Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

“More of this”, i said to the dog.

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

Bark louder, little dog.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

All your base are belong to Tunch.

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

This blog will pay for itself.

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

T R E 4 5 O N

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

Let us savor the impending downfall of lawless scoundrels who richly deserve the trouble barreling their way.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

Americans barely caring about Afghanistan is so last month.

I know this must be bad for Joe Biden, I just don’t know how.

You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

Battle won, war still ongoing.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

You are here: Home / Foreign Affairs / Tsunami

Reader Interactions

122Comments

  1. 1.

    Arclite

    We’ve been having warning sirens all night in Hawaii (I’m in Honolulu), and all the radio and TV stations have been blaring it. Emergency plans are being executed, and emergency workers are on the job. Some schools and work have been canceled. Evacuations have been underway for hours. I went to the supermarket 2 hours after the quake, before the first sirens, and it was lines 50 people long buying water and ice and rice. Your government at work. We should be okay.

    We were able to contact my wife’s family in Tokyo and they are fine. God forbid you know anyone living in Sendai.

  2. 2.

    Beth in VA

    Whoa, incredible video. Have to say, Al Jazeera reporting is such a refreshing change from so much of the US. CNN used to be like this!

  5. 5.

    Punchy

    But Japan has socialized medicine and Hawaii is a Democratic hotbed, so who gives a fuck?

  6. 6.

    Alwhite

    @Beth in VA:

    Have you seen the web site WTF CNN ? It allows you to pull up CNN on half the screen and any of a dozen decent news, including Al Jazeera, sites in the other. It would be funny as hell if it were not so sad.

    “Its not news, Its CNN”

  9. 9.

    Lol

    How convenient that it’s targeting Hawaii. Then Obama just has to claim that his COLB was lost in the tsunami and that’s why he can’t produce it.

    (Just giving you a preview of deep that’s soon to come. )

  10. 10.

    Face

    This was all initiated by Barrack Whosane in an effort to explain how his long-form birth cert got washed away, and he can no longer be expected to show it.

  11. 11.

    Cat Lady

    Third largest economy in the world now paralyzed. CNN pointed out the silver lining for us though – demand for oil will be way down. Shorter CNN to Japan: Sux 2 B U.

  12. 12.

    El Cid

    NHK Tokyo:

    Japan’s Meteorological Agency says the quake on Friday afternoon had an estimated magnitude of 8.8, making it the most powerful one to hit the country since record-keeping began in the late 19th century.

  13. 13.

    peach flavored shampoo

    Now watch Republicans vote against the Democratic effort to send aid money to foreign countries, like Hawaii.

  18. 18.

    Fucen Pneumatic Fuck Wrench Tarmal

    @Cat Lady:
    and in the next segment, cnn had charlie sheen on for his reaction.

    that is incredible footage. not that japanese people are any more or less important than anyone else, but the relative wealth and connectivity of the country suggests there will be tons of unbelievable destruction, made available world wide. keep in mind the tragedies in places that aren’t so well connected, and that they are still suffering as well, when you donate.

  22. 22.

    Dan

    If the nuclear plant is hit and radiation leaks out, it could cause a Godzilla. Just what those poor people don’t need at a time like this.

  23. 23.

    Alan Morgan

    Well, I was glad they built the building I am in as well as they did. The destruction and death will be almost all from the tsunami.

    Still feeling aftershocks every 10-15 mins or so here in Tokyo.

  24. 24.

    Fucen Pneumatic Fuck Wrench Tarmal

    @stuckinred:

    yes, those pesky regulations, i mean even if his point is somewhat valid, it invalidates pretty much every other thing he stands for.

    i guess my point is, japan will probably produce a larger volume of dramatic images, and that those images will be the means by which stupid people, led by stupid media, will scale the respective disasters, and the resulting needs.

