Japan tsunami debris on course to hit US

Debris from the devastating tsunami that hit Japan on March 11 has turned up exactly where scientists predicted it would after months of floating across the Pacific Ocean. Finding and confirming where the debris ended up gives them a better idea of where it's headed next.

The magnitude 9.0 quake and ensuing tsunami that struck off the coast of Tohoku in Japanwas so powerful that it broke off huge icebergs thousands of miles away in the Antarctic, locally altered Earth's gravity field, and washed millions of tons of debris into the Pacific.

  1. More science news from MSNBC Tech & Science

    1. Rapture hype (and humor) resurrected

      Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: The old doomsday jokes get a new hearing, thanks to a preacher's revised deadline for the end of the world. Will there be a new jokebook for 2012?

    2. Couple held hands for 1,500 years
    3. Sleuths solve an American mastodon mystery
    4. Why ghosts get 'spooked' by HD cameras

Scientists at the International Pacific Research Center at the University of Hawaii at Manoa have been trying to track the trajectory of this debris, which can threaten small ships and coastlines. The new sightings should help the scientists predict when the debris, which ranges from pieces of fishing vessels to TV sets, will arrive at sensitive locations, such as marine reserves. (Scientists estimate the debris will wash up on the Hawaii Islands in two years and the U.S. West Coast in three.)

Debris sighted
For nearly half a year, senior researcher Nikolai Maximenko and computer programmer Jan Hafner had only their state-of-the-art ? but still untested ? computer model of ocean currents to speculate where the tsunami debris might end up. The new sightings are backing up the model, showing debris in places where the model predicted.

Warned by maps of the scientists' model, a Russian ship, the STS Pallada, found an array of unmistakable tsunami debris on its homeward voyage from Honolulu to Vladivostok.

Soon after passing Midway Islands, crew members aboard the Pallada spotted a surprising number of floating items.

"Yesterday, i.e. on September 22, in position 31 [degrees] 42,21 N and 174 [degrees] 45,21 E, we picked up on board the Japanese fishing boat. Radioactivity level ? normal, we've measured it with the Geiger counter," wrote Natalia Borodina, information and education mate of the Pallada. "At the approaches to the mentioned position (maybe 10 ? 15 minutes before) we also sighted a TV set, fridge and a couple of other home appliances."

Later, on Sept. 27, she wrote: "We keep sighting every day things like wooden boards, plastic bottles, buoys from fishing nets (small and big ones), an object resembling wash basin, drums, boots, other wastes. All these objects are floating by the ship."

Where debris hits next
On Oct. 8, the Pallada entered the port of Vladivostok and Borodina was able to send pictures.

The most remarkable piece of debris is of a small fishing vessel about 20 feet (6 meters)long, which they were able to hoist up onto the Pallada. The markings on the wheelhouse of the boat show its homeport to be in the Fukushima Prefecture, the area hardest hit by the massive tsunami.

With the exact locations of some of the now widely scattered debris, the scientists can make more accurate projections about when the debris might arrive at the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument. The first landfall on Midway Islands is anticipated this winter. What misses Midway will continue toward the main Hawaiian Islands, where it is expected to hit in two years, and then on to the West Coast of North America in three years.

Follow OurAmazingPlanet for the latest in Earth science and exploration news on Twitter @OAPlanet and on Facebook

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44946850/ns/technology_and_science-science/

ohio state university hennessy hennessy lymphoma cancer glenn beck cacao cacao

89% The Lion King (In 3D)

All Critics (95) | Top Critics (15) | Fresh (95) | Rotten (10) | DVD (53)

The story line is a Joseph Campbell hero-quest so stripped down to its basics as to become dull.

A computer-animated scene featuring a stampede of wildebeest is positively breathtaking.

The Lion King, more than any of the recent wave of Disney animated features, has the resonance to stand not just as a terrific cartoon but as an emotionally pungent movie.

The result is a step toward multiculturalism and ecological correctness, though not without a certain amount of confusion.

A crown jewel of modern Disney animation.

More so than the exuberant movie miracles that came before it, this latest animated juggernaut has the feeling of a clever, predictable product.

