From physorg.com
Radar signals on the left are turned into an animation of a person walking on the right. In the radar signals the torso which has less movement is in the thicker orange color. The arms and legs which move more are in the thinner yellow color.
Radar signals, on the left, are turned into an animation of a person walking, on the right. In the radar signals, the torso, which has less movement, is in the thicker orange color. The arms and legs, which move more, are in the thinner yellow color. Credit: Hao Ling
University of Texas professor Hao Ling and Ph.D. candidate, Shobha Ram, are one step closer to making x-ray vision a reality. They are perfecting radar systems that can detect human activities through barriers and convert the signals to virtual renderings similar to that of a video game.
"There are several ongoing research programs in through-wall imaging, but they focus on building hardware sensors with very specific capabilities, says Ling. "That's expensive. What we want to do in this project is to first understand how human movements are manifested in radar data. Then utilize this knowledge to generate an image of a human."
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Doppler based radio frequency radar systems are particularly suited for tracking moving humans. They suppress background clutter from stationary objects and provide enough detail to show the dynamic movements of different body parts, in the form of "microDopplers".
"A human has very complex motion dynamics. When walking, the arms and legs move very differently than the torso, and these subtle, minute movements translate into unique microDoppler signatures," Ling says.
Ling and Ram built a physics-based Doppler radar simulator using computer animation data of human motions. Then they incorporated barrier characteristics into the simulation model. Finally, they validated the results with a previously developed Doppler radar testbed with live human movements in line-of-sight situations and behind barriers. Several former and present graduate students including Youngwook Kim, Craig Christianson, Nick Whitelonis, and Yang Li also contributed to the project.
"MicroDoppler signatures could become important tools for monitoring human activities over long durations," says Ram. "The radar simulator, in particular, is a flexible, inexpensive tool we can use to optimize the sensor configurations and signal processing algorithms needed for generating an accurate virtual image of a human behind different types of barriers."
Ultimately, this technology has important applications in search and rescue missions, law enforcement operations, and physical surveillance.
Source: University of Texas at Austin, Electrical & Computer Engineering
Friday, September 26, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
Cell phones can affect sperm quality
From CNN.com
(CNN) -- Keeping a cell phone on talk mode in a pocket can decrease sperm quality, according to new research from the Cleveland Clinic.
A Cleveland Clinic study shows that mobile phones left on talk mode in a pocket can hurt sperm quality.
"We believe that these devices are used because we consider them very safe, but it could cause harmful effects due to the proximity of the phones and the exposure that they are causing to the gonads," says lead researcher Ashok Agarwal, the Director of the Center for Reproductive Medicine.
In the small study, Agarwal's team took semen samples from 32 men and brought them to the lab. Each man's sample was placed into small, conical tubes and divided into two parts: a test group and a control group. The control group was unexposed to cell phone emissions, but kept under the same conditions and temperature as the test group.
The semen in the test group was placed 2.5 centimeters from an 850 MHz cell phone in talk mode for 1 hour. Researchers say that 850 MHz is the most commonly used frequency.
They used the measurement of 2.5 centimeters to mimic the distance between the trouser pocket and the testes. Agarwal reasoned that many men keep their active cell phones in their pants pocket while talking on their headsets.
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Overall, researchers found an increase in oxidative stress such as a significant increase in free radicals and oxidants and a decrease in antioxidants. Agarwal says that equals a decrease in sperm's quality, including motility and viability. Evidence of oxidative stress can appear under other conditions, including exposure to certain environmental pollutants or infections in the urinary genital tract.
"On average, there was an 85 percent increase in the amount of free radicals for all the subjects in the study. Free radicals have been linked to a variety of diseases in humans including cancer," said Agarwal. Free radicals have been linked to decreased sperm quality in previous studies.
However, the study does have major limitations, he acknowledged, such as the small sample size. It also was conducted in a lab and so cannot account for the protection a human body might offer, such as layers of skin, bone and tissue. Agarwal is in the early stages of further research that can model the human body's role in protecting from radio-frequency electromagnetic waves emitted from cell phones.
