BERLIN (Reuters) - Six German airline passengers who said they were being held against their will on an aircraft stuck on the runway for hours during a snowstorm have filed "false imprisonment" charges, German police said Saturday.
The passengers filed charges against the pilot of a British Airways Berlin-London flight that sat on the runway for seven hours before it could take off, a federal police spokesman said.
Passengers boarded the plane at Berlin's Tegel airport at 7 a.m. Thursday, but snow and ice delayed their takeoff. At 11:30 a.m. a man named Ingo Q. called a police emergency hotline on his cell phone and said he felt as if he was being "held hostage," the tabloid Bild reported Saturday.
Police boarded the plane and Ingo Q. ran forward and screamed "I want to get out of here." But only three people who only had hand luggage were allowed to leave the plane.
Shortly after noon, Ingo Q told police again that he wanted to leave the aircraft, still waiting on the snow-covered runway. Ingo, his wife and another couple from Biesdorf near Berlin were allowed off the plane at 12:48 p.m., and it finally took off at 2:36 p.m., seven hours late, Bild said.
The Berlin police spokesman said it was an unusual incident. "The plane stood there for a long time ... It's difficult to say whether the passengers are allowed off or not. It's something they have to work out with the captain."
#4
if the pilot didn't think it was safe to fly, I'd rather stay on the ground.
For seven hours? In a tin can? I feel sorry for the guy with the seat next to the toilet.
The smart thing to do would have been to cancel the flight. That's what they usually do if the weather is bad. If I may take a guess as to what happened...the pilots kept hearing "any minute now" from the tower.
Onboard, the Captain is God.
Allah? or...
Posted by: Rafael ||
01/03/2006 22:20 Comments ||
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That didn't take long, did it? The Frenchies' bunks are still warm...
Heavily armed men attacked two military barracks in Ivory Coast's economic capital Abidjan on Monday, setting off a battle with security forces that officials say killed 10 people. Gunfire and heavy explosions shook the military barracks at Akuedo, located in northeastern Abidjan, for about an hour before a tense calm returned to the area. General Phillipe Mangou, chief of the armed forces, went on state television afterward to reassure residents, saying military forces had repulsed the attack. Colonel Hilaire Gohourou Babri, an army spokesman, said seven of the attackers and three members of the security forces were killed in the battle.
Babri said dozens of the attackers had been arrested. He ruled out rumours that there had been a mutiny, but there was still no word on who carried out the assault, the first since a new national unity government took office last week to help steer the country towards delayed elections due later this year.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/03/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
The resentment in Ivory Coast is rooted in public opposition to the elite's indulgence, aided and abetted by the French dhimmi entity, of Islamic settlers in the north. Ivorians will never forget that French troops massacred patriots who tried to respond to a threat to the territorial integrality of their country.
KUWAIT: Kuwait plans to start exploration for natural gas in what it calls "undisputed" parts of the offshore Dorra field also claimed by neighboring Iran, a senior official said in comments published Monday. "Talks with Iran are continuing over the continental shelf. But, we have decided to ... start exploration in the undisputed part," Energy Ministry under secretary Issa al-Oun told Al-Siyassah daily.
The exploration will be carried out in coordination with Saudi Arabia, with whom Kuwait signed an agreement in 2000 to divide oil wealth in the offshore fields. Oun said Kuwait will soon invite bids for seismic surveys of part of the Dorra field and other Kuwaiti offshore fields.
He said he did not expect Iran to object to the measure because "exploration will take place in the undisputed parts of the field."
Iran and Kuwait have been negotiating for several years to demarcate their common maritime borders in what is known as the continental shelf which includes the gas-rich Dorra field. Although progress has been achieved, no final deal has been reached between the two Gulf neighbors.
The dispute goes back to the 1960s when Iran and Kuwait awarded offshore concessions to the former Anglo-Iranian Petroleum Co., now part of BP, and Royal Dutch/Shell that overlapped in the northern part of the Dorra field. Recoverable gas reserves from Dorra are estimated at some 200 billion cubic meters, with potential daily output of between 17 million and 43 million cubic meters.
