Even after the formation of a new government in Tunisia, an estimated 500 to 1,000 political prisoners are still being held in Tunisian jails, a hiccup in the post-Ben Ali era governing of the country that promised a release to all political detainees. —JCL The Guardian: The new Tunisian government is still holding between 500 and 1,000 prisoners accused of often vaguely worded terrorism offences, despite a promise to release all political detainees. While hundreds of prisoners of conscience have already been released since the fall of the government of the dictator Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali last week, concern is mounting over the uncertain fate of a second group convicted under draconian anti-terror laws. According to those familiar with their cases many were tried under deeply flawed legal procedures or had confessions tortured out of them, often after being targeted for their religious beliefs. Read more Related Entries January 12, 2011 Twitter Fights the Man December 27, 2010 2011: A Brave New Dystopia
Continue reading …
After large amounts of mail from Cuba was refused entry to the U.S. due to strict security measures, the Cuban government has decided to halt U.S.-bound post due to the high costs of so many returns. Historically mail into the U.S> has been banned, but a directive by President Obama allowed mail from Cuba to be sent into the U.S. through an intermediary country, like Mexico, which increases cost. —JCL The BBC: Cuba has suspended all postal deliveries to the United States until further notice. The suspension follows the introduction of stricter security measures by the US last year after the attempted mailing of explosives from Yemen. The Cuban postal service says large amounts of mail were refused entry and returned in the following months. Correspondents say the cost of so many returns may have led to the decision to stop the service. Read more Related Entries January 12, 2011 Twitter Fights the Man December 27, 2010 2011: A Brave New Dystopia
Continue reading …The average couple has 312 arguments a year—and most of them are over really silly things. A new study reveals the top 10 argument triggers, and though they may seem innocuous enough, the Daily Mail notes that one in five Britons have considered breaking up over them: Stubble left…
Continue reading …
With the spotlight on narcotraffickers, it’s easy to blame Mexico’s endless violence exclusively on drug cartels. But the U.N. is also now urging the country to investigate the involvement of government officials in crimes, such as the abduction of 40 migrants in Oaxaca. —JCL The BBC: The UN human rights chief has urged Mexico to investigate the possible involvement of officials in the abduction of about 40 migrants. Navi Pillay said the Central American migrants had been “abducted in highly questionable circumstances” from a cargo train in Oaxaca state last month. They were reportedly taken by gunmen who stopped the train in Chahuites. Read more Related Entries January 12, 2011 Twitter Fights the Man December 27, 2010 2011: A Brave New Dystopia
Continue reading …Not even mobsters can avoid haggling over medical bills. In digging through the papers related to this week’s massive mafia bust , the New York Post finds this gem: A low-ranking member of the Gambinos committed a breach of mob ethics by stabbing a rival in the Colombos without clearing it…
Continue reading …
As AT&T’s iPhone exclusivity reluctantly teeters on the brink of oblivion , it seems a good time to take one last look at the smartphone playground, the way it is before V-Day . The New York Times has handily done that job for us with the above chart, which simultaneously gives us a sense of scale when comparing US carriers and lays out the concentration of Android devices across those networks. It also shows a big fat bump of iOS on AT&T, making it the biggest carrier in terms of combined iPhone and Android users — nothing shocking there, but the real fun will be in taking a look at this same data a few months from now. Will the iPhone fragment itself all over the four major networks? Will AT&T’s Android stable ever be respectable? Tune in to your next installment of “fun, but mostly irrelevant statistics” to find out. Visualized: the state of the smartphone wars originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 22 Jan 2011 15:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Billy Graham’s Son Dismayed That There Was A Jesus Deficit In Tucson Memorial
January 22, 2011 No Comment
enlarge Poor, poor Christians! All that scoffing and persecution! Of course, persecution is nothing that Native Americans would understand: In a speech on Tuesday at John Brown University, a private Christian college in Siloam Springs, Ark., the son of the revered evangelist Billy Graham voiced “dismay” at the way the Tucson memorial service was conducted, arguing that it was not as explicitly religious — mainly “Christian” — as those following the Oklahoma City bombing and the 9/11 attacks. Graham was particularly upset that the Tucson memorial featured a Native American who called upon “father sky and mother earth.” “There was no call for the name of God to put his loving arms around the people who were hurting, the people that were suffering,” Graham said. “Why? Why did they take God out of it? Why did they leave him out? “Because the world scoffs at the name of Jesus Christ,” Graham said, his voice rising in anger. “They scoff when you say he’s the son of God.” Graham went on to say that the scoffing and persecution against Christians is only going to get worse. Initial reports of Graham’s speech indicated that he may have been including Obama in his critique, though a review of the video shows that Graham says he “felt sorry” for the president “because I knew he was uncomfortable in that situation.” Graham was referring to the pep rally atmosphere and the prayers by the Native American, an associate professor of medicine at the University, Carlos Gonzales, who is a Pascua Yaqui Indian and fifth generation Arizonan. (Graham called him a native of “the Yuppie tribe or something, I didn’t quite get it.”)
Continue reading …Popular Author Alain de Botton Waxes Philosophical About Our Changing Relationship With Nature
January 22, 2011 No Comment
Shrinking glaciers on Mount Kilimanjaro are among the signs of climate change. Photo: Stig Nygaard / Creative Commons Dire warnings of the worst winter in decades, if not centuries, so far seem to have come to naught in Istanbul, where we watched the news of the European holiday “snowpocalypse” under sunny skies. Though I’m jubilant about every January day that doesn’t require a hat and gloves, there’s something disconcerting about the experience, a feeling popular writer/philosopher
Continue reading …Ed Schultz Bashes Michele Bachmann for Doing Same Thing Obama Did in 2008
January 22, 2011 No Comment
Just how ignorant of politics and recent history is MSNBC's Ed Schultz? Well, on Friday, he attacked Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) for giving a competing response to the upcoming State of the Union address even though presidential candidate Barack Obama did the same thing in 2008 (video follows with transcript and commentary): SCHULTZ: Welcome back to THE ED SHOW, the “Battleground” story tonight: Da Bears. No, that`s coming up later. Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann is setting herself up for a presidential run. She`s in Iowa tonight speaking at an Iowans for Tax Relief event, and she`s meeting with the top Republicans in the state. Bachmann has been floated as a potential challenger to Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar in 2012, but folks, look, she wants something bigger than that. She wants it all. She wants the Oval Office. Today, the Tea Party Express announced that Bachmann will give her own response to the State of the Union address. I think this is unbelievable. Has anybody else ever done this? Not only is Bachmann trying to put herself on equal footing with the President of the United States, she`s undermining her own party. Lots of loyalty there, huh? The Republicans already chose someone to give the response and that`s budget chair Paul Ryan, but Bachmann is going to rogue. I guess, you could say she`s going rogue. As the folks at The Blaze reported Saturday, the official Democrat response to George W. Bush's final State of the Union address on January 28, 2008, was made by then Kansas governor Kathleen Sebelius. However, then Sen. Barack Obama gave his own response at his campaign website. The Huffington Post even reported the news that evening with a full transcript of his comments and the video: As the Daily Caller reported Friday, Bachmann's response next week will be broadcast online. As such, what makes it any different than what Obama did three years ago? I guess that answers Schultz's question, “Has anybody else ever done this?” Nice job, Ed. Your employers must be so proud of you.
Continue reading …