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08 Jul 2009 11:10

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Sports: Manny being unloved: Dude got ejected from a Dodgers/Mets game

  • I didn’t want to throw even more fire. I just walked away. I only play five innings, so I was leaving anyway.
  • L.A. Dodgers superstar Manny Ramirez • On his loud and brash exit from a game against the New York Mets. Angry after getting booed non-stop by Mets fans, he threw his gear and ended up getting ejected from the game, but not before driving in three runs and helping the team win 8-0. Ramirez, easily the Dodgers’ biggest star right now, just returned from a 50-game suspension for use of banned substances (which may or may not be steroids, by the way). • source

08 Jul 2009 11:00

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Biz: Fortune’s Global 500 proves Big Oil, Wal-Mart has us at the throats

  • seven of the top ten companies on the list are oil companies, with Shell being the biggest; Toyota is No. 10 source

08 Jul 2009 10:49

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World: China’s way of dealing with ethnic violence? Death penalty threats.

  • When it comes to the death penalty, BTW, China doesn’t mess around. In looking for the best way to deal with the ethnic violence that’s broken out this week between the lower-class Uighur people and higher-class Han people, Urumqi’s Communist Party boss, Li Zhi, has threatened the death penalty for those responsible for the riots in the Xinjiang capital. If you give even a minor to-do about human rights, this should anger you greatly, because of China’s history in this regard. source

08 Jul 2009 10:39

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U.S.: So, our federal buildings aren’t very secure, based on these tests

  • 10 federal buildings failed the not-letting-explosives-in test source

08 Jul 2009 10:28

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Biz, Culture: A musician with a bone to pick sez “United Breaks Guitars”

  • Guy named Dave Carroll rides an airplane with his band. Dude checks his $3,500 guitar. United’s baggage-handling staff manhandles said guitar, and a number of people on board see them do it. Guitar is broken. United, despite breaking it, won’t pay for the damages. Guy writes song about it and puts video on YouTube, giving him instant good (and United instant bad) exposure. Who’s really the loser here?source

08 Jul 2009 01:32

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Tech: Next on Google’s list? A new operating system based on Chrome

  • Windows is screwed. Tonight, Google announced to the world that they’re launching a new Web-leaning OS that will lean on netbooks at first but is also targeted towards desktop PCs. The idea is that it’s a simple OS for people who largely live on the Web. They plan to open-source the software later this year and hope to have something to show for their hard work by the middle of next year. source
  • Windows is screwed. Tonight, Google announced to the world that they’re launching a new Web-leaning OS that will lean on netbooks at first but is also targeted towards desktop PCs. The idea is that it’s a simple OS for people who largely live on the Web. They plan to open-source the software later this year and hope to have something to show for their hard work by the middle of next year.
  • What about Android? We know you’re thinking – doesn’t Google have Android already? Well, yeah. But Google doesn’t mind. “While there are areas where Google Chrome OS and Android overlap,” writes VP Sundar Pichai, “we believe choice will drive innovation for the benefit of everyone, including Google.” So yeah. We expect Windows to go the way of IE’s market share in about five years. source

07 Jul 2009 22:44

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World: File this under: people who obviously aren’t on Twitter

  • It was the most clean and free election in the world…This election has doubled the dignity of the Iranian nation.
  • Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad • said in a televised speech today. No offense, but has this guy not been surfin’ the net since the June 12th election?  • source
 

07 Jul 2009 21:41

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Biz, U.S.: T. Boone Pickens has a lot of wind turbines to give away, guys

  • $2 billion in turbines for a Texas wind farm he’s not building source

07 Jul 2009 21:30

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Biz, Tech: The sad fate of The Printed Blog, an idea loaded with optimism

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  • What it was Right around the time ShortFormBlog launched back in January, a fairly original twisting of the newspaper medium called The Printed Blog launched. We were fast fans, in part because the idea was so loudly original and because it partly felt like the kind of idea we’ve played with in the past. source
  • What it was Right around the time ShortFormBlog launched back in January, a fairly original twisting of the newspaper medium called The Printed Blog launched. We were fast fans, in part because the idea was so loudly original and because it partly felt like the kind of idea we’ve played with in the past.
  • Why it’s dying It’s a victim of the economy and the idea didn’t work. Founder Joshua Karp announced the publication’s fate today, blaming it on a lack of venture capital support. Some, like Gawker (shut up, jerks), are claiming it was because it was a backwards idea. It was crazy, but it wasn’t backwards. source
  • What it was Right around the time ShortFormBlog launched back in January, a fairly original twisting of the newspaper medium called The Printed Blog launched. We were fast fans, in part because the idea was so loudly original and because it partly felt like the kind of idea we’ve played with in the past.
  • Why it’s dying It’s a victim of the economy and the idea didn’t work. Founder Joshua Karp announced the publication’s fate today, blaming it on a lack of venture capital support. Some, like Gawker (shut up, jerks), are claiming it was because it was a backwards idea. It was crazy, but it wasn’t backwards.
  • What we’d do We liked the idea but felt it could have used refinement. We would have used the publication as a guidepost to blog content online rather than straight-up printing blog items. It should’ve used its role as gatekeeper to edit and refine the content – like a newspaper! It might have gotten there, sadly. :( source

07 Jul 2009 20:59

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World: Heartwrenching Urumqi riots quote of the day. A gut-punch.

  • The policemen took away my husband last night. I don’t know why and I don’t know where he is.
  • A woman named Abdurajit • Talking to foreign media in the midst of heavy protests in China. Since Sunday, at least 1,434 have been arrested in connection with the rioting. By the way, read the Guardian story in the link – you’ll be glad you did. Tania Branigan has such a beautiful way with the written word in describing the tension in the air. Her way of discussing how an old woman’s words stepped above the fray in a mass of protests is chilling. • source