 |
 |
 |
 |
World News Once a Week |
|
 |
 |
| Published Thursday, May 1, 2008 |
|
 |
|
| Reuters/Gopal Chitrakar: A Tibetan protester shouts from a police van in Kathmandu. |
Issue 97
Whether their motive was religious revolution, the almighty peso, or just old-fashioned political power, violent bands of thugs had an especially destructive week. And, in at least one instance, the people meant to be policing
the bad guys were actually selling them guns.
Austria didn't need a roving pack of criminals — one man's incomprehensible cruelty was enough to rivet the nation. In the US, meanwhile, the skirmishes were of the verbal variety. One pitted Barack Obama
against frenemy Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who, to the chagrin of many, is most definitely ready for his close-up. Another politically charged argument ended when the Supreme Court issued a controversial ruling on voting rights.
Finally, for some news you can use (as fodder for your dystopian nightmares) — check out this colossal squid. Yep, that's the actual name of the species.
- Benjamin Hart |
|
|
 A Note on
Our Sources |
|
|
|
| Top Stories |
 |
Taliban flex muscle in assassination attempt
|
|
Afghanistan's embattled president Hamid Karzai narrowly escaped assassination on Sunday, after Taliban-linked operatives opened fire during a public ceremony in Kabul, killing three people. Security forces detained hundreds
after the shooting, as Karzai went on-air to reassure a rattled nation that the violence can be contained. However, the attack
underscores the recent spread of Taliban activity from its strongholds in southern Afghanistan into the north and east.
Although Karzai gave a recent interview in which he championed clemency for the Taliban, he remains a principle target due to his support for the 2001 US invasion.
This is not the first time Karzai has dodged a bullet: he has survived three other assassination attempts since taking office. (ED)
|
 BACK TO TOP |
Grand theft auto at the gas pump
|
|
The relentless increases in oil prices — which hit an all-time high of $120 a barrel this week — have left US politicians pointing fingers and offering gas tax holidays, while consumers wait in gas-station lines, count pennies, and carpool. Not everyone is feeling the pinch, however; Gulf states and oil companies continue to revel in petro-profits.
But the question remains: is the era of cheap energy over? The ever-rising demand for fuel, particularly in Asia, has coupled
with a Nigerian production shortage and British delivery problems to torque the most recent price jump. Politics — not peak oil — is the culprit, say pundits; environmentalists and oil analysts warn that prices will only keep climbing. (CN)
|
| BACK TO TOP |
|
|
The tortoise and Harare: Mugabe clings to power
|
|
Since Zimbabwe's presidential elections on March 29, President Robert Mugabe has maintained his grip on power through widespread intimidation and violence. Beatings and roundups of political opponents
have become increasingly commonplace (though some of the imprisoned have been released), while reporting on the situation is now risky business. Meanwhile, Mugabe continually refuses to release the contest's final results.
Still, momentum may favor the opposition. Complete parliamentary elections returns revealed a stinging loss for Mugabe's ruling
party. Zimbabwe's two central opposition figures, Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara, have put differences aside to form a united front. And preliminary results of the presidential vote are finally expected this week — with a runoff likely to follow. (BH)
|
| BACK TO TOP |
|
|
| Newswire |
|
|
|
| Politics |
|
Iran offers pipeline to India
Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was in South Asia this week to promote a proposed 1,600-mile pipeline that would send his country's natural gas into the energy-starved region. India is under pressure to reject the overture in order to maintain good US relations. (CN)
| New York Times | Al Jazeera |
Supreme Court upholds strict voting law
The US Supreme Court ruled that an Indiana law requiring voters to present photo ID is constitutional. The prevailing justices
cited voter-fraud concerns, while dissenters said the restrictions would disenfranchise low-income voters who don't possess driver's licenses or passports. (BH)
| Washington Post | New York Times |
UN traded weapons with Congo rebels
An 18-month BBC investigation has unearthed evidence that UN peacekeepers from India and Pakistan negotiated illegal arms
