Earthquake hits Japan, brings devastation.
On March 11, a massive earthquake rocked the country of Japan measuring 8.9 on the Richter Scale and has brought death and devastation. This earthquake was caused by the sliding of convergent tectonic plates in the Pacific Ocean just 80 miles east from the city of Sendai, Japan. This sudden shift caused a sudden displacement of water and triggered a large Tsunami. This Tsunami swept miles and miles inland destroying thousands of acres of farmland, houses and roads and claiming thousands of lives and counting. Japanese troops have already been dispatched to help and save people in distress. Also, waves up to 7 meters high from the earthquake have hit Waikiki Beach in Hawaii which is roughly about 4000 miles away from Japan. Though Japan is one of the most seismically active areas (they experience small tremors every month) on earth because of its positioning by the Ring of Fire, this earthquake is the largest earthquake Japan has ever experienced. Seismologist David Wald said that the amount of energy generated in this earthquake is equivalent to the energy that the United States consumes a year.
A major problem caused by this disaster was an explosion collapsing a building housing a nuclear reactor. Many people living around the area were evacuated in fears that the nuclear material would leak and the area around would become infected. Currently, no leak has been detected but crews are still checking just in case.
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Epilepsy Drug Tied to Birth Defects in Pregnant Moms
Just recently, the “Food and Drug Administration” discovered that an epilepsy drug taken by mothers during pregnancy would highly increase the risk of their infant having birth defects. They discovered this after recording data from women that took the drug and women that did not take it. This drug produced by the company “Johnson and Johnson” (JNJ) is used to prevent migraines and is sold as a product called Topamax. Officials told doctors to strongly advise to their female patients who are expecting stay away from this drug for it can increase the likelihood of birth defects such as cleft lip and cleft palate by 20 times.
United States Space Shuttle “Discovery” Last Takeoff
On Thursday of February 24, the U.S space shuttle “Discovery” launched from Orlando, Florida, in Cape Canaveral. It is making this trip to the International Space Station to drop off supplies. This is the last trip the Discovery will be making because it is getting old and has been used for a total of 13 flights. Considered as the captain of the fleet of shuttles, it is a sad that the “Discovery” will be retired. The shuttle will be placed in the Smithsonian Space Centre as an exhibit after its landing back on earth. The two other space shuttles named the “Atlantis” and the “Endeavour” also both have one more flight before they are retired. Like the “Discovery” they will also be placed in a museum after their last flight.
Since NASA has not designed any new space vehicles that can transport astronauts and/or supplies to the International Space Station, it is planned that the astronauts will travel to the space station using Russian Soyuz Rockets created in the 1960’s as a workhorse until a new vehicle is created.
Crew members: Nicole Stott, Michael Barratt, Alvin Drew, Steve Bowen, Eric Boe and Steve Lindsey
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New Prices Established for the “Village”
- An apartment complex in “The Village”
Lower prices have now been established in what was known as the “Olympic Village” and now renamed to “The Village.” These prices have been established in an attempt to attract more people to purchase the suites. The project has been running into a lot of problems since the completion of the complex in terms of sales and these new and improved prices are expected to help boost their overall success rate of selling these apartment rooms. “The Village” is very nicely designed, has a great view, is right by the water and is the last piece of undeveloped area by False Creek and is in an area of town where many people would like to live. It seems like “The Village” has everything and would have all its apartment suites sold in a matter of months. I have biked down their many times as a resident of Vancouver and particularly enjoy the scenery, the architecture and the overall feeling of the neighbourhood. I have also witnessed quite a few residents of the area taking a stroll by the close and convenient seawalk and they seem to be enjoying their time. Unfortunately, this is not the case and “The Village” has a plenty of unsold suites. The very high prices of the complex(which have now been reduced at an average of 30%) and the financial meltdown of 2008 are most likely to blame for their misfortune. From what I have read, I still believe the prices for “The Village” are quite high and will likely only appeal to older people who most likely have more money than younger people. If “The Village” would like to appeal to a younger audience I would suggest that they lower the prices and make the suites more affordable. Even so, I hope the complexes will soon be filled. If you are interested in the suites, you can visit it by clicking this: The Village.
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Canadian Tire Money Coming to an End
After 53 years of giving out “Canadian Tire Cash” to customers, Canadian Tire announced that they would soon be discontinuing the bills. The bills were first introduced in Toronto and will finally come to rest in 2011. This is most unfortunate because many people liked the cash system. The system was first introduced as a loyalty program in 1958. Customers would be awarded with the bills when making a purchase of a certain amount from the store. These bills would represent a certain amount of cash ranging from five cents to two dollars (5c-$2) and would grant the owner the ability to take a certain amount off the price of his next purchase at the store. This would test the loyalty of customers because customers who came regularly would benefit very decently and customers who did not come regularly would still benefit but not on the same scale. Since Canadian Tire gives out only small amounts, a sufficient amount of bills must be saved up in order to benefit. Canadian Tire Cash is and will always be a one of a kind and I am sure many people will miss it as I do.
