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The Ledes

Saturday, April 2, 2025

New York Times: “Charlotte Webb, who as a young woman helped code breakers decipher enemy signals at Britain’s top-secret Bletchley Park, died on Monday. She was 101.... Ms. Webb, known as Betty, was 18 when she joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service, the women’s branch of the British Army, and was assigned to work at the base in Buckinghamshire where Bletchley Park was located. From 1941 to 1945, she helped in the decryption of German messages, and also worked on Japanese signals. In 2015, Ms. Webb was appointed as Member of the Order of the British Empire and in 2021 she was awarded the Légion d’Honneur, France’s most prestigious honor. She was one of the last surviving members of the storied Bletchley Park code breaking team.”

New York Times: “Val Kilmer, a homegrown Hollywood actor who tasted leading-man stardom as Jim Morrison and Batman, but whose protean gifts and elusive personality also made him a high-profile supporting player, died on Tuesday in Los Angeles. He was 65.”

The Wires

Help!

To keep the Conversation going, please help me by linking news articles, opinion pieces and other political content in today's Comments section.

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OR here's a link generator. The one I had posted died, then Akhilleus found one, but it too bit the dust. He found yet another, which I've linked here, and as of September 23, 2024, it's working.

OR you can always just block, copy and paste to your comment the URL (Web address) of the page you want to link.

Note for Readers. It is not possible for commenters to "throw" their highlighted links to another window. But you can do that yourself. Right-click on the link and a drop-down box will give you choices as to where you want to open the link: in a new tab, new window or new private window.

Public Service Announcement

Zoë Schlanger in the Atlantic: "Throw out your black plastic spatula. In a world of plastic consumer goods, avoiding the material entirely requires the fervor of a religious conversion. But getting rid of black plastic kitchen utensils is a low-stakes move, and worth it. Cooking with any plastic is a dubious enterprise, because heat encourages potentially harmful plastic compounds to migrate out of the polymers and potentially into the food. But, as Andrew Turner, a biochemist at the University of Plymouth recently told me, black plastic is particularly crucial to avoid." This is a gift link from laura h.

Mashable: "Following the 2024 presidential election results and [Elon] Musk's support for ... Donald Trump, users have been deactivating en masse. And this time, it appears most everyone has settled on one particular X alternative: Bluesky.... Bluesky has gained more than 100,000 new sign ups per day since the U.S. election on Nov. 5. It now has over 15 million users. It's enjoyed a prolonged stay on the very top of Apple's App Store charts as well. Ready to join? Here's how to get started on Bluesky[.]"

Washington Post: "Americans can again order free rapid coronavirus tests by mail, the Biden administration announced Thursday. People can request four free at-home tests per household through covidtests.gov. They will begin shipping Monday. The move comes ahead of an expected winter wave of coronavirus cases. The September revival of the free testing program is in line with the Biden administration’s strategy to respond to the coronavirus as part of a broader public health campaign to protect Americans from respiratory viruses, including influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), that surge every fall and winter. But free tests were not mailed during the summer wave, which wastewater surveillance data shows is now receding."

Back when the Washington Post had an owner/publisher who dared to stand up to a president:

Prime video is carrying the documentary. If you watch it, I suggest watching the Spielberg film "The Post" afterwards. There is currently a free copy (type "the post full movie" in the YouTube search box) on YouTube (or you can rent it on YouTube, on Prime & [I think] on Hulu). Near the end, Daniel Ellsberg (played by Matthew Rhys), says "I was struck in fact by the way President Johnson's reaction to these revelations was [that they were] 'close to treason,' because it reflected to me the sense that what was damaging to the reputation of a particular administration or a particular individual was in itself treason, which is very close to saying, 'I am the state.'" Sound familiar?

Out with the Black. In with the White. New York Times: “Lester Holt, the veteran NBC newscaster and anchor of the 'NBC Nightly News' over the last decade, announced on Monday that he will step down from the flagship evening newscast in the coming months. Mr. Holt told colleagues that he would remain at NBC, expanding his duties at 'Dateline,' where he serves as the show’s anchor.... He said that he would continue anchoring the evening news until 'the start of summer.' The network did not immediately name a successor.” ~~~

~~~ New York Times: “MSNBC said on Monday that Jen Psaki, the former White House press secretary who has become one of the most prominent hosts at the network, would anchor a nightly weekday show in prime time. Ms. Psaki, 46, will host a show at 9 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, replacing Alex Wagner, a longtime political journalist who has anchored that hour since 2022, according to a memo to staff from Rebecca Kutler, MSNBC’s president. Ms. Wagner will remain at MSNBC as an on-air correspondent. Rachel Maddow, MSNBC’s biggest star, has been anchoring the 9 p.m. hour on weeknights for the early days of ... [Donald] Trump’s administration but will return to hosting one night a week at the end of April.”

New York Times: “Joy Reid’s evening news show on MSNBC is being canceled, part of a far-reaching programming overhaul orchestrated by Rebecca Kutler, the network’s new president, two people familiar with the changes said. The final episode of Ms. Reid’s 7 p.m. show, 'The ReidOut,' is planned for sometime this week, according to the people, who were not authorized to speak publicly. The show, which features in-depth interviews with politicians and other newsmakers, has been a fixture of MSNBC’s lineup for the past five years. MSNBC is planning to replace Ms. Reid’s program with a show led by a trio of anchors: Symone Sanders Townsend, a political commentator and former Democratic strategist; Michael Steele, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee; and Alicia Menendez, the TV journalist, the people said. They currently co-host 'The Weekend,' which airs Saturday and Sunday mornings.” MB: In case you've never seen “The Weekend,” let me assure you it's pretty awful. ~~~

~~~ AP Update: "Joy Reid is leaving MSNBC, the network’s new president announced in a memo to staff on Monday, marking an end to the political analyst and anchor’s prime time news show."

