If all printers were determined not to print anything till they were sure it would offend nobody, there would be very little printed. -- Benjamin Franklin
The United States accused Muammar Gaddafi of defying international demands for an immediate ceasefire, and France's U.N. envoy predicted military action within hours of an international meeting on Libya on Saturday.
A unilateral ceasefire declared on Friday by the Libyan government appeared to have done little to convince outside powers to hold off on plans for air strikes to force an end to an increasingly bloody civil war.
Residents in the rebel-held western city of Misrata said they faced heavy bombardment on Friday -- a charge the government denied -- while a U.S. official said Gaddafi's forces were still advancing toward the rebels' eastern stronghold Benghazi.
Within hours of President Barack Obama saying the terms of a U.N. resolution meant to end fighting in Libya were non-negotiable, his U.N. envoy, Susan Rice, asked by CNN whether Gaddafi was in violation of these terms, said: "Yes, he is."
UN calls for ceasefire. Qaddafi says "OK, we stopped firing." Then his forces proceed to bomb rebel positions, then claims that he wants international observers to prove he's holding up to the cease fire, while continuing to bomb rebel positions anyway.
He has a bright future as either a three-year old with a bag of Skittles, or as a Republican lawmaker.
Gunmen on rooftops shot dead up to 42 protesters at an anti-government rally in Sanaa after Muslim prayers on Friday, enraging the opposition and prompting President Ali Abdullah Saleh to declare a state of emergency.
Medical sources and witnesses told Reuters that Yemeni security forces and plainclothes snipers, who protesters said were government security men, had opened fire on the crowds. The Interior Ministry put the death toll at 25, but doctors said 42 people had died and at least 300 were injured.
Saleh, struggling to maintain his 32-year grip on power in the impoverished Arabian Peninsula state, said the deaths had occurred in clashes between demonstrators and other citizens at a protest encampment at Sanaa University.
"I express my extreme sorrow for what happened today after Friday prayers in the university district," Saleh told a news conference in Sanaa, blaming gunmen among the protesters for the violence.
"The police were not present and did not open fire," he said. "It is clear there are armed elements inside these tents and they are the ones who opened fire."
He declared a 30-day state of emergency that gives wider powers to security forces and bars citizens from bearing arms in public. A curfew was being discussed.
Bahrain, now Yemen. Saudi Arabia is probably pretty damn nervous about right now, as is, oh, pretty much everyone else on the planet. Something's got to give soon on the Arabian Peninsula, however. When it does, it's not going to be pleasant.
A truly sorry sight today as Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) chief Akio Komiri broke down and cried after admitting at a press conference that yes, the Fukushima Daiichi plant has been releasing harmful levels of radiation for days now.
The boss of the company behind the devastated Japanese nuclear reactor today broke down in tears - as his country finally acknowledged the radiation spewing from the over-heating reactors and fuel rods was enough to kill some citizens
Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency admitted that the disaster was a level 5, which is classified as a crisis causing 'several radiation deaths' by the UN International Atomic Energy.
Officials said the rating was raised after they realised the full extent of the radiation leaking from the plant. They also said that 3 per cent of the fuel in three of the reactors at the Fukushima plant had been severely damaged, suggesting those reactor cores have partially melted down.
After Tokyo Electric Power Company Managing Director Akio Komiri cried as he left a conference to brief journalists on the situation at Fukushima, a senior Japanese minister also admitted that the country was overwhelmed by the scale of the tsunami and nuclear crisis.
He said officials should have admitted earlier how serious the radiation leaks were.
After leaving the presser, Komiri left in tears, ushered off stage by aides. Could have told you this was happening, but it's still important to keep in mind that the 850,000 without power and water in Japan right now for a week as temperatures still get below freezing and snow blankets the area, with no food and no water, well they have a hell of a lot bigger problems to worry about than radiation.
The death toll is almost 7,000 now, with still 10,000 plus missing and hope at this point for them has all but run out after a week of hell. No, the radiation hasn't helped any, but that's not what's going to ultimately create the body count here.
It shows you how utterly ridiculous Republicans are that anyone even remotely considered to be making a run at Obama's job in 2012 has bow and scrape to the Republican birther majority, even somebody who's a long-shot like Donald Trump.
