FYI: all posts about the earthquake and its aftermath, including the unfolding nuclear power plant problem, should be placed into "Signs, Portents, and the Weather", in the category of "non-WoT."
That way we'll all know where to find them. Thanks,
[Arab News] Lindsay Lohan rejected a plea agreement Thursday offered by prosecutors in a grand theft case that included a guaranteed return to jail.
The "Mean Girls" actress appeared in a Los Angeles courtroom and told a judge she agreed to delaying her case until a preliminary hearing when prosecutors will present evidence against her.
It was all she said during the brief proceeding.
The case was set for a preliminary hearing on April 22.
The exact terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Lohan was on probation in January when a Venice jewelry store accused her of taking a $2,500 necklace.
Lohan has pleaded not guilty "Wudn't me." to the charge.
If Lohan is ordered to stand trial, Superior Court Judge Keith Schwartz has warned her that she may be sent to jail for violating her probation on a 2007 drunken driving case.
Lohan's return to court came days after surveillance footage was aired of her trying on necklaces at Kamofie and amp; Co., which reported the necklace stolen on Jan. 22. The necklace was eventually given by a Lohan associate to detectives, who had already obtained a search warrant for the actress' Venice home.
"Entertainment Tonight" aired the footage, which showed Lohan texting, pacing and talking to a store clerk for nearly 45 minutes. The actress wore the necklace she is accused of stealing for roughly 25 minutes, according to the show, before the clerk escorted Lohan out, smiled and held a door open as she walked out.
The footage was obtained by a commercial images division of The News Agency that Dare Not be Named and licensed exclusively to "Entertainment Tonight." Lohan's court troubles have long overshadowed her once-promising acting career. A former star in Disney films such as "Freaky Friday" and "Herbie Fully Loaded," her career has been stalled since she was nabbed twice in 2007 and later charged with drunken driving and drug possession.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/12/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Some Netters are speculating iff Lindsay suffers from KLEPTOMANIA???
It's where an otherwise ordinary individual rapidly rises to an extremely high level of notoriety and wealth, only to revert to their previous level of notoriety and social stature by committing acts they would have committed before their rise.
His/her newfound career implodes and then hijinks/hilarity ensue.
Japanese authorities have confirmed there was an explosion at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant Saturday afternoon but said it did not occur at its troubled No. 1 reactor, brushing off concerns that the quake-triggered problem could develop into a catastrophe. I'm not sure I'd brush off anything at this point.
Chief Cabinet secretary Yukio Edano told an urgent press conference that the operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., has confirmed there is no damage to the steel container housing the reactor, although the 3:36 p.m. explosion resulted in the roof and the walls of the building housing the reactor's container being blown away.
The top government spokesman said TEPCO has begun new cooling operations to fill the reactor with sea water and pour in boric acid to prevent an occurrence of criticality, noting it may take several hours to inject water into the reactor. Sea water and boric acid? That's nothing to brush off. They're admitting defeat.
In addition, it will take about 10 days to fill the container with sea water, he said. There is a great possibility that the reactor will be decommissioned as the injection of sea water containing salt and impure substances will make it difficult to operate it safely again, experts say.
TEPCO's Fukushima No. 1 and No. 2 plants have lost their cooling functions after the area was jolted by a magnitude 8.8 earthquake Friday.
Due to failure to cool down the No. 1 reactor at the Fukushima No. 1 plant, radioactive cesium and iodine were detected near the facility Saturday. The detection of the materials, which are created following atomic fission, led Japan's nuclear safety agency to admit the reactor had partially melted -- the first such case in Japan.
Following the blast that occurred as vapor from the container of the No. 1 reactor turned into hydrogen and mixed with outside oxygen, Edano said the authorities expanded from 10 kilometers to 20 km the radius of the area to be evacuated by residents living in the vicinity of the Fukushima plants as a precaution.
