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 intoWednesday 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.” ~~~
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.
Help!
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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.
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.
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts. — Anonymous
A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves. — Edward R. Murrow
Publisher & Editor: Marie Burns
I have a Bluesky account now. The URL ishttps://bsky.app/profile/marie-burns.bsky.social . When Reality Chex goes down, check my Bluesky page for whatever info I am able to report on the status of Reality Chex. If you can't access the URL, I found that I could Google Bluesky and ask for Marie Burns. Google will include links to accounts for people whose names are, at least in part, Maria Burns, so you'll have to tell Google you looking only for Marie.
My column in the New York Times eXaminer is Part 1 of a grim retrospective of 2011: "The Year You Lost Your Civil Rights." The NYTX front page is here. Also, please consider donating to NYTX, which I think is a really worthwhile publication. You can do so here.
CLICK ON THE CARTOON TO GO TO BARRY'S REVIEW. Art by Drew Friedman for the Washington Post.... It was the kind of year that made a person look back fondly on the gulf oil spill. -- Dave Barry
Here's a pdf of Supreme Court Chief Justice John Robert's full "Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary." The New York Times story by Adam Liptak is here.
Geoffrey Wheatcroft, in a New York Times op-ed, on the "unknown knowns": bad stuff that's going on which people in authority choose not to acknowledge.
Gardiner Harris of the New York Times: "Medicines to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are in such short supply that hundreds of patients complain daily to the Food and Drug Administration that they are unable to find a pharmacy with enough pills to fill their prescriptions. The shortages are a result of a troubled partnership between drug manufacturers and the Drug Enforcement Administration, with companies trying to maximize their profits and drug enforcement agents trying to minimize abuse by people, many of them college students, who use the medications to get high or to stay up all night."
"Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!" For friends with small children -- Alexandra Horowitz & Ammon Shea, in a New York Times op-ed, debunk a few anthropomorphic children's stories. (It might be best if you don't tell the kids.)
Right Wing World
** Frank Rich of New York magazine: "What Republican aristocrats in denial like Karl Rove can’t bring themselves to recognize is that 'the most unpredictable, rapidly shifting, and often downright inexplicable primary race' they’ve ever seen is not just a conservative revolution but one that has them in its sights."
Maureen Dowd: Mrs. Willard, Mrs. Newt & Mrs. The Donald tell their husbands only they can save the country. Obviously, at least two three of the wives are wrong.
Frank Bruni: "The run-up to the Iowa caucuses, like the rest of the primary season thus far, has underscored just how much general nuttiness and moral extremism the party has come to accommodate, with Iowa serving as a theater of the conservative absurd."
When You Think They Can't Get Worse, Think Again. Pema Levy & Benjy Sarlin of TPM: Ron "Paul’s Iowa chair, Drew Ivers, recently touted the endorsement of Rev. Phillip G. Kayser, a pastor at the Dominion Covenant Church in Nebraska who also draws members from Iowa.... Kayser’s views on homosexuality go way beyond the bounds of typical anti-gay evangelical politics and into the violent fringe: he recently authored a paper arguing for criminalizing homosexuality and even advocated imposing the death penalty against offenders based on his reading of Biblical law." ...
... John Heilemann of New York magazine: even if the crazy coot bigoted conspiracy theorist bombs in Republican primaries, don't count him out of Election 2012: there's always the Third Party Option, and Ron Paul defintiely hasn't ruled it out.
News Ledes
Here's what you had the wisdom to miss last night while doing something better with your time:
New York Daily News: "Protesters occupied New Year’s Eve inside Zuccotti Park late Saturday, creating a steel mountain of NYPD barricades in its plaza as thousands of cops were busy protecting Times Square. Scuffles erupted between demonstrators and police, with one protester busted after an officer was slightly injured with a pair of scissors, police said." ...
... New York Times: "Occupy Iowa protesters had a successful day -- of arrests -- yesterday."
Des Moines Register: "The Des Moines Register’s latest Iowa Poll shows a surprise three-way match-up in contention to win the Iowa Republican caucuses: Mitt Romney, Ron Paul and Rick Santorum. Santorum, who has been largely invisible in the polls throughout the campaign season, is now beating the other evangelical choices and has a clear shot at victory Tuesday night." ...
