Jaxon Van Derbeken,
San Francisco Chronicle Staff Writer

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

(01-15) 13:57 PST SAN FRANCISCO –
—
San Francisco – In his frantic call to 911, Kulbir Dhaliwal repeatedly
pleads for police and medical crews to help his brother after a tiger
attack at the San Francisco Zoo, saying the situation was “life and
death” and asking that a helicopter be brought in to rescue him.

“How long does it take?” Dhaliwal, 23, said to the 911 dispatcher
after the escaped tiger attacked his 19-year-old, Paul, on Christmas
Day, and killed their friend, Carlos Sousa Jr.

“Man, it does not take this long to get an ambulance out here,”
Kulbir Dhaliwal said, suggesting he has waited a total of more than 20
minutes, making two phone calls over the cell phone before the line
went dead, about the time the loose tiger attacked him at 5:23 p.m.

Tapes of some of the 911 calls from that attack were released this morning.

During the cell call, the 911 dispatcher repeatedly orders the older
brother to calm down and tries to explain that an ambulance is waiting
outside the zoo because of fears that paramedics may also be hurt by
the loose tiger. She also gives instructions on how to control bleeding.

The call is cut off about the time that the tiger makes its way from
the grotto exhibit to the Terrace Cafe and attacks Kulbir Dhaliwal.

In the 5:16 p.m. call to 911, Dhaliwal does not make reference to any attack on Sousa.

The dispatcher apparently believes the brothers are inside a zoo
building at the time, an apparent miscommunication, but is aware that a
tiger had attacked in the zoo.

Dhaliwal’s cell phone call came 12 minutes after a zoo security
official made the initial report to 911, a call that is also recorded
in tapes released today. It also came as fire crews awaited permission
to enter the zoo, blocked because of an emergency lockdown.

In addition to Dhaliwal’s call, the city released a separate 911
recording of the initial emergency call made at 5:04 p.m. on Dec. 25.

In that first call, zoo radio transmissions are recorded. They
included the initial downplaying of the incident and then the moment
when a zoo official realizes the animal is on the loose and calls for
an emergency lock down at the zoo. “I’ve got a tiger out. Code One.”

A started zoo official replies “What?”

Dhaliwal, who was defenseless at the zoo’s Terrace Cafe when he made
his 5:16 p.m. cell call, is apparently told by the dispatcher how to
control the bleeding. However, specific references to bleeding were
redacted by officials who released the tapes today.

He complies, but repeatedly suggests the situation is urgent.

Dhaliwal asks, at one point, “Can you check up on them and see where they at?”

The dispatcher responds that “They are on scene right now, but they have to stage until they are given permission to go inside.”

A frantic Kulbir proclaims: “It’s a matter of life and death! How can they wait for permission to go in?”

“I understand that,” replied the dispatcher, “but at the same time,
we have to make sure the paramedics don’t get chewed out…because, if
the paramedics get hurt, then nobody is going to help you…”

Then Kulbir says, “What do you mean? …my brother’s on the ground out here….”

“OK, calm down, all right,” the dispatcher replies.

“It’s a matter of life and death…I’m not going to let him die like that.”

“I’ll stay on the line with you,” the dispatcher said. “If the
paramedics get hurt they cannot help your brother, so you need to calm
down and…”

“Send more paramedics then!”

The dispatcher replies: “You are going to be the best help for your
brother right now, so you need to calm down and help him until we can
get there, sir, all right? So I’m going to stay on the line with you. “

“Can you fly a helicopter right here? Because I don’t see no f- ambulance here

Dispatcher: “OK, Stay calm! You have to stay calm for your brother, all right?”

While Kulbir waited for help outside the cafe, the line went dead at
5:23 p.m. around the same time as the animal attacked him. The tiger
was soon shot and killed by San Francisco police officers who were
allowed on zoo grounds.

E-mail Jaxon Van Derbeken at jvanderbeken@sfchronicle.com.

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From The Go to Website Of Every political junkie: CROOKS AND LIARS 

Above is a brief segment from Senator Hillary Clinton’s vote for the Iraq War resolution. The complete speech can be seen in its entirety here (part 1) and here (part 2).

This morning on Meet the Press sparks flew as Russert brought up Senator Clinton’s vote yet again. Transcript is here.

 Download (668) | Play (426) Download (696) | Play (244)

Tim Russert contrasts what she said at the time with what Barack Obama said in 2002 (then an Illinois state senator):

“I know that Saddam poses no imminent and direct threat to the United States, or to his neighbors. … I know that even a successful war against Iraq will require a U.S. occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences. I know that” “invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale” “without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than the best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of al-Qaeda. I am not opposed to all wars. I’m opposed to dumb wars.“

RUSSERT: Who had the better judgment at that time?

Senator Clinton briefly outlined why she voted as she did, that her vote was not one for preemptive war but for further UN weapons inspections, and that she had President Bush’s personal assurances that all avenues would be taken to prevent war, war as an option only of last resort.

Then a curious thing takes place. Rather than debate Senator Obama’s judgment with her own, there is a long, rather tortured argument over the consistency of Obama’s statements on the Iraq War, voting patterns over funding, and even questions about his political motivations. It was all rather perplexing to watch, seemingly taken from the Karl Rove playbook of attacking your opponent’s strength.

Obama shot back:

I have to point out that instead of telling the American people about her positive vision for America, Senator Clinton spent an hour talking about me and my record in a way that was flat out wrong. She suggested that I didn’t clearly and unambiguously oppose the war in Iraq when it is absolutely clear and anyone who has followed this knows that I did. I stood up against the war when she was voting for it, at a time when she didn’t read the intelligence reports or give diplomacy a chance. …I have to say that she started this campaign saying that she wanted to make history and lately she has been spending a lot of time rewriting it. I know that in Washington it is acceptable to say or do anything it takes to get elected but I really don’t think that is the kind of politics that is good for our party and I don’t think it is good for our country and I think that the American people will reject it in this election.

Since New Hampshire this election seems to have entered a new, decidedly more personal phase. One which incidentally does not include John Edwards as he was barely mentioned, either by Mrs Clinton or by Russert.

Hollywood Reporter

By Carl DiOrio

Jan 5, 2008

The WGA has been on strike since Nov. 5, and its last film and TV contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers expired Oct. 31.

“The Public Works commission did make a recommendation that the production companies hear the writers out, on location, for a period of 20 minutes,” FilmLA spokesman Todd Lindgren said. “It’s a recommendation. It’s not anything that was binding, and if the city attorney advises us in a formal letter advises us to do that, we will. But until they we don’t have the power to do that, and we’re out of it.”

Lindgren said FilmLA took no position on the matter during the board hearing.

The WGA said Friday that it is “committed to bringing this strike to a successful conclusion as quickly as possible. The big media companies that walked away from the bargaining table and continue to refuse to negotiate shoulder the responsibility for damaging the entertainment industry and the Los Angeles economy.”

The AMPTP criticized the guild’s attempt to prevent location shoots.

“The WGA this morning engaged in a failed effort to stop the city of Los Angeles from issuing four separate permits for film production,” the AMPTP said. “Although the WGA was rebuffed by the L.A. Board of Public Works, the WGA’s attempt to derail production on films with completed scripts — and thus to throw hundreds and hundreds more people out of work — shows that the WGA’s organizers are continuing to do whatever they can to make good on their boast to ‘wreak havoc’ on our industry.”

 

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