CHILE, PAKISTAN, BAGHDAD AND THE SOUTH POLE

Every so often my blog goes into how great life is for us.  If you think you're having a bad day, picture youself...

1.  ...stranded in a Chilean gold/copper mine, more than 750 yards from the surface, and, worse, will remain there until about the end of the year.  The 33 miners have already been trapped for 18 days, where contact was finally made yesterday.  However, while food, water and air can now be sent down, a new shaft will take four months to reach them.  Chile was the site for the 8.8 earthquake earlier this year. What next?

2.  ...in the middle of that current Pakistan flood, where 2000 have died, a million homes destroyed and 20 million are suffering.

3.  ...in Baghdad today:  119 degrees F.

4.  ...at the South Pole today:  minus 95 degrees F.

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The Dow Jones Industrials slumped 39 to 10,174, while Europe was up and the Orient down.  Gold dropped $2/toz to $1226 and crude oil just slipped below $73/barrel.

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There are now three named storms:


1.  Tropical Storm Mindulle is at 65 MPH and will strike Vietnam in a day or so.


2.  Tropical Storm Frank at 50 MPH is just south of Acapulco, but will skirt the Mexican coast, head towards Baha, then turn west toward Hawaii.  Nothing spectacular is anticipated.


3.  Hurricane Danielle at 75 MPH could become a Category 3 storm in a couple of days, but is still expected to turn north





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