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Iceland teeters on the brink of bankruptcy
REYKJAVIK, Iceland - This volcanic island near the Arctic Circle is on the brink of becoming the first "national bankruptcy" of the global financial meltdown.
Home to just 320,000 people on a territory the size of Kentucky, Iceland has formidable international reach because of an outsized banking sector that set out with Viking confidence to conquer swaths of the British economy — from fashion retailers to top soccer teams.
The strategy gave Icelanders one of the world's highest per capita incomes. But now they are watching helplessly as their economy implodes — their currency losing almost half its value, and their heavily exposed banks collapsing under the weight of debts incurred by lending in the boom times.
"Everything is closed. We couldn't sell our stock or take money from the bank," said Johann Sigurdsson as he left a branch of Landsbanki in downtown Reykjavik.
The government had earlier announced it had nationalized the bank under emergency laws enacted to deal with the crisis.
"We have been forced to take decisive action to save the country," Prime Minister Geir H. Haarde said of those sweeping new powers that allow the government to take over companies, limit the authority of boards, and call shareholder meetings.
A full-blown collapse of Iceland's financial system would send shock waves across Europe, given the heavy investment by Icelandic banks and companies across the continent.
One of Iceland's biggest companies, retailing investment group Baugur, owns or has stakes in dozens of major European retailers — including enough to make it the largest private company in Britain, where it owns a handful of stores such as the famous toy store Hamley's.
story continued at the link REYKJAVIK, Iceland - This volcanic island near the Arctic Circle is on the brink of becoming the first "national bankruptcy"... more -
Dog calls 911 after owner has seizure - Wonderful World- msnbc.com
"Man's best friend" doesn't go far enough for Buddy — a German shepherd who remembered his training and saved his owner's life by calling 911 when the man had a seizure. "Man's best friend" doesn't go far enough for Buddy — a German shepherd who remembered his training and saved his ... more
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Dial '999' for Bunny
[999 the UK equivalent to North America's 911]
A woman dialled 999 because a rabbit she bought via a newspaper advert did not have floppy ears, Central Scotland Police have said.
The force is urging the public not to dial 999 unless they are faced with a genuine emergency.
The reminder comes after operators, who receive 34,000 999 calls a year, said the number was being dialled for "wholly inappropriate reasons".
One call was from a woman splashed by a car which drove through a puddle.
The force said staff were verbally abused after challenging her for using the emergency line for her complaint.
Another man dialled 999 to ask call centre staff for the postcode to Grangemouth police station.
Ch Insp Alan Stewart, of the force communications and control centre, said people who disregarded advice only to use the number in an emergency were putting lives at risk. [999 the UK equivalent to North America's 911] ... more -
Dog dials 911 when owner has seizure
"Man's best friend" may not cut it for a Scottsdale dog named Buddy — a trained German shepherd who saved his owner's life by dialing 911 when he began having a seizure, police said Sunday
On the recorded 911 call Wednesday, Buddy is heard whimpering and barking after the somewhat confused dispatcher answers the phone and repeatedly asks if the caller needs help.
"Hello, this is 911. Hello ... Can you hear me? Is there somebody there you can give the phone to," says the dispatcher, Chris Scott.
Buddy barks loudly when police arrive about three minutes after the call is placed. An officer asks Buddy's owner, Joe Stalnaker, if he's OK. Stalnaker coughs, and the call ends.
Scottsdale police Sgt. Mark Clark said Stalnaker spent two days in the hospital following the seizure and has recovered.
"It's pretty incredible," Clark said. "Even the veteran dispatchers — they haven't heard of anything like this."
Clark said police are dispatched whenever 911 is called, but that Stalnaker's address was flagged in Scottsdale's system with the fact that an assistance dog dials 911 when the owner cannot.
He said Buddy made two other 911 calls when Stalnaker was having seizures, the first last August.
He said Stalnaker's seizures are the result of a head injury he sustained about 10 years ago during a training exercise in the U.S. military.
Stalnaker was not listed in the phone book, and a request with police to interview him was not immediately answered.
Clark said Stalnaker adopted Buddy when he was 8 weeks old and trained him to get the phone if he began to have seizure symptoms. Buddy, now 18 months old, also is trained to press programmed buttons until a 911 operator is on the line, Clark said.
