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Bowling Green, Ky. — We're at it again, catching potential online sex predators in the act of attempting to meet young girls.
Elliott: I've had that fantasy in the back of my head.
Chris Hansen: About being with a young girl?
Elliott: A young girl, yes.
We're in a new state, in a new part of the country -- southwestern Kentucky. What's not new is the men's reaction to meeting who they think is a young girl.
Armstrong: I haven't had a kiss yet.
Elliott: Gosh, you're pretty.
West: Well, I'm going to give you a hug.
McPhetridge: I'd like to hold you.
Decoy: And then what?
McPhetridge: And kiss you. That's why I was asking you to come up here.
We're set up in this six-thousand square foot home in Bowling Green, Kentucky. We've outfitted the house with thirteen hidden cameras and seven are outside, capturing a potential predator as he drives into the development, up our street and into our driveway. Then five cameras inside pick up his every move as he walks in the door.
Todd West: You have a nice place here.
Decoy: Thank you.
In the basement are our paid consultants -- members of the online watchdog group Perverted Justice. Its volunteers set up profiles of 12- or 13-year-olds, go into chat rooms, and wait to be contacted. If a man starts chatting, expresses a desire for sex and is willing to meet, the decoy then invites the man over.
For this operation, Perverted Justice has teamed up with the Kentucky attorney general's office and the Kentucky Bureau of Investigation (KBI), as well as local law enforcement.
Frag (Perverted Justice): Most of these guys are going to be coming off 65 in one direction or another.
Kentucky Attorney General Greg Stumbo has worked with Perverted Justice during two prior sting operations without Dateline being present.
Chris Hansen: Were you anxious at all about having Perverted Justice, a civilian group, do the decoy work in these cases?
Greg Stumbo: Just the name Perverted Justice sort of raises some red flags.
So Stumbo says his office did a thorough background check on Perverted Justice.
Stumbo: All we saw were positive things. We didn't see anything negative. Law enforcement is not equipped to conduct these types of operations at this point. And so to us it was just a natural fit.
During the first attorney general sting in Louisville about a year ago, seven men were arrested. All were convicted of a felony.
During the second sting last April -- again with Dateline not present –- 11 men arrived at this house in northern Kentucky.
And all 11 were arrested.
One man has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial. The other 10 have pleaded guilty. Stumbo says one of those men stands out the most.
Cop: What's your name sir?
Rauch: Jim Rauch. R-a-u-c-h.
Video: Editor's Note: This story has been removed He was a teacher.
Cop: What do you do Jim?
Rauch: I work for the University of Cincinnati.
Greg Stumbo: He was a well-respected citizen in his community. A member of a church. Had a lot of people in the community who supported him, who couldn't believe that he would engage in this type of conduct.
He's 59-year-old James Rauch, a retired elementary school music teacher and a criminal justice professor for a university. He's interrogated by agents from the Kentucky Bureau of Investigation.
Tom Mitchkey: Do you know how old Cheyenne was?
James Rauch: She told me she was 13. But I don't do that … 13-year-olds, I'm-- God, it's gross.
Tom Mitchkey: Not your thing?
James Rauch: No, not at all.
That's what he starts off saying but later seems to change his story.
James Rauch: I came here to be for her possibly sexually too. But I don't know if I could ever have done that.
He also admits he invited the decoy to see photos of his genitals from his webcam.
Katherine Reed: More of an education for her?
James Rauch: I think so. I think so.
Tom Mitchkey: Exploratory.
James Rauch: This is-- this is what a guy looks like.
He ends up pleading guilty and is sentenced to 46 months in prison, followed by lifetime supervision.
Decoy: Hey!
So what will happen this time when Dateline is present? It seems some potential predators are getting the message. KBI commissioner David James says chat rooms are filled with men afraid to show up.
James: Once they found out that the girl was in Kentucky, that we're not going to come to Kentucky, because they-- that's where they arrest people for doing this.
But as always that doesn't stop everyone.
Walking into our undercover house is 39-year-old John Elliott, a factory worker for a window company. He's driven two-and-a-half hours to meet a girl who told him she was 12 and home alone. It's after one o'clock in the morning.
Decoy: I was just about to watch some TV. Come sit down.
Elliott: OK.
We've hired this 19-year-old actress Casey to be our decoy. Elliott seems to think our decoy is the 12-year-old virgin he's been chatting with online for the past month. Using a screen name so disturbing we can't broadcast it, he tells the decoy about his fantasy of being with a young girl.
(09/22/07 4:20:44 pm): you were asking me about what I was daydreaming about well that's it you nude and me licking you...
He continues to chat with the decoy about his fixation with giving her oral sex and adds that as he's talking to her, he's "nude" and "thinking bad thoughts."
(09/28/07 4:59:44 pm): I just never thought I would openly tell a young girl that
Decoy (09/28/07 5:00:01 pm): is ok with me
(09/28/07 5:00:42 pm): but as soon as I saw your pic I was like man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I give anything I could have one night with her.
At one point he tells her his hobby is taking pictures of himself masturbating and then sends the decoy some of those shots. And he doesn't stop there. Later he sends her child pornography -- a photo of a girl engaging in a sex act.
(09/28/07 5:19:35 pm): that girl is young
Decoy (09/28/07 5:19:40 pm): how young
(09/28/07 5:19:46 pm): I think 14
Decoy (09/28/07 5:19:53 pm): wow
At one point he seems to fear she might be a "police woman" -- but as you can see that doesn't stop him from showing up.
Elliott: Can I use your bathroom?
Decoy: Um, yeah it's the first door on the left.
Decoy: I let him go to the bathroom and when he came out he seemed a little more relaxed. He was a little more comfortable that, you know, "okay, she let me go to the bathroom. We're going to be here awhile."
Elliott: Gosh, you're pretty.
Decoy: Thank you.
Decoy: So, what are your plans and what are you thinking?
Elliott: Kissing you. I mean -- you know what -- how we talked on the internet.
As the decoy presses him, he stops smiling and seems to get suspicious. She asks him about that photo he sent her of the girl receiving oral sex.
Decoy: That picture you sent me with the 14-year-old girl. Was she really 14?
Elliott: I don't know. I just found it off a (unintel) internet when we were talking.
Decoy: Is that like what you wanted to do?
Elliott: That's what I'd want to do. But I can't-- I just-- there's something in me that-- I just-- it's not right, you know. And it's really bothering me.
Chris Hansen: You seemed pretty confident on the internet in terms of what you wanted to do. What was your plan tonight?
Elliott: Actually, I wasn't really going to be doing anything. Because I was already getting too scared and nervous about it.
Chris Hansen: Now, why were you getting so scared and nervous?
Elliott: Well, I just knew it wasn't right.
Chris Hansen: But that's not how you made it sound online.
Elliott: I know.
And what about the photos he sent of himself masturbating?
Chris Hansen: Why'd you do it?
Elliott: Well, it just-- everything in my life is just-- it's all screwed up … I got a bad job. My marriage is not good.
Chris Hansen: Did you bring any condoms?
Elliott: No, I wasn't going to do anything like that?
Chris Hansen: What were you going to do.
Elliott: It was just oral.
Chris Hansen: Just oral?
Elliott: Well, I didn't think that was that bad on oral.
Chris Hansen: She told you she was 12 years old. And you came over here planning to have oral sex with a 12-year-old girl?
Elliott: Yeah, I mean, I'm not going to deny it. I mean, it's-- yeah, I did.
When I ask him about his obscene screen name, he starts to laugh.
Chris Hansen: Oh, you think this is funny?
Elliott: No, I'm--
Chris Hansen: It's a big joke?
Elliott: No, no.
Chris Hansen: Coming over here to have sex with a 12-year-old girl is a big old joke to you?
Elliott: No, no, what I'm getting at is this is the very first time this has ever happened. I've never met--
Chris Hansen: It's the first time you got caught maybe?
Elliott: No.
Chris Hansen: Right, so, what made you decide--
Elliott: Not--
Chris Hansen: --all of the sudden to do it now? I mean, you've been chatting with this girl for a month.
Elliott: I just-- I've had that fantasy in the back of my head.
Chris Hansen: Fantasy about being with a young girl?
Elliott: A young girl, yes.
Chris Hansen: Well, what do you think should happen to you?
Elliott: Sent to an island?
Chris Hansen: Sent to an island. You think--
Elliott: Exile.
Chris Hansen: Exile on an island? You still think this is all funny?
Elliott: No, why you're asking me stuff like this?
Chris Hansen: Well, why do you think I'm curious about all this?
Elliott: I can tell you're a therapist. I know. I may not just--
Chris Hansen: You think I'm a therapist?
Elliott: Yeah by the way you're-- your questions?
Chris Hansen: Do you think you came over here to meet this girl and naturally a therapist sat down to help you through your problem?
Elliott: I don't know.
Chris Hansen: Well, do you-- you ever watch television?
Elliott: No, sir.
Chris Hansen: All right, well, there's something I've got to tell you. I'm Chris Hansen. And I work for a show called Dateline NBC. And we're doing a story on adults who try to meet young teenagers online for sex. It's called 'To Catch a Predator.'
Elliott: Oh, OK.
Chris Hansen: So, if there's anything else that you'd like to tell us about your situation, we'd like to hear it.
Elliott: I love my wife and I know it doesn't look like it. I need to see a psychiatrist because the way everything's going in my life.
Chris Hansen: Well, why don't you go ahead. I hope you get that help.
As he gets up to leave and makes the long walk to the door, officers are in position ready to arrest him.
He's taken away in an unmarked car and brought to a police station... Where he's booked, photographed and brought in for questioning.
Agent Katherine Reed: Had an interesting night, haven't you?
John Elliott: Yeah. Really.
Katherine Reed: To say the least.
He is read his rights and Kentucky Bureau of Investigation agent Katherine Reed starts to question him.
Agent Katherine Reed: What brought you here tonight, John?
John Elliott: Just fantasy.
Agent Katherine Reed: What kind of fantasies?
John Elliott: I don't know. To be with young girl. I'm not saying it's right, or anything like that. I don't mean to make it sound that way.
Agent Katherine Reed: So, you knew it was wrong--
John Elliott: Uh-huh (affirm).
Agent Katherine Reed: --when you came here?
Elliott: (nods)
Agent Reed gets the man's consent to search his car and retrieve his computer from his home.
