We return to classes today. As much as I enjoy the chance to learn, I found it very difficult to roll out of bed this morning.
Today is also the first workday since DST was implemented. The concept of DST was to save energy by allowing as much work as possible to be accomplished without using electricity. The nature of work for most of us has changed sufficiently from the era of WWI as to render this all but invalid. Even at high noon, local time, if we work indoors we burn lamps to see. I used to adapt to the time changes rather easily. Somewhere around age 55, I lost that easy adaptation.
There is also the fact that I sleep very well next to Gloria. Dragging one’s self from a comfortable, happily shared bed should be difficult. It is.
The current events in the Pacific tied into my Volcanology class very well. We began hearing Dr. Gregg’s report of his trip to Kilauea and the National Volcano Observatory. That covered the existing eruptions and the new linear vent development. We also spent about half the class discussing the 11 Mar earthquake and tsunami. These horrible events actually have direct links to Volcanology. The Ring of Fire is extremely active now and may become even more so. I was sorry to see class end this morning. There was more participation in the class than I’ve noticed so far. I may follow this semester with a Natural Hazards course if Gregg teaches it next fall.
The conflict in Libya is still unresolved. Compared to the nightmare in Japan, Libya is of no great concern beyond its geographic and cultural region. The Arab League has opted to support a no fly zone if it is not enforced by a NATO agent. They want Khadafy stopped if it is not done by a Western state and if they don’t have to do it. They will object to a U.S. enforced no fly zone almost as vociferously as I will. They will not act to implement such a solution using either a single Arab nation’s airpower or that of an Arab coalition. Thus, nothing will be done to stop Khadafy’s use of airpower against civilians. The Arabs will complain that they are proscribed from killing other Muslims. They will also complain that the Western nations won’t support their needs in the matter. No changes seem to be coming from that quarter.
Japan is sitting on the potentiality of a triple core dirty bomb. With three nuclear plants in the first stages of core meltdown and no way to affect repairs to allow introduction of core coolant, there is little else that can be done except population evacuation. The introduction of sea water into the plant is an indication of how desperate the situation has become. Those reactors and their supporting structure are never going to generate power again.
It may be time for commercial power companies to look at the design specs used to construct and operate U.S. Navy reactors. Those over engineered systems demanded by Rickover have stood the test of time and hard usage. They were built for performance, safety, and longevity, not for power production by low-bid builders and operators. Nuclear power is necessary to our future power consumption. Like anything else corporations become involved in, the greed factor always over-rides safety.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Sunday, March 13, 2011
13 March 2011 Our troops can’t afford any more of your honor, Mr. Roe“
Roe Continues to Advocate for Veterans
U.S. House passes legislation honoring our servicemembers
Washington, Nov 3, 2009 -
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Congressman Phil Roe, M.D. (TN-1), a Member of the Veterans Affairs Committee, voted for legislation that continues to support and honor our veterans.
“I am proud to support and advocate on behalf of our servicemembers, who so tirelessly fought for the freedom of our nation,” said Roe. “Next Wednesday we will celebrate Veterans Day, which is a very important holiday because it is reserved to honor our military veterans. As a veteran and a Member of the U.S. House Veterans Affairs Committee, I am committed to ensuring our veterans receive the best possible care, benefits and opportunities possible. I believe that’s our duty as a nation.”
http://roe.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=214856
In 2011, the House further honors our service men and women. The GOP acts to render more service men and women homeless. The debt involved in securing homes for military personnel, families, and veterans is too great to absorb. Nevertheless, the Bush tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy are perfectly acceptable to the GOP and teahadists. Something is just not right in that equation.
HR 836:
Emergency Mortgage Relief Program Termination Act - Rescinds and permanently cancels all unobligated funding remaining available under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act for the Emergency Mortgage Relief Program. Terminates the program.
Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to study: (1) the extent to which the Emergency Mortgage Relief Program is used by homeowners who are active duty members of the Armed Forces (or their spouses or parents), veterans, or Gold Star-eligible widows, parents, or next of kin of Armed Forces members who died in military operations; and (2) the impact of the program on such homeowners.
The Democrats asked that this be continued in light of the high rate of foreclosure among veterans, active duty, and other military personnel including Gold Star eligible. Last year, 20,000 active duty personnel, reservists, and veterans lost their homes. Voting with the GOP bloc to deny financial support to our active duty troops and our veterans, Phillip Roe. Which part of “the best possible care, benefits and opportunities possible” is becoming homeless while on active duty, Mr. Roe?
U.S. House passes legislation honoring our servicemembers
Washington, Nov 3, 2009 -
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Congressman Phil Roe, M.D. (TN-1), a Member of the Veterans Affairs Committee, voted for legislation that continues to support and honor our veterans.
“I am proud to support and advocate on behalf of our servicemembers, who so tirelessly fought for the freedom of our nation,” said Roe. “Next Wednesday we will celebrate Veterans Day, which is a very important holiday because it is reserved to honor our military veterans. As a veteran and a Member of the U.S. House Veterans Affairs Committee, I am committed to ensuring our veterans receive the best possible care, benefits and opportunities possible. I believe that’s our duty as a nation.”
http://roe.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=214856
In 2011, the House further honors our service men and women. The GOP acts to render more service men and women homeless. The debt involved in securing homes for military personnel, families, and veterans is too great to absorb. Nevertheless, the Bush tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy are perfectly acceptable to the GOP and teahadists. Something is just not right in that equation.
HR 836:
Emergency Mortgage Relief Program Termination Act - Rescinds and permanently cancels all unobligated funding remaining available under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act for the Emergency Mortgage Relief Program. Terminates the program.
Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to study: (1) the extent to which the Emergency Mortgage Relief Program is used by homeowners who are active duty members of the Armed Forces (or their spouses or parents), veterans, or Gold Star-eligible widows, parents, or next of kin of Armed Forces members who died in military operations; and (2) the impact of the program on such homeowners.
The Democrats asked that this be continued in light of the high rate of foreclosure among veterans, active duty, and other military personnel including Gold Star eligible. Last year, 20,000 active duty personnel, reservists, and veterans lost their homes. Voting with the GOP bloc to deny financial support to our active duty troops and our veterans, Phillip Roe. Which part of “the best possible care, benefits and opportunities possible” is becoming homeless while on active duty, Mr. Roe?
Saturday, March 12, 2011
12 March 2011 GOP commands the waves stand still
The death tolls in Japan are still rising. It is easily evident how many more might have died without the slight warning provided them by the Japanese monitoring agencies that exist to prevent loss of life in earthquakes and tsunamis. On our side of the Pacific Ocean, the tsunami still retained sufficient power to damage and kill. Our warning systems were employed in Hawaii, Alaska, and on the U.S. mainland. This was among the largest quakes ever documented. It will be one of the most studied and will provide tremendous amounts of information to geologists. Japan is poised to take advantage of what they learn.
Here, we will likely ignore most of it as “job killing” if the current GOP/teavangelists have their way. After all, taking care of the wealthy is more important than saving lives of common people.
Japan has recognized its particular vulnerability to earthquakes and tsunami. As a nation and as a society they have planned to minimize damage and maximize recovery. They realize that such tasks require heavy involvement by their government. At the same time, and in the face of numerous recent examples of why they should not proceed as planned, the GOP/teavangelists are planning to defund our government’s tsunami warning and research programs.
I wonder how many of them own 2nd homes and/or rental properties on beaches. I wonder how many of them will demand their buildings be rebuilt by taxpayer funded insurance plans. Just another payoff to the ultra-rich by the Congress they own.
In fact, the earthquake was so powerful that it caused some major geological changes. Scientists from the United States Geological Service (USGS) shared some startling information while answering questions from the public today.
• Earth’s axis has reportedly shifted 10 inches as a result of the quake
• Japan’s coast is said to have permanently shifted 2.4 meters
• 100+ aftershocks measuring 5.0 magnitude or more have hit Japan following the initial quake
• The quake was 900 times stronger than the one that hit San Francisco in 1989
• Shaking was felt as far away as China
• St. Louis, Missouri media outlets are reporting the city has moved an inch as a result of the quake
• Waves from the tsunami caused by the quake reached 32 feet
via The Vancouver Sun
http://www.inquisitr.com/100604/japans-earthquake-causes-earths-axis-and-japans-coast-to-shift/
It was a massive earthquake with some suggesting that they might have to revise the power of the quake upward from8.9 to 9.1.
