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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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Saturday
Dec232017

The Commentariat -- December 24, 2017

Afternoon Update:

Michael Kranish, et al., of the Washington Post: "For months, efforts to discredit special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 campaign flickered at the fringes of political debate. Now, the allegation that FBI and Justice Department officials are part of a broad conspiracy against President Trump is suddenly center stage, amplified by conservative activists, GOP lawmakers, right-leaning media and the president himself. The clamor has become a sustained backdrop to the special counsel investigation, with congressional committees grilling a parade of law enforcement officials in recent days.... The partisan atmosphere is a sharp departure from the near-universal support that greeted Mueller's selection as special counsel in May -- and threatens to shadow his investigation's eventual findings. Trump, while vowing to cooperate with the special counsel, has also encouraged attacks on Mueller's credibility, tweeting that the investigation is 'the greatest Witch Hunt in U.S. political history.'"

Julia Manchester of the Hill: "A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesman late Saturday labeled a string of shootings in Harrisburg, Pa. targeting police officers a terror attack and used the incident to criticize chain migration. Tyler Houlton said in a tweet that DHS confirmed that the suspect, 51-year-old Ahmed Amin El-Mofty, benefited from extended family chain migration, which takes place when immigrants in the U.S. sponsor other family members for visas.... [Ahmed] El-Mofty allegedly opened fire on police officers in three different locations in the state's capital on Friday. The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were reportedly investigating whether the shootings could be considered an act of terror."

*****

Michael Shear & Julie Davis of the New York Times: In a June meeting, President Trump disparaged immigrants to the U.S. who are from majority non-white countries. Trump & aide Stephen Miller lashed out at Secretary of State Rex Tillerson for letting them into the U.S. "Haiti had sent 15,000 people. They 'all have AIDS,' he grumbled.... Forty thousand had come from Nigeria, Mr. Trump added. Once they had seen the United States, they would never 'go back to their huts,' [Trump said.]... Tempers flared and [chief of staff John] Kelly asked that the room be cleared of staff members. But even after the door to the Oval Office was closed, aides could still hear the president berating his most senior advisers. Sarah Huckabee Sanders ... denied on Saturday morning that Mr. Trump had made derogatory statements about immigrants during the meeting.... Mr. Trump entered office with an agenda of symbolic but incompletely thought-out goals, the product not of rigorous policy debate but of emotionally charged personal interactions and an instinct for tapping into the nativist views of white working-class Americans. Like many of his initiatives, his effort to change American immigration policy has been executed through a disorderly and dysfunctional process.... [But] his efforts to remake decades of immigration policy have gained increasing momentum as the White House became more disciplined and adept at either ignoring or undercutting the entrenched opposition of many parts of the government." This is a long piece. ...

     ... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Trump's mother & paternal grandfather were immigrants to the U.S. So were two of his wives. It isn't immigration he opposes; it's people of color. ...

... digby: "What this story shows is that Trump wants to cut off immigration for anyone Trump doesn't like. Which means anyone who isn't white and/or rich. Trump, like his voters, wants an America that only looks like him." ...

... David Atkins in the Washington Monthly: "Every piece of Trump's supposed economic populism has been stripped away in a wave of pro-corporate policies benefiting the very rich and hurting the middle class. All that is left is the ugliest of racist and sexist vitriol. Those who continue ... to support this regime now have made very clear who they are, and it's antithetical to everything this nation of immigrants stands for." ...

... Benjamin Hart of New York: "As the [NYT] article notes, fear and disgust of outsiders has animated Trump for decades; unlike, say, his position on abortion, bigotry has been one of his consistent traits since he entered public life. Among many, many other examples, Trump has demanded the death penalty for the Central Park Five and failed to change his opinion even when they were proven innocent; called Mexicans rapists on the first day of his presidential campaign; defended neo-Nazis; and, of course, advanced a conspiracy theory about the first black president for years. So even if the comments reported on Saturday go one step beyond what Trump might say in public (and it's a small step), they certainly feel like a plausible representation of the man 63 million Americans voted for -- the man whose xenophobia has made America more closed off to the world than it has been in generations." ...

