#7
It's funny, I've never cared much for American Whiskey (Canadian Scotch, Irish, YUM!), but I hate to see the loss of a true artist. God bleess him and his family.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A massive magnitude 7.6 quake struck in the Indian Ocean off India's Andaman Islands, triggering a tsunami watch for India, Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand and Bangladesh, the U.S. Geological Survey reported on Monday. The USGS said the quake, initially reported as a magnitude 7.7, was 20.6 miles deep and was centered 160 miles north of Port Blair in the Andaman Islands.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami watch for the region.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/10/2009 17:12 ||
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#1
After the many feed of movement with the Tsunami .... stuff in that area still needs to adjust itself.
#2
Here on GUAM > thus far, only "BARELY-FELT-IT" = "WAS THAT-A-QUAKE-OR-DID-I DRINK-TOO-MUCH-COFFEE/COLA" minor ground tremorin'. The EM flashes = skybursts were a lot better, i.e. very Very VERY V-E-R-Y VEEEERRRRYYYY BIG!
"Tonight, on the most shocking episode of The Deadliest Catch ever filmed,..."
The patches of dense hair, located near the white-tipped pincers, earned the Chinese mitten crab its deceptively benign name. But there is nothing soft or comforting about these invasive Asian critters, and lately that have taken a sudden shine to New Jersey waters.
While long treasured as a culinary delight in their native East Asia, the crabs have become a scourge to most everyone else. In Europe, they have eroded estuaries by burrowing into earthen dams and river banks. In California, the only state where they have gained a major foothold so far, mitten tribes have exploded into a major ecological nightmare, venturing inland to clog water systems in Central Valley, and disrupting fishing operations in San Francisco Bay, where they steal bait and get entangled in fishing gear. Predatory as well as vegetarian, they crowd out other species by eating their food supply and sometimes by eating them....
"So far, 40 crabs have been caught, reported and confirmed in New Jersey alone, making that state ground zero right now for mitten crabs," said Gregory Ruiz, a senior scientist at the Marine Invasions Research Lab of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Maryland...."We aren't sure if they have established anywhere or what the potential impact is," Ruiz said. Never mind that, save yourselves while you can! Flee for your wretched lives!
Posted by: Mike ||
08/10/2009 15:48 ||
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#1
will make a nice horror movie if they also have
- brilliant but erratic and stubborn scientist
- spunky reporter
- prostitute with a heart of gold
- scientist wannabee nerd
- high school bully who learns that caring is what really counts in life
Posted by: Lord garth ||
08/10/2009 16:16 Comments ||
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Madagascar's feuding leaders said on Sunday they had agreed a power-sharing deal and would hold elections on the giant Indian Ocean island within 15 months.
What say the cognoscenti: for real, or a hudna?
A communique issued after talks in Mozambique's capital said a national unity government would be set up comprised of a prime minister, three deputy first ministers and 28 members. "They agreed the transition period will not exceed 15 months ... and will end with elections under international supervision that will lead to the restoration of democratic institutions and stability in Madagascar," the statement said.
The deal was struck late on Saturday. Talks continue on Sunday as the leaders and their aides discuss the composition of the power-sharing administration. Former President Marc Ravalomanana, who was toppled in March by his army-backed rival Andry Rajoelina, said he would return to Madagascar but not personally take part in the process.
The agreement also included a section cancelling charges of abuse of office levelled against Ravalomanana after his departure related to the purchase of a presidential jet. "I solemnly declare my total availability to help resolve this crisis," the ousted leader told reporters after days of talks in Maputo. "The Ravalomanana movement will be an integral part of the transition bodies."
The discussions, which began on Wednesday, were the first time he and Rajoelina had met face to face since the coup. Madagascar's political crisis alarmed foreign investors, scared away tourists and cut economic growth. Rajoelina has been shunned by many nations and Ravalomanana, living in exile in South Africa, has insisted he is still the legitimate leader.