Kuwait is rich in oil but badly needs the Dorra field because it lacks sufficient supplies of natural gas. In March, the two countries signed a $7 billion 25-year deal under which Iran will supply some nine million cubic meters of natural gas a day to the emirate.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/03/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
So now CHAD vs SUDAN, EITREA vs ETHIOPIA on the Arabian-Persian Gulf side of the Red Sea-Arabian Sea trade routes. The Left > All these Islamist attacks and troubles ergo its the USA, and only the USA [and Dubya], thats waging "War for Oil", not and never Radical Islam/Spetzlamists!?
Some things in the world are stupid. Some things make no sense. Some things are flat out silly. This is one of all of those things.
About 300 students of the Sylhet Government Veterinary College went on fast unto death from Sunday morning demanding that the college should be upgraded into a full-fledged agricultural university.
Some leaders of Brihattar Sylhet Ganadabi Parishad, Sylhet units of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal and Islami Chhatra Shibir along with the college teachers expressed their solidarity with the students observing the programme at the Sylhet Central Shaheed Minar since 10:00am.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/03/2006 00:00 ||
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#7
As I opened my window, even from here I could hear ecstatic goat bleating from the Sylhet Veterinary laboratory and cheers from the D.C. PETA office.
Russia has all but abandoned a gas blockade against neighbouring Ukraine after European trade partners complained that their own supplies had been hit and warned Moscow that relations would suffer. Gazprom, the state-controlled monopoly, said on Monday that it would restore full gas supplies to Europe by Tuesday, two days after it cut supplies to Ukraine in a dispute over a steep price rise. Gas deliveries across Europe, which imports a quarter of its supply from Russia, fell by up to a quarter as Moscow reduced exports through a pipeline to Ukraine that continues on to European customers. Russia accused Ukraine of siphoning off supplies intended for customers further along the pipeline.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/03/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
How gutless is Schroder? Can't stand up to blackmail, can't conduct blackmail either.
#2
Oh those Ukrainians, why do they hate us? Is it the years of being under our boot, is it the Yushchenko poisoning, is it the price gouging? Can't we just all get along? I always liked Chicken Kiev.
#3
Having 1/2 of their population killed during Commie rule can create resentments.
1/2 of Ukraine's gas imports is bought from Turkmenistan at $44 TCM. So by cutting off the Ukraine, Russia was in effect refusing to transport Turkmen gas that Ukraine has paid for. Another point is that Ukraine charges a low fee of about $1 TCM to transport Russian gas. Ukraine could easily up the charge $20 until alternate routes come into service or base the cahrge on the price of gas and tell the Russians to suck it up.
In the medium term, the Ukraine will be forced to build indigenously produced nuclear power plants to provide power and heating or be held hostage.
The US government should expedite Ukraine's (and Moldova's) entry into NATO and offer preferential trade terms to shift industry from China (and my favorite, Germany) so that Eastern Europe develops cash producing industries to buy commodities on the international market.
Posted by: ed ||
01/03/2006 14:49 Comments ||
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More evidence that Kimball and Steyn are correct about the direction of the West.
An Italian judge has ordered a priest to appear in court this month to prove that Jesus Christ existed. The case against Father Enrico Righi has been brought in the town of Viterbo, north of Rome, by Luigi Cascioli, a retired agronomist who once studied for the priesthood but later became a militant atheist.
Signor Cascioli, author of a book called The Fable of Christ, began legal proceedings against Father Righi three years ago after the priest denounced Signor Cascioli in the parish newsletter for questioning Christâs historical existence.
