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22 Nov 2011 00:29

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World: Egypt: Cabinet offers resignations ahead of parliamentary elections

  • Protests in Egypt ahead of parliamentary elections: Last week, Egypt’s military-backed cabinet introduced plans for a new constitution — one that gave the military a lot more power, and the parliament a lot less. Reacting to the sudden changes, the Muslim Brotherhood started protests in Tahrir Square on Friday; over the weekend, hundreds camped out and continued protests. That growing group of people was met with riot police. As a result of all this, the interim cabinet offered their resignation Monday; this hasn’t stopped the protests, however. The elections start a week from now. source
Posted by samimain • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Nov 2011 00:03

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World: Did the Daily Mail hack Hugh Grant’s phone, too?

  • I cannot for the life of me think of any source for these stories in the Mail on Sunday except my voicemail messages.
  • Hugh Grant • Accusing the Daily Mail of hacking his cell phone. Remember News of the World? Well, the Daily Mail took a page out of their book, according to Grant (who’s built a rep for being a phone-hacking crusader). He is claiming that they hacked into his voicemail for a 2007 story; it may have been done by a private investigator once used by News of the World until his termination in 2006. Of course The Mail “utterly refutes Grant’s claim that they got any story as a result of phone hacking.” Perhaps they’ve cried wolf just too many times. source
Posted by samimain • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Nov 2011 23:32

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World: UN greenhouse gas study: Carbon dioxide levels reach new high

  • 2.3 parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere between 2009 and 2010, a big leap from the last decade’s average of 2.0 ppm
  • 64% of climate warming is due to carbon dioxide released from burning fossil fuels, deforestation and changes in land usage, a UN study says source
Posted by samimain • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Nov 2011 23:01

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Politics: Is Donald Trump’s toupée a good luck charm? Uh, no.

  • 73% of Americans don’t care who Trump supports source
  • » So why has Bachmann met with him four times? So far, Michelle Bachmann seems to be promoting Donald Trump’s advice better than she’s promoting herself — she’s currently sitting at 4% in the latest USA Today/Gallup poll.
Posted by samimain • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Nov 2011 20:52

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U.S.: Why the FBI reportedly passed on perusing Jose Pimentel

  • They felt the NYPD’s evidence, and Pimentel’s actual threat, was shaky. If given the opportunity, could Jose Pimentel have actually pulled off a terror threat? The NYPD seemed convinced of this, but the FBI wasn’t quite so sure. On top of this, they felt the evidence was a little rough around the edges — particularly the use of a confidential informant, who recorded hours of conversations with Pimentel, but may not be the most reliable witness to whatever happened. As one law enforcement official, speaking off the record, put it: “If the FBI declines a case, it’s not a strong case.” Think it’ll hold up? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Nov 2011 20:10

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Politics: Obama offers tough words on debt supercommittee failure

  • They’ve still got a year to figure it out. They can still come together around a balanced plan. I believe Democrats are prepared to do so. My expect is that there are some Republicans who are interested in preventing the automatic cuts from taking place.
  • President Barack Obama • Discussing the failure of the supercommittee to make a deal on cuts, as required by the debt ceiling deal he made in August. The president’s tone was tough — “I will veto any effort to get rid of those spending cuts,” he said — but did offer some wiggle room for Congress to get their act together. The cuts — half defense, half domestic — offer a lot of pain for both sides of the aisle, so who knows? Maybe we’ll see a deal — perhaps the elusive “balanced” one the president is pitching. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Nov 2011 19:35

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U.S.: Alleged Jerry Sandusky victim quits school after getting bullied

  • awful A number of reported victims of alleged child molester Jerry Sandusky were reported to have dealt with various unspeakable things in a grand jury report released a while back.
  • awfuler The first victim on the report, referred to as “Victim One,” has dealt with brutal harassment at his high school due to Penn State coach Joe Paterno’s firing, a result of Sandusky’s arrest.
  • awfulest The student — a senior with just half a year left — had to withdraw from school as a result of the bullying. Protip, teens: It’s not a victim’s fault when a someone gets fired in a cover-up. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

21 Nov 2011 14:14

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Politics: The pun we were all waiting for

  • This is, in fact, the official name of Gingrich’s New Hampshire effort. Hopefully, “Mitt Hampshire” will follow, maybe with a banner image that’s a little less self-parodical. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Nov 2011 13:33

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U.S.: UC Davis Chancellor: “I take responsibility,” but I won’t resign

  • As Chancellor, I take responsibility for everything that happens on this campus. At the same time, our campus has policies, and–the only reasons we have those policies in place is to make sure the 32,000 students who are using our campus are safe.
  • UC Chancellor Linda Katehi • After refusing to resign due to the events at UC Davis last week, wherein UCPD Lt. John Pike pepper sprayed a line of seated, peaceful protesters. During the same KQED interview,  she also that she needs to “understand what went wrong…why things went so wrong,” which seems to be obfuscating the issue. Isn’t it clear what what wrong? Anyway, the UCPD police chief, along with Pike and another officer, have all been placed on “administrative leave;” 60,000 people have signed a petition calling for Katehi’s resignation. (Note: this interview wrapped up earlier the hour; we’ll let you know when a transcript is available.) source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Nov 2011 10:09

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World: Egyptian protests in Tahrir Square surge anew over military power

  • People here feel that they have been cheated and that they have moved from an autocracy to a military dictatorship. So they are back to the square — back to square one — to ask for their rights once again.
  • Egyptian protester Mosa’ab Elshamy • Discussing the resurgence of the protests at Tahrir Square over the weekend. It’s been a particularly bloody weekend in Egypt, with at least 22 protesters killed and 1,700 injured, roughly 102 of those police officers. The military claims it didn’t intend for things to go the way they’re going, and plan to relinquish power after the country has its long-in-the-works elections. Those elections are planned for November 28, about a week from now. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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