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 Wires
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The Ledes

Friday, September 27, 2024

New York Times: “Maggie Smith, one of the finest British stage and screen actors of her generation, whose award-winning roles ranged from a freethinking Scottish schoolteacher in 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie' to the acid-tongued dowager countess on 'Downton Abbey,' died on Friday in London. She was 89.”

The Washington Post's live updates of developments related to Hurricane Helene are here: “Hurricane Helene left one person dead in Florida and two in Georgia as it sped north. One of the biggest storms on record to hit the Gulf Coast, Helene slammed into Florida’s Big Bend area on Thursday night as a Category 4 colossus with winds of up to 140 mph before weakening to Category 1. Catastrophic winds and torrential rain from the storm — which the National Hurricane Center forecast would eventually slow over the Tennessee Valley — were expected to continue Friday across the Southeast and southern Appalachians.” ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times' live updates are here.

Mediaite: “Fox Weather’s Bob Van Dillen was reporting live on Fox & Friends about flooding in Atlanta from Hurricane Helene when he was interrupted by the screams of a woman trapped in her car. During the 7 a.m. hour, Van Dillen was filing a live report on the massive flooding in the area. Fox News viewers could clearly hear the urgent screams for help emerging from a car stuck on a flooded road in the background of the live shot. Van Dillen ... told Fox & Friends that 911 had been called and that the local Fire Department was on its way. But as he continued to file the report, the screams did not stop, so Van Dillen cut the live shot short.... Some 10 minutes later, Fox & Friends aired live footage of Van Dillen carrying the woman to safety, waking through chest-deep water while the flooding engulfed her car in the background[.]”

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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
Nov052011

The Commentariat -- November 6

Thomas Edsall in a New York Times op-ed: "The Republican Party ... has reverted to the penny-pinching of an earlier era, the green eyeshade Grand Old Party of Herbert Hoover and Robert Taft..., evident in the first budget passed by the Republican-controlled House — the Paul Ryan 'path to prosperity' budget with $4 trillion in cuts — and the subsequent Aug. 2 debt ceiling agreement. The new embattled partisan environment allows conservatives to pit taxpayers against tax consumers, those dependent on safety-net programs against those who see such programs as eating away at their personal income and assets.... The sociologist and political scientist Theda Skocpol and her colleagues ... found that opposition to government spending was concentrated on resentment of federal government 'handouts.' ... The conservative agenda, in a climate of scarcity, racializes policy making, calling for deep cuts in programs for the poor.... The politics of austerity are inherently favorable to conservatives and inhospitable to liberals.... Austerity feeds on itself... Retrenchment, in effect, becomes a noose, choking off prospects for growth."

Profs. Roger Backhouse & Bradley Bateman, in a New York Times op-ed: economists have lost the vision thing; Occupy Wall Street might help them look at macroeconomic systems more comprehensively.

News is what people want to keep hidden. Everything else is publicity. -- A U. Texas journalism professor of Bill Moyers' ...

... ** Moyers speaks at the 40th anniversary of Public Citizen. The Nation has published an adaptation of the speech. (Thanks to a reader for the link.) The speech & adaptation each contain material not contained in the other, so it's worth watching and reading:

     ... The Public Citizen site is here. See also videos of speeches by Rep. Donna Edwards, Ralph Nader & Jim Hightower.

Eliot Spitzer, in Slate, lists five goals he thinks Occupy Wall Street can agree to advance:

  1. Call for a full rollback of the Bush tax cuts for all those above $1 million in annual income.
  2. Demand true accountability on Wall Street.
  3. Demand that a financial service transaction fee be imposed.
  4. Start a petition drive in every state demanding that the state municipal governments stop using Goldman Sachs for advice and underwriting until Goldman Sachs returns the $12.9 billion dollars it received, from the taxpayers, as a part of the AIG bailout.
  5. Demand that the New York Fed have 'public' board members who truly represent the public.

William Galston of the Brookings Institution makes the in a New York Times op-ed that voting should be mandatory, a move that besides enforcing participatory democracy could reduce governmental polarization. He cites the effectiveness of mandatory voting in Australia and suggests experiments in implementing mandatory voting begin at the state level.

Jodi Kantor of the New York Times has more (see yesterday's links) on former President Clinton's new book Back to Work. "... the former president has been so frustrated at what he sees as the current one’s failure to explain his economic policies that he has literally decided to write his own version of the story.... His private critique...: incredulity that the president and Democratic leaders did not raise the debt ceiling during the 2010 lame-duck session; bafflement that many beneficiaries of Mr. Obama’s policies 'didn’t even know about' his actions; and frustration about the lack of a powerful Democratic message in the midterm elections." CW: Clinton is right about each of these. For instance, Most Americans -- especially "real" ones -- profess abhorrence of the stimulus bill, yet they have no idea that it gave each of them his own personal tax break. I've heard most of Obama's speeches, and I'm not sure he's ever directly said -- "I gave you a tax break. Almost every Republican voted against it." He should have said that 200 times.

** When an Ear of Corn Isn't Just an Ear of Corn. Steven Pearlstein of the Washington Post: You're paying more for commodities like corn, wheat & copper because of Wall Street commodities futures speculation. "The financialization of the economy continues undeterred, creating a bubble in commodities just as it did with houses and office buildings. The industry is still engaged in clever games to circumvent regulation, increase risk and find the cracks between one regulatory agency and another.... You can bet what’s left in your 401(k) that there’s about to be a commodities bubble — one that will generate big fees for Wall Street and leave a mess for everyone else." CW: read this column against the backdrop of GOP cries for reducing/eliminating regulation.

