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02 Jan 2010 10:53

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World: Iraq’s 2009 civilian death toll way down, still really high

  • 9,226 civilians died due to violence in 2008 – the biggest year yet
  • 4,497 died in 2009 – the lowest since the war began in 2003 source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Dec 2009 21:19

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World: Bring us the head of the man that punched Silvio Berlusconi!

That #(&@(&)(!)& is gonna pay for this (#^&. We’re gonna give him concrete shoes, if you get our drift. Wink wink, nudge nudge. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink

08 Dec 2009 10:39

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World: Daily Poll: Can Iraq get away with free, peaceful elections?


Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Nov 2009 09:18

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World: Shocking: A brutal political massacre in the Philippines

  • 21 politicians and journalists were brutally killed by armed men who abducted them in Mindanao
  • why? the politicians were trying to submit papers so a challenger could run for office source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Oct 2009 21:21

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Sports: Ah, high school football: A drunk fan smacks a ref with a chair

  • There’s a good two minutes of buildup before the pretty awesome payoff. Trust us, stick with it. Stadium chair-on-referee violence beckons.source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Oct 2009 22:53

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Culture: Rapper Nas tells his Chicago “warriors” to stop the violence

  • I remember feeling like I was the hardest ‘n*gga’ breathing. And I couldn’t wait to prove it. But let’s think. What are we really proving?? And proving what to who??
  • Nas • In an “Open Letter To Young Warriors In Chicago,” a lengthy note written to his still-growing peers (specifically gang members) in the Windy City. He goes further, noting that when he was growing up, others “chose the dumbest things to go the hardest for. I remember seeing deaths over 8 ball jackets, Fila sneakers, and name plate chains.” After the Derrion Albert incident, his words take on extra poignancy.  • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Sep 2009 23:00

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U.S.: Is Derrion Albert’s death a tipping point for school violence?

Screencaps from Darrion Albert's murder

It's a hard video to watch. (Watch it here, but note that it's very graphic.) It's a situation that you'll likely never be in. But in Chicago, it's a way of life. Derrion Albert's death is not the first nor the last to happen in and around the public school system, but it could be a tipping point.
  • Derrion Albert Albert, an honors student, got caught in the middle of a gang fight just blocks away from his school, where a separate incident happened earlier that day. He was kicked and beaten with a plank, and he died on the scene. But someone caught it on a camera phone, a video that allowed Chicago police to identify the suspects. Four have been charged. source
  • Derrion Albert Albert, an honors student, got caught in the middle of a gang fight just blocks away from his school, where a separate incident happened earlier that day. He was kicked and beaten with a plank, and he died on the scene. But someone caught it on a camera phone, a video that allowed Chicago police to identify the suspects. Four have been charged.
  • This was not isolated Let’s be honest here: Albert’s death is getting much more attention because of the YouTube-friendly video. But it’s attention that can be harnessed. 290 students were injured last year in gun-related incidents in Chicago, and gang fights like the one shown in the video are common. The page-one play of this story could help the city turn a corner. source
  • Derrion Albert Albert, an honors student, got caught in the middle of a gang fight just blocks away from his school, where a separate incident happened earlier that day. He was kicked and beaten with a plank, and he died on the scene. But someone caught it on a camera phone, a video that allowed Chicago police to identify the suspects. Four have been charged.
  • This was not isolated Let’s be honest here: Albert’s death is getting much more attention because of the YouTube-friendly video. But it’s attention that can be harnessed. 290 students were injured last year in gun-related incidents in Chicago, and gang fights like the one shown in the video are common. The page-one play of this story could help the city turn a corner.
  • Social media As Albert’s death becomes a touchstone for Chicago schools, it’s important to note the video’s impact. Like the texting-while-driving PSA from a month ago, this video stays with you. It’s as strong a deterrent against gang violence as any, because the world doesn’t need more Derrion Alberts. Chicago needs safer schools and safer streets. Will that happen? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

03 Sep 2009 11:05

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U.S.: Flash mobs can be used for violence as well as internet memes

  • Just ask victim Thomas Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald was one of many recent victims in a rash of “flash mob” incidents in Philly. But instead of doing fun stuff, like giant pillow fights, these mobs are violent. Cars have been smashed in. People have been beaten. Stores have been robbed. Police have been forced to step up their game in the wake of the incidents, which sound like nightmares to law-abiding citizens. Three have been arrested so far, but more than 100 have taken part in the incidents. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Aug 2009 10:27

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World: Al-Qaeda’s trying to start stuff in Iraq by ratcheting up attacks

  • 48+ number of people who have died in Iraq from bombings today source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 3 Comments • Permalink

03 Aug 2009 21:44

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World: Aussie authorities try to smoke out a terror cell in Melbourne

  • They were apparently plotting an attack. Sounds like an interesting middle of the night in Melbourne: 400 officers executed 19 search warrants in nine neighborhoods and arrested four people. That’s a lot of officers, a lot of warrants, a lot of places, but not many people arrested. Those arrested (who were Australian nationals, though some of Somalian and Lebanese descent) plotted a suicide attack using semiautomatic weapons. It could have been very bad had the suspects pulled it off, authorities say. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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