The hurricane is aiming straight at NO. Is there any way, with modern technology and high explosives, to disturb the eye? could MOABs break the walls of the eye, reduce its intensity, or otherwise deflect the monster?
(Note: I get an error flashing on the screen when posting a news link)
Posted by: Kalle (kafir forever) ||
08/28/2005 15:47 ||
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#1
It's possible that cloud seeding could be used to 'steer' a hurricane, although a hurriane of this size would requie a lot of seeding. However, think of the political consequences if a hurricane were steered towards Mexico for example.
#2
It is when comprehending the power of a hurricane, volcano, earthquake or tsunami that one realizes how puny are man's efforts. We do not yet have the power to steer hurricanes, nor to cause the globe to warm. Though if the Soviets had lasted much longer they may have ben ready to give it a try.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
08/28/2005 21:08 Comments ||
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#3
where's our Halliburton Hurricane Control Rep to answer about taht?
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/28/2005 21:09 Comments ||
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#4
Well, Frank, when I find that dude I'm going to kick his ass.
Posted by: Matt ||
08/28/2005 21:32 Comments ||
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#5
The Chinese do cloud seeding on a large scale, apparently with considerable success. The French do it also to stop hail damage.
#14
Cloud seeding has already been tried to change the intensity of hurricanes. Changing their direction is in principle easier since all you have to do alter the relative energy between one side and the opposite side of hurricane by a small amount. However, we will never see a real world test (except possibly in Australia where a cyclone could be steered out to sea), just imagine the lawsuits.
#15
phil_b, have you've been ever in the eye of a hurricane? If you were, you 'd know that it is, essentially, an electic phenomenon, the light show is really purdy. The associated stirring of air fronts is an added feature.
You would think that if you plunked down $10 million for a home, including millions to buy three adjoining properties, you could count on a little freedom to roam. But then the occasional mountain lion traipses across your land and, if you are Barbara Proulx, you feel trapped, afraid to let your two young sons out by themselves because of the dangers lurking outside.
Police Chief Robert J. Brennan's cast of a mountain lion's paw. Mrs. Proulx and her husband, Tom, a founder of the software company Intuit, even have a three-hole golf course on their 10-plus acres, yet in recent months it has gotten far less use than in the past.
"I won't let my children go to the tennis court by themselves anymore," Mrs. Proulx said. She does not permit the boys, ages 9 and 11, to walk to the pool on their own, either. Her parents live in a home on her property, but "they're terrified."
"Except to come to my house," she said, "they never go outside." They are hardly the only ones in the area feeling like prisoners in multimillion-dollar homes. In recent months, there have been a few publicized mountain lion sightings up and down this peninsula just south of San Francisco, especially in the area's rural, more upscale neighborhoods, out of the reach of most people beyond venture capitalists and those made outlandishly wealthy by Silicon Valley's star companies.
Yet nowhere has this fear been more pronounced than in Atherton, the country's second-wealthiest community after Rancho Santa Fe, in Southern California. Here, largely because of the efforts of a single neighbor, vast backyards sit largely unused.
More than a matter of man versus nature, the battle over the Silicon Valley's mountain lions is pitting human against human.
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/28/2005 11:37 ||
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page 3
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/28/2005 11:43 Comments ||
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#2
A co-conspirator in all this is Stanford University. Bwahahaha.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
08/28/2005 12:01 Comments ||
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#3
What do you expect, you idiots? You keep voting in Democrats who disarm you and say that cougars are too cute to be hunted. Now they have no fear of you; in fact, they view you as prey. Why don't you just grow wool and go "baaaa?"
#4
I've been face-to-face with a Mt Lion on 2 occasions. Both times they were within 15 feet of me and we looked each other square in the eyes. I damn near pooped my pants but both times they walked on off. A child probably wouldn't be so lucky.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
08/28/2005 14:55 Comments ||
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#5
These people cannot be from the same stock as the pioneers who set out for the West. 9 & 10 years old is old enough to learn to use a rifle; so are the grandparents. Boy, am I tired of whiny, helpless Americans -- cowering in their houses over a mountain lion attack that is very unlikely to occur and which can be defended against.
#8
Train all family members, kids included, on responsible and proper use of firearms, and arm them accordingly. When one's property is measured in acres, anything less is asking for trouble.
This comes under the heading of an Extremely Bad Thing:
000
WTNT62 KNHC 280541
TCUAT2
HURRICANE KATRINA TROPICAL CYCLONE UPDATE
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
1240 AM CDT SUN AUG 28 2005
...SHORTLY AFTER 1215 AM CDT... 0515Z... AN AIR FORCE RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT REPORTED THAT MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS IN HURRICANE KATRINA HAD INCREASED TO NEAR 145 MPH... CATEGORY FOUR ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON HURRICANE SCALE. DETAILS WILL FOLLOW SHORTLY IN A SPECIAL ADVISORY TO BE ISSUED AT APPROXIMATELY 1 AM CDT...0600Z. THE SPECIAL PUBLIC ADVISORY WILL TAKE THE PLACE OF THE INTERMEDIATE PUBLIC ADVISORY PREVIOUSLY SCHEDULED FOR THAT TIME.
FORECASTER KNABB
As of now, Katrina is lined up for a direct hit on New Orleans, though as we all know, it's never a sure thing. However, it appears that in the morning, the city government will issue a full-dress evacuation order. For a lot of reasons, well explained here: americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/wetlands/hurricane_print.html
this has the potential to be the worst natural disaster in modern American history.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
08/28/2005 02:15 ||
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#1
Y'all down on Louisiana are in our thoughts and prayers. Get to high ground NOW, okay?
New Orleans is almost under water in the best of times ... can't imagine how much damage flooding and rains from a hurricane would bring, but if the levees give out .....
More than a couple forecasters are now saying that a worst-case scenario - Cat 5, direct hit at high tide - could put New Orleans under 45 feet of water. The human and material costs will be bad enough. What we've never seen before is a major metropolitan area essentially taken off the map. Repairing it will be a task unlike anything ever tried in our history, and paying for it will break the bank. The environmental damage will be catastrophic, and the effects on the economy will literally reverberate for a decade. I am praying that this thing somehow misses New Orleans and goes ashore somewhere else.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
08/28/2005 9:39 Comments ||
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#12
I remember a long story on NPR a couple of years ago, where they interviewed the usual experts (FEMA disaster recovery, civil engineer)about how vulnerable New Orleans would be to being slammed square on by a Cat 4 or Cat 5 hurricane. Since much of the town is below sea level, any storm surge that went over the top of the levees (in addition to rain already falling!)would simply fill up the city, as if it were a sink with the faucet running full-blast. The delta and the mangove swamps between the city and the open gulf used to serve as a buffer zone and shock absorber for the city when a hurricane came up from the gulf, but with the dredging, straightening and clearing over the last decades... that buffer is gone. The crux of the story was that the city would be under 45 feet of water and there was f***-all anyone could do. Except get out. Get. Out. Now. And don't look back.
#13
The hurricane's forward speed is one to two mph slower now, which would give some extra time for procrastinators to leave NOW!!! I pray that everyone gets out. Please don't ride this one out. Residents in NO say they survived Camille, but here is the problem, Camille didn't go through NO and was a much smaller storm.
IMO, this will be such a destruction, that if this city is rebuilt, it will probably be called by a different name. The experts are predicting 50% refinery destruction, hundreds/thousands dead, and remember the Superdome can only handle 200mph winds. The winds are expected to hit 190mph overnight with 240mph gusts.
#14
My daughter's boyfriend and his family left this morning from Metairie and NO, in seperate vehicles. He is outside the city now, but the going is very slow. I offered him the guest room here in San Antonio, if he could get out to the west, but the traffic on I-10 going out to the west is horrendous, and he didn't even want to try. He's trying for Atlanta, and to meet up with his parents. My daughter can reach him on his cellphone, but he can't call out, everything is so overloaded.
#15
IIRC actually avg's 16' under water....still a "problem" if you aren't equipped with gills
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/28/2005 14:37 Comments ||
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#16
Oh, dear God...:
From the National Weather Service:
NWS outlines grim forecast of devastion expected across area
The National Weather Service has issued a special statement outlining the damage that might be caused if Hurricane Katrina makes landfall as a strong Category 4 or Category 5 storm.
âMost of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks, perhaps longer,â says the statement. âAt least one-half of well-constructed homes will have roof and wall failure. All gabled roofs will fail, leaving those homes severely damaged or destroyed.
The statement says the majority of industrial buildings will become ânon-functional,â with partial or complete wall and roof failure.
âAll wood-framed low-rising apartments will sustain major damage, including some wall and roof failure,â the statement said. âConcrete block low-rise apartments will sustain major damage, including some wall and roof failure.â
The statement says high-rise office and apartment buildings will sway dangerously, âa few to the point of total collapse.â And all their windows will blow out.
