fuzhong.org

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Wikinews interviewed author Nancy Many about her book My Billion Year Contract, and asked her about life working in the elite Scientology group known as the “Sea Org“. Many joined Scientology in the early 1970s, and after leaving in 1996 she later testified against the organization. Published in October, Many’s book has gone on to become one of the top selling new books on Scientology at Amazon.com.

Monday, October 13, 2008

In the United States, there are two major political parties; the Republican and the Democratic. However, there are several other minor – commonly referred to as “third” – parties. One of these is the Modern Whig Party, which has been steadily increasing in popularity over recent months.

Last week, Wikinews reporter Joseph Ford was able to speak with MWP Chairman Mike Lebowitz about how his party was formed, what it stands for, and why you should consider joining. The interview can be read below.

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

According to the Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms Agency or ATF, at least 686 sticks of dynamite and at least 30 pounds of ammonium nitrate were stolen from Gold Mountain Mine Company in Big Bear City, California located in San Bernardino County. Fuel oil and mining equipment are also among the items stolen. When combined, the fuel oil and ammonium nitrate become combustible and authorities fear what could be done with the explosives.

“The obvious concern is someone stole it, and what are they going to do with it? This is a quantity of explosives that could do significant damage. We need to recover these items,” said John D’Angelo, spokesman for the ATF.

The thieves cut locks on the gate that leads to the facility and then cut the locks on a metal storage bin and stole its contents and everything inside the facility. The man responsible for mining operations in the area does so as a hobby. The robbery was reported on May 3.

“We urge anyone who has information about this theft to contact ATF and the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department. Our job is to keep the public safe. We take the theft of explosives extremely seriously, and we will relentlessly follow up every lead until we solve the case,” said John A. Torres who is the special agent in charge of the ATF in Los Angeles.

Authorities have offered a $25,000 reward for information about the crime that leads to an arrest and conviction.

Saturday, April 7, 2007File:Felipe Massa 2007.jpg

Ferrari driver Felipe Massa won the pole on the FIA Formula-1 2007 Malaysian Grand Prix on Sepang International Circuit. This occurred at the last possible moment. McLaren–Mercedes driver Fernando Alonso stayed in the lead for the most part of the third qualifying session, but was closely pursued by his rivals from Ferrari and by his teammate Lewis Hamilton who, after the fantastic debut in the previous race, surely has ambitions for the World Champion title.

A new interesting feature of the F1 cars was presented by Bridgestone, the tyre supplier. All tyres of softer compound will be marked by a white stria along the tyre groove starting from this race onwards. As intended, this will help audience to distinguish the tyres, it will be more helpful than the previous white heavy dot on the outer side of the tyre.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

An internal investigation by the United States Marine Corps into the crash of an F/A-18 jet into a San Diego house has blamed errors on the part of the pilot, his superiors and maintenance personnel for the accident which killed four people.

The report found that mechanics had noticed the aircraft had a faulty fuel transfer system in June 2008 but repairs were never made, with the defective jet performing 146 more sorties in this state before the December accident.

“While we did not find any evidence of criminal wrongdoing, the responsible parties are being held accountable for their part in this tragic accident,” said Maj. Gen. Randolph Alles of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. Four Marine squadron officers have been relieved of duty, as well as Navy officers. Eight enlisted Marines and one Navy sailor have been reprimanded. The pilot has been grounded.

On the day of the accident the pilot, Lt. Dan Neubauer, had just taken off from the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln when he reported that the aircraft’s right engine had low oil pressure.

Neubauer, who was still in training, shut the engine down as a precaution, leaving the plane operating on the left engine. The Abraham Lincoln’s captain and the ‘air boss’ suggested an emergency landing at the North Island military base, which was about 100 miles from the carrier. This would have given an approach from over the ocean.

Neubauer contacted his squadron bosses and instead opted to try to land at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, which was 11 more miles away and involved a flight path over San Diego. Neubauer also failed to read his own emergency checklists, instead having sections read to him by his squadron representatives on the ground. The squadron representatives at Miramar were unaware of all the details of the situation on board and did not read out all the relevant sections.

Officers at Miramar were informed of the fact that a warning light indicated the remaining engine was running low on fuel. However, they did not take heed in what was described by the report as a “critical mistake”. In fact, the plane’s tanks had plenty of fuel, but the engine trouble was caused by the faulty fuel flow system, which fed the left engine. Officers also failed to watch the plane’s location properly.

Upon final approach to Miramar, Neubauer thought, incorrectly, that he could not turn right, towards his inoperative engine. Instead, he conducted a long leftwards loop to line up. The maneuver took around ninety seconds to complete and starved the left engine of fuel, causing it to flameout. At this point the jet fell towards the ground and the pilot attempted to aim the aircraft for a canyon, where it could crash safely. However, the plane did not stay airborne and struck a house at an estimated 150 mph. It is thought that two more seconds would have been enough for the plane to reach the canyon.

Instead, the crash killed four people inside the house; a grandmother, her daughter and her two granddaughters. The children’s father, Dong Yun Yoon, was among those briefed on the publication of the report, alongside politicians in Washington and San Diego. The pilot safely ejected after holding on as long as possible, the report stating that a second or two more would have likely resulted in his death.

The investigation has a number of implications. The fuel problem was not followed up on as it was not on a list of faults requiring immediate repair, but nonetheless 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing operations officer Col. John Rupp said keeping it in the air “was collectively poor judgment on the part of the squadron’s maintenance department.” The commanding officer, operations officer, aviation maintenance officer and operations duty officer have all been relieved of duty, while eight other marines and a sailor were reprimanded.

Maintenance standards have been upgraded and emergency training enhanced as a result. Flight simulators are set to include a scenario based on the accident. Lt. Dan Neubauer has been grounded and it is up to the deputy commandant for aviation whether he will be allowed to return to the air. Immediately after the accident, all F/A-18s were grounded and inspected. The Marines issued a bulletin to all other operators of the aircraft worldwide to warn them of the circumstances.

So far, the Marines and the United States Navy have identified 40 F/A-18 Hornets with the same problem. None of these have crashed.