The Gaggle : Unturnings

Unturnings: Who is Iranian Challenger Mousavi?

Newsweek — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 12:53:27 GMT

Our favorites this morning from around the web:

Don't slam the door, just close it slightly
Louisiana Gov Bobby Jindal pleaded with supporters yesterday to stop trying to get him to run for president. That's not to say he's not planning to run, he just wants people to stop talking about it. (WashTimes)

Victory for Chinese web surfing
Until now, the Chinese government required computer users to install internet filtering software to limit access to pornography, homosexuality and other banned topics. Caving into public pressure, Chinese officials lifted the requirement, freeing up access to unfettered web surfing. (DPWire)

For Iranians, is he really better?
As protesters rage against the election of President Ahmadinejad, the Wall Street Journal profiles head challenger Hossein Mousavi and his record. A former prime minister who governed as a social conservative, Mousavi was one of the earliest supporters of the country's nuclear program (WSJ)

Sad but hilarious snafu for Calif. students
Two sourthern California elementary schools made an error accounting for time early in the year, adding up to 34 days left of instruction time students missed throughout the year. A realization school leaders had the week summer vacation was to start. (NPR)

Unturnings: Queen Takes Cue, Installs Her Own Veggie Garden

Newsweek — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 12:44:15 GMT

Our favorites this morning from around the web:

A horticultural influence?
We're not really sure if Michelle Obama influenced the Queen to install a vegetable garden at Buckingham Palace. We just think the time line is suggestive: Her majesty never had a vegetable garden, she formed a budding friendship with America's first lady who has championed vegetable gardens, and now she has a vegetable garden. (The Telegraph)

Iranian president turns a page, travels to Russia
Completely ignoring the political unrest in his country, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attends a summit of regional leaders in Russia to declare an end to empire governments. He made no mention of the protests in Iran challenging his type of government. (AFP)

In the driver's seat? A new job hunt that makes for great puns
In the last year, truck driving schools nationwide have seen a 20 percent increase in people looking to take to the open road. A signal, NPR punnily points out, that some job seekers really need to shift gears when pursuing their new job path. (NPR)

Be back in 10. Gone waste-watching.
Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn, a self-proclaimed waste watcher, says he can already point to $5.5 billion wasted on bad or inefficient projects among the economic-stimulus expenditures on tap. Among the holes: $3.5 million for bike-path constructed for Milford, Mass. even though the state has the money to do it itself and $2.1 million for the city of Miami to relocate an aging bus terminal. (WashTimes)

Unturnings: In San Francisco, Trash Becomes Illegal

Newsweek — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:46:22 GMT

Our favorites this morning from around the web:

Seriously, don't trash San Francisco
After a vote by the San Francisco city council, recycling becomes no longer an option. Throwing orange peels, coffee grounds and grease-stained pizza boxes in the trash will be against the law in the city by the bay, and could even lead to a fine. (SF Chronicle)

Parts of Hawaii to return native control
The Hawaiian islands -- other than playing home to paradise-seeking visitors and tour operators -- could soon be governed, at least in part, by a native Hawaiian government (similar to how Native Americans control designated lands). Former administrations have opposed the prospect but Obama, who was raised on the islands and has vowed to sign the measure, has native Hawaiians exceedingly hopeful. (AP)

Elsewhere in the Pacific...
The island of Palau has graciously offered to take some of America's most dangerous detainees formerly held at Gitmo. Where is Palau? What's it like? Time takes a good look. There's more beyond the perfect weather of paradise. (Time)

Let the American democratic analogies begin
The presidential election in Iran is far from a straight-shot democratic exercise. Foreign Policy produces an excellent digest of the candidates and potential scenarios, including one projecting an almost certain extension of the contest after voting day -- a la Florida in 2000. (Foreign Policy)

Unturnings: College Republicans Search Hopelessly for Strategy

Newsweek — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 12:48:41 GMT

Our favorites this morning from around the web:

GOP-ing at straws
What's it like to be a college Republican these days? About as little fun as you'd think. Slate visits a regional convention to find a humorously hopeless scene of students who, just like big-kid Republicans, sit around questioning what to do now. (Slate)

Fawning over pawning
French banks, seemingly more than those in any other large country, have drastically cut back on lending in the face of the economic downturn. That has meant a surprising upturn for society's next tier of "lenders:" pawn shops. (NPR)

Bumper to bumper tax
The city of Los Angeles has an idea to raise cash in the midst of the state's perilous slowdown: charge a congestion tax. Genius, yes, in a city known for awful traffic, but one columnist says it'll turn into a social issue that hardly effects the wealthy and discriminates against a sizable number of the city's working poor. (LA Times)

Unturnings: White House vying for 2016 Chicago Olympics

Newsweek — Tue, 12 May 2009 12:31:49 GMT

Our favorites this morning from around the web:

Obama and aides play favorites for Olympics
Chicago isn't the only U.S. city vying for the Olympics, but top White House adviser Valerie Jarret is heading a push on behalf of the POTUS to bring the 2016 games to the Windy City. (Politico)

GOP: Just don't pick a bad nominee
Even before Obama names a nominee to the Supreme Court, Republicans are looking deeply into the names already floating around. Taking a cue from the all-around embarrassing nomination of Robert Bork in 1987, one GOP senator plans to preempt Obama from making an unacceptable choice. (Washington Times)

Washington devising a fix for media
Can Washington really help an ailing news industry? Several senators think so, and are making it their crusade to push legislation to change the business model of the country's biggest media organizations. (NPR)

Pay no attention to the lobbyist behind the curtain
The White House has set up barriers against lobbying for the $787 billion stimulus package. Now, lobbyists that had success under past administration are trying to restrategize. One method: sidestep yourself and send your client to make their own case. (AP)

Unturnings: SCOTUS cameras back up for debate?

Newsweek — Mon, 11 May 2009 12:41:07 GMT

Our favorites this morning from around the web:

The next chapter in California's marriage debate
Even as same-sex marriage gets the nod in a growing number of states, the issue remains most contentious in California. As 18,000 formerly-married couples wait, a panel of judges will rule by the end of the month whether November's Prop 8 was constitutional for voters to shoot down. (NPR)

Smile for the cameras, Mr. Justice
Supreme Court justices have historically opposed the court allowing cameras to film oral arguments, but none more so than retiring justice David Souter. With him gone, proponents in congress hope to finally make ground on the issue. (Politico)

Unemployment not going anywhere
Christina Romer, Obama's senior economics adviser, said Sunday that the downturn and unemployment numbers are not inextricably linked. She thinks the economy will turn up later this year, but the percentage of jobless people will continue to climb. (NY Times)

On America's reputation, the administration's next tough call
On the issue of torture, the next big choice for Barack Obama is whether to release more photos of detainees being interrogated that, Sens Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham think, will have the same negative effect on America's image as the Abu Ghraib abuse photos that surfaced in 2004. (Time)

Unturnings: Pelosi painted into a corner on torture briefing

Newsweek — Fri, 08 May 2009 12:48:14 GMT

Our favorite bits of news this morning from around the web:

Obama's deficit economics look a lot like McCain's
President Obama decided to tackle wasteful spending this week, proposing $17 billion in cuts from the federal multi-trillion dollar budget. It's a small, largely symbolic move that makes him oddly resemble candidate McCain. (Slate)

Calif heading quickly into the red
With the state's deficit already large, a new analysis shows that California -- with a $38 billion shortfall -- could be broke as early as this summer. (LA Times)

Report shows Pelosi briefed on waterboarding
The back and forth continues about how much Speaker Nancy Pelosi knew, and when, about the torture techniques used on detainees at Guantanamo. Now, a Director of National Intelligence report shows Pelosi was indeed briefed early and in full. (Washington Post)

New timers in Senate pose challenges for Obama
On paper, Obama might have the numbers in the Senate to squeak through a bold agenda, but what the legislative body lacks is the institutional memory. With the majority of senators being new to the job, few have the experience of brokering contentious deals. (Bloomberg)

More Americans to start looking soon for personal assistants
In a speech Thursday, Michelle Obama expressed gratitude for her "blessed life," arguing that more people should be able to take sick days and have a staff like she does. (Wouldn't that be nice?). She ended by calling for more family-friendly policies. (AP)

Unturnings: California warming up to legalized marijuana

Newsweek — Thu, 07 May 2009 11:16:02 GMT

Our favorite bits of news this morning from around the web:

Senate discusses journalism's future
Usually we like to keep the intersection of politics and journalism right here at the Gaggle. So when the senate starts discussing the future of the media, we take note. (AFP)

Arnold entertaining the idea of straying from cigars
Increasing public support for the legalization of marijuana has led Calif. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to lead a study on the substance's impact on the
state. For an ailing economy, a robust market could also be just what the doctor ordered. (NY Times)

Mining desperately for sympathy
A vast collection of West Virginia residents who oppose coal mining wrote an unusual plea to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson this week: "You are our last hope for justice at this point.” (Grist)

Religious mix-ups
Although he consistently denied it, Barack Obama was accused during his campaign of being untruthful about his religious identity. Now, complicating things, church documents show that Obama's mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, was posthumously baptized by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (Chicago Tribune)

Send mail soon, seriously
The U.S. Postal Service is close to $2.3 billion in the red. Despite an increase of the price of a first class stamp next week to 44 cents, some postal analysts think the service could be broke by the end of the year. (NY Times)

Unturnings: Fat Chance for Bush Convictions

Newsweek — Mon, 04 May 2009 12:38:30 GMT

Our favorite reads this morning from around the web:

Prosecuting Bush's team? Maybe. Convicting? No way.
Could top Bush Admainistration officials still be prosecuted over the torture memos? Yes. But even as some Democrats smell blood, convictions of people like Cheney, Rice, Ashcroft and Tenet seem much less likely. (NY Magazine)

Fears of a pandemic
Top global health officials expect the swine flu will begin to mutate and infect animals, which humans consume, with the virus. A pandemic, they say, is on the way. (NPR)

A swine by any other name
Word of the swine flu spread last week faster than the flu itself. As it continues, those trying to stop it are having a much more trivial and quirky disagreement: what's the most politically correct thing to call it? (New Yorker)

America's new "lawn ornament"
The Smithsonian in Washington has chosen an architect for the newest museum, the African American History Museum, to be built on the National Mall. A Slate slideshow explores what it should look like. (Slate)

Who knew the White House would be so exciting?
Barack Obama's mother-in-law, Marian Robinson, relucantly moved into the White House to look after her granddaughters and keep them grounded. She's finding that (surprise!) the White House is a lot more fun than she thought. (NY Times)

Unturnings: Speculation begins on Souter's replacement

Newsweek — Fri, 01 May 2009 12:25:52 GMT

Our favorite nuggets this morning from all over the web:

Let the guessing games begin
The coming weeks will bring lots of speculation over who might be tapped by Barack Obama to fill the court seat vacated by David Souter. By our measure, the Associated Press has the first list, and thinks it'll probably be a woman. (AP)

Opinions hard to capture from military
The military's 'don't ask don't tell' policy on homosexual members could be on the verge of change. But opinions on it among members of the armed forces have always been mixed, and quite hard to capture. (NY Times)

Obama's EPA putting the breaks on approved energy projects
To the thrill of environmentalists, the Environmental Protection Agency has been halting permits for projects -- many of them related to fossil fuel energy production -- that the Bush Administration had formerly green lighted. (Washington Times)

British troops call it quits
Six years into the war in Iraq, British troops ended combat operations this week in the country, handing over control of Basra to U.S. forces, rather than the Iraqi Army. The opposition leader to Prime Minister Gordon Brown vows that an investigation into Britain's involvement will follow. (The Guardian)

Military using 'friend' as a verb
Economic downturns have always been good for military recruitment. Now, the army in particular is finding social networks like Facebook to be key tools in spreading the military's message. Oh, and the Air Force Twitters too. (AP)

Unturnings: Pelosi hitting back on torture

Newsweek — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 12:38:39 GMT

A round-up of our favorites from around the web:

Really, be honest!
A tool on the British government's website that allows people to sign petitions seemed like a great idea to connect voters with the prime minister. It now appears to be backfiring, as one popular petition now calls for PM Gordon Brown to resign. (The Guardian)

Monkey in the middle
CNN rose to success with its middle-of-the-road approach to covering news. Now, that strategy is making it increasingly difficult for the network to fight the cable news wars with rivals MSNBC and Fox, both of which bring opinionated rantings (representing both poles) during prime time. (NY Times)

Taking nature in stride
Officials in a small Swiss town passed some, well, colorful legislation over the weekend: no more hiking nude, responding to an increasing number of German tourists descended on the trails to take them au natural. (AP)

Pelosi picking up her game of defense
Things didn't look good for house speaker Nancy Pelosi last week when it was revealed that she was indeed briefed on interrogation techniques she now criticizes. Now, she and her staff are trying to respond strategically. (Politico)

Change afoot in NorKo
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il appointed his 26 year old son over the weekend to a high-level government post -- a reliable sign, say analysts, that the aging leader with deteriorating health could be preparing to pass the torch. (Denver Post Wire)

Unturnings: Montana the New Gitmo?

Newsweek — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 12:48:17 GMT

Our favorites this morning from all over the web:

Lengthy discussions surrounded memos' release
The decision to release the DOJ torture memos was indeed a tough one. Internal White House sources say it was the most difficult decision yet of the young presidency, with lots of unknown factors that entered into discussions. (Wash Post)

Hardin, Montana: We'll take one for the team
The city of Hardin, Montana has a brand new jail that's, oddly, empty. Seeing dollar signs and no imminent threat, city leaders think it could house enemy combatants, as a new, domestic Guantanamo. Of course, not everyone is on board with the idea. (NPR)

Just keep the budget under 140 characters
Putting on his game face (before an expected run for his state's governorship) Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa opts to skip the state Democratic convention this weekend to stay home working on budget issues. Your Gagglers believe his quote sums it up better: "Antonio Villaraigosa is not going to Twitter while Rome burns.'' (SF Chronicle)

To be counted, get out of town
The 2010 U.S. census is supposed to take a new count of everyone in every state. But in lots of states, people live in hard to count areas, and could be skipped over. Your best bet to make sure you're counted? Move to Wyoming. (Wall Street Journal)

