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09 Mar 2011 14:40

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World: Grim deathtoll in wake of Taliban’s funeral sneak attack

  • 36+ killed in a suicide bombing by the Pakistani Taliban source
  • » And at a funeral, no less. A teenager reportedly detonated himself while pretending to attend a Pakistani funeral service, which was being held by an anti-Taliban group in the country’s northwest. The funeral’s proximity to the Taliban and al-Qaeda’s safe havens within Pakistan made it a natural target. Our deepest condolences to all those killed in this most horrible attack.

09 Mar 2011 14:11

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U.S.: Washington Post political reporter David S. Broder has died

  • David S. Broder, dead at 81: The legendary Washington Post political reporter passed away today. A veteran of cataclysmic American news stories, not least of all the Watergate scandal, Broder was a deeply respected and revered figure in print news, and had last contributed a column to the Post on February 6th. I think most everybody understands the dream of loving your work so much that you want to just keep doing it, even into your 80s. That Broder knew this joy, and showed this industriousness, is a credit both to himself and the people who surrounded him. source

09 Mar 2011 13:57

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World: Muammar Gaddafi blames (surprise!) foreigners for uprising

  • Muammar Gaddafi, still horrible: Included in this already striking video showing Libyan rebels firing on a state war plane overhead, Muammar Gaddafi held a press conference of sorts in which he again claimed there isn’t a domestic uprising against him. He said that small groups of dissidents have entered Libya from Afghanistan, Algeria, Egypt and Palestine, but rest assured, Libyans are still with him. It’d be amusing, if he weren’t brutally killing his own people. source

09 Mar 2011 13:37

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Politics: Newt Gingrich loves America too much to stay faithful

  • There’s no question at times of my life, partially driven by how passionately I felt about this country, that I worked far too hard and things happened in my life that were not appropriate.
  • Newt Gingrich • Making an argument about his own infidelity that one suspects he would’ve decried as disgraceful and a reason to resign if Bil Clinton had said it. You might wonder why, at this moment, Gingrich is even addressing this past, until you consider who he’s making this pitch to. He spoke to the Christian Broadcasting Network, and knowing full well the power of the Christian right-wing in Republican politics, he wants to make it plainly clear that he’s not only sorry, but he’s apologized to his God as well. The broader consequence is that it reminds everybody of Gingrich’s biggest political liability; his actions during the Clinton impeachment were as close to bald, unambiguous hypocrisy as you can see in the political realm. source

09 Mar 2011 13:35

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U.S.: California headlines America’s shifting racial demographics

  • 50%+ of children in California are Latino, says the U.S. Census
  • 1:4 children under 18 are non-Hispanic whites, a rate which decreased
  • 38% of all Californians are Latinos, compared with 40 percent whites source

09 Mar 2011 11:23

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Music: The death of Alice in Chains bassist Mike Starr has us very sad


If Nirvana has the saddest story of grunge, Alice in Chains is right behind. The death of ex-bassist Mike Starr, who long fought drugs, came nine years after Layne Staley’s demise. source

09 Mar 2011 11:08

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Politics: Muammar Gaddafi: Libyan no-fly zone all about controlling oil

  • If they take such a decision [to impose a no-fly zone], it will be useful for Libya, because the Libyan people will see the truth, that what they want is to take control of Libya and to steal their oil. Then the Libyan people will take up arms against them.
  • Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi • Offering a wince-worthy explanation of what will happen of a no-fly zone is enforced over Libya soil. Yeah, sure … this no-fly zone thing is all about taking the oil away from the Libyan government. We’ll go for that, right guys? source
 

09 Mar 2011 10:54

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Tech: HP’s making WebOS an option – for your laptop and desktop (Whoa!)

  • Need any more proof Windows will die someday? Well, here you go. Starting in 2012, HP will start offering WebOS on its PCs, allowing users to choose between Windows and the Web-oriented operating system. This is a huge step, because it means two major companies – Google and HP – are pushing away from the traditional Windows model. But HP’s corner-stoned on the model, so it’s even bigger than Google’s Chrome OS. This is huge. source

09 Mar 2011 10:41

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World: Sectarian violence: Muslims, Coptic Christians fight in Egypt

  • 9+ number of people killed in fighting between Muslims and Coptic Christians near Cairo
  • 90+ more were injured in clashes stemming from the burning of a church last week source
  • » A conflict on the back-burner: The tensions between the minority Copts (who make up 9 percent of Egypt’s population) and Muslims (who make up 90 percent) have already been pretty high this year after an extremely deadly suicide bombing in January. The mess with Mubarak took the attention away for the while, but now it’s back. The Christian Science Monitor has a pretty good explanation of what’s happening right now.

09 Mar 2011 10:26

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Politics: Trial of the Century: Rod Blagojevich wants to be sentenced (!?!)

  • Uh-oh. Appears Blago’s out of money: Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has asked a judge to pause the retrial in his corruption case and sentence him now. Why, you ask? Well, he’s out of money. “Should this motion be granted…funds for the second trial would no longer be necessary,” the motion said. Oh yeah, there’s a benefit for taxpayers, too: The decision would be of “no further cost to taxpayers.” Always looking on the bright side, Mr. Haircut. source