December 22, 2012

Cool: Wintry weather could mean white Christmas in Northeast

By Ellen Wulfhorst
Reuters
Sat Dec 22, 2012

-snip-

"It could be a white Christmas after all in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, New England and other areas across the nation," said Alex Sosnowski, Accuweather senior meteorologist.

Snow could accumulate from Harrisburg and Scranton, Pennsylvania, to Hartford, Connecticut, and Boston, he said. New York City is likely to see a mix of snow and rain, he said.

Wintry air blowing off the eastern Great Lakes on Saturday was causing icy conditions in western and northern Pennsylvania, upstate New York and West Virginia, Accuweather said.

A larger storm threatens to bring more snow to the eastern states in the days after Christmas, meteorologists said.

More: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE8BL0B020121222

December 22, 2012

Syria Rebels Threaten To Storm Christian Towns Of Mahrada, Sqailbiyeh

Source: AP

BEIRUT -- Rebels have threated to storm two predominantly Christian towns in central Syria if residents do not "evict" government troops they say are using the towns as a base to attack nearby areas.

A video released by rebels showed Rashid Abul-Fidaa, who identified himself as the commander of the Ansar Brigade for Hama province, calling on locals in Mahrada and Sqailbiyeh to rise up against President Bashar Assad's forces or prepare for an assault.

"Assad's gangs in the cities are shelling our villages with mortars and rockets destroying our homes, killing our children and displacing our people," said Abdul-Fidaa, who wore an Islamic headband and was surrounded by gunmen. "You should perform your duty by evicting Assad's gangs," he said. "Otherwise our warriors will storm the hideouts of the Assad gangs."

Abdul-Fidaa accused regime forces of taking positions in the two towns in order to "incite sectarian strife" between Christians and the predominantly Sunni opposition. Assad belongs to the Alawite minority sect, an off-shoot of Shiite Islam.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/22/syria-rebels-storm-christian-towns_n_2352105.html

December 22, 2012

Stop linking autism to violence

By Sarah Darer Littman

I've just listened to NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre suggest we need guns in our schools because "our society is populated by an unknown number of genuine monsters."

I cringed.

After his further suggestion that the United States create a nationwide database for the mentally ill, I got angry. Leaving aside the issue of medical privacy laws, I found it ironic that an organization so vehemently opposed to gun registration would propose such a measure.

As a parent, it's been heartbreaking to watch television coverage of the shooting of 20 innocent children, six teachers and the gunman's mother in Newtown, Connecticut. But as the parent of a wonderful young man with Asperger's syndrome, coping as pundits and journalists link this diagnosis to the crime in an attempt to find meaning has added another layer of anger and grief to an already stressful situation.

LaPierre's remarks were the latest salvo in a campaign of misinformation and fear mongering about mental illness, sparked by news reports that shooter Adam Lanza had been diagnosed with Asperger's, a type of autism.

More: http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/22/living/littman-mother-autism/index.html

December 22, 2012

In defense of the DU jury system

Since its inception the DU Admins have been subject to a shitstorm of criticism over it. One thing I haven't heard is how brilliant it is. Do you know how sophisticated that software is? Remember, the Admins created the software for DU3 themselves. Maybe it's because I'm a songwriter that I'm always amazed when I see other's creativity.

That and the hyperbole gets a bit much at times. (It's a conspiracy!) I think they just wanted to see what would happen with the jury system and Meta.

December 22, 2012

I'm being FUCKED by Verizon

Last month I got notices from Verizon that I had exceeded my call time. My bill then doubled. I called assuming that my phone had been hacked. Instead she took me through my calls and assured me that it was my calls. Well, my phone bill DOUBLED. Then it it happened again this month.

The thing is, I haven't done anything that unusual. I'm thinking that some weasel figured out a way to up Verizon's quarterly profits. So I'm wondering, has anyone else had this happen to them?

December 22, 2012

Putin Puts More Distance Between Russia and Assad

Source: New York Times

BRUSSELS - President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia on Friday added to recent signals that Moscow is slowly distancing itself from the regime of Syria's president, Bashar al-Assad, its longstanding but now severely weakened ally.