John Elliott: (signing) Oh, gosh.
He is then taken to jail and later brought before a judge.
Elliott: I have never been to jail, or anything like this.
And later brought before a judge…
Judge: You were charged with unlawful transaction with a minor less than 16 years of age, first degree, which is a class b felony. Do you understand that charge?
Elliot: Yes, sir.
The judge sets his bail amount.
Judge: Your bond will stay at $50,000 cash.
It's day three of our undercover investigation here in Bowling Green, Kentucky -- population 50,000. Our first guest arrives at noon, right on time. Jeremy Todd West, 27, pulls in the driveway and our decoy invites him in.
Decoy: Hey.
West: How's it going'?
Decoy: Good. How are you?
West: Tired.
Calling himself bandit8077, he starts chatting online with a decoy posing as a 13-year-old girl. After only about 20 minutes he says he'd like to meet. Two days later he asks her this...
Bandit8077 (09/25/07 9:58:27 pm): are u wantin sex when we meet?
Decoy (09/25/07 9:58:51 pm): um idk
Decoy (09/25/07 9:58:54 pm): I dont even no u
Bandit8077 (09/25/07 9:59:49 pm): if we do would u want to do it there or go somewhere and do it?
The chat goes on for almost a month. It looks like a blossoming romance. Two weeks into their chat he tells her "I would most likely want u to be my future wife." She tells him she wants to finish high school first -- a jarring reminder that this is a chat between a 27-year-old man and a girl who says she's in eighth grade. Two days before he's supposed to meet the girl he starts to get worried.
Bandit8077 (10/18/07 5:27:23 pm): but one thing that keeps runnin thru my mind is if I get caught I seen this Dateline thing where they are bustin guys with cops tryin to have sex with young kids
Decoy (10/18/07 5:27:30 pm): oh
Decoy (10/18/07 5:27:36 pm): u think thats me?
Bandit8077 (10/18/07 5:28:11 pm): no. But it just scares me though
Apparently it doesn't scare him enough. A public works employee from Tennessee, bandit8077 makes himself at home.
West: Yeah, these chairs are nice.
Decoy: So, how's it going'?
West: So far, so good.
Decoy: That's good. Stay seated.
West: Well, I'm going to give you a hug.
Decoy: Well, let's (unintel) sit down.
Chris Hansen: Before you give a hug here, we're going to have a little chat. What's going' on?
West: Not much, just thought I'd come hang out, be friends.
Hansen: So there are no friends who are your age you can hang out with on the internet
West: Yeah.
Hansen: So why don't you talk to them?
West: No. I know what you're doing'. Don't go there, please. I know what you're doing.
Chris Hansen: You talk about taking her out to buy sexy bras and panties and thongs.
West: I had a feeling this was it.
Chris Hansen: You had a feeling what was it?
West: This was a setup.
Chris Hansen: "We would be kissing. And my hands would caress your sexy body."
West: I made a mistake. I made a royal mistake … I wasn't going to sleep with her. I promised I wouldn't. I talked about it but I wasn't going to do it.
Remember he's been talking online about having sex with a 13-year-old for almost a month.
West: I was wrong.
Chris Hansen: Then why did you do it, Todd? Explain that.
West: Weak-- I mean, just weak moment. I had a feeling something was wrong.
Chris Hansen: Do you ever watch Dateline?
West: I've watched it once.
Chris Hansen: Did you ever think you'd actually be on 'To Catch a Predator'? Well Todd, there's something' I've got to tell you.
West: I'm on it.
Chris Hansen: I'm Chris Hansen with Dateline NBC.
West: Don't.
Chris Hansen: You can walk right out the door--
West: Leave me. Leave him. Please.
And just like he's seen on TV, law enforcement is outside waiting to arrest him.
Cops: Sheriff's office. Come on now, come on down. Straighten out hands up. Get down on your face right now. Right now. Hands out, put them behind your back. Do not move.
West: Help, please.
He's taken to the local police station, and when questioned by an agent from the Kentucky Bureau of Investigation he sticks to his story.
Jeremy West: I wasn't going to do anything more than just be friends, that was it.
He tells the officer he's worried about being on Dateline.
Ken Gillingham: You're probably going to appear on their show at some time. And part of the reason is they use that as a deterrent for other people to not get their self in this situation.
Jeremy West: I should have just stayed away.
In a few minutes, our next potential predator will probably be thinking he too should have stayed away.
Frag (Perverted Justice): OK, his name is Lorne, you're Kayla. He should have condoms, pizza, bracelet and a cam.
Decoy: Hey, I'm glad you could come.
Armstrong: Hey girl.
Decoy: (laughter) How are you?
Armstrong: I'm good. How are you?
Decoy: Good.
Turns out that today's his birthday. He's 37-year-old Lorne Armstrong, a construction worker. He's been chatting with a girl posing as a 13-year-old for more than a month. It's one of the longest chat logs we've ever seen -— 407 pages. Using the screen name lorne_a_20014, he tells her how to masturbate. And then asks her if she wants to see him naked. She agrees and he turns on his webcam. He wants her to look at his penis.
Lorne_a_20014 (09/17/07 11:48:40 pm): would you like to see it up close so you can get a better look at it?lol
Decoy (09/17/07 11:48:58 pm): omg I guess if u wanna show me
After chatting with the decoy posing as a 13-year-old for just six days, he expresses his deep love for her.
Lorne_a_20014 (09/23/07 11:55:25 am): I wish I could marry you right now because I would do it
Lorne_a_20014 (09/23/07 11:55:41 am): that's how special you are to me and that's how much I love you
But he clearly knows what he is doing is wrong, telling her to delete all evidence of their chat log.
Lorne_a_20014 (10/15/07 11:23:46 pm): ok, delete your archives and remember mrs. Kayla marie Armstrong.............I love you more than anything
Decoy: He was so excited to be here, and he came walking in very proud, very excited.
Decoy: It's a massager--
Lorne Armstrong: Oh, my God--
Decoy: --chair.
Lorne Armstrong: Look at that.
Decoy: It vibrates when you press the buttons.
Lorne Armstrong: Look. Oh my God.
Lorne Armstrong: I thought you had blonde hair?
Decoy: Do you like it? I dyed it--
Lorne Armstrong: I think--
Decoy: --myself.
Lorne Armstrong: I think it's pretty.
Decoy: Thank you.
Lorne Armstrong: It's very pretty.
Decoy: Well, weren't you going to bring me something?
Lorne Armstrong: Well, yes, I was. And I did.
Decoy: Did you bring condoms?
Lorne Armstrong: Yes, I did.
Decoy: Where are they?
Lorne Armstrong: Out in the truck.
Decoy: Well, what good are they going to do in the truck, if we're in here?
Lorne Armstrong: (laughter) well, yell at me, why don't you. I haven't had a kiss, yet.
Decoy: Oh, OK. Well, then, what did you want to do.
Lorne Armstrong: I want to kiss, first.
Decoy: And then what--
Lorne Armstrong: Can I have a kiss first?
Decoy: Well, let's talk first.
Lorne Armstrong: (laughter) No kidding.
Decoy: You just got here. (laughter)
Lorne Armstrong: Are you nervous?
Decoy: A little bit.
Lorne Armstrong: A little bit? Not as bad what you thought it would be? … (laughter) I like seeing you in person.
Decoy: yeah, I like seeing you, too.
Lorne Armstrong: Good.
Chris Hansen: You seem pretty comfortable there.
Lorne Armstrong: How are you, sir.
Chris Hansen: How are you?
Lorne Armstrong: All right. How are you doing?
Chris Hansen: What's happening?
Lorne Armstrong: Not too much.
Chris Hansen: Yeah. So what are you up to tonight?
Lorne Armstrong: Not a whole lot.
Chris Hansen: Well, I'll tell you, for the last several days, you've been up to a lot. You're a pretty prolific chatter there. You want to explain yourself?
Lorne Armstrong: Not really, I'd never, really, was going to do anything.
Chris Hansen: You weren't really going to do anything?
Lorne Armstrong: No.
Chris Hansen: So you brought condoms? What else did you bring?
Lorne Armstrong: I brought her a bracelet.
Chris Hansen: And she is how old?
Lorne Armstrong: Supposed to be 13.
Chris Hansen: And how old are you?
Lorne Armstrong: Thirty-seven.
Chris Hansen: Now, besides all this chat here, and we'll go through that in a minute, you also sent a whole bunch of pictures. Now why would you think--
Lorne Armstrong: Ugh.
Chris Hansen: --that's appropriate?
Lorne Armstrong: It's not.
Chris Hansen: You tell her to delete her archives.
Lorne Armstrong: I didn't want her to get in trouble by her parents.
Chris Hansen: You talk about getting married to her. Getting married? She's 13.
Lorne Armstrong: I meant when she was 18.
Hansen: You were going to marry her when she turned 18. What do you think ought to happen to you?
Lorne Armstrong: I think I should go to counseling to get off the internet. I've got to do something, because I can't do thi-- oh my God. (crying)
Hansen: Well, there something I've got to tell you. I'm Chris Hansen, of Dateline NBC, and we're doing a story on--
Lorne Armstrong: Oh, God. (crying)
Chris Hansen: Now, you're free to walk out of this house right now. But if there's anything else you want to say, now would be the time to say it.
He has nothing further to say and tries to make a quick exit, apparently not knowing what's in store for him outside.
Cops: Sheriff's office! Down! Get down! On the ground, on the ground. Hands behind your back, put your hands behind your back.
He's taken to the local police station where his car is searched.
Cop: In Mr. Armstrong's truck we found some condoms, a variety pack, plus some jewelry.
And later he's interviewed by law enforcement.
Ken Gillingham: I believe you transmitted quite a few photographs.
Lorne Armstrong: I'd like an attorney.
Ken Gillingham: All right, sir.
Frag: That's him coming at you.
Decoy: Yep, I see him.
Frag: He would have a cane, he has cerebral palsy.
McPhetridge: You come here?
Decoy: No, come on in.
Decoy: He drove up as close as he could to the door so he didn't have to walk as far because he has the cane. I told him to come on inside, and he finally agreed.
Meet Dustin McPhetridge-- he's 26 years old, divorced, suffers from cerebral palsy and collects social security benefits. He says it's SSI.
