tagged w/ News_Featured
-
FROM THE NEWS BLOG:
With the Dow back up over 10,000 and Goldman Sachs raking in profits again surely we could see some improvement in the housing market? Not yet, reports the Wall St Journal:
"The supply of foreclosed homes listed for sale has dwindled largely because of government-mandated efforts to save as many borrowers as possible from losing their homes. That campaign has gummed up the foreclosure process, slowing the flow of houses into bank ownership—but only temporarily. Over the next few years, housing analysts believe, millions of other homes are heading for bank ownership, but no one can say how long that will take or when a sudden torrent of bank-owned properties may swamp certain local markets."
They point to a few specific metro areas including Las Vegas, Phoenix, Miami and Sacramento - but the problem is pretty nationwide. Are we looking at another whole wave of foreclosures across the US? We reported on the first one as it happened in a Collective Journalism investigation "Foreclosure Sweet Home" (Below)
Have you been seeing foreclosures in your neighborhood? In your town? Let us know - we'd like to do a follow-up online to this story.FROM THE NEWS BLOG:
With the Dow back up over 10,000 and Goldman Sachs raking in... more
-
-
CJ contributor Kassim Mohammed was captured this summer by Somali pirates. He wrote up his account on the Committee to Protect Journalists blog.
Here's an excerpt:
Along the route, a confrontation ensues between the pirates onboard while deep in the Gulf of Aden. A section is opposed to the idea of a journalist recording and visiting the highly guarded territory. Two of them turn, pointing their AK-47 rifles at me. At this point I am speechless that the men who only a few minutes ago were friends are baying for my blood.
After more than four hours roaming the Gulf of Aden, we finally come ashore. They lead me to a dark room and hold me hostage for eight hours, often threatening me: “You’re going to die in the next four hours if we don’t get a kill today,” one of them says.
My Sony H4 Zoom recorder is my only companion as I keep the record button on, making sure that I leave evidence even if they end my life. At this point, I reflect on my initial questions that led me to this mission: Who is behind this trade and does it have links to the development that is on going back in Eastleigh? My nose for news is slowly being replaced by a desire to survive the ordeal. I keep praying for a quick intervention. I see July 31 as my last day on Earth.
Eventually, they release me, but not before a parting shot: Western forces must respect Somalia. “You must tell the international community that we are here to stay despite what the U.S., Russia, and France do,” the ringleader, Guled, said. “They should respect our waters and avoid dumping waste here.”CJ contributor Kassim Mohammed was captured this summer by Somali pirates. He wrote up... more
-
-
FROM THE NEWS BLOG:
One of the topics we follow closely here at Current News is the growth of megacities in the developing world. As more and more of the world's citizens leave their farms and take up residence in urban settings, cities like Lagos in Nigeria, Chongqing in China and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil become visions of our possible future.
Rio's winning of the 2016 Olympics was seen by many as a recognition of the growing influence of such cities. This week, however, Rio has been engulfed in violence as its drug gangs have gone toe-to-toe with its police. In this dramatic video you can see that gangs even managed to down a police helicopter.
From the NYTimes:
"For years, the police essentially abandoned the shantytowns, or favelas, that ring the city’s wealthier neighborhoods, following a policy that resembled containment more than enforcement. That allowed drug traffickers to create strongholds where violence is pervasive. And as the downing of the helicopter illustrated, the police have not done enough to slow the flow of weapons into the favelas."
This is the sort of strategy we'll see more and more of in developing megacities as under-resourced municipal services strain under the pressure of rapidly growing populations. The Olympics, as it so often serves to highlight a country, may end up highlighting this escalating drama in Rio.
If you're down in Rio, let us know. We'd love to hear your perspective from down there.FROM THE NEWS BLOG:
One of the topics we follow closely here at Current News is the... more
-
-
Adrian Baschuk's "Cuba: Waiting for a Revolution" premieres tomorrow night on Current TV.
He sets the scene on the Vanguard blog. Here's an excerpt:
"One of the toughest parts of this job is trying to cover all sides. I absolutely bring an unfiltered lens on my journeys. Never do I assume nor tote along preconceived notions of a place, person, or issue. The work is thus fascinating and becomes a process of discovery that I try to bring viewers along for. Watch that process of discovery unfold this Wednesday night in “Cuba: Waiting for a Revolution.”
