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21 Oct 2009 23:26

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Politics: Visual Aid: Maybe Obama needs a mustache for respect

Barackfrobama1021
  • Would Obama get a little more respect if he had a mustache? A recent study showed that people with mustaches make more money than people without one. It may not be as stylish as what he’s used to, but it might help win him some respect from the Glenn Becks of the world. He’s going to make another push for peace in Israel soon, so it could come in handy. As long as he gets the right kind. Go with a handlebar, bro. (Art thanks to CORRESPONDENT)
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Oct 2009 23:12

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U.S., World: The nuclear breakthrough in Iran: Looking forward, not back

  • Everybody who participated at the meeting was trying to help, trying to look to the future and not to the past, trying to heal the wounds that existed for many, many years.
  • International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei • On the draft proposal with Iran, which would transfer the country’s nuclear material abroad to be reworked for medical purposes. Iran has two and a half days to sign it. The deal, which the U.S. played a key role in creating, is something of a compromise – Iran would be allowed to keep nuclear material, but not enough to create a bomb. If it goes through, it could become a real lynchpin for the Obama administration – bro might be worthy of that Nobel Peace Price he won. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Oct 2009 23:03

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U.S.: Father doesn’t know best: Iraq-born man attacks “Westernized” daughter

  • Classy, buddy. Police are looking for 48-year-old Arizona resident Faleh Hassan Almaleki after he allegedly ran over his daughter, Noor Faleh Almaleki, along with a friend. His apparent reason? He was angry that she had strayed from her traditional Iraqi values and “had become too ‘Westernized.'” Which is a classy way of responding to the situation, especially since Noor is suffering from life-threatening injuries. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Oct 2009 22:51

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Offbeat: What‽ You don’t know what an interrobang is‽ Mind if we tell you‽

  • ‽ it’s an exclamation point and a question mark, brought together at last source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Oct 2009 22:45

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U.S.: Democrats shot off some major health-insurer antitrust salvo today

  • We can open up our health insurance markets to real competition and make an important contribution to the health reform efforts under way in both houses of Congress.
  • Democratic Congressman John Conyers • On the House Judiciary Committee’s decision to strip health insurers of their antitrust exemption. This is a BIG DEAL, because it means that big insurers can’t collude or price fix or do willy-nilly like they’ve been doing in the past. It means that the insurers will be subject to state AND federal regulation. They’ve had their antitrust exemption since 1945, which Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid calls “antiquated” and “an accident of American history.” The legislation will be included as part of the broader health-care legislation.  • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Oct 2009 22:30

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U.S.: That sound you hear is the the EPIC FAIL of health care’s dry run

  • The Senate couldn’t push through a Medicare payment bill. An attempt to prevent the 21% reduction of doctors’ Medicare fees couldn’t get through the Senate tonight, with both Republicans and centrist Democrats suggesting the $250 billion price tag was too much. They needed 60 votes to get the bill, supported by the American Medical Association, onto the Senate floor. They got 47. This may be a harbinger of things to come. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is suggesting that much. Have we called him a toolbag lately? source
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21 Oct 2009 22:00

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World: The world’s running out of food, experts say

  • 50% more food is needed in 20 years to feed more people source
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21 Oct 2009 21:51

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Biz: Obama’s pay czar: Pretty unpopular around Wall Street right now

  • 90% of the salaries of highly-paid executives at bailed-out companies will be taken away by pay czar Kenneth Feinberg
  • $200,000 the pay cap set on the incomes of executives at AIG’s financial products unit, which largely caused the financial crisis source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Oct 2009 21:09

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About: Big site news: ShortFormBlog’s redesigning, and other changes

redesign1021

We have big plans, guys. As you might remember a couple weeks ago, we asked you guys what you wanted. In part, that's because we have some big plans for the site's future. To start with, we have a redesign ready to launch November 3. Here's a little about the redesign, and some other changes:
  • Why the redesign? ShortFormBlog has been in existence for ten months, and we’ve learned a lot. And in many ways, the site’s focus evolved in ways that the original site didn’t anticipate. Mainly, we wanted a cleaner format that made the bite-sized elements work as well throughout the site as they do on the front page. To emphasize these changes, we’re flipping the slogan from “writing a little, saying a lot” to “read a little, learn a lot.” Small, but notable.
  • Sports: Outta hereOne of the things that we’ve wrestled with more than anything is a way of paring down the site’s elements in smart, clear ways. For that reason, we’ve chosen to take out a piece of the pie that’s fallen by the wayside. Sports will not be part of the redesign. By cutting off a finger, we hope to make the hand stronger or something. But in the future, we have other plans for sports. And we want to bring readers on board to help.
  • New content, kids!One thing that we will be adding to the site is a weekly editorial comic by Shawn Vulliez. Vulliez, a fan of the site, created the animation for one of the most well-known and popular Flash clips of all time, “The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny.” The comics are just a start, we hope. Our long-term goal is to figure out ways, both big and small, to get more contributors on board. Bug us if you’re interested.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink

21 Oct 2009 10:55

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Culture: Improv Everywhere is at the grocery store, being awesome again

  • Somehow, Improv Everywhere has managed to take an idea – comedy in public places – and make it a truly immaculate thing that’s evolved over time. They went from simply dressing up like Best Buy employees to creating elaborate performance pieces like this. That’s impressive. source
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