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16 Feb 2011 23:39

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Politics: On Nir Rosen’s sudden rise to Public Enemy No. 1

  • It’s crazy how fast things move sometimes. Within a day, Nir Rosen went from some relatively low-profile journalist tweeting controversially about Lara Logan to Twitter trending topic who’s on Anderson Cooper. That’s right, he’s become the story as much as Logan has. (Which, considering the nature of the Logan story, is sad.) Nir Rosen has surpassed Kenneth Cole as the worst social media user of the Egypt crisis. But some have suggested that this is a situation where actually-harmless gallows humor met its worst enemy: The internet mob mentality. We disagree, but we’d like to offer our feelings first:
  • Two mobs, two targets Foster Kamer, a journalist we like but don’t always agree with, had a pretty interesting take: “Lara Logan and Nir Rosen were attacked by the same thing. Or more precisely, the same sociological profile.” His correlation? A large online mob ganged up on Rosen, just as a large real-life mob did the same to Logan. While we can see where he’s going, Rosen largely encouraged the attacks by continuing to paint himself in a corner after the comments spiked out of control. He didn’t see the red flags.
  • Tweet at your own peril The thing about Rosen that makes him effective as a journalist is that he’s brash and in-your-face. Problem is, he’s one of those guys with strong views who doesn’t see when he’s gone too far. It’s something he admits to himself: “I’ve often been warned by friends that someone as rash and careless as me should not be on twitter, and clearly they were right.” Rosen didn’t take Twitter seriously. The problem is Twitter takes Twitter seriously, and it’s at a public figure’s peril to ignore that. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Feb 2011 22:11

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Offbeat: Meet the British government’s highest-ranking cat. (Seriously.)

  • Meet Britain’s new Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office: Larry the Cat has one of the most important jobs in Britain – and it’s one that the government, wisely, didn’t put on the chopping block during their recent austerity craze. See, Larry, a 4-year-old former stray, will be in charge of killing mice inside of David Cameron’s 10 Downing Street office. There are many rats in London, and Larry seems like he’s up to the job. We salute you, old chap. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Feb 2011 21:23

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Culture: Lindsay Lohan’s dad trying being Lindsay’s publicist, fails

  • pranked! So, Lindsay Lohan was booked to be on David Letterman tonight, as sort of a funny opportunity to make fun of her current status. Problem is, it wasn’t true, and someone booked her to the “Late Show” without having the right to do so.
  • prankster For a while, it seemed like the alleged prankster was a close friend of Lohan’s, but in reality it was *sigh* her equally embarrassing dad, Michael Lohan. He took credit for the mixup, but says she had agreed to be on the show. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Feb 2011 20:59

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Politics: Scott Walker masters art of political self-destruction in Wisconsin

  • Not bad, Scott Walker. You’ve been Wisconsin’s governor for like two months, and you have half of Madison aiming for your throat because you made a power play to take away public employees’ collective bargaining rights. And you threatened to get the National Guard involved if union members tried to walk out in protest. Dude, this is Wisconsin, Union Central! You’re screwing with the teachers, not the bureaucrats! And Madison is like the hippie mecca of the Midwest! What did you think was going to happen? Not everyone is this hardcore about budget deficits. The Green Bay Packers (!!) have turned against you, and now you have people comparing you to Hosni Mubarak. A tad overwrought, yes, but the point is pretty clear. By going for the jugular a little too harshly, you’re making your political bed, Scott. Why can’t you be cool like this Scott Walker? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Feb 2011 16:08

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Tech: This week in tempting fate: computers can now win Jeopardy

  • Meet our now-dormant overlord: Have you heard about this? This “Watson” guy is tearing up these two Jeopardy champions. With no hands to press the buzzer, to boot! source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Feb 2011 15:39

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Politics: Sen. Scott Brown revisits childhood physical, sexual abuse

  • Hats off to Scott Brown: Discussing traumatic events from one’s life is never easy, especially to a large, disparate public. Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown is doing just that. An upcoming 60 Minutes interview will touch on his sexual abuse at the hands of a camp counselor when he was ten, as well as physical abuse by multiple stepfathers. Brown, a moderate GOP senator who has earned much respect during his year in office, deserves an immense amount of credit for this, hopefully giving an example to youth in the same position to report abuse. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Feb 2011 15:28

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Biz: Bookstore chain Borders, as currently constituted, goes belly-up

  • $1 billion in debt for the now-bankrupt bookstore chain source
  • » Sign of the times: In its Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the famed chain of bookstores will be forced to close 30 percent of its 600 stores, having been left somewhat behind by the changing nature of the book world (damn you, internet). Many analysts feel a tad downtrodden by the news. “This is the biggest bankruptcy in the history of the book business,” said Albert Greco, senior researcher at the Institute for Publishing Research. “This is really a depressing day.”
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

16 Feb 2011 15:01

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Politics: Lara Logan released from hospital, in “remarkably good spirits”

  • good news on the lara logan front. It’s being reported that Logan has been dismissed from the hospital following her “brutal and sustained sexual assault” in Cairo. While an unnamed source claims that, fortunately, Logan’s assault was “not a rape,” we can hardly imagine of the terror of it, especially in the context of a wild, tumultuous scene in Tahrir Square. Logan is reportedly in surprisingly good spirits, and is home with her family. Best wishes for her, and for her recovery. Relatedly, though, film critic Roger Ebert had this to say: “The attack on Lara Logan brings Middle East attitudes toward women into sad focus.” We’re all for somberly analyzing the broad implications of specific events, but really? Unless you can’t imagine a woman in America being sexually assaulted in a chaotic mob, it seems a little cheap and easy to paint a whole part of the world with the brush of this horrible event. Still, better than Nir Rosen’s analysis was. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Feb 2011 14:03

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World: Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni plays the robocall game

  • This is Y.K. Museveni. I greet you. Vote for the old man with a hat.
  • Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni • In a phone call to potential voters. With elections looming on Friday, the longtime President’s voice was racing across phone lines everywhere as robocalls, unheard of in African politics, went out to the Ugandan citizenry, referencing his iconic hat. A win Friday would mean his fourth term in office (with no limits), amidst concerns about repression of democratic opposition. Of additional note, as it’s probably what Uganda is most known for internationally right now, the American evangelical group “The Family,” heinously tied to Uganda’s anti-gay (seriously) legislation, is led by a man named Doug Coe. As reported by Jeff Sharlet, Coe has referred to President Museveni as the group’s “key man in Africa.” Take that for what you will. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Feb 2011 13:26

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U.S.: Judge throws the book at pirate from Maersk Alabama hijack

  • 34 years in jail for Abdiwali Abdiqadir Muse, Somalian former pirate source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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