Come On -- Land it like Sully -- It's only Hurricanes and Earthquakes, ... and Oil Spills ... and Storm Surge ...

Alex, Atlantic's 1st hurricane of season, rumbles toward Mexico, Texas coastlines

Wed, 2010-06-30 19:48.
By: The Associated Press
[SOURCE]
" ... MIAMI - The first Atlantic hurricane of the year has strengthened to a Category 2 storm with sustained winds of near 100 mph as it plows ahead toward a collision with the Mexican Gulf coast and south Texas.

The National Hurricane Center says Hurricane Alex will make landfall in northeastern Mexico sometime Wednesday night.

The storm is far from the Gulf oil spill, but cleanup vessels were sidelined by the hurricane's ripple effects. Six-foot waves churned up by the hurricane splattered beaches in Louisiana, Alabama and Florida with oil and tar balls.

Hurricane Alex flooded roads and forced thousands of people to evacuate fishing villages.

The eye was about 55 miles  northeast of La Pesca, Mexico, and about 105 miles  south of Brownsville, Texas. ..." (ap, 2010.06.30, hurricane alex)

-- MEANWHILE -- ... Back at the Haciendo ...

Why NOT name Earthquakes like we do Hurricanes?
[SOURCE]   |  " ... An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.2 struck southern Mexico early Wednesday, the US seismological authority USGS reported on its website.
A 49-year-old man from San Andres Hauxpaltepec was killed when the ceiling of his house fell onto him, a civil defence official told The German Press Agency dpa.
The quake, which struck the Oaxaca region some 350 kilometres south of Mexico City at about 2:20 am (0720 GMT), had little other effect, local officials said.
Numerous buildings were evacuated in the wake of the 30-second quake. Power was lost in some regions, but communication networks remained intact - in contrast to earlier earthquakes in Mexico.
The epicentre of Wednesday's quake was located at a depth of 20 kilometres, according to the USGS. ... " (Wed, 30 Jun 2010 20:43:51 GMT. By : dpa. Category : Nature Environment) ... "

Report from the Middle :: Converging Arguments PART TWO

PHOTO: Caption -- "What ever you do General, do not kiss my wife."

I just read the whole Rolled 'n Stoned Article ... Now please tell me "why was McChryslers fired?

RandS TITLE: The Runaway General 'Stanley McChrystal,' Obama's top commander in Afghanistan, has seized control of the war by never taking his eye off the real enemy: 'The wimps in the White House'
By Michael Hastings | Retrieved Today by Pat Darnell HERE
Jun 22, 2010 10:00 AM EDT


Our Hard Rockin' Generals are dancing on the rocks of eternity over there in Afghanistan, where nothing seems to happen.

[SEE: General McChrystal, I Salute You, by Christina Gideon HERE]

And the enemy has even split from Afghanistan, and set up their Hard Rock HQ in Pakistan.

So if I am to understand what happened after the article came out ... I saw the committee [John McCain and all] gathered in front of Patraeus today.

So why is this not a "discovery of privatization of armed forces" versus "COIN ..." as drudgingly as the bream that is swimming defensively to their demise ... so incompletely described in this article?

But, really, why is McChrysler no longer the man? I don't see where the "insubordination" is.

That's our Report From the Middle where we are Sleepless in Bryan, with fingers crossed ... waiting for Hurricane Alex to land, hopefully, followed by the Jonas Bros' Charity Storm-Aid Ball .... God! Girls! Guitars!

MooPig's "Duct Tape and Marshmallows Department of Theory and Speculation" Part TWO

HERE's the Question :: Based on evidence ...

"A funny thing happened on the way in to work tonight ..."

"WHAT HAPPENED?"

"I saw this garbage can set out for tomorrows' trash pick up with these signs stuffed in it, just as you see it here."

"I took a picture of it as it stands on the "Parkway" in our neighborhoods' public domain."

"Is this Intellectual Property?"

