Month: August 2005

Headlines and Commentary for 08.30.05

Hundreds feared dead in Hurricane Katrina – Helicopters plucked frantic survivors from rooftops of inundated homes on Tuesday and officials said hundreds of people may have died in Hurricane Katrina’s attack on the U.S. Gulf Coast, which sent a wall of water into Mississippi and flooded New Orleans. The economic cost of the hurricane’s rampage could be the highest in U.S. history, according to damage estimates.

THE news story right now. Might be the story of the year. They’re only just now coming to grips with what has happened, and what needs to be done. Help, if you can, in any way you can.

Bush Cancels Vacation to Focus on Relief – President Bush decided to cancel the rest of his vacation to concentrate on federal relief efforts for victims of Hurricane Katrina as his top disaster relief official lamented “catastrophic” damage in three Southern states.

I’ve seen lots of comments from the Left criticizing Bush for not showing up in New Orleans yesterday with his hip-waders on. They live their lives believing that everything is Bush’s fault, even Hurricanes. I see something different. I remember 9/11 and Bush’s visit to ground zero. Watch him in the coming days…

More Changes Said Likely to Iraq Charter – The U.S. ambassador suggested Tuesday there may be further changes to the draft constitution in order to win Sunni Arab approval, saying he believed a “final, final draft” had not yet been presented.

The more they work at this, the better it will be. This process cannot and should not be rushed. (For updated ‘Good News from Iraq’, see Arthur Chrenkoff.)

California Watches Hawaii’s Effort to Cap Gasoline Prices – With chronically high pump prices straining its laid-back ethos, Hawaii embarks this week on a radical experiment to cap gasoline prices, a move being keenly watched nationwide by legislators and consumer groups eager to rein in record fuel costs. Interest will be especially high in California, a unique market that some experts liken to Hawaii’s because of the high prices charged by gas stations and big profits reaped by a few in-state refiners.

I don’t know about Hawaii or California, but in my neck-of-the-woods (NW Washington State), gas prices took a huge jump over the past few days. Yesterday, for the first time ever, I saw unleaded gasoline for $2.99 a gallon. Premium gas is $3.05 and $3.15. Filling up the tank is a painful procedure these days. If prices go any higher, lifestyle changes are in order.

Britain Seeks to Ban Violent Internet Porn – Ever since Jane Longhurst was killed two years ago by a man obsessed with violent Internet pornography, her family has campaigned for the British government to outlaw the viewing of extreme sexual material on the Web. On Tuesday the government agreed, announcing plans — the first, it said, by any Western country — to ban the downloading and possession of violent sexual images. Police and anti-porn campaigners welcomed the proposal but free-speech groups called it censorship, saying there was no proven link between violent imagery and violent behavior.

I applaud their efforts, but this will be a tough battle to win, to enforce, to prosecute, etc., even in Britain. If a ban like this was announced in the U.S., the Left would be screeching for the impeachment of George W. Bush, and our politically correct system would buckle, and the resulting legislation would be a watered down bill with pounds of pork personally attached by Sen. Robert Byrd.

A Relaxed Jackson Visits Dubai – In contrast to the frail Michael Jackson cleared of child abuse charges in June, the king of pop appeared relaxed and friendly Tuesday during an ongoing visit to this Gulf sheikdom. He ate Buffalo wings. He took a speedboat to a luxury villa on a manmade island. He buzzed around the Emirate with a race car driver and a prince.

Nope, I’m not even gonna go there.

Skinny London House on Sale for $933,000 – This thin house requires a bankroll that’s fairly fat. A home in London that measures just over 5 feet at its skinniest and 9 feet, 11 inches at its widest is up for sale for $933,868, estate agents said Tuesday.

Click the link and look at the picture of the place. This is complete insanity. I don’t know how anyone is able to afford life in London.

And finally…

How would you like to meet these guys? – Three men trying to steal fuel from a New Zealand farm Monday ended up setting fire to their own car. Police said the trio had siphoned diesel into a petrol-driven vehicle. When their car would not start, they examined the fuel pipe using a cigarette lighter. One click, a boom and the car burst into flames.

I love Murphy’s Law. 

Lots going on today in Louisiana/Mississippi/Alabama/Florida.

Josh Britton is providing ongoing updates on this day after. Brendan Loy has info too. WWL-TV continues to provide a live feed of their programming, and their website is a great source for local news. WWL’s blog is quite useful as well.