Airborne debris will be widespread, and may include heavy items â household appliances and light cars and trucks âand even sport utility vehicles and trucks will be moved.
âThe blown debris will create additional destruction,â the statement said. âPersons, pets and livestock exposed to the winds will face certain death if struck.â
Power outages will last for weeks because most power poles will be down and transformers will be destroyed. Most trees will be snapped or uprooted and even the heartiest, if they survive, will be stripped of all leaves.
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
08/28/2005 14:40 Comments ||
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#17
FEMA is predicting:
They are preparing for up to 20,000 dead, 100,00 injured, 2.3 Million homeless, and breakdown of basic services for up to 8 weeks.
Personally, FEMA is known for being politically correct. I suggest that everyone at least double FEMA's numbers in this situation.
More news...The latest Vortex recon is measuring 902mb of pressure. This means, although not reported yet, the winds will catch up to the pressure and when it does, the sustained speed is officially in the 190's mph.
#18
UPDATE: I-10 is apparently gridlocked badly for about 30 miles out of town. The city government is urging those with no transportation to head for the Superdome, which actually sits some distance above sea level, and is able to withstand winds of approximately 150 mph.
Katrina's max gusts have been measured at 210 mph.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
08/28/2005 14:59 Comments ||
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#19
A chilling report from NWS:
NWS WARNS IN CHILLING STATEMENT: "MOST
OF THE AREA WILL BE UNINHABITABLE FOR WEEKS... PERHAPS LONGER... THE
MAJORITY OF INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS WILL BECOME NON FUNCTIONAL... HIGH RISE
OFFICE AND APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL SWAY DANGEROUSLY... A FEW TO THE POINT
OF TOTAL COLLAPSE... ALL WINDOWS WILL BLOW OUT... AIRBORNE DEBRIS WILL BE
WIDESPREAD... AND MAY INCLUDE HEAVY ITEMS SUCH AS HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES AND
EVEN LIGHT VEHICLES... SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES AND LIGHT TRUCKS WILL BE
MOVED... POWER OUTAGES WILL LAST FOR WEEKS... AS MOST POWER POLES WILL BE
DOWN AND TRANSFORMERS DESTROYED... WATER SHORTAGES WILL MAKE HUMAN
SUFFERING INCREDIBLE BY MODERN STANDARDS... NEW ORLEANS MAYOR: "EVERY
PERSON IN THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS IS HEREBY ORDERED TO LEAVE THE CITY"...
#20
I had heard 160 mph winds this morning, and now recently heard 175 mph winds. If this hits NO directly, there won't be much left. Early this morning (at 160 mph), models were showing 20-25 feet of storm surge; and the NO mayor was on Fox News saying most of the levee system is only 7 feet above sea level. If it hits w/ higher winds, higher surge and at high tide, look out!
Posted by: BA ||
08/28/2005 15:57 Comments ||
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#21
Ahh, you guys are just trying to cheer me up.
Posted by: Matt ||
08/28/2005 16:11 Comments ||
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#22
The good news is that New Orleans' population is famed for its' law abidding citizenry.
Words can't describe it. This is Biblical. The Superdome is almost full and there are predictions that the first or second level of the Superdome may get flooded. If it does, it becomes a cesspool. Where do you move 60K people from there?
What's worse? FEMA is playing down the senario. There are reports of 50ft waves in the center. Guess which city is in the center, so far? There are still lots of people stuck on freeways, they are about to close contra flow, and no one is stressing the destruction in Miss.
#26
The worst personal story I've heard so far is:a wife wants to leave, the husband doesn't. They live in a low-lying area. She left; if she see him alive again it will be a miracle.
Posted by: Matt ||
08/28/2005 16:35 Comments ||
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#27
On LFG, there's a long thread going on: one of the minions is a guy whose nick is Bayou King--- he is fairly safe, apparently, but sticking close to NO, because his brother, sister-in-law and 6 month old niece are staying at the hospital where the brother is an ER physician. The brother and his family won't leave, and Bayou King is climbing the walls out of frustration.
A couple of years ago, I read "Isaac's Storm", about the Galveston hurricane in 1900. If I ever had an inclination to stick around for a hurricane party--- which I don't after sitting out a typhoon in Japan in about 1978--- that would have cured me of it. Just reading about what happens when 180MPH winds begin to blow around roof tiles, tree branches and other debris, and what it is like to sit in a house while the wind and the storm surge pound it to pieces around you and your children is enough to give you the cold shivers.
#28
TWC just reported winds reduced to 165mph. Don't believe that nonsense. The pressure is still 902mb. This thing will grow (speed) massive at night when the clouds cool on top. I will believe the reduction in speed when I hear an increase in pressure. Then again, 165mph is nothing to cheer about.
I hear that there are lots of people on Bourbon St. having a hurricane party and refusing to leave. If you see them on TV today, take a good look, you won't probably see them ever again.
Also, there are reports of the possibility floating coffins after the hurricane. Currently, people are buried on top of hills, in NO. This place is going to be one disease infested place. CDC is just now making preparations. What a joke, the CDC?
#29
If Katrina hits New Orleans dead on or just to the West of NO, that city will make every disaster movie of the past 30 years look pleasant. Floating corpses, raw sewage, toxic wastes, terrified cottonmouths-coral snakes-fire ants-rats-dogs trying get out of the water, 45 foot of flood water in the town itself : Hitchcock and Irwin Allen could not have made a more horrific disaster scenario.
If you stay there, you will die.
#30
I have nothing against the people in Biloxi or Mobile, but I think it would be less of a disaster if she hit over there.
Gee thanks, I live in Mobile. My Brother's in Biloxi.
Where do you live so I can steer it that way? ;-)Maybe we can get Ted Kennedy to make an appearance in the Big Easy and speechify it back to the mid-Atlantic. (Big Grin)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/28/2005 17:26 Comments ||
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#31
RJ,
Since you live in Mobile, you've just been issued a tornado warning.
In other news...I've seen satellite motion time lapse this morning and I saw tornados forming and dissapating around the NW quadrant of the eye wall. I have never seen that before. TV coverage haven't mentioned it yet.
#32
Rednsck Jim, I have an Aunt and a couple of cousins in Mobile. I hope ya'll stay safe.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
08/28/2005 17:58 Comments ||
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#33
If you stay there, you will die.
Funny thing is, or maybe it ain't funny, some news orgs are gonna try and ride it out. CNN has some guy in the French quarter. Talk about dying to tell the story. Even Dan Rather is staying away from this one.
Posted by: Rafael ||
08/28/2005 17:59 Comments ||
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#34
pray fore em big easy, and ima sujest yallz go filler up yore gas tanks today.
#37
I think we'll be fine, we're well away from downtown (The low areas) and winds should be mainly from the east, I forse much water and no real danger, we have big steel doors to close the tunnel under the river, and the causeway always floods, but we just avoid the downtown area and wait.
We're going to be on the fringes, some wind (60-70 about a good hard thunderstorm) and much rain, maybe lose power, but no biggie.
As humor, the newscrews have the spots marked where the waves and wind always gust really picturesque, just look for the newscaster in the wind-flapped poncho (Big floppy ponchos are required) and that's about twice as bad looking as it really is.
Right now we have no wind or rain, a few light showers so far, and nothing happening.
I'm watching the radar, all is well.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/28/2005 18:12 Comments ||
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#38
Fox had a gentleman point out that there are approximately 9 petroleum refineries in the path of Katrina. I think that we may fondly look back on $3/gallon gasoline. You can always buy more oil, but there are no more refineries. We may have to jettison the EPA regulations and buy gasoline whereever we can get it.
#39
//I hear that there are lots of people on Bourbon St. having a hurricane party and refusing to leave. If you see them on TV today, take a good look, you won't probably see them ever again. //
#40
Although I don't pray, I'm sorta praying for Pascale's Manale, Brennan's, and Antoine's. The people can leave (assuming a modicum of intelligence), these landmarks can't. There used to be a restaurant across from the Battleship Texas which had a mark on the wall (2nd story dining room) not far from the ceiling where the water level had pegged during Hurricane Carla... I wonder if there will be a new green tile line added at Brennan's to mark the high-water point for Katrina. Given the storm surge numbers being bandied about in breathless tones (±25 ft), they might need to add a pole to the roof to mark it.
I love Nawleans. I hope it's still around next week. You Cajuns will be welcome, only temporarily of course, over in Texas. Now git.
#42
...Get this: Entry into the Superdome is blocked while they search EVERYBODY for booze and weapons....
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
08/28/2005 18:25 Comments ||
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#43
saints needer nyoo home?
Posted by: City of Los Angeles ||
08/28/2005 18:28 Comments ||
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#44
Well, Galveston was essentially erased from the map in 1900, and it was rebuilt. They raised the level of the city 17 feet by dredging and lifting houses, and built a seawall to keep the ocean out. New Orleans can rebuild, but it's going to cost a bundle.
