3-25-09

3-25-09—Citing President Barack Obama’s “long-stated unwillingness to hold human life as sacred,” the Most Rev. John M. D’Arcy, bishop of the Catholic diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, announced Tuesday he will not attend the University of Notre Dame’s commencement ceremony in May. –SBT A1
--Alberto Giacommetti said that he could not get over “the violence of Bonnard,” a quality he found lacking in Jackson Pollock when he compared the two. WSJ D7
--With at least 1718, China was responsible for 72% of all executions in 2008 [reported Amnesty International]. After China were Iran (346), Saudi Arabia (102), the United States (37) and Pakistan (36).... “Together they carried out 93% of all executions world wide,” the report said.—NYTA11
--Workers at an American-owned pharmaceutical factory [in France] took their manager hostage on Tuesday in a protest over planned job cuts --NYT A12
--The police in Dublin said Tuesday they were investigating who was responsible for hanging unsigned oil paintings of Prime Minister Brian Cowen in two of the city’s art galleries that depicted him naked.—NYT A12
--Following is the transcript of a conversation between a Wage and Hour Division employee and an investigator posing as a worker whose employer had paid less than the minimum wage, as recorded by the federal Government Accountability Office: Wage and Hour Division employee: “You’re sure you don’t want to just have a nice conversation with him yourself?” Undercover investigator: “No, no, I don’t want to, because he gets very loud and angry.” Employee: “O.K., well here’s another avenue that you can pursue. O.K., do you have another job lined up?” Investigator: “No.” Employee: “O.K., you might want to do that before you file a complaint with us, because I can’t guarantee that he’s not going to fire you.”