The Ledes

Sunday, September 29, 2024

Washington Post: “Towns throughout western North Carolina ... were transformed overnight by ... [Hurricane Helene]. Muddy floodwaters lifted homes from their foundations. Landslides and overflowing rivers severed the only way in and out of small mountain communities. Rescuers said they were struggling to respond to the high number of emergency calls.... The death toll grew throughout the Southeast as the scope of Helene’s devastation came into clearer view. At least 49 people had been killed in five states — Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. By early counts, South Carolina suffered the greatest loss of life, registering at least 19 deaths.”

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The Ledes

Saturday, September 28, 2024

Washington Post: “Rescue teams raced to submerged homes, scoured collapsed buildings and steered thousands from overflowing dams as Helene carved a destructive path Friday, knocking out power and flooding a vast arc of communities across the southeastern United States. At least 40 people were confirmed killed in five states since the storm made landfall late Thursday as a Category 4 behemoth, unleashing record-breaking storm surge and tree-snapping gusts. 4 million homes and businesses have lost electricity across Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas, prompting concerns that outages could drag on for weeks. Mudslides closed highways. Water swept over roofs and snapped phone lines. Houses vanished from their foundations. Tornadoes added to the chaos. The mayor of hard-hit Canton, N.C., called the scene 'apocalyptic.'” An AP report is here.

The New York Times lists Emmy winners. The AP has an overview story here.

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."

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Sunday
Dec182011

The Commentariat -- December 18

The weekend Open Thread continues on Off Times Square. Yesterday's comments in the thread are interesting and substantive.

My column in today's New York Times eXaminer is on Tom Friedman's interesting week. The NYTX front page is here. ...

... For more depth on the far-right "pro-Israel" bloc -- and Elliott Abrams' diatribe against Friedman in particular -- see Jim Lobe's commentary, also in NYTX. ...

... AND Philip Weiss of Mondoweiss reproduces the full Republican Emergency Committee for Israel ad against the Obama Administration. With commentary.

Prof. Michael Sandel, Episode 3, "Free to Choose":

Nicholas Kristof: "WHEN President Obama decides soon whether to approve a $53 million arms sale to our close but despotic ally Bahrain, he must weigh the fact that America has a major naval base here and that Bahrain is a moderate, modernizing bulwark against Iran."

Prof. Andrew Bacevich, in a Washington Post op-ed, sees the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq as marking the end of the era of U.S. world dominance: "After Iraq, the future no longer bears the label 'Made in the USA.'” ...

... Roy Gutman of McClatchy News notes one legacy of the war: our two closest allies in the region -- Saudi Arabia and Iraq -- are not on diplomatic speaking terms. "Saudi Arabia refuses to set up an embassy in Baghdad, and while it has allowed Iraq to set up a mission in Riyadh, its officials receive Iraqi government officials only as private individuals." ...

... Not surprisingly, Maureen Dowd treats the same subject with considerably less heft, weaving in President Obama's teevee preference for the Showtime series "Homeland." "Homeland" is Dowd's favorite new series, too, but she finds Obama's interest in it "a little worrisome."

Alexander Bolton of The Hill: "Senate Democrats say the Obama administration will kill the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline, a controversial issue in the debate to extend the payroll tax holiday."

Samuel Freedman in the New York Times' "On Religion": "It would be upsetting enough if a well-financed, well-organized mass movement had misrepresented a television show, insulted an entire religious community and intimidated a national corporation. What makes the attack on 'All-American Muslim' more disturbing — and revealing — is that it was prosecuted by just one person, a person unaffiliated with any established organization on the Christian right, a person who effectively tapped into a groundswell of anti-Muslim bigotry.... If there is any upside to the campaign against 'All-American Muslim,' it is that national scrutiny has cut Mr. Caton down to size. Several major companies that he claimed had stopped advertising — Home Depot and Campbell’s Soup — issued statements saying they had done no such thing." ...

... Alyssa Rosenberg of Think Progress lists companies who did not pull their "All-American Muslim" ads despite pressure from and claims made by Caton.

... Update: How about This? EarlyAmerica.com: "George Washington urged Congress in his first inaugural address to propose amendments that offered 'a reverence for the characteristic rights of freemen and a regard for public harmony.' ... Congress responded by submitting Amendments to the Constitution providing for essential civil liberties.... Of the original twelve, Articles 3-12 were ratified. Accordingly, in 1791 these articles became the first ten amendments to the Constitution.....known collectively as The Bill of Rights." I'd call the Bill of Rights a pretty big accomplishment, Mr. President Barack. (See following entry for evidence of my close personal relationship with the President:)

I just got this nice note from One of the Best Presidents Ever:

Marie --

Early this morning, the last of our troops left Iraq.

As we honor and reflect on the sacrifices that millions of men and women made for this war, I wanted to make sure you heard the news.

Bringing this war to a responsible end was a cause that sparked many Americans to get involved in the political process for the first time. Today's outcome is a reminder that we all have a stake in our country's future, and a say in the direction we choose.

Thank you.

Barack

Right Wing World

Ahead of the Iowa caucuses, the influential Des Moines Register endorses Mitt Romney. ...

... MEANWHILE, AP: "Newt Gingrich tried to quiet unrelenting campaign criticism that he acknowledged had taken a toll as Mitt Romney stepped up insider attacks Saturday in hopes of regaining front-runner status with the first presidential vote little more than two weeks away." ...