My big link list remains available here.

If you’ve got a tip to new web or blog sites that have popped up since Hurricane Katrina made landfall yesterday, please let me know.

I’m not the type to regularly read or visit the Democratic Underground, but sometimes I head on over, just to see what They are saying. I was pretty busy blogging Katrina, so I didn’t have time to do my regular lunchtime blog trolling yesterday, which is why I didn’t pick up on this, but Ray at Boatswain’s Mate was helpful enough to send an email tip.

If you followed any of the Hurricane coverage today, you probably saw this report:

Reports of looting in New Orleans
Mon Aug 29 2005 22:37:31 ET

Police with automatic weapons were called to patrol a grocery store after looters went on a rampage, WWL-TV reports.

Police with automatic weapons were called to patrol a grocery store after looters went on a rampage there, grabbing groceries and ripping apart ATMs. The pharmacy was ransacked and merchandise was thrown all around the store.

Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour said looting will not be tolerated in his state.

“I have instructed the highway patrol and the National Guard to treat looters ruthlessly,” Barbour said. “Looting will not be not be tolerated and rules of engagement will be as aggressive as the law allows.”

Or this one:

“Returning from a fact-finding expedition from the newspaper’s Howard Avenue headquarters, a group of reporters and photographers stumbled on a parade of looters streaming from Coleman’s Retail Store, located at 4001 Earhart Blvd., about two blocks away from The Times-Picayune offices.

“The looters, who were men and women who appeared to be in their early teens to mid-40s, braved a steady rain and infrequent tropical storm wind gusts to tote boxes of “clothing and shoes from the store. Some had garbage bags stuffed with goods. Others lugged wardrobe-sized boxes or carried them on their heads.

“The line going to and from the store along Earhart Boulevard numbered into the dozens and appeared to be growing.

“Some looters were seen smiling and greeting each other with pleasantries as they passed. Another group was seen riding in the back of a pickup truck, honking the horn and cheering. The scene also attracted a handful of curious bystanders, who left the safety of their homes to watch the heist.

“No police were present in the area, which is flooded heavily with standing water two to four feet deep on all sides of Earhart Blvd.”

I was watching a live television stream out of New Orleans when I saw this craziness. Wind blowin, drenching rain, debris flying all over the place, and there they are…dozens of people looting THEIR neighborhood. Never mind that any one of them could have been hit and killed by the wood planks and strips of metal flying through the air. No way, they just had to have that combo DVD/TV with picture in picture. Oh, and don’t forget the twinkies and warm Budweiser. Mmmm Mmmm.

I was stunned by this lunacy.

So, I went hunting around to see what the reaction was. I was sure that I’d find hundreds of others throughout the blogosphere agreeing that acts such as these should be met with rubber bullets (as a warning, then the real stuff), cuffs, various shackles, and a roughed up ride in the paddy wagon clear on over to Texas where they know how to “adjust” folks like this.

Yet the Lefties over at the Democratic Underground have no problem with people committing criminal acts. One by one, the moonbats tossed aside moral decency, and threw the rule of law right under the bus.

Here’s a sample:

The fact the national guard is keeping people from FOOD shows we are NOT living in a democracy, the Rich people’s THINGS must be protected from starving people!! Remember the french revolution, the rich make sure the lower class suffers and is desperate, the middle class is scared of poor people, the soldiers are bribed obedient and loyal. That is how they stay rich and on our backs.

F**k all the corporate pigs. F**king a**holes! Disaster shows us the true use of our military is to PROTECT PROPERTY of corporations above human life, to keep the rich secure people DIE.

I say Eat the rich people if they will not let you get food. Roast them on a spit and share the bounty. They have been fed on the finest organic foods.*sarcasm*

Damn I am pissed. Let the people EAT. What happened soldier to defending life? Life comes before property IF you are not a sociopath scum bag. Don’t obey wealthy scumbags posing as “leaders”. Sheesh.

And this:

After a disaster like Katrina I think the rich mans rules can stand to be relaxed a bit.

It goes on and on and on.

There are some who are defending the rule of law, but they don’t appear to be persuading many DU’ers.

I’d love to hear someone from the Democratic Underground, or any Democrat for that matter, defend stealing. I’d love to read an explanation of how it’s O.K. to destroy someone’s property and take away their ability to provide for their families. It’s kind of like defending the terrorists. They do that too.

And They call themselves Americans.