Three people had their clothes contaminated with radioactive substances while fleeing from the No. 1 nuclear plant Saturday afternoon, according to the Fukushima prefectural government. The nuclear safety agency said no decontamination work is needed for them, but asked the Self-Defense Forces to check whether 87 others who were vacating the area with the three have been exposed to radiation.
Officials of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said new cooling operations have so far been proceeding smoothly, and the melting of the core has not been aggravated.
The melting temperature for pellets containing cesium, a nuclear fissile material, is around 2,800 degrees Celsius and the release of celsium indicates that the reactor has heated up significantly.
The Fukushima prefectural government said the hourly radiation from the No. 1 plant reached 1,015 micro sievert before the explosion, an amount equivalent to that permissible for a person in one year.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/12/2011 14:51 ||
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Comcast has provided a Japanese Television (NHK)live feed here in the Seattle area; pictures continue to amaze. also now there are 3 reactors in trouble.
[Iran Press TV] Japan has informed the UN nuclear body that following an kaboom in a nuclear power plant, it plans to distribute anti-radioactive medicine to the people in the area.
Earlier on Saturday, an kaboom occurred in Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, blowing the roof off one facility and destroying its walls.
The kaboom led to the increase of radiation leak and has caused fears of a meltdown as the radioactivity in the area is now 20 times higher than normal levels.
The plant had been damaged by Friday's 8.9-magnitude earthquake, off the northeastern coast of Japan's main island, which unleashed a 23-foot (7-meter) tsunami and was followed by more than 50 aftershocks for hours.
Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency informed the ineffective International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of the kaboom, and that it is assessing the condition of the reactor core, IAEA announced in a statement on Saturday.
"The [Japanese] authorities also say they are making preparations to distribute iodine to residents in the area of both the plants," the IAEA said in a statement.
Iodine can be used to help protect the body from radioactive exposure.
People living within a 20-kilometer radius of the plant have been evacuated and the government has declared a state of nuclear emergency for the five reactors.
"The IAEA has reiterated its offer of technical assistance to Japan, should the government request this," the statement added.
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said at a presser that the operator of the nuclear facility, Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) has confirmed that the steel container housing the reactor is intact.
"We have confirmed that the walls of this building were what went kaboom!, and it was not the reactor's container that went kaboom!," Xinhua quoted Edano as saying.
Following the kaboom Japan asked Russia to increase energy supplies to the country, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin said on Saturday.
Russian Premier Vladimir Putin had ordered larger supplies of liquefied natural gas from Russia's Sakhalin-2 oil and gas field to be transferred to Japan upon Tokyo's request.
"Japan is our neighbor, a friendly neighbor. Despite various problems, we must be reliable partners and do our best to help (Japan) with energy supplies due to the decreasing capacity as a result of the earthquake and tsunami," Interfax quoted Putin as saying.
According to Japan's National Police Agency, 703 people have been confirmed dead and 784 were missing, with 1,128 injured, excluding bodies reportedly found on the Sendai coast. Authorities expect the corpse count to reach 1,300.
However, The well-oiled However... the national broadcaster, NHK, says there are at least 10,000 people unaccounted for.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/12/2011 13:24 ||
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Heartbreaking-- Why couldn't the quake have happened in North Korea, near Kimmie?!!! It breaks my heart, just breaks it. Its just not fair, Im going to go sulk.
Posted by: Fi ||
03/12/2011 21:04 Comments ||
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#2
Eerie that I think i commented a week or two ago about iodine or eating seaweed if tablets weren't available following nuke tests gone awry...
Posted by: Fi ||
03/12/2011 21:14 Comments ||
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#1
About the shifting of the Earth's axis, that creates some problems. Knowledge of the obliquity of the ecliptic (ε) is critical for astronomical calculations and observations from the surface of the earth (earth-based, positional astronomy).
So this likely means that millions of dollars worth of adjustments will need to be made to compensate for this little glitch.
