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29 Dec 2011 11:32

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World: Syrian opposition activists cynical about Arab League observers

  • The people of Homs and the youth activists have no faith in the Arab League mission. It is clear now they are just another ploy by the Syrian regime to buy time. They are ineffective and have no resources to change the situation. But we are doing our part showing them what is happening in Homs, submitting evidence of killing and arbitrary arrest, and showing them what is happening.
  • Syrian opposition activist Khaled Abo Saleh • Criticizing the Arab League’s monitoring of the military’s crackdown in Homs. Saleh said that the killings in the region have declined since the Arab League got there, but they haven’t stopped completely. Activists have been critical of the choice of a Sudanese military official, Lt. Gen. Mohamed Ahmed Mustafa al-Dabi, as one of the observers. source
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29 Dec 2011 11:15

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U.S.: New audio from Dallas-area Christmas day shooting surfaces

  • “I am shooting people.” That’s what Azizolah Yazdanpanah could be heard whispering on a 911 recording — while, dressed as Santa Claus, he shot six of his family members, before turning the trigger on himself. Grapevine, Texas police investigators initially thought the recording was blank, but after enhancing the audio, they were able to pick up new details, painting a fuller picture of the situation as it happened. Also of note: Yazdanpanah’s niece, Sara Fatemeh Zarei, texted a friend prior to the shooting, dismissively noting her uncle’s costume and saying, “Now he wants to be all fatherly and win father of the year.” Yazdanpanah reportedly suffered from financial hardships prior to the shooting, but investigators say they may never know what caused him to fire upon his own family. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Dec 2011 00:16

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Politics: Michele Bachmann loses Iowa campaign chairman days before caucus

  • Kent said to me yesterday that ‘everyone sells out in Iowa, why shouldn’t I.’ Then he told me he would stay with our campaign. The Ron Paul campaign has to answer for its actions.
  • Michele Bachmann • Discussing the surprise departure of her Iowa campaign chairman, Iowa state Sen. Kent Sorenson, who defected to the Ron Paul camp. This is not good news for Bachmann, especially since the move comes less than a week before the Iowa caucus. Ever since Bachmann won the straw poll in Iowa back in August, it’s been diminishing returns, to the point where some are calling for her to drop out. They’re also calling for Rick Santorum to drop out, but that’s probably not going to happen because Santorum is suddenly on an upswing. For Bachmann, however, she might be reaching her endgame. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Dec 2011 21:08

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World: Large, unexplained explosion hits near Myanmar’s largest city

  • 17+ killed in a blast in a suburb of Yangon, the country’s largest city, early Thursday morning local time
  • 80+ injured in the blast; witnesses said several smaller blasts followed the main explosion source
  • » Details still limited: Local officials have as of yet not explained what caused the blast. “There are many casualties. We are not in a position to give you further information. We are still looking into it,” said a police officer from Mingalar Taungnyunt Township Police Station.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Dec 2011 19:00

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U.S.: Video montage: What happens when you run a red light

  • Think twice before you pass that red light: American Traffic Solutions, a company that makes red-light traffic cameras, just threw up this video of car crashes and near-misses its traffic cameras caught in the past year — in New Jersey alone. Some of the crashes are quite troublesome; others are harrowing near-misses. Someone will likely give this clip Benny Hill theme music at some point. Really, honestly, it’s begging for one. source
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28 Dec 2011 11:37

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World: Iran threatens major waterway in fight against U.S. sanctions

  • Closing the Strait of Hormuz is very easy for Iranian naval forces. Iran has comprehensive control over the strategic waterway.
  • Iranian Adm. Habibollah Sayyari • Claiming that Iran has the ability to close the Strait of Hormuz, a major waterway that’s extremely important for the distribution of one-sixth of the world’s oil. Sayyari’s threats come as Iran worries that the U.S. and its allies will start to sanction Iran’s all-important oil supply out of frustration with the country’s controversial nuclear program. Congress recently passed a bill to sanction the country’s central bank, which Obama plans to sign despite having misgivings about the effects it might have. As tensions continue to rise over Iran’s nuclear program, could military action become an option for the U.S.? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Dec 2011 11:09

