News Stories

[ganbaru]

Originally Posted by RRW

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windso...-services.html

"I think to ban you from a country…I think there has to be more serious charges," he said. "I think you have to be a criminal or pose some type of threat to national security."

It's better than we didn't let enter. Better yet would had thaan this incident never publicated; that guy have too much publicity, no nead to give him more.

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by RRW

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windso...-services.html

Consequence, Terry Jones. Accept it.

Frankly, I think he all the right in the world to burn a book he bought. However, burning from the safety of his yard and waving the video at crazy people who go nuts if you burn particular pieces of paper just put *other* people in danger.

He can come to my state if he's okay with being laughed at in public.

[RRW]

Greek authorities have launched an investigation into allegations that riot police used a female protester as a human shield during angry demonstrations over a visit to Athens by the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, this week.

Witnesses told the Guardian the young woman, who has yet to be identified, was frogmarched in handcuffs ahead of riot police as protesters threw stones at officers.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012...r-human-shield

[konart]

The Nobel Peace Prize for 2012
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2012 is to be awarded to the European Union (EU). The union and its forerunners have for over six decades contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe.

In the inter-war years, the Norwegian Nobel Committee made several awards to persons who were seeking reconciliation between Germany and France. Since 1945, that reconciliation has become a reality. The dreadful suffering in World War II demonstrated the need for a new Europe. Over a seventy-year period, Germany and France had fought three wars. Today war between Germany and France is unthinkable. This shows how, through well-aimed efforts and by building up mutual confidence, historical enemies can become close partners.

In the 1980s, Greece, Spain and Portugal joined the EU. The introduction of democracy was a condition for their membership. The fall of the Berlin Wall made EU membership possible for several Central and Eastern European countries, thereby opening a new era in European history. The division between East and West has to a large extent been brought to an end; democracy has been strengthened; many ethnically-based national conflicts have been settled.

The admission of Croatia as a member next year, the opening of membership negotiations with Montenegro, and the granting of candidate status to Serbia all strengthen the process of reconciliation in the Balkans. In the past decade, the possibility of EU membership for Turkey has also advanced democracy and human rights in that country.

The EU is currently undergoing grave economic difficulties and considerable social unrest. The Norwegian Nobel Committee wishes to focus on what it sees as the EU's most important result: the successful struggle for peace and reconciliation and for democracy and human rights. The stabilizing part played by the EU has helped to transform most of Europe from a continent of war to a continent of peace.

The work of the EU represents "fraternity between nations", and amounts to a form of the "peace congresses" to which Alfred Nobel refers as criteria for the Peace Prize in his 1895 will.

Oslo, 12 October 2012

Long story short: "We're gonna keep it for ourself this year, folks!"

[Zakoo]

Sorry sir, but they aren't in EU.

Receiving such a price when the nationalism in some countries was never so high is kind off weird but whatever, with the 1.2millions euro gained, we shall repay our debt, trololol!

[Kokukirin]

At the current rate the prize money from Nobel Peace Prize will be roughly 10% of Greece's GDP by the end of next year. I can't blame them for being greedy.

[DonQuigleone]

Originally Posted by konart

Long story short: "We're gonna keep it for ourself this year, folks!"

Norway isn't in the EU.

[SaintessHeart]

Well he's a Russian, and I think Russians reserve their right to think they own Europe, which are in turn owned by their lolis. Thee little Russian girl who kicked her Brit teacher in the gonads certainly set a good example that in Europe, Russian lolis are ownage.

[RRW]

Originally Posted by Vexx

Don't we have a Stupid News thread for this?

ops wrong section

[konart]

Originally Posted by Zakoo

Sorry sir, but they aren't in EU.

Receiving such a price when the nationalism in some countries was never so high is kind off weird but whatever, with the 1.2millions euro gained, we shall repay our debt, trololol!

Norway isn't in the EU.

Oh, stupid me... At least they are in NATO, which still gives me more freedom to generalize

[ganbaru]

Iran's sea trade buckles under Western sanctions
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/...89B0DX20121012
I don't think than adding more sanction, like some suggested, would be such good idea; the one already in place started to show effects.

