CHEYENNE, Wyo. -- Yellowstone National Park was jostled by a host of small earthquakes for a third straight day Monday, and scientists watched closely to see whether the more than 250 tremors were a sign of something bigger to come.
"They're certainly not normal," Smith said. "We haven't had earthquakes in this energy or extent in many years."
"This is an active volcanic and tectonic area, and these are the kinds of things we have to pay attention to," Smith said. "We might be seeing something precursory.
"Could it develop into a bigger fault or something related to hydrothermal activity? We don't know. That's what we're there to do, to monitor it for public safety."
Smith said it's difficult to say what might be causing the tremors. He pointed out that Yellowstone is the caldera of a volcano that last erupted 70,000 years ago. He said Yellowstone remains very geologically active -- and its famous geysers and hot springs are a reminder that a pool of magma still exists five to 10 miles underground.
#2
You have one big pi$$ed off caldera under there. We need a buzillion geothermal plants. If this thing blows, it will put some serious hurt on the US and the rest of the world will starve, too.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/30/2008 2:25 Comments ||
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#3
It isn't a matter of "if", it is when it blows. And it will, someday.
#6
This is, possibly - intermediate case, where everything east of the caldera gets treated to a conformal coating of hot ash as far out to the mid-Atlantic, ranging in depth from god knows how deep to a few feet. Best case is a few inches. Oh, and it will take years to clear the atmosphere. Ice age follows.
Damn that Al Gore! Must have visited YNP over the holidays.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
12/30/2008 8:24 Comments ||
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#7
If it goes, it's Toba Part II. Call Mr. Darwin to the white courtesy phone. Adapt or perish. Everything east will become digs for future archeologists, sort of a later day Minoan excavation.
#10
Linky no worky, lotp. The History Channel did a good story on this last Summer.It seems one end of the caldera is rising. There is a small lake there and the water is flooding areas that have been dry since it was found.We live on a dynamic planet.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
12/30/2008 9:41 Comments ||
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#11
It's just Halliburton doing some routine testing. Nothing to see here.
#12
There hath he lain for ages and will lie, Battening on huge seaworms in his sleep; Until the latter fire shall heat the deep; Then once by man and angels to be seen, In roaring he shall rise and on the surface die.
Volcanic hazards
The last full-scale eruption of the Yellowstone Supervolcano, the Lava Creek eruption, ejected approximately 240 cubic miles (1000 cubic kilometres) of rock and dust into the sky.
Geologists are closely monitoring the rise and fall of the Yellowstone Plateau, which averages +/- 0.6 inches (about 1.5 cm) yearly, as an indication of changes in magma chamber pressure.
The upward movement of the Yellowstone caldera floor almost 3 inches (7 centimeters) per year for the past three years is more than three times greater than ever observed since such measurements began in 1923.[8] From mid-Summer 2004 through mid-Summer 2008, the land surface within the caldera has moved upwards, as much as 8 inches at the White Lake GPS station.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
12/30/2008 9:53 Comments ||
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#14
Let us all Hope that Change does not come to Yellowstone.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
12/30/2008 10:09 Comments ||
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#15
It's what's known as a super volcano. Geologists in the past knew one was there by the rocks but couldn't find the caldera. What they never suspected was that the YNP valley WAS the caldera...it's that big.
Mt. St. Helens was a "1" this would be a "5". You can't imagine the devastation.... Denver -gone, Chicago - under tens of feet of ash. global temps plummet and crops die for several years. mass starvation. Geologically speaking, we're overdo at 700k years. Studied this in grad school - I have a Masters in Geology. Not a pretty picture but the likelihood of eruption in still small in our lifetimes. I saw the special on TV as well. The north end of the lake is rising indicating that the magma dome is uplifting deforming the crust. A 3X increase in measurement since 1923 (a geologic split second) warrants a look see.
#18
What this article fails to mention is that not only is Yellowstone is the caldera of a volcano that last erupted 70,000 years ago, but it was a Megavolcano. Imagine an eruption 2,500 times as powerful as Pompeii.
#29
There has been near daily earthquakes for some time, with dormant geysers erupting again and others drying up. The incline of the Yellowstone River had changed so much last time we were there, the spawning fish had difficulty jumping uphill to get back to the lake. Many exhausted themselves and died before egglaying, worrying the Park and this was probably 15 years ago. I had no idea the damage a volcano could do, but we had ash on our cars on the Great Plains following Mt. St. Helens, showing how far the jetstream can carry it.
