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World News Once a Week |
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| Published Friday, March 16, 2007 |
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| Sean Yong: An inmate kicks a sandbag in Nanjing, China. |
Issue 39
Balanced power requires equal force on all sides. So as news came out this week about the White House's unusual involvement
in the firing of federal prosecutors, it was disheartening to watch the US system of checks and balances show cracks, particularly between Executive and Judicial
branches. In Zimbabwe, President Mugabe clung to power and again used forceful measures to quell brewing opposition as his countrymen sense that his 30-year reign may be nearing its end. Meanwhile, Russia skillfully maneuvered its way out
of the West's firing line on Iran by delaying shipments of uranium to Ahmadinejad’s nearly completed reactor.
Sometimes, however, heading into the mess is exactly what's intended. Viacom and Google entered the legal ring in a copyright-law dispute that could go the full 12 rounds. And in Austin, Texas, while rock 'n roll hopefuls courted the suits, robots and the dorks who love them convened to talk shop.
- Catherine New |
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 A Note on Our Sources |
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near you. Find the latest screenings, exhibitions, and parties, plus monthly video magazines, interviews, and profiles of
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| Top Stories |
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Gonzales sweats as attorney controversy heats up
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The US Justice Department is under scrutiny over its recent firing of eight federal attorneys. While the department maintains that performance issues were the cause, critics believe that the
lawyers were let go because they showed insufficient loyalty to the current administration. Documents revealed that the White House green-lighted the dismissals as early as two years ago.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales admitted that "mistakes were made" in the handling of the dismissals, though he resisted calls to step down. However, Kyle
Sampson, Gonzales' chief of staff who carried out the termination plan, resigned on Tuesday. President Bush condemned the
confusion surrounding the incident, but maintained that the firings were justified. (BH)
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Moscow silences N-word in Tehran
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Russia has withheld shipment of mission-critical fuel rods to Iran's Bushehr nuclear plant, which is being built by Russian agency Atomstroiexport, claiming that Tehran is in arrears with the atomic contractor. On
Monday, Atomstroiexport announced that Iran has failed to make its construction payments, some $25 million per month, for the last two years. Tehran
angrily denied the financial dispute.
The announcement marks a change of course for Moscow, which has long defended Iran against Western pressure to halt its nuclear program. The shipment delay postpones completion of the reactor, originally scheduled for September,
until later in the year. (CN)
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Sudan and UN clash again over Darfur
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On Tuesday, Sudan's president rejected the United Nations' latest proposed peacekeeping deployment to war-torn Darfur. The revised plan, which calls for an interim force to assist poorly funded African Union troops, was dismissed by Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who
argued that it violates last May's Darfur Peace Agreement. Al-Bashir's principle concern — that UN commanders not control AU troops — has remained unchanged since Sudan rejected UN intervention last August.
This latest disagreement comes after months of contentious negotiations, worsened by Sudan's expulsion of a UN envoy in October last year. Meanwhile, pressure mounts on Khartoum after last week's report by the UN's Darfur committee which
formally accused the government of orchestrating attacks on the region's civilians. (ED)
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| Newswire |
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| Politics |
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Zimbabwe crackdowns continue
Morgan Tsvangirai, opposition leader to Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, was hospitalized on Wednesday, after being arrested at a rally and severely beaten by police. The attack drew censure from
the international community, including an uncharacteristic response from neighboring African countries. (BH)
| Guardian | New Zealand Herald |
Hungary takes a hit off Russia's pipe
Budapest has pulled its support from the EU-backed Nabucco gas pipeline project and agreed to partner with Russia's Blue Stream pipeline instead. The move boosts Hungary's role as an energy hub, but may increase its vulnerability to Russian petro politics. (CN)
| International Herald Tribune | Eurasia Daily Monitor |
Immigration dominates Bush's Mexico trip
Meeting with his Mexican counterpart, Felipe Calderón, President Bush pledged to reform US immigration laws. The conservative Calderón criticized Bush for not strongly endorsing
an immigration policy that grants rights to the millions living and working illegally in the US. (BH)
| Washington Post | CNN |
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| Business |
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Halliburton makes moves on Dubai
Halliburton CEO Dave Lesar will relocate from Houston to Dubai to open a corporate headquarters there, the company announced. The corporation said it
wants to be closer to emerging business opportunities, but some grumbled that the corporation is dodging domestic taxes. (CN)
| Kuwait Times | Slate |
Viacom sticks it to YouTube
Viacom, the entertainment giant that owns cable channels such as Comedy Central, filed a $1 billion lawsuit against YouTube and Google for "massive intentional copyright infringement." The lawsuit comes six months after Google purchased the video-sharing
company for $1.65 billion. (CN)
| Computer World | New York Times |
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| Science & Technology |
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US agency to phase out silly rabbits
Rabbit ears on TV sets will become useless in 2009 as broadcasters switch completely to a digital signal. The NTIA plans to distribute $40 coupons to help low-income households buy a converter box if they can't afford a new television. (GM)
| MSNBC | Scientific American |
Memory boosted by smell
A German study published this week found that smells can help the mind hard-code certain types of information. Students who
whiffed a rose scent during a learning exercise, and then again while sleeping, showed markedly improved memory retention. (AP)
| San Francisco Chronicle | New York Times |
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| The Week in Pictures |
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Click to see the full-size image and caption.
 Darren Whiteside
 Stringer, India
 Daniel Leclair
 Sukree Sukplang
 Claro Cortes
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*Unless otherwise noted, all photos are courtesy of Reuters.
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| Local Stories |
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Dorkbots gone wild
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Nerds of the world united for the Dorkbot convention at Austin's SXSW festival last weekend. Combining the best of robots, beer, electricity, and a musical set of Tesla coils, the international
convergence of electronic artists epitomized geek chic for the digital age. (CB)
| CNET | BBC |
Carlos Slim es muy, muy rico
Forbes-ranked third richest man, Mexican mogul Carlos Slim, courted controversy this week after disparaging Bill Gates and Warren Buffett's philanthropic projects. Slim's $49 billion
fortune raises eyebrows amongst many in his own country, where the average wage is $7 per day. (ED)
| New York Post | San Diego Union-Tribune |
Nevada Dems reject Fox News
Plans for a Democratic debate hosted by Fox News collapsed after state and federal Dems pulled out, citing a comment by Fox's chairman as the reason. However, some say the party had been pressured to shun the conservative network. (BH)
| Las Vegas Review Journal | New York Times |
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| Masthead |
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Editors
Anna Balkrishna
Benjamin Hart
Catherine New
Contributors
Chelsea Bausch
Eli Dvorkin
Doug Levy
Gerry Mak
Mark Mangan
Andy Phillips
Jonathan Schultz
Production
Anjuli Ayer
Morgan Croney
Andrew Steinmetz
Design
Nicholas Feldman
Jessica Bauer-Greene
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About Us
Activate is an independent-thinking weekly news round-up produced by Flavorpill, a digital publishing company that filters cultural stimuli of all kinds.
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In addition to this weekly roundup of world news, Flavorpill also publishes ten other email magazines, covering ART, BOOKS, MUSIC, FASHION, and cultural events in six cities — NEW YORK, LOS ANGELES, SAN FRANCISCO, CHICAGO, MIAMI, and LONDON.
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