The Christmas Eve party in a Los Angeles family home was in full swing when an eight year old girl opened the door to Santa. But instead of giving her the large gift-wrapped box he was holding he shot the child in the face, then burst through the house shooting indiscriminately at fleeing guests. As the 25 party goers tried desperately to escape, the gunman used his 'present' to spray inflammable liquid that quickly engulfed the house in flames. By the time he had finished his slaughter, at least eight of the party guests were dead and two children were seriously injured. It was Bruce Pardo's final revenge against his ex-wife, after a year of marriage ended in an acrimonious divorce.
The massacre took place at her parents' home in Covina, a quiet LA suburb during their annual Christmas party. Pardo's parents-in-law and his wife, who have been listed as missing , are thought to be among the victims. When the fire was extinguished early on Thursday, officers found three charred bodies in the living room area. Later in the day they discovered five more bodies in the ashes. "They were met with a scene that was just indescribable," Kim Raney, the police chief, said.
The Christmas Eve party was something of a family tradition for the family and usually lasted into the early hours of Christmas Day. "Christmases were that special time of the year. It meant so much to them," Rosa Ordaz, a family friend of the victims, told KCBS-TV. In past years, a neighbour dressed as Santa Claus had entertained the guests. The neighbour had moved away but when Pardo arrived just before midnight, the revellers thought he had come to entertain them. Instead, he slaughtered them.
David Salgado, a neighbour, said he saw the eight-year-old victim being escorted to an ambulance by four SWAT team members as flames up to twelve metres high consumed the house. "It was really ugly," Mr Salgado said. Another neighbour, Jan Gregory, said she saw a teenage boy flee the home, screaming: "They shot my family."
A 16-year-old girl was shot in the back, and a 20-year-old woman broke her ankle when she escaped by jumping from a second-story window. The gunshot injuries of the 8-year old and the 16-year-old are not believed to be life threatening, police said.
Police said it was impossible to tell how many of the victims died of gunshot wounds or from the fire. "They are too badly burned and will have to be identified by dental records," Lieutenant Pat Buchanan of the Covina Police department said.
After his rampage Pardo, 45, threw off the Santa suit and fled down the street, guests later told police. He went to his brother's home about 25 miles away in the Sylmar area of Los Angeles. No one was home, so Pardo let himself in, police said. Police were called to the home early on Christmas Day, and officers found Pardo dead from a single bullet to the head. "He died of self-inflicted wounds. We believe it was a marital dispute," said Lt Buchanan.
Investigators seeking further information about Pardo's motives have begun searching his home in the suburban Los Angeles community of Montrose.
#1
I knew of a middle aged man with a midlife crisis, who took up with a much young woman. After a time, a female relative, who did not trust the younger woman further than she could have thrown her, suggested a prenuptial agreement.
The young woman freaked out and took off. Three days later she was arrested for trying to pass one of his credit card in Mexico. And in her haste to steal his money, she had already assumed several hundred thousand dollars in debts, that he would have been stuck with the minute they were married.
After which she was planning to take off, anyway.
The Mexicans do extradite, by the way, and once a year, he sends her a "Happy Anniversary" card in prison, where she will remain for a long time.
#3
Very, very sad. Appears he had $ 17K in USD taped to his legs and an airline ticket to.... Canada. Evidently the backblast of his house bomb caught him and melted his Santa suit to his worthless hide resulting in third degree burns. End of Canada trip. A real hero, gunning down children and the unarmed. Roast in hell you selfish, sicko bastard.
(Xinhua) -- The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent (ICRC) Societies, in conjunction with the Zimbabwean government, has embarked on a door-to-door cholera campaign disinfecting homes of patients or people at risk of contracting the disease, The Herald reported on Thursday.
This came at a time when plans to establish a Cholera Command Center to coordinate different activities on the cholera outbreak are at an advanced stage.
Red Cross teams will spray homes of infected persons, spray toilets, latrines, blankets and clothing with a chlorine-based disinfectant. A statement from the organization said the exercise, involving health workers from Beatrice Road Infectious Diseases Hospitals and Budiriro Polyclinic, has been going on since mid-December.
Affected households, the statement said, were identified at health clinics by investigating the history of cholera patients. During the home visits, the ICRC would educate family members and other residents in the neighborhood on the epidemic. "The teams are using this outreach to identify cases of cholera and transport patients to treatment centers," the statement read.
The teams are also taking advantage of the door-to-door campaign to distribute water purification tablets, buckets and soap to promote sanitation in cholera-prone communities.
