This Blog is created to stress the importance of Peace as an environmental directive. “I never give them hell. I just tell the truth and they think it’s hell.” – Harry Truman
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The Secret Service have their hands full. Please take good care of her. The girls at the school were great and she needed the affection as much as the girls did, they sincerely love her. But, its also an opportunity for vulnerability.
She looked great and we enjoyed seeing her so engaged and a wonderful representative for our country. Thank you, Michelle.
Feds looking at three Twisp locals in wolf kill incident (click here) By Joyce Campbell Federal and state agents are continuing an investigation of three members of a prominent Methow Valley family regarding the death of one of the pups from Washington state’s only wild gray wolf pack. Tom White, of Twisp, admitted killing a wolf, and reportedly told agents that his wife, Erin, attempted to ship the pelt to Canada, according to a court affidavit filed by state wildlife officials. Tom’s father, Bill White, was also questioned and gave contradictory answers regarding his alleged complicity in the crimes of killing the pup and an adult wolf, attempted smuggling and other illegal hunting activities. No charges had been filed in the case as of Tuesday (March 31). Agents from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife served a search warrant at the Twisp homes of Tom and Erin White and Bill and Suellen White on Feb. 25... March 30, 2009 4:00 PM Okanogan wolf killing (click here) Stand up for endangered species Editor, The Times: The unconscionable killing of two young gray wolves of the Lookout Pack in the Methow Valley is horrible beyond belief ["Bloody box tips officials to Okanogan wolf killing," Times, page one, March 28]. The greed and insensitivity of humans, who are actually far more dangerous than wolves, is deplorable and must be exposed and opposed. Several conservation groups have been working together in coalition since last summer to educate the public about the importance of wild wolves and other predators in the ecosystems of our state. These include the North Cascades Conservation Council's Wolf Working Group, the Wildlife Coalition of the National Parks Conservation Association, the Cascade Chapter of the Sierra Club, and Conservation Northwest. We have been collecting signatures on a petition to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. We are urging Fish and Wildlife to formulate wolf-conservation policy based on sound science -- not to allow the producers (ranchers and sheep growers) to control the policymaking process....
(click title to entry - thank you)...After May 4, wolves will be protected under state and tribal laws in Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin. Minnesota has about 3,000 wolves while Wisconsin and Michigan each have more than 500. That’s up from fewer than 500 wolves confined to the Superior National Forest in Minnesota in the 1970s....
..."wide-ranging scheme to deprive the people of Illinois of honest government."...
The charges sure have blossomed. But, will they stick? I thought Rod Blagojevich was trying to sell the seat of the former Senator Obama? Now, he is depriving the people of Illinois an honest government? He did this by himself? Oh, no, there are at least a hundred others right?
Not that many? Really?
"...A federal grand jury handed down the 19-count indictment against Blagojevich, his brother, two former aides and two businessmen on Thursday...."
Let's see, the Former Governor, his brother, that makes two and two aides and two business men. That's, ahh. Six. Six people deprived the entire State of Illinois an honest government.
Right.
Well, this is going to be interesting. You know, I don't understand how six people can do all this and not have gotten caught before this. Amazing. I guess when Senator Burris took office and no one could finger him or his son that sort of shot down the 'selling Obama's seat' thing. I will say this, if it were me being indicted I wouldn't be at Disney World. Nope. Won't be my first choice. I doubt Mickey Mouse makes much of a lawyer.
In this Dec. 19, 2008, file photo, then Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich bites his nails as he enters a news conference to make his first substantial public comments since his arrest on federal corruption charges at a news conference in Chicago. Now facing a deadline less than a week away, federal prosecutors are expected to unveil as early as Thursday, April 2, 2009, an indictment charging Blagojevich with presiding over a state government awash in political corruption. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)
House Roll Call: How they voted on a bill to give FDA powers to regulate tobacco products (click here) The Associated Press 9:00 AM PDT, April 2, 2009 The 298-112 roll call Thursday by which the House approved a bill that would for the first time give the government powers to regulate tobacco products.A "yes" vote is a vote to pass the bill. Voting "yes" were 228 Democrats and 70 Republicans. Voting "no" were 8 Democrats and 104 Republicans. X denotes those not voting. There are 3 vacancies in the 435-member House....
