Posted by: Fred ||
09/05/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
What's that? About 1 barrel of oil?
Posted by: Captain America ||
09/05/2005 0:15 Comments ||
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#2
This is very generous of Kuwait. It is more than all the other offers combined. In addition, Kuwait has only 1 million citizens (+ 1.3 foreign workers) which makes it a huge per capita contribution.
Posted by: ed ||
09/05/2005 1:20 Comments ||
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#3
That's 4 days worth of oil production at current prices or about 1% of Kuwait's annual output. 1% of Uncle Sam's annual GDP is about $100B. Any which way you look at it, it's a pretty hefty slug of cash, for a country Kuwait's size.
#7
I think this is wonderful. We start sounding greedy (for lack of better word here) for condemning the 'amount' offered.
Posted by: Jan ||
09/05/2005 13:23 Comments ||
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#8
phil_b, I took Frank G's advice and took a hiatus from participating in the comments at Rantburg. I haven't stop reading the contributions from everyone else.
Price of liberating Kuwait from Saddam -- priceless
Price of removing the Saddam regime for eternity -- priceless
The per day cost of upkeep of the Emir's aircraft fleet?
$500M is chicken feed for Kuwait.
Posted by: Captain America ||
09/05/2005 13:57 Comments ||
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#10
They could keep that $500M, and if they have any spare capacity, increase oil production instead.
Posted by: Rafael ||
09/05/2005 14:38 Comments ||
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#11
Captain America and Rafael, I think you miss the subtler points here.
First, this is a huge gesture and shames other Arabs whose hospitality is thus called into question.
Second, this sends a major signal to oil speculators, as it said very clearly that Kuwait would offset the loss of US oil production. And in fact that's one reason the price has fallen despite the fact that we don't have a lot of public info yet about the extent of destruction to platforms, rigs and the terminal.
#14
I wasn't trying to denigrate Kuwait's contribution, merely stating that they could probably better help out by increasing oil production. Though I don't think they have any spare production capacity.
Posted by: Rafael ||
09/05/2005 16:08 Comments ||
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#15
They aren't increasing production, so far as I know, but the point is that their pledge is for crude oil and gasoline, not money, diverted to us rather than onto the market.
Price of liberating Kuwait from Saddam -- priceless
CA: Price of removing the Saddam regime for eternity -- priceless
The per day cost of upkeep of the Emir's aircraft fleet?
$500M is chicken feed for Kuwait.
We liberated most of Europe from the Nazis and the Soviets at the cost of half our annual GDP for 4 years and hundreds of thousands of dead GI's. 1% of the EU's economy is about $70B. Has the EU pledged $70B? $70B is chickenfeed for the EU. But they haven't exactly ponied up, have they?
#17
The other point not mentioned is that Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Japan ponied up the cash for Desert Storm. The price we paid was under 200 lives. I think Kuwait's really stepping up to the plate.
#20
Jackel -- sorry, translation service comes extra
Posted by: Captain America ||
09/05/2005 21:50 Comments ||
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#21
Attempting to legitimize the chum from Kuwait with the penis envy of Europe is a false argument. Each should be compelled to give according to their means
Captn America, don't mess with the eelpout or you'll end up with brown trout. Beware the credit expansion of the crusty cusk.
My daddy can piss farther than yours.
P.S. You still sound like a tool when you speak without translation.
Governor Orders Venezuelan Troops to Seize Heinz Tomato Plant, Saying It Abandoned
The Associated Press
Published: Sep 5, 2005
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - A state governor allied to leftist President Hugo Chavez has ordered Venezuelan troops to seize an abandoned tomato-processing plant owned by the H.J. Heinz Co., a state official said Monday.
The plant in the eastern state of Monagas still belongs to Heinz but hasn't been used for years, said Angelica Rivero, a spokeswoman for the governor.
"The governor decided to seize the plant so it can be protected from looters and later be put to use," Rivero said.
Monagas Gov. Jose Gregorio Briceno told the state-run Bolivarian News Agency the plant changed hands several times under previous governments before Heinz purchased it in 1997 and later ceased operations.
Debbie Foster, a spokeswoman for the Pittsburgh-based food company, said the plant had not been used for eight to 10 years but gave no other comment.
Officials were expected to expropriate the plant, a move that would require the Venezuelan National Assembly to declare the property to be of "public interest." It wasn't immediately clear whether soldiers were posted at the plant Monday.
Chavez, a close ally of Cuba's Fidel Castro who says he supports socialism, has said the government may expropriate the property of companies whose factories are idle or partially paralyzed in order to put them back to work.
One nearby town, Caicara, suffered because of the actions of the "transnational monopoly," Briceno told the state news agency, known by its Spanish initials ABN.
"At that time I was mayor of that town and I felt impotent, my hands tied, as 30 million kilos (66 million pounds) of tomatoes ... were produced, and the closing of the business led the farm workers to go broke," Briceno told ABN.
Venezuela's constitution says the government will respect private property but that the state may expropriate property if for public use or "social interest," as long as compensation is paid.
So far this year, the government has expropriated the assets of a failed paper company and an industrial valve maker.
The governor's order to seize the tomato plant came as Venezuela's largest food producer, Alimentos Polar, said it was challenging the legality of a military takeover of its storage facilities in the southernwestern state of Barinas.
Will Tar-ay-za tell Hugo to shove it? Is it possible that compensation was paid in advance, say, last year during the election campaign?
#1
Hugo wants the much vaunted and totally failed command economy of Socialist states like the USSR. The communists have even partially given up on them because they don't work. He can see how well it's worked in his ideal Cuba for himself and still wants to emulate it.
When and if we can gain energy independence his riches will still flow in because of all the other countries hooked on oil. We are in seeing this for the long haul (again.) Asshats never learn Socialism leads to failure.
#3
10 years ago, eh? Mr Heinz, a Rpublican business man had the plant running. Then the Democrat wife gets it and shuts it down. People loose jobs. Democrats make the Socialists look good. That is scary.
#4
A plant that hasn't run in a decade. I see rusty bearings, seized compressors, crumbling gaskets... They're doing Heinz a favor. Let's see if they want any of our SuperFund sites.
#5
Not to mention the skeletons of the critters that got lost after they wandered into the pipes... Starting up long idled plants is a mess. Assume six months of concentrated trouble shooting if there is a really good engineer on the job. Otherwise, you might as well start rebuilding from the ground up -- everything is going to break down, one breakdown causing the next until most every part has been replaced at least once.
#6
the government may expropriate the property of companies whose factories are idle or partially paralyzed in order to put them back to work
Oh yes, I love planned economies. We should be encouraging this. Venezuela needs more ketchup factories. One on every corner! Ketchup for breakfast, lunch and dinner! People will have jobs*!!!
*with a starting wage of 2 bottles of ketchup per hour.
Not to mention the skeletons of the critters that got lost after they wandered into the pipes...
Note to self: stay away from ketchup in Venezuela.
Posted by: Rafael ||
09/05/2005 22:41 Comments ||
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#7
No doubt they will be hiring unemployed Russian efficiency experts and acquiring Chinese replacement parts.
#3
The global scientific community, and well-informed elites of all kinds, are preparing to switch sides on nuclear power, and they must prepare the ground first.
This is partially in response to Kyoto and the media-driven but irreversible acceptance of anthropogenic global warming, but it is also a response to the continuing global crises over the distribution of fossil fuels.
Expect certain other vested interests, like the environmental activism industry and the pop-culture complex, to continue and even increase their opposition, but the die is cast.
There will be a resurgence of nuclear power.
#5
Chernobyl is a great laboratory in several ways.
First of all, only limited types of isotopes were released, which means that their signature effect on lifeforms can now be examined in the macro scale and distinguised from the effects of other isotopes. There was also a minimum of toxic chemical contamination that could have produced similar effects and damage.
Second thing, it gives great examples both of 1st generation adaptation to radiation and these isotopes, and subsequent generational adaptation. So far, it is far faster and better than previously believed.
All sorts of morbidity and mortality information in humans will have to be strongly adjusted, mostly downwards. And follow-ups to prophalaxis and decontamination procedures, to see if they were effective or not, will have application in the future.
Germany's conservative challenger Angela Merkel last night scored a decisive victory over chancellor Gerhard Schröder in the only live debate of the German election campaign. In a gripping 90-minute TV duel, Mrs Merkel repeatedly got the better of a stumbling Schröder - telling Germans that the only way to get the country out of its present mess was to vote for her Christian Democrat party. "You can't be satisfied with the situation in this country," she told the chancellor bluntly. "I don't see anything in your programme to address this."
Mr Schröder for his part accused Mrs Merkel of unfairly rubbishing Germany's economy - which was improving thanks to his reforms. "What you're saying about the economy overlooks that Germany has become the world's top exporter in the last three years," he said.
But the chancellor looked distinctly uncomfortable during much of the debate, and had a terrible opening few minutes. "She was the clear winner," Jochen Thies, a senior political correspondent with Deutschland Radio said last night. "She was simply better than Schröder. She was good on the detail, and when she attacked. I think after this the gap between the two of them will widen, when the 20% of undecided voters realise Schröder was the loser.'
Some 20 million German households tuned into last night's debate, making it the country's biggest TV event since Germany lost to Brazil in the 2002 World Cup final. Before the clash Mr Schröder - an accomplished media performer - was widely expected to do better than his conservative rival. In the event, though, Mrs Merkel appeared both quicker and more confident. She even made a joke. Asked whether it was thanks to Mr Schröder's liberal red-green government that it was now possible for a woman to become German chancellor, she replied: "No." Referring to the fact she was born in West Germany but grew up in the communist east, she added: "I'm a product of German reunification and I'm a product of my parents. I'm proud of both."
Last night Mr Schröder could take some consolation from opinion polls after the debate which suggested he had won a narrow victory. But opinion polls over the weekend gave Mrs Merkel's CDU party a decisive lead with 43% of the vote, according to Der Spiegel magazine. Mr Schröder's Social Democratic party (SPD) has gone up one per cent to 32%, with its coalition partner the Greens on 7%. Germany's new Left party is on 9%, while Mrs Merkel's coalition partner, the liberal Free Democrats (FDP), is on 6%. With record numbers of German voters still undecided, however, a "grand coalition" between Mrs Merkel's conservatives and Mr Schröder's Social Democrats is still a possibility.
But not real likely, I'd guess...
During last night's debate a tired-looking Mr Schröder tried to regain the initiative by reminding the German public that he had opposed the war in Iraq, unlike Mrs Merkel. He also criticised his opponent for her opposition to Turkish membership of the European Union. He declared: "You are making a major foreign policy mistake. You do not understand what geopolitical significance linking Turkey to the EU has."
Looking relaxed in a black suit with white buttons, Mrs Merkel said that she and an increasing number of voters believed in a Europe with clear boundaries. This didn't include Turkey, she said. In a closing address to the cameras, she said that if voters were happy with Mr Schröder's record on jobs, growth and pensions over the past seven years they should vote for him. If they thought Germany could do better, however, they should vote for her.
Three years ago, Mr Schröder's nimble performance in the second of two TV debates against his then challenger Edmund Stoiber helped vault him to a dramatic victory. Mr Schröder was consistently behind in the polls but won after criticising the Bush administration's decision to invade Iraq. Before last night's duel Mrs Merkel resisted pressure from Mr Schröder's camp to meet for two TV debates, though the two candidates will meet again during a round-table discussion. Germany's four leading public and private channels all broadcast the debate simultaneously - an arrangement, some said, that made Germany look a bit like a Stalinist state. "The same image on four channels. It feels like North Korea," Nikolaus Brender, editor-in-chief for the ZDF public sector network, one of the organisers, admitted before the duel started.
I guess he's pissed at missing his Gilligan's Island reruns...
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/05/2005 01:08 ||
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#1
Oh good, I hope to see the stomping live on cable?
Posted by: Captain America ||
09/05/2005 1:56 Comments ||
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#2
Article: Looking relaxed in a black suit with white buttons, Mrs Merkel said that she and an increasing number of voters believed in a Europe with clear boundaries. This didn't include Turkey, she said.
This will win it for her. Every time Schroder mentions Turkey, he's got be losing points. If you throw Turkey's 80m people into the mix, Muslims will become 20% - 25% of the EU's population.
#5
she said that if voters were happy with Mr Schröder's record on jobs, growth and pensions over the past seven years they should vote for him.
That sounds a lot like Reagan's closing in 1980. Of course, Merkel is no Reagan. I'm still very concerned that she is proposing raising marginal tax rates.
I have to agree with berdardz. Schroeder appeared to be behind in 2002 until he played the anti-American card. Unfortunately, there are still lots of "Good Germans" who listen to their betters.
#11
TGA, sad to see a proud and noble country go straight to their knees and slavery in the last 30+ years. I kinda see this as a "damn if you do or don't" type of scenerio.
#12
Schroder did it again - he brought up Uncle Sam in the debate. From the guys at Power Line:
Yesterday, in a televised debate with Merkel, Schroeder took things to a new level by attacking the federal response to Hurricane Katrina, about which, I suspect, he knows little (Merkel declined to discuss the matter). He contrasted the response to his government's actions to far less devastating floods in 2002.
Shortly after Gerhard Schröder first became German chancellor in 1998, the British tabloid press declared his longtime rival and then finance minister Oskar Lafontaine "the most dangerous man in Europe." At the time, this seemed a ludicrous judgment - not least because it was quickly proved wrong by Lafontaine himself, who resigned only weeks afterward in what is generally regarded one of the more embarrassing cop-outs in postwar German politics.
Now, almost seven years later, Lafontaine, who was the first former leader to be threatened with expulsion from the Social Democractic Party (SPD) for delivering a series of public diatribes against his own party, has joined forces with the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS, the former East German Communists) and other leftist groups, and looks set to win a sizable share of the vote in the national elections scheduled for Sept. 18.
An embittered ex-politician's attempt to stage a political comeback with a scratch alliance of left wingers, ex-Communists and globalization critics may not be all that unusual, given the current political climate across much of Europe, but there are a number of reasons that make the success of Lafontaine's Left Party (Linkspartei) especially worrisome.
For one, there is the size and scope of the movement. In Britain, the antigovernment member of Parliament George Galloway succeeded by running almost exclusively on an anti-Iraq-war platform, winning a narrow relative majority in a largely Muslim constituency. By contrast, the Lafontaine-led Left Party's agenda is much broader, exploiting widespread disappointment in the former East Germany and western German fears of economic impoverishment due to rising high-level unemployment.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/05/2005 01:03 ||
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A day after two police suicides and the abrupt resignations or desertions of up to 200 police officers, defiant city officials on Sunday began offering five-day vacations - and even trips to Las Vegas - to the police, firefighters and city emergency workers and their families. ... "I'm very concerned about individuals who have been here, particularly since the first few days, and have been through a lot of hardship," Mr. Nagin said. ...
To quote my sainted father: "That boy's crazy!"
His words were seconded by the police superintendent, P. Edwin Compass III, in a separate interview.
Cheeze! It's catching!
"When you go through something this devastating and traumatic," Mr. Compass said, "you've got to do something dramatic to jump-start the healing process." ... Colonel Ebbert, the senior official running the recovery and rescue operation, and Mr. Compass both said that they planned to take a break as well, but probably for less than five days, and that they would continue to direct the recovery by telephone. ... Officials said they expected the military, with much greater resources, to expand rescue work, begin cleaning up the city and take the first steps toward reconstruction.
"Tar?"
"She's a-bubblin', Maurice!"
"Feathers?"
"Six bags!"
"Ptichforks?"
"Got a dozen of 'em!"
"Okay! Let's start the city council meetin'!"
#1
I think we're breeding welfare. I wonder how many folks have been getting free services in NO before this tragedy without lifting a finger at all. I like to help the needy, but the abuses kill me. Yes, alot is necessary, but what I mean here is this; alot of the more able bodied folks that are displaced and now out of work, could start working behind the counter with the relief effort, a job in a way and it would benefit all. We can keep giving, or we can start helping to get these guys in the proper mind set of helping each other by getting them into the mode of assisting with the many services needed here. There are alot of areas that need help. For folks to sit back and not do anything, with some complaining, is wrong in my mind.
I'm reminded of when we were evacuated here, (the fires in Colorado) yes we had the red cross, and believe me they were truly wonderful. But alot of locals pitched in and helped in alot of ways usually in things that they were good at already. Students walked dogs for the elderly, others rescued horses, others helped in communications etc etc.
I'll tell you this, no one offered us expensive trips to Las Vegas, will they get spending money too? Who's running this crazy show.
Posted by: Jan ||
09/05/2005 15:15 Comments ||
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#3
"Officials said they expected the military, with much greater resources, to expand rescue work, begin cleaning up the city and take the first steps toward reconstruction."
Unbe-fucking-lievable. So city officials are going to go off somewhere pleasant and sit on their asses while OTHER people take on the task of resuing and cleaning up??????
Well, I suppose that's about what you'd expect from people who've been brought up to believe they're nothing but poor, helpless victims whose welfare is not their own responsibility, but someone else's.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
09/05/2005 16:03 Comments ||
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#4
Are they going to take cell phones to Vegas so the Feds can call them when the job is done?
#5
Well, I suppose Los Vegas will give a warm welcome to the NOPD....and put a guard on the nearby drugstores, grocery stores and the Circuit City outlet. (Ohhh, that was cruel of me, wasn't it? I felt a teensy bit of regret at being so brutally sarcastic, but it passed in a moment.)
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
09/05/2005 17:13 Comments ||
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#9
This is NOT Scrappleface?
The link goes to the New York Times, so it is, however unintentionally, a similar site. Utterly amazing -- it hasn't occurred to the Mayor to deputize those solid citizens who chose to stay behind.
#12
This guy is such a clown. And I mean that literally - I'm sure he's a riot to be around. Even if the CIA were in the business of assassinating domestic opponents - which it is not - it would try to keep this guy alive just for entertainment value. The guy sounds like a Hollywood actor without a script - someone needs to get a better scriptwriter for him.
#13
I'm not a real mayor, but I do play one for news broadcasts in New Orleans. Actually, I am an actor, but I did sleep at the Sean Penn Tech Vocational Center for EMT training last night.
Posted by: Mayor Ray Nagin ||
09/05/2005 18:09 Comments ||
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#14
I've seen some descendents of slaves equate work with slavery, and why service is so poor in some Caribbean isles. This lack of initiative is incredible! Why didn't anyone start cleaning up or stacking bodies outside the Superdome instead of complaining? Nagin should have organized buses to get those without the means out when the mandatory warning was issued to begin with. They got off the plane they thought would take them to ulta-conservative Mormon Utah, without the vices available to NO city officials on vacation in Vegas.
#15
Folks, it's called a bribe, common in the Big Easy.
In essence, the mayor is fending off internal criticism by buying off the coppers. Vegas does strike me as a place to "wind down".
Posted by: Captain America ||
09/05/2005 19:30 Comments ||
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#16
I see Bush/Clinton are raising funds to turn over to the governors. Good thing they didn't include the mayor, or contributors would be demanding refunds. I wonder how many NO police/firefighters will go to Vegas/Atlanta and never return.
#17
You go, Ray. You show those lazy-ass bastards in New York how it's done. Why, after 9/11, hundreds of New York police and firefighters never turned up to work again -- just like your boys! ('Course, they were dead, but let's not quibble.)
What's Bernard Kerik doing these days? Maybe Bush should appoint him viceroy of New Orleans. He could have a dozen underage illegal immigrant hookers stashed at city expense there, and no one would even notice.
#18
They're not really welcome here in Sin City - too poor and foolish for Vegas - they'd just be taking up space. There are people here who skin extortionists and crooks and corrupt officials for a living - and they live very very well. Nugget & Da Boyz should vacation in Cuba, where they'd be welcomed -- their $USD would go further and their political outlook would be harmonious.
Tiny piece of very long article Nagin said late Saturday that he's having his legal staff look into whether he can order a mandatory evacuation of the city, a step he's been hesitant to do because of potential liability on the part of the city for closing hotels and other businesses.
In an alternate world, in which Nagin ordered (and implemented) an evacuation and Katrina swerved to the Florida Panhandle, you can see the lawsuits:
This unnecessary evacuation cost me everything to looters.
Our business is bankrupt because of his false orders.
#1
SERIOUSLY, for a second: the fact that the mayor's office has been unable to control looting, rioting, and other violence is actually going to make it harder to evacuate people from the area the next time around.
It'll also be a larger factor in causing people to not move back to New Orleans if it's ever rebuilt.
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
09/05/2005 17:36 Comments ||
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#2
Okay, I'll bite, iff AL SHARPTON is going to accuse Dubya and the Fed of engaging in genocide ags NO's poor and blacks, both by blacks being randomly or indiscriminantly shot on sight, and or aid/rescue being deliberately withheld, doesn't that kinda make NAGIN's decision for Nagin - iff Nagin fails to order mandatory evac, will Sharpton accuse Nagin of contributing to the alleged Fed-induced/ordered genocide of NO's blacks???
EFL: WASHINGTON -- President Bush on Monday nominated John Roberts to succeed William H. Rehnquist as chief justice and called on the Senate to confirm him before the Supreme Court opens its fall term on Oct. 3. Just 50 years old, Roberts could shape the court for decades to come. The Senate is expected to begin his confirmation hearings as chief justice either Thursday or next Monday. The opening of Roberts' previously scheduled confirmation hearings, for the position of associate justice, initially was to be Tuesday, but that was canceled until after Rehnquist's funeral on Wednesday.
The swift move would promote to the Supreme Court's top job a newcomer who currently is being considered as one of eight associate justices. It would also ensure a full 9-member court, because retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor has said she will remain on the job until her replacement is confirmed. The selection of Roberts helps Bush avoid new political problems when he already is under fire for the government's sluggish response to Hurricane Katrina and his approval ratings in the polls are at the lowest point of his presidency.
A brief delay in confirmation hearings for Roberts, which had been set to start Tuesday, was likely in light of his new nomination and Rehnquist's funeral this week. Senate officials are considering two options: starting the confirmation hearing on Thursday or starting the confirmation hearing on Monday, the scenario considered to be the most likely.
But Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., said he still expects Roberts to be confirmed before the new court session begins on October 3. "The president has made an excellent choice," Frist said Monday. "Mr. Roberts is one of the most well qualified candidates to come before the Senate. He will be an excellent chief." Democrats said Roberts will now be held to a higher standard, although they had found little in his record to suggest they would thwart his nomination as associate justice. "Now that the president has said he will nominate Judge Roberts as chief justice, the stakes are higher and the Senate's advice and consent responsibility is even more important," Democratic leader Harry Reid said Monday in a statement. "The Senate must be vigilant."
