Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Icelands 2nd Volcano, Haiti Food Stops, Wayward Nukes Seized, Freaky Unschooling, Earth Day - News Headlines 21 Apr 2010

Could Katla Be the Next Icelandic Disaster?: (CBS/AP)

Scientists Fear Tremors at the Eyjafjallajokull Volcano Could Trigger an Even More Dangerous Eruption

... Scientists fear tremors at the Eyjafjallajokull volcano could trigger an even more dangerous eruption at the nearby Katla volcano - creating a worst-case scenario for the airline industry and travelers around the globe.

A Katla eruption would be 10 times stronger and shoot higher and larger plumes of ash into the air than its smaller neighbor, which has already brought European air travel to a standstill for five days and promises severe travel delays for days more.

The two volcanos are side by side in southern Iceland, about 12 miles apart and thought to be connected by a network of magma channels.

Katla, however, is buried under ice 550 yards thick - the massive Myrdalsjokull glacier, one of Iceland's largest. That means it has more than twice the amount of ice than the current eruption has burned through - threatening a new and possibly longer aviation standstill across Europe.

Katla showed no signs of activity Tuesday, according to scientists who monitor it with seismic sensors, but they were still wary...


Check out these amazing volcano images caught by British photographer John Beatty:



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Haiti Wants Food Aid to Stop?: (CBS)

Government Says Generous Public Outpouring Is Interfering with Economy, Drawing Non-Victims to Camps and Enticing Corruption

Of all the things you've heard about earthquake aid to Haiti, here's something you probably didn't know: Haiti's government wants large-scale food assistance and free health care to stop...

"When you continue having a lot of food distributions, you lower the price of food so that people can't trade, and it disrupts markets, basically," Boyd said...

Desperately poor residents who aren't earthquake victims are moving into refugee camps for the free food and health care. But the government wants residents to be less dependent on foreign aid, not more.

Susan Reichle is with USAID, the U.S. agency that distributes foreign aid. It's already spent $562 million on Haiti relief.

"As they've requested that these large-scale food distributions end as well as some of the large-scale programs which are really pulling people into the camps, we're working with them. We're in complete agreement with them on this point," Reichle said.

Pulling back on aid means something a lot of American donors might find unthinkable. Even as many go without meals, relief food that's already made it to Haiti is now being sent to warehouses for future disasters. USAID calls it "prepositioning..."

As of today, total donations to Haiti meet and exceed the biggest estimates of how much it will cost to rebuild - up to $14 billion...





This sounds like a recipe for disaster when those same kids try to enter the work force. What a headache. It's bad enough kids can't read on their grade level - now this craziness? You need some structure to accomplish any real work in the day.

In a Movement of Unschooling, Parents Let Kids Set Their Educational Pace: (ABC)

Extreme Homeschooling: No Tests, No Books, No Classes, No Curriculums

They're at home all day, but they're not being homeschooled. They're being "unschooled." There are no textbooks, no tests and no formal education at all in their world.

What's more, that hands-off approach extends to other areas of the children's lives: They make their own decisions, and don't have chores or rules.

When asked how their children learn things like math, she said, "If they need formal algebra understanding, then they will, they'll find that information..."









And the latest on wayward nukes in the world...


Georgia Confirms Highly Enriched Uranium Seizure: (ABC/AP)

The president of Georgia confirmed Wednesday that his country seized a shipment of highly enriched uranium, and blamed Russia for creating the instability that allows nuclear smugglers to operate in the region.

In an interview with The Associated Press, President Mikhail Saakashvili declined to divulge details of the seizure but said the uranium was intercepted last month coming into his country in the Caucasus region of southeast Europe.

Saakashvili's government no longer controls two breakaway sections of Georgia, separatist Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which declared independence after the 2008 Russia-Georgia war, and the president said the smuggling is evidence of a security black hole in the area.

Such seizures have come "mostly from the direction of Russia," Saakashvili said...





Civil Rights Legend Dorothy Height Dies at 98: (ABC)

Height was Activist, Administrator, Educator; Paved Way for Martin Luther King Jr. and Other Leaders


Dorothy Height, an African-American administrator, educator, and key civil rights activist, has passed away at the age of 98. She spent her life crusading for the causes in which she believed – equal rights for all and social justice.

Height was the female team leader in the civil rights leadership, along with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Whitney Young, A. Philip Randolph, James Farmer, Roy Wilkins and James Lewis. Height was on the platform in Washington on Aug. 28, 1963, when Dr. King delivered his powerful "I Have a Dream" speech.

"Today we have lost a great American, a brave and courageous woman who worked tirelessly for the cause of civil rights and social justice," said Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga. "Long before some of the younger activists in the movement came to the forefront, like Dr. King and I, she was out there educating and empowering women, children and families in the South..."

"Ever since she was denied entrance to college because the incoming class had already met its quota of two African American women, Dr. Height devoted her life to those struggling for equality," President Obama said in a statement today. He said he and Michelle were "deeply saddened" to hear of her death...








I know I'm fed up with the slow "progress" made for women in America. By now we should have already balanced the Supreme Court with at least five women. Why five women? Women make up over 50% of the population. Placing a Hispanic woman was a good start. We have a Jew in Ginsburg but her health is frail at times but oh, what a strong will to keep going!

Too quickly did the President throw out Johnston as a nominee because the Republicans complained she had a conscience. She openly wrote a blog post about how she thought torture by a government was despicable. Since when do we bar people of conscience from our country's highest court? Have we become that morally corrupt in this generation? And why does this administration duck and run for cover every time the Republicans and their lobbyists start howling and wailing their complaints? Turn the channel. Close the door. Walk out of the room. Do right in spite of these temper tantrum wielding political toddlers. Reconsider Johnston.


More Women the Supreme Court: Breaking Through the Glass Ceiling?

Obama's Short List Dominated by Women; Eyes on Fourth Woman to Join Bench

As potential Supreme Court nominee Pam Karlan took to the lectern to argue a case in front of the Supreme Court recently, she was tapped on the shoulder by another potential Supreme Court nominee, Elena Kagan, the first female solicitor general in U.S. history...

The role of women at the Supreme Court has grown in recent years but still reflects a persistent gender gap not only for sitting justices but practitioners as well. Now judicial circles are buzzing about the possibility of another woman joining the court, with President Obama's list of potential replacements for retiring Justice John Paul Stevens being dominated by women.

Today, Obama met with congressmen from both sides of the aisle and said his next nominee must be someone who interprets the Constitution "in a way that takes into account individual rights, and that includes women's rights..."






This is quite the astounding feat this woman accomplished!


530 Pound Weight Loss: 'Food Is Not the Enemy': (ABC)

After Losing Weight With the Help of the Internet, Nancy Makin Has Kept the Pounds Off


When Nancy Makin weighed 703 pounds, she could barely move, and for 12 years rarely left her apartment.

"Because of my appearance, many people rejected me," Makin said today on "Good Morning America." "Most did."

Makin lost 530 pounds without a radical diet or exercise plan or surgery, and seven years later, she's kept the weight off. The secret to her success? Makin said the relationships she developed online finally allowed her to be happy and to stop obsessing over food...









Happy Earth Day! (tomorrow)
















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