Emma Watson and Co-Stars Say Farewell to 'Harry Potter' Films

At London's Daily Mail, "Tearful Emma Watson and her Harry Potter co-stars give an emotional farewell at final film premiere."

Also at Telegraph UK, "Emma Watson steals the limelight at the Harry Potter premiere."

'What Happened in Room 2806': The Evidence Against Dominique Strauss-Kahn

At New York Times:

Even as the criminal case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn erodes with each new example of his accuser’s crumbling credibility, the central question remains unanswered: What actually happened in Room 2806 of the Sofitel New York on May 14?

Certain facts are not in dispute. As the illustration below shows, electronic evidence reveals what time the accuser, a 32-year-old hotel housekeeper from Guinea, entered Mr. Strauss-Kahn’s suite. Physical evidence indicates that a sexual encounter took place.

The housekeeper has characterized the encounter as a sexual assault. Lawyers for Mr. Strauss-Kahn, 62, have said any sexual act was consensual. Others have offered other theories.

Here is a look at three possible sequences of events, and how the available evidence — physical, electronic and witness testimony — could support each of them.

Read it all at the link.

Humberto Leal, Mexican Citizen, Executed in Texas

At New York Times, "Mexican Citizen Is Executed as Justices Refuse to Step In."

More at Memeorandum.

Assimilation's Failure, Terrorism's Rise

From British author Kenan Malik, at New York Times:

SIX years ago today, on July 7, 2005, Islamist suicide bombers attacked London’s transit system. They blew up three subway trains and a bus, killing 52 people and leaving a nation groping for answers.

In one sense the meaning of 7/7 is as clear to Britons as that of 9/11 is to Americans. It was a savage, brutal attack intended to sow mayhem and terror. Yet whereas 9/11 was the work of a foreign terrorist group, 7/7 was the work of British citizens. The question that haunts London, but that Washington has so far barely had to face, is why four men born and brought up in Britain were gripped by such fanatic zeal for a murderous, medieval dogma.

British authorities have expended much effort in seeking to understand how the 7/7 terrorists acquired their perverted ideas and became “radicalized.” In the immediate wake of the attacks, much ink was spilled over the role of extremist preachers and radical mosques. More recently, the focus has shifted to universities as recruitment centers for terrorists.

But this obsession with radicalization misses the point. The real question is not how people like Mohammad Sidique Khan, the leader of the 7/7 bombers, came to be radicalized, but why so many young men, who by all accounts are intelligent, articulate and integrated, come to find this violent, reactionary ideology so attractive. To answer it, we need to look not at extremist preachers or university lecturers but also at public policy, and in particular the failed policy of multiculturalism.

Continue reading.

Actually, I don't separate multiculturalism from extremism. The same ideological forces promote both: the neo-communist left. But state policy exacerbates tensions, and Malik makes some interesting suggestions on bringing people together rather than driving them apart --- and driving some into the hands of terrorists.

Midweek Getaway to Mirage Las Vegas

Blogging's been a little spotty.

My wife and I arrived last night at Mirage Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas. It's our first stay here, and I'm impressed. We have a suite on the 21st floor. The room is well appointed and luxurious:

That console at the foot of the bed hosts a television, which elevates when turned on:

Here's the sitting area, with another high-quality television, and the second bath (this one with a shower, the other with a whirlpool).

The view looks east, with Trump Tower at center. (The property hasn't been the most profitable asset for Donald Trump.)

At breakfast this morning, the beard is gone --- and all the gray. My wife said I look "so much younger." Well, thanks!

And out front, the view across the Las Vegas Strip. That's the Venetian Hotel & Casino:

Looking down the Strip toward Treasure Island and Steve Wynn's properties:

Another shot of the Venetian:

Looking back at the Mirage from the sidewalk:

At the hotel entrance, the sign for the Beatles LOVE Cirque du Soleil:

Back inside, here's the box office and a display. We're going to the 9:30pm show. I was thinking, what the heck? We just learned that John Lennon was going Republican by 1980. All the more fun!

I'll be in and out of the hotel room all night, and might have some blogging updates. So check back!