The Pacific plate was displaced 18 meters. There is preliminary suggestion that the magnitude of the quake should be upgraded from 8.9 to 9.0.
Note the confusion in various reports. This morning I’ve seen statements indicating that Earth’s axis shifted as little as 10 cm to as much as 25 cm. Neither extreme will produce an impact noticeable by humans without high-powered instrumentation. Nor will it affect our lives in any manner unless we lived in the damage zones. Most of us are fortunate to experience this disaster only vicariously.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/world/Japan+quake+shifts+earth+axis/4428645/story.html
Japan's quake shifts earth's axis by 25 cm
News Services March 12, 2011
Initial results out of Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology show that the 8.9-magnitude earthquake that rattled Japan Friday shifted the earth's rotation axis by about 25 centimetres.
INGV's report, which came hours after the devastating incident, is equivalent to "very, very tiny" changes that won't be seen for centuries, though, Canadian geologists say.
Only after centuries would a second be lost as each day is shortened by a millionth of a second, according to University of Toronto geology professor Andrew Miall.
"Ten inches sounds like quite a lot when you hold a ruler in front of you. But if you think of it in terms of the earth as a whole, it's absolutely tiny; it's minute," he said.
"It's going to make minute changes to the length of a day. It could make very, very tiny changes to the tilt of the earth, which affects the seasons, but these effects are so small, it'd take very precise satellite navigation to pick it up."
Read more: http://www.canada.com/Japan+quake+shifts+earth+axis/4428645/story.html#ixzz1GOj5GCsI
The task of measuring the displacement of the Japanese coast is not overly difficult. We have the capability and new maps will be produced to reflect the change. Displacement of St, Louis MO won’t really require new maps. It does, however, speak to the amount of energy involved in the quake.
Warning!
Below lie facts, figures, charts, & dry equations
The volume, mass, and mass density of the planet are:
Volume, 1.08321×1012 km3, [ Mass, 5.9736×1024 kg] Mean density, 5.515 g/cm3.
These can be plugged into very complex equations to determine the forces involved.
The moment magnitude scale (abbreviated as MMS; denoted as MW) is used by seismologists to measure the size of earthquakes in terms of the energy released.[1] The magnitude is based on the moment of the earthquake, which is equal to the rigidity of the Earth multiplied by the average amount of slip on the fault and the size of the area that slipped.[2] The scale was developed in the 1970s to succeed the 1930s-era Richter magnitude scale (ML). Even though the formulae are different, the new scale retains the familiar continuum of magnitude values defined by the older one. The MMS is now the scale used to estimate magnitudes for all modern large earthquakes by the United States Geological Survey
Definition
The symbol for the moment magnitude scale is Mw, with the subscript w meaning mechanical work accomplished. The moment magnitude Mw is a dimensionless number defined by
where M0 is the magnitude of the seismic moment in dyne centimeters (10−7 N•m).[1] The constant values in the equation are chosen to achieve consistency with the magnitude values produced by earlier scales, most importantly the Local Moment (or "Richter") scale.
As with the Richter scale, an increase of one step on this logarithmic scale corresponds to a 101.5 ≈ 32 times increase in the amount of energy released, and an increase of two steps corresponds to a 103 = 1000 times increase in energy.
Comparative energy released by two earthquakes
A closely related formula, obtained by solving the previous equation for M0, allows one to assess the proportional difference fΔE in energy release between earthquakes of two different moment magnitudes, say m1 and m2:
Radiated seismic energy
Potential energy is stored in the crust in the form of built-up stress. During an earthquake, this stored energy is transformed and results in
• cracks and deformation in rocks
• heat,
• radiated seismic energy Es.
The seismic moment M0 is a measure of the total amount of energy that is transformed during an earthquake. Only a small fraction of the seismic moment M0 is converted into radiated seismic energy Es, which is what seismographs register. Using the estimate
Choy and Boatwright defined in 1995 the energy magnitude [4]
Older values can be found in a table equating destruction to similar effects caused by tons of TNT.
Richter magnitudes examples
The following table lists the approximate energy equivalents in terms of TNT explosive force[9] – though note that the energy is that released underground (i.e. a small atomic bomb blast will not simply cause light shaking of indoor items) rather than the overground energy release. Most energy from an earthquake is not transmitted to and through the surface; instead, it dissipates into the crust and other subsurface structures.
Richter
Approximate Magnitude Approximate TNT for
Seismic Energy Yield Joule equivalent Example
0.0 15.0 g (0.529 oz) 63.1 kJ
0.5 84.4 g (2.98 oz) 355 kJ Large hand grenade
1.0 474 g (1.05 lb) 2.00 MJ Construction site blast
1.5 2.67 kg (5.88 lb) 11.2 MJ World War II conventional bombs
2.0 15.0 kg (33.1 lb) 63.1 MJ Late World War II conventional bombs
2.5 84.4 kg (186 lb) 355 MJ World War II blockbuster bomb
3.0 474 kg (1.05×103 lb) 2.00 GJ Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb
3.5 2.67 metric tons 11.2 GJ Chernobyl nuclear disaster, 1986
4.0 15.0 metric tons 63.1 GJ Small atomic bomb
4.3 42.3 metric tons 117.0 GJ Kent Earthquake (Britain), 2007
4.5 84.4 metric tons 355 GJ Tajikistan earthquake, 2006
5.0 474 metric tons 2.00 TJ Seismic yield of Nagasaki atomic bomb (Total yield including air yield 21 kT, 88 TJ)
Lincolnshire earthquake (UK), 2008
Ontario-Quebec earthquake (Canada), 2010[10][11]
5.5 2.67 kilotons 11.2 TJ Little Skull Mtn. earthquake (Nevada, USA), 1992
Alum Rock earthquake (California, USA), 2007
Chino Hills earthquake (Los Angeles, USA), 2008
5.6 3.77 gigacalories 15.8 TJ Newcastle Earthquake Australia, 1989
6.0 15.0 kilotons 62.7 TJ Double Spring Flat earthquake (Nevada, USA), 1994
6.3 42.3 kilotons 178 TJ Rhodes earthquake (Greece), 2008
Christchurch earthquake (New Zealand), 2011
6.4 59.7 kilotons 251 TJ Kaohsiung earthquake (Taiwan), 2010
6.5 84.4 kilotons 355 TJ Caracas earthquake (Venezuela), 1967
Eureka earthquake (California, USA), 2010
6.6 119 kilotons 501 TJ San Fernando earthquake (California, USA), 1971
6.7 168 kilotons 708 TJ Northridge earthquake (California, USA), 1994
6.8 238 kilotons 1.00 PJ Nisqually earthquake (Anderson Island, WA), 2001
Gisborne earthquake (Gisborne, NZ), 2007
6.9 336 kilotons 1.41 PJ San Francisco Bay Area earthquake (California, USA), 1989
Pichilemu earthquake (Chile), 2010
7.0 474 kilotons 2.00 PJ Java earthquake (Indonesia), 2009
Haiti earthquake, 2010
7.1 670 kilotons 2.82 PJ San Juan earthquake (Argentina), 1944
Canterbury earthquake (New Zealand), 2010
7.2 938 kilotons 3.98 PJ Vrancea earthquake (Romania), 1977
Baja California earthquake (Mexico), 2010
7.5 2.67 megatons 11.2 PJ Kashmir earthquake (Pakistan), 2005
Antofagasta earthquake (Chile), 2007
7.8 7.52 megatons 31.6 PJ Tangshan earthquake (China), 1976
Hawke's Bay earthquake (New Zealand), 1931
Luzon earthquake (Philippines), 1990
Sumatra earthquake (Indonesia), 2010
8.0 15.0 megatons 63.1 PJ Mino-Owari earthquake (Japan), 1891
San Juan earthquake (Argentina), 1894
San Francisco earthquake (California, USA), 1906
Queen Charlotte Islands earthquake (British Columbia, Canada), 1949
México City earthquake (Mexico), 1985
Gujarat earthquake (India), 2001
Chincha Alta earthquake (Peru), 2007
Sichuan earthquake (China), 2008
8.1 21.2 megatons 89.1 PJ Guam earthquake, August 8, 1993[12]
8.35 (approx.) 50 megatons 210 PJ
Tsar Bomba - Largest thermonuclear weapon ever tested
8.5 84.4 megatons 355 PJ Toba eruption 75,000 years ago; among the largest known volcanic events.
