BINGHAMTON, N.Y. (AP) - A gunman opened fire at an immigration services center in downtown Binghamton on Friday, killing as many as 13 people before authorities found him dead, officials said.
A law enforcement official said the body of the man believed to be the gunman was found in an office of the American Civic Association building. The official was not authorized to speak publicly about the details of an ongoing hostage situation and was talking on condition of anonymity. The gunman barricaded the rear door of the building with his car before entering through the front door, firing his weapon, the official said.
It wasn't clear whether the gunman was included in the number of dead provided by the governor.
The Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin reported that citizenship classes had been scheduled Friday at the center.
The Binghamton SWAT team responded, and the FBI was sending hostage negotiators and an evidence response team to the scene. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was also sending agents to Binghamton.
Indications were that the shooter was a young male, the law enforcement official said.
The American Civic Association is an organization that helps immigrants in the Binghamton area with naturalization applications, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The association describes itself as helping immigrants and refugees with counseling, resettlement, citizenship, family reunification and translators.
The association's president, Angela Leach, "is very upset right now," said Mike Chanecka, a friend who answered a call at her home as Leach wept in the background. "She doesn't know anything; she's as shocked as anyone," Chanecka said. "For some reason, she had the day off today. And she's very worried about her secretary."
Five people with gunshot wounds were being treated at Wilson Medical Center in Johnson City, according to hospital spokeswoman Christina Boyd. The wounded ranged in age from 20 to their mid-50s, and their conditions ranged from stable to critical, she said. Linda Miller, a spokeswoman at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Binghamton, said a student from Binghamton University was being treated there.
The shooting occurred in a mixed neighborhood of homes and small businesses in the center of Binghamton, a city of about 47,000 located 140 miles northwest of New York City.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/03/2009 16:14 ||
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#1
facts trickle in, but another Media "shining hour":
first it was a "high-powered rifle" (presumably from an illegal gun show transaction and diverted from the rest of the shipment to Mexico) - in fact, it appears now to be several handguns.
second it was speculated another angry white guy on the local radio, appears now to be a 42 yr old Vietnamese-heritage, possibly recently fired from IBM....
let's see what else they can get wrong?
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/03/2009 17:43 Comments ||
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Just watched the news conference -- receptionist is some kind of hero! Killer shot her, then continued room to room. She was shot in the stomach, played dead, when killer walked away, she called 911 --- gave description of the killer on the way to the hospital!
Police chief was there within 3 minutes (must have been close) county and state just showed up to help.
Some person got about 50 scared souls into the basement, and SWAT kept them there as they cleared room to room.
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. At least four people were shot and as many as 41 people taken hostage Friday morning at an immigration services center in Binghamton, according to media reports.
Mayor Matthew Ryan told the Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin that there was a hostage situation involving a gunman with a high-powered rifle. The newspaper reported 41 hostages in the building of the American Civic Association and said apartments were being evacuated. Emergency dispatchers were in contact with some people inside by phone, WBNG-TV reported. The gunman might still be in the building, the newspaper reported.
Four people were removed from the building on stretchers and taken to hospitals, and 10 more ambulances were called, the newspaper reported. The condition of the victims wasn't immediately clear.
A spokeswoman at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Binghamton confirmed that a student from Binghamton University was being treated at the emergency room. Spokeswoman Linda Miller said she didn't know the nature of the injuries. "We're on full alert anticipating we're going to get additional casualties," Miller said.
The American Civic Association describes itself as helping immigrants and refugees with counseling, resettlement, citizenship, family reunification and translators. It also intervenes with emergencies, including fighting, hunger and homelessness, according to information from the association's Web site.
#1
http://www.pressconnects.com/article/
20090403/COMMUN05/90403027/1104/COMMUN05
Twelve people have been confirmed dead in this morning's shooting at the American Civic Association in Binghamton, according to Gov. David Paterson.
Two people were taken from the American Civic Association with their hands cuffed behind their back. Dozens of others were being held hostage by a gunman in the Binghamton building.
The suspect was described as an Asian male in his 20s, between 5-feet 8-inches and 6 feet tall, wearing a bright green nylon jacket and dark-rimmed glasses.
Broome Community College Assistant Professor Tuong Hung Nguyen was asked to work with police to communicate with the shooter. Nguyen is fluent in Vietnamese.
A law enforcement official said the body of the man believed to be the gunman was found in an office of the American Civic Association building. The official was not authorized to speak publicly about the details of an ongoing hostage situation and was talking on condition of anonymity.
