Wednesday’s Newsbucket – UN Helicopter lost in Darfur

Posted by ask | Jan 25, 2006 | 28 |

Since I did not see a “Newsbucket”, I’ll take the liberty of opening one today.

In particular because of the breaking news I just got by e-mail on the Darfur-crash. Coming in the first post.

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ask on January 25, 2006 at 9:38 am

Also found a brief entry on CNN now.

UNITED NATIONS (CNN) — A U.N. helicopter with 16 people on board — three crew and 13 aid workers — has crashed in Darfur, Sudan, U.N. spokeswoman Radhia Achouri told CNN.

The five-crew member craft was relocating eight aid workers to Darfur from the Dyalla region, Jabalmarra province. There are some injuries, Achouri said, and one person is missing.

Rescuers have arrived on the scene, Achouri said.

Here’s the statement I received by e-mail:

THE ACTUAL NUMBER OF THE PEOPLE ON BOARD OF THE UN HELICOPTER THAT CRASHED TODAY IN DARFUR IS 16 INDIVIDUALS; 3 CREW MEMBERS AND 13 NGOs STAFF. THE INDIVIDUAL UNACCOUNTED FOR IS AN NGO STAFF MEMBER.
SEE THE CORRECTED VERSION OF THE MEDIA ADVISORY BELOW.

A UN helicopter crashed today in the village of Dyalla near Golo in the Jebel Marra area where fighting has been taking place between the Sudan Armed Forces and the Sudan Liberation Army.

The Helicopter had 16 people on board, 3 crew members and 13 NGOs staff. The latest information is that there is one of the 16 people who were on board of the helicopter is missing (NGO staff) and that all the others are alive and none of them sustained life threatening injuries.

UNMIS sent a rescue team to the location of the crash to evacuate the injured and the NGOs staff.

The UN helicopter that crashed was sent to Dyalla to evacuate 36 NGOs staff members operating in the area where fighting has been taking place between the Sudan Liberation Army and the Sudanese Armed Forces. This fighting followed an attack by the SLA on Golo two days ago. The fighting is still ongoing.

So far, there is no indication that the crash was the result of foul-play. The exact circumstances of the crash will however be investigated.

Radhia Achouri
Spokesperson
United Nations Mission in Sudan
- CabinGirl on January 25, 2006 at 9:57 am
  
  Anytime the news bucket isn’t up by 7:30 or 8:00 ET, anybody who wants to should feel free to jump in and start!
  - ask on January 25, 2006 at 10:06 am
    
    That makes a lot of sense, CG.
- ask on January 25, 2006 at 2:09 pm
  
  From today’s WaPo:
  
  Darfur Descending
  No Time for Apathy on Sudan
  
  By Kofi A. Annan
  
  Wednesday, January 25, 2006; Page A19
  
  When I visited Darfur last May, I felt hopeful. Today I am pessimistic, unless a major new international effort is mustered in the coming weeks.
  
  I visited a village whose people had returned after fleeing from violence and were living in relative safety, thanks to the presence of troops from the African Union (A.U.). True, this was only a beginning. Much of the vast region was prey to sporadic violence, with more than a million people living in camps. But thanks to a massive relief operation led by the United Nations, the number dying from hunger or disease was falling dramatically. A cease-fire, admittedly flawed, was in place. Peace talks between the Sudanese government and the rebel movements, ably mediated by A.U. representatives, were proceeding in Abuja, Nigeria. It was hoped that agreement could be reached by the end of the year.
  (more)
CabinGirl on January 25, 2006 at 9:54 am

Ultimate sledding: CNN

Some say riding an Airboard is like ultimate sledding. People who ride the six-pound Swiss invention slide down snowy mountain slopes face first on polyurethane air cushions that look like blowup rafts with handles and a ridged bottom. Riders have been known to reach speeds of more than 80 mph.

“I call it the endorphin adrenaline cocktail,” said Sun Dog Athletics owner Erik Skarvan, the only guide in Colorado to offer Airboarding.

