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Magnitude 8.9 earthquake rocks Japan

The quake strikes off the northeast coast, triggering a tsunami that sweeps away cars, boats and even buildings. In Tokyo, all trains are halted and black plumes of smoke rise over the skyline.

Barbara Demick, David Pierson and Kenji Hall

Los Angeles Times

2:02 AM PST, March 11, 2011

Reporting from Beijing and Tokyo

A massive earthquake struck off the northeast coast of Japan on Friday, setting off a devastating tsunami that swallowed swaths of coastal territory and fanned out across the Pacific Ocean, threatening everything in its path.

The 8.9-magnitude earthquake -- the world's fifth largest since 1900, according to the U.S. Geological Survey -- struck at 2:46 p.m. local time, shaking buildings violently in Tokyo for several minutes and sending millions fleeing for higher ground.

Initial reports said eight people had died, though that number is expected to rise dramatically as more aftershocks and tsunami waves batter the region.

Japanese television showed aerial footage of an ominous 13-foot muddy wave washing across the northeastern coast near the epicenter, consuming farms and small rural communities.

Sendai, a city of 1 million in Miyagi prefecture, was struck by a wave 20 feet high and then another 33 feet high. Large ships in port were seen lying on their sides.

The city's airport was flooded and people could be seen on the roof of the terminal to avoid the waters. In other locations, live TV coverage showed massive damage from the waves with dozens of cars, boats and even buildings carried along by waters. A large ship swept away by the tsunami rammed into a breakwater in Kesennuma city in Miyagi prefecture. Waves could be seen splashing into city streets and over bridges.

Further south in Chiba prefecture, firefighters battled an out-of-control oil refinery blaze that spewed fireballs into the sky.

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan in a press conference called for people to remain calm and reported that the nation's nuclear power plants showed no signs of damage. However, "The government will make its utmost efforts to secure people's safety and limit any damages to the minimum," Kan said.

All trains in Tokyo were stopped, and black plumes of smoke rose over the skyline. Office workers rushed out of their buildings. Subways were halted, trapping commuters underground. In the nation with the world's third largest economy, all airports were closed.

"The train was rocking sharply back and forth," said Anthony Weiss, a 29-year-old from Florida studying Japanese in Tokyo who was on a train when the quake hit. "People covered their heads with their bags as dust and small debris fell. Something sprung a leak, as there was a lot of water on the platform."

Many riders evacuated the train and headed for the archways, but not Weiss. "I stayed on because I was concerned about the roof and hanging lights and ventilation systems," he said. "Lights went on and off in the train. It felt a lot like the earthquake attraction at Universal, to be honest, but it wasn't stopping.

"It was pretty scary," Weiss said in an e-mail to a friend. "It felt pretty strong. People were scrambling for the doorways. The aftershocks are continuing even now."

"It felt like a jet had come too close to the window and everything started shaking and rocking, and there was a huge rumbling noise," said David Pierson, a 32-year-old U.S. Army helicopter pilot who was at Tokyo's Narita International Airport. "All the signs started swaying and fixtures started popping out. When I saw the panic on people's faces, I made a move for the exit."

The epicenter of the quake was 81 miles off the coast of Sendai, and it struck at a depth of 15 miles. The combination of how close it was to the coast and how shallow it was made it a "perfect storm for the tsunami generation," said Susan Hough of the U.S. Geological Survey in Pasadena.

Japan has a lengthy history of large earthquakes, and its buildings are well-girded to withstand damage. Observers said this could help minimize the number of casualties.

LINK TO VIDEO:

 http://www.latimes.com/videobeta/33ced5b1-c02b-4f79-9f52-1ebfde46b24b/News/Japan-Hit-by-8-9-Magnitude-Quake

Times staff writers Demick and Pierson reported from Beijing and special correspondent Hall from Tokyo. Staff writer David Pierson in Beijing and Times wire services contributed to this story. Times staff writers Thomas H. Maugh II and Ron-Gong Lin II contributed to this report from Los Angeles.

Women who post lots of photos of themselves on Facebook value appearance, need attention, study finds

Shari Roan, Los Angeles Times

March 10, 2011, 6:45 a.m.

EDITORIAL: Is Obama a war criminal yet?

