REALITYCHEX.COM - Constant Comments - The Commentariat -- April 17, 2016

The Ledes

Thursday, July 3, 2025

CNBC: “Job growth proved better than expected in June, as the labor market showed surprising resilience and likely taking a July interest rate cut off the table. Nonfarm payrolls increased a seasonally adjusted 147,000 for the month, higher than the estimate for 110,000 and just above the upwardly revised 144,000 in May, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday. April’s tally also saw a small upward revision, now at 158,000 following an 11,000 increase.... Though the jobless rates fell [to 4.1%], it was due largely to a decrease in those working or looking for jobs.”

Washington Post: “A warehouse storing fireworks in Northern California exploded on Tuesday, leaving seven people missing and two injured as explosions continued into Wednesday evening, officials said. Dramatic video footage captured by KCRA 3 News, a Sacramento broadcaster, showed smoke pouring from the building’s roof before a massive explosion created a fireball that seemed to engulf much of the warehouse, accompanied by an echoing boom. Hundreds of fireworks appeared to be going off and were sparkling within the smoke. Photos of the aftermath showed multiple destroyed buildings and a large area covered in gray ash.” ~~~

The Wires

The Ledes

Wednesday, July 2, 2025

New York Times: “The Rev. Jimmy Swaggart, who emerged from the backwoods of Louisiana to become a television evangelist with global reach, preaching about an eternal struggle between good and evil and warning of the temptations of the flesh, a theme that played out in his own life in a sex scandal, died on July 1. He was 90.” ~~~

~~~ For another sort of obituary, see Akhilleus' commentary near the end of yesterday's thread.

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New York Times: “The New York Times Company has agreed to license its editorial content to Amazon for use in the tech giant’s artificial intelligence platforms, the company said on Thursday. The multiyear agreement 'will bring Times editorial content to a variety of Amazon customer experiences,' the news organization said in a statement. Besides news articles, the agreement encompasses material from NYT Cooking, The Times’s food and recipe site, and The Athletic, which focuses on sports. This is The Times’s first licensing arrangement with a focus on generative A.I. technology. In 2023, The Times sued OpenAI and its partner, Microsoft, for copyright infringement, accusing the tech companies of using millions of articles published by The Times to train automated chatbots without any kind of compensation. OpenAI and Microsoft have rejected those accusations.” ~~~

~~~ Marie: I have no idea what this means for "the Amazon customer experience." Does it mean that if I don't have a NYT subscription but do have Amazon Prime I can read NYT content? And where, exactly, would I find that content? I don't know. I don't know.

Washington Post reporters asked three AI image generators what a beautiful woman looks like. "The Post found that they steer users toward a startlingly narrow vision of attractiveness. Prompted to show a 'beautiful woman,' all three tools generated thin women, without exception.... Her body looks like Barbie — slim hips, impossible waist, round breasts.... Just 2 percent of the images showed visible signs of aging. More than a third of the images had medium skin tones. But only nine percent had dark skin tones. Asked to show 'normal women,' the tools produced images that remained overwhelmingly thin.... However bias originates, The Post’s analysis found that popular image tools struggle to render realistic images of women outside the Western ideal." ~~~

~~~ Marie: The reporters seem to think they are calling out the AI programs for being unrealistic. But there's a lot about the "beautiful women" images they miss. I find these omissions remarkably sexist. For one thing, the reporters seem to think AI is a magical "thing" that self-generates. It isn't. It's programmed. It's programmed by boys, many of them incels who have little or no experience or insights beyond comic books and Internet porn of how to gauge female "beauty." As a result, the AI-generated women look like cartoons; that is, a lot like an air-brushed photo of Kristi Noem: globs of every kind of dark eye makeup, Scandinavian nose, Botox lips, slathered-on skin concealer/toner/etc. makeup, long dark hair and the aforementioned impossible Barbie body shape, including huge, round plastic breasts.

New York Times: “George Clooney’s Broadway debut, 'Good Night, and Good Luck,' has been one of the sensations of the 2024-25 theater season, breaking box office records and drawing packed houses of audiences eager to see the popular movie star in a timely drama about the importance of an independent press. Now the play will become much more widely available: CNN is planning a live broadcast of the penultimate performance, on June 7 at 7 p.m. Eastern. The performance will be preceded and followed by coverage of, and discussion about, the show and the state of journalism.”

No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any other way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgment of his equals or by the law of the land. -- Magna Carta ~~~

~~~ New York Times: “Bought for $27.50 after World War II, the faint, water stained manuscript in the library of Harvard Law School had attracted relatively little attention since it arrived there in 1946. That is about to change. Two British academics, one of whom happened on the manuscript by chance, have discovered that it is an original 1300 version — not a copy, as long thought — of Magna Carta, the medieval document that helped establish some of the world’s most cherished liberties. It is one of just seven such documents from that date still in existence.... A 710-year-old version of Magna Carta was sold in 2007 for $21.3 million.... First issued in 1215, it put into writing a set of concessions won by rebellious barons from a recalcitrant King John of England — or Bad King John, as he became known in folklore. He later revoked the charter, but his son, Henry III, issued amended versions, the last one in 1225, and Henry’s son, Edward I, in turn confirmed the 1225 version in 1297 and again in 1300.”