He's driven five hours to have sex with a girl posing as a 13-year old. As you'll find out, this isn't his first time chatting inappropriately with a minor.
Our decoy Casey starts to feel sorry for him as she watches him struggle to get out of the car, but then remembers what he'd been saying online.
Decoy: When you listen to him talking, he really is no different, he's still wanting to have sex with a little girl.
Using the screen name wrestlingdudeeasttn he asks the girl if he could be her "first at sex."
Wrestlingdudeeasttn (10/06/07 8:12:48 pm): what have u done with a guy
Decoy (10/06/07 8:13:01 pm): nothin
Wrestlingdudeeasttn (10/06/07 8:13:35 pm): wow so id be ur 1st at everything
Decoy (10/06/07 8:14:02 pm): you
After he tells the decoy about his disability -- he moves on to talking about anal and oral sex. He asks if he can shave her private parts and later makes a rather bizarre request.
wrestlingdudeeasttn (10/13/07 7:11:01 pm): send me a pair of ur panties
Wrestlingdudeeasttn (10/13/07 7:16:58 pm): pick a pair u want me 2 have and wear them for 2 or 3 days staight
Decoy (10/13/07 7:17:21 pm): 4 relz?
Wrestlingdudeeasttn (10/13/07 7:17:56 pm): yea
He also asks her if he can have a three way with the decoy and her sister, and he repeatedly asks the girl to marry him. When they make a plan to meet, he tells her he'll bring an electric razor.
KBI commissioner David James watches on a monitor as McPhetridge comes into the house.
James: When you first look at him and you see him, and you could say that I felt a little bit sorry for him. A little bit. And then you remember why we're here, you know. Whether he has cerebral palsy or not, he still is there to molest a child. And there's no excuse for molesting a child. I don't care what it is.
Decoy: So, what's up?
McPhetridge: Nothing.
Decoy: Nothing?
McPhetridge: No. (laughter)
Decoy: Did you bring the razors?
McPhetridge: Yeah.
Decoy: So what did you want to do with them? I was kind of confused.
McPhetridge: Well, I'll show you later.
Decoy: Can you just tell me, please? I won't come here if you don't tell me.
McPhetridge: I thought you was wanting to be shaved down there.
Decoy: Is that what you wanted to do?
McPhetridge: Yeah. That's what you wanted to.
Decoy: Oh, okay.
Decoy: I'm kind of nervous. I'd rather like talk about it first so I kind of know, you know what I mean?
McPhetridge: Well, what you wantin' to talk about, sweetie?
Decoy: Well, like, tell me what you're going to do, so I'm like kind of prepared.
McPhetridge: It's just easier to explain it as we go along, before I do it.
Decoy: Well, like, what would you do first?
McPhetridge: I don't know. I'd like to hold you.
Decoy: And then what?
McPhetridge: And kiss you. That's why I'm, that's why I was asking you to come over here.
Decoy: Well, yeah, I understand that.
McPhetridge: I wouldn't expect you to do nothing you didn't want to.
Decoy: I guess. But--
McPhetridge: Yeah, I wouldn't force you to do anything, sweetheart.
Chris Hansen: Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news--
McPhetridge: Well, I wasn't going to do nothing, but--
Chris Hansen: You weren't going to do anything?
McPhetridge: No. I--
Chris Hansen: Why don't you tell me what your plan was tonight, hmm?
McPhetridge: I didn't bring nothing with me. I didn't do nothing bad. And I would never force nobody to do anything against their will. So.
Chris Hansen: But you did bring some things with you tonight?
McPhetridge: I brought a razor--
Chris Hansen: And what were you going to do with the razor?
McPhetridge: I thought she wanted to be shaved down there … and I thought she said she was 17 or something.
Chris Hansen: I've got the transcript right here.
McPhetridge: I believe that, sir.
Chris Hansen: Right.
He was told online she was 13. And he even referred to her young age several times, wishing she was five years older. And as for all the explicit sex talk...
McPhetridge: I was trying to see if I could find out if that was a cop, or so I didn't waste though--
Chris Hansen: Well, it sounds--
McPhetridge: There are times--
Chris Hansen: --like, it-- it sounds like what you're tryin' to see is if you could score with a 13-year-old girl.
McPhetridge: No, sir.
Chris Hansen: I mean have you chatted online with underage girls before?
McPhetridge: Quite honestly, I had one time before.
Chris Hansen: A young girl?
McPhetridge: Yes.
He says he was chatting with a 14-year-old girl and the girl's mother's boyfriend was a cop who found out about it and wanted to press charges.
McPhetridge: It never went to trial. I apologized, and everybody--
Chris Hansen: Did you plead guilty, or no-contest?
McPhetridge: We didn't go to court. It was just over the phone, and like, "Hey, I'm sorry. This is why I said that. I--"
Chris Hansen: Was it a scary situation to you?
McPhetridge: Yeah.
Chris Hansen: Did you learn your lesson?
McPhetridge: Yeah.
Chris Hansen: But it doesn't seem so tonight?
McPhetridge: And I didn't, like I said, I wouldn't do nothing bad.
Chris Hansen: Did you say, "I want to make love to you?" "Have you ever seen people have sex?"
McPhetridge: It was just--
Chris Hansen: Then you--
McPhetridge: --curiosity.
Chris Hansen: --send her, you send her a picture of people having sex.
McPhetridge: I thought, she asked for it.
Chris Hansen: She asked for it. She didn't ask for it. You sent it to her. And even if she did, I mean, that's-- you're not supposed to be sending stuff like that to somebody who says they're 13.
But instead of taking responsibility, he tries to blame it all on the decoy.
McPhetridge: She was wanting me to come up here and see her so bad, and I didn't want to disappoint her.
Chris Hansen: You're a grown man.
McPhetridge: I know--
Chris Hansen: What do you think should happen to you?
McPhetridge: I don't know. I don't know.
Chris Hansen: Well, there's something I've got to tell you. Now, I'm Chris Hansen with Dateline NBC. And we're doing a story on adults who try to meet young teens online for sex.
McPhetridge: It's all wrong in my part. But she led me on a little, too. And I understand both ways.
Chris Hansen: I mean, she's not driving the train here. You're the grown-up.
McPhetridge: I know. And--
Chris Hansen: I mean, you get that, right?
McPhetridge: Yeah. And it's stupid on my part.
As he heads for the door, Dustin doesn't seem to know that officers from the Warren County sheriff's office are waiting to arrest him.
Cops: Dustin. Take a step out okay? Take a step out.
Dustin: OK. OK. OK.
Because of his disability, officers are careful taking him into custody.
While he's being booked, his car is searched.
Cop: Braun electric razor, some KY lubricant, and ah, he had a digital camera as well.
Then he's brought in for questioning where he admits to bringing a razor and lubricant.
John Dudanski: What were you going to use it for?
Dustin McPhetridge: I guess--
John Dudanski: Was it in case you had sex with her?
Dustin McPhetridge: Yeah, but I was going to try-- not to.
John Dudanski: But you would have had sex if you hit it off with her.
Dustin McPhetridge: If we got along and I thought it was a meaningful relationship, honestly then, yeah.
Again he says he's not the only one to blame since the girl teased him into coming.
Dustin McPhetridge: She called me today wanting me to come up here.
John Dudanski: Uh-huh (affirm). Well you were telling her you were her boyfriend, right? You wanted to marry her.
Dustin McPhetridge: After she's 18.
John Dudanski: OK.
Dustin McPhetridge: If we got along.
And how does he explain the picture he sent?
Dustin McPhetridge: She said she'd never seen a penis before.
John Dudanski: Why does a girl that age have to see one?
Dustin McPhetridge: I don't have no answer for that one.
He admits that he probably possesses child pornography.
Dustin McPhetridge: There's probably a few photos and few videos that I had downloaded.
John McPhetridge: Have you ever met anybody in any other chat rooms that you've had sex with?
Dustin McPhetridge: Yes.
John Dudanski: Any of them underage?
Dustin McPhetridge: No, sir.
Later he goes before a judge, where he enters a not guilty plea.
Judge: Your bond will also be $50,000 cash.
Dustin McPhetridge: Should I be signed over to the custody of my mother?
Judge: No, sir. I'll see you Friday--
DustinMcPhetridge: Can she have her vehicle back?
Judge: I'll see you Friday at 9 a.m.
During our investigation here in Bowling Green, Kentucky, men drive for miles -- sometimes from other states like Tennessee and Indiana -- to meet a young girl home alone willing to have sex.
Frag: This should be wannastaynfit.
Our next visitor drove more than an hour from Nashville, Tenn., to keep a date for sex with a girl posing as a 13-year-old.
Decoy: Hey, come around the side. This front door doesn't work.
Watwood: OK.
While online using the screen name singlemalestaynfit2000, 41-year-old Richard Watwood not only poses naked on his webcam, he also masturbates for the decoy then encourages her to touch herself. Two days later he shows up at our house.
Decoy: I was just watching some TV.
Watwood: Oh, OK.
Decoy: We got these new chairs to sit down in. It's the greatest thing ever.
Watwood: OK.
He thinks the girl's a virgin and home alone for the weekend. By the looks of his chat log, he's here to take her virginity.
Watwood: Hey, can I use your restroom?
Decoy: Um, well, we're having some plumbing issues right now because it's the new house so it's not really hooked up yet. So can you hold it for a little maybe? Until later?
Watwood: I've got to pee real bad. I been having to go since Nashville.
Chris Hansen: Before you do that I've got a couple questions for you. What's going on?
Watwood: Ah, not much.
Chris Hansen: No, no, I need to ask you some questions first. Keep your hands out of your pockets, please. Please, have a seat.
Watwood: I don't want to have a seat.
Chris Hansen: You don't want to have-- you don't want to tell me what you're up to--
He insists he has to go to the bathroom -- and then takes off.
Hansen: Well, there's something you need to know before you leave. And that's I'm Chris Hansen with Dateline NBC.
He's taken away in an unmarked car, driven to the local police station and booked. Officers search his car for evidence.
Female cop: It's Viagra, two unmarked types, several condoms.
Later Watwood is brought in for questioning.
Katherine Reed: You understand why you're here?
Richard Watwood: Unh-unh (negative).
Katherine Reed: OK. You were picked up tonight for traveling to see a minor.
He's read his rights and asked to sign a waiver.
