The Zimbabwean government has dispatched 16 police officers to South Africa to search and locate places where opposition party youths were allegedly trained to carry out terrorist activities, the High Court heard yesterday. Tawanda Zvakare and a Mr Makwikwi from the Attorney GeneralÂ’s office told High Court Judge Yunus Omerjee during a bail hearing for 18 Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) activists that the state could not proceed with the case as its officers were still in South Africa investigating the case.
The state says the MDC activists received terrorist training in South Africa and were behind a spate of petrol bomb attacks on state institutions last March.
The MDC activists, who include journalist Luke Tamborinyoka, former First Mutual Life Assurance chairman Ian Makone and Glen View legislator Paul Madzore have been in remand prison since March. They are denying the charge. The South African government last month rejected charges that there were any military bases for the training of MDC insurgents in the country.
“One has to understand that the case is extra-territorial and we have to engage the South African government at times - hence the delay in finishing investigations by the state," said Makwikwi, “The team that has gone to South Africa will complete their investigations in a week after which we can set the trial date.” Judge Omerjee gave the state until 1 June to present its case against the MDC activists.
Charles Kwaramba, for the defence, however complained to the judge that the state was dragging its feet in wrapping up its investigations in the case. The case has been postponed three times with the state saying it was still to finish its investigations.
RIYADH - Saudi Arabia will seek more than $2.7 billion in damages from international tobacco companies in a lawsuit due to go on trial in the capital Riyadh on Sept. 11 this year, the kingdomÂ’s health ministry said on Saturday. Hypocrites! They weaseled out of the 9-11 lawsuit, and now they put the squeeze on the tobacco companies.
In November, the ministry threatened to sue international tobacco companies unless they paid the government and patients the full cost of treatment for tobacco-related illnesses. How many people are being murdered by al-Qaeda in Iraq, which is funded by some of the 8,000 member Saud royal arses.
This is the first time it has put a value on the claim. The suit will require companies to pay a lump sum of 10 billion riyals ($2.67 billion) plus 500 million riyals a year for the treatment of tobacco-related illnesses, the ministry said in a statement on its Web site. It did not say what period the compensation would cover.
The ministry did not name any companies. Philip Morris MO.N, British American Tobacco Plc and Altadis are among the foreign firms that sell tobacco products in Saudi Arabia.
#1
Clearly all tobacco shipments to KSA should cease immediately. Violent social upheavals to follow in a few days, when the nicotine withdrawal kicks in. I really don't care much one way or the other on the suit, but it would be kind of fun to watch the fireworks.
#3
Saudia Arabia has the control to stop imports of tobacco. Me thinks they want $$$$ imports instead.
Will they say they can't read the warnings on the side of the cartons because they are in English?
Posted by: Jan from work ||
05/20/2007 14:37 Comments ||
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#4
Nuke Riyadh, and half the problems in the world will cease to exist. Soddy aRabida needs to be "cured" of its "addiction" to other people's money.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
05/20/2007 16:37 Comments ||
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#5
Tell Saudi Arabia that if they proceed with this case we will reinstate the 9-11 damages suit. That'll shut them the fuck up.
NUWAIDRAT, Bahrain - Ibrahim Shareef, general secretary of BahrainÂ’s second-largest opposition group, the National Democratic Action Society, or Waad (Promise), was injured Saturday night during clashes with police. Shareef was treated at a local hospital for knee and shoulder injuries after police stormed a solidarity ceremony for two opposition figures. The gathering was held at a site in Nuwaidrat, east of the capital, Manama.
Shareef told the Arabic daily Al Waqt that the injuries he suffered were the result of rubber bullets and that he was planning to file a complaint Sunday with the public prosecutor against the Interior Ministry.
Sucks to live in a non-democratic state, huh?
The daily also quoted the assistant deputy of legal affairs at the Interior Ministry that authorities received information indicating the intention of a group of individuals to assemble in the area to hold a symposium without obtaining proper permits. The deputy pointed out that the organizers failed to notify authorities and obtain permission from the ministry. ‘The public security forces had issued an order for the participants to disperse, but they did not comply, which lead the forces to deal with them as necessary to disperse them within the law,’ he was quoted saying.