Life in Tijuana goes on. The buses run, people go to work, kids go to school, traffic still jams the city's arteries. But something has changed in the last year or so: the city's residents go about their day-to-day business with a gnawing apprehension, haunted by an unpleasant feeling that something horrible may happen at any moment. The sensation is similar to what you feel when you narrowly avoid a car crash or catch a child just in time to avoid disaster -- relief that it did not happen, distress that it almost did, dread that next time you may not be so lucky.
The Tijuana state of mind has become popularly known as "the psychosis." Anyone who lives in Tijuana knows what you're talking about when you use the term... More at link. It's a long article. It does repeat the oft heard claim that 90 percent of guns in Mexico come from the U.S. Fox New among others point out that it's only 90 percent of confiscated guns that are traceable because they have serial numbers that come from the U.S. while the vast majority of the guns in Mexico are smuggled through Guatamaula and originate in places like China, Israel and South Africa. I don't own a gun. I never thought I'd need one. But this little war is within walking distance of my home. OK, it'd be a long walk but you could do it in a day. In a car it'd take half an hour. I have to wonder if the narco-terrorists would be so brazen if ordinary Mexican citizens were allowed to bear arms and shoot back. Guys like John Kerry and Phillipe Calderone want us to trust our defense to them. I don't trust them and, as we can see, it isn't working very well for the Mexicans.
No comment....
When selecting the best raccoon carcass for the special holiday roast, both the connoisseur and the curious should remember this simple guideline: Look for the paw.
"The paw is old school," says Glemie Dean Beasley, a Detroit raccoon hunter and meat salesman. "It lets the customers know it's not a cat or dog."
Beasley, a 69-year-old retired truck driver who modestly refers to himself as the Coon Man, supplements his Social Security check with the sale of raccoon carcasses that go for as much $12 and can serve up to four. The pelts, too, are good for coats and hats and fetch up to $10 a hide.
While economic times are tough across Michigan as its people slog through a difficult and protracted deindustrialization, Beasley remains upbeat.
Where one man sees a vacant lot, Beasley sees a buffet. "Starvation is cheap," he says as he prepares an afternoon lunch of barbecue coon and red pop at his west side home. Well, maybe one comment: I remember our poor relations (which meant they were really poor) from out in the country occasionally bringing Nannie a mess of squirrels or 'coons for our supper. Don't remember particularly what 'coon tasted like, but squirrel was good (if somewhat scrawny in the meat department). And no, it didn't taste like chicken; it tasted like squirrel.
Rest at the link. Apparently Detroit is reverting to the wild. (Yeah, yeah, I know - how can they tell?)
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
04/03/2009 20:07 ||
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#1
Detroit has miles of "urban prarie" - people are starting to buy up cheap lots just to organic farm. 40 yrs of libtard policies, Dem ran city councils and mass corruption will do that to a city.
#4
perhaps if we offered a bounty on parasites like said fat-ass Council-tard(s) including Mrs. Conyers-tard?
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/03/2009 22:11 Comments ||
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type in "detroit city council" on youtube and prepare to LYAO. It's so bad you're almost embarrassed for the idiots on the council..."almost" being the operative word.
A spate of burglaries in a Buckinghamshire village had already put residents on the alert for any suspicious vehicles. So when the Google Street View car trundled towards Broughton with a 360-degree camera on its roof, villagers sprang into action. Forming a human chain to stop it, they harangued the driver about the invasion of privacy, adding that the images that Google planned to put online could be used by burglars.
As police made their way to the stand-off, the Google car yielded to the villagers. For now, Broughton remains off the internet search engines mapping service.
It was Paul Jacobs who provided the first line of resistance. I was upstairs when I spotted the camera car driving down the lane, he said. My immediate reaction was anger; how dare anyone take a photograph of my home without my consent? I ran outside to flag the car down and told the driver he was not only invading our privacy but also facilitating crime.
He then ran round the village knocking on doors to rouse fellow residents. While the police were called, the villagers stood in the road, not allowing the car to pass. The driver eventually did a U-turn and left.
Mr Jacobs said: This is an affluent area. Weve already had three burglaries locally in the past six weeks. If our houses are plastered all over Google its an invitation for more criminals to strike. I was determined to make a stand, so I called the police.
Google Street View, which was introduced in Britain last month, gives 360-degree views of the biggest cities, allowing people to take virtual tours from their computers or mobile phones. The companys camera-equipped cars, which take the photographs for Street View, aim to cover as much of Britain as possible.
Readers of Times Online were asked recently where they had spotted the Street View car, and in the past couple of weeks people have seen them in Winchester, Preston, Chelmsford and Ipswich.
It is thought that the Google car that tried to enter Broughton had come from photographing roads in near by Milton Keynes. Google said that its car had been using public roads and was not breaking the law. A spokesman said: We provide an easy way to request removal of imagery. Most requests are processed within hours. Pictures removed include that of a man leaving a sex shop.