Richard Watwood: I don't want to waive my rights.
Like all the other men you've met so far, he is arraigned before a judge where his bail is set at $50,000 cash.
Judge: I'll enter a plea of not guilty on your behalf this morning. OK.
Watwood: Yes, sir.
Meet 34-year old James Fowler. He's been chatting online with a decoy posing as a 13-year-old, calling himself youwantcomeandgetme2005, he wastes no time getting to the point.
Youwantcomeandgetme2005 (10/17/07 9:03:23 pm): I like to pleasure people and be pleasured
Youwantcomeandgetme2005 (10/17/07 9:03:35 pm): I just dont chat I meet
Youwantcomeandgetme2005 (10/17/07 10:06:51 pm): I want to know if meet you you will let me pleasure
Decoy (10/17/07 10:07:05 pm): lolz sounds fun
Then he turns on his webcam and shows her his private parts. The next day he's walking into our living room.
Decoy: Look at this, we got these sweet new chairs, sit down. It's so cool. It has, like, a massager in it. If you push those buttons.
James Fowler: Yeah.
Decoy: I got him to sit in a chair, and I was just sitting on the edge of my chair.
Decoy: That's pretty cool, right?
James Fowler: That's wild.
Decoy: And then, out of nowhere, he just stood up and started heading towards me.
Decoy: Do you want me to get you something to drink?
Decoy: He was definitely headed towards me for something.
Chris Hansen: Hey-- why don't you have a seat right over there.
James Fowler: Oh, no.
Chris Hansen: What's happened? Go ahead, sit down. What's going' on?
James Fowler: I thought this is never going to happen.
Chris Hansen: You thought this was never going to happen. And what do you think this is?
James Fowler: It's not-- it's not good.
Chris Hansen: Now, what was your plan here tonight?
James Fowler: Have-- have a-- have a fun-- a time.
Chris Hansen: With a girl who told you she was how old?
James Fowler: I think it was-- 13.
Chris Hansen: And how old are you?
James Fowler: Thirty-four.
He says he drove an hour and forty-two minutes to get here.
Chris Hansen: And during that drive at all did you think, "Man, this is a bad idea?"
James Fowler: Yeah, that's exactly what I thought.
James Fowler: Should have just turned around once I thought about it.
Chris Hansen: Have you met other people before on the internet?
James Fowler: Sure, consent-- older-- I mean, everybody's old, you know, that I-- I've never done this before.
Chris Hansen: What made you decide to do this for the first time tonight?
James Fowler: You know, I-- wow, that crossed my mind about-- I seen your show, and I'm, like I shouldn't--
Chris Hansen: You've seen which show?
James Fowler: This one.
Chris Hansen: And what was your reaction when you-- when you've seen the show before?
James Fowler: It was bad. Was just bad.
Chris Hansen: What the people were doing was bad?
James Fowler: Yeah.
Chris Hansen: Now you say here that you like to pleasure people and be pleasured.
James Fowler: Yeah.
Chris Hansen: Now, you know this is a 13 year old girl.
James Fowler: Yeah.
Chris Hansen: You talk about how having sex for the first time may be painful for the girl … and then you sent these pictures.
James Fowler: Yeah.
Chris Hansen: You ever been in trouble before? (pause) You have been?
James Fowler: Yeah.
Chris Hansen: What was the actual criminal charge against you?
James Fowler: Having sex with a minor.
Chris Hansen: Having sex with a minor. OK.
He's a convicted sex offender. In 1995 he pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful sexual intercourse. He says it was a big misunderstanding, that the girl showed him a fake ID saying she was 18.
Chris Hansen: Well, you've seen the show before. So, you know that this is about the time where I need to tell you who I am. I'm Chris Hansen, and I'm with Dateline NBC.
James Fowler: Yeah.
Chris Hansen: And this is 'To Catch a Predator.'
James Fowler: Yeah.
He's in no hurry -- he knows what's waiting for him outside.
Cops: Sheriff's office, come on out. Come on. Put your hands up. Palms! Palms! All the way down, all the way down, come on.
Later, at the police station, he's brought into the interrogation room, read his rights and starts answering questions.
James Fowler: I've been having pleasure with adults. Pretty much-- good 20 years, you know. There's nothing to that to me, but this was something different.
Katherine Reed: Different how?
James Fowler: Another experience.
Katherine Reed: And what were your intentions when you got here?
James Fowler: I was intentions to be pleasurable and pleasure her, but-- I-- I might not have done the actual-- penetration, I just-- I just wanted to see how it went is all, you know?
Katherine Reed: OK, now you're going to have to define "pleasurable" for me.
James Fowler: Fellatio. Having the lady have pleasure below and likewise, I guess.
He says he lives with his girlfriend and her five-year-old son.
Katherine Reed: Does she know you chat?
James Fowler: Yes. But she didn't know about this. I told her it was a couple.
Katherine Reed: A couple?
James Fowler: Couple, two people, a man and a woman.
Katherine Reed: That you were coming to see?
James Fowler: Yeah.
Katherine Reed: For what?
James Fowler: I have pleasure with couples.
Katherine Reed: So she knows that you travel to have relationships?
He tells the agent about his prior conviction for sex with a minor and says he got probation. But later he was arrested for not reporting to his probation officer.
Fowler: So I went back and done 37 days in the pen in Delaware.
He also admits to dating a teenager. He says she was 18 but he doesn't remember her name.
Katherine Reed: You lived with this girl and you didn't know her name?
James Fowler: I've had a lot of girlfriends.
Katherine Reed: Well, I'm sure you have, Travis, but I want to know this one's name.
James Fowler: I don't know.
James Fowler: I can see her face, but I just-- I can't picture her name.
Katherine Reed: How long did she live with you?
James Fowler: Couple months.
Like all the other men arrested here in Kentucky, he pleads not guilty.
At 7:00 p.m. on Saturday night, a Perverted Justice decoy starts chatting online with a man from Indiana, which is five-and-a-half hours away from our undercover house in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
Decoy: I figured, "Oh, there's no way this guy's going to come."
Calling himself jonraven2000, he tells the decoy who is posing as a 13-year-old that he's 24 and says [I'm] "too old to do anything with u." But that doesn't last long. Soon afterwards, the sex talk begins. He asks the decoy about her last boyfriend.
Jon_raven2000 (10/20/07 9:00:19 pm): did u suck him
Decoy (10/20/07 9:00:33 pm): yah
Decoy (10/20/07 9:00:39 pm): y u want to know that
Jon_raven2000 (10/20/07 9:00:43 pm): I just do
Decoy (10/20/07 9:00:52 pm): kk
Decoy (10/20/07 9:00:57 pm): see I aint no baby
Jon_raven2000 (10/20/07 9:01:06 pm): would u do it to me
Decoy (10/20/07 9:01:19 pm): wuld u want me 2
Jon_raven2000 (10/20/07 9:01:23 pm): yes
Decoy (10/20/07 9:01:40 pm): yah it wuld b cool to try stuff out ur cute
The chat continues for another 20 minutes. Then he gets in his car and starts driving. He's known the decoy for less than two hours. During the long drive, he talks to the decoy on the phone and reveals more about himself.
Frag: We just got off the phone with the guy who's claiming to be a cop, we don't know that he is, but he says he carries his gun everywhere with him.
So now we have to assume that jon_raven2000 is a police officer and he's armed.
Decoy: The security people were really great in instructing me as to what to do. And the first and foremost important thing was the safety.
Here comes 24-year-old Michael Patterson. He actually made the five and half hour drive to meet a 13-year-old for sex. Casey has been instructed to make certain the man is unarmed.
Decoy: Hey.
Patterson: Oh my God.
Decoy: You didn't really bring your gun with you, did you? Because that kind of freaks me out.
Patterson: No.
Decoy: Well, you said you always carry it with you.
Patterson: It's in my car.
Decoy: I don't believe you … lift up your shirt. Turn around … lift up your pants. (laughter)
Patterson: You, you're killing me.
Decoy: Pull your pockets inside out.
Decoy: Your other pocket.
Patterson: My wallet. See? Change. … Come on, you got to trust me, I don't have it on me here.
Decoy: I got the OK to let him in the house.
Decoy: All right. I guess I believe you. Okay. Close your door. Come on in.
Patterson: Can't believe you don't believe me.
Decoy: Well, I wasn't sure. You said you always carry it with you.
Patterson: Huh?
Decoy: I wasn't sure because you said you always carried it.
Patterson: I don't have it on me though.
Decoy: And he just continued to joke about it, and the cops and the security were, you know, still keeping a really strong eye on him because you never know.
Decoy: So you're a cop, not a detective?
Patterson: Detective, yeah. I'm a lieutenant.
Decoy: OK. Gotcha.
Patterson: But you're excited.
Decoy: Yeah, I'm pretty excited. Are you excited?
Patterson: Yeah.
Decoy: So what do you want to do?
Patterson: Where's your room at? Let's go through the house. OK. This is a huge house.
Decoy: Yeah, it is pretty big. It's nice though.
Patterson: Oh my god. My hair's a mess.
Chris Hansen: So, lieutenant.
Patterson: What's up?
Chris Hansen: What are we investigating tonight?
Patterson: Nothing much.
Hansen: What's your plan here?
Patterson: Just drove down here.
Chris Hansen: How long was the drive?
Patterson: Five-and-a-half hours.
Chris Hansen: Now what would motivate somebody to drive five-and-a-half hours to come here to this house?
Patterson: I don't know, sir.
Chris Hansen: Well, you've got to know … you're the one who did the driving.
Patterson: I know.
Chris Hansen: Now, you're a lawman? So if you're doing the interview, what would you want to know most?
Patterson: Basically, well, how was I here.
Chris Hansen: Yeah, why were you here?
Patterson: I'm just lonely. I don't have anybody. And need somebody to talk to.
Chris Hansen: You knew she was 13. She told you.
Patterson: I was kind of weird about it. I told her I-- she was five years older I-- wouldn't mind talking to her. But--
Chris Hansen: But you kept talking anyway.
Patterson: Yeah.
Chris Hansen: "you wouldn't know what to do with me." "am I supposed to know what to do with old men?" "only with me."
Patterson: (laughter)
Chris Hansen: So this is funny?
Patterson: I know. I'm sorry, sir.
Chris Hansen: It's funny? What do you think should happen to a police officer who gets caught doing something like this?
