An explosion in a central Kabul neighbourhood on Saturday was caused by a “sound bomb” and appeared to have caused no casualties, an official said.

The blast happened around 10:20 am (0550 GMT) and was immediately followed by the sound of sirens as security forces rushed to the scene.

An official with the interior ministry told AFP that a “sound bomb” had been placed in a garbage skip on a main thoroughfare through the wealthy Wazir Akbar Khan neighbourhood.

“There are no casualties at all,” spokesman Zamarai Bashary said.

So-called “sound bombs” are aimed at causing noise and confusion, rather than death and injury.

Afghanistan is marking the Eid-al-Adha Muslim festival of sacrifice with a four-day holiday until Tuesday, with most businesses closed and very little traffic on the capital’s usually gridlocked roads.

Afghan police stand guard at a site of a blast in the center of Kabul, on November 28.

Wazir Akbar Khan is the location of the American and British embassies, as well as the residences of their employees. Many foreign firms also have offices in the nighbourhood, which is close to Kabul’s airport.

It is also near the headquarters of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), the scene of a massive suicide car bomb attack in mid-August that killed at least three people and wounded dozens more.

The area, like the rest of the Afghan capital, was quiet as most people celebrate the holiday at home with family.

An AFP employee on the site said the explosive device had been put in a large rubbish skip on the roadside, and the blast had resulted in garbage being spread across a wide area.

Kabul, the most heavily-fortified part of war-torn Afghanistan, has been attacked by Taliban-linked insurgents at least five times in recent months with around 100 people killed and 300 injured.

Most have been suicide car bomb attacks that the Taliban have claimed responsibility for.

Most recently, on November 13, a suicide car bomber struck near a US military base in Kabul, Camp Phoenix. No one was killed.

Kabul has been on heightened alert since October 28 when Taliban-linked insurgents stormed a guesthouse occupied by staff of the United Nations, most of whom were in the Afghan capital for work associated with the recent presidential election.

The tragedy at the guesthouse resulted in the deaths of at least five UN workers and two Afghans, and saw the United Nations withdraw up to 600 staff from Afghanistan, many of them to be permanently relocated elsewhere.

Bookmark & Share

Le déraillement d’un train vendredi entre Moscou et Saint-Pétersbourg a fait 39 morts et 96 blessés et le parquet général de Russie a ouvert une enquête criminelle pour terrorisme. (Reuters/Denis Sinyakov)

Le parquet général de Russie a ouvert une enquête criminelle pour terrorisme.

Le Nevski Express, qui transportait 661 personnes, a déraillé vers 21h30 locales (18h30 GMT) près du village d’Ouglovka, à 350 km au nord de la capitale russe. Les chemins de fer russes ont fait état d’une forte explosion avant le drame.

En août 2007, sur la même ligne, un train avait déraillé après une explosion sur la voie. Trente personnes avaient été blessées.

Le procès de plusieurs suspects dans cette affaire se tient actuellement dans la ville de Novgorod, dans le nord-ouest de la Russie. La justice russe les soupçonne de liens avec des rebelles tchétchènes.

“Il y a des éléments objectifs qui laissent à penser qu’un engin explosif est l’une des principales explications” à la catastrophe de vendredi soir, a déclaré le président des chemins de fer russes, Vladimir Iakounine, qui s’est rendu sur place.

“Pour le dire clairement, un acte de terrorisme“, a-t-il plus tard ajouté sur la chaîne de télévision Vesti-24.

“Dans ce genre d’affaires, la piste tchétchène est habituellement privilégiée“, a précisé Alexeï Moukhine, du Centre d’information politique russe.

CRATÈRE D’UN MÈTRE DE DIAMÈTRE AU BORD DE LA VOIE

L’agence de presse Interfax a rapporté qu’un cratère d’un mètre de diamètre avait été découvert au bord de la voie ferrée.

Le parquet général a annoncé qu’il avait ouvert une enquête criminelle pour terrorisme et détention illégale d’explosifs, précise Interfax.

Un photographe de Reuters présent sur les lieux du déraillement a vu des soldats emporter quatre corps dans des sacs tandis que des sauveteurs s’employaient à découper la carcasse broyée d’un wagon.

“Le chiffre est de 39“, a dit, à propos du nombre de tués, un responsable du ministère des Situations d’urgence à son ministre, Sergueï Choïgou, lors d’une conférence de presse diffusée en direct sur Vesti-24.

Des responsables du ministère ont par la suite parlé de 25 décès confirmés et de 18 personnes dont ont était sans nouvelles.

Sur les près de cent de blessés, la moitié sont dans un état grave, a dit la ministre russe de la Santé, Tatiana Golikova.

La catastrophe, qui s’est produite sur l’un des axes ferroviaires les plus fréquentés de Russie, a contraint à dérouter plusieurs trains sur des voies secondaires et quelque 27.000 passagers ont subi des retards.

“Vous devez vous assurer qu’il n’y aura pas de chaos“, a demandé le président Dmitri Medevdev à ses ministres lors d’une visioconférence.

