Last April, when tornadoes were threatening Jackson, Mississippi, many residents were not alerted to the severe weather because five tornado warning sirens didn’t work. The reason: the sirens’ copper wiring had been stolen.

A month earlier in Polk County, Florida, nearly 4,000 residents were left without power after thieves stripped copper wire from a transformer at an electric company facility. Estimated losses: $500,000. Not to mention the homeowner hassles.

And late last year, vandals removed 300 feet of copper wire from a Federal Aviation Administration tower in Ohio, threatening to interrupt communications between in-flight aircraft and air traffic controllers.

Individually, these isolated crimes cause big enough headaches of their own. Taken together, however, they present a fairly significant problem for our country—a threat to public safety and to U.S. critical infrastructure.

We know…because we’ve done our homework. More and more since 9/11, we’re using intelligence to get our arms around emerging threats at the national level—not just when it comes to terrorism, but also in the criminal arena.

In this case, a recent criminal intelligence report scoped out the problem and is driving new solutions. Among the findings: 

• “The demand for copper from developing nations such as China and India is creating a robust international copper trade,” and as the global supply of copper continues to tighten, “the market for illicit copper will likely increase.” From 2001 until 2008, the price of the metal has increased by more than 500 percent.
• The thieves—many of whom are drug addicts or gang members—may act individually or as part of organized groups and are interested in the quick cash they get from selling copper to scrap metal dealers.
• Their targets include electrical substations, railroads, security and emergency services, and other sensitive sites. Already, copper thefts have been responsible for shutting down railway systems and even 9-1-1 emergency systems.

“On the surface, it could be a relatively small theft,” explained an agent who specializes in major theft crimes and who commissioned the report after getting wind of the problem, “but the public safety impact could be significant.” And while copper thieves may not intend to compromise critical infrastructure, they can still be charged with more weighty federal crimes, the agent said.

The fact that most copper thefts involve a relatively small amount of money, often take place in rural areas, and are investigated by local law enforcement agencies helps explain why, until recently, the implications of these crimes fell below the radar of federal law enforcement. 

The FBI intelligence analyst who wrote the report spoke with nearly 150 people from local and state law enforcement and with officials from railroad and energy companies. “Everywhere I went,” she said, “someone had something to say about the problem of copper theft. But nobody had the big picture.”

Now we do and are developing solutions. Several informal task forces between local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies have been established to combat copper theft, most notably in Nevada. In one such case, they are charging a copper thief with a more serious federal statute that can carry up to a 20-year sentence. 

There is still a lot of work to be done, our agent acknowledged, but now, the serious issues surrounding copper theft are known and being addressed.

Resources:
- Read the unclassified intelligence report

This information was obtained from the FBI web page/

New virus expected to strike Wisconsin area population within days.

Be on the alert for symptoms of inner hope, peace, joy and love. Many hearts have already been exposed to this virus and people everywhere could come down with it, posing a serious threat to what has been a fairly stable condition of conflict in the world. Some signs and symptoms of the virus:

• A tendency to think and act spontaneously reather than on fears based on past experiences.
• A loss of interest in judging others.
• A loss of the ability to worry.
• Frequent, overwhelming episodes of appreciation.
• Frequent attacks of smiling.
• Contented feelings of connectedness with others and nature.
• An increasing tendency to let things happen rather than make them happen.

Please share this information with everyone and enjoy the season of advent.

(Mr Anonymous)

While On a recent trip to Glacier National Park I came across this article written by an unknown person in Tioga, ND. Sound familiar?

”Classical Version: The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks he’s a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.  Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed.  The grasshopper has no food or shelter so he dies out in the cold.

 Bet you never thought about it that way before – but you will now!

The Silent generation, people born before 1946.

 The Baby Boomers, people born between 1946 and 1959.

 Generation X, people born between 1960 and 1979.

  Generation Y, people born between 1980 and 1995.


Why do we call the last one-generation Y?  I did not know, but a caricaturist explains it eloquently below...Learned something new!

Unless our Congress acts within the next 14 days, MEDICARE and TRICARE payments to doctors will be cut by 10.6% in July of 2008. If that comes to pass your access to health care will be much reduced because more doctors will stop seeing MEDICARE and TRICARE patients.

In addition to cutting payments to doctors, hundreds of thousands of MEDICARE patients will lose coverage for their physical, speech, or occupational therapy unless Congress fixes the MEDICARE law within the next two weeks.

Cut and paste the below letter and send it to your Congress person. Thanks for your help in this matter. These changes will have an effect on medical care for everyone.

 I urge you to do all within your power to assure Congress acts quickly to reverse the 10.6% cut in MEDICARE and TRICARE payments scheduled for July 1.  The cut will only cause more doctors to turn away elderly and military patients.  Some doctors have already stated their intentions to do so.

If not corrected in the next two weeks, current law also will terminate speech, physical and vocational therapy coverage for hundreds of thousands of MEDICARE beneficiaries.

Finding TRICARE providers is already a major problem for retirees, survivors, and Guard and Reserve families who don't live near military installations.      