Agarwal also admits that there is no clear explanation of this demonstrated effect, but he shared some of his theories. "Perhaps the cell phone radiation is able to affect the gonads through a thermal effect thereby increasing the temperature of the testes and causing damaging effects in the sperm cell."
In a previous study, Agarwal and his team found that men who used their cell phones more than four hours a day had significantly lower sperm quality than those who used their cell phones for less time. Those findings were based on self-reported data from 361 subjects.
While representatives from the cell phone industry had not yet reviewed the latest study, they were careful not to give this study much merit. "The weight of the published scientific evidence, in addition to the opinion of global health organizations, shows that there is no link between wireless usage and adverse health effects," said Joe Farren, a spokesman for the CTIA-the Wireless Association.
"We support good science and always have," he said. "It's important to look at studies that are peer-reviewed and published in leading journals and to listen to the experts."
Agarwal emphasized that it is far too early for men to start changing cell phone carrying habits, noting that his own cell phone was in his pocket as he talked to CNN.
"Our study has not provided proof that you should stop putting cell phones in your pocket. There are many things that need to be proven before we get to that stage," he said.Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Richard Wright, Member of Pink Floyd, Dies at 65
By JON PARELES
Richard Wright, the keyboardist whose somber, monumental sounds were at the core of Pink Floyd’s art-rock that has sold millions and millions of albums, died Monday in London, where he had lived. He was 65.
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Associated Press
Pink Floyd’s original lineup, shown in 1967, included, from left, Roger Waters, Nick Mason, Syd Barrett and Richard Wright.
MJ Kim/Getty Images, 2005
Mr. Wright performing with Pink Floyd at Live 8 London.
The cause was cancer, said his publicist, Claire Singers.
Mr. Wright was a founding member of Pink Floyd, and his spacious, somber, enveloping keyboards, backing vocals and eerie effects were an essential part of its musical identity.
Though Syd Barrett and then Roger Waters wrote most of Pink Floyd’s songs, Mr. Wright shares credit on the improvisatory psychedelic studio works the band composed collectively, and he sang a few lead vocals, including on “Astronomy Domine” from the band’s debut album, “The Piper at the Gates of Dawn.”
Mr. Wright was the sole songwriter on “The Great Gig in the Sky,” a hymnlike track with a soaring, wordless female vocal at the center of “The Dark Side of the Moon,” the blockbuster 1973 Pink Floyd album that has sold some 40 million copies.
David Gilmour, Pink Floyd’s guitarist and singer, said in a statement on Monday: “In the welter of arguments about who or what was Pink Floyd, Rick’s enormous input was frequently forgotten. He was gentle, unassuming and private but his soulful voice and playing were vital, magical components of our most recognized Pink Floyd sound.”
Mr. Wright was born in London in 1943 and taught himself to play keyboards, developing an early interest in jazz. He attended a school for haberdashers then studied architecture at the Regent Street Polytechnic College.
With fellow students at Regent Street — Mr. Waters on guitar or bass and Nick Mason on drums — he started a group, at first playing American rhythm-and-blues songs. Mr. Barrett joined them in 1965, reshaping the music and naming the band The Pink Floyd Sound, after the American bluesmen Pink Anderson and Floyd Council.
Mr. Barrett’s whimsical, asymmetrical songs and the band’s fondness for experimental sounds placed it at the center of London’s underground psychedelic movement in the mid-1960s. “Music was our drug,” Mr. Wright once told an interviewer.
“The Piper at the Gates of Dawn” was released in 1967 and yielded pop hits in England, but LSD use and mental illness made Mr. Barrett so unstable that he left Pink Floyd in 1968. He recorded two solo albums; Mr. Wright and Mr. Gilmour produced the second one, “Barrett,” in 1970. Mr. Barrett died in 2006, at the age of 60.
