Execution Date Set for John Allen Muhammad, the D.C. Sniper

Mark Nov. 10th on your calendar. On Wednesday, Prince William County Circuit Judge Mary Grace O'Brien set that date for the execution of John Allen Muhammad, who with teenage accomplice Lee Boyd Malvo was was involved in the 2002 sniper attacks in the Washington, D.C., area that left 10 dead.

Muhammad was sentenced to death for the slaying of Dean Meyers, one of 10 people shot to death during a 2002 killing spree that terrorized the Washington, D.C., area. Malvo is serving life in prison for the murders.

The date was picked during an early morning conference call with the judge, the attorney general's office and Jonathan Sheldon, Muhammad's attorney. Originally the AG's office requested that the execution be on Nov. 9th, O'Brien chose a day later, Tuesday, in case courts are required to address last-minute appeals.

Sheldon said Muhammad will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court and ask Gov. Timothy M. Kaine for clemency. It is unlikely he will see any results from this. Last month, a federal appeals court rejected Muhammad's argument that prosecutors withheld critical evidence and that he never should have been allowed to act as his own attorney for a portion of his trial because he was mentally impaired.

Additionally, he and Lee Boyd Malvo were also suspected of shootings in several other states, including a killing in Louisiana and another in Alabama.

The rampage has also been called the Beltway Sniper killings, based on its proximity to I-495, an Interstate Highway that circles Washington, D.C. and its inner suburbs in Maryland and Virginia.

Canada Plans Staged IED Attacks in Washington, D.C.

Canada plans to stage mock IED attacks in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 23 and 24th, to show what Canadian soldiers deployed to Afghanistan face. Authorities plan to build a fake Afghan village in their embassy compound, then attack it with IEDs and "Taliban fighters."

I don't know about you, but I see absolutely no chance this could turn into a SNAFU, do you (insert sarcasm here)?

The date was chosen because of a a two-day military conference. The demonstration will include armed soldiers and explosive displays, with U.S. generals and members of Congress expected to be looking on.
Lieutenant-Colonel Douglas Martin, a military attaché at the Canadian embassy said:

"If this works the way I want it to, more Americans will know what Canada is doing in Afghanistan."

If Americans use common sense, they will realize that American soldiers are facing the same things.

Canadian embassy officials say they have aprpoval from the Secret Service, the State Department and the Washington, D.C. fire marshal. However, they'd better make sure the residents of D.C. are aware. We wouldn't want a repeat of the much publicized (afterwards) and minimally publicized (before) Air Force Two flyover of NYC, would we?

Realistically, it's easy to imagine a panicked public unless the Canadian embassy takes some real steps toward alerting the public. The embassy is positioned between the White House and U.S. Capitol.

FOX 2, part deux

I was interviewed on FOX2 TV again today, this time I was with John Pertzborn and Randi Naughton. They described their personal experience with the "Runner's High" and I talked about the physiology behind it.

Check it out at: http://www.myfoxstl.com/myfox/pages/InsideFox/Detail?contentId=6207572&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=5.2.1

Congrats to Jonathan Burch ATC, Assistant AD & Director of Sports Medicine, and his staff, Theresa Hummel ATC, Miya Sullivan ATC and Angie Wills ATC on their impending move to Chaifetz Arena. The Chaifetz Arena grand opening on April 10th...for details go to:
http://slubillikens.cstv.com/trads/chaifetzopening.html
Jonathan and his staff serve as clinical instructors for our program and the Chaifetz Arena Sports Medicine facility serves as a clinical site.

Congrats to Rick Larsen ATC, Anna Braun ATC and Mike Berry ATC at Washington University, where they recently were crowned NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Champions. Washington University is a clinical site for our program and Rick and his staff serve as clinical instructors.


We also welcome Dr. Mike Cannon as our Medical Director for the Athletic Training Education Program. He is a Primary Care Physician who is trained in Sports Medicine and also teaches in the SLU Medical School. More info on Dr. Cannon will follow....