The Sudanese air force bombed a town in western Sudan this week killing or wounding 100 people and forcing thousands to flee, a U.N. spokeswoman said on Friday.A strongly worded rebuke will follow.
An African Union (AU) source said earlier that Sudanese officials had prevented AU monitors from investigating the death and damage caused by the aerial bombing. The attack violated a shaky cease-fire with rebels which AU observers are monitoring.
U.N. spokeswoman Radhia Achouri quoted the AU as saying Sudan's air force had bombed the town of Shangil Tobaya, near el-Fasher, capital of North Darfur, on Wednesday.
"(The African Union) said there are around 100 casualties. They are not talking about a specific death toll," she told Reuters in Cairo by telephone from Khartoum.
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan was "deeply disturbed" by the attack, his spokesman Fred Eckhard said.
Friday, January 28, 2005
Sudan Bombs Dafur - UN 'Deeply Disturbed'
Sudan Bombs Dafur; 100 Casualties
UN Transfers Money To Hamas Despite Israeli Warning
It is business as usual at the UN, as they continue the transfer of thousands of dollars to a Palestinian Arab charity affiliated with terrorism long after Israel warned of the terror connection. The UN had claimed that they stopped the payments to the organization. Oh, and the 'charity' was an affiliate of Hamas, which is on the US terrorist watch list.
The UN continues to believe in a sham that there is a difference between charity 'civilian' groups affiliated with terrorist groups and the terrorist groups themselves. Charity raised by the 'charitable groups' ends up assisting the terrorist group as numerous documents uncovered in the past have revealed. The US and Israelis do not make any distinction between the civilian groups and terrorist groups.
The UN says that they'll investigate the matter.
My suggestions:
1) Don't hold your breath;
2) Any investigation carried out by the UN will exonerate the UN regardless of the findings; and
3) Payments will continue ad infinitum unless someone shuts down the UNDP as there are too many people sympathetic to the terrorists working therein.
The UN continues to believe in a sham that there is a difference between charity 'civilian' groups affiliated with terrorist groups and the terrorist groups themselves. Charity raised by the 'charitable groups' ends up assisting the terrorist group as numerous documents uncovered in the past have revealed. The US and Israelis do not make any distinction between the civilian groups and terrorist groups.
The UN says that they'll investigate the matter.
My suggestions:
1) Don't hold your breath;
2) Any investigation carried out by the UN will exonerate the UN regardless of the findings; and
3) Payments will continue ad infinitum unless someone shuts down the UNDP as there are too many people sympathetic to the terrorists working therein.
NYC TA Chairman Apolgizes: Not Acceptable
Transit Authority President Larry Reuter apologized yesterday for saying it would take up to five years to restore A and C subway service and vowed to fast-track repairs on the crippled Eighth Avenue line.
Reuter said 158 of 200 such rooms in the system have been upgraded to include a fire-detection system. The room at Chambers Street had not been upgraded.Well, isn't that nice. The only problem is that prevention of future mishaps isn't high on the priority list. No matter what ultimately caused the fire that destroyed a relay room, there is no program in place to install fire suppression equipment in any of the other relay rooms. Heck, fire detection equipment isn't even installed in all relay rooms! As we have come to learn, the system is based on equipment designs that are antiques and only two companies produce the parts. It can take months for those companies to produce the necessary quantities of replacements. The first step should be to identify critical components through the system and implement a safety and protection system. The second should be to modernize and update the relay systems, which are critical components for subway operations.
Reuter said the TA is looking to install a sprinkler-type system inside relay rooms that "sends off a mist and stops a fire."
Zarqawi Klan Getting Folded
The press is reporting that two more high level Zarqawi operatives have been captured. Hindrocket argues that this may be a sign that the rumor that Zarqawi himself was arrested a few weeks back may be true or that the lower level operatives that have been captured by coalition forces have squealed on their terror masters. As there are far more minions than leaders of this terror group, it is more likely that the arrests lower down have resulted in the capture of these individuals.
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Speak Up
First they came for the Communists,Today marks the 60th Anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz/Birkenau death camps.
and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t a Jew.
Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me,
and by that time there was no one
left to speak up for me.
by Rev. Martin Niemoller, 1945
Rwanda Remembers Auschwitz
Rwanda remembers the Holocaust
Also, international action is limited only to peacekeeping, not peace making. If one wants to stop genocide from occurring, one has to have the ability to make the parties stop - peacekeeping suggests only that the international community will enforce whatever peace agreement has been reached. By the time peace rolls around, the genocide is already committed and nothing can be done for the victims except to memorialize them and claim that it will never happen again. Well, for the victims, it will never happen again. They're already dead.
Technorati: Human Rights, Genocide
After World War II, when the full horror of the Jewish Holocaust was revealed, the world said: "Never again".Genocides will continue regardless of the pronouncement of Never Again simply because governments do not want to intervene when it does not suit them and it puts human rights ahead of the rights of tyrants and regimes to do as they wish within their own borders. Genocidal dictators would not support measures to intervene in genocide in other parts of the world because their own actions at home would become suspect and subject to international action.
But in 1994 an extremist Hutu government in Rwanda began the systematic slaughter of the minority Tutsis.
It is estimated some 800,000 people were killed in 100 days as the rest of the world stood by.
On a hill in the Rwandan capital Kigali a memorial stands to those killed in the genocide.
Mass graves contain anywhere up to 250,000 people and inside a specially constructed building there are displays teaching a new generation of Rwandans about what happened in 1994.
Also, international action is limited only to peacekeeping, not peace making. If one wants to stop genocide from occurring, one has to have the ability to make the parties stop - peacekeeping suggests only that the international community will enforce whatever peace agreement has been reached. By the time peace rolls around, the genocide is already committed and nothing can be done for the victims except to memorialize them and claim that it will never happen again. Well, for the victims, it will never happen again. They're already dead.
Technorati: Human Rights, Genocide
Upon Further Review
Well, it seems as though the investigation into what caused the fire that took out the A/C lines at Chambers Street has turned up some interesting information. Apparently, investigators can't locate the vagrant who supposedly set a fire that spread to the relay room. Instead, investigators have found out that a MTA repair crew may have accidentally caused the fire, and then MTA workers were unable to give firefighters access to the relay room in a timely fashion. Officially, investigators have yet to pin down the cause.
In other words, the earlier stories about this being the fault of a vagrant may not be correct and that the MTA may be passing the blame onto others when it should be shouldering the blame for this fiasco. That isn't to say that the security of the subway system shouldn't be improved so as to prevent illegal access to sensitive areas or that relay systems be protected with fire suppression equipment. What it does say is that the MTA has serious administrative issues and that a change in leadership may be warranted.
In other words, the earlier stories about this being the fault of a vagrant may not be correct and that the MTA may be passing the blame onto others when it should be shouldering the blame for this fiasco. That isn't to say that the security of the subway system shouldn't be improved so as to prevent illegal access to sensitive areas or that relay systems be protected with fire suppression equipment. What it does say is that the MTA has serious administrative issues and that a change in leadership may be warranted.
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
Disaster Recovery
One would think after seeing the WTC attacked on 9/11 that businesses and government agencies alike would spend more time evaluating their infrastructure needs and business continuation plans in the event of debilitating events.
The problem is that the MTA has not done this in any meaningful way. Yes, they are to be applauded for restoring the 1/9 service within 18 months after the attacks, but the continued reliance on 80+ year old equipment throughout the system is a cause for alarm. The fire that damaged a single relay room at Chambers Street will take out the entire C line for months and severely restrict service on the A. How come there were no contingency plans in place? How come there wasn't a capital plan to update and secure these facilities?
Why aren't the heads of the MTA being held accountable for their actions?
The problem is that the MTA has not done this in any meaningful way. Yes, they are to be applauded for restoring the 1/9 service within 18 months after the attacks, but the continued reliance on 80+ year old equipment throughout the system is a cause for alarm. The fire that damaged a single relay room at Chambers Street will take out the entire C line for months and severely restrict service on the A. How come there were no contingency plans in place? How come there wasn't a capital plan to update and secure these facilities?
Why aren't the heads of the MTA being held accountable for their actions?