Where does ANY industry get any kind of right to do this to the internal organs of a human being? Where does that come from?
Stanford Report, July 27, 2005 That was the message that Bay Area high school student Channing Chang wrote on the back of a flattened cigarette carton. It was one of hundreds of cartons bearing notes--from youths, civic leaders and medical school faculty--to be sent to entertainment industry executives as part of a campaign to limit scenes with cigarette smoking in new movies....
We haven't finished the mess in Iraq, although in my opinion it should have been over on Inauguration Day. Iraq is no threat to the USA and we are not in Iraq as Peacekeepers, nor should we be. We need to leave Iraq, the sooner the better.
Afghanistan? 70,000? You know its the kind of thing where I feel punched in the gut enough over "W"rong headed wars. In 2001, the USA literally waltzed into that country and took over. Now, with so many years of USA focus diverted to Iraq the problem has become one of enormous consequences. Afghanistan today is more complex, it involves Pakistan and we can't afford to 'just leave.' But at the same time, is 70,000 troops enough? Why not go in with 200,000 or more and remove any doubt about the victory. To send in too few is to garantee high levels of USA troop deaths and injury and do the Generals actually want that?
An article from "Military Times" appears somewhere on this blog. In it, Representative Murtha states the USA would need 600,000 troops to be successful in Afghanistan. IS THAT THE TRUTH?
Seriously.
It seems to me that the approach to the Afghan/Paki issue has to be swift and conclusive, however, it should not be conducted without a complete plan, benchmarks and an exit strategy. Does it make sense to 'piece-meal' Afghanistan as was done in Iraq. War and war and war while rebuilding only to have the reconstruction be destroyed? It doesn't make sense to conduct a 'small' war because it feels comfortable for the American people to accept.
When General Shinseki was asked about an Iraq invasion he didn't pussy-foot around. He stated it like it should be and he was right. We cannot afford a long and protracted war where 1000s of our troops die. As an American, I've had enough already. I don't want more troop deaths. If NATO won't commit more troops then we are supposed to twiddle our thumbs and look on while our people die? I don't think so.
It seems to me the country has to have a discussion with their President. President Obama is capable of such a discussion and I don't mean over the net or any of that mess. He is capable of engaging the country in a discussion to the 'conclusion' of Afghanistan. Literally, we hand over that country to The Taliban or we destroy their regime.
In the video below Ismail Kahn gives a candid opinion regarding the Taliban (I don't care if it is Al Jeezera, they can't lie about an interview.) and he states, "They will never accept the current government." I believe him. I don't believe the 'nonsense' of the propaganda of The Taliban. They are harboring bin Laden and Omar for God Sake.
President Obama went into office promising to end the wars. He never bargained for escalating Afghanistan so much as concluding it. Never in our wildest imaginations did the country expect that Afghanistan was so far gone. Bush and his 'intelligence agency' never alluded to the problems, yet alone actually address them. It isn't right that President Obama has to decide to commit the largest contingency of troops in this nation's history to retake Afghanistan without plenty of reassurances that the USA will be the victor AND we will have minimal casualities.
I want to hear from our generals that we are going to invade that country and annhilate al Qaeda without losing soldiers. I want to hear how we are going to settle this once and for all with the head of Bin Laden on a stick. I don't want to hear how we are going to be at war for the next decade, like we were in Vietnam, loss 50,000 soldiers and exit to the lack of sincere understanding of the theater and its need to victory. I want to hear a strategy to succes, NOT a war that will destroy this country even further.
American Generals should be able to assess the battlefield and give us a guaranteed victory. With all the allies coming to our side to faciliate our victory in anyway they can, we should be able to reassure them and our people of the victory that will prevail. This is 2009, not the turn of the century when the calvary still rode horses. I mean al Qaeda has Mopeds. Hello? Give us something here !
