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09 Jan 2011 21:21

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World: Iranian plane crash: Blame ancient fleet for latest accident

  • Iran’s had trouble with planes recently. Part of this is due to an ancient fleet and little way to get new supplies for the aircraft. So, as a result we have scenes like this one, where 72 people die (and 33 are hurt) in a plane crash. On a ground covered with snow. In the dark. This isn’t even the worst aviation disaster Iran has had in the last decade. Sigh. Can we offer a word of advice, Iran? Perhaps, instead of putting so much energy into building a nuclear facility, maybe you should build some new planes. It might help save some lives. (We retract this for the reasons explained here. See? We’re not made of stone.) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Jan 2011 21:05

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World: Here’s another awful tragedy to fill out your rough weekend

  • Look, there has been a lot of sadness in the news this weekend. The whole uplifting thing with golden-voiced Ted Williams seems like a long-ago memory, which is unfortunate. And now, more sadness. In Niger, two French men – a groom and a best man – were kidnapped before a wedding could take place. Antoine de Léocour, a 25-year-old aid worker, had planned to marry a local woman, but the two men were instead kidnapped by people reportedly part of al-Qaeda’s North African operation. A day later, they were found killed in the desert. French president Nicolas Sarkozy called the situation a “cowardly and barbaric act.” Like we haven’t had many of those this weekend. Sigh. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Jan 2011 20:36

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World: Hotel Shepherd demolished – along with the Israeli peace process?

Thought of the day – tearing down a hotel in Jerusalem with any sort of sentimental value to Palestinians is probably a very bad idea that might hurt the ongoing peace process. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Jan 2011 11:32

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World: North Korea hacked to the tune of “Super Mario World.” Heh.

  • So, when North Korea’s YouTube and Twitter accounts got hacked yesterday, this crude-looking cartoon got posted. The toon, which features background music from one of our favorite video games of all time (Super Mario World, what what?) shows Kim Jong-un violently slamming his convertible into starving North Korean children, and the heir apparent talking to his dad on an iPhone – while driving. The clip is crude and violent, so keep that in mind, but still interesting. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

09 Jan 2011 11:17

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World: Hey everybody! Think good thoughts for Sudan today

  • Today, southern Sudan votes for independence: In potentially heartwarming news, Southern Sudan could be placed in charge of its own destiny if the vote in the country favors an independent state. As we noted last night, Obama has been pushing for this. Considering the recent electoral strife in the African continent (looking at you, Ivory Coast), it would be great news if this particular election went well. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Jan 2011 22:59

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World: Obama to Sudan: Please keep voting process peaceful. Please?

  • As the referendum proceeds, voters must be allowed access to polling stations; they must be able to cast their ballots free from intimidation and coercion. All sides should refrain from inflammatory rhetoric or provocative actions that could raise tensions or prevent voters from expressing their will.
  • President Barack Obama • In an editorial, published in the New York Times, emphasizing the need for an honest vote in Sudan tomorrow, where they’ll be deciding whether to split the southern part of the country from the main country – a vote that Obama has long pushed for diplomatically. Obama suggests that if Sudan follows through with the vote without incident, the Khartoum region’s government could be taken off a list of state sponsors of terrorism. He also emphasizes that Darfur is also important to this peace process: “There can be no lasting peace in Sudan without lasting peace in the western Sudan region of Darfur.” We’re totally with him on this. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Jan 2011 13:15

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U.S., World: Carlos Castro murder: Too many gruesome stories today

  • victim Carlos Castro, a celebrity journalist and gay activist from Portugal who had been staying in New York on holiday. He was found brutally murdered and castrated. (Ugh. Too many disturbing stories today.)
  • suspect Renato Seabra, a 20-year-old model and reality TV star who was staying with Castro. He’s currently getting a psychiatric exam, because, well, who does this to somebody, anyway? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

08 Jan 2011 12:48

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World: Mexico’s drug war: The gruesome deaths keep happening

  • 15 dead bodies were found in a Mexican resort town of Acapulco today
  • 14 of the bodies had their heads decapitated (ugh, disgusting)
  • 30k+ people killed in Mexico since the drug war heated up in 2006 source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Jan 2011 12:33

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World: Why’s the U.S. government subpoenaing Twitter about Wikileaks?

  • If the Iranian government was to attempt to coercively obtain this information from journalists and activists of foreign nations, human rights groups around the world would speak out.
  • Julian Assange • Expressing anger towards the U.S. government’s subpoena of Twitter over Wikileaks, which has been under wraps until now. Wikileaks is also concerned about whether they’ve been doing the same thing with We’re with Assange. He has a perfectly valid point here. We put the U.S. up to a double-standard that we wouldn’t be caught dead allowing the rest of the world to follow. And it doesn’t get any more obvious until secret subpoenas are part of the deal. It’s times like these that we wish Twitter was decentralized. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Jan 2011 09:57

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World: Is German farm feed manufacturer behind tainted egg outbreak?

  • 4,700 dioxin-sporting German farms quarantined source
  • » Blame it on the eggs, yeah yeah: The farms have been quarantined in the wake of a tained egg scandal reportedly caused by some possibly contaminated animal feed. Harles and Jentzsch, the makers of a fatty acid used by animal feed producers, noticed high levels of dioxins but reportedly did nothing to stop the spread of the fatty acid. So now, we’re here. Oops.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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