"Hey! Youse guys up dere! Gitoutta heyre or youse gonna git it!"
Shareef was on a stage flanked by a number of opposition figures and an opposition member of Parliament addressing a crowd of some 200 people, when police intervened to break up the illegal ceremony. Organizers rushed to the stage to shield Shareef and the other participants from police.
"We will spill our blood for you, Shareef!"
The clashes left several participants injured, while at least one police officer sustained an injury after being attacked by a protester. A local bakery shop caught fire during the clashes, which lasted for more than two hours. Two more shops nearby were also damaging.
The clashes quickly spread to the nearby Shia village of Sitra, where rioters exploded a gas cylinder under a high-voltage electricity tower.
"Watch this, guys, I learned this from a Bugti!"
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/20/2007 00:00 ||
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The council of advisers yesterday finalised the proposal to cancel the lawmakers' privilege of importing duty-free cars and also decided to form a committee to speed up the bureaucratic processes. Chief Adviser's Press Secretary Syed Fahim Munaim gave the information during the weekly press briefing at the Chief Adviser's Office.
Fahim also said that Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed is yet to receive the letter signed by 15 high-profile US senators that ask the government to withdraw the state of emergency immediately and announce a detailed roadmap within two months for holding the elections at the earliest.
The council gave its final approval to the Member of Parliament (Remuneration and Allowance) (Amendment) Ordinance, 2007, that ends the lawmakers' privilege to import duty-free cars.
Fahim also said that Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed is yet to receive the letter signed by 15 high-profile US senators that ask the government to withdraw the state of emergency immediately and announce a detailed roadmap within two months for holding the elections at the earliest.
Meanwhile, the council decided to form a committee for exploring ways to expedite bureaucratic processes by reviewing the rules of business in the ministries. The council looked at how authority could be delegated through updating the rules and regulations and reviewed the list of pending tasks of ministries, which were asked to be prioritised as quickly as possible. The advisers also discussed in detail to standardise all public utility services in order to maintain consistency and make those more convenient for the public.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/20/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Oxymoron Alert: "...decided to form a committee to speed up the bureaucratic processes..." 'Scuse me, sir, but just how does MORE bureacracy( the new committee) speed up bureacracy??????
Take your time; I'll wait. In the meantime, I have this swell, one owner, low mileage bridge you may be interested in.....
(CNS) -- Christians must distance themselves from anyone or anything that insults Islam's prophet Mohammed and should come to a greater appreciation of his role in bringing millions of people to recognize the one God, said a German Jesuit scholar.
But Christians cannot share Muslims' recognition of Mohammed as the last and greatest prophet, said Father Christian Troll, a professor of Islam and of Muslim-Christian relations at the Sankt Georgen Graduate School of Philosophy and Theology in Frankfurt, Germany.
Writing in La Civilta Cattolica (Catholic Civilization), a Jesuit magazine reviewed by the Vatican prior to publication, Father Troll was responding to a question asked by many Muslims: "We Muslims recognize Jesus as a prophet and we venerate him. Why don't you Christians accept Mohammed as a prophet in the same way?"
In the mid-May article, the Jesuit said that in recognizing Jesus as one of God's prophets Muslims are following the indications of the Quran, the sacred book of Islam.
"If, on the other hand, a Christian would accept Mohammed's claim of being the true and ultimate prophet, it would go against the witness of the basic documents of the Christian faith," he said.
For Muslims, he said, Mohammed was the prophet who revealed God's uncreated word, the Quran.
For Christians, Jesus was not a prophet, but the word of God made flesh, he said.
While Christians cannot share Muslims' faith in Mohammed as the last and greatest prophet, "Christians must decisively distance themselves from every insult against Mohammed and, in addition, must try to recognize and appreciate his exceptional historic personality, his role as founder of Islam and the extraordinary place he occupies in the faith, piety and religious thought of Muslims," Father Troll said.
#5
Hey, Mo! You're exceptional, all right. It's been damned few I've known that had the hots for 9 year old girls. Perverted bastard; any other group than the sand rats would have hung you with your own entrails.
