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20 Dec 2011 00:45

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Culture: Recession-era must have, apparently: Nail polish. Nail polish?

  • correlation This year, nail polish sales jumped 59% from 2010. Despite economic troubles, it appears that painted nails are one expense that’s worth the plunge. “Beauty is one thing women never forget about,” said Demitrius Simpkins, a manager at a New York salon.
  • causation Such a growth in sales is probably because more buyers are interested in painting their own nails instead of paying for salon visits.  “Some women who used to come every Monday now come maybe every other Monday,” Simpkins claimed. source
Posted by samimain • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Dec 2011 00:33

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U.S.: FBI report: Violent crimes continue sharp decline in 2011

  • 8.6% decline in arson cases in the first half of 2011, according to an FBI report
  • 7.7% decline in robberies in the same period; other metrics also fell source
  • » A downward trend continues: When the FBI compared the first half of 2010 to the first half of 2011, they found that violent crimes were down in quite a number of categories, including murder, rape and aggrivated assault. Why has crime been in a downward trend? It could be due to “tougher laws, better policing and an aging population.” That’s right, guys: Our cultural old age is (possibly) causing a drop in crime.
Posted by samimain • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Dec 2011 11:08

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World: Syria, fearing UN intervention, finally caves to Arab League

  • This illustrates that the regime recognized they can’t completely turn their nose up at the Arab League and they actually do have some leverage over them. It doesn’t necessarily mean that if and when they do allow the observers in that they will give them the full, unrestricted access that they demand.
  • Economist Intelligence Unit analyst Chris Phillips • Discussing the decision by Syria to allow the Arab League to place monitors in the country — a move seen as an attempt by Syria to fend off United Nations intervention in the country. The UN totally has a reason to show up, too: Months of crackdowns on dissidents have led to thousands of deaths in the country, and Syria essentially ignored a prior agreement with the Arab League. The real question, of course, is whether Syria will follow through this time. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Dec 2011 10:30

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U.S.: NYPD: Deadly elevator fire ambush incident was over unpaid debt

  • The woman killed owed the suspect $2,000, according to the suspect. The man who allegedly ambushed a woman getting out of an elevator was upset about not receiving payment over work he had done for her, according to the NYPD. The victim, 74-year-old Deloris Gillespie, reportedly took the suspect, Jerome Isaac, in for about six months as he worked for her, but their relationship had deteriorated, and he had been removed from Gillespie’s home earlier this year. One interesting facet about the story: One of the people who lived on the same floor as Gillespie, Jaime Holguin, is an AP employee who knew both the suspect and the victim, and is cited heavily throughout the source article. For now, Holguin and other residents have been evacuated from the building, as remnants of the brutal attack, including a melted elevator door, remain. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Dec 2011 01:04

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World: Three things you didn’t know about North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Dec 2011 20:31

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World: Czech Republic peace icon Vaclav Havel, on becoming a dissident

  • You do not become a ‘dissident’ just because you decide one day to take up this most unusual career. You are thrown into it by your personal sense of responsibility, combined with a complex set of external circumstances. You are cast out of the existing structures and placed in a position of conflict with them. It begins as an attempt to do your work well, and ends with being branded an enemy of society.
  • Former Czech Republic leader Vaclav Havel • Writing in his 1978 essay, “Power of the Powerless,” about his dissident status in the former Czechoslovakia, a status he eventually broke free from after he rose to become the country’s leader. Not that he took a particularly normal path to the top — before he became a noted peace activist and political leader, he was a playwright whose works were banned in his own country following the 1968 Soviet invasion of the then-Czechoslovakia. Havel died Sunday at 75. He’s a figure that should’ve had a bigger international profile. Perhaps he’ll gain one now that his life has hit the history books. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Dec 2011 11:33

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World: Filipinos struggle to recover after deadly tropical storm

  • I called him, and he said in a very quiet voice, ‘The water is up to our stomachs, and we can’t get out. The current outside is strong.’ After that, the phone went dead.
  • Iligan, Philippines resident Mary Ann Melancio • Talking about the heavy flooding that may have led to the death of a co-worker and his family on Saturday. Sunday, after she and her co-workers tried to find them, they were greeted by a dim scene: “We walked back to our place and could see the bodies of dead people and animals along the road. I have never seen a tragedy like this in my life.” Officials say that 652 have died in the weekend’s flooding caused by Tropical Storm Washi, and another 800 are missing. Roughly 35,000 people are in evacuation centers as a result of the storm, which left heavy flooding in its wake. Rescue efforts are ongoing. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

18 Dec 2011 11:20

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Politics: So … who’s paying for the payroll tax cut, anyway? Homeowners

  • $17 per month charges on new homeowners’ mortgages source
  • » Those who refinance will feel the pinch, too: To help pay for the $33 billion cost of the extended-by-two-months payroll tax cut, the federal government will increase the cost for homeowners to get their homes insured by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, who currently back nine out of ten home mortgages in the U.S. The fee, currently around 0.3 percentage points, would jump by 0.1 percentage points, which translates to roughly $17 per month for most homeowners. However, this fee would not affect current homeowners unless they refinance starting next year. Is this the best way to handle the extension?
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Dec 2011 11:03

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World: Piers Morgan’s tabloid past haunting his TV host present

  • So heartwarming that everyone in U.K.’s missing me so much they want me to come home.
  • CNN host Piers Morgan • Joking earlier this year in regards to allegations he faces over possible involvement in the News of the World phone-hacking scandal. Morgan, a former tabloid newspaper editor who’s built a second life as a TV host, will take part, via video-link, in a judicial inquiry into the alleged practices of “News of the World” and other British tabloids. Morgan’s past could come to haunt him in the future. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Dec 2011 10:27

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U.S.: Horrific elevator attack: Woman set on fire by man she allegedly knew

  • In these screenshots shown above, the suspect in this deadly attack is shown dousing a woman with gasoline and lighting a Molotov cocktail, which he then threw at the victim. According to authorities (who haven’t released the identity of the man or the motive in the attack), the man knew 74-year-old new york city, nyc, nyc elevators, nyc elevator attack, Molotov cocktail, firebombing attack, Deloris Gillespie, and was waiting for her when her elevator came down. He then ambushed her. The man walked into a police station Saturday night, reeking of gasoline, and implicated himself in the horrific death. Awful situation all around. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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