MORE: Right Wing News

STILL MORE: Video

New Orleans, as we know it, doesn’t exist anymore. Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath has geographically changed that city. The winds and storm surge has given way to flooding.

                “This is a once-in-a-lifetime event”

                  Katrina Batters the Superdome

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FINAL UPDATE: Katrina Status as of 10:55 PM PDT, 8/29/05

• Katrina kills estimated 50 people in one Mississippi county, 30 of them in a single apartment complex
• Huge relief effort underway
• French Quarter battered, but unbowed
• Katrina’s Effects, at a Glance

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Katrina Status as of 8:22 PM PDT, 8/29/05

• An emergency official has confirmed 55 hurricane-related deaths in Mississippi’s Harrison County.
• Louisiana governor: “We believe we lost lives”
• Tens of thousands to be homeless for months
• 1.3 million without power
• ‘Another miserable night‘ in the Superdome
• State by State Impact
• Insurers predict costs at $26+ Billion

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Katrina Status as of 5:15 PM PDT, 8/29/05

• Mobile is under water
• Mississippi: Three dead, “unprecedented damage”
• Katrina downgraded to tropical storm
• Parts of six Louisiana parishes “devastated”
• Louisiana officials urge ‘New Orleans Refugees’ to stay away
• Venezuela offers fuel for US, food for victims
• ‘I have to worry about getting back home’

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Katrina Status as of 2:30 PM PDT, 8/29/05

• Katrina hit Mississippi ‘like a ton of bricks”
• Oil rig breaks loose, hits Mobile River bridge
• Katrina weakening but still Category 1 with 75 mph winds
• “Life-threatening storm surge flooding” occurring
• Six Louisiana parishes “devastated”
• New Orleans: No sewage, water, power or gas

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Katrina Status as of 12:00 PM PDT, 8/29/05

• Position of center: 20 miles west-southwest of Hattiesburg, Mississippi
• Latitude: 31.4 north, Longitude: 89.6 west
• Top sustained winds: 95 mph
• Looters Grab Things From Warehouses – A WDSU TV news crew captured images of looters hauling items out of a New Orleans warehouse. People were seen using shopping carts and hand-held carts to haul off cleaning supplies, beer and other items. It’s not clear yet where the video was shot.

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Katrina Status as of 10:57 AM PDT, 8/29/05

• Storm “dismantling” Gulfport, Mississippi, area
• 10 feet of water covers Gulfport streets
• Hurricane now Category 2, with 105 mph wind
• Mobile Bay spills into downtown
• “Total structural failure” in parts of New Orleans
• East side of New Orleans under 5 to 6 feet of water

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Katrina Status as of 9:50 AM PDT, 8/29/05

FLORIDA: Katrina hit the southern tip of Florida on Thursday as a much weaker Category 1 hurricane, then headed into the Gulf of Mexico and strengthened to a Category 5 storm.

• Deaths: Nine
• Evacuations: As the storm aimed at the Gulf Coast, people on Navarre Beach, Pensacola Beach and Perdido Key were urged to evacuate Sunday.
• Power outages: About 314,000 customers in South Florida remained without power Monday morning.
• Monetary damage estimates: Initial computer modeling estimates pegged the insured wind damage at $600 million to $2 billion.

LOUISIANA: Katrina hit the U.S. coast a second time, this time as a Category 4 storm as it makes landfall at Grand Isle.

• Evacuations: New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin ordered the entire city of 485,000 to evacuate. For those who couldn’t, the city opened 10 shelters, including the Superdome, and urged people to bring three- to five-days worth of supplies. Early Monday, the Superdome’s power went out, but emergency generators kicked in.
• Nagin estimated that 80 percent of the city’s residents had left, leaving about 97,000 still in town.

ALABAMA: Gov. Bob Riley declared a state of emergency.

• Evacuations: All coastal and low-lying areas of south Mobile County and the beachfront and flood-prone areas of Baldwin County were told to leave.
• Flooding reported on Dauphin Island.
• Gulf Shores under curfew all day Monday.

MISSISSIPPI: Gov. Haley Barbour declared a state of emergency.

• Evacuations: Residents all along the Mississippi Gulf Coast headed inland Sunday.
• The state is expecting between 250,000 and 350,000 evacuees from Louisiana.
• Shelters were open all along the coast and well to the north. In Biloxi, an estimated 1,000 people took shelter in schools. Several hundred people took shelter in the Jackson area.

