“British people have lately witnessed a tragedy, and we lived through it together, when right in the streets of London a British army serviceman was brutally murdered outside his barracks. Is it these people that the Europeans want to supply arms? What happens next with those weapons? Who will control in which hands they end up? They could possibly (end up) in Europe.”
—Russian President Vladimir Putin • Defending his opposition to supplying the Syrian opposition with weapons, even as Russia honors contracts with the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, during a two-day G8 meeting at a resort in Northern Ireland this week. Putin described Russia’s transactions as “legal contracts” with the “legal government” of Syria, and the Russian President remains the Syrian government’s most prominent/powerful ally. source
June 2013
Rolling Stone's take on the death of contributor Michael Hastings: →
rollingstone.com
Hastings’ hallmark as reporter was his refusal to cozy up to power. While other embedded reporters were charmed by McChrystal’s bad-boy bravado and might have excused his insubordination as a joke, Hastings was determined to expose the recklessness of a man leading what Hastings believed to be a reckless war. “Runaway General” was was a finalist for a National Magazine Award, won the 2010 Polk award for magazine reporting, and was the basis for Hastings’ book, The Operators: The Wild and Terrifying Inside Story of America’s War in Afghanistan.
For Hastings, there was no romance to America’s misbegotten wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He had felt the horror of war first-hand: While covering the Iraq war for Newsweek in early 2007, his then-fianceé, an aide worker, was killed in a Baghdad car bombing. Hastings memorialized that relationship in his first book, I Lost My Love in Baghdad: A Modern War Story.
An aide to Hillary Clinton, at the time in the midst of the Benghazi scandal, also told Hastings to fuck off one time. Which, of course, was published.
“Mainly you really have to love writing and reporting. Like it’s more important to you than anything else in your life—family, friends, social life, whatever.”
—Buzzfeed reporter Michael Hastings • Offering advice to young journalists in a Reddit thread last year. Hastings, 33, died in a car crash on Tuesday morning. Despite his young age, he left a fairly significant mark on the journalism world, scoring a 2010 Rolling Stone interview with Gen. Stanley McChrystal in which the then-Commander of U.S. and NATO Coalition Forces in Afghanistan spoke negatively of White House staff. Hastings’ report sent shockwaves through Washington, leading to McChrystal’s firing before the report was even officially published. While McChrystal was eventually cleared of wrongdoing in the case, Rolling Stone stood behind Hastings’ article. Hastings’ death led many journalists to leave statements of remorse in the wake of the news, including his editor, Ben Smith, who said in a statement that “He wrote stories that would otherwise have gone unwritten, and without him there are great stories that will go untold.” (reddit thread via Twitter user @nbj914)
L.A. City Council OKs ban on plastic grocery and carryout bags →
latimes.com
Los Angeles on Tuesday became the largest city in the nation to move toward a ban on plastic grocery bags, with the City Council barring them in supermarkets, convenience stores and any big retailer that sells groceries.
Nearly three weeks after a similar measure was defeated in the California Legislature, the City Council voted 11-1 to prohibit the so-called “single use” plastic bags in pharmacies, food markets and any large store — including Target and Wal-Mart — that has a grocery section.
Councilman Paul Koretz described the ban as one of several environmental initiatives that have been embraced by the city, including a clean-truck program at the Port of Los Angeles and a push to build new rail lines. “Today we’re taking another big step forward,” he said.
Similar bans exist in many smaller cities and towns across the country, though Los Angeles is easily the largest city to move toward such a ban thus far. (D.C. was one of the first big cities, however. — Ed.) Any strong opinions on plastic bag bans among the SFB readership?
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U.S. to hold Afghan peace talks with Taliban in Doha →
reuters.com
The United States will meet the Taliban in Doha for talks aimed at achieving peace in Afghanistan, where the United States has battled the insurgents for 12 years, U.S. officials said on Tuesday.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, warned that the process would likely be lengthy.
They said the Taliban would issue a statement on Tuesday opposing the use of Afghan soil for attacks on other countries and that they support an Afghan peace process.
The United States will insist the Taliban break ties with al Qaeda, end violence, and accept the Afghan constitution, including protection for women and minorities, the officials told reporters in a conference call.
We expect to see quite a bit of debate over these peace talks in the coming days, as many on both sides of the aisle have long-opposed direct negotiations with the Taliban. Particularly since it’s believed that an exchange of detainees is likely to be included in any deal that’s reached by the two sides.