He said Stalnaker got Buddy through Michigan-based Paws with a Cause, which trains assistance dogs nationwide for people with disabilities. "Man's best friend" may not cut it for a Scottsdale dog named Buddy — a trained German shepherd who saved his owner... more -
911ICE: A social network for the sick and wounded
In 2005, British paramedic Bob Brotchie launched an initiative to encourage people to put emergency contact information in their mobile phone address books, under the name "ICE," which stands for "In Case of Emergency." He hoped that when emergency workers reached a person who had become incapacitated, they would learn to look up the ICE number on the phone to connect to a person who could speak for the one in need.
The program has succeeded in the U.K. and Australia, and is gaining some traction in the U.S., Brotchie says. He was at the TechCrunc50 event this week pushing the ICE program's evolution: An online "waiting room" at 911ICE.org, where people who care about a sick or injured person can gather, communicate, and possibly learn how to help.
Brotchie is hoping that rather than programming in just one emergency contact, people will program in multiple emergency contacts into an online service. The ICE number that each phone has could be used to call up a service that does several things, starting with reading back medical alerts to the caller (or sending them as SMS). Then it will be able to contact the people on the emergency list, and connect at least one of the them to the caregiver. The ICE service could also, Brotchie envisions, contact all the people on the list, tell them what's going on, and invite them into a "virtual waiting room" where they can keep up to date on what's going on with the phone's owner.
The business model is "still under development," Brotchie told me, but this is still a good idea, from a person who has a bead on how families communicate in personal disasters, and on how the functionality of a mobile phone can be used as a form of electronic life buoy. Very clever. In 2005, British paramedic Bob Brotchie launched an initiative to encourage people to put emergency contact information in their mobil... more -
Bush Extends 9/11 National Emergency Yet Again by Peter Dale Scott
by Peter Dale Scott
Global Research, September 4, 2008
Though few Americans realize it, Cheney and Rumsfeld worked through the 1980s and 1990s on emergency nuclear-response plans which allegedly suspended the American constitution and also Congress.[1] (Through these decades Rumsfeld was CEO of a major pharmaceutical firm, and in the later 1990s Cheney was CEO of Halliburton; but their private status did not deter them from continuing to exercise a supra-constitutional planning power conferred on them by Ronald Reagan.)
Even fewer Americans know that these rules, originally dealing with a nuclear attack on America, were extended by Reagan Executive Order 12656 to cover “any occurrence, including natural disaster, military attack, technological emergency, or other emergency, that seriously degrades or seriously threatens the national security of the United States.”[2] And few Americans realize that at least some of these rules, known technically as Continuity of Government or COG rules, were invoked before 10:00 AM on September 11, 2001.[3]
As he did in 2007, President Bush has again, on August 28, 2008, continued for another year the national emergency first officially proclaimed on September 14, 2001, along with “the powers and authorities adopted to deal with that emergency:”
[...]
see also:
http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2007/10/19/the-real...
http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2007/08/12/bush-dec...
http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2008/03/15/national... by Peter Dale Scott Global Research, September 4, 2008 ... more -
Haiti facing storm 'catastrophe'
Haiti faces a "catastrophe" after being hit by a series of storms in recent weeks, President Rene Preval has said.
Three storms in less than 21 days have killed 170 people and forced thousands to flee their homes in the Caribbean nation, officials say.
The latest, Tropical Storm Hanna, could prove even more deadly than one that killed more than 3,000 people in 2004, Mr Preval warned.
Hanna is now approaching the Bahamas, where storm warnings have been issued.
At 0030 GMT on Thursday, Hanna was about 355 miles (575km) south-east of Nassau and moving north-west, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) says.
Separately, storm Ike has strengthened rapidly into an extremely powerful Category Four hurricane in the open Atlantic, the NHC says.
See a map of Atlantic storms
However, it says it is too early to determine if Ike poses any threat to land.
'No water, no food'
"It is believed that compared to Jeanne, Hanna could cause even more damage," Mr Preval said.
The Haitian leader was referring to the deadly Tropical Storm Jeanne which hit the country in 2004.
Mr Preval said he would hold emergency talks with donor countries to appeal for aid.