Speaking to the cholera response team within the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare in Harare recently, Health Minister Dr. David Parirenyatwa said such campaigns were a major step towards creating awareness on the epidemic. He said the campaign was centered in Harare, but there was need to extend it to other areas where cholera cases have been recorded. Parirenyatwa said the campaign could cascade to communities through the assistance of chiefs and village health workers.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/26/2008 00:00 ||
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"New cholera campaign launched in Zimbabwe"
What, to give it to more people?
Just make sure Bob and his minions get a fatal case.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
12/26/2008 0:07 Comments ||
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#3
Unfortunately, Hellfish, your 'so what' is the norm.
Word before Christmas was both my favorite countries, Zambia and Botswana were pissed off enough to look to doing a pincer movement, now Namibia finds for white farmers in Bobsville. Never mind the anthrax and cholera, still a great place for a punch-up.
A junior army officer declared himself the new president of Guinea and ordered the government and top military brass to give themselves up by the end of Thursday.
Moussa Dadis Camara, an army captain in his forties, appeared to be tightening his grip on the mineral-rich west African nation following the death of Lansana Conte. In a show of force, Camara paraded through the capital on Wednesday with hundreds of soldiers before announcing he was the new "president of the republic".
A crowd of thousands of coup supporters thronged the streets of Conakry, surrounding the presidential palace and the government ministries, before dispersing peacefully. Among them were many young people from the suburbs of the capital, disaffected after years of dictatorial rule.
"We no longer want the Conte system in Guinea. And if you are cutting down a tree, you must tear out all its roots," said Edouard, a 22-year-old student.
Conte had ruled with an iron fist since 1984 and within hours of his passing late on Monday at the age of 74, a group of soldiers took control of the airwaves and claimed to have seized power.
"I am convinced, reassured that I am the president of the republic, the head of the National Council for Democracy and Development (CNDD)," Camara said at his first press conference late on Wednesday.
Later, in a statement read on radio and state television the CNDD junta said, "All army officers and all former members of the government are asked to go to camp Alpha Yaya Diallo in the next 24 hours."
When the ultimatum had passed for all to go to the main military base near the international airport, "a sweep of the entire national territory will be organised," the new military leadership warned.
The clampdown came amid growing international condemnation of the coup with the African Union warning of "stern measures" if the military ignored calls to allow a democratic transition of power.
Boy howdy, that'll get Camara shaking in his army boots ...
The United States threatened to suspend its aid, some $15 million this year, if coup leaders did not take steps to return civilian rule. "One of the things we want to see immediately is a restoration of a civilian democratic rule," said State Department spokesman Robert Wood.
Camara plans to lead a 32-member interim administration, made up of 26 military officers and six civilians, and has ruled out any new elections until December 2010. There was no reaction so far from Prime Minister Ahmed Tidiane Souare -- who on Tuesday maintained his government was still in charge -- or from parliament speaker Aboubacar Sompare.
A curfew called by Guinea's new military leaders has been delayed until Friday "to allow Christians to celebrate a peaceful Christmas holiday", according to a statement read on national radio.
Friday is also the day when Conte's funeral is to be held in his home village, according to family sources.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/26/2008 00:00 ||
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meet the new boss, same as the old boss...
until someone caps Camara and becomes the new new boss
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/26/2008 19:14 Comments ||
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GUANGZHOU, China (AP) - Chinese navy ships usually stick close to home guarding their own coasts. But on Friday, warships armed with special forces, missiles and helicopters will sail for anti-piracy duty off Somalia - the first time the communist nation has sent ships on a mission that could involve fighting so far beyond its territorial waters.
The three vessels - two destroyers and a supply ship - may increase worries about growing Chinese military power. The mission will also challenge China's ability to cooperate with other naval forces patrolling the Gulf of Aden, one of the world's busiest sea lanes. The Chinese ships will sail from a base in Sanya on the southern island province of Hainan. China announced it was joining the anti-piracy mission Tuesday after the U.N. Security Council authorized nations to conduct land and air attacks on pirate bases.
Deploying ships to the Gulf of Aden marks a significant step in the evolution of China's navy, according to a report by Stratfor, an Austin, Texas-based intelligence company. The mission will be complicated, offering vital on-the-job training in refueling, resupply and repairs far from home as well as patrolling for pirates, Stratfor said. "In the event of an accident or a run-in with pirates," Stratfor said, "would a Chinese vessel carry out repairs at sea, head to a nearby port, perhaps in Pakistan, or return to China?"
Stratfor also noted the waters will be awash with naval ships from around the world, making it essential for China to maintain effective communication with the vessels. The Chinese "will very likely monitor the way NATO and especially U.S. warships communicate with each other and with their shipborne helicopters," the report said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/26/2008 00:00 ||
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Will the Chinese navy capture pirates, confiscate their weapons, and then release them, like the Germans?
