03/20/2011 archive

Mar 20 2011

from firefly-dreaming 20.3.11

Mar 20 2011

Evening Edition

I’ll be sitting in for ek hornbeck who is Live Blogging the NCAA Championship Games for the next few days.

  • Arab League criticizes West’s strikes on Libya

    TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Western forces pounded Libya’s air defenses and patrolled its skies Sunday, but their day-old intervention hit a diplomatic setback as the Arab League chief condemned the “bombardment of civilians.”

    As European and U.S. forces unleashed warplanes and cruise missiles against Muammar Gaddafi’s air defenses and armor, the Libyan leader said the air strikes amounted to terrorism and vowed to fight to the death.

  • Japan dead, missing tops 21,000 amid atomic crisis

    by Olivia Hampton

    KAMAISHI, Japan (AFP) – Workers were close to restoring power to a nuclear plant’s overheating reactors as the toll of dead or missing from Japan’s worst natural disaster in nearly a century passed 21,000.

    Amid the devastation on the northeast coast left by a massive quake and tsunami, there was an astonishing tale Sunday of survival with the discovery of an 80-year-old woman and her 16-year-old grandson alive under the rubble.

Mar 20 2011

Rant of the Week: Rachel Maddow

THe Bargaining Battle Turns to the Ballot Box

Rachel explains how Republican efforts around the country to strip the middle class of union rights and other economic attacks are only serving to rally the Democratic voting base.

Transcript of the video is not yet available. When it is, it can be found here.

Mar 20 2011

On This Day in History March 20

This is your morning Open Thread. Pour your favorite beverage and review the past and comment on the future.

Find the past “On This Day in History” here.

March 20 is the 79th day of the year (80th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 286 days remaining until the end of the year.

March 20th is also the usual date of the vernal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere, and the autumnal equinox in the Southern Hemisphere when both day and night are of equal length, therefore it is frequently the date of traditional Iranian holiday Norouz in many countries.

On this day in 1854, Republican Party is founded in Ripon Wisconsin.

The Republican Party emerged in 1854, growing out of a coalition of former Whigs and Free Soil Democrats who mobilized in opposition to the possibility of slavery extending into the new western territories. The new party put forward a vision of modernizing the United States-emphasizing free homesteads to farmers (“free soil”), banking, railroads, and industry. They vigorously argued that free-market labor was superior to slavery and the very foundation of civic virtue and true republicanism, this is the “Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men” ideology. The Republicans absorbed the previous traditions of its members, most of whom had been Whigs; others had been Democrats or members of third parties (especially the Free Soil Party and the American Party or Know Nothings). Many Democrats who joined up were rewarded with governorships. or seats in the U.S. Senate or House of Representatives. Since its inception, its chief opposition has been the Democratic Party, but the amount of flow back and forth of prominent politicians between the two parties was quite high from 1854 to 1896.

Two small cities of the Yankee diaspora, Ripon, Wisconsin and Jackson, Michigan, claim to be the birthplace of the Republican Party (in other words, meetings held there were some of the first 1854 anti-Nebraska assemblies to call themselves by the name “Republican”). Ripon held the first county convention on March 20, 1854. Jackson held the first statewide convention on July 6, 1854; it declared their new party opposed to the expansion of slavery into new territories and selected a state-wide slate of candidates. The Midwest took the lead in forming state party tickets, while the eastern states lagged a year or so. There were no efforts to organize the party in the South, apart from a few areas adjacent to free states. The party initially had its base in the Northeast and Midwest. The party launched its first national convention in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in February 1856, with its first national nominating convention held in the summer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

John C. Fremont ran as the first Republican nominee for President in 1856, using the political slogan: “Free soil, free labor, free speech, free men, Fremont.” Although Fremont’s bid was unsuccessful, the party showed a strong base. It dominated in New England, New York and the northern Midwest, and had a strong presence in the rest of the North. It had almost no support in the South, where it was roundly denounced in 1856-60 as a divisive force that threatened civil war.

Historians have explored the ethnocultural foundations of the party, along the line that ethnic and religious groups set the moral standards for their members, who then carried those standards into politics. The churches also provided social networks that politicians used to sign up voters. The pietistic churches emphasized the duty of the Christian to purge sin from society. Sin took many forms-alcoholism, polygamy and slavery became special targets for the Republicans. The Yankees, who dominated New England, much of upstate New York, and much of the upper Midwest were the strongest supporters of the new party. This was especially true for the pietistic Congregationalists and Presbyterians among them and (during the war), the Methodists, along with Scandinavian Lutherans. The Quakers were a small tight-knit group that was heavily Republican. The liturgical churches (Roman Catholic, Episcopal, German Lutheran), by contrast, largely rejected the moralism of the Republican Party; most of their adherents voted Democratic.

