I'll check out those videos tomorrow. I'm shocked Mexico lets people do that. (Evelyn) Methinks I would scrub floors to have treatment here. These people aren't doing that, but are getting in line in the middle of the night for help. I saw a story somewhere once where events like this happen in fairgrounds (including in stables). This is a long article and rather depressing to think this happens in the US. I am curious what people in rural areas in other countries do about getting these services, if they get them. http://abcnews.go.com/US/wirestory?id=9465113&page=1 Of course people need good access and a way to pay for it, but perhaps so many wouldn't need it so badly if as I continue to say, healthcare reform in any from will have extreme difficulty working if many people don't change some things as is said in the article. "It's changing beliefs," Graham says. "It's educating people about what is health." ���

I am so glad to live in a country that offers single payer health care. I really hope that the US can manage to make the necessary changes to provide an acceptable level of health care to all of its citizens, regardless of income level.

Just for the record: There are many components in the current health care bill that are worthy: I'm in favor health care for people who fall through the cracks. And subsides for those who truly can't afford it. The ones below poverty level have Medicaid . Massachusetts seems to be a workable program. My friends there like it. Sadly some cost-cutting measures were not addressed: Buying insurance across state lines Mal-practice reform. I am willing to pay more income taxes instead of cutting benefits on fixed-income seniors (Like home health, home physio-therapy ...) Cutting payments to physicians who might deny care/quota to seniors I'm glad you are happy with single payer, Sarah. I know many who aren't. Right now we have a deficit problem...which probably you don't in Canada. Those are my opinions; I respect yours;-)

I love when people only "know" people who support their own opinions. *snort* Frankly, I'm more with the original Howard Dean position on what's supposed to be health-care reform. Bunch of sniveling sellouts! No public option. Fines on people who don't have health insurance. All I see is benefits to insurance companies so that they can pay their executives billions of dollars. That's my opinion.

(Evelyn) Sadly some cost-cutting measures were not addressed: Or killed...public option!! (Sarah) I am so glad to live in a country that offers single payer health care. Unfortunately that's beyond DOA here. The insurance industry (among others) made sure of that. They made sure the public option wasn't any option, too. They're batting 1000. Haha Karen. I didn't read the comments again before I posted this and now just before hitting submit I see you and I are on the same wavelength. Sniveling sellouts is being kind.

Sniveling sellouts Harry Reid...we're glaring at you!! (among others)

(Evelyn) Right now we have a deficit problem...which probably you don't in Canada. She's in Australia (and is American!! ;-))). But then again, practically the whole world has some sort of universal health care but us. Massachusetts seems to be a workable program. My friends there like it. They may like it, but from what I understand cost containment is a big problem. It's been going broke if I understand correctly.

(Dorine) But then again, practically the whole world has some sort of universal health care but us. No kidding. Bet that would garner a stadiumwide chant of "U-S-A! U-S-A!" ;-) So much to be proud of.

(Evelyn) Right now we have a deficit problem...which probably you don't in Canada. Canada has serious financial issues with our health care system too. And we often have long waits for tests like MRI's and for elective surgery like joint replacements. Our system is not perfect but I wouldn't trade it for the US system either. I was talking with a young woman when I was in Idaho this past summer and she was caught in a real dilemna. She knew she had a health problem but she couldn't afford health insurance. But if she saw a doctor about it without insurance, she would never be able to get insurance in future to cover the problem. So she chose not to see a doctor. I thought that was so sad.

I love when people only "know" people who support their own opinions. *snort* I get your point. :-((((((

(Sandy) She knew she had a health problem but she couldn't afford health insurance. But if she saw a doctor about it without insurance, she would never be able to get insurance in future to cover the problem. So she chose not to see a doctor. I thought that was so sad. Incredibly so and you have no idea of the first-hand (no friends) knowledge I have of predicament and how prevalent it is.

Poor woman. Definitely a damned if you do and damned if you don't scenario.

Sandy) She knew she had a health problem but she couldn't afford health insurance. But if she saw a doctor about it without insurance, she would never be able to get insurance in future to cover the problem. Pre-existing condition will no longer be a determent from getting insurance. That will go into effect immediately. Not like the rest of the bill which goes into effect in 2014 My city has "Neighbor for Neighbor" & OU University which treats anyone w/o insurance. Doesn't Idaho?

(Evelyn) Pre-existing condition will no longer be a determent from getting insurance. That will go into effect immediately. The demise of the pre-existing condition is one good thing about the bill's proposal, though who knows if it will make the final cut of the bill. There's still haggling to be done by the House and Senate together. Also, who knows when it will actually pass let alone go into effect. My city has "Neighbor for Neighbor" & OU University which treats anyone w/o insurance. Doesn't Idaho? Maybe it depends on where she lives (rural vs. more urban-by Idaho standards). Did you read at least some of that AP (through ABC News) article I posted a link to? I can't see why people who would have access to facilities anywhere that treat people who have no insurance would wait in line from literally the middle of the night to see someone if that was an option anywhere. Granted most of those people didn't want to see MD's (even though some seriously needed to) and specialists are less likely to see people without insurance. What is Neighbor for Neighbor? (Karen) Fines on people who don't have health insurance If this was in effect today, I'd be eligible for that fine starting next month. It's unlikely I can afford COBRA with my current plan. As it is, I've had to downgrade my plan twice in the last 2 yrs to keep my contribution down. (Sandy) Canada has serious financial issues with our health care system too. Is anything being considered to rectify that?

(Sandy) Canada has serious financial issues with our health care system too. (Dorine) Is anything being considered to rectify that? We've had study after study done about reforming the system but so far nothing much has happened other than some contracting out e.g. hospital housekeeping and food services. And the long waits are due to rationing of services. There has been steady pressure to allow for-profit clinics and doctors but it really hasn't taken hold yet. There are a few in operation now and fighting through the courts. One of the odd things about Canada's system is that we allow some organizations to pay for health care services. For example, Workers' Compensation, insurance companies and hockey teams can pay to get priority for specialist's appoinments, MRI's, and surgery for injured workers to get them back on the job sooner. But, if you're self-employed and get injured, you are out of luck. What it does mean though is that there is already a for-profit aspect of our system. The government also pays for-profit firms set fees to perform lab tests, x-rays etc. and that works very well. But, any thought of increasing the for-profit component of the system has people clamouring that they don't want a "U.S. style system" which is the great bogeyman to those of us north of the border. The two are anything but synymous. I think there has to be a better way than either of our two systems and I would really like to know more about those in other countries that provide universal coverage.

Australia's system has its problems, of course (any system does), but it really is head and shoulders above the US in terms of providing health care for everyone. We also have the for-profit component (in that there is supplementary health care available, offering "more" and "better" health care for those who can afford it in private hospitals). If you make more than (I think it's) $65k per year, you must sign up for private health care, or you pay a premium on your taxes towards Medicare. If you do sign up for private coverage, you don't have to pay the premium, and the price of the private health care is offset by the government. It's a bit complex, but it does seem to work.

Neighbor for Neighbors: my favorite charity. http://www.neighborforneighbor.org Every city has one. Of course it's tough if you live in a rural area...but municipal hospitals do treat the poor gratis. In poor areas nurse-practioners and PAs are utilized. I see them when I can't get in to see a MD and they are great. PAs can prescribe. Like i said, there are many components of this bill that are necessary. But some, no one even knows about. What it does mean though is that there is already a for-profit aspect of our system That is my hope, anyway. Blue Cross is not going to go away. Besides, they remove some of the burden of too many patients on the NHS.

