Wednesday-Night

We’ve Come a Long Way, Baby
It’s hardly controversial to say that some Republicans sometimes view the UN with deep suspicion. And often, during election season, the UN serves as a useful whipping boy for (typically Republican) candidates trying to curry favor with a small but enthusiastic element of the Republican base.
So, it […]

Remembering the incredible pluck of the Times Picayune during Katrina and the aftermath, we returned to this long-neglected source and found it better than ever. Hurricane Gustav News and Storm Tracking
BBC, as usual, does a fine job of reporting the story and the context, including photos from the destruction wreaked in Cuba
Reuters/Planet Ark FACTBOX […]

See also  Katrina Update: A Billion Dollars Later, New Orleans Still at Risk (2007)
and CNN Katrina coverage
After Fanfare, Hurricane Grants Leave Little Mark
NEW ORLEANS — It was the largest housing aid program in American history, billed as the essential government tool that would make New Orleans whole after Hurricane Katrina.
Yet even though about $3.3 […]

And this is why: Jon Stewart lectures reporters on coverage

Michael Nagle for The New York Times
Jon Stewart, on the set of “The Daily Show,” tied Tom Brokaw, Brian Williams, Dan Rather and Anderson Cooper among admired journalists. And that was last year.

 When Americans were asked in a 2007 poll by the Pew Research Center for […]

See also Afghanistan news on Wednesday-night.com and
CBC Background on Afghanistan 2008
Robert Galbraith
August 20
(NYT Editorial) The more territory the Taliban controls, the more money it can raise from narcotics and black-market activities to mount an even fiercer challenge against the foundering civilian governments in Kabul and Islamabad. And the more territory the Taliban controls, the more […]

More on the 2008 campaign and issues
Although the early days of the campaign were regrettably short on serious exploration of issues and the candidates’ positions, their websites supplied considerable information. Now that the Democrats have united (sort of) behind Barack Obama, we are moving away from following the issues in one post. There are now […]

See also Global Treaty on Climate Change
August 13
Elephant seals join fight against climate change
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Elephant seals swimming under Antarctic ice and fitted with special sensors are providing scientists with crucial data on ice formation, ocean currents and climate change, a study released on Tuesday said.
The seals swimming under winter sea ice have overcome […]

Enlarged map and notes
See also Arctic and Antarctic
(BBC) British scientists say they have drawn up the first detailed map to show areas in the Arctic that could become embroiled in future border disputes.
A team from Durham University compiled the outline of potential hotspots by basing the design on historical and ongoing arguments over ownership.
Russian […]

August 1, 2008
Please see Uncertainty and Climate change

(Op-Ed, NYT) Recently the Web site The Politico asked Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House, why she was blocking attempts to tack offshore drilling amendments onto appropriations bills. “I’m trying to save the planet; I’m trying to save the planet,” she replied.
I’m glad […]

(Strategic Forecasting Inc.) Kosovo, Russia and the West
2007 saw the resurgence of a long-dormant issue: independence for Serbia’s breakaway province of Kosovo. The tiny region is a key pressure point on the fault line between Russia and the West.
The subject of independence for Kosovo is re-emerging as a serious issue. The West seems intent on […]