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27 Aug 2010 12:10

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World: Protip from State Department: Don’t enter North Korea, idiots

  • The state Department timed its new note to just after the end of Jimmy Carter’s visit. In case you’re wondering, you shouldn’t enter North Korea unless you’re Bill Clinton or Jimmy Carter. “The North Korean government will prosecute and sentence those who enter the DPRK without proper documentation,” the State Department says. “North Korea’s penalties for knowingly or unknowingly violating North Korean laws are much harsher than are those in the United States for similar offenses.” Carter left the country with Aijalon Mahli Gomes, who was sentenced to eight years of hard labor for entering the country. He entered reportedly for humanitarian reasons. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Jul 2010 21:49

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U.S.: Iroquois lacrosse players find nebulous space without passports

  • Somehow, a tribe that recognizes lacrosse as a sport doesn’t recognize passports. Members of the Iroquois lacrosse team, who had gotten a one-time waiver from the U.S. government, couldn’t get the same from the British government. The tribe uses their own non-standard passports, not American ones, creating a weird area even beyond the realm of exception. (Oh yeah: In case you’re wondering: Lacrosse originated with the Iroquois and Huron tribes, not douchey high school students.) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink

13 Jul 2010 12:23

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U.S., World: So, this Shahram Amiri guy walked into an embassy, and …

  • He’s been here for some time, I’m not going to specify for how long, but he has chosen to return.
  • State Department spokesman Philip Crowley • Regarding the fate of an Iranian nuclear scientist, Shahram Amiri, who randomly surfaced in D.C. yesterday after being gone from his home country for a while. Obviously, considering his job, the U.S. probably wanted some intelligence from him. And there’s been speculation that U.S. spies kidnapped Amiri – that’s Tehran’s line. Julius is probably going to stumble into an Iranian embassy any day now. You were wondering why we went on vacation for so long, right? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Feb 2010 17:55

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U.S., World: Hillary’s not getting involved in the Haiti missionaries case

  • It would be highly unusual for the secretary of state to intervene in a case involving the judicial process of another country.
  • State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley • Regarding the case of the 10 missionaries detained in Haiti for attempting to take children out of the country. This is despite much public pressure for both the State Department and the Haitian government to let the detained go. “This is all the result of a colossal misunderstanding and we are hoping it will resolve itself,” said lawyer Reginald Brown, who is representing one of the missionaries. He wrote a letter asking Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to help. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Jan 2010 10:50

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Tech, U.S., World: The U.S. takes Google’s claims on China super-seriously

  • They’re treating it as a foreign policy issue, not a business issue. Next week, in response to Google’s claims of a cyber-attack by China, the U.S. plans to submit a formal protest, according to the State Department. Among other things to note about the story: Google briefed the U.S. before posting its lengthy note (to no objections), and China has had a number of little annoyances like this from the U.S. of late. We just enjoy ticking the Chinese off with our talk of “free speech,” apparently. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Jan 2010 09:07

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U.S., World: The Underwear Bomber aided by his complicated name

  • The State Department had it misspelled. Oops. There were a lot of unconnected dots in the Detroit terror bombing, but one of the most egregious – in our opinion – was the fact that the State Department didn’t know Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab had a visa after doing a background check on the guy because his name was misspelled. We’re not geniuses here, but Islamic names tend to be somewhat hard to spell, so it would make sense that one plans for that. Instead, he almost blew up a plane. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Jul 2009 14:20

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U.S., World: Some foreign exchange students deal with nightmare conditions

  • They weren’t provided with food. In fact there is one incident with tape on food items in the refrigerator of the host family that says, ‘Do not touch. This is for the host family only.’ So basically they were neglected.
  • Lackawanna County, Pa. District Attorney Andrew Jarbola • Regarding the treatment of 12 foreign exchange students in Scranton, Pa. Many were underfed and lost lots of weight, housed with convicted felons and neglected. The students – from countries as far away as Norway, Colombia and Tanzania – were placed by the Aspect Foundation, some on State Department grants. By the end of the school year, five students were removed from awful host family situations. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 8 Comments • Permalink
 

24 May 2009 10:08

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U.S.: Diplomats will get benefits for their same-sex partners

  • The department will provide these benefits for both opposite-sex and same-sex partners because it is the right thing to do.
  • Secretary of State Hilary Clinton • In a memo to her State Department staff on giving equal rights to diplomats with same-sex partners. A senior State Department official confirmed the note but not the timeframe. Either way, Clinton did a nice thing. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 May 2009 23:06

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U.S., World: The State Department sez foreign embassy workers get screwed

  • 51,000 non-American, locally-based workers are employed by U.S. embassies worldwide
  • $3-$4 amount they get paid (on average) per day; originally, it was reported to be under $1 source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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