Cuba, however, presented the ultimate challenge in objectivity. Views vary wildly on everything from the effectiveness of the US embargo, its human rights record, its provision of free social services, its authoritarian tendencies, etc etc etc. The responses I got on such issues from 80-year-old exiles who fled Cuba post-Castro differed from a US Congressman which differed from a young Cuban skater in Havana which differed from a University of Miami student in Coral Gables. Point is, the past, present, and future of this country was incredibly complex to cover and certainly will stir debate."Adrian Baschuk's "Cuba: Waiting for a Revolution" premieres tomorrow... more
-
-
User current89 pointed us to this story: Obama Issues New Medical Marijuana Policy.
"The Obama administration will not seek to arrest medical marijuana users and suppliers as long as they conform to state laws, under new policy guidelines to be sent to federal prosecutors Monday."
This is a much different tact than the Bush Administration, which carried out federal raids over the protests of state and local officials.
As more states relax their laws around medical marijuana and dispensaries like California's become more common - should we anticipate a shift in federal law that follows this trend? Or will marijuana legalization prove to still be too divisive of a national issue to tackle during Obama's term?User current89 pointed us to this story: Obama Issues New Medical Marijuana Policy.... more
-
-
FROM THE NEWS BLOG:
That's the question Adrian Baschuk of the Vanguard team went down to Havana to find the answer to. And that's the subject of next week's episode.
Cuba was under the rule of Fidel Castro for pretty much all of the last 50 years, but now with Fidel's brother Raul in charge and a new American President talking reconciliation, a lot of Cuba-watchers are wondering if big change is in the works. There are plenty of little changes happening that give cause to their interest. For example, The Economist reported this week on a small change in the country's lunch policy.
"THIS month staff at four government ministries in Havana had to make new arrangements for lunch. The ministries’ free canteens were shut down and workers given a wage increase of 15 pesos ($0.60) a day in compensation. Since that raises their salaries by more than half in return for losing an often poor-quality lunch, on this occasion Granma, the daily newspaper of the ruling Communist Party, may have got it right when it headlined the news, “Giving, more than taking away”.
And today the Miami Herald reports that Cuba has just given the US access to meet with jailed dual-citizens. This in addition to the recent relaxing of travel restrictions for American citizens of Cuban descent.
Possibly significant changes - but do they herald a coming revolution in Cuba? Is Communism on the island approaching its end? Tune in next week to Vanguard and find out what Adrian learned.
Things you can do while you wait for next week's episode of Vanguard:
- Subscribe to the Vanguard Blog
- Join the group Cuba at 50
- Watch The Oxycontin Express (and exclusive extras from the show)FROM THE NEWS BLOG:
That's the question Adrian Baschuk of the Vanguard team went... more
-
-
FROM THE VANGUARD BLOG:
By Mariana van Zeller
Sometimes it takes an outside perspective to piece it all together. I’m reading today’s LA Times story about Vanguard and even though I sat down for an interview with Matea Gold to talk about what it was like to work here while our friends Laura and Euna were being detained in North Korea, it didn’t really come together until just now.
We’ve all been swept up in preparation for the season that premieres tonight, and for the months during Laura and Euna’s absence, keeping busy was one way we all dealt with the grief and anxiety.
Darren and I were in Sri Lanka in March, reporting on the end of the war there when we got the call. It was four in morning. It was surreal, but we thought it would be only a matter of days before they were released and we completed our assignment.
In May, we were driving through Kentucky to interview the Lt. Governor Daniel Mongiardo with Cerissa Tanner, our co-producer on “The OxyContin Express”, when word came that Laura and Euna were going to be sentenced. We pulled over to the side of the highway and even though none of us are particularly religious, we prayed. The whole making of this season was filled with moments like this. But to know how much Laura had put into building Vanguard, we felt there was nothing better we could do than to keep it going.
For me, tonight’s premiere is an emotional one, not just because of the powerful subject, but because I remember the cloud under which it was produced. Of course, most of that cloud was lifted on Aug. 4th when the team gathered around the TV to watch Laura and Euna boarding a plane in North Korea.
