Jim Phaserman

The nose gaurd got a pick, which is always good. Oakland's Defense needs to get a pass rush going, or Tom Brady is going to make them look stupid.

Well, VBG, Looks like the Pats are dealing it out again...

From what I gather, the Federation is supposedly as close as you can get to a True Communist state. everyone works for the betterment of the people as a whole, not for one's self. Could war be eridicated? On a single planet, yes, through a planetary government. in the Galaxy, Probably not. Is it my idea of a perfect society? I dunnow. I kinda like the idea of a Representative Republic myself. Though, the Federation does kind of blend Communism with Representative Republic a bit.

What I've heard on Wesley and Worf is this: There were supposed to be scenes where 1. Picard tells Wesley "It's good to see you back in uniform" which leads me to believe Wesley came back and finished up at the Academy, OR rejoined Starfleet during the Dominion War and was granted a Commission.

Also, Worf was supposed to tell Riker I think that the Ambassador's life wasn't for him, so he resigned his Ambassadorship to return to Starfleet.

I think Katrina will also have widespread consequences. 9/11's consequences did involve some domestic changes (Including how Emergency Personnel such as Firefighters and Policemen respond to these incidents) but it's legacy will be the foreign policy aspect. is also expected to have killed more people than Pearl Harbor, 9/11, and (I think, but I will do some checking) Andrew put together. Katrina gets my vote. The consequences will have to do with how we respond to natural disasters and the like domestically.

The Civil War doesn't count as a disaster, it was, however, a human tragedy. According to a song by Darryl Worley about the Battle of Shiloh, it's "Brothers killing Brothers, Fathers slaying sons..."

That looks like a blown up version of the same satellite picture I had in my video. You can really see how bad it is there.

I actually used the video editor that came with my webcam for this, I'm not sure how to work everything on it yet. but thank you, LOTB. That video was several hours of work to compile, and It turned out better than I thought it would

Thanks for the effort anyways, Cara. I went with VBG's because I knew he is a fan of Alabama, so he'd know precisely which song I was talking about. the video should be up within 24 hours. I prematurely posted a topic about it, but like I said, it will be about 24 hours before I'm actually able to make it appear.

Alright, this video was done with the help of Gary and Tommy, who helped scour the net for images, and VBG who found a good version of the song used in the video.

*Edit 2: Okay, I have a direct link to the video. It's a .mpg video, so you'll probably need Realplayer, or Windows Media Player to view it.

http://www.freewebs.com/usseros/helpout1.MPG

I've got two versions of a video using still images, one with no sound, and one with Gary doing a "Single Person Duet" at the end. I downloaded VBG's link, and I'll add it in to a third, then try and get it up on here.

Thanks, guys!

I'm working on making a photo show of the Hurricane Relief Efforts, and I want to put it to music, but I cannot find a download for the song I am looking for to put with it. I'm looking for the song "Angels Among Us" By Alabama, but I can't find a .wav or .mp3 format version of the song (the only two sound file types I know work with my program). Anyone know where I Might find a copy of this song?

That's what the Army Corps of Engineers is there for, TM. And now after seeing that, folks may see why it has taken so long to get supplies in. Yes, there is one stretch of Hiway that is virtually all above water, but look at how much is under water...just getting anywhere on the day this photo was taken (and it ain't much better at 3:44 Sunday Morning Nawlins time, from what I understand) looks to be impossible by truck or car. you need a boat.

I have to say this...I just HAVE to. 1. the Louisianna National Gaurd SHOULD have been activated and standing by NLT the Saturday before it hit. Even just as a precaution. 2. On Monday, the day after, Everyone said things looked pretty good, all things considered. so yes, there were some relief efforts planned, but some were also shelved, because "It looked Okay". Tuesday was when the whole situation really started to go to hell in a handbasket. and it happened slowly. by the time anyone realised what was really happening, folks were starting to set up camp on their rooftops.