... For Some Reason, People Don't Believe Mrs. Huckleberry. Eugune Scott of the Washington Post: "The challenge the White House currently faces -- especially among those groups with which Trump is highly unpopular -- is that most people trust the press more than they trust the president. According to a Quinnipiac poll, more than half -- 52 percent -- trust the media more than Trump to tell the truth about important issues. And for many voters, topics related to immigration and race are among the most important.

... Josh Gerstein of Politico: "A federal judge has partially blocked an order ... Donald Trump issued in October suspending admission of refugees from 11 countries, most of which are majority Muslim. U.S. District Court Judge James Robart issued a nationwide preliminary injunction Saturday afternoon that prevents the administration from halting or diverting resources from refugee applications brought on behalf of family members of immigrants already in the U.S. The injunction does not provide relief for refugees who lack a 'bona fide relationship' with individuals, businesses or schools in the U.S. The Seattle-based judge, who was appointed by President George W. Bush, said Trump's October order violated provisions in immigration laws ... governing criteria and procedures for admission of refugees." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Time for another Twitter bombardment of the judiciary. ...

... Steve Coll of the New Yorker: "Since the nineteen-seventies, Gallup has been polling Americans annually about their confidence in their country's institutions.... Over all, the project describes a collapse in trust over time, even though the surveys started amid the disillusionment of Watergate and the failed war in Vietnam.... The country's disillusionment with institutions enabled Donald Trump's election.... [Trump's unrelenting attacks on American institutions] suggests the need for a certain realism and vigilance about the rising volume of attacks by Trump and his allies on Robert Mueller ... and on the F.B.I., whose agents carry out much of the investigative work."

The Biggest Liar. Carlos Lozado of the Washington Post reviews books about three past presidential scandals. "Trump appears Nixonian in his disregard for democratic norms, Clintonian in his personal recklessness and beyond Reaganesque in his distance from the details of policy. But where the parallels and parables of past scandals fall apart is with Trump's well-documented disregard for truth. In Watergate, Iran-contra and the Clinton impeachment, views of the president's honesty played a significant role for the public, for administration officials and for lawmakers torn over how to proceed.... [Trump's] His tweets are his Nixon tapes; the 'Access Hollywood' recording his Starr report; his heedlessness for checks, balances and the rule of law his Iran-contra affair.... The expectation of integrity has given way to a cynical acceptance of deceit. As much as anything Mueller uncovers, this is the scandal of our time."

Nick Tabor, in New York, lists 55 specific ways Trump wrecked changed the U.S. this year.


Adam Goldman of the New York Times: "The F.B.I.'s embattled deputy director, Andrew G. McCabe, an unlikely lightning rod who has been attacked repeatedly by President Trump and congressional Republicans, is expected to retire after he becomes eligible for his pension early next year, according to people familiar with his decision. While Mr. McCabe's plans to leave aren't unexpected, his decision should take some of the pressure off Christopher A. Wray, who was confirmed as F.B.I. director in August. Mr. Trump has complained to confidantes that Mr. Wray has not moved fast enough to replace the senior leadership that he inherited from his predecessor, James B. Comey, whom Mr. Trump summarily dismissed in May.... On Saturday, Mr. Trump went after Mr. McCabe and Mr. Comey again in a fusillade on Twitter.... The president crowed on Saturday that James A. Baker, the F.B.I. general counsel, who was seen as an ally of Mr. Comey's, would soon step down from that post, although he will remain at the bureau." ...

... Bob Brigham of the Raw Story: "Federal prosecutors are scrutinizing a $285 million loan from Deutsche Bank to Jared Kushner's family real-estate company, The Wall Street Journal reports. The loan was issued in October 2016, one month before the presidential election. Kushner was chief executive office of the Kushner Company at the time and was also advising the [Trump campaign]...."


