Archive through December 30, 2002
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Archive through December 30, 2002
Flint | Wednesday, December 18, 2002 - 04:58 am     Ho Ho Ho....something lighter from nationalpost.com Military declassifies rare pictures of Santa Sheldon Alberts, Deputy Ottawa Bureau Chief National Post Wednesday, December 18, 2002 OTTAWA - Recently declassified aerial photographs released by NORAD reveal that the Canadian and United States militaries have been tracking Santa Claus for more than 45 years. Digital photographs, posted on the official Web site of the joint Canada-U.S. military command, show Santa's reindeer-drawn sled in flight over New York City and Chicago. The photographs also include a grainy black-and-white image taken in 1959 of Santa on a rooftop. A news release yesterday on the NORAD site, www.noradsanta. org, also announced that Santa had agreed to a "full-blown test flight" to be held today. The test will follow Santa for 30 minutes over the Northwest Territories, Yukon and Alaska, escorted by Canadian and U.S. fighter jets. "Two CF-18s from Canada's Air Force will intercept and escort Santa to Alaska, where they will hand off to two American F-15s," says the news release, which explains the exercise is to test tracking equipment in advance of Christmas. The main task of NORAD -- the North American Aerospace Defence Command -- is to protect North America from air or missile attack, but from its base in Colorado Springs, Colo., it has also been tracking Santa for four decades. "We believe, based on historical data and more than 40 years of NORAD tracking information, that Santa Claus is alive and well in the hearts of people throughout the world," says the NORAD Web site. NORAD officials are bracing themselves for more than 290 million hits on noradsanta.org, which tracks Santa Claus's global journey through an elaborate system of radar, satellite, fighter jet and "SantaCam" surveillance techniques. The NORAD Santa Web site has exploded in popularity since its launch five years ago, when it received nearly three million hits on Christmas Eve. "It has grown into a phenomenon that we never expected," said Major Doug Martin, a Canadian air force officer who doubles as NORAD's chief of Santa Tracking Operations. "We are on the verge of breaking 300 million hits in a day. We are talking about children from 120 countries logging in ... The Japanese adore the site." The tradition of NORAD keeping a watchful eye on Santa dates back to 1955, when a six-year-old boy -- responding to a newspaper advertisement for a Santa "hotline" that included a misprinted phone number -- dialled into the control centre for the Continental Air Defence Command, NORAD's predecessor. The boy asked when Santa would be arriving at his house. A quick-thinking U.S. military officer reported that radar showed Santa heading south from the North Pole. When NORAD was launched in 1958, Canadian and American commanders took over the job of following Santa's movements and set up telephone lines to update children on his location. Since the launch of noradsanta. org, NORAD's technicians have been able to post digital images of Santa taken with "high-tech, omni-directional" Santa Cams as he travels the world. The Web site has English, French, Japanese, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese versions. The NORAD Web site has recently attracted the interest of the Guinness World Records. The site is hosted by America Online, which recorded 289 million hits last Christmas Eve. For children without Internet access, NORAD plans to open a toll-free telephone number on Christmas Eve so kids can receive updates of Santa's progress. The phone lines will be staffed by 375 volunteers at NORAD's Cheyenne Mountain command centre. salberts@nationalpost.com © Copyright 2002 National Post |
Flint | Friday, December 20, 2002 - 07:03 pm     From www.cbc.ca U.S. pilots took amphetamines an hour before 'friendly fire' incident Last Updated Fri, 20 Dec 2002 21:48:09 WASHINGTON - ABC News says it has obtained cockpit voice recordings of the U.S. pilots involved in the 'friendly fire' incident in Afghanistan that killed four Canadian soldiers and injured eight others. The report also says drugs may have played a role. The report says both pilots had taken amphetamines about an hour before the incident. The drugs, commonly known as 'go-pills,' are standard issue in the U.S. Air Force to help pilots stay awake during long combat missions. The pilots involved in the 'friendly fire' incident, Maj. Harry Schmidt and Maj. William Umbach, say they were told by their superiors they could be found unfit to fly unless they took the pills. On the night of April 17, both pilots took the pills before their mission over Afghanistan. It was then, under the full influence of the amphetamine pills, that the two pilots spotted weapons fired near the Kandahar military base. "OK, so I've got some