Today’s edition of quick hits.
* A stunning tragedy in Bangladesh: “Aid workers struggled Friday to help hundreds of thousands of survivors of a cyclone that blasted Bangladesh with 150 mph winds, killing a reported 1,100 people, savaging coastal towns, and leaving millions without power in the deadliest such storm in more than a decade. Rescuers — some even employing the brute force of elephants — contended with roads that were washed out or blocked by wind-blown debris to try to get water and food to people stranded by flooding from Tropical Cyclone Sidr.”
* McClatchy: “Iran appears to have stopped shipping the deadliest type of weapons used against U.S. troops in Iraq after a European government confronted Tehran with proof that the weapons came from Iranian factories and Iraqi officials warned their neighbor that instability in Iraq affects the entire region, U.S., Western and Iraqi officials said.” Note to Bush: this is called an “overture.” You don’t have to attack.
* The result of the Republican war on science: “Some government scientists have complained that officials at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History took steps to downplay global warming in a 2006 exhibit on the Arctic to avoid a political backlash, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post. The museum’s director, Cristián Samper, ordered last-minute changes to the exhibit’s script to add ‘scientific uncertainty’ about climate change, according to internal documents and correspondence.” (thanks to L.L. for the tip)
* In case there were any lingering doubts: CNN confirmed this afternoon that it chose the “diamonds or pearls” question and directed a college student to ask it.
* Concern over the plight of the Jena Six has not faded away: “Marchers surrounded the Justice Department headquarters on Friday to demand federal intervention in the “Jena Six” case and enforcement of hate crimes against those who hang nooses in public.”
* Words fail me: “A Saudi court sentenced a woman who had been gang raped to six months in jail and 200 lashes — more than doubling her initial penalty for being in the car of a man who was not a relative, a newspaper reported Thursday.”
* I know Ron Paul has some unbelievably rabid fans, but they should remember that it’s illegal to print money with his picture on it.
* Remember when the U.S. was a beacon of hope for the world? “A confidential 2003 manual for operating the Guantanamo detention center shows that military officials had a policy of denying detainees access to independent monitors from the International Committee of the Red Cross.”
* I assumed no one was watching these debates except me, but it turns out last night’s debate in Las Vegas was the most watched primary debate in television history. That means over 4 million people got to hear Wolf Blitzer ask stupid questions.
* There’s an inkling of a deal in the works — congressional Republicans will let congressional Dems’ spending bills pass in exchange for a blank check on Iraq.
* Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) can’t imagine why reporters in his home state would cover the biggest political corruption scandal in Alaska’s history.
* I appreciate why John Edwards is challenging Hillary Clinton as aggressively as he is, but this seems like a waste of outrage.
* AP: “Soldiers strained by six years at war are deserting their posts at the highest rate since 1980, with the number of Army deserters this year showing an 80 percent increase since the United States invaded Iraq in 2003.”
* I think we’re losing the Pakistani street: “‘We used to love America. Give me Tom Cruise and a vacation in Florida any day,’ said Parveen Aslam, 30, who like many Pakistanis has relatives in the United States. ‘But why isn’t the U.S. standing up for Pakistan when we need it most? Is America even listening to us? We are calling them Busharraf now. They are the same man.'”
* Major court ruling from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on fuel economy standards for light trucks and SUVs.
* It looks like the State Department won’t have to force several dozen diplomats to serve in Iraq after all.
* Compassionate conservatism: “Like the other Gulf Coast states battered by Hurricane Katrina, Mississippi was required by Congress to spend half of its billions in federal grant money to help low-income citizens trying to recover from the storm. But so far, the state has spent $1.7 billion in federal money on programs that have mostly benefited relatively affluent residents and big businesses.”
* Why does CNN feature a partisan supporter of one Democratic candidate as an analyst for all Democratic candidates?
* And finally, apropos of nothing, this custom-made cake from Wal Mart had me laughing out loud. I had to read it a couple of times before I could figure it out, but once I did, I couldn’t stop chuckling.
Anything to add? Consider this an end-of-the-day open thread.