It's not hard to understand why The Lion King's good-vs.-evil adventure and high-spirited comic passages haven't lost their appeal. [Blu-ray]

It's an attractive film but altogether less interesting and more conventional than the Pixar productions that now dominate Disney's animated output.

"Hakuna Matata" would mean never having to be subjected to The Lion King ever again, much less having Simba's growing pains coming at your face in 3D.

It does exactly what it says on the tin.

Feel the love tonight. And see the colours, too.

The 3D technology adds some eye-popping moments but the best thing about this reissue is the chance for a new generation to see a modern classic on a cinema screen.

There are no gimmicks and the big emotional moments are almost entirely untouched.

However crass Disney's motivation may have been in rereleasing the film... it's cheering to see that... people still want to see great movies on a big screen with big sound...

Well worth another look, though it's a pity they're saving the newly made bloopers for the upcoming Blu-ray.

It didn't really need the 3D, but it's still a stunning, glorious family film, with the third dimension or otherwise.

While the core ideology behind The Lion King is extremely problematic and stands out even more today than it did in 1994, there is still much to admire about the film.

It's a wonderful treat to revisit and the 3-D is beautifully utilised, but it's perhaps not the classic that Disney purports it to be.

Art History stands out as one of Joe Swanberg's most visually and conceptually accomplished experiments.

Is the 3D version superior to the 2D version? No. Is the film still magnificent? Yes.

While "The Lion King" is one of the best Disney movies of all time, "The Lion King 3D" is a manipulative exploitation to bring paying parents back with their kids merely through the sexiness of today's 3D fad.

More Critic Reviews

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_lion_king/

ryan leaf carlos santana jahvid best libya map libya map world series game 2 world series game 2

Former 'Bachelorette' DeAnna Pappas weds

DeAnna Pappas can finally shake off her ?Bachelorette? status!

  1. More Entertainment stories
    1. You be the judge! Rate the 'Dancing' contestants

      Sometimes, it's hard to agree with the judges when they score the celebrities on their footwork. Now you can rate the stars' performances too.

    2. 5 stunts 'X Factor' should try for better ratings
    3. 'SNL' star Hammond used booze, crack to cope
    4. 'Dancing' stars step out to support Bono
    5. 'Jurassic Park' has one of scariest scenes ever

After a slew of whirlwind romances ? including rejecting Brad Womack and ending her engagement to Jesse Csincsak in 2008 ? the 29-year-old walked down the aisle with Stephen Stagliano over the weekend.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Reality Stars In Their Swimsuits

According to People, DeAnna?s wedding style was country meets fairytale ? the bride wore cowboy boots under a strapless wedding gown from the Disney Bridal collection and a birdcage veil.

?They were giddy with excitement,? an observer told the mag. ?She looked incredibly happy.?

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Access Top 10: Most Shocking ?Bachelor? & ?Bachelorette? Moments!

The couple was originally set up by Stephen?s twin brother, Michael, who appeared on Jillian Harris? season of ?The Bachelorette,? and his then-girlfriend, Holly Durst, who fans will remember from Matt Grant?s season of ?The Bachelor.?

The former couple, who since split, went on to win last season?s ?Bachelor Pad.?

Stephen, a high school teacher, proposed to DeAnna in August 2010.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: I Do! Celebrities Who Got Married On TV

Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45019017/ns/today-entertainment/

bot foot locker cats funny pics funny pics contagion contagion

Clinton to Iran: Don't misread departure from Iraq

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, left, speaks to the international media during her visit to a hospital in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, Sunday, Oct. 23, 2011. Clinton is at the tail end of a weeklong, seven-nation overseas trip that has already taken her to Malta, Libya, Oman, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Tajikistan. (AP Photo/Anvar Ilyasov)

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, left, speaks to the international media during her visit to a hospital in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, Sunday, Oct. 23, 2011. Clinton is at the tail end of a weeklong, seven-nation overseas trip that has already taken her to Malta, Libya, Oman, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Tajikistan. (AP Photo/Anvar Ilyasov)

An Iranian man looks at a daily newspaper showing a picture of Moammar Gadhafi on its front page, at a news stand in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Oct. 22, 2011. (AP Photo)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Iran should not misread the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq as affecting the U.S. commitment to the fledgling democracy, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Sunday.