GULF OF MEXICO: Oil companies shut down 1 million barrels of refining capacity in the Gulf, but that amount could be far higher because not every producer reports data, said Peter Beutel, an oil analyst with Cameron Hanover.

• Bush Weighs Tapping Strategic Oil Reserve – President Bush weighed a decision on whether to release some oil from the nation’s petroleum reserves to help refiners hurt by Hurricane Katrina, administration officials said Monday. A decision was expected later in the day.

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Useful resources on Katrina:

• National Hurricane Center
• Mobile, AL Radar
• Jackson, MS Radar
• New Orleans, LA Radar

News Coverage from 8/27, 8/28 and 8/29: FEMA Prepares for Katrina’s Aftermath | New Orleans rocked by Hurricane Katrina | Monster Hurricane Katrina pounds New Orleans, Gulf coast | Filling a Bowl | Katrina closing in | 3 die in evacuation | First-ever mandatory evacuation | Making history? | Experts believe New Orleans will eventually be submerged | Coverage from MSNBC WDSU Nola.com Al.com USA Today Latest stories | NHC: Katrina, with 155 mph winds, is expected to hit in or just east of the New Orleans area Monday morning as a catastrophic strong Cat. 4 with a storm surge 18 to 22 feet above normal and local storm surge flooding as high as 28 feet and 5-10 inches of rain/isolated 15 inches | Detailed text warnings | Katrina a top-strength hurricane, aims for U.S | New Orleans braces as Hurricane Katrina bears down | Louisianans Flock To Shelters, Rush To Leave | Mayor orders mandatory evacuation in face of Katrina | Katrina could be strongest storm in recorded history | Katrina gets stronger, New Orleans evacuates | ABC News Coverage | Other News on Hurricane Katrina |

Images: NWS radar, loop, storm precipitation | Satellite | loop | IR satellite | loop | Interactive | hurricane tracker | Watches/warnings map & zoom |

Weather/Webcams: New Orleans | Mobile | FL Panhandle | Other cities

Web Coverage: WWL-TV 4, New Orleans | AccuWeather | Weather.com | Hurricane Katrina (Wikipedia) | How Hurricanes Form (Flash Animation) |

Live Audio: WTIX-AM 690, New Orleans | WPMI-AM 710, Mobile | Streaming radio stations across the U.S. |

News Aggregators: NewsNow coverage of Katrina | Topix.net search of “Katrina” articles | Google news search of “Katrina” | Yahoo news search “katrina” | AOL news search “katrina” | MSN News search “katrina” |

Articles, Photos, Links Tagged “Katrina”: Technorati | del.icio.us/tag/katrina | Flickr “katrina” cluster |

Blog Coverage: WKRG-TV 5, Mobile storm watch blog | WPMI-TV 15, Mobile weather blog | WMBB-TV 13 storm blog | Central Florida Hurricane Center | CapitalWeather.com | Hurricanetrack.com | Moreweather.com | WeatherBlog | Report for WeatherBug Backyard | Katrinacane’s Friends | Daniel Rubin | DeadlyKatrina.com | Katrina Live Blogging | Josh Britton | Storm Track Blog | Storm Digest Blog | BBC “Reporter’s Log” |

Help Storm Victims: American Red Cross: 1-800-HELP-NOW | FEMA | Catholic Charities | Salvation Army | Getting Help After the Storm | Cash Donations Sought for Katrina Victims | Additional List of Katrina Disaster Relief Agencies |

Official Government Communications: CITY Office of Emergency Preparedness | Latest Info from the Office of the LA State Police | Louisiana State Office of Emergency Preparedness | Conventions and Meetings Status | Status of the Airport, Airlines and Cruise Lines | Status of New Orleans Hotels | Official Weather Sites and Local TV News Sites | Status of Citywide Transportation | Status of the Convention Center, Louisiana Superdome, and N.O. Arena | Evacuation Routes | Emergency Preparation | School Closures | Lock, Bridge Closures |

Related: Delusional, Dysfunctional, Divisive, and Defiant

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Costliest hurricanes or tropical storms to strike the U.S. mainland. (Figures are in 2004 dollars. All storms are hurricanes except Allison, which was a tropical storm.)

