Sports Chowdah Update- C's Rally in the Knick of Time; Boston B-Devils Jersey; Madness Marches On; Manny Returns; NHL Dishes Suspension to Cooke

MLB: For those of you keeping track (which I'll admit I've been doing a piss poor job of) tonight's Sox-Rays game marked Manny Ramierez's first appearance at Ft. Meyer's City of Palms Park as a Tampa Bay Ray. The former Indians, Red Sox and Dodgers slugger went 1 for 1 with two walks and scored a run on Tuesday while on the mound, 2010 AL Cy Young winner David Price outlasted John Lackey, who gave up 5 runs over 5 ⅓ innings and was hung with his first loss of the Spring training for a 2-1 record, with the Rays winning 7-4. The Red Sox have tomorrow off and will next face the Florida Marlins at Jupiter, FL on Thursday with first pitch at 1:05 ET. OTHER RED SOX NEWS: The agent for 1B Adrian Gonzalez, John Boggs, has said that his client and the Red Sox are close to agreeing on a seven year contract extension for the former San Diego infielder. In his final year with the Padres, Gonzalez hit 31 home runs and had a .298 BA while playing half his games in the very pitcher friendly PetCo Park. NHL: After Saturday's disappointing 5-2 loss to the Maple Leafs in Toronto, the Bruins would head home and take on the struggling New Jersey Devils. Although the Bruins came into March riding an impressive 6-game road winning streak, the B's would then go on to win only two of their next eight contests (although they would garner a point or two for losses taking place in OT or the shootout- and curiously, they have yet to relinquish 1st place in the division this month). Tuesday night's game looked as though it would be more of the same when the Devil's Ilya Kovalchuck scored first to give New Jersey the 1-0 lead. Shawn Thronton would get the equalizer at the with just over four and a half minutes remaining in the first period. In the 2nd period, Zdeno Chara would put the B's up for good with a power play goal (the Bruins went 1 for 5 with the man advantage on Tuesday night) while Milan Lucic would score for Boston in the 3rd and Mark Recchi would get an empty-netter as the exclamation point in the Bruin's 4-1 win over New Jersey. Zdeno Chara came up big, for lack of a better term, coming up with the game winning goal and 2 assists on Tuesday night. Tim Thomas stopped 30 shots, not allowing a goal after Kovalchuck's power play goal in the 1st period. The win all but finishes off whatever postseason aspirations the Devils might've had to begin with. The Bruins next game will be on Thursday at home against Montreal. The 2nd place Canadiens are coming off of being shut out 2-0 by the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night. OTHER NHL NEWS: The NHL has decided to hand down a suspension to enforcer Matt Cooke for not only the final 10 games of the regular season, but also the first round of the playoffs after his elbow to the head against the Ranger's Ryan McDonagh on Sunday. Dennis Savard had his 2009-2010 season ended by a concussion after taking an elbow to the head from the Penguins cheap shot artist. NBA: Like the Bruins, over the last several games the Celtics have been looking like a playoff bound team by virtue of racking up the wins earlier in the season that didn't threaten to do much once they arrived there. After starting out their most recent road trip with a 93-77 loss to the Houston Rockets on Friday, the C's managed to bounce back with an 89-85 win over the New Orleans Hornets before heading to Madison Square Garden to wrap up their 3 game raod trip against the Knicks. Now, most of the time the Knicks are a punchline or laughingstock who's only claim to fame is having Spike Lee mouth off at the visiting players. Now although the recently made headlines by acquiring Carmello Anthony in a trade from Denver, the were at one game over .500 coming into Monday night's game against Boston. By halftime on Monday night's game, it looked as though Boston's March woes would continue, as the Knickerbockers headed into halftime with a fairly commanding 51-37 lead over the visitors. However, the Celtics would mount a spirited comeback in the 2nd half of what some would consider a possible playoff preview, with their defense holding the Knicks to just 35 points in the 2nd half, with Rajon Rondo putting Boston in the lead for good after hitting a jumper with just over 3 minutes left in regulation. Shortly after making the shot, Rajon and Carmello Anthony collided while 'Melo was attempting to steal a pass, resulting in a gash above Anthony's eye. Rondo came up with the ball and passed to Big Baby for a layup that but Boston up 90-86. Pierce nailed a jumper to make it a 6 point game before Ray Allen's dunk made it 94-86 with 40 seconds left in regulation before following ti up with two successful free throws. Kevin Garnett led the scoring for Boston with 24 points along with 11 rebounds on Monday night, followed by Paul Pierce's 21 points and 6 rebounds. The C's still are in first place for the Atlantic conference, although now they are a half point behind the Chicago Bulls for1st overall in the Eastern Conference. Interestingly, despite the .500 record and 3 game skid, the Knicks are still very much in the playoff hunt. The Celtics will return home on Wednesday night to take on the Memphis Grizzlies at 7:30 PM ET. NCAA HOCKEY: While everybody from the leader of the free world on down is keeping track of their March Madness brackets, just a reminder that the NCAA Men's Hockey Tournament gets underway this Friday. The schedule is as follows: Friday, March 25 3 p.m., East Region: Minnesota-Duluth vs. Union (Bridgeport, CT), ESPNU 5:30 p.m., West Region: Michigan vs. Nebraska-Omaha (St. Louis, MO), ESPN3 6:30 p.m., East Region: No. 1 Yale vs. Air Force (Bridgeport, CT), ESPNU 9 p.m., West Region: No. 1 Boston College vs. Colorado College (St. Louis, MO), ESPNU Saturday, March 26 1:30 p.m., Midwest Region: No.1 North Dakota vs. Rensselaer (Green Bay, WI), ESPN3 4 p.m., Northeast Region: No. 1 Miami vs. New Hampshire (Manchester, NH), ESPNU 5 p.m., Midwest Region: Denver vs. Western Michigan (Green Bay, WI), ESPN3 7:30 p.m., Northeast Region: Merrimack vs. Notre Dame (Manchester, NH), ESPN3 NCAA HOOPS: Perhaps to nobody's surprise, Kansas had sent to BU Terriers packing in the first round last week, while UConn- the sole remaining New England team in the tournament now- bested the Cincinnati Bearcats by 30 points. This sets up a match against the San Diego State Aztecs (who need double OT to get past Temple this weekend) at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA on Thursday night at 7:15 PM ET, 4:15 PM Pacific.