... "Ghost from Romney's Past." CNN: "Democrats aren't missing a chance to take aim at their favorite target: Republican presidential frontrunner and former Bain Capital executive Mitt Romney. Randy Johnson, a worker laid off when Bain bought American Pad and Paper Company, will arrive in Des Moines on Sunday to hold a press conference, according to the Democratic National Committee.... The DNC said that along with a press conference, Johnson will talk to reporters and travel throughout Iowa 'to discuss Romney's decades long record of putting profits before people.'"
Washington Post: "The Vatican is set to launch a structure Monday that will allow Anglican parishes in the United States — and their married priests — to join the Catholic Church in a small but symbolically potent effort to reunite Protestants and Catholics, who split almost 500 years ago. More than 1,300 Anglicans, including 100 Anglican priests, have applied to be part of the new body, essentially a diocese."
The White House Year in Photos. Photos by White House photographer Pete Souza. Pundits often complain that President Obama is "cool," "distant" or "aloof." That's not my impression:
"The President greets a woman following a ceremony to commemorate the tenth anniversary of 9/11 at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pa. The President and First Lady greeted virtually every family member that attended the ceremony." -- Pete Souza, White House photographer
New York Times Editors: "After they took power in January, the hard-line Republicans who dominate the House reached for a radical overhaul of American government, hoping to unravel the social safety net, cut taxes further for the wealthy and strip away regulation of business. Fortunately, thanks to defensive tactics by Democrats, they failed to achieve most of their agenda. But they still did significant damage in 2011 to many of the most important functions of government, and particularly to investments in education, training and transportation that the country will need for a sound economic recovery."
Nullification -- When One Senator Can Shut Down a Federal Agency on a Whim. Kevin Drum of Mother Jones: "Republicans are refusing to allow votes on President Obama's nominee to head the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and on his nominees to fill vacancies on the National Labor Relations Board. In both cases, the Republican refusal is explicity aimed at shutting down these agencies.... Republicans make no bones about why they're doing this.... Since, in practice, a single senator can place a hold on a nominee, this means that a single senator is now able to shut down an entire agency of the federal government simply out of dislike for what it's doing." ...
... For Example. Peter Landers of the Wall Street Journal: "The Obama administration's confirmation troubles have come to this: It can't get the Senate to accept its nominee for public printer of the United States."
If you're a college sports fan, or even if you're not, read Joe Nocera's column on the N.C.A.A. cartel. "How can the labor force that generates so much money for everyone else be kept in shackles by the N.C.A.A.?" That "labor force" is, of course, the athletes themselves.
Former Sen. Arlen Specter (R/D-Penn.) does stand-up comedy at a Philadelphia club. Kinda corny, definitely blue, and pretty amazing. ViaThe Hill:
Right Wing World
Mitt Romney -- Poster Boy for the Buffett Rule. Josh Marshall of TPM: Willard won't release his taxes because "It seems virtually impossible that Mitt Romney doesn’t pay the sort of effective tax rate that would make people’s eyes pop when compared to middle income and even relatively wealthy (by normal standards) people who pay considerably higher rate.... Issues of income inequality and particularly tax policy are right at the top of the political agenda in 2012." ...
This is how the Romney campaign thinks it's going to win the Republican primary: by pandering to the dead-ender fringe of extremists who still question where the president was born. -- Jim Messina, Obama for America campaign manager
Boo-hoo. Molly Ball of The Atlantic: Frank Luntzmakes Republicans sad and blue. CW: have you ever seen a Republican shed tears for anyone other than himself?
When Is a Gynecologist a Misogynist? When He's Ron Paul:Employee rights are said to be valid when employers pressure employees into sexual activity. Why don't they quit once the so-called harassment starts? Obviously the morals of the harasser cannot be defended, but how can the harassee escape some responsibility for the problem? Seeking protection under civil rights legislation is hardly acceptable. -- Ron Paul, in Freedom Under Seige, 1987, reissued 2008 ...
... Pete Hamby of CNN: "In his 1987 manifesto 'Freedom Under Siege: The U.S. Constitution after 200-Plus Years,' [Ron] Paul wrote that AIDS patients were victims of their own lifestyle, questioned the rights of minorities and argued that people who are sexually harassed at work should quit their jobs."
