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29 Mar 2011 14:17

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Offbeat: Presenting “The Three Big Pigs,” “Angry Birds”-style

  • Three Little Pigs you might dislike: Angry Birds is the motif of this animation describing the uprising in the Middle East. Easily the best take on the classic storyline since Green Jellÿ. Be sure not to miss the North Korea reference at the end. (via ProducerMatthew) source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Mar 2011 08:36

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World: Libyan government official: Men accused of rape suing the accuser

  • I heard that the attorney-general brought her in for questioning because she is now not just the accuser, she is the accused. There is a case against her.
  • Libyan government spokesperson Moussa Ibrahim • Revealing the woman who dramatically accused a number of men of violently raping her has been sued for those claims. “Now the four guys are having a case filed against her because instead of going to a police station and filing a case against them she went to the media and exposed their names,” he noted. “Now their honor is tainted, their families black-named and this in the Islamic law is a very grave offense.” Because, as we all know, it’s all about the men accused. Why not try the case first? (By the way, this is the same man who called her a “prostitute.” Yuck.) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Mar 2011 23:46

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World: Libyan rebels sign oil export deal with Qatar

  • We are producing about 100,000 to 130,000 barrels a day. We can easily up that to about 300,000 a day.
  • Libyan rebel spokesman Ali Tarhouni • The rebels have reportedly signed a deal with Qatar under which they’ll export oil to the nearby country. Ahh, oil politics, we’ve missed you. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Mar 2011 23:34

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World: Arrests made in Libya in wake of rape allegations

  • » Amongst the arrested: The son of a high-ranking Libyan police officer. Also, the woman’s family says that government employees (some of whom have accused her of being a “known prostitute and thief,” as if that’s at all relevant) have offered her money and a house if she retracts her allegations. Something tells us she won’t.
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Mar 2011 15:31

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World: Gaddafi’s advisors getting nervous, say U.S. official

  • Gaddafi’s advisors may be cracking: A U.S. intelligence official, as reported by CNN, has suggested that advisors and aides to Muammar Gaddafi may be losing some of their resolve, as NATO airstrikes continue against the dictator’s forces. The official suggests that the perception that rebel forces are beginning to close in on Tripoli, following battles in Sirte and their victory in Ajdabiya, is going to increase pressure on those around Gaddafi who are averse to going down with the ship. As the battles continue, the possibility of Gaddafi’s people turning on him remains a tantalizing hope to end the violence in Libya. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Mar 2011 11:31

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World: On “naming the victim” in the terrible Libyan rape story

  • We’re supposed to be all Libyans, we are all brothers, but this is what the Gadhafi militia men did to me.
  • A reported rape victim • Talking to hotel staffers who were trying to restrain her (and her story) at the hotel where members of the press were invited by Gaddafi’s government. We’d like to note one thing: The AP notes in their article that the policy on naming rape victims is to only do it when they volunteer their names, as she did in this case. We think that we don’t have to necessarily follow that standard in this case. We greatly debated it, though. We can tell the story just as well without it. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Mar 2011 16:40

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Politics: Obama sure looks like he’s not really handling this Libya thing

  • I’m not going to give you a time or a day.
  • White House Press Secretary Jay Carney • Reminding us why we miss Robert Gibbs so much. Carney, offering a pretty weak answer on when Obama would directly address Libya, made the administration look the fool with an answer like this. While Carney said Obama would have an address on this issue in the “very near future,” details were lacking. It’s starting to look like Obama is not top-of-mind on this issue. This is bad. Gibbs would’ve been more direct than this. Obama looks like he’s got terrible PR. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

24 Mar 2011 20:32

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World: NATO: You want us to take over in Libya? Let us sleep on it.

  • What we have decided today is that NATO will enforce the no-fly zone. We are considering whether NATO should take on overall responsibility. That decision has not been made yet.
  • NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen • Speaking about NATO’s plan to help enforce the no-fly zone in Libya. However, Obama wanted more than this from NATO.  He wanted them to take over the whole UN-backed operation — including the airstrikes bit. From what it sounds like, something’s holding them back from doing something like that. Hm. We wonder what. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Mar 2011 14:35

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World: NBC’s Richard Engel takes cover from artillery blast

  • Close call for NBC’s Richard Engel: Engel, a truly fantastic foreign correspondent (and NBC’s chief correspondent in the Middle East) is on the ground in Libya, covering the uprising against Muammar Gaddafi. While interviewing rebel forces, an artillery strike hit that sent Engel scrambling for cover behind a tiny cement wall, a harrowingly close call. Not to be overlooked is the sight Engel was describing as the explosion hit; a rebel fighter who was carrying a plastic toy gun around, presumably to try to trick enemies into thinking he’s lethally armed, a toy gun he amazingly darts out of cover to try to retrieve during the strike. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Mar 2011 14:21

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World: Released NYT journalists recount arrest horror

  • I heard in Arabic, ‘shoot them,’ and we all thought it was over.
  • New York Times foreign correspondent Anthony Shadid • Reflecting on his arrest, as well as his three NYT compatriots, at the hands of pro-Gaddafi forces in Libya. The story seems to indicate a reluctance Gaddafi’s people had to actually make good on that remark and shoot the journalists; upon realizing they were Americans, they thankfully scuttled that plan. Lynsey Addario got the worst treatment, having “every inch of [her] body” groped by the pro-Gaddafi soldiers, while photographer Tyler Hicks was threatened with decapitation. So, all in all, a pretty sickening story, and one that we hope people remember when somebody is mocking a journalist on the ground for feeling threatened. These are real dangers, folks. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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