Today, Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey, speaking after a joint United States and European Union (EU) ministerial meeting, highlighted “Operation Joint Hammer”—the U.S. component of an ongoing global enforcement operation targeting transnational rings of child pornographers. The operation already has led to the arrest of more than 60 people in the United States involved in the trade of child pornography; a number that the Attorney General remarked was likely to increase. Thus far, 11 child victims have been identified through Operation Joint Hammer.

“It should come as news to no one that crimes against children have been an area of special focus for the Department of Justice, and an area of great success,” said Attorney General Mukasey. “Through initiatives such as Project Safe Childhood, we have increased prosecutions of those who abuse and exploit children by over 30 percent in the last two years. Through a series of national media campaigns, we have made great strides in making parents and young people aware of the dangers. And most important, through cooperation with other law enforcement agencies such as our partners in the European Union, we have identified—and in many cases, saved—hundreds of children depicted in images and videos of sexual abuse.”

Operation Joint Hammer was initiated through evidence developed by European law enforcement and shared with U.S. counterparts by Europol and Interpol. The European portion of this global enforcement effort, “Operation Koala,” was launched after the discovery of a handful of people in Europe who were molesting children and producing photographs of that abuse for commercial gain. Further investigation unveiled a number of online child pornography rings—some of which hosted dangerous offenders who not only traded child pornography, but who themselves sexually abused children.

In one case, European law enforcement officials discovered that a father was raping his young daughters and offering a photographer across the continent an opportunity to photograph these sexual attacks. Identification of the father led to the discovery of a commercial website maintained by the photographer, which he used to sell the images of the sexual abuse of those children along with many other images of other children whose sexual exploitation he commissioned. Law enforcement has determined that the customers of the website were located in nearly 30 countries around the world, including the United States .

Eurojust and Europol brought together law enforcement officers from many of the affected countries, including the United States , to share information about possible customers of the website located in their countries and to coordinate enforcement actions against these child pornographers. With close cooperation from European law enforcement, U.S. law enforcement has been able to identify a number of the U.S.-based customers of the website. Further investigation into those targets resulted in the identification of a number of Internet-based trading sites dedicated to the sharing of child pornography. A number of the U.S. targets belonged to more than one site, revealing an inter-connected web of underground child pornography trading.

“Operation Joint Hammer illustrates the effectiveness of international cooperation and the speed with which we can move to protect children, identify those who prey on them and bring them to justice,” said John P. Torres, Acting Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). “Those who produce, distribute and buy images of child pornography cause more children to be damaged. As a member of the Virtual Global Taskforce, ICE works globally every day to stop this from happening.”

“This case is an extraordinary example of the good and important cooperation between U.S. and E.U. law enforcement. Together we have made results to the disadvantage of evil child molesters and to the benefit of a large number of innocent victims,” said Max-Peter Ratzel, Director of Europol.

“The Internet has connected all of us into one world without oceans and boundaries,” said Shawn Henry, FBI Cyber Division Assistant Director. As a result, cyber crimes present a challenge that can only be effectively confronted with strength and dedication exhibited daily by law enforcement agencies around the world working in close coordination. As today’s announcement demonstrates, we are making significant progress. We are proud to be partners in Operation Joint Hammer and I commend the many law enforcement personnel who contributed to its success.”

“The Postal Inspection Service is proud to have participated in this multi-agency initiative,” said U.S. Postal Inspection Chief Postal Inspector William R. Gilligan. “Through Operation Joint Hammer, those who used the Internet and the U.S. mails to traffic in child pornography were identified; huge amounts of child pornography have been seized; scores of individuals have been arrested, and, most importantly, many children have been rescued from further sexual abuse and exploitation.”

To date, U.S. law enforcement, including federal, state, and local authorities, have, through close cooperation, filed numerous charges, and more are expected as investigations continue. Significantly, a number of the child pornography traders identified through this operation had been sexually abusing children themselves, sometimes producing images of their sexual abuse. Thus far, work by U.S. law enforcement has resulted in the identification of 11 child victims.