Washington Post: "Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. defended his colleagues as 'jurists of exceptional integrity and experience' and said Saturday that it was a misconception that Supreme Court justices do not follow the same set of ethical principles as other judges."
The New York Times story I posted on the shortlife of a Verizon fee doesn't mention Change.org, but this story from Wireless & Mobile News does: "Verizon will not be charging 'convenience' fees for one-time bill payments made online and customers have Change.org to thank. After a petition to stop the fee gained support, Verizon dropped the charge."
New York Times: "President Obama, after objecting to provisions of a military spending bill that would have forced him to try terrorism suspects in military courts and impose strict sanctions on Iran’s oil exports, signed the bill on Saturday. He said that although he did not support all of it, changes made by Congress after negotiations with the White House had satisfied most of his concerns and had given him enough latitude to manage counterterrorism and foreign policy in keeping with administration principles."
Los Angeles Times: "Authorities across Southern California were beefing up patrols Saturday night, hoping to catch the person or persons responsible for more than 35 fires over the last two days. Los Angeles police and fire officials were trying to determine whether the fires were the work of one arsonist or several."
Reuters: "Boeing Co beat out Lockheed Martin to retain its position as the prime contractor for the U.S. long-range missile shield, the Pentagon said on Friday.The U.S. Defense Department said it was awarding Boeing a $3.48 billion, seven-year contract to develop, test, engineer and manufacture missile defense systems."
Reuters: "Irandelayed promised long-range missile tests in the Gulf on Saturday and Tehran signaled it was ready for fresh talks on its disputed nuclear program. Iran's state media initially reported early on Saturday that long-range missiles had been launched during naval exercises, a move that may irk the West concerned over threats by Tehran to close off a vital oil shipping route in the Gulf. But Deputy Navy Commander Mahmoud Mousavi later went on the English language Press TV channel to deny the missiles had in fact been fired."
Al Jazeera: "An Arab League observer has said he saw snipers in the Syrian city of Deraa, as protests against President Bashar al-Assad erupted across the country on Friday. 'We saw snipers in the town, we saw them with our own eyes,' the observer told residents in a conversation filmed and posted online.... Activists said hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated across the country after noon Muslim prayers on Friday."
Reuters: "China's central bank governor argued in comments published on Saturday that Beijing does not control the yuan's flow across borders as tightly as some think and that it is natural for the currency's trading band to be widened over time.Zhou Xiaochuan said in an interview ... that China did not fare badly on an International Monetary Fund measure of currencies' convertibility under the capital account. But he stopped short of calling for a fully convertible currency."
Guardian: "Los Angeles police are seeking a serial arsonist suspected of starting 21 fires in Hollywood in just four hours on Friday night, damaging buildings and cars throughout the area. An arsonist is thought to have started the fires by setting vehicles alight. The flames then spread to nearby houses, including one in Hollywood Hills once occupied by the Doors singer Jim Morrison, which inspired the song Love Street."
My column at the New York Times eXaminer is up. It's another Krugman v. Brooks day. The NYTX front page is here.
Also, I've been feeling miffed that with so many conspiracy theories floating around Right Wing World, the left has no conspiracy theories of its own. I invite you on Off Times Square to come up with a few to sort of balance things out.
"Keynes Was Right." Paul Krugman: "The bottom line is that 2011 was a year in which our political elite obsessed over short-term deficits that aren’t actually a problem and, in the process, made the real problem — a depressed economy and mass unemployment — worse. The good news, such as it is, is that President Obama has finally gone back to fighting against premature austerity — and he seems to be winning the political battle."
Peggy Orenstein, in a New York Times op-ed, on gender-specific toys: "... the environment in which children play and grow can encourage a range of aptitudes or foreclose them. So blithely indulging — let alone exploiting — stereotypically gendered play patterns may have a more negative long-term impact on kids’ potential than parents imagine. And promoting, without forcing, cross-sex friendships as well as a breadth of play styles may be more beneficial. There is even evidence that children who have opposite-sex friendships during their early years have healthier romantic relationships as teenagers. Traditionally, toys were intended to communicate parental values and expectations, to train children for their future adult roles. Today’s boys and girls will eventually be one another’s professional peers.... How can they develop skills for such collaborations from toys that increasingly emphasize, reinforce, or even create, gender differences? What do girls learn about who they should be from Lego kits with beauty parlors or the flood of 'girl friendly' science kits that run the gamut from 'beauty spa lab' to 'perfume factory'?" CW: the "Riley" video, which Orenstein mentions, is in the December 28 Commentariat. ...