Now, as for federal aide, alot of the troops coming in are National Gaurd Troops. as far as activating them, you can't just snap your fingers and POOF! There's a Battalion. It takes TIME. You have to contact everyone in said Battalion, inform them that yes, you are being called up, so they can make arrangements with their family and work (since the National Gaurd is not a regular military force that is on call 24/7/365, and many of these guys have jobs in the civilian world.) then you have to set a report time, when all hands must muster in. you have to set up a plan of attack, in this case, form a convoy, load supplies (which again, can't be accomplished just by saying "Put supplies on the trucks", it takes people loading those Six-Bys with the MREs and Water and Medical gear, which if you've ever loaded a U-haul, you know takes....Time...)

to mobilise a Battalion, it would probably take 48 hours. Then, you have the problem of coordination. Okay, we've got 3 Battalions from the ILNG, 4 from Missouri, 6 from Arkansas, and 10 from Louisianna. Who's in charge, though? cus with that situation, you've got 23 Majors, how do you determine who's in command? You have to set up a chain of command, and set up coordination between these 23 battalions and FEMA (Who has no excuse, by the way) and the Red Cross (again, no excuse), and the Coast Gaurd and Navy (who had Helicoptors flying since Day 1. the Navy even went so far as to pre-possition an Amphibious Assault Ship off-shore for relief efforts.)The fact is, Response takes time. and on top of that, WE'VE NEVER WITNESSED ANYTHING ON THIS SCALE BEFORE IN OUR LIFETIMES AT THE VERY LEAST!. This disaster is on a larger scale than 9/11. It's on a larger scale than Hurricane Andrew. It's larger than the Northridge Quake in California. At least folks there still probably had somewhere to go within the city, AND many city roads were still useable! Just look at the satellite photos, and explain to me how, on Wednesday, you'd get a National Gaurd Convoy to where it needed to go? Those trucks can only ford water so deep. people expect things to happen with the snap of a finger. It doesn't. That's life. and death, too, I'm afraid.

We had the news coverage on in the Social Sciences Office today, and....wow, that's about all I can say. I used to live down in the general area (near Pascagoula, MS) during the Late 80's when my Dad was assigned to PCU Chancellorsville (What a ship is called before it's Commissioned, and recieves it's USS Prefix) and I remember my parents boarding up the house in preparation for a Hurricane that never hit...

By the way, a couple of High-Profile folks were affected in one way or another by this. NFL Quarterback Brett Favre's house in Kill (is that the correct spelling?), Mississippi was destroyed by Katrina. However, all of his family had gone north before the storm. Also, NFL Quarterback and New Orleans native Payton Manning expressed his surprise at the extent of the damage to his home town. The New Orleans Saints left Sunday for Northern California before the storm hit, and my be forced to play all of their games at LSU for a few months while the situation in Nawlins is brought under control.

Missile Attacks Target U.S. Vessel, Israel

Friday, August 19, 2005

 

PHOTOS

   

Click image to enlarge

 

AMMAN, Jordan — Unknown assailants fired at least three missiles from Jordan early Friday, with one narrowly missing a U.S. Navy (search) ship docked at port, an attack that killed a Jordanian soldier. One missile fell close to an airport in neighboring Israel, officials said.

 

The U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet (search), based in Bahrain, said two American amphibious ships were docked in Aqaba when a mortar was fired toward them. The vessels later sailed out of port as a result of the attacks, U.S. Navy spokesman Lt. Cdr. Charlie Brown told The Associated Press in Bahrain.

 

Jordanian soldier Ahmed Jamal Saleh (search) was fatally wounded when the mortar sailed over one of the U.S. ships and slammed into a warehouse, a Jordanian security official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

 

The soldier died in the ambulance taking him to hospital; another Jordanian was also wounded, the official added.

 

"At approximately 8:44 a.m. local time, a suspected mortar rocket flew over the USS Ashland's bow and impacted in a warehouse on the pier in the vicinity of the Ashland and USS Kearsage," Brown said. "The warehouse sustained an approximate 8-foot hole in the roof of the building."

