Ian Bunn | Political & Popular Culture Arts

Diamond the dead one year old Pit Bull pup (January 31st)

Miriam Fowler Smith a 65 year old delusional religious women from South Carolina admitted to killing ‘Diamond’ a one year old Pit Bull pup. Diamond had chewed on Smith’s bible left outside in a porch causing Smith to react. Smith is claiming the dog was a ‘devil dog’, prompting her to strangle the pup with orange electrical cord, and to make sure the job was done proceed to burn the body with an accelerant. Not the normal thing to do of course, but for some reason Smith decided the pup could harm neighborhood children. Smith is liable to face animal cruelty charges unless there is an intervention!

Inspired by Penny Eims at Examiner.com http://ow.ly/3JK5g image source http://ow.ly/3JK9I

Executed for chanting slogans (January 30th)

Jafar Kazemi and Mohammad Ali Hajaghaei, activists from the People’s Mujahedeen of Iran (PMOI), the exiled Iranian opposition have been executed by hanging for their involvement in the anti-government demonstrations and riots in Tehran following the disputed Presidential election of 2009, where President Ahmadinejad was accused of having rigged the election outcome. Iranian authorities claim the two acted under instructions from foreign leaders based out of England. Iranian authorities claimed the two activists referred to as Monafeghins, had distributed photographs and banners of the demonstrations, and had participated in the chanting of favorable slogans in the name of the PMOI. Thousands of demonstrators had been arrested during the course of the riots, along with many beaten, wounded and killed.

Inspired by ABC news http://ow.ly/3Koeo image source http://ow.ly/3KohL

People want the regime to fall (January 29th)

Muhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak the 72 year old President of the Arab Republic of Egypt who assumed the Presidency in 1981 following the assassination of President Anwar El-Sadat, himself surviving six assassination attempts, defended in a televised address his use of security forces to control thousands of Egyptian protestors who had gathered and battled lines of riot police. Mubarak claimed in the address that it was his job was to protect the nation from chaos, however the initially peaceful chanting of the protestors turned violent with the state closure of Facebook and Twitter. These closures were closely followed by the whole of the internet the mobile phone network, and finally the house arrest of Mohamed ElBaradei the opposition figurehead.

Inspired by CNN’s Nic Robertson, Frederik Pleitgen, Salma Abdelaziz http://ow.ly/3MqrC

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Selling oneself that falsely promotes self success (January 28th)

Angelo Bagnasco the 67 year old Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and president of the Italian Bishops’ Conference a known conservative has criticized Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi who stands accused of paying for sex with prostitutes including an under-age dancer. Berlusconi denies having done anything wrong, while refusing to attend before prosecutors to answer questions related to his embroilment in the sex scandal. Bagnasco while not naming Berlusconi directly, stated that whoever accepts a public position must understand the sobriety, personal discipline, sense of measure and honour that come with it. Less formally he deplored the cunningness, social climbing, showing off and selling oneself that falsely promotes self success.

Inspired by Nick Squires at The Telegraph http://ow.ly/3JJri image source http://ow.ly/3JJ91

She looks exactly like my mom (January 27th)

Carlina Renae White the 23 year old woman who was abducted as a 19 day old infant from the Harlem Hospital in New York City has been reunited with her biological parents after solving her own kidnapping case 23 years later. White had been raised as “Nejdra Nance” by Ann Pettway but during her teens grew suspicious that Pettway was not her maternal mother due to a lack of physical resemblance. White’s suspicions continued to grow with the lack of any birth certificate or Social Security card. White during the course of her investigation visited the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s Web site, there she found a photo of an infant that resembled both herself as a child and that of her own child.

Inspired by lifeisreallybeautiful.com  http://ow.ly/3MF7U

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Have one final run left in our bones (January 26th)

Jon Meade Huntsman the 50 year old former GOP Governor of Utah and current United States Ambassador to China might be considering a presidential run in 2012 after his name appeared on lists of potential Republican nominees. When questioned President Obama responded “I couldn’t be happier with the ambassador’s service, and I’m sure he will be very successful in whatever endeavors he chooses in the future. I’m sure that him having worked so well with me will be a great asset in any Republican primary.” Huntsman declined to comment when asked by Newsweek whether he was prepared to rule out a 2012 presidential election bid, the no comment response described by Newsweek as “as close to a hat-in-ring announcement as you’ll get from a sitting member of the incumbent’s administration”.

Inspired by Dan Washburn and Elaine Chow at Shanghaiist http://ow.ly/3IWIH

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When a spokesman needs a spokesman (January 25th)

Andrew Edward “Andy” Coulson the 42 year old former editor of the News of the World and British PM David Cameron’s communications director has been forced to resign from the position following continued media coverage of the illegal phone-hacking that occurred while he was editor of the Murdoch owned News of the World. Despite the conviction and jailing of two of his staff over the illegal phone hacks, and his renowned bullying behavior toward staff, Crown prosecutors determined there was insufficient evidence to charge Coulson over the allegations. Rumors are now spreading of the existence of hundreds of tapes that will give the investigation a renewed intensity particularly as pressure builds for the British government to block Murdoch’s $12 billion bid for TV operator BSkyB.

Inspired by Paola Totaro at SMH http://ow.ly/3JIFL and Mohammed Abbas at Reuters http://ow.ly/3MEz2

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We tend to agree on everything (January 24th)

Lawrence “Larry” Page the 37 year old computer scientist and software developer and co-founder of Google has been appointed the CEO of Google as the existing Eric Schmidt steps down to become executive chairman. Page developed Google along with Sergey Brin from a concept nicknamed ‘Backrub’ being the idea to quantify the number and nature of backlinks (ie citations) that a web page has developed, leading to a PageRank algorithm and the ultimate construction of a search engine far superior to those that existed. Eric Schmidt joined Google as Chairman and CEO as Brin and Page took on joint President roles, an unusual corporate structure but one that appeared to work well for the three. This new shuffle of deck chairs is being hailed as a means of speeding up decision making at the company.

Inspired by David Goldman at CNN http://ow.ly/3IVgW

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I see a strong Israeli signature (January 23rd)

Ralph Langner a German cyber-security researcher has speculated that the Stuxnet computer worm that includes a programmable logic controller targeting industrial equipment with the capability to reprogram and then hide its changes, may have been unwittingly spread to Iranian Nuclear facilities from USB drives belonging to Russian contractors. Iran has confirmed that its nuclear program using Siemens control systems had been damaged by the Stuxnet worm. Israel has been credited with the ability to not only create the Stuxnet worm but also to test it on former Libya’s centrifuges obtained from the USA and installed at its own Dimona nuclear complex in the Negev desert. There appears to be little downside to such an attack from Israel as it is virtually impossible to prove who did it.

Inspired by William Broad, John Markoff and David Sanger of The New York Times http://ow.ly/3MDg5

Image source Nicholas Roberts for The New York Times http://ow.ly/3MDfU

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother (January 22nd)

Amy L. Chua the 48 year old Professor of Law at Yale Law School specializing in the study of international business, ethics and globalization published her third book, a controversial memoir titled “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother”. Chua explains in the book her views on parenting from a Chinese perspective, being of ethnic Chinese descent having parents emigrated to the United States from the Philippines. Controversy over the book developed for the very strict child-rearing regime she claimed was typical of Chinese parents advocating the “superiority” of such an approach, listed a number of very strict rules she enforces on her two daughters. Chua’s husband is Jewish, and the two children are also raised Jewish, which adds another dimension to Chua’s claim of  parenting from a Chinese perspective.

Inspired by Kevin Dolak ABC News http://ow.ly/3MD6L

Image source http://ow.ly/3MD6y

More complex than I originally thought (January 21st)

Steven Paul Jobs the 55 year old co-founder and CEO of Apple, and board member of The Walt Disney Company, renowned for designing, developing, and marketing one of the first commercially successful lines of personal computers in the early 1980s and among the first to see the commercial potential of the mouse-driven graphical user interface, announced that he had been granted a medical leave of absence, stating his decision was made “so he could focus on his health”. Jobs had only returned to work a year and half earlier after having undergone a liver transplant, announcing his leave in a letter to employees. Tim Cook will run day-to-day operations of Apple as he did during the previous leave, while Jobs will continue to be involved in major company strategic.

