THE TENSION: November 13, 2005

Hurricane Katrina Aftermath News Pictures #11

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Selected Iraq War News Photos #2

IRAQ WAR NEWS PHOTO PICTURES -- US Army Capt. David Mattimore, a pilot, climbs into his Medevac at a US Army base near Tikrit, Iraq, Aug. 31, 2005. Blackhawk helicopter ambulances, called Medevacs, rescue Americans, coalition and Iraqi troops, as well as selected civilians and deliver them to military hospitals across Iraq. (AP Photo/Jacob Silberberg)

Iraqi civil defence workers are seen inspecting the site where two suicide bombers detonated explosives-laden cars near a Baghdad hotel and an interior ministry complex. Thirteen people were killed when a car bomb exploded in a busy Baghdad market as the search resumed amid the rubble of two Shiite mosques where at least 75 died in twin suicide bombings a day earlier.(AFP/Karim Sahib)

Iraqis stand outside their destroyed houses after they spent their night homeless following yesterday's twin suicide car bombs in Baghdad that flattened several houses and partially destroyed an apartment building.(AFP/Sabah Arar)

Iraqi policemen inspect the wreckage of a car bomb that exploded in central Baghdad, wounding 13 people. The surge of bombings comes less than four weeks before general elections to elect a government for four years.(AFP/Sabah Arar)

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Tags: News, Politics, photo, pictures, terrorism, Iraq, war, military

Selected Tropical Storm Gamma Pictures #2

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Tropical Storm Gamma News Nov. 19 PM

(Correction: Changed typo in title -- updated 15:36) NEWSLINE
"Gamma was expected to turn toward the north and east on Sunday, sending it across the northeastern Caribbean and toward western Cuba. On that forecast path, Gamma would cross Cuba and approach the Florida Keys island chain on Monday."

NEWSBYTES
Tropical Storm Gamma Could Threaten Fla.
MIAMI (AP) - Tropical Storm Gamma blew along the coasts of Belize and Honduras on Saturday as it threatened to turn onto a path that could threaten South Florida this coming week. The storm already had caused flooding and landslides in Honduras that killed at least two people and prompted the...

Tropical Storm douses Central America
MIAMI (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Gamma doused Central America with heavy rains on Saturday as the 24th cyclone of the busiest Atlantic hurricane season on record inched toward Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.

Florida Keeps Eye On Gamma
(CBS) Tropical Storm Gamma is lingering off the coast of Central America, with forecasts indicating it could threaten storm-weary South Florida by the beginning of next week.

Tropical Storm Gamma Kills 2 in Central America
(FOX) The deaths were blamed on flooding and landslides.

Gamma keeps Florida guessing
(ST.Pete Times) The bad news is, it's predicted to move toward South Florida. The good news is, it's expected to remain a tropical storm.

Gamma likely heading toward Southwest Fla.
(Herald Tribune) Computer models show Tropical Storm Gamma is likely headed for Florida's Southwest coast early next week on a track nearly identical to Hurricane Wilma's, but forecasters expect it will be a rainmaker more than a wind event for the state.

Not thankful for Gamma
(Palm Beach Post) Yes, it's true. Annoyingly, unhappily, frustratingly true. On Friday, just as South Florida was gearing up for the holiday season after Wilma, there came a tropical storm called Gamma in the Caribbean with a forecast track that looked too much like Wilma's. What to do?

Tension: Stormy
Gravity: 100

Tags: News, Gulf Coast, Hurricane, tropical storm, weather, severe Wilma, Katrina, Gamma

Selected Tropical Storm Gamma Pictures

TROPICAL WEATHER NEWS PHOTO PICTURES -- This satellite photo provided by NOAA Saturday Nov. 19, 2005 shows tropical storm Gamma off the coast of Central America at 1:45 a.m. EST. Gamma _ the 24th storm of the busiest hurricane season on record _ formed Friday off the coast of Central America, and forecasters said it could threaten Florida by the beginning of next week, perhaps as a hurricane. At 1 a.m. EDT Gamma was located about 155 miles east-southeast of Belize City and about 185 miles southeast of Puta Gruesa Mexico with sustained winds near 45 mph moving to the northeast near 5 mph according to forecasters. (AP Photo/NOAA)

An earlier storm forms over the Carribean. Tropical Storm Gamma formed off the coast of Honduras, causing dangerous floods in the impoverished Central American country, and threatening Mexico's Caribbean coast as well as Cuba and Florida(AFP/HO/NOAA)

