2012 Presidential Election

At least 4 people were killed and more than a dozen injured in an explosion at a crowded market in Nigeria’s capital Abuja late on Friday, the police said

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Blast kills at least 4 in Nigerian capital

(John) I wrote here about the real war on Christmas, and Christians, around the world. A postscript, comic and chilling at the same time, comes from the Maldives: “Restaurant apologises after police called over ‘festive’ Christmas menu.” Management at the Jade Bistro cafe on Boduthakurufaanu Magu have apologised to any Maldivians that may have been offended by a “festive” lunch promotion offered over the Christmas period that has since attracted protests and the attention of police in the capital. The offer was criticised as a Christmas celebration by religious groups like the Adhaalath Party and the Islamic Foundation of the Maldives (IFM), which have both praised local police for yesterday stopping the promotion at the café. … ”The place was decorated for Christmas with items related to the celebration, police arrested one person from the cafe to clarify more information about the case. They were also released last night,” said Shiyam…. [T]he leader of Adhaalath Party, Sheikh Hussein Rasheed, said that celebrating Christmas was unlawful and that it was a responsibility of the police to stop those events. … IFM President Ibrahim Fauzy added that it was prohibited in Islam to allow non-Muslims celebrate their holidays in places where Muslims live . ”It is unconstitutional and prohibited by many laws at the same time,” said Fauzy. A group of protesters also gathered near the café last night to express disapproval for celebrating Christmas. (Via the Volokh Conspiracy .) At least the owners of the cafe are still alive. In Iraq, Christians are often not so lucky. Last night there was a coordinated series of attacks on Christian homes in Baghdad: The latest bloody attack on Iraq’s Christians was brutal in its simplicity. Militants left a bomb on the doorstep of the home of an elderly Christian couple and rang the doorbell. When Fawzi Rahim, 76, and his 78-year-old wife Janet Mekha answered the doorbell Thursday night, the bomb exploded, killing them…. The bombing was among a string of seemingly coordinated attacks Thursday evening that targeted at least seven Christian homes in various parts of Baghdad that wounded at least 13 other people, a week after al-Qaida-linked militants renewed their threats to attack Iraq’s Christians. … In the other attacks Thursday night, four bombings targeting Christians wounded six people. A stun grenade landed inside a Christian house in the Dora district in southern Baghdad, injuring three others, and a rocket hit a Christian home in downtown Baghdad, wounding one person. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but such attacks have generally been the work of Sunni militants linked to al-Qaida. Deputy interior minister, Maj. Gen. Ahmed Abu Ragif, blamed Thursday’s attacks on “terrorists who expressed hatred of Iraq in general and of the Christians in particular,” Ragif said. The assailants’ aim was to “prevent our Christian brothers to celebrate the New Year,” he added. You could say the world’s reaction to the war on Christians is ho-hum, if there were any reaction at all. UPDATE: In Alexandria, at least five Christians were killed by a bomb, presumably placed by Muslims, as they emerged from a New Year’s mass. FURTHER UPDATE: The death toll in Alexandria is now up to at least 21 , with 80 injured.

Link:
The Real War On Christmas, Part II

JESSE J. HOLLAND Associated Press WASHINGTON The Supreme Court will join Congress and the president next year in cutting costs to reduce the federal deficit, Chief Justice…

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Supreme Court to cut costs to fight deficit

Be safe out there, see you in ‘11.

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Open Thread: Last Day of 2010

Reuters – With the economy showing signs of life but millions of Americans still out of work, some newly elected or re-elected governors are keeping their inaugural parties simple, ranging from blue jeans to barbecue.

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Some governors plan toned-down inaugural affairs
(Reuters)

AP – Never mind the lackluster economy, the huge trade deficit or the government’s piles of debt: The U.S. dollar is still expected to outperform most of the world’s major currencies next year.

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US dollar seen rising in 2011 after rough 2010
(AP)

(Chandler, Arizona) Two months ago, Susan Brock, 48, was arrested for engaging in a years-long sexual relationship with a boy and now her daughter, Rachel Katherine Brock, 21, has been arrested for doing the same things as mom for about the same period of time. Both are being held without bond.

Revenge. This guy is enough of an Internet phenomenon that I assume I don’t have to introduce him. Longtime HA readers, at least, are already familiar with his reviews of “The Phantom Menace” and “Attack of the Clones,” so you should know by now that you’re in for something special here. I sat down thinking I’d View the video

AP – In better days, newly elected governors were welcomed into office with star-studded galas, serenades by rock bands, even an NFL stadium transformed into a winter wonderland. But with many now facing multibillion-dollar deficits and high unemployment, states’ top bosses are toning it down. Way down.

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US governors ditching glitzy inaugural events
(AP)

ABC Australia: Geraldine Doyle died Sunday, said a spokesman for the Hospice House of Mid Michigan. She was 86. Ms Doyle did not realise she had a famous face until she was flipping through a magazine in 1982 and spotted a reproduction of the poster, her daughter told The New York Times.

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RIP Geraldine Doyle