Inspired by Martin Bryant at The Next Web http://ow.ly/3MCPx

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Living a notoriously lavish lifestyle (January 20th)

Jean-Claude Duvalier the 59 year old former Haitian dictator nicknamed “Baby Doc” overthrown by a popular uprising 24 years ago returns on the 1^st anniversary of the earthquake. Duvalier had made his fortune from drug trade and selling body parts from dead Haitians. Living a notoriously lavish lifestyle while hundreds of thousands of Haitians fled to exile, thousands were tortured or killed, leaving poverty among the remaining worst of any country in the Americas. Duvalier has now been arrested by Haitian police and charged initially with corruption, theft, and misappropriation of funds. Duvalier claims he did not return for the politics, but had returned for the reconstruction of Haiti, a thorn surely for the current president René Préval accused of a fix in the Nation’s recent elections.

Inspired by Jonathan Katz at Associated Press http://ow.ly/3GkQb

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'There's WikiLeaks.' I looked at it and thought (January 19th)

Rudolf Elmer the former Swiss bank employee of  20 years, come whistleblower gave secret documents to WikiLeaks detailing the activities of Julius Bär Bank in the Cayman Islands and alleged tax evasion.  Elmer tells reporters, “As a banker, I have the right to stand up if something is wrong [...] I am against the system. I know how the system works and I know the day-to-day business. I wanted to let society know how this system works because it’s damaging society”. “… a friend of mine told me: ‘There’s WikiLeaks.’ I looked at it and thought: ‘That’s the only hope I have to [let] society know what’s going on.’ Elmer’s last position with the Bank was oversee of the Caribbean operations.

Inspired by Esther Addley of the Guardian http://ow.ly/3Gl0W

Images source http://ow.ly/3Gl2n

Fact that he's a scummy bastard (January 18th)

Mark Kennedy the 41 year old UK Metropolitan Police officer known also as Mark Stone acca Flash, worked as an undercover police officer infiltrating over an eight year period many anarchist and eco-activist movement groups, before being revealed by activists as not merely a police spy but an agent provocateur. During the course of Kennedy’s work undercover for the National Public Intelligence Unit he initiated long-term friendships with his fellow activists including several sexual relationships under false pretenses. As a consequence of Kennedy’s activities, six activists charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated trespass at the Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station had their charges dismissed. Kennedy had a crisis of conscience offering to give vital evidence on their behalf.

Inspired by Jerome Taylor at The Independent http://ow.ly/3Ki3P

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My assassination and I planned ahead (January 17th)

Jared Lee Loughner the 22 year old American charged with the January 8 Tucson shootings that killed six people and left fourteen others injured including Congress woman Gabrielle Giffords, is having his mental stability investigated. His behavioral and personality issues started to surface when he dropped out of High School, keeping to himself and not respond to others, along with alcohol and drug abuse including cannabis, psychedelic mushrooms, LSD and Salvia a natural and legal hallucinogen. Loughner was rejected as unqualified for service by the U.S. Army, and in turn appears to have rejected society including his friends, family and many social mores. Loughner believed in numerous conspiracy theories, and exhibited a longstanding dislike for Gabrielle Giffords, repeatedly derided her as fake.

Inspired by Jo Becker, Serge F. Kovaleski, Michael Luo and Dan Barry of NYTimes http://ow.ly/3KgSc

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Breached the limits of artistic freedom (January 16th)

Marcel Walldorf the 27 year old German artist sculptor created angst with Police command with his silicone sculpture of a lifelike squatting female police officer exhibited at the Academy of Fine Arts in Dresden, Germany.  The work was nominated for a prize of 1000 euro by the Leinemann Foundation for Fine Arts. Walldorf’s work comprises a uniformed young police officer in full riot gear in a squatting position with buttocks exposed. Titled ‘Petra’ on the floor of the gallery below the figure is a gelatin puddle representing the officer having urinated.  Police command, union and government officials have decried the work as insulting, failing to understand the role of art in the examination of society and its taboos.

