The Lawyers, Guns and Money Cesspool

Some how I missed this at the time, at Legal Insurrection, "In which Glenn Greenwald and Robert Stacy McCain sort of share an opinion."

@ohtarzie Oh, obviously - LGM is a cesspool of unprincipled partisan hackdom - look what they said about Palin's crosshair "metaphor"
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) December 22, 2012

William was reminded of Greenwald's LGM smackdown with the "neo-confederate judges" idiocy in the news. See, "Saturday Night different strokes for the happy folks."

But again, it's not just that these are partisan hacks. They're radical nihilists, full moral degenerates who're perfectly representative of the hate-filled Democrat left.

More at The Other McCain.

PREVIOUSLY: "How It Feels to Be Stalked."

Open-Borders Bipartisanship: Group of Senators Agree on Plan for Illegal Alien Amnesty

At the Los Angeles Times, "Senators agree on immigration overhaul plan":

The bipartisan group's proposal would grant legal status to most of the country's estimated 11 million illegal immigrants.

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of senators has agreed on a plan to grant legal status to most of the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the U.S., which could form the basis for a far-reaching overhaul of immigration laws this year.

The Senate blueprint, drafted during weeks of closed-door meetings by leading senators from each party, will probably set parameters for a contentious legislative battle over the next several months. The eight senators involved intend to release their proposal publicly Monday. A copy was provided to The Times' Washington bureau on Sunday by Senate aides.

The Senate plan is more conservative than President Obama's proposal, which he plans to unveil Tuesday in a speech in Las Vegas. But its provisions for legalizing millions of undocumented immigrants go further than measures that failed to advance in Congress in previous years — a reminder of how swiftly the politics of immigration have shifted since Latino voters' strong influence in the November election.

In terms of the number of people who would potentially receive legal status, it would be more than three times larger than the amnesty plan passed under President Reagan in 1986, which legalized about 3 million immigrants.

The senators involved hope to begin committee votes on a bill as soon as March. The timing of their proposal and Obama's, coupled with that schedule — quick by Senate standards — could set up a dynamic in which an eventual bill falls somewhere between the bipartisan plan and the president's.

Latino activists and other advocates for comprehensive immigration reform have pushed for quick action in the Senate, hoping that a large bipartisan vote for a bill that includes a path to citizenship would put pressure on the House.

Many members of the House Republican majority represent districts where proposals for legalization remain highly unpopular, but many Republicans also worry about the political price if the party takes the blame for killing immigration reform.

The Senate proposal would allow most of those in the country illegally to obtain probationary legal status immediately by paying a fine and back taxes and passing a background check. That would make them eligible to work and live in the U.S. They could earn a green card — permanent residency — after the government certifies that the U.S.-Mexican border has become secure, but might face a lengthy process before becoming citizens.

Obama is expected to push for a faster citizenship process that would not be conditional on border security standards being met first. The structure of the citizenship process will probably be among the most hotly debated parts of any immigration plan.

And see the Hill, "Durbin: Senate immigration plan will be comprehensive, include citizenship path" (via Memeorandum).

Barnes and Noble to Downsize

Megan McArdle wrote about this a few weeks back, "Is Barnes and Noble Next?"

And now here's this, at the Wall Street Journal, "B&N Aims To Whittle Its Stores For Years":

Barnes & Noble Inc. expects to close as many as a third of its retail stores over the next decade, the bookseller's top store executive said, offering the most detailed picture yet of the company's plans for the outlets.

"In 10 years we'll have 450 to 500 stores," said Mitchell Klipper, chief executive of Barnes & Noble's retail group, in an interview last week. The company operated 689 retail stores as of Jan. 23, along with a separate chain of 674 college stores.

Mr. Klipper said his forecast assumes that the company will close about 20 stores a year over the period.

The chain shut an average of about 15 stores a year in the past decade, but until 2009 it also was opening 30 or more a year. Its store openings have largely dried up as consumers' shift toward digital books has upended the market and developers have stopped opening new malls; this fiscal year it has opened only two stores.

The company's consumer bookstores peaked at 726 in 2008, excluding the B. Dalton chain, which is now defunct.

Even with 450 to 500 stores, "it's a good business model," says Mr. Klipper. "You have to adjust your overhead, and get smart with smart systems. Is it what it used to be when you were opening 80 stores a year and dropping stores everywhere? Probably not. It's different. But every business evolves."