Pink Floyd’s late-1960s and early-’70s albums mingled pop songs with extended pieces, like the 23-minute “Echoes,” which begins with single notes from Mr. Wright’s keyboard, on 1971’s “Meddle.”
On the 1969 album, “Ummagumma,” which includes solo studio recordings by each band member, Mr. Wright’s four-part “Sisyphus” encompasses a majestic dirge with tympani, a piano piece that moves from rippling impressionism to crashing free jazz, a clattery interlude for keyboards and percussion, and a mostly elegiac improvisation with organ, guitar, tape effects and birdcalls.
With “The Dark Side of the Moon,” Pink Floyd reined in its improvisation, came up with a concept album about workaday pressures and insanity and established itself as an arena-rock staple. The album stayed in the Billboard Top 200 album chart for 741 weeks. Pink Floyd continued to thrive through the 1970s, and Mr. Wright released his first solo project, “Wet Dream,” in 1978. Pink Floyd’s 1979 album, “The Wall,” eventually sold 23 million copies in the United States.
But there were conflicts within the band. Mr. Waters, who had increasingly taken control of Pink Floyd, reportedly threatened not to release “The Wall” unless Mr. Wright resigned his full membership in the band. Mr. Wright quit, only to tour with Pink Floyd in 1980-81 as a salaried sideman. He does not appear on the band’s 1983 album, “The Final Cut.”
After that album, Mr. Waters left Pink Floyd for a solo career, declaring the band a “spent force creatively.” Amid lawsuits, Mr. Gilmour and Mr. Mason regrouped under the Pink Floyd name; Mr. Wright rejoined them for the 1987 album “A Momentary Lapse of Reason” and “The Division Bell” in 1994.
He made another solo album, “Broken China,” in 1996, with Sinead O’Connor among the guest performers.
Mr. Wright, who was married three times, is survived by three children, Benjamin, Gala and Jamie; and one grandchild.
In interviews in 1996, Mr. Wright said he had not spoken to Mr. Waters for 14 years. Mr. Wright played keyboards on Mr. Gilmour’s 2006 album, “On an Island,” and went on tour with Mr. Gilmour’s band.
Pink Floyd’s 1970s lineup reunited briefly at the Live 8 London concert in Hyde Park on July 2, 2005, performing four songs before sharing a hug.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Rewrite of Chapter One of The Oath Breaker
This is a rough draft of the first chapter of The Oath Breaker. Its a work in progress. I wanted to set the plot up quickly but have a vivid setting.-DavidG
Pulling his cloak around him, Aveion surveyed his troops. The new recruits huddled around the cook fires with the veterans drinking hot wine and laughing at them. Shaking his head at how things never change, he passed the wooden watch towers. Their company were stationed at the southern tip of Grandfather’s Hill, a strategic stronghold that overlooked the Great Northern Mountains. The light snow fall settled on the mass of lined tents. His feet crunched on the frozen snow, as he approached the Commander’s tent at the top of the hill. Untying the flaps, he entered and caused a few of the candles to flicker out. The sizable tent had a brazier piled with red hot coals that heated him. He removed is cloak.
“You’re late,” snapped Commander Filtch, seated at the head of the table and twisting a side of his dangling mustache. “We were about to start without you.”
“Sorry sir. I had to check up on the new recruits,” he said, and took a seat at the table next to Roddick, a fellow lieutenant.
“There is no tolerance for tardiness.”
“Yes, sir.” Aveion and Roddick exchanged a look before focusing back on the detailed map sprawled on the table.
“With the melting snow, we need to be prepared for the seasonal raids,” Filtch said. “Here and here, like last year, need to be fortified.” He jabbed his gnarled fingers onto the map. “Roddick takes the East Ridge and Aveion the West.”
“The supplies that arrived this morning will not last us long,” Roddick said. “A few weeks at most. And we don’t want a repeat of last year’s problems.”
“It is what it is. We’ll see what we can do with the roads but its slow going,” Filtch said.
A sentry ducked his head through the tent and said, “A messenger is here for Aveion.”
“Send him in,” Filtch said, and shot Aveion a questioning look.
