Lying In Wait

While we here in the US are witnessing the advance of the reptile legions on their way north to make water skiing more adventurous in Minnesota, the Philippines is also seeing it's share of scaly trouble.

MANILA (Reuters) - A 12-year-old boy survived an attack by a crocodile that was being kept as a pet near an elementary school on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao, officials said on Tuesday. 

The seven-foot (2.1-metre) reptile bit Ramon Palmares on the arm after he poked it and threw pebbles, said Basilio Rosal, a local official in Cotabato City.

"We weren't aware that a crocodile exists in that house," Rosal told reporters. "It poses real danger to many curious schoolchildren."

Romeo Manzan, a wildlife officer, said it was illegal to keep wildlife as pets, citing a Philippine law and an international convention on endangered species. Manzan said he had seized the crocodile along with a python also found at the house.

No word on whether the croc was using newspaper bait. But isn't it typical to try to blame the victim? I mean all the kid did was try to poke the thing. And throw rocks. The poor tyke probably wanted to play with the big lizard!

Train Bombings in India

As many as 100 commuters are feared to be dead following a coordinated series of seven bomb explosions on commuter trains during rush hour. More than 300 are wounded. It is too soon for any group to claim credit, but one doesn't have to be a rocket surgeon to figure this one out, either.

India's major cities were put on high alert after the blasts, and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called an emergency Cabinet meeting.

Chaos engulfed the crowded rail network in India's financial capital following the blasts that ripped apart train compartments as authorities struggled to treat the wounded amid heavy monsoon downpours. Doors and windows were blown off the train cars, and luggage and debris were strewn across the tracks.

Police Chief A.N. Roy said on Indian television that an estimated 100 people were killed and more than 250 were wounded.

"We are busy in the rescue operation. Our first priority is to rescue the injured people," he said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility in the bombings, which came in quick succession — a common tactic employed by Kashmiri militants that have repeatedly targeted India's cities.

A senior Bombay police official, P.S. Pasricha, said the explosions were part of a well-coordinated attack. Vilasrao Deshmukh, the chief minister of Maharashtra state, where Bombay is located, said bombs had caused all seven blasts.

Indian Home Minister Shivraj Patil told reporters that authorities had had some information that an attack was coming, "but place and time was not known."

The first explosion hit the train at a railway station in the northwestern suburb of Khar, said a police officer who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

India's CNN-IBN television news, which had a reporter aboard one train, said a blast struck a first-class compartment as the train was moving, ripping through the compartment and killing more than a dozen people.

Some of the injured frantically dialed their cell phones.

Another CNN-IBN reporter said he had seen more than 20 bodies at one Bombay hospital.

The Press Trust of India, citing railway officials, said all the blasts had hit first-class cars.

The world is seeing an almost unprecedented amount of provocations, attacks and unrest in what increasingly looks to me to be coordinated events. The world really needs to pull together here or be ready for increasing chaos. Wake up, folks.

UPDATE: 3:42 PM. Death toll stands at 147. The Times of India is reporting:

NEW DELHI: The terror attack on Mumbai trains was carried out by Lashkar-e-Toiba and local Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) activists and was designed to trigger communal conflagration in the country’s financial capital, intelligence sources said.

While still waiting for clues to emerge, top intelligence sources in New Delhi seem pretty sure the blasts on the trains were plotted by Lashkar modules which are increasingly collaborating with activists of SIMI, which boasts of strong pockets of influence across Maharashtra.

The estimate of intelligence agencies here is derived from the scale of the attack, as well as precise information about the Lashkar’s sleeper cells that have proliferated in Maharashtra.

UPDATE: Confederate Yankee notes an unusual burst of honesty at DU.

UPDATE: I had not read this before but it is a very interesting take on the situation the world may be facing. Major H/T to The Influence Peddler for linking to that.

Military To Give Detainees Geneva Treatment

The US military has issued a new policy granting detainees full Geneva Convention rights under common article 3. I rather doubt much will change in the way the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay are being treated.

The White House confirmed on Tuesday that the Pentagon had decided, in a major policy shift, that all detainees held in US military custody around the world are entitled to protection under the Geneva Conventions.

The FT has learned that Gordon England, deputy defence secretary, sent a memo to senior defence officials and military officers last Friday, telling them that Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions – which prohibits inhumane treatment of prisoners and requires certain basic legal rights at trial – would apply to all detainees held in US military custody.

This reverses the policy outlined by President George W. Bush in 2002 when he decided members of al-Qaeda and the Taliban did not qualify for Geneva protections because the war on terrorism had ushered in a “new paradigm…[that] requires new thinking in the law of war”.