Posted by: Steve ||
09/05/2005 11:24 ||
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#1
And the Moonbats at DU respond as expected:
"The guy is TOO damned young, doesn't have enough judge type experience and is too god-damned partisan. He is also racist and sexist and a corporatist. If the dems (lead by the bushie butt kisser Reid) roll over . . . then the democratic party is deader than it already is. "
"More like a distraction. He's gonna try to sneak Roberts in while the attention is all focused on the aftermath of Katrina."
"The arrogance of this move is astounding, even for Bush. I thought for sure that Scalia would have gotten the nod. It's almost like they are daring the Democrats to filibuster the Roberts nominations, which I think they should. This guy is a partisan hack, who doesn't have enough judicial experience to even be a member of the Supreme Court, let alone Chief Justice."
"GW shoving it in everyone's faces for saying he was "on vacation for too, long; screwed up on Katrina; has a goofy wife; has the goofy twits; for doubting that he is "touched" and belongs in the white house at this point of the rapturxxxxx... oops, history."
"I think that he's timing this to cover for military maneuvers in NO. About 20 minutes ago on the scanner thread in GD, autocrat reported that everything suddenly was jammed. There had been sporadic jamming all night, but now the scanner feeds are totally gone. The MSM will be all over this like they are whenever a pretty white girl goes missing. New Orleans? Katrina? That will be old news."
Damm, Karl Rove is good.
Posted by: Steve ||
09/05/2005 11:49 Comments ||
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Bush actually does something ballsy for once. It's been a long time, W.
Posted by: Chris W. ||
09/05/2005 12:17 Comments ||
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#3
What's going to be ballsy is the nomination to replace the woman Sandra Day O'Connor.Guaranteed to sent the DU's into orbit.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
09/05/2005 12:28 Comments ||
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#4
I think it's a mistake. Better to have Roberts replace O'Connor and then have another conservative replace Rehnquist. Once Roberts is confirmed, getting another conservative to fill in for Rehnquist is a no-brainer. Having Roberts replace Rehnquist, and then fighting the O'Connor battle all over again is going to be tough.
#5
Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't believe Rehnquist served as a Judge, either. This is really sending the Dems into a mouth-frothing frenzy.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAH!
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
09/05/2005 12:49 Comments ||
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#6
Good luck selling Roberts as "too extreme" compared to Renquist. Roberts used to clerk for him, which means he did his job at least part of the time.
I notice he's now "too young and inexperienced"...
#7
You're right DB. From Rehnquist'a bio: EDUCATION: Bachelor's and master's degree, Stanford University, 1948; master's degree, Harvard University, 1949; law degree, Stanford University, 1952.
CAREER: U.S. Army Air Corps soldier, 1943-46; law clerk to Justice Robert H. Jackson, 1951-53; private practice in Phoenix, Ariz., 1953-69; assistant U.S. attorney general, Office of Legal Counsel, 1969-71; named to Supreme Court by President Nixon, 1972; elevated to chief justice by President Reagan, 1986.
No judge title 'til Nixon brought him the Supreme Court.
#8
Well mojo, if the Dems insisted that a Sandra O'Conner type replace Sandra they then set the standard for the Chief Justice. Sounds like one of his former clerk certainly meets that standard. Not that it will mean they'll STFU with new and even more demands. However, it is a nice turn on be careful of what you wish for.
#9
they've been reduced to criticizing Roberts for things he wrote in high school...pathetic losers
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/05/2005 13:52 Comments ||
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#10
I think this is an excellent move, for the court as well as politically.
Roberts strikes me as the kind of temperament (personal and legal) who can pull together a majority opinion on important issues. That first and foremost is the Chief Justice's job.
His relative youth also means some stability over time. God knows we need some in this country and will need it more in the near future.
#11
OO: Roberts strikes me as the kind of temperament (personal and legal) who can pull together a majority opinion on important issues. That first and foremost is the Chief Justice's job.
I doubt anyone can "pull" anything together in the SC. Rehnquist has certainly been in the minority for a heck of a lot of Supreme Court cases. The Chief Justice designation is purely ceremonial. CJ's don't have any more authority than any other SC justice. Roberts' appointment certainly won't make the liberals on the court less liberal.
#12
Bush had to do this. When the Chief Justice dies the oldest member takes over -- in this case Stevens. That would put the court into liberal hands for the new term starting Oct 2, and less one conservative vote.
O'Connor's resignation only takes effect when her replacement is confirmed. With Roberts in as Chief Justice and O'Connor still on board until a replacement is confirmed we at least maintain the status quo.
Look for the left to demand more time (i.e. delays).
Here's hoping Roberts is as good as he'd better be.
#13
CJ's don't have any more authority than any other SC justice
On the contrary. Chief Justices assign the writing of opinions, usually after feeling out the justices on their positions. There is in fact a good deal of negotiation that happens on the court and the CJ either facilitates that or is swept away by it or makes it impossible to achieve well.
Of COURSE he won't change the philosophy of the liberals. But a lot of the vote casting on the court comes after camps emerge - and THAT happens when the issues get framed.
A lot can be done by framing those issues from the start in ways that can produce interesting alliances.
I'm not saying there's a magic wand, but there certainly is a reason this appointment is a bigger one than for an associate.
Went to the Dallas Convention Center and the place is swarming. I asked some Guardsmen about Bob who is in the guard and posts comments here and one said he would try to find out if he was not on post. If he was on post he would not be able to come by or he may be asleep. I told him that if he was alseep, don't bother him, I would check in later. The guardsman or Bob never did come back and I am sure they were busy. The Convention Center is swarming with refugees from Katrina.
I spoke with Clarence, a New Orleans native who was with his wife and 5 kids. I gave them a laugh they said they needed when I warned them about wearing Saints t-shirts in Dallas.
I asked Clarence what happened during Katrina and he said he and his family just came from "that hell hole", which he clarified as the Super Dome. He said tiredly and slowly, "Man there was a lot of drama there, a lot of drama."
This family were more like middle class people, the exhausted mom had her head resting against the palm of her hand the whole time I was talking to them. They had their own place, kids were in school, mom and dad had a job and they were living the life normal families live two weeks ago and now they are in a building with thousands of other poeple, hundreds of miles away from home as a family and knowing they will not be going back home for a long time.
A lot of people were going into the Convention Center while I was talking to them. These people were very weary, very tired. A lot of these are now New Orleans people who have a car but are now out of money, and their place of work is gone, and they are wandering around the South trying to find a place to unload the car and get something to eat.
The Red Cross was right there in the middle of the Convention Center, they had a place to volunteer but the volunteer list is full to over flowing.
Poeple like Clarence and his family need to find a way to get back to a normal life. Kids in school, Clarence back at work, and mom needs to have her own space again for her family.
Police, state troopers, and the guard are everywhere helping these people. One guardsman told me, this is going to be a long process.
#1
RG, thanks for this update....I live outside Dallas,to the west, been doing what I can for the people they are bringing here to stay in churches. The people out there can help in little ways....think of what you need on a daily basis, go buy 20 of those things and take them to a collection center. People can use everything...yesterday we bought 40 pair of sandals....all sizes....someone can use them..someone, they need everything. Imagine yourself in that situation...what would help? Anything.....do what you can. These are people, it could have been you...dont say it wont be...springtime around here packs a nasty punch...what goes around, comes around.