Operation Joint Hammer is the result of close coordination between the FBI, DHS Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Department of Justice’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), along with European law enforcement, including Europol and Eurojust. In addition, numerous U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, as well as CEOS trial attorneys, have been handling the prosecution of the targets identified by these numerous investigations.

Information from FBI Web page

Robert E. Casey Jr., Special Agent in Charge, Dallas FBI, announces during the last 24 hours, at least seven letters containing a suspicious white powder have been received by the offices of governors around the country.

The white powder substance has been field screened and the tests have met with negative results. The white powder substance has been forwarded to local laboratories for further testing.

To date, all letters have been postmarked from Dallas, Texas and were received by governors’ offices in Rhode Island, Michigan, Mississippi, Alabama, Minnesota, Montana, and Missouri.

Anyone with information concerning these letters should contact their local FBI office, or call the Dallas FBI at 972-559-5000.

Info obtained from FBI web source.

New Technique Utilizing Private Branch Exchange (PBX) Systems To Conduct Vishing Attacks

The FBI has received information concerning a new technique used to conduct vishingi attacks. The recent attacks were conducted by hackers exploiting a security vulnerability in Asterisk software. Asterisk is free and widely used software developed to integrate PBXii systems with Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), digital Internet voice calling services; however, early versions of the Asterisk software are known to have a vulnerability. The vulnerability can be exploited by cyber criminals to use the system as an auto dialer, generating thousands of vishing telephone calls to consumers within one hour.

The vulnerability referred to in this alert is a known vulnerability. Digium, the original creator and primary developer of Asterisk, released a Security Advisory, AST-2008-003, in March of 2008, which contains the information necessary for users to configure a system, patch the software or upgrade the software to protect against this vulnerability.

If a consumer falls victim to this exploit, their personally identifiable information (PII) will be compromised. To prevent further loss of consumers' PII and to reduce the spread of this new technique, it is imperative businesses, using Asterisk, upgrade their software to a version that has had the vulnerability fixed.

Further, consumers should not release personal information in response to unsolicited telephone calls. Providing your PII will compromise your identity!

If you have been a victim of Internet crime, please file a complaint at www.IC3.gov.

i Vishing utilizes caller ID spoofing via VoIP to contact potential victims in order to gain access to their PII by convincing the victim that the criminal is associated with a legitimate business with a need to know the victim's PII.

ii PBX Systems are used by companies to allow telephone calls between VoIP enterprise users on local lines while allowing all users to share a limited number of external lines.

This information obtained from FBI web page

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/

 

True Red and Blue:

Since the 2000 presidential election, the media has distinguished Americans by color, through election maps depicting red states as Republican and blue states as Democrat. With the passing of the 2008 election and America's economic challenges, now is a great time to remember what those colors really represent. From day one, our veterans have fought for both colors. In 1776 the Continental Congress defined red as "hardiness and valor" and blue as "vigilance, perseverance and justice." Hardiness means stamina-perseverance on steroids.

 

 That is exactly what Navy SEAL Marc Alan Lee displayed during the war's biggest battle in Ramadi, Iraq, on Aug. 2, 2006. After a two-hour firefight the SEALs faced their greatest endurance challenge: a buddy was down. Deciding he had not yet begun to fight, Mr. Lee singlehandedly stood up and shot more than 100 rounds of ammunition so team members could rescue the wounded SEAL from a rooftop. "Three times that day Marc stood in the direct line of fire to defend his buddies, for you, for me, for this nation. Marc was a young man who selflessly gave his life because he valued others' lives more important than his own," proud mom Debbie Lee declared. Mr. Lee's unwillingness to give up against such red-hot odds embodies the spirit of America's first Naval hero - a revolutionary "Navy SEAL" 

 Captain John Paul Jones desperately wanted to take the fight to the enemy. He got his chance in 1779, when he used an American warship, the Bonhomme Richard, to harass British trade ships along Scotland's coast. On September 23, Jones became embroiled in a fight with a British warship, the Serapis. No sooner had the battle begun, than the Serapis called on Jones to surrender. Shocked, Jones looked up. His ship's flag was missing, the sign for surrender. Suspecting a cowardly sailor had yanked it down, Jones responded to his missing colors with true blue vigilance.

