Lone Star

He can't reply, he's too busy with his 'alone time' after watching the video.....

AK, I don't really know what it would take to appease me on this issue. I've obviously had more important matters to deal with than sitting around playing 'what if?'. I DO however have to question how Obama plans to protect me and my country if he can't even protect his OWN HOUSE! Third uninvited guest got into W.H. dinner Investigation into November security breach adds another 'crasher' to list WASHINGTON - A third uninvited guest made his way into the White House state dinner for India's prime minister in November, the Secret Service said Monday. As the Secret Service was reviewing how an attention-hungry couple — Tareq and Michaele Salahi — got into the dinner without being on the guest list, officials discovered that a third person made it through security without an invitation as well. The Secret Service said the man — whom they would not identify — did not get close to the president or the first lady. The Secret Service is investigating the Salahis, and the Justice Department is looking into whether they broke any laws. The Secret Service said the other man they just learned of is now under investigation as well. The man traveled to the White House from the hotel where the Indian delegation was staying. The Secret Service said the man arrived with members of that delegation. But he was not in the Secret Service's database of people prescreened and approved to attend the event. Part of the security screening is a criminal background check that the Secret Service does before a guest enters the White House. The Salahis and the man traveling with the Indian delegation did not go through that background check. But the Secret Service said all three uninvited guests went through other screening, such as metal detectors, before the event. The man is a U.S. citizen and was with a group of Indian business leaders before the state dinner, according to a State Department official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to speak publicly about the investigation. The Indian embassy asked the State Department to transport the group to the White House dinner, the official said, adding that it's rare for the agency to provide these services to delegations visiting the United States in a nonofficial capacity. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said the agency has reviewed the incident and already made changes for how it handles foreign delegations. Subpoenas have been issued for the Salahis to testify before Congress on the Nov. 24 incident. Through their attorney, the Salahis have said they will invoke their Fifth Amendment right to refuse to testify against themselves.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kMNA7JTtwg

The person singing/performing the song IS Sean Morey. It's just mislabled as Rodney Carrington. IN RESPONSE:

FYI: That song wasn't done by Rodney Carrington, it was done by Sean Morey. Good response though!

Yeah, My 'official title' will be Advanced EMT (but only until I get through medic class).... I've never been hung up on titles, so I'm not really sweating the 'title change'....

What every man figures every woman should see:

If I have to stop at EMT-I for a while...am I 'worthy' of being taught....or do I have to wait until I can go to medic class before I can stop schlepping gear and actually be taught something? I've put forth the effort to not only go through the Basic course twice, but I've also advanced to EMT-I...

I've seen that there will be a change in the EMT titles. I haven't seen anything on the new scopes of practice yet. But My question still remains unanswered....where do you draw the line between only letting them schlep gear and actually take the time to teach them something that they don't know?

I didn't confuse 'basic tools with Basic skills'. I DO know the difference, and DO know they are not 'interchangeable terms! Before you worked your way to your current level of medical knowledge...what did you REALLY know? At what level do you finally agree that the new EMT should actually start learning what to do and WHY to do it, as well what the findings actually mean? MFR? EMT-B? EMT-I? EMT-P? Where do you draw the line between actually teaching them, and just letting them wear the uniform to schlep gear? As far as Pre-med being the 'Doctor Basic course', the analogy is valid. Education has to start somewhere.... Why crucify the EMT-B for their 120 hour course? It's not like THEY are the ones that set the requirements! You want to crucify someone for the 'minimalistic approach' to education....then go to the NREMT and the State EMS office that sets the requirements! These new EMT's are only doing what is required of them. Just as secondary education builds off of what has been taught in our primary years, the EMS cirriculum copies this concept. As the new EMT progresses through the license level 'food chain', they learn more and more about what they're doing, when to do it and what they find actually implies. The EMT-B course gives the 'basic tools', and as they progress through their education, they learn how to use these 'basic tools' to provide the definitive care their patients need. Sitting around bitching about how the 'new crop of EMT's don't know anything', maybe the solution is to teach them! Rather than sit around bitching about how the field is 'short handed'...maybe encouragement to advance would be more beneficial than running off those just getting into the field.... Something HAS to give here. It can't be both ways. If people that are veterans with field experience are consistently running off the 'newbies' and not helping them to learn; then you are part of the problem, as opposed to being part of the SOLUTION! *DISCLAIMER*: The 'you' being referred to in the above statement is NOT directed at any single individual, but at a speciffic mentality. *edited for spelling errors*

