Open thread: Anniversaries, deaths and other events
Today marks the fourth anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami that killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions. Voice of America has a short here. An NPR piece is here. And the BBC has a comprehensive page about the tsunami.
One year ago Saturday, Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in Pakistan. Washington Post has a commentary about the lasting impact of Bhutto’s death.
Meanwhile, Pakistan is moving troops from its western border with Afghanistan to its eastern border with India as tensions ratchet up between the nations again, the New York Times reports. On Thursday, the Times reported that a highway east of Kabul, Afghanistan that goes through Khyber Pass and serves as a supply line for NATO, American and Allied forces in Afghanistan, is increasingly dangerous. Taliban militants are attacking daily, according to truck drivers, some of whom are afraid to drive along the route. The Taliban attacks even empty trucks and burned a NATO depot.
Closer to home, the Tennessee Valley Authority says the burst dike at a coal-fired power plant in east Tennessee poses no significant threat to the water supply, even though twice as much coal fly ash broke through the a retention pond, the AP reports.
For kicks, check out the falsehoods (thanks, Internet!) that Newsweek debunked. The list includes the UAW’s $73-an-hour wage, President-elect Barack Obama’s plans to take away guns and an attempted raid on 401(k)s.
Senate appointment watch: New Yorkers begin to resist Caroline. And Rod Blagojevich thinks Obama could help him. The Chicago Sun Times reports that G-Rod wants two Obama staffers to testify to a House committee investigating possible impeachment proceedings against the governor.
To those who celebrate it, happy Kwanzaa.
And this week, we say so long to Eartha Kitt and Harold Pinter.
And last, but certainly not least, check out this video of a shoplifter caught on tape. Apparently, he didn’t think Santa was coming for him, so he took care of his wish list on his own.
Jamie Riley is the P-D letters editor and gatekeeper of the letters blog. Before joining the editorial page in May 2005, she was a reporter and page designer. Jamie lives in University City with her husband, Charles, daughter, Elise, and the world's best Jack Russell terrier, Logan, better known as Stinky. 
About the only thing worse than getting your news from the Post Disgrace and its “editorial staff” is getting it from Newsweak or believing factcheck. I am really surprised I didnt read a story today about Obama’s investigation into Obama reveals that Obama did nothing wrong. Duh!!!
Lee may only be worth 45 cents a share, but based on yesterday’s editorial, I’ve decided to reread Atlas Shrugged. Haven’t read it since I was a kid. Thanks, Posties!
Jamie:
“For kicks, check out the falsehoods (thanks, Internet!) that Newsweek debunked.”
Newsweek successfully debunked a straw man rumor and you bought into it. What the article said was;
“$73 an Hour?
On the other hand, it’s not true that the unionized workers at the Big Three take home $75 an hour, as claimed by some bailout foes. That figure represents total labor costs, including wages paid to current workers and the cost of their benefits, plus a substantial amount paid to the Big Three’s many retired workers for their pensions and health benefits.
The labor cost figure is higher than the estimated average labor costs for the U.S. plants of Toyota and other foreign producers, to be sure. But that’s due largely to the fact that the foreign-owned plants aren’t saddled with big payments to retired workers.”
Nobody ever claimed that the “take home pay” was $73 for the average auto worker but the total cost per hour worked was $71-$75 for the UAW and $49 for Toyota. An autistic 6 year old child (the targeted customers of Newsweek) could have debunked that “take home pay” claim.
Fercrysakes Jamie, lots of the UAW parasites “take home $30 per hour for not working, shouldn’t that be included in the cost per hour of those who do work?
I hope you’re not suggesting that transplanted foreign plants demand early retirement at age 48 with full benefits as if the employee was 65 and had free Medicare and supplemental health insurance to level the playing field with the pampered feather bedders at the Big 3?
Jamie,
A man once went to the Ayn Rand Cafe and decided to try the soup. He asked the waiter “How’s the soup?” Atlas shrugged.
Has Newsweek debunked this, too ?
===
I read Atlas Shrugged in high school in 1968 and it seemed almost like a satirical comedy. It was so far out, who could have believed it. I am almost finished reading it again. At 1200 pages, it is an investment. The book is written for a different time. A time when men were bribed with offers of salaries of $10,000. Where a boss would call his secretary on an “interoffice communicator”, because they hadn’t become “intercoms”, yet. Where trains were more important than airplanes and where all the main characters were men, except the heroine of the book, Dagny Taggert. The book is nothing short of a crystal ball. A thriving economy is beset by an over-regulating bureaucracy. Banks fold for making loans to people who can’t afford to pay back their loans. A leading auto maker goes bankrupt when it adopts a socialistic compensation system. The concept of profit is sacrificed for something called the public good. Companies are actually paid to do nothing. There are even pirates. One can almost see our country today as the farce presented by Ayn Rand. I highly recommend the exercise of reading the book. It is almost spooky to realize it was written 51 years ago.
Newsweek says Obama doesn’t support taking guns away from law abiding citizens. Well, that settles it for me! But here’s a few inconvenient facts:
* ontheissues.org reports that Obama would “Ban the sale or transfer of all forms of semi-automatic weapons” according to a 1998 Illinois legislative survey.
* In a July 15, 2007 speech to a inner-city Chicago church service, Obama said he supports a “permanent assault weapons ban.” What is an assault weapon? The 1994 assault weapon ban, which Obama supports reimposing, defined this term very broadly.
* Obama’s nominee for Attorney General, Eric Holder, signed a brief earlier this year stating that the 2nd amendment confers absolutely no individual rights, and that the D.C. gun ban should be upheld by the Supreme Court.
NOW … Obama may turn out to be a great President or an awful one, and I’m certainly hoping he turns out to be great. But as of now, his record on gun rights is very clear: He’s against them.
Speaking of UAW falsehoods, check out this piece by an actual NEWS outlet in Detroit that exposes how just two (2) union “bosses” claimed 3500 hours of over time and were caught going home early, coming to work late, bowling, and drinking all while on the clock. One of these goons claims to work 12 hours a day, 5 days a week then a mere 8 hours a day on the weekend.
http://www.clickondetroit.com/video/15908257/index.html
That shoplifter should get 20 lashes with a Slim Jim. JJK… “Atlas Shrugged” is definitely an investment. When I read it, I felt like Big Chief in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” trying to heft the shower room sink.