Japanese TV: Earthquake hits South Pacific Broadcaster reports strong temblor; tsunami advisory for Hawaii USGS Australia Region shows Earthquake Northeast of Australia Update: BBC reports that a tsunami has hit the Solomon Islands. Update: The USGS now shows a second, smaller earthquake NW of the earlier 7.6 magnitude quake. Update: At least 4 people missing after tsunami hits Solomon Islands

In never hurts to be considerate in your general behaviour whether you believe in Global Warming/Climate Change or not. The residents of Sydney got a chance to show that they care… The Sydney Opera House’s gleaming white-shelled roof was darkened Saturday night along with much of the rest of Australia’s largest city, which switched off the lights to register concern about global warming, reports...

Pakistan cannot do anything without the tacit approval of the United States of America. And the world knows this. Here comes the news of Pakistan testing nuclear-capable missile today. People living in South Asia wonder what games President George Bush and President Pervez Musharraf are playing, with the US Congress watching all this with intriguing silence. A latest report states that “Pakistan successfully...

Cross-posted to Random Fate. — I’ve always been a big advocate of efficiency in resource use and minimal generation of pollution because it’s not simply poor form to crap in your own bed, in the long term it is deadly, regardless of what those who would like to think otherwise say. On the face of it, increased use of ethanol seems very promising in reducing at least some of the petroleum usage...

It HAD to happen: Scientists have created the world’s first human-sheep chimera – which has the body of a sheep and half-human organs. The sheep have 15 per cent human cells and 85 per cent animal cells – and their evolution brings the prospect of animal organs being transplanted into humans one step closer. No inappropriate jokes, please. Professor Esmail Zanjani, of the University of Nevada,...

That’s the question of the day in the navel-gazing world of the blogosphere. But let me assure you that this question/allegation does not come from the White House/politicians/establishment!!! This question is posed by a fellow blogger, and he answers it himself. Nicholas Carr, who says he ’scavenges’ at his blog named roughtype, writes: “It is worth remembering that, in a literary...

While we are often sucked into endless debate on Iraq, Afghanistan and ‘War on Terror’, we miss out on lot of other exciting things happening in the world. If only we could look beyond the world of our own making… Here’s a fascinating story about a different kind of expedition to the Everest. A British Professor has decided to take his kids to the highest peak in the world to undertake...

The very mention of the word “madarsa” or Islamic religious school almost creates a hysteria. It was interesting to see this video on “Christian classes” in the US schools. Vittal in his blog writes: “It really scares me to see how people base their moral judgments strictly on their religious beliefs and teachings. Let me make it very clear – I am not against any religion...

Britain is to become the first country in the world to set legally binding targets for cutting its carbon dioxide emissions, says The Independent. The targets will be aimed at cutting emissions of the gas which causes global warming by between 26 per cent and 32 per cent by 2020, and 60 per cent by 2050. In a draft Bill published yesterday, ministers promised to enshrine into law their commitment to cut emissions....

Following up on last week’s post (Nice Lice Give Advice!), the New York Times informs us that the Epic of Human Migration Is Carved in Parasites’ DNA: A human body is not the individual organism its proud owner may suppose but rather a walking zoo of microbes and parasites, each exploiting a special ecological niche in its comfortable, temperature-controlled conveyance. Some of these fellow travelers...

According to a poll released Tuesday by the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), American women are very, very tired, says The Newsweek magazine. “Sixty percent say they don’t get enough rest most nights of the week while 43 percent report that daytime sleepiness interferes with their regular activities. “Persistent sleep problems are a major public-health issue because inadequate rest puts women...

My first undergraduate major was in anthropology and I’m still interested in the field. Today’s New York Times: In Lice, Clues to Human Origin and Attire One of the more embarrassing mysteries of human evolution is that people are host to no fewer than three kinds of louse while most species have just one. Even bleaker for the human reputation, the pubic louse, which gets its dates and residence-swapping...

Since this is an original interview conducted for this site we will leave it at the top for several hours. NEWER posts are BELOW so keep scrolling. Today – part two of the interview. To read part 1 go here. I’ll start by republishing the last question of yesterday… MvdG: Africa continues to be the ‘black continent’. It’s mostly still ignored. Wars are being fought, people...

EDITOR’S NOTE: This was run earlier but since it is an original interview conducted for this site we will leave it at the top for several hours. NEWER posts are BELOW so keep scrolling. A reader, Stuart, sent me a great present a couple of months ago: a book called Why Geography Matters by Harm de Blij. The book had a lot of influence on me – it’s a very interesting book, in fact, I consider...

The Moderate Voice encourages weblogs to do original interviews so this great infosource can live up to its potential. And — once again — there is a GREAT one via The Talking Dog. This time TTD has shifted his focus from terrorism related issues to global warming. And, just as in his other ones, he peppers his interview subject with highly specific questions that show he has done his homework. There’s...

From moderate cartoonist Tom Briscoe:

When I watched the Mercury & Gemini blastoffs as a child in Ohio, this problem was not much contemplated. NY Times: Orbiting Junk, Once a Nuisance, Is Now a Threat

It’s time to rewrite some of the scientific studies: One of four ministers who oversaw three weeks of intensive counseling for the Rev. Ted Haggard said the disgraced minister emerged convinced that he is “completely heterosexual.” Haggard also said his sexual contact with men was limited to the former male prostitute who came forward with sexual allegations, the Rev. Tim Ralph of Larkspur...