Category: News

Apr 06 2010

Coal Mining Disasters: A Comparison

I do the news practically every day and like all editors I control what I cover- I don’t do missing white women and high speed helicopter chases for example.  I don’t do industrial accidents except to point out the greed, stupidity, and disregard for human life and the environment of the owners.  It was with that in mind that I elected to cover the recent Chinese Coal Mining Disaster (29, 30, 31) because they have a notorious reputation (pet food and drywall anyone?).

And yet yesterday we had a miracle that I duly reported–

2 China hails ‘miracle’ as 115 rescued from flooded mine

by Marianne Barriaux, AFP

1 hr 10 mins ago

XIANGNING, China (AFP) – More than 110 workers were pulled out alive from a Chinese coal mine on Monday in what has been hailed as a miracle rescue over a week after the men were trapped by an underground flood.

So far, 115 survivors have been rescued from the mine in China’s coal-mining heartland of Shanxi province, state media said. Some apparently survived on tree bark and at least one worker strapped himself to the wall with a belt.

The news from Shanxi, where 153 workers were trapped when the unfinished mine flooded on March 28, was a rare bright spot for an industry known for its poor safety record and more than 2,600 deaths recorded last year.

Bravo!

Today we have this-

25 dead in W.Va. mine blast, worst since 1984

By LAWRENCE MESSINA, Associated Press Writer

1 min ago

MONTCOAL, W.Va. – Rescue teams planned to search again for four workers missing in a coal mine where a massive explosion killed 25 in the worst U.S. mining disaster in more than two decades, though officials said Tuesday that the chances were slim that the miners survived.

The suspended rescue mission would resume after bore holes could be drilled to allow for toxic gases to be ventilated from Massey Energy Co.’s sprawling Upper Big Branch mine about 30 miles south of Charleston, state and federal safety officials said.

“All we have left is hope, and we’re going to continue to do what we can,” Kevin Stricklin, an administrator for the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration, said at a news conference. “But I’m just trying to be honest with everybody and say that the situation does look dire.”

Which I will also cover because of the greed, stupidity, and disregard for human life and the environment of the owner.

h/t Attaturk.

Apr 05 2010

Afternoon Edition

Afternoon Edition is an Open Thread

Early Edition.

From Yahoo News Top Stories

1 Pakistan attacks kill 46, target US consulate

by Lehaz Ali, AFP

51 mins ago

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AFP) – Islamist militants armed with guns, grenades and suicide car bombs targeted the US consulate in Pakistan’s northwestern capital and a political rally, killing 46 people on Monday.

The attacks in quick succession were among the deadliest so far this year in nuclear-armed Pakistan, where insecurity has raised concerns in the United States as Washington steps up the fight in Afghanistan and against Al-Qaeda.

Pakistan’s Taliban claimed responsibility for the consulate attack, claiming it was to avenge a US drone war targeting top militants in Pakistan’s border areas with Afghanistan, and threatened further assaults on Americans.

Apr 05 2010

Weekend News Digest

Weekend News Digest is an Open Thread

From Yahoo News Top Stories

1 Pope skirts paedophile scandal as Christians mark Easter

AFP

24 mins ago

VATICAN CITY (AFP) – Pope Benedict XVI kept silent on the paedophilia scandal rocking the Roman Catholic Church during Easter Sunday addresses as Christians across the world marked the resurrection of Christ.

The leader of the world’s one billion Catholics condemned the persecution of Christian minorities in Iraq and Pakistan, but failed to mention escalating allegations of decades of child abuse by the Church’s priests.

The dean of the College of Cardinals however rallied around the embattled head of the Roman Catholic Church, telling him in a rain-drenched St Peter’s Square: “The people of God are with you and do not allow themselves to be impressed by the idle chatter of the moment.”

Apr 04 2010

Weekend News Digest

Weekend News Digest is an Open Thread

From Yahoo News Top Stories

1 Fresh criticism of Vatican clouds Easter weekend

by Francoise Kadri, AFP

53 mins ago

VATICAN CITY (AFP) – The Vatican on Saturday defended the pope’s personal preacher over remarks that likened attacks on the pontiff over priestly paedophilia to anti-Semitism, as the new row marred Easter weekend.

Jewish groups and those representing victims of abuse by Roman Catholic priests condemned Father Raniero Cantalamessa for quoting the comments, which he said were made in a letter from a Jewish friend, in his Good Friday sermon.

Rome’s chief rabbi Riccardo Di Segni told La Stampa on Saturday: “It’s an inappropriate parallel and of dubious taste.”

Apr 02 2010

Afternoon Edition

Afternoon Edition is an Open Thread

From Yahoo News Top Stories

1 Catholics mark Good Friday amid abuse scandals

by Gina Doggett, AFP

Fri Apr 2, 10:46 am ET

VATICAN CITY (AFP) – Pope Benedict XVI marked Good Friday, the Christian world’s most solemn day, under a cloud as the Roman Catholic Church grappled with paedophile priest scandals.

With new cases being reported almost daily, Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the pope’s vicar for Rome, told Vatican Radio that it was a “moment of suffering” for the Church.

Benedict, 82, was to lead a Good Friday observance at St Peter’s Basilica before presiding over a traditional procession at Rome’s Colosseum re-enacting Jesus Christ’s final hours and crucifixion.

Apr 02 2010

F U, Sean Hannity. Timothy McVeigh was a killer bathed in American blood. HAVE YOU NO SHAME?

No. They have no shame. It is the job of those who are repulsed by the Timothy McVeighs of the world to shame them.

    A few days ago Eric Boehlert of MediaMatters.org asked this question.


    It’s a chilling prospect, but one that seems more and more plausible: What if Fox News actually wants mob violence?

