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13 Dec 2011 15:06

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World: Russia says criticism of its defense of Syria “immoral”

  • UN action on Syria blocked by Russia, China: It was just over a month ago that Syria claimed to accept a deal with the Arab League to halt attacks and killings of citizens (and allow free media observers into the country), before flaunting their violation of the deal the next day by killing eleven people. They’ve since talked about another deal with the League, similar to the terms of the last one, but it’s rather impossible to take that seriously at this point. Many UN states would like to recommend Syria to the International Criminal Court in the Hague for crimes against humanity, but Security Council members China and Russia refuse to issue any condemnation of the Assad government — Russia, further, has referred to western criticism of their defense of Syria as “immoral.” source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Dec 2011 14:46

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Politics: Donald Trump is out as GOP debate moderator

  • See what Donald Trump is doing here? He’s waving goodbye. News broke today that, on the heels of every consequential GOP candidate save Newt Gingrich (which admittedly is only two other guys) stating they would not attend Newsmax’s Trump-moderated debate, the man himself won’t suffer the embarrassment, though he’s cited conflict of interest as his excuse. Said Trump: “It is very important to me that the right Republican candidate be chosen to defeat the failed and very destructive Obama Administration, but if that Republican, in my opinion, is not the right candidate, I am not willing to give up my right to run as an Independent candidate.” So, basically, even when the action might imply this election process is about more than just Trump — it’s all about Trump. (Photo credit Gage Skidmore) source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Dec 2011 14:06

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U.S.: Sandusky lawyer Joe Amendola inadvertently plugs sex chat line

  • quip Joe Amendola, the defense attorney for former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky, remarked that anybody who believed an account of Sandusky sodomizing a young boy in a gym shower “should call 1-800-REALITY.”
  • oops The punch-line of Amendola’s somewhat unsympathetic joke contained a plug for a service he likely didn’t realize; 1-800-REALITY is a paid, gay sex phone chat line, which bills itself as “the hottest place for triple-X action.” source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Dec 2011 11:30

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Culture: Did the roots of walking come from “hopping” fish?

  • Birds gotta fly, fish gotta … walk? Scientists have long known that the early ancestors of almost every four-limbed creature — from mammals to reptiles to birds, and so on —  are fish that learned to breathe on land. But now scientists say that the African lungfish, using its “eel-like body and a pair of flimsy hind fins,” can walk/propel itself underwater, suggesting that walking isn’t merely an above-ground phenomenon. “This shows us — pardon the pun — the steps that are involved in the origin of walking,” said the University of Chicago’s pun-friendly researcher, Neil Shubin. Not that their walking abilities would be obvious to researchers based on appearances alone. “Their fins seem like the furthest thing from walking appendages possible,” Shubin noted. source
Posted by samimain • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Dec 2011 11:08

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Biz: Black Friday backfire: Best Buy’s profits nosedive on heavy deals

  • 29% drop in Best Buy’s profits in the third quarter source
  • » Too many deals? Best Buy, which has become shorthand for “company that throws all its chips in on Black Friday,” lost its bet on this year’s Black Friday, as its third-quarter results (which include the waffle-iron-rioting-day) showed major weaknesses, as discounts got people into the stores but failed to get them to actually work as loss-leaders. “They were more promotional and that doesn’t bode well for the holiday season, which is going to be very, very intense,” noted Barclays Capital analyst Alan Rifkin.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Dec 2011 10:52

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World: Deadly Belgium mass-attack: Man opens fire, throws grenades

  • The man previously went to jail for firearm possession: In the Belgian city of Liege, at least four people have died and another 75 have been injured — including an 18-month-old boy — as the result of a domestic terror attack, in which a man on the roof of a building fired upon a crowd using an automatic weapon and threw a handful of grenades in the process. The man, Nordine Amrani, had previously gone to jail for firearm possession. After the attack, the gunman killed himself. “It was quite incredible,” said Greg Ienco, a journalist who witnessed the deadly attack. “We saw one man on the roof who tried to kill people. This man killed himself with a grenade.” Prosecutors say he didn’t have any ties to terrorist groups. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Dec 2011 10:33

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World: Uh, of course: Iran won’t give spy drone back to United States

  • problem Earlier this month, a secret radar-evading drone plane, owned by the U.S., went down over Iran, which claims they took it down using electronic warfare.
  • request After Iran got a hold of the plane (which, mind you, violated their airspace), they showed it off in footage, leading the U.S. to ask for their expensive toy back …
  • denial … however, Iran has no plans to do so, because they’re in the midst of studying it for intelligence reasons. Oh, well, the U.S. says it wasn’t expecting it back. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Dec 2011 10:20

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U.S.: In tactical move, Jerry Sandusky waives pre-trial hearing

Sandusky’s decision to waive the pre-trial prevents the alleged victims from having to recollect their cases today, but surprised many; some see the decision as a smart tactical move on his lawyer’s part. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Dec 2011 09:16

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Culture: Yes, www.disney.xxx has already been reserved, so don’t even ask.

  • It’s an unfortunate part of what one does today in order to do business and maintain the integrity of the institutional name, the brand name, the organization, the students, whatever it is that one has built the equity in that what we have to do in this digital age.
  • Barbara Brooks, from The Strategy Group • Commenting on why universities and other not-pornographic groups are buying their .xxx URLs before someone else does. With the recent addition of the .xxx web address to the market, universities (among others) have began buying them for themselves so that the address don’t fall into the wrong hands. ICM Registry CEO Stuart Lawley says that this will “clearly signpost adult entertainment on the Net. For those people who want to find adult content, they can easily find it.” source
Posted by samimain • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Dec 2011 23:31

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U.S.: San Francisco’s new minimum wage sets the double-digit standard

  • $10.24 San Francisco’s new minimum wage source
  • » Happy New Year, indeed. Starting Jan. 1, San Francisco’s minimum hourly wage will jump above the $10 mark for the first time. That’s about $3 higher than the federal minimum wage and higher than anywhere else in the country, due to the fact that the progressive city ties its minimum wage to inflation and the quite-high cost of living in the area. But with wage hikes, various fees and the sagging economy, employers might have to start laying off workers again to keep up.
Posted by samimain • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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