Saturday, December 18, 2010
1x.com - Best photos on the web
1x.com - Best photos on the web: "Best photos on the web. 1x.com is an online gallery with the best photos on the web."
Saturday, October 02, 2010
How to Save California: Outlaw Public Employee Unions - Ricochet.com
How to Save California: Outlaw Public Employee Unions - Ricochet.com
'Like everyone else in California, I'm dismayed at the state of the state. The massive budget deficit, high taxes and runaway government spending, spreading unemployment, a hostile business climate, and unfunded future pensions are ruining a state that has every natural gift and advantage in resources, both human and natural. Everyone seems to agree that the way the state government works has a lot to do with these problems, but no one is sure how to fix it. I even taught a seminar last semester on reforming the California constitution to explore solutions (more on that another time)....
'Earlier this week, I was lucky to go to the annual dinner of the Lincoln Club of northern California, which is made up of Republican leaders in the San Francisco area. The Club was awarding its lifetime achievement award to Pete Wilson, the last governor who made state government work (and a proud alum of my law school) -- believe it or not, but when Wilson left office, the state had a budget surplus. Ricochet's very own Peter Robinson interviewed Wilson on how to save California. It was an amazing night: Wilson displayed an encyclopedic command of the policy challenges facing the state.'
'The one change that he said could restore the state's fortunes wasn't lowering taxes, cutting spending, or eliminating excessive regulations -- though these were all important. He said there was a deeper root cause: the power of the public employees unions. According to Wilson, public employee unions trigger a destructive dynamic. Public employee unions take money from their members and use them for partisan political purposes. They pressure government officials to cut them sweetheart deals, especially through things like job protections and pensions, that don't show up on the bottom line for years. They create a larger and larger interest group that demands more government spending and higher taxes, which drives out private entrepreneurship and swells their ranks even more. Reduce the power of the public employee unions, and you lower the size of government, reduce the costs of the state, and fix the looming pension problem.'
'So here's my idea, and it applies beyond California. There is no constitutional right for public employees to form a union and to use their dues to pressure the government for more spending and benefits. As Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes once wrote while a state judge, a policeman "may have the right to talk politics but he has no constitutional right to be a policeman." Unions only have this right because state government has granted it to them. So how about a one sentence ballot initiative, to amend the California constitution, that simply says that public employees cannot form unions -- and why not do this state by state.'
'Like everyone else in California, I'm dismayed at the state of the state. The massive budget deficit, high taxes and runaway government spending, spreading unemployment, a hostile business climate, and unfunded future pensions are ruining a state that has every natural gift and advantage in resources, both human and natural. Everyone seems to agree that the way the state government works has a lot to do with these problems, but no one is sure how to fix it. I even taught a seminar last semester on reforming the California constitution to explore solutions (more on that another time)....
'Earlier this week, I was lucky to go to the annual dinner of the Lincoln Club of northern California, which is made up of Republican leaders in the San Francisco area. The Club was awarding its lifetime achievement award to Pete Wilson, the last governor who made state government work (and a proud alum of my law school) -- believe it or not, but when Wilson left office, the state had a budget surplus. Ricochet's very own Peter Robinson interviewed Wilson on how to save California. It was an amazing night: Wilson displayed an encyclopedic command of the policy challenges facing the state.'
'The one change that he said could restore the state's fortunes wasn't lowering taxes, cutting spending, or eliminating excessive regulations -- though these were all important. He said there was a deeper root cause: the power of the public employees unions. According to Wilson, public employee unions trigger a destructive dynamic. Public employee unions take money from their members and use them for partisan political purposes. They pressure government officials to cut them sweetheart deals, especially through things like job protections and pensions, that don't show up on the bottom line for years. They create a larger and larger interest group that demands more government spending and higher taxes, which drives out private entrepreneurship and swells their ranks even more. Reduce the power of the public employee unions, and you lower the size of government, reduce the costs of the state, and fix the looming pension problem.'
'So here's my idea, and it applies beyond California. There is no constitutional right for public employees to form a union and to use their dues to pressure the government for more spending and benefits. As Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes once wrote while a state judge, a policeman "may have the right to talk politics but he has no constitutional right to be a policeman." Unions only have this right because state government has granted it to them. So how about a one sentence ballot initiative, to amend the California constitution, that simply says that public employees cannot form unions -- and why not do this state by state.'
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Top scientists debunk global warming theories and AGW alarmists
Global warming is dead. Long live, er, 'Global climate disruption'! – Telegraph Blogs
Here are more top scientists commenting on global warning farce:
Dr. Dennis Jensen (Nuclear Physicist), a PhD-trained scientist and a former researcher for Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Organization (CSIRO) and the Defense Science and Technology Organization (DSTO), questioned man-made climate fears:
"It has been found that warming is occurring on Pluto, Mars, Jupiter and Triton."
"The last time I looked, there were no evil greenhouse gas belching industries on those planets, sub-planets and moons," he said, which clearly indicated that increased solar activity was a significant factor," Jensen explained. He also noted that studies of ice core data reveals that warming precedes rising CO2 levels in the atmosphere. "In other words, it would be more correct to say that temperature changes cause CO2 concentration changes."
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UK - Dr. John Brignell is Emeritus Engineering Professor, University of Southampton who held the Chair in Industrial Instrumentation at Southampton and was awarded the Calendar Silver Medal by InstMC. He also served on a committee of the Institute of Physics and currently publishes the website http://www.numberwatch.co.uk/ with the mission to expose "scares, scams, junk, panics and flummery cooked up by the media, politicians, bureaucrats and so-called scientists and others that try to confuse the public with wrong numbers."
His motto is "Working to Combat Math Hysteria."
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USA - Dr. Edward F Blick, Professor of Meteorology and Engineering at University of Oklahoma retired Air Force atmospheric scientist, rejected man-made climate fears in 2007.
He also questioned the accuracy of temperature gathering. "At the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union (around 1990), they could not afford their weather stations in Siberia, so they were closed. Hence, with the loss of the cooler temperature data from Siberia and rural stations in other countries, coupled with the heat island effects of the large city stations, and errors in thermometers of the 1800's, any increase in the average earth temperature in the past may be an illusion," he wrote. "CO2 is not poison and it is not our enemy. CO2 and oxygen are the twin gases of life. Humans and animals breathe in oxygen and exhale CO2. Plants breathe in CO2, make carbohydrates, and breathe out oxygen. We feed the plants and they feed us."
Here are more top scientists commenting on global warning farce:
Dr. Dennis Jensen (Nuclear Physicist), a PhD-trained scientist and a former researcher for Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Organization (CSIRO) and the Defense Science and Technology Organization (DSTO), questioned man-made climate fears:
"It has been found that warming is occurring on Pluto, Mars, Jupiter and Triton."
"The last time I looked, there were no evil greenhouse gas belching industries on those planets, sub-planets and moons," he said, which clearly indicated that increased solar activity was a significant factor," Jensen explained. He also noted that studies of ice core data reveals that warming precedes rising CO2 levels in the atmosphere. "In other words, it would be more correct to say that temperature changes cause CO2 concentration changes."
----------
UK - Dr. John Brignell is Emeritus Engineering Professor, University of Southampton who held the Chair in Industrial Instrumentation at Southampton and was awarded the Calendar Silver Medal by InstMC. He also served on a committee of the Institute of Physics and currently publishes the website http://www.numberwatch.co.uk/ with the mission to expose "scares, scams, junk, panics and flummery cooked up by the media, politicians, bureaucrats and so-called scientists and others that try to confuse the public with wrong numbers."
His motto is "Working to Combat Math Hysteria."
"Global warming is a new phenomenon in human affairs. Not only is it now a major religion, but it has an associated industrial complex of a wealth sufficient to give it unheard of political power throughout the world. It presides over a virtual monopoly of research funding," Brignell wrote in July 2007. (LINK) "Clearly, global warming is anthropogenic (man-made). It exists mainly in the human mind and is manufactured from two sources - careless data acquisition and dubious data processing," Brignell wrote. In November 2007, Brignell, who wrote a book entitled Sorry, Wrong Number: The Abuse of Measurement, compiled a list of over 600 things allegedly caused by global warming.
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USA - Dr. Edward F Blick, Professor of Meteorology and Engineering at University of Oklahoma retired Air Force atmospheric scientist, rejected man-made climate fears in 2007.
"Is their any solid evidence the earth is warming due to man's use of fossil fuels transferring excessive amounts of CO2 in our atmosphere? The answer is NO!" Blick wrote on June 17, 2007 in an article titled "The Religions of Global Warming."
"The amount of CO2 that man puts into the atmosphere each year is about 3 billion tons per year. But this is insignificant compared to the 39,000 billion tons in our oceans, 2,200 billion tons in our vegetation and soils, and 750 billion tons in our atmosphere. Much of the CO2 generated by man is consumed by vegetation," Blick explained. "Man cannot control the weather, but he can kill millions of people in his vain attempt to control it, by limiting or eliminating the fuel that we use,"
He also questioned the accuracy of temperature gathering. "At the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union (around 1990), they could not afford their weather stations in Siberia, so they were closed. Hence, with the loss of the cooler temperature data from Siberia and rural stations in other countries, coupled with the heat island effects of the large city stations, and errors in thermometers of the 1800's, any increase in the average earth temperature in the past may be an illusion," he wrote. "CO2 is not poison and it is not our enemy. CO2 and oxygen are the twin gases of life. Humans and animals breathe in oxygen and exhale CO2. Plants breathe in CO2, make carbohydrates, and breathe out oxygen. We feed the plants and they feed us."
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Finnish environmental guru calls for totalitarian eco- fascist regime to preserve mother earth
http://ht.ly/2GVQd
A Finnish environmentalist guru has gone further than any other global warming alarmist in openly calling for fascism as a necessary step to save the planet from ecological destruction, demanding that climate change deniers be “re-educated” in eco-gulags and that the vast majority of humans be killed with the rest enslaved and controlled by a green police state, with people forcibly sterilized, cars confiscated and travel restricted to members of the elite.
Philosopher Pentti Linkola has built an enthusiastic following of self-described “eco-fascists” receptive to his message that the state should enact draconian measures of “discipline, prohibition, enforcement and oppression” in order to make people comply with environmental dictates.
