The Eagles' Nest

The Obama Constituency?

bob — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 10:34:43 +0000

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Unintended/Unexpected Consequences

bob — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 02:26:55 +0000

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Urine Bottles on Highway May Be Due to Drivers Too Concerned With Gas Prices to Pull Off
Saturday, August 09, 2008

ONTARIO, Ore. — Police say there’s been an alarming rise in urine-filled plastic containers found along a three-mile stretch of Interstate 84 in eastern Oregon.

A litter crew for the Oregon Department of Transportation picked up an estimated 200-300 urine filled plastic bottles, along the highway, about half of which were found in a short stretch dubbed “Three Mile Hill.”

Police say that drivers — particularly commercial trucks — are typically driving very slowly through the area.

Police think the price of fuel may be causing drivers to travel slower than normal to save fuel while at the same time passing rest areas or truck stops.

Under Oregon law, improperly disposing of human waste is a misdemeanor which can carry a fine of up to $250.

Bush’s character assessment of Putin

bob — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 23:50:33 +0000

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June 2001 on the occasion of the first meeting between Bush and Putin:

Bush:

“I looked the man in the eye. I found him to be very straight forward and trustworthy and we had a very good dialogue.

“I was able to get a sense of his soul.

“He’s a man deeply committed to his country and the best interests of his country and I appreciate very much the frank dialogue and that’s the beginning of a very constructive relationship,” Mr Bush said.

August 2008:

RUSSIAN PLANES ATTACK GEORGIA

Correspondents in Megvrekisi, Georgia | August 09, 2008

A RUSSIAN army convoy entered South Ossetia last night and Russian planes attacked a Georgian military base, after Georgian forces captured the capital of the breakaway province and warned of “war” if Moscow intervened.

Moscow threatened retaliation after 10 Russian peacekeepers in Tskhinvali were killed in a night-time Georgian artillery and air barrage. At least 15 civilians were killed.

Dozens of Russian tanks and military vehicles passed through the 4km-long Roki tunnel into South Ossetia. Russian television said they were expected in a few hours to reach Tskhinvali, which Georgian Reintegration Minister Temur Yakobashvili said had been captured by Georgian troops last night.

Russian aircraft launched an attack on a military base near Tbilisi, Georgian sources said, claiming they had shot down four Russian combat planes.

Georgia’s National Security Council warned there would be “a state of war” between the two countries if the Russian military convoy entered the rebel region.

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said the world would be “in trouble” if Russia got away with its attacks in his country.

“It’s like the attack into Afghanistan in 1979. It’s like Czechoslovakia when Soviet and Russian tanks moved in,” he told CNN television.

“If they get away with this in Georgia, the world will be in trouble.” Mr Saakashvili warned of “large-scale military intervention” and ordered a mass mobilisation. He said his country’s operation had been successful and “most of South Ossetia’s territory is liberated and is controlled by Georgia.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said “ethnic cleansing” had been reported in villages in South Ossetia.

“The number of refugees is growing. A humanitarian crisis is looming,” Mr Lavrov said.

The commander of Russian peacekeeping forces in the region claimed Tskhinvali had been “almost totally destroyed” by the Georgian attacks.

“As a result of the hours-long shelling of Tskhinvali by heavy weaponry, the city is almost totally destroyed,” General Marat Kulakhmetov said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said people were sheltering in their basements with no electricity or access to communications.

The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe at an emergency meeting in Vienna warned that South Ossetia was on the brink of all-out war and urged an end to all military action in the breakaway region.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev promised to defend Russian citizens under attack.

“We cannot allow the deaths of our countrymen to go unpunished. The guilty parties will receive the punishment they deserve,” he said.

“I am obliged to protect the lives and dignity of Russian citizens, no matter where they are located.”

Georgian Interior Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili said Georgian troops would observe a three-hour ceasefire beginning at 3pm (9pm AEST) to allow civilians to leave Tskhinvali. The ICRC appealed for a safe passage for the wounded.

“Ambulances cannot move, hospitals are reported to be overflowing, surgery is taking place in corridors,” an ICRC spokeswoman said in Geneva.

