 Vibbits are VIsual BITS that provide commentary on the news of the day.
Vibbits are photo mash-ups and remixes (phototorials) that express an opinion or offer a perspective.
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Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who built a national reputation as an aggressive, uncompromising prosecutor, apologized to the public Monday after a federal wiretap caught him allegedly arranging to meet a high-priced prostitute in a Washington hotel. The recording captured a man identified as "Client 9" — a regular customer of an elite international call-girl ring — setting up a date with a petite brunet who used the name "Kristen." A source familiar with the case identified the Democratic governor as Client 9. L.A. Times
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| Posted by Robert L Lindstrom at | | | |
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Known for both his charm and erudition, William F. Buckley Jr. died yesterday morning in the study of his home in Stamford, Conn., at age 82. Any one of Buckley's many achievements - in politics, publishing, television, even world-class sailing - might have been enough to merit the attention he received during the past half century. But Buckley had accomplishments to spare: founder and longtime editor of the influential conservative journal National Review, host of TV's "Firing Line" for 33 years, popular syndicated columnist, author of some 50 books, including novels. Newsday.com
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| Posted by Robert L Lindstrom at | | | |
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The Pentagon and Marine Corps authorized the purchase of 84,000 bulletproof vests in 2006 that not only are too heavy but are so impractical that some U.S. Marines are asking for their old vests back so they can remain agile enough to fight. Fox News
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Raúl Castro, who has labored in the shadow of his brother Fidel since the days of their revolution, became Cuba's
new president on Sunday, ending his brother’s 49-year rule and washing
away hopes on this Communist island that a younger generation might
take power. In his first words as president, Mr. Castro made it clear that he would
make no radical changes and promised to consult his brother on every
important decision. He said that his brother was still alive and alert,
and that the time had yet to come when the leaders of the revolution in
the 1950s had to pass the baton to a new generation. New York Times
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"No Country For Old Men," the violent chase movie from the Coen brothers, won the Oscar for best picture on Sunday after earning the near universal favor of critics and Hollywood's talent guilds. The film, directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, won four Oscars, also taking best directing, best adapted screenplay and best supporting actor. Reuters
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| Posted by Robert L Lindstrom at | | | |
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Conservationists vowed to return to court to challenge President
Bush's decision to let the Navy continue using high-power sonar in its
training off Southern California, a practice they say harms whales and
other marine mammals. Associated Press
The Bush Administration is offering a compromise solution.
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| Posted by Robert L Lindstrom at | | | |
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Three presidential nominating contests, three different Republican winners. According to CNN, with 100% of precincts reporting, native son Mitt Romney triumphed, taking 39% of the vote, followed by John McCain, 30%; Mike Huckabee, 16%; Ron Paul, 6%; Fred Thompson, 4%; and Rudy Giuliani, 3%. U.S. News
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| Posted by Robert L Lindstrom at | | | |
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Sir Edmund Hillary, the first person to stand atop the world's highest mountain, was remembered as a deeply driven but unassuming man who strived to help the people of Nepal in the decades after his ascent of Mount Everest. Hillary, who died Friday of a heart attack at 88, will have a state funeral in New Zealand, where he began the mountaineering career that took him and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay to the tallest point on earth. Associated Press
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| Posted by Robert L Lindstrom at | | | |
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Senator John McCain of Arizona won the New Hampshire primary, handing rival Mitt Romney his second defeat and further muddying the waters for the Republican presidential nomination. Bloomberg.com
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| Posted by Robert L Lindstrom at | | | |
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Sen. Barack Obama, riding a message of hope and change and buoyed by extraordinary turnout, decisively won the Iowa Democratic caucuses Thursday night, dealing a significant setback to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in the battle for the party's 2008 presidential nomination. Washington Post
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| Posted by Robert L Lindstrom at | | | |
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A snake has been saved by surgery after mistaking four golf balls for a meal of
chicken eggs.
A couple had placed the balls in their chicken coup at Nobbys
Creek in New South Wales state to encourage their hen to nest. They found the balls missing last month and a lumpy carpet
python nearby. They took the 80-centimeter (32-inch) non-venomous snake to the
nearby Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, where senior veterinarian Michael Pyne
operated to remove the balls from the snake's intestine. Metro.co.uk
A new sport is born.
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| Posted by Robert L Lindstrom at | | | |
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In the final hours before the Iowa caucuses, candidates are trying to gain the
support of the undecided and make sure their supporters show up. Three Democrats and two Republicans are virtually tied at
the top, according to the latest CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll, and
last-minute decisions from undecided voters could push a candidate to the head
of the pack. This week's poll shows that 17 percent of likely Democratic
caucus-goers said they are still trying to decide which candidate to support,
and more than a quarter of Republican caucus-goers said they are still trying to
decide. The White House hopefuls are taking different crunch-time
approaches as they try to woo Iowans one day before they head out to vote. CNN.com
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| Posted by Robert L Lindstrom at | | | |
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Citing the potato’s strong nutrition profile, versatility
and ability to feed the masses, the United Nations has declared 2008 the “International Year of
the Potato.” Jacques
Diouf, the director-general of the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO), stated that the “potato is on the front line in the
fight against world hunger and poverty.” According to the FAO, the world will need to
increase food production by about 60 percent to meet the needs of its
rapidly growing population. The potato is crucial to meeting this
challenge. Sidney Herald
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| Posted by Robert L Lindstrom at | | | |
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Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was assassinated Thursday
after a campaign rally, sparking widespread riots and raising new
concerns about the stability of this nuclear-armed nation of 165
million people. Washington Post
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| Posted by Robert L Lindstrom at | | | |
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Police arriving at the home of a retired British school teacher to tell her that her husband was critically injured in a car crash instead stumbled on a gruesome find — the woman's battered corpse stuffed among the presents under the couple's Christmas tree. Police in West Sussex, England, say Roger Goswell, 66, rammed his car into a tree just two miles from their home, after bludgeoning his wife, Susan, 61, and crudely trying to hide her body beneath the tree. FoxNews.com
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| Posted by Robert L Lindstrom at | | | |
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Two years ago, she famously confessed to never having even used a computer, but now Britain's Queen Elizabeth II is keen to show the world that she is in step with the times. To prove it, she's become the first monarch to have her own YouTube channel. ABC News
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| Posted by Robert L Lindstrom at | | | |
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The new Miss France is deciding whether to give up her crown after the head of the competition committee demanded she quit over compromising photos. Valerie Begue appears crucified in one picture, posing Christ-like in a swimming pool. Click here to see the photo. The 22-year-old beauty queen could now lose her title. Sky News
A similar controversy marred the reign of Miss Brazil 2002.
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| Posted by Robert L Lindstrom at | | | |
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Japan said Friday it was dropping plans to start hunting humpback whales for the first time in four decades after protests led by Australia seeking to spare the mammals. It is the first time Tokyo has backed down over one of its whaling expeditions, which have been a longstanding strain in relations with its Western allies. It also marks a coup for Australia's new left-leaning Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who has stepped up the pressure on Japan since taking office this month, including ordering a patrol ship and planes to track the whalers. AFP
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| Posted by Robert L Lindstrom at | | | |
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The Bush administration said that it would deny California's bid
to set stricter vehicle emissions standards than federal law required as part of
the state's efforts to fight climate change. The E.P.A's decision was a victory for the American auto companies. Had the E.P.A. agreed to the waiver, California and other states would have
enacted rules requiring the auto companies to achieve a 30 percent reduction of
emissions by cars, trucks and sport utility vehicles by 2016. The New York Times
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