The Ledes

Monday, June 30, 2025

It's summer in our hemisphere, and people across Guns America have nothing to do but shoot other people.

New York Times: “A gunman deliberately started a wildfire in a rugged mountain area of Idaho and then shot at the firefighters who responded, killing two and injuring another on Sunday afternoon in what the local sheriff described as a 'total ambush.' Law enforcement officers exchanged fire with the gunman while the wildfire burned, and officials later found the body of the male suspect on the mountain with a firearm nearby, Sheriff Robert Norris of Kootenai County said at a news conference on Sunday night. The authorities said they believed the suspect had acted alone but did not release any information about his identity or motives.” A KHQ-TV (Spokane) report is here.

New York Times: “The New York City police were investigating a shooting in Manhattan on Sunday night that left two people injured steps from the Stonewall Inn, an icon of the L.G.B.T.Q. rights movement. The shooting occurred outside a nearby building in Greenwich Village at 10:15 p.m., Sgt. Matthew Forsythe of the New York Police Department said. The New York City Pride March had been held in Manhattan earlier on Sunday, and Mayor Eric Adams said on social media that the shooting happened as Pride celebrations were ending. One victim who was shot in the head was in critical condition on Monday morning, a spokeswoman for the Police Department said. A second victim was in stable condition after being shot in the leg, she said. No suspect had been identified. The police said it was unclear if the shooting was connected to the Pride march.”

New York Times: “A dangerous heat wave is gripping large swaths of Europe, driving temperatures far above seasonal norms and prompting widespread health and fire alerts. The extreme heat is forecast to persist into next week, with minimal relief expected overnight. France, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece are among the nations experiencing the most severe conditions, as meteorologists warn that Europe can expect more and hotter heat waves in the future because of climate change.”

The Wires
powered by Surfing Waves
Help!

To keep the Conversation going, please help me by linking news articles, opinion pieces and other political content in today's Comments section.

Link Code:   <a href="URL">text</a>

OR here's a link generator. The one I had posted died, then Akhilleus found one, but it too bit the dust. He found yet another, which I've linked here, and as of September 23, 2024, it's working.

OR you can always just block, copy and paste to your comment the URL (Web address) of the page you want to link.

Note for Readers. It is not possible for commenters to "throw" their highlighted links to another window. But you can do that yourself. Right-click on the link and a drop-down box will give you choices as to where you want to open the link: in a new tab, new window or new private window.

Thank you to everyone who has been contributing links to articles & other content in the Comments section of each day's "Conversation." If you're missing the comments, you're missing some vital links.

Marie: Sorry, my countdown clock was unreliable; then it became completely unreliable. I can't keep up with it. Maybe I'll try another one later.

 