Linkola’s barbaric and dictatorial philosophy has remained relatively obscure but is now gaining traction as the mask of environmentalism is lifted to unveil its true nature – a justification for 21st century tyranny on a grand scale, characterized by eugenics, sterilization, gulags, police states, and total government control over every aspect of our existence.
Linkola’s doctrine is more extreme, repulsive, and threatening to liberty than anything carried out by history’s worst dictators, Hitler, Stalin and Mao – combined. Indeed, Linkola laments that such monsters didn’t go far enough in wiping out many more millions of people.
Under Linkola’s proposal to save earth from man-made climate change, “only a few million people would work as farmers and fishermen, without modern conveniences such as the automobile.” This system would be enforced by the creation of a “Green Police” who would abandon “the syrup of ethics” that governs human behavior to completely dominate the population.
Linkola calls for forced abortions, while also adding that another world war would be “a happy occasion for the planet” because it would eradicate tens of millions of people. The environmentalist believes that only jackbooted tyranny can help to save mother earth from “the worst ideologies in the world” which he defines as “growth and freedom”.
“Any dictatorship would be better than modern democracy,” he writes. “There cannot be so incompetent dictator, that he would show more stupidity than a majority of the people. Best dictatorship would be one where lots of heads would roll and government would prevent any economical growth.”
Those who refuse to be enslaved by Linkola’s new eco-tyranny would be abducted and sent to the mountains for “re-education” in eco-gulags, according to the environmentalist, who says that the only solution “lies in a centralised government and the tireless control of citizens.”
As part of his eco-fascist hell, Linkola calls for ‘killing defectives’ by means of sterilization, licenses for births, tight regulation of electricity, forcing humans to eat rats, the confiscation of private cars, travel to be restricted to members of the elite only, and businesses to be terminated as the economy is entirely handed over to the control of the state.
The heart of Linkola’s dark philosophy revolves around the need to slaughter masses of humans. “If there were a button I could press, I would sacrifice myself without hesitating if it meant millions of people would die,” he writes.........
Thursday, September 23, 2010
CA reliance on wind power for renewable energy is a costly mirage
Brown presses Whitman on Prop. 23
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-11395964
http://bbc.in/bTtE0h
http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thegwpf.org%2Fnews%2F1593-thanet-wind-farm-will-milk-britions-of-billions.html&sa=D&usg=AFQjCNGJebjtnyvSwhl4AAtcAI5-syrN7A
I am posting a brief review of Britain's aggressive push into wind energy by focusing on this just completed offshore ocean wind farm, 7 miles out from coastal Kent. I may be biased but it seems to be a colossal offshore scenic eyesore, at least from this Californian's viewpoint, an automatic reflex action against any offshore energy generation sites which are not oil platforms( I live within 20 miles of 11 offshore oil platforms). I am also comparing Britain's wind farms push to CA's current obsession with renewable energy and it's plans to put up 1000's of these 400 ft. tall obscene erector sets out in CA's precious Mohave desert.
Britain has 3000+ wind turbines and is siting more and more turbines offshore. They currently account for 2.5% of that country's total energy needs. 100 new offshore turbines just went up 7 miles off Kent coast. They are 380 ft high and cover 35 square miles of ocean. The greens there actually approve offshore wind turbines. CA will not do this so we will site wind towers in the remote Mohave desert. It will take 10-20,000 wind towers covering 300-500 square miles of desert to supply perhaps 5-10 % of CA total energy needs. That will deface an area of desert bigger than los Angeles. But who cares about the barren CA desert right!
both wind and solar requires large amts of land area, not to mention the additional 100+ sq miles needed for new transmission lines. These projects will cost 10's of billions of dollars, most of it heavily subsidized by the government.
Who will ultimately pay for them. The CA consumer of course, in higher electric bills. Also, wind is not constant in the high desert and very unsteady. It can blow 50-70 MPH for a few days(turbines will automatically shut down at these high wind speeds)but half the year there is little or no wind. The siting and placement of these enormous towers and turbines will entail colossal costs.
I have been out to both the San Gorgonio and Lancaster wind turbine sites, and almost every time i pass the blades are still, or moving at snails pace. The promise of wind energy as cheap reliable abundant source of renewable energy is a costly mirage and massive wasteful government- subsidized energy boondoggle.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
A hypothetical conjecture( hopefully wrong) of LA Dem voter fraud in Nov elections
california is a third world cesspool: A hypothetical conjecture( hopefully wrong) of LA Dem voter fraud in Nov elections
I AM MAKING A PERHAPS WILD SPECULATION HERE AND IT MAY PERHAPS BE A BIT OVER THE TOP BUT NOT ENTIRELY REMOTE. NONE OF YOU KNOW THE ILLEGAL ALIEN/GREEN CARD COMMUNITY OF LA AS WELL AS I DO, AS I HAD BEEN DEEPLY INVOLVED AND SUBMERSED IN IT IN THE 80'S AND 90'S AS A FORMER LA BUSINESS OWNER/OPERATOR HAVING DEALINGS IN THE VAST LA IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY. NOW TO MY RANT:
The key for the Dems to win the CA Governor and Senate races in Nov is getting the Hispanic vote in LA County. They need at least one 1 million Hispanics to vote Democrat in LA County to counteract the rest of state(Excluding Alameda County), which will vote majority Republican.
Look for Acorn-type activist groups to register fake ID illegal voters in LA's vast ghetto districts. There will be at least 1/2 million illegal immigrant fraudulent votes dredged up from the murkey LA Barrios. It is far easier to register fake ID hispanic non-citizens to vote illegally than to use Chicago-style cemetary voter rolls. As the immigrant LA Hispanic population has long experience in using fake ID's, and a complete ready-made setup in LA for fake ID doc mills, transferring this knowhow over to LA voter registration fraud should be a piece of cake.
Even if most of these fraudulent votes are actually thrown out we may still end up with 1000's of illegally cast votes by LA non-citizens in the final tally. We all know that the Dems have a history of using fraudulent vote tactics in dense inner city urban areas. LA City is overwhelmingly minority and Democrat. Since most of them depend on welfare freebies they will go to any lengths to defraud the electoral process to retain CA for the Dems, who are the party of welfare handouts to illegals and the lazy shiftless classes.
If election is real close in CA Gov and Senate races the outcome may come hinge on a few 1000 or more likely 10,000+ illegally cast votes in LA City/county. Republicans are nearly non existence in over half of LA county's 270 zip codes so it would not be out of question for the voting process to be corrupted and defrauded on a large scale in those 100+ LA zips in which Dems are 70-90% of registered voters.
This IS not a preposterous scenario. I live in long beach(LA COUNTY) and when i go to vote the voter booth never asks me for voter or picture ID. LA HAS MILLiONS OF NON-CITIZEN GREEN CARDERS AND ILLEGALS AND IT WOULD BE A PIECE OF CAKE FOR THEM TO USE FAKE ID's AND FAKE INFO TO REGISTER TO VOTE.
THE HUGE IMMIGRANT LA POPULATION HAS LOTS OF EXPERIENCE AND EXPERTISE IN USING FAKE ID DOCS, STOLEN SS NUMBERS, AND ALL OTHER FORMS OF FAKE ID'S SO IT WOULD BE AS EASY FOR THEM TO USE FRAUD DOC'S TO VOTE ILLEGALLY IN LA AS IT IS FOR CHICAGO/MISSOURI DEMS TO USE CEMETERY AND FELON VOTES.
THE FRAUD MACHINERY IN LA IS IN PLACE TO REGISTER AS MANY AS 1/2 MILLION ILLEGAL VOTERS, ALL DEMS. AND THE STATE OF CA PUBLIC EMPLOYEES WHO RUN THE STATE ARE MOSTLY DEM HACKS AND WILL IN A CLOSE ELECTION DEFRAUD THE REPUBLICAN VOTERS IN LA. THAT IS WHY CA HAS SEEN LANDSLIDE ELECTORAL VICTORIES FOR DEMS LAST 1/2 DOZEN ELECTION CYCLES.
LOOK FOR FRAUDULENT ACORN/SEIU-TYPE VOTER FRAUD IN LA IF THE BROWN/WHITMAN AND BOXER/FIORINA VOTES ARE CLOSE.
That is why the LA County SEIU/AFL-CIO are launching a huge drive to register LA voters and get Hispanics to the polls. That is why LA keeps funding welfare to illegals and their anchors at cost of 2 billion/yr for schools, health care, policing, and other welfare payouts. Obama adm knows this and that is why he injected 60 million for bolstering medicare to LA County. The welfare payouts to illegals is the bribe paid to the LA Hispanic voter block to keep them in the Dem column
Monday, September 13, 2010
Ray Stevens - Come to the USA
Good music video by Ray Stevens which pokes satirical sarcastic funny jab at our stupid illegal immigration problem. Entirely anti-illegal immigration and pro-USA but done in a humorous vein. I personally think that Genesis's 'illegal immigration song' should be resurrected, reissued and made into a video.
Thursday, September 09, 2010
Why CA AB32 global warming solutions act needs to be suspended/delayed/halted?
Why CA AB32 global warming act needs to be suspended/delayed/halted
The only thing CA leads in is not landmark green laws but in being a 15-20% high unemployment 3rd world bankrupt entity, a beggar state which has driven out productive tax-paying businesses and citizens and replaced them with a hoard of 3rd world uneducated welfare leeches, who pack the ghettos which encompass wide swathes of the greater LA basin region.
I say pull back/delay implementation of restrictive environmental job-killing acts such as AB32, and get CA moving again with high-paying blue-collar traditional power industry construction trades jobs. Put our vast numbers of unemployed/underemployed/idle construction workers into high-paying trades jobs such as the oil and traditional power energy industries can provide. We do not need anymore obama stimulus road construction projects, which only add to our already catastrophic debt loads, and all other large-scale infrastructure building projects will also add to our crushing debt.
The millions of promised green jobs are a mirage. The only 'green jobs' i see in CA are the 1/4 million immigrant(illegal) landscapers/gardeners driving around in beaten-up old polluting pickups. Putting 10,000-20,000 300 ft- high wind towers in the Mohave creates massive unsightly steel towers in the desert, besides killing birds. Installing solar panels can only be afforded by rich, well-off progressive limousine libs dwelling in exclusive seaside enclaves. CA cannot create enough jobs in home weatherization because of our mild weather and because property values will remain stagnant for another 5-10 years
The eco-nuts who passed AB32 are a tiny, wealthy elite based in their eco-enclaves along the coasts or in walled off exclusive suburbs, while the 90% of less-well-off CA plebians suffer from 20-25% real U-6 EU
The only thing CA leads in is not landmark green laws but in being a 15-20% high unemployment 3rd world bankrupt entity, a beggar state which has driven out productive tax-paying businesses and citizens and replaced them with a hoard of 3rd world uneducated welfare leeches, who pack the ghettos which encompass wide swathes of the greater LA basin region.
