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14 Feb 2011 13:54

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World: As Iranians take to streets, an expectedly oppressive response

  • Teargas in the streets of Tehran: So says the Facebook page of Iranian opposition figure Mir Hossein Mousavi, where this video was posted. It shows Iranians protesting, reportedly against the Iranian government’s detainment of political prisoners, before fleeing back towards the camera. Mousavi’s Facebook claims this was caused by a sudden teargas attack. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Feb 2011 13:38

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Politics, World: Silvio Berlusconi is always there for you, ladies!

  • I have always made it so that every woman feels, how should I say, special.
  • Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi • Embattled by multiple charges of sex with underage prostitutes (the girls were of legal consenting age, but prostitutes must be over eighteen by Italian law), the leader defended his way with women, insisting he’s always treated them with respect and “the greatest attention,” which might somewhat be the problem. Berlusconi faces charges carrying a maximum sentence of fifteen years in prison.  source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Feb 2011 11:07

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World: Palestinian situation looking pretty freaking messed-up right now

  • I can’t advocate accountability and transparency all my life and then comes the biggest breach in Palestinian national security – the stealing of the documents from my office – and let it be business as usual. What I want to do is plant the seeds for the future of Palestinian officials. When officials make mistakes, they are out.
  • Palestinian peace negotiator Saeb Erekat • Explaining why he left his office in the wake of the recent “Palestine Papers” scandal, which was rooted from a leak in his office. Erekat’s exit over the weekend is only one sign of an overwhelming instability that showed up in the wake of the Egyptian unrest. Prime Minister Salam Fayyad straight-up dissolved the cabinet and plans to replace them all within six weeks. The cabinet was long seen by many in the Fatah movement as dysfunctional, indluding Fayyad – and not even all the seats in the cabinet were actually filled with people. Is a fresh start what Palestine needs, at least politically? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Feb 2011 10:36

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World: Danger, suppression cloud today’s Iranian protests

  • plan Today, Iranians planned to protest in solidarity with Egyptians who successfully won their independence last week.
  • wrinkle Unfortunately, police are reportedly ready for them – armed with shotguns, tear gas, batons and fire extinguishers.
  • wrinkle Also, opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi has been prevented from attending – his phone lines were cut, too. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Feb 2011 12:05

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World: 200 cities + a tawdry sex scandal = A huge anti-Berlusconi protest

Hundreds of thousands of women took part in today’s protests. This is why, if you’re the leader of Italy, you don’t get associated with scandals involving underage prostitutes. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Feb 2011 11:12

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World: In Algeria, police put on full-court press, triple-team protesters

  • 3:1 the ratio of police to protesters in Algers, says the AP source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Feb 2011 11:03

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World: Video: In Yemen, pro-government, anti-government protesters clash

  • Here’s the difference between the pro-government protesters in this clip, recorded earlier this weekend, and the anti-government protesters. The groups supporting Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh have clubs and knives. The people protesting against Saleh don’t. Today, anti-government protesters were prevented from marching to the presidential palace by police, who also used violent tactics against protesters. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

13 Feb 2011 10:41

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World: Update: What the Egyptian military leadership plans to do next

  • before The Egyptian military took control of the country’s government after Hosni Mubarak resigned late last week.
  • now The military has now dissolved the country’s parliament and has called for fresh elections within six months or so.
  • later Emergency rule still rules, but it’s something the army says will go away once the security situation improves. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

12 Feb 2011 19:07

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World: Palestine fighting over itself over Egypt-inspired election plans

  • We call upon all parties to set aside their reservations and disagreements. Let us work together to hold elections and uphold the will of the Palestinian people. As for differences and disagreements, whether in political or security matters, we believe that these issues could be resolved by the coming elected Legislative Council.
  • A message from the Palestinian Authority • Announcing the country’s first elections since 2006, when Hamas gained a foothold, will take place in September. As with just about everything with the Islamist Hamas group, things are tense, and they’re fighting the decision to hold elections, saying that they need to come after a reconciliation period between Hamas and the Fatah, which dominates the Palestinian Authority. Hamas is currently not a part of the Palestine Liberation Organization,  and want the group to be restructured to include them. The two groups – Hamas and Fatah – fought a brief civil war in 2007 and since then have controlled different parts of the already-tension-filled country. Also today, Saeb Erekat, one of Palestine’s chief negotiators with Israel, resigned in the wake of the recent “Palestine Papers” scandal. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Feb 2011 18:26

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World: Researchers: We just found a wrecked ship tied to “Moby Dick”!

  • See that down there? That decayed jar of ginger may be a key piece of the Moby Dick puzzle deep in the ocean for three centuries. The inspiration for Herman Melville’s book (and, indirectly Herman Melville’s great-great-great-grandnephew’s stage name), George Pollard, Jr., was the captain of the ship “Two Brothers,” a ship that was struck by lightning and sank way back in 1823. (It was Pollard’s second whaling ship to face such an unlucky fate.) The crew was rescued, but the ship reportedly wasn’t found until recently, 600 miles off the coast of Honolulu. If true, this is awesome. (Photo by Greg McFall, NOAA) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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