Major quake tonight in New Zealand..
It was a 6.3 .. there are injuries.. And sadly, unlike last year’s, there are deaths..
Major quake tonight in New Zealand..
It was a 6.3 .. there are injuries.. And sadly, unlike last year’s, there are deaths..
Some interesting facts from the AP
- Enslaved blacks often didn’t have a surname, so they chose their own. The AP says it’s a “myth” that they always picked their owners’ last names. Often they picked something entirely different. Understandably, George Washington’s name was a popular choice.
- Twelve U.S. Presidents owned slaves, though only eight had them while in office. Of those, George Washington was the only President to free his slaves. He ordered them to be freed after his wife’s death.
- Booker T. Washington made up his own last name.
- Half of the non-black Washingtons are white. Thirty percent are mixed-race. The rest are either Hispanic, Asian or Pacific Islander.
- The next “blackest” names were Jefferson and Williams.
- The surname Black is 68% white. White is 19% black
Protesters appear to have taken control of second city Benghazi.. More than 400 appear to have been killed in protests by the government..
I have been watching some accounts of Wisconsin’s news events (events that are sure to play out throughout the nation in the upcoming weeks and months).. Families are becoming divided. Wife vs husband. Mother vs daughter.. And even more, with national debt on the federal level, further cuts are going to position the United States in seemingly the same place we saw Greece, Ireland, Spain, and other countries that recently began to impose austerity.
This, coupled with rising gas prices, rising food prices, rising clothing prices, and few jobs being created despite politicians and pundits telling us we are in a recovery, seems to be pushing people to new places not seen in generations.
What is clear: Government on both state and national level is out of money. What is also clear: Lots of people hate government workers. What is even more clear: The budget issues appear to be getting less and less chance for common ground to end the problems and balance budgets.
We are witnessing an amazing event. It’s just a shame no one took to the streets of the United States and state capitols in 2008 when the government happily handed over billion in money to banksters who gave themselves bonuses with us only a few months later.
Instead of dividing the nation, perhaps we should begin to look at true culprits.
Revolution happens from time to time. We appear to be witnessing a worldwide version this weekend. Goodnight world.
No baby this weekend. Maybe Ayden is going to pick President’s Day. And if he does I’ll be a little unhappy as this weekend was filled with late winter warmth and tonight a snow and ice storm hits. But new life has a mind of its own. As my wife and I will soon learn with great detail.
No one ever expected Mummar Qaddafi would give up power peacefully. And that is why Libya has become so horrifically violent over the weekend.
So you thought fish was ok, the bottom of the sea was bustling with life, and BP was telling us the whole truth.
Now you won’t.
New information suggests that the bottom of the Gulf is still wrought with oil and that it’s not degrading as fast as hoped or as fast as we were told it would.
This report, as expected, is at odds with BP’s assertion that by 2012 most problems would be gone.
What these marine scientists conclude, to contradict BP, a whole lot of life has been decimated on the sea floor..
The world looked at a man setting himself on fire in Tunisia.. They watched protesters storm Egypt and escort Hosni Mubarak out of office.. they are watching intense rage on the streets of Bahrain, as the government tries to crack down on protesters.. Libya, like others, has cut off the internet.. Saudi Arabia is on edge.. Iran is watching and quickly trying to put out small fires of protest throughout the nation.
And even the United States is increasingly on edge, as protesters storm Madison Wisconsin in protest of Governor Walker, who is intent on diminishing the amount of benefits that public employees in his state have.
But now, the intensity of the world on edge is perhaps most exemplified by China, where government forces are dispersing protesters in Shanghai.. According to reports, police began to quickly filter crowds of protesters that popped up in the city..
We have seen a crackdown before in Tiananmen Square. The world watched tanks storm peaceful Chinese protesters.. And after that, not much more freedom ever flourished.
Most recently, China received the scorn of the world (but only scorn and that’s about it) after it began a systematic campaign of the arrest of bloggers and immediate put-down of any free speech that violated what state media wanted the Chinese to hear..
But it appears, in a sense, that this burst of newfound freedom of expression thanks to Facebooking Tweets and Tumblering blogs.
However, China is on guard. An online call for a “Jasmine Revolution” has been watched by Chinese officials, who are not about to let freedom fighters prevail against totalitarian aims of the current regime.
While no major protest occurred (And not that we know since state media controls mostly everything in China), it’s amazing how this new energy is racing around the world. Is it people power? Is it all real?
Are we watching a revolution..? Or is it simply opening shots in a soon-to-occur war?
Perhaps it’s worth nothing: Photos of this weekend’s events in China certainly illustrate that it was more than just a few who showed for the Jasmine callout..
Where it goes from here? We’ll have to stay tuned to official government state media for that, I suppose.
Happy birthday Tara. I love you.
You have been the answer since day one.