Thursday, June 21, 2007

US aircraft manufacturer Adam Aircraft have received US$105 million in funding for two aircraft that they currently produce, namely the Adam A500 and the Adam A700 AdamJet. Both are carbon-bodied six-seat civil utility aircraft. The A500 is piston-engined and has a Push-pull configuration and the A700 is of a new variety of aircraft known as very light jets (VLJs).

A significant proportion of the money came from a senior secured credit facility from Morgan Stanley Senior Funding Inc. Adam Aircraft say that the money will be used to accelerate the production of the A500 and to move the A700 through the certification process with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Founder and CEO of Adam Aircraft Rick Adam said that investors were given confidence by the company’s order backlog, currently valued at around $800 million. Earlier this month, China’s Hainan Zhong Hang Tai General Aviation Airlines expressed their confidence in the uncertified A700 when they announced that they had placed an order for 50 of the new aircraft. They say that they chose the A700 because it had the largest cabin space of any VLJ, with company CEO Jason Fan adding that he thought the “innovative twin-tail design remind(s) people of a Formula 1 race car.” It is an expensive purchase, as the Chinese government charges a 21% import tax on new aircraft.

Rick Adam said of the new funds “this financing allows Adam Aircraft to aggressively pursue our product development and production growth plans,”.

Adam Aircraft say that the A700 is presently undergoing flight tests and development processes. The company hopes to certify it with the FAA in 2008.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

An Atlas V rocket has successfully launched a classified spy satellite for the United States National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). The satellite, currently known to the public as NRO L-28, or Launch 28, is believed by amateur enthusiasts to be a signals intelligence (SIGINT) spacecraft, known by the codename Trumpet. The Atlas V carrier rocket flew in the 411 configutation, with a 4 metre diameter fairing, one solid rocket motor, and a single-engine Centaur upper stage.

The rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3 East (SLC-3E), at 10:02 GMT (03:02 local time) this morning. Today’s flight marks the thirteenth launch of the Atlas V, and the first Atlas V launch from Vandenberg. It is also the tenth orbital launch of 2008. The satellite entered a Molniya orbit, usually used by the NRO for SIGINT and communications satellites.

The launch was conducted by United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Lockheed Martin, who designed and built the Atlas V, and Boeing, to provide EELV launches for the US Government. ULA president Michael Gass described the launch as “a proud moment in our company’s history”. The launch had been delayed by two years, from early 2006, due to a number of factors.

In addition to its reconnaissance payload, the satellite is carrying two small experiments. SBIRS-HEO 2 and TWINS-B. SBIRS is a test article for a missile detection system, slated to launch late this year or early next, and TWINS is a NASA infrared astronomy experiment. They will remain attached to the satellite for the duration of its mission.

Following the separation of the payload fairing, around five minutes after launch, all information on the launch was withheld, however about an hour into the flight, the launch was confirmed to have been successful. ULA will conduct its next launch on Saturday, when a Delta II will orbit a GPS satellite. The next Atlas launch is scheduled for mid-April, with the ICO G1 communication satellite.

Monday, April 7, 2008

Wikinews has learned that the Church of Scientology warned the documents-leaking site Wikileaks.org that they are in violation of United States copyright laws after they published several documents related to the Church. Wikileaks has no intention of complying, and states that in response, it intends to publish a thousand pages of additional Scientology materials beginning Monday.

In the letter to Wikileaks, lawyers for the Church’s Religious Technology Center (RTC), which oversees the use of the their logos, writings and religious content, states that the site “placed RTC’s Advanced Technology works on Wikileaks.org’s website without the authorization” of the Church.

“I have a good faith belief, and in fact know for certain, that posting copies of these works through your system was not authorized by my client, any agent of my client, or the law. Please be advised that your customer’s action in this regard violates United States copyright law. Accordingly, we ask for your help in removing these works immediately from your service,” states the letter from Ava Paquette of Moxon & Kobrin, which was published by Wikileaks.

On March 9, 2008, Wikileaks published several documents relating to the Church’s Office of Special Affairs and personal notes gathered by Frank Oliver, a former Scientologist and former member of the Church’s Special Affairs office. On March 26, 2008, Wikileaks published the entire set of the Churches ‘Operating Thetan Level’ documents which included handwritten notes by Scientology’s founder, L. Ron Hubbard.

Although the letter does not mention specific legal threats, the letter asks that Wikileaks “preserve any and all documents pertaining to this matter and this customer, including, but not limited to, logs, data entry sheets, applications — electronic or otherwise, registration forms, billings statements or invoices, computer print-outs, disks, hard drives, etc.”

Despite the letter, Wikileaks states it will not comply with the “abusive request” by the Church.

“Wikileaks will not comply with legally abusive requests from Scientology any more than Wikileaks has complied with similar demands from Swiss banks, Russian off-shore stem cell centers, former African Kleptocrats, or the Pentagon. Wikileaks will remain a place where people of the world may safely expose injustice and corruption,” stated Wikileaks in a release on its website.

