August 29, 2005. There is going to be dead people from this storm. Caption :: Debris from a fallen building covers several buildings in downtown New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina battered the Louisiana Coast on Monday, Aug. 29, 2005. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)
 

Morning Papers - concluding

The Boston Globe

National Guard: Enough GIs for storm duty
August 29, 2005
WASHINGTON --Though thousands of National Guard personnel from Louisiana and Mississippi are serving in Iraq, officials say more than enough personnel were available for disaster duty Monday as Hurricane Katrina slammed ashore.
"Only about half of available forces are mobilized in Louisiana and forces are available from neighboring states if needed," said Lt. Col. Mike Milord, a spokesman at National Guard headquarters outside Washington.
Some 3,500 Army National Guardsmen from Louisiana were deployed to help hurricane victims and another 3,000 were on standby.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/08/29/national_guard_enough_gis_for_storm_duty/


After Gaza, fear rises of West Bank violence
Recent attacks fueled by pullout
By Anne Barnard, Globe Staff August 29, 2005
SHILO, West Bank -- Minutes after Asher Weissgan, a Jewish settler, fatally shot four of his Palestinian co-workers in this West Bank settlement, he calmly told a security officer that he hoped the killings would stop the removal of settlers from the Gaza Strip that Israeli forces had begun that morning.
The shooting on Aug. 17 occurred less than two weeks after an Israeli Army deserter opposed to the pullout gunned down four Arabs on a bus in northern Israel.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/08/29/after_gaza_fear_rises_of_west_bank_violence/


Ex-Aryan headquarters goes up for auction
August 29, 2005
HAYDEN, Idaho --The former headquarters of a white supremacist group is headed for the auction block because no one picked up the mortgage payments after the group's founder died in September.
Aryan Nations founder Richard Butler died of a heart attack at age 86, leaving an unpaid balance of $91,486 on the home.
Human-rights advocates say the looming sale is one of many signs the Aryan Nations is in decline.
"He was the glue of the Aryan Nations movement in the Northwest, if not the country," said FBI agent Norm Brown, supervisor of the Inland Northwest Joint Terrorism Task Force. "As a result of his death, we've seen a marked decrease in Aryan Nations activity in the Inland Northwest."

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/08/29/ex_aryan_headquarters_goes_up_for_auction/


Roberts pushed for Reagan policies
By Jesse J. Holland, Associated Press Writer August 29, 2005
WASHINGTON --Supreme Court nominee John Roberts pushed the Reagan-era Justice Department to get its conservative policies enacted into law to make it more difficult for future presidents to abrogate them, documents showed Monday.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/08/29/roberts_pushed_for_reagan_policies/


Jellyfish cause reactor shutdown in Sweden
August 29, 2005
STOCKHOLM, Sweden --A Swedish nuclear power plant shut down one of its three reactors Monday because of an abnormal accumulation of jellyfish in the cooling system.
The Oskarshamn plant in southeastern Sweden uses water from the Baltic Sea in its cooling tanks.
The water has been unusually rich in jellyfish in recent weeks, but the problem grew worse Monday morning, forcing officials to shut down the reactor.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/08/29/jellyfish_cause_reactor_shutdown_in_sweden/


Germany school reopens after 2002 rampage
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder speaks during the reopening ceremony of the Gutenberg high school in Erfurt, eastern Germany, Monday, Aug. 29, 2005. The German high school where a former pupil killed himself and 16 others during a shooting rampage was officially reopened Monday in a ceremony attended by Schroeder. The Gutenberg high school has undergone a 10 million Euro (US$12.3 million) renovation since April 26, 2002, when 19-year-old Robert Steinhaeuser fatally shot 12 teachers, a secretary, two students and a police officer before turning his gun on himself. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer)
By Jochen Wiesigel, Associated Press Writer August 29, 2005
ERFURT, Germany --A German high school where a former student killed 16 people and then himself during a shooting rampage three years ago was officially reopened Monday in a ceremony attended by Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2005/08/29/germany_school_reopens_after_2002_rampage/


1 dead in Sri Lanka newspaper office blast
By Shimali Senanayake, Associated Press Writer August 29, 2005
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka --Attackers on a bicycle hurled grenades at a Tamil-language newspaper office in the capital of Colombo, killing a security guard, police said Monday.
The attack on the Sudar Oli newspaper, allegedly linked to the country's Tamil Tiger rebels, came eight days after two bombs were thrown at another office of the newspaper in Colombo. No one was injured since the bombs did not explode.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2005/08/29/1_dead_in_sri_lanka_newspaper_office_blast/


Shi'ite infighting opens new front in Iraq
By Mariam Karouny August 29, 2005
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A power struggle in Iraq between powerful Shi'ite factions could complicate efforts to stabilize the country as it heads toward a referendum on its new draft constitution, officials said.
Clashes that erupted last week between supporters of a powerful Shi'ite party in the governing coalition and militiamen loyal to a maverick Shi'ite cleric brought into public view long-standing faultlines in Iraqi politics.
Officials fear tensions will heighten before an October 15 referendum on a draft constitution passed without support from Arab Sunnis, whose community is the seat of an insurgency against the Shi'ite-led government and U.S. forces defending it.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/08/29/shiite_infighting_opens_new_front_in_iraq/

