Daily Archives: July 23, 2012

The inner madness of America

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“Every country has, along with its core civilities and traditions, some kind of inner madness, a belief so irrational that even death and destruction cannot alter it. In Europe not long ago it was the belief that “honor” of the nation was so important that any insult to it had to be avenged by millions of lives. In America, it has been, for so long now, the belief that guns designed to kill people indifferently and in great numbers can be widely available and not have it end with people being killed, indifferently and in great numbers. The argument has gotten dully repetitive: How does one argue with someone convinced that the routine massacre of our children is the price we must pay for our freedom to have guns, or rather to have guns that make us feel free?” — Adam Gopnik : The New Yorker

via: silas216

Video: first court appearance for James Holmes

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The Denver Post: The man accused of committing one of the worst mass murders in U.S. history sat quietly beside his defense attorney in court this morning, his hair dyed a reddish orange, his face changing from blank stare to wide-eyed and dazed.


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He’s scheduled back in court next Monday on 7/30/12.

Update: msnbc: “The Colorado prosecutor says it will likely be a year before James Holmes would stand trial.”

Like Mitt Romney, the world’s super rich are hiding at least $21 trillion offshore

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CBS News: “With about 55,000 inhabitants, the Cayman Islands should not be a well-known name in the rest of the world, but the tiny Caribbean territory has become famous as a tax haven for the world’s super rich. According to a new report, the Caymans – along with the other dozen or so international havens for wealth like Switzerland and Bermuda – are the holders of so much of the world’s capital, entire regional economies could be moved on it. The Tax Justice Network has just released a report estimating that the world’s tax havens house anywhere from $21 trillion to $32 trillion of money that governments cannot tax.” 

It has been revealed that Mitt Romney keeps part of his fortune in all three tax havens mentioned above: the Caymans, Switzerland, and Bermuda. And he wants to be president.

James Holmes will face his first court appearance this morning

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The Denver Post: “James Eagan Holmes, the 24-year-old suspect in the Aurora movie theater massacre, is scheduled to appear at 9:30 a.m. [MT] before an Arapahoe County judge. The purpose of the hearing, known as an advisement, is to tell Holmes about the murder charges on which he is currently being held. A formal filing of charges by the district attorney’s office will come later. Prosecutors could add to or change his charges in between. Advisement hearings are typically short — perhaps only a few minutes — and may not even require the suspect to speak. Nonetheless, the hearing will allow the public its first look at Holmes since the early Friday shootings and may provide new insight into how lawyers on both sides intend to approach his case.”

CSMonitor: “As the suspected gunman in the Colorado theater massacre heads to his first court appearance, authorities have disclosed that he is refusing to cooperate and that it could take months to learn what prompted the horrific attack on midnight moviegoers at a Batman film premiere. [...] Holmes has been assigned a public defender and Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates said that the 24-year-old former doctoral student has “lawyered up” since his arrest early Friday, following the shooting at an Aurora theater that left 12 dead and 58 wounded, some critically.”He’s not talking to us,” the chief said.”

Chicago Tribune: “Arapahoe County District Attorney Carol Chambers will decide whether to seek the death penalty for Holmes. She has prosecuted two of the three inmates on Colorado’s death row. Chambers may not announce her plan at the hearing.”

Imagine the outrage if Obama had destroyed government records like Mitt Romney did

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People with nothing to hide don’t destroy emails and remove hard drives from government computers. Secrecy and hidden dirt is becoming Mitt Romney’s theme song.

Flashback from November 2011 — Romney admits he destroyed government records:

Think Progress: “…a Boston Globe investigation uncovered that former Gov. Mitt Romney’s administration destroyed emails, purchased hard drives, and otherwise obliterated all digital records of his time as governor of Massachusetts. This happened as Romney was leaving the state to campaign for president (the first time), and observers immediately speculated that the systematic destruction was politically motivated to hide embarrassing data. Romney and his campaign have so far denied this, with the candidate saying this weekend in New Hampshire that his staff took the highly unusual step of purchasing their work hard drives because they might contain “confidential and private” information. Meanwhile, he’s made calls for greater White House transparency a part of his campaign message. [In an interview on Nov. 21, 2011] Romney suggested that his administration deleted emails because they didn’t want “opposition research teams” to have access to them.” 

The flying monkeys would have been unleashed permanently if Obama had done something like this.

via: questionall 

Twelve souls

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Source guardian:

  1. Matt McQuinn was shot dead after he dived in front of his girlfriend, Samantha Yowler, and her older brother to shield them from the gunfire Photograph: AP
  2. Micayla Medek lived in the Denver suburb of Westminster, Colorado, and attended Aurora Community College Photograph: AP
  3. Veronica Moser-Sullivan, six, the youngest of the victims. Her mother, Ashley Moser, remains hospitalised with gunshot wounds to her neck and abdomen Photograph: -
  4. Alex Sullivan was at The Dark Knight Rises premiere celebrating his 27th birthday and his first wedding anniversary Photograph: AP
  5. Alexander C Teves, 24, of Phoenix, earned a master’s degree in counselling psychology from the University of Denver in June Photograph: -
  6. Rebecca Ann Wingo had started a job several months ago as a customer relations representative at a mobile medical imaging company Photograph: Facebook

See our full tribute to the victims of the Aurora shooting in our gallery here.

  1. Jonathan Blunk had high hopes for the future, with plans to re-enlist in the Navy and the goal of becoming a Navy Seal. The 26-year-old served three tours in the Persian Gulf and North Arabian Sea between 2004 and 2009 Photograph: AP
  2. Alexander J Boik, known as AJ, recently graduated from high school and was to start classes at Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design Photograph: AP
  3. Jesse Childress was an US air force cyber-systems operator based at Buckley air force base in Aurora Photograph: AP
  4. Gordon Cowden had gone to the midnight movie premiere with his two teenage children. At 51, he was the oldest of the victims killed in the shooting Photograph: AP
  5. Jessica Ghawi was pursuing a career in sports journalism. She had previously survived a shooting at a Toronto mall Photograph: AP
  6. John Larimer, 27, was a US navy sailor based at Buckley air force base, where he was a cryptologic technician Photograph: AP

See our full tribute to the victims of the Aurora shooting in our gallery here.

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producermatthew: ”Speaking at a memorial on Sunday, President Obama demonstrates with his right hand how a 21-year-old woman saved the life of her 19-year-old friend by applying pressure to a gunshot wound during the Aurora, Colorado mass shooting. [KMGH]“