#32
There are volcano calderas, cinder-cones, and magma chimneys all over the western US, from Colorado to California. Most of them were caused by techtonic plate activity from both the west and the east. There are still "hot spots" all across the West, mostly identified by hot springs. The scenario in Wyoming could result in anything from a Vesuvius-type eruption to a mega-explosion that would kill 1/3 of the people in the United States. The problem is, it's impossible to judge which scenario will hold sway until it happens. If it's the big one, expect every fault in the US, Canada, and Mexico to let go, and for dozens of secondary volcanos to sprout up. Not sure about an Ice Age, but the next 50 years following such an event will be "very interesting".
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/30/2008 19:55 Comments ||
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#33
WORLD MIL FORUM > RUSSIAN MILITARY EXPERTS: POSSIBLE BREAKUP OF USA [Igor Panarin-claimed] CLOSER TO 2020 [10 years = 2019], THAN 2010!
As per IGOR:
* CHINA + RUSSIA + JAPAN to share control of former CONUS, +
* San Francisco, Washinton, + Seattle > Chinese sphere of influence, +
* CALIFORNIA = either independent REPUBLIC OF CA or under CHIN-JAPANESE DOMINATION [lessor = Mexico], +
* TEXAS = DITTO AS PER CA, OR ELSE UNDER MEXICO?
* NEW YORK CITY = join EU?
* VARIOUS NORTHERN, MIDWEST STATES = REPUBLIC OF CHIMERICA [RoChina in America = NOT TAIWAN], OR ELSE REPUBLIC OF NORTH AMERICA [includ CANADA = Mackenzie Bros]???
OTOH, FREEREPUBLIC POSTER(S) > SCREW IGOR - USNA = "UNITED STATES OF NORTH AMERICA" [CONUS + Canada + Mexico, etal.] SCENARIO IS MORE FEASIBLE/REALISTIC???
#36
Iff the Caldera does blow big-time, I'm sure HAWAII + HAWAIIAN ASIAN-BASED TOURISM + DEV will like their NEWFOUND NEW EAST PACIFIC ISLANDS [formerly known as the US CONUS West Coast]. Iff there's one thing JAPAN TOURISM likes, ITS ISLANDS - CHINA ON ITS PART WILL PROB HAVE TO FIRST RESEARCH AND VERIFY THAT AN ANCIENT CHIN SEA EXPLORER FORMALLY DISCOVERED THE PRE-CALDERA US WEST COAST, OR IN ALTERN HAD STEPPED "FIRST FOOT" ON THE POST-CALDERA NEW ISLANDS???
That outrage you hear is the ESKIMO-INDIAN LIBERATION FRONT.
The African Union on Monday suspended Guinea after a military coup in the west African nation. Maybe they should try the Teamsters. Guinea! You're suspended! Clean out your locker and get out!You're through! Worse than that, they've been traded to the Lions ...
"The African Union decides to suspend the participation of Guinea in the activities of the African Union until the return of constitutional order in that country," the pan—African body said in a statement. The west African country's suspension from the continental body had been expected since a military coup took place on December 23. Guinea's temporary exclusion from the AU was decided during a meeting of the body's Peace and Security Council in Addis Ababa, where the organisation is headquartered. "The only option is for Guinea to be suspended. The organisation should take tough measures against those that contradict its principles," an AU official had told AFP on condition of anonymity before the meeting.
"Coups will only exacerbate the continent's existing problems and there is no time to tolerate such actions." Funny, I would think half of the AU leaders got to where they are because of coups. I'd check, but I really don't care...
Guinea's strongman Conte died on December 22 at age 74, after ruling the west African nation for 24 years, soon after which coup leaders from the military immediately announced the dissolution of the government.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2008 00:00 ||
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At least eight workers of Jamaat-e-Islami including a former personal secretary of its Ameer Motiur Rahman Nizami were arrested in Pabna while 15 workers of BNP and Jatiya Party were held in three other districts for distributing money among voters yesterday.
Locals caught Nizami's former personal secretary Shafiqul Islam Ratan and other party men red-handed distributing money among voters in Haria village of Santhia upazila early yesterday.
Nizami has contested the ninth parliamentary election held yesterday from Pabna-1 constituency. His rival in the seat Awami League's advocate Shamsul Haque Tuku alleged that Jamaat men were trying to purchase votes of the villagers using black money. Officer-in-Charge of Santhia Police Station Moniruzzaman, however, said the arrestees are from both the AL and Jamaat and that the police were investigating the allegations.