Roddick shot Aveion a questioning look.
The boy entered, dusted off a layer of snow from his shoulders, and said, “ Which one is Aveion?”
“That’s me,” he said. The boy handed him a rolled parchment and stepped back.
“You can leave now.” Filtch waved the boy off. “Make sure the sentry gives you a hot meal.”
“Thank you sir,” the messenger said and darted off.
Aveion ran his fingers over his brother’s seal of two crossed wheat plants. His had trembled. It had been years since they had last written to each other. Popping the seal with his thumb, he unraveled the letter. His father was seriously ill and bedridden, he read. If Aveion wanted to make amends, he had better do it soon.
“Anything important?” Filtch asked.
“My Father has fallen ill and near death.” He let the letter roll back up in his palm and slid it into his breast pocket.
There was a pause, then Roddick put his hand on Aveion’s shoulder.
Filtch frowned. “I’m sorry to hear that, but we have pressing matters here. The supply routes should be smoother if we cut the length of-”
Aveion stared at the map but didn’t see it. His father was the hardest man he had ever known and now he was dieing. Aveion could no longer procrastinate facing to reconcile their differences. Ten years was too long.
“Aveion?” Filtch said.
“Fine, sir,” he lied.
Filtch leaned back in his wide chair, cracking his back. “Look, I know you had your falling out with your father but it is done. Having your last name stripped from you is unfortunate and a detriment to your career, but its not the end of the world. Having experienced men like you as a lieutenant is vital and an asset. You could’ve become a general someday but you were dealt this hand and now you must play it.”
“Yes sir,” Aveion replied. “You were saying about the supply lines.”
“Instead of running the routes down these hills, we’re going to use the new trails here.”
Aveion tried hard to focus on his Commander but the lines on the map were swimming in front of him. “Forget the supply lines for now. How long has it been since you were on leave?” Filtch broke off what he was saying after seeing the look on Aveion’s face. “Forget the supply lines for now. How long has it been since you were on leave?”
“Two and a half years,” he said.
“Take a day and visit The Council. By the time you get back, we’ll have everything set up for you.”
“And if The Council accepts my leave?”
“We’ll deal with that when the time comes. For now, I’m going back to my cabin. You two figure out the best options for the new supply routes and have Roddick brief me in the morning.”
“Yes, sir,” they both said, and stood. Filtch put on his heavy white cloak and headed out into the blustery night.
“Did he just give me permission to leave?” Aveion asked.
“I believe so. He’s all hard ass on the outside but he’s got some compassion. So you’re considering leaving?
“Do I want to? No, but I’ve got to give it a try. The worst scenario is that I come back here and nothing has changed.”
Roddick poured them both a drink from Commander Filtch’s wine jug. “It will turn out fine. Its been ten years and I’m sure things have changed,” Roddick said, handing him the glass.
“You don’t know my father,” Aveion said before gulping the wine. He pulled the map closer and scanned it for the best possible supply route.
Pulling his cloak around him, Aveion surveyed his troops. The new recruits huddled around the cook fires with the veterans drinking hot wine and laughing at them. Shaking his head at how things never change, he passed the wooden watch towers. Their company were stationed at the southern tip of Grandfather’s Hill, a strategic stronghold that overlooked the Great Northern Mountains. The light snow fall settled on the mass of lined tents. His feet crunched on the frozen snow, as he approached the Commander’s tent at the top of the hill. Untying the flaps, he entered and caused a few of the candles to flicker out. The sizable tent had a brazier piled with red hot coals that heated him. He removed is cloak.
“You’re late,” snapped Commander Filtch, seated at the head of the table and twisting a side of his dangling mustache. “We were about to start without you.”
“Sorry sir. I had to check up on the new recruits,” he said, and took a seat at the table next to Roddick, a fellow lieutenant.
“There is no tolerance for tardiness.”
“Yes, sir.” Aveion and Roddick exchanged a look before focusing back on the detailed map sprawled on the table.
