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Friday, November 20, 2009

Parts of the English Lake District in the county of Cumbria have suffered severe flooding on Thursday, with forecasters predicting further rain. As of 21:09 GMT there were six severe flood warnings (the highest alert in the UK Flood Warnings system) in force in the county, with a large number of flood warnings and watches also in force across the region.

According to BBC News, the main street in the town of Cockermouth is under several feet of water, and around 200 people were being evacuated by helicopters. At least 350 homes in the Elliot Park district of Keswick are also reported to be without power.

A number of local roads are flooded (including the A6 in Kendal). The West Coast Main Line railway is also reported as subject to disruption due to flooding between Oxenholme and Carlisle. Some mainline services are terminatingat either Carlisle or Preston. Local services between Carlisle and Barrow are also reported to have delays.

Some properties in Keswick, Cockermouth and Kendal had already been evacuated under pre-existing emergency plans.

Robert Runcie, the Environment Agency‘s director of flood and coastal risk was quoted as saying: “After persistent heavy rain combined with saturated ground and full rivers across Cumbria, the decision was taken to evacuate residents in towns and villages across the Lake District, before the onset of serious flooding.”

“Since early on Thursday we have been helping emergency services coordinate community groups that are going house-to-house ensuring people were taking precautions and evacuated where necessary. These emergency plans were established following the Cumbria floods of 2005 and have worked successfully. The last thing we want is floodwater putting lives at risk.”

“We urge people to take care and check the latest flooding situation and sign up to our free flood warnings service or by calling 08459 881188.”

Earlier Cumbrian police had advised against non essential travel, and against fell-walking entirely.Chief Superintendent Kevin McGilloway of Cumbria Constabulary stating “All the agencies are working together with local people to ensure they are kept as safe as possible during the severe weather which is hitting some parts of the county. We are asking people not to travel unless it is absolutely necessary.” He also gave some advice, “Pedestrians in areas where there are floods, such as Cockermouth, Keswick, Penrith and Kendal, are being urged not to attempt to walk through flood waters. Anyone who notices blocked drains are also being urged not to put themselves at risk by attempting to unblock them. The key message is for people who are affected by the floods to be prepared, to try and protect any properties that are liable to flooding. Look out for one another including vulnerable friends and neighbours. Anyone in affected areas should ensure they carry mobile phones, torches, waterproofs and other equipment they may need and ensure they have all essential medication with them.”

In Kendal, demand for sandbags has been high. A spokesperson for South Lakeland council stated:”More than 1,000 sandbags have already been collected from our depot and we have ordered 4,000 more to meet the demand.”

The Mayor of Keswick praised efforts by those involved in the flood response. “It is all hands to the pump, really” he said. “The emergency services are well co-ordinated and have been fantastic.”

Sunday, November 8, 2009

The United States House of Representatives has passed The Affordable Health Care for America Act or HR 3962, a bill which would ensure that 95–96% of US citizens receive affordable health care.

HR 3962 was passed with 220 yeas and 215 nays. Democrats in the house needed at least 218 votes to pass the bill. 39 Democrats voted against the bill, which contained the Stupak amendment. This amendment curtailed women’s abortion rights. One Republican, Representative Joseph Cao of Louisiana, voted for the bill.

The US Senate has drafted their own health care bill, S. 1679. It is not yet known when the Senate will vote on their version of the bill, but in the end both versions must be merged into one with both the House and Senate voting again.

The health care program associated with HR 3962 is estimated to cost over US$1 trillion over ten years, according to the Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who states that it will result in “[…] not one dime added to the deficit.”

US President Barack Obama says that he is “confident” that the Senate will be able to come to an agreement and pass a completed bill. Obama added that he hopes to sign a “comprehensive health insurance reform into law by the end of the year.”

Friday, February 10, 2012

Standard & Poor’s downgraded Egypt’s currency rating for the second time in four months based on the country’s shorfall in foreign reserves and shaky political transition. It’s the latest development for a nation facing mounting economic diffuclties.

Egypt’s foreign reserves fell by over 50 percent last year to about US$16 billion. Egypt has requested US$3.2 billion from the International Monetary Fund to bolster its reserves and prevent a devalation but that could take months.

Experts say that Egypt’s problem of attracting foreign investment and tourists, which are two sources that would increase reserves, has already caused the Egyptian pound to lose 1 percent of its value and if the country doesn’t solve the shortfall in foriegn currency, it could even lead to a further currency devaluation within the next two to three months.

The long-term solution is to restore tourism and foreign investments but both are suffering because of the continuing unrest.

Saturday, April 9, 2005

The Toronto Transit Commission is expected to strike Monday. The TTC workers union, the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113, rejected a deal offered by TTC management. They last went on strike in 1999. The average daily ridership exceeds 1.3 million passengers.

The city of Toronto has prepared to help deal with the forecasted traffic congestion by opening up free parking for car-pools at 14 city-owned community centres, banning parking on some city streets, and opening up some bus-only lanes to car-pools.

