05/04/2014 archive

Most probably people have heard of the bizarre investigative journalism by The Mail on Sunday in an article which appeared on Easter Sunday (of all days in the year). The Mail on Sunday sent in a reporter, a wannabe Jimmy Olsen, to investigate provision of food by food-banks in Britain and that reporter literally took food out of the mouths of the hungry in order to prove some point. This provoked a backlash on social media that demonstrated that the neoliberal agenda seems to not have sunk too deeply in the hearts and minds of the British people. That is a relief and quite honestly more than I expected, given the constant barrage in the newspapers and on the news on telly that has never questioned the logic (forget the morality) of welfare caps and cuts to welfare benefits.

ht: my sister Mia for comments and editing on this piece

This is your morning Open Thread. Pour your favorite beverage and review the past and comment on the future.

Find the past “On This Day in History” here.

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May 4 is the 124th day of the year (125th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 241 days remaining until the end of the year.

On this day in 1970, At Kent State University, 100 National Guardsmen fire their rifles into a group of students, killing four and wounding 11. This incident occurred in the aftermath of President Richard Nixon’s April 30 announcement that U.S. and South Vietnamese forces had been ordered to execute an “incursion” into Cambodia to destroy North Vietnamese bases there. In protest, a wave of demonstrations and disturbances erupted on college campuses across the country.

There were no warnings when the Guardsmen opened fire. 60 rounds were fire into the crowd of demonstrators. After an investigation, all the charges were dropped against the National Guard in 1974.

New audio from the day of the shootings has been released on a website dubbed KentState1970.org. The site also features images of the historic day’s tragic events.

 

Welcome to The Breakfast Club! We’re a disorganized group of rebel lefties who hang out and chat if and when we’re not too hungover  we’ve been bailed out we’re not too exhausted from last night’s (CENSORED) the caffeine kicks in. Everyone’s welcome here, no special handshake required. Just check your meta at the door.

Join us every weekday morning at 9am (ET) and weekend morning at 10:30am (ET) to talk about current news and our boring lives and to make fun of LaEscapee! If we are ever running late, it’s PhilJD’s fault.

This Day in History

“Punting the Pundits” is an Open Thread. It is a selection of editorials and opinions from around the news medium and the internet blogs. The intent is to provide a forum for your reactions and opinions, not just to the opinions presented, but to what ever you find important.

Thanks to ek hornbeck, click on the link and you can access all the past “Punting the Pundits”.

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The Sunday Talking Heads:

This Week with George Stephanopolis: The guests on Sunday’s “This Week” are  Sen. Al Franken (D-MI); NBA legend and Time Magazine columnist Kareem Abdul-Jabbar; comedian John Oliver; and The New York Times Magazine‘s Mark Leibovich.

Expounding at the roundtable are ABC News’ Cokie Roberts; ABC News contributor and syndicated radio host Laura Ingraham; CNN “Crossfire” co-host Van Jones; ABC News contributor and former Obama White House senior adviser David Plouffe; and former Sen. Rick Santorum.

Face the Nation with Bob Schieffer: Mr. Schieffer’s guests are Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC); and CBS News Foreign Correspondent Clarissa Ward

His panel guests are Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti; Richard Williams, father of Venus and Serena Williams; Michele Norris, NPR; Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Atlantic; Michael Eric Dyson of Georgetown University; William C. Rhoden, The New York Times; and CBS News Special Correspondent James Brown.

Meet the Press with David Gregory: Sunday’s MTP guests are Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX); and Sacramento mayor and former NBA All-Star, Kevin Johnson.

The roundtable pundits are will.i.am; Chuck Todd, NBC News Political Director & Chief White House Correspondent; Kathleen Parker, Washington Post columnist; Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT); Anita Dunn, former Obama White House Communications Director

State of the Union with Candy Crowley: Ms. Crowley’s guests are Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY16).

She will have two panels. The first panel will discuss the politics of race with Donna Brazile, Ana Navarro, and Gwen Ifill. The second is on the economy with Stephen Moore, Mark Zandi, and Annie Lowrey.

The world’s media have failed in their response to the kidnap of 200 Nigerian schoolgirls

Their abduction by terrorists has had little coverage compared with the missing Malaysian airliner

 JOAN SMITH  Sunday 4 May 2014

When members of the Islamist terror organisation Boko Haram abducted more than 200 schoolgirls from the town of Chibok in north-eastern Nigeria last month, they disguised themselves in military uniform. The girls, who knew that many schools in the state of Borno have been attacked by jihadists, initially believed that the unexpected visitors had come to take them to a safe place. But as they climbed reluctantly into trucks and on to motorcycles, the men began firing into the air and shouting “Allahu Akbar”. Some of the girls decided to make a run for it, but the majority were coerced into travelling to a bush camp. There the terrorists forced them to cook for their captors.