AUSTIN, Texas - Texas state officials say a four-alarm fire has caused "catastrophic" damage to the Texas Governor's Mansion in Austin. Governor's spokesman Robert Black says said no one was inside the 150-year-old home when the fire began shortly before 2 a.m. Sunday. He says the cause is not yet known.
The mansion had been undergoing a $10 million renovation and Gov. Rick Perry and his wife had moved out last fall. Black says the damage to the mansion "is extraordinary, bordering on catastrophic."
He says more than 100 firefighters are at the scene and the roof of the mansion is very unstable. Just damn. This is a great old house, used by every governor since Sam Houston (take your hat off when you read that, please). It is not the governor's house, it is MY house, and every other Texas citizen's. Governor Rick Perry (aka "GoodHair" and the "John Edwards of the Republican Party") was only a temporary tenant. He moved out last fall so the place could be refurbished, a process which will obviously take on a new dimension now.
#1
Sounds like the fire at the Cabildo here in New Orleans a few years ago - renovation seems to be the biggest fire hazard to these old structures. Or even new ones - fire on the roof at a local shopping center seems related to removal of an old AC unit. Not sure what the solution is, but we (society) need to work on it - conduct the pre-job safety training in Spanish maybe (and for once I don't mean it in a snarky way)?
#3
AP news on Yahoo:
"Arson is suspected in a fire that swept through the historic Texas governor's mansion early Sunday, leaving much of the 152-year-old building charred and severely damaged, the state fire marshal said."
"We have some evidence that indicates that we do have an intentionally set fire," said state Fire Marshal Paul Maldonado. "So we believe that we may be looking at a criminal act here."
Calling it a "devastating loss to the state of Texas," Maldonado did not provide details on how the fire may have been set or whether authorities had a suspect.
Security cameras are set up around the mansion, which sits downtown on a lot the size of a city block, and investigators were interviewing people who were nearby and might have noticed suspicious activity.
"We're going to come get the person that's responsible for causing this damage," Maldonado said.
A man ran over a group of people with his truck and then stabbed 18, killing at least 7, in a video game district of downtown Tokyo Sunday afternoon, according to a Tokyo fire official.
Rescue workers from the Tokyo Fire Department gather to help the injured in Tokyo's Akihabara district.
The dead included five men -- three aged 19, 47 and 74 -- and a woman, according to a Tokyo metropolitan police officer. The gender of the seventh person was not immediately known. Eleven others were wounded, police said, with two critically injured.
"The suspect told police that he came to Akihabara to kill people," Jiro Akaogi, a spokesman for the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, told The Associated Press.
"He said he was tired of life. He said he was sick of everything," Akaogi added.
Japanese media reported that the suspect told investigators he was 25 years old.
Nearly 20 ambulances rushed to the scene, with television footage showing rescue workers tending to victims in the street.
The Akihabara district, where the attack took place, specializes in electronic gadgets and video games and is popular with people interested in comic books and distinctive fashion.
#1
Here in Texas, the maniac might have gotten to the second victim, certainly no farther than the third, before someone pulled out a handgun and put an end to this lunacy.
#2
Japan must be very proud of its stringent gun laws today. Whether the attackers are terrorists with AKs or psychos with blades, unarmed citizens are sheep to the slaughter.
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/08/2008 20:55 Comments ||
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#9
Googling my name? Still visiting here periodically, Frank, certainly, and chose to click on the link that contained the word "Greece". But wasn't the point of the asterisks so that I couldn't google my name?
Plus, seriously, Rantburg results wouldn't be anywhere near the top of a self-google.
#2
MEL GIBSON, TINA TURNER, etc. and the PIGS in 1980's THUNDERDOME???
*REDDIT > ELECTRICAL DISTURBANCES/OUTBURSTS IN THE IONOSPHERE MAY PREDICT FUTURE EARTHQUAKES.
As per PRE-QUAKE EM Sparks-Bursts over Guam-WESTPAC, am I to understand the future OWG-NWO wants to force the SUN + ELECTROMAGNETISM, etc. phenomenon = natural forces to surrender by controlling the belches + waste of farm animals???
CLEARLY ELEX YEAR "THROW THE RASCALS/THIEVES/
LIARS/CROOKS, etc.IN WASHINGTON OUT", OR A REVOLUTION, ISN'T NEEDED IN THE ANTI-COMMIE-SOCIALIST USSA.
Jakarta - An earthquake registering 6.1 on the Richter scale struck the eastern Indonesian islands Sunday morning, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damages, the Indonesian seismological agency said.
The quake struck at 5:23 am Jakarta time (2223 GMT Saturday) with an epicentre was about 68 kilometres north-east of Ruteng, a district town on Flores island, said officials at Indonesia's National Meteorology and Geophysics Agency. The officials said that the quake occurred about 48 kilometres beneath the seabed but with no tsunami potential, and there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/08/2008 00:35 ||
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#1
EM sky spark over Guam appeared to be partially disorganized {NOT perfectly "round/sperical"], + super-short/quickie local rumbler quake.
BRASILIA, Brazil - Brazil will use a planned nuclear-powered submarine to protect its off-shore oil fields, Defense Minister Nelson Jobim told lawmakers this week. "We have to make it clear that defense is part of the national agenda," he told the Brazilian Congress' foreign relations and defense committee on Wednesday, according to a statement from his ministry.
Jobim stressed that the Brazilian navy was looking to acquire 50 new ships in the future, which, along with the nuclear-powered submarine, would be used to protect the oil installations off his country's southeast coast.