A Washington, le porte-parole de la Maison blanche Robert Gibbs a adressé un message de sympathie à la Russie.

“Nous sommes profondément attristés par le terrible bilan du déraillement ferroviaire (…) entre Moscou et Saint-Pétersbourg“, a-t-il dit.

Le président français Nicolas Sarkozy a exprimé “sa profonde tristesse” et a tenu “à assurer les autorités et le peuple russes, face à cette terrible épreuve, de la sympathie et de la solidarité de la France“, précise un communiqué de l’Elysée.

No debemos pensar que la psique ni la vida nos traigan el desastre simplemente para castigarnos. Las gotas de fuego que caen a cada lado de la Torre tienen la forma de la letra hebrea Yod, la primera letra del nombre de Dios, y no simbolizan la cólera, sino la gracia. Ni el universo ni la mente humana permitirán que nos quedemos para siempre aprisionados en nuestras torres de ilusorio engaño y represión. Si no podemos liberarnos de ellas pacíficamente, entonces las fuerzas de la vida organizarán una explosión.

No quiero dar a entender que disfrutemos, en modo alguno, de las dolorosas experiencias que nos sacuden para liberarnos, ni que podamos ver los fines benéficos que con tales medios se obtienen, ni siquiera que el resultado del proceso sea siempre la libertad. Es muy frecuente que una serie de desastres o un período de emociones violentas dejen tullida a una personalidad que hasta entonces era fuerte. Lo importante es que sólo cuando no se le dan otras salidas llegará el inconsciente a hacer erupción en torno de nosotros, y que podemos valernos de esta experiencia para alcanzar un equilibrio mejor. Algunos mazos llaman a esta carta “La Casa del Diablo”, pero otros le dicen “La Casa de Dios”, recordándonos que lo que destruye nuestras prisiones psíquicas es la fuerza espiritual.

Extraído de “Los 78 grados de sabiduría del Tarot” de Rachel Pollack.

Stellt euch vor, eure Festplatte wäre ein Hähnchen. Und die 80’s Metalband Dokken ein Virus. Dokken mag kein Hähnchen…

Genialer Werbespot von Norton feat. ein Brathähnchen und Dokken. Mehr als lustig:

Que me clavas un ancla en la costilla derecha y yo no aguanto mas, el dolor es tan insoportable que ahora he decidido renunciar… No importa la firma negra o la promesa de matar, creo que todo es tan imposible;   me parece desvariar.
Gire mi cara dos veces hacia el fin, y nunca pude adivinar… El dolor es ridículo y ya no se siquiera que tanto puedo aguantar. No tuve agallas ni tierra para arar, me fui caminando por pedazos de siembras verdes, por pedazos de cristal.
Encontré una bolsa pálida.
-¿Me quieres?
- No, no se que responder.
-Joderrrr… ¿Me quieres aunque sea un poquito?
-Que me tienes un ancla entre la costilla derecha y el pulmón, ¿Como quieres que responda?
-Un suspiro me haría bien.
-Pues a mi, me haria estallar. No me obligues, que voy a reventar.
-Pero aun no he escuchado la explosión.
-No sabes la suerte que tienes, en mi cabeza ya van dos ‘boom’.
-Deja entonces de esperar…
-Eso quisiera, parezco vidrio de buena calidad.
-Si, siempre ha sido así.

Voici deux affiches pour l’association West Airsoft…une réalisée ce soir en deux heures de temps (un peu plus maintenant que j’ai refait des modifs, je doit tourner aux environ de 3h30 au total), et l’autre plus ancienne, sortie du placard…

La photo de base ci-dessous :

et trois fonds d’écran réalisés sur cette base :

et une affiche pour une partie (réalisée en juillet) :

Explosion FLV Converter is a All-in-One powerful tool. Convert all popular video and audio formats to Youtube video, swf or flv to video, such as avi, mpeg, 3gp, mp4, mov, it offers the solutions to problems that many other flash to video converting tools cannot solve, such as video and audio asynchronization, loss of frames, audio distortion, the process of alpha channel, and the process of both internal and external Flash video(flv). With the leading audio and video codec, Explosion FLV Converter lets you easily and fully enjoy the original effects of your Flash files on your PC, iPod, PSP, Zune, iPhone, DVD players and Youtube Video, Google video, Myspace Video. In conclusion, with easy-to-use interface, fast converting speed, powerful functions.



Recommand Link:



DirMCB



Youtube to Divx Mixer



How-to AVI to 3GP



Youtube to iphone Pack



Real Media to Iaudio Converter



Digital AC3 CD to VQF Copier



Hope iPhone Convert



CD-R to M3U Suite



Youtube to DAT Pro



Super DVD to iPod Converter f3.52



MP3 RA to AAC

Just heard about the 573 000 pager messages that were intercepted on September 11th 2001 between government agencies – NYPD, Fire, Ambulance etc. Many of them are routine but start to get interesting after 08:50 onwards. Here are a few I have had a chance to look at so far. Big thanks to Wikileaks for sharing this information with the general public.

