PEARL HARBOR (March 10, 2011) The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) arrives in Pearl Harbor for a port visit. The Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group is returning to homeport in Everett, Wash., after a six-month deployment to the U.S. 5th and 7th Fleet areas of responsibility supporting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Seth Clarke/Released)
Good morning everyone. How are you?
The news coverage over the weekend of the Japan earthquake and tsunami has been difficult to watch. Buildings, houses and cars were violently moved about as if they were small toys bobbing in water like rubber duckies.
The images of this catastrophic disaster is just heartbreaking. The latest photos show cars and even ferry boats perched on rooftops in the aftermath.
Japan is in need of help and President Obama has ordered that the U.S. Navy assist in the clean up.
Speaking at a press conference Friday afternoon, President Obama said that
he had spoke with Prime Minister Kan and told him “we will provide whatever assistance that they need.” As of now that assistance includes having an aircraft carrier in Japan with another is on its way, as well as a ship en route to the Marianas Islands to assist as needed.
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The president noted that the Pentagon is working to account for all US military personnel in Japan, the State Department is working to account for and assist any and all American citizens who are in Japan, and U.S. embassy personnel in Tokyo have moved to an off-site location. He reported that tsunami warnings have been issued across the Pacific.
“We've already seen initial waves from the tsunami come ashore on Guam and other U.S. territories in Alaska and Hawaii, as well along the West Coast,” the president said. “Here in the United States there hasn't been any major damage so far, but we're taking this very seriously, and we are monitoring the situation very closely. FEMA is fully activated and is coordinating with state and local officials to support these regions as necessary. And let me just stress that if people are told to evacuate, do as you are told.”
Asked by Toshi Ogata with the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun for a personal reaction to today’s events, the president said “when you see what's happening in Japan, you are reminded that, for all our differences in culture or language or religion, that ultimately humanity is one. And when we face these kinds of natural disasters, whether it's in New Zealand or Haiti or Japan, then you think about your own family, and you think, how would you feel if you lost a loved one, or if your entire life savings were gone because of the devastation?”
The U.S.Navy has begun to release photos and I have complied a few to share with you.
HACHINOHE, Japan (March 12, 2011) A damaged water pipe shoots into the air after a tsunami triggered by a 8.9 magnitude earthquake off the Northeastern coast of Japan. The earthquake was the strongest ever recorded in Japan, which caused considerable damage to the country's eastern coastline. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Daniel Sanford/Released)
HACHINOHE, Japan (March 12, 2011) A desk chair lies in a layer of mud and petroleum that now covers much of the U.S. Navy Fleet and Industrial Supply Center facility Yokosuka Defense Fuel Support Point, Hachinohe after a tsunami swept through the area. The tsunami was triggered by an 8.9 magnitude earthquake, the strongest ever recorded in Japan, which caused considerable damage to the country's eastern coastline. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Daniel Sanford/Released)
SOUTH CHINA SEA (March 12, 2011) Sailors aboard the U.S. 7th Fleet command ship
USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19) move pallets of humanitarian relief supplies across the ship's flight deck during an underway replenishment with the Military Sealift Command fleet replenishment oiler USNS Rappahannock (T-AO 204), not pictured. Blue Ridge is ensuring the crew is ready if directed to assist with earthquake and tsunami relief operations in Japan. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Fidel C. Hart/Released)
SOUTH CHINA SEA (March 12, 2011) Sailors aboard the U.S. 7th Fleet command ship USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19) stand-by to move pallets of humanitarian relief supplies across the ship's flight deck during an underway replenishment with the Military Sealift Command fleet replenishment oiler USNS Rappahannock (T-AO 204), not pictured. Blue Ridge is ensuring the crew is ready if directed to assist with earthquake and tsunami relief operations in Japan. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Fidel C. Hart/Released)
ATSUGI, Japan (March 11, 2011) Residents of Naval Air Facility Atsugi collect food, water, and relief supplies to support earthquake and tsunami relief operations in Japan. (U.S navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Ben FaroneReleased.)
HONOLULU (March 11, 2011) U.S. Coast Guard cutters Kittiwake (WPB-87316) and Ahi (WPB 87364), both 87-foot patrol boats homeported in Honolulu, maintain security and safety outside Honolulu Harbor. Vessels were urged to evacuate many harbors and ports before a tsunami approaching the Hawaiian Islands after an 8.9 magnitude earthquake in Japan. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Chief Petty Officer Kurt Fredrickson/Released)
In the News
17 in U.S. Navy Treated for Contamination
WASHINGTON — American Navy officials in Japan said early Monday that 17 military personnel who had been aboard three helicopters assisting in the earthquake relief effort had been exposed to low levels of contamination.
Cmdr. Jeff A. Davis, a spokesman for the American Seventh Fleet in Japan, said the Navy personnel — who apparently had flown through a radioactive plume from a damaged nuclear power plant — had been ordered to dispose of their uniforms and to undergo a decontamination scrub that had successfully removed radioactive particles.
