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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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Friday
Feb182011

The Commentariat -- February 19

Quote of the Day. Opposable thumbs that once symbolized our superior intelligence and separated us from the apes are now used to type gibberish on our mobile devices. -- Gemli from Boston, who is sick of Republicans (Comment #3)

Dems on the Run. Scott Bauer of the AP: "Democrats on the run in Wisconsin avoided state troopers Friday and threatened to stay in hiding for weeks, potentially paralyzing the state government in a standoff with majority Republicans over union rights for public employees." ...

... David Morgan of CBS News: State Senator Jon Erpenbach -- one of the Democratic lawmakers [who fled Wisconsin] -- told 'The Early Show on Saturday Morning' that the Republican governor's proposal 'has torn the state of Wisconsin apart.'" No video, but CBS videos are problematic anyway.

... Harold Meyerson of the Washington Post: Wisconsin Gov. Scott "Walker's proposal lets police and firefighter unions retain their collective bargaining rights and, thereby, their institutional clout, even though their taxpayer-supported pensions are among the most generous in the state. Not coincidentally, a number of police and firefighter unions supported Walker in the last election, and such unions tend to endorse more conservative candidates than, say, teachers' unions. So what Walker is really doing is going after unions that support Democrats." These unions "... also, and always, wage the biggest and most successful get-out-the-vote campaigns in minority communities -- communities that tend to vote heavily Democratic." ...

... Ezra Klein on the specifics of Gov. Walker's union-busting legislation. "... it's telling that he's exempting the unions that supported him and is trying to obscure his plan's specifics behind misleading language about what unions can still bargain for and misleading rhetoric about the state's budget." ...

... John Nichols of the Madison Capital Times on how the protests have grown to include students & people outside the public sector. ...

... Steven Greenhouse of the New York Times: "... the legislative push by Wisconsin’s new governor, Scott Walker, a Republican, to slash the collective bargaining rights of his state’s public employees could prove a watershed for public-sector unions, perhaps signaling the beginning of a decline in their power — both at the bargaining table and in politics." ...

... Michael Cooper & Katharine Seelye of the New York Times: "The unrest in Wisconsin this week over Gov. Scott Walker’s plan to cut the bargaining rights and benefits of public workers is spreading to other states."

He's basically trying to be everything to everybody. Until you look at the policies, and then it's clear he's there for the corporate sector. -- Rose Ann DeMoro, director of National Nurses United, on President Obama ...

... Peter Wallsten of the Washington Post: "Two years into a presidency that carried immense promises for the labor movement..., some unions remain firmly by [President Obama's] side, while others think he has reneged on promises or ... abandoned them altogether.... Officials from ... the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, said that tens of thousands of its members have been laid off and that they don't see the White House advocating for them. John Gage, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, said he 'resented' the president's recent calls to reorganize the government and freeze salaries.... Pointing to Obama's defense this week of Wisconsin public workers, Gage said, 'It's about time.'" ...

... Gail Collins on Big Bird, the Daytona 500 & the Fitzgerald gang of Wisconsin. Okay, she's really written a column about budgets, but as usual, she makes it more entertaining than the numbers.

... Constant Weader: Where the Hell is Hilda Solis?

Gretchen Morgenson of the New York Times has more on the decision of the DOJ to drop the criminal probe of Anthony Mozilo, a story I linked late last night & moved up to today's ledes. Morgenson writes:

The conclusion by prosecutors that Mr. Mozilo, 72, did not engage in criminal conduct while directing Countrywide will likely fuel broad concerns that few high-level executives of financial companies are being held accountable for the actions that led to the financial crisis of 2008. Hundreds of billions of dollars have been lost by investors while millions of borrowers have lost their homes. Few of the people who ran the institutions that contributed to the disaster have been found liable.

Mark Landler: of the New York Times: "... the United States government has overlooked recent complaints about human rights abuses in [Bahrain,] a kingdom that is an economic and military hub in the Persian Gulf. ... The White House [is] once again scrambling to deal with an Arab ally facing a tide of popular discontent. ... In cables made public by WikiLeaks, the Bush and Obama administrations repeatedly characterized Bahrain as more open and reform-minded than its neighbors, and pushed back when human rights groups criticized the government. ...

... Nicholas Kristof: "America finds itself in a tough position, and that probably explains President Obama’s very cautious statement saying that he is 'deeply concerned.' ... We should signal more clearly that we align ourselves with the 21st-century aspirations for freedom of Bahrainis rather than the brutality of their medieval monarch. I’m not just deeply 'concerned' by what I’ve seen here. I’m outraged."

This is horrifying audio of ABC News correspondent Miguel Marquez being beaten in Pearl Square in Manama, Bahrain early yesterday morning.

