BarbaWire, March 22

Oh No You Didn't
Fox News is reporting that Moammar Gadhafi’s folks used foreign journalists as shields by scheduling a tour of the previous day’s damage to the embattled leader’s compound. Coalition forces were ready to fire again on the compound, but couldn’t because of the journalists presence. It would have meant civilian casualties. The compound is a target because it has air defense systems and a military command and control center. The mission doesn’t call for the killing of Gadhafi. More.
The story has turned into a bit of fight between CNN and Fox News. Fox initially reported that it hadn’t sent anyone on what they described as a propaganda tour, but later admitted to sending one of its security guards with a camera.
Meanwhile, CNN correspondent Nic Robertson got super sassy and said the only time he sees the Fox correspondents is at breakfast. Oh snap!

We Are Your Friends
A U.S. fighter jet crashed outside of Benghazi, Libya on Monday, but the pilot and co-pilot were able to eject themselves and are safe and sustained only minor injuries. The plane was brought down by an equipment malfunction, the AP is reporting.
One of the airmen landed in pasture and it sounds like he didn’t know what to expect. He raised his hands and called out “OK, OK.” But a crowd gathered around to shake his hand. Telegraph, a British newspaper, quoted witness Younis Amruni as saying, “I hugged him and said, 'Don't be scared, we are your friends'." He added, "We are so grateful to these men who are protecting the skies." More.

For a more detailed look at what’s going on in Libya, read this story.

A Lil' Buzzed
Keith Gruber is one brave dude. Yesterday he showed up to a pretrial hearing for his felony driving while intoxicated arrest with a bag of Busch beer. He had four beers in the bag and one open one in his hand. The judge asked Gruber if he enjoyed his liquid lunch, he said he did and was sorry. The judge sent him to jail without bail.
I am guessing it was a 12-pack, because he had four in the bag, one in his hand and was visibly drunk. That rules out a six pack, right? Although my mom does say that alcoholics appear visibly drunk after just their first beer. As my friend says, sorry for partying, bro. More.

On Fire
About 1,200 acres in the Denver area foothills are on fire. It seems a little early in the year for these kinds of fires, but it has been a mild winter there. Every time there is a wildfire in Colorado I think about being on Semester at Sea. The ship had a newswire that wasn’t half as informative as this rag. It had a headline about all of Denver being on fire. The fire was in Castle Rock, which is about 30 miles south of Denver. Still freaked me out. More.

Empty Nests
A fifth of the homes in Florida are vacant. This isn’t all that surprising given the amount of overbuilding that occurred in the Sunshine State. The surprise, however, might be the overhang. I don’t think anyone thought it would take this long to soak up all the excess supply of homes down there. Unfortunately, a lot of these homes are located really far inland, too, where it is hotter and muggy. I remember back in the early days of the economic downturn – when I was still living in Florida and being blamed for the downturn in the market – an economist told me that everyone lost sight of the fundamental principles of homebuilding: every home needs an end user. More.

Red Wine Cures All
Not to make light on the very serious situation in Japan’s nuclear plant, but I am all about protecting myself from radiation this way. Pass the Malbec.

Taco Bell to Jail Cell
A San Antonio man shot at a restaurant manager, police and spurred a three-and-a-half hour standoff with police all because of the cost of a Taco Bell burrito. They used to be 99 cents, now they are $1.49. Two immediate thoughts: there aren’t any better Mexican restaurants in San Antonio? And I know where I am going for lunch today. Chalupa.

Two and a Half Men, Three and a Half Personalities
Charlie Sheen might be getting his job back. I guess in Hollywood it pays to be completely out of your mind, so long as you are bankable. More.

Nightmares
When I first saw the headline I thought this was going to funny. It is not. It is pretty darn sad. More.