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28 Feb 2011 09:14

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U.S.: Sirhan Sirhan doesn’t remember remember shooting RFK RFK

  • There is no doubt he does not remember the critical events. He is not feigning it. It’s not an act. He does not remember it.
  • SIrhan Sirhan’s attorney William F. Pepper • Explaining that his client, who is up for parole Wednesday, does not remember shooting Robert Kennedy back in the ’60s. Pepper claims Sirhan (not telling you if that’s his first or last name) was “hypno-programmed” when he fired at the presidential candidate. All of this actually hurts Sirhan’s chances at parole, which require him to be able to show remorse for the crime … uh, that’s kinda tough when he claims he can’t even remember what he did. source

28 Feb 2011 08:36

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Politics: SAY IT AIN’T SO! Andrew Sullivan heading to The Daily Beast

  • As far as political Punditry goes, this is like LeBron James leaving the Cavs. Andrew Sullivan, who in our opinion wrote the script on what a good political site is supposed to be, is moving. This time, he’s taking “The Daily Dish” from The Atlantic (whose fortunes improved in large part thanks to his site) to The Daily Beast, and will contribute to Newsweek to boot. Andy’s grown a bit more liberal over the years – though he’ll never admit it to your face – but he’s still an essential read nonetheless. While Andy is sad about leaving a company that he helped lead to their first year of profitability in ages, “The chance to be part of a whole new experiment in online and print journalism, in the Daily Beast and Newsweek adventure, is just too fascinating and exciting a challenge to pass up.” Right now, though, we admit to having that lump in our throat knowing that our favorite team just lost its best player to the Miami Heat. source

27 Feb 2011 23:01

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Biz: GaoPeng’s Deal of the day: Groupon has a Chinese site now

 

27 Feb 2011 22:40

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Culture: Did Charlie Sheen’s sidelining expose a double-standard?

  • So the message from CBS and Warner Brothers seems clear: abuse yourself and the women around you to your heart’s content, but do not attack the golden goose.
  • New York Times columnist David Carr • Pointing out the elephant in the room with the Charlie Sheen/”Two and a Half Men” situation, which is that Sheen did a number of things arguably worse than any of his current drama – and to women, even – but insulting his boss ended up being the thing that got him fired. It’s a good point, and one that shouldn’t get overlooked as CBS attempts to figure out what happens next.  source

27 Feb 2011 22:15

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U.S.: Have you traveled lately? Bad news; there’s a measles threat, guys.

  • one New Mexico woman with a possible case of measles
  • three big-city airports she went through last week after leaving London
  • 1000’s of people could’ve gotten measles from her (yikes!) source

27 Feb 2011 21:00

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Politics: Michelle Obama’s healthy food fight has some bipartisan support

  • It’s not all Rush Limbaugh inexplicably calling Michelle Obama fat over on the right. For some reason completely confusing to anyone with half a brain, Michelle Obama has gotten criticism from some conservatives, who somehow have equated “the First Lady encouraging good dieting and exercise” to “forcing people be healthy.” But not everyone is going crazy about what is pretty much the stupidest controversy ever – especially one in an era when there’s a government shutdown and insane unrest in the Middle East. Here are a couple of examples we can get behind:
  • supporter New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who has struggled with weight, supports her campaign. “I think it’s a really good goal to encourage kids to eat better,” he said. If a kid can avoid that in his adult years or her adult years, more power to them, and I think the first lady’s speaking out well.”
  • supporter Mike Huckabee, who famously lost a ton of weight while in office, says that while he doesn’t think the government should tell us what to eat, “I think Mrs. Obama being out there. encouraging people in a positive way to eat well and to exercise and to be healthy, I don’t have a problem with that.” source

27 Feb 2011 20:02

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World: Is John Boehner backing off government shutdown stance entirely?

  • Americans want the government to stay open, and they want it to spend less money. We don’t need to shut down the government to accomplish that. We just need to do what the American people are asking of us.
  • John Boehner (in expected statements) • Discussing the next steps his party plans to help encourage spending cuts. Note that he appears to be backing away from the idea of a government shutdown. Perhaps hard-line stances are proving a little too, uh, risky for the GOP right now?  source
 

27 Feb 2011 12:12

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Culture: Razzies: Of course “The Last Airbender” won big. We mean, really.

  • The big Razzie superstar: M. Night Shyamalan kept up with his track record of producing reliable Razzie “winners” and scored five trophies last night, including “Worst Picture,” for his widely-criticized live-action version of “The Last Airbender,” a popular Nickelodeon toon. Beyond the usual crapfest that might follow a film like this, it wins a little extra because the characters are largely Asian but the lead actors chosen to play them were mostly white – a decision made all the stranger because Shyamalan is Asian himself. source

27 Feb 2011 11:47

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Politics: Government shutdown: Will 2011’s GOP ploy be like 1995?

  • If Gingrich couldn’t control his hard-line freshman class of 73 members in 1995 — he jokingly referred to them then as ‘a third party’ — it’s hard to imagine how the kinder, gentler Boehner will control his 87 freshmen, many of them lacking government or legislative experience, let alone the gene for compromise.
  • New York Times columnist Frank Rich • Offering the assessment of why the GOP should avoid playing the government shutdown game. It’s something that Rich says a number of GOPers are trying to argue doesn’t match the political playing field of 1995, where a defiant Newt Gingrich overplayed his hand too much and caused much embarrassment for the Republican party in the process. However, Gingrich doesn’t remember it that way, strangely enough. In a Washington Post column, he claims that he, on the other hand, plowed the way for much larger cuts in the ensuing years. Nice revisionist history, Newt. source

27 Feb 2011 11:28

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World: Next on the list of popular Middle East uprisings? Oman

  • Protests in the country turned deadly today. The country, situated between Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Yemen on the Mideast pie chart, has seen its share of anti-government protests pop up. Today, two anti-government protesters in the industrial town of Sohar were killed in clashes with police. State media claimed that the protesters were trying to storm a police station. “Police and anti-riot squads confronted this group of wreckers in a bid to protect people and their properties, which caused casualties,” the report said. The protests in the country are a little different, by the way, because they have largely emphasized loyalty with Sultan Qaboos, one of the world’s longest-serving political leaders. The sultan, in response to a prior protest, recently reshuffled his cabinet. source