My answer: Yes

    Today, Sean Hannity called the astroturfed sheep of billionaire financed tea partiers “Tim McVeigh wannabees” as if it were a compliment, and they actually cheered him.

Watch . . .

HANNITY: When you think about the vast majorities that they have in Congress and they had to bribe, backroom deals, corruption, that’s all because the tea party movement, the people – all these Tim McVeigh wannabes here.

   (CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

dailykos.com

   So now the right is cheering for Timothy McVeigh? Is there anything more UnAmerican than praising an enemy of the Democratically elected United States Government?

    This is where the line must be drawn. If not now, when?

    So here is some Fair and Balanced news for tea partiers, Conservatives, Republican politicians, Fox News and right wing pundits:

   Timothy McVeigh was a psychotic killer bathed in the blood of innocent Americans. McVeigh stood for everything our founding fathers fought against, and if you can not denounce violence and eliminationist rhetoric against you fellow Americans you have no right to call yourself an American patriot.

    I’m mad as hell. More below the fold

   

Apr 01 2010

Afternoon Edition

Afternoon Edition is an Open Thread

From Yahoo News Top Stories

1 World raises nearly $10 bln for quake-hit Haiti

by Gerard Aziakou, AFP

Thu Apr 1, 9:36 am ET

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) – The global community has pledged nearly $10 billion for Haiti over more than three years to put the quake-ravaged nation back on its feet.

The $9.9 billion pledge from some 50 donors includes $5.3 billion for the 2010-2011 period, far in excess of the $3.8 billion that was sought by conference organizers for that period.

That target was meant to fund a $4 billion action plan put forward by the Haitian government for reconstruction projects over the next two years in the poorest country in the Americas.

Mar 31 2010

Afternoon Edition

Afternoon Edition is an Open Thread

Early 5 pm Edition.

From Yahoo News Top Stories

1 Donors close to reaching goal of $3.8 billion for Haiti

by Gerard Aziakou, AFP

47 mins ago

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) – Donors neared their goal Wednesday of raising 3.8 billion dollars at a major UN fundraiser for quake-ravaged Haiti, with nearly two-thirds of the pledges coming from the European Union and the United States.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, co-hosting the conference with UN chief Ban Ki-moon, pledged 1.15 billion dollars, saying the funds would go toward supporting Haiti’s plan “to strengthen agriculture, energy, health, and security and governance.”

The 27-member European Union and the European Commission said its members would provide a total 1.235 billion dollars, with France offering to disburse 180 million euros (243 million dollars) in 2010-2011 for food and the re-establishment of government authority.

Mar 31 2010

Wednesday Morning Science Supplement

Wednesday Morning Science Supplement is an Open Thread

From Yahoo News Science

1 What, or who, killed the last mammoths?

by Marlowe Hood, AFP

Tue Mar 30, 9:12 pm ET

PARIS (AFP) – The last known population of woolly mammoths, roaming a remote Arctic island long after humans invented writing, were wiped out quickly, reports a study released Wednesday.

The culprit might have been disease, humans or a catastrophic weather event, but was almost certainly not climate change, suggests the study, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

Exactly why a majority of the huge tuskers that once strode in large herds across Eurasia and north America died out toward the end of the last ice age has generated fiery debate.

Mar 31 2010

UN Donor Conference on Haiti

Tomorrow in NYC the UN Donors’ Conference for Haiti which will discuss the current and future needs of Haiti after the devastating Earthquake on January 12.

Tonight on Frontline they will air the documentary The World is Coming to an End

On Jan. 12, 2010, one of the most devastating earthquakes in recorded history leveled the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince. Those responsible for handling the catastrophe, including the Haitian government and the United Nations, were among the victims. FRONTLINE correspondent Martin Smith bears witness to the scale of the disaster and takes viewers on a searing and intimate journey into the camps, hospitals and broken neighborhoods of Port-au-Prince. Featuring never-before-seen footage of the moments after the earthquake and interviews with top officials from Port-au-Prince to Washington, The Quake ultimately asks, how will the world respond?

The crisis for the Haitian people is still happening and getting worse with the rain. I don’t want to think of the catastrophe that awaits with the hurricane season but I must, so must the world.  

Mar 31 2010

Afternoon Edition

Afternoon Edition is an Open Thread

From Yahoo News Top Stories

1 Ireland pours billions more into ‘shocking’ banks

by Andrew Bushe, AFP

1 hr 1 min ago

DUBLIN (AFP) – Ireland pumped in billions of extra euros to prop up its troubled banking system Tuesday as its finance minister warned his “worst fears have been surpassed” about how recklessly bankers had behaved.

Brian Lenihan told a bad-tempered session of parliament that the state was buying 81 billion euros (109 billion dollars) of toxic assets from failing lenders and injecting an extra 8.3 billion euros into Anglo Irish Bank.

Although he gave no exact figures, he added the state will likely take a majority share in Allied Irish Bank — currently 25 percent state-owned — but remain a minority shareholder in Bank of Ireland, where it has a 16 percent stake.

Mar 30 2010

Afternoon Edition

Afternoon Edition is an Open Thread

From Yahoo News Top Stories

1 Suu Kyi’s party to boycott Myanmar vote

AFP

57 mins ago

YANGON (AFP) – Myanmar’s opposition party led by Aung San Suu Kyi said Monday it would boycott polls expected later this year, after the country’s military rulers introduced a controversial new election law.

The National League For Democracy (NLD) decided at a meeting to refuse to register for the first polls to be held in two decades, a move that would have forced it to oust its detained leader and recognise the junta’s constitution.

But the NLD now faces dissolution in less than six weeks for failing to register, according to legislation recently brought in for elections due to be held by the end of November.

Load more