The Michael Jackson of broadcast journalism. (In a good way)
     RIP WC.

     On the whole “death” tip: see Jane Campbell in the Guardian, Assisted dying: not in our name: Disabled and terminally ill people reject the view that our lives are a tragic burden. We can speak for ourselves – hear us now,

     Today I and hundreds of other disabled and terminally ill people want you to know, we do not want assisted dying to be legalised for “people like us”. I will speak in the House of Lords against proposed amendments to the coroners and criminal justice bill that seek to set this country on the road to legalising assisted dying and, ultimately, euthanasia for people with terminal conditions. …
     The amendments’ supporters are unable to reconcile the fact that with the exception of a few vocal individuals, backed by the powerful Dignity in Dying, assisted dying legislation is not supported by the people it is intended to benefit. They appear not to have noticed that the days of others knowing what is best for disabled and terminally ill people are past. We are now empowered and we know what we need to play a full part in society. We want help to live – not help to die.
     If the state were to sanction any person to assist another in the ending of that person’s life, it would put at risk the lives of the very people who need every encouragement to live. We would be feeding in to the stereotype that our lives are so tragic, burdensome and insufferable that we must want to die. It takes extraordinary personal will to rise above such views. Many do not, especially when such views are held by loved ones.
     Concern among disabled people about the assisted dying bill led to the formation of “Not Dead Yet UK” in 2004, an organisation of disabled and terminally ill people alarmed that proponents of assisted dying were often going unchallenged. We wanted to show that opposition to euthanasia was not confined to the medical profession and faith leaders, who have been dismissed as defenders of vested interests and religious zealots. That is why it is so important that you hear our voices today. …
     …If I should ever seek death at those times when my progressive condition challenges me, I want to know that you are there supporting my continued life and its value. The last thing I want is for you to give up on me, especially when I need you the most.

     Not dead yet! –Amen!!

     See Reuters, Obama tells pope he wants to reduce abortions in U.S.,

     President Barack Obama promised Pope Benedict on Friday that he would do everything possible to reduce the number of abortions in the United States, the Vatican said.
     Obama and Benedict held private talks for about 40 minutes in the pope’s frescoed study in the Vatican’s apostolic palace and the Vatican said bioethics and life issues were a central part of the discussion.
     In a surprise move, the pontiff gave Obama a booklet explaining Vatican opposition to practices such as abortion and embryonic stem cell research, which Obama supports. …
     The pope also gave the president a copy of his latest encyclical, “Charity in Truth,” which called for a “world political authority” to manage the global economy and for more government regulation of national economies to pull the world out of the current crisis and avoid a repeat.
     Obama, who was going to the airport from the Vatican, joked to the pope when he gave him the two documents: “I’ll have something to read on the plane.” …

     Tolle et lege.

     That Al Franken is sure a long-winded bore these days. Just not funny at all.

     See the Guardian, Hemingway revealed as failed KGB spy: Notes from Stalin-era intelligence archives show ‘agent Argo’ as a willing recruit in 1941,

     Up till now, this has been a notably cheerful year for admirers of Ernest Hemingway – a surprisingly diverse set of people who range from Michael Palin to Elmore Leonard. …
     Last week, however, saw the publication of Spies: The Rise and Fall of the KGB in America (Yale University Press), which reveals the Nobel prize-winning novelist was for a while on the KGB’s list of its agents in America. Co-written by John Earl Haynes, Harvey Klehr and Alexander Vassiliev, the book is based on notes that Vassiliev, a former KGB officer, made when he was given access in the 90s to Stalin-era intelligence archives in Moscow.
     Its section on the author’s secret life as a “dilettante spy” draws on his KGB file in saying he was recruited in 1941 before making a trip to China, given the cover name “Argo”, and “repeatedly expressed his desire and willingness to help us” when he met Soviet agents in Havana and London in the 40s. However, he failed to “give us any political information” and was never “verified in practical work”, so contacts with Argo had ceased by the end of the decade. Was he only ever a pseudo-spook, possibly seeing his clandestine dealings as potential literary material, or a genuine but hopelessly ineffective one?
     The latter reading would chime with his attempts to assist the US during the second world war in his fishing boat El Pilar, patrolling waters north of Cuba in search of U-Boats, making coded notes but only one sighting. …

     Papa Ernie a Russkie dirtbag. Well.
     Coming up next, our world exclusive: “Sarah Palin was a Hasidic Jew.”

     See the journal of Wall Street, “Washington Wire”, Biden Celebrates July 4 With Troops,

     …“As corny as it sounds: Damn I’m proud to be an American,” Biden told the soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen assembled at Camp Victory, U.S. military headquarters, under the soaring dome of the grand hall in one of Saddam Hussein’s finer palaces. …
     Biden mentioned the ceremony at lunch with his son, Beau Biden, and the rest of the the 261st Theater Tactical Signal Brigade from Delaware. “We did it in Saddam’s palace,” he said. “That S.O.B. is rolling over in his grave right now.”

     Ugh.
     Well, not all of us have to be proud that Biden is an American. . .
     Happy 4th!