Border Insecurity
This is enough to give me nightmares. Michelle Malkin, who is perhaps the only journalist to focus on border control issues with any moxie, has an exclusive story about how the DHS has managed to give someone their Green Card three years after their death. While these things can sometimes happen, this particular person died at the WTC on 9/11.
The story exposes how our behemoth, $34 billion Department of Homeland Security sent a green card approval notice on Jan. 15, 2005 to Mr. Eugueni Kniazev (pronounced Yev-GEN-nee Kuh-NEH-zev), who was murdered at the World Trade Center on that unforgettable day the towers collapsed.This story has serious national security consequences as border and immigration control were major failings that led to 9/11. Identifying those who are dead and eliminating their applications should be an easy thing to do, but not for the DHS. The self reporting of changes in status is a golden opportunity for terrorists to exploit vulnerabilities in immigration and border control.
That's right. The feds sent a green card approval notice less than two weeks ago to a known, deceased Sept. 11 victim.
Subway Repair Timetable Adjusted
And like that, the timetable goes from 3-5 years to 6-9 months. How is that possible? Well, full service capabilities wont be restored for 3-5 years, but limited service on the A/C lines will be reestablished much sooner.
Even if the A and C trains are restored to their normal rush-hour frequency this year, however, it will indeed take from three to five years and cost between $35 million and $60 million to restore the subway to its previous capability, which includes being able to run northbound trains on southbound tracks, officials said. In the meantime, commuters will continue to suffer crowded trains and platforms on affected lines and neighboring lines as well, they warned.So far, no word on changes to other relay systems in the subway system to prevent a repeat.
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Getting on the Bandwagon [Clinton/Obama '08]
Hugh Hewitt has said it. Instapundit copied and expanded on it.
Only thing is I said it first on 11/3/2004!
Not like I want to gloat or anything.
Only thing is I said it first on 11/3/2004!
Not like I want to gloat or anything.
Ominous Signs
Russian legislator seeks to outlaw Jewish organizations.
It starts with legitimizing the hatred, then the persecution intensifies, and then history repeats itself in spades.
Hat tip: Charles at LGF
It starts with legitimizing the hatred, then the persecution intensifies, and then history repeats itself in spades.
MOSCOW - A group of nationalist Russian lawmakers called Monday for a sweeping investigation aimed at outlawing all Jewish organizations and punishing officials who support them, accusing Jews of fomenting ethnic hatred and saying they provoke anti-Semitism.
In a letter dated Jan. 13, about 20 members of the lower house of parliament, the State Duma, asked Prosecutor General Vladimir Ustinov to investigate their claims and to launch proceedings “on the prohibition in our country of all religious and ethnic Jewish organizations as extremist.”
The letter, faxed in part to The Associated Press by the office of lawmaker Alexander Krutov, said, “The negative assessments by Russian patriots of the qualities and actions against non-Jews that are typical of Jews correspond to the truth ... The statements and publications against Jews that have incriminated patriots are self-defense, which is not always stylistically correct but is justified in essence.”
The stunning call to ban all Jewish groups raised concerns of persistent anti-Semitism in Russia. ...
Hat tip: Charles at LGF
Service "C"ut
It's never good when there's a fire, but it's even worse when it cancels train service indefinitely. That's the situation on the C line of the NYC Subway system. The A train is also affected, which means that 400,000 daily users have to find alternatives due to cancellations and overcrowding. My wife was none too pleased about the inconvenience as she relied on the West Side service to get to work.
The MTA says that it could take years to restore the service, which begs the question. If they were able to rebuild the 1,000 foot long section of track destroyed by the WTC for the 1 and 9 lines within 18 months, including signal systems, why will it take years to restore the signal system damaged by the fire at Chambers Street in Manhattan that was apparently caused by a fire started by a vagrant and spread to the relay room. It is time for the MTA to investigate new off the shelf technologies that could replace the older equipment in order to speed the restoration of service.
It begs the question why the relay room was not better protected from fire damage if it could result in a systemwide breakdown. This is not just a transportation question, but an infrastructure security question that deserves to be investigated. A minor fire that spread to a relay room could halt train service indefinitely. That is unacceptable.