 

"Surrender, I have not yet begun to fight!" Jones cried. Soon he rammed his ship into the enemy's side. Starboard to starboard, the ships became entangled. "My situation was really deplorable; the Bonhomme Richard received various shots under water ... My treacherous master-at-arms let loose all my prisoners without my knowledge, and my prospects became gloomy indeed," Jones recalled. He refused to quit. Jones ordered his sharpshooters to pinpoint British sailors on the Serapis' deck. Defeated, the British surrendered their colors. His ship sank, but Jones won. He recalled simply, "I would not, however, give up the point." Vigilance and valor characterize veterans of all wars, which Veterans Day celebrates. And in 1944, an Army colonel displayed Jones' Navy blue courage.

 

Lt. Col. Rogers was training soldiers at Cebu, Philippines, in May 1942, when the Japanese forced him to surrender the island. Although imprisoned physically, Mr. Rogers did not give up his command of 750 fellow prisoners. "He continually interceded with cruel Japanese authorities to alleviate his men's suffering at the risk of his own life," Betty Rogers Bryant explained about her father's sense of justice. Then the Japanese transferred the POWs to a Hell ship. "The terrible conditions in the bottom of this ship were unbearable. Men were dying and going crazy. The Japanese closed the hatch covers over the hold and the men were suffocating. There were only a few portholes and the men took turns trying to get air. Dad gave up his turn for his men in worse shape," described Mrs. Bryant, noting that her father demanded the Japanese remove the hatch covers.

 

An American submarine blasted the Hell ship on September 7, 1944. "They had no idea Americans were aboard and thought they were only torpedoing a Japanese freighter. Eighty-two of the 750 survived and swam to shore. The Filipinos hid them until the U.S.S Narwhal rescued them," Mrs. Bryant detailed. Rogers died, but those who survived heralded his passionate courage.

 

The timing of Veterans Day allows us to set aside election maps and remember the true meaning of our nation's colors. Americans need the example of their veterans right now. We need red's hardiness to personally navigate the challenges of a volatile economy. We need blue's perseverance to finish the job in Iraq. We need the president and members of Congress to make strong decisions for the greater good and not their self-interests.

 

Most importantly, we need red and blue for the white stars in our lives: our children. The Continental Congress defined white as "purity and innocence." Nothing represents innocence better than children, the hope of tomorrow. Because our veterans fought for their children's future, we enjoy liberty today. They deserve our thanks this Veterans Day.

Jane Hampton Cook is the author of Stories of Faith and Courage from the Revolutionary War.

With an expected 300,000 people flocking to the polls in Milwaukee this November 4th, one cannot help but ask, “When is the best time to vote to avoid the long lines?’ 

This election has created allot of excitement and voters are anxious to get to the polls and vote for their candidate. As of Friday, October 30th, the Milwaukee Election Commission has received nearly 30,000 absentee ballots. That is 10% of the city’s eligible voters. The other 90% will brave the weather and lines to cast their ballot. 

Everyone should expect to wait in line this year. If you want to avoid the long lines, and I know because I work the polls, try not to vote between the following hours:   

• 7 am – 9 am
• 12 noon – 1:30 pm 
•  5 pm – 6:30 pm 

If you have not registered to vote, try to follow these steps to help you speed up the process:

• Check what ward you live in and go to the appropriate ward to register. You will not be allowed to register in a ward you do not reside in. 
• All Election Day registrants must have proof of residence. An acceptable form of proof of residence, when voting on Election Day, must include a current and complete name, including both the first and last name, a current and complete residential address, including a numbered street address and the name of a municipality. 
• In order to register to vote, an individual must provide proof that he or she has been a resident at their registration address for at least 10 days preceding the election.

There are a number of acceptable proof of residence documents a person can use. To name a few:

• A current and valid Wisconsin Driver’s License or Wisconsin ID card.
• A residential lease effective for the period that includes Election Day.
• A bank statement or a paycheck.
•  A check or other document issued by a unit of government.
• A utility bill including cable television, gas, electric, or telephone for the period commencing not earlier than 90 days before Election Day.

 These are just a few items and to get a complete listing you can log into the City of Milwaukee Election web page for additional information .

