South Sudan Gains Statehood

When I first saw the news yesterday morning, with images of jubilation among the population, I thought, hmm, how's this going to work out? Sudan is one of the world's most crisis-ridden states, as measured by Foreign Policy Magazine "Failed States Index, 2011."

And see Los Angeles Times, "South Sudan, world's newest nation, is instantly one of the most troubled":

The countdown clock ran out, the flag ascended over the fledgling capital and a new nation born from Africa's longest civil war and the deaths of 2 million people joined the world.

The mood was euphoric Saturday in Juba as the Republic of South Sudan formally declared its independence from the north, its bitter antagonist for generations. For the day, at least, a people weary of conflict were willing to ignore that their nation came into being as one the world's most troubled states.

Dozens of heads of state gathered outside the mausoleum of southern war hero John Garang at a massive ceremony featuring marching soldiers. Thousands of ordinary Sudanese crammed into the parade grounds, singing and cheering.

The man sworn in as South Sudan's first president, Salva Kiir, stood alongside his old nemesis, northern President Omar Hassan Ahmed Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes in the western region of Darfur. Bashir's presence was a powerful sign that he has acceded to the partition, however grudgingly.

It is not exactly true to say the country is starting from scratch, because it has been building the rudiments of a functioning government since the 2005 peace deal that made independence possible. But nationhood comes fraught with outsized problems.

More at the link. And see also, New York Times, "After Years of Struggle, South Sudan Becomes a New Nation" (via Memeorandum).

RELATED: From James Traub, at Foreign Policy, "Bashir's Choice."

The End of News of the World

The final comment: "Thank you and goodbye: After 168 years, we finally say a sad but very proud farewell to our 7.5m loyal readers."

And at Los Angeles Times, "Rupert Murdoch visits a London that's turned on him." And, "British tabloid scandal envelops three pillars already stained":

Even before the hacking allegations exploded into the national consciousness after reports that the News of the World may have tapped into the voicemails of murder victims' families as well as those of movie stars and other celebrities, the reputations of lawmakers, journalists and the police had been tarnished.

Two years ago, Britons were outraged to learn that members of Parliament were claiming reimbursement from taxpayers for expenses such as home improvements and horse manure for their gardens. Lawmakers have pledged to clean up their act, but voter faith in their integrity dropped dramatically.

The police have been hit by accusations of using excessive force against protesters and spying on environmental activists. And criticizing the media is as much a pastime here as it is in the United States.

"All the institutions of politics, press and police have emerged the worse for their involvement in the affair," said Ian Burrell, the media editor at the Independent newspaper. "This is a big newspaper-reading society. People still take immense pride in the 'mother of parliaments' and the integrity of British bobbies.... This story is going to undermine public trust in the way society operates."

Evolution of the Media: Back to the Future

I've been referring to today's mass media as the "partisan press" for some time. Left-leaning critics long ago attacked Rush Limbaugh and Fox News for biased reporting that wasn't "real news," but of course most folks understand the mainstream press as progressive, and it's gotten worse in recent years, especially during the Obama administration.

A related point is raised at The Economist, "A special report on the news industry: Bulletins from the future." There's a huge graphic at that link, and some background information, and then this summary:

Clearly something dramatic has happened to the news business. That something is, of course, the internet, which has disrupted this industry just as it has disrupted so many others. By undermining advertising revenue, making news reports a commodity and blurring the boundaries between previously distinct news organisations, the internet has upended newspapers’ traditional business model. But as well as demolishing old ways of doing things, it has also made new ones possible. As patterns of news consumption shift, much experimentation is under way. The internet may have hurt some newspapers financially, but it has stimulated innovation in journalism.

And check GigaOm for an analysis with lots of links to The Economist's report: "Back to the future: Is media returning to the 19th century?" This one, from The Economist, gets to the nub of things, "Coming full circle: News is becoming a social medium again, as it was until the early 19th century—only more so." And from the conclusion there:

The biggest shift is that journalism is no longer the exclusive preserve of journalists. Ordinary people are playing a more active role in the news system, along with a host of technology firms, news start-ups and not-for-profit groups. Social media are certainly not a fad, and their impact is only just beginning to be felt. “It’s everywhere—and it’s going to be even more everywhere,” says Arianna Huffington. Successful media organisations will be the ones that accept this new reality. They need to reorient themselves towards serving readers rather than advertisers, embrace social features and collaboration, get off political and moral high horses and stop trying to erect barriers around journalism to protect their position. The digital future of news has much in common with its chaotic, ink-stained past.

