Tag Archives: injured

Memorial Day: In Remembrance of Lex and Dusty, two devoted partners in Iraq 8

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The date is March 21, 2007 and I was on the job in Fallujah, Iraq when an enemy fired Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) exploded in our midst. I was blasted to the ground. I’m stunned. My head is ringing and my body feels numb. My eyes can’t quite focus on anything.

My partner is lying next to me severely wounded and bleeding. I move to him and touch him but he’s not responding. I feel sharp pains in my side and back. I’m bleeding but deal with it and concentrate on comforting my partner and protecting him from further harm.

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Iraq vet Sean Olsen, 24, injured in #occupyoakland police raid. Photos. Video. 3

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This is horrible.  A young man served our country in Iraq, came home alive only to be taken down by the police of the country of which he served.  The irony of it all.  A very sad state out country has become.

A U.S. Marine veteran is in a critical condition in hospital tonight after being injured by a police gas canister during last night’s Occupy Oakland protests, which saw running battles break out between authorities and protesters as a crowd tried to reclaim an encampment.

Scott Olsen, 24, of Daly City, California, an Iraq veteran and member of Veterans for Peace, suffered a skull fracture and brain swelling after being hit in the head during the riots. Officers had cleared the site of demonstrators around 12 hours earlier in a dawn raid where at least 85 people were arrested.
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Footage of Spain police beating protesters, over 100 injured Reply

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More than 100 people were injured in Spain as riot police clashed with protesters on Friday, as authorities cleared away a makeshift camp set up as part of a Spain-wide demonstration against the country’s economic problems. The trouble started when police tried to clear the protesters from a main square in Barcelona. Many of the protesters, who are angry about high unemployment, anti-austerity measures and politicians’ handling of the economy, refused to move. Video from a local broadcaster showed officers beating the demonstrators and dragging them on the ground.


2011 Year of the Tornadoes – Pix from TX to MI tornadoes which hit Sunday May 22 Reply

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Tornadoes ripped through parts of the Midwest today killing at least 24 people in a Missouri town where a hospital was damaged, and at least one person in Minneapolis.

These storms were part of a series that battered the Midwest tonight. Tornado warnings and watches were posted from Texas to Michigan.

Those storms followed a tornado Saturday night that swept through a small eastern Kansas town, killing one person and destroying at least 20 homes, as severe thunderstorms pelted the region with hail that some residents described as the size of baseballs, authorities said today.

AP Photo/The Capital-Journal, An

AP Photo/The Capital-Journal, An

AP Photo/The Star Tribune, Marli

AP Photo/The Capital-Journal, An

AP Photo/The Star Tribune, Marli

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AP Photo/The Capital-Journal, An

Jaime Green/Wichita Eagle

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Jaime Green/Wichita Eagle

Jaime Green/Wichita Eagle

AP Photo/The Capital-Journal, An

Photos from Detroit Free Press

Photos from Libya: Rebellion, life, and the children Reply

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Libya is entering the third month of fighting since a rebellion began in February. Today prosecutors from the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued arrest warrants for Libyan leader Moammar Khadafy, his son Saif al-Islam Khadafy, and his brother-in-law Abdullah Al-Sanousi for organizing attacks on civilians during the uprising. Last week, rebels pushed out government troops from the Misrata airport, ending the shelling of that city. Despite air support from NATO, a grinding stalemate endures. Collected here are pictures of the rebellion and daily life in the country of over six million. — Lane Turner
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Artist Salhen Obaidi cleans his hands after painting a mural in downtown Benghazi on May 15. Hundreds of new paintings and graffiti decorate the city of Benghazi since the rebels took control of the city. (Rodrigo Abd/AP)

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A boy jumps from the seaside boulevard to the beach in Benghazi on May 14. (Rodrigo Abd/AP)

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Women observe an anti-Moammar Khadafy demonstration from a burnt building in central Benghazi on May 14. (Rodrigo Abd/AP)

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A boy attends a rally near the courthouse in Benghazi May 14. The protesters were calling on the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants for Libya’s leader Moammar Khadafy. They got their wish. (Mohammed Salem/Reuters)

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Tribesmen in traditional garb ride their horses into town to declare allegiance to the rebels in Revolution Square in Benghazi on May 4. (Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images)

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A wounded rebel fighter is given aid in an ambulance at the Libyan and Tunisian border crossing of Wazin May 8. (Zohra Bensemra/AP)

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Libyan rebels walk in a stairwell after firing a rocket-propelled grenade towards pro-Khadafy forces from a high vantage point in Misrata on May 8. (Ricardo Garcia Vilanova/AP)

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People stand next to caricatures of Moammar Khadafy in Benghazi May 8. (Mohammed Salem/Reuters)

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Libyan men react as the main fuel depot in Misrata burns after a bombing by government forces on May 7. (Ricardo Garcia Vilanova/AP)

