Talk About Tennis 2.0

Magnitude 7.6 earthquake in the Caribbean triggers a tsunami advisory for Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands

Updated 7:34 PM EST, Sat February 8, 2025


CNN
—
An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.6 has occurred 129 miles southwest of Georgetown, Cayman Islands, according to the USGS.

The earthquake took place at 6.23 p.m. Eastern Time Saturday, the USGS reported.

Based on all available data, there is a tsunami threat to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands as sea level fluctuations and strong ocean currents could be a hazard along coasts, beaches, in harbors and in coastal waters.

According to the US National Tsunami Warning Center, the earliest estimated time that hazardous sea level fluctuations and strong ocean currents may begin in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands is 8.48 p.m. Eastern Time on Saturday.

The generation of tsunami waves has not yet been confirmed, and the NTWC is monitoring to evaluate the tsunami threat.

Residents in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are advised to move out of the water, off the beach and away from harbors, marinas, bays and inlets and not go to shore to observe the tsunami.

This story has been corrected to more accurately reflect the location of the earthquake.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/08/amer ... index.html

ZCZC
WECA40 PHEB 090029
TSUCAR

TSUNAMI MESSAGE NUMBER 3
NWS PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER HONOLULU HI
829 PM AST SAT FEB 08 2025

AMZ712-715-725-735-742-745-PRZ001>003-005-007-008-010>013-
VIZ001-002-090229-
COASTAL AREAS OF PUERTO RICO - THE U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS AND
THE BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS

...THE TSUNAMI ADVISORY CONTINUES IN EFFECT...


AUDIENCE
--------

* GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS... MEDIA... AND GENERAL PUBLIC OF PUERTO
RICO... THE U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS... AND THE BRITISH VIRGIN
ISLANDS.


UPDATES IN THIS MESSAGE
-----------------------

* TSUNAMI HEIGHT AND DURATION FORECASTS ARE NOW INCLUDED.


EVALUATION
----------

* AN EARTHQUAKE WITH A PRELIMINARY MAGNITUDE OF 7.6 OCCURRED
NORTH OF HONDURAS AT 723 PM AST ON SATURDAY FEBRUARY 8 2025.

* BASED ON ALL AVAILABLE DATA... THERE IS A TSUNAMI THREAT TO
PUERTO RICO AND THE VIRGIN ISLANDS OF SEA LEVEL FLUCTUATIONS
AND STRONG OCEAN CURRENTS THAT COULD BE A HAZARD ALONG
COASTS... BEACHES... IN HARBORS... AND IN COASTAL WATERS.

* THE EARLIEST ESTIMATED TIME THAT HAZARDOUS SEA LEVEL
FLUCTUATIONS AND STRONG OCEAN CURRENTS MAY BEGIN IN PUERTO
RICO AND THE VIRGIN ISLANDS IS

946 PM AST ON SATURDAY FEBRUARY 8 2025

* ACTIONS TO PROTECT HUMAN LIFE... SAFETY AND PROPERTY SHOULD
BE TAKEN IMMEDIATELY.

* THE GENERATION OF TSUNAMI WAVES HAS NOT YET BEEN CONFIRMED.

* THE TSUNAMI FORECAST DOES NOT SHOW A THREAT FOR PUERTO RICO
AND THE VIRGIN ISLANDS. HOWEVER... WE ARE STILL WAITING FOR
SEA LEVEL DATA TO CONFIRM THE FORECAST.


RECOMMENDED ACTIONS
-------------------

* ACTIONS REQUIRED TO PROTECT HUMAN LIFE... SAFETY AND PROPERTY
WILL VARY WITHIN THE TSUNAMI ADVISORY AREA.

* PERSONS LOCATED IN OR NEAR THE OCEAN SHOULD MOVE OUT OF THE
WATER... OFF THE BEACH AND AWAY FROM HARBORS... MARINAS...
BAYS AND INLETS.

* DO NOT GO TO THE SHORE TO OBSERVE THE TSUNAMI.

