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Flashpoint Falklands: Britain dusts off war plans amid calls to send a nuclear submarine after Argentina joins forces with Brazil and Uruguay to blockade islands By Tim Shipman and Ian Drury Military chiefs are dusting off their plans for the defence of the Falklands after South American countries banned ships from the islands docking in their ports. Sources fear Prince William's six-month deployment to the South Atlantic as an air-sea rescue pilot next year could provoke more sabre-rattling. Yesterday Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner claimed Britain was ready to use its military to steal natural resources 'anywhere, anyhow'. She...

Both the protesters and the police are at fault for the violence yesterday. I'm not clear on what happened in Oakland last night, except that it was bad. The police are saying that they had to deploy beanbags and maybe tear-gas because people started throwing bottles, plates, and rocks when they tried to clear out the encampment at Occupy Oakland. I don't find this entirely implausible. The protesters are saying that when their authority was challenged, the police reacted with overwhelming and inappropriate force, which I also don't find entirely implausible. Since the police and the protesters seem, to date,...

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran raised the prospect on Tuesday of sending military ships close to the United States' Atlantic coast, in what would be a major escalation of tensions between the long-standing adversaries. "Like the arrogant powers that are present near our marine borders, we will also have a powerful presence close to American marine borders," the head of the Navy, Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said, according to the official IRNA news agency. /snip

MIAMI (Reuters) - Hurricane Katia weakened to a tropical storm on Saturday and was forecast to wobble back and forth between hurricane and tropical storm strength far from land in the open Atlantic, forecasters said. > Katia did not threaten land and was out in the Atlantic, about 430 miles east-northeast of the Leeward Islands. It was moving west-northwest on a path that would take it safely west of the mid-Atlantic island of Bermuda on Thursday. Computer models showed it turning north after that and then northeast and away from the East Coast.

Hard-hitting reporting of higher education has been so abysmal for so long that when newspapers cut back on their coverage of it, readers seldom notice. Too many reporters were inclined to merely parrot the press releases of the colleges and universities they cover. Now that readers can obtain this information for themselves on the internet, that approach is particularly superfluous. More than honorable mention on this score must be given to Scott Jaschik, co-founder and editor of Inside Higher Ed.com. As well, recently I had a chance to see the formidable Amanda Ripley in action. A contributor to Time and...

Does it matter which of the possible Republican nominees for president presided over the most job creation when running a state government? That metric is sometimes cited as an argument in favor of Texas Gov. Rick Perry. National Review says Gary Johnson scored a job growth rate of 11.6 percent during his tenure in New Mexico and that John Huntsman did next best during his time running Utah. But what if governors actually don't have much impact on how many jobs are created? Or even if they do, would state-level success necessarily translate onto the national stage? Take Gov. Perry....

US predicts 3 to 6 major Atlantic hurricanesBy Jennifer Kay, Associated Press Thu May 19, 4:04 pm ET MIAMI – U.S. government forecasters announced Thursday they expect three to six major hurricanes from an above average Atlantic storm season. No major hurricane has made a U.S. landfall in five years, but the forecasters warned U.S. coastal residents that odds are diminished that they can't expect a sixth straight year without a major landfall on either the Atlantic or Gulf coasts. As many as 18 named tropical storms may develop during the six-month Atlantic hurricane season that begins June 1, according...

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten -- An 85-year-old British sailor who dreamed of crossing the Atlantic on a raft as a young boy completed the journey with three friends Wednesday. The crossing to this Caribbean island, led by Anthony Smith of London, took about two months and was generally smooth except for damage to two rudders on the large, sail-powered raft. "Some people say it was mad," he told The Associated Press when he

Who discovered America? It's a simple question and one that usually brings the standard response - Christopher Columbus. But here in Wales we have our own theory. And that theory says that America was actually discovered 300 years before Columbus sailed "the ocean blue" in 1492 - and more importantly, that it was discovered by a Welshman. Mandan Indians used Bull Boats for transport and fishing that are identical to the Welsh coracle. The man in question was Prince Madoc, the son of Owain Gwynedd, one of the greatest and most important rulers in the country, and while the legend...

See my note below the pictures (first comment). Every one of these can be clicked for larger.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida (Reuters) – The threat of an above-average 2010 Atlantic hurricane season has increased over the last month and it now promises to be "very active," two leading U.S. forecasters said on Wednesday. William Gray and Phil Klozbach, who head the respected Colorado State University hurricane forecast team, said they would ramp up their prediction for the 2010 season in a report due out on June 2.

