In the News

Here is some stuff in the news today...

RIP Ben Bradlee, "who presided over The Washington Post newsroom for 26 years and guided The Post's transformation into one of the world's leading newspapers." He died yesterday at his home in Washington of natural causes at the age of 93.

[Content Note: War; terrorism] Whoooooooops: "A US airdrop of arms to besieged Kurds in Kobani appears to have missed its target and ended up in the hands of Islamic State militants. ...The Pentagon said it was investigating the claim but admitted that one of its airdrops had gone missing. If confirmed, it would be an embarrassment for the US, given the advanced precision technology available to its air force."

[CN: Misogyny] Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren says she wishes she were surprised by reports of misogyny against her female colleagues in the US Senate, but she ain't: "It's hard to change these big, male dominated institutions. What I am very happy about is that there are now enough women in the United States Senate to begin to change that place and I think that's just powerfully important. ...Others have said it before me: If you don't have a seat at the table, you're probably on the menu."

[CN: War; violence; misogyny] I love this young woman: "Pakistani teenager Malala Yousafzai, who won the Nobel Peace Prize—and was shot in the head by the Taliban—for advocating girls' education, told President Barack Obama he could 'change the world' if only he'd send books instead of guns to other countries, she said Tuesday. 'My message was very simple,' Malala, who is now 17, said Tuesday at the Forbes Under 30 Summit in Philadelphia, speaking of her recent meeting with the president. 'I said instead of sending guns, send books. Instead of sending weapons, send teachers.'"

Afghanistan's new first lady, Rula Ghani, seems pretty interesting: "Ghani already broke tradition by participating in her husband, Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai's, campaign for President. He even thanked her during his inaugural address for her continuous support, calling her 'Bibi Gul,' a term of endearment. Rula points to her husband's emotional tribute in his inauguration speech as a sign of the changing norms for Afghan women. 'By mentioning me the way he did,' she said, 'my husband really showed exactly what I mean by helping Afghan women be more assertive, more conscious of their role, more respected.'" Sounds like that was a pretty powerful message to Afghan men, too.

[CN: Poverty; racism; murder] I really don't like how suddenly the media "cares" about the blight in Gary, Indiana, now that blight can be implicitly blamed for abetting a serial killer. And P.S. I see you.

[CN: Harassment; abuse; misogyny] Headline of the Day: "Pew survey shows women bear brunt of online harassment." Well, thank Maude there's now an OFFICIAL PEW SURVEY to prove the veracity of women's reported lived experiences.

Cool: "A group of people will spend the next eight months of their lives living in an isolated dome on a Hawaiian volcano as part of a study financed by NASA. The study, known as the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog & Simulation (HISEAS), has been designed to determine how well a small group of people can get along and work together, according to Bend Bulletin. The study is a test for a future manned mission to Mars. NASA has a plan to send astronauts to the Red Planet in the 2030s. The trip is long and lonely, and it will take astronauts about 6 months to reach Mars. Once there, they will spend 500 days on the planet, and exhaust another six months coming home."

And finally! All the blubs forever: "Soldier and her cat are reunited thanks to shelter's helping hand."