“With the melting snow, we need to be prepared for the seasonal raids,” Filtch said. “Here and here, like last year, need to be fortified.” He jabbed his gnarled fingers onto the map. “Roddick takes the East Ridge and Aveion the West.”
“The supplies that arrived this morning will not last us long,” Roddick said. “A few weeks at most. And we don’t want a repeat of last year’s problems.”
“It is what it is. We’ll see what we can do with the roads but its slow going,” Filtch said.
A sentry ducked his head through the tent and said, “A messenger is here for Aveion.”
“Send him in,” Filtch said, and shot Aveion a questioning look.
Roddick shot Aveion a questioning look.
The boy entered, dusted off a layer of snow from his shoulders, and said, “ Which one is Aveion?”
“That’s me,” he said. The boy handed him a rolled parchment and stepped back.
“You can leave now.” Filtch waved the boy off. “Make sure the sentry gives you a hot meal.”
“Thank you sir,” the messenger said and darted off.
Aveion ran his fingers over his brother’s seal of two crossed wheat plants. His had trembled. It had been years since they had last written to each other. Popping the seal with his thumb, he unraveled the letter. His father was seriously ill and bedridden, he read. If Aveion wanted to make amends, he had better do it soon.
“Anything important?” Filtch asked.
“My Father has fallen ill and near death.” He let the letter roll back up in his palm and slid it into his breast pocket.
There was a pause, then Roddick put his hand on Aveion’s shoulder.
Filtch frowned. “I’m sorry to hear that, but we have pressing matters here. The supply routes should be smoother if we cut the length of-”
Aveion stared at the map but didn’t see it. His father was the hardest man he had ever known and now he was dieing. Aveion could no longer procrastinate facing to reconcile their differences. Ten years was too long.
“Aveion?” Filtch said.
“Fine, sir,” he lied.
Filtch leaned back in his wide chair, cracking his back. “Look, I know you had your falling out with your father but it is done. Having your last name stripped from you is unfortunate and a detriment to your career, but its not the end of the world. Having experienced men like you as a lieutenant is vital and an asset. You could’ve become a general someday but you were dealt this hand and now you must play it.”
“Yes sir,” Aveion replied. “You were saying about the supply lines.”
“Instead of running the routes down these hills, we’re going to use the new trails here.”
Aveion tried hard to focus on his Commander but the lines on the map were swimming in front of him. “Forget the supply lines for now. How long has it been since you were on leave?” Filtch broke off what he was saying after seeing the look on Aveion’s face. “Forget the supply lines for now. How long has it been since you were on leave?”
“Two and a half years,” he said.
“Take a day and visit The Council. By the time you get back, we’ll have everything set up for you.”
“And if The Council accepts my leave?”
“We’ll deal with that when the time comes. For now, I’m going back to my cabin. You two figure out the best options for the new supply routes and have Roddick brief me in the morning.”
“Yes, sir,” they both said, and stood. Filtch put on his heavy white cloak and headed out into the blustery night.
“Did he just give me permission to leave?” Aveion asked.
“I believe so. He’s all hard ass on the outside but he’s got some compassion. So you’re considering leaving?
“Do I want to? No, but I’ve got to give it a try. The worst scenario is that I come back here and nothing has changed.”
Roddick poured them both a drink from Commander Filtch’s wine jug. “It will turn out fine. Its been ten years and I’m sure things have changed,” Roddick said, handing him the glass.
“You don’t know my father,” Aveion said before gulping the wine. He pulled the map closer and scanned it for the best possible supply route.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Friday, September 5, 2008
Could a spy satellite identify any of us from our shadow?
By David Derbyshire
Spy satellites could soon be able to identify someone from space by looking at their shadow.
They would use a computer program that searches for the movement of shadows on the ground, and then identifies their owners from the way they walk.
The technique - called gait analysis - relies on the fact that someone's walking style is very difficult to disguise.