For women and children
August 29, 2005
DURING FOREIGN wars and disasters, women and children suffer egregious abuses. They are raped, killed, or forced into servitude as soldiers, domestics, and sex slaves. They desperately need more protection than the vital but limited food-water-and-shelter response of international aid efforts.
A bill in Congress would enhance emergency aid, making the United States a leader in cracking down on sexual violence and abuse as well as in quickly rebuilding educational and economic activities.
A coordinator would be appointed in the State Department or the US Agency for International Development who would work to ensure that emergency aid always included strategies to protect women and children.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2005/08/29/for_women_and_children/


The Times Picayune

Katrina's western eyewall passes over New Orleans
Power outages widespread, including Superdome
LATEST ON KATRINA:
Hurricane Katrina plowed into this below-sea-level city Monday with howling, 145-mph winds and blinding rain that ripped away pieces of the roof of the Superdome, knocked out power and flooded some homes to the ceilings.
Katrina edged slightly to the east shortly before making landfall near Grand Isle, providing some hope that the worst of the storm's wrath might not be directed at the vulnerable city. Martin Nelson, a meteorologist at the National Hurricane Center, said the northern part of the eyewall came ashore at about 5 a.m. central time.

http://www.nola.com/newslogs/weather/


The Telegraph


Bush-baiter Cindy to widen campaign
Cindy Sheehan in Crawford, Texas. (Reuters)
Crawford (Texas), Aug. 27 (Reuters): Iraq war protester Cindy Sheehan, whose vigil near President George W. Bush’s Texas ranch has become a symbol for the anti-war movement, said yesterday she plans to focus on Congress, starting with house majority leader Tom DeLay, a Bush ally and fellow Texan.
Sheehan has been demanding a meeting with Bush to discuss the US presence in Iraq, where her son was killed in 2004.
She plans to begin a bus tour next Thursday from Bush’s ranch to the White House to campaign for the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq.
One of DeLay’s Texas district offices would likely be the first stop, she said. That is about a 5.5 hour drive from Bush’s ranch in Crawford, where he is on a month-long vacation.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050828/asp/foreign/story_5166053.asp


Africa split hope for Delhi’s UN bid
K.P. NAYAR
New York, Aug. 27: India and other members of the Group of Four (G4) states — Brazil, Germany and Japan — will allow their joint resolution for permanent seats in the UN Security Council to lapse in the General Assembly.
So will the Africans, who have moved a resolution that has come in the way of the G4 bid to secure an expansion of the Security Council.
Both resolutions will lapse on September 13, the day Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrives here to address a special summit of UN members to commemorate the world body’s 60th anniversary, move ahead on reforming the UN and set the stage for mankind’s goals for the new millennium.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050828/asp/nation/story_5166144.asp


New Zealand Herald

Katrina lashes US shore, one million evacuated
A woman walks through a street in the deserted French Quarter of New Orleans after authorities told residents to evacuate. Picture / Reuters
29.08.05 5.15pm

NEW ORLEANS - The fringes of potentially catastrophic Hurricane Katrina began whipping Louisiana today as about a million people fled from the low-lying New Orleans area.
The brunt of Katrina, which had 265km/h winds on Sunday evening local time, was expected to crash ashore around sunrise on Monday (about 10pm NZT). Its winds, tides and heavy squalls had already started arriving before nightfall.
The storm had weakened slightly from the morning, when it boasted 280km/h winds, but it remained a savage Category 5 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10342989


The deepening climate crisis
Hurricane Katrina hit South Miami hard, not long after Hurricane Dennis had also wreaked destruction there. Picture / Reuters
29.08.05
By Elizabeth Nash

The category four storm threatening to cause havoc around the Gulf of Mexico is another example of the way global warming is altering the world's weather systems, environmental campaigners say.
As Hurricane Katrina bore down for a second time on Florida - with New Orleans in Louisiana

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10342880


Iranian boy sues Australian immigration over detention
29.08.05 1.00pm

SYDNEY - A ten-year-old Iranian boy will make legal history today when he sues the Australian Immigration Department and a detention centre operator in the NSW Supreme Court for causing him psychological damage.
News Ltd newspapers say Shayan Badraie used to be a vibrant, bubbly boy who enjoyed playing with his toy car collection.
But now, with a psychiatric illness, he is withdrawn and has trouble eating, sleeping and socialising with his classmates at his western Sydney school, his family and legal team say.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10342962


Air NZ warns 2006 profit could fall 40 per cent
29.08.05 1.00pm
By Rachel Pannett

National carrier Air New Zealand today warned its 2006 earnings could plunge by as much as 40 per cent if sky high oil prices continue.
"If fuel prices persist at current levels, then the potential exists for the current year performance to be around 40 per cent below the 2005 result," Air NZ chairman John Palmer said.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=3&ObjectID=10342965


