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17 Jun 2009 09:39

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Offbeat: 1955: This kid went missing. 2009: Uh, found, possibly!

  • 54 years later, Steven Damman comes forward. Back in 1955, this kid was at a Long Island bakery with his parents. Then he disappeared. Now, nearly 55 years after his case left the spotlight, a Michigan man purporting to be Steven Damman has revealed himself. Uh, wow. That’s random. His possible dad, Jerry, said about the finding: “You never give up hope, [but] things dim after all those years.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Jun 2009 09:28

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U.S.: Obama boosts same-sex partner benefits for federal employees

  • Today, Obama will sign an executive order that gives wider benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees. source
  • The order doesn’t go nearly as far as it could, stopping just short of giving full health care benefits to them. source
  • Obama has faced criticism from gay-rights groups for not doing enough – but he’s trying to avoid a fight. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Jun 2009 09:08

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Biz: The recession is managing to keep down the price of goods

  • +0.1% The consumer price index increase in May, kept in check by recession-influenced inflation woes source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Jun 2009 08:44

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Culture, Music: Must-see video of the day: Taylor Swift + T-Pain, “Thug Story”

  • Usually, we wait a little while before posting our first video of the day. But this Taylor Swift-goes-hardcore bit from last night’s CMT Music Awards is too good to wait for. BTW, Swift killed at last night’s awards.source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 5 Comments • Permalink

16 Jun 2009 23:45

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Biz: Six Flags shows how to handle a bankruptcy/PR crisis well

  • Not only for the three plus years that I’ve been here, but really since Premier Parks bought Six Flags from Time Warner, the word ‘debt’ has been associated with the Six Flags name and we’re looking to disconnect that.
  • Six Flags CEO Mark Shapiro • Regarding the amusement park company’s decision to go into bankruptcy. Here’s why this quote is notable, guys. After we posted about their bankruptcy, the company got a hold of us and numerous other bloggers offering the opportunity to join in a conference call. (That’s right, specifically for bloggers!) We couldn’t take part ourselves, but many other bloggers did and asked some great questions. Best part? Rather than simply looking to sugarcoat the details, Shapiro was honest, detailed and often blunt. The company will not close any parks and was profitable last year, but hopes to ease out of bankruptcy by the end of the year. More companies need to do this. Seriously. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Jun 2009 23:25

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Biz, U.S.: What Obama’s doing to fix flaws in financial oversight

  • Cutting back As predicted a couple of weeks ago, the Office of Thrift Supervision, which supervises savings and loan programs and allowed the AIG fiasco, is going away completely, along with the charter that allows savings and loans to exist. source
  • Cutting back As predicted a couple of weeks ago, the Office of Thrift Supervision, which supervises savings and loan programs and allowed the AIG fiasco, is going away completely, along with the charter that allows savings and loans to exist.
  • Streamlining In an effort to prevent future financial crises while allowing breathing room for financial firms, the Federal Reserve will have more oversight over wide-scale economic risks that require longer-term planning to avoid. source
  • Cutting back As predicted a couple of weeks ago, the Office of Thrift Supervision, which supervises savings and loan programs and allowed the AIG fiasco, is going away completely, along with the charter that allows savings and loans to exist.
  • Streamlining In an effort to prevent future financial crises while allowing breathing room for financial firms, the Federal Reserve will have more oversight over wide-scale economic risks that require longer-term planning to avoid.
  • Obama’s take “Whether it’s on the consumer protection side, the investor protection side, the systemic risks … It’s going to be a much more effectively integrated system than previously,” he said. Congress needs to weigh in, BTW. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Jun 2009 22:35

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U.S., World: Currently weaving through Congress: A big war-spending bill

  • $106 billion to fight wars in Iraq & Afghanistan source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

16 Jun 2009 20:24

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Politics, World: This quote about the Iran protests pretty much says it all

  • 140 characters is a novel when you’re being shot at.
  • A Twitter user based in Tehran • Responsible for the quote of the day. (By request of the user, we’ve removed credit. Tweeters have requested not to be retweeted with their usernames for fear of being arrested.) • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 3 Comments • Permalink

16 Jun 2009 18:26

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Culture, Politics: Oh, whatever: Protesters ask for David Letterman’s firing

Whatever guys. It was just a joke he made about an opportunist politician. (Yeah, we said it. Sarah Palin is opportunist.) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink

16 Jun 2009 18:12

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Biz, Tech: MySpace’s layoff misery is like a money pit of bad puns for us

  • 30% Percentage of employees who will no longer be friends with Tom source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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