Waterview Tower

The building in the accompanying photo suggests a project in construction, but that's not exactly the case. More accurately it's a photo of a project gone bust. In this case, the developer was Ivan Dvorak, president and CEO of Teng & Associates, a well respected local architectural and engineering firm. Dvorak, as did many developers, got caught midstream without final financing arranged and could not continue. Today, his incomplete project stands in downtown Chicago as a grim reminder of why the vast majority of us are averse to risk. See the full story HERE

Building Implosion Goes Wrong

kin-dza-dza

1 km from Krasnosilka, Odes'ka Oblast (Ukraine)

Source: http://www.panoramio.com/photo/97671

Connie Converse

One by one, the years passed from the 1974 summer day when Connie Converse packed up her Volkswagen Bug, leaving behind letters to loved ones that said maybe they'd see her again or maybe they wouldn't.

And one by one, the odds grew against the chance that anyone outside those who knew her would ever hear the dozens of folk songs that friends and family always believed would make Converse famous.

Now, nearly 35 years after she gave up on her music and perhaps her life, Converse's music is being resurrected by an indie record label run by two New Yorkers who stumbled upon her recordings.

Read the rest of this San Fransisco Chronicle story HERE. Hear the music HERE.

War of the Worlds - Quito, Ecuador - 1949

It known in the U.S. is another War of the Worlds radio broadcast, but this one took place in Quito, Ecuador in 1949. It's an even stranger story that the one we know from 1938, when Orson Welles caused a panic on Halloween Night with his original broadcast. See this link: http://www.war-ofthe-worlds.co.uk/war_worlds_quito.htm

14-year old cons police

chicagotribune.com

Chicago police say 14-year-old fake cop drove patrol car; 7 officers accused of breaking rules

By CARYN ROUSSEAU

Associated Press Writer

6:45 PM CST, March 3, 2009

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago police said Tuesday that the 14-year-old who posed as an officer drove a patrol car and aided in an arrest, and that seven officers face disciplinary reviews for the "lax" behavior that allowed the teen's escapade to happen.

"They weren't paying attention," Superintendent Jody Weis said at a news conference announcing the completion of the investigation. "They were lax. I'm very upset. This whole incident is very disturbing."

The teenager, an aspiring police officer, allegedly wore a uniform and entered a South Side police station through an unlocked back door around 1:30 p.m. on Jan. 24. He was issued a radio and rode with a patrol officer for more than five hours, at times using the terminal in the squad car and responding to five assignments, Weis said.

Authorities previously said the teen did not drive a squad car, but Weis said Tuesday that the boy — who is too young to drive in Illinois — spent two hours behind the wheel. The boy also helped in the arrest of a suspect who allegedly violated a protection order.

"He brought the arm into the middle of his back so handcuffs could be placed on him," Weis said.

The boy returned to the station at 7:37 p.m., when a supervisor discovered the teen was not wearing a complete uniform and had no weapon, Weis said. The teen was arrested at 7:40 p.m.

"This is absolutely unacceptable," Weis said. "We were very fortunate that a lot of tragic things didn't happen."

The boy has pleaded not guilty in juvenile court to impersonating an officer. He is no longer in custody but must wear an electronic monitoring device.

The department's Internal Affairs Division has recommended discipline for each of the seven unidentified officers who remain on the job. The Bureau of Professional Standards, which Weis created a year ago to oversee the Internal Affairs Division, will review the recommendations. The officers also have the chance to appeal.

Discipline can range from an oral reprimand to dismissal, but Weis would not comment more specifically on what the officers might face.

Weis also has asked the U.S. Secret Service for an independent security review after the security breach.

The internal investigation included 150 interviews with civilians and officers and reviews of documents, videos and radio transmissions, Weis said. All officers involved have been retrained on applicable policies, the department said, and the entire 3rd District has been retrained on police impersonators.

There were 20 cases of impersonating an officer in 2007, 24 in 2007 and eight so far in 2009, Chicago police officials said. After the incident involving the 14-year-old, Mayor Richard Daley demanded accountability from police supervisors who were on duty at the time and Weis fielded questions for nearly two hours from visibly angry Chicago aldermen.

The Bourne Identify . . . in real life

"The young woman was floating face down in the water, about a mile southwest of the southern tip of Manhattan. Wearing only red running shorts and a black sports bra, she was barely visible to the naked eye of the captain of the Staten Island Ferry: When he caught sight of her bobbing head, it was like glimpsing the tip of a ballpoint pen across a busy city street. Less than four minutes later, a skiff piloted by two of the ferry’s deckhands pulled up alongside the woman. One man took hold of her ankles while the other grabbed her shoulders. As she was lifted from the water, she gasped."

Read the rest of this New York Times story: HERE

Fastest Gun In The World