In an interview with ABC News' Ashleigh Banfield that aired Thursday, Trump said he had some doubts that President Barack Obama was a U.S. citizen.
"Everybody that even gives any hint of being a birther -- a word you didn't use -- even a little bit of a hint like 'gee, you know, maybe, just maybe this much of chance,' they label them as an idiot," he told Banfield.
"Let me tell you, I'm a really smart guy," Trump continued. "I was a really good student at the best school in the country. The reason I have a little doubt -- just a little -- is because he grew up and nobody knew him."
"When you interview people, if I ever got the nomination, if I ever decide to run, you may go back and interview people from my kindergarten. They'll remember me. Nobody ever comes forward. Nobody knows who he is until later in his life."
"It's very strange. The whole thing is very strange," he added.
If the American business magnate wants the Republican nomination then he may need support from the birthers. A recent PPP poll found that a majority of Republican voters don't believe Obama was born in the U.S.
Words that could have come from any Republican circa 2008. Or 2009. Or 2010. Or 2011 for that matter. Trump is just the latest to drink the birther Kool-Aid. Anyone who will be making a serious run in 2012 for the GOP nomination will have to deal with the fact that Republicans are birthers, although I still feel that most of the non-believers are mouthing the words to cover up good old-fashioned "He's not one of us" racism.
While San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency officials say other inspections found the 82-year-old Sunset Tunnel and the 94-year-old Twin Peaks Tunnel “in good serviceable condition,” outside engineers question the wisdom of failing to inspect them for earthquake safety, particularly considering the defects that have been found.
Corroded steel beams surrounded by loose pieces of concrete held up the tunnel at its eastern end. A retaining wall was rotting. Further down the tunnel, corroded concrete beams and slabs were so deteriorated that inspectors said they “may be compromised.” And at the tunnel’s western end, the ceiling contained “extensive cracks,” one three-quarters of an inch wide and 10 feet long.
Yet despite this urgency, no repairs have been made. SFMTA officials outlined the scope of work this week, saying the agency plans to invest about $1 million to fix the worst of the problems by January 2013. The remaining defects will be repaired after that, SFMTA spokesman Paul Rose said, although the $6 million needed has yet to be obtained.
Asked if the tunnels’ vulnerability to earthquakes had ever been studied, Rose said no.
I can understand funds are hard to come by, but this is negligence bordering on disaster.
Ty Myers, owner of Fenix Tattoo, has a message for Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn.
The 7x15 foot sign hanging outside his Pioneer Square shop reads: "Parking $3.50, Small business $0, (Expletive) you Mayor McGinn."
The mayor has changed parking rates and times on local businesses in Pioneer Square (Seattle), and one owner in particular told them how he really feels. This is, of course, against the sign laws, but I don't think he cares.
Mr. Bowles had harsh words for fellow Democrats. He dismissed the idea that raising taxes alone might help erase the deficit, saying "raising taxes doesn't do a dern thing" to address health care costs that are projected to be a big driver of future fiscal problems.
He also said the White House, and House and Senate leadership would have to step in and help drive the process forward. "We're going to have to have leadership...to get to the promised land," he said.
The Affordable Care Act has a wide-ranging series of reforms to transform the incentive structure of insurers, hospitals and physicians, so as to control the long-term rise in costs. Bowles-Simpson just says, we're only going to pay so much and no more, without doing anything to ensure that the cost of the care actually stays within those bounds.
The problem is, if health care costs continue to skyrocket, we're in trouble no matter what. Simply shifting more of the cost onto people will replace public debt with private debt. Moreover, setting a cap in perpetuity isn't a terribly effective way to bind future policymakers. You can say they can only spend so much, but if the caps are hard to meet, they'll go around them. You need mechanisms to make the caps effective, but Bowles-Simpson has little of that.
The one step that actually would reduce the deficit substantially and in the correct time frame is letting the Bush tax cuts expire. I can't think of a good fiscal rationale for Bowles to dismiss that, though the political logic of doing so is clear enough.