NOTE: " ... May 8, 2010 ... BRYAN, TX  - Jason Bienski has won Bryan's mayoral race. The final results were 2231 for Bienski, and 1539 for business owner Mitch Morehead. ... "

Also, MooPig would appreciate your help with captions for these pictures ... the prize will be a trashy sign.

MooPig's Art History Nano-Second :: Valentin Serov, 1865 - 1911, Moscow

This top painting, Ida Rubinstein, the inspiration behind Ravel's Bolero. Portrait by Valentin Serov.
Retrieved by Pat Darnell and I. B. Wrightback | [SOURCE]

Petersburg 1865-1911 Moscow [Article HERE]

Valentin Aleksandrovich Serov began his art training by studying with K. Koepping (1873-1874) and later with I.E. Repin (1874-1875 and 1878-1880). He then was a pupil of E.B. Chistiakov at the Petersburg Academy of Arts from 1880 to 1885. For long periods of time he lived at Abramtsevo, the country estate of the well-known art patron Savva Mamontov, where he was a part of the Abramtsevo Art Circle. He graduated from the Academy in 1884 and became an active member in 1903. Two years later, however, he left the Academy in protest over the Tsarist government's shooting at the workers' demonstration on January 9,1905, which marked the beginning of the first Russian Revolution.

In addition to teaching at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture from 1897 to 1909, Serov participated in the Circle of the Itinerants and their art exhibitions (1894-1899) and in the societies of World of Art (1899-1903) and the Union of Russian Artists (1903-1909). The greatest portraitist of his time, Serov continued the traditions of late nineteenth-century realist portraiture, which were made richer by the achievements of Impressionism. In his later years, Serov's works presaged the artistic developments of twentieth-century painting. He produced landscape paintings as well as historical compositions and genre scenes.

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LINK Sources for PHOTO's above
http://www.groningermuseum.nl/index.php?id=1260
http://arthistory.about.com/od/from_exhibitions/ig/from_russia_1207/fr08_serov_02.htm
http://fr.academic.ru/dic.nsf/frwiki/1692635
http://arteyartistas.org/2009/01/21/valentin-serov-1865-1911/
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* posted for educational purposes.... only

Report from the Middle :: Have We Come Full Circle Yet ?? Part TWO

[SOURCE]
Retrieved by Pat Darnell and the iHerd

Published Monday, June 28, 2010 3:35 PM
Tropical storm could affect Brazos Valley, officials say
Related Story: Hurricane watch for Mexico, U.S. as Alex strengthens

More Maps [HERE]

theeagle dot com, Bryan-College Station, TX  |  " ... Weather officials said a tropical storm heading toward Brownsville on Monday could bring heavy rain and isolated tornadoes to the Brazos Valley area by Wednesday.

National Weather Service meteorologist Patrick Blood said there is a 25 to 30 percent chance the Bryan-College Station area will be impacted.

"There's a chance we'll be affected by the outer bands of Tropical Storm Alex," Blood said, adding that the storm is "definitely on the radar" for area forecasters.

Weather officials said the tropical storm was about 535 miles from Brownsville Monday, and Blood said there is a chance the outer bands of the storm could hit south Texas on Wednesday or Thursday.

Blood said the main threats if the outer bands of the storm hit the Brazos Valley would be heavy rain and isolated tornadoes. ... "

NEXT WEEK :: Three Little Pigs Seek Asylum

Gulf of Mexico; Oil Spill 2010 -- Hurricane ALEX and the GULF OIL DISASTER

So Let's not be so Absurd ... eh?
Retrieved by Pat Darnell

Published Monday, June 28, 2010 1:06 PM
Hurricane watch for Mexico, and U.S., as Alex strengthens
By MIGUEL ANGEL HERNANDEZ
Associated Press

VILLAHERMOSA, Mexico -- Hurricane watches were in effect Monday for a stretch of Gulf coast in southern Texas and northern Mexico as Tropical Storm Alex gained strength and appeared on track to become a Category 3 hurricane before it makes landfall later this week.

