LAWYERBRUCE

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

The White Sox leftfielder has put a spoke in the wheel!

AprIL 12, 2011

BRUCE A. BRENNAN BLOG FROM THE WORLD AND MY MIND

The news as I see it and the views as I want them.

April 12 is … Look Up At the Sky Day

The Civil War started 150 years ago today. It is still the most important event to occur in our collective history. Other than Jesus Christ, Abraham Lincoln has more books written about him than any other person in history.

April 1861, The Attack on Fort Sumter.

When President Lincoln planned to send supplies to Fort Sumter, he alerted the state in advance, in an attempt to avoid hostilities. South Carolina, however, feared a trick; the commander of the fort, Robert Anderson, was asked to surrender immediately. Anderson offered to surrender, but only after he had exhausted his supplies. His offer was rejected, and on April 12, the Civil War began with shots fired on the fort. Fort Sumter eventually was surrendered to South Carolina. For a great Civil War timeline and resource, go to this web site:

http://international.loc.gov/ammem/cwphtml/tl1861.html

Rock Around the Clock while looking at the sky, you might see Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. Bill Haley and His Comets recorded Rock Around the Clock for Decca Records on this day in 1954. The song was recorded at the Pythian Temple, “a big, barnlike building with great echo,” in New York City. Rock Around the Clock was formally released a month later. Most rock historians feel the tune, featured in the 1955 film Blackboard Jungle, ushered in the era of rock ’n’ roll. It hit number one on June 29, 1955 and stayed there for eight weeks, remaining on the charts for a total of 24 weeks. Rock Around the Clock was not Haley’s first recording, however. He had waxed three other songs, all for Decca: Shake, Rattle and Roll, Dim, Dim the Lights, and Mambo Rock. And, through 1974, Haley and his group charted 14 hits, including, See You Later, Alligator from 1956. Rock Around the Clock was re-released in 1974. On its second run it made it to number 30 on the pop charts. Haley died of a heart attack in Harlingen, TX on February 9, 1981. He was posthumously awarded the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1982 for Rock Around the Clock. The record has now sold over 25,000,000 copies.

Go to this web site. It has a tax calculator that will show you how much money Governor Milquetoast’s tax increase will cost you. http://www.illinoispolicy.org/

HELP WANTED: A leftfielder with ability to catch the baseball under normal circumstances. Ability to hit over .200 a plus but not required. Apply to: Chicago White Sox, c/o Ozzie Guillen, 35^th and Shields, Chicago, IL. Good pay, nice benefits package. Must be able to travel.

Blonde and the lawyer:

There was a blonde who found she was sitting next to a Lawyer on an airplane. The lawyer just kept bugging the blonde wanting her to play a game of intelligence. Finally, the lawyer offered her 10 to 1 odds, and said every time the blonde could not answer one of his questions, she owed him $5.00, but every time he could not answer hers, he'd give her $50.00. The lawyer figured he could not lose, and the blonde reluctantly accepted.

The lawyer first asked, "What is the distance between the Earth and the nearest star?"

Without saying a word the blonde handed him $5.00. Then the blonde asked, "What goes up a hill with 3 legs and comes back down the hill with 4 legs?"

Well, the lawyer looked puzzled. He took several hours, looking up everything he could on his laptop and even placing numerous air-to-ground phone calls trying to find the answer. Finally, angry and frustrated, he gave up and paid the blonde $50.00

The blonde put the $50 into her purse without comment, but the lawyer insisted, "What is the answer to your question?"

Without saying a word, the blonde handed him $5.

On this date in 1833 Charles Gaylor patented the fireproof safe in New York City. The safes are widely used to protect everything from priceless art to sensitive computer software. Some safes can burn at 1,700 degrees Fahrenheit for an hour and the contents will still be as cool as a cucumber. Other units can sustain heat up to 400-500 degrees for about the same time without damaging the valuable contents within.

Do you know why we say ‘Cool as a Cucumber’? If someone is as cool as a cucumber, they don't get worried by anything. I have also heard the phrase comes from the fact a cucumber growing on the vine is up to 20 degrees cooler than the outside temperature.

Pork in Illinois; Download a booklet at this web site titled, 2010 Illinois Piglet Book. http://www.illinoispolicy.org/uploads/files/2010PigletBook.pdf

More western slang and curse words:

Lunger ~ slang for someone with tuberculosis.

Make a mash ~ make a hit, impress someone. (Usually a female.) "Buck's tryin' to make a mash on that new girl."

Mudsill ~ low-life, thoroughly disreputable person.

Nailed to the counter ~ proven a lie.

Namby-pamby ~ sickly, sentimental, saccharin.