Yesterday Gaetano Mautone, a judge in Viterbo, set a preliminary hearing for the end of this month and ordered Father Righi to appear. The judge had earlier refused to take up the case, but was overruled last month by the Court of Appeal, which agreed that Signor Cascioli had a reasonable case for his accusation that Father Righi was âabusing popular credulityâ. Signor Cascioliâs contention â echoed in numerous atheist books and internet sites â is that there was no reliable evidence that Jesus lived and died in 1st-century Palestine apart from the Gospel accounts, which Christians took on faith. There is therefore no basis for Christianity, he claims. Signor Cascioliâs one-man campaign came to a head at a court hearing last April when he lodged his accusations of âabuse of popular credulityâ and âimpersonationâ, both offences under the Italian penal code. If that is what the law says, then the law once again proves itself to be an ass.
He argued that all claims for the existence of Jesus from sources other than the Bible stem from authors who lived âafter the time of the hypothetical Jesusâ and were therefore not reliable witnesses. Signor Cascioli maintains that early Christian writers confused Jesus with John of Gamala, an anti-Roman Jewish insurgent in 1st-century Palestine. Church authorities were therefore guilty of âsubstitution of personsâ. The Roman historians Tacitus and Suetonius mention a âChristusâ or âChrestusâ, but were writing âwell after the life of the purported Jesusâ and were relying on hearsay. Father Righi said there was overwhelming testimony to Christâs existence in religious and secular texts. Millions had in any case believed in Christ as both man and Son of God for 2,000 years. âIf Cascioli does not see the sun in the sky at midday, he cannot sue me because I see it and he does not,â Father Righi said. Signor Cascioli said that the Gospels themselves were full of inconsistencies and did not agree on the names of the 12 apostles. He said that he would withdraw his legal action if Father Righi came up with irrefutable proof of Christâs existence by the end of the month.
#4
1st century Palestine? There never has been a Palestine
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/03/2006 13:54 Comments ||
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#5
AnItalian judge from the US 9th Circuit and the ACLU have ordered a priest to appear in court this month to prove that Jesus Christ existed. The case against Father Enrico Righi has been brought in the town of Viterbo, north of Rome, by Luigi Cascioli, a retired agronomist who once studied for the priesthood but later became a militant atheist.
#11
'Paleostine' is the name of a Roman province on old maps, a Latin corruption of the biblical Philistines that lived in Tyre and Sidon as well as Gaza. Josepus, a credible 1st century historian and Roman citizen, mentions Jesus in glowing terms. Antiquities of the Jews and other works give incredible detail of Herod's reign of terror and the hated occupation and taxation, and considered a credible historical work.
Josephus also records Theophilus as appointed high priest in 37 CE. The NT book of Luke, is a recording of Jesus' genealogy and life, with the crucifixion about 33 CE. The book of Luke is addressed to "My dear Theophilus", making them all contemporary. Luke was Paul's traveling companion, probably to Rome, where he died. Other manuscripts have verifying and confirming details to events or people connected to Jesus or some of his disciples, such as which became bishops in the dispersion after the fall of the Temple in 70 CE. But the case has already been tried...Cascioli should also read Bill Hybel' books if he needs more convincing evidence.
#14
Josephus, a credible 1st century historian and Roman citizen, mentions Jesus in glowing terms.
Actually, IIRC (correct me if I'm wrong), Josephus describes him in so glowing terms, that it's utterly improbable that he (as Jewish) could have written the words attributed to him, and which strongly implied a Christian writer.
Other than that I have no real doubt that Jesus of Nazareth actually existed, taught, and was crucified. All the rest about him, though, are up for grabs...
#16
Insufficient evidence is not evidence of insufficience.
See Simpson, OJ.
Posted by: Judge Ito ||
01/03/2006 19:32 Comments ||
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#17
Free O.J.!!!
Posted by: Johnny ||
01/03/2006 20:11 Comments ||
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#18
If the love fits you must acquit
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/03/2006 20:44 Comments ||
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#19
No justice, no peace! Keep hope alive!
Posted by: Johnny ||
01/03/2006 20:52 Comments ||
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#20
NB: No lawsuit demanding the local imam prove the existence of Mohammed or Allah.