men on a road and it looks like a piece of artillery firing at us. I am rolling in in self-defence," Schmidt says on the tape. Schmidt had been told to hold fire by controllers in an AWAC plane, but he was convinced he and Umbach were under attack. "Bombs away, cranking left, lasers on. Shack," he said as he opened fire. It was only after Maj. Schmidt dropped the bomb that he was told the target was not the enemy, that there were "friendlies in Kandahar." Schmidt hit a squad of Canadian soldiers conducting a live-fire exercise. Four died, eight were badly injured. Schmidt and Umbach are facing four counts each of manslaughter and dereliction of duty. Now their legal teams are questioning whether the amphetamines the pilots took played a part in the deaths. Eugene Carroll says it's nothing new. He's a former U.S. Navy pilot who was given pills to juice him up for long flights. "It's certainly something that has to be considered: are the drugs enhancing safety or are they creating situations that are dangerous in and of themselves?" he said. The U.S. military says the drugs are controlled and has ruled out the 'go-pills' as being responsible for the incident. Preliminary court martial proceedings against the two F-16 pilots begin next month. If convicted they could face up to 64 years in prison. |
Goddessatlaw | Monday, December 30, 2002 - 11:15 am     Scary news. I'll post the FBI web site for their pictures next: "Feds Racing to Thwart 19-Man Terror Team" FBI website has some of the pictures: "Terror Team Pictures" |
Halfunit | Monday, December 30, 2002 - 11:18 am     GAL - I saw this last night. Today they are thinkng that these guys are in NY and NYC is beefing up patrol at Times Square. |
Goddessatlaw | Monday, December 30, 2002 - 11:22 am     I hope they're plastering pictures everywhere, Halfunit. |
Zachsmom | Monday, December 30, 2002 - 11:26 am     Why the HE!! does it take me 5 hours to get through security at an airport yet these 19 boneheads can waltz right in? I could understand maybe 1 slipping though but NINETEEN!!!!! |
Halfunit | Monday, December 30, 2002 - 12:05 pm     Z-mom - From what I can gather, they came across the border from Canada. I am assuming they drove. OT - I have been to Niagra Falls by car, and Toronto by plane. In both cases, I have had to go through Customs. Are there like a bunch of roads that cross the border where there are no checkpoints of any kind? I would think yes? |
Ginger1218 | Monday, December 30, 2002 - 12:20 pm     There are borders, but I don't think they check them as strongly as they should. I am sure they drove in, as opposed to flying in. |
Zachsmom | Monday, December 30, 2002 - 12:24 pm     So much for security.. |
Rissa | Monday, December 30, 2002 - 12:29 pm     Alritey. No-one here has said it yet but before anyone does... I have two cents to throw in. We went through this last year and it drove me INSANE!!!!!!!! So before anyone even thinks of making a comment about the Canadian border being lax can I just point out the following.... we do not let ANYONE into the USA!!!!! We would not, could not and have not allowed the freakin' POPE to enter the USA!!!!! It's American border guards who allow entry into the USA, just as it is Canadian border guards who allow entry into Canada. {taking deep breath} RFLMAO! I know after Sept. 11th, so many tv, radio and print kept making comments about these terrorists coming from Canada and it's our fault for having lax borders and it drove me nuts that no-one pointed out the obvious. We might have let the nuts into our country but Americans also let them into theirs. I don't see why we keep getting the blame. LOL Done with the rant... you may now proceed with previous scheduled programming. |
Crossfire | Monday, December 30, 2002 - 12:31 pm     Yay, a timely reminder Rissa, good stuff. |
Draheid | Monday, December 30, 2002 - 12:34 pm     Rissa: Just so you're aware, these individuals allegedly traveled through Britain, then through Canada before entering the USA. Now, I have no idea how they got into Britain, then into Canada, and yes, I would have to presume it was a failure on the part of USA security that enabled them to enter the USA. Soooooooooo, that being said, I don't think anyone is blaming anyone else here. The point is that they are wherever they are and must be apprehended as soon as possible. Just my - FWIW |
Ginger1218 | Monday, December 30, 2002 - 12:37 pm     Yes, absolutely USA too lax. Canada is not to blame at all. Just that Canada is so nice, it is hard to imagine bad people coming through there. ;) |
Halfunit | Monday, December 30, 2002 - 12:45 pm     Rissa -I wasn't saying anything about Canada, just that it's where these guys alledgedly came from. It's the US's fault that they got through if they crossed where there were "checkers". What I was asking more than anything though, is with the great amount of border that Canada and the States share, is every single road in and out watched? My guess is no, but I don't know for sure. I can picture roads in Montana (and elsewhere) that go back and forth and no one is there to check. That's all I was saying!!!  |