Privacy International, a pressure group, has begun legal action against the company in an effort to bring down the mapping service.
#2
It makes a lot of sense in a historical context.
Until the industrial revolution with the rise of capitalism and large cities, people had very little privacy. Consider that there is no right to privacy in the Bill of Rights. It was a judicial creation of the early 20th century.
The revolutions of the 19th century brought the anonymity of the large crowd. Bergson condemned this anomie. But people liked it. It finally gave them freedom in their daily lives from the ruling elites, whether spinster busybodies or self-righteous ministers.
The networking of the world on the internet threatens the privacy people have gained. They don't want to give it up. The Google Street View vehicle is one of the few physical manifestations of the network they can attack.
#3
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. - Fourth Amendment
That implies privacy in one's home unless the agent of the state can produce a warrant. That's not a 20th Century creation. What is a 20th Century creation is the various tangential extensions of that beyond that original intent.
What brought anonymity [vice privacy] was the development of true cities feed by both rural and international immigration creating a social environments that meant that there weren't enough official or unofficial regulators of social norm to impose their standards on everyone. If you look at the very issue of 'how can something that is obviously in public be private' it comes down to anonymity, not privacy. There's a lawyer cult dedicated to making sure you don't understand the difference between the two.
#5
There is a difference between the government having to have a warrant to enter your home and a right to privacy. Otherwise the right of privacy wouldn't have needed to be created from the emanations and penumbras of the Constitution. Nor would the fourth amendment have been sufficient to make abortion a constitutional right.
#6
There is a difference between the government having to have a warrant to enter your home and a right to privacy.
The government can't know what's really happening in your home without entry, thus privacy. It may guess, it may believe, but it can not know without direct examination which violates privacy. Thus the need for warrant, and in theory, probable cause. You're playing linguist games.
[Mail and Globe] Hundreds of supporters of MadagascarŽs ousted president Marc Ravalomanana staged a fresh protest on Wednesday. This is presumably not the same hundreds who were protesting his presidency.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/03/2009 00:00 ||
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[Mail and Globe] New released images that provide a rare look inside a Zimbabwean prison show emaciated inmates too weak to stand and eating as if they can barely bring food to their mouths.
Human rights activists and former prisoners have spoken of horrifying conditions in the country's jails and prisons but there has been little firsthand evidence available.
Producer Godknows Nare spent four months on the behind-the-walls documentary, training insiders to capture the footage. His work, Hell Hole, aired on Tuesday on the South African Broadcasting Corporation, and was being syndicated internationally by Associated Press Television News on Wednesday. Nare said he hoped the footage would persuade Zimbabwe's new coalition government and the international community to step in to help.
"Just hearsay, without visual proof, is not enough to change people's minds," he said.
Attempts to reach the Zimbabwe Cabinet minister in charge of prisons on Wednesday were not immediately successful.
In one scene from Hell Hole, a man stands shirtless in a prison yard, his ribs and pelvic bone shockingly prominent until he pulls on a ragged T-shirt.
In other scenes, emaciated prisoners, wasting away because of vitamin deficiencies, according to SABC, are shown on mats in cells furnished with only blankets and the thin mattresses. Nare said prison menus have been reduced to daily bowls of corn porridge, which the inmates are shown eating slowly, as if they barely have the energy to bring the food to their mouths.
The Associated Press could not independently determine if the prisoners' ailments were caused by the jail conditions or by an illness or malnutrition they were suffering before being incarcerated.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/03/2009 00:00 ||
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Shocking I tell you! Absorootry Shocking!
Amazing how little of this is mentioned by the African genocide crowd or appears in the MSM. Swart on swart crime and inhumanity are off limits there as well as here it would appear.
No mention of it by African Union (AU) Chairperson Leader Muammar Gaddafi in the AU website or African Union Commission (AUC) newsletter either. There was a however, an inspiring story about Pan African Tsetse and Trypanosomiasis Eradication Campaign (PATTEC) and their meeting with Mama Sarah (Barry's grandmother) at her residence in K'ogelo Village. The AUC newletter also contained a congratulatory note to Barry from AUC Chairperson Ping. Lots and lots of other happy-talk and photos as well.
Grab your vuvuzela and stay tuned for the football rundown.
#2
Swart on swart crime and inhumanity are off limits there as well as here it would appear.
They're not off limits. It's just that nobody cares just as nobody cared about Rwanda. One of the benefits of throwing the colonials out.
Sub-saharan Africa is being allowed to regress to its precolonial culture, just as has much of South Asia. There's really little to be done unless someone wants to pick up the white man's burden. The Chinese are interested in the area's resources. But I doubt they'll shoulder the burden.
