Chile[]

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• Wikipedia:Chile
• http://www.un.org/members/list.shtml
• http://www.olympic.org/uk/organisation/noc/index_uk.asp

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1973[]

On September 11th 1973, US-backed General Pinochet overthrew the democratically elected leader of Chile, Salvadore Allende. Pinochet ordered an air strike on the Presidential Palace, labor activists and famous folk guitarists were rounded up for torture, disappeared, and killed. Pinochet converted the national football stadium into a detention facility like Guantanamo Bay. Chile's economy was turned into a plantation for the 1%, as inequality and poverty skyrocketed under the imposed Milton Friedman-style economic model.

Over 40,000 Chileans became victims of Pinochet's terror. In response, the Nixon administration committed more money, more training, more torture equipment.

The world didn't begin on September 11th, 2001. Rather, for the first time in modern history, Americans were visited by the same violence the US has imposed since its creation. In Chile, the US murdered tens of thousands and impoverished millions. This wasn't America's first foray in international terrorism, nor would it be the last. The United States security state is a terrorist and a plague on the people of the world.

Chile earthquakes[]

Concepcion, Chile earthquake also turned some Santiago buildings into rubble after a 8.8-magnitude earthquake in Feb 2010. The magnitude-8.8 earthquake struck south-central Chile early on Saturday morning local time, killing at least 78 people, knocking down buildings and triggering a tsunami, expected to spread across much of the Pacific.

A wave measuring 2.34m has struck Talcahuano, Chile but no firm reports of damage have been received.

The MCDEM has urged people to stay off beaches, stay out of the water, do not go sightseeing, share information with friends and family, monitor websites and other media for updates and to follow instructions from Civil Defence. "Current assessment is for a non destructive tsnuami for New Zealand (also known as NZL) , wave heights at the shore of between 0.2 and 1 metre. Scientific Advisors confirm a possible marine threat along the east coast of the North Island, South Island and Chatham Islands, possibly over 1m" the MCDEM said. New Zealand is part of a larger Pacific Rim-wide tsunami warning issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre following the quake.

Chilean president Michelle Bachelet confirmed 78 deaths and said more were possible. Telephone and power lines were down, making damage assessments difficult in the early morning darkness.

"Never in my life have I experienced a quake like this, it's like the end of the world," one man told local television from the city of Temuco, where the quake damaged buildings and forced staff to evacuate the regional hospital.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake struck 56 miles (90 km) northeast of the city of Concepcion at a depth of 22 miles (35 km).

Chilean television and radio stations said several buildings collapsed in the city of Curico and that there was damage to buildings in the historic center of the capital Santiago, about 200 miles (320 km) north of the epicenter.

The capital's international airport was forced to close, a highway bridge collapsed and chunks of buildings fell into the street.

In the moments after the quake, people streamed onto the streets of the capital, hugging each other and crying.

There were blackouts in parts of Santiago and communications were still down in the area closest to the epicenter.

An earthquake of magnitude 8 or over can cause "tremendous damage," the USGS says. The quake that devastated Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince on January 12, 2010 was rated at magnitude 7.0.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the Chile quake generated a tsunami that may have been destructive along the coast near the epicenter "and could also be a threat to more distant coasts."

It issued a tsunami warning for Chile and Peru (also known as PER) , and a tsunami watch for Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica and Antarctica. Australia has also issued a tsunami warning for New South Wales, Queensland, Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island.

The US West Coast Tsunami Warning Center said it did not expect a tsunami along the west of the US or Canada but was continuing to monitor the situation.

Former American Idol contestant Elliott Yamin was performing in a festival in Chile when the earthquake struck.

"Huge earthquake just now in Chile, I swear I thought this was the end of my life," he posted on his twitter account.

"I just escaped (with) my life from an 8.3 earthquake!!!" and "complete and utter chaos on the streets ... no power ... my heart is beatin outta my chest! ... tsunami warnin ... i am only a mile inland" he followed with other tweets.

Australian authorities have now issued an upgraded tsunami warning in place for Australia's New South Wales, Queensland and Lord Howe Island coasts, also for Norfolk Island. This revises an earlier message saying there was no tsunami threat to Australia.

According to a 2002 census, Concepcion is one of the largest cities in Chile with a population of around 670,000.

Chile produces about 34 percent of world supply of copper, which is used in electronics, cars and refrigerators.

Chile's main copper producing region and some of the world's largest copper mines are in the far north of the country near its border with Peru, but there are also copper deposits near Santiago.

In 1960, Chile was hit by the world's biggest earthquake since records dating back to 1900.

The 9.5 magnitude quake devastated the south-central city of Valdivia, killing 1655 people and sending a tsunami which battered Easter Island miles 3700km off Chile's Pacific seaboard and continued as far as Hawaii, Japan and the Philippines.

If you know of any New Zealanders in Chile, especially in Concepcion, contact the Stuff newsroom at stuffnewsroom@stuff.co.nz

CHILE EARTHQUAKE FACTS

• In 1960, Chile was hit by the world's biggest earthquake in records dating back to 1900, US Geological Survey data shows. The 9.5-magnitude quake devastated the south-central coastal city of Valdivia, killing 1655 people and sending a tsunami that battered Easter Island, 3700km off Chile's Pacific seaboard, and continued as far as Hawaii, Japan and the Philippines.

• Chile's chain of about 2000 volcanoes is the world's second-largest after Indonesia, and is part of the Pacific "Ring of Fire" of seismic activity. Some 50 to 60 are on record as having erupted, and 500 are potentially active. The Chaiten volcano, 1200km south of Santiago in the Patagonia region, erupted in May 2008 for the first time in thousands of years, spewing a plume of ash visible from space.

• Chile is one of the longest countries in the world, stretching around 4300km from its northern desert border with Peru and Bolivia to South America's southern tip by Cape Horn, once a major world trade route.

• Chile is the world's biggest producer of copper, its main export. It produces about 34 percent of world output of the metal, which is used in electronics, cars and refrigerators. Most of the mines are in the north.

• Dictator Augusto Pinochet ruled Chile with an iron fist for 17 years from a 1973 coup until 1990. Pinochet died in 2006 without facing full trial on rights abuses during his rule, when more than 3000 people were killed or disappeared and an estimated 28,000 people were tortured.

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