ca1ic0cat comments

Yanee is right, the only difference between the republicans and the democrats is who gets the money from the government.

Taxes, fees, and property assessments (on which some taxes are based) are going up all the time. The only way the government is going to be able to reduce spending (and taxes, maybe) is to reduce the entitlement programs: social security, medicare, & medicade. That will cause howls from the elderly especially. And, since the elderly tend to vote, the politicians who do such a thing will not be re-elected. Then there's the subsidies for corporations, who are large doners to both sides. At least that's the theory. But now the government is out of cash. Will a crisis inspire courage?

As far as printing more money goes that would just lead to more inflation and reduce the value of US debt held by foreign governments. The Chinese have already warned that they would not be impressed with such a move. The US treasury now kowtows to Beijing on that account. How times have changed.

My understanding was that the elimination of CFC use way back when was supposed to have allowed the ozone to regenerate as the amount of CFCs were reduced and, eventually, eliminated. I guess that hasn't come true. Anybody know why?

Sounds like the rebels want to suck NATO farther into the quagmire. Bomb the heavy guns and kill civilians, bad news. Don't do the dirty work and the rebel "allies" complain. It's a can't win situation.

It's good to see.

I would prefer a civilian court with full rights for the defendants. I know these guys are scum but if the US govt can take their rights away (the same way the terrorists took away the rights of their victims, of course) then what stops the government from taking away my rights? What about your rights? How do the people who support this claim to be patriots and sons of liberty?

The real issue for a lot of the Gitmo detainees is that there isn't a good case (for some there is) to prove all of them have committed crimes. A tribunal is easier to control than a civilian court. It is also possible to stop publicity of the accused making comments about the US that would likely be less than favorable. And more likely that a death penalty would be carried out quickly.

But a civilized country would respect the rights of the accused. The US is stooping to the level of the terrorists by doing it this way.

It's tough to tell where the radiation will end up. Bioaccumulation is a problem. But if the water wasn't dumped then the workers can't get into the plant to repair the leaks. It's become a lesser of two evils kind of problem.

I don't really care how efficient neon or LEDs are (I've worked with the latter, I know) but Toyota is stopping production due to lack of parts and power. Turning this sign back on might be "cheerful" but it sends a message that there is no longer any need to conserve power. It's too bad that there isn't enough power but the quick solution is conservation. Pull any "wall wart" power supplies out of the wall if the device they are connected to isn't being used. Shut down your computer if you're not using it. Turn down or off electric heat, wear a sweater. People are out of work due to a lack of power. Do something to help out.

I lean towards agreeing with NATO & the UN but I'm not sure that this intervention is any different than Iraq; except that US ground forces aren't being sent in. Yet. I would be happy to see Gadhafi gone. He is a nasty character, even compared to most dictators (which, all you Gadhafi supporters, Obama & Sarkozy aren't....) But is getting rid of every rotten government in the charter of the UN? by whose daffynition? Where does it end?

Willi is right, wind isn't competitive and isn't reliable. Solar is expensive and isn't on for half the day. Fossil fuel fouls the atmosphere. Nuclear? Doesn't bother me but some are in a lather. The best short term solution is conservation but people need to be convinced that they should make the effort. The best way to do that is hit them in the wallet. The problem is going to force a change in standard of living that people don't want to think about and politicians fear to mention. So we get platitudes instead of real action. Obama is a typical politician. Not a real leader at all.

TEPCO pretty much HAS to save 5 & 6, there isn't any other generating capacity to take up the slack. But yeah, 1 - 4 are scrap now. Very dangerous scrap.

Chernobyl was a graphite moderated reactor. Basically fuel and control rods put in graphite cases. Once the graphite started to burn from the overheated fuel the heat from the fire took the radioactive particles high into the wind. Fortunately there is not that problem at the Dai Ichi plant. Water is a bit more controllable.

As one wag put it, "We apologize for the interruption of NATO bombing in the Arab world. Service has now been restored."

I agree that Gadhafi is pond scum and I would like to see him gone - which is what Britain and France are pushing for. But I have to wonder if the US has the capacity to intervene in straightening out the government in every despotic country. Is this just because there was an organized resistance that was going to be slaughtered? Maybe China should start to help. Oh, wait, they're part of the problem....