... See also yesterday's Commentariat for video of New York Times reporter Michael Slackman & videographer Sean Patrick Farrell being shot at from a helicopter. Remember, these shooters & thugs are our "friends."

Richard Fausset of the Los Angeles Times: "In 1961, Montgomery, Ala., went all out for the centennial of the swearing-in of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. The 150th anniversary this year is generating far less interest." BUT STILL. "On Saturday, [at] the 150th anniversary event ... hundreds of men are expected to march through the heart of Montgomery. Some will parade in Confederate gray. Some will display the controversial battle flag. On the steps of the white-domed state Capitol, an ersatz Davis will place his hand on a Bible. And a band will play 'Dixie.' But so far, this year's festivities are generating scant buy-in from city and state officials, and relatively little buzz among locals."

News Ledes

New York Times: "As Afghan soldiers and police officers lined up on Saturday to get their monthly salaries at a bank in downtown Jalalabad, they became targets for seven heavily armed attackers in Army uniforms who had joined them, Afghan officials said. In a chaotic scene, the attackers, all wearing explosive vests, started a gun battle, and several rushed into the bank, starting a siege there. The fighting ended three hours later, leaving 18 people dead and about 70 wounded...."

AP: "A prominent opposition leader says the withdrawal of army tanks from Bahrain's capital is not enough to open talks with rulers in the crisis-wracked Gulf nation. Ibrahim Sharif, head of the Waad Society, is demanding guarantees that protesters can stage rallies without fear of being attacked.... The pullback of tanks from the landmark Pearl Square on Saturday comes a day after army units opened fire on marchers streaming toward the site, which had been the symbolic center of their uprising against Bahrain's leaders." ...

     ... New York Times Update: "Thousands of jubilant protesters surged back into the symbolic heart of Bahrain on Saturday after government security forces withdrew and the monarchy called for peace after two days of violent crackdowns." ...

... AP: "Libyans set up neighborhood patrols in the shaken eastern city of Benghazi on Saturday as police disappeared from the streets following an attack by government forces on a two-day-old encampment of protesters demanding an end to Moammar Gadhafi's regime, eyewitnesses said. The situation in the North African nation has become increasingly chaotic, with a human rights group estimating 84 people have died in a harsh crackdown on anti-Gadhafi demonstrations and the U.S.-based Arbor Networks security company saying Internet service was cut off around 2 a.m. Saturday...." ...

     Guardian Update: "Colonel Muammar Gaddafi is confronting the most serious challenge to his 42-year rule as leader of Libya by unleashing his army on unarmed protesters. Unlike the rulers of neighbouring Egypt, Gaddafi has refused to countenance the politics of disobedience, despite growing international condemnation, and the death toll of demonstrators nearing 100."

... Reuters: "Algerian police in riot gear on Saturday surrounded about 500 protesters trying to stage a march through the capital [city of Algiers] inspired by uprisings in other parts of the Arab world in defiance of a ban. A Reuters reporter at the scene said a group chanting 'Algeria -- free and democratic!' tried to reach May 1 Square in the city center to begin the protest march but were driven two blocks away by police using batons."

Reuters: "The Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted on Friday to choke off cash to fund President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law, intensifying a fight with Democrats over budget cuts and deficits." ...

... ABC News: "The House of Representatives Friday passed a measure to end federal funding for abortion provider Planned Parenthood....  Friday afternoon, the House passed the amendment by a vote of 240-185. The vote was generally along party lines, with all but seven Republicans voting for the cut, and 10 Democrats voting in favor. One Republican voted present." ...

... New York Times: "Democrats late Friday night proposed a temporary extension of the stopgap measure now financing the government that would maintain expenditures generally at 2010 levels through March 31 and avert a federal shutdown. The current stopgap measure expires on March 4.... The temporary extension was proposed by ... Nancy Pelosi.... Democrats, however, do not have the votes to approve it without Republican support."

New York Times: "The [U.S.] Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Friday against one of the largest money exchange houses in Afghanistan, [the New Ansari Money Exchange",] along with 15 of its executives, on charges that it used billions of dollars transferred in and out of the country to help hide proceeds from illegal drug sales.... With these actions, the United States has seized any assets New Ansari and its managers hold in the United States. American banks and businesses are prohibited from transactions with those named in the order."

New York Times: "The Obama administration on Friday rescinded most of a 2008 rule that granted sweeping protections to health care providers who opposed abortion, sterilization and other medical procedures on religious or moral grounds. Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of health and human services, said the rule, issued in the last days of the Bush administration, could 'negatively impact patient access to contraception and certain other medical services.'”

Surprise! DOJ Lets Another Bankster Off the Hook. New York Times: "Federal prosecutors have ended a criminal investigation of Angelo R. Mozilo, the former chief executive of the mortgage lender Countrywide Financial, without taking any action against him, according to a person with direct knowledge of the investigation who spoke only on the condition of anonymity."

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