A man dressed as the Star Wars antagonist Darth Vader robbed a bank in Setauket, New York. The robber was dressed in a character themed mask and blue cape. Armed with a hand gun, the robber stole an undetermined amount of cash from the Chase bank branch.

The robber entered the bank saying that he was robbing it. Customers initially thought it was a joke and began laughing. Detective William Lamb of the Suffolk County Police Department said that one customer attempted to tackle the robber and was attacked. He can be seen in the background of surveillance photographs. The robber then approached a teller and demanded cash while brandishing a weapon.

This robbery is the latest in a string of odd bank robberies in the New York metropolitan area. Yesterday the New York Police Department arrested a man who robbed banks while carrying flowers and potted plants. Police are also looking for an apparent cross-dressing robber who held up a bank in Long Island.

Rescue efforts were first focused on a ventilation shaft, but attempts to reach the miners failed. Rescuers have been drilling into the mine since Sunday. “The situation is very complex, the mine continues to have collapses because there is a geological fault-line,” said Sebastián Piñera, President of Chile, who “pledged to do everything possible to get to the trapped miners,” but acknowledged he was pessimistic.

There is no certainty that the miners, who are trapped about 400 meters (1300 feet) below the ground, are still alive.

via Chilean miners trapped after mine collapse; miscalculated drilling delays rescue – Wikinews, the free news source.

Testing SideBlog2 category

The unit was formed at Fort Hood, Texas, and first deployed in October 2006. An Army article says the unit is meant to meet “the critical requirement to ‘win back the roads’ using Army Aviation assets to maintain a persistent stare over demonstrated at-risk areas for IEDs.” Army leaders said they created the unit because the United States Air Force provided inadequate or inaccurate close air support.[1]

ODIN is the Army’s only unit that flies the MQ-1C Warrior unmanned aerial vehicle. Built by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, the extended-range multi-purpose hybrid UAV has an advanced sensor package incorporating electro-optical sensors, including FLIR, and synthetic aperture radar together with a laser rangefinder and a laser designator, the latter for “painting” targets for strikes with Hellfire missiles and laser-guided bombs.

By September 2007, the Warrior-Alpha had flown more than 6,000 hours and had contributed to the killing of 3,000 insurgents in Iraq.[2][1][3]

The Task Force trains operators for active, reserve, and Army National Guard. These analysts work with every type of unit including the military’s top secret units.[2][1][3]

Task Force ODIN received a Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) for their work with the 25th Infantry Division.

The Army is forming a similar unit in Afghanistan.[4]

On February 23, 2009, Task Force ODIN performed the first MQ-1C Warrior combat missile launch.[5]

[edit] References

1. ^ a b c Shanker, Thom (June 22, 2008). “At Odds With Air Force, Army Adds Its Own Aviation Unit”. New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/22/washington/22military.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss. Retrieved 2008-06-23.

2. ^ a b “Task Force ODIN Using Innovative Technology to Support Ground Forces”. http://www.dvidshub.net/?script=news/news_show.php&id=12463. Retrieved 2008-01-21.

3. ^ a b http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2007/06/18/214664/gaasi-flies-first-sky-warrior-uav.html

4. ^ Roosevelt, Ann, “The Need For Combat Aviation Continues, Increases, General Says”, Defense Daily, August 1, 2008.

5. ^ “Unmanned Aerial System First to Fire Missiles in Combat”. Multinational Force – Iraq Official Website. March 4, 2009. http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=25656&Itemid=128. Retrieved 2009-08-24.

via Task Force ODIN – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Testing SideBlog2 – SideBlog plugin, with different variables.

The task force was activated on July 11, 1944, under the command of Major General Robert T. Frederick. It consisted of the British 2nd Independent Parachute Brigade, the U.S. 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion (PIB) with the attached 463rd Parachute Field Artillery Battalion, the 517th Parachute Regimental Combat Team (PRCT), the 550th Glider Infantry Battalion, and the 551st Parachute Infantry Battalion.

The 509th PIB had the most combat experience of all the U.S. airborne units. It fought in French Northwest Africa and saw extensive action in Italy including storming ashore with the Fifth United States Army at Anzio. The 517th PRCT, commanded by Colonel Rupert D Graves, was the largest unit assigned to 1st ABTF. It included the 517th Parachute Infantry Regiment, the 460th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion and the 596th Parachute Combat Engineer Company.

