How long can you protect voters from the consequences of their votes? Let them soak in the experience of what they elected. They’ll like it as much as they did in ’95.

What joke, as if we don’t need more bad things happening in the world, they label this an “emergency”. This is just so beyond absurd, I expect to hear almost nothing about Bahrain today in the US, at least the BBC picked it up. The accounts coming out from Pearl last night online seemed really bad =(

If Iran decides to intervene the American media will pick up the story the American fleet can beat Iran but it can’t protect every ship, oil tanker and the places where oil tanker load up with oil.
Iranian motor boats with rocket launchers and Iranian missiles can stop gulf shipping sink a few oil tankers and the price of oil goes up killing our economy.
Wars are won before the battle starts.

It gives fuel to expand the Wisconsin recall to other states:)

As the GOP sets the agenda and tone in DC, is anyone home in the White House?

So American “protectorates” across the world are finally demanding freedom, American built Nuke plants are going poof, the “wars” in Iraq and Afghanistan are all but lost and the American economy has gone in the tank but the important item is American television. Sounds about right. One thing America has is their priorities straight I’ll give them that.

No recalls for the House of Ill Representatives.

I’m not sure I’d even take a ping pong ball for the Nice Polite Republicans. Their Kroc millions will still go a long way.

We’re sorry…Mr. Obama is at a secret meeting, where he is selling out his base to further his political career. He’ll get back to you as soon as he’s through.

The Feeble Soul of Barack Obama

Oh of course we can project power in the Arabian sea! … Now hold on a second you mean we have to figure out how to keep the oil safe too?

I agree with you, that lifeline of our power has a giant target on its back. It is why we refuse to give up the naval base there, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Iranians sit this one out. Supporting a revolution movement, even a Shia one, might not go over well with their current political state.

A spokesperson from Saudi Arabia is blaming Iran for the Bharaini protests. Time for Iran to be bombed, maybe we cold get Israel to help?

Has this been linked on FDL?

Japan earthquake: Japan warned over nuclear plants, WikiLeaks cables show

An official from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in December 2008 that safety rules were out of date and strong earthquakes would pose a “serious problem” for nuclear power stations.

The Japanese government pledged to upgrade safety at all of its nuclear plants, but will now face inevitable questions over whether it did enough.

While it responded to the warnings by building an emergency response centre at the Fukushima plant, it was only designed to withstand magnitude 7.0 tremors. Friday’s devastating earthquake was a magnitude 9.0 shock.

WikiLeaks information here, too.

Wall Street’s offensive on Japan seems to have suffered a setback. Nothing like hitting a country when they’re down.

The UN Security Council should be seized by the matter of this vicious attack against a nation that’s momentarily defenseless in the name of profit.

Who will Wall Street attack next? Could be us.

An official from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

Well you see these are the same people that said there were no WMD in Iraq so their veracity is definitely in question. Besides the plant was built by GE so there could be no problem.

Who will Wall Street attack next? Could be us.

Oh no, surely not, they would never, ever fuck us financially, not Wall Street, no.

Do you happen to know why they didn’t try to shut down their markets somewhat during this crisis? But yeah, nothing like the biggest kid on the playground kicking someone in the nuts while they are down.

Rumor is that 2 or so GE engineers quit the project in protest while building the plant. I’m trying to find accurate information on this.

It just really seems that basically all of the institutions, including international regulators, have failed or been captured by profiteers. The magnitude of the corruption is revealed by the magnitude of the disasters.

“could be us”
It’s already been “us”.

perrylogan@8. You give him credit for having a soul, don’t think I can muster that much generosity. I think he’s worse than Reagan. Reagan was able to fool a lot of people. Obama’s not fooling anybody, save a few diehards.

Good morning, pups. Ms. Dowd is flying solo, since The Moustache of Wisdom is off today, presumably still on book tour. (Here’s hoping his new book is as well reviewed as Bobo’s was…) MoDo, in “Avenging Altar Boy,” says the Philadelphia D.A., who once cleaned up the rectory, continues to clean up his church. (The details in this column are not for the faint of heart, or those with weak stomachs.)

Here she is.

The coffee, tea and hot chocolate are ready, and I’ve got toasted Thomas’ English muffins with butter and your favorite jam. This is my Friday — our office is always closed on St. Patrick’s Day since it’s almost impossible to get around town that day, and I’m taking Friday off as well. Four days in a row — heaven! Have a great day.

Here’s a link, from ABC:

Fukushima: Mark 1 Nuclear Reactor Design Caused GE Scientist To Quit In Protest

Thirty-five years ago, Dale G. Bridenbaugh and two of his colleagues at General Electric resigned from their jobs after becoming increasingly convinced that the nuclear reactor design they were reviewing — the Mark 1 — was so flawed it could lead to a devastating accident.

Questions persisted for decades about the ability of the Mark 1 to handle the immense pressures that would result if the reactor lost cooling power, and today that design is being put to the ultimate test in Japan. Five of the six reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, which has been wracked since Friday’s earthquake with explosions and radiation leaks, are Mark 1s.

