Flutes, Falls and facades....

Good afternoon children,
First off lets pay respects to a great musician and
honored soul.
It is too bad and a statement of reality on our part that
this is only
a back page story here in the US........so I am starting
my top story off with it tonight
and will wish my fellow musical shaman a safe trip to the
other side..... and in other news closer to home I must also wish a fellow climber a salute as well.........breakaway wall is a difficult passage ......and although I am not sure it was a climber and that it occured on this face I have a feeling about it as I have climbed these rocks myself many times.........usually with minimal gear.........in a way I hope it was a climber and not a poor wayward child..........I included a passage from Indy's guide to hidden sites to give you some idea of the terrain and it's a site worth reading into if you plan to climb any formations.....we must always be on our guard in the outdoors.........be it a family outing or a spontainious climb..........mountians, boulders and caves are wonderous marvels of nature.....but they must be treated with respect and care.......life can be lost so quickly.....

India mourns legendary musician

Relatives pay respects to Khan before he was buriedThe funeral has been held for one of India's most famous musicians, Ustad Bismillah Khan, who has died aged 91.
He was buried with full state honours in his home town of Varanasi after suffering a heart attack on Monday.
The body of India's best-known player of the shehnai wind instrument lay in state in a city park throughout the day. Thousands paid their respects.
India's government has declared a day of national mourning. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh led tributes to Khan.
"This is a truly sad day in the world of music," Mr Singh said, calling Khan "one of our greatest living musicians".
He treated everyone as equal. He never believed in any casteism
Music student Gurpreet Singh
"Legendary personality Ustad Bismillah Khan is no more with us. His passing away brings an era to an end."
Bismillah Khan is credited with popularising the shehnai, a wind instrument which can be loosely compared to an oboe, and elevating its status in India.
He had the rare distinction of performing as the Indian flag was unfurled at the historic Red Fort in Delhi to mark the country's independence from Britain in 1947.
Jewel of India
Fans flocked to pay homage to Khan in Varanasi before he was laid to rest under a neem tree in a burial ground in the old city.

Bismillah Khan's career spanned eight decades
"It's a loss to the nation," said one, music student Gurpreet Singh. "He treated everyone as equal. He never believed in any casteism."
Bismillah Khan was admitted to hospital last week after he complained of weakness.
A practising Muslim, he made the Hindu holy town of Varanasi (also known as Benares) his home and could often be seen playing by the banks of the holy river Ganges, offering prayers to the Hindu goddess of learning, Saraswati.
Khan often played shehnai in the local temples too.
He was seen as a symbol of India's religious pluralism and harmony for people of different faiths, and was awarded the country's highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna (Jewel of India), in 2001.
Born on 21 March, 1916, into a family of court musicians, Khan started training at the young age of six and was soon regarded as a master in his own right.
He was known for living a simple and austere life at his home in a narrow alleyway of Varanasi and cycle-rickshaw was his favourite mode of transport.


ROCKS, Md. -- A person is dead after a fall from a rock formation at Rocks State Park in Harford County.
Sgt. Ken Turner of the Department of Natural Resources police said the incident occurred sometime between 1 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. Sunday afternoon.
Turner said someone fell from the King and Queen Seat, a rock formation popular with climbers.
The incident remains under investigation, and no information about the victim has been released. Turner said the body is on the way to the State Medical Examiner's office in Baltimore for an autopsy.


