New Zealand: Christchurch Earthquake
February 22nd, 2011Update: Christchurch Earthquake Likely to be NZ’s Worst Natural Disaster
Via: New Zealand Herald:
Civil Defence Minister John Carter has confirmed today’s declaration of a National Emergency is the first time the measure has been invoked, and that reflects the likelihood yesterday’s quake may prove to be New Zealand’s worst natural disaster.
While the current Civil Defence Act only came into effect nine years ago, previous legislation allowed for a similar declaration, but that had never happened.
“We felt it was justified in this case because of the devastation that’s occuring and the likely impact it will have on so many people.”
Asked whether this meant the quake was New Zealand’s worst natural disaster, Mr Carter said: “Certainly history would tend to show that it’s likely to be”.
“Until we have an absolute understanding on what’s likely to be out there we can’t say that for sure.”
—End Update—
I’ll just respond to all the emails with a post: We’re fine. We live near the top of the North Island (far from Christchurch). Thanks for your concern.
Via: New Zealand Herald:
Police have reported “multiple fatalities” at several locations in the downtown area, including where two buses were crushed by falling buildings.
Today’s shake, measured at magnitude 6.3, followed the massive 7.1 tremor last September 4. That one struck in the early hours of the morning and no one was killed.
Today’s earthquake jolted the city at 12.51pm, the worst possible time with the central city packed with lunch-hour shoppers, office workers and many school children.
Victims were crushed to death as buildings collapsed, many of them weakened in last year’s event.
The quake was not as powerful as the September 4 shake but was much shallower, leading to greater damage.
Scientists put the epicentre at 10km southeast of the city – apparently in the middle of the harbour at Lyttelton, the city’s coastal port – at a depth of only 5km.
Italian Stock Market Halted: Technical Difficulties?
February 22nd, 2011Oh sure.
Via: Wall Street Journal:
The European country considered most exposed to the unrest in Libya is its former colonial ruler, Italy. And investors wanting to do something about that today have limited options: the Italian Bourse is closed due to technical problems. It is expected to reopen at 9:30 ET.
On Monday, the FTSE Mib Index fell 3.6%, the worst among European markets. Today, the Stoxx Europe 600 is down 0.6%. The France CAC-40 is off 1.1%, the worst performer of the major European markets.
Libya: Crimes Against Humanity
February 22nd, 2011Via: Al Jazeera:
Protesters say security forces using warplanes and live fire ‘massacred’ them, as UN warns of possible ‘war crimes’.
Libyan forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi are waging a bloody operation to keep him in power, with residents reporting gunfire in parts of the capital Tripoli and other cities, while other citizens, including the country’s former ambassador to India, are saying that warplanes were used to “bomb” protesters.
Nearly 300 people are reported to have been killed in continuing violence in the capital and across the North African country as demonstrations enter their second week.
Navi Pillay, the UN high commissioner for human rights, has warned that the widespread attacks against civilians “amount to crimes against humanity”, and called for an international investigation in possible human rights violations.
LIVE BLOG
Witnesses in Tripoli told Al Jazeera that fighter jets had bombed portions of the city in fresh attacks on Monday night. The bombing focused on ammunition depots and control centres around the capital.
Helicopter gunships were also used, they said, to fire on the streets in order to scare demonstrators away.
Several witnesses said that “mercenaries” were firing on civilians in the city, while pro-Gaddafi forces warned people not to leave their homes via loudspeakers mounted on cars.
Residents of the Tajura neighbourhood, east of Tripoli, said that dead bodies are still lying on the streets from earlier violence. At least 61 people were killed in the capital on Monday, witnesses told Al Jazeeera.
‘Indiscriminate bombing’
Protests in the oil-rich African country, which Gaddafi has ruled for 41 years, began on February 14, but picked up momentum after a brutal government crackdown following a “Day of Rage” on February 17. Demonstrators say they have now taken control of several important towns, including the city of Benghazi, which saw days of bloody clashes between protesters and government forces.
There has been a heavy government crackdown on protests, however, and demonstrators at a huge anti-government march in the capital on Monday afternoon said they came under attack from fighter jets and security forces using live ammunition.
“What we are witnessing today is unimaginable. Warplanes and helicopters are indiscriminately bombing one area after another. There are many, many dead,” Adel Mohamed Saleh said in a live broadcast.
“Anyone who moves, even if they are in their car, they will hit you.”
Ali al-Essawi, who resigned as Libyan ambassador to India, also told Al Jazeera on Tuesday that fighter jets had been used by the government to bomb civilians.
He said live fire was being used against protesters, and that foreigners had been hired to fight on behalf of the government. The former ambassador called the violence “a massacre”, and called on the UN to block Libyan airspace in order to “protect the people”.
Two Libyan Air Force Colonels Refuse to Launch Air Strikes on Civilians, Land Jets in Malta
February 22nd, 2011Via: Reuters:
Two Libyan Air Force fighter pilots defected on Monday and flew their jets to Malta where they told authorities they had been ordered to bomb protesters, Maltese government officials said.
