index

911 Haiti

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 19:32:30 +0100

GENEVA – Roads full of hungry, homeless people. A ruined port and an overwhelmed airport. Hundreds of crumpled buildings and little heavy machinery. Few working phones.

Relief supplies and emergency experts started pouring into Haiti from around the world Thursday but aid groups said the challenge of helping Haiti's desperate quake survivors was enormous.

"It's chaos," U.N. humanitarian spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs told The Associated Press. "It's a logistical nightmare."

Aid deliveries by ship were impossible to Port-au-Prince because the Haitian capital's port was closed due to severe damage from Tuesday magnitude-7 earthquake. The city's airport was open but damaged, laboring mightily to handle a flurry of incoming aid flights.

Fearful of going near quake-damaged buildings, Haitians stood or rested on the roads, slowing the transport of food and other crucial aid.

Severe damage to at least eight Port-au-Prince hospitals made it nearly impossible to treat the thousands of injured or prevent outbreaks of disease, said Paul Garwood, spokesman for the World Health Organization.

Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, presents unique logistical challenges for aid workers even in the best of times. It shares an island with the Dominican Republic, meaning that aid must arrive by sea or air. Haitian streets are in poor condition under normal circumstances, and even if aid reaches the Dominican Republic, the road from there to Port-au-Prince is narrow and easily clogged.

Almost everything has to be imported, even wood for building temporary shelters, because Haitians have denuded their hillsides by cutting trees for cooking fuel.

"If you see Dominican Republic and Haiti from the air, it's really striking," said Byrs. "Half of the island is green and the rest is dust."

In addition, Haiti was already heavily damaged by a series of severe hurricanes, the most recent in 2008.

President Barack Obama announced Thursday the U.S. government was making an initial $100 million relief effort and promised an all-out rescue and humanitarian effort that included military and civilian emergency teams from across the U.S.

"We have to be there for them in their hour of need," Obama said.

The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson was deployed to Haiti, and the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan had been ordered to sail as soon as possible with a 2,000-member Marine unit.

Even as the United Nations stepped up its massive aid operation, the world body was trying to determine how many of its own staff were killed in earthquake.

"It's very difficult to give an exact number," said Byrs. "This is also a tragedy for the United Nations."

She said up to 100 U.N. staff were trapped in the main U.N. peacekeepers' building, which was destroyed.

Byrs said 40 search-and-rescue teams from around the world had started arriving in Haiti to look for survivors trapped inside collapsed buildings. But to find and save people, the rescuers need heavy machinery to lift tons of rubble — equipment that teams from places like Britain and Iceland have, but others don't.

Haiti has virtually none of those machines but aid workers were trying to get some into Haiti from the Dominican Republic, Charles Vincent of the World Food Program said.

"We'll have to see how that works out," said Vincent. "The U.S. military will also be bringing in some equipment."

The desperate situation has aid groups fearing a surge in lawlessness, Vincent said. U.N. peacekeepers are patrolling to try to control looting but they are dealing with many deaths and injuries of their own, he added.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said its forensic specialists would help ensure that bodies of the quake victims are recovered and identified for the benefit of their families.

The Red Cross set up a special Web site to help Haitians find their missing loved ones, and after just a few hours, over 5,000 people had already registered on it, many from the United States and Canada.

Aid was delivered or promised from many countries, including Brazil, the European Union, Britain, Germany, Israel, France, Switzerland, South Korea and Canada. China dispatched a chartered plane carrying 10 tons of tents, food, medical equipment and sniffer dogs, along with a 60-member earthquake relief team who worked in China's own 2008 earthquake, which killed some 90,000 people.

The Red Cross estimated that some 3 million people in Haiti will require aid, ranging from shelter to food and clean water, and said many Haitians could need relief aid for a full year.

Aid workers base such estimates on previous disasters that appear to be the same size, said Pablo Medina, operations coordinator of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

"At this very early hour, with such limited amount of information, what you have to do is base your calls on past experience on previous earthquakes, on media reports and on information on the ground," Medina told the AP.