Libyan Rebels Attempt to Advance While US, Coalition Airstrikes Target Libyan Air Defences

Coalition airstrikes against Libyan military targets began over the weekend in what's being called Operation Odyssey Dawn. Although Pentagon and NATO officials sounded optimistic at the early success in taking out Libyan air defences and Libyan rebels seemed to be regrouping, a defiant Mummar Ghdaffi promised to drag out the conflict for as long as possible.

Although the rebels claimed they were able to shoot down some of Ghdaffi's fighter planes in skirmishes, aircraft manned by pilots loyal to the Libyan ruler have largely enjoyed air supremacy over the rebels. On top of that, it's thought that only 10% of the rebels have any kind of military experience.

(Proposed No-Fly zone map courtesy of globalsecurity.org)

Participants in Operation Odyssey Dawn so far include the USA, the UK, France, Italy and Canada with ships or aircraft from Spain, Denmark, Belgium, Qatar and Norway ready to participate in enforcing the no-fly zone over the next few days. After strikes against military targets in Benghazi, Sirte, Misrata, Zuwara and Tripoli, more than a dozen French aircraft started off the second day of Odyssey Dawn by patrolling the proposed no fly zone without incident over the weekend. Rebels based out of the stronghold of Benghazi have begun pressing back south on the highway to Ajdabiya after the road was cleared by coalition aircraft on Monday, hoping to retake one of the cities they lost to troops loyal to Ghdaffi last week.

Meanwhile an Algerian TV station is reporting that Ghdaffi's 6th son and commander of the feared Khamis Brigade was killed when a rebel Libyan pilot crashed his aircraft into the brigade's barracks in a suicide mission on Saturday. The Ghdaffi regime denies the report that Khamis Ghdaffi, 27, was killed in the attack while other sources indicated it was a British cruise missile that slammed into the Khamis Brigade headquarters.

