Category Archives: FYI

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UN General Assembly Opens in New York

The UN General Assembly opened today in New York. The annual gathering of world leaders will see 116 heads of state and government leaders meeting in New York. This year discussions will be dominated by the civil war raging in Syria as well as the heightened tensions between Israel and Iran. Also on the agenda is the continued economic crisis in Europe.

On Tuesday President Obama will address the assembly as well as the Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, and French President Francois Hollande. Wednesday will see the controversial Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in past years his speeches have seen mass walk outs of delegates, appalled by his hate-filled rhetoric. On Thursday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will both be speaking. Last year the issue of Palestinian statehood was on the agenda, however it is believed this year the matter will be sidelined.

The gathering ends on Monday October 1st. The week will allow meetings of different delegates to discuss in detail the Middle East issues as well as the economic problems facing the world.

NY Newsmagazine on gay, lesbian issues shutting down

New York, NY.  “In The Life”, a public television news magazine that focuses on issues regarding LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) content will be closing this December.

“In The Life” claims that they are the only national television program focusing on the “gay experience”.  They have been nominated for an Emmy (twice), a Webby, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Ribbon of Hope, the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association 2011 Excellence in HIV/AIDS Coverage, the 2006 Seigenthaler Award for excellence in network television and a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding TV Journalism-Newsmagazine.

According to the interim director Ellen Carton, funding is partly to blame for the closing down of the network.

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Debt crisis: Spain ‘will need extra bail-out’ – Telegraph

It is thought Spain’s banking sector will require another bailout of more than more than €100bn.

Spanish banks face a record number of bad debts with 1 in 10 loans in arrears.

Spain already received €100bn in June to recapitalise it’s banks, but at the time many economists warned the amount was not sufficient and it would only be a matter of time before Spain required more cash.

The political mood in Spain is also deteriorating with the Catalonian region threatening to break away from the rest of Spain because of the financial crisis and the austerity measures.

via Debt crisis: Spain ‘will need extra bail-out’ – Telegraph.

Iran Warns Israel: “We will Destroy you”.

Iran have sent a chilling message to Israel warning them not to strike, or they will destroy Israel. The chief of Iran’s Revolutionary Gaurd, General Mohamed Ali Jafari, has publically acknowledged for the first time that war with Israel is highly likely but warned that a was would see the nation of Israel destroyed. General Jafari said at a military exhibition in Tehran, “The shameful and cancerous tumour that is Israel is seeking war against us, but it is not known when that war will happen. They now consider war as the only way to confront us, but they are so stupid that their (US) masters should stop them,”

“If they begin, it will spell their destruction and will be the end of the story, even if they act rationally, this incident will happen,” he added, noting that the Islamic revolution is “moving rapidly towards its goals and they (Israel) cannot tolerate this.”

Jalfari also warned that any military action between the two countries would be “very different” to any previous conflicts.

Jalfari’s warnings came after the US Senate passed a measure endorsing their continued diplomatic and economic pressure on Iran to halt it’s nuclear program. However, these measures do not go far enough for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Israeli PM is continuing to push Washington to define its criteria for a US-led military strike against Iran.

New Low in U.S. Trust of Main Stream Media

The trust in the media to report news “fully, accurately, and fairly” hit a new low this year.

According to Gallup, 60% say they have little to no trust in the mass media.

Excerpts from this study reveal that Republicans are identified as trusting the media the least while Democrats the most and Independents’ trust in the media has seen a dramatic downward trend from 2008.

Source article @ Gallup.com

Luc Besson unveils Cinema City production studio in Paris – FRANCE – CINEMA – FRANCE 24

Luc Besson unveils Cinema City production studio in Paris – FRANCE – CINEMA – FRANCE 24.

French film maker Luc Bessson has realised his dream of building a Hollywood style studio complex on the outskirts of Paris.

Cinema City will provide costume and model building; as well as production and post production facilities.