President Barack Obama's announcement Friday that all American troops would return from Iraq by the end of the year will close a chapter on U.S.-Iraq relations that began in 2003 with the U.S.-led invasion to overthrow Saddam Hussein.

Washington has long worried that meddling by Iran, a Shiite Muslim theocracy, could inflame tensions between Iraq's Shiite-led government and its minority Sunnis, setting off a chain reaction of violence and disputes across the Mideast.

Clinton said in a series of news show interviews that the U.S. would continue its training mission with Iraq and that it would resemble operations in Colombia and elsewhere. While the U.S. will not have combat troops in Iraq, she said the American presence would remain strong because of its bases in the region.

"Iran would be badly miscalculating if they did not look at the entire region and all of our presence in many countries in the region, both in bases, in training, with NATO allies, like Turkey," she told CNN's "State of the Union."

Asked on NBC's "Meet the Press" about fears of civil war in Iraq after U.S. troops leave, Clinton said, "Well, let's find out. ... We know that the violence is not going to automatically end."

She added: "No one should miscalculate America's resolve and commitment to helping support the Iraqi democracy. We have paid too high a price to give the Iraqis this chance. And I hope that Iran and no one else miscalculates that."

In an interview released Saturday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tehran has "a very good relationship" with Iraq's government, and said the relationship will continue to grow.

"We have deepened our ties day by day," Ahmadinejad said in the interview, broadcast Saturday on CNN.

The timeline for U.S. troop withdrawals had been agreed to by President George W. Bush and Iraqi leaders. Obama had campaigned for the presidency with the promise to end America's war in Iraq.

For months the Obama administration negotiated with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and other Iraqi officials to extend the stay of troops and to build permanent bases. Both sides saw advantages to keeping several thousand U.S. troops in Iraq as part of a training mission, but there was also strong opposition in the U.S. and Iraq for the American troops to stay.

A sticking point was the U.S. demand that American troops be granted legal immunity to shield them from Iraqi prosecution, a flashpoint for Iraqi anger over the Americans' special status in their homeland.

In Iraq, cheers and fears greeted Obama's announcement as the country pondered another period of uncertain transition. While many celebrated what they viewed as the end of a foreign occupation, there was also apprehension over what would happen without U.S. troops on hand to help control political and social divisions that still spark shootings and bombings.

Arizona Sen. John McCain, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, called the withdrawal decision "a serious mistake" that is viewed in the region as a victory for Iran. He also said the presence of U.S. bases elsewhere in the region will have little impact on Iraq.

"There was never really serious negotiations between the administration and the Iraqis," McCain told "This Week" on ABC. "I believe we could have negotiated an agreement. And I'm very, very concerned about increased Iranian influence in Iraq."

Sen. Lindsey Graham, who also serves on the committee, criticized Obama for "not being able to close the deal" with Iraq, and he said the Iranians remain emboldened with "a shot in Iraq they would never had otherwise." He also expressed concern over Iran's nuclear program.

"The Iranians don't fear us at all," Graham said on "Fox News Sunday." He added: "At a time when we need troops in Iraq to secure the place against intervention by Iran and the bad actors in the region, we are going into 2012 with none. It was his job, the Obama administration's job, to end this well. They failed."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2011-10-23-US-Iran/id-3cdbd97a22984ee09dd1410b4b718664

paul williams flight search jackie kennedy ringer ringer cathedral high school terry fator

Panetta calls NKorea 'reckless,' criticizes China

(AP) ? U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Monday lashed out at North Korea for "reckless and provocative" acts and criticized China for a secretive expansion of its military power.

Panetta, who arrived at this U.S. air base on the second leg of a weeklong Asia tour, spoke out about North Korea and China in an opinion piece published Monday by Japan's Yomiyuri newspaper before his arrival.

He wrote that Washington and Tokyo share common challenges in the Asia-Pacific.

"These include North Korea, which continues to engage in reckless and provocative behavior and is developing nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, which pose a threat not just to Japan but to the entire region," he wrote.

Panetta's strong language comes as U.S. and North Korean officials gather in Geneva for talks that Washington says are aimed at determining whether Pyongyang is serious about returning to nuclear disarmament talks.

