It’s been a long time so in case you’ve forgotten, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi is the Libyan Intellegence officer convicted of organizing the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 that killed 270 including 11 people in the town of Lockerbie, Scotland where the plane fell to earth.

Al-Megrahi was imprisoned from 2001 to 2009 when he was released for compassionate reasons with a supposedly terminal cancer diagnosis.  He’s still alive and was greeted on his return to Libya as a hero.

At the time of his release there was understandable outrage and the Blair/Brown British Labor government steadfastly maintained that the decision was made by Scottish authorities alone.

Well, it turns out that was a lie.

WikiLeaks cables show Government was ‘playing false’ over Lockerbie bomber

By Christopher Hope, and Robert Winnett, The Daily Telegraph

9:21 AM GMT 01 Feb 2011

A Foreign Office minister sent Libyan officials detailed legal advice on how to use Abdelbaset al-Megrahi’s cancer diagnosis to ensure he was released from a Scottish prison on compassionate grounds, documents obtained by the Daily Telegraph show.

The Duke of York is also said to have played a behind-the-scenes role in encouraging the terrorist’s release.

The Scottish First Minister said the revelations confirm that while his administration acted according to its public pronouncements on the affair, Tony Blair’s Government was behaving duplicitously.

“The cables … show that the former UK Government were playing false on the issue, with a different public position from their private one,” said a statement released by Mr Salmond’s office.

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.

February 1 is the 32nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 333 days remaining until the end of the year (334 in leap years).

On this day in 1896, the opera La Bohème receives its premiere in Turin.

La Bohème is an opera in four acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger. The world premiere performance of La Bohème was in Turin on 1 February 1896 at the Teatro Regio and conducted by the young Arturo Toscanini. Since then La Bohème has become part of the standard Italian opera repertory and is one of the most frequently performed operas internationally. According to Opera America, it is the second most frequently performed opera in the United States, just behind another Puccini opera, Madama Butterfly. In 1946, fifty years after the opera’s premiere, Toscanini conducted a performance of it on radio with the NBC Symphony Orchestra. This performance was eventually released on records and on Compact Disc. It is the only recording of a Puccini opera by its original conductor.

Origin of the story

According to its title page, the libretto of La bohème is based on Henri Murger‘s novel, Scènes de la vie de bohème, a collection of vignettes portraying young bohemians living in the Latin Quarter of Paris in the 1840s. Although usually called a novel, it has no unified plot. Like the 1849 play by Murger and Thèodore Barrière, the opera’s libretto focuses on the relationship between Rodolfo and Mimi, ending with her death. Also like the play, the libretto combines two characters from the novel, Mimi and Francine, into a single Mimi character.

Much of the libretto is original. The main plots of acts two and three are the librettists’ invention, with only a few passing references to incidents and characters in Murger. Most of acts one and four follow the novel, piecing together episodes from various chapters. The final scenes in acts one and four, the scenes with Rodolfo and Mimi, resemble both the play and the novel. The story of their meeting closely follows chapter 18 of the novel, in which the two lovers living in the garret are not Rodolphe and Mimi at all, but rather Jacques and Francine. The story of Mimi’s death in the opera draws from two different chapters in the novel, one relating Francine’s death and the other relating Mimi’s.

The published libretto includes a note from the librettists briefly discussing their adaptation. Without mentioning the play directly, they defend their conflation of Francine and Mimi into a single character: “Chi puo non confondere nel delicato profilo di una sola donna quelli di Mimi e di Francine?” (“Who cannot detect in the delicate profile of one woman the personality both of Mimi and of Francine?”) At the time, the novel was in the public domain, Murger having died without heirs, but rights to the play were still controlled by Barrière’s heirs.

 1327 – Teenaged Edward III is crowned King of England, but the country is ruled by his mother Queen Isabella and her lover Roger Mortimer.

1411 – The First Peace of Thorn is signed in Thorn, Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights (Prussia).

1587 – The Roanoke Colony on Roanoke Island is established by the landing of Sir Walter Raleigh. This Colony would become known as the “Lost Colony”

1662 – The Chinese general Koxinga seizes the island of Taiwan after a nine-month siege.

1709 – Alexander Selkirk is rescued after being shipwrecked on a desert island, inspiring the book Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe.

1713 – The Kalabalik or Tumult in Bendery results from the Ottoman sultan’s order that his unwelcome guest, King Charles XII of Sweden, be seized.

1790 – In New York City, the Supreme Court of the United States convenes for the first time.

1793 – French Revolutionary Wars: France declares war on the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.

1796 – The capital of Upper Canada is moved from Newark to York.

1814 – Mayon Volcano, in the Philippines, erupts, killing around 1,200 people, the most devastating eruption of the volcano.

1835 – Slavery is abolished in Mauritius.

1861 – American Civil War: Texas secedes from the United States.

1865 – President Abraham Lincoln signs the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

1884 – The first volume (A to Ant) of the Oxford English Dictionary is published.

1893 – Thomas A. Edison finishes construction of the first motion picture studio, the Black Maria in West Orange, New Jersey.

1896 – The opera La boheme receives its premiere in Turin.

1897 – Shinhan Bank, the oldest bank in South Korea, opens in Seoul.

1908 – King Carlos I of Portugal and his son, Prince Luis Filipe are killed in Terreiro do Paco, Lisbon.

1918 – Russia adopts the Gregorian Calendar.

1920 – The Royal Canadian Mounted Police begins operations.

1924 – The United Kingdom recognizes the USSR.

1942 – World War II: Josef Terboven, Reichskommissar of German-occupied Norway, appoints Vidkun Quisling the Minister President of the National Government.

1942 – World War II: U.S. Navy conducts Marshalls-Gilberts raids, the first offensive action by the United States against Japanese forces in the Pacific Theater.

1946 – Trygve Lie of Norway is picked to be the first United Nations Secretary General.

1957 – Felix Wankel’s first working prototype DKM 54 of the Wankel engine runs at the NSU research and development department Versuchsabteilung TX in Germany

1958 – Egypt and Syria merge to form the United Arab Republic, which lasted until 1961.

1960 – Four black students stage the first of the Greensboro sit-ins at a lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina.

1965 – The Hamilton River in Labrador, Canada is renamed the Churchill River in honour of Winston Churchill.

1968 – Vietnam War: The execution of Viet Cong officer Nguyen Van Lem by South Vietnamese National Police Chief Nguyen Ngoc Loan is videotaped and photographed by Eddie Adams. This image helped build opposition to the Vietnam War.

1968 – Canada’s three military services, the Royal Canadian Navy, the Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force, are unified into the Canadian Forces.

1968 – The New York Central Railroad and the Pennsylvania Railroad are merged to form the ill-fated Penn Central Transportation.

1972 – Kuala Lumpur becomes a city by a royal charter granted by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia.

1974 – A fire in the 25-story Joelma Building in Sao Paulo, Brazil kills 189 and injures 293.

1974 – Kuala Lumpur is declared a Federal Territory.

1978 – Director Roman Polanski skips bail and flees the United States to France after pleading guilty to charges of engaging in sex with a 13-year-old girl.

1979 – Convicted bank robber Patty Hearst is released from prison after her sentence is commuted by President Jimmy Carter.

1979 – The Ayatollah Khomeini is welcomed back to Tehran, Iran after nearly 15 years of exile.

1982 – Senegal and the Gambia form a loose confederation known as Senegambia.

1989 – The Western Australian towns of Kalgoorlie and Boulder amalgamate to form the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder.

1992 – The Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal court declares Warren Anderson, ex-CEO of Union Carbide, a fugitive under Indian law for failing to appear in the Bhopal Disaster case.

1993 – Gary Bettman becomes the NHL’s first commissioner

1996 – The Communications Decency Act is passed by the U.S. Congress.

1998 – Rear Admiral Lillian E. Fishburne became the first female African American to be promoted to rear admiral.

2003 – Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates during reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere, killing all seven astronauts aboard.

