From the NYT's David Brooks:

Recessions breed pessimism. That’s why birthrates tend to drop and suicide rates tend to rise. That’s why hemlines go down. Tamar Lewin of The New York Times reported on studies that show that the women selected to be Playboy Playmates of the Year tend to look more mature during recessions — older, heavier, more reassuring — though I have not verified this personally.

From the NYT:

An association representing international news organizations is campaigning for an end to an unusual Israeli policy barring foreign reporters from entering Gaza that has lasted for almost two weeks.

The IFC Media project, to run on the U.S.'s Independent Film Channels, is to provide a six-part look at how the news comes to be.

From the BBC:

Emissions of greenhouse gases by industrialised nations rose 2.3% from 2000 to 2006, according to new figures from the UN's climate change agency.

The biggest increases were in the former Soviet bloc - and Canada. ...

(The figures) show that in 2006 emissions did actually fall by 0.1%, but the UN's climate change secretariat said that this tiny dip was statistically insignificant.

The overall underlying trend since 2000 is up, even though the countries in question had promised to cut their emissions.

The worst culprit has been Canada. Its emissions since 1990 have shot up 21.3% - they should have fallen 6%.

Recently the biggest rise was recorded by the Eastern European bloc, with emissions up 7.4% since the turn of the century.

I think the Beeb may have gotten it wrong. Canada's Kyoto target was certainly for a six per cent reduction below 1990 levels by 2012, and we're certainly among the worst performers. However, I don't know if we are the worst.

Look at Table 4 on Page 16 of this UNFCCC document: Australia is up 28.8 per cent, and Greece is up 27.3 per cent. Iceland, Ireland, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain and Turkey all show higher increases from 1990 to 2006 than does Canada.

Great journalism and the trust of readers will ensure the future of newspapers in the 21st century, no matter the medium in which that journalism is distributed, argues Rupert Murdoch.

From the NYT:

As America’s newspapers shrink and shed staff, and broadcast news outlets sink in the ratings, a new kind of Web-based news operation has arisen in several cities, forcing the papers to follow the stories they uncover.