Hurricane, Year, Category, Damage

1. Andrew (South Florida, southeast Louisiana), 1992, 5, $43.67 billion
2. Charley (southwest and central Florida), 2004, 4, $15 billion
3. Ivan (Florida Panhandle and Alabama), 2004, 3, $14.2 billion
4. Hugo (South Carolina), 1989, 4, $12.25 billion
5. Agnes (Florida, Northeastern U.S.), 1972, 1, $11.29 billion
6. Betsy (South Florida, southeast Louisiana), 1965, 3, $10.8 billion
7. Frances (central Florida, Florida Panhandle) 2004, 2, $8.9 billion
8. Camille (Mississippi, southeast Louisiana, Virginia), 1969, 5, $8.89 billion
9. Diane (Northeastern United States), 1955, 1, $6.99 billion
10. Jeanne (central Florida), 2004, 3, $6.9 billion
11. Frederic (Alabama, Mississippi), 1979, 3, $6.29 billion
12. Unnamed, nicknamed “New England,” (New York, Rhode Island), 1938, 3, $5.97 billion
13. Allison (Texas), 2001, $5.83 billion
14. Floyd (Mid-Atlantic & Northeastern U.S.), 1999, 2, $5.76 billion
15. Unnamed, nicknamed “Great Atlantic,” (Northeastern U.S.), 1944, 3, $5.39 billion

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How well did they predict the outcome of a hurricane like Katrina?

• Here’s a day-by-day look at the effects of a major hurricane hit on South Louisiana
• This is what happened when Camille came knocking in 1969, a category 5 hurricane which remains a bench mark in the American hurricane experience. 

I’m going to be out of the house most of the day today. I’ll check in later tonight.

The Technical Stuff…

If you run a blog and use Movable Type, you know that Six Apart has released a new version of the blogging software. I upgraded from 3.17 to 3.2 last night. I’m a fairly technical guy, so I don’t usually have any difficulties with this kind of stuff. Well, here’s a word of warning. Even though the Moveable Type website says that upgrading from previous versions is a no brainer, and easier than ever, your mileage may very. It seems like the bigger blog you have, the more likely you will have trouble. Oh, and another thing — if you have been sloppy about putting files on your server, and some are in places that are different from the original MT install, then of course, that will cause problems.

Be sure to give your .cgi files the proper permissions too.

Once all your files are in the right place and MT knows everything it needs to, the upgrade is easy.

The new version does appear to have more features, and there are new plugins that deal with SPAM and stuff, which is cool. MT has needed this for some time.

I’m still a fan of Movable Type, so I’m not jumping ship to WordPress or (back to) Blogger.

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Summer…

August in Washington State is a great time of year. This is when Summer shows itself. Now that the month is almost over though, I can feel a bit of Fall coming on. This week it’s supposed to get cloudy again, and a bit rainy…the kids are gearing up to go back to school, and this household will be back on a routine once more. Phew.

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Lawn Care Life Lessons…

Mowing the lawn. I’m not a big fan of this job, even though I’ve done it all my life (starting when I was about 10 or 11 years old). I’ve got my 12-year-old boy doing it for us now, and his talent is about as good as mine was at his age. Crooked lines, uneven grass patches, completely missed spots. So today I got back out there and did it myself. I was proving a point to him, illustrating that if you mow slowly, and if you allow the mower to pull itself along (instead of giving it help by pushing as well), you’ll do a good job. Only once did he say, “Well, you’ve been mowing lawns for a long time and I haven’t so of course you’re better at it.” After I was done, he could see the difference patience makes.

Someday he’ll teach his kid how to mow too.

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I Got The Music In Me…

I’ve got four or five different MP3 software packages on my machine. Windows Media Player, RealPlayer, Musicmatch Jukebox, iTunes, etc. I’ve never been able to settle on using just one. I’ll work with Windows Media Player for awhile, index all my MP3 files, try to clean up the music library a bit, but then something just doesn’t go right, or sound right, and I open up another application and do the whole thing over again. Well today, I finally decided to use iTunes as my default player. There are two things that I like most about it. The first is, the sound. The built in equalizer just has better tone than any of the other players, especially Real Player. To use a decent EQ you have to subscribe to their service. Otherwise, you just get a cheesy three slide EQ.

iTunes does a great job at naming my files (once they’re imported into the library). I just haven’t done a great job with standard naming conventions, so my files have upper case, and lower case, and partial names, at such. Well, iTunes somehow knows what it’s doing here, and displays the titles, bands, and album names better than the other players. It doesn’t get them all right, but most of them are. Today, when I imported everything in, I only had to adjust a few files. Very cool.

iTunes also deals with duplicate files, and that’s a big help because I have a bad habit of storing MP3 files in various folders, and I do forget if I’ve copied some of the same ones in both directories. iTunes shows me the dupes and helps me get them outta there. That’s ultra cool.

