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19 Aug 2009 10:40

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World: Not just a Bill; the latest on the season’s biggest hurricane so far

  • It’s a Category 4 now. Hurricane Bill is by no means a joke, currently sporting 135mph winds in the middle of the Atlantic. While it poses no threat to the U.S. at the moment, authorities in Bermuda have told residents to keep an eye on it. Oil installations in the Gulf of Mexico are watching for both Bill and the remnants of Tropical Storm Ana, which could strengthen again and damage their always-booming business. source

19 Aug 2009 10:27

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Tech: Cut it out: Tr.im was closing. Now it’s going public domain.

  • It is our hope that tr.im, being an excellent URL shortener in its own right, can now begin to stand in contrast to the closed twitter/bit.ly walled garden.
  • A statement from the Nambu staff • Regarding tr.im’s plans to become an open-source alternative to bit.ly, currently the most popular URL shortener. We understand what they’re going for and appreciate it, but we wish they’d do it with a lot less public attacking of their competition. • source

19 Aug 2009 10:20

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U.S.: Polls: Town hall protesters aren’t changing anyone’s minds

  • 62% of people aren’t being swayed by town hall critics source

19 Aug 2009 10:09

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Politics: Thank you, Barney Frank: The greatest Town Hall video of all time

  • Barney Frank is too smart to get taken down by this questioner who tries to compare Obama to the Nazis. So instead he comes up with some of the best one liners we’ve ever heard. Talking to you is like talking to a dining room table.source

19 Aug 2009 09:57

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World: The blasts in Baghdad were massive, leaving huge scars

This blast outside of the Foreign Ministry left the biggest mark – a 30 foot deep, 60 foot wide crater. A bomb also shook the Finance Ministry. source

19 Aug 2009 09:49

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World: Baghdad’s latest attack was pretty epic, in a bad way

  • 75+ people died in the blasts, which all happened near high-profile targets source

18 Aug 2009 23:19

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Politics: They don’t build journalists like Robert Novak anymore

  • For a half-century, Novak worked like a wheat thresher, feeding and grooming his sources until they gave him the harvest of news—or he beat it out of them.
  • Slate columnist Jack Shafer • Describing Robert Novak and what he did to get his scoops, no matter how small. It was a approach that worked for him, but not without imperfection – his methods managed to out CIA operative Valerie Plame, a saga which sullied his reputation late in life. (Though attacks by “The Daily Show” didn’t help his image, either.) All in all, he lived life as the ultimate D.C. insider. This is a great piece on Novak; we suggest you read it. • source
 

18 Aug 2009 23:12

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World: Thursday’s Afghan presidential election has a packed field

  • 41 candidates are running for prez; did Lyndon LaRouche run? source

18 Aug 2009 23:03

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Culture: Jackson doctor Conrad Murray follows in the footsteps of his patient

  • After facing weeks of scrutiny after being accused of child molestation, Michael Jackson makes a video denying the charges. source
  • After facing weeks of scrutiny after being accused of giving Jackson a fatal dose, Jackson’s doctor, Conrad Murray, makes a similar denial video. source

18 Aug 2009 22:52

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Offbeat: Thank you for scarring our eyes: Bea Arthur painted nude

We don’t want to travel down that road and back again. Daily Beast, your heart may be true, but you’re not a pal or confidante. (The link’s not NSFW; the art is.) source