Happy Birthday, Oh wise and great King Taxi Driver! I hope your day is filled with all sorts of 'good stuff'!! LS

The bottom line here exists as this: I'm not aware of any paramedic program that lets you just 'skip' any/all of the education at the 'lower license levels'. Here in GA, and in MI...I know for fact that you have to have to have taken the EMT-B course as a prerequisite for the paramedic program. GA requires an active license at one of the 'lower levels' in order to take the paramedic class. That being said, the education of the EMS provider is based on a 'building block principle'. Each progressive level is based upon what was taught at the 'lower level' then expounded upon. Even MD's and DO's have to take 'pre-med' courses. Wouldn't this be the same as 'Doctor Basic'? The EMT-B courses provide the 'basic building blocks' for patient care. There is a general consensus of opinion that the palpation of the abdomen is a basic skill for patient assessment. Since the EMT-B course teaches 'the basics' then it only stands to reason that this skill will be taught there. As one moves 'up the food chain' of EMS license levels, more and more information will be gained as to what the findings mean.... Not one of you 'anti EMT-B' crowd entered into this field knowing what you know now. You, like the rest of us 'lowly EMT-B/EMT-I crowd', had to start at the bottom! Unfortunately, it appears that you have forgotten 'where you came from'... I'm not going to get into the whole 'Basic's bagging on Medics/Medics vs all other license levels' thing. That subject, as previously stated is 'long in the tooth' and has been beaten to death far too many times. The reasons for not advancing to the Medic license level are as varied as the individual who verbalizes them. Those who have 'risen above the basics' and have delved deeper into patient care have a responsibility (at least in MY eyes) to teach those just entering into the field, and along the way...perhaps encouraging them to advance from the 'basics' to be able to provide better, more definative care for their patients; not trashed/bashed/flamed because they're a lower license level than you!

I guess I'm not the only one 'reaching' on this. Maybe it isn't such a tremendous leap to think that our President should have cut his 'fun time' short.....I guess a minor thing like 'National Security' shouldn't interrupt 'play time'....after all...throwing the country deeper in debt is hard work!

In the times I did 'clinical ride alongs', I've NEVER had to 'ask permission' from my preceptors to treat the patient. That IS why I'm there, after all. Maybe I was one of the 'lucky ones' who's preceptors actually ENCOURAGED more than an 'observational position'. I can understand the preceptor having the patient 'stand aside' if the patient's condition is more serious than the student can handle, or requires more treatments than the students scope of practice allows. I've never had a preceptor knock my hands off a patient either, especially when I'm doing a proper assessment...

May the new year be filled with joy, love and happiness...and may it be a damn sight better than the last one!

So if its a student on the truck to gain the clinical experience required ...they still need to 'ask permission'? I thought thats why they were there in the first place...to get 'real life hands on experience'.....

First off, in EMS we use ALL of our senses as we make our clinical observations, and offer differential diagnoses. We have to be able to 'paint a picture' for the recieving staff, so they can take the appropriate steps in continuing patient care. Since there are a myriad of 'abdominal complaints', palpation will help narrow down the chief complaint of 'my belly hurts'. You claim to be a paramedic, and yet you don't advocate a 'full focused exam' strongly leads me to question your ability to be teaching students! Repeating this poster's comments, I would love to see what you're basing the 'Don't ever touch the abdomen' philosophy on. As the poster asks, is this in your protocols, do you have case study to base this on; or is it just your own 'personal standard of care'?

