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12 Dec 2010 10:49

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U.S., World: Pastor Terry Jones bringing his Islamophobia across the pond?

  • infamy Terry Jones, the pastor who wanted to burn the Koran on 9/11 only to not do it because he thought he had brokered a deal with the “Ground Zero Mosque” folks in NYC (spoiler: he didn’t), is pretty much a laughingstock these days.
  • fandom Fortunately, Jones still has some supporters – in the U.K. He’ll be going to speak at a rally held by the English Defense League (which has nothing to do with soccer, BTW) in February. They’re pretty darn anti-Islamic, too, so he’ll fit right in. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Dec 2010 10:34

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World: Sweden calls deadly Stockholm blasts “terror crimes”

So, not long before this blast (and another one) took place, a Swedish newspaper got a threatening letter about those Prophet Mohammed caricatures. Great. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Dec 2010 21:41

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World: “Openleaks”: Like Wikileaks, only transparent organizationally, too

  • Eventually it ended with me arguing with Julian about basically his dictatorial behavior, which ended with Julian saying to me that if I had problems with him I could just piss off, I quote.
  • Former Icelandic Wikileaks member Herbert Snorrason • Explaining why he chose to help start Openleaks, which sounds to us like the Gnutella to Wikileaks’ Napster. Openleaks, which will start up next week, looks to work less as a single Web site and more as a platform where people can upload anonymously and get their information directly to journalists. And no Julian Assange in sight, either. It’s good to point out that Gnutella is still operating all these years later, while the original Napster died almost immediately. Will this be a game of Julian Assange taking the first arrow but his idea ultimately taking hold? (On a side note, we hope that that thing on Openleaks.org isn’t the logo, because it looks a little … uh, phallic.) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Dec 2010 11:32

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World: Prince Charles should’ve rode in the Bentley, not the Rolls Royce

  • It was the sheer conspicuousness of this vehicle in a busy street in the wake of this demonstration that caused the problem.
  • Former royal protection officer Ken Wharfe • Suggesting that the reason that the Royals (Prince Charles and Camilla) were caught up in yesterday’s tuition protests was because they were riding around a very public area in a shiny Rolls Royce limousine, when they should’ve gone with something more modest. “From my own experience, it is a vehicle that is very difficult to manoeuvre in any area, let alone a congested street at Christmas time,” he said. “I do think this was the classic example where the Prince of Wales should have been using his armoured Bentley – it’s far less conspicuous.” Because we all know how much poor people hate rich people who flaunt their overwhelming wealth right in front of them. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Dec 2010 00:53

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World: What’s the least you can spend to fly ’round the world?

  • 35k number of miles on Steve Kamb’s travel itinerary
  • 9 number of countries he’ll be visiting
  • $419 total cost of the trip; no, that’s not a typo source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Dec 2010 22:09

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World: Iranian woman spared awful death; Iran’s justice system still appalling

  • awfulBack in 2006, Iranian woman Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani was sentenced to death by stoning for (alleged) adultery.
  • great According to a German human rights group, Ashtiani has been released, and is at home. Great news for human rights!
  • still…She was still forced to endure 99 lashes back when the charges were brought. Good grief. source
  • » Yeah, the worst outcome was avoided, but still. The fact that this even came close to happening is horrific and inexcusable. If the campaign to free this woman hadn’t succeeded, she would have been buried up to her neck in sand and pelted with stones big enough to eventually kill her, but small enough not to kill her in a mere one or two strikes (seriously, that’s what the law states). The evidence? None, aside from a forced confession and “the knowledge of the judge.” This, you know, shouldn’t happen. Anywhere.
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Dec 2010 21:33

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U.S., World: Smart idea: TSA pats down India’s American ambassador

  • We are going to take it up with the government of United States, and I hope that things could be resolved so that such unpleasant incidents do not recur.
  • Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna • Reacting to the shoddy treatment that the Indian ambassador to the U.S., Meera Shankar, got recently. That’s right, an ambassador got chosen for a pat down. But here’s the thing. Foreign leaders have the clout to make them stop. Regular people? They don’t. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

09 Dec 2010 21:23

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World: Rich people caught among commoners don’t know what hit them

“These college kids ruined our nice day, Charles!” “I know, dear … driver, do we have one of those Popemobiles in our fleet? If so, we need one!” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Dec 2010 10:56

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World: China’s top diplomat meets with North Korea’s top manchild

“Hey buddy, how’s it going? We hear you’ve been up to a lot of stupid crap in the last few weeks. That’s OK, we’ll forgive you anyway.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Dec 2010 10:47

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World: Cablegate: Know a prince and Saudi? Well then, it’s time to party

  • The full range of worldly temptations and vices are available – alcohol, drugs, sex – but strictly behind closed doors.
  • A leak from Wikileaks’ Cablegate series • Suggesting that Saudi Arabia is in fact not as conservative as it seems behind closed doors. Apparently, it goes like this; the Vice Police tends to go after people into sex/drugs/alcohol, but they tend to leave Saudi princes (of which there are thousands) alone – especially if they have a direct lineage to King Abdullah. So, as a result, if a Saudi prince is at your party, it’s time to GET DOWN. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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