Looks like the perfect cure to the winter blahs…sure to get the adrenaline flowing, anyway!
- Family Man on January 25, 2006 at 9:59 am
  
  At 80 mph I hope they have good insurance. I think I’ll stick with the bunny and intermediate slopes.
- Knoxville Progressive on January 25, 2006 at 1:42 pm
  I ‘ve seen people sledding on those large rectangular inflatable pool cushions; this is why I’m not rich – I should have patented the idea.
  
  IIRC, they worked much better than the serving trays we stole from the college cafeteria.
  
  Things I learned about snow in college (1977-81):
  
  Sledding under the influence is not a good idea.
  Making a large snowman under the influence and setting him up in the middle of Chestnut St. in downtown Philly during a red light is not a good idea.
  Making your getaway from item #2 in a car driven by someone under the influence who is going the wrong-way down (one-way) Chestnut Street is REALLY not a good idea.
  
  There are reasons most people dislike one-way streets. Some reasons are just a little more unusual than others. 😉
  - Family Man on January 25, 2006 at 2:35 pm
    
    A friend and I once got a flexible flyer and sledded down an iced over sidewalk with cars parked half way on the sidewalk. You had to hit the chute between cars on the sidewalk and yard fences or you would have gotten your head knocked off. Obviously we were heavily under the influence and to this day I don’t know how we didn’t get killed. The old saying, “God looks out for fools and drunks”. My friend and I fit both descriptions very well that night.
  - CabinGirl on January 25, 2006 at 5:09 pm
    
    That’s really funny! I had a few, um, interesting one-way street experiences in my youth in Philly too…
Oui on January 25, 2006 at 10:05 am

.

UN Peacekeepers Killed in DR Congo

(BBC News) Jan. 23 — Eight UN peacekeepers have been killed in clashes in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the UN says. The Guatemalan special forces members were killed when they met a group of Ugandan rebels in a national park.

They had been looking for fighters from the Lord’s Resistance Army, accused of carrying out atrocities across northern Uganda and in southern Sudan.

The Congolese army is working with UN troops in eastern DR Congo

DRC: the UN’s most challenging peace-keeping mission

“But I will not let myself be reduced to silence.”

▼ ▼ ▼ MY DIARY
- rba on January 25, 2006 at 4:48 pm
  
  Too much news from the UN, including their annual State of the World’s Children. Grabbed from the UN Dispatch.
  - ask on January 25, 2006 at 5:03 pm
    
    UN Dispatch and UN Wire can keep you busy for most of the day…
Janet Strange on January 25, 2006 at 10:14 am

NYTimes: Partisan Thought Is Unconscious

Using M.R.I. scanners, neuroscientists have now tracked what happens in the politically partisan brain when it tries to digest damning facts about favored candidates or criticisms of them. The process is almost entirely emotional and unconscious, the researchers report, and there are flares of activity in the brain’s pleasure centers when unwelcome information is being rejected.

In 2004, the researchers recruited 30 adult men who described themselves as committed Republicans or Democrats.

. . . The first was a quote attributed to one of the two candidates . . . Moments later, the participants read a remark that showed the candidate reversing his position.

. . . .a spike appeared in several areas known to be active when people feel relieved or rewarded. The “cold reasoning” regions of the cortex were relatively quiet.

Researchers have long known that political decisions are strongly influenced by unconscious emotional reactions, a fact routinely exploited by campaign consultants and advertisers. . . .

It is possible to override these biases, Dr. Westen said, “but you have to engage in ruthless self reflection, to say, ‘All right, I know what I want to believe, but I have to be honest.’ “

He added, “It speaks to the character of the discourse that this quality is rarely talked about in politics.”

According to the study, people on both the left and the right are equally emotional and irrational. However, [my ed. comment] we are actually correct on the issues and they are wrong, and that makes all the difference.
idredit on January 25, 2006 at 10:26 am

wonderin what ear benders will be delivered in the king’s SOTU. Thinkprogress has a chronicle on video (hat tip firedoglake). Go see

http://thinkprogress.org/2006/01/24/presidential-credibility
IndyLib on January 25, 2006 at 10:41 am

Political queer-bashing is all the rage among today’s social conservatives, no matter which party they belong to. Here’s a roundup of the new American sport:

First up, wingnut homophobe Roy Moore — he of the 10 Commandments fame — is running for Governor of Alabama and has agreed to serve as the honorary chair for the Alabama Coalition Against Same Sex Marriage. The election will clearly feature gay-bashing as a sub-theme.

