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She is known, and always has been, as "M.L." I've introduced her around the world--to people who speak English, and people who speak little or no English, simply as "M.L." While it stands for Mary Laurence, around this network you don't need to say the rest. I mention my friend M.L. Flynn because today was her last day in her OLD job, and Monday she starts her NEW job. What has she been doing all these years? What has she done that you've seen? All of our overseas coverage. For decades. All of our Olympic coverage. For decades. And series of reports on topics like water, the environment and countless others. She's been to more places than most people will ever see, she surfed the heyday of our industry and travelled the world with Tom Brokaw before me. She's been shot at by the professionals, pulled a lifetime of all-nighters and flown on her share of rickety planes. She taught me the ropes overseas--and without her on the trip to South Africa for the Mandela election, I would have been lost and would not have gotten on the air. She still, after a lifetime in this often-challenging line of work, manages to find the endless good cheer to mentor young people, check up on all of our family members and call everyone "kiddo." She's now going to a bigger job (with a better view from her office, I might add), where she will have a vast hand in the direction of our coverage--specifically, the "big" issues, where we make our bones as a news organization. So when you see us do a deep-dive into a topic--when you see us go after something as only this news division can, just think of two letters: M.L.
Thanks, M.L.
Have a good weekend, everybody.
We hope you can join us tonight.
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Thanks Brian and Thank you ML and I wish you the best on your new job.
Brian just a few thoughts today. Why isn't anyone up dating the progress of the peace takes in Afghanistan with the Taliban. We hard all the bad news now the good news is left to the wind. We don't get the good information about our pull out from Iraq after years of everyday, evening reporting. Just wondering because we have been at War and now it's like it wasn't that important.
Next is the topic of the Foreclosures. The mess is much bigger then many let on. We're seen even lawyers have had employees sign their names on legal court document other then the robo filing. At this stage many Banks no longer have the deeds to homes their collecting payments on. The during the years of monopoly the Banks even had teens working during illegal work. I've made my suggestions to Obama but it's is been seen as the biggest criminal act in the history of the World. The monopoly also includes overseas banks, loans and homes. Even the shareholders got the shaft in this crime wave. I believe there will be more corruption to come out before this is over. It's more important for the Republicans to protect the banks. It's going to be interesting to see how the courts handle the crimes by the Banks and the lawyers. During my legal classes one point I remembered was the FRUIT OF THE POISONOUS TREE DOCTRINE. Yes I did very well in college and earned my Paralegal Degree.
It seems South Carolina law makers gave Gov. Mark Sanford a good grade for his Governorship. Now that was a shocker after all his misconduct. But it goes to show you in politics the worse can be the best, and the best can be voted the worse. Who knows Mark Sanford might fell he can now run for President with that postive grade. You really have to wonder about America and Americans these days.
see you same time same place and have a great weekend all
hi, jackie, dexter filkins, nyt, has an update, if you google him, nyt.
Thanks Anna I'll keep and eye on his first hand reports let me know if anymore first hand reports come in thanks again
hi, jackie, dexter has another article in nyt today, the 16th. i just finished his book. in iraq, he visited the cemetery where all of the british soldiers were buried in that war of the early 1900's which broke the ottoman's hold on the area, and the tomb of gertrude margaret lowthian bell, who 'had been decisive in the creation of the modern iraqi state'. ahmad chalabi's daughter, tamara, had planted a ring of jasmine trees and date palms in her honor, which were mostly dead because 'the soil is too salty', the grave keeper, mansour ali, told dexter. i went out to eat the other night with 2 good friends and the hostess was a beautiful girl from pakistan. we live in a small world! i'm going to take a break and then start richard engel's 'war journal'. best, anna martina
Just two brief remarks this evening:
Good Luck ML on the new job opportunity !
And as for you Brilliams, I see you and Mr. Fallon are taking your comedy show on the road via the PBS channel this evening. I already have the cable box set to switch over to PBS this evening at the appointed time . . . have a great weekend. !