PAKISTAN Taliban chief vows to strike White House (click title to entry - thank you) By Ishtiaq Mahsud Associated Press Wednesday, April 01, 2009 Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan —- The commander of the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility Tuesday for a deadly assault on a Pakistani police academy Monday and said the group was planning an attack on the White House that would “amaze” the world. Baitullah Mehsud, who has a $5 million U.S. bounty on his head, said Monday’s attack on the outskirts of the eastern city of Lahore was retaliation for U.S. missile strikes against militants along the Afghan border. “Soon we will launch an attack in Washington that will amaze everyone in the world,” Mehsud said in a phone interview, without providing details....
Taliban suicide bomber kills 50, destroys mosque in Pakistan (click here) By Bill RoggioMarch 27, 2009 9:20 AM A Taliban suicide bomber killed more than 50 worshipers and wounded more than 125 in an attack at a mosque in Pakistan's tribal areas along the border with Pakistan. The bombing is the second mass-casualty suicide attack in Pakistan's insurgency-infested northwest in two days. The death toll is expected to rise, Tariq Hayat Khan, the Political Agent for Khyber said according to a report in The Times of India. "Forty-five to 46 bodies have been retrieved ... up to 70 people could have been killed," Khan said. The attack took place in the Jamrud district in Pakistan's Khyber agency. Khyber is the gateway to Afghanistan; NATO's main supply route for its forces in Afghanistan passes through the tribal agency. The suicide bomber detonated his vest in the middle of a packed mosque just as prayers began. "Police, paramilitary forces, and government officials were among the congregation in the mosque," Geo News reported. The two-story mosque was leveled, the news agency reported....
An Iraqi worker shuts down a pumping tube at the Iraqi Pipelines Company (click here) is Basra(Basra is the port city the USA and Maliki have attempted to kill Shiites 'as part of the problem.) on June 5. Employees there recently went on strike, shutting down two pipelines carrying oil and gas products inside Iraq. In 2003, the union forced Halliburton out of the oil fields, which inspired port workers to oust the Danish shipping company Maersk from the docks. The oil workers’ union also wants U.S. troops to start withdrawing immediately. “I’d rather they withdraw yesterday than today,” Umara says. “I assure you, chaos will not happen, and even if it happened, I’m very sure we can solve our own problems.” - David Moberg
Whatever makes anyone believe Iraq was the first country Halliburton has killed to insure profits? Cheney was CEO. Halliburton has a very dark history. The difference between Nigeria and Iraq is that Cheney was actually able to CON the American people into believing Iraq was a threat. In Iraq, Halliburton didn't have blood on their hands, that's all.
Halliburton was never 'in it' to service the American military in Iraq. That was a past time until they could get into Iran. Halliburton was in Iraq by the SECOND day of the invasion to SECURE the oil fields. Hello? (Click title to entry - thank you) A major US engineering and military contractor has agreed to pay more than $500-million in penalties and fees to settle bribery allegations against one of its subsidiaries that operates in Nigeria.Halliburton Company, which until 2007 controlled the Houston, Texas-based KBR (also known as Kellogg, Brown, and Root), has agreed to pay $382-million of a $402-million fine and $177-million in fees incurred through US federal charges lodged against KBR by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). KBR will pay $20 million. The SEC alleges that KBR disbursed millions of dollars in bribes to Nigerian officials to win contracts for building a $6-billion gas liquefaction plant on Nigeria’s Bonny Island.In 2005, KBR was able to emerge from US Chapter 11 bankruptcy and show profitability as a corporation.In spinning off KBR two years later, Halliburton agreed to cover the contingent liabilities of its former subsidiary.Houston-based Nigerian journalist Chido Nwangwu, who publishes USAfrica Online, says that the liquefaction plant is in some ways detrimental to Nigerian economic gains in that it facilitates and encourages international oil giants to ship Nigerian crude out of the country for refining, which lowers the profit that the Africans can obtain for their valuable resource....
