Rahm is that you? The Chicago Mayoral race is his to lose by the way. He needs to make no major mistakes, like not visiting disabled children.

The earthquake in Indiana is fairly significant, actually.

It is a quake of 'The North American Craton."

It is also considered by USGS to be a 'felt quake.'

The craton of the North American plate IS the 'continent.'  Without it the plate would be a random amount of terra firma and water.  The craton is composed of very, very stable geological rock.
When an earthquake occurs on or better put, within the craton it is transmitted far distances and can do damage hundreds of milies away.  See, where the equake is 'felt' is sometimes where the damage occurs RATHER THAN the epicenter which can be very deep.  The 'felt' quake is more the worry when these episodes exist in the craton than where the epicenter is.

Earthquake Hits Central Indiana (click title to entry - thank you)

Last Updated: December 30, 2010 9:37:32 am

(Lawrenceburg, Ind.) - A magnitude 4.2 earthquake hit about 15 miles south of Kokomo, Indiana Thursday morning. 

The quake was about 50 miles north of Indianapolis.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was three miles deep and hit at 7:55 a.m. Eastern time. 

The USGS website has data showing the quake was felt in the western suburbs of Chicago, as far north as Kalamazoo and Ann Arbor, Michigan and also felt in central Ohio....

So, the future mayor of Chicago might want to check with emergency services and find out if he needs to visit any of the 'felt zone' for cracks, gas leaks, injuries at the hospital with people that have no clue what occurred to them, etc.

This might help from the USGS, then again, maybe not.  The USGS works on 'their summary' from its beginning to the completed documented event with 'on the ground' and 'seismic' investigation.  The 'study' of any quake isn't ignored after it is reported.  That is true of hurricanes and volcanoes and other threats to human life.  So, this is THE BEGINNING of the report on this quake, not the 'final' report.  Knowledge also 'goes forward' as information presents itself.  So the completion of this 'file' may receive information for decades or as technology changes, for centuries and beyond.  It is important work that the USGS, NASA and NOAA do, beyond the 'simple reporting' (sorry if that sounds like a put down, it isn't, they consider the 'reporting' to have high priority) of an event and its initial economic impact.

Tectonic Summary

EARTHQUAKES IN THE STABLE CONTINENTAL REGION

...However, (click here) most of the enormous region from the Rockies to the Atlantic can go years without an earthquake large enough to be felt, and several U.S. states have never reported a damaging earthquake. The earthquakes that do occur strike anywhere at irregular intervals....

One thing that the 'agencies' at any level have to remember is that the gas industry has been turned loose in the USA to disrupt very stable geological rock for the sake of petroleum industry profits.  CEO's are scared to death of losing a 'cent' of income, you know?

It is why the Republicans always want to shut down the government rather than giving the American people knowledge of their lives and how to avoid living on a 'gas land mine.'

Alassane Ouattara of the Ivory Coast won the election, but, his opposition is attempting a coup for whatever reason exists.

The election commission said Alassane Ouattara had won 54% of the vote.

This is somewhat indicative of African elections in general.  They are very bad losers.  There is sometimes riots and deaths following elections.  The problem this time is that the Ivory Coast is boarding on genocide.

Ivory Coast's (click title to entry - thank you) electoral commission has said opposition candidate Alassane Ouattara has won the presidential run-off but the Constitutional Court has contested the announcement.

The BBC's John James in the main city Abidjan says there will now be a tug of war between the two bodies with the outcome unclear.

Supporters of President Laurent Gbagbo had tried to block the result, saying there had been fraud in the north.

Former rebels control this area.

It is also where Mr Ouattara is most popular.

The election is intended to reunify the world's largest cocoa producer....

American's unconcerned with the genocidal outcome might want to stock up on "Nestle's Quik."

Ivory Coast's newly appointed ambassador (click here) to the UN has warned the country is "on the brink of genocide".

Youssoufou Bamba said there had been large scale violation of human rights as a result of the ongoing political unrest.
Laurent Gbagbo is refusing to step down despite his rival, Alassane Ouattara, being internationally accepted as the presidential election winner.
The UN has accused state media of inciting hatred against it.
Mr Gbagbo has said Mr Ouattara's victory in November was illegitimate. Both men have been sworn in as president....

When one is looking to understand the political dynamics of Africa, the word 'rebel' doesn't necessarily mean a 'soured' political movement.

