with a sword, on a high pedestal flanked by fountains. An open tiled area where public ceremonies are held surrounds the monument.

King Vajiravudh (188-1925) succeeded King Chulalongkorn ruling as King Rama VI (1910-1925). He had received his education in England at Oxford University and Sandhurst Military Academy. In the early years of his reign he was hindered by the ministers he had inherited, many of whom were actually King Chulalongkorn’s children and although promoting the notion of nation through the slogan “nation, religion, king,” he actually ruled in an authoritarian manner. To back up his authority Vajiravudh created a paramilitary force called the Wild Tigers (เสือป่า). In 1912 members of the regular army felt undermined by the position held by the Wild Tigers and plotted a coup against the monarchy. Although stopped in its infancy this was something new to Siam but has since become a phenomenon that has plagued the country right up to present times (including the recent uprising).



As further background information, the following extract is info about the location where Khattiya's assassination occurred, via Travelfish:

Sala Daeng station is number S2 on the Silom line, two stops away from Siam, the main interchange station. It lies above Silom road, close to the intersection of Rama IV. Simply put, Thanon Silom is one of the liveliest, busiest and most interesting areas in the whole city. Something for every taste can be found here - pirated music and movies, great restaurants, crowded clubs, sleazy sex shows and more. During the day, it's a pretty active area but it really comes alive at night. The sidewalks are crowded with stalls selling all manner of merchandise, the smell of food keeps changing every few seconds and people, motorcycles and cars all vie for their piece of real estate.

This station is also one of three that connect to the subway. The subway station here is named Silom.

If you're coming during the day, a perfect escape from the noise and pollution on the street is to leave via exit number 4 and walk north until you hit Lumphini park. This oasis in the middle of the city isn't as big or as nice as Central Park in New York, but it's got its heart in the right place. Expansive green areas, playgrounds for the kids, biking/walking/running paths, boating and frequent outdoor concerts and shows serve to make this a perfect place to enjoy the sun without the risk of being hit by a motorcycle.

If you're coming at night (Lumphini Park is closed when the sun goes down) or simply want to dive right into the action, a good place to start is through exit number 3 on the north-west corner of the station. From here, you can start walking south down the west side of Thanon Silom. You'll immediately notice a glut of American super-chains - Burger King, Haagen Dazs, McDonalds, Starbucks etc....

If you cross the street to the east side of Thanon Silom, you'll find yourself at CP Tower. Inside there's a McDonald's as well as Bookazine, a well stocked bookstore that stays open until 11pm. Walking north back towards the skytrain you'll pass Liberty Square which houses the multi-story California Wow fitness club which is also open late and packed with hip people who don't go to the McDonald's.

Liberty Square is on the corner of soi Convent, a major soi off of Thanon Silom. The area inside this soi has some of the best street food around and it's well worth a wander around to sample the offerings. Within the first 150m you can also find a Starbucks, several bakeries and restaurants and the Irish X-Change, a nice pub.

Signing autographs, in happier days.

From Times online, here is part of an earlier report (filed on May 13, 2010) on his shooting.

Thailand’s Braveheart, Major-General Khattiya Sawasdipol, injured in riots

He compares* himself to Mel Gibson’s Braveheart but he is more like a Thai version of Andy McNab. Major-General Khattiya Sawasdipol is one of the most colourful but mysterious figures in the crisis, a living example of the contradictions that make it so difficult to resolve or understand.

Even before the confrontation he was a celebrity thanks to bestselling books describing his exploits as commando and undercover operative. By his account, “Commander Red” had an heroic career, supporting the US in Vietnam and infiltrating Muslim rebels in Indonesia.

He is also a passionate supporter of Thaksin Shinawatra, who was deposed in a military coup in 2006. When demonstrations broke out, General Khattiya’s eccentricity shifted into insubordination. While still a serving officer he promised that he would take up arms against any of his colleagues who attempted another coup.

The commander of the Army responded by appointing him an army aerobics instructor. “Everybody laughed at me,” he recalled. “You don’t assign a warrior like me to do a stupid thing like that.” He warned his commander: “I have prepared one dance. It’s called the throwing-a-hand-grenade dance.”

====
*"Do you know the Braveheart movie? Mel Gibson is the same as me." ~ Seh Daeng

New Knife Attack

Some reports are calling it the seventh recent knife attack at a school in China. Other media are saying it is the fifth attack in two months. Nevertheless, 7 kids and one teacher are reported to have died in another copycat attack there that, reportedly, ended in the suicide of the attacker.
The Times of London reported:

A knife-wielding man stabbed seven children and a teacher to death at a kindergarten in China earlier today, the latest in a string of attacks on the country’s youngest pupils.
The man wounded 20 others before killing himself. It was the fifth violent assault on schoolchildren in China in less than two months.
The attack occurred about 8am (local time) as the school day was about to start at a Nanzheng County school in northwest China’s Shaanxi province.
The killings took place despite a recent boost in security at school grounds ordered by the local government in keeping with national directives following the recent spate of attacks.

According to the BBC News, this earlier attack, also occurred:

China knife attack 'kills eight'

A Chinese man has been arrested after allegedly stabbing to death eight people, including three family members, China's official news agency said.
Police said that Zhou Yezhong killed his mother, wife, daughter, four neighbours and a migrant worker in eastern China's Jiangxi province.
He was arrested on Saturday evening, less than two hours after the attacks took place, Xinhua news agency said.

New Stabbings

The following incident occurred in West Hollywood, California, on Monday, May 3, 2010.

Has the copycat effect of the Chinese knife attacks jumped the Pacific?

"There is no witness protection program!"

There are several things to note about this new event. The alleged attacker vaguely sounds like she was in the typical type of Sirhan Sirhan trance noted for some assailants.

Other mysteries abound. Where is this woman's shirt, in her mug photos, at top? What does her makeup and appearance suggest that has not been mentioned?

A woman who stabbed and wounded four people in a busy Target store Monday afternoon [May 3, 2010] was arrested when an off-duty sheriff's deputy pulled his gun and ordered the woman to the ground as screaming shoppers ran from the building, authorities said.

Layla Trawick used a butcher's knife and a carving knife to attack the victims, using both blades at the same time — one in each hand, like in the movie "Psycho," sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said

"She was literally walking up and down the aisles slashing people," he said.

A mother holding her baby was stabbed in the neck and was taken to the hospital, where she was in stable condition, Whitmore said. The baby was unhurt and all four victims were expected to survive.

One witness said she was shopping for a Mother's Day card when she heard someone screaming, "There is no witness protection program!" as chaos broke out in the store.

"I don't know what it means but she was yelling that repeatedly and at the top of her lungs," said Katy Winn, a freelance photographer from West Hollywood. "I think I heard (the deputy) telling her to drop to the floor. That's when things got really chaotic and started falling over."

Winn said she dropped her basket and dashed across the store to the women's section, where she hid behind the clothing racks.

"From the moment the screaming started it was about five minutes. But it felt longer than that," she said.

Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Clay Grant Jr., said he was picking up paper towels and other items when people around him started running and screaming.

Grant, 26, grabbed his duty weapon, identified himself as a sheriff's deputy and ordered the woman to drop the knives, he said. She ran away and he followed her from aisle to aisle.