Shell New Zealand chairman resigns
29.08.05 2.50pm

The chairman of Shell New Zealand has resigned for family and personal reasons, the company said today.
Paul Zealand will be replaced by Shell's country manager for Commercial Exploration and Production Dr Ajit Bansal, until the company names a full-time replacement.
Mr Zealand -- who has spent 24 years with Shell -- has also resigned as general manager of Shell Todd Oil Services, where he will be replaced by New Zealander Rob Jager.
He will leave both positions at the end of September.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=3&ObjectID=10342988

The weather at Scott Base, Antarctica (Crystal Ice Chime) is:

Scott Base

Clear

-25.0°

Updated Monday 29 Aug 8:59PM

The weather at Glacier Bay National Park (Crystal Wind Chime) is:

48 °F / 9 °C
Mostly Cloudy

Humidity:
82%

Dew Point:
43 °F / 6 °C

Wind:
Calm

Pressure:
29.82 in / 1010 hPa

Visibility:
10.0 miles / 16.1 kilometers

UV:
0 out of 16

Clouds (AGL):
Mostly Cloudy 6000 ft / 1828 m

end

August 23, 2005. Salvo, North Carolina. I think it's self explanatory. 

August 29, 2005. This is the North Pole. Katrina is at 6:00. The system extends to the Arctic Ocean. 

Augut 29, 2005. 

August 29, 2005.  

August 28, 2005. 

August 28, 2005. Panama City Beach, Florida.  

August 28, 2005. Melbourne, Florida. These are the outer bands of Katrina YESTERDAY on the Atlantic Ocean side of Florida.  

August 28, 2005. Hail storm in Lincoln, NEBRASKA !! 

August 27, 2005. Key West, Florida. A refloated boat house after Dennis was sunk again after Katrina. 

August 26, 2005. Miami, Florida. 

August 26, 2005. Miami, Florida. This is the extreme reaches of Katrina when it was Cat 1.

What were you all thinking?

Exempt from reality?

Are you all caught mesmarized by the tsunami that is Bush's idiotic world?

Wake up from the dreamscape that is an illusion.

Helloooo....

August 26, 2005. North Miami Beach, Florida. Ironicly this was a gasoline service station. 

August 28, 2005. (Spots on the Lens) Shrimp boats at Bayou la Batre, Alabama. 

August 28, 2005. Pensacola Beach, Florida. This is just the peripheral winds and ocean. This is nothing compared to awaits Louisiana.  

August 28, 2005. Katrina and Pensicola Beach, Florida just before the beach closed. 

August 29, 2005.

The storm's eye is supported by an entire hemisphere of heat. There is no 'break' in the connectedness between the eye and the hemispheric dynamics.

The people of Louisiana are poor. They needed help to be safe. They don't have personal resources to leave as the 'average' American does. I don't think much of this country anymore. How could people be ALLOWED to stay in the path of a storm with this POTENTIAL? Just the potential of this storm to cause death was enough. What happened?

August 29, 2005.

Normally, the Gulf Coast doesn't receive storms greater than Cat 3 regardless the strength in the Gulf.

Frequently by the time the storms hit the levies it's down to a Cat 2. That won't happen here.

The System of this Eddy is fed by equatorial heat. It is a well powered storm. The outer bands are weakening slightly with landfall but is not effecting the eye what so ever at all. I am not hopeful for any good outcomes with this storm.

The National Guard or what is left of it needs to at the ready to rescue as soon as it is safe. I don't know what 'picture' safe will take as I expect a great deal of flooding from storm surge. It's going to be bad. In it's weaken form when it crossed Florida it dipped south similar to the path of Andrew. The path was as predicted from the water vapor satellite the other day when it was just the other side of Florida. There was plenty of time to evacuate. The system continues to extend from the equator to the Arctic Ocean. This is Climate Change compliments of Global Warming.

Morning Papers - It's Origins

Alcoholism

Fighting alcoholism with a pill
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
By Jane Spencer, The Wall Street Journal
A major shift is under way in the treatment of alcoholism.
Since the disease was first recognized by the medical establishment more than a half century ago, alcoholics seeking treatment have essentially had two options: traditional psychotherapy or abstinence support groups like Alcoholics Anonymous. Although a handful of medications have been available -- including Antabuse, which makes people nauseous when they drink -- they have had limited success and are prescribed to a fraction of patients seeking treatment.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05235/558538.stm


Contra Costa grant to fight homelessness, alcoholism
County hopes $1 million will help solve often-related problems
By Rebecca F. Johnson, STAFF WRITER
The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development is handing out a dozen grants nationwide — including one to Contra Costa County — to tackle the often-related problems of chronic homelessness and alcoholism.
The nearly $1 million grant is expected to assist about 40 people over the next two years by providing both housing and alcohol treatment services in the county.
This is right in line with our 10-year plan for ending homelessness — coming up with permanent solutions, said Cynthia Belon, county director of homeless services.

