John Bolton's Replacement: John Kerry

President Bush is pushing to get John Bolton Confirmed as the US Ambassador to the UN before the Democrats take control of Congress and kill his nomination. I am not sure of his chances of getting confirmed now, but the Democrats have basically said that they will not let him pass once they are calling the shots:

Democratic Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware, the expected chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in a Democrat-led Senate, said on Wednesday he thought Bolton's nomination was "going nowhere."

"I never saw a real enthusiasm on the Republican side to begin with. There's none on our side," Biden said. Reuters

Redstate has the following comments:

Prior to the election Bolton had begun to draw praise from some of his past detractors, seemingly winning them over. This includes the alleged “unenthusiastic” Republicans.

Mr. Bush will now attempt to get Bolton confirmed before the new Congress begins. Look for some ignominious delay from committee Democrats to stall Bolton’s nomination until next session. Perhaps even some political horse trading from the few “moderates” that will be around in January. - Redstate

Bolton has been doing a great job at the UN (when you comment otherwise, please include facts!) so there might be enough to get him nominated now. At least the 'thumping' the Republicans got might encourage them to leave one last parting present for the Dems before they hanover the keys. However there is always the possibility that the bipartisanship really means once they have control bipartisanship. Which in the way that DC works is fine. It's their right.

So who should President Bush consider nominating next? Maybe nobody. Not for anything, but we have not been getting anything useful out of the UN so perhaps we see how leaving the seat empty for a while works. Would that leave Bolton to continue on until someone is confirmed to take his seat? Not sure, but lets assume that the President must appoint someone. Why not John Kerry? He has long proclaimed about his good relationship with foreign leaders. I would think that being America's Ambassador to the UN would be a perfect position for him. Of course he would have to give up his Senate seat, but he really doesn't need that any longer as his Presidential aspirations died when he failed to beat George Bush. sure the seat will go to another Democrat, but who cares. If Kerry is not interested, then Bush should work his way through the Dem ranks in the spirit of bipartisanship. They have critized Bolton being at the UN, surely they can do better. But first, one of them needs to step forward for the job.

Hopefully, Bolton will be confirmed, leaving this whole post as an excercise in theory.

Bush makes push for approval of UN envoy Bolton - Reuters
Democrats to Oppose Bolton - Redstate

.

Hamas Declares War on US

It seems that the mainstream media,MSM, missed this little piece of news while covering the Democrats victory in the recent elections.

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - Hamas' military wing called Wednesday on Muslims around the world to attack American targets following reports that an Israeli tank strike killed 18 people in the Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun. The Hamas-led Palestinian government distanced itself from the call, saying its fight was with Israel. Hamas terrorists have historically directed their suicide bombings and rocket attacks only against Israeli targets.

"America is offering political, financial and logistic cover for the Zionist occupation crimes, and it is responsible for the Beit Hanoun massacre. Therefore, the people and the nation all over the globe are required to teach the American enemy tough lessons," Hamas' military wing said in a statement sent to The Associated Press.

But Ghazi Hamad, spokesman for the Hamas-led Palestinian government, said the group had no intention of attacking American targets. - NY Sun

Notice how they are trying to differentiate between the Hamas Government and the Hamas Military wing. This is like the Pentagon declaring war on North Korea and the White House 'distancing itself' from the statement. It might work that way when you are a terrorist group, but it does not work that way when your also the Government.

But who is really in charge here?

Hamas' political wing, led by Prime Minister Haniyeh, tries to distinguish itself from the military wing. But the two entities both report to the group's exiled leadership, based in Syria, and frequently coordinate with each other. - NY Sun

In other words the call to attack American targets around the world was approved by the Hamas leadership in Syria and both the Hamas Government and the Hamas military wing have the same bosses.

The whole point of having any distinction at all is to provide some sort of plausible deniability to their terrorist actions as well as permit some of the group to operate in the open, in support of the terrorist wing, of course.

At the end of the day, I read the statement by Hamas above as a declaration of war. I am not sure why they would do that as they have things 'relatively good' at the moment with the US limiting action against them to finantial sanctions. I am not sure they want to really get the US's attention. After all, there is available cell space in Gitmo and the US can target them with air strikes as well.

Previouse posts about Hamas:
Be Careful What You Ask For: HAMAS - 28 January 06
Be Careful What You Ask For: HAMAS UPDATE - 11 July 06
HAMAS: Child Abuse - 19 July 06
Hamas: Child Abuse - Staged? - 26 July 06
Signs that Allah (God) is not on Your Side: - 28 July 05

Hamas

Election Day 2006 Update (Updated Post Election)

Just got back from Voting in McLean, VA. Over 600 people have voted in the first half of the alphabet (last names) and the line for the second half of the alphabet was much bigger. With this being Northern Virginia, I am not sure if that is good or bad, but I will take it as a good sign.

I waited ten minutes in line to vote. There were at least six machines and they were electric touch screens. Once my turn was up I had my two-year old daughter work the machine without any problems.

There was still a steady stream of voters as we left just before 6. There is just an hour left of voting.

I still feel confident to stand by my earlier prediction that the Republicans will retain both houses of Congress, and that the will be a general meltdown within the Democrat Party. Lets see what happens. It should be interesting. Time to pop the corn and pop open the sparkling wine.

POST ELECTION UPDATE:

Seems that my prediction was a little off. No matter, it's all good. I look forward to the Democrats explain just what their new direction is.

Pelosi, Murtha, Conyers, Rangel and 'Freezer' Jefferson (yes, he won too) will provide no end of amusing material to blog about.

God help us if the terrorists attack us again. Strange that the areas most likely to be attacked by terrorists are those who voted Democrat. Isn't that ironic.

As for the Republicans. Time for you guys to clean out the dead wood. It should not be hard to find good people to run against some of these Democrats.

CNN finds two Lamont Voters in Connecticut

By all accounts Senator Lieberman will retain his Senate seat, being elected as an Independent over millionaire Democrat Ned Lamont. But somehow CNN managed to find not one, but two people who declared that they voted for 'Ned' today:

Unsurprisingly, the chairmen of the Democratic and Republican parties talked optimistically as voters went to the polls Tuesday. "I believe we're going to defy the experts and maintain our majority in the House and the Senate," GOP Chairman Ken Mehlman said on CBS's "The Early Show."

Countered Howard Dean, his Democratic opposite number: "If you want change, we can give you change." That's just what 60-year-old Ron Bowman, a Democrat from Windsor, Connecticut, had on his mind when he went out to vote first thing Tuesday.