Wikileaks further states that, “in response to the attempted suppression, Wikileaks will release several thousand additional pages of Scientology material next week.”

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

China has warned the United States that ties between the two countries will be strained if the US President meets the Dalai Lama. This follows the little progress achieved at “sharply divided” talks between China and the representatives of the Dalai Lama in China. Chinese Communist Party official Zhu Weiqun, speaking at a press conference to discuss the five-day visit by the representatives, said that “corresponding action” would be taken if the White House did not step down. He elaborated, stating that “it will seriously undermine the foundations of Sino-US political relations“, and that China would take “corresponding action to make relevant countries see their mistakes.”

He added, “The Dalai Lama is already 75. We hope he will face up to reality, change his stand and make a correct choice for the remainder of his life.” He went on to say that “We oppose any attempt by foreign forces to interfere in China’s internal affairs using the Dalai Lama as an excuse,” referring to the United States.

The Dalai Lama fled Tibet after an uprising rebelling against China failed in 1959. The talks between the exiled supporters & China follow a conference last month, held by Chinese leaders, to review Tibet policies.

Tibet saw major unrest in March of 2008, and riots and demonstrations are a regular occurrence, although the Chinese Government believes that its policies in Tibet are correct.

This development adds to previous tension between the United States and China, caused by issues over internet censorship and the US-Taiwan arms deal announced last week.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Four officers from London’s Metropolitan Police went on trial today accused of repeatedly beating a Muslim arrested on suspicion of helping “terrorist organisations operating abroad.” The men deny assaulting Babar Ahmad, 36, in his home, in a police van and in a police station.

The assault charges stem from the December 2003 arrest in the city’s south-west. Less than a year earlier a similar operation in Manchester had seen an officer stabbed to death by a suspect now serving life in prison. Jonathan Laidlaw, prosecuting, told the jury in Southwark Crown Court the officers had likely been informed Ahmad had militant training and involvement in overseas fighting. The police team was from the specialist Territorial Support Group.

Whilst acknowledging fears Ahmed, who was released without charge, could pose a threat, Laidlaw rejects this actually being the case upon arrival at his home. Woken from sleeping beside his wife at 05:00 by calls of “police, police”, “[d]ressed only in his pyjamas and barefooted, Mr Ahmad raised his arms above his head to indicate that he was not going to fight or to present any sort of danger or threat to the police,” claims Laidlaw.

Police Constable Roderick James-Bowen, 40, was first into the room and knocked Ahmed back into a window, breaking it. Laidlaw had “no complaint” about this action but when “entirely submissive” Ahmed was handcuffed “[t]he defendants subjected him to a sustained and very violent assault – in effect they gave him a beating or they beat him up.”

The prosecutor contends the four officers – PC James-Bowen alongside PCs Nigel Cowley, 33, and Mark Jones, 43, and Detective Constable John Donohue, 36 – “punched and [beat Ahmed] on the floor”. The accused are said to have called Ahmed a “fucking bastard” and a “fucking cunt“. “On the floor the assault continued as his wife called out for the police to stop,” Laidlaw continued. This was followed, he claims, by a visit to Ahmed’s prayer room, where he was positioned as if praying and asked “Where is your god now?”

As part of the investigation into suspicions Amhed led a group “providing logistical support, financial assistance, recruits and computer expertise” to foreign militant groups, MI5 bugged the house. The jury was played a ten minute recording covering the arrest in which shouts, screams and apparent muffled commands were heard.

There followed a transfer via police van to Charing Cross police station. In the back of the van “[t]he officer sitting nearest to Mr Ahmad’s head asked him where he was born and when he replied London, that officer punched him in the back of the head. The same officer then lifted Mr Ahmad’s upper body and held him in a headlock with both arms. After releasing him [the officer] said: ‘You fucking cunt, you’ll remember this day for the rest of your life.'”

At the police station Ahmed says he was led to an area unviewed by CCTV cameras and punched and kicked. He was presented in “a collapsing state” to the custody sergeant who was told Ahmed had been violent and resisted arrest. However, the custody sergeant was quoted in court as hearing screams at the police station. “I would describe the screaming as what I believed was a man and that he was in prolonged discomfort and pain. It was definitely the sound of pain and not of him shouting out,” Laidlaw quoted the sergeant.

The officers are accused by the prosecution of having “lied” about any resistance offered by Ahmed, who was left with “areas of bruising, reddening and grazes to [his] head and neck, bruising to the chest, areas of bruising to [his] back, extensive bruising and grazing of the arms. In effect, there were injuries all over the victim’s body.”

Ahmed was re-arrested in 2004 and has spent the last seven years in custody facing extradition to the US. The US seeks to try him for fundraising for militancy amid claims he is a member of al-Qaeda; though initially a ruling in favour of extradition was reached an appeal is pending.