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29 Nov 2010 01:30

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Politics: Max Headroom: John McCain all over place with DADT rhetoric

  • Was Obama an inexperienced politician when he said he’d repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t tell”? Well, he ran a better campaign than this dude back in 2008. (Thought we’d forget that, didn’t you?) Anyway, John McCain was on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday trying to explain how the current gays in the military policy makes sense, in a way that’s giving Candy Crowley some real meat to chew upon. Meanwhile, large chunks of Americans think the policy should be repealed. And that includes this guy’s wife.
  • See, I’m not like Obama at all! The storyline we’re expecting to see in the next few months goes like this: Democratic senators, like Claire McCaskill, will be falling over themselves to differentiate themselves from the president. Don’t expect her to have a fat lip from playing basketball anytime soon.
  • Soft Black Friday story ruined It seems like your normal mid-afternoon CNN story that you can completely ignore until around the 45-second mark, when the anti-fur protesters show up. Then it gets interesting. Hey protesters: People who watch CNN in the daytime don’t buy fur; they can’t afford it.

29 Nov 2010 00:47

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Biz: Cyber Monday set for traffic increase similar to Black Friday’s

  • 107
    million
    number of people expected to shop online today, Cyber Monday
  • 96.5
    million
    number of people that shopped online last Cyber Monday source

29 Nov 2010 00:19

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U.S., World: Five random facts from Wikileaks’ diplomatic cable leak

  • one China was behind the hack attack that led Google to temporarily withdraw from the country. (Duh.)
  • two Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah wants the U.S. to attack Iran to kill off its nuclear program. (Hmm.)
  • three The Afghan vice-president came a-knockin’ in the UAE with $52 million dollars in his luggage.
  • four The U.S. worries about Silvio Berlusconi’s tight friendship with Vladimir Putin, but not Leo’s.
  • five Obama would only meet with Slovenia if they took a Gitmo detainee from the U.S. Wow. source

29 Nov 2010 00:02

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World: Haiti not alone: Here’s what happened in today’s Ivory Coast runoff

  • one runoff vote after a good-natured, successful election in October
  • five security officials were killed today not long after the vote started
  • many reports of voter intimidation throughout the African country source

28 Nov 2010 23:43

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World: Haitian elections: They needed a good day. They got a bad one.

  • 12 of the 19 presidential candidates say the election is a sham source
  • » The end effect: For a country constantly overwhelmed by chaos, it’s just another thing. Nearly all of the major candidates protested the results, claiming that they were skewed in favor of current president Rene Preval’s government. They said as much in a statement: “We are asking the men and women of Haiti to organize peacefully against the Preval government. We are asking everyone to mobilize.” Haiti needed a good day today. Instead, they got another bad one. If the election results are a sham, may the people who slanted them feel the wrath of the international community. Surely Wyclef Jean, of all people, would’ve done better than this.

28 Nov 2010 23:28

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Culture: Leslie Nielsen: surely dead too soon (and don’t call me Shirley)

  • If Mel Brooks is the king of parody, Leslie Nielsen was the clown prince, playing it straight even as he was saying the most absurd things and found himself in the most absurd of situations. But Neilsen, who died today at 84, didn’t start out that way – a TV actor at the very dawn of the medium, he was known for his leading man roles until 1980, when a role in the low-budget farce “Airplane!” turned him into a major star and made him a funnyman du jour, something only reinforced by the multiple “Naked Gun” movies (and, oh yeah, the latter part of the “Scary Movie” series, the fifth of which will be his last role). We grew up with this guy. A lot of people did. Protip: If you haven’t seen the short-lived “Police Squad” TV series, you’re missing out.  source

28 Nov 2010 13:39

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World: Well, Wikileaks’ Cablegate pretty much sucks for the U.S.

  • At the start of a series of daily extracts from the US embassy cables – many of which are designated ‘secret’ – the Guardian can disclose that Arab leaders are privately urging an air strike on Iran and that US officials have been instructed to spy on the UN’s leadership.
  • A sentence at the start of the Guardian’s package on Wikileaks’ “Cablegate” • Which kind of says it all. The U.S. is going to have a lot of fun cleaning up this mess. Also worth reading: The New York Times’ package. source
 

28 Nov 2010 12:56

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World: Is someone trying to silence Wikileaks before their newest leak?

  • YES they’re currently getting nailed by a DOS attack source

28 Nov 2010 11:56

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World: Haiti’s elections are today; think good thoughts for them

Between the earthquake, the cholera, and basically the past 300 years, they need effective leaders to recover and improve. Let’s hope the vote helps them. source

28 Nov 2010 11:49

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Biz: Stop everything you’re doing and read this cyber scammer article

  • I’ve exploited this opportunity because it works. No matter where they post their negative comments, it helps my return on investment. So I decided, why not use that negativity to my advantage?
  • DecorMyEyes.com owner Vitaly Borker • Explaining how he’s used the negative feedback on his eyeglass-selling site to his advantage. Borker basically has learned that by not caring about what people are saying about his business, good or bad, he can ensure that he gets prime SEO-friendly real-estate on Google. Clarabelle Rodriguez, one of his buyers who was harassed by Borker’s people for weeks after complaining about her purchase and canceling the payment on her credit card, fought back. And now the New York Times has a lengthy article about DoctorMyEyes, which should ensure that you never shop with them, ever. source