Unauthorized Commentaries (3#) -

Exploding Turban Cartoon Again: A 27-year-old Somali man wielding an axe tried to break into the home of 74-year-old Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard at around 10pm local time, but police shot him and took him into custody.

# National Pundit Ellen Goodman is finally retiring. Although I did not have any animosity toward her as a person, I viewed her syndicated column as a plague.

Is anyone replacing her in that quota slot? Yes, of course; a woman writing under a Jewish-looking name who is actually Asian. The MSM is replacing the inoffensive Goodman with a fake Jewish woman, just to be on the safe side.

# Google Books is archiving
the wacky Weekly World News.

+ We are currently experiencing a cold wave here until about Wednesday or Thursday. It is possible that blogging will be light.

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Mez: Nix Knox Memo Park -

Meredith Kercher Murder Case -

Amanda Knox is the attributed reason for the scuttling of a Perugia Park in Seattle. Knox's recent conviction for the brutal murder of her housemate, Meredith Kercher, has soured some Seattle residents on having a constant reminder of their notorious resident. Others claim their reluctance is a protest against her conviction in a Perugia court and her continuing imprisonment in Italy.

Brits don't seem very enthusiastic about Seattle residents either at the moment, according to the comment thread accompanying this article.

:: UK Mail ::

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The Ticking 253 Bomber (3#) -

The $64 Question . . .

A former associate of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab at University College London says he observed no signs of violent extremism in the aspiring bomber. Qasim Rafiq would like to know what motivated his acquaintance to embark on the operation, according to the BBC.

:: BBC Profile ::

:: The Myth of Acting Alone ::

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Some Morning News (7#) -

Future Glow: How many lightening bugs would it take
to illuminate the average small ranch home or cottage?

Not to worry, because scientists are not
experimenting with lightening bugs right now.

At the moment, they are experimenting with OLEDs: organic light emitting diodes. And they are planning to start replacing our traditional light bulbs with flat illuminating panels made of these diodes as early as 2012.

# Banger Balls Bomber: British security sources are concerned that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, was seduced and groomed by the Qaeda Cult while he was a student in London. But how could that happen?

# Masquerade: When robots dream
of digital ayatollahs, Life is a masquerade . . .

Ahmadinejad: opposition rallies a "masquerade"

# Virtual Protest and the "Spinternet" -
Paradoxical effects of the Internet on Iran.

# Gene Sharp and Mohsen Sazegara

# Clashes reported on campus of Azad University
in Tehran Tuesday and other recent developments.

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Notes From Around The Net (6#) -

MI5 is investigating the Detroit airplane bomber's social contacts around London where he lived for three years as a student. Better late than never.

# "Barry in DC" calls in to
WTOP radio show. [Prez phone call]

# Amanda Knox is going bald! She
claims her hair is falling out due to stress.

# Reality TV Star Kim Kardashian is
reportedly being paid $10,000 per tweet
to mention products to her 2million followers.

# Sunday, December 29, 1940, London:

"the ancient maze of little streets with quaint, antique shopfronts around Paternoster Row, in the shadow of St Paul’s, which had been a centre of the book trade since the 18th century, was levelled. More than 6m books went up in flames."

# Protesters in Iran are
again using social networking sites.

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