This Is the Thread Where We Post and Discuss Important News Buried By the War Coverage

New (Fujimori) Answers!

This reminds me of that Onion sideline..

"School bully not so tough after being molested"

DB, I've only got one thing to say to you, "Ew...."

Still, tis good that CA folk are getting royally un-screwed for a change. Mind you, the refund checks may only be for 5 cents instead of $50, if the company has its way.

Haha, I would trust the ability to get a refund under a Gray Davis administration as much as the ability to fist a minnow.

You act as if there aren't marrow-fisting mites.

Marrow fisting? Ow, go away Leather Ned.

Marrows, minnows, it's all fun.

There's always blaming hstencil

Not if he's smart about it.

In non Iraq news:

Bush pushes through his spending bill and the tax cuts he requested have been cut in half (but its still a pointless tax cut for the rich).

A plane carrying three "American government officials" crashed in Colombia. They were looking for Americans kidnapped by FARC after their plane crashed very close to where they themselves just crashed.

There is unrest in Nigeria, resulting in a drop in oil production - Nigeria is a major producer of oil.

And yet more joy abounds.

For Tom Millar - New Housing Sales are down 8.1%.

The two American pilots who killed 4 Canadians in Afghanastan are going to be allowed to avoid a court marshall, announced shortly after the bombing began.

Can you post a link? That's fucked up.

North Korea cuts all ties to UN and US.....

http://www.austin360.com/aas/news/ap/ap_story.html/Intl/AP.V0632.AP-Koreas-Nuclear.html

How You Can Own a Piece of Iraqi Land:

http://www.weeklyworldnews.com/news/index.cfm?instanceid=57356

From CNN even:

India, Pakistan play atomic handball

No Face Disease stalks Chihiro

Matador band smacks Peruvian ass
Tobacco Farmer Mentalist

(*drum fill* thank you, i'll be here all week)

two weeks ago the Prime Minister of Serbia was murdered. i did not notice any major news story about this.

June
http://www.sltrib.com/2002/jun/06202002/nation_w/746923.htm
September
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/0,,SB1025580993822908760,00.html
October
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20021019-78692376.htm
january
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A64056-2003Jan1?language=printer
And after the decision
http://www.thestar.ca/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1048177347150
http://www.thestar.ca/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1035779650287

Thanks Noodles.

an old woman in new zealand was beaten to death by frozen dog roll - these things usually make headlines here and have an entire 1/2 hour of prime time devoted to picking around talking to people who may have known the victim etc.

a friend handed me a pamphlet that predicts major aggression towards palestinians while all cameras are pointed at iraq. it was scary and possibly scare-mongering stuff, replete with racist and violent quotes from every major israeli leader for the last 100 years.

The world will run out of drinkable water in five minutes.

In not-so-bleak news...

McDonald's must give $10,000,000 to various vegetarian, Hindu, kosher, and children's charities

Well, I’ve been getting scary e-mail updates from colleagues in Bangui (Central African Republic) regarding the coup.

I have family living in Bulawayo (Zimbabwe) and I have no fuckin’ idea what is going on with them. Don't know if internet is off, phone lines in Zim are generally fucked anyway, but it really upsets me that this has completely dropped off radar – BBC had a story today for the first time in days and it just reinforces how little accurate coverage Africa gets

(also annoyed from seeing Robert Kaplan’s latest Atlantic Monthly story where he practically beatifies leader of Eritrea in opposition to all fact)

I’ve become so cynical about publications I used to somewhat somewhat trust. The amount of bias and inaccuracy I see has made me understand why ppl ignore news period, and why ppl abroad hate western media. I am depressed.

Hmmm...how about this new-fangled flu/pneumonia that seems to be spreading through south-east asia at an alarming rate? And the death of Moniyahan? And the assassination of the Serbian PM? And the weather? And West Nile Virus fears?

I don't quite get the whole idea that the Serbian PM assassination was ignored, but then again I am operating via a specific bias -- my main straight up news source is the BBC website, and they ran it as a lead story for two days.

