June 30th, 2009 // comments (0)

What In The Hell Is Happening In Honduras?

Most mainstream media outlets seem to be keeping their distance from this explosive ‘coup’ story in Honduras. Odds are this is less because they’re trying to defend the President’s inconsistencies with ‘meddling’ in international affairs and more because they don’t truly understand the story. So, let me take a minute (or a few paragraphs) and dive into the various reports that best describe the current situation in Honduras. Let’s start with the major players and move on to the brass…

June 28th, 2009 // comments (0)

Pro-Ahmadinejad Hacker Takes Over Briefly

The same pro-Iranian forces that hacked Oregon University’s servers have attacked TheNewsJunkie.com. The hacker forwarded all requests to the server to another address which contained the misspelled pro-Ahmadinejad script you’ll find below. I worked with my tech crew this AM to fix the problem and ensure it won’t happen again.

June 27th, 2009 // comments (0)

News Junkie Radio Show 06-27-09

The News Junkie Radio Show Audio Archive For June 27, 2009:

[podcast]http://www.thenewsjunkie.com/images/06-27-2009WGN.mp3[/podcast]

[Download Link - Click Here]

June 24th, 2009 // comments (0)

Sanford Finally Caves… But Who Is This OTHER Woman?

Yeah, yeah, yeah — so the story’s exploded at this point. I hit this one on before it was a blip on anyone’s radar and I knew from the start something wasn’t right. The ‘I’m not really worried about it’ response from South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford’s wife was beyond bizarre. I mean, it was Father’s Day weekend and her husband was MIA. In the next 48 hours we heard a myriad of stories and excuses about where the Governor…

June 23rd, 2009 // comments (0)

President Obama Orchestrates Q&A With Huffington Post Blogger

As I noted in a Facebook update earlier, imagine for a second, if you will, if President Bush orchestrated a presser question with a blogger from Red State or Free Republic. Do you think the response would be different? Not that there’s much of a response to this at all. But there should be. The President took another question from The Huffington Post today.

This is an openly partisan (in the President’s favor, of course) news outlet…

June 21st, 2009 // comments (0)

Behind The Numbers: CBS News/NY Times Health Care Poll

I’m guessing you’ve heard about the NY Times/CBS News health care poll released last night — timed, of course, to ensure extended coverage on the influential Sunday political talk show circuit. The headline making the copy/paste rounds today is some form of the following: Majority of Americans Support Public Health Care Option. But what should be grabbing your attention is the more bizarre revelations in this poll. It seems most Americans are happy with their health insurance and the…

June 17th, 2009 // comments (0)

What’s With The Media Silence On Walpin?

Odds are you have no idea who Gerald Walpin is. Don’t worry, it’s not your fault. The network newscasts have almost completely ignored this story. The mainstream outlets have had a rabid appetite for stories about a few firings under the previous President that may have been politically motivated, but this story isn’t attracting their attention. So why was IG Gerald Walpin fired? Well, if you ask him, he says he’s being ‘targeted’ for political reasons.

The

…

June 16th, 2009 // comments (0)

Day Three: Iranian Protests Continue Despite Media Blackout

Tehran Bureau is back up. I suggest following either that link or this one which will lead you to Andrew Sullivan’s non-stop-Iranian-chaos-blogathon. I’ll keep this post updated with the latest and greatest as the day progresses.

This post will be updated throughout the day with news on this story. (All Times Central)

11:35AM: More info about the press blackout at HotAir.com.

Obama’s latest remarks above… he’s walking the wire still but at least he’s talking.…

June 15th, 2009 // comments (0)

Chaos In Iran – Protests Rage After ‘Rigged’ Election

There are several great resources to catch the latest information on the aftermath of what appears to be a rigged election in Iran. Tehran Bureau is doing most of the hard round-it-up legwork so here’s a link in that direction. Their Sunday update was incredibly informative. Here’s a tidbit:

Also from my balcony facing north into the mountains, people are on their rooftops shouting “marg bar diktator” and “allaho akbar” ["Death to the Dictator!" and "God is Great!"]

total

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June 11th, 2009 // comments (0)

Lefty Blogs Quick To Make Political Points Of Body Counts

From my desk in the Chicago Tribune newsroom, I hear reporters chasing stories all day long. It brings me back to the days of smoke-filled news gathering areas where it was the story that mattered. These days, it’s less the story and more of the spin when it comes to measuring importance. Just the other day, a Trib reporter came over to my workspace and gave me a heads up on a developing story. There were early reports of an…

June 7th, 2009 // comments (0)

David Carradine Hanging Picture Leaks – Thai Magazine Under Fire

A magazine in Bangkok, Thailand is under fire for releasing a picture allegedly showing actor David Carradine hanging in his hotel room closet. The photo below does nothing to quell rumors that Carradine died of something other than the originally reported ‘suicide’. His hands are bound in a manner that appears to be impossible to do without the help of another.

David Carradine’s family is quite obviously upset about the release of this photo. They plan to take legal…

June 5th, 2009 // comments (0)

Iran’s Coming Election: Things Are Heating Up In Persia

There’s a lot of new angles to this Iranian election. Much to Ahmadinejad’s horror, there’s an actual contender. Former Prime Minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi is a pal of Mahmoud’s foe Mohammad Khatami and he’s giving the President a run for his money. Though the campaign has been a bit boring at points, last night a debate between the two main contenders was rife with action. Watch the translated Iranian presidential debate below and keep an eye out for the moment when…

June 3rd, 2009 // comments (0)

All Access: NBC Goes Behind-The-Scenes At The White House

NBC News went behind-the-scenes at the White House last week and they’re playing back the captured video all week long. Sure, the administration put on their best faces for the cameras and controlled the message. But there’s some great insight to be gained from this footage. Below, spread out across several videos, you’ll see the lions share of the coverage. From Axlerod’s office to the daily activities of Rahm Emanuel and the assistants to the President, it’s some compelling stuff.…

June 1st, 2009 // comments (0)

The George Tiller Murder – Inside The Demented Mind Of Scott Roeder

There are a few subjects I distance myself from on the radio show. I’ve never been a big fan of talking about the conflict in Gaza — you don’t get anywhere and debate often turns to fisticuffs — and I like to keep my distance from the abortion debate for the same reason. Though I think emotion makes for great radio, I don’t enjoy spinning my wheels in a useless debate. Still, I can’t help but dive into the story…