This Weird Week

*British singer Morrissey, frontman of iconic, sardonic ‘80s band The Smiths, was hospitalized in London after collapsing on stage during a concert. British music magazine NME has named The Smiths “the most influential artist ever”– ahead of the Beatles.

*The college’s own Castle Court saw environmental activists participate in a global day of demonstrations on Saturday October 24, calling for urgent action on climate change. The events were coordinated by the group 350.org, whose name refers to the parts per million of carbon dioxide it considers the safe upper limit for our atmosphere.

The group said it wants to “inspire the world to rise to the challenge of the climate crisis” ahead of the United Nations climate change conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December. “I believe climate change is the 21st century’s greatest human rights and security challenge,” said President of the Maldives Mohammed Nasheed. His country, an archipelago of 1,200 islands, is threatened with disappearing under water if sea levels continue to rise.

“If we cannot save 350,000 Maldivians from rising seas today, we cannot save the millions in New York, London, or Mumbai tomorrow,” he said in a recorded statement released by 350.org. “Climate change is happening, and it is happening faster and with greater severity than previously thought.”

*The Reverend Ed Hinds was stabbed to death 32 times by church janitor Jose Feliciano, according to prosecutors in Morris County, New Jersey.

*President Obama has declared a national emergency to deal with the “rapid increase in illness” from the H1N1 influenza virus.

Since the H1N1 flu pandemic began in April, millions of people in the United States have been infected, at least 20,000 have been hospitalized and more than 1,000 have died, said Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Frieden said that having 46 states reporting widespread flu transmission is traditionally the hallmark of the peak of flu season. To have the flu season peak at this time of the year is “extremely unusual.”

The CDC said 16.1 million doses of H1N1, or swine flu, vaccine had been made by Friday — 2 million more than two days earlier. About 11.3 million of those had been distributed throughout the United States.

*Fires in Puerto Rico have been mostly extinguished, but have forced hundreds from their homes.

President Obama declared an emergency in Puerto Rico, which frees up federal aid. Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States.
The blaze has cost the island at least $6.4 million.

*A Saudi court sentenced a female journalist Saturday to 60 lashes for her work on a controversial Arabic-language TV show that aired an episode in which a man bragged about his sex life, two sources told CNN.

The court in Jeddah also imposed a two-year travel ban on Rosanna Al-Yami, according to a Saudi Information Ministry official, who could not be named because he is not authorized to speak to the media. The ban prevents Al-Yami from traveling outside Saudi Arabia.

*Twin car bombs exploded near three Iraqi government buildings Sunday in central Baghdad, killing at least 132 people. It was the deadliest attack in the country in more than two years.

More than 500 were wounded.

The blasts had ripple effects throughout the country, triggering questions about the state of Iraqi security and about national elections planned for January.