Mr. Klipper's comments come amid growing questions about Barnes & Noble's future. This month the company reported an unexpectedly weak holiday selling season, with store revenue declining nearly 11% from a year earlier. Book sales at stores open at least a year, a key barometer in the industry, fell 3.1%.

After years of losing market share for print books to discounting by Amazon.com Inc., Barnes & Noble is grappling with the print market's shrinkage, thanks to the growing popularity of cheap e-books, also championed by Amazon. Unit sales of print books dropped 9% in the U.S. last year, according to market researcher Nielsen BookScan, and they are off 22% from 2007, when digital books started gaining traction.

At the same time, Barnes & Noble's efforts to build support for its two new Nook tablets have stalled. Amid competition from Amazon, Apple Inc., Google Inc. and electronics companies like Samsung Electronics Co.,    sales of Nook products in stores and online during the holiday season fell from a year earlier.

Plenty of retailers have been felled by digital competition in the past decade, including Tower Records, Circuit City Stores and Barnes & Noble's former rival, Borders Group Inc. Retail consultant Doug Stephens, whose book, "The Retail Revival," is being published in the U.S. in March, predicts that mainstream booksellers eventually will "become a thing of the past."

As long as there's some brick and mortar bookstores. The browsing experience can't be matched digitally, or at least not yet.

Australian Disc Jockeys Fired in Wake of Duchess of Cambridge Phone Call Hoax

They had to go into hiding, the outrage was so bad. It was only a matter of time.

At Telegraph UK, "Duchess hoax call: Australian DJs axed in wake of nurse suicide."

The Best Essay on Women in the Military You'll Read

Check this out, at Hot Air, "Some advice on women in combat from a female veteran":

I’m a female veteran. I deployed to Anbar Province, Iraq. When I was active duty, I was 5’6, 130 pounds, and scored nearly perfect on my PFTs. I naturally have a lot more upper body strength than the average woman: not only can I do pull-ups, I can meet the male standard. I would love to have been in the infantry. And I still think it will be an unmitigated disaster to incorporate women into combat roles. I am not interested in risking men’s lives so I can live my selfish dream.

We’re not just talking about watering down the standards to include the politically correct number of women into the unit. This isn’t an issue of “if a woman can meet the male standard, she should be able to go into combat.” The number of women that can meet the male standard will be miniscule–I’d have a decent shot according to my PFTs, but dragging a 190-pound man in full gear for 100 yards would DESTROY me–and that miniscule number that can physically make the grade AND has the desire to go into combat will be facing an impossible situation that will ruin the combat effectiveness of the unit. First, the close quarters of combat units make for a complete lack of privacy and EVERYTHING is exposed, to include intimate details of bodily functions. Second, until we succeed in completely reprogramming every man in the military to treat women just like men, those men are going to protect a woman at the expense of the mission. Third, women have physical limitations that no amount of training or conditioning can overcome. Fourth, until the media in this country is ready to treat a captured/raped/tortured/mutilated female soldier just like a man, women will be targeted by the enemy without fail and without mercy.

I saw the male combat units when I was in Iraq. They go outside the wire for days at a time. They eat, sleep, urinate and defecate in front of each other and often while on the move. There’s no potty break on the side of the road outside the wire. They urinate into bottles and defecate into MRE bags. I would like to hear a suggestion as to how a woman is going to urinate successfully into a bottle while cramped into a humvee wearing full body armor. And she gets to accomplish this feat with the male members of her combat unit twenty inches away. Volunteers to do that job? Do the men really want to see it? Should they be forced to?

More at the link.

That piece should be required reading for anyone on the topic.

And check Jazz Shaw's earlier comments, "A few thoughts on women in combat from a dinosaur."

And there was some push back at my previous post, "Women in Combat." I hear the criticism, although folks are overlooking what I wrote:

I think it's about time, although the service branches should be flexible in adapting to gender differences, going with what works and what is comfortable for those on the ground.

