Wednesday, May 30, 2012
4.8 Magnitude Earthquake CENTRAL PERU - 30th May 2012
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake has struck Central Peru at a depth of 56.2 km (34.9 miles), the quake hit at 21:59:06 UTC Wednesday 30th May 2012The epicenter was 186 km (115 miles) ESE of Huanuco, Peru
No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time
4.6 Magnitude Earthquake REVILLA GIGEDO ISLANDS REGION - 30th May 2012
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake has struck the Revilla Gigedo Islands Region at a depth of 10.1 km (6.3 miles), the quake hit at 21:24:26 UTC Wednesday 30th May 2012The epicenter was 231 km (143 miles) ENE of Socorro Island, Mexico
No Tsunami Warning Issued - No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time
5.3 Magnitude Earthquake NEAR THE EAST COAST OF KAMCHATKA, RUSSIA - 30th May 2012
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake has struck near the East Coast of Kamchatla, Russia at a depth of 33.5 km (20.8 miles), the quake hit at 21:22:31 UTC Wednesday 30th May 2012The epicenter was 259 km (160 miles) Northeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, Russia
No Tsunami Warning Issued - No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time
5.4 Magnitude Earthquake EASTERN KAZAKHSTAN - 30th May 2012
A magnitude 5.4 earthquake has struck Eastern Kazakhstan at a depth of 23.1 km (14.4 miles), the quake hit at 21:20:57 UTC Wednesday 30th May 2012The epicenter was 105 km (65 miles) NNE of Karakol (Przhevalsk), Kyrgyzstan
No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time
4.2 Magnitude Earthquake KURIL ISLANDS - 30th May 2012
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake has struck the Kuril islands at a depth of 33 km (20.4 miles), the quake hit at 20:40:09 UTC Wednesday 30th May 2012The epicenter was 582 km (360.8 miles) Southwest of Petropavlovsk-kamchatskiy, Kuril Islands, Russia
No Tsunami Warning Issued - No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time
4.8 Magnitude Earthquake SIMEULUE, INDONESIA - 30th May 2012
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake has struck Simeulue, Indonesia at a depth of 17 km (7.4 miles), the quake hit at 20:12:43 UTC Wednesday 30th May 2012The epicenter was 192 km (119.4 miles) Northwest of Gunung, Indonesia
No Tsunami Warning Issued - No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time
20,000 apply for 877 jobs at Montgomery, Alabama Hyundai Plant
At the Hyundai plant in Montgomery, Alabama more than 20,000 people have applied for one of the 877 job openings.
The surge of people applying may seem unusual, but it's not.
Take a look:
-- Last summer Ford had more than 18,000 people apply for one of 1,800 jobs at the retooled Louisville plant. That plant will open and start building the Edge SUV in mid-June.
-- In 2011, more than 41,000 applied for one of the 1,300 positions at the new Toyota plant in Tupelo, Mississippi.
-- In 2009, more than 65,000 applied for one of the 2,700 jobs at the new Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, TN. Since opening, that plant has added shifts and is currently hiring another 820 workers.
There's no doubt the recession and the fact so many Americans are still out of work was the primary factor driving the waves of people applying for jobs at auto plants.
Another huge factor is the type of jobs being offered. Good pay and benefits with solid companies in an industry set for steady growth over the next 3-5 years. Those jobs are hard to find in blue-collar America. source
Note: Does anyone else see the irony in 20,000 Americans applying for 877 jobs for a South Korean car manufacturer?
Iran has indeed sent troops into Syria to fight the rebels: It's official
“Before our presence in Syria, too many people were killed by the opposition but with the physical and non-physical presence of the Islamic republic, big massacres in Syria were prevented,” Ismail Gha’ani, the deputy head of Iran’s Quds force, a shadowy branch of the Revolutionary Guards in charge of overseas operations, said in an interview with the semi-official Iranian Student’s News Agency (ISNA), according to a report by the Persian-language GozaraNews website.
ISNA published the interview on Sunday night, but subsequently removed it from its website “under pressure,” the report said.
Syria is Iran’s most important regional ally, and Tehran has long used its neighbor’s territory as a base for operations to maintain a lifeline to militant groups Hezbollah and Hamas, Iran’s proxies in southern Lebanon and Gaza.
Rumors that Iran has provided military support to Assad, to assist his crackdown on the popular uprising that has challenged his family’s 40-year grip on power, have circulated since the outbreak of protests in Syria in March 2011. more
Mick Philpott and his wife Mairead Charged with the Murder of their 6 Children
The parents of six children killed in an arson attack on their home in Derby have been charged with murder.Derbyshire Police had arrested Mick Philpott, 55, and his wife Mairead, 31, on suspicion of murder on Tuesday.
