ETA: Basque separatists in Spain claim they’re done fighting

These guys really wanted to break off from Spain and build their own country. They did it using violent means, and over the past 40 years, over 850 people died at their hands. But today, Basque separatists ETA have claimed to lay down their arms, weakened by a tough year full of arrests. We’ll see if this holds up, or if these pirate ghost-looking dudes are just bluffing. source

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The Holy See is following the case with attention and participation. The position of the church, which is opposed to the death penalty, is that stoning is a particularly brutal form.
Vatican spokesperson Federico Lombardi • Informing the world that Pope Benedict XVI is willing to get diplomatically involved in the Iran stoning case if it escalates any further. The case, if you’re not aware, involves Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, who was convicted of adultery in a case that involved the death of her husband. She was sentenced to stoning, which involves groups of people throwing stones at the person convicted – not exactly a fun way to die. (She was also sentenced to 99 lashes because of a newspaper photo that was reportedly not even of her.) The fact that this has the Pope’s attention raises hope that there might be a diplomatic solution to the humanitarian crisis. source

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» And he gets his job back: While his German employer didn’t want to reinstate him, going so far as to appeal his claim, the court decided that their grounds were unfair, partly due to the fact that people regularly charged their cell phones or digital photo frames using the company’s power. Oh, and he had been with the company for 19 years. Problem is, they didn’t look like douches for riding around on a Segway, which we’re guessing was the real grounds for dismissal.

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05 Sep 2010 13:23