PREVIOUSLY: Hacker Swarm Declares War On Scientology
NPR 4 THE DEF: Giving Public Radio Edge Since 2006
9 p.m. TONITE on TV12: The Beatles’ stoned second film venture presents Ringo as the target of a mad scientist and Indian cultists. Hilarity ensues. FRESH AIR Sergei Tretyakov was an operative of the KGB, the former Soviet intelligence service. When the Soviet Union dissolved, the agency changed its name, but its mission remained the same. Tretyakov was nominally a press officer at the Russian mission to the United Nations in New York. In reality, he was running a number of intelligence agents who, in turn, were trying to get information out of Americans and others at the U.N. In […]
FROM THE GRASSY KNOLL: The State Of Their Union
Check out this frame-by-frame breakdown of film footage shot by drycleaning magnate Abraham Zapruder standing on the Grassy Knoll of the Senate during the State Of The Union address Monday night. Senator Clinton, the Lady In Red, comes over to shake Ted Kennedy‘s hand, and in the process triangulate the Kennedy/Obama Bridge To Camelot. In reaction, Obama moves back … and to the left. Back … and to the left.
THE FUNNY PAPERS: An Inconvenient Truth
[Courtesy of MARRIED TO THE SEA]
NEWS CLUES: ‘Take This Job & Love It’ Edition
MR. NUTTER GOES TO WASHINGTON: Takes Nation’s Capital By Storm WASHINGTON — Mayor Nutter’s dinner was getting cold. There were dozens of hands to shake before he could eat. Fellow mayors, business executives, nonprofit leaders and lobbyists: They lined up three deep, hoping for a moment of his time. Nutter is accustomed to that sort of attention in Philadelphia. But in Washington? “It’s a little strange when you’re out of town,” Nutter said as he finally broke free of the crowd at a meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors last week. Less than a month into his administration, it […]
THE LONG GOODBYE: John Edwards Bows Out
DENVER — Democrat John Edwards is exiting the presidential race Wednesday, ending a scrappy underdog bid in which he steered his rivals toward progressive ideals while grappling with family hardship that roused voters’ sympathies, The Associated Press has learned. The two-time White House candidate notified a close circle of senior advisers that he planned to make the announcement at a 1 p.m. EST event in New Orleans that had been billed as a speech on poverty, according to two aides. The former North Carolina senator will not immediately endorse either candidate in what is now a two-person race for the […]
MEDIA: How Fox News Lost Its Mind-Control Mojo
BY ERIC BOEHLERT FOR MEDIA MATTERS My guess is that Fox News guru Roger Ailes has been reaching for the Tums more often than usual early in the New Year, and there are lots of reasons for the hovering angst. Let’s take an extended multiple choice quiz. Right now, which of the following topics is likely causing the discomfort inside Ailes’ Fox News empire? A) CNN’s resurgence as the go-to cable destination for election coverage. B) The incredible shrinking candidacy of Fox News’ favored son, Rudy Giuliani. C) The still-standing candidacy of Fox News nemesis and well-funded, anti-war GOP candidate […]
WHY WE FIGHT: Afghan Senate OKs Death Sentence For Journalism Student Who Distributed Internet Materials That Ask ‘If Islam Allows Men Multiple Wives Why Doesn’t It Allow Women Multiple Husbands?’
KABUL (AFP) — Afghanistan’s senate has endorsed a death sentence handed down by a court to a reporter and journalism student accused of blasphemy, the parliament media office said Wednesday. The senate, called the Meshrano Jirga (House of Elders), issued a statement Tuesday backing last week’s decision by the Balkh province primary court and criticising international pressure over the case, an official told AFP. The court sentenced Perwiz Kambakhsh, 23, to death for distributing articles downloaded from the Internet that were said to question the Koran and the role of women in Islam. “The Meshrano Jirga endorses the Balkh primary […]
NEWS CLUES: It’s Like Adderall For Your Eyeballs
FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS: Japanese Firms Gives Employees Time Off For Heart Break BEIJING, Jan. 29 (Xinhuanet) — If you are in Japan working in a company called Himes & Company, you can have a “heartache leave” if you feel frustrated over the ending of a relationship. This Tokyo company’s latest employee benefit sets a new standard for employer compassion. Their lovelorn staff can take paid time off after a bad break-up with a partner. “Not everyone needs to take maternity leave but with heartbreak, everyone needs time off, ” said Miki Hiradate, chief executive of the company. Its workers 24 […]
EXIT THE WARRIOR: Goodbye Rudy Tuesday
ASSOCIATED PRESS: MIAMI — Sen. John McCain won a breakthrough triumph in the Florida primary Tuesday night, gaining the upper hand in the battle for the Republican presidential nomination ahead of next week’s contests across 21 states and lining up a quick endorsement from soon-to-be dropout Rudy Giuliani. “I want to thank my dear friend, my dear friend Rudy Giuliani, who invested his heart and soul in this primary and who conducted himself with all the qualities of the exceptional American leaders he truly is,” McCain said. “Thank you Rudy for all you have added to this race and being and […]
OSWALD & GHOSTS: Spamming Camelot
BY AMY Z. QUINN FOR MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS So why, in all of this talk about President Kennedy, can I not stop thinking about Michelle Obama? I can’t help but wonder what Mrs. Obama is thinking today, since she reportedly has no desire to star in any fairy tales. It’s important to remember, at moments like this, that Mrs. Obama is 43, like her husband too young to remember Kennedy’s much-fabled 1,000 Days. And while he seems to have grown up happily basking in the popular portrayal of the Kennedys as American royalty devoted to public service, her attitude seems to […]
WHY JOHNNY CAN’T WIN: It’s The Kingmaking, Stupid
THE HILL: Former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) has his sights set on playing kingmaker at the Denver convention in August, one of his most senior campaign officials hinted Monday. While dismissing suggestions that this implied Edwards had accepted he was out of contention for the nomination, Deputy Campaign Manager Jonathan Prince said the candidate would probably get enough delegates to play a decisive role in tipping the Democratic nomination under party rules. Prince told reporters in a conference call that in “a worst-case scenario” Edwards would control 20 to 25 percent of the Democratic delegates heading into the convention. He […]
NPR 4 THE DEF: Giving Public Radio Edge Since 2006
FRESH AIR Old friends Mick Jones, former lead guitarist of The Clash, and Tony James, once of the Billy Idol-fronted Generation X, have teamed up in a band called Carbon/Silicon. Carbon/Silicon isn’t yet as well known as the bands the two co-founders came from, or even the bands the other band members once played in. Leo Williams played bass with Jones in Big Audio Dynamite, and Dominic Greensmith was the drummer for British rock group Reef. But the group’s approach to the internet has gained them widespread popularity. James and Jones began making their songs available on their web site […]