http://www.insidebayarea.com/trivalleyherald/localnews/ci_2965392


Mother 'drunk' after deserting son
By Cath Hart
August 24, 2005
Vivian Alvarez ... found "drugged and drunk" by police
WRONGLY deported Australian Vivian Alvarez was found by police "drugged and drunk" the day after she abandoned her four-year-old child at a Brisbane daycare centre.
The intervention was one of two occasions that police dealt with Ms Alvarez in the two days after she failed to collect her son from the Brisbane City Hall childcare facility on February 16, 2001.
The information is contained in a Queensland Police Missing Persons Bureau report sent to the Homicide Investigation Group in April 2003, two years after Ms Alvarez had been wrongly deported to The Philippines by the Immigration Department

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,16363072-28101,00.html


Labor Day push on to catch drunk drivers
By GRANT BOXLEITNER
GBOXLEITNER@NEWS-PRESS.COM
Published by news-press.com on August 24, 2005
Law enforcement officers throughout Southwest Florida will aggressively target drunk drivers beginning this weekend and continuing through Labor Day weekend.
The DUI sobriety checkpoints and other special operations will be held in conjunction with the national "You Drink, You Drive, You Lose" highway safety campaign, which continues through Sept. 5.
The Lee and Charlotte county sheriff's offices plan to conduct a sobriety checkpoint sometime this weekend, beginning Friday. Fort Myers police scheduled their own DUI checkpoint somewhere within the city limits on Labor Day weekend.

http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050824/NEWS01/508240445/1075


Drunk driving incidents increasing
OUR VIEW
One has to wonder what it takes to get drunk drivers off the road.
Incredibly, more than 83,000 Indiana drivers have been convicted of drunken driving at least twice since getting their Indiana driver’s licenses.
The Indianapolis Star reported that sobering statistic in a story over the weekend.
Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles records show that as of last Friday, more than 275,000 — or nearly 6 percent — of the state’s 4.9 million drivers have at least one conviction; 83,168 have two or more, and 6,310 have four or more.
Got that? Nearly 6 percent of the individuals holding a state driver’s license have been convicted at least once of driving while intoxicated.

http://www.madisoncourier.com/main.asp?SectionID=4&SubSectionID=253&ArticleID=25593&TM=59872.25


Court records: Ex-mobster shows up drunk for meeting
NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) -- Former New York mobster Henry Hill reportedly showed up drunk for a meeting with his probation officer and now risks going to jail.
Hill, portrayed by Ray Liotta in the 1990 mob movie "Goodfellas," had been charged with two felony counts of possessing meth and cocaine.
As part of a plea bargain, Hill pleaded no contest on Aug. 8 to a charge of attempted possession and was found guilty.

http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2005/08/24/news/nebraska/96d4fd93a7e28bcf8625706700097761.txt


Tennant Creek liquor ban fails to reduce alcoholism
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EMAIL STORY
The World Today - Wednesday, 24 August , 2005 12:46:00
Reporter: Anne Barker
ELEANOR HALL: The town of Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory is divided over its liquor laws.
A few years ago, the Liquor Commission banned the sale of takeaway alcohol at some times of the week, but residents resent the restrictions and others say that levels of violence and drink related disease have not improved since the laws were changed.
This report from North Australia Correspondent Anne Barker.
(Sounds of men shouting)
ANNE BARKER: Tennant Creek is a hard drinking, hard living town
This once prosperous mining town has one of the highest rates of alcohol consumption in Australia - 20 litres a year of pure alcohol for every resident, which is two-and-a-half times the national average
Drunkenness and alcohol abuse both contribute to a high level of domestic violence and ill health.
And before the liquor laws changed, pub fights were a fact of life on Thursday and Friday nights

http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2005/s1445156.htm


Drug therapy holds promise for treating alcoholism
by Tom Crann, Minnesota Public Radio
August 24, 2005
St. Paul, Minn. — Public safety officials have long recognized the adverse effect of alcohol on the roads, and this weekend Minnesota officials are intensifying enforcement of the new .08 blood alcohol limit for drivers.
At the same time, medical professionals have also recognized the adverse affects of alcohol on the body -- it's estimated about 1 in every 13 adults abuses alcohol, and more than 100,000 Americans die of alcohol-related causes.

http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2005/08/24_newsroom_alcoholism/


Binge drinking can cause more than a bad hangover in pregnant women. Along with other forms of alcohol abuse, it puts fetuses at risk for fetal alcohol syndrome -- the most common preventable cause of mental retardation and birth defects in the Western world.
(I-Newswire) - University of Iowa researchers who seek to reduce fetal alcohol syndrome cases -- which annually number nearly 8,800 in the United States -- have received a major grant to study how a certain pathway in the brain protects against the toxic effects of alcohol. The two-year, $387,187 grant is funded by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, part of the National Institutes of Health.
Fetal alcohol exposure damages the nervous system and can cause irreversible brain dysfunction, including mental retardation, epilepsy, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, said the project's principal investigator, Bahri Karaçay, Ph.D., associate research scientist in pediatrics in the UI Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine.

