Daily Surf Report: Runner Faces Disqualification for Being Partly Male Aug 21, 200911:51 PDT

Friday, August 21, 2009.

How many doctors does it take to determine the gender of an athlete? Apparently, quite a few. Meanwhile, Obama takes a vacation from his sagging poll numbers and Moby goes on tour to raise some awareness. We also premiere the trailer of Michael Moore’s new movie, Capitalism: A Love Story. This is your Daily Surf Report, using the best videos on the web to keep you abreast of the day’s top stories.

Obama’s Poll Numbers, Popularity Decline

Economic recession, job losses, and a difficult battle over health care are taking their toll on President Obama’s polling numbers. While still over 50%, Obama’s popularity is down across the board as the Nation’s difficulties are projected on the President’s job performance by a frustrated populace.

In this video, MSNBC and 60 Minutes examine President Obama’s current situation and how it’s affecting his public impressions. It’s an in-depth and balanced conversation that looks at the legacies of the four most recent Presidencies, and how the challenges of their terms impacted the public opinions of their successes and failures:

Singer Moby Tours For Climate Change

A joint effort between the European Union and MTV to raise awareness of climate change has resulted in the Play to Stop Campaign, a series of concert tours that seeks to educate audiences while they entertain.
Singer Moby has taken a lead role in the concerts, debuting songs from his upcoming album “Wait For Me’ while fighting what he considers to be humanity’s greatest threat to ourselves.

To hear a preview of Moby’s new music, as well as his thoughts on what we stand to lose if we don’t become more conscious of the damage we’re doing to the environment, check out this report:

5 Doctors Examine Runner

On Wednesday, South African runner Caster Semenya demolished the competition in the women’s 800 meter world championships in Berlin.

Today five doctors, comprised of an endocrinologist, a gynecologist, an internal medicine expert, an expert on gender and a psychologist, begin examining Semenya to definitively determine her gender. An external physical examination of her body confirmed Semenya as female, however the team of experts was assembled to do a much more thorough study of her body.

This video explains what the job entails and why, despite being a woman, Semenya may still be disqualified.

Moore Unveils “Capitalism”

Controversial documentarian Michael Moore, the director behind Bowling for Columbine, Farenheit 9/11, and Sicko, has unveiled the next target of his camera’s scrutiny: Wall Street. Whether it’s Walmart, the Bush Administration, or the Health Care Industry, Moore has proven he’s not afraid to go for the throat of the powerful, and his cross-hairs find the banking industry and securities market in Capitalism: A Love Story.

Filming on the new movie, which takes a behind the scenes look at the global recession and the housing bust, began before the worst of the recession began and follows through the Government bank bailout.

Moore’s work has been accused of being biased (even falsified) by some and revelatory by others. Love him or hate him, his films continue to incite strong reactions. As you can see by the trailer below, Capitalism: A Love Story will continue that trend:

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