Everyone gets their 15 minutes
Over the weekend, a contestant in the Miss USA pageant gave a garbled answer in response to the question of whether she supports same sex marriage. The answer may have lost her the crown, but she's now an icon for Republican analysts and young conservatives. (Politico)

Go on, just count to a trillion
The team from public radio's Planet Money, which breaks down incredibly complex news about the economy and financial markets, explores a seemingly simple question -- How much is a trillion? -- in a colorful way. (NPR)

Unturnings: Thursday, April 23

Newsweek — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 12:47:20 GMT

Our favorites this morning from all over the web:

Prosemaker in chief
It'd be hard to argue that George W. Bush was the most poetic of presidents, but his successor, who won an election using flowery metaphors and articulate declarations, uses surprisingly few crafted phrases. "This is going to be prose and not poetry,” he told an audience at Georgetown last week. (Politico)

What do they think he is, some kind of machine?
Foreseeing angry attacks from state lawmakers, CA Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger told the producers of Terminator 4 (which hits theaters next month) that he didn't have time for the fourth film in the series he helped pioneer. Instead, they've been tinkering with digital tools to insert his image from his past roles. (AP)

Social outcast
GOP chairman Michael Steele has relied on the word "collectivists" to describe Obama and Democrats' spending policies. It's not hard to figure out what he really means (uhh, socialists?), and party members are urging him to hit harder with the rhetoric. (Washington Times)

Tortured definitions
As the Obama Administration has tried to tackle the issue of the torture the past two weeks, his message has been less than consistent. He has contradicted several of his aides and the president himself has left his thoughts on what will come next, perhaps purposely, quite ambiguous. (Slate)

Motor town channeling Motown
Detroit's music industry -- a scene that produced voices like Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye -- could bring needed salvation to the struggling city. But the modern motor city hasn't figured out how to lucratively tap into its Motown roots. (NPR)

Unturnings: Tuesday, April 21

Newsweek — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 12:43:13 GMT

Our favorites this morning from around the web:

Required GOP reading
Republicans in congress all seem to be reading a book called "The Forgotten Man" that they say has new national significance. A 2007 historical look at the Great Depression, with a critical eye on the New Deal, argues against government interference in large economic crises. (Politico)

Risk assessment at the CIA
According to an unnamed source within the Obama Administration, the president's decision to release the CIA torture memos was the most Obama-esque thing he has yet done in office. Having done so has already started the giant pendulum swing of risk-taking and risk-aversion at the agency now on defense. (The Atlantic)

Chess with Iran
The Wall Street Journal thinks that after Iranian elections roll by in June, the pieces will be set for a slow game of chess -- diplomatic strategy edition -- between between the nuclear-enriching country and the U.S. Will Obama be able to talk to Iran and squeeze it at the same time? (Wall Street Journal)

Fast-moving footwear
Shoe throwing gained international attention last year when a journalist in Iraq hurled a loafer at President Bush. Now, the practice among journalists has become widespread -- too widespread -- in India, where the sole of a shoe represents a grave insult. (LA Times)

Four corners: Missed the mark
When it comes to political boundaries, the four corners of Nevada, Utah, New Mexico and Colorado is among the most visited. Now, an accurate geological survey reveals that the marker for the intersection of the states is off by 2.5 miles. (NPR)

Unturnings: Monday, April 20

Newsweek — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:42:46 GMT

Our favorites this morning from around the web:

All smiles
Call it a difference of lots of opinions. President Obama has taken heat for his cordial, even chummy, approach to diplomacy with foreign leaders. His response? Letting leftist countries gripe about the past will make them more likely to cooperate on the tough issues of the future. (AP)

Back in the rat race
Just three years ago, former California governor Jerry Brown brushed off rumors that he'd seek the state's high office again. But in next year's gubernatorial election, he sees an opening, and himself as a logical successor to Arnold Schwarzenegger. He says his next administration would be about the basics -- "meat and potatoes." (LA Times)

Pen pal in chief
Every day, the White House chief of correspondence culls 10 letters from ordinary Americans to meet the eyes of the president. Obama thinks of it as a way to minimize the effect of the White House bubble, and a reminder of the struggles of actual people. To the delight of a few, he sometimes even writes back. (NY Times)

English learning
The Supreme Court hears a case today over whether, and how, to teach English in public schools. Along the southwest border, what seems like a simple question involves lots of taxpayer money and, as with any educational issue, actual kids' lives. (NPR)

Celebrity endorsement
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez interrupted a meeting at the weekend's Summit of the Americas to hand Obama a book on Latin American oppression. Whether it was a good political move for either man is debatable, but now that the book has shot up to #2 on Amazon.com, the author owes someone a thank you note. (AP)