Mar 20 2011

Round of 32 Day 2

It may seem like there were a lot of upsets yesterday, but really not so much.  Outside of Pittsburg every single seeded team won.

Keep that in mind as you listen to the gas bags bloviate.  The only group of “so called” journalists even more captured by cronyism, access, ignorance, and laziness than our DC Villager Idiots are sports reporters, a bunch of brain damaged ex-jocks trading on their faded fame and wannabees with even less talent than that.

Did I mention I’m rooting for Illinois?

Yesterday’s Results

Seed Team Record Score Seed Team Record Score Region
4 *Kentucky 33 – 8 71 5 West Virginia 21 – 12 63 East
2 *Florida 30 – 7 73 7 UCLA 22 – 11 65 Southeast
12 *Richmond 29 – 7 65 13 Morehead St. 25 – 10 48 Southwest
2 *San Diego St. 35 – 2 71 7 Temple 26 – 8 64 West
1 Pittsburgh 30 – 5 71 8 *Butler 24 – 9 70 Southeast
3 *BYU 34 – 4 89 11 Gonzaga 28 – 8 67 Southeast
4 *Wisconsin 26 – 8 70 5 Kansas St. 25 – 11 65 Southeast
3 *Connecticut 30 – 9 69 6 Cincinnati 28 – 9 58 West

Today’s Matchups

Time Network Seed Team Record Seed Team Record Region
12:15 pm CBS 2 North Carolina 28 – 7 7 Washington 25 – 10 East
2:45 pm CBS 1 Duke 33 – 4 8 Michigan 21 – 13 West
5:15 pm CBS 1 Ohio St. 34 – 2 8 George Mason 29 – 5 East
6:10 pm TNT 4 Texas 29 – 7 5 Arizona 29 – 7 West
7:10 pm TBS 3 Purdue 27 – 7 11 Virginia Commonwealth 25 – 11 Southwest
7:45 pm True 3 Syracuse 27 – 7 11 Marquette 22 – 14 East
8:40 pm TNT 1 Kansas 35 – 2 9 Illinois 23 – 13 Southwest
9:40 pm TBS 2 Notre Dame 29 – 6 10 Florida St. 24 – 10 Southwest

Follow the 2011 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament on The Stars Hollow Gazette.

If you don’t like squeeky shoes you can look for alternate programming here-

For a more traditional bracket try CBS Sports.

Mar 20 2011

Round of 64 Day 2

NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament 2011

Well, I wasn’t entirely happy with yesterday’s Women’s Master Schedule Bracket table so I’m re doing it.  The problem is the column widths get automatically adjusted on you unless you dump all your data into one big list.

Oh, you want Yesterday’s Results not some boring HTML lecture.

Seed Team Record Score Seed Team Record Score Region
5 *Georgia Tech 23 – 10 69 12 Bowling Green 28 – 4 58 Southeast
7 Iowa State 22 – 10 64 10 *Marist 30 – 2 74 East
1 *Tennessee 31 – 2 99 16 Stetson 20 – 12 34 Southeast
6 *Penn State 24 – 9 75 11 Dayton 21 – 11 66 East
4 *Ohio State 22 – 9 80 13 UCF 22 – 10 64 Southeast
2 *Duke 29 – 3 90 15 Tennesse-Martin 21 – 10 45 East
8 *Marquette 23 – 8 68 9 Texas 19 – 13 65 Southeast
3 *DePaul 24 – 9 56 14 Navy 20 – 11 43 East
5 *North Carolina 25 – 8 82 12 Fresno State 25 – 7 68 West
7 Arizona State 20 – 10 45 10 *Temple 23 – 8 63 Southeast
6 Iowa 22 – 8 86 11 *Gonzaga 28 – 4 92 West
8 Texas Tech 22 – 10 50 9 *St. John’s 21 – 10 55 West
4 *Kentucky 24 – 8 66 13 Hampton 26 – 6 62 West
2 *Notre Dame 26 – 7 67 15 Utah 18 – 16 54 Southeast
3 *UCLA 27 – 4 55 14 Montana 18- 14 47 West
1 *Stanford 29 – 2 86 16 UC Davis 24 – 8 59 West

Dad (who watched the whole thing, but wasn’t trying to live blog) tells me it was much more exciting than the men’s action and with 4 upsets it was a little more unpredictable than their first day though not I suspect than the first day of The Round of 32 which saw mighty Pittsburg, the pride of The Big East, fall along with some other sentmental favorites.

