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11 Sep 2011 21:11

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World: General: Afghan attack near 9/11 anniversary shows Taliban weakness

  • two Afghan citizens were killed in an attack on a coalition base on the eve of the 9/11 anniversary
  • 25 Afghan citizens were wounded in the attack, which the Taliban took credit for
  • 77 NATO forces were wounded; all of them were Americans, officials say source
  • » “A high-profile attack”: That’s how U.S. coalition leader Gen. John R. Allen described the vehicle bomb attack that injured over 100 people. But Allen sees the silver lining from a logistical perspective: “They have been ejected from the population in so many places around the country that their only ability to influence the battlefield on many occasions is simply to go for a high-profile attack,” he explained, “And that’s how we view this particular attack.”
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Sep 2011 10:12

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World: Bloomberg, Obama, Bush reflect during September 11 memorial

  • Ten years have passed since a perfect blue sky morning turned into the blackest of nights. Since then, we have lived in sunshine, and in shadow. And although we can never ‘unsee’ what happened here … we can also see that children who lost their parents have grown into young adults, grandchildren have been born, and good works and public service have taken root to honor those we loved and lost.
  • New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg • Reflecting on the lives lost on Sept. 11, 2001 during this morning’s memorial at Ground Zero. Obama and George W. Bush — the two presidents whose legacies were most affected by the events of the day — also reflected on the moment in their own ways. Obama read Psalm 46 from the Bible, while Bush read a letter that Abraham Lincoln sent to a mother who lost five sons in the Civil War. A reflective morning, with equally reflective words.  source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Sep 2011 14:40

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U.S., World: Rwanda: Ex-presidential hopeful, “Hotel Rwanda” inspiration face scrutiny

  • She was aiming at inciting the people she calls the Hutus, to make them get conscious that there is something going against them.
  • A Rwandan prosecutor • Speaking during the trial of Victoire Ingabire, a Hutu woman who attempted to run for president in the country last year, only to get arrested on charges of attempting to incite terrorism and denying the infamous genocide (along ethnic lines) that destabilized the country nearly two decades ago. Ingabire’s trial began Friday, and prosecutors — surprisingly — have claimed that there is evidence that links her and Paul Rusesabagina, the man who was the inspiration for Don Cheadle’s character in “Hotel Rwanda,” to a terrorist group. And they’re considering bringing charges against Rusesabagina, now considered a international hero (albeit one who has feuded with the current Tutsi government), as well. Two decades after the fact, politics in Rwanda remain complicated and emotionally charged. (h/t @JohnNess) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Sep 2011 14:01

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World: Tanzania ferry accident kills hundreds off coast of Zanzibar

  • 240+ people killed in last night’s ferry sinking off Zanzibar
  • 607+ people rescued; overcrowding was blamed for the disaster source
  • » A depressingly common occurrence: Accidents like these happen in the region every few years, most recently in 2009. And while this incident was certainly a tragic event, it wasn’t the worst maritime accident Tanzania’s ever experienced. That happened in 1996, when at least 443 people died on a sinking vessel, but as many as 800 could’ve been on board.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Sep 2011 13:32

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Biz: Early Web 2.0 site Meetup describes its roots — in September 11, 2001

  • One of the first real sites to take on social media in a tangible way — where it encouraged offline interaction as much as online — was Meetup, which started up nearly a decade ago. The roots? September 11, 2001. Really. “A lot of people were thinking that maybe 9/11 could bring people together in a lasting way,” noted CEO and co-founder Scott Heiferman. “So the idea for Meetup was born: Could we use the internet to get off the internet — and grow local communities?” Nine months later, a site which has proven an important tool for social and political organization went online, turning a negative into a positive — and likely building the roots for many social media sites that came after. A fascinating story. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Sep 2011 13:15

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World: Egypt enacts security measures after violence around Israeli embassy

  • three people killed in the attack on the Israeli Embassy in the Cairo suburb of Giza
  • 1,000+ people injured in the incident — a level so high it made us do a double-take
  • 19 people arrested for their alleged roles in the attack, which hurt Egypt-Israeli relations source
  • » Emergency measures in place: In the wake of the attack, Egypt has enacted measures to speed up the response to the incident — including pushing those arrested through an emergency state security court. The country seems to be doing everything it can to prevent an international crisis over this. “About 95 percent of the Egyptians are disgusted at the attack on the embassy and any other violence that took place,” noted Hisham Kassem, a veteran editor and publisher in the region. “Even commentators who appeared on channels like Jazeera … who normally have a very anti-Israeli position, were saying, ‘This is wrong. We can’t attack an embassy.'”
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Sep 2011 11:57

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Tech: How yesterday’s NBC News Twitter hack might’ve happened

  • Ryan, You need to get off TWITTER immediately and protect your family from the hurricane. That is an order.
  • A suspicious e-mail sent to NBC director of social media Ryan Osborn • Leading to a possible infiltration of Osborn’s computer. Osborn, being obviously confused by such a weird message (received during Hurricane Irene), responded and received another message in return that said “I’m the girl next door” and contained an attachment. Osborn then mistakenly opened the attachment which contained a Christmas tree. Security experts say an infiltration like that could have caused a keylogger to get installed on Osborn’s computer, which may have led to yesterday’s hack. This, of course, underlines why having strong computer security is important, even for an organization like NBC News, which claims their security was otherwise so tight that only three executives knew the Twitter account’s password. And how far The Script Kiddies were willing to go to pull off such a hack. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Sep 2011 13:57

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U.S.: Joe Biden on terror threat: “We do have talk about using a car bomb”

  • There are specifics — in that sense it was credible — but there’s no certitude. There’s no smoking gun, but we do have talk about using a car bomb.
  • Vice President Joe Biden • Speaking on the credible terror threat this morning while on “Good Morning America.” He was slightly less vague than Michael Bloomberg was last night. NYC and DC have upped their security ahead of the 9/11 anniversary as a result of the threat, which up to this point has proven incredibly vague. Let’s hope that, whatever it is, authorities have their ducks in a row. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Sep 2011 12:57

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U.S.: Pennsylvania flooding: Floodwaters high but not at Agnes levels

  • 38.9′ the crest of the Susquehanna River in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. early Friday morning
  • 40.9′ the crest of waters in Wilkes-Barre caused by Hurricane Agnes in 1972, the all-time record
  • 41′ the level of flooding the levee in the region can stand; not all regions are levee-protected source
  • » Toxic waste dangers: The flooding has one particularly disturbing side effect — it reportedly washed out 10 sewage processing plants, leading Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett to warn of messing with the floodwaters. Flood warnings are currently in effect for Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts, with other nearby regions, such as Virginia and DC, still in danger of flooding.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Sep 2011 11:56

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U.S.: Power service restored on West Coast; power grid “very fragile.”

  • Restoring power in the aftermath of the loss of the entire local grid serving San Diego and southern Orange counties was a monumental task. The restoration process, however, has left our local power grid very fragile and we are asking our customers to conserve electricity throughout the day Friday.
  • SDG&E vice president of electric operations David Geier • Discussing last night’s blackout, which affected nearly five million people in Mexico, Arizona and California. The blackout led to some great photos, but fortunately, it looks like it ended relatively painlessly. We’ll keep an eye on this today. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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