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30 Dec 2009 11:27

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Politics: Arlen Specter wins a cookie for this point on bipartisanship

  • Obviously playing politics As you might have noticed, we’ve been hard on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell over the last couple of months because of his seemingly obvious attempts to stonewall progress on health care, not offer any real solutions, and really just try to kill Obama dead in in the water. Which is why it’s nice to hear Arlen Specter, who caucused with the GOP at the beginning of 2009 only to switch sides, basically say it.
  • What the Senate needs The Senate needs some reforms, because right now it’s clearly weighted against the majority party too much. The House can get things done with a simple majority; the Senate, however, has all these useless votes and filibusters, and needs a two-thirds majority to even be useful. Arlen’s been on both sides, and he’s been a Senator long enough that his words should be heeded. Good show, man.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink

30 Dec 2009 11:15

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Tech: Make Steve Jobs look good when he’s sick, get paid big bucks

  • $12 million – COO Tim Cook’s reward for Applesitting source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Dec 2009 11:05

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Music: Hashtag fun: Twitter debates the songs of the decade

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Dec 2009 10:55

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Politics: Fear the double-dip: Some analyst says we need more stimulus

  • The only reason that the U.S. economy is doing as well as it is, is because of the government stimulus package. Now, if the government doesn’t introduce another stimulus package, this one will burn off in the first half and in the second half we could easily slip back into recession.
  • Westwood Capital Managing Director Len Blum • Arguing for the need for more stimulus on CNBC this morning. He notes that the government isn’t exactly in a position to be giving out more stimulus money due to the massive amount of lending it’s doing at the moment. Is this guy full of it? Depends on who you ask. Others argue that we might see a soft landing instead of a double dip. We argue that CNBC is full of speculation and it’s kinda hard to trust the speculation from their network. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Dec 2009 10:44

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Tech: Facebook commits Seppukoo on its public relations arm

  • neat An Italian artistic collective creates an art project called Seppukoo, designed to allow people to kill their virtual Facebook identities. It’s clearly a novelty.
  • lame Facebook, claiming it’s a big, bad privacy violation and a bunch of other things, gets lawyers involved. Seppukoo, bravely, doesn’t back down at all. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Dec 2009 09:42

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Offbeat: “Best job in the world” = Being stung by deadly Irukandji jellyfish

  • Sure doesn’t sound like an awesome job. A while back, Ben Southall won a job as caretaker of a gorgeous Australian island. It was marketed as the “best job in the world,” and applications were accepted via YouTube. Well, one thing they didn’t tell you in the job description was that you could get stung by deadly Irukandji jellyfish and nearly die, as Southall did. This, friends, is why you shouldn’t have ambition. It stings you back sometimes. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Dec 2009 09:34

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Tech: The Mac/PC debate works better when children explain it

  • “We’re different brands of computers.” “And we #)&)@&) hate each other.” Ah, the never-ending Mac/PC debate. Somehow it never gets old, especially in the hands of these 4-year-old Asian girls, who come to blows trying to explain why their computer is better. Hilarious, cute, and a bunch of other amusing things.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

30 Dec 2009 09:21

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World: Day of bloodshed: 30+ killed in multiple bombings in Iraq today

  • 24+ killed in suicide bombings in the desert province of Anbar
  • 7+ religious pilgrims were killed separately by a roadside bomb
  • 100+ including a Sunni governor, were injured in the attacks source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Dec 2009 09:12

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Politics: Slate all weirded out by its al-Qaeda equivalent, Sada al-Malahim

  • There’s even an Explainer-like feature that answers reader questions about current topics in jihadism. (Here’s one: The prophet commanded us to expel infidels from the Arabian Peninsula. Which countries was he referring to?)
  • Slate writer Brian Palmer • Discussing the existence of Sada al-Malahim, an online magazine for terrorists. He compares it to Slate, saying that the publications have quite a few things in common. Palmer notes that while it’s not the terrorist organization’s first foray into long-form publications, “it is the first to be released on a fairly reliable schedule over a number of years.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Dec 2009 08:53

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Culture: The Dude abides: “The Big Lebowski” worthy of academic study

  • The Little Lebowski Urban Achievers will appreciate this. A new book, “The Year’s Work in Lebowski Studies,” gathers a number of heady papers on a guy who wants nothing more than to have a rug that nobody urinated on (and a White Russian). Shut the &!^$ up, Julius. You’re out of your element. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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