The big deal is if the Superdome can withstand the hurricane or not. If it crumbles, 80,000 people will die. The only possible good news is that the people going to the Superdome for refuge are incredibly stupid not to leave the city.
#50
Redneck Jim, the width exploded because you pasted a URL (link) without using the full html for making a clickable link. Instructions on how to do that here.
#53
Got it, (I think) use a sharp bracket A in front.
And another reversed sharp bracket at the end
I apologise, I posted the second before reading the instructions.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/28/2005 19:19 Comments ||
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#54
regarding a recession - not likely . Devastation needs to be rebuilt. Fla's construction post hurricane drove their economy. Would rather not have to be so cynical, but there are some effects that can be beneficial. Stay safe all...any word from Fraering? Isn't he a NO boy?
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/28/2005 19:26 Comments ||
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#55
RVW wrote:
Fox had a gentleman point out that there are approximately 9 petroleum refineries in the path of Katrina. I think that we may fondly look back on $3/gallon gasoline. You can always buy more oil, but there are no more refineries. We may have to jettison the EPA regulations and buy gasoline whereever we can get it.
Well, you can always buy more oil, but when you aren't drilling for it yourself, suddenly buying it from the Salafists becomes even more expensive. Offshore oil drilling is only allowed in the US off of the states of Alaska, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. About 1/2 of it, at least, is being shut down by the storm, and a significant fraction of it won't be coming back right away.
So I'd expect oil to be going way past fifty dollars a barrel from this.
Maybe allowing offshore drilling in more areas *might* be a good idea?
(Who am I kidding... it took the rest of y'all three and a half years *after* 9/11 to open a small part of ANWR to oil exploration.)
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
08/28/2005 19:29 Comments ||
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#56
Oh, and in case anyone was wondering: I'm OK, except for being irritated by the traffic, my suddenly nonfunctional cellphone, the disaster area the stores have become...
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
08/28/2005 19:30 Comments ||
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#57
I don't know how seriously to take this storm. The weather forecasters may be right this time, but I've watched them cry wolf so many times in the past it isn't funny.
No doubt if this one actually turns out to be as bad as they say they'll use it as a reason to continue to describe every Cat 2 storm as a Cat 5 for the rest of my lifespan...
Later, guys, I gotta put up groceries.
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
08/28/2005 19:32 Comments ||
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#58
take care and cover, PF
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/28/2005 19:42 Comments ||
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#59
Devastation needs to be rebuilt.
...and finally an excuse to build bigger, better refineries. And more of them. Further inland though.
Posted by: Rafael ||
08/28/2005 19:47 Comments ||
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#60
"LOL! Hills? Buried?
Ship,
Due to the vast swamps, NO had to create raised areas or man made (hills) inside the bowl otherwise, trenching or normal marsh land erosion would eventually expose the coffins. The power of this hurricane is reported to expose them.
The fact that you found such minute details, tells me that you read my posts very carefully. I really appreciate that. Someday, I will return the favor.
#61
Ummm, no
Farther inland means ships can't unload.
They're where they are for transportation reasons, Highway, Railroad, and ship terminals all converge.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/28/2005 19:49 Comments ||
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#63
PR: I'm in Lafayette, I expect things to be OK.
What family I have in New Orleans has left or was out-of-town to begin with.
(Or is buried there.)
I think what Ship was referring to were the numerous aboveground crypts in the cemeteries of New Orleans.
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
08/28/2005 20:02 Comments ||
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#64
Farther inland means ships can't unload.
Ships can't unload if refineries are moved farther inland? I'm sure something can be worked out.
Posted by: Rafael ||
08/28/2005 20:12 Comments ||
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#65
Ship,
Please accept my sincere apologies. I thought you were accusing me of not knowing what the hell I was talking about. With all my therapy, I thought I got rid of my insecurity problems. Well, back to the books, I mean scotch.
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/28/2005 20:29 Comments ||
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#69
I wonder if the cut in oil production in the Gulf will cause the President to open up the Strategic Petrol Reserve. Has access to the SPR has been compromised by the storm?
#71
Shipman, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve isn't all in one place.
And I'm not sure they should open it even if the storm does cause a surge in prices; I think we need to be prepared for other contingencies as well.
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
08/28/2005 20:40 Comments ||
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#72
Re recession: I have been saying for some time that there will be a severe recession by end 2005 cos demand for oil is rising much faster than supply and recession is the only way out of this situation.
Hurricane Katrina will not be the cause of a recession, however it is highly likely to be the trigger, in part due to the shutdown of production and the economic fallout from yet higher oil prices.
#73
Our Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) is stored in huge underground salt caverns along the coastline of the Gulf of Mexico in Texas and Louisana.
1. Bryan Mound, Texas - The Bryan Mound Storage Facility, near Freeport, TX, has storage capacity of 226 million barrels and an inventory of 217 million barrels.
2. Big Hill, Texas - The Big Hill Storage facility near Winnie, TX, has a storage capacity of 160 million barrels and an inventory of 41 million barrels.
3. West Hackberry, Louisiana - The West Hackberry Storage facility in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, has a storage capacity of 219 million barrels and an inventory of 205 million barrels.
4. Bayou Choctaw, Louisiana - The Bayou Choctaw Storage facility in Iberville Parish, LA, has a capacity of 75 million barrels and an inventory of 52 million barrels.
5. Weeks Island, Louisiana - The Weeks Island Storage facility in Iberia Parish, Louisiana, is essentially filled to capacity. (72 million barrels)
6. The St. James Terminal, Louisiana - located 45 miles southeast of Baton Rouge on the Mississippi River, serves the storage facilities at Bayou Choctaw and Weeks Island and is available for both fill and drawdown operations.
#74
//demand for oil is rising much faster than supply and recession is the only way out of this situation.//
tell em asstards driveren arownd suv's hood doent need em. ima hate seein em big ole suburbans bein driven rownd by teenaje gerls on their way to skool.
#75
Sorry, RJ.
It's just that a good friend's mother is in a nursing home in Nwalins. I have no idea where she is now. I hope they evacuated her a day ago, but am worried they waited for the Mandatory.
If you want to send Katrina to Tucson, fine. It would be best if she stayed out to sea, but if it has to hit, it would be best someplace without so many people, with higher ground, and better roads the heck out of there.
#77
Ummm, Rafiel Ships float, wherever you put the terminals has to be at sea level.
Even if you dredge canals far inland the water levels are going to be close to the same (Allowing for tides and riverlevel fluctuation,) the only way that would work is if you installed locks and went very far inland, say to Tennessee.
Nope, just not practical.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/28/2005 23:23 Comments ||
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This story has it all: weird cultural practices, unintended consequences from PETA type practices and famous rock stars.
MUMBAI, AUGUST 26 : Hundreds of vultures once circled above a sacred area in one of India's poshest suburbs, waiting to feed on the remains of followers of an ancient religion that does not allow its dead to be buried or burned.
Older members of the small-but-prominent Zoroastrian Parsi community of Mumbai say it usually took only half an hour for the vultures to finish their part of the ritual, cleaning a dead body of flesh deemed to be spiritually contaminated.
But the birds have almost been wiped out by urban development and accidental poisoning, leaving Parsis divided on how best to treat the dead and stay true to the faith.
The Parsis, long known for their philanthropy, are caught in a tug-of-war between pragmatism and tradition that goes beyond funerals to questions about conversion and racial purity.
"Our last act of charity was with the vulture," said Khojeste Mistree, a Parsi scholar. "That's the tradition that we have grown up to follow, and that tradition has come under threat.
"When you look at most cultures, the vulture's seen as a scavenger, in a very negative light, whereas to us the vulture's a religious bird because it's... performing a religious service."
Having fled Iran centuries ago, there are about 40,000 Parsis in Mumbai, representing more than a quarter of all Zoroastrians.
They have played a formidable part in the history of India's largest city and financial capital, known as Bombay until 1995.
Prominent Parsis range from famed industrialist J.N. Tata, who built Mumbai's landmark Taj Mahal hotel, to rock star Freddie Mercury, born Farrokh Bulsara, who studied just outside the city.
The "towers of silence" or "dakhma", where Parsis place their dead, is in the Malabar Hill neighbourhood overlooking the sea, home to film stars, politicians and stock brokers, making debate about it all the more charged.
Parsis also struggled to reach a consensus on other key issues, including marrying outside the faith and conversion, without which modernisers fear the religion will perish.
"The community is divided," said Minoo Shroff, chairman of the city's Parsi Punchayet, the largest community trust. "We don't have a pope here. We are guided by very many people."
Zoroastrians believe death is not just part of life, but the temporary triumph of evil over good, which means a dead body would pollute the sacred: earth, water or fire.