Japan Update: Trouble Persists at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant; More Dramatic Video Surfaces; Death Toll Mounts as Rescuers Still Finding Survivors

Workers attempting to bring the damaged reactors at TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant under control were evacuated temporarily on Monday after a plume of grey smoke rose from the plant's reactor #3.

The news came after TEPCO confirmed power cables had been connected to all six nuclear reactors at the stricken power plant

The last two reactors to be hooked up to power from the main grid today were reactors No. 3 and No. 4, the two most badly damaged units, company officials told a briefing.

The company, meanwhile, is checking for damage to the plant's reactor cooling systems and other plant machinery before attempting to power them up.

It is operating equipment using grid power at reactor No. 5 only, one of the least damaged reactors, the officials said.

The cooling systems - designed to protect the plant's six reactors from a potentially disastrous meltdown - were knocked out by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, and engineers have been battling rising temperatures ever since.

Workers had been struggling all week to shut down the quake damaged reactors after the strongest quake in Japan's recorded history and subsequent tsunami damaged some of the backup power and cooling systems. While the surrounding 12 miles of the plant were evacuated, some 200 Volunteers have been working in shifts of 50 each to operate the equipment, monitor gauges and clear obstructions from the various pipes in the facility.

The JSDF had also been called in last week to use Chinook helicopters to dump seawater and a compound consisting of boron onto the overheating reactors. This step was considered a 'last resort' by many observers as the salt water would be highly corrosive, meaning that the reactors could never be used again. The JSDF had also brought in at least six fire trucks capable of continuously pumping seawater onto spent fuel rods and overheating reactor #3.

Meanwhile, over the weekend, the Japanese government had reported that higher than normal levels of radiation were found in spinach and milk at farms in the vicinity of Fukushima- some farms as far as 100km away. While positioned off of Japan's east coast, the USS Ronald Reagan had detected increased levels of radiation last week and 17 crew members had to undergo decontamination after returning to the carrier from search and rescue duties.

ELSEWHERE IN JAPAN: As the situation unfolds in Fukushima Daiichi, more eyewitness video is surfacing demonstrating the staggering impact of the quake (which the USGS has officially changed to 9.0) and subsequent tsunami. This video embedded below shows black, churning water cascading over a seawall at Miyako in the Iwate prefecture while boats and cars caught up in the wave getting tossed around like bathtub toys



Another videotape has surfaced that was filmed from inside a car driving right next to the coast when the tsunami hit.

Searchers and rescue workers have discovered survivors in the rubble or washed out to sea in the week following the quake, including a 4 month old baby girl in the town of Ishinomaki, an 80 year old woman and her 16 year old grandson were pulled from the rubble of their home in the same town nearly a week later and a 60 year old man was rescued after being stranded on the roof of his demolished home that was washed 10 miles out to sea.

Today's Train of Thought- Hoosier Gonna Call; March 20, 2011

In keeping with the snow theme while there's still some on the ground in various parts of the country, today's Train of Thought brings us to the Hoosier state and the all-EMD shortline Indiana Northeastern.

The Indiana Northeastern- not surprisingly operates in the northeastern corner of Indiana as well as the far northwestern corner of Ohio where it connects with the Norfolk Southern at Montpelier, OH and the former Hillsdale County Railroad (nee New York Central) trackage between Jonesville and Sturgis, MI where it connects with Pioneer Rail corp's Michigan Southern (and onto another connection with the NS line between Elkhart, IN and Kalamazoo, MI currently being leased to WATCO's Grand Elk Railroad at White Pigeon, MI). Besides agricultural products such as corn, soybeans, wheat and flour, the IN also hauls coal, lumber, glass and chemicals among other commodities.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Aaron C Schlegel caught a Northbound Indiana Northeastern freight ducking under the Fox Lake Rd bridge in Angola, IN with a lashup of power that prominently features first generation power- the two lead units are largely unmodified GP9s. According to the Diesel Shop, the lead unit- Indiana Northeastern #1601 started out life as Reading #606 in August 1952 while Indiana Northeastern #1602 was built in April 1957 as Great Northern #693 and bringing up the rear is the only slightly newer 1963-built GP30 #2230, which was built as Pennsylvania railroad #2230.