#2
The three vessels - two destroyers and a supply ship - may increase worries about growing Chinese military power. The mission will also challenge China's ability to cooperate with other naval forces patrolling the Gulf of Aden, one of the world's busiest sea lanes. The Chinese ships will sail from a base in Sanya on the southern island province of Hainan. China announced it was joining the anti-piracy mission Tuesday after the U.N. Security Council authorized nations to conduct land and air attacks on pirate bases.
Not a terribly large sortie.
China has some skin in this game because of their trade relations with the Sudan and other African nations. The Indian Ocean is their petroleum supply route.
#4
WORLD MIL FORUM [paraph=GOOGLE Chinglish translation] > ANALYSIS: US HAS EFFECTIVELY COMPLETED ITS ENCIRCLEMENT/SIEGE OF CHINA [Central Asian Bases] - US CAN NOW STRIKE ANYPLACE IN CHINA WITHIN 15 MINUTES!?; + GLOBAL MARITIME PARTNERSHIPS: US NAVY IS STILL STEADILY SHRINKING DUE TO MAJOR ADVANCEMENTS IN NAVAL TECHNOLOGIES AND FIREPOWER. US ACCESSION TO PROPOSED "1000-SHIP" GLOBAL TASK FORCE PLAN COULD MEAN USA MAY ALLOW CHINA's PLA NAVY TO HAVE GEOGRAPHICAL LOCAL COMMAND IN AMERICA's PLACE???
Also from WMF > THE NEXT COMING MONTHS AFTER BUSH WILL MAKE US HISTORY - THE USA AS AN IDEA AND A WORKING ECONOMY, ETC. NEEDS TO UNIVERSALLY RE-BOOTED AND RE-DEFINED???
The rights group headed by Iranian Nobel peace laureate Shirin Ebadi is to lodge a complaint against the "illegal" closure of its office, a founding member of the centre said on Friday. Iranian police on Sunday raided and shut down the office of the Human Rights Defenders Centre, signalling a toughening crackdown on rights groups in the Islamic republic.
"We are lodging a complaint on Saturday. We are also going to write to judiciary chief Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahrudi to protest this violation of the law," lawyer Mohammad Ali Dadkhah told AFP.
Sucks to live in a dictatorship, doesn't it ...
Iranian authorities said the office was shut down because the centre did not have an interior ministry permit to operate. An Iranian official said on a visit to Tokyo that the office had been reopened but this was denied by Dadkhah. "She (Ebadi) has all the freedom and liberty in Iran and outside Iran," Mohammad Mehdi Akhondzadeh, the deputy foreign minister for Asia, told reporters, describing her as a "big fighter."
"We have our rules and regulations. If somebody goes beyond those rules and regulations, they have to undergo the scrutiny of the concerned judicial process, and I believe that has been completed and her office is reopened."
Ebadi's group says it has sought to obtain authorisation to no avail while insisting that founding associations without an official permit is lawful as long as they are not against Islam. "We went to the ministry six years ago and submitted all the required documents," Dadkhah said, adding that a former deputy interior minister in President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government "also said we were not illegal".
"This is an organisation that does not seek power but it has solely been targeted for defending human rights," he added.
Ebadi, who won the Nobel peace prize in 2003, was in the office during the raid, which came as the group was to hold a belated ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of the United Nations declaration on human rights. She condemned the police action, which she said had taken place without a warrant, as "illegal" but vowed that her campaigning would continue.
Founded by five prominent lawyers, the group is a vocal critic of the human rights situation in Iran and has defended scores of prisoners of conscience, including high-profile dissidents and student activists.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
The Christmas Eve party in a Los Angeles family home was in full swing when an eight year old girl opened the door to Santa. But instead of giving her the large gift-wrapped box he was holding he shot the child in the face, then burst through the house shooting indiscriminately at fleeing guests. As the 25 party goers tried desperately to escape, the gunman used his 'present' to spray inflammable liquid that quickly engulfed the house in flames. By the time he had finished his slaughter, at least eight of the party guests were dead and two children were seriously injured. It was Bruce Pardo's final revenge against his ex-wife, after a year of marriage ended in an acrimonious divorce. 
The rights group headed by Iranian Nobel peace laureate Shirin Ebadi is to lodge a complaint against the "illegal" closure of its office, a founding member of the centre said on Friday. Iranian police on Sunday raided and shut down the office of the Human Rights Defenders Centre, signalling a toughening crackdown on rights groups in the Islamic republic.
