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Published: 10/15/07, 3:30 PM Police and Activists Clash at Shvut Ami Outpost by Hana Levi Julian (IsraelNN.com) Police and activists clashed at Shvut Ami (“Return of My People”) on Monday in the government’s ongoing efforts to destroy the nascent hilltop community. Activists reported that three youths were injured by police who were trying to destroy the outpost. Police arrested three young women who they said attacked officers at the site. The outpost, one of five established during the Sukkot holiday, is located near the Jewish town of Kedumim in Samaria. Some 200 people arrived the first day to help build...

WASHINGTON, July 26, 2006 – The U.S. military today performed its final scheduled evacuation of U.S. citizens from Lebanon, a U.S. military spokesman in Cyprus said. The military has worked with the U.S. State Department and the governments of Turkey and Cyprus for the past 10 days to evacuate U.S. citizens from Lebanon, which has suffered extensive damage in 15 days of conflict between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah militants. The military has evacuated almost 14,000 U.S. citizens from Lebanon, Marine Brig. Gen. Carl B. Jensen, commander of Task Force 59, said in a news conference via satellite. The U.S. Embassy...

by Mark Finkelstein July 19, 2006 - 08:08 It's been a tough week for the MSM. You just know they'd like to find a way spin events in Lebanon and Israel for purposes of criticizing the Bush administration. But one senses they have had a tough time getting traction. Even for our liberal media heroes, making common cause with Hezbollah might be a bridge too far. When the MSM is reduced to fixating on a mild four-letter word that Pres. Bush let fly, and to second-guessing tactics - as opposed to goals - you know the media's Bush-bashing cupboard is...

WASHINGTON — As U.S. citizens scrambled to escape the fighting in Lebanon and the Pentagon announced a massive evacuation effort, another kind of battle — this one bitterly political — broke out in Washington over whether the evacuees should be billed for the costs of their own rescue. Those seeking to leave were being asked to sign a promissory note, pledging to repay the U.S. government within 90 days for the costs of their evacuation. The paperwork in Beirut sent tempers through the roof in Washington, not to mention among some under fire in Lebanon who have been asked to...

WASHINGTON, July 18, 2006 – A contracted ship has docked in Lebanon to evacuate U.S. citizens caught in the fighting there, and U.S. officials have ordered the expeditionary strike group based around the USS Iwo Jima to assist in the effort, DoD officials said here today. DoD contracted a Greek ocean liner, the Orient Queen, to evacuate American citizens from Beirut, and that vessel has docked, a senior DoD official told reporters. The liner can hold up to 750 people for the five-hour voyage to Cyprus, an island nation in the western Mediterranean. In addition, six CH-53 helicopters -- three...

WASHINGTON, July 17, 2006 – The United States has contracted a commercial ship to assist in a possible mass evacuation of Americans from Lebanon, a Defense Department spokesman said here today. The cruise ship Orient Queen is expected to arrive in the area of operations sometime tomorrow, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said. The ship can accommodate hundreds of passengers and may be used to ferry U.S. evacuees from the port of Beirut to the island of Cyprus. The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Gonzalez has been tasked to escort the Orient Queen as a force-protection measure, Whitman said. A number of...

WASHINGTON, July 16, 2006 – A U.S. military team is now in Lebanon evaluating the possibility of evacuating thousands of American citizens there, a Defense Department spokesman said here today. "There was an operation this morning involving some U.S. servicemembers to evacuate a small number of people from Lebanon at the request of the U.S. Embassy there," Army Lt. Col. Mark Ballesteros, a Pentagon spokesman, said. A survey and assessment team from U.S. Central Command is now in Lebanon, Ballesteros said. The team is "planning with the (U.S.) Department of State there for the way ahead," he said. News...

BAYOU LA BATRE, ALA. -- The afternoon before Hurricane Katrina arrived, Vo Loan, 11, who like other Asian-American children in Bayou La Batre serves as English translator for her parents, was out with her mother when the police rapped at their door. Her father, Vietnam-born Nguyen Hung, answered. The two officers warned Nguyen in English that flooding from the major hurricane could be deadly and that his family should evacuate. He didn't understand, he explained to a reporter last week, speaking through his daughter at their small white house. "My van was broken, but I could have found another way...

Last update - 14:57 31/05/2006 Dichter meets with settler leaders to negotiate illegal outpost evacuations By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent Public Security Minister Avi Dichter met with settler leaders and MK Uri Ariel of National Union on Wednesday afternoon in an effort to reach an agreement on the evacuation of 24 illegal outposts in the West Bank. The government will devote several weeks to negotiations, but is prepared to evacuate the settlements by force should negotiations fail. The Civil Administration posted demolition orders on 18 buildings in the Maon Farm settlement outpost south of Mount Hebron Tuesday morning. Civil Administration...

EVACUATIONS have begun in Western Australia's Pilbara region, key ports are closed and mining operations are shutting down as Cyclone Clare bears down on the state's northwest coast. The category-three cyclone is expected to intensify before it hits the coast between Dampier and Karratha tonight. State Emergency Services (SES) spokeswoman Neta Gill said officers had started doorknocking low-lying homes in Karratha and Wickham, urging people to evacuate to emergency centres. "It is a precaution because the cyclone looks like crossing at high tide later today," she said. Dampier port harbourmaster Vic Justice said final preparations were underway ahead of the...