Forecasters said the storm's path could push oil from the massive Gulf oil spill farther inland.
Alex was swirling through the Gulf of Mexico with winds of 60 mph (95 kph) on a path that would take it very near the Mexico-U.S. border sometime Thursday, said the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida. The storm is expected to become a hurricane Tuesday, and could build winds as high as 120 mph (193 kilometers) by Wednesday.

Tropical storm-force winds extended up to 70 miles (110 kilometers) from the storm's center Monday, and Alex was moving slowly to the northwest.

Heavy rains in the southern Gulf coast state of Tabasco forced the evacuation of about 300 families from communities near the Usumacinta river.

iPHONE 4 UPDATE :: "You Could be Waiting for GODOT ..."

Title: How to Get Over Apple iPhone 4 Envy
By: Dan Costa | 06.25.2010  |  PC Magazine
[SOURCE, Excerpted]


Envy is not a pleasant quality in humans. It might make someone do something that they regret for the rest of their lives.... as Dan Costa prescribes some Rx for easing your pain in envy ::
Retrieved by Pat Darnell and the iHerd

" [ ... excerpt] You Need a Physical Keyboard
This is probably the most obvious reason to avoid the iPhone. It's an excuse often used by millions of BlackBerry users like PCMag's editor-in-chief, Lance Ulanoff, who has to justify lugging around his BlackBerry Bold.

You're Pissed the iPhone 4 Doesn't Support Flash
Purely in terms of geek credibility, this is a great excuse. No one really understands why Flash is so darn important on the iPhone, but everyone seems think Apple should support it.

You Have an Ideological Problem with Apple's Closed Ecosystem
This excuse is best implemented by lawyers, Poli Sci majors, and digital libertarians, but if you can grok the concept, your passing on the iPhone can be instantly transformed from clueless move to principled stand.

You Think ATandT's Coverage is Terrible
The only problem with this justification is that is isn't exactly true.

You Are Waiting Until the iPhone Comes to Verizon
. Just bear one fact in mind: Verizon may never offer the iPhone. You could be waiting for Godot.

You Hate iTunes
Sure, iTunes provides a nearly effortless way to acquire, manage, synchronize and enjoy music and videos on your iPhone, but what if you're a Zune customer?

"[ ... ] Careful readers will note that all of these justifications were just as true of the original iPhone as they are with the iPhone 4. And yet the iPhone is a runaway success. The ugly truth for us non-iPhoners is that, the iPhone has been the best smartphone on ATandT for years now. The updates to the iPhone 4 are going to keep that trend going. The Sprint Evo is a great phone and the Motorola Droid rocks on Verizon, but the rest of us need to keep a stiff upper lip in the week ahead. And if you're already an ATandT customer? Just suck it up and buy an iPhone. ... [ Read entire Article by Dan Costa HERE] "

GULF Oil Disaster gives rise to Niggling Doubts

Retrieved YouTube by Pat Darnell and the Herd

• Is it Real?
• Why are there armed Guards?
• Was there similar spills in Russia?
• Why on earth would they drill this deep, at an ocean depth over 5000 feet?
• Why are there so many different versions of this event?
• Was this drilling engineered this way?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7eWyHAwOmQ

Email MooPigster Customers' Alert

If you receive this post via email, you notice it is mostly 'blank'.
We at MooPig Surmise, that at this point, one either says:
"WOW, I'm off the hook, and don't have to pay any attention to that pesky MooPig STUFF!!"
-- OR --
"Hey, where is it ...?"
The answer is: "IT IS A youTUBE presentation"... and you will now click on the http above to go see this modern miracle of technology.

MooPig Wisdom is Your Life-Line to Parody:
24\7 -- We accept all Calls from Contestants

MooPig Site Review :: "Tokyo Rockabilly Club -- SMOOTH!"

