More Thoughts on Hurricane Sandy...
My parents still have no power, and no water. Today marks a week since the storm hit, and they are hardly the only ones in such a situation.
There were pictures floating around on Twitter and Facebook that were proven to be false, and that includes some pictures and information that I shared, admittedly. I was not certain if they were accurate or not, but figured I would share, since it seemed interesting enough. Personally, I don't think that you necessarily have to agree with something, or to believe it, to share it on Facebook. If it stimulates discussion and might be possible (although just shy of far-fetched, admittedly), then it's perhaps worth posting.
However, I do not understand why anyone felt the need to outright fabricate some misinformation, such as the guy who claimed that Wall Street had completely flooded, a widespread report that, as it turned out, wound up being completely untrue.
The lines for gas here in New Jersey remain very long (I heard one guy on the radio complaining that he had to wait seven hours for gas!), although many are now insisting that there actually is no gas shortage, and that the perceptions of such are strictly due to paranoia and hoarding behavior by many who believed that projections of a shortage were, in fact, true. In the meantime, Governor Christie instituted an even/odds rationing system for each day (one day, even number plates can get gas, the next, odd numbers can, and all vanity plates count as odd plates). More gas is evidently on the way, as are generators to start to give more stations the ability to obtain the gas and start opening up, which should alleviate the lines and wait times.
In the meantime, yet another storm is projected to hit the area on Wednesday, this time a winter storm, possibly with snow and winter-like conditions.
The Election
Wow! Can it be that election day is tomorrow? Such a long process, yet the storm kind of overshadowed it and, for once, election day kind of just snuck in there, as close to unnoticed (at least for a Presidential election year here in New Jersey) as I've ever seen it.
As of right now, CNN is reporting that it is a dead heat between Romney and Obama. Both men hold 49%, although last I heard, Obama has a slight edge with the swing states, particularly Ohio, to my understanding. We shall see...
- Paul Ryan, the Republican Vice-Presidential candidate, claimed during a telephone call with evangelical voters on Sunday that Obama's plan for America threatened Western "Judeo-Christian" values. (story: http://news.yahoo.com/ryan-says-obama-compromises-judeo-christian-values-034033684.html)
- Another corporate head threatened his employees if Romney does not win. This time, the company is located in Florida. It is Saddle Creek Logistics Services, and the President is Cliff Otto. Here is the link to the article:
http://thinkprogress.org/election/2012/11/04/1136531/florida-ceo-romney/?mobile=nc
Around the World
Pakistan - The Taliban have apparently taken to throwing acid at girls and women attempting to get an education. They obviously intent to prevent women from doing anything to try to empower themselves, while also challenging the Taliban's authority. The acid obviously had long term effects, deforming them in the long-term. The Taliban have been distributing threatening pamphlets and taking credit for these attacks.
Here is the link to the CNN article by Shaan Khan:
http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/03/world/asia/pakistan-acid-attack/index.html?hpt=wo_c2
Egypt - Egypt's Coptic Christians have picked a new pope to lead them. The last one was very political, and allied himself with former President Mubarak, which has proven a liability to the Coptic Christian community since his ouster. Bishop Tawadros Theodorus II became the nation's 118th Coptic Pope. These popes are chosen by a blindfolded boy, who picks one of three names of elected candidates. This comes at a time of considerable tension between the majority Muslim community and the minority Coptic Christians, and the hopes are for a peaceful outcome.
Syria - a bomb exploded in Damascus near security compounds, as the conflict in Syria continues to escalate and divide the Islamic world, as well as much of the rest of the world.
http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-rebels-attack-air-secure-north-south-corridor-101910202--finance.html
Bahrain - The government defended it's ban on protests, claiming it was intended to stem rising violence. Amnesty International demanded that they lift the ban immediately.
Vatican City - The Sistine Chapel, the most famous chapel of the Apostilic Palace (the official residence of the Pope), made especially famous for the ceiling that was painted by renowned Italian Renaissance artist Michelangelo, will be celebrating it's 500th anniversary on Tuesday.
France - Following a strike, the fate of France's oldest refinery, Petit-Courrone refinery of insolvent Swiss firm Petroplus, will be determined later today. For now, the government says it is opposed to liquidation.
France - President Hollande reaffirmed the commitment of France, and the European Union, to stand against instability in Lebanon.
Utah - Hikers in Provo Canyon evidently had a run in (caught on tape) with a creature that they believe just might have been Big Foot. They had initially believed it was a bear, but when the creature stood up, revealing huge arms, they began to run. The video can be seen linked to this following article:
http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/blog/39929/hikers+take+flight+when+what+they+thought+was+a+bear+resembles+bigfoot/
Sports
So, the Giants blew it.
In 2001, the Giants, coming off a Super Bowl season (they lost the Super Bowl that time, however) played their first post-9/11 game against the Chiefs in Kansas City, and won. This time, they got to host the Pittsburgh Steelers at home, and they put up a dud, ultimately losing, 24-20.
The Giants were winning for most of the game, despite a lackluster offensive performance. They were uncharacteristically bad in the fourth quarter, not managing to score points down the line, and unable to prevent Pittsburgh from mounting a comeback from down 10 points in the 4th to win it in regulation.
Kudos to the Pittsburgh Steelers for choosing to arrive for the game in New Jersey against the Giants on the Sunday morning of the game rather than earlier, in an effort to make more rooms available to hurricane victims. That was a real classy move, and it gave me new found respect for the Steelers (some of the respect which I had admittedly lost for their seeming support of their rapist quarterback).
The Giants were helped out by the Panthers, who upended the Redskins in Washington, and by the still undefeated Falcons, who held off the Cowboys last night in Atlanta, 19-13. Also, the Bears were huge winners, making it look easy in Tennessee. I have to say, their defense perhaps might remind some of the 1985 Chicago Bears. Chicago improved to 7-1. Perhaps that team is for real? The Packers also won, continuing their winning streak, while the Texans also improved to 7-1, best in the AFC right now. The Ravens came ff their bye to win an important division game at Cleveland, while the Broncos held onto their AFC West lead by winning at Cincinnati.
In men's tennis, Novak Djokovic managed to clinch the top ranking on the men's side for the second year in a row, following Roger Federer's withdrawal from the Paris Masters. It was weird, because Novak clinched it while he was still ranked number two, although allegedly, Federer was going to lose points due to the calendar passing the anniversary of tournaments that he won late last season, which helped boost him in the rankings. Still, it was a good run, but Djokovic seems to still rule the men's side (although not quite as dominantly as he did last year).
In soccer, the Red Bulls and DC United tied, 1-1, in their first game of their playoffs. The second game is scheduled to hosted by the Red Bulls, who will have a chance to clinch it, if they manage to win. In other games, Houston managed to defeat Kansas City, 2-0, while San Jose upset David Beckham and the Los Angeles Galaxy, 1-0.
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