#3
Expect the Western world's elites, journalists, academics, etc to express outrage on the level of the Gitmo protests in 9...8...7, oh, wait, never mind.
[Bangla Daily Star] Picking up from where BNPŽs student wing Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal had left off, leaders of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) are now allegedly indulging in extortion and manipulation of tenders.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/03/2009 00:00 ||
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The DF-21 has a range of 1800 kilometers and normally hauls a 300 kiloton nuclear warhead. It's a two stage, 15 ton, solid fuel rocket that could carry a half ton penetrating, high-explosive warhead, along with the special guidance system (a radar and image recognition system).
right. remember that it had a "low radar signature"? sooper-dooper maneuverabilty? Ability to hover and disappear for minutes at a time?
OK, maybe I made that last one up
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/03/2009 17:53 Comments ||
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carry a half ton penetrating, high-explosive warhead
That's pretty much a requirement for any anti-carrier missile, carriers being protected by 3 meters of reinforced concrete as they are.
#5
OTOH, CHINESE MIL FORUM POSTER > argued that IT HAS TO YET TO BE PROVEN BY WORLD POWERS THAT LR BALLISTIC MISSLES [converted warheads] CAN SUCCESS HIT A MOVING = RAPID-MANEUVER NAVAL TARGET???
The nation's unemployment rate jumped to 8.5 percent in March, the highest since late 1983, as a wide swath of employers eliminated 663,000 jobs. It's fresh evidence of the toll the recession has inflicted on America's workers, and economists say there's no relief in sight.
If part-time and discouraged workers are factored in, the unemployment rate would have been 15.6 percent in March, the highest on records dating to 1994, according to Labor Department data released Friday.
The average work week in March dropped to 33.2 hours, a new record low. Since the recession began in December 2007, the economy has lost a net total of 5.1 million jobs, with almost two-thirds of the losses occurring in the last five months.
"It's an ugly report and April is going to be equally as bad," predicted Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com. Wish Barry would have told beforehand Hope and Change stood for "I hope I can make rent this month." and "Brother can you spare change for Ramen."
And be sure to thank Barry's sponsors for triggering the financial collapse by withdrawing 1/2 trillion $ from US money markets when he was losing in the Pres polls. The tab: $2.8 trillion and going to $23 trillion by 2019.
Posted by: ed ||
04/03/2009 13:24 ||
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But ed, for them its about power not some line on a bookkeeping sheet.
NEW York Times Execu tive Editor Bill Keller equated the Gray Lady to a PBS pledge drive, claiming readers have offered to donate money to keep the Times alive.
Keller was speaking at Stanford University to dedicate a new building for the campus newspaper -- an event he likened to a "ribbon-cutting" for "a new Pontiac dealership."
The bombastic broadsheet editor went on to equate the keep-the-Times-alive movement to the cause of starving African refugees, saying, "Saving the New York Times now ranks with saving Darfur as a high-minded cause."
Keller said he had little use for Web sites like Google and Drudge Report: "If you're inclined to trust Google as your source for news -- Google yourself."
Keller's comments come as the Times sat down with the Newspaper Guild Wednesday in their first serious bargaining session to figure out how to extract $4.5 million in savings from the newspaper company's unionized workforce. There are believed to be around 1,200 to 1,300 members of the Newspaper Guild working at The New York Times, and they are apparently not ready to accept the same pay cuts that their bosses did on April 1.
"Most of the [union] council believed that the company has not gone far enough in eliminating superfluous managers and exempts who hold few responsibilities, and that most of the burdens for corporate missteps have fallen on Guild members," said a Guild newsletter fired off yesterday.
The company agreed to look at alternatives to a wage cut, but is standing firm on its need to shave $4.5 million in costs. The company's proposal also includes a stipulation that will make members take an additional 10 paid days off before the end of the year.
"The Times threatens to lay off 60 to 80 workers, mainly in the newsroom, if the request is not met," warned the Guild, which is trying to come up with a solution that prevents layoffs.
#2
In this case, let's form the Janjaweed. I got dibs on the new Xerox and the cute receptionist.
Posted by: ed ||
04/03/2009 13:48 Comments ||
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It's not his fault you peasants can't regognize his rapier like wit...
"I think it's pretty obviously a reflection of my mild astonishment at the earnest fervor with which some people have suddenly embraced the cause of saving newspapers," Keller wrote. "That's matched only by my mild astonishment at the silly literal-mindedness with which some people read my occasional public comments."
[Geo News] World leaders are looking to raise up to 1.1 trillion dollars in new financing for the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, diplomats said Thursday. Group of 20 leaders want the extra cash to boost liquidity and help embattled countries -- particularly in crisis-hit eastern Europe -- through the global recession.
