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Articles Posted by BenLurkin

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  • IMF stuns Europe with call for massive Greek debt relief [30 year "moratorium"]

    07/14/2015 1:20:31 PM PDT · by BenLurkin · 26 replies
    telegraph.co.uk ^ | 8:08PM BST 14 Jul 2015 | Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
    The International Monetary Fund has set off a political earthquake in Europe, warning that Greece may need a total moratorium on debt payments for 30 years and perhaps even long-term subsidies to claw its way out of depression. "The dramatic deterioration in debt sustainability points to the need for debt relief on a scale that would need to go well beyond what has been under consideration to date,” said the IMF in a confidential report. Greek public debt will spiral to 200pc of GDP over the next two years, compared to 177pc in an earlier report on debt sustainability issued...
  • Tennessee man accused of plot to attack N.Y. Muslim hamlet [training camp] pleads not guilty

    07/14/2015 12:59:53 PM PDT · by BenLurkin · 11 replies
    .reuters.com ^ | Tue Jul 14, 2015 2:36pm EDT | Laila Kearney
    Doggart was indicted this month on a charge of "soliciting others to violate federal civil rights laws by intentionally defacing, damaging or destroying religious property, because of the religious character of that property, or attempting to do so." ... As a result of information gleaned from wire-tapped phone calls to FBI informants and comments on social media, Doggart is suspected of attempting to round up militia and weapons to attack the community of Holy Islamberg in the remote Catskill Mountains in upstate New York. Islamberg, about 150 miles northwest of New York City, is a settlement of some 200 people...
  • Archaeologists Baffled By 2,000 Tiny Gold Spirals Discovered In Denmark

    07/14/2015 12:36:43 PM PDT · by BenLurkin · 55 replies
    gizmodo ^ | July 13, 2015
    Boeslunde is in Zealand, the large island that sits between mainland Denmark and the tip of Sweden. It’s a hotbed for archaeology in Denmark since it has served as a connective hub for thousands of years—netting recent finds as diverse as 1,000-year-old viking jewelry to actual fortresses in the past year. Boeslunde, where the spirals were discovered, is “a special sacred place in the Bronze Age where prehistoric people performed their rituals and offered gold to the higher powers,” according to the Danish National Museum’s curator, Flemming Kaul. The constant discovery of new gold around the area has spurred more...
  • Pluto – Just Look at the Detail!

    07/14/2015 12:30:15 PM PDT · by BenLurkin · 63 replies
    universetoday.com ^ | on July 14, 2015 | Bob King
    At 7:49 a.m. EDT today New Horizons made history when it zoomed within 7,800 miles of Pluto, the most remote object ever visited in the Solar System. Pluto has a very complex surface. The fact that large areas show few craters – as compared to say, Ceres or Vesta – shows that there have relatively recent changes there. Maybe very recent. Alan Stern, principal investigator for the mission, was asked by a report at this morning’s press conference if it snows on Pluto. His answer: “It sure looks like it.”
  • Suspect in 'Gone Girl' Kidnapping Case is Harvard-Educated Attorney, Police Say

    07/13/2015 6:14:05 PM PDT · by BenLurkin · 5 replies
    abc ^ | Eimly Shaprio
    On March 23, a man called police to report that his girlfriend, Huskins, had been abducted from his Vallejo home, police said. Two days later, Huskins was found safe in Huntington Beach, police said. The boyfriend told investigators Huskins' abductors made a $8,500 ransom demand, police said. On March 25, police in Vallejo said that they found "no evidence to support the claims" that she was abducted. The couple had denied any involvement in a hoax through their attorneys.
  • Mom of Broncos' Demaryius Thomas to be released early from prison

    07/13/2015 3:41:06 PM PDT · by BenLurkin · 34 replies
    calgarysun.com ^ | Monday, July 13, 2015 03:48 PM MDT
    Smith, along with Thomas' grandmother, were convicted of trafficking and sentenced in 2000 to 24 years in a federal prison. Smith now is scheduled to be released on Nov. 10. Five days later, the Broncos play the Kansas City Chiefs in Denver. "These men and women were not violent criminals, but the overwhelming majority had been sentenced to at least 20 years; 14 of them had been sentenced to life for nonviolent drug offences, so their punishments didn't fit the crime," Obama said in a video on the White House Facebook page, via The New York Times. "I believe that...
  • Cause of bond 'flash crash' is a mystery, Feds say

    07/13/2015 3:24:42 PM PDT · by BenLurkin · 6 replies
    <p>Even the top federal agencies in the country couldn't find a clear-cut cause that triggered the whiplash in the U.S. Treasury bond market last October 15. The conclusion came from a report published Monday by five federal agencies, including the Federal Reserve and Securities and Exchange Commission.</p>
  • Charon Up Close Reveals Colossal Chasms and Craters: 1 Day and 1 Million Miles Out from Pluto Flyby

