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07 May 2011 11:51

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World: Syria: Did Assad’s brother Maher start firing on unarmed civilians?

  • Is Assad’s brother pulling the trigger here? In one of the more striking videos to come out of the Syrian protests, a guy in a leather jacket pulls out a gun and starts shooting at unarmed civilians. Protesters say that Maher Assad, brother of Bashar, is the man pulling the trigger in this clip, shot in the Syrian suburb of Barzeh. If it’s true, that’s messed up. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 May 2011 16:37

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World: The real question: Was Osama bin Laden smoking marijuana?

  • They were growing pot on his compound: A recent report by our boy Nic Robertson of CNN notes that the slain al-Qaeda leader may have had an interesting crop on his property. Next to the cabbage and potatoes were potent marijuana leaves, which is interesting for a number of reasons. Osama had longstanding kidney problems, which might partly explain it, but if he was smoking recreationally, that adds a new wrinkle to this story. LOOK AT US, SPECULATING! source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 May 2011 14:40

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World: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad faces ultimatum from Iran’s Supreme Leader

  • [Khamenei] gave me a deadline to make up my mind. I would either accept [the reinstatement] or resign.
  • Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (as quoted by Iranian parliament member Morteza Agha-Tehrani) • Describing the choice that Iran’s president is reportedly up against. The Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, reportedly has to accept the reinstatement of intelligence minister Heydar Moslehi, who Ahmadinejad had forced to resign. If this is true, it’s a pretty good reminder to everyone that Ahmadinejad holds less power than his title suggests. (By the way, this story is from The Guardian, whom we trust a bit more than Examiner.com, and also largely matches ProducerMatthew’s report from last night.) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 May 2011 14:22

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U.S.: Accessory in Tyler Clementi suicide case accepts plea deal

  • An accessory to Tyler Clementi’s bullying scores a deal: While not completely in the clear, Molly Wei avoided jail time in the webcam bullying incident that officials believe led to Clementi’s suicide. The incident, which we’ve mentioned numerous times in the past, involved Clementi’s Rutgers roommate, Dharun Rhavi, reportedly streaming from a webcam in their room while Clementi was making out with his boyfriend. Rhavi watched from Wei’s room. Not long after Clementi found out about the spying, he jumped off the George Washington Bridge, causing a huge outcry against bullying. As part of Wei’s plea deal, she’ll testify against Rhavi (who faces hate crime charges), serve 300 hours of community service, and take classes on cyberbullying and tolerance. Clementi’s family accepted the deal, saying that “Wei’s actions, although unlawful, were substantially different in their nature.” Wei’s lawyer, whole accepting the deal, says his client denies being a bully. Either way, we hope soon for the closure of this difficult case.  source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 May 2011 10:46

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Biz: April jobs numbers: Mostly good this time, but not completely

  • 244k the number of jobs added in April, according to fresh jobs numbers released today
  • 268k the number of jobs added specifically to the private sector, which drove the growth
  • 9% the unemployment rate, which is up slightly from March’s number, 8.8 percent source
  • » Overall, decent news: Economists largely feel that the numbers are positive this time around. One negative of note is the decline of public sector jobs, which fell by 24,000 last month. However, some economists note that certain numbers, such as weak construction numbers and a lack of growth in average work hours, give them pause. Still though, a few negative-looking economic reports from earlier in the week made these numbers look much better than expected.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 May 2011 10:07

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World: Note from al-Qaeda: Osama bin Laden dead, but we’ll retaliate

  • Soon — with help from Allah — their happiness will turn into sorrow, and their blood will be mixed with their tears.
  • A message reportedly from al-Qaeda • Revealing that Osama bin Laden is dead (on their end), and that retaliation was likely in the cards. The statement was posted on notable jihadist forums this morning, and SITE Intelligence Group translated it. “We will not deviate from that or change until Allah judges between us and between our enemy with truth,” the note continues. “Indeed, He is the best of all judges. Nothing will harm us after that, until we see either victory and success and conquest and empowerment, or we die trying.” So, to those doubting Bin Laden’s death: So there’s this. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 May 2011 20:37

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World: Libyan rebels get Robin Hood-style help from Gaddafi’s coffers

  • request Libyan rebels asked for a funding to help them continue their military campaign to beat Gaddafi’s forces — they wanted cash from the $40 billion frozen from both the country’s and Gaddafi’s accounts.
  • resultsWhile they got a decent chunk of change — in part thanks to the U.S. agreeing to unfreeze some funds — it reportedly wasn’t the $2 to $3 billion they asked for. Will it be enough to topple Gaddafi? source
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05 May 2011 11:08

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World: Workers reenter Fukushima’s damaged No. 1 reactor for first time

  • Things were so dangerous after a blast at Fukushima Daiichi reactor No. 1 that workers didn’t enter the building at all afterwards. Until today. Nearly two months after the hydrogen explosion that greatly damaged the plant on March 11th, NHK reports that workers re-entered the building housing the reactor for the first time since the initial blast. The workers plan to install an air purifier in the plant, reportedly “aimed at preventing workers from suffering internal radiation exposure when they work on setting up a new cooling system at the No. 1 reactor.” That must be a really good air purifier. (Above: A pic of a robot working in the plant, via TEPCO) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 May 2011 10:41

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Politics: Journalists dropped everything after Osama bin Laden’s death

  • Where were you when you found out Osama bin Laden died? If you were anything like us, you were sitting in a bar in Virginia Beach, having your birthday weekend abruptly ended by a historic news story, reblogging and retweeting stuff on your phone and taking grainy photos of the bar’s TV screen when something notable happened. (We have the photos to prove it.) Maybe you might’ve been watching “The King’s Speech” on pay-per-view and had to pause it in the middle. Or perhaps you were getting off a plane when your phone started buzzing with all sorts of crazy crap. Or about to get on one — to Afghanistan — when you suddenly had to jump off and cover a major story at home. Or maybe you were sitting in bed, reading a book about Bob Dylan. Or maybe you were actively ignoring the news, only to have your daughter call you to point out that all hell was breaking loose. All of these scenarios happened to journalists. All of them stopped what they were doing and got directly to work. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 May 2011 10:25

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World: Some of Gaddafi’s frozen assets could go to Libyan rebels

  • $30 billion in frozen assets; some could go to Libyan rebels source
  • » The need is there: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other officials were in Rome, discussing ways to help the Libyan rebels continue their fight against Gaddafi. The rebel government says it needs about $3 billion to continue its push against Gaddafi and to pay for essential services for military forces. Clinton says the U.S. wants “to tap some portion of those assets owned by Gadhafi and the Libyan government in the United States, so we can make those funds available to help the Libyan people.” Better them than Gaddafi, right?
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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