Wall Street Journal Reports on News of the World Closing

It's interesting, since WSJ is the jewel in the crown of Rupert Murdoch's media empire.

See, "News Corp. to Close Scandal-Hit Tabloid":

News Corp. said it will close its 168-year-old U.K. tabloid News of the World, a dramatic bid to cap a scandal centered on the paper's controversial reporting tactics.

The weekly paper, published on Sundays, is accused of improperly intercepting voice mails of everyday people, including a 13-year-old murder victim, as well as those of celebrities.

James Murdoch, News Corp.'s deputy chief operating officer, told staff Thursday that News Corp. had decided to close the paper because the allegations—if true—were "inhuman" and had no place in the company.

He said the paper's reputation had been "sullied by behavior that was wrong."

The paper is one of Britain's sauciest and most storied tabloids, and was a key building block in the global media empire built by News Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch, who purchased it in 1969. It became the U.K.'s best-selling Sunday paper with a righteous, no-holds-barred approach to taking down the rich and famous, from politicians to soccer stars. That style both appealed to the U.K.'s working class and titillated sophisticates who bought it as a guilty pleasure.

But News of the World's populist foundation was cracked this week when allegations surfaced that the same dubious reporting tactics it deployed against celebrities and political leaders may also have been used against the kind of regular people who make up its readership.

More details at the link above, including the disclaimer that News Corp. is the parent company to Wall Street Journal. See also, "Murdoch savvy like a fox in shutting tabloid."

And here's more video from Telegraph UK:

Also, at

British Actress Sienna Miller Settled With Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation Earlier This Year

This was a report from June, "Sienna Miller settles phone-hacking claim."

But Washington Post has an epitaph, "RIP News of the World: Scandal was its product, scandal was its downfall":

The newspaper recently spent a lot of time in court, settling claims from people who claimed their phones had been hacked. Actress Sienna Miller collected 100,000 pounds ($160,000), and former Scotland football star Andy Gray got 20,000 pounds ($32,000). Publicist Max Clifford reportedly won 1 million pounds ($1.6 million) in a private settlement and former Professional Football Association chief Gordon Taylor reportedly won 700,000 pounds ($1.12 million).

Other claims are lined up for trial.

“Our motto is the truth, our practice is the fearless advocacy of the truth,” proclaimed John Brown, who launched the weekly paper in 1843.

A year later, it had the highest circulation of any British weekly at 18,000 copies.

The paper flourished under editor Lacelles Carr, who built circulation from 40,000 to more than 4.4 million when he died in 1941.

Circulation peaked at 8.4 million in 1950.

Rupert Murdoch established his beachhead on Fleet Street by buying the News of the World in 1969.

The News of the World remained the biggest-selling paper in Britain until 2008. It was overtaken by Murdoch’s daily tabloid, The Sun, in 2008, and the circulation now stands below 2.7 million.

Plus, an analysis from Peter Oborne, at Spectator UK, "What the papers won’t say."

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

News of the World to Shut Down in Hacker Fallout!

I knew this was a big deal.

At Telegraph UK, "News of the World axed: last edition this Sunday, says Murdoch." It's a live blog, and following the links, see the Daily Mail, "End of the World: James Murdoch announces News of the World will close this Sunday."

Like Kryptonite to Stupid? Sorry Oliver, Kryptonite's Getting Killed

I always thought that blog motto was risky, but I just don't read Oliver Willis, so I have no chance to test it out. But I happened to see this post at Memeorandum, and boy, Kryptonite's getting clobbered:

If I’m being charitable, I’ll just assume the White House is floating a trial balloon in order to make the eventual Republican rejection look even worse. AKA “we even offered to cut social security!” But if there’s any reality to this proposal, I hope that at the very least a senator like Bernie Sanders and the few remaining Senate Dems who aren’t spineless or bought off will filibuster.