What will the future bring?  I’m glad you asked.

Current Matchups

Time Seed Team Record Seed Team Record Region
Noon 3 Miami (Fla.) 27 – 4 14 Gardner Webb 23 – 10 Southeast
Noon 7 Louisville 20 – 12 10 Vanderbilt 20 – 11 West
Noon 4 Maryland 23 – 7 13 St. Francis 22- 11 East
Noon 1 Connecticut 32 – 1 16 Hartford 17 – 15 East
2:30 pm 6 Oklahoma 21 – 11 11 James Madison 26 – 7 Southeast
2:30 pm 2 Xavier 28 – 2 15 South Dakota State 19 – 13 West
2:30 pm 5 Georgetown 22 – 10 12 Princeton 24 – 4 East
2:30 pm 8 Kansas State 21 – 10 9 Purdue 20 – 11 East
5 pm 3 Florida State 23 – 7 14 Samford 25 – 7 Southwest
5 pm 2 Texas A&M 27 – 5 15 McNeese State 26 – 6 Southwest
5 pm 8 Houston 26 – 5 9 West Virginia 23 – 9 Southwest
5 pm 5 Wisconsin-Green Bay 32 – 1 12 Arkansas-Little Rock 23 – 7 Southwest
7:30 pm 6 Georgia 21 – 10 11 Middle Tennessee State 23 – 7 Southwest
7:30 pm 7 Rutgers 19 – 12 10 Louisiana Tech 24 – 7 Southwest
7:30 pm 1 Baylor 31 – 2 16 Prairie View A&M 21 – 11 Southwest
7:30 pm 4 Michigan State 26 – 5 13 UNI 27 – 5 Southwest

As it turns out The Round of 32 on the lady’s side is being played Monday and Tuesday while the men are resting (isn’t that just like them) so there will be none of that for the wicked (meaning me).

If you like a more traditional bracket try this NCAA one, they also have a TV schedule.

Lady Huskies Tip Off at noon against the Hartford Hawks.  I’ve seen some Hawk games courtesy of a friend who’s tight with the program and has season tickets.  It’s too bad they didn’t get an easier draw because they’re actually a much better team than they will seem today.

Mar 20 2011

Punting the Pundits: Sunday Preview Edition

“Punting the Pundits” is an Open Thread. It is a selection of editorials and opinions from around the news medium and the internet blogs. The intent is to provide a forum for your reactions and opinions, not just to the opinions presented, but to what ever you find important.

Thanks to ek hornbeck, click on the link and you can access all the past “Punting the Pundits”.

The Sunday Talking Heads:

This Week with Christiane Amanpour:Ms. Amanpour’s guests will be Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, French ambassador to the United Nations Gérard Araud and former Libyan ambassador to the United States Ali Suleiman Aujali who recently resigned from his post and renounced the Gadhafi regime. Also, Energy Secretary Steven Chu will discuss the very latest from the nuclear disaster at Fukushima nuclear reactor complex.

At the roundtable with George Will, former Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, former ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee Jane Harman and noted author Robin Wright of the U.S. Institute of Peace will debate the military intervention to stop Gadhafi.

Face the Nation with Bob Schieffer:The latest on the Libya crisis, and the disaster in Japan with guests Admiral Mike Mullen, Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) and Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN).

The Chris Matthews Show: This week’s guests are Katty Kay, BBC Washington Correspondent, Andrew Sullivan, The Atlantic Senior Editor, Michael Duffy, TIME Magazine Assistant Managing Editor and Norah O’Donnell, MSNBC Chief Washington Correspondent. They will discuss these questions:

Is President Obama failing to lead?

Could Republican “red hots” spoil the party?

Meet the Press with David Gregory: Again, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen along with Senate Armed Services Committee, Chairman Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) and Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) discussing Libya.

At the roundtable will be NBC News’ Andrea Mitchell, The New York Times’ Helene Cooper, The Washington Post’s E.J. Dionne, and The Wall Street Journal’s Kim Strassel weighing in on Japan and Libya.

State of the Union with Candy Crowley: Making those rounds today, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, then, former CENTCOM commander Adm. William Fallon (Ret.) and former Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Richard Myers (Ret.) and as a finally, Sens. John McCain and Joe Lieberman to discuss Libya.

Plus, an update on Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant and the future of nuclear energy in the United States with Secretary of Energy Steven Chu and two nuclear experts.

Fareed Zakaris: GPS: Fareed will also be discussing the Japan crisis and the “atomic age”. Instead of Libya, he will also be examining Pakistan with “Pakistan’s best and bravest reporter,” Ahmed Rashid, to find out just how unstable this nuclear nation is becoming.  

