Articles

24th Aug, 2006 3:06pm
It will come as no surprise to the politically informed that the left-wing human rights group Amnesty International accuses Israel of war crimes in its latest report on the Israel-Hezbollah war. A Nexis search indicates the Washington Post didn't bother with the report, and neither did the Los Angeles Times.Yet veteran Middle East reporter John Kifner finds it quite significant ("Human Rights Group Accuses Israel of War Crimes in Lebanon")."Amnesty International accused Israel on Wednesday of…
24th Aug, 2006 1:09pm
ThisThursday, reporterRachel Swarns is once again struck by the audacity of Republicans making a political issue out of the political issue ofillegal immigration ("Illegal Border Crossings Dip, And Official Cites Security")."Several hearings are being held in districts where Republican lawmakers are engaged in competitive races for the House, and some lawmakers and advocates of immigrants fear that immigration has become little more than a weapon in the battle over fiercely contested House and…
24th Aug, 2006 12:53pm
Compared to the ridiculous overkillat The Washington Post, The New York Times has shown self-control regarding the flap involving Virginia Sen. George Allen being caught on tape insulting a Democratic campaign worker ("macaca"-gate). But on Thursday, congressional reporter Carl Hulse used Allen's public apology to leap in to the fray, suggesting Allen's presidential aspirations have taken a hit.The text box to Thursday's "Senator Apologizes to Student for Remark"reads: "A perceived racial slur…
23rd Aug, 2006 5:59pm
     A computer glitch that dramatically lowered the price at the pump to one-tenth its value gave NBC’s Brian Williams an excuse to launch into a populist anti-oil industry diatribe.       Noting that the price for mid-grade unleaded at “the Charles Street Stop-and-Go in Rockford, Illinois” was supposed to be $3.09 a gallon, the New Jersey native explained that a “computer glitch somehow moved the decimal point on the price one place to the left,” charging motorists only 30 cents a gallon…
23rd Aug, 2006 5:12pm
Theatre critic George Hunka's "A Sermon on Corporations, Neighborhoods and Loss" celebrates a left-wing performance artist for exposing the evils of large corporations. Hunka, of course, is writing this for the New York Times, part of a modest little enterprise known as the New York Times Co., which had revenues of a mere$3.4 billion in 2005."Reverend Billy - the alter ego of the performance artist Bill Talen, bleach-blond pompadoured and an impressive presence at 6-foot-3 in his pale brown…
23rd Aug, 2006 4:39pm
     “If you can see the ocean, the ocean can see you.” So said Julie Rochman, who saw her Florida condo destroyed by a hurricane years ago.        “Hope for the best and deal with whatever happens. And that’s one of the prices you pay when you live on the coast,” added a fisherman interviewed by ABC’s “Good Morning America” on June 15.       Voices like those – assuming risk as residents of coastal regions – have been few and far between in TV news coverage of Hurricane Katrina insurance…
23rd Aug, 2006 3:51pm
     Since Hurricane Katrina, the broadcast networks have linked global warming to more intensive hurricanes, treating higher ocean temperatures as “high-octane fuel.” Yet they have ignored the cooling waters of the Atlantic.       “Now, some scientists believe that global warming is the reason we are seeing more powerful hurricanes each year,” ABC’s Jeffrey Kofman said on the May 22 broadcast of “World News Tonight.” He continued, painting a life-threatening picture: “So powerful that they are…
23rd Aug, 2006 1:44pm
California-based reporter Jennifer Steinhauer reports on California Gov. Schwarzenegger's agreement with state lawmakers to raise the state's minimum wage to $8."Some economists said Tuesday that the California increase could have implications for the rest of the nation, but they differed on just what its effect might be."'Here you have a state that is an economic powerhouse and that is economically diverse. A place that is extremely diverse is ground zero in the debate for whether state…
23rd Aug, 2006 1:33pm
Jim Rutenberg's Tuesday front-page story "In Election Push, Bush Faults Talk Of Iraq Pullout - Criticizes the Democrats," looks at Bush's latest statements through a purely political prism."President Bush seized on Monday on Democratic calls for withdrawal from Iraq to make an election-year case that his political rivals did not properly understand the threats to the nation and would create a more dangerous world."It was the most direct attack on Democrats that Mr. Bush has made from a White…
22nd Aug, 2006 2:28pm
     It’s been just a week since Americans heard the last cries of “record high gas!” from the media. Now gas prices are dropping again, and selected news outlets have noticed.        “Gas prices slip,” read USA Today’s front-page August 22 headline. Continuing the trend of predicting the news instead of simply reporting it, the headline added: “and the worst may be over for this year.”        According to AAA’s Fuel Gauge Report, the national average for gasoline has dropped about 7 cents…