Posted by: Mac ||
05/20/2007 18:58 Comments ||
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#6
As the Brits, in better times, used to say, derisively: mahound...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
05/20/2007 19:05 Comments ||
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#7
I dunno, I don't disagree with him. Essentially he's saying Mo is a prophet - to muslims. And that muslims are wrong when they call Jesus a prophet. Seems that's more of a (truthful) metaphorical whack across the head to muslims than anything.
#9
For Muslims, he said, Mohammed was the prophet who revealed God's uncreated word, the Quran.
Gotta butt heads with you on this one, Pappy. Calling a brutally violent and intensely misogynist doctrine like Islam "God's uncreated word" just doesn't cut it with me. This is another unexpected and disconcerting bit of backpedaling from what once seemed a Pope in the ancient warrior monk tradition. Islam gives no quarter and deserves none in return. They who have designated the sword as their sole evangelical instrument must now elect to abandon it or die by it. Islam provides no other options nor do any present themselves.
MADRID, Spain (AP) - Prosecutors on Friday appealed a judge's decision to charge three U.S. soldiers with homicide in the death of a Spanish journalist in Iraq, a court official said.
Prosecutors at the National Court said the troops from the U.S. 3rd Infantry, based in Fort Stewart, Ga., committed no crime when their tank fired a shell at Baghdad's Palestine Hotel in 2003, killing Jose Couso, a cameraman for the Spanish television network Telecinco, and Taras Portsyuk, a Ukrainian cameraman for Reuters. The prosecutors characterized the attack as an accident of war, said a court official who spoke on customary condition of anonymity.
But the Left won't give up that easily.
Under Spanish law, investigative magistrates file charges and prosecutors, who must argue the case at trial, can contest those charges if they do not feel they can be succesfully tried. A crime committed against a Spaniard abroad can be prosecuted here if it is not investigated in the country where it was allegedly committed.
Investigating magistrate Santiago Pedraz charged Sgt. Shawn Gibson, Capt. Philip Wolford and Lt. Col. Philip DeCamp with homicide and "a crime against the international community" - defined under Spanish law as an indiscriminate or excessive attack against civilians during war - for firing at the Palestine Hotel, where many journalists were staying.
Following the incident, then-U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said American troops had responded to hostile fire from the hotel. He said a U.S. review of the incident found the use of force was justified.
Pedraz has issued several arrest warrants against the three soldiers, but the United States has made clear it will not hand them over. The soldiers still run the risk of arrest under a Spanish-issued international warrant should they travel to any country that has an extradition accord with Spain.
The next step is for Pedraz himself to decide whether he accepts or rejects the prosecutors' appeal.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/20/2007 01:37 ||
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#1
One lesson we should learn from the allanists is to over-react whenever our honor or pride is questioned in any way. Charge our men with murder? We burn down your embassy. Escalate as necessary.
As it stands, we apologize as the Orcs rape our daughters and cringe lest Wormtongue call us names.
#2
Throw out the Spanish embassy and all consulates in the US, close Torrejon AB and Zaragoza AB, shut down the Navy Base at Rota, and let Spain rot. There MUST be consequences for bad behavior. Unfortunately, that takes testosterone, and that seems to be in short supply in our government.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
05/20/2007 16:42 Comments ||
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Long but good WaPo piece on the events in Estonia.
TALLINN, Estonia, May 18 -- This small Baltic country, one of the most wired societies in Europe, has been subject in recent weeks to massive and coordinated cyber attacks on Web sites of the government, banks, telecommunications companies, Internet service providers and news organizations, according to Estonian and foreign officials here.
Computer security specialists here call it an unprecedented assault on the public and private electronic infrastructure of a state. They say it is originating in Russia, which is angry over Estonia's recent relocation of a Soviet war memorial. Russian officials deny any government involvement.
The NATO alliance and the European Union have rushed information technology specialists to Estonia to observe and assist during the attacks, which have disrupted government e-mail and led financial institutions to shut down online banking.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/20/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Two of the major 'bot empires are controlled from Russia.
#3
This is an act of war and should be named as such. But then someone might feel obligated to do something. Here is a start: Identify as many perps as possible and send in the wet teams to disappear them. There have to be consequences.
#7
It was actually a pretty stoopid thing to do, motivated by Dire Revenge™, rather than by compelling national interest. It's a weapon that's best used by surprise, and they threw that away.