2004 – 251 people are trampled to death and 244 injured in a stampede at the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.

2004 – Janet Jackson’s breast is exposed during the half-time show of Super Bowl XXXVIII, resulting in US broadcasters adopting a stronger adherence to Federal Communications Commission censorship guidelines.

2005 – King Gyanendra of Nepal carries out a coup d’etat to capture the democracy, becoming Chairman of the Councils of ministers.

2009 – Johanna Siguroardottir is elected as the first female Prime Minister of Iceland, becoming the first openly gay head of government in the modern world.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_1#Holidays_and_observances Holidays and observances

   * Anniversary of the Abolition of Slavery (Mauritius)

   * Christian Feast Day:

         o Astina (Syrian Church)

         o Brigid, patron saint of Ireland

         o February 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

   * Federal Territory Day (Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya, Malaysia)

   * Imbolc (Celtic Calendar)

   * National Freedom Day (United States)

   * The start of Black History Month (United States and Canada)

   * The start of LGBT History Month (United Kingdom)

I Get To Be The Next President  

Exclusive intervew: Robert Fisk meets Mohamed ElBaradei, Egypt’s saviour-in-waiting

Mohamed ElBaradei: The man who would be President

Man of the moment? Of course Mohamed ElBaradei is. But man of the people, I have my doubts. He doesn’t claim to be, of course, and sitting in his garden easy chair near an impossibly blue but rather small swimming pool, he sometimes appears – even wearing his baseball hat – like a very friendly, shrewd and bespectacled mouse. He will not like that description, but this is a mouse, I suspect, with very sharp teeth.

It’s almost a delight to dissect the bigger mice who work in the White House and the State Department.

“Do you remember how on the second day, all we heard was that they were ‘monitoring the situation’. On the second day, Secretary Clinton said: ‘We assess the situation as stable’; it was funny yesterday, too, to hear Clinton say that ‘we have been urging the Egyptian Mubarak for 30 years to move on this – and he moved backward – how on earth can you still ask him to introduce democratic reform?

Be Careful Of The Dark Side Of The Force Bob

The chief executive of BP blamed his new business partner, the Russian deputy prime minister, for backing a “black” campaign that forced him to go on the run for his own protection, according to secret US government files.

WikiLeaks: BP boss Bob Dudley blamed new Rosneft partner Igor Sechin for ‘black’ plot against him

Bob Dudley was ousted from his previous job as head of the oil company’s Russian subsidiary, TNK-BP, after a boardroom coup in 2008, and decided to “move around” from country to country “as a precaution”, The Daily Telegraph has learnt.

Leaked US papers show that Mr Dudley believed the man behind the “war” against him was Igor Sechin, Russia’s deputy prime minister and chairman of the state-owned energy company, Rosneft. BP recently agreed a deal with Rosneft and the two men will now have to work closely together.

Angry? You Wouldn’t Like Us When Were Angry

Egypt’s Opposition  

Revolutionaries United in Anger  

Bilal can only speak in a whisper. At first he was just hoarse, then his voice turned into a croak and now he can barely speak at all. But that doesn’t stop him from mouthing the chant of the demonstrators: “The people want the end of the system,” over and over again. “The people want the end of the system.”

And with each passing day Bilal spends on the street, the goal seems to come a little closer.

Bilal has been on the streets of Cairo for much of the last six days, even spending several days on Liberation Square wrapped in a wollen blanket in the glow of a camp fire. Demonstrators conquered the square in the city center last Friday after a battle with police — and they haven’t budged from it since.

His Underpants Weren’t About To Explode But They Could Have Been Sniffed  

 

Congressman hid cocaine in underpants  

Philippine congressman Ronald Singson has admitted he tried to smuggle cocaine into Hong Kong as a court heard the lawmaker hid the drug in his underpants to elude airport security.

The colourful 42-year-old, who is from one of the Philippines’ most high-profile political families, admitted to bringing 6.67 grams of cocaine and two tablets of the narcotic Nitrazepam into the city on July 11, 2010.

Just Another Friedman Unit

 

Leaders set deadline to solve Côte d’Ivoire crisis

The two-day African Union summit was dominated by the continent’s latest crises including the uprising in Egypt and the popular revolt in Tunisia that ended the 23-year regime of president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

The leaders appointed a five-member panel of heads of state tasked with finding a solution to the leadership crisis in Côte d’Ivoire within a month.

Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz will head the panel, which also includes his counterparts from Burkina Faso, Chad, South Africa and Tanzania.

Fire Gods Are Speaking

Ash and smoke erupted from the 4,662-foot peak of Shinmoedake, part of the Kirishima mountain range on the island of Kyushu, in southwest Japan

Japan volcano erupts with big blast of ash and rocks

A volcano in southern Japan erupted again today in its most powerful explosion since it roared back to life last week, sending ash over a wide area and forcing the evacuation of hundreds of residents.

The latest eruption felled trees, sent boulders hurtling on to roads and smashed hundreds of windows in hotels and offices five miles away.

Local media said one woman had been cut by shattered glass, but there were no reports of serious injuries.

(10 am. – promoted by ek hornbeck)

Originally posted at The Great Orange Satan.

Welcome to the future.

For the past week, the citizens of Egypt have been protesting and calling for their “president” of 30 years to step down. And yes, there is a lot more to the story.  

But there is a bigger story here. Consider this: What have you really learned about the protests in Egypt (and Tunisia, Algeria, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Jordan and Lebanon) from the US media?

Let’s consider that.

To back up for a second, I am just old enough to remember CNN — previously derided as the “Chicken Noodle Network — mature during the first Gulf War. Sure, most times you turned it on, you would probably see reruns of a batch of happy jackasses journalists laughing about “the luckiest man in Iraq.” The point is CNN established itself as the go-to network for all current news from Iraq. For a different perspective about how the elder Bush sold the first invasion of Iraq more effectively than his boy, take 23 minutes and watch this.

Two years earlier, CNN and the networks (ABC, CBS, NBC) gave us a fair picture of the fall of communism in Eastern Europe. We even got decent coverage of the democracy movement in China. (My full thoughts on the Tank Man are here.) China cut off CNN’s coverage not long after that. Keep that historic sign off in mind. I’ll get back to it.

One Al Jazeera to rule them all

Al Jazeera wiki

The television station was created in 1996 and largely funded by the royal family of Qatar. You probably first heard of Al Jazeera after the September 11 attacks when they broadcast some of Osama bin Laden’s justifications for the attack. Prior to that, the U.S. government had praised Al Jazeera as an independent voice from the Middle East.

Here in Washington DC, we get the station as part of a cable package, but you probably don’t.

Naturally, the State Department was just fine with AJ as long as they toed the line (i.e. didn’t say anything too critical of U.S. foreign policy). They became media non grata when they tried to put events into perspective, which could have ruined the narrative. To wit: they broadcast Osama bin Laden’s videos. Just imagine the attackers having actual legitimate grievances! Oh the humanity!

Now Al Jazeera is back. On Friday, their website saw a spike in activity of 2500 percent. Half of that came from the United States. The live stream is here.

On Saturday, the government of Egypt went ahead and shut down AJ’s office in Cairo. The first word went out on Twitter:

RT @nolanjazeera: #Egypt state TV reporting Aljazeera office in #Cairo is to be shut down today. Licenses revoked #Jan25

Dan Nolan followed that up with this assurance.

RT @nolanjazeera: Don’t worry we’ll still report what’s happening in #Egypt no matter what new restrictions they put on us. #Jan25

Nolan’s and other reporters’ Twitter streams indicated that some Egyptian security officers shut down the offices. They also indicated that AJ was the only station being shut down, presumably because the station was drawing international attention to the crisis. They weren’t going to let a little thing like lack of media credentials or an office stop them from doing their jobs.