Liberal double-standard is in full view over Gitmo

The Washington Times6:15 p.m., Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Al Qaeda and Taliban detainees in orange jumpsuits sit in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Americans have faith that the U.S. justice system will handle the five accused Sept. 11 terror plotters in federal court in New York City, Rep. Chris Van Hollen said. (Agence France-Presse/Getty Images)

President Obama quietly signed an executive order on Monday instituting a system for indefinitely holding terrorist detainees at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay (Gitmo), Cuba. The administration also announced that terrorist trials by military commission would recommence. This is a win for U.S. security, but the country has paid a heavy price for Mr. Obama's on-the-job training in counterterrorism.

The low-key announcements stand in marked contrast with the bombast with which Mr. Obama approached this issue just a few years ago. During the 2008 presidential campaign, then-Sen. Barack Obama harshly criticized President George W. Bush's detainee policies. When he took office, Mr. Obama theatrically announced that he would close Gitmo in a year and find a way to give the terror detainees the full due-process rights enjoyed by American citizens. In so doing, he legitimized the complaints of the worst critics of American counterterrorism policies, including the terrorists themselves.

Two years later, some learning appears to have occurred at the White House. The president's hasty "close Gitmo" pledge foundered on practical and political grounds. Contrary to the story line peddled by anti-war alarmists, the Bush administration already had released most of the detainees that had been held there, and those who remained were the hard cases who truly threatened U.S. national security. Trying the detainees in civilian courts raised a multitude of nettlesome questions about public evidence, speedy trials, Miranda warnings and the other aspects of due process that didn't support the Bush administration's warfighting approach.

With civilian trials, the prospect loomed of repeated government defeats in court, or the necessity of simply releasing detainees when no prosecution was possible without fatally compromising intelligence sources and methods. Likewise, Mr. Obama discovered that releasing detainees to their home countries was problematic because in many cases the terrorists would be freed almost immediately upon their return. Of course, members of the Bush administration consistently raised these points, but the Obama team simply brushed them off.

The big losers in this decision are members of Mr. Obama's hardline anti-war base. It is the latest in a string of disappointments to the Code Pinkers, Moveon-ers and other formerly Obama-loving peaceniks. The surge in Afghanistan and the ever-lengthening timetable for withdrawal provided them with one regret. The widening and intensifying use of drone aircraft as a counterterrorism tool was another. Now the Gitmo detainees are back in their cages for good. The distraught workers in the peace movement have to be asking themselves how much more they can stand before they begin to mutter the words "Obama" and "war criminal" in the same breath.

The White House detainee policy volte-face vindicates the policies of President George W. Bush. At the very least, Mr. Obama should apologize to his predecessor for smearing his reputation so thoroughly during the 2008 campaign. Our novice commander in chief has learned the valuable lesson that talking about being president, at which Mr. Obama was so adept, is a far cry from actually being president, at which he clearly is not.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-4MnL7HhMU&tracker=False

10 Things Newt Gingrich Doesn’t Want You To Know About Him

Think Progress  Zaid Jilani  Mar 3rd, 2011 at 7:50 

Today, former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich announced that he is taking steps to consider becoming the GOP nominee for president in 2012.

As Gingrich begins the long process of possibly running for President, he is likely to take every effort to mold his image to make himself palatable to American voters. Yet the public deserves to know every important detail about the history of the man who may seek to be their leader. ThinkProgress has assembled a list of ten things Gingrich probably doesn’t want you to know about him:

1. DESPITE BATTLING THE “SECULAR SOCIALIST” AGENDA, GINGRICH CHEATED ON HIS WIVES SEVERAL TIMES: 

One of Gingrich’s main themes in his columns and speeches over the past few years has been the need to stop the “secular socialist” takeover of America, which he blames for the demise of the family. Yet he had several of these affairs while attacking President Bill Clinton for his own. He justified his hypocrisy to his second wife once, telling her, “It doesn’t matter what I do.”

