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26 Jun 2011 21:28

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World: Afghan war: Insurgents using young children as suicide bombs

  • 8 the age of an Afghan girl tricked into carrying a suicide bomb source
  • » Why would they do such a thing? This attack, one of the more disturbing we’ve heard in a while, is shocking, but not an unheard-of tactic by insurgents looking to covering their tracks — and possibly because they’re desperate. Only the girl died, by the way.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Jun 2011 20:16

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Politics: Michele Bachmann on hot seat trying to explain off subsidies

  • $30,000 the amount the counseling clinic Bachmann’s husband reportedly received in subsidies (some of them federal) over the past five years
  • $260,000 the amount a Wisconsin family farm, reportedly part-owned by Bachmann, reportedly received in federal subsidies source
  • » Oh no! That means … Bachmann, who’s suddenly become a GOP frontrunner, found herself on the defending end of tough questioning from Chris Wallace this morning over the allegations, uncovered by the Los Angeles Times. Bachmann’s stance: The money for the clinic went for employee training and never actually went to the clinic itself. And Bachmann and her husband don’t have a financial hand in her father-in-law’s farm — which the Times says is inaccurate, according to financial records. Even if that’s not the case, let’s twist that last one for kicks: But that means a family member of hers takes government subsidies! Political liability!
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Jun 2011 11:44

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World: Yemen: Saleh reportedly returning; protesters try to force sons out

  • He will appear within the next 48 hours despite our fear that the burns on his features and on different parts of his body will be an obstacle given that his appearance will not be as the media expects it.
  • Ali Abdullah Saleh’s media secretary, Ahmed al-Sufi • Suggesting that Saleh will return to Yemen soon after spending weeks recovering in Saudi Arabia after his palace suffered a raid earlier this month. He suffered severe burns, but they cover less than 40 percent of his body … you know, not that much. As you might guess, hundreds of thousands of protesters aren’t taking this news well at all — they’re pushing for members of Saleh’s inner circle, including his sons, to leave the country. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Jun 2011 10:57

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World: Chinese dissident Hu Jia freed after three-year jail term

The Chinese dissident, shown with his wife Zeng Jinyan, has remained quiet since his release … much like fellow freed dissident Ai Weiwei, who refuses to answer questions. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Jun 2011 10:37

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Culture: Happy birthday, Cheerios. Our breakfast would suffer without you

  • And the way they’re made is fascinating: Roughly 70 years ago, the country’s most popular brand of cereal (specifically its Honey Nut variation, introduced in 1979) started puffing out of guns at hundreds of miles an hour — so fast that it turns the tiny balls of dough into the tiny little inner tubes that float around in your soy milk every morning. Kix, a fellow healthy cereal, gets made in a similar way. The cereal, notable for its health claims, recently received scrutiny from the FDA, who felt General Mills marketed the oat lumps like a drug. That case is still pending. One case that isn’t pending is the case that Cheerios are awesome. Just sayin’. (photo via Flickr user riebart) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Jun 2011 15:09

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Politics: Obama announces robotics initiative, makes awesome robot joke

  • You might not know this, but one of my responsibilities as commander-in-chief is to keep an eye on robots. And I’m pleased to report that the robots you manufacture here seem peaceful. At least for now.
  • President Barack Obama • Speaking at Carnegie Mellon University’s National Robotics Engineering Center yesterday. About robots. The president plans to launch an initiative that will invest $70 million on robotics, so if these robots rise up and kill their creators, it’s his fault. Just sayin’. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Jun 2011 15:06

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World: Tony Blair’s address book hacked, thrown up on PasteBin

In case you wanted to get in touch with the toothy ex-British prime minister’s dentist, now you can, thanks to a fresh leak by a hacker group on Friday. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Jun 2011 11:34

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U.S.: James “Whitey” Bulger’s former enforcer: He’s got lots of dirt

  • There’s a hole dug with a big portfolio full of a lot of dirty public officials and maybe some dirty law enforcement officials that ‘Whitey’ Bulger has had for years, waiting for this day of his capture, so that he can use it for some sort of bargaining tool.
  • Eddie MacKenzie, a former enforcer for recently-arrested mobster James “Whitey” Bulger • Emphasizing that corrupt public officials could have something to lose with Bulger’s arrest. While he won’t name names — in part because it could put public officials (along with himself) in danger. MacKenzie notes that the former mobster was very dangerous in his day, but that his longtime girlfriend, Catherine Greig, may not be fully aware of Bulger’s past. “‘Whitey’ Bulger was very cunning — the Hannibal Lecter of South Boston,” he notes.  source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Jun 2011 11:10

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World: Gaddafi just lost the soccer-playing contingent of his base

  • 17 Libyan soccer players side with the rebels, not Gaddafi source
  • » Harsh words for the dictator: One of the players to defect, goalie Juma Gtat, put his feelings as such: “I am telling Col Gaddafi to leave us alone and allow us to create a free Libya. In fact I wish he would leave this life altogether.” This is significant for a number of reasons — first, it comes after some notable military defections, and secondly, soccer is particularly huge in North Africa. That means that Gaddafi just lost some pretty significant allies in a public relations war.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Jun 2011 20:55

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World: Rwandan genocide: Life imprisonment for former gov’t minister, son

  • During the course of these repeated attacks on vulnerable civilians, both [Pauline] Nyiramasuhuko and [Arsene] Ntahobali ordered killings. They also ordered rapes. Ntahobali further committed rapes and Nyiramasuhuko aided and abetted rapes.
  • International Criminal Tribunal Judge William Sekule • Discussing the reasons the two Rwandans — a former minister for family and women’s affairs, and her son — received life sentences from the tribunal, along with many other officials involved in a widespread massacre of ethnic Tutsis in the Rwandan city of Butare. Nyiramasuhuko, a Hutu, ordered the killings on a the Tutsis hiding in a government office. From there … well, just read the quote above. You get the idea of how bad this all is. These convictions close one dark chapter of a story whose book, once neglected entirely, has yet to close. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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