Investigative Journalism: How Obama Plays a Personal Role in Okaying Assassinations

U.S. President Barack Obama's unprecedented and gruesome role in approving the killing of every suspected Al Qaeda militant is investigated in detail in this interesting example of investigative reporting in The New York Times.

One of the revelations: Obama has the final say in each assassination at "nominations" meetings - held each week or so with over 100 national security staff to decide who will die next.

Also, when death counts from the huge number of military strikes are released to the public, any male of military age is automatically deemed to be a militant. And presto: Virtually no civilians are thus being killed in the drone attacks.

The assassination campaign has had another bonus for Obama, who was critical of the Guantanamo detention facility in Cuba during his election campaign. No detainees!

Tools: 50 Cool Twitter Chats for Journos

Hook up with fellow journalists who share similar interests via journalism-related Twitter chats. These are Twitter-based discussions that happen regularly (often at a certain time once a week). Here is an interesting list of 50 good ones.

Awards: PWAC Writing Prizes Call for Entries

Canadian writers and editors take note: Entries are now open for the third annual writing awards of the Professional Writers Association of Canada. You don't have to be a PWAC member to submit your masterpiece. See here for more details.