So to be clear, I've been talking to veterans on this topic for over ten years and opinions are divided. Some male vets report that women just aren't able to meet the standards of men, and this will reduce combat morale and readiness. But some men have reported that they'd just as soon have women as men as comrades. And I've had lots of women veterans who argue that the prohibitions on women amount to rank sexist discrimination and that they'd like the opportunity to serve equal in ground combat. I don't know from first hand experience. I am not a veteran. I'm a professor. As a matter of straight up military performance, I'd say all male ground combat units should be the exclusive norm. But as a matter of current day realities where everything is a matter of equal opportunity, I expect that the more the services can guaranty open access for women who want to perform those roles the better. If that's politically correct, so be it.

Added: From USMC Captain Katie Petronio, "Get Over It! We Are Not All Created Equal":

The bottom line is that the enemy doesn’t discriminate, rounds will not slow down, and combat loads don’t get any lighter, regardless of gender or capability. Even more so, the burden of command does not diminish for a male or female; a leader must gain the respect and trust of his/her Marines in combat. Not being able to physically execute to the standards already established at IOC, which have been battle tested and proven, will produce a slower operational speed and tempo resulting in increased time of exposure to enemy forces and a higher risk of combat injury or death. For this reason alone, I would ask everyone to step back and ask themselves, does this integration solely benefit the individual or the Marine Corps as a whole, as every leader’s focus should be on the needs of the institution and the Nation, not the individual?

RTWT.

Capt. Petronio did tours in both Afganistan and Iraq. She faced personal physical deterioration that raised questions in her own mind whether she was up to the standards the battlefield required. (Via Blazing Cat Fur.)

More, "Armed Forces in Canada Resolved Issue Long Ago":

Opening the Canadian military to women followed a protracted debate, but the questions over the suitability of women as combat troops have now all but faded from the nation’s collective memory.

“It doesn’t even enter into conversation anymore,” said Capt. Jaime Phillips, a female artillery officer who commanded not only Canadian men but male American and Afghan combat troops in Afghanistan. “It’s just so ingrained in my generation that it seems silly to hear the same old arguments again.”...

Women make up about 12 percent of the total military force but Canada’s Department of National Defense did not disclose how many of them are in combat roles. A study presented in late 2011 by Krystel Carrier-Sabourin, a doctoral student at the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario, found that 310 women filled combat roles in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2011.

Captain Phillips, who is now an adjutant at an artillery school in New Brunswick, said that she found herself commanding soldiers from both the United States and Afghanistan.

“They were not used to it, that’s for sure,” she said of those troops. “You could tell it was a curiosity for them and they were of the mind of ‘that’s fine for you guys but it’s not our way’.” Nevertheless, Captain Phillips said that her orders were always obeyed and she was never the subject of overt hostility.

Cpl. Katie Hodges, whose time with an infantry unit in Afghanistan was partly documented for the film “Sisters in Arms,” said that it is important to note that combat roles are voluntary for both men and women in the Canadian military.

“I went because I wanted to,” she said. “I wanted to be in the exact opposite of an office job.”

During her training and once she was deployed to Afghanistan, Corporal Hodges shared sleeping accommodations with men, like all women in the infantry. The only time she experienced separate quarters, she said, was when she went down to an American military base for joint training. In the Canadian military, only showers are segregated by gender.

Corporal Hodges, who is now a military photographer stationed at a base northwest of Toronto, is among those surprised that there has been any controversy in the United States about including women in combat roles.

“It’s hard to believe that there is a such a draconian attitude,” she said. “I certainly don’t want to sound offensive but the U.S. is far behind.”

So, again, the fine details of how women would serve in direct combat positions should be worked out by the service branches, but if women want to serve, they should have that right.

Edita Vilkevičiūtė for Victoria's Secret Swimwear in St. Barts

Not sure how you pronounce this woman's name. She's Lithuanian and a smokin' sweetie.

At London's Daily Mail, "Life's a beach! Edita Vilkeviciute smoulders for the camera as she shoots Victoria's Secret swimwear campaign in St Bart's."

New Machine for Amputating Fingers Iran

Click through for the details.

At Atlas Shrugs, "#MYJIHAD IN TECHNOLOGY: IRAN UNVEILS MACHINE FOR AMPUTATING THIEVES' FINGERS, SHARIA JUSTICE."

And at Jawa Report, "Shariah! Iran Unveils A Finger Amputation 'Machine'..."