The pair will appear before Southern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court on Thursday morning.
A Crown Prosecution Service spokesman said: "The evidence was reviewed by a Crown Advocate from the CPS East Midlands Complex Casework Unit, who decided that there was sufficient evidence to charge and that it is in the public interest for a prosecution to take place.
"It is important to note that the defendants are entitled to a fair trial and nothing should be said or reported that would prejudice that right." Read More
Spain faces 'total emergency' as fear grips markets
“We’re in a situation of total emergency, the worst crisis we have ever lived through” said ex-premier Felipe Gonzalez, the country’s elder statesman.
The warning came as the yields on Spanish 10-year bonds spiked to 6.7pc, pushing the “risk premium” over German Bunds to a post-euro high of 540 basis points. The IBEX index of stocks in Madrid fell 2.6pc, the lowest since the dotcom bust in 2003.
Chaos over the €23.5bn rescue of crippled lender Bankia has led to the abrupt resignation of central bank governor Miguel Ăngel FernĂĄndez Ordóùez, who testified to the senate that he had been muzzled to avoid enflaming events as confidence in the country drains away.
Markets are on tenterhooks as Spanish yields test levels that forced the European Central Bank to respond last November with its €1 trillion liquidity blitz. “Nobody is short Spanish debt right now because they are expecting ECB intervention,” said Andrew Roberts, credit chief at RBS. “If it doesn’t come -- if we take out 6.8pc -- we’re going to see a hyberbolic sell-off,” he said.
Italy felt the full brunt of contagion from Spain on Wednesday, with 10-year yileds back near 6pc. The euro fell to a 2-year low of $1.239 against the dollar. Crude oil and metal prices plummeted and save-haven flight pushed rates on 2-year German debt to zero. Gilt yields fell to 1.64pc, the lowest in history. more
Eddie Shah Charged With Child Rape
Former newspaper proprietor Eddie Shah has been charged with several sex offences, including rape, against a teenage girl.The 68-year-old, who founded the now defunct Today newspaper, was charged alongside a man and woman, both 52, at Hammersmith Police Station, Scotland Yard said.
The charges, said to have happened on various dates in the 1990s, relate to the same alleged victim, who was then aged between 12 and 15 years.
Shah, whose real name is Selim Shah, from Chippenham, Wiltshire, was charged with seven counts of rape of a female under the age of 16, and two counts of gross indecency with a girl under 14, Scotland Yard said.
The charges - faced jointly with the woman - are alleged to have happened between 1993 and 1995.
Anthony Pallant, of West Malling, Kent, was charged with two counts of rape of a female under the age of 16, and one count of indecent assault on a girl under 14.
He also faces four counts of gross indecency with a girl under 16, jointly charged with the woman.
The alleged offences are said to have happened on various dates between 1991 and 1994.
The accused woman, from Kent, who police did not name, was charged with one count of indecent assault on a girl under 14 and was also charged jointly with Pallant of four counts of gross indecency with a girl under 16.
She also faces two counts of gross indecency with a girl under 16 - charged jointly with Shah - and seven counts of aiding and abetting the rape of a female under the age of 16 by Shah. Read More
Seattle's University District Shooting: 2 Dead 3 Injured, Shooter still at Large
SEATTLE (AP) - Two people have been killed and three injured in a shooting in Seattle's University District.Police say one of the wounded has life threatening injuries and two are in serious condition.
Police are searching for the gunman, described as a man in his 30s wearing dark clothes. Source
Plamen Petkov Hero who lost his life saving saving the life of a five-year-old girl
The devastated family of a hero who drowned at sea saving the life of a five-year-old girl have spoken of their immense pride.Plamen Petkov, 32, had been on a day out to the beach with a friend on Saturday at West Wittering, West Sussex when tragedy struck.
His family said he rushed to the help of a mother who was shouting for help because her daughter was drifting out to sea on an inflatable ring.
They said Mr Petkov - a British Citizen of Bulgarian origin - dived into the water ‘without second thoughts’, followed by his friend and another woman from Guildford, Surrey.
But the hero, who was not related to the youngster, had a suspected heart attack and drowned just 16ft from the shore moments after delivering the unharmed child to safety.
Shocked beachgoers attempted to save his life using CPR for 40 minutes before an air ambulance arrived.
The family of Mr Petkov, an electrician who lived in Sutton, Surrey, said they welcomed calls by members of the public to award him with a posthumous honour for his bravery.