The Earth's axial tilt varies between 22.1° and 24.5°, with a 42,000 year period, and at present, the tilt is decreasing. In addition to this steady decrease there are much smaller short term (18.6 years) variations, known as nutation, mainly due to the changing plane of the moon's orbit. This can shift the Earth's axial tilt by plus or minus 0.005 degree.
But this is noticeable in archaeology, because it is used to establish the approximate time for ancient lunar and solar observatories, planting, harvest and flood seasons.
#3
Also, the axial tilt makes the jet stream move as well. The Sahara used to be grassland and varies from wet to desert and back to wet with the tilt. Shifting the axis can shift the long term climate for a region. No amount of cutting back on SUVs can help.
Posted by: Large Ulavilet8943 ||
03/12/2011 15:02 Comments ||
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#7
Knowing nothing about geophysics, I wondered if a change in the axis could increase precession (the wobble that causes the seasons), making for hotter summers and colder winters?
Warnings of possible meltdown amid radiation leaks
Tens of thousands evacuated after plant explosion
Up to 1,300 killed in earthquake and tsunami situation unfolding... from The Guardian. Live blog updates available at link
Japan is battling to stave off a nuclear disaster after an explosion at a north-eastern nuclear plant in the wake of the enormous earthquake and tsunami.
Authorities are evacuating tens of thousands of residents living within a 12 mile (20km) radius of the Fukushima Daiichi plant 6 reactors at fukushima and those within 6 miles of a second installation in Futuba, 150 miles north of Tokyo.
The explosion followed warnings of a possible meltdown after problems with the cooling system and confirmation of a radiation leak at Fukushima No 1 plant. But nuclear safety officials said it was unlikely the reactor had suffered serious damage, according to the Kyodo news agency
Kyodo cited an official who said that the rate of hourly radiation leaking from Fukushima was equal to the amount usually permitted in a year. no good... it gets into the food chain
Authorities had previously heralded a successful release of radioactive gases to reduce pressure inside the reactor, which might account for the high levels.
Speaking before the blast, Naoto Sekimura, a professor at the University of Tokyo, told the Associated Press a major radioactive disaster was unlikely.
"No Chernobyl is possible at a light water reactor. Loss of coolant means a temperature rise, but it also will stop the reaction," he said. "Even in the worst-case scenario, that would mean some radioactive leakage and equipment damage, but not an explosion. If venting is done carefully, there will be little leakage. Certainly not beyond the 3km radius."
"TV channels warned nearby residents to stay indoors, turn off air-conditioners and not to drink tap water. People going outside were also told to avoid exposing their skin and to cover their faces with masks and wet towels."
"Parts of the reactor's nuclear fuel rods were briefly exposed to the air after cooling water levels dropped through evaporation, and efforts were earlier being made to pump water into the reactor at the site. The plant's sister plant, Fukushima No. 2, was also experiencing cooling problems."
Moonageddon: on March 19, our nearest neighbour will be at its closest since 1993 - By Claire Connelly, March 4 tongue-in-cheek article from Daily Telegraph proves eerily true in light of NZ and Japan earthquakes. Possible gravitational tidal pull affecting the magma?
In a fortnight Earth will experience the biggest moon it has seen in nearly two decades.
As well as providing some unique photo opportunities, some astronomers - well, one - are already predicting it may bring more worrying disruptions to the Earth's climate patterns.
Earthquakes are not out of the question. More about that later. crikey they were right!
For now, all you need to know is that on March 19th the moon will be at its closest point to Earth in 18 years, an event that is known as a "lunar perigee".
Or the much more exciting "SuperMoon", as one astrologer called it.
And before you scroll immediately down to the comments section in outrage, please note the use of the word "astrologer".
On March 19, the moon will be just 356,577km away from Earth, an event that has internet theorists a-quiver with the possibility of extreme weather, earthquakes and volcanoes.
Not all scientists are convinced, however.
Though throughout the last year the world may have seen birds falling from the sky and schools of dead fish washing up on the shore, Pete Wheeler of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy says we shouldn't be running to our bomb shelters just yet.
