USA – Page 5 – Slugger O'Toole

Odyssey Marine confirm site of shipwreck containing 200 tonnes of silver 300 miles off Irish coast

Pete Baker on September 26, 2011, 10:11 pm

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As the BBC report, the US company Odyssey Marine Exploration have confirmed “the identity and location of the shipwreck site of the SS Gairsoppa nearly 4,700 meters below the surface of the North Atlantic, approximately 300 miles off the coast of Ireland in international waters.” And if the historical records and research are correct, the wreck contains 7 million total ounces [200 tonnes] of silver. Worth £600,000 when the ship was torpedoed by a German U-boat and sank in 1941, the silver hoard is …

Hurricane Irene: “one scary big storm…”

Pete Baker on August 26, 2011, 8:44 pm

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As Hurricane Irene heads for the North Carolina coast, US President Barack Obama cuts short his family holiday in Martha’s Vineyard, by a day, warning the public that “All indications point to this being a historic hurricane”. The Guardian report adds that “Obama’s wife and daughters will travel back as planned on Saturday”. [Image credit: NASA/NOAA GOES Project] The GOES-13 satellite saw Hurricane Irene moving through the Bahamas on August 25, 2011 at 1402 UTC (10:02 a.m. EDT) and far …

Euro crisis: Just when you thought you were out…

Pete Baker on July 29, 2011, 3:41 pm

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Signs, perhaps, that the markets remain less than convinced about last week’s eurozone leaders’ agreement on debt. Yesterday Italy was forced to pay more to borrow than just one month ago. Credit agency Moody’s has warned it may downgrade Spain’s rating. All three credit agencies have a negative outlook on the country’s rating as the Spanish prime minister Jose Zapatero calls an early general election. And, in Cyprus, where the credit rating was downgraded by 2 points on Wednesday by Moody’s, …

Garland extradition hearing finally begins

Pete Baker on July 18, 2011, 9:52 pm

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Just a quick post to note that former Irish Worker’s Party president Sean Garland’s extradition hearing began today. It’s listed for the next 4 days. Garland is accused by the US authorities of being the ringleader of a massive forgery racket that distributed high quality counterfeit 100 dollar bills – “superdollars”. After being named in a BBC Panorama programme in 2004, Garland was initially arrested in Belfast in 2005, but jumped bail. He was re-arrested in January 2009 in Dublin and has been on strict bail …

US Department of Justice: “Journalism is a protected activity; academic research is not.”

Pete Baker on July 5, 2011, 2:10 pm

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In a contentious conspiracy theory, the History News Network’s Chris Bray helpfully points to the US Department of Justice’s response to the motion by Boston College to quash the federal subpoena requesting the College’s Northern Ireland archive material. From the HNN post quoting the DoJ briefing [HNN added emphasis] In its Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty with the United Kingdom, the federal government has traded away the role of the courts, leaving discretion only in the hands of the executive branch: “Notably, the …

IFI: “It is therefore incorrect to say the fund has an uncommitted surplus.”

Pete Baker on June 27, 2011, 4:12 pm

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The Detail’s John Breslin interviewed the chairman of the International Fund for Ireland, Denis Rooney, about the ongoing campaign to re-instate funding. But when he asked about the accounts, he was referred elsewhere. From The Detail report The Detail wanted to talk to someone from the organisation able to walk through the accounts. That did not happen despite two e-mails sent over two weeks ago asking for an interview with someone familiar with the accounts. As of September 2010, the …

Euro crisis: “it is the fear of the unknown that is holding sway”

Pete Baker on June 8, 2011, 4:46 pm

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Frau Bundeskanzerlin has been to Washington, to pick up her Presidential Medal of Freedom. And to smooth over the ruffled feathers of that transatlantic relationship. As he handed over the medal, US President Barack Obama warned of the danger of the Euro debt crisis impacting the global economy, and in particular, the US economy. He might be looking for a handy scapegoat in the months ahead… But as, still everyone’s hero, Robert Peston points out “America’s banks would seem to have a good …

Adam ain’t lost it….at least you left “us” Canada…

Dewi on May 27, 2011, 5:04 am

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Once again Thanks to Syniadau. – I’m becoming a bit of a conduit…. That’s a great video of Adam Price giving the Harvard graduate oration. It’s only 7 minutes odd long – well worth a watch. DewiWelsh Nationalist. Rugby Fan. Know a bit about History and Railways…

“So far, no replacement has been named for Declan Kelly”

Pete Baker on May 26, 2011, 12:12 pm

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As the Irish Echo notes, the US State Department has “nothing to announce at this time” on whether there will be another economic envoy to Northern Ireland appointed. The report also notes that the economic envoy’s website is now a “password protected area” – but it was registered by Declan Kelly Consulting. From the Irish Echo report Kelly, resigned his position earlier this month. A State Department spokeswoman refused to directly respond to the question of whether the Obama administration would appoint another envoy …

IFI’s US Congress funding: “I can’t believe somebody’s trying to bring this back.”