Mistree notes this is both practical for a religion rooted in a region where wood and clean water and soil were often in short supply, and also an extension of the faith's egalitarian ethics.
"Rich or poor, the body is exposed naked to the rays of the sun and birds of prey," he said. "It's the same."
But after playing its ritual role for centuries, South Asia's
vulture population has plunged because of a certain painkiller used on the cattle they eat. India moved to ban the drug, diclofenac, for animals this year.
Nick Lindsay, head of the arm of the Zoological Society of London that runs a vulture conservation centre in northern India, notes the diclofenac problem is unique to the region because it is home to tens of millions of cows living full lives and thus requiring treatment in their old age.
"That's because of their sacred status. So you've got a whole load of cattle and therefore many more carcasses than if the cattle had been used for purely commercial farming," he said.
Without vultures, Mumbai's dakhma now relies on solar concentrators to magnify the sun's effect on the bodies, which Mistree sees as a problem.
"Who are they fooling? They're actually burning the body," he said. "It's like a cheap fix, but theologically totally wrong ... The body is totally charred, like a burns victim. It's terrible."
Shroff dismisses this and argues the blackening effects of
exposure on a body are similar. He also said something had to be done quickly because the punchayet faced threats of lawsuits from deep-pocketed local residents complaining about the smell.
"We are not looking at it as scholars," he said. "We have to look at it from an administration, managerial, hygienic point of view. We have to look at the entire community, not just the Parsis."
The dakhma had also briefly tried using chemicals, but pall bearers refused to take part because of the "ankle-deep sludge" left behind, punchayet trustee Dinshaw Tamboly said.
Another proposal, backed by environmentalists and traditionalists alike, was for a huge aviary around the dakhma where vultures could be bred.
Supporters say no more than 75 captive birds would be needed to consume the average three Parsis who die every day in Mumbai, while sceptics say that figure is 100 vultures short.
The punchayet says the aviary idea remains on a back-burner, but insists it has little money to support it given its obligations to subsidise Mumbai's Parsis from cradle to grave.
"Our priority is towards the living, not towards the dead," Tamboly said.
The punchayet sponsors a fertility programme and increases subsidies as families grow, for the community faces its own survival battle.
Almost one in three are older than 60 and, in a problem familiar in the West, their well-educated offspring have fewer children and get married later, if at all.
The women often marry non-Parsis, and Mistree worries about reformists who want to accept their offspring into the fold, so he set up the World Association of Parsi Irani Zoroastrians to rival the more liberal world body.
"If ethnicity goes, the identity goes," he said. "And if the identity goes, we believe our religion will die."
#3
The majority of Iran used to be Zoroastrian, over a thousand years ago. This brings up the interesting question of what the Iranians would have done if it were still Zoroastrian. Imagine millions of vultures flying overhead. It'd be like a scene from the birds, but scarier.
#4
Kipling was born in Bombay, and there were "towers of silence" near their house. Occasionally a vulture would drop a human hand or other body part in their garden.
WHEN Archie the black labrador lost his owner at a lonely Scottish railway station, he proved his well-trained pedigree and jumped aboard the first train home. Not only did the dog catch the right train, he got off at the right station, the Mail on Sunday newspaper said. Owner Mike Taitt lost sight of Archie at Inverurie station, near Aberdeen in eastern Scotland, and was hoping someone would spot his tag and return the much-loved mutt. "He is a very intelligent dog," Taitt said. "When he could not find me, he simply took the right train home. He's been on that train before. I am convinced he knew it was the right one. But who knows?"
Closed-circuit television footage shows the dog waiting for his master at the station before watching the Aberdeen to Inverness train pull in. Unable to find his owner, the black labrador decided to avoid a long walk home by nipping aboard the train. He got out at the right stop, Insch, 12 minutes along the line, to the bemusement of signalman Derek Hope. "There was a train conductor standing with Archie on the platform saying he had got on at Inverurie but didn't have a ticket," Hope said. Two police forces, the national rail operating system and the local train service have all logged the incident.
Posted by: Oztralian [AKA] God Save The World ||
08/28/2005 00:00 ||
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When I lived in San Francisco growing up we had our dog picked up by the dog catcher. When our neighbors told us what had happened to Shep, I was really upset. My parents went to the dog pound to pick him up, only to find out that he had jumped out the door while the dog catcher was putting another dog in. I was heartbroken. After about 5 days, Shep had found his way back home and layed on our front step panting as though he hadn't slept the whole time. Shep was a great mutt.
Posted by: Jan ||
08/28/2005 1:55 Comments ||
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#2
kool storee. ima familyer with peples hoo kant seemn do taht. :)
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/28/2005 3:50 Comments ||
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#4
Big deal a Sheltie read the timetable to him.
Posted by: Walter Piegon ||
08/28/2005 14:44 Comments ||
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Back last summer a small mutt showed up here at the Palace. He was a cute little dog so I didn't do anything. He started barking all night and chasing my two puppies away from their food so I took him to the animal shelter which is about 26 miles from here. Two weeks later when I came home from work Buddy was sitting on the front porch. He was nothing but skin and bones and he had worn the pads off his front feet. I doctored him up and figured if he wanted to stay here that bad I might as well let him. He didn't bark or steal the other dogs'food after that. This oast February when a goose showed up out of the blue Buddy adopted it. They even sleep together.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
08/28/2005 15:06 Comments ||
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State oil companies from China, the world's second-largest oil importer, and fifth-largest exporter Venezuela are strengthening their partnership by co-investing in oilfields in the South American country.
China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), the parent company of the nation's largest oil producer listed in Hong Kong, PetroChina, on Thursday signed an initial agreement with Venezuela's state oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA), to develop and manage Venezuela's Zumano oilfields in the eastern part of the country, PDVSA said in a statement on its website.
Liu Weijiang, a CNPC spokesman, on Friday told China Daily the two companies signed an agreement this week during the recent visit to China by Venezuelan Minister of Energy and Petroleum and PDVSA President Rafael Ramrez. Liu did not elaborate on the content of the agreements, saying CNPC would remain low-key before any concrete progress has been made.
In order to expand business in China, PDVSA set up a branch office in Beijing on Monday.
#2
YP: hopen our enormously effective State D and CIA are at least cooking up some chop suey ops.
It strikes me that the more the Chinese expand their commercial operations overseas, the more vulnerable they are in wartime. At the moment, this is possibly a good thing for them, since they may be getting commodities on preferential terms in exchange for huge bribes. The problem with artificially low prices is that China's economy will get used to these prices and use much more of these commodities than they would at international prices. What happens if a conflict breaks out over Taiwan? An American blockade would suddenly cause the price of these commodities (to Chinese manufacturers) to skyrocket as imports slow to a trickle. The transition from sub-market prices to prices way above market (smugglers do charge a lot for their services) could cause a serious economic contraction.
#3
ZF, In the event a conflict breaks out over Taiwan, I got a feeling the Chinese are going to wish their worst problem was increased prices.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
08/28/2005 10:48 Comments ||
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MD: ZF, In the event a conflict breaks out over Taiwan, I got a feeling the Chinese are going to wish their worst problem was increased prices.
My feeling is that the rules of engagement are going to be severely restricted - on both sides - to avoid triggering a larger war. We're neither interested in taking out Chinese cities nor in losing our cities over Taiwan. Ditto with the Chinese - and regaining a Taiwan in ruins on top of that would be a Pyrrhic victory and probably trigger a serious backlash even among the most ardent of Chinese nationalists. I think these commercial engagements are an indication that China is all bark and no bite on the issue of Taiwan. (This is not to say that they wouldn't annex Taiwan if the costs were minimal - but the cost-benefit calculation just isn't in their favor at the moment - and they undoubtedly take that into account).
It's nothing quite as nebulous as international trade causing them to think peaceful thoughts. It's more that their commercial interactions reflect a leadership decision not to rock the boat over Taiwan, except rhetorically. And the rhetoric has to be really heated to make up for the fact that they've decided to sit on their hands.
Any Chinese government that unilaterally abandoned the Taiwan project would find itself out on the street - ousted by more belligerent factions. Popular sentiment in China for re-acquiring Taiwan is simply too strong for such a policy change.
#5
I think the alliance will have to prove its solvency first. China has the worst habit of breaking every clause of every trade agreement they sign. The question is will Chavez be willing to put up with their shit? It won't be long before china is breaking their deals and abusing them. Africa thinks they are going to be buddies with china, but it is hard to deal with imperialists and they could not resist if they wanted once china gets it's foot in the door. So who do you think they will come running to for help at that point? The good ol U.N.