Unless the intel world has gone dumber than dirt since I left it, swarms of busy, busy people in at least four and probably eight countries are now poring over piles of logs and recordings of... ummm... things, analyzing the weapon used and finding how to either defeat it or turn it against its owners.
Really dumb move by the Russers. And dumb even if the budget for the busy, busy people has been diverted to global warming research. The Russers don't know if it has, any more than I do.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/20/2007 9:30 Comments ||
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The exit poll conducted by major pollster CURS on Saturday evening revealed Traian Basescu as winner of the impeachment referendum in Romania, with 78.1 percent of the votes cast against his removal from the office of President. Meanwhile, 21.9 percent of the Romanians voted against his return to Cotroceni Palace. Yes, but what did the remainder vote for?
78.1 percent of the votes were cast against his removal from the office of President. 21.9 percent of the Romanians voted against his return to Cotroceni Palace.
The poll has an error margin of 1.5-2 percent and considered the votes cast in the polling stations in Romania. "We are facing a reality that cannot be commented by politicians at television. We are in front of the vote of the Romanian people," said the suspended President Traian Basescu, immediately after the polling stations were closed. Politics has only one measure, the capacity to receive votes, he stressed.
However, Mircea Geoana, leader of the main opposition Social Democratic Party, said: "Traian Basescu's victory is a victory devoid of glory. The low voter turnout does not make Traian Basescu the legitimate head of state."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/20/2007 00:00 ||
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WASHINGTON (AP) -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is defending a close Democratic ally whom Republicans want to reprimand for threatening a GOP lawmaker's spending projects. Pelosi, D-Calif., said she had "no idea what actually happened" during a noisy exchange in the House chamber last week between Reps. John P. Murtha, D-Pa., and Mike Rogers, R-Mich. "What I do know is that Congressman Murtha has - enjoys - an excellent reputation in the Congress on both sides of the aisle," said Pelosi in a broadcast interview taped Friday and aired Sunday. "He writes the defense appropriation bill in a bipartisan way each year and with the complete involvement of the Republicans as to who gets what on the Republican side," she said.
Murtha is a 35-year House veteran who leads the House Appropriations subcommittee on military spending. He is known for a fondness for Pork Barrel projects for his district earmarks - carefully targeted spending items placed in appropriations bills to benefit a specific lawmaker or favored constituent group.
During a series of House votes Thursday, Murtha walked to the GOP side to confront Rogers, a former FBI agent. This month, Rogers had tried unsuccessfully to strike from an intelligence spending bill an item that would restore $23 million for the National Drug Intelligence Center, a facility in Murtha's Pennsylvania district. According to Rogers' account, which Murtha did not dispute, the Democrat angrily told Rogers he should never seek earmarks of his own because "you're not going to get any, now or forever."
"This was clearly designed to try to intimidate me," Rogers told The Associated Press on Friday. "He said it loud enough for other people to hear." House rules prohibit lawmakers from Extortion placing conditions on earmarks or targeted tax benefits that are based on another member's votes. Murtha's office said in a statement: "You know…we do business for a while maybe I’ll be interested, maybe I wont…you know.” "The committee and staff give every Democrat and Republican the same consideration. We have extensive hearings and every request is given careful consideration. We will continue to do just that."
Rogers said he planned to file a "privileged resolution" Monday that would seek a House vote on whether to reprimand Murtha.
"I wasn't there" for the confrontation, Pelosi said. "I do know that the Republicans caused quite a stir that was unjustified on the floor of the House, and I'm sure things were said on both sides." She added, "I don't know that there was going to be a resolution. There was rumor that that might be the form it would take, but we'll deal with it if that's what comes forward. But I think Mr. Murtha's reputation for cash bribes bipartisanship will hold him in good stead."
From Associated Press
May 20, 2007 9:06 AM EDT
WASHINGTON - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is defending a close Democratic ally whom Republicans want to reprimand for threatening a GOP lawmaker's spending projects.
Pelosi, D-Calif., said she had "no idea what actually happened" during a noisy exchange in the House chamber last week between Reps. John P. Murtha, D-Pa., and Mike Rogers, R-Mich. She has no idea what actually happened but she's on Murtha's side. She'd probably defend him no matter what he did.