[SOURCE]

Haiti

Razorbacks Join Haiti Relief Effort

POSTED: 5:42 am CDT June 25, 2010
UPDATED: 5:51 am CDT June 25, 2010

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. --  [SOURCE]

It's been almost six months since the devastating earthquake in Haiti. Now people in Arkansas are joining the relief effort.
Friday there will be a 24-hour marathon of food packing at the Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville. Former hog golfer Rich Morris is coordinating the effort with ESPN's Jimmy Dykes and the University of Arkansas. They're trying to package a record 2 million meals for those in need.
University of Arkansas Athletic Director Jeff Long said, "Here's a chance to really, not only impact a situation in the world. A way to help human beings far away from Northwest Arakanas, and help them with basics, basic food."
Razorback athletes, coaches and 40/29's Mark Lericos will be on hand in an effort to package the 2 million meals to send to Haiti.
Copyright 2010 4029tv.com.

MooPig Site Review :: "This Administration promotes Mediocrity?? -- YIKES!"

Don't you just love how everything follows the "BIG Story" around, abandoning it for the next "BIG Story?" Most effort to follow up on the Disaster like Haiti is chiefly Ignored. For example this Editorial: "Mayors met in Oklahoma and called for a measure to help Haitians. [SOURCE]" is met with Silence.

President Obama could rapidly aid Haitian immigration seekers
A Code of Silence?
Retrieved by Pat Darnell    |    Network News Editorials

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Excerpt  | " ... THE U.S. CONFERENCE of Mayors, meeting at its annual convention this month in Oklahoma City, did something extraordinary. With no dissent, the mayors called on President Obama and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to "promptly" grant entry to 55,000 Haitian visa candidates with relatives in the United States, a measure that would result in tens or hundreds of millions of dollars in annual cash transfers flowing into Haiti's gasping economy. And what was the response from the administration, which has pledged to do all it can to alleviate the humanitarian suffering that befell Haiti in January's earthquake?
Silence. [SOURCE, op\ed excerpt] ... "

Read the entire article at the SOURCE Link, as it goes on to explain: "The mayors' resolution was remarkable because their cities -- not the federal government, not the states -- might bear the costs associated with an influx of Haitian immigrants. ... "

Volunteers needed to turn T-shirts into sleeping mats for people in Haiti

Remember Haiti?
[SOURCE]
Volunteers are needed Saturday to help transform donated T-shirts into sleeping mats for people in Haiti.

Retrieved in Entirety by Pat Darnell
STAFF REPORTS • JUNE 25, 2010

Many people in Haiti sleep on the ground, which can lead to sores and other health problems.

Volunteers can help make the mats anytime between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday at Peace Lutheran Church, 5509 W. 41st St. No experience is necessary.

[PEACE LUTHERAN CHURCH ELCA. USA 5509 WEST 41ST STREET 57106 SIOUX FALLS , SD Phone: 001 (605) 361-3683 fax Fax: 001 (401) 725-0487]

Donated T-shirts have poured into the church from all over the region, church officials say.

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G O D Aid :: "Please !!! Urgent Recruitment of Bands and Celebrities ..."

Gulf of Mexico, oil spill, disaster, Relief Efforts, GULF OIL DISASTER AID
Retrieved by Pat Darnell [from Jan 2010 article in MooPig Wisdom] and, the Dancing Dogs

Developing New Label Ideas for a New Year of Disasters... Calling all Bands and Celeb's
by Pat Darnell and Wri N Kullroecker

Everyone seeing Haiti Aid stuff all over, with promise of a soon-to-come Galactic level Spectacle performances from Bands and old stand-bys? Like DUBYA, and Willie.

Wondering 'HOW' you and your Band too can hustle all that open TV exposure, when other wise you can't find a stage -- no, ne'er even a street corner -- to play your deluge ocean of emotion music ... ?


Wonder no more; MooPig Enterprises' "Branding Department" has an idea for starving musicians.

Instead of providing Aid after-the-fact, MooPig's talented "Head Hunters Department" suggests a regional dispatch for Bands 'WHEN' the disasters are actually happening. The USA has very precise regional disaster corridors; and incredibly advanced warning systems are every day being heralded.

"There are many empty spaces, and dead air, resulting from concert-type Disaster-Aid lag-times; those need to be filled," say those who measure such things.

