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Guatemala's top court annuls Rios Montt genocide conviction 21 May 2013 Guatemala's highest court on Monday overturned a genocide conviction against former dictator [Reagan crony] Efrain Rios Montt and reset his trial back to when a dispute broke out a month ago over who should hear the case. Rios Montt was found guilty on May 10 of overseeing the killings by the armed forces of at least 1,771 members of the Maya Ixil population during his 1982-83 rule. He was sentenced to 80 years in prison. However, in a ruling on Monday, the country's Constitutional Court ordered that all the proceedings be voided going back to April 19, when one of the presiding judges suspended the trial because of a dispute with another judge over who should hear it.

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2 FBI agents killed in Va. accident were elite hostage rescue members 20 May 2013 The two FBI agents who died while training off the Virginia Beach coast [Special Agents Christopher Lorek and Stephen Shaw] were part of the agency's elite hostage rescue team, a group known most recently for rescuing an Alabama boy from an underground bunker. The FBI has declined to say what kind of training the men were doing when they were killed Friday. The team is trained in military tactics and outfitted with combat-style gear and weapons.

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Death toll from new bird flu in China rises to 36, WHO reports 20 May 2013 Four more people in China have died from a new strain of bird flu, bringing the death toll from the H7N9 virus to 36 from 131 confirmed cases, the World Health Organization said on Friday. The United Nations health agency said the four deaths were from cases that had already been identified [and created] in laboratories. Since May 8, there have been no new cases of infection with H7N9, it added.

Bizarre: Far-right views
Charleston Gazette
Incidentally, the NRA's new president, Alabama lawyer Jim Porter, calls Barack Obama a "fake president," says U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is "rabidly un-American" and calls the Civil War the "war of northern aggression." Leaders like this have ...

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Pentagon to take over some CIA drone operations: sources 20 May 2013 President Barack Obama's administration has decided to give the Pentagon control of some drone operations against terrorism suspects overseas that are currently run by the CIA, several U.S. government sources said on Monday. Obama has pledged more transparency on controversial counterterrorism programs, and giving the Pentagon the responsibility for part of the drone program could open it to greater congressional oversight. Obama will make a speech on Thursday at the National Defense University in Washington that will include discussion of the government's use of drones as a counterterrorism tool.

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Oklahoma Tornado: At Least 51 Dead, 'Horrific' Damage 20 May 2013 A mammoth tornado carved a trail of destruction through the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, killing at least 51 people, including some children, and ripping apart two elementary schools today, local authorities said. David Barnes, the director of Oklahoma Emergency Management in Oklahoma County, told ABC News that a single twister tore through homes from Newcastle to Moore, a path of 12 miles. The damage was "widespread" and people's homes were completely destroyed, all the way to their foundations, he said. At least 51 people have been confirmed dead in the storm's aftermath, according to the Oklahoma Chief Medical Examiner's Office.

A goat will keep you alive. Yes, it’s true, and I have spent the last several weeks proving just that.

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Arrests being made at NAACP protest at legislature 20 May 2013 More protesters have been arrested at the General Assembly for the fourth week in a row. The North Carolina chapter of the NAACP is entering its fourth straight week of protests at the state legislature that have resulted in nearly 100 arrests so far. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People plans the latest demonstration on Monday aimed at the policies of the Republican-led General Assembly.

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Guantanamo Bay shuts down Internet, blocks social media over online hacking threats [Yeah, right!] 20 May 2013 The U.S. military has shut down wireless Internet service at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba because of 'online hacking threats.' A spokesman for the Guantanamo Bay prison says that officials have also blocked access to social networks such as Facebook and Twitter through military computer networks because of the threat censorship. Army Lt. Col. Samuel House says the precautions were taken because of online threats to disrupt activities at the base allegedly made by the international hacking group Anonymous.

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Tornado smashes through Moore, Okla., leveling it --Significant casualties are expected after a massive twister demolished houses, businesses and schools [that were (insanely) put under lockdown]. More than 170,000 could be in the tornado's path. 20 May 2013 A massive tornado ripped through Moore, Okla., Monday afternoon, leveling a huge swath of a residential area in the suburb of Oklahoma City. Video footage from KFOR-TV showed houses, businesses and at least two schools completely demolished, with cars strewn about.Police and emergency crews have begun to respond, but debris has clogged roadways.  At least one large fire has broken out amid the rubble.