Patterson: Well, really bad could happen.
Chris Hansen: How long have you been in law enforcement?
Patterson: Just a year now.
Chris Hansen: Explain to me why somebody with apparently so much going on would take that risk. I mean, it doesn't make sense to me.
Patterson: I'm going through a divorce personally.
Chris Hansen: So that makes it OK?
Patterson: No, it's not OK. Not-- it's -- never be OK. Not for anybody.
Chris Hansen: What do you suppose your chief's going to say about this?
Patterson: He's not going to be too happy.
Chris Hansen: Well-- there's something you got to know. And it's-- I'm Chris Hansen with Dateline NBC. And we're doing a story on adults who try to meet young teens online for sex.
Patterson: I apologize man to man.
Chris Hansen: OK.
He gathers up all his belongings and heads to the door, apparently thinking the worst is over. Because of the possibility that Patterson is armed, an officer acts more quickly than usual calling out to him as soon as he opens the door.
Police: Sheriff's office!
Police: Come on out.
Police: Come on out.
Police: Come out. Come out.
Patterson steps back into the house and an officer shoots him with a Taser gun.
Patterson: Oh, please. Please. Please. Oh. Oh. Please. Oh.
Only one probe stays attached, so the Taser is unable to shock him and drop him to the ground.
(Patterson screams)
Police: Don't move.
Patterson: Please! Please help me! Dear God. Dear God.
Once Patterson is cuffed, he's brought outside and taken away to the local police station. When officers search his car they find a loaded gun, a spare round of ammunition and handcuffs.
Later he agrees to waive his rights and answer questions.
Ken Gillingham: I'd like to discuss with you why you're here.
Now we hear the truth about the man claiming to be a detective. He tells the agent that he was only on the police force for a few months -- as a trainee -- before he was thrown off.
Michael Patterson: It was a traffic violation. I violated their SOP, their standard operating procedures.
He was out of his jurisdiction in his personal car using police lights.
Michael Patterson: I got some blue and red lights and I put them in my car. It was thrown out of court. So, they dismissed me for that. But, it was thrown out.
Ken Gillingham: How long ago was that?
Michael Patterson: Just like a month ago.
But according to the local prosecutor, the case wasn't dismissed. He still faces the charge of impersonating a police officer.
That wasn't his only run-in with the law- Patterson charged more than $1,400 on a credit card that had been mistakenly sent to him. He pleaded guilty to one count of theft -- a misdemeanor, served 3 days in jail and received one year probation.
Ken Gillingham: So, you had intentions to at least have oral sex with her?
Michael Patterson: Yeah.
Ken Gillingham: And how old did she tell you that she was?
Michael Patterson: She said going on 14.
Michael Patterson: I knew I screwed up talking to a girl underage. I knew-- I'm not stupid.
A total of seven men were arrested here in Bowling Green Kentucky and charged with unlawful transaction with a minor less than 16 years of age, a felony.
Judge: Since this is a felony you are entitled to a preliminary hearing.
Video: Editor's Note: This story has been removed They've all pleaded not guilty. That brings the total number of potential predators arrested in a year by the Kentucky attorney general's office to 27.
Greg Stumbo: We know that-- that predators are now saying, "We're not coming to Kentucky. They're watching for us. So Kentucky's kids are safer."
© 2013 NBCNews.com Reprints


text:
November 2007
Texas voters approved Proposition 12, which authorized the issuance of up to $5 billion in general obligation bonds.
June 2009
The 81st Texas Legislature approved Senate Bill 1, authorizing TxDOT to go to contract on approximately $2 billion in voter-approved bonds for non-tolled highway projects.
July 2009
Senate Bill 1 signed by Governor Perry, authorizing the issuance of $2 billion in general obligation bonds
August 2009
TxDOT briefed Texas Transportation Commission on potential uses of Prop 12 funds. Commission directed staff to meet with Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) to develop guiding principles for project selection priorities.
September 2009
TxDOT met with MPOs to develop guiding principles for project selection priorities. TxDOT briefed Texas Transportation Commission on guiding principles developed. Commission directed TxDOT to develop a list of the highest priority projects.
October 2009
TxDOT identifies $2 billion in projects recommended for Prop12 funding to the Texas Transportation Commission.
November 2009
Texas Transportation Commission takes final vote on approved list of Prop12-funded projects.
April 2010
First Prop 12 project contracts will be set for bids.
June 2010
First Prop 12 projects will begin construction.
June 2011
Rider 42 authorized by Gov. Perry and the Legislature
August 2011
TxDOT Districts and MPOs began grassroots effort to identify and select project by working with rural planning organizations, elected officials and the public.
September 2011
Formal public involvement begins.
September 29, 2011
Texas Transportation Commission authorizes allocations and projects in accordance with Rider 42.
Summer of 2012
Construction bids accepted on first Proposition 12 Program 2 projects.
More Information
Copyright 2020
Texas Department of Transportation
All Rights Reserved
Privacy & Security Policy
125 East 11th Street • Austin, Texas 78701

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Message Board
Alfred Bester Message Board
Talk about the novels, new and used books that Bester has written!
Author Bester's Book Reviews
The Computer Connection
Twenty years after _The Stars My Destination_, Bester returned to fiction with this book, about a time in the future when a band of immortals -- eccentrics from Lucretia Borgia and Captain Nemo to Edison and even a Neanderthal Man -- band together to combat the threat when one of their newest members is taken over by a computer hooked up to all other computers and electrical appliances across the planet. The narrator Guig (short for "Grand Guignol") lead...
The Demolished Man
In the year 2301, the latent mind-reading abilities of humans have been developed to the point where there a hundred thousand Level 1 "Espers" (can read conscious thoughts), several thousand Level 2s (can read unconscious thoughts) and several hundred Class 1 Espers (can penetrate to the pre-conscious under the right conditions). In a society where people have such abilities, nobody has successfully committed a triple-A crime in more than 70 years. But w...
The Stars My Destination
By the 25th century, three inner planets of the Solar System and eight satellites farther out are inhabited, and many humans are able to teleport themselves some distance across a planet (though not across space) simply through mental effort. Gulliver ("Gully") Foyle was a simple mechanic aboard a space ship that was attacked by an Outer Satellites raiding party and left a bombed-out hulk. Barely alive, he hailed a passing space ship but it ignored him, ...


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That's chocolate risotto to you and me.
4 tablespoons unsalted butterMelt the unsalted butter in a sauté pan and add the rice and stir for about a minute. Heat the milk in a saucepan or a micowave safe dish. Don't boil it, but get it good and hot so that it doesn't lower the temperature of the risotto when it's added. Pour about a cup and a half of milk into the pan and stir until the milk is almost absorbed. Add the sugar and another cup and a half do milk. You will need to stir almost continuously. As the milk evaporates, add another cup of milk to the rice and continue stirring until the milk is absorbed and the rice is tender but not mushy. Turn off the heat and stir in the chocolate chips until they are melted and the risotto has reduced to a creamy consistency. Let sit covered for about ten minutes before serving.
1 cup arborio rice
8 cups of milk
4 tablespoons sugars
1 12 oz package semi-sweet chocolate chips
I served the dessert topped with marscapone cheese that was mixed with confectioner's sugar and some fresh berries.
Serves 8-10.


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Two games into the playoffs, Justin Smith says his battered left arm is holding up through the pain of a partially torn triceps tendon.
The San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman practiced Wednesday and plans to be on the field for Super Bowl XLVII.
"It's feeling all right, feeling pretty good," Smith told Bay Area News Group.
Smith has been slowed by the injury despite his unquestioned grit. He was a difference-maker against the run in Sunday's NFC title game win over the Atlanta Falcons, but Smith struggled get to the passer and collapse the pocket. He did plenty of that during the season, helping Aldon Smith rack up 19.5 sacks.
Justin Smith is playing through a nasty injury that could lead to a full tear. He's willing to gamble with the pain, though, after reaching the Super Bowl for the first time in his 12-year NFL career.
"I figured if I ever go, I could go when I was done playing, but I wanted to go as a player. To get that opportunity now is going to be awesome," Smith said. "... We got to bring this thing home."
Follow Marc Sessler on Twitter @MarcSesslerNFL.


text:
'Deadly blasts' hit security buildings in Damascus
Issued on: Modified:
Syrian state TV reported Saturday that two car bombs struck security targets in Damascus, killing several civilians and security forces, as the year-long uprising against President Assad develops into a nascent civil war.
AP - Twin car bombs struck intelligence and security buildings in the Syrian capital on Saturday, killing at least 27 people and wounding nearly 100, according to state media.
State TV, citing the health minister, said the death toll could rise. Gruesome images of the scene were aired, with mangled and charred corpses, bloodstained streets and twisted steel.
"All our windows and doors are blown out," said Majed Seibiyah, 29, who lives in the area. "I was sleeping when I heard a sound like an earthquake. I didn't grasp what was happening until I hear screaming in the street."
The blasts were the latest in a string of mysterious, large-scale attacks targeting the Syrian regime's military and security installations. The previous blasts, all suicide bombings, killed dozens of people since December, even as the regime wages a bloody crackdown against the year-old uprising against President Bashar Assad.
The government has blamed the explosions on the "terrorists" that it claims are behind the revolt. The opposition has denied any role, saying they believe forces loyal to the government are behind the bombings to tarnish the uprising.
But top U.S. intelligence officials also have pointed to al-Qaida in Iraq as the likely culprit behind the previous bombings, raising the possibility its fighters are infiltrating across the border to take advantage of the turmoil.
Al-Qaida's leader called for Assad's ouster in February.
A suspected al-Qaida presence creates new obstacles for the U.S., its Western allies and Arab states trying to figure out a way to help push Assad from power, and may also rally Syrian religious minorities, fearful of Sunni radicalism, to get behind the regime.
Bassma Kodmani, a member of the opposition Syrian National Council, said she doubted armed groups trying to bring Assad down by force, such as the rebel Free Syrian Army, have the capacity to carry out such attacks on security institutions in the capital.
"I don't think any of the opposition forces or the free Syrian army has the capacity to do such an operation to target these buildings because they are fortresses," she said by telephone. "They are very well guarded. There is no way anyone can penetrate them without having strong support and complicity from inside the security apparatus."
