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A deadly surprise. Key point: Japan had a track record of surprise attacks. At midnight the Russian fleet slept. A few minutes after the clock struck 12 a.m. on February 9, 1904, Tsarist Russia's Pacific squadron peacefully bobbed at anchor at the Russian naval base nestled in the Manchurian town of Port Arthur. Ashore, the mood that night was festive as the garrison's army and naval officers availed themselves of refreshments at a birthday party for the admiral's wife. Soon their revelry was disturbed by flashes in the night and the dull thud of torpedoes slamming into metal hulls. Some...

PARIS - Total announced Monday that it is entering into a joint venture to expand their plants in Port Arthur and Bayport. The company, headquartered in Paris, will hold a 50% interest in a new joint venture with Borealis and Nova1 to build an ethane steam cracker in Port Arthur and a new Borstar polyethylene unit in Bayport according to a release from the company. The new $1.7 billion cracker in Port Arthur is scheduled for a 2020 startup and is expected to create about 1,500 jobs according to the release. CB&I has been awarded the engineering, procurement and construction...

The largest U.S. refinery strike in 35 years entered its fourth week as workers at 12 refineries accounting for one-fifth of national production capacity were walking picket lines as of 12 a.m. CST on Sunday, according to union officials. A total of 6,550 members of the United Steelworkers union at 15 plants, including the 12 refineries, are involved in the work stoppage that began on Feb. 1 when talks for a new three-year contract between the USW and lead oil company negotiator Shell Oil Co stopped.... After the latest breakdown between the two sides, Steelworkers leaders targeted Shell, which is...

Both sides of Australian politics agree the US must consider legislating for tougher gun control following the massacre at a Connecticut school. A gunman on Friday shot dead 20 small children and six teachers at the Newtown school, in one of the worst incidents of its kind in US history. Deputy Opposition Leader Julie Bishop told ABC TV she was sure US President Barack Obama, members of Congress and senators would want to debate the issue. "There has to be an end to this kind of senseless killing," she said. "I'm sure there will be a search for the cause,...

Judge orders man confined in San Antonio for treatment he had refused since April: PORT ARTHUR — A Port Arthur tuberculosis patient was apprehended Thursday without incident after a judge ordered he be confined and treated at a San Antonio hospital, officials said. Police picked up Lemone Yowman, 32, at a relative's home so he could be taken by ambulance to San Antonio with a police escort, said Maj. John Owens of the Port Arthur Police Department. A judge has ordered that Yowman be confined and undergo treatment at a San Antonio facility, according to court documents and a city...

PORT ARTHUR, Texas - Nearly four days after Hurricane Rita hit, many of the storm's sweltering victims along the Texas Gulf Coast were still waiting for electricity, gasoline, water and other relief Tuesday, prompting one top emergency official to complain that people are "living like cavemen." In the hard-hit refinery towns of Port Arthur and Beaumont, crews struggled to cross debris-clogged streets to deliver generators and water to people stranded by Rita. They predicted it could be a month before power is restored, and said water and sewer systems could not function until more generators arrived. Red tape was also...

Hurricane Rita pummeled east Texas and the Louisiana coast Saturday, triggering floods and demolishing buildings, yet the dominant reaction was relief that the once-dreaded storm proved far less fierce and deadly than Katrina. Authorities pleaded with the roughly 3 million evacuees not to hurry home too soon, fearing more chaos. "Be patient, stay put," said Texas Gov. Rick Perry. "If you are in a safe place with food, water, bedding, you are better remaining there for the time being." In any other hurricane season, Rita might have seemed devastating. It knocked out power for more than 1 million customers, sparked...

Extremely dangerous Category 5 Hurricane Rita continues to threaten the Greater Houston Metropolitan area. The forecast track has shifted slightly to the northeast, increasing the risk to Southwest Louisiana, and a significant portion of the oil and gas operations in the Gulf of Mexico. Texas Governor Perry is urging all coastal residents between Beaumont and Corpus Christi to evacuate as soon as possible. The following links are self-updating: Public Advisory Currently published every 3 hours 5A, 8A, 11A, 2P, etc. ET NHC Discussion Published every six hours 6A, 11A, 6P, 11P Three Day Forecast TrackFive Day Forecast TrackRita Forecast Track...

Remember when gas spiked to $3-plus a gallon after Hurricane Katrina? By this time next week, that could seem like the good old days. Weather and energy experts say that as bad as Hurricane Katrina hit the nation's supply of gasoline, Hurricane Rita could be worse. Katrina damage was focused on offshore oil platforms and ports. Now the greater risk is to oil-refinery capacity, especially if Rita slams into Houston, Galveston and Port Arthur, Texas. "We could be looking at gasoline lines and $4 gas, maybe even $5 gas, if this thing does the worst it could do," said energy...

PORT ARTHUR, Texas — Black fingerprint powder dusts nearly every surface in Margie Gafford's tiny wood-frame bungalow. In the bedroom, a splotch of blood stains the carpet where the body of the 86-year-old widow was found crumpled in the closet beneath her neatly hanging clothes. Gafford was the second of three elderly women savagely beaten to death in their homes here in the space of four days last week, sending this normally sleepy refinery town into a near-panic. The bodies of at least two of the victims were found in their closets. A fourth woman managed to fight off her...

Does anyone in the Port Arthur TX area know what happened to KOLE 1340's website & streaming internet audio? Looks like they let their domain registration expire. Will they be coming back?? I was starting to enjoy listening online to the Tony Snow radio show on Fox News Radio.

This is the second storm of the season, following the extremely rare April tropical storm Ana. TROPICAL STORM ANA LIVE THREAD: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/898165/posts Post news articles, NHC bulletins, watches, warnings, hype, and speculation here. Forecasts currently indicate a landfall between Brownsville and Gulfport within 2 days, followed by a turn to the east. It probably will strengthen before landfall, possibly into a minimal hurricane. More probable landfall between Port Lavaca, Texas and Jennings, Louisiana. Tropical storm watch from San Luis Pass, Texas to Morgan City, Louisiana. Cities most likely to be affected include Houston, Beaumont, Port Arthur, Texas City, The Woodlands,...

There is one important military principle of almost eternal validity: if, at the beginning of a war, absolute numerical superiority is not obtainable, one should try to be superior at least in one important weapon. It would not be reasonable to expect great differences between the armaments of the major powers. Yet special progress in technical inventions is always possible. A new weapon must be put to use suddenly and in great quantity, nay, in maximum quantity. Otherwise the surprise of the opponent is neither complete nor decisive. Consequently, one must wait until the new weapon is available in large...