Continued on Page 49
This article starring:
ANWAR HUSEIN
Jamaat-e-Islami
ELAZUDIN
Jamaat-e-Islami
HAIDER ALI
Jamaat-e-Islami
HANNAN SARDAR
Jamaat-e-Islami
MAHAFUZUR RAHMAN
Jamaat-e-Islami
MAHFUZUR RAHMAN
Jamaat-e-Islami
MEHEDI HASAN
Jamaat-e-Islami
MIZANUR RAHMAN
Jamaat-e-Islami
MOTIUR RAHMAN NIZAMI
Jamaat-e-Islami
SAKHAWAT HUSEIN
Jamaat-e-Islami
SHAFIQUL ISLAM RATAN
Jamaat-e-Islami
Shamsul Haque Tuku
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2008 00:00 ||
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So I take it the Ed Asner lookalike won the wet t-shirt contest? The Awami League-led grand alliance has swept back to power after seven years out of office with a stunning landslide victory in an environment of free and fair elections that clearly showed the people's verdict for a change and has consigned the BNP-led four-party alliance to the political wilderness. As of 3:30 in the morning, the grand alliance had clinched 175 seats compared to 23, down from 217 in 2001, won by its archrival BNP-led four-party alliance, more than enough to form the next government.
Jamaat-e-Islami, the BNP's key ally in the four-party alliance, has seen its once-proud seat tally plummet from 17 in 2001 to a humiliating two, in what appears to be a wholesale rejection of the party by the voters. A 'rebel' candidate from Jamaat-e-Islami also won from Cox's Bazar-2.
As of 3:30 in the morning, the grand alliance had clinched 175 seats compared to 23 won by its archrival BNP-led four-party alliance, more than enough to form the next government.
The shocking results clearly indicate that the voters, especially the young and first-time voters, were hungry for change that the BNP-led four-party alliance was simply incapable of delivering. ...and "hope" too, I'll bet.
The four-party alliance offered few new ideas to the voters and appeared to have learned nothing from its two years on the sidelines during which many of its senior leaders were incarcerated on corruption charges. How about "don't get caught"? Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
A "smooth trouble-free election" in Pakistan ought to be setting off alarms.
An energy delegation from Ukraine arrived in Moscow on Monday for last-ditch talks aimed at resolving a dispute with Russia that could disrupt gas supplies to Europe. Gazprom, Russia's state-controlled gas group, has demanded that Ukraine settle $2bn (1.42bn, £1.37bn) of arrears for gas supplies this year or face a cut-off in deliveries from January 1. On Monday the group warned that it might more than double the price Ukraine pays for gas next year to $415 per 1,000 cubic metres, although Ukrainian officials said they expected the country would have to pay much less.
The former Soviet countries are gearing up for a fourth energy stand-off in as many years but have assured consumers in western Europe that supplies will not be disrupted, as happened during a 2006 dispute.
Yuriy Prodan, Ukraine's energy minister, said there was still "hope" an agreement would be reached before New Year's eve.
Continued on Page 49
#1
Gazprom (i.e. the Russian government) wants Ukraine back in its pocket as an obedient servant. Only then will they get the gas without getting charged prices they can't afford.
Seafarers will be free to boycott voyages to South Korea amid growing concern over the jailing of senior officers from the oil tanker involved in the country's worst oil spill, leading shipping organisations have said.
Jasprit Chawla, master of the Hebei Spirit, was jailed on December 10 for 18 months and Syam Chetan, the chief officer, for eight months. Their vessel, which had been sitting at anchor, spilt 10,800 tonnes of crude oil into the Yellow Sea off Daesan on December 7 2007 after being hit by an out-of-control barge.
Any widespread boycott could pose serious problems for South Korea, which relies on ships to supply oil, gas and coal to meet nearly all its energy needs.
Continued on Page 49
#2
And the Captain of a ship that discharges or spills oil into San Fran Bay is simply going to be able to haul anchor and leave, even if there is an accident? Not likely, until the bureaucrats are done.
#3
P2k, the difference is in the accommodations offered the suspect. Mini Castro Street isn't as bad as the eye watering pong of festering kimchi farts.
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/30/2008 21:33 Comments ||
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#5
Blaming the tanker officers for the behavior of a loose barge? That's creative faultfinding. You can't just turn a tanker on a dime, especillay in a choppy sea. Somebody needs to explain the laws of Physics to the Korean court system.
Sounds like the lower court got it right the first time, but the upper court decided to scapegoat the foreigners.
