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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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Wednesday
Mar092011

The Commentariat -- March 10

Vow of Bigotry. There have been numerous protests and newspaper articles demonizing these hearings, but I wanted to let you know that I will not back down to the hysteria created by my opponents and will continue with the hearings. -- Rep. Peter King (R-NY), in an e-mail to supporters; includes a link for donations

Delusions of Grandstanding. Keep doing what you’re doing. All I’d be worried about is some congressman or senator who thinks he’s Dick Tracy or James Bond or tries to get cheap headlines by holding Sunday news conferences announcing some big ‘disclosure.’ -- Character in Peter King's novel Vale of Tears. Read more excerpts here. Really, do.

The only real testimony we have on it was actually from Sheikh Kabbani, who was a Muslim leader during the Clinton Administration, he testified, this is back in 1999 and 2000, before the State Department that he thought over 80 percent of the mosques in this country are controlled by radical Imams. Certainly from what I've seen and dealings I've had, that number seems accurate. -- Peter King, Jan. 24, 2011. Glenn Kessler, the Washington Post fact-checker, was going to give King "quite a few Pinocchios" until King told him he was taking back his claim ...

... Amy Sullivan of Time on Rep. Keith Ellison's (D-Minn.) testimony before King's panel -- literally a tearjerker. Update 1: C-SPAN has the video here. Rep. Ellison's remarks begin about 21 min. in. His closing remarks, which Sullivan highlights, begin at about 33 min. into the video. Update 2: Here are Ellison's closing remarks. ...

... Chris Good of The Atlantic has the full text of Ellison's remarks, as prepared. ...

... A little perspective from Josh Gerstein of Politico: "While King has been slammed for focusing solely on Muslims — the title of his investigation is 'The Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and that Community’s Response' — five Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee hearings since 2006 have had the phrase 'violent Islamist extremism' in their descriptions.... Observers and some Muslim activists said King’s plan triggered an intense reaction because of the congressman’s own past statements that Muslims found offensive...."

Nicholas Kristof, with a little help from Air Force Gen. Merrill McPeak, makes the case for imposing a no-fly zone over Libya. ...

... Scott Wilson of the Washington Post: "President Obama is content to let other nations publicly lead the search for solutions to the Libyan conflict, his advisers say, a stance that reflects the more humble tone he has sought to bring to U.S. foreign policy but one that also opens him to criticism that he is a weak leader."

Justice Scalia Objects -- to the "Utter Nonsense" of His "Unprincipled," "Irrational," "Incoherent" Fellow Justices. Linda Greenhouse, in the New York Times: "the question raised by Justice Scalia’s most recent intemperate display remains: what does this smart, rhetorically gifted man think his bullying accomplishes?" ...

... Stephen Colbert interviews Rep. Anthony Weiner about Justice Clarence Thomas' "objectivity" on healthcare legislation:

 

... Dahlia Lithwick, in Slate, on the Justices's views of privacy rights: "As they come to the realization that there are indeed no more private spaces in America, some justices might be more inclined to chip away at the First Amendment to protect what's left of them."

Greg Sargent: "In a situation where they had repeated opportunities to resolve this standoff and plausibly declare victory for themselves, [Wisconsin Republicans] have now ensured that this battle is only going to escalate.... A lawyer told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that the move appeared to violate the state's open meetings law. One assumes this is headed for court, but let's just presume for the moment that the move will stand.... This kind of conduct is exactly what recalls are for." ...

... Lee Fang of Think Progress: "In an interview with Fox News’ Megyn Kelly..., State Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI), one of [Gov. Scott] Walker’s closest allies in the legislature, confirmed the true political motive of Walker’s anti-union push. Fitzgerald explained that 'this battle' is about eliminating unions so that 'the money is not there' for the labor movement. Specifically, he said that the destruction of unions will make it 'much more difficult' for President Obama to win reelection in Wisconsin." With video.

Tony Romm of Politico: "Democrats on the Senate’s newest privacy panel are urging Facebook to 'reverse' a plan that would allow app developers the ability to request access to users’ addresses, phone numbers and other contact information. It’s the strongest signal of concern yet coming from Capitol Hill, where other members have questioned Facebook’s new feature since the social network disabled it amid controversy in January."

Liam Stack & Neil MacFarquhar of the New York Times: "The files have started flowing out of Egypt’s dreaded state security headquarters, part of the post-uprising rush to excavate some of the state’s darkest corners.... Egyptians want an accounting for years of arrest and torture, and a way to prevent any organization from gaining such powers in the future.... Charred pages blowing around the grounds of state security buildings underscored fears that much information was already being lost. On Saturday night, the sight of a dump truck emerging from the Cairo compound laden with shredded paper sent protesters into a fury, creating the momentum that drove the crowd past the army soldiers outside and into the hastily abandoned main building."

