Thursday, May 24, 2012

Gabriel Amorth, the Roman Catholic Church’s leading exorcist, has suggested missing schoolgirl Emanuela Orlandi was kidnapped for sexual abuse at orgies attended by foreign diplomats and arranged by Vatican police. Orlandi was fifteen when she vanished in 1983.

Amorth, 85, who was appointed by the late Pope John Paul II, makes his remarks as Italian police try to determine if bones buried near the body of a mobster belong to Orlandi. Anonymous claims have suggested the tomb of Enrico “Renatino” De Pedis contains clues to her disappearance.

Investigators are examining bones removed from his burial site in the Basilica of Sant’Apollinare. Buried in a nearby crypt, the bones are thought to be centuries old but forensic tests are ongoing. One theory is Pedis kidnapped Orlandi to press Vatican officials over a financial dispute, with his onetime lover claiming her body was disposed of in a cement mixer.

Amorth refutes this explanation, and also an alleged “international dimension”; another theory is that the kidnapping was to try and secure freedom for Mehmet Ali Agca of Turkey, who shot at the pope in 1981. Orlandi’s vanishing “was a crime with a sexual motive” says Amorth. “Parties were organised, with a Vatican gendarme [policeman] acting as the ‘recruiter’ of the girls.”

He further told La Stampa “The network involved diplomatic personnel from a foreign embassy to the Holy See. I believe Emanuela ended up a victim of this circle”. “It has already previously been stated by [the late] monsignor Simeone Duca, an archivist at the Vatican, who was asked to recruit girls for parties with the help of the Vatican gendarmes.”

Orlandi has not been seen since she set off from the family apartment in the Vatican City, heading for a Rome music lesson. Orlandi’s father worked for the Holy See. Amorth is a controversial priest who lays claim to thousands of exorcisms and has criticised activities such as yoga and children reading Harry Potter books as spiritually harmful.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

The parliament of Indonesia has approved government plans to make an Initial Public Offering (IPO) of shares in three major state-owned firms, privatising them. They are steelmaker Krakatau Steel, Bank Tabungan Negara (BTN) and national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia.

The parliament has left the process fully in the hands of the government, and has set the maximum stake to be sold at 30% for BTN and Krakatau, and 40% for Garuda. Although Indonesia has been known to fund budget deficits with privatisation, the intention is for the funds from this scheme to go to the businesses themselves to allow expansion.

Krakatau expects 3.2 trillion Rupiah (IDR) from the sale, while the estimated price for their stock is between IDR3 and IDR4 trillion (321 – 428 million USD). Both ArcelorMittal SA, the biggest steelmaker in the world, and BlueScope Steel Ltd, the largest in Australia, have expressed an interest in the IPO. Krakatau will use the funds to help finance an expansion scheme which aims to have production doubled to five million tonnes in 2011.

BTN, which focuses on home owner loans, has set itself a target income of IDR36.12 trillion (3.86 billion USD) in 2010 compared to a projected IDR22.9 trillion ( 2.45 billion USD) this year. Net profit for this year is projected at IDR472 billion (50.5 million USD)and is hoped to rise to IDR1.39 trillion (148.7 million USD) in 2010. The bank’s loan to deposit ratio is predicted to rise from 105.05% this year to 144.93% in 2012. BTN hopes to conduct its IPO before the end of 2008.

Garuda is not quite 100% state-owned to start with, unlike the other two, but is very close with 95.44% of the company belonging to the government. Like all of Indonesia’s 51 airlines, Garuda is on the list of air carriers banned in the EU due to safety concerns raised after a string of air accidents in the nation. Garuda expects to raise IDR4.2 trillion (449.4 million USD) in funds from the IPO, and will use IDR2.5 trillion (267.5 million USD) to pay off its debts and invest IDR1.7 trillion (181.9 million USD) in new aircraft.

The government is still working to get a deal to make IPOs for architectural firm Yodya Karya and three plantation firms called Perkebunan Nusantara III, IV and VII.

Wednesday, May 18, 2005File:Bush Embassy photo.jpg

On May 10 while visiting Georgia’s capital Tbilisi a live hand grenade landed within 100 feet of United States President George W. Bush.

The grenade was wrapped in a dark plaid cloth handkerchief. According to Brian Paarmann, the FBI’s legal attache at the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi, it was “tossed in the general direction of the main stage” about 1:30 p.m., right after Bush began speaking, and landed less than 100 feet from the podium. The grenade reportedly bounced off a child’s cap and then was removed by a Georgian security officer.

The White House initially stated that the president was in no real danger, however the event has lead to a review of security measures at presidential events.

An FBI official at the U.S. embassy in Georgia confirms that an explosive device was thrown, but due to a malfunction it failed to detonate. “This hand grenade appears to be a live device that simply failed to function due to a light strike on the blasting cap induced by a slow deployment of the spoon activation device,” the FBI stated.

The FBI is still investigating the incident. According to their report the device failed to explode because of a malfunction. “The activation device deployed too slowly to hit the blasting cap hard enough,” agent Bryan Paarmann said. A 20,000 laris (US$10,978) reward is offered for information leading to the arrest of the person responsible.

The grenade was a knock-off of a Soviet-designed RGD-5, which has a lethal range of about 100 feet. “We consider this act to be a threat against the health and welfare of both the president of the United States and the president of Georgia as well as the multitude of Georgian people that had turned out at this event,” Paarmann said. It had initially been believed to be a non-explosive model used for military training.