(Dorine) The demise of the pre-existing condition is one good thing about the bill's proposal, though who knows if it will make the final cut of the bill. And can you imagine how high a premium the insurance companies will charge? Boogles the mind. (Dorine) If this [fines] was in effect today, I'd be eligible for that fine starting next month. The whole aspect of fining the uninsured reminds me of the Medicare Part D sweetheart deal made with the pharmaceutical companies. No ability to negotiate discounts. Here, they've added new enrollees with punitive measures. This is not like auto insurance, which is elective. You can't choose not to live but you can choose not to drive. Which does bring up the niggling point... If everyone is required to have car insurance, why do I still need (forced by state law) to buy "uninsured motorist" coverage? Thanks, Sarah and Sandy, for the details on your country's system. Always interesting to me.

Ugh. Wish to respond more, but too much for blackberry. Did almost include comment re increased cost potential for pre-existing condition as that occurred to me, too. Can't accuse the insurance industry of doing something extra for nothing, or even just a little. Don't get me started again on that no negotiating clause for Medicare for drugs. WHAT a gimme to the pharma industry. Evelyn, you're concerned re Medicare cuts...well, Medicare would have more $$ if the govt was allowed to get cheaper prices for drugs. You might want to point that out to your Congressmen when you implore them not to cut services and ask them to change that policy in this healthcare "reform" process. More later...

(Dorine)WHAT a gimme to the pharma industry. Evelyn, you're concerned re Medicare cuts...well, Medicare would have more $$ if the govt was allowed to get cheaper prices for drugs. I really don't want to get you started... But..... From LA Times: Senate health debate hits snag over imported drugs http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-na-health-senate11-2009dec11,0,1002684.story "Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) temporarily halted consideration of the healthcare bill after three days of inconclusive debate on an amendment by Sens. Byron L. Dorgan (D-N.D.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.). The provision would allow pharmacies and wholesalers to import drugs from countries with safety standards comparable to America's" Unsavory deal with pharma " Pharma offered to give up $80 billion in revenue in exchange for an understanding that the government would not push for deeper concessions. " http://www.examiner.com/x-30890-Sarah-Palin-Examiner~y2010m1d4-An-unsavory-deal-with-pharma I think the AMA got a deal too, but I can't find it. I remember when they were all invited to the WH. AARP too, if they would support the healthcare bill. Yeah, sure like Seniors are going to say: "Medicare cuts: Being them on"

Going back to another subject, I watched the HBO dcoumentary on Roman Polanski. While I understand that one man interviewed has recanted, said he lied about having advised the judge, the fact that the guy who actually was to prosecute the case, Roger Gunson, has stood behind the defense attorney, says a lot to me. Sure looks like judicial misconduct to me. A shame how this whole thing was handled. :-(

Check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7T-bXFApaXI He even got Stephen Schwartz's authorization to use the music.

Change your surname name, Ruthie.

(Sarah) We also have the for-profit component (in that there is supplementary health care available, offering "more" and "better" health care. This sort of basic concept is what I was leaning toward for quite a while (when it was clear single payer would never be an option).....a govt provided system of basic care for all along with a private component for more complex issues. I hadn't really contemplated whether it would be using "for profit" facilities or not. But there'd have to be a mechanism in place where premiums couldn't go so high as to price people (or most) out of the program entirely. And thanks, Sandy, for your input. Have you seen the PBS Frontline show on healthcare systems around the world? I think I linked to it on this topic some time ago. Here it is: Five Capitalist Democracies and How They Do It http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sickaroundtheworld/countries/ You can watch the whole show online from a link on the home page: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/�sickaroundtheworld/

Thanks Dorine for the links to what other countries provide. I'm in the midst of de-Christmasing and preparing for a trip to Maui so I won't have time to look at it until I get back. More about the for-profit component of Canada's system: Most provinces do not cover such things as physiotherapy, massage, natuaropathis doctors and durable medical supplies. There is also limited coverage for prescription drugs except for the poor and elderly. These are typically covered by employers' Extended Health Care plans or private coverage purchased through insurance companies or Blue Cross.

Re importation of drugs. That's been a non-starter for quite a while. If they ever do seriously pass anything related to it, it'll probably only include drugs hardly anyone uses (said with a healthy dose of cynicism). If Medicare was allowed to negotiate bulk rates like any other entity (drug wholesalers, etc), then reimportation would be unnecessary. The whole scenario is utterly ridiculous. Re Roman Polanski, I didn't realize there was someone on the prosecutor's side who was supportive of the defense. Thanks for the reminder about the film. I believe it's been in my Netflix queue. Have a fun trip, Sandy!

There is an AP update that says they did ask for sentencing in absentia. Polanski hearing could bring new defense strategy By Jill Serjeant � Tue Jan 5, 5:02 pm ET LOS ANGELES (Reuters) � Lawyers for fugitive director Roman Polanski return to a Los Angeles court on Wednesday and are expected to detail their next steps in a bid to resolve a 30-year-old sex charge against the Oscar-winning maker of "The Pianist". The Los Angeles-based lawyers for Polanski declined on Tuesday to discuss their intentions, but the hearing, which was scheduled unexpectedly, follows a suggestion by a California appeals court last month that Polanski could ask to be sentenced in absentia on a 1977 charge of having unlawful sex with a 13 year-old. Polanski, 76, is under house arrest in Switzerland fighting extradition to the United States. He fled the United States before sentencing in 1978, but after pleading guilty, and spent most of the past 30 years living and working in France. A California appeals court in December denied Polanski's bid to have the unlawful sex case dismissed due to alleged judicial misconduct. But the court said the misconduct claims were "extremely serious" and an "in absentia" sentencing could help resolve what it called "one of the longest-running sagas" in the state's criminal justice history. The Los Angeles District Attorney's office said Wednesday's hearing was requested by Polanski's lawyers, who first asked for a closed-door conference on an "undisclosed topic". "We told the judge that we believed that any conference should be in open court. The judge agreed and scheduled the conference" for Wednesday, said district attorney's office spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons. Loyola Law professor Laurie Levenson, who has closely followed the Polanski case, said the director's lawyers may be pondering a change in strategy. "They may make a request for him to be sentenced in absentia. They may want to feel out the court to see what would happen if he came back. They may plan to petition the California Supreme Court," she said. "This is a great game of chess with neither side knowing what the other side's next move is." Levenson said the appeal court's suggestion of a sentencing hearing in Polanski's absence "is not the perfect solution for either side, but I think the court at least wants it to be something that is considered." Judicial sources said such a request would likely have to come from Polanski himself and would result in a full-scale formal sentencing hearing in open court at a later date. Swiss officials have said they will make a decision on extradition in early 2010. Under current California law, Polanski faces a maximum two years behind bars on his guilty plea, but his lawyers may likely argue for a lesser sentence. Polanski is married and has two children. His other movies include "Rosemary's Baby" and "Chinatown", and his latest film "The Ghost Writer" will get its premiere at the Berlin Film Festival in February. (Editing by Mohammad Zargham)

A California appeals court in December...said the misconduct claims were "extremely serious" See! The prosecutor backs up all Polanski's attorney's charges. In fact, they filed a joint complaint about the judge to a state commssion. What both of these guys say in the documentary is amazing. "They may make a request for him to be sentenced in absentia. They may want to feel out the court to see what would happen if he came back. Ha! See if you like or can live with the sentence before you return. If not, tie up the courts in Europe so you don't have to come back.

