Friday, 4 May 2012

Conrad Black to return to Canada after release from Florida jail

Former media mogul Conrad Black will go from a Miami prison to an immigration detention facility.Kiichiro Sato/Associated Press

Conrad Black to go to temporary U.S. detention centre

Conrad Black is shown at the Coleman Federal Prison in Florida. This is the only known photo of Black at the prison.

Conrad Black released from Florida prison, next stop: U.S. immigration

Conrad Black to return to Canada

MIAMI - Officials say Conrad Black has been released from the Florida prison where he was completing a 42-month sentence for fraud and obstruction of justice.

"As of this morning, he's not in our custody," said Chris Burke, a spokesman for the U.S. prison bureau.

But it's not yet clear whether the former media baron has been able to savour the taste of freedom.

Black was expected to be detained by U.S. immigration officials, since he doesn't have American citizenship and could face deportation to either Canada or Great Britain.

Despite the fact he renounced his Canadian citizenship in 2001 to accept a British peerage, the federal government granted his application for a one-year temporary resident permit, paving the way for his return to Canada.

Black was convicted of fraud and obstruction of justice charges in 2007 for his business dealings while at the helm of newspaper giant Hollinger.
He was resentenced last year to 3 1/2 years behind bars, but released after just eight months with credit for time served.

In Canada, people appear divided over Black's anticipated return.

"In 2001, Canada wasn't good enough for Conrad Black," Calgary resident Paul Hanson wrote in a recent letter to the Globe and Mail.

"In 2012, Conrad Black isn't good enough for Canada."

But a reader on the CBC's website wrote "Should we keep him out because he is a rich, white guy?"

"He has paid his debt to society. He has the money to pay his own way, he is unlikely to reoffend and he can write a good news article.... Welcome home Conrad."
Black's home since September had been a nondescript, low-lying, concrete fortress about a half-hour drive from downtown that features outdoor amenities like basketball courts and a baseball diamond.

Inmates dressed head to toe in white could be seen walking Thursday behind the swirls of barbed wire that thread the tall fences.

Only the imposing barriers and Department of Justice signs at the gate, which is at the end of the long suburban boulevard lined with towering palm trees, betray the facility as a correctional institution.

Officials say Black would be taken into custody by U.S. immigration officials as soon as he was released, since he's still subject to a detainer from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement department.

U.S. Immigration spokesman Nestor Yglesias said individuals released to the immigration agency are eligible for removal from the U.S. Former inmates are sometimes held at a detention centre before being deported, he added.

And while he's a British citizen, the fact he has permission to return to Canada suggests that's where he'll end up.

Not surprisingly, two days of fierce debate erupted on the floor of the House of Commons when news emerged that Black had been granted a temporary reprieve from the strict conditions that typically keep the majority of convicted felons off Canadian soil.

"Thousands of people are following the rules and waiting their turn to be admitted to Canada," complained NDP Leader Tom Mulcair, accusing the governing Conservatives of having a double standard.

Friends of the Tories - even those who are no longer Canadian citizens - get special consideration, he railed, while those without the benefit of such political sympathies are left out in the cold.

"Conrad Black is a British citizen, he is still in a U.S. jail, he was convicted of serious crimes in the United States. Why is he being given special treatment?" Mulcair asked.

"No one else has ever been in that situation, of being still in jail having his dossier marched around all the offices of the minister and getting his approval before even getting out of the slammer."

Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney insisted there was no political interference and that the decision to approve Black's February application for a temporary permit was made entirely by "highly trained, independent members of our public service."

Headlines notwithstanding, the man emerging from prison is sure to be a shadow in some form of the one who went in.

The Montreal-born Black, whose empire was once worth hundreds of millions of dollars and included newspapers in Canada, the U.S. and Europe, told an interviewer last year that his first jail term - during which he cleaned latrines and tutored fellow inmates - had made him "humbler."

Brian Stewart, a former CBC journalist and lifelong friend of Black's, insists he's noticed changes in his pal. Stewart said Black now believes that many people - including himself - have been wronged by the U.S. justice system.

"Once he saw the real injustice around him like that, which in his past life he wasn't really in a position to see, he reacted," Stewart said.