Haitian officials say that Hanna has left at least 61 people dead when it struck on Tuesday, but there are fears that the death toll will rise further.
The northern city of Gonaives bore the brunt of Hanna's maximum sustained winds of 100km/h (65mph), with people on roof-tops screaming for help as floods reached depths of 2m (6.5ft).
"There are a lot of people who have been on top of the roofs of their homes over 24 hours now. They have no water, no food and we can't even help them," Haitian Interior Minister Paul Antoine Bien-Aime told Reuters news agency.
UN peacekeepers and aid workers have been trying to reach stranded survivors.
"The situation is as bad as it can be," the UN's Vadre Louis told the Associated Press news agency.
"The wind is ripping up trees. Houses are flooded with water. Cars can't drive on the street. You can't rescue anyone, wherever they may be."
The impoverished Caribbean island was first drenched by Tropical Storm Fay, before Hurricane Gustav wreaked havoc last week, with torrential rainfall over heavily deforested and hilly terrain causing floods and mudslides.
^^^^^^^^^^^^
I can't imagine how the people of Haiti are surviving. This is beyond all human comprehension. I do know that Haiti needs help, and that this is more important than any bogus political campaign speech. Haiti faces a "catastrophe" after being hit by a series of storms in recent weeks, President Rene Preval has said. ... more -
Trio of storms stirs up Atlantic
Tropical Storm Hanna, the first of three tropical storms lined up across the Atlantic, was expected to make landfall somewhere from Florida to North Carolina before Friday evening, forecasters said.
Hanna could come ashore as a Category 1 storm, with winds of 80 to 85 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist declared a state of emergency Tuesday to get the state ready for Hanna, The Associated Press reported. Floridians could expect flash floods and wind gusts of up to 111 mph, he said.
At 2 p.m. ET, Hanna was just southeast of Great Inagua Island in the Bahamas, the hurricane center said. It was expected to strengthen and move to toward the northwest late Tuesday or early Wednesday.
Hanna's maximum sustained winds were 70 mph (110 kph).
Following Hanna is Tropical Storm Ike, which formed Monday, and is forecast to cross into the Caribbean as a hurricane on Saturday or Sunday.
Tropical Storm Josephine formed Tuesday near the West African coast and is heading west but is not forecast at this time to make landfall.
Hanna has caused severe flooding in Haiti's port city of Gonaives, and rescue efforts have been hampered because of flooded bridges and roads, some of which had already been washed out by Hurricane Gustav last week, a local official said.
Authorities said the storm killed 10 people in Haiti, The Associated Press reported.
Two university students were swept away by flowing water in Puerto Rico, and at least one of them was killed, according to AP.
As Hanna moves across the Bahamas, Tropical Storm Ike heads toward the Caribbean at 18 mph with top wind speeds of 60 mph, the hurricane center said at 11 a.m. ET.
Ike is forecast to strengthen into a hurricane Tuesday and could strike the Turks and Caicos islands just south of the Bahamas by Sunday.
Behind Ike is Tropical Storm Josephine, which formed Tuesday with top winds near 40 mph, the hurricane center said at 11 a.m. ET. Josephine is about 125 miles (201 kilometers) south-southwest of the southernmost Cape Verde Islands off the coast of western Africa.
It is moving westward near 15 mph and is expected to be near hurricane strength on Wednesday or Thursday -- although the storm will still be far from landfall.
The center's five-day forecast shows the storm still in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean by Sunday. Tropical Storm Hanna, the first of three tropical storms lined up across the Atlantic, was expected to make landfall somewhere from Fl... more -
Thailand Declares State of Emergency
Thailand declared a state of emergency early today after one person was killed in political clashes between protesters demanding the resignation of the prime minister, Samak Sundaravej, and his supporters.
Samak empowered the army to restore order on the streets of Bangkok following the fighting, the worst violence seen since the anti-government campaign began in May.
The dramatic turn came after 400 troops in riot gear were deployed to separate the mobs brandishing clubs and sticks as they fought a brief pitched battle on the broad avenue that runs outside the regional headquarters of the United Nations.
A number of shots were fired by several of the protesters armed with pistols in an escalation in the scale of the violence.
In the swirling turmoil of Thai politics, the prime minister was also faced with the prospect of his eight-month old coalition being dissolved after the Election Commission recommended today that the supreme court disband his ruling People Power party for electoral fraud. However, the decision will take months to play out.