The policy U-turn comes on the heels of the Supreme Court ruling last month that the military commissions Mr Bush created to try prisoners at Guantanamo Bay contravened both US law and the Geneva Conventions.

The White House had argued that Mr Bush, as commander-in-chief, had the authority to convene the military commissions. Critics who rejected this interpretation said the commissions were unjust because, for instance, defendants were unable to see all the evidence levelled against them.

My reading of common article 3 would agree with the original interpretation the White House took. The detainees were illegal combatants under the original intent of the article. I'm of the belief that the Geneva Conventions desperately need to be rewritten to cover this new kind of war that was never envisioned when they were last amended.

“Smarter Students, I Note, May Want To Regurgitate”

Ann Althouse provides the best one-line description of Kevin Barrett's conspiracy theory 101 class that he will be allowed to teach at University of Wisconsin - Madison. She is posting about Mr. Barrett's appearance last night on Hannity and Colmes.

From the moment he begins speaking, Barrett twitches and jerks around quite oddly and speaks in a breathless, excited way. He tries to unload a torrent of words about the theory and won't stop to give Colmes a chance to get through his series of questions, which are quite clearly designed to put Barrett in a positive light. Barrett, however, is so keen on his theory, he'd rather spout conspiracy. He looks nutty even before Hannity starts the questions that are meant to trash him. That is, Barrett's a witness who mucks up the direct examination. It doesn't take cross-examination to bring out the problems.

When Hannity takes over, Barrett interrupts him in the middle of his first question. When Hannity insists on finishing the question, Barrett smugly goes "Yeah, yeah, finish up." On Hannity's show! As if he thinks the only people who are watching are folks who think Hannity's a jackass. Hannity asks him if he really believes 9/11 and other terrorists attacks were "an inside job." Barrett, inspiring no confidence that he will allow students to debate with him, says sharply, "I don't believe, I do know that 9/11 was an inside job." Barrett then tries to lay out the details of the theory. The word "thermate" comes out of his mouth. (It's supposed to be "thermite," but why be precise?)

Read the whole thing. It is a masterful smackdown of a true loon and his physics-defying world view.

UPDATE: Chez Diva: UW-M(oonbat)

No Links

I have seen all the coverage about the release of a hideous video showing the beastial behavior of the murderers who killed two American soldiers. Out of respect for their families, I will not link to any of the reports or to any of the other sites discussing this.

I will only point out the claim that these barbaric acts were vengeance killings for an alleged rape/murder did not arise until the media blitz bout the rape/murder started. Terrorists have demonstrated - repeatedly - that they can and do read things in the media and from the internet. I rather doubt the terrorists actually tied the two together until they read about it.

Then they figured out how to make a media circus even worse.

UPDATE: Via Mudville Gazette, the al Qaeda manual on the management of savagery. Greyhawk agrees that it is unlikely the killings were planned retaliation. The more likely reason for the claim is opportunism and propaganda value. Which our media is happy to cooperate with.

Facelift And Anniversary

To celebrate her blogoversary, Alexandra at All Things Beautiful did a bit of nip and tuck to give her site a new look. Then she went and restarted with a post about Kos!

Deep rich velvet 17th Century 'Fortuny fabric' reds and deep burnished golds, was my original idea, and it has been quite a task to achieve it in the modern world of html. The film I had in mind was 'La Reine Margot', and her spectacular wedding dress….

Onto matters at hand so to speak, and the unhappy trio of John Hellemann @ The New York Times Magazine, Joe Lieberman and Markos Moulitsas Zuniger of the Daily Kos, and the controversial editorial published in their latest issue.

As my blog buddy Rick pointed out in an email, I haven't invested in a "look" for the Crabitat. Looking at what Alexandra did, I'm afraid to try!

Nice job, Alexandra.

Money Well Spent?

How many years has the Boston "Big Dig" been going on? How many gazillion dollars over budget is it so far?

How many people are going to die from it?

BOSTON - Three-ton concrete panels fell from the ceiling of the city's Big Dig tunnel, killing a woman in a car and shutting down a section of the massive building project that has become both a central route through the city and a source of construction concerns and cost overruns.

The woman was a passenger in a car hit by debris from the ceiling late Monday, authorities said. A man believed to be the driver was able to squeeze out and was taken to a hospital with minor injuries, authorities said.

Authorities say safety has not been compromised by problems with the $14 billion Big Dig highway project, which buried Interstate 93 beneath downtown and extended the Massachusetts Turnpike to Logan Airport.

Massachusetts State Police said that stretch would be closed indefinitely while authorities clean up debris and inspect the area.

