7 stories you missed this week: Goldman Sachs jerk, threats to Obama, Andy Garcia as Saakashvili and swine flu in Iraq
Trust me there was plenty that happened this week that happened that was not MLB championship games or Sarah Palin's book. Here's a look at seven of those stories that fell through the news-cracks this week.
Seriously, how much angrier can we get at Goldman Sachs? Most of the country is still feeling the pinch as we head into what's being called a 'jobless' recovery but Goldman's employees have $16.7 billion in bonuses coming their way. And to top it off, this guy: Brian Griffiths, an adviser for the firm said, “We have to tolerate the inequality as a way to achieve greater prosperity and opportunity for all.” Yeah, I bet you're 'tolerating' it just fine on your pile of cash, buddy. From Bloomberg: Goldman Sachs’s Griffiths Says Inequality Helps All
America's bodyguards have too much on their plates. According to a Congressional report the Secret Service is very, very busy this year what with all the threats on the new President's life. The agency is also responsible for protecting past Presidents and Vice Presidents as well as fighting counterfeiting, but with the crazies out in force, it's been difficult to take care of everything this year. From The Boston Globe: Secret Service strained as leaders face more threats
In Tblisi, Georgia, Hollywood filmmakers are busy recreating the Georgian side of last year's brief war between Georgia and Russia. Andy Garcia is playing Mikhail Saakashvili. Thy say he sounds like he's reprising his role from Godfather III. From Wired's Danger Room: One Year Later, Hollywood Re-Fights Georgia-Russia War
Obama is supposed to go visit Japan's new government in a few weeks, but the new ministers want to seem independent from Washington's demands. They spent this week 'dithering' over the US military base on Okinawa, but at the end of the week Japan's foreign minister said they would keep it there. From the Washington Post: Japan FM: U.S. base should stay on Okinawa
Are you a state government running out of money? Maybe you should end the death penalty. That's what a new study released this week suggests, pointing out that many states are spending millions of dollars on what experts say is not even an effective deterrent. In California, which is desperately trying to save money every which way it can, the death penalty costs $137 million a year. From Mother Jones: The Death Penalty's Big Tab
Since things just can't get any worse in Iraq: thousands of schools have been closed in what some are calling panic over the swine flu. I loved this quote: "“It’s one of the side effects of democracy,” said Dr. Jaleel Al Shimari, general manager of the Baghdad Health Directorate for the Karkh section, who described most of the school closings as unauthorized." From the NY Times: Fear Over Swine Flu Closes Schools in Iraq
And because Ethiopia can never seem to catch a break: the African country is asking for emergency food aid for 6.2 million people. It's been 25 years since Ethiopia's massive famine, but they're facing major food shortages in the coming months. From BBC News: Ethiopia asks for urgent food aid
Anything we missed this week? Let us know!
Other stories from the Current News Blog this week:
- Rage Against Guantanamo - Rage Against the Machine, REM, Pearl Jam and more call for Gitmo closure
- US police make massive Mexican drug cartel bust
- Defining 'dithering' - Dick Cheney accuses President Obama of wasting time
- North American Union conspiracy hits the big time
- Captured by Somali pirates - A journalist's first hand story
- Meet the Uighurs - Laura Ling's interview with China's western dissidents
- Rio's drug violence: How Brazil's 2016 Olympics presage troubles for megacities
- Taliban trying to addict US soldiers to heroin?
Seriously, how much angrier can we get at Goldman Sachs? Most of the country is still feeling the pinch as we head into what's being called a 'jobless' recovery but Goldman's employees have $16.7 billion in bonuses coming their way. And to top it off, this guy: Brian Griffiths, an adviser for the firm said, “We have to tolerate the inequality as a way to achieve greater prosperity and opportunity for all.” Yeah, I bet you're 'tolerating' it just fine on your pile of cash, buddy. From Bloomberg: Goldman Sachs’s Griffiths Says Inequality Helps All
America's bodyguards have too much on their plates. According to a Congressional report the Secret Service is very, very busy this year what with all the threats on the new President's life. The agency is also responsible for protecting past Presidents and Vice Presidents as well as fighting counterfeiting, but with the crazies out in force, it's been difficult to take care of everything this year. From The Boston Globe: Secret Service strained as leaders face more threats
In Tblisi, Georgia, Hollywood filmmakers are busy recreating the Georgian side of last year's brief war between Georgia and Russia. Andy Garcia is playing Mikhail Saakashvili. Thy say he sounds like he's reprising his role from Godfather III. From Wired's Danger Room: One Year Later, Hollywood Re-Fights Georgia-Russia War
Obama is supposed to go visit Japan's new government in a few weeks, but the new ministers want to seem independent from Washington's demands. They spent this week 'dithering' over the US military base on Okinawa, but at the end of the week Japan's foreign minister said they would keep it there. From the Washington Post: Japan FM: U.S. base should stay on Okinawa
Are you a state government running out of money? Maybe you should end the death penalty. That's what a new study released this week suggests, pointing out that many states are spending millions of dollars on what experts say is not even an effective deterrent. In California, which is desperately trying to save money every which way it can, the death penalty costs $137 million a year. From Mother Jones: The Death Penalty's Big Tab
Since things just can't get any worse in Iraq: thousands of schools have been closed in what some are calling panic over the swine flu. I loved this quote: "“It’s one of the side effects of democracy,” said Dr. Jaleel Al Shimari, general manager of the Baghdad Health Directorate for the Karkh section, who described most of the school closings as unauthorized." From the NY Times: Fear Over Swine Flu Closes Schools in Iraq
And because Ethiopia can never seem to catch a break: the African country is asking for emergency food aid for 6.2 million people. It's been 25 years since Ethiopia's massive famine, but they're facing major food shortages in the coming months. From BBC News: Ethiopia asks for urgent food aid
Anything we missed this week? Let us know!
Other stories from the Current News Blog this week:
- Rage Against Guantanamo - Rage Against the Machine, REM, Pearl Jam and more call for Gitmo closure
- US police make massive Mexican drug cartel bust
- Defining 'dithering' - Dick Cheney accuses President Obama of wasting time
- North American Union conspiracy hits the big time
- Captured by Somali pirates - A journalist's first hand story
- Meet the Uighurs - Laura Ling's interview with China's western dissidents
- Rio's drug violence: How Brazil's 2016 Olympics presage troubles for megacities
- Taliban trying to addict US soldiers to heroin?
