A local geological agency official says a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake has struck eastern Indonesia. A tsunami warning was immediately issued and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center says a destructive regional tsunami is possible.
The official, Fauzi, said the underwater quake hit off Sulawesi island. He did not have any immediate reports about damage or injuries.
The U.S. Geological Survey said Monday the quake struck 13 miles (21 kilometers) beneath the sea and was centered 54 miles (135 kilometers) from Gorantalo, a coastal town on Sulawesi.
Indonesia is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanos and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in Los Angeles County on Saturday following the loss of at least 165 homes by a raging wildfire fire. "It's certainly more than we've lost over the last decade. We have lost some today, there's no question about it," the mayor said of the damages caused by the fire.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/16/2008 00:00 ||
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#5
I do agree that Caliphornians have stupid building codes wrt fires. However, no building survives in these fires. The question is why homes are built so sparsely so that there are so many combustibles (trees) near. See the Oakland Hills.
#6
fire-resistant roofs have been required for around 30 years. Stucco is naturally non-combustible. The problem is fuel and wind. Windblown embers driven up under non-boxed eaves are a big firestarter, expect to see boxed eaves in the next Int'l Building Code
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/16/2008 11:30 Comments ||
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#7
Fire resistant cedar shakes. Riight. Do they come with a Prop 65 warning in case of combustion?
#8
I heard on the radio that there hadn't been a fire in this particular area for something like 60 years and they haven't done any controlled burns that entire time.
Any truth to that?
Posted by: Mike N. ||
11/16/2008 12:46 Comments ||
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#9
when's the last time you could buy non-fire-resistant (treated) cedar shingles for roofing? Look it up
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/16/2008 13:08 Comments ||
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#10
as someone who planchecked for fire/building codes straight out of college in '83, I can tell you that was the code even back then ('79 UBC).
to Mike: they rarely do controlled burns except in rural areas, and not often for that either. the problem is that we put all small fires out too quickly, letting fuel accumulate on hillsides til it's a conflagration
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/16/2008 13:12 Comments ||
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#11
My parents house in Valley Center burnt to the ground in the Paradise Fire in 2003 - in spite of being built of concrete blocks, and with concrete roof-tiles, and with all the natural brush cleared away. The fire came roaring up a natural draw with some small trees in it, caught the eaves of the garage roof from below, and then when the garage was well alight, jumped to the house. The trouble was, their parking space by the house wasn't large enough for a firetruck to turn around in, and so the PD couldn't bring a pumper truck close enough to the house to knock it down. All my parents' neighbors houses were saved because the PD could do this, keep the house wet until the fire passed by.
BTW, my mother said that when the firemen ordered her out, the fire had this awful, deep roar to it, coming up the hill towards the houses. Scary as hell to hear - and she knew there was no fighting it at that point.
However, my father, some neighbors and the firemen stayed long enough grabbing pictures off the walls, until the heat began exploding the windows inwards...
#12
My comment didn't doubt that that was the code. It doubts that they work after 5 years. When these fires get going, treated cedar shingles are a thin line of protection. But they look great the rest of the time.
The Inspector General of Police, Maj. Gen. Kale Kayihura has issued a strong warning to Muslims who have threatened to violently deal with their Mufti Sheik Shaban Mubajje if the Court tomorrow finds him innocent of allegations of selling Muslim properties.
Buganda Road Chief Magistrates Court will tomorrow Monday issue its judgment on a case filed against Mubajje and other leaders of the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council. Mubajje, UMSC Chairman, Hajji Hasan Basajabala and former UMSC General Secretary Hajji Dr. Edris Kasenene are accused of selling several properties belonging to Muslims. The trio were sued in the Court by a group of Muslims led by Sheik Muzata but the case was later taken over the Directorate of Public Prosecutions since the case was criminal.
A group of muslims on Friday said they were going to launch a Jihad (Holy war) on Monday if the muslims leaders are declared innocent by the court. They have threatened to come ready to die and discipline the leaders if they are freed of charges. But Maj. Gen. Kayihura says the Police will not allow any group of Muslims to cause chaos in the city when the ruling is read out on Monday. He says the police are ready and well equipped to deal with any violence and will not allow anyone to take the law in to their own hands.
The police chief says that if any group feels the judgment read by Court tomorrow is unfavorable, they should appeal the judgment to higher courts of law.
A multi-million dollar Nigerian satellite launched in May 2007 has been shut down to prevent it spinning out of control and damaging others in orbit. Chinese-built NigComSat-1 cost the African oil producer $340m (£228m). NigComSat-1 was launched 18 months ago to much fanfare from the government, but it has been mired in controversy ever since.
The Nigerian government said insurance would pay for a replacement and Nigerians should still be proud of the country's satellite programme. But telecoms experts told the BBC it was a "white elephant in space" and the whole operation was a "debacle".
On Tuesday, controllers shut the satellite down because it was having problems with its power supply, the government announced. The satellite was meant to provide communications for government agencies and broadband internet. "This has been a real debacle from day one," a telecoms engineer told the BBC. The engineer, who works as a consultant for a multinational communications company, did not want to be named.
The satellite was limited because the type of frequency it used was disturbed by clouds in the atmosphere, and did not work properly in Nigeria's rainy season or during the Harmattan, when clouds of dust blow down from the Sahara, he said. The satellite also operated on frequencies already allocated to other companies and interfered with other providers' equipment.
But Information Minister John Odey denied the satellite was not worth investing in. "No technology can be a waste of money," he said. "It is a worthy investment, and Nigerians should see it as desirable. It has served a purpose and will continue to do so."
Local media initially reported that the satellite had "gone missing". But on Wednesday Minister of State for Science and Technology Alhassan Zaku told journalists it had lost power and had to be "parked, like you would park a car".