* DO NOT RETURN TO EVACUATED AREAS UNTIL THE ALL CLEAR IS GIVEN
BY LOCAL AUTHORITIES.

* BE ALERT TO AND FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS FROM LOCAL EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS BECAUSE THEY MAY HAVE MORE DETAILED OR
SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR YOUR LOCATION.

* BOATERS - WHERE TIME AND CONDITIONS PERMIT... MOVE YOUR BOAT
OUT TO SEA TO A DEPTH OF AT LEAST 450 FEET.

* BOATERS - IF AT SEA... AVOID ENTERING SHALLOW WATER...
HARBORS... MARINAS... BAYS AND INLETS TO AVOID FLOATING AND
SUBMERGED DEBRIS AND STRONG CURRENTS.


FORECASTS OF TSUNAMI ACTIVITY - UPDATED
---------------------------------------

* ESTIMATED TIMES OF ARRIVAL -ETA- OF THE INITIAL TSUNAMI WAVE
ARE GIVEN BELOW.

* OBSERVED ARRIVAL TIMES MAY DIFFER FROM THESE ETAS AND THE
INITIAL WAVE MAY NOT BE THE LARGEST.

* THE FORECAST HEIGHT IS THE MAXIMUM EXPECTED WATER LEVEL ABOVE
THE TIDE AT THAT COASTAL LOCATION.

* THE FORECAST DURATION IS THE APPROXIMATE EXPECTED LENGTH OF
TIME AFTER INITIAL IMPACT THAT THE TSUNAMI MAY CONTINUE TO
BE A HAZARD.

* A TSUNAMI IS A SERIES OF WAVES AND THE DURATION OF EACH WAVE
CAN BE FIVE MINUTES TO ONE HOUR.

COASTAL ETA FORECAST FORECAST
TERRITORY LOCATION (AST) HEIGHT DURATION
-------------------------------------------------------------
PUERTO RICO MONA ISLAND 946 PM BELOW 1 FT 6 HRS
ARECIBO 947 PM BELOW 1 FT 6 HRS
MAYAGUEZ 948 PM BELOW 1 FT 6 HRS
AGUADILLA 949 PM BELOW 1 FT 6 HRS
SAN JUAN 950 PM BELOW 1 FT 6 HRS
PENUELAS 955 PM BELOW 1 FT 6 HRS
PONCE 958 PM BELOW 1 FT 6 HRS
MAGUEYES IS 1004 PM ---------- ------
YABUCOA 1005 PM BELOW 1 FT 6 HRS
CAJA DE MUERTOS 1007 PM BELOW 1 FT 6 HRS
VIEQUES IS 1027 PM ---------- ------
FAJARDO 1028 PM BELOW 1 FT 6 HRS
CULEBRA IS 1038 PM ---------- ------

USVI CHRISTIANSTED 1010 PM BELOW 1 FT 6 HRS
LIMETREE 1011 PM BELOW 1 FT 6 HRS
LAMESHUR BAY 1047 PM BELOW 1 FT 6 HRS
CHARLOTTE AMALIE 1050 PM BELOW 1 FT 6 HRS

BVI ANEGADA 1014 PM BELOW 1 FT 6 HRS
VIRGIN GORDA 1036 PM BELOW 1 FT 6 HRS
ROADTOWN 1135 PM ---------- ------


OBSERVATIONS OF TSUNAMI ACTIVITY
--------------------------------

* NO OBSERVATIONS OF TSUNAMI ACTIVITY ARE AVAILABLE YET.


IMPACTS
-------

* IMPACTS WILL VARY AT DIFFERENT LOCATIONS WITHIN PUERTO RICO
AND THE VIRGIN ISLANDS.

* SEA LEVEL FLUCTUATIONS THAT ARE GENERALLY LESS THAN 3 FEET
ABOVE AND BELOW THE TIDE LEVEL.

* WAVES AND CURRENTS THAT CAN DROWN OR INJURE PEOPLE IN THE
WATER.

