New Mexico veteran who served as a Tuskegee Airman during World War II, Vietnam dies at age 84

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. ? John Edward Allen, a New Mexico veteran who served as a Tuskegee Airman during World War II and later earned honors for his Air Force service during the Vietnam War, died Tuesday after a long battle with cancer.

The NAACP Albuquerque Chapter President Harold Bailey said Allen died from multiple myeloma. He was 84.

A long-time resident of New Mexico after retiring, Allen was drafted into the U.S. Army Air Forces right out of high school in Live Oak, Fla., in 1945. At 17, he was assigned to the 332nd Fighter Wing of the Tuskegee Airmen ? a group that broke racial barriers in World War II by becoming the first black aviators in the U.S. military.

He did not see combat in World War II but he later received the Air Force Commendation Medal for assisting in de-arming two dozen 500-pound bombs that were dropped from the wing of a B-52 being prepared for a Vietnam War mission.

In addition, Allen and about 300 original Tuskegee Airmen were awarded a Congressional Gold Medal in 2007.

Upon retiring, the Rio Rancho resident was a sought after speaker around New Mexico and founded in 2000 a local arm for the General Lloyd W. "Fig" Newton Chapter of the Tuskegee Airman.

"History speaks for itself," said Bailey. "He was a role model, not only for African-Americans, but for all Americans in general."

Despite his accomplishments, Allen's wife, Willie E. Allen, said her husband rarely talked about them unless he was asked.

"I didn't even know he was a Tuskegee Airman until after we were married," she said. "When I found out I started reading all about the Tuskegee Airmen. I was so proud of him."

His wife said her husband also hardly talked about the racial discrimination he faced in his early days in the military and refused to carry any anger over it.

"That was just not the type of person he was," Allen said.

Source: http://www.startribune.com/obituaries/217972581.html

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Taiwanese lawmakers exchange punches in nuclear plant debate

Ruling and opposition lawmakers fight on the legislature floor in Taipei, Taiwan, Friday, Aug. 2, 2013. Taiwanese lawmakers exchanged punches and threw water at each other Friday ahead of an expected ... more?Ruling and opposition lawmakers fight on the legislature floor in Taipei, Taiwan, Friday, Aug. 2, 2013. Taiwanese lawmakers exchanged punches and threw water at each other Friday ahead of an expected vote that would authorize a referendum on whether to finish a fourth nuclear power plant on this densely populated island of 23 million people. (AP Photo/Wally Santana) less?

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/lightbox/taiwan-lawmakers-brawl-slideshow/

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WATCH: Justin Bieber shove fan?s iPhone down his pants

Sara Tomlinson via YouTube

Justin Bieber shoved a fan's cell phone in his pants when it was tossed up on stage at him.

It was no ifs, ands, or iPhone's on Justin Bieber's stage Tuesday night.

During a concert in Newark, New Jersey this week fans began throwing items at the perturbed pop star during his performance.

RELATED: JUSTIN BIEBER BRINGS RED ROSE TO SELENA GOMEZ'S BIRTHDAY BASH

One fan went so far as to throw their cell phone after he had asked the crowd to stop, so the Biebs decided to put it in an interesting place before returning it--his pants.

"I mean I do need a new iPhone," he joked as he shoved it in his underwear.

RELATED: JUSTIN BIEBER DID NOT SPIT ON FANS OVER BALCONY, SAYS REP

The surprising act caused the whole arena of die-hard Beliebers to start screaming.

The ?Beauty and the Beat" singer did address the audience before putting the iPhone in his leather trousers by repeatedly asking them to not toss their personal items at him.

RELATED: SELENA GOMEZ'S NEW SINGLE FEATURES JUSTIN BIEBER VOICEMAIL MESSAGE

"Can you please refrain from throwing things on stage, please and thank you," Bieber first said.

"Refrain - do you know what refrain is? Don't throw," Bieber told his fans after they didn?t oblige. "Are you guys going to keep throwing things on stage or should I keep performing?"

In the end, it all appeared to be fun and games for the star as he ended up laughing off the whole situation.

On mobile? Click here for video.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/nydnrss/home/~3/Zo8vbM9fPF0/story01.htm

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A False Equivalence Classic (Atlantic Politics Channel)

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US to auction wind energy leases off RI, Mass.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) ? The federal government will for the first time sell competitive leases for wind energy on the outer continental shelf as it holds an auction for leases for wind farms off the coast of Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

The auction will be held Wednesday, although the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said it could stretch into Thursday.

The area will be auctioned as two leases. It is 9 nautical miles off the coast of Rhode Island, sitting between and to the south of Block Island and Martha?s Vineyard.

The Department of Energy estimates that the area could support enough electricity to power more than 1 million homes.

There are currently no offshore wind farms in the United States, though several are being developed in state and federal waters.

? Copyright 2013 Globe Newspaper Company.

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Senate roundly rejects proposal to halt Egypt aid

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Senate roundly rejected a proposal Wednesday to redirect aid for Egypt into bridge-building projects in the U.S. after a potential Republican presidential candidate and tea party favorite challenged the Obama administration's refusal to label the ouster of Egypt's president a military coup.

Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky's amendment to next year's transportation bill would have halted the $1.5 billion in mainly military assistance the U.S. provides Egypt each year.