The atheists are cowards unless they go after the Muslims, too.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
01/03/2006 21:00 Comments ||
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#21
No lawsuit demanding the local imam prove the existence of Mohammed or Allah.
Ha! And why do you think that is? Would you want to put the neighbourhood at risk? ...risk getting your car torched? ...or worse. Fallaci got herself a fatwa on her head.
Christianity, otoh, is an easy target. Probably too easy, imo.
Posted by: Rafael ||
01/03/2006 21:19 Comments ||
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#22
I always thought the Old Testament kinda rocked. Straightforward, no bullshit. If this comes back, consider me a potential recruit... I'm all outta cheeks to turn.
#23
I'm afraid that while Josephus' mentions of John the Baptist are really his own words, comparisons of various Jewish copies of Josephus with those of Christian ones make it clear that the discussion of Jesus Christ were an addition by an overenthusiastic Christian copyist. In fact, to the best of my knowledge, there is no independent evidence of the existence of Jesus Christ. But so what? To the best of my knowledge there is no independent evidence of the evidence of Moses, either. Faith is by definition independent of outside evidence, and should not be a matter for the courts unless there criminal action is attached.
#24
In fact, to the best of my knowledge, there is no independent evidence of the existence of Jesus Christ.
Probably the best evidence of the existence of the historical Jesus are the Dead Sea Scrolls, Q (the theoretical pre-Gospel source), and Paul's letters (Paul wasn't associated with the Christian movement at first and they were written before the Gospels, iirc).
Posted by: Rafael ||
01/03/2006 23:23 Comments ||
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Union Shipping, Road Transport and Highways minister T R Baalu is rushing to Madhya Pradesh to review the security provided to personnel engaged in the construction of the East West Corridor as the state government has virtually thrown up its hands before the dreaded dacoit Rambabu Gadariya.
Sources told The Indian Express that Baalu will meet Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and senior bureaucrats in the state capital on January 9 in this regard.
A 120-km stretch of the corridor that will connect Jaipur to Kanpur passes through thickly forested Shivpuri district in northern MP, the stronghold of the Gadariya gang that accounts for at least 50 kidnappings and 20 murders in the region.
Terrified by the spate of kidnappings and murders, the employees of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and contractors requested the Centre to intervene. Ten foreign nationals, including six from Italy, supervise the work as consultants.
What has led to Baaluâs visit is a letter written by Shivpuri collector Dr M Geeta to NHAI chairman Santosh Kumar Nautiyal. She wrote that the district administration has done its bit but the NHAI could arrange for more security.
Dr Geeta said five police personnel were deployed at each of the three camps and the contractors had also engaged private armed guards. She said she wrote the letter because despite the measures taken by the local administration, the NHAI personnel and contractors had some sense of anxiety. The NHAI chairman wrote to the chief secretary of MP and that seems to have led to the January 9 meeting. Sources said security will be the main agenda of the meeting, especially as the foreign nationals keep frequenting the stretch that passes through forests.
Though normal precautions like escorting the foreign nationals are taken, the track record of Gadaria has made the other staffers worried. Their sense of apprehension was heightened when the gang kidnapped six Railway employees recently. More than 500 police personnel are engaged in the anti-dacoity operations and there is a reward of Rs 14.5 lakh for information leading to the bandit.
NHAIâs Shivpuri-based project director Subodh Kumar Malik admitted that the release of the Railway employees a couple of days ago had in a way increased the sense of fear. ââEveryone was sure that no one (else) will be kidnapped till the railwaymen were in his custody,ââ he said. (They were released after 45 days and they did not even meet the police who donât know if ransom was paid.)
The construction began only in August and the Authority hopes to complete it by February 2008.
Shivpuri SP R S Meena said the NHAI employees were feeling vulnerable and demanding that Central Industrial Security Force be deployed as was done in Naxal-hit areas. The district administration holds a regular coordination meeting with the police, forest and NHAI authorities to review security but it has proved to be of little help.