  26. 26.

    bkny

    presumably the people that occupied those homes swept out to sea had time to get out… there’s a photo both at nyt/wapo that looks like a freakin neighborhood of homes was washed out to sea.

  28. 28.

    geg6

    Is it hitting the entire main island in Japan?

    I have a good friend who is a teacher at the US air base in Misawa, at the far northeastern end of the main island.

  31. 31.

    Comrade Javamanphil

    BBC News informs me Kenya is now also under Tsunami alert. Cue Pat Robertson making the “Obama-Hawaii-Kenya-God Punishment” connection in 3..2..1..

  33. 33.

    Tokyokie

    @bkny: The closer you are to the epicenter of the quake, the less time you have before the tsunami hits. The people in those homes probably didn’t have much time to get out. (Take note of the one shot of the line of cars trying to flee.)

  35. 35.

    Alwhite

    @stuckinred:

    That can’t be right! building codes are government intervention in the free market & that is always bad bad bad.

    My guess is Japan will be better of because they are not as dark as the people living in Haiti. I’m sure one of the FAUXbots will suggest that before the end of today.

  36. 36.

    Tokyokie

    @geg6: Misawa AB is a few miles inland and faces the northern coast of Honshu, not the eastern coast. People there should be OK.

  37. 37.

    Superluminar

    Really dramatic footage on BBC just now of people
    who just escaped with their lives by less than a second, huge chunks of masonary falling inches behind them. Shit. Haven’t seen any updates on whether that nuclear cooling has been restarted or not… any one know?
    If there are any seismologists reading, is there any relation between this quake and the NZ ones (i guess “not enough data to establish a trend”)?

  39. 39.

    stuckinred

    He’s no fun, he fell right over.

    …and there’s hamburger all over the highway, in Mystic, Connecticut.

    At times of dexterity like this, my wee native compendium, Mo-ha-meet, would pray to the Diveena-ties.

    You’re a white man, Porgie, whattya think we oughtta do?!

  40. 40.

    Superluminar

    @ Comrade Javamanphil; @ Alwhite

    This quake is clearly God’s displeasure at DADT repeal/ some other pro-fag policy

    /Robertson

  42. 42.

    Tuttle

    If the nuclear plant is hit and radiation leaks out, it could cause a Godzilla. Just what those poor people don’t need at a time like this.

    I actually haven’t yet heard the reports from Monster Island. You never know, King Gidra, Rodan, Mothra and Gamera could be sprung as well. We can only hope that Jet Jaguar wasn’t damaged when the wave hit Japan.

    And it’s not like there still won’t be hundreds and hundreds of Japanese school boys in disturbingly small shorts being consulted by all levels of governance on how to repel this possible monster mash. Japan can handle giant monsters.

  44. 44.

    geg6

    @Tokyokie:

    Thanks to you, too. I know from the maps that the base is is at the upper northeastern corner of the island. I have no idea which way the base faces, but I’m not sure it matters which way it faces in a situation like this. But according to the Stars and Stripes report, it sounds like they may be having some problems. At the very least, the earthquake hit them hard.