Inspired by The Local http://ow.ly/3KgpQ

Image source http://ow.ly/3KgmN and http://ow.ly/3Kgof

Hands in every cookie jar in the entire economy (January 15th)

Zine El Abidine Ben Ali the 74 year old President of Tunisian Republic for the past 23 years had been re-elected with enormous majorities at every election, although his authoritarian regime was often criticized internationally for failing to observe international standards of political and human rights. Leaked US diplomatic cables on the WikiLeaks site described his regime as “The Family who have their hands in every cookie jar in the entire economy.”  The WikiLeaks revelations appear to have confirmed to the Tunisians their fears, providing the catalyst for protest the pace of which was fueled by Twitter engagements. Ali resigned the presidency as his grip of power rapidly waned and the army surrounded his Presidential Palace in Tunis. Fearing retribution Ali and close family fled in helicopters for Malta and sanctuary in Saudi Arabia.

Inspired by Martin Varsavsky http://ow.ly/3Iggb and Elizabeth Dickinson http://ow.ly/3IgfW

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They breed tough north of the border (January 14th)

Anna Maria Bligh the 50 year old Premier of the Australian state of Queensland, under enormous pressure resulting from the flood inundation of the state displayed a raw and emotional performance at a flood briefing. Shedding tears as a media conference Bligh called on the Queensland residents to stay strong in the face of the flood devastation, reminding them of who they are “We’re the people that they breed tough, north of the border. We’re the ones that they knock down, and we get up again.” Bligh has herself been praised for her tireless work during the natural disaster that struck her state, and for her honesty, compassion and leadership. Bligh is renown for her straight talking without the usual spin that generally accompanies politician speak.

Inspired by Paul Osbourne at Ninemsn http://ow.ly/3IfPf

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One so fraught with pain in Jewish history (January 13th)

Sarah Louise Palin the 46 year old former Governor of Alaska and former vice-presidential nominee of the Republican Party and potential 2012 presidential nominee, has become the centre of attention in the aftermath of the Tucson shootings involving a political opponent Gabrielle Giffords. Palin used ‘crosshairs’ on a campaign poster during recent political campaigning to target Giffords district, with accusations now being made that she may have unwittingly inspired the shooter. Palin retaliated to the accusations describing them as a ‘blood libel’, a term referencing the persecution of European Jews through superstition that Jews needed the heathen blood for ritual sacrifices. Palin’s use of this term has resulted in even greater outrage.

Inspired by John Berman at ABC news http://ow.ly/3Ie8y and Ishaan Tharoor http://ow.ly/3Ie90

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Aftershocks of the blast six years later (January 12th)

Saad-eddine Rafiq Al-Hariri the 39 year old Prime Minister of Lebanon and the second son of Rafic Hariri the former Lebanese Prime Minister who was assassinated in 2005, has had his fragile coalition unity government fall as a direct consequence of the investigation conducted into his father’s assassination. A dispute had developed within the government partners as to how to respond to the imminent release of a U.N. tribunal’s indictments resulting for those accused of his father’s murder. The Shi’ite Hizballah partner announced the resignations of eleven ministers, comprising more than a third of the government cabinet precipitating the dissolution of the government plunging the polarized country back into uncertainty.

Inspired by Jill Dougherty and Nada Husseini at CNN http://ow.ly/3Id5I

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Calls himself a tinkerer of sorts (January 11th)

Alexander Macgillivray the cyber law expert headed up the Twitter legal challenge to the US Government’s attempts to maintain secrecy over their subpoena for WikiLeaks related material.  Unlike many other tech companies who merely comply with the US bully tactics, Twitter resisted the secrecy and fought to have the status of the subpoenas revealed in order to advise their user clients of the USDoj request for their personal information which includes all mailing addresses, billing information, connection records, session times, all IP addresses used to access Twitter, all known email accounts, as well as the ‘means and source of payment,’ including banking records and credit cards. Macgillivray recruited from Google, oversees the 25 strong Twitter legal team.

