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04 Feb 2011 01:08

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U.S.: Texas company: Give us money and trees, and we’ll give you fuel

  • $1 billion to make gasoline out of wood chips source

04 Feb 2011 01:04

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Politics: Judges spar over constitutionality of health care reform

  • tuesday A federal judge in Florida found the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate provision unconstitutional and struck down the whole law, saying the provision invalidated everything. Republicans rejoiced.
  • thursday A federal judge in Mississippi, tackling a similar lawsuit, contended that there wasn’t sufficient standing for him to take the case, and threw it out. Democrats rejoiced. source

04 Feb 2011 01:00

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World: Otter-skin hat implies change in North Korean leadership

  • It’s an unwritten rule that nobody else can wear such a hat, so if Kim Jong-Un is also wearing one, it means he has now reached almost the same status as his father.
  • A “senior South Korean government official” • On the significance of headwear in totalitarian dictatorships. Bear with us here: apparently, Kim Jong-Un was spotted wearing an otter-skin hat similar to one worn by his father, Kim Jong-il, and since nobody but the Dear Leader is allowed to wear that hat, this implies that the elder Kim will soon be passing the throne on to his son. Whatever you say, unnamed South Korean official.  source

04 Feb 2011 00:57

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Politics: Conservatives launch anti-President Romney campaign

  • You know how sometimes a movement will arise to try and draft a reluctant candidate to run for President? Well, this is the opposite: a movement to dissuade an eager candidate from running. The problem with Romney, according to the good folks at DontDoItMitt.com, is that he’s just not conservative enough. The site says that he “pushed through [his] own version of nationalized health care in Massachusetts” (an odd charge, seeing as “nationalized” refers explicitly to something that’s not state-level), and begs him “not to take down the entire Republican party.” Maybe if they’re successful, Romney will bow out gracefully and decline a run. We’re thinking probably not. source