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| Lodi Fire Captain child porn appeal fails Posted: 20 Jan 2009 04:27 PM PST By Rhett Pardon, XBIZ.com Tue, 20 Jan 2009 11:30:00 -0800 FRESNO, Calif. — A California appellate court this month affirmed a man's conviction for possessing child pornography based on the presence of temporary Internet files stored in computer caches. Lodi Fire Captain Michael James Tecklenburg was convicted of six counts of knowing possession or control of child porn, but he contended on appeal that there was insufficient evidence to show he knowingly possessed child pornography absent evidence that he knew of the temporary Internet files' existence. Tecklenburg was arrested in 2004 after state examiners discovered temporary cached files containing child porn while reviewing the hard drive of Tecklenburg's workplace computer in conjunction with another probe. Cached files deleted from a computer are not actually erased from the hard drive but remain in unallocated space until they are overwritten. When state examiners opened up the cached files on the work computer and others, images contained references to "Lolita," as well as "Age14 SchoolGirls," "daddy's babes" and "young Lolita's shaved." In his conviction, the appeal court weighed evidence of child porn involving seized computers: one from his home that had been kept in the kitchen of the defendant's family and used on various occasions by his wife and several of his five children, one at his workplace at the Lodi Fire Department, and two at the Clements Fire Department, where Tecklenburg volunteered. No California court had previously considered whether a defendant can be convicted under Penal Code Sec. 311.11(a) absent evidence of knowledge of files in a computer's cache, so California's 3rd District Court of Appeal turned to a similar case from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, U.S. vs. Kuchinski. The 9th Circuit in that case held that such a conviction was improper without evidence the defendant had knowledge of the cache files, holding that, "[t]o do so turns abysmal ignorance into knowledge and a less than valetudinarian grasp into dominion and control." But the state appellate court wrote that the California statute differed from the federal law in U.S. vs. Kuchinksi, in that California's statute prohibited the possession of an "image" of child pornography, rather than only the cache in which the image is contained. Reasoning that California law defines an image of child pornography displayed on a computer screen as an object that may be knowingly possessed or controlled, the appeal court upheld Tecklenburg's conviction despite his argument that he was unaware of the files' existence. Appeal Court Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, who wrote the opinion for the court, said she was unswayed and said that the evidence amply supported the jury's conclusion that Tecklenburg knowingly possessed or controlled images of child pornography, despite the contention that others – family members and dozens of firefighters — may have accessed child porn. "These four computers contained not only websites, images, and Internet search terms similar to those on defendant's home computer, but some of the same websites and at least one image of the same children as pictured in one of the defendant's home computer images," she wrote. "Defendant apparently would have us believe computer browsing of child pornography is common among firefighters — so much so that it is unreasonable, without forensic examination of the computers of all the other firefighters, to infer from the evidence of child pornography on the fire department computers that it was defendant who was on those computers and his home computer when the child pornography was accessed." ASACP's technology and forensic research director, Tim Henning, told XBIZ that surfers of adult entertainment should take note of the ruling and be cautious of the websites and content they are viewing "Since it is possible to innocently view content that is child pornography via spam email, mislabeled peer-to-eer content, malicious software and user-generated content sites surfers first need to report immediately to ASACP or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children anything they have happened upon which is questionable," he said. "Also it is prudent to only surf adult sites you trust such as ASACP approved member and sponsor sites; not to view images where the models appear and/or are described as very young; and to be mindful of the text used to describe image, video or website links," he said. "ASACP would also like to remind the creators of adult entertainment websites be mindful of the terminology they use to describe their sites, images and video." Source: Xbiz - Link |
| UCLA chemical fire victim dies Posted: 20 Jan 2009 04:16 PM PST Associated Press Posted: 01/20/2009 08:03:35 AM PST LOS ANGELES — A school spokesman says a 22-year-old research assistant severely burned in a chemical fire at a science classroom at the University of California, Los Angeles last month has died. Spokesman Phil Hampton says the woman died Friday at Grossman Burn Center in Sherman Oaks, where she was transferred after getting initial treatment at UCLA Medical Center. The woman, whose name has not been released, was working in a room in the school's molecular sciences building on Dec. 29 when chemicals flashed in a flask and gave her second- and third-degree burns over 40 percent of her body. Hampton says UCLA's Environmental Health Science department is investigating the fire. Source: mercurynews.com - Link |
