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21 May 2011 13:39

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U.S.: Is Harold Camping’s ministry in trouble after his failed prediction?

  • However, there is no escaping his failed 2011 ‘Doomsday’ prediction. He painted himself into a corner by using words like ‘guaranteed’ and ‘without any shadow of doubt.’ His massive publicity campaign just made it worse.
  • An International Business Times editorial • Offering harsh words for Harold Camping, the dude who claimed that the rapture was afoot today. Their words for the Family Radio leader are pretty harsh. “In all likelihood, his ministry will be destroyed,” they write, noting that he made it seem like such a sure thing that there was no room for error in his prediction. Other, more mainstream, religious leaders and groups (Pat Robertson, the Jehovah’s Witnesses) have been down this road before, but not with the level of certainty that Camping pushed. That’s why he probably won’t be able to recover from this craziness. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 May 2011 16:37

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U.S.: DIY levees save houses from the rising Mississippi

  • Some houses in flooded areas near the Mississippi — like the one above — were saved by makeshift levees. The Daily Mail has a gallery showing a bunch of these (for back of better term) flood hackers. Not everyone was this lucky, though — some of the dirt dams failed.These particular photos are from the Yazoo River, a tributary to the Mississippi. (photo via Getty Images) source
Posted by Justin Jones • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 May 2011 14:22

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U.S.: Newspaper publishes lesbian couple story, then publisher backtracks

  • good On Mother’s Day, The Capital Newspaper, an Annapolis, Md. daily paper, ran a story about a lesbian couple raising children. A progressive move for the paper.
  • bad Unfortunately for them, the comments were scathing. “You are not disenfranchised, except by virtue of your own insistent anomaly,” one comment read.
  • worse Stunned by the reaction, the editor/publisher tried to apologize for the story (saying it didn’t reflect the community), only to have his staff kill his column. Wow. source
  • » To put this simply: A good newspaper doesn’t back down from criticism when the reasons for publishing something are valid, even when the community has pitchforks out, ready to stab whomever it doesn’t like. That the editor tried to back off due to the reaction to the column is a bad sign. You need to respect your community by sometimes telling them things they aren’t always ready to hear. That couple is part of the community too. They deserve their story told just as much as anyone else who lives near Annapolis — no matter the comments. Shameful.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 May 2011 13:50

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U.S.: Pawlenty set to announce 2012 presidential bid

  • Tim “Michael Bay” Pawlenty reportedly plans to announce his presidential bid Monday. We hope he wins the nomination, because it would be an epic election season with T-Paw’s overproduced ads like this. It seems like he’s taking his own advice, and getting off the sideline. He’s going to need a lot of money to keep making ads like that, though — we can’t wait to see his 2012 election trailer that will undoubtedly go with the announcement. Robots? Explosions? Dramatic music? T-Paw has it in spades. In fact, we’d argue he’s a Republobot. (pic via Gage Skidmore‘s Flickr page) source
Posted by Justin Jones • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 May 2011 13:04

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U.S.: Dominique Strauss-Kahn house arrest plans not going so well

  • situation Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former IMF leader, will leave Rikers Island after a court ordered that he can pay $1 million in bail on his sexual assault charge. He’ll be under house arrest while he waits for his court date.
  • problem Unfortunately, he may not have a place to stay. His wife, Anne Sinclair, tried to rent him an apartment in a posh Upper East Side building. However, the building balked when they found out who was staying there. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 May 2011 21:46

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U.S.: E-mails: School struggled with Jared Lee Loughner’s demeanor

  • “It was just a little alarming, especially since I have been observing the way he carries himself.” That’s a student’s reaction to Jared Lee Loughner bringing a pocketknife to class. According to a series of e-mails released by Pima Community College today as the result of a legal case, the gunman in the Gabrielle Giffords shooting exhibited a very standoffish demeanor (including what’s described as an “evil” look), expressed extreme views and told one professor he would keep quiet to avoid expulsion from their class. The e-mails show a struggle to keep Loughner, a student that many students considered threatening, in line. “I keep coming back to the conclusion that we did the best we could, given legal counsel’s advice and the limited resources available to us,” wrote the school’s former college counselor, Cecilia Alter, in the days after the Giffords shooting. Loughner voluntarily left the school months earlier. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 May 2011 17:18

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U.S.: Senate bill to expand offshore oil leasing fails

  • 42 “yes” votes in Senate vote to start offshore oil lease sales again source
  • » And 42 votes is, obviously, not enough. The Senate GOP brought this vote to the floor, and as it lost comfortably by eight votes, they probably considered it doomed to fail from the get-go. As such, this looks like a show vote, less designed to impact policy (though I’m sure the GOP wouldn’t have minded getting it through) than to court political favor. As increased offshore oil drilling would have minor if any effect on the domestic gas prices (global market and all that), this bill serves two goals: make people think Democrats are keeping gas prices high, and remind big oil that despite recent talk of stripping industry subsidies, the Republican Party still has their back.
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

19 May 2011 16:25

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U.S.: Israeli PM Netanyahu shoots down Obama’s border plan

  • “Indefensible”: So said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on one of the key, specific policy calls that President Obama made in his big Mid-East speech, namely that the borders of both an Israel and Palestinian’s border talks should start with on those present in 1967, before the Six Day War that saw Israel take control of the Gaza Strip, Sinai Peninsula, West Bank, and the Golan Heights. This was a surprise from Obama, and one that he had to know would rankle Israeli stalwarts. Netanyahu says that such a move would hurt Israeli security, and force them to abandon settlements within the Palestinian territories. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 May 2011 14:51

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U.S.: Did the Unabomber tamper with Tylenol bottles 29 years ago?

  • cold case Seven people died after taking Tylenol laced with cyanide back in 1982. The case was never solved, but it was a big deal — it’s the reason medicines are tamper-proof now. Thanks to advances in forensic technology and new tips, the FBI is investigating the case again. There are a few suspects, but one is worth a double take.
  • suspect The FBI seems to think that the Unabomber might be a suspect. They asked for a DNA sample from him, and he said he would give it to them — provided his personal items weren’t auctioned off. The government has gone on with the auction, but something seems fishy here. Why would he bargain with his DNA? source
Posted by Justin Jones • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 May 2011 11:12

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U.S.: State Department: No immunity for Dominique Strauss-Kahn

  • what The U.S. State Department declined to give diplomatic immunity to now-former IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who faces sexual assault charges in New York.
  • why According to the State Department, he wasn’t on official business with the IMF when he was arrested. If he were in another country, he would probably have immunity. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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