Chief Master Sergeant Richard L. Etchberger will be Awarded the Medal of Honor

The White House announced that Chief Master Sergeant Richard L. Etchberger will, posthumously, be awarded the Medal of Honor on September 21st in a ceremony at the White House.  Etchberger’s sons, Cory and Richard Etchberger and Steve Wilson, will join President Barack Obama at the White House to honor their father.

Gemany Defeats Belgium 1:0 in European Championship Qualifier

Germany met a highly motivated Belgian team in Brussels.  In its first qualification match Germany won the game in an away game 1:0.  Michael Loew depended largely on his proven formation that came third in South Africa.  The only change was in defence, due to the injuries of Arne Friedrich and Jerome Boateng were replaced by Marcel Jansen and Holger Badstuber. 

Major 7.2 Magnitude Earthquake hits Christchurch New Zealand’s second largest city (Video)

Update 20.22GMT: Cellphone towers in Christchurch only have 1 hour battery power left.

Update: Video added (see below), unconfirmed reports of looting.

Update: No fatalities or major injuries reported so far, USGS now reporting quake as a magnitude 7.0.

Update: People are being advised to conserve water in Christchurch.

Radio NZ said police had shut down the central city for safety.

Christchurch Airport was closed and officials were checking the runway.

Police said there was a lot of road damage around the city, mostly towards the west end.

Damage was reported from Taitapu Hotel, and there were reports of possible minor injuries.

Source: TVNZ

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Jobs Figures - Good News Bad News

As we are nearing the end of this "Summer of Recovery" one has to wonder if we need to recover from the recovery.  Today's job figures are a bit of good news and bad news.  While the  Unemployment Rate rose to 9.6%, the private sector added jobs, while the temporary Census Workers became unemployed.

Hurricane Earl to Hit Canada's Maritimes Saturday

The North American weather watchers have been busy watching the progression of Hurricane Earl closely the last view days.  Last night the storm strafed North Carolina and is hammering Virginia this morning.  The storm is tracking north east.  It is expected to make landfall somewhere between Maine and Nova Scotia.  Because of the colder waters, it is expected to be downgraded to a tropical storm before it hits.

How to get well

Why are so many people ill?

It seems that most people think illness is a part of life. Where ever you go, you see people who are ill and most people visit doctors and othe practitioners on a regular basis. So it seems normal.

And it is! Indeed, it's very normal - as long as you define "normal" as "common". But if you think of "normal" as "how it normally should be"... then it could really not be any further from the truth!

Harmonized Sales Tax - Big Problem of BC Liberals

The British Columbia Liberal Government under Gordon Campbell is in big trouble over the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) issue.  The HST, which combines the Provinical Sales Tax (PST) and the Federal Good and Services Tax (GST) was introduced by the government shortly after the election.  The government claimed that the HST was not even on the radar during the election campaign.

A doctor's point of view on psycho active drugs

"Today, the administration of psychoactive drugs to children (6-17) is all too common and growing at an alarming rate. These drugs often cause the opposite of the intended effect, often condemning children to a life of misery and ill health. The prescription of these drugs is said to treat "chemical imbalances" which were said to cause ADHD, Depression and Bi-polar disorder. It turns out, however, that what we were calling "disease-causing chemical imbalances," is simply incorrect . The sad irony is, the inappropriate use of these medications is in fact creating different chemical imbalances, which do cause mental disorders, many of which are both life-long and debilitating.

John McCain, in primary, beats Tea Party candidate

There is a secret. Learn new tricks as an old dog. The Arizona Republican Primary happened most recently. John McCain really wanted to beat J.D. Hayworth who was endorsed by the Tea Party. You will find others with candidates like John McCain, but he is really good at campaigning. Hayworth will have to wait six years to run again after losing the primary. The Tea Party stuff is what everybody wants to know about. That is why the Alaska Senate race and Florida Senate race are so closely viewed. Resource for this article - John McCain beats Tea Party candidate in primary.

N.Y. Appeals Court Denies Motion Related To Death Threat In Regards To Sexual Orientation and Gender

In 2005, Rhonda Mangus, of the City of North Tonawanda, took a stance after her 14 year-old son, Michael, was facing violence at his school which ended with a death threat, hand written, related to the fact that he is gay. As a result and fear for her son's safety, Mangus took her son out of the North Tonawanda Senior High School, located in North Tonawanda, New York.

China Headed for Japanese-style Stagnation

This author will have to admit to having some degree of prejudice here about the whole topic. I know that I was surprised living abroad at just how concerned people were with the "ranking",  of their own country in the "Superbowl of World Historic Importance". The Romans, just a few, for example, regularly informed me that Rome was still "caput mundi", a Latin expression meaning "capital of the world". I would point out that the UN, that is, the "world", had a headquarters, a capital, and this it was, like it or not, in New York.

Hey, I would rather that the UN was in Switzerland. Let their hookers get all that UN business.

Another example: I knew then as I know now that Hollywood sucked, but, compared to what Cinecitta (Rome's cinema production center) put out in the '80s and '90s, Hollywood was awesome and a source of embarrassment to the Italians by comparison who had watched their own film industry go into a tailspin.

First Canadian Astronaut to Command Space Station

Colonel Chris Hadfield has been named as the first Canadian Astronaut to command the international Space Station. Chris will launch aboard a Soyez Russian Rocket in December 2012.  This will be his third trip to space.  Hadfield was also the first Canadian to conduct a space walk.  All of the instrumentation on the Russian build ISS are in Russian and Hadfield will also  have to communicate with the Russian Control Centre in Russian.

Value and Danger of Emotional Dope

Now, I'm definitely not writing this article to advertise "Generation Kill"! - Especially knowing just how p... some really are about the book and how insulted they feel. Coming up with a generalization like this and presenting it in such a way as if this was all there is to the armed forces today is really way off and borders on the line to treason!

German Economic Model: Does it work?

During the recent recession, Germany has been the backbone of the Eurozone and its economic model seems to be outperforming other global economies, especially that of the United States.  Germany's economic model is one that incorporates industry, unions and government all working together to pull on the same rope for common prosperity.  A well targeted system of education, based on requirement forecasts, ensures that students are trained and educated for jobs to be filled in the future.