Greg Mitchell's Blog, page 149

Ohio Executes Prisoner With Untried Method

Well, they pulled of their murder at 10:53 a.m., as Dennis McGuire was put to death with a new cocktail of chemicals.  As I've written, executions have been slowed by problems getting the good old lethal injection chems, due to manufacturers' qualms and other factors.  Update: contrary to earlier reports, McGuire gasped and heaved and struggled in an execution that took longer than previous ones.  My ebook on capital punishment in the USA here.

'Cartoon' of the Year

By Zohan Lazar in the January 20, 2014 issue of The New Yorker. They seemed to recognize it, giving it a rare full page.  (h/t Barbara Bedway).

Did U.S. Soldiers Die in Vain?

As killings surge in "pacified" Iraq and our war in Afghanistan appears more lost than ever, the question was rising anyway:  Were American lives lost in those two war "in vain"?  Now more than ever this debate has been sparked by the new (surprise)  hit movie Lone Survivor and comments by survivor of ill-fated Afghanistan mission, Marcus Luttrell.  He got into a bit of a tiff on TV the other day after CNN's Jake Tapper (a big supporter of vets groups and author of a book on another mission) gently suggested it was at least worthy to wonder about that lives-lost-in-vain question.

Now via Tom Ricks' site at Foreign Policy a former intelligence officer Jim Gourley has raised provocative questions--under the heading, "Yes, Marcus.  They Did Die in Vain"-- that are sure to spark more discussion (and probably anger in some quarters).  You have to register to read it, so I'll link here to a lengthy summary and excerpts at AmericaBlog. 

Over the last decade, our top leaders have wasted the lives of our sons, daughters, and comrades with their incompetence and hubris. After each failure, our citizens have failed to hold them accountable, instead underwriting new failed strategies as quickly as their predecessors with our apathy and sense of detachment. And then we use the tired paeans of “never forget” and “honor the fallen” to distract ourselves from our guilt in the affair. When we blithely declare that they did not die in vain, we deface their honor by using it to wipe the blood from our hands.

Beethoven Film 'Considered'

NPR's venerable "All Things Considered" came through with a  cool segment on our Beethoven Ninth film last night.  Nine full minutes on its "Call to Action," following the film from its inspiration to Japan, Chile and China and elsewhere and its social/political message of hope for all of us.  Screening inquiries now pouring in from around the USA.  Here's the full audio of the show and more.   My post on the film and our book and link to Bill Moyers' recent major segment. 

The Highway's Jammed With Bruces

Springsteen joined Fallon last night for classic Christie Traffic Jam jam. "I gotta take a leak."  Plus Web-only bonus song from Bruce and band, with Morello.  And "High Hopes." (Also, just yesterday, I (along with others from Crawdaddy) got this shout-out from Bruce.)

Bill Keller, Bully

Wednesday UPDATE:  The NYT carries several letters, including one from Lisa Adams' brother, roasting Keller.  On Twitter she says she is pleased.

Tuesday UPDATE:   Not much new overnight.  Just a lot more coverage from news outlets and bloggers.  Guardian "investigation" continues.   Wash Post here.   Wired here.   Digby here.

And don't miss Meghan O'Rourke at The New Yorker, probing why some of the Kellers' points were very good but their overall tone very bad.  "While many of the questions addressed in each column could have led to a worthwhile discussion, their approaches were ad hominem and, at best, insensitive to the lived realities of Adams’s life. She may be allowing us to overhear her decisions, but she is not asking us to callously debate them as if she were not still here."

UPDATE #4:  The NYT posts a news story tonight on The Guardian deleting Emma Keller's column--and gets new comments from her husband on his own horrid Times piece.  B. Keller continues to defend his piece, blaming criticism on "political correctness" and citing "perverse" complaints about his wife's opus.   The Times reporter, in citing complaint about killing Guardian column, seems unaware that likely reason was not stifling opinion but E. Keller's unethical use of quotes from patient Adams. 

UPDATE #3: As I suggested below (and fully expected a positive response) the NYT's fine public ed. has now weighed in, breaking her usual policy of not commenting on the views expressed in opinion columns by critiquing Keller.  She also asked for and got Keller's response to the wide criticism of what he wrote (as in his replies to criticism of his war hawk views he is largely dismissive) and the fact that his wife had taken up the subject just a bit earlier.  Keller claims critics "misread" or "missed the point" of the column when the reality is we have recognized what he's getting at all too easily.  Right down to the therapy dogs.

And as Sullivan writes:  "Mr. Keller’s views here fall within what journalists would call 'fair comment' only to the extent that they are based on facts."  His column suggests Keller "didn’t make a full effort to understand the point of view of the person he’s writing about."

UPDATE #2:  Intrigue? Now The Guardian says the E. Keller piece was pulled "pending investigation." Wonder if the Kellers protested...

UPDATE:  The Guardian just deleted the offensive Emma Keller piece that kicked this off, saying it is (now judged) "inconsistent" with their "editorial code."  It's cached here.  Your move, Bill--and NYT public ed. Margaret Sullivan.

Earlier:  Bill Keller, the now-laughable NYT columnist who, as executive editor defended Judy Miller and mocked critics of the Times' Iraq WMD coverage (and, learning nothing, recentlh called for bombing Syria and aiding the al-Qaeda rebels), now hits a cancer victim when she's down--after Bill's wife Emma Keller did the same over at The Guardian).  Basic message, between the lines:  Just die, woman, though with dignity.  Papa Bill knows best.  Much more from me on this at The Nation.

For now:  follow @Xeni (that would be Jardin), quoted by B. Keller out-of-context, she sahs.  The woman in question, Lisa Adams @adamslisa points out errors of fact and other issues.  And Ruben Bolling tweets:  "Bill Keller is against women fighting cancer, unless anonymous Bush administration sources say Cancer has WMDs -- then: TO WAR!"  Sidelight: New York magazine profile of Bill Keller mentions Emma.

Super Mario, Brother

If you just watched the PBS "1964" doc and want to see more of Mario Savio's famous and influential Berkeley Free Speech speech.  Here's the full audio.

Leonard and 'The Book of the Dead'

An NHK and NFB  doc from 1994 on Buddhism and the Book of the Dead--narrated by famed follower, my hero, Leonard Cohen.  Here's part I, others follow from there.  h/t Dangerous Minds.

Get Jazzed

If they've done this before, I don't recall it:  Full official video announcing this year's lineup for JazzFest, with cool animation  of NOLA and great tune.  Deeper line-up than usual this year, with Bruce, Arcade Fire, Clapton, others at top.

Another School Shooting

This time it's in Roswell, N.M., but no mystery. At least two kids injured at middle school, extent not known.  Gunman apprehended.  The usual lockdown.  This report has one victim airlifted to hospital in Texas.  Return for more details.  UPDATE:   The two kids, age 13 and 14, are "critical."  Shooter is said to be 13.  Further Update:  Shooter said to use sawed-off shotgun, and attack in school gym, not class.  And even further update:

Eighth grader Odiee Carranza said she was walking to the school gym when a boy bumped into her as he rushed past. She told him to be careful, and he apologized and continued on. He ran to the gym, where he pulled a gun out of a band instrument case and fired at the students.

‘‘Then he shot up in the sky, then dropped the gun, and then some teacher grabbed the kid that had the gun,’’ Carranza said.

Carranza described the shooter as a ‘‘smart kid and a nice kid.’’