Images Of The News: Saturday, 17 Dec. 2005

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GOP Approves $29B More in Katrina Aid

WASHINGTON/POLITICS

COMMENTARY
Merry Christmas hurricane victims, the bill passed before Congress adjourned -- courtesy of the GOP.

NEWSBYTE
Congress OKs $29 billion more in Katrina aid
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional Republicans agreed Saturday on $29 billion in additional aid for the victims of Hurricane Katrina and the other powerful storms that lashed the United States earlier this year, far more than the Bush administration proposed earlier this fall.

TENSION: Tropical depression
GRAVITY: Action talks

NOTE: Mouseover pictures for captions.
NOTE: All rights are reserved by image owners; site content is linked only.

Tags: politics, Gulf Coast, Hurricane, Wilma, tropical storm, photos, pictures, Katrina, news, Louisiana, New Orleans, Mississippi

Iraq Insurgents Say Election Truce Won't Last

INTERNATIONAL/MIDDLE EAST

COMMENTARY
With a headline like the one above, it makes me wonder if perhaps furloughed Iraqi Information Minister Muhammed Saeed al-Sahaf is now working for the insurgents. If not, perhaps he got a job with Reuters and approved that headline. I'm not sure what the insurgents have to gain by quelling their attacks. Maybe they were just denied the opportunity to attack?

It's apparent that the insurgents are listening to those in the US calling for a timetable to withdraw. And they have a plan to put into action once they find out when the withdrawal will come.

NEWSLINE
"We want the Americans to pay attention to our political agenda calling for them to withdraw and announce a timetable to withdraw and getting their agents out of power. They will be replaced with national leaders whom we will support."

NEWSBYTE
Iraq insurgents say election truce won't last
FALLUJA, Iraq, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Iraqi secular insurgents and Islamist militants said on Friday they would soon resume attacks on U.S. troops and their Iraqi allies, saying they had only observed an election truce to let fellow Sunni Arabs vote.

TENSION: Telling
GRAVITY: "There are no Americans in Baghdad"

Tags: politics, News, terrorism, Middle East, White House, Iraq, war, journalism, mainstream media, press, current events

Bush Acknowledges Approving Eavesdropping

NATION/POLITICS

COMMENTARY
President Bush, in his weekly radio address, busted on the Times for running the NSA story. The AP story linked below omits the parts of the address calling the Times out. Stay tuned for more mainstream lockstep and far left blathering.

NEWSLINES
"This is a highly classified program that is crucial to our national security."

Radio Address by the President to the Nation

NEWSBYTES
Bush Acknowledges Approving Eavesdropping
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush said Saturday he personally has authorized a secret eavesdropping program in the U.S. more than 30 times since the Sept. 11 attacks and he lashed out at those involved in publicly revealing the program.

TENSION: Divisive
GRAVITY: Status quo

NOTE: Mouseover pictures for captions.
NOTE: All rights are reserved by image owners; site content is linked only.

Tags: politics, News, terrorism, Middle East, White House, Iraq, war, journalism, mainstream media, press, current events

Google To Pay $1 Billion For 5 % AOL Stake: WSJ

BUSINESS/TECHNOLOGY -- UPDATED LINKS

COMMENTARY
With a per share stock price of $288, and a target price of $400, perhaps Google knows something that the AOL haters don't....

NEWSLINES
"This is our dream come true. Our fates are intertwined," said a person familiar with AOL's strategy to link its future to Google's.

"I call it a travesty," said Icahn, who is waging a proxy fight to replace Parsons and other members of the Time Warner board. "They should have allowed others to bid who wanted control of AOL."

NEWSBYTES
Google to Buy 5% Of AOL for $1 Billion
(washingtonpost.com) Google Inc. is buying a 5 percent stake in Dulles-based America Online Inc. for $1 billion as part of a far-reaching business and advertising partnership aimed at boosting AOL's financial prospects as the Internet service struggles with the loss of millions of subscribers.

The five-year deal gives AOL new life by offering it numerous ways to garner more of the billions of dollars being spent on Internet advertising. It also deepens AOL's relationship with Google, the leading gateway to Internet sites for millions of computer users. Read full story.

Google will pay $1 bln for 5 pct AOL stake: report
(Reuters) Google Inc. plans to pay $1 billion for a 5 percent stake in Time Warner Inc.'s online unit AOL, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the situation.