"It was a chance for a change," he said, after casting his ballot for Democratic senatorial candidate Ned Lamont over incumbent Sen. Joe Lieberman, running as an
independent.

Another voter who echoed Bowman's sentiment, Shirley Swanson of Windsor, said that she, too, voted for Lamont. "He's not Lieberman. Joe isn't listening to us," she said. - CNN

I just wonder how many voters the reporter had to interview in Windsor, Connecticut to find these two? At least now Connecticut Democrat voters are giving 'Joe' a reason not to listen to them. They better hope that they don't need to count on his seat to take over the Senate.

Election Day 2006

Finally, one last day of electioneering before all hell breaks loose on Wednesday when the Democrat leadership has to explain to those that they sold a victory to just how they failed to pick up either house of Congress despite an 'unpopular' President and Republican Congress.

Either way, it's over as of Wednesday, until they start the race for President.

I will leave you with this piece of propaganda from a favorite store of mine, Patagonia:

Don't forget to vote on November 7

What does your vote on November 7th mean? It could mean the difference between a protected Arctic for those that depend on it, or a Refuge opened to an oil industry that could gain from it. It could mean new protections for ocean ecosystems, or more pollution and overfishing. Your vote could keep your favorite stretch of river, backcountry climbing crag or secret camping spot just as you love it today, or make them vulnerable to logging, drilling and other destructive activities. Our world stands on a tipping point. Decisions made today about renewable energy, ocean protection, public lands and more will determine the future health of our planet and significantly affect the wild places we play in and the sports we love. Next Tuesday, your vote will decide which path we follow. Nearly 130 critical Governor, Senate and House of Representatives seats, not to mention countless state and local races, hang in the balance. Each one will help chart our future course. Be sure to know your candidates' environmental voting records before going to the polls, and then get out and Vote the Environment next Tuesday, November 7th. Learn about your candidates' environmental records 'Nuff said. Photo: Amy Kumler

I can't really say that Republicans are worse for the environment than Democrats. It is kind of like being at the grocery store and the clerk asks "Paper or plastic?" What kind of choice is that? I can either kill a tree or damage the environment. Lets not give President Bush any credit either. He created the world's largest marine reserves off the Hawaii Islands.

Establishing the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands as a strictly protected marine reserve, which Bush is slated to announce this afternoon, could prove to be the administration's most enduring environmental legacy. The roughly 100-mile-wide area encompasses a string of uninhabited islands that support more than 7,000 marine species, at least a fourth of which are found nowhere else on Earth.

The islands include almost 70 percent of the nation's tropical, shallow-water coral reefs, a rookery for 14 million seabirds, and the last refuge for the endangered Hawaiian monk seal and the threatened green sea turtle. The area also has an abundance of large predatory fish at a time when 90 percent of such species have disappeared from the world's oceans. - Slate

Both parties do both good and bad for the environment. Members of both parties have been busted for driving to and from Eco events in SUVs only to hop into a hybrid just around the corner from the events. Many of them are too lazy to walk short distances instead opting to burn more gas. Unfortunately, there is little talk on actually making our use of energy more efficient, which is the best, easiest way to reduce our need for foreign oil.

Then there are the terrorists that the Republicans are fighting. I bet that suicide bombers are bad for the environment. So the republicans are helping in that way as well.

Back to the article above. The worst part is the photo. Their bias is showing. I am not outraged. I am paying attention, but I take it that I am not paying attention the way they want me to. So thanks Patagonia for calling me a stupid dumbass and environment killer. Thanks much. I feel so good about buying your products. I wonder how many more conservatives who got your message and feel the same way I do. Did you get any feedback? I bet you did and I bet others were not as considerate as I am here.

The real shame here is that Patagonia puts out these great catalogs with wonderful pictures of nature. They could have gone positive and used one of them. Instead they took a protest picture and went negative. That's too bad.

I will leave you with a picture of a downy woodpecker that I took last week while bird watching. See, conservatives can appreciate nature too!

P.S.

REMEMBER TO VOTE!

Maritime Monday 32

Welcome to Maritime Monday 32!

Please submit articles for inclusion in next week' edition using the following submit form at Blog Carnival. You are also welcome to email photos for inclusion in future editions. I know there's a boatload of interesting photos out there!

This Weeks Photos:

The Swedish-Flag RORO FINNBIRCH was one of a number of vessels to go to the bottom around the world this week. This sinking took the lives of two seamen, one from Sweden and the other from the Philippines. This sinking appears to be weather-related. Accidents do happen and when they happen at sea people get hurt and die.

Last moments of the FINNBIRCH


FINNBIRCH during better times
This Weeks Items:

Wikipedia has a summary of the life of the RORO vessel FINNBIRCH which sank last week in a storm.

EagleSpeak has coverage of the dramatic decline in pirate attacks, except in Bangladesh. Also covered: "U.S. Navy captured Somali pirates get jail time instead of death."

Think sailors are rough. DieselDuck at The Monitor provides a shocking example of how rough it can be on a fishing vessel:

As the subject of a bet on whether sharks would attack him, Paulo Romero Cedeno was stripped naked, washed in fish blood and thrown into the ocean. There in the dark water, in the black of night, the young man heard the crew of the fishing vessel laughing at him. Then the captain snapped on a light and, after a few moments, dragged him aboard. He was later beaten by crew members who'd lost money betting he would die. - The Monitor

Go read the whole thing. (I would have bet that he would have lived but I would not end up on a ship that treats it's crew like bait.)

The BBC has news of the International Community delivering a letter of protest to Iceland over its resumption of commercial whaling. (Which will take nowhere near the number of whales that Japan takes for 'scientific' purposes like the 35 whales recently caught by Japan.)

Taipei Times covers the Governments pressure on their Coast Guard to stand up to Japan.

The Seattle Times has the story of the coming end of fish as food due to overfishing within the next 50 years.

A Lady's Ruminations covers the stowaway incident in Port Elizabeth, New Jersey, resulting in one dead from jumping overboard to avoid capture. (That he managed as his body has yet to be found.)

Sailors, Mariners & Warriors League has news of the hijacking of the UAE-Flagged M/V FISHANA off the coast of Somalia.

The Vancouver Sun covers the suspension of two former crewmembers of the ferry QUEEN OF THE NORTH after they refused to be interviewed about the vessel's sinking.

Chaotic Synaptic Activity has a Sea Story involving conservation of fresh water aboard.