2. WHILE DEMONIZING GOVERNMENT LARGESS, GINGRICH POURED MORE FEDERAL MONEY INTO HIS DISTRICT THAN ALMOST ANY OTHER: 

 The politics of the mid-1990′s was marked by the right’s attempt to decimate the social safety net. As Gingrich waged his campaign to destroy unemployment insurance and aid for needy families, he made his own district the recipient of huge amounts of federal aid. Under Gingrich, his district in Cobb County, GA received more “federal subsidies than any suburban county in the country, with two exceptions: Arlington Virginia, effectively part of the Federal Government, and Brevard County Florida, the home of the Kennedy Space Center.”

3. IN 2007, GINGRICH BACKED CAP-AND-TRADE, THEN FLIP-FLOPPED TWO YEARS LATER: 

Talking to PBS just four years ago, Gingrich said, “I think if you have mandatory caps combined with a trading system, much like we did with sulfur, and if you have a tax-incentive program for investing in the solutions, then there’s a package that’s very, very good. And frankly, it’s something I would strongly support.” He even cut an ad with House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) warning of the dangers of climate change. Just two years later, Gingrich ended all of his green advocacy in favor pandering to far-right views on the environment. “Imposing stunningly high taxes on an economy in the middle of a recession is fundamentally wrong. … [A]rtificially capping their economy is the wrong approach,” he said in testimony before Congress.

  4. GINGRICH BLAMED THE MASSACRES AT COLUMBINE AND VIRGINIA TECH ON “LIBERALISM”:

Showing that his cynicism knows no bounds, Gingrich blamed “the liberal academic elite, the liberal political elite” for the Columbine shootings in Littleton, CO. He followed the same script after the massacre at Virginia Tech, saying liberalism is responsible for the “dehumanization” that led to the killings.

5. GINGRICH WANTED THE RICH TO DECIDE WHEN THEIR OWN TAX CUTS WOULD END:

During last winter’s debate over extending the Bush tax cuts, Gingrich said that we should “have the business leadership of the country describe the number” of months that the cuts for the wealthiest should last.

6. DESPITE RAILING AGAINST THE “PARTY OF FOOD STAMPS,” GINGRICH PROPOSED EXPANDING THEM:

One of the memes Gingrich has pushed over the past year is that Democrats are the “party of food stamps” because they believe in federal food assistance for the indigent. Yet in 2002, when President George W. Bush proposed expanding some food stamp programs, Gingrich backed him, saying that the “welfare reform” law he helped author in the 1990s went too far in cutting food assistance.

7. FOR THE PAST FEW YEARS, GINGRICH HAS FRONTED FOR THE HEALTH INDUSTRY:

Gingrich helped found a number of major businesses, including a for-profit health care firm called the “Center for Health Transformation” (CHT) and a communications firm called the “Gingrich Group.” CHT serves approximately 94 health industry corporations and lobby groups. Despite many meetings with Republican lawmakers to shape health care legislation, Gingrich refuses to register as a lobbyist.

8. GINGRICH REFERRED TO JUSTICE SOTOMAYOR AS A “LATINA WOMAN RACIST”:

During the debate over the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor, Gingrich took to his Twitter account to say that Sotomayor, who is a “latina woman racist” should withdraw from the nomination.

9. GINGRICH FLIP-FLOPPED ON THE INDIVIDUAL MANDATE:

In 2008, Gingrich suggested “insurance mandates for people who earn more than $75,000 a year.” Yet by 2010, he was blasting the mandate as unconstitutional.

10. GINGRICH SAID WE SHOULD ALLOW SOME TERRORIST ATTACKS TO REMIND US OF THE DANGER:

During a book tour, Gingrich told an audience in a speech that was televised on C-SPAN that the Bush administration had been very successful at intercepting terrorists, but had not gotten credit for it, explaining that maybe we should’ve “allowed an attack to get through to remind” Americans about the danger of terrorism.

Throughout his career, Gingrich has devoted himself to constantly changing his views on a whim and trying to position himself relative to the political climate of the moment . While he claims to have changed, the facts haven’t, and ThinkProgress will keep you informed about his latest flip flops and turnarounds in the coming months.

FOLLOW-UP STORY 

Gingrich: Love of country contributed to affair

SHANNON McCAFFREY

Associated Press

Wed Mar 9, 6:18 pm ET

ATLANTA – Newt Gingrich says his passion for his country contributed to his marital infidelity. In an interview posted Wednesday by The Christian Broadcasting Network, Gingrich — who recently converted to Catholicism — said he had sought God's forgiveness for mistakes in his past.

