Today's Train of Thought takes us (where else?) Down Under to Australia.
While railways elsewhere in Australia were something of an amalgamation of different gauges and engineering techniques [that apparently weren't brought to a single national standard until the 1980s- NANESB!] the iron-ore railroads of Western Australia's Pilbarra region operate some of the biggest trains in the world in some of the most inhospitable terrain on earth.
One of the first iron-ore lines in northwestern Australia was the Hammersley Iron line between the port of Dampier and the then newly-opened Tom Price mine more than 300km inland back in 1966. Japanese manufacturers sought massive quantities of iron-ore from the Pilbarra region and in no time, 230+ car trains of iron ore began winding their way from mines in the unforgiving interior to waiting vessels in Dampier. To the east, a competing iron-ore railway called the Mount Newman Railway was under construction and by August 1969 saw the first iron-ore trains on its rails.
Much more recently, Fortescue Metals Group sought rail service their Cloud Break mine and Port Hedland some 250 miles away. Before spending more than A$2 billion on a mew line, Fortescue sought access to Cloud Break by way of obtaining trackage rights on BHP Billiton's Mt Newman line. However, that faced legal challenges and Fortescue ended up building their own iron-ore line to Port Hedland, with work completed by 2008.
Meanwhile, like railroads in the US, the other western Australia iron-ore rail lines were subject to mergers and consolidations [although unlike the boom and bust cycles in the USA, the Aussie lines have seen steady growth since opening up- NANESB!] and the original Hammersely iron line came under the control of multinational Rio Tino.
Here, railpictures.net contributor Sean McGarraghy caught Rio Tinto ES44AC #8185 on the point of a northbound ore train as it makes its way through Millstream-Chichester National Park on its way to Dampier on May 14th, 2014. These massive trains routinely exceed 230 cars and often require additional power in the middle of the train.
While on the subject of Australia, the Miss Universe pageant was on Sunday. While Miss Australia, Tegan Martin, made the final cut of 10, the grand prize was awarded to Miss Colombia.
A gunman who held staff and patrons of a chocolate shop in Sydney's business district was shot and killed by police as they stormed the building in the early morning hours of Monday. However, the gunman- identified as an Iranian immigrant who went by the name of Man Haron Monis- reportedly shot and killed two of his hostages before being brought down by police gunfire.
Monis was known to local police and was out on bail when he entered the chocolate shop. In addition to charges of conspiracy to commit murder in the death of his ex-wife Monis was facing at least 40 charges of sexual assault after a 27 year old woman filed a complaint with police.
In January this year, a 27-year-old woman complained to police that she had been sexually assaulted by Monis, after attending "spiritual healing sessions" in response to an advertisement placed in newspapers aimed at the Fijian-Indian, Macedonian, Spanish and Chinese communities.
That complaint triggered a police investigation, which saw Monis charged on April 14 with three sexual assault charges against one woman. The charges were sexual intercourse without consent and two charges of assault with act of indecency.
The woman was visiting him at a property in Station Street, Wentworthville, in August 2002. He appeared before Magistrate Christine Haskett at Kogarah Local Court. He was refused bail.
On May 26, he was granted bail at Parramatta Local Court by Magistrate Joan Baptie. The conditions placed on him in December 2013 were reinstated although he was to live at an address in Wiley Park.
On October 10, he was charged with a further 40 sexual assault charges against six women. This included 22 counts of aggravated sexual assault, 14 counts of aggravated indecent assault, one count of aggravated act of indecency, one count of sexual assault and two counts of assault with act of indecency. The women were visiting him at Wentworthville where he was offering services as a "spiritual healer". His bail was continued by Magistrate Dorelle Pinch.
He was due to appear in Penrith Local Court on Friday, December 12, but this was vacated and changed to February 27, 2015.
Apparently, despite being on bail for numerous serious criminal charges against him, Monis was still able to obtain a firearm in a nation with strict gun control laws. Although Monis' then-partner Amirah Drouids also faced charges in the stabbing death of Moni's ex-wife, it appears as though Monis acted on his own in the siege.
Monis also claimed that he was in contact with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's office and sought to send "237 baskets of flowers with 237 condolence letters" to families of British soldiers killed in Afghanistan- but Australian officials prevented him from having any contact after the self-styled 'sheikh' sent poison-pen letters to families of Australian soldiers killed in Afghanistan referring to them as 'sons of pigs' no better than Hitler.
He came to the attention of police between 2007 and 2009, when he wrote poison pen letters to the families of Australian servicemen killed in Afghanistan.
During court hearings over the letter-writing, Monis claimed he was a peace activist and chained himself to the court, waving a small Australian flag.
He described his letters as "flowers of advices" [sic], saying: "From now on when I want to advise people not to kill civilians I should do it by hand delivery."
In August 2013, he was sentenced to 300 hours of community service, but refused to accept the court's verdict. Despite pleading guilty to all 12 charges against him, he appealed, claiming his trial was "politically motivated" and that his children were taken away from him.
The former Labor government, while introducing a price on carbon, said the move would help slash emissions by 160 million metric tons by 2020. It offered voters billions of dollars in compensation through tax breaks and welfare payments for increased costs stemming from one of the most dramatic reforms ever attempted in the energy-reliant economy.
But after the global financial crisis took hold in 2008, followed by the end of a decadelong mining boom in 2012 that slowed growth and employment in the A$1.5 trillion (US$1.4 trillion) economy, Australian voters turned against climate laws—recognized by the International Energy Agency as model legislation for developed countries—blaming them for rising energy bills and living costs.
The World Bank in May produced a State and Trends of Carbon Pricing report counting carbon pricing programs in 40 nations and 20 regions worth a collective US$30 billion, while also singling out repeal plans in Australia as one of the biggest international threats to the rollout of similar programs elsewhere, given its example.
However, implementation of the carbon tax and other emissions laws proved costly for the then-incumbent Labour Party. Former prime-minister Kevin Rudd was unseated in an internal party challenge from Julia Gillard as his approval ratings plummeted due in part to proposed Resource Profits Super Tax which would've levied a tax of no less than 30% on mining companies should their annual profits pass an annual A$75 million threshold.
Vessels and aircraft from Australia, China and the UK are combing the seas some 2000 km off the coast of Perth, WA are reportedly tracking down the most promising lead on the missing airliner since the Malaysia Airlines 777 vanished from radar tracking a month ago. Over the weekend, searchers have confirmed they've detected an unidentified 'Ping' that is reportedly consistent with a plane's black box.
Angus Houston, who is coordinating the multinational search, said an Australian navy ship had detected two sets of pulse signals which sounded "just like an emergency locator beacon". The development was, he said, a "promising lead".
The first set was heard on Saturday and lasted for two hours and twenty minutes. The Ocean Shield ship then lost contact with the "pings" but turned around and later heard further signals for 13 minutes. It has since lost contact again and was last night trying to relocate the signals.
