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Friday, October 26, 2007

The United States Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is under fire after the agency held a fake press conference with fake news reporters in regards to individuals affected by the California wildfires and the assistance they could receive.

The agency called a press conference on Tuesday, giving the press only 15 minutes to show up. When many did not, FEMA brought in agency officials to pose as fake reporters and ask questions. The option for reporters to call into the conference was also available, but the ones who did call in only got to listen to the press conference, and could not ask questions. No reporters were actually present during the conference, parts of which were carried live on Fox News and MSNBC.

During the briefing, FEMA employees asked Deputy Administrator Harvey Johnson a series of what The New York Times called “decidedly friendly questions” such as “What type of commodities are you pledging to California?”, “What lessons learned from Katrina have been applied?” and “Are you happy with FEMA’s response so far?”. The briefing followed the format of a press conference, with FEMA’s press secretary at one point cautioning that he would allow just “two more questions”, then calling later for a “last question”. Officials who posed as fake reporters included the deputy director of public affairs Cindy Taylor and Director of External Affairs John “Pat” Philbin.

White House officials said that they do not condone FEMA’s actions and also state that they had no idea that the conference was taking place.

“FEMA has issued an apology, saying that they had an error in judgment when they were attempting to get out a lot of information to reporters, who were asking for answers to a variety of questions in regard to the wildfires in California. It’s not something I would have condoned. And they — I’m sure — will not do it again,” said Dana Perino, the White House’s press secretary in a statement.

FEMA apologizes for the mishap and says that their intentions were only to get the information to the citizens of California.

“[The purpose was] to get information out as soon as possible, and in trying to do so we made an error in judgment. Our intent was to provide useful information and be responsive to the many questions we have received. We can and must do better,” said Harvey E. Johnson, the agency’s vice administrator. “The real story — how well the response and recovery elements are working in this disaster — should not be lost because of how we tried to meet the needs of the media in distributing facts,” a FEMA statement said.

FEMA is currently deciding whether or not any officials should face punishment for the incident. One of the officials responsible, Pat Philbin, is going on to be the new head of public relations for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

This is not the first time that the Bush administration has come under fire for planting reporters at press conferences. In February of 2005, White House reporter Jeff Gannon was accused of being planted to ask softball questions to President Bush. FEMA itself had earlier undergone criticism during Hurricane Katrina for using disaster workers for public relations in 2005.

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Saturday, March 7, 2009

After almost two months of delay, NASA has set March 11 as the launch date for Space Shuttle Discovery. On February 22, NASA had stated that they indefinitely delayed the launch of Space Shuttle Discovery, which was originally scheduled for takeoff on February 12. Launch was then further delayed until February 25 before being delayed indefinitely on February 22. NASA cited the need for additional time to evaluate the shuttle’s hydrogen fuel flow control valves.

Liftoff is set for nighttime on Wednesday, March 11, at approximately 9:20 p.m. (EST) from Launch Complex 39A in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The official countdown to launch will commence Sunday, March 8.

“The team came through, worked hard and was efficient. It’s time now to step back and think of everything else we need to watch before launch on the 11th. There’s no better team than this one and I thank them for putting the right analysis together,” said Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for Space Operations at NASA.

NASA wanted to perform additional tests on the valves which control the amount of hydrogen fuel pumped into the external tank when the shuttle is taking off before making a decision to launch. When Space Shuttle Endeavour went into space in November 2008, one of the valves broke. NASA fears that if one breaks off on this mission, then it could damage the outside of the shuttle.

The current scheduled mission, STS-119, is set to fly the Integrated Truss Structure segment (“S” for starboard, the right side of the station, and “6” for its place at the very end of the starboard truss) and install the final set of power-generating solar arrays to the International Space Station. The arrays consist of two 115-foot-long arrays, for a total wing span of 240 feet, including the equipment that connects the two halves and allows them to twist as they track the sun. Altogether, the four sets of arrays can generate 84 to 120 kilowatts of electricity – enough to provide power for more than 40 average homes.

Commander Lee Archambault will lead Discovery’s crew of seven, along with Pilot Tony Antonelli, and Mission Specialists Joseph Acaba, John Phillips, Steve Swanson, Richard Arnold, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata.

Monday, June 19, 2006

If Spain wanted a bucket of ice water reality check after their 4-0 crushing of Ukraine they got one for 70 minutes in the rain against Tunisia, Monday.

After just eight minutes before which Spain had appeared to have left off from their form that destroyed Ukraine Zied Jaizi attacked into the Spanish box. His strong run ended with the ball prodded to Jaouhar Mnari. The Tunisian number 12’s shot was saved by Iker Casillas but he passed the rebound into the turf and over the keeper.

