Archive for July 2010
On Wednesday morning, Deb Freele woke up suddenly when she felt something enter the tent she was sharing with her husband in a Wyoming campground.
A grizzly bear had broken into her tent, and was moments from attacking her.
“I opened my eyes, I hadn’t moved and then I felt the bear crunch down on my arm,” Freele told CTV News Channel during a telephone interview from Cody, Wyoming, on Thursday.
When the bear clamped down on Freele’s arm, the veteran camper from London, Ont., began to scream at the bear, which kept on chewing.
Her husband slept through both the screaming and the silence that followed.
“He was sleeping through the whole thing, the bear was very quiet,” Freele said.
“It never made a noise. Even when he was gnawing on me, he didn’t make any noise,” she added, referring to the bear.
Freele soon made a choice to go silent and play dead. And the bear scampered away.
By Alexander Reshetnikov, REUTERS
MOSCOW – Dozens of Russians, many of them drunk, are drowning daily as they head to water to escape a heatwave, an emergencies ministry official said on Wednesday.
Vodka-drinking groups — some with small children — can be seen at lakes and ponds in and around the Russian capital where the current three-week heatwave may set a record of 37 Celsius (98.6 Fahrenheit) this weekend.
“Russia’s Emergencies Ministry is very worried by the current situation. In the last day alone, 49 people drowned (in Russia), including two children, Vadim Seryogin, a department head at the ministry, told a news conference.
More than 1,200 people drowned across Russia in June this year, he said, including 233 between July 5 and July 12.
“The majority of those drowned were drunk,” he said. “The children died because adults simply did not look after them.”
Last week six children drowned in the Sea of Azov in southern Russia because the summer camp employees who were minding them were drunk.
Major U.S. involvement in the Vietnam conflict lasted from 1965-1972. One of the main misunderstandings about the Vietnam War is the scale of the U.S. war effort. 48,000 U.S. military personnel were killed and 300,000 wounded. But what is astonishing about the Vietnam War was the magnitude of the U.S. air campaign. It was bigger than the U.S. bombing campaign in World War II. The nation of Laos has the dubious distinction of being the most heavily bombed country in the history of the world. The Ho Chi Minh Trail snaked through that country. This trail was bombed continuously for 5 years. Here are some facts that are truly amazing.
F-4 Phantom
All told, the U.S. Air Force flew 5.25 million sorties over South Vietnam, North Vietnam, northern and southern Laos, and Cambodia, losing 2,251 aircraft: 1,737 to hostile action, and 514 to operational causes. 110 of the losses were helicopters and the rest fixed-wing. A ratio of roughly 0.4 losses per 1,000 sorties compared favorably with a 2.0 rate in Korea and the 9.7 figure during World War II. During the U.S. bombing campaign in Europe during WW II there were 754,818 sorties flown.♦
Total U.S. bomb tonnage dropped during:
World War II = 2,057,244 tons
Vietnam War = 7,078,032 tons (3-1/2 times WWII
tonnage)
Bomb tonnage dropped during the Vietnam War amounted to
1,000 lbs. for every man, woman and child in Vietnam.
F-105 Thunderchief
Losses of selected aircraft.
B-52 Stratofortress– –31 total, 17 in combat
U.S. Air Force F-4 Phantom II– –445 total, 382 in combat
U.S. Navy F-4 Phantom –138 total, 75 in combat
U.S. Marine Corps F-4 Phantom –95 lost, 72 combat
F-100 Super Sabre– –243 total, 198 in combat
F-105D Thunderchief– –335 total, 283 in combat
The U.S. Army lost 5,086 helicopters including 3,000 Hueys.
Just a note, the three highest cities have the largest per capita Aboriginal populations in the country.