I say pull back/delay implementation of restrictive environmental job-killing acts such as AB32, and get CA moving again with high-paying blue-collar traditional power industry construction trades jobs. Put our vast numbers of unemployed/underemployed/idle construction workers into high-paying trades jobs such as the oil and traditional power energy industries can provide. We do not need anymore obama stimulus road construction projects, which only add to our already catastrophic debt loads, and all other large-scale infrastructure building projects will also add to our crushing debt.
The millions of promised green jobs are a mirage. The only 'green jobs' i see in CA are the 1/4 million immigrant(illegal) landscapers/gardeners driving around in beaten-up old polluting pickups. Putting 10,000-20,000 300 ft- high wind towers in the Mohave creates massive unsightly steel towers in the desert, besides killing birds. Installing solar panels can only be afforded by rich, well-off progressive limousine libs dwelling in exclusive seaside enclaves. CA cannot create enough jobs in home weatherization because of our mild weather and because property values will remain stagnant for another 5-10 years
The eco-nuts who passed AB32 are a tiny, wealthy elite based in their eco-enclaves along the coasts or in walled off exclusive suburbs, while the 90% of less-well-off CA plebians suffer from 20-25% real U-6 EU
Wednesday, September 08, 2010
I blasted this Sept 8 all over LATimes on their pro-AB32/ Pro-boxer diatribes
Global warming bill a lose-lose issue for GOP candidates
The Liberal factions which run CA deliberately want as many illegals and their anchor spawn jammed into CA for one reason: POWER. They want and need the votes of the Hispanics and it matters little to them if much of SCal/LA have become vast illegal-alien spawned filthy polluted ghettos infested with illegal-alien spawned gangs and graffiti..The leftist ,radical 'progressive' state employee public sector unions and their congressional puppets have caused the bankruptcy of Ca., They only stay in power because they have allowed the massive infiltration of illegals into CA in order to court the hispanic vote, which allows the Sacto/San Francisco-based leftist progressives & state public sector unions in power to stay in power, dominate CA politics and maintain their inflated pensions, which are a prime reason that CA is reeling and bankrupt.The lying Lib 'progressives' could care less about the SoCal/LA environment with it's 1000+ square miles of filthy polluted 3rd world ghettos, as along as they can confine them to LA's immigrant barrios, as a regime would wall off a ghetto. Meanwhile they make rest of CA a pollution-free/jobless state with a few fabricated scam green jobs at cost of 1 miilion 'polluting' blue collar jobs.
The Liberal factions which run CA deliberately want as many illegals and their anchor spawn jammed into CA for one reason: POWER. They want and need the votes of the Hispanics and it matters little to them if much of SCal/LA have become vast illegal-alien spawned filthy polluted ghettos infested with illegal-alien spawned gangs and graffiti..The leftist ,radical 'progressive' state employee public sector unions and their congressional puppets have caused the bankruptcy of Ca., They only stay in power because they have allowed the massive infiltration of illegals into CA in order to court the hispanic vote, which allows the Sacto/San Francisco-based leftist progressives & state public sector unions in power to stay in power, dominate CA politics and maintain their inflated pensions, which are a prime reason that CA is reeling and bankrupt.The lying Lib 'progressives' could care less about the SoCal/LA environment with it's 1000+ square miles of filthy polluted 3rd world ghettos, as along as they can confine them to LA's immigrant barrios, as a regime would wall off a ghetto. Meanwhile they make rest of CA a pollution-free/jobless state with a few fabricated scam green jobs at cost of 1 miilion 'polluting' blue collar jobs.
My response to LA Times pro-AB32 article
Global warming bill a lose-lose issue for GOP candidates
First response:
Global warming is fraud science and the global warming eco-nuts are extreme nutbags. Cap and trade is dead at the national level and China pollutes at 10,000 times the rate of CA. Go ahead environmental wingnuts- make CA a job dead state with your job killer AB32. What CA does has no impact upon rest of world which will go ahead with max resource extraction and spew out those greenhouse gasses. Meahwhile CA will 'import' 10 million more illegals(carbon polluters) who may actually need blue collar jobs like workin on offshore oil rigs. Environmental extremism is good if one can ignore the 1000+ sq miles of polluting 3rd world ghettos spread all over the LA Basin, filled with inconvenient immigrants who may actually need work in blue collar/trades jobs in 'dirty'smokestack industries.Global climate warming is a massive scam based on misleading, even fraud science, like Piltdown man. So what if a few glaciers are melting and the oceans rise 1-2 ft in 100 years. Earth has had violent geologic/climatic upheavels all its history without man's impact--review the Little Ice Age.
Second Response:
“A Sacramento State University Study and other studies say there’s likely to be a cost of $50,000 per small business and up to $4,000 per family in increased costs related to housing, transportation, energy and food,” said Eric Eisenhammer, spokesman for the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association." The Cap and Trade of carbon credits appears to be a massive revenue windfall for the state of CA which they can then use to invest and subsidize green energy technologies. It make the state of CA/gov bureaucrats the innovator and investor in GTech instead of private enterprize.
It will also lead to higher energy prices to families and business. I think it needs to be rolled back and delayed. It is environmental extremism gone amuck, based upon unproven scientific assumptions about global warming. It is a CA environmental government boondoogle which gives gov scientists/bureaucrats soviet style centralized command/ control over green tech/energy technological developments.
First response:
Global warming is fraud science and the global warming eco-nuts are extreme nutbags. Cap and trade is dead at the national level and China pollutes at 10,000 times the rate of CA. Go ahead environmental wingnuts- make CA a job dead state with your job killer AB32. What CA does has no impact upon rest of world which will go ahead with max resource extraction and spew out those greenhouse gasses. Meahwhile CA will 'import' 10 million more illegals(carbon polluters) who may actually need blue collar jobs like workin on offshore oil rigs. Environmental extremism is good if one can ignore the 1000+ sq miles of polluting 3rd world ghettos spread all over the LA Basin, filled with inconvenient immigrants who may actually need work in blue collar/trades jobs in 'dirty'smokestack industries.Global climate warming is a massive scam based on misleading, even fraud science, like Piltdown man. So what if a few glaciers are melting and the oceans rise 1-2 ft in 100 years. Earth has had violent geologic/climatic upheavels all its history without man's impact--review the Little Ice Age.
Second Response:
“A Sacramento State University Study and other studies say there’s likely to be a cost of $50,000 per small business and up to $4,000 per family in increased costs related to housing, transportation, energy and food,” said Eric Eisenhammer, spokesman for the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association." The Cap and Trade of carbon credits appears to be a massive revenue windfall for the state of CA which they can then use to invest and subsidize green energy technologies. It make the state of CA/gov bureaucrats the innovator and investor in GTech instead of private enterprize.
It will also lead to higher energy prices to families and business. I think it needs to be rolled back and delayed. It is environmental extremism gone amuck, based upon unproven scientific assumptions about global warming. It is a CA environmental government boondoogle which gives gov scientists/bureaucrats soviet style centralized command/ control over green tech/energy technological developments.
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
» Boxer Tied to Dubious Waters Cash-for-Endorsement Scheme - Big Government
» Boxer Tied to Dubious Waters Cash-for-Endorsement Scheme - Big Government
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Chair of the Senate Ethics Committee, has paid some $30,000 since 2004 for the endorsement of embattled Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) in the context of a scheme that critics charge is unethical and amounts to Waters using her political station to benefit her family members.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/sep/1/waters-mailers-a-family-business/
According to the Washington Times, Waters “has turned political endorsements into a family business, using federal election laws to charge California candidates and political causes to include their names as her personal picks on a sample ballot, or ‘slate mailer,’ she sends to as many as 200,000 South Central Los Angeles voters.”
The slate mailer business, it turns out, is run by Waters’ daughter, Karen, via her public relations firm. Records show that Karen Waters’ firm has been paid more than $350,000 since 2004, and has billed a further $82,000 since California’s June primary, for its services in this regard.
It is a scheme that has been criticized by good governance groups including the Sunlight Foundation and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).
The Sunlight Foundation, in a blog post last month, equated the scheme to Waters “selling” her endorsement and noted that the amounts of money being paid to Waters’ own campaign committee in exchange for her endorsement often exceed the federal limit applicable to campaign donations.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) meanwhile cited Waters as one of the most corrupt members of Congress in both 2005 and 2006 for operating the scheme. In both years, CREW noted that Waters’ “ethics issues stem from the exercise of [her] power to financially benefit her daughter, husband and son.” The 2005 rating placed Waters in the company of figures like former Reps. Randy “Duke” Cunningham and Bob Ney—both subsequently convicted of corruption-related offenses—and was directly connected to the operation of the political endorsement scheme.
http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?articleId=9711
Critics charge that Boxer has actively aided and abetted this scheme, both in the context of her 2004 and 2010 re-election campaigns.
In 2004, Boxer paid $25,000 for Waters’ endorsement. But ahead of this year’s California primary—in which Boxer faced no serious competition– and when it was well-known that Waters was under investigation by the House Ethics Committee, Boxer paid Waters $5,000 for her backing. It is this later payment that those monitoring Waters’ ethical woes say could act as an anchor tied to Boxer’s ankle, as she heads towards November.
“The amount is lower than what Boxer paid in 2004, yes,” said one Republican operative with whom we spoke. “But the Chair of the Senate Ethics Committee paying for an endorsement of an official under investigation for ethics infractions connected to her using her standing to benefit her family when that fact has been widely reported presents a major optics problem, to say the least. Ethics are already something of a surprise Achilles Heel for Boxer. Her committee let Chris Dodd off the hook, and she’s been criticized for using her repeat candidacies for the financial benefit of her family, too.” Added that operative, “This is an attack ad waiting to happen.”