    Here is a firsthand report phoned in by Stars and Stripes web editor T.D. Flack:
    __
    “At 2:40, the buildings on the base began rocking and swaying. At the Torii building, the big building on base that’s home to the Red Cross, people fled to the parking lot.
    __
    “Kids were crying; it was a really long shaking — not a super rough ‘up and down’ but a constant swaying. Telephone poles and light poles were swaying and squeaking.
    __
    “Water poured out the front door of the pool building — it was bizarre. The quake was so strong that water rushed out of the pool, and out of the front door and down the steps, into the street.
    __
    “The base was in the middle of an exercise, and immediately switched to recovery efforts, using the loudspeaker system.
    __
    “All power was lost immediately, as were cell phones. No Internet, no cell phones, no communication at all.
    __
    “The off-base emergency system was launched, and emergency announcements were broadcast in English and Japanese.
    __
    “Off-base convenience stores, like the 7-Eleven, were jammed as people scrambled to buy water, food and batteries. It’s especially bad, as temperature dropped below freezing, with some snow flurries.
    __
    “As of 8 p.m., the base remained almost completely black, save for some buildings with generator back-up. All we can assume is people are hunkering down and bundling up because there’s no heat. It’s brutal.
    __
    “There were two big fears: one, that the tsunami would reach far enough inland — two miles — to swamp the base.
    __
    “The second was the nuclear power plant Rokkasho. (The Rokkasho nuclear reprocessing facility was being powered by emergency diesel generators. No other unusual events or radiation leaks have been reported.)
    __
    “There’s a bunch of cold, miserable and scared people, wrapped in blankets, and waiting for the next aftershock.
    __
    As we spoke, Flack was making sure his kids were warm enough; he had moved his whole family into his office for the night, which others in his building had also done.
    __
    Then, another wave of aftershocks.
    __
    “I gotta go.”

    She tells me it’s very cold there during the winter, so I imagine they are freezing with no heat or electricity. And so frightening, no matter what happens.

  45. 45.

    JPL

    This is online at BBC News… live feed
    #
    1443: Back to Japan now: The official Kyodo news agency is reporting that about 88,000 people are missing.

  46. 46.

    Tokyokie

    @geg6: If the family is living in base housing, they’re OK. Misawa appears to have sufficient on-base housing for its personnel, so if they’ve been there more than a month, that’s probably where they are. Misawa has two family housing areas, one on the base and a North Housing Area a few minutes away. The base itself appears to have weathered the storm; not sure about the North Housing Area, but it should be OK, too.

  48. 48.

    Superluminar

    If Godzilla comes we can send matoko and section 9the slave fetuses to defeat him.

    If Glenzilla opens it’s mouth, we’ll be here forever.

  49. 49.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    @Joey Maloney:

    NOAA has this on Hawaii now:

    Kahului Maui HI 20.9N 156.5W 1331UTC 05.7FT/01.74M

    Brookings, Oregon is expected to see about six feet, Crescent City, CA is expected to see around nine feet. We will find out pretty quick if that is true (expected to hit here in Brookings in about 15 minutes or so).

    I heard that one of the nuke plants in Japan is on fire now. What a mess.

    Tsunami sirens went off at 4 am here, pretty creepy to hear.

  50. 50.

    stuckinred

    @Tokyokie:

    9:00 EST According to Misawa Emergency Management: “Misawa Air Base has NOT had any reports of injuries or any serious facility damage. The series of earthquakes caused sections of the base to lose electrical power, consequently creating difficulty to contact your love ones.”

  52. 52.

    Citizen_X

    @Superluminar:

    is there any relation between this quake and the NZ ones

    Only that they’re both the result of living on a tectonically active planet.

    And yes, an earthquake on one fault can load stress onto another, causing another earthquake, but that happens on faults in the immediate area. It’s what a lot of the aftershocks are about. But precisely because there are all those faults nearby, capable of moving, you’re not going to transmit extra stress the thousands of miles from New Zealand to Japan.

  53. 53.

    geg6

    @Tokyokie:

    They’ve been there since about 2004. They don’t live on base, though they did when they first got there. Her husband was USAF and was stationed there. She is no longer living with hubby (they separated and he retired about a year ago and is living in Las Vegas at this point). She and her sons stayed in Japan as they all loved it there and she wanted her sons to be able to finish high school with their friends. She’s been talking about requesting a move to Europe. This just may be the thing that sets that in motion.

  54. 54.

    David Koch

    If you want to help Japan, send Bibles. This would have all been avoided if they were Christian.

  55. 55.

    lostinube

    The number keeps going up for those missing: it’s over 110,000 now. Sendai has a population of just over a million but I believe the 110,000 is cumulative for all the areas.

  57. 57.