In a statement they said: ‘We are all incredibly sad to have lost such a special person from our lives but we are also immensely proud that Plamen was able to save the life of this young child. Read More
Detective Trevor Grayfound guilty of raping woman, 43, in her own home after she turned him down following date
A police detective sergeant has been found guilty of raping a 43-year-old mother in her home.The officer shook his head in the dock as a jury at Derby Crown Court took less than three hours to convict Trevor Gray of rape, attempted rape and sexual assault.
The victim had told the court she had been unable to confront Gray, 47, because her young child was also in the house at the time.
Gray, from Nottingham, had been suspended from Nottinghamshire Police pending the outcome of the investigation into the attack at a house in Nottingham last July.
The court heard that he forced the security chain on the front door of his victim’s house, then made his way upstairs and attacked her as she slept. Read More
Muhammed Shafi charged with the murder of Tuanjai Sprengel, 43, Who was discovered dead by two gardeners in an underpass in Bracknell, Berkshire
A mother found dead in a subway was a fully trained kick-boxer who had been dating the man accused of killing her.Tuanjai Sprengel, 43, was found with her head battered from behind, lying in an underpass in Bracknell, Berkshire, on Sunday morning.
Today her partner Muhammed Shafi, 28, briefly appeared before magistrates' charged with murder.
The suspect was arrested in the couple's one-bedroom flat just six hours after the Thai-born mother-of-one was found dead.
He was remanded in custody today by magistrates in Slough and he is due to appear again at Reading Crown Court tomorrow.
Shafi, from Pakistan, was not asked to confirm his address or date of birth as an interpreter had not been provided.
The 28-year-old, who speaks limited English, was flanked by two security guards as he appeared in the dock for the brief hearing. Read More
Tibetan mother-of-three dies after setting herself on fire in latest protest over Chinese rule
A Tibetan mother has died after setting fire to herself outside a monastery in the latest protest against China's occupation of the country.Rechok, a nomad in her 30s who has three children, died outside the Jonang Dzamthang monastery in Barma Township this afternoon.
Her body is currently in the monastery and Tibetans have been gathering for her cremation, which is expected to be held this evening.
Rechok spent the last few days in the mountains tending to the family’s animals before travelling into the town ready to give her life.
She has two daughters aged nine and 15, and a 17-year-old son.
There have now been four self-immolations in Barma in 2012 and Rechok is one of more than 30 Tibetans who have engulfed themselves in flames over the last year. Read More
Has the Darkroom Murderer been Caught? Serial killer 'drugged and strangled five men in dimly-lit sex rooms of gay Berlin bars'
A suspected serial killer dubbed 'The Darkroom Murderer' who is said to have drugged and then strangled three men has been detained.German police are laying the murder of three, the attempted killing of another, and the possible slaughter of two more at the door of the predator known as Dirk P.
The 37-year-old was given his nickname after he allegedly killed and strangled a 32-year-old man in the dimly lit 'sex room' of a gay Berlin bar.
An autopsy found he had drunk liquid ecstasy given to him by his killer which knocked him out.
Police say he has confessed to the murder, and two others, since his arrest at the weekend.
'There is certain evidence to suggest the man was getting a certain kick from the attacks,' said the the state prosecutor. Read More
Global warming sceptics are BETTER-informed about science than believers
Climate change sceptics are often derided as uninformed - but a new study proves that the opposite is the case.Sceptical individuals are slightly MORE science literate than 'believers' in climate change.
The difference isn't huge, according to a survey of 1500 U.S. adults.
57% of sceptics are 'science literate' according to tests asking basic science and maths questions, versus 56% of believers. Read More
Angel Vega Roman 'bit lips off kitten and strangled another to death because he was depressed at losing his girlfriend'
A Florida man has been charged with animal cruelty after allegedly biting the lips off a kitten and strangling another to death.Angel Vega Roman, 28, reportedly confessed that he had maimed the cats, which belonged to his roommates, because he was depressed at losing his girlfriend.
According to a Flagler County Sheriff's report, he told an acquaintance he accidentally choked one kitten, chewed the lips off another and 'burnt its ear and whiskers with a lighter'. Two cats are unaccounted for.
He was arrested on Saturday after the acquaintance called the authorities. Read More
160 schoolgirls taken to hospital after second 'Taliban poisoning of Afghanistan school in a week'
Dozens of Afghan schoolgirls were rushed to hospital after they were poisoned at school in a suspected Taliban attack.Police officers in Taluqan, northern Afghanistan, said the classrooms at the school might have been sprayed with a toxic material before the girls entered.
A total of 160 girls aged between ten and 20 from the Aahan Dara Girls School were taken to hospital.
They were complaining of headaches, vomiting and dizziness.