It'll be interesting to see whether the boycott works.
THE biggest migration in human history has gone into reverse. China's ocean of blue-collar workers is streaming back to the country's farming hinterland, bringing thwarted aspirations and rising discontent in tow as their city jobs, their paths out of poverty, fall victim to the global economic crisis.
More than 10 million migrant labourers have already returned to the countryside
Train K192 is a daily conduit of the reversing flow. Every afternoon it pulls into Chengdu, capital of populous Sichuan province, after a 31-hour trip from Guangzhou, centre of China's once-thriving export heartland.
Hundreds of weary passengers, some of whom stand through the entire journey because seats are sold out, straggle into the grey light of the Chengdu winter and an uncertain future.
'Lots of factories have closed. Mine shut about three months ago. There was nothing to do, so I came home,' said Mr Wu Hao, 21, sporting a stylish striped sweater and a sleek metal suitcase. After a year spent making circuit boards in Guangzhou, he was heading back to his family's patch of farmland, a full month before the Chinese new year when he would usually visit home.
Officials estimate that more than 10 million migrant labourers have already returned to the countryside as thousands of companies have been dragged under by weak global demand for everything from clothes to cars.
The government, always concerned about social instability, is now on high alert, fearful of the consequences of a huge mass of jobless, disappointed, rootless young men. Beijing has urged firms to avoid cutting jobs despite falling profits, and many bosses have obliged by retaining workers but giving them unpaid leave.
"So I'm not fired."
"Nope. You're just unpaid. Scram."
Over the past three decades, about 130 million people have left China's countryside for the smokestacks, assembly lines and construction sites of cities. That migration, described as the world's biggest ever by the United Nations, has underpinned the country's heady growth and also given its poorest citizens a share of the spoils, as urban residents' incomes are much higher than farmers'.
Known as China's 'floating population', labourers rarely settle permanently where they work - effectively prohibited from doing so by residency rules - and return in droves to their hometowns for the Chinese lunar new year.
State media have put the best possible gloss on the in-bound tide of migrants under way: they are simply returning home early, one month ahead of the Year of the Ox which begins on Jan 26.
But China is heading into uncharted territory and the picture could deteriorate quickly. Many economists forecast growth next year of less than 7.5 per cent, the country's lowest since 1990 and a level that would swell the ranks of the jobless.
'The redistribution of wealth through theft and robbery could dramatically increase and menaces to social stability will grow,' Mr Zhou Tianyong, a leading Communist Party scholar, wrote this month in a newspaper issued by a state think-tank.
Workers and officials alike hope the migration reversal is only temporary, but the numbers are too vast to ignore. The social security ministry says 10 per cent of all migrants have already gone back to the countryside.
China, in the short term at least, is pinning its hopes on a smooth absorption of the returnees. 'We expect that there will be a big change early next year, probably in March or April,' said Mr Wang Min, a director at the Yuhui Labour Market in Chengdu. 'A lot of people will stay here in Sichuan to look for work and not go to other provinces.' If so, they could be redrawing China's economic map.
Coastal provinces have long been the wealthiest in China and the main destination for migrants. But they have borne the brunt of falling exports, while the country's poorer hinterland is more closely tied to domestic fortunes that could rise on the back of a hefty government stimulus spending.
Unveiling its rural policy priorities for next year, the government said on Sunday that it will encourage unemployed people who return home to start their own businesses. Officials in Chongqing and Henan, two big sources of migrants, have already pledged to lend seed money. Reconstruction after the devastating earthquake centred on Sichuan this year has also created a huge need for labour that will sop up some of the floating population.
#1
OTOH CHINESE MIL FORUM > CHINA'S NEW EXPORT: FARMERS [Africa].
Besides of course farmin', includ $$$ remittances back to Chin, many of China's 30Milyuhn Bachelor whom choose to go to Africa for said farm work can also have the picks of any willing local African Babes for marriage + that baby carriage.
#2
1. Resettling them back home won't work, local government officials will simply steal any money allocated for development.
2. The workers can come back any time, and indeed will when business picks up again.
3. China passed a new labor law this year that prevents factories from firing workers en masse. This was supposed to prevent this sort of thing happening. However, the law is only enforced against foreign companies, Chinese companies are largely exempt.
#3
Responding to an unusually lucid JM comment, there is no way that a Chinese man would take an African bride - uh-huh. They regard Africans as little better than beasts.
#4
And the Chinese male/female population imbalance could just as easily be solved by marrying literally boat loads of Filipinos - but it goes back to that cultural 'inferiority' thingy. In the US, the government erects laws to inhibit such marriages when the culture is open to it.
