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24 Mar 2010 11:01

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Politics: Polling drama: One pollster calls out another, calls for a duel

  • Using all negative statements, rather than a mix of negative and positive ones, reflects another non-standard approach, one that can further bias responses.
  • ABC Director of Polling Gary Langer • Regarding the problems he found with a Harris Interactive survey on “wingnuts” who dislike President Obama. The survey, which suggests as many as 40 percent of people think Obama is a socialist (among other things), also uses the leading phrase “here are some things people have said about President Obama,” with Langer finds particularly troublesome. He calls it “a highly manipulative approach to questionnaire design,” the kind of thing that persuades many respondents into biases. Harris Interactive must be smartin’ about this. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Mar 2010 10:47

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Biz: Must’ve been the snow: New home sales unexpectedly fall

  • 2.2% dip in new home sales in February source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Mar 2010 10:42

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U.S.: No Child Left Behind doesn’t mean their reading scores get ahead

  • fourth After a modest increase in 2007, reading scores for fourth graders stalled in 2009 on a national level; some local schools did better, others did worse.
  • eighth While reading scores increased
    for eighth graders in 2009, there’s been no change in score since the “No Child Left Behind” law was enacted in 2002. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Mar 2010 10:34

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U.S.: Get yo popcorn ready! Obama nominates liberal to appeals court

Goodwin Liu could be an appeals court judge. One Repbulican Senator calls the Berkeley professor a liberal “beyond the mainstream.” A huge fight is coming. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink

24 Mar 2010 10:23

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World: Is the radicalized Somalia ready to turn a major corner?

  • I’m not saying Somalia’s going to be a modern state, but it won’t be a radical Islamic state either.
  • An unnamed U.S. official • Speaking about the current status of Somalia, a country that has spent most of the last 20 years under a militant radical Islam leadership. But a corner seems to be turning, and many people (particularly the weakened Somali government) are starting to fight back against the Shabab militants. Could this be the beginning of the end of the anarchy that’s peppered the African nation? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Mar 2010 09:57

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Politics: UK Conservative leader: Yeah, we, uh …, support, uh …, gay rights

  • Man, talk about a stumble. David Cameron, who’s been leading a push to portray the Conservatives as a modernized party in the UK, tripped over his own words in this interview with Gay Times, to the point where he told the magazine to shut off the camera so he could collect his thoughts. This is how to make your party look modernized. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Mar 2010 09:45

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Biz: Apparently, carrying babies in a wraparound sling may not be safe

  • Would you put your baby in one of these things? Apparently, a company that sells baby slings is learning the hard way that it’s hard to make a backpack-styled device safe for carrying an infant. Three babies died due to breathing problems caused by the slings. Then the Consumer Product Safety Commission told the public that the slings aren’t safe. Now, sling maker Infantino just took two of their models (including the one on the right) off the market entirely, and told people to stop using them immediately. Oh, baby. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

24 Mar 2010 09:29

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U.S.: California universities throw tons of cost-cutting options on the table

  • one Encourage students to take summer classes and graduate in three years.
  • two Double the number of out-of-state students in the university system to 10 percent.
  • three Charge more for the most popular campuses – UCLA and UC Berkeley particularly.
  • four Increase online classes offerings so people don’t have to look at each other. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Mar 2010 09:22

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Politics: Best way to thank Dems who voted for health care? Advertising

  • $5 million in thank-you political
    ads are coming source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Mar 2010 21:32

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Music: One-word album reviews: We hate Justin Bieber and his new album

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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