The initial deal, which was rejected, offered a 2% wage increase over five years. With a huge turnout the union-members voted against accepting the offer with a 99% majority according to a press release by the union. The union rejected the latest offer Friday reported to be a three-year contract with raises of 2.75 percent in the first year, three percent in the second and 3.25 percent in the third.

Tuesday, April 25, 2006File:Tu 16019.jpg

A senior Russian air force commander has claimed that new, upgraded Tu-160 bomber aircraft were unchallenged by US air defense systems when they penetrated a radar zone near the Canadian coast in US territory during an April training exercise, reports the Russian news agency RIA Novosti.

Commander of Russia’s long-range strategic bombers, Lieutenant General Igor Khvorov said that the bombers successfully carried out four mock Tu-95MS cruise missile launches, 200 mock bombings, and 53 mock sorties during the exercise. The RIA Novosti reported that the United States Air Force is currently investigating how the Tu-160’s escaped detection.

Lieutenant General Igor Khvorov said, “They were unable to detect the planes either with radars or visually.”

Khvorov denies any link of the tests to the current US-Iranian tension, saying, “Of course, our exercises did not have anything to do with the situation in Iran, but their organization indirectly echoed in that region.”

The Tupolev Tu-160 is a strategic bomber introduced in 1987. It resembles the North American B-1B Lancer, but is larger and faster, being powered by four NK-32 afterburning turbofans, the largest in any combat aircraft. It is not considered to be a stealth aircraft due to its exposed engine inlets and broad wing gloves.

According to Khvorov over the course of this year, two additional Tu-160s will be commissioned for the long-range strategic bomber fleet with the numerous upgrades, including the ability to launch cruise missiles, aviation bombs, and satellite communication.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

A 5.8 earthquake struck 4 miles southwest of Mineral, Virginia, 80 miles south of Washington D.C., at 1:51 p.m. EDT (17:51 UTC) and lasted for 15–30 seconds. The quake had a magnitude of 5.8 with an epicenter 27 miles (43 km) east of Charlottesville, Virginia. A 2.8 aftershock was reported at 2:46 pm EDT (18:46 UTC).

According to Twitter reports, the quake was felt inland as far as Cleveland and Toronto and along the coast from Boston to Georgia. Police sergeant James Ryan, from South Brunswick, New Jersey stated that “The 911 line is flooding with calls right now. People want to know what happened. They want to know if there was an explosion.”

The United States Capitol and The Pentagon in Arlington were evacuated, as were police headquarters and city hall in New York City. Numerous minor injuries have been reported in Washington, D.C.; however, none of them are serious. There have been confirmed reports of damage at the Washington National Cathedral and the Smithsonian Castle. The Pentagon was also damaged when a burst pipe caused flooding. The North Anna Power Station lost offsite power and had to shut down, turning to four diesel generators to maintain cooling of the facility. Both the JFK and Newark airports were briefly shut down and the control towers were evacuated. A release from Amtrak stated that trains will be operating at reduced speed, but no damage has been found on any rail lines. The Washington Metro is also operating on reduced speed, with some stations closed down, while lines are evaluated.

In Boston, it was reported that the building at 111 Devonshire Street appeared to be leaning onto the adjacent building at 50 Milk Street, with fears that it could collapse. The street was blocked off while the Boston Fire Department investigated. However, it was determined that the buildings had always appeared like that. Nevertheless, the Boston Fire Department investigated the roof and the inside of 111 Devonshire St. After 30 minutes, the building was determined to be safe.

This is the second strongest earthquake to originate in Virginia since records have been kept, after the one recorded on May 31, 1897, near Giles County, which was estimated at a magnitude of 5.9.

The Dow initially dropped 50 points after the earthquake struck, but later increased over 100 points.

Saturday, March 19, 2011Yesterday, Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the agency governing Internet addresses, approved the creation of an “adult entertainment” Internet address, .xxx, on the web, first proposed in 2003. ICANN is the manager of the Internet’s top-level domains, such .com, .org and .net.

ICANN’s decision means success for the Florida-based ICM Registry (ICM), the company that first applied for the .xxx domain in 2004. ICM will oversee the new domain and will sell the .xxx Web addresses. ICM hopes that the establishment of a .xxx domain will contribute a degree of predictability and security to the largely unrestrained world of Internet websites. Its chief executive, Stuart Lawley, said, “For the first time, there will be a clearly defined Web address for adult entertainment, out of the reach of minors and as free as possible from fraud or malicious computer viruses.”

The decision was criticized by some of the Internet pornography industry’s biggest players who fear they could be the target of arbitrary censorship by governments and boards regulating the .xxx domain.

Anti-pornography campaigners also criticized the move, saying it gives the sex industry legitimacy. But since the .xxx system and its vetting process is voluntary, popular pornographic sites are not likely to trade their .com domains for .xxx. Anti-porn critics say that users who think they are avoiding porn by filtering out .xxx domains will therefore be misled.

ICM’s Lawley saw only positive outcomes from the decision: “Everybody wins. The consumer of adult sites wins. The providers will benefit because more people will become paying customers. And those who don’t want to go there will win as well, because the sites will be easier to filter.”