 

No sailors or Marines were injured in the attack, Brown said.

 

A Jordanian security official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media, said another missile landed near a Jordanian hospital.

 

The attacks were believed to have been launched from a poor neighborhood on the outskirts of Aqaba, a Jordanian Red Sea (search) port 210 miles south of the capital, Amman, officials said.

 

The attacks come amid a time of tension in the region marked by Israel's withdrawal from the Palestinian Gaza and several terrorist attacks on Egypt's Sinai Peninsula during the past year, including the July 23 attack in Sharm el-Sheik.

 

Aqaba and Eilat are about 10 miles apart and located on either side the Jordan-Israeli border at the northern end of the Red Sea close to Sinai Peninsula (search).

 

Israeli police and witnesses said a Katyusha rocket fired from Jordan slammed into a taxi traveling near the airport in Israel's nearby Red Sea resort of Eilat, but did not explode.

 

"I heard a noise, the car shook, and I kept driving for two more meters (yards)," said Israeli cab driver Meir Farhan, 40, who suffered mild wounds. "I didn't realize what it was. When I went out of the car I saw a hole in the ground on the asphalt."

 

The rocket left a small crater in the road about 15 yards from the Eilat airport fence, said local police commander Avi Azulin.

 

Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, speaking in southern Israel, said the attacks were "intended to hit the Israeli side and the Jordanian side as well."

 

Jordan, which is home to 1.8 million Palestinian refugees and their descendants, and Israel signed a 1994 peace deal.

 

It was not immediately clear who was behind the attacks, but Islamic extremists have long criticized Jordan's U.S.-allied moderate government for its peace treaty with Israel and close ties with the West.

 

"We still don't know who is behind this act but I'm sure the Jordanians will do all they can to prevent such attacks in the future as in the past," Mofaz said, adding Israeli authorities are in contact with Jordanians over the incidents.

 

Alittle background on the ships, USS Kearsarge is a Wasp Class LHD, a type of ship often mis-identified as an aircraft carrier. It's primary mission is landing Marines ashore through the use of a number of amphibious landing craft (including LCACs) and Helicopters. USS Ashland is a Whidbey Island class Landing Ship Dock, charactorised by their standard-shaped bow, blocky superstructure, and aft 5/8-3/4 being a flat helo pad. the Ashland can carry a number of helicopters and up to 4 Landing Craft, Air Cushion assault vehicles. Neither of these vessels are small ships. the Ashland is just over 600 feet long and 80 feet wide, displacing over 15,000 tons. the Kearsarge is 844 feet long, and 106 feet abeam (making it a "PanaMax", or the widest possible beam with capabilities to traverse the Panama Canal) displacing over 40,000 tons. In essence, Kearsarge DOES act as a mini-carrier, carrying Helicopters and the US Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier Jumpjet.

Very nice, LOTB!

James is hebrew for Supplanter, and Timothy is Greek for "Honoring God".

According to dictionary.com on "Supplanter": "one who wrongfully or illegally seizes and holds the place of another" So, maybe I'm destined to overthrow someone?

I don't mean those inbreds.

 

I mean me.

 

The most desirable man on the face of the Earth.

 

....and probably other planets too.

347674[/snapback]

*Laughs histerically* Sorry, king...Couldn't resist. I'd figure most women might rate RICHARD GERE or GEORGE STRAIGHT ahead of you. Right, Tina?

And hey, I'm a pretty sexy man myself. and I make the uniform look GOOOOOOOD!

By the way, as long as I'm imitating him, is Will Smith even on the list?

I've voting for Gbaja-Biamilla. Just because it's hard to pronounce, and harder to spell.