Kayla Moore wrote in the email that her husband is opposed by people who want to promote gay marriage and who fear nothing more than the emergence of a powerful national spokesperson for Christian conservatism. “And make no mistake: If elected governor of Alabama, my husband will be that spokesman!” she wrote.

Moore has a long record of anti-gay rulings. In February 2002 when the state Supreme Court ruled against a lesbian mother who was seeking custody of her three daughters Moore used a litany of homophobic adjectives in his written decision. Moore said that homosexuality is “an inherent evil” that should not be tolerated. His decision went on to say that the mother’s relationship made her an unfit parent and that homosexuality is “abhorrent, immoral, detestable, a crime against nature, and a violation of the laws of nature.”

Virginia moves forward with its gay-bashing constitutional amendment. Voters will almost certainly see it on the ballot in November. Democrats will almost certainly make bullshit excuses for Governor Tim Kaine while he fails to oppose it with any more energy than it takes to bitch at his secretary to refill his coffee cup.

Wingnuts in Idaho hope the third time’s a charm. They’re not bummed out that their gay-bashing constitutional amendment has failed twice already, they just know that Idahoans will want to vote for bigotry, if only they get the chance. So even though Idaho’s one of those states that already has a law defining marriage as a heterosexual-only privilege, they figure they’ll bring this thing back every year until they can get it through the state lege. Meanwhile, Republicans in Idaho openly object to this legislation, “My contention is, that is not the way to use the constitution,” said Sen. Chuck Coiner (R-Twin Falls). “We have a law on the books. It’s not challenged. It’s a very contentious issue. It will burn up a lot of legislative time that could be used more constructively.” Not exactly a valiant set of reasons, there, Senator Coiner, but right now I’ll take opposition where I can get it.

And let’s welcome Pennsylvania as a player in the new national past time, as they crank up this week with a gay-bashing constitutional amendment of their own. This one will ban civil unions, too, possibly also domestic partnerships and perhaps even health benefits extended to partners. Pennsylvanians must be desperately afraid of teh monogamous gays, since they already have a DOMA on their books but still feel the need to go mucking around with their state constitution. Some Democrats are aiding and abetting. Aren’t we all just on pins and needles waiting for Casey to weigh in?
- AndiF on January 25, 2006 at 10:47 am
  
  From Pam Spaulding at Pandagon
  
  Jackson Township Committeeman Mark A. Seda, a Republican, convinced his colleagues to unanimously vote for their town to extend domestic partner benefits to employees there as well by saying (in part):
  
  I’ve been approached by a lot of people in Jackson and elsewhere about this issue. I was very pleased to learn that the overwhelming majority of them agree with me that this is an important civil rights issue; an issue that as Americans we all have to address. To me, it seems like it’s nothing other than a very simple matter of fundamental fairness and Equal Rights for All Americans. If it weren’t for Lt Hester’s heart-wrenching story, I would probably not have paid much attention to this issue.But now I have, and I’m alarmed to learn of the loop holes New Jersey law dealing with Domestic Partnership Rights. I’ve found there are a lot of gaps in existing state laws that have been created in recent years and quite frankly in my estimation need to be closed.
- Oui on January 25, 2006 at 3:21 pm
  
  .
  
  MEPs urge Member States to ensure respect for same sex partnerships
  
  Strasbourg 16-19 January 2006 — Member States need to ensure that “same-sex partners enjoy the same respect, dignity and protection as the rest of society” urged MEPs in a resolution condemning homophobia in Europe.
  
  EU countries should also enact legislation to end discrimination faced by same-sex partners as regards inheritance rights, property arrangements, tenancy, pensions, tax, social security.
  
  Finally, Parliament urges Member States to step up the fight against homophobia through education and to fully recognise homosexuals as targets and victims of the Nazi regime.
  
  Dissent from several states
  
  “But I will not let myself be reduced to silence.”
  