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Ramzy Elshahiebi smokes a cigarette while assembling homemade bombs in Benghazi. Elshahiebi used to fish with dynamite and now makes bombs that serve the rebel army. (Rodrigo Abd/AP)

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A rebel fighter stands guard outside Kabaw in the Western Mountain region of Libya on May 11. Fighting in the Western Mountain region, home to the Berber ethnic minority, has intensified since the rebels seized the Dehiba border crossing into Tunisia last month, opening a key artery for supplies. (Zohra Bensemra/Reuters)

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A man waves a national flag from the pre-Moammar Khadafy era on the seafront in Benghazi on May 11. (Rodrigo Abd/AP)

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A Libyan teenager salutes as he controls traffic at a busy junction in Benghazi on May 9. Children in Benghazi are not being sent to fight on the frontline, but they are helping Libya’s revolution by cleaning streets, working as traffic cops, and dishing up rations to rebel soldiers. (Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images)

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In this photo taken on a government-organized tour, the Marriott hotel is seen in the background as youths enjoy the beach in Tripoli on May 3. The Tripoli Marriott closed 10 days after it opened, as an armed uprising swept the country. (Darko Bandic/AP)

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A Libyan rebel fighter walks near a checkpoint outside Ajdabiya on May 10, where fighting between rebels and forces loyal to leader Moammar Khadafy was ongoing. (Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images)

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Rebel fighter Abdel Rahaman Faraj, 15, grimaces as he is treated by a nurse in a public hospital in Benghazi on May 10. Faraj was injured two months ago in Bisher during fighting against Moammar Khadafy’s troops. (Rodrigo Abd/AP)

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Libyan youths sing near a courthouse in Benghazi May 12. (Mohammed Salem/Reuters)

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An injured Libyan rebel fighter flashes a victory sign from an ambulance after being evacuated from Misrata at the port in Benghazi on May 12. (Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images)

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A wounded girl evacuated from the besieged Libyan city of Misrata waits to be transported to an ambulance at the port in Benghazi on May 12. (Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images)

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A rebel fighter patrols in the desert south of the Libyan rebel-held town of Zintan in the Western Mountains on May 12. (Zohra Bensemra/Reuters)

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A boy rests on a street light pole in downtown in Benghazi on May 5. (Rodrigo Abd/AP)

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A Libyan girl looks at pictures of people killed or missing since the uprising began three months ago on the wall of court house in Benghazi’s Revolution Square on May 15. (Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images)

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Libyan volunteers prepare food for rebel fighters and internally displaced people at a kitchen in Benghazi on May 15. (Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images)

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Libyan rebels surround a house where a soldier loyal to Moammar Khadafy took refuge after killing a rebel during a battle in the town of Tamina, Libya on May 13. (Ricardo Garcia Vilanova/AFP/Getty Images)

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A Libyan rebel stands guard on top of a roof overlooking thousands performing noon prayers in Revolution Square in Benghazi on May 13. (Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images)

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A Libyan woman walks on a street of Benghazi May 9 holding a picture of her late son, who allegedly died in a Libyan prison in 1996. (Bernat Armangue/AP)

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Volunteers work to recover and bury dead bodies for health and religious reasons in Misrata on May 4. Misrata doctors estimate that more than 1,000 people have been killed in their city in two months of fighting. (Bernat Armangue/AP)

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Relatives mourn during the funeral of Abdul-Gader Al-Faitori, a rebel fighter who died after being injured a month ago during combat in Benghazi on May 4. (Rodrigo Abd/AP)

Police attacking protestors outside Israel Embassy, Egypt Reply

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At least 120 people were injured after Egyptian security forces fired tear gas and rubber coated steel bullets at pro-Palestinian protesters who were trying to storm the Israeli embassy in Cairo.

Thousands of protesters had massed outside of the embassy in the capital on Sunday to commemorate the 63rd anniversary of the “Nakba” or “catastrophe” – the day Israel declared its independence and hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were expelled from their homes.

Witnesses said a group of demonstrators later tried to storm the entrance of the embassy. Police used rubber coated steel bullets and tear gas to disperse the crowd. At least 20 people were arrested.

Al Jazeera’s Rob Gilles, who was at the scene, said that some protesters responded by burning tires in the middle of the road and throwing stones.

“The security forces have made a charge outside the embassy to clear the street in front of it and most of the protesters are being forced back,” he said.

‘Determined protesters’

“They’ve sealed off the main area into it but there is still a determined presence here, they are determined not to move, spurred on by the images they’ve seen of the Nakba protests in other parts of the Middle East.

“We’ve seen a few people laid out on the floor mainly suffering from gas inhalation more than anything else.”

Activists had earlier called for marches to start on Sunday to reach the Rafah border crossing between Israel and Egypt.