Significantly, Mr Houston said, the second set included two distinct sounds which would be consistent with transmissions from separate pingers attached to the black box's flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder.
The new signals are not believed to be related to those detected by a Chinese ship about 345 miles to the south.
Adding to the urgency of the search, the black box pinger has passed the 30 day point at which its battery life is expected to end – though it could last a further two weeks. The aircraft and its 239 people on board disappeared on March 8.
"We're already one day past the advertised shelf life," said Mr Houston. "We hope that it keeps going for a little bit longer."
Mr Houston said it would probably take days to confirm whether the plane has been found and a potential recovery of the aircraft would take a "long time", possibly months.
"What I'd like to see now is us find some wreckage because that will basically help solve the mystery."
Mr Houston said the area in the Indian Ocean where the plane is believed to be located is 14,800 feet deep. An underwater autonomous vehicle will be dispatched to comb the ocean bed for possible wreckage but its depth limit is also 14,800 feet.
Relatives of some of the passengers as well as investigators have been critical of Malaysia's handling of the missing airliner with officials alternately withholding information from searchers or issuing contradictory statements. Recently, one Malaysian official speaking on the condition of anonymity speculated that the aircraft may have deliberately avoided Indonesian airspace after Indonesian military officials told him the missing airliner was never detected on Indonesia's military or civilian radar.
NHL- Less than 24 hours after getting their 11th straight win in Colorado [a 2-0 shutout with their backup goalie, no less- NANESB!] the Boston Bruins made their way to Arizona to take on the Phoenix Coyotes for the second time in 8 days.
Although the Coyotes started out aggressively, Patrice Bergeron drew first blood with a goal just 3:25 into the first period. However, with less than four minutes to go, Coyotes Captain Shane Doan got the equalizer to tie the game up at 1-1. Also in the final 30 seconds of the first, Boston's Matt Bartkowski was sent to the sin bin for tripping. Although the Coyotes weren't able to do anything in the dying seconds of the first, most of that penalty would carry over to the second period where Phoenix's Oliver Ekman-Larsson would put the Coyotes on top 2-1.
This was actually the first time in seven games that the Bruins had trailed, but just 3:48 into the 3rd period, Jarome Iginla would get the equalizer to make it a 2-2 game. After twelve minutes of quick, intense and at times chippy play where it looked as though the contest would be heading for overtime, Shawn Thornton put Boston back on top with 3:18 left in regulation. Shortly after the go-ahead goal, the Coyotes pulled netminder Mike Smith for an extra attacker- however, Iginla was able to corral the puck out by the blue line and shot it for a back-breaking empty net goal with 30 seconds to go in regulation.
Boston goes on to win its 12th straight in game- this time before a standing-room only crowd of nearly 17,500 at Glendale's Jobing.com arena. Iginla has now scored 10 goals in the Bruin's last nine games while Tukka Rask stopped 31 of 33 shots faced in Glendale. By way of comparison, Mike Smith had faced 27 shots on goal and turned aside 24. The win gives Boston sole possession of the Eastern Conference lead [the 103 points is currently tied with St Louis for the best in the NHL- NANESB!]. The Bruins are now two wind shy of tying a franchise record of 14 straight wins that was set during the 1929-1930 season.
After Saturday's contest in the Grand Canyon state, the Bruins will travel back to Boston for a Monday night prime time matchup against the Montreal Canadiens. Puck is scheduled to drop and the game will be televised nationally on NBC Sports Network.
Mark Kolbe- Getty
MLB- As the Bruins and Coyotes were going head-to-head, some 7800 miles away the MLB season was getting underway Down Under. As in previous seasons, MLB had decided to start the regular season overseas while most teams were still winding down Spring Training. This time around, the season got underway as the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks went head-to-head in Australia at the Sydney Cricket ground over the weekend. The 48,000 seat cricket venue was painstakingly converted to a ballpark for the MLB's downunder opener.
The Dodgers took Friday's Game 1 by a final of 3-1. It looked as though they were on their way to an easy sweep of the two game series after getting out to a 7-0 lead against Arizona, but the Diamondbacks got on the board in the bottom of the 8th with an RBI single from offseason pickup Mark Trumbo to make it 7-1. With one out in the bottom of the 9th and runners on second and third, Martin Prado cut the lead to make it 7-3 Dodgers. Not wanting to take any more chances, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly brought start Paul Maholm into the game to get the final two outs and kill the Arizona rally. However, after striking out Miguel Montero, Mattingly brought in reliever Kenley Jansen, who immediately offered up a booming homer to Trumbo to pull the Diamondbacks to within two runs. However, Jansen would then strike out Martin Prado to end the ballgame, giving the Dodgers a sweep of the Sydney series.
The Dodgers will resume regular season play next weekend- this time on the same continent- as they face the San Diego Padres at PETCo Park in San Diego on Sunday, March 30th. First pitch is scheduled for 8:05 ET and the game will be televised on ESPN.
BOSTON BRUINS- March is shaping up to be a terrific month for the Bruins. After their rout of Montreal on Wednesday night, the B's returned home to face the Phoenix Coyotes who were fighting to secure one of the final playoff berths out west. The Bruins did all of their scoring in the first, with Zdeno Chara and Jarome Iginla accounting for all the Boston goals before Phoenix's Lauri Korpikoski ended Tukka Rask's shutout bid about midway through the third and cut the Boston lead in half. However, the Bruins would hang on to win by a 2-1 final.
On Saturday afternoon, the Bruins would play host to the Carolina Hurricanes, who were a game over .500 and looking to get into the 8th and final playoff spot in the East with a few weeks to go in the regular season.
Milan Lucic opened up the scoring for Boston in the first with 4:32 to go after driving a Krejci rebound past 'Canes goalie Cam Ward. With just over 2 and a half minutes to go in the second, Iginla gave the Bruins a 2-0 lead. However, three minutes into the 3rd stanza, Alexander Semin made it a 1-goal game for the 'Canes when Chad Johnson couldn't corral a bouncing puck. However, the Bruins would pile on three unanswered goals later on in the 3rd (from Chris Kelly, Iginla and Torey Krug) to go on and win by a final of 5-1.
Chad Johnson stopped 29 of 30 shots faced while Iginla would have a two-goal game, scoring three goals since Thursday's contest against Phoenix. The Bruins will next host the Minnesota Wild on Monday night before embarking on a 3-game road trip that takes them to New Jersey, Colorado and Phoenix. Monday night's game will be nationally televised on NBC Sports with the puck scheduled to drop at 7:30 PM ET.