BREAKAWAY WALL:
Vertical ascends the crack/flake just right of center through the small roof, then angles up and left to the top. Piney is the roof in the upper right skyline of the photo. Mike's Finger Buckets follows the line just left of center.
This is the 'main wall' of Rocks State Park, accessible only by an exposed 5.1 downclimb scramble down past the Pinnacle. Please be very careful when going down/up this area (especially when it's wet). A fall could be terminal (see earlier note about body recoveries). Rope up if you have to, okay?
The wall is south-facing, and rises 65-80' high. There is a lower platform and an upper platform (which also serves as the base for Epitaph Wall), a height difference of 15'. The lower platform offers a tree and some cracks (finger-sized to fist-sized) for pro. The upper platform houses a nice column tucked in a corner, which most people use as a primary anchor for Breakaway Right, Superbulge, and Mike's.... You'll want gear, though for a backup anchor, or for setting up Breakaway Left and other routes to the left of that.
The Breakaway Wall hosts the longest top-rope routes in this guide, pushing 80+ feet in length. Be sure your rope ends reach the ground before trying these climbs!
There are a number of other routes, lead only, exist between Green Subtrafuge and the King/Queen's Seat area, varying difficulty levels, from moderate to hard. Some are top-rope problems, but a handful two-pitch leads, or 120+ foot top-ropes are piled inbetween.
The following routes do not appear in the current edition of the book. The first is located on the lower broad ledge at the top of Vertical. The second next to Shark Tooth. The third is a new route put up by Nick Crowhurst of England.
Blister 5.10c - Mainly a boulder problem, but you'll want a spotter in case you slip and stumble - it's a hell of a drop off the edge down Vertical! So please take care. From the broad ledge at the top of Vertical, below the Epitaph Wall ledge at the top of Breakaway, find the large vertical crack in the corner. Climb up the thin face immediately left of the crack. Using the edge of the crack for your right hand is considered "on". The name derives itself from a crystal about 8-9' up on the right that you lock your thumb onto as you are making the upper moves on the problem.
Jumpin' Jack Flash 5.11a/5.11c - Climb the short and fairly blank face just right of Shark Tooth. If you do not throw for the right edge arete at the crux, the climbing stays at 11c. If you use the right edge before the undercling (beware that wasps use this as their home, too), the climbing is 11a. Be sure you're up for some seriously sharp holds.
Horizontal 5.8 (G/PG) - ~100'. In fine British tradition, a horizontal traverse route! This was a vision of Nick Crowhurst, and put up by he and Indy. While you could top-rope most of this from one anchor point above Superbulge, this is probably best done on lead. Begin by climbing up the gully/chimney of Green Subtrafuge until you are beneath the roof. Begin traversing out right (there is no real good place to put gear in until you are under the Green Subtrafuge roof). Hand-traverse the ledge of Breakaway Left to the formidable Breakaway Block (protection here is good), then stem/bridge beneath the Breakaway Block roof to gain the bomber bucket hold on Breakaway Right. Continue following the horizontal line of weakness right to another, smaller ledge that ends 20 or so feet above Mike's Finger Buckets. Step up onto this ledge and traverse right another 6-8' to the parallel Vertical cracks. Climb up another 4-5' to the thin horizontal crack at the top of the parallel Vertical cracks. Delicately continue the traverse right, following this seam around to the slab face beneath the Piney roof. Just as things get really thin, there is a large bucket hold you can reach blindly just past the corner. Continue traversing right until you can step off onto blocks near The Pinnacle. If you are leading you might consider setting up a (hanging) belay either at the end of the ledge above Mike's or in the Vertical cracks.
Breakaway Direct - this was noted as 5.11 in the guide; it is more correctly rated 5.12-.
Breakaway Bulge 5.13 (R/X) - this is a slightly contrived route. Climb Super Bulge until you are through the crux. Now, instead of continuing on up, traverse left until under the Breakaway block roof, and finish by climbing Breakaway Direct.

The cigarette post

Tonight I wont talk about poor Jonbenet Ramsey.....we
don't know enough yet to effectively comment on anything.....

we can hope this is the right guy.......and if it is not then it sounds to me like he needs to be stoped anyway so it is a good thing we got him..........although if he is the guy can you remember how we treated her mother.......The Big guy will look after her and little Jon for Dad and us all........

one thing I can
say something about though is Tobacco...... I know....what has that got to do with anything?...well......let me be the first to tell you.......
Yes children.....if you didn't already know ranxid is
officially among the quitters......and in tribute to my own success I post this
article for all smokers and quitters alike......lets go reclaim our souls from
the glass jars they are being kept in down at the tobacco
factory........

Big Tobacco lied but need not pay, judge rules
Industry must make 'corrective statements' but cannot be further penalized

WASHINGTON - Cigarette makers escaped major financial penalties Thursday, even though a federal judge found them liable for violating racketeering laws in a decades-long conspiracy to hide the dangers of smoking.
U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler ruled that a group of tobacco companies had broken the law, but could not be forced to pay monetary penalties such as funding a large anti-smoking campaign, as the government had sought.
“Cigarette smoking causes disease, suffering, and death. Despite internal recognition of this fact, defendants have publicly denied, distorted, and minimized the hazards of smoking for decades,” she said in the 1,653-page opinion.