"What I do know is that Congressman Murtha has - enjoys - an excellent reputation in the Congress on both sides of the aisle," said Pelosi in a broadcast interview taped Friday and aired Sunday. He has an excellant reputation for being a senile old fart who shoots his mouth off while having no inkling of actual facts.
"He writes the defense appropriation bill in a bipartisan way each year and with the complete involvement of the Republicans as to who gets what on the Republican side," she said.
Murtha is a 35-year House veteran who leads the House Appropriations subcommittee on military spending. He is known for a fondness for earmarks - carefully targeted spending items placed in appropriations bills to benefit a specific lawmaker or favored constituent group.
During a series of House votes Thursday, Murtha walked to the GOP side to confront Rogers, a former FBI agent. This month, Rogers had tried unsuccessfully to strike from an intelligence spending bill an item that would restore $23 million for the National Drug Intelligence Center, a facility in Murtha's Pennsylvania district. Rogers was threatening Murtha's meal ticket. Ain't politics wunnerful?
According to Rogers' account, which Murtha did not dispute, the Democrat angrily told Rogers he should never seek earmarks of his own because "you're not going to get any, now or forever." "And I'll fart in your general direction, too!"
"This was clearly designed to try to intimidate me," Rogers told The Associated Press on Friday. "He said it loud enough for other people to hear."
House rules prohibit lawmakers from placing conditions on earmarks or targeted tax benefits that are based on another member's votes.
Murtha's office said in a statement: "The committee and staff give every Democrat and Republican the same consideration. We have extensive hearings and every request is given careful consideration. We will continue to do just that." "Except when we won't because they are Republicans, Damnit!"
Rogers said he planned to file a "privileged resolution" Monday that would seek a House vote on whether to reprimand Murtha.
"I wasn't there" for the confrontation, Pelosi said. "I do know that the Republicans caused quite a stir that was unjustified on the floor of the House, and I'm sure things were said on both sides." "I wasn't there but whatever the Republicans do is unjustified. Why can't they just let me rule as the Queen I truly am?" She wasn't there and stated earlier in the interview she had no idea what actually happened but she does know the Republicans were unjustified. And she's the Speaker of the House. Sheesh!
She added, "I don't know that there was going to be a resolution. There was rumor that that might be the form it would take, but we'll deal with it if that's what comes forward. But I think Mr. Murtha's reputation for bipartisanship will hold him in good stead." She actually said that with a straight face!
During leadership elections after Democrats regained control of the House in November, Pelosi aggressively backed Murtha in his bid to become majority leader, the No. 2 position. He lost to Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md. You are backing the wrong horse, Queen Nan.
Pelosi spoke on ABC's "This Week."
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
05/20/2007 10:54 ||
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Nancy - a smart person once said, "Better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt."
You might consider that.
Oh, wait; I'm a Republican AND I'm not from your district, so my thoughts are worthless.
Nevermind. Keep runnin' yer mouth.
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/20/2007 17:01 Comments ||
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#2
Rogers should have dropped the guy with a combo and kicked him in the head when he was down. Murtha's a bastard who, in an earlier America, would now be on trial for treason. I'd LOVE to see him take a good butt-kicking.
Posted by: Mac ||
05/20/2007 19:02 Comments ||
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#3
Murtha does need a good butt-whipping, I'd suggest that the ABSCAM unindicted co-conspirator status shows he's beyond shame. His elevated status in teh Dem party just affirms that
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/20/2007 19:37 Comments ||
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#4
Murtha's not special. Most congresscritters fail the smell test nowadays.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/20/2007 00:00 ||
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Thanks, Steve. I'm gonna go tell Mrs. Bobby what's gonna be in her paper, tomorrow!
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/20/2007 0:09 Comments ||
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#2
I thought for sure that Fred was waiting for the recent version of Congressional hari-kari (compromise immigration bill) to make an announcement how this was the last nail and he was running to secure our republic. But it looks like he is really playing hard to get and may just wait for a louder ground swell - like after it actually passes the Senate ......
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
05/20/2007 6:45 Comments ||
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#3
Actually mid june is what I amhearing - give him tim to lay the groundwork for the organzation we are building for him in the grass roots, round up 5 million for Day 1 (and another 5 million we have in the chute for him for week one).