ELSEWHERE IN THE NHL- Even with the Bruins on a hot streak, it seemed like it still wasn't enough to vault past the Pittsburgh Penguins for the Eastern Conference lead as recently as Thursday's contest against the Coyotes. However, the Bruins got a lot of help this weekend from the Flyers when they swept a home-and-away series against the Penguins. After shutting out the Penguins at home by a 4-0 final on Saturday, Philly edged the Pens by a 4-3 final at Pittsburgh's Consol Energy Center on Sunday afternoon.
The Bruins currently sit atop the Eastern Conference with 95 points, and Pittsburgh missed an opportunity to gain any ground on Sunday and now remain three points behind.
MLB- The team with baseball's biggest payroll- the LA Dodgers- have broken camp on their spring training facility at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, AZ and are currently enroute to Australia where they will take on the Arizona Diamondbacks at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Australia's largest city as well as an exhibition game against Australia's national team.
The two games (which are scheduled for March 22nd at 4 AM and 10 PM ET, respectively) mark the start of the 2014 MLB regular season while the rest of the league gets started on March 31st.
A coalition of right-of-center parties handed the Labour party their worst defeat since the 1930s in last week's Federal elections in Australia. The defeat came only a few weeks after former PM Kevin Rudd ousted Julia Gillard as head of the Labour party and replaced her as Prime Minister. Gillard had originally called for the elections to take place in mid-September, but the date was moved up by a few weeks once she was ousted.
Tony Abbott of Australian Liberal Party [which would be more along the lines of 'classic liberalism' by US standards- NANESB!] will be sworn in as Australia's newest Prime Minister this week after coalition of Australia's Liberal and National parties had formed a coalition. Abbott campaigned on a number of hot-button issues including repealing the unpopular carbon tax and turning back 'boat people'- asylum seekers and illegal immigrants reaching Australia by boat in the hopes of being granted asylum upon arrival in Australia- at sea and processing them offshore.
A campaign proposal by Abbott to pay Indonesian nationals bounties for information leading to human traffickers was also sharply rebuked by Indonesia's foreign minister this week. The two governments are expected to discuss the boat people issue in-depth during a summit next month.
South Australia is sitting on oil potentially worth more than $20 trillion, independent reports claim - enough to turn Australia into a self-sufficient fuel producer.
Brisbane company Linc Energy yesterday released two reports, based on drilling and seismic exploration, estimating the amount of oil in the as yet untapped Arckaringa Basin surrounding Coober Pedy ranging from 3.5 billion to 233 billion barrels of oil.
At the higher end, this would be "several times bigger than all of the oil in Australia", Linc managing director Peter Bond said.
This has the potential to turn Australia from an oil importer to an oil exporter.
"If it comes in the way the reports are suggesting, it could well and truly bring Australia back to (oil) self-sufficiency," Mr Bond said.
State Mineral Resources Development Minister Tom Koutsantonis said there were exciting times ahead for SA's resources industry.
Mr Bond said there was the potential for a US-style "shale oil" boom in SA.
Shale oil extraction involves using new technologies to drill vertically and then horizontally for distances of more than one kilometre through shale rocks that contain oil.
The process was once prohibitively expensive but advances have created a new oil boom in the US.
Mr Koutsantonis said: "We have seen the hugely positive impact shale projects like Bakken and Eagle Ford have had on the US economy.
"There is still a long way to go, but investment in unconventional liquid projects in South Australia will accelerate as more and more companies such as Linc Energy and Altona prove up their resources."
Mr Bond said the potential in SA was "massive", but even at the lower end of estimates - about 3.5 billion barrels - it was still very large.
Shares of Linc Energy [ASX- LNC] soared by more than 30% in trading on the Australian Securities Exchange shortly after the find was announced on Thursday- an 18 month high for the company.
The find is centered around the South Australian outback town of Coober Pedy, which was founded as an opal mining town in 1915. Coober Pedy remains an active opal mining town to this day.
Presently, Australia has been drilling for oil onshore at the Cooper Basin- which straddles the South Australia/Queensland border- since oil and natural gas deposits were discovered in 1961. In addition to offshore projects off the northern coast of Western Australia, oil and natural gas production has taken place at the Amadeus Basin in the Northern Territory since the 1980s.
However, the find at Coober Pedy and South Australia's Arckaringa Basin could easily surpass the output from the oilfields located in the Cooper and Amadeus Basins. While some experts cautioned that the actual number of recoverable barrels of oil may be in the neighborhood of 3 or 4 billion barrels, the news was greeted with considerable fanfare in the Australian press- as even the more pessemistic estimates could still help the Australian economy considerably.
RED SOX- After coming out of the All-Star break with a 5-2 record, including taking 3 out of 4 from the AL Central leading the White Sox, the Red Sox were in for a letdown during the weekend when Toronto swept the 3-game series at Fenway Park where both Jon Lester and Josh Beckett were roughhed up by the Blue Jays.
Things weren't going to get easier with this weeks road trip to Texas and the Bronx. Monday night's game didn't hold alot promise when the Rangers countered a Jarrod Saltalamacchia solo homer with a 4-run bottom of the 3rd and 5 run bottom of the 6th off of Felix Doubront and the Sox bullpen to open up a series with a 9-1 Rangers win.
Coming into Tuesday night's game, the Red Sox were hoping to break a 4-game slide in which they were outscored 37-12. However, Tuesday night's game didn't feature much in the way of offense.
Manager Bobby Valentine decided not to start, putting Kelly Shoppach into the game at catcher. Shoppach got the Sox on the board first after driving in OF Cody Ross home from first with an RBI double off of Rangers starter Martin Perez to make it 1-0 Boston.
However, as Monday night's nationally televised game had demonstrated, a 1-0 lead doesn't last very long in Arlington, TX. After Elvis Andrus hit a 1-out double off of Clay Buchholz in the top of the 6th, he advanced to 3rd on a wild pitch before coming home on a Josh Hamilton groundout to knot the contest up at 1-1.
Things got a little interesting in the bottom of the 8th when Padilla came out of the Sox bullpen in relief of Buccholz. Although Padilla struck out the first batter he faced, he then allowed a single to Elvis Andrus. Although Padilla got Josh Hamilton to strike out, a costly throwing error by Padilla put Andrus on third. Padilla than struck Rangers 3B Adrian Beltre in the helmet, giving Texas runners on first and third with two away [Yorvit Torrealba pinch-ran for Beltre while he underwent examination by the Rangers medical staff- NANESB!]. However, the inning ended for Texas on a Michael Young groundout to short.
In the top of the 9th, Rangers manager Ron Washington made the curious move of putting in closer Joe Nathan in a non-save situation. Although Nathan got the first two batters out, he walked Daniel Nava and Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who was batting for Kelly Shoppach. Previously, Nathan had walked only five batters in 38⅓ innings of work this season. The Red Sox made those walks count when Mike Aviles hit a bloop RBI single to make it 2-1 Boston. Jacoby Ellsbury then hit a ball to deep center field for the 3rd out of the inning.
