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19 Feb 2012 15:09

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World: U.S. and British officials to Israel: Don’t get into a war with Iran

  • American General Martin Dempsey, who leads the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said, regarding the possibility of an Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear facilities, that it’s “not prudent” at this time to attack in such a way, and “a strike at this time would be destabilizing.” Ya think?
  • British British Foreign Secretary William Hague, who recently warned of a renewed Cold War, agreed with Dempsey, saying Israel should  go along with the U.K.’s “very serious economic sanctions and diplomatic pressure, and the readiness to negotiate with Iran.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Feb 2012 16:06

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U.S.: Three things you should know about the U.S. Capitol bombing suspect

  • one Amine el-Khalifi, a 29-year-old originally from Morocco, has lived in the U.S. since he was 16 and has long outstayed his visa, meaning he’s living in the U.S. illegally.
  • two Khalifi was captured in a year-long sting, thinking he was being assisted by al-Qaeda, when he was actually being helped by FBI. Sound familiar? It’s happened before.
  • three Though Khalifi was arrested near the U.S. Capitol, officials say that “at no time was the public or congressional community in any danger.” Whew. source
  • » A couple quick thoughts: We’ve seen a number of these “honeypot”-style terror schemes in the past year or two, and the end result always makes us wonder — were they actual threats, or were they simply tricked into looking threatening? If it’s the former, then perhaps this was a good idea. If it’s the latter … the tactics seem questionable. As journalists, we of course have to take them seriously whenever they crop up. But second-guessing is certainly fair. (Note: We’ll post updates on this topic here.)
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Feb 2012 13:35

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World: German president resigns amid political favors scandal

Christian Wulff, shown with his wife Bettina, had to resign amid allegations of offering political favors while the premier of Lower Saxony. He faced calls for his resignation for weeks, and may not have legal immunity for any crimes committed. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Feb 2012 12:24

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Culture: Report: Family emergency led “Colbert Report” to stop production

  • what Earlier this week, with little warning, “The Colbert Report” stopped taping shows without offering a full explanation, leading to much speculation online. It was the first time that ever happened in the seven-year history of the show.
  • why It appears the issue is family-related in nature. Reports suggest Stephen Colbert’s 91-year-old mother, Lorna, recently had a life-threatening medical emergency. The show itself wouldn’t confirm this, though. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Feb 2012 10:56

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U.S.: Family matters: Son tries to evict 98-year-old mother from home

  • I didn’t think he would do it. My husband worked hard, difficult jobs to buy this house. He built the garage and did a lot of work on the house and he told me never to leave it.
  • 98-year-old Mary Kantorowski • Discussing her 71-year-old son, Peter, who attempted to evict her from her own Connecticut house a couple of months ago. She’s lived there since 1953. The son says he’s concerned for his mother’s well-being, claiming that she’s living in poor conditions and is disoriented. Peter, who owns the house, tried evicting her in an effort to get her to move in with him, or into a nursing home. Instead, she got a lawyer involved and is actively fighting her son’s efforts. Peter says that his intentions are noble, but his brother Jack claims otherwise, suggesting he’s simply trying to sell the home: “There are no other words to call him. He’s just a scumbag.” Does not sound like a good family situation. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Feb 2012 11:19

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World: In Canada, politician uses classy tactic to push online surveillance bill

Regarding his Protecting Children from Internet Predators Act, which would force ISPs to hand over personal info without warrants, MP Vic Toews fought off critics by saying people “can either stand with us or with the child pornographers.” Seriously. (ht papastain) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Feb 2012 11:06

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Culture: “Linsanity”: People already trying to trademark Jeremy Lin’s success

  • Yenchin Chang is a fan of Jeremy Lin, above. Like Lin, he’s from California. Like Lin, he’s also Taiwanese. But unlike Lin, he filed a trademark application for the phrase “Linsanity” with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Why? “I wanted to be a part of the excitement,” Chang said. “I’m very proud of Jeremy.” Chang was one of two people to file for the trademark in the past week. The other guy, Andrew W. Slayton, claims to have coached Lin in high school, though this fact hasn’t been confirmed; Chang doesn’t even know Lin, but just wanted to have fun with the trademark for a bit. *facepalm* (photo by nikk_la on Flickr) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

15 Feb 2012 10:36

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Politics: Could Romney run out of big-money Republican donors?

  • I don’t know that he’s completely tapped out, but they are trying to look under every stone. You run out of people you can hit up for $2,500.
  • A top New York Republican fundraiser • Discussing the plight of Mitt Romney, whose campaign thus far has largely been funded by big donors. Seems that the well is starting to run dry, though, and unlike Obama’s strong contingent of small donors (which Santorum is starting to build up), Romney has never been able to rely on those. In fact, just by the numbers, most of Romney’s donors have been big ones — in 2011, for example, 82 percent of Romney’s individual donations were $1,000 or higher. Is this a long-term problem? Possibly. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Feb 2012 10:20

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World: Iran says it’s making its own nuclear fuel, doesn’t care what you jerks think

  • cause In a dramatic speech Wednesday, a white-lab-coat-clad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that Iran had figured out a way to produce its own domestically-made nuclear fuel. If true, this would be a big deal on the diplomatic front.
  • reaction For this and other reasons, both the U.S. and Europe are considering slamming the country with some super-strong financial sanctions, which have already led Iran to cut off oil exports to six European nations. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Feb 2012 11:01

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World: Was Tuesday’s Bangkok explosion tied to Iran, too? Israel says yes.

  • monday Israel blames the bombings of their embassy vehicles, in both India (successful) and Georgia (foiled), on Iran. Despite this, Iran denied responsibility for the attacks.
  • tuesday In Bangkok, an Iranian man carrying grenades managed to blow his own legs off and wound four others. Israel also blamed this attack on Iran. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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