Humoring the Headlines: March 25, 2014

By Laurie Baron

SAN DIEGO-Media pundits have noted that CNN has become obsessed with the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 filling the 24 hour news cycle with various theories about what happened to the airplane in lieu of any news to report.  People tired of the CNN coverage can turn to Rachel Maddow who has devoted her program to investigating whether Chris Christie diverted the flight to Fort Lee and then closed the city airport’s runway.
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Turkey has banned Twitter to repress protests there.  If the government had checked, it would have realized that most Turks haven’t advanced beyond using Myspace.

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Hassidic men in Brooklyn have turned to plastic surgeons for facial hair transplants that will make their beards bushier.  Not only does this make them look more pious, it opens up opportunities for them to be hired as extras on Duck Dynasty.
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A collision between two oil tankers occurred in the Houston Ship Channel.  Environmentalists accuse the oil companies of planning the crash to celebrate the 25^th anniversary of the Exxon Valdez  spill.
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President Obama surprised the world this week when he announced Russia had been expelled from the G8 summit meeting transforming the consultative body into the G7.  Bracket watchers are guessing which country will be left when the organization changes its name to the G1.

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Baron is professor emeritus of history at San Diego State University.  He may be contacted via lawrence.baron@sdjewishworld.com