Todd Frankel of the Washington Post: "Many U.S. charities are worried the tax overhaul bill signed by President Trump on Friday could spur a landmark shift in philanthropy, speeding along the decline of middle-class donors and transforming charitable gift-giving into a pursuit largely left to the wealthy. The source of concern is how the tax bill is expected to sharply reduce the number of taxpayers who qualify for the charitable tax deduction -- a big driver of gifts to nonprofits. One study predicts that donations will fall by at least $13 billion, about 4.5 percent, next year.... That could create new winners and losers in philanthropy. Nonprofits have long noticed that the wealthy are more likely to cut big checks to support museums and universities, while smaller donors tend to give to social-service agencies and religious organizations."

John Cassidy of the New Yorker (Dec. 22): "... for sheer bizarreness, it's hard to think of anything that matched the scene on Wednesday afternoon on the South Lawn of the White House, where Republican leaders, celebrating the passage of their terrible tax bill, lavished praise on Donald Trump in the manner of Communist functionaries addressing Mao or Stalin.... The sight of the G.O.P. celebrating its first big legislative success of the Trump era in such a degrading fashion [should] also remind everybody ... about what's at stake...: the future of democracy in this country."

Carol Morello & David Filipov of the Washington Post: "Russian officials said Saturday that the U.S. decision to supply Ukraine with lethal weapons to combat Russian-backed separatists will cause new bloodshed, as long-standing tensions between Washington and Moscow escalated over the four-year-old conflict. Moscow's admonition came shortly after the State Department announced Friday evening that the United States will provide heavy armaments to Ukraine for the first time, a step up from the support equipment and training offered so far.... On Wednesday, Washington said it had approved an export license allowing the sale of light weapons and small arms to Ukraine from commercial U.S. manufacturers. The U.S. decision to provide lethal weapons brought a predictably sharp rebuke from Moscow, which has tacitly backed the separatists in eastern Ukraine while denying that it actively supports them." ...

... Jeet Heer: "... the decision on arming Ukraine illustrates ... [that] the United States has two wildly divergent foreign policies toward Russia. Trump is pursuing a policy of conciliation, while the national security establishment, including Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, have pursued a policy of aggressive containment. Trump sees Russia as a potential ally, while many in his cabinet and in Congress consider Russia a rival that is actively threatening American democracy. This contradictory policy could send mixed signals, leading to war.... If a crisis erupts, there's no clarity as to which of these two policies will govern.... On Monday, the Trump administration released its national security strategy, which portrayed Russia and China as rival superpowers.... And yet, in a speech introducing this document, Trump veered off of his prepared remarks and spoke about the need to 'build a great partnership' with Russia and China. Trump also described a friendly conversation he had with Putin...." ...

... Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "The Marine Corps commandant told about 300 Marines in Norway this week that they should be prepared for a 'bigass fight' to come. 'I hope I'm wrong, but there's a war coming,' Gen. Robert Neller told the Marines on Thursday, according to Military.com.... As the Marines' top general, Neller is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.... In particular, Neller predicted the Pacific and Russia to be the focus of any conflict in the future outside of the Middle East, Military.com reported.... It is unclear to what extent his comments were indicative of an actual war to come or merely meant as a pep talk for troops stationed far from home over the Christmas holiday."

Niraj Chokshi & Joumana Khatib of the New York Times: "Three executives of the Miss America Organization resigned on Saturday after reports that the pageant's leadership had attacked and derided former pageant winners in emails. Dan Meyers, a spokesman for Miss America, said the organization ha accepted the resignations of Sam Haskell, the chief executive; Josh Randle, the president; and Lynn Weidner, the chairwoman.... The emails, published by HuffPost on Thursday, showed that Mr. Haskell had made comments about former pageant winners that were disrespectful and misogynistic, with support, in some cases, from other members of the organization.... In a letter, reported by HuffPost on Friday, 49 former pageant winners said the behavior of Mr. Haskell and several other top leaders was 'despicable' and called for their resignation. The signatories included winners of pageants from 1948 to 2017."

