From the CSMonitor, because it just seemed appropriate for this particular Monday.
Archives for May 2010
Independent media voices
These two emails say a lot about the state of American journalism, and I say that as someone who likes The National Journal and thinks Atlantic publisher David Bradley did a decent job picking out bloggers for the Atlantic (you-know-who notwithstanding).
——– Forwarded message ———-
From: Mosser, Kimberly
Date: Sun, May 2, 2010 at 10:03 PM
Subject: Photos from The Atlantic/National Journal WHCD Weekend Kick-Off Dinner
To: “Mosser, Kimberly”David and Katherine Bradley opened their home for a dinner party on Friday night to kick off the weekend festivities. The evening, underwritten by Audi, featured The Atlantic’s renowned food writer Corby Kummer, who guided guests through a dinner service featuring ‘green’ and sustainable dishes……
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Mosser, Kimberly
Date: Sun, May 2, 2010 at 10:12 PM
Subject: RE: Photos from The Atlantic/National Journal WHCD Weekend Kick-Off Dinner
To: “Mosser, Kimberly”Correction: The evening was underwritten by Audi, Shell and AstraZeneca.
There are a lot of pictures, too, but they’re not particularly exciting.
Lessons From a Misspent Youth
According to the Times, the Times Square bomb was made up of a couple of propane tanks and five-gallon tanks of gas, and some “consumer-grade” M-88’s that fizzled and started the car upholstery on fire, thus alerting bystanders. (CNN also says that there was some “non-explosive fertilizer”.)
A “M-88” is a wanna-be M-80. Because I was a useless little shit as a kid, I’ve lit many M-80s, as well as a huge number of various wanna-bes, all of which were smuggled across the Mexican border in my and my brothers’ pockets. The M-80 has a thick fuse, is hard to light, sparks a lot after it is lit, and it tends to fizzle right at the base where the fuse enters the body of the firecracker. We’d often put the fizzled M-80 in a pool of gasoline in an overturned metal garbage can lid, and light that gas on fire. Even then, it would take a few minutes for the M80 to go off.
The reason that my brothers and I still have our limbs isn’t just dumb luck. The M-80 made a big boom, but it was remarkably weak. The most damage I’ve ever seen one do is to take a little bit off the top of an antpile. The “consumer grade” M-88 (we called them “M-100’s”) have roughly the same amount of explosive as a standard “Black Cat” firecracker.
As for the real explosive in this mix, propane, there’s a reason why we don’t hear about explosions at backyard cookouts — those cylinders are well-engineered. Mythbusters just aired an episode where they attempted to make a propane cylinder explode in a fire. It’s essentially impossible, since propane cylinders have pressure-relief valves, which vent the propane rather than allowing an explosion. Even after disabling this device, which involved some skill with metalworking tools, the Mythbusters crew had to heat the tank for some minutes over an extremely powerful gas burner to get it to explode. I can’t imagine a scenario where a burning car in the middle of Times Square wouldn’t be extinguished before even a properly modified propane cylinder would explode.
So, let’s review the bidding. Apparently, the masterminds behind this device lacked the experience of a ten-year-old boy, since they didn’t know that M-80s tend to fizzle and can’t blow up shit. And they must not get basic cable, otherwise they would have put a hell of a lot more gas in that car to get those tanks to explode quicker. But they are clearly public relations geniuses, because the attention they’re getting is way out of proportion to their bomb-making skills.
The story of the liberal media in 30 words or less
Liberal Iraq war cheerleader writes insane screed against other liberals. The liberal New York Times and New Republic fellate him for it.
Wash. Rinse. Repeat.
The story of the liberal media in 30 words or lessPost + Comments (41)
For the haters
I stopped reading Politico about a month ago, but I stopped by to sicken myself with their coverage of the White House Correspondents’ dinner. Their new, post-Michael Calderone “on media” blog is really something to behold. Highlights:
This week, “Meet the Press” unveils its new set, tailored to incorporate more multimedia elements and to prepare for the Sunday show’s move to high-definition television.
Host David Gregory gave POLITICO an early look, which includes separate tables for both one-on-one and roundtable interviews, as well as an extensive book collection.
[…..]White House correspondents typically feel The New York Times has a privileged relationship with the Obama administration. So it’s funny that the Times doesn’t attend the White House Correspondents’ Dinner — the height of elbow rubbing between reporters and officials. This morning on MSNBC’s “Daily Rundown,” Times reporter Jeff Zeleny told host Chuck Todd that the Times sits out the dinner so as not to appear too “cozy” with the White House. Isn’t it ironic?
[…..]Boss man John Harris has a great interview with Jay Leno up.
[…..]So, you aren’t going to the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. But why not grab a bucket of popcorn, invite your friends over and treat it like the Oscars?
You may think I picked the stupidest parts, but the whole thing is pretty much like this.
I have to wonder if Michael Calderone was forced out for trying to be a real reporter.
Update. Et tu, Josh?
When news first broke yesterday evening I was at the White House Correspondents Dinner, and in eyeshot of several top administration officials.
Sunday Night Open Thread
Caught Lily in a moment of unguarded bliss as she mauled a chew toy:
If you click on the picture and embiggen it, you can see she holds the stick as she eats it. I’m really hoping she does not teach Tunch how to hold things, or I might be in serious trouble.
Also, the Balloon Juice store has an entire new line of apparel for Charlie’s Angels Animal Rescue. Go check it out. All profits go to Charlie’s Angels, of course.
Finally, new Pacific and Treme tonight.
Ninety Days of Hell from Decades of Neglect
Federal officials speaking about the Gulf of Mexico oil spill Sunday morning appeared to be steeling the Louisiana coast – and the nation – for consequences that could be “catastrophic.”
The officials, who run the agencies charged with mitigating the impact of the spill on America’s Gulf coast, used unusually stark words to describe the situation and the difficulties of the remedy.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said it was the federal government’s job to “keep the boot on the neck of BP,” which is running the cleanup effort.
Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen called the bid to shut down a wellhead spewing at least 210,000 gallons of oil a day from nearly a mile beneath the ocean surface “one of the most complex things we’ve every done.”
He went on to say that, in a worst-case scenario, the well could vent 4.2 million gallons of oil into the Gulf daily. Currently, a crumpled “riser” pipe is preventing the full flow of oil – like a kinked garden hose – though reports suggest it is gradually deteriorating.
Four million gallons a day for ninety days would be equal to roughly 45 Exxon Valdez spills. I fail to see how BP continues to exist as a corporation. And they should be destroyed:
BP, the company that owned the Louisiana oil rig that exploded last week, spent years battling federal regulators over how many layers of safeguards would be needed to prevent a deepwater well from this type of accident.
***But according to aides to Sen. Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat who has followed offshore drilling issues for years, the industry aggressively lobbied against an additional layer of protection known as an “acoustic system,” saying it was too costly. In a March 2003 report, the agency reversed course, and said that layer of protection was no longer needed.
“There was a big debate under the Bush administration whether or not to require additional oil drilling safeguards but [federal regulators] decided not to require any additional mandatory safeguards, believing the industry would be motivated to do it themselves,” Carl Pope, Chairman of the Sierra Club told ABC News.
Is anyone else noticing a trend here? Decades of onlsaught by Republicans (and many Democrats, as well) and business friendly interests have led to the complete inability or unwillingness of government to regulate our food safety, our water, our financial markets, our mines, and now, tragically, our offshore drilling programs. And in every case, defanging the regulators has led to expensive disasters. All so a select few can make more and more money.
Ninety Days of Hell from Decades of NeglectPost + Comments (121)