Storm cuts power to more than 1 million residents in new England.

Storm cuts power to more than 1M in New England
Published - Dec 12 2008 12:31PM EST AP
By DAVID TIRRELL-WYSOCKI - Associated Press Writer
An ice storm knocked out power to more than a million homes and businesses in New England and upstate New York on Friday, and authorities say it could take days for all of them to get service back. The storm brought rain, freezing rain, sleet and snow through the night, and in some areas, including hard-hit New Hampshire, the miserable mix was continuing Friday.
The governors of Massachusetts and New Hampshire declared states of emergency Friday morning, and schools were closed and travel disrupted across the region. New Hampshire's court system canceled all hearings and trials for the day.
"I urge all New Hampshire citizens to take sensible precautions and heed all warnings from public officials," Gov. John Lynch said. Fire departments were responding to reports of transformer explosions, wires and utility poles down and trees falling on homes. Utility crews were so busy dealing with public safety hazards like live power lines that they weren't immediately able to begin restoration efforts. Utilities reported 392,000 homes and businesses without power in New Hampshire, including 300,000 served by the state's largest utility, Public Service Company of New Hampshire. The outages there far surpassed the infamous ice storm of 1998, when some residents spent more than a week in the dark.
In Hampstead, N.H., Mark Cegelis, 36, said things were hectic at his neighborhood gas station, which was jammed with people trying to get gas for home generators.
"It's kind of lawless out there right now. There's a lot of people very frustrated, stacking up at the gas stations. It's pretty ugly."He bought 21 gallons for himself and tried to deliver some to some friends in Derry but couldn't get there because of downed trees blocking roads. So his friends came to him instead, and were expected to hunker down until power was restored.
Gov. Deval Patrick's emergency declaration in Massachusetts would enable the governor to take further steps, such as mobilizing the National Guard, if needed as the day wore on, officials said.
Car and driver are stopped in Derry, N.H. on a road littered with fallen trees and wires after an overnight ice storm Friday, Dec. 12, 2008. The ice storm knocked out power to more than a half-million homes and businesses in New England and upstate New York, and authorities say it could take days for all of them to get service back. (AP Photo/Cheryl Senter)

Shall we blame mother nature for this ice storm or is it another coincidense that this strom developed due to the 4 launches mentioned on December 11, 2008 that caused the unexpected snow fall in Louisiana and Missisippi. You, the public be the judge.

Rare snow covers Louisiana and Missisippi

Published - Dec 11 2008 03:44PM EST AP
By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN - Associated Press Writer

A rare snowfall blanketed south Louisiana and parts of Mississippi Thursday, closing schools, government offices and bridges, triggering crashes on major highways and leaving thousands of people without power. Parts of Louisiana were expected to get up to four inches of snow. Snow also covered a broad swath of Mississippi, including the Jackson area, and closed schools in more than a dozen districts. The National Weather Service in Jackson said up to 8 inches was possible in the southern and eastern parts of the state. A heavy band of snow coated windshields and grassy areas in New Orleans, where the National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning. Office workers stepped out of high-rises to catch a snowflake, snap pictures with cell-phone cameras and swap snow stories. At a park in New Orleans' Uptown neighborhood, Sara
Echaniz, 41, snapped photos and dodged snowballs thrown by her son, 3-year-old Sam. "He didn't believe it was snow until it started sticking to the ground," said Ecahniz, a native of Rochester, N.Y., who was pregnant with the child the last time it snowed in New Orleans, in December 2004.

In Alabama, heavy rains prompted forecasters to issue a flood watch for parts of the state. Wintry precipitation also was possible later Thursday as temperatures were expected to drop.
Flood watches were issued through Thursday night for much of North Carolina ahead of the storm system. Colder air behind the front could produce snow late Thursday and early Friday in the mountains.

In Louisiana, nearly 7,000 power outages were reported in south-central parishes as falling tree limbs snapped under the weight of ice and snow. Some flights at Louis Armstrong International
Airport outside New Orleans were delayed and canceled. Airport spokeswoman Michelle Wilcut said deicing equipment was being used on planes. Cleco Corp., one of the state's largest power providers, said the number of outages was expected to grow. Forecasters said the mix of sleet and snow was expected to diminish later in the day as the weather system moved east.