Kessler said the companies suppressed research, destroyed documents and manipulated nicotine levels to perpetuate addiction, but an appeals court ruling prevented her from slapping the companies with costly remedies.
She did impose some remedies, including ordering the companies to make “corrective” public statements about the health effects and addictiveness of smoking, and banning them from describing cigarettes in ways that convey health claims such as “low tar” and “light.”
Targeted in the 1999 lawsuit were Altria Group Inc. and its Philip Morris USA unit; Loews Corp.’s Lorillard Tobacco unit; Vector Group Ltd.’s Liggett Group; Reynolds American Inc.’s R.J. Reynolds Tobacco unit and British American Tobacco Plc unit British American Tobacco Investments Ltd.
getCSS("3053751")
MORE ON THE TOBACCO RULING
• Judge: Big Tobacco lied for decades
• Ruling sends tobacco stocks up
• Sound off: What's your take on the decision?
• Live Vote: Do you agree with the ruling?
• Read the full text of the opinion (.pdf file)
• MSN Health guide to stop smokingAs public health groups expressed disappointment in the outcome, tobacco stocks rose. Altria gained over 3 percent in extended trading after the ruling, Reynolds rose over 2 percent, Carolina Group, a tracking stock for Lorillard, was up over 1 percent.
“Although they lost, they won. It’s a victory for the tobacco companies,” said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer at Solaris Asset Management.
A spokesman for Reynolds Tobacco said the company was disappointed that Kessler ruled in favor of the government, but "certainly we’re pleased that the court did not award unjustified and extraordinary expensive monetary penalties."
The ruling was also seen as the last major hurdle to be cleared before Altria decides when it will spin off its Kraft Foods Inc. business.
Kessler ordered each company to post on its Web site all documents it submitted to prosecutors in the case and transcripts of letters and depositions of former employees about the health impacts of cigarette smoking or research. The material must remain on their Web sites until 2016.
The corrective statements would have to appear on Web sites, in full-page advertisements in major newspapers, on three major television networks and on cigarette packaging.
Little regard for sufferingShe also ruled that the tobacco companies will have to pay for the government’s court costs. Current figures are not available, but the government has previously said it spent more than $130 million on the case.
The companies pursued profits “with little, if any, regard for individual illness and suffering, soaring health costs, or the integrity of the legal system,” Kessler said.
Kessler exempted Liggett from the remedies, saying the company “does not have a reasonable likelihood of future (racketeering) violations” because it withdrew from the conspiracy in the mid-1990s.
The judge said she was barred from imposing stricter penalties against the tobacco companies by a February 2005 ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
That opinion, written by appellate Judge David Sentelle, barred the government from seeking $280 billion in past industry profits, depriving the government of its biggest potential weapon in the case.
Lawyers for the Justice Department eventually asked the judge to instead require tobacco companies to fund a 10-year, $14 billion anti-smoking program.
But in Thursday’s opinion, Kessler said that remedy was also out of step with the appeals court ruling, which dictated that civil racketeering remedies focus on the prevention of future misconduct, not punishment of past misdeeds.
Public health groups applauded Kessler for holding the tobacco companies liable but expressed disappointment in the remedies .
“It’s ... worthy of a life sentence but instead they got a slap on the wrist,” Cass Wheeler, the chief executive of the American Heart Association, said in a statement.
The Justice Department applauded Kessler’s finding of liability, and while disappointed with the remedies, was hopeful they could have “a significant, positive impact on the health of the American public.”
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KEY TOBACCO RULINGS
A federal district court judge ruled on Thursday that cigarette makers conspired for years to hide smoking dangers but declined to impose major monetary penalties.
The decision came in the government’s 1999 lawsuit against Altria Group Inc. and its Philip Morris USA unit; Loews Corp.’s Lorillard Tobacco unit, which has a tracking stock, Carolina Group; Vector Group Ltd.’s Liggett Group; Reynolds American Inc.’s R.J. Reynolds Tobacco unit and British American Tobacco Plc unit British American Tobacco Investments Ltd.
Other key rulings involving the tobacco industry include the following:
— July 2006: Florida Supreme Court refused to reinstate a $145 billion punitive damages award against major cigarette makers found liable for selling a dangerous product. It ruled that the punitive award was “clearly excessive” and said it would “result in an unlawful crippling of the defendant companies.”
— May 2006: Illinois Supreme Court said it would not reconsider its earlier reversal of a $10.1 billion damage award against Philip Morris USA over the marketing of “light” cigarettes. The court in December ordered a lower court to dismiss a class-action case in which the company was accused of defrauding customers into thinking “light” cigarettes were safer than regular ones.
— February 2005: U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit barred the government from seeking $280 billion in past industry profits in the racketeering case decided on Thursday. The appeals court decision deprived the government of its biggest potential weapon. The court said any remedies must focus on the prevention of future misconduct, not punishment of past misdeeds.


I hope this lasts for me....I am tired of 32 years of servitude to the tobacco companies...........the horror to my own health and the health of those around me

Good evening all children,
tonight I am learning all about something I had never
heard of before
something called "white phosphorus"
WP is an incendiary device used by the military for
illumination. At least
that is the common use we are given.....now to be forward
and truthful these
articles and reports are mostly from 2005 and it may well
be said I am a little
behind here and that there is no great news here........I
was still a little incensed
when I read these so I am passing these along to keep the
story floating and not
let it drift away in our memories.........something we
Americans do with regularity
I am afraid........After reading these reports I must say
I am against the use of this
"chemical weapon" and I am angered that my govt still
considers this a "useful" tool.
First off lets start with a little lesson on what it is
and how it is used. Following is Wikipedia's
definition of white phosphorus........

White phosphorus is a common allotrope of the chemical element phosphorus which has found extensive military application as an incendiary agent [1], smoke-screening agent, and as an antipersonnel flame compound capable of causing serious burns[2]. White Phosphorus (WP) bombs and shells are essentially incendiary devices, and can be used in an offensive anti-personnel role against enemy troop concentrations. It is used in bombs, artillery shells, and mortar shells which burst into burning flakes of phosphorus upon impact. White phosphorus has been called a chemical weapon by many people and organizations, including members of the United Nations, but it has a long history of use in warfare for both offensive and target-marketing purposes. It is commonly referred to in military jargon as "WP". The Vietnam War era slang "Willy(ie) Pete" or "Willy(ie) Peter" is still occasionally heard.
Contents[hide]
1 History
2 Applications
2.1 Smoke-screening agent
3 Effects on humans
3.1 Effects of exposure to WP weapons
3.2 Exposure and inhalation of smoke
3.3 Oral ingestion
4 Arms control status
4.1 Military regulations
4.2 Disposal at sea
4.3 Use in Iraq
5 See also
6 External links
7 Notes

