Welcome! "What's Happenin'?" is a casual community diary (a daily series, 8:30 AM Eastern on weekdays, 10 AM on weekends and holidays) where we hang out and talk about the goings on here and everywhere.
We chat about our lives, our health, our families, our social circles, our pets, etc. We welcome links to your writings here on dkos or elsewhere, posts of pictures, music, etc.
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Good Morning!
Longwood Gardens, February, 2012, Photo credit: joanneleon
Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex... It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction.
-- Albert Einstein
News
It's the economy, stupid.
Voters Said the Economy Was Their Main Issue
Regardless of the financial condition of their state, voters in Tuesday’s Republican primaries considered the economy the top issue influencing their choice.
And even though the debate in the last few weeks has often involved other issues — like contraception, or women in combat, there was very little evidence of a gender gap among the leading candidates in several of the major states in play on Tuesday, and very few voters mentioned abortion as a deciding factor.
Hackers busted after 1 becomes FBI informant
"Anonymous is a hydra, cut off one head and we grow two back," read one defiant message posted to Twitter.
At the center was the legendary hacker known as "Sabu," who when he was arrested last June was identified as Hector Xavier Monsegur, 28, a self-taught, unemployed computer programmer with no college education. Authorities said his cooperation has helped to prevent more than 300 Internet attacks.
Authorities said he was living on welfare in public housing in New York as he carried out crimes that made him a hero to some in cyberspace until he made a rookie mistake , he posted something online without cloaking his IP address, or computer identity , and someone tipped off the FBI.
Romney wins Ohio; he and Santorum split 8 other states
The Republican presidential race went coast-to-coast Tuesday as Mitt Romney took the biggest prize among the 10 states in play, although the day brought mixed results that did little to clarify the party's muddled nomination picture.
Romney narrowly defeated Rick Santorum in Ohio, the most important in terms of political symbolism, in a contest not called till early Wednesday. But Romney, Santorum, and Newt Gingrich split nine other states, giving each man some positive news to spin.
Few military options for U.S. in Syria, general says
WASHINGTON — Facing questions over U.S. options to stem the bloodshed in Syria, top U.S. military leaders said Tuesday that creating "safe havens" for rebels or imposing a no-fly zone would be extremely difficult because of the Syrian regime's Russian-provided air defense weaponry.
Marine Gen. James Mattis, who commands U.S. forces in the Middle East, also offered a cautionary word to members of the Senate Armed Forces Committee who were advocating direct U.S. assistance to the Syrian rebels, known as the Free Syrian Army, saying that the uprising there is "not necessarily a rush towards democracy."
Former Iraqi official who executed Hussein denied entry into US
WASHINGTON — A former senior Iraqi official who pulled the lever to execute Saddam Hussein and helped improve U.S. relations with the Baghdad government was denied entry to the United States last month after U.S. officials apparently questioned his use of multiple passports.
Mowaffak al-Rubaie was allowed to enter the United States without incident last week, however, and was in Washington on Tuesday for informal meetings at the State Department and the National Security Council.
Now there is news that they are willing to use force to undo this split.
Fear of split as eastern Libya claims autonomy
A conference of about 3000 delegates in Benghazi has installed Ahmed al-Senussi, a great nephew of Libya's former king, as head of the new Cyrenaica Provincial Council.
It proposed that an eastern region should run its own affairs apart from foreign policy, the army and oil resources, which would be left to a federal government in Tripoli, the capital.
China Lambasts U.S. Trade Bill, Won't Adjust Yuan
REUTERS) -- A U.S. trade bill targeting Chinese imports goes against international rules and Beijing will not adjust the value of its currency to try to bridge a trade deficit that is Washington's problem to fix, China's commerce minister said on Wednesday.
President Barack Obama is set to sign the bill into law to allow duties to be imposed on subsidized goods from China and Vietnam, which the White House says will protect American jobs.