2001-09-11 08:50:54 Skytel [004398922] C ALPHA 1) BOMB DETINATED IN WORLD TRADE CTR. PLS GET BACK TO MIKE BRADY W/A QUICK ASSESSMENT OF YOUR AREAS AND CONTACT US IF ANYTHING IS NEEDED AT 212-647-2345.

2001-09-11 08:53:01 Arch [0900184] C ALPHA World Trade Center- report of explosion and/or fire. Will update as further info is recv’d. MTAPD Comm Ctr (1/1)

2001-09-11 08:53:29 Arch [0578286] D ALPHA BREAKING NEWS from CNN.com — World trade center damaged; unconfirmed reports say a plane has crashed into tower. Details to come. For complete coverage of this story visit: http://www.CNN.com or AOL Keyword: CNN CNN Headline News has change

2001-09-11 08:53:44 Arch [1622213] B ALPHA “NYPD Ops Div” <|1 PCT WORLD TRADE CENTER|— 1 PCT – WORLD TRADE CENTER – POSSIBLE EXPLOSION WORLD TRADE CENTER BUILDING. LEVEL 3 MOBILIZATION TO CHURCH AND VESSY.

2001-09-11 08:54:46 Arch [0932407] B ALPHA NYPD and emergency units at World Trade center, RE; airplane crash. Small Jet.

————————————————

I have a feeling this story will raun and run too.

www.toolking.com The Mythbusters use DeWalt Drill to shake a barrel full of gunpowder. Use the link above to check out some of them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-djdG5Tcv40&hl=en

Wie gesagt ohne Worte, seht und staunt:

und weil’s so schön war noch eins:

ACHTUNG: Es kann sein das euer Laptop/PC schon bei dem Namen Crysis in die Knie geht (oder in der Ecke schmollt), falls er/sie also fragt von welchem Spiel das ist sagt ihm/ihr CS oder so.

I don’t know how many of you watched WKRP in Cincinnati, but it was one of the funniest shows from 1978-1982 on television. Perhaps my favorite episode ever was the Thanksgiving episode, where the general manager of the radio station gets the bright idea to drop turkeys from a helicopter at the local mall to promote the station. I couldn’t find the clip where Les Nessman describes the turkeys falling from the sky and hitting the ground (think the famous Hindenburg explosion, but funny), but I did find video of perhaps the greatest line in TV history:

Otford Rail Tunnel – Closed

The Otford Tunnel IS the grand daddy of all the six disused tunnels in the Helensburgh and surrounds area. None of the other five existing tunnels have more written about them than the Otford Tunnel. Technically it is the No.7 tunnel on the Illawarra line, measuring a whooping 1550m in length, more than double the length of any of the other five tunnels. The tunnel is dead straight right up until the Stanwell Park end where there is a short curve.

In the 70’s, my aunty would often look after me when I was quite young. She owned a house in Station Rd, Otford and I remember vividly hearing the trains roar by and tractors moving around in the approach of the northern portal of Otford Tunnel, then a busy mushroom farm. I clearly remember the smell of mushroom compost and used to watch the tractor turn the compost to see masses of steam rising from it. In the late 70’s my aunty met with one of the workers from the mushroom farm and a romance blossomed. He lived in the house which is located on the northern side of the school boundry next to the field, and left of the entrance road to the then mushroom farm.

Some time had passed and I remembered one afternoon going down to the mushroom farm with my cousin who was of similar age to me. We went into the northern portal of Otford Tunnel on the back of a tractor with my uncle, and goofed around in there while my newly related uncle did his job of farming mushrooms. I remember the smell of mushroom compost more than anything as the scent would emanate through the air and bathe the whole of Otford with its stench. I also remember many old wooden box crates piled on top of each other. They looked old, as the wood was that grey, weather beaten colour. The tractor used in the tunnel had really flat tyres and to my amazement and shock, I watched my cousin place his foot under the back tyre of the tractor. The expression on my face must have been of horror as my cousin just laughed at me. He said “try it”…”it doesn’t hurt”. Cautiously I did and I immediately wanted to pull away but kept my foot in the path of the tractor tyre. The tyre is coming closer and closer, I start to get nervous and it goes over my foot. A mass of pressure now starts to weigh on my foot but its soon over. “I did it” I yelled. I think we did it another 5 times after that. I have no idea what my uncle was thinking letting two children place their feet under a tractor tyre, but as I recall he didn’t say anything.
Years later I showed my Father a photo of the strange prawn looking tractor that has been discarded and abandoned in the Otford Tunnel. He told me that he remembers when it was in use, and that my uncle and his work mate used to fool around with that piece of machinery. I can’t remember it however… faint and distant are most of my memories of the Mushroom Farm, except the ones I have shared.

Another time I remember, was being woken very early and it was dark. (when you’re a very small child dark is sleep time). In thinking back, it must have been around 2-3am, and my uncle had a delivery of mushrooms to the Sydney Markets. The trip to the Markets was long and I think I must have slept most of the way as I can’t recall much other than a long drive in the dark. Upon arriving I remember the truck driving into a HUGE warehouse at night where there was loads of space and few people. I don’t remember much after that as I think I must have fallen asleep. A vivid memory it is and one that is etched into my mind. I must have been no more that 5 or 6 years old at the time.