Posted by: Live to Ride ||
09/05/2005 15:44 Comments ||
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#2
Here's a tip that came out of care packages for the troops in the early days of the Iraq war:
In each one put a toothbrush, toothpaste, comb, tissues, deodorant, powder, disposable razors, nail clippers, hair gel. In some of them put smaller baggies with shaving cream for men or basic cosmetics for women. Consider children's vitamins and a soft hair brush. Baby wipes for everyone.
Living in a camp sucks. But if we can maintain our own grooming, it has a big effect on our morale and dignity. The senders got the most amazing thank-yous from troops for these.
Another possibility is snacks. Just be sure there's enough to go around.
A very comprehensive plan, but it leaves one wondering if anyone other than the author(s) ever read it let along conduct the required training. Blanco's copy was found behind a filing cabinet and Nagin's copy was being used to level his cradenza. /sacarasm/ It's rather lengthy so you may wish to scan down to ANNEX I: HURRICANES RESPONSE (PHASE II: WARNING, EVACUATION, AND SHELTERING) The authority to call for evacuation is quite clear:The authority to order the evacuation of residents threatened by an approaching hurricane is conferred to the Governor by Louisiana Statute. The Governor is granted the power to direct and compel the evacuation of all or part of the population from a stricken or threatened area within the State, if he deems this action necessary for the preservation of life or other disaster mitigation, response or recovery. The same power to order an evacuation conferred upon the Governor is also delegated to each political subdivision of the State by Executive Order. This authority empowers the chief elected official of New Orleans, the Mayor of New Orleans, to order the evacuation of the parish residents threatened by an approaching hurricane. Note: There is no mention of the POTUS in this plan. The money quote:<In determining the proper time to issue evacuation orders, there is no substitute for human judgement based upon all known circumstances surrounding local conditions and storm characteristics. Too bad the lamestream media doesn't compare this plan to what really happened or what didn't happen and should have.
#1
Even though lamestream Media is reporting Texas is over loaded and struggling, Governor Rick Perry said they are doing well because, get this "we have been planning and drilling for a disaster like this for years."
#3
Yes, Gentlemen...a careful read of this plan CLEARLY indicates the totally criminal incompetence of both the air-head Mayor and the Cowardly Governor. Just as Lawton Childs in FL, after Andrew, refused to declare a State of Emergency so he could blame Bush I, these turkeys are so hot to blame "W" that they let thousands die. This will never be reported honestly by the LSM/MSM. Were it not for other good Americans, many thousands more would be dead. Wonder why this crap didn't happen in MS or AL? Easy, it's called LEADERSHIP!
Posted by: Old Marine ||
09/05/2005 5:04 Comments ||
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#4
Its time for the stupid question of the day. It states "The Governor is granted the power to direct and compel the evacuation of all or part of the population from a stricken or threatened area within the State" but did the State govmint agree to this? Somewhere in the state law or plan there should be verbage accepting the responsibility. If it aint there then the Mayor/city govmint is still responsible.
#5
Has anyone been watching interviews of Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard? Incredible! I have so far seen him flat out cry during an interview. So much so, the network had to end the interview. In another interview he demanded everyone at the federal level, anonymous bureaucrats up to the president, be jailed, accusing them of murder. Curious that he did not include himself when he, as president of Jefferson Parish, is responsible for the piss poor emergency planning and execution those first few days until state and fed resources could be marshalled to New Orleans area. Each day, I am getting more disgusted with the calibre of Lousiana elected officials.
Posted by: ed ||
09/05/2005 9:10 Comments ||
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#6
The Dems are failing nationally and the last redoubt of power is at the state and local governments. The more they scream about this, the easier it will be to establish 'Katrina' legislation which will trump state and local authority and permit the federal executive to issue direct action for 'pending' major disasters. They just can't see beyond their BDS to understand the damage they're going to continue to do to their own power base.
#8
IMO a lot of blame can be handed out to state, local and federal officials. But the primary planning and co-ordination of emergency planning is on the local and state levels. FEMA declared the area a disastar area before the storm made land fall. Some of the problems FEMA would of had in prepositioning supplies is
1) Just where is the storm going to make land fall?
2) If one prepositions supplies there is the possibility that they could get wiped out in storm itself.
3) Road/rail access to the affected areas. Given the number of downed trees and power lines you can't just send relief convoys charging down the highways. And in this case was FEMA planning on using the Causeway?
#9
#4. but did the State govmint agree to this? What you cited is from Louisiana state law enacted by the legislature and signed by a governor. It's da law.
#10
Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard? Incredible!
I saw that and I can't remember when a room of people laughed so hard. Of course the media won't go and see if there actually is a "mamma" who drowned. I'll feel bad if the story was actually true, but I give it a .01% chance.
It went like this - after allowing Broussard (?) to rant on Bush for everything - the talking air head (can't remember which one), asked him a good question, do you think the mayor or governor deserves any blame? Apparently unable to respond, Broussard launched into the world's biggest wopper - about poor ol grandma stuck on the rooftop ...and on Monday he told her...don't worry momma - they are on their way...and then on Tuesday she called and he said.."don't worry, mamma, they are on their way...and then on Wednesday...she called and he said, don't worry Mamma, they are on their way ...
now each day his voice is rising and begins to quiver and by thursday he's in a downright academy award winning performance, sobbing and barely able to get through this same conversation on Thursday...on Friday Broussard is in a total sobbing meltdown when mamma drowns right before the rescuer's get there.
Poor ol' sick mamma..her cell phone was working so well, you think they could have got to her!
#11
2b----saw that one last night on cable at a freiend's house. We in the seat cushion audience looked at each other, and said nothing but our looks said WTFO? That is sommmmmmmme leadership. He got his 15 minutes of fame and he be done now. There are those that lead. There are those that follow. And there are those that fly around like runaway ballons until they run out of air.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
09/05/2005 11:18 Comments ||
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#12
Has anyone noticed the arrival at Fox of Bill Hummer Hemmer, formerly of CNN? The spew he issued there is obviously his personal brand - he's doing it on the Katrina coverage. He just introduced a segment with some blather about the poor Mayor of NO, under the most astonishing burden imaginable - then immediately brought up some shit about a clamor from LA elected officials that Bush must fire all of FEMA's Mgmt - supporting the notion that locals are martyrs and the Feds are to blame.
I believe I'll give up on Fox, too - after emailing them that Hummer sucks, atonally.
#15
IT does also appear that FEMA wasn't as organized as they could be once they were sort of invited in.
BUT ... apart from the horse breeding guy at the top, there is still some blame for that to go onto the state and locals. They are required, as part of the National Response mechanisms, to know what they need, how much and where.
The locals and the state hadn't any clue about that because they didn't really have an emergency mechanism in place. For instance, every city I know has a designated emergency control center with backup generators for this sort of event. The mayor of NO finally commandeered the Hyatt to be his - but because there wasn't a real ops plan in place and practiced, they didn't have backup power for the police radio base station. Result = within 30 minutes, no police radios, no ability to call in status info or request backup. That's one reason Nagin told them to ignore looting.
The basic gig is that after the 93 attacks on the Twin Towers, cities began setting up integrated emergency centers/ plans. Federal $$ were available for this and it didn't require the sophisticated computers etc. that NYC ended up with. Smaller cities could copy plans that got proofed out and just adopt them locally.
What you DO have to do is a) put them into effect, b) practice them and keep equipment in working order and c) have the balls to use them when needed.
A, B, C ... 3 strikes and New Orleans is OUT!!!