"There will be no earthquakes or volcanoes," Mr Wheeler told news.com.au, "unless they are to happen anyway".
"(The Earth will experience) just a lower than usual low tide and a higher than usual high tide around the time of the event, but nothing to get excited about."
But try telling that to anyone who suffered through the New England hurricane in 1938, or the Hunter Valley floods of 1955. Both happened during lunar perigrees.
Cyclone Tracy in 1974 and Hurricance Katrina in 2005 also coincided with SuperMoons, or at least, very close to. well look what has happened, the magma is moving under the crust for sure... look at Japan/NZ and now volcanoes going in Indo
Bah, says astronomer and lecturer David Reneke, who claims there's more cause for alarm about the extent of human paranoia than any sort of impending apocalypse.
"If you try hard enough you can chronologically associate almost any natural disaster/event to anything in the night sky ... comet, planet, sun," Dr Reneke told news.com.au
"Remember in the past, planetary alignments were going to pull the sun apart. It didn't. Astrologers draw a very long bow most times.
"Normal king tides are about all I would expect out of this SuperMoon prediction."
So no luck, astrologers, voodoo priests and other assorted witches. It seems Science has all the answers this time.
But wait - this just in from Dr Victor Gostin, Planetary and Environmental Geoscientist at Adelaide University.
He told news.com.au the predictions of weather and earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other natural disasters based on planetary configurations have not been successful, but there may be some correlation between near-equatorial large scale earthquakes and new and full moon situations.
"This is because the Earth-tides (analogous to ocean tides) may be the final trigger that sets off the earthquake," he said. Spooky, huh? Lunar Perigree. NOTE: bbc now reporting the roof of the Fukushima reactor has now caved in. Japan's Chernobyl in progress
#1
So did anyone look up what happened 18 years ago, at the previous perigee? How about 36 years ago? No?
Anybody plot earthquake events compared to the moon's distance?
I didn't think so.
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/12/2011 8:29 Comments ||
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Even its advocates note that earthquakes don't happen during the perigee itself, but in a window of time, some days before or after it. Assuming that is say, a 30 day total window, it can be statistically compared to the group of other 20 day windows during a calendar year, which would be 35.5.
Which occurred in the U.S. state of Oregon on March 25, 1993, was the largest earthquake in the Pacific Northwest since the Elk Lake and Goat Rocks earthquakes of 1981.
Measuring 7.3 on the Richter Scale occurred on February 4, 1975 in Haicheng, Liaoning, China. Seismologists sent out warnings about this earthquake a day before it took place and ordered evacuations. This successful prediction saved many lives. This was the first and the only successful earthquake prediction in history. In the days leading up to the event cats and other animals were thought to have acted strangely. Also snakes were reported to have been emerging from hibernation.
But again, this is *anecdotal* evidence, as earthquakes are frequent events. So correlation does not establish causation.
As an interesting note, one lunar perigee enthusiast predicted the Christchurch, NZ earthquake back in January. But the interesting part is that he is predicting *another* Christchurch earthquake in about two weeks.
Needless to say, the people of Christchurch are not too thrilled about this.
#3
"Assuming that is say, a 30 day total window, it can be statistically compared to the group of other 20 day windows during a calendar year, which would be 35.5."
Assuming also that I didn't change this window fewer than three times, but without correcting the other parts of the sentence, so the end result looks screwy.
Originally I supposed a five day window, then upped it to 20 days, then 30 days. All guesswork on my part.
#4
I can see a forthcoming Al Gore news conference claiming "global warming" was the cause of this quake. I can also see Jesse Jackson standing behind him. Jesse is everywhere all the time. Most likely he will be seen at the forthcoming royal wedding somewhere.
#7
The Moon does not CAUSE earthquakes; it probably does trigger some of them. Tectonic plate movement (driven by mantle convection) causes stress to build up in the crust on the boundaries between the plates. Eventually the stress builds to the point where it exceeds the strength of the rock, which ruptures suddenly as an earthquake. Small changes in the stress are caused by the tides, or even by rainstorms, and just might push the stress above the failure point of a fault zone that was almost there already - triggering the earthquake. But if the tide didn't trigger it, the normal stressing process would have done so pretty soon.