The British governmentŽs Secretary to the Treasury Stephen Timms said the G20 would ramp up IMF funds to about 750 billion dollars. Questioned by reporters about whether resources would be trebled from the current 250 billion dollars, he replied that he would ŽŽcertainly expect it to be in that area. The crucial thing... is to help the emerging economies get the benefit of growth because they have been responsible for such a large share of growth in the world economy over the last decade.ŽŽ
By late Wednesday, around 260 billion dollars had been pledged by G20 countries for the IMF to help countries stricken by the economic crisis, according to the source. Canada (10 billion dollars), the European Union (100 billion dollars), Japan (100 billion dollars) and Norway have signalled that they would pledge extra cash through bilateral agreements that could boost the IMFŽs current lending capacity of 250 billion dollars, the official said. The G20 also aims to boost World Bank funding, partly by asking members to fund a total 100 billion dollars a year over three years. Earlier this month, the United States suggested that IMF lending should be trebled to 750 billion dollars. BritainŽs International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander said the global financial crisis was forcing more cash-strapped countries to ask for emergency IMF funds.
ŽŽTraditionally, IMF resources have often been required in circumstances where national economies have got into classic balance of payments difficulties,ŽŽ Alexander said at a press briefing. ŽŽWhat we are now experiencing are countries who are obliged to consider approaching the IMF not because of decisions that have been reached domestically, but because of the impact of the global crisis.ŽŽ Alexander added that G20 leaders would consider reform of the IMF in terms of conditions attached to getting funds, as well as the level of cash available.
Romania, Hungary, Iceland, Latvia, Serbia and Ukraine in Europe and Pakistan, Mexico and others elsewhere have sought emergency IMF cash in recent weeks. ŽŽWith the expected calls on IMF resources in eastern Europe, the present level of resourcing for the IMF -- about 250 billion dollars -- is broadly judged not to be adequate,ŽŽ British minister Timms said. That was why G20 finance ministers had last month anticipated that IMF funding would double to some 500 billion dollars, Alexander added.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/03/2009 00:00 ||
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Malmö has been banned from hosting Davis Cup tennis matches for five years following the city's controversial decision to stage Sweden's clash with Israel in an empty arena.
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) said on Thursday they condemned the decision by the city government of Malmo to refuse to allow spectators to attend the March 6-9 tie which was won by Israel. Malmo only allowed teams, officials, guests and media to watch the tie, fearful of demonstrations taking place over Israel's bloody December offensive in Gaza.
As well as a five-year ban, Sweden was warned it would suffer an automatic loss of choice of ground for the next tie were a similar situation to occur in the future. Furthermore, all host city contracts entered into by the Swedish Tennis Association must guarantee that the tie will be open to the public.
The Davis Cup Committee also denied the request of the Swedish Tennis Association to waive its obligation to provide a minimum of $15,000 against gate receipts and levied an additional fine of $25,000. That's a start. At the link: nice pic taken during one of the matches.
The bankers struggled to make themselves clear to the president of the United States.
Arrayed around a long mahogany table in the White House state dining room last week, the CEOs of the most powerful financial institutions in the world offered several explanations for paying high salaries to their employees -- and, by extension, to themselves. "These are complicated companies," one CEO said. Offered another: "We're competing for talent on an international market."
But President Barack Obama wasn't in a mood to hear them out. He stopped the conversation, and offered a blunt reminder of the public's reaction to such explanations. "Be careful how you make those statements, gentlemen. The public isn't buying that."
"My administration," the president added, "is the only thing between you and the pitchforks."
The fresh details of the meeting -- some never before revealed -- come from an account provided to POLITICO by one of the participants. A second source inside the meeting confirmed the details, and two other sources familiar with the meeting offered additional information.
The accounts demonstrate that despite the public comments on both sides that the meeting was cordial, the tone in the room was in fact one of mutual wariness. The titans of finance -- men used to being the most powerful man in almost any room -- sized up a new president who made clear in ways big and small that he expected them to change their ways.
There were signs from the outset that this was a business event, not a social gathering. At each place around the table sat a single glass of water. No ice. For those who finished their glass, no refills were offered. There was no group photograph taken of the CEOs with the president, which typically happens at ceremonial White House gatherings, but not at serious strategy sessions.
"The only way they could have sent a more Spartan message is if they had served bread along with the water," says a person who attended the meeting. "The signal from Obama's body language and demeanor was, 'I'm the president, and you're not.'"
According to the accounts of sources inside the room, President Obama told the CEOs exactly what he expects from them, and pushed back forcefully when they attempted to defend Wall Street's legendarily high paying ways.
#2
The only way they could have sent a more Spartan message is if they had served bread along with the water, says a person who attended the meeting. The signal from Obamas body language and demeanor was, Im the president, and youre not.