Maybe even in the long term. Taiwan is not a static situation. The leadership sends mixed messages - to assuage both domestic and international doves and hawks - and perhaps because even they don't know what they're going to do from one day to the next. The fact is that any armed effort against Taiwan will be extremely expensive to China in terms of the following - (1) Taiwanese infrastructure destroyed, (2) Taiwanese and other foreign investors fleeing China and (3) skilled Taiwanese fleeing abroad. China also runs the risk of a naval embargo for the duration of the conflict.*
For China to completely avoid an embargo, it will need a blue water fleet that can project power all the way to each of its commodities suppliers. This is why from the standpoint of a Taiwan invasion, China's recent commodities deals make no sense. They are deliberately exposing themselves to supply disruptions.
* Perhaps the Chinese believe that no naval embargo will happen. The Korean War was in this respect unusual. North Vietnam was not the subject of a naval embargo, even though Nixon did mine Haiphong harbor, in the later stages of the war.
#8
It's one thing to buy commodities from traders, and quite another to pay cold, hard cash for mining rights. You pay cash on the barrel to buy from traders. Plonking down cash right now for commodities you may not get to see in the future is a little risky, when you know your access could be shut down by the US Navy.
#9
Imperial Japan was in this same situation in the '30s/early '40s; they benefitted more from commercial links than going thru the expense of locking down Pacific resources via military means.
Unfortunately, the Japanese ultimately decided that the cost of comquest and occupation was worth bearing for the benefit of full control of the Pacific's resources.
It would be nice to think that the Chinese will be more pragmatic in this regard, but history and human nature don't provide much comfort on this point.
Japan was ultimately defeated, but it took a long, bloody war and the A-Bomb to defeat them. I don't have a good feeling about where all this is headed.
#10
Maybe they're aiming for a Hong Kong-type solution.
Posted by: Rafael ||
08/28/2005 17:00 Comments ||
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Weird thoughts are running through my mind today.
Offer a deal to the entire mation of Taiwan that the USA will be glad to relocate them lock-stock-and machine tools to the backward island of Cuba.
Kill two birds (Or more) with one stone, China can have the Barren Island (Brainpower is the commodity here) and Fidel will shit as the rest of Cuba, all Cuban people, and the entire nation of Taiwan hauls CubaWan out of the mid 50's and into the 21st century.
Looks like a win-win for the USA, a smack in the face for China, and a prosperous boost for the entire Gulf/Carribbean area.
Except that China will scream bloody murder I see no real downside.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/28/2005 17:12 Comments ||
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I think y'all are missing the obvious.
Right now what _was_ the US's major oil supplier is now a) controlled by a belligerent dictator, b) producing at about 2/3 of what it should have been, since said dictator is incompetent, and c) what production is remaining is owned lock stock and barrel by a possible co-belligerent, and could be destroyed instead of retaken.
There's no "open market" involved; US companies aren't invited anymore, and are discouraged from investing in Venezuela, but the Chinese _government_ oil companies are welcome.
Nothing like a bit of scandal to break up a Sunday afternoon.
Hong Kong is awaiting a verdict this week in the murder trial of an American housewife which has fascinated the public with its titillating mix of sex, violence, greed and betrayal in the expatriate community.
In one of the Chinese territory's longest running and most sensational murder trials, Nancy Ann Kissel is accused of bludgeoning her wealthy banker husband to death after drugging him with a spiked strawberry milkshake. Kissel has denied the premeditated murder of her husband Robert, although she has admitted killing him during a blazing domestic row. Her defence team will continue its summing up on Monday before the jury is asked to come to a verdict sometime later in the week.
The case has captivated Hong Kong where murders, though not uncommon, are rare within the wealthy expatriate community, which is often viewed as above the law. People reportedly queued for more than an hour before the court opened on Friday and some had to leave after the judge said he could only tolerate 10 people standing near the entrance.
During the three-month hearing the five-man, two-woman jury was told Kissel, 41, laced her husband's milkshake with a cocktail of sedatives before attacking him with a lead ornament in November 2003. The court heard the 40-year old Merrill Lynch investment banker was prone to bouts of abusive behaviour and that during one such episode, as he attacked his wife with a baseball bat after trying to force her into having anal sex, she struck out.
In the most sensational day of the trial, Kissel was asked by prosecuting barrister Peter Chapman if she accepted she had killed her husband in the fight. "Yes," she replied.
The banker's body was wrapped in old carpets and dumped in the storage room of their luxury apartment block. It was found by removal men called to collect the carpets.
Forensic tests showed the deceased had suffered at least five potentially fatal blows to the head with a heavy object. His stomach also contained at least four different sedatives. Kissel denied stashing the body and claims to have blanked out and have no knowledge of events after the fatal fight.
In his summing up last week, Chapman painted Kissel as a vengeful wife who fabricated claims about her husband's inhumanity in an effort to clear her name of the "cold-blooded killing". Kissel said her husband had ruthlessly forced her into "not natural" sex acts and had been a regular user of cocaine since they met during their college years in New York. Chapman said Kissel had constructed a tissue of lies in a bid to end their marriage so she could be with her lover, electrician Michael del Priore, back in the United States.
Kissel admitted having the affair; most notably she and her lover met for regular trysts during an extended holiday in Vermont when she and the children fled Hong Kong to escape the deadly Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in the spring of 2003.
She denied, however, that she murdered her husband to claim his 18 million US dollars life insurance payouts.
Insurance money, affair, rough treatment -- nah, no motive there!
Kissel professed to have been genuinely upset when her husband revealed he had found out about the affair through monitoring her emails and a hired team of private investigators. It was his threat to divorce her and take custody of the three young children that sparked the fatal fight, the court heard.
In her wire-rim glasses, sombre black clothes and modestly tied hair, Kissel has presented herself as a loving mother and wife. Free on bail and escorted to and from court by her elderly mother, she said she loved her husband too much to want to kill him. In one emotional session, she broke down in tears as she confessed her continued love for him.
LIBERAL MPs Bronwyn Bishop and Sophie Panopolous have continued to the Federal Government's clamp down on Islamic practices, with Bronwyn Bishop today adding her voice to Sophie Panopolous' call for head scarves to be banned.
Ms Bishop backed the view of outspoken Liberal MP Sophie Panopoulos, who last week said she was concerned about Muslim women not showing their faces when they posed for photographic identification. Ms Bishop today said the issue had been forced upon Australia, which was experiencing a clash of cultures.
"In an ideal society you don't ban anything," she told the Seven Network. "But this has really been forced on us because what we're really seeing in our country is a clash of cultures and indeed, the headscarf is being used as a sort of iconic item of defiance," she told Channel Seven.
"I'm talking about in state schools. If people are in Islamic schools and that's their uniform, that's fine. In private life, that's fine."
But Muslim Women's Association president Maha Krayem Abdo said such a ban was dangerous, and that girls should be free to follow their religious beliefs at any Australian school. She agreed that in an ideal society nothing would be banned and said Australia had a leadership role to play on such issues. "I think it's so dangerous to go down that path if we think ... that in an ideal society we would not ban anything," she said.
"And I think Australia takes on a leadership role in the world, that it is a fair-go society.
"I don't see anything contravening that fair go and equality that Australia strives for â so the hijab, no way would it in any shape or form, contravene that."
Everyone's tap-dancing around the point, of course: Muslim girls who refuse to wear the hajib are 'sluts' and can be harrassed, molested, beaten and/or murdered by good Muslim boys without fear of reprisal. Even the French finally figured that out. The Aussies are too polite and blind to make the point, and the Muslim defenders are too cynical.
Ms Krayem Abdo said she found it difficult to comprehend the government's stated support for the freedom of Iraq, yet Ms Bishop's proposition was to prevent Australian Muslims from exercising freedom of religious rights.
Education Minister Brendan Nelson said last week that he did not support a ban on headscarves.
Posted by: Oztralian [AKA] God Save The World ||
08/28/2005 00:00 ||
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concerned about Muslim women not showing their faces when they posed for photographic identification
They a HEADscarf isn't the problem, is it?
Nobody cares if a woman - of whatever religion - wears a scarf on her HEAD. Lots of women all over the world wear scarves in the rain, wind, snow, etc., or because they're just having a bad hair day. A HEADscarf isn't the real issue.
Why don't they have the guts to come out and say they're against a FACE-covering VEIL?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
08/28/2005 0:50 Comments ||
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#2
Jesse James, Cole Younger, et al wore masks hijabs. It was a tenet of their "religion", too. Who'da guessed?
#3
I saw Sophie Panopolous for the first time last week on morning TV when she was all over Peter Garret (Midnight Oil front man and the blue eyed boy of the Australian Party - I actually felt sorry and embarassed for him). Definitely someone to watch. Could be a future Australian Prime Minister. Seems to have good political instincts.
Poll shows strong resonance for Leftist principles in Germany
Leftist political principles resonate well among German voters. In a poll conducted for Spiegel by TNS Infratest, 56% of west germans and 66% of east germans agree with this statement: "Socialism is a good idea that has so far been poorly implemented." 50% in the west and 73% in the east agree that Karl Marx's criticisms of Capitalism are still relevant today.
