Mover Mike

Hat Tip to Skye Puppy

They hover on the edge of space. Thin, wispy clouds, glowing electric blue.

They're called noctilucent or "night-shining" clouds (NLCs).

The interesting thing about NLCs, they were first spotted in 1885.

A century ago the clouds were confined to latitudes above 50 degrees; you had to go to places like Scandinavia, Russia and Britain to see them. In recent years they have been sighted as far south as Utah and Colorado.

Noctilucent Clouds Space Weather Mover Mike

Scientists are puzzled and excited says Star Bulletin,

Every day, enough magma rises to fill 100 to 200 Olympic-sized swimming pools (OSP)....

"So if magma is still being supplied at a rate of 100 OSPs per day, where is it going, and what might happen next?"

Three reasons why we don't have a good immigration bill.

Bush worked with Kennedy from the start of his first term and look what it has gotten him. And McCain with his partnering with the left has earned him hatred from the right. Finally, Bush turned against his base and suffered a major defeat.

We want, first, a secure border; second, we want the laws that are on the books enforced, and then we can give the illegals a way to gain citizenship.

Bush Illegal Immigration Mover Mike

One perhaps-telling thing about Kevin Pritchard and the direction of this franchise that hasn’t been emphasized much is that the general manager has said many times that he believes the future is in an up-tempo, Phoenix-style game. Wide-open. … Would that fuel the temptation to draft Durant, rather than Oden?

Don’t know – but when you think about playing a quick lineup of LaMarcus Aldridge at center, Zach Randolph at power forward, Durant at small forward, Brandon Roy at shooting guard and Sergio Rodriguez at the point, that’s one exciting team.

Well, now we've traded Z-Bo to the Knicks and get Steve Fisher in return and we get Rudy Fernandez with Phoenix's pick. Francis can replace some of Z-bo's points, but Fernandez could be another Sergio Rodriguez. In a way it looks like we are getting an up-tempo team, however, an in control up-tempo McMillan coached team.

BTW, Zach, thanks for the 20 and 20. IMO, your fate was sealed here when you visited Club Exotica instead of playing the night your team was grinding its guts out. No excuse! Watch your back in the Big Apple. There are a lot more temptations to be a gangsta' in NY.

Greg Oden Zach Randolph Mover Mike

From the WSJ,

The Senate fell 14 votes short of the 60 needed to end debate on immigration overhaul, dealing a near fatal blow to the landmark bill and one that could very well dash President Bush's hopes of making progress on immigration before leaving the White House.

Immigration Mover Mike

map 1.9 2007/06/27 11:05:01 42.144N 120.511W 4.0 14 km ( 9 mi) WSW of Lakeview, OR

map 1.2 2007/06/27 09:54:31 44.991N 122.493W 27.4 15 km ( 9 mi) ESE of Scotts Mills, OR

map 1.5 2007/06/27 09:03:25 43.446N 124.065W 12.8 15 km ( 9 mi) ENE of North Bend, OR

Earthquake Mover Mike

I am a naturalized Ukrainian-American, fortunate enough to have been admitted to this great land as an immigrant. My personal history is the spur for this blog. My parents lived through the Ukrainian Genocidal Famine of 1933, survived years of Communist persecution, fled to the West, endured forced labor in Nazi Germany, and following liberation, ended up in Allied internment camps fighting forced repatriation to the Soviet Union under the Yalta Agreement. Their courageous struggle to bring our family to freedom, first to Australia, then to America, and their example of unflinching faithfulness to truth and honor, have left an indelible impression on me. My parents did not save me from Communism and Nazism for me to go gently into dhimmitude or slavery. Hence my passion and my mission to expose threats to freedom and democracy wherever they are found. This blog is a testament to their courage and my small gift to their heroism.

If I had been more diligent in my reading of blogs in my blogroll, I would have noticed before now that she was gone. Reading what David has posted for her I was struck by her intelligence and love of music. In one post he reprints her email to a friend after attending a Verdi concert. She wrote:

Verdi has taken me on a journey -- even though I know this piece by heart -- have heard it many times -- hearing it in that great hall -- live -- with real people pouring their hearts and talents and energies into it -- I understood it and experienced it fully for the first time --- Verdi -- that unbelievable colossus --- how could he have been human to create such music.

[...]

If men like this existed --- if talent like this existed -- if music like this exists -- there must be a God --- else where does all this magnificence point? What is its purpose ---- it has nothing to do with procreating the species -- or survival of the fittest --- no --- because music like this exists I KNOW there is a God and something divine and mysterious that we can only dimly apprehend -- but I know it -- and that is why I cannot live without it.

Aussiegirl Mover Mike

Dairy market forecasters are warning that consumers can expect a sharp increase in dairy prices this summer. By June, the milk futures market predicts, the price paid to farmers will have increased 50 percent this year -- driven by higher costs of transporting milk to market and increased demand for corn to produce ethanol.

Q: What determines the price of milk?

A: Unlike any other food, the base price of milk in California is calculated each month from a formula. State officials plug in the market prices for the four globally traded dairy commodities -- butterfat, dry milk powder, whey powder (a byproduct of cheese-making) and cheddar cheese -- and churn out the price that bottlers must pay farmers for their milk.

[...]

So the lowest prices in stores are equal to the cost of the milk paid to the dairy farmer, plus the cost of putting it in a carton and getting it onto store shelves -- which usually adds up to about $1 a gallon.

Milk Prices Inflation Mover Mike

My central Oregon friend Michael Hall sends me information by John Hollinger ESPN Insider, in which Hollinger has developed an analytical method for evaluating draftees and makes the case that Durant is the best player in the draft. Thus Portland should draft Durant #1. His two big knocks against Oden are the bad wrist he suffered that held down his stats and 7-footers.