Odd stick ~ eccentric person. "Ol' Farmer Jones sure is an odd stick."

Of the first water ~ first class. "He's a gentleman of the first water."

Offish ~ distant, reserved, aloof.

Oh-be-joyful ~ Liquor, beer, intoxicating spirits. "Give me another snort of that oh-be-joyful."

On the shoot ~ looking for trouble. "Looks like he's on the shoot, tonight."

Pass the buck ~ evade responsibility.

Pay through the nose ~ to over-pay, or pay consequences.

Peter out ~ dwindle away.

Play to the gallery ~ to show off. "That's just how he is, always has to play to the gallery."

Played out ~ exhausted.

Plunder ~ personal belongings. "Pack your plunder, Joe, we're headin' for San Francisco."

Pony up ~ hurry up!

Powerful ~ very. "He's a powerful rich man."

Promiscuous ~ reckless, careless. "He was arrested for a promiscuous display of fire arms."

Proud ~ glad. "I'm proud to know you."

Pull in your horns ~ back off, quit looking for trouble.

Put a spoke in the wheel ~ to foul up or sabotage something.

Quirley ~ roll-your-own cigarette.

Rich ~ amusing, funny, improbable. "Oh, that's rich!"

Ride shank's mare ~ to walk or be set afoot.

Right as a trivet ~ right as rain, sound as a nut, stable.

Rip ~ reprobate. "He's a mean ol' rip."

Roostered ~ drunk. "Looks like those cowboys are in there gettin' all roostered up."

See the elephant ~ originally meant to see combat for the first time, later came to mean going to town, where all the action was.

Scoop in ~ trick, entice, inveigle. "He got scooped into a poker game and lost his shirt."

Scuttlebutt ~ rumors.

Shave tail ~ a green, inexperienced person.

Shin out ~ run away.

Shindy ~ uproar, confusion.

Shoddy ~ poor quality.

Shoot, Luke, or give up the gun ~ poop or get off the pot, do it or quit talking about it.

Shoot one's mouth off ~ talk nonsense, untruth. "He was shootin' his mouth off and Bill gave him a black eye."

Shove the queer ~ to pass counterfeit money.

Simon pure ~ the real thing, a genuine fact. "This is the Simon pure."

Skedaddle ~ run like hell.

BRUCE A. BRENNAN

DEKALB, IL 60115

VISIT ANY OF THE SITES LISTED FOR REVIEW, RESEARCH, ORDERING MY WRITING PRODUCTS OR TO CONTACT ME.

Email: brucebrennanlaw@aol.com

http://www.brucebrennanlaw.com/

www.lawyerbruce.wordpress.com

www.brucebrennanattorney.com

www.bruceabrennananddekalbilandtheworld.blogspot.com

www.lawyerbruce.blogspot.com

www.lawofficeofbruceabrennan.yolasite.com

www.lawyerbruceabrennan.com

http://lawofficeofbruceabrennan.law.officelive.com

http://lawofficeofbruceabrennan.webs.com

http://www.lawyerbruceabrennan.webstarts.com

http://www.linkedin.com/in/attorneybruceabrennan

Go to web sites below to buy books by Bruce A. Brennan. It is still a good time to purchase any of my books. The books are interesting and inexpensive reads. My third book should be available later this year, in late 2011. More information will be forthcoming.

http://www.ebookmall.com/ (Do search by my name or book Title)

www.barnesandnoble.com (do a quick search, Title, my name)

www.smashwords.com Do a Title or author search.

www.kobo.com

https://dtp.amazon.com/mn/dashboard

Book Titles:

Holmes the Ripper

A Revengeful Mix of Short Fiction

"Ask yourself whether you are happy, and you cease to be so. The only chance is to treat, not happiness, but some end external to it, as the purpose of life." - John Stuart Mil

Monday, April 11, 2011

What was your favorite eight-track tape?

April 11, 2011

BRUCE A. BRENNAN BLOG FROM THE WORLD AND MY MIND

The news as I see it and the views as I want them.

April 11 is … Eight-Track Tape Day

My favorite eight-track tape was The Best f The Guess Who. I always related with the Canuck, Burton Cummings.

Teen age slaughter; it’s everywhere. Shots rang out in a suburban Philadelphia social hall where a teenage party was being held, killing two people and sending eight others to hospitals, authorities said Saturday. Police in Chester, where a state of emergency was declared last summer because of crime concerns, said a suspect was taken into custody after officers were called to the Minaret Temple No. 174 around 11:30 p.m. Friday and found "numerous victims." Police said nine people were transported to Crozer Chester Medical Center, where a spokesman said one died soon afterward and another died Saturday afternoon. Four other victims remained in stable condition, and three had been discharged, the spokesman said. A 10th person was treated at Taylor Hospital and was released.