TENSION: Google will take over the world
GRAVITY: Googlesphere

Tags: News, Computers and Internet, technology, America Online, AOL, New Media, online, Web2.0, Web 2.0, Microsoft, Yahoo, Google

MAINTAIN THE TENSION: VISIT OUR ADVERTISERS

Hurricane Katrina Aftermath News Pictures #23

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Hurricane Katrina Aftermath News Pictures #22

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Robert Novak Exits CNN for Fox News

MEDIA/ENTERTAINMENT

COMMENTARY
Perhaps it's too darn hard to be a good journalist at CNN? Besides, if I were Novak I'd want to go with the largest cable news outfit.

NEWSLINE
"I don't want to give the impression that they were muzzling me and I had to go to a place that wouldn't muzzle me."

NEWSBYTE
Robert Novak Leaving CNN to Join FOX News
NEW YORK (AP) -- Commentator Robert Novak, who hasn't been seen on CNN since swearing and storming off the set in August, will leave the network after 25 years and join FOX News Channel as a contributor next month.

TENSION: If you aren't the lead dog
GRAVITY: The view isn't so good

Topics: current events, News, Journalism, Media, FOX, cable, CNN

Bush Lets U.S. Spy on Callers Without Courts?

WASHINGTON -- UPDATED

COMMENTARY
Ot oh ... from the looks of the headline, Bush Lets U.S. Spy on Callers Without Courts, I'll bet someone at the Times wasn't invited to yesterday's White House press holiday party!

After holding the story for a year, what better way to wack Bush than to run it to correspond with the big holiday press social event of the year and on the day after Iraqis go to the polls. We are not supposed to notice that the Times won't name their sources, other than to call then the faceless, standard and obligatory 'anonymous government officials,' and 'former senior official,' the latter of whom is quoted as using the hip line, "This is really a sea change," which makes absolutely no sense to anyone other than Bill Gates' followers. Once the article spills the beans on Bush and the NSA (and attributing the unnamed sources), the story digresses into old news and typical Times spin we already know all about.

And for the followup reports on the Times' story -- it's ready, set, mainstream march in lockstep.

UPDATED -- Leave it to Matt Drudge to find good dirt on the Times
Newspaper fails to inform readers "news break" is tied to book publication
(DRUDGE) On the front page of today's NEW YORK TIMES, national security reporter James Risen claims that "months after the September 11 attacks, President Bush secretly authorized the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on Americans and others inside the United States... without the court approved warrants ordinarily required for domestic spying, according to government officials."

NEWSLINE
"This is really a sea change."

NEWSBYTE
Bush Lets U.S. Spy on Callers Without Courts
WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 (NYT) -- Months after the Sept. 11 attacks, President Bush secretly authorized the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on Americans and others inside the United States to search for evidence of terrorist activity without the court-approved warrants ordinarily required for domestic spying, according to government officials.

RELATED
Bush Authorized Domestic Spying
(washingtonpost.com) President Bush signed a secret order in 2002 authorizing the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on U.S. citizens and foreign nationals in the United States, despite previous legal prohibitions against such domestic spying, sources with knowledge of the program said last night.

Bush Secretly Lifted Some Limits on Spying in U.S. After 9/11, Officials Say
WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 ­(NYT) -- Months after the Sept. 11 attacks, President Bush secretly authorized the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on Americans and others inside the United States to search for evidence of terrorist activity without the court-approved warrants ordinarily required for domestic spying, according to government officials.

Washington Monthly
I just wanted to echo what Shakespearer's Sister said about the report that Bush signed an order allowing the NSA to spy on US citizens without a warrant.

Bush declines comment on NSA spying report
NEW YORK (MSNBC) -- President Bush refused to say whether the National Security Agency eavesdropped without warrants on people inside the United States but leaders of Congress condemned the practice on Friday and promised to look into what the administration has done.

EAVESDROPPING INS AND OUTS
(National Review) Some brief background: The Foreign Intelligence Security Act permits the government to monitor foreign communications, even if they are with U.S. citizens -- 50 USC 1801, et seq. A FISA warrant is only needed if the subject communications are wholly contained in the United States and involve a foreign power or an agent of a foreign power.

New York Times admits it held domestic spying story for a full year
(Raw Story) On the second page of a report which reveals the White House engaged in warrantless domestic spying, the New York Times reveals that it held the story for a full year at the request of the Bush Administration, RAW STORY can reveal.

RED ALERT: CHICKEN LITTLES ON THE LOOSE
(Michelle Maklin) This morning, the Drudge Report--HUGE RED FONT and all--chose to aid and abet the civil liberties Chicken Littles at the N.Y. Times. That's a shame. The real headline news is not that President Bush took extraordinary measures to protect Americans in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, but that the blabbermouths at the Times chose to disclose classified information in a pathetically obvious bid to move the Iraqi elections off the front pages. And to help sabotage the Patriot Act reauthorization, which went down in the Senate this afternoon.