Here are the two segments from Dave's show last night: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/13/leno-victims-unit-letterm_n_421600.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/12/letterman-mocks-leno-reca_n_421002.html

Am moving this discussion here: (Dorine) Interesting legal discussion re: Conan vs. NBC at THR. Yes, it was plus the comments section, of which only one or two persons sounded like they knew how a contract dispute would be adjudicated. I don't think that's right for Letterman to bring Jay's wife into the jokes. Dave would use her name when mimicking Jay. In a high pitched voice, he'd say, "Mavis, bring me a can of 10-40 weight oil" or similar. Maybe Dave just likes to say her name. Thinks it has a funny ring to it. Who knows? He doesn't say anything bad about her. But Dave is really only jabbing at Jay and the suits at NBC. Last night's Top 10 list was messages left on Jeff Zucker's phone and he kept putting up a pic of Zucker, talking about how he knew the guy when he was in his 20s, working on the Today Show. Last night was really no different (except for the segment with Kiefer Sutherland in a dress). It is so focused on the NBC mess. Far more entertaining than anything at NBC. I didnt' even check to see what Conan said, as he wasn't funny the other nights. BTW, epic fail on the Make Conan Look Bad scenario (thus far). Epic? You're juding something like a suggested scenario as an epic fail. Have I said they're doing it? I said it could be done. But maybe they're not smart enough to figure out how.

Epic fail is a commonly used slang phrase for failure. Once Conan put out that letter, NBC lost their chance to make Conan look bad if they wanted to. I'm simply commenting on the scenario u posted on what u would do and what NBC should do (or maybe would do - can't remember exact phrase). I saw a Letterman bit Nikki Finkke posted last night but nothing about what u said above. Am sure it's around somewhere. I thought Conan was amusing about it for what I saw last night. Update is Zucker madder than wet hen, wants to "ice" Conan, keep him off air for several years and give Jay back The Tonight Show completely.

Oh and that's good that Dave isn't making Mavis the object of the jokes.

Once Conan put out that letter, NBC lost their chance to make Conan look bad if they wanted to. Has the fat lady sung? I read the Late Show Wars link you posted from NYU or whatever it was. I didn't see anything about Leno forcing Johnny off. That he negotiated a deal, while permanent guest host, before Letterman did, isn't exactly sneaky or underhanded. Quite smart actually. In the movie, who came off worse? Or as the bad guy(s)? The network execs, who think they can have it all, seem delusional. The situation hasn't changed one iota. Dave told his side of the story and how NBC offered him a prime time show, but that Johnny Carson advised him to walk. So, in essence, Dave is telling Conan to walk. But he is gleefully waiting to see what NBC tries next. You've got to watch Letterman. He's having the best time. And it goes on and on and on...

I know that link didn't have anything about that hence why I said I thought I remembered getting that impression from the movie, but would have to go back and watch it. At this point, the only person who's going to make Conan look bad is Conan, and it would b a stretch to have that happen. It's been tried in the court of public opinion to this point and Conan is the clear winner up til now. Unfortunately they wanted their cake...and pie...and cupcake and to eat them all, too. I know. Letterman hates NBC so much (forget the names he just called them aside from twits). and to see them obviously F-up is quite the high for him. Schaudenfrade (sp?) is quite the drug, esp in entertainment business. I'm waiting for him to say "Karma's a bitch." In the movie, who came out worse?? Jay (and his mgr) and NBC. I'm sure they're checking all closets in the rooms when anyone network people meet to discuss it now. ;-)

I really like her podcast, The Business. I listen to it weekly. I learn a lot about the entertainment business and supplements other stuff I read very well. Judging by this and what I'd been saying based on what I read anywhere, I think I had a firm grasp on the scenario as it evolved. I've seen the # anywhere from 25-40 million in the last 24 hrs. Tallying the NBC Damage by Kim Masters With a deal nearly done for Conan O�Brien to leave NBC, Kim Masters assesses the cost to the network�both in dollars and in the reputations of those who remain. From the start, there was only one logical outcome: NBC was going to have to pay Conan O�Brien a lot of money to leave. Now the company is said to be coughing up about $30 million, putting an end to what may well be the greatest march of folly in television history. NBC has had its own freaky and very expensive version of a Shakespearean drama. The king (of late night) was pushed prematurely off his throne, the order of the television universe was disturbed and a great deal of extravagant drama (and comedy) ensued. Now that the king is returning to his throne, the total cost, counting everything, could run more than a couple of hundred million dollars. One studio executive says there can be no doubt of the damage done to Jay Leno�s reputation: �You can�t be the butt of so many jokes and not pay a price.� That�s the estimate made by a former NBC Universal executive who is including everything from the cost of building Conan O�Brien�s new Tonight Show studio in Los Angeles to the cost of paying him off Adding the damage to primetime ratings, and to revenue from affiliates and NBC-owned local stations, . �It�s easily over $200 million,� he says. Despite NBC Universal sports chief Dick Ebersol�s too little, too late counterattack on O�Brien in the New York Times, O�Brien waged an enormously successful public relations war. Meanwhile, Leno has been getting shellacked, not just on everyone else�s late-night show but even on his own show, in a paddling administered by Jimmy Kimmel on Thursday night. �I�m getting beat up in the press,� he lamented in his monologue Friday. �You know it�s bad when Tiger Woods calls to offer you PR advice.� As a result of this fracas, O�Brien�s ratings have soared�past his timeslot rival David Letterman�s, and past Leno�s in primetime. It�s only temporary, of course, but it punctuates this episode nicely. NBC has damaged Leno in all of this, raising the possibility that once he returns to The Tonight Show, he will not be able to beat Letterman and whatever other competition happens to materialize. One studio executive says there can be no doubt: �You can�t be the butt of so many jokes and not pay a price.� The price might be that Leno, who has always enjoyed a nice-guy reputation, also seems to be exposing a different side of himself. He came out fighting during his monologue on Friday�"Even Letterman is taking shots at me. Usually he's just taking shots at interns." But jokes like that may not serve him well in the long run. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times speculates that Jimmy Fallon could emerge as the victor who will succeed Leno when (if) he finally retires. Perhaps that prospect is pleasing to Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels. You might think Michaels would have been piqued to see his former prot�g� O�Brien knocked from his perch (Michaels proposed O�Brien for the post-Tonight Show slot in 1993). But he�s remained silent and in the shadows during this episode, perhaps because he is said to have been miffed because he was not made an executive producer when O�Brien got The Tonight Show. (Michaels does produce Fallon�s show.) Leno isn�t the only member of the NBC Universal family to be damaged in this process. CEO Jeff Zucker has been mercilessly mocked�even in Maureen Dowd�s column. With Universal chief Ron Meyer emerging as the hero in the saga and Jeff Gaspin having proved that he is capable of running those profitable NBC Universal cable channels very handily, the question asked�and asked, and asked again�is what purpose Zucker serves. Even if they weren�t already planning to be rid of Zucker, what can the owners-in-waiting at Comcast make of him now? �If I were those guys I�d be simply appalled,� says one former studio chairman. We always figured Zucker would finally be done once the Comcast deal closes (though that will take months). All they can do is hope that the Zucker-inflicted damage will be contained until then. As for Zucker, he�ll walk away with a much bigger check than Conan. And he is seemingly impervious to shame. My colleague Jacob Bernstein heard from a source that Zucker is likely to appear in the audience Sunday night when NBC broadcasts the Golden Globe awards. Regardless of whether Zucker attends, Ricky Gervais, the comedian who's hosting the show, is likely to have a laugh with this one. "Ricky loves Conan," says a person with business ties to the British funnyman. "All the comedians love Conan, they all hate Jay, and they all hate Jeff. Ricky will say anything he wants." Yet another reason why the Globes are more fun than the Oscars. http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-01-15/tallying-the-nbc-damage/2/ Kim Masters covers the entertainment business for The Daily Beast. She is also the host of The Business, public radio's weekly program about the business of show business. She is also the author of The Keys to the Kingdom: The Rise of Michael Eisner and the Fall of Everybody Else.