Typical Obama. He is the messiah, you're not. Asshat.
Soon, the only thing between him and pitchforks will be American's respect of law. And that won't hold out long when Congress and Obama are pissing on the laws daily.
#3
If I were a banker and I had been at that meeting, and my bank currently had its head above water (many still do despite the bad news), I'd turn him down flat.
I'd say no to TARP money. If I had taken any TARP money, I'd pay it back, today. I'd tell him in no uncertain terms that my bank will NOT participate in any scheme to buy assets, toxic or not. And that my bank will NOT participate in any new government plans for bailouts.
Then I'd walk out.
Then I'd find a TV news crew and vent.
Then I'd fly back to New York or wherever my bank HQ was, call my principal directors in, and say, "folks, we need to get to work, because if we ever get into trouble the Feds won't help us. So let's make sure we never get into trouble."
My bank wouldn't need the president. And he'd regret threatening me.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/03/2009 16:07 Comments ||
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Steve, you also need to go find some pols that stay bought.
As in dictator president for life? Mr. O, you're not the only one keeping score. Unless you plan to be President for Life(tm), these people can provide the same source of funding for your opponents as they did for you this past election. You can find out how little power the president does have when he's alienated just about every important special interest group and the general public. Ask Nixon.
[Geo News] Fifteen inmates were injured when two groups clashed in Hyderabad central jail on Thursday while prisoners also held hostage 6 policemen. According to jail administration, the two groups of prisoners engaged in a brawl on a dispute relating to cooking food. They attacked each other with whatever they could lay their hands on including scissors, eggs and iron rods. Fifteen people were injured. Six critically injured were shifted to jail infirmary. Later, Deputy Superintendent Jail, Salim Shaikh talking to Geo News said situation has been brought under control while case has been registered against nine prisoners in Baldia Police Station.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/03/2009 00:00 ||
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Arctic sea ice is melting so fast most of it could be gone in 30 years. A new analysis of changing conditions in the region, using complex computer models of weather and climate, says conditions that had been forecast by the end of the century could occur much sooner.
A change in the amount of ice is important because the white surface reflects sunlight back into space. When ice is replaced by dark ocean water that sunlight can be absorbed, warming the water and increasing the warming of the planet.
The finding adds to concern about climate change caused by human activities such as burning fossil fuels, a problem that has begun receiving more attention in the Obama administration and is part of the G20 discussions under way in London.
"Due to the recent loss of sea ice, the 2005-2008 autumn central Arctic surface air temperatures were greater than 5 degrees Celsius (9 degrees Fahrenheit) above" what would be expected, the new study reports.
That amount of temperature increase had been expected by the year 2070.
The new report by Muyin Wang of the Joint Institute for the Study of Atmosphere and Ocean and James E. Overland of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, appears in Friday's edition of the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
They expect the area covered by summer sea ice to decline from about 2.8 million square miles normally to 620,000 square miles within 30 years.
Last year's summer minimum was 1.8 million square miles in September, second lowest only to 2007 which had a minimum of 1.65 million square miles, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center.
The Center said Arctic sea ice reached its winter maximum for this year at 5.8 million square miles on Feb. 28. That was 278,000 square miles below the 1979-2000 average making it the fifth lowest on record. The six lowest maximums since 1979 have all occurred in the last six years.
Overland and Wang combined sea-ice observations with six complex computer models used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to reach their conclusions. Combining several computer models helps avoid uncertainties caused by natural variability.
Much of the remaining ice would be north of Canada and Greenland, with much less between Alaska and Russia in the Pacific Arctic.
"The Arctic is often called the Earth's refrigerator because the sea ice helps cool the planet by reflecting the sun's radiation back into space," Wang said in a statement. "With less ice, the sun's warmth is instead absorbed by the open water, contributing to warmer temperatures in the water and the air."
The study was supported by the NOAA Climate Change Program Office, the Institute for the Study of the Ocean and Atmosphere and the U.S. Department of Energy. Never let reality get in the way of a perfect model projection. If the model says the ice isn't there, then the ice isn't there.
#1
"Last year's summer minimum was 1.8 million square miles in September, second lowest only to 2007 which had a minimum of 1.65 million square miles, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center"
I believe that indicates Ice Coverage Grew by 15 million square miles from 2007 to 2008....
#6
Won't need to enlarge or replace the Panama Canal then, will we? And we'd be able to tanker north slope hydrocarbons instead of building more pipelines. That ice is floating so melting it won't raise sea level either. Could make a difference in North Atlantic sea currents though - no idea if for the better or worse.