TENSION: Let's just tell all the National Security secrets
GRAVITY: Check your sources

Tags: current events, politics, News, terrorism, Middle East, White House, Iraq, war, journalism, mainstream media, press

Selected Hurricane Wilma News Photos #18

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Test of Wikipedia Lacks Significant Samples

TECHNOLOGY

COMMENTARY
I am guessing that everyone has read about the false biography in Wikipedia. Now in the news as a result of that story are the results of Nature.com's test comparing 42 science articles in Wikipedia to matching articles in Encyclopedia Britannica. The news stories about the test paint Wikipedia in a favorable way, much to the glee of bloggers all over the Web.

Sorry folks, I have to diverge from the unedited masses on this one. Taking a sample of 42 out of 3.7 million articles for a test in no way proves Wikipedia is valid. It simply means the test data holds true for 42 out of 3.7 million articles.

Since the test in question was limited to 'scientific' articles, the test never comes close to addressing the bias that pops up in Wikipedia's more controversial articles.

Take for example, the differences in bias found in a comparison between Wiki entries for FOX News and CBS News.

By the third paragraph of Wikipedia's FOX News article we find that editorializing replaces facts as the content digresses into the discussion of the politics of FOX News slogans. Further into the article, we find a whole section (nearly a quarter of the article) devoted to criticisms and "Controversies and allegations of bias."

By contrast, Wikipedia's CBS News article is broken into small segments devoted through some strange logic to the network's individual news programs. The CBS Evening News article mentions Dan Rather's retirement and then devotes two whole sentences to issues surrounding 'Rathergate.' There is no in-depth discussion of liberal bias as charged by folks like Bernard Goldberg, whose own Wikipedia article questions his work subjectively.

For a true taste of what kind of online encyclopedia you can recommend to your kids, be sure to look at the CBS Morning News entry entitled: 1950s: "Good God, what a f@#*up!"

Nature magazine's test only proves Wikipedia authors are pretty good at cutting and pasting scientific information into articles. The test says nothing about overall quality of 1.3 million Wikipedia articles. For best results, go browse Wikipedia's politics on your own.

Why should I take time to help Wikipedia fix its content problems when someone can come right behind me and undo my work? A better question is, why would I want to refer to a Wikipedia if I need reliable (make that edited and checked to be accurate) information?

Wikipedia is a good exercise in Web 2.0, and maybe that's good enough.

NEWSBYTES
Journal: Wikipedia as accurate as Britannica
SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- Wikipedia, the encyclopedia that relies on volunteers to pen nearly 4 million articles, is about as accurate in covering scientific topics as Encyclopedia Britannica, the journal Nature wrote in an online article published Wednesday.

Wikipedia survives research test
(BBC News) The free online resource Wikipedia is about as accurate on science as the Encyclopedia Britannica, a study shows.

TENSION: Here's your sign
GRAVITY: Blame Web 2.0

Tags: News, Computers and Internet, technology, New Media, online, Web2.0, Web 2.0, Wikipedia

US House Votes to Protect Christmas Symbols

NATION/POLITICS

COMMENTARY
Presented below for your consideration, two viewpoints on the 'War on Christmas.' Liberals will have you believe that within the progessive agenda, no effort is underway to secularize Christmas traditions. However, the US House voted this very day to protect the very Christmas symbols that have been vanishing under the weight of the holiday's secularization.

The truth probably lies somewhere between liberal and conservative camps. So, I'll explain it in such basic terms such that any liberal and conservative can understand: There is about as much a concerted progressive agenda to secularize Christmas as there is a vast right wing conspiracy.

Here again, you just cannot have it both ways.

NEWSBYTES
House votes for Christmas traditions
(Richmond Times-Dispatch) Dec 15, 2005 WASHINGTON -- The House of Representatives overwhelming adopted today a Virginian's resolution to protect Christmas trees, Santa Claus, candy canes, and other symbols and traditions of Christmas.

By a vote of 401 to 22, lawmakers endorsed the "sense of the House" resolution proposed by Rep. Jo Ann Davis, R-1st District, as Congress neared its winter recess. A resolution doesn't bear the same weight as a law but it stirred sharp debate. Read full story.

