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The Washington Post offers tips on how to keep your EV battery running in frigid temperatures. The link at the end of this graf is supposed to be a "gift link" (from me, Marie Burns, the giftor!), meaning that non-subscribers can read the article. Hope it works: https://wapo.st/3u8Z705

Marie: BTW, if you think our government sucks, I invite you to watch the PBS special "The Real story of Mr Bates vs the Post Office," about how the British post office falsely accused hundreds, or perhaps thousands, of subpostmasters of theft and fraud, succeeded in obtaining convictions and jail time, and essentially stole tens of thousands of pounds from some of them. Oh, and lied about it all. A dramatization of the story appeared as a four-part "Masterpiece Theater," which you still may be able to pick it up on your local PBS station. Otherwise, you can catch it here (for now). Just hope this does give our own Postmaster General Extraordinaire Louis DeJoy any ideas.

The Mysterious Roman Dodecahedron. Washington Post: A “group of amateur archaeologists sift[ing] through ... an ancient Roman pit in eastern England [found] ... a Roman dodecahedron, likely to have been placed there 1,700 years earlier.... Each of its pentagon-shaped faces is punctuated by a hole, varying in size, and each of its 20 corners is accented by a semi-spherical knob.” Archaeologists don't know what the Romans used these small dodecahedrons for but the best guess is that they have some religious significance.

"Countless studies have shown that people who spend less time in nature die younger and suffer higher rates of mental and physical ailments." So this Washington Post page allows you to check your own area to see how good your access to nature is.

Marie: If you don't like birthing stories, don't watch this video. But I thought it was pretty sweet -- and funny:

If you like Larry David, you may find this interview enjoyable:


Tracy Chapman & Luke Combs at the 2024 Grammy Awards. Allison Hope comments in a CNN opinion piece:

~~~ Here's Chapman singing "Fast Car" at the Oakland Coliseum in December 1988. ~~~

~~~ Here's the full 2024 Grammy winner's list, via CBS.

He Shot the Messenger. Washington Post: “The Messenger is shutting down immediately, the news site’s founder told employees in an email Wednesday, marking the abrupt demise of one of the stranger and more expensive recent experiments in digital media. In his email, Jimmy Finkelstein said he was 'personally devastated' to announce that he had failed in a last-ditch effort to raise more money for the site, saying that he had been fundraising as recently as the night before. Finkelstein said the site, which launched last year with outsize ambitions and a mammoth $50 million budget, would close 'effective immediately.' The New York Times first reported the site’s closure late Wednesday afternoon, appearing to catch many staffers off-guard, including editor in chief Dan Wakeford. As employees read the news story, the internal work chat service Slack erupted in what one employee called 'pandemonium.'... Minutes later, as staffers read Finkelstein’s email, its message was underscored as they were forcibly logged out of their Slack accounts. Former Messenger reporter Jim LaPorta posted on social media that employees would not receive health care or severance.”

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Saturday
Apr272024

The Conversation -- April 28, 2024

Tia Goldenberg, et al., of the AP: The White House on Sunday said U.S. President Joe Biden had again spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as pressure builds on Israel and Hamas to reach a deal that would free some Israeli hostages and bring a cease-fire in the nearly seven-month-long war in Gaza. The White House said that Biden reiterated his 'clear position' as Israel plans to invade Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah despite global concern for more than 1 million Palestinians sheltering there. The U.S. opposes the invasion on humanitarian grounds, straining relations between the allies. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is returning to the Middle East on Monday. Biden also stressed that progress in delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza be 'sustained and enhanced,' according to the statement."

Karen Tumulty of the Washington Post: "Almost from the start of his appearance [at the White House Correspondents' Dinner] in what is traditionally a lighthearted evening, [President] Biden took the kind of personal swipes at his opponent that we have rarely heard from him.... And toward the end, Biden chastised the media: 'I'm sincerely not asking you to take sides. I'm asking you to rise up to the seriousness of the moment. Move past the horse race numbers and the gotcha moments and the distractions, the side shows that have come to dominate and sensationalize our politics, and focus on what's actually at stake.... The stakes couldn't be higher.'... Given [the forces against him], the best option for Biden now -- perhaps his only one -- ... is to start drawing a sharper, no-holds-barred contrast with Trump and what it would mean if he is allowed to return to the White House."