According to SANA, preliminary information indicated two blasts were caused by car bombs that hit the aviation intelligence department and the criminal security department at 7:30 a.m local time. Shooting broke out soon after the blast and sent residents and others who had gathered in the area fleeing, an Associated Press reporter at the scene said.
A Syrian official also said there were reports of a third blast Saturday targeting a military bus at the Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus, but there were no details. He asked that his name not be used because he was not authorized to speak publicly.
The Syrian government denies there is a popular will behind the uprising, saying foreign extremists and gangs are trying to destroy the country. But his opponents deny that and say an increasingly active rebel force has been driven to take up arms because the government used tanks, snipers and machine guns to crush peaceful protests.
The U.N. estimates that more that 8,000 people have been killed since the uprising against Assad began last March.
The last major suicide bombing in Syria happened on Feb. 10, when twin blasts struck security compounds in the government stronghold of Aleppo in northern Syria, killing 28 people. Damascus, another Assad stronghold, has seen three suicide previous bombings since December.
In recent weeks, Syrian forces have waged a series of heavy offensives against the main strongholds of the opposition _ Homs in central Syria, Idlib in the north and Daraa in the south.
The bloodshed fuels the country's sectarian tensions. The military's top leadership is stacked heavily with members of the minority Alawite sect, to which Assad and the ruling elite belong.
Sunnis are the majority in the country of 22 million and make up the backbone of the opposition.
Diplomatic efforts to solve the crisis have so far brought no result. But U.N. envoy Kofi Annan told the Security Council in a briefing Friday that he would return to Damascus even though his recent talks with Assad saw no progress in attempts to cobble together peace negotiations between the two sides.
After the confidential briefing via videolink, Annan told reporters in Geneva that he urged the council « to speak with one voice as we try to resolve the crisis in Syria. » Russia and China have blocked U.N. action against Assad's regime.
"The first objective is for all of us to end the violence and human rights abuses and the killings and get unimpeded access for humanitarian access to the needy, and of course the all-important issue of political process that will lead to a democratic Syria," Annan said.
Both Assad and much of the opposition spurned Annan's appeal for talks.
Daily news briefReceive essential international news every morningSubscribe


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Over the next few months the #VictoryBooth will invade all of the biggest rock festivals including South By So What?!, WJRR Earth Day Birthday, Welcome To Rockville, Carolina Rebellion, Northern Invasion, Rock On The Range, Rocklahoma, RockFest and more. This summer the #VictoryBooth will be on every date of the 2015 Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival. We'll be handing out brand new CD samplers, catalogs, giving away prizes, hosting artist signings and much more. Find out when the #VictoryBooth will be in your city.
View all the #VictoryBooth dates.Continue Reading →


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Export 7 results:Author Type [ Year]
Filters: Author is B. Verdonk [Clear All Filters]
"Region and Contour Identification of Physical Objects", Applied Numerical Analysis Computational Mathematics, vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 343-352, 2004.
"Parameterization of tubular surfaces on the cylinder", Journal of the Winter School of Computer Graphics, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 97-104, 2005. Download paper (798.29 KB)
"Improved Shape Modeling of Tubular Objects Using Cylindrical Parameterization", Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol. 4091, pp. 84-91, 2006.
"Multi-scale registration of spherical parametrizations of the human cortex", 23rd Annual Scientific Meeting of the European Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine and Biology, Warsaw, Poland, pp. 89, 2006. Full text (116.08 KB)
"Shape Analysis of the Human Clavicle for the Development of a Set of osteosynthesis Plates", Belgian Day on Biomedical Engineering - IEEE/EMBS Benelux Symposium, Brussels, Belgium, pp. 128-129, December, 2006. Full text (103.17 KB)
"Statistical shape models for tubular objects", Proceedings of IEEE BENELUX/DSP Valley Signal Processing Symposium (SPS-DARTS), Antwerp, Belgium, pp. 155-158, March, 2006. Full text (1.06 MB)
"Automatic Construction of Correspondences for Tubular Surfaces", IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, vol. 32, no. 4, pp. 636-651, 2010. Download paper (3.46 MB)


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Error 80073302 occurs when downloading content from Xbox Live on Xbox 360
You see the following error and message when you try to download content from Xbox Live on your Xbox 360 console:
- The Download could not be completed. Please try again later.
- Status Code: 80073302
This may mean that the Xbox Live content you're trying to download is currently unavailable or inaccessible. For example, this issue can occur if your Xbox 360 console cannot connect to the Xbox Live servers because of a temporary network problem.
To fix this problem, try the following solutions. If a solution doesn't work, go to the next one.
Solution 1: Download the content again
Try downloading the content again from your download history. Here's how:
- On your console, sign in to Xbox Live.
- Go to Settings and select Account.
- Select Download History.
- Browse your download history. Select the item, and then follow the instructions to download the item again.
If the download fails again, try the next solution.
Solution 2: Maximise your network bandwidth
When you download content from Xbox Live, make sure that other computers in your home are not downloading or transferring files. When someone in your house browses the Internet, they use network bandwidth that could be going to your console.
Note Bandwidth is the amount of information that can be transferred over your Internet connection at one time.
You can also try temporarily disconnecting or turning off devices that are connected to your home network.
Once you've maximised your network bandwidth, try to download the content again.
Solution 3: Download at a different time of day
Some Internet service providers block or limit large downloads during peak-use times. If an ISP "resets" a connection after a certain period of time or limits the size of downloads, you may get an error message. If you're having problems downloading content, contact your ISP to determine whether they restrict the download size, the speed or the amount of content that can be downloaded.
Residential Internet networks are often busiest in the evenings when most people are at home. You might get the best Internet connection speed during the day.
Solution 4: Open network ports
If you have a firewall or a router, you might need to make a configuration change to allow your Xbox 360 console to communicate with Xbox Live. This configuration change is sometimes referred to as "opening ports" or "port forwarding".
To find out which network ports Xbox Live uses, see Network ports used by Xbox Live.
If opening network ports isn't an option, you can try connecting to Xbox Live by using a direct modem connection (rather than connecting through a router or gateway). Plug one end of a network cable into the back of your Xbox 360 console and the other end into your modem — this will bypass any network devices, such as a router or firewall.
If you continue having this problem, contact Xbox Support.
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Videos by TopicDonate
The 1936 Berlin Olympics
Ellen Kilston on the 1936 Olympics in Berlin
Language: English
Ellen Kilston remembers the Nazis' hiding of all anti-Semitic propaganda during the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. She further explains the role this deception played in shaping foreign perceptions of Jewish life under Hitler.
Discrimination: Rita Feder remembers the 1936 Olympics
Language: English
Rita Feder was a young girl during the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and remembers how desperately she wanted to attend the games but was unable to because she was Jewish. Feder recalls how dangerous it was for Jews during that time even though there was an international audience in Berlin.
Margaret Lambert on the 1936 Berlin Olympics
Language: English
Margaret Lambert recalls her experience as an athlete on the Olympic team in Nazi Germany in 1936. Lambert's testimony is featured in the IWitness Activity, 1936 Olympics: Race, Politics & Civil Rights.
Hugo Beckerman on the atmosphere in Berlin before the start of the 1936 Olympics
Language: English
In preparation for the start of the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, the Nazis in power decided to minimize the presence of anti-Semitism in the city. Hugo Beckerman recalls how he was able to identify the Jewish businesses that were still allowed to run at that time.
Agnes Adachi on the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games
Language: English
Agnes Adachi remembers attending the Olympic Games in Berlin 1936; and describes what it was like to watch Jesse Owens compete and win the gold medal. She recalls that the anti-Jewish restrictions and propaganda had been eased at the time because of the international presence in Germany.
Eric Frisch on the 1936 Olympics in Berlin
Language: English
Eric Frisch describes his experience as a runner in the first Olympic torch relay, which spanned from Greece to Germany, at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. Frisch further recalls meeting Jesse Owens forty years after the games.
Ellen Brandt on the 1936 Olympics in Berlin
Language: English
Ellen Brandt recalls the efforts by the Nazis to hide any evidence of anti-Semitism from the press during the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and the intensified anti-Semitism that came after the games.
Gerda Frieberg on the 1936 Olympics in Berlin
Language: English
Gerda Frieberg describes her reactions to seeing Hitler during the festivities surrounding the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.
Endre Altmann on the 1936 Olympics in Berlin
Language: English
Endre Altmann recalls his experience as a member of the Romanian Olympic fencing team and explains his decision not to participate in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.
Ellen Kilston on the 1936 Olympics in Berlin
Language: English
Ellen Kilston remembers the Nazis' hiding of all anti-Semitic propaganda during the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. She further explains the role this deception played in shaping foreign perceptions of Jewish life under Hitler.
Diane Jacobs on the 1936 Olympics in Berlin
Language: English
Diane Jacobs remembers watching Jesse Owens accept his medals at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and the admiration she felt for his refusing to salute the Nazi flag.
A series of clips featuring survivors recalling the difficulties of voting before and during the war in Europe and how it impacted their appreciation of the importance of participating in the democratic process.
A collection of Jewish survivors and other eyewitnesses to the Holocaust describe watching the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. In preparation for the start of the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, the Nazis in power decided to minimize the presence of anti-Semitism in the city.
USC Shoah Foundation presents 24 stories of genocide survivors who recall their experiences as refugees in their testimonies preserved in the Visual History Archive. Each clip of testimony to inspire, inform and shed light on the impact of war, genocide and massacre forcing individuals from their homes.
A collection of testimony clips from WWII liberators who served in the United States Armed Forces.
Special thanks to Ford Motor Company for their support of our World War II Veterans and Liberators collections.
From April to July 1994, one of the most brutal genocides in human history occurred in Rwanda. It claimed the lives of 800,000 men, women, and children, most of whom were of Tutsi descent. Kwibuka, the official anniversary of the Rwandan Tutsi Genocide, is observed every year on April 7. Explore this selection of testimony clips of survivors and eyewitnesses to the genocide from the Visual History Archive.
At the end of each interview the Institute recorded for the Archive, the interviewer would ask the interviewee if he or she had a special message for future generations watching the interview. The survivors and other witnesses often spoken about such themes as forgiveness, the importance of individual action, and the need to teach children tolerance. Here are a few messages from the Institute's Archive.
