December 2011
152 posts
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New Year's Eve 2012: Celebrations start. →
Revellers around the world are celebrating the end of 2011 and starting to see in 2012.
Sydney heralded the new year with a 15-minute multi-million dollar firework display at midnight (13:00 GMT).
Thousands of people in Tokyo released balloons carrying hand-written wishes for the New Year.
In Hong Kong huge crowds turned out to witness the countdown to 2012, which was made in giant...
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friend: mulan isnt even a princess
me: dishonor
dishonor on you
dishonor on your whole family
DISHONOR ON YOUR COW
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Washington Post: The List 2012 →
We’re beyond declarations now. We have demands.
A whole list of them, somewhere between the number of federal programs Rick Perry would cut and the total population of Ubeki-beki-beki-beki-stan-stan, as plentiful as the overpriced whoopie pies we shovel into our mouths while rummaging through other people’s storage units on A&E.
Arab spring? American winter? We have treasonal...
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“My first day of college my father dropped me off at the steel mill. He...”
– Ron Swanson, Parks & Recreation
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Do the Classics Have a Future? →
To put this as crisply as I can, the study of the classics is the study of what happens in the gap between antiquity and ourselves. It is not only the dialogue that we have with the culture of the classical world; it is also the dialogue that we have with those who have gone before us who were themselves in dialogue with the classical world (whether Dante, Raphael, William Shakespeare, Edward...
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Baylor Basks In the Glow Of Griffin’s Heisman. →
Robert Griffin III figures that the reality of his winning the Heisman Trophy will truly sink in sometime after Thursday night’s Alamo Bowl against Washington.
But after he returned to Baylor’s campus in Waco, Tex., following the award ceremony in New York and watched video montages of the reaction to his victory, he quickly understood that his achievement would reach far beyond the statue.
...
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tribander:
Everyone needs to read this very short, informative piece of work. It doesn’t matter what you eat, just how you eat.
Free download.
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US warns Iran over threat to block oil route. →
The US Navy has said it will not tolerate disruption to a vital oil-trade route, following an Iranian threat to close it.
Iran warned it would shut the Strait of Hormuz if the West imposed more sanctions over its nuclear programme.
The US and its allies believe Iran is trying to develop a nuclear weapon - a charge Tehran denies.
Reacting to Iran’s warning, a US Fifth Fleet spokeswoman...
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Chinese reindeer wrangler won't be herded into... →
Reporting from Genhe, China — Maliya Suo is more than 90 years old, but she can still skin a squirrel. In her prime, she could shoot a pheasant in flight. She was once the greatest reindeer herder in her tribe.
In her old age, Suo is taking on an even tougher adversary: the Chinese government. A member of the nomadic Ewenki community that lives primarily in China’s Inner Mongolia region,...
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Vice President: This is what a real opportunity... →
Today millions of Americans are meeting their responsibilities every day, yet falling behind. They are not looking for handouts or bailouts, but rather an economy in which their hard work is rewarded and the prospects for their children will be brighter than their own.
This is the basic compact that has made America great. These are the basic values that have helped make our workers the most...
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Of course Phaedra knows.
Phaedra: Girl, you got your sexy back quick. Don't have you no Irish Twins.
Cynthia: What?
Phaedra: Irish Twins. Two babies born within nine months of each other.
Kim: I just had a dream about that the other day about that and I was trying to think of what it's called. Siamese twins...weird twins...I couldn't think of it.
Phaedra: (Confident nod) Irish Twins.
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Republican candidates flood Iowa with negative... →
Reporting from Des Moines — With no snow on the ground in this unseasonably warm state, the only blizzard Iowans are facing is the daily onslaught of negative political ads as they turn on their televisions, tune in their radios or visit their mailboxes. And they aren’t safe when they pick up the phone or fire up their Internet connections either.
“Oh goodness,” said Jill...
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Wealthy nations with a lot of fast food: Destined... →
The growing worldwide obesity epidemic has been blamed on a number of factors, but a study argues that it may be inexorably linked with wealthy nations and their fast-food restaurants.
Researchers compared the number of fast-food restaurants per capita in 26 countries listed as advanced economies by the International Monetary Fund. They used one chain (Subway) as a proxy measure; at the end of...
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Finland 'finds Patriot missiles' on China-bound... →
The Finnish authorities have impounded an Isle of Man-flagged ship bound for China with undeclared missiles and explosives, officials say.
Police are questioning the crew of the MS Thor Liberty after what were described as 69 Patriot anti-missile missiles were found aboard.
Dock workers became suspicious after finding explosives poorly stored on open pallets, and the missiles were then found in...
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Republicans under pressure on payroll tax. →
US House Republicans are coming under pressure to pass a bipartisan deal on extending a payroll tax cut, in a wrangle that has split the party.
Economists have said the US economic recovery would suffer if wage-earners were hit with an effective $1,000-a-year (£638) tax hike.
House Republicans, who propose extending the payroll tax holiday for a full year, are now urging the Senate to return from...
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The 'Iranian Schindler' who saved Jews from the... →
In his book In the Lion’s Shadow, author Fariborz Mokhtari paints a picture of a bachelor and bon viveur who suddenly found himself head of Iran’s legation house, or diplomatic mission, at the start of World War II.
Although officially neutral, Iran was keen to maintain its strong trading relationship with Germany. This arrangement suited Hitler. The Nazi propaganda machine declared...
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Occupy Wall Street's 'occucopter' – who's watching... →
This week in New York, Occupy Wall Street protesters have a new toy to help them expose potentially dubious actions of the New York police department. In response to constant police surveillance, police violence and thousands of arrests, Occupy Wall Street protesters and legal observers have been turning their cameras back on the police.
But police have sometimes made filming difficult through...
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Can Kim Jong Un really rule North Korea? →
Amid all the uncertainty surrounding the death of longtime North Korean “Dear Leader” Kim Jong Il is this discomforting fact: His anointed “Great Successor,” son Kim Jong Un, is “a callow 20-something of no known experience or confirmed opinions,” says Aidan Foster-Carter at BBC News.
Jong Un is Kim Jong Il’s third official son, by his third wife (or...
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Iraqi PM asks Kurds to hand over Vice-President... →
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has urged the Kurdish authorities in northern Iraq to hand over fugitive Vice-President Tariq al-Hashemi.
An arrest warrant was issued for Iraq’s most senior Sunni Arab politician on Monday on terrorism charges.
Mr Hashemi denies the charges and his entire political bloc is boycotting parliament and the cabinet.
Tensions between Sunnis and the Shia Arab...
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A lovely cheese pizza, just for me.
There are three movies that instantly remind me of my childhood. “Sabrina,” “Beethoven,” and “Home Alone.”
Fortunately for me I’m out of television series’ to watch on Netflix, and my roommate owns the complete Home Alone series.
I’m only interested in the original. The second one’s a blur and the only thing I know about the third one is that my...
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Science is whatever we want it to be.
Tracy Jordan: So how bad is diabetes, really?
Dr. Leo Spaceman: Quite serious. If left untreated you could lose a foot.
Tracy Jordan: Could I replace it with a wheel, like Rosie from the Jetsons?
Dr. Leo Spaceman: I suppose. But then you'd have to register as a motor vehicle.
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With Hanukkah Microbrews, A Taste of Jewish... →
“We had a Jewish gentleman here … and he wanted to make a Hanukkah brew,” says David Fleming, the head brewer. “So we thought it was a great idea. We already had six Christmas beers going anyhow, so why couldn’t we have a seventh one for Hanukkah?”
Lompoc ended up with a chocolate rye porter called 8 Malty Nights. It has become one of its more popular winter...
