ttradeshows.com

Saturday, September 17, 2005

The Spanish word “tortuga” means “turtle.” But in the wake of the New Orleans disaster, the USS Tortuga is helping other animals.

For nearly two weeks now, sailors from Tortuga’s repair division have devoted much of their time during this disaster relief operation to ensure the health and comfort of displaced pets.

September 4th, just after the ship moored to a pier at Naval Support Activity (NSA) New Orleans, HT1(SW) Mark Hanley and DC1(SW) Antony Graves gathered materials from the repair shop on board to construct a kennel along the levee. The facility they made soon became a popular shelter for the homeless animals of the storm.

Tortuga’s search and rescue team brought aboard more than 170 displaced citizens during this past week, providing them with food, water, medical aid and a place to sleep.

Tortuga’s makeshift kennel, named ‘Camp Milo & Otis,’ has housed as many as 90 dogs, eight cats, one rabbit, one guinea pig, a pair of parakeets and a flightless pigeon during the past week of operation.

Currently, there are 14 dogs that remain in Tortuga’s care, as many of the other pets have been taken to animal shelters in the area for extra medical attention, or been claimed by their owners upon arrival to Tortuga. The pets that Tortuga has registered have all been in the hands of professional veterinarians assigned to provide expert medical attention to the members of Camp Milo & Otis.

Dr. Kelly Crowdis and Dr. Latina Gambles, both from Tuskegee University and Christian Veterinary Missions, have treated many of the pets for infection, dehydration, malnourishment and broken bones at the Camp during the past week.

“The animals were bathed and assessed before physical interaction with the sailors,” said Dr. Crowdis. “They’ve been given immunizations, antibiotics and medications based on their medical needs.”

Dr. Crowdis added, “What these sailors have done on their own has been such a heart-warming thing. As an animal lover, it is so comforting to know that everyone cares about the animals in addition to the human lives rescued from the storm. I’m very pleased with these guys for taking the initiative to construct this kennel.”

Graves, Hanley and other members of their division have consistently bathed, fed, walked and given special attention to every dog, every day.

“We play with them,” said Hanley. “We take them out of their kennels to give them attention every day. And we’ll continue to do that for as long as our ship’s mission keeps us here.”

September 11th, the Agricultural Center at Louisiana State University donated supplies to “Camp Milo & Otis” in support of Tortuga’s efforts to help the animal victims.

”We got medical supplies, bowls, food, cages, leashes, collars, toys, cat litter and cleaning supplies from these people yesterday,” said Graves. “It’s nice to know that so many people out there have heard about what our ship is doing, and responded by donating so much to support us the best they can.”

A photo gallery of unclaimed pets is on the USS Tortuga’s web site.

As part of disaster plans, the Department of Homeland Security has also deployed Veterinary Medical Assistance Teams to provide medical care to pets and livestock, as well as provide any needed veterinary medical care for search and rescue dogs.

There are over 3,850 animals being sheltered around the state. If someone is looking for a pet they should contact their nearest Humane Society or go online to http://www.petfinder.org// . More information is also available at http://www.vetmed.lsu.edu//.

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Twelve athletes from Sierra Leone, who disappeared from the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne last week, have been granted bridging visas by Australia’s Department of Immigration. The group have been released into the Sydney community. Three of the Sierra Leoneans say they face forced female circumcision if they go back.

Department of Immigration spokesperson Sandi Logan said the bridging visas were only a stop-gap measure. “The bridging visa simply enables them to be here lawfully if in the period of time between now and then the type of visa they apply for requires further investigation on a country basis or a country profile, if in fact that’s the type of visa and the type of investigation that’s required,” he said.

A group of six Sierra Leoneans contacted the Northern Beaches Refugee Sanctuary – who had previously given shelter and assistance to six other missing athletes. Members of the first group of athletes told media that they feared for their safety if they were forced to return to Sierra Leone.

Originally 14 of the nation’s 22-strong Games delegation were reported missing. Two other Sierra Leone athletes remain at large after visas allowing them to compete in the Games were cancelled by the Department of Immigration.

