Read a little. Learn a lot. • Tightly-written news, views and stuff • Follow us on Twitter • Be a Facebook Fan • Tumble us!

09 Jan 2011 19:56

tags

U.S.: Jared Lee Loughner charged: Gabrielle Giffords shooting update

  • NO the second person of interest wasn’t involved at all source
  • » Other updates: Jared Lee Loughner has been charged with five separate criminal charges, including multiple counts of murder and attempted assassination of a U.S. congresswoman – with evidence in the incident coming from, on top of other sources, surveillance tape. Loughner, by the way, isn’t talking, but he did leave a note on an envelope for investigators scoping out his home: “I planned ahead.” With the envelope was a letter from Giffords in appreciation of Loughner’s visit to a similar 2007 event as the one on Saturday. Oh, and the initial 911 call was released. Whew.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Jan 2011 12:08

tags

U.S.: Did Jared Loughner have ties to racist, anti-Zionist group?

  • claim A report from the Department of Homeland Security suggests that Gabrielle Giffords shooting suspect Jared Loughner has ties to American Renaissance, a group they called “anti-ZOG (Zionist Occupational Government) and anti-semitic.” Hmm.
  • denial The group’s founder, Jared Taylor, denies this: “I have absolutely no idea what DHS is talking about. We have never used the term ‘ZOG.’ We have never thought in those terms. If this is the level of research we are getting from DHS, then Heaven help us.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Jan 2011 11:56

tags

U.S.: U.S. Government: Kids are getting way too much fluoride

  • » Sound weird, guys? Well yeah. Part of this is due to the level of fluoride in the water. Some areas have naturally-occurring high levels, while the government generally recommends utilities add a certain amount to drinking water. Now, Health and Human Services is suggesting lower levels, because many children are getting too much of it – especially in areas with naturally-occurring high levels. Hear that sound? That’s the crinkling of some weird guy’s tinfoil hat.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

09 Jan 2011 11:32

tags

World: North Korea hacked to the tune of “Super Mario World.” Heh.

  • So, when North Korea’s YouTube and Twitter accounts got hacked yesterday, this crude-looking cartoon got posted. The toon, which features background music from one of our favorite video games of all time (Super Mario World, what what?) shows Kim Jong-un violently slamming his convertible into starving North Korean children, and the heir apparent talking to his dad on an iPhone – while driving. The clip is crude and violent, so keep that in mind, but still interesting. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

09 Jan 2011 11:17

tags

World: Hey everybody! Think good thoughts for Sudan today

  • Today, southern Sudan votes for independence: In potentially heartwarming news, Southern Sudan could be placed in charge of its own destiny if the vote in the country favors an independent state. As we noted last night, Obama has been pushing for this. Considering the recent electoral strife in the African continent (looking at you, Ivory Coast), it would be great news if this particular election went well. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Jan 2011 11:03

tags

U.S.: Carlos Castro “scared to sleep” with boyfriend suspected of killing him

  • I’m scared to sleep with him here. I actually changed my flight to go home a couple of days early – this guy’s been acting crazy.
  • Portuguese celebrity journalist Carlos Castro • Speaking to a friend about Renato Seabra, his former lover who he went to NYC with. Castro never made it back home, reportedly dying in a wild fight with Seabra where the 20-year-old reality TV star did some things to him we choose not to repeat. If you want the full details on those, go to the link to New York Daily News, who has less of a squeam factor than we do. As for Seabra, he’s currently being held in a psychiatric facility. This story kind of got buried yesterday in the wake of the Giffords tragedy, but, really, it’s no less shocking – and involves a fairly well-known celebrity in Portugal. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

09 Jan 2011 09:51

tags

U.S.: Posted without comment: Today’s Arizona Daily Star front page

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

08 Jan 2011 22:59

tags

World: Obama to Sudan: Please keep voting process peaceful. Please?

  • As the referendum proceeds, voters must be allowed access to polling stations; they must be able to cast their ballots free from intimidation and coercion. All sides should refrain from inflammatory rhetoric or provocative actions that could raise tensions or prevent voters from expressing their will.
  • President Barack Obama • In an editorial, published in the New York Times, emphasizing the need for an honest vote in Sudan tomorrow, where they’ll be deciding whether to split the southern part of the country from the main country – a vote that Obama has long pushed for diplomatically. Obama suggests that if Sudan follows through with the vote without incident, the Khartoum region’s government could be taken off a list of state sponsors of terrorism. He also emphasizes that Darfur is also important to this peace process: “There can be no lasting peace in Sudan without lasting peace in the western Sudan region of Darfur.” We’re totally with him on this. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Jan 2011 22:20

tags

U.S.: To recap: Here’s what happened to Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson

  • one bullet went straight through Gifford’s brain – she’s currently getting heavy medical care
  • six number of deaths in the attack, including a judge; 13 more (beyond Gifford) were injured
  • nine the age of the youngest victim, an innocent bystander caught in the middle source
  • » A second suspect? Authorities are currently looking for a 50-year-old man who reportedly helped main suspect Jared Lee Loughner with the crime. He hasn’t been caught yet.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink

08 Jan 2011 22:00

tags

Politics: On Gabrielle Giffords, Sarah Palin, tonal problems, etc.

  • Probably the most interesting take we’ve seen on this whole incident comes from James Fallows. “It is legitimate,” Fallows writes, “to discuss whether there is a connection between that tone and actual outbursts of violence, whatever the motivations of this killer turn out to be.” The suspect – we don’t know what was going through his head, and who knows if we will. But a generally vitriolic political environment can have an unwieldy, uncontrollable result in the wrong hands. The reason why things like Sarah Palin’s “Take Back the 20” or her congressional opponent’s gun-shooting event worry us have nothing to do with Palin having a direct role in the shooting, but with the way that general anger and rage has played an influential role in our political climate. You have to be careful with this kind of imagery. A good comparison Fallows makes is the JFK assassination, where he offers a suggestion that Lee Harvey Oswald’s motives may have been influenced by the general anger and discontent in Dallas at the time of Kennedy’s visit. Arizona has a lot going on right now. It’s fair to draw comparisons, even if on the surface, they aren’t so clear. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
<< newer 
top tags
older >>