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World News Once a Week |
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| Published Thursday, July 31, 2008 |
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| Reuters/Danny Moloshok: Damage from an earthquake in Pomona, California. |
Issue 110
It's no cakewalk at the top of the food chain, as evidenced by this week's tales of re-election, resignation, and odd political
happenings. While Cambodia's prime minister muscled his way to five more years, Israel's unpopular Ehud Olmert pledged to step down in September. Zambia's missing leader, meanwhile, could be cast in the presidential version of Weekend at Bernie's. In the US, President Bush will leave his successor an economic mess, while Alaskan senator Ted Stevens was indicted for allegedly lying about oil-company gifts. Perhaps Stevens can console himself by gazing at the northern lights from Juneau
and marveling at their once-mysterious workings. Or maybe he can escape federal prosecution by launching into space as an astro-tourist. Ah, modern technology: ain't it Cuil?
Speaking of newfangled innovations (and changes in leadership): With the departure of the venerable Catherine New last week,
the Activate torch has been passed to myself, deputy editor Eli Dvorkin, and our cast of trusty contributors. We're planning
some new features, timely interviews, and the same pithy writing we hope you've come to enjoy. Stay tuned, newshounds.
- Benjamin Hart |
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| Top Stories |
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Cambodia's one-man show extends run
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Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen cruised to an easy re-election victory in what outsiders described as the country's calmest vote since its shift to multi-party
democracy in 1993. Sen, who has led Cambodia since 1985, is credited with helping to guide the once-destitute country to relative peace and prosperity. He has also benefited in recent weeks from the nationalist sentiment stirred up by the
dispute over a holy temple at the Thai-Cambodian border.
Despite the orderly proceedings, watchdog groups decry Sen's control of Cambodia's political apparatus. He has a stranglehold
on state-run television, oversees a government faulted with widespread corruption, and is accused by international observers
of disenfranchising opposition voters.
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Iraq bombings underscore ethnic tensions
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Several suicide bombings shook Iraq on Monday, leaving at least 61 people dead and hundreds wounded. The attacks, which targeted
Shi'a pilgrims in Baghdad and a pro-Kurd rally in Kirkuk, have reaffirmed fears of continued sectarian strife, despite a statistical decrease in violence over the past year.
The Kirkuk blast struck demonstrators who were protesting recent federal legislation that aims to restrict Kurdish influence in provincial elections. Although authorities suspect Sunni extremists, rumors that
blamed Kirkuk's ethnic Turkmen resulted in hours of rioting. In light of both the bombings and their aftermath, observers
contend that Iraq's rival ethnic groups are a long way from functioning together in a single, national government.
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Next US president to face staggering budget deficit
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President Bush will leave his successor with a formidable challenge: manage a struggling economy with a record budget deficit,
estimated at $482 billion. The deficit — the difference between the government's expenditure and its income — has skyrocketed,
thanks to a lagging economy, heavy tax cuts, and costly wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Deficits are nothing new for the Bush administration, which has posted one in every year since 2001, when Bush took office
with a surplus. But with campaign-trail promises like Barack Obama's pledge to expand health-care coverage and John McCain's vow to extend the Bush tax cuts, both presidential contenders should anticipate some belt tightening in 2009.
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| Newswire |
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| Politics |
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Senator indicted in corruption probe
A federal grand jury indicted Alaskan senator Ted Stevens on charges of willfully omitting income in his financial disclosure
forms. Stevens, the longest-serving Republican in the Senate, is accused of lying to investigators about accepting more than
$250,000 in corporate gifts.
| Washington Post | New York Times |
Deal struck with Philippine Muslim group
After years of deadly conflict, the Philippine government has reached a landmark agreement with a Muslim separatist group. The deal will expand the autonomous
Muslim region in the country's southern territory, with villages asked to vote on whether they wish to join.
| BBC | Al Jazeera |
Have you seen this president?
A month after he suffered a stroke — and was rumored to have died — Zambian president Levy Patrick Mwanawasa still has not resurfaced. Though government officials insist his condition is stable, Mwanawasa's absence is creating a power
vacuum in the country.
| Christian Science Monitor | Independent, South Africa |
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| Science & Technology |
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Space-tourism plane designs revealed
Virgin Galactic, a new Richard Branson venture, recently unveiled WhiteKnightTwo, a double-hulled "mother ship" that will usher a smaller, six-passenger craft to the edge of outer space. Despite the hefty
$200,000 fee, about 100 astro-tourists have already signed up to take flight.
| National Geographic | Washington Post |
Scientists crack aurora puzzle
NASA scientists have unraveled the mystery of the northern lights: the colorful atmospheric phenomena are caused by Earth's magnetic field lines periodically snapping forward and showering
the poles with charged particles. Researchers say the discovery may better enable predictions of solar-radiation storms.
| Scientific American | New York Times |
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| Blogosphere |
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'Google killer' dead on arrival?
A team that includes two former Google employees is attempting to dethrone the search-engine king with a site called Cuil. Although some bloggers are rooting for David to slay Goliath, many complain that the upstart's search results fall far short of the big G.
| TechCrunch | Search Engine Land |
Burgeoning debate over Internet literacy
A New York Times article is the latest in a series of pieces exploring how the Internet has altered traditional reading habits. Online scribes scoffed at the mourning of old media and
the refusal to acknowledge reading as an increasingly social phenomenon.
| Message | Althouse |
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| The Week in Pictures |
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Click to see the full-size image and caption.
 Reuters/Alexandra Beier
 Reuters/Jason Lee
 Reuters/David Moir
 Reuters/Andres Stapff
 Reuters/Leonhard Foeger
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*Unless otherwise noted, all photos are courtesy of Reuters.
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| Local Stories |
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China's rights record under Olympic scrutiny
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| Reuters/David Gray |
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Amnesty International accused China of ratcheting up the suppression of internal dissent in advance of next week's Olympic Games. The group also
criticized the International Olympic Committee for failing to push China to improve political freedoms in exchange for hosting
the event.
| Washington Post | Asia Times |
Kenya accused of 'disappearing' insurgents
Several advocacy groups allege that Kenyan security forces have committed war crimes while combating an ethnic militia in the country's Mount Elgon district. A human-rights organization has called for a halt in UK and US military aid until the charges are investigated.
| Guardian | BBC |
Australia reverses refugee-detention policy
Australia announced the end of a controversial immigration policy that mandated immediate detention for asylum seekers. While some conservative parliamentarians decried the reversal, citing
border-security concerns, supporters of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd lauded the move toward amnesty as long overdue.
| Sydney Morning Herald | The Australian |
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| Masthead |
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Managing Editor
Benjamin Hart
Deputy Editor
Eli Dvorkin
Contributing Editors
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Nick Earhart
Doug Levy
Andrew Phillips
Production
Adda Birnir
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Publishers
Mark Mangan
Sascha Lewis
Design
Groundwave Design Corp.
Production Design
Jonathan Rahmani
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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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