Curated knowlege, trenchant insights & witty bon mots
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is giving us a reasonable facsimile of what Osama bin Laden would sound like if he were an actual elected leader. From musing about wiping Israel off the map, Iran's president is now talking about the 'myth' of the Holocaust. An excerpt: “Today, they have created a myth in the name of Holocaust [...]
Wed, December 14 2005 » * Big Picture Stuff, Main Page » Comments Off
A cab driver excuses himself for his persistent cough, but also offers this reassurance to his passenger: “Don't worry: I don't have the aviation flu.”
Wed, December 14 2005 » Main Page, Minutiae » Comments Off
Chile held the first round of its elections on the weekend. The leading candidate is Michelle Bachelet, a socialist who was once imprisoned by the military junta that ran things in the wake of the overthrowal of President Salvadore Allende on Sept. 11, 1973. Here is what the CIA World “Fact” Book says about Chile: [...]
Wed, December 14 2005 » * Big Picture Stuff, Main Page » Comments Off
Wanna see a film where journalists are made to look good? Try Good Night, and Good Luck, or Capote. Wanna see one where they look bad? King Kong, Munich and The Constant Gardener might be more to your liking. Some excerpts from the NYT story: PEOPLE may not be keen on consuming the fruits of [...]
Wed, December 14 2005 » Film, Main Page, Media » Comments Off
The LAT has given up on a national print edition, and instead will work on beefing up its Web presence. An excerpt from an NYT story: “We've learned over the past year that most of our East Coast audience reads us on the Web,” said David Garcia, a spokesman for The Los Angeles Times. He [...]
Wed, December 14 2005 » Main Page, Media » Comments Off
This NYT article looks at how the Chinese government is working to keep the Chinese public from learning that as many as 20 protesters may have been killed by the police during a recent protest against a power plant in Guangdong province. An excerpt: In the wake of the biggest use of armed force against [...]
Wed, December 14 2005 » * Big Picture Stuff, Main Page, Media » Comments Off
While the U.S. and Myanmar are tied at number six for jailing five journalists each, they have to try harder if they want to catch up with China. The info comes from a new Committee to Protect Journalists report. An excerpt from the NYT story: Each country is jailing five journalists. The United States is [...]
Wed, December 14 2005 » Main Page, Media » Comments Off
Chad is 10th up from the bottom of the UN human development index, or number 167. To compound its problems, it is one of the most corrupt places on earth. And now the government wants to spend more of its relatively limited oil wealth on security and general government revenues instead of poverty reduction. Some [...]
Wed, December 14 2005 » * Big Picture Stuff, Main Page » Comments Off