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09 May 2011 17:17

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U.S.: U.S. aid to Pakistan comes under fire after bin Laden killing

  • $18 billion in aid given by the U.S. to Pakistan since 2002 source
  • » Bang for your buck: The above figure is a cause for angst among some U.S. politicians in the wake of the surprising (to say the least) discovery of al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan last week. Senators Frank Lautenberg and Susan Collins have made it clear they may not support further funding — Collins says she’s concerned about Pakistan playing a “double-game.” On the other side of the issue, Senator Richard Luger supports continuation of the aid, saying that Pakistan is simply too critical to counter-terrorism to sever financial ties.
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 May 2011 14:03

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World: Pakistan pushes back against bin Laden insinuations

  • We didn’t know! In the aftermath of Osama bin Laden’s killing in Pakistan last week, one pressing question has been this: how on earth could a U.S. ally (made so by the billions in aid America gives them each year) acting in competent good faith not have known that bin Laden was living less than a mile from a huge military academy? In a town swarming with retired military officials? Pakistan denies any knowledge or wrongdoing here, but that’s just it — this is a situation in which any admission of wrongdoing is so diplomatically catastrophic that no government would ever cop to it, regardless of how it would make them look. What do y’all think? source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 May 2011 13:40

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World: South Korea to North: renounce nukes and you can join summit

  • South’s idea of nuke security is the North not having them: South Korean President Lee Myung-bak has told the North that dictator-for-life Kim Jong-Il (also called “The Dear Leader” or “The Great General” by his population of brutally oppressed, starving citizens) can attend a summit on nuclear security if and only if he renounces his nuclear weapons. If this seems like a stretch, you’re not alone; Kim Jong-Il almost certainly has no interest in such a deal, as his nukes are the biggest thing internationally protecting his totalitarian rule (which uses concentration camps as both a means to forced labor for the state, and an end to disobedient citizens). This seems, sad to say, like Lee Myung-bak making an empty offer, one the North will ignore in the same spirit. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 May 2011 11:29

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Biz, World: Foxconn’s dilemma: Worker suicides down, but so are profits

  • positive Factory workers at China’s Foxconn plants, where they build iPhones, iPads and a bunch of other iStuff, aren’t committing suicide nearly as much as they were a year ago, thanks in part to reforms put in place after Apple twisted their arm.
  • negative Despite a large jump in revenue for the company, their earnings were down — which, unfortunately, might be a reason for others to not follow suit. Good Magazine suggests we, as consumers, should stop taking advantage of “misery discounts.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 May 2011 11:13

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U.S.: Memphis floodwaters about to crest at near-record levels

  • I just want a new life and relocation. I would like the elected officials to come down here to see this with their own eyes and see what we’re going through.
  • Memphis resident Cedric Blue • Expressing anger over his current plight — as a victim of the near-record flooding that is currently engulfing Memphis. (A note on that: We previously reported that the flood had hit record levels; this was based on information provided by an incorrect Christian Science Monitor report.) The river is expected to crest today, hours earlier than expected, but the city says it’s ready for the flloding — which is not expected to top that of the region’s record 1937 flood, with which it shares many similarities. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 May 2011 10:27

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Biz, Tech: LinkedIn IPO could prove social media’s heft on the stock market

  • 7.84M number of shares of stock LinkedIn plans to sell during its IPO
  • $35 the high-end price the company’s shares could go for on the market
  • $3Bthe potential value of the company’s IPO — which is kind of a lot source
  • » Getting in early: LinkedIn is one of the first examples of a social media company taking its chances on the stock market, which suggests that Facebook — which is far more widely-used than LinkedIn is — could totally do well in the case of an IPO. The company, which announced its IPO intentions in January,  has filed to go on the New York Stock Exchange under “LKND.”
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 May 2011 10:08

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U.S.: POLL: Should Obama release the photos of Bin Laden’s death?

  • The nays have it: Though some might find reason for disagreeing with Obama on whether or not to release death photos of the al-Qaeda leader, a NBC News poll puts that number strongly in Obama’s favor, though some of the people polled weren’t super-passionate about the issue. When we posed this question to our readers last week, we got a lot of passionate response on both sides. Which suggests that people passionate about this are really passionate. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

09 May 2011 01:35

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World: Egyptian counter-revolution? Hard-line Salafist Islam gains steam

  • The roots of Egypt’s sectarian violence: When Hosni Mubarak was in power, his influence repressed the salafis, a hard-line but influential Islamic sect in the country, ensuring they would not hold strong influence over the country’s militant Sunni Muslims. But with Mubarak out of power, they’re taking advantage of the opporutunity, most recently during the sectarian violence that engulfed two churches near Cairo. “There is no security in Egypt,” said Rober, a member of one of the churches that was destroyed in the conflict. “This is only the beginning. I’m afraid for my sister, for my mother, from the salafis.” Yasmine El Rashidi, a Cairo-based columnist for the New York Review of Books, recently described the scene as a counterrevolution, which might be a little strong, but nonetheless underlines the severity of what’s happening right now. Keep an eye on this. It could be bad. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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