Where’s the response to what’s happening to the world’s chocolate supply – Gbagbo orders state cocoa control

Ivory Coast’s disputed President Laurent Gbagbo has ordered the government to take control of all cocoa purchases and exports.

A decree read out on state TV said the purchase from producers “will be undertaken exclusively by the state”.
…

Ivory Coast is the world’s biggest cocoa producer.

The country’s industry accounts for 40% of global supplies and is currently dominated by multinational companies.

The price of cocoa has been trading at its highest levels for a year, as supplies have been strangled by recent sanctions and the near collapse of the banking system.

We are talking about the loss of access to one of the basic food groups, the top of the pyramid, and where is the US response?

The ABC reports that Parts of quake-hit Christchurch to be abandoned

New Zealand’s prime minister says parts of Christchurch were so badly damaged in last month’s deadly earthquake that areas of the city will have to be abandoned.

John Key says 10,000 homes face demolition after the 6.3-magnitude tremor which is believed to have claimed more than 200 lives.

But he warns that rebuilding will not be possible in some areas.

“We simply don’t know,” he told Radio New Zealand when asked which parts of the city would be deserted.

“We know there’s been substantial liquefaction damage. It’s a statement of fact that there will be some properties that can’t be rebuilt.

I mentioned the liquefaction before. It turns the soil into quicksand, and there is no way known of putting a stable foundation on it. They are going to have to determine where the problem exists, and prohibit rebuilding on it.

The fire season is off to an early start all over the country.

CNN reports on the New Mexico fire:

(CNN) — A brush fire near Silver City, New Mexico, has burned as many as 15 buildings and forced authorities to evacuate a neighborhood threatened by flames, according to the New Mexico state forestry division.

The fire had spread across 1,770 acres as of Tuesday morning, the agency reported.

About 100 homes remained under an evacuation order Tuesday, but the agency said authorities had lifted evacuation notices for some other homes near the fire, which is burning about 230 miles south of Albuquerque.

Winds gusting up to 50 mph on Monday spread the fire from 50 acres early in the day to 500 to 1,000 acres by nightfall, according to agency spokesman Dan Ware.

At least five homes were burned in the fire, along with an unconfirmed number of barns, sheds and other structures, Ware said.

One of my great-grandfathers was stationed at an Army fort near Silver City, and my maternal grandmother traveled by train and stage couch to live there for a short time, the longest trip she made in her entire life.

The main post mentions that Melissa Owens and Zoya DeNure have scratched at Rainy Pass. These aren’t isolated problems.

Melissa’s injured leg makes standing on the runners for another week or so impossible, but Rick Swenson is going to attempt it with a broken collarbone. Rick has won 5 times, and is too old for this silliness, but he’s going to “tough it out”.

Lance Mackey made a passing comment about liking to lead so you don’t have to worry about “kennel cough”. Actually he was worrying about three of his dogs not seeming right, including Lippy, who has a 1000-mile race victory for each of her 9 years. He will be down to 12 puppies when he leaves Nikolai.

Zoya pulled out because her dogs weren’t “right”, Jessica Hendricks (36) is already down to 8 puppies and several teams are down to 13. It’s hard to say that these things are related, but it makes mushers nervous.

You will note in the listing that positions 55 and 56 are vacant. They will be assigned as people leave Rainy Pass. They represent Melissa and Zoya, and teams must go further than they did to move up.

More on the multiple problems in the ADN.

There must be good snow on the trail because the times are very fast. Because of the start time differential, Hugh was actually a few minutes ahead of Lance when they left Rohn.

Lance’s step-son, Cain Carter (48), has overtaken Nicolas Petit (14) for the rookie lead, and Yukon Quest winner, Dallas Seavey, is positioning himself for a challenge after a slow start. Jessie Royer has let her puppies run, and they want to run up front.

Update: Melissa Owens has scratched. She re-injured a leg on the run into Rainy Pass. Mellissa is the first woman musher from Nome to finish the Iditarod, and she did it on her rookie run in 2008 as the youngest woman to ever enter the race, making it home just in time to get back to high school at the end of her spring break in her senior year.

They are now reporting that Zoya DeNure (9) with her team of “runts, rejects, and strays” has also scratched at Rainy Pass. The only explanation so far is that it “was the right decision” for the dogs. A guess would be a behavior change by the team that can’t be explained. Mushers really know their dogs, and if the dogs start acting “weird”, something isn’t right, and the middle of nowhere is not the place you want to discover the reason. [Update: she reported that one of her dogs collapsed from what looked like a heart attack after she left Rainy Pass, so she loaded him in the sled and went back. The dog recovered, but there is no explanation as to what happened. (It sound like a heat stroke.)]

Paul Gebhardt (34) scratched in Nikolai when he had to leave 4 dogs. Gebhardt thinks the warmer than normal weather led to overheating and dehydration which cause cramps in the dogs and poor appetite. Ideally the dogs like the temperature to be in the plus to minus 20°F range.

Martin Buser picked up the Spirit of Alaska award as he blew through McGrath.

Note: These are the official standings. That means they are official, not that they are correct. Things jump around a lot as people decide to update the standings. This problem is especially bad in the back of the pack, as no one bothers to update those standings when the lead is changing.

Beyond McGrath

1 Martin Buser (11)

Beyond Nikolai

2 Sebastian Schnuelle (31)
3 Lance Mackey (17)
4 Hugh Neff (35) [Read more →]

The last day before the beginning of Lent on the Gulf Coast that once belonged to France, it is Mardi Gras, “Fat Tuesday”: Laissez les bon temps rouler!

It was first celebrated in Mobile, Alabama, but the big show these days is in New Orleans, and it is a holiday in the state of Louisiana, because people wouldn’t show up for work anyway, so why fight it.

The tradition is to serve King cake, which is a circle of cinnamon bun dough with a white frosting on top sprinkled with sugar colored purple, gold, and green. If that weren’t bad enough, they put the figurine of a baby in the dough, and whoever finds it in their piece is supposed to be lucky. Actually if you find it and don’t choke on it, I guess you are lucky. You should use a small ceramic figurine, as some of the cheap plastic versions melt in the oven [Yummy! Oh, as both types are probably made in China, you will get you lifetime allowance of heavy metals regardless].

Yes, every year at this time sane and sober people need to fade into the background as the “lords of misrule” take over and display their total disrespect for the norms of society. They posture and engage in outrageous behavior in hopes of being gifted with trinkets from those they feel are their “betters”.

… What? Mardi Gras? My heavens, no! The Florida legislative session starts today. It certainly doesn’t have the sanity and decorum of Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras is a day – this insanity goes on for two months.