The social hall had been rented for a party, and many teenagers were present when the shots were fired, police said. Detectives were investigating the cause of the shooting and declined to release further information. A man answering the phone at the hall said he had come in to see the condition of the building but declined to comment further. The Delaware County Daily Times newspaper said neighbors and community leaders planned a candlelight vigil at the scene Saturday night. Mayor Wendell Butler told The Associated Press that he was disheartened to arrive at the scene after the shooting and find 13-year-olds from Philadelphia who had come for the party.

"I asked one of them, 'How did you know about this?' He said, 'It was on Facebook,'" Butler said. "I said, 'Does your mother know where you are?' It's like 11 o'clock at night. He tells me she doesn't care. And I said, 'Oh, my goodness. I guess that's part of the problem.'" Last summer, Butler declared a state of emergency and a 9 p.m. curfew was imposed in problem areas of the city, which has nearly 40,000 residents, after a rash of shootings left four people dead in eight days. The city, about 15 miles south of Philadelphia, ended up with two dozen homicides last year, a 60 percent increase over the previous year and four short of the all-time high number in 1993. Police said the illegal drug trade was the source of much of the violence, while others have blamed easy access to firearms. The mayor has said such shootings are often retaliation for other violence.

Butler said in his State of the City address at the end of last month that the state of emergency and an anti-violence campaign helped stem the bloodshed and prompted an increase in residents providing information to police. He touted a decrease in crime this year and a pilot project to install a new set of surveillance cameras in areas of high crime this summer.

This happens in other countries. This is a news story from the Netherlands. A man armed with a machine gun opened fire in a crowded shopping mall on Saturday, killing six people and wounding 15, then committed suicide, officials and witnesses said. Children were among the casualties, but authorities were not prepared to say whether they were among the dead or the injured, or both, due to privacy considerations, said Mayor Bas Eenhoorn. Three of the wounded were hospitalized in critical condition. After the rampage, the attacker shot himself in the head at the Ridderhof mall in Alphen aan den Rijn, a suburb 19 miles (30 kilometers) southwest of Amsterdam. "It's too terrible for words, a shock for us all," said Eenhoorn. The gunman was identified under Dutch privacy laws as 24-year-old Tristan van der V., and it was "all but certain" he acted alone, District Attorney Kitty Nooy said. She said he was a native Dutchman from Alphen who had previous run-ins with the law, including an illegal weapons possession charge that was dropped. He had a gun license, Nooy said. She said notes had been found in both the shooter's house and his car, but she could not say whether they indicated a possible motive for the rampage and suicide - or whether they contained threats. Two hours after the shooting, Eenhoorn ordered several other malls in the town evacuated, but he would not elaborate on the reason. Dutch television broadcasters showed a bomb squad searching a black Mercedes parked outside the Ridderhof mall that is believed to have belonged to the shooter. A witness identified as Maart Verbeek told state broadcaster NOS the attacker appeared to be firing randomly. "There was a panic in the mall, a lot of people running," said Verbeek, a pet shop owner. "I see the attacker coming, walking, and I go inside the store ... and I see him going by with a big machine gun."

Witness Martine Spruit, a 41-year-old receptionist, told The Associated Press she was shopping at a drug store when she heard bangs and people in the store hid behind shelves. When they realized a shooting was taking place, customers shouted for employees to lock the doors.

"Then we heard the shots getting further away, so he was walking back and forth," she said. "Then we thought we'd have a look and there were two people lying dead near the entrance... Then he came back shooting so we locked the door again."

Queen Beatrix and Prime Minister Mark Rutte issued statements saying they were shocked and sympathize with the victims and their families.

Hours after the shooting, residents continued to gather at the mall, some of whom appeared to be in a daze. "You hear about this sort of thing happening at American schools and you think that's a long way away," said Rob Kuipers, 50, a project manager. "Now it's happened here in the Netherlands." Nooy said there was "no evidence" to support rumors that the gunman was a former soldier or that his mother or father had been among the dead or wounded Saturday.

Witnesses said the attacker had long blond hair and wore a black jacket and camouflage pants. A resident who lives near the mall who gave his name as Marijn said the shooting went on for minutes. When he went to see whether friends working at the mall were OK, he saw the assailant lying dead in a grocery store. "There was glass everywhere," the resident said. "He was just shooting everywhere as if it were the Wild West." Images published by the NOS showed the body of the gunman lying near a checkout counter. With his voice choking at times, Mayor Eenhoorn described the incident as a "disaster of unparalleled proportions" for Alphen, known as a quiet residential suburb. The deadly attack also occurred during one of the region's first sunny days of spring, so many people were out and about. "Under these circumstances, with many people shopping at the Ridderhof today, including parents with children, it's an almost incomprehensible situation," he said.

