SWAT Secret Weapon

Small, Durable Robotic Camera Device cleared for use by firefighters, police.

SWAT team members have one of the most dangerous jobs there is, and while they take every available precaution to be safe, sometimes it’s just not enough. Riot gear and bullet-proof faceplates are helpful, but in some situations, more is called for.

That’s where their new secret weapon comes in: the Recon Scout. Small, lightweight, and durable, the Scout looks a bit like a dumbbell with wheels. It features a robotic camera in the middle, and can be thrown through a window or into a room to give SWAT members a better view of the situation before they go in. 

But the Scout isn’t just useful for the SWAT team; firefighters and police officers can also benefit from it, and some select stations have been trying it out recently after the robot got rave reviews from soldiers who tested it out in Iraq and Afghanistan. According to the Commonlaw Blog, which posted about the device, “Typical applications are likely to include checking a building prior to forced entry, locating hostages and hostiles before a rescue attempt, searching for survivors in a burning building, and inspecting the site of a chemical or nuclear release. A police task force told the FCC, after testing the Recon Scout, “We don’t feel comfortable without this thing now.”

Despite the obvious pros to using the Scout, many people have an issue with it because it needs a particular radio frequency to operate on, and amateur radio enthusiasts didn’t want it interfering. But the FCC has now regulated it for use, so hopefully we’ll see it helping out our cities’ finest over the next few years.

Activist cries danger as China hints at solution

Blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng's high-profile pleas for U.S. sanctuary upped the pressure Friday on Washington and Beijing to resolve his fate, with China saying he could apply to study abroad.

Robert S. Wang, center, deputy chief of mission at the U.S. embassy in Beijing, walks with an unidentified U.S. embassy staff outside the hospital where blind activist lawyer Chen Guangcheng is recuperating in Beijing Friday, May 4, 2012. The blind Chinese activist at the center of a diplomatic standoff between the United States and China said Friday his situation is "dangerous," and that American officials have been blocked from seeing him for two days and friends who have tried to visit have been beaten up.

The slight concession, offered in a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement, pointed to a possible way out of the diplomatic standoff. Even so, he remained in a guarded Beijing hospital ward, unable to see U.S. officials. His wife's movements are being monitored, he said, and the couples with their two children feel in danger.

"I can only tell you one thing. My situation right now is very dangerous," Chen said. "For two days, American officials who have wanted to come and see me have not been allowed in." 

A self-taught lawyer and symbol in China's civil rights movement, Chen embroiled Washington and Beijing in their most delicate diplomatic crisis in years after he escaped house arrest and sought refuge in the U.S. Embassy last week. He left six days later under a negotiated deal in which he and his family was to be safely relocated in China. But he then upended the agreement by saying they wanted to go abroad.

Since his release to a Beijing hospital where he was reunited with his wife, son and daughter, Chen's calls to The Associated Press, other foreign media and friends have resonated around the world, and even become part of Washington politics in a presidential election year. 

On Thursday, he called in to a congressional hearing in Washington, telling lawmakers he wanted to meet U.S. Secretary of State Clinton, who is in Beijing for annual security talks.

"I hope I can get more help from her," Chen said.

While publicly Washington has said little and Beijing has shown little inclination to budge, contacts have taken place. Clinton met Chinese President Hu Jintao and other top leaders, though officials declined to say if Chen's case was discussed. The Foreign Ministry statement was among the first signs of progress. In it, a spokesman said Chen as a normal citizen may apply to study overseas.

"Chen Guangcheng is currently being treated in hospital. As a Chinese citizen, if he wants to study abroad he can go through the normal channels to the relevant departments and complete the formalities in accordance with the law like other Chinese citizens," the statement said without elaborating. At a later briefing spokesman Liu Weimin declined to elaborate.

While the statement only reiterates the normal rights of a Chinese citizen, it underscored the government's openness to letting him go and that Chen faces no criminal charges. Though he has lived under arrest at his rural home along with his family for 20 months, his treatment has appeared to be the retribution of local officials angry at Chen's activism.

Chen has exposed forced abortions and other abuses in his community as part of China's population controls.

Life Risk World Adventure

Top 11-20 adventure world largest swimming.

11. Ski race at the track Hahnenkamm (Austria)

The track in the Hahnenkamm length of about 3 kilometers contains sections in which the angle is 85 degrees, making the descent of one of the most dangerous ski trips on the planet. In addition, on the way to jump from a height of 80 m and in places riders are accelerated to 140 kilometers per hour (at an average speed on a route over 100 miles per hour).