 Every inspector at the polling locations has received training to assist you in the registration process. If you have not registered to vote, I urge you to register at your ward on Election Day. Your vote does make a difference.

The finance ministers of the G-7 countries are meeting in Washington. The first announcements on the meetings will come this weekend. It is not too extreme to say that the outcome of these meetings could redefine how the financial markets work, certainly for months and perhaps for a generation. The Americans are arguing that the regime of intervention and bailouts be allowed to continue. Others, like the British, are arguing for what in effect would be the nationalization of financial markets on a global scale. It is not clear what will be decided, but it is clear that this meeting matters.

The meetings will extend through the weekend to include members of the G-20 countries, which together account for about 90 percent of the global economy. This meeting was called because previous steps have not freed up lending between financial institutions, and the financial problem has increasingly become an economic one, affecting production and consumption in the global economy. The political leadership of these countries is under extreme pressure from the public to do something to solve — or at least alleviate — the problem.

Underlying this political pressure is a sense that the financial class, people who run global financial institutions, have failed to behave responsibly and effectively, and have therefore lost their legitimacy. The expectation, reasonable or not, is that the political system will now supplant these managers and impose at least a temporary solution. The finance ministers therefore have a political mandate, almost global in scope, to act decisively. The question is what they will do?

That question then divides further into two parts. The first is whether they will try to craft a single, global, integrated solution. The second is the degree to which they will take control of the financial system — and inter-financial institution lending in particular. (A primary reason for the credit crunch is that banks are currently afraid to lend — even to each other.) Thus far, attempts at solutions on the whole have been national rather than international. In addition, they have been built around incentivizing certain action and increasing the available money in the system.

So far, this hasn’t worked. The first problem is that financial institutions have not increased interbank lending significantly because they are concerned about the unknowns in the borrower’s balance sheet, and about the borrowers’ ability to repay the loans. With even large institutions failing, the fear is that other institutions will fail, but since the identity of the ones that will fail is unknown, lending on any terms — with or without government money — is imprudent. There is more lending to non-financial corporations than to financial ones because fewer unknowns are involved. Therefore, in the United States, infusions and promises of infusion of funds have not solved the basic problem: the uncertain solvency of the borrower.

The second problem is the international character of the crisis. An example from the Icelandic meltdown is relevant. The government of Iceland promised to repay Icelandic depositors in the island country’s failed banks. They did not extend the guarantee to non-Icelandic depositors. Partly they simply didn’t have the cash, but partly the view has been that taking care of one’s own takes priority. Countries do not want to bail out foreigners, and different governments do not want to assume the liabilities of other nations. The nature of political solutions is always that politicians respond to their own constituencies, not to people who can’t vote for them.

This weekend some basic decisions have to be made. The first is whether to give the bailouts time to work, to increase the packages or to accept that they have failed and move to the next step. The next step is for governments and central banks to take over decision making from financial institutions, and cause them to lend. This can be done in one of two ways. The first is to guarantee the loans made between financial institutions so that solvency is not an issue and risk is eliminated. The second is to directly take over the lending process, with the state dictating how much is lent to whom. In a real sense, the distinction between the two is not as significant as it appears. The market is abolished and wealth is distributed through mechanisms created by the state, with risk eliminated from the system, or more precisely, transferred from the lender to the taxing authority of the state.

The more complex issue is how to manage this on an international scale. For example, American banks lend to European banks. If the United States comes up with a plan which guarantees loans to U.S. banks but not European banks, and Europeans lend to Europe and not the United States, the integration of the global economy will very quickly shatter, leading to significant limitations on international trade, currency convertibility and so on. You will nationalize economies that can’t stand being purely national.

At the same time, there is no global mechanism for managing radical solutions. In taking over lending or guarantees, the administrative structure is everything. Managing the interbank-lending of the global economy is something for which there is no institution. And even with coordination, finance ministries and central banks would find it difficult to bear the burden — not to mention managing the system’s Herculean size and labyrinthine complexity. But if the G-7 in effect nationalize global financial systems and do it without international understandings and coordination, the consequences will be immediate and serious.

