lwsimmons.org

Thursday, May 13, 2010

US Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan began the first of a long series of meetings with US Senators on Capitol Hill yesterday. Kagan met with eight leading Senate leaders on Wednesday, including Harry Reid (Democrat-Nevada), Mitch McConnell (Republican-Kentucky), Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) and Jeff Sessions (R-Illinois); she continued the meetings with seven additional Senators on Thursday. Senator Reid called her “the right choice to replace Justice Stevens on the Supreme Court”, while McConnell hoped “that the Obama administration doesn’t think the ideal Supreme Court nominee is someone who would rubber-stamp its policies.”

It is currently unclear what the meetings mean for Kagan: Senator James Inhofe (R-Oklahoma) guessed that around half of the Senate’s 100 members already have strong opinions about the nominee. Some Republicans are worried about her move to block military recruiters from Harvard University‘s campus to protest the federal “Don’t ask” policy against openly gay and lesbian members of the US military. Kagan’s background is also of concern to some. If confirmed, she would be the first US Supreme Court Justice without ever having held a judicial position in 38 years. Kagan, currently the US Solicitor General, spent much of her early career as a professor of law and the dean of the Harvard Law School. She was previously nominated for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Washington, D.C. Circuit in 1999, but the nomination was unsuccessful.

However, the nominee is also gathering support from both Republicans and Democrats. Despite her controversial decision at Harvard, Senator Scott Brown (R-Massachusetts) said Thursday that he found Kagan to support the military, after meeting with her. In addition, Susan Collins (R-Maine) said that she does not believe Kagan’s “lack of judicial experience in any way disqualifies her” to the position. Neither Senator, however, has committed to supporting Kagan yet, choosing to wait until after confirmation hearings finish this summer. On the other hand, the Washington Post estimates that Kagan will pass the Senate, if only because of the Democratic majority that currently exists there. Most, if not all Democrats are expected to vote for Kagan.

The 50-year-old lawyer was nominated to the highest court in the United States by President Barack Obama on Monday, after current Justice John Paul Stevens announced his retirement earlier. Kagan is seen as a moderate, having been criticized by both left– and right-wing politicians, although “she’s identified with the American liberal position”, according to Sessions.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

File:Anders Behring Breivik (Facebook portrait in suit).jpg

A gunman, identified by Norwegian media as Anders Behring Breivik, has shot and killed at least 85 people at a youth camp on the island of Utøya in Norway. The 32-year-old man has been charged with both this attack and an explosion in the capital city of Oslo, which killed at least seven people. Police searched Breivik’s apartment in Oslo overnight and have been interrogating him.

Breivik is reported to have arrived at the camp dressed as a police officer, telling children to gather around him for protection before systematically shooting them. It is not yet known whether he acted alone; police say there are no concrete reports of a second gunman, but this cannot be ruled out.

The camp was organised by the Workers’ Youth League (AUF), which is affiliated with the Norwegian Labour Party. A number of sources, both inside and outside of Norway, are speculating that an opposition to the Labour Party’s immigration policies, especially regarding Muslims, was Breivik’s motivation for the attacks.

Islam is the second largest religion in Norway, after Christianity, and Breivik’s comments on the political website Document.no, where he posted using his real name between September 2009 and October 2010, expressed anti-Islamic sentiments. He described the religion as a “hate ideology” ^{((no))Norwegian language: ?hat-ideologier} and compared it to Nazism. His Twitter account was used to post only a single comment, quoting social liberal philosopher John Stuart Mill: “One person with a belief is equal to the force of 100 000 who have only interests”.

Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, who described the island as “a youth paradise turned into a hell”, reports that a number of children have not yet been located. He, and the families of some of the children killed, met with King Harald V of Norway, his wife Queen Sonja, and their son Crown Prince Haakon, and was said to have been “deeply touched” by the meetings.

He also said that it is “too early to speculate” about the shootings, and that the police should be allowed to continue with their investigations before people “jump to any conclusions”.

