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Not a good day in Obamaville. His newly owned car company is having problems. Government Motors engines are catching fire on their Environment conscious flag ship, the Volt. Heres the run down: Government saftey checks were ignored it seems.Sales were already miserable.And it looks like the Repub controlled House might start an investigation! This brings back memories of newly minted Car Czar, Transportation Secretary Ray Ray LaHood. He was talking about the fraudulent claims of an accelerator problem. (Toyota did an investigation and proved it was bogus.) But leave it to Obama's loveable RINO Ray Ray LaHood to say this...

BASTROP, Texas – The number of homes destroyed by a Texas wildfire has risen to 1,554 and is expected to further increase as firefighters enter more areas where the blaze has been extinguished, officials said Sunday. Seventeen people remain unaccounted for.

GRAND FORKS, N.D. - Locked-out union workers at American Crystal Sugar Co. are blaming fires at plants in Drayton and in East Grand Forks, Minn., on inexperienced replacement workers hired to take over harvesting duties. Company spokesman Jeff Schweitzer said the fires happened in pulp dryers Thursday at the plant in Drayton and on Friday at the East Grand Forks plant. No one was hurt. East Grand Forks Fire Chief Randy Gust said a pulp dryer fire isn't unusual and that his department responds to about one each year. Union spokesman Mark Froemke said the company won't share information about...

Firefighting air tankers are siting idle at a California airport, grounded by the Obama administration Nearly half of the federal government’s firefighting air tankers are siting idle at a California airport, grounded by the Obama administration in a contract dispute just weeks before wildfires swept through Texas killing a mother and her child, and destroying 100,000 acres. The massive blazes forced Texas Gov. and Republican presidential hopeful Rick Perry to abruptly call off a campaign appearance in South Carolina earlier this week to respond to the crisis, and may force him to cancel his first debate appearance Wednesday night....

Nearly half of the federal government’s firefighting air tankers are siting idle at a California airport, grounded by the Obama administration...

California ready to help combat Texas fires September 6, 2011 A state fire official told CalCoastNews today that California is ready to respond to a request from Texas authorities “should it come” as wildfires in the Lone Star State explode in dry, windy conditions. Texas Forest Service officials are asking for help from firefighting agencies nationwide in the battle against a series of 181 raging blazes that already have killed four people including a mother and her 18-month-old child, consumed nearly 120,000 acres, gobbled up 700 homes, and show few signs of containment. Today is the 294th consecutive day of...

Reporting from Bastrop, Texas, and Los Angeles— Out-of-control wildfires — among the worst in state history — leaped across Texas' parched midsection, destroying 1,000 homes and killing four as firefighters called for more resources and the governor, a Republican presidential hopeful who's made his mark blasting federal spending, asked Washington for help. Winds were expected to abate, but only slightly, and the dry conditions will persist for days. Gov. Rick Perry complained about the slow pace of assistance from Washington and Ft. Hood as Federal Emergency Management Agency officials arrived in Bastrop, where 600 houses were burned, to survey fire...

A thousand homes and 100,000 acres have burned in just a week. A friend of mine who lives just outside Austin was forced to flee with her family last night as the flames encroached, and not until this afternoon did she learn whether her home had survived. (It had.) Go figure that this guy thinks he should do his job rather than gladhand people on the trail for a few days. Presidential candidate and Texas Gov. Rick Perry said he does not yet know whether he will attend Wednesday night’s Republican presidential debate…“I don’t know. That’s a fluid situation at...

Marsh Fires And Smoke Push New Orleans Into A State Of Emergency Robert Johnson Aug. 31, 2011, 8:52 AM Image: AP A second swamp fire outside New Orleans has filled the city with smoke, prompting Mayor Mitch Landrieu to declare an emergency and call in the National Guard. According to The Washington Post, the smoke that's been hazing downtown for days is getting worse and to contain the blaze, the four helicopters dropping water will be joined by five more Wednesday. The National Weather Service reports haze from the fire is reported as far west as Baton Rouge and its...

Title only so far.

In a fit of anti-Tea Party rage, Sen. John McCain tossed a media exposure lifesaver out to former Delaware senatorial candidate Christine O’Donnell, insulting the Tea Party for having launched her to the Republican nomination. O’Donnell graciously accepted the opportunity to make headlines once again, releasing as epic a statement as we haven’t seen since the Homeric tribute to Newt Gingrich last May. Needless to say, being dismissed as a crazy candidate did not sit well with the Senate hopeful known mostly for having to clarify whether or not she was a witch. In a short and sweet statement, she...