The rest will lift as we dedicate this season to them.FROM THE VANGUARD BLOG:
By Mariana van Zeller
Sometimes it takes an outside... more
-
-
FROM THE NEWS BLOG:
Riding a huge wave of popularity after defeating the insurgent Tamil Tigers this year, Sri Lanka's government has called early elections. From the BBC:
"Mr Rajapaksa, who is hugely popular among the Sinhalese majority, is likely to score a clear victory. The opposition is weak and the president is hoping for a two-thirds majority which would enable him to change the constitution, possibly making provision for more than two successive presidential terms. He has said that he will wait until after the vote to introduce political reforms aimed, for instance, at addressing Tamil grievances."
The Tamil minority will probably not be happy waiting that long to have their greivances addressed, especially with over 200K Tamils still in refugee camps that are likely to flood with the coming monsoon season. If the government waits too long could they kick off another Tamil insurgency? It's a danger they might be running. And after a thirty year war, it's probably something they should be concerned about.
The new season of Vanguard features a report by Mariana van Zeller on Sri Lanka's fight against the Tigers: "Sri Lanka: Notes from a War on Terror". She looks at what it took for the Sinhalese majority to finally stamp out an incredibly resilient insurgency - and what counter-insurgency campaigns the world over can learn from their efforts (and what not to do).
Mariana's first report in the new season airs tomorrow night on Current at 10pm ET and again at 10pm PT. It's called The Oxycontin Express and deals with prescription drug abuse in the US. You can also catch her on Dr. Phil today talking about what she learned on that story.FROM THE NEWS BLOG:
Riding a huge wave of popularity after defeating the insurgent... more
-
-
FROM THE NEWS BLOG:
In a flurry of legislation-signing yesterday, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger put a lot of new bills into law, including one to release 20,000 to 25,000 inmates from California prisons. It's estimated that this will save the state about $270 million though it's still less than the 40,000 that a panel of federal judges ordered the state to release.
California's prisons are famously over-crowded, creating all sorts of institutional problems as well as budgetary problems. Earlier this week (before the legislation was signed) lawyers representing California inmates called for the Governor to be held in contempt of court for not complying with the judges' orders and that the system cannot provide adequate mental health and medical care. Vanguard's Laura Ling reported from one of them: Corcoran State Prison. (video in the comments below)
Releasing prisoners will take some of the strain off the state, and supporters of the plan say that ever-stricter stances on crime (such as California's "Three Strikes Law") have unnecessarily put many thousands behind bars. But some are unsurprisingly nervous about a new influx of ex-cons on California's streets.
What do you think? Can California stand to release some of the pressure on its prisons system? What else could they do?FROM THE NEWS BLOG:
In a flurry of legislation-signing yesterday, California Governor... more
-
-
FROM THE NEWS BLOG:
Riding high on their victory over the Taliban in the Swat Valley this May, the Pakistani Army has been planning another offensive near the Afghanistan border. Meanwhile the Taliban haven't exactly gone away. They claimed responsibility for massive car bomb in Peshawar last week and then this weekend, they stormed the Pakistani Army's headquarters and took hostages.
Wait, what?
Yeah, that's right, the Army's headquarters. From Sunday:
"Militants are holding up to 15 soldiers hostage inside Pakistan’s army headquarters today after they and others attacked the complex earlier in the day, killing at least six soldiers. Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas says no army or intelligence leaders are among those being held. The militants, armed with assault rifles and grenades and wearing military uniforms, stormed the heavily guarded compound in the city of Rawalpindi."
Worse for the military, the NY Times reported today that Pakistan's police actually sent the military a letter warning them that this attack was evident. And yet still they were overwhlemed.
As I mentioned above, in a few weeks time, Pakistan's army is about to launch another major offensive against the Taliban. The Telegraph reports from the region that they'll face tough resistance. Their reporter found a small growing army of foreign fighters and local teenagers hankering for a fight. A symbolically worrisome quote:
"I remember when the British rulers attacked Waziristan," said Hazrat Hussein, a farmer aged 70 who has shouldered a rusty Kalashnikov to join the fight. "The British could not control these tribes," he added with pride.