Y! Entertainment: "Meanwhile, [Alex] Wagner will also be removed from her 9 pm weeknight slot. Wagner has already been working as a correspondent after Rachel Maddow took over hosting duties during ... Trump’s first 100 days in office. It’s now expected that Wagner will not return as host, but is expected to stay on as a contributor. Jen Psaki, President Biden’s former White House press secretary, is a likely replacement for Wagner, though a decision has not been finalized." MB: In fairness to Psaki, she is really too boring to watch. On the other hand, she is White. ~~~

~~~ RAS: "So MSNBC is getting rid of both of their minority evening hosts. Both women of color who are not afraid to call out the truth. Outspoken minorities don't have a long shelf life in the world of our corporate news media."

Page Links

Friday

Sep102010

Burn This Book, Con'd.

With the Crazy Cap'n. Crunch pastor from Gainesville teetering from yes to no to maybe* on whether or not he'll light the Bonfire of His Vanities, the Ocala (Florida) Star-Banner reports, "Westboro Baptist Church, the small Topeka, Kan., church that pickets funerals of American soldiers to spread its message that God is punishing the country for being tolerant of homosexuals, has vowed to hold a Quran burning if Gainesville's Dove World Outreach Center calls its off." Here's the Gainesville Sun story. ...

* AP: "Negotiations between a local Muslim cleric and the leader of a tiny Florida church who had threatened to publicly burn copies of Islam's holy text left the heated debate in a state of confusion with the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks a day away."

He clearly, clearly lied to us. -- Terry Jones, on Florida Imam Muhammad Musri

And The Tennessean reports that the Rev. Bob Old, a "longtime-Baptist minister ... plans to set fire to a Quran on Saturday at his home and then post a video of the burning book online. And if he had his way, there would be no Muslims in America":

If they want to have their religion, they can have it somewhere else.
-- Bob Old

... Chip off the Old Blockhead. Gainesville Sun Update: "A leading national minister and the adult son of Dove World Outreach Center Senior Pastor Terry Jones said they do not expect him to burn copies of the Quran on Saturday at the church in northwest Gainesville.... The younger Jones appeared in front of reporters with a gun on his right hip Friday morning...."

Constant Weader: am I the only one to think the real reason Terry & the Disciples won't be burning any holy books is this? -- Gainesville Sun: "The city of Gainesville ... will send Terry Jones ... a bill for the estimated tens of thousands of dollars it will cost to police the area if the church goes through with its plan...."

Damien Cave of the New York Times, on Gainesville: "... the people of this youthful city in central Florida are taking [Jones'] actions personally, with anger and heartbreak, as one of their neighbors drags their hometown into nearly nonstop news coverage and infamy. Gainesville, after all, is a university town that until a few months ago was best known for producing college football champions, Gatorade and rockers like Tom Petty. Educated and progressive, with a gay mayor and a City Commission made up entirely of Democrats, Gainesville is a sprawling metropolis of 115,000 people."

AP Standards guy Tom Kent sent a memo to staff outlining the Associated Press's policy on coverage of this story. Via Think Progress.

AP policy is not to provide coverage of events that are gratuitously manufactured to provoke and offend. -- Tom Kent, Standards Editor

Follow the Money

CBS News: "Terry Jones ... runs a church that spends most of its money on administrative expenses and operates a furniture business out his church.... The Dove World Church is for sale for 2.9 million." Terry & his wife Sylvia are the principals in several other businesses. And the church also lost a chunk of its local tax-exempt status this year. ...

... Reader Lisa pointed me to this more extensive post in the DailyKos that demonstrates how the church appears to be a front for the Jones' businesses. CW: I wouldn't go nearly as far as the exuberant poster does in her assumptions about the financial co-mingling & con-artist charges, but the raw data she (or he) provides make it pretty clear that the Rev. Terry has cheated on his local taxes & is way busier making money in various shabby enterprises than he is in ministering to his tiny flock.

Meaningless Aside. Matt Lewis of Politics Daily: one of the Rev. Terry's high school classmates (Cape [Girardeau, Missouri- Central High, Class of '69) was Rush Limbaugh. CW: I'm sure Terry & Rush will have lots to chat about at the reunion.

News Coverage of the News Coverage

Brian Stetler of the New York Times signals that it's time for the media to commence its ritual self-analysis. Stetler looks at the media's role in promoting the Koran-burning story & examines how & why the story mushroomed into an international affair into which even the POTUS was drawn. CW: fortunately, the Westboro loonies will give Stetler a chance to write a follow-up piece.

Roy Greenslade of The Guardian takes about the same tack & comes to the same conclusion as does Stetler: it's not our fault.

James Poniewozik of Time is less forgiving. In his view, not only did the media go nuts over the nuts, they allowed Sarah Palin & Co. to promote a false equivalency between burning the Koran & building a religious center: "it's not as if there's an argument that Koran-burning would be more sensitive a few blocks away."

AND the Government Finds a Book to Burn. New York Times: "Defense Department officials are negotiating to buy and destroy all 10,000 copies of the first printing of an Afghan war memoir they say contains intelligence secrets, according to two people familiar with the dispute. The publication of “Operation Dark Heart,” by Anthony A. Shaffer, a former Defense Intelligence Agency officer and a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve, has divided military security reviewers and highlighted the uncertainty about what information poses a genuine threat to security."

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