Monday, August 16, 2010

US president Barack Obama has endorsed permitting a mosque to be built a few blocks away from the site where Al Qaeda terrorists intentionally crashed two planes into the World Trade Center towers in 2001, otherwise known as ‘Ground Zero’. The site is located in New York City.

Obama, who stated his endorsement at an annual dinner celebrating the Islamic holiday of Ramadan, said, “As a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country. That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances. This is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakable.”

Reaction to the presidential endorsement was mixed. New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, a staunch supporter of building the Cordoba House Islamic Center, has said that Obama’s comments were a “clarion defense of the freedom of religion.” However, many Republicans were angry, including US Representative Peter King, Republican-New York, who said that “President Obama is wrong.” Conservative commentator Charles Krauthammer stated that “the governor of New York offered to help find land to build the mosque elsewhere. A mosque really seeking to build bridges … would accept the offer.” Other right-wing politicians, including Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich, have opposed the mosque, calling the World Trade Center site “hallowed ground.”

Monday, November 28, 2005

SpaceX called off the much-delayed inaugural launch of their new Falcon 1 rocket on Saturday from Kwajalein’s Omelek Island launch site. The intent was to launch the U.S. Air Force Academy’s FalconSat 2 satellite, which will monitor plasma interactions with the Earth’s upper atmosphere and magnetosphere.

The launch was delayed, then finally cancelled after an oxygen boil-off vent had accidentally been left open. The oxygen was unable to cool the helium pressurant, which then proceeded to evaporate faster than it could be replenished. A main computer issue, probably serious enough to cause a scrub on its own, was also discovered.

This long-anticipated flight was originally expected to be launched in January 2005, however a series of setbacks forced a series of delays, with the flight most recently scheduled to be in early 2006. It was intended to be launched from the Kwajalein atoll in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

The maiden voyage was originally intended to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California with a Naval Research Laboratory satellite and a Space Services Incorporated space burial payload.

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Women’s rights advocate and Georgetown University Law Center graduate Sandra Fluke announced her candidacy yesterday to run for the California State Senate.

The Democrat previously stated she would run for a seat in the United States Congress being vacated by retiring Congressman Henry Waxman. She informed the Los Angeles Times that she decided to run for the California State Senate instead of the U.S. Congress because she felt she would be able to accomplish more for the people of California as a state Senator.

She will attempt to gain election to the seat currently occupied by Ted Lieu, a Democrat from Torrance, California. Lieu is currently in the beginning of his own campaign for Congressman Waxman’s seat representing California’s 33rd congressional district.

In a release to the press, Fluke said: “I am extremely moved by the outpouring of local and national support I have received since I announced that I was considering running for office. My entire career has been devoted to the public interest, whether representing victims of human trafficking or advocating for working families.”

She described her intentions for the California legislature: “I am committed to continuing that fight in Sacramento, working to protect our environment, ensure our access to health care, and create the jobs that are desperately needed. While I strongly considered offering my candidacy for Congress, I feel there is a better way for me to advance the causes that are important to our community.”

Fluke characterized herself as a new voice for progressivism: “I believe that the families and communities of this district — from West Hollywood to West L.A. and from Santa Monica to Torrance and beyond — deserve to have a fresh perspective from a new generation of progressive leadership in Sacramento, and I am eager to get to work fighting for the causes that matter most to our future as a community, state and nation.”

After graduating from law school, Fluke moved to Los Angeles where she used her skills as a lawyer to help improve conditions for individuals related to improving the living wage and advocating for better foster care for children.

Fluke was nominated as a candidate by Time magazine for their Person of the Year of 2012. Time concluded Fluke helped give U.S. President Barack Obama an edge in his 2012 presidential re-election campaign.

Fluke was a featured speaker on September 5, 2012 at the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. Fluke spoke to attendees at the convention about the consequences for women of electing Republican candidate for U.S. President Mitt Romney over incumbent President Barack Obama. Fluke campaigned with President Obama in his bid for re-election.

She was recognized April 22, 2012 with the Stand Up for Choice Award. Fluke was given the Stand Up for Choice Award at the “Third Annual Multi-Generational Brunch” of the organization NARAL Pro-Choice America which was held in New York City (NYC), New York in the United States.

Fluke received a nomination in March 2012 as a candidate for Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world. The list is released annually as a special edition of Time magazine, titled Time 100.

She gave testimony to the US Congress on February 23, 2012 before the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee at a hearing about women’s health and contraception. She also worked for Sanctuary for Families in NYC which worked to crack down on human trafficking and domestic violence.

Friday, February 19, 2021

A series of winter blasts have struck the US state of Texas in recent days, leaving at least ten people dead in the aftermath. On Wednesday, the second wave of the storms impacted utilities and water systems, with cities asking citizens to conserve water usage. Reports early Wednesday indicated more than two and a half million homes and businesses were without power. Texas is the only one of the 48 contiguous US states with its own separate power grid.

One media source indicated carbon monoxide poisoning killed a mother and her child in the city of Houston. A house fire killed a woman and three children in the city of Sugar Land. The storm has impacted shipments of COVID-19 vaccine, according to at least one report. Citizens were asked to conserve usage of electricity where possible. Reports from the city of Tyler indicate roads were nearly impassible on Monday and Tuesday due to ice and snow.

Earlier in the month, winter conditions contributed to a massive vehicle pile up in the city of Fort Worth, taking the lives of at least five people. Some victims were trapped in their vehicles for hours, awaiting rescue. During a press briefing, an emergency services official said this was a once-in-a-lifetime event.