February 11, 2009 5:31 PM
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The Skinny: Behold, The iPhone
The Skinny is Hillary Profita's take on the top news of the day and the best of the Internet.
You may be surprised to find that the unveiling of the blessed iPhone – an event treated much like the second coming or the season finale of "American Idol" – only made the front pages of two major papers, the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times.
While Apple's Steve Jobs told an audience that he wants to make the phone "so easy to use that everyone can use it," the NYT notes that the phone, priced between $499 and $599 and available on a single carrier "will not be for everyone."
And apparently, even though the iPhone does pretty much everything every other phone on the market does "it was the ability to fuse those elements with a raft of innovations and Apple's distinctive design sense that had the crowd here buzzing." Which means there was no shortage of breathless quotes from audience members: Tim Bajarin, president of consulting firm Creative Strategies, told the LA Times. "Instead of smart phone, how about 'brilliant' phone? This redefines what a cellphone looks like."
Apple will commence world domination (of the cell phone market, that is) in June and the earth will be renamed Apple, Inc. soon thereafter.
Sunny Iraq
A massive U.S. airstrike on Baghdad that lasted all day yesterday gains the front-page attention of three papers and the top of the Wall Street Journal's newsbox, which referred to it as a "possible 'surge' preview."
The New York Times called it "one of the most dramatic operations in the capital since the invasion nearly four years ago." The Washington Post quotes Maj. Jesse Pearson, on his third Iraq Tour, who said: "It was the most intense combat I have ever seen. We were in a fight for 11 straight hours."
According to the Los Angeles Times, Iraqi officials said "at least 51 suspected militants" were killed, but "no U.S. or Iraqi troops were killed, nor were any civilians."
The operation was a response to increased insurgent activity on Haifa Street near the Green Zone, where "Sunni gunmen had erected fake checkpoints in recent days, residents said, in one case pulling passengers from a minibus, killing them and stringing their bodies from utility poles," writes the LAT. The NYT and LAT emphasize the historical significance of Haifa Street for U.S. soldiers – it used to be called "Purple Heart Boulevard." "More than 160 soldiers from the First Battalion of the Ninth Cavalry were wounded trying to secure the area," writes the NYT.
Everyone also highlights that Tuesday's fight "points to the nature of the conflict U.S. forces could face in the weeks and months ahead," (as the Washington Post puts it) as President Bush unveils his new strategy this evening on television. While stabilizing Baghdad is essential to its stability, "the capital has become polarized more than ever along sectarian lines…"
Bush To Unveil Iraq Plan, Dems To Symbolically React
As for Bush's speech tonight, The Post previews it on the front page while the New York Times takes the Democrats' temperatures and USA Today takes a look at some of the questions "fill[ing] the air" among members of Congress.
While Bush has often spoken of his "disdain for micromanaging the war effort and for second-guessing his commanders," he will propose to do just that with his Iraq strategy by proposing to add up to 20,000 troops. It's a move that "Pentagon insiders say members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have long opposed," writes the Post. Apparently, they are "grudgingly going along with the plan because they have been promised that the military escalation will be matched by renewed political and economic efforts in Iraq."
For their part, Democrats plan to hold "symbolic votes" in Congress regarding Bush's plan for a troop increase. That bold move "would do nothing in practical terms to block Mr. Bush's intention to increase the United States military presence in Iraq," writes the NYT.
But they might consider "more muscular responses" – like capping troop deployments or limiting financing – but I wouldn't hold your breath on that. The Times writes that Sen. Ted Kennedy and "a relatively small number" of Democrats "were pushing for immediate, concrete steps to challenge Mr. Bush through legislation," but "for now" the leadership said they favored the "less-divisive approach of simply asking senators to cast a vote on a nonbinding resolution for or against the plan."
A NOTE TO READERS: The Skinny will soon be available via e-mail for those of you umbilically attached to your blackberries and whatnot. Click here and follow the directions to register to receive it in your inbox each weekday morning. Distribution will begin next week.
