Illegal Immigrants The Real Victims Of Hurricane Ike

Yeah. That's how you can summarize this Reuters article in a few words.

"They don't have resources and they don't have legal status, and we are concerned that they might not ... have water or electricity," said Fernando Garcia, the director of the Border Network for Human Rights, a nonprofit advocacy group.

"People are afraid to reach out for help as they don't know if immigration (police) will detain them or not," he said.

There are more than one million undocumented workers in Texas, with many living in Houston and surrounding areas hit by the hurricane, according to the Border Network.

With drivers' licenses and Social Security numbers as the keys to unlocking government aid, assistance such as emergency food stamps and help with temporary housing are largely unavailable for this population.

[...]

"The question of benefits and who can apply after a disaster is a big issue," said The National Council of La Raza spokeswoman Sara Benitez. "That has been a really big issue in the Gulf Coast."

La Raza, a Washington-based advocacy group for Latinos, plans to release a report next month that examines what it sees as unfair treatment of undocumented workers after U.S. disasters, and recommends changes in U.S. policy that specifically would alter disaster assistance programs to benefit Latinos.

You keep seeing different variations of the question, "How do the "undocumented" workers get relief from the government"?

The answer is simple, they don't. The American government should only give relief to American citizens. If the illegals don't like it, I will gladly assist them in returning to their home country.

Why Comerica Bank Sucks III

After two investment firms failed to negotiate new terms with Comerica bank and executives of Norwalk Furniture, the 106 year old company is now history. Several thousand people are now without a job in several states. Of all the financial institutions that have gone under, Comerica bank  should've been the first.

The only hope left for the now former Norwalk Furniture employees is that a new furniture company comes in and buys the company. I'm going to assume that if a new company purchases Norwalk Furniture, it will be for the name and the buildings will remain empty. If a new company would decide to resume production at the facilities, I'm sure the wages will be considerably lower.

I can only hope for the best for the employees.

 

Previously:

Why Comerica Bank Sucks!

Why Comerica Bank Sucks II

My New Project

I've been slacking off a lot lately on updating this blog. It's not intentional, I've just been working on some new things.

I love air shows, and I love taking photo's of air shows. So I decided to try to improve both. I'm working on selling some of my photo's and I've created a cafepress store which features products with some of my aviation photography.

The reason I'm doing this is to obviously make money, but almost all of that money will go towards a new camera and my ability to go to more air shows. Even a close show like Cleveland, I easily drop $200 for one day when you figure gas, tickets, food, & camera batteries. You're at the mercy of the vendors at air shows because you cannot take food, water, or coolers.

Unfortunately; I can only use one photo at this time. It's of the United States Air Force Legacy Flight. Money from the first few sales will go towards the premium membership where I can use more photo's.

So, check it out. Buy something while you're there...or not. It's up to you.

 

The TASPics name just stands for Tim's Air Show Pics. It's not a product of a genius marketing team.

 

Air shows I plan to attend in 2009:

Thunder over Michigan

Indianapolis Air Show

Dayton Air Show

Cleveland Air show

and the show I would absolutely love to go see...Joint Services Open House at Andrews AFB. It's pretty much the greatest air show known to man.

2008 Cleveland Air Show

Saturday, August 30th, I made the trip over to Cleveland to watch the air show. This year was much better than last year. I believe the US Navy Blue Angels are what pushed it over the top. Last year, the USAF Thunderbirds performed. I thought they were great. Now they are just good, the Blue Angels are great.

What I thought were just ordinary pictures, actually turned out to be great thanks to various backgrounds.

First off was a picture of a USMC Humvee. I was just taking a pic of the Humvee, after I got home I realized how nice the skyline of Cleveland looked in this pic.

 

 

The second picture is of the Blue Angels. I'm still learning how to photograph planes going several hundred miles per hour. I basically just click and pray. But this one has the sun in the background.

 

If you've never seen a C-5 in person, you cannot appreciate how enormous it is. While traveling to the airport, the tail was the first thing I seen.

 

 

 

I once again got distracted by the shiny objects. This one was a B-17G called "Yankee Lady"

 

 

 

Of course; I almost always find something completely unrelated to the air show that captures my attention.

A giant cow. Look at the back of the RV at the rear of the cow.

 

 

Complete with giant teats.

 

Now for a couple Blue Angels pics. The first pic is of Fat Albert. It's the Blue Angels maintenance plane that also does a demo.

 

 

 

 

 

I would like to post more, but I have to remember those who may have dial-up. So CLICK HERE and it will take you to the photo album where there is a whole lot more great pictures. I think there's about 420 pictures in the album

I Haven't Gone Missing...

Just been really busy recently. I also went to the Cleveland Air Show this past Saturday. Pics will be in the next post.

Some things that occurred over my time away.

Sarah Palin named McCain's VP. Holds some very conservative viewpoints. Ideally; I would've like her to complete one full term as governor. Hopefully; she will be a partner and not window dressing. Being 44 and still smokin' hot doesn't hurt either.

