News Junkie - Live Wire

ROBERT FEDER’S GIMMICK

It’s a subject I’ve left mostly alone, not because I’ve been told not to address it but because I’m hesitant to give airtime or blog space to a man who still calls Web traffic ‘hits‘ and has an unhealthy obsession with WGN Radio. Tonight, on the podcast, I’ll dive into the mud on this one. Stay tuned.

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FOX/CNN/MSNBC DISSECTED

Some great analysis of the current cable media landscape from CJR today. I disagree with a few points (especially the bit about MSNBC offering a rainbow of opinons) but this quote is interesting:

From personal experience covering news around the world, you almost always run into a CNN crew or stringer. You almost never run into a Fox reporter, and never one from MSNBC.

Read the whole thing at CJR’s website.

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ROY ASHBURN: “I’M GAY”

California State Senator Roy Ashburn admits to being a homosexual in an interview today on KERN. You can listen to the interview in this post and read the details here. Ashburn vows to carry on.

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BETTY WHITE TO SNL

After a massive online movement to draft her into the hosting duties at Saturday Night Live, Betty White confirms she will appear on the show.

But will she host?

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PETA TARGETS SEAWORLD

PETA sees a wounded opponent in SeaWorld after last month’s killer whale attack. Their latest mantra: “Let whales and dolphins ‘out of prison.’

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ADAM GADAHN CAPTURED

HUGE news out of Pakistan: American-born al-Qaeda leader Adam Gadahn has been arrested.

Update: It’s not him?

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NYT ON SCIENTOLOGY

‘Breaking With Scientology’ won’t hit print until tomorrow but you can read the New York Times assault on Scientology online right now.

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PHOTOS: TOYOTA HEARINGS

Executives from Toyota Motor Corp made the journey to Washington D.C. this morning to face down angry customers seething over their company’s recall follies. Take a look at these pictures from today’s event.

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THE BLOOM BOX

I can’t decide if the Bloom Box is the greatest invention ever or if I’m a bit like an old lady being conned by a slimy auto mechanic. Regardless, you have to watch this video. [Video]

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SCOTTY LAGO PHOTOS

Snowboarder Scotty Lago leaves the Olympic village in Vancouver after sexually suggestive photos of the bronze medalist and his trophy surfaced online. Lago says he’s in a ‘blackout’ and can’t talk about the event until next month. [View The Photos]

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RAY GOSLING ARRESTED

What happens when you admit to a murder on British public television? Well, you get arrested, of course. BBC presenter Ray Gosling arrested on suspicion of murder. [Details]

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TIGER WOODS PRESSER

Tiger Woods will finally reemerge from the shadows this Friday. The golf pro and reported sex addict is planning on holding a press conference at the PGA headquarters at 11AM Eastern. [Details]

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NORTHWEST BOMBING UPDATE

Two al-Qaeda leaders who planned the ‘underwear bomber’ attack were released from GITMO in 2007.


Obama Administration Set To Release GITMO Inmates In U.S.

This should cause some trouble…

GITMO RELEASE — The Obama administration is on the cusp of releasing into the United States some of the Chinese Muslims detained at Guantanamo Bay, according to current and former U.S. officials.
The decision is controversial within the government. Officials from the Department of Homeland Security have raised concerns and are objecting about the potential release.

An U.S. official familiar with the discussions over the Uighurs release


Chavez Welcomes GITMO Detainees

Chavez makes another play for international attention:

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has said he is prepared to receive detainees held by the US military at the Guantanamo Bay camp in Cuba.

US President Barack Obama has ordered the closure of the controversial camp, in which around 240 inmates are held, by next year.


GITMO Detainees Brag Of 9/11 Attacks

This document should be released later today… I’ll post it then:

The five detainees at Guantánamo Bay charged with planning the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks have filed a document with the military commission at the United States naval base there expressing pride at their accomplishment and accepting full responsibility for the killing of nearly 3,000 people.

Quote: “To us [the attacks] are not accusations.. they are a badge of honor”


CIA Destroyed 92 Interrogation Tapes

The CIA destroyed 92 tapes of terror interrogations, according to new documents, far more than had previously been acknowledged.

The figure was revealed as part of an ongoing lawsuit in New York involving the American Civil Liberties Union. This is the first time a figure has been established in connection with the destroyed tapes, which showed enhanced interrogation techniques including water-boarding.

The acknowledgment of dozens of destroyed tapes came in a


GITMO Detainee Now Free In UK

gitmofree

LONDON – A Guantanamo prisoner who claims he was tortured at a covert CIA site in Morocco returned to Britain a free man Monday after nearly seven years in U.S. captivity — the first inmate from the U.S. prison camp freed since President Barack Obama took office.

Binyam Mohamed flew into a British military base and was expected to be out of custody within hours.

So just who is this man?…


Fidel Castro: Give Back GITMO

The man who just won’t die lobs his first bomb at President Obama:

HAVANA — Fidel Castro on Thursday threw his first punch at President Obama after several weeks of praise for the new leader, demanding the U.S. return Guantanamo Bay military base to Cuba and criticizing the U.S. defense of Israel.

Castro’s latest essay, published on an official Web site, came one week after he called Obama “intelligent and noble” and


From GITMO To Al Qaeda Chief

This is precisely why the GITMO debate remains so heated:

CAIRO, Egypt – A Saudi man released from Guantanamo Bay after spending nearly six years inside the U.S. prison camp is now the No. 2 of Yemen’s al-Qaida branch, according to a purported Internet statement from the terror network.

The announcement, made this week on a Web site commonly used by militants, came as President Barack Obama ordered the detention facility closed


Murtha Wants GITMO Prisoners

I’d imagine more than a few constituents would disagree:

Rep. Jack Murtha, D-Pa., says he’d be willing to house prisoners from Guantanamo Bay in his congressional district if President Obama makes good on a plan to close the U.S. prison there.

As one of his first acts in office, the president circulated a draft Wednesday that would shut down Guantanamo Bay within a year.

Murtha only has a minimum security prison in


Obama Moves To Close GITMO

President Obama makes a move to begin the long process of closing GITMO:

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVY BASE, Cuba — Only hours after taking office, President Barack Obama late Tuesday ordered Pentagon prosecutors to seek a 120-day freeze in war crimes trials of prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba — his first action toward fulfilling a campaign pledge to close the controversial prison camp.

The motion, filed here by Pentagon prosecutor Clayton


Obama Planning To Close GITMO

WASHINGTON — President-elect Obama’s advisers are quietly crafting a proposal to ship dozens, if not hundreds, of imprisoned terrorism suspects to the United States to face criminal trials, a plan that would make good on his promise to close the Guantanamo Bay prison but could require creation of a controversial new system of justice.

During his campaign, Obama described Guantanamo as a “sad chapter in American history” and has said generally that


First GITMO Detainee Found Guilty

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE — A jury of six military officers at Guantanamo Bay reached a split verdict Wednesday in the war crimes trial of a former driver for Usama bin Laden, clearing him of some charges but convicting him of others that could send him to prison for life.

The Pentagon-selected jury deliberated for about eight hours over three days before convicting Salim Hamdan of supporting terrorism. He was cleared of


First GITMO Interrogation Video Leaks

The world got its first glimpse of a Guantanamo detainee this morning when lawyers for Omar Khadr released a video of the Toronto man’s 2003 interrogation by Canadian officials.

Khadr is 16 at the time and still recovering from the injuries he received from his capture seven months earlier by U.S. Special Forces in Afghanistan. He is being interviewed by a senior spy from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and foreign affairs