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26 Feb 2011 11:24

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Politics: Folks across the country protesting along with Wisconsin today

  • 50 states having pro-union protests in solidarity with Wisconsin source
  • » But will Obama join them? Probably not, despite, you know, this speech he made all the way back in 2007. Where are your comfortable shoes now, Barack?
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Feb 2011 10:58

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World: Iran’s long-gestating Bushehr nuclear plant delayed AGAIN

  • dreamAn Iranian nuclear power plant, long in the works since before the Islamic Revolution and currently being tag-teamed with Russia, was supposed to finally get up early this year after numerous delays.
  • reality Russia is forcing Iran to unload a bunch of nuclear fuel assemblies to test for numerous safety concerns, according to a nuclear watchdog. Maybe it’ll open after that? 36 years is a long time. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Feb 2011 10:42

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World: Update: Christchurch earthquake death toll gets deadlier

  • 145 have been found dead in the rubble of the 6.3-magnitude quake
  • 200+ are still missing; most are feared dead from the quake source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Feb 2011 10:27

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World: Egyptian Army: Sorry our soldiers got into it with you protesters

  • What happened late Friday was the result of unintentional confrontations between the military police and the youth of the revolution. … [We] did not and will not issue orders to attack the youth, and all measures will be taken to ensure this will not happen again.
  • Egypt’s Supreme Council of the Armed Forces • Apologizing for a spate of attacks against protesters at Tahrir Square last night. The army, who claims that they did not order these confrontations, nonetheless is facing the spectre of new protests today from those angry about the army’s use of force. A number of protesters were also detained in Friday’s confrontations; the number bandied about has been somewhere around 20. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Feb 2011 23:47

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U.S.: Jeremy Bernard: The White House’s new gay Social Secretary

  • We don’t care how gay Jeremy Bernard is. It has nothing to do with his job. In fact, it’s awesome that Obama’s willing to appoint a gay man to be the Social Secretary position in the White House, a position which has traditionally been straight and female. This is a milestone that could only be topped if Obama made Barney Frank the next Treasury Secretary. Bernard, right, only has to do one thing to win our approval in the next Pew poll. Keep the Salahis out. That’s all you have to do, man. You can suck at every other aspect of your job. Just prevent that. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Feb 2011 23:26

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Biz: Bank Of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo feel heat over mortgages

  • The current environment of heightened regulatory scrutiny has the potential to subject the corporation to inquiries or investigations that could significantly adversely affect its reputation.
  • A statement from Bank of America • Noting in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that the company could be subject to huge penalties over their abusive mortgage practices. They’re not alone; Wells Fargo and Citigroup ware in the same boat, and it’s all thanks to the shady way that the trio dealt with their foreclosures. The reports from the companies suggest that all three will take a financial hit for said shadiness. Bank of America says that the state and federal inquiries “could result in material fines, penalties, equitable remedies (including requiring default servicing or other process changes), or other enforcement actions, and result in significant legal costs.” In other words, they’re screwed for screwing over homeowners. Oops. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Feb 2011 21:35

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Politics: John Boehner’s shutdown-avoiding plan: Layaway. Really.

  • Give it up for John Boehner for figuring out a way to avoid a shutdown … apparently. The House Speaker, who just a week ago pushed through all sorts of crazy stuff that has little chance of passing, has conjured up a plan to keep the government moving. And it’s kinda what you might do if there’s a coat you really like from a place like Burlington Coat Factory, but you can’t really afford it right now. Some details of the apparent deal coming down the line:
  • 2 more weeks to figure out this whole shutdown-threatening budget mess
  • $4 billion in budget savings would have to be made as part of the deal over that two-week period
  • $2 billion more in cuts would have to be found for each additional week they’re at the bargaining table source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

25 Feb 2011 21:02

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World: U.S.: We’re sanctioning the hell out of those jerks in Libya

  • closed The U.S. is closing up shop on its embassy in Libya, which is probably a good thing, considering the current situation.
  • blocked The U.S. will also put very tight sanctions on the country – including an arms embargo and a possible travel ban.
  • frozen? And to put a cherry on top of this pie, the U.S. has also told banks to watch out for shifting Libyan funds. source
  • » Oh yeah, and: U.S. spies will reportedly be keeping tabs on the situation in hopes of maybe nailing Gaddafi and the Libyan government for potential crimes against humanity. And the UN has similar plans in their sights. This, Gaddafi, is why you don’t attack your own civilians in an desperate attempt to hold onto power.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Feb 2011 14:41

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Politics: From “Parker Spitzer” to just “Spitzer”: Kathleen Parker’s out, kids

  • Alright, so who wants to watch “In the Arena”? Mediaite reports that the weirdest relationship on television, CNN’s “Parker Spitzer,” is no longer with a female co-host. The Washington Post columnist will be leaving the show, and the show will be renamed on on Monday. Question of the day: Was Kathleen Parker just an excuse to ease Spitzer into his own show? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Feb 2011 14:25

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Politics: More on Rachel Maddow, PolitiFact and other fun stuff

  • In case you didn’t see our comment on Rachel Maddow’s war of words with PolitiFact, we’d like to point it out again for your kids. We think that there is a lot of context worthy of your time. Above is Maddow’s clip from last night, which, while accurate in pointing out that PolitiFact isn’t always right, does the same kind of cherry-picking that PolitiFact did. From the report, they only quoted a two-second part of a clip that has much more direct context at play. Tommy Christopher at Mediaite took a swing at this whole issue, too, and you know what? He noticed the same thing we did about her surplus/deficit quote. “That passage can be read both ways, but in at least the semantic sense, Politifact is wrong. Their reading of this passage is a matter of interpretation.” In other words, while the exact quote Rachel Maddow pulled proves PolitiFact’s headline is in fact “False,” the problem is that the larger context, which claims that Walker turned a surplus into a deficit (the point of the article), is closer to the truth than Maddow’s people will like. Sorry, Rachel. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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