Residents try to cross a bridge over the Monga river in Saba, northern Honduras, which collapsed because of the heavy rains Nov. 18, 2005. Tropical Storm Gamma formed Friday off the coast of Honduras, the 24th named storm of an already record-breaking Atlantic hurricane season. Gamma was expected to sweep along the coasts of Honduras, Belize and Mexico's southern Yucatan peninsula this weekend before heading toward Cuba's western tip and then to southern Florida. (AP Photo/Diario el Tiempo)

Residents look at a damaged bridge over Monga river in Saba, northern Honduras November 18, 2005. Experts at the National Hurricane Center in Miami said thunderstorm activity has increased and conditions are improving for the system near the coast of Honduras to grow into the tropical storm Gamma, the 27th depression of the Atlantic hurricane season. National disaster commission (COPECO) issued a red alert for the northern region of the country due to heavy rains that have caused some evacuees and damage to the road network infrastructure. Tropical storm Gamma is expected to produce rainfall accumulations over Belize, Western Cuba and the eastern of Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE REUTERS/Stringer

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Tags: News, Gulf Coast, Hurricane, tropical storm, Wilma, tropical storm, photos, pictures, Katrina, Gamma

Tropical Storm Gamma Update: Nov 18 PM

Please see: Tropical Depression Gamma Update: Nov 20 AM

...TROPICAL DEPRESSION TWENTY-SEVEN RE-GENERATES...BECOMES TROPICAL STORM GAMMA...

NEWSBYTES

Tropical Weather Outlook

THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER IS ISSUING ADVISORIES ON TROPICAL STORM GAMMA... WHICH HAS REGENERATED TODAY FROM THE REMNANTS OF TROPICAL DEPRESSION TWENTY-SEVEN. GAMMA IS LOCATED IN THE NORTHWESTERN CARIBBEAN ABOUT 40 MILES NORTH OF LIMON HONDURAS.

TROPICAL STORM GAMMA ADVISORY NUMBER 12
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
3 PM CST FRI NOV 18 2005

TROPICAL STORM GAMMA DISCUSSION NUMBER 12
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
3 PM CST FRI NOV 18 2005

Tension: Tropical Depression
Gravity: 100

Tags: News, Gulf Coast, Hurricane, tropical storm, weather, severe

New Orleans Mold Readings Raise Health Concerns

IMAGE CONTENT ARCHIVED

NEWSBYTE
Mold readings spark health concerns in New Orleans
NEW ORLEANS, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Take a flooded building in steamy New Orleans, and within days dark mold blooms on every surface, bringing the stench of decay to much of the hurricane-hit city.

Authorities insist the mold is not dangerous to most people, while encouraging residents to wear masks and protective clothing when clearing their homes, especially with dusty work like removing drywall. Read full story.

TENSION: Moldy
GRAVITY: Sticky

Tags: News, Gulf Coast, Hurricane, tropical storm, photos, pictures, Katrina, politics, Louisiana, New Orleans, Mississippi

NYT: Vietnam Archive Offers Parallel to War in Iraq

COMMENTARY
Let me offer you just a few ways that the Vietnam War is different than the Iraq War. These are important things the article doesn't point out.

To peruse the war in Vietnam, a war engaged and escalated by two Democratic Presidents, the youth of the country were subject to the draft. At age 18, every American male registered with the Selective Service System. If you were able bodied and your number was up, you better be in college or in Canada, if not, you were going to boot camp.

Atrocities in Vietnam were on a different scale. In Vietnam, US forces were held accountable for civilians indiscriminately massacred and villages burned. In Iraq, the US atrocities are limited to terrorist prisoners being made to lay around with dogs while stripped naked, save for a hood.

The NYT article refers only to the "Nixon Administration." However, Nixon inherited the war from Kennedy and Johnson, along with some foolish rules of engagement that insured the US couldn't win. And by the way, Nixon ended the Vietnam War.

NEWSBYTE
Vietnam Archive Offers Parallel to War in Iraq
WASHINGTON, Nov. 16 - White House advisers convene secret sessions on the political dangers of revelations that American troops committed atrocities in the war zone, and whether the president can delicately intervene in the investigation. In the face of an increasingly unpopular war, they wonder at the impact on support at home. The best way out of the war, they agree, is propping up a new government that can attract feuding elements across a fractured foreign land. Read full story.