"One studio executive says there can be no doubt of the damage done to Jay Leno�s reputation: �You can�t be the butt of so many jokes and not pay a price.� Not if you don't like Conan O'Brien in the first place. Go Jay!

I think he'll do better than at 10, but I do question, if Jay has so many fans, why did his ratings tank so? I can speak personally to say that I was excited to see Jay move to 10, to an hour where I could really watch it. But I couldn't stick with it after 2 or 3 shows that first week. It, and he, was awful. I am apparently not the only one who thought that. Maybe enough people will come back with getting back to the late night format, though unless it's someone I really want to see as a guest on, it won't be me. Though I'd still rather see him than Conan. And I'll imagine his ratings will be really high right after he comes back, at least for a time. Time will tell if he holds it, though I suspect even lower ratings for him historically in that slot will still be better than whatever Conan's show did.

Late Night Wars: What Price Will NBC, Leno and Zucker Pay? You don�t have a mess like the Late Night Wars without fallout. Winners and losers are inevitable. Winners: pugnacious Jimmy Kimmel; NBC Universal consigliere Ron Meyer, who helped to broker the settlement; and Conan O�Brien, who may have lost The Tonight Show, but walks away with his dignity intact, public support and $30 million. Losers: Jay Leno, who wins a Pyrrhic victory as he takes back his old job, but may lose ratings and popularity in this messy slag-fest; and NBC, which lost hundreds of millions in the long run. As for NBC Universal chief Jeff Zucker, who plans to attend the Golden Globes Sunday, many wonder how long new NBC Universal owner Comcast will hang onto him. Kim Masters surveys the NBC damage. [Ed. Note - links to article I posted above} by Anne Thompson, posted to TV on January 15, 2010 at 6:53pm PST | Permalink | Comments (3) http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/2010/01/15/late_night_wars_what_price_will_nbc_leno_and_zucker_pay/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_content=Twitter

A little more "detail"..... [.....] Instead of a prolonged and ugly battle, NBC has given in to Team Conan who've insisted their guy exits only with a lot of cash and freedom. How much cash? "Zucker's NBC spin puts it at $25 million. But it's a lot closer to $40 million than $25 million," my insider says. "And Conan was adamant that NBC take care of the people close to him -- [executive producer] Jeff Ross and the staff who moved out to Los Angeles." According to the pact, Conan leaves The Tonight Show on January 22nd, and The Jay Leno Show ends its 10 PM primetime run on February 12th when NBC starts its coverage of the Vancouver Winter Olympics through February 28th. That Monday, Leno commences his Tonight Show do-over. Conan, meanwhile, is free to go anywhere and compete with Jay. This is that Ron Meyer-negotiated deal (which I first reported yesterday at 3 PM). The Universal Studios president/COO was asked to step in secretly by WME agents Ari Emanuel when Team Conan and NBC were so far apart they weren't even on speaking terms. "They [NB Universal] were lucky to have Ron." I'm told the deal might close as soon as Saturday. And NBC's PR nightmare will end. Or will it? In his Friday night monologue, Conan defended himself against NBC sports czar Dick Ebersole's very public (and inappropriate) takedown: "In the press this week, NBC has been calling me every name in the book. In fact, they think I�m such an idiot, they now want me to run the network." [......] http://www.deadline.com/hollywood/jeff-zucker-threatens-to-ice-conan-ill-keep-you-off-the-air-for-3-12-years/

Actually, Dorine, from the stats I saw yesterday (and I didn't bookmark them, so not linking them here, but I'll look and see if I can find them later), Conan's numbers were better than those for Leno's 10pm show. As I've said several times, I think Leno at the helm of the Tonight Show will sink, slowly but surely, into obscurity. I'm quite sure there are a number of people who, although they didn't particularly love Conan (or perhaps even watch his show) will refuse to watch Leno now, in light of this stuff up. It's far less likely to boost Leno's numbers than to hurt them, imo.

I love Leno, hate Conan. I did watch both shows a few times when they first changed time slots but that was it. But, I'll go back to watching Leno once he's back on The Tonight Show. As I understand it, Leno had about 5 million viewers on both the Tonight Show and his prime time show. The problem is that other shows in the 10 pm slot were doing much better. Conan lost viewers for the Tonight Show and consistently trailed Letterman while Leno had consistently beat Letterman. To me, it is all about the numbers and I couldn't care less who looks good and who doesn't.

(Sarah) Conan's numbers were better than those for Leno's 10pm show. Yes. I wasn't comparing the 10pm show to Conan. I was saying (or trying to) that even if Leno's #'s drop when he goes back to 11:30 lower than what he was used to in that slot historically, it is still probably going to be higher than Conan's over the past 7 months. He may need another interview of Hugh Grantian proportions to catapult him to where he was again, but I don't know by how much he was beating Letterman. Or maybe he'll do just fine out of the box ad infinitum. Time will tell. As I've said several times, I think Leno at the helm of the Tonight Show will sink, With which I don't think I disagreed and I believe agreed with. (Sandy) As I understand it, Leno had about 5 million viewers on both the Tonight Show and his prime time show. Yeah, I saw that, too, but only once and I don't remember where, so I wasn't sure how accurate it was. I was surprised as I didn't know other types of shows at 10pm had even bigger audiences. I saw a stat that Leno's 10 pm show lost up to 48% of the previous audience in some markets, but overall was in the 25-40% range. Talk about epic fail if that's so. I could see why the affiliates were so hot and bothered. They lost a fortune.

@Sandy: Not true. Conan's numbers recently are better than Leno's were before he retired, according the the chart I saw yesterday. I just wish I could remember where I saw it so I could post it here... Leno's numbers on his prime time show were low, which is the reason this whole mess started. The affiliates were threatening to drop the NBC feed because it was costing them ad revenue for their news programs, which they rely on heavily

Conan's numbers recently are better You mean since the debacle or before all that started? I did read his ratings have ballooned since all this mess. And regarding ratings, part of Conan's argument is that he didn't have enough time to get ratings up to speed (only 7 months) and that Jay wasn't an instant success out of the box when he took over. I forget now how long it took for Jay to show some good results. "And Conan was adamant that NBC take care of the people close to him -- [executive producer] Jeff Ross and the staff who moved out to Los Angeles." Found a Page Six item in the NY Post today that says the complete opposite... http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/conan_stiffed_us_staffers_say_09HWtZQc2Jc4BYmw7dg2hK

I popped in to post this and got distracted. I didn't see it, but will have to look on NBC.com or Hulu or You Tube. Did anyone see this? `SNL' lampoons late-night mess with sketch NEW YORK � "Saturday Night Live" has entered the late-night fray, lampooning the mess involving Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien. "SNL" opened Saturday's show with a sketch featuring cast member Bill Hader as O'Brien and Darrell Hammond as Leno, brought together on CNN's "Larry King Live." O'Brien was portrayed as somewhat humorless, while Leno needed to be cut off from automatically going into a monologue routine. Jason Sudeikis made a cameo as a giggling David Letterman, perpetually throwing pencils at the camera. "SNL" is close to the late-night shuffle and not just because it shares NBC as a network. "SNL" creator Lorne Michaels was executive producer of "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" before O'Brien took over the "Tonight" show. Michaels also produces O'Brien's replacement: "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon." http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100117/ap_en_tv/us_tv_leno_o_brien_snl;_ylt=ArsHNtq7O_VHxmIdci6HZxCs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTFranRwOWJmBHBvcwMxNjYEc2VjA2FjY29yZGlvbl9lbnRlcnRhaW5tZW50BHNsawNzbmxsYW1wb29uc2w-

