memeorandum: Afghanistan: Twin blasts hit western city of Herat (BBC)

10:40 AM ET, May 30, 2011

Top Items:

Gennette Cordova / NY Daily News:

Statement from Gennette Cordova, student who was sent lewd Twitter photo from Rep. Weiner's account — Friday evening I logged onto Twitter to find that I had about a dozen new mentions in less than an hour, which is a rare occurrence. When I checked one of the posts that I had been tagged …

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog, Big Government, The Other McCain, Politics, TBogg, CANNONFIRE, Right Klik, Doug Ross, American Power, Verum Serum, Ironic Surrealism, alicublog, Don Surber, Whiskey Fire, POWIP, Washington Post and STRANAHAN dot COM

New York Post:

Weiner goes to great lengths — By S.A. MILLER in Washington, DC and SALLY GOLDENBERG and LEONARD GREENE in NY — US Rep. Anthony Weiner yesterday spent the day on the grill after a lewd photo purporting to be of him was sent to a pretty Seattle coed from his Twitter account — but the young woman insisted a stalker was the culprit.

Discussion: Verum Serum and FrumForum

NY Daily News:

Student who got lewd pic from Rep. Anthony Weiner's Twitter account denies she's his mistress — A college student who received an obscene photo from Rep. Anthony Weiner's Twitter account says she's never met the married Queens politico - and backed his contention they're both victims of online pranksters.

Discussion: New York Times, Gawker, Weasel Zippers and The Daily What

Tommy Christopher / Mediaite:
Alleged Recipient Of Alleged Rep. Weiner Photo Gennette Nicole Issues Statement

Discussion: Balloon Juice, New York Magazine and Big Government

CBS News:
Rep. Weiner: I did not send Twitter crotch pic

Discussion: The Raw Story, The Other McCain and Don Surber

Colby Hall / Mediaite:
Rep. Weiner Still Claims Twitter Account Hacked; Big Questions Remain

Discussion: Proof Positive, Big Government, Pajamas Media, Joe Report, New York Post, The Daily Caller, Datechguy's Blog, The Last Tradition, Outside the Beltway and The Daily What

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

Against Learned Helplessness — Unemployment is a terrible scourge across much of the Western world. Almost 14 million Americans are jobless, and millions more are stuck with part-time work or jobs that fail to use their skills. Some European countries have it even worse: 21 percent of Spanish workers are unemployed.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Prairie Weather, Clusterstock and Economist's View

Michael D. Shear / New York Times:

Palin's Path May Be Unclear, but Her Ride Is Revved Up — WASHINGTON — For sheer mastery of celebrity theater, Sarah Palin cannot be beat. — Ms. Palin, the former governor of Alaska, let the anticipation build for hours on Sunday in the Pentagon's North Parking Lot, where thousands of bikers …

Discussion: NY Daily News, Don Surber, The Caucus and FrumForum

Andy Barr / The Politico:
Sarah Palin swarmed at first bus tour stop

Discussion: Conservatives4Palin, Swampland, The Note, Pirate's Cove, CNN and The Raw Story

SarahPAC: Roll On, Rolling Thunder!

Rachel Weiner / Washington Post:
Mixed feelings about Sarah Palin at Rolling Thunder

Discussion: The Daily Pulp, The Raw Story and TPMDC

Fox News: Palin Appearance at ‘Rolling Thunder’ Feeds Election Speculation Fury

Matt Schneider / Mediaite:

George Will: Everyone Knows Sarah Palin Should Not Be Trusted With Nuclear Weapons — With Sarah Palin fever sweeping across the media again, persistent Palin critic and conservative commentator George Will clearly was not excited by the speculation surrounding her potential run for President.

Discussion: The Last Tradition, The Reaction and The Politico

David W. Blight / New York Times:

Forgetting Why We Remember — MOST Americans know that Memorial Day is about honoring the nation's war dead. It is also a holiday devoted to department store sales, half-marathons, picnics, baseball and auto racing. But where did it begin, who created it, and why?

Discussion: The Atlantic Online and Outside the Beltway

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

Pawlenty should rethink the ‘doofus’ line — Tim Pawlenty talked to CNN the other day, and raised a line of attack I hadn't heard him make before. … It's a strange pitch, and not just because of Pawlenty's apparent willingness to refer to the president as a “doofus.”

Michael D. Shear / The Caucus:

Palin Family Tours Washington ‘Incognito’ — Sarah Palin and her family sneaked out in Washington on Sunday night for what she called an “incognito” tour of the national monuments, having successfully created a media frenzy and then ditched the press. — Details of the visit …

Discussion: Bloomberg, Althouse and The Atlantic Online

Frank Newport / Gallup:

U.S. Military Personnel, Veterans Give Obama Lower Marks — Younger, active-duty military less likely to have an opinion on Obama either way — PRINCETON, NJ — U.S. military veterans and those currently on active military duty are less likely to approve of President Obama's job performance …

Discussion: The Daily Caller and NewsBusters.org

Associated Press:

Germany Will Shut Down All Nuke Plants by 2022 — BERLIN — Gremany's governing coalition said Monday it will shut down all the country's nuclear power plants by 2022. The decision, prompted by Japan's nuclear disaster, will make Germany the first major industrialized nation to go nuclear-free in years.

Discussion: Stop The ACLU

BBC:

Afghanistan: Twin blasts hit western city of Herat — BBC's Quentin Somerville: “As is often the case, it is Afghans who bear the brunt of the attacks” — At least five people were killed and about 30 wounded after twin bomb blasts struck the Afghan city of Herat.

Discussion: 1 The Long War Journal

The Atlantic Online:

A Memorial Day Look at Afghanistan: May 2011 — Today is Memorial Day in the United States, a day set aside to remember and honor those who have died in military service. It's now been almost a decade since the start of the current war in Afghanistan, during which nearly 1,600 U.S. service members …

Discussion: AMERICAN DIGEST