A Little Arm-Twisting&;#63; Israel Signals Indirect Retaliation‚ Biden Admin Adds Iran Sanctions

After a video of two men destroying ancient rock formations at Lake Mead went viral earlier this month‚ park rangers are now asking the public for information to help identify the suspects.Footage of the incident‚ believed to have been taken on April 7‚ showed two adult males standing on top of a sandstone formation on the Redstone Trail at Lake Mead National Recreation Area and toppling the rocks‚ which were destroyed on impact with the surfaces below.The video was posted to Instagram account TouronsofYellowstone – an account that often highlights the bad behavior of visitors to national parks and not one to mince words whilst doing so – who called it‚ “Two idiots destroying what nature created over thousands of years.”   IFLScience is not responsible for content shared from external sites.The post also mentioned that the footage had been sent to the National Park Service (NPS)‚ which has now responded to the incident on social media. Alongside an image of the two men‚ the NPS put out a call to the public for information – specifically those who were on the trail the evening of the incident – in the hopes of identifying the vandalism suspects.“You don't have to tell us who you are‚” the post said to potential witnesses‚ “but please tell us what you know.”    IFLScience is not responsible for content shared from external sites.The NPS takes a tough stance on cases of vandalism against ancient features such as the trail’s formations‚ calling it “an act of cultural violence”. The dunes that the formations were created from are estimated to be around 140 million years old.If the two men seen in the footage are identified‚ John Haynes‚ public information officer for the Lake Mead National Recreation Area‚ told Fox 5 KVVU-TV that they could be charged with a federal crime. “It can range from six months in jail and a $5‚000 fine… all the way up to a felony offense‚” said Haynes.Unfortunately‚ the prospect of punishment doesn’t seem to put people off messing around with nature‚ particularly along the theme of rocks. Boy Scout leaders received third-degree felony charges back in 2013 after pushing over a 200-million-year-old rock formation‚ whilst an artist was handed a lifetime ban from all national parks after plastering their Instagram handle over rocks in seven of them. Recent years have also seen unauthorized rock cairns pop up in US national parks; though originally intended to help hikers navigate‚ people have taken to moving stones for more ornamental purposes.  If you’re not sure what is and isn’t appropriate behavior in a national park (though destroying ancient rocks should be a fairly obvious one)‚ take a look at the “Leave No Trace” principles.

Archaeologists in Hungary have discovered something weird in a Roman-era pit: the skeletal remains of a lynx buried in a layer below the skeletons of four dogs. Not only is this find puzzling‚ but it is also the only known archaeological example of a complete Eurasian lynx skeleton to be found in Europe.The Eurasian lynx‚ a species of wild cat known for its tufted ears‚ bobbed tail‚ and large paws‚ is a rare sight in Europe today. These aloof animals are known to be the widest-ranging wildcats in the world and can be found in forests across Western Europe‚ Russia‚ and Central Asia. However‚ human activity and hunting have devastated the species in modern times‚ leading to them becoming endangered.But while they may be difficult to find today‚ these shy cats are also hard to find in the archaeological record. This is because‚ throughout their history‚ they have avoided humans‚ so stumbling on their remains in archaeological excavations is rare. In fact‚ there are only a few examples recovered from sites in Hungary and the Netherlands‚ and these previous finds are incomplete.  This is why the complete lynx skeleton recovered in the Roman pit is so significant. It was first discovered at a dig site in Zam&;aacute;rdi-K&;uacute;tv&;ouml;lgyi-dl‚ Hungary in 2002. This site has yielded various finds‚ including human remains and associated artifacts that have been dated to around the 5th or 6th century – around 1‚500 years ago.The remains were found in a 1.4-meter (4.6-foot) deep pit and were positioned at the bottom‚ with the dogs (two male and two female) on top. These dogs were roughly the size of a modern German shepherd (the dog breed that is‚ not a sheep farmer).  The animals do not appear to have been arranged with any purpose‚ as the archaeologists from the Institute of Archaeology‚ HUN-REN Research Center for the Humanities‚ in Hungary‚ working with a colleague from Stockholm University‚ note in their study.“The four dogs rested on their right side with limbs more or less pointing toward the center‚ males and females alternating. None of them showed particular care in their arrangement.”The lynx itself and the cranial half of its trunk were turned to the left‚ while its hind quarters rested on the back with its legs widely open.