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16 Aug 2010 19:59

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Biz: Yet again, the L.A. Times takes the advertising way too far

  • This is meant in no way to attack the journalists of the L.A. Times. Just its management. Dear L.A. Times: Please stop selling out your front page – both online and in print – to TV and movie companies. Sincerely, everyone. This damages your credibility as a paper of record.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

16 Aug 2010 12:50

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World: In Colombia, an airliner broke in three (!!!) in a huge crash

Sure, this looks awful, but the really crazy part is that despite all that, only one person died in this Columbia plane crash (though 114 were injured). source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

16 Aug 2010 11:31

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U.S.: Driver behind crazy off-road accident is really, really sorry

  • Soo incredibly lost and devistated [sic] my thoughts and prayers go out to all the familys and friends involved. Thank you too all my friends for sticking with me even thru these tragic times I love you all.
  • Offroad driver Brett Sloppy • Talking on his Facebook page about the fatal incident that he was involved in on Saturday. In the incident, his vehicle (a large truck) veered towards a crowd of spectators, and the resulting crash killed eight. Sloppy survived and wasn’t even injured by the accident, which he wasn’t charged for. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Aug 2010 11:11

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U.S.: Robert Gates’ retirement has at least one interesting coincidence

  • spring The period next year which Gates reportedly wants to retire as Defense Secretary, a story that just broke today.
  • spring The period he said that he wants to hand over partial reins to Afghan security forces. Coincidence? We think not. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Aug 2010 11:03

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World: How bad is Pakistan’s flooding? This number puts it in sharp relief

  • 3.5 million children are susceptible to water-bourne disease source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Aug 2010 23:52

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Politics: Max Headroom: Alvin Greene says stupid crap about aliens

  • Alvin Greene tops himself Oh boy. In this Fox News clip, radio host Keith Larson tackles the South Carolina senate candidate, who talked about illegal aliens on his show: “We wouldn’t want illegal aliens from Pluto or Mars taking advantage of our taxpayers too.”
  • Fox, obama see eye to eye?Strangely enough, on “Fox & Friends,” Obama did in fact get some support for his comments about the Ground Zero mosque. Maybe it wasn’t like the biggest thing in the world, but it definitely raised our eyebrows.
  • Social Security dems’ ace?Cenk Uygur (best known for his radio/YouTube work with The Young Turks), made a pretty sound point about the Democrats’ strongest arguing point in the midterms: Social Security. The ad at the beginning nails it.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

15 Aug 2010 23:11

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Tech: Embracing the future: A quick note on our YouTube embeds

  • As you may or may not know, YouTube’s embeds have traditionally used Flash. It’s a big, clunky beast that isn’t really made for the future. It’s not particularly sleek. But, fortunately, Google has a plan for all that. A few weeks ago, they launched these new YouTube embeds that can automatically adapt to the browser, whether it supports HTML5 or Flash. Plus, it’s an iFrame format (and way cleaner than the old style), so, it loads independently of the page. We’re trying them out for now. Please let us know what you think. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

15 Aug 2010 22:56

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Offbeat: Pillow fight! German flight attendants cooler than U.S. ones

  • No chutes here. This lovely German flight attendant (she flies with Lufthansa) watched as her pillow-throwing job turned into a hilarious pillow fight. In the U.S. she would’ve grabbed two beers and gone down a chute. In Germany, they can laugh. Laugh! And laugh some more.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Aug 2010 22:40

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Culture: “Expendables” success: When did Stallone last have a #1 hit?

  • $35 million, “The Expendables'” first weekend take source
  • 2003 the last time Stallone topped the box office, that time with (we kid you not) “Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over“
  • 2001 the last Stallone starring role to top the box office, that time with the long-forgotten “Driven“
  • » Other notes: First of all, “The Expendables” is the biggest opening in Sylvester Stallone’s long career, not counting for inflation; “Spy Kids 3-D” is easily the second-biggest. And despite his many movies and A-list status, only five of them have made more than $100 million, with “Rambo: First Blood Part II” being his biggest moneymaker. Oh yeah, remember “Cop Land,” that fat cop movie he did? That opened at No. 1, too.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

15 Aug 2010 21:42

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World: The U.S. may be ready to put a little more trust in Afghan troops

  • With more Afghan forces, we can be on a path to transition in more places around the country. The success with the [Afghan] army in particular, I think, bodes well for in fact beginning to have some transitions maybe as early as this spring, but certainly beginning in the summer.
  • Defense Secretary Robert Gates • On whether the U.S. and NATO might be willing to let Afghan security forces take on securing more stable parts of the country. Gates says they could be ready as soon as early next year – a promising sign, considering how long this war has dragged on. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink
 
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