Add to this: Hurrican Ivan, which ended up not doing a lot of damage in 2004 but showed decisively that an evacuation needed to start earlier and that the Superdome would not suffice as emergency shelter unless it was pre-stocked with cots, food, water, medicines. In fact, evacuating using the school and transit buses was explicitly recommended after Ivan. They chose not to do so because they didn't want the tourist trade to come after them if the storm didn't actually damage the city.
Tough call ... but that's what you get paid for in office. More to the point, they didn't have a CHANCE of coming through a storm hit without having an ops plan in place and worked out.
I will never, and I mean NEVER forgive that son of a bitch for going on TV on Monday and telling the feds to "get your asses down here with 500 buses right now". That piece of puke does not deserve and will not get my sympathy for that disgusting grandstanding for his constituents - whom he failed in criminal ways.
#17
If we wouldn't rebuild Iraq with the same crooks and kleptocracy in charge why would we want to rebuild NO with the same patronage corruption based political machine that is responsible for sucking billions of dollars and the life out of a city to leave it nothing more than just a third world city with first world trimmings? Its not like we have any experienced personnel, like say those having served in Iraq, who know anything about putting cities back together again while cleaning out the physical and political trash.
#18
What she DID do is a) set up a fund for moneies outside of the Stafford Act mechanisms and b) hire the Clinton FEMA director to come work for her. All after the storm hit.
Interesting. Almost like she was trying to start her own little disaster-money slush fund, and called in one of the masters to help.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
09/05/2005 18:26 Comments ||
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Other reports say the plane carried 190, so expect that to rise ...
An Indonesian jetliner crashed into a residential neighbourhood in the city of Medan one minute after takeoff Monday and burst into flames, witnesses said. At least 30 people were feared dead.
The plane was operated by Mandala, a low-cost carrier, and was heading to Jakarta when it crashed, Rizal, a witness, told Metro television station.
It was not immediately clear how many people were on board the plane, but Rizal said he saw at least 30 charred bodies at the accident site.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/05/2005 00:52 ||
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#1
This was a 737-200, at least 17 years old. Jeebus.
#2
A 737-200 can carry 100 passengers in 2 class config. or 130 passengers in single class config.
Posted by: ed ||
09/05/2005 1:47 Comments ||
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#3
This was a 737-200, at least 17 years old.
If this scares you, look at the age of Northwest's fleet. TWA 800 was a 25-year-old 747, IIRC. And they said a missile brought it down? Bullshit, it died of old age, as far as airliners are concerned.
Posted by: Rafael ||
09/05/2005 2:02 Comments ||
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#5
The plane was nearly 25 years old, Mandala said, and received its last comprehensive service in June. It had flown more than 50,000 hours and was due to be retired in 2016.
JAKARTA - A strong earthquake struck off Indonesiaâs eastern Sulawesi island on Monday, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, authorities in the closest major city said. The 6.2 magnitude quake hit at 6:58 a.m. (2358 GMT on Sunday) with the epicentre 400 kilometres (250 miles) under the Sulawesi Sea, near the border with the Philippines.
âIt was under sea. We donât have any damage reported,â said Artina, an official the Geological and Meteorology Agencyâs office in the North Sulawesi capital of Manado, 250 kilometres (155 miles) east of the epicentre. Manado is some 2,200 kilometres (1,400 miles) northeast of Jakarta.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/05/2005 00:08 ||
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Felt three minor trebles, includ one while Guam was in the midst of a late-nite, island-wide, power outage. Didn't feel right for the Anatahan volcano.
After initial hesitation, US officials on Sunday handed their German counterparts a "wish list" of emergency aid such as logistics experts, water purification plants and medical help for victims of hurricane Katrina.
William Timken, the new US ambassador to Germany, handed the list to German government officials during a meeting Sunday afternoon.
The list largely corresponds with help that had been offered by Germany: logistics experts, pumps, drinking water and water purification systems, generators, emergency shelters, blankets and medical help.
German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder has also offered with vaccines, medical equipment and large quantities of aid packages.
Timken (photo) thanked Germany for the willingness to help, including 25 tons of meals that have already been flown to the US. A first plane with 10 tons of food arrived on Saturday, while a second delivery was due to arrive in Pensacola, Florida at about 9 p.m. UTC.
Timken also thanked the German Red Cross for its support -- the national chapter plans to send seven experts to the disaster region to aid American Red Cross workers.
US officials were hesitant about a German military plane bringing aid to the US
[...]
The plane is usually used to transport injured soldiers
Germany's flying hospital, Medevac, which was used in the tsunami areas, is expected to arrive in the US on Monday, according to German public broadcaster NDR.
The plane comes with "a complete team of about 40 doctors and nurses," Andreas KÃŒnkler, a German air force pilot who delivered the first shipment of aid to the US. "That's what makes this plane unique in the world."
Posted by: True German Ally ||
09/05/2005 16:40 ||
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TGA, as a lifelong New Orleanian I thank you.
Posted by: Matt ||
09/05/2005 17:56 Comments ||
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#2
TGA, "It is God-like for mortal to assist mortal; and this is the way to Immortality" (Pliny the Elder) BTW, I really miss being stationed in Germany, my wife and I are hoping to do 1 more tour in Stuttgart before we retire. Long Live Hofbrau und Jaegerschnitzel!
BATON ROUGE, Louisiana (AP) -- Volunteer physicians are pouring in to care for the sick, but red tape is keeping hundreds of others from caring for Hurricane Katrina survivors while health problems rise.
Among the doctors stymied from helping out are 100 surgeons and paramedics in a state-of-the-art mobile hospital, developed with millions of tax dollars for just such emergencies, marooned in rural Mississippi. "The bell was rung, the e-mails were sent off. ...We all got off work and deployed," said one of the frustrated surgeons, Dr. Preston "Chip" Rich of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
"We have tried so hard to do the right thing. It took us 30 hours to get here," he said. That government officials can't straighten out the mess and get them assigned to a relief effort now that they're just a few miles away "is just mind-boggling," he said.
While the doctors wait, the first signs of disease began to emerge Saturday: A Mississippi shelter was closed after 20 residents got sick with dysentery, probably from drinking contaminated water. Many other storm survivors were being treated in the Houston Astrodome and other shelters for an assortment of problems, including chronic health conditions left untreated because people had lost or used up their medicine.
The North Carolina mobile hospital stranded in Mississippi was developed through the Office of Homeland Security after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. With capacity for 113 beds, it is designed to handle disasters and mass casualties. Equipment includes ultrasound, digital radiology, satellite Internet, and a full pharmacy, enabling doctors to do most types of surgery in the field, including open-chest and abdominal operations. It travels in a convoy that includes two 53-foot trailers, which as of Sunday afternoon was parked on a gravel lot 70 miles north of New Orleans because Louisiana officials for several days would not let them deploy to the flooded city, Rich said.
Yet plans to use the facility and its 100 health professionals were hatched days before Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, doctors in the caravan said. As they talked with Mississippi officials about prospects of helping out there, other doctors complained that their offers of help also were turned away. A primary care physician from Ohio called and e-mailed the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services after seeing a notice on the American Medical Association's Web site about volunteer doctors being needed. An e-mail reply told him to watch CNN that night, where U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt was to announce a Web address for doctors to enter their names in a database. "How crazy is that?" he complained in an e-mail to his daughter.
Dr. Jeffrey Guy, a trauma surgeon at Vanderbilt University who has been in contact with the mobile hospital doctors, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview, "There are entire hospitals that are contacting me, saying, 'We need to take on patients," ' but they can't get through the bureaucracy. "The crime of this story is, you've got millions of dollars in assets and it's not deployed," he said. "We mount a better response in a Third World country."
It's looking more and more like Louisiana is a third world country. Yesterday, the Red Cross said N.O. officials would not let them come in and help because that would encourge people to stay instead of getting out.