Now that’s some moxie. This is hardly the first time a tyrant has shut down Al Jazeera. Typically, dictators don’t like a media spotlight on their tyranny and it is an heroic act to keep broadcasting — and that is exactly what AJ has done, though they have been withholding the names of their reporters when they call in to give live updates. They didn’t just up and leave when the government told them too. (Granted, the security situations were vastly different, but the AJ folks showed some real backbone on Saturday.)

One of my journalism professors used to say, “If you are not pissing someone off, you are not doing your job.”

Or as I said on Twitter:

RT @CasualWednesday: Shutting down the free press is a tyrant’s act of desperation. #Egypt

So while we are having our well-deserved love affair with Al Jazeera, exactly why are we having it? Let’s look at the U.S. networks.

CNN: A bucket of meh

Remember them? Once upon a time, CNN was THE standard in news. This is going back a while, but here is a comparison between the websites of CNN and Al Jazeera one day.

Note: Graphic found here: Since When Did CNN Start Covering News?

Now in fairness, CNN has been reporting from Egypt, but they have been a bit behind the curve. I Tweeted early in the morning Jan. 28 that their website had a total news black out on anything about Egypt. Never mind that the protests have been going on since Jan. 25.

CNN also has people on the ground, but a random check on CNN is just as likely to turn up Wolf Blitzer interviewing some inside-the-beltway neo-con “expert” as someone on the ground who had some idea what he/she was talking about.

Update: Thanks to a daily kos commenter for this comment:

They had pretty good news coverage once the protests had already been mostly protested. I noticed throughout the day that the narrative went from “The people protesting the tyrant” to “The people looking for an excuse to fuck shit up.”

And I saw a similar narrative out of Fox, just with more focus on the “looters.” What this does is decreases support for the people and serves to build sympathy for the regime, which quite frankly probably tortured people for us.

Final analysis: Not bad, but try harder.

Fox “News”: keeping those ironic quotes honest

What else can I say? I just caught Geraldo “Al Capone’s Vault” Rivera pushing this narrative:

ZOMFG! We can’t let them have democracy! A majority might elect a government that doesn’t like American neo-cons! And they will be Muslims and all Muslims are extremists! Bomb them! Long Live Mubarak! Sure. he’s an asshole, but he’s our asshole.

I’ll give Fox “News” credit for always getting the dramatic war footage. It could have something to do with their toadying up to neo-cons who have an open mic there.

But never fear. Fox News remains as fact free as normal. For one thing, Egypt’s Muslims and Christians have been getting along just fine lately, thank you very much. For another thing, the Muslim Brotherhood — who has made Fox News, Free Republic, et al poop their britches — are not particularly extremist nor are they particularly likely to end up in control of whatever government emerges. In fact, that characterization is something the Mubarak regime has sold the West in an effort to keep that $1.3 billion in foreign aid rolling in.

Besides, the United States has been electing people even more extreme than the Muslim Brotherhood since the beginning of the Republic — we’re looking at you, Bachmann.

And at the end of the day, people living in a democracy get the government they deserve. I would rather see a democratically elected regime that does not like the United States than my tax money supporting a tin-pot dictator who loves oppressing the people.

And we have a long history of doing that.

Final analysis: Whatever

MSNBC: Home of Prison Porn

Need I say more? The second the talk shows end on Friday night the weekend Doc-Block starts. At some point, NBC shot a bunch of documentaries about prison life, true crime and internet predators. Other than reruns of “Meet the Press,” that is all you get all weekend.

That said, I did catch a few hours of coverage of Egypt on Saturday. The sad part is that MSNBC made a name for itself on 9/11 and has taken a decade off since then. Now I get that MSNBC has limited resources and saves money by signing off for the weekend. The point is that they have had numerous chances to grow up and be a real news network just by having people on the ground where news is happening. And they have no excuse this time. The Tunisia protests have been going on for weeks and the Egypt crisis has been going on since Tuesday and there were plenty of heads-up (notably on Twitter) that Saturday was going to be a big day.

Note: If they want to lean left or forward or whereever the hell, there are non neo-con types perfectly willing to give interviews.  

There is a reason that the 9-10 p.m. hour (EST) is fast becoming the only reason to watch that network.

Final analysis: There is a reason you are consistently third out of three.

Other options

First, you should call your cable provider and request more news offerings.

Until the corporate-controlled media offers more options, here are some streaming options for you:

Democracy Now (new shows every weekday)

RT (formerly Russia Today. Owned by the Russian Government Heavily subsidized by the Russian government with a lot of criticism of US policy and the occasional 9/11 conspiracy. They also have Thom Hartmann’s TV show.)

France 24 (One of the best quality livestreams I’ve seen)

Euronews (Pretty straightforward news and their “No comment” series is pretty neat)

Entirely unexciting.  Even Cable sucks.  Some premiers.

Mister… you can say anything you want about me. I’m gonna have to ask you not to talk about my horse that way.

• ABC Family– Pretty Little Liars (premier and Instapeat), Greek (premier)
• AMC– Hidalgo x 2 (rather recent)
• Comedy– American Pie, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia marathon
• Disney– Avalon High
• Discovery– Sr. v. Jr. (last week’s and new)
• ESPN– College Hoopies, Louisville @ Georgetown, Texas @ Texas A&M
• ESPN2– Women’s College Basketball, Duke at Connecticut
• Food– Triple D (premier)
• FX– What Happens in Vegas x 2
• History– Pickers and Pawn Stars (premiers)
• Lifetime– Homecoming, Taken From Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story
• Oxygen– Juno
• Sci Fi– Being Human (last week’s and new plus Instapeat)
• Spike– Blade: Trinity
• TBS– Family Guy marathon
• Turner Classic– Breathless, Baby Doll
• TLC– Cake Boss marathon (with premier)
• Toon– Adventure Time with Finn & Jake, Regular Show (premiers)
• Travel– Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations marathon
• Vs.– NHL All-Star Game (repeat)

Later-

• Oxygen– Stick It
• Turner Classic– The Rain People

Dave hosts Justin Bieber, Pauley Perrette, and Best Coast.  Jon has Bill Gates (ugh), Stephen Samer Shehata and Paul Offit.  Alton does Tacos and Tortillas.  Conan hosts Amy Poehler.

Well, what do you make of it so far?  Nope, too late to turn back now.

Zap2it TV Listings, Yahoo TV Listings

(9 pm. – promoted by ek hornbeck)

Crossposted at Daily Kos and Docudharma

THE WEEK IN EDITORIAL CARTOONS

This weekly diary takes a look at the past week’s important news stories from the perspective of our leading editorial cartoonists (including a few foreign ones) with analysis and commentary added in by me.

When evaluating a cartoon, ask yourself these questions:

1. Does a cartoon add to my existing knowledge base and help crystallize my thinking about the issue depicted?

2. Does the cartoonist have any obvious biases that distort reality?

3. Is the cartoonist reflecting prevailing public opinion or trying to shape it?

The answers will help determine the effectiveness of the cartoonist’s message.

:: ::

:: ::

INTRODUCTION

:: ::

Lowe doesn’t think much of Michele Bachmann and considers her a mini-me version of Sarah Palin

Just as we are becoming oversaturated with Sarah Palin, her tweets, her Facebook postings, her bull’s-eyes, her surveyor’s marks, her book signings, her narcissism, we learn that — like a female version of John the Baptist — she has only been preparing the way for one to follow.

For a couple of years now, Michele Bachmann has lurked on the lunatic fringe, not exactly a household name.  But she whose unabashed and unapologetic verbal bombs make Ms. Palin, by comparison, seem like a model of statesmanship is about to catapult herself onto the national stage in the form of a Tea Party (she is its self-proclaimed Grande Dame) rebuttal to both the President and the Republican establishment…

It’s hard to top calling for a federal investigation of the subversive, anti-patriotic tendencies of Democrats in Congress, but if Ms. Bachmann really wants to run for president, as she has been hinting, she’ll have to one-up herself and deliver the cheesecake.  Like all good politicians, Ms. Bachmann is fully aware that her real enemy is audience boredom.