Indeed, Boxer has been called out for steering about $500,000 in contributions made to her political action committee to her son’s consulting firm between 2001 and 2009. Like Waters’ scheme, this arrangement has attracted the attention of CREW, which focused on Boxer in a 2007 exposé entitled “Family Affair.” “Waters’ problems run far deeper, of course,” said the same operative. “But there are some interesting parallels here, to be sure.”
Boxer is facing what some observers say is her toughest political contest in a career that spans three decades, facing off against former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina. The three-term Senator has previously said that she does not expect Democratic ethics scandals, including that of Waters, to affect the race.
( Of course not! high- profile Dem senators and legislators always get away with shady financial deals involving family members, at least with the MSM, but not Republicans)
Real Clear Politics’ polling average places Boxer about 4 points ahead of Fiorina, with recent SurveyUSA polling showing Fiorina ahead. The race has been rated a “toss-up” by numerous pollsters and analysts.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
charles hugh smith-Action List for the Newly Unemployed
charles hugh smith-Action List for the Newly Unemployed
As people who reckoned their job was relatively secure discover it isn't, a new cadre of shell-shocked unemployed will have to deal with unemployment and poor prospects for permanent employment. Here is a basic, common-sense list of actions to consider should your household income fall drastically for any reason. It is based on the concepts I laid out in Survival+.
1. Cut expenses immediately. Middle-class households seem especially prone to thinking they can weather a radical drop in income without any real change in lifestyle until a new job appears. Some even resort to pulling money out of IRAs and retirement accounts (and paying penalties to do so) to maintain the lifestyle to which they have grown accustomed.
The better strategy is to perform immediate triage on the household budget and eliminate all extraneous spending. Cut expenses in every way: unplug zombie appliances and chargers, stop buying snacks and convenience food, stop going to high-priced yuppie markets, borrow films from your library rather then rent them, etc.
Write the budget down and track your actual expenses monthly. Reward yourself with a small treat if you stay within the new budget.
2. Look at your biggest expenses and reduce them to your "new normal" income by whatever means are necessary. Typically, the biggest expenses are housing, healthcare and perhaps education.
There is abundant evidence that when it comes to unsustainable mortgages, The wealthy strategically default as a business decision. If a mortgage is completely out of line with the household's reduced income, then the wealthy may have the right idea: it's just business. Anyone considering defaulting on debt should of course do what the wealthy do and consult experienced, licensed real estate and tax attorneys before making any decisions.
Some people have found that renting out rooms in their house allows them to align their income with their mortgage costs. Either expenses must be cut or income increased, or both. Hoping to find a high-paying job in the near future is not a strategy, it is just a form of denial.
Many people we know who have seen their small business income suffer have already cancelled their health insurance--$1,000+ a month is a lot of money. There may be professional organizations which offer cheaper catastrophic-type insurance to members; those seeking to slash their health insurance costs will have to look around for creative ways to do so.
3. Keep productive. All work has dignity. Base your pride in being productive, not on your position or title. It is very easy to fall into feeling lousy about oneself when unemployed, and the best way to counteract that natural diminishment is to stay productive. Find an organization who needs your energy and skills; yes it is "working for free" but you get value for your efforts: you keep your skills sharp and maybe add new ones, you have self-worth by contributing to a worthy organization, and you network with others in ways which might lead to some paying work.
One value we have lost in the U.S. is the inherent value and dignity of all work. Too many people feel that all sorts of work is "beneath them." No wonder, perhaps, given that our popular culture worships at the altar of narcissism, self-glorification, indulgence and victimhood.
I personally consider picking up trash around my neighborhood a highly valuable form of unpaid labor. There is nothing lowly about work performed with care, attention and impeccability.
4. Work to establish multiple sources of household income. If there are potentially employable members of the household earning nothing, then get them out there making some sort of income, even if it is informal, sporadic and low-paying. Something is better than nothing.
5. Think like an employer. The attitude built up by 60 years of prosperity is generally "give me a job and I'll do good work." That was no hindrance in decades of rising employment but now there is a new reality: a thousand other people will also do good work when given a job.
The key word here is "given." If you think like an employer, then you realize that doing good work is the minimum baseline. You have to provide additional value that gives the employer/supervisor some hope that you will bring a much-needed spark to the enterprise. That could be a cheery, generous nature; it could be a can-do attitude of wanting to learn new things. It could be a willingess to be flexible in hours worked.
This is not a suggestion to work for free for an enterprise which pays others to do similar work. But even in this recessionary environment, all too many people expect to work according to their own requirements rather than the needs of the enterprise. This difference in baseline assumptions is most visible between native-born Americans and recent "green card" immigrants, who typically will do whatever it takes to get ahead.
6. Beware the illusion of incremental change. Sustained effort brings results, but within this common-sense approach is a pernicious trap I call The Seductive Illusion of Incremental Change (May 13, 2008). Picking the "low hanging fruit" produces significant improvements, and with that the illusion is formed: if we just keep doing what we've been doing, little by little the problem will be chipped away to zero.
For example, in the first round of household budget cuts, it's not too difficult to pare away a few hundred dollars (travel, eating out, unlimited texting phone plans, etc.). That initial success can lead to a false confidence that such cuts can be continued to the point that income and expenses are actually aligned.
But incremental change often starts yielding diminishing returns. Are the changes being made fundamental, or are they essentially tweaks to a system heading toward collapse?
Weight loss is an example many of us can relate to. A pound of human fat contains 3,500 calories. To lose a pound of fat you need to burn 3,500 calories in excess of what you eat. To lose five pounds, you must burn 17,500 calories more than you eat. If you ramp up your exercise program and burn 500 more calories a day, then in 35 days you will lose the five pounds. Alternatively, you can cut 250 calories from your intake and expend 250 calories in additional exercise.
This sort of sustained effort will produce fundamental results, but anything less will not. Just sending out 10 resumes a week may not produce any job offers, and cutting marginal expenses rather than making the deep cuts needed to re-align income and expenses will only set aside the day of reckoning.
7. Preserve capital. Pulling money out of savings, IRAs and 401Ks to maintain a giant mortgage or an unsustainable lifestyle is unwise; that savings might be needed down the road for a really important emergency such as getting a knee replacement (paid in cash).
Given the likelihood that the stock market will eventually reflect the weakness of the real economy, then keeping IRAs and 401K capital in cash rather than stock mutual funds is a form of capital preservation.
8. Become fluid and flexible. Someone to whom various kinds of work is "beneath them" is like the person who has no interest in learning new skills; their inflexibility dooms them by reducing their adaptability. The living branch bends in the wind, the dead branch snaps off.
9. Accept the new reality. If someone offers you four hours of work, take it. It might lead to something else, and if not, at least you made a few bucks. Clinging to past paradigms is a dead-end.
10. Get healthy, stay healthy. Losing status, income, security, etc. are wounds to self-worth and the soul. Increased stress and anxiety are not healthy. Exercise and productive work/learning are important ways to reduce stress and build a positive response to unwanted change. Walk a quarter mile; when that's easy, walk a half-mile. When that's easy, walk a mile, and so on. Seek respite and renewal in Nature.
Your body is a temple; don't feed it crap.
11. Think entrepreneurally. The basics of entrepreneurism are simple: seek out unfilled needs, or offer a service/product which offers customers faster, better, cheaper. Identify what you like doing even if it's unpaid (at first) and pursue that line.
If you don't want to slog your way into the ranks of Corporate America or work for somebody else (possibly a tyrant/sociopath), then create your own job by making customers/clients your boss.
12. Create value before asking for something in return. One of the key values in Survival+ is reciprocity. If you want ten people to help you find some paying work, then you need to offer them something of value that is meaningful to them. The world does not owe any of us a living.
13. Add some beauty to your world. Our culture glorifies ugliness, aggressiveness, self-centeredness and psychoses of power. Planting some flowers that can be viewed by passerby, keeping your block trash-free, creating some art or craft, repainting a fence with bright colors--anything which adds vibrancy, color and creativity to a small corner of the world is a blow against degradation, aggressiveness, ugliness, squalor and surrender.
14. Become politically active. There are larger forces at work behind the media facades and facsimiles. Our society focuses on self-help rather than on the darker forces of Empire, Power Elites, etc. In other words, the Powers That Be support a politics of experience in which we each blame ourselves for our inability to find paying work, etc. rather than seek out the financial and political roots of our common crisis.
The Power Elites and its Mainstream Media work tirelessly to depoliticize our understanding of the world around us. They present us with a false political choice (Republican or Democrat, as if it really makes a difference to the running of the Global Empire or the concentrated power and wealth of cartels and Financial Elites), religious rabble-rousing and plentiful "entertainment" distractions-- anything to suppress or marginalize our understanding of just how distorted our economy and society have become.
Derangement is normalized though a relentless barrage of imagery, "news" and commentary which cements a depoliticized politics of experience: if you can't find work, it's your personal failings that are the "problem." It's all the Demopublicans or Republicrats fault, these reforms have "fixed" the system, etc.
Ask cui bono--to whose benefit?--of everything.
15. If there is no work in your area due to declining wealth, move to a place where wealth is still being created. Moving is both frightening and exciting; it's always been one path out of poverty into new opportunity.
16. Failure is how we learn; embrace it. One reason Silicon Valley continues to spin out innovation is that failure is not just grimly accepted but celebrated. You haven't really "earned your stripes" if you haven't had a start-up go under or equivalent (your company coming within an inch of going under qualifies). Natural selection is all about constant innovation and failure.
Bonus point:
17. Do more of what's working and less of what's not.
As people who reckoned their job was relatively secure discover it isn't, a new cadre of shell-shocked unemployed will have to deal with unemployment and poor prospects for permanent employment. Here is a basic, common-sense list of actions to consider should your household income fall drastically for any reason. It is based on the concepts I laid out in Survival+.
1. Cut expenses immediately. Middle-class households seem especially prone to thinking they can weather a radical drop in income without any real change in lifestyle until a new job appears. Some even resort to pulling money out of IRAs and retirement accounts (and paying penalties to do so) to maintain the lifestyle to which they have grown accustomed.
The better strategy is to perform immediate triage on the household budget and eliminate all extraneous spending. Cut expenses in every way: unplug zombie appliances and chargers, stop buying snacks and convenience food, stop going to high-priced yuppie markets, borrow films from your library rather then rent them, etc.
Write the budget down and track your actual expenses monthly. Reward yourself with a small treat if you stay within the new budget.