Both the 1601 and 1602 retain their classic as-built high hoods- and it's entirely likely that each unit was ordered to replace the last of the serviceable steam locomotives on their respective railways (Reading & Great Northern).

Jennifertillyfan.com

Like the 2 lead units, another worthwhile product of the 1950s would include actress and World Series of Poker participant Jennifer Tilly. I know I've mentioned this before, but even though I don't regularly follow Poker tournaments or the latter day entries in the Child's Play series of movies, I still continue to be impressed at how Tilly continues to be easy on the eyes just past the half-century mark [I know I can't be the only one- NANESB!].

Luck O'The Irish Sports Chowdah Update- B's Working Overtime; C;s Pick Up the Pace; Madness Begins; NFL Lockout Looming?

It's been awhile since I've done one of these, huh? Well, not too surprisingly, events elsewhere had caught my undivided attention and no matter how much I love my teams, I didn't give sports that high a priority in the grand scheme of things. NHL: Coming off their come-from-behind shootout win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday with Tukka Rask 'twixt the pipes, the Bruins travelled to Music City on Thursday night to take on the Nashville Predators.

The Bruins got on the board first with a tally from Tyler Seguin in the first, but Nashville (presently 3rd in the Central Division and on the outside looking in for the 8th and final playoff spot for the Western conference) would come right back to tie it thanks to a Sergei Kostitsyn before taking a 2-1 lead on a Colin Wilson tally early in the 2nd. A David Krejci goal made it a 2-2 game heading to the 2nd intermission and Patrice Bergeron was able to get one past Preds netminder Pekka Renne not even 2 minutes into the 3rd to make it a 3-2 Boston lead.

However, Boston would be unable to hold onto the lead and at around the 10 minute mark, David Legwand was able to beat Tukka Rask to tie the game up at 3 and force overtime. At the 3 minute mark in OT, Nashville would get the power play on a holding minor on Steve Kampfer, where Shea Weber would capitalize and get the game winning tally in sudden death OT. The 4-3 OT win means that Nashville manages to stay within 1 point of the Calgary Flames and 2 points of the Dallas Stars and Chicago Blackhawks (both Dallas and Calgary won tonight as well).

After making 34 saves (and stopping all 3 shootout shots faced) on Tuedsay against the Blue Jackets, Rask made 27 saves on Thursday night while Nashville's Pekka Renne stopped 35 of 38 shots faced on the night.

The Bruins have gone 5-2-3 in their last 10 games and 1-2-3 since their 6 game winning streak was snapped earlier this month. Their next game will take place in Toronto against the Leafs and will be televised on NESN and CBC's Hockey Night in Canada (and presumably the NHL network in the USA by extension) at 7PM Eastern time. I have to say, I'm supremely disappointed in the Nashville Predators (AKA Mr. Carrie Underwood's team) and their management for not following through on my concept of casting a wide net of aspiring hottie country music starlets in order to lure marginally talented and competent bloggers to Nashville. I mean if that was in fact the means with which they were attracting NHL talent to the Music City, it would stand to reason that bloggers with way too much time on their hands would be next, right?

OTHER NHL NEWS: The league had decided not to suspend Zdeno Chara after a hit against Max Pacioretty left the Montreal winger with a concussion and fractured vertebrae. NHL senior vice president of operations Colin Campbell- who usually hands down supplemental punishments for controversial hits like Chara's- had to recuse himself from any decision because his son Gregory Campbell and Chara are teammates. NHL executive Mike Murphy had decided not to suspend or fine Chara after reviewing video of the hit- Chara was given a major penalty and game misconduct in the 4-1 loss to Montreal last week.

MLB: Red Sox pitchers Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima have been in contact with their families back in Japan since last week's massive earthquake and deadly tsunamis. Their immediate families are with them in the states, while Matsuzaka's parents presently reside in the Tokyo area, some 200 miles south of the epicenter from last week's quake. Most of Hideki Okajima's family lives in the southern Kyodo reigon of Japan.

The two pitchers appeared in a videotaped appeal for donations towards the relief efforts in Japan that will be made via the Red Sox foundation. Along with Matsuzaka and Okajima, pitchers Junichi Tazawa and Itsuki Shoda collected donations from fans arriving at the home plate entrance of City of Palms park before the Monday night game against the NY Yankees.

