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13 Feb 2010 13:13

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Offbeat: On-the-job-training: 911 dispatcher saves his own baby son

  • He was in training mode, and rocked it. Lacey, Wash. 911 dispatcher Chris Scott got a chance to practice being cool under pressure when his wife, Janna, came on the other line because his 6-month-old son, Jacob, was choking. One thing that helped was that Chris didn’t completely realize it was his wife. Even so, the Marine reservist just back from Iraq successfully guided Janna through the process. Not bad. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Feb 2010 12:55

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World: The Taliban apparently missed NATO’s massive Taliban offensive

  • Actually, the resistance is not there. Based on our intelligence reports, some of the Taliban have left the area. But we still expected there to be several hundred in the area. Just yesterday, we received reports that reinforcements had arrived from neighboring provinces.
  • Afghan Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak • Regarding the Taliban’s stranglehold on Marja, which turned out to be much smaller than anticipated. As a result, the U.S. had an easy time occupying the city. Among Afghan troops, none were killed and only a handful were wounded. Apparently, the U.S.’ early call that they were coming was successful in scaring the Talban away. Or they’re hiding. One of the two. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Feb 2010 12:43

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Biz: Toyota: Might as well recall a few thousand more trucks, eh?

  • 8,000 Tacomas recalled due to drive shafts source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Feb 2010 11:21

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Music: “We Are the World 25”: The original was much, much better

  • This song is like seven minutes long. It’s like they couldn’t fit all the celebrities that wanted to help in a three-minute tune so they just made it longer and added lots of breakdowns. Including creepy appearances by a deceased Michael Jackson, who we’re sure would be helping if he were still alive (since he co-wrote the song). But that said, however misguided, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t help Haiti. So donate. Anyway, our recap of the video:
  • » Best moment: Lil’ Wayne busting out the autotune because he can’t sing at all. There was a rap breakdown, man. Why didn’t you bust out a couple of rhymes on that?
  • » Second best moment: Wyclef Jean throwing some vitality into that second chorus. He’s pretty much the most welcome voice on the whole production.
  • » Second worst moment: Teen super-heartthrob Justin Bieber singing the intro like a 12-year-old girl. Downright awful replacement for Lionel Richie.
  • » Worst moment: The rap breakdown, which we’re sure wasn’t in the original version. It wasn’t necessary for any other reason but to get more people on the record.
  • » Oddest celebrity cameo: Barbara Streisand, who barely – just barely – took this mantle from Tony Bennett. She was simply a downright strange choice.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Feb 2010 10:58

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U.S.: Did the professor do it? A scary tale of tenure in Huntsville

Amy Bishop, center, reportedly opened fire yesterday after she found out she didn’t get tenure status at the University of Alabama-Huntsville, killing three. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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