"If it wasn't parked and it lost all its power there would be no energy to even move it and it would be like a loose cannon and would keep rolling about and hit other satellites in the orbit," he told reporters.
According to analysts, Nigeria has made nearly $2 trillion in oil revenues over the last 30 years, but its population are mostly poor. Africa's most populous nation lacks basic infrastructure like power and water, and many Nigerians thought the satellite showed the government did not have its priorities right.
The news that the satellite could not get enough power to run has led to jokes that, as one e-mail doing the rounds put it: Nigeria has "exported its electricity generation problems to space".
Posted by: john frum ||
11/16/2008 08:19 ||
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THE pioneering Australian scientist who discovered the cure for cervical cancer is on the verge of creating the world's first vaccine for skin cancer.
Professor Ian Frazer, former Australian of the Year, has revealed the vaccine could be ready within the next five to 10 years. As with the jab now given to millions of young girls each year to prevent cervical cancer, children aged between 10 and 12 would be given the vaccine to prevent skin cancer later in life, Professor Frazer envisages. Testing on animals has shown the vaccine to be successful and human trials will start next year.
Australia has the world's highest rate of skin cancer with more than 380,000 people diagnosed with the disease and 1600 dying from it each year.
Continued on Page 49
A Canadian mosque that has asked workplaces to accept a strict dress code for Muslim women is now under criticism for publicizing slurs against Jews and western societies as well as warning members against integration, Canadian paper the Star reported.
The Khalid Bin al-Walid Mosque has served as the religious authority for eight Somali women who filed a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission against the delivery service UPS claiming that the company dress code violated their religious freedom. The Toronto mosque, founded in 1990, serves about 10,000 people and is known for preaching strict adherence to Islamic Sharia law.
The mosque website refers to non-Muslim Westerners as "wicked", "corrupt" and "our clear enemies." The website's Questions and Answer section where Muslims can ask, which allows Muslims to ask questions regarding their religion but has come under attack recently for some of the replies, according to the Star.
"Is it permissible for women to wear high heeled-shoes?" one reader asked, to which the reply was no. "It involves resembling the Disbelieving Women or the wicked women. It has its origin among the Jewish women," read the explanation
The site reportedly went on to say that once (a Muslim woman) becomes introduced to the wickedness of Western ideology and concepts ... (she) becomes fixated on trying to appear and act like her "role models" of corruption.
A disclaimer on the website noted that questions and answers did not necessarily reflect the mosque's views, said the Star. But the About Us page declares that the mosque's imam, Bashir Yusuf Shiil, "prepared, approved, and supervised" all questions and answers on the site.
The Q and A section was no longer available on the site at the time of publication and several attempts by AlArabiya.net to reach representatives of the mosque for clarification were unsuccessful.
The UPS case
According to the Star, the mosque's stand on the UPS case also appears contradictory. In September, a Canadian Human Rights Tribunal heard two weeks of testimony from eight mosque members accusing the company of "Islamophobia."
The eight women who were fired by UPS say Islam dictates they wear a full-length skirt for modesty. However UPS insists that the skirts only be knee-length due to safety concerns, as workers need to climb ladders up to six meters (19 feet) high. The women are allowed to wear pants under their skirts, but they say they do not want the lower part of their leg showing in case the shape of their calves can be discerned.
The eight women mentioned the Khalid Bin al-Walid mosque as their place of worship and religious authority, and produced a letter from its administration. "This is to certify that the religion of Islam requires all Muslim women to cover her entire body inclusive of the legs, arms, head, ears and neck," the letter reads. "As such, (the women) would not be able to wear pants as an outfit."
In addition, the mosque's website teachings forbid women to work outside the home. "It is known that when women go to work in the workplaces of men, this leads to mixing with men," one posting quoted by the Star asserted.
"This is a very dangerous matter," it read. "It is in clear opposition to the texts of the Shariah that order the women to remain in their houses and to fulfill the type of work that is particular for her."
The mosque published on Nov. 8 a response to the public criticism contradicting some earlier posts and stating that no offence was intended by the content of the site and that its members and directors are law abiding Muslims that practice their religion in a manner that is entirely consistent with the rights afforded by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
"The Board of the Khalid Bib Al-Walid Mosque maintains the view that women are an extremely important part of the workplace in Canadian society and that they have made and will continue to make many meaningful contributions to Canada's economy and the well-being of their communities and families," reads the message recently posted on the site's main page.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/16/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
The mosque slurred the west? That's curious. I've never heard a talking mosque before.
The second marriage of a man to his wife's niece is unlawful and un-Islamic, said LHC Justice Khurshid Anwar Bhinder while dismissing a petition of a couple against the registration of a case. The petition was moved by Musarat Bibi and Muhammad Rafiq. The two were previously engaged to each other, but were unable to marry because of differences between both families. Rafiq later married Saleema Bibi, who was the real aunt (khala) of Musarat. However, after some time, Rafiq also contracted a marriage with Musarat. Of course they can't get married. They're not nearly closely enough related.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/16/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
That's insane! The LHC??? WTF? What EXACTLY is Cern's business to look into pakistanese marriages? Don't they have particles to study or something? So, they spent like all those billions on the LHC for THIS? Dude.
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.
A local geological agency official says a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake has struck eastern Indonesia. A tsunami warning was immediately issued and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center says a destructive regional tsunami is possible. 
The Inspector General of Police, Maj. Gen. Kale Kayihura has issued a strong warning to Muslims who have threatened to violently deal with their Mufti Sheik Shaban Mubajje if the Court tomorrow finds him innocent of allegations of selling Muslim properties.