"Everyone who knows him that I've talked to - who's known him for a long time - says the transformation has been impressive."

One of Black's biographers, who lunched with the former media tycoon shortly before he returned to jail in September, thought the businessman genuinely seemed like someone who wanted to move on.

"But that will be the question: 'Is there a quieter, stealthier version of Conrad Black?"' said Richard Siklos, the journalist and Black biographer who wrote "Shades of Black" and "Shades of Black: Conrad Black - His Rise and Fall."

"I kind of think so. I think he's probably ready for a new phase."

Black's trademark big personality and character remained very much intact, he added.

"I think that's part of his message to the world - that despite everything's he's been through, he's unchanged," Siklos said.

"And as far as he's concerned, he was in the right all along."

A former head of Hollinger, Black controlled a media empire that included The Daily Telegraph of London, the Chicago Sun-Times and newspapers across Canada and the U.S.
His rise led to an offer of peerage in Britain's House of Lords, which he had to give up his Canadian citizenship to accept.

The immigration hurdles blocking any return to Canada after his release have apparently been cleared this week when was granted a one-year temporary resident permit.

Stewart said he thinks many people will give Black credit for getting through his legal difficulties with "courage and grace," noting that in some ways, the scandal and trial were just as tough on Black and his family as his actual imprisonment.

Indeed, not everyone is a critic.

"He accepted his fate with grace, took the opportunity to learn from it and made a serious contribution to a part of society that desperately needs more intelligent handling," William Lardner wrote to the Globe.

"I welcome him back and wish him well."

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Thursday, 5 April 2012

Powerful Tornado struck Dallas Texas

Tornado hit Fort Worth and Dallas area, in the state of Texas, United States, Tuesday (3/4), resulting in major damage, local media reported.

Two tornadoes recorded land near Dallas and Fort Worth, Tuesday afternoon, destroyed homes and left millions of people in North Texas rushed to find shelter, the report said.

National Weather Service declared the Dallas-Fort Worth as “tornado emergency area”, according to Xinhua – AFP observed here on Wednesday morning.

CNN TV footage showed the truck trailer is removed and thrown like a toy. Very thick clouds covered the sky.

Schools across the affected areas to collect their children in the meeting room. Passengers at DFW International Airport was immediately taken to a safe area.

Ten to 12 tornadoes touched down during a massive storm that brought chaos from high winds, rain and hail to the nation’s fourth most populous metropolitan area, said National Weather Service meteorologist Jesse Moore.

Many of the 6.3 million area residents were forced to scramble for safety as the storm bore down during the early afternoon, when schools and workplaces were open.

Seven people were injured in the suburb of Arlington, police said. Most suffered only minor injuries but one person hit by a falling tree was in critical condition, said Arlington police spokeswoman Cheryl Carpenter.

In one of the hardest hit areas south of Dallas, Lancaster, tornadoes damaged 300 structures.

Of the 10 people injured in Lancaster, two of them were severely hurt, said Lancaster police spokesman Paul Beck.

Authorities were amazed that no one was killed given the intensity of the storm, the number of tornadoes and the population density of the area.

Due to the turbulence of the sky, the houses off one by one, from top to bottom. Even to fly a big truck and caused a number of trailers strewn along the highways and parking lots.

“Due to the tornado hit, more than a dozen people suffered minor injuries and serious,” writes SFGate news website.

The National Weather Agency reported there were two separate tornado with a large and extremely dangerous category. Some evolved into a whirlwind storm that crept into the metropolitan area, then destroy various buildings there. In fact, a large tractor can be crumpled like a soda can.

“Hundreds of flights at the International Airport Dallas-Fort Worth had to be canceled,” says SFGate.

The camera records the highway, a large funnel-shaped wind looks dark nan dangling from the sky to touch the ground. The wind was moving in the busy citizens of Dallas on Tuesday afternoon and a row of trees uprooted and shifted the car from the parking lot.

In the Lancaster area, south of Dallas, a local TV helicopter recording the houses hit by tornadoes. Almost all the buildings hit by the tornado mess without a roof, was destroyed, and razed to the ground. Residents scattered in the street, while firefighters inspect damaged buildings.