Statistics Canada
Police-reported crime severity indexes, by census metropolitan area1
Police-reported crime severity indexes, by census metropolitan area
| |
2009 |
2008 to 2009 |
2009 |
2008 to 2009 |
| |
Total Crime Severity Index |
Violent Crime Severity Index |
| |
index |
% change |
index |
% change |
| Canada |
87.2 |
-4 |
93.7 |
-1 |
| Regina |
143.7 |
-12 |
155.6 |
-9 |
| Saskatoon |
132.1 |
-5 |
154.7 |
-6 |
| Winnipeg |
127.2 |
2 |
187.0 |
15 |
| Kelowna |
121.2 |
-4 |
104.3 |
-5 |
| Edmonton |
115.1 |
-7 |
118.7 |
-10 |
| Abbotsford–Mission |
111.4 |
-22 |
118.8 |
-4 |
| Thunder Bay |
110.3 |
3 |
136.1 |
17 |
| Vancouver |
109.6 |
-8 |
117.8 |
-6 |
| Brantford |
106.0 |
1 |
91.5 |
4 |
| Halifax |
97.2 |
1 |
120.0 |
3 |
| Saint John |
96.4 |
-6 |
100.3 |
-8 |
| Victoria |
92.2 |
-10 |
81.0 |
0 |
| St. John’s |
90.6 |
4 |
69.3 |
-6 |
| Montréal |
89.6 |
-2 |
102.7 |
-2 |
| London |
87.5 |
4 |
69.9 |
8 |
| Greater Sudbury |
80.9 |
10 |
98.1 |
30 |
| Trois-Rivières |
80.1 |
3 |
56.0 |
-5 |
| Calgary |
78.4 |
-7 |
84.8 |
-5 |
| Saguenay |
76.7 |
12 |
72.8 |
28 |
| St. Catharines–Niagara |
75.9 |
-5 |
63.5 |
-7 |
| Moncton |
75.8 |
4 |
79.4 |
20 |
| Gatineau |
74.2 |
-2 |
74.5 |
-4 |
| Kitchener |
73.7 |
7 |
65.1 |
7 |
| Hamilton |
73.5 |
-5 |
84.3 |
-4 |
| Windsor |
71.1 |
-5 |
74.6 |
-3 |
| Sherbrooke |
70.7 |
-8 |
54.2 |
-6 |
| Ottawa3 |
67.0 |
-2 |
78.1 |
7 |
| Kingston |
65.6 |
-4 |
71.9 |
19 |
| Peterborough |
65.1 |
-2 |
59.5 |
-15 |
| Barrie |
64.3 |
1 |
53.9 |
2 |
| Toronto |
61.9 |
-4 |
94.5 |
-2 |
| Québec |
61.0 |
-4 |
49.2 |
-10 |
| Guelph |
59.2 |
3 |
50.9 |
21 |
Although aboriginal persons make up 3.6% of Canada’s population, they account for more than 20% of Canada’s prison population.
Lets give the Aboriginals a break. They are still suffering from culture shock. The Residential Schools were a terrible thing. And the stereotypes do affect individuals. Many Aboriginals have no self-esteem or confidence. So they do not care where they land up in life. Single Aboriginal Moms keep having more babies so they can get more welfare money. And the dysfunction goes on. As Sony and Cher sang: The Beat Goes On!
If there’s one thing that’s wrong with the English language, it’s that there just aren’t enough words. Luckily for all of us, former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin invented a new one this weekend, and then compared herself to Shakespeare.
(Some background: A Muslim group wants to build an Islamic community center in a building about two blocks from the World Trade Center site; it would have a swimming pool and an auditorium in addition to a mosque. A bunch of idiot bigots want to stop them from doing so because [THE PART WHERE I POUND MY HEAD ON THE KEYBOARD REDACTED])
Palin first used the word while appearing on Sean Hannity’s Fox News show on July 14 where she was attempting to break the world record for run-on sentence length while discussing the NAACP’s resolution on the Tea Party and racism. “[Barack and Michelle Obama] have power in their words,” she said. “They could refudiate what it is that this group is saying.” (What ended up happening was that Tea Party Express leader Mark Williams wrote a racist blog post in response, thereby doing to the resolution the exact opposite of whatever “refudiate” means.)
Feeling emboldened by her successful use of the word on Hannity, Palin whipped it out again in the above Tweet. But she didn’t quite have the courage of her convictions, and when various mean professor-types pointed out that “refudiate” is “not an actual word, in any dictionary,” she replaced it with “refute”:
ABC News (US)
Investigating the Phenomenon
For now, the UFO’s identity remains shrouded in mystery. A spokesman from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) confirmed to ABC News that the matter is under investigation. He declined to disclose further details. A day after the sighting, however, an anonymous source told China Daily that authorities already discovered the identity of the UFO after an investigation but could not publically disclose the information because “there was a military connection.” An official explanation is expected to be released on Friday, the source said.
Five researchers from the Beijing UFO Research Society and the Shanghai UFO Investigative Research Center traveled to Hangzhou to study the phenomenon.
“We have several places to visit on our agenda, including the Xiaoshan Airport and the CAAC East China Regional Administration,” the director of the Shanghai UFO Investigative Research Center, Lou Jinhong, told ABC News. “I cannot offer an opinion on this case, because we have not yet collected all the relevant documents and data. It’s not clear how long the investigation will take.”