Actually, Germany already found the third way between capitalism and socialism: 10 % unemployment rate, shrinking of real disposable income, deteriorating public services, severe financing problems of the health system, etc., etc.
Even if a new government is voted in, the prospects are bleak. Posted by: Chuck
#4
I vote for setting up a "Bring Real Germans over Here" fund to bring TGA and his ilk over to the productive GDP countries. We'll even throw in our socialists and hard core liberals in trade!
#7
The German media are like the media here in the US controled by the left. Simply the people don't even know what is really going on. All they do know is that the USA is evil and all Amis are fat and stupid people who drive SUVs and Germany is better than the USA.
In a poll conducted for Spiegel by TNS Infratest, 56% of west germans and 66% of east germans agree with this statement: "Socialism is a good idea that has so far been poorly implemented."
Socialism is a great idea on paper the problem is we live in the REAL WORLD were human nature is envolved. In some Eutopian Dream sure everone will be the good little cog in the great machine and the leaders will be uncoruptable and just do whats good for the people only cough the great machine. It is simply that if everyone makes and lives equally then why would person X work his ass off to be above the norm quota when thier is no benefit. This explains why the Soviets and the US both equal in tech after WW2 steadily from that time say the Soviets falll further and further behind as the US made more and more leaps of technology and NEW ideas. The whole idea that makes capalism work so well is the benefits for hard work that force people to work hard "strong survive weak die out". And the Leaders always somehow end up living in Dacha's all over the place sipping high dolar whine livin the good life while everyone else is equally dead as poor surviving with no hope of improvement and if improvement no reward for such.
And Murray I really like the idea of trading our LLL's for thier Capatalist thats even better than my idea of just deporting the LLL's.
The U.S. civil rights leader condemned last week's suggestion by religious broadcaster Pat Robertson that American agents should kill leftist Chavez, calling the conservative commentator's statements "immoral" and "illegal."
Jackson urged U.S. authorities to take action, and said the U.S. government must choose "diplomacy over any threats of sabotage or isolation or assassination."
Posted by: WHOSE YOUR DADDY!! ||
08/28/2005 20:42 ||
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Liberals are purty quick to try and force the gummint to try and silence free speech. This isn't a communist contry yet libs.
Somebody tell that moron Robertson that all he has to do is pay Jesse a large sum of money and all will be forgotten.
When part-time college student Jihad Daniel received a campuswide e-mail invitation to see a movie, Ruth and Connie: Every Room in the House, which the announcement described as ââ¬Åa lesbian relationship story", he balked.
"These are perversions," he replied to the e-mail's sender, asking that he no longer be sent information about "Connie and Sally" or "Adam and Steve."
The next thing he knew, the 68-year-old student at William Paterson University in Wayne, N.J., was accused of violating the state school's anti-discrimination policy.
A letter of reprimand followed in June, describing his brief comments to the sender -- the head of the women's studies program -- as "derogatory or demeaning."
He took his case to a Philadelphia organization that has become the go-to group for college students and professors of all stripes who believe their rights to free speech have been violated.
Since 1999, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education has battled pro bono for evangelicals and atheists, animal rights activists and campus conservatives, and others who say they have been silenced by school administrations because of their points of view.
The group filed a complaint with the university saying Daniel's rights to free speech and due process had been violated. The New Jersey attorney general sided with the school, but the foundation said it will fight to have the reprimand lifted.
A Thai elephant that attracted worldwide attention when her foot was amputated after she stepped on a land mine has been fitted with a temporary prosthesis, a wildlife conservation worker said Sunday.
The 44-year-old female elephant, Motola, is expected to wear the lightweight, canvas shoe-like device for five to eight months until her leg is strong enough to carry a heavier, permanent one, said Soraida Salwala, founder of the Friends of the Asian Elephant hospital in northern Thailand.
Motola was injured in 1999 while working at a logging camp near the border with neighboring Myanmar, a region peppered with landmines after a half-century of insurgency. Her mangled, left front foot was subsequently amputated, and she has hobbled on three feet since.
Veterinarians have been attaching the sawdust-filled prosthesis to Motola daily since Aug. 10 as a therapeutic measure to help prepare her for a permanent prosthesis made from fiberglass and silicone, she said.
"We have to mold her leg," Soraida said. "If it doesn't fit, we must acquit then it doesn't stay."
In the meantime, the current prosthesis may be replaced by a heavier one, perhaps filled with sand, to further exercise and strengthen the elephant's leg muscles and tendons before veterinarians attempt to attach the permanent one, she added.
Two Bellingham men believed to be registered sex offenders were shot to death early Saturday morning and authorities are looking for a suspect who posed as an FBI agent to get into their house, Bellingham police said. The case is being handled as a double homicide, said Bellingham Police Lt. Craige Ambrose. Police cordoned off two houses Saturday, at 2825 and 2827 Northwest Ave.
The victimsâ identities are being withheld until police can notify their next of kin.
Police said the suspect posed as an FBI agent to gain entry to one of the houses near the corner of Northwest and West Illinois Street. He is described as a white male in his late 40s, about 5-feet-9 to 6 feet tall and weighing 190 pounds. He was last seen Friday night at the residence by neighbors and a resident of the home.
The roommate found the two dead men around 3 a.m. Saturday. The three roommates and the suspect were last together around 9 p.m. Friday at the house, according to the Bellingham police.
The suspect arrived at the house Friday night wearing a black baseball cap with an FBI insignia on the front and a blue jump suit with a white stripe down the legs, the roommate told police. The suspect is not an FBI agent, Ambrose said.
The man presented himself to the three roommates as a member of the FBI and said he wanted to talk to them about their Level III sex offender status, according to police. The fake FBI agent told the roommates that one of them was on a âhit listâ on an Internet site, according to the police. The roommate who reported the deaths left while the FBI imposter was still there, Ambrose said.
Ambrose would not confirm which roommates, if any, are registered sex offenders. But Sheryl Craig, a block watch captain, said neighbors previously received sex offender notices about all three residents from law enforcement.
The Bellingham Police Web site lists one sex offender living at 2825 Northwest Ave. and the Whatcom County Sheriffâs Web site lists two other sex offenders as living in the 2800 block of Northwest. The Whatcom County Assessorâs Web site shows one of the sex offenders listed with Whatcom County Sheriffâs Office as the owner of 2825 Northwest Ave.
Neighbors said the suspect stayed at the house for approximately two hours, according to the police.
Craig said she never noticed problems from any of the three sex offenders. âThey really kept to themselves,â she said. âI only saw them on their daily walks.
âWe (neighbors) were told to let them be, but keep an eye on them,â she said. This looks like a pretty cold-blooded and well-planned homicide, with the shooter being a skilled amateur rather than a professional. Posing as a law-enforcement officer to commit a double homicide is very bad karma though. With an eyewitness available, police will be combing through the lists of former victims and relatives, unless the instigators had the presence of mind to bring in a complete outsider for the actual hit.
#1
He is described as a white male in his late 40s, about 5-feet-9 to 6 feet tall and weighing 190 pounds.
Paging Charles Bronson, Charles Bronson please go to the white telephone.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/28/2005 15:12 Comments ||
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It appears to be some sort of halfway house or group home arrangement.
I think it is just as likely to be a pre-emptive killing by someone whose family or friends have not yet been victimized.
It is very unlikely that there was any connection between the crimes of the two dead pervs. A revenge killer would therefore have less reason to whack both of them. The killer couldn't have beem that concerned about a witness or he would not have let the third one get away.
Leaving that witness also indicates that the killer is not especially worried about a visual ID. As I mentioned, this might be because he is an outsider brought in by a victim's family, but it is more probably because an investigation of victims would not lead police to him under any circumstances.
Although I don't have the stones to do this myself - I certainly can understand the fear, frustration and anger that can lead to this type of vigilante action. I live in southern California and have a daugher the same age as Samantha Runion would have been. For those of you unfamiliar with her - she was the 5 year old snatched from in front of her mom's apartment, sexually abused and murdered by an animal named Avila. He was recently sentenced to death in California.
We have a couple of afternoon talk radio personalities at a local (LA) radio station (KFI). These two recently called attention to a group home in the area that received a particularly nasty sexual predator who was released following a 14 sentence. He was quoted as sayingssomething to the effect of "I might as well kill the next one to avoid going back to prison". I thought that someone would off this guy just as soon as media spotlight shifted somewhere else, but it hasn't happened yet.
I don't want to see a return to Dodge city, with gunfights in the street - however, decent people deserve to be safe, to let their kids play outside without fear of predation. If the government won't defend us - who will?
I hope the guy who performed this gets away clean. I also hope it leads to a few more sex offenders demise. These people can't be cured - but they can fixed.
