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12 Oct 2010 23:40

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World: Chilean miner rescue: Think the media coverage is a bit much?

  • Maybe we’re a bit sarcastic and all, but we almost feel like this rescue is getting the coverage it is because it’s a piece of red meat. We’re very happy to see the story slowly work its way towards an improbable ending, but we don’t like the way the media coverage is playing out. The is the kind of story that 24-hour news networks love, because it means ratings (especially if you’re CNN). But this? It’s like baby Jessica fell down the well all over again. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Oct 2010 17:06

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Politics, U.S.: A civil rights double-play, and a good day for progressives

  • arizona’s immigration law When Arizona enacted a draconian immigration law last April, civil rights groups filed suit against it. This prompted Jan Brewer, the governor, to challenged the lawsuit in court. Today, a federal judge struck down her challenge, allowing the lawsuit to proceed.
  • don’t ask, don’t tell In 2004, the pro-gay GOP group Log Cabin Republicans filed a lawsuit against the Justice Department, arguing that DADT was unconstitutional. The (federal) judge agreed, and today issued an injunction against the policy, halting its enforcement. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Oct 2010 17:05

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Politics: Nevada Senate race still really, really close

  • 2% Harry Reid’s edge over Sharon Angle in the Nevada Senate race
  • 1% voters still undecided. This one’s going to be a nail biter, folks source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Oct 2010 16:15

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U.S.: Breaking: Federal Judge issues injunction against DADT

  • a federal judge in Riverside, CA has issued a nationwide injunction against the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy. The ruling is the result of a lawsuit filed by the Log Cabin Republicans, and once the injunction takes effect, enforcement of the policy will be halted. The Department of Justice has sixty days to appeal the ruling; however, they are not obligated to do so. They may just let it stand, as that would allow the Obama administration to claim a civil rights victory whilst side-stepping Congress and the military. Anyway, this is a big deal! source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 2 Comments • Permalink

12 Oct 2010 11:23

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Politics, U.S.: Shocker: Paladino igoring advisor’s advice

  • Based on his anti-gay rant, any advice that I’m giving this guy is no longer having any effect.
  • Carl Paladino’s advisor, Roger Stone • On Carl Paladino. Also in the article: Stone has a “very large” tattoo of Richard Nixon on his back. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Oct 2010 11:12

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Music: Amoeba Records: Here’s a record store making bank despite itself

Why is this guy so happy? He runs Amoeba Records, one of the few successful record store chains in the country. His secret? He sells vinyl. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Oct 2010 11:00

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Culture: Aaron Sorkin explains the women of “The Social Network”

  • I wish I could go door to door and make this explanation/apology to any woman offended by the things you’ve pointed out but obviously that’s unrealistic so I thought the least I could do was speak directly to you.
  • Aaron Sorkin • In a response to a blog commenter critical of the way “The Social Network” portrayed women throughout the film. His explanation? “I was writing about a very angry and deeply misogynistic group of people. These aren’t the cuddly nerds we made movies about in the 80’s.” He also notes that the misogynistic attitudes extend to the not-so-nerdy finals clubs near the beginning of the film. And he claims, out of respect for the more private people involved – Mark Zuckerberg’s putdown queen ex-girlfriend, Eduardo Saverin’s psycho ex – he didn’t use their real names. Good explanation, but will it appease everyone? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

12 Oct 2010 10:44

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Tech: From self-driving cars to wind farms: Google’s latest project

  • $200
    million     the amount Google plans to initially invest in the $5 billion renewable energy project
  • 1.9
    million     the number of homes in the mid-Atlantic that will directly benefit from the massive project source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Oct 2010 10:32

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Tech: Minecraft’s success, while pretty cool, utterly baffles us

  • Maybe we’re showing our age, but we don’t get why Minecraft has gotten a disproportionate level of hype. It’s made its developer lots of money, though it’s effectively a really next-level version of Lego with a multiplayer element. Oh, and those pseudo-8-bit graphics are a nice touch. These are elements of a good game, but a multi-level success like Minecraft? Color us impressed. In this clip over here, some guy built an 8-mile long train tunnel using the game. And last week we saw that someone made a to-scale version of the Star Trek Enterprise. Really? People have this much time to spend on this game?
Posted by Ernie Smith • 3 Comments • Permalink

12 Oct 2010 10:17

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Tech: So, mobile phones are a lot older than you might think

  • 1.5 million mobile phone users in the U.S. in … 1964 source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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