    07/13/2015 8:04:56 AM PDT · by BenLurkin · 11 replies
    universetoday.com ^ | on July 12, 2015 | Ken Kremer on July 12, 2015
    Indeed the largest of Charon’s chasms stretches farther than Earth’s Grand Canyon. And it’s taken New Horizons over nine years speeding through space – since launching back in 2006 as the fastest spacecraft departing Earth – to get close enough to see these wonders for the first time. “The most pronounced chasm, which lies in the southern hemisphere, is longer and miles deeper than Earth’s Grand Canyon,” says William McKinnon, deputy lead scientist with New Horizon’s Geology and Geophysics investigation team, in a NASA statement. To put that into perspective, consider this; Charon is only about 750 miles (1200 kilometers)...
  • Welsh government responds in Klingon to UFO airport query

    07/13/2015 7:58:39 AM PDT · by BenLurkin · 16 replies
    Klingon was the chosen language for the Welsh government in its response to queries about UFO sightings at Cardiff Airport. While English and Welsh are the usual forms of communications in the Senedd, it opted for the native tongue of the enemies of Star Trek's Captain Kirk. Shadow Health Minister Darren Millar had asked for details of UFOs sightings and asked if research would be funded. A Welsh government spokesman responded with: "jang vIDa je due luq." The Welsh government statement continued: "'ach ghotvam'e' QI'yaH devolve qaS."
  • Pluto’s Time to Shine Just Hours Away – A Guide and Timetable

    07/12/2015 8:05:51 PM PDT · by BenLurkin · 38 replies
    universetoday.com ^ | on July 12, 2015 | Bob King
    Edging within 7,800 miles of its surface at 7:49 a.m. EDT, the spacecraft’s long-range telescopic camera will resolve features as small as 230 feet (70 meters). Fourteen minutes later, it will zip within 17,930 miles of Charon as well as image Pluto’s four smaller satellites — Hydra, Styx, Nix and Kerberos. Graphic showing New Horizons’ busy schedule before and during the flyby. Credit: NASA fter zooming past, the craft will turn to photograph Pluto eclipsing the Sun as it looks for the faint glow of rings or dust sheets illuminated by backlight. At the same time, sunlight reflecting off Charon...
  • Drone Temporarily Halts Air Drops Over Wildfire in San Bernardino [AGAIN]; Blaze Is 10% Contained

    07/12/2015 7:52:02 PM PDT · by BenLurkin · 25 replies
    ktla ^ | Updated at 07:31pm, July 12, 2015 | John A. Moreno
    A recreational drone temporarily halted air drops Sunday in an area of southwest San Bernardino County where firefighters were battling a brush fire, officials said. The Mill 2 Fire broke out about 2:30 p.m. and burned 35 acres within 90 minutes near the intersection of Highway 38 and Bryant Street (map), east of Mentone and North of Yucaipa, according to the U.S. Forest Service. No injuries were immediately reported. Homes in Yucaipa and a Southern California Edison plant in Highland were threatened, said Carol Underhill, a spokeswoman for the agency. Four residences were evacuated on the west end of Yucaipa...
  • Greek crisis: surrender fiscal sovereignty in return for bailout, Merkel tells Tsipras

    07/12/2015 1:17:55 PM PDT · by BenLurkin · 33 replies
    guardian ^ | Sunday 12 July 2015 15.23 EDT | Ian Traynor and Jennifer Rankin in Brussels, and Helena Smith in Athens
    A weekend of high tension that threatened to break Europe in two climaxed on Sunday night at a summit of eurozone leaders in Brussels where the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, and President François Hollande of France presented Greece’s radical prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, with an ultimatum. In what a senior EU official described as an “exercise in extensive mental waterboarding” to secure Greek acquiescence to talks on a third bailout in five years worth up to €86bn (£62bn), the two leaders pressed for absolute certainty from Tsipras that he would honour what was on offer. ... The Eurogroup document said...
  • New Details Emerge in Prison Escape of Mexican Drug Lord Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman; Manhunt Underway

    07/12/2015 7:52:29 AM PDT · by BenLurkin · 16 replies
    Mexican authorities have launched a manhunt to find drug kingpin Joaquin Guzman, who has broken out of prison again, the country’s National Security Commission said Sunday. Guards at the Altiplano Federal Prison discovered during a routine check on Saturday that Guzman, known as “El Chapo,” was missing, a statement from the commission said. Guzman escaped through a hole in his cell that led to a tunnel nearly a mile long, Mexico National Security spokesman Monte Alejandro Rubido García confirmed Sunday morning at a press conference in Mexico City. The hole led to a tunnel that was lighted and ventilated, the...
  • Woman Arrested After Water Thrown on Baltimore Mayor