“The five animals were not piled on top of each other”‚ the researchers add. “However‚ the relatively thin (20–40 cm) [7.9 to 15.7-inch] deposits between them suggest that they may have been buried simultaneously or shortly after one another; one would not expect to find heavily reduced layers in a closed‚ relatively static deposit.”The lynx's remains sit at the bottom of the pit. As can be seen from the diagrams‚ dog 1 is separate from the others‚ both in terms of its position as well as the amount of fill between it and the next animal in the pit.Image credit: G&;aacute;l et al.‚ International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 2024 (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED)The last dog‚ the one buried on the top of the deposit‚ was laid slightly away from the others‚ which could indicate that it was buried later than the others. This dog also had a layer of fill underneath it that was almost twice as thick as that between the other animals.“If these patterns are not coincidental (which they may well be)‚ they could indicate the subsequent deposition of dogs‚ following some concept—or perhaps no concept at all‚” the authors explain.So what is going on here&;#63; Well‚ it is far from clear.“Even if the lynx looks central to this deposit‚ its interpretation remains inevitably speculative‚” the team added.The animal’s remains do not show any evidence of skinning‚ so we can likely rule out fur hunting. It is possible the lynx was killed as a form of vermin control or sport‚ as they would have likely fed on domestic animals and small game. Like bears‚ the killing of lynxes in Hungary was driven by‚ as the authors note‚ a “near-superstitious hatred of predators”.It is also possible the cat and the dogs met their deaths together in a fight. These animals can put up a struggle for survival and so cornered lynx may have killed the dogs that attacked it. If this were the case‚ then the fight may have damaged its pelt‚ making its fur useless for humans. This could explain why it wasn’t skinned.The authors conclude: “Possible interpretations thus range from the extremes of tossing the carcass of a vermin into a random pit after a hunting accident to a feature dedicated to a “lynx cult” where additional dogs may have been sacrificed‚ simultaneously or consecutively. Various combinations of motives could thus result in numerous scenarios in-between the practical/ritual extremes.”Although it might be tempting to suggest the burial was part of some sort of sacrificial rite‚ there is little evidence to support it. There is no sign of any ritualistic symbols or other materials in the pit.“In the absence of additional material‚ written or ethnographic evidence‚ spurious ritual interpretations shall not be perpetuated in spite of the indubitably curious nature of the Zam&;aacute;rdi deposit.”As such‚ the true nature of this burial remains a mystery and‚ unfortunately‚ it may be one we never answer.The study is published in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology. 

Lasers have been used to uncover a long-lost city's remains on the Tongatapu‚ the main island of Tonga. Placed along the idyllic Pacific shores and palm trees‚ the ancient ruins show that urban environments emerged in the region way earlier than thought – and long before Europeans arrived. Archeologists at the Australian National University used aerial LiDAR scanning to map the landscape of Tongatapu‚ which hosts Tonga's capital city‚ Nukualofa.This revealed imprints of settlements that shared the traits of other urban settlement systems found elsewhere in the world‚ including extensive roads‚ fortifications‚ communal structures‚ and thousands of earth mounds. They also found evidence of large soil mounds called sia heu lupe that were constructed for the sport of pigeon snaring. When people think of early cities they usually think of traditional old European cities with compact housing and windy cobblestone streets. This is a very different kind of cityPhillip Parton“Earth structures were being constructed in Tongatapu around AD 300. This is 700 years earlier than previously thought‚” lead study author Phillip Parton‚ PhD scholar of archaeology at the Australian National University in Canberra‚ said in a statement. “As settlements grew‚ they had to come up with new ways of supporting that growing population. This kind of set-up – what we call low density urbanization – sets in motion huge social and economic change. People are interacting more and doing different kinds of work‚” he said This city emerged long before the arrival of Europeans in Tongatapu in 1773 CE‚ dispelling the outdated belief that the South Pacific was devoid of complex human societies before colonization. Researchers have previously argued that Pacific islands didn’t develop urban settlements because their population density was too low. The discoveries in Tongatapu challenge this view by providing evidence of low-density urbanization; a unique form of city that took a different path from the European model of urban settlements. “Urbanization is not an area that had been investigated much until now. When people think of early cities they usually think of traditional old European cities with compact housing and windy cobblestone streets. This is a very different kind of city‚” Parton added.