Posted by: john ||
01/03/2006 19:17 ||
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#1
the dreaded dacoit Rambabu Gadariya.
I'm trying to imagine the moustache on this man.
50 kidnappings and 20 murders
80 more muders to go to match the deceased dacoit Verrappan...
Posted by: john ||
01/03/2006 19:39 Comments ||
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#2
I'm waiting to see if there's a Dread Dacoit Roberts...
Posted by: Phil ||
01/03/2006 23:40 Comments ||
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After remaining silent and refusing to divulge his next moves, Raj Thackeray finally struck a lethal blow to the Shiv Sena, when 3,500 Sena workers in the suburb of Kurla, once a party stronghold, led by two-term municipal councillor Dilip Lande, submitted their resignations from the party to Uddhav Thackeray, the working president of Shiv Sena, Sunday night. âWe feel relieved from the suffocation of the disgusting leadership of the Sena, and would hereafter follow the orders of Raj Thackerayâ said Lande who added that the exodus from the Sena has begun and that shortly more than 5,000 party workers would desert the Sena.
âPlease wait for a week, and you will see how millions of party workers defect to the new party to be floated by Raj. Itâs a good beginning for Maharashtra in the new year, as we have decided to support Raj,â said Lande, who was the first municipal councillor to revolt and side with Raj.
âThe process of the Sena workersâ exodus has begun and nobody can stop it now,â Bunty Mashelkar, former chief of Sena in southcentral Bombay told reporters yesterday morning. He added that thousands of Sena workers from southcentral Bombay would quit and join Raj. Despite Raj clarifying that he did not want the Sena members of Parliament, state legislators and municipal councillors to quit the Sena and join him, it is a fact that several MPs, MLAs and councillors as also ward chiefs have submitted their resignations to Uddhav and have decided to join the Raj camp.
Political analysts taken by surprise by the new development said that the mass exodus of Shiv Sena workers was a step taken by them to join in view of the announcement by Raj that he would be forming a new political party to counter the Shiv Sena. This would of course be a cause of worry for the Sena chief Bal Thackeray and his son Uddhav. It is a well known fact now that the Sena chief, seriously sick, like a wounded tiger, cannot come out of the den and fight. It is for certain that though leaders from the NCP, the Congress and the BJP had visited Raj and held meetings with him trying to woo him into their party fold, Raj has not fallen to their bait and has decided to float his own political party. It is said that the new party by Raj would have a manifesto that would give it a secular dimension and would attract the minority community, particularly the Muslims.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/03/2006 00:00 ||
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New Delhi: Environmental organization Greenpeace has heightened its protests against the French government for itâs decision to send decommissioned aircraft carrier Clemenceau to India for ship-breaking by converging at the French embassy in New Delhi on Tuesday morning. I thought French carriers self destructed.
The activists shouted slogans and waved placards and banners which were immediately taken away by security guards from the French embassy. The Delhi Police was called which rounded up the activists and whisked them away to the police station. This is how you know the French are loved. If it were the Americans, it would not have been stopped.
The placards and banners read âClemenceau. Your Waste - Your Responsibilityâ and âClemenceau. Toxic Ship. Stay Away. Do Not Pollute Indiaâ.
Before their arrest, the dozen activists had already given interviews to TV channels, made statements before the media and distributed a report â The Human Cost of Ship Breaking â that focuses on the poor working and environmental conditions in the ship breaking industry, particularly in India and Bangladesh. Those are pretty shocking tactics.
Calling the Clemenceau a consignment of waste-materials, Media Officer, Greenpeace, Namrata Chowdhary said: âIt is the largest ship to be broken down and a symbol of arrogance of the developed world towards the developing countries. We are here to remind the French government that it cannot wash its hands off the ship. The ship is its waste and also its responsibility. It cannot be called a ship as it has to be towed here.â
#1
The French will just wait until the Greenpeace protesters board their boats to block the carriers arrival and then deal with them the way they did in New Zealand?
