The last major earthquake was in 2006, however, there have been a few recent tremors (minor earthquakes) throughout the Islands. Tremors are typical for the Islands and usually cannot be felt by the population as they occur miles underground. In other words, unless a seismologist tells you about it, you wouldn’t ever know that it happened.

Within his cornucopia of amazing talents, apparently Obama is also an omniscient seismologist.

SF Gate

The Norwegian Nobel Institute yesterday announced there are 237 nominees for the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize. Though the the institute doesn’t normally disclose who made the list, an official did confirm to Computerworld that it includes the Internet.

That’s right. The Internet was nominated for the illustrious prize by the Italian edition of Wired magazine, according to the institute.

Geir Lundestad, director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute, told Computerworld that while the Nobel Institute does not officially identify who or what was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, he did acknowledge that the Internet’s nomination has become widely known.

Lundestad added that Riccardo Luna, editor-in-chief of the Italian edition of Wired nominated the Internet for the prize.

The 237 nominees, including 38 organizations, are part of the largest group to vie for the annual prize.

“It is easy to be nominated, difficult to win the prize,” Lundestad said.

Luna last November told Wired that the Internet is a major tool for peace, citing its role in delivering news from within Iran during a tumultuous election last spring, and how it can be used to spread otherwise censored information.

The nomination of the Internet surprised veteran industry observers.

“Given the Internet isn’t a legal entity, it’s very surprising,” said Rob Enderle, an analyst with the Enderle Group. “This would be like putting Mother Earth or the ocean up for the prize and likely would indicate that the Nobel Prize process needs to be rethought. The point of the prize is to encourage good works. I doubt ‘the Internet’ can be motivated by financial awards even of you could figure out a way to give it the money. Maybe they could buy it some of those new Cisco high speed routers?.”

Ezra Gottheil, an analyst with Technology Business Research, said he’s not even convinced that the Internet is a major contributor to peace.

“It’s not clear that the Internet is a net contributor to peace,” he added. “And, if they think so, they could give the award to the few people who were critical to its invention. It’s a major recruiting tool for terrorists. It helps disseminate hate speech. You could say it encourages abusive speech and depersonalization.”

Enderle said the Internet is neither good nor evil. It’s all in how it’s used.

“The Internet makes both good and evil things possible,” added Enderle. “It is up to the people to make the choice. This award should likely go to those people who made the correct one. Ideally, in this case, someone should be identified who used the Internet to foster peace and they should get the award.”

By Daily Mail Reporter

A former Royal Marine was told to cover-up a tattoo of his regimental badge by security staff at Heathrow Airport, because it was ‘offensive’ to other passengers.

Paul Fairclough, a former medic with the 539 Assault Squadron, was furious after he was challenged over the famous Marine dagger insignia as he arrived for a transfer flight.

The 29-year-old, who served in Kosovo and Iraq, had just arrived at Terminal 5 from Toronto and was transferring for a Manchester flight when he was stopped by a female security operator as he passed through a metal detector.

Angry: Former Marine Paul Fairclough, 29, was told to cover up his Commando dagger tattoo at Heathrow Airport because it was ‘offensive’

After he put his bag on to an x-ray machine he was told to take his jacket off – revealing the 12-inch tattoo on his right arm.

The female operator spotted the tattoo and said: ‘That tattoo is offensive. You will have to cover it up.’

The father-of-one, who joined the Army at 19 and now works as a safety officer on oil rigs, refused to cover the design and walked past the guard.

Mr Fairclough said: ‘I tried to explain that she was mistaken and that it was the insignia of my old regiment, the Royal Marines.

‘She said she knew exactly what it was but that it made no difference. They had a policy that tattoos showing offensive weapons of any kind must not be on show.

‘I was half annoyed and told her that there was no way I was covering it up and I walked on as she glared at me.

‘I half expected to feel a tap on my shoulder but I just walked through the arch and went on my way.’

Mr Fairclough, who lives with wife Nicky and 1-year-old son Matthew in Tranmere, Wirral, then attempted to make a complaint after passing through security.

‘I demanded to see a supervisor to ask for an explanation.

‘He said they had a policy that offensive tattoos connected with gangs and weapons must be covered-up in the airport.

‘But he said there was no ban on military insignia tattoos and tried to explain it away by saying that the operator concerned must have made a mistake.

‘When I said that she had insisted that she knew exactly that it was a Royal Marines’ badge he tried to say she must not have been trained properly.

‘He didn’t apologise and I was left feeling insulted, angry and incensed. I served my country and lost mates who were blown-up in Iraq.

‘I am proud of my service with the Royal Marines and this left a bitter taste in my mouth.’

The Commando dagger is the formation flash of the Royal Marine Commando regiment and reflects its ability to adapt to combat situations. It does not appear on their uniform, but does appear on the Royal Marines Commando insignia.

