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UnrepentantLiberal's JournalU.S. drone kills six suspected al Qaeda members in Yemen: sources
Source: Reuters
SANAA - At least six suspected al Qaeda members were killed in a U.S. drone strike in northern Yemen on Wednesday, local sources said, in an escalating campaign in which at least 20 Islamist militants have died this week.
The United States never comments on strikes by its pilotless aircraft, which it has used to track down militants in Yemen for years. The Yemeni government tolerates such strikes but usually does not comment on the U.S. role in specific incidents.
Washington has scaled up action against al Qaeda in Yemen, where the group exploited widespread anti-government unrest in 2011 to seize swathes of territory in the southern part of the country, before being driven out in a U.S.-backed offensive in June last year.
The sources said the drone strike targeted a vehicle travelling in rural areas near the capital Sanaa. "The vehicle was totally destroyed and the corpses were burned beyond recognition," one source told Reuters.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/23/us-yemen-qaeda-idUSBRE90M1H520130123
Syria rebels 'attacked' religious sites
Source: Al Jazeera
Rebels in Syria have burned and looted the religious sites of minorities, Human Rights Watch says, warning that the 22-month old conflict could become increasingly sectarian.
"The destruction of religious sites is furthering sectarian fears and compounding the tragedies of the country, with tens of thousands killed," Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director of the US-based rights group, said on Wednesday.
"Syria will lose its rich cultural and religious diversity if armed groups do not respect places of worship. Leaders on both sides should send a message that those who attack these sites will be held accountable."
In the village of Zarzour in Idlib province, researchers found evidence of deliberate damage to the local husseiniya, a Shia place of worship, caused by opposition fighters in December.
Read more: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/01/201312322462753542.html
Learning to love grains, potatoes was key to the evolution of dogs
By David Brown
The Washington Post.
Jan 23, 2013
You know that dog biscuit shaped like a bone but made mostly of wheat? The fact that your dog is satisfied with it instead of going for a piece of your thigh may be one of the big reasons why its ancestors evolved from wolves to house pets.
A team of Swedish researchers has compared the genomes of wolves and dogs and found that a big difference between the two is a dog’s ability to easily digest starch. On its way from pack-hunting carnivore to fireside companion, dogs learned to love —or at least live on —wheat, rice, barley, corn and potatoes.
As it turns out, that’s also a change that human beings underwent as they came out of the forest, built permanent settlements and began to grow grain.
“I think it is a striking case of co-evolution,” said Erik Axelsson, a geneticist at Uppsala University. “The fact that we shared a similar environment in the last 10,000 years caused a similar adaptation. And the big change in the environment was the development of agriculture.”
More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/learning-to-love-cereal-was-key-to-the-evolution-of-dogs/2013/01/23/30c47500-6510-11e2-85f5-a8a9228e55e7_story.html
Teen Planned to Attack Walmart After Killing Family
Source: ABC News
The New Mexico teenager who used an assault rifle to kill his mother, father and younger siblings told police he hoped to shoot up a Walmart after the family rampage and cause "mass destruction."
Police said they are also considering charging the shooter's 12-year-old girlfriend.
According to new information released by police today, Nehemiah Griego, the 15-year-old son of an Albuquerque pastor, had plans to kill his family, his girlfriend's family, and local Walmart shoppers for weeks before he acted on the impulse on Sunday.
"Nehemiah said after killing five of his family members he reloaded the weapons so that he could drive to a populated area to murder more people," a police report from the incident stated.
Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/US/mexico-teen-killed-family-planned-shoot-walmart-cops/story?id=18284667
U.S. drone kills four al Qaeda members in Yemen: sources
Source: Reuters
SANAA - A U.S. drone killed four suspected al Qaeda militants on Tuesday in a strike on their car in northern Yemen as they drove away from a militant training ground, according to tribal sources and local officials, the fourth such attack in four days.
The United States never comments on strikes by its pilotless aircraft, which it has used to track down militants in Yemen for years. The Yemeni government tolerates such strikes but usually does not comment on the U.S. role in specific incidents.
Washington has scaled up action against al Qaeda in Yemen, where the group exploited widespread anti-government unrest in 2011 to seize swathes of territory in the south. It was subsequently driven out by a military offensive in June last year.
