October 1, 2015


News Clips For The Day


http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/official-at-least-7-dead-20-hurt-in-oregon-shooting/ar-AAf0Xnl?ocid=ansmsnnews11

Gunman opens fire at Oregon community college, killing 7
Associated Press
October 1, 2015 22 mins ago

Photograph -- Thursday, Oct. 1, 2015. Aaron Yost/Roseburg News-Review/AP© Aaron Yost/Roseburg News-Review/AP A patient is wheeled into the emergency room at Mercy Medical Center in Roseburg, Ore.,


ROSEBURG, Ore. (AP) — A gunman opened fire at an Oregon community college Thursday, killing at least seven people and wounding 20, authorities said.

The shooting happened at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, about 180 miles south of Portland. The local fire district advised people via Twitter to stay away from the school. It later tweeted that there were "multiple casualties" but did not elaborate.

State police Lt. Bill Fugate told KATU-TV that seven to 10 people were dead and at least 20 others hurt. A photographer for the Roseburg News-Review newspaper said he saw people being loaded into multiple ambulances and taken to the local hospital.

Andrea Zielinski, a spokeswoman for Douglas County Sheriff's office, told The Associated Press: "There's no more threat."

Zielinski would not say whether a suspect was apprehended or dead.

A patient is wheeled into the emergency room at Mercy Medical Center in Roseburg, Ore., following a deadly shooting at Umpqua Community College, in Roseburg, following a deadly shooting at Umpqua Community College, in Roseburg…The school has about 3,000 students. Its website was down Thursday, and a phone message left at the college was not immediately returned.

State police and the Douglas County Sheriff's Office did not immediately return calls from The Associated Press seeking details.

The sheriff's office reported on Twitter that it received a call about the shooting at 10:38 a.m.

Students and faculty members were being bused to the Douglas County Fairgrounds, the sheriff's office said.

A spokeswoman for the Oregon department that oversees community colleges in the state said she had not received any detailed information about the shooting.

"It's extremely concerning and sad," said Endi Hartigan, spokeswoman for the Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission.

The rural town of Roseburg lies west of the Cascade Mountains in an area where the timber industry has struggled. In recent years, officials have tried to promote the region as a tourist destination for vineyards and outdoor activities.

This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.




“Andrea Zielinski, a spokeswoman for Douglas County Sheriff's office, told The Associated Press: "There's no more threat." Zielinski would not say whether a suspect was apprehended or dead. …. State police and the Douglas County Sheriff's Office did not immediately return calls from The Associated Press seeking details. The sheriff's office reported on Twitter that it received a call about the shooting at 10:38 a.m. Students and faculty members were being bused to the Douglas County Fairgrounds, the sheriff's office said. …. The rural town of Roseburg lies west of the Cascade Mountains in an area where the timber industry has struggled. In recent years, officials have tried to promote the region as a tourist destination for vineyards and outdoor activities.”

I really would like more information on this killing, but as of 4:00 PM this is the best I could do. Perhaps the economic situation, as hinted in the statements about a dying lumber industry and promoting it as a tourist area, is a cause of stress among the people there. We won’t know until the police open up with what they do know. A number of people were admitted to the hospital, so hopefully they will be able to witness to what occurred. As I see more about it I will post it.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/planned-parenthood-fire-in-california-deemed-suspicious/

Fire at Calif. Planned Parenthood facility deemed suspicious
CBS/AP
October 1, 2015


THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- Arson investigators are probing a small fire that caused minor damage at a Planned Parenthood facility in Ventura County.

Officials say nobody was hurt in the blaze reported late Wednesday at the office in Thousand Oaks.

CBS News' Steve Futterman, who reports that the FBI and ATF have been informed of the suspected arson, posted photos from the scene on Twitter.

Upon their arrival, firefighters located flames burning at the location caused sprinklers to turn on within the building, which were able to extinguish the small fire, CBS Los Angeles reports.

Investigators consider the blaze suspicious in nature. County Fire Capt. Mike Lindbery says one of the building's windows was smashed in.

Officials say there was likely more damage from the sprinklers than from the fire itself.




“Officials say nobody was hurt in the blaze reported late Wednesday at the office in Thousand Oaks. CBS News' Steve Futterman, who reports that the FBI and ATF have been informed of the suspected arson, posted photos from the scene on Twitter. …. Investigators consider the blaze suspicious in nature. County Fire Capt. Mike Lindbery says one of the building's windows was smashed in.”