A spokesman for British Airports Authority at Heathrow said: ‘This should not have happened. We have no policy against tattoos.

‘We do sometimes ask passengers to cover-up things like slogans that would be offensive to other travellers, but that is clearly not case on this occasion.

‘BAA would like to offer our sincere apologies to the passenger concerned.’

SFGATE

Californians had better start watching their mouths.

The state Assembly passed a resolution Thursday that would establish the first week of March as “Cuss Free Week” throughout the state. If approved by the Senate next week, the measure would take effect immediately.

The resolution includes no enforcement mechanism and is simply meant to promote greater harmony and connectedness, said Assemblyman Anthony Portantino, a Democrat from La Canada Flintridge and co-author of the measure.

“I’ve always wondered why we behave differently when grandma is watching than when we’re on our own,” said Portantino, who owned up to his share of four-letter words.

Portantino said the California Legislature — known for imposing strict clean air and clean water laws — is the first state legislative body in the nation to consider a statewide profanity-free week.

The resolution was inspired by a South Pasadena teenager, McKay Hatch, who started a No Cussing Club at his junior high school in 2007. Similar clubs have since cropped up in every state and 20 countries.

Hatch, who traveled to the Capitol with his family to support the resolution, said he sees a link between foul-mouthed incivility and other forms of problem behavior, such as drug use and bullying.

Next up for the 16-year-old? Promoting no-cussing measures in other states and internationally.

“Next year I want to do a world tour,” he said. “Cussing is a hard habit to break, but anyone can do it.”

California lawmakers will now test Hatch’s theory. Portantino and his staff have supplied each of them with a “cuss jar.” Those who let a foul word slip are encouraged to deposit money into the jar as penance.

“I expect several of you will have your jars overflowing in the next few weeks,” Portantino’s co-author, Cameron Smyth, told his fellow Assembly members.

After Thursday’s vote, Smyth, a Republican from Santa Clarita, joined Portantino and Hatch in delivering a jar to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s office.

The governor’s office confirmed it had received the jar but declined to comment further.

Profanity has been rare on the floor of the Assembly or Senate. After one former lawmaker used the word “hell” in 2007, senators took time out from a busy day of voting to debate whether it was appropriate to use the word on the floor. Lawmakers eventually agreed to disagree.

Messages between the Legislature and the governor have been a different matter.

Last October, the first letter in each line of a veto message from Schwarzenegger to Democratic Assemblyman Tom Ammiano spelled out a common four-letter vulgarity followed by the letters “y-o-u.”

The Republican governor called the hidden message “one of those wild coincidences.”

(CNN) — The Dutch Cabinet has dissolved after arguments over Netherlands’ involvement in Afghanistan, a spokeswoman for the prime minister confirmed Saturday.

—————————————-

Not sure what this means. No more tulips?

Seriously: beside tulips, wooden shoes, and charging windmills ( I believe it was a Spaniard that did that), what exactly do these people do?

Who knew the Dutch even had a fighting force.

Let’s give credit where credit is due: LegoLand is all right by me.

Exodus 12:35
The Israelites did as Moses had told them and asked the Egyptians for silver and gold, jewelry, and clothing.

The Brick Testament

Washington (CNN) — Nearly 180 Department of Homeland Security weapons were lost — some falling into the hands of criminals — after officers left them in restrooms, vehicles and other public places, according to an inspector general report.

The officers, with Customs and Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, “did not always sufficiently safeguard their firearms and, as a result, lost a significant number of firearms” between fiscal year 2006 and fiscal year 2008, the report said.

In all, 243 firearms were lost in both agencies during that period, according to the January report from Inspector General Richard Skinner. Of those, 36 were lost because of circumstances beyond officers’ control — for instance, ICE lost a firearm during an assault on an officer. Another 28 were lost even though officers had stored them in lockboxes or safes.

But 74 percent, or 179 guns, were lost “because officers did not properly secure them,” the report said.

Following a review of the draft report in December, Homeland Security took steps to implement its recommendations and overhaul its property management policy, according to a response in the report. A department spokeswoman did not immediately return a call from CNN Thursday seeking comment.

The report concluded the department did not have specific procedures and policies in place regarding firearms. “Instead, DHS relied on its components to augment its general property management policies and procedures with specific guidance for safeguarding and controlling firearms,” it said. “Although some component policies and procedures for safeguarding firearms were sufficient, personnel did not always follow them.”

The inspector general cited several examples of “inappropriate practices.” A customs officer, for instance, left a firearm in an idling vehicle in the parking lot of a convenience store. The vehicle was stolen while the officer was inside. “A local law enforcement officer later recovered the firearm from a suspected gang member and drug smuggler,” the report said.