A few years after this my aunty, uncle and two cousins packed up their belongings and moved north. Both houses are still intact and standing in Station Road, Otford today. Their appearance has changed but they are still there. All access to the northern end of Otford Tunnel is completely blocked. A couple of houses have been built near and on the driveway leading down to the northern end of Otford Tunnel, and the area outside of the tunnel where the mushroom production existed is completely overgrown with weeds and lantana.

Otford itself has a rich history and in the early days, grazing and farmlands in the valleys was common right up through to Lilyvale and beyond. The other areas in Otford were to be prized for their inhabitants of some of the best cedars in Australia supporting several mills at the time. A popular well known family in Otford around the 1860’s were the Gardiner’s who’s offspring included six sons and three daughters. Their property consisted of goats for milk, grapes for wine and the training of horses.

In the 1880’s the government decided that a rail link from Sydney to the Illawarra was needed as farming and mining warranted it. Gangers moved in the area starting at Westmacot (Waterfall) then Cawley and Camp Creek (Helensburgh) in 1884. By 1889 the 1st Helensburgh Railway Station opened sending its first train off to Sydney the following year. By 1885 the line had reached Otford and the gangers set up their camps to work on an engineering feat, the Otford Tunnel. During this time the township had the nickname of ‘Little Italy’ as most of the gangers on the tunnels construction were Italians. The rock removed to create the tunnel was an astounding 49,000+ cubic meters and the gangers would work in shifts to complete the tunnel. Five million bricks were made and used in the tunnels construction.

Soon after its construction, the Otford Tunnel became problematic with traffic as more and heavier trains started to use the line. Many trains would have to roll back to Stanwell Park station after stalling or having both travelers and engine crew of the trains, choked and asphyxiated in the tunnel. The engine crews only option was to shut off the engine, engage the brakes and roll back to Stanwell Park. Engine crew would split the carriages and make several trips up to Waterfall then reattach the full load and continue on. Many a story has been circulated by passengers and crew recounting stories of their torture through the Otford Tunnel. Although a tablet system* was introduced making the passage between Stanwell Park and Otford safe, the massive 1 in 40 grade made it very steep and difficult for heavy steam trains heading north.
*Only one train was allowed on the section at a time making it safe. The driver would pick up the tablet from Stanwell Park Station and head to Otford Station. Trains behind him could not leave Stanwell Park until the first driver had relinquished the tablet at Otford. This would be relayed to Stanwell Park that the train had successfully passed through the tunnel and the next train could continue.

In 1891 the powers that be decided to cut a ventilation shaft into the roof of the tunnel to aid in clearer and cleaner air. This was done approximately halfway into the tunnel at a depth of approximately 60m deep with the main vent shaft being 2m wide which expanded into the top of the tunnels roof forming a pretty impressive cone. This worked for a certain period of time but the problems of soot and smoke continued as time went by. Larger trains and more of them with greater loads compounded the problem. Other methods were needed to remedy this problem.

As the years went by, suggestions at the time (early 1900’s) consisted of a rope or cable to haul the trains through the tunnel, electrifying the line between Stanwell Park and Waterfall with a third rail being laid in the Otford Tunnel to provide the electrification as the roof had not enough clearance. Ideas that never came to be as plans for the deviation were in discussions and by 1908 the deviation was being re-surveyed to give a 1 in 80 grade. By 1909 the powers that be attempted another way to overcome the severe problems of soot and smoke. The installation of a massive blower system was initiated with a false portal being installed at the front of the original portal at the northern end. An engine room was constructed just outside the northern portal housing a massive gas engine, (later replaced with a steam engine). This would blow air through the tunnel south along the roof and walls clearing the tunnel of fumes and smoke in minutes. This remained in operation until the remaining section of the deviation works were completed in 1920. There was a delay in the completion of the deviation between Otford and Coal Cliff due to the war, and full operations on the new deviation didn’t swing into action til October 1920. The blower fan was later purchased by the Lithgow Mine in 1923 and was overhauled and converted into an exhaust fan at the mine.

After the Otford Tunnel was decommissioned on October the Tenth 1920, it became a nice walk for pedestrians as a shortcut between Stanwell Park and Otford. My favourite story of the Otford Tunnel revolves around the rectangular concrete brace holding up part of the tunnel just inside the southern end. Fears of a Japanese invasion had the government at the time securing all beaches around Sydney. Upon a successful invasion, the government had plans in place to prevent making the spoils of war easy. A plan was devised to blow up all bridges up and down the coast with the Sydney Harbour Bridge being the one exception. A ’scorched earth policy’ was also hatched and the Military ordered a test explosion which involved blowing up the Otford Tunnel to prevent intrusion of an advancing hostile enemy. The army exploded a demolition charge in the roof 30-odd metres in the southern end of the Otford Tunnel completely blocking access in 1942.

