Spiritual history of Galveston still strong
By TARA DOOLEY Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
Sept. 22, 2008, 6:21PM
THE churches remain standing.
The steeples still beckon in the Galveston skyline.
But open the doors, and there are no people.
"Right now, all we have is each other," the Rev. Ron Pogue of Trinity Episcopal Church said from Austin, where he landed after leaving Galveston ahead of Hurricane Ike. "There is nothing we can do about the building."
When Galveston formally reopens to residents Wednesday, many will return to homes devastated by a storm that trampled the island and left behind a pervasive film of sea, sewage and debris.
But they will also return to houses of worship, many of which stand on wobbly legs.
Though the churches and synagogues hold an important place in the lives of their members, those such as Trinity Episcopal also hold a spot in Texas and local history.
"Galveston has an extraordinary wealth of religious architecture from the 19th century," said Stephen Fox, co-author of Galveston: Architecture Guidebook (Rice University Press, $17.95). "In addition, there is a very architecturally significant array of more modest church buildings, especially those associated with African-American congregations."
Last week, most churches remained closed on near-empty streets with tree limbs, dried-up driftwood, waterlogged furniture and caked mud that cracked underfoot like ancient eggshells. Members of some churches and synagogues gathered in hotels, basketball courts and sanctuaries without power for weekend services.
Others such as First Baptist Church and Trinity Episcopal started the work of cleaning up, flinging doors open to exchange heavy, moist air with breezes and dehumidifying machines that buzz overtime to save any interior woodwork that withstood the initial trauma.
St. Mary Cathedral Basilica, Texas' first Catholic cathedral, was most hard hit of the island's Catholic churches, said Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, who ventured Thursday to Galveston.
"There it is, standing," DiNardo said. "So that is good. But there really is a lot of water damage and mud. It is just heartbreaking."
The cathedral basilica, which shares duties as the home pulpit for the cardinal with the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in downtown Houston, is a significant historic building for Texas.
"It was the first monumental work of civil architecture built in Texas after the Spanish mission churches of the San Antonio River Valley," said Fox, an adjunct lecturer at Rice University and the University of Houston.
The basilica, completed in 1848, was also the first substantial example of Gothic revival architecture built in Texas, he said.
In addition to the basilica, the Sacred Heart Catholic Church suffered water damage. But the gleaming white exterior — a religious fortress, rebuilt after being destroyed in the storm of 1900 — remained largely unharmed, DiNardo said.
Among the archdiocese's oldest churches in Galveston, St. Patrick fared the best, he said.
Already crews have assessed the situation and expect to get to work soon, DiNardo said. The costs of cleanup and restoration were not yet calculated, he said.
Repairing the basilica would be a priority, DiNardo said. But churches on the mainland also suffered damage. Helping those in need after the storm and restoring parish life would also require immediate attention.
"The people ... are the priority," DiNardo said.
The first Reform congregation in Texas was Temple B'nai Israel. The synagogue moved from its original building in the 1950s. The current synagogue on Avenue O suffered some damage, especially in the offices and the chapel, said Rabbi Jimmy Kessler. But he reported the congregation's seven Torah scrolls, including two that came to the congregation when it opened in 1868, survived without harm.
Work had begun at many churches last week.
Red carpet was dragged out of First Baptist Church and the red cloth-covered pews, contaminated by water from the storm, were removed by a small army of employees dressed in white coveralls and wearing gloves and masks.
"Getting in here as early as we did, there is not as much secondary damage," said Brad Bridges, co-owner of a Denton-based ServiceMaster Clean, the company charged with salvaging the church.
Doors also were flung open in the school and church of Trinity Episcopal. Workers wrung water out of carpets, then dragged them outside.
For Kevin L. Dahlberg, the contractor charged with salvaging the insides of Trinity, the job was personal.
"It's not just part of my work," said Dahlberg, who was married at Trinity five years ago. "It's very near and dear to my heart. I'm glad we could be here to help."
Trinity, which survived the great hurricane of 1900 with major damage to one wall, evidently remained structurally sound. But a panel from a Tiffany stained-glass window above the altar lay in shards on the ground.
