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Must-see morning clip: Colbert recaps Obama’s State of the Union Address

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 14:30:00 +0000

In case you missed it, Stephen Colbert summarized President Obama's State of the Union Address on last night's "Colbert Report" as such: emphasis on middle class, big government, and minimum wage without a "maximum wage".

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Anonymous’ SOTU threat comes to nothing

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 13:50:00 +0000

As Salon noted Tuesday, in a communiqué decrying the President Obama's civil liberties record, Anonymous had threatened to disrupt the online feeds broadcasting the State of the Union address. However, the White House livestreams worked without a hitch for the entirety of Obama's Tuesday night speech.

No statements have been issued as of yet about the failed #OpSOTU, but a number of comments on Twitter asked whether Anons who would have otherwise contributed to the operation were distracted watching live footage of ex-LAPD cop Christopher Dorner's last stand in Big Bear while the president delivered his address.

Anonymous had vowed to block the webcast in protest of Obama's signing of the NDAA, his drone program, the proliferation of government warrantless wiretapping, the treatment of Bradley Manning and the introduction of cyber-security legislation in the House, which the hacker collective said would turn "private companies into government informants."

NATO airstrike kills 9 civilians in Afghanistan

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 12:43:00 +0000

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- A NATO airstrike struck two houses, killing as many as nine Afghan civilians and four insurgents in an eastern province near the Pakistani border, officials said Wednesday.

The attack occurred about 10 p.m. Tuesday during a joint NATO-Afghan operation in the Shigal district of Kunar province, a lawmaker from the area said. The U.S.-led military alliance in Kabul said it was looking into the reports.

Wagma Sapay, a member of parliament from Kunar, said the civilians killed were in one house while four senior Taliban leaders were slain as they were gathering next door in the village of Sharpool in the Chawkam area.

She said the civilians killed included five children and four women. Police confirmed the death toll as nine but did not provide other details.

Provincial Gov. Sayed Fazelullah Wahidi said the local government had not been informed about plans for the strike. He put the death toll at eight - four women and four children. The conflicting casualty numbers couldn't immediately be reconciled.

"This operation was by coalition and Afghan forces," he said. "We were not aware of it."

The killing of civilians at the hands of U.S. and other foreign forces has been one of the most contentious issues in the 11-year war.

Anonymous threatens “virtual blockade” of SOTU

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 17:33:00 +0000

Anonymous has made a grand claim ahead of Tuesday night's State of the Union address. In a communiqué posted on AnonRelations.net and spread through Anonymous' social media channels, the hacker collective announced it "will form a virtual blockade between Capitol Hill and the Internet" such that "there will be no State of the Union Address on the web tonight."

What exactly Anonymous has in store for this evening is not detailed in the communiqué, nor is it clear whether hackers could indeed disrupt the feeds screening President Obama's speech online. However, the communiqué took the opportunity to decry the president for some of the worst civil liberties and privacy abuses perpetuated by his administration and to renew the hackers' tribute to the late Aaron Swartz.

The message reads: