11.25.2019

THE FBI CRIME LAB OFFICIALLY OPENED 87 YEARS AGO ON 11-24-1932

FBI Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory

The crime lab that is now referred to as the FBI Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory officially opens in Washington, D.C., on November 24, 1932.

The lab, which was chosen because it had the necessary sink, operated out of a single room and had only one full-time employee, Agent Charles Appel. Agent Appel began with a borrowed microscope and a pseudo-scientific device called a helixometer.


The helixometer (ballistics microscope) purportedly assisted investigators with gun barrel examinations, but it was actually more for show than function. In fact, J. Edgar Hoover, the head of the FBI, provided the lab with very few resources and used the “cutting-edge lab” primarily as a public relations tool. But by 1938, the FBI lab added polygraph machines and started conducting controversial lie detection tests as part of its investigations.


In its early days, the FBI Crime Lab worked on about 200 pieces of evidence a year. By the 1990s, that number multiplied to approximately 200,000. Currently, the FBI Crime Lab obtains 600 new pieces of criminal evidence every day.



The origins of the FBI Bureau’s lab may be traced back to the 1920s. The latest developments in the field of scientific crime detection had captivated Hoover and other Bureau officials for years.

After he became Director in 1924,  J. Edgar Hoover encouraged the Bureau to keep an eye on the latest insights into Bureau work that science provided.


At first, this interest was focused on fingerprint identification matters, especially those dealing with the discovery of latent fingerprints, but the use of scientific analysis in other matters was becoming prominent in law enforcement circles, and Hoover wanted the Bureau to use these methods where applicable.


By 1930, the Bureau began using outside experts hired for such work on a case-by-case basis. That same year the Bureau began a criminology library for the use of its agents and support personnel,7 and it took over the collection and publication of uniform crime statistics from the International Association of Chiefs of Police.


In its new agent training program, the Bureau included expert lecturers on subjects like the use of the comparison of handwritings, the comparison of typewritings, the taking of fingerprints, the classification of fingerprints, moulage, ballistics and similar technical criminological subjects.8

Clearly, the application of science to criminal investigations was becoming a Bureau priority and went on to catch millions of killers and inspired the ID NETWORK...LOL

11.24.2019

THE FABULOUS B2 SPIRIT STEALTH BOMBER!


The Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit, also known as the Stealth Bomber, is an American heavy strategic bomber, featuring low observable stealth technology designed for penetrating dense anti-aircraft defenses; it is a flying wing design with a crew of two. Launched in April 1997.

The bomber can deploy both conventional and thermonuclear weapons, such as up to eighty 500-pound class (230 kg) Mk 82 JDAM Global Positioning System-guided bombs, or sixteen 2,400-pound (1,100 kg) B83 nuclear bombs. The B-2 is the only acknowledged aircraft that can carry large air-to-surface standoff weapons in a stealth configuration.


Because of its considerable capital and operating costs, the project was controversial in the U.S. Congress. The winding-down of the Cold War in the latter portion of the 1980s dramatically reduced the need for the aircraft, which was designed with the intention of penetrating Soviet airspace and attacking high-value targets. During the late 1980s and 1990s, Congress slashed plans to purchase 132 bombers to 21.

In 2008, a B-2 was destroyed in a crash shortly after takeoff, though the crew ejected safely. Twenty B-2s are in service with the United States Air Force, which plans to operate them until 2032.


The B-2 is capable of all-altitude attack missions up to 50,000 feet (15,000 m), with a range of more than 6,000 nautical miles (6,900 mi; 11,000 km) on internal fuel and over 10,000 nautical miles (12,000 mi; 19,000 km) with one midair refueling.



It entered service in 1997 as the second aircraft designed to have advanced stealth technology after the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk attack aircraft. Though designed originally as primarily a nuclear bomber, the B-2 was first used in combat dropping conventional, non-nuclear ordnance in the Kosovo War in 1999. It later served in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya.


11.23.2019

*NEW* A CHRISTMAS CAROL MINISERIES ON FX!

Guy Pearce as Ebenezer Scrooge

This looks like a great new holiday treat... A Christmas Carol is an upcoming fantasy miniseries based on the story of the same name by Charles Dickens. It is due to air on BBC One in the United Kingdom and FX in the United States on December 19, 2019. The three-part series is written by Steven Knight with actor Tom Hardy and Ridley Scott among the executive producers.


Filming locations include Rainham Hall in east London and Lord Leycester Hospital in Warwick. Cast members include Hardy, Guy Pearce as Ebenezer Scrooge, Andy Serkis as the Ghost of Christmas Past, Stephen Graham as Jacob Marley, Charlotte Riley as Lottie and Joe Alwyn as Bob Cratchit.



Starring:
Tom Hardy
Guy Pearce as Ebenezer Scrooge
Andy Serkis as Ghost of Christmas Past
Stephen Graham as Jacob Marley
Charlotte Riley as Lottie/Ghost of Christmas Present
Joe Alwyn as Bob Cratchit
Vinette Robinson as Mary Crachit
Jason Flemyng as Ghost of Christmas Future
Kayvan Novak as Ali Baba
Lenny Rush as Tiny Tim
Johnny Harris as Franklin Scrooge

KING OF PENTACLES: POTENTIAL AND SUCCESS


You arrive on the path of achieving and enjoying success…

The King of Pentacles represents someone who is unusually successful in business dealings and acquiring material possessions. Call this Pentacle "The Midas Touch" or "The Husband Card". This King could represent you, a friend, family member, father figure, boss, lawyer, businessman, mentor, potential lover, potential marriage partner, or even an open enemy.

You may make solid business decisions and wise investments for yourself, a friend, family member, father figure, boss, lawyer, businessman, or mentor. The King may represent a potential lover or potential marriage partner, someone who is trusted, honest and dedicated and may sweep you off your feet. Read More on Lotus

11.22.2019

THE DEATH OF NOTORIOUS PIRATE BLACKBEARD 11-22-1718


On this day Edward Teach aka as the pirate Blackbeard was trapped and murdered. He was only active for two short years but his legend remains and he is the most famous pirate of all time.

On a sunny winter day some three centuries ago, British warships fired their cannons in celebration as Lieutenant Robert Maynard sailed up the James River upon his return to Virginia.

Any questions as to the success of his covert mission to subdue one of history’s most notorious pirates were answered at the sight of the pungent trophy dangling from the bowsprit of Maynard’s ship—the severed, decomposing head of Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard.


It was only months earlier that Blackbeard had vowed to abandon his life as a sea bandit. Just weeks after striking fear throughout the American colonies by blockading Charleston, South Carolina, with his four-ship flotilla in May 1718, the pirate traveled up the Atlantic coastline to the North Carolina capital of Bath and pledged to give up his plunderous ways while appealing to Governor Charles Eden for a King’s Pardon.


Blackbeard fell victim to a trap.

After anchoring off the southern tip of Ocracoke Island the night before, Maynard ordered his two ships to advance on Blackbeard on the morning of November 22, 1718. The Virginian expedition quickly lost the element of surprise, however, when both the Ranger and the Jane ran aground. Blackbeard attempted to make a run for it out of the channel, but the British managed to extricate the Jane and pull within shouting distance of the pirates. “At our first salutation,” Maynard recounted, Blackbeard “drank damnation to me and my men, whom he styled sniveling puppies, saying, he would neither give nor take quarter.”


In death, the legend of Blackbeard was born.

Blackbeard may have died, but his legend quickly gained a life of its own. “Blackbeard was neither a particularly successful pirate in terms of treasure plundered, nor was he the fierce rogue he is made out to be,” Dolin says. “During his short turn on history's stage, less than two years’ time, he rarely used violence. Yet, he is often portrayed as a ruthless, even murderous character who terrorized his foes.” Full Story

11.20.2019

AT LAST! BETTER CALL SAUL SEASON 5 PREMIERES 2-23-2020!


Finally! After a very long wait, the fifth season of the AMC television series Better Call Saul is scheduled to premiere on February 23, 2020.


Bob Odenkirk (Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman), Jonathan Banks, Rhea Seehorn, Patrick Fabian, Michael Mando, and Giancarlo Esposito will reprise their roles from previous seasons and are joined by Tony Dalton, promoted to the main cast from his recurring role as Lalo Salamanca in season four.


Will we finally see the transition of Jimmy McGill into Saul Goodman? I can't wait to see this season. May start the rewatching after I finish The Crown. Here is a link to BCS recap videos.



THE GORGEOUS 1955 MERCURY MONTCLAIR HARD TOP


The 1955 Mercury Montclair is a gorgeous car. Especially in black though red is very nice as well. The vehicle name was introduced in 1955 and applied to Mercury's premium automobile line.

Ford historians are at a loss as to where the name originated; the consensus is that it's taken from the upper-class community of Montclair, New Jersey.

For 1955 and 1956, The Montclair featured Mercury's best appointments; extra chrome trim, and different two-tone paint combinations to set them apart from other Mercury products.


The 1955 Mercury redesign is considered one of the best of what was a banner year for nearly every domestic American automaker.

The Sun Valley

The full-size and top-line Montclair was Mercury’s newest model, and with a height of 58.6 inches, it was marketed as the lowest sedan you could buy. The coupe shared the Ford Crown Victoria body and included the glass top Sun Valley, of which only 1,787 were made.

Body styles also included a four-door sedan, two-door hardtop, and a convertible. The Montclair was powered by a 292-cid, 198-hp, OHV V-8 and slightly more than 100,000 were sold.


11.19.2019

THE ASSASSINATION OF LORD LOUIS MOUNTBATTEN 40 YEARS AGO


On August 27, 1979, Lord Louis Mountbatten was assassinated when Irish Republican Army (IRA) terrorists detonated a 50-pound bomb hidden on his uniquely green fishing boat Shadow V.

Mountbatten, a huge war hero, elder statesman, and second cousin of Queen Elizabeth II was spending the day with his family in Donegal Bay off Ireland’s northwest coast when the bomb exploded.


Three others were killed in the attack, including Mountbatten’s 14-year-old grandson, Nicholas. Later that day, an IRA bombing attack on land killed 18 British paratroopers in County Down, Northern Ireland.

The assassination of Mountbatten was the first blow struck against the British royal family by the IRA during its long terrorist campaign to drive the British out of Northern Ireland and unite it with the Republic of Ireland to the south. The attack hardened the hearts of many Brits against the IRA and convinced Margaret Thatcher’s government to take a hard-line stance against the terrorist organization.


Louis Mountbatten, the son of Prince Louis of Battenberg and a great-grandson of Queen Victoria I, entered the Royal Navy in 1913, when he was in his early teens.

He saw service during World War I and at the outbreak of World War II was the commander of the 5th destroyer flotilla. His destroyer, the HMS Kelly, was sunk off Crete early in the war. In 1941, he commanded an aircraft carrier, and in 1942 he was named the chief of combined operations.

From this position, he was appointed supreme Allied commander for Southeast Asia in 1943 and successfully conducted the campaign against Japan that led to the recapture of Burma.



In 1947, he was appointed the last viceroy of India, and he conducted the negotiations that led to independence for India and Pakistan later that year. He held various high naval posts in the 1950s and served as chief of the United Kingdom Defense Staff and chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee.


Meanwhile, he was made Viscount Mountbatten of Burma and a first earl. He was the uncle of Philip Mountbatten and introduced Philip to the future Queen Elizabeth. He later encouraged the marriage of the two distant cousins and became godfather and mentor to their first born, Charles, Prince of Wales.



Made governor and then lord lieutenant of the Isle of Wight in his retirement, Lord Mountbatten was a respected and beloved member of the royal family. His assassination on August 27, 1979, was perhaps the most shocking of all horrors inflicted by the IRA against the United Kingdom.


In addition to his grandson Nicholas, 15-year-old boat hand Paul Maxwell was killed in the attack; the Dowager Lady Brabourne, Nicholas’ grandmother, was also fatally injured. Mountbatten’s grandson Timothy–Nicholas’ twin–was injured; as was his daughter, Lady Brabourne; and the twins’ father, Lord Brabourne. Lord Mountbatten was 79.


The IRA immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it detonated the bomb by remote control from the coast. It also took responsibility for the same-day bombing attack against British troops in County Down, which claimed 18 lives.


IRA member Thomas McMahon was later arrested and convicted of preparing and planting the bomb that destroyed Mountbatten’s boat. A near-legend in the IRA, he was a leader of the IRA’s notorious South Armagh Brigade, which killed more than 100 British soldiers. He was one of the first IRA members to be sent to Libya to train with detonators and timing devices and was an expert in explosives.



Authorities believe the Mountbatten assassination was the work of many people, but McMahon was the only individual convicted. One of the suspected bombers (Burns) blew himself up while working on his own bomb. Sentenced to life in prison, he was released in 1998 along with other IRA and Unionist terrorists under a controversial provision of the Good Friday Agreement, Northern Ireland’s peace deal. McMahon claimed he had turned his back on the IRA and was becoming a carpenter.

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