#6
think if the killer was black they would describe him as such? I've noticed mainly whites are identified by race in the news (huge generalization, I know) but if they really want to solve crimes instead of being PC, describe all by apparent race or skin color...we all can relate
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/28/2005 20:10 Comments ||
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#8
sad that our justice system recycles these unreformed predators back onto the streets. I shed no tears for these two.
Sex offenders are notoriously recidivist and shouldn't be treated like any other prisoner, especially teh pedophiles. Remove their equipment and drown em in anti-testosterone/agression drugs, with electronic monitoring after lengthy jail sentences.
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/28/2005 22:00 Comments ||
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HARARE - Zimbabweâs parliament meets on Tuesday to vote on a bill that will bar white farmers from legally challenging land seizures, a move they say will further undermine the countryâs democratic credentials.
The Constitutional Amendment Bill will also prevent people deemed anti-government from travelling abroad and introduce a bicameral parliament, which critics say is meant to boost President Robert Mugabeâs hold on the legislature and accommodate more ruling party members. âThe new bill will effectively suspend the rule of law, undermine the judiciary and will be a blow to investor confidence,â said Leslie George Smith, a member of the all-white Commercial Farmersâ Union (CFU).
The bill reads: âA person having any right or interest in the land shall not apply to any court to challenge the acquisition of the land by the state and no court shall entertain any such challenge.â
Another CFU member said on condition of anonymity that the âbill will merely legalise and encourage widespread looting of the productive sector in Zimbabwe which would lead to further unemployment and crime.â
He's right, though I didn't realize there was a productive sector left.
He said it would also legitimise âa campaign of ethnic cleansing against the productive Euro-African sector as part of a political campaign to eliminate all forms of opposition or perceived opposition against the ruling party.â
A committee of lawmakers who consulted interested parties three weeks ago, urged parliament to amend the clause on farm seizures to allow aggrieved farmers to seek redress in court. âIt would be in furtherance of the tenets of natural justice that any aggrieved person be given the right to approach the courts for arbitration where there is a dispute,â the committee said in a report to parliament.
The Zimbabwean government last month published proposed constitutional reforms that will allow the state to assume ownership of farms immediately after a property has been officially listed for expropriation. The reforms will also allow the government to confiscate passports and impose travel bans on people who it thinks pose a risk to the ânational, public and economic interests of the state.â
More steps on the road to totalitarian dictatorship, though the Zims are pretty far down that road already.
Former information minister Jonathan Moyo described the clause on travel restrictions as âparanoia gone too far,â adding that all one needed nowadays was a password and not a passport to interact with people abroad.
Lovemore Madhuku, a constitutional law expert and head of a leading civic group, said: âThis is a government which is refusing to change its stance in undermining all tenets of democracy.â Irene Petras, spokesperson for the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) said: âBy its very nature, the amendment bill seeks to abolish the bill of rights and usurps the powers of the judiciary in Zimbabwe.â
For the bill to be passed, the governing Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) needs 107 votes, the exact number of members it has in parliament.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/28/2005 00:14 ||
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Alarm bells ring in the West as Chinaâs quest for resources means making deals with some of the worldâs worst regimes
Top representatives of 46 African countries are this weekend returning from the annual China-Africa Co-operation Forum (CACF) in Beijing with fresh promises of Chinese help in developing their nations. The CACF, which is worrying the European Union and the United States, has become the main mechanism by which China is co-ordinating its expansion into Africa in a large-scale campaign for access to natural resources â especially oil, but also gas, copper, manganese, iron, fish, timber and a host of other primary products that Africa has in abundance.
Alongside new commercial enterprises, China has been solidifying its strongest and longest partnerships with two oppressive African oligarchies, Zimbabwe and Sudan. "What is disconcerting is the willingness of China to not only help but to defend rogue regimes," said Princeton Lyman, a former US ambassador to South Africa and Nigeria.
Testifying in Washington before the US-China Economic and Security Review Committee, Lyman added: "China [with its membership and veto on the Security Council] has in effect inhibited the United Nations from imposing sanctions on Sudan and, in Zimbabwe, is helping to bail out a regime that is repressive and is destroying the country."
Although Chinese infrastructure projects such as stadiums and railways were carried out in the 1960s and 70s, Chinese influence waned in Africa in the 1980s because Beijing was unable to keep pace with increased Western aid programmes. What has changed since the late 1990s, however, is Chinaâs emergence as a powerful player on the global economic stage powered by its own need for oil, iron ore and other natural resources. With its reformed economy â rampant capitalism replacing communist commandism â China has returned to Africa in the 21st century with cash to play the big game effectively and spectacularly. The value of Chinaâs trade with Africa in 2003 stood at about £6 billion. This year it will top £18bn as Chinese goods flood African markets.
China has become the biggest investor in Sudanâs rapidly growing oil £8bn pipeline to Port Sudan on the Red Sea, where it is refurbishing harbour facilities. Beijing has been able to take advantage of Sudanâs rich new oil discoveries as a result of Western companies being pressured to withdraw because of the civil war, including that in Darfur.
Sudan is the most dramatic and unambiguous example of how China is coming to Africa with the "complete package" â money, technical expertise and influence in such crucial bodies as the UN Security Council to protect its friends from international sanctions. China, together with its close Asian partner Malaysia, replaced Western countries and enabled Sudan to become a net exporter of crude oil, with China itself becoming Khartoumâs biggest customer. Meanwhile, Beijing has fruitfully prevented the security council from imposing serious sanctions in the face of Khartoumâs clear crimes against humanity and alleged genocide in Darfur.
Why, it's almost like an integrated strategy.
China has also become active in Nigeria and Angola, the two big West African oil producers. Angola, with huge offshore oil deposits being found on almost a daily basis, illustrates how China mobilises its assets to gain a foothold and cement its presence. To win the right to explore one of Angolaâs lucrative ocean blocs, China gave Angola a £1.2bn soft loan as part of a longer term aid package: the concessional repayments will be made in the form of a 10,000 barrel-per-day oil allocation over 17 years. These are more favourable terms than anything offered by the West. They will make minimal profit for Beijing but the deal cements Chinese ties to Angola and its oil.
Meanwhile, China relishes the Westâs difficulties. Chinaâs deputy foreign minister Zhou Wenzhong recently said: "Business is business. We try to separate politics from business. You [the West] have tried to impose a market economy and multiparty democracy on these countries which are not ready for it. We are also against embargoes [on African states], which you have also tried to use against us."
The pattern of business is the same elsewhere â Zambia, Ethiopia, Gabon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo-Brazzaville, Libya, Sierra Leone Rwanda and Zimbabwe, where the Chinese have designed President Robert Mugabeâs new 25-bedroomed mansion and provided the cobalt-blue tiles for its sweeping roofs.
It is alarmist to say that Western interests are yet substantially threatened by Chinaâs new thrust into Africa. But the West has to come to terms with the fact that Beijing is now a permanent big boy on the bloc.
Lyman believes the best way forward is to engage China on Africa and explore areas where there can be a win-win set of circumstances for both the West and China. "Is there room for developing some common objectives, some ways in which Chinese economic gains for Africa and itself can come side by side with building more stability and democracy there?" asked Lyman. "It is better to explore these possibilities than start down the path of trying to limit Chinese influence, for the odds are against that happening any time soon."
#1
It is my opinion that we are now in the next phase of surrogate wars. China will support every regime which has a beef with the US or democracies in general. Nothing too overt yet, just a strategy of a thousand cuts.
We acutely need a plan for regime change there.
Posted by: DanNY ||
08/28/2005 4:30 Comments ||
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#2
I like the plan where China dumps its capital in the economic and political black holes of the world. Don't let them off cheap. Scare them into investing more and more money into that open pit. Why, it may even mean more votes for them at the UN. Heh.
A race to corner limited stocks of 'Tamiflu', the only known drug capable of stopping an epidemic of the deadly avian flu, has brought into the open a divide between the developed and developing world that, left unchecked, could have disastrous consequences for all.
The disparity has been fuelled by the speed with which the developed world, led by the United States, has used its financial muscle to acquire global stocks of the drug that health authorities say is the most potent anti-flu medicine currently available.
In addition to securing sufficient doses of Tamiflu to care for over two million people, the U.S. is reportedly making a bid to buy even more stocks from the Swiss pharma giant Roche, which produces the drug. Other developed nations like Britain, France and Norway are also reported to have ordered the anti-flu drug to cover between 20 to 40 percent of their respective populations.
Public health experts in the developing world, particularly in South-east Asia, which is the epicentre of the H5N1 strain of the deadly bird flu virus are riled by the development especially since neither the U.S. nor Europe have suffered from bird flu in the way that Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and Indonesia have. "The U.S. and Western countries are gobbling up the drug and denying access to developing countries that need it most," Philippines' health secretary Francisco Duque told reporters here Thursday. "The poor countries once again have been excluded from the arena".