    Citizen_X

    @JPL: This is going to have a horrific toll. Sumatra-level. I am not looking forward to the updates over the next few days.

  59. 59.

    Fucen Pneumatic Fuck Wrench Tarmal

    @David Koch:

    either you or god have natalie portman confused with scarlett johansson. and pre-marital sex confused with extra marital sex. either way that can only mean bad things ahead for the both of them.

    now here is a question what would you/god/pat robertson have done to japan if scarlett johannson and natalie portman were getting it on?

  60. 60.

    Pococurante

    Almighty G-d, we pray You, send healing to the injured, comfort to the bereaved, and news to those who sit and wait. May You be with those who even now are engaged in the work of rescue. May You send Your strength to those who are striving to heal the injured, give shelter to the homeless, and bring food and water to those in need. May You bless the work of their hands, and may they merit to save lives.

  62. 62.

    Face

    Would love for this Sue Nammy to push all those millions of dead anchovies in Rodando Beach inland. Just fishify the whole local area with a rotting fish carcas smell. Teach those blue states to vote the bible and against gays. Wait, hold on. Nevermind.

  63. 63.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    Here’s a link to the NOAA tsunami warning for my area on the south Oregon coast.

    I’m watching the ocean from our house but we’re about 100 feet up so should be fine. Some friends are right at sea level, about a quarter mile inland on the Winchuck River. They have left their home and headed to higher land, as have their neighbors.

    Back to watching…

  64. 64.

    magurakurin

    @David Koch:

    If you want to help Japan, send Bibles. This would have all been avoided if they were Christian.

    fuck. It must be my fault then because two Jehovahs came to my door this morning and I sent them away with the old “sorry, no speak Japanese”

    My little corner of the Japanese Islands didn’t see much, a few small tsunamis on our southern coasts, but warnings are still up for tonight. The images on tv now are getting pretty surreal. One little town up north in Miyagi is totally in flames. Like the whole fucking city. Gnarly shit. Just saw some footage of some fishing boats crashing over the cresting tsunami waves as the first ones hit the coast around 3:30 this afternoon. Full on Perfect Storm shit. Feeling sort of lucky tonight in south western Japan.

  65. 65.

    Superluminar

    what would you/god/pat robertson have done to japan if scarlett johannson and natalie portman were getting it on?

    I think He just saw starbursts. I know I did.

  68. 68.

    Nick

    @David Koch:

    If you want to help Japan, send Bibles. This would have all been avoided if they were Christian.

    Stuff like this never happens in country where people believe in Jesus…like, say, Haiti

  69. 69.

    scav

    Speaking of which, anybody proven how the earthquake and tsunami prove there’s no such thing as global warming?

  71. 71.

    New Yorker

    @Nick:

    Haitians made a deal with the devil a long time ago, so they got what they deserved. Pat Robertson told me.

    Stuff like this wouldn’t happen in a good Christian country like, um, Chile. Also too, earthquakes in the US only happen in heathen cities like San Francisco. They will never happen in good evangelical Real American sections of the country like, say, New Madrid, Missouri.

  72. 72.

    JPL

    This is possibly good news from bbc
    #
    1528: An update now on the nuclear power station in Japan at the centre of a huge evacuation order: Officials have said the reactor cooling system that failed after the quake at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant is expected to return to normal soon, according to the Jiji Press news agency. Thousands of residents were evacuated as a precaution.

  75. 75.

    soonergrunt

    @New Yorker: Many Oklahomans pridefully refer to this state as ‘the buckle of the bible belt.”
    I ask those who do if they can explain God’s wrath with all the tornadoes. They generally can’t, except to blather about Free Will. “Do tornadoes have free will? They knowingly defy God, do they?”
    You can guess where this goes.

  78. 78.

    Xenos

    @stuckinred: Russia Today is not a bad news channel. Here in Old Yurp I get it as part of the basic programming, along with the BBC, TV24 (French news), CNNi, DW (German) and al-Jazeera. Pretty amazing considering English is most people’s fourth language here – all in English, and all better than anything on American cable. Real journalists, not news presenters pumping out propaganda.