Sumatra earthquake (Indonesia), 2007
8.7 168 megatons 708 PJ Sumatra earthquake (Indonesia), 2005
1883 eruption of Krakatoa
8.8 238 megatons 1.00 EJ Chile earthquake, 2010
8.9 336 megatons 1.41 EJ Japan earthquake, 2011
9.0 474 megatons 2.00 EJ Lisbon Earthquake (Portugal), All Saints Day, 1755
Sendai earthquake (Japan), 2011[14]
9.2 946 megatons 3.98 EJ Anchorage earthquake (Alaska, USA), 1964
9.3 1.34 gigatons 5.62 EJ Indian Ocean earthquake, 2004
9.5 2.67 gigatons 11.2 EJ Valdivia earthquake (Chile), 1960
10.0 15.0 gigatons 63.1 EJ Never recorded
12.55 100 teratons 422 ZJ Yucatán Peninsula impact (creating Chicxulub crater) 65 Ma ago (108 megatons; over 4x1030 ergs = 400 ZJ
Here, we will likely ignore most of it as “job killing” if the current GOP/teavangelists have their way. After all, taking care of the wealthy is more important than saving lives of common people.
Japan has recognized its particular vulnerability to earthquakes and tsunami. As a nation and as a society they have planned to minimize damage and maximize recovery. They realize that such tasks require heavy involvement by their government. At the same time, and in the face of numerous recent examples of why they should not proceed as planned, the GOP/teavangelists are planning to defund our government’s tsunami warning and research programs.
I wonder how many of them own 2nd homes and/or rental properties on beaches. I wonder how many of them will demand their buildings be rebuilt by taxpayer funded insurance plans. Just another payoff to the ultra-rich by the Congress they own.
In fact, the earthquake was so powerful that it caused some major geological changes. Scientists from the United States Geological Service (USGS) shared some startling information while answering questions from the public today.
• Earth’s axis has reportedly shifted 10 inches as a result of the quake
• Japan’s coast is said to have permanently shifted 2.4 meters
• 100+ aftershocks measuring 5.0 magnitude or more have hit Japan following the initial quake
• The quake was 900 times stronger than the one that hit San Francisco in 1989
• Shaking was felt as far away as China
• St. Louis, Missouri media outlets are reporting the city has moved an inch as a result of the quake
• Waves from the tsunami caused by the quake reached 32 feet
via The Vancouver Sun
http://www.inquisitr.com/100604/japans-earthquake-causes-earths-axis-and-japans-coast-to-shift/
It was a massive earthquake with some suggesting that they might have to revise the power of the quake upward from8.9 to 9.1.
The Pacific plate was displaced 18 meters. There is preliminary suggestion that the magnitude of the quake should be upgraded from 8.9 to 9.0.
Note the confusion in various reports. This morning I’ve seen statements indicating that Earth’s axis shifted as little as 10 cm to as much as 25 cm. Neither extreme will produce an impact noticeable by humans without high-powered instrumentation. Nor will it affect our lives in any manner unless we lived in the damage zones. Most of us are fortunate to experience this disaster only vicariously.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/world/Japan+quake+shifts+earth+axis/4428645/story.html
Japan's quake shifts earth's axis by 25 cm
News Services March 12, 2011
Initial results out of Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology show that the 8.9-magnitude earthquake that rattled Japan Friday shifted the earth's rotation axis by about 25 centimetres.
INGV's report, which came hours after the devastating incident, is equivalent to "very, very tiny" changes that won't be seen for centuries, though, Canadian geologists say.
Only after centuries would a second be lost as each day is shortened by a millionth of a second, according to University of Toronto geology professor Andrew Miall.
"Ten inches sounds like quite a lot when you hold a ruler in front of you. But if you think of it in terms of the earth as a whole, it's absolutely tiny; it's minute," he said.
"It's going to make minute changes to the length of a day. It could make very, very tiny changes to the tilt of the earth, which affects the seasons, but these effects are so small, it'd take very precise satellite navigation to pick it up."
Read more: http://www.canada.com/Japan+quake+shifts+earth+axis/4428645/story.html#ixzz1GOj5GCsI
The task of measuring the displacement of the Japanese coast is not overly difficult. We have the capability and new maps will be produced to reflect the change. Displacement of St, Louis MO won’t really require new maps. It does, however, speak to the amount of energy involved in the quake.
Warning!
Below lie facts, figures, charts, & dry equations
The volume, mass, and mass density of the planet are:
Volume, 1.08321×1012 km3, [ Mass, 5.9736×1024 kg] Mean density, 5.515 g/cm3.
These can be plugged into very complex equations to determine the forces involved.
The moment magnitude scale (abbreviated as MMS; denoted as MW) is used by seismologists to measure the size of earthquakes in terms of the energy released.[1] The magnitude is based on the moment of the earthquake, which is equal to the rigidity of the Earth multiplied by the average amount of slip on the fault and the size of the area that slipped.[2] The scale was developed in the 1970s to succeed the 1930s-era Richter magnitude scale (ML). Even though the formulae are different, the new scale retains the familiar continuum of magnitude values defined by the older one. The MMS is now the scale used to estimate magnitudes for all modern large earthquakes by the United States Geological Survey
Definition
The symbol for the moment magnitude scale is Mw, with the subscript w meaning mechanical work accomplished. The moment magnitude Mw is a dimensionless number defined by
where M0 is the magnitude of the seismic moment in dyne centimeters (10−7 N•m).[1] The constant values in the equation are chosen to achieve consistency with the magnitude values produced by earlier scales, most importantly the Local Moment (or "Richter") scale.
As with the Richter scale, an increase of one step on this logarithmic scale corresponds to a 101.5 ≈ 32 times increase in the amount of energy released, and an increase of two steps corresponds to a 103 = 1000 times increase in energy.
Comparative energy released by two earthquakes
A closely related formula, obtained by solving the previous equation for M0, allows one to assess the proportional difference fΔE in energy release between earthquakes of two different moment magnitudes, say m1 and m2:
Radiated seismic energy
Potential energy is stored in the crust in the form of built-up stress. During an earthquake, this stored energy is transformed and results in
• cracks and deformation in rocks
• heat,
• radiated seismic energy Es.
The seismic moment M0 is a measure of the total amount of energy that is transformed during an earthquake. Only a small fraction of the seismic moment M0 is converted into radiated seismic energy Es, which is what seismographs register. Using the estimate
Choy and Boatwright defined in 1995 the energy magnitude [4]
Older values can be found in a table equating destruction to similar effects caused by tons of TNT.
Richter magnitudes examples
The following table lists the approximate energy equivalents in terms of TNT explosive force[9] – though note that the energy is that released underground (i.e. a small atomic bomb blast will not simply cause light shaking of indoor items) rather than the overground energy release. Most energy from an earthquake is not transmitted to and through the surface; instead, it dissipates into the crust and other subsurface structures.
