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22 Mar 2011 23:53

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World: Yemen: Ali Abdullah Saleh’s losing friends faster than MySpace

  • Friday broke our hearts; yesterday opened our eyes. We saw people of our generation killed with head shots and chest wounds. We don’t want that pain again.
  • DC-based Yemeni spokesperson Mohammed al-Basha • Describing the pain he felt over the violence in his country, pushed forth by president Ali Abdullah Saleh. The bloodshed in particular pushed many in the government over the edge. While many other government figures resigned yesterday, al-Basha hasn’t. Rather, he says he seems himself as a “neutral” civil servant. Saleh, meanwhile, threatened civil war at the same time he was offering an olive branch to the people he was threatening civil war against. Follow that? Neither did we. Clarity is not Mr. Saleh’s strong suit. Nor is human rights, apparently. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Mar 2011 23:31

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U.S.: Alright … who hollowed out Detroit and took all its people?

  • 713k Detroit’s current population, according to the census figures released today
  • 951k Detroit’s population back in 2000 — all told, that’s about a 25 percent drop in just a decade
  • half of all counties in Michigan have shrunk — it’s the only state to lose population source
  • » Dave Bing, not so happy: The mayor of Detroit (who played a mean game of hoops in his day and created an unintentional Robocop campaign) says that the Census totally under-counted his villa. He says the town has 750,000 people at least. While there were areas with big jumps throughout Michigan, they were mostly in suburbs (Lansing = where it’s at). Da Yoopers had some pretty huge declines of their own — one county lost 13 percent of its population.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Mar 2011 14:45

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Politics: Sen. Scott Brown splits with GOP on Planned Parenthood

  • unsurprising The GOP’s big win in the midterm elections was, most would agree, secured by economic strife. Despite this, they’ve has spent a lot of effort pushing hard on left/right wedge issues, abortion being one.
  • surprising! GOP Senator Scott Brown, who’s garnered a reputation lately as an independent mind, said the party’s plan to cut funding to Planned Parenthood “goes too far.” Scott Brown, walking the walk! source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Mar 2011 14:21

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World: Released NYT journalists recount arrest horror

  • I heard in Arabic, ‘shoot them,’ and we all thought it was over.
  • New York Times foreign correspondent Anthony Shadid • Reflecting on his arrest, as well as his three NYT compatriots, at the hands of pro-Gaddafi forces in Libya. The story seems to indicate a reluctance Gaddafi’s people had to actually make good on that remark and shoot the journalists; upon realizing they were Americans, they thankfully scuttled that plan. Lynsey Addario got the worst treatment, having “every inch of [her] body” groped by the pro-Gaddafi soldiers, while photographer Tyler Hicks was threatened with decapitation. So, all in all, a pretty sickening story, and one that we hope people remember when somebody is mocking a journalist on the ground for feeling threatened. These are real dangers, folks. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Mar 2011 13:49

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World: China, South Korea strictly checking Japanese food

  • China and South Korea wary of radiation in food: Some countries (and even individual restaurants) that import food from Japan are concerned about the possibility of radiation contamination. The Japanese government has assured their citizenry that the radiation levels detected in milk, spinach, and some water is not enough to do rapid or lasting damage, though they’ve imposed a freeze on food from that region. China and South Korea want to look into the matter themselves, though, absent the responsibility of keeping the Japanese citizenry from being stricken with panic, which their government obviously has. That seems reasonable enough. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Mar 2011 13:23

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World: Power lines connected at Fukushima Daiichi, not turned on yet

  • Power lines up in all six Fukushima Daiichi reactors: Which is great sounding news, but they’re not out of the woods yet. There are a number of implications to this, mainly that cooling systems can be turned back on, thus pumping water back into the reactors and preventing a meltdown of the fuel rods. However, the power hasn’t yet been switched on, as engineers fear that the pumps, damaged as they are, could cause an explosion if activated abruptly. That aside, this news is a credit to the bravery of the workers who stayed at the plant. We hope the government gives them truly first-class care once this is over, it’s the only moral thing to do. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Mar 2011 13:03

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U.S.: Blago runs up against no-nonsense judge in retrial

  • NO Rod Blagojevich won’t get his corruption retrial canceled source
  • » “…intended for an audience other than the court.” When Rod Blagojevich and his legal team requested that his retrial be canceled and that the judge proceed to sentencing on the lone conviction from his first trial, lying to the FBI, that was the response Judge James Zagel gave in shooting the idea down. First of all, we didn’t realize you could try to pitch such a self-serving idea to a judge, although in this case it failed pretty epically, so maybe you really can’t. But moreover, this doesn’t bode well for Blagojevich — despite escaping the fullest punishment last time, and the media tour he’s gone on since to be thought of as “that funny corruption guy” instead of an unprintable expletive, if he’s staring down a stern judge and a new jury, anything could happen (remember, Blagojevich’s last trial was deadlocked by just one of the twelve jurors insisting his innocence).
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

22 Mar 2011 12:41

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Culture: Upcoming HBO slogan: It’s not TV. It’s Dick Cheney!

  • And now, ladies and gentlemen: Dick Cheney will soon be returning to the American limelight in the form of an HBO miniseries. The polarizing (and I think even the most hardened pro-Cheney partisan would admit, oft-glowering) former Veep’s entire career is said to be the focus of the series, from his rise in the Nixon administration, to the House of Representatives, to his roles in both Bush administrations. The series will be based on a Frontline documentary called “The Dark Side,” as well as a book called “Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency” by Barton Gellman. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Mar 2011 11:23

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Politics: New York Times writes puff piece about their paywall model

  • Some of them even send us checks unsolicited. I have this woman in Canada who’s sent me two $50 checks because she doesn’t understand why she can get our journalism for free. Each time I have to tell her I can’t accept the check.
  • New York Times Corp. Chief Advertising Officer Denise Warren • Discussing the NYT’s paywall plan, which hits around the end of the month. Hey, Denise, if you guys won’t take the money, we’ll put it straight in our pockets! In all seriousness, though, read the piece — it does a great job explaining the mindset of the NYT as they decided to try the paywall model once again. Key thing? Ad money in print is falling, and online isn’t keeping up. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Mar 2011 11:09

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World: Ex-Israeli president Moshe Katsav sentenced in rape case

Katsav, center, will spend seven years in prison on two rape counts predating his presidency, along with indecency and sexual harassment charges while president. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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