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15 Aug 2009 10:28

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Tech: Netscape founder Marc Andreessen’s funding a new browser, RockMelt

RockMelt
  • Ooh, mysterious. Details are scarce at the moment, but basically, the guy who was run out of dodge by Microsoft appears to be coming back with some new players. Since Netscape lost the plot, Andreessen has become one of Silicon Valley’s most respected venture capitalists. So even though this is just an e-mail box, we’re definitely really curious.source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Aug 2009 10:17

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World: It wouldn’t be an Afghanistan election without a car bombing

Just five days before the country’s election, a suicide bomber blew up this car near NATO headquarters, killing seven and injuring 91. Expect more of this. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Aug 2009 10:09

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U.S.: Remember radical militia groups? They’re making a comeback

  • 50 new militia groups reported by one law-enforcement agency source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Aug 2009 10:00

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Politics: Well, that truce between O’Reilly and Olbermann didn’t last long

  • We were hopeful at both companies to put a more civil tone in these discussions. No one at GE ever told anyone at NBC how to cover the news or what to cover.
  • General Electric spokesman Gary Sheffer • Regarding renewed interest in the debate between Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly and MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann. After stories came out about the truce last month, both talk-show gabbers went back to their bag of tricks, with O’Reilly attack NBC owner General Electric. It’s given him some big ratings, while Olbermann, who isn’t playing to his network either, is kinda holding steady ratings-wise. Moral of the story: They shouldn’t have told anyone about the truce. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Aug 2009 09:30

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U.S., World: Aung San Suu Kyi’s stupid visitor, John Yettaw, is getting released

  • Credit Sen. Jim Webb for the diplomatic work. John Yettaw, the out-of-shape American who swam across a moat to save Burmese human rights leader Aung San Suu Kyi but just made things worse, will be getting out of seven years of hard labor. It’s thanks to Webb, a Virginia senator who comes off as a miniature Bill Clinton in this context. While Yettaw gets out, there’s no word on Suu Kyi, who was sentenced by Myanmar to more house arrest in a decision that angered many. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Aug 2009 00:24

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Music: We raided our dad’s record collection for the Saturday Mixtape

  • 1. The Grateful Dead’s “American Beauty” is one of those albums that feels like you’ve heard it a million times, even if it’s only your first time. Phil Lesh’s coming-out party as a lead vocalist, “Box of Rain,” is the album’s honest, emotive high point.
    2. The Beach Boys hit creative peaks long after Brian Wilson hit his personal creative peak, especially on the less-Beach-more-Boys classic “Sunflower.” The album was a truly collective work, and songs like “Add Some Music to Your Day” earned accolades, if not chart success.
    3. When critics call Wilco “dad rock,” it’s because they think Wilco sounds like America. We’d prefer to leave that comparison alone and just appreciate the fact that “Sister Golden Hair” is a worthy guilty pleasure.
    4. Neil Young is one of those guys who records music by the bucketful but is very picky about how it’s released. It took nearly 30 years for “On The Beach,” one of his best albums, to reach the CD format. Screw “Heart of Gold” – the dim, bluesy “For the Turnstiles” is how Neil Young should be remembered.
    5. Did someone say AM Gold? Because you don’t get more golden than The Hollies‘ “The Air That I Breathe,” perhaps the best cheesy pop song to come out of the 1970s. Fun fact: Albert Hammond co-wrote this; his son, Albert Hammond, Jr., is The Strokes’ guitarist.source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Aug 2009 23:17

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U.S.: Obama calls out Big Insurance, holds his own at a town hall

  • Now, I want to just be honest with you, and I think Max will testify. In some cases what we’ve seen is also funding in opposition by some other insurance companies to any kind of reform proposals.
  • President Barack Obama • Referring to Montana Democratic Sen. Max Baucus, as well as the insurance companies, at an event on health care in Montana today. That’s right, Obama just said that some of the insurance companies (who he didn’t name) are spending money to try to kill the plan. Dangerous ground he’s treading, but he’s been treading a lot of it lately. • source
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14 Aug 2009 23:03

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Biz, Music: The Justice Department: No problem with massive RIAA verdicts

  • $1.92 million? Pssh, that’s fine! The Department of Justice put their two cents into the most anti-consumer case of our time, one in which regular person Jammie Thomas-Rasset was ordered to pay a huge sum to the RIAA. What did they say? Here’s what they submitted to court: “Defendant’s suggestion that the actual harm can be measured to the ‘tune of $1.29 for each of the 24 songs’ … ignores the potential multiplying effect of peer-to-peer file-sharing.” Wait, what? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 3 Comments • Permalink

14 Aug 2009 22:53

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Biz, U.S.: It’s Friday. Guess it’s time for more banks to fail.

  • five number of banks that failed today, including the fairly huge Colonial Bank source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Aug 2009 20:30

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Offbeat: Want to stop a zombie attack? You have three hours. Go.

  • Only sufficiently frequent attacks, with increasing force, will result in eradication, assuming the available resources can be mustered in time.
  • The authors of an article called “When Zombies Attack!: Mathematical Modeling of an Outbreak of Zombie Infection” • Discussing how to survive a zombie attack. The authors also note that the attack has a limited timeframe. In a city of 500,000, you have about three hours to prevent the level of zombies from topping the level of humans. So basically, you need to be Simon Pegg to survive. • source
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