For the past 16 years, roughly one major quake has occurred in Afghanistan every 2 years, with one quake of a 7.0 magnitude hitting every 4 years. There have been just 23 quakes with a magnitude of over 7.0 since 1900. The frequency of high-magnitude quakes over the centuries does not appear to have exceeded this average significantly - even in the volatile Hindu Kush region. However, since October 2002 - in just 6 months - there have already been THREE quakes with a magnitude greater than 7.0! This means, statistically, that the rate of major events is roughly 24 TIMES higher now than it was before the bombing campaign began.

In the strongest sign to date that the Bush administration is considering a major immigration initiative next year, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge has called for "some kind of legal status" for the estimated 8 million to 12 million immigrants living illegally in the United States.
mred - praps this is the easiest way to the draft . compulsory military like israel.

Ridge, who oversees the nation's borders, also said that such an unprecedented legalization program should be coupled with a decision about "what our immigration policy is," followed by a firm commitment to enforce it.
What does the Bush legalization process mean? "I'm not saying make them citizens, because they violated the law to get here," Ridge said at the Miami event. "You determine how you can legalize their presence. Then, as a country, you make a decision that from this day forward … this is the process of entry, and if you violate that process of entry we have the resources to cope with it."
At the same press conference, President Bush made another important statement. He declared: "I have constantly said that we need to have an immigration policy that helps match any willing employer with any willing employee."

mred - anutha thing, separately - my hunch sez that mclelland is toast wrt plame. patsy patsy.

A Holstein dairy cow that contracted mad cow disease was older than originally believed, U.S. agriculture officials said Monday, a finding that may rebut suggestions that the government failed to enforce regulations to prevent the disease.

Ron DeHaven, chief veterinary officer for the Argriculture Department, said the owner of a Mabton, Wash., farm where the diseased cow was housed had found records indicating that the cow was 6 1/2 years old, instead of 4 as originally reported.
That finding cleared up the major discrepancy between U.S. and Canadian records about the diseased cow, and it bolstered U.S. confidence that the problem originated north of the border, a claim that Canadian officials have called premature.

The White House has denied that top officials there, including the president's top political adviser, Karl Rove, had any role in leaking the information to Mr. Novak.
James B. Comey Jr., a former Manhattan prosecutor who was installed just three weeks ago as deputy attorney general, will oversee the investigation following Mr. Ashcroft's withdrawal.
Mr. Comey said in announcing the decision at a news conference, which Mr. Ashcroft did not attend. "I agree with that judgment. And I also agree that he made it at the appropriate time, the appropriate point in this investigation."