In addition, an ICE officer left an M-4 rifle and a shotgun unsecured in a closet at his home. Both weapons were stolen in a burglary and later recovered from a felon, according to the report. Another officer left his firearm in the restroom of a fast-food restaurant, and it was gone when he returned.

“Other CBP and ICE officers left firearms in places such as a fast food restaurant parking lot, a bowling alley and a clothing store,” the report said.

“Although our review focused on CBP and ICE, other components described similar incidents. For example, a TSA officer left a firearm in a lunch box on the front seat of an unlocked vehicle; the officer realized the firearm was stolen when he returned to the vehicle two days later,” said the report. “Officers may have prevented many of these losses had they exercised reasonable care when storing their weapons.”

Of the 179 lost because of laxity, 120 were reported stolen and 59 as lost, the report said. That resulted from the agencies’ lack of guidance on a standard method for classifying and reporting lost firearms, as well as “a common perception among officers that reporting a stolen firearm was more acceptable than reporting a lost firearm.

“Although CBP and ICE reported 120 firearms as stolen, our analysis showed that these firearms were lost (stolen) because officers left the firearms unsecured,” according to the report. “All 179 losses may have been prevented had the officers properly secured their firearms.”

The department had about 188,500 weapons in its inventory as of last summer, the report said. The majority are assigned to Customs and Border Protection and ICE officers, but others are carried by agencies including the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Secret Service and the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center.

KPHO

MIAMI — A person’s body fell from an airplane as it left the Dominican Republic for Miami on Thursday, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

As the cargo jet took off at about 1:45 p.m., the body fell from a wheel well, FAA officials

Officials said the body was recovered in the Dominican Republic.

The plane landed safely at Miami International Airport on Thursday afternoon. Officials were checking the plane to make sure everything was OK before allowing it to proceed to the terminal.

No information about the identity of the body was immediately available.

Essma Marjam with one of her six children pictured outside the house in Maida Vale, central London, which costs taxpayers almost £7,000 a month

By Emily Andrews and Stephen Wright

A single mother-of-six is getting more than £80,000 a year from the taxpayer to live in a £2million mansion in an exclusive London suburb.

Essma Marjam, 34, is given almost £7,000 a month in housing benefits to pay the rent on the five-bedroom villa just yards from Sir Paul McCartney’s house and Lord’s cricket ground.

She also receives an estimated £15,000 a year in other payouts, such as child benefit, to help look after her children, aged from five months to 14.

The four-storey house in Maida Vale has five bedrooms, two bathrooms, a double living room, large fitted kitchen-diner with French doors on to the landscaped garden and a state-of-the art buzzer entry system.

Astonishingly, it is understood Miss Marjam found the house on the internet through a private letting agency, rather than waiting for Westminster council to give her a vacant property on their books.

She then applied to the council for the £1,600-a-week benefit – the maximum amount the council allows.

Miss Marjam said: ‘I moved here at the beginning of the month as I’m entitled to a five-bedroom house.

‘I was in a three-bedroom council house but I needed a bigger place once my new baby came along. So the council agreed to pay the £1,600 a week to a private landlord as they didn’t have any houses big enough.

‘I’m separated from my husband. He’s a solicitor in Derby, but I don’t know if he’s working at the moment. He doesn’t pay anything towards the kids. Things are quite difficult between us.

‘The house is lovely and very big, but I don’t have enough furniture to fill it.’

She does, however, have two large flat-screen televisions and several leather sofas, plus a large amount of children’s toys scattered over the wooden floorboards.

During the week, vans from Argos and other home stores dropped off large purchases.

Miss Marjam does not work, as she spends all day looking after her children – Zekia, 14, Abdulhakim, 13, Jihad, 11, Hamza, ten, Ayman, two, and five-month-old Nasir.

The four eldest have the surname Benjamin, while the two youngest have the surname Khan.

Labour’s controversial Local Housing Allowance enables council tenants to receive such high benefits to pay private landlords.

The maximum that can be claimed is set by central government and the allowances can be huge, leaving the taxpayer to foot the bill.

The Daily Mail has highlighted other outrageous examples, such as the single mother of eight receiving £90,000 a year to live in a £2.6million Notting Hill mansion.

Taxpayers are also picking up the £6,400-a-month bill to house Nasra Warsame, her seven children and her elderly mother in central London, with Westminster council also providing Mrs Warsame’s husband and their eighth child with a two-bedroom flat nearby.

In total, 16 families are living in million-pound-plus London properties funded by the Local Housing Allowance.

Phillipa Roe, a Westminster councillor, said: ‘We would like to see the entire system changed as the current rules are wrong and do not offer taxpayers value for money.

‘We want to have more control to limit the amount of money which is paid out. Local councils are far better placed to determine benefit levels than ministers in Whitehall who won’t know the facts on the ground.

