Read a little. Learn a lot. • Tightly-written news, views and stuff • Follow us on TwitterBe a Facebook FanTumble us!

19 Jan 2011 11:21

tags

U.S.: The craziest gas-main-explosion video we’ll post today

  • It’s sometimes scary in Philadelphia. This clip is not the climatic scene from an awesome ’80s action flick. No, it’s a gas main explosion that killed at least one and severely injured three, according to Philadelphia Gas Works. The video says it all. source

19 Jan 2011 11:11

tags

Biz: Goldman Sachs has crappy quarter; sucks to be them

  • 53% the dip in Goldman Sachs’ fourth-quarter profits (after many hugely profitable quarters last year)
  • 39% the decline in Goldman’s bond-trading revenue; Goldman blamed “generally low client activity levels”
  • 2.5% the decline in their stock this morning, which has generally been strong during the financial crisis source

19 Jan 2011 10:57

tags

Politics: Should Obama turn health-care debate back on Republicans?

  • If the president said, ‘Okay, John Boehner, you bet, now that you’re in power, as soon as you pass a version that covers the same number of people for less, I’ll be happy to put my approach aside and cut a deal,’ he’d remind Americans about the discussion Republicans refuse to have.
  • Washington Post opinion writer Matt Miller • Arguing that Obama should frame the debate around health care not in terms of what the Republicans are claiming to do (save money), but in terms of what they as of yet have been unwilling to do – find a comprehensive approach to insuring 30 million Americans that saves more money than Obama’s plan, which he says is imperfect but still important. “Back in the universe in which we actually live, Obamacare was a historic first step. We need to mend it, not end it.” What do you guys think? source

19 Jan 2011 10:37

tags

Biz, World: Obama’s meeting with China bears airplane-shaped fruit

  • $19 billion deal for China to buy 200 aircraft from Boeing source

19 Jan 2011 10:31

tags

U.S.: Gabrielle Giffords improving significantly, could move to rehab facility

  • Everyday Gabby improves and shows higher levels of comprehension and complex actions.
  • Gabrielle Giffords’ mother, Gloria • Revealing that she could be let out of the hospital by Friday and moved to a rehabilitation facility in Houston. Which, if true, would be a miraculous recovery for Giffords, who nearly died after being shot in the head a week and a half ago. She’s been using her husband Mark Kelly’s iPhone and sitting upright. She also gave him a 20-minute neckrub. Hopefully this report isn’t too optimistic.  source

19 Jan 2011 10:15

tags

Tech: No single analyst predicted the iPad’s level of success

  • 7M the highest sales prediction a professional analyst gave for the iPad’s first-year sales
  • 9M the top-end estimate of various tech bloggers – not even fanboi John Gruber was this bullish
  • 14.8M the actual amount that Apple sold, blowing everyone’s estimates out of the water source