Immediate fixes should be the installation of fire suppressant systems in all similar relay rooms, so as to minimize the chances of the equipment being irreparably damaged.
Also, these areas should be better secured. If a vagrant could inadvertently cause this kind of damage, what would happen if a terrorist purposefully sought to cause the damage?
That's a scary thought.
Reuter said suspending the C is a "long-term problem" that could take an estimated three to five years to fix and cost "several millions of dollars" because new equipment has to be built from scratch.
The MTA says that it could take years to restore the service, which begs the question. If they were able to rebuild the 1,000 foot long section of track destroyed by the WTC for the 1 and 9 lines within 18 months, including signal systems, why will it take years to restore the signal system damaged by the fire at Chambers Street in Manhattan that was apparently caused by a fire started by a vagrant and spread to the relay room. It is time for the MTA to investigate new off the shelf technologies that could replace the older equipment in order to speed the restoration of service.
It begs the question why the relay room was not better protected from fire damage if it could result in a systemwide breakdown. This is not just a transportation question, but an infrastructure security question that deserves to be investigated. A minor fire that spread to a relay room could halt train service indefinitely. That is unacceptable.
Immediate fixes should be the installation of fire suppressant systems in all similar relay rooms, so as to minimize the chances of the equipment being irreparably damaged.
Also, these areas should be better secured. If a vagrant could inadvertently cause this kind of damage, what would happen if a terrorist purposefully sought to cause the damage?
That's a scary thought.
Monday, January 24, 2005
For This, We're Supposed To Be Thankful?
The UN recognizes the liberation of Auschwitz on the 60th Anniversary of the occasion. I'm underwhelmed by the show of moral clarity.
The best way to remember Auschwitz is to do more than repeat Never Again ad infinitum. The best way is to prevent another social, ethnic, or political group from being the victims of genocide.
The UN failed at that basic mission in 1994 in Rwanda [kudos to Kofi, et al., for looking the other way on that one].
The UN failed in Kosovo and the Balkans.
The UN failed in Iraq - both for the Kurds and the Marsh Arabs.
The UN is failing in Dafur, as everyone except the UN appears to recognize genocide is ongoing.
The best way to celebrate any anniversary of Auschwitz is to make sure that we not only never forget to remember what got the Nazis to the point of annihilating an entire people in death camps [the anti Semitism, demonization of a social, relgious, and ethnic group, and state sanctioned persecution], but don't forget to stop potential situations from blossoming into modern day genocides right before our eyes.
Unfortunately, the UN will not permit action further than remembrance. And on that point, it took 60 years. The people of Dafur don't have that kind of disposable time on their hands.
Technorati: Human Rights, Genocide
The best way to remember Auschwitz is to do more than repeat Never Again ad infinitum. The best way is to prevent another social, ethnic, or political group from being the victims of genocide.
The UN failed at that basic mission in 1994 in Rwanda [kudos to Kofi, et al., for looking the other way on that one].
The UN failed in Kosovo and the Balkans.
The UN failed in Iraq - both for the Kurds and the Marsh Arabs.
The UN is failing in Dafur, as everyone except the UN appears to recognize genocide is ongoing.
The best way to celebrate any anniversary of Auschwitz is to make sure that we not only never forget to remember what got the Nazis to the point of annihilating an entire people in death camps [the anti Semitism, demonization of a social, relgious, and ethnic group, and state sanctioned persecution], but don't forget to stop potential situations from blossoming into modern day genocides right before our eyes.
Unfortunately, the UN will not permit action further than remembrance. And on that point, it took 60 years. The people of Dafur don't have that kind of disposable time on their hands.
Technorati: Human Rights, Genocide
Unguarded Optimism
Someone forgot to tell Iraqis to be pessimistic about the upcoming elections.
''I don't just see light at the end of the tunnel, I see light at the start and throughout the tunnel,'' says Abbas, 41, in a typically upbeat remark. His partner Zeidan, 39, agrees.Why is it that Iraqis sound a lot more pragmatic and realistic than most of the pundits and naysayers in the mainstream media and the US Left? It is precisely this kind of thought on the part of Iraqis that makes me cautiously hopeful that the Iraqis will turn out okay. They know that it will take tough times before they see the fruits of their labor [ed: and ours as well].