Grant was wearing a white T-shirt, camouflage shorts and running shoes so several shoppers mistook him for a gunman, adding to the sense of panic, sheriff's Sgt. Josh Mankini said.

Grant followed Trawick from aisle to aisle, until she turned and waved the knives at him from above her head, he said.

But he decided not to shoot because he didn't feel his life was in jeopardy, he said. For a second time, he ordered her to drop the knives and finally she complied.

"I was more concerned about the knife, more than what she was saying," Grant said. "Her facial expression was someone who was lost, confused, didn't know exactly where they were."

Trawick was arrested with the help of private security guards and held on $1 million bail on suspicion of attempted murder. Investigators were trying to determine whether the 34-year-old Antioch woman got the knives in the store.

Speaking to reporters at a sheriff's station later, Grant was modest.

"I don't feel like I'm a hero, I just do what I'm trained to do," he said.

Whitmore said surveillance video cameras captured the stabbings, but the tape hasn't been released.

"If he wasn't there, who knows? Someone would be dead right now," Mankini said. "He had no communication with outside law enforcement. He's just some guy doing his shopping. We're pretty proud of him."

Mankini said Grant, a five-year veteran of the department, was authorized to have a weapon in the store.

The above story was carried by Yahoo News.



In another detail from the LA Times, comes this:

Entertainment journalist Allison McNamara was shopping at the store when she encountered a screaming woman in the aisle that separates the skin care and kitchen sections.

"She was yelling 'I'm bipolar. There's no witness protection program.' "

Deputies with the sheriff's West Hollywood station responded after numerous 911 calls reported a gunman at the Target, Sgt. Josh Mankini said. Officials speculate the "gunman" was probably Grant.

Our thanks to SMiles Lewis for the newstips.

3 Days, 3 Attacks

I have pointed out that in China (and Japan), due to their strict firearms laws, such countries tend to manifest their "copycat school violence" in terms of "stabbing" series. Will this current stabbing spree spread to Japan or other Asian nations?

April 2010 appears to be turning into a prime example. The media has referred to these, very openly, as "copycats." Of course, the underlying theme of these events ending in suicides or parasuicidal incidents is no surprise for readers here.










Here's is a summary of the latest news:

Five incidents in a little over a month and three attacks in three days have left at least 9 children dead in China, all by knife-wielding older males.

1) Wang Yonglai

Friday, April 30, 2010

This attack occurred in the small village of Shangzhuang, near the city of Weifang in the northern province of Shandong. Just before eight o'clock in the morning, April 30, 2010, a man named as Wang Yonglai, a local farmer, age unknown, broke through the side door of the local pre-school, according to Xinhua, the government news agency.

Armed with a hammer and carrying a can of petrol, he struck a teacher and then lashed out at five children before he picked two up, doused himself with petrol and set himself on fire. Teachers at the school managed to grab the children from him, but Wang was reported to have died. The five victims are said to be in stable condition in the local hospital and none have life-threatening injuries.

2) Xu Yuyuan, 47

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Another attack involved a knife-wielding man stabbed 29 children at a kindergarten on Thursday in Taixing of East China's Jiangsu province. Five of the children are in critical condition and the rest are stable. No deaths had been reported as of Thursday night, said Sun Yun, deputy mayor of Taixing. Two teachers and one security guard were also injured after the 9:40 am attack. Witnesses report that he taunted onlookers, daring them to stop him as he carried out his rampage.

An initial police investigation said the suspect, 47-year-old Xu Yuyuan, was an unemployed local resident who had been fired from a local insurance company in 2001.

3) Chen Kangbing, 33

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

A mentally ill teacher on sick leave for the past four years broke into a school and wounded 18 students and a teacher in southern China’s Leizhou city in Guangdong province on April 28. The man in Wednesday's attack managed to slip into the school with a group of visiting teachers, Xinhua reported. Chen Kangbing,33, had been a teacher himself. Xinhua said he suffered from mental illness and had been on sick leave since February 2006.

4) Yang Jiaqin, 40

Monday, April 12, 2010

An attack occurred on April 12, 2010, when a man hacked to death a second grader and an elderly woman with a meat cleaver, near a school in southern Guangxi, and wounded five other people, including students. Yang Jiaqin, 40, chased his victims through Xizhen village of the southern Guangxi region not long after classes ended Monday afternoon. A 7-year-old girl and the 81-year-old woman later died.

5) Zheng Minsheng, 42

Tuesday, March 23, 2010; executed, Wednesday, April 28, 2010

The Chen Kangbing attack came the same day a man was executed for stabbing eight children to death outside their elementary school last month in the southeastern city of Nanping. The attack on March 23, 2010, at around 7:20 am local time, shocked China because eight children died and the assailant had no known history of mental illness. At his trial, Zheng Minsheng, 42, said he killed because he had been upset after being jilted by a woman and treated badly by her wealthy family. He was executed by firing squad on Wednesday, April 28, just a little over a month after his crime.

2004 Attacks

These attacks have officials looking into a similar wave of knife-related violence on children that occurred in 2004. After the 2004 attack at a school in Beijing that left nine students dead, the central government ordered tighter school security nationwide. Regulations that took effect in 2006 require schools to register or inspect visitors and keep out people who have no reason to come inside.

The list of 2004 stabbings in China (which eventually spread to Japan) may be found by clicking here.

There were also stabbings in 2008, associated with the Autumn Festivals in China and Japan (see here).

McVey-McVeigh

Police in Asheville, N.C., arrested an Ohio man on Sunday, April 25, 2010, after authorities spotted him with a handgun in an airport parking lot as President Barack Obama's plane was departing the state after he and his family vacationed there over the weekend. Joseph McVey, 23, was charged with going armed in terror of the public, a misdemeanor. Security was heightened because of Obama's visit. McVey was nowhere near Air Force One, and why he was in the area with a gun was unclear.

North Carolina police have charged the man who allegedly impersonated a police officer at Asheville airport as US President Barack Obama departed on Air Force One. Ohio man Joseph McVey, 23, was allegedly armed when he drove a car made to look like a police vehicle with working lights and sirens to the airport at about 2pm (local time).

Buncombe County jail officer Donna Player told CNN that McVey was being held on a charge of going armed to the terror of the public and his bail was set at US$100,000. Airport police Capt Kevan Smith emphasised that the president was never in any danger and said additional charges were pending. Mr. Obama left Asheville aboard Air Force One about 1:50pm after his meeting with the Rev Billy Graham. From there he flew to Beckley, West Virginia, where he delivered the eulogy at a public memorial service for the 29 workers killed in a mine explosion on April 5. Air Force One was waiting on the runway at Asheville Regional while Mr. Obama met with Mr Graham.

Timothy James McVeigh (April 23, 1968 – June 11, 2001) was a United States Army veteran and former security guard who was convicted of detonating a truck bomb in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Building on April 19, 1995, killing 168 people, including 19 children under the age of six. It is referred to as the Oklahoma City bombing. McVeigh, a militia movement sympathizer, sought revenge against the federal government for the Waco Siege which had ended in the deaths of 76 people exactly two years earlier.

