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15 Feb 2012 20:00

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World: Prison fire in Honduras leads to terrible death toll

  • 359 inmates killed during a huge fire at a prison in Honduras source
  • » Crowded chaos: The fire started yesterday night at the prison in Comayagua, with authorities believing, by another prisoner’s report, that an inmate started the blaze by igniting their mattress. Honduras is a state plagued by high rates of crime (the United Nations says it has the world’s highest murder rate), which has caused its prisons to be absurdly overstuffed, and many are old and dilapidated. Angry relatives of the inmates gathered outside the prison this morning, protesting and at times trying to force their way in; police responded by firing tear gas. President Porfirio Lobo pledged to “take urgent measures to deal with this tragedy, which has plunged all Hondurans into mourning.”
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Feb 2012 11:19

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World: In Canada, politician uses classy tactic to push online surveillance bill

Regarding his Protecting Children from Internet Predators Act, which would force ISPs to hand over personal info without warrants, MP Vic Toews fought off critics by saying people “can either stand with us or with the child pornographers.” Seriously. (ht papastain) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Feb 2012 10:20

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World: Iran says it’s making its own nuclear fuel, doesn’t care what you jerks think

  • cause In a dramatic speech Wednesday, a white-lab-coat-clad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that Iran had figured out a way to produce its own domestically-made nuclear fuel. If true, this would be a big deal on the diplomatic front.
  • reaction For this and other reasons, both the U.S. and Europe are considering slamming the country with some super-strong financial sanctions, which have already led Iran to cut off oil exports to six European nations. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Feb 2012 22:01

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World: Americans are beginning to sour on foreign intervention

  • 63% of Americans believed, in March 2011, that the US had no obligation to intervene in Libya
  • 73% of Americans believe, as of today, that the US has no obligation to intervene in Syria source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Feb 2012 14:10

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World: Japanese activists want referendum on nuclear power in Osaka

  • then Last year, following the violent earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor was thrown into a state of emergency. System failure prevented adequate cooling of enriched uranium rods, causing a meltdown while hydrogen explosions rocked the plant.
  • nowJust under a year removed from the disaster, a group of Japanese activists have submitted a petition in Osaka (within Kansai Prefecture), calling for a referendum on nuclear power. Osaka is Japan’s second largest city behind Tokyo, and draws power from 11 nuclear reactors near the city. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Feb 2012 11:01

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World: Was Tuesday’s Bangkok explosion tied to Iran, too? Israel says yes.

  • monday Israel blames the bombings of their embassy vehicles, in both India (successful) and Georgia (foiled), on Iran. Despite this, Iran denied responsibility for the attacks.
  • tuesday In Bangkok, an Iranian man carrying grenades managed to blow his own legs off and wound four others. Israel also blamed this attack on Iran. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Feb 2012 11:17

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World: Japanese Emperor Akihito will undergo heart surgery next weekend

The Japanese monarch, 78, has reportedly had health issues of late, and as a result is up for his first surgery in nearly a decade after an examination showed worsening heart issues. He had surgery for prostate cancer in 2003. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

12 Feb 2012 10:45

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World: Libyan rebels-turned-prison-guards exacting revenge on Gaddafi backers

  • They told us that they planned to shift control of a few prisons this week, but it has not happened. … The government has to take over the prisons one by one by negotiating with the people who run it. It is not uniformly or automatically done.
  • A United Nations official, based in Tripoli • Discussing the situation with Libyan prisons, where conditions in the post-Gaddafi era have gotten quite bad, as rebel-sympathizing prison runners are using the prisons to exact revenge on people who supported the former Libyan leader during the revolution. Prison owners have tried to tell a different story, but some humanitarian groups have stopped helping Libyan prisons due to torture allegations. The United Nations has complained about the problem for months, noting that the government should be in control of the prisons to ensure fair treatment, not former rebels. Roughly 8,500 detainees, many sub-Saharan Africans suspected of fighting for Gaddafi, are being held in detention centers nationwide. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Feb 2012 08:04

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World: Start clutching your handkerchiefs; Prince Harry is returning to battle.

  • Killing insurgents is what the machine Prince Harry flies is there for; you cannot put it any other way.
  • A British defense source • Regarding Prince Harry’s return to combat. Prince Harry is returning to duty with the Royal Air Force shortly. No one is sure when his four-month tour begins, but he’ll be working with the unit with the highest “kill rate” while it was in Afghanistan. source
Posted by samimain • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Feb 2012 10:25

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World: Maldives unrest: Ex-president Mohamed Nasheed claims he’ll be arrested soon

  • The home minister has pledged (I will be) the first former president to spend all my life in jail. … the facts on the ground are that tomorrow I will be in jail.
  • Maldivian president Mohamed Nasheed • Suggesting that he would be jailed shortly, days after resigning or getting forced from power. Despite word from his political party that Nasheed was beaten by police, he showed no signs of injury when he was interviewed. Despite this, word of his possible arrest certainly isn’t an empty threat — he spent years in jail under long-serving President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, and has been arrested 27 times before. The fairly tiny country of 330,000, a span of islands located in the Indian Ocean, gets many tourists, ensuring a high level of interest in the case. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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