Marine Log has news and images of the approval of a new type of CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) Carrier that stores the gas inside huge coils of small diameter steel pipe. Interesting concept. It's call the Sea NG Design.

EcoGeek has coverage of the shark's fin design Generating electricity from wave power.

Not bad for a Cubicle explains the problems of calculating the insurance risk in relation to rogue waves.

The Stupid Shall Be Punished remembers the Soviet sub running aground while spying in Swedish waters 25 years ago.

Neptunus Lex discusses the naming of vessels, namely aircraft carriers. Seems that Congress is not too keen on naming the new series of carriers the AMERICA class instead suggesting that they be named after President Ford. (America's first carrier was named the AMERICA.)

Do you know what was the worst maritime disaster in history? One might be the sinking of the German passenger ship WILHELM GUSTLOFF during WWII. The vessel's website calls it the "the greatest unknown single disaster in modern history" with between 7 and 10 thousand lives lost. (TITANIC has about 1500 victims.)

Marex Newsletter has news of China ordering four VLCCs (Very Large Crude Carriers).

In the Merchant Navy has a list of different types of fog.

Posters on the Cruise Critic message board discuss some questionable behavior of a group of 500 gay men ('Bears') who sailed on RCCL's MARINER OF THE SEAS which according to some posters including the filming of gay porn. If that's not enough for you, then check out the comments about hundreds of 'swingers' who shared Carnival Cruise's INSPIRATION with about 1,000 other passengers. (Just in case you ned yet another reason not to take a cruise.)

Haight's Maritime Items has:

Indefinitely moored vessel not subject of admiralty jurisdiction - In an unpublished opinion, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that an indefinitely moored gaming vessel is not a vessel for purposes of general maritime law and not subject to the admiralty jurisdiction of federal courts. In the instant case, the gaming vessel was afloat, but had not moved since arriving at its Lakes Charles mooring in 2001. The owners had no intention of moving the vessel. Plaintiff alleged personal injury from a slip-and-fall on carpeting outside the elevator. The court held that there was no jurisdiction to hear the case in admiralty. De La Rosa v. St. Charles Gaming Company, Inc., No. 05-41563 (5th Cir., October 31, 2006).

Lloyd's List has:

‘Unrealistic’ crew demands lead to stress and fatigue - CASUAL labour arrangements for seafarers and unrealistic demands for fast port turnrounds combine to subject a majority of the world’s seafarers to high levels of stress and fatigue, the Nautical Institute president has complained.

Speaking at a joint meeting of the Solent Branch of the NI and the Royal Institute of Navigation, serving shipmaster Captain Nicholas Cooper said that ruthless cost-cutting, commercial pressure and a tenfold increase in legislation and administration have eroded the possibility of rest and recreation and greatly increased the pressure on seafarers. The Nautical Institute president also suggested that the stress levels and fatigue are also added to by unsympathetic shore authorities, such as customs, immigration and port state inspectors in many parts of the world. These officials he accused of being “arrogant, over-zealous and aggressive”, treating those aboard ships “with suspicion and even contempt.” In such circumstances, he said, it is easy to see why morale aboard so many ships is “at rock bottom”.

Masters in particular, in so many companies, said Captain Cooper, feel that despite all the legislation apparently deferring to the master’s authority, they work under constant fear of dismissal if they are late on schedule, because of fog or heavy weather, or they record hours of rest violations which could put them under the scrutiny of port state control. The majority of masters, he points out, can be put in an impossible situation, being told by owners to manage their time more efficiently, if they wish to go to anchor to catch up on rest. The owners, who have instructed the master to comply with STCW procedures are “off the hook” and can blame the master for any subsequent problems. The NI president accuses owners, operators, charterers, managers and terminals of putting unrealistic pressures on ships. He also foresees little improvement in the seafarer’s lot over fatigue and stress problems as long as casual labour arrangements prevail in so much of the world’s shipping. - (Michael Grey)

Fairplay Daily News has:

Germans show short-sea frustration - HAMBURG 02 November – German port and terminal managers are frustrated at how slowly shippers and shipping lines are committing to the EU's ‘motorways of the sea’ programme. Speaking at the annual press conference of the Association of German port companies in Hamburg, Heinrich Ahlers, managing director of short-sea terminal operator Rhenus Midgard, said the company has not yet received any additional business from the EU initiative. Ulrich Bauermeister, head of port development in Rostock, echoed this view. “Traditional short-sea services, for example between the continent and the UK, have exhibited fantastic growth rates. But we have not witnessed any meaningful action on motorways of the sea projects towards Spain or the Mediterranean, as envisaged by the programme,” he explained. Ahlers highlighted two major obstacles. First of all, exporters of white goods and similar consumer products are very reluctant to shift from road to sea, he said, because they regard ship transit times as insufficient compared with land transport. Secondly, there is a lack of fast modern ro/ro vessels suited for the motorways of the sea. These tend to be rather high-spec and expensive, Ahlers said. - Fairplay

German Coast Guard Video:
Enjoy this short video of the German Coast Guard.




Finally:

We have all heard what Senator Kerry thinks about those who choose to serve in the US Military. I can image how lowly he regards those who choose to sail in the US Merchant Marine. Keep that in mind, with the fact that all the major US Maritime unions endorsed him for President in 2004.

Sponsorship:
Send me an email (address in the sidebar) if you would like to sponsor an edition of Maritime Monday. I accept money and gear.

Message From IT: Please Archive your 6.8 Gigs of Email

I have been fingered as the number one email abuser in a company of over 100 employees. Over 97,000 message items taking up over 6.8 gigabytes of the email server's storage space. The messages go back to the latter part of 2003 when I changed departments. At the time I archived almost 800 megabytes of email related to my old position.

I have put off archiving until now because it is not possible to search the archived messages remotely. That can be a problem since I often deal with issues that have been unraveling over the course of a couple of years. It is not a problem when I am in the office, but can be a huge inconvenience when I am out traveling.

Just remember, the email that you delete is the email that you will need later on. Of course it can also be the email that prosecutors will use to send you to jail, but only if your doing something illegal.

One lesson learned in all of this is that outlook does not let you cap mailboxes that are already over 2 gigs in size.

I hate emails. Worse yet, the replies sent out to clients addressing their problems are not even read by those sending the original messages. This must be one of the rings of hell.

German Army NOT Using the Nazi Afrika Corps Symbol.

It is in the news that soldiers of the German Army are digging up old Nazi Symbols.