He cited the U.S. law banning most forms of support for countries that suffer a military "coup," a determination the administration has said it won't make about the Egyptian army's July 3 ouster of the Islamist President Mohammed Morsi. And he invoked U.S. infrastructure shortcomings as well as Detroit's bankruptcy and Chicago's violence to make his case for the money to be put back into the domestic economy.

"Our nation's bridges are crumbling," said Paul, who has previously failed in attempts to cut U.S. support programs for Egypt, Libya and Pakistan. "I propose that we take the billion dollars that is now being illegally given to Egypt and spend it at home."

The Senate voted 86-13 against the measure, the first to be proposed in either chamber of Congress since the army arrested Morsi, suspended the constitution and cracked down on the Muslim Brotherhood. A series of deadly protests have taken place since in what was once Washington's strongest ally in the Muslim world, but which has faced near constant turmoil since the revolution that toppled dictator Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

The vote laid bare a stark division among Republicans, pitting libertarians like Paul against hawks such as Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham, who plan to visit Egypt next week at President Barack Obama's request to press for new elections. They were joined by Sens. Bob Corker and Jim Inhofe, the top Republicans on the Senate's foreign relations and armed services committees, in speaking out against the amendment.

"It's important that we send a message to Egypt that we're not abandoning them," McCain said. Right now, Egypt is "descending into chaos. It's going to be a threat to the United States."

Sen. Marco Rubio, a potential rival of Paul's for the GOP ticket in 2016, sought middle ground by urging Egypt's aid to be restructured to better serve U.S. interests. Paul didn't gain Rubio's vote, but he did get that of minority leader Sen. Mitch McConnell.

On Tuesday, Graham had told reporters that holding the vote at all could send the wrong signal to Egypt. Cutting off the aid could threaten Israel's security and U.S. counterterrorism efforts, while backing Paul's proposal risked giving the impression that the U.S. is indifferent to the military's actions.

The Obama administration told lawmakers last week it won't declare Egypt's government overthrow a coup, guided by similar concerns about suspending programs that secure Israel's borders and fight weapons smuggling into the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. It also fears losing its greatest source of leverage with Egypt's military leadership.

The administration's position is largely supported by Senate Democrats, who voted unanimously against Paul.

"This amendment may be good politics, but it is bad policy," said Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/senate-roundly-rejects-proposal-halt-egypt-aid-154536968.html

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NSA chief to talk at hackers' conference in Vegas

LAS VEGAS (AP) ? The head of the U.S. National Security Agency has faced Congress and presidents in the past, and isn't expected to budge from the position that his mission is to stop terrorists and that his agency's surveillance program is critical, even amid a room full of hackers Wednesday at a conference in Las Vegas.

Army Gen. Keith Alexander has been unapologetic during recent public appearances about the NSA collecting "metadata" to, in his words, "connect the dots" and "go after bad guys who ... hide amongst us to kill our people."

"Our job is to stop them without impacting your civil liberties and privacy," Alexander told a July 18 audience at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado. "We don't want another 9/11."

Alexander has said his agency's ability to dip into what he characterized as a "virtual lockbox" and compare collected email and telephone data helped thwart 54 plots against targets in the United States and some 20 other countries.

He pointed to a failed plot in September 2009 against the New York City subway system that he said could have been the worst terror strike in the U.S. since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Another example he offered was a plot to bomb the New York Stock Exchange.

At Aspen and at a June 28 appearance before the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association in Baltimore, Alexander said his agency dipped into the metadata database fewer than 300 times in 2012.

He insists it wouldn't be physically possible and is "flat not true" that the spy agency is listening to people's phone calls and reading their emails.

But the Black Hat conferees that Alexander will face Wednesday are a skeptical and tech-savvy bunch ? attuned to news about former NSA systems analyst Edward Snowden leaking classified documents last month and the conviction on Tuesday of U.S. Army Pfc. Bradley Manning on 20 espionage, theft and other charges that could get him life in prison for giving military secrets to WikiLeaks. Manning was acquitted of the more serious charge of aiding the enemy.

"We're hoping he'll be addressing current issues head-on," said Meredith Corley, spokeswoman for the 16th annual Black Hat conference at Caesars Palace. Alexander's keynote speech was expected to draw most of the 7,000 registered attendees, Corley said.

At Aspen, Alexander unveiled measures including a "two-person rule" to thwart leaks like the disclosures by Snowden, a former computer systems administrator in Hawaii now living at a Russian airport while he seeks asylum in several countries. The rule would require two people to be present when key national security information is accessed or moved.

Alexander also talked in Colorado and Baltimore about creating a 4,000-person "Cyber Command" of offensive and defensive teams ? both to protect Defense Department systems and launch cyberattacks against enemy networks under White House orders.

"We've got to have this debate with our country," the eight-year NSA chief said in Aspen. "How are we going to protect the nation in cyberspace?"

But, "there is risk in having a debate on a national security issue," he added. "The adversary will learn what we're trying to do."

NSA spokeswoman Vanee Vines in Washington, D.C., declined Tuesday to provide advance word about Alexander's speech in Las Vegas. Vines wouldn't say whether a conference that attracts cyberspace explorers could serve as recruiting ground for the NSA.

But the spy agency chief's comments are expected to spur lively discussion among government workers, corporate systems analysts and freelance hackers both at the Black Hat events, and at DefCon, a somewhat more counter-culture conference that opens later this week, also in Las Vegas.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-07-31-US-NSA-Chief-Vegas/id-3e27ae7d337f4763bd938ea2eda5c859

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