Dallas Fort Worth Tornadoes Touch Down Near Simpli.fi Headquarters

Yesterday, (April 3, 2012) a series of as many as twelve twisters touched down in the Dallas Fort Worth area. While Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton made Twisters in the disaster drama from the mid 90’s look glamorous – there was nothing glamorous about these tunnels of destruction. Countless pictures tell the story of Mother Nature’s awesome power and tug at viewer’s heartstrings.

Thousands were left without power, hail the size of tennis balls was reported, and homes were thrashed, left looking like something out of a horror story. The tornado whipped up homes, cars and semis as if they were toys. One of the most touching stories came from Forney, Texas where a grandmother who was babysitting her 2 grandchildren is being hailed as a hero. The grandmother gathered 2-year-old Abigail and eighteen-month-old Lane and got into the bathtub. What happened next is truly horrifying, “She held onto his feet — just by his feet — and the wind kept taking him, but she hung onto him, and he’s fine… he’s here,” the mother of the 2 children, Lindsey Enochs said. The father of the children, Andy Jones, said this about arriving on the scene, “I took off running across the field, and got to the house.” “And when I turned to the corner,

I looked, and the house wasn’t there.” “I thought everybody would be dead,” he said. “There was only a couple rows of bricks and a foundation left. The whole house was gone.”

Yards are draped in blankets of debris, the twisted remains of memories left to lie amidst the devastation. It’s been reported that 650 homes were damaged, as many as 450 flights were cancelled at the DFW airport, and although some injuries occurred so far the death toll remains at zero. Some attribute the lack of loss of life to social media – Twitter mainly, for continuous and timely updates. Whether the lack of loss of life is due to early warning or social media the event’s true impact will be felt for some time.

In the midst of calculating the true effects today, we at Simpli.fi are grateful not to have endured the damage and our thoughts go out to those left picking up the pieces.

Dallas-area tornadoes damage neighborhoods, big-rigs and nursing home; more than a dozen hurt

DALLAS — Tornadoes and violent storms raked through the Dallas area Tuesday, crumbling the wing of a nursing home, peeling roofs from dozens of homes and spiraling big-rig trailers into the air like footballs. More than a dozen injuries were reported.

Overturned cars left streets unnavigable and flattened trucks clogged highway shoulders. Preliminary estimates were that six to 12 tornadoes had touched down in North Texas, senior National Weather Service meteorologist Eric Martello said. But firm numbers would only come after survey teams checked damage Wednesday, he said.

In suburban Dallas, Lancaster Police officer Paul Beck said 10 people were injured, two of them severely. Three people were injured in Arlington, including two residents of a nursing home who were taken to a hospital with minor injuries after swirling winds clipped the building, city assistant fire chief Jim Self said.

“Of course the windows were flying out, and my sister is paralyzed, so I had to get someone to help me get her in a wheelchair to get her out of the room,” said Joy Johnston, who was visiting her 79-year-old sister at the Green Oaks Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. “It was terribly loud.”

Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport canceled hundreds of flights and diverted others heading its way. Among the most stunning video was an industrial section of Dallas, where rows of empty tractor-trailers crumpled like soda cans littered a parking lot.

“The officers were watching the tornadoes form and drop,” Kennedale police Chief Tommy Williams said. “It was pretty active for a while.”

The confirmed tornadoes touched down near Royce City and Silver Springs, said National Weather Service meteorologist Matt Bishop. A tornado watch remained in effect until 8 p.m.

April is the peak of the tornado season that runs from March until June. Bishop said Tuesday’s storms suggest that “we’re on pace to be above normal.”

Johnston said her sister was taken to the hospital because of her delicate health. Another resident at the nursing home, Louella Curtis, 92, said workers roused her out of bed and put her in the hall.

“The hallways were all jammed,” Johnston said. “Everyone was trying to help each other to make a path for others. I’d say everybody was out of their rooms within 20 minutes.”

Most of Dallas was spared the full wrath of the storm. Yet in Lancaster, television helicopters panned over exposed homes without roofs and flattened buildings. Broken sheets of plywood blanketed lawns and covered rooftops.