Richter
Approximate Magnitude Approximate TNT for
Seismic Energy Yield Joule equivalent Example
0.0 15.0 g (0.529 oz) 63.1 kJ
0.5 84.4 g (2.98 oz) 355 kJ Large hand grenade
1.0 474 g (1.05 lb) 2.00 MJ Construction site blast
1.5 2.67 kg (5.88 lb) 11.2 MJ World War II conventional bombs
2.0 15.0 kg (33.1 lb) 63.1 MJ Late World War II conventional bombs
2.5 84.4 kg (186 lb) 355 MJ World War II blockbuster bomb
3.0 474 kg (1.05×103 lb) 2.00 GJ Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb
3.5 2.67 metric tons 11.2 GJ Chernobyl nuclear disaster, 1986
4.0 15.0 metric tons 63.1 GJ Small atomic bomb
4.3 42.3 metric tons 117.0 GJ Kent Earthquake (Britain), 2007
4.5 84.4 metric tons 355 GJ Tajikistan earthquake, 2006
5.0 474 metric tons 2.00 TJ Seismic yield of Nagasaki atomic bomb (Total yield including air yield 21 kT, 88 TJ)
Lincolnshire earthquake (UK), 2008
Ontario-Quebec earthquake (Canada), 2010[10][11]
5.5 2.67 kilotons 11.2 TJ Little Skull Mtn. earthquake (Nevada, USA), 1992
Alum Rock earthquake (California, USA), 2007
Chino Hills earthquake (Los Angeles, USA), 2008
5.6 3.77 gigacalories 15.8 TJ Newcastle Earthquake Australia, 1989
6.0 15.0 kilotons 62.7 TJ Double Spring Flat earthquake (Nevada, USA), 1994
6.3 42.3 kilotons 178 TJ Rhodes earthquake (Greece), 2008
Christchurch earthquake (New Zealand), 2011
6.4 59.7 kilotons 251 TJ Kaohsiung earthquake (Taiwan), 2010
6.5 84.4 kilotons 355 TJ Caracas earthquake (Venezuela), 1967
Eureka earthquake (California, USA), 2010
6.6 119 kilotons 501 TJ San Fernando earthquake (California, USA), 1971
6.7 168 kilotons 708 TJ Northridge earthquake (California, USA), 1994
6.8 238 kilotons 1.00 PJ Nisqually earthquake (Anderson Island, WA), 2001
Gisborne earthquake (Gisborne, NZ), 2007
6.9 336 kilotons 1.41 PJ San Francisco Bay Area earthquake (California, USA), 1989
Pichilemu earthquake (Chile), 2010
7.0 474 kilotons 2.00 PJ Java earthquake (Indonesia), 2009
Haiti earthquake, 2010
7.1 670 kilotons 2.82 PJ San Juan earthquake (Argentina), 1944
Canterbury earthquake (New Zealand), 2010
7.2 938 kilotons 3.98 PJ Vrancea earthquake (Romania), 1977
Baja California earthquake (Mexico), 2010
7.5 2.67 megatons 11.2 PJ Kashmir earthquake (Pakistan), 2005
Antofagasta earthquake (Chile), 2007
7.8 7.52 megatons 31.6 PJ Tangshan earthquake (China), 1976
Hawke's Bay earthquake (New Zealand), 1931
Luzon earthquake (Philippines), 1990
Sumatra earthquake (Indonesia), 2010
8.0 15.0 megatons 63.1 PJ Mino-Owari earthquake (Japan), 1891
San Juan earthquake (Argentina), 1894
San Francisco earthquake (California, USA), 1906
Queen Charlotte Islands earthquake (British Columbia, Canada), 1949
México City earthquake (Mexico), 1985
Gujarat earthquake (India), 2001
Chincha Alta earthquake (Peru), 2007
Sichuan earthquake (China), 2008
8.1 21.2 megatons 89.1 PJ Guam earthquake, August 8, 1993[12]
8.35 (approx.) 50 megatons 210 PJ
Tsar Bomba - Largest thermonuclear weapon ever tested
8.5 84.4 megatons 355 PJ Toba eruption 75,000 years ago; among the largest known volcanic events.
Sumatra earthquake (Indonesia), 2007
8.7 168 megatons 708 PJ Sumatra earthquake (Indonesia), 2005
1883 eruption of Krakatoa
8.8 238 megatons 1.00 EJ Chile earthquake, 2010
8.9 336 megatons 1.41 EJ Japan earthquake, 2011
9.0 474 megatons 2.00 EJ Lisbon Earthquake (Portugal), All Saints Day, 1755
Sendai earthquake (Japan), 2011[14]
9.2 946 megatons 3.98 EJ Anchorage earthquake (Alaska, USA), 1964
9.3 1.34 gigatons 5.62 EJ Indian Ocean earthquake, 2004
9.5 2.67 gigatons 11.2 EJ Valdivia earthquake (Chile), 1960
10.0 15.0 gigatons 63.1 EJ Never recorded
12.55 100 teratons 422 ZJ Yucatán Peninsula impact (creating Chicxulub crater) 65 Ma ago (108 megatons; over 4x1030 ergs = 400 ZJ
Friday, March 11, 2011
11 March 2011 Wonder why they call it “Midway?”
This morning brought sights and sounds of the incredible destruction caused by the 8.9 earthquake that hit Japan. The nature of communications and broadcast journalism allowed us to see actual video of the event as it occurred. The amount of structural survival proves that the Japanese have been successful at mitigating some forms of damage via engineering and regulation. The overwhelming impact of the subsequent tsunami proves that we are a long way from engineering our survival as a species.
I was watching the reports from Japan on CNN, listening to the countdown as the tsunami approached Hawaii. The meteorology reporter made the statement that they could somewhat predict how much damage Hawaii could expect based upon the damage at Midway Atoll. I was amazed to hear the “anchor,” Kiran Chetry, ask where Midway is.
Sixty-nine years ago the U.S. and Japan fought a great battle over the Coral Sea and then another over Midway. The nature of naval warfare made a quantum change from the dreadnought/heavy battleship fleets to the aircraft carrier fleets. The opposing fleets at Coral Sea never sighted each other except via their aircraft. The battle of Midway, as well as the earlier battle of Coral Sea turned back Japanese forces from the Hawaiian chain and from Australia. The destruction of the Japanese carriers at Midway marked the reversal of Japanese expansion in the Pacific.
Midway is the northern most and western most point in the Hawaiian archipelago. It sits about 1/3 of the way between Honolulu and Tokyo, about halfway between the U.S west coast and Japan’s east coast. Hence the name “Midway Atoll.”
“Midway Atoll is part of a chain of volcanic islands, atolls, and seamounts extending from Hawai'i up to the tip of the Aleutian Islands and known as the Hawaii-Emperor chain. Midway was formed roughly 28 million years ago when the seabed underneath it was over the same hotspot from which the Island of Hawai'i is now being formed. In fact, Midway was once a shield volcano perhaps as large as the island of Lana'i. As the volcano piled up lava flows building the island, its weight depressed the crust and the island slowly subsided over a period of millions of years, a process known as isostatic adjustment. As the island subsided, a coral reef around the former volcanic island was able to maintain itself near sea level by growing upwards. That reef is now over 516 ft (160 m) thick (Ladd, Tracey, & Gross, 1967; in the lagoon, 1,261 feet (384 m), comprised mostly post-Miocene limestones with a layer of upper Miocene (Tertiary g) sediments and lower Miocene (Tertiary e) limestones at the bottom overlying the basalts. What remains today is a shallow water atoll about 6 miles (10 km) across.
The atoll has some 20 miles (32 km) of roads, 4.8 miles (7.8 km) of pipelines, one port on Sand Island (World Port Index Nr. 56328, MIDWAY ISLAND), and one active runway (rwy 06/24, around 8,000 feet (2,400 m) long). As of 2004, Henderson Field airfield at Midway Atoll has been designated as an emergency diversion airport for aircraft flying under ETOPS rules. Although the FWS closed all airport operations on November 22, 2004, public access to the island was restored beginning March 2008.[5]
Eastern Island Airstrip is a disused airfield in use by U.S. forces during the Battle of Midway, June 4–6, 1942. It is mostly constructed of Perforated Steel Plate sectional matting, built by the U.S. Navy Seabees.”
“The atoll was sighted on July 5, 1859 by Captain N.C. Middlebrooks, though he was most commonly known as Captain Brooks, of the sealing ship Gambia. The islands were named the "Middlebrook Islands" or the "Brook Islands". Brooks claimed Midway for the United States under the Guano Islands Act of 1856, which authorized Americans to occupy uninhabited islands temporarily to obtain guano. On 28 August 1867, Captain William Reynolds of the USS Lackawanna formally took possession of the atoll for the United States; the name changed to "Midway" some time after this. The atoll became the first Pacific islands annexed by the U.S. government, as the Unincorporated Territory of Midway Island, and administered by the United States Navy. Midway is the only island in the entire Hawaiian archipelago that was not later part of the State of Hawaii.”
“In 1903, workers for the Commercial Pacific Cable Company took up residence on the island as part of the effort to lay a trans-Pacific telegraph cable. These workers introduced many non-native species to the island, including the canary, cycad, Norfolk Island pine, she-oak, coconut, and various deciduous trees, along with ants, cockroaches, termites, centipedes, and countless others.
Later that year, President Theodore Roosevelt placed the atoll under the control of the United States Navy, which on 20 January 1903 opened a radio station in response to complaints from cable company workers about Japanese squatters and poachers. Between 1904 to 1908, Roosevelt stationed 21 Marines on the island to end wanton destruction of bird life and keep Midway safe as a U.S. possession, protecting the cable station.
In 1935, operations began for the China Clippers, flying boats operated by Pan American Airlines. The Clippers island-hopped from San Francisco to China, providing the fastest and most luxurious route to the Orient and bringing tourists to Midway until 1941. Only the extremely wealthy could afford a Clipper trip, which in the 1930s cost more than three times the annual salary of an average American. With Midway on the route between Honolulu and Wake Island, the seaplanes landed in the atoll and pulled up to a float offshore in the lagoon. Tourists transferred to a small powerboat that ferried them to a pier, then rode in "woody" wagons to the Pan Am Hotel or the "Gooneyville Lodge", named after the ubiquitous "Gooney birds" (albatrosses).”