Here it is! This is where I got the impression that Carson was pushed out. This was in the film. And I found this quite by accident following a link on Chris Chibnall's (UK TV writer/playwright) on Twitter. I knew I didn't make it up in my head, coupled with the fact that many comments I've read after some of the Jay/Conan stories referenced the same thing. "Leno�s manager gets impatient and schemes to push Johnny Carson out of his own show. According to Bill Carter of The New York Times � the Journalist Of Record in the late-night wars � NBC was in no rush to push Johnny Carson towards retirement. Despite their concerns about his aging audience, competition from younger hosts, and the fact that CBS and others were actively courting Leno to host his own competing 11:30 show, they were apparently confident that he�d make that choice on his own before long. So Leno�s manager, Helen Kushnick, planted an embarrassing unsourced front-page screaming-headline story in the New York Post about the network�s frustrations with Carson and their desire to hand The Tonight Show to Leno, his obvious successor, as soon as possible. Carson was so steamed about the headline that he didn�t even want to stick around for his 30th anniversary with the show, nor did he bother to inform NBC in advance that he�d be using a routine presentation in front of an auditorium of NBC affiliat s to announce his speedy departure. Carter reported that Leno had asked his manager point-blank if she�d been involved in the Post story, and that she�d lied to him. He also says that their relationship was a deeply complicated one, and suggests that Jay had long-since lost interest in digging too deeply into how she got things done." [.....] The rest of the link is some interesting analysis of the Jay/Conan war. http://ihnatko.com/2010/01/14/jay-leno-the-self-styled-forrest-gump-of-late-night/

NBC: Conan O'Brien reaches $45M exit deal By FRAZIER MOORE, Ap Television Writer � 16 mins ago NEW YORK � Conan O'Brien told NBC good riddance Thursday in a $45 million deal for his exit from "The Tonight Show," allowing Jay Leno to return to the late-night program he hosted for 17 years. Under the deal, which came less than eight months after O'Brien took the reins from Leno, O'Brien will get more than $33 million, NBC said. The rest will go to his 200-strong staff in severance. Compensation for O'Brien's staff and crew was the final hurdle in negotiations. O'Brien was said to have been "dug in" on the issue out of concern for the workers, while NBC said this week that it had already agreed to pay "millions of dollars to compensate every one of them" and deemed it a public relations "ploy." On Wednesday night's show, speaking of a push to get a severance deal for his staff from NBC, O'Brien joked, "At first they thought I was gullible. They said the staff would be taken to a big farm, where they'd be allowed to run free forever." O'Brien's final show will be Friday, with Tom Hanks scheduled to appear as well as Will Ferrell � his first guest as "Tonight" host last June. Reruns of "Tonight" with O'Brien had already been scheduled for next week. It was unclear how NBC will fill the two-week gap after that, before beginning its Olympics coverage. Leno will return to "Tonight" on March 1. "In the end, Conan was appreciative of the steps NBC made to take care of his staff and crew, and decided to supplement the severance they were getting out of his own pocket," his manager, Gavin Polone, told The Wall Street Journal. "Now he just wants to get back on the air as quickly as possible." O'Brien will be free to start another TV job after Sept. 1, NBC said in its statement, released Thursday, which confirmed that "under terms of an agreement that was signed earlier today, NBC and O'Brien will settle their contractual obligations and the network will release O'Brien from his contract." There has been much speculation on where he might go next. ABC (which airs "Nightline" and "Jimmy Kimmel Live!") has said it wasn't interested, while Fox, which lacks a network late-night show, expressed appreciation for his show � but nothing more. Comedy Central has also been mentioned. A spokesman for O'Brien said he would be unavailable for comment. O'Brien landed the "Tonight" show after successfully hosting "Late Night," which airs an hour later, since 1993. But he quickly stumbled in the ratings race against his CBS rival, David Letterman. Under Leno, the "Tonight" show was the ratings champ at 11:35 p.m. Eastern, but he proved an instant flop with his experiment in prime time. Last week NBC announced that the five-hour vacancy in prime time left by Leno will be filled by scripted and reality fare calculated to bring NBC affiliates a more robust lead-in audience for their local news than Leno had been delivering. A provisional slate of shows will include new and veteran NBC dramas, a comedy panel series produced by Jerry Seinfeld and "Dateline NBC." It had been no secret that the 46-year-old O'Brien was scoring puny ratings numbers on "Tonight," averaging 2.5 million nightly viewers, compared with 4.2 million for Letterman's "Late Show," according to Nielsen figures. It was even more obvious that "The Jay Leno Show," airing weeknights at 10 p.m. Eastern, was a disaster. Mostly justified by the network for its bargain-basement production budget, it not only was critically slammed, but also found a disappointing popular reaction. It has averaged 5.3 million nightly viewers since its fall debut � about the same number that watched Leno's final "Tonight" season, in a time slot when far fewer viewers are available. By comparison, the season's top-rated 10 p.m. network drama, CBS' "The Mentalist," has an average audience of 17 million. But few observers expected the abrupt upheaval that erupted publicly just two weeks ago, when two Web sites posted unsourced stories that the 59-year-old Leno's show would soon be canceled or moved into O'Brien's late-night domain. Days later, NBC executives unveiled a plan to restore Leno to 11:35 p.m. with a half-hour program, then slide O'Brien's "Tonight Show" to 12:05 a.m., followed by "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon," also pushed back a half-hour. Disgruntled affiliate stations, which have lost viewers and advertising revenue for their late local newscasts since "The Jay Leno Show" premiered, appeared to spur NBC's sudden changes. The 210 local NBC stations saw their late news audience drop, on average, by 25 percent in November compared with the previous year among desirable 25- to 54-year-old viewers, with the Leno experiment costing the stations collectively $22 million over a three-month period, according to the research firm Harmelin Media. In a clear vote of no confidence, some rebellious stations were threatening to drop "The Jay Leno Show" and air their own programming. The network had been counting on O'Brien's cooperation, and wanted an answer quickly, so it could have the configured lineup ready to launch after the Winter Olympics, which will dominate NBC's schedule from Feb. 12-28. But O'Brien threw a wrench into NBC's plans, and triggered a public relations firestorm for the network, when he issued a statement rejecting the offer to delay his show to make room for Leno's return. O'Brien said that shifting "Tonight" would "seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting," and he declared his disappointment that NBC had given him less than a year to establish himself as host at 11:35 p.m. The escalating mess furnished plenty of material for jokes by competitors of Leno and O'Brien, as well as the two NBC hosts at its center, who bashed each other and their network. As recently as Wednesday's monologue, Leno said the rainy weather in California "couldn't have come at a worse possible time. Today was the day NBC was supposed to burn down the studio for the insurance money." Online, many have leaped to O'Brien's defense in recent days and applauded his stand against NBC. "Team Conan" became a popular Twitter topic for viewers who pledged their allegiance to O'Brien. An O'Brien portrait also circulated as a badge of support. Referring to the "Tonight" show host's playful nickname, it read, "I'm With Coco," and featured a black-and-white picture of a regal-looking O'Brien standing in front of an American flag. The only color: his shock of orange hair. For many observers, this clash of talk-show hosts recalled the late-night follies played out by NBC in the early 1990s as the network wavered confoundingly over who � Letterman or Leno � should inherit "The Tonight Show" from Johnny Carson. The current revival of the late-night follies was set in motion nearly six years ago, in what was hatched by NBC executives as a farsighted strategy to ensure an orderly transition. In the fall of 2004, the network announced that O'Brien would take over for Leno in 2009. That move by NBC � and endorsed by Leno, despite his clear aversion to leaving "Tonight" � was designed to keep O'Brien from jumping ship when his contract expired. "Tonight" was the prize O'Brien felt he had earned. He joked that he was looking forward to being on an hour earlier, "at a time when people can see me." As years passed and Leno strengthened his grip as the late-night ratings champ, NBC anguished over how to keep him usefully occupied on the network somewhere other than "Tonight," and safely out of reach of rival networks who were courting him. In late 2008, the network caught the public and the industry by surprise with its virtually unprecedented scheme: a new Leno hour "stripped" in prime time from Monday through Friday. "A lot of people were shocked," Leno joked to reporters when the plan was announced. "They didn't know NBC still had a prime time." ___ AP Television Writers Lynn Elber in Los Angeles and David Bauder in New York contributed to this report. ___

He'll probably join the other comedians at Comedy Central.

