While You Were Sleeping

The gist of what you may have missed

by Brian K. Mahoney, March 27, 2009

The Iraqi journalist Muntader al-Zaidi, who gained notoriety for hurling his shoes at President Bush during a news conference in Baghdad last December, was sentenced to three years in jail on March 12. At his trial Zaidi had pleaded not guilty, claiming that his footwear fusillade was “a natural reaction to the crimes of the occupation.” Some experts on Iraqi domestic policy said they expected Zaidi to be pardoned before serving the full sentence. A statue erected in Zaidi’s honor (pictured above) in his hometown of Tikrit was taken down by order of the Iraqi Parliament.
Source: New York Times

According to a Harvard Medical School study, getting angry at work may help boost your career. The study followed 824 people over the span of 44 years, finding those who repressed their frustration were three times more likely to say they hit a career road block. Professor George Vaillant, lead author of the study of adult development, said that while uncontrolled fury is destructive, that people who are assertive while remaining respectful tended to be more successful.
Source: BBC News

Attorney General Eric Holder announced in late February that the Justice Department will no longer raid medical marijuana dispensaries in states where they are legal under state law. Currently, there are 13 states where medical marijuana is legal; however, there has been an ongoing federal resistance to the dispensaries, landing dispensaries owners in jail and out of business. Over the past two years, more than 100 individuals have been criminally charged—even though they were operating in compliance with state law. While the Drug Enforcement Administration has made arrests in all 13 states where dispensaries are illegal, it has been most actively prosecuting a no-tolerance policy in California.
Source: AlterNet, SafeAccessNow.org

Ryan Allen, a George Mason University senior and professional drag queen, was crowned homecoming queen at a sold-out basketball game against Northeastern University in late February. Allen, dressed in a gold-sequined top accepted his tiara and sash in front of a cheering crowd. Allen, known on campus for his drag queen personality, Reann Ballslee, lip-synched a Britney Spears song in zebra-print pants for the talent portion of the homecoming queen competition.
Source: Associated Press

On March 11, the Food and Drug Administration approved the FC2 Female Condom. While Chicago-based Female Health Company’s new product will not be available to American consumers for a year, FDA approval allows the United States Agency for International Development and other US organizations to buy it for distribution overseas, where it is already distributed in 77 countries. The FC2 is also touted as being quieter than the FC1, due to its softer material.
Source: Reuters

Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced in late February that photographs of flag-covered caskets may be published, reversing an 18-year-old ban on coverage of American war dead. The Obama administration is working out the details, however; families will have the final decision on whether or not to allow the press into the ceremonies held at Dover Air Force base in Delaware, the official US entry point for caskets of war dead. The policy, enacted by President George H. W. Bush in 1991, at the beginning of the first Gulf War, was a response to an incident during the invasion of Panama in 1989. During an update Bush news conference about the progress of the invasion, US TV networks used a split screen to show the arrival of the first bodies at Dover Air Force Base from Panama.
Source: United Press International, Associated Press