Anti-terror officials let terror suspect keep visa By The Associated Press WASHINGTON — The State Department says counterterror agencies were warned that the Nigerian man who allegedly tried to blow up an airliner Christmas Day may be under extremists' influence. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly says it was up to the National Counterterrorism Center to coordinate the interagency effort that would have blocked 23-year-old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab from entering the United States. He says U.S. counterterror agencies received the information on Nov. 20, a day after it was provided by the father, but it was not enough to revoke the visa. Kelly says officials get thousands of negative messages about people that are not always accurate. He says Abdulmutallab got the two-year tourist visa in 2008 because he had money, was attending a reputable school and had visited the United States before.

Flight 253 explosive common, easily detectable PETN was widely used by terrorists to blow up airplanes in ’70s and ’80s WASHINGTON - The explosive device used by the would-be Detroit bomber contained a widely available — and easily detected — chemical explosive that has a long history of terrorist use, according to government officials and explosive experts. The chemical — PETN — is small, powerful and appealing to terrorists. The Saudi government said it was used in an assassination attempt on the country's counterterrorism operations chief in August. It was also a component of the explosive that Richard Reid, the convicted "shoe bomber," used in his 2001 attempt to down an airliner. PETN was widely used in the plastic explosives terrorists used to blow up airplanes in the 1970s and 1980s. Investigators say Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab hid an explosive device on his body when he traveled from Amsterdam to Detroit on Northwest Flight 253. They say PETN was hidden in a condom or condom-like bag just below his torso. Syringe Abdulmutallab also had a syringe filled with liquid. One law enforcement official said the second part of the explosive concoction used in the Christmas Day incident is still being tested but appears to be a glycol-based liquid explosive. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation. PETN is the primary ingredient in detonating cords used for industrial explosions and can be collected by scraping the insides of the wire, said James Crippin, a Colorado explosives expert. It's also used in military devices and found in blasting caps. It's the high explosive of choice because it is stable and safe to handle, but it requires a primary explosive to detonate it, he said. Crippin and law enforcement officials said modern airport screening machines could have detected the chemical. Airport "puffer" machines — the devices that blow air onto a passenger to collect and analyze residues — would probably have detected the powder, as would bomb-sniffing dogs or a hands-on search using a swab. However, most passengers in airports only go through magnetometers, which detect metal rather than explosives. Hidden in Abdulmutallab's clothing, the explosive might have also been detected by the full-body imaging scanners now making their way into airports. But Abdulmutallab did not go through full-body imaging machines in Nigeria or Amsterdam, said U.S. Rep. Peter King, the top Republican on the Homeland Security Committee. King has been briefed on the investigation. Both airports have body scanners. The Amsterdam airport has had a long reputation for good security, King said, while Nigeria's airports have been more of a concern. The U.S. provided full-body scanners to all four international airports in Nigeria, according to the State Department. The scanners were installed in March, May and June of 2008. Abdulmutallab was on a broad U.S. terrorist watch list but he was not designated for special screening measures or placed on a no-fly list because of a dearth of specific information about his activities, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Sunday. She said he was properly screened before getting on the aircraft in Amsterdam. Abdulmutallab has claimed to law enforcement officials that he received training and instructions from al-Qaida operatives in Yemen. The Saudi Arabia assassination attempt was carried out by a Saudi who was on the country's list of 85 most wanted terrorists. The bomber was believed to have traveled to Yemen to connect with the al-Qaida franchise there. The bomber died in the explosion and is believed to have attached the explosives to his groin or inserted them inside himself. Now I've learned that the President has cut his 'fun time' short because a kid of one of the Presidents 'golf buddies' cut his chin. It was SOOO serious that as the President and his 'entourage' were 'racing back to the compound', the family REFUSED TRANSPORT. But yet the President can't cut his 'fun time' short when someone tries to blow up a friggin AIRLINER!