| NTSB:Black Boxes reveal engines lost power at same time Posted: 20 Jan 2009 10:16 AM PST The mayor of his hometown, Danville, Calif. Mayor Newell Arnerich, said US Airways Capt. Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger and his family were attending President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration. Miracle on the Hudson IC PRELIMINARY EVENT SUMMARY: NTSB: Airliner's engines lost power at same time after reaching an altitude of only 3,200 feet, The Airbus A320 that crash-landed in the Hudson River had lost power simultaneously in both engines after reaching an altitude of only 3,200 feet, the plane's black box recorders revealed Sunday. The data and voice recordings confirmed US Airways Capt. Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger, call to ATC (air traffic control) calling mayday and reports that they hit birds, lost both engines and attempting retur to La Guardia airport, minutes later Capt. Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger the pilot of the US Airways flight carrying 155 people maneuvered the plane over New York City and safely into the Hudson river water after striing a large flock of birds Thursday afternoon. Engine search: The search for the plane's missing left engine is suspended until Tuesday because ice floes in the river make it too dangerous to put divers or special sonar equipment in the water. The wreckage of the Airbus A320 was moved by barge Sunday night to a New Jersey marina, where investigators planned to inspect the extent of the damage more closely. The area where the barge was moored was closed to the public, but it attracted hundreds of residents and tourists, who snapped pictures of the plane wreckage. U.S. Airline Pilots Association shuts down the media: Sullenberger had been scheduled to give his first public interview on Monday morning to NBC "Today" show host Matt Lauer, but the appearance was canceled Sunday at the request of the U.S. Airline Pilots Association. Stephen Bradford, president of the association, said he asked Sullenberger not to engage in any media activities because the pilots association has "interested party" status with the NTSB, which allows it to participate in the investigation. Sullenberger released a statement deferring to the advice. "The Sullenbergers continue to thank their many well-wishers for the incredible outpouring of support," the statement said. Related video report: The Pentagon Channel - Coast Guard's response to airliner down in the Hudson River. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 20 Jan 2009 08:05 AM PST  U.S.C.G. - Get the Fix...Switch to 406 121.5 and 243 MHz emergency beacons will no longer be monitored by satellite after February 1, 2009
More Information: 121.5 MHz Phase Out: The International Cospas-Sarsat Program will terminate satellite processing of distress signals from 121.5 and 243 MHz emergency beacons on February 1, 2009. After this date, mariners, aviators and other persons will have to switch to emergency beacons operating at 406 MHz in order to be detected by satellites.
Satellites will stop processing signals from 121.5 MHz Search and Rescue Satellite-Aided Tracking: SARSAT overview graphic
SARSAT Information:
Training Presentations:
Properly Dispose of Old Beacons To Prevent False Alerts A Survivor's Story
Beacon Types
ELT: Emergency Locator Transmitter for aviation use
This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| FEMA: $18 Million For Southern California Wildfire Assistance Posted: 20 Jan 2009 06:45 AM PST Deadline To Register today - January 20th Release Date: January 16, 2009 » More Information on California Wildfires PASADENA, Calif.-- More than 2,400 residents applied for assistance in the weeks since wildfires attacked four California counties. Housing and other disaster-related assistance totaling $ 18,724,156.14 have been approved to date for Southern Californians in the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and Santa Barbara. Individual assistance is available for residents with property damages from wildfire. Here is a summary of disaster assistance funding to date:
Beyond the dollars provided to Southern California residents, much individualized attention is involved in wildfire recovery:
FEMA's community relations specialists walk disaster neighborhoods to offer recovery information and assistance. To date they have spoken with: The California State Bar has a legal assistance hotline at 1-866-636-9041. Wildfire victims can call the line with disaster-related basic legal questions, such as replacing lost documents, housing-landlord-tenant disputes, and insurance issues. Public assistance grants are being written on a cost share basis to state, county and local governments for emergency work such as debris removal and reimbursement for protective measures, plus repairs to roads, public utilities, public buildings, and public parks. FEMA coordinates the federal government's role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror. |
| KCFD: Scam Alert - Possible Identity Theft Posted: 20 Jan 2009 05:21 AM PST The Kern County Fire Department does not have any programs involving the installation of security alarm systems and does not support this type of activity. If you or any body you know have experienced any solicitation referencing the fire department you are advised to call 911 immediately. For more information telephone 661-871-1301 |
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