In southeast Louisiana, temperatures were above freezing so accumulations were not expected to linger much beyond Thursday. An inch was forecast for New Orleans. The wintry weather is rare in south Louisiana, though the state's northern parishes see it about once a year. New Orleans' last snowfall, in 2004, was a dusting that came nine months before Hurricane Katrina struck. The record snowfall for the city is about 5 inches, recorded Dec. 30, 1963. The weather service said the previous earliest date for measurable snowfall in New Orleans was Dec. 22, 1989

Does all the rare weather mentioned above coincide with four (4) launches? Yes it does. On December 5, 2008 there were three (3) launches. #1 A VS-30-Orion U.S./Norway rocket was launched from SvalRak, an Island off the Norwegian coast near the Artic Ocean. #2 A Polaris (STARS) rocket was launched from Kodiak Island, Alaska. #3 A GBI (Ground Base Midcourse Defense) was launched from Vandenberg AFB in California. The fourth occurred on December 10, 2008. A Proton-M-Briz-M rocket was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Russia. These 4-launches produced additional holes in the already depleted ozone layer, causing more solar winds and flares to enter and drive the jet stream crazy. The end result, Rare weather disasters all over the world.

Weather delays Endeavour's return to Florida

The Space Shuttle Endeavour will not return to Florida until Tuesday, December 9, 2008 due to bad weather over Texas. Problem with the shuttle's flight tail cone have already delayed by one day the $1.8 million piggyback transfer atop a modified jumbo jet. Why didn't NASA select to keep Endeavour in orbit one additional day and save the cost of the piggyback ride back to Florida? The weather was fine in Florida the following day after Endeavour landed in California. These type of decisions tells me that NASA has no considerations for costs. They have an unlimited budget at the tax payers expense. Thanks to congress and Predident Bush.

The Most Expensive Thing Ever.

An article in the St. Petersburg Times on Sunday, December 7, 2008 stated: The Most Expensive Thing Ever. How big is the bailout? Winning World War II cost us $3.6-trillion in today's dollars. Here are the others: The Marshall Plan, $115.3-billion. The Louisiana Purchase, $217-billion. S&l Crisis, $256-billion. The Korean War, $454-billion. The New Deal, $500-billion. Gulf War II/War on Terror, $597-billion. The Vietnam War, $698-billion.
Now get ready for these two: Race to the Moon, $237-billion and NASA (cumulative), $851.2-billion. The later two totaled are $1.088.2 trillion. The total mentioned is only second to World War II. Why doesn't congress divert that amount of money that would save both Social Security and Medicare? As I have mentioned before, this is the only planet in this galaxy that can support human life. Why venture into othe areas (galaxy's) that can not support life and continue to deplete our ozone layer?

Obama's stimulus plan could benefit space program

NASA's effort to build the next generation of space-fairing vehicles could be sidetracked by a new administration coming in amid economic crisis or it could benefit from a planned stimulus package expected to rival the recent $700 billion financial bailout. What would the amount be of scheduled launchings estimated at $500 to $700 billion? The ozone hole will be depleated to an area of 20 million square miles-plus. Both Artic and Antartic ice caps will be completly melted down by 2012. Melenoma cancer will explode throughout the world, crops will burn up, climatic weather disasters will triple. Barack Obama and the new administration must consider reducing the funds to NASA in order to save this planet from eventual disaster.

Missile-tracking satellite failing in orbit, sources say.

Reinforcing rumors that a year-old missile-defense satellite is falling in orbit, the Air Force has requested proposals for a new, quick-delivery missile warning system. Defense Support Program satellites detect heat plumes from ballistic missiles, tracking their location and trajectory. But the DSP satellite launched last November has been drifting from its original orbit, according to amateur satellite trackers. The DSP failure increases pressure on Lockheed-Martin Corp. to launch its troubled Space-Based Infrared System satellite, now scheduled for 2010. How many more satellites must be launched incorrectly then fall to earth and possibly killing people before realizing the correct orbit trajectory at the initial launch? How many more holes have to be poked through the alredy depleted ozone layer before these launches are reduced or stopped?

Endeavour's re-entry "Iffy" due to weather in Florida

An Associated Press article stated that Mission Control informed the seven astronauts that Endeavour had been cleared for re-entry following analysis of data beamed down from final thermal survey of their ship. The space shuttle was found to be free of any serious defects caused by space junk (over 10,000 pieces) that could jeopardize the decent back to earth. The shuttle had to land at Edwards Air Force Base in California due to bad weather in the eastern United States. How many safe re-entrys can future shuttle missions accomplish before one of those 10,000 pieces of space junk hit and damage the protective tiles? What can these future astronauts look forward to, another Columbia disater?