With Obama, The Saudi King Offers A Prayer for 'All The Bad Things' the Media 'Can Do to Us' - Political Punch

"After a lunch at the White House today, President Obama and King Abduallah of Saudi Arabia spoke to reporters following their meetings.

The Saudi King offered a prayer at the end singling out reporters.

“I also would like to thank our friends here in the media. May God spare us from all of the bad things they can do to us,“ the Saudi King said, laughing at the end.

As his words were translated into English, President Obama laughed too.

The King added, “And may God bless us with all the positive things they can do for us and for humanity.”

“Well, that is an excellent prayer,” Mr. Obama concluded.

But even with that prayer, Mr. Obama chose to ignore shouted questions as reporters were escorted out of the Oval Office.

-Ann Compton and Sunlen Miller"

Blog Archive (RSS Feeds keep this blog current. My personal posts not so necessary.)

PAGER - Rapid Assessment of an Earthquake's Impact

PAGER - Rapid Assessment of an Earthquake's Impact
Click picture for real time accurate reports.

DID YOU KNOW THERE WAS A 100% CHANCE OF AN EARTHQUAKE TODAY!

YES! There's a 100 percent chance of an earthquake today! Though millions of persons may never experience an earthquake, they are very common occurrences on this planet. So today -- somewhere -- an earthquake will occur.

It may be so light that only sensitive instruments will perceive its motion; it may shake houses, rattle windows, and displace small objects; or it may be sufficiently strong to cause property damage, death, and injury.

It is estimated that about 700 shocks each year have this capability when centered in a populated area. But fortunately, most of these potentially destructive earthquakes center in unpopulated areas far from civilization.

Since a major portion of the world's earthquakes each year center around the rim of the Pacific Ocean (Ring of Fire), referred to by seismologists as the circum-Pacific belt, this is the most probable location for today's earthquake. But it could hit any location, because no region is entirely free of earthquakes.

Stating that an earthquake is going to occur today is not really "predicting earthquakes". To date, they cannot be predicted. But anyone, on any day, could make this statement and it would be true. This is because several million earthquakes occur annually; thereby, thousands occur each day, although most are too small to be located. The problem, however, is in pinpointing the area where a strong shock will center and when it will occur.

Earthquake prediction is a future possibility, though. Just as the Weather Bureau now predicts hurricanes, tornadoes, and other severe storms, the NEIC may one day issue forecasts on earthquakes. Earthquake research was stepped up after the Alaska shock in 1964. Today, research is being conducted by the USGS and other federal and state agencies, as well as universities and private institutions. Earthquake prediction may some day become a reality, but only after much more is learned about the earthquake mechanism

USGS Earthquake ShakeMaps

USGS M2.5+ Earthquakes TODAY!

USGS M2.5+ Earthquakes - Past 7 days

USGS M5+ Earthquakes - Past 7 days