Well, you know, I'm sure Oliver's a clever writer, but he might study the rules of the Senate a bit before making proposals like this. Senate rules allow opportunities for the minority party to slow down legislative action, and with the filibuster, the possibility of talking a bill to death. While in principle any member can filibuster, the fact is only the minority party has reason to do so, for it has no agenda setting power within the chamber, and the minority can't prevail on a simple up-or-down vote. Hence, by allowing any member to take the floor to debate a bill, legislators in the minority seize the opportunity the tie up the Senate until the bill is either changed or withdrawn. The Democrats are currently in the majority, and won't need to filibuster. Majority Leader Harry Reid, if he's opposed, simply won't introduce legislation to cut Social Security. And even if Senator Bernie Sanders opposed a Democrat bill on Social Security reform, he caucuses with the Democrats (although he's a socialist) and he'd be in no position to oppose the majority.

So, sorry Oliver. We all make mistakes blogging now and then, but your motto cries out for brutal mockery.

Sonja Schmidt's 'Left Exposed': Democrats' Café

Via Theo Spark:

Obama Proposes Social Security Cuts

The PBS clip is informative, but no mention of calls to reform Social Security.

But see the Washington Post, "In debt talks, Obama offers Social Security cuts" (via Memeorandum):

President Obama is pressing congressional leaders to consider a far-reaching debt-reduction plan that would force Democrats to accept major changes to Social Security and Medicare in exchange for Republican support for fresh tax revenue.

At a meeting with top House and Senate leaders set for Thursday morning, Obama plans to argue that a rare consensus has emerged about the size and scope of the nation’s budget problems and that policymakers should seize the moment to take dramatic action.

As part of his pitch, Obama is proposing significant reductions in Medicare spending and for the first time is offering to tackle the rising cost of Social Security, according to people in both parties with knowledge of the proposal. The move marks a major shift for the White House and could present a direct challenge to Democratic lawmakers who have vowed to protect health and retirement benefits from the assault on government spending.

“Obviously, there will be some Democrats who don’t believe we need to do entitlement reform. But there seems to be some hunger to do something of some significance,” said a Democratic official familiar with the administration’s thinking. “These moments come along at most once a decade. And it would be a real mistake if we let it pass us by.”

The proposal doesn't seem very specific on reforming Social Security, other than perhaps reductions in the annual inflation adjustments for recipients. That's a step in the right direction, but there's no shortage of proposals for fixing entitlements, so I'll be interested to hear what else comes up.

See also New York Times, "President Looks for Broader Deal on Deficit Cuts."

Reports: Grieving Relatives of War Dead Targeted in News of the World Hacking Case

More on the scandal.

At Telegraph UK, "Phone hacking: families of war dead 'targeted' by News of the World."

The Daily Telegraph has learnt that the personal details of the families of servicemen who died on the front line have been found in the files of Glenn Mulcaire, the private detective working for the Sunday tabloid.

The disclosure that grieving relatives of war dead were targets for the newspaper prompted anger among military charities, who said it was a “disgusting and indefensible assault on privacy”.

The Metropolitan Police is facing growing calls from the families of murder victims, those killed in terrorist attacks and those who died in natural disasters, such as the Indonesian tsunami, to disclose if they were targets.

Rebekah Brooks, the former editor of the News of the World and now chief executive of News International, its parent company, faced calls from Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, to step down.

Yesterday The Daily Telegraph disclosed that families of victims of the July 7 bombings were targets for Mulcaire in the days after the atrocity in 2005.

More at the link. And at Los Angeles Times as well, "More accusations of cellphone hacking attempts raise heat on British tabloid."

And from the Guardian, "Rupert Murdoch backs Rebekah Brooks over phone-hacking allegations":

Rupert Murdoch has taken the highly unusual step of issuing an official public statement backing Rebekah Brooks over the phone-hacking scandal engulfing his UK newspaper business.

The News Corporation boss described the recent allegations about phone hacking and payments to police officers by the News of the World "deplorable and unacceptable".

"I have made clear that our company must fully and proactively co-operate with the police in all investigations and that is exactly what News International has been doing and will continue to do under Rebekah Brooks' leadership," the News Corp chairman and chief executive added, in a statement issued from the annual Allen & Co media business conference he is attending in Sun Valley, Idaho.

Murdoch also said he had asked Joel Klein, who heads News Corp's recently created education unit, "to provide important oversight and guidance". Viet Dinh, a non-executive director, is keeping the News Corp board informed along with Klein, he said.