Asserting that Russia's main goal is to avoid chaos, Mr. Putin restated Russia's position that Syria's civil war could be resolved only through talks between the parties involved. But he insisted that "we aren't a defender of the current Syrian leadership" and said Moscow wants "a democratic regime in Syria based on the expression of the people's will."

He made the remarks at a joint news conference in Brussels with European Union leaders at the end of mostly fruitless talks centered on quarrels over energy and trade at the headquarters of the 27-nation bloc.

European nations are themselves divided over what to do about Syria but have increasingly tilted toward providing at least diplomatic support for the opponents of Mr. Assad.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/22/world/europe/putin-in-brussels-for-talks-with-european-union.html

December 22, 2012

EZLN realiza marchas ante cambio de ciclo en el calendario maya

Zapatistas y simpatizantes realizan hoy marchas en cinco municipios en los que aparecieron el 1 de enero de 1994, en el marco del cambio de ciclo en el calendario maya, luego de más dos años sin movilizarse.

Debido al fin de la cuenta larga del calendario maya, llamado el 13 Baktún, este 21 de diciembre se espera que miles de indígenas de las etnias tzotziles, tzeltzales, tojolabales, choles, zoques, se manifiesten en algunas cabeceras municipales, como San Cristóbal de las Casas, Ocosingo, Las Margaritas o Altamirano.

La comandancia general del EZLN anunció que darán a conocer un pronunciamiento.

Más: http://www.ehui.com/2012/12/21/ezln-realiza-marchas-ante-cambio-de-ciclo-en-el-calendario-maya

December 22, 2012

Fuck the fiscal cliff: Actor Ashton Kutcher files for divorce from Demi Moore

"Two and a Half Men" star Ashton Kutcher filed for divorce from actress wife Demi Moore on Friday in Los Angeles, following more than a year of separation, according to court documents.

Kutcher, 34, cited irreconcilable differences in divorce papers filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, adding that he is not seeking spousal support or denying support to Moore.

Moore, 50, and Kutcher separated in November 2011 after six years of marriage, after a San Diego woman said she had had a brief affair with Kutcher.

Kutcher hired high-powered celebrity divorce attorney Laura Wasser, according to the initial filing.

More : http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/21/entertainment-us-ashtonkutcher-divorce-idUSBRE8BK18Z20121221

December 21, 2012

Texas lawmaker: ‘Ping-pongs’ deadlier than guns

Incoming Texas State Rep. Kyle Kacal says guns don’t kill people—ping-pong kills people.

"I've heard of people being killed playing ping-pong—ping-pongs are more dangerous than guns," he says. "Flat-screen TVs are injuring more kids today than anything."

The Consumer Product Safety Commission does warn that some sports equipment may have unexpected hazards—for instance, brands of tennis rackets have been recalled because of possible exposure to lead .

Also in the category of Things That Are Dangerous But Are Not Ping-pong: One model helicopter had to come off the shelves because of—yikes—“laceration hazards.”

More: http://m.yahoo.com/w/legobpengine/news/blogs/ticket/texas-lawmaker-ping-pongs-deadlier-guns-211551404--politics.html?.b=index&.ts=1356095177&.intl=US&.lang=en

December 21, 2012

UN approves Mali military intervention

Source: Al Jazeera

The UN Security Council has unanimously approved plans for an African-led military intervention in Mali aimed at reunifying the embattled North African state.

The resolution, approved in New York on Thursday afternoon, calls for political reconciliation, elections and the training of the country's security forces before any operation is launched to reclaim Mali's northern areas.

West African nations want to send a 3,300-strong force to oust armed groups that moved into the vast desert area and rolled out strict Islamic law after a military coup in Bamako in March created a power vacuum in the country.

When President Amadou Toumani Toure was forced from his position by a military cadre in mid-March, a coalition of the independence-seeking National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) and the reportedly al-Qaeda-linked Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJWA) took advantage of political uncertainty to sweep across the northern region, capturing territory and towns including Gao and Timbuktu.

Read more: http://aje.me/T0VrVG