So, for now, iTunes has me organized and sounding good.

Until the next “cool” MP3 player comes out.

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Playing “Catch”

When your 6-year-old boy asks you to play catch with him, do it. By the time he’s 12, he won’t be asking anymore. 

Headlines and Commentary for 08.27.05

Louisianans Told: Head for Higher Ground – Coastal residents jammed freeways and gas stations Saturday as they rushed to get out of the way of Hurricane Katrina, a vicious storm that is threatening to gain even more strength and make a direct hit on the New Orleans area.

And Bourbon Street will be packed with partiers, as usual, drinking liquid Hurricanes.

Tiny Crawford Braces for Dueling Protests – Several thousand people descended on President Bush’s adopted hometown Saturday, most in a cross-country caravan for a pro-Bush rally and others to support an anti-war demonstration led by grieving mother Cindy Sheehan. Bush supporters gathered for an event marking the culmination of the “You don’t speak for me, Cindy!” tour, which started last week in California. The crowd of about 1,500 chanted, “Cindy, go home!”

This isn’t about Casey Crawford anymore. This isn’t even about the war in Iraq. It’s chaos and it’s a waste of time.

Martha Stewart Confinement Set to End – Unless she gets into trouble with her probation officer again, Martha Stewart will gain her freedom this week from her “hideous” home confinement sentence and that bothersome, unstylish electronic anklet. After five months in prison for lying about a stock sale and five months of court-ordered restrictions at her Westchester County estate — plus three weeks tacked on for misbehaving — the queen of domestic marketing should be able to move around like any other convicted felon who’s done her time.

I’ve got to hand it to Martha. When she realized she would have to spend time in jail, she stopped her complaining, she didn’t try to continue her appeal, she just went in and did her time. Hopefully, she’s learned something and she’ll be an example, not play the victim.

Wax Head of Mozart Is Stolen From Museum – Thieves snatched the head of a life-size Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wax figure from a Salzburg museum, police said Saturday. The figure of the composer was on display at “Next to Mozart,” a multimedia museum that opened last year. The wax head has an estimated value of $18,427, but museum employees told Austria Press Agency the work was truly unique — and appealed for its return.

A wax head for 18 grand? There’s something seriously wrong with that…

11-Year-Old Is Accused of Carjacking – An 11-year-old boy is accused of forcing a teenager and two young children out of a car and then driving the stolen vehicle to school the next morning. The boy, whose name was not released because of his age, was charged with aggravated robbery in juvenile court on Friday. A detention hearing was set for Monday. “This is very unusual,” said District Attorney Jerome Gorman, a prosecutor for 24 years.

11 freakin years old. When I was 11 years old the worse thing I ever did was throw rotten plumbs at a neighbors house. What’s happening to our kids?

And finally…

Along came a spider – A German woman was so shocked by a spider crawling across her face that she lost control of her car and crashed head on into a roadside tree, police in the western town of Rheine said on Thursday. The 23-year-old woman screamed and let go of the steering wheel, causing her small car to veer off the road into the tree.

At least that’s what she told her husband.

Headlines and Commentary for 08.26.05

Five Dead As Katrina Crosses South Florida – Flooded streets resembled canals, sailboats sat on the sand and a highway overpass lay in ruin Friday in the hours after Hurricane Katrina plodded across South Florida. The storm wind then zoomed to 100 mph as Katrina moved over the Gulf of Mexico.

Jeez. Even though early news reports went out about the dangers associated with Katrina, the hurricane caught a lot of people by surprise. After faking everyone out by a decreasing wind, the hurricane cranked back up to triple digit wind-speeds. Five dead, and a family of five remain missing.

Is Anything Wrong With Pat Robertson Making a Killing? – While controversy boils over Pat Robertson’s call for the assassination of Venezuela’s president this week, another controversy is bubbling about one of his ventures. Seems his “age-defying” diet shake isn’t just a philanthropic endeavor anymore. The televangelist is looking to turn a profit from it.

The crucifixion of Pat Robertson continues. He made his bed.