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Music: 2011 in music: Adele’s “21” scores biggest album sales since 2004

  • 3% increase in U.S. music sales in 2011 — some welcome news
  • 5.6M number of copies Adele sold of her mega-popular second album, “21,” in the U.S. alone in 2011 — and the second-place album isn’t even close to her
  • 7.9M number of copies R&B crooner Usher sold of his 2004 mega-hit “Confessions” — the last time an album sold more than 5 million copies in a single year
  • 11M number of copies N’Sync sold of its 2000 album “No Strings Attached” — just to give you an idea of how much the industry’s changed in the MP3 era source
  • » A major mark in a new era: What makes Adele’s album sales all the more impressive is that so much has happened since 2004 throughout the music industry. In 2004, CDs were very much the dominant medium, and iTunes was still fairly new, with its mix-and-match nature only starting to make its mark. Now, we have Spotify, Rdio and Mog — services which threaten to get us out of the habit of buying albums altogether. Is it possible that Adele’s mark is a once-in-a-decade thing, or has the industry begun to recover from a decade of bad decisions and splintering at the hands of technology — by focusing on nurturing good artists?
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

28 Dec 2011 10:27

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World: In case you missed it: Kim Jong-Il’s highly-choreographed funeral

  • Last night was just strange: Euronews’ “No Comment” YouTube channel did us a favor and edited down this meandering feed, where (in one scene) the camera focused on a building for ten minutes, down to two minutes that really give you the gist. We’ll choose not to debate on whether the tears were real. Instead, let’s discuss what this shows about North Korean culture. The Telegraph argues that it shows that North Korea is really a monarchy or royal dynasty, despite its reputation as a communist nation — and that Kim Jong-Un is without a doubt the country’s leader. And the Christian Science Monitor disputes (in a slideshow) that the country is really as isolated as the West has come to believe. And MSNBC parses the funeral through the eyes of South Korea — and what they find is a giant bout of disinterest. What did you get out of this? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 Dec 2011 23:14

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Politics: Montana libertarian activists want to recall politicians over NDAA

  • These politicians from both parties betrayed our trust, and violated the oath they took to defend the Constitution. It’s not about the left or right, it’s about our Bill of Rights. Without the Bill of Rights, there is no America. It is the Crown Jewel of our Constitution, and the high-water mark of Western Civilization.
  • Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes • Discussing his plan to force a recall of elected Montana officials who supported the National Defense Authorization Act, an act which has proven quite controversial among some parts of the population — leading even to extreme interpretations of the law (think “FEMA death camps,” the dumbest internet rumor since the last time the comedian Sinbad “died” at the hands of Wikipedia). Rhodes, who leads the somewhat hard-line libertarian group, is certainly not afraid of the Alex Jones crowd. But that said, this whole thing is certainly worth keeping an eye on: Rhodes plans to use an interpretation of Montana law that allows for recalls “on the grounds of physical or mental lack of fitness, incompetence, violation of oath of office, official misconduct, or conviction of certain felony offenses.” Just nine states allow for that type of recall. (Thanks to Michael Cote for the tip-off on this one)  source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 Dec 2011 20:35

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Tech: Would Obama veto SOPA? An online debate builds among techies

  • claim AllThingsD’s Arik Hesseldahl claimed in an article Monday that Obama would be likely to veto the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act because the president “likes the internet” and that a decision in favor of SOPA would strongly go against the president’s longstanding net neutrality policy.
  • rebuttal However, TechDirt blogger Mike Masnick, who knows a thing or two about online copyright issues, says that Obama would likely sign it due to his need for election-year money from Hollywood — unless the bill becomes toxic to the touch, which Masnick says hasn’t happened yet. So, who’s right?
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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