I guess I agree with Obama on this but I'm not all that keen on stretching the budget even farther. Where does this end? The world wonders.

Yeah, the guys in Massachusetts did say it came from Japan. Not sure that it isn't from Canada instead. But the local press has been dead silent about the problem in Pickering even though that's right across the lake. Go figure.

Given the seriousness of the disaster I don't much care about what color cars are available. The dealers (stealers) are already increasing prices because of the "shortage." May as well send a car payment to disaster relief instead.

Cute kid. She seems to be coping with one of life's more difficult lessons rather well. Her parents should be proud.

I'm sure that the Japanese will do a good job working through the mess. From my experience the Japanese are tenacious and hard working. I imagine there will be a better job done than with Katrina.

Since a tsunami and earthquake of this magnitude are rather rare and given the lack of land suitable for building on in Japan I'm guessing that the towns will be rebuilt the same way Tokyo was after 1923. Still, I guess I'm not sure what I would do if I saw a ship sitting where my house used to be. It's an amazing and saddening photo.

Protecting oil interests? I'm not sure. I would think that a reliable dictator might be easier to deal with than a democratically elected government might.

As far as comparing Libya to Bahrain, I don't see an organized rebellion in Bahrain (yet) so who would the UN support there?

Since this is a UN sanctioned action I'm less inclined to condemn it so quickly. Also interesting is that a Libyan minister has announced an immediate cease fire. Trying to avoid the UN intervention, no doubt.

I'm just looking at all the snow piled up on top of the ruins and hoping that the recovery will go better than the last week. I'm just gutted looking at such devastation.

Yeah, after all this, snow. It's got to get better.

Not sure which way to go on this. The US supported the Afghans to oust the Taliban after their proxy, bin Laden, attacked the US. Qaddafi has attacked the US twice and France at least once - all terrorist attacks sponsored by Qaddafi. Is that the same thing? I'm sure the US and EU would like to see Qaddafi gone. We'll see where the diplomats go with this one.

Back when expense accounts were lavish and time was an issue I took a lot of cabs from the train station to the office. I never had a problem with a cabbie in Japan. Now I just use the bus. Perhaps things have changed?

I could see this as a case where the insurgents fired from the area near where the boys were and the helos couldn't tell the difference. There is a big difference between engaging from the air versus ground troops. Of course that puts the ground troops at higher risk and NATO is risk adverse. Better to call in the air assault. If I were one of the grunts I would agree. This Monday morning quarterbacking isn't going to help a bit. Karzai is trying to look good 'cause he knows he's going to need friends when NATO pulls out. He'll have to hand out all sorts of cash to keep some people loyal. I bet he doesn't last 30 days.

Not exactly a hairstyle that is going to survive the morning commute. But I suppose that's not the point. Good goth though.

I prefer ice cream cake. Birthday biscuits just leaves me cold.

Moammar Gadhafi “step down from power and leave...

Or he'll do what? Empty threats are meaningless.

I have to agree that multiculturalism has failed. That's why Kosovo (and Yugoslavia) came apart in the first place. The west has to stop allowing the infiltration of fanatics into their countries. If you aren't willing to conform to and support the civil liberties that the EU & US stand for then stay in your hell hole countries and ponder the life that islam has provided for you. Civilized people want nothing to do with these radicals.

why is it that all the has-been stars from the West come to Japan to drag out their lacklustre careers

Because the Japanese are still fascinated by western culture and the has-beens are less expensive for the managers. Just like the baseball players.

Being the opening of a GAP store ratty jeans and hats with holes would be there at a high price. Where is Depp?

As far as the women go, they are all cute but unobtainable....

that does not dress up for an occasion when being received as a guest

I guess I look a little better after the 13 hour jaunt from O'Hare but I don't have fans greet me at Narita either. Who knows, maybe he always dresses like this unless forced? Scum dressing seems to be chic these days.

I have no problems with unions but the budget for teachers and public employees has gotten to the point where it is unaffordable for the private sector workers to fund. Reality sucks. As for the bankers getting away with it, they sure have. And the government has, incompetently, let them get away with it. But then it is a democracy. We get what we deserve.

otaku heaven, I guess.