* WAVES AND CURRENTS ON BEACHES AND IN HARBORS... MARINAS...
BAYS... AND INLETS THAT MAY BE ESPECIALLY DANGEROUS.

* THE HAZARD IS FORECAST TO BEGIN AROUND 946 PM AST ON SATURDAY
FEBRUARY 8 2025 AND IT CAN PERSIST FOR MANY HOURS OR LONGER.


PRELIMINARY EARTHQUAKE PARAMETERS
---------------------------------

* MAGNITUDE 7.6
* ORIGIN TIME 723 PM AST FEB 08 2025
* COORDINATES 17.8 NORTH 82.5 WEST
* DEPTH 20 MILES / 33 KM
* LOCATION NORTH OF HONDURAS


NEXT UPDATE AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
--------------------------------------

* THE NEXT MESSAGE WILL BE ISSUED IN THIRTY MINUTES... OR
SOONER IF THE SITUATION WARRANTS.

* FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THIS EVENT AND ANY TSUNAMI THREAT
TO PUERTO RICO AND THE VIRGIN ISLANDS MAY BE FOUND ON THE
INTERNET AT WWW.TSUNAMI.GOV.

* INFORMATION REGARDING ANY TSUNAMI THREAT TO US GULF OR
ATLANTIC COASTS WILL BE ISSUED BY THE US NATIONAL TSUNAMI
WARNING CENTER AND CAN BE FOUND ON THE INTERNET AT
WWW.TSUNAMI.GOV.

* AUTHORITATIVE INFORMATION ABOUT THE EARTHQUAKE CAN BE
OBTAINED FROM THE CORRESPONDING REGIONAL SEISMIC NETWORK OR
THE U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY ON THE INTERNET AT
EARTHQUAKE.USGS.GOV.

https://www.tsunami.gov/events/PHEB/202 ... WECA40.txt

cricket9818
•
13m ago
Nah that area sits on its own plate, the caymans are near a boundary so it’s not a crazy place for a quake. It’s a large one regardless

Let's hope this turns out to be much ado about nothing...

Good news for some.

Tsunami advisory canceled for Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands after magnitude-7.6 earthquake in the Caribbean
By CNN Staff

Updated 9:04 PM EST, Sat February 8, 2025

CNN
—
An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.6 occurred on Saturday in the Caribbean Sea, according to the US Geological Survey, sparking a tsunami advisory.

The tremor hit 129 miles southwest of Georgetown, Cayman Islands, at 6.23 p.m. ET Saturday, the USGS reported.

The US National Tsunami Warning Center (NWTC) initially said there was a tsunami threat to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Residents in those places were advised to move out of the water, off the beach and away from harbors, marinas, bays and inlets, and not go to shore to observe the tsunami.

The center later canceled the advisory for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, but said advisories were still in place for Cuba – where tsunami waves of between 1 and 3 meters above tide level are possible – and Honduras and the Cayman Islands, where waves of 30 centimeters to 1 meter above tide level are possible.

These waves are expected between 8 p.m. ET and 10:30 p.m. ET.

This story has been corrected to more accurately reflect the location of the earthquake.
Map at the link

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/08/amer ... index.html

Good. PR is still recovering from that Hurricane. Another natural disaster would be a bit too much.

JD Vance attacks Europe over free speech and migration

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ceve3wl21x1o

Honestly, the sheer arrogance and level of disinformation never ceases to frustrate and amaze. Vance and the rest of the MAGA Maffia can't handle free speech, only hide behind the idea of it to then abuse it to shreds. This may all seem really fanstastic and fun to their supporters, until it comes back to bite them in the ass. My main worry is the irreversible damage done inbetween now and then.

Brian Tyler Cohen
‪@briantylercohen.bsky.social‬
What an international embarrassment our government of frauds and grifters is.

Indeed

JD Vance's Munich speech met with shock, bewilderment, and 'almost no applause'
by Chris York and
Martin Fornusek
February 15, 2025 12:15 AM
6 min read

U.S. Vice President JD Vance stunned those watching on Feb. 14 when his speech at the Munich Security Conference turned into a searing attack on Europe's ideals and a call to embrace far-right political parties.