This may or may not have been politically motivated, but the timing with recent news articles is suggestive. There are, of course, certain insane people whose whole goal in life is to start fires and watch them burn. I would think that it hadn’t been burning long, or wasn’t started very efficiently at least, because there was very little damage from the fire itself. It seems to me that they could perhaps have caught the perpetrator in the act, or perhaps trying to escape. Of course that isn’t the goal of firemen. They aren’t police. If Planned Parenthood is being targeted maliciously the public should know about that. If I see any other articles like this one I will pull it also.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/fox-lake-illinois-police-charles-joseph-gliniewicz-unidentified-dna-samples/

Investigator: Slain Illinois cop was shot with own weapon
CBS/AP
October 1, 2015

Photograph -- Fox Lake Lieutenant Charles Joseph Gliniewicz is pictured in this undated handout photo provided by Lake County Sheriff's Office in Illinois, September 1, 2015. REUTERS
Play VIDEO -- Funeral held for slain Illinois officer


FOX LAKE, Ill. -- The northern Illinois police officer found dead last month was shot with his own weapon, but detectives were still treating it as a homicide investigation based on evidence that included signs of a struggle, the lead investigator said Thursday.

After vetting the information and concluding it wouldn't harm the investigation, authorities confirmed for the first time that Fox Lake police Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz was shot with his own weapon. He was struck by two rounds, one that hit his ballistic vest with the force of a "sledgehammer" and another that pierced his upper chest, said Lake County Major Crimes Task Force Commander George Filenko.

But gunshot residue found on both his hands was inconclusive as to whether the officer fired any shots himself, according to results that came back from the Illinois State Police crime lab in the last week or two.

"The weapon could have been fired by Lt. Gliniewicz or he could have been in a close proximity of the weapon being fired," Filenko said. He refused to provide any details on what the signs of the struggle were.

Gliniewicz was found Sept. 1 after he radioed that he was pursuing three suspicious men in a remote area of the village south of the Wisconsin-Illinois state line. Police have said Gliniewicz provided only a very vague description of the three suspects - two white males and one black male, CBS Chicago reported. Despite a massive manhunt, police haven't made any arrests or identified any suspects.

Filenko said there are still no firm theories on a possible motive.


Questions have swirled around the investigation - particularly since the county coroner said he has been unable to rule the 52-year-old Gliniewicz's death a homicide, suicide or an accident.

Filenko emphasized the investigation was "strictly" being conducted as a homicide probe, though he acknowledged detectives weren't ruling anything out, including the possibility of suicide.

Investigators also revealed that nine unidentified DNA samples were found at the scene and that detectives working to identify the source of that material have taken more than 100 samples from anyone who might have had contact with the officer, including from police who were close to the scene, Filenko said.

Filenko said additional DNA swabs were being collected Thursday, and 30 to 40 samples were being sent to the Illinois State Police crime lab for comparison, CBS Chicago reported.

Investigators returned to the scene to recreate possible escape routes, including hunting trails, Filenko said in a newspaper interview a day earlier.

Investigators believe Gliniewicz was in the area because the village recently purchased the property and there had been reports of vandalism and trespassing.




“He was struck by two rounds, one that hit his ballistic vest with the force of a "sledgehammer" and another that pierced his upper chest, said Lake County Major Crimes Task Force Commander George Filenko. But gunshot residue found on both his hands was inconclusive as to whether the officer fired any shots himself, according to results that came back from the Illinois State Police crime lab in the last week or two. …. Gliniewicz was found Sept. 1 after he radioed that he was pursuing three suspicious men in a remote area of the village south of the Wisconsin-Illinois state line. Police have said Gliniewicz provided only a very vague description of the three suspects - two white males and one black male, CBS Chicago reported. Despite a massive manhunt, police haven't made any arrests or identified any suspects. Filenko said there are still no firm theories on a possible motive. …. Investigators also revealed that nine unidentified DNA samples were found at the scene and that detectives working to identify the source of that material have taken more than 100 samples from anyone who might have had contact with the officer, including from police who were close to the scene, Filenko said. Filenko said additional DNA swabs were being collected Thursday, and 30 to 40 samples were being sent to the Illinois State Police crime lab for comparison, CBS Chicago reported. …. Investigators believe Gliniewicz was in the area because the village recently purchased the property and there had been reports of vandalism and trespassing.”

