Read a little. Learn a lot. • Tightly-written news, views and stuff • Follow us on Twitter • Be a Facebook Fan • Tumble us!

30 Nov 2011 21:22

tags

World: Britain orders closure of Iranian embassy, withdraws officials

  • “a breach of international responsibilities”: Such was British Foreign Secretary William Hague’s analysis of the recent storming of a British embassy in Iran by 200 or so students, protesters who belonged to a movement believed to be under the sway of the Iranian government itself. Britain has recalled their officials from the embassy in Tehran, and has ordered the Iranian embassy in Britain to be closed and for its officials to depart within 48 hours. That there’s a tense diplomatic posture between the two states is no surprise — last week Britain opted to cut off all financial ties with Iran, in opposition to its nuclear program. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Nov 2011 20:56

tags

Politics: LA sanitation department has a tall task with Occupy camp

  • 30 tons of stuff to be cleared out of disbanded Occupy LA site source
  • » Dumping the lot of it: Of the above-mentioned 30 tons of stuff (referenced in the article as a mixture of garbage, debris and personal effects, so likely a blend of stuff people both would and would not like to have had back), 25 tons have already been hauled off and taken to a landfill. We haven’t been able to find much information about whether the Occupy LA Library has seen its catalog meet this fate, as well — following the NYPD raid on Occupy Wall Street, protesters claimed thousands of their library’s books were missing or destroyed when they retrieved them from storage.
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Nov 2011 20:36

tags

World: Scotland’s public sector strikes over pensions

  • It’s estimated that 300,000 people participated in the public sector strike in Scotland today, an action in protest of proposed changes to the state’s pension system which could force workers to pay in at a higher rate, and work more years before reaching retirement.  source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Nov 2011 20:13

tags

Politics: Herman Cain decries “character assassination” against him

  • You may not want to admit this, but this is a character assassination on me. Why? Because I was doing so well. There is no other reason to basically explain it.
  • Herman Cain • Denying, to Fox News’ Neil Cavuto, that he carried on a thirteen-year affair with a woman named Ginger White. This is a familiar rhetorical stance by Cain, when compared to his handling of sexual harassment claims against him — he has been very vocal in declaring his nearly blanket innocence, at one point suggesting an accuser, Sharon Bialek, had been brought forward by “the Democrat machine.” On that occasion he admitted that he had no factual basis to make such a claim, and he’s at least again being candid, saying that he believes somebody was “putting up” White to her claims, but that “we don’t know, we have no idea who that is.” source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Nov 2011 15:33

tags

U.S.: Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim explains his defense of Bernie Fine

  • I supported a friend. I’m proud that I did. I think if you know somebody and you work with somebody for 36 years and know them for 48 years, I think you owe a debt of allegiance and gratitude for what he did for the program. That’s what my reaction was.
  • Syracuse basketball head coach Jim Boeheim • Explaining his initial defense of former assistant coach Bernie Fine, with whom Boeheim had worked in Syracuse basketball for nearly four decades. Following news of child molestation claims against Fine, Boeheim vociferously leapt to his assistant’s defense, calling the allegations “a bunch of a thousand lies,” and suggesting the accusers had financial motives. This reactionary and tone-deaf response sparked calls for his resignation, among them those of Rev. Robert Hoatson, who works as an advocate for victims of child sex abuse. It was just last night that Hoatsen revealed he’d been contacted by a fourth person bringing molestation claims against Fine, saying that the abuse began when the man was a young teen. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Nov 2011 15:07

tags

World: Polls close in Egypt’s landmark parliamentary elections

  • The dawn of a new system? That should certainly be the hope following the closing of polls in Egypt’s first democratic election of the modern political era. The reporting on instances of fraud or abuse during the elections have, to this point, not been particularly widespread or damaging; the relative calm with which the process was carried out, as well as high voter turnout (70%+), would seem to suggest an engaged electorate eager to install their own leadership, and to bring an end to military rule. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Nov 2011 14:52

tags

U.S.: One of Bernie Fine’s accusers interviewed by Pittsburgh PD

  • Zach Tomaselli goes on record: The Pittsburgh police department’s Sgt. Joseph Gannon has interviewed the young man, now 23, who alleges former Syracuse basketball associate head coach Bernie Fine molested him in 2002. Tomaselli, one of four people now accusing Fine of child sexual abuse (the two of whom are former SU ballboys), claims Fine arranged for him to ride on a bus to Pittsburgh with the SU athletic department staff, and that upon reaching their destination Fine molested him in a hotel room. Fine was fired from his job at Syracuse on Sunday. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

30 Nov 2011 14:06

tags

World: Secretary of State Clinton arrives in Myanmar today

  • 56 years since a U.S. official had last visited Myanmar source
  • » When preparing to fly into the isolated South Asian country, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was forced to depart early from a stop in South Korea, because the airfield in Myanmar’s capitol lacks runway lights to facilitate nighttime landings. On her schedule for the next three days: a meeting with Thein Sein, the General-turned-President, who despite being viewed as a moderate reformer (compared to the norms under decades of brutal military rule) still has the familiar trappings of a leader wrapped in a fraudulent democratic process — he won the last election with over 90% of the vote. She’ll also be visiting opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a dissident who’s been jailed or under house arrest for most of the last twenty years.
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Nov 2011 11:31

tags

Offbeat: Arizona gun club offers photos with Santa — and a few AK-47s

  • Dear Arizona ShortFormBlog readers: If we were to give you a picture of our mascot, Julius the Laid-Off RSS Robot, could you go visit the Scottsdale Gun Club on December 10 to take a picture with Santa and a few AK-47s? If you want, you can even play target practice with the printout afterward. (We’d expect pictures of that, too.) Julius is a big fan of the Second Amendment and he’d really get a kick out of it. Thanks. (Editor’s note: This is a real offer.) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Nov 2011 10:51

tags

U.S.: Two major Occupy encampments close; protests mostly end peacefully

  • 200+ number of people arrested during the closing of the Occupy L.A. encampment early Wednesday
  • 52 number of people arrested at Occupy Philly when their camp closed at roughly the same time source
  • » However … In a major difference between the end of a number of other protests (most notably Occupy Oakland), police did not have to pull out pepper spray to end these protests. The LAPD was very careful with their strategy in this department. Despite the mayor calling for the closure of the camp early Monday, the police department held off two days, giving protesters time to leave on their own. That thinned out the numbers. As for those that remained, they had some minor scuffles with police at first, but those eventually faded, and protesters only got arrested after they didn’t immediately leave the park. Only a handful of major Occupy encampments remain at this point, most notably in DC and San Francisco. (EDIT: Updated Occupy Philly arrest count; the protesters left the encampment peacefully but were arrested for disturbances outside of the encampment.)
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
top tags
older >>