Hurricane Gustav hits Louisiana. It's absolutely shocking that they managed to get it right this time. I wonder if it has anything to do with the REPUBLICAN governor that was recently elected. hmmmmm.

OBAMA/BIDEN '08

I probably will be still be sleeping when the news breaks that will allow the world to spin again, but it looks more and more like Joe Biden from Delaware is going to be Obama's VP pick. If it is, great choice Obama. That ship is going to sink faster than the titanic.

I just received a text from CNN stating they confirmed Biden IS the VP pick. AP is reporting it also.

Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware is Barack Obama's pick as vice presidential running mate, The Associated Press has learned.

Biden, 65, is a veteran of more than three decades in the Senate, and one of his party's leading experts on foreign policy, an area in which polls indicate Obama needs help in his race against Republican rival John McCain.

The official who spoke did so on condition of anonymity, saying they did not want to pre-empt a text-message announcement the Obama campaign promised for Saturday morning.

 

As for McCain's VP, I'm sure he will piss off all Conservatives and select Romney or Lieberman.

Condi Tells It Like It Is, Tells Russians To Shut It Regarding Threats To Poland

Secretary of State Condolezza Rice told the Russians, you attack Poland, you attack the US.

Russia's foreign ministry today threatened to go beyond diplomatic protests in response to the signing of a U.S.-Polish deal to base part of an American missile defense system in Poland, which borders part of Russia.

The latest threat came after a top Russian general said Poland would risk a military strike if it allowed the base and as U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice dismissed Russia's saber rattling, saying the threats "border on the bizarre."

"When you threaten Poland, you perhaps forget that it is not 1988," Rice said, according to The Associated Press. "It's 2008 and the United States has a ... firm treaty guarantee to defend Poland's territory as if it was the territory of the United States. So it's probably not wise to throw these threats around."

Russia Still Has Yet To Withdraw From Georgia, Soldiers Taken Prisoner, US Humvees Stolen

Why did it only take Russia less than 24 hours to launch an invasion into Georgia, but a week after they were supposed to withdraw, they're still there? Could it be because they had planned all along to invade Georgia, but had no plans to withdraw?

Georgian soldiers have been taken prisoner because they weren't at their base. They were handcuffed, blindfolded, and held at gunpoint. The Russians have also stolen US Humvees while they were at port awaiting shipment back to the US. The Russians are also continuing to destroy the infrastructure of Georgia.

Russian soldiers took about 20 Georgians in military uniform prisoner at a key Black Sea port in western Georgia on Tuesday, blindfolding them and holding them at gunpoint, and commandeered American Humvees awaiting shipment back to the United States.

The move came as a small column of Russian tanks and armored vehicles left the strategic city of Gori in the first sign of a Russian pullback of troops from Georgia after a cease-fire intended to end fighting that reignited Cold War tensions.

The two countries on Tuesday also exchanged prisoners. However, Russian soldiers seized Georgians in Poti — the country's key oil port city — and commandeered four U.S. Humvees that had been used in U.S.-Georgian military exercises.

Germany Supports NATO Membership For Georgia

They should've supported them the first time around, but nonetheless, better late than never. I wonder what kind of fits the Russians will throw this time?

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is offering strong support for Georgia, saying the country is on track to become a member of NATO.

Merkel flew to the Georgian capital of Tbilisi on Sunday, two days after she met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

In a speech Sunday, Merkel also suggested that NATO could help rebuild the tattered Georgian military.

It's Official: Beer-Goggles Are For Real

The next time you wake up with an ugly in your bed, just remember...it's not your fault.

THE next time you hear someone blaming "beer goggles" for their behaviour, you may have to believe them. People really do appear more attractive when our perceptions are changed by drinking alcohol.

There have been few previous attempts to investigate the idea that people seem to find others more attractive when drunk. In 2003, psychologists at the University of Glasgow, UK, published a study in which they asked heterosexual students in campus bars and cafés whether they had been drinking, and then got them to rate photos of people for attractiveness. While the results supported the beer goggles theory, another explanation is that regular drinkers tend to have personality traits that mean they find people more attractive, whether or not they are under the influence of alcohol at the time.

To resolve the issue, a team of researchers led by Marcus Munafò at the University of Bristol in the UK conducted a controlled experiment. They randomly assigned 84 heterosexal students to consume either a non-alcoholic lime-flavoured drink or an alcoholic beverage with a similar flavour. The exact amount of alcohol varied according to the individual but was designed to have an effect equivalent to someone weighing 70 kilograms drinking 250 millitres of wine - enough to make some students tipsy. After 15 minutes, the students were shown pictures of people their own age, from both sexes.

Both men and women who had consumed alcohol rated the faces as being more attractive than did the controls (Alcohol and Alcoholism, DOI: 10.1093/alcalc/agn065). Surprisingly, the effect was not limited to the opposite sex - volunteers who had drunk alcohol also rated people from their own sex as more attractive.