Nigeria: Halliburton Deal - EFCC Quizzes Nigerian Officials (click here) Erasmus Alaneme 2 April 2009 Abuja — Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), yesterday said some of the Nigerian officials named in the Halliburton bribe scam have been quizzed by its operatives even as it awaits the official list from the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Michael Aondoakaa. Chairman of the EFCC, Farida Waziri made this known in Abuja during the opening of the 3rd Anti-Money Laundering/Counter Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Compliance Stakeholders summit in Abuja. This is even as the National Assembly has urged the anti-graft body to make use of Section 7 (1-b) of the 1999 Constitution which permits it to arrest people living beyond their means without any petition. Waziri while answering questions from newsmen immediately after the opening section of the summit, said EFCC had started working on the case and had sent message to the AGF to make the list of those involved as well as the actual judgment against them available to the commission....
Abilene Zoo's Baby Ocelot Cubs (click title to entry - thank you) Reporter-News Staff Report Wednesday, April 1, 2009 The Abilene Zoo announced Wednesday the birth of two ocelot kittens, one male and one female. "Clutch," the male kitten, weighs 2 pounds 1.79 ounces, according to a news release from the zoo. "Jade," the female kitten, weighs 1 pound 15.11 ounces. The two were born Feb. 25. Also known as a painted leopard, an ocelot is a wildcat with an appearance similar to a domestic cat and fur resembling a clouded leopard or jaguar. It can be found in South and Central America and Mexico and has been seen as far north as Texas and in the Caribbean. While the ocelot has sometimes been killed for its fur, it was classified as vulnerable from the 1980s until 1996. Now it is listed endangered in Arizona and Texas, as well as in Central and South America....
Rescued penguins return home (click here) Associated Press - Friday, March 20, 2009 at 1:13 EDT Two rescued penguins being cared for by a Sydney zoo in Australia were released back into the ocean on Friday, but one was a little reluctant to leave his human companions behind
Deadly spider surprise (click here) Associated Press - Friday, March 20, 2009 at 6:42 EDT Employees at an Oklahoma grocery store find a dangerous spider in a shipment of bananas...
2 condors born at San Diego's Wild Animal Park The Associated Press Posted: 04/01/2009 10:11:27 PM PDT SAN DIEGO—Two endangered California condors have been born at the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park over the past several days. The zoo said Wednesday that seven more are expected to hatch in the next few months. Zoo officials say two California condor chicks have hatched since Friday and a third was beginning to emerge Wednesday. Officials say the Wild Animal Park has hatched 150 California condors since breeding of the critically endangered species began 27 years ago. The California condor was near extinction in the 1980s, when the world population of the species hit a low of 22. There are now more than 300 of the giant vultures, more than half of which have been released into the wild. http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_12051809?nclick_check=1
Posted on Thu, Apr. 2, 2009 Another side of the story at the Philadelphia Zoo Animals are kept in cramped, outdated spaces. Marianne Bessey heads the Philadelphia chapter of the League of Humane Voters As the Philadelphia Zoo celebrated its 150-year anniversary recently, dozens of local citizens gathered outside to call attention to long-standing animal-welfare problems and wasteful spending at the zoo. For the most part, the media provided only partial coverage of the day's events, ignoring the other side of the zoo story. Criticizing a childhood tradition such as the zoo is about as popular as a root canal, but it's just as necessary. Questions and calls for change are the only way we move forward. Just a few months ago, the zoo spent $800,000 to import a spanking-new "Rainforest" carousel from the Netherlands, an executive told Fairmount Park commissioners. At the same time, many of the zoo's animal inhabitants remain confined to crumbling, Depression-era enclosures. http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/20090402_Another_side_of_the_story_at_the_Philadelphia_Zoo.html