Fifty new ships would be an impressive navy. The Brits have about 90 in their Navy, and the US has just under 300.
He suggested that royalties paid by the state-run oil company Petrobras could be used more to finance the expansion of the fleet and argued that the climbing price of Petrobras shares reflected Brazil's capacity to protect its oil reserves.
Jobim also noted that Brazil's claim before the United Nations to extend its territorial waters from 200 nautical miles to 350 nautical miles would put more demands on the navy, if approved. Brazil was negotiating that issue in the face of reluctance from the U.N.
The South American nation has recently announced a series of huge oil finds off-shore which, if they are proven viable, could propel the country into the same league as OPEC states.
#1
Of course, if that one nuclear sub were to sink, and its reactor leaked, making the whole oil field inaccessible, it would be a real shame, ya know.
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
06/08/2008 2:23 Comments ||
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#2
Are Battleships thoroughly obsolete? This sounds like a task for a large naval gun platform, attack helicopters, and perhaps harriers. Rather than a carrier task force, a BB task force with accompanying destroyers and frigates, with platform based air assets.
#3
The ship the French unwisely replaced with the troubled Charles DeGaulle, the CV Foch, is still motoring happily along as flagship of the Brazilian Navy, renamed Sao Paulo. Its airwing consists of upgraded A-4 Skyhawks and assorted helicopters but it is capable of operating the F-18 and S-3 (and has done so many times in joint exercises).
#9
Realistically, you would want a Marine Corps LHD-1 Wasp class ship for oil field protection. They carry enough troops, LCACs, helicopters, and Harriers to put a MAJOR hurt on anyone trying to mess with the oil field. The whole deal with the nuke sub is just Brazil's way of saying "Mine is bigger than yours" to the rest of Latin America.
A LHD-1 fleet of 1 LHD-1, 2 frigates and/or destroyers, 5 Hamilton class cutters, and 3-4 fleet resupply ships would make the entirety of the Brazil oil field area secure against anyone but a major class navy.
Texas Democrats spoke out at their convention Saturday against an anticipated voter identification bill they expect will arise in the 2009 Legislature.
Senate Democrats prevented passage last year of a Republican-backed bill requiring voters to show a photo ID when casting a ballot. Republicans said it would prevent voter impersonation and fraud, but Democrats said it would discriminate against elderly, women and minority voters who might not be as likely to have a photo ID or to have an ID matching their name as listed on voter rolls.
"The Republicans are going to make another run at this bill again," said state Sen. Mario Gallegos of Houston, a Democrat who returned to the Senate chamber last year despite illness to block the voter ID bill.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/08/2008 04:11 ||
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#1
Surely a Democrat friendly compromise can be reached by simply accepting Mexican drivers licenses.
#2
So the Donks either support the court on Lawrence and voter ID, or don't support Lawrence and voter ID, cause the issue has already been decided by a higher referee on the issue. Picking a choosing means its about POWER, not rights. Not there's anything wrong about POWER, but we sorta demand a wee bit of honesty on what's it all about.
#3
Back in the days of the poll-tax, it was common for Texas Democrats to load up the trunk of a car with cash and 'make the rounds'. Of course the voters they were assisting were reminded where the money was coming from.
I'm surprised the Democrats haven't done something similar by assisting those without ID in getting one - plus another 2-3. Just in case they lose the first one.
#4
The Dems always say that it would "discriminate against elderly, women and minority voters who might not be as likely to have a photo ID or to have an ID matching their name as listed on voter rolls."
Really? Prove it. Show me. I read this assertion time after time but I don't believe it. Prove it. Everyone I know has ID.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/08/2008 12:18 Comments ||
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#5
With out a doubt the folks they are talking about are down in the waiting room of your ER, Dr. White. If you see any of the admitting folks, why don't you ask them how often they get people without ID.
#7
Really? Prove it. Show me. I read this assertion time after time but I don't believe it. Prove it. Everyone I know has ID.
Slight correction Steve.
Anyone LEGITIMATE has ID.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
06/08/2008 15:06 Comments ||
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#8
I'll do that sometime soon, Nimble, if I'm allowed to poke around like that, but pretty much every patient in our ER (south side Chicago, not many Hispanic folks) has a legit ID -- they have to show their Medicaid green card, which was acquired with a legit ID, or they need an insurance card (which means they work and likely have a legit ID), or a Medicare card (elderly, but likely to have ID).
I repeat -- someone show me the study of the poor, unfortunate, elderly folks who are entitled to vote but don't have ID.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/08/2008 18:51 Comments ||
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Their model suggests that new universes could be created spontaneously from apparently empty space. From inside the parent universe, the event would be surprisingly unspectacular.
Arrow of time
Describing the team's work at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) in St Louis, Missouri, co-author Professor Sean Carroll explained that "a universe could form inside this room and wed never know".
#1
Back to the future. Steady State Part II. It's all in the nuance. Creation of new matter, creation of new universes, it all depends on how you look at it. :)
#3
They pointedly do NOT say if it's AC or DC, but they do say (Quote)
Oshkosh also demonstrated the technology during relief operations in 2005 following Hurricane Katrina, powering pumps around the clock to remove millions of gallons of water *Unquote)
Which makes me think it's AC,
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
06/08/2008 22:24 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 man ran over a group of people with his truck and then stabbed 18, killing at least 7, in a video game district of downtown Tokyo Sunday afternoon, according to a Tokyo fire official.
Jakarta - An earthquake registering 6.1 on the Richter scale struck the eastern Indonesian islands Sunday morning, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damages, the Indonesian seismological agency said.