The bottom line is the biggest single deficit creator over the next ten years is the Bush tax cuts. These need to go away for the wealthiest Americans at the very least. But nobody is talking about that, not Erskine Bowles and certainly not Republicans, whose solutions to the deficit include trying to deal with trillions by cutting $60 million from Public Broadcasting and saying the Democrats aren't serious about deficit reduction, then saying we should bomb Libya.
The people talking seriously about the deficit are few and far between, and none of them have "Former Clinton official" on their job resume.
We've found a lot of brutal poll numbers for Sarah Palin so far in 2011: down in South Dakota, down in South Carolina, down in Arizona, only up by 1 point in Texas, only up by 1 point in Nebraska to name a few. But this has to be the worst- independent voters say they would support Charlie Sheen over Palin for President by a 41/36 margin. Seriously.
Despite her deficit with independents Palin does lead Sheen 49-29 overall. We also tested Barack Obama against Sheen and the President leads 57-24.
Hey guys? We have enough actualmaniacstrying to destroy the country with their idioticantics. The idea that independents and Democrats would choose Charlie Sheen over Sarah Palin is not helping at all towards fixing it. Our political system is badly broken as it is, and neither Sheen nor Palin should be considered legitimate people to make pancakes without burning down your house, much less be pretend President.
This is a stupid Village trick, PPP, and quite beneath you. Knock it the hell off.
With Japan finally and grudgingly admitting that the Fukushima Daiichi disaster is at least as bad as Three Mile Island, nuclear officials are now raising the distinct possibility that the plant is beyond saving, and that the Chernobyl "concrete box" option is now on the table.
Japanese engineers conceded on Friday that burying a crippled nuclear plant in sand and concrete may be a last resort to prevent a catastrophic radiation release, the method used to seal huge leakages from Chernobyl in 1986.
But they still hoped to solve the crisis by fixing a power cable to at least two reactors to restart water pumps needed to cool overheating nuclear fuel rods. Workers also sprayed water on the No.3 reactor, the most critical of the plant's six.
It was the first time the facility operator had acknowledged burying the sprawling complex was possible, a sign that piecemeal actions such as dumping water from military helicopters or scrambling to restart cooling pumps may not work.
"It is not impossible to encase the reactors in concrete. But our priority right now is to try and cool them down first," an official from the plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co, told a news conference.
I do feel a lot better about the situation here, at least the Japanese now have more than a short-term plan (spraying water to cool the fuel rods), they have a medium term plan (get the cooling pumps back online with power strung in from another utility) and now a long-term plan (bury the plant if necessary).
Considering the damage already done to the plant, I'm thinking we're going to see a transition this weekend to the medium-term plan and then the long term one. I don't see how the plant can be considered safe without a complete refit of nearly all the reactors, and the PR hit at this point would be incalculable. Nobody would want to live near this thing. Another earthquake hits Japan, hey, how bad would it have to be to cause more chaos in an already weakened plant?
I understand the Japanese are trying to save face here, but if they are quietly admitting that putting this place under several metric craptons of sand and concrete is now an option, it's because they're planning on doing it down the road. After all, at this point the plant looks like this:
“I have great sympathy for people that are involved in that war there,” Paul said in response to a question on Libya at a news conference on the federal budget. “We’re involved in two wars right now, and I don’t think we really need to be involved in a third war. I do think the questions of war are the most important decisions we make as a country and as representatives, and that needs to be something that is considered and voted on in the Senate and the House. I tell people I won’t vote to go to war unless I’m ready to go or send my kids.”
Paul added that in addition to financial questions about American involvement in Libya, there are other concerns, including the lack of more information about the opposition forces in the country.
“Can somebody anywhere tell me with a surety that the people fighting against Gaddafi are not in favor of radical Islamic government or radical Sharia-type government?” Paul asked. “I don’t know that. I’m not sure anybody knows that. I’m not sure anybody even knows who the leaders are. It’s not that I don’t sympathize with them wanting to overcome a tyrant. I just don’t know if I know enough that I’m willing to go and say that I’m absolutely fighting for freedom by going over there or sending our kids over there.”