I think Conan is a class act for wanting to help his staff who followed his move to the West Coast. They were the ones who really got the short end of the stick. That being said, I really don't enjoy Conan very much...and I can't stand Leno. I remember when Jay was a decent comedian, prior to subbing for Johnny Carson. What happened to the funny Leno? He lost me with the dancing Itos and the Jay Walking.

I have to admit I'm both appalled and amused at the Jay Walkers. You know the saying about car wrecks....

I loved that final sendoff skit with Will Farrell and his pregnant wife (she gave birth later that night) doing the Freebird riff, cowbell and all.

People kid on Obama for using teleprompters (which he didn't need in his clearly knowledgeable off the cuff grasp of the issues in the Q&A session with House Republicans a couple of weeks ago, but Sarah was using a tried and true method for giving herself a bit of a help with answers that were pre-screened. I watched 10 or 15 min of her speech and that was all I could take. She was practically reading her speech and not at all well at that. I feel bad for the people who paid almost $500 to hear that. Well, maybe not so much. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stefan-sirucek/did-palin-use-crib-notes_b_452458.html

Auction #3: Stephen's Portrait from The Colbert Report is nearly at $17K now. BTW, there's a matching donation from AT&T and each auction has benefited different charities: http://cgi.ebay.com/Stephens-Portrait-from-The-Colbert-Report_W0QQitemZ200433782898QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item2eaac8d072

If anybody is thinking about bidding, there's free shipping. ;-)

I feel bad for the people who paid almost $500 to hear that. Well, maybe not so much. Noble of you to feel badly;-)...but they interviewed folks who were there and they were glad they had attended. Perhaps it was only the people from the Huffy -Puffy blog who weren't.

Perhaps it was only the people from the Huffy -Puffy blog who weren't. I don't think they went. they interviewed folks who were there and they were glad they had attended. Glad they felt it worth it, but it says a lot about them.

LOL. Dorine, I like your tolerance for other people's views.*shaking head*

I tolerate a person's right to have those views. I don't have to (nor do I) tolerate actual viewpoints especially those born of fear, ignorance, racism, lack of common sense and introspection, laziness, etc. I am proud to say that I do not tolerate viewpoints that illustrate and continue to perpetuate the continued dumbing down of America.

Or continual dumbing down of America.

This is an excellent illustration of such viewpoints I do not tolerate. And from a US Representative, too! "The *cult* of multiculturalism?" Are you kidding me?? My favorite is still the viewpoint espoused in the paragraph before the last line. http://www.citybeat.com/cincinnati/blog-1177-tea-party-speaker-revive-jim-crow.html

LOL You're so funny.

Good. I was worried there for a minute you might take me too seriously. ;-)

That Colbert painting is up to 17, 500 on 62 bids with 5 hrs left. The $ is going to a good cause IMO.

Holy cow! Official tells US health insurer to justify 39 pct rate hike AFP Mon Feb 8, 4:53 pm ET WASHINGTON (AFP) � US Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Monday called on a health insurance company to publicly explain why it raised premiums for some customers by 39 percent. "With so many families already affected by rising costs, I was very disturbed to learn through media accounts that Anthem Blue Cross plans to raise premiums for its California customers by as much as 39 percent," or 15 times faster than inflation, Sebelius said in a letter that was faxed to the insurer. The rate hikes were "even more difficult to understand" in the light of soaring profits at Anthem Blue Cross's parent company, WellPoint Incorporated, Sebelius said. Wellpoint earned 2.7 billion dollars in the last quarter of 2009, she said, calling on the insurance company to "provide a detailed justification" for the increase. "As we continue the health insurance reform debate in Washington, this announcement reminds us that too many Americans can be left with unaffordable insurance each time the rates or rules change in the private market," Sebelius said. Last month, plans to reform the US health care system hit a wall when the election of a Republican to the Senate Massachusetts seat long held by Ted Kennedy robbed the Democrats of their 60-vote supermajority in the Senate. President Barack Obama vowed during his campaign for the White House to reform health care and make coverage accessible to the 47 million Americans who currently do not have any, and to make coverage less of a financial drain on US workers. Last year, the insurance industry issued a report saying that health care reforms would lead to significantly higher insurance premiums. Obama dismissed the report as "bogus". http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/healthusinsuranceeconomy;_ylt=AoYSih3z74Jx9q6gBJu0y7qs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTN0dHVmYzVoBGFzc2V0A2FmcC8yMDEwMDIwOC9oZWFsdGh1c2luc3VyYW5jZWVjb25vbXkEY2NvZGUDbW9zdHBvcHVsYXIEY3BvcwM0BHBvcwMxBHB0A2hvbWVfY29rZQRzZWMDeW5faGVhZGxpbmVfbGlzdARzbGsDb2ZmaWNpYWx0ZWxs

And this woman is a fool to take him back. http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100208/en_nm/us_sheen

My attorney friends always collect those fees beforehand. Happens everyday.

Yes, unfortunately it does and it doesn't surprise me much. From that legal section in THR I posted an article from before, an update on what Conan had in his contract for leverage for his pay-to-go-away day. February 09, 2010 Conan's 'Tonight Show' contract revealed By Matthew Belloni If there was one big mystery in the Great Late-Night Fiasco of 2010, it was whether NBC actually specified in Conan O'Brien's contract that �The Tonight Show� had to begin at 11:35 p.m. This seemingly small detail was of crucial importance to O�Brien, who ended up exiting the network rather than accepting NBC�s offer to move him and �Tonight� to 12:05 a.m. -- a potential violation of his deal, which was never made public. But we've finally tracked down a copy of the O�Brien contract, and -- lo and behold -- NBC did define �Tonight� as the series that airs at 11:35 as far back as 2002. However, what may have emboldened NBC to move the program anyway was the absence of that key language from later amendments to the deal. Here's the backstory: http://www.thresq.com/2010/02/conan-contract-revealed.html

And on the topic of dumbing down America. This is on a billboard in MN: What a scary thought.

Hahaha. I read about that. I wonder who put it up.

Something for those concerned about Medicare cuts to ponder: http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/10/having-it-both-ways-on-medicare/

That being said, something has to be done. It can't go on like it is.

That picture has been circulating around since the Christmas Day bombing attempt over Detroit,Moon. A scary day that was. We were lucky...thanks to a brave alert Dutch passenger. (Not to John Brennan and his team:-((( Not just Medicare...but Medicaid need a fix. As well as *all* the social programs out there. Incl SS, and all those community give-a-ways.

