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31 Oct 2011 23:21

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World: Milestone? China could send its first female astronaut into space

  • We suppose a Chinese space station would be a real blast to reside in. China will be sending a spacecraft up soon to collect data regarding a future space station. “Although Shenzhou-8 is unmanned, we equipped the spacecraft with devices recording real images and mechanical parameters during its flight, both of which are vital to future manned missions,” said Wu Ping, a spokesperson for the Chinese space program. If this flight proves successful, China will send up two more missions next year; one of those missions will be manned. There are currently two female astronauts being trained by China, and if one of them is picked, they’ll be the first Chinese woman in space. Is this about time, or does no one really care who China sends into space?  source
Posted by samimain • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 Oct 2011 23:11

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U.S.: East Coast snowstorm bad for staying warm, good for ghost stories

  • 3 million people still without power in the northeast after snowstorms source
  • » At least five states reported major outages this morning. With record-setting snowfalls snapping tree limbs, power lines were severed cutting power off for millions. The official winter season doesn’t start for 52 more days, so start preparing now. Worst. Halloween. Ever.
Posted by samimain • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 Oct 2011 20:25

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World: Anonymous threatens Mexican drug cartel over captured member

  • You made a huge mistake in taking one of us. Release him, and if anything happens to him, you will always remember this upcoming Nov. 5.
  • A message from Anonymous • Threatening a Mexican drug cartel with the disclosure of information if they do not release an Anyonymous member taken by the Zetas. Anonymous threatens to release the names of officials, taxi drivers and police officers who have allowed the Zetas to have a run of the region. “We demand his release,” said an Anonymous representative. “We want the army and the navy to know that we are fed up with the criminal group Zetas, who have concentrated on kidnapping, stealing and blackmailing in different ways.” The date is symbolic — it’s Guy Fawkes Day; the representative, speaking in a YouTube video, was wearing a Guy Fawkes mask. Curious to see what happens next. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 Oct 2011 15:25

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Politics: Rick Perry, easing off his anti-drug stances?

  • A very, very energetic Rick Perry: In this case, “energetic” is a euphemism for “dangerously over-caffeinated, perhaps to the point of requiring medical attention.” We’re not quite sure what to make of this bizarre speech Perry gave to New Hampshire Republicans a couple of days ago. He’s not just unusually expressive; he looks like he’s about to burst (fast-forward to 2:30 or so if you’re feeling impatient). His frantic performance might make slightly more sense if he were speaking to an ultra-conservative crowd in South Carolina or something, but was a room full of New Hampshire moderates. Color us baffled, but at least he didn’t come off as over-prepared. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 Oct 2011 14:58

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World: United Nations agency admits Palestine as member; US cuts funding in response

  • A step forward for Palestine? Today, the United Nations agency UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) admitted Palestine as a full member. In response, the United States is cutting off all funding to the agency. This will effectively gut one-fourth of UNESCO’s budget. The move is in accordance with US law, which prohibits the government from funding any organization that includes Palestine as a member, prior to the reaching of an Israeli-Palestine peace agreement. Nevertheless, both the Palestinian Authority and Hamas hailed the decision. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 Oct 2011 14:16

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U.S.: Obama puts the kibosh on marijuana legalization

  • Simply put, [marijuana] is not a benign drug.
  • Gil Kerlikowske, Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy • In the official White House response to a number of petitions calling for weed legalization. This is part of the Obama administration’s “We The People” program: Anybody can submit a petition on a topic of their choosing, and if it gathers enough signatures, the White House will issue an official response. It’s cool that they’re actually following up on the promise to address the petitions, though we imagine proponents of medical marijuana won’t be pleased at the response.  source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 Oct 2011 10:23

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Politics: Top House official: White House to be subpoenaed on Solyndra crisis

  • This is an investment of taxpayers’ money that’s gone bad. After eight months of investigations we have a right … to say, ‘what about the internal communications inside the top advisers to the White House? Let’s see them.’
  • Rep. Cliff Stearns, chairman of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight • Discussing his plans to subpoena the White House regarding Solyndra, the energy company that the government loaned hundreds of millions of dollars to in 2010, only to see the company go belly up just over a year later. Reports seem to suggest that Obama staffers had close ties to the company, leading to the current situation. “It appears to us, disturbingly, that there is a close relationship between the investors — the people who were wealthy donors to the Obama campaign — and the people that were involved with Solyndra,” Stearns said. “That disturbs us all and we’d like to see the communications to make sure that is not true.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

30 Oct 2011 21:15

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Politics: Politico: Herman Cain accused of inappropriate sexual behavior

  • allegation Today, Herman Cain got grilled by a Politico reporter who asked him about detailed sexual harassment allegations dating back to the 1990s: “Have you ever been accused, sir, in your life of harassment by a woman?”
  • response Cain denied the allegations, then as things got tense and the question was repeated, Cain asked the reporter: “Have you ever been accused of sexual harassment?” Expect this to follow him throughout the week. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Oct 2011 19:21

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U.S.: Ex-skinhead gets extensive surgery to remove racist face tattoos

  • Meet Bryon Widner. He used to be a white supremacist. When Widner left the movement in 2006, he had a lot to work past to prove that he no longer believed the things he once did — much of it on his own face. “This wasn’t just a few tattoos,” noted plastic surgeon Dr. Bruce Shack. “This was an entire canvas.” Widner had to fight hard to get these tattoos removed and get on with his life, turning former enemies into allies and working with the Southern Poverty Law Center. An anonymous donor paid for the changes to his face (which were incredibly painful), but he paid an even bigger price for the changes to his life. After years of being an “enforcer” for the Vinlanders Social Club, a notable white supremacist group, he quit. He had to leave his Michigan home to get a sense of normalcy. He went for it — for his kids, and for his wife, and to get a second chance. Now, as you can see, the tattoos are gone. He suffers health issues (he has to stay out of the sun), but he says “it’s a small price to pay for being human again.” An impressive redemption story. (Editor’s note: This story has two parts.)
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Oct 2011 11:56

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World: Bashar al-Assad: Western intervention in Syria “will burn the whole region”

  • Any problem in Syria will burn the whole region. If the plan is to divide Syria, that is to divide the whole region.
  • Syrian President Bashar al-Assad • Discussing the situation in Syria, and in the process discouraging Western intervention in the region. While admitting that he expected pressure from the West, he tried in the process to paint a line between his country and other Arab Spring countries.  “Syria is different in every respect from Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen. The history is different. The politics is different,” he noted. Think he’s right? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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