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06 Feb 2011 23:39

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Tech: Quick facts: Three strikes against Motorola’s new Xoom tablet

  • strike The device, based on Android 3.0 and getting a lot of attention, has a starting price of $799 – which is way higher than the entry-level iPad.
  • strike The data plans are really expensive for 3G usage – 1 gigabyte is $20, and the plans go as high as $80 for 10 gigabytes. That’s right – $80 a month!
  • out And don’t think you’ll get around this with a hotspot like you can with an iPad. Wi-fi won’t be activated unless you buy a data plan! source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Feb 2011 23:27

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World: Egypt: Google’s Wael Ghonim likely to see release tomorrow

  • They told us they’ll probably bring him to us, and that he will likely be escorted by security.
  • Egyptian Hazem Ghonim • Discussing the fate of his brother, Wael Ghonim, who will reportedly be released from Egyptian custody tomorrow. Wael, a Google executive, quickly became a lightning rod for the pro-democracy movement after his unexplained disappearance over a week ago. Turns out that Egypt targeted and arrested him. They had good reason – he was one of the catalysts for the Egyptian protests. “I said one year ago that the Internet will change the political scene in Egypt and some Friends made fun of me :),” he wrote on Facebook not long before his disappearance. Wael was one of the administrators for a key fan page used to organize the movement. But he’s one of many who have been arrested so far – the count is around 1,275, although most have been released. Hopefully, Wael will join them tomorrow – and be able to tell his story. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Feb 2011 21:57

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U.S.: Youngstown State reeling from late-night fraternity shooting

  • one person died in the shooting, near Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio
  • 11 were injured, one critically; a 17-year-old girl was shot in the head; what the heck? source
  • » What happened: A disagreement turned deadly after one of the suspects was being escorted out of the fraternity last night. He and another suspect reportedly reentered the fraternity, which is sanctioned by the university but off-campus, and opened fire. The shooting appeared to be an isolated incident, according to the university president.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Feb 2011 21:21

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Culture: Groupon wins award for worst ad campaign of the night

  • In case you haven’t seen this hot mess, here you go. Groupon just exploited the Tibetian people to sell its wares, an advertising strategy not seen since, well, ever. While Groupon does have a point, you have to get all the way to this site to find it. The odds that people will reach this site and see the joke: Zilch. Way to go, Groupon. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 4 Comments • Permalink

06 Feb 2011 20:38

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Politics: Obama on Egypt: He’s sure they’ll “work together with us.”

  • What I want is a representative government in Egypt and I have confidence that if Egypt moves in an orderly transition process, they will have a government in Egypt that will work together with us.
  • Barack Obama • Talking to Bill O’Reilly pre-Super Bowl. The conversation of course took a turn towards the Muslim Brotherhood, to which Obama had this to say: “But here’s the thing that we have to understand, there are a whole bunch of secular folks in Egypt, there are a whole bunch of educators and civil society in Egypt that wants to come to the fore as well. So it’s important for us not to say that our own only two options are either the Muslim Brotherhood or a suppressed people.” Obama wants to see an orderly transition that reaches everyone, not just Islamists or any other group, in hopes that the region doesn’t radicalize. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Feb 2011 12:35

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U.S.: Happy 100th birthday Ronald Reagan, in number form!

  • This is like Christmas for some people. Ultimately, Ronald Reagan was a great leader and one still widely-respected among conservatives as the kind of leader they still wish they had. Now, we’re not going to go so far as to turn the guy into a saint, but we will note that he was ultimately better for the American people than not. Above is one of his most famous political ads, “It’s Morning in America Again,” from this pretty awesome L.A. Times package about the dude. Below, a quick analysis of his approval rating throughout his presidency.
  • 67% the highest popularity that Ronald Reagan had as president, reached three times – once in 1981 and twice in 1986
  • 41% the lowest popularity he garnered, back in 1983; he neared that level again during the Iran-Contra scandal in 1987
  • 60% his popularity rating after leaving office; to compare, Democratic icon Bill Clinton had 67 percent source
  • » Fluctuating, but never fading: One interesting note about Ronald Reagan’s presidency is that while he’s gained a high degree of legendary status among conservatives, as a president, his popularity had numerous highs and lows. However, he never reached the nadir of folks like Jimmy Carter (who left office with 34 percent approval) or George W. Bush (who left with 24 percent approval – the same low Richard Nixon reached when he left office). He left with respect. Then his legend slowly grew. And that’s where we are today.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Feb 2011 12:04

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World: This should be on your radar: Trial for Americans begins in Iran


Two of the three shown – Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd and Joshua Fattal – will be in court today on spying charges. Shourd returned to the U.S. for medical reasons. She’ll be tried in absentia. source
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06 Feb 2011 11:50

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World: Quickly-dividing Sudanese military turns on itself

  • 50+ died in a military mutiny in the oil-rich Upper Nile region source
  • » Is the separation behind it? The Northern and Southern armies are set to split from one another as part of a larger breaking up of the country. It appears that the violence was rooted in a conflict over redeployment that would’ve sent soliders from the southern part of the country north, along with other soldiers in the unit.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Feb 2011 11:25

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World: Muslim Brotherhood: We’re OK with Mubarak staying for now

  • We wanted the president to step down but, for now, we accept this arrangement as long as we feel there is a serious implementation.
  • Muslim Brotherhood senior leader Mohamed Saad El-Katatni • Revealing comfort with allowing Hosni Mubarak to stay in power of Egypt during a transition period. He said this after sitting down at a giant table with Vice President Omar Suleiman and other opposition leaders. The Muslim Brotherhood, currently barred from running in elections, joined the opposition late, eventually saying it shared their goals.  source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink
 
 
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