As for Sarah Palin, we thank her for softening up the American people so that they can truly appreciate Rep. Bachmann’s gifts.  Nevertheless, she’s had more than her fifteen minutes, and her act has gone stale.  It’s time for her to take her millions and shuffle off into the obscurity she so well deserves… there’s a new girl in town.

Given how intensely they are hyped, most State of the Union speeches are largely forgotten within a few days.  Imagine if you are the patsy who has to give a response to this speech but absent the nation’s attention and the majesty of the House chamber on Capitol Hill.  

Now imagine if your speech is the (kinda) response to the response.  Well, let Daryl Cagle of Cagle Cartoons explain it

Find a politician who hangs out on the fringe and says crazy things (like the founding fathers ended slavery), and you’ll often find a local political cartoonist making a living lampooning her.

Bachmann has the misfortune of sharing a state with the talented Steve Sack, the terrific cartoonist at the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.  Steve has been a long-time contributor on Cagle.com, and we thought in light of Bachmann’s remarks tonight to share some of his funniest cartoons about the right’s second-favorite female politician.

Steve Sack, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Buy these cartoons

Click this link to see larger cartoon images

I have deliberately kept my commentary to a minimum in this diary as many of these exquisite cartoons speak quite loudly and clearly.  I literally have hundreds of never-posted editorial cartoons and posted 10-15 more cartoons in the comments section of this diary over at Daily Kos.  

Comments encouraged.  Hope you enjoy this week’s edition.  

:: ::

1. Cartoons of the Week

Brainwashing Unpatriotic Nutrition Plan by Clay Jones, Freelance-Star (Fredericksburg, VA), Buy this cartoon

It’s not a secret I’m no big fan of Fox News.  I think it’s irresponsible, reckless and dangerous to the country by giving out misinformation.  In the past there were bumper stickers that read “annoy the media.  Vote Republican.”  Well now the media is Republican as Fox News leads the way with viewers, which is another consternation of mine.  Why does the majority of people who watch news choose a source that’s so biased?

People argue that it balances out since CNN, MSNBC, ABC and CBS are so biased.  No it doesn’t balance out.

— While not a huge fan of Keith Olbermann, Jones has a strong dislike for Fox News, a “news” organization he has graphically mocked on many occasions in the past

Strong Personality by Nick Anderson, see reader comments in the Houston Chronicle

Jeff Darcy, Cleveland Plain-Dealer, Buy this cartoon

Sarah Palin in the Crosshairs by Taylor Jones, Politicalcartoons.com, Buy this cartoon

Martyn Turner, Irish Times (Ireland), Buy this cartoon

Mike Luckovich, Comics.com (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Jeff Danziger, Yahoo Comics/New York Times Syndicate and Joe Lieberman by Taylor Jones, Politicalcartoons.com, Buy this cartoon  

(click link to enlarge cartoon)

Joe Lieberman Monument by Andy Singer, Politicalcartoons.com, Buy this cartoon  

Guns & Ammo by Clay Bennett, Comics.com, see the large number of reader comments in the Chattanooga Times Free Press

Arizona Gun Laws by Bob Englehart, see reader comments in the Hartford Courant, Buy this cartoon

I hope an investigation sheds light on how that Tucson killer was able to buy a gun.  He has a long record of disturbing behavior behind him.  Don’t they keep track of the nut cases in Arizona, or would it be too much to ask for.  

— Englehart recognizing loopholes in existing laws and calling for states to improve background checks on potential gun buyers who are mentally unstable

Steele-Toe Shoes by Nate Beeler, Washington Examiner, Buy this cartoon

Jeff Danziger, Yahoo Comics/New York Times Syndicate

(click link to enlarge cartoon)

The House GOP’s First Act of Recklessness by Chris Britt, Comics.com, see reader comments in the State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL)

Damien Glez, Journal du Jeudi (Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso), Buy this cartoon

Tunisian Dictator Overthrown by Arend van Dam (The Netherlands), Buy this cartoon

Emanuel Court Ruling by Dave Granlund, Politicalcartoons.com, Buy this cartoon

Scott Stantis, Comics.com (Chicago Tribune)

Hu Jintao in America by Patrick Chappatte, International Herald Tribune, Buy this cartoon

Rob Rogers, Comics.com (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

President Hu of China is in town for a big state dinner at the White House.  The sad thing is, we’re probably using money we borrowed from China to pull the whole thing off.

— Rogers stating the obvious, i.e., China holds a large amount of U.S. debt and, thus, that makes it difficult for many Americans to, say, lecture China on other issues of concern like human rights abuses

Obama and Hu Playing Poker by Riber Hansson (Sweden), Buy this cartoon

Polar Bears by Bob Englehart, see reader comments in the Hartford Courant, Buy this cartoon

Gas Price Formula by Dave Granlund, Politicalcartoons.com, Buy this cartoon

Baby Doc Comes Home by Randall Enos, Cagle Cartoons, Buy this cartoon

Baby Doc Duvalier by Jimmy Margulies, New Jersey Record, Buy this cartoon

Jeff Darcy, Cleveland Plain-Dealer, Buy this cartoon

Rex Babin, Sacramento Bee, Buy this cartoon

Mama Griz by David Fitzsimmons, Arizona Star, Buy this cartoon

Tim Eagan, Deep Cover, Buy this cartoon

Chasm by David Fitzsimmons, Arizona Star, Buy this cartoon

Steve Benson, Comics.com (Arizona Republic)

:: ::

2. More on the SOTU Speech: Who’s Crying Now

Speaker Boehner by Clay Bennett, Comics.com, see reader comments in the Chattanooga Times Free Press

The U.S. House of Representatives has become the Theater of the Absurd, starring John of Orange, aka ‘The Weeper.’  Can anyone describe a scenario where the new Speaker of the House would ever introduce a bill that would actually help out working class people?  How about a bill that would address unemployment? Job creation was a favorite republican political mantra last Fall.

Can you think of one proposal the GOP is currently kicking around that would not benefit millionaires or mult-national corporations?  Hell no, you can’t.

Political Discourse by David Fitzsimmons, Arizona Star, Buy this cartoon

David Horsey, see reader comments in the

Seattle Post-Intelligencer

(click link to enlarge cartoon)

Spending Freeze by Nick Anderson, Comics.com, see reader comments in the Houston Chronicle

Mike Luckovich, Comics.com (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

The Report by Clay Bennett, Comics.com, see reader comments in the Chattanooga Times Free Press

Jeff Koterba, Omaha World Herald, Buy this cartoon

Sputnik Moment by RJ Matson, St. Louis Post Dispatch, Buy this cartoon

The New Congressional Civility by Bruce Plante, see the large number of reader comments in Tulsa World, Buy this cartoon

Super Serious Sarah by Milt Priggee, www.miltpriggee.com, Buy this cartoon

Paul Szep, Comics.com

:: ::

3. Super Bowl Shuffle: Congratulations to the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers

Scott Stantis, Comics.com (Chicago Tribune)

Scott Stantis, Comics.com (Chicago Tribune)

There’s always next year, Bears by Chris Britt, Comics.com, see reader comments in the State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL)

Smash Talk by Rob Rogers, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Buy this cartoon

Granted, Rex Ryan was much quieter than normal during the week between the Patriots and the Steelers.  Why… who knows?  But for an entire season (and more if you watched the HBO reality show) we’ve been hearing him go on and on about the Jets winning the Super Bowl and trash-talking everybody else.  I understand that some of that stuff is part of the game.  But it gets old after a while.

