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Helena wrote an interesting post today on
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This 10-foot crocodile, found near a paddy field at Devale Road Pannipitiya, had bitten the a resident of the area, 47-year-old R.Gamini who was among those who tried to capture it yesterday (14). Wild Life Department personnel led by Upali Pathmasiri and tied up the crocodile after much effort. Over thousand people flocked to Devale Road to have a look at the uninvited visitor to their hometown.Pic by Anton Fernando – via The Island

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Ranjith Wijewardene wrote an interesting post today on
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(CNN) — The Marine husband of a slain Fort Bragg soldier was charged with murder Monday and another Marine was charged with aiding the crime, a local police chief said.

Fayetteville, North Carolina, police released this undated photo of 2nd Lt. Holley Wimunc.

Authorities have been searching for the missing soldier, Army 2nd Lt. Holley Wimunc, 24, since a fire torched her North Carolina apartment on July 10.

Marine Cpl. John Wimunc and fellow Marine Lance Cpl. Kyle Alden were initially charged with arson, but after police interviews Wimunc was charged with first-degree murder, said Fayetteville Police Chief Tom Bergamine.
Alden was charged with felony accessory after the fact to first-degree murder, Bergamine said.
Both were taken to Cumberland County’s jail and held without bond, he said.
Earlier, a witness found a charred body in woods, but Detective Jeff Locklear told reporters that police were still awaiting a positive identification from the medical examiner and could […]

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livenewsupdate wrote an interesting post today on
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Seoul has condemned the killing of a South Korean tourist by a North Korean soldier, saying it cannot be justified, and demanding access to investigate the tragedy.
Pyongyang has expressed regret but refused to apologise over the death of the 53-year-old woman, who was shot twice after straying into a military zone during a dawn beach stroll at a North Korean resort.
“Whatever the reason may be, it cannot be justified,” the South Korean government said Sunday, urging the North to cooperate with an investigation after Pyongyang refused access to the scene of the shooting.
“It is the position of our government and people that the reason and truth should be thoroughly revealed because this is a grave issue concerning the life and safety of an innocent civilian,” Seoul said in a statement.
“We urge North Korea to take responsible steps so that such an incident should not repeated.”
South Korea has suspended tours to […]

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Celia Pearce wrote an interesting post today on
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Originally published June 11, 2008.
Riots following the publishing of 12 cartoons of the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten resulted in the deaths of more than 100 people around the globe and the torching of the Danish embassies in Beirut, Damascus, and Teheran in early 2006. The man who commissioned the cartoons, Flemming Rose, came to Stanford on May 7 to present his views on free speech as well as his unique perspective on the cartoon crisis.
[…]
He [Rose] emphasized the importance of defending free speech at a time when doing so is increasingly difficult and even dangerous, and specifically mentioned the inadequacy of the common affirmation that “I support free speech, but….” The right to free speech, he explained, precludes all other supposed rights to hear only inoffensive, respectful, tolerant language. “The only right you do not have in a democracy,” Rose pointed out, “is the right not […]

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Helena wrote an interesting post today on
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More and more prominent terrorists are defecting from the cause. The Egyptian theologian Dr. Fadl is the best known, but many others are likewise reconsidering. Experts see it as a delayed reaction to the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Noman Benotman walks into a restaurant on Park Lane, the exclusive, minimalist sort of place that is currently all the rage in London. People in business suits converse in hushed tones at nearby tables. Benotman, wearing an orange polo shirt and a gray checked blazer, fits in perfectly.
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pbtt wrote an interesting post today on
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The “terrorist” watch list now has more than one million names. Do you feel safer now?
Since February we’ve been tracking the size of our government’s list of ostensible terrorist suspects, which according to the government’s own report (pdf) has been rising at a rate of 20,000 per month.
Today I appeared in a press conference at the National Press Club here in Washington to mark this latest threshold in the history of our government’s so-called “War on Terror.” With me were Caroline Fredrickson, head of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office, and two watch list victims: Jim Robinson, a former assistant attorney general for the Civil Division at the Justice Department, who flies frequently and is often delayed for hours despite possessing a governmental security clearance; and Akif Rahman, an American citizen who has been repeatedly detained, shackled, separated from his family, and interrogated at the U.S.-Canada border when traveling for […]

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pbtt wrote an interesting post today on
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LONDON, July 14 (UPI) — Three men accused of planning a series of suicide missions on transatlantic flights pleaded guilty Monday in a British court.
Abdulla Ahmed Ali, 27, Assad Sarwar, 28, and Tanvir Hussain, 27, pleaded guilty to conspiring to cause the explosions and conspiring to cause a public nuisance by distributing videotapes threatening suicide attacks in Britain, The Times of London reported. Two other co-defendants, Ibrahim Savant, 27, and Umar Islam, 30, also pleaded guilty to causing a public nuisance.
The five men, plus three others, still will go to trial on a charge of conspiring to murder thousands of people in a series of terrorist explosions aboard transatlantic planes using homemade liquid bombs, the Times said.
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pbtt wrote an interesting post today on
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An Eta terrorist convicted of killing 25 people will live on the same street as some of the families of his victims following his release from jail next month.
Iñaki de Juana Chaos has said he will move in with his mother in the Basque town of San Sebastian when he is released on August 2.
He has served a 21-year sentence for his role in a notorious commando team blamed for dozens of assassinations in the mid 1980s.
Victims groups were furious when it emerged he will be living nearby the widows of a soldier, a police officer and a mayor, who were all murdered by the Basque separatist organisation.
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pbtt wrote an interesting post today on
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Hundreds of current and former European officials are asking a U.S. judge to block a military trial against Osama bin Laden’s former driver.
The 375 officials from England, Northern Island and the European Parliament represent all major political parties. Many of the officials disagree on key foreign policy issues but believe that aspects of Salim Hamdan’s upcoming military commission violate the notion of fairness and due process
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pbtt wrote an interesting post today on
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GUANTANAMO BAY NAVY BASE, Cuba — A Pentagon prosecutor warned Monday that testimony from an alleged al Qaeda kingpin, meant to clear Osama bin Laden’s driver of war crimes, could help terrorists topple another American building.
A defense lawyer argued that the charges against the driver, Salim Hamdan of Yemen, were unconstitutional and urged dismissal.
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