According to CNN, more than half of the girls were discharged within a few hours of treatment yesterday.
Last week 125 schoolgirls and three teachers were poisoned in Takhar province. Read More
Lost photos prove Greenland's ice was melting FASTER 80 years ago than today
A stash of 80-year-old photo plates in a Danish basement has proved that Greenland's ice was melting even faster then that it is now.In the thirties, Greenland's ice was melting rapidly, then there was a cooling period in the middle part of the twentieth century, and now it is melting again, accelerating in the 2000s.
Images of ice shelves from the pre-satellite era are extremely rare, so it's often difficult to assess the scale and speed of Arctic ice melting today.
Researchers at the National Survey and Cadastre of Denmark had been storing the glass plates since explorer Knud Rasmussen's expedition to the southeast coast of Greenland in the early 1930s.
In this week's online edition of Nature Geoscience, Ohio State University researchers and colleagues in Denmark describe how they analyzed ice loss in the region by comparing the images on the plates to aerial photographs and satellite images taken from World War II to today.
Taken together, the imagery shows that glaciers in the region were melting even faster in the 1930s than they are today, said Jason Box, associate professor of geography and researcher at the Byrd Polar Research Center at Ohio State. Read More
Paedophile Warren Jeffs has a revelation in prison: Don't abuse women ...Maybe he will have another Revelation DO NOT ABUSE KIDS
Polygamist leader Warren Jeffs has shared an apparent change of heart in his latest 'revelation' from prison, writing that women should not be abused.The Fundamentalist Latter-Day Saints Church leader is serving a 130-year sentence at Powledge Unit near Palestine, Texas, for systematic child sex assault and marrying underage girls.
The 56-year-old's 'revelation', one of a series of religious messages he has addressed to the Utah State Attorney General, is dated 13 May, just days before the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rejected his appeal.
Jeffs wrote, 'Let women be free, to be educated, to have full protection from abuse, ye nations', Fox News reported.
'Let this truth awaken all to have life, yea, individual lives, in order, a holy Way of living my law of love for all, through pure way living on World.' Read More
World markets tumble back into the red as fears grow Spain will need an EU bailout
World markets tumbled back into the red today as fears grew Spain will need an EU bailout.The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down more than 1 per cent on doubts the nation will be able to afford to recapitalise its fourth biggest lender Bankia.
There are also increasing worries that other Spanish banks will also need bailing out.
The FTSE 100 Index was nearly 2 per cent or 96.8 points lower at 5295.3 as Spain saw the yield on its 10-year bonds rise to a record euro-era high of 6.68 per cent at one stage.
This is close to the 7 per cent level that pushed Greece, Ireland and Portugal into taking a bailout in a sign that investors had little faith in the country's ability to deal with its debts.
Chris Beauchamp, market analyst at IG Index, said: 'Investor confidence wanes by the day, and it could only be a matter of time before the Spanish government is forced to ask for financial aid.' Read More
Was Flame super-virus created in the US? Cyber weapon threatening to cripple entire nations has 'hallmarks of the NSA'
The Flame computer virus which is threatening to bring countries to a standstill is too sophisticated to have been created anywhere other than the U.S., it was claimed today.As the United Nations prepares to issue its 'most serious warning' to guard against the superbug, cyber experts said it carried all the markings of a U.S. espionage operation.
Specifically, they have pointed the finger at the highly secretive National Security Agency.
UN computer security chief Marco Obiso moved to highlight the gravity of the situation after it emerged the bug had been used to hack into computers in Iran.
The sophisticated spyware – said to be about 100 times the size of most malicious software – also hacked other machines in the Middle East, including Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Egypt. Read More
Mack Randall Wolford dies - hours after he is bitten by one of his snakes he used to test his Faith (his father died the same way)
A Pentecostal reverend known for preaching with the help of a rattlesnake coiled around his arm lost his life when one of the creatures suddenly bit him.Mack Randall Wolford, pastor at the Full Gospel Apostolic House of the Lord Jesus in Matoaka, West Virginia, died hours after receiving the deadly bite on Sunday - the day after his 44th birthday.
Wolford’s father, who was also a serpent-handling pastor, died in the same way nearly 30 years ago.
Wolford had been bitten three times before, but never sought medical attention, saying that a bite was a test of his faith. It was his wish not to be taken to a hospital unless absolutely necessary.
But by the time he was taken to Bluefield Regional Medical Center, it was too late. Read More
Eurozone Aid Fund 'Should Bypass Governments'.....I am waiting for them to Slap United States of Europe on the Table, can't be much longer Now..Surely
EU officials have called for the eurozone's emergency bailout fund to be used to directly shore-up troubled banks, by-passing national governments.As Spain's banking problems deepened, the European Commission said that consideration should be given to using the eurozone firewall, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), to prop up crisis-hit banks within the currency bloc.