Commencement ceremonies are joyous occasions, and Steve Carell made sure that was true this past weekend (mid-June) at Northwestern's commencement:

~~~ Carell's entire commencement speech was hilarious. The audio and video here isn't great, but I laughed till I cried.

CNN did a live telecast Saturday night (June 7) of the Broadway play "Good Night, and Good Luck," written by George Clooney and Grant Heslov, about legendary newsman Edward R. Murrow's effort to hold to account Sen. Joe McCarthy, "the junior senator from Wisconsin." Clooney plays Murrow. Here's Murrow himself with his famous take on McCarthy & McCarthyism, brief remarks that especially resonate today: ~~~

     ~~~ This article lists ways you still can watch the play. 

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.”

NPR lists all of the 2025 Pulitzer Prize winners. Poynter lists the prizes awarded in journalism as well as the finalists in these categories.

 

Contact Marie

Email Marie at constantweader@gmail.com

Page Links
Sunday
Feb062011

The Commentariat -- February 7

Helene Cooper & Mark Mazzetti of the New York Times profile Hosni Mubarak. Most interesting tidbit (to me):

A 2009 cable [part of the WikiLeaks dump] describes Mr. Mubarak telling another visitor from Washington, Senator Mitch McConnell ... that he had warned President George W. Bush not to attack Iraq. Iran, he said, only started to 'breathe' once he United States removed Saddam Hussein> from the scene. 'Removing Saddam from power was the biggest mistake ever committed,' Mr. Mubarak told Mr. McConnell....

... Joby Warrick & Scott Wilson of the Washington Post: "Once it was clear they were stuck with Mubarak, [Obama] administration officials refocused their efforts on encouraging Egyptian government officials and opposition groups to begin work on a blueprint for a transition to a new government.... Administration officials, in interviews, described a diplomatic blitz that targeted scores of Egyptian government and military officials, urging an immediate halt to violent attacks against protesters by pro-Mubarak demonstrators. U.S. officials, with backing from allies in the region, also pushed to encourage opposition groups to agree to negotiations on power-sharing, even as Mubarak continued to cling to the presidency." ...

... Kareem Fahim, et al., of the New York Times: "While hard facts are difficult to come by, Egyptians watching the rise of a moneyed class widely believe that self-dealing, crony capitalism and corruption are endemic, represented in the public eye by a group of rich businessmen aligned with Gamal Mubarak, the president’s son, as well as key government ministers and governing party members." ...

... Marcy Wheeler has what I think is an accurate analysis of the Suleiman "consensus" statement. The full statement is here (at 3:46 pm GMT). Like the protesters, Wheeler is not impressed. ...

... Michael Scherer of Time: "... it is difficult to distinguish Obama's cautious approach from that of his predecessors, who have been forced to compromise the idealistic vision the United States advertises with its pragmatic interests." This sharply contradicts what Obama said during his campaign and in accepting his Nobel Peace Prize.

Stan Collender of Capital Gains & Games takes a cynical view of the Obama Administration's proposed budget cuts, as new OMB Director Jake Lew broadly outlined in a New York Times op-ed. Collender writes, "I suspect the administration wants to force these GOP officials to be seen lobbying against the spending cut proposals.  Look for them to be invited to some high profile meetings at the White House with heavy media coverage."

Paul Wiseman & Derek Kravitz of the AP: businesses are laying off fewer workers, but even those that are hiring tend to hire the already-employed rather than the unemployed.

James Grimaldi of the Washington Post: the White House has again stymied efforts of the ATF to impose an emergency rule to hamper Mexican gunrunners. The proposed rule: "that gun dealers along the Mexican border report anyone who buys two or more assault weapons in five days." Surprise: the NRA opposes the ATF rule, & the Administration is bowing to their whims on the excuse that the rule represents "excessive regulation." CW: maybe this story should go in "Right Wing News," the right wing being the Obama Administration.

Right Wing News

** Tom Hamburger, et al., of the Los Angeles Times: "The billionaire brothers David and Charles Koch no longer sit outside Washington's political establishment, isolated by their uncompromising conservatism. Instead, they are now at the center of Republican power, a change most evident in the new makeup of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.... Republicans on the committee have launched an agenda of the sort long backed by the Koch brothers. A top early goal: restricting the reach of the Environmental Protection Agency, which oversees the Kochs' core energy businesses." CW: the article provides an excellent example of how moneyed special interests directly purchase Congressmembers. There are no middlemen. It's strictly cash & carry out. ...

... Louise Radnofsky of the Wall Street Journal: "EPA rules were cited more than those from any other agency in more than 100 letters sent by trade associations, businesses and some conservative groups to House oversight committee chairman Darrell Issa (R., Calif.) in response to his call for businesses to identify regulations they deemed burdensome...."