Let Romney's smear brigade and dirty tricks team rip into Giuliani - let McCain self destruct (which he is doing quite well without any help other than Ted Kennedy), let Giuliani tear up the second tier candidates.
#4
#3 OS - He's got my vote. Count me in that (hopefully a lot more than) 5 mil.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
05/20/2007 13:34 Comments ||
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#5
You people make me vomit. You act like the office of President is for game show winners like the present and the former oval office workers. To hell with Freddy Thompson, the actor, what has he done in his life to walk the walk ?
At least Romney has a track record, although in no obvious direction other than up. Also, Rudy has a track record, and I can assure you as a right winger from Pennsylvania, around here, we know who Rudy is and what he can do, and that makes him first in my mind. There are others with known records like McCain, who I despise, and Hunter among Congressmen and a scattering of Governors, all who have records of achievement.
You have a room full of good men, some leaders, some executives, some good legislators, and you fawn over an actor.
Shitheads ! What has he done ?
#6
wxjames, you can bite me. A senator, representative, watergate lawyer, and you say "what has he done"? Ignorance is no badge of honor, boy
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/20/2007 19:40 Comments ||
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#7
You have a room full of good men, some leaders, some executives, some good legislators, and you fawn over an actor.
He's only an "actor" if you ignore his political career.
But let me ask -- did you consider Reagan just "an actor"?
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
05/20/2007 20:13 Comments ||
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#8
BTW wxjames, Hunter's my congressman, and I woulkd fully support a Fred T/Duncan slate. I just don't think Duncan can win - he can influence, especially on the border issue, but can't win. For now. Fred is my man. If you have substantive criticism, bring it. He will, I'm sure acknowledge and move on
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/20/2007 20:18 Comments ||
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#9
btw "shitheads" is open war, punk
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/20/2007 20:20 Comments ||
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#10
Wx,
I formally request that you down from your soapbox and apologize to your fellow Rantburgers.
P.S.
Shitheads is a word best reserved for actual shitheads. Shithead.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
05/20/2007 20:55 Comments ||
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#11
Shitheads ! What has he done ?
Fred Thompson may not have a Congressional record that you like. You, however, have a long record of coming really close to the 'line'. Congratulations, you've stepped over.
Would you care to take a week off, so you can learn manners?
#12
You obviously only have looked at his actor credentials. Much like the democrats only looked at Regan's acting as his resume. It helps, but it doesn't define the man. Take a look at his senate record before spouting off next time.
Please, accept my apologies for the insult. It was a foolish kneejerk reaction. It was uncalled for. Sorry.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
05/20/2007 23:40 Comments ||
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#14
Right now I'd say Romney is the most clearly and consistently distinguished of the bunch. It takes a heck of a lot of brains to go from a few hundred grand to $190 million. That said, I don't think he's as electable as Fred and I certainly like what Fred is saying. He seems to have been pretty consistent with his message and I think his time as an actor is far more of a blessing than a hindrance. Under our system of laws, the President really can't do a lot in domestic politics without bringing the Congress along. As you've all seen, that's like herding cats. Ronnie's greatest gift was his ability to make the American people see clearly where he was going, why it was good to go there, and that they should influence their congresscritters to go along with him when it counted. I think Fred can do the same thing. Right now, my bet for the best possible winning ticket is Fred as President and Romney as VP. I think the Trunks would smoke the Donks with that one. YMMV.
WX, calm down, bud. No reason to use that language on your fellow RB regulars. Save iyour ammo for the real boneheads on the left. Trust me, they can run your pejorative stock dry in a hurry without breaking a sweat.
Posted by: Mac ||
05/20/2007 23:44 Comments ||
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Could have bene provoked by an outside data spike: that's not comforting.
The U.S. House of Representative's Committee on Homeland Security called this week for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to further investigate the cause of excessive network traffic that shut down an Alabama nuclear plant.
During the incident, which happened last August at Unit 3 of the Browns Ferry nuclear power plant, operators manually shut down the reactor after two water recirculation pumps failed. The recirculation pumps control the flow of water through the reactor, and thus the power output of boiling-water reactors (BWRs) like Browns Ferry Unit 3. An investigation into the failure found that the controllers for the pumps locked up following a spike in data traffic -- referred to as a "data storm" in the NRC notice -- on the power plant's internal control system network. The deluge of data was apparently caused by a separate malfunctioning control device, known as a programmable logic controller (PLC).