The Philippines, which has watched from the margins as the lethal avian flu swept through its regional neighbours since January 2004, still has to gain access to Tamiflu. "We have nary a stock of this drug," said Duque. "We need to stockpile the drug but we are low down on the pecking order". Duque was echoing sentiments expressed earlier this week Lee Jong-wook, head of the World Health Organisation (WHO). Wealthy countries, he said, should not display an attitude that only the health of their citizens matter and secure stocks of the only available remedy while excluding others, he told media here.
Any American politican who didn't put America first on this one will be stoned.
He warned that such a policy would be counterproductive since virus does not respect national boundaries. He said WHO had a limited stockpile of the drug that could treat about 125,000 patients and that the Geneva-based health body had plans to increase its global stockpile of Tamiflu to about one million doses.
Thailand, often recognised as a leader in public health issues in the region, has secured Tamiflu doses to treat barely 22,000 patients.
Duque and Lee were in Bangkok to participate in a week-long international health conference that focused on health prevention measures. Discussions during the conference, which ended Thursday, focused on bird flu, given the increasing concern over the threat of a global flu pandemic breaking out in the immediate future.
Since avian flu began spreading across South-east Asia, nearly 60 people have died after having come into contact with infected poultry. Of that, Vietnam had 40 fatalities, Thailand 12, Cambodia four and Indonesia three. The total number of bird flu cases reported to WHO from these countries is 112, reflecting the high, 50 percent fatality rate of this strain of the flu.
The fear of bird flu mutating into a virulent virus which can be passed from human to human is at the heart of the worry that has given rise to doomsday scenarios of the global pandemic. That is because humans lack a natural response to fight the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus.
Yet, at the moment, infectious disease researchers say there is little evidence of such mutation. "This is reassuring," a researcher from the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention in the U.S. told IPS. "There has been a subtle evolution of the virus but that is something we expect".
Of the two previous global pandemics caused by flu, the one in 1918 which resulted in the deaths of 50 million people across the world, was linked to a flu strain that jumped from birds to humans.
Yet public health experts feel that preparations being mounted to confront another pandemic are dramatically different from anything the world has seen so far. The push to stockpile the anti-bird flu drug is "really epidemic prevention" said William Aldis, WHO representative in Thailand. "This is a radical and new idea".
"The main purpose of stockpiling is to supply sufficient quantities of the drug to the location to burn out the virus," he said during a press conference. "We are capable of burning out the virus at its source".
And for South-east Asia to carry out such an operation, the region needs to have between three to five million doses of Tamiflu, Kumnuan Ungchusak, director of the epidemiology division at Thailand's department of disease control, told IPS. "If the outbreak starts, this region will be the hardest hit," he added. "It will spread fast because of modern transportation, unlike previous pandemics that took one to two months to spread".
#1
The disparity has been fuelled by the speed with which the developed world, led by the United States, has used its financial muscle to acquire global stocks of the drug that health authorities say is the most potent anti-flu medicine currently available.
That's a feature not a bug. Its having the smarts to be ahead of the crowd, whether that's acquring the vaccine or developing a free and open captialist society far earlier to make it all possible. Its getting out of Pompeii when the mountain starts to smoke rather than waiting around till its too late. Those who left earlier were around to repopulate. Those who stayed weren't. Darwin had some observations on this.
#2
Don't the new flu strains each year come out of Asia?
So why aren't they ahead of the crowd instead of sucking hind teat?
Couldn't have anything to do with them thinking they're supposed to be given everything by the West they hate so much, could it?
It's not just the "West"; betcha Japan has stocked up too.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
08/28/2005 10:28 Comments ||
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#3
In addition to securing sufficient doses of Tamiflu to care for over two million people, the U.S. is reportedly making a bid to buy even more stocks from the Swiss pharma giant Roche, which produces the drug
we only have two million doses and the whiners are saying we're basically hoarding?? FOAD assholes. We should have 100 times that. We've been supporting your f*&ked up medical drug industry at subsidized cost for decades and now you whine about protecting ourselves? Perhaps if your countries (yes, you, China and Viet Nam) spent a lot less on weapons, you might support a medical drug development program rather than depending on patent theft
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/28/2005 10:31 Comments ||
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#4
Let's be realistic. For political, social and economic reasons, most of the world cannot and will not have access to any sort of protection against the next flu pandemic.
As I noted with the Marburg outbreak in Angola. When your life expectancy is 40, does it really matter what you die from?
#5
IIRC under WTO rules, countries are permitted to compulsory license drugs and start local manufacture if there is a national emergency.
There is certainly the technical skill in Asia for this. The Indian pharmaceutical industry has been reverse engineering stuff for decades.
Singapore has a lot of biomedical capability.
The WHO buys a lot of its anti-retroviral drugs from Indian manufacturers.
SE Asia could also import from Brazil, who also have a quite capable drug industry.
Posted by: john ||
08/28/2005 14:49 Comments ||
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#6
There are a few OTC preventatives available, and these should be remembered and used when the flu period hits. (Also remember that flu hits in two major waves, so don't let your guard down after the first one has passed through your area.)
First and most important, during the outbreak, use hand sanitizer with alcohol six times a day, using soap if there is obvious contamination. This will reduce your odds of catching flu by 80%.
Second, slowly dissolve 3 or more Cold-Eeze lozenges in your mouth each day, refraining from food or drink for an hour afterwards. The proprietary metallic zinc available only in that brand of lozenge, not in supplements, inhibits virus reproduction in your mucous membranes. Tastes bad but it is worth it in this case.
Third, drink large quantities of ordinary store-bought cranberry juice. Large amounts only of cranberry juice may prevent cell transfer of these viruses, though only proven so far to work in two other types. It also contains large amounts of vitamin C, which may have a prophalaxis effect against the disease. (Note: small amounts of juice have little or no effect.)
An obvious solution: avoid people with the disease, even loved ones. Insist that *they* hand sanitize even more frequently, to reduce contamination in your shared environment.
A very strong decontaminant can be obtained at health food stores. GSE Grapefruit seed extract, sold as a "calcium supplement", is extremely toxic to microorganisms, but is non-toxic to people. A few drops will sterilize a quart of water (metallic calcium ions). If you are in a closed air system with people who have the disease, add a tablespoon to the water of a room vaporizer/humidifier. It will speed disinfection of surfaces in the room and the air considerably.
Other common sense precautions include frequent laundering of linen and clothing using oxygen bleach, not re-using dirty dishes by diswashing more frequently, and if you do get surgical masks, they should be worn by those with the disease, if at all possible. Disposable latex gloves are very inexpensive and should be worn before cleaning and disposing of vomit and diarrhea messes. Remember to dispose of them or to decontaminate the outside of the gloves after handling contaminant.
#8
Other common sense precautions include frequent laundering of linen and clothing using oxygen bleach, not re-using dirty dishes by diswashing more frequently
In other words if it looks like a Frat house avoid it.
Posted by: Peter Finch ||
08/28/2005 16:32 Comments ||
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#9
Animal experiments show Tamiflu only works as a prophylactic. That is, it only protects (and then only partially) when taken before infection occurs. A 'dose of Tamiflu is either a 5 or 10 day course. The pandemic will last, and people will be at risk, for 12 months or longer. Hence, 2 million doses will protect less than 50,000 people for the duration of the pandemic. A drop in the proverbial ocean.
#10
One other thing, get a supply of face masks (they will be unobtainable within hours of the first USofA case). IMHO considerably more effective than Tamiflu. Note that face masks work by stopping you touching mucous membranes. Consider protective goggles for this reason.
#11
And another thing that you probably won't be told soon enough is children, especially young children, are THE primary vector for initial transmission of flu. So pull your kids out of school as soon as the first case occurs in your city/area.
#12
People need to get over being afraid to hurt other people's feelings.
A close friend was sick as a dog last winter and I offered to get some pet food and other things she needed and bring them by, and pick up a bag of hand-made products to deliver to a shop where we both sell.
She met me at the door - carrying the bag for me to deliver - wearing latex gloves. I was wearing not only latex gloves but a mask. Never went in the door, just made the exchange, asked how she was doing, and left. Peeled off gloves & mask and used hand sanitizer when I got to my car.
Didn't get the serious crud she had. NO feelings were hurt on either side. And I know people who thought we were nuts.
By the way, if you do use latex gloves, don't try to reuse them. Peel off one, ball it up in the other still-gloved hand, and peel the second one off so that it's turned inside out with the first glove inside. Discard into the trash and don't pick up again. Then wash your hands (or use Purell) anyway.
I've got a box of gloves already; need to pick up a box of masks soon. It's not like they go bad or anything.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
08/28/2005 22:54 Comments ||
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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.
A race to corner limited stocks of 'Tamiflu', the only known drug capable of stopping an epidemic of the deadly avian flu, has brought into the open a divide between the developed and developing world that, left unchecked, could have disastrous consequences for all.