Posted by: Steve ||
09/05/2005 11:13 ||
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"Yesterday, the Red Cross said N.O. officials would not let them come in and help because that would encourge people to stay instead of getting out."
Nice way to continue to avoid fiscal/humanitarian responsibility for their citizens. "Git 'em out a heer, or we'll be payin' for 'em till dooms day . . . "
A team of South Korean scientists say they have developed a new technology that could open the way to make new devices that could replace current silicon-based semiconductors.
The team led by Kim Hyun-Tak of the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) said they had successfully manufactured what is known as a "Mott Insulator."
Named after Sir Nevill Mott, a British scientist who won the 1977 Nobel Physics Prize, Mott insulators, although metal-based, do not normally conduct electrical charges.
Subjected to a high-voltage shock, however, Mott insulators can conduct electricity at relatively low temperatures of 67 degrees Celcius (152.6 Fahrenheit).
"Silicon generates heat, making it impossible to place ultra-thin circuits on chips but Mott metals do not generate heat while carrying out the same job of semiconductors," ETRI President Lim Joo-Hwan said.
"Semiconductors of the 20th century will eventually give way to Mott insulators," Kim Hyun-Tak told journalists.
He said Mott insulators could open a new market worth 100 billion dollars per year globally, including displays and new devices that would not use silicon-based semiconductors.
By making use of such Mott metal insulators, chips with five-nanometer circuits would be possible, he said. Existing semiconductor chips can theoretically carry 40-nanometer circuits but leading edge products on the market currently run at around 90-nanometers. One nanometer is one billionth of a meter...
Very long article, most of which has already been covered.
Back at the hurricane center in Miami-Dade, Max Mayfield saw disaster coming. He knew conditions were perfect for Katrina to attain the status of a catastrophic storm.
Saturday night, Mayfield did something he has done only once in the past: He dialed a public official, in this case Mayor Nagin, and urged him to evacuate the city.
"I could never sleep if I felt like I didn't do everything that I could to impress upon people the gravity of the situation," Mayfield said. "New Orleans is never going to be the same."
Other experts predicted the doom to come -- broken levees, a flooded city, mass casualties, fires -- though they forgot one: New Orleans' pandemic violence.
Sunday morning dawned golden along the Gulf Coast, the clouds sucked away into Katrina, now a monster storm that was on track to become the most powerful ever to hit the United States, with winds sustained at 175 mph.
Now Nagin got the message. But the morning nearly passed before Nagin issued the mandatory evacuation order in a grim, steady voice capped with a "God bless us."
At first, I ignorantly thought the Feds screwed up royally. As the facts come out, it looks as if they were on the ball, but were constantly stiff-armed by the locals politicos, whom I'm sure will be reelected.
#1
Hey Jackel, the victim card still has legs in Dem strongholds. Just look how long its permited them to operate New Orleans like Port-au-Prince. Blame someone else, anyone else, anything else. Just don't take responsibility.
#2
Lots of projection going on from Baton Rouge. If one complains loudly enough, folks won't notice your local issues. Besides, Bush is a target the left loves to hate.
Posted by: john ||
09/05/2005 21:57 Comments ||
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#1
So on the other side of the equation that makes 'looters' simply thrifty consumers. They simply adjust their payments to match their means to compensate by available resources.
#3
I read this a couple of days ago and referred it to to some of my coworkers who were quite convinced (and in fairness, had some faint reason to be)that when gas prices here exploded here in the SE last week, they were being gouged. It wasnt at all easy explaining to them that prices would start going back down as the pipelines came back on line. Lo and behold, last night the Plantation Line is now back to 85% capacity and another (can't find the name) is heading in that direction as well, and prices are starting to noticeably slip here. They peaked at about 3.25/gal for regular (BP is still selling it at that level but nobody's buying)but are now down to between $2.98 and $3.10. The Invisible Hand strikes again.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
09/05/2005 12:06 Comments ||
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#4
In case anyone cares, here's some additional info:
Posted by: Chris W. ||
09/05/2005 12:22 Comments ||
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#5
Same thing happened here in Vidalia, MK: the pipeline break caused gas prices to skyrocket above $3.25. My kids were scandalized, but I told them that the prices made people think twice or thrice about buying gas to drive on anything other than very important business.
Sure enough, prices are beginning to come down below $2.90 just this morning. The way to encourage it is to buy gasoline at the lowest price possible and "encourage" others to lower their prices by not buying any from them.
#7
Ptah-
Funny you should put it that way. The cheapest station in town is Fat Boys - a Harley dealership that happens to have a gas station and grill attached. Their motto is "Lowest In Town, No Matter What" - and that is what they've stuck to, although for a few days there was only a couple of cents difference instead of the usual 15-25 cent difference they usually had. But as of this morning, God bless 'em, they went down to 2.95, and my son advises they are changing the signs now to 2.90. The usual steady line is back in place, and word is that the other stations along Guigniard (one of the three main drags here in Sumter) are swallowing their pride and starting to pull the prices down.
As goes Fat Boys, so goes Sumter.*S*
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
09/05/2005 18:49 Comments ||
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#10
It started here Sunday. Took the kids on an all day trip. When we left, two stations across from eachother had gas at 3.19 and 3,29. Wehn we came home they were both at 3.19.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
09/05/2005 21:08 Comments ||
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#11
Thanks for the posting and the econ lesson.
My biggest concern, if the prices do come back down, is that people might just stick their heads back in the sand, as we did after the Arab Oil Embargo 30 years ago, and assume gas supplies will be hunky dory again.
I remember in the 70s, how my stepfather's big beaked dinosaur of a Chrysler gas guzzler went out of style because of the oil embargo. Everybody had wonderful ideas for conserving energy, but as soon as the gas supply picked up all these ideas dropped off the radar screen.
I am glad to see our local developers building "traditional neighborhoods" with retail space and other community amenities. For the first time in decades, I have seen a developer make room for a church in a new development. I'm looking forward to the day when I can send a kid on a bike to the grocery store again. It's nice to finally see sidewalks on at least one side of the street.
Let's design more common sense into our building.
I'm sure some of you know more about alternate energy sources than I do; looking forward to future postings and commentary.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/05/2005 00:00 ||
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The Times of India quoted a Sri Lankan, where 30,000 were killed in last Decemberâs tsunami. âItâs disgusting. Not a single tourist caught in the tsunami was mugged. We can easily see where the civilized part of the world population is.â
True enough. Certainly makes me cringe, as the truth hurts. I think this is why I'd like to think that terrorists are to blame. The truth of the matter though, is that it's just americans for reasons still unclear to me shooting raping and behaving badly.
Posted by: Jan ||
09/05/2005 0:23 Comments ||
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#2
It's pretty clear to me. Listen to some of the people they are interviewing on the news. It's always somebody elses fault they didn't leave or get picked up or whatever. Their is a definite lack of personal responsibility in a lot of the urban parts of our country.
This is the result of leadership creating a perpetual victims class where anything bad that happens is to be blamed on "the man" or "whitey".
#3
Actually, in Sri Lanka, they were selling children into the sex trade or into slavery (indentured servitude). I don't think we have that problem, yet.
#4
The "leadership" is long on talk about "rights" as if "rights" entitle you to more than being treated fairly and with human dignity. They never talk about responsibilities.
#5
âThird World America,â ...Until now, such a hellish vista could only be imagined in a Third World disaster zone. But this is Americaâ¦â
Yeah yeah. There's another difference between the 3rd world and America: the 3rd world will remain the 3rd world, whereas N.O. will recover.