“Having this type of information really adds to our understanding of early Pacific societies‚” he continued.Part of this discovery in Tonga is thanks to new technologies like LiDAR. First developed in the early 1970s for space exploration‚ this laser-based imaging technology allows archaeologists to survey portions of land and reveal evidence of human structures that have since been lost to nature. In recent years‚ this cutting-edge method has been used to show the Amazon rainforest in South America was once a bustling hive of vast cities. Much like the cities of pre-Columbian America‚ the researchers believe the centuries-old cities of Tonga were likely brought to ruin in the age of colonization.“It didn’t collapse because the system was flawed; it was more to do with the arrival of Europeans and introduced diseases‚” Parton explained.“This is just the beginning in terms of early Pacific settlements. There’s likely still much to be discovered.” The study is published in the Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory.

Good news‚ fans of witnessing astronomical events without being obliterated by them: Potentially hazardous asteroid 2013 NK4 is making a close approach this week‚ and you can view it as it flies past.The asteroid‚ first discovered in 2013 by the Siding Spring Survey‚ is between 400 and 1‚000 meters (1‚300 and 3‚280 feet) across. At such a size‚ it is classed as a &;quot;potentially hazardous&;quot; near Earth object by NASA‚ given the amount of damage it and other bodies like it could do if they were to collide with Earth.So far‚ astronomers have been able to predict the orbits of known objects up to about 100 years in the future. The good news is that &;quot;no known asteroid larger than 140 meters in size has a significant chance to hit Earth for the next 100 years‚&;quot; according to NASA.Though we are discovering new objects all the time – sometimes just before they hit – another method has found that we should be safe for the next 1‚000 years from the objects we do know about.2013 NK4‚ for example‚ made its closest approach on Monday‚ harmlessly passing our planet by more than eight times the distance to the Moon‚ just as astrophysicists had predicted. While it went past‚ NASA took the opportunity to image the asteroid and learn more about it.From the early results‚ as pointed out by EarthSky‚ the asteroid looks like it could be a contact binary asteroid‚ where two smaller bodies have moved together and impacted due to gravity. Asteroid Arrokoth‚ seen much closer by NASA probe New Horizons‚ has a similar appearance.If you'd like to see it for yourself‚ you should be able to. Though the asteroid made its closest approach on April 15‚ it should be easier to spot on April 16 and 17. All you will need is a telescope and a guide to locating it.

Sometimes in nature‚ there are events that we have to wait for. Some‚ like the upcoming American cicadapocaplypse might not be so popular – whereas‚ across the pond in Birmingham‚ UK‚ botanists are thrilled to reveal the blooming of their sapphire tower.The sapphire tower plant (Puya alpestri) from the Chilean Andes can take up to ten years to flower. The plant is a member of the bromeliad family‚ distantly related to the pineapple. Normally found at high elevations of up to 2‚200 meters (7‚218 feet) in the mountains‚ this plant relies on hummingbirds to pollinate its flowers. Instead‚ at the Arid Glasshouse at Birmingham Botanical Gardens‚ the botanists are using paint brushes to replicate that effect. The flowers are a stunning metallic turquoise with vivid orange anthers (the bit of the stamen where pollen is produced) that occur between the dark green leaves and spines. “Each flower only lasts a few days‚ giving us a limited window of time to give nature a helping hand. In the absence of its natural pollinators‚ we will attempt some hand pollination instead‚” explained Senior Glasshouse Horticulturist Alberto Trinco in a statement.The team says the plant has been in the collection for 20 years. It is thought that the plant will only flower for between 10 days and two weeks‚ giving a short window to enjoy this spectacular rare sight.“It is very slow-growing‚ so to witness its spectacular blooms is both exciting and rare‚” says Alberto. Unfortunately‚ this plant is known as monocarpic‚ which means that after flowering the plant will die. However‚ the team have got a plan in place for this.“Hopefully‚ pollinating the flowers with the brush to obtain seeds will allow us to secure the presence of this amazing species in our collection for future generations to come and admire.” 