Here is an article on our use of the agent in Falluga in
2004 from the BBC

White phosphorus: weapon on the edge
The Pentagon's admission - despite earlier denials - that US troops used white phosphorus as a weapon in Falluja last year is more than a public relations issue - it has opened up a debate about the use of this weapon in modern warfare.
The admission contradicted a statement this week from the new and clearly under-briefed US ambassador in London Robert Holmes Tuttle that US forces "do not use napalm or white phosphorus as weapons".
The official line to that point had been that WP, or Willie Pete to use its old name from Vietnam, was used only to illuminate the battlefield and to provide smoke for camouflage.
'Shake 'n Bake'
This line however crumbled when bloggers (whose influence must not be under-estimated these days) ferreted out an article published by the US Army's Field Artillery Magazine in its issue of March/April this year.
The article, written by a captain, a first lieutenant and a sergeant, was a review of the attack on Falluja in November 2004 and in particular of the use of indirect fire, mainly mortars.
It makes quite clear that WP was used as a weapon not just as illumination or camouflage.
It's [WP] not forbidden if it is used within the context of a military application which does not require or does not intend to use the toxic properties
Peter Kaiser
"WP proved to be an effective and versatile munition. We used it for screening missions at two breeches and, later in the fight, as a potent psychological weapon against the insurgents in trench lines and spider holes where we could not get effects on them with HE [High Explosive]. We fired "shake and bake" missions at the insurgents, using WP to flush them out and HE to take them out," the article said.
In another passage the authors noted that they could have used other smoke munitions and "saved our WP for lethal missions".
A word about the term "shake and bake." Anyone with a family to feed in the US knows what this term, properly "Shake 'n Bake, means. Made by Kraft, it is a seasoning which is put into a plastic bag with chicken and shaken before before baking. Its use gives the article the smack of reality. It's the kind of thing US soldiers would say. .............(full article)

Shake and bake indeed....

is there no end to the insensitive nature of young american soldiers or have we de-humanized the Iraqi people so much that this would be commonplace?

Here also is a report I was able to locate on Youtube that
speaks to the same issue.....

reading the article is one thing.....actually seeing the weapon and
it's effect is another entirely.
I know that there are terrorists out there who would do that and worse
to us if given the chance.
but the use of this weapon, especially where it may land on civilian
targets, is morally reprehensible......I must add however, that it is heartening
to see the effect of bloggers felt in such a way as to give the super-powers a
wake-up call that propaganda will not so easily be fetted out in the age of
technology.........now if only the bloggers could unite to bring about the end
of the use of this agent. ........and now to bring us up to the present I would like to throw out yet another BBC story....

Leaders agree to UN truce timing
An estimated 30,000 Israeli troops are now in LebanonA ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah will come into force at 0500 GMT on Monday, the UN Secretary General has said.
Kofi Annan announced the timing after discussions with the prime ministers of Lebanon and Israel.
However, Israel is likely to continue operations in Lebanon on Sunday in an effort to clear the south of Hezbollah.
Nineteen Israeli soldiers were killed on Saturday, and five on a helicopter shot down by Hezbollah are missing.
Hezbollah's leader has said his group would abide by the ceasefire plan agreed unanimously at the UN Security Council on Friday.
However, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said on TV that Hezbollah would continue fighting as long as Israeli soldiers remained in Lebanon.
HAVE YOUR SAY
The UN needs to be firm but fair in its handling of the emerging situation
Peter Hewitt, Borehamwood, UK
Send us your views Lebanon has now also approved the UN resolution, which calls for a "full cessation of hostilities", although Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said the government had "some reservations".
Lebanese officials said that after the truce only Lebanese forces would be authorised to carry weapons in southern Lebanon.
Mr Siniora said the area south of the Litani River, beyond which Hezbollah is expected to withdraw under the terms of the agreement, should be demilitarised. ....(full story)

....sounds good........but I kind of hear little red flags in there like...."isreal will stay to clear remaining forces".......and that "lebonon will still continue to fight as long as Israel stays".....so it sounds like another empty platitude for the war torn middle east.

Ok thats it for another saturday

Prince Ranxid.......signing off....

I'll be back!....

Thursday plots and the terrorist in the back yard

Good Evening Children,
I am not even going to post this evening about the plot
thwarted
by the British today.....simply because there are too many
online right now
and I am sure I won't choose the correct one.......so instead
let me
simply say Go Britain......absolutely smashing!! We owe you
guys a pint of Guinness!!
Wash DC was a little busy and a little tense
today..........your first impression is that
there is nothing to worry about......the war is far from here
and there is nothing to fear......unless you are attempting to fly
somewhere........the lines at BWI airport were
3/4 of a mile long at one point today and large trash cans
were set out for passengers
to discard their liquids before checking in and boarding
their planes.........
Upon arriving home this evening I ran across this t5hough and
all that talk of a safe
city went right out the window.........

Two Missing Egyptian Students Arrested In Dundalk

WASHINGTON -- Six of the 11 Egyptian exchange students who failed to show up for their college program are now in custody after three additional students were arrested Thursday, the FBI said.
El Sayed Ahmed Elsayed Ibrahim, 20, and Alaa Abd El Fattah Ali El Bahnasawi, 20, were arrested at a residence in Dundalk, Md., outside Baltimore, by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
Chicago police detained Ahmed Mohamed Mohamed Abou El Ela, 22, at OHare International Airport as he was attempting to book a flight to Montana, the FBI said. Immigration agents later took El Ela into custody.
All are being held on administrative immigration violations because they did not report on time to their monthlong program at Montana State University in Bozeman, Mont.
None of the students is considered a terrorism risk and FBI officials stressed that there are no ties between the Egyptians and the alleged terror plot broken up by British authorities.
Three students were arrested Wednesday. The other five Egyptians still are being sought.


