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04 Nov 2010 20:27

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U.S.: Yo smokers: Want a shot against lung cancer? Get an early CT scan

  • 20% higher survival rate with CT scans over x-rays source
  • » The results were so positive that the National Lung Screening Trial actually ended early because the results so obviously favored CT scans for early detection. While it’s not a cure for cancer, it definitely offers lung cancer sufferers a chance at survival they didn’t have before.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Nov 2010 20:13

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Politics: NPR cuts the crap, translates what the Federal Reserve wrote

  • So to give the economy a kick in the ass—and to pump up inflation a little bit—we decided to go on a shopping spree.
  • A reworded translation of a Federal Reserve statement • Trying to explain what the Federal Reserve really meant when it wrote the phrase “To promote a stronger pace of economic recovery and to help ensure that inflation, over time, is at levels consistent with its mandate, the Committee decided today to expand its holdings of securities.” See? This is much easier to read. NPR’s Planet Money used a storytelling tool called “Plain English,” created by Slate, to explain what the Federal Reserve really meant when it announced it was shoving $600 billion into the economy. Ah, jargon. What would we do without you? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Nov 2010 20:03

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World: NASA all high-fives today after comet makes close encounter

That sound you hear is NASA collectively melting into puddles of joy after successfully getting within 500 miles of Comet Hartley 2. Look, you can see its nucleus. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Nov 2010 12:52

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Politics: Mitch McConnell: Partisanship or nothing at all. (Whatta jerk!)

  • Know who’s kind of a jerk? That’s right. Mitch McConnell. The Senate Minority Leader, who’s still the minority leader after Tuesday’s elections, isn’t looking to compromise with Obama on anything. He’s digging in his heels. “If our primary legislative goals,” he said during a speech at the Heritage Foundation Thursday, “are to repeal and replace the health spending bill, to end the bailouts, cut spending and shrink the size and scope of government, the only way to do all these things it is to put someone in the White House who won’t veto any of these things.” Your primary role is to end gridlock and get things done, and to find ways to reach your goals while working within the system. Not to keep the system stagnant for two whole years until you get what you want. In fact, we’d argue that part of the reason you didn’t do better on Tuesday is because of the gridlock. Obama would be smart to not bend to this guy. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Nov 2010 11:08

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Biz: Starbucks employees: Coffee company no longer respects us

  • It’s just been cut after cut … The fact is that it’s just gotten harder and harder to survive working this job. If Starbucks is doing what every other company is doing, then what makes it a different kind of company?
  • Minnesota Starbucks barista (and union member) Erik Foreman • Expressing frustration with the company, which may not have paid awesomely for a long time, but offered perks that kept its workers happy. However, when the economic downturn hit, changes in corporate structure hit employees hardest. They got Starbucks back to profitability, yes, but the cost seems to have been the happiness of their employees. “In the last two years, the company has become more dedicated to its shareholders and less to its employees,” said Omaha macchiato maker Tyler Swain. Is Starbucks about to become McDonald’s? Makes sense. McDonald’s is becoming more like Starbucks every single day, so eventually they’ll look exactly the same. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Nov 2010 10:50

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U.S.: Smoked out: Lots of pot found near border, along with giant tunnel

  • 1,800ft the length of a tunnel (near San Diego) used to smuggle drugs between the U.S. and Mexico
  • 25 tons the amount of pot seized by authorities – none of it legal thanks to Prop. 19 not passing source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Nov 2010 10:37

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World: Airbus A380 engines aren’t supposed to look like this, we don’t think

If you’re Airbus and you see your golden goose’s engine dramatically do this, you’re freaking out. If you’re Qantas, you’re just chalking up another bad incident this year. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

04 Nov 2010 10:25

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Tech: Soviet photoshopping technology, circa 1987: This is rad.

  • Who needs Photoshop? Not the Soviets. Years before Photoshop became the photo-editing software du jour, they already had some fairly advanced photo-retouching technology. Sure, the tools were a little big and clunky, but clearly they were ultra-effective. If only they had kept at it a little longer; we might all be speaking Russian at the moment. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Nov 2010 10:09

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Tech, World: Turkey proves that no, they don’t really understand YouTube

  • dumb Turkey, concerned about clips offensive to founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, bans YouTube from the country.
  • smart Now that the clips are offline, Turkey unbanned YouTube. Hello, Keyboard Cat! Hello, Numa Numa Guy!
  • dumb Turkey found ANOTHER clip that offended them, and now YouTube could get blocked for another 30 months. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Nov 2010 10:01

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U.S.: Chandra Levy trial has a pretty major DNA-related problem

  • bad Gary Condit’s name was dragged in the mud over the Chandra Levy situation – and now, years later, Ingmar Guandique is on trial for the murder.
  • worse During the trial, scientific experts drop a bombshell – no DNA or forensic evidence links either man to the crime scene. This is troubling. source
  • » To make things worse: There is some DNA evidence (semen and fingerprints, to be specific) but it doesn’t match either man. It doesn’t mean that Ingmar Guandique still isn’t the suspect. It just means it’ll be much harder for the prosecution to prove it.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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