... "Your Modern Republican Party: It Makes Mississippi Look Liberal." Joan Walsh of Salon: "There is no freedom or equality for women without reproductive freedom. Having been raised a Catholic, I understand religious objections to abortion, and my only answer is, by all means, don’t have one. Work to make them less common."
"What the Frack?" Chris Nelder in Slate: "The recent press about the potential of shale gas would have you believe that America is now sitting on a 100-year supply of natural gas. It's a 'game-changer.' A 'golden age of gas' awaits, one in which the United States will be energy independent, even exporting gas to the rest of the world, upending our current energy-importing situation. The data, however, tell a very different story. Between the demonstrable gas reserves, and the potential resources blared in the headlines, lies an enormous gulf of uncertainty."
Right Wing World
Scammer of the House. Tim Murphy of Mother Jones does a nice job of summarizing the complicated, crooked, tax-evading scamsNewt Gingrich cooked up in the 1990s, which ultimately earned him a fine & helped force him out of Congress: "... he used a network of consulting firms, educational institutions, and even a charity for inner-city teens to promote a set of clearly partisan political goals designed to sweep Republicans into power in Washington. Gingrich's web of interconnected organizations formed the early prototype for the multimillion-dollar public and private network he established after leaving public office, known now as 'Newt Inc.'" CW: I suppose this isn't fair, but Newt is my image of a Republican Congressman -- a nasty, megalomaniacal professional grifter.
Ron Paul Isn't the Only Crazy Conspiracy Theorist Running for President:
Michele Bachmann is up against not only the other candidates, but up against President Obama, who has Facebook, Twitter, Google, and YouTube in its back pocket. I believe that helped him win the last election. No president should have the monopoly of those companies in their back pocket. -- Jonathan, a radio talkshow caller ...
... I absolutely agree, Jonathan. We have seen, whether it is the head of Facebook or Google, it is clear there is an alliance with the Obama administration, as well as with NBC. -- Michele Bachmann
Update: Yippee! Another Bachmann Conspiracy Theory! John McCormick & Lisa Lerer of the Washington Post: "Michele Bachmann pressed her allegations that the former head of her Iowa presidential bid was bribed by the campaign of rival Ron Paul to endorse him, even as one of her own aides denied the charge. The aide who issued the denial later quit Bachmann’s campaign, the candidate said." Bachmann is a gift who keeps on giving.
Meteor Blades of Daily Kos: Ron Paulchanges his story on the newsletters -- again:
There were many times I did not edit the entire letter and other things were put in. I was not aware of the details until many years later. These were sentences that were put in, eight or 10 sentences. It wasn’t a reflection of my views at all. It got in the letter and I thought it was terrible. -- Ron Paul, yesterday
Ron Paul’s characterization of the newsletters as only containing ‘eight to ten sentences’ that can be characterized as ‘offending’ is preposterous. As anyone can see from the scans of the newsletters available on the TNR website or posted elsewhere, the documents contain pages upon pages of bigoted statements and outright paranoia. -- Jamie Kirchick, The New Republic ...
... Update: Dave Weigel has a full transcript of Paul's remarks yesterday re: the newsletters.
Beth Reinhard of the National Journal: the beloved Ron Paulbreakfasts alone. "He's just a cranky old man who wants to eat his eggs in peace before he sets out to save the world."
Ron Paul could see all the rioting black people in Israel from his house if it were not for the glare off his tin foil hat. -- Sparks69, commenting on the breakfast story
Rick Santorum's brilliant plan to end poverty: (1) graduate from high school, (2) get married. CW: why didn't Krugman think of that? ...