O'Reilly: "War" on Christmas part of "secular progressive agenda" that includes "legalization of narcotics, euthanasia, abortion at will, gay marriage"
(Media Matters) In the latest instance of decrying the purported "war" on Christmas, Fox News host Bill O'Reilly claimed that "it's all part of the secular progressive agenda ... to get Christianity and spirituality and Judaism out of the public square." He then added: "[B]ecause if you look at what happened in Western Europe and Canada, if you can get religion out, then you can pass secular progressive programs, like legalization of narcotics, euthanasia, abortion at will, gay marriage, because the objection to those things is religious-based, usually." O'Reilly's comments came during a November 18 discussion on his television show, The O'Reilly Factor, with guest and fellow Fox News host John Gibson about "which American stores are using 'Christmas' in advertising this Christmas season and which are not." Gibson is the author of The War on Christmas: How the Liberal Plot to Ban the Sacred Christian Holiday Is Worse Than You Thought.

TENSION: Jingle Bells
GRAVITY: Watch yourf step

Tags: current events, politics, News, Conservatives, Christian, liberal, secular, Christmas

Feds Seek $1.5B for New Orleans Levee Fix

NATION



COMMENTARY
If the community leaders in New Orleans would just start looking out for the folks who live there, an even larger part of the problems Katrina left behind will be addressed. With the news of the fed's plans, you have to wonder about the folks who were complaining about the government's lack of interest in rebuilding New Orleans. I'll buy into the idea that the fed feels obliged to kick in for the levee system. I mean, New Orleans is a big port serving the Gulf and the Mississippi River. However, I am not sure the government should be held responsible for reconstructing the entire lives of all those affected. It's ironic that the poor who have little or nothing vested in the New Orleans area may be the ones who receive the most federal help.

NEWSLINE
"The federal government is committed to building the best levee system known in the world."

NEWSBYTE
Feds Seek $1.5B for New Orleans Levee Fix
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush is requesting $1.5 billion more to help make the levee system in New Orleans stronger than it was before Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast.

TENSION: Action talks
GRAVITY: Bullcrap walks

NOTE: Mouseover pictures for captions.
NOTE: All rights are reserved by image owners; site content is linked only.

Tags: News, Gulf Coast, Hurricane, Katrina, politics, Louisiana, New Orleans, Mississippi, FEMA

Large Turnout For Iraq Elections

INTERNATIONAL/IRAQ

COMMENTARY
And now for a small but tasty bit of humble pie dished up for the folks who have said that the US should "cut and run," those who have compared American soldiers to terrorists who break into Iraqis' homes, and others who have said the US can't win the war.

NEWSLINE
"The Iraqi people are showing the world that all people - of all backgrounds - want to be able to choose their own leaders and live in freedom."

NEWSBYTES
A Lack of Violence as Iraqis Vote to Choose New Government
(washingtonpost.com) BAGHDAD, Dec. 15 -- Iraqi voters turned out in force countrywide Thursday to elect a parliament to remake their troubled nation, with Sunni-led Iraqi insurgent movements suspending attacks for a day so that Sunni Arabs could vote en masse for the first time.

Vote Counting Begins in Historic Iraq Elections
(FOX News) BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Up to 15 million Iraqis -- including large numbers of Sunnis, who boycotted the January elections -- voted in historic parliamentary elections Thursday to establish a permanent democratic government amid only scattered violence.

Heavy Sunni Turnout Is Seen; Attacks Are Scattered and Light
BAGHDAD, Iraq, Dec. 15 (NYT) - In a day remarkable for the absence of large-scale violence, millions of Iraqi voters, many of them dressed in their best and traveling with other family members, streamed to the polls today to cast ballots in a nationwide election as Iraqi leaders predicted that the vote would split almost evenly between secular and Islamist parties.

Turnout Strong for Iraq Parliamentary Vote
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Iraqis voted Thursday in one of the largest and freest elections in the Arab world, with strong turnout reported in Sunni areas and even a shortage of ballots in some precincts. Several explosions rocked Baghdad throughout the day, but the level of violence was low. The heavy...

Big turnout in Iraq election as Sunnis vote
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqis flocked to vote in a largely peaceful election on Thursday, their numbers swelled by minority Sunni Arabs who recognized their previous boycott had only given more power to Shi'ite and Kurdish rivals.

Vote may have big impact on views of Iraq war
(USA Today) President Bush isn't on the ballot in Baghdad, but he does have a lot riding on the Iraqi elections -- including, perhaps, American support for the war that has defined his presidency.

TENSION: Determined to find self
GRAVITY: Boots on the ground

NOTE: Mouseover pictures for captions.
NOTE: All rights are reserved by image owners; site content is linked only.

Tags: News, Politics, photo, pictures, terrorism, Iraq, war

Iraqis Vote For Parliament

INTERNATIONAL/IRAQ


COMMENTARY
For all the attention the mainstream media gives Iraq, I'll wager very few readers know the issues or candidates driving the election.