In a letter dated May 14 but released to the public on Friday, the Committee on Homeland Security and the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats, Cybersecurity, and Science and Technology asked the chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to continue to investigate the incident.
"Conversations between the Homeland Security Committee staff and the NRC representatives suggest that it is possible that this incident could have come from outside the plant," Committee Chairman Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.) and Subcommittee Chairman James R. Langevin (D-RI) stated in the letter. "Unless and until the cause of the excessive network load can be explained, there is no way for either the licensee (power company) or the NRC to know that this was not an external distributed denial-of-service attack."
The PLC was connected to the plant's Ethernet network, according to an NRC information notice on the incident. The PLC controlled Unit 3's condensate demineralizer -- essentially a water softener for nuclear plants. The flood of data spewed out by the malfunctioning controller caused the variable frequency drive (VFD) controllers for the recirculation pumps to hang.
Such failures are common among PLC and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems, because the manufacturers do not test the devices' handling of bad data, said Dale Peterson, CEO of industrial system security firm DigitalBond. "What is happening in this marketplace is that vendors will build their own (network) stacks to make it cheaper," Peterson said. "And it works, but when (the device) gets anything that it didn't expect, it will gag."
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/20/2007 00:02 ||
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#1
Doesn't know what to do with bad data? Sounds suspiciously like Macrosoft's sloppy work.
#3
Take it from me (worked on design and construction of 4 nukes) the PLC and SCADA systems are strictly internal. Could be a dopey loop in the logic sequence under certain conditions that just now became apparent - low flow at certain temps or PSI for example.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
05/20/2007 6:49 Comments ||
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#4
Why would a nuclear plant's Local area network (LAN) be connected to the Internet? (Another article mentioned the LAN was 10 Mbps - very OLD tech. I've seen old network interface cards go bad and saturate a network).
Posted by: Fred ||
05/20/2007 00:00 ||
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This is encouraging news. That country is dangerous enough with a stable government - remove Musharraf from the equation and it could really become a major flashpoint.
#2
Musharaf is so close to the PML-Q that Pakis refer to it as: "the king's party." The party shares power with the MMA in Balochistan. Both the PPP and MQM are mortal enemies of the MMA, which is Taliban lite, at best. The PPP probably wouldn't unite with Mushy, unless indictments are lifted against its leaders in exile. The MQM might stay aboard if they get a free hand against Jamaat-i-Islami, in Sindh. Political murder is inherent to the MQM, but they tend to kill America's enemies, and supporters in the US profess dual loyalty, although many would like Sind independence from their Punjabi masters.
Fireballs set half the planet ablaze, wiping out the mammoth and America's Stone Age hunters
Robin McKie, science editor The Observer
Scientists will outline dramatic evidence this week that suggests a comet exploded over the Earth nearly 13,000 years ago, creating a hail of fireballs that set fire to most of the northern hemisphere.
Primitive Stone Age cultures were destroyed and populations of mammoths and other large land animals, such as the mastodon, were wiped out. The blast also caused a major bout of climatic cooling that lasted 1,000 years and seriously disrupted the development of the early human civilisations that were emerging in Europe and Asia.
'This comet set off a shock wave that changed Earth profoundly,' said Arizona geophysicist Allen West. 'It was about 2km-3km in diameter and broke up just before impact, setting off a series of explosions, each the equivalent of an atomic bomb blast. The result would have been hell on Earth. Most of the northern hemisphere would have been left on fire.'
The theory is to be outlined at the American Geophysical Union meeting in Acapulco, Mexico. A group of US scientists that include West will report that they have found a layer of microscopic diamonds at 26 different sites in Europe, Canada and America. These are the remains of a giant carbon-rich comet that crashed in pieces on our planet 12,900 years ago, they say. The huge pressures and heat triggered by the fragments crashing to Earth turned the comet's carbon into diamond dust. 'The shock waves and the heat would have been tremendous,' said West. 'It would have set fire to animals' fur and to the clothing worn by men and women. The searing heat would have also set fire to the grasslands of the northern hemisphere. Great grazing animals like the mammoth that had survived the original blast would later have died in their thousands from starvation. Only animals, including humans, that had a wide range of food would have survived the aftermath.'
