Results tagged “military”

If you get the sense a war between L.A. and SF is brewing over the weekend, here what's actually happening: "On November 8 and 9, 2009, military flight training exercises will occur in and around the greater Los Angeles area," the LAPD said a statement today. "The military operation will be routine proficiency flight training exercises. Training sites have been carefully selected so that activities will not interfere with the daily routines of the community. Training will occur after 5 p.m. each day and will be generally in Central and West Valley Areas."

As Obama prepared for his big "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" speech last week, government figures released showed that women are more likely to be kicked out of military service under the policy than men. In a story, the Associated Press highlighted Julianne Sohn, who now works for the LAPD.

Yesterday, Tustin's Lt. Dan Choi was told by the military's Federal Recognition Board that they were recommending his discharge from service, citing his violation of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. The Board determined that his declaration of his sexual orientation during an appearance on MSNBC's Rachael Maddow Show and his serving in the military while openly gay was an act of "moral and professional dereliction," according to a letter by Choi sent to his supporters in the Courage Campaign. Choi adds, however, that this is only the beginning of his fight:

The board's decision to fire me is not the end. Now that this panel of four officers has recommended my discharge, it still must be approved by senior officials in the Army, a process that could take a few weeks to a year. Unless something unexpected happens, it may be just a matter of time before the Army officially fires me.

Continue reading "'Moral and professional dereliction' Cited in Recommendation to Discharge Openly Gay Lt. Dan Choi"

Earlier this year, Tustin's Dan Choi, a lieutenant in the Army National Guard, shared during a television interview that he is homosexual, which put him in violation of the military's Clinton-era "don't ask, don't tell" policy regarding gay servicemen and women's need to keep their sexuality a secret.

There have been some questions recently about all the helicopter activity in the Echo Park area. The Eastsider LA was trying to figure it out (and eventually did!) and even the LAPD's one media relations officer had no clue despite the information being published last week on their blog. The urban training missions began June 15 and will continue through Saturday. "The operations will be routine training exercises conducted by military personnel, designed to ensure the military’s ability to operate in urban environments, prepare forces for upcoming overseas deployments and meet mandatory training certification requirements," the LAPD wrote. "Training sites have been carefully selected so that activities do not interfere with the daily routines of the local populace."

Without a doubt, there will probably be more military fly overs today than this, but since we know the one in Santa Monica, here's your warning. Two Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopters will fly over Santa Monica's Woodlawn Cemetery at 11:45 a.m. this morning. Then a C-17 Globemaster III will fly over Venice and Santa Monica beaches around 1 p.m. This is for an annual event at the cemetery.

The San Diego military jet crash that killed four family members back in December was "clearly avoidable," Marine Corps Major Gen. Randolf Alles said today, citing delayed maintenance and faulty decisions by controllers and the pilot. The Corps announced that they have disciplined 13 people including four--the commander of the fighter squadron involved in the crash, its top maintenance officer and two others--of their duty.

Paranoia was rife in Los Angeles County during the Second World War. Military Aircraft were constantly on the defense from the German's as well as the Japanese after the Pearl Harbor assaults, so rumor that another foreign invasion was on the horizon caused mass hysteria.

    

A FA-18 Delta military jet that crashed into a San Diego neighborhood shortly before noon killed at least three people who have not been identified yet. Investigators know that a grandmother, a mother and two children lived in the residence and say one person is unaccounted for, according to AP. The pilot who ejected himself before the crash and landed at a nearby high school playing field is listed in stable condition at the hospital.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. People want to lose weight this year, get in better shape, look good naked, blah, blah, blah, blah. Does it actually happen? Sure, some do. But most? We all know that reality.

• Want a Wii this holiday season? Well toooooo fuckin bad. The best you can hope for is a rain check certificate that will entitle you to a console at some point in January. Even the Wii people themselves are now admitting what a mess they've made of manufacturing this thing.
• Two members of a terrorist cell have pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to wage war: the splinter group was "was poised to attack military sites, synagogues and other targets" in Southern California. The two men face 20-25 years in prison.
• Oh noes! The hipsters will be so dry now! The DWP will be draining Elysian Park and Silver Lake reservoirs because of high levels of toxic chemicals in the water.
• Gas prices soar, consumer inflation also goes up: "Consumer Price Index rose 0.8 percent last month, the biggest one-month increase since a 1.2 percent surge in September 2005, when the country was hit by rising energy costs in the wake of Hurricane Katrina."
• It's the PLAGUE!!! Actually, no, it's just the flu, and a child in the Valley is the first to be diagnosed this season. Get your flu shots! Unless you're like me and treat every illness with a few stiff shots of whiskey.
• Rhino Records is open again! Not at their storied Westwood location (sniff sniff), but they're operating a "pop-up" store during the month of December only over at Third and Fairfax.
• A "guns-for-gifts" exchange will be held tomorrow in Compton: "People turning in a gun to sheriff's personnel will receive a $50 gift card to Best Buy, Home Depot, Ralphs or Target. $100 gift cards will be given for each of the first 50 guns turned in. About 400 guns were turned in at a similar exchange in 2005".
• Conan O'Brien and NBC are getting sued...by a bodybuilder...over a Clay Aiken gay joke. Do we live on the moon or something? Oh no, that's right -- Hollywood.
• Midnight Ridazz are doing an all-city Bring-A-Toy-For-Charity bike ride tonight. Check their website for details.