If you're in Pakistan, let us know. We'd love to hear a local perspective on how this series of blows to the military affects locals confidence in their efforts.FROM THE NEWS BLOG:
Riding high on their victory over the Taliban in the Swat Valley... more
-
-
FROM THE NEWS BLOG:
This weekend was the Human Rights Campaign gathering in DC. There was a gala dinner and a big gay march. President Obama gave a speech at the dinner and promised (again) to end "Don't Ask Don't Tell". It was an important night for Obama, who's commitment to the gay rights movement has been in question lately.
So that was Saturday night and then Sunday there was the big march. And meanwhile online, people were pointing out that the speech Obama gave was more or less a recycled campaign speech.
And so not 24 hours after the speech came this from CNBC Chief Washington Correspondent John Harwood who said the Obama Administration wasn't worried about gay activists. He said:
"Barack Obama is doing well with 90% or more of Democrats so the White House views this opposition as really part of the Internet left fringe....For a sign of how seriously the White House does or doesn't take this opposition, one adviser told me those bloggers need to take off the pajamas, get dressed, and realize that governing a closely divided country is complicated and difficult."
Which is perhaps a good point. Obama's approval ratings are still looking good, and he's got a lot of other big ticket items on his plate right now. And being in the middle of two wars and with the Administration's relationship with the military seemingly strained of late, maybe they don't want to force through a big change to existing military policy.
So when will the time be right? When do you think Obama will end Don't Ask Don't Tell? When do you think he should?FROM THE NEWS BLOG:
This weekend was the Human Rights Campaign gathering in DC.... more
-
-
FROM THE NEWS BLOG:
My first reaction to the Obama Nobel announcement was "What? Really?" Completely surprised. And it turns out, so was the rest of the internet (er, the world) was too.
Why Obama? Well the Nobel committee cites his efforts to create a new climate of international politics. Good reason, but you could argue he's only just begun with that. From the statement: "Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future."
Is this award a boon to Obama or a new albatross of expectation? Many commentators fear it will be the latter.
Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo sees the reasons behind it:
"This is an odd award. You'd expect it to come later in Obama's presidency and tied to some particular event or accomplishment. But the unmistakable message of the award is one of the consequences of a period in which the most powerful country in the world, the 'hyper-power' as the French have it, became the focus of destabilization and in real if limited ways lawlessness. A harsh judgment, yes. But a dark period. And Obama has begun, if fitfully and very imperfectly to many of his supporters, to steer the ship of state in a different direction. If that seems like a meager accomplishment to many of the usual Washington types it's a profound reflection of their own enablement of the Bush era and how compromised they are by it, how much they perpetuated the belief that it was 'normal history' rather than dark aberration."
Time's Mark Halperin writes that it's only fuel for his critics:
"Barack Obama's critics have long accused him of being a man of "just words," rather than concrete actions and accomplishments. The stunning decision to award him the Nobel Peace prize for, basically, his rhetoric, will almost certainly infuriate his detractors in America more than it will delight his supporters."
And The National Review seems to support that, echoing a pretty wide cynical tone from the right
"Obama isn't the first American president to win the Nobel Peace Prize, but he's the first to win it without having accomplished anything. In 1906, Theodore Roosevelt (five years on the job) had encouraged international arbitration and helped mediate peace between Russia and Japan. In 1919, Woodrow Wilson (six years on the job) helped end the First World War through American intervention and then worked for peace afterward — the Versailles Conference was a disaster, but nobody understood quite how at the time and Wilson, for all his faults, was certainly well intentioned. In 2002, Jimmy Carter (more than two decades after the job) was recognized, rightly or wrongly, for a variety of humanitarian efforts. They all had track records. Obama's award is simply the projection of wishful thinking."
What do you think of Obama's surprise win? Will it help or hurt his efforts?FROM THE NEWS BLOG:
My first reaction to the Obama Nobel announcement was "What?... more
-
-
Amazing pictures from the BBC of Menik Farm, the refugee camp in Sri Lanka currently housing over 240,000 Tamils.
This is just one of the camps in the country housing Tamil refugees who fled the fighting in the country's north earlier this year.
(This photo is not from their set, but is from Menik Farm. Click through for their photos.)
