Libya and Lockerbie

Libya's ousted dictator, Muammar Gaddafi, has indicated to the rebels that he wants to talk about forming a new government. I don't think he's quite grasping the state of affairs in his country. He is out, and will never be able to come back in any capacity. This evening's film footage of charred corpses at various locations across Tripoli would be enough reason in itself. Not to mention the 50,000 prisoners that are unaccounted for. These were people that were arrested following the start of the uprising on 17 February this year.

The transitional government of Libya (TNC), which has now taken over from Gaddafi, has refused point-blank to even consider extraditing Abdelbaset al-Megrahi. He is the sole man ever convicted over the bombing of PanAm flight 103 over Lockerbie on 21 December 1988. Al-Megrahi was jailed in Scotland, but released on compassionate grounds two years ago. He was suffering from terminal cancer, and given only three months to live. To the embarrassment of the Scottish Government, Al-Megrahi is still alive - although looking very gaunt. This weekend, the TNC announced that it would never extradite the Lockerbie bomber to either the UK or USA. And why should they? Al-Megrahi has been tried, found guilty and sentenced. He has been released on license, sent home to die. By law, you cannot be tried twice for the same offence, unless new evidence comes to light. The Americans agreed to have Al-Megrahi put to trial the way he was, a decade ago. So I agree with the TNC that Al-Megrahi can stay in Libya. To die.

Sunday 28 August

A cold, grey and initially wet day. We did not get above 11C / 52F all day, with a cold and strong northwesterly wind blowing. The ferry sailed to Ullapool this afternoon, but is not coming back tonight, meaning that the 7 am sailing from Stornoway is off as well.

Tropical cyclone Irene passed over Times Square in New York at 9 am (local time) this morning, turning the barometer down to 966 mbar. It was below hurricane strength, although it was still packing some nasty winds on its eastern flank. Storm surge flooding did occur in the centre of the city, but all in all, Irene's impact appears to have been not as severe as initially feared. As I type (just after midday EDT), the circulation around the cyclone shows up quite nicely on the windmapper site. The highest winds, on Mount Washington, are "only" 53 mph - that's still a force 10 in my book. Elsewhere, the storm appears to be spinning down at severe gale force. Irene will be turning into an extra-tropical depression as it scoots away northeast over Labrador and out towards Greenland and Iceland.

Saturday 27 August

A fairly bright day, but the wind rose steadily through the day. Sitting outside was therefore no longer an option. We are on warning for high winds tomorrow, but the worst of it appears to be making for the mainland and the Northern Isles.


We once more have a cruiseliner in port, the Ocean Countess. Her passengers flock ashore, but wise to the extortionate coachtours they head for the service bus. However, local people and other tourists also want to go to Callanish, so it's handbags at lunchtime for a place on W2.

I'm monitoring the progression of Hurricane Irene up the East Coast of the US, and the main problem appears to be rain. The NHC is forecasting up to 20 inches, which is not an amount anyone wants to have within 24 hours. Another two tropical systems: typhoon Nanmadol is battering the north of the Philippines, and tropical storm Talas is creeping north - with Japan in its crosshairs.

Friday 26 August

A very nice day, with plenty of sunshine in the afternoon. It was quite warm in the sun, and lunch was had outside. The birds too took full advantage of the sunny weather, for you never know how long it is going to last round here. Fortunately, we have had quite a reasonable spell of weather here this month, and I'm not one to complain about temperatures in the upper teens (celsius) in the islands.



This week, we shall see three different cruiseliners in port. The Saga Ruby was in yesterday, today it is the Athena. Tomorrow, we'll have the Ocean Countess. It's all good business, and I hope the Visitor Centre at Callanish will have its water supply on - in recent times, they have had frequent outages on their water supply, and as the manager said on local news: "It's impossible to serve coffee and tea without water". Yep, I'd second that.


Athena

Irene

Thursday 25 August

Libya: when will people stop selling the hide before the bear has been shot? Gaddafi is still at large, and until he is apprehended or killed, this mayhem will continue.

It's been a nice sunny day here in Stornoway, but it started rather cold: 6C at sunrise. We quickly made it up to 17C by lunchtime, which has been the norm this week. Over the weekend, we are on warning for a four-letter word. You know: a gale. Autumn is only just around the corner.

Got two more postcards from Postcrossing users, this time from Germany and Holland. Can thoroughly recommend it, doesn't need to cost you an arm and a leg.

Hurricane update - 25 August

Hurricane Irene is presently moving through the northwestern Bahamas, en route for the Carolinas. Beyond that, the storm will parallel the east coast of the USA towards New York and New England. Although it is expected to be weakening at that point, Irene's impacts will be felt over a wide area. At the moment, winds of 40 mph or higher occur within 290 miles of the centre of the hurricane.

