• one Chile, the world’s 46th-richest country,
  has a much stronger economy than Haiti, the Western Hemisphere’s poorest nation.
• two The country has one of the lowest debt to economic output ratios in Latin America, and the government is fairly frugal with spending.
• three Chile has a massive copper supply, a supply which was barely damaged by the earthquake. They’ll bounce back, guys. source

• It’s not an accident that a great earthquake took place in Chile. It was a precipitate of what I have to tell you today of what’s coming to America. You will not escape.
• Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan • Discussing Chile’s nature as a harbinger. It wasn’t the only insane thing he said at a speech today. Another chestnut: “I can’t even get a meeting with a congressperson if a white man’s watching.” He also claimed that the white man was trying to make Obama a one-term president. Ah, take a whiff of some of that crazy, boys. That kind of crazy doesn’t come around often. source

• 1.2 meter waves in Japan’s first tsunami in 15 years source

• 1.5 million people displaced by the Chile quake source

• It seems like every freaking day now. We don’t necessarily think it’s our place to tell a bunch of teenage girls what to think, but the Justin Bieber love is a bit much. This kid, at the tender age of 15 (he turns 16 on Monday) seems to have Twitter’s trending topics by the throat. And tonight, there he was, right behind Chile. You know, a massive earthquake that’s killed hundreds. Our question: Is he really taking over Twitter? We did some research.

His YouTube roots

• Usher discovered him on YouTube. Perhaps it’s fitting that Bieber, teen pop’s first true social media phenomenon, was discovered that way. The interesting thing is that the videos prove that he’s really talented, and just happens to be pushed by the major labels. Interesting. source

Bieber’s rank on the charts

• 6th Bieber’s album peak, which he hit back with “My World” back in December source
• 16th Bieber’s single peak, which he hit in October with “One Less Lonely Girl” source
• 2nd Bieber’s Twitter peak, which he’s at this week, according to tracker What the Trend source

• Why is he peaking now? Simply put, he has a lot of buzz behind him – he sang the opening line to “We Are the World 25,” for example – and, more importantly, he has a new album
  coming out at the end of next month. That was quick.

Popularity against major news stories

• Chile For now, Bieber’s popularity with teenage girls can’t hold a candle to one of the largest quakes to hit in 50 years.
• #hcr Last year, health care was more popular than Bieber. After Scott Brown’s win, Bieber consistently trumps it.
• Haiti While the Haiti quake was huge at first, of Twitter, Bieber has started topping the crisis in recent weeks.

Popularity against major pop stars

• Jay-Z The rapper basically owned Twitter the week of his album release in September. But he faded quickly. Bieber hasn’t.
• Gaga Lady Gaga might be the best comparison to Bieber – consistently popular week after week, moreso than Bieber.
• Miley On the teen-pop front, his biggest competitor is losing her grip in terms of social media influence. Bieber’s ahead now.

Conclusion: Is Bieber as popular as he looks?

• perception Every time you look at the trending topics, the perky teenage boy seemingly has the site in his (and his record company’s) pocket.
• reality Bieber has never straight-up owned Twitter’s real estate, but he has shown a lot of consistency over the last month or so. source

• 214+ people killed in Chile as a result of the earthquake
• 50+ aftershocks have hit in and around the country in the last 24 hours
• 1.5M homes have been damaged by the huge quake source

• 33 aftershocks in the wake of the earthquake, the latest in Argentina
• 700+ number of times the quake is stronger than the Haiti quake source

• National Geographic’s explainer on what tsunamis are (two-word description: giant waves) seems like a fitting thing to pull out of the bag right now.

• Get off the shore line. We are closing all the beaches and telling people to drive out of the area.
• Oahu Civil Defense spokesman John Cummings • Describing the danger of being on the coast in Hawaii right now as a result of the pending tsunami. While the tsunami isn’t expected to be serious, Hawaii is taking all the precautions it can, including voluntary running a bus near the shore to pick up those with no other way to get away. Tourists who stay at modern resorts should be safe as long as they stay above the third floor. “We are taking it very seriously, but this is not a big one.” said Brian R. Shiro, a geophysicist at NOAA Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Ewa Beach, Hawaii. source