This is another mysteriously written article. Nine different DNA samples? Could the crime scene have been the site of street gang activity, or a camp of homeless people, perhaps? The reports of vandalism often go along with young, angry men, like a street gang. They like to do property damage just for fun. Gliniewicz was reportedly chasing two white men and one black, but the reason was not given.

For the officer’s own weapon to be used on him, he had to have been overpowered. If he did not himself fire the weapon, the presence of powder residue on his hands indicates that he was very close when the shot was fired, and perhaps struggling for his life. It’s interesting that “30 to 40” DNA tests have been sent for testing. I would love to hear more about what is happening in this case. It reminds me of that great Joseph Wambaugh non-fiction report of the first forensic DNA testing which occurred in an industrial town in England. Those officers ordered every male in the town to be tested. The book is called “The Blooding” and I would like to get it from the library to read again. As much as I like mystery fiction, I like true crime even more. Yes, it can be frightening and disturbing, but forensics and the psychology of criminals is very interesting to me.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/high-bridge-arms-last-gun-store-in-san-francisco-forced-to-close-by-new-legislation/

Last gun store in San Francisco closing over proposed law
CBS NEWS
October 1, 2015


A showdown in San Francisco between lawmakers concerned with public safety and the city's last remaining gun store has reached the endgame.

Under siege from an increasing amount of regulation from City Hall, "High Bridge Arms" is closing, reports CBS News correspondent John Blackstone.

Steven Alcairo, general manager of the modest storefront in San Francisco's Mission District, says his business is being pushed out by a proposed city law that would require the store to videotape every gun sale, then turn in the footage to the police department.

Gun buyers already have to fill out a detailed form, go through a background check and a waiting period. But sending a videotape of the purchase to local police strikes Alcairo as one regulation too many.

"When the idea was just announced, the following two weeks, sales just dipped. It was like a ghost town in here; nobody was coming in," he said.

Mark Farrell, the member of the city's Board of Supervisors who proposed the legislation, sees it as a necessary move for the safety of residents.

Although "High Bridge Arms" would be the only store that would be affected by the measure as of now, Farrell said the law would also target other stores that were looking to move to the area.

But Alcairo said the legislation would not make the city safer--"not in the very least"-- and that San Francisco would be losing a piece of history.

To some relief of gun buyers they won't have to go far when High Bridge closes -- there's a gun store just south of San Francisco's city limits.




“Steven Alcairo, general manager of the modest storefront in San Francisco's Mission District, says his business is being pushed out by a proposed city law that would require the store to videotape every gun sale, then turn in the footage to the police department. Gun buyers already have to fill out a detailed form, go through a background check and a waiting period. But sending a videotape of the purchase to local police strikes Alcairo as one regulation too many. "When the idea was just announced, the following two weeks, sales just dipped. It was like a ghost town in here; nobody was coming in," he said. …. To some relief of gun buyers they won't have to go far when High Bridge closes -- there's a gun store just south of San Francisco's city limits.”

Perhaps the SF gun buyers aren’t affected by the ruling except to be inconvenienced slightly. Yet, I’m photographed by cameras every time I go into Walmart, and it doesn’t bother me at all. Of course, I’m not a professional robber who fears being identified in such a place. I wonder how much paranoia there is in the right-leaning population that we have now. I’m really surprised that all this man’s customers just disappeared like that. Personally, I agree with the town government that photographing the sale of guns, preferably from the front to get a good view of the face, is a good additional security measure. Perhaps his loss of business is due to the fact that many people buying guns have been showing false ID or something like that. There are lots of Americans who literally hoard guns, either due to current conspiracy theories or just the macho “love” of guns. I think there should be a limit to how many guns one person can collect like that, especially automatic weapons that shoot a gazillion bullets within a few seconds. There’s no legitimate use for a gun like that.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/football-teams-dropped-by-high-schools-cite-deaths-injuries/

High schools drop football over deaths, injuries and lack of interest
By DON DAHLER CBS NEWS
September 30, 2015

Photograph -- dahlerkidcloseup.jpg, Issac Pearson CBS NEWS
Photograph -- endahler4.jpg, Maplewood Richmond Heights High School went to the state championship in 2010. CBS NEWS
Photograph -- endahler3.jpg, Maplewood Richmond Heights High School's homecoming game will feature soccer -- not football. CBS NEWS


MAPLEWOOD, Mo. -- Football runs through Isaac Pearson's bloodline. Both his father and brother played. But the sophomore from Maplewood, Missouri chose a different field.

