‘The Daily Beast’ Enters a Bear of a Market

Friday, October 10th, 2008

Does the world really need another news aggregator Web site? Tina Brown poses this question to introduce her new site, the Daily Beast. Brown, formerly the editor at Vanity Fair, The New Yorker and Talk magazines, launched the Daily Beast earlier this week.

Brown says the site will be more than just an aggregator (naturally). She writes, “[The Daily Beast] is a speedy, smart edit of the Web from the merciless point of view of what interests the editors … The Daily Beast doesn’t aggregate. It sifts, sorts, and curates. We’re as much about what’s not there as what is.”

I spent a day with the site, reading most of the content and getting used to the site’s interface. Is Brown’s staff executing her editorial goals so far?

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Riffs&Revolutions: Michael Gonzales Takes a Trip Down Old School Hip Hop Lane

Friday, October 10th, 2008
(image copyright 2008, Andre Leroy Davis, all rights reserved)

(image copyright 2008, Andre Leroy Davis, all rights reserved)

With the taping of VH1’s Hip-Hop Honors being at the Hammerstein Ballroom last Thursday (the show aired this week), New York City was overflowing with parties and events that brought back a million memories of back in the day adventures. Indeed, it seems like just yesterday that Dante Ross was playing me some of De La Soul’s debut album, I was eating Philly cheese steaks with Cypress Hill for a Source feature (shot by the talented Daniel Hastings), hopping on the Jersey transit to meet Naughty By Nature and hanging out in Too Short’s ritzy hotel room during a photo shoot.

Though I have never interviewed Slick Rick, believe me, it was not for lack of trying. In 1988, his classic track “Children’s Story” was one of my favorite songs.

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Daily News Round Up: Extra, Extra! This, This and This…Just In

Friday, October 10th, 2008

Off the Wall…Street Stocks everywhere seem to be suffering Humpty Dumpty’s fate. On Thursday, the Dow Jones plummeted a stunning near 700 points, and Friday brought a sharp descent to both European and Asian markets. Here’s hoping this October 29th doesn’t resemble the one the world saw in ‘29.

The Economist’s Verdict: Too Little Too Late…Yup, an Official Global Recession Though the world’s banks have been stitching in financial sutures, England’s self-described newspaper explains a widespread recession, if not depression, is pretty much unavoidable at this point.

But Back in LA…Bigotry and Malice out to Play Irvine City Council candidate Attorney Todd Gallingher, a Muslim convert, said a caller told him “‘I want to cut off your head just like all the other Muslims deserve,’” after finding out Gallinger was a Council of American-Islamic Relations employee. The city’s police department is investigating the threat.

The Insidious Disease That Turns Post-Prandial Bliss into Misery One percent or more of the country’s population could be suffering from celiac. The auto-immune disease caused by the ingestion of grains such as wheat, barley and oats could lead to more than an upset stomach. This piece explains it can also herald the onset of “anemia, infertility, osteoporosis and cancer.” In this case, it seems the only cure really is prevention in the form of a gluten-free diet.

Russian Cook May be Stirring the Iranian Nuclear Pot Though this doesn’t mean Russia is, as a country, aiding Iran in nuclear arms development, the investigation surrounding a Russian scientist’s possible illustration to Iran regarding the finer points of detonation is worrisome and the first admission from the part of a nuclear agency that the Middle Eastern country could be “receiv[ing] help from a foreign weapons scientist in developing nuclear arms.” Considering the statements Ahmadinejad has made in the last two years pertaining to what he says is a lack of nuclear arms development and Russia’s separation from the issue, this is no small matter.

Why I Admire Sarah Palin. Seriously.

Friday, October 10th, 2008
Surrounded by fans and a few protective Secret Service agents, Sarah Palin reaches for something else to sign.

Photo by Brian Frank

It’s not hard, even for a liberal, to admit that Sarah Palin is getting trashed by the media. As Thomas Friedman wrote on Sunday, it’s like “shooting fish in a barrel.” But, I have to say, I think she’s getting the short shrift. And, no, not just because she has femmeladybits.

Sarah Palin is what I would call a “true believer.” She sees the world in black and white. And you are either with her, or you need to get out of the way. In addition, she is pitch perfect on her “of the people, for the people” presentation. The great thing about having strong beliefs (“America is awesome!”) is that you also have a tendency to think that any reasonable person would agree with you (“It’s the America we see”).

Put aside your own political leanings for second and consider the Bill Ayers issue and Palin’s reaction to it. The case against Bill Ayers, put very, very briefly, is as follows:

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Cheap Thrills: Ryan Barrett on McCain and Palin’s Angry Mobs

Friday, October 10th, 2008

“Kill him!”, “Terrorist!”, “Sit down boy!”— Sounds from the latest McCain/Palin rallies

UPDATE: (10.9.08) Just found this on Ben Smith’s blog over at Politico. Man-on-the-street interviews from a McCain/Palin rally in Strongsville, OH.

Secret Service is looking into the “KILL HIM” threat yelled during Palin’s rally in Clearwater, FL. No thanks to the McCain/Palin campaign.

I attended two Obama rallies during the primaries. At each one, Obama made a point of praising Sen. Clinton for her many achievements, calling her a worthy opponent. At one of the rallies during this praise, someone in the audience booed. No words, no threats. Just a boo.

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