One unidentified witness on NOS TV said he saw the shooter change magazines of his machine gun and continues to fire. Police commissioner Jan Stikvoort denied reports police were slow to respond, saying they arrived while the shooting was ongoing and reached the gunman just as the shooting stopped. Although rare, shootings and violence are not unknown in the Netherlands. In 1999, four students and a teacher were hurt in a school shooting and in 2004, a teacher was shot dead by a student. There also have been two assassinations in the past decade, the 2002 killing of right wing politician Pim Fortuyn by an animal rights activist, and the 2004 murder of filmmaker Theo van Gogh by an Islamic extremist. In 2009, a loner drove his car into a group of bystanders during a royal parade, killing eight and wounding 10. Gun permits are difficult to obtain in the Netherlands, but illegal automatic weapons and ammunition are frequently seized during drug busts.

Two people were killed in Alphen in a drug-related shooting several weeks ago. Nooy said investigators do not believe the incidents are linked. She said investigators were trying to trace the gun or guns used in the attack.

BRUCE A. BRENNAN

DEKALB, IL 60115

VISIT ANY OF THE SITES LISTED FOR REVIEW, RESEARCH, ORDERING MY WRITING PRODUCTS OR TO CONTACT ME.

Email: brucebrennanlaw@aol.com

http://www.brucebrennanlaw.com/

www.lawyerbruce.wordpress.com

www.brucebrennanattorney.com

www.bruceabrennananddekalbilandtheworld.blogspot.com

www.lawyerbruce.blogspot.com

www.lawofficeofbruceabrennan.yolasite.com

www.lawyerbruceabrennan.com

http://lawofficeofbruceabrennan.law.officelive.com

http://lawofficeofbruceabrennan.webs.com

http://www.lawyerbruceabrennan.webstarts.com

http://www.linkedin.com/in/attorneybruceabrennan

http://www.ebookmall.com/ (Do search by my name or book Title)

www.barnesandnoble.com (do a quick search, Title, my name)

www.smashwords.com Do a Title or author search.

www.kobo.com

https://dtp.amazon.com/mn/dashboard

Book Titles:

Holmes the Ripper

A Revengeful Mix of Short Fiction

"The chains of habit are generally too small to be felt until they are too strong to be broken." - Samuel Johnson

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Golf and The Masters.

April 10, 2011

BRUCE A. BRENNAN BLOG FROM THE WORLD AND MY MIND

The news as I see it and the views as I want them.

April 10 is … Golfers Day

The reason it is Golfers Day is because of this is the day the PGA held its first tournament.

Inaugurated in 1916, the Professional Golfers Association (PGA) held its first championship tournament on this day. This first PGA Championship title went to Britisher, Jim Barnes. Barnes won the match-play event at Siwanoy golf course in Bronxville, NY and was presented with a trophy and the major share of the $2,580 purse. Much has changed in the PGA over the years since that spring day in 1916. The event was changed to a 72-hole, stroke-play game in 1958. The LPGA for women golfers was instituted in 1950 and the Senior PGA Tour for players 50 and older began in 1982. Two players have won the title five times: Walter Hagen and Jack Nicklaus. Hagen also holds the record for most consecutive wins from 1924 through 1927. The lowest 72-hole total of 271 was garnered by Bobby Nichols in 1964. The honor of being the oldest champion belongs to Julius Boros. He won in 1968 at the age of 48 plus 140 days; while Gene Sarazen was given the title of youngest champion. In 1922, Gene was just 20 years and 173 days old when he took home the PGA title. We won’t even mention what today’s PGA purses are worth. Of course, today is the last round of the 2011 Masters, the most prestigious tournament in the world. Fore!

You got to love those Texicans. Speedy drivers may find safe haven in Texas, which is considering raising its speed limit to a whopping 85 mph in some areas. At 80 mph, Texas' speed limit is already one of the highest in the nation, but the Texas House of Representatives has approved a bill that would raise that limit to 85 on certain roads in rural areas of the state. Motorists with a heavy foot may appreciate the greater freedom, but not everyone is on board. Some are worried the elevated speed limit may cause more accidents, particularly deadly ones, on the state's roadways. "This is a settled issue. When you raise speed limits, you have more accidents," Anne Fleming, spokeswoman for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, told AOL News today by phone. "Some people get where they're going faster, but some people will die." But Sheriff Mikel Strickland in Ward County, Texas, said a new law wasn't likely to have much effect in little populated areas. "We're really rural, so a lot of 'em are already driving 85 anyway," he said in a phone interview today. "80 is already pretty fast. I don't see much more impact." Strickland, however, said he is somewhat concerned that drivers may push their speeds past 85 mph. "If they raise it to 85, they're gonna drive 90," he said. In some areas of Utah, the speed limit is a swift 80 mph as well.