NBA: The Celtics have hit something of a rough patch over the last week or so, dropping three out of their last 5 including games against the Clippers, Nets and 76ers. However, they were able to pick up a W at the Garden in Wednesday night's game against the Indiana Pacers. Acquired from the Oklahoma City Thunder, F Jeff Green came off the bench for Boston with 19 points and 3 rebounds, while Paul Pierce led the scoring for the starters with 20 points.

Although they trailed in the first quarter, the Celtics managed to get by the Pacers by a final of 90-82. Their next game is on Friday night at Houston- the game gets underway at 8:30 ET

NFL: You know what? Back when they were still playing, I thought any talk of a lockout was outlandish and farfetched. I mean surely the owners, league and players wouldn't be so tone-deaf to think that in this epoch of soaring food or fuel costs, record home foreclosures and high unemployment that some highly publicized melodrama between multimillionaires and billionaires would capture the public's attention or sympathy, would they?

Well- turns out I was wrong. Now it's too early to write off the 2011 season entirely, but all indications are that players and management are still miles apart when it comes to any sort of labor agreement.

NCAA HOOPS: OK, so my bracket-fu ranges from weak to nonexistent.

With that said, New England will be represented by a couple of teams as March Madness gets underway. To hardly anybody's surprise, the UConn Huskies handled Bucknell pretty easily, winning by a final of 81-52 on Thursday. The win sets up a meeting with another Big East team- the Cincinnati Bearcats on Saturday the 19th.

The BU Terriers will have something of an uphill battle on Friday when they're scheduled to take on the #1 seed Kansas Jayhawks at the BOK Center in Oklahoma City at 6:50 PM ET

Happy St. Patrick's Day From Not Another New England Sports Blog!

Ah St. Patrick's day- the time of year when most of our thoughts turns from beer and drunken debauchery to green beer and drunken debauchery.

Naturally, this calls for some Celtic eye candy- provided to us this time by artist KO Munson. This untitled, undated piece above was actually one of several done by Munson while in the employ of Brown & Bigelow that featured some sort of vignette prominently in the background. The finished product was also meant to appear as though it was still a rough draft with a series of accompanying sketches.

It's highly likely that Munson was actually depicting a bonnie Scotswoman in the picture above. However, since the work is untitled and several of the themes (such as the tartan and bagpipes) can be found in Ireland, who's to say that this isn't depicting a bonnie Irish lass instead?

And for the love of God, no matter what else you do today TRY not to be this guy, mm'kay?

Forces Loyal To Ghdaffi Counterattack, Bombard Rebel Positions

[Map: AFP]

Mummar Ghdaffi's forces struck back at rebel-held cities in the eastern part of Libya with airstrikes, missiles, tanks and artillery this week, retaking the oil port of Ras Lanuf and have made it as far east as Ajdabiya- some 100 miles south of the rebel stronghold of Benghazi.

Earlier in the month, the Libyan rebels- increasingly made up of soldiers who had defected from the Libyan Army- had made their way westward from Benghazi to the outskirts of Tripoli before being steadily pushed back eastward to their stronghold by Ghdaffi's forces.

Since then, the beleaguered Libyan rebels have been requesting assistance from outside the country- including arms and the possible imposition of a no-fly zone against Ghdaffi's Air Force.

In rebel-held eastern Libya, patience for diplomatic niceties is running short. At a checkpoint near the contested town of Ras Lanuf, Saluhaddin Sultan, 38, a rebel who used to work as a kitchen worker at an oil plant, gestured angrily and said: "Why aren't the Americans doing anything? They just watch and talk. Gaddafi has heavy weapons and he is killing us."

There was a personal reason for his anger. His brother-in-law and nephew, also fighters, had died a day earlier when their car was hit by one of Gaddafi's jets.

"We are fighting for our revolution, but we cannot protect ourselves from the planes," he said.

A couple of miles along the road from the checkpoint were two deep craters on the road edge, from another bombing raid which had killed a family in their car as they fled the fighting.