"I'm relieved that the church is still standing," said William K. Macdonald, a church member who had returned to Galveston last week and stopped by to assess Trinity after checking on his home and that of a relative. "I haven't seen all the damage. But I have faith in the members of the church and the diocese to restore it to its former grandeur."
For the Rev. Eddie R. Johnson, his first steps into Avenue L Missionary Baptist Church Thursday were shocking, he said.
"When I walked in here and when everything was just how we left it, I was praising God for what he's done," said Johnson, pastor of the church, one of the oldest black congregations in the state.
Besides some ceiling damage that left a few pieces of white paint on the floor of the entryway, the church was dry and clean. Even before power and water were restored to the church, Johnson said he was talking with pastors of some of the other city churches to offer his sanctuary to their members as they struggle to recover from Hurricane Ike.
"For what he has done, we cannot be selfish," Johnson said.
tara.dooley@chron.com
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
FBI is going after the Hack on Gov. Palin's Yahoo Email and getting lots of help along the trail...
The FBI has served a search warrant against a 20-year-old college student in connection with the hacking of Sarah Palin’s personal e-mail account.
A witness told WBIR-TV that FBI agents served the warrant at the college residence of David Kernell, a student at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. Kernell is the son of Mike Kernell, a Democratic state representative from Memphis.
The FBI and Secret Service launched a formal investigation on Sept. 17 into the hacking of one of Palin’s Yahoo! e-mail accounts. Yahoo! declined to comment Sept. 18 on details of the investigation, citing Palin’s privacy and the sensitivity of such investigations.
A Department of Justice spokesman told WBIR-TV that there has been “investigatory activity” in Knoxville regarding the investigation. A witness told the station that several agents arrived at Kernell’s apartment complex early Sunday morning.
A witness told the station they took photos inside Kernell’s apartment and that his three roommates were subpoenaed to testify this week in Chattanooga.
The hacker who compromised Palin’s account used Ctunnel.com, an Internet proxy site, which renders Web users anonymous, to get into Palin’s e-mail. The site is run by Gabriel Ramuglia, 25, a Web developer from Athens, Ga., who said the hacker left behind revealing clues after posting screen grabs of Palin’s inbox.
Ramuglia said he saw the screenshots and recognized his site. He is now working with the FBI to provide agents with his business logs to help identify the criminal.
“I should be able to find out who is involved by going through my logs,” he said. “The FBI called me last night and they wanted to know that the logs weren’t deleted — as long as they weren’t deleted — and they asked me to help, so I’m downloading them.”
Ramuglia said the FBI told him they also reached out to Yahoo! to ask for help. The hope is that information from Yahoo! can be matched with something in the proxy site’s logs, identifying the hacker. The logs from both Ctunnel.com and Yahoo! were to be delivered to the FBI last week, Ramuglia said.
“As long as they didn’t use a second proxy, I should be able to find them,” Ramuglia said. “I don’t think they were careful enough to do that.”
There is widespread speculation about who was behind the attack and what the motivation was.
Jose Nazario, a senior security engineer with Arbor Networks Inc., said he knows “through personal contacts” that members of the group Anonymous were involved in the Palin e-mail attack.
He said Anonymous is a loose network of a few dozen people who live in the United States and abroad and range from teenagers to 30-year-olds who share what he said is a “sociopathic sense of humor.”
“Anonymous sort of takes pride in doing this publicly and pissing people off. There are other groups that do this, but they aren’t as public about it,” Nazario said.
The confession read: “i am the lurker who did it, and i would like to tell the story.” It continued to say that what started as a prank was cut short because of panic over the possibility the FBI might investigate, the hacker wrote.
The hacker said the he guessed that Alaska’s governor had met her husband in high school, and he or she knew Palin’s date of birth and home Zip code. Using those details, the hacker tricked Yahoo Inc.’s service into assigning a new password, “popcorn,” for Palin’s e-mail account.
