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09 Feb 2011 11:31

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Biz: It’s official: Coca-Cola has broken through the Soviet wall

  • 3% the increase in sales volume the company has had in North America in its most recent quarter
  • 5% the sales volume increase the brand has had worldwide in its just-ended fourth quarter
  • 31% the increase in sales volume in Russia; insert hilarious communism joke here source
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09 Feb 2011 11:19

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Politics: Hey, everyone excited for CPAC yet?! WHOO!!! FAMILY VALUES!

  • 10,000 righties descend upon DC Thursday
  • coming Most of the GOPerazi, including Haley Barbour, Mitch Daniels, Newt Gingrich, Tim Pawlenty, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney and John Thune. Oh yeah, gay-rights-pushing GOProud will be there, too.
  • skipping Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee. Oh, and some groups –the Family Research Council and the Heritage Foundation – are boycotting because GOProud will be there. Will Ryan Sorba make it? source
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09 Feb 2011 11:05

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Biz: Federal Reserve’s Ben Bernanke not happy about slow hiring pace

  • The job market has improved only slowly. … This gain was barely sufficient to accommodate the inflow of recent graduates and other new entrants into the labor force and, therefore, not enough to significantly erode the wide margin of slack that remains in our labor market.
  • Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke • Explaining, in front of the House Budget Committee, the issues he and others are having with the slow pace of the economic recovery. While things are recovering, job growth is way too slow for his comfort. In other news, Bernanke says that inflation is likely to stay low for the foreseeable future, and that the government needs to get the budget situation dealt with. “Creditors would never be willing to lend to a government with debt, relative to national income, that is rising without limit,” he says, suggesting that we could face an actual fiscal crisis if we don’t take heed. Great. source
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09 Feb 2011 10:50

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World: Rough budget conditions behind Pakistan’s dissolving cabinet

  • 60 the number of ministers and junior ministers that just stepped down from the Pakistani cabinet
  • under 40 the number of folks that will likely replace those 60 people, according to reports source
  • » Why did they dip out? Budget issues. The International Monetary Fund gave the country a stern warning back in December to avoid slippage in their financial situation. Their budget deficit is forecasted to be 4.7 percent of gross domestic product for the current fiscal year. To convince Pakistan to fix their situation, they withheld part of its loan to the country.
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09 Feb 2011 10:31

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World: Ex-Liberian leader Charles Taylor plays hooky from war crimes trial

YOU SAY I MISSED THE DEADLINE TO SUBMIT MY CASE SUMMARY BY THREE WEEKS? Well, I’m just not going to go to the trial today. How about them apples, United Nations? source
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09 Feb 2011 10:16

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U.S., World: Problem: The U.S. can’t figure out how to nail Julian Assange

  • yeah … The United States wants to nail Julian Assange for convincing Bradley Manning to leak a bunch of confidential documents, so they can arrest him for espionage.
  • … but Problem is, the evidence they have does not suggest that Assange convinced Manning to do anything of the sort, though some Wikileaks officials have closer ties. source
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08 Feb 2011 22:36

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Biz: How to (reportedly) destroy evidence, according to an insider trader

  • Oh it’s easy. You take two pairs of pliers, and then you rip it open. Put ’em into four separate little baggies, and then at 2 a.m…. 2 a.m. on a Friday night, I put this stuff inside my black North Face jacket, … and leave the apartment and I go on like a 20-block walk around the city … and try to find a, a garbage truck. And threw the @*^! in the back of like random garbage trucks, different garbage trucks … four different garbage trucks.
  • Hedge fund manager Donald Longueuil (reportedly) • In a series of messages explaining how he got rid of key evidence in an insider trading case. The details, from a government complaint, were unsealed today. He reportedly trolled the streets of Manhattan looking for a way to throw away a bunch of documents, including a flash drive and two external hard drives. So he chose to destroy them and throw them away in separate garbage trucks in the middle of the night. Sounds like our kind of party. Too bad the guy who he reportedly explained this to was cooperating with authorities. Oops. source
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08 Feb 2011 22:11

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Politics: Yikes: Cute babies + anti-violence commercials = Death threats

  • OK, this ad up here, which uses a cute baby (and we mean cuuuuuuute) to promote parenting that prevents violent offenders such as rapists, is anything but subtle, but the reaction to the ad is perhaps a little strong from some. The guy who created it, Josh Jasper of the Riverview Center in Dubuque, Iowa, is getting death threats because the ad was perceived as anti-male. “I appreciate and respect when people have differing viewpoints,” Jasper said. “But for individuals to take it to a personal level and threaten my life, that’s taking it too far.” The melding of visuals and messages in this ad make us a little uncomfortable, but honestly? It’s not really that bad considering what’s out there. And the message is good, even if the execution is a little overwrought. Disagree with someone. Don’t call their house. (thanks think4yourself & azspot) source
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08 Feb 2011 21:47

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Tech: Yo, Facebook, hope you enjoy your massive new office space

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08 Feb 2011 21:32

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World: Egypt gets strong scolding from U.S. over emergency law

  • Hey Egypt, your strongest ally is yelling at you. Here’s why. See, Egypt has this emergency law in place that allows them to detain protesters and other folks they don’t like without charge. And the United States doesn’t like this. Especially in the wake of comments that vice president Omar Suleiman made about the country not being ready for democracy. It also doesn’t help that he suggested that the government might step in to quell the protests. What does the U.S. think? Well, a few things, which they released in a statement today. First – Stop screwing with protesters. Second – Rescind an emergency law that allows the government to detain anyone for any reason. Third – Broaden the dialogue to allow opposition voices. And finally – Invite the opposition to the bargaining table. This hard line was needed before Suleiman was around, guys. Why did this guy get the golden ring, anyway? He’s terrible. source
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