Initial planning is conservative and is normally revised upward as more information becomes available. This time, the Red Cross decided to send 100 experts to Haiti.

"That's fairly big," Medina said.

___

Associated Press Writers Frank Jordans in Geneva, Meera Selva in London, Tini Tranh in Beijing, Kwang-tae Kim in Seoul, South Korea, Rod McGuirk in Canberra, Australia, Tran Van Minh in Danang, Vietnam, and Hrvoje Hranjski in Manila contributed to this report.

Something about Christmas...

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:05:13 +0100

'Tis the season to be jolly! But it is also the season for those who lack family or friends or a church family of friends to be sad; even deeply depressed. And the loss of a loved one is sad in any season.

If you have suffered financial loss during this season, it can be especially bitter time, as the loss of revenue covers many different aspects of life. Also, non-Christians are left without anything to celebrate, especially as Christmas Day gets closer, unless they are of the Jewish faith and then there is Hanukkah or Kwanzaa honoring the African-American heritage - or unless they make the new film releases on December 25 a day of celebration (however, plenty of Christians do this also).

If you know of someone who is suffering from the "lack" in their lives, now is wonderful time to reach out and help them in word or deed or in any way that you are able to do so. What a blessing for them, but what a wonderful blessing for you it will be too!

The word Christmas has been much maligned in the press of late and I am tired of it.

For those who are offended by the word, I suggest you ignore it like you have ignored the "other" religious holidays. By ignored, I mean you haven't had the audacity to go and try and change the names of their religious icons.

For instance, Halloween's jack' o lanterns, black cats, goblins and ghouls, or witches on broomsticks, you haven't attacked them and forced them to not be spoken of or seen. Or the Hanukkah menorah, you haven't tried to force the Jews to change it to the Unity Candelabra. But, being the bully that you are, anything with Christ's name attached must be kicked into the mud, desecrated and forbidden to be mention.

It is happening in the schools, in the front yards of those who put up a crèche, even in the courthouses that once housed the Ten Commandments. Christianity is the scapegoat of a secular society that is evidently feeling more and more threatened by the very name of Christ.

Well, Christ is used to it. People have been attacking his name for centuries and centuries, but he is still here! We Christians believe that Jesus is the light of the world and that he loves us all, even those who hate him.

He wants us to love you, who hate us, and to the best of our abilities we will. We may fail in this occasionally, but if we are true Christians we will repent and try again. We will also pray for those who despitefully use us (and abuse our holidays). So you better watch out! There is much power in prayer! But, don't worry; our prayers are of love, peace and healing.

By the way, the name "Christmas" comes from the Mass of Christ. A Communion service (which is sometimes called Mass service or Eucharist) is where Christians remember that Jesus died for us (all of us) and then came back to life. The Christ-Mass Service was - down through the ages - shortened to Christmas.

No other has had such an effect on human lives as Jesus Christ has. It began over 2,000 years go at his birth and we who go by his name and call him friend, Savior, Redeemer are much effected by the help and meaning he has brought into our lives.

If you don't have him as your friend, then you might ask yourself why a man born over two millenniums ago can have such an impact today. And why do people still love him (because he loved us first). What have you to lose? Christmas is good time to explore this man, called Jesus Christ.

Merry Christmas to All!

The Story of "Racso Droflow"...

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 19:27:40 +0100

He is not Russian or Saudi.......He's just an art and part of the Racso and the Rats NIHM......

By the way......Racso Droflow is Oscar Wolford backwards....coincidence huh?

Racso and the Rats of NIMH is the 1986 sequel to the popular book, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, written by Jane Leslie Conly. It continues where the previous book left off.

