Greg Mitchell's Blog, page 278

Cicadas and Hiroshima and More

UPDATE  An amazing "political history" of the cicada from Mother Jones today.  Even used in attack ad vs. John Kerry.

Earlier: Much discussion these days about the return of the cicadas in the U.S. after a 17-year nap (or something), with one even spotted in Midtown Manhattan yesterday!  I remember when my son's grade school class was obsessed with them...17 years ago.  But my association is quite different.  In Japan they get active, and very noisy, every summer (see article here)--they're calls "semi" there--and when I arrived in Hiroshima for a month on a journalism grant back in the 1980s I was told by a native that they would soon start to drive me crazy.  Indeed, their song would soon begin and every day they grew louder, but mainly background noise.

Wouldn't you know it but they reached their peak--or so it seemed--on the morning of....August 6.  As I sat at the annual memorial program for the victims of the atomic bomb--well over 125,000--and survivors they buzzed all around the Peace Park, almost deafening.  It was as if the souls of 125,000 were crying, screaming, screeching.  People ask me why I've kept writing about the atomic bombings for thirty years now (including in three books, just recently Atomic Cover-up and Hollywood Bomb ), and now you know one of the reasons.

'TIME' for a Change

A few revisions of Time magazine's controversial new cover.   From @Earnest_Cyborg9

Bruce and Bonnie and Jon

On this night in 1974, Bruce Springsteen opened for Bonnie Raitt at a club in Cambridge.  Jon Landau was there and a week or so later wrote his career-enhancing "I've seen the history of rock 'n roll and it is" you know who. (Of course, this was 18 months after Peter Knobler and I said the same thing at Crawdaddy.) Anyway, Bruce's set list that night.  Glad to see a Fats' cover.

The E Street Shuffle New York City Serenade Spirit in the Night Born to Run 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy) It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City Kitty's Back For You Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) Let the Four Winds Blow (Fats Domino cover) Twist and Shout

New Coen Flick Finally Arriving, Sort Of

Feels like I've been writing about the Coens' Inside Llewyn Davis film for years (and I have), going back to when they were filming in the Village near where I lived for so long.  Now it's debuting at Cannes although, alas, not in theaters here until "fall."  This is the folkie era flick with Carey Mulligan, Omar Isaac, Justin Timberlake etc.   Here's the brand new trailer, with early Dylan soundtrack.

Today's Tale from Gun Nutty USA

I try to do this every day, but usually a few hours after to pass--but, no, we didn't have to wait long today.   AP:  "Police say a 2-year-old boy has died after accidentally shooting himself in the head at a North Texas home while his father was in another room.  Corsicana police on Thursday confirmed the child's death. The boy's name wasn't immediately released.  Police Chief
Don't confuse this with yesterday's tragic pick:  a boy, 3, in Florida, doing the same with uncle's gun.  

After Sandy Hook: The Kid-Killing Goes On

At least 71 children under 12 have been shot and killed with guns since the school massacre, Mother Jones reports in its latest update.  Forty are considered accidents and 31 homicides.  Of the accidents, 29 were caused by other kids.

The average age of the victims was just under 6 years old.20 victims were girls and 51 were boys.The problem was worst in the South: Florida had the most kids killed (4 accidents, 5 alleged homicides); followed by Ohio and Tennessee (4 accidents and 2 alleged homicides in each state); followed by Alabama (2 accidents, 2 alleged homicides) and South Carolina (4 accidents).

A 'Great' Mess?

[image error] Not sure that I've seen this before:  A.O. Scott of NYT is so nervous about half-praising the new Great Gatsby in review just posted online that he actually links--in the first sentence--to the Rotten Tomatoes scorecard which tallies the views of other critics and finds, so far, that two out of three have panned.  Talk about not having the courage of your convictions!  Scott, indeed, expresses ambivalence in his own review but seems afraid that he will get bushels of hate mail from readers who actually go see the flick on his semi-recommendation.  Of course, critics who overpraised Baz Luhrmann's laughable (and not in a good way) Moulin Rouge only inspired the director to make a mess of things ever since. 

BTW, if you like Carrie Mulligan, as I do, check out on Netflix her early performance in a better film project, based on a better book, Bleak House.

Report: Shocking Letter Written by Ariel Castro Found

UPDATE:  Ariel Castro arraigned this morning, see photo and terms: $2 million bail per charge.

Earlier: Scott Taylor, investigative reporter for Channel 19 in Clereland, has been tweeting just now excerpts from what he says is a suicide note written by Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro in 2004 that police found in his house.  The rumored existence of such a note had been reported for hours but Taylor claimed to have been a copy by a police source.  However, as of Thursday morning, I've seen no other confirmation of quotes or validity.  From @ScottTaylor19

 He says "I am a sexual predator. I need help"

"They are here against their will because they made a mistake of getting in a car with a total stranger."

"I don't know why I kept looking for another. I already had 2 in my possession."

Castro writes about wanting to kill himself and "give all the money I saved to my victims."

Castro writes he was surprised how young Gina Dejesus really is.

Trio Who Penetrated Nuclear 'Fort Knox' Convicted

I covered this startling incident--how's this for nuclear security at "The Fort Knox of Uranium"?--fully at the time and now it's reached a conclusion, of sorts.  AP reports:  An 83-year-old nun and two fellow protesters were convicted Wednesday of interfering with national security when they broke into a nuclear weapons facility and defaced a uranium processing plant. The three were found guilty of a charge of sabotaging the plant and of damaging federal property at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge in July 2012."

In testimony on Wednesday, the three, Sister Megan Rice, Michael Walli and Greg Boertje-Obed, said they had no remorse and were pleased to reach one of the most secure parts of the facility. “My regret was I waited 70 years,” the nun said. “It is manufacturing that which can only cause death.” Defense lawyers said that federal prosecutors had overreached in the charges because of the embarrassment caused by the break-in, in which the protesters hung banners, strung crime-scene tape and hammered off a small chunk of the fortresslike Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility.

Yesterday AP reported:  "Prosecutors argued the act was a serious security breach that continues to disrupt operations at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge."

Bang the Benghazi Drum Slowly

Jon Stewart had some serious fun last night with GOP and Fox attempts to make Benghazi the worst thing ever.


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