The satellite or spy planes will detect the movement of people's shadows to identify them
It could be used to monitor known criminals and suspected terrorists using satellites or spy planes. It could even be used in the hunt for Osama Bin Laden.
There is however a significant catch. The system, being developed by Nasa, is useless once the sun goes in.
And, although there has been an explosion in satellite imagery and technology in recent years, it is still impossible to recognise someone with confidence using pictures taken in orbit.
Images from high-altitude aircraft and spacecraft show only the tops of their heads.
Experts say aerial shots are no good for monitoring someone's stride length and walking rhythm.
However, that is not true of shadows. According to Dr Adrian Stoica of Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, video from space could provide enough data to confirm a suspect's identity - as long as details of the person's walking pattern were on file.
He has created computer software that can seek out and recognise the shadows of individuals in aerial video footage, reports New Scientist magazine.
It isolates moving shadows and uses data on the position of the sun and camera angle to 'correct' the shadows if they are foreshortened or elongated.
Dr Stoica, who presented his research at a security conference in Edinburgh, said the software then applies regular gait analysis to the corrected images.
In tests on video footage taken from the sixth floor of an office building, the software spotted shadows and extracted information that could be used to identify someone.
The technique is still at the earliest stages of development, and it could be many years before it is used by military, police and intelligence services.
It also has potential flaws. While satellite gait analysis might be useful in countries such as Pakistan and Iraq, trying to identify a suspected terrorist from a shadow in a rainy Manchester is likely to be fraught with difficulties.
The quality of satellite imagery may also not be good enough to reveal a sharp image.
Space imaging expert Dr Bhupendra Jasani at King's College London says the sort of geostationary satellites currently pointing their cameras down to the Earth simply do not have the resolution to provide useful detail.
'I find it hard to believe they could apply this technique from space,' he said.
Aerial surveillance - a key tactic in military spying
Minor differences in gait that can help identify individuals include the length of steps, walking speed, the wiggle of hips and the angles of the knee, ankle and hip.
Aerial surveillance has long been a key part of military spying - ever since 19th century armies began using hot air balloons to observe enemy positions on the battlefield - but in recent years the speed of technological advance has accelerated.
As well as orbiting satellites, spy planes such as the RAF's Nimrod can circle at high altitude watching the movements of individual enemy gunmen on the ground, by day or night, using high definition thermal cameras.
At the same time unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs - ranging from huge jets the size of an airliner to tiny hand-launched drones a couple of feet across - are now widely used in Iraq and Afghanistan, where commanders on the ground increasingly rely on the images beamed from flying cameras to allow them to track approaching enemies or spot dangers in hostile built-up areas.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
'RNC 8' Charged, Group Promises To Unmask Plan
ST. PAUL (WCCO) ― Eight core members of a group that provided logistical support to anarchists wanting to disrupt the Republican National Convention were each charged Wednesday with a felony count of conspiracy to commit riot, following weekend police raids at some of their homes and work space.
According to a complaint in Ramsey County District Court, the eight are active members of the RNC Welcoming Committee, an anarchist and anti-authoritarian group that has a Web site advertising its plans to "Crash the Convention" by blocking traffic and immobilizing delegate buses.
Also Wednesday, federal authorities announced charges against another man accused of using Molotov cocktails to attack the main arena for the Republican National Convention.
According to the charges in Ramsey County, the eight RNC Welcoming Committee members are charged with conspiracy to commit riot in the second degree in furtherance of terrorism.
Those charged are: Luce Guillen-Givens, 23; Nathanael David Secor, 26; Erik Charles Oseland, 21; Monica Rachel Bicking, 23; Robert Joseph Czernik, 32; Garrett Scott Fitzgerald, 25; Max Jacob Specktor, 19; and Eryn Chase Trimmer, 23. The complaint claimed members had participated in many RNC Welcoming Committee meetings and training sessions where people discussed ways to disable police cars, use disguises to hide in a crowd, or assault officers.
Click here for a slideshow of the suspects' mug shots.
Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner said all but one of those people was in custody by Wednesday afternoon, and her office was seeking $75,000 in bail for each.
