Côte d'Ivoire

Human Rights Watch's detailed news release on the deteriorating situation for villagers in the Ivory Coast here. (April 9, 2011)

Windy City

Today a powerful spring wind has been sweeping in through Berlin, reminiscent of the one which Mary Poppins employed to carry away superfluous nannies. I was a little disgusted to find that according to the Institute for Meteorology at the Freie Universität, the peak windspeed (Windspitze) has been 21.7 m/s.

After a minuscule calculation:

(21.7 * 60 * 60) / 1000

we arrive at 78.12 km/h, or 48.54 mi/hour, or 42.18 knots, which still sounds (to me) unimpressive.

But, on the Beaufort Scale [NOAA], it is considered a strong gale, force 9, which

Uploaded by Petrusbarbygere,
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April in the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry

An earthquake hit Las Choapas, in the Mexican state of Veracruz at 13:11 GMT, and was recorded at a depth of 167 km and at a force of 6.5 on the Richter scale. (Later upgraded to 6.7 by the Servicio Sismológico Nacional.) It apparently caused no damages but it was felt in several cities; in Mexico City people left their buildings to investigate.

In the meantime a 7.1-magnitude earthquake has also struck beneath the sea east of Japan, in the region affected by the recent earthquake and tsunami. It was strongly felt on land and disrupted the electricity supply to the Onagawa nuclear power plant, but the tsunami warning was cancelled soon.

"Temblor de 6.5 grados sacude la Ciudad de México [El Universal]" by eca (April 7, 2011)
"Sismo fue de 6.7 grados, corrige Sismológico" [El Universal] by sma (April 7, 2011)
"Japan hit by new earthquake" [Guardian] by James Meikle (April 7, 2011)

Rule Britannia . . .

"Knit your own royal wedding" CNN, by Lakshmi Gandhi (April 6, 2011)

(It speaks for itself.)

"Slut Walk" protest after misguided advice on preventing assault

Earlier this year a police officer told a class at York University in Toronto, Canada, that women can prevent rape if they "avoid dressing like sluts."

He has apologized, but his comment indexed the kinds of poorly-thought-through ideas which in the end cast blame on victims of sexual assault. It is especially worrisome in a person who should help enforce the relevant laws.

So on April 3rd 1,500 to 3,000 people participated in "Slut Walk," a protest march, in Toronto.

According to a commenter (UnabashedOpinion) on the Globe and Mail's website:

What we're hoping for is really simple: That Toronto Police Services (1) Revamp their training curriculum on sexual assault and domestic violence, using experts in the field to provide content (the current curriculum was developed exclusively by the police themselves; (2) That experts in the field be used to actually teach the material (currently it is inadequately trained cops teaching ignorant cops); (3) That good methods of adult education be used in the teaching so that the learning sustains and actually transforms ingrained attitudes (currently, no actual learning takes place, since no transformation of worldview and understanding occurs).

The Snowy Path of Canada's Nunavut

On April 1st, twelve years after Nunavut parted from the Northwest Territories to form its own political unit within Canada, the Globe and Mail published an investigation of life in the Inuit territory today.

@TheRevAl

Reverend Al Sharpton

43 years ago today Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated in Memphis. Let us remember his sacrifice for all of us.

43 minutes ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®

1:27 PM Berlin time Apr 4th, Twitter.com