In an annual report card on the 17-nation eurozone and the economic challenges it faces, the EU executive said: "To sever the link between banks and the sovereigns (debt), direct recapitalisation by the ESM might be envisaged." Read More
5.0 Magnitude Earthquake STATE OF YAP, MICRONESIA - 30th May 2012
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake has struck State of Yap, Micronesia at a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles), the quake hit at 13:56:11 UTC Wednesday 30th May 2012
The epicenter was 621 km (385 miles) Southwest of Tamuning, Guam
No Tsunami Warning Issued - No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time
4.8 Magnitude Earthquake NICOBAR ISLANDS, INDIA REGION - 30th May 2012
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake has struck the Nicobar Islands, India Region at a depth of 2 km (1.2 miles), the quake hit at 13:22:59 UTC Wednesday 30th May 2012The epicenter was 418 km (259.1 miles) South of Port Blair, Nicobar Islands, India
No Tsunami Warning Issued - No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time
4.2 Magnitude Earthquake BURYATIYA, RUSSIA - 30th May 2012
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake has struck Buryatiya, Russia at a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles), the quake hit at 11:33:35 UTC Wednesday 30th May 2012The epicenter was 34 km (21.8 miles) Southwest Taksimo, Russia
No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time
"How to start each day with a positive outlook"
1. Open a new file in your computer.
2. Name it 'Barack Obama'.
3. Send it to the Recycle Bin.
4. Empty the Recycle Bin.
5. Your PC will ask you: ‘Do you really want to get rid of Barack Obama
6. Firmly click ‘YES’
7. Feel better?
Note: I found this amusing quip left by a commenter on another website. The next question is, get rid of him and replace him with whom?
Hailstorm causes havoc with French vineyards
Nearly 6,000 hectares of Cotes-de-Provence and Coteaux-Varois vineyards (between 70% to 100%) were destroyed after a heavy hail storm hit south eastern France last Sunday, writes Elizabeth Gabay MW.The vineyards around the villages of Pignans, Carnoules, Flassans-sur-Issole, Carcès, Besse-sur-Issole, Brignoles, Correns, Cotignac and Le Val et Montfort-sur-Argens in the central Var were at the centre of the storm.
For some vineyards, the hail was violent enough to not only destroy this year’s harvest but also those of next year and possibly even 2014.
In a primary survey, around ten co-operatives and between thirty to forty independent domains have been affected.
A special committee has been set up to evaluate the damage to the individual wine domaines and for compensation to be available. Local mayors have asked for a state of natural catastrophe to be declared. Read More
'Stony iron meteorites may have hit Katol', India
A team of scientists from Mumbai left for Nagpur on Tuesday to investigate the impact of last Tuesday’s meteorite shower in the Katol region, which left several houses damaged. The team is expected to reach Nagpur on Wednesday early morning.“We were actually suppose to leave on Monday, but had to wait for the confirmation of our tickets,” Bharat Adur, head of Akash Ganga Centre for Astronomy (AGCA), Thane, said.
The scientists will be at the site for the next three days to investigate the matter. “Based on the information I received, at least six houses were affected because of this meteorite shower…only stony iron meteorites have such a huge impact,” said Mr Adur, adding, “We cannot declare anything immediately, and can only confirm the type of meteorite shower, once we visit the site.”
When asked if anyone was to be blamed for not forewarning the locals in Katol, Mr Adur said “ I am not blaming anyone for this, but European Space Research Organisation (Esro) should have been more tactful. For that matter, even the airport authorities are provided with a radar, which detects such meteorite showers, at least an hour before they hit the earth. Adequate precautions could have been taken.” Read More
American kidnapped in West Africa's Benin
(Reuters) - A U.S. citizen has been kidnapped in Benin, the U.S. embassy in Nigeria said on Wednesday, and sources said the American had been lured to the West African country by criminals met on the Internet.A security source said the man had travelled to the country to meet a group of people from Benin and neighboring Nigeria.
He was abducted and then forced to contact his family to ask for a ransom payment, the source in Benin said.
There were no apparent links to Islamist groups or pirates which operate in the region, the source said.
"A U.S. citizen was recently kidnapped in Benin. The U.S. Embassy in Cotonou (Benin's economic capital) has no reason to believe that other U.S. citizens or interests are at risk," said a notice posted on the website of the embassy in Nigeria, which acts as a U.S. regional diplomatic hub.
"The investigation is ongoing, and there are no further details at this time," it said. Read More