In total, eleven athletes are still missing after the Games finished on Sunday, including seven from Cameroon, a Bangladeshi runner, and a Tanzanian boxer.

The ABC report that two missing Cameroon athletes have contacted Immigration officials in Perth. Refugee advocate group, The Coalition for Asylum Seekers, Refugees and Detainees (CARAD) says the men are receiving legal advice. The Department of Immigration says they are in the country legally as their visas do not expire until April 26.

Twenty-one athletes disappeared from the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, Britain.

Monday, August 22, 2011

Libyan rebels edged closer to the capital city of Tripoli on Sunday to help fellow mutineers inside the city who declared a final clash with leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Following a night marred with gunfire, the rebels said that they controlled a handful of Tripoli’s localities. With the rebels within about 25 km of Tripoli, Gaddafi’s hold on power looks fragile. He labelled the rebels, who had been fighting for the past six months, as “rats” and said that he would not yield to their demands.

A coordinated revolt that rebels had been secretly planning for months saw gunfire across Tripoli, instantly after Muslim clerics called people onto the streets. The revolution, combined with rebels advancing to the capital’s periphery, appears to signal the critical chapter in the “Arab Spring” uprising, which is in its sixth-month now.

“The rebels may have risen too early in Tripoli and the result could be a lot of messy fighting,” said Oliver Miles, a former British ambassador to Libya. “The regime may not have collapsed in the city to quite the extent they think it has.”

The rebels’ advance toward the city was quick, and the mutineers have halved the distance between them and the capital. Government forces put up a brief fight at the village of Al-Maya, leaving behind a burned-out tank, and some torched cars. On their way to Tripoli, the rebels paused long enough and filled some walls with graffiti, one reading: “We are here and we are fighting Gaddafi.”

In Benghazi, the rebels’ main stronghold and the genesis of the revolt, a senior official said everything was going according to plan. “Our revolutionaries are controlling several neighborhoods and others are coming in from outside the city to join their brothers at this time,” said Abdel Hafiz Ghoga, vice chairman of the rebel National Transition Council.

Gaddafi — in hiding since the NATO attacks on Libya in June — said in an audio recording broadcast late yesterday that he had no intention of succumbing to the rebellion. A spokesman for Gaddafi, Moussa Ibrahim, in a briefing for foreign reporters echoed the message of defiance and said: “The armed units defending Tripoli from the rebels wholeheartedly believe that if this city is captured, the blood will run everywhere; so they may as well fight to the end.”

“We hold Mr. Obama, Mr. Cameron and Mr. Sarkozy morally responsible for every single unnecessary death that takes place in this country,” he added, referring to the leaders of NATO members, the United States, United Kingdom, and France.

Underground rebel cells in the capital had been following detailed plans developed months ago and had been waiting for a signal to start. The signal was “iftar” – the moment when Muslims who observe the holy months of Ramadan break their daily fast. Imams started broadcasting their message from the loudspeakers of mosques and minarets.

A rebel activist in the city said pro-Gaddafi forces had put snipers on the rooftops of buildings around Bab al-Aziziyah, Gaddafi’s compound, and on the top of a nearby water tower.

State television flashed a message urging citizens not to allow rebels to hide on their rooftops. “Agents and al Qaeda members are trying to destabilize and sabotage the city. You should prevent them from exploiting your houses and buildings, confront them and cooperate with counter-terrorism units, to capture them,” it read.

Thursday, April 21, 2005

On Monday residents of an apartment building just outside of Paris discovered a World War II bomb lodged in their chimney. Officials were able to defuse the device, reports All Headline News. However, there are other remnants of the World Wars that have been much more difficult for the French to defuse.

The prevalence of anti-French sentiments reached a frenzied zenith prior to the U.S. invasion of Iraq. While it seemed that the storm had calmed recently, this week’s release of Richard Chesnoff’s latest book, The Arrogance of the French: Why They Can’t Stand Us–and Why the Feeling Is Mutual, reminds us that this issue is not going away anytime soon. While there have been fewer sightings of “liberty toast” in recent months, from discussions with students in both the U.S. and France, this reporter found that America’s perception of the French remains a hot topic of discussion on college campuses.