“I found out later though [sic] more research that they met at high school, so I did variations of that, high, high school, eventually hit on ‘Wasilla high’,” said the Internet posting.
The McCain campaign said Wednesday that the attack was “a shocking invasion of the governor’s privacy and a violation of law.”
“The matter has been turned over to the appropriate authorities and we hope that anyone in possession of these e-mails will destroy them. We will have no further comment,” the campaign said in a statement.
The break-in of Palin’s private account is especially significant because Palin sometimes uses non-government e-mail to conduct state business. Previously disclosed e-mails indicate her administration embraced Yahoo! accounts as an alternative to government e-mail, which could possibly be released to the public under Alaska’s Open Records Act.
At the time, critics of Palin’s administration were poring over official e-mails they had obtained from the governor’s office looking for evidence of improper political activity.
Jana Winter and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
A witness told WBIR-TV that FBI agents served the warrant at the college residence of David Kernell, a student at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. Kernell is the son of Mike Kernell, a Democratic state representative from Memphis.
The FBI and Secret Service launched a formal investigation on Sept. 17 into the hacking of one of Palin’s Yahoo! e-mail accounts. Yahoo! declined to comment Sept. 18 on details of the investigation, citing Palin’s privacy and the sensitivity of such investigations.
A Department of Justice spokesman told WBIR-TV that there has been “investigatory activity” in Knoxville regarding the investigation. A witness told the station that several agents arrived at Kernell’s apartment complex early Sunday morning.
A witness told the station they took photos inside Kernell’s apartment and that his three roommates were subpoenaed to testify this week in Chattanooga.
The hacker who compromised Palin’s account used Ctunnel.com, an Internet proxy site, which renders Web users anonymous, to get into Palin’s e-mail. The site is run by Gabriel Ramuglia, 25, a Web developer from Athens, Ga., who said the hacker left behind revealing clues after posting screen grabs of Palin’s inbox.
Ramuglia said he saw the screenshots and recognized his site. He is now working with the FBI to provide agents with his business logs to help identify the criminal.
“I should be able to find out who is involved by going through my logs,” he said. “The FBI called me last night and they wanted to know that the logs weren’t deleted — as long as they weren’t deleted — and they asked me to help, so I’m downloading them.”
Ramuglia said the FBI told him they also reached out to Yahoo! to ask for help. The hope is that information from Yahoo! can be matched with something in the proxy site’s logs, identifying the hacker. The logs from both Ctunnel.com and Yahoo! were to be delivered to the FBI last week, Ramuglia said.
“As long as they didn’t use a second proxy, I should be able to find them,” Ramuglia said. “I don’t think they were careful enough to do that.”
There is widespread speculation about who was behind the attack and what the motivation was.
Jose Nazario, a senior security engineer with Arbor Networks Inc., said he knows “through personal contacts” that members of the group Anonymous were involved in the Palin e-mail attack.
He said Anonymous is a loose network of a few dozen people who live in the United States and abroad and range from teenagers to 30-year-olds who share what he said is a “sociopathic sense of humor.”
“Anonymous sort of takes pride in doing this publicly and pissing people off. There are other groups that do this, but they aren’t as public about it,” Nazario said.
The confession read: “i am the lurker who did it, and i would like to tell the story.” It continued to say that what started as a prank was cut short because of panic over the possibility the FBI might investigate, the hacker wrote.
The hacker said the he guessed that Alaska’s governor had met her husband in high school, and he or she knew Palin’s date of birth and home Zip code. Using those details, the hacker tricked Yahoo Inc.’s service into assigning a new password, “popcorn,” for Palin’s e-mail account.
“I found out later though [sic] more research that they met at high school, so I did variations of that, high, high school, eventually hit on ‘Wasilla high’,” said the Internet posting.
The McCain campaign said Wednesday that the attack was “a shocking invasion of the governor’s privacy and a violation of law.”
“The matter has been turned over to the appropriate authorities and we hope that anyone in possession of these e-mails will destroy them. We will have no further comment,” the campaign said in a statement.
