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03 Mar 2011 21:52

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U.S., World: Obama: “Full range” of military options on the table in Libya

  • YES Obama could bring U.S. military action to Libya source
  • » It’s not off the table: “We are looking at every option that’s out there,” he said, “in addition to the non-military actions that we’ve taken. I want to make sure that those full range of options are available to me.” He’s stressing great care, however, and it doesn’t sound like the first option on the table. (Nor does it sound like it would necessitate a large military campaign.) Do you guys think that Obama should lead us in this direction? Should this be our role in this particular crisis?
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Mar 2011 16:08

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World: In wake of broad criticism, President Obama speaks out on Gaddafi

  • then President Obama had absorbed criticism over his lack of forceful public remarks towards Muammar Gaddafi, and the need for the dictator to give up power.
  • now The President spoke out on Gaddafi, calling on him to leave while affirming that he’s sent refugee aid and airlift support to Libya’s crowded border. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Mar 2011 13:14

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World: Strain on border crossing out of Libya eases with extra support

  • YES airlifts are assisting Libyan refugee border crossings source
  • » Just get me outta here: Much to the relief of aid agencies and arbiters, the enormous surge of people fleeing Libya by way of the Tunisian border, estimated in recent days at around 150,000, is now getting support from aerial transport, easing the burden on the escape route. Aircraft have been activated from Britain, Egypt, and France, among others. This relieves much concern about a pressurized, very volatile situation the last few days due to the intense crowding being endured by these refugees.
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Mar 2011 10:45

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World: United Nations: Libyan refugees leaving country en masse

  • 180k number of people who have fled Libya, the United Nations says
  • 95k of those refugees have crossed into Tunisia from Western Libya
  • 83k of those refugees headed into Egypt from Eastern Libya source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Mar 2011 10:34

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World: Libya’s negotiator? Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez wants to mediate

Hugo Chavez and Muammar Gaddafi go way back, which is why Hugo wants to help moderate the peace process in Libya. But details of Chavez’s plan are lacking. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Mar 2011 10:06

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World: Dutch helicopter crew captured by Libyan (well, Gaddafi’s) forces

  • cause Three Flying Dutchmen (sorry), attempting to rescue Europeans stuck in the country, were captured by Libyan forces last Sunday – the first sign of Libyan forces going after Westerners.
  • reaction The Dutch government has actually kept this story under wraps; it didn’t break until a newspaper discovered it. There’s a fear the Libyan government might use the pilots as propaganda tools. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Mar 2011 22:10

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Culture, World: More Wikileaks: Steven Spielberg scores the movie rights

  • And Wikileaks is very unhappy about this. The mega-director, known as much for his Hollywood films as his historical pieces, has secured the rights to a book about Wikileaks, “WikiLeaks: Inside Julian Assange’s War on Secrecy.” (It’s written by two journalists for The Guardian, who have kind of been on the front lines of all this.) Now, Spielberg has done great work before, but he is not a man known for keeping his films 100 percent accurate. For example, “Catch Me if You Can” was based on a real guy who pretended to be a pilot, but Tom Hanks’ character didn’t exist in real life. (Frank Abagnale is OK with this.) It’s understandable, then, that Wikileaks would say, in response to this, that “this is how bull#(&@ ends up being history.” Your move, Spielberg. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

02 Mar 2011 16:01

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World: Libyan rebels continue to wage fervent struggle against tall odds

  • It doesn’t matter that I don’t have a gun, because some of my friends do. I will just stand here with my people and die with my people.
  • Mohamed Abdrurrazeg, a Libyan rebel • On the desperate struggle between rebels and pro-Gaddafi forces taking place in Ajdabiya and Benghazi, and to varying extents, across the nation. Rebel leadership is reported as hoping for international military intervention against the brutal regime. Whether that desire will be met remains to be seen, but this much seems certain – the international community has rendered Gaddafi basically impotent as a functioning ruler through the condemnations that have been issued. If his forces begin to decisively put down the rebels, could the risk of his continued presence will spur military action? source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Mar 2011 15:29

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World: Disgraced fashion designer John Galliano will stand trial

  • It was a social crime … In a highly-publicized incident, fashion designer John Galliano was captured on film saying “I love Hitler,” an anti-Jewish sentiment that cost him his job with Christian Dior and drew the public ire of none less than their Oscar-winning spokeswoman Natalie Portman. Galliano has apologized for the incident, but the damage has already been done.
  • … but is it a legal crime? Galliano will be forced to stand trial in Paris over his remarks. French law designates that incitement of racial hatred is a crime, and Galliano could face six months in prison. Obviously racism is abhorrent and deleterious to society, but the idea of going to prison for what Galliano did seems like a pretty good illustration of the First Amendment’s beauty. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Mar 2011 13:42

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World: U.S. airmen fired upon outside Frankfurt airport, motive unknown

  • Attack on American airmen in Frankfurt: A gunman, reported by the U.K.’s Guardian as believed to be from Kosovo, opened fire on a military bus at the Frankfurt airport, killing two U.S. airmen and badly wounding two others. While no potential motive has been ascribed, the German authorities arrested a suspect inside the airport shortly after the attack, who they’ve identified as Arif Uka, a twenty-one year old. The Pentagon has not yet offered comment. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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