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07 Apr 2011 13:19

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World: China insists Ai Weiwei’s arrest isn’t about freedom

  • [It is my] understanding the public security authorities are investigating Ai Weiwei according to law on suspicion of economic crimes… This has nothing to do with human rights or freedom of expression.
  • Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hong Lei • Seeking to dismiss claims that his government arrested famed artist and dissident Ai Weiwei for political reasons, at a news conference. Weiwei’s family (in addition, frankly, to most everyone else) isn’t buying it. Chinese law states that officials must notify the family of an arrested citizen within 24 hours of the detention, and Ai’s wife has heard nothing: “As of 8 A.M. today, it has been 96 hours since Ai Weiwei was taken away from Beijing airport, and I haven’t heard a single word about him.” source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Jun 2010 12:19

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Culture: “Is this real life?” David After Dentist family cashes in on YouTube fame

  • Maybe it’s exploitation. Maybe it’s just good fortune. But this classic viral video helped David DeVore Jr. and his family make $150,000 in a year – most of it off of ads on the video’s YouTube page. Between those, T-shirt sales, deals for medical scrubs and a spot in a Super Bowl ad, the family has totally cashed in during a period where his father, David DeVore Sr., could have been in dire straits. See, before this, he was a real estate agent. In Florida. You know, the worst place in the country to be a real estate agent. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Jun 2010 11:01

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U.S.: New Russian spies more boring, hotter than Cold War-era spies

  • Gotta love Russian spies. Especially spies who grow lettuce in their gardens. And raise kids. And do things that normal families would do. And one femme fatale, Anna Chapman (can’t forget about her). We’re pretty sure she’s the redhead on the left. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Jun 2010 20:12

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Culture: Larry King: He has kids young enough to be in little league

  • With this chapter closing I’m looking forward to the future and what my next chapter will bring, but for now it’s time to hang up my nightly suspenders.
  • Uber-host Larry King • Letting time (and low ratings) take their course. King, who’s outlasted nearly all of CNN’s on-air talent, ended weeks of speculation about his future and CNN’s overall ratings by stepping aside. He claims he’s going to spend more time with his kids, but will be back for on-air specials. This means that Anderson Cooper will be the only part of CNN’s prime-time left by the fall. We think it was a Lady Gaga hit job. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Jun 2010 10:05

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World: No stranger to tragedy: Nelson Mandela’s family hardships

  • 1st His first child, Thembikele, died in a car crash in 1969.
  • 2nd His second child, Thembikele, lived only nine months.
  • 3rd His third child, Makgatho, died of an AIDS-related illness.
  • 4th His marriage to Winnie Mandela ended in 1996 after 38 years. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 May 2010 10:37

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World: Holy crap: Sinkhole kills entire family in Quebec

  • strangeness The family was just at home minding their own business when the ground below their home started to fall apart in a mudslide.
  • sadness A day later, after a crew of rescuers tried to help, four people – the entire family – was found dead inside the home. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Mar 2010 20:24

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U.S.: Harry Reid’s family gets to try out the health system, the hard way

  • His wife and daughter were seriously injured in a car wreck. Not that the Senate Majority Leader didn’t have a personal stake in health care before, but he now has a very direct one. His wife Landra and daughter Lana were injured after a truck rear-ended their car. Landra got the worst of it – a broken neck, broken back, and broken nose. His daughter injured her neck and suffered facial lacerations. Both should be OK, but their medical bills are gonna be freaking HUGE. Best wishes, guys. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

13 Jan 2010 10:22

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U.S., World: Haitian-Americans want to talk to their family members, but can’t

  • Everyone who walks in here is crazy, worried, depressed. They want to talk to their family members but they can’t get through.
  • Miami’s Little Haiti resident Myrlande Cherenfant • On the people that walk into her family’s market, unsure of the fate of many of their families. Cherefant can’t reach her own family members due to the destruction of communication lines in the area. “It’s a dead line,” she said. “There’s nothing.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Jan 2010 10:48

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U.S.: Mom of nine gets sterilized without consent, sues, gets trashed on

  • I’m shocked at the virulence. It’s borderline bigotry against somebody that is on public assistance, against somebody that has more than 2.1 children, against somebody that doesn’t have a college degree.
  • Lawyer Max Borten • On the criticism his client, Tessa Savicki, has gotten after an article was released discussing her situation. Savicki, who is on public assistance, had surgery in 2006 to get a reversible form of birth control. Instead, doctors sterilized her without her written consent. Savicki, 35, has nine kids already – including children as old as 21 and as young as 3. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Sep 2009 14:02

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Sports: Richard Seymour “blindsided” by unexpected trade to Oakland

  • I was blindsided by this whole event, When you get blindsided, you should take a moment to gather your thoughts. I have a lot of personal issues more pressing than football.
  • New Oakland Raider Richard Seymour • On getting traded from the New England Patriots. Seymour, a five-time Pro-Bowler, was traded last week and found himself in an unenviable position of trying to move his entire family out of the Boston area within a week. As a result, his family situation – he has a wife and four kids, plus is his cousin’s legal guardian – has gotten ultra-complicated. Seymour will live in Oakland by himself, while the rest of his family moves back to South Carolina. The Raiders have sent Seymour a letter saying he needed to be in Oakland in five days or he would forfeit his season. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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