Stay true to the dreams of thy youth

• Spike Lee tweets wrong George Zimmerman address in Florida

  Spike Lee has apologized for distributing a tweet that provided an inaccurate address for George Zimmerman's whereabouts, forcing an elderly Sanford-area couple to flee their home.  The McClains, who have a son named William George Zimmerman, received hate mail, threats, and visits from reporters looking for Zimmerman

• Arab leaders endorse Kofi Annan plan for Syria - The National

  Arab leaders yesterday formally endorsed the international envoy Kofi Annan's plan to end the bloodshed in Syria, and demanded that it be implemented "immediately and completely" - a sign of Arab League scepticism of the Syrian president Bashar Al Assad's commitment to the plan. "The solution for the crisis is still in the hands of the Syrians as a government and opposition," the Arab League secretary general Nabil Elaraby told the summit gathering in the Iraqi capital, the first here in 20 years.

• Most Cities Unprepared for Coming Population Boom: Scientific American

  The world's cities are mushrooming at the rate of around 1 million people a week as the planet's population heads toward 9 billion people by 2050 from 7 billion now. Urban areas are set to sprawl over an extra area equivalent to most of Europe within 20 years, yet little is being done to prepare for the major challenges that expansion will bring, scientists said Tuesday.

• Complaints spur Dubai inquiry into Groupon Middle East - The National

  Dubai authorities have launched an investigation into Groupon Middle East after a slew of protests over poor customer service. The online-deals company has been inundated with complaints from hundreds of dissatisfied customers who have faced delays to orders.

• Saudi oil minister wants lower prices - Overheard - WSJ

  Ali Naimi is not fond of extremes. The Saudi Arabian petroleum minister is so worried by high oil prices — Brent crude commands about $123 a barrel — he felt compelled to pen an Op-Ed in today’s Financial Times. The last time he took to the newspapers, according to a search of Factiva, was back in February 2009, following oil’s crash from triple digits to less than $40 amid the financial crisis.

• Israel’s Secret Staging Ground - By Mark Perry | Foreign Policy

  In 2009, the deputy chief of mission of the U.S. embassy in Baku, Donald Lu, sent a cable to the State Department's headquarters in Foggy Bottom titled "Azerbaijan's discreet symbiosis with Israel." The memo, later released by WikiLeaks, quotes Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev as describing his country's relationship with the Jewish state as an iceberg: "nine-tenths of it is below the surface."

• Exclusive: Investors press U.S. shale oil drillers to control flaring | Reuters

  Investors representing $500 billion in assets are pushing energy companies in the shale oil rush in North Dakota and other states to disclose the amount of natural gas they burn - a practice they see as a wasteful financial risk.

• Martin Peretz: The Appalling Crusade To Free Jonathan Pollard; Unhappiness In Jordan; And More | The New Republic

  Of course, that’s what the Pollard enthusiasts are saying. Frankly, I find it disgusting that so many Israelis and so many American Jews, too, have the chutzpah to besiege Obama with urgent demands to release Pollard now.

• Saudi bans video game over “sexual” sounds - Media - ArabianBusiness.com

  Conservative Gulf kingdom Saudi Arabia has banned a video game because its female characters sounded “too sexual”, according to the game’s developer. In the game, called ‘Shoe Wars’, the user controlled character is encouraged to collect as many pairs of expensive designer shoes, while avoiding men by jumping over them.

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