WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

• INTRODUCING: DENISOVANS! Ladies and Gents, it looks like there was once up to 4 different kinds of humaniod species roaming the earth -- Neanderthals, Hobbits, modern humans, and now Denisovans! So exciting. It looks like this species existed in southeast Asia and Australia and bred with modern human. I love how the concept of the evolution of man is changing! This is beyond fascinating!
• North Korea's minister of armed forces said on Thursday its military was prepared to wage a "holy war" against the South using its nuclear deterrent after what he called Seoul's attempt to initiate conflict.
• A wave of holiday terrorism has hit Rome. Both the Swiss and Chilean embassies were attacked with parcel bombs. Thankfully nobody was fatally injured.
• Former Argentine dictator, Jorge Videla, has been sentenced to life in prison for crimes he committed against political prisoners in 1976.
• So in addition to the mini-Ice Age upon us, it looks like 2011 is going to have one hell of a hurricane season for the Atlantic coast. I guess right now is a good time for me to make sure my parent's place in Hallendale is prepared!
• Julian Assange is telling US journalists that they should basically be behind him because the people against him are against the First Amendment.
• UNICEF and religious leaders in Indonesia are joining forces to promote breast feeding. Right now, less than 33% of infants are being breast fed in Indonesia ... and scientists have found that breastfeeding is one of the most essential things a month can do for a baby to make sure it's healthy.
• A man in Bangladesh was beaten to death by his four wives, once they discovered he had four wives, which is legal in Bangladesh, but only with consent from the other wives.

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

• Yesterday I posted this article about how a scientist determined that we're about to enter a mini-Ice Age, and now there seems to be another one out there to support this. What's causing this -- apart from the Sun's storm activities -- is a "freak diversion of the jet stream." Does this have something to do with the Sun? The pole changes? Is Earth about to recycle itself? Expect more articles like this to pop up.
• Thank God! Obama signed the Don't Ask, Don't Tell repeal! In a few short months, gays will be able to serve openly in the military and the government will start to look into how to give partners the same benefits they give married straights.
• State of Emergency is in effect in California following the heavy rains. That pesky jet stream!!!
• South Korea continues to see how much they can provoke the North by bringing on new military drills.
• Police in Philadelphia are on the search for a serial killer who already murdered 3 women by strangulation.
• Water Works employees in Ohio have been charged with stealing water and sewer services by messing with their water meters. While I think it's not cool to steal, I do think that employees of services like that should get free services up to a certain point.
• Italian students are protesting against education reform. The reforms will cut the number of university courses, merge some smaller universities, reduce funding for grants, increase the role of the private sector and limit the duration of rectorships.
• Here's a great article about a new procedure that an opera singer underwent... she was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer that had spread all over her body -- 24 tumors overall, many in her brain. Thanks to a new treatment using a chemotherapy treatment called Tarceva and the Elekta Gamma Knife, her tumors were removed and haven't grown back!
• Two Firefighters died and many others were trapped after a wall collapsed during a 3-11 fire in Chicago's southside neighborhood. Strangely, this happened on the 100th Anniversary of the huge fire in Chicago that claimed the lives of 21 Firefighters.
• Obama's spy chief had no idea about the 12 suspected terrorists arrested in Britain this week. In the embarrassing interview with Diane Sawyer, James Clapper went blank when asked about the situation. Chief Counter Terrorism advisor John Brennan claimed that Clapper was too busy focusing on other shit and had no time to worry about terrorist threats that didn't effect us.
• Because of the EU/IMF bailout earlier this year, the Greek government is expected to make even more budget cuts and raise taxes. The Greeks have taken the streets in protest, but not in the numbers you might expect. Many have given up hope.
• Oil has raised to $90/barrel in Asia.
• The government says that the economy rose 2.6% in the 3rd quarter, which was more than previously reported.
• A fowl package -- literally, it was chicken stuffed with shrimp -- held up travels at an airport. Way to go, TSA!
• Indonesian police seized over 2million copies of porn movies in Jakarta. Even the porn industry is hurting these days!
• I'm so confused by this: Apparently a bunch of flights were cancelled in Argentina because flight attendants were protesting a wage increase. What?!?
• Deutsche Bank has agreed to pay the US over $550 Million to resolve some sort of fraud. That should help our economy a little, right?
• This is DISGUSTING. An American who had founded a school in Haiti has been accused of sexually abusing many of the male students and will serve up to 20 years in jail. What a disgusting abuse of power. For shame!