Inspired by Shane Richmond at Telegraph http://ow.ly/3IcL9 and Liza Boyd at FastCompany http://ow.ly/3IcMb

Image source http://ow.ly/3IbR3

This shows how nervous the U.S. government is (January 10th)

Birgitta Jónsdóttir the 43 year old artist activist and member of the Icelandic parliament, campaigning for democratic reform beyond party politics, has acted as a spokesperson for various groups that included Wikileaks and the Icelandic Modern Media Initiative. Her work for Wikileaks included an important role in the making of the Collateral Murder video. Jónsdóttir has announced that she had been notified by Twitter that it had been served by the United States Department of Justice with a subpoena demanding information about tweets and account details (including financial) on a significant number of twitter users for the period November 2009 to present. The motive for the subpoena appears to be directed at establishing an extradition case against Julian Assange.

Inspired by Talia Kayali and Moni Basu of CNN http://ow.ly/3Ibzw

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An attack on one is an attack on all (January 9th)

Gabrielle Dee “Gabby” Giffords a 40 year old a Jewish American Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives, was one of twenty victims of a shooting incident at a suburban Safeway supermarket of Tucson, Arizona. Six of the victims were killed in the shooting, including a federal judge and a 9-year-old girl, with Gifford in a critical condition from a single gunshot wound to the head taken for emergency surgery. Gifford is considered a “Blue Dog” Democrat and is partner to astronaut Mark E. Kelly an active duty member of the U.S. military. The gunman Jared Lee Loughner was overpowered at the scene and is in custody. Surgeons treating Gifford are optimistic about her chances of recovery.

Inspired by Jessica Yellin, Susan Candiotti, Jeanne Meserve, Dana Bash and Nick Valencia at CNN http://ow.ly/3EB1O

Image source http://ow.ly/3EB0W

Close ties to big banks and big business (January 8th)

William Michael Daley the 52 year old American lawyer and business executive has been announced by President Barack Obama that he would become White House Chief of Staff to succeed Rahm Emanuel. Daley previously had served as Secretary of Commerce in the second administration of President Bill Clinton, and named to the advisory board of the Obama-Biden Transition Project. Regarded as a Democratic centrist, Daley is perceived to bring a business acumen to the White House, providing Obama with advice on economic matters for which he has faced strong criticisms as being anti business. His appointment is bringing criticism from progressives who are skeptical of Daley’s finance business background, and his urgings for the administration to move toward the political center.

Inspired by Ben Feller at Associated Press http://ow.ly/3EANg

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Achieved 21% vote as favorite of the year (January 7th)

Stephen John Fry the 53 year old comedian actor and writer, remembered for his early role as Melchett in the BBC television series Blackadder and a breath taking continuity of entertainment work has taken out the inaugural YouGov Award 2010 Best TV Personality. Described by YouGov as an “all-round clever man”, Fry nudged out other nominees including Michael McIntyre, to achieve a 21% vote as the favorite TV personality of the year. Fry carry’s significant influence on the social networking site Twitter with an excess of two million followers, driving traffic to his web site in such volumes that occasionally is sufficient to crash the site. Fry is known to use his influence to support various causes and highlight contemporary issues.

Inspired by Dan Wakerley http://ow.ly/3EAhP

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The real perpetrator goes free (January 6th)

Cornelius Dupree Jr a 51 year old American convicted in 1980 of aggravated robbery which involved the rape of a 26 year old victim, has been declared innocent after serving 30 years of a 75 year sentence in a Texas prison. DNA evidence exonerated Dupree clearing him of any involvement in the original crime despite three appeals being denied by the Court of Criminal Appeals. Over the past decade Dallas more than any other county jurisdiction in the United States, has had over 20 convictions overturned on DNA evidence. Dupree spent more time in prison in the state than any other inmate exonerated by DNA evidence, although now being entitled to a lump sum $2.4 million compensation plus a lifetime annuity offers little comfort for the lifetime lost.