"There's no question at times of my life, partially driven by how passionately I felt about this country, that I worked far too hard and things happened in my life that were not appropriate," Gingrich said.

"What I can tell you is that when I did things that were wrong, I wasn't trapped in situation ethics, I was doing things that were wrong, and yet, I was doing them," he said. "I found that I felt compelled to seek God's forgiveness. Not God's understanding, but God's forgiveness."

Gingrich went on to say that he and his third wife, Callista, now have a great marriage.

"Forget about all this political stuff. As a person, I've had the opportunity to have a wonderful life, to find myself now, truly enjoying the depths of my life in ways that I never dreamed it was possible to have a life that was that nice," he said.

The twice-divorced former U.S. House speaker has admitted he had an affair with Callista, a former congressional aide, while married to his second wife. It happened at the same time he was attacking President Bill Clinton for his relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

The interview with the Christian broadcaster comes as Gingrich gears up for a likely presidential run. He has been courting religious and social conservatives who would be critical in a GOP primary.

Gingrich said Wednesday if he runs for president he will likely announce in early May outside Independence Hall in Philadelphia.

The former House speaker outlined his plans on a conference call with former aides, according to people who were on the call.

The participants declined to be identified because they were not authorized to speak for Gingrich.

Gingrich said he has not made a final decision on whether he will seek the White House, but said he is clearly leaning toward running.

At an appearance last week in Atlanta, Gingrich said he's exploring a presidential bid but stopped short of forming an exploratory committee.

He conceded Wednesday that the announcement was mishandled and said he expects to open a campaign office soon in his old home state of Georgia.

He also said former Georgia Gov. Zell Miller, a Democrat who has backed many Republicans in recent years, will serve as a co-chairman of his national campaign effort.

 http://www.orlandosentinel.com/videobeta/0b680d3d-4f30-4494-a625-92eb95446fd3/News/Woman-trashes-Oakland-Park-Burger-King

Newly released photos of Hitler's wife

Eva Braun poses behind an umbrella in 1940.  Braun was a model as a teenager.                                March 10th, 201110:34 AM ET

Life.com has obtained a set of newly released photos from the personal albums of Eva Braun, Adolf Hitler's longtime girlfriend and, in their final hours, wife.

The photos "reveal new dimensions" of the woman who married Hitler as the Russian army closed in on his Berlin bunker and then committed suicide with him a day later. He was 56. She was 33.

  The 30 photos cover almost all of Braun's life, from images of her as a toddler and schoolgirl to her spending time with Hitler at his mountaintop retreat in the Alps.

Among the most interesting images are those of Braun posing seemingly naked behind an umbrella and her made up as American actor Al Jolson in his role in "The Jazz Singer."

The photos come from "a cache of images confiscated by the U.S. Army in 1945 and brought to light by collector and curator Reinhard Schulz," Life.com reports

LINK TO MORE PRIVATE PHOTOS OF EVA BRAUN:

http://www.life.com/image/first/in-gallery/57511/rare-eva-brauns-private-photos#index/0

Oh, no! Obama job approval starts down again: Gallup

LA Times

March 9, 2011 |  5:24 am

No White House ever pays any attention to public opinion polls because that could imply the president shapes his actions to be approved, which would be a preposterous thing to believe.

But if Barack Obama did pay attention to his polls numbers, which of course he doesn't for the aforementioned reason, he'd have to be a little disappointed this morning. Or at least somewhat puzzled. Now that we're less than 20 months from the 2012 E-Day.

Obama's job approval numbers are down again, even without a viable announced Republican opponent. Even with the unemployment rate down a smidge to 8.9% (it was 6.9% when Obama was elected). Even with 192,000 jobs created last month. Even with Joe Biden out of the country.

According to the latest Gallup numbers, Obama's weekly job approval number was 46% through Sunday.

That's the lowest it's been since mid-December, when Republican "hostage-takers" forced the Democrat to accept an extension of the Bush tax cuts that Obama now sees as a positive sign of bipartisan cooperation, not to mention job growth.

The current approval is even lower than the 47% Obama had after his murky State of the Union address that atypically provided no noticeable poll bounce.