Why not provide Disaster Rockers Inc when a disaster is developing. Regional dispatch can round up the next Band will-call and rotate into disaster sites, to set up Stadium Rock Fest's.

This way the responding BAND -- or for really large cataclysms, multiple BANDs-- receive buckets full of much deserved Exposure !!


No doubt with international news wires also on site, your BAND will Rock the Headlines every time. And, don't forget the MUSIC itself, with the disaster as backdrop your Band will provide interludes of tunes for all the anxious queuing families, rubber-neckers, and onlookers.

Rescuers will appreciate your efforts as well: you can play your UNION Musician card with the Fire Dept and EMS groups... eh?

"It takes a village to have a disaster," say proponents of over-population groups.

Some "What to include" suggestions come to mind:

• Candles
• Cookies
• Kettle Korn
• Coffee
• MRE's
• Boots, blankets, Bingo
• Weather Proofing
• Instruction Booklets
• Signage
• Diesel fired Generators
• Traffic Cones
• Hats 

Larger items could be on-hand similar to READY MEN or like a Red Cross 'BAND' Wagon, combining Entertainment with Rescue, E and R:

• Disaster Relief Housing
• Press Station
• Mohawk Grenades
• Junior Opening Band [preferable a local cadre]
• Leaflets and Billings of your activities
• Professional dance starter duo's
• Professional Hippies and Skin Heads Moshing
• NEVE Board

... And of course any up to date Disaster Relief BAND will bring:  WiFi and Hot Spot \ Wireless \ Laptops \ Sound and Filming Crew \ and your $Ten Million BOND information on hand

"Mudslides, Missiles, Alien Abductions, Tornadoes, Rioting after Sporting Events, Pearl Harbor and World Trade-like events, Oil Fires, Disastrous Movie Premiers, and a plethora of National Disasters and not having mentioned Climate related human tossing calamities yet," explain those who have a stake in disasters. "Don't forget all the opportunity around the entire world, also."

That is so right! Glaciers melting, Pyroclastic clouds, Monsoons, Islands sinking into the oceans in Dubai, Neutron Star Matter hitting Earth, Vogons,  ... not shabby stuff for the On-the-Spot READY Instant-it-Happens Disaster BAND ....

CONCLUSION:

Others, like BIONIC BEAUTY, Talking about most recent Disaster, Earthquake in Haiti:

In times of natural disaster, our world seems to forget the boundaries that separate us. It’s truly awe-inspiring for me. These last few days, I have shed many tears while watching the news casts of the earthquake that devastated much of Haiti. Twitter and Facebook are still hotbeds of activity for information and for ways to help. But with anything, it’s best to be informed. When Michael DeVellis, the Executive Director of The Powder Group (which also publishes the my favorite On Makeup Magazine) sent me the information below, I immediately asked if I could share it with all the Bionic Beauties out there. [Read more Parlay HERE ...]

GET on YOUR BAND-AID Wagon or Boat, or what ever you Got !! Thar's DISASTERS Galore !
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Gulf of Mexico; Oil Spill 2010 -- GULF OIL DISASTER

Thursday's QUIZ -- Match the TITLE with the Disaster EVENT DESCRIPTION, en Fuego !`
by Pat Darnell and the PigMarx Bro's. News Teamn

Today's Topic: "DISASTERS" We noticed in the "no-news" News Reports today -- our "Gulf Oil Spill" is now referred to as the "GULF OIL DISASTER" -- or "G.O.D." for short.

MooPig suggests: "Define Disaster ..." by looking at how that word is thrown down around the world. GOD be with us.
HERE is your Quiz, should take you about three hours, if you don't cheat.

