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28 Sep 2009 23:00

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U.S.: Is Derrion Albert’s death a tipping point for school violence?

Screencaps from Darrion Albert's murder

It's a hard video to watch. (Watch it here, but note that it's very graphic.) It's a situation that you'll likely never be in. But in Chicago, it's a way of life. Derrion Albert's death is not the first nor the last to happen in and around the public school system, but it could be a tipping point.
  • Derrion Albert Albert, an honors student, got caught in the middle of a gang fight just blocks away from his school, where a separate incident happened earlier that day. He was kicked and beaten with a plank, and he died on the scene. But someone caught it on a camera phone, a video that allowed Chicago police to identify the suspects. Four have been charged. source
  • Derrion Albert Albert, an honors student, got caught in the middle of a gang fight just blocks away from his school, where a separate incident happened earlier that day. He was kicked and beaten with a plank, and he died on the scene. But someone caught it on a camera phone, a video that allowed Chicago police to identify the suspects. Four have been charged.
  • This was not isolated Let’s be honest here: Albert’s death is getting much more attention because of the YouTube-friendly video. But it’s attention that can be harnessed. 290 students were injured last year in gun-related incidents in Chicago, and gang fights like the one shown in the video are common. The page-one play of this story could help the city turn a corner. source
  • Derrion Albert Albert, an honors student, got caught in the middle of a gang fight just blocks away from his school, where a separate incident happened earlier that day. He was kicked and beaten with a plank, and he died on the scene. But someone caught it on a camera phone, a video that allowed Chicago police to identify the suspects. Four have been charged.
  • This was not isolated Let’s be honest here: Albert’s death is getting much more attention because of the YouTube-friendly video. But it’s attention that can be harnessed. 290 students were injured last year in gun-related incidents in Chicago, and gang fights like the one shown in the video are common. The page-one play of this story could help the city turn a corner.
  • Social media As Albert’s death becomes a touchstone for Chicago schools, it’s important to note the video’s impact. Like the texting-while-driving PSA from a month ago, this video stays with you. It’s as strong a deterrent against gang violence as any, because the world doesn’t need more Derrion Alberts. Chicago needs safer schools and safer streets. Will that happen? source

28 Sep 2009 22:07

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Tech: First Google Voice, now health care? Apple’s app bans get political

  • I feel like politicians already have a megaphone and Apple is making it worse instead of making it easier for a regular guy to get an application into the store.
  • iPhone app developer Red Daly • Describing his frustration with Apple declining his app iSinglePayer for political reasons. The app, which explained to people the benefits of a Canada-style health care system and gives those users ways to contact their representatives, was blocked by phone specifically because it pushed a political opinion. For Daly, he says it was defeating because he “went to the app store because I felt like I didn’t have much of a voice in other spheres.” Eventually, all these arbitrary bans are going to catch up with Apple. • source

28 Sep 2009 21:34

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U.S., World: Stop, collaborate & listen. ICE is back with a $41M acquisition

Holy crap that’s a lot of money
  • Immigration and Customs Enforcement just found a lot of money in a bunch of shipping containers in Mexico and Colombia. You know guys, if you just want to leave one of those containers in front of our apartment, we wouldn’t mind it.source

28 Sep 2009 21:34

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Tech: Usability supergenius Jakob Nielsen: Don’t let fads suck you in

No matter your opinion of the controversial Nielsen – who wrote an early book on hypertext back in 1989 – he’s a fascinating interviewee. source

28 Sep 2009 21:09

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World: What the heck happened in Honduras? Things are declining fast

  • Protests are heavy and seem to be getting worse thanks to outed president Manuel Zelaya’s presence. Zelaya’s getting criticized because he got back in, destabilizing everything. The interim government took out major media outlets to limit criticism and the free flow of information. And there was talk of taking away people’s civil liberties. To put it simply, the country’s completely gone down the tubes in three months. How did this happen?source

28 Sep 2009 20:46

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World: Soldiers in Guinea violently strike back against the opposition

  • 87 people have been killed by soldiers at a rally in Guinea source

28 Sep 2009 20:35

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Culture: So, why didn’t they arrest Roman Polanski a long time ago?

  • Critics say they had their chances. People following the director’s long, crazy road to arrest don’t understand the timing of Polanski’s capture. It wasn’t like he had never been to Switzerland. In fact, he had a home there and openly traveled to the country. But authorities claim it was a matter of knowing when he was going to be there, but they hadn’t been scoping him out closely. source
 

28 Sep 2009 20:21

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Politics: Oh great; someone made the Shoe Bomber look like an amateur

  • Now we found someone who was made to believe he could kill people with an )#&hole bomb, and so it follows that the TSA will have to ban – or at least inspect – our #(^holes.
  • BoingBoing blogger Cory Doctorow • Discussing the hilarious/scary/sad/disturbing (choose one) revelation that some guy was caught with a bomb in his posterior attempting to kill a Saudi prince. Considering the way that the Transportation and Security Administration has handled similar incidents, Doctorow notes, it would follow that airport security would require anal cavity search for everyone. He’s not alone. Computer security expert Bruce Schneier, in a post titled “@I^ bomber,” makes this hilarious/scary/sad/disturbing (choose one) observation: “For years, I have made the joke about Richard Reid: ‘Just be glad that he wasn’t the underwear bomber.’ Now, sadly, we have an example of one.” • source

28 Sep 2009 09:58

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Offbeat: President Barack Obama: A beacon for facial consistency

  • Dude is such a good politician that he can keep the same pose no matter who he’s standing with. This, friends, is an awesomely goofy video.source

28 Sep 2009 09:48

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