Sesame Street In Palestine

From the NYT, kinda long.

Since the inception of “Sesame Street” in the United States 40 years ago, the nonprofit New York City-based organization that produces the show, which is now called Sesame Workshop, has created 25 international co-productions. Each country’s show has its own identity: a distinctive streetscape, live-action segments featuring local kids and a unique crew of Muppets. Bangladesh’s “Sisimpur” uses some traditional Bangladeshi puppets, and South Africa’s “Takalani Sesame” features Kami, an orphaned H.I.V.-positive Muppet.

Friviality Friday

Obama rumored to be taking new, more normal family.
The Onion comes through, as usual.

Poll: Happy, Healthy Obamas Out Of Touch With Miserable Americans

Fuck America

The right-wing screaming heads are triumphant that Obama, all by his foreign, Muslim self, lost the Olympics for Chicago.
In that vein, a commenter on Kos says

I hear wingnuts are agitating against America hosting the next Super Bowl.

The Worst of the Worst

Dick Cheney's description of all Gitmo detainees.
Here's one of Andrew Sullivan's commenters, a DOJ litigator, noting the most important paragraph from the judge in the al-Rabiah case:
Interrogator to prisoner:

“There is nothing against you. But there is no innocent person here. So, you should confess to something so you can be charged and sentenced and serve your sentence and then go back to your family and country, because you will not leave this place innocent.”

Whole thing is worth a read, it's not that long.

Comment O' Teh Day

From Josh Marshall:

We're now living in the post-Chicago Olympics rejection era.

Later, he said this:

Just Shoot Me Now Update: That Dr. Nancy goof on MSNBC just called this a "profound loss" for Chicago and a "stunning blow" for the USA. Look, I'm sure there are a lot of really disappointed people in Chicago who worked really hard. But c'mon, the rest of us can muddle through, right?

Me:
Post-modern News Rule #1
Anything new in the last hour or two is stunning, followed by profound.
Look it up, it's in every dictionary.

Meet Cousin Ardi

Pretty good write-up on the new fossil evidence.

Just Because I Can

Obama and niece Savita, Pete Souza, White House photog.

Maria Cantwell Is Brilliant Today

Throw her a little love, eh?
From TPM's liveblog of the Finance Committee debate on the public option.
2:03 p.m. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) notes smartly that any public option tied to Medicare will be tied to a newer, better Medicare that will correct for rural disparities, and reward providers that provide cost-effective care, and move away from fee for service. That undermines Kent Conrad's objection to a pretty significant extent. More on this soon.
2:09 p.m.Cantwell also says she'll be offering an amendment that will allow private insurers to team with the government to negotiate lower rates. Your move, Kent!

Joanie!

Baez, whose voice has followed me for more than 40 years, will be featured on PBS' American Masters Oct. 14.

Stop Eating Fish?

It's written in tabloid, semi-hysterical style. And rightly so.

Today, governments provide nearly $30 billion in subsidies each year--about one-third of the value of the global catch--that keep fisheries going, even when they have overexploited their resource base. As a result, there are between two and four times as many boats as the annual catch requires, and yet, the funds to “build capacity” keep coming...

But eating a tuna roll at a sushi restaurant should be considered no more environmentally benign than driving a Hummer or harpooning a manatee.

There's hope, though, in the last paragraph. If governments start behaving responsibly. Yeah.

Read This Long, Long Story

Every word. You won't regret it.