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04 May 2009 09:53

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Offbeat, U.S.: Obama’s “Oh-mama”-in-law is adapting to D.C. life pretty well

  • before Marian Robinson, Michelle Obama’s mom, had never lived outside of Chicago before she moved into the White House, and left for the District “kicking and screaming.” She did yoga! But she wanted to help her grandkids get settled, so she moved.
  • after Now, three months in, Robinson is savoring her life as a D.C. socialite – she’s out and about nearly as much as her kid, “so much so that sometimes we have to plan our schedule around her schedule,” Michelle joked. No word on if she’s still doing yoga. source

04 May 2009 09:26

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World: Wanting to save an “infant democracy,” Nepal’s PM resigns

  • Prachanda fought against Nepal’s monarchy for a decade. The prime minister, also known as Pushpa Kamal Daha, resigned in the wake of heavy protests against the sacking of the country’s army chief, Gen. Rookmangud Katawal. The Maoist government sacked him, but the country’s president, Ram Baran Yadav, reinstated him. The “unconstitutional” measure, according to Prachanda, causes a base conflict in the government, so he’s stepping aside to help protect the democracy. Prachanda led a decade-long Maoist insurgency before they laid down their arms last year in democratic elections. source

04 May 2009 08:21

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Politics, Tech: Dear newspapers: A widescreen Kindle sounds smart, but …

  • I implore newspapers not to put too much stock in these big screen Kindles. I know the options are awfully thin as to what can save you, and the Kindle is a potentially sexy savior; but it is not the answer.
  • MG Siegler • Techcrunch blogger, on the possibility of Amazon throwing a hail-mary pass to newspapers in the form of a wide-screen Kindle this week. It won’t work, he says, mainly because newspapers are a different kind of beast from books. He notes that it might cost a lot more and that the place a type of product like this could really help consumers is textbooks. We’re prone to agree. By the way, Hearst is working on something like this. By the way, super-smart newspaper consultant Steve Yelvington agrees. • source

04 May 2009 03:00

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Music: Conor Oberst ain’t feeling the critics’ love from Pitchfork

  • 4.9 their rating of the Bright Eyes dude’s latest, “Outer South” source

04 May 2009 02:34

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Biz, U.S.: The Boston Globe’s currently facing some trying hours

  • Unions and management are butting heads. At stake? The paper itself. The management of The Boston Globe, owned by The New York Times Company, is prepared to file a shutdown notice if it cannot convince its unions to cut costs significantly. The iconic newspaper and the union have for the moment stopped talking, but could start up again tonight. The two sides were fighting against a deadline which conveniently passed at midnight. See that? That’s sweat going down furrowed brows. source