  ▼ ▼ ▼ MY DIARY
- chocolate ink on January 25, 2006 at 7:55 pm
  
  This kind of shit ties me up in knots the same way thinking about doctors does…wtf is their problem-just quit fucken worrying about what some gay person is doing and get on with your own life you stupid ass.
SallyCat on January 25, 2006 at 10:52 am

Wing nuts in the SF Bay Area refuse to put a poster in their classrooms – because homosexuality violates their religious beliefs.

A poster designed to assure gay students that school is a safe place…guess it’s not safe in those 5 class rooms…Read more here…
- IndyLib on January 25, 2006 at 11:02 am
  
  I’ll take their “religious” objections seriously when they all start picketing the Red Lobster. Clearly, for most of them, religion is just the smokescreen they use to get away with bullying gay people. Assholes.
  
  Thanks for the link, SallyCat. 🙂
  - vida on January 25, 2006 at 12:38 pm
    
    What a depressing morning on the human rights front-it makes me furious!
    My contribution is in the same sad vein-
    
    Gay student says college expelled him over conduct
    
    And it gets worse, this young man is celibate but that’s not enough apparently-he had to agree to extra prohibitions on his behavior and did so.
    It’s ugly out there.
    http://www.nwarktimes.com/adg/News/143717/
rba on January 25, 2006 at 11:15 am

To follow the money you have to find the money. GAO sez OMB’s having a hard time. Combating Terrorism: Determining and Reporting Federal Funding Data.

Dear OMB: contrary to your assertions in the report, it is indeed possible to find your ass with both hands.
Knoxville Progressive on January 25, 2006 at 1:28 pm

[Sorry I’m late today – had to take my son to the dentist this AM]

The Good, The Weird, the Ugly, and the Rest of the News

The Good:

A new UN report concludes coral reefs and mangrove swamps are worth protecting for economic reasons, contributing as much as $1m per sq km to tropical economies.

(Talk to you doctor before trying this at home)

Researchers at UNC-Chapel Hill and an Australian medical school find cheap, effective treatment for cystic fibrosis lung disease:

By inhaling a saltwater aerosol solution almost twice as salty as the Atlantic Ocean for between 10 and 15 minutes at least twice a day, young patients should be able to avoid a significant part of the damage the disease causes to their lungs, the researchers said. That’s because the aerosolized saltwater restores the thin lubricant layer of water that normally coats airway surfaces. This water layer promotes the clearance of the naturally occurring mucus the body uses to trap harmful bacteria, viruses and other foreign particles. [snip]

In healthy people, a thin film of water only five-to-10 microns thick coats and lubricates the open areas of the lungs, Boucher said [Richard C. Boucher, professor and director of the UNC Cystic Fibrosis Research and Treatment Center – K.P.]. “Our studies demonstrate that CF lungs are missing this watery layer, and, hence, to treat the disease effectively, you have to re-hydrate CF airway surfaces. This can be done with inhaled water solutions that are seven or eight times more salty than blood or about three-quarters as salty as the Dead Sea.

“Salt essentially sucks water from the lung tissues out onto the airways. The irony is that the therapy works better in CF subjects than non-CF subjects,” Boucher added.

The Weird:

Scientists propose alternate theory of gravity: New gravity theory dispenses with invisible “dark matter”; explains some puzzling observations, such as the “Pioneer anomaly” and galactic clustering. Most cosmologists say the jury is still out; want more tests of the theory.

The Ugly:

Don’t shoot me, I just report the stories:

Researchers at Emory University in Atlanta wanted to find out why people in the two political parties hear the same information but reach opposite conclusions. Their findings? The good news: Republicans didn’t think straight. The bad news: Neither did the Democrats. Using MRI they found partisans of both parties, tested just before the 2004 election, reacted with their emotions, not reason, upon hearing news threatening to their own candidate. After reacting emotionally, their reward circuits then lit up. Then they went and blogged maniacally – no, I’m making that part up.

A new study indicates that chemical mixtures are more toxic than would be expected form the simple sum of their component toxicities. This could explain a variety of observations, from amphibian declines to human health problems. Links: The press version. The technical report, 71 pages in pdf format, downloadable for free (you paid for it last April 15th).

Journal “Science” rebuffs calls to censor research critical of Republican proposals for logging of burnt forests in Oregon; says they’ll publish replies after publishing paper.