Spain were behind. And then it started to rain hard.

For 70 minutes Spain attacked and failed to beat the Tunisian keeper Ali Boumnijel. While he made seven saves the wet conditions made holding the football hard and Boumnijel faced a lot of shots.

In the first period crosses and corner kicks met heads in the Tunisian box but none of the succession of different foreheads found the target. On 43 minutes Xabi Alonso went closest: his header from a corner was cleared off the line by Anis Ayari.

As the clock ticked it seemed Spain’s short passing game was the longest route to goal.

In the end Luis Aragones’s three substitutions can be said to have unlocked the Tunisian defence. On 71 minutes the floodgates opened like the storm clouds had in the Gottlieb Daimler Stadion.

Joaquin ran down the right and passed to Cesc Fabregas at the top of the area. Fabregas’s first time shot was not particularly powerful but Boumnijel gave up a rebound and in followed Raul. 1-1.

For his second assist Fabregas then played in Fernando Torres who rounded the keeper for the game winner.

On 90 minutes Raul chipped to the far post for Torres who then appeared to be tugged to the floor. The young Athletico Madrid striker scored low under the keeper from the spot.

Torres, who with three goals in two matches became the top scorer at the Fifa World Cup, could have had two more goals in the final minutes from surges through the Tunisian defence. In the first instance the keeper saved well and in the second Torres blasted over.

The goals though they came late created a scoreline that reflected Spainish dominance of the game. They outshot their opponents by 20 and had 11 more corner kicks. Tunisian players accrued six yellow cards in their attempt to hold back Aragones’s side who also hogged 66 per cent of possession.

The result meant Spain were through to the round of sixteen of the Fifa World Cup and that Tunisia had to beat Ukraine in their third and final match of Group H if they wanted to join them there.

Saturday, July 8, 2006

Pope Benedict XVI visited the city of Valencia in Spain. During his visit, he encouraged his followers in the country to defend traditional family values.

The government in Spain has introduced a number of reforms including gay marriage.

“It is a man and a woman who are made for each other and made to give humanity a future” said the Pope. “The family is a unique institution in God’s plan, and the church cannot fail to proclaim and promote its fundamental importance,” he said.

He arrived for a 24-hour visit and was met at an airport by King Juan Carlos, Queen Sofía, and Prime Minister José Luís Rodríguez Zapatero.

“The presence of your holiness brings great relief to everyone, especially to families who have lost loved ones,” the king said in a welcoming speech.

The pope also met relatives of some of the underground crash victims. He prayed at the scene of a subway crash that killed 42 people on Monday. “We ask God’s comfort for those who remain and those who left us,” he said.

The pope will have a Mass tomorrow, which will close the visit. Zapatero said that he would not attend the mass on Sunday.

Monday, February 18, 2008

The Eastern Conference defeated their Western Conference counterparts at the 2008 National Basketball Association All-Star Game held at New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana on Sunday. The final score was 134-128.

The East took an early 11 point lead in the first 5 minutes, due to an injured Kobe Bryant only playing 2 minutes before sitting on the bench for the rest of the game. “There’s one player we really, really missed, and that was Kobe,” said West coach Byron Scott. The West later reduced the lead to 2 points, but at halftime, the East led 74-65.

The West trailed by 13 at the beginning of the fourth quarter, but rallied behind New Orleans point guard Chris Paul, who had seven assists in the final period. With 2:48 remaining, Brandon Roy scored a layup on an assist from Paul, giving the West a 122-119 lead, their biggest lead of the game.

The East then answered back with two three-pointers from Ray Allen, before Chris Paul tied the game with a three-pointer of his own. However, the East would then take the lead and the game with layups from Dwyane Wade and Allen, as well as a driving dunk from LeBron James. A Brandon Roy three-pointer put the game within three points with 8.7 seconds left, but 3 free throws from Ray Allen sealed the win for the East.

“The fourth quarter was crazy,” said Chris Paul. “We were down 13. We picked up the intensity. We took the lead a few times but Ray Allen was unbelievable the way he shot the ball. And that last dunk by LeBron, we had two people on him but that still wasn’t enough.”

With 27 points, 8 rebounds, and 9 assists, James was named the All-Star Game’s Most Valuable Player for the second time in his career. Some television commentators also considered Ray Allen a likely choice for the award, with 14 of his 28 points coming in the final 3 minutes of the game. “I think Ray Allen had a heck of a shooting night,” James said after being presented the award.