The question for these refugees is how soon will the government let them return to their homes and villages?Amazing pictures from the BBC of Menik Farm, the refugee camp in Sri Lanka currently... more
-
-
This week is the eighth anniversary of the beginning of the War in Afghanistan, and still security is a question in the streets of Kabul.
"A suicide bomb exploded outside the Indian embassy in Kabul this morning, killing 17 people and wounding dozens.
The force of the rush-hour blast flattened walls and rattled windows up to a mile away. Television news footage showed soldiers and passersby pulling a severed leg from a destroyed vehicle.
The Afghanistan interior ministry, which is based in the same road as the Indian embassy, confirmed that 15 civilians and two Afghan police officers were killed. Officials said at least 76 people were wounded.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the explosion and confirmed that the embassy was the target."This week is the eighth anniversary of the beginning of the War in Afghanistan, and... more
-
-
Der Spiegel has a great story of a Palestinian couple, he in Gaza and she in the West Bank, who came together despite the blockade and travel restrictions. How? The bride crawled through a smugglers’ tunnel out of Egypt.
"When Mohammed Warda first took his bride in his arms she looked “as if she had just stepped out of a grave that was filled with earth.” He had spent an hour sitting nervously by a big hole in the ground in the Gaza Strip, while May crawled backwards through the tunnel, keeping her eyes closed because of the sand that trickled from the roof. Her groom had to pay $1,500 (€1,021) for her to be smuggled through a tunnel from the Egyptian side of the border to the Gaza Strip. And 23-year-old May knew the whole time that the risky undertaking could cost her her life."
These tunnels serve in many ways as a lifeline for Gazans to the rest of the world, providing them with many valuable supplies that the Israeli blockade won’t let through. They’re also used to smuggle weapons to resistance groups. Zouheir al-Najjar a Gazan and contributor to Collective Journalism made the journey himself (Video in the comments).Der Spiegel has a great story of a Palestinian couple, he in Gaza and she in the West... more
-
-
Baja California is a popular tourist destination for many Americans, particularly those of us out here on the West coast. So to service us, the local authorities are setting up a special bilingual unit to police from Tijuana 50 miles south through Rosarito to Ensenada.
Mexico's authorities say tourism has remained strong despite the escalating drug war. Cities along the border have been hit particularly hard, including Tijuana. Surely though, they must be thinking of perceptions of the region with tourists to the north, and hoping that this new task force will help.
Been to Mexico lately? Tell us about it - did you feel safe?Baja California is a popular tourist destination for many Americans, particularly... more
-
-
Obama met with Congressional leaders yesterday and ruled out a sharp reduction in troop levels in Afghanistan. He was also hesitant about a large increase in troop levels. From the NY Times:
"Mr. Obama seemed to be searching for some sort of middle ground, saying he wanted to “dispense with the straw man argument that this is about either doubling down or leaving Afghanistan,” as White House officials later described his remarks."
Meanwhile, the Taliban released a statement on their website asserting that they do not want to fight Western countries, but will continue to oppose foreign troops in Afghanistan. From Reuters:
“We had and have no plan of harming countries of the world, including those in Europe … our goal is the independence of the country and the building of an Islamic state,” the Taliban said in a statement on the group’s website www.shahamat.org. “Still, if you (NATO and U.S. troops) want to colonize the country of proud and pious Afghans under the baseless pretext of a war on terror, then you should know that our patience will only increase and that we are ready for a long war.”
This will be a challenging few weeks for the Obama Administration as they puzzle out what their next steps will be on Afghanistan. Looking to the public, a new poll suggests they have suport for the war, but not necessarily for a large increase in troop levels. From AFP:
"Sixty-five percent of US voters “are willing to have American soldiers ‘fight and possibly die’ to eliminate the threat of terrorists operating from Afghanistan,” according to the Quinnipiac University poll. Only 28 percent said otherwise."
Today is the anniversary of the beginning of the Afghanistan War. US soldiers have been there for 8 years now, and there doesn’t seem yet to be a clear exit. What do you think the next steps in Afghanistan are? Anyone out there in the military who’s back from Afghanistan? Maybe you can shed a little light on the situation on the ground for us?Obama met with Congressional leaders yesterday and ruled out a sharp reduction in... more
-
-
FROM THE BLOG:
After a failed execution attempt in September, Ohio is reconsidering its execution procedures. While the state figures things out, its governor Ted Strickland, has issued reprieves for inmates facing impending executions.