One outlet is accusing Big Tech‚ especially Facebook‚ of silencing the truth about radical Islamic terrorism. Daniel Greenfield‚ a journalism fellow for FrontPage Magazine’s David Horowitz Freedom Center‚ announced on April 15‚ “[W]e won’t censor ourselves for Big Tech cash.” He noted that Google‚ Twitter and Facebook (owned by Meta) have all censored individuals connected with the outlet‚ with Facebook being the latest culprit. Most recently‚ Greenfield wrote‚ Google AdSense demonetized FrontPage and Facebook disabled the account of FrontPage Editor Jamie Glazov for discussing Islamic terrorism. Google continues to censor the magazine financially for a previous report about a San Bernardino terrorist attack‚ which FrontPage refuses to remove. More recently‚ Greenfield explained‚ Facebook disabled Glazov’s account over an interview headlined  “Oct. 7 Coming to the USA&;#63;” Facebook reportedly asserted that the interview‚ which discussed accused terrorists crossing into America through the open southern border‚ violated “community standards” and threatened “the security of people on Facebook.” Greenfield referred to a 2023 decision from Meta’s Oversight Board that the term “shaheed” or martyr‚ used by Muslims to refer to jihadis killed while engaging in terrorism‚ was protected by freedom of expression. In fact‚ according to Greenfield‚ pro-terrorist groups and jihadis have used Facebook without censorship over the years. He cited a 2021 report from Israel-based newspaper Israel Hayom on Facebook refusing to address terrorism-inciting content. Previous to that‚ in 2016‚ terror victims sued Facebook‚ accusing it of complicity in inciting terrorism‚ Greenfield added. More recently‚ one Israeli family found out about their grandmother’s death on Oct. 7‚ 2023‚ after Hamas posted a video of her gruesome death to Facebook. “Telling the story of the barbarous Hamas atrocities of Oct 7 got Jamie Glazov banned‚ but one of the little told stories of that day is how Islamic terrorists had used Facebook to taunt and terrorize the families of their victims‚” Greenfield insisted. Greenfield wrote that he has been suspended by Facebook and Twitter. Individuals including Glazov‚ David Horowitz‚ JihadWatch’s Robert Spencer‚ and FrontPage contributor Raymond Ibrahim have all been censored for discussing Islamic radicalism‚ Greenfield reported. PayPal‚ Twitter‚ Google and Facebook censored the anti-terrorism content‚ despite hosting pro-terrorist content from others. Conservatives are under attack. Contact Facebook headquarters at (650) 308-7300 and demand that Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency‚ clarity on “misinformation” and equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored‚ contact us using CensorTrack’s contact form‚ and help us hold Big Tech accountable.