#8
I hate to be snarky (not really, I love being snarky), but when I saw the title of the article, I was thinking it was another announcement by people living in a fantasy world doing unrealistic work making pronouncements because their handlers keep telling them how smart they are. Ya' know, Hollywood types. Hmm! Maybe I'm not too far off the mark.
#11
I'm putting together an email, a letter, and a small check to send to Mountain States Legal Foundation, with a copy to a couple of other groups (Judicial Watch, etc.) asking them to prepare to sue the President, the Congress, the EPA, Al Gore, and a dozen other groups (including the Intergovernment Panel on Climate Change) for fraud in "pursuing legislation to reduce the impact of anthropogenic climate change". A computer model is NOT a fact. There is no computer model sufficiently complex enough to accurately depict current weather, much less what it will be 20, 30, 50, or 100 years from now. There has been sufficient new information made available that ties past and current trends to solar influence (sunspots, geomagnetic changes, solar wind, irradiance, and several other factors), ocean currents (La Nina/El Nino, the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, the Atlantic Multiyear Oscillation), galactic cosmic rays/cloud cover, and other data, with a much stronger correlation than the rise in the level of non-H2O greenhouse gasses.
There is no way in He$$ that roughly 2% (the percentage of atmospheric CO2 attributed to human activity) of 4% (the percentage of CO2 in greenhouse gasses) can control 99% of the changes in climate (2% of 4% is 0.0008 - eight ten-thousandths). The variation in water vapor (between 93% and 96% of all greenhouse gasses) is greater than the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. A drop of 0.1% in solar irradiation (which can happen due to a single coronal mass ejection) can result in a drop in world temperatures of up to 0.5degrees centigrade.
Our government is filled with people who have forgotten too much of how the world works, and who think the rest of us are that stupid, also. We need to prove them different. Suing the socks off of them for a FELONY (fraud) would do the trick. That fraud is going to cost all of us tens of thousands of dollars a year if it isn't challenged.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/03/2009 22:39 Comments ||
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Cambodian and Thai troops fought heavy gunbattles on their disputed borderas months of tensions boiled over, leaving two soldiers dead just days before a key regional summit.
Soldiers traded rocket, machinegun and mortar fire near an 11th-century Khmer temple on the frontier, following a brief exchange of shots earlier in the day, officials from both sides said. The same area was the scene of several clashes last year after the Preah Vihear temple was granted United Nations world heritage status, with four soldiers killed in a battle in October.
"We are fighting with each other, it is serious gunfire. Two of our soldiers have been killed," Cambodian government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said. "The gunfire is continuing in at least two areas," he added.
Cambodian and Thai authorities confirmed heavy gunfire had broken out at 2:00 pm (0700 GMT) in a number of spots near the border, which has never been fully demarcated due to landmines left after decades of war in Cambodia. "We have occupied many areas now. The gunfire ended after about 35 minutes of fighting. We have won the fight now," Cambodian commander Bun Thean told AFP.
A Cambodian soldier posted at the border, Yeim Kheang, told AFP by telephone that a Cambodian market at the gateway to the temple had been badly burned during the fighting. "We used heavy weapons including rockets, machine guns and mortars. In general, we used every weapon given to us. Many Thai soldiers ran away, leaving their weapons behind during the fight," Yeim Kheang said. Thai foreign ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat also confirmed the clash had taken place but said it ended with no Thai casualties.
Tensions had been high since an exchange of shots early in the morning after Cambodian soldiers went to investigate the area where a Thai soldier stepped on a landmine a day earlier and lost his leg. "The brief clash happened at 7:10am when Cambodian troops came to investigate the spot where that Thai soldier stepped on a landmine yesterday," Seni Chittakasem, governor of Si Sa Ket province in Thailand said. He said there was no report of loss of life on the Thai side in the earlier fighting, adding that the trouble flared one kilometre (around half a mile) into disputed territory.
Thailand's Tharit blamed the other side for the earlier clash. "We had to retaliate because Cambodians opened fire at Thai soldiers first. We want to reiterate that this area is our territory," Tharit told AFP.
The landmine incident a day earlier had already put Cambodian troops on "high alert" they said, two days after their premier Hun Sen warned Thailand that it would face fighting if its troops crossed their disputed frontier. Thailand denies claims that about 100 of its troops went over the frontier a week ago.
Tensions first flared along the border in July last year over the granting of UN heritage to the temple on the border. Subsequent talks between Cambodia and Thailand have not resolved the dispute and Thailand's foreign minister was forced to apologise Thursday, after being accused by Cambodian premier Hun Sen of calling him a gangster. Officials said the "misunderstanding" came after comments that Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya made about Hun Sen in a parliamentary debate had been incorrectly translated.