Jalal Elgallal, a Benghazi businessman educated in Britain who supports the revolution, added: "I lived in Britain for years, I admire Britain - as most Libyans do - and I would expect Britain to help the underdog. If we get a no-fly zone he can't bomb us, and our fighters could march on Tripoli and end this.

"We need your help to get rid of Gaddafi. Just think about what he has done to you in the past - Lockerbie, Yvonne Fletcher, terror attacks.

"This is your chance too to get rid of him. We could get rid of him quickly with some foreign help, otherwise doing this could cost tens of thousands of lives."

In Cairo, the Arab League called for the United Nations Security Council to establish and enforce a no-fly zone during an emergency meeting last week.
British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have also supported a Libyan no-fly zone while President Obama has been ambivalent at best and Germany and Russia have expressed doubts.

The British and Lebanese have put forth a proposed resolution at the United Nations Security Council that would present a 'menu' of options the international community could use to curtail the activities of Ghdaffi's regime and military. However, it's thought that Russia and China- permanent members of the UN Security council- are likely to oppose any external military intervention against the Libyan regime.

Ring of Fire Update- Pacific Island Chain of Tonga Rocked by Magnitude 6.1 Quake; Explosion Reported at Japanese Nuclear Plant

The 'Ring of Fire'- the seismic and volcanically active reigon encirling the Pacific Ocean from New Zealand's South Island to Russia's Kamchatka peninsula to Chile's Tierra de Fuego- has been unusually active this month.

TONGA: Not even a day after the massive earthquake in Japan that triggered deadly tsunamis, a magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck the Pacific archipelego nation of Tonga early Saturday morning.

A magnitude 6.1 earthquake hit south east of Tonga at 1:19pm local time (2:19 NZT), the US Geological Survey has reported.

The quake was at a depth of 10.9 kilometres, 106 kilometres south east of Hihifo, Tonga, 2528km west of Auckland.

An aftershock of 5.7 magnitude followed two minutes later.

A meteorological officer on Niuatoputapu, one of the northern most islands of Tonga, said he had not felt the earthquake.

No shaking was felt further south by residents in the islands of Vava'u or on Tongatapu, the Matangi Tonga website reported.

The low-lying Tongan island island of Niuatoputapu was hit hard by a tsunami spawned by an undersea magnitude 8.1 earthquake in the Samoan islands back in 2009. That tsunami killed 10 people and destroyed 90% of the structures on the island, although no tsunami warning was issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.


JAPAN: As I was updating the news out of Tonga, this story just broke out of Northeastern Japan.

An explosion was reported at the site of the Tokyo Electric Power Co's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on Saturday.

An explosion at a nuclear power station tore down the walls of one building Saturday as smoke poured out and Japanese officials said they feared the reactor could melt down following the failure of its cooling system in a powerful earthquake and tsunami.

It was not clear if the damaged building housed the reactor. Tokyo Electric Power Co., the utility that runs the Fukushima Daiichi plant, said four workers were injured but details were not immediately available.

Earlier, Japanese government officials said that radiation levels at that facility were at 1000 times the normal level.

Japan has issued a state of emergency for four other nuclear facilities as well. Shortly after it was learned of the problems at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, Tokyo Electric Power co warned that it had lost cooling ability for another reactor at their nearby Fukushima Daini site, prompting the evacuation of nearly 14,000 nearby residents.

3/12 UPDATE: Although the official death toll from Friday's quake tsunami has been tallied at 574, officials expect that number to rise. More 9,500 residents in the remote fishing village of Minamisanriku- to the north of Sendau- are unaccounted for in the aftermath of the disaster according to the Japanese Kyodo news agency. As of 2004, the town's population was an estimated 19,000.

3/12 INDONESIA: The Jakarta Post is reporting that Indonesia's Mount Karengateng on the island of Sulawsei has erupted, spewing lava and sending searing gas clouds down the mountainside. There have been no immediate reports of casualties or property damage there, although four people were killed when the volcano erupted last August. Closer to Indonesia's capital, the Mt. Merapi volcano on the densely populated island of Java unleashed a series of eruptions in October 2010, reportedly killing 122 people. Around the same time, the western coast of the earthquake prone island of Sumatra was rocked by a magnitude 7.7 earthquake, triggering a tsunami. It was estimated that 430 people were killed in between the tsunami and actual quake, with a number of people still missing.

