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09 May 2011 14:03

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World: Pakistan pushes back against bin Laden insinuations

  • We didn’t know! In the aftermath of Osama bin Laden’s killing in Pakistan last week, one pressing question has been this: how on earth could a U.S. ally (made so by the billions in aid America gives them each year) acting in competent good faith not have known that bin Laden was living less than a mile from a huge military academy? In a town swarming with retired military officials? Pakistan denies any knowledge or wrongdoing here, but that’s just it — this is a situation in which any admission of wrongdoing is so diplomatically catastrophic that no government would ever cop to it, regardless of how it would make them look. What do y’all think? source

16 Mar 2011 15:54

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World: Accusations of a “blood money” payment over Raymond Davis release

  • Some new intrigue in the case of Raymond Davis: It’s being broadly reported in a number of news sources that Davis, the CIA operative who shot and killed two men in Pakistan, was essentially bailed out of the charges with U.S. cash. Sources claim that the U.S. government paid somewhere around $700,000 to the three families of the victims (the third casualty was a man who was run over by a responding emergency vehicle). This is in accordance with a provision of Islamic law known as “blood money,” in which charges are dropped for financial payouts to victim’s families. This is, obviously, a story that is generating a lot of ink and a lot of ire; the U.S. steadfastly denies any such payment was made, and has thanked the victim’s families. source

28 Feb 2011 13:47

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World: Profiles in denial: Muammar Gaddafi edition

  • All my people love me. They would die to protect me.
  • Muammar Gaddafi • Speaking to veteran journalist Christiane Amanpour, who sent this quote out on her Twitter account. Big credit to Amanpour, who’s previously obtained surprising access to Gaddafi, and has helped the international community to learn what the besieged in Libya already know so well — the man is insane. source

14 Feb 2011 13:38

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Politics, World: Silvio Berlusconi is always there for you, ladies!

  • I have always made it so that every woman feels, how should I say, special.
  • Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi • Embattled by multiple charges of sex with underage prostitutes (the girls were of legal consenting age, but prostitutes must be over eighteen by Italian law), the leader defended his way with women, insisting he’s always treated them with respect and “the greatest attention,” which might somewhat be the problem. Berlusconi faces charges carrying a maximum sentence of fifteen years in prison.  source

28 Jun 2010 09:35

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Biz: Could BP’s embattled top exec, Tony Hayward, resign soon?

  • yes Russia’s top energy official is saying that he’s expecting Hayward’s resignation as soon as today.
  • no The London-based company is denying the reports, saying that Hayward’s job is safe. source

18 Sep 2009 10:38

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World: The world’s biggest Holocaust denier, Ahmadinejad, denies it again

Dude. Do you think the Holocaust happened in some movie studio or something? Film technology wasn’t that good in 1945. It happened. It was awful. source

18 Aug 2009 23:03

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Culture: Jackson doctor Conrad Murray follows in the footsteps of his patient

  • 1993 After facing weeks of scrutiny after being accused of child molestation, Michael Jackson makes a video denying the charges.
  • 2009 After facing weeks of scrutiny after being accused of giving Jackson a fatal dose, Jackson’s doctor, Conrad Murray, makes a similar denial video. source
 

13 Mar 2009 18:53

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Culture, Music: The cake is a lie: Rihanna/Chris Brown duet not real

  • It was an old recording used for reference vocals. Apparently, word on the street was that the tumultuous relationship between the two was on the mend (which is apparently true still) and the reunion would be cemented by a new recording. Their label reps deny this and say the song in question was written for someone else and the couple hasn’t recorded together since the incident. So much for good rumors, kids. source