2. Look at your biggest expenses and reduce them to your "new normal" income by whatever means are necessary. Typically, the biggest expenses are housing, healthcare and perhaps education.
There is abundant evidence that when it comes to unsustainable mortgages, The wealthy strategically default as a business decision. If a mortgage is completely out of line with the household's reduced income, then the wealthy may have the right idea: it's just business. Anyone considering defaulting on debt should of course do what the wealthy do and consult experienced, licensed real estate and tax attorneys before making any decisions.
Some people have found that renting out rooms in their house allows them to align their income with their mortgage costs. Either expenses must be cut or income increased, or both. Hoping to find a high-paying job in the near future is not a strategy, it is just a form of denial.
Many people we know who have seen their small business income suffer have already cancelled their health insurance--$1,000+ a month is a lot of money. There may be professional organizations which offer cheaper catastrophic-type insurance to members; those seeking to slash their health insurance costs will have to look around for creative ways to do so.
3. Keep productive. All work has dignity. Base your pride in being productive, not on your position or title. It is very easy to fall into feeling lousy about oneself when unemployed, and the best way to counteract that natural diminishment is to stay productive. Find an organization who needs your energy and skills; yes it is "working for free" but you get value for your efforts: you keep your skills sharp and maybe add new ones, you have self-worth by contributing to a worthy organization, and you network with others in ways which might lead to some paying work.
One value we have lost in the U.S. is the inherent value and dignity of all work. Too many people feel that all sorts of work is "beneath them." No wonder, perhaps, given that our popular culture worships at the altar of narcissism, self-glorification, indulgence and victimhood.
I personally consider picking up trash around my neighborhood a highly valuable form of unpaid labor. There is nothing lowly about work performed with care, attention and impeccability.
4. Work to establish multiple sources of household income. If there are potentially employable members of the household earning nothing, then get them out there making some sort of income, even if it is informal, sporadic and low-paying. Something is better than nothing.
5. Think like an employer. The attitude built up by 60 years of prosperity is generally "give me a job and I'll do good work." That was no hindrance in decades of rising employment but now there is a new reality: a thousand other people will also do good work when given a job.
The key word here is "given." If you think like an employer, then you realize that doing good work is the minimum baseline. You have to provide additional value that gives the employer/supervisor some hope that you will bring a much-needed spark to the enterprise. That could be a cheery, generous nature; it could be a can-do attitude of wanting to learn new things. It could be a willingess to be flexible in hours worked.
This is not a suggestion to work for free for an enterprise which pays others to do similar work. But even in this recessionary environment, all too many people expect to work according to their own requirements rather than the needs of the enterprise. This difference in baseline assumptions is most visible between native-born Americans and recent "green card" immigrants, who typically will do whatever it takes to get ahead.
6. Beware the illusion of incremental change. Sustained effort brings results, but within this common-sense approach is a pernicious trap I call The Seductive Illusion of Incremental Change (May 13, 2008). Picking the "low hanging fruit" produces significant improvements, and with that the illusion is formed: if we just keep doing what we've been doing, little by little the problem will be chipped away to zero.
For example, in the first round of household budget cuts, it's not too difficult to pare away a few hundred dollars (travel, eating out, unlimited texting phone plans, etc.). That initial success can lead to a false confidence that such cuts can be continued to the point that income and expenses are actually aligned.
But incremental change often starts yielding diminishing returns. Are the changes being made fundamental, or are they essentially tweaks to a system heading toward collapse?
Weight loss is an example many of us can relate to. A pound of human fat contains 3,500 calories. To lose a pound of fat you need to burn 3,500 calories in excess of what you eat. To lose five pounds, you must burn 17,500 calories more than you eat. If you ramp up your exercise program and burn 500 more calories a day, then in 35 days you will lose the five pounds. Alternatively, you can cut 250 calories from your intake and expend 250 calories in additional exercise.
This sort of sustained effort will produce fundamental results, but anything less will not. Just sending out 10 resumes a week may not produce any job offers, and cutting marginal expenses rather than making the deep cuts needed to re-align income and expenses will only set aside the day of reckoning.
7. Preserve capital. Pulling money out of savings, IRAs and 401Ks to maintain a giant mortgage or an unsustainable lifestyle is unwise; that savings might be needed down the road for a really important emergency such as getting a knee replacement (paid in cash).
Given the likelihood that the stock market will eventually reflect the weakness of the real economy, then keeping IRAs and 401K capital in cash rather than stock mutual funds is a form of capital preservation.
8. Become fluid and flexible. Someone to whom various kinds of work is "beneath them" is like the person who has no interest in learning new skills; their inflexibility dooms them by reducing their adaptability. The living branch bends in the wind, the dead branch snaps off.
9. Accept the new reality. If someone offers you four hours of work, take it. It might lead to something else, and if not, at least you made a few bucks. Clinging to past paradigms is a dead-end.
10. Get healthy, stay healthy. Losing status, income, security, etc. are wounds to self-worth and the soul. Increased stress and anxiety are not healthy. Exercise and productive work/learning are important ways to reduce stress and build a positive response to unwanted change. Walk a quarter mile; when that's easy, walk a half-mile. When that's easy, walk a mile, and so on. Seek respite and renewal in Nature.
Your body is a temple; don't feed it crap.
11. Think entrepreneurally. The basics of entrepreneurism are simple: seek out unfilled needs, or offer a service/product which offers customers faster, better, cheaper. Identify what you like doing even if it's unpaid (at first) and pursue that line.
If you don't want to slog your way into the ranks of Corporate America or work for somebody else (possibly a tyrant/sociopath), then create your own job by making customers/clients your boss.
12. Create value before asking for something in return. One of the key values in Survival+ is reciprocity. If you want ten people to help you find some paying work, then you need to offer them something of value that is meaningful to them. The world does not owe any of us a living.
13. Add some beauty to your world. Our culture glorifies ugliness, aggressiveness, self-centeredness and psychoses of power. Planting some flowers that can be viewed by passerby, keeping your block trash-free, creating some art or craft, repainting a fence with bright colors--anything which adds vibrancy, color and creativity to a small corner of the world is a blow against degradation, aggressiveness, ugliness, squalor and surrender.
14. Become politically active. There are larger forces at work behind the media facades and facsimiles. Our society focuses on self-help rather than on the darker forces of Empire, Power Elites, etc. In other words, the Powers That Be support a politics of experience in which we each blame ourselves for our inability to find paying work, etc. rather than seek out the financial and political roots of our common crisis.
The Power Elites and its Mainstream Media work tirelessly to depoliticize our understanding of the world around us. They present us with a false political choice (Republican or Democrat, as if it really makes a difference to the running of the Global Empire or the concentrated power and wealth of cartels and Financial Elites), religious rabble-rousing and plentiful "entertainment" distractions-- anything to suppress or marginalize our understanding of just how distorted our economy and society have become.
Derangement is normalized though a relentless barrage of imagery, "news" and commentary which cements a depoliticized politics of experience: if you can't find work, it's your personal failings that are the "problem." It's all the Demopublicans or Republicrats fault, these reforms have "fixed" the system, etc.
Ask cui bono--to whose benefit?--of everything.
15. If there is no work in your area due to declining wealth, move to a place where wealth is still being created. Moving is both frightening and exciting; it's always been one path out of poverty into new opportunity.
16. Failure is how we learn; embrace it. One reason Silicon Valley continues to spin out innovation is that failure is not just grimly accepted but celebrated. You haven't really "earned your stripes" if you haven't had a start-up go under or equivalent (your company coming within an inch of going under qualifies). Natural selection is all about constant innovation and failure.
Bonus point:
17. Do more of what's working and less of what's not.
Friday, August 06, 2010
Wednesday, August 04, 2010
Long Beach dwtn shoreline, harborwalk and marina
I have posted these beautiful pictures of dtwn long beach harbor shoreline amusement walkable zone. I took them with my cell phone. I posted these pics to illustrate a point. Notice the scarcity of visitors/tourist in these pics. They were taken on Sunday, August 1st on a warm, balmy, hot summer day at peak of summer tourist season. Yet from the pics it is evident that our beautiful scenic shoreline harborwalk is having a severe drastic reduction in tourists and local visitors. This has to be due to the effects of our severe recession/depression. And it was the same the previous Sunday.
I have been here a 1000 times and i have never seen it this slow in August at peak of summer tourist season. Even the local Long beach visitors were scarce.
Tuesday, August 03, 2010
rules for avoiding a shark attack when kayaking
Re: Shark Shield...a Follow-up
After my initial reply to Paul I put out a series of queries to everyone I know in "the shark biz" and looked at the database of shark attacks to kayaks again in order to address the implied protection of the Shark Shield device.
In general, the following are true the world over as of today:
1. sea kayaks over 15 feet do not get attacked by large apex predator sharks such as white sharks or tigers.
2. in South Africa surf-skis have been hit by white sharks which then left after the initial strike and circle.
3. a tiger shark apparently "mouthed" the stern a sea kayak of 14-16 feet in the Gulf of Mexico (anyone know the exact number, color and model please reply with this information)
In terms of the Shark Shield's effectivness, there is good information from around the world (including our personal experiences at Guadalupe Island, Mexico that a cruising, passive shark is kept at a distance by the Shark Shield.
The Shark Shield is NOT effective when a white shark makes a sudden rushing attack. There has been several bites and one fatality (paradoxically, the brother of the fatality endorsed Shark Shield) with the Shark Shield operating when a white struck from below, rapidly entering both the effective field of the device and hitting the victim at nearly the same moment.
There is no way to increase the field strength without affecting the user.
Is the Shark Shield something to have for sea kayakers? In my opinion, no. It's a total waste of money:
1. white sharks do not attack (as of today) sea kayaks of 5+ meters.
2. a deteremined, rushing hit is not prevented in any case by the Shark Shield
3. a cruising white shark will look at a sea kayak, even approach one closely, but inevitably will cruise away minutes later.
4. the Shark Shield will not stop a shark from checking you out, it will only move the distance away a few neters away from the kayak. Personally, I like the white shark to come as close as possible so it can really check me and the kayak out and learn what it is, as well as that I can check out the shark close up. (Whites don't scare me, tigers do)
Now is the Shark Shield something for surf kayakers and kayak fishing? Maybe so. They are smaller and pinniped-shaped and for surf kayakers, act a lot like pinnipeds panicked in the surf. Maybe it would be something to have running but again, an attacking white is not stpped by the electrical field at all.