“France has Europe’s biggest film industry and yet until now it was the only European country without the infrastructure to produce a film,” said Christophe Lambert, general director of Besson’s production firm EuropaCorp.

Cinema City is being called “Hollywood on Seine”.

The project as cost 170 million euros and will need to major productions a year to cover operational costs. EuropaCorp believes the facility will be fully booked within the year, with European and America producers eager to use the studios.

French Satirical Magazine Charlie Hebdo Prints Prophet Mohammed Cartoons

The French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo has printed cartoons of the prophet Mohammed naked in it’s latest addition. The magazine has a history of using satire to poke fun at organized religion. Last year the magazine was attacked by a fire bomb after it ran cartoons depicting Mohammed. This latest publication has been condemned by the French government, and has led to riot police being deployed to protect the magazines Paris headquarters. France has also shut it’s embassies, and schools in Islamic countries, in fear of a backlash

Charlie Hebdo has responded to the criticism by saying they were not attacking Islam, by commenting on the protests against America as a result of the anti-Islam, “Innocence of Muslims”.

Mysterious rabbit deaths in south St. Louis

Boggling the minds of locals and officials from St. Louis Missouri is a widespread case of rabbit deaths.

The subdivision normally has been loaded with a full population of healthy rabbits.  Now rabbit carcasses are being found without any noticeable injury.  Theses rabbits appear to be all gone.

A local resident Joe Dobbs stated… “I’ve lived here about sixteen years… Never seen anything like this. Usually see rabbits all over the neighborhood and now, for some reason, they’re just showing up dead.”

Coincidentally, this event was performed in the vicinity around the same time.

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San Francisco’s Folsom Street Fair Moved to different weekend.

From 200,000 to 400,000 people are expected to attend this years San Francisco Folsom Street Fair.

Usually the fair takes place the last weekend of September but was bumped up a weekend as a local large corporate tech company Oracle, had already reserved the majority of the city’s hotel rooms for a convention.

The fair has been described by some as an adult oriented leather and fetish free for all. Deviant is another term used to describe the fair. Indeed, the name of the group in the latter hours of the ‘celebration’ who will wind the festival down, is called DEVIANT.

The location of the event is situated around 13 blocks. On Folsom, between 7th and 12th street.

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Warning, Graphic Promotional Folsom Street Video taken from Youtube of this previous public event.

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Berkeley California, Lawmakers Support Bisexual Pride Day

Yesterday, Berkeley California appeared to become the first city in the nation to officially proclaim a day that recognizes individuals claiming bisexuality.

The city council voted unanimously and without any discussion that September 23 of every year will be Bisexual Pride and Bi Visibility Day.

The resolution was introduced by councilman Kriss Worthington saying “… they deserve our support and acceptance,”

Former Berkeley zoning chairwoman Nancy Carleton, indicated that officially recognizing bisexuals is important, “The more we can learn about each other, the more tolerance grows,”.

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Could Iran be 6 Months Away from Having a Nuke?

Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, believes that Iran is only 6-7 months away from having a nuclear bomb. Tensions are continuing to intensify, as the liklihood of an Israeli strike against Iran increases. Many believe Nethanyahu will strike before the November US Presidential elections. Israel’s fear is that if Obama was to win a second term he would not stand by his promises to help Israel after the election, however a strike before November would force his hand.

Also it has emerged that Iran’s newest nuclear facility has been struck by “saboteurs”, according to reports from Fereydoun Abbasi, the head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organisation. Abbasi disclosed that power lines into the facility had been blown up. The nuclear facility is deep under ground, near the city of Qom.

Colorado man faces arson charges after attempting to exorcise demons out of apartment building

Colorado Springs, Colorado.  A man attempting to exorcise his apartment building of demons by setting it on fire, has been arrested by local police.

Jerad Cronin has been charged with arson.  Upon police arrival Cronin jumped through a glass window after threatening them with a shovel.

Cronin indicated that he had used cardboard to start the fire in the building so that he could chase the demons away.

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