Breivik, who ran a farm, reportedly recently purchased six tonnes of fertiliser, which is speculated to have been involved in the making of the Oslo bomb.

The island of Utøya is closed to the public, and an official at the British embassy in Oslo does not recommend travel to the immediate area of central Oslo where the bomb was detonated. However, she is not discouraging travel to Norway, nor to Oslo.

Saturday, January 21, 2006

Rescue teams are attempting to save the life of the whale which has been swimming in the London Thames river over the past few days. The northern bottle-nosed whale, which had gotten weaker and weaker, became beached this afternoon. Rescue teams quickly moved the whale onto an inflatable pontoon, keeping the whale in water but with its blowhole above the surface.

Experts then tried to evaluate the condition of the whale by performing ultrasound checks to see how much blubber and blood the whale has, and by taking some blood tests. The breathing rate of the whale was around four inhalations per minute.

The pontoon is currently being towed by a barge slowly downstream.

The British Divers Marine Life Rescue team lead the rescue effort. They hope to be able to release the whale in as deep water as possible, but only if it is in good enough health. If the whale is considered to be in too weak a condition to survive, it may be euthanised, experts have said.

The rescue mission is being filmed by television crews, including from helicopters, and broadcast live onto rolling news channels. Mark Stevens, a member of the British Divers Marine Life Rescue team reported on the situation live on TV using a mobile phone, direct from the scene where he was standing in the water. At one point he asked the BBC to tell their helicopter to fly higher, as the noise made the whale’s breathing rate temporarily go up.

The whale sightings have captivated the British public, with spectators lining the banks of the Thames to take photographs and try and spot the whale. However, the inital surprise at seeing the whale soon turned to concern as experts fear for the whale’s long term health. Initial plans to transfer the whale from the barge “Crossness” to a deep-sea ship have been abandoned as the condition of the whale deteriorates, but it is still hoped to release the whale in the Thames estuary.

Monday, August 21, 2006

Thirty-four people had to be evacuated this lunchtime after a fire started on a lorry, which was being transported on a freight train in the Channel Tunnel.

Eurotunnel, the operator of the Channel Tunnel, said all services had to be suspended this afternoon due to the small blaze in which nobody was hurt.

John Keefe, a spokesman for Eurotunnel, said: “It was a freight shuttle going through with about 34 people on board, who have all been evacuated safely.

“Eurotunnel is conducting checks of the tunnel and its equipment. Once these investigations are completed, Eurotunnel will commence a progressive restart of commercial services.”

The company also said services through the Tunnel would hopefully resume later today. “Unfortunately with this being a very busy time of year, it’s going to take a few hours to clear the backlog once we’ve got started again,” said Mr Keefe.

A Eurostar spokesman said: “We are advising passengers to avoid travelling today if possible. Tickets can be exchanged for another day.”

The Channel Tunnel is a 31 mile long rail tunnel beneath the English Channel which connects Folkestone in Kent to Coquelles near Calais in northern France.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Researchers say that new, ten million-year-old fossils found in Ethiopia, prove that the theory that humans may have evolved from a species of great apes eight million years ago, may not be true, but that humans may have split from apes as long as 10.5 million years ago.

At least nine fossilized teeth, one canine tooth and eight molars, of a previously unknown species of apes found in Africa were discovered by a team of researchers from Ethiopia and Japan who then compared the 3-D make up of the teeth to other fossils that date back as far as 8 million years and found that the fossils are likely a “direct ancestor” of apes currently living in Africa and that the new ape fossils were that of a species of gorilla who ate mostly plants high in fiber.

Current fossils and research say that the evolutionary split from apes to humans occurred at least eight million years ago. The new fossils say that the split may have happened as long as 10.5 million years ago.

“Based on this fossil, that means the split is much earlier than has been anticipated by the molecular evidence. That means everything has to be put back,” said researcher at the Rift Valley Research Service in Ethiopia and a co-author of the study, Berhane Asfaw.