12. The intersection of the Amazon (South America)

Thanks to the Amazon – the world’s largest-size swimming pool, deep and the length of the river, come here a lot of adventurers. To overcome some 6500 miles, must guard against dengue fever and leeches do not fall into the clutches of jaguars and not scared of spiders, tarantulas the size of a small watermelon. At the end of the path dared venture is unlikely to find the treasures of the Incas or the lost gold of El Dorado, but the weight is almost guaranteed an unforgettable experience.

13. Hit in the 7 Summits Club

The idea to conquer the highest peaks of all the different continents of the Earth appeared in 1981, has since become popular. Such an ascent gives the right to be numbered with the club members 7 summits, in which more than a century of heroic personalities.

14. Immersion in a flooded cave (Bahamas)

The underwater cave system under the Bahamas has always been a place of mystery. In the depths of the sea lies the realm of tunnels and labyrinths, which are composed of fossils and ancient structures. Those who were lucky enough to get inside the “blue holes”, tell us about the magnificent underwater architecture and literally entire rooms with a mystical atmosphere.

15. Cyclocross from Alaska to Argentina

In a two-year marathon expect the two hottest in the world of mountain ranges, over a dozen countries and 32 thousand kilometers of road. People go on a long journey between the Gulf of Alaska, Prudhoe and Tierra del Fuego, Argentina is not “for the lust of fame, race and prizes”, and, most likely, this is possible, when travel becomes a way of life.

16. Circumnavigation alone

Circumnavigate the earth’s axis and return to the starting point, something repeating the feat of Magellan, and somewhere to surpass the glory of the other brave souls – that’s one of the purposes of swimming alone. To cross all meridians have something more than the mercy of the ocean, you should be able to overcome all the sea of ​​danger. After the storm have not gone as well as several centuries ago, there is always a threat to get into the power meter waves and the element of willful wind.

17. Swimming near the big white shark (South Africa)

People are deathly afraid of white sharks, but there are always those who want to tempt fate. You only need to overcome themselves and be aware that although sharks are at the top of the food chain of the underwater world, a person is not part of their natural prey.

18. Participation in the marathon through the Mont Blanc (France, Italy, Switzerland)

Traveling through the highest in the Alps mountains – Mont Blanc – requires tremendous stamina and excellent training. Those interested will check your hand at the 166-kilometer ring, which lies in the three countries and has a total climb of 500 meters to 9. The competition on this route can get away with half the distance to the battle-hardened athletes.

19. Rafting through the rapids of the river Bashkaus (Altai, Russia)

Bashkaus – Altai river, until recently considered inaccessible. At present, there is rafting on the most complex water routes. One of the reasons is the huge number of obstacles. Members of the expedition to overcome obstacles more than two hundred, and the most dangerous rapids are concentrated in the seven canyons and rugged, “Lower Gorge”. Additional extreme appears at the end of the path, where in the remote creeks near the border with Mongolia, on average, one-kilometer water level changes by 8 meters. And so – over 209 km.

20. Skydiving from the stratosphere

Although usually parachuting at an altitude of up to four miles, there are exceptions. Recently, the most desperate are flying out of the stratosphere. Hot air balloons can rise to heights of more than 20 kilometers, in layers, called predkosmosom. With such a man jump into a free fall overcomes the sound barrier, dispersal to 1500 kilometers per hour or 416 meters per second. Since the first successful experiment in 1960, each subsequent rise or become a new record or another suicide.

The world dangerous man

The world dangerous man is Julian Assange

Experienced something this week by Julian Assange is not known since boyhood: a prolonged period without a computer. The editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks has spent the past four nights in Wandsworth Prison deprived of the laptop that constitutes one of his few possessions, waiting for the next stage in the extradition process that could result in his being put on trial in Sweden for the alleged sexual assault of two women.

The liberal establishment is rallying to his cause. John Pilger and A L Kennedy were among those calling for his release yesterday, and there are allies of another kind: computer hackers from all corners of the world who have teamed up to attack websites that, under pressure from the American government, have withdrawn online donation facilities from WikiLeaks.

Classified US material on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and now an avalanche of State Department cables, many embarrassing, have catapulted Assange and WikiLeaks to global prominence. Supporters say the sexual assault allegations are part of a campaign orchestrated by the US, which has suffered enormously from leaks, to discredit the creator of what has been described as "the most dangerous website in the world".

WikiLeaks remains something of a mystery. Who runs it? How does it work? And what will it do next? Julian Assange has many enemies, but is he also running out of friends?