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11 Feb 2011 10:37

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Biz: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac: When does “bailout” become “sinkhole”?

  • $153
    billion
    the amount that taxpayers have lost already on bailing out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
  • $68
    billion
    the amount expected to fall into that money pit by 2013 – a $211 billion grand total source

11 Feb 2011 10:05

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Biz: Groupon listens to angry people, takes controversial ads off air

  • Five days have passed since the Super Bowl, and one thing is clear – our ads offended a lot of people. Tuesday I posted an explanation, but as many of you have pointed out, if an ad requires an explanation, that means it didn’t work.
  • Groupon CEO Andrew Mason • Being forced to back down on those cause-mocking Super Bowl ads which seem to have pissed off just about everybody. Within the next day or so, they’re going off the air, kids. ” We thought we were poking fun at ourselves,” he continued. but clearly the execution was off and the joke didn’t come through.” Mason says he personally takes blame for approving the ads. (thanks abcworldnews) source

11 Feb 2011 09:34

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World: Is Hosni Mubarak effectively out? Most signs point to yes.

So, what happens when you claim to still be the leader of a country, then immediately leave the city as if in exile? Considering Hosni Mubarak’s recent moves, we may find out. source

11 Feb 2011 00:33

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Politics: Ethics group to Congress: Stop sleeping in your offices!

  • [Congressional] office buildings are not dorms or frat houses. If members didn’t want to find housing in Washington, they shouldn’t have run for Congress in the first place.
  • CREW‘s Melanie Sloan • On the tendency of legislators to sleep in their offices rather than rent apartments. Apparently, more than thirty members of Congress (including the GOP’s budget man, Paul Ryan) currently do this, and CREW is concerned that they may be receiving an inadvertent tax break in doing so. One of the writers here at ShortFormBlog once spent a summer living on other people’s couches, so we don’t exactly feel we’re in a place to criticize. What’s wrong with being frugal? source