In Racso and the Rats of NIMH, the Rats of NIMH have developed a self-sustaining community in Thorn Valley, where they are completely isolated from humanity. Timothy Frisby, the youngest son of Mrs. Frisby, travels from his family's home to Thorn Valley. (Although his mother is an ordinary mouse, Timothy has inherited the extremely high intellect and long lifespan of his father, NIMH escapee Jonathan.) During his trip, Timothy meets Racso, the son of Jenner (a rat of NIMH introduced in first book who is widely considered to be a traitor). Timothy and Racso arrive at Thorn Valley, but while Timothy integrates and begins receiving the same accelerated education as the rat children, Racso, coming from a colony of savage urban rats, has trouble adjusting to life in a cultured town of rodents. Racso is also burdened by his family history, as his father deserted the rats' previous colony, placing them in danger of extinction. Life in Thorn Valley is suddenly threatened when humans begin planning to build a dam there, flooding the entire area. Racso, Timothy, and the entire rat colony must observe and sabotage the dam construction before the valley is underwater.

A review from the University of Chicago's Center for Children's books states that, "Conly has completely mastered the bucolic tone of the first book", and that "Characterizations all around are more detailed than in O'Brien's book".^[1]

Bush/Obama vesrus Osama.

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 16:39:51 +0100

Early in the speech, Obama referred to Afghanistan's election as "although it was marred by fraud... produced a government that is consistent with Afghanistan's laws and constitution." This reflects what we have come to expect from the Bush administration when speaking about election, a tendency to too strongly conflate elections with democracy as well as a willingness to overlook fraud when the outcome of the election is what the U.S. would have liked.

Obama recognized the seriousness of the current economic crisis in language stronger than what Bush might have used, but after referring to "the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression", did not even mention the economic impact of the continued war effort and how that will take resources away from our domestic economic problems. He also argued that "the nation that I'm most interested in building is our own", but again overlooked the obvious point that his plan in Afghanistan makes that task harder. While the president may not have stressed this, it is unlikely that this point was lost on the American people.

George Bush frequently underestimated the cost of the Iraq War which some experts now place at over $3 trillion. Last night Obama asserted that the cost for his "new approach" will be "roughly $30 billion for our military this year." Even if he is right, that is a lot of money, but unfortunately most wars end up costing significantly more than originally thought. There is little reason to think this war will be any different.

For much of the last five years of his presidency, George Bush consistently insulted the intelligence of the American people by referring to what was largely an American and British, and, since April of this year, just American, effort in Iraq as an allied effort. While other countries such as Poland and Georgia sent troops to Iraq who were courageous and served the effort well, the overwhelming majority of troops were from the U.S., and arguing otherwise was simply talking down to the American people. Obama did the same thing last night claiming that "I've asked that our commitment be joined by contributions from our allies... there will be further contributions in the days and weeks ahead" and referring to a "broad coalition of 43 nations." Again, the sacrifices made by these non-American troops are real and should not be overlooked, but the estimates that 75% of the troops in Afghanistan will be American are real too.

Lastly, in a departure from previous statements, Obama seemed to reflect the elite bipartisan consensus that of American exceptionalism stating that "Our union was founded in resistance to opposition. We do not seek to occupy other nations. We will not claim another nation's resources." While one can expect the president of the United States to say things like this, the rhetoric is a little tired. Regardless of what the U.S. "seeks" to do, it occupies other nations, establishes military bases all over the world and aggressively covets other nation's resources. This rhetoric is dangerous because if we are constantly telling ourselves we do not seek to occupy other nations, it is easier to ignore the reality when we are doing just that.

Much of Obama's speech was different than what we were accustomed to hearing from President Bush as well. Obama voiced a strong critique of the decision to go to war in Iraq, downplayed the need for nation, actually state, building in Afghanistan and focused more on Pakistan and the need to look at Afghanistan and Pakistan together. However, he also a Bush like failure to explain why 30,000 more troops will be enough to achieve U.S. goals and what the exit strategy, as opposed to simply the timeline will be.

Obama's decision to send more troops to Afghanistan is a surprise to nobody as it was clear that in recent weeks he had eschewed all other options. Obama did not make this decision rashly or quickly, but based it on months of deliberation and consultations. In that respect he was very different from Bush. Nonetheless Obama's decision, at the very least, raises many questions. Last night when seeking to explain why he is sending more troops to Afghanistan, Obama left too many questions unanswered and offered unconvincing and unoriginal answers to others. Obama has surprised us in the past, particularly during his campaign. It would be great if he surprised us again on this issue, but last night' s speech did not make this seem likely.