    07/11/2015 6:34:33 PM PDT · by BenLurkin · 25 replies
    nbc ^ | Jul 11 2015, 8:26 pm ET | Elizabeth Chuck
    Stephanie Rawlings-Blake was greeting people at the Mondawmin Festival, an event with food, entertainment and representatives from Baltimore's non-profit organizations, when a woman ran up and threw what police said was water on the mayor, ... "I didn't know what it was that she threw at me. I hope it was water," Rawlings-Blake told the Baltimore Sun. "It was more shocking than anything else." The bizarre incident didn't stop the mayor from enjoying the festival. She later tweeted photos of herself with Baltimore residents and community partners, calling it a "fantastic day."
  • New Horizons: Last view of Pluto's spots

    07/11/2015 5:05:40 PM PDT · by BenLurkin · 30 replies
    bbc ^ | Jonathan Amos
    Take a good look at the latest picture of Pluto because it shows the face of the dwarf planet that will not be seen during next week's historic flyby. The US space agency's New Horizons probe was less than 2.5 million km from the diminutive world on Saturday and closing in fast. Come Tuesday, it will be grabbing shots from an altitude of just 12,500km. But the newly published image, showing Pluto's "spots", is of the hemisphere that will soon rotate out of view. It will not be seen again until after New Horizons has gone behind the 2,300km-wide dwarf,...
  • President Obama will visit federal prison

    07/11/2015 4:58:14 PM PDT · by BenLurkin · 34 replies
    “The president will outline the unfairness in much of our criminal justice system, highlight bipartisan ideas for reform and lay out his ideas to make our country fairer, smarter and more cost effective while keeping the American people safe and secure,” Earnest said. Obama, who views sentencing reform as one of the remaining areas where he may be able to forge a bipartisan compromise before leaving office, will visit El Reno, a medium security prison in El Reno, Oklahoma. Federal Bureau of Prisons Director Charles Samuels, who recently announced he will retire by the end of the year, is expected...
  • The Force Awakens: Here's who's coming back from the earlier Star Wars movies ...[warning clickbait]

    07/11/2015 3:17:03 PM PDT · by BenLurkin · 45 replies
    ew.com ^ | July 11 2015 — 4:35 PM EDT | Anthony Breznican
    It wasn’t just Harrison Ford’s familiar face that sent a wave of nostalgia through the Comic-Con crowd when Star Wars: The Force Awakens rocked the geek gathering this weekend. That behind-the-scenes clip J.J. Abrams and Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy showed actually contained a number of apparent call-backs to the original trilogy, revealing a few more droids, creatures, and actors making a return. Here’s a rundown of what we spotted: First, the obvious. PRINCESS LEIA The last time we saw her, it was an Ewok hoe-down where she finally let down her waist-length hair. Three decades later, we finally found our...
  • J.K. Rowling shuts down Serena Williams hater in one perfect tweet

    07/11/2015 2:53:53 PM PDT · by BenLurkin · 30 replies
    mashable.com ^ | Laura Vitto
    To the surprise of absolutely no one, Serena Williams dominated at the Wimbledon championship on Saturday, winning it for the sixth time. This also marks Williams' fourth Grand Slam title in a row, not to mention her 21st major overall. Among the top-ranked athlete's many celebrity fans is author J.K. Rowling, who tweeted a steady stream of support for Williams throughout and immediately following Saturday's game. But it was her cutting response to a body-shaming troll that propelled Rowling to trending status in the United States: Rob ‎@diegtristan8 @jk_rowling @hansmollman ironic then that main reason for her success is that...
  • Indian intelligence agencies seeking tech for mass phone tapping: WikiLeaks

    07/11/2015 2:14:54 PM PDT · by BenLurkin · 1 replies
    timesofindia ^ | Jul 12, 2015, 01.33 AM IST
    [T]he Indian intelligence agencies could be looking to acquire know-how not just target-specific, but the ability to throw a sweeping net of surveillance over a large number mobile phones. ... This also means the agencies could be looking to side-step the need to get written permission of the Union home secretary before carrying out any interception. Every single case of telephone interception can be done only with the written permission of the home secretary at the Centre or his counterpart in a state.... ... In an email sent to Maharashtra police, one of its senior officials claims that their solution,...
  • France says 'decision time' has come in Iran nuclear talks

    07/11/2015 2:08:04 PM PDT · by BenLurkin · 6 replies
    reuters ^ | Sat Jul 11, 2015 4:36pm EDT | Louis Charbonneau and John Irish
    Iran and the six powers involved in the talks - Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States - have given themselves until Monday to reach a deal, their third extension in two weeks, as the Iranian delegation accused the West of throwing up new stumbling blocks to an accord. "Now that everything is on the table, the moment has come to decide," French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said in a statement sent to Reuters after speaking to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond. Among the biggest...