Some very important shark encounter rules, read and memorize:
1. do NOT hang around rookeries and haul-outs
2. do NOT ever approach within 200 meters (the Death Zone) of a rookery or haul-out. Not only are there rules protecting marine mammals but that distance around the rookery is where the white shark preferentially prowls and strikes.
3. observe the life around you for indications of a predator...sea birds suddenly flying over a small area, nervous seals or sea lions on the rocks looking at the water and occasionally at you, seals and sealions side-by-side on the same rocks, get the hell out of there (occasionally bang your bow a few times with your paddle just to reinforce the idea that you are not a sealion or seal.
4. do NOT ever approach a shark kill in the water, or a blood plume in the water (a shark hit underwater, or it's prey dragged under). Paddle as fast as you can away and keep paddling for a kilometer, the shark is close by and will defend its kill by utterly destroying your kayak, leaving you in the water, and I will gurantee the shark will then return to hit you fatally.
5. if you see a sudden huge disturbance in the water, paddle as fast as you can away for a kilometer. That's most likely a shark hitting its prey. If it missed it's prei it's still on strike mode, you want to leave the area as fast as you can paddle. You may want to bang away at your bow a couple times just to reinforce the idea that your aren't food escaping.
6. when checked out by a cruising white shark do NOT poke at it with anything. If you do this that slow moving shark will defend itself with an overwhelming attack that will end up with you in the water and bit. Enjoy the shark visit and when it's cruising away, you might want to then bang bow of your kayak a few times hard with your paddle. It's a good idea to reinforce the artificial nature of kayaks to the shark.
A word in banging the bow of the kayak with the paddle. This makes an unnatural sound in the air and water that seems to reinforce the idea that the kayak is big as the shark and something it doesn't know and should avoid, or at least puts you into the not-food/waste-of-time-and-energy category decision byu the shark. I have personally used this on several white shark encounters while paddling (Pt. Arena, California; Gaviota, California; twice off Guadalupe Island, Mexico). In each and every case the shark swam off a minute later.
After my initial reply to Paul I put out a series of queries to everyone I know in "the shark biz" and looked at the database of shark attacks to kayaks again in order to address the implied protection of the Shark Shield device.
In general, the following are true the world over as of today:
1. sea kayaks over 15 feet do not get attacked by large apex predator sharks such as white sharks or tigers.
2. in South Africa surf-skis have been hit by white sharks which then left after the initial strike and circle.
3. a tiger shark apparently "mouthed" the stern a sea kayak of 14-16 feet in the Gulf of Mexico (anyone know the exact number, color and model please reply with this information)
In terms of the Shark Shield's effectivness, there is good information from around the world (including our personal experiences at Guadalupe Island, Mexico that a cruising, passive shark is kept at a distance by the Shark Shield.
The Shark Shield is NOT effective when a white shark makes a sudden rushing attack. There has been several bites and one fatality (paradoxically, the brother of the fatality endorsed Shark Shield) with the Shark Shield operating when a white struck from below, rapidly entering both the effective field of the device and hitting the victim at nearly the same moment.
There is no way to increase the field strength without affecting the user.
Is the Shark Shield something to have for sea kayakers? In my opinion, no. It's a total waste of money:
1. white sharks do not attack (as of today) sea kayaks of 5+ meters.
2. a deteremined, rushing hit is not prevented in any case by the Shark Shield
3. a cruising white shark will look at a sea kayak, even approach one closely, but inevitably will cruise away minutes later.
4. the Shark Shield will not stop a shark from checking you out, it will only move the distance away a few neters away from the kayak. Personally, I like the white shark to come as close as possible so it can really check me and the kayak out and learn what it is, as well as that I can check out the shark close up. (Whites don't scare me, tigers do)
Now is the Shark Shield something for surf kayakers and kayak fishing? Maybe so. They are smaller and pinniped-shaped and for surf kayakers, act a lot like pinnipeds panicked in the surf. Maybe it would be something to have running but again, an attacking white is not stpped by the electrical field at all.
Some very important shark encounter rules, read and memorize:
1. do NOT hang around rookeries and haul-outs
2. do NOT ever approach within 200 meters (the Death Zone) of a rookery or haul-out. Not only are there rules protecting marine mammals but that distance around the rookery is where the white shark preferentially prowls and strikes.
3. observe the life around you for indications of a predator...sea birds suddenly flying over a small area, nervous seals or sea lions on the rocks looking at the water and occasionally at you, seals and sealions side-by-side on the same rocks, get the hell out of there (occasionally bang your bow a few times with your paddle just to reinforce the idea that you are not a sealion or seal.
4. do NOT ever approach a shark kill in the water, or a blood plume in the water (a shark hit underwater, or it's prey dragged under). Paddle as fast as you can away and keep paddling for a kilometer, the shark is close by and will defend its kill by utterly destroying your kayak, leaving you in the water, and I will gurantee the shark will then return to hit you fatally.
5. if you see a sudden huge disturbance in the water, paddle as fast as you can away for a kilometer. That's most likely a shark hitting its prey. If it missed it's prei it's still on strike mode, you want to leave the area as fast as you can paddle. You may want to bang away at your bow a couple times just to reinforce the idea that your aren't food escaping.
6. when checked out by a cruising white shark do NOT poke at it with anything. If you do this that slow moving shark will defend itself with an overwhelming attack that will end up with you in the water and bit. Enjoy the shark visit and when it's cruising away, you might want to then bang bow of your kayak a few times hard with your paddle. It's a good idea to reinforce the artificial nature of kayaks to the shark.
A word in banging the bow of the kayak with the paddle. This makes an unnatural sound in the air and water that seems to reinforce the idea that the kayak is big as the shark and something it doesn't know and should avoid, or at least puts you into the not-food/waste-of-time-and-energy category decision byu the shark. I have personally used this on several white shark encounters while paddling (Pt. Arena, California; Gaviota, California; twice off Guadalupe Island, Mexico). In each and every case the shark swam off a minute later.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Glenn Beck Clips July 19, 2010
This video is awesome! No comment needed, just watch it.
Glenn Beck Clips July 19, 2010http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVAhr4hZDJE&feature=player_embedded
Glenn Beck Clips July 19, 2010http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVAhr4hZDJE&feature=player_embedded
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Increased quake activity predicted for California faults | L.A. NOW | Los Angeles Times
On map U see 3 main red lines. The Lake Elsinore Fault is farthest to left: the San Jacinto fault is in middle , San Andrea is to the right. Both LE and SJ are fairly large offshoots of the great SA fault, and each capable of 7-8 mag quakes
Increased quake activity predicted for California faults | L.A. NOW | Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-quake-20100708%2C0%2C2407319.story
http://www.scsn.org/2010collinsvalley.html
Here is summary SCSN (Southern CAlifornia Seismic Network) report of the recent 5.4 Borrego Springs quake and it connection to the much bigger April 4 7.2 Baja Quake:
Primary SCSN Report - Wednesday, July 7th, 2010 6:30 PM
"A M5.4 earthquake occurred in southern California at 4:53 pm (Pacific Time) about 30 miles south of Palm Springs, 25 miles southwest of Indio, and 13 miles north-northwest of Borrego Springs. The earthquake occurred near the Coyote Creek segment of the San Jacinto fault, which is one of the strands of the San Jacinto fault. The earthquake exhibited sideways horizontal motion to the northwest, consistent with slip on the San Jacinto fault. It was followed by more than 60 aftershocks of M>1.3 during the first hour. Seismologists expect continued aftershock activity."
"In the last 50 years, there have been four other earthquakes in the magnitude 5 range within 20 km of this location: M5.8 1968, M5.3 on 2/25/1980, M5.0 on 10/31/2001, and M5.2 on 6/12/2005. The biggest earthquake near this location was a M6.0 Buck Ridge earthquake on 3/25/1937. The earthquake was felt all over southern California, with strong shaking near the epicenter......'
'The San Jacinto fault, along with the Elsinore, San Andreas, and other faults, is part of the plate boundary that accommodates about 2 inches/year of motion as the Pacific plate moves northwest relative to the North American plate. The largest recent earthquake on the San Jacinto fault, near this location, the M 6.5 1968 Borrego Mountain earthquake April 8, 1968, occurred about 25 miles southeast of the July 7 M 5.4 earthquake....'
'This M5.4 earthquake follows the 4th of April 2010, Easter Sunday, Mw7.2 earthquake, located about 125 miles to the south, well south of the US Mexico international border. A M4.9 earthquake occurred in the same area on June 12th at 8:08 pm (Pacific Time). Thus this section of the San Jacinto fault remains active...'
Increased quake activity predicted for California faults | L.A. NOW | Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-quake-20100708%2C0%2C2407319.story
http://www.scsn.org/2010collinsvalley.html
Here is summary SCSN (Southern CAlifornia Seismic Network) report of the recent 5.4 Borrego Springs quake and it connection to the much bigger April 4 7.2 Baja Quake:
Primary SCSN Report - Wednesday, July 7th, 2010 6:30 PM
"A M5.4 earthquake occurred in southern California at 4:53 pm (Pacific Time) about 30 miles south of Palm Springs, 25 miles southwest of Indio, and 13 miles north-northwest of Borrego Springs. The earthquake occurred near the Coyote Creek segment of the San Jacinto fault, which is one of the strands of the San Jacinto fault. The earthquake exhibited sideways horizontal motion to the northwest, consistent with slip on the San Jacinto fault. It was followed by more than 60 aftershocks of M>1.3 during the first hour. Seismologists expect continued aftershock activity."
"In the last 50 years, there have been four other earthquakes in the magnitude 5 range within 20 km of this location: M5.8 1968, M5.3 on 2/25/1980, M5.0 on 10/31/2001, and M5.2 on 6/12/2005. The biggest earthquake near this location was a M6.0 Buck Ridge earthquake on 3/25/1937. The earthquake was felt all over southern California, with strong shaking near the epicenter......'
'The San Jacinto fault, along with the Elsinore, San Andreas, and other faults, is part of the plate boundary that accommodates about 2 inches/year of motion as the Pacific plate moves northwest relative to the North American plate. The largest recent earthquake on the San Jacinto fault, near this location, the M 6.5 1968 Borrego Mountain earthquake April 8, 1968, occurred about 25 miles southeast of the July 7 M 5.4 earthquake....'