The G-7 is looking hard for a solution that will not require this level of intrusion, both because they don’t want to abolish markets even temporarily, and more important, because they have no idea how to manage this on a global scale. They very much want to have the problem solved with liquidity injections and bailouts. Their inclination is to give the current regime some more time. The problem is that the global equity markets are destroying value at extremely high rates and declines are approaching historic levels.

In other words, a crisis in the financial system is becoming an economic problem — and that means public pressure will surge, not decline. Therefore, it is plausible that they might choose to ask for what FDR did in 1933, a bank holiday, which in this case would be the suspension of trading on equity markets globally for several days while administrative solutions are reached. We have no information whatsoever that they are thinking of this, but in starting to grapple with a problem of this magnitude — and searching for solutions on this scale — it is totally understandable that they might like to buy some time.

It is not clear what they will decide. Fundamental issues to watch for are whether they move from manipulating markets through government intrusions that leave the markets fundamentally free, or do they abandon free markets at least temporarily.

Another such issue is whether they can find a way to do this globally or whether it will be done nationally. If they do go international and suspending markets, the question is how they will unwind this situation. It will be easier to start this than to end it and state-controlled markets are usually not very attractive in the long run. But then again, neither is where we are now.

(All information for this article is from Stratfor.com)

Patriotism - what's it all about?

Everyone has their own definition of what Patriotism is to them. Below are a few thought from several noteworthy Americans:

"I think patriotism is like charity - it begins at home" - Henry James

"There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured with what is right in America" - Bill Clinton

"I believe with all my heart that America remains 'the great idea' that inspires the world . . . It is a gift to raise your family here, to vote here and to live here." - Arnold Schwarzengger

 

Have a great week!

"Boots"

 

The FBI has released a comprehensive new report on mortgage fraud—now posted in full. And, as you might expect given the downturn in the economy and all the troubles in the lending industry, it isn’t a pretty picture.

The information can get quite technical, with plenty of charts, graphs, and hard numbers. But we invite you to take a read if you’re interested in getting educated on the issue—and on emerging schemes that might impact your own pocketbook.

Among the key findings:

... Mortgage fraud is clearly on the rise. Although there is no central way to track the total extent of the problem, we received 46,717 Suspicious Activity Reports related to mortgage fraud last year—compared to 35,617 in 2006 and just 6,936 in 2003. Only seven percent of these reports documented an exact dollar amount in terms of losses, but even so, the total loss from this seven percent was $813 million. Our caseload has also escalated. By the end of fiscal year 2007, we were handling just over 1,200 mortgage fraud investigations—a 47 percent increase from 2006 and a whopping 176 percent increase from 2003.

... The downward trend in the housing market will continue (see forecasts provided by the Mortgage Bankers Association in the report), providing further incentive for shady real estate industry insiders to look for dishonest ways to turn a profit and growing opportunities for scam artists to prey on vulnerable homeowners.

... The subprime lending crisis is a contributing factor to mortgage fraud, both directly and indirectly. Subprime loans, designed for people with poor or limited credit histories, now represent more than 13 percent of all outstanding loans—double the percentage of five years ago. These high-interest, high-risk loans contributed to the 2.2 million foreclosures filed during 2007, up 75 percent from 2006. The trouble actually began when home prices were rising a few years ago, leading to relaxed lending practices throughout the industry and the exaggeration of assets by borrowers anxious to qualify for loans, both of which contributed to fraud.

... The top 10 hotspots nationwide for mortgage fraud in 2007, carefully mapped from multiple public and private sources, were: Florida, Georgia, Michigan, California, Illinois, Ohio, Texas, New York, Colorado, and Minnesota. The north-central region had the largest share of mortgage fraud, followed by the west and southeast regions. 

.. The latest mortgage scams run the gamut: from “builder-bailout” schemes where developers unload excess inventory through financial trickery…to foreclosure rescue frauds that trick homeowners into signing over the deed to their house; from seller-assistance scams that use false appraisals to sell homes…to identity theft that leads to home equity credit lines being opened and drained. See the report for more details.