The inmate in the failed September attempt, Romell Broom, was convicted in the abduction, rape and murder of a 14 year old girl, though he maintains his innocence. A court has blocked any further attempts to execute him until further notice. His experience is described in the Guardian:
"Three guards stood around him as two nurses tried to insert needles into his arms. "The female nurse tried three separate times to access veins in the middle of my left arm. The male nurse tried three separate times to access veins ... in the middle of my right arm," Broom said in the affidavit. The nurses worked for 30 minutes without success and then took a break. "After the break, the female nurse tried twice to access veins in my left arm. She must have hit a muscle because the pain made me scream out loud," Broom said. "The first time the male nurse successfully accessed a vein in my right arm. He attempted to insert the IV, but he lost it and blood started to run down my arm."
Eventually the female nurse decided she could not go on and walked out of the room. A second break was called.
When the attempt to execute him resumed Broom said he was in such pain: "I tried to assist them by helping to tie my own arm." The male nurse massaged Broom's left arm and laid hot towels across it in an attempt to make a vein stand out, but it proved futile and a third break was called.
"At that point I became very upset. I began to cry because I was in pain and my arms were swelling," said Broom. "I requested that they stop the process and I requested to speak with my attorney."
But the attempt to kill him did not stop. A third nurse entered the room and hunted for a vein in Broom's right ankle. The needle hit the bone and he screamed.
After two hours the prison director, Terry Collins, contacted Strickland who called off the execution."
Death penalty opponents are hopeful that Ohio's reconsideration of their execution procedures may turn into a reconsideration of whether or not to execute at all.
What do you think? Does the Broom case make a good point against the death penalty, or is this just an aberration?FROM THE BLOG:
After a failed execution attempt in September, Ohio is reconsidering... more
-
-
As Sri Lanka's civil war came to an end earlier this year, camps in the north of the country overflowed with refugees fleeing the fighting. The camps, though they're only to be temporary, have drawn criticism from human rights groups for their conditions and for the fact that some of them will not let refugees leave. Now, after massive flooding in August, officials are rushing to get the camps ready for monsoon season:
"In August, sudden storms flooded many of the vast camps, submerging toilets and contaminating water. Thousands of makeshift homes were also damaged in the rainfall. Now the Sri Lankan government says it is rapidly installing drainage systems in the camps ahead of the monsoon. About 10% of refugees have been allowed to leave, and the government says it intends to resettle most of the others by the end of this year."
The camps are helped in great part by international funding - but some critics abroad are less than enthused with the Sri Lankan's government reluctance to allow refugees to return to their homes or villages. The UK has recently announced its intention to withdraw all but emergency funding for the camps, saying that about 70% of the inhabitants could leave.
"The announcement came after the UK Development Minister Mike Foster visited the biggest camp at Menik Farm. He said 70% of people should be able to leave and stay with host families. Refugees say conditions are poor, with inadequate drinking water and drains, and illness due to the hot conditions. Many are pleading to be allowed home."
The government's treatment of the Tamil refugees is a cause of concern for international observers, particularly after the devastating end to the civil war. Will Sri Lanka come through on its promises to treat the refugees humanely and restore civil government to the formerly rebel-controlled regions?
As a part of our upcoming Vanguard season, Mariana van Zeller reports from Sri Lanka on the civil war. Make sure to check it out.As Sri Lanka's civil war came to an end earlier this year, camps in the north of... more
-
-
For the last few days clashes have broken out in Jerusalem near the complex known to Jews as Temple Mount and to Muslims as Haram-al-Sharif.
"On Monday, minor clashes broke out at the mosque, although tens of thousands of Jewish worshippers attended a blessing ceremony at the Western Wall for the Jewish holiday of Sukkot without major incident. Police said they closed the mosque to male worshippers under 50 after finding wheelbarrows full of stones inside the complex. Elsewhere in Jerusalem, an Israeli policeman was stabbed in the neck while carrying out an inspection on a bus. Reports said youths began throwing stones after a Palestinian was arrested in connection with the attack."For the last few days clashes have broken out in Jerusalem near the complex known to... more
-
