Author's posts

Apr 02 2011

DocuDharma Digest

Regular Features-

Featured Essays for April 1, 2011-

DocuDharma

Apr 01 2011

Evening Edition

Evening Edition is an Open Thread

Now with 48 Top Stories.

From Yahoo News Top Stories

1 Seven UN workers killed in Afghan Koran protest

AFP

1 hr 15 mins ago

MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan (AFP) – Seven foreign UN workers were killed Friday in Afghanistan by protesters angered by a Koran burning in the United States, the provincial governor said, in what appeared to be the deadliest attack on the United Nations there since the 2001 invasion.

“Seven UNAMA employees have been killed, out of which five are Nepalese and two others are Europeans, one woman and one man,” Balkh governor Atta Mohammad Noor said, referring to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.

Five protesters also died in the unrest in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif, and 20 were injured, the governor told reporters. At least 20 were arrested over the attack, which was claimed by the Taliban.

Apr 01 2011

April Fools

An April Fools Day Joke-

A Word About Digital Subscriptions to The Huffington Post

Arianna Huffington

Posted: 04/ 1/11 07:55 AM ET

Today marks a significant transition for The Huffington Post Media Group, as we introduce digital subscriptions for employees of The New York Times. It’s an important step that we hope you will see as an investment in The Huffington Post. If you are not an employee of The New York Times, you will continue to have full and free access to our news, information, opinion, and the rest of our rich offerings. If you are an employee of The Times, you may view one free article a month or choose one of our NYT Employee Digital Subscription Plans®. In our most popular plan, Times employees can view the first 6 letters of each word at no charge (including slideshows of adorable kittens). After 6 letters, we will ask you to become a digital subscriber.

Not An April Fools Day Joke-

Jim Messina Is a Perfect Choice to Be Obama’s Campaign Manager

Robert Creamer

Posted: 04/ 1/11 09:06 AM ET

I’m not sure we could have gotten a Public Option no matter what the president did or did not do. The Senate filibuster, the health insurance lobby, and Senator Lieberman were our chief obstacles. The administration and Senate leadership had negotiated a deal with progressive Senators to include a Medicare buy-in for people from 55 to 65 years of age — which would have been a huge advance. But then the insurance industry told Lieberman — who had favored the plan — to drop it. And that was that.

I think Messina and others, like David Axelrod, would agree that there were mistakes made in the campaign. One of those was allowing the battle to go on for so long — indulging Senator Baucus’ attempt to get bipartisan compromise over so many months that it amplified our opponent’s ability to dominate the air waves. By the way, I don’t know that Messina could have personally done a lot more to get Baucus off of the bipartisan program more quickly — notwithstanding their close relationship — though I suspect he tried.

The White House was being told that the bill had to go through the committee process in order to keep sixty votes. Getting Baucus to move that process more quickly would have required a major confrontation, that at the time the White House apparently did not think would be productive. In retrospect Messina may view it differently, I don’t know.

Another problem was not shifting soon enough to framing the battle as a fight with the insurance industry — a message frame that ultimately allowed us to win. But the decision for the administration not to use the insurance frame early was not made to “coddle” the industry. It was made to keep their money off the airwaves as long as possible. I think there is now general acknowledgment that the campaign would have been better off moving to the insurance frame earlier.

Also Not A Joke-

Veal Appeal: Whitewashing of Health Care Reform Battle Continues

By: Jon Walker

Friday April 1, 2011 10:11 am

Over at the Huffington Post, in an attempt to defend Jim Messina, Robert Creamer reaches for the absolute biggest brush he can find to totally whitewash the actual history of the health care reform battle.

…

The problem for the public option wasn’t that the president didn’t fight hard enough for it. It’s failure to make it in the laws was the result of President Obama actively fighting hard against it, while lying about this support. It was confirmed by the New York Times that President Obama sold out the public option in a deal with the hospitals in exchange for their support of the law. His many behind-the-scenes efforts to undercut it shows he was committed to the secret deal.

In the end, it was fully proven without a doubt that the filibuster wasn’t ever a real obstacle to the public option. The Affordable Care Act was finished with a reconciliation bill that can’t be filibustered and could have included a deficit-reducing public option. The fact that it didn’t speaks volumes.

Apr 01 2011

DocuDharma Digest

Regular Features-

Featured Essays for March 31, 2011-

DocuDharma

Apr 01 2011

Evening Edition

Evening Edition is an Open Thread

From Yahoo News Top Stories

1 Japan PM says stricken nuclear plant to be scrapped

by Huw Griffith, AFP

2 hrs 40 mins ago

SENDAI, Japan (AFP) – Japan said Thursday its crisis-hit nuclear plant must be scrapped, but currently had no plans to evacuate more people, despite calls for a larger exclusion zone around the crippled facility.

Grappling with the aftermath of a massive earthquake and tsunami, its biggest post-war disaster, Japan’s government hosted French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who called for clear international standards on nuclear safety.

Japan’s Prime Minister Naoto Kan said, in talks with the Japanese Communist Party leader, that the facility at the centre of the worst atomic accident since Chernobyl in 1986 must be decommissioned, Kyodo News reported.

Mar 31 2011

Opening Day

Ah Spring, that time of year when a young man’s (and many young women’s too) fancy turns to thoughts of…

Baseball.

It’s the perfect time of year.  Your team has never lost a game and even if you know in your heart of hearts that your star pitcher (Santana and Maine and pray for rain) is out for the entire season and you have an entirely new management team so this is probably going to be yet another of what the polite call “rebuilding” years where you cheat and watch the fast forward version because it’s slightly less painful and a bit more efficient of your time, you have a chance at the Pennant.