'This M5.4 earthquake follows the 4th of April 2010, Easter Sunday, Mw7.2 earthquake, located about 125 miles to the south, well south of the US Mexico international border. A M4.9 earthquake occurred in the same area on June 12th at 8:08 pm (Pacific Time). Thus this section of the San Jacinto fault remains active...'
'Seismologists are watching two major earthquake faults in southern California. The San Jacinto fault, the most active earthquake fault in southern California, extends for more than 100 miles from the international border into San Bernardino and Riverside, a major metropolitan area often called the Inland Empire. The Elsinore fault is more than 110 miles long, and extends into the Orange County and Los Angeles area as the Whittier fault. The Elsinore fault is capable of a major earthquake that would significantly affect the large metropolitan areas of southern California. The Elsinore fault has not hosted a major earthquake in more than 100 years. The occurrence of these earthquakes along the San Jacinto fault and continued aftershocks demonstrates that the earthquake activity in the region remains at an elevated level. The San Jacinto fault is known as the most active earthquake fault in southern California. Caltech and USGS seismologist continue to monitor the on going earthquake activity using the Caltech/USGS Southern California Seismic Network and a GPS network of more than 100 stations. "
Thursday, May 13, 2010
The triple crises of civilization: Times Argus Online
The triple crises of civilization: Times Argus Online
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A collection of peak oil, end of world, end of civilzation,
doomday readings, malthian predictions, ad nauseum.
Posted using ShareThis
A collection of peak oil, end of world, end of civilzation,
doomday readings, malthian predictions, ad nauseum.
Saturday, May 08, 2010
Oil Spill Insights from a Retired Manager of an Offshore Underwater Service Company
Oil Spill Insights from a Retired Manager of an Offshore Underwater Service Company
Posted using ShareThis
A good reasoned tome on the gulf oil leak/spill from an expert. I cannot take the stupid summaries of this disaster from the inept biased MSM, which only harp on the calamities and ecological damage without providing actual detailed accounts of the heroic efforts being made by BP and coastal rescue cleanup agencies to deal with this mess.
10 largest oil spills in history
http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fenvirowonk.com%2Fcontent%2Fview%2F68%2F1%2F&sa=D&usg=AFQjCNFKlly7yJ35_zoaveVPrP3M9RFmSA
latest news and setbacks of gulf oil spill:
http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6446
cofferdam_q4000_deploys.jpg (JPEG Image, 3500x2333 pixels) - Scaled (22%)
Just to put things in perspective, the largest oil spill in history is the 1991 Kuwait spill when Saddam Hussein sabotaged Kuwait oil tanks/rigs, spilling 500 million gallons of oil into the Persian gulf. If our Gulf oil spill is leaking 5000 barrels per day(EST), it needs 2 months to exceed the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill of 240,000 barrels/11 million gallons. We get oil tanker/oil rig discharges in far off countries almost on a regular basis, but these major spills only damage the ecologies/environments of faraway unknown third world countries, not our own precious shores, so never get CNN coverage and are kept out of sight. US public could care less for eco-damage from oil spills in Persian gulf, China, africa, or some other far-off country as long as it is there and not here.
US decision to halt further offshore drilling just means that we will require more imported oil transported on Oceanic tankers, increasing the chances of another Exxon Valdez-type oil tanker accident. Not to mention chances of a terrorist attack on a vulnerable tanker in the Persian Gulf or other regional/global hot spot. Protecting this US foreign oil lifeline will require continued US military commitments/presence in Middle East/Iraq, and continued US global military buildup/dominance, which means
continued big US military budgets. The wacko environmentalists, who are also 99% anti-military, must be scratching their heads on this conundrum.
Posted using ShareThis
A good reasoned tome on the gulf oil leak/spill from an expert. I cannot take the stupid summaries of this disaster from the inept biased MSM, which only harp on the calamities and ecological damage without providing actual detailed accounts of the heroic efforts being made by BP and coastal rescue cleanup agencies to deal with this mess.
10 largest oil spills in history
http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fenvirowonk.com%2Fcontent%2Fview%2F68%2F1%2F&sa=D&usg=AFQjCNFKlly7yJ35_zoaveVPrP3M9RFmSA
latest news and setbacks of gulf oil spill:
http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6446
cofferdam_q4000_deploys.jpg (JPEG Image, 3500x2333 pixels) - Scaled (22%)
Just to put things in perspective, the largest oil spill in history is the 1991 Kuwait spill when Saddam Hussein sabotaged Kuwait oil tanks/rigs, spilling 500 million gallons of oil into the Persian gulf. If our Gulf oil spill is leaking 5000 barrels per day(EST), it needs 2 months to exceed the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill of 240,000 barrels/11 million gallons. We get oil tanker/oil rig discharges in far off countries almost on a regular basis, but these major spills only damage the ecologies/environments of faraway unknown third world countries, not our own precious shores, so never get CNN coverage and are kept out of sight. US public could care less for eco-damage from oil spills in Persian gulf, China, africa, or some other far-off country as long as it is there and not here.
US decision to halt further offshore drilling just means that we will require more imported oil transported on Oceanic tankers, increasing the chances of another Exxon Valdez-type oil tanker accident. Not to mention chances of a terrorist attack on a vulnerable tanker in the Persian Gulf or other regional/global hot spot. Protecting this US foreign oil lifeline will require continued US military commitments/presence in Middle East/Iraq, and continued US global military buildup/dominance, which means
continued big US military budgets. The wacko environmentalists, who are also 99% anti-military, must be scratching their heads on this conundrum.
Wednesday, May 05, 2010
Video of Temporary Dome Solution; BP Safety Violations; Well Still Leaking 5,000 BPD, Could Hit 60,000 BPD; Maps
Map of oil spill trajectory
Video of Temporary Dome Solution; BP Safety Violations; Well Still Leaking 5,000 BPD, Could Hit 60,000 BPD; Maps
Some reports and info on gulf coast oil spill
Did a little research on the Gulf oil leak tragedy and, though the problems with plugging leak(s)and oil spill containment are indeed challenging and appear almost hopeless, i have faith that BP and Fed agencies will eventually resolve the oil leak.
Yes, it won't be a quick fix and yes, there will be severe eco-damage, but over time the resilient vast oceans, with assistance from man's technical ingenuity, will swallow and absorb this oil spill.
What will happen is that after a year or two of halts to new offshore drilling, the public and politicians will get back on board with more domestic drilling and oil resource extraction, especally when gas prices surge to $4.00-$5,00. If US halts all new offshore drilling or other domestic oil extraction projects we will only increase the % of oil that we import. That oil travels on oil tankers, which are also are at risk of oil spills. No one called for banning oil tankers despite the 1989 Exxon Valdex tragedy. US will require it's oil fix, and it will get it despite the shril calls from extremist wacko environmentalists to halt any and all domestic offshore oil production.
The politicians simply roll with the winds of public opinion, and shift policies and positions based on public outcry at the moment. Right now the politicans are responding to the gulf oil spill by halting new offshore drilling, but rest of world will drill off their coasts and simply export their oil to US, via oil tankers, which terrorists could easily sabotage.
Greeks rioting in response to EU- imposed austerity measures
Up close action shots of violent Greek riots: these folks are pretty pissed off!
On Phoenix Suns wearing 'Las Suns' jerseys
This is a problem for me. As a supporter of Arizona's tough anti-illegal immigration law SB 1070 i have called for a boycott of los angeles due to LA mayor/city council calling for arizona boycott. I despise all opponents of Arizona's law and am angered that major league professional sports franchises are getting pressured into opposing SB 1070. Even the NBA has become embroiled, with Phoenic Suns actually showing support for diversity and symbolic opposition to SB 1070 by donning jerseys with las Suns imprinted on them.
I am a big NBA fan/fanatic and actually like the Suns and am rooting for them to beat the Spurs. I dislike the NBA/Suns involvement in a hot political issue and believe that this is a big mistake for major league teams to get involved in politics. The majority of NBA/major league fans/followers/TV watchers if polled would likely mirror the general population and support stronger borders and stricter enforcement of laws against illegal immigration. However, fans are not political fanatics and are normally disinterested in politics. This major league involvement in the Arizona boycott could backfire, leading to reduced revenues for professional sports franchises.
That said i will still watch the NBA playoffs and root for the Suns till they reach the lakers in western conference championship. The Suns & all professional sports franchises will see the light and tone down their politics-the owners will realize that it is bad business to mix business and politics.
I am a big NBA fan/fanatic and actually like the Suns and am rooting for them to beat the Spurs. I dislike the NBA/Suns involvement in a hot political issue and believe that this is a big mistake for major league teams to get involved in politics. The majority of NBA/major league fans/followers/TV watchers if polled would likely mirror the general population and support stronger borders and stricter enforcement of laws against illegal immigration. However, fans are not political fanatics and are normally disinterested in politics. This major league involvement in the Arizona boycott could backfire, leading to reduced revenues for professional sports franchises.
That said i will still watch the NBA playoffs and root for the Suns till they reach the lakers in western conference championship. The Suns & all professional sports franchises will see the light and tone down their politics-the owners will realize that it is bad business to mix business and politics.
Greeks rioting in response to EU- imposed austerity measures
'Greeks protest over forced austerity measures after the European Union announced a €110 billion ($145 billion) aid package for Greece on Sunday. Soon after, Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou announced the tough cost-cutting measures to meet European Union and International Monetary Fund conditions for the deal.
The package includes a promise by Greece to cut its budget deficit to 3 percent of the country's gross domestic product, as required by European Union rules, by 2014, according to Papaconstantinou.'