''We must live like other people,'' Zeidan says. ''Let a million of us die. That's the price of freedom. Have you heard of any society that gained freedom without sacrifices?''
Brooklyn Blogging
One of my lifelong interests has been urban development and the politics behind developing real estate. So, it is with great interest that I've seen my original hometown, Brooklyn, NY, become home to some really great ideas for urban development.
First there was Metrotech; a group of office buildings, hotels, and restaurants in Downtown Brooklyn, which now includes the City's 911 call center.
Then, Keyspan Park in Coney Island, which is home to the Brooklyn Cyclones.
Then, Forest City Ratner announced that they would build Atlantic Yards, adjacent to their mall retail space to become home to the NBA NJ Nets, who would relocate to a new arena there, along with thousands of apartment units.
Now comes word of a blossoming waterfront development that would boost the City's ability to host cruise ships.
http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/39205.htm
Let's hope this gets done. The cruise line industry has been hampered in the City because of limited space on the West Side of Manhattan, a lack of deep water at the berths, and lack of modern amenities, including security facilities sufficient to handle the traffic.
A new facility in Brooklyn would alleviate the problems, and boost the local economy greatly.
First there was Metrotech; a group of office buildings, hotels, and restaurants in Downtown Brooklyn, which now includes the City's 911 call center.
Then, Keyspan Park in Coney Island, which is home to the Brooklyn Cyclones.
Then, Forest City Ratner announced that they would build Atlantic Yards, adjacent to their mall retail space to become home to the NBA NJ Nets, who would relocate to a new arena there, along with thousands of apartment units.
Now comes word of a blossoming waterfront development that would boost the City's ability to host cruise ships.
http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/39205.htm
Let's hope this gets done. The cruise line industry has been hampered in the City because of limited space on the West Side of Manhattan, a lack of deep water at the berths, and lack of modern amenities, including security facilities sufficient to handle the traffic.
A new facility in Brooklyn would alleviate the problems, and boost the local economy greatly.
Sunday, January 23, 2005
About Time!
Almost a month after the devastating tsunami struck South Asia, the United Nations is finally getting around to distributing supplies on its own.
The US had been delivering aid within 48 hours.
But, you wouldn't have known it from the mainstream media's portrayal of the US response as being slow - particularly with a lack of public statements from the Administration.
For those in the region, they saw deeds trump action.
So, the media now wants to find a way to complain that the US handoff of aid relief to others is coming too fast.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=535&e=4&u=/ap/20050123/ap_on_re_as/tsunami
The US had been delivering aid within 48 hours.
But, you wouldn't have known it from the mainstream media's portrayal of the US response as being slow - particularly with a lack of public statements from the Administration.
For those in the region, they saw deeds trump action.
So, the media now wants to find a way to complain that the US handoff of aid relief to others is coming too fast.
An American admiral dismissed fears that the U.S. military is ending its relief effort for tsunami victims too soon, as a U.N. agency delivered aid on its own for the first time Sunday — a sign of civilian groups preparing to fill the gap as militaries pull out. Indonesia raised its death toll from the disaster by as many as 7,000 people.
U.S. military helicopters from the USS Abraham Lincoln's five-ship battle group have been vital in getting aid to remote towns and villages in the ravaged western coast of Indonesia's Aceh province, cut off when roads were torn up and bridges crushed by the Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunami.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=535&e=4&u=/ap/20050123/ap_on_re_as/tsunami
What say you?
Well, the Palestinians are up to their old tricks.
They'd love to have the world believe that they're all for peace, if only the big bad Israelis would put down their arms, open up their prisons, and release all the terrorists previously captured.
If the Israelis don't heed the 'advice,' the Palestinian terrorist groups are 'forced' to continue their terror campaigns.
As if.
They'd love to have the world believe that they're all for peace, if only the big bad Israelis would put down their arms, open up their prisons, and release all the terrorists previously captured.
If the Israelis don't heed the 'advice,' the Palestinian terrorist groups are 'forced' to continue their terror campaigns.
As if.
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