Hey, I don't make the rules, I just play by 'em. Seven-footers in the drafts I studied tended to greatly underperform their college stats in the pros.

Oden Durant Portland+Trailblazers Mover Mike

Ashland Earthquake Mover Mike

Do you remember the movie Magdalene Sisters

based on real events that took place in Ireland from the 1960s until 1996 when an estimated 30,000 young women, considered by their families to have committed sexual sins, were sent away from their homes to earn penitence working in profit-making laundries run by the Sisters of Magdalene Order.

O'Beirne's book is an autobiography, and it describes how she was beaten by her father and sexually abused by two boys from the age of 5 before being sent away to an institution. She claims that at the age of 10 she was repeatedly raped by a priest and whipped by nuns. Later she was forced to take drugs in a mental institution.

In the book, O’Beirne says that she suffered abuse during nearly 14 years spent in Magdalene laundries — institutions for 'fallen women' run by religious orders. Mary O’Beirne said: 'Our sister was not in a Magdalene laundry, or Magdalene home; she was in St Anne’s children’s home, Kilmacud, St Loman’s psychiatric hospital, Mountjoy prison and Sherrard House for homeless people. Our parents placed her in St Anne’s for a brief period when she was 11 because of ongoing behavioural difficulties.' She spent six weeks there.

She added that between 1968 and 1970, when O’Beirne claims to have suffered the worst of the abuse, she was in fact staying with them....

'Our sister, to our knowledge, was not raped by two priests, and did not receive an out-of-court settlement for the same. There is not a shred of evidence to support such outlandish claims.'

If it's too bad to be good, it probably isn't!

Maupin Earthquake Mover Mike

Digital Money Forum tells us that 2007 is the 40th anniversary of the ATM. What's the future look like to the inventor, John Shepherd-Baron, the former De La Rue executive credited with inventing the machine?

He "now believes that the ubiquitous ATM will be made redundant within the next three to five years by the demise of paper cash".

He also predicts that we will soon be swiping our mobile phones at till points, even for small transactions, as hard cash is eventually consigned to the dustbin.

Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces have been spotted by British troops crossing the border into southern Iraq, The Sun tabloid reported on Tuesday.

An unidentified intelligence source told the tabloid: "It is an extremely alarming development and raises the stakes considerably. In effect, it means we are in a full on war with Iran -- but nobody has officially declared it."

A heatwave has claimed two lives in Greece and killed six more people in Romania as temperatures soared to 46 degrees Celsius (114.8 Fahrenheit) in parts of southeast Europe.

Greece, which has seen some of the highest temperatures, is set to record its hottest ever June (emphasis added).

Naw, just kidding. That's a wind whipped fire in the Lake Tahoe region..

As of 6:30 a.m., there were 2,500 acres scorched, more than 220 homes destroyed and more than 1,000 families evacuated...

Dr. Nils-Axel Mörner is the head of the Paleogeophysics and Geodynamics department at Stockholm University in Sweden. He is past president (1999-2003) of the INQUA Commission on Sea Level Changes and Coastal Evolution, and leader of the Maldives Sea Level Project. Dr. Mörner has been studying the sea level and its effects on coastal areas for some 35 years.

That ended in 1940, and there had been no rise until 1970

I have been the expert reviewer for the IPCC, both in 2000 and last year. The first time I read it, I was exceptionally surprised. First of all, it had 22 authors, but none of them— none—were sea-level specialists.

Dr. Nils-Axel Mörner Sea Levels Mover Mike

By now you know that OSU won the baseball game yesterday 9-3 and won their second CWS championship in as many years, a feat that few colleges have accomplished.

I watched the game with family celebrating my brother-in-laws 50th birthday. We are all OSU fans and cheered when OSU came back in the second inning with a home run to put the Beavers ahead. We cheered when Carigan, the closer from NCU, came in to pitch in the second inning. We knew they were deep into their pitching rotation. We cheered every time Darwin Barney smiled, or when Erin Andrews came on camera, and we leaped to our feet when NCU was thrown out at home plate.

We cheered for Coach Casey! The difference between Casey and opposing coaches was glaring. Never have I seen so many coaches out coached by Casey and his team of coaches. So much has been written about this Beaver baseball team and the fact that only two players returned from last years Champions; not much about most of the team returning next year. How do you top what we just saw? How about Three-Peat?

Oregon State Beavers College Baseball Mover Mike

Oregon's Most Influential Political blogs is out and I see that my favorite blog, Mover Mike, has slipped to 11th. Fame is so fleeting.

I checked in with #7 - Pacific Views and saw Mary posted about fear, Fear is the Mindkiller. She quotes The Bene Gesserit Littainy against Fear, Pg 19 of Dune by Frank Herbert:

I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.

From this quote about fear Mary makes a leap to the Neocons:

The conservatives generally, evidently including members of the top military brass, seem to be driven by a primitive fear not of attack or physical violence, but of humiliation. (Emphasis added) This is what makes them tick and it's the essence of what's gone wrong since 9/11.

You sense survival is at stake and launch an attack on the snake before it can attack. Sure if you had the option, you'd walk around it.

Oh, I get it. There is humiliation involved. If my buddies were with me I would be humiliated if I let the snake attack me and didn't try to defend myself. Can you imagine them standing around laughing and saying, "You let a little bitty rattlesnake attack and bite you and kill you and didn't lift a finger, What a dip!"

Humiliation is not the first or second thought in my mind when confronted by a snake. My first thoughts are where's my gun and can I shoot the snake before it kills me?

