Haitian Military? NO!

Haiti's wannabe soldiers say they met with leader

Originally published: May 14, 2012 5:27 PM
Updated: May 14, 2012 7:18 PM
By The Associated Press  TRENTON DANIEL (Associated Press)

Photo credit: AP | A member of Haiti's dissolved army gestures after a press conference at an old army barracks on the outskirts ofPort-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, May 14, 2012. The leaders of the band of armed men gave a news conference to press Haiti's President Michel Martelly to honor his campaign pledge of restoring the army, which was abolished in 1995 because of its abusive record. Today Martelly marks his one year anniversary as president. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

Photos

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - (AP) -- The leaders of a band of armed men pressing for the return of Haiti's military met with President Michel Martelly while he was a candidate in hopes that he would bring back the army, a former sergeant said Monday.

Jean Fednel Lafalaise gave few details about the meeting, but said Martelly reassured members of the group that the army would be reinstated if he was elected president.

"This is what we are fighting for, this what we wanted," Lafalaise told reporters at an old military base outside the capital. "This is why we asked all our families to vote for Martelly."

A spokesman for the president couldn't be immediately reached for comment Monday.

The hopeful soldiers spoke with reporters on the same day that Martelly marked his first year as president.

Also on Monday, the Chamber of Deputies approved the Cabinet and government plan of Laurent Lamothe, making the former businessman Haiti's new prime minister. Martelly's first prime minister, Garry Conille, resigned because of disagreements with the president over priorities.

Several groups of armed men have been pressing Martelly in recent months to honor his campaign pledge of restoring the army, which was abolished in 1995 because of its abusive record. They've pressed their case by parading around Haiti's capital and the countryside while wearing military uniforms and sporting side arms.

The Haitian government has ordered the groups to clear out of several old army bases that they quietly took over in February but they have refused to leave.

Their paramilitary-like presence has come to embarrass Haiti as well as the country's United Nationspeacekeeping mission. The U.N. and Haitian National Police arrested two members of the group last week for carrying illegal weapons.

There has been much public speculation over who's financing the groups, with some lawmakers accusing them of receiving money from the government. Lafalaise said they are self-supporting.

"Nobody is financing us. We finance our own self," Lafalaise said. "We are the ones who fought to put it together."

The armed men say they plan to organize marches throughout the country on Friday, a national holiday.

In the first year in office, Martelly's government has cleared and closed several major camps for people dislocated by a killer 2010 earthquake, and has paid the school tuition for 1 million children.

But the first 12 months of his presidency have also been marred with political infighting and dysfunction that has slowed the post-quake recovery. His first prime minister resigned after only four months on the job.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Security: Personal Security. Kidnappings.

Personal Security: Express Kidnappings

The Book: International Security: http://www.risks-inc.com/books.html

Express kidnapping is a crime which has boomed over the last decade with incidents taking
place globally from Caracas to Vladivostok. There have been cases in London where victims have been snatched from the street and kept in captivity for several days until their bank accounts have been emptied via ATM machines etc.

One classic example of an express kidnapping that I know of happened to a businessman
visiting a Central American country. When he arrived at the airport he went to the taxi rank and
got a taxi to take him to his hotel, about 10 minutes into the drive the taxi pulled over and in
jumped two men with guns. The victim was handcuffed, threatened and robbed to start with. He
was driven to numerous ATM machines until he could not take out any more money on his bank
cards. As he was being driven around one of the kidnappers was making phone calls trying to
sell him to other groups, luckily for him no one wanted to buy him. The criminals had his
passport and took his picture on a cell phone, then told him if he reported anything to the police
they would find out, as they worked with them, then they would come and kill him. The man
went to his Embassy and they told him he was lucky, everything he lost could be replaced and
not to report the incident to the police.

The chances are that the fact this man was a foreigner could have saved him from being sold
on and into a ransom situation. These were not sophisticated criminals who had the skills and
resources to be able to handle a high profile kidnapping. As I have stated before criminals don’t
want attention and the kidnapping of foreigners usually brings attention from the international
media and the Embassy of the victim, which means embarrassment for the government and
pressure on local law enforcement to do something.

Express kidnappings are safer and more convenient for criminals, who do not need to be highly
skilled and connected to pull them off. In a typical kidnapping the criminals will usually go to a
wealthy area and look for a suitable target, someone who looks like they have some money and
then snatch them. Once they have the victim they’ll be robbed, taken to ATM’s, sexually
assaulted etc. If the victim has a cell phone the criminals may use it to contact their family for a
ransom, the amounts requested in express kidnappings tend to be low. This is where locals
make better targets than visitors; In say, Venezuela it would be easier and quicker for a resident
businessman in Caracas to get and deliver a ten thousand dollars ransom to kidnappers than it
would be for the family of a kidnapped student who may live in Helsinki.

The main problems with express kidnappings are that the kidnappers are generally not what
could be classed as high end criminals. This means they tend to be more violent and
unpredictable than groups that target higher profile victims for large ransoms.

One tactic that criminals are using throughout South America is to contact the families of people
who they have just stolen cell phones from or they know to be in places like cinemas etc. where
cell phones are usually turned off. The criminals then claim to have kidnapped the owner of the
cell phone or the person in the cinema and demand a ransom of a few thousand dollars, that the
family needs to pay within a couple of hours. Now consider how you would react if you received
a phone call from someone claiming to have kidnapped a close family member and telling you
to drop off two thousand dollars at a location in two hours or they’ll be killed. You would want to
contact your family member but if they don’t have or are not answering their cell phone, what
are you going to do?