Good Evening Mr.Williams, A very nice posting tonight speaking about M.L. Flynn. Congratulations M.L. Flynn on a wonderful new job at NBC! You will continue to have a great influence on NBC News excellence coverage of stories.
Best Wishes on your New Job at NBC News M.L.Flynn!
Peace to You and to All!
Lisa
A Loyal NBC News Viewer!
Brian: I want to offer my congratulations to M.L. on her new undertaking. To be frank, I had never heard of this amazing woman until I had read your blog. It's always great to learn about the unsung heroes behind the news scenes. You learned well from M.L. and it shows in your fine broadcasting. Good luck to M.L. and tell her to keep plugging!
I was disturbed to hear there will not be be a raise in Social Security payments on the first of next year. So many retirees are trying to make ends meet and yet they are being denied what they so rightly deserve after years of hard work and paying into the system. This includes my wife and myslelf. Perhaps some harbinger of hope will appear and make this situation right. I'll catch you on tonight's broadcast and have a relaxing weekend.
Brian, Congratulations to M.L. As you said, If you don't use it, you lose it. Have a good weekend. Phyllis
Good Evening Mr.Williams, Another fine broadcast this evening as always!
First of all the report by Mr.Sanders from Chile on the recovery of the 33 miners. It is great most of them are now home with their loved ones, yet they have recieved quite alot of attention. So many offers of book and film deals along with offers of trips, soccer games and money. It is incredible. They want their story to be a feel good story and hopefully someday it will be told according to the men's wishes. For now one wants them to rest and recover fully. Just enjoy being with family.
The report by Mr.Bazell about the program to help women diagnosed with breast cancer certainly seems to be helping many women who have no insurance. One hopes they get the best treatment and the funds for the program keep coming.
Your comments about the airline food and the study that noise causes the taste to be bad was very funny. The other reasons were very humorous. You have a great sense of humor and delivery!
The "Making A Difference" segment by Rehema Ellis about the program to help children in school choose apprenticeships was interesting. It does give children a bright future and new perspectives. Good work by the volunteers of the program.
Thank You for the broadcast Mr.Williams. Have a wonderful weekend! Peace to You and to All!
Lots of Love to Laurel,Jackie,Stephanie,Claudia,Celine,Anna,Lori,Cary and Matt!
Be Well Always!
Stay Extra,Extra Safe and Well Richard!
Take Extra Good Care Richard and Crew!
XOXO
Lisa
Hi Brian-Great story on what sounds like a remarkable lady.
Have a great weekend my friend
hola, brian, m.l. sounds like she has an amazing job:-) like 'm' in the '007' movies? really big picture! i imagine that watching all of the serendipity at that level is mesmerizing . . . . . it's probably only at those levels that things start to make sense and you can see a pattern in events and can probably almost anticipate the next several events. all of the butterfly attractors and strange attractors and other patterns of chaos theory, where you realize that 'chaos theory' is a misnomer:-) there's a predictable pattern . . . . . . LOTS of data, you and she must have interesting conversations and moments of silence with your two super-computer brains communicating to each other! best, anna martina
Once again, Nightly News is protecting its sponsors. On Wednesday, the FDA issued a warning about bisphosphonates, a category of drugs (including Boniva) that are used to strengthen bones and treat the symptoms of osteoporosis. These drugs are now believed to cause an increased risk of thigh fractures in many patients who use them. According to an Oct. 13 article at nytimes.com, "The Food and Drug Administration issued a warning on Wednesday linking long-term use of popular osteoporosis drugs to an unusual fracture of the thigh bone."
"The F.D.A. said the labels and medication guides would be changed to show the new warning in oral bisphosphonates including Actonel, Atelvia, Boniva, and Fosamax and injectible drugs including Boniva and Reclast, and their generic equivalents. Genentech is working closely with the F.D.A. to add a statement to Boniva labels warning of the possible increased fracture risk, according to Terry Hurley, spokesman for Genentech, the Roche subsidiary that sells Boniva in the United States."
