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02 Jan 2012 21:14

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Politics: The perfect antidote to Iowa caucus coverage: This video

  • As you might have noticed, we’ve been somewhat light on the Iowa caucus coverage today in part because it’s gotten so overwhelming. (We’re leaving the good stuff for tomorrow, when it ACTUALLY HAPPENS.) But Scott Siepker, this guy … This guy. He offers a progressive defense to the perception that Iowa is full of conservatives that don’t represent the country at large. And wow, it just makes you like you’ve been translated to Iowa for three minutes. You get it, with lines like: “Next time you ‘fly over’? Give us a wave. We’ll wave back. We’re nice. That’s right. We’re nice. @(&!%!^.” It’s profane, but there’s a PG-rated version over here. Must watch. (h/t Buzzfeed)
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02 Jan 2012 20:04

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U.S.: Man sought in Mount Rainier National Park ranger’s death found dead

  • Our rangers are very much in shock this morning… we absolutely take it personally. Everybody knew Margaret. Everybody was friends with Margaret. She didn’t have an enemy in the world.
  • Mount Rainier National Park spokesman Kevin Bacher • Speaking about the death of Margaret Anderson, the park ranger who was killed by a gunman early Sunday. Anderson, a mother of two, was killed while attempting to stop a car fleeing from a checkpoint. The man suspected of shooting Anderson, Benjamin Colton Barnes, was found dead Monday morning, though it wasn’t confirmed until the afternoon due to the aerial search used. Barnes, a 24-year-old former Iraq vet, may have suffered from PTSD, according to the mother of his child, speaking in child-custody documents filed in 2011. A dark story all around. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Jan 2012 11:41

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Tech: Wikipedia’s parent raises tons of cash from yearly fundraiser

  • $20 million in donations raised by the Wikimedia Foundation source
  • » Wikimedia’s best year ever: More that 1 million people donated to the Wiki-cause, a campaign that draws a bit of parody over the somewhat in-your-face nature of the fundraising calls. Honestly, they seemed a little bit more in your face in 2011 than 2010. Do you think Wikipedia should just start running modest ads? As one of the largest sites on the internet, they could easily hit the $20 million mark with some text ads. It’d be a lot less in-your-face, that’s for sure.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Jan 2012 11:21

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World: Global warming e-mail whodunit heats up as new e-mails surface

  • It smells a lot like a certain quadrant of the denier community. They pretend to be concerned that we are impeding development in poor countries. Only certain think tanks think that way and play that way.
  • Greenpeace research director Kert Davies • Discussing who he thinks might be behind an infamous 2009 hack that led to the distribution of over 1,000 e-mails from the Climate Research Unit of the University of East Anglia, timed in such a way to undercut research being done on global warming. The story, on the backburner for nearly two years, is suddenly starting to simmer again as a result of further e-mail releases and word of an investigation in Britain. During the most recent leak of e-mails, the leaker offered up just enough details in cryptic messages to give investigators something to grasp onto. Many in the climate change community — skeptics, activists and so on — have different views on the motives of the person who released the e-mails, but it’s a whodunit which should keep things interesting in the coming weeks. source
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02 Jan 2012 10:46

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U.S.: “Person of Interest” sought in killing of ranger at Mount Rainier National Park

Benjamin Colton Barnes, a 24-year-old with “strong survivalist skills” is sought in the shooting. (Here’s his photo; not exactly the best calling card.) Overnight, 125 people were evacuated from the park; officials believe the man is still on the run. source
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02 Jan 2012 10:28

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U.S.: “Person of interest” in custody after L.A.-area arson spree

  • Is this the guy? Last night, the LAPD released this image of a person of interest in this weekend’s widespread arson spree, which was the result of over three dozen separate blazes — some of which damaged significant amounts of property. This morning, the police say they have a person of interest in custody, presumably the guy in this photo. However, officials say “it is too early to speculate if this person is responsible for the spree of arson fires.” However, sources say that fire-starting materials were found in the man’s van, meaning he potentially had the ability to start a number of fires if he wanted to. source
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