Donald Trump Has Been Asking, "Are You Better Off Than You Were Four Years Ago?" Let's Check. Top News in at NBC News, April 28, 2020: "To the surprise of exactly no one, President Trump resumed his daily coronavirus news briefings on Monday, just two days after tweeting that they were 'not worth the time & effort' and just hours after his own White House officially canceled the planned appearance. The lure of cameras in the Rose Garden proved too hard to resist. For a president who relishes the spotlight and spends hours a day watching television, the idea of passing on his daily chance to get his message out turned out to be untenable despite his anger over his coverage. And so he was back, defending his handling of the pandemic and promising to reopen the country soon.:

~~~~~~~~~~

Zolan Kanno-Youngs, et al., of the New York Times: 'Just minutes into his speech at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner on Saturday, [President] Biden launched into the issues dominating the 2024 election.... 'The 2024 election's in full swing and yes, age is an issue,' Mr. Biden said in a roughly 10-minute speech. 'I'm a grown man running against a 6-year-old.... Donald has had a few tough days lately. You might call it "stormy" weather,' Mr. Biden said.... Outside the gates of the Washington Hilton, however..., many [dinner attendees] were swarmed by pro-Palestinian protesters chanting, 'Shame on you!' Other protesters wearing press vests with the names of more than 100 Palestinian journalists who have been killed in Gaza lay down in front of the dinner venue.... Kelly O'Donnell, a senior White House reporter for NBC News who is also president of the correspondents' association, used her remarks to call attention to journalists who have been captured or killed while doing their jobs.... Colin Jost, the co-anchor of 'Weekend Update' on 'Saturday Night Live' ... spent roughly 23 minutes poking fun at the president.... He ended [his speech] by noting that his grandfather, who recently died, had voted for Mr. Biden in the last election. 'The reason he voted for you is because you're a decent man,' Mr. Jost said." Politico's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ YouTube video of Colin Jost's set is here.

      ~~~ Thanks to RAS for the link.

How Not to Store Top Secret Docs. Alexander Mallin & Katherine Faulders of ABC News: "A coat hanger or 'very tiny screwdriver' could be used to unlock the Mar-a-Lago storage room where ... Donald Trump stored highly classified documents for more than a year, according to a witness in Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation. The account was relayed to FBI agents by an unidentified aide to Trump in January 2023, according to newly released exhibits, and further undercuts claims by Trump that the highly-classified materials he's accused of taking with him after leaving office were secured at all times. The transcript of the interview was released as part of an ongoing effort by Trump and his co-defendants to make additional evidence gathered by Special Counsel Smith public." MB: Just maybe Trump isn't helping himself by insisting on "transparency."

A doctor, a lawyer and a CEO walk into a bar. The punchline: they're all fake electors.

Presidential Race

Neil Vigdor of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump is sharpening his attacks on the independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as new polls show an overlap between their core supporters. In a series of posts on his Truth Social media platform on Friday night, Mr. Trump ... took aim at both Mr. Kennedy and his running mate, Nicole Shanahan, a wealthy Silicon Valley lawyer and investor. 'RFK Jr. is a Democrat "Plant," a Radical Left Liberal who's been put in place in order to help Crooked Joe Biden, the Worst President in the History of the United States, get Re-Elected,' Mr. Trump wrote.... Mr. Trump referred to [Shanahan] as the 'V.P. Candidate that nobody ever heard of' and denigrated her business credentials. 'Her business was doing surgery on her husband's wallet!' Mr. Trump wrote in a post."

Anna Betts, et al., of the New York Times: "Nearly 200 protesters were arrested on Saturday at Northeastern University, Arizona State University and Indiana University, according to officials, as colleges across the country struggle to quell growing pro-Palestinian demonstrations and encampments on campus. More than 700 protesters have been arrested on U.S. campuses since April 18, when Columbia University had the New York Police Department clear a protest encampment there. In several cases, most of those who were arrested have been released." Includes a map pinpointing where protests have occurred and arrests have been made.

~~~~~~~~~~

New Jersey Senate Race. The Talented Mr. Kim. Christopher Maag of the New York Times: Shortly after Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) announced he would not resign from office despite the federal corruption case against him, Rep. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) "posted [an announcement he would seek the seat] on social media...., kicked off perhaps the luckiest Senate campaign in modern New Jersey history. Over the next six months, Mr. Kim went from underdog to front-runner, outmaneuvering Tammy Murphy, the wife of Gov. Philip D. Murphy, who joined the race in November and quickly won the support of New Jersey's powerful Democratic Party machine. In late March, Mr. Menendez said he would not run in the party's primary. Three days later, Ms. Murphy ended her campaign.... [Although there are other candidates in both parties' primaries,] Mr. Kim has now become the odds-on favorite [to win the Senate seat].... Over his six years in Congress, Mr. Kim, 41, has appeared to his constituents as a nerdy and earnest public servant, said Patrick Murray, director of The Polling Institute at Monmouth University in New Jersey. This image went national on Jan. 7, 2021, when he was photographed gathering trash left by rioters in the U.S. Capitol rotunda."