Amazon Prime's memorable new hit series Fallout‚ based on the popular video games by Bethesda SoftWorks and Interplay‚ is marred by a number of left-wing biases. The series follows Lucy MacLean (Ella Purnell)‚ a resident of a &;quot;Vault-Tec&;quot; bunker in the year 2296. Vault-Tec bunkers are a high-tech underground network of vaults designed to survive a nuclear blast. Generations have lived in them since nuclear fallout from the fictitious &;quot;Great War&;quot; in the 1950s. Lucy's father‚ Hank (Kyle MacLachlan)‚ is the overseer of the vault where she lives. After Hank is kidnapped by invaders from above ground‚ Lucy leaves the secured vault to go up to the surface for the first time in her life to find him. She journeys across a wasteland filled with ghouls‚ warriors and various unsavory characters. The series bounces back and forth in time between the pre-fallout 1950s and future years. Up on the surface‚ the audience is introduced to the &;quot;Brotherhood of Steel‚&;quot; a post-apocalypse paramilitary order. The brotherhood includes &;quot;Dane‚&;quot; played by &;quot;non-binary&;quot; actor Xelia Mendes-Jones‚ a biological woman. Dane is supposed to be one of the boys‚ but is really a butch-looking woman with a light mustache. Dane's leader uses the pronoun &;quot;they&;quot; when speaking to her‚ albeit very briefly. The &;quot;transness&;quot; of the character is never spoken of or emphasized in any way‚ yet Dane's presence in the brotherhood still requires suspension of disbelief. Outside of Dane's character‚ much of the series eschews any direct wokeness. The main female lead‚ Lucy‚ is not a &;quot;Mary Sue.&;quot; Stronger men sometimes have to intervene to save her‚ and she does not try to girlboss her way across the wasteland. She just wants to find her father.  In the end‚ she discovers her father is actually a villain who works for a corporation that has repeatedly nuked the world in order to destroy competition from it. The truth is revealed by Lee Moldaver (Sarita Choudhury)‚ a woman who is described as a communist in 1950s flashbacks. Numerous characters are capable of living for hundreds of years via different means and Moldaver appears through different epochs. In flashbacks‚ she heads what is described as a communist Hollywood circle. She butts heads with actor Cooper Howard (Walter Goggins)‚ a John Wayne type of character who stars in Vault-Tec ads before learning their evil plans. He turns into a ghoul after nuclear fallout.   After their confrontation‚ Moldaver tells Howard (Walter Goggins)‚ &;quot;I'm not a communist‚ Mr. Howard. That's just a dirty word they use to describe people who aren't insane.&;quot;  Moldaver's Hollywood movement began after her research on cold fusion was stolen by Vault-Tec. She warns Howard and others that Vault-Tec is an evil corporation intent on destruction. In the video game version of Fallout‚ numerous companies profit off the war‚ but this series adds a twist: Vault-Tec and other connected companies ensure that the bombs get dropped in the first place. Moldaver builds a new republic in the years after the first nuclear fallout. With the support of Hank McLean‚ Vault-Tec creates a second nuclear bombing so that there is no future alternative to their vaults. Upon finding her father‚ Lucy learns that the man she thought of as a loving dad is actually a cold-blooded murderer who works for a diabolical corporation. Up until that moment‚ Hank was one of the few white male characters in the show who had not become weak‚ cowardly or cruel. A preponderance of bad guys is par for the course in a post-apocalyptic word‚ but the fact that a white male leader always turns out to be a horrible person in contemporary television is frustrating. Fallout is a strong series in many ways‚ with real character development and a coherent plot. It will likely be able to keep its fan base into future seasons. Unfortunately‚ an underlying leftist worldview ultimately seeps through it despite all its strengths.

Jon Stewart reacted to the recent developments in the Middle East on Monday’s installment of The Daily Show on Comedy Central by doing his standard bit where he‚ on one hand‚ pretended everything was too complicated for him to understand‚ but on the other‚ reduced all the world’s foreign policy crises to America’s love of capitalism. Stewart’s attempt to play dumb began when he was recapping Saturday’s failed Iranian attack on Israel‚ and he seemed upset that the results upended his basic foreign policy worldview‚ “But kudos to the United States and to Israel&;#33; It shows just how effective a military defense system can be when you funnel American dollars away from health care and education.”     