Month: April 2014
A SWAT team in Florida decided to test their new military equipment by breaking into someone’s home on Friday.
Fascists: A SWAT team in Florida decided to test their new military equipment by breaking into someone’s home on Friday.
After conducting surveillance and gathering information for a judge to sign a search warrant, LPD called in its SWAT team to execute the warrant at a house on Empress Way in the neighborhood near Kelly Recreation Center, Sgt. Mike Lewis said. “We did not know if anyone was inside and we had information that the persons involved were armed,” Lewis said. “It was a safety issue.”
It was an opportunity for police to see how well their newly acquired Lenco BearCat armored vehicle would perform. City commissioners last year approved the purchase of the 22,000-pound bullet-resistant vehicle to replace a 1967 armored vehicle. The BearCat features new technologies, air-conditioning, cameras and seating for 12 officers instead of six.
On Friday, the SWAT team drove the BearCat down Lakeland streets and onto the front lawn of the house. The officers crouched behind and inside the vehicle, unsure of what was inside the house. The officers used tactical maneuvers to blow out the front windows, leaving curtains lying in the yard, and they gained entry into the attached garage.
From the story, it is very unclear whether they found any incriminating evidence at all. Mostly, it sounds like a bunch of stormtroopers getting a chance to play with their toys at the expense of an innocent private citizen.
The Forest Service has seized the property and cattle of a New Mexico rancher.
The Forest Service has seized the property and cattle of a New Mexico rancher.
Read the story. It will remind you of the Bundy fight in Nevada, with the same elements of government overreach to destroy a rancher. The Forest Service might have the law on its side, but it sure sounds like the law is quite unjust in this case.
Some additional details about SpaceX’s effort Friday to bring the first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket back to Earth gently.
Some additional details about SpaceX’s effort Friday to bring the first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket back to Earth gently.
They have not yet released a full report, but it appears that the company has made progress. They were able to control the stage’s spinning as it descended, and it apparently was still functioning after it hit the water.
Orbital Sciences is considering three different bids to provide the company new engines for its Antares rocket.
Orbital Sciences is considering three different bids to provide the company new engines for its Antares rocket.
The engine presently used is from a stock of refurbished Russian engines first built in the late 1960s for the Soviet Union’s N1 rocket, designed to send humans to the Moon.
Dragon has successfully reached orbit.
Dragon has successfully reached orbit.
No word on the attempt to bring the first stage down to the water under controlled conditions. One announcement during launch said the video was good and that the stage’s first burn was successful.
SpaceX has completed the first vertical flight of the Falcon 9R landing test rocket.
The competition heats up: SpaceX has successfully completed the first vertical flight of the Falcon 9R landing test rocket.
Reports have been confirmed that SpaceX’s Falcon 9-R development vehicle made its first free flight today at McGregor — taking off, hovering, moving sideways and landing.
Falcon 9R is the successor to Grasshopper, carrying more engines to more accurately simulate a Falcon 9 first stage.
Meanwhile, today’s launch of Dragon and the second attempt to bring the first stage back to Earth in a controlled manner remains iffy because of weather.
LADEE hits the moon.
When asked if Arizona’s gun laws need changing, 86% chose the answer “We have too many laws, and most of them should be eliminated.”
We have consensus! When asked if Arizona’s gun laws need changing, 86% chose the answer “We have too many laws, and most of them should be eliminated.”
Only 5% of those polled thought stronger gun laws were necessary.
The irony here is that the story at which this newspaper poll is being taken is about a protest by a Tucson gun control group. They might be noisy, but these gun control protestors are very much in the minority, despite any claims they might make.
What happens to you if you decide you wish to control the education your children get in a public school
What happens to you if you decide you want to control the education your children get in a public school.
In addition to the repeated refusal of school officials to obey your commands, you get approached by police officers who tell you that you are trespassing on school property, even though you are there as per a pre-arranged appointment with the school principal.
The crashes that changed aviation and plane designs forever.
The crashes that changed aviation and plane designs forever.
Like the 1964 Alaska earthquake, sometimes bad things have to happen to force humans to face a problem and fix it.
How the 1964 Alaska Earthquake shook up geology.
How the 1964 Alaska Earthquake shook up geology.
Sometimes the shake-up isn’t physical it is mental. In this case, the 1964 Alaska quake forced geologists to finally take serious the theory of continental drift and plate tectonics.