From the department of holy crap (or just crap)

A variety of stories that have been piling up in my tabs...

• Quite shocking, the NYTimes company might actually follow through on its threat to close the Boston Globe, although it may still just be trying to strong-arm a variety of its unions.
  (via Atrios)
  
  
• Truly horrific: Elsevier actually publishes a fake journal so that a major pharmaceutical company can cite nonexistant research in support of its products. In how many ways is this wrong?!?
  (via NowThis, in a tweet)
  Update: they have a whole division dedicated to this sort of fake authenticity! ack!!
  
  
• Republicans will blaim anything on a conspiracy. Sure, we liberals cooked up a pandemic as a plot to expand the reach of government...
  
  
• Wonkette makes a good case for getting rid of the White House press corps, which seems to do more along the lines of gossip columns than breaking real news or analysis.
  (via Follow Me Here)
  
  
• Jason Kottke has an interesting defense of Twitter, which really extends to all online networking and socializing -- that is, it is neither more nor less inane than in-person socializing, but people seem to expect More, somehow, from all the bells and whistles.