Texas also has a drive through lane for prisoners sentenced to die. “Kill ‘em and fill em’ is a nice Motto for the Department of Corrections. There are very few repeat visitors to death row in Texas. The condemned prisoners don’t even need to bother to have their mail forwarded.

1849 - Walter Hunt of New York City patented the safety pin. Most of us still use the device which comes in a variety of sizes and is quite handy to have around. Mr. Hunt, however, didn’t think so. He thought the safety pin to be a temporary convenience and sold the patent for a total of $400. Bet he could just ‘stick’ himself for doing that, safely, of course.

1970 - Officially resigning from The Beatles, Paul McCartney disbanded the most influential rock group in history at a public news conference. The Beatles hit, Let It Be, was riding high on the pop charts. The last recording for the group, The Long and Winding Road (also from the documentary film Let It Be), would be number one for two weeks beginning on June 13, bringing to a close one of contemporary music’s greatest dynasties.

The White Sox won again; not the Cubs.

Music at the top of the charts on April 10 through the years:

1948 Manana - Peggy Lee
Now is the Hour - Bing Crosby
I’m Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover - The Art Moonie Orchestra
Anytime - Eddy Arnold

1956 Heartbreak Hotel - Elvis Presley
The Poor People of Paris - Les Baxter
(You’ve Got) The Magic Touch - The Platters
Blue Suede Shoes - Carl Perkins

1964 Can’t Buy Me Love - The Beatles
Twist and Shout - The Beatles
Suspicion - Terry Stafford
Understand Your Man - Johnny Cash

1972 A Horse with No Name - America
The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face - Roberta Flack
I Gotcha - Joe Tex
My Hang-Up is You - Freddie Hart

1980 Another Brick in the Wall - Pink Floyd
Working My Way Back to You/Forgive Me, Girl - Spinners
Call Me - Blondie
Sugar Daddy - Bellamy Brothers

1988 Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car - Billy Ocean
Out of the Blue - Debbie Gibson
Devil Inside - INXS
Famous Last Words of a Fool - George Strait

BRUCE A. BRENNAN

DEKALB, IL 60115

VISIT ANY OF THE SITES LISTED FOR REVIEW, RESEARCH, ORDERING MY WRITING PRODUCTS OR TO CONTACT ME.

Email: brucebrennanlaw@aol.com

http://www.brucebrennanlaw.com/

www.lawyerbruce.wordpress.com

www.brucebrennanattorney.com

www.bruceabrennananddekalbilandtheworld.blogspot.com

www.lawyerbruce.blogspot.com

www.lawofficeofbruceabrennan.yolasite.com

www.lawyerbruceabrennan.com

http://lawofficeofbruceabrennan.law.officelive.com

http://lawofficeofbruceabrennan.webs.com

http://www.lawyerbruceabrennan.webstarts.com

http://www.linkedin.com/in/attorneybruceabrennan

http://www.ebookmall.com/ (Do search by my name or book Title)

www.barnesandnoble.com (do a quick search, Title, my name)

www.smashwords.com Do a Title or author search.

www.kobo.com

https://dtp.amazon.com/mn/dashboard

Book Titles:

Holmes the Ripper

A Revengeful Mix of Short Fiction

"The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it." - George Bernard Shaw

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Broken capaign promises.

April 9, 2011

BRUCE A. BRENNAN BLOG FROM THE WORLD AND MY MIND

The news as I see it and the views as I want them.

April 9 is … Winston Churchill Day and Name Yourself Day

Would you name yourself Winston Churchill? I would go with Goodanplenty Ofme.

Unfortunately we still have a Federal government. It is not working any better and we would often be better if it did shut down but it didn’t. The Tea Party and the Republicans blinked first.

The first paragraph of the AP story about the non-closure reads: Perilously close to a government shutdown, President Barack Obama and congressional leaders reached a historic agreement late Friday night to cut about $38 billion in federal spending and avert the first federal closure in 15 years.

What is “historic” about this? These morons did their job, although that could be “historic” in and of itself. I do not think this country is better off this morning than it was yesterday morning.