At an event focused almost entirely on how to end Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Vance said what he fears most isn't authoritarian states but Europe's "threat from within."

"The threat I worry the most about vis-a-vis Europe is not Russia, it's not China, it's not any other external actor. It is the threat from within. The retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values.," he said.

Vance went on to admonish Europe for not paying enough attention to "uncontrolled migration" and for what he described as the "retreat" of free speech.

He argued that Europe should not "just talk about democratic values" but "live them," adding the continent could not "force people what to think, what to believe."

Vance said these efforts included restrictions on "misinformation," which he described as a "Soviet-era" word, and laws against abortion protests that he said unfairly silenced Christians.

Speaking a little over a week before the German elections, the vice president called on European nations to drop their opposition to far-right parties such as the Alternative for Germany (AfD), which Berlin suspects of extremism.

"If you are afraid of your own people, there is nothing America can do for you," he said, adding: "You cannot win a democratic mandate by censoring your opponents or putting them in jail."

The speech stunned those in attendance — Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksii Honcharenko said in a post on X the speech amounted to " the total humiliation of all European leaders."

"There was almost no applause," he added in another post.

"It's a strange style," EU Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius told the Kyiv Independent at the conference, adding: "Of course, he attracted a lot of attention, but (there were) no substantial messages. Not on Ukraine, not on Gaza."

Kubilius added that he was "not surprised" at the speech, adding it was now a question of how Europe reacted to it.

"And my reaction is quite simple — keep calm and carry on," he said.

Federico Borsari, a resident fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), told the Kyiv Independent that Vance's comments "risk creating a fracture between the U.S. and Europe at a time when unity at all levels is essential to counter Russia (and) ensure a strong transatlantic alliance and continued support for Ukraine."

"Rather than using the prestigious MSC’s stage to promote the image of the new U.S. administration in front of European leaders... the U.S. vice president decided to openly downplay a very tangible Russian threat in front of an audience comprising people from countries that suffered decades of brutal Soviet occupation and directly criticize European countries and their governments... for their alleged attack on democracy and freedom of speech," Borsari noted.

The expert also highlighted that Vance's comments were promptly praised by members of the far-right AfD.

Elsewhere, social media was awash with criticism of the speech — Gideon Rachman, the chief foreign affairs commentator for the Financial Times (FT), described it as "shocking hypocrisy."

Carl Bildt, co-chair of the European Council on Foreign Relations, said the speech was "significantly worse than expected."

Speaking at the conference after Vance's speech, Germany's Defense Minister Boris Pistorius tackled the vice president's comments about the AfD head-on.

"Democracy does not mean that a vociferous minority can decide what truth is… democracy must be able to defend itself against extremists," he said.

Vance later met with President Volodymyr Zelensky. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, also attended the meeting.

"Our teams will continue to work on the document (on critical minerals). We have addressed many of the key issues and look forward to welcoming General Kellogg to Ukraine for further discussions and a deeper assessment of the situation on the ground," Zelensky wrote.

"We are ready to move towards real and guaranteed peace as quickly as possible. We sincerely appreciate President Trump's determination to help stop the war and provide Ukraine with justice and security guarantees," Zelensky added.

Trump announced he had held phone calls with both Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Zelensky, saying peace negotiations would start "immediately" and a ceasefire is in the "not too distant future."

Earlier in the day, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said "returning to Ukraine's pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective," and that NATO membership for Ukraine is not an option.

European leaders — suddenly left out of discussions after nearly three years of close involvement with the U.S. on Ukraine-related issues under President Joe Biden’s administration — scrambled to react to Trump’s comments.

Kaja Kallas, the EU's top diplomat, said on the same day: "Why are we giving (Russia) everything they want, even before negotiations have started? … If there is an agreement made behind our backs, it simply will not work."

https://kyivindependent.com/jd-vances-m ... -applause/


Lots of links to comments posted on the hellsite at the link.

