Stuff we like from around the Web
Former San Francisco mayoral candidate Matt Gonzalez is back in the news so it's time to dust off the archive. The comments that his running mate Ralph Nadar made about NAFTA reminded us of a little bit of dirt dug here in 2003.
Turns out that Gonzalez' parents had an interest in a Reynosa maquiladora, one of those manufacturing plants set up on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande. That post triggered a detailed response from Gonzalez's spokesman.
Read 'em both and decide for yourself. It's today's HotSpot.
Arts & Letters Daily recommends
Does China operate sweatshops? How could you know? One way to find out is to send over some inspectors. Easy... more
The past, historians like to say, is another country. Israeli history is another galaxy, writes Carlin Romano... more
All of the books of John Steinbeck are still in print. Why does the work of this earnest but artless writer continue to enjoy such popularity?... more
Spot-on's Pop Picks
When Barack Obama's campaign rolls into town, the DeeJays get ready. Here's a sampling of some of what played at the Obama rally last week in San Francisco.
What's Going On - Marvin Gaye
Family Affair - Sly and the Family Stone
Ain't No Stopping Us Now - Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes
Waiting On The World to Change - Jon Mayer
Takin' Care of Business - Bachman-Turner Overdrive
Think - Aretha Franklin
We Are Family - Sister Sledge
Funky President (People It's Bad) - James Brown
Pick up the Pieces - Average White Band
Ain't No Mountain High Enough - Marvin Gaye and Tammy Terrell
Hey, congratulate Christopher Allbritton! He's having a pretty good year.
Chris was just named a John S. Knight Fellow at Stanford University. This fall, he'll be at The Farm as we say out here in Northern California working on finding a business model to support the work that journalists like him do: report from overseas.
We can't think of a better guy for that task. If you're not familiar with Chris' work, check out his bio here. He's been a pioneer in what Spot-on founder Chris Nolan calls 'stand alone journalism' and its great to see Stanford recognize his efforts.
***
Advertisement
Today's post by Christopher Allbritton - Iraq's Murky Battle for Basra - is another great example of his ability to get to the heart of Iraq politics in clear and insightful way. That's why we're calling it - and a piece from a few weeks ago predicting the very tensions that erupted last week - to your attention as a solid pieces of analysis and reporting.
A few weeks ago - just as he was settling into Dubai where he'll be writing from now on (fewer explosions) - Christopher filed Worries For Iraq spelling out the challenges the country and the U.S. face as the year moves on. It's a prescient piece that led much of last week's analysis and commentary.
Edit a newspaper, produce a TV or radio show? Want to add any of our fine writers to your editorial mix so you can be ahead of the news curve? Our syndication fees for writers like Christopher Allbritton are reasonable, our writers responsible and our editorial as sticky as fly-paper. And since we know about the pressure edit budgets are under these days, we can make some of our offering free to you - no strings, no fooling. Drop Doug Page, Spot-on's syndication sales guru, a line. He's got all the details about pricing, availability and delivery.
If you're not new to this site, you have our continued thanks for reading. If you'd like to keep in touch more regularly, please consider a subscription to our RSS feed. Updates via RSS are also available via MyYahoo and Bloglines. Our weekly newsletter - it's free, it's fun and we won't sell your name to anyone - is also a nice way to stay in touch. Sign up here.
****
That Bangalore is India's Information Technology capital is no news to anyone, since the city is almost always referred to as India's Silicon Valley. But, of late, it's been making news for the wrong, though somewhat related, reasons. Bangalore, with its high stress life, is now being called the suicide capital of India. The figures are alarming - 35 suicides per 100,000 people.
More >In the good old days, birthday parties used to mean treasure hunt games, colorful streamers, cake and mama made goodies at home with some good friends. They were intimate affairs, and used to be a lot of fun. But, that was in the India of the eighties. They don't do it that way anymore, and it's a shame.
More >