CALIFORNIA YANKEE

Bonds Ties Ruth's Record

Barry Bonds matched Babe Ruth’s regular-season career total of 714 home runs this afternoon with a solo blast off the left-handed pitcher Brad Halsey of the Oakland Athletics.

Bonds hit a 1-1 pitch into the right-field stands while leading off the second inning.

Bonds now trails only Henry Aaron’s total of 755 on the all-time major league list. Bonds, the son of the deceased former player Bobby Bonds, is in his 21st season.

I find it truly sad that this momentous sporting accomplishment is met with derision as well as jubilation because of the allegations used steroids even though he has never tested positive for the substance.

Go Barry!

Photo by Richard Clement/Reuters.

Discovery At The Pad

Shuttle Discovery was transported to its launchpad amid growing optimism that it will be ready for a July 1 liftoff.

Uncertainty about whether the shuttle's external fuel tank is safe to fly after removal of a foam ramp from the tank's exterior. The ramp was taken off after a 1-pound piece of foam broke free and narrowly missed the shuttle during Discovery's July 2005 launch:

NASA engineers have completed wind-tunnel tests to gather data about the effects of flying the tank without the ramp. Researchers now are studying the data to ensure the redesign is safe. Preliminary indications from the analysis are "good," said Wayne Hale, NASA's space-shuttle-program manager. "But we won't know until we add up the last column of numbers."

"I have a good degree of confidence it will all come out good, or we wouldn't have rolled the vehicle out," he said.

NASA managers are scheduled to meet June 7 to make a final decision on the changes to the tank, although it's possible the issue might not be resolved until Discovery's Flight Readiness Review on June 16 and 17.

Discovery's 4.2-mile journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39B took hours.
Mounted on the Mobile Launcher Platform and carried by the mammoth crawler-transporter, the "stack" rolled along at less than one mile an hour, and arrived at the launch pad early Friday evening.

Images courtesy of NASA.

China's Three Gorges Dam Completed

After 13 years of construction and the displacement more than a million people, China pours the final concrete on enormous Three Gorges Dam across the Yangtze River:
Image courtesy of DigitalGlobe

The Three Gorges Project, with 25,000 workers and a budget of $24 billion, is China's most ambitious engineering undertaking since the Great Wall. It has replaced Brazil's Itaipu Dam as the world's largest hydroelectric and flood-control installation, Chinese officials said, with the strength to hold back more water than Lake Superior and power 26 generators to churn out 85 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity a year when the final touches are completed in 2008. Hoover Dam on the Nevada-Arizona border, by comparison, generates more than 4 billion kilowatt-hours a year.

"This is the grandest project the Chinese people have undertaken in thousands of years," said Li Yong'an, general manager of the government's Three Gorges corporation, which runs the project under the direct leadership of Premier Wen Jiabao.

According to Reuters, the completion was marked with a subdued ceremony:

A brass band played and confetti rained over the site after workers poured the last batch of concrete.

The BBC reports critics say the human cost has been far too high. More than a million people have been moved to make way for the dam and at least 1,200 towns and villages will be submerged under the rising waters of the dam's reservoir.

Environmentalists warn that the reservoir behind the dam is already severely polluted and likely to get worse as waste from big cities upstream like Chongqing flow into the Yangtze.

It is interesting that China was able to undertake such a massive project. It is unimaginable that a project of this scope would even be contemplated in the U.S. anymore.

Top Taliban Commander Captured

The New York Times reports Coalition forces may have captured, Mullah Dadullah, one of the most important and brutal Taliban commanders in Afghanistan's southern province of Kandahar. Mullah Dadullah was a member of the Taliban's 10-man leadership council before the US-led invasion in 2001:

The governor of Kandahar confirmed that a very senior Taliban commander was among three members of the leadership council of the insurgent movement who had been captured, but said he could not identify him for reasons of security.

The capture of Mullah Dadullah would be a significant success as United States-led coalition and the Afghan government continue to battle the Taleban die-hards across the provinces of southern Afghanistan.

According to the BBC , Mullah Dadullah is very close to the Taliban leader, Mullah Omar and has been blamed for much of the recent violence in the southern provinces.

Good news indeed.

UPDATE: U.S. raises doubts about capture.
A U.S. military spokesman said that after checking with coalition officials, it appeared the detained man was not Dadullah:

“The best information I have — and I could be wrong — but the best information I have is that it’s a ’no,”’ he said.