Be sure to read that whole thing. Arianna Huffington's point is especially interesting, considering how well she's made out with new media. But most important is how everyday people are producers of news. That's one of great things about blogging. I like sharing my life and politics and sometimes I've not only offered original reporting on the news, but I've also become part of the news.

Royals Watchers Crowd Charity Polo Match

At Los Angeles Times, "Royals watchers crowd Carpinteria polo club."

Ann Althouse a Rube? Nah, Robert Stacy McCain's Just Trolling for Traffic

C'mon Robert. Althouse a rube?

We know Althouse breaks political convention, and she's been hammering Obama for some time now. Besides, you just like posting her picture.

I like this one:

Added: Now a Memeorandum thread, with The Lonely Conservative, "Was Voting for Obama Rational?"

Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) Delivers Weekly Republican Address, 7/9/11

She's the highest ranking GOP woman Congress and House Republican Conference Vice Chair --- and she's a congressional mom. Her son Cole McMorris Rodgers was born in April 2007, prematurely and with Downs Syndrome:

The Republican representative is just the fifth woman to give birth while serving in Congress

More Kate Upton: Sports Illustrated

And encore:

Theo had the SoBe stare down posted before I did, so I promised more Kate Upton over there...

Kate Upton Rule 5 Bikini Stare Down

She's the model of the moment.

At AdWeek, "SoBe Gives Kate Upton's Cleavage Its Own Commercial."

And here's a Rule 5 roundup:

At Randy's Roundtable, "Thursday Nite Tart: Caitlin Manley."

And at Bob Belvedere's, "Rule 5 News: 09 July 2011 A.D."

And at Say Anything, "Saturday Linkaround."

More, at American Perspective, Maggie's Notebook and Zilla of the Resistance.

Don't miss: Astute Bloggers, Blazing Cat Fur, Bob Belvedere, CSPT, Dan Collins, Doug Ross, Gator Doug, Irish Cicero, Left Coast Rebel, Mind-Numbed Robot, Legal Insurrection, Lonely Conservative, PA Pundits International, PACNW Righty, Pirate's Cove, Proof Positive, Saberpoint, Snooper, WyBlog, The Western Experience, and Zion's Trumpet.

And my friends Marathon Pundit and Marooned in Marin.

Drop your links in the comments!

The Future of Space

We need a space program. The end of the Space Shuttle Program makes us think about our priorities and world preponderance. America's not relinquishing scientific leaderships just yet, thank goodness.

There's an appraisal at New York Times, "3, 2, 1, and the Last Shuttle Leaves an Era Behind" (via Memeorandum).

Also at USA Today, "Shuttle ends 30-year run, but U.S. will be back":

Though shuttles will have launched 135 times with unique achievements — and two catastrophic failures that claimed the lives of 14 courageous astronauts and reminded a stunned nation of the price of pioneering — the program never did vastly expand the human presence in space.

But fret not. The end of the shuttle is not a signal that America is becoming less adventurous. It is simply the latest indication that technology advances in fits and starts, and rarely along the trajectories projected by the experts.

America will be back with a new manned space vehicle at some point. This may happen for political reasons if China, or some other nation, goads us into action by embarking on an ambitious program of its own. And it will happen for a variety of reasons when engineers overcome the one barrier that has frustrated them — the prohibitive costs of getting the first hundred miles or so off the Earth's surface.

In the meantime, let's step back and consider the extraordinary age that we have created ...

Running of the Bulls

At USA Today, "1 gored, 6 others hurt in running of the bulls."

And lots of pics at Daily Mail, "Get out of my way! The bulls of Pamplona go running… over the backs of revellers." And The Sun, "It's crush hour in Pamplona."