#3
The ship-breaking yards are dangerous places to work but no one is forced to work there. And I still want to know why Greenpeace wnats to shave the whales.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
01/03/2006 12:03 Comments ||
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#4
Deacon, because bearded whales just have too much of that ZZ Top look to them :)
#5
A Frog carrier, hmmmmm, wonner how many people she holds with the planes off? Could they tow the Clemenceau to New Orleans? Mayor Negan could use it for a floating hostel and take a little pressure off of the Federal Emergency Motel Agency (FEMA).
#6
Uh oh, Besoeker - now you have done it. You are now guilty of "environmental racism", suggesting that poor "people of color" reside in an asbestos contaminated facility. You shall be subjected to a politically correct verbal flogging!! :)
#7
"500 tonnes of asbestos" is a LOT (1 million pounds?) I'm no Naval architect but that seems like an outrageous ammount. 40 to 50 sounds more like it. I gues they did asbestos they could when building it.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
01/03/2006 15:46 Comments ||
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#8
Deacon, because bearded whales just have too much of that ZZ Top look to them :)
#12
Despite requests by the police, she refused to move away and said: âIt is our duty to protect our country. We are merely doing our duty.â A policewoman arrived soon after and took her away.
This is the first time in my life I have ever felt bad for a Greenpeace activist. People should be allowed to protest, regardless of their views. Itâs not like the French donât do it.
A special live report on the latest progress of Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant and the preparation of the Russian experts involved in the project and their families to celebrate the New Year was broadcast by the Russian Television Channel 2. The report showed the power plant and its workshops under construction, the cultural center, store and recreational-sport center of Russian experts' residential quarters.
According to the report, though the project is just about to be completed, Russian experts and workers are determined to celebrate the New Year in Iran. The reporter put the progress made on the project at 80 percent and added that the final schedule for putting it into operation will be announced in February 2006.
"Despite the ongoing political debates on Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, the Russian manpower working in Bushehr continue their job," added the reporter.
A Russian welder told the TV reporter, "We are here on a peaceful mission and help give momentum to Iran's energy sector." The TV reporter noted that the Russians currently residing in Bushehr wish to celebrate the occasion the same way they used to in their own country.
"That is why they keep on purchasing everything they can think of to make their feast more pleasant. This means a high income for the shopkeeper who has been dealing with the Russians for the past five years and even speaks the language fluently. He even takes the pain to supply the Russian chocolate usually presented by Santa Claus, which is usually hung up the Christmas tree. Despite favoring Iranian sweets, the Russians prefer their native type at this festive occasion," concluded the report.
#1
This only means now, Israel will have to tip the Russians 1 hour (via US channels) to vacate the premises before imminent bombing, or suffer a backlash such as what the US incurred during the initial invasion of Iraq; hitting the Chinese embassy! Now we'll have atleast two precursors to the war; 1)A large influx of Israeli visa arrivals into the US (to protect certain Jewish lineages) 2)Evacuation of Russian engineers. This should occur after the quiet shifting of 3 additional Carrier Groups to the region!
#2
The CHINESE EMBASSY incident for me was at best a deliberate attack on the part of the Clinton administration to humiliate and degrade the credibility of the USA, ala "justified" OWG and anti-US American Socialism [pre 9-11]; at worst an attempt by same to PC pass on cruise missle tech/info to the Chinese [not all missles exploded] - ditto for downed US Stealth jet by the Serbs. As for the Russian techs, Israel has a history of attacking high-value targets regardless of whom is present iff it means de facto destruction of said targets and defeat of an enemy agenda - the Israelis didn't care then and I doubt they'd care now, espec with old war lion former General Sharon leading the nation. IOW, any Russian nuclear worker whom decides to stay and work at an Iranian nuke facility does so at risk of his or her life.