STATE COLLEGE, PA -- AccuWeather.com reports the upcoming hurricane season could be a top ten year, a stark contrast from the relatively calm 2009 season. AccuWeather.com Chief Hurricane Meteorologist Joe Bastardi predicts a total of 16-18 storms this season. To put that in perspective, only eight years in the 160 years of records have had 16 or more storms in a season. The season should start early with one or two threats by early July, and stay late with additional threats extending well into October. His forecast team expects at least six storms to impact the United States coastline--slightly more...

A NORTH Dorset explorer has discovered evidence of an ancient water route connecting the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Col John Blashford-Snell made the breakthrough on his recent trip to the Central American country of Nicaragua. It is believed the route, which encompasses rivers, a lake and flood plains, would be more ancient than the Panama Canal. The research focused on the strip of west-coast land separating Lake Nicaragua from the Pacific. A local fisherman told how he managed to cross the strip on a temporary lake created during wet season floods. “It seems likely that even if early cartographers did...

Scientists stirred to ridicule ice age claims   19:00 15 April 04   NewScientist.com news service   Climate scientists have been stirred to ridicule claims in an upcoming Hollywood blockbuster that global warming could trigger a new ice age, a scenario also put forward in a controversial report to the US military.The $125-million epic, The Day After Tomorrow, opens worldwide in May. It will show Manhattan frozen solid after the warm ocean current known as the Gulf Stream shuts down.The movie's release will come soon after a report to the US Department of Defense (DoD) in February predicting that such a shutdown...

It's a bit hard to believe, but that's what a Public Policy Polling survey suggests: that only half of Americans would rather have President Obama in the White House than his predecessor, while 44 percent would prefer George W. Bush to still be president. Here's PPP's Tom Jensen: "Perhaps the greatest measure of Obama's declining support is that just 50% of voters now say they prefer having him as President to George W. Bush, with 44% saying they'd rather have his predecessor. Given the horrendous approval ratings Bush showed during his final term that's somewhat of a surprise and an...

After enduring three years of delays, several lawsuits and the collapse of the real estate market, the $4.9 billion Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn took a major step forward on Tuesday when New York’s highest court ruled that the state can seize private property for the 22-acre development. The Court of Appeals ruled 6 to 1 that the state could exercise eminent domain in claiming businesses, public property and private homes for economic development projects like Atlantic Yards. In doing so, the court backed the state’s assessment that the area in question — where some holdouts had refused to sell...

A NOAA-led research mission has located and identified the final resting place of the YP-389, a U.S. Navy patrol boat sunk approximately 20 miles off the coast of Cape Hatteras, NC, by a German submarine during World War II. Six sailors died in the attack on June 19, 1942. There were 18 survivors. The wreck is located in about 300 feet of water in a region off North Carolina known as the “Graveyard of the Atlantic,” home to U.S. and British naval vessels, merchant ships, and German U-boats sunk during the Battle of the Atlantic. NOAA and its expedition partners...

The 2009 Atlantic tropical season is heating up with Tropical Storm Ana forming about 1000 miles east of the Leeward Islands, and Invest 90, a large Cape Verde system showing substantial promise for development. Currently, neither of the two systems pose an immediate threat to land. Long term forecasts indicate potential threat to Florida, while a third tropical wave is poised off of the So. Florida coast. Tropical Storm Ana Public Advisories Updated every six hours. Tropical Storm Discussion Updated every six hours Three Day Tracking MapStorm Track Archive Nice animated progression of 5 day forecast tracks Buoy Data W...

The Atlantic is wakening up for a while, likely for the next couple of weeks. There are three main areas of concern that I am watching for possible development into tropical systems. First, we have tropical depression 2 which on satellite appears it could already be a tropical storm. Here is a look at some of that satellite analysis estimates on the strength of the current depression. A couple of the satellites are estimating that winds could be as strong as 55 knots and for a system to become a tropical storm it needs winds of 35 knots.

BRAZILIAN search aircraft late have spotted seats and part of a plane wing in the Atlantic where an Air France jet went down nearly a week ago, officials said after two bodies and other items were recovered from the area. "Plane seats, part of the wing (and) various other items (were) localised,"

Internal polling for proponents of Proposition 8, which would ban same-sex marriage in California, shows the race tied; public polls have it tied at 44% to 44% with 12 percent undecided. Internal polling for opponents of proposition 8 have the race within the margin of error. So it's real close. Both sides are accusing other of dirty tactics; someone effectuated a denial-of-service attack on the No side's website. Yes on 8 director Frank Schubert says his side will have 100,000 volunteers on Election Day. (That's unlikely -- initiative directors like to equate their lists with their volunteers -- but even...

