We've already covered the strikes in Europe over rising oil prices; now Rome has become the site of an emergency UN summit on the food crises that are sweeping the globe. Unsurprisingly, the U.S. has become a major target of international criticism over its food policies and interest in corn-based biofuels. From the LA Times: Delegates clashed during the second day of the three-day meeting over how much blame can be assigned to biofuels for......

Hear that sucking sound? The media's commitment to learning from its many recent mistakes in reporting ethics and the semantics thereof is again being sucked out of the collective memory hole. Two years ago, Hurricane Katrina survivors were initially referred to by numerous media outlets as "refugees." While "refugee" can be inferred to be descriptive of one who "takes refuge," the fact is that -- at least since the 1951 approval of the UN Convention......

Any time the President of the United States gets called the Devil in the United Nations, and gets a laugh, it gets a shot at being The Midnight Movie. Although this footage is edited, the major points made by Venezuela's leader are captured here, including the recommendation that we all read one of Noam Chomsky's books. Not sure if the professor will put Chavez's statement on the book jacket of his next printing, but......