UN accuses Ivory Coast TV of inciting hatred - Video (click here)

30/12 00:35 CET

...The accusations were levelled by the UN peacekeeping chief Alain Le Roy who blamed an attack on a UN convoy, in which a soldier was injured with a machete, on the broadcaster:...

Once hailed as a model of stability, (click here) Ivory Coast has slipped into the kind of internal strife that has plagued many African countries.
An armed rebellion in 2002 split the nation in two. Since then, peace deals have alternated with renewed violence as the country has slowly edged its way towards a political resolution of the conflict....

One thing that is to be remembered is that poverty is a terrorist breeding ground.  Terrorists love instability and chaos.  So, with Somalia on the other coast there is some concern at all times that any instability in Africa or anywhere else in the world will result in escalations of terrorism threats globally.  I do not believe that is the concern here, but, it always has that potential.

Ivorian refugees flood into Liberian border towns (click here)

Thu Dec 30, 2010 11:02am GMT
...But the refugees arriving in the hundreds each day say many are sleeping in the open and have little to eat.
"We are appealing to the international community to help us with food and shelter," said Mcgbein Sammie Atu, appointed spokesman for the refugees in Old Luguatuo. "We have no food. How do you expect us to live?"
Laurent Gbagbo has refused to give in to international pressure to step down after last month's election in Ivory Coast despite provisional results showing his rival Alassane Ouattara with an eight percentage-point win....

Dec 30, 2010 - 11:39  

Red Cross launches Ivory Coast appeal  (click here)

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is calling for SFr1.35 million ($1.39 million) to help people fleeing Ivory Coast.

On the IFRC website, the Geneva-based federation said the money would go to the Red Cross National Societies of the countries neighbouring Ivory Coast where the refugees are fleeing amid political upheaval.

“Over 15,100 people, mostly women and children, are believed to have fled the country, the vast majority having left for the eastern part of Liberia,” said Aïta Sarr from the IFRC’s regional office in Dakar, Senegal.

“Given the continued political crisis, an influx of people is also possible in other countries bordering [Ivory Coast], such as Burkina Faso, Mali and Ghana,” she added.

The IFRC said the funds raised from the appeal would be used to provide immediate assistance to people who have fled their country, and to scale up relief efforts of the Red Cross in neighbouring nations so that 45,000 people can be assisted for a period of six months.

swissinfo.ch

...According to the election (click here) commission on Thursday, presidential challenger Alassane Ouattara won the vote. His supporters have warned of a possible return to civil war should that result be invalidated.
But that is exactly what has happened after the Constituational Council, headed by a staunch Gbagbo ally, cancelled votes from four regions in Ouattara’s rebel-held northern stronghold....

The Ivory Coast is being held hostage to a power broker.  Gbagbo needs to LEAVE.  If he is worried for his life without an armed escort then he needs to be provided one while he leaves the office and potentially the country if that is his wish.

Alassane Ouattara, (click here) a former prime minister, banker and leader of the opposition, has been recognized as the winner of November’s election by the United Nations, the African Union, the United States and the European Union. The incumbent president, Laurent Gbagbo, 65, a leftist university professor-turned-populist strongman whose term ended in 2005, has resisted repeated calls for him to cede the office, clinging to power amid rebellion in the north and disputes among the country’s top political leaders
The country’s top elections officer proclaimed Mr. Ouattara the winner on Dec. 2, by a nearly nine-point margin. Only a day later, the head of the Constitutional Council, who is a close ally of the president, threw out vote totals from parts of the north — the stronghold of Mr. Ouattara — because of what he called “flagrant irregularities,” leading both men to claim the presidency....

Economically, the Ivory Coast is an example of what is "W"rong with Africa in general.  There is primarily subsistence farming for the majority of the country, while there are large plantation farms held by a few.  It depends on its natural resources for its domestic needs while using a small amount for international trade.  It's principal exports cocoa, coffee, and timber; other exports cotton, sugar, rubber, palm oil, and pineapples.  What little income the average citizen has pays for all else in the way of necessities.  There is no significant employment and tourism is not exploited either.  With civil unrest and war there is far lesser opportunity to turn the country toward tourism.

Ivory Coast Travel Doc Part 01  (click here)

Barrington Hall Yacht Charters (click here)

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