The Rest of the News

New method developed for bioremediation of explosives in soil by researchers at University of York, UK.

No news here, move along, move along: Per NASA climatologists, 2005 was the warmest year in a century, eclipsing 1998 – and this happened without an El Nino event.

And that story segues nicely into this one: Uninaugurated president Al Gore’s second environmental book on global warming, with the title “An Inconvenient Truth,” will be published in April by Rodale Press. The book is tied in to the documentary film of the same title, which was shown at the Sundance Film Festival on Tuesday. Among other Sundance highlights: Finn Taylor’s “The Darwin Awards,” with Winona Ryder and Joseph Fiennes in a twisted comedy about people accidentally killed in idiotic ways.

And our closing story: Chimpanzees may be more closely related to human beings than they are to other apes, US researchers reported on Monday. [Especially certain human beings, LOL]
ask on January 25, 2006 at 2:16 pm

From CBC:

Some leading environmentalists in the United States have reacted to Monday’s election results with a shrug, despite the Conservatives’ intention to back away from the Kyoto protocol’s timetable and targets.

U.S. environmentalists such as Joel Reynolds, senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defence Council, don’t believe prime minister-designate Stephen Harper would withdraw from Kyoto.
(more)
- spiderleaf on January 25, 2006 at 3:16 pm
  
  Well, that would be one part of Harpers platform that would probably cause a no confidence vote in his slim minority gov’t (124 seats — less than the liberals had in their last minority gov’t of 133 seats), as the Liberals (103 seats), the Bloc (50 seats), and the NDP (29 seats) are all left wing, Kyoto supporters, as are the majority of Cdns.
  
  … that, same sex marriage, Star Wars, pro-Bush, or anti-health care stances right now might see us back at the polls this spring.
  
  So I’m not entirely worried. The country is not turning to the right, just punishing the ‘natural ruling party’, the Liberals.
  
  But it would be quite a ride to see them try. 😉
  - ask on January 25, 2006 at 4:49 pm
    
    Thanks Spidey,
    Glad to see your take on this.
ask on January 25, 2006 at 2:19 pm

From AFP, via Yahoo:

KILINOCHCHI, Sri Lanka (AFP) – Norway broke a near three-year deadlock in Sri Lanka’s peace talks by clinching a deal with the warring parties to meet face-to-face in Geneva by mid-February.
ADVERTISEMENT

In Colombo, the beleaguered Sri Lankan government on Wednesday welcomed the development as a “major relief” and hoped that the latest wave of violence that has claimed at least 152 lives since December would come to an end.

The talks would focus on strengthening their ceasefire which was on the brink of collapse after the surge in violence, envoy Erik Solheim told reporters in this rebel-held political capital.

Solheim had a rare meeting with Tiger supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran who in November put Colombo on notice to make a reasonable autonomy deal this year or face re-igniting a separatist war.
(more)
rba on January 25, 2006 at 3:09 pm

A guy is driving around Tennessee and he sees a sign in front of a house: “Talking Dog For Sale.”
He rings the bell, and the owner tells him the dog is in the back yard.
The guy goes into the back yard and sees a Labrador retriever sitting there.
“You talk?” he asks.
“Yes, I do,” the Lab replies.
“So, what’s your story?”
The Lab looks up and says, “Well, I discovered that I could talk when I was pretty young. I wanted to help the government, so I told the CIA about my gift, and in no time at all they had me jetting from country to country, sitting in rooms with spies and world leaders, because no one figured a dog would be eavesdropping. I was one of their most valuable spies for eight years running.”
“But the jetting around really tired me out, and I knew I wasn’t getting any younger so I decided to settle down. I signed up for a job at the airport to do some undercover security wandering near suspicious characters and listening in. I uncovered some incredible dealings and was awarded a batch of medals. I got married, had a mess of puppies, and now I’m just retired.”
The guy is amazed. He goes back in and asks the owner what he wants for the dog.
“Ten dollars,” the guy says.
“Ten dollars? This dog is amazing. Why on earth are you selling him so cheap?”
“Because he’s a liar. He never did any of that shit.”

Just goes to show ya, sometimes the best information hides in plain sight.

Wednesday’s Newsbucket – UN Helicopter lost in Darfur

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