Joburg zoo strike illegal Gill Gifford April 02 2009 at 10:36AM The Joburg Zoo shut its gates for the day on Wednesday and visitors were turned away with the explanation that there were some internal problems.The closure, it turned out, had not been caused by an escaped lion or some other animal emergency, but by staff embarking on an unrecognised strike.The facility remained closed throughout the day as Joburg Zoo management met with the workers who handed over a memorandum of grievances.A meeting was arranged with union representatives from the Service Animal Monitoring Unit in the afternoon to resolve matters, but, because the strike action had not happened in accordance with procedures, it was declared illegal. http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=594&art_id=vn20090402055815804C877882
Two-nosed rabbit found in Connecticut pet store 3:25 PM, April 1, 2009 Unsuspecting Milford, Conn., pet store employee Allison Noe made a strange discovery when receiving a delivery of 6-week-old dwarf rabbits last week. One of the rabbits had two noses. The baby, according to Purr-Fect Pets store owner Tom Fomenko Sr., can eat, drink and hop about just the same as its littermates. "In my 25 years in the pet shop business, I've never had anything like this," Fomenko told the Connecticut Post. Staff at Purr-Fect Pets are holding a naming contest for the rabbit (among the nominees are "Cyrano de Bergerac" and "Deuce"). But some employees say they've grown attached and hope he won't be sold. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/unleashed/2009/04/twonosed-rabbit-found-in-connecticut-pet-store.html
Lions to be welcomed with gift at Detroit Zoo By Bill Laitner Free Press staff writer April 1, 2009 Three rescued lions are due to arrive at their new home at the Detroit Zoo late tonight or Thursday, and zoo spokeswoman Patricia Janeway said they’ll be greeted by a gift basket sent by the organization that alerted authorities in Kansas to their maltreatment there. The gift basket includes “spices that lions really like,” Janeway said today. Officials of PETA — the nonprofit People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals — assembled the gift basket of “very, very heavy rubber balls,” a package of spices that are especially prized by leonine palates, and a full pound of catnip, said PETA spokeswoman Lisa Wathne, the captive exotic animals specialist with the group’s Seattle office…. http://www.freep.com/article/20090401/NEWS03/90401158/1005/NEWS/Lions+to+be+welcomed+with+gift+at+Detroit+Zoo
The original Press Release Every year, Zoos across the world, including Iowa’s Blank Park Zoo receive hundreds of April Fool’s Day prank phone calls from unsuspecting callers. These callers are given a message from a co-worker asking them to return a call to Mr. C. Lyon, Ms. Anna Conda, Mr. Albert Ross, Mr. Don Key and others at the Zoo’s phone number. Blank Park Zoo's April Fools Prank Phone Call Line A Huge Success By Ryan Bickel Des Moines, IA - The Blank Park Zoo’s April Fools’ hotline proved to be popular after media outlets as far away as California, New York and even Canada reported the April Fools’ Day prank. While the bulk of the calls were taken by the hotline numbers, many calls still came in the main zoo switchboard. “It’s amazing how many people called to talk to Mr. C. Lyon didn’t want to believe it was all a joke, said Anna Hudson, a Development Coordinator at the Zoo. The Zoo’s phone system provider, A+ Communications and Security, estimates that over 30,000 attempts have been made to call the numbers today. Despite all the phone call attempts, the phone system has kept up well, with the average wait time being about one minute. The public is encouraged to listen to the phone messages at the Zoo’s website, www.blankparkzoo.com. http://www.zandavisitor.com/newsarticle-1172-
Attorney cites retaliation in zoo firings By Doug Myers (Contact)Wednesday, April 1, 2009 Two Abilene Zoo employees were wrongfully terminated after expressing concern about zoo operations to representatives of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, their lawyer said Wednesday. Donald MacPhail, attorney for former zoo curator Diane Longenecker and former reptile aquatics supervisor Larry Lemon, said Zoo Director Bill Baker used "false pretenses" in dismissing the two. However, City Manager Larry Gilley said no one has lost a job over the zoo's accreditation. The AZA tabled the zoo's accreditation for 12 months so that the zoo can fix problems cited by the AZA…. http://www.reporternews.com/news/2009/apr/01/attorney-cites-retaliation-in-zoo-firings/