One more campaign promise broken by Obama. This one was broken over a year ago with a new promise made. Now that promise is being broken. Obama is finding out it is harder to govern than it is to campaign. The Obama administration would keep U.S. troops in Iraq beyond the agreed final withdrawal date of Dec. 31, 2011, if the Iraqi government wanted them, but the Iraqis need to decide "pretty quickly" in order for the Pentagon to accommodate the extension, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday during what he said probably is his final visit to this war-torn country. Whether to negotiate an extended U.S. military presence is up to the Iraqis, he said, adding that he thought an extension might make sense. "We are willing to have a presence beyond (2011), but we've got a lot of commitments," he said, not only in Afghanistan and Libya but also in Japan, where he said 19 U.S. Navy ships and about 18,000 U.S. military personnel are assisting in earthquake, tsunami and nuclear reactor relief efforts.

U.S. now has about 47,000 troops in Iraq, and they will begin leaving in large numbers in late summer or early fall. The U.S. led an invasion in March 2003 that toppled the government of President Saddam Hussein a month later, but an insurgency soon set in and the U.S. got mired in a conflict that has lasted far longer - and cost far more American and Iraqi lives - than Washington had anticipated. Gates also said civil unrest in the Persian Gulf kingdom of Bahrain, with majority Shiite Muslims pushing for an end to rule by the minority Sunnis, has created tensions in Iraq, whose Shiite prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, is concerned about Bahrain's crackdown on Shiites. Gates said he expected to discuss this subject with al-Maliki in private meetings.

More broken campaign promises by Obama and further evidence he went through life with his head in the sand. The walls of this world need to be guarded in order to keep the bad guys at bay. According to an AP story, secret prisons are being built and maintained by the Obama Administration, just like the ones he railed against during his campaign and anti-Bush rhetoric. "Black sites," the secret network of jails that grew up after the Sept. 11 attacks, are gone. But suspected terrorists are still being held under hazy circumstances with uncertain rights in secret, military-run jails across Afghanistan, where they can be interrogated for weeks without charge, according to U.S. officials who revealed details of the top-secret network to The Associated Press. The Pentagon has previously denied operating secret jails in Afghanistan, although human rights groups and former detainees have described the facilities. U.S. military and other government officials confirmed that the detention centers exist but described them as temporary holding pens whose primary purpose is to gather intelligence.

The Pentagon also has said that detainees only stay in temporary detention sites for 14 days, unless they are extended under extraordinary circumstances. But U.S. officials told the AP that detainees can be held at the temporary jails for up to nine weeks, depending on the value of information they produce. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the program is classified. The most secretive of roughly 20 temporary sites is run by the military's elite counterterrorism unit, the Joint Special Operations Command, at Bagram Air Base. It's responsible for questioning high-value targets, the detainees suspected of top roles in the Taliban, al-Qaida or other militant groups. The site's location, a short drive from a well-known public detention center, has been alleged for more than a year.

The secrecy under which the U.S. runs that jail and about 20 others is noteworthy because of President Barack Obama's criticism of the old network of secret CIA prisons where interrogators sometimes used the harshest available methods, including the simulated drowning known as waterboarding. Human rights advocates say the severest of the Bush-era interrogation methods are gone, but the conditions at the new interrogation sites still raise questions. Obama pledged when he took office that the United States would not torture anyone, but former detainees describe harsh treatment that some human rights groups claim borders on inhumane. More than a dozen former detainees claimed they were menaced and held for weeks at the Joint Special Operations Command site last year, forced to strip naked, then kept in solitary confinement in windowless, often cold cells with lights on 24 hours a day, according to Daphne Eviatar of the group Human Rights First, which interviewed them in Afghanistan. Eviatar said her monitoring group does not believe the JSOC facility is using the full range of Bush-era interrogation techniques, but she said there's a disturbing pattern of using fear and humiliation to soften up the suspects before interrogation.