The final plan of the attack ordered the 1st ABTF to jump into the Le Muy area just before dawn to seize strategic high-ground positions in order to repel German forces attempting to overrun the assault areas.

In the pre-dawn hours of August 15 the pathfinders were misdropped. However, the skill of the transport pilots enabled 85% of all the paratroopers to jump directly on their assigned DZ. By that evening Operation Dragoon was considered a huge success.

After the success of Operation Dragoon the 1st ABTF was assigned to liberate Cannes and Nice, then to secure strategic mountaintop positions in the Maritime Alps along the Franco-Italian border.

2nd Independent Parachute Brigade was withdrawn on 26 August 1944, and six weeks later was deployed to Greece.[1]

The 1st Airborne Task Force was disbanded after Thanksgiving in November, 1944 and its units moved to Soissons, France where the warmth of Southern France would soon be replaced by the brutal winter of the Ardennes.

via 1st Airborne Task Force (Allied) – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Giant Marbles, Joshua Tree National Park

The “Giant Marbles” rock formation in Joshua Tree National Park, located in California, United States. These spherical boulders were formed 100 million years ago from the cooling of magma beneath the surface. Groundwater is responsible for the erosion that created the spheres from rectangular blocks.

via Template:POTD/2010-07-23 – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The standard Lorem Ipsum passage, used since the 1500s

“Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.”

Section 1.10.32 of “de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum”, written by Cicero in 45 BC

“Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?”

1914 translation by H. Rackham

“But I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system, and expound the actual teachings of the great explorer of the truth, the master-builder of human happiness. No one rejects, dislikes, or avoids pleasure itself, because it is pleasure, but because those who do not know how to pursue pleasure rationally encounter consequences that are extremely painful. Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but because occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure. To take a trivial example, which of us ever undertakes laborious physical exercise, except to obtain some advantage from it? But who has any right to find fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying consequences, or one who avoids a pain that produces no resultant pleasure?”

Section 1.10.33 of “de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum”, written by Cicero in 45 BC

“At vero eos et accusamus et iusto odio dignissimos ducimus qui blanditiis praesentium voluptatum deleniti atque corrupti quos dolores et quas molestias excepturi sint occaecati cupiditate non provident, similique sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollitia animi, id est laborum et dolorum fuga. Et harum quidem rerum facilis est et expedita distinctio. Nam libero tempore, cum soluta nobis est eligendi optio cumque nihil impedit quo minus id quod maxime placeat facere possimus, omnis voluptas assumenda est, omnis dolor repellendus. Temporibus autem quibusdam et aut officiis debitis aut rerum necessitatibus saepe eveniet ut et voluptates repudiandae sint et molestiae non recusandae. Itaque earum rerum hic tenetur a sapiente delectus, ut aut reiciendis voluptatibus maiores alias consequatur aut perferendis doloribus asperiores repellat.”

1914 translation by H. Rackham

“On the other hand, we denounce with righteous indignation and dislike men who are so beguiled and demoralized by the charms of pleasure of the moment, so blinded by desire, that they cannot foresee the pain and trouble that are bound to ensue; and equal blame belongs to those who fail in their duty through weakness of will, which is the same as saying through shrinking from toil and pain. These cases are perfectly simple and easy to distinguish. In a free hour, when our power of choice is untrammelled and when nothing prevents our being able to do what we like best, every pleasure is to be welcomed and every pain avoided. But in certain circumstances and owing to the claims of duty or the obligations of business it will frequently occur that pleasures have to be repudiated and annoyances accepted. The wise man therefore always holds in these matters to this principle of selection: he rejects pleasures to secure other greater pleasures, or else he endures pains to avoid worse pains.”

These assignments are called health screenings and as such measure the present health of employees to give them a heads up for their future health. The New York Times had an article today saying that the Federal Government is mandating that there be no co-pay for preventive screenings. I see this as a wonderful step towards a healthier future and see no reason for the insurance or drug companies to fight this, the screening is free, the cure will kill you, the tests will get you in the door so a doctor can prescribe the prescription that might save your life. In an ideal world the cure for these diseases are life style changes, that takes work, it’s much easier for a doctor to prescribe a pill and shuffle you out of the office for a follow up…let the buyer beware (or in this case it’s free).