Eastern Japan Hit By Magnitude 8.9 Quake, Tsunamis- Warnings Issued Throughout Pacific

The most powerful earthquake in Japan's recorded history triggered tsunamis reportedly as high as 25 feet that swept up cars, boats, houses and bridges while surging inland shortly after it struck on Friday afternoon.



The magnitude 8.9 quake- even more powerful than last year's Chilean earthquake- struck at around 2:45 PM local time on Friday in Japan. According to the USGS, the epicenter was some 80 miles to the east off the coast of Sendai and 230 miles from Tokyo. Te prefecture of Sendai was hardest hit.



Japanese oficials say that the death toll from the quake and tsunami is at 32 and expected to rise. Although no derailments were reported, Shinkansen (high speed rail) lines across the country were shut down as a precautionary measure. The expressways in and around Tokyo were shut down Friday afternoon as well.

Several fires had also flared up in the aftermath of the earthqauke, including an inferno at the Cosmo oil [Nikkei: 5007] refinery in Chiba and another fire in the turbine building of the Tohoku Electric Power co's [Nikkei: 9506] nuclear plant outside of Onagawa.

Meanwhile, authorities in Hawaii have begun preparing across the islands for an impact with tsunamis generated by the Sendai earthquake.

A tsunami warning was issued at 9:30 p.m. for Hawaii as a result of a 8.9-magnitude earthquake near the east coast of Honshu, Japan. The earthquake and resulting tsunami killed at least 32 people in Japan.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami watch at 7:56 p.m. after the quake struck 231 miles northeast of Tokyo.

Chip McCreary, director of the warning center, said the latest forecast models show "wave amplitudes of up to 2 meters (6 feet) beyond normal sea levels in Hawaii.

"What these waves look like is an elevation of sea level, where the sea level will rise above its normal level and stay high for 10 or 15 minutes before they recede," McCreary said, explaining the difference between tsunami and regular waves.

Because of the long length of tsunami waves, "they wrap around our islands very efficiently" so there is no point of impact that may see higher waves than other areas.

The waves are expected to impact in Hawaii at 3 AM Hawaian time (8AM Easter).
A Tsunami warning has also been issued for Taiwan, Russia, the Philippines, southern Alaska, British Columbia, the entire West Coast of the USA, Mexico as well as Central and South America and New Zealand.

3/11 UPDATE: Police in Northern Japan have discovered 200-300 bodies in the vicinity of Sendai- the capital of Myagi prefecture and closest major city to the epicenter of the earthquake.

3/11 UPDATE #2: Japanese authorities have issued an official emergency for the Tokyo Electric Power Co's [Nikkei: 9501]Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in the town of Okuma after problems were reported with the plant's cooing systems. The plant had automatically shut down after the earthquake and authorities have ordered the evacuation of more than 2000 in a 3km radius from the plant.

The tsunami impacted the California coast at 10 AM Pacific Time, sweeping at least one man out to sea and damaging boats and docks in coastal cities like Santa Cruz and Crescent City.

Wisconsin Senate Passes Controversial Bill Limiting Public Employee's Collective Bargaining; Protesters Storm Capitol; Man Charged w/Bomb Threat

The Wisconsin state Senate managed to circumvent the absence of 14 Democrat state senators to pass a hotly contested bill that would limit the collective bargaining ability of public employee unions on Wednesday Night.

All 14 Senate Democrats fled to Illinois nearly three weeks ago, preventing the chamber from having enough members present to consider Gov. Scott Walker's "budget-repair bill" - a proposal introduced to plug a $137 million budget shortfall.

The Senate requires a quorum to take up any measure that spends money. But Republicans on Wednesday took all the spending measures out of Walker's proposal and a special committee of lawmakers from both the Senate and Assembly approved the revised bill a short time later.

The unexpected yet surprisingly simple procedural move ended a stalemate that had threatened to drag on indefinitely. Until Wednesday's stunning vote, it appeared the standoff would persist until Democrats returned to Madison from their self-imposed exile.