Fire-gate, the cover up of who started the Arizona wildfires. Smugglers have exploited environmental restrictions along the border for decades. Arizonans pay the price after smugglers set several wildfires that have burned homes and cost millions of dollars. All of the images in this video were taken after the forest was closed to the public. Smugglers and Illegal Aliens were among the only people in the wilderness. The Department of Homeland Security has failed to provide security for the people of Arizona and beyond.

A 16-year-old girl was killed and four people were wounded by gunfire Thursday after two groups clashed on a crowded Brooklyn boardwalk, cops and witnesses said. Two of the victims were bystanders, sources said. One man used an umbrella to crack another man in the head as the fight erupted on the Brighton Beach Boardwalk near Brighton Sixth St. about 5:20 p.m. Suddenly, a gunman squeezed off about eight rounds, first shooting in the air before aiming at the brawling crowd, cops and witnesses said. Onlookers scurried into nearby stores and restaurants, huddling in fear as the bullets flew near...

It is almost clockwork: As a new presidential election cycle winds around, the early primary state of South Carolina provides a defining issue for Americans and candidates to chew over. Whether it’s a debate about where the Confederate battle flag should fly — or the “real” meaning of secession — the nation’s most stubborn state can be a tar pit for the incautious politician. Thus, almost to the day that South Carolina commemorated the 150th anniversary of the first shot of the Civil War, the federal government lobbed a grenade into the Palmetto State, challenging a private industry’s right to...

AUSTIN — Gov. Rick Perry has appealed to President Barack Obama to declare the state a major disaster area as wildfires strike or threaten all but two of the state's 254 counties. A statement issued Sunday by Perry requested the aid in a letter dispatched Saturday afternoon. Perry's office says more than 7,800 fires across the states have charred more than 1.5 million acres - about 2,400 square miles - while burning 244 homes and threatening more than 8,500 others. .."major disaster declaration" would make the state eligible for help in responding to and recovering from the emergency.

After two days of relative quiet on the Gaza front, Gaza terrorists fired a short range missile into Israel Thursday. It exploded south of Ashkelon, but caused no casualties or damage. Israeli security forces are looking for the remains of the rocket. The Iron Dome system, which is supposed to protect against missile strikes, is currently only stationed near Be'er Sheva. It did not go into action. IAF jets attacked a terrorist cell in Gaza Wednesday, in response to the rocket fire Tuesday. An Islamic Jihad terrorist was killed. Arab sources said the man was killed east of Rafiah.

Anti-government protests raged Monday for the first time in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, with unconfirmed media reports of pro-regime snipers firing into crowds, bloody clashes on the city's main square, and fires blazing in key government buildings. Al Jazeera reported that a fire was burning inside the People's Hall, a symbol of longtime strongman Moammar Kadafi's repressive regime. TV images ......posted using frpa

North Korea fired artillery barrages onto a South Korean island near their disputed border Tuesday, setting buildings alight and prompting South Korea to return fire and scramble fighter jets. At least one South Korean marine was killed and 13 wounded, the military said. The skirmish came amid high tension over North Korea's claim that it has a new uranium enrichment facility and just six weeks after North Korean leader Kim Jong Il unveiled his youngest son Kim Jong Un as his heir apparent. One South Korean marine was killed, three were seriously wounded and 10 slightly wounded, a Joint Chiefs...

N. Korea fires artillery towards S. Korean island, official says SEOUL, Nov. 23 (Yonhap) -- North Korea on Tuesday fired several rounds of artillery towards South Korean waters and an island near the tense west sea border, the South's military said. The North's artillery shells fell at 2:34 p.m. in the South's waters off the island of Yeonpyeong, some of them landing directly on the island, said Col. Lee Bung-woo, spokesman at the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff. The South's military responded with its artillery firing.

South Salt Lake police Sunday arrested a man in connection with fires that damaged two LDS meetinghouses over the weekend. Patrick Ehat, 26, of Salt Lake City, was arrested and booked into the Salt Lake County jail on suspicion of arson, burglary and criminal mischief, said South Salt Lake police Detective Gary Keller. “He did take responsibility for the church fires,” Keller said. “We haven’t established a motive at this time. It’s still under investigation. ... We’re just glad we have this person off the street and people can feel safe in their communities.” South Salt Lake firefighters put out...