I baited jaguar trap, research worker says (video) Attorney general opens investigation into capture Biologist denies telling worker to use scat to lure cat State claimed Macho B's capture was inadvertent By Tony Davis and Tim Steller Arizona Daily Star Tucson, Arizona Published: 04.02.2009 A trap the state says inadvertently snared the last known wild jaguar in the United States actually was baited with female jaguar scat, a member of the Borderlands Jaguar Detection Project says. Janay Brun told the Star that on Feb. 4 she put the scat at the site of the trap that two weeks later snared the male jaguar, known as Macho B. He was released but recaptured 12 days later, on March 2, because he showed signs of poor health. He was euthanized that afternoon…. … The borderlands jaguar project obtained female jaguar scat from the Phoenix Zoo in November and December of last year and from the Reid Park Zoo on Feb. 18 of this year, officials of both zoos told the Star this week. They said they understood the scat would be used to attract jaguars to cameras, not snares. On Dec. 10 of last year, in an e-mail exchange forwarded by Brun, McCain sent her an e-mail saying he "just got a package of female … jag scat. Am thinking about placing it under a certain tree. You concur?" "Si," Brun replied in an e-mail nearly an hour later. Brun, of Arivaca, is out of state taking care of a family matter. But she said by phone and e-mail that she is speaking up because of the guilt she feels over the death of Macho B, whom she had been studying since she accidentally saw him in 1999. "I felt guilty as all hell that I never questioned Emil enough, that I didn't go back and set the snares off or do something to get them out of there," said Brun, who has been a paid, part-time field technician for the jaguar detection project…. http://www.azstarnet.com/news/287095
Crew keeps close eye on newest member of zoo family An Asian elephant was born last week -- only the ninth such pachyderm born in a North American zoo in the last five years. By GARTH BISHOP Published: Thursday, April 2, 2009 9:46 AM EDT It's a healthy, 300-plus-pound baby boy.The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium welcomed the newest member of its family -- a newborn Asian elephant -- at 2:35 p.m. Friday, March 27.The elephant, which has yet to be named, is the son of 21-year-old Phoebe and 38-year-old Coco.The mother had been under close watch for several weeks. The average gestation period for an Asian elephant is 659 days, and the new calf was born after 655.
An official of the Malawian government has backed Madonna's bid to adopt a second child from the African country. The singer is due to return to court on Friday to learn if she can adopt four-year-old Chifundo James. "Madonna has been good to us," Information Minister Patricia Kaliati told news agency Reuters. "Very few rich and famous people can take time to fly all the way to Malawi to support our children. We support her adoption process." "[Madonna] is supporting over 25,000 orphans in this country and she has proved that she can take care of David," she added. Madonna has said it is "amazing" to be back in the country where she adopted David Banda in 2006....
Orissa has a history of religious bigotry. I am sure there was someone being punished for something with the tornado.
Christians cower from Hindu backlash in Orissa (click here) Wed Sep 3, 2008 10:55am IST By Krittivas Mukherjee TIKABALI, India (Reuters) - On a starry night last week, as Lal Mohan Digal prepared to go to bed, a mob of raging, machete-wielding Hindu zealots appeared above the hills of his mud house and swarmed over this bucolic hamlet in Orissa.... State of Orissa
Orissa tornado: five minutes of destruction (click here) Rajkanika (PTI): Concrete roofs ripped off and thrown at a distance, so also a tractor and dozens of houses razed to the ground; all in a matter of five minutes. A walk through the three km, devastated by a tornado in Rajkanika block of Kendrapara district yesterday afternoon, looked as if it had been bombed, a PTI correspondent visiting the area saw. The tornado, which had taken a toll of 10 lives and injured over 250 persons in 11 villages, cut a 200 metre swathe for a distance of nearly 3 km, destroying everything in its path. In Ganja village with about 500 houses, one of the worst hit, concrete roofs were ripped off and flung at a distance of 25 to 30 feet, while there were no trace of thatched houses. But incredibly enough, villages located hardly 200 metres away, remained untouched. "I was standing outside my house when it suddenly became very dark and a strong wind started blowing. I could see a huge column of black cloud spiralling towards me about 2 km away," Ashok Panda, a resident of Baghabuda village, said. As the funnel shaped monster sped towards the villages, it started to rain accompanied by hailstorm. "It looked like the trunk of an elephant touching the ground advancing our village at high speed. I rushed inside and could see through the window a tractor coming to the village lifted up to a height of about 20 feet," he recalled. The tractor crashed killing its driver Bishnu Charan Nayak. Panda said "I saw bullock carts and roofs flying in the air. But my house, which was only a few feet away, escaped the whirlwind."...