NAME-BRAND journalists have let Barack Obama make any claim he chooses about Iraq, Afghanistan or coping with terrorism without pinning him down for details.

Yet many of his comments and positions seem stunningly naive about national security. Given that this man may become our next president, shouldn't he explain how he'd do the many impressive things he's promised?

This week, Obama claimed, again, that he'd promptly capture Osama bin Laden. OK, tell me how: Specifically, which concrete measures would he take that haven't been taken? How would he force our intelligence agencies to locate bin Laden? And he can't just respond, "That's classified."

He also claimed that fighting terrorism is a law-enforcement problem, not a military one (should we send the NYPD to Mosul and Kandahar?), and that the answer to terrorism is the approach taken after the 1993 World Trade Center attack, featuring conventional trials and prison terms.

That flaccid post-'93 response only encouraged terrorists - who are unfazed by the prospect of a US prison, where the quality of life's better than it was at home. The Clinton administration's hesitancy and softness gave us the subsequent attacks on the Khobar Towers housing complex in Saudi Arabia, on our embassies in East Africa, on the USS Cole and, ultimately, the events of 9/11.

The senator needs to tell us why it would be different now.

Obama has also said he'd send our troops into Pakistan, although he'll withdraw rapidly from Iraq. His unwillingness to discuss the consequences of a hasty retreat from Baghdad is one thing - but invading Pakistan would be an order of magnitude worse.

A substantial number of Iraq's 26 million citizens did welcome us. In Pakistan, with its 170 million Muslims and some of the most rugged terrain on earth, anti-Americanism prevails. Any US military incursion would be greeted with outrage and demands for a military response.

Nor does Obama appear to grasp that armies need fuel, ammunition, food, spare parts and other supplies. Nearly everything for our troops in landlocked Afghanistan, from bottled water to medical supplies, now comes via Pakistani ports, roads and railroads. If those long, difficult routes were cut, how would President Obama supply our troops? And no, it can't all be done by air.

Oh, Pakistan has nukes, too.

Also this week, Obama's advisers stated that, if apprehended, Osama bin Laden should be tried in a conventional US courtroom. My fellow Americans, do you believe that?

Former Minesota Governor and Ex-Navy Seal Jesse Ventura talks about Conspiracy in the Government.

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:49:14 +0100

TruTV has given a series order to Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura, a series which will send the former Minnesota governor and professional wrestler around the world examining various conspiracy theories. The series will premiere on TruTV in late 2009.

The network is also developing two other projects with A. Smith & Co., the production company producing Conspiracy Theory.

The projects are four part series Full Throttle Saloon, a reality show providing an inside look at the nation's largest biker bar in Sturgis, South Dakota., and Surprise Inspection, following health inspectors in Providence, R.I. The four-part biker series and two-part inspection series will premiere on TruTV in 2010.

"We received a very positive response when we showed a preview of Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura at this year's advertising upfront presentation, so it's very exciting to be able to greenlight it for a full series," said Marc Juris, executive vice president and general manager of TruTV/IN SESSION in a statement. "We're also looking forward to working with the folks at A. Smith on Full Throttle and Surprise Inspection as we continue to build the TruTV brand through compelling original programming."

Por quê Curitiba é a melhor cidade do Brasil para se viver?

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:32:18 +0100

Será por causa disto:
1)Curitiba é conhecida por suas soluções urbanas diferenciadas, notadamente por seu sistema integrado de transporte de massas que, em conjunto com as vias regulares de trânsito, tem servido, especialmente a partir da década de 1970, como indutor de seu desenvolvimento urbanístico.

2) Medições recentes indicam que a área verde de Curitiba é de 51 metros quadrados por habitante, cerca de três vezes superior à área mínima recomendada pela ONU.