South Dakota. Maegan Vazquez of the Washington Post gathers some reactions to Gov. Kristi Noem's boasting that she shot dead both her young dog and a goat on the same day because they annoyed her, the dog because it killed some chickens and the goat because it smelled like a goat. No thumbs-up in the reactions. Gregory Svirnovskiy of Politico also collects condemnations of Noem's killing spree. ~~~

~~~~~~~~~~

Russia. Reuters: "U.S. intelligence agencies have determined that Russian President Vladimir Putin probably didn't order opposition politician Alexei Navalny killed at an Arctic prison camp in February, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.... The Kremlin has denied any state involvement. Last month, Putin called Navalny's demise 'sad' and said he had been ready to hand the jailed politician over to the West in a prisoner exchange provided Navalny never return to Russia. Navalny's allies said such talks had been under way.... [The Journal] said Washington had not absolved the Russian leader of overall responsibility for Navalny's death however, given the opposition politician had been targeted by Russian authorities for years, jailed on charges the West said were politically motivated, and had been poisoned in 2020 with a nerve agent."

Comments Off

Reader Comments (7)

Too much sanity?

https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2024/05/09/israel-the-way-out-david-shulman/?

Probably fire-walled for those without a subscription, but....

April 28, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkes

@Ken Winkes: Yes, it is firewalled, but I can say that just the first two paragraphs, which non-subscribers can read, were sickening.

The URL indicates Shulman suggests a route for "the way out." I'd like to know what that is.

April 28, 2024 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

From the David Shulman article: They tend to be fanatical men, or
adolescent boys, brainwashed, pocalyptic and messianic, who have
emerged from the dark and brutal undercurrents of religious Zionism.

They want to rid the West Bank of all non-Jews in order to hasten the
arrival of the Messiah, who is scheduled to turn up as soon as this
campaign of ethnic cleansing is finished.

Sounds like a bunch of nut jobs in this country, wanting to hasten
the Rapture (should be Raptor).

April 28, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterForrestMorris

A few days ago, RAS linked an article by Peterr at emptywheel. Peterr included some of the transcript of the Supremes' immunity hearing, and this bit made me laugh out loud:

Alito: "... And then there has to be a trial, and that may involve great expense and it may take up a lot of time, and during the trial, the — the former president may be unable to engage in other activities that the former president would want to engage in. And then the outcome is dependent on the jury, the instructions to the jury and how the jury returns a verdict, and then it has to be taken up on appeal...."

All totally hypothetical, of course -- I mean, what "other activities" could a former president "want to engage in"?

Good grief! As Rachel Maddow pointed out the evening of the hearing day, Alito kept telling the DOJ's attorney Michael Dreeben that he didn't want to talk about specifics like, you know, Trump's plotting a coup, but then he gets right down to talking about "other activities" -- like, perchance, running for president* to try to get out of going to jail.

As Patrick asked, "Do these justices know that we can hear them?"

April 28, 2024 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

The piece suggests the Right Wing Israelis have by rejecting previous peace plans put the country on a course to oblivion.

Took three things from it.

Those objecting to the annihilation of Gaza are the sane ones (which says something important about our campus protests).

Biden is stuck between the proverbial rock and...and even the anti-semitic R's are happy about it.

The "way out" Shulman suggests won't happen as long as Bibi and the loony Israel Right is in even nominal charge.

A depressing Sunday morning read. Sorry I brought it up.

April 28, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkes

If those fanatics believe that the Messiah is waiting for them to clear the West Bank (and I must suppose, all Eretz Israel) after which he will come, then they have committed a number of grievous errors and sins, in their own tradition and faith. To wit:
-- God does not await contingencies provided by man, and to believe otherwise is the primary sin of pride.
-- God will not be tempted to action, by the acts of man or anything
-- Man cannot know God's will.

If you've ever spent any time in the Sinai or the Negev, you can understand how those places, given time, can make one hear voices and see visions. Those who experience such things don't rely on facts or logic to inform their beliefs. When they think God told them to clear out all the Amalekites, even if he spoke to their friend and not directly to them, they're willing to believe because God speaks to prophets directly and who is to say their friend is not a prophet. Or Bibi for that matter. And if God wants you to do something it is per se OK. After you've gone nuts you don't realize that you are committing a big sin, you believe that you are executing God's will. By the time you know that you are a killer, you cling to that belief because to give up on it is to know your capital error.

That is a big part of 4,000 years of middle east history.

April 28, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterPatrick

Patrick,

Clearly, more American have spent time in the Negev than I had known...

or can one carry his own little personal Negev with him. wherever he goes?

April 28, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkes
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