Oak Ridge Today

NYT: Judge orders deportation of Oak Ridge man who served as Nazi camp guard

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The New York Times reported Thursday that a federal immigration judge in Memphis has ordered the deportation of an Oak Ridge man who served at a Nazi concentration camp in Germany during World War II.

Friedrich Karl Berger, 94, was an armed guard in a sub camp of the Neuengamme concentration camp, where prisoners were held during the winter of 1945 and forced to work outdoors “to the point of exhaustion and death,” the newspaper said.

The Times said Berger is a citizen of Germany, where he will be deported, and has continued to receive a pension based on his employment, “including his wartime service.”

[Read more…]

See solar eclipse path maps by NASA, National Weather Service, Washington Post

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Image courtesy National Weather Service in Morristown

Image courtesy National Weather Service in Morristown

 

On Monday, August 21, a total solar eclipse will blot out the sun starting at 2:31 p.m. for viewers in areas within an hour’s drive of Oak Ridge.

The 70-mile-wide path of totality will extend from Oregon to South Carolina, passing through Nashville, Murfreesboro, Sparta, Cookeville, Crossville, Sweetwater, Athens, and Clingman’s Dome, contributor Carolyn Krause wrote in this story.

The National Weather Service in Morristown has published a map showing the eclipse path and showing the duration of the total solar eclipse in parts of East Tennessee. See that map above. Many locations will see more than two minutes and 30 seconds of totality, the Weather Service said.

Another map, which was published by the Washington Post, is interactive and allows you to follow the path of the solar eclipse across the United States from Oregon to South Carolina, with details about points along the way, including Nashville and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. See that Washington Post map here. [Read more…]

Remotec robot used to help kill Dallas shooting suspect, but not clear if made in Clinton

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Image by Northrop Grumman

Image by Northrop Grumman

 

A Remotec robot was used to deliver an explosive device that killed Dallas shooting suspect Micah Johnson last week, but it’s not clear if the machine was made in Clinton.

Remotec was founded in Oak Ridge in 1980 to consult with the nuclear industry on remote handling. It’s now part of Northrop Grumman, and the company describes itself as the industry leader in hazardous duty robotics, including for the military, first responders, and law enforcement. Remotec has locations on JD Yarnell Parkway in Clinton and in the United Kingdom.

In a television interview on Sunday and at a press conference on Monday, Dallas Police Chief David Brown said two officers used a Remotec ANDROS Mark 5A-1 robot to deliver one pound of C-4 explosive and a detonation cord to kill Johnson, who fatally shot five officers in a Thursday ambush and wounded others.

Johnson, a 25-year-old Army veteran, was inside the El Centro College, on the second floor, in downtown Dallas when the robot was deployed, the Dallas Police Department said. [Read more…]

Alexander opposes cell phone calls on airplanes as FCC considers rule change

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KLM 747

A low-flying KLM 747 airplane is pictured above. (Photo by Kitty Terwolbeck/Creative Commons License 2.0)

A proposed rule change announced Thursday that would allow air travelers to make cell phone calls above 10,000 feet has already generated a backlash.

On Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, a Tennessee Republican, said he would also oppose the move.

“Imagine two million passengers, hurtling through space, trapped in 17-inch-wide seats, yapping their innermost thoughts,” Alexander said. “The Transportation Security Administration would have to hire three times as many air marshals to deal with the fistfights.”

On Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission said it will consider changing the rules, which Chairman Tom Wheeler called out-of-date. The change would also allow air travelers to use their cellular data plans above 10,000 feet. Restrictions would remain for takeoffs and landings. [Read more…]

Guest column: Did God initiate the invention of the atomic bomb?

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Y-12 Plowshares Protesters

Pictured above are the three anti-nuclear weapons protesters who broke into the Y-12 National Security Complex on July 28. From left, they are Michael Walli, Megan Rice, and Greg Boertje-Obed.

I hear the siren. It’s noon on May 1, the first Wednesday of the month. What a coincidence, as I sit at my computer reading the Washington Post article “The Prophets of Oak Ridge.” It mentions that siren and reveals the circumstances of the Y-12 security system breach last year. The article links Oak Ridge’s first known prophet, John Hendrix to the nun, painter, and drifter who made national news.

I think to myself, “God WAS responsible for the creation of the atomic bomb….and there ARE real prophets in Oak Ridge – still today!”

“What?” your mind must be responding, as you wonder how I could think such a thing. Well, if you’ll stick with me, you’ll see the path to my conclusion. [Read more…]