An inquiry has been launched following claims that German soldiers preparing for a tour of duty in Afghanistan displayed a Nazi-era emblem on an official vehicle. Today's edition of the magazine Stern contains a picture which allegedly shows the car with a palm tree and iron cross on it being used at a holding camp in Oman five years ago. Its believed to be a clear reference to an emblem used by the "Afrika Corps" during the Second World War, under the command of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. - EuroNews

Here is the photo:

Now here is the old Nazi Afrika Corps Symbol.

Sure, if you really want to stretch your imagination, then just possibly it might be the same Nazi symbol. However, I just don't see it. And did you catch that, the photo is five years old! (It might be that the Afrika Corps logo was the inspiration for the new logo, but militaries are steeped in tradition, and you can bet that some Nazi traditions can still be found in their modern military with some other traditions pre-dating the Nazi Period. Anyway, if you don't look back, then you can never learn from your mistakes.)

I bet however that their are symbols all over Germany that can be connected in some way back to the Nazi past. Take Lufthansa (or Volkswagen for that matter.) They were around, or created by the Nazis. However, they were completely rebuilt as new entities after the war. So this news is more propaganda, surely put out by those in Germany who are against German Forces in Afghanistan, nothing more.

Solving the Northern Cyprus Problem

The EU did a very foolish thing by admitting the Greek Cypriot part of Cyprus prior to any resolution being sorted out over the problem of a split Cyprus. The EU itself had a difficult position in that Greece was already a member of the EU and was planning to stop the accession of other new members if the rest of the EU delayed the entry of Cyprus. Now the EU has two member states that are biased in the matter, one of which is part of the problem at hand, and the other played a part in a coup attempt that resulted in Turkish troops sitting on a third of the island to this day.

Complicating the matter is that the EU has been negotiating with Turkey of the possibility of their entry into the EU. Turkey has been pressured on a number of points, such as the death penalty, recognition of the Greek-Cypriot side, and dropping a ban of Cypriot ships from calling on Turkish ports all under the threat of not being permitted to join the EU if they don't agree to the EU's demands.

So how does one solve the issue of a separated Cyprus?

Kofi Annan and the United Nations tried in 2004 with a unification referendum. The Turkish side approved the plan while the Greek half rejected it. There are many reasons listed here why the Greeks had a problem with the plan, but I think the main reason was just to F-over the Turkish half of the island. This would explain why Greek-Cypriots voted down the agreement, with enthusiasm.

So what is the path forward now? Finland is currently trying to move the issue forward while they have the EU Presidency, so far without much luck, despite threatening Turkey that failure to address the issue will effect it's own talks on membership. (Funny, it did not effect Cyprus's membership.)

One way forward would be for Turkish Cypriots to demand their rights as part of the EU community. As they were also brought into the EU.

In light of Protocol 10 of the Accession Treaty 2003 Cyprus as a whole entered the EU, whereas the acquis is suspended in the northern part of the island (“areas not under effective control of the Government of the Republic of Cyprus”). This means inter alia that these areas are outside the customs and fiscal territory of the EU. The suspension has territorial effect, but does not concern the personal rights of Turkish Cypriots as EU citizens, as they are considered as citizens of the Member State Republic of Cyprus. - European Union

In effect, Turkish Cypriots are member of the European Union. I wonder if they know that? Of course to travel like an EU Citizen, they will have to obtain a passport from the Greek Cypriot Government. Something tells me that that is not a very likely option at the moment. Then again, they could probably lodge some interesting lawsuits within the EU about the Cypriot Government denying them the right of free passage. If the EU made the Turkish Cypriots Cisizens of the Greek Cypriot side, then perhaps they should excercise that right.

There is one option that is not being discussed.
Why doesn't Turkey just annex the Turkish part of Cyprus? In effect they already have. No other country has relations with 'Northern Cyprus.' All trade links end in Turkey. The Turkish Government fully supports that half of the island economically. The currency is the Turkish Lira. In effect, it is already a part of Turkey. It's certainly not part of the Greek half of the island.

So why continue the charade and just declare it part of Turkey.

Sure, there are all sorts of issues and viewpoints and I have oversimplified the complete issue at hand. I also failed to mention the large numbers of Greek and Turkish Cypriots killed by the other side and 'stolen lands' which surely complicate the issue in it's own right. But lets face it, this happened years ago and equally bad things have happened all over Europe with them managing to resolve the problems and move forward. This is something that cannot be undone leaving us the only possibility of moving forward from the point we are at now. If the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is not a country, then efforts should be to either unify it back with the rest of the island, or simply let Turkey annex the territory.

Turkish Cypriot - EUROPA

Helsingin Sanomat's Coverage of Finland's EU Presidency's attempt to resolve the Cyprus issue.

Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus - Wikipedia

Maritime Monday 31

Welcome to the 31st edition of Maritime Monday.

As always, feel free to submit an entry for next week's edition via the Carnival Submit form at Carnival Cat.

Comments are always welcome and encouraged. However, don't post ads for your wonderful products of services in the comment's. If you think it's newsworthy, send it as a submission. If it is an advertisement, then consider sponsoring a Maritime Monday. The cost is $100 for a permanent ad. Sure it's expensive. I could lower the price, but then each ad would be surrounded by 50 others and nobody would read any of it.

This Weeks Photos:

What do you do when your car carrier is too small? You elongate it, of course. At least that is what Wallenius Marine has been doing:

The new mid section for M/S MIGNON has been launched and is floating, moored, alongside the quay where the last adjustments and installations are being made.

The M/S MIGNON is cut in two. (Then refloated to pull the two pieces apart and squeeze in the new midsection.)

M/S ELEKTRA well under way - The elongation of the second vessel has already come a long way. The new section is in place but cables and piping need to be reinstalled.

More images are located at Wallenius Marine's Image Bank and Elongation Project pages.

This weeks items:

Eagle Speak has coverage of what happens when you get too close to a US Navy warship.

Sailors, Mariners & Warriors League has news of Hong Kong detaining the North Korean flagged KANG NAM 1 here and the KANG NAM 5 here as both vessels failed Port State inspections. Neither was the North Korean vessel of interest, which also happened to stop in Hong Kong for fuel. (Guess they didn't have a copy of the BIMCO Guide noted below.)

American Thinker has discussion of plans to build a tunnel from Africa to Spain.

The MarEx Newsletter has the must-read (for seafarers) "BIMCO US Port State Control Guide for Mariners."

The Stupid Shall be Punished has video of a submarine diving.