— Rogers himself engaging in a bit of trash talk after his Steelers made it to the Super Bowl for (along with the Dallas Cowboys) a record-tying 8th time

Steelers Vs the Jets by Randy Bish, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Buy this cartoon

Jets Fans by Jimmy Margulies, New Jersey Record, Buy this cartoon

:: :

4. RIP Sargent Shriver (1915-2011), Jack LaLanne (1914-2011), and Remembering Christa McAuliffe (1948-1986)

Sargent Shriver by Steve Greenberg, Freelance Cartoonist (Los Angeles, CA), Buy this cartoon

Deb Milbrath, milbrathdraws.com

(click cartoon to enlarge it)

Jeff Stahler, Comics.com (Columbus Dispatch)

Mark Streeter, Savannah Morning News, Buy this cartoon

Christa McAuliffe Tribute by Dave Granlund, Politicalcartoons.com, Buy this cartoon

Christa McAuliffe Illustration by Dave Granlund, Politicalcartoons.com, Buy this cartoon

:: ::

5. Final Thoughts

Jeff Koterba, Omaha World Herald, Buy this cartoon

:: ::

In the Garden of Eden, do you wonder if Adam and Eve ever talked about the forbidden fruit?  Given that they were tekkies, I bet the chit chat even included some mention of Steve Jobs.  Maybe even of the dreaded DK4!

:: ::

A Note About the Diary Poll

There have been many great speeches given over the course of history.  What makes for a memorable speech?

These speeches lifted hearts in dark times, gave hope in despair, refined the characters of men, inspired brave feats, gave courage to the weary, honored the dead, and changed the course of history…

Great oratory has three components: style, substance, and impact.

Style: A great speech must be masterfully constructed. The best orators are masters of both the written and spoken word, and use words to create texts that are beautiful to both hear and read.

Substance: A speech may be flowery and charismatically presented, and yet lack any true substance at all. Great oratory must center on a worthy theme; it must appeal to and inspire the audience’s finest values and ideals.

Impact: Great oratory always seeks to persuade the audience of some fact or idea. The very best speeches change hearts and minds and seem as revelatory several decades or centuries removed as when they were first given.

I have only included a few of history’s great speeches and addresses in the diary poll.  It is not the definitive list of its kind.  If your favorite one is missing, mention it in the comments section.  And you might even be able to find it on one of these lists

• American Rhetoric: Top 100 Speeches of the 20th Century
• Great Speeches Collection
• The 35 Greatest Speeches in History
• Famous Speeches in History

 Loading ...

Evening Edition is an Open Thread

Now with 54 Top Stories.

1 Egypt army backs people’s demands, holds fire

by Charles Onians, AFP

1 hr 1 min ago

So for Mubarak- Game over dude, game over.

2 Oil hits $101 a barrel as Egypt protests mount

AFP

26 mins ago

3 ElBaradei hails new era on Day Six of Egypt fury

by Samer al-Atrush, AFP

Sun Jan 30, 7:43 pm ET

4 Egypt army says demands legitimate, will not shoot

by Jailan Zayan, AFP

2 hrs 34 mins ago

5 Egypt protesters call for ‘million man march’

by Jailan Zayan, AFP

Mon Jan 31, 8:25 am ET

6 Big turnout urged as Niger votes for new leader

by Boureima Hama, AFP

Mon Jan 31, 11:58 am ET

7 African leaders agree new I. Coast crisis strategy

by Ben Simon, AFP

35 mins ago

8 EU, US slap new sanctions on Belarus leader, allies

by Alain Jean-Robert, AFP

1 hr 49 mins ago

9 WTO delivers verdict on Airbus vs. Boeing

AFP

1 hr 45 mins ago

10 China goes rabbit-crazy for Lunar New Year

by Sebastien Blanc, AFP

43 mins ago

11 Clinton tries to break Haiti deadlock

by Lachlan Carmichael, AFP

Sun Jan 30, 6:41 pm ET

12 Nicotine study opens path for anti-smoking drug

by Marlowe Hood, AFP

Sun Jan 30, 5:25 pm ET

13 ICBC leads charge as Chinese banks go global

by Boris Cambreleng, AFP

Sun Jan 30, 6:52 pm ET

14 Chinese property ‘bubble’ fuels hard landing fears

by Hui Min Neo, AFP

Sun Jan 30, 6:49 pm ET

15 African turmoil casts pall over summit

by Ben Simon, AFP

2 hrs 19 mins ago

16 Chirac ‘very well’ despite Alzheimer’s claim

by Roland Lloyd Parry, AFP

Mon Jan 31, 12:01 pm ET

17 Mubarak offers talks, pushed by army, U.S. and protests

By Samia Nakhoul and Alison Williams, Reuters

37 mins ago

18 Governments and firms evacuate citizens from Egypt

By Victoria Bryan, Reuters

Mon Jan 31, 1:45 pm ET

19 ElBaradei urges U.S. to abandon Mubarak

By Phil Stewart and David Morgan, Reuters

Sun Jan 30, 7:31 pm ET

20 Europe’s Arabs view Middle East chaos in awe, fear

By Mohammed Abbas, Reuters

Sun Jan 30, 4:11 pm ET

21 Judge strikes down healthcare reform law

By Tom Brown, Reuters

56 mins ago

22 Judge may escalate battle over healthcare reform

By Tom Brown, Reuters

Mon Jan 31, 8:22 am ET

23 AAR dividend move fuels row over BP’s Rosneft deal

By Tom Bergin and Vladimir Soldatkin, Reuters

Mon Jan 31, 2:33 pm ET

24 Macau’s Ho fights for assets, appeals for fresh start

By Alison Leung and Farah Master, Reuters

Mon Jan 31, 8:03 am ET

25 Pakistani children haunted by images of flood waters

By Michael Georgy, Reuters

Mon Jan 31, 7:40 am ET

26 Egypt military promises no force against protests

By HAMZA HENDAWI and MAGGIE MICHAEL, Associated Press

25 mins ago

27 Officials: US hoping Mubarak skips re-election bid

By BRADLEY KLAPPER and MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press

18 mins ago

28 Officials: US hoping Mubarak skips re-election bid

By BRADLEY KLAPPER and MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press