Japan also worries about North Korea and is one of five countries that have jointly tried to persuade the North Koreans to cap and reverse their nuclear arms program. The other four are the U.S., China, Russia and South Korea.

Panetta also criticized China.

"China is rapidly modernizing its military," he wrote in Monday's opinion piece, "but with a troubling lack of transparency, coupled with increasingly assertive activity in the East and South China Seas."

He wrote that Japan and the U.S. would work together to "encourage China to play a responsible role in the international community."

A day earlier, in Bali, Indonesia, Panetta offered more positive remarks about China. He told reporters that Beijing deserved praise for a relatively mild response to a $5.8 billion US arms sale to Taiwan announced in September.

Panetta is not visiting China on this trip, his first to Asia since becoming Pentagon chief in July.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2011-10-24-Panetta-Asia/id-9e8490ef095c4fd2b5cdd74f30206b4b

blackberry torch 2 the closer ea sports ovarian cancer symptoms angola manny ramirez harvest moon

Time - and brain chemistry - heal all wounds

I know I?m not physically hurt. Though it feels like I?ve been kicked in the stomach with steel-toed boots, my abdomen isn?t bruised. Spiking cortisol levels are causing my muscles to tense and diverting blood away from my stomach, leading to this twisting, gnawing agony that I cannot stop thinking about. I can?t stop crying. I can?t move. I just stare at the ceiling, wondering when, if ever, this pain is going to go away.

It doesn?t matter that my injuries are emotional. The term heartache isn?t a metaphor: emotional wounds literally hurt. The exact same parts of the brain that light up when we?re in physical pain go haywire when we experience rejection. As far as our neurons are concerned, emotional distress is physical trauma.

Evolutionary biologists would say that it?s not surprising that our emotions have hijacked the pain system. As social creatures, mammals are dependent from birth upon others. We must forge and maintain relationships to survive and pass on our genes. Pain is a strong motivator; it is the primary way for our bodies tell us that something is wrong and needs to be fixed. Our intense aversion to pain causes us to instantly change behavior to ensure we don?t hurt anymore. Since the need to maintain social bonds is crucial to mammalian survival, experiencing pain when they are threatened is an adaptive way to prevent the potential danger of being alone.

Of course, being able to evolutionarily rationalize this feeling doesn?t make it go away.

I lie flattened, like the weight of his words has literally crushed me. I need to do something, anything to lessen this ache. The thought crosses my mind to self medicate, but I quickly decide against that. Mild analgesics like ibuprofen would be useless, as they act peripherally, targeting the pain nerves which send signals to the brain. In this case, it is my brain that is causing the pain. I would have to take something different, like an opioid, which depresses the central nervous system and thus inhibits the brain?s ability to feel. Tempting as that might be, painkillers are an easy ? and dangerous ? way out. No, I need to deal with this some other way.

Slowly, I sit up and grab the guitar at the foot of my bed.

Where music comes from, or even why we like and create music, is still a mystery. What we do know is that it has a powerful affect on our brains. Music evokes strong emotions and changes how we perceive the world around us. Simply listening to music causes the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter linked to the brain?s reward system and feelings of happiness. But even more impressive is its affect on pain. Multiple studies have shown that listening to music alters our perception of painful stimuli and strengthens feelings of control. People are able to tolerate pain for longer periods of time when listening to music, and will even rate the severity of the sensation as lower, suggesting that something so simple as a melody has a direct affect on our neural pathways.

So, too, does self expression. Expressive writing about traumatic, stressful or emotional events is more than just a way to let out emotion ? college students told to write about their most upsetting moments, for example, were found to be in remarkably better health four months later than their counterparts who wrote on frivolous topics. These positive results of self-expression are amplified when the product is shared with others. While negative emotions may have commandeered our pain response, art has tapped into the neurochemical pathways of happiness and healing.

So, I begin to write. At first, it is just a jumble of chords and words, haphazardly strung together. But, slowly, I edit and rewrite, weaving my emotions into lyrics. I play it over and over, honing the phrasing, perfecting the sound. Eventually, it begins to resemble a song:

The rush of dopamine loosens the knot in my stomach ever so slightly. For now, the agony is dulled. Still, I can?t help but think that I?m never going to really feel better ? that the memory of this moment will be seared into my brain, and a mental scar will always be there, torturing me with this intense feeling of loss.

