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07 Jun 2009 10:20

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Biz, U.S.: People are playing pile-up with Chrysler to stop the Fiat sale

  • “Issue a stay … please!” The Indiana pension fund group that holds a minority stake in Chrysler appealed to the high court to prevent the sale, on grounds that the sale is unconstitutional in that the rights of junior creditors are being placed above senior lenders. They also say the U.S. Treasury Department has overstepped its bounds with the sale. source
  • “Issue a stay … please!” The Indiana pension fund group that holds a minority stake in Chrysler appealed to the high court to prevent the sale, on grounds that the sale is unconstitutional in that the rights of junior creditors are being placed above senior lenders. They also say the U.S. Treasury Department has overstepped its bounds with the sale.
  • Other pitfalls Beyond that, consumer groups also attempted to block the deal, moving through the judicial system so quickly that it hasn’t been committed to paper, because it would shield the new company from lawsuits and other problems with current Chrysler vehicles. The Supreme Court has the ball in their hands now. source

06 Jun 2009 20:33

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Biz, U.S.: Big businesses try to get rid of the scourge that is TARP funds

  • $25 billion The estimated amount the federal government expected to get back from bailed-out financial institutions source

06 Jun 2009 19:52

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U.S.: “Cape Man,” the crazy guy who wanted to kill Obama, arrested

  • Daniel James Murray was arrested … at a casino. First of all, if you’re so worried about the safety of the American economy that you threatened to kill the president, why are you at a casino? But anyway, the man, who bizarrely deposited $85,000 at a Utah bank and then withdrew it a week later while making crazy comments all the while, has been detained by the Secret Service. By the way, the New York Daily News reports that Murray likes wearing capes and talking to himself. source

06 Jun 2009 19:40

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U.S.: 150 years before abortionist George Tiller, there was Ann Lohman

  • Would your wives, and your sisters, and your daughters, if once absolved from fear, all become prostitutes? I cannot conceive how men who are husbands, brothers or fathers can give utterance to an idea so intrinsically base and infamous.
  • “Madame Restell” a.k.a. Ann Lohman • Who was infamous for performing abortion services in the mid-1800s, including a mail-order service that provided pills in newspaper ads which came with warnings that “miscarriage may occur.” As her clientele was often wealthy, she avoided significant jail time in an era when abortion was illegal, but after decades of harassment, she committed suicide in New York in 1978. There are parallels between Lohman’s case and George Tiller’s, obviously. • source

06 Jun 2009 19:14

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Sports: Belmont Stakes: Mine That Bird couldn’t mine Summer Bird

Summer Bird’s victory at Belmont meant that three separate horse won the three major horse races this year. Yay for single crowns! source

06 Jun 2009 18:54

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Culture: And the infinite loop of Conan/Mario is complete

  • We have now reached a point where Conan’s awesomeness is now equal with the awesomeness of Super Mario World. Woot.source

06 Jun 2009 18:38

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Culture: Friday box-office: Second bananas are funnier than “Land of the Lost”

  • $16 million The Friday opening for “The Hangover,” the well-reviewed vehicle for Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis source
 

06 Jun 2009 18:26

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Tech: Most Twitter users are either complete losers or spambots

  • 80% of Twitter users have less than ten followers source

06 Jun 2009 18:04

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Tech: New status icon for celebrity Twitter users: Verified accounts

  • With due respect to the man and his notable work, Mr. La Russa’s lawsuit was an unnecessary waste of judicial resources bordering on frivolous. Twitter’s Terms of Service are fair and we believe will be upheld in a court that will ultimately dismiss Mr. La Russa’s lawsuit.
  • Twitter co-founder Biz Stone • In response to a lawsuit filed by St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa about a faked account which the site already removed. They will not settle and will fight the case in court if necessary. Stone did take the opportunity, however, to tell people about Twitter’s new verified account program, which will only take a few people at first but over time will expand and include more notable users and, down the road, businesses. Here’s our question. Can you bling the verified account tag? • source

06 Jun 2009 17:32

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Politics: Rick Sanchez manages to get Bill O’Reilly to apologize. Whoa!

  • Rick Sanchez’s burn Bill O’Reilly claimed there was a lack of coverage of the military recruiter murder story on CNN. Rick Sanchez disagreed.

  • Rick Sanchez’s burn Bill O’Reilly claimed there was a lack of coverage of the military recruiter murder story on CNN. Rick Sanchez disagreed.

  • O’Reilly’s apology The guy himself apologized, but not before calling Sanchez “a snide and surley guy on CNN.” Oooh, testy.