419 + 420

Today, April 19th, in Massachusetts and Maine, is Patriots' Day.



Patriots' Day (sometimes incorrectly punctuated Patriot's Day or Patriots Day) is a civic holiday commemorating the anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the first battles of the American Revolutionary War. It is observed in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and State of Maine (once part of Massachusetts), and is a public school observance day in Wisconsin. Observances and re-enactments of these first battles of the American Revolution occur annually at Lexington Green in Lexington, Massachusetts, (around 6 am) and The Old North Bridge in Concord, Massachusetts (around 9 am). In the morning, a mounted reenactor with State Police escort retraces Paul Revere's ride, calling out warnings the whole way.

Since 1969, the holiday has been observed on the third Monday in April, providing a three-day long weekend. In 2010, the date of April 19th falls on the celebrated Patriots' Day holiday on Monday. In Maine, it is being extended on April 20th, with the State of Maine government shutting down all state offices, for fiscal savings.

The Patriots' Grave (at top) in the Old Burying Ground, Arlington, Massachusetts, is a Masonic obelisk, as is the Acton Monument (below), gravesite of Abner Hosmer and Isaac Davis, who fell at North Bridge on April 19, 1775. The Revolutionary War was, in historical underpinning, a Masonic conflict.



The Boston Marathon is run on Patriots' Day every year so many Bostonians know the holiday as "Marathon Monday". Maine's oldest road race, the Boys and Girls Clubs Patriots' Day 5-Miler, is held in Portland, Maine. The Boston Red Sox have traditionally been scheduled to play at home in Fenway Park on Patriots' Day every year since 1959. Since 1968 the games have started early in the morning around 11:00 AM.

April 19 is also the anniversary of the deaths occurring at the end of the Waco events and the Oklahoma City bombing.

The Waco siege began on February 28, 1993, when the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) attempted to execute a search warrant at the Branch Davidian ranch at Mount Carmel, a property located nine miles (14 km) east-northeast of Waco, Texas. An exchange of gunfire resulted in the deaths of four agents and six followers of David Koresh. A subsequent 51-day siege by the Federal Bureau of Investigation ended on April 19 when fire destroyed the compound. Seventy-six people (24 of them British nationals) died in the fire, including more than 20 children, two pregnant women, and Koresh himself.

The Oklahoma City bombing was the bomb attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995, when American militia movement sympathizer Timothy McVeigh detonated a truck filled with explosives parked in front of the building. McVeigh's co-conspirator, Terry Nichols, had assisted in the bomb preparation. Their motive allegedly was to avenge the government's handling of the Waco siege and Ruby Ridge incidents.

Don't forget. Tomorrow is 4.20.

April 20 is the 121th anniversary of the birth of Adolf Hitler and the 11th anniversary of the Columbine school killings. On April 20, 1999, one teacher, 12 students were killed and 24 wounded at Columbine High School, in Littleton, Colorado, by two heavily armed, trenchcoated students, 17 and 18, who then took their own lives. They liked speaking German to each other and "honored" Hitler, according to their diary entries.

Columbine School Shooting, April 20, 1999's list of dead:
* Cassie Bernall, 17
* Steven Curnow, 14
* Corey DePooter, 17
* Kelly Fleming, 16
* Eric David Harris, 18
* Matthew Kechter, 16
* Dylan Bennet Klebold, 17
* Daniel Mauser, 15
* Daniel Rohrbough, 15
* William David "Dave" Sanders, 47
* Rachel Scott, 17
* Isaiah Shoels, 18
* John Tomlin, 16
* Lauren Townsend, 18
* Kyle Velasquez, 16


April 19 is followed by 420.

What does "420" mean? April 20th? Or something deeper?

High school student Jeff Weise, an Ojibwa, killed ten, including himself, at the Red Lake Ojibwa Reservation in Minnesota, on March 21, 2005. A great admirer of Columbine, it was discovered that Weise left references to Columbine throughout his online presence. For example, he employed a username, which translated to "Abandoned 420."

Columbine and 420

Obviously, one meaning of "420" is directly linked to the Columbine date, as "4/20" is April 20, the anniversary of the Littleton, Colorado shootings. This date is also Adolf Hitler's birthday. The Columbine shooters, Klebold and Harris were extremely conscious that it was Hitler's birthdate, and often spoke German to each other, while walking around in long black trench coats, videotaping themselves.

Copycat Weise left messages on such sites as nazi.org. Weise wore a dark trench coat to school all year round, and had a swastika fascination, a symbol used by both First Nations people and Nazis. In one of Weise's online profiles, he noted that two of his favorite movies were Elephant and Zero Day, based on the events of the Columbine High School massacre.

Jeff Weise virtually haunted the Neo-Nazi Internet forum of the Libertarian National Socialist Green Party under the aliases NativeNazi and Todesengel (German for "Angel of Death"). He admired Hitler, his posts revealed. Weise also alleged online that his school was warned in 2004 that someone was going to "shoot up" the school on April 20, the birthday of Adolf Hitler and the anniversary of the Columbine High School massacre, and that the school authorities "pinned" the threat on him.

But Weise sometimes would sound almost typical. For example, on one of his user info pages, he said he was "nothin' but your average Native American stoner" and mentioned that he used marijuana. After Columbine, one oft-repeated story circulated that Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were upset by an unfounded accusation made by an anonymous classmate that the two had brought marijuana to school, prompting a search of their property. Harris and Klebold were said to have found the incident humiliating.

The Other Meaning of 420

The use of "420" for almost four decades is related to the use of marijuana.

4:20 or 4/20 (pronounced four-twenty) is a term used in North America as a discreet way to refer to cannabis and, by extension, a way to identify oneself with cannabis culture. Phrases such as "420 friendly" sometimes appear in roommate advertisements, indicating that the current occupants are tolerant of cannabis users.

It is widely accepted that in 1971, a group of teenagers at San Rafael High School in San Rafael, California, calling themselves The Waldos, used to meet every day after school at 4:20 p.m. to smoke marijuana at the Louis Pasteur statue. The term became part of their group's salute, "420 Louis," and it eventually caught on more widely. Many cannabis users continue to observe 4:20 as a time to smoke communally. By extension April 20 ("4/20" in U.S. dating shorthand) has evolved into a counterculture holiday, where people gather to celebrate and consume cannabis. Source: Wikipedia

It was the research of Steven Hager, editor of High Times, who found the term 420 originated at San Rafael High School in 1971, among the Waldos. A quote from one of the Waldos in the article notes, "We did discover we could talk about getting high in front of our parents without them knowing by using the phrase 420."

Adolf Hitler, marijuana, Columbine: For copycats, 420 appears to have served as a reflective mirror. For the rest of us, 420 may reflect a dangerous combination that has resulted in terrible memories that now reach beyond the mere date of April 20th.

P. S. - Please give me the intellectual respect to understand this is not an anti-drug message, but one about awareness of the twilight language behind code words like "420" in one shooter's message. To think this is as an anti-marijuana blog is as illogical as thinking I am going to let myself get involved in the quicksand of a pro-gun-control vs pro-gun debate. Blaming drugs, guns, video games, and the long list of candidates seems to ignore what's happening in the imprinted mind of the suicidal potential school or spree shooter.