Alfredo Aceves came on for the bottom of the 9th and got two quick outs before walking Mike Napoli. However, the game ended when Adrian Gonzalez caught a pop foul in along the 1st base line, snapping Boston's 4 game skid. Despite the lopsided losses experienced by the Red Sox since Friday, this was very much a pitchers duel with solid outings by both Buccholz and Perez. Vincente Padilla was credited with the win and now has a 4-0 record.
Wednesday night's game will wrap up the 3-game series at Arlington and has Josh Beckett [5-8; 4.53 ERA] going up against the Rangers Derek Holland [6-5; 4.84 ERA]. The game gets underway at 8:05 ET and will be televised on NESN.
OTHER RED SOX NEWS- The Red Sox have traded infielder Brent Lillibridge to the Cleveland Indians in exchange for minor-league pitcher Jose De La Torre. Lillibridge came to Boston last month in part of the deal that sent Kevin Youkilis to the White Sox. Used primarily as a late inning defensive replacement, Lillibridge has appeared in 16 games for the Red Sox and was batting .125.
Between the Indians AA affiliate Akron Aeros and the AAA Columbus Clippers of the International League, De La Torre has an 8-1 record and a 2.91 ERA this season.
ELSEWHERE IN MLB- The Seattle Mariners traded outfielder Ichiro Suzuki to the Yankees after the All Star outfielder waived his no-trade clause on Monday. In exchange for Ichiro, who has played for the Mariners since 2001 when he first came to the major leagues from his native Japan, Seattle recieves pitching prospects DJ Mitchell and Danny Farquahr.
The trade was prompted in part by a season ending injury to Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner after undergoing elbow surgery this month.
LOS ANGELES DODGERS- The Dodgers have reportedly acquired Miami Marlins infielder Hanley Ramierez and reliever Randy Choate in exchange for starter Nathan Eovaldi and pitching prospect Scott McGough.
The slumping Dodgers, who are now 2 and a half games behind the San Francisco Giants in the NL West standings, are hoping that the All Star shortstop can shake up LA's stagnant offense. Ramierez has been batting .246 with 14 homers and 48 RBI with Miami this season. Earlier this week, the Marlins had dealt starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez [5-7; 3.94 ERA] to the Detroit Tigers.
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES- After weeks of reportedly shopping ace Cole Hammels before next week's MLB tade deadline, the starting pitcher and the Phillies have reportedly agreed to a long term contract extension.
The six year deal is worth $144 million and includes a limited no-trade provision. The struggling Phillies remain in last place this season, but Hammels currently enjoys a record of 11-4 with a 3.23 ERA.
HOUSTON ASTROS- The Astros sent starting pitcher Wandy Rodriguez to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night in exchange for left-handed pitchers Rudy Owens and Cotton Cain as well as outfielder Robbie Grossman- all three from the Pirates AAA affiliate in Indianapolis.
The Pirates will also reportedly get $17.7 million in cash to offset Rodriguez's annual salary which could top $30 million this year with incentives.
Rodriguez currently has a 7-9 record with an ERA of 3.79. The long-suffering Pirates, who haven't appeared in the postseason since 1992, are in the somewhat unusual position of being buyers this season as they're currently only a game and a half out of 1st place in the NL Central.
Last week, the Astros acquired closer Fransisco Cordero and outfielder Ben Fransisco in a 10-player deal with the Toronto Blue Jays. Besides the two major leaguers, Houston gets prospects Asher Wojciechowski, Joe Musgrove, David Rollins, Carlos Perez and a player to be named later.
Toronto gets lefty JA Happ, righty David Carpenter and reliever Brandon Lyon from the Astros in that deal.
Karen Warren Houston Chronicle photo
OTHER ASTROS NEWS- Houston announcer and Ford C Frick award winner Milo Hamilton announced that this would be his last year calling games for the Astros.
Born in 1927 in the small town of Fairfield, IA, Hamilton first started broadcasting with the Armed Forces Radio when he joined the US Navy during WWII. Like former president Ronald Reagan, Hamilton also briefly called football and basketball games for the Iowa Hawkeyes. Hamilton got his start calling MLB games for the St Louis Browns in 1953, their final year in St Louis before they moved to Baltimore. For the next few years, Hamilton bounced around landing work with the Cardinals, Cubs and White Sox before joining the Atlanta Braves when they moved to Fulton County stadium from Milwaukee in the 1966 season.
As a broadcaster, Hamilton is best known for this call:
Amazingly, of the three broadcasters calling the game for Henry Arron's 715th HR on that April 1974 evening, two of them are still calling games in 2012- Hamilton and the Dodger's Vin Scully. NBC Sports and former Red Sox broadcaster Curt Gowdy passed away in 2006.
Hamilton returned to the Cubs in 1980 but was fired by the Cubs parent company Tribune Company after expressing a preference for Harry Caray. Hamilton made mention of bad blood between him and Caray dating back to their days in St Louis in his 2006 autobiography.
After suffering a mild heart attack in 2007, Hamilton announced that he wouldn't be travelling for the Astros road games- although he reportedly was on hand for the opening of the new Busch Stadium in St Louis as well as the Mets' Citi Field and Nationals Park.
TRACK AND FIELD- A 19 year old Aussie hurdler became an almost overnight internet sensation when video of her warming up at the IAAF World U-20 Championships in Barcelona Spain earlier this month went viral.
Michelle Jenneke's warm-ups by the starting gate caught the attention of the camera crew and announcers covering the event in Barcelona.
Somebody thoughtfully dubbed questionable 1980s synth-pop music [and this is coming from somebody who likes some of they synth-pop music from the 80s- NANESB!] over the energetic Sheila's pre-race dance and warm-up routine. The full video can be seen here[full disclosure, it's kind of an earworm and not the good kind NANESB!]
Unfortunately, Jenneke's newfound fans worldwide won't be seeing her in the 2012 Summer games in London, since she did not qualify. I suspect that with a body and warm-up dance like Jeneke's, she'd have a devoted internet following even if she fell flat on her face right out of the starting gate. However, Jenneke isn't just another pretty face- the bouncy Aussie took gold in the 100m hurdles in Barcelona and five seconds of searching yielded this video of Jenneke winning silver at the 2010 Youth Games in Singapore.
Althought not set to music, the 2010 video shows a Jenneke as enthusiastic and bouncy as the 2012 version while her success so far in international competition means fans can aren't being unrealistic when they expect to see more of her at the 2016 games in Rio.
OTHER TRACK AND FIELD NEWS- 23 year old Greek Triple Jumper Voula Papachristou has been barred from the upcoming Olympic games in London when she sent out a tweet about African immigrants in Greece.