Mary then argues with political science by quoting

It is not power that corrupts but fear.

Much of the left's hatred of George Bush, it seems to me, comes from it's limp-wristed response to an enemy that would wipe us all out by whatever means at its disposal.

Fear Earthquake Mover Mike

map 1.1 2007/06/23 08:48:30 45.558N 122.456W 10.0 2 km ( 1 mi) NW of Fairview, OR

map 1.2 2007/06/22 19:10:29 45.562N 122.420W 1.6 3 km ( 2 mi) NE of Fairview, OR

Fairview, OR Earthquake Mover Mike

Update:

There's an interesting article about China's Three Gorges Dam which has created a 401-square-mile, five trillion gallons of water reservoir.

China's massive Three Gorges Dam project across the Yangtze River will take another two years to complete, but the world's largest dam is already changing the local weather, claim scientists.

The lake effect happens when already moist air picks up more moisture as it crosses over a warm body of water, then rains or snows it out quickly upon reaching the shore.

I wondered about the size of Lake Erie and found that it has a surface area of 9,940 square miles, almost 25 times the size of the Yangtse reservoir. I am more familiar with the size Flathead lake in Montana, having fished there. Flathead covers 191.5 square miles.

...Three Gorges is a great laboratory for studying how well local climate changes caused by very local land-use changes can be detected...

"It’s not totally bad news," (Climate modeler Liguang) Wu (of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and the University of Maryland in College Park) said of the added rain. Some people want the added moisture. On the other hand, as the water was rising in 2003, some areas around the dam saw less rainfall, Wu said.

In all, a whopping 62 square miles of land are expected to see weather effects from the dam, he said. That’s more than ten times the area originally predicted, he said. (emphasis added)

China Three Gorges Dam Mover Mike

Sometimes Snap Shots bring you the information you need, without your having to leave the site, while other times it lets you "look ahead," before deciding if you want to follow a link or not.

Should you decide this is not for you, just click the Options icon in the upper right corner of the Snap Shot and opt-out.

Update:

The News Tribune out of Tacoma carries a story by Craig Hill entitled At the crater’s rim, something ‘mind-bogglingly cool’

Standing on Mount St. Helen’s southern rim, Cynthia Gardner sees much more than a smoldering volcano. Like her colleagues at the U.S. Geological Survey, Gardner sees an enormous gift basket packed with scientific marvels.

She finds the ongoing eruption and burgeoning lava dome fascinating enough, but she sounds almost giddy when she talks about the crater’s glacier.

is the only one in the world with lava extruding through it and forming a dome. And while most glaciers are receding, Crater Glacier is advancing three feet per day and forming a collar around the growing dome.

[...]

The arms, which are as deep as 500 feet in places, are just 400 feet away from colliding on the northern side of the dome. Using a GPS unit placed on the glacier, scientists estimate it’s moving three feet per day and that the arms will meet later this year.

Mt St Helens Global Warming Mover Mike

Update:

From Wikipedia,

The Haditha killings (also called the Haditha massacre) refers to the incident where up to 24 Iraqi noncombatant civilians were allegedly massacred by the United States Marines on November 19, 2005 in Haditha, a city in the western Iraqi province of Al Anbar. Some allege the killings were retribution for the attack on a convoy of United States Marines with an improvised explosive device which killed Lance Corporal Miguel Terrazas.

WaPo:

Witnesses to the slaying of 24 Iraqi civilians by U.S. Marines in the western town of Haditha say the Americans shot men, women and children at close range in retaliation for the death of a Marine lance corporal in a roadside bombing.

...one morning last November, some members of Kilo Company apparently didn't attempt to distinguish between enemies and innocents. Instead, they seem to have gone on the worst rampage by U.S. service members in the Iraq war, killing as many as 24 civilians in cold blood. The details of what happened in Haditha were first disclosed in March by Time's Tim McGirk and Aparisim Ghosh, and their reporting prompted the military to launch an inquiry into the civilian deaths. The darkest suspicions about the killings were confirmed last week...

Enough details have emerged from survivors and military personnel to conclude that in the town of Haditha last November, members of the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment perpetrated a massacre.

is calling the November 19 incident in Haditha “murder”. He claims there is a “cover up.” Over 40 news stories appeared Memorial Day weekend calling Haditha, “an atrocity” or “a massacre.” Murtha says, Haditha “is worse than abu-Ghraib.”

* The initial attack took place at 7:30 a.m. and the insurgent assault went on for some time. A Scan Eagle UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) came on station at about 8:30 a.m. At the time it came on station, it spent a short time on the scene of the IED, then it picked up insurgents fleeing the houses and moving east through the neighborhoods adjacent to the houses. Although the prosecution has made much of the fact that the UAV did not see the initial assault, it is the aftermath that makes the case.

* The insurgents were seen fleeing from Sgt. Frank Wuterich's assault on the houses near the site of the IED explosions. They were followed through town, where they met up with other ambush squads that had also attacked the Marines. They were then followed to their safe house. Air support was called for, and the safehouse was bombed. A squad that was sent in was engaged by insurgents in rooms with machine guns and grenades.

* The squad pulled back because of the insurgents' strong defense, and the house was bombed again. The insurgents were observed fleeing and jumping off the roof of the house into a palm grove, where they were once again bombed. One remaining live insurgent was watched as he went from house to house seeking shelter.

Let me repeat that: All of this action was captured by the remotely controlled UAV.