Finally, a couple other "hot dates" in April are worthy of noting.

April 26th is Hitler's right hand man, Rudolf Hess's birthday and the anniversary of the Erfurt, Germany school shooting in 2002, when Robert Steinhäuser killed 16 and then himself.

Hitler died by his own hand, ten days after his birthday, on April 30, 1945, which was 65 years ago.

Man Jumps From Empire State Building

A man died by suicide after he jumped off the Empire State Building, the third tallest building in the United States. The man's name is Cameron Dabghi, and he was a Yale University student at the young age of 21-years-old.

Dabaghi was from Austin, Texas. He was expected to graduate in 2011 majoring in East Asian studies. Yale College Dean Mary Miller wrote in a message to students today, "We are all deeply distressed by this news."

Police are investigating the incident. It is believed that Dabaghi took a running start and climbed and jumped off at the 86th floor. This is important to note, the building is 103 story's tall so he did not jump off the top.

Dabaghi jumped during rush hour traffic at 6:15 p.m. on March 30th. He fell down in front of a Bank of America business. A man covered his body with an umbrella to cover his shattered body.

The last believed suicide jumper leaped from the Empire State Building in 2006. Authorites believe there has been a total of 34 people who have jumped to their deaths from the Empire State Building since it opened in 1931.

Source: Wire service report by Mitch Marconi

Jerry Smith Dies

Jerry Smith's world was occupied by HAARP, Burning Man, black helicopters, and Loch Ness. Smith died at 3:00 am on the morning of Monday, March 8, 2010, of pancreatic carcinoma (pancreatic cancer), I was informed by Kenn Thomas, editor of Steamshovel Press, moments ago. Smith, born on April 8, 1950 in Pomona, California, was an author, lecturer and editor on unexplained phenomena, but sometimes remained behind the scenes in recent years, as a ghostwriter.

Interests that had him ranging from Loch Ness to Burning Man, the well-known writer to a select few was a true friend to many in the field of unsolved mysteries.


In recent years, Smith had operated out of the World Explorer's Club in Kempton, Illinois where he worked for Adventures Unlimited Press as the Vice President for Marketing and Public Relations.

Smith's acknowledged bibliography of published works includes three books from Adventures Unlimited Press (AUP), scores of non-fiction articles and reviews, and more than a dozen ghost-written books.

Smith began his career in writing and publishing in the little magazine field in 1966, writing and publishing his own amateur sci-fi fan magazine (called a fanzine or just "zine") in the Valley Science Fiction Associations' Valley Amateur Press Alliance (ValAPA) of Pomona, California. He was active in the zine scene throughout the late '60s and early '70s, appearing regularly in zines and APAs, like the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society's APA-L, and culminating with his founding of the Unicorn Society and its Unicorn Amateur Press Alliance (UnAPA) in Klamath Falls, Oregon, in 1974.





Some of Jerry Smith's happiest moments were at Burning Man in Nevada, where he had years ago lost his best friend Jim Keith (shown below), in a strange "accident" in 1999. Above are photos of Smith at Burning Man in 2009 and earlier.


As the close friend and literary partner of the late Jim Keith (author of Mind Control, World Control, and many others), Smith was often involved with projects with Keith. Jim Keith was Jerry Smith’s best friend from high school until his untimely death in 1999. Among their many projects together, they ran the regional newspaper Skyline: Klamath Falls; and co-hosted a radio show broadcasting from the campus of the Oregon Institute of Technology. Smith helped on several of Keith’s books, particularly Black Helicopters Over America: Strikeforce for the New World Order and Secret And Suppressed: Banned Ideas & Hidden History.



In 1990 Jerry Smith and Jim Keith founded the National UFO Museum (NUFOM) in Reno, Nevada. Smith worked as the Executive Director, while Keith acted as the Chairman of the Board. In addition to his administrative duties of running the day-to-day operations of NUFOM, Smith also edited and wrote for that organization's quarterly journal, Notes from the Hangar. At the same time Smith worked as an editor/graphic artist with Keith's magazine Dharma Combat: The Magazine of Spirituality, Reality and Other Conspiracies, where Smith served variously as Managing Editor and Art Director from its inception in 1988 until Keith’s death.

Smith's first book from AUP was HAARP: The Ultimate Weapon of the Conspiracy, which considered conspiracy theories connected to the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP). The book, published in 1998, has been described as "blurring the lines between fiction and non-fiction" by detractors, and as "comprehensive and erudite" by other reviewers. While the author admited that his work is speculative, he also contended that it was not intended to explain how HAARP works, but rather to summarize the many claims made about HAARP on the Internet and to analyze their validity. Smith focused on two major points: the United Nations' Convention on the Prohibition of Military or Any Other Hostile Use of Environmental Modification Techniques and mind control. After giving a brief history of each he then speculated on whether these technologies were being developed, at HAARP or elsewhere, and if so, in furtherance of whose agenda.

Smith's second book, published in 2005, was about the so-called Spear of Destiny, and focused on Nazi occultism and urban legends about a Nazi base in Antarctica.

His third book for AUP, published at the end of 2006, Weather Warfare and covered the history of weather modification from the "rainmakers" of the 1890s through the development of cloud seeding in the middle of the 20th century, including today’s suspected ability to manipulate hurricanes. Smith believed that the refusal of the mainstream scientific community to believe that terrorists and/or the military are capable of, and currently engaged in intentional manipulation of the environment skews the data in the global warming debate.

For the last dozen years or so, until his cancer slowed him down in 2009, Smith had maintained an exhausting schedule, appearing regularly on TV and radio, as well as speaking at seminars and conferences across the US and around the world.


Some of his Books

Smith, Jerry E. HAARP: The Ultimate Weapon of the Conspiracy. Kempton, Il.: Adventures Unlimited, 1998. ISBN 0-932813-53-4.

Since HAARP's North American release in 1998 it has been translated into Portuguese, in 2005, by Editora Aleph of São Paulo, Brazil as ARMAS ELETROMAGNÉTICAS: seria o projeto Haarp a próxima ameaça mundial? and in 2001 into Polish by Amber Supermedia http://www.amber.sm.pl/ as HAARP BRON OSTATECZNA.

--, and George Piccard. Secrets Of The Holy Lance: The Spear of Destiny in History & Legend. Kempton, Il.: Adventures Unlimited, 2005.

--. Weather Warfare: The Military's Plan To Draft Mother Nature. Kempton, Il.: Adventures Unlimited, 2006.

Anthologies

The Universal Seduction Vol. 3: Piercing the Veils of Deception - Volume 3, by “Angelico Tapestra--The Collective” (an anthology, the name "Angelico Tapestra" represents a group of collective writers comprised of “world recognized authors, investigative journalists, mathematicians, engineers, scientists, and scholars.” Smith was one of the authors featured in this volume with his article “The End Of The World” which was a portion of a chapter edited out of HAARP). BookSurge Publishing, 2004.

The Conspiracy Reader: From the Deaths of JFK and John Lennon to Government-Sponsored Alien Cover-Ups, by Joan D'Arc (Editor), Al Hidell (Editor) (an anthology comprised of articles that had previously appeared in the magazine “Paranoia: The Conspiracy Reader.” Smith was one of the authors featured in this volume with his article "Star Trek: Sci-Fi or Psy-War?”). Citadel Press, 1999.