I should probably apologize to everyone before showing you this video. But it just the sort of thing that is being embraced in Democratic circles as acceptable behavior. That smug prick Andrew Sullivan posted it on his blog calling it Red, White And MILF. It is so reprehensible that I have no words with which to express my outrage. I am sure some of you won't have that problem. Watch the video here. I don't think anyone wants it on this site.

Forest City Ratner's $4 billion Atlantic Yards development project will be delayed by an additional six months or more in the wake of a ruling by a state Appellate Court. The court rejected a motion put forth by the Empire State Development Corp. to dismiss the lawsuit filed by nine property owners in the footprint of the project challenging the use of eminent domain. The ruling has forced the developer, Bruce Ratner, to reverse a pledge that ground for the project would be broken by the end of the year. "While the Appellate Division Second Department's decision to hear the...

Atlantic photographer and her 'McCain Derangement Syndrome'Rick Moran September 15, 2008 This is an incredible story that pulls back the curtain on the media in a way that has never been done before. Jeffrey Goldberg of the Atlantic Monthly wrote a very unflattering portrait of John McCain for the publication. To take the picture of McCain for the piece, the Atlantic hired Jill Greenberg, a free lance photographer. The controversy arose when Greenberg informed her blog readers that she actually tried to take pictures of McCain in the most unflattering light possible. The New York Post has the story: "Greenberg...

The editor of The Atlantic Monthly said Monday he is sending a letter of apology to John McCain after a woman the magazine hired to photograph the Republican presidential nominee posted manipulated pictures from the photo shoot on her Web site. Photographer Jill Greenberg, who is vehemently anti-Republican and expressed glee that the photos would stir up conservative ire, took pictures of McCain for the cover of The Atlantic’s October issue. During the shoot, she took several other backlit pictures, which she then doctored and posted to her site. In one photo, she added blood oozing from McCain’s shark-toothed mouth...

I don’t feel sorry for The Atlantic magazine. They are quite upset after discovering that Jill Greenberg, the left-wing photographer they hired to take photos of John McCain, is a deranged lunatic who manipulated pictures of the candidate to put him in a bad light — and then posted hateful photoshops of the images on her personal website and gloated about it to the Photo District News website. Sample of her unhinged defacing of McCain’s pics, which looks like something straight out of a Democratic Underground thread: (See article for photos) Atlantic writer Jeffrey Goldberg, whose cover story was tainted...

Editor's Note: This story embargoed for release until 2 pm ET Wednesday, October 17, 2001, to coincide with publication in the journal Nature.) COLUMBUS, Ohio - An international team of scientists reported this week that a rock core drilled from the seafloor off the coast of Antarctica is the first to show cyclic climate changes in polar regions that are linked to cores taken from the ocean bottom in both temperate and tropical zones. These records show ice sheet advances and retreats that match Milankovitch cycles - variations in the Earth's orbit around the sun, in the tilt of the ...

Warmer planet may mean fewer Atlantic hurricanes NewScientist.com news service Mason Inman Contrary to the widespread view that a warming world will bring more hurricanes, a controversial new study suggests the number of cyclones could actually drop in the North Atlantic. Hurricanes have become a lightning rod for arguments over what global warming might have in store. Most researchers agree that, since 1950, the number of hurricanes forming over the Atlantic has increased, and that since at least since 1980, they have become fiercer. Many studies have blamed the increase in Atlantic hurricanes on increasing sea-surface temperatures, which fuel the...

In the aftermath of World War II, statesmen on both sides of the Atlantic recognized that the defense of freedom would require the active engagement of a new generation of leaders. The result was the Atlantic alliance. In the six decades that followed, this alliance helped the West prevail against Soviet communism and ensured the advance of democracy from the Atlantic to the Urals. Today we may be tempted to bask in our achievements and wax nostalgic about all we have been through. But this is no time for nostalgia. At this moment, our alliance now finds itself threatened on...

Strategist says move would show U.S. is committed to Latin America MIAMI — The Navy is considering restoring the 4th Fleet in the Atlantic Ocean, a bureaucratic change that would raise the prominence of Pentagon maritime activities in Latin America and the Caribbean. Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made the disclosure during a visit to the Southern Command last week — calling it "a great idea" that "as far as I know is moving forward." The move would bring no new vessels to the region but would put Southcom on par administratively with other Pentagon...

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Hurricane forecaster William Gray called Friday for seven Atlantic hurricanes, three of them major, during the 2008 season. Gray's team at Colorado State University issued the prediction six months before the June-November season begins. The preliminary forecast calls for a total of 13 named storms in the Atlantic. It also says it is probable that at least one major hurricane will hit the U.S. coastline. “Despite fairly inactive 2006 and 2007 hurricane seasons, we believe that the Atlantic basin is still in an active hurricane cycle,” Gray said. “This active cycle is expected to continue at...

