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23 Jan 2011 11:07

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U.S.: The NYT makes Rockford, Illinois look as depressed as possible

  • “Dear residents of Rockford, Illinois: This is The New York Times. We’re doing a photo feature on why your town is so depressed and lacking in jobs. (16 percent unemployment?! We need to do this story, stat!) We need to take photos of your citizens. None of you are allowed to smile. If you smile, we’re going to find someone else who looks plainer than you. OK? Thanks. We’ll send a photog from Manhattan to the Rust Belt on a private jet sometime next week. Remember. Plain. No smiles. Optimism is dead. Thanks.” source

23 Jan 2011 10:45

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World: Ahmadinejad pretends to be willing to work on nuclear thing

  • If the other party is determined and committed to law, justice and respect, there is hope that in the next sessions good results would be achieved.
  • Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad • Blaming the people on the other side of the table for failing to make a nuclear deal happen. Because, let’s face it, he has to give a little bit of rope for the rest of the world to pull on, or they’re going to slip and fall – and never believe Ahmadinejad’s dishonesty again. source

23 Jan 2011 10:33

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World: Tunisia violence: Two differing death toll estimates

  • 100+ the United Nations estimate of the death toll in Tunisia in the wake of the extended protests
  • 78 the estimate from the country’s interior minister, Ahmed Friaa … so which estimate is right? source
  • » Currently under house arrest (reportedly): Two of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali’s strongest confidantes, Abdelaziz Ben Dhia and Abdallah Kallel, are in custody of the new government. Meanwhile, a third adviser, Abdelwaheb Abdallah, is on the run. The info comes from the country’s state-run Agence Tunis Afrique Presse, which didn’t reveal a source. Oh yeah, in case you’re wondering, those police officers from yesterday want to make it clear they weren’t responsible for the death toll above.