Secret and Suppressed II: Banned Ideas and Hidden History into the 21st Century, edited by Adam Parfrey and Kenn Thomas. Smith was one of the authors featured in this volume with his article "Secret Weather Wars: Mind Control, HAARP and Chinese Take-Out." Publisher: Feral House, 2008.

Selected Articles

"Exploring Black Rock City: America's Newest "Lost" City." World Explorer, Vol. 4, #7, 2007.

"Invisible Warfare: Geophysical Weapons of the Secret Government." Paranoia: The Conspiracy and Paranormal Reader, Issue 45, Fall 2007.

"Weather Goes To War." Atlantis Rising, #65, September/October 2007 [Originally published in somewhat different form in Steamshovel Times: Connecting The Dots on May 8, 2007, and the same week in the English online journal Conspiracy Times.

Co-authored with George Piccard: "Exploring The Antarctic Reich: The Final Secret of the Holy Lance." World Explorer. Vol. 4, #4, 2006

"The End of the World." The Universal Seduction: Piercing the Veils of Deception. Vol. 3. Angelico Tapestra, ed. Charleston, SC: BookSurge, 2004.

"Hijacking The Election?" Nevada Territorial News, Vol. 1, No. 26, December 7, 2000.

"Jimmy Carter Could Never Certify A Nevada Election." Nevada Territorial News, Vol. 1, #23. November 2000.

"Space Cowboys: A Movie Review." Nevada Territorial News. Vol. 1, #14, 2000 August_24. reprinted in Nonstop Fun Is Hard On Your Heart. #2. August 2000.

Co-authored with Juanita Cox: "Telecommunications Bill Raises Constitutional Issues." Sentinel of Freedom. Vol. 5, #1, Summer 1997.

"Star Trek: Sci-Fi Or Psy-War?" Paranoia: The Conspiracy Reader. Issue 14, vol. 4, no. 3, 1996. pg. 30-32; reprinted in The Complete Conspiracy Reader: From the Deaths of JFK and John Lennon to Government-Sponsored Alien Coverups. Al Hidell, Joan D'Arc, eds. New York: MJF Books, 2003.

"Uncle Sam Is Trying To Kill You!" The View. Reno, NV: 1990.

Ghostwritten by Jerry E. Smith for Jim Keith

Keith, Jim. "Sinister Forces In Our Skies: The UFO / Black Helicopter Connection." UFO Universe Magazine. 1995.



--. "Black Helicopters Over America." Fate Magazine. Vol. 49, #4. April 1996 pg. 28-31.


Jerry E. Smith and The Loch Ness Monster! This photo of Jerry E. Smith and a replica of the monster was taken at the Loch Ness Visitor Center in the famous village of Drumnadrochit on the banks of Loch Ness, Scotland, by David Hatcher Childress on May 12, 2008.

Images of the Week

Associated Press photographer Cliff Owen captured some striking images from the scene of the news conference about J. Patrick Bedell's shooting at the Pentagon.

These are my editorial choices for the photographs of the week, which summarize the subtle twilight background to the "active shooter" period currently being experienced in the USA:




Pentagon Police Chief Richard Keevill wears his Glock .40 S&W pistol as he speaks with reporters about a shooting at the Pentagon in Washington, Thursday, March 4, 2010. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)





A pedestrian passes near the Pentagon Metro complex where a man with a gun opened fire in Washington, Thursday, March 4, 2010. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

The object visible in the distance, of course, is the Washington Masonic Monument obelisk.

Pentagon Shooter J. Patrick Bedell Listed UFO Book

J. Patrick Bedell, 36, who attempted to enter the Pentagon on March 4, 2010, not with a pass, but with two 9 mm guns, was a 9/11 Truther, "suicide-is-murder" conspiracy investigator, and more. He has been declared dead, as of the morning of March 5th. The news of the shooting and his suicide-by-cop death is easy to find online.

Bedell left behind his profile at Amazon, as follows:

Nickname: infoeng
Location: Austin, TX USA
In My Own Words:
I'm interested in a lot of things, including: photons, molecules, and their interaction; biomolecular analysis and manipulation; microfabrication; CMOS integrated circuit design; DNA and quantum computing; economics; history; and biography.

The overt investigation by authorities is now centered on California, where he appears to have been in recent weeks. Perhaps he was with his sister, whose address (Hollister, CA) is listed for the delivery of his desired books. Or, as Amazon.com notes: "This Wish List includes a ship-to address, so you can pick out an item and have it sent to J. Patrick Bedell at checkout."

Bedell noted as his hometown that of Austin, Texas, which I'm sure, is getting attention too. It has been discovered that Bedell had a early interest in the 1991 alleged suicide of Marine Col. James Sabow, which Bedell felt was a covered-up murder.

Bedell gave the titles of 55 books on his wish list. Most are conspiracy, historical intelligence, and related books, including the following picks:

#1. The Commission: The Uncensored History of the 9/11 Investigation by Philip Shenon (added July 25, 2009).

#2. The Immaculate Deception: Bush Crime Family Exposed by Russell S. Bowen (added July 21, 2009),

and all the way back in time to items such as,

#51. Barry & 'the Boys': The CIA, the Mob and America's Secret History by Daniel Hopsicker (listed on December 18, 2001).

Some seem harder to understand, for outsiders, such as

#10. Hell Ranch: The Nightmare Tale of Voodoo, Drugs & Death in Matamoros by Clifford L. Linedecker (added March 7, 2007).



In the midst of his list is

#12. The Black World of UFOs: Exempt from Disclosure by Robert M. Collins with Richard C. Doty (added February 5, 2007).

Here is what Amazon passes along from the producers (Peregrine Communications) of this UFO book:

Book Description

Not made on this Earth:
"You are relating our physics to their crafts - cant do that. That was our mistake for many years. To get into outer space, they use THEIR system. To understand their system, you must understand their physics..."

--A number of named sources some of whom worked at Groom Lake for over 40 years will tell their story of Area 51, and S4.

And, Rick Doty as a contributor confirms many of the stories of Bob Lazar.

--So then, what is the Crystal Rectangle CR according to those DIA TS/Code word documents? Its an H5 Alien Energy Device that can power the ISS, but yet no bigger than a 9 x 12 cardboard box less than 3 inches thick.

--Why is Los Alamos LANL having so many problems with the reverse-engineering, specifically, the anti-gravity two tier propulsion system and materials. The Alien Propulsion System is described in detail.

According to a Top Secret/Umbra 5 November 1961 National Intelligence Estimate NIE propulsion studies were being conducted at LANL.

--From the Roswell Incident of July 1947 where were the recovered artifacts kept at Wright-Patterson AFB?

--EBE-2 & those CIA Secret/Top Secret memos said to be real by a number of sources. Kit Green as a former CIA employee claimed he saw the same type of stationary used for the memos and some of the key acronyms.

--JFK & Mj-12:Two separate sources support the fact that there was an EXCOM Executive Committee, who were also members of 5412 meeting at the time/date specified in the Project Jehovah MJ-12 document which mentions NSA decoding the Alien Codex and the CIAs MJEBEN program.