Second man arrested on jet in Detroit Officials say passenger on Sunday flight was ill, posed no threat DETROIT - The same Detroit-bound Northwest Airlines flight that was attacked on Christmas Day saw another security scare Sunday after a confrontation with a sick passenger, officials said. Security and airline personnel have been on edge since authorities charged a passenger from Nigeria with attempting to detonate a hidden explosive device while his flight from Amsterdam approached Detroit on Friday. In the Sunday incident, the flight crew became concerned after the man — also Nigerian — became sick and spent about an hour locked in the bathroom, officials said. "This raised concerns so an alert was raised," FBI spokeswoman Sandra Berchtold said. "The investigation shows that this was a non-serious incident and all is clear at this point." After the flight crew became concerned, the pilot of the Sunday flight had requested emergency assistance upon arrival, sending federal authorities scrambling to respond to a potential danger. The Transportation Security Administration said the airline alerted authorities to a "disruptive passenger" on board flight 253, who was taken into custody when the plane landed. Two law enforcement officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the incident, said the crew apparently acted out of an abundance of caution in alerting authorities. Post-flight interviews by investigators determined the passenger was a legitimate businessman who posed no security threat to the plane, the two law enforcement officials said. On Saturday, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, was charged with trying to destroy the plane. A conviction on the charge could bring Abdulmutallab up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Obama orders briefing The White House says President Barack Obama has told U.S. officials to maintain heightened airline security. Obama made the comments during a briefing Sunday with his national security team after a second incident was reported aboard a flight arriving in Detroit. White House spokesman Bill Burton told reporters that Obama was told of the incident about 9 a.m. Hawaii time — about 90 minutes after the flight from Amsterdam landed. Burton says Obama also asked national security officials for another briefing as soon as possible. Obama spent the earlier part of the morning playing basketball and working out during his vacation. First off, does this mean we'll be going to war with Nigeria now? Second, since the first attack going into Detroit was determined to be a 'terroristic action', shouldn't that be enough to cause the LEADER of this country to cut short his 'fun time' and actually get back to the office and start taking care of business? I guess throwing the United States deeper in debt is hard work,....that would explain why he needs a vacation with less than a year on the job....