The break-in of Palin’s private account is especially significant because Palin sometimes uses non-government e-mail to conduct state business. Previously disclosed e-mails indicate her administration embraced Yahoo! accounts as an alternative to government e-mail, which could possibly be released to the public under Alaska’s Open Records Act.
At the time, critics of Palin’s administration were poring over official e-mails they had obtained from the governor’s office looking for evidence of improper political activity.
Jana Winter and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Jay Leno makes jokes about these emails, but I had never gotten one until today. Since I don't want to take him/her up on the opportunity... you can.
Complement of the day, FREDDALLAS!
Although you might be apprehensive about my email as we have not met before,
My name is Mr Song Lile I work with the Hang Seng Bank.
There is the sum of $19,500,000.00 in my bank "Hang Seng Bank", Hong kong.
There were no beneficiaries stated concerning these funds which means no one would ever come forward to claim it.That is why I ask that we work together so as to have the sun transfered out of my bank into your account.
Note that all is well planned as we shall do this online with all legal and banking requirements.
All I need from you is your willingness, trust and commitment. I want you to know that I have had everything planned out so that we shall come out successful. I will notify you on the full transaction on receipt of your response if interested,and I shall send you the details and necessary procedures with which to make the transfer.
Please endeavor to observe utmost discretion in all matters concerning this issue.
[ maybe this means don't post it on your blogg...]
Once the funds have been transferred to your nominated bank account we shall then share in the ratio of 70% for me, 30% for you.
Your earliest response to this letter will be appreciated.
Kind Regards, Mr. Song Lile.
Email: songlilie2@hotmail.com
FD: you might want to read this first - http://www.hangseng.com/hsb/eng/abo/pr/a022707e.pdf
or this one -
http://www.spamscams.net/spam-email/hang-seng-bank-email-scam/
IMPORTANT NOTICE
The purpose of SpamScams.net is to inform, not promote spam. Please DO NOT believe the spam email posts you read. Even more importantly, DO NOT reply to them, DO NOT contact them, and DO NOT click on any links which we may have missed deleting. Furthermore, the inclusion of a company name(s) in spam emails DOES NOT automatically infer wrongful doings on the part of the named company, only that a scammer may be using the name of a legitimate company in order to complete their ruse.
Although you might be apprehensive about my email as we have not met before,
My name is Mr Song Lile I work with the Hang Seng Bank.
There is the sum of $19,500,000.00 in my bank "Hang Seng Bank", Hong kong.
There were no beneficiaries stated concerning these funds which means no one would ever come forward to claim it.That is why I ask that we work together so as to have the sun transfered out of my bank into your account.
Note that all is well planned as we shall do this online with all legal and banking requirements.
All I need from you is your willingness, trust and commitment. I want you to know that I have had everything planned out so that we shall come out successful. I will notify you on the full transaction on receipt of your response if interested,and I shall send you the details and necessary procedures with which to make the transfer.
Please endeavor to observe utmost discretion in all matters concerning this issue.
[ maybe this means don't post it on your blogg...]
Once the funds have been transferred to your nominated bank account we shall then share in the ratio of 70% for me, 30% for you.
Your earliest response to this letter will be appreciated.
Kind Regards, Mr. Song Lile.
Email: songlilie2@hotmail.com
FD: you might want to read this first - http://www.hangseng.com/hsb/eng/abo/pr/a022707e.pdf
or this one -
http://www.spamscams.net/spam-email/hang-seng-bank-email-scam/
IMPORTANT NOTICE
The purpose of SpamScams.net is to inform, not promote spam. Please DO NOT believe the spam email posts you read. Even more importantly, DO NOT reply to them, DO NOT contact them, and DO NOT click on any links which we may have missed deleting. Furthermore, the inclusion of a company name(s) in spam emails DOES NOT automatically infer wrongful doings on the part of the named company, only that a scammer may be using the name of a legitimate company in order to complete their ruse.