	Title of Disaster		Description of Disaster
A	Operation Eagle Claw	1	... Explosion and fire in the graphite core of one of four reactors released radioactive material that spread over part of the Soviet Union, eastern Europe, Scandinavia, and later western Europe. 31 claimed dead. Total casualties are unknown. Worst such accident to date.
B	G O D -- Gulf Oil Disaster, The Deepwater Horizon, April 24, 2010	2	Nearly 700 oil wells were set ablaze ... The resulting fires burned out of control because of the dangers of sending in firefighting crews. Land mines had been placed in areas around the oil wells ... Somewhere around 6 million barrels of oil were lost each day.
C	1995 July 12–17, Chicago	3	More than 225,000 people have died from the disaster, a half a million have been injured, thousands still remain missing, and millions were left homeless. [...] Catastrophic damage included the destruction of entire cities, the contamination of farmland and forests, and the depletion of fishing stocks. Some areas faced starvation and increased susceptibility to disease.
D	KARACHI, PAKISTAN	4	In 2003, additional surveys determined that while the majority of subsurface oil was in the mid-intertidal, a significant amount was also in the lower intertidal. The revised estimate of oil was now more than 21,000 gallons ... This ... oil is decreasing at a rate of 0-4% per year, with only a 5% chance that the rate is as high as 4%. At this rate, the remaining oil will take decades and possibly centuries to disappear entirely.
E	Amoco Cadiz, 16 March 1978	5	This ..., is a viscous mix of liquid hydrocarbons, compounds made of the elements hydrogen and carbon. [This Substance] ... forms underground as plant and animal remains decay over time. ... Refineries separate [raw product] into products such as fuel oil, asphalt, and gasoline.
F	2010 Jan. 23, Port Arthur, Texas: The oil tanker Eagle Otome	6	... witnessed its worst environmental disaster in its 56-year-old checkered history when a 24-year old, obsolete tanker Tasman Spirit carrying 67,535 tons of Iranian light crude oil, ... went aground on July 27, 2003 in the channel of the port ... amid rough weather.
G	PETROLEUM or crude oil	7	... [Oil well] blew out, spilling an estimated 140 million gallons of crude oil into the open sea. Although it is one of the largest known oil spills, it had a low environmental impact. Mexican authorities also drilled two relief wells into the main well to lower the pressure of the blowout, however the oil continued to flow for three months following the completion of the first relief well.
H	Kuwaiti oil fires	8	Nov. 13, Spain ... [Tanker] suffered a damaged hull and was towed to sea and sank. Much of the 20 million gallons of oil remains underwater.
J	1993 Aug. 10, Tampa Bay, Fla.	9	... Wrecked supertanker ... spilled 68 million gallons, causing widespread environmental damage over 100 mi of Brittany coast.
K	Indian Ocean Tsunami	10	This is the first collision of two solar system bodies ever to be observed, and the effects of the comet impacts on Jupiter's atmosphere have been simply spectacular and beyond expectations. July 16 through July 22, 1994
L	Exploratory oil well Ixtoc 1,  3 June 1979	11	[Tanker] and a barge collide in the Sabine-Neches Waterway, causing the release of about 462,000 gallons of crude oil. Environmental damage was minimal as about 46,000 gallons were recovered and 175,000 gallons were dispersed or evaporated, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
M	Tanker Prestige	12	... [Tanker] lost power and ran aground near Port Sulphur, La., dumping 567,000 gallons of crude oil into lower Mississippi. Spill was largest in U.S. waters since Exxon Valdez disaster in March 1989.
N	Comet P/Shoemaker-Levy 9 collided with Jupiter	13	... On April 24, 1980, which mission resulted in a failed mission, the destruction of two aircraft and the deaths of eight American servicemen and one Iranian civilian.
O	2008 February 7, Port Wentworth, Georgia	14	Due to its disastrous history, the name of this American made product has become synonymous with failure.
P	Exxon Valdez	15	739 people died in record heat wave.
Q	1986 April 26, Chernobyl, near Kiev, Ukraine	16	... At least 84 killed and 147 injured by stampeding soccer fans before a 1998 World Cup qualifying match between the home team and Costa Rica
R	- June 21, 2010 China weather disaster	17	On 27 August four enormous explosions took place at 05:30, 06:44, 10:02, and 10:41 local time. The explosions were so violent that they were heard 3,500 km (2,200 mi) away in Perth, Western Australia and the Indian Ocean island of Rodrigues near Mauritius, 4,800 km (3,000 mi) away, where they were thought to be cannon fire from a nearby ship ... Each was accompanied by very large tsunamis, which are believed to have been over 30 meters (100 ft) high in places. A large area of the Sunda Strait and a number of places on the Sumatran coast were affected by pyroclastic flows from the volcano. The pressure wave generated by the colossal final explosion radiated from the explosions at 1,086 km/h (675 mph). It was so powerful that it shattered the eardrums of sailors on ships in the Sunda Strait and caused a spike of more than two and half inches of mercury in pressure gauges attached to gasometers in the Jakarta gasworks, sending them off the scale. The official death toll recorded by the Dutch authorities was 36,417, although some sources put the estimate at 120,000 or more.
S	Nov. 28, 2000 Mississippi River south of New Orleans: oil tanker Westchester	18	... Three ships collided, the barge Bouchard B155, the freighter Balsa 37, and the barge Ocean 255. The Bouchard spilled an estimated 336,000 gallons of No. 6 fuel oil ...
T	1996 Oct. 16, Guatemala City, Mateo Flores National Stadium.	19	Recently ... an explosion fueled by combustible sugar dust killed 13 people and injured several others at the Imperial Sugar plant in this southern state.
U	Ford Edsel, 1958-59, 60	20	Investigators discovered a leak in the wellhead itself. As much as 60,000 barrels of oil per day were leaking into the water, threatening wildlife -- affected about 125 miles of coast. By early June, oil had also reached Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi. It is the largest oil spill in U.S. history.
V	1883 eruption of Krakatoa	21	Torrential rains battering ...  have left 175 people dead and forced the evacuation of 1.7 million, as washed out roads and railways hampered rescue work Monday. Premier Wen Jiabao called for greater efforts to battle flooding that has also left 107 people missing since June 13, as more rains are forecast in the next few days, the government said. "In the coming days another round of heavy rain will hit areas in the south. We are facing a bigger test, so we need to make better preparations to avoid disaster," Wen said on state television. "We are in a crucial period. We must be fully prepared and step up organisation of disaster response work," he said on a visit to the water-logged region