  79. 79.

    magurakurin

    Sharp, my Sharp TV. I’m getting my makers mixed up. Too much excitement for one day.

  80. 80.

    JohnR

    BBC has its usual level of coverage. The situation around Sendai and Kesenumma is appalling. Please set aside what you can to donate to emergency agancies as soon as they’re set up. It looks like we’re going to luck out along the northern west coast, as we did in Hawaii, but I sometimes wonder if these huge quakes don’t push other, distant stressed faults over the edge – so that the Christchurch quake may have pushed this one to the breaking point. If that’s a possibility, I’d be somewhat concerned about areas along the big California fault complexes. Some of those are way overdue to break loose. And then there’s the New Madrid one. Well, if it’s not one thing, it’s another – which makes me wonder why we find it so necessary to screw each other over so much when life is already hard and dangerous enough.

  84. 84.

    PeakVT

    @JohnR: Only very, very large earthquakes can influence distant faults. The Christchurch earthquake was not close to large enough to do so. The amount of damage there was higher than normal for an earthquake of that size because of specific local geography.

  85. 85.

    magurakurin

    @JohnR:

    I hear you on the senseless screwing over thing. But, in all seriousness, as fucked up as nature can be to us, earthquakes, tsunamis, typhoons, hurricanes, et.al. are pikers when compared to the devastation we have wrought on each other. Sure, some parts of Japan look like a fire bombing campaign tonight, but the damage will pale in comparison to the real fire bombing campaign of 1944-45. 100,000 burned alive in Tokyo over three days. Osaka, Kobe, Nagoya and on and on, all burned to the fucking ground. Dresden, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Nanking, Guernica, London, and on and on and on.

    Mother Nature’s a bitch, but people suck.

  88. 88.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    USCG helo just flew right over our house headed south towards Harbor bench area (our low-lying area where friends evacuated earlier).

    Still watching…

  91. 91.

    Martin

    Any more word on the Oregon coast? My dad is in Florence at about 6ft elevation, fortunately with some sand dunes between him and the ocean.

  92. 92.

    Corner Stone

    @Dan:

    If the nuclear plant is hit and radiation leaks out, it could cause a Godzilla. Just what those poor people don’t need at a time like this.

    This has been foretold. If Democrats lack enthusiasm in 2012 then Godzilla will win the Presidency. Not as a metaphor, the actual Godzilla.

  93. 93.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    @Martin:

    Other than the helo that flew over a few ago and a fire truck headed south, pretty quiet here in Brookings so far. We’re not in any hurry to head south and check out the Harbor bench area.

    Let the pros deal with it! I did watch a distinct wave line come in just before 7:30 here but am still watching. The weather isn’t very good for viewing as the sky and ocean are about the same color this am. We’re about 100 feet up here and I’m watching the ocean with binocs.

    The wave line was distinct but our view is out over the ocean and not of the shore. The line was at a 11:25 (clock hand view) to my position (being at 6 on the clock). It was clear to see as the wave action is usually uneven and choppy and this was very distinct.

    Still watching…

  94. 94.

    geg6

    @Origuy:

    Good news for my friends. Hope they found a place to stay warm.

    My god. The poor people of Japan! Last I heard, over 110,000 missing.

  96. 96.

    Origuy

    Tsunami starting to affect Santa Cruz. Shoreline receded about 15 feet. They’ve evacuated three blocks along the coast.

  97. 97.

    Fuck U6: A More Accurate Measure of the Total Amount of Duck-Fuckery in the Economy

    CNN reporting that Fukushima NPS “shut-down,” but that plant lacks sufficient electricity to circulate coolant. Could be bad. Japanes auth. are alarmingly direct in telling people to prepare for worst.

  98. 98.