March 29, 2009 York, Pennsylvania Photographer states :: The skies went green before an onslaught of hail and wind... After surveying all the damage trees were knocked down in all different directions... Springettsbury Township York Pa More Storm pics and damage can be found here... http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevenmaciejewski/sets/72157616107315208/ Enjoy!!!
Posted on Mon, Mar. 30, 2009 Possible tornadoes, huge hail, high winds wreak havoc (click here) By Peter Mucha Inquirer Staff Writer Severe thunderstorms yesterday brought reports of possible tornadoes, hailstones bigger than golf balls and 50 m.p.h. gusts to parts of southern and eastern Pennsylvania. A trailer home overturned, crushing a car, and five other trailer homes were destroyed in Lancaster County's Clay Township yesterday afternoon. Three people suffered minor injuries, said a county official. In nearby Denver, Pa., "numerous roofs were blown off houses," according to a National Weather Service report. A funnel cloud may have touched down, becoming a tornado, and a determination could come today after officials of the National Weather Service and county emergency management agency survey the damage and interview observers. Funnel clouds were spotted between 4 and 4:30 p.m. by trained observers in York County, the county west of Lancaster. Trees fell on houses in York, Pa., and poles and wires were down. In Montgomery Township, Montgomery County, more than 20 homes in the Wethersfield and Summer Ridge developments suffered damage to siding, windows and roofs, according to the weather service. Reports of golf-ball-size hail came in not only from Lancaster and Lebanon yesterday afternoon, but also during the early evening from Media, Delaware County; Northeast Philadelphia; and Ancient Oaks, Lehigh County. One-inch hail even hit parts of South Jersey, from Mount Holly, Burlington County, to Hammonton, Atlantic County. Gusts neared 50 m.p.h. at Northeast Airport and topped that mark in Reading. For the latest forecast, go to http://go.philly.com/weather.
March 29, 2009 Upper Darby, Pennsylvania Photographer states :: Early Sunday evening on March 29t, a brief, but fierce hail storm flew through the area. These were taken on Long Lane by Lewis Ave. in Upper Darby.
March 27, 2009 Conroe, Texas Photographer stated :: the storms that came through dropping hail on austin were worse, but when golfballs are flying from the air it tends to makes the kids scared.
By JOHN AUSTIN jaustin@star-telegram.com FORT WORTH — Pingpong-ball-size hail smashed about 400 new and used vehicles at Allen Samuels Chrysler Dodge Jeep Alliance on Interstate 35 in north Fort Worth on Monday night, and large hail whacked Keller, Grapevine and Wise County as well. "Every car on the lot was damaged to some degree or other," said Wes Harrison, Samuels’ president and general manager. "It was pretty severe. We had windshields knocked out." Harrison added that the damaged cars will sold at a "a pretty good discount." Harrison wasn’t expecting insurance adjustors until today but said the price tag for the damage could be "close to a million [dollars]." Tara Dudzik, meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Fort Worth, said the severe thunderstorms dropped quarter-size hail on Denton and golf-ball-size hail on Keller, Grapevine and parts of Wise County. "It was kind of all over the place," Dudzik said....
Keller, Texas March 30, 2009 Photographer states :: Golf ball to baseball-sized hail hits Tarrant County in Texas.