- A ten cent CTC (Canadian Tire Cash Bill).
Sources: Yahoo
Egypt: Hosni Mubarak agrees to give up Position as President at end of Term
- Hosni Mubarak has agreed to serve as president until the end of his last term which is September, 2011. Will he keep his promise?
CAIRO – Hosni Mubarak, after 29 years of governing the country of Egypt, has agreed to resign at the end of the term (September) because of angry protesters demanding he abdicate his position in the government. Though it may seem that these protesters have been successful at achieving their goal, they are still not satisfied with President Mubarak’s decision to keep governing. They demand that he step down immediately. They do not want him as their ruler any longer because they know that their economy, brutally damaged in the pasts few years, has become what it is because of his actions. They know that their government is horribly corrupt and they know they need change now. They will not stand up to his actions any longer because they have been waiting for him to make Egypt a better place for over thirty years which he has not done in their opinion. They believe that he is not capable of ruling Egypt, and they are absolutely sure that they are correct.
Such opposition to Mubarak and the government has also made multiple members of the ruling party in Egypt resign. The most important person in the list of those who have resigned was President Mubarak’s son, Gamal Mubarak. One of the things many of the protesters feared was that Gamal would succeed Mubarak and the Republic would become a Hereditary Monarchy. Fortunately for them, Gamal can no longer in any way become President of Egypt.
Egypt as a country has come far and has endured much. Hopefully when Mubarak’s reign finally ends, momentary stability can be maintained in Egypt.
Sources: CNN
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Protests in Egypt Continue to Escalate
Swayed by the recent protests in Tunisia, Africa, citizens in Egypt have decided to step up against the government by leading organized and coordinated protests in Cairo, Suez and other cities in Egypt. The cause for these riots are because of corruption, poverty and repression. Multiple people have been killed during this time. During the first few days of the riots, the current government leader of Egypt, Hosni Mubarak, witnessed the protests and administered a ban against these rallies. This only fuelled the already strong burning fire and made it worse. The riots have been currently raging for about a week. The sole purpose of these riots are to make the leader of Egypt, Hosni Mubarak, abdicate his position and resign after a 29 year reign. Other demands included the formation of a National Unity Government, reform addressing the poor living conditions of many Arabians and the need for stability in areas such as the Stock Market.
In my opinion, I think that Hosni Mubarak will probably be forced into giving up his position in the government permanently by these riots because they are growing and are becoming increasingly violent each day. He may or may not give up his position but many believe he should. I do not know much about him but, from what I have heard, I believe that he should resign because he has failed to enhance living conditions for many Arabians which is a very important issue but if he does resign, all hell may break loose in Egypt.
As the protests continue, presidents such as Barack Obama and prime ministers such as Stephen Harper have put plans into motion to evacuate American and Canadian citizens from riot torn Egypt. They are doing this in fear that there may be tragedies involving their citizens and would like to avoid those at all costs. They plan to send planes into Egypt so that their citizens may board and be brought home safely. Hopefully, peace will be restored to Egypt and a sustainable country can be established. Below are some videos on the protests.
WARNING: MAY BE DISTURBING TO SOME VIEWERS.
Sources: YAHOO
China Buys 200 Boeing Aircraft from United States for $19 billion.
- President Barack Obama and China’s President Hu Jintao arrive for a state arrival ceremony at the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2011
Just recently, China has agreed with the company “Boeing” to buy 200 Boeing Aircraft priced at $19 billion dollars. China, “Boeing’s” biggest customer, will receive the planes they have bought from “Boeing” over a three year period between 2011 to 2013. Along with this order of planes, China has also invested in U.S. exports from agriculture, telecommunications and technology companies, including General Electric, Honeywell and Navistar reports say. It is estimated that the order will come to an overall cost of $45 billion dollars creating as many as 235,000 new jobs in the U.S. This very positively impacts the United States because it helps stabilize U.S.A’s economy and it improves U.S.A’s relationship with China. It’s a win-win situation. From hearing this, I believe that China is quickly emerging into the market as one of the biggest consumers because of their inferred abundance of funds and this recent deal with the United States. It seems like China will become very powerful in the next few years and hopefully many agreements and treaties will be formed.
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British Columbian Avalanche
On Sunday, January 16, 2011, an avalanche occurred in British Columbia in which a man was killed. Though an emergency team’s tried to revive him, he was unresponsive. This is the second avalanche this week in B.C in which the most recent one was in southeastern B.C which injured a man. This man from Alberta was the only man killed out of the 15 other skiers he was skiing with. This avalanche happened at about 12:30 p:m in the Kootenay Region in the Kokanee Provincial Park. It is still unclear what had triggered the avalanche. Emergency crews are expected to return early Monday to try to pick up the victim and the people he was skiing with because of heavy snow and thick fog. This is truly a tragic incident and the victim’s relatives must be mourning. Unfortunately, things like these happen and are not uncommon in places like B.C. This tells us to be more careful when skiing and to watch the weather forecast before going skiing.
Source: CBC
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