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21 Aug 2010 22:35

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Music: One-word album reviews: We always hated !!!’s name, just an FYI

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21 Aug 2010 21:55

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U.S., World: This dot on this map represents a guy in the middle of nowhere

Poor guy’s been isolated in the Brazilian Amazon for at least 15 years, possibly an uncontacted member of a decaying tribe. Which is kinda awesome. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Aug 2010 21:03

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World: Somebody stole a Van Gogh painting in Egypt for some reason

  • $55 million value of some earless dead guy’s painting source
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21 Aug 2010 15:33

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Culture, U.S.: Fun fact about “The Social Network” compared to other biopics

  • Most movie studios, when making a biopic, try to lock down story rights from a main player in the movie. This is mainly so that they can more freely take artistic license with the plot. The Facebook-based movie, however, is based on the words of Eduardo Saverin, the jilted friend who was an early founder of the service. He gets sidelined during the movie, which instead focuses more on Mark Zuckerberg and Napster co-founder Sean Parker. They stiill took artistic license, though: There’s a mostly-made-up scene that involves dialogue by Parker (played by Justin Timberlake) in the midst of cocaine use off of naked breasts at a party. In other words, Aaron Sorkin still has it. source
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21 Aug 2010 14:54

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Offbeat: Sun Chips bags so environmentally friendly, they won’t shut up

  • The thing is, you feel guilty about complaining since they are doing a good thing for the environment. But you want to snack quietly and you don’t want everyone in the house to know you are eating chips.
  • Sun Chips fan Kathy Frederick • On the major annoyance that is the new Sun Chips packaging. See, Frito-Lay, the makers of the chips, started packing them in new compostable bags, which are environmentally friendly but REALLY GOD DAMN LOUD. Loud enough that there’s multiple Facebook pages devoted to the phenomenon. This video puts the whole situation into perspective – the bag is nearly 20 decibels louder than your average chip bag. 95 decibels for a chip bag? And we thought normal chip bags were loud. source
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21 Aug 2010 14:35

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World: Blackwater (remember them?) nailed for export violations in Iraq

  • $42M the amount the former Blackwater (now Xe) had to pay for export violations
  • 288 the number of defense-related violations Blackwater was cited for between 2003 to 2009
  • 17 the number of Iraqis that died in a controversial Blackwater-caused incident in 2007 source
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21 Aug 2010 12:37

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World: Big day for Iran: They’ve opened their first nuclear power plant

  • It only took them 36 years, with the help of Russia. But don’t think the plant is entirely in Iran’s hands right now. In part to appease the rest of the world, Russian technicians will be joint-operating (and playing the role of safeguard) of the plant for the next two to three years. The U.S. is concerned about anything with the words “Iran” and “nuclear” in it, but they have no qualms with the plant itself, because it could bring them under compliance with International Atomic Energy Agency regulations. source
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21 Aug 2010 12:26

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World: In British Columbia, a mom can sue grown children for parental support

  • Why does the guy on the right look so pissed off? A number of reasons, but the big one is that his own mom is suing him for parental support. And he has good reason to be angry. See, his mom abandoned him when he was 15. But he’s been in a protracted legal battle with her for the last 11 years. She wants $750 (in Canadian dollars) a month from each of her four children. None claim to have had a particularly good childhood. We hope this guy wins. No mother should be able to do that to her kids. (Hat tip Something Awful Forums) source
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21 Aug 2010 12:02

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World: Well, that was fast: Rape charges dropped against Wikileaks founder

  • 6 the number of hours that the stupid case had big media play source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Aug 2010 11:43

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World: “Dirty Tricks” or the real thing?: Julian Assange’s sex-assault charges

  • We were warned to expect ‘dirty tricks’. Now we have the first one.
  • Julian Assange • Regarding the arrest warrant against him on rape and molestation charges in Sweden. Whether or not this is true, the timing of all this seems awful strange, right? In case you’re wondering whether or not Wikileaks will be able to go on without its fearless leader, this statement should warm your heart: “While Julian is focusing on his defenses and clearing his name, WikiLeaks will be continuing its regular operations,” according to a post on Wikileaks’ Web site. (Update: Actually, it appears to have been dirty tricks. The charges were totally dropped against Assange, making this a hyperspeed false rape accusation.) source
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