http://i-newswire.com/pr43773.html


Alcoholism / Substance Abuse
Anxiety Sensitivity
Those Sensitive to Anxiety More Likely to Drink

People who experience anxiety in stressful situations are more likely to turn to alcohol to relieve their anxiety symptoms, according to research at Dalhousie University.
Those who experience symptoms such as "butterflies," rapid breathing, or an increased heart rate in the face of a stressful situation are described as having high anxiety sensitivity (AS), according to the study, and they are more likely to "sooth" their anxiety by drinking.

http://alcoholism.about.com/library/weekly/aa001214a.htm


The Sin of Sins
by Irina Sandul
24 August 2005
Empathy for the plight of women alcoholics in Russia is rising far more slowly than their numbers.
MOSCOW, Russia Masha, a long-legged former journalist, died last year at the age of 30. For seven years Masha never left her Moscow home without a bottle of vodka. “This is always with me,” she used to say, pulling a small bottle of Russkaya from the pocket of her miniskirt. Her day used to start with a deciliter of vodka, watching television and brooding about where to have another drink. Before turning to vodka Masha did heroin. “Drinking is better,” she used to say. Not long after, Masha died after overdosing on heroin.

http://www.tol.cz/look/TOL/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrIssue=130&NrSection=3&NrArticle=14414


We have had approximately one downed aircraft per day.

Downed Planes

Plane Crash in Venezuela Leaves 160 Dead
By IAN JAMES
Associated Press Writer
Published August 16, 2005, 3:43 PM CDT
CARACAS, Venezuela -- A plane carrying vacationers home to the French Caribbean island of Martinique crashed Tuesday in western Venezuela after reporting engine problems, killing all 160 people on board, officials said.
The McDonnell Douglas MD-82 was headed from Panama to Martinique when its pilot requested permission to make an emergency landing just after 3 a.m., saying there was trouble with both engines, said Col. Francisco Paz, president of the National Civil Aviation Institute.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-venezuela-plane-crash,1,3093338.story?coll=chi-news-hed


Airline crash in Venezuela kills all 160 aboard
By Patrick Markey, Reuters August 16, 2005
CARACAS, Venezuela --CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - A Colombian charter jet carrying tourists home from Panama to Martinique crashed in Venezuela on Tuesday after its engines failed, killing all 160 aboard in one of the country's worst air disasters.
The West Caribbean airways MD-82 aircraft was en route to the French Caribbean island when it reported engine trouble and diverted to an airport in Venezuela. It crashed at a cattle ranch near Venezuela's border with Colombia, authorities said.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/latinamerica/articles/2005/08/16/france_all_passengers_dead_in_venezuela_crash/


Coroner: Young child survived Greek crash
By DEREK GATOPOULOS
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
A firefighter pauses to look at the wreckage of the Cypriot Helios plane on the third day of the investigations into the three missing bodies. The crash Sunday on a hillside in Grammatiko, 40 kilometers north of Athens, Greece killed all 121 passengers on board. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
ATHENS, Greece -- A 5-year-old boy who was aboard the Cypriot airliner that crashed in Greece was still alive after the plane slammed into a mountainous area north of Athens, a coroner said Wednesday.
An autopsy on the boy's body showed he had inhaled soot from a fire sparked by the crash, said Nikos Kalogrias, part of a six-member team of coroners involved in the investigation into Sunday's crash, which left all 121 people aboard dead.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apeurope_story.asp?category=1103&slug=Greece%20Plane%20Crash


Black boxes may solve crash mysteries
By Leslie Miller, Associated Press Writer August 18, 2005
WASHINGTON --Aviation experts say the sophisticated flight data recorder on the Helios Airways jetliner that crashed in Greece should answer at least some of the questions that have perplexed investigators.
Because so much about the crash doesn't add up, the digital flight data recorder, or DFDR, takes on greater importance as investigators piece together evidence. They'll also look for clues in the wreckage pattern, autopsies, radar tapes, witness reports and photographs taken by fighter pilots who trailed the doomed Boeing 737-300.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/08/18/black_boxes_may_solve_crash_mysteries/


Months of warnings preceded jet crash
By Alkman Granitsas in Athens
August 19, 2005
Mourning … Pambos Haralambos, the wife of the co-pilot, holds her son during a funeral for victims.
Photo: Reuters
Fresh revelations about the fate of the doomed Helios Airways flight 522 show that Cypriot authorities issued warnings about the fleet months before the crash that killed all 121 people on board.
One letter from Cypriot aviation authorities to Helios, dated March 17, charged that "there have been no technical and flight checks on the aircraft of the company".

http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/months-of-warnings-preceded-jet-crash/2005/08/18/1123958181943.html


Crash bodies flown back to Spain
The coffins are due to arrive in Spain later on Thursday
The bodies of 17 Spanish soldiers killed in a Puma helicopter crash in Afghanistan are on their way home.
Defence Minister Jose Bono, who visited the scene of the crash, is returning with the bodies on a flight from the western city of Herat.
Investigators say strong winds probably caused the crash.
Some press reports quoting a soldier on board said the helicopters had come under fire, and a Taleban commander said his men shot the helicopter down.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4162508.stm


