memeorandum: Nelson Mandela in critical condition, South Africa's president says (CNN)

1:10 AM ET, June 24, 2013

Top Items:

Ben Smith / BuzzFeed:

You Don't Have To Like Edward Snowden — Reporters have always been comfortable ignoring their sources' motives. Now everybody else needs to get used to that. — Via: @MiriamElder — One of the most difficult features of the new news environment is that everybody gets to see the utter mess …

Discussion: Firedoglake, CANNONFIRE, Mediaite, The Verge and Guardian, more at Mediagazer »

The Huffington Post:

David Gregory's Shocking Question To Glenn Greenwald — “Meet the Press” host David Gregory asked columnist Glenn Greenwald why he shouldn't be charged with a crime for working with NSA leaker Edward Snowden. — Greenwald was on to discuss his source's Sunday morning flight from Hong Kong to Moscow.

Discussion: NewsBusters, Ed Driscoll, The Hill, Hullabaloo, The Gateway Pundit and Washington Free Beacon, more at Mediagazer »

WikiLeaks:

WikiLeaks Statement On Edward Snowden's Exit From Hong Kong — Mr Edward Snowden, the American whistleblower who exposed evidence of a global surveillance regime conducted by US and UK intelligence agencies, has left Hong Kong legally. He is bound for a democratic nation via a safe route …

Discussion: Red Alert Politics, Mediaite, Guardian, Weasel Zippers, Washington Free Beacon, The Moderate Voice, BuzzFeed, Reuters, TechCrunch, Hit & Run, The Fix, News Desk, The Hinterland Gazette, Post Politics, Yahoo! News, RT and Washington Post

Reid J. Epstein / Politico:

On Snowden's trip, no good options for Obama — Edward Snowden's globe-trotting is the latest international headache for President Barack Obama, with no relief in sight. — The former National Security Agency contractor who leaked classified documents about top secret electronic surveillance programs …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland

BBC:
Edward Snowden asks Ecuador for asylum

Discussion: Guardian, Outside the Beltway and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

scmp.com:
Cyberspying whistle-blower Edward Snowden leaves Hong Kong for Moscow

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Reuters, BuzzFeed, BuzzFeed, Yahoo! News, Weasel Zippers, Mediaite, The Huffington Post, Red Alert Politics, China Real Time Report, The Hinterland Gazette, The Raw Story, The Moderate Voice, Blogs of War, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, AL.com, Scared Monkeys and Guardian

Kevin Liptak / CNN:
Schumer: Putin 'aiding and abetting Snowden's escape'

Discussion: Politico, The Hinterland Gazette, The Moderate Voice and The Hill

Guardian:
Edward Snowden asks for asylum in Ecuador - as it happened

Discussion: Politico, The Gateway Pundit, Michelle Malkin, Business Insider, The Raw Story, Balloon Juice, Associated Press and The Moderate Voice

Guardian:
Spy row: US accused of hacking China

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Firedoglake, The Hinterland Gazette, Little Green Footballs, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Gawker

ABCNEWS:
‘This Week’ Transcript: NSA Director Gen. Keith Alexander

Discussion: Sydney Morning Herald, ABCNEWS, Firedoglake, msnbc.com and Guardian

James Pomfret / Reuters:
Hong Kong lets Snowden leave, with Cuba among possible destinations

Discussion: Xinhua News Agency, Hot Air, The Other McCain, addictinginfo.org and The Daily Caller

Guardian:
Edward Snowden arrives in Moscow

Discussion: Towleroad News #gay, Mediaite, Boing Boing and Hit & Run

Reuters:
Snowden has ticket to Cuba, may go to Venezuela: Russian reports

Discussion: Connecting.the.Dots, The Hinterland Gazette, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and The Gateway Pundit

Peter Baker / New York Times:
Snowden, in Russia, Is Said to Seek Asylum in Ecuador

CNN:

Nelson Mandela in critical condition, South Africa's president says — Revolutionary and politician Nelson Mandela — (CNN) — Former South African President Nelson Mandela is now in critical condition, officials said. — Mandela's condition worsened in the past 24 hours …

Discussion: The Hinterland Gazette, KTLA 5 and Scared Monkeys

BuzzFeed:

LGBT Military Group's Board Ousts Leader, Prompting Staff And Board Resignations — Allyson Robinson took over the helm of OutServe-SLDN last October, the first out transgender leader of a national LGBT rights organization whose primary focus is not solely transgender issues.

Discussion: Washington Blade, AMERICAblog and Towleroad News #gay

Bil Browning / The Bilerico Project:
OutServe/SLDN Exec Dir Fired; Senior Staff Resigns [Updated]

Discussion: Advocate, LGBTQ Nation and Joe. My. God.

Hemant Mehta / Friendly Atheist:

Time Cover Story Wrongly Attacks Atheists for Not Helping Out Victims of Oklahoma Tornadoes — The cover story in this week's Time magazine, written by Joe Klein, is all about how volunteering and doing service projects may help curb the effects of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on our veterans:

Discussion: The Raw Story and Making Light

Lila Shapiro / The Huffington Post:

Equality House Hosts Gay Wedding Across From Westboro Baptist Church — On Saturday night, Kimberly Kidwell, a 31-year-old EMT, married Katie Short in a wedding ceremony on the front lawn of the Equality House in Topeka, Kan. — directly across the street from the Westboro Baptist Church.

Discussion: Advocate, LGBTQ Nation, The Raw Story and Towleroad News #gay

Washington Post:

Taliban kills foreign climbers in Pakistan — PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Gunmen stormed a camp on Pakistan's second-largest mountain Sunday, killing nine foreign climbers, including a U.S. citizen, in a brazen assault that could deal a blow to the country's efforts to jumpstart its tourism industry.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, BizPac Review and The Gateway Pundit

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Schumer predicts mass demonstrations if House blocks path to citizenship — A senior Democratic senator predicted Sunday there could be massive demonstrations in Washington if House Republicans try to block a bill to grant legal status to millions of immigrants.

Discussion: Bloomberg, BizPac Review, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Taegan Goddard's … and The Reaction

Steven Hayward / Power Line:

Why Immigration Reform Is The Panama Canal Treaty Redux — I'm pretty sure it was my first Washington mentor, the great M. Stanton Evans, who told me—and perhaps originated—the famous story of a senior Senate aide explaining American democracy to a Russian visitor shortly after the Soviet Union broke apart in 1991.

Katie Glueck / Politico:
Paul opposes current immigration bill

Discussion: CNN and Crooks and Liars

Hugh Muir / Guardian:

Boat Race protester Trenton Oldfield ordered to leave UK — Australian activist, whose wife is expecting a child this week, will appeal against Home Office ruling that he must leave country — The Australian activist who disrupted the 2012 Oxford v Cambridge Boat Race in protest …

Discussion: Natalie Solent

Andrew Bender / Forbes:

One Problem With Nik Wallenda's Grand Canyon Walk: It Isn't At The Grand Canyon — When I heard that daredevil Nik Wallenda will attempt to be the first person to cross over the Grand Canyon on a tightrope, I thought “That's crazy.” Not because it's 1,500 feet up and a quarter-mile across …

Discussion: Associated Press and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Eric W. Dolan / The Raw Story:

Morality study finds conservatives show a ‘general insensitivity to consequences’ — When it comes to topics like abortion or assisted suicide, there seems to be no common ground between conservatives and liberals. Why is there such a noticeable rift between the two political orientations?