Dan Balz of the Washington Post remembers Post columnist & political reporter David Broder, who died Wednesday. ...

... Rick Hertzberg: "As a columnist, he was relentlessly, irritatingly 'centrist,' which, over the past couple of decades, usually meant splitting the difference between the views of moderate-to-liberal Democrats and those of very conservative Republicans. His reportorial shrewdness was impressive, but his wisdom was numbingly conventional. So I’ve done my share of knocking 'Broderism' over the years. But today I’m remembering David Broder simply as a kind man."

Right Wing World

Lies & the Lying Liars, a Media Matters video:

Like the proverbial monkey who types out the complete works of Shakespeare, sometimes David Brooks gets it right:

Newt Gingrich is not going to be President. I wouldn't let that guy run a 7-Eleven, let alone a country. No management skills.
-- David Brooks

Local News

Richard Perez-Pena of the New York Times: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's "misstatements, exaggerations and carefully constructed claims belie the national image he has built as a blunt talker who gives straight answers to hard questions, especially about budgets and labor relations. Candor is central to Mr. Christie’s appeal, and a review of his public statements over the past year shows some of them do not hold up to scrutiny." Here are paraphrases of a few whoppers: "New Jersey’s public-sector unions routinely pressure the State Legislature to give them what they fail to win in contract talks. Most government workers pay nothing for health insurance. Concessions by school employees would have prevented any cuts in school programs last year."

News Ledes

New York Times: "Emotions ran high at a much-anticipated hearing Thursday on the radicalization of American Muslims, with some witnesses describing what they called a stealth campaign to promote extremism and terrorism in American mosques and others expressing concern that such broad accusations could themselves alienate Muslims and empower Al Qaeda."

New York Times: "The state Assembly voted 53-42 Thursday on a bill that sharply curtails bargaining rights for government workers, sending the bill to Gov. Scott Walker who promised to sign it as soon as possible.... The police ... denied entry to legislators, including at least two Democratic Assembly members — David Cullen and Elizabeth Coggs. Mr. Cullen was turned away even after displaying his Assembly identification." ...

... Wisconsin State Journal: "Thousands of protesters rushed to the state Capitol Wednesday night, forcing their way through doors, crawling through windows and jamming corridors, as word spread of hastily called votes on Gov. Scott Walker's controversial bill limiting collective bargaining rights for public workers. The Capitol overnight crowd had gone mostly silent by 2:15 a.m. Thursday after a nearly continuous stream of protest songs, drumming and the occasional bagpiping since about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. Protesters on the ground floor of the state Capitol rotunda led others in Woodie Guthrie's 'This Land Is Our Land' just after 2 a.m. then joined about 200 others snoozing in sleeping bags along the Capitol walls."

New York Times: "A first cousin of Afghanistan’s president was killed Wednesday during a night raid by NATO and Afghan forces in which they detained the man’s son as a suspected Taliban commander, as well as several of the family’s bodyguards. The case brought the sensitive issue of civilian casualties into the presidential palace and added to the already tense relationship between the Afghans and the Americans."

AP: "With fierce barrages of tank and artillery fire, Moammar Gadhafi's loyalists threw rebels into a frantic retreat from a strategic oil port Thursday in a counteroffensive that reversed the opposition's advance toward the capital of Tripoli and now threatens its positions in the east." ...

... BBC News: "Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi's security forces detained and beat up a BBC news team who were trying to reach the strife-torn western city of Zawiya. Members of the three-man team were beaten with fists, knees and rifles, hooded and subjected to mock executions by Libyan troops and secret police. The three were detained on Monday and held for 21 hours, but have now flown out of Libya." With a compelling video.

... New York Times: "Moving ahead of its allies, France said on Thursday that it would become the first country to recognize Libya’s rebel leadership in the eastern city of Benghazi and would soon exchange ambassadors with the insurgents." ...

... Politico: "Defense Secretary Robert Gates is beginning consultations in Brussels with his defense counterparts on an issue that has divided Washington and capitals across Europe: Should NATO intervene militarily in Libya?"

The Hill: "Senate Democrats suffered a wave of defections Wednesday as their proposal to cut just over $6 billion from federal spending this year went down to defeat. The Democratic bill attracted two fewer votes than the rival GOP measure that would cut spending by another $57 billion this year."

New York Times: "Faced with growing protests throughout Yemen calling for him to step down, President Ali Abdullah Saleh announced on Thursday that a new constitution to transfer power from the president to a parliamentary system would be drafted and put to a referendum by the end of this year."

Leading by Example. New York Times: "The Dalai Lama announced on Thursday he would formally relinquish his political leadership role in the Tibetan exile government, a decision intended to strengthen the democratic structure of the Tibetan movement on the eve of elections to choose a new generation of political leaders."

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