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New York Times: “Hvaldimir, a beluga whale who had captured the public’s imagination since 2019 after he was spotted wearing a harness seemingly designed for a camera, was found dead on Saturday in Norway, according to a nonprofit that worked to protect the whale.... [Hvaldimir] was wearing a harness that identified it as “equipment” from St. Petersburg. There also appeared to be a camera mount. Some wondered if the whale was on a Russian reconnaissance mission. Russia has never claimed ownership of the whale. If Hvaldimir was a spy, he was an exceptionally friendly one. The whale showed signs of domestication, and was comfortable around people. He remained in busier waters than are typical for belugas....” ~~~
~~~ Marie: Oh, Lord, do not let Bobby Kennedy, Jr., near that carcass. ~~~
~~~ AP Update: “There’s no evidence that a well-known beluga whale that lived off Norway’s coast and whose harness ignited speculation it was a Russian spy was shot to death last month as claimed by animal rights groups, Norwegian police said Monday.... Police said that the Norwegian Veterinary Institute conducted a preliminary autopsy on the animal, which was become known as 'Hvaldimir,' combining the Norwegian word for whale — hval — and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin. 'There are no findings from the autopsy that indicate that Hvaldimir has been shot,' police said in a statement.”
New York Times: Botswana's “President Mokgweetsi Masisi grinned as he lifted the diamond, a 2,492-carat stone that is the biggest diamond unearthed in more than a century and the second-largest ever found, according to the Vancouver-based mining operator Lucara, which owns the mine where it was found. This exceptional discovery could bring back the luster of the natural diamond mining industry, mining companies and experts say. The diamond was discovered in the same relatively small mine in northeastern Botswana that has produced several of the largest such stones in living memory. Such gemstones typically surface as a result of volcanic activity.... The diamond will likely sell in the range of tens of millions of dollars....”
Click on photo to enlarge.
~~~ Guardian: "On a distant reef 16,000km from Paris, surfer Gabriel Medina has given Olympic viewers one of the most memorable images of the Games yet, with an airborne celebration so well poised it looked too good to be true. The Brazilian took off a thundering wave at Teahupo’o in Tahiti on Monday, emerging from a barrelling section before soaring into the air and appearing to settle on a Pacific cloud, pointing to the sky with biblical serenity, his movements mirrored precisely by his surfboard. The shot was taken by Agence France-Presse photographer Jérôme Brouillet, who said “the conditions were perfect, the waves were taller than we expected”. He took the photo while aboard a boat nearby, capturing the surreal image with such accuracy that at first some suspected Photoshop or AI."
Washington Post: “'Mary Cassatt at Work' is a large and mostly satisfying exhibition devoted to the career of the great American artist beloved for her sensitive and often sentimental views of family life. The 'at work' in the title of the Philadelphia Museum of Art show references the curators’ interest in Cassatt’s pioneering effort to establish herself as a professional artist within a male-dominated field. Throughout the show, which includes some 130 paintings, pastels, prints and drawings, the wall text and the art on view stresses Cassatt’s fixation on art as a career rather than a pastime.... Mary Cassatt at Work is on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art through Sept. 8. philamuseum.org”
New York Times: “Bob Newhart, who died on Thursday at the age of 94, has been such a beloved giant of popular culture for so long that it’s easy to forget how unlikely it was that he became one of the founding fathers of stand-up comedy. Before basically inventing the hit stand-up special, with the 1960 Grammy-winning album 'The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart' — that doesn’t even count his pay-per-view event broadcast on Canadian television that some cite as the first filmed special — he was a soft-spoken accountant who had never done a set in a nightclub. That he made a classic with so little preparation is one of the great miracles in the history of comedy.... Bob Newhart holds up. In fact, it’s hard to think of a stand-up from that era who is a better argument against the commonplace idea that comedy does not age well.”
Washington Post: “An early Titian masterpiece — once looted by Napolean’s troops and a part of royal collections for centuries — caused a stir when it was stolen from the home of a British marquess in 1995. Seven years later, it was found inside an unassuming white and blue plastic bag at a bus stop in southwest London by an art detective, and returned. This week, the oil painting 'The Rest on the Flight into Egypt' sold for more than $22 million at Christie’s. It was a record for the Renaissance artist, whom museums describe as the greatest painter of 16th-century Venice. Ahead of the sale in April, the auction house billed it as'the most important work by Titian to come to the auction market in more than a generation.'”