[Jinto]

I don't know in the last decade an uneasy feeling grew inside me (concerning the Nobel peace price). I feel like it is more like a bad omen nowadays.

[monir]

Originally Posted by Jinto

I don't know in a the last decade an uneasy feeling grew inside me (concerning the Nobel peace price). I feel like it is more like a bad omen nowadays.

My guess is that uneasy feeling probably started growing when Al Gore was the recipient in 2007. By the way, for this year's winner, they strangely spelled Merkel's name all wrong. I know it's not spelled E-u-r-o-p-e-a-n U-n-i-o-n! *zing*

[DonQuigleone]

To be honest, the peace prize has gone to some dubious people before.

For starters, how about Henry Kissinger?

And to be fair, the Nobels have usually been more about past achievements. The EU has generally kept the peace throughout Europe, particularly in the tumultuous time after the fall of the USSR.

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by monir

My guess is that uneasy feeling probably started growing when Al Gore was the recipient in 2007. By the way, for this year's winner, they strangely spelled Merkel's name all wrong. I know it's not spelled E-u-r-o-p-e-a-n U-n-i-o-n! *zing*

Wasn't it for its existence as a whole for the last 60 years rather than whatever happened in the last few years? Merkel has "only" been in power for 7 years.

I don't really want to defend the Nobel Peace Prize, but sometimes you've got to take the long view.

[ganbaru]

Originally Posted by DonQuigleone

To be honest, the peace prize has gone to some dubious people before.

For starters, how about Henry Kissinger?

I would say than it's a little better than Yasser Arafat.

[monir]

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

Wasn't it for its existence as a whole for the last 60 years rather than whatever happened in the last few years? Merkel has "only" been in power for 7 years..

Merkel doesn't get enough credit for her effort to keep European Union solvent. Without her, I think it won't be too much of an exaggeration to say that the Union falls apart as soon Greece was declared bankrupt. Greece can only wish they had someone like Merkel from seven years back. When the world was showing the sign of an oncoming economic meltdown, Merkel comes in and immediately started to place things in motion for Germany to lead the way. Look where Germany is now seven years after compared to the rest of the Union and the world. May be I'm thinking too much here, but perhaps mentioning Merkel in the nobel peace prize creates a storm considering she isn't exactly popular in countries like Spain, Italy and obviously Greece. In a way, EU is Germany headed by Merkel. When EU is the nobel peace prize winner, it is in a way a nod toward Merkel. So obviously it was a conscious choice when Merkel's name was spelled wrong. I know I'm onto something here.

I like her a lot!

[RRW]

CASTLE ROCK - 9NEWS received several news tips saying some type of explosion happened in the 6900 block of Sulfur Lane in Castle Rock.

9NEWS called the Castle Rock Fire Department, and they believe it was a natural-gas explosion at a home.

http://www.9news.com/news/article/29...Rock-injures-5

[Bri]

Originally Posted by monir

Merkel doesn't get enough credit for her effort to keep European Union solvent. Without her, I think it won't be too much of an exaggeration to say that the Union falls apart as soon Greece was declared bankrupt. Greece can only wish they had someone like Merkel from seven years back. When the world was showing the sign of an oncoming economic meltdown, Merkel comes in and immediately started to place things in motion for Germany to lead the way. Look where Germany is now seven years after compared to the rest of the Union and the world. May be I'm thinking too much here, but perhaps mentioning Merkel in the nobel peace prize creates a storm considering she isn't exactly popular in countries like Spain, Italy and obviously Greece. In a way, EU is Germany headed by Merkel. When EU is the nobel peace prize winner, it is in a way a nod toward Merkel. So obviously it was a conscious choice when Merkel's name was spelled wrong. I know I'm onto something here.

I like her a lot!

The credit for Germany's (and most of northern Europe's) resilience to the financial crisis goes to the economic consensus models in which both employers and unions cooperate. Whoever is Bundes-chancellor is fairly irrelevant for those agreements.