Well, it is almost worth pledging $120 to KERA FM 90.1 ... hmmm... $10 a month maybe
The Radio Bookmark is a small, portable device that allows public radio listeners to “bookmark” stories aired on the radio that they would like to listen to again. Imagine the following scenarios…
You’re driving to your meeting across town while listening to “Morning Edition®.” You’ve reached your destination just on time, but you don’t want to stop listening to the news being reported.
You’re cooking dinner while listening to “All Things Considered®” and the kids begin arguing. You really want to hear the rest of the program, but your first priority is taking care of the kids.
You’ve just heard a fantastic article on “The Diane Rehm Show®.” You’d like to gather more information about the topic and share it with a friend.
In all of these situations, you simply press on your Radio Bookmark, which captures the time of day and stores it in memory. Since it is not an audio recorder, you do not have to worry about loud background noises, being too far from the radio, or anything else. Just press the button. Then later, when you are ready to listen to your bookmarks, simply plug the Radio Bookmark into an available USB port on your computer. We will automatically transfer your bookmarks to your personal web page, and this is where the magic happens. Since we know what was playing on your local station at any point during the day, your bookmarks allow us to display what you were listening to! The program, story, author, and even where you were within the story. It’s as easy as that! You will get the entire story replayed at your convenience and in perfect clarity. No more road noise, no more kids arguing, just your story and you. And since we transfer all of your bookmarks to your personal web page, you don’t have to worry about how many bookmarks you can capture or running out of space.
So your bookmarks are captured and they have been transferred to your personal web page. But what to do now? Well let’s go through your personal web page.
The first thing you may notice is that there is a row for every bookmark. Each row contains a checkbox, the title of the story, when it aired, how long it is, your local station name, the program it was part of, and who created the story. That is a lot of information, but that is why you have the Radio Bookmark to help you keep it all straight.
To play a story, just click on the story’s title. Your browser will automatically display the information for your story and allow you to listen to the audio again. Then when you are done listening, press the browser BACK button to return to your bookmark page and play your next story.
The checkbox is used to select the story as one you want to share or delete. Simply use your mouse to select or unselect a specific bookmark. For the bookmarks you think your friends will like, simply select the ones you want to send and press . This will create an email message with links to those great stories. And since it is coming from your account, they will know it is safe to read. When you are done with your bookmark and want to remove them, simply select the bookmarks and press . Also, you can press “All, None, or New” to easily select all of your bookmarks on this page, none of your bookmarks, or only the new bookmarks.
The optional Radio Bookmark Player provides an enhanced interface for replaying your bookmarks. When installed, the checkbox is also used to select the story as one you want to replay. Simply use your mouse to select or unselect a specific bookmark. To make it easier, all your new bookmarks are automatically selected for you. Any time a bookmark is selected, it is also highlighted in orange so you have a good view of what you will be listening to.
Then when you are ready, press immediately above the top bookmark on the page. This will start the Radio Bookmark Player and let you listen to your bookmarks! That’s all there is!
As each of your stories start to play, your personal web page will change and the Radio Bookmark Player will appear on the bottom of your screen. To allow you to get as much information as you want, we display the full web page for the story in the main browser and automatically start playing the audio.
If you look closely at the Radio Bookmark Player, it provides you all of the controls you need for an enjoyable listening experience.
You can easily advance to the next story by pressing “Next Bookmark”. And you can listen to a story again by pressing “Previous Bookmark”.
Additional information about the story is displayed so you can find out even more about an interesting story. By selecting the title of an additional story, the main browser will change to the next story, while your audio from your bookmark continues to play. This way you can easily browse through more information.
But let’s say this is an hour-long program and you want to get back to the exact time where you bookmarked your program. Simply slide the audio timeline marker to the position of the red bookmark icon and it will immediately start playing where you bookmarked the program.
And when you hear a story of special interest to you, press and the story will be marked as your favorite.
So that is the Radio Bookmark.
We hope you enjoy using it and that it helps broaden your public radio experience. If there is something we have missed or you think of something cool to add, please give us your feedback. We’d really like to hear from you.— The Radio Bookmark team.
What you see is how conservative AOL users are ... I sort of getting used to being in the 33% minority.