Diesel Duck has coverage of the expanding effects of a seafarer shortage, now causing a shortage of marine surveyors.

Marine Link has the Shipping Association of Canada's call for a new strategy for Canadian shipyards..

ABC News Australia has news of Japan finally being held accountable for taking about 100,000 tons over it's allotted quota of 6,000 tons of Southern Bluefin Tuna EVERY YEAR for the LAST 20 YEARS. That comes out to about $6 billion in overfishing and is now being blamed as the sole reason why the species has not recovered.

Educated Guesswork has a summary of the story of shipping container standardization.

Marine Log has coverage of the GAO report on the declining condition of some US Coast Guard vessels.

Long Island blog covers the founding of the insurance industry, which can be traced back to marine insurance.

Investor's Business Daily notes that it was not ethanol that made Brazil energy independent, but offshore oil. (See my take on the ethanol myths first here and then here. In short, the US produces as much ethanol as Brazil and the two countries produce over two/thirds of global ethanol production.)

Cargo Law has photos of the accident in Montevideo resulting in 18 containers ending up in the harbor off the LEDA MAERSK.

Politics Central brings us "Ten Kilotons and the Port of Long Beach".

Strange, but I would have expected it to look worse.

Snarky Bastards, while not clearly a maritime post, provides good reading describing a recent fire alarm and how a Government Employee got in the way as he and others tried to evacuate from the 12 story building. It could have been worse, the person could have been on a ship and other might have depended on her to help save it. Sounds like they failed the fire drill. All the more reason why they should have a practice every week/month.

Google Sightseeing presents a ship's oilslick as seen from space. (I'm not so convinced. Google Earth does funny things with photos and the interface from land to sea. For example, is there really a fully loaded containership sunk alongside the dock at Port Elizabeth, NJ?)

Sun Microsystems answers questions about their Shipping container 'blackbox' datacenter and provides a video tour inside.

Mark 31 December on your calendar as the last day that 45' shipping containers will be permitted to move on roads within the European Union, unless their front edges are rounded off. This is in accordance with EU Directive 96/53/EC.

Haight's Maritime Items has:

GAO – challenges to implementation of TWIC - The Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report on key challenges that should be addressed before implementing the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program. The GAO recommends that, before implementing TWIC in the maritime sector, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) develop and test solutions to problems identified during testing and those raised by stakeholders in commenting on the TWIC proposed rule in order to ensure that key components of the program work effectively. The agency should also strengthen contract planning and oversight practices before awarding the TWIC implementation contract. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) concurs with many of the recommendations and is already taking steps to adopt some of them. GAO-06-982 (10/20/06).

Two short Excerpts from the GAO Report (page 5):

"In testing the TWIC program, TSA enrolled and issued TWIC cards to only about 1,700 workers, short of its goal of 75,000 workers. " (TWIC funding through 2006 totaled over $89 million, or $52,000 per issued TWIC card.)

and:

"Few facilities that tested the TWIC program used biometric card readers that will be required when the program is implemented. As a result, TSA has obtained limited information on the operational effectiveness of biometric readers, particularly when individuals use these readers outdoors in the harsh maritime environment." (As mentioned in a previous post, most any convicted criminal can still work in harbor areas, including those convicted of serious felonies, so who are they really trying to keep out? The terror threat seems to come from the sea, and this technology will do nothing to stop that, especially considering that only US-Flag seafarers will be issue TWIC-compliant cards.)

ALSO:

EC – trade relations with China - The European Commission (EC) released a policy paper on EU-China trade and investment. It accepts fierce competition, so long as it is fair. Among other things, the paper points out that in Chinese shipbuilding new policies are emerging that appear to be based on a ‘China first approach’ in which local content requirements are imposed, contrary to the non-discriminatory principles of the WTO. (10/24/06).

Fairplay Daily News has:

Tampa (vessel) in trouble again - WELLINGTON 26 October – Wallenius Wilhelmsen's car carrier Tampa, which hit the headlines in 2001 after Captain Arne Rinnan rescued 434 asylum seekers from a sinking Indonesian boat heading for Australia, has been detained in a joint Australian/New Zealand anti-drug smuggling operation. The joint effort that started in June today resulted in the arrest in Australia of two men for conspiring to smuggle cocaine into Australian ports. A total 27kg of cocaine with a street value of about NZD9.45M ($6M) has been seized.

Smugglers used divers to attach canisters containing the drugs to the hulls of the Tampa and its sister ship Taronga. The first pod containing 18.3kg of cocaine was located and removed by NZC from the Tampa in Auckland in June. A second identical pod was found on the Taronga when it berthed in Auckland in September. On that occasion Customs substituted an inert substance for the drugs and reattached the pod as part of the surveillance operation that led to today’s arrests. The agency believes the drugs were destined for Australia. The two Wallenius Wilhelmsen vessels follow a UK/Europe/ECNA/South America/ NZ/Australia rotation. Australian Federal authorities have shut down the drug syndicate, based in New South Wales. NZC spokesman Paul Campbell said there was nothing to suggest any involvement by the company or crew. Australian officials were alerted to the operation by authorities overseas as hull inspection divers are not used by Australian Customs.

and:

Boxship could stay grounded for weeks - LA ROCHELLE 26 October – The Panamanian ro-ro container ship Rokia Delmas, aground since Tuesday off the Ile de Ré on the French Atlantic Coast after a power blackout, is likely to remain aground for several weeks, according to the Atlantic Prefecture. Yesterday, the local authorities decided to cancel the intend refloating attempt after divers reported a 20m-long crack in the Rokia’s hull. "The hull has already suffered a lot so it is unwise to tow it at this stage, and in any case towing a vessel with such a crack would cause its immediate sinking", explained a spokesman from the prefecture. Priority is now given to pumping off the vessel’s 560t of bunker fuel. Pumping operations are due to start tomorrow after the authorities have installed a floating anti-pollution barrier around the ship. The prefecture reported that at present there is no pollution, but the risk of pollution during pumping operations could not be entirely excluded. Meanwhile, the French state has now ordered CMA CGM, the owner of the ship’s operator, Delmas, to take all appropriate steps to preserve the environment from possible pollution. Apart from its bunkers, the Rokia Delmas is reported to be carrying only harmless cargo, including empty containers, timber, cocoa, rubber and steel. - Fairplay web links

Lloyds List has:

Anger as master faces 10 years for quayside accident Company (News By Katrin Berkenkopf in Cologne) - Friday October 27 2006

A GERMAN master jailed in the US and awaiting sentence of up to 10 years after a quayside worker was killed in an accident has become the focus of growing industry anger over the criminalisation of seafarers. Wolfgang Schröder was guiding the 1,150 teu Zim Mexico III on March 2 this year out of the port of Mobile, Alabama, when the bowthruster failed. The vessel, which is owned by Hamburg’s Rickmers Reederei and was chartered out to Zim at the time, hit a gantry crane onshore, causing it to collapse on an electrician who later died. The master was arrested when the ship called at Houston. Capt Schröder was charged with criminal misconduct and denied release on bail. In October he was found guilty by a Alabama jury.