According to the complaint, authorities had been investigating members of the RNC Welcoming Committee for the last year, with the help of an undercover investigator and three informants.
Authorities conducted raids on three homes in Minneapolis and on a St. Paul work space of the group, and allegedly found bolt cutters, sling shots, six throwing-style knives, smoke bombs, machetes and other devices.
Meanwhile, Matthew Bradley DePalma, 23, of Flint, Mich., was charged Saturday with one count of possessing unregistered firearms after a two-month investigation, the U.S. Attorney's Office said Wednesday. He was arrested the same day at a house in Minneapolis.
Authorities said DePalma attended an event in Waldo, Wis., in July called the CrimeThinc Convergence, and told an FBI source he wanted to travel to Minnesota to attack the convention.
An FBI affidavit said DePalma talked about making Molotov cocktails, got the supplies in August, and assembled five by the time of his arrest. DePalma talked of attacking Xcel Energy Center, the affidavit said.
DePalma's federal public defender, Reggie Aligada, was out of the office Wednesday afternoon and was not expected to return. A phone listing for DePalma in Flint had been disconnected.
A preliminary hearing was scheduled for 1 p.m. Friday.
According to a complaint in Ramsey County District Court, the eight are active members of the RNC Welcoming Committee, an anarchist and anti-authoritarian group that has a Web site advertising its plans to "Crash the Convention" by blocking traffic and immobilizing delegate buses.
Also Wednesday, federal authorities announced charges against another man accused of using Molotov cocktails to attack the main arena for the Republican National Convention.
According to the charges in Ramsey County, the eight RNC Welcoming Committee members are charged with conspiracy to commit riot in the second degree in furtherance of terrorism.
In a statement Wednesday night, the Welcoming Committee called its leaders "The RNC 8" and announced it would host a news conference in the morning to talk about their arrests.
"We in the RNC Welcoming Committee are not backing down from our organizing," the statement said. "(While investigators) have labeled us a 'criminal enterprise', painting a picture of us and other anti-RNC organizers as faceless terrorists... on Thursday we will show the true faces and stories of the RNC Welcoming Committee."
Those charged are: Luce Guillen-Givens, 23; Nathanael David Secor, 26; Erik Charles Oseland, 21; Monica Rachel Bicking, 23; Robert Joseph Czernik, 32; Garrett Scott Fitzgerald, 25; Max Jacob Specktor, 19; and Eryn Chase Trimmer, 23. The complaint claimed members had participated in many RNC Welcoming Committee meetings and training sessions where people discussed ways to disable police cars, use disguises to hide in a crowd, or assault officers.
Click here for a slideshow of the suspects' mug shots.
Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner said all but one of those people was in custody by Wednesday afternoon, and her office was seeking $75,000 in bail for each.
According to the complaint, authorities had been investigating members of the RNC Welcoming Committee for the last year, with the help of an undercover investigator and three informants.
Authorities conducted raids on three homes in Minneapolis and on a St. Paul work space of the group, and allegedly found bolt cutters, sling shots, six throwing-style knives, smoke bombs, machetes and other devices.
Meanwhile, Matthew Bradley DePalma, 23, of Flint, Mich., was charged Saturday with one count of possessing unregistered firearms after a two-month investigation, the U.S. Attorney's Office said Wednesday. He was arrested the same day at a house in Minneapolis.
Authorities said DePalma attended an event in Waldo, Wis., in July called the CrimeThinc Convergence, and told an FBI source he wanted to travel to Minnesota to attack the convention.
An FBI affidavit said DePalma talked about making Molotov cocktails, got the supplies in August, and assembled five by the time of his arrest. DePalma talked of attacking Xcel Energy Center, the affidavit said.
DePalma's federal public defender, Reggie Aligada, was out of the office Wednesday afternoon and was not expected to return. A phone listing for DePalma in Flint had been disconnected.
A preliminary hearing was scheduled for 1 p.m. Friday.
Monday, September 1, 2008
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