http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://media.oregonlive.com/portland_impact/photo/kyron3jpg-42b82154c5c24430.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.oregonlive.com/portlan
The 10th anniversary of the September 11th, 2001 Terror Attacks (forever to be known as 9/11) fell on Sunday this year. Somehow, it seemed an appropriate end to a volatile summer of nonstop and unwelcome surprises. June opened with the still-unsolved disappearance of 2nd-grader Kyron Horman of Portland, Oregon. The sweet-faced boy, who disappeared from his suburban elementary school on June 4, 2010, remains the victim of an uncomprehending biological father; a wayward stepmother; and dithering police investigators. Kyron's 9th birthday would have been this past September 9th. One can only call this a travesty and a slaughter of an innocent!
http://www.kgw.com/news/local/Kyron-Horman-remembered-on-birthday-129566393.html
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JULY 2011 - #1
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/15/us-caseyanthony-idUSTRE78E02G20110915
Two-and-a-half year old Caylee Marie Anthony was reported missing in July 2008. In December of that year, in a woods near her home in Orlando, Florida, her remains were found with a blanket inside a trash bag. In a 6-week televised trial, a media circus that ran from May through July, Caylee's mother -- 25-year-old Casey Anthony -- stood trial for first degree murder. Though acquitted on July 5th, she was found guilty on four misdemeanor counts of lying to police officers. On July 17th, with credit for time already served, Casey was released.
When Caylee's remains were found, her death was initially ruled a homicide due to duct tape plastered on her skull and mouth. Eventually the official listing was changed to "undetermined means". Who did it? Much evidence cast suspicion on good times lovin', party girl/Mother, Casey. Dried blood was found in Casey's car; Cindy Anthony, Casey's mother, claimed that her daughter's car smelled as if a dead body had been inside it. These were merely two bits of compelling evidence that Casey may have played a major part in her toddler's untimely death, though the jury didn't reckon it to be direct evidence enough. Will we ever know? Not anytime soon. As far as Casey's whereabouts, rumour had it that she was heading for Hollywood. I can only pray that she won't receive a reality show as a reward.
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JULY 2011 - #2
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/09/leiby-kletzky-murder-spur_n_922830.html
Monday, July 11th. Another child murder that unequivocally defines barbarity. (Soon to be) nine-year-old Yehudah (Leiby) Kletzky was walking home, alone, from his Brooklyn day camp for the very first time. The camp wasn't too far away from his home in the Hasidic Jewish Borough Park neighborhood. Only a few blocks away his parents waited anxiously for him. Leiby somehow lost his way and asked for help -- from one Levi Aron, a 35-year-old hardware supply store employee. Many of the accounts then varied as to what actually occurred, among them what the relationship of the boy was to the man (according to some accounts, they knew each other).
Suffice to say that this boy, so trusting of the adults in his Orthodox Jewish neighborhood, met an undeserved fate. Aron abducted the child, then took him to his attic apartment where he proceeded to drug, smother, torture, and then butcher little Leib with brutality that would have made a Nazi blush. The boy's body was found in the early morning hours of Wednesday, July 13th after a frantic search, first by the local volunteer civilian patrol, then by the Brooklyn police. A community was left in disbelieving shock and grief. Being Jewish myself, I've many thoughts about this latest horror in the Satanic Slaughter of Innocents, especially one in the heart of one of the world's most religious Jewish communities. I'll save that for another time perhaps. Because
all I can muster are unanswerable questions. And wonder, with great sadness: Is it G-d's Truth? Baruch Dayan Emet (Blessed is G-d's Truth): For Kyron. For Caylee. For Leiby.
_______________________________________________________________
JULY 22, 2011 - Norway's Twin Terror Massacres
July continued, a summer of pleasant times for me personally but I was one of the lucky ones. New abominations were waiting in the wings. This time, of all places, two serial terrorist attacks occurring in the usually peaceful Scandinavia. In Norway! Norway??
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43923198/ns/world_news-europe/t/poff-one-other-swimmers-was-shot-i-saw-blood-stream-out/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/norway/8672801/Norway-massacre-the-real-Anders-Behring-Breivik.html
On July 22nd in downtown Oslo, a car bomb exploded outside government buildings, one of which held the office of Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg. It killed 8 people, and wounded or critically injured more than 150. Approximately 2 hours later, a shooting attack on an island summer camp had the Internet all abuzz. A lone gunman in policeman's uniform had opened fire on the participants; he killed 86 campers and others. The stepbrother of Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit was one victim amongst them. Teenagers were the main targets due to their political affiliation: they were members of the youth division of Norway's ruling Labour Party. Little could they know that so many would end up in the crosshairs of the 32-year-old Anders Behring Breivik, who to all appearances acted alone. A brutal ending for these (mainly young) adults, undeserving victims of Norway's Twin Terror Attacks. R.I.P. to all who perished on Norway's Day of Horror.