“The problems we identified in 1975 were that, in doing the design of the containment, they did not take into account the dynamic loads that could be experienced with a loss of coolant,” Bridenbaugh told ABC News in an interview.

You forgot to close your snark tag…

That would be interesting. I would assume they will be in Guantanimo by now?

Shoot, sorry. PLease insert your own snarkicon whenever you feel it necessary.

Raymond Davis has been charged with murder in Pakistan.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2011/03/201131683257256642.html

Being born and brought up in Ireland as an agnostic I have absolutely nothing good to say about godists. As a kid we knew full well that the papists were getting buggered by the priests and beaten by the nuns but at school they seated my sister and I separately from the other kids as we were the ones thought of as evil.

Well the papists have been exposed time and again as conspirators in an international criminal enterprise and it is time for the bastards to be disbanded and their Nazi looted Art and properties to be restored to their rightful owners.

Good. And about bloody time. I hope they drag the bugger into court and he tells the truth exposing the blackwater crimes.

Something like that…. Sybille found a nice link above, thank you for the help. I’m glad I wasn’t spreading bunk around.

Gad zooks, actually journalism. Maybe we’re not all screwed.

Hah, score one for outsourcing your criminal activities. I agree with nomolos, I’d love to see him drag down that infernal company and our incompetent CIA.

“Reagan was able to fool a lot of people.”

Alas, so was Obama. Maybe this is why Obama admires Reagan so.

Morning all,

Greed kills, behold Japan.

Did I read that without the nukes we wouldn’t have had the national insanity of an arms race, or depleted uranium. The masters of war have run our country into the ground for the richest 1% ie ” the corporations”.

You got that one right! He is the high Jester!

Republican world, where climate change doesn’t exist but James O’Keefe is truthful.

The invisible super monkey strikes again.

Good news kids…and by that I mean everyone under 90. David Broder has a new column up in the Purgatory Post & Penny Saver!

Seems just like ‘Huis Clos’, condemned to listen forever to that droning on about his great gifts, referring I guess to how much he gets paid to distort actual facts…

I’d settle for taxing them as a profit-oriented business.

GOP lawmakers threaten to withhold votes unless environmental rules are rewritten

The handful of Republican lawmakers most likely to provide crucial votes for Gov. Jerry Brown’s budget plan are threatening to withhold their support without a dramatic rewriting of state environmental law.

The demand, pushed in private talks with the governor, would curtail lawsuits against projects threatening ecological damage, grant waivers to big telecommunications companies and exempt many urban developments from environmental review.

Great leadership from Obama, huh? That’s some Messiah you guys elected there.

Elections have consequences.

I’d settle for taxing them as a profit-oriented business.

As should all religions and their edifices be. Let them take tax deductions for charitable work as all of us do.

Yeah well the alternative was less appetizing although both made me sick.

Yeah, Hillary would have been way scary

It’s awfully sweet when they register, don’t you think? We still shouldn’t feed them, though…

Remember, folks — Friday is the good Doctor’s seventh blogiversary.

Be sure to tip your fez and lift a glass the day after tomorrow to the good Doctor of Snark (and Podiatrist to the Stars).

thanks, but what about all the leftover green beer? does that count?

Jeeze twice today I am apologizing to you. Sorry yet again.

Tip your fez?

I see the fez every day. However, it took your comment to remind me that Sydney Greenstreet wears a fez in “Casablanca.” I hate that movie. However, when he says he is Signor Ferrari, the head of all illegal activity in Casablanca, I relent a bit. At least I think it is a fez.

http://www.imdb.com/media/rm1839044608/nm0002113

Can’t see the tassel. It’s got to have a tassel. It’s probably not called a tassel.

This getting a bit out of hand -

interesting – but sad – how one who was hurt because of his beliefs now wants to hurt others because of their beliefs (the criminal enterprise nonsense refers to the idea of banks not following rules – new concept – being especially evil in working for a church, and of course the idea of pedophiles who are atheists in Belgium, rich and attached to government, not being as bad as pedophiles working for a church – in my world evil people are punished and end of story – and I regret both the atheists pedophile rings in the EU and the church pedophile priests getting away with anything – I do note the Nazi theft of Church property did not always end up back in the Church – the rich – and the museums – do like their “collections”).

As to the tax the church comment – IRS Form 990T is filed by all non-profits for all income made from commercial activity and taxes are paid. If you want to tax charitable gifts that are received by extracting a tax from all charities for gifts received by that charity (rather than from the giver as is the law under the US GIFT TAX) then go for it.

LOL :-)

Well, I first saw it over at dKos:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/03/16/956868/-In-1976-3-GE-Scientists-quit-in-protest-over-flaws-in-Mark-1-Reactor-design-

So where is the president?
Japan, Libya, 14T debt, no budget…
Oh, he’s golfing. going to Rio for the weekend, giving a lame address about education..
So where is Barak Obama?
Where is Harry Reid? Oh he’s worried about de-funding the Cowboy festival in Nevada.
Where is Nancy Pelosi? She is trying to convince us that it’s not about the money.
Oh really..14T debt and rising.

Speaking of NPR and all the wingnut hysteria, is there anyone here who did NOT see this one coming?

Man Jailed For Death Threats Against NPR Host