Washington Post: The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., which houses the world's largest collection of Shakespeare material, has undergone a major renovation. "The change to the building is pervasive, both subtle and transformational."
A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves. -- Edward R. Murrow
Publisher & Editor: Marie Burns
Thursday
Jan202011
Don't Taze Me, Bro'
Tim Egan of the New York Times reports statistics that contradict & disprove the popular myth that an armed citizenry makes for a safer America. For one thing, people "with guns were four times more likely to be shot when confronted by an armed assailant than those without guns." And for another, Hawaii -- the state with the lowest rate of gun ownership -- has the lowest gun death rate in the country. Louisiana, by contrast, has the highest gun owership rate -- and of course the highest gun death rate in the country. Pass it on.
Once again, the Times has held back my comment, so here it is:
Like a good tea partier, I want to go back to the good old days of the Founding Fathers. I want my Second Amendment right to form a militia. We haven't had any state militias since something like the 1830s, & I'm hankering to form one. Without militias, the Second Amendment has been made moot. Think I'm wrong? Ask ultra-conservative Judge Robert Bork. In 1989, he said, the Second Amendment "guarantee[s] the right of states to form militias, not for individuals to bear arms.”
Not good enough for ya because Bork got Borked? Well, here's Republican Warren Burger, a former Chief Justice, on the same subject. He said that the N.R.A.’s interpretation of the Second Amendment was “one of the greatest pieces of fraud, I repeat the word ‘fraud,’ on the American public by special interest groups that I have ever seen in my lifetime.”
Okay, so that doesn't mean guns must be illegal, just because we don't have militias & the modern Court has allowed the NRA to perpetrate a fraud on the nation. So, with the tea partiers, let's go back to the 1790s & let everybody carry a musket. Keep your powder dry, boys.
An obsession with guns is a form of insanity unique to certain elements in this country & to terrorists, insurrectionists, the Mafia & drug cartels. The rest of us need to do all we can to end the madness in this country.
You want personal protection & a musket just won't do? Many states allow citizens to carry Tasers. Studies show a Taser does a lot better job at disabling an armed intruder (without killing him) than a gun does. And if you use a Taser instead of a gun on an intruder, you won't have to live the rest of your life knowing you killed a punk over an old TV & your laptop.
On the 50th anniversary, E. J. Dionne of the Washington PostrecallsJohn F. Kennedy's inaugural address. Here it is:
Sargent Shriver. Art by Justin Gabbard for the New York Times.In a New York Times op-ed, Bono remembersSargent Shriver. ...
Scott Stossel of The Atlantic, who is also Shriver's biographer, remembers his subject:
Even as the disease[Alzheimer's] robbed him of his memory, and sometimes of his logic, it did not rob him of his spirit -- warm, ebullient, devout, inspiring -- which was essential to all that he achieved.
Michelle Obama endorses Wal-Mart's promise to phase more healthful foods into their product line. Getty image.New York Times: "Wal-Mart, the nation’s largest retailer, will announce a five-year plan on Thursday to make thousands of its packaged foods lower in unhealthy salts, fats and sugars, and to drop prices on fruits and vegetables. The initiative came out of discussions the company has been having with Michelle Obama, the first lady, who will attend the announcement in Washington and has made healthy eating and reducing childhood obesity the centerpiece of her agenda. Aides say it is the first time Mrs. Obama has thrown her support behind the work of a single company." ...
... Debbie Wilgoren & Ylan Mui of the Washington Post say Michelle Obamagave Wal-Mart "a glowing endorsement" today for promising to sell healthier food. But Karen Garcia sees the connection between the First Lady & Wal-Mart as long and murky.
... AND when she wasn't doing that... Washington Post: "Visitors touring the White House got more than they bargained for Thursday when first lady Michelle Obama and the family dog, Bo, dropped in to welcome them on the second anniversary of President Obama's inauguration." You might want to watch part of the video, which runs an hour.
Right. Michelle & Barack Obama await the arrival of China's President Hu in advance of the state dinner. Reuters picture.
If, like me, you thought Michelle Obama looked stunning at the state dinner last night, you're not a right-winger. Media Matters has a roundup of the usual loons who are all upset because the First Lady wore a communist red dress.
Peter Finn of the Washington Post: "A recently completed investigation of the killing of Daniel Pearl in Pakistan nine years ago makes public new evidence that a senior al-Qaeda operative executed the Wall Street Journal reporter.... The new report which was prepared by faculty members and students at Georgetown University, U.S. officials have concluded that vascular technology, or vein matching, shows that the hand of the unseen man who killed Pearl on video is that of [Khalid Sheik] Mohammed. The report also says Mohammed told the FBI that a senior al-Qaeda operative advised him to take control of Pearl from his original kidnappers." The report is here.