Yahoo! Movies (blog)
Check This: 'Star Trek' Writers On Planting Easter Eggs With Tribbles and Khans
Yahoo! Movies (blog)
Sure the writing partners, who first teamed on TV's "Hercules," have their Trekkie creds and endless "Star Trek" facts in their reference arsenal. But, to quote Bob, "Have the Easter ... If they arrive in a Federation ship, they risk war. So they ...
Special Features - Star Trek Into Darkness: The Failure of Fan ServiceFlickering Myth (blog)
Star Trek Into Darkness is a sci-fi tale for a post-9/11 worldIsthmus
'Trek' more dim than darkHonolulu Star-Advertiser
The Sacramento Press -WorstPreviews.com -Zimbio
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Moore, Okla. schools locked down as tornado struck [How stupid was that?] --Four dead in Moore, Okla. --Authorities not allowing parents to search for their missing children at Plaza Towers Elementary School. Approximately 75 souls -- children and teachers -- were at the school when the tornado struck 20 May 2013

I and My Father Are One
Huffington Post (blog)
... at Normandy or Midway or Heartbreak Ridge, war was a remote romance that each boy had to embellish with details culled from Sergeant Rock and his combat adventures in DC Comics, or Sergeant Bilko and an endless procession of television war series.

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Report: Assad preparing missile strike against Tel Aviv in case attacked again 19 May 2013 Syria is making preparations to strike Tel Aviv in case Israel launches another attack on its territory, The Sunday Times reported on Sunday. The Syrian army has begun deploying advanced surface-to-surface missiles, the report said, adding that it has received orders to strike central Israel in case additional attacks against Syria are carried out. The Sunday Times said that the information was obtained by reconnaissance satellites that were tracking the Syrian forces. According to the report, Syria was deploying advanced Tishreen missiles which are capable of carrying a holf-ton warhead.

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'Extremely dangerous' tornado strikes near Okla. City 20 May 2013 A massive tornado roared through the suburbs of Oklahoma City on Monday, devastating homes, schools and other buildings. The National Weather Service placed parts of five storm-battered states -- Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas and Texas -- under a tornado watch Monday afternoon, meaning that conditions were favorable for tornadoes to develop within the next few hours. The weather service said it was tracking "a large and extremely dangerous tornado" just west of Moore, Okla., which is south of Oklahoma City. The storm was moving to the northeast, and forecasters said they expected "large, destructive hail up to tennis ball size."

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Okla. House suspends work as tornado sirens blare 20 May 2013 The Oklahoma House has temporarily suspended its daily session and members were urged to head to the basement of the Capitol after tornado sirens sounded outside the building. Faxon Republican Rep. Don Armes was presiding over the House Monday afternoon when he said troopers alerted him to worsening weather conditions in the Oklahoma City area. A tornado warning was issued for several Oklahoma counties, including the Oklahoma City area, after reports of a tornado on the ground.

The Military That Was Only for Show
New York Times
World War II has provided an endless number of true stories in recent years, as “greatest-generation” appreciation has come into vogue, and we have perhaps grown to expect a certain rhythm in these accounts. A mission accomplished amid much bravery ...

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Singapore-made H1N1 flu vaccine being tested on humans 20 May 2013 Singapore's first H1N1 flu vaccine is being tested on humans for the first time. The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star) and Switzerland's Cytos Biotechnology AG announced on Friday that the first healthy volunteer has been dosed with their vaccine in a Phase 1 clinical trial. They hope to test it on at least 60 people during this first phase.

The Guardian
The Great Gatsby's world is every bit as unequal as Britain under the coalition
The Guardian
After the second world war came a long period of greater fairness so that by 1979 that proportion had dropped to only 6%. Then came Thatcher and Blair and soaraway ... Today's headlines offer endless examples. The average London house now costs over ...

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PolicyMic
Is President Obama Planning an Endless 'War on Terror?'
Opposing Views
In 2009, President Obama won the Nobel Peace prize. Unfortunately, only four years later his administration is giving strong signs that the U.S. intends to be engaged in a "War on Terror" that could last ten or twenty years. Heck, as noted The Guardian ...
Video: Pentagon Accused of 'Rewriting Constitution' to Wage Endless War in ...Huffington Post
The War On Terror Will Continue For "AT LEAST Another 10-20 Years" - PolicyMicPolicyMic
Pentagon officials: Drone War on Terror is endlessSalon
Bangor Daily News -Truthdig
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