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AUGUST 5, 2011
Summer lumbered on, the dog days ushered in on August 4th. This red-letter day will surely go down in American financial history: it saw the Standard & Poor downgrade of America's AAA long-term credit rating, the FIRST time in our history since monitoring was established in 1917.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/08/06/139038762/s-p-lowers-united-states-long-term-rating
And why the unprecedented decision to lower our rating? Politics and Debt: weakened public institutions, weak economy. Is this another move down our slippery slope? Only time will tell.
___________________________________________________________________
AUGUST 6-10, 2011
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/sep/06/england-riots-cost-taxpayers-compensation
About a fortnight after Norway's Twin Terror Attacks, the 2011 English Follies began. Not with singing and dancing, though the misguided among us might deem it a new form of street art. The week of August 6th brought an explosion of rioting, arson and looting, first in London and its poorer neighborhoods (Brixton, Camden, Ealing, Peckham), then fanning out to cities such as Bristol, Liverpool and Manchester. Many smaller towns and cities also suffered from related outbreaks.
The fuse that lit the tinder box was the fatal shooting of one Mark Duggan by police officers on August 4th. There had actually been a peaceful march on August 6th in response; but shortly thereafter rioting started in North London, near the Tottenham police station where the arrest and shooting of Duggan occurred. A younger group of people arrived at the scene, more aggressive than the peace marchers, some armed with weapons.
In 1981 and 1995, riots also swept through England. But these were more barbarian and vicious, with unparalleled levels of rampant looting, arson attacks, and violent assaults directed toward innocent bystanders. When I last checked, London suffered 3,443 crimes total. The violence resulted in the deaths of five people with sixteen others injured. Property damage was estimated at 200 million pounds with local businesses stymied for days. Police action was blamed for the initial riot and their consequent dithering was far from effective as well. The inept Portland police can't hold a candle to the lack of fortitude of the London officers. But the fault isn't entirely theirs: they were obeying orders from the "higher-ups" (government leaders), many of whom were away on their August holidays including Prime Minister David Cameron. The Brits can thank them for Keystone Kops-like "protection".
I will be an Anglophile until the day I pass on. But I'll think twice if I have the chance to travel there again (no danger of that anytime soon!).
______________________________________________________________________
AUGUST 23, 2011 - THE VIRGINIA EARTHQUAKE
As the summer of Malcontents wore on, Mother Nature kicked up her heels and reared her head. An estimated 5.8 magnitude earthquake struck the U.S. east coast on August 23rd at 1:50pm. It jolted many, being felt across more than a dozen states and in several Canadian provinces. We were fortunate this time - minor injuries and no deaths, though widespread (minor) damage to buildings occurred with an estimated $200-$300 million in damage, certainly not small potatoes. Though earthquakes occur less often in the central and eastern U.S. than in the western states, they're typically felt across a much broader region.
______________________________________________________________________
AUGUST 20-29, 2011 - HURRICANE IRENE/TEXAS FIRES
In the 1970s there was a popular, Debbie Reynolds-starring revival of a 1919 musical, "Irene". Don't ask me why but, when the advisories started, I just couldn't get thoughts of this show out of my head! On the heels of the Virginia Earthquake, Irene made her first U.S. (east coast again) landfall over North Carolina's east coast on August 27th, moved along southeastern Virginia, and made a second appearance in New Jersey on the morning of August 28th. A third landfall occurred that same morning in Brooklyn, New York. Upstate New York and Vermont sustained much damage, with the latter suffering its worst floods in centuries!
Unlike the delightful musical comedy, this Irene caused significant and extensive destruction with at least 55 deaths. The U.S. estimated its damage to be as high as $10-$15 billion; the Caribbean's damage at $3 billion. At about this time, Texas fires started raging with about 1,500 families displaced from their homes. When I last checked, the September 12th update stated that 3,694,985 acres and 2,630 homes have burned with 17 people missing since the fire season began in April.