How It Feels to Be Stalked

This is a must-read personal account of a stalking nightmare, from Professor James Lasdun, at the Chronicle of Higher Education, "'I Will Ruin Him'." I almost had to laugh about how Lasdun characterizes his department chair's reaction to his stalker's allegations:

The culminating act in this particular line of attack came in April of 2008. I had taken a teaching job near where I live. One morning there was a knock on my office door. It was my department head, Frank, looking uncharacteristically ill at ease.

"We've been sent a very weird e-mail," he said. "Maybe you should read it."

The subject heading ran: James Lasdun, important information about your "writer-in-residence"

I began reading warily. "To Whom It May Concern," it began. "I am a former female student of James Lasdun and find it truly disturbing that he is allowed to teach on any level. During my time as his student he did no work on my writing nor on any other female writer's work."

What followed was the familiar litany of plagiarism, theft, racism, and sexual misconduct, although set out at much greater length than ever before, and with a new lavishness of detail. "I wish you'd keep Mr. Lasdun away from young women over which he has power," it concluded. "It is the only way this twisted, sadistic man can get his kicks."

As I began trying to explain to Frank that every one of Nasreen's assertions was a lie, I sensed that, although he personally believed me, in his professional capacity he needed something stronger than just my word against Nasreen's. As it happened, I had recently managed to get a detective from the New York Police Department to take an official interest in the case. If nothing else, that gave me standing as a bona fide victim. As soon as I told Frank about that, he looked immensely relieved, and by the end of our conversation, he was offering his full support...

My department chair was even less supportive.

I had two stalkers, and so when SEK made his libelous accusations by that time things were getting out of hand and I got a lawyer. Doing so definitely beefed up the sense of seriousness among the people at my college. I was being victimized by truly diabolical people. It's unreal until you have to confront this stuff up close and personal. And remember, Carl Salonen actually emailed his lies to the California Attorney General's office. It's frightening how easily cheap, slanderous accusations can basically f-k somebody up, and there's little cost to the depraved complainant --- unless you want to go to court --- except in my case I've created an Internet record for both Carl and SEK. Anyone Googling these ghouls knows the moral crimes they have committed. Carl's search is here. And SEK's is here. Both of those return excellent, top-placement search results, BWAHAHA!!

Lots more at Patterico, "A Compelling Piece About Cyberstalking — And How It Could Have Been *Much* Worse."

Sarah Palin Forced Out at Fox News?

Well, she was forced out to the extent that Fox News was going to pay her "a fraction" of her previous $1 million a year contract, according to Howard Kurtz, "Fox Made Limited Effort to Keep Sarah Palin." But whatever the reason, it signals some kind of significant change, or that's what folks are saying. See CSM, "Why Fox News dropped Sarah Palin."

And see Stephen Bannon, at Breitbart, "Palin: 'We Haven't Yet Begun to Fight!'—Exclusive Interview with Breitbart News."

She'll always be a hero to me. She's stands for so much that's right about this country. Just setting the example for younger conservatives will be a national service. We'll see how she does going forward.

Brazil Nightclub Fire

Here's the banner headline at London's Daily Mail, "Security staff 'barred the doors' as desperate people tried to escape Brazil night club inferno which claimed at least 232 lives."

And at the New York Times, "Scores Dead as Fire Sweeps Through Nightclub in Brazil":

RIO DE JANEIRO — A fire ignited by a flare from a band’s pyrotechnic spectacle swept through a nightclub filled with hundreds of university students early on Sunday morning in Santa Maria, a city in southern Brazil, killing at least 232 people, police officials said.

Health workers hauled bodies from the club, called Kiss, to hospitals in Santa Maria throughout Sunday morning. Some of the survivors were taken to the nearby city of Porto Alegre to be treated for burns. Valdeci Oliveira, a local legislator, said he saw piles of bodies in the nightclub’s bathrooms.

Col. Guido Pedroso de Melo, the commander of the city’s Fire Department, said security guards had locked exits, which intensified the panic as people in the club stampeded to the doors. One police investigator at the club, Elizabeth Shimomura, told a television news channel, “It is a scene of horror.”

Survivors described a scene of mayhem as patrons rushed for the main exit. “I only got out because I am strong,” Ezequiel Corte Real, 23, told reporters. He said he helped others escape the blaze.

The disaster in Santa Maria, which is in the relatively prosperous state of Rio Grande do Sul, shocked the country. President Dilma Rousseff canceled appointments at a summit meeting in Chile to travel to Santa Maria, a city of about 260,000 residents that is known for its cluster of universities.