UPDATE II: A man claiming to be Dadullah telephoned Reuters late on Friday and denied he had been caught:

"I am Mullah Dadullah. The reports about my arrest are ... a pack of blatant lies," said the man, who sounded like Dadullah.

Mexico And Central American Nations Condemn Border Fence

Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Nicaragua condemn the plan to build hundreds of miles of triple-layered fencing along parts of the U.S. - Mexican border. The countries claim saying the fence would not stop illegal immigration:

"The position of Mexico and the other countries is that walls will not make a difference in terms of the solution to the migration problem," said Mexican Foreign Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez.

[. . .]

Guatemalan Foreign Minister Jorge Briz said major immigration reform in the United States was the only way to stop the wave of people heading northward.

"All of us are looking for a comprehensive migratory regulation so that millions of Latin Americans can continue working in and supporting the United States economy," Briz said.

[. . .]

Honduran Foreign Minister Milton Jimenez said he expected several South American and Caribbean countries to join Mexico and the Central Americans in issuing a joint declaration on the matter soon.

In December, the U.S. House approved a bill to build a fence about twice as long as the one approved by the Senate. The House plan sparked a wave of criticism from Latin American leaders, with Mexican President Vicente Fox comparing such a barrier to the Berlin Wall.

Fox [the Mexican President] reiterated his criticisms on Thursday.

"Building walls, constructing barriers on the border does not offer an efficient solution in a relationship of friends, neighbors and partners," Fox said in the border city of Tijuana. "We will go on defending the rights of our countrymen without rest or respite. With passion we will demand the full respect of their human rights."

The Associated Press reports Mexicans say it will take more than a fence to keep them out of the United States:

"We'll go under it, we'll go over it, we'll go through the air, the sea or the earth, but they're never going to stop us from crossing," said Jesus Santana, a Tijuana truck driver who was caught trying to cross and deported.

This is a common attitude among deportees. Martin Doriane, who has surveyed returning migrants for the last four years, said at least 95 percent of migrants caught and deported say they'll try again. A main reason is because they've sold everything they own in Mexico to pay to be smuggled in to the U.S.:

"They say, 'I had a roof and a frying pan in Mexico, but I sold both to come north, and went into debt, so what do I have to return to?'" Doraine said.

As long as most Mexicans accept illegal immigration as a fact of life they can't imagine changing, we will need to improve efforts to control the border. I wish we didn't need a barrier along the Mexican border. It looks bad. It's easily stigmatized as racist. Moreover, a barrier works. The construction of about 10 miles of steel and concrete barriers up to 15 feet high in San Diego has reduced illegal crossings in that sector by about 95 percent since 1992. Perhaps the illegal just relocate there crossing points, but as they have fewer options the Border Patrol's job becomes more feasible.

The wall should be substantial and effective, like Israel's 25 foot high wall, not one the illegal aliens have no problem crossing.

Tactical Lasers Deployed In Iraq

The Los Angeles Times reports the U.S. military equipping thousands of M-4 rifles with a laser device to "dazzle" the vision of drivers who get too close to troops:

Lt. Col. Richard Smith, deputy director of the Joint NonLethal Weapons Directorate at the Pentagon, said Wednesday that the deployment of the laser, which has been under development for a decade, marked an important milestone for nonlethal weapons.

"This is really the first time the visually overwhelming devices have actually been used," Smith said. "This was based off needs of war fighters and commanders in the field. They have several incidents a day where a vehicle is coming at a group of soldiers…. These dazzlers can reach out a couple hundred meters and give solders added security."

It is hoped that use of the lasers will eliminate incidents in which soldiers shoot in an attempt to stop vehicles that come too close:

Army Sgt. Brendan Woolworth was one of the first soldiers to try the green laser. He said an Iraqi driver got too close to his convoy about 90 days ago and failed to heed shouts to stop. The soldier directed a pulsing beam at the car's windshield.

"He pulled off to the side of the road and stopped," Woolworth said. "He got the message. It looked like he just hadn't been paying attention."

The lasers do pose a risk of permanent damage, but the military has decided bullets are less safe. Warding off suicide attacks and accidental shootings is worth the risk.

President Bush Abandons House Immigration Bill

Wisconsin Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner accused President Bush of abandoning the Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act the House passed in December:

"He basically turned his back on provisions of the House-passed bill, a lot of which we were requested to put in the bill by the White House," Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., angrily told reporters in a conference call. "That was last fall when we were drafting the bill, and now the president appears not to be interested in it at all."

