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12 Jan 2012 23:58

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Culture: A Beautiful, Bald Barbie? One four-year-old’s doll could inspire line

  • A new inspiring look for Barbie? Genesis Reyes, a four-year-old who lost her hair after receiving treatment for cancer, is getting a one-of-a-kind Barbie: a bald Barbie. “We would like to see a Beautiful and Bald Barbie made to help young girls who suffer from hair loss due to cancer treatments, alopecia or trichotillomania,” said Jane Bingham and Beckie Sypin, who, after they were inspired by Genesis, built a Facebook page. This kind of Barbie could do quite a bit of emotional therapy for girls going through similar situations. Mattel, however, “doesn’t accept ideas from outside sources,” so we’re not sure yet if this movement will come to fruition. source
Posted by samimain • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Jan 2012 15:41

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World: Kim Jong-Il’s oldest son doesn’t buy his brother’s new rule

  • I expect the existing ruling elite to follow in the footsteps of my father while keeping the young successor as a symbolic figure. It is difficult to accept a third-generation succession under a normal reasoning.
  • Kim Jong Nam, eldest son of Kim Jong-Il • Remarks made in an email to the Tokyo Shimbun newspaper, on the subject of his young brother Kim Jong-Un’s ascendancy to power in North Korea. It’s worth noting a couple things in his analysis — for one, he was shirked in the Kim line of succession for, of all things, traveling to Japan on a fake passport in an effort to visit Disneyland. As a result, he no longer lives in North Korea, which means he probably can’t be as informed as he once was; North Korea is one of the most opaque nations on earth. However, when a family this bizarre, powerful, and hugely important gets to feuding, it merits attention. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Jan 2012 15:25

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U.S.: Army investigator recommends court martial for Bradley Manning

  • “Aiding the enemy”: That’s one of the crimes that Lieutenant Colonel Paul Almanza, who was tasked with an investigation of Manning’s case, says there is evidence he committed. Almanza has advised the Army to submit Manning to a court martial, relating to the massive, classified document dump to Wikileaks, with which he’s been accused. Manning’s defense attorney, David Coombs, has voiced complaint that Almanza works in the Justice department as a civilian. Justice is currently building a case against Wikileaks head Julian Assange, which opens up risk of conflict of interest. If Manning is convicted through a court martial, he could face life imprisonment. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Jan 2012 14:54

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World: Foxconn workers threaten mass suicide over severance pay

  • Taking “strike” to a whole new level: It’s been reported that workers at Foxconn’s factory in Wuhan, China (where they make those XBOX 360s we’re all so fond of) were so incensed over an alleged reneging by the company on severance pay, as well as a factory closure, that they issued a dire ultimatum: meet our demands, or face a mass suicide. The workers (estimates vary from 80 to 200) didn’t go through with the threat, mercifully, as Foxconn apparently placated their demands. Foxconn’s factories and dormitories have seen suicides before, infamously forcing the installation of safety nets around windows. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Jan 2012 14:17

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U.S.: Michigan billionaire ordered to jail over bridge construction battle

  • the crimeThe Detroit International Bridge Co., which signed with Michigan to build additions to the Ambassador Bridge, failed to do so according to the agreed upon design, instead building roads that took drivers past their own fuel station and duty-free shop while leaving trucks to use smaller surface streets.
  • the time A Michigan judge has ruled that Matty Mouron, the 84-year-old billionaire owner of the company, was in contempt of a 2010 court order to complete the project as agreed upon. Which means, Mouron is headed to jail until he complies with the order, and starts up the new bridge work. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Jan 2012 11:09

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Politics: Not bad brah: Obama’s campaign war chest gets even bigger

  • $68 million (!!!) raised in the fourth quarter of 2011 by Obama source
  • » His opponents: Not even close. While the Obama campaign denies trying to raise a bold-sounding $1 billion for his campaign, he is doing quite well on the fundraising front, especially in comparison to next-best Mitt Romney. Mitt scored $24 million in donations in the same period. But not all that money will go straight into the Obama campaign: Roughly $24 million will go to the Democratic National Campaign’s efforts reelect members of Congress and the Senate.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Jan 2012 10:37

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U.S.: Why the heck did the FDA ban orange juice imports, anyway?

  • what Acting upon concerns first noted by the Coca-Cola company, the Food and Drug Administration banned imports of orange juice until further notice, which on its face sounds pretty dramatic.
  • why The beverage maker noted to the FDA their concerns that illegal fungicide might’ve gotten into the supply. High levels are unlikely, but the measure is precautionary. Sorry juice fans. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

12 Jan 2012 10:12

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World: Reaction to shocking Marine corpse desecration video extremely strong

  • The actions portrayed are not consistent with our core values and are not indicative of the character of the Marines in our Corps. This matter will be fully investigated.
  • A statement from the Marine Corps Headquarters • Angrily criticizing a video, posted on YouTube, that appears to show Marines urinating on the bodies of dead Taliban fighters. However the video, which has floated around YouTube for the past day, has not been verified. The Pentagon, however, said there is no indication that the video isn’t authentic. The video has drawn a number of angry responses from officials as varied as Sen. John McCain, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the Council on Islamic-American Relations. In Karzai’s case, he called the video “completely inhumane.” If the video is accurate, he’ll find us agreeing with him. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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