http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/collapse/ en-us Fri, 18 Jul 2008 23:05:31 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2047757/posts MSNBC News Services updated 34 minutes ago HOUSTON - The largest mobile crane in the nation collapsed at a Houston oil refinery Friday, killing four workers and injuring six others, a company vice president said. The crane, capable of lifting 800,000 pounds, fell over at a LyondellBasell refinery in southeast Houston about 2 p.m. The large crane fell on or knocked a smaller, nearby crane. Witnesses said an alarm sounded, and employees ran to a lunch tent that was designated as an emergency evacuation area. However, the crane toppled on top of the tent, killing some inside, KRPC-TV, an NBC... (p)MSNBC http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2047757/posts#comment Fri, 18 Jul 2008 23:05:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2047065/posts Rotting holes in steel support beams, enormous rust patches, small splits in steel girders and broken bracing are evident all along the underside of the John Greenleaf Whittier Bridge, the heavily traveled Interstate 95 span that crosses the Merrimack River between Amesbury and Newburyport. A just-released state safety report filed in the wake of last year's disastrous collapse of the similarly designed Interstate 35 bridge in Minneapolis gave the 57-year-old Whittier Bridge "poor" ratings due to deterioration. On a 10-step ranking system, the rating is just two steps above the point where engineers consider closing a bridge due to safety... Daily News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2047065/posts#comment Thu, 17 Jul 2008 19:06:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1990455/posts Old photos of the Interstate 35W bridge show two steel connecting plates were visibly bent as early as 2003 — four years before the span collapsed into the Mississippi River, killing 13 people. Minnesota Department of Transportation officials declined to say when the state first knew about the bending in the pieces of steel, called gusset plates. Two photos, part of a report issued earlier this month by the National Transportation Safety Board, reveal slight bends in gusset plates that hold beams together at two separate connecting points. The plates are in areas believed to be among the first points... The Associated Press...Star Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1990455/posts#comment Mon, 24 Mar 2008 02:36:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2046130/posts Merrill Lynch has warned that the United States could face a foreign "financing crisis" within months as the full consequences of the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage debacle spread through the world. The country depends on Asian, Russian and Middle Eastern investors to fund much of its $700bn (£350bn) current account deficit, leaving it far more vulnerable to a collapse of confidence than Japan in the early 1990s after the Nikkei bubble burst. Britain and other Anglo-Saxon deficit states could face a similar retreat by foreign investors. "Japan was able to cut its interest rates to zero," said Alex... Telegraph (UK) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2046130/posts#comment Wed, 16 Jul 2008 02:39:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2040106/posts China Bulls Get Shanghaied Howard Gold, MoneyShow.com 06.27.08, 10:53 AM ET If history is any judge, stocks on the Shanghai Stock Exchange will likely fall a lot more before reaching their ultimate lows. Hong Kong, too, which has declined a lot less so far, also stands to lose much more ground before the bear loosens its grip. That's bad news for the millions of Chinese investors who shoveled their savings into the Shanghai market in the frenzied months before its slow-motion crash. It's also likely to hurt thousands of Americans who loaded up on Chinese stocks, mutual funds and ETFs... Forbes http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2040106/posts#comment Thu, 3 Jul 2008 04:50:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2010948/posts Words matter, and in the global war on terror we are losing the battle of words, in a self-inflicted defeat. The consequences could not be more profound. Recent government policy memoranda, circulating through the national counter-terrorism and diplomatic community, establishes a new "speech code" for the lexicon in the war on terror, as reported by the Associated Press and now available in the public domain . These new "speech codes" recommended that analysts and policy makers avoid the terms jihad or jihadist or mujhadid or "al-Qaida movement" and replace them with "extremists" and by extension other non-specific terms. The use... www.americanthinker.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2010948/posts#comment Sun, 4 May 2008 06:29:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2005320/posts Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I am not an expert or a scholar or an activist. I am more of an eye-witness. I watched the Soviet Union collapse, and I have tried to put my observations into a concise message. I will leave it up to you to decide just how urgent a message it is. My talk tonight is about the lack of collapse-preparedness here in the United States. I will compare it with the situation in the Soviet Union, prior to its collapse. The rhetorical device I am going to use is the "Collapse Gap" – to go... Energy Bulletin http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2005320/posts#comment Tue, 22 Apr 2008 18:07:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1996139/posts April 3, 2008 Ben Bernanke admits Bear Stearns was hours from collapse Dearbail Jordan US Federal Reserve chairman, Ben Bernanke, today revealed that Bear Stearns was just one day away from going bust when the central bank stepped in to save the Wall Street bank to prevent chaos and a "severe" impact