AH - yes, the BBC covered it, as did the CBC. But CNN seemed to glogg (I think that was supposed to be "gloss" but I really like how I originally typed it) things over, and I've not seen any serious discussion of the implications of the assassination and the aftermath. Well, I have *read* some coverage in the Washington Post and NYT, but not watched coverage on the American news stations.

well the Serbian PM assassination passed me by completely, but i dont always read a paper every day or go to news sites everday - but if i do then the bbc is first choice. i guess its just laziness on my part all along...

meanwhile whats Mugabe up to lately?

I think he's up to 19 ft, 10 in. Six more inches and he'll have the pole vault world record!

And this isn't getting too much coverage (except in Ireland where we are quite fanatical about the religious orders):

http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/South/03/26/nuns.abducted/index.html

Sister Philomena Fogarty - brilliant name! Best religious bod's name in the news since the Right Reverend Roderick Wright.

what about ArchBishop Runcy?

Revive with this:

April 3, 2003
Claims for Jobless Benefits Are Highest Since April 2002
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 5:02 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The number of American workers filing new claims for unemployment benefits climbed last week to the highest point in nearly a year as businesses trimmed jobs in the muddled wartime economic climate.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that new applications for jobless benefits jumped by a seasonally adjusted 38,000 to 445,000 for the week ending March 29 -- a level last reached in the week ending April 13, 2002.

``It is the pall of the Iraqi war, higher energy prices and lower stock prices just weighing on the willingness of companies to maintain jobs,'' said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Economy.com. ``The uncertainty is so high they just can't think about expanding their businesses at this point.''

A second report offered more unsettling news: Activity in the service sector -- normally the engine of job creation in the United States -- contracted in March, ending 13 months of growth.

The Institute for Supply Management reported that its nonmanufacturing index sank to 47.9 in March, from a reading of 53.9 in February. An index reading below 50 means activity contracted; a reading above 50 signifies growth.

``It is clear that the war is having a negative impact on most sectors of the economy,'' said Maury Harris, chief economist at UBS Warburg.

The institute reported this week that manufacturing activity shrank in March, raising fears the economy may be headed for a new recession.

On Wall Street, the disappointing economic news helped push stocks lower. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 44.68 points to close at 8,240.38.

In the jobless claims report, the pace of layoffs was worse than economists were predicting. They were forecasting claims to rise to around 410,000.

Economists say claims above the 400,000 mark generally show an extremely weak job market.

The more stable four-week moving average of new claims rose last week to 426,250. The moving average has been above the 400,000 level for five weeks in a row.

Lackluster profits and uncertainties surrounding the war are some of the factors behind the increasing layoffs. Those same factors also are making companies reluctant to invest heavily in capital projects, further restraining the economy.

After falling into a recession in 2001, the economy has struggled to return to firm footing. It has been a bumpy road to recovery, with three months of economic strength followed by three months of weakness.

With economists predicting subpar growth for both the first and second quarters of this year, the labor market is likely to deteriorate further, the economists say.

The unemployment rate rose to 5.8 percent in February. Economists believe it could move to 5.9 percent or 6 percent for March, and higher in the months ahead. The government reports on the employment situation for March on Friday.

Economists believe the economy lost 40,000 jobs in March alone -- not good news but not as bad as the situation in February, when payrolls fell by 308,000.

To energize the economy and help job creation, President Bush has called on Congress to enact a fresh round of tax cuts.

``Today's bad news makes it even more important for Congress to act and pass the president's proposal,'' said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer.

Treasury Secretary John Snow, in Florida Thursday trying to sell the plan, seconded that notion. Snow offered his own take on the jump in jobless claims. ``I think it's less uncertainty about the war than it is simply some underlying weakness in the economy as a whole,'' he said.

Federal Reserve policy-makers have kept interest rates at very low levels, with the hope that might help cushion the fallout from the ailing job market, a turbulent stock market, higher energy prices and war worries.

A big fear is that a worsening labor market will make consumers, essential to economic activity, more cautious.

The number of workers continuing to draw unemployment benefits soared by 107,000 to 3.61 million for the work week ending March 22, the most recent period for which that information is available.

Continuing benefits were at their highest point since Nov. 16, 2002.

^------

On the Net: Jobless report: http://www.doleta.gov

Institute for Supply Management: http://www.ism.ws/

George Bush's head being waved on a stick by Eddie Vedder.

Thank you James Blount. I was just about to post that.