TENSION: Manufactured
GRAVITY: Nill

Tags: current events, politics, News, terrorism, Middle East, Bush, White House, Iraq, war, yellow journalism, mainstream media, press, Republicans, Democrats, Vietnam, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon

Selected Paris Riot News Pictures #9

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FEMA to Stop Funding Hotel Rooms Dec. 1

Writings on a house relate the hard times in St. Bernard's Parish in Chalmette, La., Monday, Nov. 14, 2005. Students returned to school at St. Bernard's Parish for the first time Monday since Hurricane Katrina devastated the city. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

NEWSLINE
"Those affected by these storms should have the opportunity to become self-reliant again and reclaim some normalcy in their lives."

NEWSBYTE
FEMA to Stop Funding Hotel Rooms Dec. 1
WASHINGTON (AP) - FEMA will stop paying for hotel rooms for most evacuees of hurricanes Katrina and Rita on Dec. 1, officials said Tuesday as the agency pushed victims to find more stable housing.

Housing advocates said they fear that won't be enough time for an estimated 53,000 families - mostly in Texas, Louisiana, Georgia and Mississippi - who remain in hotels. Read full story.

Tension: High for some
Gravity: Have a little dignity to go

Tags: News, Gulf Coast, Hurricane, tropical storm, photos, pictures, Katrina, politics, Louisiana, New Orleans, Mississippi

La. Toll Rises As Evacuees Return To Find Dead In Homes

COMMENTARY
This story speaks for itself.

NEWSBYTE
La. toll rises as evacuees find dead in return to homes
(USA Today) More than a month after the official search for victims of Hurricane Katrina ended, the death toll in Louisiana has jumped by 104 as returning families in the New Orleans area continue to find bodies. Read full story.

Tension: There's no plan like no-plan
Gravity: 100

Tags: News, Gulf Coast, Hurricane, tropical storm, photos, pictures, Katrina, politics, Louisiana, New Orleans, Mississippi

Selected Hurricane Wilma News Photos #15

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Tropical Depression 27 Update: Nov 15 AM

Please see: Tropical Storm Gamma Update: Nov 18 PM

NEWSBYTES

Tropical Weather Outlook

THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER IS ISSUING ADVISORIES ON TROPICAL DEPRESSION TWENTY-SEVEN... LOCATED ABOUT 265 MILES SOUTH OF SAN JUAN PUERTO RICO.

TROPICAL DEPRESSION TWENTY-SEVEN ADVISORY NUMBER 6
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
5 AM AST TUE NOV 15 2005

TROPICAL DEPRESSION TWENTY-SEVEN DISCUSSION NUMBER 6
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
4 AM EST TUE NOV 15 2005

Tension: Tropical Depression
Gravity: 100

Tags: News, Gulf Coast, Hurricane, tropical storm, weather, severe

Yellow Stinkers for 14 November 2005

A collection of Headlines That Smack of Yellow Journalism
COMMENTARY
It's a sad day when America's mainstream press wears its subjectivity so blatantly that even the headlines stray from news to become agenda. Yellow journalism, isn't anything new. The problem is the same as it was in the late 19th century: fierce competition drives the press to publish the most sensational stories. But when you have so many news choices to select from, why choose a news source that stinks of negativity and screams of bias? I think I'll make this an ongoing feature. For the Yellow Stinkers, I'll present for your amusement the latest stink-bombs from the mainstream media.

STINKBOMB
Bush Escalates Bitter Iraq War Debate also as Bush slams Iraq war critics on way to Asia
ELMENDORF AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska (AP) - President Bush escalated the bitter debate over the Iraq war on Monday, hurling back at Democratic critics the worries they once expressed that Saddam Hussein was a grave threat to the world. "They spoke the truth then and they're speaking politics now,"
COMMENTARY
Why couldn't AP just report that the President is trying to explain to critics the causes of the war (yet again). No ... that would be objective reporting. The headline is subjective and shows that the press is taking sides on this issue.

STINKBOMB
Rice haggles to reach Gaza deal
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice bargained with Israeli and Palestinian negotiators into the early hours on Tuesday, postponing a trip to Asia as a deal seemed near on Gaza border crossings
COMMENTARY
Er, that's not a pretty image at all. I guess we are to imagine both a "hag" and gruff bargaining when we think of the Secretary of State in negotiations.

STINKBOMB
Libby May Have Tried to Mask Cheney's Role
(Washington Post) In the opening days of the CIA leak investigation in early October 2003, FBI agents working the case already had in their possession a wealth of valuable evidence. There were White House phone and visitor logs, which clearly documented the administration's contacts with reporters.
COMMENTARY
In this story, the Post toasters are on their usual conjecture trail -- making assumptions they think are true based on facts that no one knows. Can anyone say little "Rathergate?"

And "that's the way it is."