Right you are Evelyn. There is much to fix and I just wish the opposition (ahem), would sit down to work together with the administration. Of course, this is an election year and the political BS game goes on. :-(

The opposition is miniscule, m'dear. Remember, we're the minority party. The Dems (ahem)control both the legislative and excutive branch of the gov't. POTUS can pass this if he marshalls his *own* party behind him. There is much common ground ; Senator Judd Gregg (NH)was on Chris Matthews tonight and clearly stated each one. Let's just pass each component one bill at a time with tranparency instead of incorporating them in that 2000 page legislative proposal that no one apparently has read. This way the American electorate would know how their legislator voted on *each* item.

This was actually the second part of a two-part report by John Oliver. Must watch TV: http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-february-11-2010/the-apparent-trap

OMG, I can't get past Jon's stuff for laughing so hard!...and I've been sick all week so it's making me cough, too (though good for getting the gunk out of my lungs). Must go back later.

Or this one: http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/264134/february-11-2010/the-word---political-suicide

Thanks for those, Karen, though the Colbert site isn't loading for me at the moment. But LOL!!! at the other one. And you know, that bit with Dog the Bounty Hunter describing his experience at the hospital sounds almost verbatim to what my friend's sister told me a couple of weeks ago about her very recent experience in Canada when she fell and broke her arm (w/ cast from mid-humerus to fingers). She said they didn't once ask her about payment or insurance. Just fixed her up in a reasonable amount of time and sent her on her way. The hospital got their address from her husband and sent a bill later, which apparently wasn't enough to break the bank.

This is taking bad sportsmanship to new levels: http://blog.zap2it.com/thedishrag/2010/02/olympian-evgeni-plushenko-awards-himself-platinum-medal.html All those years of bloc voting and rigged results in skating and he now has some nerve.

A friend of mine is a fan of his and we were going back and forth about it where I told her he was clearly a sore loser. Even on the medal stand. He stood there with such indignation. She kept insisting that he did a quad and he other guy made a mistake. I did mention the virtually constant bobbling he did on his landings, but she wasn't having it. Thanks for that article. I wanted to explain how the 2 programs were different and judged accordingly, but it was a bit much to go into on FB. I'll send this blog post to her.

I am completely amazed how an earthquake that far south and so far away could affect not just Hawaii (which may not be quite as surprising), but the coastline of the continental US and Canada, which is so NE of Chile. And maybe Japan, so far away! Nature is wonderous, isn't it? Granted it just may be high surf at the US/Canada, but still. I have a friend in San Diego. I'll have to see if he'll be able to see the effects. I used to know people in HI, but no idea if they're still there. If I still lived in WA state, I'd be heading out to the coast. This will make a great word problem in physics classes. West coast of U.S., Canada in tsunami advisory AP � Motorists line up near a gasoline station early Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010, in Ewa Beach, Hawaii. Hawaii � EWA BEACH, Hawaii � A tsunami advisory has been extended to include the states of Oregon and Washington and parts of Alaska, as well as coastal British Colombia. The Pacific Tsunami center had earlier included the coast of Californa and some Alaskan islands in its advisory after a tsunami was generated by a powerful earthquake off Chile. An advisory is the lowest level alert. The West Coast Alaska Tsunami Warning Center says that a tsunami advisory means there is a possibility of strong localized currents but no significant inundation is expected. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below. EWA BEACH, Hawaii (AP) � A tsunami threatened the Pacific Rim on Saturday, with an 8.8-magnitude earthquake off Chile sending potentially deadly waves across the ocean at the speed of a jetliner. Hawaii woke residents with sirens, alerting them to the waves. A tsunami warning � the highest alert level � was issued earlier for the island chain. Boats and people near the coast were being evacuated. Hilo International Airport, located along the coast, was closed. Residents lined up at supermarkets to stock up on water, canned food and batteries. Cars lined up 15 long at several gas stations. The first waves were expected at 11:19 a.m. Saturday (4:19 p.m. EST; 2119 GMT). Most Pacific Rim nations, awaiting further data, did not order evacuations but advised people in low-lying areas to be on the lookout. In Tonga, however, police and defense forces have begun a mass evacuation from low-lying coastal areas as they warned residents that tsunami waves about three feet (one meter) high could wash ashore within three hours. "I can hear the church bells ringing to alert the people," National Disaster Office deputy director Mali'u Takai told The Associated Press. "We will move up to 50,000 people to the interior and away from the coasts." Waves 6 feet (1.8 meter) above normal hit near Concepcion, Chile shortly after the quake. Unlike other tsunamis in recent years, emergency officials along the Pacific have hours to prepare and possibly evacuate residents. "We've got a lot of things going for us," said Charles McCreery, the director of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, which issues warnings to almost every country around the Pacific Rim and to most of the Pacific island states. "We have a reasonable lead time. "We should be able to alert everyone in harm's way to move out of the evacuation zones," he said. A warning was also in effect for Guam, American Samoa, Samoa and dozens of other Pacific islands. American Samoa Lt. Gov. Aitofele Sunia activated emergency services and called on residents of shoreline villages to move to higher ground. Police in Samoa issued a nationwide alert to begin coastal evacuations. The tsunami is expected to reach the islands Saturday morning. Meanwhile, disaster management officials in Fiji said they have been warned to expect waves of as high as 7.5 feet (2.3 meters) to hit the northern and eastern islands of the archipelago and the nearby Tonga islands. A lower-grade tsunami advisory was in effect for the coast of California and an Alaskan coastal area from Kodiak to Attu islands. Tsunami Center officials said they did not expect the advisory would be upgraded to a warning. Waves were likely to hit Asian, Australian and New Zealand shores within 24 hours of Saturday's quake. A tsunami wave can travel at up to 600 mph, said Jenifer Rhoades, tsunami program manager at the National Weather Service in Washington, DC. After the sirens are sounded in Hawaii, people in coastal areas, such as tourist-filled Waikiki, would then be instructed on a possible evacuation. The sirens will also be sounded again three hours prior to the estimated arrival time. McCreery said he didn't know how big the waves will be, but expected them to be the largest to hit Hawaii since 1964. "If you're in an evacuation zone, police or civil defense volunteers would instruct you to evacuate, or instructions will come out over the radio and TV," said Shelly Ichishita, spokeswoman for the state's civil defense. If coastal areas are evacuated, visitors in Waikiki would be moved to higher floors in their hotels, rather than moved out of the tourist district, which could cause gridlock. Some Pacific nations in the warning area were heavily damaged by a tsunami last year. On Sept. 29, a tsunami spawned by a magnitude-8.3 earthquake killed 34 people in American Samoa, 183 in Samoa and nine in Tonga. Scientists later said that wave was 46 feet (14 meters) high. Past South American earthquakes have had deadly effects across the Pacific. A tsunami after a magnitude-9.5 quake that struck Chile in 1960, the largest earthquake ever recorded, killed about 140 people in Japan, 61 in Hawaii and 32 in the Philippines. That tsunami was about 3.3 to 13 feet (one to four meters) in height, Japan's Meteorological Agency said. Japanese public broadcaster NHK quoted earthquake experts as saying the tsunami would likely be tens of centimeters (inches) high and reach Japan in about 22 hours. A tsunami of 28 centimeters (11 inches) was recorded after a magnitude-8.4 earthquake near Chile in 2001. The Meteorological Agency said it was still investigating the likelihood of a tsunami in Japan and did not issue a formal coastal warning. Australia, meanwhile, was put on a tsunami watch. The Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning Saturday night for a "potential tsunami threat" to New South Wales state, Queensland state, Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island. Any potential wave would not hit Australia until Sunday morning local time, it said. The Philippine Institute of Vulcanology and Seismology issued a low-level alert saying people should await further notice of a possible tsunami. It did not recommend evacuations. Seismologist Fumihiko Imamura, of Japan's Tohoku University, told NHK that residents near ocean shores should not underestimate the power of a tsunami even though they may be generated by quakes on the other side of the ocean. "There is the possibility that it could reach Japan without losing its strength," he said. ___ Associated Press writers Mark Niesse in Honolulu, Kristen Gelineau in Sydney, Chris Havlik in Phoenix, Ray Lilley in Auckland, New Zealand, and Eric Talmadge in Tokyo contributed to this report. http://tinyurl.com/yz845ho

I'd love someone to take a picture of a tsunami as it approaches land. I mean does it just look like a surfer's wave, but maybe longer?