Wednesday 24 August

Spent today monitoring hurricane Irene, which is passing through the Bahamas with winds of 110 mph, and the situation in Libya. Gadaffi has been kicked out of his compound, but fighting continues in Tripoli and elsewhere. Next Thursday, 1 September, would have been the 42nd anniversary of his coup, back in 1969. Let's hope he takes it as a cue to formally relinquish power. Sigh, was that me dodging a flying pig?

I have also added more information on a tribute blog that I have set up for one casualty of the First World War, who perished in the sinking of the SS Kenmare off Holyhead in March 1918. His body was washed up north of Dublin, Ireland, a few days later. I am working with a man from the area to find out as much as possible about this incident, and the results will go on this blog. John Macaulay hailed from the village of Islivig, 40 miles west of Stornoway. This image, taken two years ago, shows the village road.

Tuesday 23 August

An unremarkable day weatherwise, with some sunshine and no rain, temperatures reasonable (18C). Sat outside for half an hour to read more of the Count of Monte Christo. A delicious tale of revenge best served cold.

Events in Libya are moving fast, with the news this evening that Gadaffi's compound in the centre of Tripoli has been overrun, with the great Brother himself now in a spot of bother. He is thought to have bolted down a tunnel and possibly spirited away to his hometown of Sirte, east of his capital. His son made an appearance overnight, in spite of claims from the rebels that he had been captured. War is all about mis-information, don't forget.

The US East Coast was rattled by a magnitude 5.9 earthquake, which caused some alarm and damaged the Ecuadorean embassy in Washington DC. The jokes are already bouncing round the internet: "5.9? That's what the Californians stir their coffee with".

Hurricane Irene is moving away from Hispaniola as I type this, and will ratchet up to major hurricane strength overnight, with winds (well) in excess of 110 mph. Its further trajectory points at the US East Coast, which will get a comprehensive side-swipe from the storm over the weekend. This means heavy rain and high winds at the very least. Concerned? Monitor the National Hurricane Center.

Hurricane update - 23 August

Hurricane Irene is starting to move away from the Dominican Republic towards the Bahamas. The storm is currently a category II hurricane, but will intensify to category III over the next 24 hours. The Turks & Caicos Islands as well as the Bahamas will feel the full fury of Irene, but at present, the islands have most to fear from the storm surge. This will come in at 9 to 13 feet (3 to 4 metres) above normal tidal levels. The Bahamas are relatively low lying, so the effects of the storm surge are potentially catastrophic. Maximum sustained windspeeds at present stand just below 100 mph, but will increase to 120 mph into tomorrow.

The current forecast states that Irene will plough through the Bahamas over the next few days, and will proceed to make landfall in the Carolinas by the weekend, as a major hurricane (meaning sustained windspeeds are 115 mph or higher).  The exact location of landfall is at present impossible to predict.

Picture post - 22 August

Sunset


Mombretia in bloom


Cloudscape this afternoon


Cloudscape 18 August


Tug & barge passing the lighthouse on 17 August

Monday 22 August

Quite a nice day, with good sunny spells, not marred by those rogue showers passing through. The sun went down, an hour ago, with some spectacular colours. As you can expect in weather conditions like those.

The news is dominated by events in Libya, which have suddenly jumped out to surprise us. The rebels have now taken over 80-95% of the capital, Tripoli; four of Gaddafi's sons are either captured or dead and the national TV station is off air. Heavy fighting continues around the compound where Gaddafi is thought to be holed up, and the situation remains fluid.

I have added another 30-odd pictures to the ShipSpotting website, to which I have been contributing since 2007. There are now 158 images of ships, boats and vessels of varying descriptions on my account. Quite a few of them are cruiseliners.

Hurricane update - 22 August

Hurricane Irene passed Puerto Rico in the early hours of the morning local time with winds of 75 mph at ground level. In the island's mountains, winds blew in excess of 110 mph. At present, the hurricane is moving away westnorthwest and has intensified to 80 mph, a trend likely to continue.

The next island in its cross-hairs is Hispaniola, with the Dominican Republic at risk of not just high winds but also heavy rainfall. The NHC talks of 5 to 10 inches, with up to 20 inches in the mountains. The deforestation that occurred in Hispaniola in the 20th century will create a severe hazard of flashfloods and mudslides.

In the longer term, Irene will go through the Bahamas and veer north, paralleling the eastern coastline of Florida at 95 knots by Saturday. There is considerable uncertainty, but the indication is there.

Sunday 21 August

I'm pleased to see so many people remembering the old J-land community, which lives on in a different shape on some people's blogs and Facebook accounts. There are some folk who do not believe in on-line communities, or "life on-line" in general. But there is genuine empathy in J-land as it exists today, so I'm happy to continue as is.

I have kept a quiet day today, watching an outrageous rendition of Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance on satellite TV and monitoring tropical storms Harvey and Irene in the Atlantic Ocean.

I'm pleased that Gaddafi appears to be on the way out, although I'm not prepared to sell that particular bear's hide until he's been taken out of the way. I do not condone killing people, even an evil b*****d like him. That would be the easy way out, and let him get away without giving account of his actions over the past six months.

