Image from new subway construction going on in New York. As Marshall points out, these are reminiscent of the lunar excavation scenes from the film “2001: A Space Odyssey”.

More here:

http://media.talkingpointsmemo.com/slideshow/new-york-city-subway-construction?ref=fpblg

Lach:

“’[I]t’s important to bear in mind I’m being called a traitor by men like former Vice President Dick Cheney,’ Snowden wrote. ‘This is a man who gave us the warrantless wiretapping scheme as a kind of atrocity warm-up on the way to deceitfully engineering a conflict that has killed over 4,400 and maimed nearly 32,000 Americans, as well as leaving over 100,000 Iraqis dead. Being called a traitor by Dick Cheney is the highest honor you can give an American, and the more panicked talk we hear from people like him, Feinstein, and King, the better off we all are. If they had taught a class on how to be the kind of citizen Dick Cheney worries about, I would have finished high school.’”

…

“’Bathtub falls and police officers kill more Americans than terrorism, yet we’ve been asked to sacrifice our most sacred rights for fear of falling victim to it,’ Snowden wrote.”

I tend to roll my eyes at a lot of the things Snowden says, but he’s on target with both of these things. If Dick Cheney, who did everything he could to turn the United States into a dictatorship, thinks you’re a traitor… you’re probably doing something right. And yes, we have definitely sacrificed an awful lot of freedom for the cause of avoiding a very tiny problem.

Marshall:

“Pope Francis blesses thousands of bikers and their Harleys.”

Next: shirtless Pope washes his Camaro.

Kapur:

“Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) claimed Wednesday that the rate of pregnancy from rape is ‘very low’ during a House Judiciary Committee mark-up of his legislation to ban abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy.”

How many GOP officials do we have to hear say this before we stop pretending these are one-off gaffes, and start accepting that this is the official policy of the Republican party?

Galeano (AP):

“Nicaragua is plowing ahead with a plan to dig a Chinese-funded rival to the Panama Canal across the midriff of the country, fast-tracking a proposal through the ruling party-controlled congress despite a lack of details about the $40 billion project.”

This is… interesting. In the 19th century, before the Panama canal was dug, a Nicaraguan route was very much in the mix. A couple of attempts were actually made to dig one, but without success, due to political instability in the region and the difficulty of actually constructing the canal in the tropics. There’s been continued sporadic interest since then in constructing this canal as an alternative to the Panama canal.

One of the items of concern here is environmental – most plausible routes for the canal run through Lake Nicaragua, and connecting this to both Atlantic and Pacific oceans is unlikely to have any beneficial effect on any of the bodies of water in question. Not to mention the effects of construction on the land on either side.

Still – I’m kind of skeptical that this is even going to happen. For one thing, the plans are beyond vague – apparently no route has been selected, there are few details available regarding revenue sharing between the Chinese company and the Nicaraguan government, the $40 billion cost seems like a low-ball… I mean, I guess this could happen, but I’m not holding my breath.

Schlanger:

“In a speech made to a gathering of Texas Republicans last month, tea party activist Ken Emanuelson claimed that the GOP does not want black people to vote unless they do so for Republican candidates.

“’I’m going to be real honest with you, the Republican Party doesn’t want black people to vote if they’re going to vote 9-to-1 for Democrats,’ Emanuelson said at a May 20 ‘Battlefield Dallas’ event in Dallas, according to the Houston Chronicle.”

You don’t say.

Cassata/Lardner:

“Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., is a proponent of ambitious legislation that would remove commanders from the process of deciding whether serious crimes, including sexual misconduct cases, go to trial. That judgment would rest with seasoned trial counsels who have prosecutorial experience and hold the rank of colonel or above.

“The military has serious reservations about Gillibrand’s plan, concerned that stripping commanders of some authority would make it difficult for them to maintain good order and discipline. Not so, say some lawmakers, who argue that the military’s piecemeal approach clearly hasn’t been the answer.”

Holy crap, military leaders, are you serious? It would make it difficult to maintain good order and discipline? Here’s a news flash: based on the number of sexual assaults being reported (to say nothing of those that are clearly NOT being reported)… you’re not maintaining good order and discipline NOW.

Thompson:

“Retired Navy SEAL Kristin Beck published a memoir titled ‘Warrior Princess’ on Tuesday describing her 20-year military career and and her experience coming out as transgender.”

Wow. I might have to read this. Apparently Beck was in Team 6, which is the most elite of the SEALs.

Marshall:

“To greet African leaders arriving for conference in Japan, event organizers force group of Penguins to dress up in ‘African’ costumes …”

Japan, seriously. O_o

Isachenkov (AP):

“A perfectly preserved woolly mammoth carcass with liquid blood has been found on a remote Arctic island, fueling hopes of cloning the Ice Age animal, Russian scientists said Thursday.

“The carcass was in such good shape because its lower part was stuck in pure ice, said Semyon Grigoryev, the head of the Mammoth Museum, who led the expedition into the Lyakhovsky Islands off the Siberian coast.”

Hmmm, Pleistocene Park, anyone? What could possibly go wrong? Seriously, this is a very interesting development.