Scientifically, I know I?m wrong. As I close my eyes, I am comforted by the thought that the human brain, though capable of processing and storing ridiculous amounts of information, is flawed. The permanence of memory is an illusion. My memory of this moment will weaken over time. It will be altered by future experiences, until what I envision when I try to recall it will be only a faint reflection of what I actually feel. Eventually, this pain won?t overwhelm me, and I will finally be able to let go.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=138e0e70826aa81abb643f4d8e73c051

charlie and the chocolate factory ou football ryan torain ryan torain texas rangers cardinals world series game 3

Freezer body: Is it woman missing since '83?

The remains of a body that were found inside a storage unit by relatives of a man who had rented it and died earlier this month may be those of a woman who was reported missing in 1983, Maine State Police said Saturday.

  1. Only on msnbc.com

    1. Mixed emotions over Iraq announcement
    2. 'I am happy': Libyans line up to see Gadhafi's body
    3. 4-month-old receives heart transplant
    4. 'Occupy' protesters find allies among the wealthy
    5. Flooded Thailand races to rescue pets, loose crocs
    6. Dating after diagnosis: Love in the time of chemotherapy
    7. It's A Snap! Vote for your favorite travel photo

The relatives were cleaning out the Lewiston storage unit on Friday afternoon when they found the body inside an unplugged freezer, state police spokesman Steve McCausland said.

The remains haven't been positively identified, but McCausland said they may be those of Kitty Wardwell, who was reported missing 28 years ago at age 29.

The storage unit had been rented since 1992 by Francis "Frank" Julian, who was Wardwell's on-again, off-again boyfriend and was the last person known to see her alive. Julian died on Oct. 1 at age 80.

Julian told Salem, N.H., police that he dropped Wardwell off at a motel there after a fight on June 6, 1983, and traveled back to Maine without her, according to the Maine State Police missing persons website. A close friend of Wardwell officially reported her as missing the following month, and a subsequent police investigation indicated she was likely a victim of foul play, the website said.

Officials with the Maine medical examiner's office have removed the freezer, with the body still inside, and taken it to their offices in Augusta, McCausland said.

An autopsy to determine the identity and cause of death is expected to be performed Monday.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45003674/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

andy rooney theo epstein theo epstein darknet james ray act williston nd

US manufacturers are making one thing - profits

U.S. Census Bureau

By Allison Linn

The last few years have been tough on many?Americans who work in the manufacturing industry, but they haven't been nearly?as tough on the manufacturers? profits.

U.S. manufacturers have seen a steady uptick in profits since bottoming out in late 2008, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

After-tax profits for U.S. manufacturers totaled $159.7 billion in the second quarter, according to the Census Bureau. That?s nearly triple what they were in the second quarter of 2009, when corporations were just starting to emerge from the deep economic blows of 2008. The data is seasonally adjusted.??

The Census data also include any money the manufacturers made or lost by producing or selling goods in other countries.

Joel Naroff, economist with Naroff Economic Advisors, said that?s one reason profits have been on the rise over the past couple of years.

?Globalization is, to no small extent, driving a fair amount of these profits,? Naroff said.

Another big help: The weak U.S. dollar.

?The weak dollar has begun to actually do what it?s supposed to do and that?s to generate more exports,? Naroff said.

Still, even as manufacturers have seen their bottom lines improve, job gains have been scarce.

About 11.7 million people are currently employed in U.S. manufacturing, according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data. That?s about two million fewer than when the recession began in December of 2007, although it is an improvement over a low of around 11.5 million in late 2009.

Some companies have automated more functions so they can boost productivity without adding a lot of workers, while others have simply found a way to squeeze more work out of their existing workforce.

The big question now is whether such gains can last. Naroff said compensation costs may have increased since the second quarter, and manufacturers may also be paying more for the commodities they use to make their products. Those factors could mean that profits start to slow, he said.

?

Source: http://lifeinc.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/10/20/8418258-good-graph-friday-us-manufacturers-are-making-one-thing-profits

crocodile dundee crocodile dundee urban meyer sharjah sharjah observe and report observe and report