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19 Mar 2009 00:15

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Politics: OK, who’s the smart aleck laid-off Seattle journo who put this up?

Ah, to be jobless in Seattle and call out Thomas Jefferson on his iconic quote. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Mar 2009 23:13

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Politics: We’re late to the Clay Shirky newspapers bandwagon, but he’s right

  • He’s right, you know Shirky makes this argument that all the stuff that the newspaper industry is doing right now is essentially trying to prop up an unsustainable model ruined by the Internet. Well, yeah. It’s the nature of creative destruction, something I wrote about a couple of months ago. But despite this, the content itself is more popular than ever. We read it because we love it. Even when we bitch and moan about the bias, we secretly love it.
  • Nothing will work Shirky’s main point: Experiment like crazy. Fail. Lose your shirt. Because you might eventually come up with a new type of thread which is a lot better than the one that held together your crappy shirt. I’d like to think that I got his point without having to be told it bluntly. I think a lot of people I know didn’t really get his point until it hit them in the face so hard that they couldn’t stop staring and they felt stung. It’s creative destruction. Don’t fight it.
  • Everything might work My friends are getting laid off, event the ones outside the newspaper industry. Newspapers are getting closed. The media feels like a watchdog that’s running out of sweet, sweet kibble. And it’s not because kibble’s in short supply – it’s because it’s getting dumped into a different bowl and it has a slightly different taste. It’s not going back into the old bowl. And you’re going to starve to death eating stale kibble. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Mar 2009 22:35

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U.S.: Who has no death penalty? A small (but growing) number of states

  • 15 states have no death penalty; more are considering ending it source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Mar 2009 22:32

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U.S.: New Mexico repeals the death penalty. Hey, why not?

  • Gov. Bill Richardson supports it, but says the courts are unjust. Richardson, who was urged by over 8,000 New Mexico residents to repeal the death penalty (and over 2,000 not to), signed the legislation because he felt that the court system was “inherently defective” – leaning heavily on minorities – when giving out death sentences. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Mar 2009 22:16

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World: What was the German school shooter’s motive? “For fun.”

  • He was preparing himself for the next shooting – that’s what went through my mind.
  • Igor Wolf • The man forced to drive Tim Kretschmer away from the school where he shot numerous students in Germany. Wolf said Kretschmer asked about going to another school. 15 people died in Kretschmer’s attack. Authorities are also looking into involuntary manslaughter charges against Kretschmer’s father. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 4 Comments • Permalink

18 Mar 2009 22:07

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Biz, U.S.: Another attempt to jumpstart the economy by the Federal Reserve

  • Chairman Ben Bernanke said the Federal Reserve would buy back up to $300 billion in long-term government bonds. source
  • Bernanke also announced a plan to buy back up to $750 billion in bad mortgages. Together, that’s over $1 trillion. Whoa. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Mar 2009 21:54

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Music: Kanye West: Breakin’ paparazzi cameras, gettin’ charged

  • 3 number of misdemeanors he was charged with in L.A. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

18 Mar 2009 21:24

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Culture: Sacha Baron Cohen’s Bruno wanted a “Re’love’ution” with Ron Paul

Cohen’s “Bruno” wanted some man-on-man lovin’ with the Libertarian icon for his new movie. LOL. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Mar 2009 21:13

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Biz, U.S.: *FOREHEAD SLAP* Good one Chris Dodd *FOREHEAD SLAP*

  • As many know, the administration was, among others, not happy with the language. They wanted some modifications to it. They came to us, our staff, and asked for changes, and the changes at the time did not seem that obnoxious or onerous.
  • Sen. Christopher Dodd • On adding a provision to the stimulus bill allowing AIG to give out massive bonuses to its employees. He was asked to make these changes by the Treasury, which seems to have a lot of power over legislation considering they’re not legislators. Dodd wants to tax the bonuses, BTW. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Mar 2009 21:01

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Culture: Three of Natasha Richardson’s most notable roles

  • In 2005, Richardson had a late-period comeback with her well-reviewed role in the film “Asylum.”
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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