_______________________________________________________________________
SEPTEMBER 11, 2011
This past weekend marked ten years since our generation's Day of Infamy: September 11, 2001. It was especially fitting that this year, September 11 fell on Sunday, the weekend day making serious reflection a bit easier, with prayers that we - and our future generations - will never experience the likes of it again.
So ends our too-long, hot, brutal summer. Violence, and natural disasters will continue. Stay tuned, there's plenty more to come, I fear.
________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
JULY 2011 - #1
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/15/us-caseyanthony-idUSTRE78E02G20110915
Two-and-a-half year old Caylee Marie Anthony was reported missing in July 2008. In December of that year, in a woods near her home in Orlando, Florida, her remains were found with a blanket inside a trash bag. In a 6-week televised trial, a media circus that ran from May through July, Caylee's mother -- 25-year-old Casey Anthony -- stood trial for first degree murder. Though acquitted on July 5th, she was found guilty on four misdemeanor counts of lying to police officers. On July 17th, with credit for time already served, Casey was released.
When Caylee's remains were found, her death was initially ruled a homicide due to duct tape plastered on her skull and mouth. Eventually the official listing was changed to "undetermined means". Who did it? Much evidence cast suspicion on good times lovin', party girl/Mother, Casey. Dried blood was found in Casey's car; Cindy Anthony, Casey's mother, claimed that her daughter's car smelled as if a dead body had been inside it. These were merely two bits of compelling evidence that Casey may have played a major part in her toddler's untimely death, though the jury didn't reckon it to be direct evidence enough. Will we ever know? Not anytime soon. As far as Casey's whereabouts, rumour had it that she was heading for Hollywood. I can only pray that she won't receive a reality show as a reward.
_______________________________________________________________
JULY 2011 - #2
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/09/leiby-kletzky-murder-spur_n_922830.html
Monday, July 11th. Another child murder that unequivocally defines barbarity. (Soon to be) nine-year-old Yehudah (Leiby) Kletzky was walking home, alone, from his Brooklyn day camp for the very first time. The camp wasn't too far away from his home in the Hasidic Jewish Borough Park neighborhood. Only a few blocks away his parents waited anxiously for him. Leiby somehow lost his way and asked for help -- from one Levi Aron, a 35-year-old hardware supply store employee. Many of the accounts then varied as to what actually occurred, among them what the relationship of the boy was to the man (according to some accounts, they knew each other).
Suffice to say that this boy, so trusting of the adults in his Orthodox Jewish neighborhood, met an undeserved fate. Aron abducted the child, then took him to his attic apartment where he proceeded to drug, smother, torture, and then butcher little Leib with brutality that would have made a Nazi blush. The boy's body was found in the early morning hours of Wednesday, July 13th after a frantic search, first by the local volunteer civilian patrol, then by the Brooklyn police. A community was left in disbelieving shock and grief. Being Jewish myself, I've many thoughts about this latest horror in the Satanic Slaughter of Innocents, especially one in the heart of one of the world's most religious Jewish communities. I'll save that for another time perhaps. Because
all I can muster are unanswerable questions. And wonder, with great sadness: Is it G-d's Truth? Baruch Dayan Emet (Blessed is G-d's Truth): For Kyron. For Caylee. For Leiby.
_______________________________________________________________
JULY 22, 2011 - Norway's Twin Terror Massacres
July continued, a summer of pleasant times for me personally but I was one of the lucky ones. New abominations were waiting in the wings. This time, of all places, two serial terrorist attacks occurring in the usually peaceful Scandinavia. In Norway! Norway??
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43923198/ns/world_news-europe/t/poff-one-other-swimmers-was-shot-i-saw-blood-stream-out/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/norway/8672801/Norway-massacre-the-real-Anders-Behring-Breivik.html
On July 22nd in downtown Oslo, a car bomb exploded outside government buildings, one of which held the office of Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg. It killed 8 people, and wounded or critically injured more than 150. Approximately 2 hours later, a shooting attack on an island summer camp had the Internet all abuzz. A lone gunman in policeman's uniform had opened fire on the participants; he killed 86 campers and others. The stepbrother of Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit was one victim amongst them. Teenagers were the main targets due to their political affiliation: they were members of the youth division of Norway's ruling Labour Party. Little could they know that so many would end up in the crosshairs of the 32-year-old Anders Behring Breivik, who to all appearances acted alone. A brutal ending for these (mainly young) adults, undeserving victims of Norway's Twin Terror Attacks. R.I.P. to all who perished on Norway's Day of Horror.
