Headlines For 6-23-08

Zimbabwe opposition party leader pulled out of runoff election Sunday. Morgan Tsvangirai said, "We will no longer participate in this violent, illegitimate sham of an election process." That means Robert Mugabe’s violence and intimidation have won again and he is still in power. Mail & Guardian The U.S. says it will bring up the issue at the U.N. Security Council this week. AFP/The Australian Here are the allegations of intimidation and violence. BBC

The Saudi King confirmed his country would increase oil output. His announcement comes as the price of gas in the U.S. reaches almost $4.10 per gallon. CNN

Iraq will turn into another Vietnam. It’s a “false comfort of appeasement” if we negotiate with Iran. Neither statement accurately reflects what happened with Germany or Vietnam. Newsweek

Comedian George Carlin dies at 71. Reuters

What’s your life worth? One guy in Australia put his up for auction. Guardian

Food For Thought

What if the law said you had to go on a diet? You might have to if you live in Japan. The New York Times reports the country has a program where citizens between 40 and 74 years old have their waistlines measured during annual physicals. If they’re too big, they must go on a diet. Japanese health officials hope the program will reduce strokes and diabetes in older citizens. Is this a good idea?

What Happened

In the week since Barack Obama became the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, and the three days since Hillary Clinton conceded the nomination, there has been a lot of analysis about how she lost it. The New York Times has assembled these opinions which range from lack of money and her voting for the authorization to go into Iraq, to sexism and “a sense of entitlement and hubris.”

The Economist breaks down how Clinton lost the nomination focusing on the problems inside her campaign saying, “given the scale of her advantages a year ago there is no doubt that the Clinton campaign comprehensively blew it.”

For a look at who won in counties across the country, Time has these great maps.

Realizing this questions implies that the nomination was Clinton’s to lose..

A Shiny New Green Car

You already have nutritional information on food boxes, and disclaimers on drug advertisements. What about emission information on auto ads? The Guardian reports that a European Union proposal could force car advertisements there to indicate how much pollution a car creates. The committee, “is believed to be considering a ‘traffic lights’ system whereby red dots or stars would mark out high-emission cars, and green ones low-pollution ones. An alternative may be an alphabetical system of A-G grades for pollution levels.”

Newspaper and magazine publishers and television producers aren’t happy with the plan. What about you?

Here's Your Quarter Pounder

The most surprising thing about Time’s “A Brief History of the Fist Bump” article: There’s a National High-Five Day. Seriously.