When Animals Attack

Illegal aliens are trying to penetrate our homeland's borders. No, not human, nor extraterrestrial-type aliens, but rather a Noah's Ark-worth of beasties.

Last month, we had the guy trying to smuggle 18 monkeys under his shirt. Now it's 14 Giant African Land Snails. They grow as large as 8 inches long and 4 inches tall. They're illegal because they're an invasive species. (Plus they're just gross.)

Other live animals found in people's luggage include snakes, crocodiles, turtles, frogs, scorpions, spiders, cockroaches, a tiger cub hidden among stuffed animals, and a chihuahua in a carry-on duffel bag, which was sent through the X-ray machine. (At least that's better than sending a baby through the X-ray.)

Discovery Channel Hostage Incident

(At the time, DisasterMan worked close enough to Discovery HQ to see the siege from his office window.)

The incident:

• His demands 
• Audio recordings: 911 calls and police radio communications
• Pictures: View from a neighboring building 
• Police were willing to wait, but hostages made a break for it and forced their hand.
• His gun was a starter pistol, but the bombs were real and more were in his home.
• Did you know?: In Montgomery County, MD, all police uses of deadly force automatically go to a grand jury.

The gunman, James J. Lee:

• Arguing with anti-birth-control protestors about overpopulation [Video]
• Attending an anti-war rally with a sign saying: "The Hell with the troops. Disarm them and make them clean up depleted uranium.” [Video]
• His 2008 protests at Discovery

Live-Blogging the Discovery Gunman

Update, 9 pm: Police are still blocking the street. I guess they're still looking for other bombs.

Update, 5 pm: The Washington Post is reporting he's been shot and the hostages freed.

2 pm: A gunman stormed the Discovery Channel HQ in Silver Spring. He reportedly fired one or more shots; took hostages; and claims to have bombs. See the "DC Area Emergency Info" tab above for links to local media sources, including live video.

Turns out this guy is James Lee, who held protests at Discovery a couple of years ago.

Here are Lee's demands:

Wrath o' the Gods

Yesterday we had heavy rain, lightning, thunder, tornadoes, power outages...

"Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria!" -- Bill Murray in Ghostbusters

Thankfully, our local alert system warns us of pending danger.

Hey, Hey, We're the Monkeys

News flash:

"Mexican authorities searching a man with a bulge under his shirt at the airport ... found 18 monkeys hidden beneath his clothes."

Will those terrorists stop at nothing? And why do monkeys hate freedom?

"Look, pilots, we know that times are tough, but when security asks you to remove your belt and shoes, you probably shouldn't laugh and drop your pants, ok."

Well, at least they could see he wasn't smuggling any monkeys.

Gaitherquake

At 5:05 a.m. Eastern Time today, Gaithersburg, Maryland was hit with an earthquake measuring 3.6 on the Richter Scale.

No word yet on whether chasms opened and vomited fire, but here's a picture of the wreckage:

Pain in the Ash

South African police have arrested four men allegedly trying to sell radioactive Cesium-137 that could be used in a "dirty bomb." Cesium-137 is commonly used in medical gauges, and is very dangerous if removed from its sealed canisters. In 1987 in Goiânia, Brazil, scrap metal scavengers unwittingly exposed such a source, and it resulted in 4 deaths and 249 other cases of radiation poisoning.

There's no danger of a nuclear bomb being made from it. However, it could be an ingredient in a "dirty bomb," which uses regular explosives to spread radioactive dust and soot. It wouldn't take much to create a very big problem.

We're All Going To Die!!!

Dum de dum... 3 am on July 4th. It'll be a busy day, but right now everyone's nestled all snug in their beds, and the region's Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs) are closed. Just for the heck of it, though, let's take a look at WebEOC. Yep, nothing much in the logs, let's look at the "Incident Scene" map...

HOLY CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!