Murdoch's backing came on a day of mounting pressure on Brooks and News International, with prime minister David Cameron bowing to calls for public inquiries into phone hacking by the News of the World and the Labour leader, Ed Miliband, saying the chief executive should "consider her position".

News Corp also faced criticism from MPs during an emergency debate on phone hacking in the Commons on Wednesday afternoon, with Labour's Tom Watson alleging there was "further evidence" that Brooks "knew about the unlawful tactics of News of the World as early as 2002, despite all her denials yesterday".

More at New York Times, "Murdoch Facing Parliament’s Ire in Hacking Case":

From all sides of the House of Commons the disgust came thick and fast, as the legislators recited the most recent allegations against The News of the World: that its executives had paid police officers, lied to Parliament and hired investigators to intercept voice mail messages left on the cellphones of murdered children and terrorism victims. Legislators also attacked the news media in general for employing many of the same tactics.

Also, "The Murdoch Style, Under Pressure."

EXTRA: At Business Week, "Murdoch Gets Dangerous for Cameron as Phone-Hack Scandal Widens." Also, at Mediagazer.

Nidal Malik Hasan to Face Death Penalty

At The Western Experience, "Islamist Shooter in the Fort Hood Massacre Will Face Death."

Los Angeles Times Shills for Communists on Business Section Front Page

That's longtime local communist and union activist Paul Krehbiel at the photo, where he's featured at the front page of the Los Angeles Times' business section: "Learning how to be a union activist." He's wearing a militant clenched-fist solidarity shirt, red, with the slogan, "Stand With Wisconsin."

Krehbiel is the author of a memoir, Shades of Justice, and his biography states:

Since 2003, he has been active in the campaign to end the war in Iraq, working with the Coalition for World Peace, US Labor Against the War, and the Iraq Moratorium.

Coalition for World Peace is one of the many groups closely aligned with the World Workers Party (WWP), a Marxist-Leninist apparatus that backed Moscow's invasion of Hungary in 1956 and the Soviet army's brutal suppression of the Prague Spring in 1968. The Coalition for World Peace is listed as an active affiliated group at the homepage of United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ). Here's this at the UFPJ at Discover the Networks:

UFPJ was officially created on October 25, 2002 in the Washington, DC offices of People For the American Way. Its initial membership consisted of approximately 70 organizations. Prior to UFPJ's founding, the anti-war movement had earned a reputation as a hodgepodge of radical elements. All the large-scale peace demonstrations to that point had been held under the auspices of International ANSWER, an organization aligned with the Marxist-Leninist Workers World Party; Global Exchange, headed by the longtime pro-Castro communist Medea Benjamin; and Not In Our Name, a project organized by Ramsey Clark and fellow leaders of the Revolutionary Communist Party. United For Peace and Justice was created explicitly to put a milder face on the anti-war movement, although from its inception UFPJ shared with the aforementioned groups a passionate hatred for the United States and for capitalism.

The Co-Chair and principal leader of UFPJ is Leslie Cagan, an original founder of the Committees of Correspondence (a remnant organization created by the American Communist Party upon going out of business) and a strong supporter of Fidel Castro since the 1960s; Cagan proudly aligns her politics with those of Communist Cuba.

The breadth of UFPJ's agendas extends well beyond anti-war activism. Passionately anti-American, this group condemns virtually every aspect of U.S. foreign policy and domestic life. It impugns America's "daily assaults and attacks on poor and working people, on women, people of color, lesbians/gays and other sexual minorities, the disabled, and so many others." It asserts that "the government treats all immigrants as potential terrorist threats until proven innocent, in violation of the Constitution," thereby "expanding the scope and depth of racial injustice within the U.S." ...

UFPJ has campaigned against American support for Israel's construction of an anti-terrorist security fence in the West Bank, which it describes as an illegal "apartheid wall" that violates the civil and human rights of Palestinians.

UFPJ is a signatory to the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, a hardline anti-Zionist (anti-Semitic) organization that attacks Israel as an "apartheid state."