The message on the microblogging and social netorking site that got her in trouble was dated Sunday and read "So many Africans in #Greece at least West Nile mosquitoes will eat homemade food"
Tweeting under the handle @papaxristoutj, Papachristou also linked to websites and videos linked to the formerly-fringe Golden Dawn Party who hold 18 seats in the Greek Parliament. Those messages have since been deleted.
Although Papachristou had apologized via Facebook and Twitter, the Greek Olympic committee announced that she will not be joining the team for "statements contrary to the values and ideas of the Olympic movement".
Personally, while I think what Papachristou said was stupid and childish, I don't think that should prevent her from competing in the Summer Olympics. I suspect what she said publicly is rather tame compared to whats being said both publicly and privately in Arabic about Israeli athletes [or Israeli soldiers, or Israeli civilians, or Israeli schoolchildren, or Israeli grannies...you get the idea- NANESB!].
There's also the opportunity for a sort of Jesse Owens moment here. Now that the world has known what Papachristou has said about Africans, just think of the schadenfreude for spectators if and when she loses her event to a competitor from Kenya or Ethiopia. But it's all hypothetical now.
British soldiers walking past a sign welcoming visitors to the 2012 Olympics. Suzanne Plunkett/Reuters Photo
With 675,000 employees, the Crawley-based private security firm G4s [LSE: GFS] provides security guards and montiors for CCTV and alarms as well as cash and armoured vans for its 'Cash logistics' division. The company also runs adult and juevenile detention facilities and does prisoner transport via government contracts.
Amid some reports that G4S guards cheated on written exams regarding the operation of X-Ray devices, local officials in Liverpool said that they were replacing G4S security personnel with 500 local security guards to provide security for upcoming Olympic soccer matches in St James Park.
Although a major shareholder of the comapny has backed embattled CEO Nick Buckles, the fiasco has hurt the reputation of G4S which in turn may make it more difficult for them to secure contracts in the future.
The Daily Telegraph is reporting that an additional 1200 British soldiers are on standby, ready to deploy on 48 hours notice. No word on whether or not Katrina Hodge is among the soldiers currently assigned to any security detail at the London Games.
OTHER OLYMPIC NEWS- Fans hoping to see bikini clad contestants in the Beach Volleyball event at the Summer Games may be in for a letdown as tournament organizers allowed participants to wear shorts and long sleeve tops in the event of inclement weather.
According to a statement from the FIVB press director, clothing worn by players must be of consistent length, color, style, manufacturer and display the same sponsors. Should the temperature drop below 15 degrees celcius during the event, long sleeves and pants are authorized.
This may become an issue since the weather in the weeks leading up to the ceremony have been overcast, rainy and grey- apparently meeting the criteria required for wearing shorts and long sleeves during the event. However, with a few days to go before the Olympic opening ceremonies, the weather in London has warmed up considerably this week.
Interestingly, the beach volleyball event will take place inland- in the Horse Guards Parade located in the Whitehall section of London, to be specific. A 15,000 seat temporary stadium has been erected on the grounds- just blocks from 10 Downing Street.
BOSTON BRUINS-Bruins RW Nathan Horton has been cleared for contact and should be ready to return to the ice in time for the beginning of the Bruins training camp.
GM Peter Chiarelli told reporters that the winger had been cleared for contact by the team's medical staff. Through 45 games, Horton had 17 goals and 15 assists last season before sustaining a concussion in a collision ith Philadelphia's Tom Sestito back in January.
Photo/Joe Howell
NASHVILLE PREDATORS- The Nashville Predators signed defenseman Shea Weber to a 14 year $110 million contract extension on Wedensday, making it the most lucrative contract in the history of the Nashville franchise and the 2nd largest in the NHL.
The Philadelphia Flyers had expressed an interest in the 27 year old All Star and were willing to offer him a comprable contract, but Weber was preortedly more interested in remaining in Nashville.
Weber had 19 goals and 30 assists in the 2012 season, including two goals and an assist during the postseason series against Detroit and Phoenix.
COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS- The Columbus Blue Jackets dealt forward Rick Nash to the NY Rangers in exchange for forwards Brandon Dubinski and Artem Ansimov along with defenseman Tim Erixon.
Although Columbus had never advanced deep intot he Stanley Cup playoff, Nash remained a prolific scorer for them, making his NHL debut with them back in 2002. In his nine season with the Blue Jackets, he has accumulated 289 goals and 258 assists with 30 goals and 29 assists in the 2011 season.
Good Lord, did I mention how much I happen to LOVE Australia?
Not quite an island, not quite a continent. Despite the distant location and exotic wildlife in Australia, there are some undeniable similarities between our founding and the birth of Australia as a nation. Both were considered somewhat cumbersome backwaters in which the British Crown could dump convicts, unwanted religious groups or other undesirables and both are rich in natural resources, which in turn sparked a westward migration of European immigrants from the already-established cities on the east coast.
It's also worth noting that Australia's Armed forces have fought alongside with their American counterparts in every major war since WWI- so as a veteran of the US Army, that's something that I truly appreciate.
These lovely young ladies from down under are thoughtfully modelling swimsuits and tops that show a variation of Australia's flag [hooray for swimwear or beach apparel serving as an indicator of nationality! -NANESB!]. Besides the Union Jack in the corner (essentially a miniature British flag), most prominently featured are the stars of the Southern Cross, a constellation visible throughout the Southern Hemisphere. This version of the Australian flag was chosen after a nationwide contest and first flown in Melbourne 110 years ago after being approved by King Edward VII.
Australia is not the only country to incorporate the Southern Cross into their national flag [New Zealand's is quite similar, only with smaller, red stars forming the Southern Cross. If you look very closely, the Southern Cross is also present in Brazil's flag as well- NANESB!] but it is the most well known and iconic. As recently as 2000, there was an effort to completely change the Australian flag altogether.
Drivers who fly Australian flags on their cars to celebrate Australia Day are "more racist" than people who do not, according to research from UWA.
University of Western Australia sociologist and anthropologist Professor Farida Fozdar and a team of assistants surveyed 513 people at the Australia Day fireworks on Perth's Swan River foreshore last year to find out whether there was a link between car flag flying and racist attitudes.
“What I found interesting is that many people didn't really have much to say about why they chose to fly car flags or not," Professor Fozdar said.
"Many felt strongly patriotic about it - and for some, this was quite a racist or exclusionary type of patriotism - but it wasn't a particularly conscious thing for many.”
*GASP!* Oh noes! So I guess by extension I'm fostering racism by having all these pictures of Aussie women displaying some version of the flag. I need to remedy that somehow! OK- better? None of those offending Union Jacks or constellations on a blue background.
Anywhoo, the study came to this conclusion interviewing some 513 people at an Australia Day fireworks display in Perth and determined that 43% of the respondents were racist for speaking favorably of the 'White Australia' immigration policy that was abolished in 1970 and that new immigrants to the country should adopt Australian values.