"In 30 minutes, 18 state senators undid 50 years of civil rights in Wisconsin. Their disrespect for the people of Wisconsin and their rights is an outrage that will never be forgotten," said Democratic Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller [from the comfort of a hotel room at an undisclosed municipality in Illinois- NANESB!]. "Tonight, 18 Senate Republicans conspired to take government away from the people."

The state Assembly previously approved the original proposal and was set to consider the new measure on Thursday. Miller said in an interview with The Associated Press there is nothing Democrats can do now to stop the bill: "It's a done deal."

Personally, I thought it was the best possible move on Walker's part. Any sort of compromise or negotiations would be rewarding the AWOL Democrats for their conduct. I mean- if you're Walker, what's the worst that could happen? The SEIU, AFL-CIO or AFSCME unions won't donate to your campaign? Protestors occupying the Capitol building for weeks at a time and waving handmade signs comparing you to Adolf Hitler or Hosni Mubarak? Unions bussing in Teamsters from out of state? The SEIU or liberal hacks like David Obey calling for a recall?

When UPS Drivers or Union Pacific train crews go on strike- who exactly are they striking against? Corporations like UPS or Union Pacific.

When teachers, nurses or firefighters go on strike, who are they striking against? Taxpayers- essentially you and me. And as a bonus, more often than not, their union invariably funnels a portion of their wages (paid by taxpayers) into the coffers of the Democrat party- regardless of the political leanings of some of their members.

State Rep. Nick Milroy is the Democratic state representative from Wisconsin’s 73rd assembly district. He was on America’s Radio News with anchors Chris Salcedo and Lori Lundin. Salcedo pointed out that union membership was split by their votes in 2010, 49% for Democrats and 47% for Republicans, nearly an even split. But unions donated 93% of their total contributions to Democrats in 2010, and 7% to Republicans or others. The question was asked if the assemblyman could understand why Republicans were not in favor of having tax payer funded dues go to fund Democrat campaigns? The assemblyman contended that public employees can opt out of the unions. But when pressed about how even those that opt out must pay union dues, the assemblyman suggested that those people that didn’t want to be part of a union could find other work.

Get that? You’ll be forced to donate to a party that you don’t support, and you’ll like it

This begs the question- if the private sector has been going through such difficult times for the last 2 years or more, why should public sector unions find themselves from cutbacks?

University of Wisconsin law professor and blogger Ann Althouse reports that protesters overwhelmed the Capitol Police and reoccupied parts of the building on Wednesday night and in some instances chained doors to the building shut.

Thousands of protesters rushed to the state Capitol Wednesday night, forcing their way through doors, crawling through windows and jamming corridors, as word spread of hastily called votes on Gov. Scott Walker's controversial bill limiting collective bargaining rights for public workers.

Some union leaders interviewed at the Madison Labor Temple said the abrupt passage could lead to strikes. Officials with Madison Teachers Inc. and the Wisconsin Education Association Council urged teachers to show up to work today, despite a call for a mass demonstration this morning.

Department of Administration spokesman Tim Donovan said although protesters were being encouraged to leave, no one would be forcibly removed. Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz said he had instructed Madison Police Chief Noble Wray not to allow his officers to participate in removing demonstrators from the building.

At one point, officials estimated up to 7,000 people had spilled into the Capitol, some coming through doors and windows opened from the inside, including one legislative office and several bathrooms. Some door knobs and door handles were removed, Donovan said.

ELSEWHERE IN THE BADGER STATE: A 43 year old man was arrested after making a bomb threat directed at an Eau Claire, WI aviation company the same day governor Scott Walker made an appearance there last week.

Patrick J. Knauf, 43, of Eau Claire was arrested for the violation of making a bomb scare under state statute 947.015.

The threat was made after 5 p.m. Wednesday, just hours after Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker made a brief appearance at Heartland.

The building was sealed off, and a thorough search by the Eau Claire Police Department and the Eau Claire Fire Department was made. No bomb was located, and Heartland Aviation has resumed normal operation.

The incident took place the same day as police found more than 40 rounds of live ammunition scattered throughout the grounds immediately outside the state capitol building in Madison, WI where demonstrations had been taking place for two weeks.

[Hat tip: Gateway Pundit; Althouse; Weasel Zippers]