The media's complicity in covering up the entire day's events was aided by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) which wanted to use the UAV video to prove that the portion of the video dealing with the initial events was being viewed by the battalion officers in the command center, and they were fully aware of the situation on the scene, and attempted to cover it up. (Emphasis added)

[...]

...the NCIS showed only a few minutes of what was filmed and acted as if that was all there was. The media eagerly picked up that fiction and ran with it, and the public was prevented from knowing the full story.

So far, only Roger Hedgecock subbing for Rush Limbaugh, Phil Brennan of NewsMax.com and T.F Sterns of T.F Stern's Rantings have shown any interest in the truth. TF posts:

I was hoping to see John Murtha’s statement, something along the lines of, “Gee, I’m sorry for calling these brave Marines murderers; I spoke out of turn. I should have waited for Reliable witnesses. I should have waited for a court to make a decision as to their guilt or innocence before going public with my politically charged statements.” I guess it will be a while before I read or hear that kind of honesty from John Murtha.

The Tarheels beat the Rice Owls 7-4.

Oregon State Beavers College Baseball Mover Mike

Two big hedge funds at Bear Stearns Cos. were close to being shut down last night as a rescue plan developed over several days fell apart in a drama that could have wide-ranging consequences for Wall Street and investors.

Merrill Lynch & Co., one of the hedge funds' lenders, said it would move to seize collateral -- much of it mortgage-backed debt -- from the two funds and sell it...

A sale would give banks, brokerages and investors the one thing they want to avoid: a real price on the bonds in the fund that could serve as a benchmark. The securities are known as collateralized debt obligations, which exceed $1 trillion and comprise the fastest-growing part of the bond market.

CDOs were created in 1987 by bankers at now-defunct Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc., the home of one-time junk-bond king Michael Milken. Sales reached $503 billion in 2006, a fivefold increase in three years. More than half of those issued last year contained mortgages made to people with poor credit, little loan history, or high debt, according to Moody's Investors Service. (emphasis added)

Hammered by exposure to a risky type of mortgage-backed security, Brookstreet Securities Corp. of Irvine, Calif., yesterday told its 500 or so affiliated reps and advisers that "disaster" had struck, and that the firm could close if it doesn't come up with at least $5 million.

CMO = Collateralized Mortgage-backed Obligations, which are pool of pass-through mortgage bonds tranched to reflect the degree of sensitivity to prepayment (particularly, agency CMO).

ABS = Asset Backed Securities, for example home equity loans (HEL), credit cards, etc. These are securities backed by receivables [payments] that are either secured (HEL) or unsecured (credit card), tranched on the basis of prepayment and default risks.

CDO = Collateralized Debt Obligation, for example, ABS CDO which consist of a portfolio of different ABS bonds, and the payments to the holders of these trust certificates are derived from the cash flows of the ABS bonds.

CMOs CDOs Asset Backed Securities Mover Mike

map 1.7 2007/06/20 23:29:26 42.106N 120.244W 2.6 13 km ( 8 mi) SE of Lakeview, OR

the prize-winning war correspondent for the magazine since 2003 and author of the 2005 book "The Assassins' Gate: America in Iraq," gave $750 to the Democratic National Committee in August 2004, and $250 in July 2005 to Iraq War veteran Paul Hackett, a Democrat who campaigned against the war and for a seat in Congress in Ohio.

"Journalists don't give up their rights as citizens. They can and should vote; they can and should support candidates," Packer said in an e-mail.

"My readers know my views on politics and politicians because I make no secret of them in my comments for The New Yorker and elsewhere. If giving money to a politician prejudiced my ability to think and write honestly, I wouldn't do it. Fortunately, it doesn't."

My problem with this attitude and the other that says, I'm a jounalist, you can count on my fairness, is that both are wrong! The first because if you contribute to one side you now have an interest in the outcome going your way and you won't even recognize how you will influence the outcome in your favor.

As for the second, we all selectively pick out information that supports our view. There's the example of buyer justification. You buy a Chevrolet. When you get into the seat and drive away, you automatically wonder, "Did I make the right decision?" As you drive your baby home, you pick out all the other Chevies on the road that are like your car. "Why, they're everywhere! All those people must not be wrong."

Instead of a journalist trying to appear neutral, I want the him/her to tell me upfront, "I'm a Democrat, I'm a Republican, I'm a Libertarian." I gave to the Kerry campaign. I support PETA. I support Moveon.org! Then let me judge your news and opinions in that light. Enough with the MSM critisizing FOX for the conservative network. They are all biased.

Note: the writer of Mover Mike is a registered Republican, voted twice for Bush and supported Swift Boat Veterans. Believes human caused global warming is arrogant thinking, is anti-ethanol, and anti-abortion, but pro-adoption. Pro hetero-sexuality. Believes both parties want bigger government so leans libertarian. Supports Ron Paul!

Favors boxers over tighty whities. Judge me accordingly.

Journalists Campaign Contributions Mover Mike

For more on the subject of Bias in the newsroom:

OSU pounded out 7 runs on 11 hits and held UC_Irvine to one run. Final score OSU 7, UC Irvine 1 (Final)

Oregon State Beavers College Baseball Mover Mike

Maupin Earthquake Mover Mike

1. The era of cheap labour is at an end.

Wages in China are rising steadily: last year, average wage increase in China was of the order of 18%. Simultaneously, says Ulrich, a labour shortage is becoming manifest.

2. Productivity growth is driving corporate profits. Chinese profits have been rising at over 30% a year.

That’s been possible because of huge gains in labour productivity, driven by the continuing introduction and diffusion of technology, and the better-educated workforce as education levels increase.

By 2020, China’s outbound investment will be of the order of $800 billion.

[...]