Rissa | Monday, December 30, 2002 - 12:48 pm     Oh I know Halfunit!!!!! I am sorry if it seemed otherwise, and Draheid, you are obviously a realist and an optimist. I was most definately referring to the mass media not the folks here. You would not believe what we were hearing up here after last year, so trust me when I tell you that if these 19 pull anything.... the media WILL be doing more than just hinting at that ole' Cdn border problem again. LOL Bill O'Reilly will probably be leading the charge if he can juggle that and trying to convince the Dutch that they owe him their liberation back in WWII. Ginger, if I ever want to fish for compliments... I am coming to you. Thank you. LOL |
Crossfire | Monday, December 30, 2002 - 12:52 pm     I am looking for that info right now Half. So far, I've found something called a CANPASS -Remote Area Border Crossing Permit which permits one (Canadian or American) to cross the border without checking into a port of entry so long as you declare any imports. It is limited on where you can use it, and I am trying to determine if those areas include cross border roads. And if they exists for all remote regions. The valid locations mentioned are: from Pigeon River through to and including Lake of the Woods the Canadian shore of Lake Superior Cockburn Island Still looking... |
Crossfire | Monday, December 30, 2002 - 12:53 pm     You just watch...just because of my snooping around for this info, I am going to have the RCMP, and the FBI busting my door down. |
Halfunit | Monday, December 30, 2002 - 12:53 pm     Rissa - your patriotism is duly noted! The only thing I blame Canada for is their overpriced funny cigarettes (in the funny boxes, not "funny" cigarettes!) and expensive Budweiser. But the Labatt Blue is cheap!!! (Ed to add, Crossfire, you are something else!) (Double Ed - I know that when we would boat on Lake Erie, we had to radio in to Canada that we were docking and had to call in on a phone once we arrived. Now, we were honest. It would be simple for less than honest people to use the Great Lakes for less than desirable purposes, although this time of year would not be optimal! ) |
Rissa | Monday, December 30, 2002 - 12:57 pm     Halfunit... you pay for what you get. |
Zachsmom | Monday, December 30, 2002 - 01:00 pm     Rissa, I dont' think anyone was or would blame Canada for letting these boneheads in (it's not Canadas job!!)..I am discusted with the USA for letting them in!!! |
Ginger1218 | Monday, December 30, 2002 - 01:07 pm     Ok Crossfire, just send them to us, we will vouch for you. LOL |
Northstar | Monday, December 30, 2002 - 01:23 pm     Crossfire, you are on it. I grew up in northern Minnesota and things use to be pretty lax near those areas. In order to get to the "good" fishing spots, you had to drive on back roads through Canada and then back down to State's side Lake of the Woods. It was a snap. However, I'm happy to report it's a bit tighter now. I spoke with my brother, who went fishing a few times last week, and he said he was stopped everytime. I had an experience this past summer where I almost didn't get back into the US cuz I only had my drivers license along. I grew up on the border town and only got back in because I was able to name a bunch of people (and their wife and kids names) from my hometown that worked as Border Patrols. If those mean men are determined enough, well..we can only hope they'll be stopped. |
Crossfire | Monday, December 30, 2002 - 01:31 pm     Excellent stuff. It's actually something I've wondered about myself. Being tied down in Toronto all my life, I just could not fathom mega border crossing points running the length, and wondered how it was handled. Anyone want to have a look at the area, I found a Lake of the woods webcam. Scroll down just a bit for the big pic. They are not kidding when they say Remote Area. Looks pretty cool if not a bit chilly. |
Babyruth | Monday, December 30, 2002 - 03:19 pm     You don't need to find a back road or rural entry point. We crossed from Detroit into Windsor and back this weekend (Ambassador Bridge), and neither US nor Canadian officials asked for ID or even said Boo. Just "whatcha doing? and "have a great day". I was pissed. |
Crossfire | Monday, December 30, 2002 - 03:34 pm     No sh*t? Right at the Windsor crossing eh? Now we know how the guys got out/in. Last time that site came up in the news for me, was several months ago, and people were hopping mad that it was taking too long to cross the border there...big semi-trucks lined up everywhere. I recall there were some Canadian and US politicians meeting to try and resolve the problem. Waving everyone through, was not what I had in mind. |
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