MUSIC: CalTech isn’t just about nerdy rocket scientists. They have glee clubs, too! All kidding aside, tonight's concert will feature traditional holiday favorites as well as the Women's Club taking on Porpora’s Magnificat, written in the 1730s. 8 pm // Dabney Lounge at California Institute of Technology // 1200 East California Blvd., Pasadena // Free. DANCE: From CalTech, we’ll head over to CalArts in Valencia. The Sharon Disney Lund School of Dance is holding its...

But first - Kobe vetoed a trade! Baseball in the Coliseum - Just after it was announced that the Red Sox will open the exhibition season against Oakland in Japan, the Dodgers confirmed that the defending World Champs would play three games against the Blue Crew. The cool part? One of the games will be in the Coliseum as part of the Dodger's 50th anniversary in Los Angeles. Yes, it can be configured that way...

We had no good photos from last night, so enjoy a video of Chad Henne getting tackled by a goalpost. Stars 5, Ducks 0 - Dallas center Mike Modano described it as Anaheim's "Stanley Cup hangover." His team took advantage by dishing out one of the Duck's worst whoopin's in almost six years. Goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere got yanked in the third ... The Pacific Division seemed like the strongest last year, but this year...

That's what Orange County Fire Authority Chief Chip Prather said this morning:If we had more air resources, we would have been able to control this fire. Instead we've been stuck in this initial attack mode on the ground where we hopscotch through neighborhoods as best we can trying to control things. But OCFA is not the only frustrated agency in Southern California, as losses grow to an estimated $1 billion in San Diego County...

In 2003, the New York City Council voted to oppose the war in Iraq. Two years later, they drew a resolution for the "orderly and rapid withdrawal" of Iraq. Now, three days short of exactly two years after New York, the Los Angeles City Council, in a 12-2 vote, voted yesterday to support pulling out of Iraq.The council said it approved the resolution because it wants the federal government to end the war, which...

A few months ago, after reading an LAist writer's experience about CrossFit in Santa Monica, I knew I had to give it a try. Knowing it would be extremely intense, I kept on saying to myself, "I'll go in when I'm a little more in shape." But for me, my desired workout routine only comes into play when I am preparing for a race and I accidentally missed the deadline for next week's Mud Run...

Nationally, a new Bin Laden tape appears, a bomb scare at a U.S. Military base in Germany, William Saffire looks into how the meme 9/11 has taken hold in the language (A meme is “a unit of cultural information”) and NYC tries to move on. Here is a smattering of local September 11th news: There are four city events taking place today between 7 a.m. and the Dodgers Game tonight. More info at the Fire...

Did you know today is the 226th birthday of El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora La Reina de Los Angeles -- aka L.A.? The old bitch is looking pretty good for her age! Although the city did not incorporate until 1850, September 4th, 1781 is the date that 44 Mexican pobladores set out from San Gabriel with a military escort to settle alongside a great river -- then called the Rio de Porciuncula, later to...

Today the worst president ever got to share his thoughts on the worst AG ever, and the lies seethed out like snakes from Medusa's slithery scalp. This morning Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announced that he will leave the Department of Justice after two and a half years of service to the department. Al Gonzales is a man of integrity, decency and principle, and I have reluctantly accepted his resignation with great appreciation for the...

Photo by toastycakes via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr

Boy, it's certainly heartening to see that we're still making good "progress" on the whole "winning hearts and minds" objective: Here at this searing, dusty U.S. military base about four miles west of Baqouba, Iraqis — including interpreters who walk the same foot patrols and sleep in the same tents as U.S. troops — must use segregated bathrooms. Another sign, in a dining hall, warns Iraqis and "third-country nationals" that they have just one...

Photo by ellwoodite via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr

A welcome home celebration/legal aid fundraiser is being held for Agustin Aguayo this Friday, July 27th, at 7:00PM. I'll give the event details, but first let me tell you a little bit about Agustin:

This 'tube is an oldie, but goodie (now repackaged with the soundtrack of Move Bitch by Ludacris) brought to you by the War in Iraq. News Sophisticate a political news blog, is shocked: No wonder the people of Iraq see US as an occupying force. Could you imagine if someone drove through the streets of L.A. or D.C. like this? If the police would not shoot them, a citizen sure would. Watch as pedestrians...

LOGO, the nation's first (and only) openly gay television network, is set to host the next Democratic presidential debate in Los Angeles on August 9. The moderators will include Joe Solmonese, the president of Human Rights Campaign, and Melissa Etheridge, the Academy Award (for her rendition of An Inconvenient Truth's "I Need to Wake Up") and two-time Grammy Award-winning rock musician and prominent gay rights activist. So what specific topics will be on the...

Although we would have thought that there would be no safer place for a 13-year-old at one o'clock in the morning than a Las Vegas casino, comes news that early this morning a teen from Van Nuys was clipped by one of the ten "random" shots fired by a Vegas local. Troy Sanchez, a 13-year-old from Van Nuys, Calif., who was wounded in the left ankle, said he heard more than 10 gunshots from...

It sounds like something straight out of Batman. Not the somber action movie from a couple of years ago, but the campy TV show from the 1960s. Apparently, the U.S. military semi-seriously considered a proposal for building a "gay bomb," a device that would unleash hormones into the air, turning enemy soldiers into homosexuals who were more interested in getting it on with each other than fighting. Shockingly, this idea was proposed by the...

This weekend marks the official start of barbeque season! If you've already mastered grilling, and are ready to move up to the next level, welcome to the world of smoking. Just remember, grilling is like a one-night stand and smoking is like a marriage. You should prep the ribs the night before and start smoking them six hours before serving. It requires a certain level of commitment. But the commitment is only one of...