Comments Off

Reader Comments (7)

Christmas is coming, the geese are getting fat

Please to put a penny in an old man’s hat,

If you haven’t got a penny, a ha’penny will do,

If you haven’t got a ha’penny, good fortune to you!

This season, after a year of terrible troubles and tribulations,
I’m thinking of all those edged off from commerce and the world
Who work for joy instead of gain.

And I’m thinking of those that sacrifice for others so
those others can survive.

O would that I could gather them this Yuletide
and shower them with coins of gold and love.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Enjoy your holidays, all you wonderful people, I wish you well!

December 24, 2017 | Unregistered CommenterPD Pepe

The perfect quote from the POTUS for today:

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

December 24, 2017 | Unregistered CommenterMarvin Schwalb

On the Pretender's Immigration Fantasy:

If all immigrants were limited to the rich rich and the white, who would be left for the Repugnants to pick on?

Merry Holidays, All!

December 24, 2017 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkes

PD's typically kind, humanist thoughts (thank you, PD) call to mind how far from such qualities is the Party of Ebenezer Trump.

For a party and a president* that wrap themselves in Jesus and the flag, they demonstrate an appalling lack of mercy, grace, kindness, and love, and are equally bereft of the preeminent qualities that demarcate the American experiment from survival of the richest, from Trump nepotism and oligarchical jungle law: justice and freedom and equality for all, fair treatment under the law, and a true democracy in which every citizen is guaranteed a right to vote.

For the Confederates, it's fuck you, Charlie, we got ours, and you ain't gettin' none of it. And we'll have you arrested if you try, and any other things we don't cotton to, we'll have our buds on the Supreme Court declare unconstitutional. As for Jesus, Jesus is only for rich, white, Confederates. We let the poor Confederates (the schmoes who vote us into office--losers--pray to him, just for a chuckle, but fuck them too).

I was thinking of holiday movies recently, especially ones that have Christmas scenes but aren't specifically about Christmas, and one, "Meet John Doe" has this scene (an Oscar worthy turn by one of the great Hollywood character actors, James Gleason), in which a wealthy anti-American schemer very much like Trump is discussed as the type who wants to put the screws to democracy, and to extinguish the thoughts of such as Jefferson, Washington, and Lincoln, "lighthouses in a foggy world".

What Trump, and Ryan and McConnell and the Kochs all desire is less light, more fog, and a far more fetid swamp.

They're working hard at it.

But for the rest of us, peace, light, joy, humanism, and....DEMOCRACY!

As Marvin says, Happy Holidays to us all.

Or as Tiny Tim once said, "Go' bless us, every one".

You get my drift.

Enjoy, kids.

December 24, 2017 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

Thank you, thank you muchas gracias for this site. I don't know
what we chexers would do without your labors. Don't know how
you keep up with all this stuff. I've only had a computer for a short
while, bought to make reservations, etc for Italy trip. How did I
find this site? It's a mystery. Could be from NYT. Don't know.
Anyway, Happy Holiday of your choice to one and all.
My choice is home alone with my husband of 9 months with a
fire and some great wine.

December 24, 2017 | Unregistered Commenterforrest morris

@forrest morris: I don't think I knew you got married. I recall years ago -- before Obergefell v. Hodges was decided, I presume -- that state law made it pretty much impossible -- and that that had made me angry.

At any rate, congratulations to you & your husband. You're still newlyweds! Your holiday plans sound perfect. I'm so happy for you both.

Marie

December 24, 2017 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

@Marie, (also, my mothers name) thank you for the congrats.
Brought tears to my eyes. And straights in the hood thru a big
party for us since we had been together for 35 years and had
watched their children grow up, and then the grandchildren,
which one was named after my husband, Theo. This don't happen
in Alabama and, etc.

December 24, 2017 | Unregistered Commenterforrest morris
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