#6
How do you keep the folks down on the farm? Three little words says it al - depression, depression, depression.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
12/30/2008 10:34 Comments ||
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#7
Responding to an unusually lucid JM comment, there is no way that a Chinese man would take an African bride - uh-huh. They regard Africans as little better than beasts.
More to the point, there is no shortage of women in urban areas. The shortages are in farm country - nobody wants to marry a farmer with a postage sized plot (1.66 acres, on average). Men with the savvy to survive in Africa would have no problem getting Chinese wives. It's the farmers who are having to kidnap women from Vietnam and/or other provinces to get hitched.
Hmmmmmmmmmm...maybe he doesn't give a shit. Maybe he's hoping it'll all be over by the 20th ... I actually find it encouraging, but that's just me.
President--elect Barack Obama blew the first opportunity that had come his way to show that unlike his predecessors, he was going to adopt a more even-handed approach to the Palestine question by choosing to keep quiet after savage Israeli airstrikes across Gaza.
Obama who was expected by people in Arab and Muslim countries to turn his back on earlier American administrations that have supported Israel, right or wrong, could only have caused widespread disappointment among those who were hopeful that he would be different. If his first reaction to the Israeli outrage is any indication, it is clear that he is going to be as enthusiastic in his support of Israel as his predecessors.
While, as could have been predicted, the Bush White House held Hamas responsible for having forced Israel's hand, Obama, who spoke for eight minutes on Saturday to Condoleezza Rice, secretary of state, could not bring himself to say even one word about the savage Israeli attacks which continued on the second day, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of Palestinian civilians. All an Obama spokesman was prepared to say was, "He (Obama) will continue to closely monitor these and other global events." Bracketing the Israeli assaults with "other global events" is intended to suggest that the Israeli airstrikes were yet another of "global events' that called for no more notice than the president-elect had already taken of them.
The White House said it holds Hamas responsible for the renewal of deadly violence in Gaza after the Islamist group broke its ceasefire with Israel. Rice said on Saturday, "The United States strongly condemns the repeated rocket and mortar attacks against Israel and holds Hamas responsible for breaking the ceasefire and for the renewal of violence in Gaza." Meanwhile, Howard L Berman, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement, "Israel has a right, indeed a duty, to defend itself in response to the hundreds of rockets and mortars fired from Gaza over the past week. No government in the world would sit by and allow its citizens to be subjected to this kind of indiscriminate bombardment. The loss of innocent life is a terrible tragedy, and the blame for that tragedy lies with Hamas."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
The one need not speak. Everyone who owns a hybrid and enough carbon offsets will sublimate into a Gorean paradise (not the good kind) on January 21 leaving the rest of us to fester in a four wheel hell we have made for ourselves. Sadly, most Democrats being loud mouth hypocrites, most will not ascend and we will not have the peace and quiet we deserve.
#4
The crises comes when The Big O tries to solve the crisis - any crisis. Too many people think that nose that he waves around alot while talking down to us "ordinaries" is a magic wand that will fix everything. We will see how things turn out.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
12/30/2008 10:32 Comments ||
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#5
"We must go to see the Wizard! He can tell us what this all means!"
I guess the Wiz ain't making public appearances anymore when there's trouble.
#7
reporter: Mr. President-Elect, what are your thoughts on yesterdays events?
BHO: Uh, I'm glad you asked, uh, I think it's a tragedy, uh, I mean, let me be clear, I find it very disconcerting that Northwestern gave up that lead, uh, to Missouri and lost the game in OT. This not the same Northwestern, uh, I used to know.
#13
During the campaign, PEBO *did* say something to the effect of "If they were raining rockets down on my kid's heads, I'd kick their sorry, murderous asses too!" (can you tell I'm paraphrasing?) We will see if that position ends up under the already crowded bus when he graduates from PEBO to POTUS.
#14
President Obama will be more responsible than most of my fellow Rantburgians expect. The moonbats in the blogsphere have already been whining for quite some time about how Kucenich would have handled everything much better (sic).
#15
I very, very much hope you are right, Odysseus. For the sake of our country and the world, nothing would make me happier than to have President Barack Obama be revealed by history as a staunch and active defender of the civilized nations against the ravening hordes of jihadi barbarians.
#18
Actually, Hellfish, he kinda is being consistent with that remark. The political winds are generally in the Palis' favor right now. Therefore, no need to get on their side.