Since my team is the Mets they have a history of quick starts and Opening Day victories and the Marlins are just not that good, so it’s entirely possible that Saturday I’ll be able to brag about a share of the NL East lead for the last time this season.  They’re pitching Pelfrey who is the best they got.

“I am watching my local sports franchise engage in an even more pointless than usual sporting competition.” says Atrios, but that’s just what makes it so timeless.

Your enjoyment of it depends on your level of concentration and it’s easy to get distracted especially if your team is doing poorly.  It you are paying attention each pitch is like a forward pass and each hit like an interception.  It is a game you play to win no matter how long it takes, there is no end without a victor, no tying in Baseball.

A Season is a long, long time.  One hundred sixty two games.  Nobody’s had a perfect one yet, so you can’t sweat the small stuff and let a little slump throw you into a big one.

Opening Day Matchups-

Mar 31 2011

DocuDharma Digest

Regular Features-

Featured Essays for March 30, 2011-

DocuDharma

Mar 30 2011

DocuDharma Digest

Regular Features-

Featured Essays for March 29, 2011-

DocuDharma

Mar 30 2011

A China Syndrome?

Wikipedia–

The term “China Syndrome” refers to a possible result of a catastrophic meltdown of a nuclear reactor. Also called a loss of coolant accident, the scenario begins when something causes the coolant level in a reactor vessel to drop, uncovering part-or all-of the fuel element assemblies. Even if the nuclear chain reaction has been stopped through use of control rods or other devices, the fuel continues to produce significant residual heat for a number of days due to further decay of fission products. If not properly cooled, the fuel assemblies may soften and melt, falling to the bottom of the reactor vessel. There, without neutron-absorbing control rods to prevent it, nuclear fission could resume but, in the absence of a neutron moderator, might not. Regardless, without adequate cooling, the temperature of the molten fuel could increase to the point where it melts through the structures containing it. Although many feel the radioactive slag would stop at or before the the underlying soil, such a series of events could release radioactive material into the atmosphere and ground, potentially causing damage to the local environment’s plant and animal life.

Some have less than seriously called this- ‘burning a hole all the way to China’ hence the name, but in fact it would probably go no farther than the mantle which is already kind of molten and radioactive or at worst the core of the Earth which is considerably molten and radioactive.  Even in the absence of drag the Second Law of Thermodynamics would mitigate against it fully overcoming the force of Gravity and emerging on the other side, though you might want to buy some thick soled boots to be sure.

Of course they’re quite serious about that “release radioactive material into the atmosphere and ground, potentially causing damage to the local environment’s plant and animal life” thing.

Compare the above description with this-

Japan may have lost race to save nuclear reactor

Ian Sample, science correspondent, guardian.co.uk

Tuesday 29 March 2011 16.53 BST

Fukushima meltdown fears rise after radioactive core melts through vessel – but ‘no danger of Chernobyl-style catastrophe’

The radioactive core in a reactor at the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant appears to have melted through the bottom of its containment vessel and on to a concrete floor, experts say, raising fears of a major release of radiation at the site.

…

At least part of the molten core, which includes melted fuel rods and zirconium alloy cladding, seemed to have sunk through the steel “lower head” of the pressure vessel around reactor two, Lahey said.

“The indications we have, from the reactor to radiation readings and the materials they are seeing, suggest that the core has melted through the bottom of the pressure vessel in unit two, and at least some of it is down on the floor of the drywell,” Lahey said. “I hope I am wrong, but that is certainly what the evidence is pointing towards.”

And about that radiation thing-

Radiation from Japan found in Concord snow

By DAVID BROOKS, Staff Writer, Nashua Telegraph

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Radiation from the Japanese nuclear power plant leak has been found in snow in Concord at levels roughly similar to that found last week in Massachusetts rainwater – a level that officials say is 25 times below the level of concern even if found in water that people drink.

(h/t John Aravosis @ Americablog)

Mar 29 2011

Regional Finals Day 2

NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament 2011

Tennessee is out which is the only program that compares, but Geno has a light bench they say though I don’t recall hearing about any exceptionally sucky recruiting years recently.

Conventional Wisdom also contends that they match up well against Duke and I still think that a primary motivating factor is that the men are still in it when everbody knows it’s the Lady Huskys who are the Basketball power of Connecticut.

UConn Huskies

UConn Husky, symbol of might to the foe.

Fight, fight Connecticut, It’s vict’ry, Let’s go. (go. go. go)

Connecticut UConn Husky,

Do it again for the White and Blue

So go--go--go Connecticut, Connecticut U.

C-O-N-N-E-C-T-I-C-U-T

Connecticut, Conneticut Husky, Connecticut Husky

Connecticut C-O-N-N-U!

Sorry Gonzaga.  I was rooting for you.  Notre Dame is probably the second best team in The Big East.

Monday’s Results

Seed Team Record Score Seed Team Record Score Region
1 Tennessee 33 – 3 59 2 *Notre Dame 29 – 7 73 Southeast
1 *Stanford 31 – 2 83 11 Gonzaga 30 – 4 60 West

DePaul would have been just another Big East meeting.  It’s so much more fun to crush an opponent from the ACC.

Texas A&M has lost to Baylor 3 times so far this year-

  • 63 – 60
  • 67 – 58
  • 61 – 58 (Big 12 Finals)

On the other hand Baylor is just a two hour drive away.

Current Matchups

Time Seed Team Record Seed Team Record Region
7 pm 1 Connecticut 35 – 1 2 Duke 31 – 3 East
9 pm 1 Baylor 34 – 2 2 Texas A&M 30 – 5 Southwest

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

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

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

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