Saturday, August 14, 2010
Hunt for 'new Bonnie and Clyde' goes global
Is pop music sexualising our children?
Is pop music sexualising our children?
The debate: music journalist Victoria Segal and feminist blogger Laurie Penny debate the effects of pop music on children, in the wake of record producer Mike Stock's comment that most R&B videos are like soft porn.
'Sharon was Kahane killer's target'
'Sharon was Kahane killer's target'
The man who killed Meir Kahane in 1990 claims he did not carry out the shooting alone, as previously thought, but was part of a three-man terrorist cell with links to al-Qaida. Its original target was future prime minister Ariel Sharon, according to a newly-leaked US government document.
Taliban takes hold in once-peaceful northern Afghanistan
Taliban takes hold in once-peaceful northern Afghanistan
In squads of roaring dirt bikes, armed to the teeth, Taliban fighters are spreading like a brush fire into remote and defenseless villages across northern Afghanistan.
The fighters swarm into town, assemble the villagers and announce Taliban control, often at night and without any resistance.
With most Afghan and NATO troops stationed in the country's south and east, villagers who stand in the path of the Taliban advance into the once-peaceful north say they are powerless and terrified, confused by the government's inability to prevail -- and ready to side with the insurgents to save their own lives.
"How did the Taliban get into every village?" asked Israel Arbah, from his mud hut in the Shah Qassim village of Faryab province. "They are everywhere. And they are moving very fast. To tell you honestly, I am really, really afraid."
N.Y. flight attendant wants to return to air
N.Y. flight attendant wants to return to air
- This is a great example of media overkill and sensationalism. Anything out of the ordinary (boy bites dog story) becomes a major news event. Our country is on the verge of collapse and we are debating something as trivial as a flight attendant acting up.
Video: Record-Breaking Heat Brings Storms, Floods
The embed code for this ABC video says "video is no longer available." You can see it at this link.
- This ABC video reports that 2010 is on track to become the hottest year on record in 2010.
Obama Strongly Backs Islam Center Near 9/11 Site
Obama Strongly Backs Islam Center Near 9/11 Site
- Finally, he takes a principled position on an issue.
U.N. says no aid yet for 6 million flood victims in Pakistan
U.N. says no aid yet for 6 million flood victims in Pakistan
United Nations aid agencies have provided assistance to hundreds of thousands of victims of Pakistan's worst floods in decades but relief operations have yet to reach an estimated six million people.
Spending dips at most retailers in July
Spending dips at most retailers in July
Americans spent less at most retail stores in July and inflation remained tame as high unemployment and weak job growth fueled fears of a slowing economic recovery.
In weekly address, Obama returns to campaign chestnut: Warning of threat to Social Security
In weekly address, Obama returns to campaign chestnut: Warning of threat to Social Security
Reviving a scare tactic that Democrats have used before, President Obama said in his radio address Saturday that "some Republican leaders in Congress" want to privatize Social Security.
But GOP leaders are not pressing for privatization. The idea proved so unpopular when President George W. Bush proposed it in 2004 that Congress, then led by Republicans, never took it up. The concept lives on in a budget proposal by Rep. Paul Ryan (Wis.), the senior Republican on the House Budget Committee, but only a handful of GOP lawmakers have signed on to that measure. And, in the aftermath of the worst shock to the financial system since the Great Depression, many Republican lawmakers would just as soon see the idea forgotten.
Radio Host Convicted of Threatening Judges
Radio Host Convicted of Threatening Judges
A right-wing Internet radio host was convicted on Friday by a federal jury in Brooklyn of threatening three federal judges who had issued a ruling he disagreed with.