Nigerian charged in foiled airliner bombing He was in U.S. terror database for at least 2 years, but not on no-fly list NBC, msnbc.com and news services updated 1 hour, 56 minutes ago DETROIT - A 23-year-old Nigerian who claims to be an agent of al-Qaida was charged Saturday with trying to blow up a Northwest Airlines flight on Christmas Day as it was preparing to land in Detroit. A retired banker in Nigeria said Saturday that he feared the suspect was his son. U.S. authorities said the suspect's father had gone to the U.S. Embassy in Abuja, Nigeria, in November to express concerns about his son. The Justice Department said Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab had a device containing a high explosive attached to his body on Flight 253 from Amsterdam. As the flight neared Detroit's airport on Friday, Abdulmutallab set it off — but it sparked a fire instead of an explosion, the government said. A preliminary analysis of the device shows that it contained PETN, also known as pentaerythritol, according the affidavit filed in federal court in Detroit. In the charging papers, the Justice Department states that after Abdulmutallab was restrained by passengers and crew, "one flight attendant asked him what he had had in his pocket, and he replied 'explosive device.'" Now hospitalized with burns, Abdulmutallab had for at least two years been on a list that includes people with known or suspected contact with or ties to terrorists, an official briefed on the attack told The Associated Press Saturday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing. The list, known as the Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment, is maintained by the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center and contains about 550,000 names. People on the list are not necessarily on the no-fly list and that was the case with Abdulmutallab, Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., told MSNBC. "Why he was not on the no-fly list, we have to look into," said King, who is the ranking Republican member of the House Homeland Security Committee. Dutch anti-terrorism authorities said Abdulmutallab was traveling on a U.S. visa valid through the first half of 2010. A security official in Amsterdam, where the Christmas Day flight originated, told Newsweek that U.S. security authorities had cleared the flight for departure. A U.S. counterterrorism official acknowledged that "in many respects, this one (case) is puzzling. There's still a lot of questions that need answers." Suspect claims al-Qaida role U.S. counterterrorism officials told NBC News that, shortly after he was taken into custody, the suspect said he was working for al-Qaida and that he had been instructed to blow up the plane on approach to Detroit because it would likely produce the most casualties and collateral damage on the ground if the wreckage fell into a densely populated area. The officials said, however, that so far there had been no solid evidence of any direct or indirect ties to al-Qaida. All the officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was continuing. Two law enforcement sources told NBC News that Abdulmutallab had recently spent at least a month with extremists in Yemen, but that it was not clear if those extremists were al-Qaida members or radicals inspired by al-Qaida. In Yemen, a government source said that authorities would take action if a link to Yemen is officially identified. Injecting fluid from syringe A law enforcement official told NBC News that no air marshals were aboard the flight and that two passengers were being hailed as heroes: The first jumped on the suspect and suffered burns; the second put the suspect in a headlock. The source said the suspect had been observed going to the bathroom and coming out looking agitated. Abdulmutallab allegedly told passengers that his stomach was upset, then pulled a blanket over himself, the affidavit said. The source said he apparently had a pillow stuffed under his shirt or tucked under his beltline and was seen injecting a fluid from a syringe into some unseen substance. Passengers heard popping noises that sounded like fireworks and smelled smoke. Other U.S. counterterrorism officials said the explosive device malfunctioned and that instead of exploding, it burned itself out. Son of retired banker? In Nigeria, a retired banker said on Saturday he was meeting with security officials because he fears his son may be the suspect. Alhaji Umaru Mutallab said his son was a one-time university student in London who had left Britain to travel abroad. He said his son hadn't lived in London "for some time" but he wasn't sure exactly where he had gone. "I believe he might have been to Yemen, but we are investigating to determine that," the elder Mutallab said. Another son of the elder Mutallab told Reuters that the suspect "is my brother." Nigeria's This Day newspaper cited family members as saying the elder Mutallab had been uncomfortable with his son's "extreme religious views" and had reported him to the U.S. Embassy in the capital Abuja and to Nigerian security agencies six months ago. British officials on Saturday were searching the last known address of the suspect, who was thought to have been an engineering student at University College London, one of the United Kingdom's leading universities, according to Sky News. 'First there was a pop' The attempted bombing occurred as Northwest Airlines Flight 253 from Amsterdam prepared to land in Detroit just before noon Friday. Travelers said they smelled smoke, saw a glow, and heard what sounded like firecrackers as Flight 253, carrying 278 passengers and 11 crew members from Amsterdam, prepared to land. "It sounded like a firecracker in a pillowcase," said Peter Smith, a passenger from the Netherlands. "First there was a pop, and then (there) was smoke." Smith said one passenger, sitting opposite the suspect, climbed over passengers, went across the aisle and tried to restrain the man. Passenger Syed Jafri, a U.S. citizen who had flown from the United Arab Emirates, said the incident occurred during the plane's descent. Jafri said he was seated three rows behind the passenger and said he saw a glow, and noticed a smoke smell. Then, he said, "a young man behind me jumped on him." "Next thing you know, there was a lot of panic," he said. Another man contacted msnbc.com to say he was seated in the same row as the suspect, sitting several seats to his left. The man, who identified himself as Alain Ghonda, said he "heard the explosion … at that point we thought it was outside the plane so people lifted the window blinds to look out." "It wasn’t a big explosion, it sounded like a firecracker, but it smelled like a gun had just gone off," he added. "I looked and saw that smoke was coming out of him and he was trying to brush something off his pants … and suddenly I saw a big flame come out of him," Ghonda said. "A Dutch guy jumped over the seats and grabbed the guy on fire." Afterward, the suspect was taken to a front-row seat with his pants cut off and his legs burned. Law enforcement officials also said the man appeared badly burned on his legs, indicating the explosive was strapped there. The United States quickly imposed stricter security measures on airline travel. Similarities to Richard Reid. The incident was reminiscent of Richard Reid, who tried to destroy a trans-Atlantic flight in 2001 with explosives hidden in his shoes, but was subdued by other passengers. The suspect boarded in Nigeria and went through Amsterdam en route to Detroit. Dutch airline KLM says the connection in Amsterdam from Lagos, Nigeria, to Detroit involves a change in carrier and a change in aircraft. Schiphol airport, one of Europe's busiest with a heavy load of transit passengers from Africa and Asia to North America, strictly enforces European security regulations including only allowing small amounts of liquid in hand luggage that must be placed inside clear plastic bags. A spokesman for the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Akin Olukunle, said all passengers and their luggage are screened before boarding international flights. He also said the airport in Lagos cleared a U.S. Transportation Security Administration audit in November. "We had a pass mark," Olukunle said. "We actually are up to standards in all senses." It was eight years ago this week that a similar attempted attack was launched by a British member of al-Qaida who tried to blow up a flight from Paris to Miami by igniting explosives in his shoes. And the attempted attack comes on the same day that the Taliban released a video of a U.S. soldier it is holding captive in Afghanistan. President Barack Obama was notified of the incident and discussed it with security officials, the White House said. Officials said he is monitoring the situation and receiving regular updates during his vacation in Hawaii. As far as getting a car in Florida, I ended up getting a great deal on a 1989 Ford Thunderbird, very solid and still pulls 27 mpg. It was far more 'solid' than any car I saw in Michigan (especially with the lower quarter panels and fram rusted out because of the salt on the roads. As far as the 'airport incident, I didn't even get drinks beforehand. I'm guessin they're kind of 'out of touch' with the whole 'dating protocol' thing......