Since the stress is constantly building, the longer the time between earthquakes the more likely it is the next one will be bigger. And that once the stress is relieved by a big quake (and associated aftershocks) the less likely there will be another one in the same place anytime soon. However, the stress that is relieved by a big quake in one place ends up transferring on to another location on the fault, increasing the likelihood of a big quake there. So - there won't be another big quake in the same place in Christchurch, but there could well be one not too far away. Or not - depends on when the last one was there.
#14
Hello Burgers and Bergets. I call this activity the flocking effect "more cause for alarm about the extent of human paranoia than any sort of impending apocalypse". Much more complex than the moon alone. The increased volcanic activity is a signal of things to come. Mass die offs of smaller lifeforms bees, birds, and fish. Merely things to ponder. We are just along for the ride.
Posted by: Jefferson ||
03/12/2011 9:37 Comments ||
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The TEPCO Tokyo Electric Power Company gives an update on the status of its reactors at the Fukushima site. All 6 reactors are down; three for regular inspections. Link here
The Wall Street Journal provides this story with background information and news up to date as of the rollover. Good place to start today if you're interested.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/12/2011 00:00 ||
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#7
wind blowing weakly to the north east out to sea, according to reports
despite what worried government officials say there is no, repeat NO safe dose of radiation. All radiation potentially causes cancer, including that from X-rays and the sun. Higher doses just increase the risk.
#9
Anon1, I hope you don't live in a brick house or eat bananas. At least by avoiding X-rays, you'll not have to worry as long, though the dental pain may get a bit much to bear.
#10
G(r)om, if you are referring to my statement of fact that there is no safe dose of radiation, including that from medical x-rays, then see this new scientist article that makes it quite clear.
Living in Australia, I am well versed in how the sun's radiation causes skin cancer.
The only safe dose of radiation is no dose at all. HOwever, in the real world this is impossible. It is still a consideration for those people in Japan who have been evacuated from around that and other nuclear power plants. They were told by their government that the slight release of radiation was 'not harmful for human health'. That was a lie, all radiation is harmful for human health. Of course the Government must say these things to avert panic. The same happened at Chernobyl: nothing to worry about, they said. Until there was.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
03/12/2011 9:26 Comments ||
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NO safe dose of radiation.
Which is why solar radiation which kills tens of thousands everyone due to sun expose makes solar energy NOT safe. There's a difference between 'there's nothing you can do about it' and safe. Just as we witness the power of wind create a fire storm that consumes the east bay of San Fran area or the source of hydro power water's that destroyed whole communities in massive floods [image a failure of the Three Gorge dam], there is no perfect.
#16
Unthinkable now, but said to be one of the beauty aid procedures of it's time. Wymin and non-wymin reclined on them in the 20th and 21st centuries.
Posted by: Water Modem ||
03/12/2011 9:51 Comments ||
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#18
Oh please. Small amounts of radiation are not dangerous or we would all be dead. We know airline pilots and crew spend a large fraction of their lives aloft and get increased radiation, but live to old age and retire. Same for people who live in Tibet or Colorado.
Even massive amounts of radiation, while bad are not well understood. There was a story linked by Instapundit yesterday about a Russian guy who stuck his head into a working synchrotron and was blasted by a thousand times more radiation than is recognized to be lethal, and is still alive in retirement. Even the Chernobyl exclusion area is a virtual nature park at this point packed full of living creatures some of which are humans.
A prudent person would be wise to avoid unnecessary radiation, just as a prudent person would avoid unnecessary sunburn. They can both be dangerous over the longer term.
If the thing melts down, then it would be prudent for people in the near areas to evacuate and in the affected area to reduce their exposure, through Iodine pills, staying indoors or avoiding fresh produce, for a while depending on where they are and what types of radiation is present.