That's right........right here in Dundalk............if these guys were a terrorist cell that is a little frightening to me as I have little ones to look out for and it is true that you can't trust your neighbors any longer............I will reserve judgement until more facts surface.........

Then as if to rub salt into the wounds this little back page story floated to the surface......as if we are not supposed to be paying attention..............


Israel approves deeper offensive
Up to 10,000 Israeli soldiers are already fighting in LebanonThe Israeli cabinet has approved an army plan to push deeper into Lebanon, to try to take control of areas used by Hezbollah to launch rockets on Israel.
Up to 30,000 troops could take part, aiming to reach the Litani River, up to 30km (18 miles) inside Lebanon.
After nightfall, armoured columns begun moving into southern Lebanon under cover of intense artillery fire.
An Israeli military spokesman said the armed forces were operating according to the earlier political decisions.
Amid continuing attacks by Israel and Hezbollah, ceasefire moves were in jeopardy as US and France rowed over changes to a draft UN resolution.
Hezbollah's leader also attacked the current draft as "unjust".
Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, in a television broadcast, said: "At the very least this resolution can be described as unfair and unjust. It gives Israel more than it wanted and more than it was seeking."



Latest Mid-East crisis map
Press sceptical on diplomacy
Excerpts: Council speeches
Attempts to reword the resolution, to take in Lebanese and Arab League demands for an immediate Israeli withdrawal, have so far proved impossible.
The BBC's Bridget Kendall says the mood at the UN is downcast, amid possible signs that both the French and Americans are beginning to worry the fragile diplomacy could collapse.
After Israel's decision to approve the new offensive, an Israeli spokesman told the BBC that Israel was waiting to see what progress, if any, was being made at the UN towards a ceasefire.
But our correspondent says the cabinet decision further darkened the mood at the UN.
The likely timetable for a vote - first mooted for Tuesday - appears to be slipping, possibly into next week. The White House said it had no idea when the Security Council would vote, AFP news agency said.
More than 1,000 people, most of them civilians, have now been killed in the conflict, the Lebanese government has said. More than 100 Israelis, most of them soldiers, have also been killed.

Every time I read an article on this conflict I am presented with new death toll numbers.....
and although the numbers are growing every day it is hard to disseminate the truth.....
these are days of rampant propaganda and double-speak rhetoric.......of a million ideas and
a million blogs.......here in the present issues are cloudy and complex........and those who
speak out are sometimes silenced......

Banned, Blocked Tibetan Writer Vows to Speak Out in China
2006.08.01

WASHINGTON—A well-known Tibetan writer whose blogs have now been closed by the Chinese authorities vowed Tuesday to keep speaking out and raising awareness in China of Tibetan culture.
“Though my blogs are shut down, they cannot stop my speech and my writing,” Woeser said during an 80-minute call-in program on RFA’s Tibetan service. She joined the program by phone from her home in Beijing.
“I will be writing and speaking. Since I am writer in Chinese, I want to make more people know reality of Tibetan culture, history, and traditions. I especially want the Chinese people to learn the truth about Tibetan history, culture, religion, and traditions.”
Woeser, 40, who writes primarily in Chinese and is married to the Chinese writer Wang Lixiong, said she believed that Chinese authorities had closed her blogs because she had recently published a photo of Tibet’s exiled leader, the Dalai Lama, on one of them.
Woeser is a well-known writer of Tibetan origin. She is the author of 10 volumes, including one book of collected poems, a prose volume titled Tibet Journal, and two books on the 1966-76 Cultural Revolution. Most of her work is banned inside China. ............(full story)

We often think of tyranny to only exist in far away lands......
Elizabeth Ritter found out that is not the case........here is proof
that
oppression exists even here in our docile little part of the world.......and
how those who speak out and stand up for their beliefs are persecuted
and
ignored

Fla. Police Tape Is No Laughing Matter to Protester

By ARASH GHADISHAH
MIAMI, Aug. 10, 2006 — Call it unusual optimism, but Elizabeth Ritter counted herself lucky by day's end on Nov. 20, 2003.
On that day, the South Florida lawyer says, she was shot with rubber bullets at least four times by Miami-area law enforcement officers who were out in force to control protesters demonstrating against a free trade summit.
One bullet struck Ritter in the face.
"I felt there had been angels sitting on my shoulders because I had not been blinded by that shot," she said to ABC News.
She was demonstrating against law enforcement's handling of the protests.
A newly surfaced videotape that shows Broward Sheriff's Office officials laughing over footage of Ritter being shot by rubber bullets and calling protesters "cockroaches" has sparked outrage and prompted an apology from law enforcement.
"The Dade County Courthouse had been essentially closed by the police and essentially downtown Miami had been turned into what I perceived to be a police state," she said.
Apparently No Warning
Still dressed for work in a red blazer, Ritter took to the streets with a homemade sign that read "Fear Totalitarianism."
Before long, she was caught in a barrage of rubber-bullet fire.
Ritter said police offered no warning before firing on protesters.
"There was absolutely no indication either orally or by gesture that they wanted anyone to disperse or leave," she said. "Had the police given such an order, I would have obeyed it immediately."
Videotaped footage of the protests shows Ritter standing next to a police officer using a bullhorn to announce that the protests would be permitted to continue as long as they remained peaceful.
Ritter is later seen on the tape walking away from a line of officers when she is apparently shot in the leg with a rubber bullet.
She then turns toward the officers and asks, "Did you shoot me? A lady in a suit? Who has been walking peaceably in front of you for half an hour and you shot me when my back was turned?"
(full story)