However, the release of the study seems to serve no other purpose than to try and bolster op-ed pieces critical of Aussie flag-waving published earlier this month ahead of Australia Day.
In Adelaide, the head of the South Australia Taxi Council has given out 500 flags and encouraged cabbies- many of them immigrants from India or the Middle East- to fly them from their vehicles. This follows up a pilot program last year where 100 car flags were handed out to cabbies- the move has so far been positively recieved by the cabbies and tourists alike.
It's also worth mentioning that we're just a few short months removed from the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Swimming is considered Australia's strongest event in the summer games for both men and women's teams [altho' they brought home the gold in other events like rowing and triathalon during the 2008 Beijing games- NANESB!].
Stephanie Rice (above) brought home three of Australia's 14 gold medals from the Beijing Olympics in 2008- winning both the 200m and 400m individual medley as well as the women's 4 X 200M freestyle relay. In fact, Rice broke the world record for the 400m individual medley during the 2008 Australian Olympic trials.
And if you're wondering- yes, she plans on being in London for the 2012 Summer Olympics.
I'm not sure how many people still buy the notion that firearms legally purchased in the USA at Wal Mart or Cabellas are single-handedly responsible for the narco-violence down in Mexico, but a couple of stories that broke this month can effectively bury that tired and dishonest talking point.
The weapons run the gamut from assault rifles to anti-tank missiles, some of which the U.S. supplied during regional conflicts more than two decades ago. The slippage from military armories occurs regularly.
The feared Mexican organized crime group known as Los Zetas has stolen weapons from military depots in Guatemala three times in recent years, Guatemalan Deputy Security Minister Mario Castaneda told an anti-narcotics conference in early April in Cancun, Mexico.
In February, U.S. prosecutors unsealed a five-count indictment against a retired army captain from El Salvador for allegedly selling or offering C-4 plastic explosives, assault rifles, grenades and blasting caps to undercover agents.
U.S. diplomatic cables obtained by WikiLeaks and passed to McClatchy Newspapers show that American envoys have repeatedly voiced concern over lax controls on military weapons depots in Guatemala and Honduras.
One cable from June 2009 carries a simple message line: "Rogue elements of Guatemalan military selling weapons to narcos."
The cable was sent after a narcotics raid on a warehouse south of Guatemala City on April 24, 2009, when agents clashed with "a number of heavily armed Zetas," leaving five agents dead. Inside the warehouse, the unit found 11 machine guns, a light antitank weapon, 563 rocket-propelled grenades, 32 hand grenades, eight landmines and abundant ammunition in crates with the seal of a Guatemalan military industrial facility.
U.S. defense analysts determined "with a high degree of confidence that many of these weapons and munitions came from Guatemalan military stocks," the cable said.
"The involvement of Guatemalan military officers in the sale of weapons to narco-traffickers raises serious concerns about the Guatemalan military's ability to secure its arms and ammunition," it added.
Moreover, it puts police tasked with confronting the cartels at a sharp disadvantage, the cable said, because they "now have to go up against weapons from Guatemala's own military."
Further piquing U.S. officials, Washington furnished some of the munitions.
That turned out to be the case in Honduras, where U.S.-supplied grenades and light anti-tank weapons turned up as far away as Ciudad Juarez, the narco-infested Mexican city on the border with Texas, and on Colombia's San Andres Island, an entry point for weapons going to drug-trafficking guerrillas
According to State Department documents, Mexico accounted for $177 million in sales of American-made weapons in 2009- exceeding Iraq or Afghanistan. Many of these sales were tracked by the state department as 'Direct Commercial sales' to the Mexican government.
To make things even more interesting, narco-watchdog blog Borderland Beat points out that the sale, storage and transportation of legally purchased firearms in Mexico is monopolized by the SEDENA- Mexico's Secretariat for National Defense. Yet despite this apparent monopoly, a substantial number of M-16 style rifles ordered from America in transactions brokered by Mexico's SEDENA and supposedly destined for state and municipal police agencies in Mexico simply 'disappear' only to turn up later at crime scenes in Mexico.
As international metals prices surge, gunmen are attacking workers to steal valuable ores and equipment at often remote mining sites that have fallen under the gaze of drug gangs extending their reach into new criminal rackets.
Canadian miner Torex Gold Resources Inc halted drilling at its exploration property in the western state of Guerrero last month after assailants stole trucks. Mexican authorities blamed a drug cartel for illegally extracting iron ore at another site and exporting it to China.
Mexico is the 2nd largest producer of silver in the world and also has substantial deposits of gold, copper, iron ore, zinc and lead. Entering Friday morning, silver was trading at over $48 an ounce while gold was trading at record highs of $1534 an ounce.
Aside from Torex [TSX: TXG], International mining companies like New Gold [TSX: NGD] or Ternium [NYSE: TX] have operations in troubled areas like Michoacan, Guerrero or Durango.
Steel producers say they lost $240 million to thefts in 2010 and have seen the pace of robberies double so far this year, according to a Mexican industry association.
"They are robbing from companies' (iron ore) deposits or they are taking over the deposits completely," said Raul Gutierrez, head of the national steel chamber. "It makes it impossible to work there."
The wave of thefts has spilled out of an escalating drug war in Mexico, which pits an increasingly stretched military against brutal gangs warring over smuggling routes to the United States and other lucrative illicit businesses.
Deteriorating security is a mounting concern for investors, industry surveys show.
The lawlessness led to a slip in Mexico's ranking in the Fraser Institute's annual study of the top global mining destinations. Some 39 percent of companies surveyed this year counted violence as a "strong deterrent" for investment, versus 33 percent in Colombia, where a U.S.-backed offensive has in recent years quelled a cocaine-funded guerrilla conflict.
Iron ore mines in Mexico's western state of Michoacan have been besieged by the powerful La Familia (The Family) drug cartel that operates in large swathes of the state, extorting businesses and illegally mining material for export.
A captured money launderer belonging to La Familia confessed to exporting 1.1 million tones of iron ore last year to China through three established companies in Mexico, netting $42 million, according to the attorney general's office.
Companies are being forced to hire more guards or change the way they transport goods, with some shipping valuable metals by air instead of on dangerous highways.
"We spent 20 percent more on security last year," said Armando Ortega, vice president for Latin America at New Gold Inc, which owns the Cerro San Pedro gold mine in San Luis Potosi state. "There are miners that have suffered robberies of gold-silver dore bars or concentrates. The high prices make gold an attractive target for organized crime.
I've also been entertaining another theory regarding the cartels and mining. Aside from their lucrative drug smuggling and human trafficking activities, groups like La Familia Michoacana also reportedly engage in the extortion of already-existing businesses in territory they control, so who's to say this wouldn't include extortion against the various mining companies for continuing to operate in what the cartels consider 'their' territory?