The U.S. Navy assumed control of the Atoll prior to WWII and maintained control of it until the atoll was declared a national wildlife refuse by Clinton and a National Monument by Bush II>
That’s probably more than most people will ever want to know about Midway atoll.
I grew up during the period when news anchors were highly respected individuals with intensive field experience, chosen for their intelligence and integrity, not their physical appearance. I measure today’s “news anchors” against the high standards set by Murrow, Cronkite, Huntly, Kuralt, and the rest of them who viewed news as a public service, not another opportunity to broadcast propaganda. They had a connection with the history of the world that allowed them to compare and contrast the scope of today’s events against a larger and often greater sequence. For Chetry to ask “where is Midway” would be akin to Rather asking, “where is Gettysburg. The significance should be great enough to fix the event in the memory of any news journalist. The “anchor” desk demands more of its occupants than they are willing to provide these days. Physical appearance, sorority membership, cream-puff stories, and filling a slot on Fox News do not offer me any reason to consider one a successor to Cronkite.
Please do your homework at home or off the air, Ms. Chetry. There are many reasons to study history. Please show us you are more than just a face.
I was watching the reports from Japan on CNN, listening to the countdown as the tsunami approached Hawaii. The meteorology reporter made the statement that they could somewhat predict how much damage Hawaii could expect based upon the damage at Midway Atoll. I was amazed to hear the “anchor,” Kiran Chetry, ask where Midway is.
Sixty-nine years ago the U.S. and Japan fought a great battle over the Coral Sea and then another over Midway. The nature of naval warfare made a quantum change from the dreadnought/heavy battleship fleets to the aircraft carrier fleets. The opposing fleets at Coral Sea never sighted each other except via their aircraft. The battle of Midway, as well as the earlier battle of Coral Sea turned back Japanese forces from the Hawaiian chain and from Australia. The destruction of the Japanese carriers at Midway marked the reversal of Japanese expansion in the Pacific.
Midway is the northern most and western most point in the Hawaiian archipelago. It sits about 1/3 of the way between Honolulu and Tokyo, about halfway between the U.S west coast and Japan’s east coast. Hence the name “Midway Atoll.”
“Midway Atoll is part of a chain of volcanic islands, atolls, and seamounts extending from Hawai'i up to the tip of the Aleutian Islands and known as the Hawaii-Emperor chain. Midway was formed roughly 28 million years ago when the seabed underneath it was over the same hotspot from which the Island of Hawai'i is now being formed. In fact, Midway was once a shield volcano perhaps as large as the island of Lana'i. As the volcano piled up lava flows building the island, its weight depressed the crust and the island slowly subsided over a period of millions of years, a process known as isostatic adjustment. As the island subsided, a coral reef around the former volcanic island was able to maintain itself near sea level by growing upwards. That reef is now over 516 ft (160 m) thick (Ladd, Tracey, & Gross, 1967; in the lagoon, 1,261 feet (384 m), comprised mostly post-Miocene limestones with a layer of upper Miocene (Tertiary g) sediments and lower Miocene (Tertiary e) limestones at the bottom overlying the basalts. What remains today is a shallow water atoll about 6 miles (10 km) across.
The atoll has some 20 miles (32 km) of roads, 4.8 miles (7.8 km) of pipelines, one port on Sand Island (World Port Index Nr. 56328, MIDWAY ISLAND), and one active runway (rwy 06/24, around 8,000 feet (2,400 m) long). As of 2004, Henderson Field airfield at Midway Atoll has been designated as an emergency diversion airport for aircraft flying under ETOPS rules. Although the FWS closed all airport operations on November 22, 2004, public access to the island was restored beginning March 2008.[5]
Eastern Island Airstrip is a disused airfield in use by U.S. forces during the Battle of Midway, June 4–6, 1942. It is mostly constructed of Perforated Steel Plate sectional matting, built by the U.S. Navy Seabees.”
“The atoll was sighted on July 5, 1859 by Captain N.C. Middlebrooks, though he was most commonly known as Captain Brooks, of the sealing ship Gambia. The islands were named the "Middlebrook Islands" or the "Brook Islands". Brooks claimed Midway for the United States under the Guano Islands Act of 1856, which authorized Americans to occupy uninhabited islands temporarily to obtain guano. On 28 August 1867, Captain William Reynolds of the USS Lackawanna formally took possession of the atoll for the United States; the name changed to "Midway" some time after this. The atoll became the first Pacific islands annexed by the U.S. government, as the Unincorporated Territory of Midway Island, and administered by the United States Navy. Midway is the only island in the entire Hawaiian archipelago that was not later part of the State of Hawaii.”
“In 1903, workers for the Commercial Pacific Cable Company took up residence on the island as part of the effort to lay a trans-Pacific telegraph cable. These workers introduced many non-native species to the island, including the canary, cycad, Norfolk Island pine, she-oak, coconut, and various deciduous trees, along with ants, cockroaches, termites, centipedes, and countless others.
Later that year, President Theodore Roosevelt placed the atoll under the control of the United States Navy, which on 20 January 1903 opened a radio station in response to complaints from cable company workers about Japanese squatters and poachers. Between 1904 to 1908, Roosevelt stationed 21 Marines on the island to end wanton destruction of bird life and keep Midway safe as a U.S. possession, protecting the cable station.
In 1935, operations began for the China Clippers, flying boats operated by Pan American Airlines. The Clippers island-hopped from San Francisco to China, providing the fastest and most luxurious route to the Orient and bringing tourists to Midway until 1941. Only the extremely wealthy could afford a Clipper trip, which in the 1930s cost more than three times the annual salary of an average American. With Midway on the route between Honolulu and Wake Island, the seaplanes landed in the atoll and pulled up to a float offshore in the lagoon. Tourists transferred to a small powerboat that ferried them to a pier, then rode in "woody" wagons to the Pan Am Hotel or the "Gooneyville Lodge", named after the ubiquitous "Gooney birds" (albatrosses).”
The U.S. Navy assumed control of the Atoll prior to WWII and maintained control of it until the atoll was declared a national wildlife refuse by Clinton and a National Monument by Bush II>
That’s probably more than most people will ever want to know about Midway atoll.
I grew up during the period when news anchors were highly respected individuals with intensive field experience, chosen for their intelligence and integrity, not their physical appearance. I measure today’s “news anchors” against the high standards set by Murrow, Cronkite, Huntly, Kuralt, and the rest of them who viewed news as a public service, not another opportunity to broadcast propaganda. They had a connection with the history of the world that allowed them to compare and contrast the scope of today’s events against a larger and often greater sequence. For Chetry to ask “where is Midway” would be akin to Rather asking, “where is Gettysburg. The significance should be great enough to fix the event in the memory of any news journalist. The “anchor” desk demands more of its occupants than they are willing to provide these days. Physical appearance, sorority membership, cream-puff stories, and filling a slot on Fox News do not offer me any reason to consider one a successor to Cronkite.
Please do your homework at home or off the air, Ms. Chetry. There are many reasons to study history. Please show us you are more than just a face.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
10 March 2011 Dumb luck and bad luck
The Case for a No-Fly Zone
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
Published: March 9, 2011
“This is a pretty easy problem, for crying out loud.”
“ For all the hand-wringing in Washington about a no-fly zone over Libya, that’s the verdict of Gen. Merrill McPeak, a former Air Force chief of staff. He flew more than 6,000 hours, half in fighter aircraft, and helped oversee no-fly zones in Iraq and the Adriatic, and he’s currently mystified by what he calls the “wailing and gnashing of teeth” about imposing such a zone on Libya. “
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/10/opinion/10kristof.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha212
“The secretary of defense, Robert Gates, has said that a no-fly zone would be “a big operation in a big country” and would begin with an attack on Libyan air defense systems. But General McPeak said that the no-fly zone would be imposed over those parts of the country that Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi doesn’t control. That may remove the need to take out air defense systems pre-emptively, he said. And, in any case, he noted that the United States operated a no-fly zone over Iraq for more than a decade without systematically eradicating all Iraqi air defense systems in that time.
