Archive for August 13th, 2019

Quel fromage!

Tuesday, August 13th, 2019

I don’t think this qualifies for flaming hyenas status. Yet.

The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office served a search warrant at the Sheriff’s Office last week, as part of an apparent corruption probe into allegations of political favoritism in the agency’s issuing of concealed weapons permits, according to sources familiar with the investigation.

…

…sources confirmed that the investigation involves an alleged “quid pro quo” between donors to six-term Sheriff Laurie Smith’s election efforts and people who have obtained concealed-carry weapons permits from her office, which has been relatively stingy about issuing the privilege compared to neighboring counties.
The sources also said that the probe, while publicly surfacing over the past few days, had been in the works far longer and that it is focused on some of Smith’s trusted advisers in the agency.

…

…at least four recipients of the 13 permits either issued or renewed last year donated at least $1,000 to Smith’s re-election efforts, including to her formal campaign or to the independent Santa Clara County Public Safety Alliance that supported her.
That includes match.com founder and Santa Clara County Valley Water District board member Gary Kremen, a Los Altos resident who donated $5,000 to the safety alliance group last fall, during Smith’s re-election bid for a sixth term.

Posted in California Über Alles, Guns, Law | Comments Closed

Black Hat/DEFCON 27 links: August 13, 2019.

Tuesday, August 13th, 2019

I had a lot of trouble finding this on the site, but: the DEFCON 27 media server is here.

I’ve got to wrap this up for now, as my lunch hour is almost over. I may try to do a second post tonight, if I find enough additional material to justify one. Otherwise, please share, enjoy, comment, and thank any presenters whose work you found particularly enjoyable or valuable.

Posted in DEFCON, DEFCON 27, Photography, Radio | Comments Closed

Obit watch: August 13, 2019.

Tuesday, August 13th, 2019

Dorothy Olsen. She was 103 when she passed away on July 23rd.

You’ve probably never heard of her, but she was one of the WWII Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs). The WASPs ferried military aircraft from manufacturing plants to points where they could then be flown overseas.

Transporting and testing the latest models, towing targets and transferring captured enemy planes, the WASPs collectively flew an estimated 60 million miles from 1942 to 1944. Thirty-eight died in accidents during training or on duty.
From her base in Long Beach, Calif., Mrs. Olsen flew 61 missions for the Sixth Ferry Group in nearly two dozen models, including P-38s, P-51s and B-17s. She flew them to West Coast airfields to be deployed in the Pacific, or to Newark to be deployed in Europe.

The WASPs were initially considered to be civil service employees and not military.

The WASPs were finally recognized as veterans eligible for benefits in 1977 under President Jimmy Carter. In 2010 they received as a group the Congressional Gold Medal, one of the nation’s two highest civilian awards.

According to the paper of record, Ms. Olsen’s death leaves 38 surviving WASPs.

Henri Belolo, co-founder (with Jacques Morali) of the Village People.

I love the caption on that first photo.

Posted in History, Music, Obits | Comments Closed