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21 Nov 2011 19:35

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U.S.: Alleged Jerry Sandusky victim quits school after getting bullied

  • awful A number of reported victims of alleged child molester Jerry Sandusky were reported to have dealt with various unspeakable things in a grand jury report released a while back.
  • awfuler The first victim on the report, referred to as “Victim One,” has dealt with brutal harassment at his high school due to Penn State coach Joe Paterno’s firing, a result of Sandusky’s arrest.
  • awfulest The student — a senior with just half a year left — had to withdraw from school as a result of the bullying. Protip, teens: It’s not a victim’s fault when a someone gets fired in a cover-up. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Nov 2011 14:14

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Politics: The pun we were all waiting for

  • This is, in fact, the official name of Gingrich’s New Hampshire effort. Hopefully, “Mitt Hampshire” will follow, maybe with a banner image that’s a little less self-parodical. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Nov 2011 13:33

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U.S.: UC Davis Chancellor: “I take responsibility,” but I won’t resign

  • As Chancellor, I take responsibility for everything that happens on this campus. At the same time, our campus has policies, and–the only reasons we have those policies in place is to make sure the 32,000 students who are using our campus are safe.
  • UC Chancellor Linda Katehi • After refusing to resign due to the events at UC Davis last week, wherein UCPD Lt. John Pike pepper sprayed a line of seated, peaceful protesters. During the same KQED interview,  she also that she needs to “understand what went wrong…why things went so wrong,” which seems to be obfuscating the issue. Isn’t it clear what what wrong? Anyway, the UCPD police chief, along with Pike and another officer, have all been placed on “administrative leave;” 60,000 people have signed a petition calling for Katehi’s resignation. (Note: this interview wrapped up earlier the hour; we’ll let you know when a transcript is available.) source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Nov 2011 10:09

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World: Egyptian protests in Tahrir Square surge anew over military power

  • People here feel that they have been cheated and that they have moved from an autocracy to a military dictatorship. So they are back to the square — back to square one — to ask for their rights once again.
  • Egyptian protester Mosa’ab Elshamy • Discussing the resurgence of the protests at Tahrir Square over the weekend. It’s been a particularly bloody weekend in Egypt, with at least 22 protesters killed and 1,700 injured, roughly 102 of those police officers. The military claims it didn’t intend for things to go the way they’re going, and plan to relinquish power after the country has its long-in-the-works elections. Those elections are planned for November 28, about a week from now. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Nov 2011 11:20

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Tech, U.S.: Report: Illinois industrial water pump damaged by … Russian hackers?!

  • Because that’s not weird or anything. On November 8, an industrial water pump in a rural Illinois town went down. Reportedly, the culprit was a Russian hacker who had gained access to the pump via compromised details from the software firm that produced the water pump’s remote-control software. The hack damaged the water pump, making it the first confirmed (but not claimed) cyber attack on an industrial system in U.S. history. The hack harkens back to last year’s Stuxnet attack on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. Stuxnet, a piece of malware reportedly created by the U.S. and Israel with the expressed purpose of damaging the country’s budding nuclear program, reportedly gave the Iranian nuclear program a huge setback. Excuse us, we’re gonna hide out in a bunker to protect ourselves from the fallout from the forthcoming cyberwar. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Nov 2011 09:51

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World: Libya won’t hand Gaddafi’s son over to the International Criminal Court

  • what Despite the fact that the new Libyan government has yet to put together a justice system of its own, the country says it plans to try Saif al-Islam Gaddafi within its borders, rather than sending him to the International Criminal Court.
  • why “The ICC is just a secondary court, and the people of Libya will not allow Seif al-Islam to be tried outside,” claimed information minister Mahmoud Shammam. Gaddafi’s son is wanted by the ICC for crimes against humanity. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Nov 2011 08:40

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U.S.: Pepper-sprayed UC Davis protester: It still burns, two days later

  • Don’t worry about it, I’m going to spray these kids down.
  • Lt. John Pike (according to a pepper-sprayed protester at UC Davis) • Speaking to fellow officers before the infamous pepper-spray incident on Friday. According to the protester, who spoke at length anonymously to Boing Boing, the pepper spray he used was military grade, and it still hurts, two days later. “It’s supposed to be used at a minimum of 15 feet,” the protester told Xeni Jardin. “But he sprayed us at point blank range.” Highly recommend you read Boing Boing’s photo-heavy account of the incident, which is very informative. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Nov 2011 18:55

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U.S.: Study: Drug usage, high childhood IQs may go hand-in-hand

  • Don’t be lulled by your kid’s good academic performance to think that they are not experimenting with drugs. It is commonplace with peers and it is naive to think that because you have a good, smart kid that they will not be curious.
  • Glen Oaks, N.Y., substance abuse official Bruce Goldman • Discussing a study that shows a connection between high childhood IQ and drug abuse. The study of 8,000 people showed that those who had high IQ scores when they were younger were more likely to use some illegal drugs at age 16 and at age 30. Despite this study, we still think kids should try their hardest in school; this isn’t some kind of crazy, blank check endorsement to dumb kids down even more. source
Posted by samimain • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Nov 2011 18:36

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U.S.: Reno firefighters make major progress on wildfire, save many homes

  • good The Reno wildfire, which has left some crazy pictures, a pretty insane resident-filmed video, and stunning damage in its wake, is roughly 80 percent contained, authorities say.
  • better While the fire damaged five homes and made 32 others uninhabitable, firefighters have saved roughly 4,500 others on Friday. Next time you’re in Reno, give a firefighter a high-five for a job well done. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Nov 2011 18:33

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Politics: Top-secret Obama security detail found lying in a gutter

  • Somebody’s getting a stern talking to: In a kind of amazing story that, for some reason, absolutely nobody is reporting, a classified copy of President Obama’s security detail was discovered lying in a gutter outside Australia’s parliament on Wednesday. The 120-page document contained seating arrangements of the presidential motorcade, and details of how exactly the Secret Service goes about protecting the president. Thankfully, it was discovered by reporter Dylan Welch who, as one would expect, wrote an article about it (after the president left the country, which he was visiting as part of his tour of the Asia Pacific) . But what if it had fallen into the wrong hands? Coming days after a man was charged with attempting to assassinate the president, this doesn’t look make anybody look good. The White House hasn’t commented on the incident. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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