The new British empire? UK plans to annex south Atlantic Owen Bowcott Saturday September 22, 2007 The Guardian Britain is preparing territorial claims on tens of thousands of square miles of the Atlantic Ocean floor around the Falklands, Ascension Island and Rockall in the hope of annexing potentially lucrative gas, mineral and oil fields, the Guardian has learned. The UK claims, to be lodged at the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, exploit a novel legal approach that is transforming the international politics of underwater prospecting. Britain is accelerating its process of submitting applications to the UN...

Saltier North Atlantic should give currents a boost 13:12 23 August 2007 NewScientist.com news service Catherine Brahic The surface waters of the North Atlantic are getting saltier, suggests a new study of records spanning over 50 years. And this might actually be good news for the effects of climate change on global ocean currents in the short-term, say the study's researchers. This is because saltier waters in the upper levels of the North Atlantic ocean may mean that the global ocean conveyor belt – the vital piece of planetary plumbing which some scientists fear may slow down because of global...

Thousands of rubber ducks to land on British shores after 15 year journeyBy BEN CLERKIN - More by this author »Last updated at 22:00pm on 27th June 2007 Comments (9)They were toys destined only to bob up and down in nothing bigger than a child's bath - but so far they have floated halfway around the world. The armada of 29,000 plastic yellow ducks, blue turtles and green frogs broke free from a cargo ship 15 years ago. Since then they have travelled 17,000 miles, floating over the site where the Titanic sank, landing in Hawaii and even spending years...

MIAMI (Reuters) - The Atlantic hurricane season will be exceptionally active this year, according to a British forecasting group, raising the possibility that killer storms like Hurricane Katrina could again threaten the United States. London-based forecaster Tropical Storm Risk on Tuesday said the six-month season, which begins on June 1, was expected to bring 17 tropical storms, of which nine will strengthen into hurricanes with winds of at least 74 miles per hour. Four of those are expected to become more destructive "intense" hurricanes, TSR said. The long-term average for the Atlantic is for 10 storms to form during the...

Cooling Pacific Heralds Active Atlantic Hurricane Season CAMP SPRINGS, Maryland, March 9, 2007 (ENS) - On the heels of El Niño, its opposite, the cooling weather pattern in the east-central equatorial Pacific known as La Niña is expected to arrive soon, according to government forecasters. La Niña conditions in the Pacific typically mean a greater than normal number of Atlantic hurricanes. In a weekly update, scientists at the NOAA Climate Prediction Center said that as the 2006-2007 El Niño has faded, surface and subsurface ocean temperatures have rapidly decreased. Recently, cooler than normal water temperatures have developed at the surface...

A drill will be used to extract samples of the exposed mantle Scientists are to sail to the mid-Atlantic to examine a massive "open wound" on the Earth's surface.Dr Chris MacLeod, from Cardiff University, said the Earth's crust appeared to be completely missing in an area thousands of kilometres across. The hole in the crust is midway between the Cape Verde Islands and the Caribbean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The team will survey the area, up to 5km (3 miles) under the surface, from ocean research vessel RRS James Cook. The ship is on its inaugural voyage after being...

Every well-traveled cosmop­olite knows that America is mind-numbingly monotonous—the most boring country to tour, because everywhere looks like everywhere else,” as the columnist Thomas Friedman once told Charlie Rose. Boston has the same stores as Denver, which has the same stores as Charlotte or Seattle or Chicago. We live in a “Stepford world,” says Rachel Dresbeck, the author of Insiders’ Guide to Portland, Oregon. Even Boston’s historic Faneuil Hall, she complains, is “dominated by the Gap, Anthropologie, Starbucks, and all the other usual suspects. Why go anywhere? Every place looks the same.” This complaint is more than the old worry,...

Scientists study ancient Gulf Stream PASADENA, Calif., Dec. 4 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they've determined the Gulf Stream was weaker during the Little Ice Age -- a time of unusually cold conditions in the North Atlantic. That finding by David Lund and colleagues at the California Institute of Technology suggests changes in Atlantic Ocean circulation might have had a significant impact on climate during historical times. The researchers analyzed sediment cores from the Florida Straits -- the region where the Gulf Stream enters the North Atlantic Ocean. They discovered the Gulf Stream was about 10 percent weaker during the...