Eric Lichtblau of the New York Times: "When the conservative financier Charles Koch sent out invitations for a political retreat..., he highlighted past appearances at the gathering of 'notable leaders' like Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas of the Supreme Court. [Common Cause,] a leading liberal group, is now trying to use that connection to argue that Mr. Scalia and Mr. Thomas should disqualify themselves from hearing campaign finance cases because they may be biased toward Mr. Koch, a billionaire who has been a major player in financing conservative causes.... Common Cause filed a petition with the Justice Department on Wednesday asking it to investigate potential conflicts by Justices Scalia and Thomas and move for their disqualification from the landmark Citizens United case...."
Patrick Coolican of the Las Vegas Sun: "The robust firearms economy is showing striking defiance of the recession, as well as the ritual condemnations of gun violence in the wake of the recent shooting of 19 people ... in Tucson." ...
... Whither Obama? Glenn Thrush of Politico: "Gun control is a perilous issue for President Barack Obama ... so the push for new restrictions following the Tucson shootings puts the president in an especially tricky political predicament.... White House officials have remained noncommittal about an effort by liberals in the House and Senate to restrict access to the kind of high-capacity ammunition magazines that allowed suspect Jared Lee Loughner to inflict mass casualties in a matter of seconds using a single, legal handgun. Gun control advocates say Obama ... has the moral responsibility to make some kind of statement on the issue...." ...
... Nicole Santa Cruz & Ashley Powers of the Los Angeles Times: Arizona "Gov. Jan Brewer, long a champion of services for the mentally ill, reluctantly agreed to cut funding amid a budget crisis. It's just one example of the battle mental health advocates across the U.S. face as cash-strapped legislatures chop services." ...
... Michael Powell of the New York Times: "As state governments struggle with the fiscal damage caused by the recession, an income tax increase has become a rarely used remedy." ...
... Right. But some states have other great budget-balancing ideas:
Charles Mahtesian of Politico: "By the geriatric standards of the Senate, the retirement of 68-year-old Sen. Joe Lieberman comes at a relatively young age. But Wednesday’s news that the Connecticut Democrat plans to leave the stage in 2012 surprised no one: It was clear the role he played was outdated and even clearer that he was thoroughly unsuited for the modern political era." ...
... Gail Collins: "Lieberman has reached a point in his public career when every single thing he does, including talking about his grandparents, is irritating." ...
... Lieberman's eulogy to Lieberman was narcissistic even by Washington standards. If he had started lip-synching Piaf doing 'Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien' nobody would have been surprised. -- Karen Garcia (#11) ...
... Peter Applebome of the New York Times: two Senators from Connecticut -- Chris Dodd & Joe Lieberman -- how is one not like the other? ...
... At least Lieberman is better than Utah's new loony Sen. Mike Lee, who thinks "child labor laws, the minimum wage, and bans on race and gender dicrimination are unconstitutional." And, BTW, so is federal disaster assistance. Ian Millhiser's Think Progress story is here; it includes audio. Thank you, Utah. ...
... AND former Sen. Rick Santorum (Pa.) continues to move up the race for worst Senator ever. Washington Post: "In an interview with the conservative CNS News, [Santorum] linked President Obama's race to his position on abortion."
For a host of reasons, my friends don't care for Rep. Anthony Weiner, but for stuff like this, I do:
Leslie Gelb in the Daily Beast: in the war of wills Hu won the summit, without having to do much but stand up and smile. ...
... "The Rise of the Chinese Cheneys." Nicholas Kristof: "China today resembles the Bush era in America: Hard-liners are ascendant. Brace yourself."
Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "The Obama administration is preparing to increase the use of military commissions to prosecute Guantánamo detainees, an acknowledgment that the prison in Cuba remains open for business after Congress imposed steep new impediments to closing the facility."
Anne Kornblut & Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "President Obamais moving his political operation outside the White House and will launch his reelection campaign in March or April. With the biggest parts of a staff reshuffling behind him, Obama has approved some more moves for his political team, shifting his political director to the Democratic National Committee and sending two key operatives to serve as deputy campaign managers in what will be his campaign headquarters in Chicago."