The four men were travelling in a vehicle through the desert in the Yemeni province of al-Jawf, near the border with Saudi Arabia, a tribal source told Reuters, declining to be named.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/22/us-yemen-qaeda-idUSBRE90L0VJ20130122
Beyonce buzz: She lip-synced the national anthem
Beyoncé has been widely praised for her beautiful rendition of the national anthem at Monday's presidential inauguration.
But even after seeing her triumphantly pull her earpiece out as she belted out the words, buzz is now bubbling up that the superstar wasn't singing it live.
TheTimes of London is reporting that a spokeswoman for the Marine Corps Band says it is standard procedure to record a backing track and that Beyoncé decided soon before stepping to the microphone to use it.
UPDATE, 1 p.m. ET: Master Sgt. Kristin DuBois, spokeswoman for the President's Own United States Marine Band, confirms to USA TODAY's Maria Puente that Beyoncé was lip-syncing.
More: http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2013/01/22/beyonce-buzz-was-she-lip-syncing/1855123/
Syrian rebels pin hopes on airbase's downfall
Mannagh, Syria - Here in the north, rebels call it "the final battle." For more than a month, lightly armed fighters have hurled themselves against a well-fortified helicopter base located less than a 15-minute drive from the border with Turkey.
The rebels say the last piece of government-controlled territory between Turkey and Syria's largest city, Aleppo, is Mannagh airbase. The battle for it is a modern-day siege.
"It is like a germ infecting the countryside. If the regime has even a 1% chance of taking back this region, this is a base that they would then want to rule from," said Abu Marwan, the young commander of the rebel Northern Storm brigade. "Once it has been captured, the north will be liberated."
The siege does underscore one important point: It has taken less than a year for Syria's rebels to go from being hunted in their homes to now encircling and attacking some of the largest military bases in the country.
More: http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/22/world/syria-final-battle-for-north/index.html
The real reason Democrats won't try to change the filibuster rules
is that with the way it is now they can avoid passing progressive legislation that will anger their corporate sponsors and blame it on the Republican Party. This is all a game put on for voters who know they have no choice but to vote for the lesser of two evils.
Kid Sends Blunt Cover Letter For Wall Street Internship, Now Tons Of People Are Trying To Hire Him
By Julia La Roche and Joe Weisenthal
Business Insider
Jan. 15, 2013
Sometimes we get forwarded applications for summer internships on Wall Street that are extremely embarrassing because the applicant is totally full of themselves or completely clueless.
What happens is the letters go viral and the Street passes them around in long email chains blasting the applicant. They're always funny, but a little bit sad.
That's exactly what we thought was going to happen today when we received this one in our inbox. It turns that the cover letter originally sent to a boutique investment bank is exactly the opposite.
The cover letter below is unapologetically honest and people on Wall Street are calling it one of the best letters they have seen. Everyone on the thread agrees the letter shows energy and pluck and honesty.
[font size=4]First, here's the letter... [/font]
And now here are some of the responses on a long thread: http://www.businessinsider.com/student-sends-great-cover-letter-for-internship-at-bank-and-its-now-going-viral-on-wall-street-2013-1
Women take up self-defense, pepper spray after India rape
By Nita Bhalla
Reuters
Jan 22, 2013
NEW DELHI - Women in India's capital are taking self-defense classes, snapping up pepper sprays, booking cabs with female drivers or leaving work early, all signs of growing insecurity following the brutal gang rape and murder of a student last month.
The assault on the 23-year-old - who was raped by six people and tortured with an iron bar on a bus, then left bleeding on a highway - stunned the nation and generated an unprecedented wave of protests calling for better security for women.
In response to the public outrage, authorities have initiated several measures to instill confidence, but many women say they cannot rely on India's often gender-insensitive and under-resourced police force to ensure their security.
"It's no secret that Delhi is unsafe for women. A lot of us have known it for a long time, but this case has brought things to light," said Sunanda Jalote, 18, a psychology student, attending her first self-defense class with Invictus Survival Sciences in South Delhi.
More: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/22/us-india-rape-security-idUSBRE90L09M20130122
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Name: BradGender: Male
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