Earlier Samak declared the emergency rule in morning broadcasts branding it the "softest means possible", though he gave no timescale except to say that it would be over relatively quickly.
In the televised news conference Samak said that he had hoped to avoid emergency rule, but the rising violence that left one dead and 34 injured - two from gunshot wounds - had forced his hand.
"No one has the right to do such a thing as they have done," he said. "I had no other choice but to declare a state of emergency in Bangkok in order to solve the problem once and or all."
Samak gave the army's commander in chief, Anupong Paojinda, sole responsibility for enforcing the emergency rule in the capital, saying troops would assist the police in maintaining calm.
The order gives the army chief the powers to detain and remove people from any location, deploy soldiers on the streets, censor media reports that could "undermine public security", and bans gatherings of more than five people.
Tensions in Bangkok remained high as soldiers patrolled the streets around the UN headquarters where the avenue was strewn with rocks and debris from the night's trouble.
But it was unclear how the ruling would play out as hundreds of anti-government demonstrators from the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) vowed to continue their occupation of the grounds of Government House in Bangkok.
"We have just announced that we must continue the rally [at Government House]," said a PAD spokesman today. "We want democracy. We want the prime minister to resign from his post."
The latest violence flared after red-shirted pro-government supporters from the Democratic Alliance against Dictatorship marched through Bangkok in the early hours and clashed with the PAD near the compound.
The trouble prompted Singapore and South Korea to advise their nationals not to travel to Thailand unless their journeys were absolutely necessary, threatening to further disrupt the country's lucrative tourist industry. Thailand declared a state of emergency early today after one person was killed in political clashes between protesters demanding the r... more -
Mom on the VERGE
an audio biographical event of an emergency c-section and the event leading up to it. audio blog of a mother of three logging her life and why she is always on the verge. an audio biographical event of an emergency c-section and the event leading up to it. audio blog of a mother of three logging her lif... more
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8-Alarm Fire Demolishes Conshohocken Apartments
CONSHOHOCKEN (CBS 3) ― A massive 8-alarm fire destroyed numerous apartment buildings, including several occupied, in Montgomery County Wednesday evening.
The fire erupted at about 5 p.m. in the 200 block of Washington Street in Conshohocken at the Riverwalk at Millennium luxury apartment development.
Initially, the mammoth blaze tore through two unoccupied apartment buildings.
The fire then spread to at least four or five adjacent occupied apartment buildings, prompting evacuations.
Firefighters spent all afternoon and evening trying to place the fire under control. The fire was termed an "all points" fire which means fire companies within a 20 mile radius were on-call to assist in the battle.
Fire officials at the scene said getting water into the location was a difficult task.
According to officials, two firefighters suffered minor injuries battling the blaze. There were no immediate reports of any injuries to civilians.
Officials from the Red Cross were on scene Wednesday evening to assist those who were displaced.
As a result of the enormous fire, service on the R-6 line was temporarily suspended.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Source: http://cbs3.com/topstories/Conshohocken.fire.Alarm.2.79... CONSHOHOCKEN (CBS 3) ― A massive 8-alarm fire destroyed numerous apartment buildings, including several occupied, in Montgomery County... more -
"Hollywood heart attacks" could be killing us
A new survey from the British Heart Foundation (BHF) has found that four out of 10 of us get our information about heart attacks from Hollywood movies or TV dramas. This would be a wonderful public education tool - if the fictionalised versions were accurate.
Sadly, says the BHF, they are not. The "Hollywood heart attack" is dangerously misleading and because of it, many of us ignore the real symptoms until it is too late.
The Hollywood heart attack - think Elliott Gould in Ocean's 13 - involves dramatic chest clutching and collapse. But in reality, symptoms vary. They can be woolly, ambiguous and easy to ignore.
It is very common to have a central chest pain that can spread to the arms, neck and jaw. You may feel sweaty, light-headed, sick or short of breath. You may simply feel a dull ache, mild discomfort or heavy sensation in your chest that makes you feel ill. Or there may be a chest pain that spreads to your back or stomach. Some people say the pain was like bad indigestion.