Paris Apartment Building Fire Kills 17 – Fire raced through a crowded, rundown apartment building housing African immigrants early Friday, trapping residents in their sleep and killing 17 people — 14 of them children, officials said. The blaze began after midnight under the ground-floor stairwell of the seven-story building on the corner of a major boulevard in southeast Paris and raged for three hours, injuring 23 people.

If you’ve ever been to Europe, you know that nearly every city there has buildings like these that should be condemned. Unfortunately, they end up occupied by people who need to live in the city but can’t otherwise afford decent, safe housing. They are quite simply, deathtraps; time bombs that continue to tick.

Greenspan Warns Budget Deficits Pose Risk – Creeping trade protectionism and bloated budget deficits pose a risk to the United States’ long-term economic vitality, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan warned Friday.

The puppet master. How many times has this guy given this speech? And wow, has he had this job for like 100 years or what? Greenspan has power, that’s for sure. The killer job. I wonder if he wakes up the morning before he has to deliver his big money talk and thinks to himself, “just how can I tweak these bastards today?” Genius.

FCC Delays Cutoff of Internet Phone Users – A deadline has been extended that could have left tens of thousands of people without their Internet phone service next week. The Federal Communications Commission said Friday it would delay a Monday deadline for providers of Internet-based phone calls to obtain acknowledgments that their customers understand the problems they may encounter when dialing 911 in an emergency. Providers of the phone service, known as Voice over Internet Protocol or “VoIP,” had been told by the FCC that they should disconnect service by Tuesday to people who had not responded.

Huh? Let me get this straight. VoIP users who might have trouble using their phones to dial 911, need to respond to say they understand this risk, and if they don’t, their phones will be shut off…SO THEY CAN’T CALL 911 AT ALL! That’s priceless.

Judge Orders Gooden Held Without Bail – Dwight Gooden will be jailed without bail until an October hearing, a judge ruled Friday, three days after the former star pitcher fled police during a DUI traffic stop. Gooden, dressed in an orange jail outfit and shackled at the wrists and ankles, looked gaunt in court as he was flanked by his mother and lawyer.

What is it with these guys? “Hey, I’m a famous baseball player, I don’t have to stop for no stinking fuzz.” There’s been, what, 20 or more pro-sports performers just like Gooden who end up in front of a judge? Idiots, all of them.

Power Briefly Cut to 500,000 in California – The failure of a key transmission line was blamed for power outages that left nearly half a million people without air conditioning for about 30 minutes on a day when temperatures in Southern California hovered around 100 degrees. Southern California Edison began shutting off power in areas Thursday after the California Independent System Operator, which operates the electric grid in California, declared a transmission emergency.

Didn’t this stuff happen when Gray Davis was Governor? Arnie, you better nip this in the bud now or you’ll have plenty of time to make movies again. Wait a minute, I’m not sure that’s such a bad thing.

Uzbek Senate Backs U.S. Eviction From Base – The Uzbek Senate on Friday endorsed the government’s decision to evict U.S. troops from an airbase that has been an important hub for American military operations in Afghanistan. Uzbekistan’s ties with Washington have deteriorated since the Bush administration joined other nations in urging an international investigation into the suppression of a May uprising in the eastern Uzbek city of Andijan.

Fine, let’s pack it up. In a year or two, Karimov will be in some kind of trouble and need to call on Mother America and then we can remind him of his little eviction tantrum. Yeah I know, we won’t do that, because America is the great teat from which all in the world suckle. Sigh.

And finally…

Wanted: completely perfect legs – The mayor of one Budapest district wants female City Hall staff to wear miniskirts only if they have “completely perfect legs” and the skirts are no shorter than 2-3 centimeters (about 1 inch) above the knee.

Amen.

So that’s it.

Trackbacks and comments are disabled on PunditGuy, forever. The pornography links, video poker, and prescription drug SPAM is WAY OUT OF HAND, not just on this blog, but all over the blogosphere. Plug-ins can stop some, but not all of these pests. The bots find old blog posts and drop their loads there.

The easiest thing for me to do is stop providing a home for their trash.

UPDATE: Thanks to a few tips from helpful readers, and the new version 3.2 of Movable Type, I’m going to open comments/trackbacks once more. BUT, if the SPAM finds a way in again, I’ll weld the door permanently shut.