'Get Back'

Okay, this clip's from early in the show. Notice at how the dividing curtains fall at about 45 seconds. The theater is divided into quadrants. The curtains are up as guests are seated. Later throughout the performance projections onto large screens are used as part of the performance. There are also a couple of transitional segments with musical choreography projected as well. The crashing bricks here represent something of the Beatles' origins and search for meaning of the rubble of the war. From the commemorative booklet:

The action suddenly stops cold and we flash back further still, to the chaos and devastation of war. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is destroyed. But there is hope:

'A Day in the Life'

More video:

'Octopus's Garden'

Okay, I promised more from "Love."

"Octopus's Garden" is toward the last third of the performance. I'm looking around for some clips from earlier parts of the show, which begins with background from the Beatles' origins in Liverpool during WWII.

I love this, in any case.

Bonus: Ringo live clip. He was touring last month, and spoke to the 5th anniversary audience by satellite feed.

Economic Freedom Improves Lives

From the reviled Charles Koch Foundation, "Economic Freedom" (via Doug Ross):

Progressives hate freedom.

RELATED: At Nice Deb, "DSCC Responds Lamely to Koch Bros Letter."

'She's Got Sex Appeal': Pawlenty Aide Apologizes for Calling Michele Bachmann Hot

I saw this at London's Daily Mail earlier, "Tim Pawlenty aide forced to apologise after making inappropriate remark about GOP rival Michele Bachmann."

And it's Vin Weber who made the faux pas, a former GOP House member himself. The original comments appeared in an interview at The Hill:

"It's going to be very hard to beat Michele in Iowa. Period," Weber said of both the Iowa caucuses and August's influential straw poll in Ames.

"She's got hometown appeal, she's got ideological appeal, and, I hate to say it, but she's got a little sex appeal too," he said in a phone interview.

Oops. Can't say that. The PC language cops will be all over you. Tim Pawlenty distanced himself from the comments immediately, and here's this at Fox News, "Pawlenty Aide Apologizes for Remark on Bachmann's 'Sex Appeal'."

And of course, Representive Bachmann handled it with class:

The Beatles LOVE Cirque du Soleil

My wife and I have seen three performances so far by Cirque du Soleil. The shows are simply outstanding, but nothing's left me with the same feelings as the LOVE production. I'll be writing about it this weekend, and posting music videos and commentary. I've never been an absolute Beatles junky. The show was transformative, however. I can see better than ever how important The Beatles are to American culture. And not just from the show, which was so good — exquisite even. It's the fans, the excitement, and the demand for it all. I'll save some thoughts for later this morning. Here's the brief advertisement at the Mirage YouTube page:

The BBC had a write up in 2006, "Love unveils new angle on Beatles."

And last month, at Las Vegas Sun, "Paul McCartney, Yoko Ono lead celebration for ‘Love’ anniversary."

See the write up at Rolling Stone, "Paul McCartney Celebrates Fifth Anniversary of the Beatles 'Love' Show: Yoko Ono, Sean Lennon also attended Las Vegas performance."

Betty Ford, 1918 – 2011

She follows her husband by five years.

An obituary at Los Angeles Times, "Betty Ford dies at 93; former first lady."

Former First Lady Betty Ford, who captivated the nation with her unabashed candor and forthright discussion of her personal battles with breast cancer, prescription drug addiction and alcoholism, has died. She was 93.

Ford died Friday at the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, according to Barbara Lewandrowski, a family representative. The cause was not given.

As wife of Gerald R. Ford, the 38th president of the United States and the only person to hold that office without first being elected vice president or president, she spent a brief, yet remarkable time as the nation's first lady. But after he left office and even after his death in 2006 at 93, she had considerable influence as founder of the widely emulated Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage for the treatment of chemical dependencies.

"Throughout her long and active life, Elizabeth Anne Ford distinguished herself through her courage and compassion," President Obama said Friday in a statement. "As our nation's First Lady, she was a powerful advocate for women's health and women's rights. After leaving the White House, Mrs. Ford helped reduce the social stigma surrounding addiction and inspired thousands to seek much-needed treatment. While her death is a cause for sadness, we know that organizations such as the Betty Ford Center will honor her legacy by giving countless Americans a new lease on life."