--The 1991 Government Disclosure effort that flopped.

--Did Area 51 get started in 1955 or, was it really 1951?

Also, there is an "About the Author":

Robert M. Collins: A former Air Force Intelligence Officer (Chief Analyst in theoretical Physics) at the Foreign Technology Division (FTD) now NASIC (after three name changes) Wright-Patterson AFB Ohio with an extensive background in Aircraft Avionics Systems, Ground Communications, and Engineering Physics (Electro-Optics, Plasma, and Nuclear Physics) totaling over 22 years. His first UFO contacts were made at FTD starting in 1985 and continue to this day with research and the publication of four book editions of Exempt from Disclosure.

Rick C. Doty: In the spring of 1978 he was recruited by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) to become an agent. He passed all the necessary requirements and tests and was sent to the AFOSI Academy in Washington, D.C. Successfully graduating from the academy he was sent to District 17, OSI, Kirtland AFB New Mexico in May 1979. During that first year he was briefed into a special program. The program involved the collection of intelligence and counter-intelligence information for UFOs and "other foreign intelligence." Recent accomplishments (along with other "associates") include consulting work for both the X-Files and Spielberg's "Taken."

In actuality, the book has been found by many serious ufologists to be a rambling treatise on such apparent mythical or hoaxed organizations like MJ12 and the mostly discredited tales of Bob Lazar. Indeed, Lazar's critics have pointed out that "Lazar's credibility crumbled" after "schools he was supposed to have attended had no record of him, while others in the scientific community had no memory of ever meeting him." This not-terribly-well-edited book fits into J. Patrick Bedell's wish list well, it seems.

Wikipedia appears to have already taken down Bedell's self-authored page; however Bedell's web footprints are being gathered by some rightwing bloggers who are trying to tie Bedell's actions to a bizarre brand, in their thoughts, of "liberal" mindset (e.g. here, here, and here).

All I can say, at this point, is that I was glad to not see The Copycat Effect on his "wish list." As it turns out, Bedell's actions fit perfectly into the mayhem that has visited this country in the form of "active shooters" since the Ft. Hood shootings.

Another Plane Into A Building

A plane from the company Telsa crashed and now this has occurred. The news has taken place so soon after the Amy Bishop shootings. It is interwoven, as has been noted often in my work and that of others, such as Dr. David Phillips and Dr. Steven Stack (no relation to today's pilot). See my chapter, "Planes Into Buildings" in The Copycat Effect.

Tampa Tower Crash

It will be recalled that Charles (Bishara) Bishop (February 8, 1986 - January 5, 2002) was an American teenager who died by suicide when he crashed a stolen Cessna 172 into the 28th floor of the Bank of America Tower in Tampa, Florida on January 5, 2002. A note written by Bishop was found in the wreckage and expressed his support for Osama bin Laden and the September 11, 2001 attacks. The young man also noted the "1967 Israeli-Syrian War" (also called the Six-Day War of June 5-10, 1967) in his note.

Bishop's father was identified as Charles Bishara, an alleged small-time criminal with the Arabic surname Bishara. Bishop's mother had changed the boy's name from Bishara to Bishop during the first Gulf War. (The name may be familiar to you as it is the middle name of Sirhan Bishara Sirhan, the alleged single assassin of Robert F. Kennedy, who was shot on the first anniversary of the Six Day War and died the next day.)

Tesla Plane Crash

On February 17, 2010, in Palo Alto, California, a twin-engine Cessna 310 crashed in a residential neighborhood, killing three employees of electric-car maker Tesla Motors who were aboard the plane. (The sounds from the Tesla Motors crash have been published online. Warning: Graphic, with screams.) The accident caused a major power outage in Palo Alto, including at the office of Facebook, but no one was injured on the ground.

The pilot was Doug Bourn, 56, a senior electrical engineer who had worked for the electric carmaker for five years and who mentored others. The other two passengers have been identified as Andrew Ingram, 31, of Palo Alto, an electrical engineer; and Brian M. Finn, 42, of East Palo Alto; a senior manager of interactive electronics. Finn reportedly lived with his one-year-old daughter just two blocks from where the plane went down in East Palo Alto. Chief Executive Elon Musk noted: “Tesla is a small, tightly-knit company, and this is a tragic day for us.”

Nikola Tesla and the Death Ray

The company appears to have been named in tribute to Nikola Tesla (July 10, 1856 – January 7, 1943), who was an inventor and a mechanical and electrical engineer. He was one of the most important contributors to the birth of commercial electricity, and is best known for his many revolutionary developments in the field of electromagnetism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Aside from his work on electromagnetism and electromechanical engineering, Tesla contributed in varying degrees to the establishment of robotics, remote control, radar, and computer science, and to the expansion of ballistics, nuclear physics, and theoretical physics. In the late 1880s, Tesla and Thomas Edison became adversaries. From 1900, Tesla worked, until his death, on his teleforce weapon, which the media called his "peace ray" or "death ray." This directed-energy superweapon was said to concern the use of charged particle beams. In 1943, the Supreme Court of the United States credited Tesla as being the inventor of the radio. (David Bowie portrayed Tesla in the 2006 movie The Prestige. Tesla's time in Colorado Springs, Colorado, was the focus of several scenes in the film, which featured speculations on the explosive power of Tesla's electrical experiments.)

Stack Hits IRS Building

On February 18, 2010, Joseph Andrew Stack, flying a Piper Cherokee PA-28 (registration N2889D) plane, crashed into Building I of the Echelon office complex in Austin, Texas, United States. An Internal Revenue Service (IRS) field office is located in the seven-story office building along with other state and federal government agencies. Stack had posted a manifesto dated February 18, 2010, to his business website.

The plane departed a nearby airport at 9:40 AM Central Standard Time, and, about twenty minutes later, crashed into a building containing offices for the IRS, setting it ablaze. It went in at full speed and did not appear to be accidental or due to mechanical failure according to eyewitnesses.

The pilot was killed in the incident along with Vernon Hunter, a 67-year-old Revenue Office Manager for the IRS. Thirteen people were reported as injured, two of them critically. Debris from the crash reportedly struck a Lexus sedan being driven on the southbound access road of U.S. Route 183 in front of the building and shattering the windshield. Another driver on the southbound access road of U.S. Route 183 had his windows and sunroof shattered during the impact and had debris fall inside his car yet escaped uninjured.

(Late in the week, Vernon Hunter's son, Ken spoke out. "There was just too much going on about what the guy did and what he believed in, and enough's enough," he said. "They don't need to talk about him. Talk about my dad. You know, some people are trying to make this guy out to be a hero, a patriot. My dad served two terms in Vietnam. This guy never served at all. My dad wasn't responsible for his tax problems.")

The plane was piloted by Joseph Andrew Stack, of the Scofield Farms neighborhood in North Austin, who worked as an embedded software consultant. Prior to the crash, he set his house on fire in the 1800 block of Dapplegrey Lane. Early reports wondered aloud if the house burned with his wife and daughter presumably inside. Their deaths have not been confirmed.

Stack had posted an anti-government, anti-bailout, anti-corporation, anti-union, and anti-religion manifesto on his website, embeddedart.com. It was also a suicide note.