This flood of investment, says Ulrich, will have “a major impact on world markets and valuations of companies as China goes on a shopping spree.”

Previously, banks were the only game in town when it came to fund-raising

6. An effort to reverse environmental degradation.

China’s water, air, soil and land all face huge pollution problems, but the government is moving to reverse the degradation.

From the USGS,

The intrusion of magma that was signaled by a swarm of earthquakes and rift zone widening over the last two days has finally made it to the surface. Early this morning, HVO scientists confirmed that a small outbreak of lava had oozed from a 250 m long fissure in the forest northeast of Kane Nui o Hamo, approximately 6 km west of Pu‘u ‘O‘o and 13 km southeast of Kîlauea summit. In addition, steam was issuing profusely from a spot high on the north flank of Kane Nui o Hamo. This event will be called Episode 56 of the ongoing eruption.

After trailing by four runs in the eighth inning, UC Irvine defeated Arizona State 8-7 in 10 innings tonight, their second extra-inning game in as many days after their 5-hour, 40-minute, 13-inning marathon win against Cal State Fullerton on Monday.

[...]

The Beavers enter tomorrow's game with wins over Cal State Fullerton and Arizona State and no losses. The Anteaters, a 5-4 loser to the Sun Devils in their first game of the CWS last Saturday, would have to defeat the Beavers twice to advance.

Oregon State Beavers College Baseball Mover Mike

Oregon State Beavers College Baseball Mover Mike

Though much attention is focused on the notorious abuses of earmarking, and there are plenty of examples, in fact even if all earmarks were eliminated we would not necessarily save a single penny in the federal budget. Because earmarks are funded from spending levels that have been determined before a single earmark is agreed to, with or without earmarks the spending levels remain the same.

[...]

Without taking a serious look at the actual total spending in these appropriations bills, we will miss the real threat to our economic security. Failed government agencies like FEMA will still get tens of billions of dollars to mismanage when the next disaster strikes. Corrupt foreign governments will still be lavishly funded with dollars taken from working Americans to prop up their regimes. The United Nations will still receive its generous annual tribute taken from the American taxpayer. Americans will still be forced to pay for elaborate military bases to protect borders overseas while our own borders remain porous and unguarded. These are the real issues we must address when we look at reforming our yearly spending extravaganza called the appropriations season.

Ron Paul Earmarks Mover Mike

I argued that the companies earnings and balance sheet and prospects were more important, than there social stands. For a while it attracted money and returns were acceptable. Now I read that less money is directed to this area and returns aren't as good as they used to be. An investor would have missed some great returns in the cigarette and war industries.

Now from the SacBee I read CalPERS to ease up on social activist role.

The nation's largest public pension fund is poised to scrap a pioneering strategy that for years banned investments in some of the world's most politically charged countries -- a move that would soften its image as a social activist investor.

CalPERS has passed up enormous market run-ups in fast-growing countries such as China even as its peers across the country have benefited and its $5 billion emerging market portfolio has lagged industry benchmarks.

Critics say the restrictions have put handcuffs on CalPERS money managers trying to take advantage of the enormous growth in emerging market nations.

socially responsible investing China Mover Mike

The team that that is 2-0 has won the championship 15 out of 17 times!

Oregon State Beavers College Baseball Mover Mike

Update:

Larry Price, the founder of Cars for Kids, said he has been staging this event for 18 years in Selmer, and they always do burnouts at the end of the parade. There had been no accidents in the past, he said. (Emphasis added)

Kilauea Earthquake Mover Mike

My 86 year old father is the poet in the family. He's been writing poetry since before I was born. I have been told I take after my father in that regard. We had dinner with Dad Saturday night and when we exchanged cards, I found a poem from him in my card. I don't recall a poem about his son in all his poems. It took 63 years to read his thoughts about me:

There once was a little boy,

Who was my greatest Joy.

But now he is a grown man,
And I'm his greatest fan.

He's made his place in life-
Obtained a wonderful wife.

He is a father of two beautiful girls,
Two grandchildren, who are pearls,

My Son has made me proud,
He really stands out in a crowd.

When from this life I have passed,
I feel my legacy will last.

Bless you son, for being you-
Someday, you will leave great memories too.

Your Loving Father, (Francis Landfair)

Fathers' Day Mover Mike.

About 70 shallow earthquakes in 2 hours occurred beneath the upper east rift zone of Kīlauea early this morning. The swarm began at 2:15 a.m. on Sunday, June 17 and is ongoing. Some quakes are in the mid 3's magnitudes. The earthquakes are centered 1 km (1 mile) southwest of Mauna Ulu and are concentrated between 1.5 and 3 kilometers (1-2 miles) deep. As of 4:30 a.m., ten of the quakes had magnitudes greater than 3 and were felt by nearby residents.

All data so far is consistent with the event being a shallow intrusion of magma. The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory is watching the situation closely and has deployed field crews to the scene.

Hawaii Earthquake Mover Mike

Update:

Craters of the Moon is located on the eastern portion of the Snake River Plain, which is a 50- to 100-kilometer-wide (30- to 60-mile-wide) topographic low in southern Idaho that extends some 360 kilometers (600 miles) from Oregon to the Yellowstone Plateau in northwestern Wyoming.

The younger, eastern portion of the Snake River Plain is composed of an estimated 8,000 shield volcanoes, each of which erupted about 5 to 21 cubic kilometers (1.2 to 5 cubic miles) of lava. These are very small volcanoes compared to those found here in Hawaii. For example, Kilauea, in its current eruption, has already spit out about 3.1 cubic km (0.7 cubic miles) of lava since 1983--a minuscule amount compared to its total volume.

