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Research in Motion’s struggles in the smartphone market have driven its stock price so low that the company is worth less than the estimated value of just Apple’s App Store.

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From the royal wedding to the death of Osama bin Laden, the English summer riots and the fall of Gaddafi, here are some of major news stories of the past 12 months captured in Lego by Flickr members.

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When the security issue was brought up, Rep. Mel Watt of North Carolina seemed particularly comfortable about his own lack of understanding. Grinningly admitting “I’m not a nerd” before the committee, he nevertheless went on to dismiss without facts or justification the very evidence he didn’t understand and then downplay the need for a panel of experts. Rep. Maxine Waters of California followed up by saying that any discussion of security concerns is “wasting time” and that the bill should move forward without question, busted internets be damned.

The fact that there was any debate over whether to call in experts on such a matter should tell you something about the integrity of Congress. It’d be one thing if legitimate technical questions directed at the bill’s supporters weren’t met with either silence or veiled accusations that the other side was sympathetic to piracy. Yet here we are with a group of elected officials openly supporting a bill they can’t explain, and having the temerity to suggest there’s no need to “bring in the nerds” to suss out what’s actually on it.

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This used to be funny, but now it’s really just terrifying. We’re dealing with legislation that will completely change the face of the internet and free speech for years to come. Yet here we are, still at the mercy of underachieving Congressional know-nothings that have more in common with the slacker students sitting in the back of math class than elected representatives. The fact that some of the people charged with representing us must be dragged kicking and screaming out of their complacency on such matters is no longer endearing — it’s just pathetic and sad.

Footage taken from North Korean state media.

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Advocaat Jan Boone heeft maandag aangifte gedaan tegen het bisdom Rotterdam.

Hij wil dat justitie het bisdom vervolgt op verdenking van het vormen van een criminele organisatie die het plegen van seksueel misbruik als oogmerk had.

Translation: dutch lawyer wants the diocese of Rotterdam prosecuted for forming a criminal organization committing sexual abuse.

He had asked the Chief Prosecutor of Rotterdam before, but that request was pushed aside for lack of substantiation. He issued the request again referring to the Friday report by the commission Deetman about sexual abuse within the Catholic Church.

Wow. I feel better already!

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After Apple, Oracle, Microsoft, and eBay, British Telecommunications plc (commonly referred to as "British Telecom" or simply "BT") has just become the fifth large publicly-traded company to bring patent infringement litigation against Android.

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Korea’s enigmatic leader Kim Jong Il — who, after succeeding his father 17 years ago, captained his poor, closed nation and antagonized its enemies — is dead, state media reported Monday.

Kim, 69, died at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, according to state media.

A tearful broadcaster reported that Kim died due to "overwork" after "dedicating his life to the people."

Scary times in Korea…