Mar 20 2011

Six In The Morning

Western warplanes, missiles hit Libyan targets



REUTERS | Mar 20, 2011, 10.08am IST

TRIPOLI: Western forces hit targets along the Libyan coast on Saturday, using strikes from air and sea to force Muammar Gaddafi’s troops to cease fire and end attacks on civilians.

Libyan state television said 48 people had been killed and 150 wounded in the allied air strikes. It also said there had been a fresh wave of strikes on Tripoli early on Sunday.

There was no way to independently verify the claims. French planes fired the first shots in what is the biggest international military intervention in the Arab world since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, destroying tanks and armoured vehicles in the region of the rebels’ eastern stronghold, Benghazi.

Mar 20 2011

Under the Radar: Where to Start?

It’s hard to know where to start with Libya and the ever progressing nuclear disaster in Japan that is complicating the human one. Events here in the US are getting overlooked. There is the ongoing corporate takeover of Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio that is threatening to spread to other Republican states with dire consequences for state workers and the under-classes, heh, even here in NY our “Democratic” governor is covering for the millionaires that put him in office. There are now 64 US Senators willing to sell out Social Security and the Federal Reserve covering for the banks, along with the state attorney generals willing to throw thousands of home owners under the bus on mortgage fraud to make the banks happy. Did I mention that there are peaceful protests in Washington, DC and outside the Marine base at Quantico, VA, objecting to the abusive treatment of Pfc. Bradley Manning?

Yikes!

I’ll start with Saturday’s rally for Manning in front of the White House. Tks, Jane

  • Photos From White House Rally in Support of Bradley Manning

    Photobucket

    Daniel Ellsberg, Kevin Zeese, Margaret Flowers, David Swanson, Medea Benjamin, Mike Malloy and over a hundred others were arrested in front of the White House today to protest President Obama’s torture of Bradley Manning.

    All photos by twolf.

    FDL will be livestreaming the demonstration at Quantico tomorrow now.

    • This is an “OK” response from our military. Translation of “OK” = “Over Kill”

  • Quantico Marine Base Issues “Threat Advisory” for Bradley Manning Protest

    by Michael Whitney at FDL

    Here is the text of the advisory:

       Subject: Possible threat to MCBQ

       Ladies and Gentlemen,

       There are substantiated indications and warning of possible denial of service attacks on MCBQ by supporters of Wiki-leaks and PFC Manning. It is possible that these attacks will be timed to coincide with protest activity that is scheduled to take place in the vicinity of MCBQ on 20 Mar. Possible threat courses of action could include denial of service attacks on phone, email, and internet services, and could include harassing phone calls (i.e. bomb threats) and mail disruption (i.e. suspicious packages). Additionally, though there is no direct threat, it is possible that actual physical penetrations onto MCBQ property may be undertaken to cause infrastructure damage, vandalism, or harass USMC personnel.

       The Base has been involved in detailed response planning with local, regional, and national authorities and is appropriately postured to minimize/mitigate likely threat activity.

       Because the exact intent of the protest groups is not known, nor the form of attack they may undertake, MCBQ commands and activities should carefully review their OPSEC and physical security posture.

       Recommended actions for MCBQ tenant commands and organizations:

       Develop alternative communication plans (i.e. installation command net and cell phones) to ensure the ability to communicate with MCBQ emergency services during a denial of service attack.

       Review MCBQ bomb threat procedures (attached).

       Review MCBQ procedures for suspicious packages (attached).

       Area commands shall ensure Installation Command net radios are fully charged and accessible.

       Ensure Command Duty Officers are briefed on the threat and know the proper response to threatening/harassing phone calls

       Ensure non-essential fax machines are turned “off”

       Remind all personnel to be alert for suspicious activity and report it immediately to the MCBQ Security Battalion using the Eagle Eyes hotline (703-432-EYES).

       Building managers should ensure building perimeters are regularly inspected and that all unmonitored exits are locked when not in use (consider limiting access to a single entrance and mandating ID checks).

       Remind personnel to avoid posting or discussing aspects of any MCBQ response on Face-Book or other social media forums.

       Remind personnel, to be aware of phishing (both email and telephone) attempts to gain information about MCBQ personnel or operations.

       Additional information concerning protest activities, to include any gate closures, changes to Force Protection Condition, excepted traffic delays, etc., will be distributed via a MCBQ FROSTCALL later this week.

       Pete Streng Director of Operations

    • Mar 20 2011

    DocuDharma Digest

    Regular Features-

    Featured Essays for March 19, 2011-

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