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14 Jun 2011 17:37

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World: More than 8,500 Syrian refugees in Turkey

  • “I, Colonel Hussein Harmoush, am leaving the Syrian army…” This is a rather captivating and moving video, showing a former Syrian Colonel discussing the refugees who have fled to Turkey, seeking to escape the oppression and violent brutality the Assad government has unleashed. Harmoush details seeing soldiers refuse to fire on civilians when given the terrible order, while others complied. This is in keeping with reports of internal fracturing in Syria, including military soldiers reportedly shot dead by government security forces for refusing to slay civilians. source

15 Mar 2011 16:20

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World: Video shows town swept away as citizens flee tsunami

  • At the water’s edge: Chilling new amateur video footage of the tsunami that swept away entire Japanese towns and villages. This seems as good a time as any to remind everyone of something we’ve mentioned frequently- if you’re going to donate, first of all, thank you, and second of all, do so intelligently. The idea of people trying to financially exploit natural disasters and human suffering is self-evidently disgusting, and as such informed decisions are important. (EDIT: idroolinmysleep notes that the BBC has a longer version of the clip.) source

23 Feb 2011 14:05

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World: Malta says “no thanks” to Ayse Gaddafi

  • NO Malta won’t accept a jet with Gaddafi’s daughter inside source
  • » Are the Gaddafis fleeing Libya? That’s the question buzzing about following an attempted jet landing in Malta. The jet’s pilots claimed they had 14 people on board, and were running low on fuel, but when it became apparent through discussions that one passenger was Ayse Gaddafi, daughter of Muammar, they were told they couldn’t land. Which, if there really were 13 other people on board, must have been truly soul-crushing for them. Malta has recently become a refugee point for Libyans looking to escape the violence that has embroiled their homeland.

21 Feb 2011 14:18

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World: Just a couple of jet jockeys who want the hell out of Libya

  • 2 Libyan Air Force jet pilots seeking political asylum in Malta source
  • » Escape! The two men booked it out of Libya in Mirage jets, landing at Malta International Airport along with two helicopters carrying seven civilians who claim to be French, though only one has a passport. The duo, both reportedly colonels in the Libyan Air Force, flew low out of a Tripoli airfield to avoid detection.

09 Aug 2010 21:22

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19 Jan 2010 10:39

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World: Scared Haitians: We gotta get the hell out of Port-au-Prince

People are trying to leave en masse, but one place they can’t go is the U.S. The Coast Guard plans to turn away anyone caught trying to land in Florida. source

15 Jan 2010 21:40

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Culture: Conan has an offer to leave. Will he accept it or not?

  • $30 million in golden parachute money for the redhead source
 

26 Sep 2009 17:04

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U.S.: Why did insane convict Phillip Paul escape? He wanted sunshine.

  • Well … that seems like a perfectly reasonable reason to us. Shocking that he got away, but still reasonable. The ensuing search after his escape only cost the Spokane sheriff’s office around $37,000. source

21 Sep 2009 11:37

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U.S.: Protip: Don’t take insane murderers to the county fair

  • Phillip Paul escaped from a fair, then was recaptured. The Washington state prison inmate was arrested – again – on Sunday afternoon. Paul had been plotting his escape for months, knowing that he would be taken on a field trip to the Spokane County Fair. He escaped Thursday. Paul also escaped in 1991 and hurt a police officer during his recapture. That guy helped recapture Paul this time too. So, big question: Why are we taking prisoners to the county fair? For the elephant ears? source

29 Jun 2009 01:07

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Tech, World: Some Wikipedia editors can’t see the kidnapping for the trees

  • Is that enough proof for you [expletives]? I was right. You were WRONG.
  • An anonymous Wikipedia editor based in Florida • On the news that New York Times reporter David Rohde was in fact captured by the Taliban and escaped. What this jerk didn’t know was that The Times, with the help of Wikipedia king Jimmy Wales himself, was blocking the information from the site to prevent news of his capture from reaching the mainstream media. If Rohde’s fate was known, they feared, his chances of escape would be much lower. Wales was not thrilled with the process but willing to help. “We were really helped by the fact that it hadn’t appeared in a place we would regard as a reliable source,” he said. “I would have had a really hard time with it if it had.” • source