Merkel can be credited for keeping a level head during the crisis and keeping populist/nationalist sentiments under control.

I suspect the Nobel peace prize is awarded to support the ideals of European cooperation during the union's most difficult time and decreasing public support.

[Hiroi Sekai]

I feel ill. Perhaps it's because I lived a somewhat quiet and sheltered life in my earlier years, but hitting my twenties and getting out into the world more, I'm witnessing event play out in my area, and it is a terrible world out there.

Spoiler for Not exactly for the weak-minded.:

It all started about 8 years back when a very young girl was kidnapped from our tiny community of 5000 people. Shook up the entire town and police were all over it for weeks. After little luck, we feared she had been killed. I have an undying respect for this girl as she managed to leave a trace of her path along with the fingerprint and DNA evidence which eventually lead to her rescue and the criminal's arrest. She had picked up a lighter he had dropped for fingerprints, and by scratching his face at one point she left marks along with DNA under her nails. The criminal was found to have raped her and was found guilty for multiple charges.

Spoiler for Continuation:

Things seemed to calm down for a while, but after I graduated from high school (was in late elementary when the first incidence occurred), it was within a couple years later that terror struck again. A very good friend of mine was found beaten badly on a set of train tracks on Halloween night, and died later in hospital. I saw the Facebook posts at the time and felt absolutely sick to my stomach. This was a kind girl who heard I had moved into the neighbourhood, and along with a couple others, came by my house and invited me to hang out with them. I had known her for about 8 or 9 years to that point. The murderer was found months and months later, and he escaped from British Columbia all the way down to Ontario. He had an additional charge on him with sexual assault on a woman right here in my current city, and he has finally been set up for trial and was denied bail.

Spoiler for Continuation II:

And it's just today that I popped onto Facebook to find something else that haunts the province of British Columbia. A young woman named Amanda Todd had been led on at an early stage of her life to believe that someone liked her and cared for her. In order to fit in, she made the error of "flashing" on camera, and that's where the disasters started. Not long after, somebody messaged her on Facebook and blackmailed her, claiming they would release the pictures of her flashing herself to the public if she didn't put on a show for him. It got worse as she transferred schools and an old male friend led her on once again, telling her to visit because his girlfriend was out of town. Later on, she would find the guy with about 15 of his friends at the school, who endlessly barraged her with insults, hate and physical violence. They beat her and left her on the floor, and the depressed victim crawled into a ditch and basically accepted her fate. Getting home she attempted suicide by drinking bleach, but was saved at the hospital. What followed were a torrent of comments on Facebook saying things like "she should have used a stronger bleach" and "make sure you actually kill yourself next time". The poor girl left the city entirely, but that group stalked her and made sure her life was a living hell. She tried everything from cutting herself to drugs and alcohol to help ease the pain, but ultimately she had succeeded in committing suicide, which brings a sad end to the story.

I feel especially sick because there is already a Facebook page which downright ridicules her. Viewing the page creator, this is a person who just created a Facebook account 5 hours ago to make this page. Thankfully the responses towards the page have been mostly negatory, but the fact that this page exists disgusts me. There are just some people in the world who wish to cause nothing but harm to others, and I'm so very sad to hear another victim's life was claimed like this.

I hope you all think the same about bullying like I do, as I have been a victim of it as well. Let me tell you, when I was down in the dumps, I regretfully resorted to bullying as well at one point to get through better, and I feel like absolute shit admitting that. What I did was wrong and I deeply regret it. I have found most of the people who I acted very badly towards, and have apologized, but what's done is done. It's why I try so very hard to be a peaceful person now, both online and in real life. I hope everyone else can at least value that.

Here is everything the poor girl documented, pressed into one YouTube video.

And here is the Facebook page, to prove my point. Like I said, this was created AFTER she had killed herself from the bullying.

I want to take a moment out of the happy posting to be serious. Take of these stories what you will, but hopefully we can all value the importance of being a good person. Everyone had flaws, but choose your words wisely in life. Bullying sucks, just ask someone who's been through 11 straight years of it if you need to.