Also, even though they would be making money hand over fist from both their criminal pursuits and their newfound interest in metallurgy, I'm wondering if stock manipulation of the various publicly-traded mining companies could be another source of revenue for them.
Think about it- how difficult would it be for the cartels to round up some hired guns to attack the miners, destroy equipment, rob the mines of concentrated ore, bullion or dore bars or cut off power and water to some of the more isolated facilities? And basically keep it up until the feasibility of operating that mine is in doubt? Even if they fail in closing down the mines outright, the cost of stepped up security precautions would eat into that company's profit margin pretty quickly, and by extension, their share price (at least if they're heavily invested in Mexico).
Shares of Torex slid in March when the company announced that it was temporarily suspending operations after company employees were attacked and company vehicles were robbed in Morelos. Since then, shares of the company on the Toronto Stock Exchange have levelled off as Torex resumed operations amid stepped-up security.
Exit question (however hypothetical): Who's to say that somebody with inside knowledge of the activities directed against the mining companies wasn't buying up shares when they were plummeting in value and will sell them once production resumes and the share prices bounce back?
TEXAS: Police in the border town of Brownsville are trying to determine who set up an IED along a stretch of US Highway 77 over the weekend. A passing motorist noticed the device and called police on Sunday afternoon. Authorities shut down the southbound lane of the highway for just under two hours while searching the area for any additional devices and disarmed the device using a remote controlled robot.
NEW MEXICO: A small aircraft believed to be smuggling narcotics crashed into Heron Lake, NM on Sunday morning. Aside from the pilot, there was no indication of whether or not there was anybody else on board due to the plane sinking to depths greater than 100 feet. However, within hours of police and searchers arriving, small packages of cocaine started to make their way to the surface.
The lake is located in a state park in Rio Arriba County, NM which abuts the Colorado state line.
ARIZONA: An Arizona gun dealer reportedly approached the ATF with concerns that firearms from his store were being funneled to criminals through straw purchasers. A Congressional investigation into the ATF's ill-advised 'Operation Fast & Furious' shows that agents encouraged him to continue the sales, despite the red flags raised.
The investigation into a federal operation that allowed Mexican drug cartels to acquire U.S. weapons escalated Thursday with new revelations that an Arizona gun dealer repeatedly expressed fears that his guns were falling into the "hands of the bad guys" but was encouraged by federal agents to continue the sales.
A series of emails released by congressional investigators showed that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives encouraged the gun dealer against his better judgment to sell high-powered weapons to buyers he believed were agents for the drug cartels.
Employees of the dealer videotaped gun buyers — suspected "straw purchasers" who could legally buy the guns, though cartel members could not — exchanging money with other individuals on the dealer's premises.
In an eerie case of premonition, the gun dealer expressed fears that the guns he was selling could be used against U.S. border agents.
"I wanted to make sure that none of the firearms that were sold per our conversation with you and various ATF agents could or would ever end up south of the border or in the hands of the bad guys," the dealer, who has not been named, wrote in June 2010 to David Voth, the lead ATF case agent in Phoenix. "I want to help ATF with its investigation but not at the risk of agents' safety, because I have some very close friends that are U.S. Border Patrol agents in southern AZ."
Three guns sold to suspects who were part of Project Gunrunner have since turned up at the scenes of the deaths of two U.S. agents — in the Mexican state of San Luis Potosi and near the Mexican border in Arizona.
"Not only were the ATF agents who later blew the whistle [on the investigation] predicting that this operation would end in tragedy, so were the gun dealers — even as ATF urged them to make the sales," Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in a letter with the new emails to Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr.
The Justice Department in its only official response to the congressional inquiry denied that the ATF "sanctioned" or "otherwise knowingly allowed" the sale of assault weapons to straw purchasers, who then transported them to Mexico.
The new emails suggest that the Arizona gun dealer was seeking assurances from the ATF and the U.S. attorney's office that the company would not be held responsible if someone got hurt with guns that ended up in the hands of gunrunners.
Voth, the ATF agent, wrote to the dealer: "I understand that the frequency with which some individuals under investigation by our office have been purchasing firearms from your business has caused concerns for you. … However, if it helps put you at ease we (ATF) are continually monitoring these suspects using a variety of investigative techniques which I cannot go into [in] detail."
News reports in June 2010 that guns purchased in the U.S. were being found at Mexican crime scenes prompted the dealer to again express concerns.
"I shared my concerns with you guys that I wanted to make sure that none of the firearms that were sold per our conversation with you and various ATF agents could or would ever end up south of the border or in the hands of the bad guys," the dealer wrote, adding that the reports are "disturbing."
On "one or two" occasions when the dealer's employees videotaped a suspected straw purchaser exchanging money with another person, the ATF urged that the sale go forward, but the employees refused, Grassley said in his letter.
"In light of this new evidence, the Justice Department's claim that the ATF never knowingly sanctioned or allowed the sale of assault weapons to straw purchasers is simply not credible," Grassley wrote.
Cochise County Sherriff Larry Dever said that he had received hundreds of supportive e-mails from active and retired former Border Patrol agents confirming the policy, apparently implemented at times to keep apprehension number artificially low. Homeland Security secretary Janet Naploitano had recently cited lower border apprehension as proof the border was more secure under her watch.
“This is nothing new, during my career with the border patrol, this was done regularly,” said another email to Dever reviewed by FoxNews.com.
“By assigning agents to different tasks, locations, etc., the apprehensions can be increased or decreased dramatically,” wrote Dan McCaskill Jr., a retired Border Patrol agent who worked in the Anti-Smuggling Unit.
McCaskill went on to describe how, he said, apprehension numbers were regularly
manipulated to achieve various budget, equipment or manpower goals.
A second Arizona Sheriff, Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeau, had also testified before a
Senate Homeland Security Committee in support of Dever's claims.
The Tucson local of the National Border Patrol Council union also came out in support of Dever, and posted this message on their website after the FoxNews.com report.
“Sheriff Dever is right. We have seen so many slick shenanigans pulled in regards to 'got-aways' and entry numbers that at times it seems David Copperfield is running the Border Patrol. Creating the illusion that all is well and you can start having family picnics in the areas where we work has been going on far too long. Has there been improvement in some areas? Absolutely. Is the border anywhere near 'under control'? Absolutely not. Do some in management play games with numbers and cater to the wishes of politicians like Janet Napolitano and David Aguilar? Resoundingly, yes. Time for the foolish political games to stop.”
Instead of apprehending illegal border crossers, agents are reportedly advised from on high to 'TBS' (or 'Turn Back South') any illegal border crossers they detect, despite the same people attempting to cross as soon as 10 minutes later.
AUSTRALIA: A report from Australia's leading criminal intelligence body issued earlier this month has indicated that Mexican cartels are gaining a foothold Down Under.