_________________________________________________________________
AUGUST 5, 2011
Summer lumbered on, the dog days ushered in on August 4th. This red-letter day will surely go down in American financial history: it saw the Standard & Poor downgrade of America's AAA long-term credit rating, the FIRST time in our history since monitoring was established in 1917.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/08/06/139038762/s-p-lowers-united-states-long-term-rating
And why the unprecedented decision to lower our rating? Politics and Debt: weakened public institutions, weak economy. Is this another move down our slippery slope? Only time will tell.
___________________________________________________________________
AUGUST 6-10, 2011
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/sep/06/england-riots-cost-taxpayers-compensation
About a fortnight after Norway's Twin Terror Attacks, the 2011 English Follies began. Not with singing and dancing, though the misguided among us might deem it a new form of street art. The week of August 6th brought an explosion of rioting, arson and looting, first in London and its poorer neighborhoods (Brixton, Camden, Ealing, Peckham), then fanning out to cities such as Bristol, Liverpool and Manchester. Many smaller towns and cities also suffered from related outbreaks.
The fuse that lit the tinder box was the fatal shooting of one Mark Duggan by police officers on August 4th. There had actually been a peaceful march on August 6th in response; but shortly thereafter rioting started in North London, near the Tottenham police station where the arrest and shooting of Duggan occurred. A younger group of people arrived at the scene, more aggressive than the peace marchers, some armed with weapons.
In 1981 and 1995, riots also swept through England. But these were more barbarian and vicious, with unparalleled levels of rampant looting, arson attacks, and violent assaults directed toward innocent bystanders. When I last checked, London suffered 3,443 crimes total. The violence resulted in the deaths of five people with sixteen others injured. Property damage was estimated at 200 million pounds with local businesses stymied for days. Police action was blamed for the initial riot and their consequent dithering was far from effective as well. The inept Portland police can't hold a candle to the lack of fortitude of the London officers. But the fault isn't entirely theirs: they were obeying orders from the "higher-ups" (government leaders), many of whom were away on their August holidays including Prime Minister David Cameron. The Brits can thank them for Keystone Kops-like "protection".
I will be an Anglophile until the day I pass on. But I'll think twice if I have the chance to travel there again (no danger of that anytime soon!).
______________________________________________________________________
AUGUST 23, 2011 - THE VIRGINIA EARTHQUAKE
As the summer of Malcontents wore on, Mother Nature kicked up her heels and reared her head. An estimated 5.8 magnitude earthquake struck the U.S. east coast on August 23rd at 1:50pm. It jolted many, being felt across more than a dozen states and in several Canadian provinces. We were fortunate this time - minor injuries and no deaths, though widespread (minor) damage to buildings occurred with an estimated $200-$300 million in damage, certainly not small potatoes. Though earthquakes occur less often in the central and eastern U.S. than in the western states, they're typically felt across a much broader region.
______________________________________________________________________
AUGUST 20-29, 2011 - HURRICANE IRENE/TEXAS FIRES
In the 1970s there was a popular, Debbie Reynolds-starring revival of a 1919 musical, "Irene". Don't ask me why but, when the advisories started, I just couldn't get thoughts of this show out of my head! On the heels of the Virginia Earthquake, Irene made her first U.S. (east coast again) landfall over North Carolina's east coast on August 27th, moved along southeastern Virginia, and made a second appearance in New Jersey on the morning of August 28th. A third landfall occurred that same morning in Brooklyn, New York. Upstate New York and Vermont sustained much damage, with the latter suffering its worst floods in centuries!
Unlike the delightful musical comedy, this Irene caused significant and extensive destruction with at least 55 deaths. The U.S. estimated its damage to be as high as $10-$15 billion; the Caribbean's damage at $3 billion. At about this time, Texas fires started raging with about 1,500 families displaced from their homes. When I last checked, the September 12th update stated that 3,694,985 acres and 2,630 homes have burned with 17 people missing since the fire season began in April.
_______________________________________________________________________
SEPTEMBER 11, 2011
This past weekend marked ten years since our generation's Day of Infamy: September 11, 2001. It was especially fitting that this year, September 11 fell on Sunday, the weekend day making serious reflection a bit easier, with prayers that we - and our future generations - will never experience the likes of it again.
So ends our too-long, hot, brutal summer. Violence, and natural disasters will continue. Stay tuned, there's plenty more to come, I fear.
________________________________________________________________________
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