Like something straight out of a Jules Verne novel, an enormous tentacled creature looms out of the inky blackness of the deep Pacific waters.
But this isn't Gojira vs. Calimari science fiction. A set of extraordinary images captured by Japanese scientists marks the first-ever record of a live giant squid (Architeuthis) in the wild. . . .
Posted by: Mike ||
12/26/2006 16:10 ||
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A fire on Monday engulfed the basement of a hotel full on pilgrims preparing for the annual Muslim haj this week and helicopters had to lift some of them trapped on upper floors, the state news agency said. Sixteen pilgrims were taken to hospital for treatment, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported. It did not disclose the nationality of the pilgrims but said their condition was stable. The agency quoted a security official as saying police were investigating the cause of the fire. Saudi officials say more than one and a half million pilgrims have so far converged on Mecca and they begin a five-day ritual on Friday in one of the world's biggest displays of mass religious devotion. Officials expect up to 3 million pilgrims to attend the haj which takes place amid fears of sectarian violence and militant attack as well as the stampedes and hotel collapses that have marred the pilgrimage in recent years.
#1
Good thing they weren't school girls or they'd have had to stay in the building while it burned, unless they were burka'd up and escorted by a male relation.
#2
Officials expect up to 3 million pilgrims to attend the haj
And if just those three million Muslims alone found out they were not allowed to make that pilgrimage due to terrorism, do you think it could be arranged for a few jihadist imams to receive some negative feedback about it?
Because this may well be what it takes. Closing the Islamic shrines by military force is one of the few real fundamental levers that can be held against Islam as a whole. Arguments about collective punishment do not apply. Existing Islamic doctrine is predicated upon collective punishment of the kufir and is therefore not entitled to protest about retaliation in kind.
One way or the other, the negative consequences of opposing Islamic reform must be impressed upon around ONE BILLION Muslims before the ummah will perceive any significant pressure. Militarily interdicting and proscribing the Haj may well represent one of the few ways to collectively punish a sufficiently large portion of Islam for its refusal to reform in a way that will filter up to the jihadist clergy with the necessary impact.
I know it seems almost as likely that such a policy might create even more terrorism. The point still remains that more terrorists are being made every day, regardless. Islamism is already spreading, giving Muslims extra rallying points really does not matter, as the Koran provides an endless supply of them anyway.
If action continues to be delayed, it is almost guaranteed that many more than just three million Muslims will perceive some sort of real negative impact involving far more suffering than just a missed Haj. The number could expand by hundreds of that amount. In its obsession with death, Islam steadfastly ignores this ominous prospect, very much to its extreme danger.
One way or the other, we are going to need to reach out and touch almost a billion Muslims. How would you propose we do it? Remember, time is of the essence. America must not experience even another single 9-11 type atrocity. We need a library of genuine threats involving overwhelming consequences in order to deal with present day Islam. Holding the shrines hostage may be one of them. Far more moral to do that and preserve such priceless heritage than lamentably obliterate them with nuclear bombs. Suddenly the geographical hostage alternative looks a whole lot more humane.
Last but not least, the Haj is Disneyland meets Jonestown. They come for the thrill and end up with their minds poisoned by Wahabbism. The Haj is one vast programming school for the Islamic Sharia death meme. Ending or regulating it prunes a huge branch from terrorism's indoctrination process.
#3
Good thing they weren't school girls or they'd have had to stay in the building while it burned, unless they were burka'd up and escorted by a male relation.
That's about when the Clue-Bat made contact with my noggin. I'm slow in many ways.
Vidar Aarhus thought it was a local tradition. But after hearing the Salhus Church bells ring for five hours on Christmas Eve, Aarhus decided to make some telephone calls. "I was worried that my children wouldn't be able to sleep," Aarhus said, according to the Bergens Tidende newspaper's website on Monday. "It was was pretty late. After talking to a few friends I knew something was wrong."
Aarhus, who lives just 100 metres from Salhus Church, moved with his family to Bergen in western Norway six months ago.
The priest, Arvid Andreas Fosse, apologized to the neighbours after the bells came to a standstill. "They were supposed to ring in Christmas for one hour in the evening," Fosse said. "I don't know what went wrong. But I'm surprised nobody called earlier."
A fire that started with the use of illegally sold firecrackers swept through a department store in the central Philippines, killing 24 people who took refuge in a restroom, the police said Tuesday.
"Seventh floor: Mens' wear! Underwear! Silverware! Firecrackers and pyrotechnics!"
The blaze spread quickly from firecrackers and pyrotechnics that ignited near the entrance of the one-story building in Ormoc, 340 miles southeast of Manila, leaving many vendors and customers trapped inside, said the chief superintendent, Eliseo dela Paz.
He said that people who had been near the entrance managed to escape, but that others were forced into a restroom, where 23 charred bodies were found. The victims included customers, vendors and store employees. Another person died of injuries overnight, and 15 were treated in two Ormoc hospitals. Two of them are in critical condition, the police said. Mr. dela Paz said the exit door in the back of the store had been padlocked, blocking the escape route.
He said the store did not have a permit to sell firecrackers and that the police had cracked down on dealers selling fireworks inside stores in order to prevent accidents. But they put up some displays in the afternoon, Mr. dela Paz said by telephone. Apparently thats where the fire started. He said the police were looking for the owner, but could not locate him.
Many stores and malls throughout the predominantly Christian Philippines were open on Christmas, a public holiday, giving families a chance for last-minute shopping as well as recreation. Firecrackers and other pyrotechnics are extremely popular during the holidays, and accidents are common despite efforts to minimize reckless celebrations.
A Bellingham-based company convicted of criminally negligent homicide in the death of one of its workers, killed in an avalanche in 1999, was pardoned by former Gov. Frank Murkowski just days before he left office.
Gary Stone, 46, was killed on a Whitewater Engineering job site outside Cordova, Alaska.
In a Nov. 30 letter to Thom Fischer, Whitewater's president and owner, Murkowski said: "I recognize that criminal convictions against a company has serious implications for small businesses operating in Alaska." He said the criminal charges "seem to be excessive punishment." In his letter, Murkowski said his decision was based on "my view that this was a tragic accident caused by a snow avalanche in Alaska's harsh climate."
"This is a huge slap on the face," said Stone's daughter, Jessica Ridinger, 30.
The pardon, which the company requested, does not wipe the crime from the record. It may offer the company insurance breaks, legal experts said.
#1
Typically, it is difficult to charge "companies" rather than the officers of the companies with criminal offenses... Adulteration of food comes to mind, but I thought that almost all such things were statutory e.g. Sarbanes-Oxley.
Posted by: Mark E. ||
12/26/2006 11:36 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.