Years passed and water had banked up behind the fallen earth creating a dam. Hardly anyone could walk right through after the tunnel was blown in, although there are stories of some people being able to crawl through a small opening in the earthen heap, emerging at the Stanwell Park end during times of drought when not much water was present in the tunnel. During the early 60’s the mushroom farmers leased the tunnel to cultivate mushrooms. Sometime in the 70’s the mushroom farmers cleared the fallen debris from the explosion and erected a rectangular concrete brace to allow passage once again. By the late 80’s the mushroom cultivators had vanished and the land was leased to another company which ended up not allowing anyone to enter the area. During the late 80’s early 90’s several attempts by State Rail to restrict access to the tunnel had been implemented and shortly after vandalised and failed.

In 1999 the State Rail Authority deemed the tunnel unsafe due to erosion and past human actions. In 2000-2001 the Sydney Water Corporation made plans to have a sewerage pipe routed through the tunnel to link Stanwell Park to the sewerage system. Presentations were made to the Heritage Council who were advised of several other proposals but had considerable costs involved. The proposal were:

1. a pipeline laid partly following Lawrence Hargrave Drive with two pumping stations required in restricted areas;

2. a new tunnel to the cost of $8 million;

3. construct a pipeline over Bald Hill with similarities to the 1st proposal with greater environmental impact.

The cost to use the disused Otford Tunnel was quoted in section 60 of their application as being in the range of $500,000.00 to $1,000,000.00. After consideration by the members of the Heritage Council the members agreed that the presentation by Sydney Water to have been poor and lacking in detail. After much debate and working out of finer details, the council approved the application with several conditions.

• the pipe should be fixed to wall with non-ferrous fixings, preferably into the joints, and otherwise conform to Recommendation 1 of the Heritage Impact Statement (HIS);
• further consideration be given to reducing the visual impact of the pipe;
• the pipe should be buried at the south portal to conform to recommendation 4 of the HIS. The pipe is to be buried as far as possible in the tunnel without disturbing significant archaeology. The minimum length for the buried portion of the pipe within the tunnel, from the portal is 20 metres;
• that the location of the SPS4 pumping station conform to recommendation 6 of the HIS, but the precise location, elevations, construction details and details of any associated equipment be subject to approval by the Director of the Heritage Office. The detailed plans are to include the relationship of the pumping stations and associated equipment to the curtilage boundary of the item and to significant archaeology like the track bed;
• the pipe should remain buried from the south portal to SPS 4 pumping station and beyond it as in recommendations 5 and 7of the HIS;
• the nominated excavation director must be present to monitor any excavation works and to record any archaeological features that are located. Significant relics should not be removed and should be retained in situ. The pipeline is to be diverted around relics if found;
• the works will be supervised on site by a consultant/s experienced in the conservation of similar heritage items;
• the repair works required to the tunnel, to enable the installation of the pipe, must be carried out prior to or in parallel with these works. The repair works will require a separate section 60 application where they are in excess of the Standard Exemptions. These repair works must include items 10, 12 & 15 of the Recommendations of the HIS described by Edward Higginbotham & Associates;
• a Conservation Management Plan (CMP) should be prepared and endorsed by the Heritage Council prior to the repair works being carried out to inform the future management and interpretation of the heritage item. The CMP should include consideration for limited public access to the tunnel;
• a Conservation Management Plan (CMP) should be prepared and endorsed by the Heritage Council prior to the repair works being carried out to inform the future management and interpretation of the heritage item. The CMP should include consideration for limited public access to the tunnel;
• a photographic archival record shall be prepared including black and white prints and colour slides prior to the commencement of works. Copies are to be lodged with Wollongong Council and the NSW Heritage Office prior to the commencement of works;
• a photographic archival record as described above shall be prepared of any significant fabric uncovered during the course of the works. Copies are to be lodged as described in i);
• a photographic archival record as described above shall be prepared at the completion of the work. Copies are to be lodged as described above;
• a Heritage Agreement must be signed by Sydney Water (as applicant for the work), the State Rail Authority (as owner of the heritage item) and the Minister for Urban Affairs and Planning to cover the conservation, adaptive re-use and maintenance of the heritage item;
• the Heritage Council notes that as the proposal has the potential to improve visitor access to the tunnel a strategy that will facilitate safe public access and interpretation of the tunnel will be prepared to the satisfaction of the Heritage Council.

The last point has interesting implications from a rail and historic enthusiast point of view. I look forward to seeing what comes of it if anything. I remember reading a comment posted online from a surveyor who had passaged through the tunnel recently to survey it for the Water Board. I don’t think much has become of the proposal because as of October 2009, nothing has disturbed the growth of lantana and other weeds encroaching on the northern portal entrance of the Otford Tunnel, let alone the presence of a sewerage pipe. Nothing is in the tunnel except the remains of the mushroom cultivators machinery at both the entrance at the northern end, and a piece of machinery in the middle near the ventilation shaft.

