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24 May 2009 20:05

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U.S., World: Major attacks in Iraq down, the U.S. military sez

  • -58% decline in high-casualty attacks since March ’08 source

24 May 2009 19:48

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U.S.: College kids willing to stay close to the ‘rents during the recession

  • -40% decreases in out-of-state enrollment at many large universities source

24 May 2009 19:33

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Tech: Lots of people are trying Wolfram Alpha right now

  • 100 million answers served in just 11 days. Whoa. source

24 May 2009 18:54

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Politics, U.S.: Ex-Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge says Cheney’s wrong

  • I disagree with Dick Cheney. Waterboarding is a matter of debate but it’s no longer an issue. Debate around memos and waterboarding don’t make us less safe.
  • Tom Ridge • The first Secretary of Homeland Security, on the debate over waterboarding and interrogation techniques. So, Colin Powell disagrees with former veep Dick Cheney – not so surprising. Tom Ridge disagreeing – kind of surprising. Hm. • source

24 May 2009 18:43

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Offbeat, Sports: NFL players and Freightliner trucks don’t mix with cops

  • Uhhhhhhh, that’s quite the adventure, Randy Starks … Starks, a 25-year-old defensive end for the Miami Dolphins, was arrested after a police chase in which he managed to squeeze 13 people inside the passenger area of a Freightliner truck, which usually seats about 4. He also had a woman sitting on his lap. Due to traffic, police were forced to chase Starks by foot. The truck, traveling at slow speeds, hit one officer before another one drew Starks’ attention and arrested him. The Dolphins, who had no comment, are trying to figure out WTF their player did. So are we. source

24 May 2009 18:22

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Sports: Helio Castroneves has proven quite good at winning things lately

  • Castroneves, perhaps the biggest star in Indy Car racing (a fairly minor sport these days), won his third Indy 500 race today – just the ninth racer to pull off that feat. source
  • He has lots of other reasons to celebrate. He was acquitted of tax-evasion charges recently – charges that could have sent him to prison for six years. source

24 May 2009 13:42

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Politics: Colin Powell fights back against Cheney, Limbaugh criticism

  • I would like to point out that in the course of my 50 years of voting for presidents, I have voted for the person I thought was best qualified at that time to lead the nation. Last year, I thought it was President Barack Obama. For the previous 20 years, I voted solidly for Republican candidates.
  • Colin Powell • Responding to the verbal shouting match between him, former Vice President Dick Cheney and everyone’s favorite loudmouth, Rush Limbaugh. Powell goes further to say that the party needs to be more inclusive if it wants to find its way – which goes against many things Cheney and Limbaugh are arguing for, BTW. • source
 

24 May 2009 12:01

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Offbeat: We agree with Bill O’Reilly on this: Keyboard Cat is a patriot

  • You might be aware that we don’t agree with Bill O’Reilly on much here at ShortFormBlog, but his stance on Keyboard Cat is one that we can get behind without hesitation.source

24 May 2009 11:53

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Culture: Adam Lambert may have lost “Idol,” but he could lead Queen instead

  • It’s not like we, as Queen, would rush into coalescing with another singer just like that. It isn’t that easy. But I’d certainly like to work with Adam. That is one amazing instrument he has there.
  • Queen lead guitarist Brian May • Discussing the possibility that Adam Lambert, the nearly-coulda-been “Idol” contestant, could lead his band, which has been sort of floating in the ether since Freddie Mercury died in 1991. (The feeling’s mutual, by the way, so it’s not just some old guy talking about something that won’t happen.) Why the heck not. Might as well ruin two careers at once. • source

24 May 2009 11:43

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Biz, U.S.: Another sign of economic decline: Cattle-rustlin’ is on the rise

  • 6,404 cows were rustled in Texas recently source