Cassi Creek: Kristof is appalled at the loss of human life taking place in Libya. He has just cause to be. The use of modern warplanes to attack poorly armed, poorly trained rebels is heinous. To use them against unarmed civilian non-combatants is equally so. It calls to mind the attacks by Italian forces against Ethiopians prior to WWII and to the source for Picasso’s Guernica, painted to memorialize the German-Italian air attack on the Basque town of Guernica in 1937 http://www.pbs.org/treasuresoftheworld/a_nav/guernica_nav/main_guerfrm.html
Libyan air force personnel have crossed a line by attacking civilians. Our concepts of justifiable warfare and our sometimes invocation of the Geneva Accords cause us to object to the deaths and injuries in a conflict we see as greatly mis-matched. The Libyans have also destroyed oil pipelines and other facilities. This is justification for interference by regional nations. If the new Arab regimes want to demonstrate their merit, the problem of Libya is an excellent place for them to begin.
Remember, however, that the concept of winning a war often entails staging an attack with the opposition is not prepared. The American victory in the first Gulf War depended in part upon a carpet-bombing attack upon thousands of Iraqi soldiers dug into sand and dirt, delivered by B-52 aircraft flying out of sight above the targeted Iraqis. We also spent the first shooting days of that war systematically demolishing both communications and anti-aircraft capabilities so that the threat to our aircraft was lessened to the point that we essentially controlled all Iraqi airspace.
While Gen. McPeak is correct, we can affect a no-fly zone; it would be costly in a time of economic recession and could easily result in lives lost due to normal operational hazards.
Sec Gates is correct. We can do it but it then becomes a shooting war, placing our troops in danger and interfering in a civil war that has no clear-cut opposition to the mad Khadaffi. We will gain nothing by interfering in Libya. The Arab world will come to view it as an invasion at some level and they will be aided in that perception by Iran, Syria, Hamas, Hezbollah, and the various Islamic extremists who currently oppose our presence and our action in Muslim nations.
The perception presented by McPeak ignores the thing all military pilots know. It doesn’t take a fighter of equal or greater capacity to bring down a warplane. Many pilots have been shot down by a single bullet fired at random by troops on the ground. It’s called a “golden BB.” All it has to do is damage a fuel line, hydraulic line, fuel tank, or engine. The multi-million dollar plane becomes a ballistic object that is unlikely to return to base.
It can happen with a bullet, with shrapnel from AA guns, shrapnel from a SAM, or even from a shoulder-fired SAM. Our pilots would be at equal risk over both Libyan and opposing forces. Neither force can identify our aircraft all that well and will likely shoot at anything they see in the air. We stand a large chance of losing planes and pilots to the untrained and even to the stupid custom of shooting anything possible into the air. Our good intentions would most likely boomerang.
Yes, we can do it. No, we should not. It will cost too much in dollars and lives. The loss of lives in Libya is horrifying but it is a local and regional problem to solve.
We’ve had 1.04 inches of rain today. That’s twice yesterday’s rainfall. Yesterday there was a flood warning but the creek stayed in banks. At 1600, it’s creeping out in the lower parts of our yard. It promised to be an uneasy night once the sun goes down. At some point, this is supposed to become snow and drop 1-6 inches. I’d welcome a week without precipitation.
Dinner tonight is white bean/Italian sausage/soup with greens. I’ve never been that much of a fan of soups for dinner. But the weather and location seem to call for it.
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
Published: March 9, 2011
“This is a pretty easy problem, for crying out loud.”
“ For all the hand-wringing in Washington about a no-fly zone over Libya, that’s the verdict of Gen. Merrill McPeak, a former Air Force chief of staff. He flew more than 6,000 hours, half in fighter aircraft, and helped oversee no-fly zones in Iraq and the Adriatic, and he’s currently mystified by what he calls the “wailing and gnashing of teeth” about imposing such a zone on Libya. “
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/10/opinion/10kristof.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha212
“The secretary of defense, Robert Gates, has said that a no-fly zone would be “a big operation in a big country” and would begin with an attack on Libyan air defense systems. But General McPeak said that the no-fly zone would be imposed over those parts of the country that Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi doesn’t control. That may remove the need to take out air defense systems pre-emptively, he said. And, in any case, he noted that the United States operated a no-fly zone over Iraq for more than a decade without systematically eradicating all Iraqi air defense systems in that time.
Cassi Creek: Kristof is appalled at the loss of human life taking place in Libya. He has just cause to be. The use of modern warplanes to attack poorly armed, poorly trained rebels is heinous. To use them against unarmed civilian non-combatants is equally so. It calls to mind the attacks by Italian forces against Ethiopians prior to WWII and to the source for Picasso’s Guernica, painted to memorialize the German-Italian air attack on the Basque town of Guernica in 1937 http://www.pbs.org/treasuresoftheworld/a_nav/guernica_nav/main_guerfrm.html
Libyan air force personnel have crossed a line by attacking civilians. Our concepts of justifiable warfare and our sometimes invocation of the Geneva Accords cause us to object to the deaths and injuries in a conflict we see as greatly mis-matched. The Libyans have also destroyed oil pipelines and other facilities. This is justification for interference by regional nations. If the new Arab regimes want to demonstrate their merit, the problem of Libya is an excellent place for them to begin.
Remember, however, that the concept of winning a war often entails staging an attack with the opposition is not prepared. The American victory in the first Gulf War depended in part upon a carpet-bombing attack upon thousands of Iraqi soldiers dug into sand and dirt, delivered by B-52 aircraft flying out of sight above the targeted Iraqis. We also spent the first shooting days of that war systematically demolishing both communications and anti-aircraft capabilities so that the threat to our aircraft was lessened to the point that we essentially controlled all Iraqi airspace.
While Gen. McPeak is correct, we can affect a no-fly zone; it would be costly in a time of economic recession and could easily result in lives lost due to normal operational hazards.
Sec Gates is correct. We can do it but it then becomes a shooting war, placing our troops in danger and interfering in a civil war that has no clear-cut opposition to the mad Khadaffi. We will gain nothing by interfering in Libya. The Arab world will come to view it as an invasion at some level and they will be aided in that perception by Iran, Syria, Hamas, Hezbollah, and the various Islamic extremists who currently oppose our presence and our action in Muslim nations.
The perception presented by McPeak ignores the thing all military pilots know. It doesn’t take a fighter of equal or greater capacity to bring down a warplane. Many pilots have been shot down by a single bullet fired at random by troops on the ground. It’s called a “golden BB.” All it has to do is damage a fuel line, hydraulic line, fuel tank, or engine. The multi-million dollar plane becomes a ballistic object that is unlikely to return to base.
It can happen with a bullet, with shrapnel from AA guns, shrapnel from a SAM, or even from a shoulder-fired SAM. Our pilots would be at equal risk over both Libyan and opposing forces. Neither force can identify our aircraft all that well and will likely shoot at anything they see in the air. We stand a large chance of losing planes and pilots to the untrained and even to the stupid custom of shooting anything possible into the air. Our good intentions would most likely boomerang.
Yes, we can do it. No, we should not. It will cost too much in dollars and lives. The loss of lives in Libya is horrifying but it is a local and regional problem to solve.
We’ve had 1.04 inches of rain today. That’s twice yesterday’s rainfall. Yesterday there was a flood warning but the creek stayed in banks. At 1600, it’s creeping out in the lower parts of our yard. It promised to be an uneasy night once the sun goes down. At some point, this is supposed to become snow and drop 1-6 inches. I’d welcome a week without precipitation.
Dinner tonight is white bean/Italian sausage/soup with greens. I’ve never been that much of a fan of soups for dinner. But the weather and location seem to call for it.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
9 March 2011 Fearless Leader lives in Fractured Fairy Tale.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/08/AR2011030803149.html
On Libya, too many questions
By George F. Will
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
“Today, some Washington voices are calling for U.S. force to be applied, somehow, on behalf of the people trying to overthrow Moammar Gaddafi. Some interventionists are Republicans, whose skepticism about government's abilities to achieve intended effects ends at the water's edge. All interventionists should answer some questions:
“The world would be better without Gaddafi. But is that a vital U.S. national interest? If it is, when did it become so? A month ago, no one thought it was…”
“Could intervention avoid "mission creep"? If grounding Gaddafi's aircraft is a humanitarian imperative, why isn't protecting his enemies from ground attacks?”
“Would it be wise for U.S. military force to be engaged simultaneously in three Muslim nations?
Cassi Creek: Will is far from my favorite columnist. However, in this instance I agree with his position.