Many of those interviewed said "they were forced to strip naked in front of other detainees, which is very humiliating for them," Eviatar said. "The forced nudity seems to be part of a pattern to make detainees feel disempowered." The detainees also reported that their interrogators told them they could be held indefinitely, the group said. Special Operations Command spokesman Col. Tim Nye denies the allegations, insisting the detainees are treated in accordance with U.S. detention laws, rewritten since the Bush era to prohibit the harshest interrogation techniques. "All detainees are treated humanely in compliance with all U.S. and international laws, including Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions," Nye wrote in an e-mail. U.S. officials in Afghanistan add that the top commander there, Gen. David Petraeus, insisted on opening the Joint Special Operations Command site to inspection by Afghan officials and the International Red Cross last summer. The International Red Cross has not responded to an AP inquiry about whether it had been allowed to visit the site. Petraeus wanted to force more openness on the JSOC, a secretive organization that runs special missions units within the military to perform highly classified activities, according to a senior official briefed on the program, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss classified matters. The official said part of Petraeus' logic was to ensure transparency to international monitoring bodies so the interrogations could continue because they are yielding intelligence that has helped quadruple special operations missions against militant targets. When suspected insurgents or terrorists are first captured, they are interrogated in the field to determine their status in the insurgent hierarchy and their usefulness in terms of local, tactical military intelligence, officials said. Detainees then can be held up to 14 days in a temporary facility before being either released or transferred to a public detention facility called Parwan that is jointly run by the United States and Afghanistan. The Parwan jail abuts the sprawling U.S. base at Bagram, north of Kabul, which also houses the secret "temporary" jail. Ordinary Taliban foot soldiers often provide useful information about how insurgent networks work, who runs them and who pays the bills, said Vice Adm. Robert Harward, who runs detention operations in Afghanistan. But if detainees can provide unusually valuable information on the location of a bomb-building factory or are willing to identify the local Taliban commander, their interrogators can ask to keep them longer.

After the first two weeks, the first extension is for three weeks, for reasons including "producing good tactical intel" to "too sick to move," according to a U.S. official familiar with the procedure. The next possible extension is for an additional month, adding up to a total of roughly nine weeks in temporary detention before battlefield interrogators have to appeal to the executive, either the defense secretary or the president himself, for another extension. The military has never pushed for that for any detainee, according to a former senior intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss classified matters. It's unclear how many detainees are being held at the temporary facilities at any one time. Detention spokesperson Capt. Pamela Kunze says the number is classified, but it represents only a small fraction of the total number of detainees. If evidence against the detainees proves solid, they are transferred to Parwan for eventual prosecution in Afghan courts. Last year, only 1,300 suspects out of 6,600 arrested across Afghanistan ended up at the Parwan detention facility, according to Harward. There are currently some 1,900 detainees being held at Parwan, which has a capacity of 2,600. Parwan will gradually be handed over to Afghan control. The status of the temporary facilities likely would be negotiated as part of a future security agreement, transitioning power to the government of Afghanistan.

White Sox still cannot catch the ball.

BRUCE A. BRENNAN

DEKALB, IL 60115

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Book Titles:

Holmes the Ripper

A Revengeful Mix of Short Fiction

"Kindness is not without its rocks ahead. People are apt to put it down to an easy temper and seldom recognize it as the secret striving of a generous nature; whilst, on the other hand, the ill-natured get credit for all the evil they refrain from." - Honore De Balzac

Friday, April 8, 2011

Maybe we should bomb Mexico to stop the killing of innocent citizens.

April 8, 2011

BRUCE A. BRENNAN BLOG FROM THE WORLD AND MY MIND

The news as I see it and the views as I want them.

April 8 is … All Is Ours Day

What is happening today? The White Sox won their home opener. They can hit the ball but chucking and catching the ball have proved troublesome.

It happens everywhere, unfortunately. A gunman opened fire at an elementary school in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday and at least 13 people were killed, including the shooter. It was not clear whether the gunman, who is believed to be a former student at the school, shot himself or was killed by police. At least 20 people, including children, were wounded in the shooting at the school for students aged 10 to 15, fire department spokesman Evandro Bezerra told the Globo television network. A fire department spokeswoman confirmed for The Associated Press that there were deaths, but she did not know how many. She spoke on condition of anonymity as she was not authorized to discuss the matter. Terrified parents rushed to the school and television images showed them crying and screaming for information about their children. The gunman was a 23-year-old man and former student at the school, a police spokeswoman told the AP. She also spoke on condition of anonymity, saying that she was not authorized to discuss the matter.

Local police commander Djalma Beltrame told Globo TV that the gunman left a letter at the scene indicating he wanted to kill himself, but that it did not give a clear motive for the shooting. Television images showed three helicopters landing on a football field next to the school and then ferrying the wounded to nearby hospitals. The shooting began about 8:30 a.m. local time (7:30 a.m. EDT; 1130 GMT). Witnesses said police responded quickly and traded fire with the gunman.

We should bomb Mexico. Apparently, many innocent people are being killed in that country and it is much closer than Libya. Another fact is we know this is happening not just working on our superior intelligence or lack thereof. Fifty-nine bodies were found buried Wednesday in a series of pits in the northern Mexico state of Tamaulipas, near the site where suspected drug gang members massacred 72 migrants last summer, officials said. Security forces investigating reports that a passenger bus had been hijacked in the area conducted a raid that netted 11 suspected kidnappers and freed five kidnap victims. Then they made a grisly discovery - a total of eight pits, containing a total of 59 corpses. One of the pits held 43 dead. The bodies are being examined to determine whether they were bus passengers who were reportedly abducted March 25, the Tamaulipas state government said in statement in which it "energetically condemned" the crimes.