(The entire article can be read at http://prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/13/f-d-a-issues-warning-on-bone-drugs/)
This story was not reported on Nightly News. The reason is obvious. At least three of the above-mentioned drugs, Boniva, Fosamax and Reclast, are Nightly News advertisers. Boniva advertises almost every night. By not reporting this story, Brian Williams and his producers are intentionally protecting Boniva and the other Nightly News sponsors from negative publicity.
On May 14 & 17, Nightly News aired a two-part interview (totalling more than five minutes) that Brian Williams conducted with Sally Field. The first part of the interview was exclusively about Field's Boniva ads, including Brian's in-depth questions about the dog that appears with Field in the ads. The interview included fifteen seconds of Boniva ad clips, and constituted a 90 second commercial for Boniva. The second part of the interview also mentioned Boniva. So when Brian feels like helping out Boniva, he gives them free air time as part of a "news story" on his broadcast. But when the FDA issues a warning about Boniva, Nightly News refuses to report it. Nightly News needs to stop protecting their sponsors and report the news regardless of who it may offend.
Lester, I suppose it's okay to comment on your broadcast on Brian's. Blog. Anyway, I am surprise
you did not talk about President Obama's end of the tax breaks that move U.S. jobs overseas, a big
story in my opinion and I admire the president tremendously for taking this action. When my husband
was with GE, he and his friends were fed up with outsourcing and blamed the elder Bush for it. The
reality check on money with Suze was enlightening. I never met Jack Conway, but had it not been for
his real help with Macy's I would have been screwed. I think I will adopt him. Another terrific
broadcast. Phyllis
You may still be screwed if someone doesn't bring back the rule of law to this country. http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=168743 This guy will scare the hell out of you but he'd be one of many on my murder board hired by an honest congress to bust these bastards in NY and DC.
Good evening, Brian!
Thank you for all of last week's broadcasts. It was wonderful to finally see a good news story being reported with the amazing rescue of the Chilean miners. Everyone did such a great job covering the story, and I am still so inspired by those 33 men and rescuers who managed to get through such an unbelievable situation in the condition they did. They're truly an incredible group of people, and I wish them all the best.
You wrote a very nice salute to your great friend and colleague, M.L. Flynn Friday night. I remember reading about her in Richard Engel's book "War Journal" on how she kept in touch and helped him while he reported on the war in Iraq. From everything that's been shared of her, she's always appeared to be the super glue of NBC News' overseas coverage. I'm sure she will be missed after moving up from where she is now, but know she'll go on to do more wonderful things. Congratulations to her! Wishing her all the best.
Hoping you're having a fantastic weekend, all of you! Out for another great hike in the morning. Just one of the things I love about my town, and especially this beautiful Fall season! Take care everyone.
-Cary
P.S. After seeing the movie "The Social Network" with my mom and an old friend last night (which was very appropriate, considering Facebook has actually had a BIG impact on my life in a few ways), I was motivated to find out what song is played in the trailer for the new movie "Hereafter". The song is "Lullaby" by Sia. While I'm already a fan of Sia's "Breathe Me", this song is just very hauntingly beautiful, and absolutely captivating. My thanks to Google for finding it so easily. What would we do without it? (And don't say Bing it...) Hope you enjoy the song, Brian! I do what I can.