Massive demonstrations in Sau Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and other Brazillian cities
- 100k+ citizens took to the streets in Brazil last night to protest poor treatment by local law enforcement, inadequate public services, and the rising costs that have accompanied Brazil’s winning bid to host the FIFA World Cup in 2014. The protests coincided with the launch of the Confederations Cup, a smaller soccer event typically used by host cities to test their preparedness for the World Cup, and the recent uptick in demonstrations is currently being referred to as the “vinegar revolution” (among other titles). source
I was pretty sure the Walking Dead series with Darabont was based off of Robert Kirkman's Graphic Novels, not Stephen King's short stories. Unless I'm reading it wrong, and you're meaning to mention Darabont's other works because of his success from "Shawshank" and "Green Mile."
» SFB says: You’re reading it wrong. The Walking Dead was mentioned in a separate sentence for a reason. :) — Ernie @ SFB
Still Not Going To Do This Every Day: Mark at Tumblr →
markcoatney.com
One of the perks of being an early employee at any startup is the email address, and for the past three years my nom de Tumblrmail has been mark@tumblr.com. David set the account up when I started—David did a little of everything in those days—and I count myself so fortunate to have been…
Mark was really good to us as we were getting established on Tumblr, and it goes without saying that his work on the site has gone a long way to create the diverse ecosystem of media outlets and other sites that have joined the platform in his wake. You’ll be missed big time, Mark, and please keep us posted on the next super-awesome thing you do. — Ernie @ SFB
“I would much rather be here today debating this point than trying to explain how we failed to prevent another 9/11.”
—NSA Director Gen. Keith Alexander • Discussing, in front of the Senate Appropriations Committee, the terror plots that the agency’s surveillance programs have stopped, including a plot to bomb the New York Stock Exchange, the New York Subway and the offices of a newspaper which drew scrutiny for publishing cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed. Even if this is the case, do you feel that the programs are worth the added security?
“I am a straight scoutmaster with a wife, two children and a golden retriever so it does not impact me other than the loss to our troop of some great volunteers to the program. What we did was carry the American flag proudly at the front of the parade; and having scouts in color guards in parades is as American as apple pie.”
—Peter Brownstein, Salt Lake City BSA volunteer • Commenting on a reprimand that he and fellow Salt Lake City resident Neil Whitaker received from the Great Salt Lake Council of the Boy Scouts of America after participating in the Utah Pride Parade on June 2. The two men have apparently been told they could be kicked out of the BSA, for violating rules which bar leaders from using the BSA to advance political positions, if they don’t apologize to local organization officials for participating in the parade. Both men have indicated they have no plans to apologize. source
Why it's better to be a paid intern than an unpaid intern
- 63% the percentage of paid internships that led to job offers for 2013 graduates, according to a study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). To compare, just 37 percent of unpaid internships led to full-time jobs. And those who received paid internships got paid more at their real jobs, too. “In each survey, paid interns exceeded their peers in job offers and starting salaries,” NACE’s executive director, Marilyn Mackes, said. source
What does the es tag on your posts mean?
» SFB says: This comes up from time to time, but they’re initials for our names. My name is Ernie Smith. :) — Ernie @ SFB
“Being called a traitor by Dick Cheney is the highest honor you can give an American, and the more panicked talk we hear from people like him, Feinstein, and King, the better off we all are.”
—Edward Snowden • Offering his thoughts on the opinions of politicians like former Vice President Dick Cheney and Speaker Boehner who have criticized the man responsible for leaking information on the National Security Agency’s classified PRISM program. Snowden made the comments during a Q&A session moderated by The Guardian’s Glenn Greenwald on Monday, and also discussed a myriad of other issues surrounding his decision to leak the PRISM information, including claims that he might be a Chinese spy. source
SCOTUS rejects Arizona voter registration rule - Josh Gerstein →
politico.com
The Supreme Court ruled Monday against an Arizona ballot measure requiring new voters to present proof of citizenship before being added to the voting rolls — but the justices dodged the question of whether states could ever impose such a requirement without federal approval.
The justices ruled, 7-2, that Arizona’s effort to establish proof-of-citizenship requirements for new voters ran afoul of the so-called “motor voter” law Congress passed in 1993. That law, the National Voter Registration Act, allows for mail-in voter registration on a federal form that allows applicants simply to swear that they are U.S. citizens eligible to vote.
Arizona voters created the proof-of-citizenship requirement as part of Proposition 200, a ballot measure passed in 2004, 56 percent to 44 percent.
It’s important to note that this isn’t necessarily the end of discussion on the matter, as today’s Supreme Court ruling essentially offers Arizona another route through which the state could attempt to implement the new regulation. Still, future passage seems unlikely given that the state of Arizona would need approval from the federal government to implement the proof-of-citizenship requirement.
Hello SFB. Given the rough last weeks Obama has endured, the steadfast obstruction policy of the GOP, and especially the NSA leak, do you feel any sense 3rd party/Libertarian agendas moving to forefront as privacy grows a bigger concern?