The report also briefly recounts our proactive response to the problem, including our participation in the Department of Justice's Mortgage Fraud Working Group, through which we are helping to identify large-scale industry insiders and criminal enterprises conducting systemic mortgage fraud...our work in multi-agency mortgage fraud task forces and working groups around the country...and our recent “Mortgage Fraud Summit” to discuss the issue with special agents nationwide. 

For more information:
- The 2007 Mortgage Fraud Report
- FBI Mortgage Fraud webpage

information obtained from the FBI web page

Can you help find and provide information regardng any of these suspects? Call 414-935-7302 (24/7) wih any information.

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!

                                        

Be Aware of Hit Man E-Mail Scam

Be wary of a scam e-mail that continues to circulate. The sender claims to be a hit man hired to kill you, but offers you reprieve in exchange for money.

Be on the alert and be cautious.

Winter recreation is a great time of year. We enjoy ice fishing, sledding, snowmobiling, and cross country skiing to name a few.  I felt it was appropriate to talk about ice safety.

Ice on ponds, rivers, and lakes can be affected by many things. The strength and the thickness of the ice must be known before any activity by you or a family member takes place on it. Safety is of paramount importance. 

The rule of thumb for ice safety is as follows: 

• 2 inches of new clear ice is ok for walking on.
• 4 inches of new clear ice is ok to spend time fishing on.
• 5 inches of new clear ice is ok to snowmobile on.
• 8-13 inches of new clear ice is ok to drive a vehicle on.

REMEMBER – RIVER ICE IS USUALLY 15 – 20 PERCENT WEAKER THAN POND OR LAKE ICE. 

Slush is a danger sign. It indicates that the ice is no longer freezing from the bottom and indicates it is weak and or deteriorating.

Temperatures, precipitation (snow, sleet, rain) are all factors that affect the strength of the ice. 

Never check the ice alone or try to rescue a victim of an ice failure. Why?  Because you could end up going from rescuer to victim very quickly. If you fall through the ice, try to climb out toward the direct you came from. You know the ice was strong up to that point.

In closing, be aware that ice thickness and strength can vary from location to location. By following the few safety tips you can be safer and enjoy the many winter activities in our great outdoors

                                                                          

Mickey the Mope and Sneaky Sam are cruising your neighborhood right now looking for your snow blower. That’s right they do not care if your rich or poor, young or old, they want your snow blower and they want it now.

Thieves need two things to complete the job, ability and opportunity. You have the capability to control the opportunity provided to a thief by following a few simple guidelines.

The most important item to remember is NOT to leave your snow blower out in the open. When you are done using it put it away. Do not leave it in the driveway, yard, front sidewalk, alley, or any other location unattended. The thugs will take your snow blower in the blink of an eye. It only takes less than 15 seconds to pick it up, throw it in a vehicle, and be gone with your property.

If you see a suspicious vehicle or people call the police. Reporting accurate information to include day, date, time, and location of the suspicious activity is essential to catching these thugs. Be specific in your description(s).

Describe people from the top down. For example: white male, 6’, 200 pounds, red baseball cap, glasses, green zipper jacket, blue jeans, grey gloves, brown shoes. Observed entering a green GMC pickup truck, truck plate 12345, loud muffler, decal in the rear window, last seen going north on Jaberty Street on December 29, 2007 at 3 AM.

When you provide this information to the police request they do a follow up phone call to you with their findings. You will want to k now that they are investigating the information you provided to them.

In summary store your property in a secure location. Do not leave it out in the open unattended. Call the police about suspicious people and vehicles, and take back your neighborhoods. Be vigilant and stand up for what is right.

Your comments and suggestions are appreciated.

Winter recreation is a great time of year. We enjoy ice fishing, sledding, snowmobiling, and cross country skiing to name a few.  I felt it was appropriate to talk about ice safety.

Ice on ponds, rivers, and lakes can be affected by many things. The strength and the thickness of the ice must be known before any activity by you or a family member takes place on it. Safety is of paramount importance. 

The rule of thumb for ice safety is as follows: 

• 2 inches of new clear ice is ok for walking on.
• 4 inches of new clear ice is ok to spend time fishing on.
• 5 inches of new clear ice is ok to snowmobile on.
• 8-13 inches of new clear ice is ok to drive a vehicle on.