.......And then just when you thought it was safe to go into
the park..

Squirrel Attacks People in Fla. Park
Angry squirrel attacks several people in Florida park before being capturedWINTER PARK, Fla., Aug. 10, 2006
(AP) Several people attacked by a squirrel at Central Park said they had one word for the animal: nuts. On Wednesday some expressed frustration that the animal was not caught sooner, the Orlando Sentinel reported.Alisa Cox's son Carson, 3, was bitten by a squirrel several times and had a 2-inch wound on his leg after the incident, Cox said.James Klute said his 3-year-old son was also bitten on the calf while they were kicking a soccer ball at the park. Jim Hindman, meanwhile, said a squirrel bit and scratched both arms while he was sitting on a park bench.Longwood resident Dylan Osborne, 19, said that after the squirrel attacked the leg and shoe of a friend he trapped it under a bucket but released it two hours later when county animal-services workers didn't arrive.An official with animal-services said he was not aware of that incident but would check the records.City employees captured the animal with a litter grabber Tuesday. It died and is being tested for rabies. Officers had previously tried to subdue the animal with pepper spray.

I think Foamy just had a bad day..........

Ok children.....that is all from your prince
this evening........take care and hug your kids!!

I'll be back.....

The Circle of Hate

Good Evening children,
Today's lens starts here with a fellow blogger....here in
a sound bite from "all things considered" we enter the question of blogger
rights and how they relate to journalism. Here I think Mr. Wolf saw a chance to
get his name heard......I mean, after all, he did sell this same footage to
TV..........but just like the music industry the Net has leveled the playing
feild in the media as well........now we must argue the meaning of
journalism.

A Blogger Keeps His Video and Lands in Jail

All Things Considered, August 6, 2006 · At a San Francisco protest last summer, a cop was injured and a police car caught fire. Federal prosecutors wanted to see the video of the melee made by Josh Wolf, a freelance journalist and blogger who sold some of his footage to local TV stations. Wolf refused, claiming his rights were protected as a journalist. Now he's in jail. Jeffrey Dvorkin, executive director of the Committee of Concerned Journalists and former ombudsman at NPR, shares his views on the case.

Today on my way home from work I got to listen to a feed from
the UN council meeting today.....it was very interesting to hear the ambassadors
from both Lebanon and Isreael speak and strangely they seemed to echo the same
sentiments as each other....and both seemed very sure of Iran's and Syria's
involvment in the conflict with the Isreaeli ambassador even going as far as
calling them "cowards who fight thier wars through proxy"........here is the CNN
article.

Arab League takes Lebanon concerns to U.N. council
UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- An Arab League delegation was at the United Nations on Tuesday afternoon highlighting concerns about a draft resolution aimed at ending the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Meanwhile, Israeli helicopters fired five shells at an administration building in Lebanon's largest Palestinian refugee camp early Wednesday, according to a Fatah spokesman at the camp. At least one person was killed and six others injured at the Ain El-Helwe camp near Sidon, Sultan Abu Alaynen said.
Israel said it was targeting the home of a Hezbollah militant.
The camp houses about 50,000 registered refugees and probably at least that many who are unregistered.
Lebanon and its Arab League allies have been pressing the United Nations for an immediate Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon as part of a deal to end the nearly month-old war.
Such a withdrawal is not mentioned in a U.N. draft resolution by the United States and France, an omission that Lebanon's government and Arab League diplomats have called unacceptable. (Key points in the Arab League plan)
Israel has resisted calls for a withdrawal, saying it will only do so once Hezbollah is disarmed. (Watch an analyst describe why Hezbollah is ready for war -- 2:13)
After a summit of Arab League foreign ministers Monday in the Lebanese capital, the group said it was immediately sending a delegation to request changes in the draft.
Qatar, the only Arab member currently on the U.N. Security Council, said the draft is too vague and would create "a domestic problem" for Lebanon's government.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called a Lebanese plan to deploy 15,000 troops to the region "interesting." But he also said the Israeli Security Cabinet on Wednesday may consider expanding the offensive in southern Lebanon.
Lebanon's government late Monday approved the deployment of troops from its national army to southern Lebanon, where Hezbollah has held sway since Israeli troops withdrew in 2000. (Full story)
The move comes in support of a Lebanese proposal to have Israeli troops hand over their current positions in southern Lebanon to the U.N. observer mission, UNIFIL, as they withdraw.
UNIFIL then would hand over control to Lebanese forces within 72 hours and help them deploy, according to a draft of the Lebanese plan that CNN obtained. Hezbollah would withdraw to positions north of the Litani River, and Lebanese troops would ensure "total respect of the cessation of hostilities in the area," the draft says.
Yahya Mahmassani, the Arab League's representative at the United Nations, said that under the Lebanese plan, "Hezbollah will not go into that area [once] the Lebanese forces are there."
Israeli casualties in the conflict stand at 98 dead, including 35 civilians, and more than 700 wounded, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
Lebanese security forces say that 781 people have died, most of them civilians, and nearly 3,000 have been wounded...........(full article)

