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Serious damage Manchester street Christchurch New Zealand

» more pictures here

» Latest News Updates – Christchurch Earthquake

A powerful earthquake has rocked Christchurch, and aftershocks are ongoing. The power appears to have been knocked out across much of the city. The quake has been felt through much of the South Island. It struck just before 5am this morning.

It was felt widely across the South Island, including Christchurch and Timaru, and there have also been reports of the quake being felt as far as Wellington. Several aftershocks have been felt. Witness Colleen Simpson said everyone was out in the street in their pyjamas looking scared and worried. There was no power and the mobile network was failing.

Radio NZ reports power off to most of Christchurch. Orion says many substations down, sewer and water pipes ruptured.. Reports of looting on Colombo St. (not confirmed )

» USGS

» Live Traffic – Tweetgrid – Christchurch, Earthquake

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» www.stuff.co.nz

» www.msnbc.msn.com

The center of the quake was 41 miles (66 km) deep and it struck at 1635 GMT. Christchurch, on the east coast of the South Island, is New Zealand’s second-largest city with a population of about 342,000 people.

Ruptured Water pipes Christchurch Earthquake

Major Damage Christchurch New Zealand

Christchurch New Zealand Repertory Theatre, formerly Radiant Hall building damage

Street Damage Christchurch New Zealand Earthquake

Shop damage Christchurch Earthquake

Mud Volcano’s everywhere, Halswell

Bealey Ave Damage Christchurch Earthquake Damage

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Dr Mark Quigley is a lecturer in the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch. He has just reported that witnesses told him the Avon River in Avonside overflowed its banks in places due to a surge in the river caused by the massive earthquake which hit Christhchurch at 4.30am today. He said there are cracks in parts of the roads and gardens around Avonside measuring 20cms across and up to 1 metre deep.Dr Quigley told RadioLive that the force of the quake had pushed up sand and dirt in mounds in parts of Avonside.

↓ ]]> http://surfersparadiseqld.com/usgs-massive-7-4-magnitude-quake-hits-near-new-zealand-christchurch/feed/ 0 http://surfersparadiseqld.com/stephen-hawking-god-was-not-needed-to-create-the-universe/ http://surfersparadiseqld.com/stephen-hawking-god-was-not-needed-to-create-the-universe/#comments Thu, 02 Sep 2010 19:25:29 +0000 Surfers Paradise Qld http://surfersparadiseqld.com/stephen-hawking-god-was-not-needed-to-create-the-universe/

The Big Bang was the result of the inevitable laws of physics and did not need God to spark the creation of the Universe, Stephen Hawking has concluded.

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The scientist has claimed that no divine force was needed to explain why the Universe was formed.

In his latest book, The Grand Design, an extract of which is published in Eureka magazine in The Times, Hawking said:

“Because there is a law such as gravity, the Universe can and will create itself from nothing. Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the Universe exists, why we exist.”

» telegraph.co.uk

The Coast Guard is on the scene of another oil rig fire in the Gulf of Mexico. Officials are now reporting a mile-long oil sheen spreading from the site.

This recent explosion is west of the one that happened on April 20 which caused a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico…

Coast Guard Petty Officer Bill Coklough said the sheen, about 100 feet wide, was spotted near the burning platform. He said Mariner Energy, Inc., the Houston company that owns the rig, had deployed three firefighting vessels to the site and one already was in place fighting the blaze.

According to the Coast Guard, 13 people were on the platform when it caught fire Thursday morning. All 13 are accounted for and one injury was reported.

» www.wafb.com

» UPDATE: Oil rig explodes in Gulf of Mexico; 7 active wells on platform...

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» COAST GUARD: Mile-long 'oil sheen' spreading...

Q: Doctor,  I’ve heard that  cardiovascular exercise can prolong life. Is this true?

A: Your  heart is only good for so many  beats, and that’s it…  Don’t waste them on exercise. Everything wears out  eventually.  Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer; that’s like saying you can extend  the life of your car by driving it faster.  Want to live longer?  Take a  nap.

Q: Should  I cut  down on meat and  eat more fruits and  vegetables?

A: You must grasp  logistical efficiencies.  What does a cow eat?   Hay and corn. And what are these?  Vegetables.  So a steak  is nothing more  than an efficient Mechanism of  delivering vegetables to your  system.   Need grain?   Eat  chicken. Beef is also a good source  of field grass  (green leafy vegetable).   And a pork chop can  give you  100% of your recommended daily allowance of vegetable products. ↓
Q: Should  I reduce my  alcohol intake?
A:  No,  not at all.  Wine is made from  fruit.  Brandy is  distilled wine, That means they take the water out of  the fruity bit so you  get even more Of the goodness that  way.   Beer is also made out  of grain.  Bottoms   up!

