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22 Nov 2011 11:43

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U.S.: Failing the test: Long Island SAT-cheating scandal widens

  • 13 students could get arrested over SAT/ACT cheating scandal source
  • » Were the parents involved in this? According to a state senator, the amounts of money being talked about in the test-taking scandal (which involved students taking the test in place of other students) were just too much for the kids involved to raise on their own. “There are parents that are complicit in this. They are involved,” claimed State Sen. Ken Lavalle. “You can’t tell me that students are walking around with $3,500, or $2,500, or $1,200. That’s a lot of money, and that means the parents were involved.” The case involves a number of different high schools in the same region; some of the districts have emphasized that the students alone are to blame for their actions.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Nov 2011 11:12

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World: Three American students arrested in Cairo, accused of protesting

  • Their faces showed up on state television on Tuesday: These three study-abroad students, studying at American University in Cairo, were arrested for reportedly taking part in the mass demonstrations that have caused much unrest in the past few days. “The three boys were throwing molotov cocktails and had no passports on them when they were picked up,” claimed Adel Saeed, a spokesperson for the Egyptian general prosecutor’s office. Protesters have flooded Tahrir Square on Tuesday in reaction to a call for a “million-man” march. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Nov 2011 10:53

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World: South African parliament passes controversial secrecy law

  • cause The South African parliament passed a bill on Tuesday that they say is intended to “save lives, to enhance and to protect the freedom and security of persons, to bring criminals to justice, to protect the national security and to engage in effective government and diplomacy.” Jacob Zuma is expected to sign it into law.
  • reaction The bill has further strained the relationship between the press and the government. Many believe the law is an attempt to shield the country’s elite from criticism and prevent whistleblowing. A number of anti-apartheid leaders  have also come out against the bill, including Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu, who called it “insulting.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Nov 2011 10:31

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U.S.: Jose Pimentel’s mother apologizes for her son’s terror plot

  • I didn’t raise my son in that way. I feel bad about this situation.
  • Carmen Sosa, mother of NYC “lone wolf” bombing suspect Jose Pimentel • Apologizing for her son’s behavior while speaking with reporters outside her Manhattan home this morning. Regarding the NYPD’s actions in this incident, Sosa praised them. “I think they handled it well,” she said. If it helps Ms. Sosa, the FBI didn’t exactly treat this case very seriously, a sign it may not be a strong case. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Nov 2011 00:29

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World: Egypt: Cabinet offers resignations ahead of parliamentary elections

  • Protests in Egypt ahead of parliamentary elections: Last week, Egypt’s military-backed cabinet introduced plans for a new constitution — one that gave the military a lot more power, and the parliament a lot less. Reacting to the sudden changes, the Muslim Brotherhood started protests in Tahrir Square on Friday; over the weekend, hundreds camped out and continued protests. That growing group of people was met with riot police. As a result of all this, the interim cabinet offered their resignation Monday; this hasn’t stopped the protests, however. The elections start a week from now. source
Posted by samimain • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Nov 2011 00:03

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World: Did the Daily Mail hack Hugh Grant’s phone, too?

  • I cannot for the life of me think of any source for these stories in the Mail on Sunday except my voicemail messages.
  • Hugh Grant • Accusing the Daily Mail of hacking his cell phone. Remember News of the World? Well, the Daily Mail took a page out of their book, according to Grant (who’s built a rep for being a phone-hacking crusader). He is claiming that they hacked into his voicemail for a 2007 story; it may have been done by a private investigator once used by News of the World until his termination in 2006. Of course The Mail “utterly refutes Grant’s claim that they got any story as a result of phone hacking.” Perhaps they’ve cried wolf just too many times. source
Posted by samimain • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Nov 2011 23:32

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World: UN greenhouse gas study: Carbon dioxide levels reach new high

  • 2.3 parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere between 2009 and 2010, a big leap from the last decade’s average of 2.0 ppm
  • 64% of climate warming is due to carbon dioxide released from burning fossil fuels, deforestation and changes in land usage, a UN study says source
Posted by samimain • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Nov 2011 23:01

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Politics: Is Donald Trump’s toupée a good luck charm? Uh, no.

  • 73% of Americans don’t care who Trump supports source
  • » So why has Bachmann met with him four times? So far, Michelle Bachmann seems to be promoting Donald Trump’s advice better than she’s promoting herself — she’s currently sitting at 4% in the latest USA Today/Gallup poll.
Posted by samimain • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Nov 2011 20:52

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U.S.: Why the FBI reportedly passed on perusing Jose Pimentel

  • They felt the NYPD’s evidence, and Pimentel’s actual threat, was shaky. If given the opportunity, could Jose Pimentel have actually pulled off a terror threat? The NYPD seemed convinced of this, but the FBI wasn’t quite so sure. On top of this, they felt the evidence was a little rough around the edges — particularly the use of a confidential informant, who recorded hours of conversations with Pimentel, but may not be the most reliable witness to whatever happened. As one law enforcement official, speaking off the record, put it: “If the FBI declines a case, it’s not a strong case.” Think it’ll hold up? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Nov 2011 20:10

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Politics: Obama offers tough words on debt supercommittee failure

  • They’ve still got a year to figure it out. They can still come together around a balanced plan. I believe Democrats are prepared to do so. My expect is that there are some Republicans who are interested in preventing the automatic cuts from taking place.
  • President Barack Obama • Discussing the failure of the supercommittee to make a deal on cuts, as required by the debt ceiling deal he made in August. The president’s tone was tough — “I will veto any effort to get rid of those spending cuts,” he said — but did offer some wiggle room for Congress to get their act together. The cuts — half defense, half domestic — offer a lot of pain for both sides of the aisle, so who knows? Maybe we’ll see a deal — perhaps the elusive “balanced” one the president is pitching. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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