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23 Oct 2010 18:49

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World: Julian Assange: Wikileaks leader’s quirks add to his work’s appeal

  • They called me the James Bond of journalism. It got me a lot of fans, and some of them ended up causing me a bit of trouble.
  • Wikileaks founder Julian Assange • Making a pretty frank admission about his whole legal situation in Sweden, where he’s wanted on rape and molestation charges. Assange brought an even larger set of documents to the public eye Friday, revealing 391,832 secret documents yesterday, a leak more than five times as large as the recent Afghan War documents leak, which led to Bradley Manning’s detainment. Regarding Manning, who Assange has been matter-of-fact about in the past, he had something much weightier to say: “We have a duty to assist Mr. Manning and other people who are facing legal and other consequences.” Assange is a complex figure, perhaps one of the most interesting news figures around. And in his own weird way, he’s an essential part of the news right now. Even if some of his styles are questionable, some of the best journalism comes from these experimental methods. Ten years from now, Christian Bale should be all over this role. source
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22 Oct 2010 14:56

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World: French Senate ignores protesters’ cries, passes pension law anyway

  • anger For that last few days, protesters have been making life in France pretty rough, partly over an age increase for pensions, from 60 to 62. It’s not that bad, guys!
  • indifferenceDespite days of rage and problems with fuel distribution caused by the protests, the French Senate passed it anyway. Now it’s headed to President Sarkozy to sign. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Oct 2010 13:23

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World: The U.S. throwing more money into Pakistan’s military coffers

  • $2 billion to come from the U.S. to the Pakistani army source
  • » As a point of comparison: The U.S. has given Pakistan $7.5 billion in aid to the country otherwise – much of it aid in the wake of the country’s recent flooding, along with for civilian projects. Unlike those projects, this does court some controversy, because (according to the White House’s own reports on the matter) Pakistan’s army has reportedly committed gross human rights violations in their anti-terrorism efforts.
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22 Oct 2010 10:38

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World: Because Haiti doesn’t have enough problems, let’s add cholera

  • 138 dead in the biggest crisis since the quake source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Oct 2010 16:55

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World: … and this is why you don’t bring crocodiles on airplanes.

  • stupidA passenger on an airplane in the Democratic Republic of Congo hid a crocodile in a duffel bag, with the intent of selling it.
  • horrific The crocodile got loose, scared passengers, and directly led to the plane’s crash. Twenty people died in the accident. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Oct 2010 21:24

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World: 20-year-old single mom new sheriff of drug-plagued Mexican town

Marisol Valles Garcia is the sheriff of Praxedis G. Guerrero, one of the most violent places in Mexico. A student, she was the only person to offer to take the job. She has balls. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Oct 2010 10:15

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World: The word of the day in Britain is “austerity.” Hey, budget cuts!

  • Hear that sound? That’s the sound of a bunch of Brits taking in the government’s new austerity measures, a tour that’s hit many other European nations already. (In some countries, such as France and Greece, the reaction has been harsh and violent.) They have a plan to decrease their spending within a few years, and much of the cut is going to come directly from their welfare state. They’re cutting in other places, too, but this is where the average person will feel it most:
  • 19% in overall spending cuts over the next four years
  • 2015 the year British finance minister George Osbourne says they want have the budget balanced
  • 490k the number of public sector job cuts Osbourne says they expect to make due to austerity measures source
  • 66 the new retirement age (by year 2020) – and France is bitching about retiring at 62
  • 24 the minimum number of hours that couples need to work to receive the Working Tax Credit
  • £7B the amount the government says it could save each year with new welfare cuts source
  • » Where they’re still heavily focused: The country is making great efforts towards green energy, investing in wind energy and cutting carbon. Still, it’s worth emphasizing that these are coming during a period where they’re making some of the harshest cuts since World War II.
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19 Oct 2010 10:38

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World: Posted without comment: Video shot after Chechen parliament attack

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19 Oct 2010 10:31

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World: French people don’t like it when you mess with their pensions

No, these guys aren’t going to a Daft Punk show (OK, they might be later) … they’re steel workers protesting France’s possible new austerity measures. And they’re angry. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Oct 2010 09:54

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World: The Internet is ready to hit a major milestone this year

  • 6.9B the number of people currently living on this huge freaking planet
  • 2B+ the number of those people who will be online by the end of the year
  • 162M the number of new ‘net users from developing nations in 2010 source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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