NEWSBYTES
Split Between Secular and Islamist Parties Is Seen in Election
BAGHDAD, Iraq, Thursday, Dec. 15 (NYT Online) - Iraqi voters began streaming to the polls Thursday morning in nationwide elections as Iraqi leaders predicted that the vote would split almost evenly between secular and Islamist parties and usher in lengthy political maneuvering.

Parlement, Seats, Government
Candidates

Mortar lands near Green Zone as polls open
(USA Today) BAGHDAD — Iraqis lined up amid tight security Thursday to vote in a historic parliamentary election the U.S. hopes will lay the groundwork for American troops to withdraw, with a mortar landing near the heavily fortified Green Zone just minutes after polls opened

Iraqis voting in historic election
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Under heightened security and the hope for a new beginning in the midst of a bloody insurgency, millions of Iraqis headed to the polls Thursday in a historic election for a new parliament.

Iraqis vote for first full parliament since Saddam
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqis vote for a new government on Thursday in the hope it will end decades of suffering, boost living standards and pave the way for U.S.-led troops to leave, nearly three years after they invaded.

Iraqis Vote for 1st Full-Term Parliament
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Iraqis voted in a historic parliamentary election Thursday, with strong turnout reported in Sunni Arab areas that had shunned balloting last January, bolstering U.S. hopes of calming the insurgency enough to begin withdrawing its troops. Several explosions rocked Baghdad as...

Iraqis Vote in Large Numbers to Fill Parliament
(FOX News) According to reports, Iraq's Sunni and Shiite religious communities turned out in strong numbers to elect representatives to parliament.

TENSION: Determined to find self
GRAVITY: Boots on the ground

NOTE: Mouseover pictures for captions.
NOTE: All rights are reserved by image owners; site content is linked only.

Tags: News, Politics, photo, pictures, terrorism, Iraq, war

Images Of The News: Wednesday, 14 Dec. 2005

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A Religious Protest Largely From the Left

WASHINGTON/POLITICS

COMMENTARY
Liberals love to have it both ways.

Check the piece linked below about conservative Christians choosing to opt out of a joining a group named, 'Call to Renewal,' to protest against budget cuts to public programs. It's understandable that conservative Christians say no to liberal protests; they would much rather be doing something from within their own community to address social problems than to simply complain. Keep in mind that far left liberal groups have targeted Christian principled programs from the Boy Scouts, to federal aid supporting churches involved in Katrina relief (when no other aid infrastructure existed in their areas). Also keep in mind that for the most part, churches are better equipped to handle the poor and homeless on the front lines.

It takes a lot of nerve to whine up the fact that conservative Christians won't dig in and get behind liberal programs when all liberals can do is continually dog conservative Christian dogma.

NEWSLINE
Call to Renewal says, "budgets are moral documents."

NEWSBYTE
A Religious Protest Largely From the Left
(washingtonpost.com) When hundreds of religious activists try to get arrested today to protest cutting programs for the poor, prominent conservatives such as James Dobson, Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell will not be among them.

RELATED
Protesters against U.S. budget cuts arrested
WASHINGTON, Dec 14 (Reuters) - More than 100 religious activists protesting proposed cuts to health care and other social welfare programs were arrested on Wednesday after they staged a peaceful sit-in at a government building near the U.S. Capitol.

Call to Renewal Web site

TENSION: Aggravating
GRAVITY: You just can't have it both ways

Tags: current events, politics, News, Conservatives, Christian

President Bush: 'I Am Responsible'

WASHINGTON/POLITICS

COMMENTARY
Sure to incite a riotous blather from the left, President Bush in a speech at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington today accepted responsibility for going to war in Iraq based on faulty intelligence. I don't know how many more times Bush can say the same things about the war to those who continually dog him and say there is no plan -- before everyday folks come to the conclusion that the left is either deaf or dumb or maybe even both. After a while, it just gets tiresome.

NEWSLINE
"As president I am responsible for the decision to go into Iraq."

NEWSBYTE
Bush takes responsibility for invasion intelligence
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- On the eve of Iraq's historic election, President Bush took responsibility Wednesday for "wrong" intelligence that led to the war, but he said removing Saddam Hussein was still necessary.

Bush Urges 'Patience' on Iraq
(washingtonpost.com) President Bush, delivering the last in a series of speeches about Iraq on the eve of that country's elections, said today he was encouraged by the prospect of broader political participation in Iraq, but he warned that successful voting will not make the insurgents "give up," and he urged continued "patience" by both Iraqis and Americans.

Bush: Saddam ouster was correct, despite bad info
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush accepted responsibility on Wednesday for going to war with faulty intelligence, but firmly defended a decision that has deeply divided the country. "We cannot and will not leave Iraq until victory is achieved," he said.