Bryan Doeg, a military science student at the University of Central Florida, outlined the two prevailing thoughts that are the basis for many of these anti-French sentiments.

“Most of my fellow students feel that the French are politically and militarily weak,” said Doeg. “And their people are stuck up.”

Doeg believes that he and his classmates are not without reason for their perceptions about the French.

“They are weak because of France’s decline in power over the last century and it’s defeats against the Germans and Algerians,” Doeg said. “And most of my experiences regarding their arrogance comes from soldiers who visited France and were treated like untouchables by the locals.”

Southwest Missouri State (SMS) finance major, Fabian Florant, got straight to the point when discussing Doeg’s first assumption that the French are weak.

“Americans hate the French with a passion because of World War I and II,” Florant said.

However some students pointed to France’s involvement in the American Revolution, questioning how long America’s memory really is.

Jessica Morgan, an SMS English major, said that this and other examples have shown that France is far from being weak.

“They stood up against Hitler when he was in his prime for months before he occupied their country,” Morgan said. The fact that by the time we got there, the Germans were a heck of a lot weaker than they were when the French had to face them doesn’t seem to register.”

Morgan emphasized that France’s refusal to support U.S. war efforts is a resounding display of strength.

“It’s somewhat ironic that we call them weak,” Morgan said. “They stood up to the U.S. as well, daring the disapproval of the U.S. … and all we can do is throw childish insults back at them.”

Lysiane Lavorel, a native of France and college student studying English there, offered a tongue-in-cheek response to France’s supposed weakness while making reference to the 1996 film Independence Day.

“As for the French being weak, it’s true that in comparison with the strong and good Americans preventing aliens from invading the Earth, we are more than weak,” Lavorel said. “It’s true that we don’t have any real impact on the world, and I find it much more comfortable that way … I wouldn’t want to feel responsible for a war, for example.”

Doeg’s second assumption is that the French are arrogant, and Lavorel agrees again.

“Yes of course, I think we French are very arrogant,” Lavorel said.

Lavorel went on to explain her definition of French arrogance.

“It’s quite hard for us to see how people [Americans] seem to be so easily manipulated by government, big firms or media,” Lavorel said. “Because for most French, we have learned to become skeptical, doubtful and to make our own opinion on things. This appears to be very arrogant, doesn’t it?”

However, she pointed out that this is especially true of Parisians, from which she says many of American’s perceptions about the French are based.

“Even in France, they [Parisians] are said to be arrogant,” Lavorel said. “They are said to consider France as only composed of Paris, and provincial people are just hillbillies.”

An American student at a California university, who asked to remain anonymous to prevent the damage of his reputation among colleagues, said that he would describe 90 percent of the Parisians he has met as being arrogant.

“In an academic setting, this arrogance is particularly frustrating,” the source said. “Often the Parisians I know belittle other people when they understand a complicated concept better than another person.

“On one occasion, a Parisian made a fool out of a good friend of mine,” the source said. “My friend asked him how to model the eigenfunction of a microdisk resonator with finite-differences time-domain. He said ‘everyone knows you can derive these fields analytically.”

The source said that he is not perpetuating these stereotypes and that his preconceived notions do not alter how he perceives these interactions.

“Often I’ll hear someone say something like, ‘Oh and be careful when you meet him–he’s French,” the source said. “But you know, 99 percent of the time, all of the stereotypes prove to be perfectly true and the warning is useful.”

SMS media student Lydia Mann, who visited France for two weeks recently and has hosted two French foreign exchange students, said that these perceptions are based upon cultural differences.

“Americans, I think, misunderstand their culture which leads to their actions,” Mann said. “They make a point to make themselves individualistic, which people find rude.”

SMS English major Christin Green agrees and believes that this entire discussion that attempts to blanket such a large group of people is ridiculous.

“I want to learn about them with an open mind and a fresh perspective, unpolluted by bias or preconceived ideas,” Green said. “It is not my place to judge or make assumptions about an entire people. There are bad people everywhere. There are good people everywhere. Stereotypes ruin this foundation and build another one that is much more destructive.”