Tension: Yellow
Gravity: Line the bird cage

Tags: current events, politics, News, terrorism, Middle East, Bush, White House, Iraq, war, yellow journalism, mainstream media, press, Republicans, Democrats

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Tropical Depression 27 Update: Nov 14 AM

Please see: Tropical Depression 27 Update: Nov 15 AM

NEWSBYTES

Tropical Weather Outlook

THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER IS ISSUING ADVISORIES ON TROPICAL DEPRESSION TWENTY-SEVEN... LOCATED OVER THE SOUTHEASTERN CARIBBEAN SEA ABOUT 150 MILES WEST OF ST. LUCIA.

TROPICAL DEPRESSION TWENTY-SEVEN ADVISORY NUMBER 3
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
11 AM AST MON NOV 14 2005

TROPICAL DEPRESSION TWENTY-SEVEN DISCUSSION NUMBER 3
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
10 AM EST MON NOV 14 2005

Tension: Tropical Depression
Gravity: 100

Tags: News, Gulf Coast, Hurricane, tropical storm, weather, severe

Tropical Depression 27 Forms

Please see: Tropical Depression 27 Update: Nov 14 AM

NEWSBYTES

Tropical Weather Outlook

THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER IS ISSUING ADVISORIES ON NEWLY FORMED TROPICAL DEPRESSION TWENTY-SEVEN... LOCATED OVER THE SOUTH EASTERN CARIBBEAN SEA ABOUT 100 MILES WEST OF ST. VINCENT.

Tension: Tropical Depression
Gravity: 100

Tags: News, Gulf Coast, Hurricane, tropical storm, weather, severe

Katrina Boomtown: Mobile Ala. Rakes In The $

COMMENTARY
Chalk this story up to the Katrina Effect. It's like Christmas around town. We are moving away right around Thanksgiving and simply cannot find a local hotel room to stay for a couple of days while the packing is completed.

NEWSBYTE
Boomtown: Mobile rakes it in after Katrina
The clues to Mobile's standing as one of the few functioning cities on the edge of Hurricane Katrina's destruction have been evident since just after the storm in the form of packed restaurants and busy streets. Read full story (free registraton required).

Tags: News, Gulf Coast, Mobile Alabama, Hurricane, Katrina, tropical storm

The Left Way in Iraq

COMMENTARY
This guy is old news.

John Edwards proves once again why the American people didn't give him the job of Vice President. Oh, and by the way, I am wondering if the Bush administration has made so many mistakes, why there have so far been no terrorist attacks on American soil? Is it perhaps the terrorists are contained, thankfully so, outside of the US?

And yes John Edwards I agree, I think perhaps you are wrong.

NEWSBYTE
The Right Way in Iraq

I was wrong.

Almost three years ago we went into Iraq to remove what we were told -- and what many of us believed and argued -- was a threat to America. But in fact we now know that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction when our forces invaded Iraq in 2003. The intelligence was deeply flawed and, in some cases, manipulated to fit a political agenda. Read full story.

Political Tension: Loser's Lament
Gravity: In the muck

Tags: current events, politics, News, terrorism, Middle East, Photos, Bush, White House, Iraq, war

Hurricane Katrina Aftermath News Pictures #10

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Time: Cloned Dog Top Invention Of 2005

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Hurricane Katrina Aftermath News Pictures #9

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Asterisks Dot Post's Story

President Bush speaks about the war against terror at Tobyhanna Army Depot in Tobyhanna, Pa., Friday, Nov. 11, 2005. Bush, in the most forceful defense yet of his Iraq war policy, accused critics Friday of trying to rewrite history and charged that they're undercutting America's forces on the front lines. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

COMMENTARY
Ok folks, I read though this one. I read through the junk in the blogs posted about the story, too. I just want to know one thing, Posties, how do you know who in the government knew what? I mean you guys make the assumptions; please back them up. I see nary an attribution to any facts of who knew what. And if Congress can take some of the blame/credit for the war, make sure they take a thrid of it, since that's how things work. Oh and blind followers of the far-flinging left, here's some advice: beware of your emperors when they are wearing new clothes.

NEWSBYTE
Asterisks Dot White House's Iraq Argument
President Bush and his national security adviser have answered critics of the Iraq war in recent days with a two-pronged argument: that Congress saw the same intelligence the administration did before the war, and that independent commissions have determined that the administration did not misrepresent the intelligence. Read full story.

Tension: More liberal flame-out
Gravity: It gets better

Tags: current events, politics, News, terrorism, Middle East, Photos, Bush, White House, Iraq, war