Read a little. Learn a lot. • Tightly-written news, views and stuff • Follow us on Twitter • Be a Facebook Fan • Tumble us!

06 Feb 2011 21:21

tags

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

tags

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

tags

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

tags

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
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Feb 2011 11:50

tags

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

tags

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

05 Feb 2011 21:47

tags

World: Is this Google’s Wael Ghonim getting arrested in Egypt?

  • As you might remember, we expressed serious concern for Wael Ghonim, the head of Google’s Middle East marketing, in a post last week. He hasn’t been heard from since the end of January. This video, however, might provide a clue. It shows someone getting arrested by the Egyptian police who looks A LOT like Ghonim. Hopes and prayers, people. In other news, he’s been named the spokesperson of the April 6 opposition movement in absentia, in an attempt to get Egyptian authorities to release him to them. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 4 Comments • Permalink
 

05 Feb 2011 21:21

tags

Politics: Sign of the apocalypse: Matt Drudge joins Twitter (finally)

  • Welcome to Twitter, Matt Drudge, a guy who may be the only person on the planet to claim that Craigslist has a better site design than his, while still scoring similar traffic. Hey Drudge, we’ll buy you a book on CSS if you want it. It’ll make your site load faster. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Feb 2011 21:03

tags

Culture: “Never Miss a Super Bowl Club” dude can’t make it this year

  • So now, they’re down to three. Green Bay Packers fan Robert Cook, who up until now has been to every Super Bowl, won’t make it this year after getting hospitalized on Thursday. The guy, who was immortalized in the above commercial, is depressed about it but will be watching the game from his hospital bed. “To have the Packers go to the Super Bowl, we were just over the moon about it,” said his wife, Sarah. Now, he can’t go. Sigh. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Feb 2011 20:24

tags

World: ElBaradei: Egyptian protests could get bloodier in coming days

  • It might not be every day but what I hear is that they might stage demonstrations every other day. The difference is that it would become more angry and more vicious. And I do not want to see it turning from a beautiful, peaceful revolution into a bloody revolution.
  • Egyptian opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei • Warning that the current spate of protests could get worse if things don’t change soon. While claiming the protests overall weren’t running out of steam, it may be tougher to do them every day as the workweek begins. This is what the Egyptian government appears to be hoping for – that the protesters, facing economic turmoil, will eventually go away. Up next: Omar Suleiman plans to meet with opposition leaders tomorrow. We’ll see what comes of that. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
<< newer 
top tags
older >>