22 mins ago

29 Cairo airport a scene of chaos as foreigners flee

By VICTORIA HAZOU and MENELAOS HADJICOSTIS, Associated Press

1 hr 23 mins ago

30 Analysis: The US moral conundrum in Egypt

By STEVEN R. HURST, Associated Press

Mon Jan 31, 11:05 am ET

31 Fla. judge strikes down Obama health care overhaul

By MELISSA NELSON, Associated Press

23 mins ago

32 Lesbian students enter to cheers at Minn. school

By CHRIS WILLIAMS, Associated Press

32 mins ago

33 Diabetes in pregnancy a risk for mom years later

By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Medical Writer

1 hr 48 mins ago

34 Chrysler 4Q loss narrows thanks to new vehicles

By TOM KRISHER, AP Auto Writer

21 mins ago

35 Egyptian protesters are conflicted over US role

By DIAA HADID, Associated Press

Mon Jan 31, 2:24 pm ET

36 Axelrod on way out: ‘We’ve learned some lessons’

By BEN FELLER, AP White House Correspondent

Mon Jan 31, 12:10 pm ET

37 Gov’t advising Americans to cut down on salt

By MARY CLARE JALONICK, Associated Press

Mon Jan 31, 1:35 pm ET

38 Myanmar’s parliament opens under tight security

By AYE AYE WIN, Associated Press

Mon Jan 31, 8:19 am ET

39 NFC storms to big lead, takes Pro Bowl 55-41

By BOB BAUM, AP Sports Writer

Mon Jan 31, 7:53 am ET

40 Despite China’s might, US factories maintain edge

By PAUL WISEMAN, AP Economics Writer

Mon Jan 31, 6:35 am ET

41 Bar manager: Mosque bomb plot suspect vowed blast

By JEFF KAROUB, Associated Press

2 hrs 33 mins ago

42 AP Interview: Taurasi denies taking stimulant

By DOUG FEINBERG, AP Basketball Writer

Mon Jan 31, 1:53 pm ET

43 For bayou Indians, spill threatens a way of life

By CAIN BURDEAU, Associated Press

Mon Jan 31, 6:13 am ET

44 Attorney: Navy officer never told to stop videos

By STEVE SZKOTAK, Associated Press

36 mins ago

45 White House launches new program for startup firms

By JIM KUHNHENN, Associated Press

1 hr 7 mins ago

46 Rare western gray whale tracked off Canada

DAN JOLING, Associated Press

1 hr 32 mins ago

47 Veterans, families of KIA torn over flag proposal

By KRISTEN WYATT, Associated Press

1 hr 45 mins ago

48 Report: Immigration law not enforced consistently

By KATE BRUMBACK, Associated Press

2 hrs 43 mins ago

49 GOP lawmakers paying price for tough-on-crime laws

By SEAN MURPHY, Associated Press

2 hrs 50 mins ago

50 Trial for polygamist leader Jeffs postponed again

By PAUL J. WEBER, Associated Press

Mon Jan 31, 2:16 pm ET

51 Gates: Helping world’s poor is a good investment

By DONNA GORDON BLANKINSHIP, Associated Press

Mon Jan 31, 12:49 pm ET

52 Lawyer for Wis. accuser: Vatican rejected lawsuit

By PATRICK CONDON, Associated Press

Mon Jan 31, 12:24 pm ET

53 Funeral pyres an option in Colo. mountain town

By IVAN MORENO, Associated Press

Mon Jan 31, 11:42 am ET

54 Pie-makers aim for pizza Super Bowl action

By MICHELLE LOCKE, For The Associated Press

Mon Jan 31, 11:40 am ET

“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”.

Mark Levine: President Obama, say the ‘D-Word’

US appears to shy away from talk about democracy in Middle East, despite historic anti-government rallies in ally Egypt.

It’s incredible, really. The president of the United States can’t bring himself to talk about democracy in the Middle East. He can dance around it, use euphemisms, throw out words like “freedom” and “tolerance” and “non-violent” and especially “reform,” but he can’t say the one word that really matters: democracy.

How did this happen? After all, in his famous 2009 Cairo speech to the Muslim world, Obama spoke the word loudly and clearly – at least once.

“The fourth issue that I will address is democracy,” he declared, before explaining that while the United States won’t impose its own system, it was committed to governments that “reflect the will of the people… I do have an unyielding belief that all people yearn for certain things: the ability to speak your mind and have a say in how you are governed; confidence in the rule of law and the equal administration of justice; government that is transparent and doesn’t steal from the people; the freedom to live as you choose. Those are not just American ideas, they are human rights, and that is why we will support them everywhere.”

“No matter where it takes hold,” the president concluded, “government of the people and by the people sets a single standard for all who hold power.”

Simply rhetoric?

Of course, this was just rhetoric, however lofty, reflecting a moment when no one was rebelling against the undemocratic governments of our allies – at least not openly and in a manner that demanded international media coverage.

Now it’s for real.

And “democracy” is scarcely to be heard on the lips of the president or his most senior officials.

E. J. Dionne, Jr: Can Obama Make Sense of Government?

A cynic might be justified in seeing a call for a sweeping reorganization of the federal government as the last refuge of a politician who doesn’t want to ruffle any ideological feathers.

For example, President Barack Obama could have used last week’s State of the Union address to propose a ban on those high-capacity gun magazines that made the recent Tucson tragedy so lethal. But doing this would have brought down the wrath of the National Rifle Association. So, sadly, he took a pass.

The president’s aides were quick to say he would address the gun issue soon, explaining that Obama didn’t want a hot-button issue to divert attention from his theme of “winning the future.”

So giving Obama the benefit of the doubt for now on guns, what is one to make of his pledge to build a “21st-century government that’s open and competent” and “driven by new skills and new ideas”?

Stephen Soldz: The Torture Career of Egypt’s New Vice President: Omar Suleiman and the Rendition to Torture Program

n response to the mass protests of recent days, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has appointed his first Vice President in his over 30 years rule, intelligence chief Omar Suleiman. When Suleiman was first announced, Aljazeera commentators were describing him as a “distinguished” and “respected ” man. It turns out, however, that he is distinguished for, among other things, his central role in Egyptian torture and in the US rendition to torture program. Further, he is “respected” by US officials for his cooperation with their torture plans, among other initiatives.

Katherine Hawkins, an expert on the US’s rendition to torture program, in an email, has sent some critical texts where Suleiman pops up. Thus, Jane Mayer, in The Dark Side, pointed to Suleiman’s role in the rendition program:

Each rendition was authorized at the very top levels of both governments….The long-serving chief of the Egyptian central intelligence agency, Omar Suleiman,     negotiated directly with top Agency officials.  [Former U.S. Ambassador to Egypt] Walker described the Egyptian counterpart, Suleiman, as “very bright, very realistic,” adding that he was cognizant that there was a downside to “some of the negative things that the Egyptians engaged in, of torture and so on. But he was not squeamish, by the way” (pp. 113).

Robert Fisk: Egypt: Death Throes of a Dictatorship

The Egyptian tanks, the delirious protesters sitting atop them, the flags, the 40,000 protesters weeping and crying and cheering in Freedom Square and praying around them, the Muslim Brotherhood official sitting amid the tank passengers. Should this be compared to the liberation of Bucharest? Climbing on to an American-made battle tank myself, I could only remember those wonderful films of the liberation of Paris. A few hundred meters away, Hosni Mubarak’s black-uniformed security police were still firing at demonstrators near the interior ministry. It was a wild, historical victory celebration, Mubarak’s own tanks freeing his capital from his own dictatorship.

In the pantomime world of Mubarak himself – and of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in Washington – the man who still claims to be president of Egypt swore in the most preposterous choice of vice-president in an attempt to soften the fury of the protesters – Omar Suleiman, Egypt’s chief negotiator with Israel and his senior intelligence officer, a 75-year-old with years of visits to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and four heart attacks to his credit. How this elderly apparatchik might be expected to deal with the anger and joy of liberation of 80 million Egyptians is beyond imagination. When I told the demonstrators on the tank around me the news of Suleiman’s appointment, they burst into laughter.

Robert Naiman: ElBaradei, Muslim Brotherhood Offer Political Path Out of Egyptian Confrontation

Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood leader Essam el-Eryan said today that Egyptian opposition groups have agreed to back former IAEA head Mohamed ElBaradei to negotiate with the government, Al Jazeera reports:

   Egypt’s opposition groups have agreed to support opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei to negotiate with the government, a leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood said on Sunday.

   “Political groups support ElBaradei to negotiate with the regime,” Essam el-Eryan told Al Jazeera.

This move by Egyptian opposition groups potentially offers a peaceful path out of the crisis not only for the Egyptian government, but also for the United States government, which is finding itself the object of increasingly bitter criticism from Egyptians who back the protesters’ call for Mubarak to step down and see the policy of the United States of backing Mubarak as a key obstacle to the realization of their aspirations for free and fair elections. Failure to take advantage of this opportunity could lead to a bloody showdown in the streets – even worse than what we have seen already – for which the U.S. would bear significant responsibility.

John Nichols: Keith Ellison: US Must ‘Get on the Right Side’ of Middle East Democracy Wave

When Congressman Keith Ellison was elected to the US House in 1986 as the first Muslim to serve in Congress, he was immediately challenged by Virginia Congressman Virgil Goode, a Republican who represented a district that included Thomas Jefferson’s home at Monticello. Goode demanded to know whether Ellison would place his hand on a Koran when swearing his oath. It was an attempt, cheered on by many conservative commentators, to paint Ellison as”the other,” as somehow un-American.

Ellison countered masterfully.

The new congressman arranged to borrow a Koran placed in the Library of Congress almost two centuries earlier.

Prior to becoming the property of the American people, the Koran had belonged to one Thomas Jefferson.

Nancy Goldstein: Koch Brothers v. the Left in Palm Springs

There’s a good chance that readers of this page already have some idea who David and Charles Koch are, and what’s happening this weekend, as the sugar daddies of the Tea Party throw a little party of their own in Palm Springs. Invitees include a pack of their billionaire friends, plus prominent pundits, Republican party officials, and lawmakers, a number of whom benefited from hefty Koch contributions this last campaign cycle.