Entirely senseless. You'd think at this point, in the 21st century, this kind of catastrophe would never happen. The doors were locked? Seriously?

Continue reading.

And there's lots more at the Lede, "Fire at a Nightclub in Southern Brazil."

Britain's National Sickness

Well, it's not just Britain, but don't miss Melanie Phillips' essay, "A LibDem MP gives voice to Britain's national sickness."

RELATED: At the Commentator, "Sunday Times blood libel cartoon, on Holocaust Memorial Day no less." (Via Memeorandum.)

Latino Gangs Intimidating Blacks Into Leaving Compton

Times change, I guess.

At LAT, "Attack on family in Compton latest incident in wave of anti-black violence":

A Latino gang is intimidating blacks into leaving the city that was once an African American enclave. It's part of a violent trend seen in other parts of the L.A. area.

The trouble began soon after they arrived.

The black family—a mother, three teenage children and a 10-year-old boy—moved into a little yellow home in Compton over Christmas vacation.

When a friend came to visit, four men in a black SUV pulled up and called him a "nigger," saying black people were barred from the neighborhood, according to Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies. They jumped out, drew a gun on him and beat him with metal pipes.

It was just the beginning of what detectives said was a campaign by a Latino street gang to force an African American family to leave.

The attacks on the family are the latest in a series of violent incidents in which Latino gangs targeted blacks in parts of greater Los Angeles over the last decade.

Compton, with a population of about 97,000, was predominantly black for many years. It is now 65% Latino and 33% black, according to the 2010 U.S. census. But it's not only historically black areas that have been targeted.

Federal authorities have alleged in several indictments in the last decade that the Mexican Mafia prison gang has ordered street gangs under its control to attack African Americans. Leaders of the Azusa 13 gang were sentenced to lengthy prison terms earlier this month for leading a policy of attacking African American residents and expelling them from the town.

Similar attacks have taken place in Harbor Gateway, Highland Park, Pacoima, San Bernardino, Canoga Park and Wilmington, among other places. In the Compton case, sheriff's officials say the gang appears to have been acting on its own initiative.

Sheriff's detectives said Friday they had arrested Jeffrey Aguilar, 19, of Gardena and Efren Marquez, 21, of Rialto, both alleged members of the Compton Varrio 155 gang, and are continuing to look for more assailants.

"This family has no gang ties whatsoever," Sheriff's Lt. Richard Westin said. "They are complete innocent victims here."

The 19-year-old family friend managed to break free that first day and run into the house, where the children were the only ones at home.

The attackers left, but a half-hour later a crowd of as many as 20 people stood on the lawn yelling threats and epithets. A beer bottle crashed through the living room window as the youngsters watched in horror.

"They were scared if they called the sheriff they'd be killed," Westin said. "So they called their mom, who called the Sheriff's Department."

More at the link.

And that's N.W.A. at the clip, "Straight Outta Compton."

Compton ain't got no mo' black mofos like that, I be guessin'.

Kathleen Wynne: Canada's First Openly Homosexual Premier and Ontario's First Female Premier

Well, we have the first gay president already, so I guess Canada's catching up.

Via Joe. My. God and Memeorandum.

And at the Toronto Star, "Ontario Liberal leadership convention: Kathleen Wynne will be next premier."

PHOTO: Wikimedia Commons.

Women Sue Explicit 'Revenge Porn' Site After Jilted Lovers Anonymously Posted Revealing Pictures of Them

Well, it's a meat market out there.

At London's Daily Mail, "'Ex'-plicit 'revenge porn' site that allowed jilted lovers to anonymously post revealing pics of their former girlfriends is facing class-action suit."

Photos From the 40th Annual March for Life

From Matt Cassens, at St. Blogustine, "40th Annual March For Life In Pictures."

Long Lines, Ammunition Shortages at Orange County Gun Show

I visited the Orange County fairgrounds this morning.

Here's a report at NBC 4 Los Angeles, "Costa Mesa Gun Show Draws Long Lines, Demand for Ammunition." And see ABC News 7, "Costa Mesa gun show organizers: Ban talks boost business."