"My mom's like, soccer's your thing. She doesn't want me to get hurt, too. But soccer's something I really liked," Isaac Pearson said.

The Maplewood Richmond Heights High School -- Pearson's school -- also has a proud tradition of football, having gone to the state championship as recently as 2010.

"A great year. That was a great football team," said school board president Nelson Mitten looking at the school's trophy case.

But there is no team at Maplewood this season. Like schools in Camden, Maine, and Ridgefield, New Jersey, Maplewood had a hard time finding enough players, due to injuries and lack of interest.

"When you have low numbers of students from a school this size, you're drawing all the way from freshman to seniors. If we didn't have the size, that can have a significant effect upon the possibility of injuries," said Mitten.

The number of high school football players in the U.S. has declined by 25,000 over the past five years. Last year, five high school players died playing football. That's more deaths than in college, semi-pro, or professional levels according to the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injuries.

Maplewood senior Romelle Person misses the game.

"When I first heard about it I was devastated. Cause like, football is my favorite sport. Even when we didn't do good we had that fun experience. Everyone would come see us perform. Just not the same," said Pearson.

Students at Maplewood will still get to attend the annual homecoming game next month. But for the first time the sport will be soccer.




"My mom's like, soccer's your thing. She doesn't want me to get hurt, too. But soccer's something I really liked," Isaac Pearson said. …. But there is no team at Maplewood this season. Like schools in Camden, Maine, and Ridgefield, New Jersey, Maplewood had a hard time finding enough players, due to injuries and lack of interest. "When you have low numbers of students from a school this size, you're drawing all the way from freshman to seniors. If we didn't have the size, that can have a significant effect upon the possibility of injuries," said Mitten. …. Last year, five high school players died playing football. That's more deaths than in college, semi-pro, or professional levels according to the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injuries.”

There has been a growing awareness about football injuries such as concussions which were not caught by the coach, so that the player was benched until he could recover sufficiently to play again. Football is a dangerous game, and it appears from the statistics above that it may be more dangerous for high school kids than older young men. To me, playing sports is only so useful, and it often takes precedence over the academic achievement of those kids. No child should be allowed to play on a sports team unless he reads and can perform in other subjects at an above average level. If he can’t do that, he should be spending time studying instead.

The purpose of a free public high school is to prepare EVERY child for a reasonably lucrative and successful adult life in some legal endeavor. Being a house burglar or a drug dealer is not acceptable. For most, that means college, and if they can’t make sufficiently good grades for that, then their football scholarship won’t make that much difference. If they are intellectually deficient, that is different, but if they are of normal intelligence, they should be able to qualify for further schooling of some kind.

A two year degree at a community college can be enough. A course in paraprofessional work of some kind, such as paralegal training, will make a huge difference in their ability to pay for a wife and some kids, which they will almost certainly produce if only by accident, and to provide housing of some kind. In places like NYC there are thousands of people who live their whole lives in apartments, so a free-standing house is not necessary, and it is more expensive. Too many of our teenagers have no notion of what they “want to be when they grow up,” so they don’t aim anywhere useful and therefore they don’t try to get there. That means they are almost unemployable except for construction, etc. – the police department, maybe. (I’m just joking, there!! Many city police departments now are requiring at least two years of college, and that’s a very good thing!)





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/medieval-skeleton-discovered-under-uprooted-tree/

Medieval skeleton discovered under uprooted tree
By JEANNA BRYNER LIVESCIENCE.COM
September 16, 2015

Photograph -- A medieval skeleton was unearthed, partly entangled in the roots of an old birch tree, during storms in Ireland in May. MARION DOWD
15 PHOTOS -- Medieval and ancient medicine we still use
Photograph -- medieval-skeleton-tree-7.jpg, Though the leg bones remained in the ground, when the tree uprooted during the storms, the upper part of the body, including the spine (shown here), was torn out of the ground. THORSTEN KAHLERT


When an old beech tree toppled over during winter storms in Ireland this year, a skeletal surprise was hiding in the gigantic mass of roots pulled from the ground: the remains of a medieval boy.