Several people responded to active discrimination by helping the victims in different ways. This is a collection of clips highlighting testimony from survivors and aid givers themselves. One question that sometimes emerges in these clips is "what made you stand up to discrimination and racial intolerance?"
A series of clips from survivors speaking about their experiences with personal as well as institutional forms of discrimination. These clips include testimonies from the European Holocaust, the Armenian Genocide, and the Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda collections.
A collection of clips from the Institute Archive that focus on interviewees describing particular feelings and emotions they experienced, such as fear, gratitude, and attitudes about others.
Possibly the most well-known example of these rescue operations involved individual British families agreeing to "host" children from Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic through a program known as Kindertransport. Through this program, organized by Sir Nicholas Winton, an estimated 10,000 refugee children, most of them Jewish, were housed in the United Kingdom during the war. These children were able to avoid ghettoization and camp experiences; in many cases, they were the only members of their families to survive the Holocaust.


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An upbeat, optimistic and fun track featuring ukulele, acoustic guitars, catchy piano lines, hand claps and a bouncy marimba backing. Ideal for YouTube videos, YouTubers, vlogs and vloggers, beauty gurus, makeup tutorials, cooking videos, cat videos, commercial, business and corporate use or productions aimed at children. The perfect summer and sunshine track!
Download in WAV and MP3 formats and include:
- Full version (2:14)
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YouTube users: My royalty free music is protected and registered with ContentID and you may receive a 'matched third party content' notice on your video. This is perfectly normal, your channel's standing will not be affected in any way and your videos will not be removed.
To clear a copyright claim from your video (if you are a YouTube Partner trying to monetize your video, for example), simply visit this page, enter your details and video link and copy/paste the contents from your purchased License Certificate into the message box and submit. Claims are removed within 24 – 96 hours and you'll receive a message once this has been completed. (You may want to keep your uploaded video listed as 'Unlisted' until this has been completed).
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New York City authorities are investigating the deadly overnight shooting of a 32-year-old man in Greenwich Village as a hate crime after detectives learned the suspect taken into custody at the scene may have made anti-gay remarks to the victim before pulling the trigger, authorities said.
Law enforcement officials say Marc Carson, who lived on West 131st Street, and a friend were near a 99 Cent Pizza shop on Sixth Avenue around midnight when the suspect, who was with two other men, hurled anti-gay slurs at them, Carson's friend told detectives.
Carson made some remarks in response to the suspect's taunts and walked away, law enforcement sources said.
A short time later, the suspect, who was by himself, confronted Carson and his friend again near a building on West Eighth Street, and words were exchanged for a second time, law enforcement officials said. Then the suspect allegedly pulled out a .38 caliber revolver and shot Carson in the face, killing him.
The suspect ran off and police responding to the shooting put out a description of him. An officer on foot patrol saw a man who fit the description of the suspect near McDougal and West Third Streets and tried to question him, but the suspect fled. The officer chased him down and took him into custody. A silver revolver was found in his possession and charges are pending against him, authorities said.
Detectives are looking to question the two men who were with the suspect during the initial confrontation near the pizza shop, but they do not believe they were with the suspect during the shooting.
Law enforcement officials say the suspect has refused to identify himself to officers questioning him at the precinct, and he appears to have a fake ID in his possession.
Police are reviewing surveillance video from the area.
Before the shooting, police say the suspect had a separate confrontation with a manager and bouncer at the West Village restaurant Annisa on Barrow Street. Both men told detectives the suspect made anti-gay comments and threatened them.
State and local officials blasted the slaying Saturday, citing a spike in alleged anti-gay crimes in Manhattan over the last several months.
On May 10, police said a gay couple was attacked on West 32nd Street and beaten so severely that one of the men needed eye surgery. Days earlier, another gay couple was assaulted by a group of men in the same area near Madison Square Garden.


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A compilation of paintings on the normal and pathologic anatomy of the nervous system: with a supplement on the hypothalamus
CIBA, 1977 - Medical - 168 pages
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Sacrum and Coccyx
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afferent fibers arachnoid arise autonomic axons blood vessels body brain stem branches bundle canal capsule cardiac plexus CAUDATE NUCLEUS celiac plexus cent central cerebellar cerebellum cerebral cortex cervical sympathetic clinical cortical cranial nerves dorsal dura dural efferent enter extend fissure foramen fornix fourth ventricle fracture frequently ganglia ganglion cells gland gyrus hematoma hemorrhage HYPOTHALAMIC AREA hypothalamus impulses inferior innervation internal carotid artery intervertebral intracranial join lateral ventricles layer lesions ligament located longitudinal lumbar mainly medial medulla meningeal mesenteric motor muscles neoplasm nerve fibers nervous system neurons nucleus occipital olfactory optic parasympathetic pathways patients pelvic Plate portion posterior preganglionic fibers rami ramus reflex region reticular rior sacral segments sensory signs sinus skull spinal cord spinal fluid spinal nerves splanchnic nerves subarachnoid subdural sulcus superior supra-optic surface sympathetic fibers sympathetic ganglion sympathetic trunk symptoms temporal thalamus thetic third ventricle thoracic tion tract tumors vagus nerve vascular veins venous vertebral visceral x-ray


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You are hereHome >
Ed's Blog
CFPB Is On The Job Protecting Consumers
While powerful special interests, Senators from Ben Sasse and Deb Fischer of Nebraska to Ted Cruz (TX), joined by Jeb Hensarling (TX), the Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and the White House all call for dismantling the highly-successful Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, firing its excellent director Richard Cordray, or worse, the CFPB continues to be an agency that is on the job, conducting business as usual to protect consumers.
Its latest "Monthly Complaint Snapshot" gives many reasons we need a strong CFPB. Complaints provide an open window into the marketplace; examination of complaint data by the CFPB itself, by researchers such as U.S. PIRG (our eight (and counting) complaint database reports) and by consumers themselves has helped to make the marketplace work better. In addition to supporting a strong CFPB, we've also supported its constant work (here and here) to expand and make its public consumer complaint database even more useful.
Look through that window. This month's report focuses on the credit bureaus, powerful gatekeepers to financial or employment opportunity. When they err, you lose. The report notes that fully 185,700 of the 1.1 million complaints the CFPB has received since it began work in 2011 are about consumer frustration with credit bureaus. Yet, for 40 years before the CFPB was created, the bureaus ran amok as they knew that a weak Federal Trade Commission did not have the tools necessary to bring them to heel. And while a 2016 poster child for corporate wrongdoing, Wells Fargo, was the most-complained about company in the new snapshot's three month rolling total for September-November 2016, the Big Three credit bureaus came in next, with Equifax at #2, Trans Union at #3 and Experian at #4.
"Credit reports provide the means for consumers everywhere to take important steps in their financial lives," said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. "The Bureau will continue to work to ensure that credit reports are accurate and when disputed issues arise on credit reports consumers are able to resolve them quickly and with little hassle."
The top three complaint categories for January were debt collection, student loans and credit reporting. Fully 300,000 of the 1.1 million complaints that the CFPB has handled since inception in 2011 concern debt collection and the CFPB has taken numerous enforcement actions against debt collectors. Student loan complaints, which have skyrocketed (388%!), helped the CFPB to bring its January enforcement action against the behemoth student loan servicer Navient (formerly part of Sallie Mae) for "failing" students at every phase of repayment.
The latest monthly complaint snapshot (pdf) also notes that, overall, mortgages are the second most complained about category, with 264,659 complaints out of the 1.1 million so far. So, the CFPB helps homeowners, and wannabe homeowners, too.
Using the complaint database, its rulemaking authority, its enforcement powers, its educational resources and other tools, the CFPB has proven, time and again, that an independent agency that works for consumers, every day, can get the job done and make the financial marketplace fairer. Ask the 29 million consumers who've received a total of $11.8 billion dollars in direct restitution or other relief due to CFPB action against bad actors ranging from Wells Fargo and Bank of America to the credit bureaus Equifax and Trans Union, from the mortgage companies Ocwen and CitiFinancial to the debt collectors Delray Capital and Frederick J. Hanna's law firm (which acted as an illegal "debt collection lawsuit mill"). Ask the military families and veterans helped by the CFPB's Office of Servicemember Affairs or the seniors helped by its Office of Older Americans. See our "Meet The CFPB" page for more on how the CFPB works for you.
It's disappointing that powerful special interests, including these and many others, have the attention of the White House and senior Congressional officials in their efforts to either fire the CFPB's director, eliminate its independent funding, or even repeal the agency altogether. Chairman Hensarling's bill to vastly diminish the protections in the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, his so-called Financial Choice Act, is expected to be re-introduced soon. Leaked memos suggest that this year's version will weaken the CFPB even further than last year's version. While the CFPB is currently seen as having numerous more effective tools to protect consumers than the FTC, the new bill would include drastic changes to make it even weaker than the FTC.
But while these special interests complain about the CFPB, it continues to effectively do its job. The monthly complaint snapshot provides a window into the myriad problems consumers face navigating the financial marketplace just eight short years after our economy collapsed, largely due to a lack of financial regulation. If you look through that window, you'll see that the idea of the CFPB needs no defense, only more defenders.
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The Grand Canyon north rim typically has beautiful fall color in late september to early october. The aspen turn golden and maples turn red. The timing varies with the year and also with the altitude. This pano was taken october 7th, 2012, which turned out to be the very tail end of the prime color: still beautiful but lots of leaves already on the ground. The location is along the road to the north rim lodge, a little inside the park boundary.


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Comforter Sets, Various Queen Size Comforter Size Queen Size Comforter Size Blue Comforter King Blue Comforters Queen Size Cotton King Size Comforter Sets Queen Size Mattress Size: Appealing Blue Queen Size Comforter
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BACKGROUND IMAGE: iSTOCK/GETTY IMAGES
- FeatureUtility Storage-What's the Use?
- FeatureHonestly, do you really know what storage virtualization is?
- FeatureDelete old data ... really
- FeatureFirst Storage Benchmark Released
- FeatureNon-blocking architecture
- FeatureVirtualization has a credibility problem
- FeatureSnapshots save time and data
- FeatureTape Automation for the Masses
- FeatureMaking Sense of EMC's Centera
- FeatureDLT Cartridges
- FeatureSurprise! cheap disks cure slow backup
- FeatureWill SAN File Systems Play Larger Management Role?
