A short entry - AP Photographer Charlie Riedel just filed the following images of seabirds caught in the oil slick on a beach on Louisiana's East Grand Terre Island. As BP engineers continue their efforts to cap the underwater flow of oil, landfall is becoming more frequent, and the effects more evident. (8 photos total)
...extraordinary video captured early yesterday morning at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. Took place at the north toll plaza, which served as a launching ramp for one drunk driver trying to exit the airport in a hurry. DFW spokesman David Magana confirms: "The driver was, as you might guess, suspected of inebriation and investigated for such and arrested for such."
...after the driver went all General Lee, she got out and made a call on her cell, at which point the vehicle went boom. Hard to believe the "driver only suffered minor injuries"
In just the past seven days, residents of Guatemala and parts of neighboring Honduras and El Salvador have had to cope with a volcanic eruption and ash fall, a powerful tropical storm, the resulting floods and landslides, and a frightening sinkhole in Guatemala City that swallowed up a small building and an intersection. Pacaya volcano started erupting lava and rocks on May 27th, blanketing Guatemala City with ash, closing the airport, and killing one television reporter who was near the eruption. Two days later, as Guatemalans worked to clear the ash, Tropical Storm Agatha made landfall bringing heavy rains that washed away bridges, filled some villages with mud, and somehow triggered the giant sinkhole - the exact cause is still being studied. (34 photos total)
Scientific American has posted a fine, interactive feature it bills as 12 events that will change everything.
The magazine says that when and if each of these events occur they will "forever reshape" how we think about ourselves and how we live our lives. Maybe. In reviewing the list it struck me that some events were far more transforming than others.
Found this interesting. Not saying I agree with it, just found it interesting.
Millions of foreign tourists visit the United States every year, and a growing number return home with a brand new U.S. citizen in tow.
Thousands of legal immigrants, who do not permanently reside in the United States but give birth here, have given their children the gift of citizenship, which the U.S. grants to anyone born on its soil.
The number of U.S. births to non-resident mothers rose 53 percent between 2000 and 2006, according to the most recent data from the National Center for Health Statistics. Total births rose 5 percent in the same period.
Among the foreigners who have given birth here, including international travelers passing through and foreign students studying at U.S. universities, are "birth tourists," women who travel to the United States with the explicit purpose of obtaining citizenship for their child.
Catering to the women is a nascent industry of travel agencies and hotel chains seeking to profit from the business.
wanted to make sure you saw the following remarkable photos of the International Space Station, with space shuttle Atlantis attached, transiting the sun on May 22.
They were taken by Thierry Legault (see his Web site for larger versions) using a Takahashi TOA-150 refractor telescope. The complex transited the sun in 0.49 seconds.
Click the image to see another picture and a link to the originals.
Today is Memorial Day in the United States, a day set aside to honor our men and women who died while in military service since the time of U.S. Civil War. In Afghanistan over 50 U.S. soldiers have been killed in just the past month, including 24-year old Marine Cpl. Jacob Leicht, who became the 1,000th serviceman killed in Afghanistan since 2002. As the fighting season begins, Taliban militants have recently mounted several bold attacks and coalition efforts to "clear, hold and build" areas in the south have been slowed during the "hold" phase, as Afghan government capacity remains small. Collected here are images of the country and conflict over the past month, part of an ongoing monthly series on Afghanistan. (42 photos total)
If you have monitored this blog for very long you probably realize that it includes very little original content. I keep my eye out on the internet for things that I find interesting and then I post links to them here. Many (okay, maybe most) of this links come to me courtesy of the blog Bag of Nothing (a.k.a. BON).
Well, my material is going to be hit or miss this week because BON became a daddy for the first time. If you have ever appreciated one of my blog posts that included the tag line "Thanks To Keith at BagOfNothing" then you should click the picture above and leave a comment congratulating the new parents.
If you have monitored this blog for very long you probably realize that it includes very little original content. I keep my eye out on the internet for things that I find interesting and then I post links to them here. Many (okay, maybe most) of this links come to me courtesy of the blog Bag of Nothing (a.k.a. BON).