Answers: A13, B20, C15, D6, E9, F11, G5, H2, J18, K3, L7, M8, N10, O19, P4, Q1, R21, S12, T16, U14, V17

MISSOURI, the SHOW ME STATE

This just in from the Show Me State
Retrieved by Pat Darnell

"Has anyone done research into using kudzu for biofuel?"
by Byron Bowles | Stockton, Mo.

--- Kudzu Extract LINK -- Ask AP

" ... Most efforts today are aimed at trying to kill kudzu, an invasive vine-like weed that has cost billions of dollars in lost crops. However, it has potential as an ingredient for biofuels.

A 2008 study concluded that, under certain conditions, kudzu could produce about 400 liters of ethanol per acre, on par with an acre of corn. The study was conducted by the University of Toronto and the U.S. Agriculture Department's Agriculture Research Service.

The next step is a large-scale project that could prove using kudzu to make ethanol is economically feasible, University of Toronto Professor Rowan Sage said.

That has yet to occur. One reason could be that investment in many areas of alternative energy virtually dried up as the recession took hold and gas prices fell.

Agrogas, which is based in Cleveland, Tenn., is working to raise capital to finance a project to prove the viability of commercial production of ethanol using kudzu. It already has operated test vehicles using limited quantities.

"It's quite a usable fuel and we're making it out of something nobody wants here in the South," Argogas co-founder Doug Mizell said. ... "

Sandy Shore | AP Energy Writer | Denver

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Botanical Extract LINK:
" ...
Grape Seed Extract
Kudzu Extract
Milk Thistle Extract
Pine Bark Extract
Polygonum Cuspidatum Extract Rhodiola Extract
Red Clover Extract
Schisandra Chinensis Extract
Siberian Ginseng Extract
Soybean Extract ... "