Is Obama exploiting racial tensions for political benefit?
Hey, Freddallas!
Check out this cool AOL poll on
the 2008 Elections: http://news.aol.com/political-machine/hot-seat
Maybe you can go out there and turn that around for me....
AOL loves pictures. Here is a more interesting gallery of photos of the candidates:
http://www.walletpop.com/specials/lifestyles-of-2008-presidential-candidates?icid=100214839x1210156249x1200593650
Hope your day is going well. Thanks for dropping in....
FREDDALLAS
Hey, Freddallas!
Check out this cool AOL poll on
the 2008 Elections: http://news.aol.com/political-machine/hot-seat
Maybe you can go out there and turn that around for me....
AOL loves pictures. Here is a more interesting gallery of photos of the candidates:
http://www.walletpop.com/specials/lifestyles-of-2008-presidential-candidates?icid=100214839x1210156249x1200593650
Hope your day is going well. Thanks for dropping in....
FREDDALLAS
65 MPG Ford You Can't Buy
Ford's Fiesta ECOnetic gets an astonishing 65 mpg, but the carmaker can't afford to sell it in the U.S.
By DAVID KILEY
Ford Fiesta ECOnetic
If ever there was a car made for the times, this would seem to be it: a sporty subcompact that seats five, offers a navigation system, and gets a whopping 65 miles to the gallon. Oh yes, and the car is made by Ford Motor, known widely for lumbering gas hogs.Ford's 2009 Fiesta ECOnetic goes on sale in November. But here's the catch: Despite the car's potential to transform Ford's image and help it compete with Toyota Motor and Honda Motor in its home market, the company will sell the little fuel sipper only in Europe. "We know it's an awesome vehicle," says Ford America President Mark Fields. "But there are business reasons why we can't sell it in the U.S." The main one: The Fiesta ECOnetic runs on diesel.
Automakers such as Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz have predicted for years that a technology called "clean diesel" would overcome many Americans' antipathy to a fuel still often thought of as the smelly stuff that powers tractor trailers. Diesel vehicles now hitting the market with pollution-fighting technology are as clean or cleaner than gasoline and at least 30% more fuel-efficient.Yet while half of all cars sold in Europe last year ran on diesel, the U.S. market remains relatively unfriendly to the fuel. Taxes aimed at commercial trucks mean diesel costs anywhere from 40 cents to $1 more per gallon than gasoline. Add to this the success of the Toyota Prius, and you can see why only 3% of cars in the U.S. use diesel. "Americans see hybrids as the darling," says Global Insight auto analyst Philip Gott, "and diesel as old-tech."None of this is stopping European and Japanese automakers, which are betting they can jump-start the U.S. market with new diesel models. Mercedes-Benz by next year will have three cars it markets as "BlueTec." Even Nissan and Honda, which long opposed building diesel cars in Europe, plan to introduce them in the U.S. in 2010.
By DAVID KILEY
Ford Fiesta ECOnetic
If ever there was a car made for the times, this would seem to be it: a sporty subcompact that seats five, offers a navigation system, and gets a whopping 65 miles to the gallon. Oh yes, and the car is made by Ford Motor, known widely for lumbering gas hogs.Ford's 2009 Fiesta ECOnetic goes on sale in November. But here's the catch: Despite the car's potential to transform Ford's image and help it compete with Toyota Motor and Honda Motor in its home market, the company will sell the little fuel sipper only in Europe. "We know it's an awesome vehicle," says Ford America President Mark Fields. "But there are business reasons why we can't sell it in the U.S." The main one: The Fiesta ECOnetic runs on diesel.