That the Gulf Stream is responsible for Europe's mild winters is widely known and accepted, but...it is nothing more than the earth-science equivalent of an urban legend... The countries of northern Europe do indeed have curiously mild climates...why do so many people credit the Gulf Stream? Like many other myths, this one rests on a strand of truth. The Gulf Stream carries with it considerable heat when it flows out from the Gulf of Mexico and then north along the East Coast before departing U.S. waters at Cape Hatteras and heading northeast toward Europe. All along the way, it warms...

000 WONT41 KNHC 271133 DSAAT SPECIAL TROPICAL DISTURBANCE STATEMENT NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL 730 AM EDT TUE JUN 27 2006 Satellite and radar information indicate that a small low pressure system could be forming about 140 miles south of cape fear North Carolina. This system has the potential to develop into a tropical depression at any time as it moves north to north-northeastward at 15 to 20 mph. an air force reserve reconnaissance aircraft will investigate the system later this morning to determine if a closed circulation exists at the surface. Residents along the North Carolina coast should...

This hurricane is much worse than Katrina in terms of loss of life. Hot dry Saharan air mixes with warm moist air of the jungles of Africa interact sometimes in mid-August, which a cluster of thunderstorms forms and moves off to the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of western Africa. This cluster of thunderstorm of persisted over the open water. Most of the thunderstorms, which are tropical waves or easterly waves fade away harmlessly. However this one did not die out. The tropical wave gains strength and becomes a tropical depression and tropical storm. Then this storm makes landfall over...

Reflecting on his childhood, Brigadier General Dean Carlton DuBois, Sr. recalled his mother’s quip: “You look like you’re full of enthusiastics.” Though he remembered the phrase as awkwardly charming, it would define his character, even in the darkest days prior to his death.

"Weather Disaster of Historic Proportions" Could Strike as Early as This Year... The northeast U.S. coast could be the target of a major hurricane, perhaps as early as this season, according to research announced today by the AccuWeather... Hurricane Center. "The Northeast is staring down the barrel of a gun," said Joe Bastardi, Chief Forecaster... "The Northeast coast is long overdue for a powerful hurricane...not a question of if but when." ... "If you examine past weather cycles that have occurred in the Atlantic, you will see patterns of storms," added Ken Reeves, Expert Senior Meteorologist and Director of Forecasting...

ST. LOUIS—The first humans to spread across North America may have been seal hunters from France and Spain. This runs counter to the long-held belief that the first human entry into the Americas was a crossing of a land-ice bridge that spanned the Bering Strait about 13,500 years ago. The new thinking was outlined here Sunday at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The tools don’t match Recent studies have suggested that the glaciers that helped form the bridge connecting Siberia and Alaska began receding around 17,000 to 13,000 years ago, leaving very little...

ABSTRACT Information obtained through November 2005 indicates that the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season will be much more active than the average 1950-2000 season. We estimate that 2006 will have about 9 hurricanes (average is 5.9), 17 named storms (average is 9.6), 85 named storm days (average is 49.1), 45 hurricane days (average is 24.5), 5 intense (Category 3-4-5) hurricanes (average is 2.3) and 13 intense hurricane days (average is 5.0). The probability of U.S. major hurricane landfall is estimated to be about 55 percent above the long-period average. We expect Atlantic basin Net Tropical Cyclone (NTC) activity in 2006 to...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and the European Union reached a tentative deal on Friday to dramatically expand aviation service and boost competition on both sides of the Atlantic. Negotiators made substantial progress in the State Department-led talks this week on the breakthrough agreement, which must be reviewed by EU transport ministers, who will meet next month. Europe is conditioning approval on a crucial side issue -- the U.S. proposal to ease some limits on foreign investment in American carriers. European negotiators first want to ensure the Transportation Department plan is finalized and that it would facilitate greater investment...

Atlantic SPECIAL TROPICAL DISTURBANCE STATEMENT SPECIAL TROPICAL DISTURBANCE STATEMENT NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL -- 800 PM EST SUN NOV 13 2005 SATELLITE IMAGERY... RADAR DATA... AND SURFACE OBSERVATIONS INDICATE THE LARGE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM CENTERED OVER THE SOUTHEASTERN CARIBBEAN SEA ABOUT 85 MILES WEST-SOUTHWEST OF ST. LUCIA HAS BECOME BETTER ORGANIZED THIS EVENING. THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY HAS INCREASED NEAR AND JUST TO THE EAST OF THE CENTER... AND ST. LUCIA REPORTED A SUSTAINED WIND OF 33 MPH DURING THE PAST HOUR. UPPER-LEVEL WINDS ARE ALSO GRADUALLY BECOMING A LITTLE MORE FAVORABLE. IF THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO DEVELOP CLOSER TO THE...