Together they’ll strategize how to get rid of every regulation or politician that stands in the way of wealthy people becoming wealthier; namely, taxes, healthcare reform, environmental and financial protections, Obama, and what little remains of the social safety net. Citizens United will undoubtedly energize the annual end-of-weekend ritual when all the donors-forty percent of them new-whip out their checkbooks to underwrite these adventures in subverting democracy with an eye to their bottom line.

Just News so far.

1 Chinese property ‘bubble’ fuels hard landing fears

by Hui Min Neo, AFP

Sun Jan 30, 6:49 pm ET

2 ICBC leads charge as Chinese banks go global

by Boris Cambreleng, AFP

Sun Jan 30, 6:52 pm ET

3 ‘Milestone’ WTO ruling due in EU-US Boeing battle

by Agnes Pedrero, AFP

Sun Jan 30, 12:30 am ET

4 Davos political leaders struggle to advance agenda

by Jean-Louis de la Vaissiere, AFP

Sun Jan 30, 5:35 am ET

5 Irish senate passes bailout bill ahead of election

by Andrew Bushe, AFP

Sat Jan 29, 5:27 pm ET

6 Doha trade deal deadline fixed ‘for July’

by Alexandra Troubnikoff, AFP

Sat Jan 29, 11:25 am ET

7 Comcast finalizes deal for NBCUniversal

AFP

Sat Jan 29, 4:31 pm ET

8 India Maruti’s profit falls on rising costs

by Penny MacRae, AFP

Sat Jan 29, 10:28 am ET

9 Philippines posts record economic growth

by Cecil Morella, AFP

Mon Jan 31, 2:48 am ET

10 Quiet Uruguay beach town booms with celebrities

by Ana Ines Cibils, AFP

Mon Jan 31, 2:14 am ET

11 Japan output accelerates on global recovery

by Hiroshi Hiyama, AFP

Mon Jan 31, 12:34 am ET

12 India courts new money as investment slides

by Penny MacRae, AFP

Sun Jan 30, 2:27 am ET

13 Fight to finish on US-S.Korea trade pact

by Shaun Tandon, AFP

Sat Jan 29, 11:38 pm ET

14 Support grows for lengthening Greek debt payback

By Paul Taylor and George Georgiopoulos, Reuters

1 hr 3 mins ago

15 AAR dividend move fuels row over BP’s Rosneft deal

By Tom Bergin and Vladimir Soldatkin, Reuters

1 hr 36 mins ago

16 Honda eyes bigger full-year profit as Q3 tops forecast

By Chang-Ran Kim, Asia autos correspondent, Reuters

Mon Jan 31, 4:30 am ET

17 Mizuho’s sequential quarterly profit dip shows outlook toughens

By Taiga Uranaka, Reuters

2 hrs 48 mins ago

18 Macau’s Ho fights for assets, appeals for fresh start

By Alison Leung and Farah Master, Reuters

1 hr 39 mins ago

19 India approves long-delayed $12 billion POSCO steel mill

By Nigam Prusty and Paul de Bendern, Reuters

Mon Jan 31, 4:54 am ET

20 Alpha agrees to buy Massey Energy for about $7.1 billion

By Michael Erman and Ann Saphir, Reuters

Sun Jan 30, 12:25 am ET

21 Focus on Egypt, earnings, jobs

By Caroline Valetkevitch, Reuters

Sun Jan 30, 11:30 am ET

22 Jobs, inflation and Egypt

By Jeremy Gaunt, European Investment Correspondent

Sun Jan 30, 9:50 am ET

23 Bankers play contrite, offer olive branch at Forum

By Lisa Jucca, Reuters

Sat Jan 29, 8:50 am ET

24 Euro zone crisis seen turning corner

By Paul Taylor, Reuters

Sat Jan 29, 8:11 am ET

25 Goldman CEO gets salary boost, $12.6 million shares

By Elinor Comlay and Dan Wilchins, Reuters

Fri Jan 28, 8:31 pm ET

26 Paulson’s $5 billion payout shocks, raises questions

By Svea Herbst-Bayliss, Reuters

Fri Jan 28, 8:15 pm ET

27 BofA banker bonuses likely down, cash portion up

By Joe Rauch, Reuters

Fri Jan 28, 5:17 pm ET

28 Chevron profit climbs, but reserves data weigh

By Matt Daily and Braden Reddall, Reuters

Fri Jan 28, 5:22 pm ET

29 Sara Lee to split in two after bids fail to entice

By Martinne Geller, Reuters

Fri Jan 28, 4:16 pm ET

30 Chrysler cuts 4Q net loss as comeback continues

By TOM KRISHER, AP Auto Writer

58 mins ago

31 Despite China’s might, US factories maintain edge

By PAUL WISEMAN, AP Economics Writer

2 hrs 31 mins ago

32 Moody’s cuts Egypt bond rating, outlook

By TAREK EL-TABLAWY, AP Business Writer

35 mins ago

33 Egypt’s economy hurt as travelers avoid the unrest

By SCOTT MAYEROWITZ, AP Business Writer

1 hr 1 min ago

34 For bayou Indians, spill threatens a way of life

By CAIN BURDEAU, Associated Press

2 hrs 59 mins ago

35 Face of Mideast unrest: young and hungry for jobs

By BRIAN MURPHY, Associated Press

Sun Jan 30, 11:27 pm ET

36 As chaos reigns, foreigners advised to leave Egypt

By TAREK EL-TABLAWY, AP Business Writer

Sun Jan 30, 6:09 pm ET

37 Microbreweries turning from glass to metal

By CLARKE CANFIELD, Associated Press

Sun Jan 30, 1:03 pm ET

38 An uncertain future after jobless benefits expire

By CRISTINA SILVA, Associated Press

Sat Jan 29, 11:43 pm ET

39 Alpha Natural reaches $7.1B deal for Massey Energy

By ANDREW VANACORE and TIM HUBER, AP Business Writers

Sun Jan 30, 3:33 am ET

40 Comcast takes control of NBC Universal

By RYAN NAKASHIMA, AP Business Writer

Sat Jan 29, 10:52 pm ET

41 Stimulus funds help wire rural homes for Internet

By JOHN CURRAN, Associated Press

Sat Jan 29, 2:55 pm ET

42 Commerce cuts coming in Obama’s reorganization?

By JIM KUHNHNEN, Associated Press

Sat Jan 29, 3:22 pm ET

43 With new casino, Syria bets on openness to world

By ZEINA KARAM, Associated Press

Sun Jan 30, 12:22 am ET

44 Tourists besiege Cairo airport, but flights halt

By TAREK EL-TABLAWY, AP Business Writer

Sat Jan 29, 5:20 pm ET

45 Massey disputes key MSHA findings on W.Va. blast

By VICKI SMITH, Associated Press

Fri Jan 28, 11:25 pm ET

46 Taco Bell takes its beef with lawsuit to public

By SARAH SKIDMORE and BRUCE SCHREINER, AP Business Writers

Fri Jan 28, 6:49 pm ET

47 Here’s what’s coming to ski, board shops next year

By CATHERINE TSAI, Associated Press

Fri Jan 28, 6:32 pm ET

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.

January 31 is the 31st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 334 days remaining until the end of the year (335 in leap years).

On this day in 1865, The United States Congress passes the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, abolishing slavery, submitting it to the states for ratification.

The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution officially abolished and continues to prohibit slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. It was passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864, passed by the House on January 31, 1865, and adopted on December 6, 1865. On December 18, Secretary of State William H. Seward, in a proclamation, declared it to have been adopted. It was the first of the Reconstruction Amendments.

President Lincoln was concerned that the Emancipation Proclamation, which outlawed slavery in the ten Confederate states still in rebellion in 1863, would be seen as a temporary war measure, since it was based on his war powers and did not abolish slavery in the border states.