In the manifesto, Stack states that he was not impressed with political representatives, whom he describes as "thieves, liars, and self-serving scumbags," also criticizing the conglomerate companies of General Motors, Enron and Arthur Andersen. He also referred to the drug and insurance companies as "murdering tens of thousands of people a year and stealing from the corpses and victims they cripple, and this country’s leaders don’t see this as important as bailing out a few of their vile, rich cronies." Stack also criticized "The recent presidential puppet GW Bush and his cronies in their eight years," the "corrupt Catholic Church," and "the monsters of organized religion."

The manifesto ended with:

I saw it written once that the definition of insanity is repeating the same process over and over and expecting the outcome to suddenly be different. I am finally ready to stop this insanity. Well, Mr. Big Brother IRS man, lets try something different; take my pound of flesh and sleep well.
The communist creed: From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.
The capitalist creed: From each according to his gullibility, to each according to his greed.

Stack was a graduate of the Milton Hershey School and attended Harrisburg Area Community College from 1975-77.

In response to the crash, the Department of Homeland Security became involved in the investigation of the crash, stating that it did not appear to be linked to terrorism. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs reaffirmed what Homeland Security said, and that President Barack Obama was being briefed of the incident. The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) launched two F-16 fighter aircraft from Ellington Field in Houston, Texas, to conduct an air patrol in response to the crash, which was reported as standard operating procedure in this situation.

The company hosting embeddedart.com, T35 hosting, took Stack's website offline, "due to the sensitive nature of the events that transpired in Texas this morning and in compliance with a request from the FBI."

The Bishop Shootings

A female shooter was in custody and three are dead. A campus shooting incident occurred about 4:15 pm on February 12, 2010, in Alabama.

Three people were killed and several more injured in the shooting Friday in a science building at the University of Alabama's Huntsville campus, university officials said. (Also known as the University of Alabama in Huntsville.)

Trent Willis, chief of staff for Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle, said several other people had been shot in addition to the four reported, but he did not have an exact number or their conditions.

Huntsville Hospital spokesman Burr Ingram said the hospital was treating three victims. Two were in critical condition and one was in stable condition. It was not clear if the three included the one injured person university officials announced.

Sophomore Erin Johnson told The Huntsville Times a biology faculty meeting was under way when she heard screams coming from the room.

The shooting happened in the university's Shelby Center, a science building. University police secured the building and students were cleared from it.

The Huntsville campus has about 7,500 students in northern Alabama, not far from the Tennessee line.

The university posted a message on its Web site Friday afternoon telling students the campus was closed Friday night and all students were encouraged to go home. Counselors were available to speak with students.

The shooter has been identified as Dr. Amy Bishop, a Harvard-educated neurobiologist who joined the faculty of UAH in 2003.

Her development with her husband, Jim Anderson, of a "portable cell incubator" placed third in a state-wide competition, and won the couple $25,000 of seed money in a business competition.

Mr. Anderson, also reportedly in custody, is said to be the chief science officer of Cherokee Labsystems in Huntsville.

Dr. Bishop's profile has been pulled from UAH's site, but Google's cache reveals her areas of research focussed on the role of gasses on the central nervous system, especially nitrous oxide.

Her lab was working on the development of a "neural computer," the "Neuristor," which would use living neurons—taken either from stem cells or fish.

She also developed the InQ, a "precision instrument designed to increase the precision and consistency of cell growth in laboratory experimentation."

Dr. Bishop has numerous articles in journals to her credit, including studies in the International Journal of General Medicine and Toxicology.

Bus Rampage: China

A bus dispatcher in northern China killed nine people and injured 11 others when he hijacked a company vehicle after a feud with his boss.

The man, surnamed Zhang, got into a fight with his boss and injured him with a dagger before stealing the bus and driving away into the streets of the city of Tianjin, the official Xinhua news agency said.

The 40-year-old motored through the streets, ramming into people and killing nine bystanders, the report said.

Police dispatched dozens of police cars to the scene, and Zhang ran into three of them, injuring four policemen, before finally being caught.

Authorities were investigating the case, the report said.

Source: Monday, February 1, 2010, Geelong Advertiser, Australia.

The Peter Pan/Hook Deaths

Who are killing the children?

Another young child has died under mysterious circumstances in which the initial speculation is that the child died by self-hanging. Without going into the exacting details at this time, let me summarize that for years there has been a series of relatively unexplained child deaths and near deaths. These have been lexilinked by twilight names (Montana, Aquan, Imhotep; Chatham-Chatham), bizarre pedophilia hints (under investigation), and the common factor that the children were found hanged, often on a coat hook, often in bathrooms.

In addition to January 21, 2010's alleged new suicide (see below), here's a summary of older incidents:

1. Unnamed youth ~ Kanpur, India; February 20, 2009; hanged from the hook of the toilet in a train; dead.
2. Unnamed girl ~ South Side Chicago, Illinois; February 20, 2009; hanged on a clothes hook in home closet; dead.
3. Unnamed boy ~ Chatham, Illinois; February 4, 2009; hanged by hook; dead.
4. Aquan Lewis ~ Evanston, Illinois; February 3, 2009; hanged on a school bathroom hook; dead.
5. Tevin Park-Flowers (a twin) ~ Austin, Texas; January 30, 2008; hanged by a hook in a gymnasium bathroom; pants were down at his ankles; dead.
6. Unnamed boy ~ New Bedford, Massachusetts; January 30, 2008; found alive, hanging on a hook in a children's room of the New Bedford Public Library; man arrested, charged with child molestation and rape.
7. Unnamed child ~ Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; April 27, 2005; near death, found hanging on a hook in a school coatroom closet.
8. Imhotep Lubin ~ Brooklyn, New York; 2004; found alive hanging by his belt from a hook in a school closet; teacher arrested.
9. Unnamed child ~ Chatham, Ontario; 1998; hanged from a hook in school bathroom; dead.

In the most recent assumed suicide, 9-year-old Montana Lance allegedly hanged himself in a bathroom at Stewart's Creek Elementary School, The Colony, Texas, shortly before 1 p.m. on Thursday, January 21, 2010.

Lt. Darren Brockway said that the boy "had reportedly hung himself in a bathroom" and was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. Autopsy results are pending. Police are investigating the circumstances but don't expect any criminal charges.

Because there seems to be no cooperation between police departments on these far-flung incidents, could there perhaps be some similar patterns that have developed and are being overlooked?

Are there other mystery deaths of children on coat hooks that you have read about, in isolation from the above accounts?

What could any of this have to do with J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan? Stay tuned.

VA: 8 Dead

The number of shooting incidents has increased dramatically in the USA since the Fort Hood incident. Whether the reasons are the copycat effect, behavior contagion, media reporting increase, or coincidence doesn't matter. It is happening and we are in the midst of a major cluster. Another shooting has occurred.

On Tuesday, January 19, 2010, a gunman went on a "rampage" (as the media is terming it) in the Virginia, killing eight people and shooting a police helicopter taking part in a hunt for him, officials said. A 39-year-old man was believed to be surrounded early Wednesday after the shootings in a rural district near Appomattox (where the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee took place, ending the Civil War) in southern Virginia. Police confirmed that there were eight dead.