St Maarten / Saint Martin

This small island lies in the far east of the Caribbean, and is currently being lashed by tropical storm Irene. What strikes me is that in the 2100 GMT advisory on the National Hurricane Center's website, the northern half of the island is subject to a tropical storm warning, but the southern half is not. The northern half is French, the southern half belongs to the Netherlands Antilles, government based in the island of Curacao.

Saturday 20 August

Today saw me busy with hurricane updates, and up to 8 systems to monitor. Only two fully fledged tropical cyclones, the rest embryonic ones. I have also been occupied with tomorrow's 8th anniversary of J-land, the community of bloggers that I was part of between 2005 and its demise in 2008. Its remnant now continues on Facebook and partly on Blogger.

The weather was decidedly autumnal, with heavy showers and strong winds. Here in the Western Isles, summer is definitely over. Two things standing out in the news here: the controversy surrounding the guga hunt, with our MP sailing with the group of hunters to Sula Sgeir (but going straight back to mainland Lewis after they set foot on the island); and the implementation of a marine area of conservation east of Mingulay. The fishermen of Barra are very unhappy about that, as it will curtail their activities. The SAC has been put in place to protect an area of cold-water coral south of Barra (and east of Mingulay), which the creel fishermen say would not be damaged by creels - for reference, creels are used for catching crabs and lobsters.

Hurricane update - 21 August

Tropical storm Irene has formed and is currently moving through the Lesser Antilles, in the far east of the Caribbean. The system will intensify to a hurricane before moving over the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Cuba. After passage over Cuba, Irene will blow up to at least a category I hurricane before coming ashore in the extreme south of mainland Florida. This is likely to occur on Thursday of the coming week.

If you are in the storm's path, please follow the NHC output on Irene, which has updates every 3 hours.

Anniversary entry

Today, 21 August, it is 8 years ago since AOL opened its blogging service AOL Journals. They closed it down a little over 5 years later, on 31 October 2008. I have been blogging away here on Atlantic Lines since early October 2008, and find I have decreased my output quite a lot. My activities on Twitter and Facebook are largely to blame for that, and I can see that our community has broadly moved to Facebook. Some of us still keep a blog, but I was quite amazed this morning to find people who had mislaid the URL to their blog - in other words, had not updated it for a while. OK, we all have life off-line to get on with, I do grant you.

I started keeping a journal on 8 October 2004, when I was on my travels round western Scotland. The youth hostel at Kyleakin has long since closed down, and it was a little over a month later that I came to Lewis, crossing from Berneray and North Uist on the little ferry to Leverburgh. In February 2005, I settled in Stornoway and after a while became involved with J-land. Initially through the VIVI-awards (courtesy Vivian Sullivan Nwankpah, who I recently found on Facebook), latterly through the trials and tribulations of J-land members. At which point I should immediately add that it was moral support from your good selves that helped me in no mean fashion in May '08 and after, following the death of my mother.

The transfer from AOL to Blogger in the autumn of 2008 lost us a good few bloggers, but Facebook has helped to pull many of us back together again.

J-land as we knew it is no more, but it has morphed into something new courtesy of Facebook. Let's hope we stick together, and continue to be here for each other in years to come.

Postcrossing

The postcards I was talking about in a post yesterday are part of the Postcrossing project.

You can sign up, and initially request up to five addresses of people anywhere in the world to send a postcard to. You write the code, assigned by the website, on the card in addition to whatever else. Then you put it in the post and wait for the recipient to register yourcard upon delivery. You will be notified by email once that has happened. Your address will then be assigned to a random other Postcrosser who will send you a card, with code. You register the code on the site, and the sender get notified in turn. You get a different address every time you request one, and similarly your address is given to different people each and every time.

Personally, I use my collection of photographs (currently about 35,000) for printing on blank cards, which go in an envelope. Strictly speaking, that's not a postcard (but I don't care). My pictures are what makes my account special, so that's what I'm sticking with. 

The most proficient users of Postcrossing are in Finland; other regulars are Germany, Russia, Taiwan and the USA.

Copying blog onto Facebook

If you want to relay the postings of your blog onto Facebook, you need the services of a site like Twitterfeed.com. There are several other similar providers. You open an account with the site, and once all done you click on "Create new feed".

You name the feed (e.g. give the name of your blog) and copy the URL of the blog into the second box. Before you proceed further, I do suggest you tweak the Advanced Settings, particularly the Post Content section.

In the 2nd step, you configure the service you want to copy your feed onto, Facebook is included. You will be prompted to Authenticate a FB account (if you are a first-time user of Twitterfeed), or select an existing account.

Finally, you click Create Service, and in the next screen All Done, unless you want to add another service (e.g. Twitter).

Twitterfeed checks your feed (blog) for updates every half hour, so updates are posted pretty quickly.