» SFB says: I think libertarianism has long been on an upswing—at least since the rise of the Tea Party, and arguably during the 2008 Ron Paul campaign. The current issues with the NSA leak and the Obama administration don’t change that and may in fact energize it. That’s why Rand Paul is feeling an upswing. Stuff like his filibuster earlier this year resonates with a certain audience. It’s not clear whether third parties can totally break through, but a lot of the question is whether the negative momentum against the NSA stuff and the IRS thing, issues which riled up both sides of the aisle, can stick around for a while. We have a way of forgetting about this kind of thing these days, frustratingly, and that could prove the biggest hurdle for this having a lasting effect—an effect which could help raise nontraditional voices like Paul’s. — Ernie @ SFB
Digg Blog: Digg Reader Update! →
blog.digg.com
Over the last 90 days, the Digg engineering team — all 5 of them — has been heads-down building an updated take on the RSS reader. For our first public release, in time to (just) beat the shutdown of Google Reader, our aim has been to nail the basics: a web and mobile reading experience that is…
Click above for screenshots of the anticipated Google Reader replacement.
BREAKING: Passenger on Hong Kong to US flight claims to have poisoned every person on board
Thankfully, the passenger has been restrained and there don’t appear to be any signs that he successfully poisoned anyone.
from ABC News:
A Newark-bound United Airlines flight is carrying a passenger who reportedly informed the crew that he “poisoned everyone on board.”
United Flight 116, from Hong Kong, is set to land at 1:30 p.m.
The passenger is being restrained by other passengers.
Law enforcement officials in New York and Washington, D.C., are aware of the incident and are responding.
There is no evidence that passengers have been poisoned, and officials believe the man who made the claim is emotionally disturbed.
I will update this story with any new developments.
Crazy stuff right there. Definitely not something you’d want to deal with on a flight.
“While other governors and spouses may have had bacon and eggs, or cereal, or etc for breakfast, Governor McDonnell drinks Boost every morning, and the First Lady has a 5-Hour energy and/or a Boost. That is their breakfast. And that is why those items are covered, just like breakfast is covered for EVERY Governor and First Lady.”
—A spokesman for Virginia governor Robert McDonnell explains why the governor has been using taxpayer money for certain personal purchases. (via washingtonpoststyle)
God, it’s like the Virginia governor and first lady are in college cramming for tests all the time.
God, it’s like the Virginia governor and first lady are in college cramming for tests all the time.
A Pew study shows that the media tends to favor positive views of same-sex marriage. More: →
nytimes.com
The researchers assessed a representative sample of mainstream coverage for two months this year, and found that many stories contained either a balanced mix of views or no views at all. But of the rest, roughly five times as many stories were weighted toward support for same-sex marriage as were weighted toward opposition.
“A story was deemed to be in support of or opposition to same-sex marriage if the statements expressing that view outnumbered opposing statements by at least 2-to-1,” the report stated.
It added, “The level of support conveyed in the news media examined here goes beyond the level seen in public opinion surveys.” The imbalance was evident both in reporting and in commentary, and on all three of the major cable news channels, Fox News, MSNBC and CNN.
While critics have suggested that the positive coverage is out of touch with the culture at large, many supporters of same-sex marriage see the issue as a civil rights issue and agree with media outlets’ moves to focus on supporters over those opposed.
“The work of the Chinese Communists within academic circles in the United States is far greater than what people imagine, and some scholars have no option but to hold themselves back. Academic independence and academic freedom in the United States are being greatly threatened by a totalitarian regime.”
—Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng • Suggesting, in a statement released Sunday night, that he was forced out of his fellowship role at New York University, which he suggests was damaging the university’s relationship with China. Chen, a bliind lawyer whom you might remember pulled off a daring escape to achieve his dissident status in the U.S. just over a year ago, has until the end of June to vacate the university’s premises. NYU, meanwhile, disputes Chen’s account, stating that he knew from the outset that the fellowship would last just a year.
On "selling out"
mconor said: using the term ‘sell out’ makes you sound like a pretentious rolling stone writer from the seventies, also a loser
» SFB says: I don’t think of “selling out” as having a negative connotation in 2013, as far as music goes. It’s just the way things are done these days. It’s just a phrase at this point. — Ernie @ SFB
Play
The Story of the 450-Pound Rapper Who Loved Waffle House Too Much →
gawker.com
Great story. Key line from Jelly Roll, the Tennessee-based subject of the article: “I’m 450 pounds—I should have sued Waffle House 10 years ago! Do you know how many All-Star Breakfasts I bought in my life? I might’ve stopped at 330!”
“Seriously, if you’re rabidly eating up the Lindsay Mills news but haven’t a clue why China hates us when consequences of this leak start getting real, I will have no pity for you, nor will I explain. You should have listened up when you had the chance.”