Despite the finds, other researchers are not convinced that the findings are correct.

“It is stretching the evidence to base a time scale for the evolution of the great apes on this new fossil. These structures appear on at least three independent lineages of apes, including gorillas, and they could relate to a dietary shift rather than indicating a new genetic trait,” said a Professor at the London Natural History Museum in the United Kingdom, Peter Andrews who also added, “but the fossil evidence for the evolution of our closest living relatives, the great apes, is almost non-existent.

Researchers have named the newly discovered species Cororapithecus abyssinicus whose remains were found in the Afar Region of Ethiopia, the same place where the remains of Lucy were discovered in 1974.

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Images of Pakistan International Airlines sacrificing a goat went viral on Monday as the beleaguered state-run airline resumed ATR flights. All ten ATRs in its fleet were grounded last week in the aftermath of a crash near Havelian earlier this month.

PIA ground staff ritually slaughtered the black goat beside an ATR-42, the same type of aircraft lost in the disaster. The move is thought to ward off bad luck in Pakistan. The ATR-42 was the company’s first ATR back in service following the crash. PIA said on December 15 they had chartered a Lockheed C-130 Hercules from the air force to resume cancelled services.

PIA Flight 661, an ATR-42 just under ten years old, crashed into mountainous terrain in the Abbottabad region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa two weeks ago. The crash killed all 47 on board and left burning wreckage strewn for several kilometres.

PIA still operate five ATR-42s and five ATR-72s. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) announced inspections on December 11. The airline expected disruption to flights to smaller airports. Flight 661 was heading to Islamabad, having taken off from Chitral on a domestic flight. The plane reported engine trouble and lost control before the crash.

PIA sacrificed the goat at Islamabad’s Benazir Bhutto International Airport, ahead of a successful test flight to Multan. PIA stated ground staff acted on their own volition and were not influenced by managers.

Another PIA ATR experienced troubles ahead of takeoff on December 11 and aborted the flight. The airline denied local media claims an engine caught fire. Pakistani media has claimed Flight 661 was operating with some known technical faults. The Aviation Herald reports receiving information to the contrary, and the airline also denies this.

The CAA has left decisions on returning aircraft to service at the discretion of PIA and ATR. A CAA letter to PIA expressed concern over engine failures at the airline, and accused PIA of “shortcomings in maintenance [and] quality assurance.”

The latest crash is the tenth time a PIA aircraft has been written off since 2000. Only one other such accident was fatal, the loss of PIA Flight 688 in 2006. Flight 668, a Fokker F-27, crashed on takeoff. The disaster killed 45. That accident also involved an engine failure and a loss of control.

The ATR-42 can carry up to 48 passengers. It is a twin-engine turboprop capable of using unpaved runways. PIA said the C-130 would be used for flights to Gilgit. With one ATR-42 declared airworthy as of December 15 PIA also said flights to Chitral could be expected to resume soon. A flight on December 15 using the C-130 was postponed by one day.

Chairman Azam Saigol quit on December 12 for what he said were personal reasons. He had been drafted in to replace Nasser Jaffer following controversy generated when crews staged strikes to protest planned privatisation. The airline loses around 12-to-15 billion rupees annually, with taxpayers making up the shortfall.

Saigol has been on PIA’s board since 2013. The company said it needed a chair since changing organisational structure under provisions in the Companies Ordinance of 1984. He became chairman in May and is a prominent industrialist nationally, heading up major organisations. Saigol had been working for free, PIA said on December 12 ahead of his resignation.

The government has offered his job to several candidates, all of whom have turned it down.

Another issue for the airline comes in the form of a recently-submitted notice in the Senate. Filed by the People’s Party of Pakistan, it describes an ‘illegal’ sale of a PIA Airbus A-310 to a German firm. Senator Saleem Mandviwalla said the jet had a valid certificate of airworthiness and originally went to Malta to be used in a film.

