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26 Dec 2011 11:16

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U.S.: Post-Christmas present: The Justice Department bends on online gambling

Back in September (and made public Friday), a Justice Department opinion changed its interpretation of the Wire Act of 1961 so it no longer bars online gambling, but only betting on sporting events or contests. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Dec 2011 10:43

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U.S.: 2011 box-office’s big drop: Major stars, horror flicks, family films flop

  • $500 million the expected drop in box office between 2010 and 2011
  • 4.5% decline the fall in box office this year, partly blamed on the lack of “Avatar”
  • hits The biggest hit of 2011? “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2,” which scored $381 million in the U.S. alone. The latest “Transformers” and “Twilight” movies also scored this year.
  • bombs On a $150 million budget, “Mars Needs Moms” only made $39 million worldwide. Horror films struggled, and even major stars like Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts were no longer bankable.
  • surprises The two biggest were “Bridesmaids” (a female-focused twist on the Apatow film) and “The Help,” both of which had solid box-office runs. The secret? Both were aimed at older audiences. source
  • » Better news in 2012? Possibly. With such high-profile films as “The Hunger Games” and a remake of “21 Jump Street” hitting the theaters, it’s entirely possible that 2012 could hold up way better than 2011. And as “The Lion King” showed this year, 3D remakes are proving to be especially financially sound. Two fairly large ones — “Star Wars: Episode One” and “Beauty and the Beast” — will hit the box office in 2012.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Dec 2011 09:55

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World: Syrian violence flares up as Arab League observers arrive

  • bad Gunfire in the Syrian city of Homs killed at least 20, as rocket fire and machine gun shelling gained intensity throughout the Baba Amr quarter of the city, a focal point of opposition unrest.
  • worse This violence and gunfire came as observers from the Arab League — 50 in total — were about to land in  the country. A key opposition group said the observers must head to Baba Amr. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Dec 2011 20:45

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World: Sudan state radio: Khalil Ibrahim, top rebel army leader, killed

Ibrahim, the leader of the Justice and Equality Movement in the country, was considered one of the strongest rebel leaders in Darfur, and his death complicates an ongoing civil war in the region. source
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25 Dec 2011 11:38

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World: Pope Benedict wishes for end to violence in Syria in Christmas message

  • May the Lord come to the aid of our world torn by so many conflicts which even today stain the earth with blood. May the Prince of Peace grant peace and stability to that Land where he chose to come into the world, and encourage the resumption of dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians. May he bring an end to the violence in Syria, where so much blood has already been shed.
  • Pope Benedict • Speaking during a Christmas service at St Peter’s Basilica Sunday. It’s of particular note that the Pope, who offered greetings in 65 different languages, chose to single out Syria, where a violent crackdown has led to at least 5,000 deaths in the past nine months. The day before, the pope made a point of decrying the commercialization of the holiday in his Christmas Eve message. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Dec 2011 11:12

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World: Nigerian churches bombed by terror group during Christmas services

  • 25+ killed in Christmas Day bombings in Nigeria source
  • » Christmas masses targeted: Nigerian terror sect Boko Haram (a strict Muslim group) has claimed responsibility for the attacks, which hit five targets, three of which appeared to be Christian churches holding Christmas services. “I just ran out. Now I don’t even know where my children or my wife are,” said Timothy Onyekwere, who was at one of the churches. “I don’t know how many were killed but there were many dead.”
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Dec 2011 12:21

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World: Ali Abdullah Saleh will leave for U.S. to allow for Yemeni election planning

  • I will go to the United States. Not for treatment, because I’m fine, but to get away from attention, cameras, and allow the unity government to prepare properly for elections. I’ll be there for several days, but I’ll return because I won’t leave my people and comrades who have been steadfast for 11 months. I’ll withdraw from political work and go into the street as part of the opposition.
  • Yemeni leader Ali Abdullah Saleh • Discussing his plans to leave Yemen soon, in an effort to give the government space so they can start the electoral process. This appears to be a major concession on the part of Saleh, as he’s gotten in the way of transition efforts in the past — especially prior to an assassination attempt earlier this year. Being halfway around the world, playing tourist in the U.S. (he’d get a kick out of Disney World), will probably go a long way towards encouraging peaceful elections in the country. source
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24 Dec 2011 11:39

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Offbeat: WWII-era fruitcake sold at auction, begging to be eaten

  • Someone paid $525 for this: A 70-year-old fruitcake, purchased in 1941 (reportedly by a man named E.F. Helbling) and returned to a Kroger store in 1971, recently got sold on an online auction. The Kroger store didn’t want it, so store manager Frank Bates took it. Bates, now 86, kept it until recently, when his son gave it up to an estate company. Although the cake feasibly is still edible (it’s vacuum-packed and contains rum), the real gift is that the cake’s proceeds will help pay for a church outreach program in Cincinnati. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Dec 2011 11:09

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Politics: Gingrich’s campaign manager blasts Virginia over primary exclusion

  • Only a failed system excludes four out of the six major candidates seeking access to the ballot. Voters deserve the right to vote for any top contender, especially leading candidates.
  • Newt Gingrich’s campaign director, Michael Krull • Criticizing Virginia’s primary system, which decided that Gingrich didn’t have enough signatures to show up on the ballot. He joins Rick Perry (who didn’t have enough signatures for the ballot, either), and three GOP candidates who passed on getting signatures altogether: Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum and Jon Huntsman. He has a very strong point here. However … we’re not going to spell this out specifically, but do you see the slight Krull’s slight of Huntsman in his quote? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Dec 2011 20:12

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Tech: GoDaddy’s calling departing major customers, begging them to stay

  • I think that the backlash against their support was a lot more swift and severe than they’d anticipated. Their initially glib ‘lol, whatever’ response was replaced by ‘oh god, please stop punching us in the quarterly financial report!’ real fast.
  • Mashable chief architect Chris Heald • Discussing how he received a call from GoDaddy regarding his decision to move 50+ domains to a different service in a boycott of their now-reversed stance on SOPA. Apparently he wasn’t alone. So the real question, then, is whether it’s too late for GoDaddy to get all those customers back. Based on the fact that Heald isn’t budging, and the fact that they called two days before Christmas, signs aren’t looking good for the company. source
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