That affected area could be not just in Japan, but also the west coast of the US and Canada. It could cover as much as a 100 million people, so do not start out the conversation with assertions that are false on their face.
#20
Just to pile on about the potential impacts due to large amounts of radiation. In the 80,000 identified survivors of the nuclear bombing of Japan the Japanese estimate is that there were 500 excess cancer deaths. (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42044156/ns/world_news-asia-pacific/)
So, even for people who were deliberately nuked and took absolutely no action to reduce their radiation exposure, there was less than a 1% increased chance of cancer death due to radiation.
It is not that radiation is harmless, only that it is not worthy of your fear.
#21
12:36Officials have announced they plan to fill the leaking reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant with sea water to cool it down and reduce pressure in the unit.
"The nuclear reactor is surrounded by a steel reactor container, which is then surrounded by a concrete building," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said. "The concrete building collapsed. We found out that the reactor container inside didn't explode."
The Japanese government had earlier warned of a meltdown at the reactor at the plant, damaged when a massive earthquake and tsunami struck the northeast coast, but said the risk of radiation contamination was small.
Mr Edano said: "We've confirmed that the reactor container was not damaged. The explosion didn't occur inside the reactor container. As such there was no large amount of radiation leakage outside.
"At this point, there has been no major change to the level of radiation leakage outside (from before and after the explosion), so we'd like everyone to respond calmly.
"We've decided to fill the reactor container with sea water. Trade minister Kaieda has instructed us to do so. By doing this, we will use boric acid to prevent criticality."
Mr Edano said it would take about five to 10 hours to fill the reactor core with sea water and around 10 days to complete the process.
#22
Anon1, we have evolved with a certain level of radiation. And believe me (and I used to be a biochemist), we have one hell of DNA repair mechanisms.
#23
Nuclear power in the west looks relatively unsafe because we don't make the alarmist sonsofbitches write the environmental impact statement for Iran dropping a cobalt bomb on New York City.
#26
Gromky, I can't find any definition of rads which is listed as a measure of radiation. Can you explain?
In the old days we used to talk of rems (roentgen equivalent man). Now they use sieverts as a unit of measurement of radiation exposure.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
03/12/2011 17:18 Comments ||
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#27
gromky, never mind - I found the article in Wikipedia under rad(unit).
I still can't find how many rads correspond to how many sieverts.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
03/12/2011 17:23 Comments ||
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#28
For what it's worth. There is a cancer treatment called TomoTherapy. It delivers approximately 84-86 Grays of radiation fractionated over 39 days (~2 Gys/day). This translates into a total of around 8400 rads. It is a very localized dose that is delivered. It works well for kicking some kinds of cancer. There are risks but these are balanced against against treatment value.
#29
I've been wandering around on comment boards where the engineers hang out, and the consensus seems to be that this is still a technical problem, not a disaster. They are practically unanimous in saying that the news media is hyping the situation for profit.
This is why it is so very important that the SHINY side be facing out when constructing a tinfoil hat. Otherwise, the little atoms of radiation just rattle around inside your head like BBs in an empty paint can.
#33
"news media is hyping the situation for profit"
That's the "news" media's standard, Free Radical - about everything. >:-(
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
03/12/2011 21:58 Comments ||
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#34
Rammer: Yes small amounts of radiation are harmful. THat is why thousands of people die of cancer each year.
Medical X-rays in fact cause thousands of deaths worldwide, just from the minute dose. If a chest X-ray gives a dose of radiation that is only likely to cause cancer in 1/ 100,000 patients, it still sucks to be that one.
And yes it happens, sorry to break the facts to you.
All i can do is give the facts. What you do with them is up to you. If you are financially and emotionally invested in the nuclear industry to the point where you don't like scientific evidence telling you something is harmful there, I can't help you.
And yes, as I said, radiation is unavoidable, we get it every day from background sources including space, bricks and bananas.