Q: How  can I calculate my body/fat   ratio?
A: Well,  if you have a body and you have  fat, your ratio is one  to one…  
If you have two bodies, your  ratio is two to  one, etc.

Q: What  are some of  the advantages of participating in a regular  exercise  program?
A: Can’t  think of a single one, sorry…  My  philosophy is: No  Pain…Good!

Q:  Aren’t  fried  foods bad for you?
A:  YOU’RE  NOT  LISTENING!!! …..  Foods are fried these days in vegetable oil…  In fact,  they’re drenched in it.  How could  getting more  vegetables be bad for you?

Q

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Will  sit-ups  help prevent me from getting a little soft  around  the middle?
A:  Definitely  not! When  you exercise a muscle, it gets bigger. You  should only be  doing sit-ups if you want a bigger   stomach.  

Q:  Is   chocolate bad for me? 
A:  Are you crazy? HELLO Cocoa beans! Another vegetable!!!
It’s the best feel-good food around!

Q:  Is swimming good for your figure?
A:  If swimming is good for your figure, explain whales to  me.

Q:  Is getting in-shape important for my lifestyle? 
A:  Hey! ‘Round’ is a shape!  
Well, I hope this has cleared up any misconceptions you may have had about food and diets.

AND…..
For  those of you who watch what you eat, here’s the final  word on nutrition and health.
It’s a relief to know the  truth after all those conflicting nutritional  studies.  
1. The Japanese eat very little fat
And suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
2. The Mexicans eat a lot of fat
And suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
3. The Chinese drink very little red wine
And suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
4. The Italians and French drink a lot of red wine
And suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.  
5. The Germans drink a lot of beers and eat lots of sausages and fats  
And suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
CONCLUSION

Eat and drink what you like.
Being American is apparently what kills you.

» www.stanford.edu

A photograph posted by Paris Hilton more than a month prior to her drug arrest in Las Vegas could blow up her claim that the purse she was carrying — which contained cocaine — did not belong to her, RadarOnline.com is exclusively reporting.

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In mid-July, Paris Tweeted a photograph of a purse and wrote: "Love My New Chanel Purse I Got Today " That purse appears to be identical to the purse she was carrying when arrested on cocaine possession charges in Las Vegas last weekend.

It could be a stunning blow to Paris’ claim that the purse in which cops found cocaine did not belong to her and that she borrowed it from a girlfriend.

One photo from the night of the arrest contains an out of focus image of the purse, but it is clear that it is a Chanel, with the distinctive interlocking Cs. The clasp in the front of the purse also appears to be the same.

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» www.radaronline.com

In a bid to set parents’ nerves at ease, a southwest suburban school district has become one of the first in the state to begin using GPS to track schoolchildren riding buses to and from school each day.

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Palos Heights School District 128 had previously been using ZPass, a GPS technology provided by Seattle-based Zonar Systems, to track the buses. But now the district is outfitting students’ backpacks with a luggage tag-sized unit that logs when the student steps on and off the bus.

"A little piece of mind helps you get through the day," says Ann O’Brien, a mother of four children in Palos Heights School District 128. "They can locate kid and bus in seconds."

Source: http://www.nbcchicago.com/

"Look, it’s like I’m in a snapshot with her," said Shu Watanabe, 23, as he showed off his iPhone display, featuring himself next to the image of a doe-eyed cartoon character named Rinko, a smiling high school girl.

Long a favorite of lovers and honeymooners, a Japanese beach town with fading sparkle has found a new tourism niche in the wired age by drawing young men and their virtual girlfriends.

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One recent sweltering summer’s day, a tour bus from Tokyo pulled up at a sun-kissed beach at Atami, a Pacific coast resort southwest of the metropolis, and disgorged more than a dozen excited, iPhone-clutching young men.

The determined youngsters, paying scant attention to the bikini-clad girls frolicking on the sand, instead headed straight for a bronze statue that depicts Kanichi and Omiya, a couple from an old love story set in Atami.

…more about this bizarre story

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EXTRA cops, bans on troublemakers and designated safe drinking zones will spearhead a Queensland government crackdown on alcohol-fuelled violence.

Premier Anna Bligh has announced three "Drink Safe Precincts" will be set up – in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley, the Gold Coast and Townsville – from December 2010.

Under the $4.2 million plan, police numbers in those precincts will be boosted by 39 per cent and troublemakers will be banned from those areas.

"Drink Safe Precincts would be run like major sporting events with coordinated policing, security and support services provided to deliver a safe environment for patrons,” she said in a statement…More