deals with rebel militias in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Sources claim the soldiers traded guns in exchange for gold and ivory. (ED)
| BBC | Times, UK |
|
| Science & Technology |
|
eBay takes aim at free Internet service
Popular online classifieds site Craigslist has been sued by minority stakeholder eBay, which claims the no-frills ad service is trying to dilute the e-commerce giant's 29% stake. The closed case has prompted
Craigslist's executives to accuse eBay of planning a hostile takeover. (CN)
| MSNBC | San Francisco Chronicle |
Record squid goes under the knife
Scientists are dissecting the carcass of a 900-pound squid, which has been kept frozen since it was caught near Antarctica in January 2007. The mysterious "colossal squid" (hefty cousin to the giant squid) is the largest ever captured. (BH)
| Guardian | Newsweek |
|
| Blogosphere |
|
It's all meme, meme, meme at nerd fest
Web superstars convened at MIT last weekend to rejoice in their own viral celebrity at the first annual ROFLcon, a forum for Internet phenomena. Presenters included the geeks behind Stuff White People Like and Marmaduke Explained, although our fave, Garfield Minus Garfield, didn't show. Tear. (CN)
| Laughing Squid | [Var]iable Expression |
Jeremiah was a bullhorn
As Jeremiah Wright roared back into the media glare with a speech at the National Press Club, Barack Obama went on the offensive by strongly denouncing his former pastor's views. Some considered Obama's statements necessary and heartfelt; others detected disingenuousness. (BH)
| Daily Kos | Red State |
|
|
| The Week in Pictures |
|
Click to see the full-size image and caption.
 Reuters/Guillermo Granja
 Reuters/Issei Kato
 Reuters/Russell Boyce
 Reuters/Gene Blevins
 Reuters/Fabrizio Bensch
|
*Unless otherwise noted, all photos are courtesy of Reuters.
|
|
|
| |
BACK TO TOP |
|
|
| Local Stories |
|
|
Drug wars heat up in Tijuana
|
 |
| Reuters/Stringer |
|
Thousands of federal police have flooded Mexican border metropolis Tijuana after massive gun battles between rival drug traffickers left 15 dead. Confiscated weapons have been linked to several other
killings, feeding a climate of fear in a region of the country where organized crime runs rampant. (ED)
| Los Angeles Times | San Diego Union-Tribune |
Abuse case shocks Austria
Joseph Fritzl, an Austrian engineer, confessed to imprisoning his daughter in the basement of his suburban home west of Vienna
for 24 years, as well as fathering seven children with her. Incredibly, authorities, neighbors, and Fritzl's own wife failed to uncover his crimes. (BH)
| CBC | Times, UK |
China gets tough on its ethnic Uighurs
Beijing has preemptively suppressed another ethnic minority in China's northwest region. The Uighurs — a Turkic people who practice Islam — have recently been arrested by the government for "terrorist" activities. Authorities fear a Tibet-styled independence movement could grow if left unchecked. (CN)
| Christian Science Monitor | TIME |
|
| BACK TO TOP |
|
|
|
|
|
| Masthead |
|
Editors
Anna Balkrishna
Eli Dvorkin
Benjamin Hart
Doug Levy
Catherine New
Contributors
Mark Mangan
Production
Morgan Croney
Andrew Steinmetz
Design
Nicholas Feldman
Jessica Bauer-Greene
|
A Note on Our Sources
A login may be required to view some of the news stories we link to. We try to keep
this to a minimum, but it's impossible to avoid entirely as we strive to link to the most authoritative sources.
It
should also be noted that we don't expressly endorse the views of any of the publications or websites that we link to. We
try to
provide as many varied and quality sources as we can in order to present you with the full story.
Contact Us
If you'd like to respond to our editors about a story published here, or comment on the magazine's
content more generally, please email feedback.
If you see a smart news story that you think should be included in Activate, email a link to articles,
and our editors will consider it.
Every week, Activate presents one exclusive media partner. Click for more information
about advertising opportunities on Activate and across all Flavorpill publications.
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.
[more » ]
In addition to this weekly roundup of
world news, Flavorpill publishes a series of online magazines, covering ART, BOOKS, MUSIC, and cultural events in six cities — NEW YORK, LOS ANGELES, SAN FRANCISCO, CHICAGO, MIAMI, and LONDON. Coming soon: STYLE/DESIGN and FILM. Subscribe now.
|
|
|
| BACK TO TOP |
|
| © 2008 Flavorpill Productions LLC. All rights reserved. |
 |
|
 |
