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10 May 2011 17:30

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U.S.: Democrats push Senate bill to cut big oil’s tax breaks

  • $21 billion saved in bill to cut big oil tax breaks (over 10 years) source
  • » Democrats can pretend to fix the deficit, too! Not to be all gloom and doom, obviously — the oil industry is one of the most successful financial conquests in human history, and if anybody doesn’t need drawing on breaks from the government, they don’t. Stripping their very generous tax breaks would be both a practical and moral victory in our current political climate. That said, the attempt by the Democratic Party to paint this as a deficit-buster is just as disingenuous as the Republican effort to say the same about last month’s budget deal, which cut $38 billion in spending long-term. The deficit is around $1.4 trillion for this fiscal year, though, which makes the earlier figures seem limp and anemic. Still, it’ll be a nice day for American priorities if this thing passes.

31 Aug 2010 20:31

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U.S.: Obama: The (combat end of the) Iraq war is officially over and stuff

  • Mission accomplished? Obama’s presidential address tonight marked the end of a long war (as far as combat operations go), and the next step will be to move forward and deal with more pressing concerns – Afghanistan and the economy. Now, there were certain things that might cause great disagreement – the somewhat firm emphasis that we’ll be getting out entirely next year is kind of a biggie – but ultimately, average people aren’t in this mode anymore. They want to see a stronger economy, not a never-ending, ultra-contentious war. source

18 Aug 2010 20:05

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World: Even with combat troops gone, it’s not like the U.S. is done in Iraq

  • 50,000 troops are staying behind source

18 Aug 2010 19:59

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23 May 2010 10:27

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Culture: Three early predictions of what will happen after the “Lost” finale

  • one The series will end,
    leaving a gaping
    hole in ABC’s fairly
    solid schedule.
  • two Fans will remain
    incredibly disappointed
    and ask why they
    wasted their lives.
  • three Some other show
    will take its place next
    season and it will be
    forgotten. source

25 Mar 2010 21:16

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22 Aug 2009 17:25

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Biz, U.S.: Clunker owners descend upon auto dealers in a last-minute rush

  • Because waiting until the last second always works out. After the announcement of the end of the Cash for Clunkers program on Monday, this weekend was destined to be a busy weekend for dealers, both from a purchasing and paperwork angle. While the program doesn’t end until Monday, many dealers were ending the program today to deal with the continued paperwork bottleneck the program itself is facing. “It’s the paperwork that’s the biggest pain in the neck,” said Neil Krieger, a Jim Ellis auto salesman based in the Atlanta area. source
 

31 May 2009 21:40

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Sports: Rafael Nadal, the king of clay, is toppled from his French Open throne

You know, this clay doesn’t seem quite so messy when you’re winning on it. Now it just feels like you’re rolling in the dirt. source

18 May 2009 09:57

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World: The Tamil Tigers’ leader was killed, Sri Lanka sez

  • history Velupillai Prabhakaran founded the Tamil Tigers, who have been the spark point for a lengthy civil war in Sri Lanka. The Tigers are considered a terrorist organization in 32 countries.
  • defeat Prabhakaran apparently was killed while attempting to run. After 30-plus years, the Tigers agreed to rest their arms this weekend, effectively ending the longest civil war in Asia. source

08 Apr 2009 09:00

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Tech: Most computers still use Windows XP, but MS is cutting support

  • Mainstream support of XP ends next week. Microsoft owns a hefty chunk of the PC market, sure, but they own it on a seven-year-old operating system. 63% of all Internet users – not just Windows users, but the overall market – use XP, and it’s still sold with new computers. They’ll still provide security fixes, but bug fixes are done after this week. MS officials say that since the platform is so mature it shouldn’t be a problem, but this still seems kind of sketchy. Meanwhile, Vista cries in the corner, all gussied up for the school dance but without a date. source