TENSION: Say it again for the first time.
GRAVITY: Not so divisive

Tags: current events, politics, News, terrorism, Middle East, White House, Iraq, war

Regional Aspirations of Iran

WORLD/MIDDLE EAST

COMMENTARY
UPDATED -- Presented for your consideration, a number of news stories that paint a worrisome picture of Iran.

NEWSLINE
"There are states that fear success of democracy here - that it might be infectious and spread."

NEWSBYTES
Police Seize Forged Ballots Headed to Iraq From Iran
(NYT) BAGHDAD, Iraq, Dec. 13 - Less than two days before nationwide elections, the Iraqi border police seized a tanker on Tuesday that had just crossed from Iran filled with thousands of forged ballots, an official at the Interior Ministry said.

Truck with allegedly fake ballots detained
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- With the country's parliamentary elections slated for Thursday and early voting already under way, a truck carrying what are believed to be fake ballots was detained in the Iraqi border province of Wasit, the U.S. military said Tuesday.

Iraq border chief denies forged ballots seized
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The head of Iraq's border guards denied police reports on Wednesday that a tanker truck stuffed with thousands of forged ballot papers had been seized crossing into Iraq from Iran before Thursday's elections.

Iranian leader denies Holocaust
(BBC) Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has courted further controversy by explicitly calling the Nazi Holocaust of European Jewry a "myth."

Iran president: Holocaust is a 'myth'
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad escalated his anti-Israeli rhetoric Wednesday, calling the Holocaust a "myth" used by Europeans to create a Jewish state in the heart of the Islamic world.

Israel readies forces for strike on nuclear Iran
(Times Online) ISRAEL’S armed forces have been ordered by Ariel Sharon, the prime minister, to be ready by the end of March for possible strikes on secret uranium enrichment sites in Iran, military sources have revealed.

TESNION: Saber rattling
GRAVITY: Nuclear

Tags: current events, politics, News, terrorism, Middle East, Iran, war

Pentagon Psy-Ops in the News Again

WASHINGTON/POLITICS

COMMENTARY
I guess in light of the recent Military Says It Paid Iraq Papers for News story, it's a good thing the military is letting everyone know ahead of time just what's up before the ruse is discovered and some scandal is created for a no-news day.

NEWSLINE
"Sometimes it's not good to signal ... what your plans are."

NEWSBYTE
Pentagon rolls out stealth PR
(USA Today Online) WASHINGTON — A $300 million Pentagon psychological warfare operation includes plans for placing pro-American messages in foreign media outlets without disclosing the U.S. government as the source, one of the military officials in charge of the program says. Read full story.

TENSION: Let's tell all the secrets
GRAVITY: Check your sources

Tags: current events, politics, News, terrorism, Middle East, White House, Iraq, war, journalism, mainstream media, press

Hurricane Katrina Aftermath News Pictures #21

NOTE: Mouseover pictures for captions.
NOTE: All rights are reserved by image owners; site content is linked only.

Tags: News, Gulf Coast, Hurricane, Wilma, tropical storm, photos, pictures, Katrina, politics, Louisiana, New Orleans, Mississippi

Two Washington Posts: Print and Web

COMMENTARY
Deborah Howell has written an interesting piece detailing the difference between the print Washington Post and the Web washingtonpost.com. Sure to invite territorial responses from the Web published (make that unedited) crowd, the story should probably be required reading for bloggers who link to the Web Post.

When I came to DC, I became fascinated with the idea that local politics are also national politics. However, my original impression was somewhat short sighted. There are many distinct local communities both inside and outside the beltway. The folks in those areas are the hard-copy Washington Post's audience. Far from the beltway, the Web's washingtonpost.com plays to an international crowd. Like the communities they play to, the two posts are in some way the same but in many ways very different.

UPDATED COMMENTARY
Sure enough, Howell's article set off a firestorm that has produced some of the best name calling by bloggers I have seen recently on the Web. What seems to be overlooked the most in these comments, of course, is any notion of local vs. International Washington Post. Another point missed is that some simple news aggregations, such as Google News, make no distinction between opinion and news. As such, Froomkin's column could easily be misinterpreted by the less learned amongst us.

In any case, many of the comments are from liberal bloggers defending a Web column that is written, according the column's author, by frequently dredging those very blogs to find cut-and-paste content. Sadly, the vitriol is slung far and wide, sometimes dragging in Republicans and conservatives alike, who are as-if on cue, blamed for all that's wrong on the planet. I'll admit that I have read some strikingly eloquent digressions into why Web journalism will bury print journalism. However, I really haven't been sold on the idea that the process of professional journalists will be supplanted by the pajama wearing wannabe Krugmans with their laptop newsrooms who always tend to link 'real' news for something to write about.