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Apr162016

The Commentariat -- April 17, 2016

Presidential Race

Kurtis Lee & Evan Halper of the Los Angeles Times: Hillary Clinton interrupted her campaign in New York "to join George Clooney in toasting some of California's most well-heeled Democratic donors -- and collect copious amounts of their cash -- as well as to stir up voter enthusiasm with a Los Angeles rally. The amount of money Clinton stands to rake in on the visit is well into the millions of dollars. A pair of seats at her table with Clooney cost donors more than $353,000 Friday night in San Francisco, the most expensive tickets at an event attended by 70 people and hosted by venture capitalist and early Uber investor Shervin Pishevar. Another event was to be held at Clooney's home in Los Angeles, where the priciest tickets cost $100,000 per couple." -- CW

Anita Kumar, et al., of McClatchy News: "Hillary Clinton recently blasted the hidden financial dealings exposed in the Panama Papers, but she and her husband have multiple connections with people who have used the besieged law firm Mossack Fonseca to establish offshore entities. Among them are Gabrielle Fialkoff, finance director for Hillary Clinton's first campaign for the U.S. Senate; Frank Giustra, a Canadian mining magnate who has traveled the globe with Bill Clinton; the Chagoury family, which pledged $1 billion in projects to the Clinton Global Initiative; and Chinese billionaire Ng Lap Seng, who was at the center of a Democratic fund-raising scandal when Bill Clinton was president. Also using the Panamanian law firm was the company founded by the late billionaire investor Marc Rich, an international fugitive when Bill Clinton pardoned him in the final hours of his presidency." -- CW

Perry Bacon of NBC News: "... even as she remains a strong favorite to win the Democratic nomination, the 2016 campaign is forcing [Hillary Clinton] ... to distance herself from her husband's record.... Sen. Bernie Sanders is waging in effect a political war on 90s-era policies -- a tactic aimed at hitting Hillary Clinton where it hurts: her husband's presidential legacy." -- CW

Maureen Dowd: Hillary Clinton never says she's sorry. -- CW

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, in a Washington Post op-ed, endorses Hillary Clinton because she "possesses that rare but crucial combination of idealism and pragmatism." Thanks to contributor Patrick for the link.

John Wagner of the Washington Post: "Fresh off his trip to the Vatican, Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders staged an event Saturday in a Brooklyn church to highlight what he characterized as the moral underpinnings of his policy positions, including steps to address income inequality." -- CW

CW: Not certain who produced this video, but it is clearly pro-Bernie. Thanks to LT for calling it to my attention:

Patrick Healy of the New York Times: Bernie "Sanders has long presented himself as an issues-oriented, plain-speaking politician from rural New England, now seeking the presidency with promise of a political revolution. But his combative side has now emerged as the Democratic race has tightened and Hillary Clinton has sharpened her own rhetoric.... More than anything, the recent Sanders broadsides reflect a political strategy he has carried out in previous campaigns: the use of blunt criticisms, sarcastic asides and a thundering style against his opponents." -- CW

Dan Berman of CNN: "It's a Ted Cruz sweep in Wyoming. Cruz won 14 of 14 Republican National Convention delegates up for grabs at the Wyoming state convention here Saturday.The crowd here was clearly in Cruz's corner, as the Texas senator was the only candidate to make the trip to Casper -- ahead of a major snowstorm -- and Sarah Palin, scheduled to speak for Trump, previously canceled." -- CW

Jim Galloway & Greg Bluestein of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "On March 1, Donald Trump finished first in Georgia's Republican presidential primary with 39 percent of the vote. On Saturday, at gatherings of Republican activists meeting by congressional district, the billionaire may have lost most of the delegates that were supposed to come with that March 7 victory." -- CW

McKay Coppins & Christopher Massie of BuzzFeed: "Donald Trump is a fiercely loyal boss right up until he fires you." -- CW