The sentence, which could be up to 10 years, is expected to be given by February at the latest. “We are shocked and furious,” said Jürgen Stolle of the Hamburg association of masters and officers. “Such cases are causing considerable anxiety, in particular among the young generation, which is unnerved.”

Although the issue of criminalisation was not restricted to the US, the situation there was particular due to its special jurisdiction, he said. In the latest case, the prosecutor said the master should have paid more attention to the fact that the bowthruster had already failed on two previous occasions. A pilot, who was on board at the time of the accident, told the court that he was not told about these earlier problems. Capt Stolle pointed out that “maintenance and repair are first of all a responsibility of owners, rather than of masters”. Members of the Council of American Master Mariners warned in an internet forum that the case was “a dangerous precedent to have on the law books”. “It could aversely affect our own people whenever an accident occurs due to a mechanical failure.” Although it would not comment on the order of events, Rickmers Reederei said that “as to the question of guilt, we have a different opinion to the majority of the jury in Alabama”.

A spokesman said the company had offered all the support it could to the master. He said financial issues have been settled. Relatives of the dead worker agreed to compensation payments. “With regard to financial losses for the port, the usual P&I procedures have taken place.” Earlier demands by the port authority that the ship be arrested and sold in order to receive damages have thus not materialised. The ship, which was built in 1993 in Szczecin, has been handed back by Zim, as the charter expired, and is now trading as Peter Rickmers.

- The Stralsund public prosecutor in northern Germany has opened investigations over constraint and unlawful detention against the master of a passenger ship who was involved in a dispute with Polish customs guards last week. When three plain clothes Polish customs officers boarded the ship at a Polish harbour, the master decided to head back for Germany with the men still on board.. Lloydslist

Finally, a bad day in the shark cage:

Previous Editions:
Here.

Submission Guidelines:
Look here for more details: Submission Guidelines

You do not have to be the author to submit a blog post or news story. Feel free to suggest something that you think is worth sharing. Please submit your entry via the Carnival Submit form at Carnival Cat.

Sponsors:
No sponsors for this week. You can sponsor this week's post retroactively. Then again, if you are interested in doing that, then you might consider sponsoring an upcoming post. Check the submission guidelines for more details.

Feedback Welcomed!

Looking Forward to the Upcoming Election

For starters, I am looking forward to the election so that we can get all this electioneering behind us.

Doom and Gloom is the basic impression I get from the polls covering the mid-term elections. If one was not paying attention, they might start to believe these polls. That's a shame considering that the polls were highly inaccurate in 2002 and in 2004 as well. After the fact, the polling organizations investigated why their results differed so greatly from the actual results. They then published nice detailed reports explaining how their polling methods were biased in favor of Democrats. Too bad they have done nothing to compensate for the errors that resulted in overstating Democrat support.

Since they have done nothing to remove the Democrat bias from the polls, I suspect that the bias is now even worse which makes me wonder, just how bad a hangover will Democrats be suffering with on the day after election?

Remember P.E.S.T.? Post Election Selection Trauma.

Some supporters of John Kerry shocked by President Bush's victory in last week's election continue to seek out psychological help, prompting at least one mental-health center to offer free counseling through the end of this year.

The Florida-based American Health Association has released symptoms of what it calls "post-election selection trauma," or PEST, which include: feelings of withdrawal, feelings of isolation, emotional anger and bitterness, loss of appetite, sleeplessness, nightmares, pervasive moodiness including endless sulking, and being excessively worried about the direction of the country.

"Post-election selection trauma affects many people and they have a right to be taken seriously and to seek counseling," psychotherapist Rob Gordon of the AHA told the Boca Raton News. "This is a real need and we're a charity. This is not a matter of Republicans and Democrats."

Some 30 people have reportedly contacted Gordon's group for counseling since Kerry conceded the race to Bush Nov. 3, and more than a dozen others in Palm Beach County have undergone intense hypnotherapy by trauma specialist Douglas Schooler.

"The problem is out there and it's not going to go away anytime soon," Schooler told the paper. "Conservatives are calling me to say these people are weak-kneed kooks, but they're not acknowledging that this is a normal psychological response to a severe and disillusioning situation. Any suggestion that this is not a serious problem arises from a political agenda. The Republicans don't want this talked about." - © 2004 WorldNetDaily.com

PEST is going to be a real problem after this next election because the Democrats are so certain that they are going to regain control of the house. What a blow they are going to receive on election night. At least Republicans are being told left and right that they are going to have a bad election night, so we are at least ready to be disappointed. (Not that I expect that outcome.) However, if that is the case, then I will understand that my understanding of what is going on in this country and how people feel is flawed.

So remember to vote. (Once please.)

Bonus:
Here is another ad from Jim Zucker warning what might be coming if the Democrats regain control of Congress: (Spotted at Lawhawk/A Blog For all)

url link

Win or lose for the Republicans, the day after the election can't come soon enough! Then we can all focus on the madness of the 2008 Presidential elections.

Note to Republican Leadership in Congress: You guys suck. Your getting my vote because the other guys suck more. So get your asses in gear and start fixing problems, instead of f*cking with all of us.

Morgan Stanley fined $2.9 Million for Rogue Trading

The 'naked short' issue has been simmering for a long time, so far without getting any real traction. However, there is a steady stream of regulatory fines coming out of the NASD for improper short sale trading. I have covered this in the past, but most of those caught had been smaller traders. Now a big fish has been caught. Take this from the NASD NTM Disciplinary Actions Report for October:

NASD Fines Morgan Stanley Firms $2.9 Million for Widespread Violations of NASD Rules

Number and Scope of Violations Indicate Extensive Reporting Problems at Both Firms NASD imposed fines totaling $2.9 million against Morgan Stanley & Co., Inc. (MSCO) and Morgan Stanley DW Inc. (MSDW) for extensive violations dealing with reporting obligations, best execution, short sales and a range of other NASD, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) rules.