Plight of Katrina's forgotten victims
David Nason, New Orleans January 04, 2006
IF Renita Miller ever chose to be resentful about the aid moneytax dollars now pouring into New Orleans for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, many would say she had every right. The Florida-based mother of eight, who has two dependent grandchildren, is a Katrina victim too, but in the political uproar that followed last year's hopelessly inadequate New Orleans relief effort, people like her were put to one side. What does "based in Florida mean?" Is she in the bloody Army?
Ms Miller lives in a low-income housing project at Homestead in southern Florida. The community was battered by storms on August 25 last year as Katrina made her way east into the Gulf of Mexico. Flooding ruined most of Ms Miller's family's meagre possessions. Four days later - on the same day that Katrina wiped out New Orleans - another tragedy struck when Ms Miller's eldest daughter, Tamika, died of AIDS.
Today, the Millers are struggling to rebuild on a monthly of $US579 ($785) welfare payment in a house with fungus growing from the roof, rotting furniture and not enough beds. At night, most of the kids bunk down on piles of clothes and towels on the floor.
Because Tamika's funeral exhausted the family savings, there's no money to fix the family car. So Ms Miller's second-eldest daughter, Shantrell, 19, takes three buses and a train to visit her new baby in hospital. Born prematurely like her two daughters, he clings to life in an incubator, battling underdeveloped lungs and bleeding from the brain. And dad is where again and who is paying for the delivery and incubator time?
According to Ms Miller, inspectors from the Federal Emergency Motel Management Agency who visited her house decided her poverty did not warrant any special consideration. Yea Bert, the foundation looks good yet but where is the first floor? I'd say she's a total loss.
So Ms Miller says she'll just do the best she can. "We're taking things one day at a time now," she says. "It can only go up from here. It really can't get any worse. We're sure praying on that anyway."
Her stoicism is matched by a remarkable generosity. Ask Ms Miller about those millions of aid dollars flowing into New Orleans and she utters not a bitter word. "I don't want any of what they're getting - none of it at all," she says. "Those people lost everything they had. They need all the help they can get."
Ms Miller's charity ought to be an inspiration to the estimated 135,000 people now living back in New Orleans and giving hope that the city can rise again.
The annual Mardi Gras, albeit in a reduced eight-day format, will go ahead next month despite calls for it to be postponed. And this week, a gathering of evangelicals marks the first convention in the city since Katrina. An eight-minute format would be too damn much for me.
But in the French Quarter, a case of withdrawn charity is forcing one of the city's oldest residents to leave the city. After 44 years as a doorman at the Hotel Monteleone, the once favoured haunt of writers such as Ernest Hemingway and Tennessee Williams, Fred Fenerberry is calling it a day. Good on ya Fred, glad you've finally awaken.
Mr Fenerberry, 74, lost his Ninth Ward home and everything he owned to Katrina. Now, with business starting to pick up, his employer has asked him to vacate the hotel room he has been living in since then. "They're kicking me out and I got nowhere else to go," Mr Fenerberry said. "I can't pay the rents they want around here now, so I'll have to go someplace else and retire I guess."
Mr Fenerberry doubts New Orleans can come back. He says that even before Katrina, the French Quarter had lost much of the wickedness and sense of adventure that had made it a famous party town. A loss of "wickedness," NOT THAT!
But in a city populated entirely long troubled by a criminal element comprising strung-out drug abusers, some things don't change. At the Greyhound bus terminal, a voice on a loudspeaker issues a warning: "There is always a chance you will be separated from your luggage, so if you are taking any kind of medication, you must make sure you carry it on your person." Whahahahaa
And as the Amtrak express train bound for New York winds its way out of town through the flood-devastated suburbs of East New Orleans, a sign comes into view advertising another event on the city's 2006 calendar: "Gun Show, BIG One, Jan 28-29."
David Nason is The Australian's New York correspondent. Over the next fortnight he will unfortunately be filing stories as he travels the US by bus and train from Louisiana to Wyoming. He'll certainly find friends in Wyoming lol.
