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11 May 2010 22:06

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Tech: Five things you didn’t know about new British PM David Cameron

  • one The Tory leader (in
    power since 2005)
    is the youngest
    prime minister
    since 1812.
  • two He’s a few
    months younger
    than Tony Blair
    was when he took
    office in 1997.
  • three He largely built
    his base by
    copying tactics
    used by Blair in
    his rise to power.
  • four His wife is the
    creative director
    of a leather goods
    company. No, not
    that kind.
  • five Sadly, his
    six-year-old son
    died last year of
    cerebal palsy and
    epilepsy. source

11 May 2010 21:45

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World: So yeah, holy crap, Britain’s leadership completely changed today

  • winner Conservative leader David Cameron is now the country’s Prime Minister, a move that happened very quickly.
  • gainer Nick Clegg, whose Liberal Democrats created a coalition with the Tories, gets a top cabinet seat in the deal.
  • loser Labour leader Gordon Brown, who couldn’t lead his party to victory or form a coalition to remain in power. source

11 May 2010 11:23

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Offbeat: Dude gets on morning news show with fake yo-yo skillz

  • If you’ve ever seen the film “The Foot Fist Way,” in which Danny McBride stars as a kung fu master, just imagine kind of the same incredibly awkward thing, except with yo-yos. This guy clearly isn’t an expert at anything, especially not yo-yos. source

11 May 2010 11:12

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World: In Haiti, art conservators are trying to recover pieces of a culture

The Smithsonian Institution is trying to protect works, like this renowned mural right here, from being lost in the rubble. They hope to restore these works. source

11 May 2010 11:00

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U.S.: Chatroulette’s maker more interested in surprise nudity than school

  • The last three years at school, I haven’t done anything. I just can’t make myself. There’s so much interesting stuff in the world, and I have to sit there with textbooks?
  • Chatroulette creator Andrey Ternovskiy • Regarding his feelings on school. An apparent juvenile delinquent, the Russian teenager created his way out of ever needing to finish school with Chatroulette, which is insanely popular, to the point that he only started making an effort to crack down on the nudity after Ashton Kutcher personally said something to him about it. Which is kind of hilarious. Actually, everything about this story is awesome. Well, except for the nudity. That’s pretty scary. source

11 May 2010 10:50

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World: Russia’s deadly mine blast a major, unfortunate tragedy

  • 52 have died and 38 are still missing after the blasts source

11 May 2010 10:41

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Biz: Despite the recalls, Toyota actually made big profits last quarter

  • $2.2B the size of Toyota’s profits over the last fiscal year, after a down year
  • $1.2B the profits Toyota made during their recall troubles last quarter
  • 53k the increase in new car sales the company expects this year source
 

11 May 2010 10:35

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Tech: Bill Gates throws money to a bunch of awesome crap for no reason

  • 78 the number of health projects Bill Gates is funding
  • $100,000 the amount each of the project
    got from Gates source
  • » What did he fund, anyway? In order of weirdness (least weird to most weird): A cell phone microscope to help fight malaria, a vaccine triggered by human sweat, treating migrant workers’ scarves with insecticide to reduce malaria, using ultrasounds at reversible male contraceptives, a way to control mosquitoes using flesh-eating plants, and an imaging technology to kill parasites with FRICKIN’ LASER BEAMS.

11 May 2010 10:20

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Culture: Apparently people are upset about Miss USA contestants in lingerie

So, you have a contest seemingly designed to objectify women, then you get upset when they make it slightly more blatant? (The linked photo gallery’s a little racy for work.) source

11 May 2010 10:11

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Politics: Some on the left are all grumbley about Elena Kagan

  • Why do the conservatives always get the conservatives, but we don’t get to get the liberals? What the hell is that all about?
  • Sen. Tom Harkin • Speaking before Kagan’s nomination, when it merely seemed likely she’d get the nod. Harkin isn’t alone on this stance. Many on the left were hoping that someone as liberal as Thurgood Marshall would get nominated. He’s the last outspoken liberal the court has had, and he was nominated in 1967. Instead, they’re all like, she’s not as liberal as Antonin Scalia is conservative! Gah! *GRUMBLE!* source