"City, state and federal emergency officials are preparing to give the poorest of New Orleans' poor a historically blunt message: In the event of a major hurricane, you're on your own. In scripted appearances being recorded now, officials such as Mayor Ray Nagin, local Red Cross Executive Director Kay Wilkins and City Council President Oliver Thomas drive home the word that the city does not have the resources to move out of harm's way an estimated 134,000 people without transportation." ""You're responsible for your safety, and you should be responsible for the person next to you," Wilkins said in an...

LOS ANGELES — A favorable turn of the weather helped thousands of firefighters battling a 16,200-acre wildfire that burned early Friday in the hills and canyons along the city's northwestern edge. Cooler temperatures, higher humidity and calmer winds had slowed the progression of the fire, which had burned nearly 26 square miles, forcing hundreds to evacuate and threatening upscale homes, officials said. Firefighters hoped to have the blaze 35 percent contained by day's end, said Los Angeles County (search) fire Deputy Chief Mike Bryant, the incident commander. The fire was 12 percent contained Friday morning, up from 5 percent the...

The first Santa Ana winds of the fall fanned eight brush fires across Southern California on Wednesday, threatening dozens of homes near Chatsworth, Moorpark and in the hills above Redlands. Driven by winds gusting to 40 mph, the fires closed the Ronald Reagan Freeway, produced tall columns of smoke and flame visible around the Los Angeles Basin, interrupted Metrolink train service and burned at least 4,800 acres. One firefighter was injured in Chatsworth when a rock fell on his head, and flames continued to spread out of control in several areas into the night. Late Wednesday, fire officials ordered mandatory...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 7, 2005 – Federal troops continue to deploy to the area ravaged by Hurricane Katrina, but active-duty forces will not participate in the mandatory evacuation order issued by local authorities in New Orleans, a senior military officer involved in the operations said today. Army Lt. Gen. Joseph Inge, deputy commander of U.S. Northern Command, explained that active-duty troops would not be used in "a law enforcement issue." Guardsmen working under the order of a governor would, however, be able to enforce the mandatory evacuation order. Emergency response officials are still in rescue mode in some areas while entering...

New surveys show that the majority of Israelis support a referendum on the major question currently facing the Israeli public, namely, the disengagement-withdrawal-expulsion plan. One survey was carried out by the Brain Base (Maagar Mochot) research institute, headed by Prof. Yitzchak Katz, the day after Tuesday's Sharm a-Sheikh summit. The phone pollers spoke with 522 people, and found that though 65% support the disengagement plan, 54% of the populace feel it should be decided by referendum. The next day, Brain Base conducted another phone poll (609 respondents), and found that only 54% of them would vote in favor of the...

National Guard Activated; Coastal Evacuations Possible BOSTON -- As the Bay State hunkered down for a nasty blizzard that's expected to dump up to 2 feet of snow in some areas, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney declared a state of emergency, saying coastal town evacuations may be necessary. Romney made the declaration just as the snow began to fall about 4 p.m. Saturday. As he became swiftly covered with snow, Romney made the announcement at a DPW facility in Lexington, saying with a full moon, there could be critically dangerous conditions for coastal residents. "The snow is falling not in inches...

A powerful Pacific storm is drenching parts of the Southwest.In Arizona, flooding has forced hundreds of people to evacuate homes in low-lying areas of Sedona, where scenic Oak Creek rose 11 feet during the night. Authorities say the rain is causing some rock slides, making conditions unsafe for emergency crews.Recreational vehicles were seen floating in the water southwest of Sedona. The creek hit 14 feet by mid-morning Wednesday and was expected to rise another few feet. Forecasters warned that storm runoff could lead to flash flooding elsewhere, which could prompt more evacuations.About 300 people in Sedona were evacuated. AP Image...

Talks on evacuees’ compensation to begin next week NRG Maariv has learnt that an attorney of 80 families from Samaria settlements slated for evacuation is to meet with Justice Ministry officials. Uri Yablonka Settlement in Judea and Samaria (Archive photo). The negotiations over the amount of compensation evacuated settlers would be entitled to under the framework of the disengagement plan are to begin next week. NRG Maariv has learnt that a representative of 80 families, which make up the core of four Samaria settlements slated for evacuation – Ganim, Kadim, Sanur and Homesh, will meet with Justice Ministry officials. In...

What a week. Been breathing smoke since Tuesday with the Rancho Cucamonga Fire then today it gets worse! While watching FNC on my sat I noticed that it was getting darker and oranger outside. Looked out and to the east and it was obvious that now the mountains to the east were on fire! Grabbed my camera and jumped in the car and got in deeper then I wanted to! Drove about 7 miles to where the smoke was coming from and found dozens packing their stuff into everything from cars to shopping carts and moving out FAST. Fire was...

KNBC, KCAL and KTTV in Los Angeles have broken away from scheduled programing to report on a new fire in Waterman Canyon in San Bernardino. Several homes have been consumed by flames and many more are in danger of being destroyed. More to follow...