—Digital Trends writer Molly McHugh • Offering a scathing, but spot-on, critique of the attention Edward Snowden’s girlfriend has received in the week since the news of Snowden’s identity became public. As McHugh points out, both Snowden himself and Mills, a dancer who has many photos of herself floating around the internet, have become more popular search terms on Google Trends than PRISM has. “And I get it: When something really complicated and important happens, a lot of people cling to the most personally identifiable thing that has to do with it,” McHugh writes. “This one happens to be a pretty girl who got broken up with (sort of) and gave us plenty of photo insight into her life.” But that we have a national security version of the “Manic Pixie Dream Girl” still doesn’t mean we should skip over the actual issue at hand here, McHugh explains.
Today in sloganeering
A former Alaska governor suggests of Syria: “Let Allah sort it out.” You know, like on those funny t-shirts.
We have to start taking her seriously again. She got her job back at Fox News.
Violent car bombings kill dozens in Iraq, raising fears of increased violence
- 30+ the number of people killed in a series of violent car-bombing attacks throughout Iraq on Sunday. The attacks, which also injured scores of people throughout the country, raised concerns that widespread violence could return to the country a decade after the Iraq war began. Nearly 2,000 people have been killed since April. source
Turkish riot police have cleared through Gezi Park and Taksim Square today, firing water cannons and tear gas upon protestors in opposition to Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan. →
cbsnews.com
The police successfully emptied the park, on the strength of this violent intervention, which came quite swiftly after Prime Minister Erdogan warned, forebodingly, that his security forces “know how to clear” the areas.
“I took out the ring and showed it to Putin, and he put it on and he goes, ‘I can kill someone with this ring.’ I put my hand out and he put it in his pocket, and three KGB guys got around him and walked out.”
—New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft • Accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of stealing one of his Super Bowl rings back in 2005, during a meeting in St. Petersburg. The ring, worth in excess of $25,000, was by Kraft’s telling simply being shown off to Putin when he pocketed it, and Kraft wanted it back. But he also claims he then received a call from the Bush administration White House on the matter, saying “It would really be in the best interest of US-Soviet relations if you meant to give the ring as a present.” source
Santorum: Why Romney didn’t win - James Hohmann - POLITICO.com →
politico.com
“One after another, they talked about the business they had built. But not a single—not a single —factory worker went out there,” Santorum told a few hundred conservative activists at an “after-hours session” of the Faith and Freedom Coalition conference in Washington. “Not a single janitor, waitress or person who worked in that company! We didn’t care about them. You know what? They built that company too! And we should have had them on that stage.”
Wait, you mean CEO’s aren’t the only ones that “built that?” You mean the entire premise of the GOP convention and Romney campaign was based on a willful misreading of an Obama quote which you now admit you agree with?
Setting aside the dubious nature of the “you didn’t build that” reference, which when decontextualized the GOP clearly thought was damaging enough to center a whole day of their national convention around it, Santorum’s take on this is astute, and reflects part of his success as a campaigner. In a presidential field that seemed never more comfortable than when talking about business owners, businessmen and high-income tax earners, Santorum would try to rhetorically court the “everyman,” touching on themes like the demise of American industry. Would it have affected the outcome of the election if the GOP had taken this tact? Nah. But it might have cut a more relatable figure the process.
“They are like, ‘This doesn’t match.’ Then you have to go into the story: ‘I was born male, but now I’m not.’ And they are like, ‘What does that mean?’ It was super embarrassing.”
—Lauren Grey • Describing the uncomfortability of having the sex listed on her drivers’ license not match who she is today. Grey, 38, a transgender woman living in Illinois, had the above awkward exchange with a car salesman when she handed over her license for a test drive, which while she had easily had changed to reflect her feminine appearance and new name, still listed her sex as “M.” The process for getting that sex designation changed, as it turns out, is generally much more involved than a simple name change, often requiring a court order approving the change, as well as a signed letter from a surgeon verifying that the person underwent gender reassignment surgery. This obstacle weakened a bit yesterday, in the favor of LGBT activists pushing for a less strident system, as the Social Security Administration announced they will no longer require such proof of surgery to alter their records. source
in response to your post on the double standard of intelligence sharing: we knew they were terrorists. they BOMBED a city. not everyone in this country is a terrorist, however, and should be treated as such. innocent until proven guilty. sorry i am using this method of commenting. i'm new haha
» SFB says: Not disagreeing—just pointing out what John McCain said about intelligence sharing, because he’s one of the guys deciding this thing for the rest of us. — Ernie @ SFB
'Tweet' added to the Oxford English Dictionary →
today.com
I’m gonna tweet the heck out of this.
