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

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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.

 

Public Service Announcement

Zoë Schlanger in the Atlantic: "Throw out your black plastic spatula. In a world of plastic consumer goods, avoiding the material entirely requires the fervor of a religious conversion. But getting rid of black plastic kitchen utensils is a low-stakes move, and worth it. Cooking with any plastic is a dubious enterprise, because heat encourages potentially harmful plastic compounds to migrate out of the polymers and potentially into the food. But, as Andrew Turner, a biochemist at the University of Plymouth recently told me, black plastic is particularly crucial to avoid." This is a gift link from laura h.

Mashable: "Following the 2024 presidential election results and [Elon] Musk's support for ... Donald Trump, users have been deactivating en masse. And this time, it appears most everyone has settled on one particular X alternative: Bluesky.... Bluesky has gained more than 100,000 new sign ups per day since the U.S. election on Nov. 5. It now has over 15 million users. It's enjoyed a prolonged stay on the very top of Apple's App Store charts as well. Ready to join? Here's how to get started on Bluesky[.]"

Washington Post: "Americans can again order free rapid coronavirus tests by mail, the Biden administration announced Thursday. People can request four free at-home tests per household through covidtests.gov. They will begin shipping Monday. The move comes ahead of an expected winter wave of coronavirus cases. The September revival of the free testing program is in line with the Biden administration’s strategy to respond to the coronavirus as part of a broader public health campaign to protect Americans from respiratory viruses, including influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), that surge every fall and winter. But free tests were not mailed during the summer wave, which wastewater surveillance data shows is now receding."

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

Wherein Michael McIntyre explains how Americans adapted English to their needs. With examples:

Beat the Buzzer. Some amazing young athletes:

     ~~~ Here's the WashPo story (March 23).

Back when the Washington Post had an owner/publisher who dared to stand up to a president:

Prime video is carrying the documentary. If you watch it, I suggest watching the Spielberg film "The Post" afterwards. There is currently a free copy (type "the post full movie" in the YouTube search box) on YouTube (or you can rent it on YouTube, on Prime & [I think] on Hulu). Near the end, Daniel Ellsberg (played by Matthew Rhys), says "I was struck in fact by the way President Johnson's reaction to these revelations was [that they were] 'close to treason,' because it reflected to me the sense that what was damaging to the reputation of a particular administration or a particular individual was in itself treason, which is very close to saying, 'I am the state.'" Sound familiar?

Out with the Black. In with the White. New York Times: “Lester Holt, the veteran NBC newscaster and anchor of the 'NBC Nightly News' over the last decade, announced on Monday that he will step down from the flagship evening newscast in the coming months. Mr. Holt told colleagues that he would remain at NBC, expanding his duties at 'Dateline,' where he serves as the show’s anchor.... He said that he would continue anchoring the evening news until 'the start of summer.' The network did not immediately name a successor.” ~~~

~~~ New York Times: “MSNBC said on Monday that Jen Psaki, the former White House press secretary who has become one of the most prominent hosts at the network, would anchor a nightly weekday show in prime time. Ms. Psaki, 46, will host a show at 9 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, replacing Alex Wagner, a longtime political journalist who has anchored that hour since 2022, according to a memo to staff from Rebecca Kutler, MSNBC’s president. Ms. Wagner will remain at MSNBC as an on-air correspondent. Rachel Maddow, MSNBC’s biggest star, has been anchoring the 9 p.m. hour on weeknights for the early days of ... [Donald] Trump’s administration but will return to hosting one night a week at the end of April.”

 

Contact Marie

Email Marie at constantweader@gmail.com

Page Links
Friday
May062011

The Commentariat -- May 7

The President's Weekly Address:

I've added an Open Thread comments page for today on Off Times Square.

** Michael Hirsh of the National Journal makes a compelling argument that Obama's war is nothing like Bush's war & there is no continuity between the two administrations' conceptions & executions of international policy on terrorism. "The Bush approach remained scattershot throughout his two terms in office and was conceived 'piece by piece,' in the words of one European diplomat in Washington."

Bob Woodward Is on the Case! The events leading up to the death of Osama bin Laden started with "an innocuous, catch-up phone call. ...

... Lolita Baldor & Kimberly Dozier of the AP: "The wealth of information pulled from Osama bin Laden's compound has reinforced the belief that he played a strong role in planning and directing attacks by al-Qaida and its affiliates in Yemen and Somalia, senior U.S. officials said Friday. And the data further demonstrates to the U.S. that top al-Qaida commanders and other key insurgents are scattered throughout Pakistan, not just in the rugged border areas, and are being supported and given sanctuary by Pakistanis, a senior defense official said."

Right Wing World *

** Joan Walsh: "Life is too short to refute every silly David Brooks column, but Friday's meditation on 'The Politics of Solipsism' is so backward, I couldn't ignore it.... As always in the GOP universe, it seems the only people who should practice self-restraint are unions, working people and low-income families who depend on social services. The most glaring solipsism evident today is Brooks' own." Walsh writes a good, brief history of how Brooks' hero Irving Kristol got the ball started rolling toward a dysfunctional economy. Thanks to Kate M. for the link.

* Where facts never intrude.

News Ledes

ABC News: the federal government today released five videos which Navy SEALs acquired at the compound in Abbottabad:

You can watch all five "home videos" here. I don't think they're too thrilling.

New York Times: "The Obama administration on Saturday released five videos recovered from Osama bin Laden‘s hide-out in Abbottabad, Pakistan, that an intelligence official said showed the Qaeda founder threatening the United States, condemning capitalism and at some points flubbing his lines and missing a cue. In the most candid scenes, Bin Laden can be seen watching news coverage of himself on television." See ABC News report above, with link to the videos (the Pentagon also has the audio, which it has not released.)

New York Times: "A missile strike from an American military drone in a remote region of Yemen on Thursday was aimed at killing Anwar al-Awlaki, the radical American-born cleric believed to be hiding in the country, American officials said Friday. The attack does not appear to have killed Mr. Awlaki, the officials said, but may have killed operatives of Al Qaeda’s affiliate in Yemen."

(Memphis) Commercial Appeal: "Under direction of the county Office of Preparedness, law-enforcement officials distributed evacuation notices to nearly 1,100 homes, apartments and mobile homes as a Mississippi River flood that even a National Weather Service hydrologist called 'biblical' threatened more and more areas of Greater Memphis."

AP: "Pakistan's former foreign minister has called on the country's president and prime minister to resign following the American raid that killed Osama bin Laden. Shah Mahmood Qureshi says the operation was a violation of Pakistan's sovereignty, and President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani should be held responsible."

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