Copyright 2009 CBS. All rights reserved. You may be surprised to find that the unveiling of the blessed iPhone – an event treated much like the second coming or the season finale of "American Idol" – only made the front pages of two major papers, the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times.
While Apple's Steve Jobs told an audience that he wants to make the phone "so easy to use that everyone can use it," the NYT notes that the phone, priced between $499 and $599 and available on a single carrier "will not be for everyone."
And apparently, even though the iPhone does pretty much everything every other phone on the market does "it was the ability to fuse those elements with a raft of innovations and Apple's distinctive design sense that had the crowd here buzzing." Which means there was no shortage of breathless quotes from audience members: Tim Bajarin, president of consulting firm Creative Strategies, told the LA Times. "Instead of smart phone, how about 'brilliant' phone? This redefines what a cellphone looks like."
Apple will commence world domination (of the cell phone market, that is) in June and the earth will be renamed Apple, Inc. soon thereafter.
Sunny Iraq
A massive U.S. airstrike on Baghdad that lasted all day yesterday gains the front-page attention of three papers and the top of the Wall Street Journal's newsbox, which referred to it as a "possible 'surge' preview."
The New York Times called it "one of the most dramatic operations in the capital since the invasion nearly four years ago." The Washington Post quotes Maj. Jesse Pearson, on his third Iraq Tour, who said: "It was the most intense combat I have ever seen. We were in a fight for 11 straight hours."
According to the Los Angeles Times, Iraqi officials said "at least 51 suspected militants" were killed, but "no U.S. or Iraqi troops were killed, nor were any civilians."
The operation was a response to increased insurgent activity on Haifa Street near the Green Zone, where "Sunni gunmen had erected fake checkpoints in recent days, residents said, in one case pulling passengers from a minibus, killing them and stringing their bodies from utility poles," writes the LAT. The NYT and LAT emphasize the historical significance of Haifa Street for U.S. soldiers – it used to be called "Purple Heart Boulevard." "More than 160 soldiers from the First Battalion of the Ninth Cavalry were wounded trying to secure the area," writes the NYT.
Everyone also highlights that Tuesday's fight "points to the nature of the conflict U.S. forces could face in the weeks and months ahead," (as the Washington Post puts it) as President Bush unveils his new strategy this evening on television. While stabilizing Baghdad is essential to its stability, "the capital has become polarized more than ever along sectarian lines…"
Bush To Unveil Iraq Plan, Dems To Symbolically React
As for Bush's speech tonight, The Post previews it on the front page while the New York Times takes the Democrats' temperatures and USA Today takes a look at some of the questions "fill[ing] the air" among members of Congress.
While Bush has often spoken of his "disdain for micromanaging the war effort and for second-guessing his commanders," he will propose to do just that with his Iraq strategy by proposing to add up to 20,000 troops. It's a move that "Pentagon insiders say members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have long opposed," writes the Post. Apparently, they are "grudgingly going along with the plan because they have been promised that the military escalation will be matched by renewed political and economic efforts in Iraq."
For their part, Democrats plan to hold "symbolic votes" in Congress regarding Bush's plan for a troop increase. That bold move "would do nothing in practical terms to block Mr. Bush's intention to increase the United States military presence in Iraq," writes the NYT.
But they might consider "more muscular responses" – like capping troop deployments or limiting financing – but I wouldn't hold your breath on that. The Times writes that Sen. Ted Kennedy and "a relatively small number" of Democrats "were pushing for immediate, concrete steps to challenge Mr. Bush through legislation," but "for now" the leadership said they favored the "less-divisive approach of simply asking senators to cast a vote on a nonbinding resolution for or against the plan."
A NOTE TO READERS: The Skinny will soon be available via e-mail for those of you umbilically attached to your blackberries and whatnot. Click here and follow the directions to register to receive it in your inbox each weekday morning. Distribution will begin next week.
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