Scientists from universities in Montana, Colorado and Idaho announced Wednesday the start of a 5-year, $3.85 million research project into how a changing climate will influence wildfires. The project is being pursued in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service and researchers in Australia and New Zealand. The goal is to identify how human activities and climate change drive fires. The team will collaborate with researchers at the University of Tasmania, Australian National University, the University of Aukland and Landcare Research NZ.

Pictorial of the Russian fires. high quality pics

As forest wildfires blaze across western Russia, levelling homes and villages and leaving Moscow, the capital, swathed in acrid smog, an anonymous blogger has captured the mood of many. “Under the communists ... we had three fire ponds, there was a bell people rang if a fire started and ... a fire engine – one between three villages, it’s true, but there was one,” railed the blogger, from the rural Tver region north-west of Moscow. Today, he said, the ponds and fire engine were gone and the bell had been replaced by a telephone that had never been connected. The...

All Hell Breaking Loose In Thailand, Stock Exchange On Fire Vincent Fernando, CFA May. 19, 2010, 5:01 AM Via TwitpicDeveloping... my twitter has a play by play of today's events so far @vincefernando --- All hell is breaking loose in Thailand now. The army moved to clear protesters out of their main Ratchprasong encampment this morning, moving slowly inwards towards the main protest stage while encountering sporadic resistance in the outer area of the protest site. There were some limited casualties, including foreign journalists, though we'll wait for official confirmation of the exact counts. Via Twitpic Yet even after the...

MADRID (AFP) – Underground fires have been raging for weeks in a wetlands area in southern Spain, sparked by the dry summer and the overuse of water for agriculture, an environmentalist said Tuesday. The Tablas de Daimiel National Park, fed by the Guadiana river, has been drying up since the 1980s, and some lagoons have already disappeared. In late August, hot dry weather caused the peat subsurface to catch fire, and plumes of smoke can be seen rising from the ground, said Jose Manuel Hernandez, head of the environmental organisation that looks after the park. "This is a new phenomenon...

The monster Station Fire burning north of Los Angeles was human-caused, a U.S. Forest Service official said Wednesday. Meanwhile, fire crews prepared for potential setbacks because of returning drier conditions, MSNBC.com reported. Investigators don't know specifically how the Station Fire was started but have enough information to determine it was caused by a person, the Forest Service's deputy incident commander Carlton Joseph said during a news conference. Investigators were determining whether the fire was accidental or arson and identified the point of origin as mile marker 29 on Angeles Crest Highway. Firefighters caught a weather break Tuesday when moister, cooler...

The White House on Monday fired back after former Vice President Dick Cheney called the Obama administration's decision to open a probe into alleged CIA abuses an "outrageous political act." White House Press Secretary Roberts Gibbs broadly dismissed Cheney's comments on "FOX News Sunday" as typical and unfounded.

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A massive fire in the Angeles National Forest nearly doubled in size overnight, threatening 12,000 homes Monday in a 20-mile-long swath of flame and smoke and surging toward a mountaintop broadcasting complex and historic observatory. The fire was the largest of at least eight burning up and down California after days of triple-digit temperatures and low humidity. The Los Angeles-area blaze had burned at least 21 homes and was moving north, south and east through the rugged foothills northeast of the city. Despite a lack of wind, the fire surged without letup by running through steep...

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Firefighters tried Monday to hold back a massive wildfire from consuming thousands of Los Angeles-area homes and a crucial communications center as they mourned two firefighters killed when their vehicle rolled down a mountain. About 12,000 homes, as well as communications and astronomy centers atop Mount Wilson, were threatened by fire. At least 6,600 homes were under mandatory evacuation orders Sunday night and over 2,500 firefighters were battling the flames. On the blaze's northwestern front, two firefighters were killed Sunday on Mount Gleason near the city of Acton.

Firefighters' goal: Keep the fire within the blue line. The northern flank is nearing the Acton area, prompting evacuations along Highway 14. The fire is two miles from Mt. Wilson, site of communications towers and an observatory. To the southwest, flames are still spreading above the foothills above the 210. La Crescenta and La Cañada Flintridge expands evacuation areas.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today urged residents in fire evacuation zones to flee as firefighters predicted another difficult day battling a wildfire that has burned 35,000 acres and threatened more than 12,000 homes from Acton to Altadena. Schwarzenegger noted at a morning press conference that three residents in Big Tujunga Canyon suffered serious burns trying in vain to save their homes Saturday. "There will be people who don't listen," the governor said at the fire command post in Lake View Terrace. ". . . Move as soon as [firefighters] say to move." Although thousands of homes are covered in the evacuation...