The statement did not identify what drug gang, if any, that the 11 arrested suspects belonged to, or why they might have hijacked the bus. The pits were found in the farm hamlet of La Joya in the township of San Fernando, in the same area where the bodies of 72 migrants, most from Central America, were found shot to death Aug. 24 at a ranch. The area is about 80 miles (130 kilometers) from the border at Brownsville, Texas. Authorities blamed that massacre on the Zetas drug gang, which is fighting its one-time allies in the Gulf cartel for control of the region.

The victims in the August massacre were illegal immigrants from El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Ecuador and Brazil. An Ecuadorean and Honduran survived the attack, which Mexican authorities say occurred after the migrants refused to work for the cartel. Mexican drug cartels have taken to recruiting migrants, common criminals and youths, Mexican authorities say. It was unclear if the victims found Wednesday were migrants. Migrants frequently travel by bus in Mexico/ But drug gunmen also operate kidnapping rings, and erect roadblocks on highways in Tamaulipas and other northern states, where they hijack vehicles and rob and sometimes kill passengers. San Fernando is on a major highway that leads to the U.S. border. Drug gangs across Mexico also sometimes use mass graves to dispose of the bodies of executed rivals. The wave of drug-related killings - which has claimed more than 34,000 lives in the four years since the government launched an offensive against drug cartels - drew thousands of protesters into the streets of Mexico's capital and several other cities Wednesday in marches against violence. Many of the protesters said the government offensive has stirred up the violence. "We need to end this war, because it is a senseless war that the government started," said protester Alma Lilia Roura, 60, an art historian.

Several thousand people joined the demonstration in downtown Mexico City, chanting "No More Blood!" and "Not One More!" A similar number marched through the southern city of Cuernavaca. Parents marched with toddlers, and protesters held up signs highlighting the disproportionate toll among the nation's youth. "Today a student, tomorrow a corpse," read one sign carried by demonstrators. The marches were spurred in part by the March 28 killing of Juan Francisco Sicilia, the son of Mexican poet Javier Sicilia, and six other people in Cuernavaca. "We are putting pressure on the government, because this can't go on," said the elder Sicilia. "It seems that we are like animals that can be murdered with impunity." That sure is how it appears to the world.

Born on this date:

0563 -BC- Gautama Buddha (as celebrated in Japan-Kambutsue)

1963 Julian Lennon Liverpool England, John's son/singer (Too Late for Goodbyes)/subject of Beatles' "Hey Jude"

Important deaths on this date:

1947 Henry Ford US industrialist (Ford cars), dies

1973 Pablo (Ruiz y) Picasso Spanish/French painter (Guernica) dies near Mougins France at 91

1981 General Omar Bradley last 5-star General dies in New York at 88

Important events on this date throughout history:

1766 1st fire escape patented, wicker basket on a pulley & chain FAT CHANCE I’LL USE IT

1789 House of Representatives 1st meeting, also the last useful meeting

1865 General Robert E Lee surrenders at Appomattox Court House in Virginia

1963 Tigers claim young pitcher Denny McLain from the White Sox for $25,000

1968 40th Academy Awards postponed to April 10th due to death of Martin Luther King Jr
1968 Baseball's Opening Day is postponed because of Martin Luther King Jr assassination

1971 1st legal off-track betting system begins (OTB-New York)
1974 Hammerin' Hank Aaron hits 715th homerun, breaks Babe Ruth's record
1975 47th Academy Awards - "Godfather II", Ellen Burstyn & Art Carney win
1975 Frank Robinson debuts as 1st black baseball manager (Cleveland, beats New York 5-3)
1977 Israel premier Yitzhak Rabin resigns
1979 204th & final episode of "All in the Family"

1991 Jockey Bill Shoemaker paralyzed in a car accident

BRUCE A. BRENNAN

DEKALB, IL 60115

VISIT ANY OF THE SITES LISTED FOR REVIEW, RESEARCH, ORDERING MY WRITING PRODUCTS OR TO CONTACT ME.

Email: brucebrennanlaw@aol.com

http://www.brucebrennanlaw.com/

www.lawyerbruce.wordpress.com

http://www.brucebrennanattorney.com/

www.bruceabrennananddekalbilandtheworld.blogspot.com

www.lawyerbruce.blogspot.com

www.lawofficeofbruceabrennan.yolasite.com

www.lawyerbruceabrennan.com