The Georgian offensive was described by General Mamuka Kurashvili, who leads Georgia’s contribution to the peacekeeping mission, as an attempt to “restore constitutional order”.

AFP, AP

Hazardous cargo — emergency landing

bob — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 22:49:15 +0000

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The following is from Airliner World magazine, May 2008 edition, page 76:

“In March, the crew of an Alitalia flight made an emergency landing at Boston Logan International Airport in the USA after being overcome by noxious fumes. The cargo flight had been inbound to Miami from Milan when the crew were forced to don oxygen masks and declare an emergency. After a safe landing, the cause of the odour was investigated and found to be the aircraft’s cargo of five tons of minced onions. It was then added to the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) ‘No Fly List’ and sent from Boston to Miami by road.”

Bob’s comments:

1. Yes, that’s the speling of “odour.” Well, it is in a magazine printed in the UK. :-)

2. I’ve packaged, approved for shipment, and loaded many an item of hazardous cargo, including explosives, radioactives, and corrosives, but I’ve never shipped chopped onions and would never have expected them to be in the Hazardous Cargo manual.

3. Chopped onions. From Milan. On Alitalia. Of course.

4. A big thank you to Rosemary, my neighbor, who placed a stack of the magazines on my garage workbench when I wasn’t looking. The US sticker price is $10.95 a copy and if you enjoy things aviation, it is a steal for the photography alone.

The 2008 Summer Olympics and Other endeavors

bob — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 21:12:36 +0000

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I’ve grown less and less fond of the Olympics over the years due to many factors.

The Black Power Salute of Mexico’s 1968 games, for which the guilty ones still state no regrets even now in 2008; the 1972 Munich terrorism and massacre of Israeli athletes; the advent of professional players competing; so many doping scandals in so many levels of competition that finding such at the Olympic level isn’t really a scandal anymore; and better results through equipment design rather than human endeavor; well, the cleanliness, purity, and honesty of the games was lost for me a long time ago.

Add to that the venues this Olympiad in a country with an abhorrently repressive system of government that will lie its way into a picture totally opposite reality throughout the games and will undoubtedly gain the favor of those who think no farther than their nose and analyze at only surface level, add all that up and for me it’s a loss.

Yet, there are many athletes who are not into the seemingly inevitable political aspects of the games’ location, and they won’t be using the big money equipment to enhance their performance, and they won’t be doping, choosing instead to rely on good old fashioned conditioning as a result of honest effort. The problem is that those athletes are no easier to identify than those on the other end of the spectrum. They are unfortunately painted with the broad brush loaded with the wash of their cheating peers. Such is real life — we are indeed judged by the company we keep.

Yet, yes, I will be watching. My selection of events will be very specific, however, and nowhere nearly as extensive as in years ago.

I was active several decades ago as an adult in youth sports and I’ve been a very active volunteer for the past several years, primarily in track and field. I like being a part of it all. My earlier experience was as a baseball and softball umpire and once again I find that my volunteer efforts have grown into certification as an official — and I get to work still in a volunteer status but closer to the heart and soul of the action and responsible for various aspects of its success. It takes a lot of study and a lot of work, not to mention a very understanding and supportive wife, but it’s worth it.

If you are planning on watching the Olympics on television and have yet to find a handy way to know what and when, there is a far better way than looking in the newspaper every day and it allows for planning in case you intend to record. The schedule for online streaming is also available.

Not that I’m a fan of the major networks, ANY of them, NBC is the prime carrier, so…

Go here.
Select TV & Online Listings.
Then enter your ZIP code.
Then choose your source and the schedules are yours for the clicking.

Be sure to check out the Video tab, too.

Me, I’m looking for my few favorites, and then I get to enjoy some real world myself. Last weekend was two firsts in officiating for me and on the 20th, 22nd, 30th, and 31st of this month, at two separate international meets, will be yet others. For me, those will far outshine watching the Olympics. And to be honest, even the preparation, though a lot of work, is rather enjoyable, too. August 2008 is turning out to be a banner month.