3) Curitiba foi recentemente recomendada pela Unesco como uma das cidades-modelo para a reconstrução das cidades do Afeganistão, após a intervenção militar ocorrida naquele país, em 2001.
4) Na década de 1990, a cidade foi agraciada com o prêmio United Nations Environment Program - UNEP, da ONU, considerado o prêmio máximo do meio ambiente no mundo.

How Do You Like Your Brain Cooked?

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 21:56:20 +0100

What effect does microwave radiation have on humans? 90% of the population of the Western Hemisphere seem glued to their mobile phone ('cellular' to our valued US readers), users should perhaps look at new research from the University of Warwick physicist Gerard Hyland that has raised new concerns about the effect of electromagnetic radiation on humans.

Dr Hyland looked at how biological systems, including humans, emit photons (low intensity radiation). According to Dr Hyland these photons are not random and can be viewed as the external sign of a properly functioning metabolism.

If correct, the impact on living tissue of external sources of radiation like microwave ovens and mobile telephones could be significant. How do you like your brain cooked? Past studies about external radiation have focused on thermal or heating effects, but little is known about non-thermal effects on humans.

In Russia where there has been wider study of biophysics, manufacturers of microwave emitting devices face far more stringent safety precautions than in the USA and UK. Indeed the body of scientific knowledge in China and Russia is so far in advance that physicians are already providing electromagnetic acupuncture for patients using microwave radiation.

Of course in Russia they could perhaps have concentrated a little more on the safey aspects of radiation emissions from nuclear reactors, weapon programmes etc than on the health consequences of heating up a plate of bortsch.

More than 6 party crashers at the White House, but they're wearing hats...

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 21:47:10 +0100

Former U.S. Chief of Protocol Donald Ensenat, who served in that post for most of President Bush's 8 years in office, says "the Secret Service is being made the scapegoat" in the party crasher incident.

Ensenat is seen at left with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair in 2004.

In an e-mail to CBS News, Ensenat blames the Office of the White House Social Secretary for not having staffers with the invitation list at each of the access checkpoints for guests. Ensenat thinks it's the Social Secretary's job to have refused entry to anyone not on the guest list.

"The Secret Service are not bouncers," writes Ensenat. "Their job is security which they perform superbly putting their life on the line everyday."

In prior administrations, it has been standard practice for staffers from the Social Office to be physically present at access checkpoints to provide guidance to the Secret Service.

But ultimately, it's the responsibility of the Secret Service to ensure that individuals not on the guest list are not permitted entry to the White House. And Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan acknowledged this in his public statement last Friday.

(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

"That failing is ours," he said of the ability of Michaele and Tareq Salahi, at left, to be admitted to the State Dinner last Tuesday, even though they were not on the guest list.

"Our internal investigation have determined established protocols were not followed at an initial checkpoint, verifying that two individuals were on the guest list," said Sullivan.

He said both of the individuals were subjected to security checks and required to pass through metal detectors, but "they should have been prohibited from entering the event entirely."

But other officials from past administrations share Ensenat's view that representatives of the White House Social Office should have been at each checkpoint to guard against uninvited guests gaining access.

White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers told the Associated Press last week that she did not assign staffers with guest lists to the entry checkpoints.

Russian Roulette or Spying Bingo?

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 19:16:57 +0100

For years, a Russian consul spied on the German army. Officials got wind of it and tried to turn him into a Russian defector. As the situation began to blow up in their faces, German officials hustled to end the matter discreetly - so as not to endanger the current German-Russian love affair.

The small baroque town of Amorbach in the Odenwald, south of Frankfurt, offered a perfect backdrop for the unique showdown last November. Just like in the good-old-days of the Cold War, German special agents tiptoed about the ruins of a medieval Benedictine convent and followed a nondescript man in his mid-forties who was obviously waiting for someone at a restaurant in this 4,220-person town.

Under the agents' scrutiny, a member of the German army entered the restaurant. He was carrying classified documents with him that contained information about telecommunications and arms technology. As so often occurred in the past, the secret documents quietly changed hands. The man receiving them spoke German with a thick Russian accent and paid a hefty sum. His pockets full and the transaction completed, the the army officer got up and left the restaurant. The other man was left to pay the bill. As soon as he did, he was captured by the waiting German agents. When they arrested him, the agents discovered that the criminal turned out to be a Russian diplomat.