Inspired by Mallory Simon of CNN http://ow.ly/3EzSV

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He did blasphemy of the Prophet Mohammed (January 5th)

Salmaan Taseer the governor of the province of Punjab Pakistan and member of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) was assassinated by his own security guard near his home in Islamabad as he was returning from a lunch meeting with a friend at the Kohsar Market a popular cafe spot for the city’s elite. The guard Malik Mumtaz Qadri apparently disagreed with Taseer’s opposition to Pakistan’s blasphemy law, shooting him 26 times with an AK-47 to his chest, neck, face and legs. The blasphemy law imposes a death penalty for insulting Islam, the Quran or the Prophet Mohammed. Taseer who was born to an Englishwoman and into an affluent family of intellectuals, was also the chairman of the national Worldcall Group a major private sector telecom operator.

Inspired by Chris Lawrence and Josh Levs of CNN http://ow.ly/3EyiQ

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Inadvertently took the picture of the killer (January 4th)

Reynaldo Dagsa a Filipino politician and member of the Barangay Peacekeeping Action Team, was killed by a gunshot wound to the head in a New Year’s Day shooting assassination while Dagas was taking a photograph of his family outside of his family home.  In the photograph Dagas took moments before the shooting, he inadvertently captured in the frame of the image the faces of his two assassins behind the victim’s smiling family, including the actual shooter braced against a motor vehicle aiming his weapon seconds before the shot being fired. The two assassins were indentified from the photograph after the image was published in a front page piece of a major newspaper.

Inspired by ABC news http://ow.ly/3EzR

Image source http://ow.ly/3EzRv and http://ow.ly/3EzRL

Self-realized artist and renaissance woman (January 3rd)

Jake Beckman an acrylic painter of magical realism and representational abstracts describes herself as a self-realized artist and Renaissance woman. Beckman while renowned for her scratching, scribbling and coloring utilizes a range of other media from sculpture to digital art. While the canvas is where the painterly effects happen, she has a conceived notion from a prolonged process of thought, knowing how the finished painting is going to appear long before the brush touches the canvas. Once Beckman’s thought processes reach this stage through sketching and digital manipulation she comes to action, rapidly applying her preferred medium of fast drying acrylic paints, allowing her to apply multiple layer effects in short bursts.

Inspired by Jake Beckman http://ow.ly/3xhdb

The launch represents a serious leap of faith (January 2nd)

Guy Adams the Los Angeles correspondent for the Independent reckons Oprah is taking a gamble in her exchange of the successful chat show for an entire TV cable channel. Winfrey launched at a cost of $400m a dedicated network to her OWN brand, the Oprah Winfrey Network. The TV station went to air with a grand opening from Oprah in what Adams describes as the most important channel launch for a generation, highlighting that never before has a single celebrity in her own image attempted to brand an entire network. It self a tribute to the astonishing success that a TV host has been able to fund the start up costs necessary. Adams defines Oprah’s brands as a mixture of consumerism, with advice on self help and how to “live your best life”.

Dissecting my tweets with Talmudic meticulousness (January 1st)

Jacob Paul “Jake” Tapper the 41 year old American print and television journalist is currently the senior White House correspondent for ABC News in Washington, having been appointed to the position in 2008 the day after Barack Obama’s presidential election. Tapper had covered the then-senator’s campaign and during the course of 2010 was the interim anchor of ABC’s This Week. Tapper has revealed himself at a more personal note on his twitter profile, however cautions followers that “Dissecting my tweets with Talmudic meticulousness will result in wrong conclusions. RTs do not = endorsement”. Tapper continues to sub on This Week Sunday announcing interviews pending with George Clooney and John Prendergast about their new high tech Sudan Sentinel satellite project, and the roundtable with George Will, Donna Brazile, Amy Walter and Major Garrett.