Didier Ratsiraka and Albert Zafy, both former presidents, are also attending the discussions in Maputo. They are still seen as influential power brokers, and analysts say they would need to be part of any lasting solution to the turmoil. Before the Maputo talks, Rajoelina had said a presidential poll would be held by the end of 2010, but could take place earlier under the right conditions. The timing of elections and who will be able to contest them have been big sticking points.
Opposition groups had insisted that Rajoelina, who has scrapped the constitution and set up an interim government, must not be allowed to plan a poll unilaterally. The regional South African Development Community bloc had appointed former Mozambican president Joaquim Chissano to revive the deadlocked negotiations.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/10/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Hudna. These types only "share" power when they're not strong enough to seize it outright.
#2
Madagascar is only 7% muslim. It is highly monoethnic. If this is a 'cease-fire' between rival political groups, so be it- but 'hudna' is probably the wrong word.
#3
It's not only jihadis who use the hudna concept (a cease fire to deceive the enemy while rearming), Free Radical, it's just only the jihadis who do it in imitation of Mohammed.
#4
Madagascar is such valuable real-estate that it's worth sharing power over the loot?
GDP: purchasing power parity - $13.02 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 6% (2003 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $800 (2003 est.)
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Sunday charged that Colombian troops had entered Venezuela across the Orinoco River, a move he warned was a "provocation" by his Colombian counterpart Alvaro Uribe.
"We are not talking about a patrol with a few soldiers that strayed over a border" into Venezuela, he said.
"These troops crossed the Orinoco River in a boat and carried out an incursion into Venezuelan territory," Chavez said on his weekly television show "Hello President."
"When our troops got there (the Colombian troops) had already gone away," said Chavez, a leftist thug populist who has very strained ties with the conservative Uribe, the United States' closest regional ally.
#4
At night the US would stealth bomb everything to bits and "blame" the Columbians. Then tidy up with a spooky.
At any time prior to 1/20/09 I would have belived that possible but I now find it unlikely that the US would respond in such a manner any earlier than 1/20/13. Likely as not the present Administration in the US would back Chavez.
#5
I see this as a way for Hugo to give his Good Buddy Obama an excuse to cut our on support for Columbia.
Look for more of these 'claims' by Hugo and company against Columbia as Obama gets shriller and shriller in telling Columbia to stop doing what they are not doing in the first place and, as, reluctantly cutting our support.
Never let a crisis go to waste - even if you have to create the crisis to begin with.
#6
Chavez has 7 of his generals running 7 of 10 of venezoos top companies. these promotions as such could be seen as payment for supporting his other stuff.
Rhetoric not withstanding chavez himself would need to lead the troops into battle....unless there are recall provisions built into the newly minted CEO's contracts.
Columbians should know, and act accordingly.
chavez also threatened columbia with imminent market prices for OIL...yada yada yada, but wait, theres more; Columbia is Venezuelas chief supplier of critical food stuffs, and even process the coffee grown in venezuela, then repatriates after packaging, back to venezuela as high priced brands.
chavez is mr inefficiency...makes generals ceos, make public beurocrats engineers and leaders of technical projects, pays large bucks for russian weapons to defend against the threat of rhetoric, that may be percolating along a border near him soon.
And despite all this, the man is practicing to go for the record of longest speech ever made in Latin America, practicing hours every day to secretly wipe out fidels old record.
[Al Arabiya Latest] Chinese authorities have lifted a quarantine order that was imposed on a remote town of 10,000 people to contain a deadly outbreak of pneumonic plague, according to a report Sunday. Local authorities removed the order on Saturday evening after no new cases of the plague were detected in a week, the Beijing News daily said.
China experiences sporadic outbreaks of the plague, which is typically spread by rodents and fleas and can pass easily between people. But the World Health Organization said it was not unduly concerned about this latest outbreak.