I know from when I was doing alot of flying, those that had a one way ticket, those that paid for their tickets with cash were subjected to 'increased security measures', why wasn't this clown put through the same thing? I flew one way from Flint, MI to Tampa, FL (I was flying down to look for a 'good Florida car' to take back to Michigan. This way I could be assured that at least the body was 'solid' and not eaten up by that cancer called RUST that plagues so many Michigan cars. (Must be something to do with the fact that Michigan salts the roads in the winter months)... I was put through every concievable 'search' just shy of a strip search and a cavity search). This was because the ticket was a 'one way ticket' and I paid in cash (didnt have a debit card at the time)..... Boots and socks off...pockets turned inside out....patted down, groped, 3 forms of ID......

Even the video response by the union representative identified them as EMT's. If you hold the credentials to be called an EMT, then it's logical to presume that you've got the knowledge of what to do, and therefore a duty to act. If you DON'T have the credentials, then stop 'sporting the title'! I've been late to work on many occasions (even BEFORE becoming an EMT); because I witnessed an MVC, or stopped to render aid to those that needed it. If, according to Richard (whom I do NOT doubt on credibility issues), these people have had BLS education (at the vvery least); then they should have done SOMETHING to help this woman until a rig arrived! The fact that they just continued to buy their breakfast and walk away makes it that much more deplorable!

According to what I saw/read/heard in a video report on MSN.com, they considered him a 'threat', just not 'enough of a threat for him to make the "no fly list"'. The government agencies are quick to pass the buck about who acutallly makes up that 'no fly list', airlines say it's TSA, TSA says its the FAA...FAA says it's the airlines themselves,....the airlines say it's the CIA....and round and round we go again and again. Ultimately, it's this: TSA is too busy stealing passenger's belongings (remember the TSA agents who were busted with THOUSANDS of suitcases they stole from the airport? I think it was Baltimore/Washington) to actually screen passengers. Now, I'm not saying that ALL TSA agents are doing this, but there's enough of them that it's painfully clear that the agency itself isn't REALLY concentrating on airline security!

If all works out on my end Bo, I'll be right there with you! Good luck! LS