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01 Feb 2011 13:55

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U.S.: NY Mayor Bloomberg launched “gun show sting” in Arizona

  • impetus Jared Loughner, a man of rather apparent mental illness, buys a gun and commits a massacre, badly wounding Rep. Gabby Giffords and killing six others.
  • action NY Mayor Bloomberg sends cops out of state on a “sting,” buying arms at an AZ gun show while telling the seller they likely couldn’t pass a background check.
  • response AZ Governor Brewer admits she hadn’t seen the video of the sting, but maintains the just nature of her state’s gun laws, some of the most lax in the U.S. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Feb 2011 10:26

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U.S.: Mother Nature hates Americans: Chicago gets snowy, NYC gets icy

  • 2´ number of feet of snow expected in the Chicago area this week
  • 0.3˝number of inches of ice –  ICE! – expected in NYC this week
  • 3,897 number of flights that have been cancelled so far source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 Jan 2011 21:09

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U.S., World: By the numbers: al-Jazeera English’s huge leap in online traffic

  • 4M number of online views al-Jazeera English says it has gotten since Friday
  • 1.6M number of views the network has gotten from the United States alone
  • 2,500% the increase in the site’s online traffic since Friday (a big deal) source
  • » Why they aren’t on cable: As our buddy ProducerMatthew figured out last night, they’re fighting in a very competitive space. And now he has a little backup from the New York Times. In statements acquired by the paper, many cable companies said similar things. It’s like applying for a federal job and getting a form rejection letter apparently, except with Comcast.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 Jan 2011 14:44

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U.S.: Senator Schumer doesn’t want you to snort “bath salts”

  • loophole Seeking legal ways to get loaded, some have turned to “bath salts” that produce meth-like results when snorted, injected, or smoked.
  • closing… Senator Chuck Schumer has proposed a bill to ban them, placing them on par with other federally controlled substances. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Jan 2011 20:24

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U.S.: This is terrorism, right? Guy attempts to bomb huge Islamic center

  • who Roger Stockham, a 63-year-old California resident, was arrested last week in Michigan on felony charges over a “bias-motivated attack.”
  • what Stockman reportedly was arrested outside of a mosque with a very large number of consumer fireworks. They could’ve hurt a lot of people.
  • where Dearborn, Michigan, near one of the largest Islamic centers in the entire country. 30 percent of Dearborn residents are of Arab origin. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Jan 2011 11:06

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U.S., World: Hillary Clinton toughens her words on Egyptian situation

  • yeah … U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is calling for Egypt to have an “orderly, peaceful transition” to a “real democracy,” which is much further than the Obama administration has gone so far during the crisis. Hopefully, they’ll go much further.
  • … but Clinton later dodged the military aid question: “We always are looking and reviewing our aid but right now we are trying to convey a message that is very clear, that we want to ensure there is no violence and no provocation that result in violence.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Jan 2011 22:07

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U.S.: Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio back to his immigrant-arresting ways

  • 1,000+ arrests from 18 different sweeps
  • 83 were arrested in the Maricopa County, Ariz. Sheriff’s Office’s latest immigration sweep
  • 68 of those arrested over the lastest two-day sweep were illegal immigrants source
  • » Other fun stuff they found: When the flashy/crazy (depending on your viewpoint) Arpaio goes after immigrants, he doesn’t screw around, and this time was no exception. On top of the dozens of arrests, his people found 725 pounds of marijuana and a bit of meth. Oh yeah, among the list of people helping out Joe with his sweeps? Steven Seagal.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink
 

29 Jan 2011 11:05

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U.S., World: Dear Obama and co.: Egypt doesn’t need reform; it needs change

  • By nightfall, it seemed clear that only two events could end their revolution: a massive use of force by the Army or Mr. Mubarak’s yielding of power. The United States should be using all of its influence – including the more than $1 billion in aid it supplies annually to the Egyptian military – to ensure the latter outcome. Yet, as so often has happened during the Arab uprising of the past several weeks, the Obama administration on Friday appeared to be behind events.
  • An editorial by The Washington Post • Offering up their take on the situation in Egypt, and the Obama administration’s response. It’s worth noting, by the way, that there appears to be a point where the U.S. was far ahead of the game in Egypt – they helped a young dissident, who was helping to plot an uprising for 2011, all the way back in 2008. The U.S. Embassy in Cairo gave him the opportunity to go to the U.S. to attend a summit for activists. So clearly, this whole thing has been on American radars for a while. But, the problem is that the Obama administration appears to be arguing for a situation which doesn’t match the reality in Egypt. Reform isn’t the problem here. Mubarak could have reformed a long time ago. He’s been in office three decades, though. That’s too long for any world leader, no matter how beloved. Instead, this is something else entirely.  source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Jan 2011 01:15

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U.S.: Anyone want some Rahm-less Chicago mayoral ballots?

  • There are reportedly 280,000 of these things that got printed off between Monday (when an appeals court said Rahm Emanuel wasn’t eligible to run for Chicago mayor) and Tuesday (when the Illinois Supreme court stepped in), lacking Rahm Emanuel’s presidentially-boosted name, and now they’re going to have to find something to do with them. Our suggestion? Turn them into mulch for Rahm to bury his opponents’ electoral chances in. Oh yeah, why did these idiots start printing out these ballots on the day of the decision to appeal? Everyone with a brain could tell this case was going to go to the Illinois Supreme Court. A huge waste of taxpayer money. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 3 Comments • Permalink

28 Jan 2011 18:58

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U.S., World: Posted without comment: Obama’s latest statements on Egypt

Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink
 
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