‘The Government has repeatedly pledged to reform housing benefit but failed to do so. The whole system needs a radical review and ministers should stop dragging their heels and get on and do it.’

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman said: ‘It is not right that in London high rents have been able to distort the system, resulting in a small number of people getting excessively high payments.

‘We took immediate action and capped the Local Housing Allowance in April. The plans we published in December go even further and will exclude high rents from LHA rate calculations.

‘Only a very small minority of people receive such high rates of housing benefit. The average payment is £81 a week.’

Mrs Marjam’s new home is yards from Sir Paul McCartney’s house

LA Times

Riverside County must translate ballots and other election materials into Spanish and provide trained bilingual poll workers under a settlement agreement announced Friday by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The county also agreed to allow federal observers to monitor polling places on election days, to designate a person to coordinate the county’s Spanish-language election program and to start a community outreach group.

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against the Riverside County Registrar of Voters alleging that the officials failed to offer election-related information and assistance to Spanish-speaking voters as required under the law. The Voting Rights Act requires that counties with a significant population of Spanish-speaking residents must provide voting materials and help in both languages, according to the Justice Department.

“It is critical that anybody not have language barriers to exercise their right to vote,” said Alejandro Miyar, spokesman for the Department of Justice. “Today’s agreement allows for a comprehensive plan that will approve the ability for Spanish-language speakers to participate.”

Riverside County spokesman Ray Smith said the county has had programs in place for years to assist Spanish-speaking voters. He said the settlement is a way to conclude the litigation in the “spirit of cooperation.”

“We will continue to improve those programs to meet the needs and requirements not only of our voters but of the federal government,” Smith said. “We will continue working to serve every voter in Riverside County.”

Since 2002, the Justice Department has been notifying the county of its obligations under federal law, according to court documents. In 2008, federal observers were posted at polling places.

The next year, the department notified the county that it planned to file a lawsuit, which resulted in settlement discussions.

The settlement will remain in place until 2013.

——————————-

The United States citizenship test is in English. You cannot vote in the United States unless you are a citizen. There should be no need for ballots to be in any language but English.

Either these Hispanics were given bogus citizenships (sounds like it) or they are allowing any Hispanic to vote regardless bogus citizenship or not. Apparently.

It’s insane how our government criminally caters to these worthless parasitic Hispanics.

WTF? Jumpin’ Jeezus Christ, Mother, Mary, and Joseph!  The Bastards are going to nuke Hawaii!

North Korea has emerged from its inscrutable kitchen overlooking the Taedong River to deliver (with a flourish) yet another example of its award winning (but solitary) signature entrée.  And, as usual, the regulars are duly impressed by the classic fare. 

This week’s special is their classic rendition of Scary Pie…a flavorsome treat of flaky layers enclosing a stewed rendition of plutonium, poverty, megalomania, envy, trans-national terrorism, paranoia, bombast, opportunism, and ego…all served on a sizzling piece of hardened armor plate…and drizzled with a regional ballistic missile sauce which seems to have broadened its range across everyone’s’ palate this week. 

Those pesky Northern Koreans have emerged from their perennially failed roadside international diner for another attempt at semi-haute cuisine.  After nearly closing deals for rights to the secret family recipe to international restaurant industry giants Clinton and Bush, Head Chef Kim Jong-il has attempted to reinvigorate the franchise by serving up the classic dish at a phenomenal markup.  Rumors of recent restaurant demolition projects are apparently premature as the newly refurbished kitchen appears to be again cooking with fire.

All Post-Election Obama Partygoers are invited to thrill and trill to the familiar aroma of fear drifting across the wide boulevards of the Pacific.  This critic’s review says that buying a heaping platter of Scary Pie will be the summer’s gastronomic hit (albeit at 10 times the original 1990-2008 price in devalued and imaginary dollars).  Rumor control says that unless President Obama can buy out the North Korean restaurant, local entrepreneurs Japan and South Korea may even try their own hand at nuclear fast food franchises…a prospect no doubt alarming to local eatery speculators Russia and China.  

Dear Leader and his staff are again rattling cookware in the hopes of cutting spectacularly better financial deals from Mr. Obama and Ms. Clinton than those offered by previous venture capitalists. 

This should work out swimmingly for all concerned as the North Koreans simply want a cut of the trillions in imaginary dollars that the Administration is already printing and spending.  It’s panned out so well for GM and Illinois…why not for Pyongyang?

P.S. –

Dear China:  Reign in your little friends or hope the wind blows in the right direction.

Love & Kisses, the USA

US National Defense Strategy:

1) Bury head in sand (or elsewhere).

2) Wait until someone comes along and kicks us square in the nuts.

3) Stumble around in shock and surprise until figuring out how to fight.

4) Beat them into a bloody pulp.

5) Pick up their hospital tab afterwards.

 –T2M