Also at ABC News, "Former First Lady Betty Ford Dead at 93." (Via Lonely Conservative and Memeorandum.)

Jenn of the Jungle Smacks a 'Liberal'

She's smacking down a progressive really, but maybe she's not reading David Horowitz on the terminology.

In any case, see Jenn at The Political Jungle:

Really??? Do you even have a fucking clue who any of us are? NO. You squeal like a fucking twat on fire about Faux News and "indoctrination" all day long without a fucking clue.

Yeah I was "indoctrinated". By reality, eventually.

I'm from the SF Bay Area....I was a totally indoctrinated leftard. I fucking organized a march against the 1st "Iraq War" in high school. I NOW KNOW had we done the job then we could have saved thousands+ of lives....but I followed the leftist line. LEAVE NOW....let the flying spaghetti monster figure it out. THAT was what the MSM told us then...I notice they totally do NOT say that now in regard to say....LIBYA.

My friends were black, brown, tan, yellow and every color in between....it doesn't change the fact that criminal invaders are scum sucking racist fucks and blacks, oh and I mean NIGGERS are fucking running wild in this country now that their lord and savior is "president". Look at the fucking news asshole...riots in the streets endless shootings, rapes, lies, massive property destruction....ignorant blacks seem to think that they have no rule of law now. I can't MAKE this up. It's FACT. Look at the tiny little microcosm of just the 4th of July weekend. WHO shot police, their own and who rioted in the streets and ran like ANIMALS.

I look at the state of the California educational system and see we are burdened not just by anchor babies but we are LITERALLY educating MEXICANS every day by the THOUSANDS. WHY????

It goes on like that, at the link. If you're looking for no holds barred commentary, well, there you go ...

Shannon Stone Death Prompts Questions on Baseball Stadium Safety

The Texas Rangers will establish a memorial fund for the family of Shannon Stone, the firefighter who died Thursday after trying to catch a souvenir baseball for his son. The Dallas Star-Tribune has the report (and additional updates there as well). Also, at CBS Sports, "Ryan: Stone's widow worried for son."

And see Los Angeles Times, "Baseball fan's death raises concerns about stadium safety":

Whenever he threw a baseball into the stands, Angels outfielder Vernon Wells said he tried to place it beyond the front row so it wouldn't fall back onto the field.

Now major leaguers are confronted with more grave fears than whether play will be disrupted.

A fan trying to catch a ball tossed by Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton fell over a railing and plunged 20 feet to his death Thursday at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, raising concerns about stadium safety regulations and the time-honored tradition of throwing balls to fans.

"You look around a ballpark like this and look at all the ledges and think about all the stuff you could possibly do," Dodgers right fielder Andre Ethier said Friday before a game against the San Diego Padres. "It definitely makes you think twice."

In a statement, Major League Baseball said its "players are encouraged to be fan-friendly and we will carefully review this incident with our clubs to continue to ensure a safe environment for our fans."

The accident occurred when Hamilton picked up a foul ball and flipped it to Shannon Stone, a 39-year-old firefighter who was at the game with his 6-year-old son. To make the catch, Stone leaned over a railing that didn't come up to his waist, lost his footing and fell head first onto concrete.

Though he initially moved his arms and was able to talk to medical responders, Stone went into cardiac arrest while being transported to a hospital. He was pronounced dead less than an hour after he fell.

More at the link above,A and at New York Times, "Grief and Questions After Death at Ballpark." The Rangers have inspected the stadium and everything's apparently up to cold, but check the New York Times piece for some discussion, since the park's had a previous accidents and questions linger. At Minneapolis Star Tribune, for example, "Will tossing balls to fans get tossed?"

Texas Rangers Baseball Fan Dies While Trying to Catch Ball For Six-Year Old Son

This is unbelievably sad.

At London's Daily Mail, "'Please check on my son': Fireman's final words as he lay dying after falling in front of seven-year-old son as he tried to catch ball at baseball game."

UPDATE: I've taken the video down out of courtesy for the Stone family. And Donald Sensing comments on the tragedy.