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Changing the old system.

Shirley MacLaine Regaled 'Downton Abbey' Cast With Tales Of UFO Encounters

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BlackBook - Jessica Wakeman, 9/9/12

Couched in another otherwise lovely article about Dame Maggie Smith's illustrious career on the London stage is a little gem about her new Downton Abbey co-star, Shirley MacLaine and how she regaled the cast with tales of UFO encounters.

Canada's The Star newspaper sat down with Smith prior to her appearance at the Toronto International Film Festival and of course they got around to discussing Downton. MacLaine has joined the cast in the upcoming season as Cora's mother visiting from America, who'll spar with Smith's character, the Dowager Countess, for the role of family matriarch. The reporter asked Smith how she and MacLaine got on:

California equates Israel criticism with anti-Semitism

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Press TV - 9/2/12

California State Assembly
 

A new resolution passed by the California State Assembly attempts to limit criticism of Israeli policy on college campuses by equating it with anti-Semitic hate speech.

The law urges “California colleges and universities to squelch nascent anti-Semitism” and“encourages university leaders to combat a wide array of anti-Jewish and anti-Israel actions”, according to the Associated Press.

More: PressTV.ir.

Hungarian prime minister uses Facebook page to ‘unfriend’ IMF, rejects alleged loan conditions

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Yahoo! News - AP, 9/6/12

BUDAPEST, Hungary — Hungary’s prime minister has long had a testy relationship with the International Monetary Fund — and on Thursday he used Facebook to unfriend the agency and reject its allegedly tough loan conditions.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in a video message on his official Facebook page that Hungary could not accept pension cuts, the elimination of a bank tax, fewer public employees and other conditions in exchange for an IMF loan that other officials have said could be about €15 billion ($18.9 billion).

More: news.yahoo.com.

Why Do Schizophrenics Hear Voices?

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Real Clear Science - Ross Pomeroy, 8/30/12

In a way, you're never alone. Your inner consciousness is always there to keep you company. That voice inside your head is reliably available for conversation. These intensely personal and comforting self-to-self dialogues are splayed across the humdrum of a typical day. "I think I'll wear the blue polo to my date tonight." "Enchiladas: that's what I want for lunch." "Oh my gosh, cute kittens!"

But what if there was a foreign voice inside your head? An entity over which you could exact no control. Wouldn't that be the worst invasion of privacy imaginable? Wouldn't that be disturbing?

More: realclearscience.com.

Brussels announces new law to fine offensive language

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The Telegraph - 9/4/12

The people of Brussels will have to mind their manners from now on, with the city authorities announcing new fines of up to 250 euros (£200) for insults traded on the streets.

Brussels announces new law to fine offensive language

The issue was highlighted in a recent film by Belgian director Sofie Peeters Photo: Alamy

"Any form of insult is from now on punishable, whether it be racist, homophobic or otherwise," a spokesman quoted Socialist mayor Freddy Thielemans as saying.

Brussels, home to the EU and many top international institutions, is known for its family-friendly and cultivated lifestyle but the mayor wants to crack down on the everyday unpleasantness found in any big city.

Pakistani Christian girl charged with blasphemy gets rare bail release

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Seattle Times

By Saeed Shah, McClatchy Newspapers - 9/7/12

The Christian girl's plight has drawn new attention to Pakistan's blasphemy laws, which critics claim are used to persecute minorities and settle personal vendettas.

NATHALIE BARDOU / AP

The plight of Pakistan's Christian minority has received renewed focus in recent weeks because of the arrest of a young, mentally challenged girl accused of insulting Islam.

ISLAMABAD — A Pakistani court ordered the release on bail Friday of a mentally disabled Christian girl who had been jailed on blasphemy charges, a decision that didn't end the threat the girl faces for allegedly burning pages of the Quran.

Debbie Wasserman Schultz Downplays Discord Over Democratic Platform Amendments (VIDEO)

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GFP Note: This is a video of the vote discussed in the article -

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Huff Post - Nick Wing, 9/5/12

Debbie Wasserman Schultz

Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz attempted on Wednesday to beat back the controversy arising from a late and seemingly divisive change to the party platform.

Chicago teachers, school officials resuming talks to avert strike

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Reuters - By Mary Wisniewski, CHICAGO | 9/9/12

Thousands of Chicago Public School teachers rally before marching to the Board of Education's headquarters in Chicago, May 23, 2012. REUTERS/John Gress

Thousands of Chicago Public School teachers rally before marching to the Board of Education's headquarters in Chicago, May 23, 2012. Credit: Reuters/John Gress

(Reuters) - Negotiations between the Chicago Teachers Union and the nation's third-largest school district were going down to the wire on Sunday, as teachers threaten to strike on Monday over Mayor Rahm Emanuel's demand for sweeping school reforms.

FBI begins installation of $1 billion face recognition system across America

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RT.com - 9/8/12

Birthmarks, be damned: the FBI has officially started rolling out a state-of-the-art face recognition project that will assist in their effort to accumulate and archive information about each and every American at a cost of a billion dollars.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has reached a milestone in the development of their Next Generation Identification (NGI) program and is now implementing the intelligence database in unidentified locales across the country, New Scientist reports in an article this week. The FBI first outlined the project back in 2005, explaining to the Justice Department in an August 2006 document (.pdf) that their new system will eventually serve as an upgrade to the current Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) that keeps track of citizens with criminal records across America .

More: RT.com

Photographers in Los Angeles considered terrorists under official LAPD policy

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RT - 9/7/12

AFP Photo/Alberto Pizzoli

The next time a tourist snaps a picture of the famous Hollywood sign, their photo won’t be the only item added to the annals. The LAPD considers photography a suspicious activity, and trying to take certain shots may add a page to your personal file.

A memo released last month by Police Chief Charlie Bucks re-categorizes certain behaviors — including photo shoots in public spots — to constitute suspicious activity, which is enough to have cops file a report, open an investigation and forward any further information about a suspect to the federal authorities — all over just an itchy shutter finger.

More: RT.com.

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