Blog Heap of Links for the day 13 March 2011

But what was the comment? As Jazz Shaw wrote a week ago, even FireDogLake managed to be honest about it: In response to PFC Manning's question, he was told that there was nothing he could do to downgrade his detainee status and that the Brig simply considered him a risk of self-harm. PFC Manning then remarked that the POI restrictions were "absurd" and sarcastically stated that if he wanted to harm himself, he could conceivably do so with the elastic waistband of his underwear or with his flip-flops. "Joking" about suicide while in a brig is akin to joking about having a bomb when going through airport security. The authorities won't just assume you're stupid enough to joke about it and will take it seriously, because if they don't and the suspect was serious, they will get the blame for what follows.

The Obama administration is still playing games, but hopefully the courts are on to their game. The reason for the administration's slow-down strategy is two-fold. First it is much easier for governments to build bureaucratic systems than tear them down. The longer it takes for a final decision on Obamcare, the more developed the supporting systems and the harder it will be to tear them down. The hope here is the same, the arrogant stance that those stupid common people who don't understand their bill, will finally appreciate that government knows best, the closer to final implementation the plan gets.

Hussain Hashem al-HUSSAINI, Hussain Hashem al-HUSSAINI, Oklahoma City, Third Suspect, John Doe 2, Homeless Man Hussain Hashem al-Hussaini is

The death toll in Japan's earthquake and tsunami will likely exceed 10,000 in one state alone, an official said Sunday, as millions of survivors were left without drinking water, electricity and proper food along the pulverized northeastern coast. "This is Japan's most severe crisis since the war ended 65 years ago...."

appears to have moved the main island of Japan by 8 feet (2.4 meters) and shifted the Earth on its axis.

According to officials, at least 1,000 people were killed - including 200 bodies found Sunday along the coast - and 678 were missing in the earthquake and the ensuing tsunami that hit with breathtaking force and speed, sweeping away everything in its path.

"If this accident stops right now it will already be one of the three worst accidents we have ever had at a nuclear power plant in the history of nuclear power,"

NOAA energy map shows the intensity of the tsunami caused by Japan's magnitude 8.9 earthquake.

"We had an earthquake caused by the Pacific Ocean plate sliding under the Asian plate and as it slides under the Asian plate is pushed up...any time you move the ocean floor up or down you induce a tsunami in the ocean. "Tsunamis travel fast when the ocean is deep they travel slowly when the ocean is shallow. When the ocean is deep, the wave spreads out so you have maybe a foot high wave that's spread out hundreds of miles and it's traveling at literally 500 miles an hour."

Crude prices fell slightly on predictions Japan's energy use would drop in the wake of the disaster, though some analysts said the period could be followed quickly by a rebuilding phase in which the country's energy demand could surge.

The emergency cooling system at a second nuclear reactor at the Fukushima power plant has failed, raising fears of serious accident but officials have said the low radiation levels pose no risk to human health

French green groups renewed a call on Saturday for France to end its dependence on nuclear power, saying a radiation leak at a Japanese atomic power plant showed there were no safety guarantees in the industry. [Oooof course they do....]

Army Secretary John McHugh has initiated "adverse administrative action" against the officers, according to an Army statement released Thursday on the results of an accountability review to determine if Hasan's superior officers were negligent. "Although no single event directly led to the tragedy at Fort Hood, certain officers clearly failed to meet the high standards expected of their profession," the Army statement said.

E.C. Segar, creator of the iconic comic strip character, was suffering a bad cold but decided to head to his Santa Monica studio anyway. On Jan. 17, 1929, readers were introduced to the pipe-smoking sailor with the huge forearms.

Government officials revealed the fate of 9,500 people in the north eastern port of Minamisanriku was still unknown more than 24 hours after the double disaster hit. [Several horribly impressive pictures.]

The director, Kevin McCue, said there had been more than 100 smaller quakes since Friday, but a larger aftershock was likely. ''Normally they happen within days,'' he said. ''The rule of thumb is that you would expect the main aftershock to be one magnitude smaller than the main shock, so you would be expecting a 7.9. Advertisement: Story continues below ''That's a monster again in its own right that is capable of producing a tsunami and more damage.''

It was not immediately clear if the eruption was a direct result of the massive 8.9-magnitude earthquake that rocked northern areas Friday... The 1,421-metre (4,689-feet) Shinmoedake volcano in the Kirishima range saw its first major eruption for 52 years in January. There had not been any major activity at the site since March 1....

Please choose which American politician is responsible for each quote…