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Demint, Inglis, Barrett say transferring prisoners from GITMO doesn’t make sense

November 13, 2009 By

Senator Lindsey Graham says he has been asked by the White House to withhold comment about Friday’s Guantanamo Bay decision until he can meet face-to-face with the President after he returns from Asia. Graham says he will honor that request.

US Attorney General Eric Holder announced today that self-proclaimed September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other Guantanamo Bay detainees will be brought to trial in a civilian federal courthouse in New York. Holder said the Sept. 11 defendants should be tried near the site of the terrorist attacks, where their crimes occurred. Prosecutors expect to seek the death penalty. Holder said five other Guantanamo detainees, including a major suspect in the bombing of the USS Cole, will be tried through the military commission process.

Meanwhile, Congressman Gresham Barrett organized a teleconference call on the subject with media. Congressman Bob Inglis and Senator Jim DeMint participated as well.

Demint says it’s a real possibility that the detainees would be housed at some point at the Navy Brig near Charleston.  “We know that this is a real possibility,” said Demint, “because we’ve talked to officials at the Air Force base in Charleston and the administration has queried them on the space that would be available to house the administrators who would be necessary to move and manage six to ten terrorists on our soil, then move them back and forth to various court proceedings.”  [Read more...]

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Legislature, News

Citadel professor helped discover water on the moon

November 13, 2009 By

Today’s announcement that there is water on the moon came as no surprise to Citadel professor Luke Sollitt. He’s on NASA’s science team that made this all happen. He says they have already learned more than they expected.

“One of the big benefits,” says Sollitt, “is that in finding water on the moon, if this stuff is cometary,this can tell us a lot about the impact history of the solar system. This gives us sort of an average of cometary water ice over the last couple of billion years.”

The NASA LCROSS project (Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite) crashed an empty rocket hull into a lunar crater, which was followed by a scientific spacecraft to study the exposed area. Sollitt says the scientists studied the dust created by the crash created.

“We see a bunch of absorption features. Now the absorption features area bit like a fingerprint for various molecules or compounds and we have found the tell-tale signature of water ice or water in the infrared spectrum,” Sollitt explains. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Education, News

Manufacturers Alliance addresses tax review commission

November 13, 2009 By

The Tax South Carolina Realignment Commission, also known as TRAC, held a public hearing Thursday as it continues to review South Carolina’s tax structure. Those who spoke represented various business organizations concerned about the sales taxes and the state’s tax structure, or the possibility of loosing an existing sales tax exemption.

South Carolina Manufacturing Alliance President and CEO Lewis Gossett addressed the panel, saying that the state’s tax burden overall is considerable.

“We do pay the highest property tax rates in the US,” said Gossett.  “It’s not a question of the new announcements, but those who have been here for five, ten or twenty years, those who aren’t eligible for fee in lieu and other breaks.  Those are the people paying the highest property taxes.  So sales tax exemptions and exclusions are even more important to us.”

TRAC Chair Bernie Maybank pointed out that while South Carolina ranked 25th for worst property tax in the nation five years ago, it is now worst in the nation. It’s now ninth in terms of commercial property tax.

Gossett pointed out that up to 30,000 South Carolina manufacturing jobs have been lost in South Carolina just in the last twelve months, possibly 130,000 over the last decade. He said that loss of employees was also a loss of the tax base. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business, Legislature, News

Santee Cooper expands wind energy research to Grand Strand

November 13, 2009 By

State-owned utility Santee Cooper is continuing its efforts of public outreach and education about wind-generated power in its new locations of Georgetown County and the City of Georgetown. On November 17, a crew will install an anemometer to document wind speed and direction for a few months.

In a statement, Santee Cooper spokesperson Marc Tye says “We think these projects offer a great learning opportunity for students, and they will help us all learn more about this important potential renewable energy resource.”

After a few months of research, Santee Cooper says this work could lead to installing small-scale wind turbines with classroom applications. The turbine would have an Internet interface that will allow students and residents to measure and monitor real-time energy.

Filed Under: Education, Environment & Conservation, News

Boeing construction set to begin, workers needed

November 13, 2009 By

As Boeing makes preparations to open its new assembly line by 2012, construction jobs are opening now to help get the North Charleston site ready for business. Boeing chose North Charleston for its new 787 jetliner assembly line. Thousands of workers are in need of a job, and Boeing will provide many with different opportunities. http://www.boeing.com/employment/

Ray Maher with the Charleston Construction Association says what they need: “What we’re looking for the construction community is to provide the support people to actually turn the screws and be putting up red iron and pouring the concrete and building their tunnels and doing all their site work,” says Maher. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business, News
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