MJ

Which death/following procession and coverage was bigger: Michael Jackson or Princess Diana?

Let me do some research and I'll see if we have ever had a string of celebrity deaths like this before. I'm talking A-listers, not one-episode-on-MASH kind of people.

-jwl


-- Post From My iPhone

Zipcodes

On July 1, 1963 in New Orleans LA the zip code was born. You have them to thank for what Newman calls, "completely useless."

-jwl


-- Post From My iPhone

Honduras

A simply incredible story brewing in Honduras. The long-short of it (because that is why, well hopefully, you read this blog) is a military coup took place in the small equatorial country. The forced coup sent President Jose Manuel Zelaya packing, in his pj's no less, to Venezuela for refuge. The military instated President Roberto Micheletti as the new ruler and adopted a hard-line policy towards the deposed Zelaya, issuing criminal warrants if he were to return, propaganda on the abuse of his reign, and letting it personally known he is not welcome in the country.

The rub of it is this: The U.N. ruled two decades ago (ironically when these Latin American countries were experiencing frequent military coups) that a forced coup is not legally acceptable. The UN has demanded the reinstatement of Zelaya and begun the sanctions against the newly appointed Micheletti regime. It remains to be seen what impact Honduras will feel from said sanctions, or the effect it will have on the new regime, but today the deposed President Zelaya was denied a landing space in the capital city of Tegucigalpa.

Just a big mess folks, with (what little media is getting out) news outlets reporting the riots of civilains turning fatal. A social and political divide is ocurring, with supporters of either side turning to the streets.

No clue on how this is resolved in any timely manner, especially with Micheletti's seamingly complete control of the military. Definitely a story to keep your eyes on.

- JWL

Tiger and Roger

Federer wins his 15th grand slam today at Wimbledon, eclipsing the mark set by Pete Sampras. Truly phenomenal mark by him, and with a few years left in his career, could easily be increased.

Tiger win's his 3rd event of the year, the appropriately named Tiger Woods Open. This one gives Tiger 68 victories total in his career, remarkable at his age. It's a good thing Tiger does for our service men and women each year, and a classy tournament altogether.

Question, because I know this is not the first time. How many times have Tiger and Fed won on the same day?


http://www.cnn.com/2009/SPORT/07/05/tennis.wimbledon.roddick.federer.final/index.html

http://www.golf.com/golf/tours_news/article/0,28136,1908754,00.html

- JWL

CNN.com

CNN.com is always my go-to site for initial updates on national or international events. The site was just given the Edward R. Murrow award for excellence in electronic journalism. A very nice, affirming word in an age of dying news outlets.


http://www.rtnda.org/pages/media_items/2009-edward-r.-murrow-national-winners1799.php



- JWL

Cuban Defector

So, in the sporting world today, it appears as though a top pitching prospect from Cuba has defected. He apparently left his Netherlands hotel and refuses to return. As you would imagine, the Yankees are in the process of scooping this "kid" up (emphasis on kid with estimated age ranging from 20 to 26). Funny that no one can find him but the Yanks.

The idea of defection has always fascinating me. It takes a certain type of country to "defect" from. I do not think I'd be called a defector if I decided to live in England, but certainly if I picked North Korea or Afghanistan. Guess it comes down to the intent of the person. Bit of obvious commentary here but it seems to me there's a fine line between defecting and committing treason. At any rate, this kid throws 100mph fastballs so he is more than welcome.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4304688

-jwl


-- Post From My iPhone

More problems in Iran

I have thoroughly neglected all the stories coming out of the highly-disputed election in Iran. Well, frankly, the entire blog has been neglected. Anyways, a story comes out today that UK embassy staffers will be held trial in Tehran for their alleged involvement in inciting the post-election riots. This is of particular concern for me because of the lack of any semblance of democratic trials in the country. For example, see the last trial of Roxana Saberi, the American journalist accused of spying for the U.S. A trial behind closed doors, without her peers does NOT sound like a fair chance at justice. Granted, things ended up fine for her (well, as fine as it can be for someone locked up in Iran), but you can easily see why the U.K., and the Western world for that matter, are and should be concerned.

Now, democracy is not the will of everyone. To each their own is a great mantra. But, there's a real problem when governments not only misrepresent the accord of the people, or in this case outright deny the volition of so many. Really shows the disparity between these countries and the West. Be thankful folks.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/07/03/iran.uk.embassy.trial/index.html

- JWL