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31 Dec 2010 22:07

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Biz: Rough-and-tumble year for stocks ends on the upswing

  • 11% jump in the up-and-down stock market in 2010 source

31 Dec 2010 19:52

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U.S.: Texas bank hostage situation ends without a hitch

  • Hey, suspects who held this bank hostage for hours: Guess what the army of police officers did when they finally caught you. That’s right, they Chased you out of there! Ha ha ha ha ha, we’re so clever, we’ve been saving that one up for hours. By the way, one hostage was minorly injured but the suspects were caught and every other hostage (including the one above) was safe, with some released while the incident was still taking place. source

31 Dec 2010 19:18

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Politics: Joe Miller: I didn’t lose election, but the system won’t let me win

  • The time has come to accept the practical realities of the current legal circumstances.
  • Joe Miller • Admitting what’s been clear for about two months – he lost. What’s annoying about the phrasing of this statement was not that it congratulated Lisa Murkowski for her win, but suggested that he was only giving up because he didn’t stand a chance of winning an appeal. As does this phrase: “I accept that criticism knowing often doing what is right is not what is easy or popular. We were not successful in that endeavor, but it was a worthwhile one.” Get over yourself, Joe. You lost. Be a man instead of a jerk and call Lisa. It’s unbelievable that you haven’t been willing to call her to congratulate her. source

31 Dec 2010 17:19

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World: Ivory Coast’s Laurent Gbagbo blames his problems on the West

  • The man of the hour: Here’s an interview Euronews got with Laurent Gbagbo, the Ivory Coast leader fighting for his political life and consequently pushing a civil war. Warning: The interview is in French (with translation). Key thing to take from this: “It’s not open to debate. What the West is arguing for is not legal. It’s imposing the will of the powerful on somebody else. I don’t agree with it.” So in other words, because the West (i.e. the United Nations) noticed that your electoral results are questionable, it’s all of a sudden invalid? Yeah, right. source

31 Dec 2010 16:55

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U.S.: Texas bank robbery: Thirty officers for every hostage inside

  • one gunman holding up a Texas bank
  • two hostages are inside with the gunman
  • 60 officers outside; don’t screw this up source

31 Dec 2010 16:40

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Tech: Nintendo: Young children shouldn’t play our new 3D console

  • six you must be this old to not have your vision screwed up by the 3DS (though you can turn the 3D off)
  • 30 you should take breaks after playing for this many minutes, even if you’re not under six source

31 Dec 2010 12:54

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U.S.: Protip: Don’t drive your car in North Dakota today

We heard a rumor about there being a 100-car pile-up somewhere in this mess in North Dakota, but we can’t seem to make it out. Too much freaking snow. source
 

31 Dec 2010 12:07

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Tech: Will China force Skype off the mainland? It’s a strong possibility

  • China wants to stamp out “unauthorized” VOIP services. The country’s Ministry of Information and Industry Technology said as much in a statement a couple of weeks ago – pointing out that the only services that could run VOIP services were China’s big telecom companies. Skype, still inexplicably partly owned by eBay for some reason, has been gaining major popularity in China lately. Which suggests that, while not explicitly stating it, that the Ministry’s statement was targeted at Skype, with the possibility of lawsuits. Skype, by the way, is on track to make $1 billion from an IPO next year, or more money than God. source

31 Dec 2010 11:45

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Biz: Give it time: Electric cars not really flying off the shelves yet

  • >350 the reported sales of the hopemobile, the Chevy Volt, in December … but it’s kind of a novelty right now
  • >10 the reported sales of the Nissan Leaf in the last two weeks; the odds that Ed Begley Jr. owns one? Even source
  • » It’s not really a demand problem: The issue here is more supply. The cars simply haven’t hit most parts of the country yet, and there are waiting lists 50,000 people long for the electric cars, which are slowly ramping up production and should go nationwide by 2012.

31 Dec 2010 11:26

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World: Anna Chapman: The undeniably hot, female Vladimir Putin

  • In general, I am a very good shot. I have a passion for it.
  • Russian spy Anna Chapman • Expressing her love of shooting. Based on a recent interview she did with the Russian talk show “Let Them Speak,” she’s well on her way to becoming the hot female Vladimir Putin. She even has her own lion cub! Russian culture = impenetrable. source