REMEMBER – RIVER ICE IS USUALLY 15 – 20 PERCENT WEAKER THAN POND OR LAKE ICE. 

Slush is a danger sign. It indicates that the ice is no longer freezing from the bottom and indicates it is weak and or deteriorating.

Temperatures, precipitation (snow, sleet, rain) are all factors that affect the strength of the ice. 

Never check the ice alone or try to rescue a victim of an ice failure. Why?  Because you could end up going from rescuer to victim very quickly. If you fall through the ice, try to climb out toward the direct you came from. You know the ice was strong up to that point.

In closing, be aware that ice thickness and strength can vary from location to location. By following the few safety tips you can be safer and enjoy the many winter activities in our great outdoors.

 

 

Once again, our country experienced another tragic school shooting. Although criticism has begun over this shooting do not forget attacks like these cannot be prevented by security devices and programs. In Red Lake, Minnesota the security guard was the first person killed.

One of the biggest contributing factors to school shootings is the failure to identify the warning signs or to take the signs (even obvious ones) seriously. Because of governmental educational efforts, several attacks have been foiled by people who have recognized and reported the warning signs to authorities. Of course in some cases, the signs have been as blatant as students sharing their plans for an attack in advance with their friends or warning other students not to go to school on a certain day.

Historically, incidents of school shootings tend to initiate similar attacks so that three or four major incidents occur within a few weeks of one another. Therefore it would be prudent for school security directors, local school boards, parents and students to review or establish emergency plans.

The open nature of schools and universities makes preventing attacks extremely difficult though a student body, faculty and staff that know the warning signs can be a vital line of defense. Once an attack begins, proper communications and well-designed contingency plans can minimize the casualty count.

Does your child’s school have a plan?

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.

Safety Suggestions for Children

Every parent has a responsibility to teach their children good safety habits. It should not be an after thought. Rather, these safety habits should be taught as early as possible and practiced on a daily basis.

I taught these to my children and grand children. They work, and they will work for you and your family. This short list is not meant to be all inclusive. Rather, it is meant to serve as a guide.

First off, do not; I repeat do not write your child’s name on clothing or other personal articles where a stranger can easily see it. Your child is more likely to respond to a stranger if called by name.

Teaching your children some basic safety tips is important. You should always have agreed upon plans. In the diving world we always practiced the slogan “plan your dive and dive your plan”. The same holds true with your children. If the plan changes, they must tell you and vise versa.

Teach your children to always know where they are. Be familiar with their surroundings. Tell your children to always stay with a friend or group of friends. Never go to isolated locations. Predators don’t like crowds and they tend to not bother groups of children.

If in a store teach them to go to the checkout counter or clerk if they get separated from you. NEVER have them go to the parking lot.

When they are home alone, no matter what age, they should never answer the door or tell someone over the phone they are alone.

Grownups do not need to ask children for help. If a stranger approaches them and asks for help, it is best to ignore them and leave the area immediately. Then tell an adult about the incident.

Tell your child to say “NO” if an adult makes an unreasonable request, makes them feel uncomfortable, or touches them inappropriately.

If someone grabs them teach them to fight, yell, kick, do what ever is necessary to gain others attention. Tell them to yell “This is not my mommy or this is not my daddy.” Teach them to do this even if the person has threatened to hurt them or you if they act up. Submission will only get them hurt or killed. Teach them to never ever give up!

If someone manages to get them into a car they should pull out some of their own hair and lay it on the floor. Spit all over the windows, door handles, etc. They should jump into the rear seat and start pounding on the windows, and kick out windows if possible. They have to gain immediate attention and be the nastiest kid that ever lived if they want to survive. Their life depends on it. You have to get this point across to them.

If placed into a trunk they should pull the emergency trunk release, kick out the tail lights, and start pulling any and all wires to make the vehicle lights work improperly. Police stop vehicles for equipment violations, this tactic could bring attention to the abductors vehicle thereby saving your child’s life.

I invite others comments to share on this subject. In my next post I’ll tell you what to do if your child is missing.