US and especially CA is a greater fiscal train wreak than Greece, yet we happily print and borrow to keep the welfare entitlement gravy train going here. US and at least 10 states are putting off the hard fiscal austerity choices Greece is now confronted with, as no US/state/local politician will make the politically suicidal decisions to drastically curtail or cut entitlement spending , esp the Democrats who depend directly on Government-dependent voters.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
CA earthquake interactive map 2010
Here is the latest map of Southern California's major earthquake faults. The one that is of most immediate concern to me is the Newport/Inglewood fault, which runs almost directly along the SCal/Orange County coast ,runs right near me in long beach, and snakes up thru heavily populated South bay and western LA County and thru city of Inglewood before terminating in the Baldwin Hills near Culver City. Last major quake along this fault was the 1933 6.6 mag quake which leveled long beach. I don't know the dormancy period for this fault but most faults lie dormant for 100-1000 years, so i am not overly worried.
http://www.quake.ca.gov/gmaps/FAM/faultactivitymap.html
http://www.quake.ca.gov/gmaps/FAM/faultactivitymap.html
Map: Southern California faults - latimes.com
Map: Southern California faults - latimes.com
Posted using ShareThis
Here is the latest map of Southern California's major earthquake faults. The one that is of most immediate concern to me is the Newport/Inglewood fault, which runs almost directly along the SCal/Orange County coast ,runs right near me in long beach, and snakes up thru heavily populated South bay and western LA County and thru city of Inglewood before terminating in the Baldwin Hills near Culver City. Last major quake along this fault was the 1933 6.6 mag quake which leveled long beach. I don't know the dormancy period for this fault but most faults lie dormant for 100-1000 years, so i am not overly worried. Plus i live in a sturdy wood-frame single-story house which has survived the 1971 Sylmar and 1994 Northridge quakes without any noticeable damage, thou the epicenters of these two quakes were both 40 miles away. Most of Long beach sits on loose alluvial soil so any 6+ mag quake would cause severe damage from excessive jiggling of the loose clay and river deposits upon which much of long beach sits.
Posted using ShareThis
Here is the latest map of Southern California's major earthquake faults. The one that is of most immediate concern to me is the Newport/Inglewood fault, which runs almost directly along the SCal/Orange County coast ,runs right near me in long beach, and snakes up thru heavily populated South bay and western LA County and thru city of Inglewood before terminating in the Baldwin Hills near Culver City. Last major quake along this fault was the 1933 6.6 mag quake which leveled long beach. I don't know the dormancy period for this fault but most faults lie dormant for 100-1000 years, so i am not overly worried. Plus i live in a sturdy wood-frame single-story house which has survived the 1971 Sylmar and 1994 Northridge quakes without any noticeable damage, thou the epicenters of these two quakes were both 40 miles away. Most of Long beach sits on loose alluvial soil so any 6+ mag quake would cause severe damage from excessive jiggling of the loose clay and river deposits upon which much of long beach sits.
Sunday, April 04, 2010
quick dirty primer on LA Region likelihood of a major quake
We just had a 7.2 mag quake located in northeast corner of Baja pennisula 110 miles east of tijuana and 20-25 miles south of US-Mex border. Time was 3.40 pm PST, Sunday April 4th Easter day. Quake epicenter was 300+ miles from LA Region but was widely felt all over SCal as a long rolling, rocking 45-second motion which did little damage. The longevity of the quake, coupled with it being felt over a wide region of SCal and South Arizona, indicates a major massive plate movement, possibly 3 to 10 meter shifting/fracture of the earths crust but very deep down(6-8 miles)so that SCal was able to absorb the shook. The damage to Baja region of this 7.2 quake close to quake epicenter is unknown as of this time of writing.
The quake is in a very active sesmic region centered in the imperial valley fault zone whch straddles US/Mex border and runs along Imperial Valley south all way to north end of gulf of CA/Sea of Cortez, where it likey contines underneath that sea. This appears to be a spreading rift zone which sometimes occurs along plate boundaries, though we area told that the pacific plate and NA plates are sliding or bumping into each other, not spreading apart. My view is that plate boundaries are complex and characterized by sliding, undercutting, grinding, rifting, uplifting, underthrusting, ect. The NA/PACIFIC plate boundaries here in Scal are mostly characterized by the sliding of the PAC plate northward in relation to the likely westward movement of the NA plate at rates of aveage 6-10 CM per year.
However, in one section of the plate boundary(the north La County section of San Andreas fault), it appears that the PAC plate is undercutting/grinding north/Northeastward against the NA plate, causing numerous secondary offshoot faults in the LA Basin and creating the uplifted youthful masses of the SCal mountains. This also snags and locks this dog-leg bended section of the SA fault which in time wil snap and create one hell of a quake, time uncertain but probablity next 10-50 years.
What is more of immediate concern are the 100's of mid- sized faults(from 70 to 200 Kilometers Long) which crisscross LA Basin. Some of these such as newly discovered LA Puente Hills fault and the famous Newport/inglewood fault, are capable of an LA City-leveling 7.0 or greater mag, though all of these mid-sizes fault lie dormant most of time(like a volcano), snapping once every 100 to a 1000 years. They will accumulate stresses over time however, and a major snappage of one major SCal fault such as SA, san jacinto, elsinore or imperial valley fault, could unleash secondary aftershock faults along any of these minor LA Basin faults.
Before the big one breaks along the SA fault we will likely get a 6-7 mag fault rupture along an undiscovered fault running beneath the LA Basin. Or a break of a established Mid-sized fault within LA county/city such as the la puente hills, newport/imglewood, siera madre, or northridge/ sylmar/ santa susanna faults. The chances of a super-killer 7-8 mag fault rupture is extremely rare for these secondary faults but not 100% failsafe.
event:http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/lanowblog/~3/07VaUvNG98U/30-earthquake-hits-malibu-one-of-several-california-temblors-after-72-shaker-near-mexicali.html
http://goo.gl/WvLm
http://shar.es/m2dYs
http://bit.ly/dt1nHQ
http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/2010/04/04/6-9-earthquake-near-san-diego-shakes-o-c/95905/
The quake is in a very active sesmic region centered in the imperial valley fault zone whch straddles US/Mex border and runs along Imperial Valley south all way to north end of gulf of CA/Sea of Cortez, where it likey contines underneath that sea. This appears to be a spreading rift zone which sometimes occurs along plate boundaries, though we area told that the pacific plate and NA plates are sliding or bumping into each other, not spreading apart. My view is that plate boundaries are complex and characterized by sliding, undercutting, grinding, rifting, uplifting, underthrusting, ect. The NA/PACIFIC plate boundaries here in Scal are mostly characterized by the sliding of the PAC plate northward in relation to the likely westward movement of the NA plate at rates of aveage 6-10 CM per year.
However, in one section of the plate boundary(the north La County section of San Andreas fault), it appears that the PAC plate is undercutting/grinding north/Northeastward against the NA plate, causing numerous secondary offshoot faults in the LA Basin and creating the uplifted youthful masses of the SCal mountains. This also snags and locks this dog-leg bended section of the SA fault which in time wil snap and create one hell of a quake, time uncertain but probablity next 10-50 years.
What is more of immediate concern are the 100's of mid- sized faults(from 70 to 200 Kilometers Long) which crisscross LA Basin. Some of these such as newly discovered LA Puente Hills fault and the famous Newport/inglewood fault, are capable of an LA City-leveling 7.0 or greater mag, though all of these mid-sizes fault lie dormant most of time(like a volcano), snapping once every 100 to a 1000 years. They will accumulate stresses over time however, and a major snappage of one major SCal fault such as SA, san jacinto, elsinore or imperial valley fault, could unleash secondary aftershock faults along any of these minor LA Basin faults.
Before the big one breaks along the SA fault we will likely get a 6-7 mag fault rupture along an undiscovered fault running beneath the LA Basin. Or a break of a established Mid-sized fault within LA county/city such as the la puente hills, newport/imglewood, siera madre, or northridge/ sylmar/ santa susanna faults. The chances of a super-killer 7-8 mag fault rupture is extremely rare for these secondary faults but not 100% failsafe.
event:http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/lanowblog/~3/07VaUvNG98U/30-earthquake-hits-malibu-one-of-several-california-temblors-after-72-shaker-near-mexicali.html
http://goo.gl/WvLm
http://shar.es/m2dYs
http://bit.ly/dt1nHQ
http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/2010/04/04/6-9-earthquake-near-san-diego-shakes-o-c/95905/
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
On cal meltdown: personal views
The CA government is tied up in knots with a 20 billion budget shortfall. There are dire warnings of imminent calamity with threats of shutting down the vast welfare safety apparatus, upon which est 10-15 million Californians are directly dependent.
Such programs as Healthy Families, home heath care for seniors, medi-cal, Calworks, we are told, face massive budget cuts. I do not think that we will see much cuts at all. Nor do i see CA tackling the state employees pension problem, which is bankrupting CA. The vested interests will fight tooth and nail to protect their benefits and programs.
I truly believe that all this dire screaming coming from Sacramento and their media spin meisters is just that, spin and agi-propaganda, initiated to get the population prepared for more massive tax increases, and to get Obama to bail out CA with a fed bailout of 7 billion. I have seen this dog and pony show last 2 decades: each year we have a budget shortfall and each time CA manages to slime it's way thru their mess with gimmicks, accounting tricks, borrowing from this fund to bolster that fund, use short term borrowing in the Market, ad nauseum.
Here's some solutions: sell more state assets, some state parks, and other prime properties to China. Allow more offshore oil drilling and more resource extraction, deport 2-3 million illegals who drain the CA social welfare net and steal jobs from UE native Californians, have the IRS & state franchise tax board go into LA and start collecting revenues from the 40% black market economy here in Los Angeles. And cut back on the retirement pension benefits of CA State employees to reasonable levels, which would not break out budget.
Such programs as Healthy Families, home heath care for seniors, medi-cal, Calworks, we are told, face massive budget cuts. I do not think that we will see much cuts at all. Nor do i see CA tackling the state employees pension problem, which is bankrupting CA. The vested interests will fight tooth and nail to protect their benefits and programs.
I truly believe that all this dire screaming coming from Sacramento and their media spin meisters is just that, spin and agi-propaganda, initiated to get the population prepared for more massive tax increases, and to get Obama to bail out CA with a fed bailout of 7 billion. I have seen this dog and pony show last 2 decades: each year we have a budget shortfall and each time CA manages to slime it's way thru their mess with gimmicks, accounting tricks, borrowing from this fund to bolster that fund, use short term borrowing in the Market, ad nauseum.
Here's some solutions: sell more state assets, some state parks, and other prime properties to China. Allow more offshore oil drilling and more resource extraction, deport 2-3 million illegals who drain the CA social welfare net and steal jobs from UE native Californians, have the IRS & state franchise tax board go into LA and start collecting revenues from the 40% black market economy here in Los Angeles. And cut back on the retirement pension benefits of CA State employees to reasonable levels, which would not break out budget.
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