That doesn't mean it is safe. It isn't. The only thing people can do is minimise it.
Love the reference to Julian Assange, please bring that up in every unrelated topic because we all know ad hominem attacks that are irrelevant are the fastest way to increase knowledge and spread wisdom.
#35
Incidentally I wish to ad that just because medical X-rays do cause cancer in very small numbers of people, doesn't mean they are not of huge benefit.
Of course the benefit outweighs the risk.
It is far better to take the very, very small risk and take the X-ray so doctors can diagnose whatever is wrong with you, than it is to avoid them.
The point though, stands. Radiation is not safe, and I am glad the Japanese around the reactors have been evacuated. It is very very sad that there are a couple of meltdown situations in progress, it is going to have an effect on people who have not even been born yet as increased radiation in the area does not go away, it gets into the food chain and hangs around for years.
From the Daily Mail in the UK. If you haven't read a lot so far this is a good place to start. Many, many pics and video with an emphasis on the events in and around Sendai. This story does not update the nuclear reactor situation in Japan.
Prayers for all involved.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/12/2011 00:00 ||
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REDDIT > [Angelfire = STL Today] JAPAN EARTHQUAKE MAY HAVE SHIFTED EARTH'S AXIS 10 FEET, ISLAND OF HONSHU EIGHT INCHES TO THE EAST, according to USGS Geophysicist Ken Hindnut.
Also may had caused a massive SEAFLOOR RUPTURE 186-MILES LONG BY 93-MILES WIDE, JAPAN EXPERIENCING UP TO 100 MAG 5.0-PLUS AFTERSHOCKS AN HOUR???
#2
Very good resource, Steve - particularly the charts. Thanks.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
03/12/2011 18:43 Comments ||
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Ah, yes, that's the story that contains this gem of writing:
Hawaii and a number of low-lying islands including Guam were hit by the waves while The Red Cross has warned that the tsunami is higher than many of the islands themselves.
While technically true that many little islands in the Pacific are basically giant sandbars, this sentence makes it seem as if the tsunami is higher than the Hawaiian islands. If a tsunami reaches the top of Mauna Kea (14,000ft), we're all screwed.
[Straits Times] ONE of Indonesia's most active volcanos has erupted, sending lava and searing gas clouds tumbling down its slopes.
Volcanology official Agus Budianto said on Friday that authorities were still trying to evacuate residents living along the slopes of Mount Karangetang.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or serious damage.
The 1,784-metre mountain is located on Siau, part of the Sulawesi island chain. It last erupted in August, killing four people.
Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago, is located on the so-called Pacific 'Ring of Fire,' an arc of volcanos and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.
The eruption happened hours after a massive earthquake in Japan that triggered a Pacific-wide tsunami.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/12/2011 00:00 ||
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[Maghrebia] Tunisian Sherlocks found $27 million inside ousted president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's Sidi Dhrif palace, the head of the national commission on corruption said at a Tunis presser on Wednesday (March 9th). Credit cards, jewels and a large bank account in the name of Leila Ben Ali and her son were also discovered in the palace, Abdelfattah Amor said. The investigation commission has received 4,239 petitions to examine corruption cases, he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/12/2011 00:00 ||
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[The Nation (Nairobi)] Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has called for a "divorce" from his national unity government colleague President Bob Muggsy Mugabe. Octogenarian President-for-Life of Zim-bob-we who turned the former Breadbasket of Africa into the African Basket Case...
Tsvangirai organised a news conference after his ally, Energy minister Elton Mangoma, was jugged.
He said the relationship between the parties had broken down and called for elections to be held.
Former foes Mugabe and Tsvangirai joined in a unity government two years ago after a disputed election.
"We have reached a moment where we are saying, let's agree that this is not working, it's dysfunctional."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/12/2011 00:00 ||
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[The Nation (Nairobi)] Liberian ex-president Charles Taylor's The former President-for-Life of Liberia, of whom the best that could be said was that he wasn't quite as horrible as Prince Johnson, at least not usually. trial for arming Sierra Leone rebels who paid him in blood diamonds closed on Friday with prosecutors urging a guilty verdict for "horrific crimes".