Teacher, poet Taylor Mali recites his poem "What Teachers Make":

... David Firestone of the New York Times: "Republican state lawmakers in the Upper Midwest have been remarkably successful this year in stripping public employees of their bargaining rights, but that campaign could slam to a halt on Tuesday when Ohio voters get a chance to weigh in. Unions and business groups have poured a huge amount of time and money into a referendum on whether to overturn Senate Bill 5, signed into law in March by Gov. John Kasich. The measure bans negotiations on health benefits for public employees, including police officers and firefighters, and makes it virtually impossible to bargain on staffing or to collect dues properly." ...

... Paul West of the Los Angeles Times: "An aggressive Republican drive to weaken the labor rights of government workers appears to have crested, at least in Ohio, where voters are expected to throw out a far-reaching anti-union law this week. The referendum over collective bargaining for public employees, potentially the most important contest in off-year elections around the nation, is being closely watched for clues about shifting voter trends in a state expected to play its usual outsized role in next year's presidential contest."

"Combat by Camera." David Cloud & David Zucchino of the Los Angeles Times: "The decision to fire a missile from one of the growing fleet of U.S. drones is made as ground commanders, pilots and analysts at far-flung military installations analyze video and data feeds from the combat zone and communicate through voice and text messages. The system is far from foolproof.... Multiple missteps led to the drone killing of U.S. troops in Afghanistan."

CW: Why was it the House of Representatives needed to reaffirm that the U.S. motto is "In God We Trust"? According to the resolution, which passed 396-9, ""Whereas if religion and morality are taken out of the marketplace of ideas, the very freedom on which the United States was founded cannot be secured." More than 9 MoC's should have had the guts to vote against a resolution that endorses religion. Jerks. Michael Shermer, writing in the Los Angeles Times: "What is troubling ... is the implication that in this age of science and technology, computers and cyberspace, and liberal democracies securing rights and freedoms for oppressed peoples all over the globe, that anyone could still hold to the belief that religion has a monopoly on morality and that the foundation of trust is based on engraving four words on brick and paper.... It's up to us to secure our freedom through enlightened secular policies with practical social applications rather than faith-based hope in empty mottoes reflecting an era gone by."

Dean Baker takes another swipe at the Washington Post's Social Security hit job of last weekend (the following links are to cited material): "If there were ever any doubts that 'Fox on 15th Street' was a fitting label for the Washington Post, Patrick Pexton, the paper's ombudsman removed them with his defense of the Post's front page piece on Social Security last Sunday."

Right Wing World

Philip Elliott of the AP: "Republican presidential contender Herman [Cain] on Saturday vowed to answer no more questions about decade-old sexual harassment allegations and blamed journalists for the claims that have dogged his campaign. Growing agitated with reporters after a one-on-one debate with rival Newt Gingrich, the former business executive suggested the reporters who asked questions about the allegations were unethical. Asked if he planned to never answer questions about the incidents, he was certain. 'You got it,' he snapped, even as the allegations leave plenty of doubts about Cain's candidacy."

Tea Party Family Values. Lee Fang of Think Progress: "... the Family Research Council, a social conservative advocacy nonprofit headed by CNN pundit Tony Perkins, has awarded [Illinois Republican Rep. Joe] Walsh a 100 percent rating as a 'True Blue' member of Congress. The FRC said it gave the honor to Walsh because of his 'unwavering support of the family.'" As of July, Walsh, "a Tea Party freshman in Congress, owed $117,000 in unpaid child support to his ex-wife. Walsh ... has continued to refuse to pay his ex-wife to support his children.... As Marie Diamond noted ... a few months ago, 'Walsh also rejected the congressional health insurance plan for his family on principle, much to the chagrin of his current wife, Helene, who had a preexisting condition and needed surgery while the couple was uninsured.'"

Yay! The Koch brothers-funded Americans for Prosperity stands up against crony capitalism. Stephen Lacey of Think Progress: "Keep in mind, the ad below lamenting 'political favors' is being run by groups that have paid tens of thousands of dollars to sit down directly with other corporations and policy makers to write state laws, then engage in aggressive campaigns to get those laws passed. Welcome to the 2012 campaign season — bought and sold by the 1%." (Thanks to reader Jeanne B. for the link.):

News Ledes

Washington Post: "Intelligence provided to U.N. nuclear officials shows that Iran’s government has mastered the critical steps needed to build a nuclear weapon, receiving assistance from foreign scientists to overcome key technical hurdles, according to Western diplomats and nuclear experts briefed on the findings."

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "Police arrested about 20 demonstrators on the streets around Woodruff Park late Saturday as the Occupy Atlanta protest took an unexpected turn onto Peachtree Street." ...

... Los Angeles Times: "Police were called to two violent incidents at Occupy Los Angeles on Friday, adding to questions about the protest and its future. In the morning, a woman was arrested at the encampment outside City Hall after she set another person's clothes on fire, police said. In another incident hours later, a woman was arrested after protesters said she struck a man with a tent pole. Both were booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon.... City officials say ... up until now protesters at Occupy Los Angeles have been mostly peaceful."

AP: "Nicaraguan president and one-time Sandinista revolutionary Daniel Ortega appears headed for victory Sunday in an election that his critics say could be the prelude to a presidency-for-life. Since returning to power in 2007, the 65-year-old Ortega has boosted his popularity in Central America's poorest country with a combination of pork-barrel populism and support for the free-market economy he once opposed."

AP: "Guatemalans rattled by soaring violence choose Sunday between two right-leaning presidential candidates: a former general who promises law and order and a tycoon-turned-political populist whose proposals include more social programs and zero tolerance on crime. Polls show Otto Perez Molina, 61, a retired general and former military intelligence director running for the right-wing Patriotic Party, at least 10 to 15 points ahead of Manuel Baldizon, 41, of the Democratic Freedom Revival party."
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