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16 May 2010 12:02

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U.S.: Some people paralyzed by food allergies they don’t really have

Yeah, some people are allergic to peanuts, but a new study suggests that some people often freak out over food allergies they don’t actually have. In other words, they’re nuts. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 May 2010 11:47

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Biz, Tech: Freestyle: Coke wants you to mix up your soft drinks

  • These machines, with their minimalist design and touchscreen interfaces, can create as many as 104 different flavors of soda. But despite this, they’re actually way better designed than old machines. As anyone who’s ever worked in a fast food restaurant can tell you, traditional fountain soda requires a massive infrastructure of plumbing using boxes of syrup and heavy tanks of carbon. These machines replace those massive boxes of syrup with heavily concentrated inkjet cartridges, a way more eco-friendly solution. They’re going mainstream soon. Whoo. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 May 2010 11:33

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Politics: Sen. Jim DeMint is ruining the GOP’s well-established plans

  • The South Carolina senator, who on the ideological scale is far right to counterpart Lindsey Graham’s moderate conservative, has been sticking his nose in congressional and senate races across the country, pushing the GOP to the right and causing headaches for folks like Mitch McConnell, whose own candidate in Kentucky has been undermined by DeMint’s support of shorts-wearing bizarro hippie favorite Rand Paul. (Photo by Gage Skidmore) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 May 2010 11:20

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Politics: What the GOP wants from Elena Kagan: A tight interpretation

  • I think we’ll be looking at her testimony because she has so little other record, it’s going to be a big deal. It’s so important how she testifies.
  • Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions • Discussing why Elena Kagan’s upcoming testimony will be key in building a lot of opinions of her. Regarding what he’s looking for, he says Republicans would like to know “whether her philosophy of law is so broad in her interpretation of the Constitution that you are not faithful to the Constitution and laws.” This isn’t something to be taken lightly. The last nominee who didn’t have judicial experience, Bush-selected Harriet Meiers, was withdrawn due in part to lack of experience. Kagan has a better record than Meiers did, but the lack of judicial experience could be a deal-breaker for some if she doesn’t answer questions to their liking. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 May 2010 11:10

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World: The current state of violence in the escalating Bangkok conflict

  • 29+ have been killed in the escalating violence between the Thai government and Red Shirts
  • 221+ have been wounded; the Red Shirts want a cease-fire; the Thai government won’t budge source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 May 2010 11:04

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World: Still intensifying: The high-stakes conflict in Bangkok

Fans of motolov cocktails should be excited to know that the Thai government is planning on toughening its stance against the Red Shirts. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 May 2010 10:35

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Tech: A quick criticism of Twitter’s new trending topic formula

  • A few days ago, Twitter changed its trending topic formula. In one sense, it’s really good, because it means that Justin Bieber isn’t just hogging the top spot for a month for no reason (thank God), but in a lot of ways it’s also less useful as a result. Why? Because there’s no filter. Something tells us that simply replacing an American pop star with “Bonamana,” the name of a South Korean boy band’s new album, was really what they intended. Our solution? Filter by country, guys. Thanks. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

16 May 2010 10:27

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U.S.: The Deepwater Horizon spill causes huge plumes of oil to form

  • 10 miles the length of one of the oil plumes, which is also a mile wide
  • 30% the decrease in oxygen in some parts of the ocean due to the oil spill source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 May 2010 23:27

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Politics: Bill Maher makes an astute point about Obama and Apple

  • Barack Obama got all fuddie duddie, and Bill Maher put it into perspective. Simply put, Obama’s point from last week’s Hampton University commencement undercuts his status as the “cool” president, and Apple would probably run the country more efficiently than our current leadership (see the clogged drain that is the Senate). Great clip. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 May 2010 21:03

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Culture: Shia LaBeouf: I hate being the guy that ruined Indiana Jones

  • I feel like I dropped the ball on the legacy that people loved and cherished. If I was going to do it twice, my career was over. So this was fight-or-flight for me.
  • Shia LaBeouf • Making himself sound like the harbinger of bad reboots, after he described the “rampant problems” with “Indiana Jones 4,” which he starred in. He’s also the star of the “Wall Street” sequel, “Money Never Sleeps.” As for “Indy,” he claims the movie tried to make him out to be an action hero, “But the actor’s job is to make it come alive and make it work, and I couldn’t do it. So that’s my fault.” Don’t be so hard on yourself, man. That movie is not the disaster you’re making it out to be. By the way, he’s only 23. The fact that he’s so honest about something like a major blockbuster film might make you forget that. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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