Other News & Views

Matt Spetalnick of Reuters: "The United States on Saturday transferred nine Yemeni men to Saudi Arabia from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo, including an inmate who had been on a hunger strike since 2007, under a long-sought diplomatic deal between Washington and Riyadh, U.S. officials said. The transfer, which took place just days before President Barack Obama's visit to Saudi Arabia for a summit of Gulf Arab allies, marked the latest step in his final push to close the controversial detention center at the U.S. naval base in Cuba before he leaves office in January 2017." -- CW

Mark Mazzetti of the New York Times: "Saudi Arabia has told the Obama administration and members of Congress that it will sell off hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of American assets held by the kingdom if Congress passes a bill that would allow the Saudi government to be held responsible in American courts for any role in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The Obama administration has lobbied Congress to block the bill's passage, according to administration officials and congressional aides from both parties, and the Saudi threats have been the subject of intense discussions in recent weeks between lawmakers and officials from the State Department and the Pentagon." -- CW

Kristina Wong of the Hill: "The State Department is hoping to bring an average of nearly 1,500 Syrian refugees to the United States per month in order to meet President Obama's target of settling 10,000 refugees in the country by September. About 1,300 refugees have already been placed in the United States since Obama first made the commitment in September." -- CW

German Lopez of VOX: On Friday, [Washington] DC Mayor Muriel Bowser called for a citywide vote to turn at least some of the federal district into the 51st state in America. Six good questions to ponder. -- LT

Beyond the Beltway

Steve Lopez of the Los Angeles Times: "California's irresponsible coastal commission is as dangerous to the coast as Mother Nature. -- CW

Sarah Parvini & Ruben Vives of the Los Angeles Times: "The University of California's student association late Friday called on UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi to resign amid revelations that the university paid to remove Internet references to a 2011 incident in which police pepper-sprayed students. The group is the latest to join a growing call for Katehi to step down." -- CW

Ken Ritter of the AP: "Two sons of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy and three other men refused to enter pleas in federal court in Las Vegas to charges in an armed confrontation with government agents two years ago. Magistrate Judge George Foley Jr. entered not guilty pleas on behalf of each man during a sometimes contentious arraignment that featured cat-calls and cheers from about 30 Bundy backers and defendants' family members, under watchful eyes of about a dozen U.S. marshals." -- CW

Way Beyond

Jim Yardley of the New York Times: "Pope Francis made an emotional visit into the heart of Europe's migrant crisis on Saturday and took 12 Muslim refugees from Syria, including six children, with him back to Rome aboard the papal plane." -- CW

AP: "Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday his country will never withdraw from the Golan Heights and the strategic plateau bordering Syria will forever stay in Israeli hands."-- CW

Jennifer Oulette of Gizmodo: "... during a press briefing at the Perimeter Institute in Waterloo, Ontario..., a journalist in the audience jokingly said [to Canadian PM Justin Trudeau], "I was going to ask you to explain quantum computing, but.... haha..." Here's Trudeau's response:

... CW: Now imagine Donald Trump's answer.

News Ledes

AP: "The strongest earthquake to hit Ecuador in decades flattened buildings and buckled highways along its Pacific coast, sending the Andean nation into a state of emergency. As rescue workers rushed in, officials said Sunday at least 77 people were killed, over 588 injured and the damage stretched for hundreds of miles to the capital and other major cities." ...

... New York Times Update: "The strongest earthquake to strike Ecuador in decades left the Andean nation traumatized on Sunday, with collapsed buildings in a swath of destruction stretching hundreds of miles. More than 200 people were killed and hundreds more were wounded."

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Reader Comments (6)

"Hillary Clinton Never Says She's Sorry" . . .

Neither does Moron Dowd.

April 16, 2016 |

Ophelia M.

http://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.com/

A very thoughtful take down of Mr. Krugman. I think the CW crew will enjoy and appreciate this piece.
He comes to praise Sanders, not bury him.

April 16, 2016 |

Dan Lowery

I thought I'd share this blog post about the state of our nation and the presidential election: http://www.stonekettle.com/2016/04/two-wolves.html

April 17, 2016 |

@LT A good link. Great assessment on how 'we've' (as a nation) changed, how the good became the bad, "liberal "and "optimism" disparging words.

I'll try to remember to starve one of my own wolves!

April 17, 2016 |

MAG

This video, created to support Bernie Sanders, can be a little frustrating to watch because it makes me realize how long people have been warning us about the state we are in.
"Crooked Politics" https://vimeo.com/163142526

April 17, 2016 |

Justin Trudeau makes me want to go visit Canada; Donny Trump makes me want to go visit Canada. Good post.

April 17, 2016 |

citizen625

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