Actually, I'm not all that impressed with the Vikings or the Lions this year. for 1. Joey Harrington is still starting in Detroit. That's a major problem right there. 2. Minnesota is lacking something Green Bay AND Chicago both possess---a deep-threat reciever. Green Bay actually has 2 in Javon Walker and Donald Driver. 3. Minnesota allowed 16 points to be put up on them by the 3rd best team in the AFC West. Not the 3rd Best Team in the AFC, the 3rd Best team in the AFC's least productive division. That says something about their "Remodeled Defense". Packers win the Division for a 4th straight time.

Anyone watch the game last night? You wanna talk about a team that is well balanced, look at Pittsburg. they scored 21 points...before Ben Rothlesburger and the Steeler's Offense even stepped onto the field. Big Ben only took 9 snaps. He didn't need to take any more. I'd say that Pittsburg is going to make New England look absolutely silly this season, hell, they already did it to Philly....Packers and Steelers in the Superbowl. Final Score? 31-10 Steelers, as much as I hate to say it.

This is the truth that the man speaks. I know. Granted, my daughter is still just a baby, I do have a teenage sister...and a 12 gauge shotgun. Too bad my sister's Fiance spent more time in Iraq than Gary and I combined...the shotgun isn't too intimidating to him. However, I imagine it might be to any of Sarah's future boyfriends.

Arrgg...Political Correctness is driving me mad. I heard in one town, Plumbers were forced to change the names of certain Toilet parts (The Ball (I'm trying to say a bad word but can't) and the Stop (I'm trying to say a bad word but can't)) to the Ball Valve and the Stop Valve. (One plumber actually charges 25% more for a Stop Valve than he does for a Stop (I'm trying to say a bad word but can't)). Also, a Texas town changed it's "officiall" Telephone greating to "Heaven-o" Because "Hello" sounded like devil worship. Geeze, people, life would be soo much easier if some folks could remove their head from their hindparts.

The Bears Still Suck. If you are a fan of the Vikings, Lions, or especially the Packers, you know this phrase well. If you are a Bears Fan, you probably deny it till you are blue and orange in the face. But, it is a fairly accurate assessment. Perhaps, though, the phrase should be reworded. "It sucks to be the Bears" might seem more accurate tonight. Last year, Bears' Quarterback Rex Grossman missed most of the season with a knee injury. his absence caused a colamity(sp?) in Chicago, which went through 4 different starting quarterbacks before finishing the 2004 regular season with a dismal record of 6-10. The Bears had one bright spot last year, beating Green Bay in Lambeau Field 27-10 in the second game of the season, while Grossman was still healthy. With Grossman out last season, the Bears made a mad shuffle through 3 other quarterbacks, including Craig Krenzel and Chad Hutchinson, who would be sacked 9 times during the Week 17 rematch against divisional rival Green Bay (4 of the sacks were recorded by 1 player: Defensive End Kabeer Gbaja-Biamilla #94). This year, "Hutch" will now be thrust back into the starting role to fill in for the again-injured Grossman.

The Bears' Season appears to be over. The Bears had problems last year, and will inevitably have more issues this year as a result of a lack of Grossman. Perhaps the Bears really ARE the NFL's Bad News Bears.

I was one who jumped off the sinking ship of Startrek.com's chatrooms, and was rescued by STF.net. I noticed shortly thereafter that I was, in fact, not the only member to be picked up from the waters of destitutism following the st.com chatroom closures. I do distinctly remember Tina from the Trek Chats, and a few others (Rivendell's King is probably the only one who came here with a different name, he used to be Voric). I did get into some trouble when I came here. Oh, who the hell am I kidding? I got into a big pile of it, and ended up leaving the board...or so it appeared. And yes, if you didn't know, I was "Agent J". That incident behind me, I returned with a vow never to get myself into that much trouble again. and I think I've been successful.

Klingon Bird of Prey from Star Trek (B'Rel class, not that stupid K'Vort Class)

X-wing from Star Wars...

and my all time favorite that isn't on the list and SHOULD be....

A few of you may recognise that....Yes, that IS an Iowa Class Battleship. If ya ask me, there ain't a more beautiful ship anywhere in Fact or Fiction.