(Ok, I'm reaching a bit, but it makes some sense, don't it?)
Those who think that Pakistan is all about historical sites, great cuisine, exciting cities and bustling bazaars I gotta admit, ya got me...
may be not be aware that Pakistan is also an excellent destination to enjoy adventure sports. Honest to Gawd, I did not make this up...
There are a number of adventure sport destinations in Pakistan, which one can travel to. And the range of the adventure sports in the country is immense. From beheadings to bombings to Islamic fanaticism, Pakistan's got it all... But no more skiing since Swat's closed for the holidays ...
From jeep safari to mountaineering, from fishing to river rafting, from skiing to trekking, Pakistan is endowed with such geographical features that make it excellent tourist destination for adventure sports. Tell 'em about the friendly, helpful natives...
Pakistan is home to some tailor made destinations for adventure sports be it jeep safari, river rafting, mountaineering or trekking. The country is home to five of fourteen peaks above 8,000 metres - K-2, Nangaparbat, G-I & II and Broadpeak. Besides, 70 percent of mountain peaks above 7,000 metres are also located in Pakistan.
Actually all these peaks are in Jammu and Kashmir, not Pakistan proper and the Indians also claim them
The northern areas offer wonderful opportunities for various adventure sports. Its rivers tumbling down from the snow capped mountains and glaciers are great for water sports like river rafting, canoeing, sailing and kayaking. There are mountains that offer wonderful trekking trails that lead to some beautiful spots. Watch out for those IEDs though. Our fun loving locals just love those practical jokes...
Rivers Chitral, Indus, Gilgit, Swat, Hunza, Kunar and the Neelum offer exciting opportunities for water sports. ...and we don't mean fishing.
Pakistan also offers beautiful spots for skiing. Malam Jabba is one of the best skiing resort. If jeep safari is what gives one thrill, perhaps there is hardly any destination as exciting as the Northern Areas. Exciting?! You said it, Mahmoud!
There are various destinations in northern Pakistan that provide wonderful opportunities for jeep safaris. Some of the destinations that can be visited for jeep safari include Gilgit, Hunza, Shandur, Sust and Skardu. Horse and camel safaris are other two exciting activities that one can enjoy on adventure tours to Pakistan. Tour to Pakistan brings complete information on various tourist destinations in Pakistan. It promises to offer all the help to make the trip an exciting and memorable affair. You betcha! So c'mon down...INFIDEL!
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2008 00:00 ||
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The seven astronauts killed during the 2003 loss of NASA's space shuttle Columbia survived less than a minute after their spacecraft began breaking apart, according to a new report released Tuesday that suggests changes to astronaut training and spacecraft cabin design.
The 400-page "Columbia Crew Survivability Report" released today states that Columbia's ill-fated crew had a period of just 40 seconds between the loss of control of their spacecraft and its lethal depressurization in which to act on Feb. 1, 2003.
The crew's response was hampered by delays in donning their re-entry pressure suits, which ultimately would not have saved them during the searing plunge into the atmosphere anyway. "The Columbia depressurization event occurred so rapidly that the crew members were incapacitated within seconds, before they could configure the suit for full protection from loss of cabin pressure," the report states. "Although circulatory systems functioned for a brief time, the effects of the depressurization were severe enough that the crew could not have regained consciousness. This event was lethal to the crew."
One of Columbia's STS-107 crew members was not wearing a pressure suit helmet and three astronauts had not put on their spacesuit gloves, according to the report. At no point did crew error contribute to the loss of Columbia, which was not a survivable event, the report states. The design of Columbia's seats, too, decreased the crew's chances of survival as their restraints did not lock in place, subjecting the astronauts to extreme trauma from rotational forces. Their helmets were not head-conforming, resulting in injuries and lethal trauma, the report states.
The new report calls for enhanced astronaut training to help spacecraft crews transition from emergency response to survival mode. It also recommends that NASA design the seats and pressure suits for future spacecraft with loss of vehicle control in mind. Current astronaut pressure suits, for example, require astronauts to manually deploy their parachute during an emergency escape. Modifying the system to deploy automatically would increase an unconscious astronaut's chances if they survived a spacecraft's catastrophic descent.
Columbia broke apart during reentry while returning to Earth after a 16-day science mission. Investigators later found that a piece of shuttle fuel tank foam insulation punched a hole in the heat shielding that lined Columbia's left wing edge during its Jan. 16 launch. The damage allowed superheated atmospheric gases to penetrate the spacecraft's wing during re-entry, destroying the shuttle and killing the crew 16 minutes before their planned landing.