They said the two pilots, both colonels, took off from a base near Tripoli. One of them has requested political asylum.
The pilots are being questioned by the Maltese police.
The two said they decided to fly to Malta after being ordered to bomb anti-government protesters in Libya’s second largest city of Benghazi, the sources said.
Detroit to Close Half of Public Schools
February 22nd, 2011Via: The Detroit News:
Swift and severe changes are coming to Detroit Public Schools.
State education officials have ordered Robert Bobb to immediately implement a financial restructuring plan that balances the district’s books by closing half of its schools, swelling high school class sizes to 60 students and consolidating operations.
Oil Surges 4%
February 21st, 2011Via: CNN:
Oil prices surged more than 4% early Monday as antigovernment protests in the Middle East and Africa intensified, raising worries about possible supply disruptions.
Crude oil for April delivery gained $3.80, or 3.8%, to $93.51 a barrel after earlier jumping as high as $93.75.
U.S. oil prices have been trading in a range between $88 and $94 a barrel since the start of the year but prices have been much higher in other parts of the world.
Brent crude, the benchmark European oil standard, hit a 2-1/2-year high of $105 a barrel before retreating slightly. An overhang of supply has been keeping U.S. prices on the low side … for now.
Kids Who Skip School Are Tracked by GPS
February 21st, 2011Via: OC Register:
Frustrated by students habitually skipping class, police and school officials in Anaheim are turning to GPS tracking to ensure they come to class.
The Anaheim Union High School District is the first in California to test Global Positioning System technology as part of a six-week pilot program that began last week, officials said.
Seventh- and eighth-graders with four unexcused absences or more this school year are assigned to carry a handheld GPS device, about the size of a cell phone.
Each morning on schooldays, they get an automated phone call reminding them that they need to get to school on time.
Then, five times a day, they are required to enter a code that tracks their locations – as they leave for school, when they arrive at school, at lunchtime, when they leave school and at 8 p.m.
Related: Texas: “In-School Suspension Program” Uses GPS Tracking Systems Attached to Students
Oil Companies Plan Evacuations From Libya
February 21st, 2011Update: Reuters: Gaddafi Fled Libya, on Way to Venezuela [???]
A senior source in the Venezuelan government denied on Monday reports that Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was traveling to the South American oil-producing nation led by his ally President Hugo Chavez.
The Caracas government “denies such information,” the source told Reuters.
Via: Reuters:
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Monday he had seen some information to suggest Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi had fled the country and was on his way to Venezuela.
—End Update—
Via: New York Times:
Global oil companies said Monday that they were making plans to evacuate employees in Libya after some operations there were disrupted by political unrest. Libya holds the largest crude oil reserves in Africa, and the moves drove some stock prices down and a crucial oil benchmark to a three-year high.
Does the Air Force Already Have a Secret Stealth Bomber?
February 21st, 2011Via: Wired:
The Air Force “consistently refers to its new bomber as based on ‘proven technology,’ but there is no known basis of proof for its most important single feature: a degree of stealth high enough to assure survival in a heavily defended area, combined with affordability in manufacture and support.”
But that doesn’t mean there isn’t an unknown — in other words, classified — program that spawned the “mature” stealth technologies for the new bomber. After all, the Air Force’s roughly $30-billion-a-year black budget is more than adequate to fund a wide range of cutting-edge weapon systems. At least one secret plane, the Lockheed Martin RQ-170 drone, recently emerged from the shadows.
In fact, Sweetman believes he has identified the bomber prototype’s manufacturer: Northrop Grumman, builder of the 1990s-vintage B-2 stealth bomber. In mid-2008, Northrop’s financial documents listed a $2-billion “restricted programs” contract that Sweetman claims paid for a bomber prototype.
What Is a Commercial Signal Failure?
February 21st, 2011Warning: This is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any financial instrument.
Wow, that silver chart is one of the nuttiest things I’ve ever seen. Congratulations silver longs.
Personally, I’m only holding a few pounds of pre-1964 quarters that I thought might be useful as post collapse money someday…
I have to say, if you think gold bugs are nuts, they can’t hold a candle to the silver bugs, which I have heard talking about this for at least fifteen years. Frightening, white-haired old dudes with silver and turquoise belt buckles, white leather boots and big cowboy hats; fingers stained orange from a half century of smoking cigarettes they roll themselves.
Shine on you wild diamonds.
Via: Trader Dan’s Market Views:
As with any market, the potential always exists for such a development especially when there exists a very large short contingent in a market that has already seen a decent price rise. Any further exacerbations of the supply/demand balance can trigger one of these events. If one does happen in silver, trust me on this one, you will not have to ask the question: “Gee I wonder if we are seeing a Commercial Signal Failure in Silver”. You will know it.
Research Credit: Pookie