There is no clear picture we can display of the expected outcome of this ugly and brutal civil war. We have backed Kadhaffi previously and placed him in both enemy and ally column as it suited his and our purpose. He will attempt to hold power until he sees absolutely no chance that his delusional view of life can be continued. If he self-destructs, it is very likely he will take as many victims with him as possible.
We, the U.S. have no real interests in Libya except oil. The outcome of the current power struggle is best left to others to determine. We don’t know who will become the dominant leader(s) of the various tribes and resistance groups opposing Khadaffi. We are unlikely to have sufficient intelligence resources in place to provide us with accurate and reliable information to base new policy upon. We are best advised to sit back and watch the new Libya shake out of the older Libya.
We have a right wing contingent in D.C that wants to provide weapons to the anti-Kaddafi forces. I am adamantly opposed to arming tribal forces and other such groups. The chance of anti-aircraft weapons winding up in the hands of black marketeers, arms dealers, and ultimately in the hands of Islamic terrorists is extremely high. Excluding the terrorists from the equation the possibility of our weapons being used to down our aircraft or to down civilian aircraft, accidentally or intentionally is too high to risk. I also have no desire to use taxpayer monies to give Libyans weapons that they will stupidly and carelessly shoot into the air in celebration or in braggadocio.
We have no ground forces that can be used to invade Libya for military or for humanitarian purposes. Even medical and other relief missions require high levels of security. Our troops are simply spread too thin already to allow involvement in another foreign war which the nation neither wants nor can afford. Until we are willing to re-institute national service in the armed forces, the teavangelists, teahadists, and other theocons and neocons will have to content their selves with the two “Splendid adventures” we have ongoing in the lands of Islam. It is too bad that they can’t point to Iraq and Afghanistan and trumpet the glorious victory they wanted to use to prove American exceptionalism and to justify their attempts to return to Crusading “against the Moors, Turks, and other targets of the teavangelists.
I’m opposed to engaging our military in Libya. There are European nations, which have greater need to deal with Libya than do we. They are closer, and have much longer relationships with Libya and the other rapidly changing nations of North Africa than does the U.S. While they would be happy to allow us to expend our money and personnel by acting as the mediators and resource for humanitarian aid missions, we should be equally happy to allow them the chance to alter the outcome of this latest war. If there is insufficient glory and political advantage for the EU or its component nations, they have only to wait until the Arabian Peninsula states decide that it is time to leave the 11th Century and tell their rulers so.
Just as we have been warned about becoming involved in a land war in Asia, our military leaders proscribe any such action in Africa. What covert operations we have ongoing in Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and South Asia should be quietly carried to completion and those troops brought home along with those who currently serve in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Our Fearless Leaders of the right and religious right have outlived their era. It’s time they realize how badly they have fractured the myth of American exceptionalism. Shut the book on that tale.
“
On Libya, too many questions
By George F. Will
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
“Today, some Washington voices are calling for U.S. force to be applied, somehow, on behalf of the people trying to overthrow Moammar Gaddafi. Some interventionists are Republicans, whose skepticism about government's abilities to achieve intended effects ends at the water's edge. All interventionists should answer some questions:
“The world would be better without Gaddafi. But is that a vital U.S. national interest? If it is, when did it become so? A month ago, no one thought it was…”
“Could intervention avoid "mission creep"? If grounding Gaddafi's aircraft is a humanitarian imperative, why isn't protecting his enemies from ground attacks?”
“Would it be wise for U.S. military force to be engaged simultaneously in three Muslim nations?
Cassi Creek: Will is far from my favorite columnist. However, in this instance I agree with his position.
There is no clear picture we can display of the expected outcome of this ugly and brutal civil war. We have backed Kadhaffi previously and placed him in both enemy and ally column as it suited his and our purpose. He will attempt to hold power until he sees absolutely no chance that his delusional view of life can be continued. If he self-destructs, it is very likely he will take as many victims with him as possible.
We, the U.S. have no real interests in Libya except oil. The outcome of the current power struggle is best left to others to determine. We don’t know who will become the dominant leader(s) of the various tribes and resistance groups opposing Khadaffi. We are unlikely to have sufficient intelligence resources in place to provide us with accurate and reliable information to base new policy upon. We are best advised to sit back and watch the new Libya shake out of the older Libya.
We have a right wing contingent in D.C that wants to provide weapons to the anti-Kaddafi forces. I am adamantly opposed to arming tribal forces and other such groups. The chance of anti-aircraft weapons winding up in the hands of black marketeers, arms dealers, and ultimately in the hands of Islamic terrorists is extremely high. Excluding the terrorists from the equation the possibility of our weapons being used to down our aircraft or to down civilian aircraft, accidentally or intentionally is too high to risk. I also have no desire to use taxpayer monies to give Libyans weapons that they will stupidly and carelessly shoot into the air in celebration or in braggadocio.
We have no ground forces that can be used to invade Libya for military or for humanitarian purposes. Even medical and other relief missions require high levels of security. Our troops are simply spread too thin already to allow involvement in another foreign war which the nation neither wants nor can afford. Until we are willing to re-institute national service in the armed forces, the teavangelists, teahadists, and other theocons and neocons will have to content their selves with the two “Splendid adventures” we have ongoing in the lands of Islam. It is too bad that they can’t point to Iraq and Afghanistan and trumpet the glorious victory they wanted to use to prove American exceptionalism and to justify their attempts to return to Crusading “against the Moors, Turks, and other targets of the teavangelists.
I’m opposed to engaging our military in Libya. There are European nations, which have greater need to deal with Libya than do we. They are closer, and have much longer relationships with Libya and the other rapidly changing nations of North Africa than does the U.S. While they would be happy to allow us to expend our money and personnel by acting as the mediators and resource for humanitarian aid missions, we should be equally happy to allow them the chance to alter the outcome of this latest war. If there is insufficient glory and political advantage for the EU or its component nations, they have only to wait until the Arabian Peninsula states decide that it is time to leave the 11th Century and tell their rulers so.
Just as we have been warned about becoming involved in a land war in Asia, our military leaders proscribe any such action in Africa. What covert operations we have ongoing in Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and South Asia should be quietly carried to completion and those troops brought home along with those who currently serve in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Our Fearless Leaders of the right and religious right have outlived their era. It’s time they realize how badly they have fractured the myth of American exceptionalism. Shut the book on that tale.
“
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
8 March 2011 Congress, Check your bibles at the door.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/02/AR2011030206514.html
Shahbaz Bhatti, Pakistan's sole Christian minister, is assassinated in Islamabad
By Karin Brulliard and Shaiq Hussain
Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, March 3, 2011 ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN - Pakistan's federal minorities minister, a Christian, was gunned down by suspected Islamist militants in this capital city Wednesday in the second killing this year of a senior government official who had spoken out against the country's stringent anti-blasphemy laws.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/07/AR2011030703198.html
A blow to religious freedom in Pakistan
By Michael Gerson
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Events such as the murder of Bhatti elicit a difficult balance of attitudes. Some view every such killing as a confirmation of violence as the essence of Islam, thereby feeding the apocalyptic civilizational struggle that extremists fondly seek. Others, particularly in diplomatic circles, play down or ignore the role of religion in international affairs - an awkward topic on which they know little.
“American leverage in these matters is limited, but it is worth applying what we have - something the Obama administration, to this point, has not done. Its National Security Strategy avoids the topic. It did not appoint an ambassador at large for international religious freedom - a congressionally mandated position - until a year and a half after it took office. (The confirmation of that ambassador, by the way, is now held up by Republican Sen. Jim DeMint.)
Cassi Creek:
International Religious Freedom Report 2008
The Annual Report:
“The purpose of this report is to record the status of respect for religious freedom in every country around the world during the most recent reporting period--July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2008. Our primary focus is to document the actions of governments--those that repress religious expression, persecute believers, and tolerate violence against religious minorities, as well as those that protect and promote religious freedom. We also address societal attitudes on religion and religious minorities and record positive and negative actions taken by nongovernmental actors. We strive to report fairly and accurately, with sensitivity to the complexity of religious freedom issues…”
“The Department of State monitors religious persecution and discrimination worldwide, implements policies, develops initiatives, funds programs, and actively works bilaterally and multilaterally to foster greater respect for religious freedom…”
“Limits on proselyltization and the ability to choose one's faith remained a concern. Governments, often seeking to protect the beliefs, traditions, and ideology of the majority or dominant religion, took steps to restrict the rights of individuals to proselytize and to change their religion. Some countries, such as Malaysia, Greece, and Israel, continued to enforce laws that curb peaceful proselytizing activities…””
The Office of International Religious Freedom was established by Congress in 1998 under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (H.R. 2431) and its amendment of 1999 (Public Law 106-55).