Accessing the northern end of the Otford Tunnel is almost impossible if you don’t know how to access it. Access through the old driveway is now block as mentioned before, and western access is almost impossible. Cutting through the school is a commonly used access route but is fraught with danger such as lantana thick as aerosol cans and stinging nettle, not to mention the alignment floor is now a nice water reservoir. The false portal is still present although the whole portal can barely be seen because of weed infestation. Upon entry, you are immediately greeted with piles of rubbish abandoned by the mushroom farmer. Once passed, the floor of the tunnel is in very bad shape with areas completely washed away exposing the original 3 brick high water culvert which runs the entire length of the tunnel. Black walls are still present with the occasional chalk graffiti on the walls and some modern rubbish carelessly discarded on the tunnel floor. (nothing compared to the mess left behind by the mushroom cultivators). The tunnels length is astounding and just goes on and on, dead straight till the light at the northern end is a small speck. The tunnel must of been hell to travel on via a steam train. Towards the bend and end of the tunnel, the roof dramatically appears closer to you as the amount of erosion and earth run off has build up the area around the southern end. So much has washed down that the first manhole in from the southern end just pass the concrete brace, is at knee height. Much graffiti and vandalism has occurred at the Stanwell Park end including the damage and removal of four layers of bricks on the left side of the portal which lined the tunnel and entrance.

The Otford Tunnel is truly a magnificent feat of engineering and hard work. The work involved just boggles ones mind when you consider man power made the bore and lined it with an artwork of bricks. Hats off to the gangers. Well done, even though the tunnel had a relatively short life of 32 years.

Otford Tunnel, 121 years old and still there.

Opened: 3 October 1888

Closed: 10 October 1920

The Otford Tunnel is listed on the State Heritage Register as item number 1219.

http://www.nswrail.net/locations/show.php?name=NSW:Otford+Tunnel

By Paul Chong Monday, 23 November 2009

Basic science tells us that to every action there is an equal & opposing reaction. It follows with the natural law of phenomenon of cause & effect. So with solving any problem, consideration lies with the cause not the effect – treating the cause & not the effect is the only logical solution.

US Dollar Being Shot At! Greenspan?

Do you remember the 1970s era of the Pyramid Marketing Schemes as deviously ingeniously devised by the Americans, particularly from the home ground of Utah? There was this mushrooming of the “Get Rich Quick” concept with ‘Holiday Magic’ spearheading & exploding the marketplace. It adversely affected the pockets & lives of many a home & individual. It was banned in Singapore & became restricted, operating as a Multi-Level Marketing Scheme. There are still such Multi-Level Marketing companies around, and in reality all its productivities benefit largely the company itself – the distributors getting the crumbs & pittance. Calling a rose by any other name still makes it smell the same.

Unlike the conservative British, the Americans are undoubtedly the most innovative & progressive with propitious modern ideas of marketing. In a word, they are the greatest “wheelers-dealers”! They preach & practise this philosophy right to the extreme – with success objective at all costs. The underlying theory maybe sound, but in practice it’s invariably unsound, as individuals have differential capability & capacity.

The Americans are famous for their doomsday & catastrophic shows on the big screen. This time they really hit the real thing – from Wall Street to the Main Street. But it’s not confined or restricted just to the American scene – it’s so monumental that the global economy is reeling & hurting. The cause of the Pyramid practice has evolved & resulted into the Domino effect. Like in a masquerade ball, the Americans have been wearing those loose cloaks with masks to cover up their faces.

Who’s to be blamed? Bush then & now Obama administration would like to attribute the alleged root of this economic crisis to the market itself – speculators, hedge funds, greedy bankers & lax regulators. Passing the buck does not eradicate the fact that it’s one Monumental Policy Failure on the part of the US government.

We are witnessing history unfolding right before our eyes. Two monumental things are glaringly obvious:

1. A dangerous collapse or near breakdown of the capitalist             financial system.

2. A massive outpouring of Free Money by the US government in   bailing out the “Big Boys” who are the real culprits of this             economic calamity. Hundreds of billions are spent in bailing out   the key major players – not at all benefiting the average American & sending the budget deficits going through the roof.

This Monumental Policy Failure of expanding money supply & credit growth is fuelling the economy negatively. The economy is imploding within with the exploding of endless printing of paper money. These two colossal events of the past 24 months with the collapse of Wall Street in 2008 & the irrational response of Washington in the outpouring of free money & the Federal Reserve printing money without restraint.

What happened initially with the huge speculative real estate bubble, which not even Greenspan nor Bernanke would now deny, has triggered off the ramification of the banking problems & the recession.

Many of us to be sure must remember the worthlessness of the Japanese money during the Japanese Occupation in both Malaya & Singapore. The Japanese were also running their printing press overtime to finance their warfare & occupation. Now in the present era, just ask any Zimbabwean what a billion or million dollar note is worth in his country.

US dollar is not backed by anything, not gold or silver or any tangible commodities and with its paper money running off the press like crazy, what can you expect of its worthiness in the final analysis? The confidence of the world for its currency is at a critical point, and all it takes is 24 hours for all the other nations to drop its use as the currency reserve.

