A magnitude 5.4 earthquake shook Illinois and surrounding states at 4:37 AM CDT on Friday.  The epicenter was near West Salem in southeastern Illinois, near the border with Indiana.  There were no immediate reports of injuries.

From the ABC affiliate (WLS) in Chicago:

Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said no injuries had been reported in Chicago and said most calls were simply people wondering what happened. Langford said calls came in from across the city. He said no structural damage has been reported. Langford himself said he slept through it.

Damage was reported in Louisville, Ky. The quake could also be felt strongly in Evansville, Ind., 66 miles from the epicenter, and as far away as Cincinnati.

(snip)

The quake shook skyscrapers in Chicago’s Loop and in downtown Indianapolis, about 160 miles northeast of the epicenter.

West Salem lies on the New Madrid Fault Line, which runs from Arkansas through Indiana.  In 1968 a quake also measured at 5.4 on the Richter scale had an epicenter near West Salem.  The fault line is capable of quakes with magnitudes of 7.0 or higher.  In 1812 an earthquake with an epicenter near New Madrid, MO was estimated as a 7.9.  

I have family in Peoria, IL (about 200 miles away) that say it shook the house enough to wake everyone.  I’m in Des Moines, IA where it was also felt some 450 miles away:

Bonnie Lucas, a morning co-host at WHO-AM in Des Moines, said she was sitting in her office when she felt her chair move. She grabbed her desk, and then heard the ceiling panels start to creak. The shaking lasted about 5 seconds, she said.

I was reminded of something during Senator Carl Levin’s opening statement at the Armed Services committee hearing on Tuesday:

“During my recent trip to Iraq, just before the latest outbreak of violence, a senior U.S. military officer told me that when he asked an Iraqi official, “Why is it that we’re using our U.S. dollars to pay your people to clean up your towns, instead of you using your funds?” that the Iraqi replied, “As long as you are willing to pay for the cleanup, why should we do it?”

This story crystallizes the fundamental problem of our policy in Iraq. It highlights the need to change our current course in order to shift responsibility from our troops and our taxpayers to the Iraqi government, to force that government to take responsibility for their own future, politically, economically and militarily.

(snip)

But the major political steps that they need to take have not yet been taken by the Iraqis, including establishment of a framework for controlling and sharing oil revenue…”

What ever happened to the “big breakthrough” on Iraq’s oil-revenue sharing that was announced last year?

WARNING — The following essay contains information about sports, which apparently does not have much of a following at Docudharma, so I’ll keep it brief.

All hail the winner of the DDMMTTPP (Docudharma March Madness Tournament Time Private Pool):  Undercovercalico!!!

Even with the championship game still to be played Monday night, Undercovercalico has already clinched victory by having correctly picked all of the Final Four teams (Memphis, UCLA, North Carolina, and Kansas) and correctly picking Memphis and Kansas to advance to the championship game.

The Memphis Tigers defeated UCLA 78-63 in the first semifinal game Saturday.  This was the 38th win of the season for Memphis, which sets a new NCAA record for most wins in a single season.  Their only loss of the season was by 4 points to Tennessee.  In the other semifinal game, Kansas beat North Carolina 84-66.  North Carolina coach Roy Williams had previously coached for 15 years at Kansas before leaving to coach North Carolina.  Kansas fans have been cranky ever since, so beating Williams’ team was sweet revenge.  The winners of Saturday’s semifinal games play for the championship on Monday.

Who will win Monday night’s championship game between Memphis and Kansas?  UCC picked Memphis to win it all, and only an idiot would disagree with her record of success thus far.

I predict Kansas will win.  

Five former secretaries of state, three Republicans and two Democrats,  announced their recommendation that the next presidential administration should close the Guantanamo Bay prison camp in Cuba.

America’s collective response?  “No shit.”

Note that the recommendation is for the next administration.  No one has any illusions that the Bush administration will pay any attention to mere secretaries of state.  

Although I have thoroughly enjoyed my 9 days at Docudharma, the cruel realities of capitalism are beckoning me toward greener pastures.  The blogging world is a cut-throat competition filled with endless choices.  And I have heard the siren song of . . .

Paris Hilton.

She needs a new best friend.  And will stop at nothing to get one.  Her new web site is soliciting new soulmates as we speak.  Applicants need to submit a 90-second video and write a blog entry that appeals to Paris’ short attention span.  Then the concerned public can vote on Paris’ web site to narrow the field to 20 finalists.  We will then all be treated to a new reality show where Paris will choose her BFF from those 20 lucky candidates.

Iran holds its parliamentary elections today, March 14th, to fill the 290 seats of the Islamic Consultative Council.  It is also expected to be a referendum on Iran’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who is in the third year of a four-year term.  Currently the Iranian Parliament seats consist of 190 conservatives, 50 reformists, 43 independents (or centrists), 5 seats reserved for religous minorities, and 2 other seats.  Voting will conclude at 2:30 PM EDT today, and preliminary results can be expected Saturday and Sunday.  Official results will probably not be announced for a few days after that.