Yes‚ you can throw money at education to no effect‚ but if the United States and Israel had not invested in air defense‚ the Middle East would be in an extremely delicate situation right now‚ even more than it already is. Still‚ Stewart sarcastically continued‚ “It really helps to build -- and the best part is‚ we did it with no help&;#33; The two amigos‚ surrounded by hostile Arab nations‚ united in their zeal to destroy Israel.” Stewart then played clips from MSNBC’s Jonathan Lemire and Fox’s Jennifer Griffin reporting on the roles Jordan‚ Saudi Arabia‚ and the United Arab Emirates played in thwarting the attack. He reacted by claiming it is all so complicated‚ “What are the teams of these [bleep] wars&;#63; I don't even know the teams anymore&;#63; The Arab countries are helping Israel&;#63; I don't know what the teams are&;#33; We need to sort this out&;#33; With jerseys or something.” Contrary to Stewart’s rantings‚ it isn’t that complicated. Arab countries do not pose a threat to Israel in the way that they used to and Israel has had a peace treaty with Jordan since 1994. The main threat to Israel comes from Iran and its non-state proxies‚ an assessment shared by many of the Sunni Arab states. It really isn’t that complicated. Later in the show‚ Stewart welcomed the New York Times’s David Sanger to the show to promote his book‚ The New Cold Wars‚ about America’s rivalries with Russia and China. For Stewart‚ these rivalries have a simple explanation‚ “Haven't we sowed the seeds of that with our own arrogance and cavalier approach to a lot of these foreign policy conflicts&;#63; A‚ we always frame things as 'this is a battle between democracy and the free world and liberation and authoritarianism‚' but the truth is‚ we're fighting for trade channels and resources.” Stewart continued by attempting to shame the U.S.‚ “Like‚ this is all a function of competing capitalist powers and aren't we the ones—I mean‚ we've invaded more countries than Russia and China combined. So‚ would it help us to not have to scold everybody for failing to live up to principles that we very clearly do not uphold&;#63;” He further added‚ “But we say that‚ but‚ you know‚ ‘you can't invade a country.’ Well‚ what happened in Iraq&;#63; ... ‘You can't call for regime change.’ What did we do in Libya&;#63; Every time we say these things‚ we undercut our own position with – I mean‚ for god's sakes‚ Iran is an enemy because we overthrew their democratically elected government in 1953.” Russia isn’t fighting for economic resources in Ukraine‚ Hamas isn’t fighting Israel for trade routes‚ China doesn’t threaten Taiwan because of capitalism. Meanwhile‚ Stewart is just wrong. Since 2008‚ Russia has invaded and sliced up two countries‚ China has taken territory from its neighbors‚ the United States hasn’t done any of those things. Here is a transcript for the April 15 show: Comedy Central The Daily Show 4/15/2024 11:02 PM ET JON STEWART: But kudos to the United States and to Israel&;#33; It shows just how effective a military defense system can be when you funnel American dollars away from health care and education. It really helps to build -- and the best part is‚ we did it with no help&;#33; The two amigos‚ surrounded by hostile Arab nations‚ united in their zeal to destroy Israel.  JONATHAN LEMIRE: Jordan's air force also intercepted and shot down dozens of drones that violated its airspace and were on their way to Israel.  JENNIFER GRIFFIN: And we've now learned that Saudi Arabia and the UAE provided real time intelligence that helped track the incoming missiles.  STEWART: What are the teams of these [bleep] wars&;#63; I don't even know the teams anymore&;#63; The Arab countries are helping Israel&;#63; I don't know what the teams are&;#33; We need to sort this out&;#33; With jerseys or something.  … STEWART: Haven't we sowed the seeds of that with our own arrogance and cavalier approach to a lot of these foreign policy conflicts&;#63; A‚ we always frame things as “this is a battle between democracy and the free world and liberation and authoritarianism” but the truth is‚ we're fighting for trade channels and resources. Like‚ this is all a function of competing capitalist powers and aren't we the ones – I mean‚ we've invaded more countries than Russia and China combined. So‚ would it help us to not have to scold everybody for failing to live up to principles that we very clearly do not uphold&;#63;  DAVID SANGER: Well‚ at least we have some principles‚ okay&;#63; That's the one thing –  STEWART: But we say that‚ but‚ you know‚ &;quot;you can't invade a country.&;quot; Well‚ what happened in Iraq&;#63;  SANGER: That's right.  STEWART: &;quot;You can't call for regime change.&;quot; What did we do in Libya&;#63; Every time we say these things‚ we undercut our own position with – I mean‚ for god's sakes‚ Iran is an enemy because we overthrew their democratically elected government in 1953.