The suspect, named as Christopher Speight, shot a helicopter that was called to the scene at least four times, forcing it to make an emergency landing, officials said.

[Some of the first settlers in America with this family name, Speight, or its variants, were Frances Speight who settled in Virginia in 1642; William and Mary Speights plus their daughter Elizabeth in Barbados in 1678; and Christopher Speight in New England in 1760. The family motto is "by strength and valor." One of the more well-known holders of the name was Englishman Mark Warwick Fordham Speight (August 6, 1965 – April 7, 2008), who was an English television presenter, who once played the "Abominable No Man" in Timmy Mallett's Timmy Towers. On the afternoon of January 3, 2008, Speight called emergency services after waking up to discover fiancée Natasha Collins's body in the bath of their St John's Wood flat, in northwest London. He was originally arrested and charged with her murder. An inquest later determined Collins had died of a drug overdose and severe burns from hot water. Then on April 7, 2008, Speight was reported missing and soon found that he had died by suicide by hanging near Paddington Station. He left suicide notes saying he could not live without Collins.]

"More than 100 deputies, officers and state troopers will continue working through the night to locate and apprehend the armed subject" Virginia State Police said in a statement.

The incident unfolded around noon on Tuesday when a deputy from the Appomattox sheriff's office responded to an emergency call about an injured man lying on a country road.

"When the deputy arrived on scene, the deputy heard several gun shots," Sergeant Thomas Molnar, a spokesman for the Virginia State Police told AFP.

As the victim was being airlifted to a nearby hospital, where he later died, officers found four bodies outside a nearby home and "three bodies inside the residence."

The victims were male and female, according to police.

The shootings were said to be the act of a lone gunman, who was pinned down by police in nearby woods late Tuesday, officials said.

A nearby residence was evacuated as the manhunt grew ever tenser.

"The perimeter has been established and we believe the suspect is within the quarantined area," Molnar said.

A motive for the attacks was not immediately clear.

Sherlock Holmes (2009): The Ripper Killings

I found the new Sherlock Holmes (2009) movie intriguingly multi-layered, with an incredible number of synchromystical symbols throughout, often tied to the Masons ("Temple of the Four Orders") and the Ripper case (see below). These are woven nicely within the plot and characters.

Lord Blackwood (who wears a black trenchcoat most of the time ~ as have the spate of recent mass killers), the secret society members, the plotting police, the usual bald giants, the ginger little people, the overly attractive prostitutes, and even the ever present ravens have a good deal to "say" to those watching this cinema closely. Needless to say, the Masonic elements have been mentioned by many reviewers and critics in the blogosphere, so no need to dwell on the straight and narrow there.

Another "character" in the movie is the Tower Bridge, which is shown under construction. Actually, since it is known that the building of the Tower Bridge started in 1886 and took eight years, it nicely dates this version of Sherlock Holmes. The official plot summary of the movie notes this film occurs in "1891 London."

The movie has many facets, overlooked by the casual moviegoer.

For example:

A number of the movie's details were taken directly from "The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone." The first is the name of the villain, Lord Blackwood. Fans may remember him as Count Negretto Sylvius (Negretto is Italian for black and Sylvius is Latin for woods). Interestingly enough, Blackwoods was a competitor of the Strand (the publisher of Doyle's work). Blackwoods also rejected some of Doyle's early work, though the Mazarin story was written 40 years after the fact and Doyle was very successful by then. In any event, Blackwood was NOT some magician with an egg tooth (a tooth most baby snakes are born with to cut through their eggs).

Another common detail is the Crown Diamond, which is the Yellow Mazarin Stone (named for Cardinal Jules Mazarin [1602-1661], minister to Louis XIV). The large yellow stone hung around Irene Adler's neck in the movie. "The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone" is also the first and only story to mention that the 221B Baker Street apartment had multiple exits and a waiting room. The extra exit was through the bedroom which Sherlock employed to follow Irene early in the movie.

I actually think few people "get" what is behind the allusion to the five prostitutes who are killed ritualistically with daggers, before the timeline of the movie begins. These definitely appear to me to be an obvious but subtle reference to the five traditionally acknowledged Ripper killings. Because the phrase "Jack the Ripper" is never used in the movie, I have yet to see it in any deciphering of this present film. Those murders took place around Whitechapel, London, in late 1888, of course, and some, like Stephen Knight, theorize they were Masonic in nature. The present movie has more links to the Sherlock Holmes in A Study in Scarlet and Christopher Plummer in Murder by Decree, than people are noting.

Release Date: December 25th, 2009 (wide)
Distributors: Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution
Produced in: United States

Actors:
Robert Downey Jr. ... Sherlock Holmes
Jude Law ... Dr. John Watson
Rachel McAdams ... Irene Adler
Mark Strong ... Blackwood
Eddie Marsan ... Inspector Lestrade
Kelly Reilly ... Mary

Directed by: Guy Ritchie
++++

Doyle: A Mason?

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) was the author of fifty-six short stories and three novels with Sherlock Holmes and John H. Watson M.D., as the principal characters.

Conan Doyle was not a particularly active freemason. One widely quoted report in the October 1901 Masonic Illustrated claims: "While at the seat of war, he attended the never-to-be-forgotten scratch lodge at Bloemfontein in company with Bro. Rudyard Kipling." In fact, Kipling was in Bloemfontein only between March 17 and April 3, 1900, a period when Rising Star Lodge No. 1022 E.C., the only lodge meeting in that part of South Africa, did not meet. At an April 5, 1900 meeting letters were received by the lodge from both Lord Kitchener and Conan Doyle, expressing their regrets at being unable to attend. A "loyal resolution" to be sent to the Prince of Wales was proposed by Kitchener at an April 23, 1900 meeting; a document signed by both Lord Roberts, who had not been present at the meeting, and Conan Doyle. The minutes of the lodge’s November 7, 1901 meeting refute the newspaper report and deny that Bros. Doyle and Kipling had ever visited their lodge. Also in 1900 Conan Doyle was made an honorary member of The Lodge of Edinburgh (Mary’s Chapel) No. 1 in recognition of his acceptance of an invitation to speak at a Burns' Night Dinner.

There is no mention of Freemasonry in his autobiography, Memories and Adventures and it is said that "Dr. Doyle looked in on Freemasonry and soon looked out again." There are, however seven distinct and several other oblique references to Freemasonry in his fiction. [AQC 104 & 105]

A prolific writer and an early proponent of a tunnel connecting England and France, he was also responsible for introducing downhill skiing into Switzerland, metal helmets for combat soldiers and the inflatable life-preserver for sailors. He makes a number of Masonic references in his writings, none of them key to his story development.

However, this record exists of his membership:
Initiated: January 26, 1887
Passed: February 23, 1887
Raised: March 23, 1887
Demitted: 1889
Rejoined: 1902
Demitted: 1911
Phoenix Lodge 257, Southsea Hampshire.

See also, other links to strange "Sherlock Holmes" coincidences in 2009, including the "Dr. Watson" killing, and the sudden death of Natasha Richardson, who had made her UK television debut in 1985, in The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes, appearing as Violet Hunter in the episode, "The Copper Beeches."