The Office of the Special Envoy To Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism (SEAS) was established by the Global Anti-Semitism Review Act of 2004.
According to the website/mission statement, the United States seeks to:
• Promote freedom of religion and conscience throughout the world as a fundamental human right and as a source of stability for all countries;
• Assist newly formed democracies in implementing freedom of religion and conscience;
• Assist religious and human rights NGOs in promoting religious freedom;
• Identify and denounce regimes that are severe persecutors of their citizens or others on the basis of religious belief.
This all sounds very noble. We take a stance proclaiming religious freedom for all citizens of all nations. However, the mildly masked purpose appears to be little different from a nationally funded missionary program.
Note the focus on allowing/not allowing proselyltization above. That paragraph defines the office as accurately as anything can. While one should be able to choose or ignore a religion without government interference, there is no reason to insist that missionaries be allowed to roam about knocking on doors or otherwise trolling for converts.
The general mood of far too many Americans includes Islamophobia these days. Islam welcomes converts but has no door-to-door campaign strategy. Judaism does not seek converts, in fact makes it difficult to convert. Buddhism and Hinduism don’t demand access to the public square. The office was not established for any of those faiths.
We hear volumes of commentary describing the Muslim desire to take over the world. We are treated to tirades telling us how a specific mosque is being built to commemorate a battle or other conquest. We as a nation are terrified of Islam, its precepts, and its practitioners. The “victory mosque” is descended from the “victory temples of the Greco-Roman ages and from the spin-off “victory church/cathedral. There’s a reason we “can’t go back to Constantinopolis. Islam is a spin-off of Christianity in many ways.
While the overall goal of the Office of International Religious Freedom is noble, it is not something we should have enacted. Just as our Christian majority objects to Muslims living among them and building a life and culture that ignores Christianity, so do Muslims object to Christians moving into Muslim majority nations. In the face of militant proselyltization by Christian evangelists, they pass restrictive laws limiting the scope of activities that non-Muslims may engage in.
Limiting the ability to choose a faith is wrong for any nation to implement. Limiting proselyltization may be regarded as unwelcome by missionaries and their backers. However, it should be recalled that the Christian churches have a longer history of demanding exclusivity in religion than does Islam.
I agree that the murder of a Christian politician in Pakistan is an atrocity and speaks very poorly of the nation and culture. I would say the same thing if we began to find murdered Islamic politicians in this nation. I’m not certain that we won’t see such heinous assassinations take place here, too.
As a nation, the U.S needs to get out of the missionary trade. It is one thing to suggest democracy, quite another to push it on a new regime. It is entirely wrong to push Christianity disguised as democracy. Our skirts are far from clean and we have no right to meddle in any person’s or nations, religious practices. We need to put our own house and culture in order before we try to re-order the emerging states in the Islamic world.
I didn’t know the Office of International Religious Freedom existed until today. After some research, I know that Congress has been dragged into exporting Christianity. Something else to write my Congressman about.
Congress, you were elected to legislate, not to evangelize. Check your religion at the door and work for the nation, nor for missionary societies.
Shahbaz Bhatti, Pakistan's sole Christian minister, is assassinated in Islamabad
By Karin Brulliard and Shaiq Hussain
Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, March 3, 2011 ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN - Pakistan's federal minorities minister, a Christian, was gunned down by suspected Islamist militants in this capital city Wednesday in the second killing this year of a senior government official who had spoken out against the country's stringent anti-blasphemy laws.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/07/AR2011030703198.html
A blow to religious freedom in Pakistan
By Michael Gerson
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Events such as the murder of Bhatti elicit a difficult balance of attitudes. Some view every such killing as a confirmation of violence as the essence of Islam, thereby feeding the apocalyptic civilizational struggle that extremists fondly seek. Others, particularly in diplomatic circles, play down or ignore the role of religion in international affairs - an awkward topic on which they know little.
“American leverage in these matters is limited, but it is worth applying what we have - something the Obama administration, to this point, has not done. Its National Security Strategy avoids the topic. It did not appoint an ambassador at large for international religious freedom - a congressionally mandated position - until a year and a half after it took office. (The confirmation of that ambassador, by the way, is now held up by Republican Sen. Jim DeMint.)
Cassi Creek:
International Religious Freedom Report 2008
The Annual Report:
“The purpose of this report is to record the status of respect for religious freedom in every country around the world during the most recent reporting period--July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2008. Our primary focus is to document the actions of governments--those that repress religious expression, persecute believers, and tolerate violence against religious minorities, as well as those that protect and promote religious freedom. We also address societal attitudes on religion and religious minorities and record positive and negative actions taken by nongovernmental actors. We strive to report fairly and accurately, with sensitivity to the complexity of religious freedom issues…”
“The Department of State monitors religious persecution and discrimination worldwide, implements policies, develops initiatives, funds programs, and actively works bilaterally and multilaterally to foster greater respect for religious freedom…”
“Limits on proselyltization and the ability to choose one's faith remained a concern. Governments, often seeking to protect the beliefs, traditions, and ideology of the majority or dominant religion, took steps to restrict the rights of individuals to proselytize and to change their religion. Some countries, such as Malaysia, Greece, and Israel, continued to enforce laws that curb peaceful proselytizing activities…””
The Office of International Religious Freedom was established by Congress in 1998 under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (H.R. 2431) and its amendment of 1999 (Public Law 106-55).
The Office of the Special Envoy To Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism (SEAS) was established by the Global Anti-Semitism Review Act of 2004.
According to the website/mission statement, the United States seeks to:
• Promote freedom of religion and conscience throughout the world as a fundamental human right and as a source of stability for all countries;
• Assist newly formed democracies in implementing freedom of religion and conscience;
• Assist religious and human rights NGOs in promoting religious freedom;
• Identify and denounce regimes that are severe persecutors of their citizens or others on the basis of religious belief.
This all sounds very noble. We take a stance proclaiming religious freedom for all citizens of all nations. However, the mildly masked purpose appears to be little different from a nationally funded missionary program.
Note the focus on allowing/not allowing proselyltization above. That paragraph defines the office as accurately as anything can. While one should be able to choose or ignore a religion without government interference, there is no reason to insist that missionaries be allowed to roam about knocking on doors or otherwise trolling for converts.
The general mood of far too many Americans includes Islamophobia these days. Islam welcomes converts but has no door-to-door campaign strategy. Judaism does not seek converts, in fact makes it difficult to convert. Buddhism and Hinduism don’t demand access to the public square. The office was not established for any of those faiths.
We hear volumes of commentary describing the Muslim desire to take over the world. We are treated to tirades telling us how a specific mosque is being built to commemorate a battle or other conquest. We as a nation are terrified of Islam, its precepts, and its practitioners. The “victory mosque” is descended from the “victory temples of the Greco-Roman ages and from the spin-off “victory church/cathedral. There’s a reason we “can’t go back to Constantinopolis. Islam is a spin-off of Christianity in many ways.
While the overall goal of the Office of International Religious Freedom is noble, it is not something we should have enacted. Just as our Christian majority objects to Muslims living among them and building a life and culture that ignores Christianity, so do Muslims object to Christians moving into Muslim majority nations. In the face of militant proselyltization by Christian evangelists, they pass restrictive laws limiting the scope of activities that non-Muslims may engage in.
Limiting the ability to choose a faith is wrong for any nation to implement. Limiting proselyltization may be regarded as unwelcome by missionaries and their backers. However, it should be recalled that the Christian churches have a longer history of demanding exclusivity in religion than does Islam.
I agree that the murder of a Christian politician in Pakistan is an atrocity and speaks very poorly of the nation and culture. I would say the same thing if we began to find murdered Islamic politicians in this nation. I’m not certain that we won’t see such heinous assassinations take place here, too.
As a nation, the U.S needs to get out of the missionary trade. It is one thing to suggest democracy, quite another to push it on a new regime. It is entirely wrong to push Christianity disguised as democracy. Our skirts are far from clean and we have no right to meddle in any person’s or nations, religious practices. We need to put our own house and culture in order before we try to re-order the emerging states in the Islamic world.
I didn’t know the Office of International Religious Freedom existed until today. After some research, I know that Congress has been dragged into exporting Christianity. Something else to write my Congressman about.
Congress, you were elected to legislate, not to evangelize. Check your religion at the door and work for the nation, nor for missionary societies.
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