Expert: Japan earthquake could happen here
PORTLAND, Ore. -- A local earthquake expert says there are important similarities between the giant earthquake that triggered a deadly tsunami in Japan and conditions here in the Pacific Northwest.
The underlying geological conditions are almost identical, according to PSU Geology Professor Scott Burns.
Oregon lawmakers tour ravaged southern coast
BROOKINGS, Ore. – Oregon Governor John Kitzahber and U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley toured areas of Southern Oregon Saturday that were devastated by Friday’s tsunami.
2 US warships cross Egypt's Suez Canal
US military officials have ordered warships into the Mediterranean in case they are needed for Libya-related operations ranging from humanitarian assistance to possible military action.
Libyan rebels flee Gaddafi advance
Libyan armed forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi have cleared "armed gangs" from the oil-rich town of Brega in the east, an army source told state television on Sunday.
"Brega has been cleansed of armed gangs," the military source was quoted as saying. The report could not immediately be verified. State television has in the past issued false reports claiming territory.
The Star in Libya: Gadhafi launches psychological warfare
BENGHAZI, LIBYA—Libya’s rebel stronghold awakened to a fresh dose of psychological warfare Friday, as the regime bombarded cell phones with text messages promising “Freedom Day” is coming soon — in the form of Moammar Gadhafi’s tanks.
Science News
Chimps are righties and orangutans lefties
Apes show handedness
Contrary to earlier reports, apes show humanlike hand preferences when manipulating objects. Chimpanzees, bonobos and gorillas favored the right hand and orangutans the left hand, a team led by psychologist William Hopkins of Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Ga., found in a study to appear in the Journal of Human Evolution.
Health News
Cup of coffee per day could keep strokes away
Drinking coffee appears to offer protection against stroke, a major study concludes.
Those in the study who drank more than a cup of coffee a day had a 22 percent to 25 percent lower risk of stroke than those who drank less, according to a report in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Tech News
Mad rush to dispose of used iPads online
Soon after it was announced that the iPad 2 would go on sale in the US from March 11, 2011, there was a mad rush to dispose of used iPads online. A quick search on Craigslist.com and eBay.com reveals that sparingly used 16GB iPads can be had for as little as $200 to $300. At the iPad 2 launch, Apple CEO Steve Jobs also went so far as to suggest that we've moving towards a post-PC world. While not everyone agrees with that, there's no denying that Apple can be credited with the success of the current tablet form factor.
Weird News
Va. police say a woman went to court with this baby marmoset in her bra
(Credit: The Lynchburg News & Advance)
Woman goes to Va. court with tiny monkey in bra
AMHERST, Va. (AP) -- A woman turned a few heads when she walked into a rural Virginia courthouse with a tiny monkey clad in a pink-and-white dress tucked in her bra.
The woman brought the palm-sized marmoset to Amherst County Courthouse on Thursday for a hearing in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. Officials apparently didn't notice the monkey until the woman went to an office to complete some paperwork.
Entertainment News
Charlie Sheen brings live show to Detroit, Chicago
Charlie Sheen is taking his show on the road.
A spokesman for the outspoken actor says tickets go on sale Saturday for shows in Detroit and Chicago next month called "Charlie Sheen Live: My Violent Torpedo of Truth."
Video
Norman the scooting dog
Celebrate Pi Day!
Pi Day is a holiday commemorating the mathematical constant π (pi).
Pi Day is celebrated on March 14 (or 3/14 in month/day date format), since 3, 1 and 4 are the three most significant digits of π in the decimal form. In 2009, the United States House of Representatives supported the designation of Pi Day.
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There are many ways of celebrating Pi Day. Some of them include eating pie (pi and pie being homophones) and discussing the relevance of π.[1]
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology often mails its application decision letters to prospective students for delivery on Pi Day.
(Wikipedia.)
On this Day in History
(History by Frederick Dielman, 1896. Wikipedia.)
1942 – Orvan Hess and John Bumstead became the first in the world to successfully treat a patient, Anne Miller, using penicillin.
1964 – A jury in Dallas, Texas, finds Jack Ruby guilty of killing Lee Harvey Oswald, assumed assassin of John F. Kennedy.
1998 – An earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale hits southeastern Iran.
2008 – A series of riots, protests, and demonstrations erupts in Lhasa and elsewhere in Tibet.
Happy Birthday
William Edward "Billy" Crystal (born March 14, 1948) is an American actor, writer, producer, comedian and film director.
Sir Michael Caine, CBE (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English film actor and author. Caine has appeared in over one hundred films and is one of Britain's most recognisable and respected actors.
Quincy Delightt Jones, Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American musician. As a conductor, record producer, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter his career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations,[2] 27 Grammys,[2] including a Grammy Legend Award in 1991.