A pastor at one Lancaster church saw debris swirling in the wind, then herded more than 30 children, some as young as newborns, into a windowless room to ride out the storm. Nearby at the church’s school, about 60 more children hid in another windowless room near the women’s bathroom.

An entire wall of Cedar Valley Christian Academy wound up being taken out in the storm. Pastor Glenn Young said he didn’t know when the school might re-open.

“I’m a little concerned,” Young said. “This is our livelihood.”

Residents could be seen walking down the street with firefighters and peering into homes, looking at the damage after the storm passed.

Devlin Norwood said he was at his Lancaster home when he heard the storm sirens. He said he made a quick trip to a nearby store when he saw the funnel-shaped tornado lower, kick up debris and head toward his neighborhood.

“I didn’t see any damage until I got back home. We had trees destroyed, fences down, boards down, boards penetrating the roof and the house, shingles damaged,” said Norwood, 50, an accountant and graduate student.

The storm pushed cars into fences and toppled trees. Branches and limbs scattered across lawns and residential streets, and in one driveway, a tow-behind RV was left torn apart and crumpled.

“Obviously we’re going to have a lot of assessments to make when this is done,” Dallas County spokeswoman Maria Arita said.

American Airlines canceled more than 450 arriving and departing flights at it hub airport by late Tuesday afternoon, and 37 other incoming flights had been diverted to different airports.

DFW Airport spokesman David Magana said more than 110 planes were damaged by hail. It wasn’t clear how many belonged to American Airlines, but American and American Eagle had pulled 101 planes out of service for hail-damage inspections.

Flights also were canceled at Dallas Love Field, which is a big base for Southwest Airlines. That airline canceled more than 45 flights in and out of the airport by Tuesday evening.

Meteorologists said the storms were the result of slow-moving storm system centered over northern New Mexico.

Tornadoes rake Dallas area, more than a dozen hurt

Tornadoes raked the Dallas area Tuesday, crumbling a wing of a nursing home, peeling roofs from dozens of homes and spiralling truck trailers into the air like footballs. More than a dozen injuries were reported.

Overturned cars left streets unnavigable and flattened trucks clogged highway shoulders. Preliminary estimates were that six to 12 twisters had touched down in North Texas, senior National Weather Service meteorologist Eric Martello said. But firm numbers would only come after survey teams checked damage Wednesday, he said.

In suburban Dallas, Lancaster police officer Paul Beck said 10 people were injured, two of them severely. Three people were injured in Arlington, including two residents of a nursing home who were taken to a hospital with minor injuries after swirling winds clipped the building, city assistant fire chief Jim Self said.

Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport cancelled hundreds of flights and diverted others heading its way. Among the most stunning videos was an industrial section of Dallas, where rows of empty tractor-trailers crumpled like soda cans littered a parking lot.

The confirmed tornadoes touched down near Royce City and Silver Springs, said National Weather Service meteorologist Matt Bishop. Homes in Kennedale Texas lay destroyed by a tornado on Tuesday.

Homes in Kennedale Texas lay destroyed by a tornado on Tuesday.

April is the peak of the tornado season that runs from March until June. Bishop said Tuesday’s storms suggest that “we’re on pace to be above normal.”

Ms. Johnston said her sister was taken to the hospital because of her delicate health. Another resident at the nursing home, Louella Curtis, 92, said workers roused her out of bed and put her in the hall.

“The hallways were all jammed,” Ms. Johnston said. “Everyone was trying to help each other to make a path for others. I’d say everybody was out of their rooms within 20 minutes.”

An entire wall of Cedar Valley Christian Academy wound up being taken out in the storm. Pastor Glenn Young said he didn’t know when the school might re-open.

American Airlines cancelled more than 450 arriving and departing flights at its hub airport by late Tuesday afternoon, and 37 other incoming flights had been diverted to different airports.

Flights also were cancelled at Dallas Love Field, which is a big base for Southwest Airlines. That airline cancelled more than 45 flights in and out of the airport by Tuesday evening.

Meteorologists said the storms were the result of a slow-moving storm system centred over northern New Mexico.