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06 Jul 2011 17:04

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U.S.: TSA warns of implant-based bomb concealment

  • The new normal in airport security? It was announced today by the TSA that terrorists might try to surgically implant bombs into themselves to bypass airport checkpoints, a warning which seems to imply further heightening of security could be coming. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney explicitly said that the warning “does not relate to an imminent or specific threat.” That said, that a terrorist could hide a bomb in their body is fairly obvious, so whatever intelligence they’ve gleaned must be enough to drag this out of the realm of the hypothetical. The TSA has also advised international airports to tighten their security. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Jul 2011 15:21

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U.S.: Incredible footage of the climatic Phoenix dust storm

  • Adventures in time-lapse: Here we have some videos (credit to Mike Olbinski and Blaine Coury) of the colossal dust storms that touched down in Phoenix, Arizona on July 5th. As always, safety is crucial during extreme natural events. We’ll admit, though, it’s hard to watch this footage without feeling wonderment and stark awe towards the natural world. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Jul 2011 14:26

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Politics: Bill Clinton puts recovery ahead of deficit reduction

  • Almost nobody’s talking about one of the central points that everyone who has analyzed this situation makes – including the bipartisan Simpson-Bowles commission – which [is] you shouldn’t do any of this until the economy is clearly recovering.
  • Bill Clinton • Discussing the deficit-reduction fight going on in Washington, with dealing over the debt limit functioning as a negotiating tool for the GOP to push for spending cuts. This is an angle that’s been taken by many mainstream economists (though obviously, the world of economics can be as contentious as anywhere else), namely that the ability to put off paying down the deficit for a while, though it may not jive with the popular notion of fiscal responsibility, is a valuable tactic to avoid straining the economic recovery. To use an overly simplistic metaphor, if we were to gain thirty pounds over the course of a year, working out twelve hours every day wouldn’t be a healthful way to slim back down. It takes a while to gain the weight, so it’s only natural and measured that it’ll take a while to safely cast it off again. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Jul 2011 14:09

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World: In Iceland, you might need a prescription to smoke

  • Your doctor may have to give you the go-ahead if you want to keep up the habit. Officials are hoping to do this as an effort to get people to quit. Recently, they’ve raised taxes on cigarettes and they’re on the way to banning them in many public places. Under the proposal, smokers would have to go through treatment programs to try to kick their habit. If they couldn’t pull it off, they’d get prescribed cigarettes. This seems like a bit far to reach, if you ask us, and it could create a black market because it’s so restrictive. Regardless, it should help people quit, should this measure pass —because that’s a lot of trouble to go through for a smoke. (photo via Flickr user mamagrrl) source
Posted by Justin Jones • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Jul 2011 13:29

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U.S.: President changes military condolence policy for suicides

  • This issue is emotional, painful, and complicated. But these Americans served our nation bravely … we need to do everything in our power to honor their service, and to help them stay strong for themselves, for their families and for our nation.
  • President Barack Obama • Reversing a previous policy that didn’t send military families condolence letters if their family member had committed suicide. This is definitely a good thing, because suicide is actually a common cause of death in Iraq and Afghanistan. Just because a soldier isn’t killed by the enemy, doesn’t mean their life means any less — military families deserve a letter from the president, regardless of the cause of death. source
Posted by Justin Jones • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Jul 2011 13:08

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U.S.: A tale of two unemployment rates, through an urban microcosm

  • 9.8% the unemployment rate in the Washington, DC — a little higher than the rest of the nation
  • 3.6% the unemployment rate for the more affluent areas of DC — mostly populated by whites source
  • » This isn’t good. The unemployment rate of Anacostia, a district in Southeast DC east of the river mostly populated by blacks? Nearly 20 percent. DC is merely just a flash point for a much-larger trend. All over the United States, blacks are twice as likely to be unemployed as whites. What’s worse is there’s no real explanation for it — other than the obvious one.
Posted by Justin Jones • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Jul 2011 10:13

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World: News of the World scandal: A father’s reaction to being hacked

  • I just felt stunned and horrified. I find it hard to believe someone could be so wicked and so evil, and that someone could work for an organization that even today is trying to defend what they see as normal practices.
  • Graham Foulkes, father of a 2005 London bombing victim • Reacting after learning that he was on a possible list of people whose phones have been hacked by News of the World. As you might imagine, it’s not the kind of news one takes well, and in the case of Foulkes, who will mourn the sixth anniversary of his son’s death later this week, it only makes things more difficult. Foulkes wants leadership at News Corp. to change, starting with Rebekah Brooks, the chief of News International who once edited News of the World, but denies she knew what was going on. “She’s gotta go,” he said. “She cannot say, oops, sorry, we’ve been caught out. Of course she’s responsible for the ethos and practices of her department. Her position is untenable.” Do you agree? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

06 Jul 2011 09:43

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Politics: Mitt Romney, fundraising machine; Newt Gingrich debt-saddled

  • $18.25 million the amount in donations that Mitt Romney received in the second quarter; the leading GOP candidate is pretty far ahead of the other guys
  • $1.2 million the amount in invoices that Newt Gingrich has; he’s paid them down by ten percent, but still has significant debt issues source
  • » Everyone else is kind of in the middle: With Tim Pawlenty, Jon Huntsman and Ron Paul hovering around the $4 million mark, and Herman Cain around $2.5 million, all pale in comparison to the Mittster, who is unemployed. Newt, who raised $2 million, was saddled with massive debt as a result of much of his senior campaign staff leaving; he has just $225,000 in the bank, which is extremely low. Newt, this presidential thing isn’t gonna work out.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Jul 2011 00:21

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Culture: Picasso drawing nabbed from gallery

  • HEIST! A 1965 Pablo Picasso drawing valued at over $200,000 was successfully stolen earlier today from a San Francisco art gallery. It was a sophisticated heist that included eleven individuals, a remote-controlled car, a decoy video feed and several impostor cops. Hah, just kidding, that was “Ocean’s Eleven.” This heist was much less glamorous; apparently, a guy just walked into the gallery, picked up the drawing, and walked out. Clever! The police say that they might recover the piece if someone spots the thief “walking around with it or trying to sell it.” In other words, they won’t recover the piece. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Jul 2011 21:33

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Politics: “Naming the victim” gets fresh scrutiny after Strauss-Kahn case

  • For a person who has already been violated once, all the media exposure violates them again. We have a strong tradition of defendant’s rights. But if you’re a victim, you have fewer rights than an accused person.
  • National Center for Victims of Crime executive director Mai Fernandez • Offering an argument against the idea of naming the victim in high-profile rape cases like that of Dominique Strauss-Kahn. There’s a good point in this — we do everything to cover the stories of high-profile sexual assault cases — but we never name the victim, even when we note every other detail about their lives, down to their money problems. The tradition of not naming the victim in cases like this one, which stretches back a century, is getting fresh scrutiny in the wake of new details in the Strauss-Kahn case. One guy getting some airtime as a result of these new revelations is Alan Dershowitz, a defense lawyer most famous for the O.J. Simpson trial, who says that the practice saddles the defendant with the presumption of guilt — especially when, as in the case of Strauss-Kahn, they take a perp walk. What do you guys think? Is Alan barking up the wrong tree? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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