In his latest company-man report‚ NPR media reporter David Folkenflik revealed that NPR senior editor Uri Berliner was suspended without pay for five days (beginning Friday) for deciding his years of internal advocacy for more fairness and balance in NPR's coverage had been fruitless‚ so he went public.  Folkenflik disclosed that Berliner‚ as a senior editor for Business‚ had edited many of his stories‚ and shared with him the formal rebuke from management: In presenting Berliner's suspension Thursday afternoon‚ the organization told the editor he had failed to secure its approval for outside work for other news outlets‚ as is required of NPR journalists. It called the letter a &;quot;final warning‚&;quot; saying Berliner would be fired if he violated NPR's policy again. Berliner is a dues-paying member of NPR's newsroom union but says he is not appealing the punishment.... In the rebuke‚ NPR did not cite Berliner's appearance on Chris Cuomo's NewsNation program last Tuesday night‚ for which NPR gave him the green light. (NPR's chief communications officer told Berliner to focus on his own experience and not share proprietary information.) The NPR letter also did not cite his remarks to the New York Times‚ which ran its article mid-afternoon Thursday‚ shortly before the reprimand was sent. So that means the article for The Free Press and his interview on their podcast is what's being punished‚ and specifically for reporting the fact that 67 percent of NPR's current audience identifies as liberal or very liberal. In rebuking Berliner‚ NPR said he had also publicly released proprietary information about audience demographics‚ which it considers confidential. He said those figures &;quot;were essentially marketing material. If they had been really good‚ they probably would have distributed them and sent them out to the world.&;quot; Berliner repeated his message to Folkenflik that a taxpayer-funded news outlet has a special obligation for fairness:  &;quot;I love NPR and feel it's a national trust‚&;quot; Berliner says. &;quot;We have great journalists here. If they shed their opinions and did the great journalism they're capable of‚ this would be a much more interesting and fulfilling organization for our listeners.&;quot; Folkenflik then cited CEO Katherine Maher's pom-pom memo celebrating NPR's employees and without mentioning Berliner by name‚ she claimed he offered &;quot;a criticism of our people on the basis of who we are&;quot; and not the content of their journalism. Berliner took great exception to that‚ saying she had denigrated him. He said that he supported diversifying NPR's workforce to look more like the U.S. population at large. She did not address that in a subsequent private exchange he shared with me for this story. (An NPR spokesperson declined further comment.) Berliner also criticized the collection of Maher's woke tweets that surfaced before NPR hired her:  In an interview with me later on Monday‚ Berliner said the social media posts demonstrated Maher was all but incapable of being the person best poised to direct the organization. &;quot;We're looking for a leader right now who's going to be unifying and bring more people into the tent and have a broader perspective on‚ sort of‚ what America is all about‚&;quot; Berliner said. &;quot;And this seems to be the opposite of that.&;quot; Folkenflik's piece was balanced by a mention of conservative scholar Christopher Rufo‚ and paragraphs of fierce criticism of Berliner from other NPR journalists:  Morning Edition host Michel Martin told me some colleagues at the network share Berliner's concerns that coverage is frequently presented through an ideological or idealistic prism that can alienate listeners. &;quot;The way to address that is through training and mentorship‚&;quot; says Martin‚ herself a veteran of nearly two decades at the network who has also reported for The Wall Street Journal and ABC News. &;quot;It's not by blowing the place up‚ by trashing your colleagues‚ in full view of people who don't really care about it anyway.&;quot; Several NPR journalists told me they are no longer willing to work with Berliner as they no longer have confidence that he will keep private their internal musings about stories as they work through coverage. &;quot;Newsrooms run on trust‚&;quot; NPR political correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben tweeted last week‚ without mentioning Berliner by name. &;quot;If you violate everyone's trust by going to another outlet and sh--ing on your colleagues (while doing a bad job journalistically‚ for that matter)‚ I don't know how you do your job now.&;quot; ....NPR Investigative reporter Chiara Eisner wrote in a comment for this story: &;quot;Minorities do not all think the same and do not report the same. Good reporters and editors should know that by now. It's embarrassing to me as a reporter at NPR that a senior editor here missed that point in 2024.&;quot; Google these critics and NewsBusters and you'll see they are firmly on the Left on the job.