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30 Jan 2011 23:05

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Politics: Max Headroom: TweetDeck an unofficial “Meet the Press” panelist

  • The TweetDeck in the room: For their Egypt roundtable today, Meet the Press decided to take a cue from the CNN playbook and stick social media on a giant TV screen within plain sight. Surprisingly, Chuck Todd, Harold Ford and company weren’t completely distracted by this and had something pretty intelligent to say about Egypt. David Gregory’s intro was a weeeeeeeee bit forced, though. Next time, leave the innovative gimmicks to Jake Tapper … oh wait, he doesn’t have a show anymore. 🙁 Carry on.
  • Egypt: An excuse to drill in the gulf Look, it’s understandable that you feel that oil drilling should be allowed in the Gulf Coast, Rep. Jeff Landry of Louisiana. It was the first thing we thought of, too. But, you know, think this can wait a week? Maybe two? This is so close to the edge of the crisis that it seems a little insensitive.
  • Behind the scenes of al-Jazeera Commotion. Guy futzing with non-working cell phone. Hard work to ensure that al-Jazeera doesn’t go off the air in Egypt. What might surprise is that even they sound surprised at how strong the protests in Egypt were – and Ayman Gaballah, the guy talking, says they had word that this might go down!
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Jan 2011 22:08

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World: Egypt: Eight-year-old girl has message for Hosni Mubarak

  • Yo, Hosni Mubarak: This eight-year-old Saudi girl knows the score on Egypt – and some might argue she knows it a little bit better than the U.S. government. You tell ’em, Juju. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Jan 2011 21:54

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Politics: Koch Brothers hold party in Palm Springs, people get arrested

  • 25 protesters jailed at a retreat loaded with righty donors source
  • » Anyone have a tinfoil hat we can borrow? The multi-day conference, put on by billionaire Tea Party-backing brothers David and Charles Koch, is loaded with people with lots of money and lots of influence. We bet Hank Scorpio was there, personally throwing cans of tear gas at the lefty protesters, who were mostly peaceful, but found themselves in trouble after a couple got a tiny bit too close to the shindig and ran into riot police. Supervillans need backup.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

30 Jan 2011 21:29

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World: Yay dead trees: Egypt’s newspapers still going strong amid protests

  • If you’re like us, you’re utterly curious about how news outlets in Egypt are covering some downright historic news for them – and with most other outlets out of commission, they’re playing an immensely important role in keeping Egyptian citizens informed. Fortunately for us, The Economist is all over this, with copies of a number of newspapers in the region. Above is Al Masry Al Youm, an independent newpaper known for being critical of the Mubarak regime. Since we’re guessing you don’t read Arabic, that headline says “Conspiracy amid security forces to support chaos.” They have a bunch of others, if you’re curious. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Jan 2011 21:00

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World: Democracy in Tunisia doesn’t come without understandable fears

  • freedom In the wake of the ouster of Ben Ali, certain ousted groups have come out of the woodwork in Tunisia, including long-exiled Islamist sheik Rachid Ghannouchi.
  • worry Some are wary of what might come in the new democracy from the Islamists, some sects of which want to impose Sharia, or Islamic law, on the country. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Jan 2011 20:24

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U.S.: This is terrorism, right? Guy attempts to bomb huge Islamic center

  • who Roger Stockham, a 63-year-old California resident, was arrested last week in Michigan on felony charges over a “bias-motivated attack.”
  • what Stockman reportedly was arrested outside of a mosque with a very large number of consumer fireworks. They could’ve hurt a lot of people.
  • where Dearborn, Michigan, near one of the largest Islamic centers in the entire country. 30 percent of Dearborn residents are of Arab origin. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Jan 2011 20:08

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Biz: Why do U.S. cable companies continue to block al-Jazeera English?

  • There was reluctance from these companies to embark in a direction that would perhaps be opposed by the Bush administration. I think that’s changed. I think if anything the Obama administration has indicated to al-Jazeera that it sees us as part of the solution, not part of the problem.
  • Al-Jazeera English’s head of North American strategies Tony Burman • Discussing why getting his network on U.S. cable systems has been such a hard sell. When the English-language network launched in 2006, it carried a bit of a reputation with it (despite its editorial independence and BBC-like business model), and it’s one that’s kept the network running in D.C., parts of Ohio and parts of Vermont. That’s it. (Oh, and if you happen to own a satellite dish.) This is despite the fact that the service is widely-available in Europe and Canada without any troubles. “Why in the most vibrant democracy in the world, where engagement and knowledge of the world is probably the most important,” Burman continues, “why it’s not available is one of these things that would take a PhD scholar to understand.” Meanwhile, Fox News airs unabated. source
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30 Jan 2011 12:11

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World: Exiled Tunisian opposition leader Rachid Ghannouchi comes home

  • Here’s how quickly things in Tunisia have changed: This guy, Rachid Ghannouchi, a leader in the country’s Islamist Ennahda movement, has returned to the country he was exiled from 22 years ago. His party, which did well in the 1989 elections, was banned by Zine al-Abdine Ben Ali, who was likely nervous about the party’s popularity. While the party plans to take part in the upcoming parliamentary (but not presidential) elections, Ghannouchi is done with public office, saying that there are younger generations that would do a better job. But he’s back in the country which pushed him aside two decades ago – an even bigger victory. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Jan 2011 11:48

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World: Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu speaks out about Egypt crisis

  • We are anxiously monitoring what is happening in Egypt and [elsewhere] in our region. The peace between Israel and Egypt had endured for over three decades and our goal is to ensure that these relations continue.
  • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu • Speaking to his cabinet about what’s happening with their allies to the south. And of course, Netanyahu has reason to be worried – his country’s relationship with Egypt has a stabilizing effect on the entire region which could go away if things go the wrong way. This is the most we’ve heard from anyone in Israel about the Egypt crisis – Israel officials have otherwise been warned not to speak about the diplomatically-troubling situation. source
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30 Jan 2011 11:35

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World: Google’s Middle East head, Wael Ghonim, missing in Egypt

  • This is one of the last tweets Wael Ghonim sent. He hasn’t been heard from since last week, and many are worried about the head of Google Middle East – and it’s gotten to the point where al-Jazeeera is asking aloud where he is. Has anyone heard from him?  source
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