Photo courtesy AP (c) 2012

SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- President Barack Obama on Tuesday admonished the U.N. General Assembly to take a firm stance against violence and extremism, arguing that religious rights and free speech must be upheld as global responsibilities and not merely U.S. obligations. In an effort to stress the urgency of suppressing deadly protests that have erupted over perceived anti-Islamic sentiment, the president said "the impulse towards intolerance and violence" will not be contained if allowed to flourish over time. Mr. Obama underscored his message with examples of ongoing racial inequalities, abuses of women's rights, theocratic discrimination against religious diversity, despots who neglect or massacre their people to protect cronies and regime-friendly elites, and the inevitable cycles of sectarian violence likely to rise in the wake. Although the president's speech was delivered to world leaders, and was meant to address specific crises in the Arab world, tentative Republican voters confused Obama's descriptions of Syria, Egypt and Libya with Mitt Romney's campaign platform. The GOP challenger's polling numbers plummeted significantly as a result, according to reports Friday.

"Millions will perish if we can't produce enough bacon to mask the disgusting flavor and rubbery texture of the common British diet." -- PM David Cameron

SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- With a global drought driving up feed costs, U.K. pig farmers are struggling to stave off the sharp decline in sow herds, which is threatening a worldwide pork shortage in the coming year. Insufficient rainfall across the United States and Eastern Europe has led to severely arid conditions with international repercussions. As a result, global food prices are soaring to record levels, forcing farmers to reduce the size of their herds. In Poland, the swine population has already dwindled by 9.6 percent. In Germany, by 1.3 percent. The National Pig Association in Britain called the looming shortage "unavoidable," with the drought continuing to blaze through corn, wheat and soybean crops. And the trend, the association says, is being mirrored across the world. While the news for pork-loving foodies is bleak, to millions of Britons it's dire. "Without bacon, at least two-thirds of England's population will die of starvation within the next three years," a statement from Britain's Department of Health warned.

SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- Mitt Romney continues to face challenges on his uphill battle toward the 2012 presidency. His staggering unlikability and open disdain for nearly half of America's citizens have made it difficult to entice the tax-dodging volunteers he desperately needs to run ground support for the campaign. Although he eventually clinched the GOP nomination, Romney's own party presented him with resistance and obstacles to overcome throughout the process. He's spent over five months ramping up his staff to match the colossal operation President Obama organized across the nation. Now, the GOP challenger seems to have caught up, but only by monetary standards. Romney spent $4.04 million on payroll, closely approaching Obama's $4.37 million, according to statements filed with the Federal Election Commission last week. But while Obama's cash bought him 901 workers, Romney managed only 403. The figures would seem to lend credence to Obama's claims of creating jobs, which in this case doubled the number of positions filled by Romney. Demonstrating the strategic business thinking for which he is famed, Romney one-upped the president Tuesday by announcing his intentions to outsource a number of his campaign's call center and mass mailing positions to lower-cost contractors in India and China.

SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- Despite the long lines, celebratory mood and overall contentment greeting the arrival of Apple's new iPhone 5, critics and even diehard users found themselves grumbling at certain features. The most notable complaint stemmed from the bumbling and error-prone Apple Maps application, a homegrown replacement for the once ubiquitous and reliable Google Maps. Not only does the new app lack the popular features of its predecessor, including public transit directions, traffic data and street view images, the Apple version is plagued by geographical errors and missing information. For example, a farm is listed as an airport, roads simply end in the middle of no man's land, an entire city has been replaced with an ocean, and literary buffs seeking out Shakespeare's birthplace will find instead a hospital. But none of these glitches rival the peril one zoogoer in New York faced Friday as a result of Apple Maps, which confused a tiger cage for a public restroom.

Terry Jones in "Life of Brian" 1979

SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- Responding to the outrage ignited by the anti-Islamic film "Innocence of Muslims," Egyptian authorities on Tuesday ordered the arrests of Terry Jones and seven Coptic Christians for their alleged involvement in the video's production. The movie's offensive portrayal of the Prophet Muhammad has led to protests across the Middle East and North Africa. At the U.S. Consulate in Libya, the ambassador and several other staff members were killed by well-equipped gunmen during the rioting. Prosecutors in Egypt demanded the suspects be extradited to the Egyptian government for trial. Their statement also indicated that convictions could be punishable by death. Officials in the United States have not responded to the request but seem unlikely to comply. In the United Kingdom, however, British authorities refused to hand over Terry Jones, whom they described as a "national treasure" for his work with the storied comedy team, Monty Python.