http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/26/world/meast/syria-american-killed/index.html

(CNN) -- An American named Douglas McCain was killed last weekend in Syria, where he was fighting for ISIS, two U.S. officials told CNN.

The man's uncle, Ken McCain, said that his nephew had gone to fight as a jihadi and that the U.S. State Department told the family Monday about the death.
Douglas McCain died in a battle between rival extremist groups in the suburbs of Aleppo, Syria's once-bustling commercial capital and largest city, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based group that monitors the conflict.

Like the U.S. officials, the group described McCain as an ISIS fighter and said he died battling al-Nusra Front, an al Qaeda-linked organization that the U.S. government has blacklisted as a foreign terror organization.

McCain is not the first American to fight alongside militants in Syria, nor is he the first killed -- even if he may be the first with ISIS. Attorney General Eric Holder estimated this summer that there are 7,000 foreign fighters in the war-ravaged Middle Eastern nation, many from places like Europe and the United States.

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http://gcaptain.com/monkeys-hitch-ride-rotterdam-aboard-maersk-ship/



A group of monkey’s found themselves taking an unexpected trip to Europe after boarding a Maersk ship in Malaysia.

The five monkey’s were discovered climbing on top of containers aboard the 15,550 TEU Eugene Maersk a few days after departing the Tanjung Pelepas in Malaysia bound for Rotterdam, but by that time it was too late to return the stowaways back home.

After noticing the monkeys onboard, the crew of the Eugene Maersk alerted the Copenhagen Zoo who helped identify the species and provided instructions on diet and how to catch the primates. The crew was eventually able to catch the monkeys and hold them in a makeshift cage.

Upon arrival in Rotterdam, the monkey’s were released to the Dutch monkey foundation, Stitching AAP.

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http://www.websterkirkwoodtimes.com/Articles-Breaking-News-i-2014-08-22-193084.114137-Glendale-Police-Officer-Suspended-For-Inappropriate-Facebook-Posts.html#axzz3B9yj0jnI

August 22, 2014
Glendale Police Chief Jeffrey Beaton this afternoon announced the immediate suspension of Police Officer Matthew Pappert for making several "very concerning and inappropriate posts on his personal Facebook page."

Beaton said the posts came to the attention of his department at about 10:40 a.m. Friday morning. Due to the nature of the posts, Beaton said an internal investigation was immediately initiated.

In several posts over the past few days, Pappert allegedly wrote, "I'm sick of these protesters. You are a burden on society and a blight on the community." In a later post, Beaton allegedly commented, "These protesters should have been put down like a rabid dog the first night."

Beaton, in a written statement released Friday afternoon, noted that the alleged posts and comments made by Officer Pappert "are absolutely not the views and/or opinions of the Glendale Police Department or the City of Glendale, Missouri."

Pappert is a firearms instructor and a member of the police department's Crisis Intervention Team, according to the City of Glendale 2013 Police Report.
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After news of the Glendale officer's alleged comments, the Glendale Historical Society announced it was canceling this evening's (Aug. 22) annual Ice Cream Social at Glendale City Hall.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/22/us/carrier-final-voyage/index.html?hpt=hp_c4

(CNN) -- A storied former U.S. Navy aircraft carrier is on its final voyage Friday, a slow voyage from Rhode Island to a scrapyard in Texas.

The former USS Saratoga (CV-60), a part of the Navy's carrier fleet from 1956 to 1994, is being towed down the Atlantic Seaboard by tugboat at about 7 mph, according to a report from the Maritime Executive. The voyage is expected to take about 16 days, the Navy says.

The Navy in May announced it was paying ESCO Marine of Brownsville, Texas, one cent to take the carrier off its hands for dismantling and recycling. The company makes money by selling the metal it salvages from the ship.

Saratoga veterans were among the crowds of people who gathered on Narragansett Bay on Thursday as the ship left Naval Station Newport on its final journey.

"A ship like this shouldn't be taken apart piece by piece," Mitchell Abood, who served aboard the Saratoga from 1985 to 1987, said in an article from the U.S. Naval War College.
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http://gcaptain.com/giant-rubber-duck-floats-into-port-of-los-angeles-photos/

A giant rubber duck made its way into the Port of Los Angeles on Wednesday.



Ok, now for some context. The 60-foot tall inflatable duck is part of an art installation by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman. Since 2007, the duck has called at ports and harbors across the globe including Beijing, Hong Kong, Sydney, Auckland, Soa Paulo and Pittsburg, just to name a few.

The arrival of the duck in Los Angeles coincides with the Tall Ships Festival being held San Pedro, California from August 20-24.



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http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/costa-concordia-captain-francesco-schettino-sparks-outrage-by-giving-lecture-on-managing-panic-at-rome-university-9651629.html

The Sapienza University of Rome has found itself at the centre of controversy after it emerged Francesco Schettino, the captain of the doomed Costa Concordia, was invited to speak at an event organised by a university professor on 'managing panic'.

Italian newspaper La Nazione reports that Schettino, currently on trial for charges of manslaughter and abandoning ship, described himself an “expert” on panic management in times of crisis as he spoke at the end of a limited access session held off the campus and organised by professor Vincenzo Mastronardi who teaches at the University’s Faculty of Medicine.

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He allegedly told the newspaper: “I was invited as an expert - I know how you behave in these situations. Besides, I have travelled in all the seas of the world, I know how you are supposed to react with ethnically diverse crews."

Schettino also reportedly claimed there are academic studies comparing the maritime disaster to other tragedies, such as the 9/11 attacks in America. He apparently asked: “How is it during the attack on the Twin Towers, there were people who threw themselves from the windows, but during the sinking of the Concordia, no-one did anything of a similar kind?”