Republicans Really Hate Women. Evan McMorris-Santoro of TPM: "The controversy over 'forcible rape' may be over, but now there's a new Republican-sponsored abortion bill in the House that pro-choice folks say may be worse: this time around, the new language would allow hospitals to let a pregnant woman die rather than perform the abortion that would save her life.... New language inserted into the bill just this week would go far beyond Stupak, allowing hospitals that receive federal funds but are opposed to abortions to turn away women in need of emergency pregnancy termination to save their lives."

Russell Berman of The Hill: getting his minions to repeal healthcare & cut Congressional budgets (CW: they didn't cut 'em much) was easy. Now comes the hard part for Speaker John Boehner.

Steve Benen: "Drudge touted a bizarre story that claimed the Texas blackouts were 'a direct consequence of the Obama administration's agenda to lay siege to the coal industry, launch a takeover of infrastructure under the contrived global warming scam, and help usher in the post-industrial collapse of America.' Limbaugh followed up.... On Friday, 'obama triggers blackouts' was the #1 'Hot Search' in America, according to Google.... The story, such as it was, gained enough attention that the White House felt the need to explain that the right had simply made this garbage up out of whole cloth."

In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, new Sen. Rand Paul roughly outlines (very roughly) his proposal to cut the federal budget by $500 billion. One cut: the entire Department of Education. 

News Ledes

President Obama spoke at the National Chamber of Commerce this morning. New York Times story here. Video above. Transcript of speech, as delivered, via the White House. Washington Post post-speech story.

AP: "President Barack Obama says the United States intends to formally recognize Southern Sudan as a sovereign, independent state in July.Obama made the announcement Monday in a statement congratulating the people of Southern Sudan for 'a successful and inspiring' referendum." Read the President's statement here. ...

... Reuters: "Sudan's president Monday said he accepted a southern vote for independence in a referendum that is set to create Africa's newest state."

Los Angeles Times: "U.S. Rep. Jane Harman (D-Venice), a leading congressional voice on anti-terrorism issues, plans to resign from Congress to head up the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, a senior congressional source confirmed Monday, setting up a special election to choose her successor in a coastal district that stretches from Venice into the South Bay."

Guardian: "The last Labour government did 'all it could' to help release the Libyan convicted of the Lockerbie bombing to secure a BP oil deal and strengthen its political ties with Libya, an official review has found.The study of hundreds of confidential government papers by the Cabinet Office concluded that there was an 'underlying desire' by the UK government to see Abdelbaset al-Megrahi released early from his life sentence to further UK-Libyan relations."

Reuters: "President Barack Obama said on Monday talks to resolve Egypt's crisis were making progress, but the main Islamist opposition in Cairo said it could quit the process if protesters' demands were not met. Obama's comments seemed to contradict those by Egyptian opposition figures who reported little progress in talks over demands including the immediate exit of President Hosni Mubarak."

New York Times: "Leaders of the Egyptian democracy movement vowed Sunday to escalate their pressure for the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak, even as his government portrayed itself as already in the midst of American-approved negotiations to end the uprising." ...

... New York Times: "After disappearing in Egypt more than a week ago, leaving an ominous message on his Twitter account, Wael Ghonim, who leads Google’s marketing efforts for the Middle East and North Africa, is expected to be released by Egyptian authorities to his family on Monday afternoon, a friend of the Ghonim family said Sunday night." ...

    Los Angeles Times Update: "Wael Ghonim, the Google executive who has been missing since participating in the first few anti-government protests in Egypt, was released on Monday, according to reports from Al Jazeera."

... Clever Ploy. AP: "Egypt's embattled regime has decided to give government employees a 15 percent raise in salaries and pensions as it seeks to bolster support amid mass protests demanding President Hosni Mubarak's ouster. Monday's decision came during the first Cabinet meeting since the crisis erupted two weeks ago."

New York Times: "Facing his most crucial legal battle so far, Julian Assange, the founder of the antisecrecy organization WikiLeaks, appeared on Monday at a hearing to decide whether he will be extradited to Sweden to face accusations of sexual abuse." ...

     ... Guardian Update: "The prosecutor leading the rape and sexual assault case against Julian Assange is a 'malicious' radical feminist who is 'biased against men', a retired senior Swedish judge has told the hearing into Assange's extradition to Sweden."

Comments Off