hi, cary, the word 'bing' means 'disease' in chinese. that was in my fortune cookie one day at the chinese buffet. i only google, too:-) finally finished dexter's book, will start richard's book soon. will especially look for mention of m.l.:-) happy hiking, nature clears your head so wonderfully, i wish i had energy to do even the short hike at the nature conservancy's ramsey canyon, here, that i used to do. i must do some sort of meditation in my little trailer to get through my days because i find myself in alpha brain wave state, most of the time. beta is the norm. delta is where the armed forces' personnel called 'remote viewers' do their best work. i read a book about vietnam by robert ordonez, a medic who became a doctor, a few years back and he talked about how his little group of men were amazing on patrol because it was almost like they could read each other's minds. it made them nervous when they got a new guy because it took the new guy a while to sync up with them. have a great week, best, anna martina
hola, brian, i didn't realize that benoit b. mandelbrot was still alive when i was reading about mandelbrot sets a good while back and i didn't know he was jewish. some of the sets look like beautiful spanish and irish lace and celtic filigree metalwork. so, the human genome must incorporate the basics of mandelbrot's proponents. he used his theory re: galaxy clusters, so i can see why looking at the sky is so relaxing for us. it's a feedback loop of what is already in our heads, macro-micro:-) there's obviously room for 'chatter' and small amounts of deviation, but we are always brought back to the path. there is something called 'frames' in his theory, so those are the boundaries. there is also something called the 'bz chemical reaction'. wow. my son, the electrical engineer said that was a little scary when i showed that picture to him. what is called 'self-similiarity' is very interesting, too. like a deer's antlers and the branches of the trees in the forest. nautral camouflage. i can never understand when someone tells me that they are bored, there is so much to learn out there! best, anna martina
p.s. what is really scary are those soliton bubbles!!! i had a dream that someone with activated 'ka' energy or an activated crown chakra could single-handedly take down a soliton bubble. a master of jewish caballah can probably do the same. i wonder if the highest degree of mason can, like our founding fathers. here's wishing!
Mozilo gets to basically steal 139 million dollars in 2 years. Wreck the lives of so many people. He helps the democrats carrying out their Cloward and Piven strategy of collapsing our economy. Gets fined 67 million dollars, 45 million to be paid by BofA (the people) and that's it? No wonder Castro was kicking himself for the Cuban system. He's looking at what New York has managed to pull off, the Chinese model and the way his revolution has turned out and saying Doh!! Amazing how many filthy rich Socialist we have in this country who back the party of class warfare and redistribution of wealth.
Dave,
I'll check it out later today, and thanks for the info. On top of everything else, I am taking on my doctor
next week who lied to me and I will report him to the Medical Board Mon. or Tues depending on the
situation. Bottom line I cannot trust him. As my dad always said, Fool me once, shame on you,
fool me twice, shame on me. They (the medical establishment) don't scare me like was said on the
Today Show WITH Lester Holt. WHEN you have been through a bad ordeal nothing scares you.
Screw them!
Phyllis
Dave,
Screw them!!!! I wrote you another email, and thanks. You sure are one smart guy. Have a nice day.Phyllis
Dave, I read the website with great interest and thanks so much for sharing. Keep your eye on Jack Conway who is running for the Senate in Kentucky and treats criminals like criminals unlike RAND Paul
who says non-violent crimes are not against the law. "Quoting from part of the text, which places
blame also on 50 state attorney generals who have not refused, collectively to prosecute the rampant
lawlessness for decades and still are refusing today. I know there will be a meeting soon of
the attorney generals, not sure of date. Jack Conway is a young man of integrity and he will fight
for us. Again, my heartfelt thanks.
Phyllis
MMMMMmmm My Dad use to tell me I had a strong back and weak mind. That anyone who would lie for you would lie to you. Friends you have to buy aren't worth having. Man was he ever an a-hole or what? God I miss him. That email must of gone into the vapors because I can't find it in the account I used to sign up for newsvine,
Janet Tavakoli is someone else who offers a ray of hope. I think her articles are posted at the Huffington Post sometimes. Not a place I go looking for any truth. http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/285329-1 She's very good at breaking it down for "the folks".
Hmmmmmm! My mother always said a person who would lie to your face would lie about you.
I miss my parents so much. I will also check this website as well this week. Thanks again.
Oh snap!!!! When will the Progs learn not to projectile vomit into the wind?
http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/124551-some-dems-questions-strategy-of-going-after-chamber-conservatve-groups