[Straits Times] SUPPORTERS of fugitive former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra extended their protest to the finance ministry on Thursday, as mass rallies against the government entered a second week.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/03/2009 00:00 ||
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A Rare Triumph of Substance at the Summit So says the author
International economic summits deserve to be regarded with skepticism: The most important decision to come out of them is usually the call for yet another meeting.
But yesterday's G-20 meeting in London was an exception. While President Obama may have overstated things a bit when he declared it a "turning point" for the now-shrinking global economy, the meeting did manage to boost the confidence of financial markets, inject another trillion dollars into the financial system and provide needed political cover for world leaders to take unpopular actions back home.
Ever since this round of G-20 consultations was launched last year by an insistent President Nicolas Sarkozy, there's been a distinctly French accent to the process. Implicit in the agenda has been a critique of the Anglo-American economic model that, in the European imagination, was the root cause of the current economic crisis. Sarkozy's aim was nothing less than a rewrite of the rules for global capitalism to conform to the more civilized norms of the continental European model.
At the same time, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown was keen on creating a new global financial architecture to replace the creaky Bretton Woods financial institutions that failed to prevent a series of international financial crises and now seem oddly out of sync with the global economy.
To the American ear, much of this sounded overdone and overly ambitious. How about just Ewwu-ropean?
While the financial crisis revealed an urgent need to better coordinate regulation of global institutions and capital flows, nobody seriously thought that any country - not the United States, and certainly not France - would cede its sovereign powers to an international bureaucracy.
After all, the most recent attempt at international regulatory coordination - the Basel II standards on bank capital - wound up leaving European banks woefully undercapitalized when the current crisis hit, requiring bank bailouts that in many cases were much larger, in relation to the size of the countries' economies, than in the United States. U.S. banks, by comparison, had relatively more capital, thanks to those worrywarts at the FDIC, who had fought the looser Basel II standards despite their strong support from the banks and their always-accommodating regulators at the Federal Reserve.
The push for broader, tighter cross-border financial regulation, in fact, came largely in response to the light-touch approach of the Bush administration. But whatever transatlantic tension once existed over that issue pretty much melted away last week when Tim Geithner outlined the new administration's regulatory reform proposal, which could just as easily have been written at the French Finance Ministry as at the U.S. Treasury. Obamanomincs has arrived!
In the end, yesterday's communique, with its promise of a global regulatory crackdown, was an easy win for all concerned. Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel could declare victory over unfettered Anglo-American capitalism, while Obama now has added political ammunition for taking on the banks, hedge funds, rating agencies and private-equity firms that will try to water down his proposals. While that may constitute a turning point for Anglo-American capitalism, it is hardly the death knell. Some think there's still room for debate on that issue.
Gordon Brown, meanwhile, emerged from yesterday's talks to declare an end to "the old Washington consensus," the now-derogatory description for the policy prescription of open borders, floating exchange rates and fiscal prudence long favored by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
What emerged yesterday from the G-20, however, amounts more to reform than to revolution. Member countries committed themselves to adding $850 billion to the resources available to the IMF and regional development banks to mount rescues of countries in financial distress, with instructions that the money be used not only for traditional purposes such as debt rollover, bank recapitalization and balance-of-payments support, but also for more "flexible" goals such as stimulus spending, infrastructure investment, trade finance and social support.
And just as the old G-7 has given way to the enlarged G-20, the governance structure of the fund and the bank will be revised to give the bigger developing countries the authority they now deserve. Ahh, yessss. China and India deserve authority...
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/03/2009 06:03 ||
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#1
Could it be the stock market surged when Wall Street saw Obama meeting with real leaders on issues, not one of his daily meetings with the know nothings within his administration?
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.
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. (AP) - A gunman opened fire at an immigration services center in downtown Binghamton on Friday, killing as many as 13 people before authorities found him dead, officials said.
[Bangla Daily Star] Picking up from where BNPŽs student wing Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal had left off, leaders of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) are now allegedly indulging in extortion and manipulation of tenders.
[Geo News] World leaders are looking to raise up to 1.1 trillion dollars in new financing for the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, diplomats said Thursday. Group of 20 leaders want the extra cash to boost liquidity and help embattled countries -- particularly in crisis-hit eastern Europe -- through the global recession. 
[Geo News] Fifteen inmates were injured when two groups clashed in Hyderabad central jail on Thursday while prisoners also held hostage 6 policemen. According to jail administration, the two groups of prisoners engaged in a brawl on a dispute relating to cooking food. They attacked each other with whatever they could lay their hands on including scissors, eggs and iron rods. Fifteen people were injured. Six critically injured were shifted to jail infirmary. Later, Deputy Superintendent Jail, Salim Shaikh talking to Geo News said situation has been brought under control while case has been registered against nine prisoners in Baldia Police Station.
