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23 Oct 2011 21:06

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Politics: George Will nails supremely unflattering description of Mitt Romney

  • It has a lot to do with Romney. He is rising as more and more Republicans come to the conclusion that the Republican Party has found its Michael Dukakis, a technocratic Massachusetts governor running on competence, not ideology.
  • George Will • Discussing the rise of Herman Cain on ABC’s “This Week,” and in the process dropping a welt-producing comment about Mitt Romney — a comparison to Michael Dukakis, perhaps the weakest presidential candidate in the past 25 years. Expect this line to crop up again during the campaign, because it’s not a flattering comparison, especially coming from the guy who doesn’t like blue jeans. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Oct 2011 20:40

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World: One long march later, Bolivia’s indigenous people score major victory

  • cause Evo Morales, Bolivia’s first indigenous leader, backed building a major road to link Brazil with the Pacific Ocean, it’d go through the Isiboro-Secure Indigenous Territory National Park.
  • reaction The highway proved very controversial to many indigenous people; some protesters walked hundreds of miles to the country’s capitol, La Paz — a two-month trek that galvanized opposition.
  • result On Wednesday, they completed their trek; on Friday, Morales promised that the bridge, which will still get built, will not cut through the reserve as originally planned. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Oct 2011 16:33

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Politics, U.S., World: Bachmann: Iraq should repay money used in US invasion

  • I believe that Iraq should reimburse the United States fully for the amount of money that we have spent to liberate these people. They are not a poor country.
  • Rep. Michele Bachmann during an interview with CBS News’ “Face the Nation” Sunday morning.• Bachmann added that Iraq was a “wealthy country” that would be “subject to dominance by Iran and their influence in the region” once American troops withdraw by the end of the year. source
Posted by Matthew Keys • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Oct 2011 12:12

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World: Not like Ben Ali’s rule: Tunisian elections draw massive crowds

  • then Elections during the rule of Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali generally drew a fairly small number of people, due to the fact that many believed that the results were pre-determined.
  • now Ten months after the end of Ben Ali’s regime, today’s elections have drawn huge numbers of people, with lines spreading far beyond the polling booths. source
  • » Not without some controversy: A notable Islamist figure in the country, Rachid Ghannouchi, was heckled as he came out of the voting booth today. “You are a terrorist and an assassin! Go back to London,” one shouted. Ghannouchi, the leader of the moderate Ennahda party, spent over two decades in Britain, exiled from the country where he was once imprisoned for his political views. He returned earlier this year, and his party is expected to do well today.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Oct 2011 11:43

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Politics: Herman Cain, to Michigan crowd: For the poor, it’s not 999, it’s 909

  • If you are at or below the poverty level, your plan isn’t 9-9-9, it is 9-0-9. Say amen y’all. 9-0-9.
  • Herman Cain • Claiming that his much-talked-about 999 plan was intended to always be income-tax-free for the poor. 909? Isn’t nearly as catchy now, is it? Cain made this statement in Detroit on Friday, which plays into some of the criticism his campaign has gotten — that he’s not focusing on the states that will help him win the early primaries. Earlier this month, Karl Rove put this point succinctly: “He needs to get his bus to Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Florida and Nevada. If he doesn’t break through there — and to break through there, you’ve got to show up, particularly in the first three.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Oct 2011 11:31

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U.S.: Occupy Chicago protesters kicked out of Grant Park, arrested

  • 130 Occupy Chicago protesters arrested for trespassing source
  • » An attempt to move the show: This is the second weekend in a row that protests have been squashed at the park. Why’s that? Well, a group of protesters are attempting to move the protests outside of the city’s financial district. However, they haven’t gotten permits. “We are going to hold this space, and that’s what we are going to do,” said organizer Brit Schulte. “Our ability to invoke our civil rights to protest shouldn’t be limited, and we shouldn’t be censored.”
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Oct 2011 11:09

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Politics: Marco Rubio’s back-and-forth with the Washington Post does draw blood

  • first The Washington Post published an article that punched holes in Florida Sen. Marco Rubio’s life story — saying that his parents left Cuba before the 1959 revolution.
  • then Rubio responded in an op-ed for Politico: “The essence of my family story is why they came to America in the first place,” he wrote, “and why they had to stay.”
  • now But the article did lead to some changes. Though Rubio shot back against the article, in the end, his staff changed the bio on his Web site to reflect the Post’s article. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

23 Oct 2011 10:52

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World: Western leaders call for investigation into Muammar Gaddafi’s death

  • It’s certainly not the way we do things. We would have liked to see Col. Gaddafi going on trial to answer for his misdeeds.
  • British Defense Secretary Philip Hammond • Calling for an investigation into Muammar Gaddafi’s violent, bloody death on Thursday. The Libyan leader’s method of death — Human Rights Watch suggests it’s an execution that took place after the leader was detained — could cast a violent pall on the new government. Gaddafi’s wife Safiya, as you might guess, also wants an investigation. “I am proud of the bravery of my husband, Moammar Gadhafi, the holy warrior, and my sons who confronted the aggression of 40 countries over the past six months,” she told Syria-based Al-Rai TV. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Oct 2011 10:46

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Biz: We’re all pretty miserable: U.S. misery index nears 30-year-high

  • 13.0 the highest level since 1983; what a miserable level source
  • » How it’s calculated: The misery index is the sum of the country’s inflation and unemployment rates — a pretty simple number to calculate. On the plus side, this number will slide at some point, because, due to the weak job market, inflation will likely decline next year, lowering the misery level. On the down side, that’s not the number everyone’s looking to fall.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Oct 2011 22:45

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World: Arab Spring: Islamists expected to win big in Tunisian election

  • Now I am happy that my son’s death has given the chance to get beyond fear and injustice. I’m an optimist, I wish success for my country.
  • Manoubia Bouazizi, mother of notable Tunisian self-immolator Mohamed Bouazizi • Discussing her son’s death and the spark for democracy it provided both in her own country but throughout northern Africa and the Middle East. Tomorrow Tunisia holds its first democratic election after the toppling of Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali ten months ago. (Ben Ali is now in exile in Saudi Arabia.) The Islamist Ennahda party, banned while Ben Ali was in power, is expected to garner the most votes, but not without controversy due to the long-encouraged secular culture in the country. It’ll be interesting to see what happens next. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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