NEWSLINES
"Political reporters at The Post don't like [washingtonpost.com's] columnist Dan Froomkin's 'White House Briefing,' which is highly opinionated and liberal. They're afraid that some readers think that Froomkin is a Post White House reporter.

The Web site adds to The Post's prestige, and the world is moving toward the Web. The Web is a wonderful place for The Post to put newsprint-eating texts and documents, such as presidential speeches, and other information, such as congressional votes, that readers want.

But I agree with The Post's political writers here; the Web site should remove the "White House Briefing" label from Froomkin's column."

NEWSBYTE
The Two Washington Posts
(washingtonpost.com) As far as most readers are concerned, washingtonpost.com is The Washington Post. But it's not, really. They are quite different, though the content is much the same and the Web site delivers Post content 24 hours a day.

The Post is primarily a local newspaper, no matter how or where it's read. Its circulation, as reported in September, is 671,322 daily and 965,920 Sunday. The Web site's reach is huge -- 8 million unique visitors a month, about 1.3 million of them local. Read full story.

RELATED
And now for the liberal viewpoint
Journalism's Slo-Mo Suicide

TENSION: It's between old and new media
GRAVITY: 100

Tags: News, Computers and Internet, New Media, Web2.0, Web 2.0, newspapers, technology, online

DC Metrosphere

350 DC Metro Blogs

Images Of The News: Tuesday, 13 Dec. 2005

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After 14 Weeks, Evacuees Settle Into 14th Home

COMMENTARY
After Katrina, it is hard to go back to a place where home and jobs no longer exist.

NEWSLINE
"It's just surviving, you know. You don't know where your next turn is going to be."

NEWSBYTE
After 14 Weeks, Evacuees Settle Into 14th Home
BATON ROUGE, La., Dec. 8 (NYT) -- The small room where Tracy Jackson, Jerel Brown and their four young children share a twin bed and thin mattress on the floor is the 14th place they have laid their heads since Hurricane Katrina struck just over 14 weeks ago. Read full story.

TENSION: Homeless
GRAVITY: Work is good when you can find it

Tags: News, Gulf Coast, Hurricane, Katrina, politics, Louisiana, New Orleans, Mississippi, FEMA

Wikipedia Lawsuit: A Defining Moment for Citizen Journalists?

TECHNOLOGY

COMMENTARY
In what may be the first public showdown between folks who create user generated content on the Internet and private individuals, Wikipedia now appears the subject of a planned class-action lawsuit. The centerpiece of the complaint is the erroneous, and perhaps sometimes libelous nature of user authored content presented to the public without accountability.

If the suit is real and moves from planning into active litigation, it will be an interesting test to see if Wikipedia is an Internet service falling under the "ignorance is bliss" umbrella where liability for the activities of its customers is generally based on a knowledge of the customer's activity, or if Wikipedia will be determined to be a product or publication and held accountable for content under communications law. Bloggers would do well to take note and follow this news.

NEWSBYTE
Wikipedia Class Action Lawsuit
There is a problem with the operation and functionality of Wikipedia. The basic problem is that none of the Trustees of Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., nor any of the volunteers who are connected with Wikipedia, consider themselves responsible and therefore accountable for the content. Visit page. (Editors Update: The URL for the class action link has been shut down.)

Please see: http://www.wikipediaclassaction.org/

RELATED
A False Wikipedia Biography

Tags: News, Computers and Internet, technology, New Media, online, Web2.0, Web 2.0, Wikipedia

San Quentin Doc Details Execution Procedures

NATION

COMMENTARY
FYI in the case of Stanley Tookie Williams.

NEWSLINE
"Nothing is left to chance."

NEWSBYTE
San Quentin document details execution procedures
(Seattle Times) SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Barring clemency from the governor or a last-minute stay, Stanley "Tookie" Williams will be expected to walk on his own to the death chamber late today at San Quentin State Prison. Read full story.

RELATED
L.A. On Alert for Unrest Following Tookie Execution

TENSION: The clock ticks down
GRAVITY: You decide

Tags: current events, politics, News

Images Of The News: Monday, 12 Dec. 2005

The content of this post has been archived.

L.A. On Alert for Unrest Following Tookie Execution

NATION

COMMENTARY
We'll see just how reformed "reformed" means if the city erupts into gang violence.

NEWSBYTE
City leaders rally against violence
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Wary of public anger over Stanley Tookie Williams' pending execution, local leaders on Friday called for peace if the Crips gang co-founder is put to death next week for four shotgun murders in Los Angeles County. Read full story.