If you have any questions on kidnapping prevention feel free to contact me!

Regards,

Orlando Wilson
Risks Incorporated
E-mail: wilson@risks-inc.com
Website: www.risks-inc.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/risksinc

The Book: International Security risks-inc.com

The Book International Security Personal Protection in an Uncertain World by Orlando Wilson covers personal security - counter terrorism - self defense - travel security and kidnapping...

Events: U.S. House of Representatives. Committee on Homeland Security

http://homeland.house.gov/legislation/schedule

Event Schedule

Subcommittee Hearing: Access Control Point Breaches at Our Nation's Airports: Anomalies or Systemic Failures?

May 16, 2012 in Washington, D.C.

Subcommittee Hearing: Department of Homeland Security: An Examination of Ethical Standards

May 17, 2012 in Washington, D.C.

Subcommittee Hearing: Terrorist Financing Since 9/11: Assessing an Evolving al Qaeda and State Sponsors of Terrorism

May 18, 2012 in Washington, D.C.

Subcommittee Field Hearing: Stopping the Flow of Illicit Drugs in Arizona by Leveraging State, Local and Federal Information Sharing

May 21, 2012 in Phoenix, AZ

11th Anniversary of Terrorist Attacks of 9/11

Sep 11, 2012

Safety: Pull over to a well lit, crowded place before stopping

Police: Phony officer could be killing Mississippi drivers

By Lateef Mungin, CNN

(CNN) -- Someone who may be posing as a police officer is pulling cars over on Mississippi highways and then shooting drivers dead, authorities said.

After two such shootings this month, the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is asking for the public's help to find the person.

"There are some similarities between the two incidents, mainly the fact they happened alongside a Mississippi highway," said MBI Director Lt. Col. Larry Waggoner on Monday. "The concern is that someone is posing as a law enforcement officer and that is how these vehicles end up on the side of the road."

The first shooting occurred on May 8. Thomas Schlender, 74, was found dead in his car in the median of southbound Interstate 55 about 1:30 a.m.

On May 11, Lori Anne Carswell, 48, was found dead outside of her car on the shoulder of Mississippi State Highway 713 about 2:15 a.m.

The shootings took place about 55 miles apart and the victims did not know each other, authorities said.

Authorities are asking citizens to be careful if they are pulled over and feel uneasy. They advise drivers to call 911 and verify that a legitimate officer is pulling them over or drive to a well-lit, crowded place before stopping.

CNN's Rick Martin contributed to this report.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/15/justice/mississippi-highway-shooting/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

Wheeling in green change by: BHARAT DOGRA

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-newdelhi/article3406477.ece

Rural scientist Mangal Singh has devised a turbine that runs on low-flowing water heads, thus saving farmers from spending money on diesel and electricity to lift water for irrigation

Many farmers spend a substantial amount of money for diesel or electricity to lift water flowing in small streams and rivulets to irrigate their fields. However, the innovation of a rural scientist from Bundelkhand region could help save millions of litres of diesel per year (or equivalent electricity).

Innovation:The Mangal Turbine that can help farmers.

Innovator Mangal Singh has devised and patented a low-cost and efficient fuel-less turbine, named Mangal Singh Water Wheel Turbine Pump-cum-PTP machine that can harness the energy of flowing water to lift water for irrigation and also operate cottage industries.

Popularly called Mangal Turbine, it requires low water heads up to one metre, which can be achieved by creating low-cost check dams, or existing check dams can be used.

As Mr. Singh explains, this turbine functions on the basis of a specially designed water wheel which can rotate even on a low water head of one metre, stepping up the rotation through a suitable gearbox in the range of 1500-1800 RPM (rotations per minute) and using the available mechanical power by connecting one end of the output shaft with centrifugal irrigation pump and the other with a suitable pulley to operate other machines and also an alternator to generate electricity.

Several experts who have made on-the-site inspections of the working of this device have recommended it strongly. Dr. T.P. Ojha, former Deputy Director General (Engineering) of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, has written: “Mangal Singh's device offers great promise and possibility of lifting river water for irrigation, fisheries, forestry and drinking purposes. The water head created by putting a check dam across the river or perennial water course generates enough force to rotate the water wheels to operate one or two centrifugal pumps in a series.”

B.K. Saha, former Chief Secretary, Government of Madhya Pradesh, said, “The system is extremely cost-effective, even after taking into consideration the cost of the stop dam. Where the stop dam is already available, the system is even more cost-effective. Installation of this device is strongly recommended wherever there is flowing water in small streams by constructing a stop dam and installing one or two water wheels as designed and developed by Mr. Singh. It saves on energy like electricity or diesel and is ecologically completely benign.”

Despite the official recognition of the great utility and potential of this work, Mr. Singh had to struggle against bureaucratic apathy and hostility.

He is also a crusader against corruption and continues using the Right to Information weapon to expose corruption. He feels that this probably angered certain influential powerful persons and he was victimised time and again.

Despite all these odds, his work has been successfully demonstrated in Bundelkhand and Uttarakhand. Working in the middle of financial and other constraints, Mr. Singh keeps travelling to various parts of the country to demonstrate his work.

As the need for reducing greenhouse gas emission increases, the importance of such environment-friendly works will continue to grow. For farmers facing economic crisis and struggling against shortages as well as increasing prices of diesel and electricity, Mangal Turbine, when properly installed and harnessed, can provide significant relief.