It's a good thing it's St. Patty's day, because right now I need to knock back a few. Jesus hell, he actually said something that I would have said in his place. Meanwhile the UN Security Council has voted to bomb the crap out of liberate Libya, and take "all necessary measures" to protect civilians, opening the way for the eventual, inevitable US ground invasion of Libya. France is eager to begin, saying the air war could start in less than 24 hours. There will be no "occupation force", it will simply be called something else.
As expected, the full House has opted to eliminate all current and future funding for NPR, which for them was a free shot (and a source of many more free shots as long as NPR refuses to defend itself.)
Legislation to bar federal funds from being spent on National Public Radio passed in the House of Representatives on Thursday, although its ultimate prospects of becoming policy looked doubtful. HB 1076 was approved by a 228 to 192 vote after morning and afternoon debate sessions.
The move follows recent controversies involving NPR's executives, and other Republican efforts to defund or limit federal spending on public broadcasting.
The House bill put NPR specifically in its crosshairs, with Republicans citing fiscal responsibility as a key motivation.
"It's called tightening the belt," Majority leader Eric Cantor said on the floor. "It's time to reflect the common sense of the American people."
Under the bill, affiliate stations could not use federal funds to pay for NPR-produced programs or to pay member dues.
Republicans said it would save up to $60 million annually. About two percent of NPR's budget comes from the federal government.
Democrats argued the bill was a thinly veiled ideological attack that does not save money but threatens 27 million weekly listeners' content.
Public broadcasting has long been criticized by conservatives and many Republicans as leaning left. Most recently critics have pointed to a video sting operation that showed then NPR senior vice president for fundraising Ron Schiller disparaging the conservative Tea Party movement.
If anyone thinks this is really about the $60 million, you probably should listen to more NPR, you might learn something. The bill has no chance in the Senate, but it sure gives the GOP a nice, sedentary punching bag to whale on for a while, mainly because it fulfills the secondary aim of any GOP action, It Pisses Off Liberals(tm).
Likewise, NPR has been pretty adamant about admitting to its listeners that it's under attack and that they need listener support and hey, Democrats are getting in on the act too.
House Democrats are fundraising off their Republican counterparts' push to take away federal funding from NPR, accusing the GOP of overreaching.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) circulated a fundraising e-mail to supporters Wednesday in response to the House GOP's decision to hold a vote Thursday to derive public radio of taxpayer funds.
"First, they tried to restrict access to reproductive health care. Then, they proposed catastrophic cuts to teachers, nurses, and researchers," reads the appeal from DCCC Chairman Rep. Steve Israel (N.Y.). "Now the Republicans want to control the news."Democrats are looking to turn the tables on Republicans, who renewed their campaign to strip NPR of federal funding after they took control of the House.
Of course this plan only works if people hear about it, which I'm at least trying to help with. Still, it's a smart move by the DCCC and let's face it, I actually think NPR's enjoying the attention. Certainly I'm betting their fundraising is up right now, so no doubt long term this is a win-win-win for NPR, the GOP, and the Dems. Anthony Weiner did remind the House that the GOP's pledge to not "shove bills down America's throat" and allow 72 hours for debate doesn't mean a damn thing when it comes to scoring cheap political points as the bill still had 24 hours on the clock to go when House Republicans broke yet another promise.
Then again that will not be the case in a couple weeks when the GOP almost certainly decides to attach this defunding measure to the budget bill and dares to shut down the government over NPR. And I'm fully betting that the Democrats will throw the tote bag under the bus when that happens, along with pretty much the entire middle class.
And yes, all this is happening despite the fact that the whole James O'Keefe sting video was a badly edited pile of crap. The Village says it's relevant, so it's now on public record as "the truth" that NPR hates flyover country and anyone who doesn't have a MENSA IQ, so Real Americans will now punish them.
The GOP goalposts have now been moved to eliminate NPR, period...just like abortions, gay marriage, and brown people.
"I am running for the United States Congress," she said in a video uploaded to YouTube, asking viewers for support. "The 2010 election was bittersweet. Conservatives had some victories, but we still face obstacles from Democrats in Congress and the White House."