Like Hawaii, volcanism on the Snake River Plain is related to a "hotspot" — a place where excess heat rises from the earth's mantle to melt the overlying crustal rocks. In this case, the hot spot in question is now beneath Yellowstone. The eastward progression of the Yellowstone hot spot across Idaho is traced by the Snake River Plain.

The Snake River Plain also happens to sit in the middle of what is called the Basin and Range Province, where extensional forces are slowly tearing the North American continent apart. It is thought that crustal decompression, related to this extension, allows partially melted rocks — left over from when Yellowstone passed by — to erupt at the surface.

Freshman right-hander Jorge Reyes took a one run game through the sixth inning and Oregon State survived a ninth inning jam to defeat Cal State Fullerton 3-2 in the opening round on Saturday in front of the largest crowd in College World Series history.

Next up: Oregon State (45-18) vs. Arizona State (47-13), Monday June 18th, 4 p.m. on ESPN 2. The Sun Devils defeated UC Irvine 5-4 in their first game of the CWS

Gasoline Cost of Gasoline Mover Mike

Joe: What did the earthquake say to the judge when it was in court for destroying a city?
Bo: What?
Joe: “It was all my fault!”

-- Submitted by Brian R., St. Charles, Ill.

You may agree or disagree with the law, and there are legislators on the national level working on immigration legislation reform, but we are a nation of laws and many of us have argued that we wouldn't be in this situation, with upwards of 12 million illegals in this country, if the laws on the books were enforced. It, also, makes no sense to have one set of laws for corporations and another for state government. That is why

House Republicans today sought an immediate vote on legislation to prohibit the state government and its contractors from hiring illegal immigrants.

Rep. Linda Flores (R- Clackamas)said the Department of Administrative Services admits that Oregon does not match a job applicant's name with the Social Security Administration, and they fail to verify that the drivers' license submitted through the I-9 process matches the name of the person on file at the DMV.

HB 2681 Illegal Aliens Mover Mike

Today marks the end of my first year driving a school bus for Portland school district. Here are several first year milestones: No accidents for a year! No one threw up on my bus. I can drive a bus in snow and go up the narrowest streets.

This year I was leaving Beach School. My normal route is to take a left, go one block and turn right on Alberta. Well, my left turn was blocked by a garbage truck that looked like it was going to be there for a while, so I decided to reroute a block and then make my left. Unfortunately, there are no more lefts to Alberta, there's just Interstate Avenue and it's a right only. Traffic was terrible that time of morning, I inched onto Interstate and then took the first right. That right deadended at the school and my only option was another right. Now I'm forced to drive up a street with cars parked on both sides to get back to where I started. The cars are so close that my mirrors almost touch on both sides. I need to keep the bus steady and straight and avoid tail swing. I am sweating after I make it through.

Snow was fun. There were a few snow flakes falling in the morning and the schools thought it better to keep the kids home. Well, the snow stopped and parents ridiculed them. They were also angry having to find day care. The next time it snowed hard. The schools didn't want to make the same mistake, so schools were ordered to stay open. I was driving through the snow with my chains on, doing just fine. I got to my first stop and heard over our radio that schools were closed. Now parents had to scramble once again. No one was happy that day.

My kids were mostly K through 5th on one run and 1st through 8th on the second run in the morning. I enjoyed the younger kids. Some choked me up. One boy got on in the morning crying. He said his mother was going to the vet this morning to put their cat down.

I asked a little girl what she was doing this particular weekend. She said she was going to her mom's wedding. "Did she like her Mom's boyfriend?" I asked. "He's ok!" I asked if she saw her dad. No he's in prison was her reply.

One girl would get on the bus each morning smelling strongly of cigarettes. The kids only called her on it one morning. She lives with her grandmother. She was taken away from her mother several years ago. Now her mother lives separately and has a new baby.

My kids were mostly Hispanic and Black and probably lower income. I tried out my small knowledge of Spanish on them and they seemed surprised that I could speak some. I wondered from time to time how many were here legally. Many of their parents spoke little English. The papers say that after the raids by ICE on the Del Monte plant, many Hispanic families "holed-up", waiting for the Feds to go away. I didn't notice any drop in students riding the bus.

Sometimes I was surprised at how old the kids acted for their age. I told one 2nd grader that she acted like she was 12. "Why do you say that", she asked? Well, I said, you have a large vocabulary. We pronounced the word and used it in a sentence. "Not only do you have a large vocabulary," I said, but you have a prodigeous vocabulary." We pronounced that word twice and used it in a sentence. That night she probably said, "Hey Mom, guess what word the bus driver taught me today?"

Some twelve year old girls shocked me with their language, throwing around the "F" word, their aggresive anti-social behavior and their loss of childhood.

One girl made me cringe when she would ride. She was so loud. One day while waiting for a light. She complained that it was taking forever. "Why don't you just run the light", she said? I mispronounced her name one day and when she corrected me I said I was sorry. "You sure are," she spat. Twelve!

Some kids seem to be able to say things to their peers that I never would have voiced. One boy said to another, "I've noticed that you will be playing with a boy and I'll come by with a friend and you will ditch your friend and take away my friend. That hurts my feelings!"

Most of the older kids can't sing, but think they can. They listen to their I-pods and sing to the songs. You see these same misguided souls trying out for Americam Idol. I don't know if they ever have quiet time. They think it strange that I don't turn on the bus radio for music, even when I'm by myself.