Comparing the numbers here like this is a
little disconcerting, I was impressed with the speeches made and the fact that
all the parties who spoke mentioned the children who have been killed and
wounded............but this still leaves me questioning our support of Isreael
in this conflict.........this is not the first time beruit has been leveled by
Isreael..........once again I feel the creepings of religion guiding national
policy..........and the fact that the most dead are arabs makes for american
complacancy on this issue........we must not forget that the arab people are
....well....people. just like you and me..........it was said today there at the
UN....(I heard it myself)......that children are not born as sheites or militant
Isrealis.......they are children.......it is the world that is given to them
that forges thier stances........it is they we must change the world
for......because if we don't teach them hate they will not hate........I was
thinking to myself.......that if it was here.....and it was me.....and a bomb
leveled my home and my family was killed.......I would pull myself from the dust
with the thought to anihilate whoever it was who sent that bomb.....and I don't
think I could overcome the feeling..........lets just say for hypothetical
reasons that it was the dutch....lol....every time I would see a dutch person I
would want to kill them.....no matter who they were......or if it was they who
sent the bomb personally or not...............in searching these thoughts I
think I can gain some insight into the continued hatred.......and why it will
not stop........and it really is true......that violence only begets
violence.........so somewhere the chain of violence has to be broken.....some one must break it.

we must stop digging children from the rubble of man's hatred. There is no religious justification worth the prechious lives lost to aggression. And we must be on guard as Americans to not fall into the trap of fear and hate.........we must not take sides.......and we must not discriminate........but our fear is real.....and viseral.........and we never know from which direction the next tragady will come.......that is the definition of terrorism......and we too are among it's victims...........ten years ago the story below would not have troubled anyone...........now.........

Egyptian students disappear in U.S.
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Immigration agents and the FBI are looking for 11 Egyptian students who entered the United States on valid student visas, then failed to show up at a university in Montana, authorities said.
The FBI on Saturday issued a nationwide alert to law enforcement agencies. Included were the students' names, ages, passport numbers and photographs.
"At the present time there are no known associations to any terrorist groups. Approach with caution," the lookout bulletin states. (Watch Homeland Security work on the mystery -- 2:22)
FBI and immigration officials confirmed there's no evidence pointing to criminal activity or a terrorist threat. However, The Associated Press quoted a law enforcement official as saying that the students could be sent home when found because they violated the terms of their visas.
They were part of an all-male group of 17 students that landed July 29 at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. Six of them arrived later at Montana State University as part of an exchange program; the other 11 did not, prompting school officials to contact the government.
A source with knowledge of the investigation said the men, who range in age from 17 to 22, may be staying in New York, visiting relatives and trying to find jobs.
"We have run their names through the wringer," one Department of Homeland Security official said.
U.S. authorities are working with foreign intelligence agencies to make sure there is nothing suspicious in the students' backgrounds, federal sources said. Those sources added that 20 students applied for student visas to go to Montana State, but three of the applicants were denied.
"We do want to talk to them. But at this point there's no reason to believe they pose any criminal or terrorist threat," said Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Julie Myers, who heads Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The students were identified as:
• El Sayed Ahmed Elsayed Ibrahim, 20
• Eslam Ibrahim Mohamed El Dessouki, 21
• Alaa Abd El Fattah Ali El Bahnasawi, 20
• Mohamed Ragab Mohamed Abd Alla, 22
• Ahmed Refaat Saad El Moghazi El Laket, 19
• Ahmed Mohamed Mohamed Abou El Ela, 21
• Mohamed Ibrahim Elsayed El Moghazy, 20
• Ebrahim Mabrouk Moustafa Abdou, 22
• Moustafa Wagdy Moustafa El Gafary, 18
• Mohamed Saleh Ahmed Maray, 20
• Mohamed Ibrahim Fouaad El Shenawy, 17
now we fear like the rest of the world fears........because hatred may have brought them to our shores..........we shall see in time..........the chances are that even if it didn't........someday they will come again...........and once again there will be someone pulling themselves from the dust with hatred for arabs.......and murder on the mind. I don't want these people to hate me........and my children........but as an american I am already villified.........I am already a monster in a land I have never seen.

Because of events I can't control.

well, my beautiful grand-daughter is crawling in my lap to watch videos..........I will show her something nice....and we will both hope togeather that the world gets better before it's done........

and up comes the sun......

Good morning children,
well the sun is coming up and it is going to be a tall day of simpleness and kids if I have anything to do with it. Today is earmarked as my Grand-daughter's right from the git. And since it's a tall day of kids I thought it would be ok to maybe say a prayer or two and visit a few other kids present and past that aren't as lucky as the one's who will hopefully be splashing around in my back yard pool in a few hours.......and right there on that note here is my first visit for this morning ....