And back over at the CFWP homepage, we see that Krehbiel's group was a leading organizer for the March 21, "Mass March and Rally in L.A.," and the link there takes us to the announcement at the ANSWER Coalition's page, "List of March 21 Organizing & Transportation Centers." (More on ANSWER here.)

The Times article gushes about the workshop Kreibiel was offering at Pasadena City College, where young students attending "munched on the free chocolate chip cookies and potato chips they were provided..." (Right. Free, of course.) The article notes a couple of times how organized labor is trying to match the energy and effectiveness of the tea parties, and quotes a Teamsters union hack agitating to take back the streets: "Those are our streets, that's where we need to be."

And buried on page B4 we find this bland acknowledgement and evasion:

The Troublemakers School in Pasadena and five others like it held this year across the country were organized by Labor Notes, a Detroit nonprofit funded by membership dues and course fees, as well as donations from pro-labor individuals. There's no question this group leans heavily left: One student carried pamphlets about a meeting for anarchists.

Leans left? You think?

Here's the Labor Notes' manifesto from its 1993 conference, hosted at the Encyclopedia of Trotskyism Online (Marxist.org).

The bottom line is that we see yet again another mainstream media outfit reporting rapturously on the organizing activities of hardline communist cadres. It'd be nice if the tea parties got a fraction of such fawning reporting by the nation's media establishment.

Typical.

Linked at The Rhetorican, "Oxymoronic Juxtaposition of the Week." Thanks!

John Cole on Republicans

I'm keeping my promise to bone up a bit on the budget negotiations. The Wall Street Journal, for example, endorses Bill Clinton's recent suggestion to cut corporate tax rates in exchange for an elimination of business loopholes. That might get a deal in the near term, and later the administration and Congress could work toward a more substantial reform of the tax code. See: "A Debt-Limit Breakout." But as I was surfing around I clicked on John Cole's Balloon Juice, where we have a long post with this conclusion:

And anyone who still calls themselves a Republican is just an asshole. Really, you’ve had ample time to figure out your party is run by maniacs. If you’re still sticking around because the “Democrats are worse” or you think the party can turn it around or because you fancy yourself a small “c” conservative or you are a glibertarian or because you hate taxes or you think Dennis Kucinich is weird (he is), you’re just an asshole. And incredibly stupid.

Wow. A whole post on Republcans as "hostage takers" just to conclude with a nasty jab at Republicans as "assholes."

Takes one to know one, I guess.

Romney Raises $18.25 Million in Second Quarter

Mitt Romney is far and away the GOP's fundraising leader, which is always a sign of a campaign's momentum. At Washington Post, "Mitt Romney raises $18.25 million" (via Memeorandum):

Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney raised $18.25 million over the past three months, a sum likely to put him head and shoulders above his rivals for the 2012 Republican nomination in the dash for cash.

“Voters are responding to Mitt Romney’s message that President Obama’s policies have failed and that we need new leadership in Washington,” Romney national finance chairman Spencer Zwick said. “Our fundraising for the second quarter represents the strong support Mitt Romney has across the country.”

All of the money Romney raised is for the primary race; he ended June with $12.6 million in the bank. Romney raised more than half of his total for the entire quarter during a single call day in Las Vegas in May.

Romney’s total is short of the $23.5 million he raised in the first quarter of 2007 — a sum seeded by roughly $2.5 million of his own money. He did not make any personal contributions during this reporting period, although he has not ruled out doing so during the campaign. In the 2008 race, Romney donated $44.5 million of his own money to the effort.

The Romney fundraising numbers come even as a new WMUR-TV Granite State poll in New Hampshire (see below) shows him as a clear frontrunner in the state’s primary.

The Republican Party May No Longer Be a Normal Party

And that should be a good thing, except that David Brooks is arguing that the GOP is missing an historic opportunity to balance the budget, if only it would compromise on closing tax loopholes, etc., and so forth. At New York Times, "The Mother of All No-Brainers":

A normal Republican Party would seize the opportunity to put a long-term limit on the growth of government. It would seize the opportunity to put the country on a sound fiscal footing. It would seize the opportunity to do these things without putting any real crimp in economic growth.