RELATED
Schwarzenegger Denies Clemency for Williams
SAN FRANCISCO (Washington Post) -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday refused to spare the life of Stanley Tookie Williams, the founder of the murderous Crips gang who awaited execution after midnight in a case that set off a debate over the possibility of redemption on death row. Read full story.

Gov. Schwarzenegger Denies Clemency for Crips Co-Founder
Stanley Williams's bid to avoid execution after midnight tonight has gained wide attention.

Governor denies clemency for ex-gang leader
SACRAMENTO, California (CNN) -- California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger denied clemency Monday for convicted killer Stanley Tookie Williams, who co-founded the Crips street gang in Los Angeles.

TENSION: Not denied
GRAVITY: For the victims

Tags: current events, politics, News

Images Of The News: Monday, 12 Dec. 2005

The content of this post has been archived.

AOL: Steve Makes Case for Dividing Time Warner

BUSINESS/TECHNOLOGY

COMMENTARY
In a story that was once near and dear to my stock options, Steve Case says it's time to clean up the mess he helped make with the AOL -- Time Warner merger.

Where would the Web be now if not for that silly merger?

NEWSBYTE
It's Time to Take It Apart
By Steve Case
(Washington Post) There has been a lot of speculation about what Time Warner should do to increase its lagging stock price, and the media giant appears to be nearing a decision on the future of one of the Washington area's most significant enterprises: AOL. Although I played a key role in bringing AOL and Time Warner together six years ago, it's now my view that it would be best to "undo" the merger by splitting Time Warner into several independent companies and allowing AOL to set off on its own path. Here's why. Read full story.

RELATED
AOL Co-Founder Calls for Split of Time Warner
(NYT) As Time Warner nears a decision on a big alliance with Google or Microsoft for its America Online unit, Stephen M. Case, the co-founder of AOL, has spoken out against the plan, aligning himself with the thinking of the financier Carl C. Icahn, who has pushed for a breakup of Time Warner. Read full story.

Icahn warns Time Warner about 'errors in judgment'
(CNET) Investor Carl Icahn, who is organizing a proxy battle for control of Time Warner warned the media conglomerate on Wednesday against any "egregious error in judgment" for any deal it plans for its America Online unit. Read full story.

AOL's Steve Case Adds Pressure to Parsons With Call for Breakup
Dec. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Steve Case, architect of the $112 billion merger of Time Warner Inc. and America Online, joined Carl Icahn in pressing for a breakup of the company. Read full story.

TENSION: Web 2.0
GRAVITY: Flat stock price

Tags: News, Computers and Internet, technology, America Online, AOL, New Media, online, Web2.0, Web 2.0, Microsoft, Yahoo, Politics

NYT: Conservative Blogs More Effective -- With Caveats

NATION/POLITICS

COMMENTARY
The Times blows everyone's mind and concedes (what everyone knows) that conservative blogs are more effective than liberal blogs at getting their message out. The article's shallow analysis simply attributes the success to a "vast right-wing conspiracy" rather than to quality content and delivery.

The truth? The truth goes somewhat beyond playing the conspiracy card.

If liberal bloggers calmed down and made their cases rationally while backing up the statements by facts, they would be much more effective. As it is now, liberal bloggers often come off as a whiney, blathering, and divisive rabble who find it easy to point out their dislike of certain issues but don't offer many solutions to those problems.

Conservative columnist Michelle Malkin goes much further and calles the article a CANDIDATE FOR DUMBEST NYTIMES PIECE EVER

NEWSLINES
"Liberals use the Web to air ideas and vent grievances...."

"One blogger on the Republican side can have a real impact on a race because he can just plug right into the right-wing infrastructure that the Republicans have built."

NEWSBYTE
Conservative Blogs are More Effective
(NYT) When the liberal activist Matt Stoller was running a blog for the Democrat Jon Corzine's 2005 campaign for governor, he saw the power of the conservative blogosphere firsthand. Shortly before the election, a conservative Web site claimed that politically damaging information about Corzine was about to surface in the media. It didn't. But New Jersey talk-radio shock jocks quoted the online speculation, inflicting public-relations damage on Corzine anyway. To Stoller, it was proof of how conservatives have mastered the art of using blogs as a deadly campaign weapon. Read full story.

TENSION: Blame it on the vast right wing conspiracy
GRAVITY: Divisive

Tags: current events, politics, News, terrorism, Middle East, White House, Iraq, war, journalism, mainstream media, press, Blogs, Blogging, online, Web2.0, Web 2.0, Citizen Journalist, weblog

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