Things I Found September 14, 2008

September 14: Today In History.

Weather
Ike kills 2 in Louisiana, floods homes: LAKE CHARLES, La. - Hurricane Ike spared Louisiana a direct hit, but its winds and waters killed two people as coastal areas were inundated with a storm surge that crawled some 30 miles inland, flooding tens of thousands of homes and making many roads impassable.

Officials Still Unsure of Ike Death Toll, Damage Costs: From the sea-swamped neighborhoods of Galveston to the pine-covered hills north of Houston, people across Southeast Texas awoke Saturday to a stunning tableau of devastation caused by the passage of Hurricane Ike, the first hurricane in a quarter-century to score a direct hit on the state's most populous region.

Tropical Depression IKE Public Advisory: The NHC has issued its final advisory on this system. Public Advisories from the Hydrometeorological Prediction Center will provide updates as long as the system remains a flood threat.

Hurricane remnants blamed for 3 deaths in Midwest: MUNSTER, Ind. - A father and son drowned in northwest Indiana while trying to rescue children from a flooded ditch as heavy rains from the remnants of Hurricane Ike forced hundreds of evacuations across the Midwest on Sunday.

Typhoon injures 14, cancels flights in Taiwan: TAIPEI (Reuters) - A powerful typhoon packing winds of up to 160 kph (100 mph) hit northeastern Taiwan on Sunday, dumping up to a meter of rain, causing hundreds of mudslides, injuring 14 and forcing the cancellation of dozens of flights.

Sci/Tech
Hackers infiltrate Large Hadron Collider systems and mock IT security: As the first particles were circulating in the machine near Geneva where the world wide web was born, a Greek group hacked into the facility, posting a warning about weaknesses in its infrastructure.

Tragedy
Plane Crash in Russia Kills All 88 Aboard: MOSCOW -- A plane carrying 88 people crashed in central Russia early Sunday killing all aboard, an emergency official said.

Death toll from China mine mudslide climbs to 254: BEIJING (Reuters) - The death toll from a mudslide caused by the collapse of a mine waste reservoir in northern China has climbed to 254, state media said on Sunday.

Foreign Affairs
Turkmenistan clashes 'kill police': At least 20 members of the Turkmenistan's security forces have reportedly been killed in clashes in the capital Ashgabat, according to to media reports and diplomatic sources.

Russians troops leave west, but remain in Georgia: TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Russian soldiers and armored vehicles pulled back from positions deep in western Georgia on Saturday, meeting a closely watched withdrawal deadline a month after the war between the former Soviet republics.

Venezuelan military holds anti-invasion exercises: CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has observed military exercises with planes dropping bombs and commandos resisting a mock invasion.

Venezuela's Bonds Tumble After Chavez Expels U.S. Ambassador: Venezuela's bonds plunged to the lowest since June 2004 after President Hugo Chavez called for the expulsion of the American ambassador and threatened to cut off oil exports to the U.S.

U.S. in push for foreign arms deals: report: NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Bush administration is pushing through a wide range of foreign weapons deals in a bid to rearm Iraq and Afghanistan and contain North Korea and Iran, The New York Times reported.

Pakistan order to kill US invaders: KEY corps commanders of Pakistan's 600,000-strong army issued orders last night to retaliate against "invading" US forces that enter the country to attack militant targets.

Things I Found September 8, 2008

September 8: Today In History

WSJ: Fannie and Freddie Likely to Plunge, Searing Investors: The government's plan to take over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may help the housing market and boost the value of the firm's bonds, but it's a body blow to stockholders that include some of the country's best known mutual funds and biggest banks.

Salmonellosis Outbreak Prompts Sprout Recall: Oregon public health officials and the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a recall of Sprouter's Northwest brand alfalfa sprouts due to a salmonellosis outbreak.

Takimag: Freddie and Fannie--Too Big to Bail: One amusing aspect of the New York Times’s coverage of the government takeovers of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae is that throughout the Gray Lady’s 2000-word lead essay, it’s never once mentioned that the two lending institutions have, well, already been federal organizations for the past 70 years (!).

BBC: Russia: Potential Flashpoints: The Russia-Georgia conflict has focused attention on other potential flashpoints that have their origin in the Soviet era, which ended in the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

The One Rule: Most everyone who speaks a European language natively is familiar with the Golden Rule, attributed to Jesus Christ: Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them. This is usually simplified to Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Even more concisely as Love your neighbor as yourself.

NewsVine: US Military Deaths In Afghanistan Region At 514: As of Monday, Sept. 8, 2008, at least 514 members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan as a result of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to the Defense Department. The department last updated its figures Monday at 10 a.m. EDT.