... Amy Sullivan of Time: "... all of the potential darlings of the Christian Right – Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry, Newt Gingrich, Herman Cain – have foundered. While [Rick] Santorum was busy visiting every county in Iowa, his opponents each took time from their Fox News appearances and book tours and movie screenings to enjoy a race up the polls, only to fall Wile E. Coyote-like off the cliff. The only reason social conservatives had for not making Santorum their first choice was the belief that one of the other candidates had a better chance of winning the nomination. But now that all of them are long-shots, why not embrace the guy with whom they identify most?" Sullivan answers that one.
AND Rick Perry Is Still Ignorant. Arlette Saenz of ABC News: "Texas Gov. Rick Perry admitted Thursday that he didn’t know about the Supreme Court case Lawrence v. Texas, a case decided while he was governor which struck down the state’s anti-sodomy law and similar laws in 13 others." Oh, BTW, "The Texas governor referenced Lawrence v. Texas in his 2010 book Fed Up!, calling it one of the court cases in which 'Texans have a different view of the world than do the nine oligarchs in robes.'” ...
... Alex Seitz-Wald of Think Progress: "As TPM’s Pema Levy notes, Perry defended the law in 2002 when the high court took up the case, saying, 'I think our law is appropriate that we have on the books.' When his state lost, he called the justices 'nine oligarchs in robes.' [CW: of course not all 9 oligarchs concurred with the majority decision. Scalia wrote an unintentionally hilarious dissent.] Perry attacked the decision in his 2010 book and even ran on a platform of opposing 'the legalization of sodomy' during his 2010 reelection bid." CW: Perrymust be on drugs. He cannot really have forgot all that.
Stan Collender of Capital Gains & Games grades the GOP presidential candidates on their deficit reduction plans. And these guys have the gall to criticize Obama.
News Ledes
New York Times: "Egypt’s military rulers privately signaled a retreat on Friday in a crackdown on organizations that promote democracy and human rights..., even as the authorities in Cairo tried to discredit the organizations with accusations of suspicious activity. The country’s de facto leader, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, and other senior officials pledged to halt the raids against the organizations, to allow them to reopen their offices and to return documents, computers and other property seized on Thursday...."
New York Times: "Verizon Wireless bowed to a torrent of criticism on Friday and reversed a day-old plan to impose a $2 bill-paying fee that would have applied to only some customers."
Al Jazeera: "The United States is pushing ahead with a weapons deal with Iraq despite the near breakdown of the coalition government. Reports suggest the deal is worth nearly $11bn and includes advanced fighter jets and tanks. The sale comes despite warnings that the country may be falling deeper into sectarian strife after an arrest warrant was issued for the Sunni vice president, Tariq al-Hashemi."
Reuters: "Israel killed the leader of an al Qaeda-inspired faction in the Gaza Strip on Friday, accusing him of involvement in firing rockets and a planned attack on the Jewish state from the neighboring Egyptian Sinai. The deadly air strike was Israel's second against a Salafi Islamist militant this week. Militants identified him as Momen Abu Daf, chief of the Army of Islam...."
Haaretz: "Amid a verbal row with the United States over blocking the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil shipping route, Iran proclaimed on Friday that it will start testing long range missiles in the Persian Gulf."
Doing the Wrong Thing. Reuters: "Spain's centre-right government will announce billions of euros in savings measures on Friday, using its first decrees since sweeping to power at November elections to give the nation a foretaste of tougher austerity to come."
New York Times: North Korea announced on Friday that there would be no change in its policy under its new leader, Kim Jong-un, striking a characteristically hostile posture with a threat to punish President Lee Myung-bak of South Korea for 'unforgivable sins.'"
AP: "Fox Latin America has apologized for a poll on whether Jews killed Jesus Christ that one of its staffers put on a Facebook page promoting the National Geographic Channel's Christmas special. The poll asked readers who they think is responsible for the death of Christ: Pontius Pilate, The Jewish People or the High Priests." CW: I didn't even know there was a Fox Latin America, but I'm not surprised they're as dumb as the donkey he rode in on (as the story goes).
CLICK ON THE CARTOON TO GO TO BARRY'S REVIEW. Art by Drew Friedman for the Washington Post.... It was the kind of year that made a person look back fondly on the gulf oil spill. -- Dave Barry
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