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21 Apr 2010 11:01

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U.S.: North Dakota has lots of jobs. But why is homelessness up?

  • 19% increase in homelessness from 2008 to 2009 source
  • » But why? The reason might surprise you – as will the deceptiveness of the number above. In 2008, 832 people were homeless. In 2009, 987 were. That’s a far cry from your average major city. The state has 4 percent unemployment, so there are plenty of jobs. But there aren’t enough homes for people to live in, causing some to make do, for example, in cars parked in Wal-Mart parking lots. There are waiting lists for homes in the state. How crazy is that?
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Apr 2010 10:49

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Tech: Who wants your search data? Google gets super-transparent

  • Who’s asking for your data? Google, as a part of the newfound sense of transparency that hit not long after that whole China incident, just put up this government-tracking site to see where requests for user information were coming from. Something tells us the people of Brazil don’t have a lot of reason to be happy right now. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Apr 2010 10:38

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Culture: The downfall of the “Downfall” meme: Hitler won’t be happy, guys

  • Way to take the fun out of Hitler, guys. You’ve seen this meme probably a million times. (We know we have.) Anyway, the rise of the “Downfall” meme has hit a dead-end, after producers of the film started ordering clips from the film be taken down. Probably is, these clips are almost all across-the-board parodies of the original clip, where Hitler learns that he’s about to lose the war. Above is a super-meta clip that makes fun of the DMCA takedown notices. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Apr 2010 10:27

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Tech: Here’s a fun-looking heat map on Apple uptake in the U.S.

To our friends in D.C, NYC, L.A., Silicon Valley, Chicago and Colorado: You’ve officially been sucked in by the Apple borg. How’s it feel, anyway? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Apr 2010 10:16

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Biz: Chrysler: Big losses, bright spots since exiting bankruptcy

  • $4
    billion     the amount Chrysler has lost
    since exiting bankruptcy; they’ve turned a corner though
  • $143
    million     the company’s operating profit
    this quarter, due to all the cuts
    they’ve made source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Apr 2010 10:06

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Music: An open letter to the band New Politics on your advertising

  • Look guys, we know. Getting attention is tough, and you want people to listen to your band. But this ad has seriously been everywhere this week (including on this site), and is annoying as heck because, even if you roll over it by accident, you can’t turn it off. So we have no choice but to tell people not to listen to this band. You heard it here first, kids: New Politics sucks. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Apr 2010 09:56

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World: David Cameron has yolk on his face thanks to some hoodie dude

  • What the heck happened? David Cameron, the U.K. Conservative leader went to go visit a college somewhere, and during the visit, some kid draped in a hoodie egged him. People on Twitter have been taking joy in Cameron’s misery today. For his part, he’s having fun with the incident. “Now I know which came first, the chicken not the egg.” (The hoodie, by the way, is also funny: Critics have in the past attacked him for his stance on youth crime, which they derisively call the “hug a hoodie campaign.”) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

21 Apr 2010 00:05

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Politics: Gay rights advocates get wires crossed at Obama speech

  • Look, Obama may not be able to stop “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” immediately, but it’s still kind of surprising that he was heckled by gay rights supporters for it. It’s also bad because, well, Barbara Boxer is in the fight for her political life, and Obama, who’s stumping for her, is made to look bad by those on his own side. This is how Boxer will lose her re-election bid. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Apr 2010 23:49

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Culture: Quick advice to Kal Penn on braving the streets of D.C.

  • first Don’t walk around 15th & S NW by yourself at 1:30 a.m. on a weekday. During the day that area’s OK, but at night … it’s not super-safe.
  • second You should work this robbery at gunpoint subplot into the next Harold and Kumar movie. Just a thought from us at SFB. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink

20 Apr 2010 23:36

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Politics: Rahm Emanuel wants to take his Chicago politics … to Chicago

  • He wants to be mayor of the Windy city someday. Dude dropped the hint to Charlie Rose last night, saying he would run if the current mayor, his buddy Richard M. Daley, chose not to run again. But he hopes Daley does. Emanuel has $1.2 million in his coffer for a run like this, and would know whether Daley plans to retire in February. He’s promised his services to Obama, by the way, for two years, but that could be extended. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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