LONDON - A British computer hacker has won his 10-year fight against extradition to the U.S. with the U.K. government saying he was unfit to face the charges against him.
By Rachel Donado, New York Times, October 7/8, 2012
[....] Nothing embodies the failures of the Italian state more neatly than the highway from Salerno to Reggio Calabria. Critics see it as the rotten fruit of a jobs-for-votes culture that, nurtured by the organized crime that is endemic in southern Italy, has systematically defrauded the state while failing its citizens, leaving Calabria geographically and economically isolated.
Pew Research Center for People and The Press, September 28, 2012
Young voters are significantly less engaged in this year’s election than at a comparable point in 2008 and now lag far behind older voters in interest in the campaign and intention to vote. The share of voters younger than 30 who are following campaign news very closely is roughly half what it was at this point four years ago (18%, down from 35%). Just 63% of young registered voters say they definitely plan to vote this year, down from 72% four years ago.
Outside Pittsburgh, they are proclaiming a strike, taking to Twitter and Facebook to spread the word. In a village near Milwaukee, hundreds staged a boycott. In a small farming and ranching community in western Kansas, they have produced a parody video. And in Parsippany, N.J., the protest is six days old and counting.
They are high school students, and their complaint is about lunch — healthier, smaller and more expensive than ever. [....]
By Robert F. Worth, New York Times, October 6/7, 2012
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — For months, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have been funneling money and small arms to Syria's rebels but have refused to provide heavier weapons, like shoulder-fired missiles, that could allow opposition fighters to bring down government aircraft, take out armored vehicles and turn the war’s tide.
By Cass Jones and Owen Bowcott, guardian.co.uk, 6 October 2012
The Islamist cleric Abu Hamza and four other terrorism suspects have arrived in the US after being extradited from Britain, US officials have confirmed.
The GOP nominee does damage control on Fox News after Obama fails to confront him on it during their debate.
By Walt Cronkite, National Journal, October 4, 2012
Mitt Romney, trying to distance himself from perhaps his most damaging campaign moment, said Thursday that his infamous “47 percent” remarks were “completely wrong.”
By Jason Zengerle, New York Magazine, Sept. 30 for Oct. 8, 2012 print issue
American politics has gone gaga for poll numbers—while polling pros feel less and less certain about the methodology behind the madness. Some days even Nate Silver is left scratching his head.
By Dwight Garner, New York Times/Books, October 1/2, 2012
Who is the most famous hunter in America? If you’re over 30, the first names that come to mind are probably Sarah Palin, Ted Nugent or Dick Cheney. If you’re under 30, the answer is easier. The most famous hunter in America is Mark Zuckerberg, the billionaire founder of Facebook.
Nathan R. Sherfpinkski guest post @ Thomas Ricks' blog @ ForeignPolicy.com, October 2, 2012
In an hour-long conference call hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations yesterday, Iranian Foreign Minister, Ali Akbar Salehi discussed a range of issues including: nuclear ambitions, Syria, and anti-American sentiment. His tone was measured and notably non-inflammatory.
Salehi, who received a PhD from MIT, described Iran as [.....]
By Charles Kaiser, New York Review of Books Blog, September 25, 2012
If you were born after 1970, I think it is nearly impossible to imagine how it felt to open up The New York Times Magazine on a Sunday morning in January 1971 to discover “What it Means to be a Homosexual,” a deeply personal and beautifully written piece in defense of homosexuality.
