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28 Mar 2009 13:56

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World: Earth Hour: That’s the night that the lights went out in Indonesia

On the left: The lights were on. On the right: The lights were off in support of “Earth Hour.” Any questions? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Mar 2009 13:42

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Biz: Charter has a crapload of debt, guys. They filed for bankruptcy.

  • $21.7 billion amount of debt the cable company, part-owned by Paul Allen, had on the books as of late 2008
  • $13 billion amount of debt the company hopes to have after getting out of “prearranged” bankruptcy source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Mar 2009 13:32

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U.S.: The WTC-replacing “Freedom Tower” gets a little less free

  • The fact is, more than $3 billion of public money is invested in that building, and, as a public agency, we have the responsibility to make sure it is completed and that we utilize the best strategy to make certain it is fully occupied.
  • Stephen Sigmund • Spokesman for the Port Authority, on changing the name of “Freedom Tower” to the not-as-free-sounding “One World Trade Center.” We’re sure some nutjobs are going to claim the name changed because Bush isn’t in office, but we personally blame the proliferation of rapping flight attendants. Because that makes just as much sense. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Mar 2009 13:03

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Biz, World: An example of the mushroom effect of the credit crunch

  • cause The Royal Bank of Scotland, well-known for its globalization efforts, has been ordered by the British government to pump billions into the British credit market.
  • effect So RBS can redouble its efforts in its homeland, the company has recently started to scale back and tried to sell a number of its global endeavors – in countries big and small.
  • result Due to the new tightening of credit in developing countries such as Vietnam and Romania, the world credit market takes a hit and begins to constrict even more. Yikes. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Mar 2009 12:41

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Tech: Electronic Arts learns from its DRM mistakes of “Spore” past

  • The Sims 3? No DRM. Just a serial code. Back in the dark ages of last year, this hotly anticipated game called “Spore” came out. Somehow, it managed to get completely overshadowed by its digital rights management scheme, which was particularly invasive and seemed to take ownership away from fans. Well, Electronic Arts has apparently learned its lesson; “The Sims 3,” out later this year, will not use any DRM at all beyond a serial code. Someone got burned. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Mar 2009 12:30

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Politics, World: People aren’t afraid to call the Pope out on his condom stance

From Facebook groups to mass-mailed condom protests, people aren’t afraid to criticize the dude for his stance. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Mar 2009 12:23

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U.S.: Update on North Dakota floodwaters; when will it crest?

  • 42 feet, 7 a.m. Sunday; that’s the current estimate. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

28 Mar 2009 02:45

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Music: Why is Animal Collective so strange? They don’t know how to play.

  • At this point we’re so beyond being able to communicate with each other that way, that we just kind of developed our own language in terms of music-making. And that’s why it’s not important to us.
  • Dave Portner (a.k.a. Avey Tare) • In an interview with Pitchfork talking about their unique approach to making music, which, as most of you know, critics and a capella groups really like. They’re even making inroads into the mainstream. Good for them! • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Mar 2009 02:43

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Sports: The Elite Eight is extra-elite, kids.

  • four number-one seeds made it this far in the tourney. Sucks to be in a small conference this year, dudes.
  • three the lowest seed that made it that made it to the Elite Eight. Defending champ Kansas is out, though. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Mar 2009 00:31

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U.S.: Those evil juvenile court judges sound like cartoon bad guys

  • We did what we could to stop it. There were so many red flags that no one could mistake them as any other color.
  • Luzerne County, Pa. Commissioner Stephen A. Urban • On the Judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. and Judge Michael T. Conahan, who screwed over hundreds of kids by sending them to detention centers, receiving kickbacks that allowed them to chill at a resort home in Florida. Everyone knew something sketchy was going on but they had an iron grip over the court. Actual justice has finally been served and now they’re going to jail. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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