The Australian Crime Commission report suggested that the Mexican cartels could account for as much as 50% of the cocaine imported to Australia and expressed concerns that the drug traffickers could resort to the same violent and brutal tactics used in Mexico to try and expand their influence.
Bordered by nothing but coastline and with cocaine fetching a higher price than in the USA (US$ 200 an ounce vs as little as US$30 an ounce in the USA), Australia is considered a lucrative growing market by the cartels. To that end, some organizations like the Sinaloa cartel have partnered with Australian branches of the 'Ndrangheta (Calabrian mafia) in Sydney and Melbourne to aid in smuggling, distribution and sales.
71 year old Waldemar Lorenzana was arrested by local police and DEA agents outside of Guatemala City, although his three sons- all thought to be active in drug trafficking- are said to be still at large.
Lorenzana had been sought by the DEA since 2009 and a $500,000 reward was offered for information leading to his capture. The State Department is likely to request 'The Patriarch's' extradition to the USA.
Mexican cartels have stepped up recent efforts to set up shop in Central America where law enforcement is even less reliable. Los Zetas has reportedly successfully recruited members of the Kabiles special operations forces from Guatemala's military. TAMAULIPAS: Forensic experts and Mexican soldiers are sifting through mass graves in northern Mexico, a month after armed men set up roadblocks and boarded buses travelling along National Highway 101 along the Gulf coast of Tamaulipas for the last several months, pulling off mostly young men. The abductions and carnage had left the normally busy highway in the norteastern corner of Mexico virtually deserted during the week before Easter when many American living across the border in Texas would be vacationing or visiting relatives.
So far, authorities have pulled 177 bodies out from mass graves outside of San Fernando- not far from where 72 migrants were massacred at a isolated ranch last summer. More disturbingly, hardly any of the bodies examined have shown indications that the victims were shot. Instead, Mexican investigators say it appears as though most of the victims were killed by blunt-force trauma and a sledgehammer was found at the crime scene.
The territory in which the slayings took place is being fought over by the Zetas and one theory is that the one of the cartels abducted bus passengers and attempted to press them into service as drug mules of sicarros (low-level gunmen), murdering those who refused.
Omar Martin Estradad flanked by Mexican Marines- Marco Ugarte/AP Photo
34 year old Martin Omar Estrada Luna is thought to be the head of a northern Mexico branch of Los Zetas. Luna, aka 'El Kilo' grew up on the American side of the border in the Yakima Valley region of Washington state. Authorities in Tieton, WA remember Luna as a dropout who racked up a juevenile record before moving on adult felony charges of burglary and drug dealing. Luna was reportedly last deported in 2009, but those who knew him from his time in Tieton question whether or not he was competent enough to have risen through the hierarchy of one of the world's most notorious and ruthless criminal organizations so quickly.
Other members of a San Fernando based Zetas cell were detained by Mexican Marines and paraded before the media last weekend as well. In addition, at least 17 members of San Fernando's municipal police department were detained and charged by Mexico's federal attourney general's office for charges of protecting Luna and other Zetas, covering up the kindappings and in some instances directly participating in the murders.
ELSEWHERE IN TAMAULIPAS: Mexican soldiers reportedly acting on a tip freed at least 52 migrants from Central America who were being held captive in the border city of Reynosa. The cartels and other Mexican gangs will sometimes adbuct migrants heading to the USA transiting through Mexico and demand ransom from their families in America or the country of origin.
-A convoy of gunmen in SUVs went on a rampage last week in the border town or Miguel Aleman, opening fire on the Tamaulipas State Police and local transit police headquarters and torching them before being driven out of the town in a running firefight with the Mexican Army. One civilian and an unpecified number of gunmen were killed in the attack according to local police.
According to the 8th Military Zone in Reynosa, the Zetas also attacked a military patrol along the Riberena highway prior to the attack in Miguel Aleman which prompted the mobilization of army troops toward the area.
Also prior to the arrival of the military, when Zetas arrived in town, they began shooting at the law enforcement headquarters and shot at the buildings and patrol cars as well as causing other damage, the Mexican law enforcement official stated.
The group then went around town shooting at and setting fire to a number of high-profile buildings along the city’s main avenue, including the Ford and Nissan dealerships, an Auto Zone store, a Stripes convenience store, a large furniture store and a used car lot.
During the rampage, one employee of the local Coca-Cola Co. bottling plant was killed as he drove to work. His name was not released pending notification of next of kin, the law enforcement official said. When military forces arrived toward the end of the rampage, a shootout ensued that left several gunmen dead on the street.
On Thursday, the Mexican Army was involved in a 3-way shootout when a patrol was resonding to sounds of gunfire from a shootout between gunmen from the Zetas and Gulf cartel. The shootout, involving Gulf and Zetas enforcers wearing body armour and travelling in a SUV, began in the early morning hours of the middle of the farming town of Arbacuz with six dead gunmen and an unknown number in custody.
DURANGO: In the northwestern corner of Mexico, Federal police and soldiers are exhuming another series of mass graves in the capital city of Durango (which happens to be named Durango). 87 bodies were pulled from a grave under a repair shop while 17 other decomposing bodies were found at a nearby hacienda.
GUERRERO: Four women and a teenage girl were found stripped, bound and with their throats slit in the popular resort city of Acapulco. Two of the bodies were discovered in a beauty salon located adjacent to an area known for drug dealing and prostitution while another body was discovered in a parked car and the 4th body was dumped in a street behind a church.
Investigators have not ruled out a possible connection with organized crime and prostitution in the murders. Some brothels or massage parlors in that part of the country sometimes operate under the guise of beauty salons.
Cyclone Yasi made landfall at Mission Beach, Queensland on the morning of Feb 3rd as a Category 5 storm (stronger than Hurricane Katrina when she made landfall in 2005) bringing with it winds of more than 180 miles an hour and storm surges more than 20 ft high.
Yasi ripped across the coast near Cairns on Wednesday night, tearing apart dozens of homes and damaging hundreds more, cutting power to tens of thousands of people and flattening millions of dollars worth of crops.
Police and army personnel moved through the storm-savaged coastal town of Tully Heads on Saturday, going door-to-door accounting for residents.
Officials spray painted "No Go" as a warning on the worst-hit homes. A few houses were reduced to rubble. A layer of brown sludge covered the ground, leaving a sickening smell wafting throughout the community.
The massive surge of water ripped through homes, taking out walls and pushing resident's belongings into other people's houses and yards.
Residents spent Saturday sifting through the wreckage and dragging people's possessions back to their owners.
Australia's military has been pressed into service to help clear debris, reopen highways and bring in emergency supplies to those left without food, shelter or fresh water. Some 500 troops were already stationed in nearby Townsville when the cyclone hit and another 3500 are ready to mobilize.
