NYC spared from car bomb attack in Times Square

It took two tries for terrorists to take down the Twin Towers, so it should be no shock to learn they are not yet done terrorizing the city that never sleeps. Overnight, a car bomb was found in an SUV in Times Square. Due to the vigilance of a Vietnam War veteran and the NYPD, the bomb was found and defused before anyone was hurt. It is a grim reminder that the War On Terror is not over, as much as we'd like it to be.

Inside the vehicle, police found three propane tanks, two filled five-gallon gas containers, two clocks with batteries, consumer-grade fireworks and a locked metal box that resembled a gun locker.
The wiring around the device "was nothing that looked amateurish," Bloomberg said...The shutdown began Saturday when the T-shirt vendor, a Vietnam veteran, saw smoke coming from a box inside a vehicle with Connecticut plates on 45th Street near 7th Avenue. The vendor notified a New York police officer on horseback, who smelled gunpowder from the vehicle.

There are many who argue with the victory in Iraq, that we should declare the War On Terror won and go back to the way things were on 9/10/2001. But the fact is that no war is over until both sides agree it is. And the terrorists are nowhere near ready to surrender or walk away.

The Squirrels of Olean, NY

For more information see Woodland in the City. Click on the image below to see the whole set.

NYS to Wilderness Camps: Make Way for Regulation!

Long-time reader and commenter Bowhunter asked me to post this article about the incresing regulation of Wilderness Camps in New York State. This is affecting some ministries near and dear to his heart, forcing them to bring on extra staff and denying some of the boys the chance to meet with God alone in His creation.

When it comes to outdoor wilderness camps, the forces of nature butt up against an equally daunting power: New York's vast state bureaucracy.

Some of the push for stronger regulations followed the 1998 death of an 11-year-old boy who drowned in a rain-swollen creek while attending Camp Scatico in Livingston, Columbia County.

Lately, though, the operators of wilderness camps like this one have been fighting back in efforts to make the rules more realistic.

"What used to be considered common sense now is codified. It's hard sometimes to codify common sense," said Ron Mackey, director of Deerfoot Lodge, one of a handful of true wilderness camps that remain in the state.

Among the regulations causing headaches is a new law requiring all minors - even those with full wilderness, first aid, and survival training - to be accompanied by an adult at all times. This means 17-year-olds preparing for being counsellors have to bring along "adults" on hikes intended to test their independence and survival skils.

Spitzer hands Hillary a way out?

Elliot Spitzer, New York State Governor, appears to have been implicated in a scandal among politicians who frequented Washington D.C. prostitutes. He has NOT said he will resign, but the pressure to do so will be huge.

Spitzer2
by krs601

What does this mean for the rest of us? Maybe an end to the Democratic stalemate. If Hillary Clinton were to drop out of the presidential race in order to become the heir apparent to governor of New York, it would be seen as a move "for the good of my constituents". And it would give her executive experience to make a 2012 or 2016 run for president much more credible, even after an Obama presidency.

Of course, the Lieutenant Governor of New York state probably has other plans for the top office.