Mandviwalla said the plane ended up in the hands of a German museum and was sold without the PIA board’s consent. Federal Minister Muhammad Zubair said the aircraft was sold for for 290,000 euros despite being worth millions. Mandviwalla has called for a criminal investigation.

In the continuing Safety Investigation Board’s investigation into Flight 661’s crash, a team of French and Canadian experts from ATR reached Islamabad on December 12 and took forensic samples from the wreck site. The team, assisting the safety board, was also there to plan wreckage removal.

The crash site is remote, with conventional vehicular access ending several kilometres away. Rescuers had to walk the remainder.

PIA state the aircraft was maintained in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions, including engine changes. The airline also say the crashed plane’s engines were inspected, as standard, ahead of its final flight. An airline spokesperson asked journalists to refrain from speculating on the accident’s cause.

Bodies have been identified using DNA analysis, with at least sixteen returned to families. Identification was undertaken by the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS).

The dead included six members of the same family, leaving behind a fourteen-year-old girl. Haseena Gul is entitled to tens of millions of rupees (equivalent to hundreds of thousands of euros) in compensation and numerous people have come forward claiming to be her relatives; she had remained with a friend in Chitral to study while her family travelled to Islamabad.

Gul is currently receiving treatment from PIMS for psychological problems. “They will not let me study in Chitral,” she appealed to the government. “Please have me shifted to Islamabad where I can study and fulfil my parents’ dream.”

Also on board was Junaid Jamshed, a celebrated popstar who abandoned music in favour of preaching after joining Tableeghi Jamaat. Jamshed ran a nationally successful fashion business. His wife joined him on the flight. Other passengers included Osama Warraich, who was a senior civil servant in Chitral, and two infants.

On Monday, Flight 898 to Kuala Lumpur diverted to Karachi. A replacement aircraft reached its destination over four hours late. PIA denied media claims the original plane suffered bursts in its hydraulics, but did not clarify what had happened. Also on Monday Flight 764 from from Jeddah to Faisalabad arrived ten hours late. All 130 passengers had their luggage left behind; PIA said it could take up to two days before they were reunited with their belongings.

Friday, August 5, 2005

The Interfax news agency is reporting that a Russian minisub that was stranded underwater in the Pacific Ocean is trapped by two 60 tonne anchors.

The submarine propeller has snagged on the antenna of a sonar underwater coastal defense station, (or perhaps very long low frequency arrays, which can be thousands of yards) 623 ft below the ocean 43 miles off Kamchatka. “The anchor needs to be blown up” in order to be able to raise the AS-28 submarine, the commander of the Russian Pacific Fleet told Interfax.

“If the explosion is successful, the system will be raised to a depth of 100 meters and lit up by the Tiger [television camera], and we can at last be 100% sure that it’s the submarine, and deepwater divers will be able to continue work,” he continued.

The AS-28 submarine, with seven crew onboard, became entangled on Thursday while at a depth of 190 m.

Earlier reports that the submarine had been taken under tow have been proved false. Ships had attempted to trawl for the submarine in order to drag it into shallower water, but it is reported that they failed to capture the submarine.

The Pacific Fleet commander says that the crew have enough food and water to survive until Monday although oxygen will run out by Saturday. The three-man submarine was designed to supply the crew with a five day supply of oxygen, however with the seven man crew the supply has been greatly depleted.

Around ten Russian navy ships are attending, to be joined by four Japanese vessels on Monday. The US and UK navies are also flying in specialist rescue equipment, including two U.S. navy owned remotely-operated underwater robots capable of cutting through steel lines up to 1″ thick and one U.K. video array ROV. They will arrive on Saturday.

The crew have been using an underwater acoustic telephone to communicate with the surface, and are reported to be remaining calm. They have been told to keep still and to conserve the ship’s power supplies.

The same class of vessel, which measures 13.5 m by 3.8 m, was used during the ill-fated rescue attempt on the Kursk, which was lost with all hands almost exactly five years ago.