NASD found that MSCO:

failed to timely report or incorrectly reported thousands of transactions through the NASDAQ Market Center in NASDAQ National Market securities, OTC Equity securities and listed securities;

executed thousands of short sales transactions without ensuring that the firm could deliver or arrange to borrow the securities by the settlement date;

failed to execute hundreds of customer trades at the best available price, and will make nearly $5,000 in restitution payments to affected customers;

failed to report or incorrectly reported thousands of transactions in corporate bonds; and

created locked and crossed market conditions in hundreds of instances.

NASD found that MSDW:

failed to send, or failed to send in a timely manner, required documents to hundreds of customers in connection with municipal bond transactions;

failed to report or incorrectly reported thousands of transactions in corporate and municipal bonds; and

failed to enforce the firm’s written supervisory procedures with respect to municipal bonds.

In settling these matters, MSCO and MSDW neither admitted nor denied the charges, but consented to the entry of NASD’s findings. - NASD (PDF. Click for full report)

While the full NASD report mentions nothing about 'rogue trading' it was the first thought that popped into my mind reading the report. That these guys were doing whatever with no fear of getting caught. Even though they have been caught (you don't pay a $3 million in fines if your not guilty) I see no mention of this in Google News and only a couple of websites picked up the story at all. This is not the first time they have been fined, and this happens to be one of the smallers fines that they have received lately. Here is a summery of other legal action that Morgan Stanley has been on the receiving end of:

The NASD fine comes just a few months after the SEC settled charges against the firm for lacking adequate procedures to prevent the misuse of non-public information. Morgan Stanley agreed to a censure and a $10 million fine in June as part of that settlement. In May, the Commission hit the firm with $15 million in civil penalties to settle charges that it destroyed and failed to produce tens of thousands of emails from a previous investigation. - CCH Wall Street

With all of this money flying out the door in fines, it makes you wonder just how much they are ripping their customers off to still be making a profit?

Previous:
Congress Should Investigate Short Selling Records - 9 June 2006
Are Brokers 'Screwing' Stockholders through Short Selling? - 6 April 2006

Links:
NASD NTM Disciplinary Actions Report for October - NASD (PDF)
Monthly Disciplinary Actions 2006 - NASD

Moonbat Bumper Stickers

Here are pictures of some moonbat bumper stickers I have run across in the Washington, DC area. They are all over the place. I just happened to have my camera when I saw these.

This first one alludes to the fear of the 'Police State'. The blue and yellow sticker is the logo for the Human Rights Campaign (for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equal rights). The HRC was wholly onboard the John Kerry for president bandwagon to the point that they were very anti-Bush and Republicans in general. Before I really did not care about their activities, but their behavior during the 2004 election has turned me tone-deaf to anything they have to say. It was their aggressive tactics on the streets of DC that rubbed me the wrong way. (Note: The HRC sticker by itself is not a sign of moonbattery.)

Here is another moonbat fearing the upcoming 'police state'.

The sad thing about people like this is that they don't like the way that I think and they have no interest in thinking about all these moonbat conspiracy theories that are out there. Take all the idiotic 9/11 conspiracy theories. Some of the theories even contradict the others. None of them stand up to any reason. This car had Texas plates. Cindy, that you?

This next one must be a really small group. The organization apparently no longer exists and the website is just a placeholder with a bunch of generic ads in case anyone bothers to look them up, generating a little income for the moonbat who started the group in the first place. (DON'T LOOK UP THE SITE, it's full of spam ads.)

For those who don't know, a 'birder' is a bird watcher. Of course Bush was a 'threat' to birders because his administration is such a threat to nature..... Blah, blah, blah.

Like the first car above, this car also has the DC-popular 'no w' sticker. There is also a Kerry sticker. Surely, Kerry must be pro Birder right?

Of course he is. At least through the sights of a shotgun.


This next one is typical DC:

Lets not forget who really controls the White House. Does it surprise anyone that this liberal is driving a SUV? Contactors ripping off the Government = BAD. Killing the environment as you drive to a protest sponsored by a liberal group in your gas guzzling SUV = GOOD.

'Teachers Against Bush.' No surprise here. Looking at the state of DC schools, they should take any help they can get. Might it be that they were against Bush because he was pushing them to do work? OK, the teachers are not fully to blame for stupid children. The parents are partly to blame. And which party has no interest in preserving family values? I think it is the party the teachers are for, if only to give them an excuse for why their students can't read and write. (Yes, there are some very good teachers out there. Then there is the mass of moonbat teachers feeding our children liberal BS, when they should be teaching them to read and write. They should all keep politics out of the classroom.)

This next sticker is probably the most idiotic of them all. Like the Peace Corps could have prevented the 9/11 attacks. I could be wrong, but first someone has to explain to me how sending young outspoken liberal women into muslim lands, telling locals how to do things, is going to work against Islamic terrorism. As far as we know, it might have been the threat of feminist Peace Corp workers that most threatened these terrorists into attacking us. If only they were issued burkas.

Whoever this person is, they are bringing discredit on the Peace Corps. Go here to read what the Peace Corps does. Fighting terrorism is not part of their mission.

This last one is not a bumper sticker but I just had to include it. It's one thing to put these lunatic stickers on your car, it's another thing to put a sign like the one below in your front yard. Apparently, the problem is who is doing the screwing. Clinton screwed us all too, but apparently it was OK when he did it.

Send me your moonbat bumper stickers and I will add them to the gallery.

Why are the left's conspiracy theories so complicated? - 06 June 2006

Maritime Monday 30

This Weeks Photo:

A photo of the JPO ARIES from the website of German Shipping Company Schiffahrtsgesellschaft Oltmann. The ship was launched in 2001 and this appears to be a picture of the vessel in the shipyard.

This weeks items:
Eagle Speak has news of a Crewman on the QUEEN ELIZABETH II busted while attempting to smuggle over 700,000 cigarettes. (This guy must have been a complete idiot because every sailor knows that UK Customs searches sailors quarters and they always find contraband.)

Sailors, Mariners & Warriors League has news of an explosion on the Mexican Tanker QUETZALCOATL resulting in at least 8 deaths.

Spiegel Online has coverage of Polish Customs agents secretly boarding a German passenger ship and then the ship kidnapping them back to Germany.

The MarEx Newsletter has coverage of a ship's cook receiving 90 Months in prison for a shipboard stabbing. Apparently he didn't take criticism of his food very well.