The Hangzhou incident comes after a string of recent UFO sightings in China. On June 30, residents in Xinjiang province saw a flying object bathed in a fan of white light. Sightings have also been reported in Hunan, Shandong and Jiangsu provinces.
The province of Alberta in Western Canada is known for its beef and oil. The southern part of the province has vast grasslands which over the past hundred years has led to the establishment of large cattle ranches. The ranches need cowboys, and the cowboys like to play. So rodeos became a major part of the Alberta tradition. Today the Calgary Stampede is one of the biggest rodeos in North America. ♦
Alberta has also been extremely fortunate to have vast deposits of oil and gas. Much of the oil is black crude that is pumped to the surface. But in the north of the province the oil is extracted from Tar Sands. The process of extracting this oil involves large open-pit mining. The earth is chewed up with giant shovels and transported on leviathan trucks to the processing facilities. To put it bluntly, it is a very dirty method of oil extraction. As the picture below illustrates.♦
The open-pit procedures basically turn the land into a moonscape.
Therefore many environmentalist greenies are calling for sanctions against the tar sands in Alberta. Many celebrities in the United States are on the band wagon and the media is right behind. At first impression it is a very politically correct stance when the pictures are shown.♦
However the industrial societies of the world run on oil. And everybody and their dog owns an automobile. So the oil has to be made readily available. Wars have been fought over the black gold, the recent conflicts in the Persian Gulf are a perfect example. Not only will there be conflicts between humans for the petroleum, but there will also be conflicts between humans and nature. As recently depicted in the Gulf of Mexico blow-out. And the tar sands will remain a vital source of oil while humans remain intrinsically dependant on the slippery lube.
Getting back to the Cowboys at the Stampede. Some horses have died at this years Stampede. Three have died from heart attacks after the Chuck Wagon races. Those races look like chaos wrapped in pandemonium. These races could spook a horse to the point where they have such a horrendous nervous breakdown that their big hearts seize up.♦
Another horse broke its back bucking too hard. That’s what happens when you show off.
But you do have to give these cowboys credit for bravery or outright stupidity depending on which way you look at it. Who in their right mind would want to jump on a berserk Brahma Bull with sharp horns and giant hooves.♦
So now the animal rights activists are foaming at the mouth. They want rodeos banned and the alledged cruelty to the beasts stopped. Some of these events are anachronistic to say the least. Calves aren’t roped to near strangulation anymore on ranches, they are herded back to the trail by helicopters. And steers are no longer bulldogged if they leave the herd, they are persuaded back by cowboys in jeeps wielding electric prods. But traditions are hard to break. And I think the Calgary Stampede extravaganza will be around for a long time to come. After all it is not only about animals. There is dang good entertainment after the animals are fed and put to bed.♦
From the National Post
‘Tar sands’ and dead rodeo horses: Alberta under attack
Not only is Alberta under attack from environmentalists trying to kill its tourism industry to protest the oil sands, it’s also under fire over the treatment of animals at the Calgary Stampede. Yesterday, Corporate Ethics International launched a “Rethink Alberta” campaign with billboards and advertising urging tourists to boycott the province because of environmental damage caused by the “tar sands.” Premier Ed Stelmach said he was furious, calling it “an attack” on the 100,000 people whose livelihoods are tied to the tourism industry.
Now, a fifth horse has died at the famous Stampede, which is certain to heighten calls for an end to chuckwagon and rodeo events. The Vancouver Humane Society has already called for changes, including a ban on calf roping. And last week in Britain, where rodeos have been banned for decades (but fox hunting was just fine until 2004), some 50 MPs signed a motion urging Ottawa to stop such events.
And on its website, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has a campaign urging people to write to the Stampede’s sponsors, calling it “Canada’s shameful spectacle.” Before the latest death, The Stampede’s Doug Fraser told CTV News that critics shouldn’t be too hasty in making connections, pointing out that two of the horses died of natural causes.
About time they got this massive mistake figured out. Hopefully Murphy’s Law won’t kick in and all hell break loose again.
I think these guys are carrying a penguin? There isn’t, nor has there ever been, any penguins even remotely close to the Gulf of Mexico.♦
BP says it has temporarily stopped oil flowing into the Gulf of Mexico from its leaking well.
It is the first time the flow has stopped since an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig on 20 April.
The well has been sealed with a cap as part of a test of its integrity that could last up to 48 hours.
BP executive Kent Wells said the oil had been stopped at 1425 local time (1925 GMT) and he was “excited” by the progress.
“It is very good to see no oil go into the Gulf of Mexico,” said Mr Wells.
But BP is stressing that even if no oil escapes for 48 hours, that will not mean the flow of oil and gas has been stopped permanently.
