Right now on MSNBC. Consider it an appetizer for tomorrow's Gold Medal show down (3:15 eastern).

tmi3rd's take...

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Posted by: DrewM at 06:03 PM | Comments (109)
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Hello, hello all M&Ms. Welcome to your regularly scheduled Saturday night ONT.

Underground Nuclear tests
Okay I have to admit that there's just something about nuclear tests - even the quiet underground ones - that makes me happy. Where other people see death and destruction, I see the power that comes from understanding nature, using our tool-making skill to harness a little bit of the fundamental forces of nature, and the inspiration of fear in our enemies. So ultimately it is a triumph of the human spirit.

And needless to say we must not let the Iranian spirit triumph.

Posted by: Maetenloch at 05:51 PM | Comments (712)
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For all your non earthquake and tsunami needs.

Posted by: DrewM at 03:01 PM | Comments (404)
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Looks like the worst is over.

Hawaii appeared to escape any major tsunami unleashed by the giant earthquake off the coast of Chile, giving residents and tourists relief even as they remained on guard Saturday afternoon.

Tsunami surges of six to 12 inches in height hit the "Big Island" of Hawaii beginning at 11:38 a.m. local time, 34 minutes later than oceanographers previously forecast, said Bill Hanson, administrative officer with the Hawaii County Civil Defense.

Those were far lower than the waves of as high as 14 that feet some officials had predicted. Mr. Hanson said that while the tsunami threat was not entirely over, the fact that no large surges have hit so far means more destructive ones are less likely.

"It's not over until the fat lady sings, but it's a good sign so far," Mr. Hanson said.

Local media reportingg tsunami warning has been canceled for Hawaii.

Original post below the fold.
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Posted by: DrewM at 11:51 AM | Comments (747)
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The UK Independence Party seems to be the conservative/libertarian option in the UK. They are in favor of tight border control, free markets and are adamantly opposed to the UK's European entanglements*.

They don't have any members in the UK Parliament but have a couple of seats in the European Parliament which they use to more or less harangue the Euro bureaucrats. Like this....

via TV's Andy Levy

*I haven't run extensive checks on everything about the UKIP so I don't want to hear from the net nanny saying I've embraced evil or something. They seem alright and they certainly aren't the cretins from the BNP.

Posted by: DrewM at 10:37 AM | Comments (136)
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Obama has 22% strong approval, 43% strong disapproval. This matches his prior lowest approval index of -21.

Foreshadowing:

Overall, 43% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the President's performance. That is the lowest level of total approval yet measured for this President. Fifty-five percent (55%) disapprove. The President earns approval from 76% of Democrats while 86% of Republicans disapprove. Among those not affiliated with either major party, 38% approve and 61% disapprove. The President earns approval from 37% of men and 49% of women.

Data for these updates is collected via nightly telephone interviews and reported on a three-day rolling average basis. As a result, just two-thirds of the interviews for todayÂ’s update were collected following the PresidentÂ’s health-care summit. Tomorrow morning (Sunday) will be the first update based entirely upon interviews conducted after the summit.

Game over, man!

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 07:57 AM | Comments (244)
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200 miles southwest of Santiago.

Tsunami warnings generated for Chile and Peru across all Pacific islands and the Pacific rim, including most of Central and South America and as far as Australia and Antarctica.

Article says the biggest one ever recorded in Chile, a 9.5 in 1960 generated waves that killed as far away as Hawaii, the Philippines, and Japan.

DrewM.: Having spent some time in Chile I just wanted to add a few thoughts.

First, Chileans are some of the nicest people I've ever met. They are friendly, kind, hard working and almost everyone I met loved America. They are also a very proud people.

Second, this is an area that has suffered from earthquakes before. Walking through Santiago you notice a strange mix of buildings in terms of styles and age. When I asked about it I was told that it was because when earthquakes, some survived and some collapsed. When they collapsed, new ones were put up giving you this odd mix of buildings.

Reminders of the power of nature, especially geological are all over the country. I went up into the Andes and you can drive off into huge side canyons. There were boulders that were the size of office buildings and dozens of them in each canyon. It was amazing.

On a political note...they are not all that far removed from the Pinochet dictatorship. They are very proud of the political and economic progress they have made and rightly so.

It's a quirky and in someway strange country but for the most part it's a beautiful and welcoming one. I pray they will be ok.

Posted by: Dave in Texas at 03:03 AM | Comments (500)
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Friday, Friday, Friday and Saturday morning too.

Attention Chicagoland morons - there's a moron meetup coming up on March 13th at Emmett's Ale House, 5200 Main Street in Downers Grove, IL.

Okay it's been a long week so to help make up for it here's your daily dose of cuteness...

Pygmy hedgehogs take a bath
Apparently people keep pygmy hedgehogs as pets and so I guess they occasionally need a bath.

Posted by: Maetenloch at 06:18 PM | Comments (734)
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Doctor Zero is my favorite contributor at Hot Air's Greenroom.

This is why.

It's a beautiful reminder that depression is not a death sentence, and life is truly precious. A must-read.

Posted by: Slublog at 05:48 PM | Comments (100)
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Snowy night in the northeast and not much news, so Canada-Slovakia for the right to play the US in the Olympic game. 9:35 eastern on CNBC.

Canada just had it's heartbroken when their womens curling team failed to close the deal (twice!) against the snowbacks from Sweden. Can it happen again? Mike Milbury says they have a chance, however small, which is funny since he's not exactly a fan of euro-hockey. Jeremy Roenick on the other hand say no way, no how.

FWIW- I'm in the JR camp.

Slovakia's kind of thin beyond Marian Gaborik, Pavol Demitra, Marian Hossa, and Zedeno Chara

Oh, if you don't like hockey, congrats. The ONT should be along any minute now for your enjoyment.

One other hockey note...turns out Sean Avery is on Twitter, what could go wrong? So is Marian Gabarik and Brendan Shanahan.

Here's tmi3rd's breakdown of tonight's game... more...

Posted by: DrewM at 05:25 PM | Comments (231)
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