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02 Jan 2010 16:25

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Offbeat: Newspapers still fall for old “Heywood Jablome” gag

Around Christmas, both the Quad City Times and The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead ran “Heywood Jablome” attributions. Painful. source

02 Jan 2010 16:13

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Politics: Rick Sanchez makes John Ensign feel all uncomfortable & stuff

  • Our Boy Rick Sanchez got Nevada Sen. John Ensign on his show to talk terror. Big deal, right? Well, except it was the first interview Ensign had done with CNN since his ethics scandal broke around the time Mark Sanford’s did. And Rick quickly changed the subject quickly to Ensign’s myriad ethics problems. Painful to watch.

02 Jan 2010 15:58

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Politics: Switching parties may not be good for a politician’s career

  • of House defectors since 1980 lost their next election source

02 Jan 2010 15:57

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Biz: Big-box retail survivors eating the corpses of the deceased

  • cause A bunch of retail spaces have closed during the recession – including 8,000 stores expected in the first half of this year alone.
  • effect Chains still doing well – including Forever 21, Kohl’s and Staples – are taking advantage of cheap rents to launch new concepts. source

02 Jan 2010 15:38

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Biz: Time Warner and News Corp. come to a deal, freaking finally

  • We’re happy to have reached
    a reasonable deal with no disruption in programming for our customers.
  • Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt • Regarding the deal made between his company and News Corp. over content. News Corp. wanted a dollar per subscriber for its content each month; Time Warner wanted to pay them closer to twenty cents. They found a happy medium or something. Customers still lose because it means higher cable prices either way. source

02 Jan 2010 11:00

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World: Mount Nyamuragira blows: Eruption threatens rare chimpanzees

  • 40 chimps in Congo could lose their habitat as a result source

02 Jan 2010 10:53

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World: Iraq’s 2009 civilian death toll way down, still really high

  • 9,226 civilians died due to violence in 2008 – the biggest year yet
  • 4,497 died in 2009 – the lowest since the war began in 2003 source
 

02 Jan 2010 10:45

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World: Crazy guy remembers the Prophet Mohammed cartoon controversy

  • I locked myself in our safe room and alerted the police. He tried to smash the entrance door with an axe, but he didn’t manage.
  • Cartoonist Kurt Westergaard • Describing the attempt his life by a Somali man over a cartoon he drew a few years ago showing the Prophet Mohammed. The guy, who we can’t name due to Danish law, reportedly freaked out over the 2005 incident and ended up getting himself shot twice in the process. He denies any wrongdoing, but doesn’t deny being at the scene. source