Scene on the surface above the Leak location.
A large new museum is going up in Winnipeg. The Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) is being constructed at The Forks in central Winnipeg. Construction started in the spring of 2009 and the structure is coming together as huge concrete and steel towers are inching skyward.
The construction site is one of the most convoluted labyrinthine mazes ever witnessed. Every conceivable geometric angle is appearing in this monument. This is what the museum is supposed to look like when it is finished.♦
Grapevine rumour has it that some of the architects are not sure how the skin of the outer walls is going to handle Winnipeg’s -30 temperatures. But a few construction managers seen interviewed on TV said this is going to be a definite world-class structure.♦
Some recent construction photos:
As for the content of the museum, this is still not clear. The two themes that reports have verified will be most prominent are a Native Canadian exhibit and Holocaust exhibit. If most of the exhibits follow these notions of Human Rights issues the museum could have a distinct flavour of 21st century political correctness.
There are many other areas for human rights concerns in the world. For example the terrible situation in the Gaza Strip, the U.S. invasion of Iraq which has led to bitter sectarian violence in that country, minority group oppression in Iran and the Chinese iron grip on Tibet, to mention a few. But we will have to wait and see what kind of human rights concerns manifest inside this edifice.♦
Funding for the capital costs of the CMHR is coming from all three levels of government – Government of Canada, Province of Manitoba, and City of Winnipeg – as well as private donations. The total budget for the building of the exterior of the CMHR and its contents is $310 million.
To date, the Government of Canada has donated $100 million, the Province of Manitoba has donated $40 million, and the City of Winnipeg has donated $20 million.
The Friends of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, led by Gail Asper, have succeeded in raising over $115 million in private donations from across Canada so far. An additional $35 million is still needed to reach the fundraising goal.
Once the CMHR is open, the operating budget will be provided by the Government of Canada, as the CMHR is a national museum. The estimated operating costs are $22 million per year.
Whatever the political agenda that transpires inside the museum, one thing is for sure, this Puzzle Palace will be an eye-catching addition to the downtown Winnipeg skyline.♦
Construction Facts and Figures
Milestone Dates
- Construction begins: Spring 2009
- Construction duration: 3 years
- Construction completion: Summer 2012
Building Facts
- Total area of site: 24,166 M2 (260,123 square feet)
- Total area of building: 24,154 M2 (260,000 square feet)
- Number of floors: 12
- Total length of ramps: 773 M (2,533 feet)
- Average floor-to-floor height: 5.2 M (17 feet)
- Height of the Tower of Hope: 100 M (328 feet)
- Number of concrete caissons: 129
- Number of pre-cast piles: 293
Material and Equipment (Produced in Canada)
- Cement
- Reinforcing steel
- Lumber Products
- Stone Products (including Tyndall stone)
- Gypsum Products
- Aluminum Products
If you think Nickelback, Smashing Pumpkins, Limp Bizkit and The Bare Naked Ladies are funny mindless band names, you haven’t heard anything yet. The mind altering drugs these characters were on when they thought up these names either revved up the creative juices or blocked stimulation to the cerebral cortex vortex.
The List in alphabetical order:
Abracadaver
Adickdid
Afrodiziac
Alcoholocaust
Anus the Menace
Baldilocks
Bassholes
Blood Sledge Electric Death Chickens
Bondage A Go Go
BowWowWowHaus
Broadzilla
Bulimia Banquet
Cap’n Crunch and the Cereal Killers
Crappy the Clown and the Punch Drunk Monkies
Deepthroat Shotgun
Dick Duck and the Dorks
Disgruntled Postal Workers
Doris Daze
Dow Jones and the Industrials
Drunken Ugly Basement Brothers
Endangered Feces
Evil Beaver
Fat Welfare Moms On Dust
50 Naked Midgets
The Fred Mertz Experience
The French are from Hell
Frumious Bandersnatch
GangGreen
The Gaza Strippers
Duckbutter
Electric Al and the Poison Dart Frog McNuggets
Epileptic Disco
Ethyl Merman
The Fartz
Fearless Iranians From Hell
The Hostile Amish
Jehovah’s Witness Protection Program
Lesbian Dopeheads on Mopeds
Lubricated Goat
The Morning Shakes
Organic Condom Mazda Drugs
Porn on the Cob
Squirrel Nut Zippers
Super Sonic Soul Pimps
Titty Bingo
UFOFU
Vomit Launch
The Whip-M-Out Girl’s
Willie Nelson Mandela
Zombies Under Stress
Zombina & The Skeletones
Zorro and the Blue Footballs
Zsa Zsa
Zulu Leprechauns