Pete Baker on May 24, 2011, 4:10 pm

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Will the efforts of two horsemen of the apocalypse congressmen result in the ‘earmarking’ of US Congress’ funding of the International Fund for Ireland? The coup de grace on that funding was supposed to have been delivered some time ago… The Washington Post reports on the debate over whether the attempt by New York Reps. Peter King [R] and Joseph Crowley [D], who cite “diplomatic reasons” for their efforts, constitutes an congressional earmark – which are currently banned. From the Washington Post report In …

President Obama’s speech on the Middle East and North Africa

Patrick Corrigan on May 20, 2011, 1:16 pm

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President Barack Obama is due to give an open-air speech on Dublin’s College Green on Monday afternoon. That a huge crowd will be there to hear him is not in doubt. Neither is the President’s speech-making ability. Indeed, it has been one of the hallmarks of his presidency and the campaign which preceded it. Remember the foreign policy speech he gave in Berlin in July 2008 to an estimated crowd of 200,000? It was great. He spoke about the US …

Nasa images Alabama tornado tracks

Pete Baker on May 17, 2011, 9:51 pm

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Nasa has released some stunning satellite images, from the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER), of the ‘footprint’ left by the monster tornado which hit Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on April 27th. The false-colour images use visible and infra-red data. [Image credit: Science@NASA] From the Science at Nasa report “This is the first time we’ve used the ASTER instrument to track the wake of a super-outbreak of tornadoes,” says NASA meteorologist Gary Jedlovec of the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL. In the …

“At the very least, there is negligence on the part of the researchers…”

Pete Baker on May 14, 2011, 12:39 pm

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Those involved in Boston College’s Northern Ireland archive continue to mutter about the motivations behind, and potential damage to future research from, the subpoena for their source material. But as the Boston Globe report notes However, Stephen Pope, a theology professor at BC, said the guarantee of confidentiality to interview subjects is at best, naive, and at worst, manipulative, especially when conducting research like the BC project that “has such grave significance for society.’’ “It’s important to get legal advice …

Boston College NI archive materials subpoenaed

Pete Baker on May 13, 2011, 12:10 pm

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There’s been an edited version published of two of the interviews held in Boston College’s Northern Ireland archive – which now also contains the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning (IICD) archive. Now the New York Times reports that Boston College has received a supoena for the source material. In exchange for candor, the people being interviewed were assured that the contents would remain sealed until they were dead. Now, however, authorities in the United Kingdom want oral histories that were given to Boston College …

US Economic Envoy to Northern Ireland resigns

Pete Baker on May 11, 2011, 11:29 am

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The BBC report that the US Economic Envoy to Northern Ireland, Declan Kelly, has resigned. Well, as he said in January, “It’s no longer somebody else’s problem.” Still, nice of him to wait until the election was over… According to the BBC report There is no indication that the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has any immediate intention to replace Mr Kelly – something which may concern politicians and business leaders on this side of the Atlantic. Adds From …

“If Pakistan cannot or will not act…”

Pete Baker on May 4, 2011, 3:29 pm

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A “war of words” has broken out between the US and Pakistan over the former’s decision to launch a “unauthorised unilateral action” resulting in the targeted killing of Osama Bin Laden on Pakistani soil. There were some relevant comments made at the first White House press briefing [2 May] following Bin Laden’s death. At the start of the briefing the Obama Administration Press Secretary, John Carney, quoted Barack Obama in July 2008 – “We must make it clear that, if Pakistan cannot or will …

“Obama has as President created a new climate in international politics…”

Pete Baker on May 2, 2011, 10:30 pm

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Over a month after US President Barack Obama’s unilateral decision to authorize US forces to use missile strikes “kinetic military action” against Libya without the approval of Congress, and the UN withdraws from Tripoli as its offices, and other foreign missions, are attacked in the aftermath of a NATO air strike on one of Muammar Gadafy’s homes. In addition, “world leaders and security experts have urged renewed vigilance against retaliatory attacks” after President Obama authorised a targeted killing, of Osama bin Laden, on Pakistani soil – …

“I hope the people of Ireland will give him a brilliant and wonderful welcome…”

Pete Baker on March 31, 2011, 11:56 pm

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Another post possibly related to the point Mick was making… As the BBC notes US President Barack Obama will not cross the border into Northern Ireland when he visits the Republic of Ireland, the Irish prime minister has said. From the breakingnews.ie report The Government is gearing up for the historic May visit after President Obama announced on St Patrick’s Day that he wanted to return to his roots in Moneygall, Co Offaly. But the Taoiseach said that under diplomatic rules …

Not Magical Unicorn Fairyland.

Pete Baker on March 26, 2011, 8:42 pm

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US President Barack Obama’s unilateral decision to authorize US forces to use missile strikes “kinetic military action” against Libya without the approval of Congress prompted a number of House Representatives within the Democratic Party to express their concerns. It also prompted something of a debate about the constitutionality of his decision – with some arguing that “the Obama administration [was] breaking new ground in its construction of an imperial presidency”. There is, however, a reasonable case in support of the President’s position, …

IFI funding “coup de grace”?

Pete Baker on March 17, 2011, 4:14 pm

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I had thought that this Irish Echo report meant that the US Congress had de-funded the International Fund for Ireland (IFI). But, as Mark Devenport notes, the Washington Post reported on Monday that the “coup de grace” could be due today. From the Washington Post report Also, in an odd sense of timing, an international fund for Ireland would lose $17 million, a proposal backed by the State Department. The Senate could vote to eliminate those funds, and others, on Thursday …