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20 Nov 2010 10:32

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World: NATO’s plan for getting out of Afghanistan pushed back a little

  • good NATO has announced a firm exit date to finally end military operations in Afghanistan.
  • bad That firm exit date isn’t until 2014, well into Michael Bloomberg’s first term. (Kidding!)
  • worse Obama won’t commit to that date. Hmm. Wasn’t this war supposed to end in 2011? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Nov 2010 22:14

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Politics: Joe Scarborough gets Olbermann treatment; world yawns

  • three number of candidates Keith Olbermann donated to, which led to his recent two-day suspension
  • eight number of candidates Joe Scarborough donated to; he’ll also get suspended for two days source
  • » Standards and stuff: It’s probably good to note that this double-standard between MSNBC and Fox remains bizarre. Fox News hosts (most notably Sarah Palin, who regularly endorses candidates and runs her own political action committee) don’t get treated this way. Honestly, we think that MSNBC has to loosen their standards for their political commentators. This is going to eventually come to a head in a more public way than either of these incidents. Know why we know this? Because Joe Scarborough is considering running on a presidential ticket with Michael Bloomberg in 2012. You think this crosses a line? What if that happens, guys?
Posted by Ernie Smith • 3 Comments • Permalink

19 Nov 2010 21:55

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U.S.: Elizabeth Smart Trial: The weirdest number we’ll post today

  • 350 number of wives Elizabeth Smart’s kidnapper wanted source
  • » Wait, what? Well, that’s what Brian David Mitchell’s imprisoned (now-estranged) wife Wanda Barzee said during testimony today. She said he believe that God had told him to “take” young girls and make them his wives. Because that’s not weird or anything. We haven’t exactly been following this trial very closely because we don’t have any interest in it, but the second she said a number crazy enough to go on the site, we posted it.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Nov 2010 21:45

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Biz: Federal Reserve taking it from all sides with stimulus plan

  • On its current economic trajectory, the United States runs the risk of seeing millions of workers unemployed or underemployed for many years. As a society, we should find that outcome unacceptable.
  • Federal Reserve Chief Ben Bernanke • Explaining why the much-maligned stimulus plan (which involves shoving $600 billion into the economy whether it likes it or not) is necessary to save the economy. Republicans and Tea Partiers claim that the plan could raise prices of essentials such as food. Internationally, there’s worries about the stimulus driving down the value of the dollar (thereby making exports to the U.S. more desirable). Republicans in Congress are talking about stripping the Fed of its mandate to promote full employment as a result of this action. We’d like to see Republicans, rather than reacting to things they don’t like, offering up ideas. Is it really that hard, guys? You’ve had two-plus years. Where are your economy-fixing ideas? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Nov 2010 21:06

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Culture: What? People actually want to read Mark Twain’s autobiography

  • 7,500 number of copies the publisher of Mark Twain’s autobiography published for its first run
  • six number of reprintings they’ve had to do since the book came out earlier this month
  • 275k number of copies the book has sold so far, it looks like it’s a major hit, actually source
  • » Why did they underestimate? Well, the book, published exactly 100 years after the legendary author died, is kind of a bear. At 500,000 words, four pounds and $35, it’s not exactly breezy summer reading. And there’s more books coming next year, too.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Nov 2010 12:00

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World: Afghan War apparently needs tanks now, for some reason

  • The Afghan War’s been going on for nine years. Know what it’s been missing all this time? That’s right. Tanks. The Afghan War is finally getting its first tanks. About freaking time, if you ask someone who knows nothing about military policy (or why it’s necessary to take on terrorists with something this big), but just thinks tanks are awesome. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

19 Nov 2010 11:48

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World: Haiti cholera outbreak spreads to insanely overcrowded prison

  • 1,100 number of Haitians who have died during the recent cholera outbreak over the last month
  • 2,000 number of people in an overcrowded Haitian prison, which just reported fresh cases of cholera source
  • » Oh, and now there’s protests: To top off the whole drama with the cholera outbreak, protests against the United Nations have gained steam over the last few days. They claim that UN peacekeepers from Nepal caused the outbreak. The UN denies this.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

19 Nov 2010 11:34

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U.S.: Does Arizona’s transplant cut-off scream “death panel” to anyone?

  • To basically renege on what you promised was [going to] be a chance at life is a very, very bitter indictment of the ethics of the Legislature.
  • University of Pennsylvania Center for Bioethics head Arthur Caplan • Suggesting that Arizona’s recent plan to stop paying for transplants was very unethical. A total of 98 people have been given something of a death sentence in the wake of all of this, which is ironic because Republicans were the very people to speak out against so-called “death panels” during the health care debate. Now, here it is, and it’s happening on a Republican administration’s watch. In one case, a guy came on the list for a liver transplant and was literally screwed by the changes. The cuts were made to close a $1.5-billion gap in Arizona’s budget, but will only save the state $4.5 million, or .3 percent of that budget gap. (Thanks Jonathan Cunnigham for the find.)  source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

19 Nov 2010 11:14

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World: Scores of miners missing in wake of New Zealand mine blast

  • 27 miners missing in New Zealand; we hope it’s another Chile source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Nov 2010 11:00

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World: Spanish get-out-the-vote ad features woman faking orgasm

  • Admit it. If voting had this effect, you’d be more likely to do it. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink
 
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