] Last February, Ohio's Davis-Besse nuclear power plant
] shut down after workers discovered that boric acid had
] eaten away at 70 pounds of steel, leaving a 6-by-5-inch
] hole in its reactor head. Only a thin, 3/8-inch strip of
] stainless steel lining protected the reactor from
] rupturing and causing what could have been the most
] devastating nuclear accident since Three Mile Island.

This scares the hell out of me. I'm currently living about 2 miles away from Oyster Creek Nuclear in Jersey. Its been operating now for about 15 years pass its design lifetime. There was a stink a few years ago when it was discovered that its dry well was rusting.

They don't seem too on top of their shit. Every so often (at least three times now) they mess up the water mix in the stream that cools it down, the stream's temp rises to about 110F, and several hundred thousand dead fish magicly appear.

Hope the sucker dosen't melt down on us. Well, at least they were nice enough to give us KI pills.. I don't count on those to do any good in the event of an accident.

Wired News: Nuke Plants Aging Disgracefully

These folks linked MemeStreams as well... Another Blog directory...

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] category name as string is deprecated. Use the LC_*
] -constants instead. in
] /home/morman/public_html/modules/Web_Links/index.php
] on line 772

Seeing these all over their site.. Looks like someone make a booboo.

Blogger Links - Blog Links - Weblog Directory - Web Links

] ...a new site bringing you a collection of categorised blogs
] from around the world.

These people linked me and then asked me to link them back, so I am doing so. They are a blog directory. If you search for MemeStreams on this site and then click through it you'll increase my ranking. :)

BLOGWISE is...

] In fact, Norton called the Arctic Refuge "one of the most
] environmentally appropriate places we can look for
] energy." Why? Because of all the things that can be done
] "in a high-tech way" to protect it.
]
] Congress has yet to approve drilling in the Arctic
] Refuge. Six Republican senators recently signed a letter
] saying they won't be part of any effort to sneak it
] through in a spending bill without open debate.
]
] Yet, Bush's proposed budget assumed $2.4 billion in
] revenue from the first oil lease sale in the Alaska
] preserve.
]
] The Republican Party learned -- painfully -- in the 1990s
] that the environment can be a new third rail in American
] politics. President Clinton played against the perceived
] extremism of House Speaker Newt Gingrich in cruising to
] re-election in 1996.

... and we all know you don't piss on the third rail..

This is an issue I've done a fair amount of bouncing back and forth on. While I do think we need to tap that reserve, and I think that it is possible to do it in a "high tech" way that will not damage the environment, I have my doubts about it being implemented properly. I always have doubts when the key thing I'm concerned with can simply not be followed thru on. I fear we get all the promises, congress oks it, we drill, it falls off the media radar, next thing you know a section of the refuge looks like the area of Jersey around EWR commonly referred to as "The Oil Wasteland". Yeah, I know thats an area where processing happens, not drilling, and drilling can be done cleanly, but this is a Bush plan we are talking about..

The title of this oped piece is reason enough to blog it.

In the Northwest: Bush smiles at environment, but his teeth are fangs

] Ali G will make his US debut next month on cable channel
] HBO, the home of hit shows including Sex and the City,
] The Sopranos and Six Feet Under.

Decius:
] More potentially good television. Ali G is an english
] gangster (read drum and bass) who interviews people who
] have absolutely NO sense of humor....
]
] F B ... aaaiiihhhh!

Oh boy, here comes Ali G.

I saw a movie/collection of stuff from Ali G's UK TV show a while back. I was enjoying it for about the first 3/4 of it, then durring the last 1/4'th I found I was already getting tired of it. Now, undoubtly, he will wind up becoming all the rage in the states, and I will go from indifference to hating him within months..

Maybe, we will see.

MediaGuardian.co.uk | Broadcast | Booyakasha! Ali G goes to the States

This is the blow by blow mission report for the shuttle.

Spaceflight Now | STS-107 | Mission Status Center

] Space shuttle Columbia's astronauts briefly interrupted
] their science work on the 17th anniversary of the
] Challenger disaster to remember their fallen comrades.
]
] NASA's work force, in orbit and on Earth, observed a
] moment of silence Tuesday at the exact time that
] Challenger exploded in the sky Jan. 28, 1986. They
] honored not only on the seven Challenger astronauts, but
] also the three who were killed by a fire in their Apollo
] spacecraft at the pad Jan. 27, 1967.

Astronauts Remember Challenger Disaster Durring Illfated Mission

Shuttle Columbia has been lost durring reentry.

Update: That is now confirmed by NASA. A large explosion has been reported in the Dallas FtW area. NASA is saying to say away from any wreckage found.

] But as debate continues about the U.S. role in the Middle
] East, a growing chorus of voices is asking why an
] incident as central to our current involvement in the
] region as the attack on the Liberty continues to be
] shrouded for "national security" after so many years.

The Attack On Liberty (washingtonpost.com)

] The Bush administration is preparing to release
] supersensitive electronic intercepts obtained by the
] National Security Agency that officials say prove that
] Iraq has repeatedly lied to United Nations inspectors,
] plotted among themselves about how to conceal weapons
] material and even appeared to boast afterward at their
] success in doing so.

It is being said this will be the meat of Powell's presentation to the UN.

SF Indymedia: The Smoking Gun (Iraq)