Poisoning ruled out in Greece plane crash
Greek Justice Minister Anastasios Papaligouras, right, and chief Athens Coroner Fillipos Koutsaftis, left, hold envelopes with the toxicological tests of six people who were aboard the Cyprus Helios Boeing 737-300 that crashed into a mountainside Sunday, killing all 121 people on board, in Athens on Friday, Aug. 19, 2005. Koutsaftis said that toxicological tests on the remains of co-pilot, three flight attendants and two passengers from the crashed Cypriot jetliner showed they were not rendered unconscious by breathing carbon monoxide. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
By Elena Becatoros, Associated Press Writer August 19, 2005
ATHENS, Greece --Carbon monoxide did not knock out some of the passengers and crew of a Cypriot airliner before it crashed in the Greek mountains, coroners said Friday, deepening the mystery as to what caused the disaster that killed all 121 people on board.
Chief Athens coroner Fillipos Koutsaftis said tests were carried out on the remains of the co-pilot, three female flight attendants, an infant and an adult who were on the flight that went down Sunday about 25 miles north of the Greek capital.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2005/08/19/poisoning_ruled_out_in_greece_plane_crash/


Cyprus crash victims had no dangerous carbon monoxide
August 19, 2005
ATHENS (Reuters) - The first toxicological tests on victims of a Cyprus airliner crash showed no dangerous levels of carbon monoxide in their blood, the investigation's chief coroner said on Friday.
The finding would appear to eliminate the possibility that dangerous gases leaking inside the plane incapacitated or killed those aboard.
Coroner Philippos Koutsaftis said of six victims examined, five, including the co-pilot, had no signs of carbon monoxide while a stewardess had a minimum level of 7 percent, which was not considered dangerous.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2005/08/19/cyprus_crash_victims_had_no_dangerous_carbon_monoxide/


Carbon monoxide poisoning ruled out in Cyprus crash
By Brian Williams August 19, 2005
ATHENS (Reuters) - Tests on victims of a Cyprus airliner crash showed no carbon monoxide poisoning on Friday, which appeared to rule out one theory for the disaster.
Investigators hope tests will shed some light on why the pilot, co-pilot and many passengers on the Helios Airways Boeing 737 apparently fell unconscious before the plane crashed near Athens last Sunday killing all six crew and 115 passengers.
One theory for Greece and Cyprus's worst air disaster was faulty air conditioning or a fire releasing poisonous carbon monoxide fumes.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2005/08/19/carbon_monoxide_poisoning_ruled_out_in_cyprus_crash/


Cyprus starts to bury its dead from air tragedy
Charlie Charalambous
AFP
August 17, 2005
TRIBUTE: Relatives and locals pay tribute in front of the tail of a Cyprus Helios airliner at Grammatiko village, northeast of Athens. Autopsies on six victims suggested crew and passengers were unconscious when the Helios Airways Boeing 737 plunged to earth on Sunday killing all 121 on board.
(REUTERS)
NICOSIA -- A grief-stricken Cyprus started to bury the first of its air crash victims Wednesday after a Cypriot plane plunged into a hillside outside Athens killing all 121 on board.
The majority of those on Sunday's doomed Helios Airways flight ZU 522 were Cypriots, making it the worst air disaster to befall the island.
The local press has been full of tragic stories about whole families wiped out and young children left orphaned.
"Today is the first funeral after the tragic events of the crash in Greece," said Health Minister Andreas Gavrielides.

http://www.metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20050817-010257-9579r


Plane crashes in Peruvian jungle
A number of injured have been rescued from the crash site
A passenger plane has crashed in Peru's Amazon jungle, with at least 40 of the 100 people on board known to have died.
The Tans Boeing 737-200 was on an internal flight from the capital, Lima, to the city of Pucallpa when it made an emergency landing during a storm.
At least 50 people are reported to have survived the crash, with many being treated in hospital.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4178868.stm


OA PASSENGER PLANE LANDS SAFELY IN ATHENS
Athens, 24 August 2005 (18:15 UTC+2)
The Olympic Airlines passenger plane on flight OA147 from Athens to Brussels that had reported a mechanical problem concerning its wheels shortly after take off has returned safely to Athens. Already, the plane's passengers are boarding another OA plane to continue their trip to Brussels.
Its captain had requested to be allowed to make an emergency landing and Athens' “Eleftherios Venizelos” International Airport was placed in a state of partial readiness as the incident was not regarded an urgent one.
The Boeing 737-300 aircraft with 124 passengers and a 7-member crew had taken off at 4:20 pm from Athens' “Eleftherios Venizelos” International Airport and a few minutes later its captain reported a problem in one of its wheels.

