A TPM Reader and student of Japan takes a harsh look at US coverage of recent events …
Now that the crisis at the Fukushima nuclear power plant seems to be heading in a better direction, I hope at some time you and many others in the American news business can look back and evaluate their coverage of the event. From my perspective as a scholar of Japan at a major American universityâone who was also in Japan when the quake hit (I left one day later than scheduled on the 13th)âI must say that the coverage was, with some exceptions, largely substandard: full of factual errors, misconceptions, and bent towards sensationalism and alarmism. It is very unfortunate that this poor coverage will probably result in many Americans having false conceptions of Japan for years to come.
Another TPM Reader remembers Warren Christopher …
I, too, knew Warren Christopher and had the very real honor on occasion to work with him when he was Deputy Secretary under Carter and I was [REDACTED]. Chris was smart, steady, determined and of impeccable character. I recalled that together with Cyrus Vance, he coauthored the seminal report on the race riots following the King assassination. Often overlooked because of his modest, undemonstrative demeanor, was that Chris was a tough negotiator, proven diplomat and brilliant lawyer. To me his signal achievements were negotiating the release of our hostages in Tehran and obtaining a very favorable financial settlement for American companies whose property was expropriated by Iran. He never received the public credit he deserved for them, and never complained–because that’s who Chris was.
A quick and dirty photo recap of the recent events in Libya:
Good news is getting hard to come by these days. But here’s one shot at it: “Six Ways Fukushima is Not Chernobyl.”
The President is scheduled to speak from the White House regarding the Libya situation at 2 p.m. ET. Watch.
Eric Kleefeld has our complete report on the judge’s ruling blocking the union-busting bill in Wisconsin.
Latest line from Gingrich: Obama too fixated on hoops, unable to focus on being president.
We’ve just gotten breaking news that a judge in Wisconsin has issued a temporary restraining order halting implementation of Gov. Walker’s union-busting bill. The ruling is not on the merits of the bill but based on the Republican senators cutting corners getting the bill to a vote.
It would appear the state senators can still go through the motions again and pass the bill without cutting the same corners.