Date: August 15, 2009 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FIRE INVESTIGATORS DETERMINE CAUSE OF LA BREA FIRE GOLETA, CA... A week-long investigation by U.S. Forest Service Special Agents, Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Narcotics Unit and Fire Investigators has revealed the cause of the La Brea Fire. Investigators revealed that the La Brea Fire was started by a cooking fire in a marijuana drug trafficking operation. The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Narcotics Unit has confirmed that the camp at the origin of the fire was an illegal marijuana operation believed to be run by a Mexican National Drug Organization. The Narcotics Unit has...

The La Brea Fire has reached 67,092 acres and remains 10 percent contained. A slight increase in humidity helped the fire crews overnight, however the fire was very active, gaining almost 10,000 acres in about 12 hours. The evacuation order remains in effect for about 234 residences in Tepusquet, Colson, Ruiz, Moon and Eckert canyons. For all evacuation information, click here. There will be a community meeting on the fire Friday at 6:30 p.m. at the Benjamin Foxen Elementary School, located at 4949 Foxen Canyon Road in Sisquoc.

Heavy smoke from the Lockheed Fire in northern California had cleared enough by Friday that authorities could see it had spread substantially from the day before and had destroyed two buildings.A California Department of Forestry and Fire source said smoke had prevented authorities from accurately assessing the amount of damage. "Now that the smoke has cleared we can get a better view of it," he said. Hundreds of firefighters had managed to contain about 5 percent of the northern California wildfire that grew from 2,800 acres on Thursday to 4,100 acres Friday. No injuries have been reported, according to Cal...

(IsraelNN.com) Fire fighters in northern Israel fought dozens of blazes that broke out during the day Wednesday, most of them around noontime. A source in the Hadera Fire Services told News1 that due to the fact that numerous fires broke out in a relatively limited area, the working assumption is that they were deliberately set. “We still do not know how the fires were set and we do not have details about the arsonist or arsonists,” he said.

A CFA volunteer is the prime suspect for lighting the fire that devastated Marysville, killing 39 people. The Herald Sun reports sources have revealed a man has been interviewed and released over the Marysville blaze by the Phoenix Taskforce investigating the Black Saturday fires. The man, who has not been named, was formally interviewed in the weeks after the catastrophe, but has not been charged as investigators gather more evidence. A police spokesman said the force would not confirm or deny a lead suspect had been identified. On April 1, Assistant Commissioner Dannye Moloney said police were close to pinning...

The U.S. Forest Service wants to thin or burn 25,000 acres of overgrown forest on Pikes Peak and surrounding foothills, areas where fire suppression has created "unnatural forest conditions prime for catastrophic wildlfire," . It would be the largest tree removal project on the peak since 1890s loggers left wide swaths of the mountain bare to meet the demands of Cripple Creek's gold rush. Officials say thinning and burning is needed because a major fire on the peak would pose a threat to the lives and property of the many people who live adjacent to the peak's forests, Colorado Springs'...

After detailed maps of local military operations and anti-government slogans were found in a south Minneapolis apartment, federal authorities are now involved in the investigation. The three tenants were evicted from the property this weekend, but what they left behind has caught the interest of the FBI and Homeland Security. A cleaning crew made the discovery shortly before 12 p.m. on Tuesday. One of the workers told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS they noticed maps on the walls with government chains and commands. Inside a closet, they found numerous rolls of maps. Authorities said the details are disturbing. "We ran into a...

GLOBAL warming preachers have been crowing over the bushfires in ways not just despicable but dangerous. Just hours after the first bodies were being recovered, Greens leader Bob Brown was already on television, lecturing us on our sins against the planet. Rather than confess that green activists had been desperately wrong to oppose fuel reduction burns, Brown was eager to boast that this catastrophe had instead proved them right. About global warming, you know. "(The fires are) a sobering reminder of the need for this nation and the whole world to act and put at a priority the need to...

THE Canberra firefighter who died near fire-ravaged Marysville was trying to connect a hose to a tanker when a tree fell on him, Victorian police said. The firefighter killed at Cambarville, east of Melbourne, last night was a 58-year-old man from Banks in the ACT, Victoria Police said today. The ACT Fire Brigade member is the first firefighter to die in the Victoria fires emergency, which so far has claimed at least 200 civilian lives. "It appears the firefighter was attempting to connect a hose to the back of an ACT strike team tanker when a large tree came down...