The 215-year-old tree was uprooted in May in Collooney, a town in the county of Sligo, on the northwest coast of Ireland. Preliminary analyses of the bones by osteoarchaeologist Linda Lynch and others at Sligo-Leitrim Archaeological Services (SLAS), a private consultancy, revealed the remains of a young man who was between 17 and 20 years old when he died.

The researchers also dated the bones by measuring the carbon-14, a naturally occurring radioactive isotope also called radiocarbon. Because this isotope (an element with a different number of neutrons in its nucleus) decays at a regular rate, scientists can tell how old an organic material is by measuring the amount of radiocarbon present. They found that the boy died during the medieval period, between A.D. 1030 and 1200. [See Photos of Medieval Skeleton Entangled in Tree Roots]

And apparently, his death was a violent one, as Lynch found several injuries on the ribs and hand that were likely inflicted by a knife. The entire skeleton was buried, but when the tree was uprooted, it ripped the upper part of the body, which was entangled in the roots, out of the ground.

"The entire skeleton had originally been present, but the upper part was quite damaged by tree-root activity," said archaeologist Marion Dowd, director of SLAS.

The juvenile was given a formal Christian burial, the researchers noted.

More history remains to be uncovered. "We did not encounter any other burials, but 19th-century records state there is a church and graveyard somewhere in the wider vicinity," Dowd told Live Science in an email.

The science team is continuing to investigate the remains. When the analysis is complete, the skeleton will be sent to the National Museum of Ireland, Dublin, "in accordance with archaeological legislation," Dowd said.




“The 215-year-old tree was uprooted in May in Collooney, a town in the county of Sligo, on the northwest coast of Ireland. Preliminary analyses of the bones by osteoarchaeologist Linda Lynch and others at Sligo-Leitrim Archaeological Services (SLAS), a private consultancy, revealed the remains of a young man who was between 17 and 20 years old when he died. …. The researchers also dated the bones by measuring the carbon-14, a naturally occurring radioactive isotope also called radiocarbon. Because this isotope (an element with a different number of neutrons in its nucleus) decays at a regular rate, scientists can tell how old an organic material is by measuring the amount of radiocarbon present. They found that the boy died during the medieval period, between A.D. 1030 and 1200. [See Photos of Medieval Skeleton Entangled in Tree Roots]. …. "The entire skeleton had originally been present, but the upper part was quite damaged by tree-root activity," said archaeologist Marion Dowd, director of SLAS. The juvenile was given a formal Christian burial, the researchers noted. More history remains to be uncovered. "We did not encounter any other burials, but 19th-century records state there is a church and graveyard somewhere in the wider vicinity," Dowd told Live Science in an email.”

Now this is my kind of science, requiring speculation and laboratory work as well, and leading me back in time to a point that excites me. Carbon dating and some even newer methods have made a huge difference in archaeology. I love biology, psychology and geology, but more than those, I love archaeology. I want to ponder about this young man, because that is what he was rather than “a boy.” He was probably a serf who worked on the land. He almost certainly had children and a wife or common law wife by that age. Only in modern society is a seventeen year old still considered a boy, and that’s partly why society has so much trouble with their criminal tendencies – they’re being treated like a boy when they are physically ready to have a lover or fight in a war.

I do hope more will be published about this case, or perhaps I can find more on “the Net.” Here is something fun to watch on Youtube, in which Lynch talks about her work, though not on this particular find.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZgyDYN8BBw

https://static.rasset.ie/documents/radio1/lindalynch-forrtewebsite-01-05-2014.pdf
The Irish Workhouse Past and Present Conference
Portuma, 18th May 2014
Osteoarchaeological Evidence from Irish Workhouses
Dr Linda G. Lynch MIAI
Consultant Human Osteoarchaeologist

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/creepy-surprise-medieval-skeleton-discovered-under-uprooted-tree-182520099.html?.tsrc=warhol
Creepy Surprise: Medieval Skeleton Discovered Under Uprooted Tree
LiveScience.comBy Jeanna Bryner | LiveScience.com – Wed, Sep 16, 2015.