Posted by: Rafael ||
09/05/2005 2:09 Comments ||
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#6
Damn, there goes the neighborhood.
Posted by: Captain America ||
09/05/2005 2:09 Comments ||
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#7
New Orleans is/was the third world of the U.S.A. It's had a very high murder rate for years. (No Link) the NOPD did some kind of psychological research a few years back by firing off 300 blank rounds in the middle of the night in a NO neighborhood. No one called 911....
#10
CO - even worse, it was 700 blanks and nobody called 911
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/05/2005 10:41 Comments ||
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#11
Here's a link to the crime rate in NO.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8999837/
I've heard stories of some areas unless you're a "local" aren't safe and that some cops don't go into those areas either. Hell I got lost without the street signs and the roads weaving every which way. For as many thugs, there certainly were alot of wonderful folks down there too. Part of the charm in this neck of the woods are the very friendly down to earth families, the do anything for ya kind of folks. Then there are probably alot of neighborhoods with different flavors like that eh?
Posted by: Jan ||
09/05/2005 11:47 Comments ||
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#12
NO was a French colony. It has a strong French heritage. Just like Haiti.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
09/05/2005 12:17 Comments ||
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#13
I'm withholding judgment on the 'bodies everywhere' meme until I actually see some. The official toll is 260 or so, with dire warnings of 10,000...but so far, very few actual bodies. I think the final toll will be less, probably much less.
#16
Keep in mind that some -- just some -- of the bodies reported may be those who were dead before the hurricane. NO's past has been marked by floods that dislodged cemeteries.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
09/05/2005 18:24 Comments ||
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#17
Sea-
Sadly, that will eventually be the figure that the LLLs use to beat the Administration over the head. Given that we have already heard straight-faced charges of 'racist' cannibalism, it's likely that no matter what the final official count is, the LLLs will say the 'true' count is 10,000.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
09/05/2005 18:59 Comments ||
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#18
Keep in mind that some -- just some -- of the bodies reported may be those who were dead before the hurricane. NO's past has been marked by floods that dislodged cemeteries.
water wrapture, we must be in the Age of Aquarius.
Posted by: Red Dog ||
09/05/2005 19:09 Comments ||
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#19
LOL! Um most rocklike emableers locked in caskets not float well. If the bods have already rotted in their assigned places then you got bones, wet bonz but bones. Some of this is a rekindled urban legend.
My brother-in-law helped rebury caskets and bodies after a hurricane (Floyd?) hit North Carolina. He was down in New Orleans until he bunged up his knee; while the DMORT organization is mostly focused on handling mass casualties, they also deal with reburials.
Note I also said "some". If someone saw a spot that was downstream of a washed-out cemetery, would they be able, or willing, to distinguish between the day-old dead and the month-old? Particularly when they've been mixed together, coated in mud, and tangled in brush?
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
09/05/2005 20:51 Comments ||
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#21
Last number reported on local TV was only 147 NO'ers confirmed dead, yet the MSM, includ FOXNEWS, still goes on about 10,000 or more as if it was fact. 147 or 147 + is tragic enough without any numbers having to be sensationalized.
War-torn and impoverished Afghanistan has offered $100,000 in disaster relief aid to the victims of Hurricane Katrina, the US Embassy in Kabul announced yesterday. âHamid Karzai, President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, today signed a decree, on behalf of the people of Afghanistan, for donation of $100,000 to the victims of Hurricane Katrina in the United States,â a US Embassy statement said.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/05/2005 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
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#1
Warm gesture, however I would prefer they use that money to shore up defenses from Mullah Omar when he 'comma callin'!
Posted by: Super Hose ||
09/05/2005 10:03 Comments ||
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#4
It's the thought that counts....
Posted by: Bobby ||
09/05/2005 10:51 Comments ||
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#5
Nothing to see here, move along. Everyone knows Afghans hate Americans and what we did to their country.
/MSM
Posted by: Chris W. ||
09/05/2005 12:24 Comments ||
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#6
I guess we'll just have to add $100K to the next Afghan aid appropriations bill. Still - it is a nice gesture. Looking at crater that is the WTC site today, I suspect that Kabul will be up and going a lot sooner than New Orleans.
#1
There are some good pieces of information in here, but the information is framed in such a manner to fit the religious beliefs of the left and has little stink bombs of political bullshit spred throughout. Read with caution.
Here's a good example of my point...
The chances of such a storm hitting New Orleans in any given year are slight, but the danger is growing. Climatologists predict that powerful storms may occur more frequently this century, while rising sea level from global warming is putting low-lying coasts at greater risk. "It's not if it will happen," says University of New Orleans geologist Shea Penland. "It's when."
As I read this I thought, wow! But then I noticed that where the quote marks occur. The author slides us from the bullseye predictions of Joe Suhayda to global warming and sea levels rising. But Suhayda doesn't say that - nor is Shea Penland the source of the quote about the wetlands. The author is putting words in their mouth. We have no idea what these scientists think about global warming or wetland destruction. I don't know - maybe later they support it.. Too much good information on the internet to waste time with authors who preach instead of report.
Posted by: bk ||
09/05/2005 9:04 Comments ||
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#4
Being a life long subscriber to National Geo, and the Smithsonian, I learned long ago to to spot the nuggets of PC BS in their articles. They have always had this slant, but seems to be getting a little more strident though as time goes on.
MSM= Main Stream Media, standard Rantburg abbreviation for about 98% of TV, Cable, and Newspaper reportage (i.e.; CNN, CBSNBCABC, The New York Times , The Washington Post , Newsweek ,etc.) May be generally assumed to have a definite liberal slant at all times and can be expected to slip into Moonbattery(qv) or Bush Derangement Syndrome (qv) at any time. Veracity quotient of the MSM cannot be reliably expected to exceed 50% at any time.
A respectful suggestion to the Leadership - do we have the room and/or inclination to put up a Rantburg glossary such as that over at Little Green Footballs? Would be very informative to first-timers, not to mention hilariously funny.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
09/05/2005 9:49 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.
Germany's conservative challenger Angela Merkel last night scored a decisive victory over chancellor Gerhard Schröder in the only live debate of the German election campaign. In a gripping 90-minute TV duel, Mrs Merkel repeatedly got the better of a stumbling Schröder - telling Germans that the only way to get the country out of its present mess was to vote for her Christian Democrat party. "You can't be satisfied with the situation in this country," she told the chancellor bluntly. "I don't see anything in your programme to address this."
Shortly after Gerhard Schröder first became German chancellor in 1998, the British tabloid press declared his longtime rival and then finance minister Oskar Lafontaine "the most dangerous man in Europe." At the time, this seemed a ludicrous judgment - not least because it was quickly proved wrong by Lafontaine himself, who resigned only weeks afterward in what is generally regarded one of the more embarrassing cop-outs in postwar German politics.
A day after two police suicides and the abrupt resignations or desertions of up to 200 police officers, defiant city officials on Sunday began offering five-day vacations - and even trips to Las Vegas - to the police, firefighters and city emergency workers and their families. ... "I'm very concerned about individuals who have been here, particularly since the first few days, and have been through a lot of hardship," Mr. Nagin said. ...
Nagin said late Saturday that he's having his legal staff look into whether he can order a mandatory evacuation of the city, a step he's been hesitant to do because of potential liability on the part of the city for closing hotels and other businesses. 
JAKARTA - A strong earthquake struck off Indonesiaâs eastern Sulawesi island on Monday, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, authorities in the closest major city said. The 6.2 magnitude quake hit at 6:58 a.m. (2358 GMT on Sunday) with the epicentre 400 kilometres (250 miles) under the Sulawesi Sea, near the border with the Philippines.