As said, US may well be destroyed from within & from without – the wrath & non-confidence of the world may be brought to bear down on US all within the hours before the wake of Wall Street.

One Nobel Prize winning economist predicts a run on the dollar as “Probably the kind of disorderly run that precipitates a global financial crisis . . . ” while other monetary experts now warn “We are in the terminal stages of the world’s most gigantic pyramid scheme.”

To be forewarned is to be forearmed.

Take Care.

]]> http://buffetoblog.wordpress.com/2009/11/22/videos-of-deep-fried-turkey-disasters/ Mon, 23 Nov 2009 05:55:15 +0000 Buffet O' Blog http://buffetoblog.wordpress.com/2009/11/22/videos-of-deep-fried-turkey-disasters/

Baking a turkey has long been part of most Americans’ Thanksgiving tradition.  But let’s face it — it’s kinda boring to watch a turkey bake. Plus turkey is healthy and not very fattening, which doesn’t fit in with our modern culture.  So now more and more people are deep-frying their turkey, which makes it more unhealthy (along with more flavorful), and there’s also the danger of deep-frying it improperly, which is exciting for some people.

I’ve heard so many reports of deep-fried turkey disasters in recent years that it seems like it’s becoming a sport.  There are probably countless videos on YouTube of this, but here’s a few highlights I’ve come across.

In the following video, note the lack of protective gear, and also notice the child in the background covering his eyes.  Somehow he knew something was going to go wrong.  And somehow this accident even inspired a dance from the man responsible for it.

This next video features firefighters showing the right and wrong way to deep-fry a turkey.  First, they do it correctly, with it fully thawed and dry.  Next they drop a partially thawed turkey in the deep-fryer.  Then they put a mostly frozen turkey in the deep-fryer.  Lastly, they show you what happens if you pour water on an oil fire.  (The last part is quite impressive, because it’s not near my house.)

This next one is great.  This “chef” uses the Archimedes Principle to properly deep-fry a turkey.  (That’s a great line.  I had never heard it used like that, and there may be a reason why.)  Then at the end, he says, calmly, “We are now frying a turkey.”  Perhaps, but he’s also burning a turkey… and his deep-fryer… and the house…

In this next video, we start with the fire already burning.  Several people are yelling, “Use a fire extinguisher!”  At least one person has the knowledge to say it should be one made for oil fires.  (There are different kinds of fire extinguishers, if you didn’t know.)  You might be able to guess whether this was the right kind or not.  I like how at the end one guy says, “It’s fine”, after it’s been on-fire over a minute and they’ve sprayed it down with a fire extinguisher (which might not be good for food).

Think you’ve seen everything there is to see regarding turkey frying accidents?  In the next video, some morning show radio DJs simulate the dangers of deep-frying a turkey (improperly) inside your living room.  Somewhere, Fire Marshall Bill is smiling…

BTW, this may look cool, but you shouldn’t try this at home.

Mit Armadillo ist man also gewappnet für die täglichen Gefahren. Exklpsionen hin… im Weg stehende Wände her… verdammt, ich hasse diese Clowns, die einem in der Fußgängerzone immer auflauern!

Creative Team: Ham & Kaas
Produktion: Stink Ltd.
Regie: Darkfibre
Director of Photography: Michael Bonvillain

via NOTCOT / Armadillo Scooterwear

A gas explosion tore through a coal mine in northern China on Saturday, killing 15 people and trapping another 114 nearly a third of a mile under ground, central government authorities said.

Another 399 people at the Xinxing mine in Heilongjiang province managed to escape after the 2:30 a.m. explosion, the State Administration of Work Safety said in a statement.

China Central Television reported that 15 were dead and the others were trapped about a third of a mile (500 meters) under ground. The report said the cause of the explosion was still not clear.

A man answering the phone at the mine said an unknown number of people were injured in the blast.

The mine is run by one of China’s top 520 state-owned enterprises, according to the Web site of its owner, the Hegang branch of the Heilongjiang Longmei Holding Mining Group. The site says the Hegang branch has more than 88,000 employees.

The mine is located near the border with Russia, about 250 miles (400 kilometers) northeast of the provincial capital, Harbin.

A blast at the Tunlan coal mine in northern China’s Shanxi province killed 77 people in February, China’s worst industrial accident in a year.

Fiery Heaven ;D

Hey, This is Alex here, with my new blog   Jealous much? Just thought I’d say: “Welcome to NeoClassica1″ The home to everything that is deemed as cool, by the cool guy himself… And no, I don’t mean The Stig off of Top Gear even as cool as he is… Lol

Here is Michigan women’s basketball coach Kevin Borseth having a press conference meltdown after a loss from two seasons ago.

C’est En 2001 que la catastrophe avait eu lieue : l’usine chimique d’AZF à Toulouse avait explosée en plein jour, faisant 31 morts et plusieurs milliers  de blessés dans toute la ville.