THE death toll from Victoria's worst ever bushfires has climbed from 189 to 200. A full report will follow shortly. Meanwhile, anger at accused bushfire arsonist Brendan Sokaluk has led to threats against a member of his family and harassment of a former girlfriend. Mr Sokaluk, 39, is charged with lighting the Churchill fire, which killed at least 10 people, and is in custody at a secret location amid fears vigilantes will harm him. He has been charged with one count each of arson causing death, intentionally lighting a bushfire and possessing child pornography. Victoria's Supreme Court today heard there...

GIPPSLAND firefighters are outraged at the jail sentence handed down to a pregnant arsonist in Morwell Magistrates' Court this morning. Rosemary Ann Harris, 31, of Moe, was refused bail this afternoon after she was sentenced to three years with a minimum of two-and-a-half behind bars for lighting two fires at Tyers, near Traralgon, and Driffield, near Morwell on a total fire ban day in December 2006. "In the circumstances the application for bail is refused," Magistrate John Dugdale said, explaining the refusal was based on "the nature of the offending and the prevailing bushfire situation in Victoria". The bail hearing...

THE man accused of starting one of the deadly Victoria fires, which killed at least 21 people in Gippsland on Black Saturday, has failed to appear for a scheduled court hearing in Melbourne. The hearing was held without 39-year-old Brendan Sokaluk. He was remanded in custody until a committal hearing, which will be held on May 25. The man, who faces charges including arson causing death and possession of child pornography, can now be named after a court order banning publication of his name was lifted. However the order remains barring publication of his address or a photo of him....

THE public has been urged not to threaten the safety of an accused firebug scheduled to appear in court today on a deadly arson charge. A 39-year-old man accused of starting the Churchill-Jeerelang bushfire in Gippsland, in Victoria's east, has been remanded in custody and is due to appear in court today. "Coming to court and protesting is not an appropriate thing to do,'' Police Police Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon said today. "Obviously, we will make sure this person is well protected. "We hope that we don't have to deal with a gang of people who are angry and concerned...

POLICE have released an image of a man sought for questioning over a scrub fire that threatened houses at East Ivanhoe, in Melbourne's northeast. Up to 50 Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB) officers fought the three hectare blaze blaze in scrub that began in the Yarra Flats at East Ivanhoe about 3pm (AEDT), police said. It's believed the fire was deliberately lit and police are investigating.

Angry residents last night accused local authorities of contributing to the Victorian bushfire toll by failing to let residents chop down trees and clear up bushland that posed a fire risk. During question time at a packed community meeting in Arthurs Creek on Melbourne's northern fringe, Warwick Spooner — whose mother Marilyn and brother Damien perished along with their home in the Strathewen blaze — criticised the Nillumbik council for the limitations it placed on residents wanting the council's help or permission to clean up around their properties in preparation for the bushfire season. "We've lost two people in my...

A thirsty koala rescued from the Australian wild fires has become a star on YouTube, the video-sharing website, emerging as a lucky survivor of the disaster that has killed more than 180 people. Firefighter Dave Tree stumbled across the female marsupial, nicknamed Sam, as he was battling blazes in Victoria state and was amazed when the parched animal allowed him to approach and guzzled water from a bottle he offered. “Things do survive the bush fire ... are you alright buddy?” he asked in footage captured by a fellow volunteer on a mobile phone. The cuddly appearance of the koala...

"INCENDIARY" abortion law reforms last year that made Victoria "the baby-killing state" are responsible for the devastating bushfires, controversial Christian leader Danny Nalliah said yesterday. "God's protection has been taken off the state, and Satan is having a go at the nation," Mr Nalliah, senior pastor of Catch the Fire Ministries, told The Age. Mr Nalliah's Australia Day prayer rallies have been supported by former prime minister John Howard and former treasurer Peter Costello. Mr Costello delivered a televised address to Mr Nalliah's Australia Day prayer meeting last month. Mr Costello yesterday rejected Mr Nalliah's abortion explanation for the fires...

Fire crews are worried major blazes burning out of control near Melbourne could join to create one massive bushfire. Firefighters are working on containment lines around the Maroondah-Yarra fires and the Bunyip fires. At this stage no communities are under threat and 18 kilometres separate the two fire complexes, but lightning has caused spot fires between them. CFA deputy chief fire officer Steve Warrington says there are fears a wind change could push them together. "There are a number of settlements in that particular area, if you look at the proximity of Powelltown, which pretty well sits right in the...

Sad picture (not to mention the human suffering and deaths):