In a news conference early Tuesday, Massachusetts Turnpike Authority Chairman Matthew Amorello said the ceiling collapse was caused by a steel tieback giving way. The tieback held a 40-foot ceiling section in place over Interstate 90.

"There was a snapping sound heard," Amorello said. "One of the tile panels from the roof released. It caused a series of panels to be released."

Amorello said he's confident there is only one 200-foot section of the Big Dig project where the type of tieback that failed was used. Those ceiling panels were erected in 1999 and the contractor was Modern Continental, he said.

Gee, it's only 200 feet of three ton panels that might fall at any time. Boston drivers should treat it as an adventure, right Mr. Amorello?

UPDATE: Local coverage. A Blog For All also notes the problems. Universal Hub has an extensive roundup (and thank you for the link and quote)

Is It Just Me?

Or does hunting for a smoothie and having to settle for coffee with ice cream in it seem a rather odd way to fast?

I find traveling out of the country very challenging being on a fast. When I was on a layover in Madrid on my way to Venice, Italy yesterday, the closest thing I could find to a smoothie to get a little protein was a coffee with vanilla ice cream in it. Traveling for 22 hours is very taxing under normal circumstances–but then again, when have we had normal circumstances since the 2000 and 2004 successful coup attempts that have brought BushCo into power?

Personally, it sounds more like the Michael Moore fasting plan, but without the Big Macs. I don't think Cindy gets it. A fast is when you don't eat. What she's doing is hunting for the best Starbuck's in Europe.

Yeesh.

UPDATE: Other's suitably impressed with Cindy's dedication: John Hawkins, who suggests giving her chicken. We here have moved along from the chicken idea to the (we think) more ingenious drunken bear waving a barbecue chicken and jalapeno pizza. But the thought is there. UNCoRRELATED now needs a cause to dedicate his diet fast to. Florida Cracker wonders if it's appropriate to send sympathy cards. Sweetness and Light observes that half the women in California have not been dieting, they have been fasting!

World Cup Follies

Oh Lord, It just will not stop. Since soccer has as much high drama as a sunny afternoon watching grass grow, the press feels it has to do something to spice it up. Today, the Times of London informs us they may have determined what the grave insult Marco Materazzi of Italy supposedly made to Zinédine Zidane of France. 

WITH his monkish mien backed by a sense of brooding menace, Zinédine Zidane has always been something of an enigma, so it is perhaps fitting that the final act of his career should be the source of such mystery.

Just why did a man blessed with complete control of a football lose his head in such a violent manner at such a crucial moment, boring it into the chest of Marco Materazzi?

As L’Equipe summed up the moment of madness with a headline of “Regrets Éternels”, a day of endless questioning began. With many conflicting versions of events circling on the internet and in the world’s media, The Times enlisted the help of an expert lip reader, Jessica Rees, to determine the precise nature of the dialogue that caused Zidane to react in such a manner.

After an exhaustive study of the match video, and with the help of an Italian translator, Rees claimed that Materazzi called Zidane “the son of a terrorist whore” before adding “so just f*** off” for good measure, supporting the natural assumption that the Frenchman must have been grievously insulted.

As the son of two Algerian immigrants, the 34-year-old is proud of his North African roots, dedicating France’s 1998 World Cup win to “all Algerians who are proud of their flag and all those who have made sacrifices for their family but who have never abandoned their own culture”, so such a slur would certainly explain, if not justify, his violent response.

When asked about the allegations on his return to Rome, Materazzi issued a vehement denial, while sources close to the player emphasised that he had not been accused of racism before, pointing to his close friendship with Obafemi Martins, the Nigeria and Inter Milan striker.

“It is absolutely not true,” Materazzi said. “I did not call him a terrorist. I’m ignorant. I don’t even know what the word means. The whole world saw what happened on live TV.”

So, using a noted lip reader who doesn't speak the language. This is the result? Are we certain? Uh- who cares? Even if an insult was thrown, it's part of the game. I've heard worse than that at sporting events before, I'm sure soccer is no different. Heck, you ought to hear some parents at Little League games!

However, we here at Blue Crab Boulevard can also play at the Times' game. We hired a noted expert in lip from the Magic 8-Ball Detective Agency and Discount Tire, Inc. to do an exhaustive study of a series of drawings on cocktail napkins reproduced entirely by memory. But fueled by large quantities of beer to enhance their accuracy. 

After an exhaustive study of the drawings, and with the help of a guy who actually met an Italian once, our hired gun claimed that Materazzi called Zidane “a cheese eating, baguette gnoshing girly man” before adding “so just surrender already” for good measure, supporting the natural assumption that the Frenchman must have been grievously insulted by an overdose of truth.