Discipline has been a problem lately. I tried to be a friend to the kids and would rarely write a kid up for bad behavior on the bus, preferring to take them aside and talk with them or have the teacher who meets the bus talk with them. Other bus drivers shook their heads over the number of referrals they wrote. Toward the end, those drivers had succeeded in getting many kids kicked off their bus, but the kids hated them. My system hasn't worked with the kids as well as I liked. Oh sure, most kids like me, but I still have to tell several kids in particular to sit down or keep your hands to your self. I wrote two kids up for disruptive behavior and being a distraction to me as I drove. They just said, "Go ahead write us up. Nothing will happen!" And they were right.

Those two kids were intelligent and good kids in the first six months, but then developed an attitude of entitlement. One example, I dropped them off in the evening at their school. They would get off and walk in the same direction as I would go for two blocks. One day it was just pouring and I offered to drop them off two blocks closer to their house where I made my turn. Then on nice days they demanded I drop them off those two blocks closer, even refusing to get off the bus. Another time, I offered to buy ice cream for the same two kids plus another. I gave them $5 for ice cream for the four of us. Because one bought a $2 ice cream, there wasn't enough money for the four just three. I was pissed and they offered no apology.

When a teacher got on the bus before a field trip and said, "One of you whipped it out in the classroom and peed on the floor," I knew we're in trouble.

Speaking of teachers, I don't know about their classroom expertise, but at my schools, they are some of the worst dressers and not business casual, but down right slovenly. They get paid pretty well, don't they?

I was pretty down after finishing my run yesterday. I felt that I had failed getting the kids to mind. They don't realize how distracting some of their behavior can be. Just as I start across a busy intersection, to catch a glimpse of a kid walking in the aisle or to have someone scream at some critical moment, is as shocking as hitting your crazy bone. I am not bothered by general loudness. I had a group of grade school girls on the bus early in my career. They decided to have a screaming contest. They were so loud that my right ear was ringing. I looked at them in the rearview mirror and said, "Is that the best you can do?" They never tried it again.

The kids don't understand how badly they could get hurt, if I had to stop real fast or if we had an accident.

I was also down because I found this letter on my bus:

Dear ______

I will always remember my best friends that I hanged out with in elamantry. When I grow up I want to be famoas for I can have a lot of money. I want to go to Oregon State University chollage first. I want to play in a chollage basketball team and try to get Drafted into the NBA. I will remember the elamantry because the 5th grade was the funnest year of school ever.

School Bus Driver Portland, OR Mover Mike

Maupin resident Kathleen Eckman says she was sitting at her desk, writing a note to one of her daughters on the computer Thursday afternoon, when the hutch it sits on "gave a little bitty rockin' bounce," with a small noise.

Big deal? Well, sort of.

Eckman apparently was among those in the Wasco County town of 500 along the Deschutes River to feel an earthquake that shook the area around 2:58 p.m., measuring 3.9 on the Richter scale, according to the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network.

map 2.0 2007/06/15 05:55:10 45.074N 122.772W 22.1 2 km ( 1 mi) ENE of Mount Angel, OR

Maupin Mt. Angel Earthquake Mover Mike

This is the first quake in some time that is outside the area bounded by Bakeoven Creek and Deep Creek. Unless the magnitude is revised this is the largest quake in the Maupin area since the two in 1976:

4.2 4/17/76 2:11 AM 9 SSW Kent, OR
4.5 4/13/76 12:47 AM 4 WNW Kent, OR

Maupin Earthquake Mover Mike

Update:

The quake caused no injuries or damage, according to Wasco County Sheriff's Office emergency manager Mike Davidson.

The seismic event was the largest of the dozens of quakes that have struck at the same remote location since December. Instruments have detected about a half-dozen earthquakes on the unidentified fault this month.

lakeview Earthquake Mover Mike

map 1.6 2007/06/13 11:01:40 45.290N 122.663W 36.3 3 km ( 2 mi) NE of Canby, OR

Americans want universal education, just as they want universally safe food. But nobody believes that the government should run nearly all of the restaurants, farms and supermarkets. Why should it run the vast majority of the schools - particularly when it gets terrible

Consider Washington, home of the nation's most devoted government-lovers and, ironically, the city with arguably the worst public schools in the country. Out of the 100 largest school districts, according to the Washington Post, D.C. ranks third in spending for each pupil ($12,979) but last in spending on instruction.

Jonah Goldberg Education Mover Mike

The Oregonian reports

Oregon State University's O.H. Hinsdale Wave Research Laboratory's Tsunami Wave Basin is re-creating a few blocks of Seaside so researchers can repeatedly slam tidal waves into it. And officials of the Oregon coast town are thrilled. The $1 million study could help save lives. (emphasis added)

"experts say, there's a 14 percent or greater chance that it could occur in the next 50 years. Such a tsunami would take about 15 to 20 minutes to hit the Oregon coast, according to the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries."

I am not sure I know why the city of Seaside is thrilled.

Seaside, Oregon Earthquake Mover Mike

BankNet360 imagines a letter from Brad A. Morrice, Founder of New Century Financial Corp. (bankrupt):

Dear BankNet360 Readers,

Hi, my name is Brad Morrice and I’ve just bailed out of my sinking ship, the SS New Century Financial.

But don’t feel bad for me; I’ll be doing just fine. I may have bankrupt the company, treated mortgage underwriting like a bad cold, and helped cause more layoffs than a recession, but I should still bank about $25 million. To the creditors I say, “nanee-nanee billy goat.”

Regrets? Sure, I’ve got some. I should have cashed in more of my options when NEW stock was on a rocket ship fueled by option ARMs and I.O. loans from heaven. Ah, those were the days, when loans just fell from the sky – and into the laps of subprime borrowers who can more easily discern Brittney from J-Lo than understand all the conditions of their upcoming loan repricings.