The operation has since turned into myth -- one of the most dramatic espionage scandal since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. It has all the components of a juicy spy thriller: treason, a chase and a diplomatic scandal. In fact, it even forced the man -- 45-year-old Russian Consul Alexander Kuzmin, to return to Russia early. The truth is that Kuzmin had been working for the notorious Muscovite military secret service GRU. His mission: to spy on the German military.

The case illustrates how keenly, 15 years after the collapse of the Iron Curtain, Russian agents are to search for and obtain classified information. In fact, President Vladimir Putin -- himself a former KGB agent -- and his secret service seem to be creating their very own translation of "Glasnost." For them, it has come to mean the chance to spy on both friends and enemies.

What's happening right under your nose?

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 19:11:12 +0100

First, let me reminisce of days gone past and the local music scene in San Francisco.

There seemed to be a lot more venues spread across town. The Upper Haight wasn't the strip mall it has become today since there were a few venues including the amazing I-Beam. The Stone and On Broadway brought in great acts. During the Tom Guido days at The Purple Onion there was always a spectacle, whether with the bands or Guido himself.

Touring bands had it easier in years past. I remember being too young to see Screamin' Jay Hawkins and Primus at the I-Beam...as well as the Hole and Smashing Pumpkins show. The only local bands I remember were Primus and Caroliner Rainbow at the I-Beam, though I'm sure they supported more local acts. There was the whole funk thrash thing happening in the Bay Area with bands like Limbomaniacs, does the song Butt Funking ring a bell? Dot 3...then the revelers of lo-fi monophonic and destruction like The Mummies and The Trashwomen.

Speaking of years ago, does anyone know what happened to Hemi?

While I'm at it, a moment of silence for Buck Naked since Buck Naked and the Bare Bottom Boys were one of the ballsiest bands years ago before Buck Naked was murdered.

Buck Naked and the Bare Bottom Boys

Other live venues lost included The Kilowatt (still running, but no more live bands), The Chameleon (now Amnesia and doing a great job), Paradise Lounge (did they re-open?) and for us kids, The Farm.

And venues have continued to run despite changes in San Francisco, including the dot com/bomb, like Bottom of the Hill, Cafe du Nord, etc.

But, touring America isn't what it used to be. Getting Depeche Mode to the I-Beam would take more $$ to make happen....and it's not the purpose of this blog to cover that beat. The music scene of the next generation isn't what it used to be. Kids grow up listening to mom's cool Joy Division records and they are becoming a product of that.

Not that I'm complaining, I love to see the reinterpretation of music I grew up on by bands younger than me.

Until recently Thrillhouse Records put on shows and it was the first time in years that I felt something different, something big was about to happen. When 19 year olds take charge and make a go of it without using traditional routes. Those basement shows were great until a little problem with the fire department last year...I heard that through the pipeline and don't live 1/2 block away from Thrillhouse anymore, so feel free to comment on the status of that.

Thrillhouse isn't the only underground venue. I've been asked not to write about the underground venues, not by the Chronicle, but by the places who throw the shows themselves. They want the scene under the radar. At those house parties I'll find great bands and make sure they're written up for gigs at legit venues like El Rio, etc.

Dig deeper music fans. Hang out at local record stores and grab flyers for local shows. Buy a forty ounce beer and show up at a house party.

Segue.

I saw a kid with an Operation Ivy shirt on at a Thrillhouse basement show and told him I saw Op Ivy before they broke up back in 1989. "I wish I was alive during that time, the music scene sucks now," he said.

We were saying the same thing back in the day when we found out someone saw The Stooges or MC5 or The Avengers, though Penelope Houston and members are back together for current shows.

If the local music scene isn't working for you, get mad, get frustrated, and start a project that will blow our minds. Sitting behind a computer and whining about it is a cop out.

As they used to say on KFOG, "If you don't like the news, go out and make some of your own."