on confidence. Speaking for a second day in front of US Congress, Mr Bernanke attempted to justify JP Morgan Chase's rescue of Bear Stearns, in a deal that included the US Fed agreeing to back $29 billion of the troubled investment bank's assets. Mr Bernanke said: "... on... Times of London http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1996139/posts#comment Thu, 3 Apr 2008 16:22:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1994809/posts Hamstrung by the lack of liquidity and savaged by increasing redemptions, Griffin has had to negotiate new terms with his prime brokers, beg for patience from investors and offered his business for sale to bigger rivals, including GLG Partners. One insider said: "Tisbury has gone from darling to disaster is a short space of time. Griffin is losing staff and probably won't get much for the sale. It's been amazing turn of fortunes." Griffin is not alone. Some of the most successful players in the industry also have serious problems. The past month has been littered with high-profile calamities. At... Telegraph UK http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1994809/posts#comment Tue, 1 Apr 2008 01:33:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1994684/posts Sent: Friday, March 14, 2008 4:20 PM Subject: CLOSED Congress Session Last Night: Only 4th Time In 176 Years ! SPECIAL "CLOSED SESSION" OF U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DISCUSSED A LOT MORE THAN THE PENDING SECURITY SURVEILLANCE PROVISIONS! This was only the fourth time in 176 years that Congress has closed its doors to the public. What was it that they were discussing that they do NOT want us to know about? Word has begun leaking from last nights special, closed-door session of the United States House of Representatives. Not only did members discuss new surveillance provisions as was the... Liveleak.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1994684/posts#comment Mon, 31 Mar 2008 22:40:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1991386/posts A vast ice shelf hanging on by a thin strip looks to be the next chunk to break off from the Antarctic Peninsula, the latest sign of global warming's impact on Earth's southernmost continent. Scientists are shocked by the rapid change of events. Glaciologist Ted Scambos of the University of Colorado was monitoring satellite images of the Wilkins Ice Shelf and spotted a huge iceberg measuring 25 miles by 1.5 miles (41 kilometers by 2.5 kilometers - about 10 times the area of Manhattan) that appeared to have broken away from the shelf. Scambos alerted colleagues at the British Antarctic... LiveScience.com on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1991386/posts#comment Tue, 25 Mar 2008 18:02:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1982426/posts Call it the Obamalypse, if you will. Andrew Sullivan makes an interesting argument that a Hillary Clinton victory over Barack Obama could create “mass flight from the process” as disillusioned voters embrace apathy and reject electoral politics altogether. He thinks that killing it would be 1968 all over again: What I think this misses are the cultural and social consequences of beating Obama (or McCain) this way. I don’t mean beating Obama because the Clintons’ message is more persuasive, or because the Clintons’ healthcare plan is better, or because she has a better approach to Iraq. I mean: beating him... Hot Air http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1982426/posts#comment Sat, 8 Mar 2008 14:18:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1980643/posts Hedge fund Focus collapses By James Mackintosh in London Published: March 5 2008 02:00 | Last updated: March 5 2008 02:00 Focus Capital, a $1bn New York hedge fund, has been forced to liquidate its entire portfolio after missing margin calls from banks, it told investors yesterday. The fund, which had produced strong returns by investing in Swiss mid-cap stocks since starting in 2005, is now expected to shut down after losing about 80 per cent of its value. The collapse is the latest to hit leveraged hedge funds, following the failure of Peloton Partners' $2bn ABS fund last week,... FT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1980643/posts#comment Wed, 5 Mar 2008 13:08:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1976162/posts Has An Ocean Circulation Collapse Been Triggered?Geoscientists warn that there can be a considerable delay between the triggering of a collapse of the North Atlantic meridional overturning circulation and the actual collapse. (Credit: iStockphoto/Emmanuelle Combaud) ScienceDaily (Feb. 25, 2008) — Predictions that the 21st century is safe from major circulation changes in the North Atlantic Ocean may not be as comforting as they seem, according to a Penn State researcher. "The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded that it is very unlikely that the North Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (MOC) will collapse in the 21st century. They predict a probability... Science Daily http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1976162/posts#comment Mon, 25 Feb 2008 23:49:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1968765/posts Model of Easter Island Collapse Might Reveal Message for Today By Lisa ZygaGraphs based on the researchers’ model, showing the population (top) and resources (bottom). The decline of resources coincides with a sharp population increase, followed by a sharp decrease. Image credit: M. Bologna and J. C. Flores. When a thriving civilization suddenly collapses, it’s often a mystery – and an ominous one, at that. For Easter Island circa 1000-1400 AD, experts believe it was a case of humans overexploiting their natural resources – mostly, the palm tree. But exactly where did the culturally rich Rapanui society go too far?... Physorg http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1968765/posts#comment Tue, 12 Feb 2008 