http://www.mpa.gr/article.html?doc_id=541630


MECHANICAL PROBLEM ON AN OA AIRCRAFT
Athens, 24 August 2005 (17:49 UTC+2)
Mechanical problem was reported by an Olympic Airlines passenger plane on a flight from Athens to Brussels.
The aircraft took off at 4:20 pm from Athens' “Eleftherios Venizelos” International Airport and a few minutes later its captain reported that its wheels would not lock.
The aircraft is headed back to Athens for an emergency landing.
The airport was placed in a state of partial readiness as the situation is not regarded as urgent.

http://www.mpa.gr/article.html?doc_id=541625

Baby 'survives' Peru crash in mother's arms
August 25, 2005 - 10:00AM
A baby survived the crash of a Boeing 737 in the arms of its mother, who died when the plane crashed into the Peruvian jungle, media reports said.
Rescuers found one-year-old Juan Carlos Rengifo crying in the arms of his mother, who was killed when the plane of the Peruvian government airline TANS crashed in a swamp 800 kilometres north of the capital of Lima.
According to survivors, the plane was hit by extreme turbulence and winds from a heavy tropical storm shortly before it was to land for a stopover at the Pucallpa airport on its way from Lima to the Amazon capital of Iquitos.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/baby-survives-peru-crash-in-mothers-arms/2005/08/25/1124562952356.html


There has been chemical plant explosions on a regular basis.

Chemical plant explosions


Parents concerned as children return to classes near BP
Three incidents of the past year are on their minds
By DINA CAPPIELLO
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle
TEXAS CITY - It could have been a typical first day of school. Buses idled at the curb. A crossing guard directed traffic. Parents walked hand-in-hand with children sporting shiny new sneakers and bulging backpacks.
Yet, over their shoulders, at the top of one of BP refinery's many flare towers, a flame flickered.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/ae/music/jump/3311770


Texas City BP America Plant Explosion Kills 15
March 23, 2005, at 1:30 p.m., residents of Texas City, Texas and the surrounding area felt the earth shake as the BP America isomerization unit exploded. The massive explosion killed fifteen and injured over a hundred others. The extent of property damage to businesses and homes in the vicinity has not been fully assessed yet.
The isomerization unit is where the octane of gasoline is raised. According to officials, it took nearly two hours to extinguish the blaze before they could begin tending to the injured. Many of the injured were taken to the University of Texas Medical Center in Galveston, Texas or Mainland Hospital. One critically injured patient was LifeFlighted to Hermann Hospital after first being taken to Mainland Hospital. About 1,800 BP employees work at the 1,500-acre plant in Texas City, an area near Galveston, along with numerous other private contractors.
State and Federal investigators began trying to piece together the cause of the explosion on Thursday, March 24, 2005. The United States Chemical Safety Board will take the lead in this investigation as they have in other chemical plant explosions including the recent explosion at the Marcus Oil Chemical Plant. In representing area residents near the Marcus Oil Chemical Plant, the firm of Houssiere, Durant & Houssiere, LLP, along with their expert witnesses, is experienced in working with the Chemical Safety Board.

BP: Wrong type of pipe caused plant explosion
Blast, fire last week was at same plant where fatal incident occurred
TEXAS CITY, Texas - The installation of the wrong type of pipe spool is believed to have caused last week’s explosion and fire at the same BP plant where 15 people were killed in March, company officials said Monday.
An 8-inch section of heavy steel pipe, located between a compressor and heat exchanger on the Resid Hydrotreater Unit, failed on Thursday. No one was injured during the resulting blast and blaze.
The section failed because workers installed the wrong type of steel pipe spool on the outlet of the heat exchanger, BP spokesman Ronnie Chappell said.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/8796070/


Group wants powerful acid out of BP’s plant

Galveston County Daily News
Sunday 27 March 2005
Group wants powerful acid out of BP’s plant
By Laura Elder
(See original article)
TEXAS CITY — BP’s operations in the United States have the worst safety record in the industry, according to a consumer advocacy group that wants tons of dangerous acid removed from the energy giant’s Texas City refinery.
The Texas Public Interest Research Group, which last year released a report on accidents ranging from small oil spills to explosions at U.S. refineries and chemical plants, is calling for the removal and ban of hydrofluoric acid at the company’s Texas City refinery and other facilities across the nation.
The Austin-based advocacy group, in a 2004 analysis, said BP’s U.S. chemical plants and refineries had more than 3,565 accidents since 1990. That makes the London-based company No. 1 in accidents in the nation, the advocacy group said.
800,000 Pounds
Last week’s explosion at BP’s Texas City oil refinery, which killed 15 people and wounded nearly 100 more, has bolstered the advocacy group’s longtime effort to replace the use of hydrofluoric acid, one of the strongest and most corrosive acids known, with a safer alternative at refineries and plants in Texas. Hydrofluoric acid is used to refine gasoline.
BP officials declined Friday to immediately respond to the advocacy group’s assertions, saying the company’s focus was on families affected by the deadly disaster.
“Our focus needs to stay with the families and the situation,” said Marti Gazzier, a BP spokeswoman.
Following Wednesday’s explosion, the consumer group called for the energy giant to remove 800,000 pounds of hydrofluoric acid from its Texas City refinery.

