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02 Sep 2009 10:59

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U.S., World: Laura Ling & Euna Lee: We were pulled back into North Korea

  • Feeling nervous about where we were, we quickly turned back toward China. Midway across the ice, we heard yelling. We looked back and saw two North Korean soldiers with rifles running toward us. Instinctively, we ran. We were firmly back inside China when the soldiers apprehended us.
  • A statement on Current TV’s Web site • In the statement, Ling and Lee describe the circumstances that led them into North Korea. Basically, a guide in China convinced them to keep walking until they found themselves in the country. They immediately went back into China, but were grabbed anyway by North Korean soldiers. Which, if anything, lends credence to the idea that they weren’t intentionally headed there. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 3 Comments • Permalink

02 Sep 2009 10:49

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U.S.: The California Station Fire, 22% contained, is still getting bigger

  • 140,150 acres wide at the moment source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Sep 2009 10:40

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Biz: Good for them: Consumerist takes a bold stand against Cash4Gold

  • We believe citizens, consumers, and employees should be able to exercise their free-speech rights online – and journalists should be able to report on those efforts – without fear of intimidation.
  • Ben Popken and Meg Marco • In a long expose on Cash4Gold, which they wrote to expose the practices of a company which sued them and other sites in response to their posting of anonymous whistleblower statements from former employees. The whistleblower noted that the company – which until the Super Bowl this year, largely advertised on el cheapo late night advertising – gives significantly less money for traded in gold than pawn shops do. “No matter how nice the person is who gives it to you, a bad deal is still a bad deal,” they write. A bold article; good for them. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Sep 2009 10:28

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Biz: There’s no cure for cancer, but drugmakers sure want to find it

Drug companies like Pfizer – which has little history with cancer drugs – are throwing lots of money at the cancer problem right now. It’s a big risk. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Sep 2009 10:16

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Offbeat: Fighting Paris suburbs pit two one-way streets against each other

  • The conservative French suburb of Levallois-Perret, annoyed by the large amounts of traffic coming from the city, made one of its major roads a one way street, which is kind of selfish. source
  • In response to the traffic buildup caused, a neighboring suburb, Clichy-la-Garenne, made traffic go the other way on the road. At the two towns’ borders, chaos ensued. Yikes. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Sep 2009 09:58

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Sports: The Minnesota Timberwolves on the short end of the Ricky Rubio saga

  • I don’t think the disappointment should overshadow the big picture. Ricky is the youngest player in the draft. He’ll be 20 in two years. I can think of a lot worse things that can happen to us as a franchise. We tried and came very close.
  • David Kahn, Minnesota Timberwolves VP of basketball operations • Discussing the complications created by young Spanish phenom Ricky Rubio choosing to stay in Europe for two more years (the buyout clause in his contract helped his decision). The Timberwolves are like the college boyfriend for a girl who still hasn’t completely gotten over her high school sweetheart. Eventually, she’s going to look forward – well, as soon as she stops looking back. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Sep 2009 09:45

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U.S.: Not news: Barack Obama is considering a major health care speech

  • He gives major speeches every freaking day. If Obama is anything, he’s a guy that likes to give speeches – often on live television, just to anger major networks. And now he wants to give another on on health care. It’s kind of necessary, because he needs to clearly define the debate, but another speech? The goal, as David Axelrod sums up, is to unify the points of the debate: “We’re entering a new season. It’s time to synthesize and harmonize these strands and get this done.” But another speech? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

02 Sep 2009 09:35

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Biz, U.S.: The private sector is bleeding jobs slower than before

  • The private sector lost 360,000 jobs in July, mostly through layoffs (of sad people). source
  • In August, 298,000 jobs were lost. The slow economic bounceback begins. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Sep 2009 09:23

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World: A Afghan suicide bomber hit his high-ranking political target

  • 15+ people died in the attack, including Dr. Abdullah Laghmani, the country’s second-ranking intelligence official source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Sep 2009 01:00

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U.S.: Pretty much nobody likes this insensitive 9/11 WWF ad

Disturbing 9/11 WWF ad treatment
  • Um, holy crap. What can we say about this image besides the obvious fact that it’s completely uncalled for? Comparing a natural disaster to terrorism is probably not a good idea, no matter the context. (The World Wildlife Fund is not happy with the Brazillian ad company that came up with this, BTW.) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 5 Comments • Permalink
 
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