Did Anyone Know Racewalking Was An Olympic Sport?

If you haven't seen it...words cannot describe how ridiculous it is.

Taliban Militants Are The Preferred Food Of Military Dogs

Military Dogs are out in the field for long hours too. When they get a craving, there's only one thing that suppresses their hunger...Taliban militants!

US coalition dogs bit two fleeing suspected Taliban militants during an operation in eastern Afghanistan in which a total of eight insurgents were detained, the coalition said Friday.

The raid Thursday in the Muslim country's Paktika province targeted a Taliban subcommander wanted for kidnapping, killing Afghan soldiers and involvement in roadside attacks, it said.

During the operation, "two militants attempted to flee and were pursued by coalition military working dogs," the coalition said in a statement. "Both militants received dog-bite injuries, one of which required treatment on scene by coalition medical personnel."

1st Lt. Nathan Perry, a coalition spokesman, would not say what kind of dogs were used in the raid, but said the troops will "use dogs when we need to." Perry did not know if the targeted Taliban subcommander was among those detained and the statement did not specify.

In Islamic tradition, dogs are shunned as unclean and dangerous.

Now That Poland Agreed To Missile Defense, Russia Threatens Nukes

Russians have escalated their hissy-fit to new levels. Now they say Poland may face a nuclear attack by allowing interceptor missiles to be based there.

A top Russian general said Friday that Poland's agreement to accept a U.S. missile interceptor base exposes the ex-communist nation to attack, possibly by nuclear weapons, the Interfax news agency reported.

The statement by Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn is the strongest threat that Russia has issued against the plans to put missile defense elements in former Soviet satellite nations.

Poland and the United States on Thursday signed a deal for Poland to accept a missile interceptor base as part of a system the United States says is aimed at blocking attacks by rogue nations. Moscow, however, feels it is aimed at Russia's missile force.

"Poland, by deploying (the system) is exposing itself to a strike — 100 percent," Nogovitsyn, the deputy chief of staff, was quoted as saying.

He added, in clear reference to the agreement, that Russia's military doctrine sanctions the use of nuclear weapons "against the allies of countries having nuclear weapons if they in some way help them." Nogovitsyn that would include elements of strategic deterrence systems, he said, according to Interfax.

After Russia's invasion of Georgia, what now for the West?

Another great piece by John Bolton:

As bad as the bloodying of Georgia is, the broader consequences are worse. The United States fiddled while Georgia burned, not even reaching the right rhetorical level in its public statements until three days after the Russian invasion began, and not, at least to date, matching its rhetoric with anything even approximating decisive action. This pattern is the very definition of a paper tiger. Sending Secretary of State Condeleezza Rice to Tbilisi is touching, but hardly reassuring; dispatching humanitarian assistance is nothing more than we would have done if Georgia had been hit by a natural rather than a man-made disaster.

The European Union took the lead in diplomacy, with results approaching Neville Chamberlain’s moment in the spotlight at Munich: a ceasefire that failed to mention Georgia’s territorial integrity, and that all but gave Russia permission to continue its military operations as a “peacekeeping” force anywhere in Georgia. More troubling, over the long term, was that the EU saw its task as being mediator – its favorite role in the world – between Georgia and Russia, rather than an advocate for the victim of aggression.

Even this dismal performance was enough to relegate NATO to an entirely backstage role, while Russian tanks and planes slammed into a “faraway country”, as Chamberlain once observed so thoughtfully. In New York, paralyzed by the prospect of a Russian veto, the UN Security Council, that Temple of the High-Minded, was as useless as it was during the Cold War. In fairness to Russia, it at least still seems to understand how to exercise power in the Council, which some other Permanent Members often appear to have forgotten.

The West, collectively, failed in this crisis. Georgia wasted its dime making that famous 3am telephone call to the White House, the one Hillary Clinton referred to in a campaign ad questioning Barack Obama’s fitness for the Presidency. Moreover, the blood on the Bear’s claws did not go unobserved in other states that were once part of the Soviet Union. Russia demonstrated unambiguously that it could have marched directly to Tbilisi and installed a puppet government before any Western leader was able to turn away from the Olympic Games. It could, presumably, do the same to them.

Read the rest.

Venezuela Pres. Hugo Chavez Blames US For Russia-Georgia Conflict

The Venezuelan crazy man has accused the U.S. of "incitement of violence" between Russia and Georgia.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez accused the United States of masterminding the current conflict between Georgia and Russia.

A statement from Chavez's government Thursday alleged that the conflict was "planned, prepared and ordered" by Washington in an "incitement of violence."

Venezuela is a close ally of Russia, which it says has acted to protect local residents from "unacceptable acts of violence" perpetrated by Georgian troops.

Venezuela's statement saluted steps toward peace in South Ossetia, saying Russia's stance had been in line with international accords.