ARTICLE
Last goodbye
The Yomiuri Shimbun
A hearse carrying the body of 7-year-old Erika Tomaru, who died last week after being sucked into a pipe in a pool in Fujimino, Saitama Prefecture, drives Saturday around the playground of the primary school she attended. The car drove by Kotesashi Primary School in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, before taking her body to a funeral hall to let her schoolmates bid farewell. About 400 students and teachers from the school joined their hands in prayer as the vehicle passed.
(Aug. 6, 2006)

CRISSCROSS news and opinion
Ibaraki woman arrested for suffocating 3-year-old granddaughter
A 3-year-old girl died Sunday as a result of suffocation after being abused by her 50-year-old grandmother in Kona, Ibaraki Prefecture. Police arrested Akiko Kikuchi on suspicion of inflicting injuries resulting in the death of her granddaughter Kiseki Higuchi.
Read More / Discuss It... (3)


Let me say my heart to the families and we should all hug our children a little closer today.
then I turn my attention to today's date and I would like to also extend my heart to all survivors and family's of the 1945 Bomb blasts and to tell Mr. Yasugi I am sorry............

A-bomb survivors leery of battleship hype
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Survivors of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, have mixed feelings about the recent interest in the battleship Yamato, another symbol of World War II, which was built in a dockyard in Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture.
The number of visitors to the Yamato Museum in Kure exceeded 2 million in July, reflecting the box-office success of the war movie "Yamato," which earned 5 billion yen in theaters.
But for Yasuo Yasugi, a 78-year-old former crew member of the giant battleship, the museum is not the place where his strongest wartime memory rests.
Yasugi was walking along a riverbank in Hiroshima the day after the bomb explosion when someone suddenly grabbed his right leg.
"Give me water, please," a boy said in a faint voice. ...........................(read more)


Hiroshima marks 61st anniversary of atomic bombing with call for nuclear disarmament
The city of Hiroshima held a memorial service on Sunday to mark the 61st anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing in World War II, with Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba calling on all nations to "faithfully" engage in nuclear disarmament negotiations. In a Peace Declaration read at the memorial service, Akiba expressed concern over stalled moves toward nuclear elimination and said he expects Japan, the only country to experience the devastation of nuclear warfare, to take a forceful role in such a global ...
Read More / Discuss It... (17)







on that day the president made a decision who's ethical standing still reverberates today as
strong as it did then.............

....we should remember the names of all the children lost.........and contemplate the ideas and advancements that were lost that day in two blinding flashes of white fire.....we must try to fathom based on beauty created today what could have been if the packages were never delivered.......

.....here is some thing beautiful to help with that....

Arts & Entertainment SEA LIFE AS NIGHTLIFETokyo's New Aquarium Is a Hit With Adults (June 13, 2005)
A tunnel where visitors can walk underneath sharks and other creatures (Epson Aqua Stadium)
One of Tokyo's newest attractions is an amusement center on the grounds of an exclusive hotel, combining a public aquarium with a concert hall, a bowling alley, a movie theater, and restaurants. The Epson Aqua Stadium opened in April at the Shinagawa Prince Hotel on a prime piece of real estate located a mere two-minute walk from Shinagawa Station. As well as families, the complex is attracting couples and groups of adults keen to experience Tokyo's latest fun night out.
No Ordinary Aquarium The aquarium tanks at the ¥9.2 billion facility ($87 million at ¥105 to the dollar) hold a total of 4,130 tons of water and are home to about 20,000 sea creatures of 300 different species. One of the central attractions is the circular dolphin pool, which has a diameter of 25 meters. Its 1,350 seats are laid out to encircle the pool completely, making the dolphin shows all the more exciting for the audience. At the sea lion pool, meanwhile, the charm of these animals can be appreciated during their performances from the 393 spectator seats. Epson Aqua Stadium projects that it will receive a whopping 2 million visitors in its first year. ...........................read more


as we rise onto the brink of a new atomic era.........we should not forget the real reason that the world should be laying down it's arms........and that as Americans we owe the world a great debt for the woe we have wrought in our time of warlords and power seekers........our place in history will greatly depend on how we stance ourselves in today's theater of conflict..........
I want the modern world and the new generations to be able to reach the heights we all know is capable in our human existence...........
.....and that they never have to fear a repeat of history's mistakes....
alright children.....the sun is up strong and it is only a matter of time until the kids are bouncing down into their new day......they don't know the gravity of the world's events past or present.......and had no part in creating the web of disaster that exists elsewhere.......but I will pay their dues today as I hover above them......for I am the one who can see the fragility of the gift God gives......I will teach them love and understanding.....and strength and speed.....and one day it is they who will turn the wheels of fate.....and I hope for me I am there embedded in the choices they make.....
peace on earth
I'll be back..........

Arrival......

Good evening children......

ranxid here.....As you can see the home of ranxid's blog has been uncerimoniously moved to a new address.....it seems my time is up on the msn network.......after all that spouting about how blog-friendly it was there I was comensitorily silenced.....I hope this new abode turns out as productive as the last and we have a good run of it here......cheers....

I'll be back....