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29 Aug 2010 22:42

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U.S.: NYC cabbie stabbing victim Ahmed Sharif needs your help

  • My guess is that he’ll be unable to work for at least four months. He can’t even pick up his baby because of the wounds to his arms. He can’t turn his neck.
  • New York Taxi Workers Alliance spokesperson Bhairavi Desai • Regarding the physical and mental anguish he’s suffered as a result of the attack last week. And he’s broke and can’t work; he needs the money to feed his child. Donations have been low so far; as soon as we saw the story, we donated $30. We recommend (and hope) you do the same. Fight hate with your wallet. Help Ahmed feed his baby. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Aug 2010 21:39

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Tech: We hate Shane Dawson and his money-milking Youtube clips

  • $315,429 made by that stupid prick
  • YouTube’s model is broken. Here’s why. A kid like Shane Dawson can prime the pump of YouTube’s model and make clips that are the unfunniest things you’ve ever seen. We couldn’t even make it though the first minute of this piece of crap here. This guy isn’t the only insane YouTube moneymaker out there, either. All of these guys brand the heck of of themselves, and some of them are pretty unfunny for the most part. We don’t understand their appeal at all.
  • The annoying orange This video, which is minorly charming, got approximately 29 million views since its October launch. Since then, its creator has made $288,375 from YouTube and has a TV deal in the works.
  • Ray William JohnsonThis guy is something of a low-rent Tosh.0, who basically re-appropriates viral clips for his own brash commentary and quick edits. Funnier than Shane Dawson, he made $278,048 from YouTube.
  • Philip DeFrancoAs overly-popular YouTube figures go, this guy is better than most. In this clip, he make fun of his long-windedness using that Radiohead cover from “The Social Network” trailer. He made $181,706. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

29 Aug 2010 21:10

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Tech: Did YouTube break its featured videos formula for some reason?

  • Half of the top eight videos are videos that have something to do with a single YouTube celebrity – Shane Dawson. Great if you’re a fan of Shane Dawson, awful if you’re just about anyone else. Why is this? Well, YouTube changed its formula recently, so now it’s not done by hand. This makes no sense. Before, it encouraged the discovery of new videos. Now, we get Shaytards. And Fail Blog. And Shane Dawson. All of which, in our opinion, completely suck and aren’t nearly as good as that random stuff that used to bubble up. In other words, established entities win over actual viral content. Way to not understand your user base, guys. We know you’re owned by Google, YouTube, but get your humans back. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Aug 2010 20:34

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U.S.: Obama says that he’ll work harder for Katrina victims

Here’s Obama speaking at Xavier University today. He said that he hopes that Katrina’s legacy after five years can be “not one of neglect, but of action.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

29 Aug 2010 20:20

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Politics: Obama doesn’t worry himself about whether people think he’s Muslim

  • There were those who said I couldn’t win. because I had a funny name. I trusted in the American people’s capacity to get beyond all this nonsense.
  • President Barack Obama • Taking on the unfounded claims about his religion by saying he’s not bothered by them. In other news, his old pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, totally had his back on his religion. Too bad the AP got that fact incredibly wrong. It’s “sycophants,” not psychopaths. Big difference. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Aug 2010 12:10

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Politics: Big GOP wins could cost Congress its pro-female momentum

  • 10 fewer female seats in Congress if the GOP wins big source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink

29 Aug 2010 11:58

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U.S.: Protip to Fred Phelps anti-protesters: Two wrongs don’t make right

  • bad A bunch of Westboro Baptist Church protesters were at a marine’s funeral in Omaha, Nebraska on Saturday.
  • worse The protesters were reportedly pepper-sprayed by some dude in a Ford F-150. That dude got arrested. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

29 Aug 2010 11:46

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Politics: Glenn Beck awkwardly tries to reclaim civil rights movement, fails

  • If it’s not the essence, then we’ve been sold a pack of lies. The essence is that everyone deserves a shot — the content of character not the color of skin.
  • Glenn Beck • Explaining that his goal for yesterday’s march was to take the civil rights movement “from politics” and back to the “people of faith who believe you have an equal right to justice.” Beck made the comments today on “Fox News Sunday.” And he doesn’t agree with even that part of the civil rights movement, either. He claims that King’s speech, on top of voting rights, dealt with economic issues. He says “full and fair employment” and “decent housing” were part of what King was trying to sell, “but that’s a part of it that I don’t agree with.” Does Beck even know what he’s saying anymore? Seriously? There’s so much loopy logic in his treatment of civil rights that we can’t believe anyone takes it seriously. It’s like he accidentally backed into the civil rights debate because of his awful timing and is trying to back himself out of it. And failing. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Aug 2010 11:27

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Tech: YouTube marks Hurricane Katrina’s fifth anniversary perfectly

  • Today is the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s landfall. Many sites have been covering this anniversary of the tragedy in their own ways, but our favorite thus far is YouTube’s treatment of the disaster. This is the first major event that happened on their watch, and the videos here reflect a tragedy that is very much of this generation. It even created a poorly-timed meme. Great job putting this together, guys. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Aug 2010 11:14

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World: Chile mine rescuers have two plans to get trapped miners

  • four months the amount of time drilling a new hole to reach the miners will take
  • two months the amount of time expanding an existing hole will take source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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