#6
David is enroute to see the Wyoming screening of Brokeback Mountain. Yes David some people who don't work and pop out children like a pez disperser have a rough time making ends meet in the U.S. But I doubt he is giving us or omitted the whole story. I have yet to see a section 8er that lives in a palace but if she is living in a total dump then she can complain to the LOCAL welfare/aid worker. Only the LOCAL welfare/aid worker can condemn a place for section 8 housing and move her to another place. The daughter sounds like a winner to, three kids and not a mention of the father. I would use the old apple/tree analogy but I think everyone sees the dependent/non-working relationship here. Anyone want to bet that none of the family has ventured out to look for work inthe Homestead area? FYI working part time would not suspend their benifits and might IMPROVE their standard of living. Renita good job, you raised ANOTHER generation that will have to rely on state support.
#7
this is as lame and as shallow as that Olive Garden story. Damn, I wish I could get paid to write crap like this. Sounds like he was riding on the Amtrak train and spoke to three or four passengers and then, despite the good nature of the people he spoke to, spent about 10 minutes writing what reads like a snotty blog entry about a not-so sympathetic character in a city where really sympathetic ones are on every corner in town.
#9
so she had eight kids, two grandkids she has to watch because her spawn has already proven inadequate in the natural urges of parenting, and she's bitching??? Should've closed those firing tubes a LONG time ago
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/03/2006 23:49 Comments ||
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Washington D.C. Council Member Marion Barry [Convicted drug possessor, admited adulterer, admitted tax deliquent]
reported to police last night that he was robbed at gunpoint inside his home by youths who had earlier volunteered to help him carry in his groceries.
Ah, yes, hizzonner, Mayor-For-Life Marion Barry. His mayoralty almost destroyed the city financially, but at least all the yoots had high self-esteem. Now he's enjoying his golden years by screwing up the plans for the new baseball stadium. Pfeh.
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/03/2006 9:56 Comments ||
Top||
#6
Anyone want to bet this was a PR stunt and not an real robbery? Now if they pistol-whipped him and then ransacked his Apartment then maybe I would believe it. I bet they find the kids and he gets them cleared so they can "change" their ways. Side bet that Jesse 'Hustler' Jackson makes a public appeal and the kids turn themselves in to authorities.
#7
An appropriate time to drag out my favorite Marion Barry quote:
"Outside of the killings, Washington has one of the lowest crime rates in the country."
#16
"said Barry, 69. "To have a pistol cocked in your face is not something you cannot feel emotional about."
I feel your pain. You will probably now need to go to that same "yoot" and make an illegal purchase to defend yourself. Kinda makes that Ban a bit shortsighted, ehh??
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.
Heavily armed men attacked two military barracks in Ivory Coast's economic capital Abidjan on Monday, setting off a battle with security forces that officials say killed 10 people. Gunfire and heavy explosions shook the military barracks at Akuedo, located in northeastern Abidjan, for about an hour before a tense calm returned to the area. General Phillipe Mangou, chief of the armed forces, went on state television afterward to reassure residents, saying military forces had repulsed the attack. Colonel Hilaire Gohourou Babri, an army spokesman, said seven of the attackers and three members of the security forces were killed in the battle. 
Russia has all but abandoned a gas blockade against neighbouring Ukraine after European trade partners complained that their own supplies had been hit and warned Moscow that relations would suffer. Gazprom, the state-controlled monopoly, said on Monday that it would restore full gas supplies to Europe by Tuesday, two days after it cut supplies to Ukraine in a dispute over a steep price rise. Gas deliveries across Europe, which imports a quarter of its supply from Russia, fell by up to a quarter as Moscow reduced exports through a pipeline to Ukraine that continues on to European customers. Russia accused Ukraine of siphoning off supplies intended for customers further along the pipeline.
After remaining silent and refusing to divulge his next moves, 
New Delhi: Environmental organization Greenpeace has heightened its protests against the French government for itâs decision to send decommissioned aircraft carrier Clemenceau to India for ship-breaking by converging at the French embassy in New Delhi on Tuesday morning. 