Le procès des responsables a eu lieu cette semaine : Serge Biechelin (directeur du site à l’époque) et Thierry Desmarest (l’ancien PDG de Total). La compagnie Total avait été dénoncée (?) comme coupable lors du drame. Le procureur a décidé de mettre en place une relaxe générale en invoquant  le bénéfice du doute. Selon lui, il y avait eu trop d’erreurs d’organisation ce jour-là et il était donc trop difficile de savoir précisément qui était le vrai responsable de l’accident. C’est probablement un problème de stockage qui serait à l’origine de l’explosion de l’usine. puisqu‘Il y avait de nombreuses défaillances dans le système de sécurité.

D’autre part les experts judiciaires dépêchés par la cour ont révélé grâce à leurs analyses que plusieurs kilos de chlore avaient été derversés accidentellement sur le stock de nitrate d’ammonium. L’explosion avait alors provoqueé les dégâts matériels et humains pour lesquels la compagnie Total a versé plus de 2 milliards d’euros d’indemnités.

Les familles des victimes et des sinistrés se sentent néanmoins choquée et délaissées par le justice. Selon eux, cette relaxe est un scandale puisqu’aucune condamnation n’a été prononcé, les coupables n’ont pas avoué leurs responsabilités dans la catastrophe. Le procès des deux PDG est reporté dans un an, AZF n’est condamné qu’à trois de prison avec sursis, quand à la société  Total elle sera jugée plus tard. L’avocat de Total et de Thierry Desmarest estime que ce procès ne sera qu’une perte de temps et que la justice va donner une fois de plus de faux-espoirs aux familles des victimes.

Source : RTL. ( Consulté le 20 Novembre 2009). Procès  AZF : relaxe générale au nom du bénéfice du doute. [En ligne]. Adresse URL : http://www.rtl.fr/fiche/5930614996/proces-azf-relaxe-generale-au-nom-du-benefice-du-doute.html

San Juanico mucha gente lo a escuchado por aquello de una explosion que paso en un dia como hoy pero de 1984…. y es todo lo que recordamos todos aquellos que somos de la camada del 86 u 87 en adelante (como es mi caso).

Hablo de esto por que a 25 años de la tragedia ya nadie se acuerda (Yo no me acordaba de la fecha pero sabia de lo que habia pasado), salvo aquellas personas que perdieron familiares y amigos en las explosiones donde murieron mas de 500 personas que gracias a la ineptitud del gobierno Local de esa zona no respetaron los “poligonos de seguridad” estipulados para estos “establecimientos” y crearon unidades habitacionales a unos cuantos metros de la planta de PEMEX.

Todo (a grandes rasgos) comineza el 17 de Noviembre de 1984 al rededor de las 5:30 am Con una fuga de unos condctos de gas con una medida de 20 cm. de diametro que al hacer contacto con una chispa se incendian; una de las primeras explosiones sucede a las 5:45 am  con una denominada Bleve haciendola una bola de fuego de proporciones no muy pequeñas, en este incendio o explosion (como gusten denotarlo) son aefctadas al rededor de 10 casa, despues de esa explosion surge otra a los pocos segundo ya que esta alcanzo a otros tanques teniendo asi una reaccion en cadena debastadora de casi 2 horas de duracion durante todo este lapso de tiempo de las explosiones los accesos a las zonas ya habian sido bloqueadas ante el inminente riesgo que significaba ya la tragedia.

En todo ese lapso los bomberos trataron de que el fuego se aminorara pero a tal magnitud no es sencillo, el fuego siguio durante horas llegando a las 6 pm, ahi ya hbian entrado socorristas a la zona.

Eh aqui mi inconformidad:

• Hoy en dia la zona de seguridad (Poligono de seguridad) que el gobierno implementa para esas region tiene que ser de MENOS 1 KM el cual hoy en dia se la pasan por el arco del triunfo ya que en San Juan Ixhuatepec es ya una zona urbanizada, ahi mismo se encuentran 6 gaseras de las 12 que anteriormente existian.

•  

  

  Fuente: El Universal

• El Gobierno de Miguel de la Madrid (entonces Presidente de la republica) habia prometido casas a los afectados y muchos no recibieron mas que unas cuantas casas en “Obra Negra”.
• El Gobierno nego que instituciones extranjeras pudieran ayudar a la gente con quemaduras graves.

“El 20 de noviembre de 1984 el presidente Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado ordenó la restitución de viviendas a los damnificados. Cuatro días después el gobernador Alfredo del Mazo entregó el primer lote de 40 viviendas a damnificados en la colonia Valle de Anáhuac, edificada por AURIS.

El reporte  “San Juan Ixhuatepec: Memoria de una Emergencia”, realizado por el gobierno del Estado de México en noviembre de 1985, señala que las casas entregadas fueron amuebladas también gratuitamente.”

• La villa fue lugar para poder llevar a los heridos y ropa a las personas damnificadas
• Lo que ahora es parte del metrobus (frente a sus talleres) en el paradero de Indios Verdes se trasladaron a los heridos

De esta tragedia en México solo se habla a conveniencia de cada quien o por que se acuerda pero la verdad es que de eso…. Hoy solo quedan Cenizas

El_Nariz…