"Because it is not what they think a heart attack is like, people decide to sleep on it, or wait a bit," says Barker. "But you should always call 999."
Every year almost 250,000 people in the UK have a heart attack. A third of these die before reaching hospital. It seems our willing suspension of disbelief is - quite literally - killing us.
Would you recognise a heart attack if you, your partner, your parent or your friend suffered some of these symptoms? Should movie makers be held responsible for portraying things like this realistically? How much influence can the media have on people's perceptions? A new survey from the British Heart Foundation (BHF) has found that four out of 10 of us get our information about heart attacks from ... more -
Jet evacuated after emergency landing at LAX
Passengers are being evacuated by inflatable chutes from an American Airlines jetliner after an emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport.
Firefighters were on hand Tuesday to help passengers as they slid down two emergency chutes aboard the plane. The airport reports smoke was detected in the cabin before the landing Passengers are being evacuated by inflatable chutes from an American Airlines jetliner after an emergency landing at Los Angeles Inter... more -
As Boy Sank in Pool, a Number of Calls to 911 Went Unanswered
A 14-year-old boy had passed out in a Prince William County swimming pool and was sinking to the bottom of the deep end. A nearby swimmer yelled for help, and a lifeguard dived in to save him. Two people grabbed phones and called 911. Then called again. And again.
"If 911 doesn't pick up, you're hung out to dry," said Cindy Watson, 41, who was at the Woodbridge pool with her children during the incident. An ambulance eventually came and the boy was fine, she said, but what if he had needed immediate medical help? "It could have been a tragedy," Watson said. "It was so close to a tragedy."
The county's 911 system experienced an emergency of its own, fire officials told county leaders last week. In the past two months, they said, the 911 system had four periods when service was disrupted and callers were unable to get through. The number has now grown to five with the July 11 pool incident, which fire officials said they were not aware of until it was brought to their attention.
Having so many disruptions in a 911 system is rare, and delays in emergency response can be fatal, officials say. A 14-year-old boy had passed out in a Prince William County swimming pool and was sinking to the bottom of the deep end. A nearby swim... more -
2 British women try to open door mid-flight. Alcohol involved
A plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Germany after two British women tried to open a cabin door mid-flight, police have said.
The women, aged 26 and 27, were drinking heavily and had to be held in their seats by security staff until the plane landed in Frankfurt.
Stay classy San Antonio ... A plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Germany after two British women tried to open a cabin door mid-flight, police have ... more -
Deadly flooding in Indiana
Happening right now, and possibly bigger than the flood of 1913. I hope you all get out safely.
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Stop Global Food Crisis: 48 hours to sign AVAAZ Petition
Petition to Rome Summit leaders:
We call on you to take immediate action to address the world food crisis by mobilizing emergency funding to prevent starvation, removing perverse incentives to turn food into biofuels and managing financial speculation.
We need to tackle the underlying causes by ending harmful trade policies and investing massively in sustainable agricultural productivity in developing nations. Petition to Rome Summit leaders: ... more -
Evacuation: The 10 Minute Challenge
My plan is set: French press and coffee grounds
I'll be pretty covered.
What (other than the basic paper work, photos, computer or medicine etc-) would you take with you?
This is a good reminder.
Since (here in the bay area) it's more of an earthquake land, I also heard a good recommendation from NPR that carrying a small whistle, even in a keychain, would be helpful in worst-case scenarios (insert trapped visual here)
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"Two families take the Ten Minute Challenge to see if they can evacuate their homes in just ten minutes. Erica and Jason Bish have prepared ahead of time and know what to pack and who will do it. Alex and Steve Gorman have not. The Insurance Information Institute says the key is to plan ahead. Gather insurance policies, wills and deeds, marriage licenses, home inventory and other financial documents in one place. Be sure to pack medicines, toiletries, and clothing for three days. Candysse Miller of the Insurance Information Network of California says families should ask themselves "If I had just ten minutes to get out, what would I take?" My plan is set: French press and coffee grounds I'll be pretty covered. ... more -
Helicopter crashes in city, killing four
Four people are believed to have been killed when a helicopter crashed today near the downtown core of Cranbrook in the East Kootenays. Four people are believed to have been killed when a helicopter crashed today near the downtown core of Cranbrook in the East Kootenays... more
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Emergency