http://www.fluoridealert.org/pollution/2217.html


Fireworks explosion in Kansas kills two
August 18, 2005
CRESTLINE, Kan. --An explosion killed two people and injured at least four others Thursday at a commercial fireworks storage site, the Kansas Highway Patrol said.
Neighbors said a single loud explosion was followed by several smaller blasts that shook homes in Crestline, a small town in southeast Kansas.
Deputy State Fire Marshal Carl McNorton said the blast at a large facility owned by Jakes Fireworks occurred as workers were handling fireworks stored in large containers and trailers.
Calls seeking comment from Jakes Fireworks headquarters in Pittsburg, about 20 miles away, were not immediately returned.
McNorton said agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms and Tobacco and the Kansas Highway Patrol were at the scene.
Chris Perez said he was working at his home near the entrance to the site when the explosion shook his house. When he reached the scene, he saw a trailer on fire and two men walking away with serious burns.
Jakes Fireworks sells fireworks wholesale in all 50 states and several countries, marketing products under names including World Class Fireworks, Piedmont Fireworks and Fireworks Spectacular, which produces large, public displays throughout the country.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/08/18/fireworks_explosion_in_kansas_kills_two/


Plant explosion rocks Romulus
Chemical fire at waste recovery firm forces evacuations as blaze leaps from tank to tank.
By Oralandar Brand-Williams, George Hunter and Francis X. Donnelly / The Detroit News
ROMULUS -- Hundreds of residents from Romulus and Wayne hoped to return home today after a massive overnight fire at a nearby chemical plant.
The residents spent the night at two high schools and a church hall as authorities waited for the blaze at E.Q. Resource Recovery Inc. to burn itself out.
Michael Woods, 55, of Wayne spent the night with about 30 other evacuees in the lunchroom of Romulus High School, worrying about his wife, who refused to leave their home when officials told them to evacuate.

http://www.detnews.com/2005/metro/0508/10/A01-276524.htm


CHEMICAL PLANT EXPLOSION: No alarm sounded to warn workers
A hissing noise got them to evacuate
August 12, 2005
BY BEN SCHMITT
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
A hissing noise emanating from a huge tank of ammonia and quick thinking among the workers led the employees to flee a Romulus chemical plant just before a series of explosions rocked the facility, setting off a fire and resulting in evacuations of neighborhoods surrounding the plant.
In the first comments from any of the eight people working at EQ Resource Recovery Inc. at the time of the blasts, one of the workers said Thursday no alarm sounded before the explosion Tuesday night as earlier reported.

http://www.freep.com/news/locway/exevac-bar112e_20050812.htm


Federal authorities say soot from chemical explosion poses no hazard
August 16, 2005, 5:17 AM
ROMULUS, Mich. (AP) -- Final tests reveal that there is no danger in the ash and other material that fell on several neighborhoods last week following a chemical plant fire in suburban Detroit, a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency official said.
"There is no health concern to the residents," said Jason El-Zein, chief of response for the Michigan district of the EPA, during a Monday news conference at Romulus City Hall. "They don't need to alter their activity in any way."

http://www.freep.com/news/statewire/sw119901_20050816.htm


OSHA cites PolyCarbon Industries for plant explosion
August 17, 2005
LEOMINSTER, Mass. --Federal authorities have proposed a $3,000 fine for the company where a chemical explosion blew the roof off a small pharmaceutical research lab here.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Polycarbon Industries did not keep the workplace free of fire and explosion hazards, according to OSHA's Aug. 10 "serious violation" citation and notification of penalty.
The March 22 blast left one worker with a minor burn on his hand. Nine nearby homes were evacuated, and there was significant structural damage to the lab. The state ruled on March 28 that the explosion was an accident.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/08/17/osha_cites_polycarbon_industries_for_plant_explosion/


Texas chemical plant explosion injures 4
BY DEBRA DENNIS AND JEFF MOSIER
The Dallas Morning News
FORT WORTH, Texas - (KRT) - A chain of explosions rocked a Fort Worth chemical company Thursday, injuring four people, shaking buildings and prompting the evacuation of some local businesses and schools.
As the fire burned itself out Thursday evening, plans for a large-scale clean up at Valley Solvent & Chemicals were in the works, monitored by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Fort Worth health officials said the risk to residents' health was small, but advised those nearby to stay indoors with windows closed and air conditioners off.

http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/nation/12248824.htm


Chemical plant explosion injures seven in Beijing

http://english.people.com.cn/200501/18/eng20050118_170996.html

Explosion at Illinois gas co. injures 3
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NORTH PEKIN, Ill. -- An explosion and fire at a gas company injured three men Thursday and forced the evacuation of nearby homes and businesses.
"It was loud, and the yellow fireballs - it just went boom, boom, boom," said John House, whose business is located across the street from the company.
It was not immediately clear what started the fire at the Hicksgas company, which sells propane gas and grills.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apus_story.asp?category=1110&slug=Gas%20Company%20Fire

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