I arrived about 10:30am. The lines were long --- I heard people saying they waited an hour to get in --- but moved quickly by the time I got up there. And it was a diverse crowd, defying liberal stereotypes of California progressivism:

I would have loved a couple of beers at the beer gardens, but I was driving. Maybe next time. I'll make it a family affair and the wife can drive:

A banner for Crossroads of the West, the outfit that holds some of the big Southern California gun shows.

A man was showing off accessories. I have no clue the model of that gun, but it looked formidable:

My favorite shirt, which I tweeted from the fairgrounds:

Targets:

Lots of historical weapons and paraphernalia. Here's a "Gettysburg 1863" (a Colt .45, I think):

I'm not sure this gear from Imperial Germany and Nazi Germany was authentic:

Although this knockoff U.S. Army gear from WWII looks pretty cool:

These WWWII rifles were totally authentic. Remington and Winchester and lots more at a huge dealer's counter:

Lots of humorous signs available (and there were loads of anti-Obama stickers as well):

One of the ammunition dealers:

And this is the line for ammunition outside the exhibition halls. High demand:

Here's a couple of Smith & Wesson .45 caliber guns on the right, and that's a .40 caliber at the upper left. The dealer was Quantico Arms and Tactical Supply out of Oceanside, near Camp Pendleton:

They also had this Glock 10mm:

Heading out from the fairgrounds, here's the beautiful country barn. The fair holds cow milking demonstrations every July:

And here's some earlier reporting at the Los Angeles Times, "Security boosted for Orange County gun show," and "Ammunition shortage could draw crowds to O.C. gun show."

I felt reassured about American liberty while attending. Gun enthusiasts are salt-of-the-earth Americans, the kind the Democrat-Media-Complex rarely discusses, lest such patriots upset the progressive narrative.

UPDATE: Linked at Blazing Cat Fur. Thanks! And also at lgstarr, "Fabulous gun show photos."

Also picked up by BadBlue.

More linkage at Lonely Conservative, "No Matter the Issue, the Media Frames It on Their (And the Democrats') Terms." Thanks!

Still more! Bill Quick links at the Daily Pundit, "Screw Limp Dick Gun Control Marches." Thanks!

Hey, here's looking for a Memeorandum link out of this one!

Also, Doug Ross and Marooned in Marin link. Thanks.

Obama's Abuse of Power

At the Wall Street Journal:

President Obama has shown increasing contempt for the constitutional limits on his power, and the courts are finally awakening to the news. A unanimous panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Friday that the President's non-recess recess appointments are illegal and an abuse of executive power.

On January 4, 2012, Mr. Obama bypassed the Senate's advice and consent power by naming three new members of the National Labor Relations Board and appointing Richard Cordray to run the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Other Presidents have made recess appointments and we've supported that executive authority.

But here's the Obama kicker: He consciously made those "recess" appointments when the Senate wasn't in recess but was conducting pro-forma sessions precisely so Mr. Obama couldn't make a recess appointment. No President to our knowledge had ever tried that one, no doubt because it means the executive can decide on his own when a co-equal branch of government is in session.

In Noel Canning v. NLRB, a Washington state Pepsi bottler challenged a board decision on grounds that the recess appointments were invalid and that the NLRB thus lacked the three-member quorum required to conduct business. The D.C. Circuit agreed, while whistling a 98 mile-per-hour, chin-high fastball past the White House about the separation of powers.

In the 46-page opinion, the three-judge panel said that "not only logic and language, but also constitutional history" reject the President's afflatus. The Federalist Papers refer to recess appointments expiring at the end of the following session of Congress, the court explained, so it stands to reason that recess appointments were intended to be made only when the Senate is in a recess between sessions, not any time the Senators step out of the Capitol.

Continue reading.

And at Twitchy, "Lefty academic laments ‘neoconfederate judges’ who ruled NLRB appointments unconstitutional." That "lefty academic" is the asshole Scott Lemieux at LGM.

Lulz. Remember, these are the "serious" people. twitter.com/SonnyBunch/sta…
— Sonny Bunch (@SonnyBunch) January 25, 2013

Yes, "serious" people --- and Marxist moral degenerates.

Twitter Shuts Down al-Shabaab's Account

Well, the Somalia jihadists were tweeting out photos of dead soldiers, which must have been too much for some folks.

At the New York Times, "Somalia: Twitter Shuts Rebels’ Account."