Text

Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation

History

The first twelve amendments were adopted within fifteen years of the Constitution’s adoption. The first ten (the Bill of Rights) were adopted in 1791, the Eleventh Amendment in 1795 and the Twelfth Amendment in 1804. When the Thirteenth Amendment was proposed there had been no new amendments adopted in more than sixty years.

During the secession crisis, but prior to the outbreak of the Civil War, the majority of slavery-related bills had protected slavery. The United States had ceased slave importation and intervened militarily against the Atlantic slave trade, but had made few proposals to abolish domestic slavery, and only a small number to abolish the domestic slave trade. Representative John Quincy Adams had made a proposal in 1839, but there were no new proposals until December 14, 1863, when a bill to support an amendment to abolish slavery throughout the entire United States was introduced by Representative James Mitchell Ashley (Republican, Ohio). This was soon followed by a similar proposal made by Representative James F. Wilson(Republican, Iowa).

Eventually the Congress and the public began to take notice and a number of additional legislative proposals were brought forward. On January 11, 1864, Senator John B. Henderson of Missouri submitted a joint resolution for a constitutional amendment abolishing slavery. The abolition of slavery had historically been associated with Republicans, but Henderson was one of the War Democrats. The Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Lyman Trumbull (Republican, Illinois), became involved in merging different proposals for an amendment. On February 8 of that year, another Republican, Senator Charles Sumner (Radical Republican, Massachusetts), submitted a constitutional amendment to abolish slavery as well as guarantee equality. As the number of proposals and the extent of their scope began to grow, the Senate Judiciary Committee presented the Senate with an amendment proposal combining the drafts of Ashley, Wilson and Henderson.

Originally the amendment was co-authored and sponsored by Representatives James Mitchell Ashley (Republican, Ohio) and James F. Wilson (Republican, Iowa) and Senator John B. Henderson (Democrat, Missouri).

While the Senate did pass the amendment on April 8, 1864, by a vote of 38 to 6, the House declined to do so. After it was reintroduced by Representative James Mitchell Ashley, President Lincoln took an active role in working for its passage through the House by ensuring the amendment was added to the Republican Party platform for the upcoming Presidential elections. His efforts came to fruition when the House passed the bill on January 31, 1865, by a vote of 119 to 56. The Thirteenth Amendment’s archival copy bears an apparent Presidential signature, under the usual ones of the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate, after the words “Approved February 1, 1865”.

The Thirteenth Amendment completed the abolition of slavery, which had begun with the Emancipation Proclamation issued by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863.

Shortly after the amendment’s adoption, selective enforcement of certain laws, such as laws against vagrancy, allowed blacks to continue to be subjected to involuntary servitude in some cases. See also Black Codes.

The Thirteenth Amendment was followed by the Fourteenth Amendment (civil rights in the states), in 1868, and the Fifteenth Amendment (which bans racial voting restrictions), in 1870.

 314 – Silvester I begins his reign as Pope of the Catholic Church, succeeding Pope Miltiades.

1504 – France cedes Naples to Aragon.

1606 – Gunpowder Plot: Guy Fawkes is executed for his plotting against Parliament and James I of England.

1747 – The first venereal diseases clinic opens at London Lock Hospital.

1814 – Gervasio Antonio de Posadas becomes Supreme Director of Argentina.

1846 – After the Milwaukee Bridge War, Juneautown and Kilbourntown unified as the City of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

1848 – John C. Fremont is court-martialed on grounds of mutiny and disobeying orders.

1849 – Corn Laws are abolished in the United Kingdom (following legislation in 1846).

1862 – Alvan Graham Clark discovers the white dwarf star Sirius B, a companion of Sirius, through an 18.5-inch telescope now located at Northwestern University.

1865 – American Civil War: The United States Congress passes the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, abolishing slavery, submitting it to the states for ratification.

1865 – American Civil War: Confederate General Robert E. Lee becomes general-in-chief.

1867 – Maronite nationalist leader Youssef Karam leaves Lebanon on board a French ship for Algeria

1876 – The United States orders all Native Americans to move into reservations.

1891 – The first attempt at a Portuguese republican revolution breaks out in the northern city of Porto.

1915 – World War I: Germany uses poison gas against Russia

1917 – World War I: Germany announces its U-boats will engage in unrestricted submarine warfare.

1918 – A series of accidental collisions on a misty Scottish night leads to the loss of two Royal Navy submarines with over a hundred lives, and damage to another five British warships.

1929 – The Soviet Union exiles Leon Trotsky.

1930 – 3M begins marketing Scotch Tape.

1942 – World War II: Allied forces are defeated by the Japanese at the Battle of Malaya and retreat to the island of Singapore.

1943 – German Field Marshall Friedrich Paulus surrenders to the Soviets at Stalingrad, followed 2 days later by the remainder of his Sixth Army, ending one of World War II’s fiercest battles.

1944 – World War II: American forces land on Kwajalein Atoll and other islands in the Japanese-held Marshall Islands.

1944 – World War II: During Anzio campaign 1st Ranger Battalion (Darby’s Rangers) is destroyed behind enemy lines in a heavily outnumbered encounter at Battle of Cisterna, Italy.

1945 – US Army private Eddie Slovik is executed for desertion, the first such execution of an American soldier since the Civil War.

1945 – World War II: About 3,000 inmates from the Stutthof concentration camp were forcibly marched into the Baltic Sea at Palmnicken (now Yantarny, Russia) and executed.

1946 – Yugoslavia’s new constitution, modeling the Soviet Union, establishes six constituent republics (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia).

1950 – President Harry S. Truman announces a program to develop the hydrogen bomb.

1953 – A North Sea flood causes over 1,800 deaths in the Netherlands.

1957 – Eight people on the ground in Pacoima, California are killed following the mid-air collision between a Douglas DC-7 airliner and a Northrop F-89 Scorpion fighter jet.

1958 – Explorer program: Explorer 1 – The first successful launch of an American satellite into orbit.

1958 – James Van Allen discovers the Van Allen radiation belt.

1961 – Project Mercury: Mercury-Redstone 2 – Ham the Chimp travels into outer space.

1966 – The Soviet Union launches the unmanned Luna 9 spacecraft as part of the Luna program.

1968 – Viet Cong attack the United States embassy in Saigon, and other attacks, in the early morning hours, later grouped together as the Tet Offensive.

1968 – Nauru gains independence from Australia.

1971 – Apollo program: Apollo 14 Mission – Astronauts Alan Shepard, Stuart Roosa, and Edgar Mitchell, aboard a Saturn V, lift off for a mission to the Fra Mauro Highlands on the Moon.

1971 – The Winter Soldier Investigation, organized by the Vietnam Veterans Against the War to publicize war crimes and atrocities by Americans and allies in Vietnam, begin in Detroit, Michigan.

1990 – The first McDonald’s in the Soviet Union opens in Moscow.

1995 – President Bill Clinton authorizes a $20 billion loan to Mexico to stabilize its economy.

1996 – An explosives-filled truck rams into the gates of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka in Colombo, Sri Lanka killing at least 86 and injuring 1,400.

2000 – Alaska Airlines flight 261 MD-83, experiencing horizontal stabilizer problems, crashes in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Point Mugu, California, killing all 88 persons aboard.

2001 – In the Netherlands a Scottish court convicts Libyan Abdelbaset al-Megrahi and acquits another Libyan citizen for their part in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 which blew up over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988.

2007 – Suspects are arrested in Birmingham in the UK, accused of plotting the kidnap, holding and eventual beheading of a serving Muslim British soldier in Iraq.

2009 – In Kenya, at least 113 people are killed and over 200 injured following an oil spillage ignition in Molo, days after a massive fire at a Nakumatt supermarket in Nairobi killed at least 25 people.

Holidays and observances

   * Christian Feast Day:

         o Blessed Ludovica

         o Geminianus

         o John Bosco

         o Marcella

         o January 31 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

   * Independence Day, celebrates the independence of (Nauru) from Australia in 1968.