    New Yorker

    @soonergrunt:

    Funny, I refer to tornadoes when my wingnut uncle expresses his doubts about evolution. He doubts something as complex as the human eye could occur “by chance”, so I ask him if he thinks water vapor, air, and sunlight can become an F5 tornado “by chance” or if tornadoes are subject to “intelligent design”.

    He never answers the question.

  99. 99.

    Mike Kay (Ding-Dong-Broder's Dead)

    Only one thing can stop the radioactive leak — Obama’s bully pulpit.

  100. 100.

    Martin

    @Odie Hugh Manatee: Ok, that sounds calm and promising. Thanks. His email last night said he was going off with his friends today, so I don’t know where he is. Might be on a boat already.

  101. 101.

    Mike Kay (Ding-Dong-Broder's Dead)

    btw, if this disaster touches your heart, then now is the time to make a generous contribution to FDL.

    Remember, registration tags don’t pay for themselves.

  102. 102.

    Alwhite

    @stuckinred:

    But on the “color of correctness” meter yellow is not as dark as brown ergo everything has to be better in Japan than in Haiti but not as good as allwhite USA – USA- USA

    ad nauseum

  103. 103.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    @Martin:

    Right now IMO a boat out on the ocean is a safer place than six feet up and behind a dune! I love the dunes area up there and the wife and I head up there every year for sight seeing. Very beautiful area and it has some excellent camping at the state parks there.

    The tsunami warning is still active but no sirens are going off so it looks good so far.

    Still watching…

  104. 104.

    losingtehplot

    When the news reports mention aftershocks, I think people envision a little rumbling after the first big quake. In the ten hours since the initial 8.9 earthquake, there’s been nearly 60 ‘aftershocks’, none of which has been below 5.1 on the scale, and at least nine of which have been 6.1-6.9, which would constitute major earthquakes in any other setting:
    http://geofon.gfz-potsdam.de/db/eqinfo.php

    Does anyone know if these bigger aftershocks are also capable of generating tsunamis?

  105. 105.

    Violet

    @Fuck U6: A More Accurate Measure of the Total Amount of Duck-Fuckery in the Economy:
    From BBC live update:
    #

    1559: Meanwhile, the World Nuclear Association has said it understands the situation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant is “under control”, and that water is now being pumped into its cooling system. The Japanese government earlier declared an emergency as a precaution and evacuated people living nearby, after there was a malfunction and the water level began to fall. A WNA analyst said the back-up battery power system was now online.

  106. 106.

    Cat Lady

    This is Katrina writ very very large. Infrastructure and property damage will take years to restore if it ever could be. We may be bearing witness in real time to what industrial economy FAIL looks like. We are all Mayans now.

  107. 107.

    Comrade Colette Collaboratrice

    @losingtehplot:

    Does anyone know if these bigger aftershocks are also capable of generating tsunamis?

    Yes. That’s part of the reason the tsunami watch here on the West Coast is expected to continue for at least 12 hours.

    I’m watching live pix from Santa Cruz harbor on the local news – minor damage to a marina, and a single boat torn loose from its moorings and floating down the channel, and they’re breathlessly covering it from a helicopter like it’s OJ Simpson in a white Ford Bronco. I’m remembering why I haven’t watched local news in years.

    The coverage from Japan just makes me cry.

  108. 108.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    I just realized that WyldPieRat hasn’t been in here blaming Obama for this disaster.

    Talk about letting a good disaster go to waste.

  110. 110.

    Citizen_X

    @Dan: I swear I saw a giant scaly foot in the background of one of those burning refineries, and heard some monstrous screeching noise. Plus, fourteen industrial complexes are reported to be aflame right now. Fourteen! If that isn’t Godzilla-related activity, I don’t know what is!

  111. 111.

    Martin

    @Odie Hugh Manatee: Well, he might be on a boat in the harbor is my worry, which would be vastly worse. He’s a fucking luddite, so unless the tsunami sirens are going off, he’d have no idea. Well, he might even sleep through those.

