Pajamas Blog Week in Review with New York Times' Thom Shanker

Join Austin Bay for a wide-ranging discussion of the War on Terror, journalism, and reporter embeds with the New York Times Thom Shanker, the paper's Penatogan correspondent.

He's a thoughful man, and this podcast deserves 27 minutes of your time this weekend.

Listen or download here. Or do what I do, and subscribe for free at the iTunes web site. If you have a new iPhone, I can't think of a better way to christen it by listening to this podcast.

As always, BWIR is produced by Pajamas blogger Ed Driscoll.

The podcast is sponsored by Volvo Cars.

Technorati tags: iPod itunes podcast blog Volvo Pajamas Media iPhone New York Times journalism

First London, now Glasgow

A terrorist attack fell short of causing serious injuries or damage earlier today in Glasgow.

Since al-Qaeda shows an affinity for multiple punch attacks, the Britain has chosen to raise its alert level to critical.

Scottish Police Chief Constable Willie Rae said:

I can confirm that we believe the incident at Glasgow airport is linked to the events in London yesterday. There are clearly similarities and we can confirm that this is being treated as a terrorist incident.

More from The Times of London:

One eyewitness at yesterday's attack in Glasgow, Jackie Kennedy, 46, a beautician from the city, described how she watched one of the occupants of the car douse himself in petrol and set himself alight.

"He had a big smirk on his face. He lifted up what appeared to be a five-litre drum, which I think had petrol in it, and set himself on fire. His clothes were melting in front of my very eyes.

"The police tried to pounce on him but he fought back and was struggling with them. It was only when a member of the public punched him in the face that the police managed to restrain him. The police were trying to spray CS gas in his face but it was not working. I can't believe what I have just seen. I have no doubt this was a terrorist attack."

The people of the civilized world are fighting a demented enemy.

We must remain vigilint.

Pajamas Media has a lot more.

Technorati tags: current affairs UK Scotland al-Qaeda war on terror Glasgow

Canada not the health care paradise Michael Moore claims it is

I've been busy counting cicadas in my neighborhood, so I've been unable to find time to see Michael Moore's magnum opus, "SiCKO."

Canadian Brent Skinner has, and in an opinion piece for the Springfield State Journal-Register, he writes:

Consider Canada’s notorious waiting lists. In 1993, Canadians referred by their doctors to specialists waited an average of 9.3 weeks for treatment. By 2006, that time had nearly doubled to 17.8 weeks - almost twice what’s considered clinically reasonable.

In the words of Canada’s Supreme Court, "access to a waiting list is not the same thing as access to health care." The Court used that phrase when it struck down the single-payer system in one Canadian province in 2005.

Yet somehow Moore missed this, the biggest story in Canadian health policy in the last 40 years.

More...

Canada’s cost advantage is also an illusion. True, Canada spends less per GDP on medical care than America - but so does Ethiopia. Such comparisons are meaningless without considering value for money.

Moore's movies fit a consistent pattern. Like a ticker-tape parade, there is a lot of ethereal excitement at the moment when it muscles through town, but shortly after, street sweepers come out to clear up the mess.

Or in Moore's case, truth-tellers like Brent Skinner.

Related posts:

Just Sicko: Rationing health care in Britain is a 'necessary evil'

Michael Moore & Me: Canadian filmmakers couldn't get Moore for an interview in their documentary about him

Pajamas Media's Glenn & Helen Show podcast: Working with capitalism to save American health care

Technorati tags: Michael Moore movies film current affairs politics The Left health care SiCKO Canada

Last US horse slaughterhouse appears to be closed for good

In a story I've been covering for the last three months, it appears that the last slaughterhouse that processes horsemeat for human consumption--albeit to be shipped overseas--will remain closed.

The shuttered slaughterhouse, owned by the Belgian firm Cavel International, is located in DeKalb, Illinois, sixty miles west of Chicago.

Cavel's lawyers will appeal Thursday's ruling by federal judge that kept a the plant open during the appeal process. Governor Rod Blagojevich signed into law banning the practice of slaughtering horses for human consumption last month.

On the federal end, a different federal judge ruled that slaughterhouses didn't have the authority to directly pay US Department of Agriculture meat inspectors. Last year, a law took effect that fulled public funding of the inspectors.

Cavel has two big legal obstacles to overcome to re-open--its struggle may not be insurmountable, but it's darn close.

I got a lot of heat from commenters on my earlier horse-slaughter posts. It looks like that horse lovers have won, but it'll be interesting to see what becomes of horses that owners no longer want to care for. And because of the push for ethanol, animal feed costs are skyrocketing.

Related posts:

Bo Derek rallies horse slaughter opponents to victory in Ill. House

Horse of a different color on abandoned equines story

Abandoned horses in Eastern Kentucky

Horses reprieve from slaughterhouse only temporary: UPDATED

Hey, another horse slaughter post

Last US horse slaughterhouse shut down, unwanted horse problem will worsen

Technorati tags: horses horse law business animal activism animal rights animals Illinois slaughter politics Cavel Belgium belgique belgie DeKalb

Foiled London bomb plot shows we're living in an unsafe world

Thankfully it seems British police have foiled a London terror plot.

We live in a dangerous world, and the problems we face cannot be solved by Dennis Kucinich's proposed "Department of Peace."

Technorati tags: London terrorism UK news

Door appears open for more Chicago Wal-Marts

Ald. Joe Moore, Chicago's chief anti-Wal-Mart zealot, is not a happy man this morning. However, he has a lot on his plate, including fighting a lawsuit challenging his April re-election.

As part of a deal involving the Chicago's money-challenged public transportation system, five more Wal-Marts could be coming to America's third largest city.

Technorati tags: Joe Moore elections politics vote fraud election fraud Chicago illinois law Wal-Mart Business