Headlines and Commentary for 08.25.05

Walter Reed Medical Center to Be Closed – A federal commission voted Thursday to close Walter Reed Army Medical Center — the crown jewel of U.S. military hospitals — as part of the Pentagon’s sweeping proposal to restructure bases across the country. Located in the heart of the nation’s capital, the century-old hospital has treated presidents and foreign leaders as well as veterans and soldiers, including those returning from the Iraq war.

I’m actually pretty shocked by this announcement. I guess it’s just because the place has so much history, one assumes that it’s a ‘key’ facility. But, given its age and all (over 100 years), it’s probably time. I understand that a new, more modern hospital will replace the old building, and it will assume the name ‘Walter Reed’. That’s cool.

Katrina Strengthens, Heads to Florida – Tropical Storm Katrina strengthened Thursday as it trudged toward Florida’s heavily populated southeastern coast, and forecasters expected it to become a weak hurricane before making landfall overnight.

I wonder what property insurance premiums are like in Florida? They’ve got to be killer.

Iraq Leaders Seek Constitution Consensus – Iraqi factional leaders struggled again to reach a consensus on a new constitution before a self-imposed target of midnight Thursday, but parliament did not meet and some officials said there was no plan for a future session on the charter. The negotiators tried to reach an agreement on a draft by the close of a 72-hour extension announced Monday night by the parliament speaker after Sunni Arabs refused to accept a charter approved by Shiites and Kurds.

There’s really no way to speed this process up. In fact, no one should try. This stuff takes time, and it has got to be done right. After all, the U.S. Constitution took a year to complete and another two years to reflect the government it prescribed. If any form of democracy is to last in Iraq, the details of the new government must be as clear as possible.

Deadly Tsunami Reached Around the Globe – Last year’s Sumatra tsunami focused its death and destruction on the lands around the Indian Ocean, but the great wave traveled around the world and was recorded as far away as Peru and northeastern Canada. The wave rose a massive 30 feet as it destroyed communities around the Indian Ocean.

The power of God cannot be reconned with. Hopefully, new early warning systems will be fully operational around the globe before the next killer wave hits.

Militants Threaten to Renew Israel Attacks – Militants said Thursday they will renew attacks on Israel, despite a six-month cease-fire, after Israeli soldiers killed five Palestinians, at least three of them armed, in a West Bank arrest raid. The killings and the threat of revenge ended a lull that accompanied Israel’s just-completed withdrawal from 25 Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.

If anyone thought Israel’s most recent exodus was the key to stopping the ongoing war, they were wrong. I don’t think one or two acts, or a negotiation on territory, or anything else can be the silver bullet that permanently changes things in this area. The disagreements go back centuries, and when children of one side are raised to hate the children of the other, no ‘roadmap’ of agreements will help.

Miss America Wants Out of Atlantic City –  In a surprise announcement, the organizers of the Miss America pageant said Thursday they want to move the 84-year-old contest from the only home it has ever known.

Bert Parks is turning over in his grave.

Post Office Renamed to Honor Ray Charles – The warm voice of Ray Charles filled the neighborhood near his recording studio during a ceremony christening a post office in his name. As Charles’ rendition of “America the Beautiful” rang out over speakers, family, friends and associates watched Wednesday as workers unveiled the new Ray Charles Station post office sign.

Yeah, O.K. Ray sang some memorable songs, but why do we always try to deify these people? By the way, Ray could be quite a jerk, and he certainly didn’t like to take song requests.

Tickets to JLO Boutique Opening on Auction – Jennifer Lopez is going on the auction block — for charity. Starting Thursday, fans of singer-actress-designer Jennifer Lopez can bid on two VIP tickets to the opening of her first U.S. boutique in Chicago. Her boutique at Marshall Field’s on State Street will open Sept. 22. The first JLO boutique opened in Moscow last year.

Thanks, but no thanks.

And finally…

Politicians slum it on “Vile Brother” – Four Mexican politicians completed a three-night stay in a spider- and scorpion-infested shack on Wednesday as part of a campaign to raise awareness about poverty dubbed “Vile Brother.” In contrast to the typical house on the reality television show “Big Brother,” the shack was made of sticks, tin and plastic sacks, lacked a sewage system and had a dirt floor. The group tore down the shack as they left, after buying a new concrete house for the seven-member family that had lived there, Mexican television news reported.

OK, here’s my list. I want to see Barney Frank, Chuck Schumer, Bill Frist, and Sam Brownback camping out together in conditions just like this.

Heh.