February 7, 2009

More than 100 rescued in Great Lakes

Per the Sandusky Register in Ohio, more than 100 fishermen and snowmobilers were hauled to safety Saturday afternoon after being stranded when a slab of ice on Lake Erie drifted offshore. Ottawa County Sheriff's deputies and Coast Guard members had all the people off the ice within four hours, though one man died.

Those who live by Lake Erie were shocked by the news.

@katlet (Toledo, Ohio): @priestlychick I know better than to go out on Lake Erie in this weather! Silly people! It was almost 50 degrees today!


@thechrismyers (Toledo, Ohio): Who would go out on the ice today? Apparently a lot. They should pay for the rescue.


The event was more personal for one twitterer.

@MyGirlFermi (Luna Pier, Mich.): We heard the rescue helicopters flying overhead a little while ago to check on the Lake Erie fisherman.


@MyGirlFermi (Luna Pier, Mich.): Sounds like everyone was rescued from the ice with minimal issue. Glad my guy didn't get up early as planned to head out

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Madagascar protest turns deadly

Per Reuters, as many as 25 people were killed by security forces outside the presidential palace in Antananarivo, Madagascar, in an anti-government protest on Saturday. Some 125 people have died in civil unrest in the nation the last two weeks.

Within the last hour, @ariniaina provided an update from the capital city after listening to President Marc Ravalomanana speak on radio.

@ariniaina (Antananarivo): Ravalomanana ordered the force army to restore peace, declared he's sad for the deaths. He also asked the collaboration of the population.

She live chronicled the events as they were happening from the Palace of Ambohitsirohitra, though it is not clear if she was at the scene or relying on reports.

@ariniaina: TGV Protest: A truck pull of military officers are coming to Ambohitsirohitra (6 hours ago)

@ariniaina: TGV Protest: The Police invited the journalists to stay away from the place reported a journalist from Radio antsiva (5 hours ago)

@ariniaina: TGV Protest: Militaries are prepared to fire if needed (5 hours ago)

@ariniaina: Militaries shot (5 hours ago)

@ariniaina: TGV Protest: The shooting goes on. Till now 20 death and 200 injuries are registered. (3 hours ago)

Others also provided updates from the city, including @thierry_ratsiz, who texted based on what he was hearing through local media.

@thierry_ratsiz (Antananarivo): #madagascar Des corps gisent par terre...beaucoup de blesses (Bodies lying on the floor ... many wounded)


One man monitoring "Madagascar" tweets was not happy with what he saw.

@tandriamirado (Antananarivo): ALL: PLEASE STOP talking about Madagascar THE MOVIE, there's very serious things happening in Madagascar now. PLEASE!

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Toyota hit harder than first thought

Per the Japan Times, Toyota Motor Corp. announced Friday it expects to sustain a group operating loss of ¥350 billion ($3.9 billion) in 2008, three times more than initially projected. It marks the company's biggest loss in a year since 1937.

Only one person in Japan has tweeted about this so far.

@kei_shimada (Shibuya, Japan): on Performance: Toyota just announced they're positively in the red this FY, but McDJ, Suntory, Nintendo are forecasting all time high.


There was a larger response to the news internationally.

@michaelq (Mildura, Australia): @wolfcat I dont get how Toyota and GM can sell almost 9 mill cars each and lose money. Side note - KIA and Hyundai both making profits.

@JonathanHutter (Portland, Ore.): Toyota's got a brand that can withstand net loss. Because they've always made good cars. Can't say that about all the automakers. (0 left)


@dyphan (Hoffman Estates, Ill.): It's so bad, even Toyota is losing money. First time since 1950. http://tinyurl.com/cd4y5h

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