How ill is Jong-il?

A recent picture suggests he could be quite ill.

The speculation about the health of "Dear Leader" has led to discussion about plans for succession, the military's future role in the country, the recent missile tests and a host of other topics.

The media, in my opinion, have done well in their reporting on what has happened and why. Clearly with the lack of sources available to them from within the country, the dreaded reading of the tea leaves often takes place. On top of that, it is realistic to suggest that Pyongyang is fomenting the unrest as a means to distract political observers. But from what?

North Korea is not likely to change much once Kim Jong-Il passes away and his replaced by his son. (At least that is the plan for succession talked about most often.) But it is important to see in what areas the West and North Korea can find agreement, even if it is nothing more than an agreement to talk.

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Remember that student plagiarist?

I told you on this blog that the problems for University of Florida student Hailey MacArthur, who plagiarized parts of at least four stories she wrote during her summer internship, might just be beginning.

The university's school of journalism is considering whether she ought to be allowed to return there as a student. If this sounds harsh, so be it -- kick her out.

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How quickly they forget

Voters hammered the GOP in 2006 and 2008 for its handling of most issues affecting the country. Now the voters say they trust the Republicans to fix most of them.

You talk about fickle. And you talk about a wake-up call for the Democrats.

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I'm becoming more convinced...

...if the Obama administration "fails" (and I'll leave it to you to define what that means), it will be a result of having such an ambitious agenda that it couldn't reign in its Democratic colleagues.

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A 16-nation attack

Give the North Koreans or whichever government was behind the cyberattack against South Korea and the United States -- it was well coordinated. The South Koreans reported today the attacks came from 16 different nations.

Regardless of who was behind it, this attack demonstrates that the Internet age is unlike previous eras in so many ways.

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The Afghan war is not going well

This excerpt comes from TIME magazine:

In October it will have been eight years since U.S. forces first went into combat in Afghanistan against al-Qaeda and its local supporters in the Taliban. That makes the war there the second longest (after Vietnam) in U.S. history. More than 1,200 coalition troops have died in Afghanistan; some 730 of the dead were American, but other nations have suffered too. Britain has lost 175 soldiers in the conflict, and Canada 124. And the deaths in uniform are the easy ones to count: they do not encompass the thousands of Afghan villagers who have been killed by the Taliban or by errant coalition actions. Last year alone, 828 civilians were killed by U.S., allied or Afghan troops, 552 of them in air strikes.

The magazine's full report can be accessed here.

It is easy, convenient and on some level appropriate to blame the Bush administration for the what has taken place in the past: Without question, more attention and resources should have been given to fighting the war in Afghanistan (and corresponding less, if any, to Iraq). But that is sour grapes at this point: The Americans are knee-deep in this war effort, and they are fighting with different tactics and leadership.

Remember, as I have stated on this blog numerous times, this war is Mr. Obama's. Calling that a fair or unfair statement is irrelevant -- it is the truth. If American soldiers continue to come home in bodybags and if territory is lost to al-Qaeda, the public will demand answers.

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ABC is not in the pool...

...and at least one industry executive thinks that's a mistake.

An interesting, but ultimately one-sided story. Read it if you wish, but it sounds like sour grapes to me.

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I'm just asking

Is China using the arrest of an Australian business exec as a distraction, hoping the media will cover that story and not the one in Urumqi?

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Another devastating earthquake in China

This time it happened in the southwest part of the country.

You can expect the international media will want to compare how the Chinese government responds to this disaster, recognizing the criticism it received for its lackluster initial response to the 2008 earthquake.

However, you also should expect that the government will attempt to keep the international media away so that any criticism of it will be muted.

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The threat is still there (UPDATED)

1st UPADTE: 7:50 p.m. EDT: Health officials in London say a flu epidemic in their country is imminent.

ORIGINAL POST: At a Washington conference today, top government and health officials acknowledged that the worst of the H1N1 flu outbreak is not over.

Speaking at a different event in Europe, other health officials indicated their fear that the flu bug will eventually be transferred from humans to pigs.

As an aside, I had mentioned on this blog last week my plan to check out whether the Washington conference was going to be available online. Unfortunately, it slipped my mind.

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Bye, bye Burris

We already knew you. Too bad we had to meet you at all.

Harsh? Probably. But I remain convinced that Roland Burris never should have accepted former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich's appointment to the U.S. Senate.

The Washington Post reports that Burris will not seek a full term in the Senate after 2010. We can be thankful that Mr. Burris is now doing the right thing.

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It could soon cost you $5 a month to access NYTimes.com

Bloomberg News is reporting the newspaper surveyed its print subscribers to determine their thoughts on that, and on a lower print subscription if the Web site charge went into effect.

Grumble all you want (and I'll be in that line with you), but the newspaper industry cannot continue to give away its full assortment of content if it wishes to remain viable. No, I'm not suggesting that charging for Internet material will be the panacea that cures the industry, but I am saying that multiple income threads must be found.

Unfortunately for those of us who enjoy the free content from the Web, our days of fun are coming to an end.

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Well, that's one way

Am I the only one who thinks the way in which the dean at this particular institution went about asking for a resignation was a bit...well...unprofessional?

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A direct challenge to the Associated Press Stylebook?

Why not? Reuters has taken the bold step of offering its style and usage guide online and for free. You can access it here.

Consider this: If more than a few schools or departments of journalism switch to the Reuters guide (thus saving their students the purchase of the AP stylebook), the "bottom line" interests for both will be interesting to look at.

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This is the current state of the Democratic majority in Congress

From Politico.com's Martin Kady II:

These weren't the headlines Democrats expected in the same week that they paraded their 60th vote into the Senate chamber.

Stimulus money is being doled out too slowly and to the wrong places, according to some reports. Jobs aren't coming fast enough. Harry Reid is busting up Senate bipartisan compromises. House Democrats are re-heating the 'CIA lied' rhetoric. And a top Senate recruit for Barack Obama's old seat has decided to stay in Illinois rather than join this crowd in Washington.

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