Egypt Hits Militants, Tobacco Truth

Permawar: The Egyptian military launched airstrikes on militant hideouts overnight Friday, in response to the massacre at a mosque attack earlier in the day. The number of strikes and targets was not revealed.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi promised to respond with “brute force” in retaliation for the attack on a village mosque that killed 305 people and wounded more than 128. Twenty-seven of the dead were children.

Witnesses say about 30 gunmen arrived in five pickup trucks. Toward the end of the assault, the gunmen were said to have walked among the bodies, shooting people who appeared to be still alive.

World: Two people were killed and 30 injured when a massive explosion flattened a building in the Chinese port city of Ningbo southeast of Shanghai. The blast left twisted cars and a pile of rubble. The Mount Agung Volcano on Indonesia’s island of Bali has erupted for the second time in a week, spewing ash and causing the cancellation of some flights from Ngurah Rai International Airport. Indonesia has at least 120 active volcanoes.

Here’s the Truth: Under orders from a federal court, the biggest tobacco companies today will start running television commercials and full-page newspaper ads to discourage people from smoking.

“More people,” one ad says, “die every year from smoking than murder, AIDS, suicide, drugs, car crashes, and alcohol, combined.” Another reads: “Cigarette companies intentionally designed cigarettes with enough nicotine to create and sustain addiction.”

In a 2006 ruling, the tobacco companies were ordered to issue “corrective statements” after years of lies about the health risks and addictive nature of smoking. Until now, the tobacco companies have been blowing smoke in court and wrangling over wording. They negotiated to avoid using the phrase “here’s the truth.”

Big Upset Two: Auburn knocked off No. 1 Alabama yesterday 26-14, possibly eliminating the Alabama football machine from the college playoffs. Auburn has to beat No. 7 Georgia next weekend to make the playoffs, but already beat them 40-17 earlier this season.

Don’t Go to Jared: The president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, once given a portfolio of responsibilities from Middle East peace to updating government technology, is waning in power with the Trump administration, the NY Times reports.

The Times says Kushner once answered a question about his work from former Chief of Staff Reince Priebus with, “What do you care?” and an expletive. Now Kushner appears to have been brought to heel by the new Chief of Staff John Kelly. “Mr. Kelly has made clear that Mr. Kushner must fit within a chain of command. ‘Jared works for me,’ he has told associates,” according to the Times report. “According to three advisers to the president, Mr. Kelly has even discussed the possibility of Mr. Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump, departing the West Wing by the end of the year.”

Piegate: Social media have been buzzing the last couple of days over the posting by White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders that she baked a beautiful chocolate pecan pie for Thanksgiving. She provided a picture of the pie against a white background, which set off conspiratorial speculation that maybe Sanders didn’t bake the pie.

White House reporter April Ryan tweeted, “Show it to us on a table.”

The credibility of the chief spokeswoman is so low that even when she says she baked a pie the press demands proof, not a slice.

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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Page Two

The Most Corrupt Justice

Monday, October 2, 2023

Democracy and Video in the Dark

Sunday, February 26, 2023

Page Two: Do the Right Thing

Tuesday, February 1, 2022

Page Two: Sound Recall

Monday, September 13, 2021

Page Two: Cuomo Must Go

Friday, August 13, 2021

Trump and the Truth

Tuesday, November 3, 2020

The “Great” President

Monday, March 30, 2020

The Wright Stuff

Saturday, February 29, 2020

It's Been Said

"In my mind, I’ve never crossed the line with anyone, but I didn’t realize the extent to which the line has been redrawn. There are generational and cultural shifts that I just didn’t fully appreciate, and I should have, no excuses."

-Andrew Cuomo, resigning as governor of New York after accusations of sexual harassment

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