Once the spacecraft's cabin began breaking apart, Columbia's crew had no protection against the searing heat of re-entry outside, the report states, adding that the bright orange pressure suits could not withstand such conditions.
"The ascent and entry suit had no performance requirements for occupant protection from thermal events," the report states. "The only known complete protection from this event would be to prevent its occurrence."
#4
Won't make a damn where you plan to buy it. By the time we dig our way out of this Bailout debt we won't have enuf for METRO fare from L'Enfant Plaza to the Pentagon.
In 2007, Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad, Iran's totally insanepure evil colourful president, called the US dollar a "torn piece of paper" and in November last year his government changed the country's base foreign currency to the euro in an effort to try and avoid US sanctions imposed as a result of the country's nuclear programme. Colorful?!? You mean like Hitler, or Stalin, or Pol Pot?
At the time, Mr Ahmadi-Nejad and his colleague Hugo Chavez, president of Venezuela, even tried to persuade the other members of Opec to shift their reference prices for oil to the European currency, arguing that the greenback was fatally weakened.
A year on, however, and the Iranian government has had to live with a revival in the dollar's fortunes and it is the rial that is in the doldrums. The rial has lost about 10 per cent against the dollar during the past month, even rising above the important 10,000 to the dollar mark for the first time in its history. It has since strengthened slightly back to 9,820.
This has landed Mr Ahmadi-Nejad's government on the wrong side of public opinion, which views the rial's value against the dollar as a central indicator of its economic strength.
Although the rial has changed little if measured against a basket of currencies, including the euro and the pound, "people are only concerned about the dollar rate", says one economist.
In the aftermath of the Islamic revolution the rial collapsed, and the regime adopted a series of exchange rate policies in 1980s and 1990s by fixing at about half a dozen different rates against the dollar. But in 2001, a reformist government led by Mohammad Khatami officially adopted a policy of a managed float.
Yet successive Iranian governments, even before Mr Ahmadi-Nejad took office in August 2005, have followed an unstated policy of ensuring that the dollar traded at less than 10,000 rials.
Whenever the rate has looked close to crossing that mark, the central bank has injected dollars to bring it down again. But this time the authorities are choosing not to pump in dollars because the country's oil revenues, the main source of income, are plummeting.
Iran tries to receive its oil income in euros to avoid oversight by the US authorities, which could block the Islamic regime's money over the controversial nuclear programme and alleged funding of terrorism.
Experts estimate that about two-thirds of the country's $80bn foreign currency reserves are now held in euros, and government opponents have complained of a loss of about $5bn due to the European currency's recent decline against the dollar.
Mr Ahmadi-Nejad argues that the benefits of increasing euro share in the reserves still exceed recent losses.
"We have had both economic and political gains by shifting from the dollar to the euro because the dollar was hugely weakened but this [the current strength of the dollar] will last for a short period of time," Mr Ahmadi-Nejad said earlier this month, while vowing to run the country for a further three years even if oil prices fall to zero.
However, the drastic fall in oil prices will still put the government budget under great pressure next year, and may leave it no choice but to devalue the rial. Analysts say that they do not expect this to happen before the presidential election in June.
In downtown Tehran, the main centre of currency trading, traders say that the stronger dollar is a natural reaction to world markets.
They are, however, worried about the possibility of heavy-handed government interference such as closure of their shops, which happened about 13 years ago should the dollar strengthen further. "The government might accuse some traders of dollar smuggling, close their shops and urge people to buy hard currencies only from banks," one trader says.
Posted by: Fred and lotp ||
12/30/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
i would like to hear a more educated opinion than my own on the wisdom (or lack thereof) of having a mix of foreign currency as opposed to say all dollars or all euros.
Posted by: Abu do you love ||
12/30/2008 23:32 Comments ||
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Researchers have found out what made the 1918 flu pandemic so deadly -- a group of three genes that lets the virus invade the lungs and cause pneumonia.
They mixed samples of the 1918 influenza strain with modern seasonal flu viruses to find the three genes and said their study might help in the development of new flu drugs. The discovery, published in Tuesday's issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could also point to mutations that might turn ordinary flu into a dangerous pandemic strain.
Yoshihiro Kawaoka of the University of Wisconsin and colleagues at the Universities of Kobe and Tokyo in Japan used ferrets, which develop flu in ways very similar to humans. Let me get this straight: We've sent samples of the 1918 virus to THREE DIFFERENT UNIVERSITIES, a virus that, by all rights, should remain under government control in labs of Biosafety Level 4 protection???
