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07 Feb 2011 20:33

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World: Wikileaks cable: Israel favored Omar Suleiman to replace Mubarak

  • 2011 Omar Suleiman, a diplomatic figure closely associated with Hosni Mubarak (but mostly unknown to the Egyptian public) was appointed as Mubarak’s vice-president – and potentially leader-in-waiting – to the anger of many Egyptians.
  • 2008 A newly-released Wikileaks cable suggests that Israel heavily favored Suleiman were Mubarak to die or become incapacitated: “There is no question that Israel is most comfortable with the prospect of Suleiman,” the wire said. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Feb 2011 20:20

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Politics: Obama tries mending profitable fences with Chamber of Commerce

  • If there is a reason you don’t believe that this is the time to get off the sidelines — to hire and invest — I want to know about it. I want to fix it.
  • President Barack Obama • Speaking to the Chamber of Commerce today about the business role in building an economic recovery. Obama’s meeting with the organization was an attempt to mend fences. “I’m here in the interest of being more neighborly,” he said. “I strolled over from across the street, and, look, maybe if we had brought over a fruitcake when I first moved in, we would have gotten off to a better start. But I’m going to make up for it.” The speech, which balanced profit-making motives with Obama’s desire to see business actually hire people, didn’t go over very well with some. Just listen to this jerk: “I think it’s a little outside the bounds to suggest that if we hire people we don’t need,” said Buffalo Supply executive Harold Jackson, “there will be more demand.” We think Harold Jackson is full of crap. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Feb 2011 15:49

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Tech: AOL staking their livelihood on HuffPost accquisition

  • 40% of AOL’s money used to buy The Huffington Post source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Feb 2011 15:32

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U.S.: Gov. Rick Scott is not one to buck Republican orthodoxy

  • $5 billion in proposed budget cuts to Florida over the next two years
  • $4 billion in proposed tax cuts to Floridians over the next two years source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Feb 2011 15:15

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World: Wael Ghonim freed, asks NDP’s new Secretary General to resign

  • freedom Wael Ghonim, the Google executive who was held for over a week under Egyptian custody, was released to the great relief of his friends and family, as announced by the company earlier    this afternoon.
  • retort Ghonim tweeted this, moments after he proclaimed his release: “Gave my 2 cents to Dr. Hosam Badrawy. who was reason why I am out today. Asked him resign cause that’s the only way I’ll respect him.”
  • realityBadrawi, new Sec. Gen. of the NDP, is considered a liberal reformer within Hosni Mubarak’s party. Ghonim’s demand is indicative of the taint carried by any role in the NDP. It looks like a full purge is needed. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Feb 2011 14:10

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World: Getting back to basic fears, shark attacks rise in 2010

  • Shark week? More like shark year: Reported shark attack rates reached their highest level since 2000 last year, topping out at seventy-nine. The most publicized were likely those in the Red Sea, where there were five attacks in four days, and four of those attacks were thought to have been done by just two sharks. Still, the biggest takeaway from this? Shark attacks are still, as ever, exceedingly rare, even with repeat offenders like the Red Sea duo stalking the waters. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Feb 2011 13:18

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Politics: Tony Blair has his say on Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood

  • It is founded on a different view of the relationship between religion and public policy than most people in secular societies would want.
  • Former British PM Tony Blair • The oft-maligned former leader speaking about the Muslim Brotherhood, whose likely involvement in forming a new Egyptian government is causing some angst for advocates of secularism. Blair suggested the Brotherhood was not extremist like some groups in other countries, but that while religion had an important place in society, he “wouldn’t want to live in even a democratic theocracy.” Can you even call something democracy if one entity officially has omnipotent control over the people?  source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

07 Feb 2011 12:57

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U.S.: This week in international disease transplantation

  • 3 cholera diagnoses in New York City, by way of the Dominican Republic source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Feb 2011 11:22

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Tech: Gawker finally moves over to that bold redesign they have

  • Oh, hey new Gawker: In case anyone needed a reason to go to Gawker today, here you go. Compared to previous iterations of the redesign, the kickers in front of the topics help a lot. They weren’t there before, making everything sort of blend into one another. Still, though, we think this is a huge mistake on Gawker’s part. By downplaying what made Gawker worthwhile (the snarky blurbs over to the right), they endanger their base. Good luck, though. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Feb 2011 11:13

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World: Rio de Janeiro’s famous carnival props lost in massive fire

  • It looks really funny until you realize the context: Rio de Janeiro’s carnival-building section of town, Samba City, just had a huge fire where lots of stuff got destroyed. Costumes, giant props: They were almost all destroyed. (Nobody was hurt, though.) “We are heartbroken,” said League of Samba Schools president Jorge Castanheria. “Everything was practically ready for the carnival.” It happened so close to the event, which draws hundreds of thousands of people each year, that they may not be able to get everything ready in time. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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