Automakers such as Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz have predicted for years that a technology called "clean diesel" would overcome many Americans' antipathy to a fuel still often thought of as the smelly stuff that powers tractor trailers. Diesel vehicles now hitting the market with pollution-fighting technology are as clean or cleaner than gasoline and at least 30% more fuel-efficient.Yet while half of all cars sold in Europe last year ran on diesel, the U.S. market remains relatively unfriendly to the fuel. Taxes aimed at commercial trucks mean diesel costs anywhere from 40 cents to $1 more per gallon than gasoline. Add to this the success of the Toyota Prius, and you can see why only 3% of cars in the U.S. use diesel. "Americans see hybrids as the darling," says Global Insight auto analyst Philip Gott, "and diesel as old-tech."None of this is stopping European and Japanese automakers, which are betting they can jump-start the U.S. market with new diesel models. Mercedes-Benz by next year will have three cars it markets as "BlueTec." Even Nissan and Honda, which long opposed building diesel cars in Europe, plan to introduce them in the U.S. in 2010.
But Ford, whose Fiesta ECOnetic compares favorably with European diesels, can't make a business case for bringing the car to the U.S.
Too Pricey To Import
First of all, the engines are built in Britain, so labor costs are high. Plus the pound remains stronger than the greenback. At prevailing exchange rates, the Fiesta ECOnetic would sell for about $25,700 in the U.S. By contrast, the Prius typically goes for about $24,000. A $1,300 tax deduction available to buyers of new diesel cars could bring the price of the Fiesta to around $24,400. But Ford doesn't believe it could charge enough to make money on an imported ECOnetic.
Ford plans to make a gas-powered version of the Fiesta in Mexico for the U.S.
Ford plans to make a gas-powered version of the Fiesta in Mexico for the U.S.
So why not manufacture diesel engines there, too? Building a plant would cost at least $350 million at a time when Ford has been burning through more than $1 billion a month in cash reserves. Besides, the automaker would have to produce at least 350,000 engines a year to make such a venture profitable. "We just don't think North and South America would buy that many diesel cars," says Fields.The question, of course, is whether the U.S. ever will embrace diesel fuel and allow automakers to achieve sufficient scale to make money on such vehicles. California certified VW and Mercedes diesel cars earlier this year, after a four-year ban. James N. Hall, of auto researcher 293 Analysts, says that bellwether state and the Northeast remain "hostile to diesel." But the risk to Ford is that the fuel takes off, and the carmaker finds itself playing catch-up—despite having a serious diesel contender in its arsenal.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Massive Diamond Found in African Mine
LONDON (Sept. 21) - Miners in the southern African kingdom of Lesotho have found one of the world's largest diamonds, a near-flawless white gem weighing nearly 500 carats, mining group Gem Diamonds said on Sunday."Preliminary examination of this remarkable diamond indicates that it will yield a record breaking polished stone of the very best color and clarity," said one expert. A similar weight stone with lesser-quality color and clarity recently sold for $12 million.
The diamond was discovered in the Letseng Mine on September 8, the company said in a statement. It has been analyzed by experts in Antwerp and found to weigh 478 carats, with very few inclusions and of outstanding color and clarity.
"It has the potential to yield one of the largest flawless D color round polished diamonds in history," the company said.
Letseng is one of the most productive mines in history — four of the world's 20 largest rough diamonds have been found at the mine, including the three largest found this century.
Before it is cut into gems it is hard to value the diamond, but a spokesman for Gem Diamonds said a similar weight stone with lesser-quality color and clarity had recently sold for $12 million (around 5.5 million pounds).
"Preliminary examination of this remarkable diamond indicates that it will yield a record breaking polished stone of the very best color and clarity," Clifford Elphick, the chief executive of Gem Diamonds, said in a statement.
The minister for natural resources in Lesotho, an impoverished mountain kingdom in eastern South Africa, praised the productivity of the mine, one of the highest in the world at more than 3,000 meters (10,000 feet).
"Once again Letseng has proved its ability to produce extraordinary diamonds and continues to place Lesotho at the forefront of diamond producing countries," Monyane Moleleki said in a statement.
Letseng is 70 percent owned by Gem Diamonds and 30 percent owned by the government of Lesotho.
The world's largest diamond is the Cullinan, discovered in South Africa in 1905. It weighed more than 3,100 carats before it was cut into more than one hundred separate gems, many of which are part of the British crown jewels.
Copyright 2008, Reuters
2008-09-21 14:38:07
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