Yes. Each of the three groups is appropriately qualified to do the work, and each operate under pretty darned strict oversight. This is how science today gets done. If you leave it to the government labs you won't learn what you need to learn.
I trust Japan. The leftists in Wisconsin concern me only a little... Usually flu causes an upper respiratory infection affecting the nose and throat, as well as so-called systemic illness causing fever, muscle aches and weakness. But some people become seriously ill and develop pneumonia. Sometimes bacteria cause the pneumonia and sometimes flu does it directly.
During pandemics, such as in 1918, a new and more dangerous flu strain emerges. "The 1918 influenza pandemic was the most devastating outbreak of infectious disease in human history, accounting for about 50 million deaths worldwide," Kawaoka's team wrote.
It killed 2.5 percent of victims, compared to fewer than 1 percent during most annual flu epidemics. Autopsies showed many of the victims, often otherwise healthy young adults, died of severe pneumonia.
"We wanted to know why the 1918 flu caused severe pneumonia," Kawaoka said in a statement. They painstakingly substituted single genes from the 1918 virus into modern flu viruses and, one after another, they acted like garden-variety flu, infecting only the upper respiratory tract.
But a complex of three genes helped to make the virus live and reproduce deep in the lungs. The three genes -- called PA, PB1, and PB2 -- along with a 1918 version of the nucleoprotein or NP gene, made modern seasonal flu kill ferrets in much the same way as the original 1918 flu, Kawaoka's team found. So, is this like a recipe for a gene-nerd with apocalyptic tendencies, or more like spelling out TNT?
Most flu experts agree that a pandemic of influenza will almost certainly strike again. No one knows when or what strain it will be but one big suspect now is the H5N1 avian influenza virus. H5N1 is circulating among poultry in Asia, Europe and parts of Africa. It rarely affects humans but has killed 247 of the 391 people infected since 2003. A few mutations would make it into a pandemic strain that could kill millions globally within a few months.
Four licensed drugs can fight flu but the viruses regularly mutate into resistant forms -- just as bacteria evolve into forms that evade antibiotics. Well, strike me as perplexed. I'm a science nut myself and strive to understand how things work, but some things should be figured out behind locked doors.
#1
In the spirit of Equal Opportunity, shouldn't we give some of this stuff to the Islamic University in Gaza and let play with it for a while and see what their experts come up with?
#3
Sorry, Steve...you and I will have to disagree on this one.
I didn't specify, but my problem here is 'genetic manipulation'.
Personally, I relate the genetic manipulation of pandemic-level bio-pathogens at universities to open-source, graduate-level development of a nuclear bomb.
Dumping money into University-level genetic manipulation of known pathogens is inherently dangerous.
http://www.gsnmagazine.com/cms/market-segments/bio-terrorism/17.html
The genie is out of the bottle. Technically, this was a WOT link. Researching pathogens is one thing...genetic manipulation in less than BSL-4 labs is another.
http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/gene_splicing_garage/2008/12/25/165347.html?utm_medium=RSS
Think about it...
#4
Back in 2001 following 9/11 there was the anthrax attack as well which people seem to forget. Then in the follow up it was discovered that so call safeguards on the handling of anthrax for 'scientific research' were more paper and less reality with some of the stuff disappearing from labs that lacked both accountability and physical security of the facilities and storage. So, yes we have a right to be concern about the handling of material shown to be dangerous. It doesn't mean we shut it down, but we certainly had better make the handling of the stuff as tight as any other WMD.
#1
WORLD MIL FORUM > IIUC THE US BAILOUTS WILL NOT RESTORE THE THE PREVIOUS POTENCY OF CONSUMER AND CORPORATE CREDIT. US international indebtedness is several times its Net GDP = Net Worth, gross debt levels whcih the Bailouts will only PARTIALLY AND MINORILY REMEDY. The US will remain in massive, protractive indebtness for a very long time.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
The Awami League-led grand alliance has swept back to power after seven years out of office with a stunning landslide victory in an environment of free and fair elections that clearly showed the people's verdict for a change and has consigned the BNP-led four-party alliance to the political wilderness. As of 3:30 in the morning, the grand alliance had clinched 175 seats compared to 23, down from 217 in 2001, won by its archrival BNP-led four-party alliance, more than enough to form the next government. 
Those who think that Pakistan is all about historical sites, great cuisine, exciting cities and bustling bazaars 
In 2007, Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad, Iran's 