The outbreak of the highly virulent disease killed three people in Ziketan, a town in a Tibetan area of Qinghai province in China's mountainous northwest. Residents of Ziketan contacted by AFP Wednesday said some people had tried to flee the quarantine zone, which covered an area of 3,500 square kilometers (1,400 square miles), centered on the town. But officials Thursday told Xinhua news agency that no one had escaped from the zone and that no new cases had been reported. The blockade was imposed on July 30.
The disease can be a very severe in people, with a mortality rate of between 30 and 60 percent if left untreated.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/10/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Meh. Pneumonic plague is no biggie, it doesn't spread very well because it kills off too many people.
Another A-Pee article, edited heavily for brevity. Click to RTWT. It is short but dense.
The August break has so far seen numerous town hall meetings held by Democratic lawmakers disrupted by boisterous opponents. Democrats have said many of the problems have been instigated by industry-backed groups, but Ignagni said, "None of those people you've seen on TV are ours." But it is in the liberal group-mind.
The insurance industry says it favors bipartisan changes in the health system, but is battling a proposal at the core of Democrats' blueprints: Creating an optional, government-run health insurance plan. Democrats say public coverage would push costs down by competing with private insurers. Competing my a$$. You just know the socialists would use accounting techniques that would have made Enron green with envy in order to kill the free market "competition" and then head straight for socializing the medical system.
Ignagni, though, said the plan would drive insurance companies, hospitals and doctors into bankruptcy, leaving only the government to provide coverage, often called single payer. Obama and other Democrats say they have no intention of setting up such a system. Deep thought: Why the need for the "single payer" euphemism?
"It is a very short step to a single payer, and that's what this whole discussion is about," she said. Despite Democrats' claims that private insurers would continue to compete for business, "the reality is it's never going to work that way," she said. And that's exactly what the socialists are counting on.
Finally, an insurance lobbyist I can sort of agree with.
The only thing that needs to happen to save the insurance industry is to get rid of things like the pre-existing condition crap, lifetime caps, restricting enrollment, and their "above the law" status on insurance malpractice. The insurance industry fought hard for these conditions for a reason, and believe me they aren't in the interest of anyone's health.
And for a bonus, just track where the money goes on a CT scan. How could a ten-minute scan costs possibly cost over $4000 if you don't have insurance, but "only" $2,000 if you do? Solve this "riddle" and you'll bring health care costs into line. Those a-holes have figured out how to have their cake and eat it, too. If you don't have insurance and can't pay, they write off a $4000 expense or get reimbursed for it by the government. If you don't have insurance and pay for it, they make out like fat cats. If you have insurance, they still make way more money than they should be because that CT scanner is a total cash cow that often the prescribing doctor owns, or his buddy does. All the medical system has to do to pull this kind of thing off is to remember to bitch and moan all the time and nobody questions them.
And how can the medical system in India perform major surgeries for a fraction of what it costs in the US, and yet still have top-notch results? In too many instances, US insurance companies are reimbursing their subscribers 100% if they go to India to have an operation done.
Info from proprietary newsletter, so link goes to Brown's web page about the Dims' letter:
Ten influential Senate Democrats rolled out a list of demands today for global warming legislation by warning President Obama that their votes hinge on whether the bill will protect their states' manufacturing bases.
Sens. Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan took the lead in the letter to the White House, which ticks through a number of items they consider critical in climate legislation to help their local industries that produce iron ore, cement, glass and other energy-intensive goods.
The senators said any bill must ensure a level playing field for U.S. manufacturing if China and other fast-developing nations fail to act to curb their greenhouse gas emissions. They warned that they would find it "extremely difficult" to support legislation without such protections for manufacturers. Why do the words "Smoot" and "Hawley" keep running through my mind....?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
08/10/2009 14:25 ||
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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.
[Al Arabiya Latest] Chinese authorities have lifted a quarantine order that was imposed on a remote town of 10,000 people to contain a deadly outbreak of pneumonic plague, according to a report Sunday. Local authorities removed the order on Saturday evening after no new cases of the plague were detected in a week, the Beijing News daily said.