"We ask you to enter convictions on all of the counts of the indictment," prosecutor Brenda Hollis said on the last day of the trial that started more than three years ago before the Special Court for Sierra Leone.
"The evidence in this case... proves this accused guilty beyond reasonable doubt on each and every count of this indictment," she said.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/12/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Try thinking about 11 year old "Mud Soldiers". Hacksaw mc-graw and his "LRA". If you do not have enough, I have enough on your court. Tame the beasts.
[The Nation (Nairobi)] Fresh fighting rocked Cote d'Ivoire just hours after the African Union declared Alassane Ouattara the duly elected president, a decision angrily rejected by Laurent Gbagbo's ... President of Ivory Coast since 2000. Gbagbo lost to Alassane Ouattara in 2010 but his representtive tore up the results on the teevee and Laurent has refused to leave despite the international community's hemming, hawing, and broad hints... camp. "Yeah! Why should he get to be president just because he got more votes? It ain't fair!"
Residents reported heavy arms fire in Tiebissou, a town near the line between zones controlled by the country's rival factions and near Cote d'Ivoire's political capital Yamoussoukro.
"Heavy arms fire started toward 8pm," one resident told AFP by phone, adding that the firing had continued into the night.
Two other witnesses confirmed the report, one of whom also spoke of sporadic fire from Kalashnikov assault rifles.
Hours earlier, in Addis Ababa, the African Union, having spent months trying to broker a resolution to the crisis, confirmed Ouattara's election as president last November.
"The measures that have been announced are binding," Ouattara said from Addis Ababa.
"Very soon, Laurent Gbagbo will have to leave the office he has usurped since November 28," he added.
Ouattara said the AU panel had asked him to form a broad government and provide the incumbent Gbagbo with an honourable exit.
"I have accepted to do that in the interest of peace," he said.
But he made it clear that it would not be a 50-50 power-sharing arrangement.
A front man for Gbagbo however rejected the AU panel's proposals even before the formal meeting got under way.
"What is on offer is power-sharing and the very principle of it is unacceptable," Gbagbo front man Ahoua Don Mello said from Abidjan.
And former prime minister Pascal Affi N'Guessan, who chairs Gbagbo's Ivorian Popular Front and is part of the delegation he sent to Addis Ababa, raised the spectre of violence if the world tried to impose Ouattara.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/12/2011 00:00 ||
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(Xinhua) -- Cote d'Ivoire's sitting president Laurent Gbagbo ... President of Ivory Coast since 2000. Gbagbo lost to Alassane Ouattara in 2010 but his representtive tore up the results on the teevee and Laurent has refused to leave despite the international community's hemming, hawing, and broad hints... on Wednesday decided to ban flights throughout the West African country against the UN peacekeeping mission and the French Licorne troops.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/12/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Yet another excellent example (as if another was needed) of African tribal governance and majority rule.
#1
The George Washington is 1,092 feet long and includes 60,000 tons of structural steel — but the quake was so strong that it moved the ship away from its pier, sailors said.
No, it moved the pier away from the ship.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/12/2011 12:05 Comments ||
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Jim, it's all relative.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
03/12/2011 13:38 Comments ||
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#2
Yup. If they can't live a princely life in their country and they can't get to their Krugerrands in Switzerland, then they are indeed going down fighting. Unfortunately, the quickest way to end the fight in Libya is to let Saif go with enough cash to finance a decade of American female vocalists dancing girls.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/12/2011 9:52 Comments ||
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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.
[Arab News] Lindsay Lohan rejected a plea agreement Thursday offered by prosecutors in a grand theft case that included a guaranteed return to jail.
[Straits Times] ONE of Indonesia's most active volcanos has erupted, sending lava and searing gas clouds tumbling down its slopes.
Charles Taylor's
Laurent Gbagbo's