AP: "In the latest milestone in Gabrielle Giffords' recovery from a bullet wound to the brain, the congresswoman stood up and looked out a window even as preparations got under way for a move to Houston, where she'll undergo extensive mental and physical rehabilitation. Her swift transition from an intensive care unit to a rehab center based on the latest research, which shows the sooner rehab starts, the better patients recover."
... New York TimesUpdate: "Representative Gabrielle Giffordscontinues to recover remarkably well from a gunshot to the head and is likely to be moved to a Houston rehabilitation hospital on Friday, her doctors and her husband said on Thursday."
Guests at the state dinner for China's President Hu Jintao. New York Times photo.President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama host President Hu of China at a State Dinner at the White House:
Sheryl Gay Stolberg of the New York Times on the guest list for the state dinner. Here's the guest list, & I'm sorry to report Tom Friedman is on it. ...
... Ben Smith: labor is mighty miffed at being snubbed in favor of bankers & Mrs. Murdoch. ...
... Jena McGregor of the Washington Post on John Boehner's declining to attend this and two other state dinners the Obamas have hosted. Many say Boehner is just plain rude; others accuse him of dereliction of duty.
Secretary Clinton & Vice President Biden welcome President Hu to lunch at the State Department:
President Obama & Hu hold a lo-o-o-ng press conference:
New York Times: At a joint press conference, "President Obama and President Hu Jintao of China both pledged on Wednesday to nurture what they called their two nations’ growing common interests, but they also acknowledged differences in the areas of trade and human rights as they held their eighth meeting in two years."
Paul Kane of the Washington Post: "As Chinese President Hu Jintao was being feted at the White House Wednesday, a bipartisan collection of congressmen gave a much sharper welcome to the leader of the world's most populous nation, questioning China's handling of its domestic economy and its alleged human rights abuses.... On Thursday, after Wednesday night's state dinner hosted by President Obama, Hu will come to Congress for meetings on both ends of the Capitol with some of his critics."
President Obama and President Hu of China hold an expanded bilateral meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House. White House photo.Washington Post: in a brief news conference, "President Obama, hosting Chinese President Hu Jintao on a state visit, announced Wednesday that a series of new commercial deals would increase U.S. exports to China by more than $45 billion."
President Obama & Hu meet with business leaders:
President Obama, Vice President Biden & Secretary Clinton held a bilateral meeting with President Hu this morning. AP story here.
President Obama welcomes President Hu:
... Here's the whole shebang. It lasts for a little more than half-an-hour:
Steven Pearlstein of the Washington Post: Americans are uncomfortable with the idea of industrial policy. But when competing against countries that practice it skillfully and aggressively, we may have no choice but to respond in kind - if for no other reason than as a way to negotiate a more level playing field for American firms and American workers. China has already leveraged this advantage to wipe out large swaths of American industry, build up a $3 trillion dollar war chest and help to put the U.S. economy in a rut characterized by low growth, high unemployment and unsustainable trade deficits."
Don Lee & Paul Richter of the Los Angeles Times: "Little headway may be made on intellectual property, currency valuation and other issues that Obama and others in Washington want China's president to address."
John Pomfret of the Washington Post: "Chinese President Hu Jintao will highlight [Chinese company] Wanxiang's U.S. operations on Friday during an event in Chicago. Hu is hoping to show Americans that in addition to providing them with cheap goods, Chinese companies can also give them good jobs.... In speeches last week, Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke both complained that China was not open enough to U.S. products, had not done enough to let the value of its currency appreciate against the dollar and was not respectful of U.S. intellectual property rights."
Nicholas Johnston & Hans Nichols of Bloomberg News: "The itinerary, which has a business focus..., is an illustration of the importance both countries place on their economic relationship and meshes with the U.S. president’s goals of boosting exports and spurring job growth."
January 21 News Updates on President Hu's Visit
New York Times: "President Obamawarned President Hu Jintao that if China did not step up its pressure on North Korea, the United States would have to redeploy its forces in Asia to protect itself from a potential North Korean strike on American soil.... Mr. Obama’s warning, first made in a phone call to Mr. Hu last month and repeated over a private dinner at the White House on Tuesday, persuaded China to take a harder line toward North Korea..., which opened the door to a resumption of dialogue between North and South Korea."
The Hill: "House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on Thursday urged Chinese President Hu Jintao to bolster his commitment to human rights and climate-change prevention...."
Reuters: during the welcoming ceremony on Wednesday, Sasha Obamapracticed her Chinese with President Hu.
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