The incident followed the visit to Egypt by a senior Israeli defence ministry official – the first trip by a top Israeli official since a popular uprising toppled former president Hosni Mubarak in February.

Amos Gilad was to hold talks with several Egyptian officials “to discuss the latest developments in the region, in light of the Palestinian reconciliation agreement”, MENA, Egypt’s state news agency reported on Sunday.

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal ended a four-year feud at a reconciliation ceremony in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, earlier this month, which Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu termed “a tremendous blow to peace”.

The long-awaited accord, inked by the two rivals among 13 factions, aims to put a stop to the animosity which has split the Palestinian territories into opposing camps since 2007.

The agreement envisages Hamas and Fatah working to put together an interim government of candidates who are unaffiliated with either faction, who would govern until presidential and legislative elections within a year.

Toxic Justice: 20,000 in India killed from worst industrial accident in history – those responsible go unpunished ruled the courts 1

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Seven Indian officials responsible for the worst technological disaster in history, had been released on bail after a court refused to give them stronger punishments. They were found guilty of a huge gas leak in 1984 at a U.S. owned plant (Union Carbide India Ltd), which resulted in the deaths of up to 20 thousand people.  They never did any jail time, and were only fined $2,000.

Following a public outcry, the Central Bureau of Investigation filed the curative petitions for a direction to frame charges against Mr. Mahindra and others for culpable homicide not amounting to murder that would attract a maximum imprisonment of 10 years.  The court just now rejected these petitions stating that it is too far past the time of the event.

The Gas Leak….

During the night of December 2-3, 1984, a storage tank containing methyl isocyanate (MIC) at the Union Carbide pesticide plant leaked gas into the densely populated city of Bhopal, India. It was one of the worst industrial accidents in history.

Union Carbide India, Ltd. built a pesticide plant in Bhopal, India in the late 1970s in an effort to produce pesticides locally to help increase production on local farms. However, sales of pesticide didn’t materialize in the numbers hoped for and the plant was soon losing money. In 1979, the factory began to produce large amounts of the highly toxic methyl isocyanate (MIC), because it was a cheaper way to make the pesticide carbaryl. To also cut costs, training and maintenance in the factory were drastically cut back. Workers in the factory complained about the dangerous conditions and warned of possible disasters, but management did not take any action.

On the night of December 2-3, 1984, something began to go wrong in storage tank E610 which contained 40 tons of MIC. Water leaked into the tank which caused the MIC to heat up. Some sources say that water leaked into the tank during routine cleaning of a pipe but that the safety valves inside the pipe were faulty. The Union Carbide company claims that a saboteur placed the water inside the tank, although there has never been proof of this. It is also considered possible that once the tank began to overheat, workers threw water on the tank, not realizing they were adding to the problem

By 12:15 a.m. on the morning of December 3, 1984, MIC fumes were leaking out of the storage tank. Although there should have been six safety features that would have either prevented the leak or contained it, all six did not work properly that night. It is estimated that 27 tons of MIC gas escaped out of the container and spread across the densely populated city of Bhopal, India, which had a population of approximately 900,000 people. Although a warning siren was turned on, it was quickly turned off again so as to not cause panic.

Most residents of Bhopal were sleeping when the gas began to leak. Many woke up only because they heard their children coughing or found themselves choking on the fumes. As people jumped up from their beds, they felt their eyes and throat burning. Some choked on their own bile. Others fell to the ground in contortions of pain.

People ran and ran, but they did not know in which direction to go.
Families were split up in the confusion.
Many people fell to the ground unconscious and were then trampled upon.

Estimates of the death toll vary greatly. Most sources say at least 3,000 people died from immediate exposure to the gas, while higher estimates go up to 8,000. In the two decades following the night of the disaster, approximately 20,000 additional people have died from the damage they received from the gas.

Another 120,000 people live daily with the effects from the gas, including blindness, extreme shortness of breath, cancers, birth deformities, and early onset of menopause. Chemicals from the pesticide plant and from the leak have infiltrated the water system and the soil near the old factory and thus continue to cause poisoning in the people who live near it.

Just three days after the disaster, the chairman of Union Carbide, Warren Anderson, was arrested. When he was released on bail, he fled the country. Although his whereabouts were unknown for many years, recently he was found living in the Hamptons in New York. Extradition procedures have not started because of political issues. Anderson continues to be wanted in India for culpable homicide for his role in the Bhopal disaster.

One of the worst parts of this tragedy is actually what has happened in the years following that fateful night in 1984. Although Union Carbide has paid some restitution to the victims, the company claims they are not liable for any damages because they blame a saboteur for the disaster and claim that the factory was in good working order before the gas leak. The victims of the Bhopal gas leak have received very little money. Many of the victims continue to live in ill health and are unable to work.

For more details including background, contributing factors, conditions, previous warnings and incidents, etc. please read Wikipedia

From: About.com 20th Century History