He had been up at the 50% level into January, his first time up there since May. But then slid again to hover around 48% until the newest decline.

If the White House watched these figures, which as we said it doesn't, it might be distressed that the latest decline came among fellow Democrats, who still like the ex-state senator a lot but less of a lot than they used to:

79% of Democrats approve of Obama's job now. However, that's down from 84% in late January. His approval among independents dipped from 47% to 43%.

The Democrat's approval among Republicans, which couldn't conceivably get any worse, did anyway: Down another notch from 15% to 14%.

There's still plenty of time for a miraculous Obama recovery. An incumbent president's reelection chances are usually tied closely to voters' economic perceptions, centering on unemployment and gas prices. A separate Gallup survey finds Americans' economic optimism dipping again in recent weeks, at the same time that gas prices began increasing significantly. 

The good news for the Obama White House is that the 2010 approval averages show he remains wildly popular in the District of Columbia (84.4% approval) and in his home state of Hawaii (65.9%). That's seven of the 270 electoral votes he needs to keep living in the White House with his mother-in-law.

The bad news is that last year Obama's job approval went down in all 50 states.

-- Andrew Malcolm

Wed, Mar. 09, 2011 Miami Lakes councilmen in bathroom squabble BY Laura Isensee The Miami Herald   Peter Andrew Bosch Miami Lakes Councilman Richard Pulido.   Dropping the F-bomb and threats to “take it outside” may sound like the start of a schoolyard brawl. But this squabble involved two Miami Lakes politicians and happened in the bathroom during a break in the Tuesday night council meeting. Both elected officials — Councilman Richard Pulido and Vice Mayor Nick Perdomo — claim the other made physical threats laced with cuss words. Pulido said Perdomo threatened to beat him up while he was washing his hands. Perdomo also claims Pulido threatened him with a thrashing in the men’s room. According to Pulido, his colleague on the dais lost his cool because he felt Pulido had slighted him during the Tuesday meeting to discuss a development deal on Northwest 87th Avenue. After the meeting, the councilmen were still taking verbal swipes. “We’re not thugs. We should act like public officials. We’re not conducting business like we’re in a third-world country,” Pulido told the Herald. Perdomo — who runs a family cigar business with operations in Nicaragua — said Pulido started it. “I’m way too successful to get into it with a two-bit school teacher who makes $20,000,” said Perdomo. “To me, this stuff doesn’t get under my skin.” Pulido is an adjunct professor at St. Thomas University and a high school administrator at a private Broward school. The meeting took place at a community center in the tree-lined northwest Miami-Dade municipality. A few dozen residents, in addition to the developer and his attorneys, had turned out to the 6:30 p.m. meeting. During a break, Perdomo and Pulido both apparently headed to the restroom. According to his police statement, Pulido said Perdomo said he’d “knock my f---ing head off.” On Wednesday, Perdomo filed his own statement, reporting Pulido bragged he was “old school,” dropped the F-bomb and threatened to “kick my ass” in the men’s room. At least one resident, Claudia Luces, heard Perdomo outside the bathroom tell Pulido “let’s take it oustide.” “I realized there was some tension and I should get out of the way just in case,” Luces said. The bathroom row didn’t come to blows. Nor did it disrupt the council meeting. (After the break, the officials discussed business signs, a town Facebook page and summer programs for kids.) Miami-Dade police are treating the matter as a “verbal dispute” and were taking statements on Wednesday, said police spokesman Robert Williams. Williams said the full police report was not available Wednesday. What started the latest fight isn’t clear. Pulido said he made a comment on the dais about town employees going to officials’ business office to review town matters, which Perdomo took as a dig. But the fight may be far from over. Perdomo said he planned to file a lawsuit and considered what happened “an assault.” Meanwhile, Pulido said his complaint would go to the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office.   LINK TO PHOTO OF COUNCILMAN:

http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/03/09/2106592/miami-lakes-councilmen-in-bathroom.html#

Woman flies cross-country to seek revenge on husband

http://www.thedailybeast.com/interactive/women-in-the-world/150-women-who-shake-the-world/

http://biggovernment.com/bewing/2011/03/09/caught-on-tape-police-stealing-property-abusing-forfeiture/