And at Guardian UK, "Twitter suspends al-Shabaab account."

A cached version is here. You can see some of the sarcastic responses to outrage over the dead French commando.

Networks Refuse to Correctly Identify Pro-Life Activists

I saw Susanne Malveaux's segment on CNN yesterday morning, and the chyron described the March for Life as "Abortion Opponents Protest Roe v. Wade," or thereabouts. And I'm thinking, "Wait. These people are about life. Why not identify them correctly?"

So, it was no surprise later when I saw this at NewsBusters, "‘March for … ?’ Nets Don’t Use ‘Life’ in Abortion Debate":

Thinking of learning a new language? Try English – broadcast media style. Specifically, try abortion-reporting speak – a tongue as notable for the words it doesn’t use as those it does.

This year’s annual March for Life, this Friday, Jan. 25th, marks the 40th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision. And, though you might think it would be difficult to talk about something called the March for Life without using the word “life,” the broadcast networks have shown the utility of abortion-reporting speak. In the past 10 years, 91 percent of ABC, NBC, and CBS anchor reports on the March for Life and Roe v. Wade failed to mention the word, “life.”

In 22 reports, “life” was used just twice.  The first came from NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell. O’Donnell said in a Jan. 22, 2003, “Today” segment when she introduced a “pro-life group.” The other came from CBS’ Russ Mitchell in a Jan. 22, 2007, “Early Show” report when he described a “march for life” marking the 34th Roe v. Wade anniversary.

The other 20 reports employed a variety of alternate descriptions for the March for Life and pro-life activists. The March and counter-demonstrations were rallies sponsored by both opponents and supporters of Roe v. Wade, according to NBC’s Brian Williams on Jan. 24, 2005 and his colleague Ann Curry on Jan. 22, 2007. The marchers were “opponents” (ABC’s Jake Tapper, Jan. 23, 2006), and “anti-abortion activists” (NBC’s Tom Brokaw, Jan. 22, 2003) rather than “pro-lifers” or “pro-life marchers,” as they self-describe.

The linguistic selections are far from unconscious. A recent interview by NBC’s Andrea Mitchell illustrated the “life” language prejudice pervading broadcast media. When Republican strategist Juleanna Glover identified herself as “deeply pro-life” in an interview, Mitchell interrupted, “Well, what I would call anti-abortion,” and added, “to use the term that I think is more value neutral.”

And the bias is institutionalized. Journalists should “Use anti-abortion instead of pro-life andabortion rights instead of pro-abortion or pro-choice,” according to The Associated Press (AP) Stylebook’s 44th edition. Instead of making the argument about life and death or choice and constraint, AP advocates for the flat, procedural term: abortion.

More here, "Marching for Life in the Face of a Pro-Abortion Media."

And here's the New York Times' report, where pro-life activists are called "abortion opponents." See, "40 Years After Roe v. Wade, Thousands March to Oppose Abortion." And that piece didn't make the front-page, despite hundreds of thousands of people rallying for life.

RELATED: At Twitchy, "Social media fills the role the MSM won’t as hundreds of thousands #MarchForLife in DC."

BONUS: "Ghoul: Touré says ‘thank God for abortion’."

Wayward Dolphin Dies in Toxic Gowanus Canal in New York

The animal was probably dying before making its way up the canal, but there's some deep irony here that the death happened in progressive, nanny-statist New York.

At the New York Post, "Dolphin stuck in Gowanus Canal dies."

More details at the Wall Street Journal, "Wayward dolphin dies in polluted New York canal":

The canal was named a Superfund site in 2010, meaning the government can force polluters to pay for its restoration. For more than a century before, coal yards, chemical factories and fuel refineries on the canal's banks discharged everything from tar to purple ink into the water, earning it the local nickname The Lavender Lake for its unnatural hue.

While the dolphin was churning up sediment and mud, it's unclear whether that contributed to its death, DiGiovanni said.

The dolphin, which appeared to be about 7 feet long, likely entered the canal from the Atlantic Ocean through the Lower and Upper New York Bays and then the Gowanus Bay, which leads to the canal. It's about 20 miles from the canal to open ocean.

Experts don't know why the dolphin wandered into the canal, but in general that can happen when one gets sick or disoriented, DiGiovanni said.

It's not uncommon for sea creatures to stray into city waters, though they don't often swim away alive.