00:04:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1958818/posts Honeybees will die out in Britain within a decade as virulent diseases and parasites spread through the nation's hives, experts have warned. Whole colonies of bees are already being wiped out, with current methods of pest control unable to stop the problem. The British Beekeepers Association (BBKA) said that if the crisis continued, honeybees would disappear completely from Britain by 2018, causing "calamitous" economic and environmental problems. It called on the Government to restart shelved research programmes and to fund new ones to try to save the insects. Tim Lovett, the association's president, said: "The situation has become insupportable and... Telegraph.co.uk http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1958818/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jan 2008 15:37:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1954133/posts The collapse of the St. Anthony Bridge in Minneapolis started with a design flaw in the gusset plates, confirming suspicions that arose in the first week of the investigation. A source familiar with the conclusion told CNN earlier this morning that the NTSB will announce that finding later today, ending speculation that poor maintenance caused the deaths of 13 people last August: Federal investigators have identified a design flaw as the cause of last year's Interstate 35W Minneapolis bridge collapse that killed 13 people, a congressional official said Tuesday. The official, who was briefed by the National Transportation Safety Board,... Captain's Quarters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1954133/posts#comment Tue, 15 Jan 2008 18:21:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1952234/posts A 2,000-foot television tower collapsed while workers were restringing guy wires, knocking a Little Rock television station off the air. KATV news director Randy Dixon said one person suffered a minor injury Friday when the tower collapsed in a field about 20 miles south of Little Rock. The station was working to establish a feed to restore its signal to the portion of its audience that obtains programming by satellite. "We're off the air. It's a heckuva mess," Dixon said. KATV is an ABC affiliate. KATV.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1952234/posts#comment Fri, 11 Jan 2008 21:28:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1941986/posts Thrown Object Knocks Out Santa   Dec 19 12:31 PM US/Eastern   SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - A man dressed as Santa Claus was knocked unconscious by a thrown object that hit his face while he was riding on the back of a truck decorated as a sleigh. Kevin Smith says he never saw what hit him Saturday. Whatever it was, it broke his nose and gave him a concussion and two black eyes. "One second I was up there waving to people, and the next minute I wasn't," Smith said. He was taking part in Santa Run, sponsored by... Breitbart http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1941986/posts#comment Thu, 20 Dec 2007 00:01:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1940107/posts Lead in doubt, Clinton knocks on N.Hampshire doors Sat Dec 15, 2007 6:15pm EST Obama edges ahead of By Scott Malone MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (Reuters) - Hillary Clinton went door-to-door in freezing New Hampshire on Saturday, asking for support in the early voting state where her once-huge lead in the Democratic presidential primary race has melted away. The New York senator knocked on doors along a snow-covered block of Manchester, less than a month before the crucial January 8 New Hampshire primary, the second binding contest of the 2008 presidential campaign. "I'd be honored to have your support," Clinton said... reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1940107/posts#comment Sun, 16 Dec 2007 01:31:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1928721/posts The Utah mine where six workers were entombed after a thunderous collapse has been sealed, leaving expensive mining machinery inside, federal regulators said Tuesday. FOXNEWS http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1928721/posts#comment Wed, 21 Nov 2007 07:47:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1928111/posts Shocka! All Silky has to do is slip a few more points and we may see that alleged Obama scandal-bomb detonated after all. ABC via Hot Air http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1928111/posts#comment Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:12:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1905958/posts A major road has collapsed, raw footage being shown on Foxnews.com foxnews.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1905958/posts#comment Wed, 3 Oct 2007 16:53:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1902784/posts HANOI - A bridge under construction collapsed in southern Vietnam on Wednesday, killing at least 60 workers, and 100 others were missing, a contractor and police said. State-run Vietnam TV showed footage of the damage to the collapsed concrete and steel structure in Can Tho City and reported that people were still trapped in the rubble. A contractor with China State Construction Engineering Corp, one of the firms involved in the construction of the bridge, said by telephone that 60 people were dead. "They are still pulling out bodies from the rubble, I could hear the screams," the contractor said... The Washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1902784/posts#comment Thu, 27 Sep 2007 02:31:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1886593/posts HUNTINGTON, Utah - The latest holed drilled into a collapsed mine where six men are trapped broke through a chamber too small for the men to survive, a lawyer for several of the men's families said Saturday. AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1886593/posts#comment Sun, 26 Aug 2007 01:37:18 GMT