The party is not being asked to raise marginal tax rates in a way that might pervert incentives. On the contrary, Republicans are merely being asked to close loopholes and eliminate tax expenditures that are themselves distortionary.

This, as I say, is the mother of all no-brainers.

But we can have no confidence that the Republicans will seize this opportunity. That’s because the Republican Party may no longer be a normal party. Over the past few years, it has been infected by a faction that is more of a psychological protest than a practical, governing alternative.

The members of this movement do not accept the logic of compromise, no matter how sweet the terms. If you ask them to raise taxes by an inch in order to cut government by a foot, they will say no. If you ask them to raise taxes by an inch to cut government by a yard, they will still say no.

The members of this movement do not accept the legitimacy of scholars and intellectual authorities. A thousand impartial experts may tell them that a default on the debt would have calamitous effects, far worse than raising tax revenues a bit. But the members of this movement refuse to believe it.

The members of this movement have no sense of moral decency. A nation makes a sacred pledge to pay the money back when it borrows money. But the members of this movement talk blandly of default and are willing to stain their nation’s honor.

David Brooks is a the left's token big government conservative, and there's some icing on the cake there, as he's operating from the hallowed perches of the New York Times. What's interesting is how this story remained on top at Memeorandum all day yesterday, with progressives weighing in on Brooks' righteousness, and even Megan McArdle agreeing with the notion of some kind of crazed GOP party cult. I can't speak on the budget negotiations, because I'm not in the least convinced that anything the administration and Congress do will make the slightest difference regarding the long term fiscal balance sheet (think entitlement reform). What we need is growth. With a growing economy and a robust job sector we'll begin to pay down the debt as long as nothing else screws things up, like a lousy momentary policy (and Democrat housing policy). Anyway, I'll try to read up a bit anyway, and update with something more knowledgeable. Here I'm mostly ranting at how David Brooks once again shows his true colors as the favorite RINO of the moment.

The Gay Hate Campaign

Now that's what I'm talkin' about!

Man!

Read this post at Uncoverage, "“Gay Mafia” Threatens, Vandalizes Traditional Marriage Supporters in Washington State."

As I've said many times, it's lies, violence, and intimidation that's putting the gay agenda over the top. You gotta call these people out for what that are: Homosexual criminals, mobsters, perverts, and thugs. And that goes as well for the hetero progressives who're enabling the hate.

Attack on Oil Pipeline Highlights Egypt's Threat to Israel

At Al Arabia, "EGYPTIAN GAS PIPELINE TO ISRAEL AND JORDAN BOMBED AGAIN."

And Los Angeles Times, "Pipeline explosion underlines opposition to gas deal with Israel."

The third attack by saboteurs in six months against the pipeline supplying natural gas to Israel and Jordan underscores security lapses and the opposition of many Egyptians to their nation's contract to ship low-cost energy to Israel.

Early-morning blasts Monday were carried out by masked men who tied up security guards and planted bombs at the Bir el Abd pipeline station near the town of Al Arish in the Sinai Peninsula. The official state news aganecy, MENA, reported that the assailants remotely activated the bombs by firing gunshots. No casualties were reported.

The pipeline was attacked two other times this year: a few days after the Feb. 11 overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak and a second assault on April 27 (pictured) that interrupted supplies to Israel for weeks.

Also, from Barry Rubin, "Egypt Gas Pipeline to Israel Sabotaged Again: A Consequence of Egypt’s Revolution":

For the third time since February, terrorists have blown up the gas pipeline from Egypt that provides 45 percent of Israel’s natural gas. As I predicted, this pipeline will never function normally again. This serious economic disruption is the first material cost to Israel of Egypt’s revolution. The Obama Administration’s help in bringing down a stable (yes, a dictatorial regime but prepare for much worse) has already damaged Israel’s economy and security. And this is not the end of the story by a long shot.

Britney Spears – Harper’s Bazaar (June/July 2011)

A little late on this, but better late than never!

At Harper's, "BRITNEY SPEARS IS BACK: THE INTERVIEW."

And a slideshow, "Britney Spears Style."

UPDATE: The Hearst Magazines Public Relations Office sent me the larger image.