The scientists point out that archaeological evidence shows that early Stone Age cultures clearly suffered serious setbacks at this time. In particular, American Stone Age hunters, descendants of the hunter-gatherers who had migrated to the continent from Asia, vanished around this time.
These people were some of the fiercest hunters on Earth, men and women who made magnificent stone spearheads which they used to hunt animals including the mammoth. Their disappearance at this time has been a cause of intense debate, with climate change being put forward as a key explanation. Now there is a new idea: the first Americans were killed by a comet.
It was not just America that bore the brunt of the comet crash. At this time, the Earth was emerging from the last Ice Age. The climate was slowly warming, though extensive ice fields still covered higher latitudes. The disintegrating comet would have plunged into these ice sheets, causing widespread melting. These waters would have poured into the Atlantic, disrupting its currents, including the Gulf stream. The long-term effect was a 1,000-year cold spell that hit Europe and Asia.
The comet theory, backed by observational evidence collected by the team, has excited considerable attention from other researchers, following publication of an outline report of the work in Nature
'The magnitude of this discovery is so important,' team member James Kennett, of the University of California, Santa Barbara, told the journal. 'It explains three of the highest-debated controversies of recent decades.'
These are the sudden disappearance of the first Stone Age people of America, the disappearance of mammoths throughout much of Europe and America and the sudden cooling of the planet, an event known as the Younger-Dryas period. Various theories have been put forward to explain these occurrences, but now scientists believe they have found a common cause in a comet crash. However, the idea is still controversial and the theory is bedevilled by problems in obtaining accurate dates for the different events.
'We still have a long way to go,' admitted West. 'But we have a great deal of evidence, from many sites, so this is quite a powerful case that we are making.'
#1
So the northern hemisphere catches on fire, enormous amounts of co2 are released into the atmosphere as a result of the destruction of virgin forest, and the earth then cools dramatically for 1,000 years. Does Algore know about this?
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/20/2007 8:44 Comments ||
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#3
Bush went back in time and dragged a comet to earth using a gravity-well gun. The dead, now oil, fuel his Illuminata Agendas. We know this because Micheal Moore followed him back and hid, watching as a mammoth.
That good enough Bobby?
Posted by: Charles ||
05/20/2007 9:41 Comments ||
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#4
I blame Al-Gore for doing his prehistoric tour during that time and causing global cooling.
#5
A few years ago, there was a funny animated short called Quetzalcoatl's Big Chance, that had a great explanation of this. Can't seem to find it though.
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/20/2007 16:57 Comments ||
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#9
"Ogg Bush III" > LOL despite how much as I like Dubya + Bush 1.
"NEW JERUSALEM" > ...where the light of the Sun and Moon was not needed, only the Light and Love of the Lamb. *SCIENTISTS > had better remember that FATIMA's DANCE OF THE SUN/DANCING OF THE SUN, i.e. EARTH KNOCKED OUT OF ORBIT, MOON EXPLODING, PLANET X, ............@ETAL.
is the LITE STUFF, the KINDLER, GENTLER GLOBAL CATACLYSM(S). GOD = GABRIEL CAN MAKE IT much Much MUCH M-U-C-H WORSE, espec iff Secularists are gonna keep arguing that "God is a Fake/Doesn't Exist".
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WASHINGTON (AP) -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is defending a close Democratic ally whom Republicans want to reprimand for threatening a GOP lawmaker's spending projects. Pelosi, D-Calif., said she had "no idea what actually happened" during a noisy exchange in the House chamber last week between Reps. John P. Murtha, D-Pa., and Mike Rogers, R-Mich. "What I do know is that Congressman Murtha has - enjoys - an excellent reputation in the Congress on both sides of the aisle," said Pelosi in a broadcast interview taped Friday and aired Sunday. "He writes the defense appropriation bill in a bipartisan way each year and with the complete involvement of the Republicans as to who gets what on the Republican side," she said.
Fireballs set half the planet ablaze, wiping out the mammoth and America's Stone Age hunters 