- FeatureVeritas Broadens Offerings
- FeatureRecovering from the WTC: a personal account
- FeatureCompaq Clarifies WideSky Position
- FeatureSAN switches get smarter
- FeatureMidrange NAS Gains Functionality
- FeatureTape libraries automate backup
- FeatureNow, That's a Cluster!
- FeatureReal problems, virtual solutions
- FeatureSecurity - from a storage perspective
- FeatureA further look at business continuance volumes
- FeatureScalable SANs start with good switch links
iSTOCK/GETTY IMAGES
SAN switches get smarter
As storage networks become larger and more complex, smarter switches are one way to manage that complexity.
The intelligent switch, which is currently creating a lot of buzz in the field of storage networking, dates back to the 1980s in the field of telephony. It made its first appearance in voice networks as a means of automating certain aspects of network management, such as provisioning and call handling, to lower administrative costs.
Similarly, when data networks became ubiquitous in the mid-1990s, the intelligent switch once again appeared. In this incarnation, the main purpose of the intelligent switch was to reduce the complexity of network management by automating certain functions. But, the intelligence in the switches was, initially, rudimentary at best. However, over time, the intelligent switch evolved into the super smart routing switches that are available today from vendors such as Extreme Networks, Foundry Networks, and Riverstone Networks.
As storage networks become more complex, the concept of the intelligent switch is again being pressed into service. And, as was the case with local area networks (LANs), vendors are touting automation of management functions as the answer to the problem of the escalating costs of storage area network (SAN) management.
In its reincarnation, the intelligent switch is taking the form of a sophisticated routing switch, which closely parallels many of the LAN routing switches. A recent study authored by Tom Curlin, a principal analyst with the Royal Bank of Canada Capital Markets defines these new routing switches as "devices that combine multiprotocol switching architecture with port-level I/O routing intelligence."
Vendors are introducing intelligent switches to permit heterogeneous SANs - SANs comprised of storage arrays from different vendors - to be managed easily and affordably. While vendors are initially providing embedded virtualization, multiprotocol capability and port-level I/O intelligence, the ultimate goal is to automate SAN storage management through rules-based policies.
Blazing the trail
Thus far, only one SAN routing switch has appeared in the marketplace - the PSX-1000, which was introduced in March 2002 by Pirus Networks of Acton, MA. The PSX-1000 comprises a six-slot carrier-class chassis with redundant power supplies, fans and optional modules. It consists of a networking component, a system component and a storage component layer.
The networking component layer module, which Pirus calls a LAN Resource Card, houses four network processors, providing TCP acceleration, Ethernet switching and security in the LAN environment. In addition, this layer contains eight Gigabit Ethernet ports, which allow the Pirus switch to attach to eight IP-based LANs or SANs.
The system component layer consists of two modules: the 40GB crossbar switch and a Management Interface Card. The crossbar switch, along with associated software, provides the multiprotocol capability in the PSX-1000. The Management Interface Card contains a dedicated microprocessor for system management, and an out-of-band management port.
The storage component layer contains a Storage Resource Card and a Storage I/O Card. The Storage Resource Card consists of four processors that provide file services, iSCSI protocol support and security functions in the SAN domain and 1GB of RAM for data caching. The Storage I/O Card contains four Fibre Channel ports and four gigabit interface converters (GBICs) that support those ports.
All of the hardware functionality is controlled by the PirusView software suite of management software that mainly resides in the Management Information Card (some is distributed to other modules in the system). Specifically, the PirusView software suite supports virtualized block and file services, logical file servers, file system point-in-time copy and browser-based management. The block and file services permit administrators to establish a common pool of storage that can be accessed from the same platform by network-attached storage (NAS) and SAN applications and users. The virtualized file services let users establish up to 12 logical servers, allowing them to consolidate servers in their storage environment. The block services supports storage pooling so that storage administrators can allocate storage logically in a heterogeneous environment.
Perhaps the PSX's most interesting feature is the Secure Virtual Storage Domain (SVSD). The SVSD feature permits administrators to partition the storage infrastructure into multiple domains, much in the same way as administrators in the LAN world can set up virtual LANs (VLANs). Using this feature, storage administrators can set up storage capacity and storage services to match the needs of particular applications and departments within the enterprise. For example, an administrator could up the storage capacity for a high priority application. Similarly, the administrator could limit access to storage capacity and services to some departments, while granting access to others, according to predefined policies.
Other switch vendors have entered the fray as well. Brocade Communication Systems Inc. says it will build a second-generation intelligent storage switch, using its SilkWorm 12000 switch as the foundation. In this next-generation switch, Brocade plans on providing switched-based virtualization by adding what it calls "wirespeed mapping capabilities," consisting of ASICs and network processors to the SilkWorm 12000 to accelerate the mapping portion of third-party virtualization software. Additionally, the company plans to add improved security and ASIC-based quality of service (QoS).
In the security area, Brocade will build on its SecureFabric OS, according to Jay Kidd, vice president of marketing. Brocade's QoS initiative gives users the ability to monitor use of the SAN and enforce management policies that prioritize applications. Brocade will also introduce multiprotocol capability in its intelligent switch.
McData, like Brocade, has been highly successful as a vendor of Fibre Channel switches that have been used in the SAN marketplace. According to Brandon Hoff, McData's senior director of product management, the heart of its intelligent switching strategy revolves around fabric virtualization, which Hoff defines as "application-centric storage infrastructure management through self-managing and self-provisioning systems."
Hoff says fabric virtualization will be delivered in three phases: visualization, virtualization and automation. The company recently delivered part of the visualization intelligence in its SAN Navigator management tool. This intelligence consists of discovery capability and policy management of capacity planning tasks. In the virtualization phase, it will provide third-party virtualization to make use of intelligent components of the switch, such as network processors and ASICs. The final phase - automation - will take the form of automated storage management such as automated provisioning of capacity (based on QoS), automated backup and automated hierarchical storage management - all based on a policy management engine. Multiprotocol capability - iSCSI, InfiniBand and so forth - will be added to the McData switches as they come into the mainstream.
Embedded intelligence
One of the major beneficiaries of the SAN intelligent switch may well be Veritas, the largest ISV in the storage management software field. Veritas equates the "intelligence" in these new devices with software - not hardware - according to Rob Soderbery, senior director of strategic relations. "We believe that the intelligence is going to remain in the software. Our strategy is to enable partners ... to take our storage software and embed it in their new architectures," he says. So far, at least six hardware vendors will embed Veritas software in their hardware devices.
This move is quite significant - it frees users from vendor lock-in when those users want to purchase certain software management applications. In the past, some of the best-of-breed storage management software has been proprietary, running only on certain vendors' hardware. If a user wanted to run one of these software packages, they would also have to buy the same vendor's hardware - becoming locked into that vendor. Specifically, Veritas will provide a special software package consisting of its volume manager, file system, and NAS and SAN appliance software. The switch vendors, including Pirus Networks, Rhapsody Networks, and Troika Networks, will produce a variety of solutions, according to Soderbery. He says these products will offer virtualization capabilities and the ability to handle both file and block-storage traffic.
Dave Stevens, the vice president of business development for Rhapsody Networks, one of the participants in the Veritas-powered program, is much more involved than just being an OEM for Veritas software. "The Veritas-powered program is taking Veritas source code, and modifying and embedding it into a hardware platform," says Stevens. He adds that his company will produce unique, high performance products for the SAN infrastructure with the embedded Veritas code.
The gatekeepers
Before being accepted in the SAN marketplace, the intelligent storage switch, no matter what form it ultimately takes, will have to pass muster with the storage array vendors. Practically speaking, this acceptance must come from EMC and Hitachi Data Systems. According to James Rothnie, senior vice president and chief technical officer at EMC, the intelligent storage network, particularly one that features multiprotocol capability, has a definite place in EMC's vision of the future SAN.
Presently, EMC has a lot of intelligence in the storage array controller, but the advent of the intelligent storage switch may mean that the company will put some of the intelligence currently residing in the array controller on the intelligent switch, says Rothnie. "It's possible that some aspects of what we do now in our management area will find a home in these switches; for example, there are functions involved in redirecting I/O in some circumstances that might be effectively done in the [intelligent] switch." However, Rothnie is quick to add that "most of what we do in storage management is not best done in the switch; it's best done either on the server or on the storage system itself."
Rothnie also says that SAN switch vendors can learn a lot from IP networking vendors. In particular, he contends that the history of IP networking proves that "the most successful products have been those that have focused on very high-speed capability because that [capability] allows the switches to maximize the ports that they can handle." Rothnie maintains that taking this same approach with SAN intelligent switches will "minimize costs for users, while delivering good performance."
Like EMC, Hitachi Data Systems is a powerful force in the storage networking market. It has come on strong in the last year through OEM agreements with Sun Microsystems Inc. and Hewlett-Packard and through the introduction of new storage array technology. Also, like EMC, Hitachi has been providing intelligence in its storage array controller for some time. But, according to Hu Yoshida, vice president and chief technology officer for Hitachi, the company welcomes the intelligent storage switch to the world of storage networking.
Yoshida sees one major advantage to intelligent storage. "You have to move up higher in the management chain if you want to manage heterogeneous storage, such as being able to copy between different types of storage arrays. That's where I see the main value of the intelligent switch," he says.
The storage intelligent switch will have a significant impact on storage networking. Combined with virtualization, it seems that it will finally bring about the ability to manage storage in heterogeneous environments. Embedded intelligence will give users an opportunity to avoid vendor lock-in. And the apparent buy-in to the concept by some of the influential storage array vendors will hasten their acceptance of the intelligent switch.
Furthermore, over the long haul, these switches will probably lower storage management costs by automating many of the storage management tasks within SAN and NAS environments. But, keep in mind that the intelligent storage switch is still in the developmental stage and a tremendous amount of work needs to be done before the vision becomes reality. Most of the announcements currently being made pertain to vendors' visions of what they think the network will look like in two or three years. It will be 2004 or 2005 before vendors will be able to deliver substantive implementations of features such as QoS, policy management of block and file data and advanced security. In the short term, though, users can look forward to switch-based virtualization, more applications executing on the switch, and improved security.


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B.o.B just dropped by Atlantic Records NYC. He picked out album artwork for "Strange Clouds" and did a bit of last minute recording. Check out some of the pictures above. Dope.
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