  112. 112.

    TenguPhule

    Reporting from the scene in Hawaii.

    No waves seen yet.

    Alerts still up.

    No work until the all clear is given.

    It could be worse.

    Cheers!

  113. 113.

    Elizabelle

    Real wake up call for coastal US.

    Japan seems better built and better prepared than we are.

    Of course, no sense in strengthening our infrastructure.

    Might have to raise public money/taxes for that.

  114. 114.

    scav

    @losingtehplot: Can you think of a physical reason why not? They’re certainly not as strong but if they occur in certain locations or cause certain effects on the ocean floor, they might produce something.

    Oh, and the Japanese seem to be managing their rescue efforts rather well all in all so I very much doubt it will measure up to Katrina on that metric. I don’t see Honshu and Sendai inhabitants being herded into areas for days so far, nor yet can we assume that the govt / society will neglect or fail to sufficiently invest in the restructuring program the area will undoubtedly need. In terms of geo-physical destruction we’ve possibly got a match but the socio-cultural knock-on destruction? It’s a different culture (not to say that won’t provide a few unique shortcomings of its own).

  115. 115.

    eemom

    @Mike Kay (Ding-Dong-Broder’s Dead):

    ah, my partner in all-occasion FDL bashing.

    Have you seen the new “Member” thing they’ve got going now? You get a card and a T-shirt and all kinds of other groovy goodies. You get to attend “Members Only Strategic Planning Sessions”!

    Plus, there’s an essay contest, “Why I Love Jane Hamsher And Want To Have Her Babies.” The winner gets to stand in line at the DMV to get her tags renewed.

  116. 116.

    Mnemosyne

    @PeakVT:

    Only very, very large earthquakes can influence distant faults.

    That is of absolutely no comfort to me in Southern California, though it does make me glad I live within walking distance of work.

    Earthquake kit review tonight, buying any needed replacement supplies tomorrow.

  117. 117.

    Mike Kay (Ding-Dong-Broder's Dead)

    @eemom: you little blue devil, you’re such a firecracker.

    You know, I refuse to go to that site, but even though I stay away, her flying monkeys jump from site to site promoting the queen’s drivel.

  118. 118.

    Barry Moorhead

    I am waiting to see how the MSM ties the earthquake/tsumani to Charlie Sheen.

  120. 120.

    Mike G

    Some reports of substantial waves and damage along the US Pacific coast.
    1-2ft in most places, but larger in some —

    Arena Cove CA 1746UTC 5.7FT
    Crescent City CA 1644UTC 8.1FT
    Port San Luis CA 1721UTC 6.3FT

  122. 122.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    @tom p:

    That’s great to hear!!

    The harbors in Crescent City, CA and here at home (Brookings, OR) have been trashed. We got a seven footer that came in and smashed the docks, trashed many boats and ripped others from their moorings. We saw a chunk of dock floating outside the harbor (from our house 100 feet up with binocs) and there are a bunch of boats out on the water waiting for the all clear from the USCG/harbormaster before they come in. Hopefully they can return soon as we have a big storm coming in this evening, high winds and all.

    No loss of life here but a man was swept out to sea near the mouth of Klamath river in CA, who was killed and his body has been recovered. Another couple was swept out to sea at the Pistol River area (between Brookings and Gold Beach) but lucky for them they were recovered safely. They had to be stupid as stumps to be there since that area is long, low, wide and fairly flat.

    Police have cut off access to the harbor area and they shut down US101 between here and Crescent City early this morning and I don’t know if they have opened it yet. USCG planes and helos (another is now flying over us) have been going up and down the coast all day.

    Our damage here is minor compared to what Japan is going through and our hearts ache for the horrors they are having to endure.

    What a mess.

    Martin, if you are still around have you heard from your father yet? I hope he and everyone else in Florence is safe.

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