You know, I wonder also how I can walk away from New Century with so much dough. This Chief Restructuring Officer, Holly Etlin, I don’t know what planet she is from, but she can come over to my palace, er, place, anytime.

Oh, look at the time. That money’s going to hit my account any moment now, and I’ve got shopping to do. Well, my regards to the subprime mortgage industry. All you Wall Street guys – hope you can handle the risk.

Sincerely yours,

Brad A. Morrice

Founder (ret.)

New Century Financial Corp. (bankrupt)

map 2.5 2007/06/11 23:52:50 45.345N 117.070W 8.1 12 km ( 8 mi) E of Joseph, OR

St. Paul, Oregon Joseph, Oregon Earthquake Mover Mike

A federal raid on a large North Portland food processing plant (Del Monte) Tuesday ended in the arrests of 167 workers, intensifying Oregon's immigration debate, tearing apart families, unnerving employers and sparking new calls for U.S. leaders to rewrite the nation's immigration laws.

An estimated 160 federal agents swept into Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. and the firm that supplied its workers, American Staffing Resources, arresting three managers and locking up most of the arrested workers in a federal detention facility, where they face possible deportation.

Today's Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid on a St Johns Del Monte plan in St Johns is causing quiet a stir. We did a story in Sept of 2006 about the harassment and horrible working conditions at the plant. Earlier this year the Willamette Week did a cover story on the conditions as well. Now it looks like the company and workers are caught in an 'Immigre' raid.

I'm surprised that we have factories here that hire illegal aliens. I thought it was just a problem in other states or in the fields. The WW article says:

One laborer, a man in his 20s, tells me he has worked at Del Monte for three years. He says he earns about $600 every two weeks and that he and his wife, who works as a waitress, send $500 back to Mexico every 15 days. He, too, volunteers that he doesn't have papeles. Indeed, four years ago he came to the United States by walking across the desert with a coyote, a paid guide, he says. Once inside the country he rode in a van to Los Angeles, where his family paid $1,000 to the coyote, who then allowed the man's release.

There must be a solution to this immigration problem, but I don't see it with pay and jobs such a powerful magnet.

Del Monte Illegal Aliens Mover Mike

MAP 3.4 2007/06/13 00:34:54 37.538 -118.864 9.5 15 km ( 9 mi) SE of Mammoth Lakes, CA

MAP 3.5 2007/06/12 15:11:10 37.553 -118.876 7.6 13 km ( 8 mi) SE of Mammoth Lakes, CA

MAP 3.0 2007/06/12 12:33:06 37.546 -118.874 10.1 14 km ( 9 mi) SE of Mammoth Lakes, CA

MAP 3.0 2007/06/12 08:14:50 37.547 -118.867 8.0 14 km ( 9 mi) SE of Mammoth Lakes, CA

MAP 3.0 2007/06/12 08:11:16 37.546 -118.874 9.0 14 km ( 9 mi) SE of Mammoth Lakes, CA

MAP 3.2 2007/06/12 07:33:36 37.541 -118.866 9.1 15 km ( 9 mi) SE of Mammoth Lakes, CA

MAP 4.6 2007/06/12 07:23:43 37.539 -118.876 14.2 14 km ( 9 mi) SE of Mammoth Lakes, CA

MAP 3.6 2007/06/12 07:22:36 37.542 -118.868 9.9 14 km ( 9 mi) SE of Mammoth Lakes, CA

At 7:22:36 this AM two quakes hit the area measuring 3.6 and 4.6. Those two were followed later this morning by four five more 3.0+ and a total of 75 84 quakes.

This is a highly active volcanic area in or near the Long Valley Caldera.

The area experiences swarms from time to time, leading some to predict another lava outpouring. This is the first major swarm in several years.

Mammoth Lakes, CA Earthquake Long Valley Caldera Mover Mike

Update:

The Early Warning Report cautioned us that a draft may be coming. Here's The First Post:

The US is considering introducing a limited military draft if it is to keep its present force levels in Iraq and Afghanistan, Pentagon advisers have warned British colleagues. Next month, US forces in Iraq will peak at around 170,000, and GIs in the new units are being told they could be on operations for at least 15 months.

Defending national champion Oregon State earned its third straight trip to the College World Series with a convincing 8-2 win over Michigan.

Mike Stutes tossed 8+ strong innings, and the Beavers' patience at the plate led to a 8-2 win and a 2-0 sweep of Michigan in the super regional.

Oregon State Beavers College Baseball Mover Mike

The (Office of Thrift Supervision) OTS contends that AIG subsidiary Wilmington Finance Inc. underwrote loans from July 2003 to May 2006 that inadequately considered borrowers’ abilities to repay. Some were adjustable-rate mortgages with low "teaser" rates, others included large broker or lender fees.

Go Beavs!

Oregon State Beavers College Baseball Mover Mike

Geologists discover origin of iconic spires writes that scientists say Gray Butte and Grizzly Peak in Central Oregon were created when a caldera exploded.

There's the spires of Smith Rock at the edge of juniper-covered hills, with Gray Butte and more hills behind. Straight ahead is Powell Buttes, and off in the distance, east of Prineville, a pointed butte is outlined against the sky.

[...]

They are all part of one large, ancient volcano that exploded 29 million years ago, collapsing in on itself and spewing ash for miles

Central Oregon Volcano Mover Mike

Update:

The top six are

BlogNetNews.com Oregon's Most Influential Political blogs Mover Mike

This quake is still within the boundaries of Bakeoven Creek to the north and Deep Creek to the west.

Maupin Earthquake