Opposition politicians in Argentina have called for the impeachment of president Javier Milei after he touted a cryptocurrency which quickly collapsed and reportedly led to millions of dollars in losses this weekend.

Milei endorsed the little-known cryptocurrency token $Libra on Friday evening, announcing on X that the project was “dedicated to boosting the growth of the Argentine economy by funding small businesses and entrepreneurs”. His post linked to a website where the digital coin could be bought, the domain name of which included Milei’s popular catchphrase “long live freedom”.

“The world wants to invest in Argentina,” Milei added in the post to his more than 3.8 million followers.

The token immediately soared in value, from almost zero at the time of its launch to nearly $5, before plummeting to under $1, according to trading sites. Argentina’s fintech chamber said that the case could amount to a “rug pull” – a scam which sees cryptocurrency rapidly inflated, or “pumped”, before crashing while insiders “dump” their stake, making the tokens worthless. Other economists and crypto specialists said the digital asset could be a fraud or Ponzi scheme.

Milei deleted his post hours later, saying he was “not aware of the details of the project”, but the scandal has nonetheless sparked a political firestorm, and the federal prosecutor’s office will reportedly now examine whether the president engaged in fraud or criminal association or was in breach of his duties.

A group of lawyers filed fraud complaints in the criminal court on Sunday, saying they “criminally denounce the president of the Argentine nation, Javier Milei, because we believe that he is a fundamental participant in the development, execution and planning of the mega-scam related to the launch of the $Libra token”.

Jonatan Baldiviezo, a lawyer and one of the plaintiffs, told the Associated Press that he saw an illicit association to commit “an indeterminate number of frauds” in the episode. “Within this illicit association, the crime of fraud was committed, in which the president’s actions were essential,” he said.

Opposition lawmakers, meanwhile, are calling for Milei’s impeachment. “This scandal, which embarrasses us on an international scale, requires us to launch an impeachment request against the president,” said lawmaker Leandro Santoro, a member of the opposition coalition.

Myriam Bregman, a prominent socialist leader and former presidential candidate, said “Milei is the one who must answer to the Congress. We want to know, step by step, who has benefited from it and how. This is not the first time he has been involved in something like that, but it is aggravated by his current role as president.”

Former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner wrote on social media: “You promoted a private cryptocurrency from your official X account, created by who knows who. You inflated its value taking advantage of your presidential investiture. And, to top it all off, you say that you were ‘unfamiliar’! … From self-proclaimed ‘global leader’ to CRYPTO SCAMMER.”

Latin American leaders also weighed in, with Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, saying that “it is extremely serious if confirmed, especially in terms of a president’s powers to promote something private”.

The incident has prompted comparisons with the US president, Donald Trump, who last month launched the $Trump memecoin, which also surged before crashing.

Milei retaliated to the criticism by blaming his opponents, whom he called “filthy rats of the political caste”, and saying they wanted to “take advantage of this situation to do harm”. The presidential office said that Milei was not involved in any stage of the cryptocurrency’s development and decided to remove the social media post to limit further exposure. It added that the anti-corruption office had been instructed to start an investigation.

Political analyst Marcelo García, of the Horizon Engage political risk consultancy firm, said Milei and his government need to “contain the crisis by giving a clear explanation of what happened” in order to prevent the incident from “escalating to a credibility crisis that could discourage the largest investment community”.

Cryptocurrency has exploded in Argentina in recent years, as disillusioned savers sought to keep their money outside traditional banks amid a decades-long economic crisis and soaring inflation rates.

Analysts have warned that the crisis could damage Milei’s reputation as a custodian of economic recovery – and an anti-corruption president – ahead of midterm elections later this year.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/ ... y-collapse

A crypto scam? How surprising. (is every right wing "leader" gonna pull this now?)

Frankly,the only downside to Crypto is that criminals can use it to finance their operations...governments hate it because they begin to lose control (which, to me, is a good thing!)..am very interested, as a student of finance, to see how this plays out in Argentina ..

...and the countless scams that seem baked in.