The Stupid Shall be Punished has coverage of Japanese Sub maintenance. ("for official use only" "top secret")
Molten Eagle has "Three Submarine Radiation Stories".

EU Referendum tears apart a poorly-researched Times UK report calling for the end of commercial fishing in the EU for cod.

Marine Link covers the proposal to build an offshore wind farm off Delaware.

Stolen Moments of Island Time notes that no country has yet ratified the UN's Suppression of Unlawful Acts (SUA) at sea convention.

AstoriaRocks.com has coverage of US and Canadian Coast Guard rescue teams conducting joint training at the US Coast Guard's Air Station Astoria.

Marine Log has news of US-Flag Carrier Matson Navigation's awarding of a contract to Atlantic Marine Alabama to convert the M/V MOKIHANA to a combination RORO Container vessel.

Publius Pundit has news of Panama's vote approving plans to enlarge the Panama Canal.

Gun Muse has coverage of the controversy over planned live-fire zones for Coast Guard training in the Great Lakes.

Blackfriars' Marketing covers Sun System's data center packaged inside a 20' container.

Born Rich has the Hydra Spider amphibious sports car.

The Moller Skycar auction is over. The high bid was just over $3 million but was still under the reserve price, leaving the vehicle unsold.

Haight's Maritime Items has:

IMO – fair treatment of seafarers - The IMO released its resolution providing guidelines to member states on fair treatment of seafarers in the event of a maritime accident. Res. LEG.3(91) (4/27/06).

Yeah, that will keep countries from treating seafarers like criminals.

Fairplay Daily News has:

UK to fund freight shift to water - LONDON 17 October – THE UK’s Department for Transport (DfT) is about to launch a new Sustainable Distribution Fund (SDF), the key aim of which is to offer funding on projects that shift freight from roads to water and rail. When launched next month, the fund will have an emphasis on modal shift, operational efficiency and value for money. The fund will bring together the existing grant schemes provided by the DfT, such as the Freight Facilities Grant and the Waterborne Freight Grant. The SDF will provide up to 50% of any modal shift project and over the past five years such funding has amounted to £34M ($63.5M) out of a budget of £53M, leaving £19M which will be returned to the UK Treasury. Speaking at a seminar organised by Sea and Water – the UK short-sea, coastal and inland waterway promotional body – Stephen Fidler, head of the logistics policy division at the DfT, explained that the new fund will operate through a quarterly bidding round with the first due in December 2006. The fund for 2007-08 will have £7M available for Freight Facilities Grant, and £18.6M in its resource budget supporting new waterborne projects.Lloyd's Register - Fairplay web links

Lloyds List has:

Experts say ship sanctions will not impact North Korea - SANCTIONS against North Korean flagged shipping could impact chiefly on ships trading in the Black Sea and Eastern Mediterranean, according to an analysis by Lloyd’s Marine Intelligence Unit.

The likely corollary is that such measures will have limited direct impact on the Pyongyang regime. Lloyd’s List asked the fellow Informa Group subsidiary — recognised as a leading independent provider of shipping data — for a breakdown on the North Korean fleet and its movements. According to the results, there are 412 North Korean vessels live on the Lloyd’s MIU database. But in beneficial ownership terms, only around half are actually controlled from within the Stalinist state. The other half are operated by owners spread around the world.

Such a finding is in line with the flag’s reputation as perhaps the world’s ultimate flag of convenience, even though it is not formally regarded as such by the International Transport Workers’ Federation. Industry insiders believe that the flag is particularly favoured by some of the more publicity-averse owners in the former USSR countries and in Syria. North Korean flag vessels are also owned or operated by companies registered in Belize, Greece, Iraq, Lebanon, Liberia, the Marshall Islands, Panama, Pakistan, Romania, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Singapore, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. In June there were reports that nine companies registered in Delaware also owned North Korea flag tonnage, even though that has been illegal under US law since May 8. Ironically, North Korea is not a cheap option. It is thought to charge two or three times the fees levied by bargain basement flags. Nor is the fleet’s trading pattern dominated by serving the needs of the regime, which for political reasons tries to be as self-sufficient as possible. In practice, it is heavily dependent on China, which provides 90% of its oil and 80% of its consumer goods. But these cargoes tend to be trucked in. LMIU said that there were 606 recorded moves involving North Korean vessels in August. Of these, 186 involved arrivals or departures from Black Sea ports, compared to just 115 arrivals or departures in the area designated ‘Chinese waters’, which includes North Korea itself, as well as China and the Russian Far East. There were 83 movements involving ports in the east Mediterranean, 73 involving ports in North Africa and 34 involving ports in the Red Sea. No North Korean vessels arrived or left western Europe, although there was one movement involving Scandinavia and 38 involving southern Europe. The best guess has to be that, if North Korean registration proves inconvenient to non-North Korean owners, they will simply flag hop to another of the world’s more accommodating administrations.

Previous Editions:
Here.

Submission Guidelines:
Look here for more details: Submission Guidelines

You do not have to be the author to submit a blog post or news story. Feel free to suggest something that you think is worth sharing.

Sponsors:
No sponsors for this week. You can sponsor this week's post retroactively. Then again, if you are interested in doing that, then you might consider sponsoring an upcoming post. Check the submission guidelines for more details.

Feedback Welcomed!

Home

Amazing Afghanistan Helicopter Rescue Photo

I found this on Aloha Dump. It was taken in Afghanistan. Click on the photo for the story.

Great flying, teamwork with a little trust added in.

Nerves of steel - Aloha Dump

Update: 2 Nov 2006

Here is the story according to Snopes.com:

Origins: In November 2003, a U.S.-led coalition launched Operation Mountain Resolve in the Nuristan and Kunar provinces of Afghanistan in order to disrupt anti-coalition militia (ACM) operations and prevent militia members from seeking sanctuary in the rugged Afghan provinces. The above-displayed photograph of the precarious-looking rooftop landing by a CH-47 Chinook helicopter (which began circulating via e-mail in December 2003 and started making the rounds of the Internet again in August 2006) was taken during that operation by U.S. Army Sgt. Greg Heath of the 4th Public Affairs Detachment.

Although the text that accompanied copies of this image sent via e-mail in 2006 suggested the activity shown therein was part of an effort to evacuate wounded coalition soldiers, the photo actually captures the Chinook helicopter touching down to receive Afghan Persons Under Control (APUC) captured by members of the U.S. 10th Mountain Division. - Snopes.com

I guess this is part of the leave no stone unturned policy.