Angle will seek the seat currently held by Rep. Dean Heller (R) of Nevada's 2nd district, a heavily conservative seat that Republicans have held for decades. Angle lost to Heller in the 2006 election by a mere 421 votes. Heller is reportedly eying the open seat of retiring Sen. John Ensign (R).
Angle's solid tea party support in Nevada and fundraising capabilities make her a serious candidate for the seat, though she is likely to be challenged by heavyweights such as state GOP Chairman and Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki (R), according to the National Journal.
"I'm most concerned about the enormous debt that we're passing along to our children and our grandchildren," Angle said," calling for a "government based on the constitution, fiscal responsibility and personal accountability and resourcefulness."
The resourcefulness part is her making stuff up about what she thinks the Constitution actually means. Then again, given the Republicans that made it into Congress in 2010, Angle's not such a standout in the insanity department anymore.
Steve M. points out that Tuesday's special election to recall Miami's mayor, Carlos Alvarez, was pretty much a wipeout, losing the recall vote by a staggering 75 points. The right is eagerly claiming the Tea Party now rules South Florida, but the truth is Carlos Alvarez was removed by one of the Forbes 400, Norman Braman, who simply bought himself a recall election.
"County voters have demonstrated by their ballots that they are tired of unaccountable officials, of being ignored and of being overtaxed in this very difficult recessionary time," Braman said at a news conference.
Alvarez maintained throughout the recall effort that raising taxes was necessary to fill a $444 million gap and avoid cuts to critical social services. He said those affected by the property tax increase had enjoyed an artificially low 3 percent annual cap on tax increases during the real estate boom, and that the last round of contract negotiations had authorized most of the employee raises.
Francisco Rodriguez, 58, a bus driver, said his property taxes increased by about $600 this year, leading him to cancel his health insurance. He voted to remove Alvarez.
"It's time for him to go," Rodriguez said. "We want a change."
There have been numerous recalls of state officials in recent years, but not any of a local government official in an area as big as Miami-Dade County. said Joshua Spivak, a recall expert and senior fellow at Wagner College in New York. The Los Angeles mayor was recalled in 1938, but Spivak said the population at that time was smaller.
Alvarez, a former county police chief, also says Braman is angry over losing an effort to block the county from funding a new $600 million stadium for the Florida Marlins baseball team.
At Alvarez's urging, the county commission approved it.
"The defining issue really is the type of government that the citizens of this community are looking for," Braman said. "It's about empowering the people of this community to take it back from the politicians who have been running it, and running it in a way that I think endangers the fiscal future of our community."
So when Alvarez blocked Braman's new stadium, Braman bought himself a recall for Alvarez. Make no mistake, when Braman says to take Miami "back from the politicians" he means give it to the "rightful" owners of America:
The Forbes 400.
Revenge, as Carlos Alvarez found out, is a dish best served by somebody who can afford to do a proper job of it.
SAN FRANCISCO – Netflix Inc. is trying to buy the Internet streaming rights to a 26-episode drama starring Kevin Spacey before the series is shown on a television network.
If the deal is completed, it would mark a bold step in a new direction for Netflix's popular video subscription service. Netflix currently boasts more than 20,000 titles in its streaming library, but most of them are previously aired TV series and older movies.
The talks were reported earlier by Deadline.com. A person familiar with the negotiations on Wednesday confirmed Netflix's interest in the series, called "House of Cards." The person spoke on condition of anonymity because a deal hasn't been reached.
Bold step, indeed. It's clear where the future delivery of entertainment lies. Someday, cable won't be a separate service. It's all just going to be data pipes that deliver all content to homes. Netflix is jumping ahead and shaping the vision of what is inevitable: instant content delivered with minimum overhead, and delivery for the slower class of customers that cling to outdated equipment.
Even with the Biden Administration adults in charge and Democrats in control on Congress (barely), there remains an increasingly crumbling global economy imperiling the world, rising nationalism and deadly racism across Europe and Asia, a seemingly endless war against terror, a federal government nobody trusts or believes in, global climate change putting us on the brink of destruction and a Village media that barely does its job on even the best day.
Needless to say there's a lot of Stupid out there when we need solutions. Dangerous levels of Stupid.
Into the fray, dear Reader. Tray tables, crash helmets, arms inside blog at all times.
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