Sensenbrenner chairs the House Judiciary Committee and would be the House's chief negotiator on any final immigration package for Bush's signature. He said it was the White House that had requested two controversial felony provisions in the bill the House passed last winter.

"We worked very closely with White House in the fall in putting together the border security bill that the House passed," he said. "... What we heard in November and December, he seems to be going in the opposite direction in May. That is really at the crux of this irritation," he said of Bush.

Sounds like Sensenbrenner is upset with President Bush? It gets worse:

"I was very disappointed in the president's speech," Sensenbrenner said. "I think he doesn't get it."

Asked if Bush mollified conservatives in the speech by calling for sending National Guard troops to states along the Mexican border, Sensenbrenner said, "He failed in that completely."

And despite Bush's insistence that he was not calling for amnesty, Sensenbrenner said, "Well it is an amnesty, because it allows people who have broken the law to stay in the country."

Sensenbrenner seems to be reacting to the President joining the Senate in trying to roll over Republican House members who passed the Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act.

As the Senate works its immigration reform bill, it is hard to envision how this bill will be reconciled with the Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act the House passed in December.

Debunking Immigration Myths

John Hawkins has post at Human Events debunking immigration myths.

Here's a teaser:

They’re “immigrants.” This is a rhetorical trick designed to lump in unwanted visitors who’ve entered our country without permission with legal immigrants, who are welcome here. But, referring to illegal immigrants as “immigrants” is like referring to burglars as “occupants” of a house. Yes, they may be standing in the living room, but they have no right to be there and calling them “occupants” confuses the issue. People aren’t up in arms about “immigrants.” They’re up in arms about “illegal immigrants,” and trying to muddy that distinction is intellectually dishonest.

Go read the whole thing.

Senate Works Immigration Bill

The U.S. Senate voted to bar criminal illegal immigrants from becoming legal residents or U.S. citizens:

The 99-0 vote on the amendment blocking felons and people with three misdemeanor convictions was a key hurdle for the bipartisan immigration bill, which would tighten border security while creating a guest worker program and a path toward citizenship for many of the nation's estimated 11 million to 12 million illegal immigrants.

[. . .]

An earlier version of the amendment on criminals by Republicans Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona and John Cornyn of Texas was seen as a "poison pill" that could have sunk the whole bill.

The compromise version kept the ban on felons and people with three misdemeanor convictions. To win backing, it granted waivers under some circumstances for illegal immigrants who had ignored deportation orders. For instance, they would be allowed to stay in the United States if their departure would cause "extreme hardship" to family members who are in the country legally.

"This amendment simply closes a loophole and strengthens the bill, and it will help keep Americans safe by ensuring that no felons or repeat criminal offenders will receive amnesty or citizenship," Cornyn said.

The Senate also endorsed citizenship for millions of illegal aliens and voted to build more fencing along the Mexican border:

The vote was 66-33 against a proposal that would have removed provisions giving illegal immigrants in the country more than two years an eventual chance at citizenship.

A few minutes earlier, the Senate had voted 83-16 in favor of construction of the fence and 500 miles of vehicle barriers, the first significant victory in two days for conservatives seeking to place their stamp on the measure.

It is still hard to envision how this Senate bill will be reconciled with the Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act the House passed in December.

An Epidemic Of Abuse

A new study revealed more than 40 percent of women in the Seattle area had been physically or psychologically abused by their husbands, dates or boyfriends.

Dr. Robert Thompson of the Seattle-based Group Health Center for Health Studies, who led the study, called the findings an epidemic:

"But it flies under the radar, because of the stigma and shame associated with it -- as well as the fear that many health care providers have of opening what some call a 'Pandora's Box' of difficult problems that they are unsure how to address," Thompson added in a statement.

A random sample of more than 3,400 women members of a Seattle health maintenance organization were interviewed. Forty-four percent had suffered some form "intimate partner violence."

According to Reuters, a second study showed that women who have been slapped, kicked or otherwise abused were four times more likely to report severe depressive symptoms and three times more likely to report fair or poor health.

Of the women who were abused, 13 percent said it had persisted for more than 20 years.

I like to think I'm aware of what's going on in the world, but I am nonplused that intimate partner violence is that common. I must be very sheltered or very naive.