(Dorine) If I still lived in WA state, I'd be heading out to the coast. I understand the curiosity. Problem is, how close to the coast would be 'close enough'? (evacuation and all that goes with it)

I know that coastline well and where to get above the fray. One of the campgrounds I stayed at there is on a 50 ft bluff, which should be plenty high (the waves in HI, a more direct route, are supposed to reach only 8 ft I read - or maybe that's what hit French Polynesia). Also, Ruby Beach has a long curvy walkway to the beach from the parking lot that runs on a decline and has views of the beach through the trees on the way without having to get right down to the beach. And Cape Flattery (most northwestern point of the continental US) is high above the sea, too. I wouldn't want to be right on the beach there anyway this time of year as they have big storms that blow giant dead trees up on shore (though it's highly picturesque after the storm). Matter of fact they have signs at various public beaches saying "Beach Logs Kill" with a picture of a girl running from a big log, LOL. I have pics of all of that stored away, not scanned, otherwise I'd post.

Here's an idea of Ruby Beach with the logs and seeing through the trees on the way down. http://www.visitusa.com/washington/images/olympic-nationalpark/ruby-beach.jpg http://www.portangelesbb.com/images/SecondBeach.jpg This is the view I spoke of. http://www.psbl.com/terry/images/ruby_beach.jpg http://ibelievedandspoke.com/images/IMG_0628%20Ruby%20Beach%20at%20Olympic.jpg Not the greatest pics of Kalaloch, but you get the idea. http://farm1.static.flickr.com/203/519126631_ee69944f4b.jpg?v=0 http://www.lowfares.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Olympic-National-Park.jpg Cape Flattery. http://www.virginmedia.com/images/cape-flattery-washington-state_paul-gayler.jpg This has all my favorite spots to visit there, including Cape Flattery. http://www.blankinship-web.com/oly-penn/index.htm Thus ends the WA travelogue for today.

Ooh! Sorry, one more. One of the Beach Logs Kill! signs. They remind me of a B-movie horror film poster. LOL. http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1045/1143414938_42aea9e288.jpg

Some great pics. The place looks serene - almost as though nothing can challenge its existance.

I just had an email from a friend in Waipahu,Oahu ; she lives on a hill and said she expected some friends who live on the beachfront to evacuate to her place. She's supposed to call me this afternoon. Worrying situation.

Thank goodness they have somewhere friendly to go. Wonder what it's like to evacuate from those areas. Wonder if it gets bogged down in traffic like South Florida with hurricane warnings. Turns the 2 major highways out of that area (and through much of the state) into parking lots. Hope they get there ok.

POTUS has warned all Americans to heed the tsunami warning of local officials. I assume the west coast. But American Samoa and Guam aint got no hills. On Yahoo. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_us_chile_earthquake/print

Was watching CNN and MSNBC at the gym. They were both showing feeds from the HI tv stations with cameras trained at various points. Interesting to see all the people parked on both sides of the road on a mountainside to wait it out. Some were at some lookout point that people usually watch surfers from. It was at Diamond Head now that I think of it. It was like a giant tailgate party minus the grills. ;-) I just walked in. Maybe I'll go turn on the tv to see what's up now since I looked 45 mins ago. The waters were just noticeably receding then. Funny though that many reports of the greater changes were taking place in Hilo, yet none of the cameras were there unfortunately.

Hawaii dodged the bullet From Yahoo: Tsunami expert: `We dodged a bullet' 4 mins ago HILO, Hawaii � A official at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center says Hawaii "dodged a bullet" after a major earthquake sent powerful waves roiling around the Pacific. It still will be about an hour before officials will be willing to give an all-clear in Hawaii, but there were no immediate reports of major damage around the Pacific rim. just tidal surges that reached up to about seven feet in some island chains. Gerard Fryer, a geophysist for the tsunami center, defended the decision to urge evacuations of coastal areas, saying "better safe than sorry." THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below. HONOLULU (AP) � A tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Chile swept ashore in Hawaii on Saturday, but the initial waves did not appear to cause significant damage. The first waves looked more like an extreme fluctuation in the tide than the giant tsunami that Hawaii and the rest of the Pacific Ocean were bracing for after the magnitude-8.8 quake devastated Chile. The wave began affecting Hilo Bay on the Big Island just before noon local time. Water began pulling away from shore, exposing reefs and sending dark streaks of muddy, sandy water offshore. Water later washed over Coconut Island, a small park off the coast of Hilo. The tsunami was causing a series of surges that were about 20 minutes apart, and the waves arrived later and smaller than originally predicted. The highest wave at Hilo measured 5.5 feet high, while Maui saw some as high as 6 feet. No major damage was immediately reported, but scientists cautioned the waves would continue into the afternoon. The tsunami raced across the Pacific Ocean in terrifying force after the quake hit Chile hours earlier, giving Hawaii officials had ample time to get people out of the potential disaster area. Sirens blared in Hawaii to alert residents to the potential waves. As the waves expected arrival drew near, roads into tourist-heavy Waikiki were closed off. Police patrolled main roads, telling tourists to get off the streets. Authorities even flew overhead in Cessna blaring warnings to people to get out of the potential danger zone, and residents in Honolulu lined up at supermarkets to stock up on food and batteries. Cars lined up 15 long at several gas stations. The tsunami fear was not unique to Hawaii. The waves hit California, but barely registered a notice amid stormy weather. No injuries or property damage are reported. Authorities reported unusual tidal surges to the south of Santa Monica, in San Diego. A tsunami warning � the highest alert level � was in effect for Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, Samoa and dozens of other Pacific islands. An advisory � the lowest level � includes California, Oregon, Washington state, parts of Alaska, and coastal British Colombia. The Navy was moving more than a half dozen vessels Saturday to try to avoid damage from the tsunami. A frigate, three destroyers and two smaller vessels were being sent out of Pearl Harbor and a cruiser out of Naval Base San Diego, the Navy said. In Tonga, where nine people died in a Sept. 29 tsunami, police and defense forces began evacuating tens of thousands of people from low-lying coastal areas as they warned residents that waves about three feet (one meter) high could wash ashore. "I can hear the church bells ringing to alert the people," National Disaster Office deputy director Mali'u Takai said.

Seems like it ended up a non-event in HI as I watch now on CNN/MSNBC. Good thing.

LOL! Didn't see your post before I did mine.

And here I thought I was the only one who scrolled through long posts;-)

Ha, I didn't even scroll. I just started typing when the box came up. I thought it was a post I already read until I saw it wasn't after mine posted. I *never* scroll through yours. :-D

You know what's amazing so far, that for as huge as that earthquake was in Chile, relatively few lives have been lost compared to big earthquakes of recent years in China and Haiti. Only around 250 so far in Chile.