I'm going to let the lawyers decide what is and what is not lobbying, but when it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, typically it's a duck. -- Mitt Romney, on Newt Gingrich's claim that Freddie Mac employed him as an historian

... Frank Bruni offers no new insights, but he does give us a run-down of some of Newt Gingrich's most megalomaniacal claims. ...

... Even Crazier after All These Years. Amy Gardner of the Washington Post: "Never one to be accused of timidity, Republican presidential contender Newt Gingrich is turning up the volume of his ongoing assault on 'activist judges' so high that even conservatives say he is going too far. In a half-hour phone call with reporters Saturday, Gingrich said that, as president, he would abolish whole courts to be rid of judges whose decisions he feels are out of step with the country.... Judicial experts, including conservatives, are questioning the constitutionality of Gingrich’s stance. The Constitution ... provides only for impeachment as the way to remove bad judges. To do so by other means, [experts] say, is an encroachment on judicial independence and an affront to the separation of powers doctrine that underlies the entire document." ...

Overall, he’s racing towards a cliff. It may be expedient to appeal to specific voters in primaries or caucuses, but it’s a constitutional disaster. Americans want courts that can uphold their rights and not be accountable to politicians. When you get to the point where you’re talking about impeaching judges over decisions or abolishing courts or calling them before Congress, it’s getting very far away from the American political mainstream. -- Bert Brandenburg, director of the nonpartisan Justice at Stake

Opinion of a Candidate Who Is Not Going to Be President about a (Former) Candidate Who Is Not Going to Be President: Herman Cain has all the characteristics of the type of person I would bring forward. -- Rick Perry, responding to a question about whether or not he would choose Cain for his Cabinet

Local News

Harbor Shores. The town of Benton Harbor can be seen in the distance, upper left. New York Times photo.Jonathan Mahler in the New York Times Magazine: "During its heyday as a racially mixed, economically vibrant manufacturing center through the 1960s, Benton Harbor, [Michigan,] grew into a home to more than 20,000 people. Today its population is closer to 10,000, about 90 percent of whom are black. The per capita income of its residents is roughly $10,000; about 60 percent of its population is on some form of public assistance.... On the northern edge of Benton Harbor, just beyond the grim grid of housing projects, shuttered storefronts, boarded-up homes and junk-laden yards that dominate much of the town, sits an emerald oasis known as Harbor Shores..., a resort development. At its heart is a pristine Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course that ... overlooks Lake Michigan.... The juxtaposition of Benton Harbor’s impoverished population and its two rising monuments to wealth ... make it almost a caricature of economic disparity in America. But at the same time, it offers a window into one possible future for towns across the country...." Thanks to reader Jay J. for the link.

Rachel Stassen-Berger of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune: "Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch resigned from her leadership post the day after fellow Republicans confronted her about allegations that she had an 'inappropriate relationship' with a staff member.... Koch, the state's first female majority leader, was widely considered a hard-working and savvy campaigner who helped Republicans win control of the Senate last year for the first time in four decades.... Not long after the news conference, Michel announced that Michael Brodkorb, who was Koch's powerful communications chief, was no longer employed as a Senate staffer, effective Friday.... Koch, 40, is married and has a teenage daughter."

News Ledes

Reuters: "The last convoy of U.S. soldiers pulled out of Iraq on Sunday, ending nearly nine years of war that cost almost 4,500 American and tens of thousands of Iraqi lives and left a country grappling with political uncertainty."

Reuters: "The euro zone will pursue measures to tackle its sovereign debt crisis this week by offering more cash to the IMF and long-term liquidity to banks, while moving towards tighter fiscal rules, after ratings agency Fitch cast doubt on it ability to forge a decisive response."

Reuters: "Rescuers searched for more than 800 people missing in the southern Philippines on Sunday after flash floods and landslides swept houses into rivers and out to sea, killing more than 650 people in areas ill-prepared to cope with storms."

New York Times: "Vaclav Havel, the dissident playwright who wove theater into politics to peacefully bring down communism in Czechoslovakia and become a hero of the epic struggle that ended the Cold War, has died. He was 75.... Mr. Havel was his country’s first democratically elected president after the nonviolent 'Velvet Revolution' that ended four decades of repression by a regime he ridiculed as 'Absurdistan.' As president, he oversaw the country’s bumpy transition to democracy and a free-market economy, as well its peaceful 1993 breakup into the Czech Republic and Slovakia."

Politico: "House Republicans are in full revolt in the wake of Senate passage of a two-month payroll tax holiday package, casting serious doubt on the fate of a bill that already has President Barack Obama’s approval. In a private conference call on Saturday afternoon, rank-and-file House Republicans complained bitterly about the contents of the deal...." Update: Reuters story here. ...

     ... Think Progress Update: "Appearing on Meet the Press today, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) said he and his members oppose the Senate bill."

New York Times: "Egypt’s military rulers escalated a bloody crackdown on street protesters on Saturday, chasing down and beating unarmed civilians, even while the prime minister was denying in a televised news conference that security forces were using any force."

AP: "CNN star Piers Morgan may be known to Americans as an empathetic English interviewer, but it's his past at the heart of Britain's troubled tabloid newspaper world that is being trotted out before the cameras this week.... Morgan's rise to the top will be revisited Tuesday, when the former editor appears by videolink at a judge-led inquiry into the ethics and practices of Britain's scandal-tarred press."

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