Please do all you can to ensure Congress replaces the MEDICARE/TRICARE rate cuts and sustains MEDICARE therapy coverage.  Without stability in the program, our military families and retirees' care is in jeopardy.

Respectfully,

.

So true …

     A one dollar bill met a twenty dollar bill and said, “Hey, where have you been? I haven’t seen you around here much.”  

     The twenty answered, “I’ve been hanging out at the casinos, went on a cruise and did some other trips for a while, went to a couple of baseball games, out to dinner, to the mall, that kind of stuff. How about you?”  

     The one dollar bill said, “You know, same old stuff… church, church, church.”

Bet you never thought about it that way before . . . bu you will now!

This past weekend the motorcycles were out in force. I must have counted over 100 riders this past weekend enjoying themselves on our highways.

Being a former Motorcycle Sergeant with the Milwaukee Police Department, I cannot tell you how many thousands of miles I logged on each season. Nor, can I tell you the number of times some knucklehead turned into my lane or pulled out in front of me because in their words "I didn't see you." Because of my training and experience I was fortunate, I was able to take the proper evasive action to avoid a collision.

I urge everyone to keep an eye out for the motorcycle riders. They are harder to see than motor vehicles.

For you new motorcycle riders I urge you to take a safe rider course. It could save your life. The proper training can make your ride safer.

For you experienced riders I urge you to take a refresher course or an advanced rider course. The time spent is priceless ... so are our lives.

O'yea - successful completion of these classes can save you up to 10% on your annual insurance. That savings can buy you a few bucks and you can use it to off set the high cost of fuel.

For more information on safe rider courses click on this link. You can sign up for classes on line. This school is, in my personal opinion, the best in the State of Wisconsin.

Don't delay, call or sign up today!

A picture is worth a thousand words. Enough said?

Bay View residents beware. This scam has been verified by the FBI (their link is included below). Please pass this on to everyone in your e-mail address book and social network. 

It is spreading fast so be prepared should you get this call. Most of us good citizens take  these summons for jury duty seriously . 

A new and ominous kind of fraud has surfaced. The caller claims to be a jury coordinator. If you protest that you never received a summons for jury duty,  the scammer asks you for your Social Security number and date of birth so he or she can verify the information and cancel the arrest warrant. 

If you give out this information - bingo -  your identity has just been stolen. The type of fraud has been reported in 11 states.

This is particularly insidious because they use intimidation over the phone  to try to bully people into  giving information by pretending they are with the court system. 

The FBI  and the Federal Court System have issued nationwide alerts on their web sites, warning consumers about the fraud.

Snopes site: says this is real fraud.
http://www.snopes.com/crime/fraud/juryduty.asp

FBI site: warns about the fraud.
http://www.fbi.gov/page2/june06/jury_scams060206.htm

Burial Procession immediately after funeral to:

Good Hope Cemetery
4101 South 43rd Street
Milwaukee, WI 53220

The men and women of this organization have joined together to support all veterans. Consider joining the Patriot Guard Riders. For more information please read on . . .

Women attacked. Children abused. Homes burglarized. Cars stolen. The elderly attacked by thugs on the street. Five people shot overnight.

The thugs are out of control and the Milwaukee Police Department is short 280 officers to properly police the streets of Milwaukee. City government would rather spend the money on new parking meters or bicycle racks. Where is the priority? Citizen safety or special projects for a few.

Until the majority of the good citizens rise up and are vocal about their rights and family safety, the political arena will continue to bow to the vocal minority.

The vocal minority who insist on entitlement and the “its all about me” mentality.

Wake up Milwaukee before it is too late. Demand that your alderman take steps to insure your neighborhoods safety. Call your alderman today.

Fire Safety Week – October 7th – 13th

This week is fire safety week. Each year hundreds of people are killed or injured because of fires or fatal burns. Here are a few tips to help prevent burn injuries in your home.

Keep matches, lighters, and smoking materials away from your children. Kids are curious and experimentation with these items to imitate adults can occur.

Each year change the batteries on your smoke detectors. I change mine every year on my birthday. Clean the smoke alarm by gently vacuuming it to remove dust that may block the vents and prevent the alarm from sounding.

Smoke detectors are good for about 10 years. If your detector is more than 10 years old, throw it out and get a new one. Remember to place your smoke detectors in central locations such as hallways. An alarm should be on every level of your home.

Set your water heater lower than 120 degrees. Hot water over 160 degrees can scald you in less than 1 second. Do not let children play with curling irons, hot pads, toasters, etc. They will burn you too. Best tip here? Unplug it after you use it.

Have an escape plan for you home in case of a fire or if the fire alarm sounds. Have a plan and practice it. You should be able to exit your home in less than 5 seconds.

Tell your kids not to not play on or around the big green transformers located in many yards these days. Transformers change the levels of voltage and are very powerful. They can kill you.

Remind your children about the Stop, Drop, and Roll technique if their clothes catch fire. Practice it at home. Each month ask someone in your family to demonstrate how they stop, drop, and roll. It could save a life.

These tips are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to fire safety. There are many sources of information available to assist you in making your home safe. Your local fire department would be more than happy to do a safety check. They would rather visit your home to give you some good tips, than to visit your home and put out a fire.