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20 Mar 2011 21:30

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Biz: AT&T’s T-Mobile buyout: Infrastructure, antitrust concerns at play

  • 35 million subscribers on T-Mobile’s current wireless setup
  • 100M number of subscribers Verizon has, buoyed by a large infrastructure that nobody can touch
  • 95M number of subscribers AT&T has — if the merger goes through, they’ll top Verizon
  • 40M number of subscribers Sprint has; they were also having merger talks with T-Mobile source
  • » It’s all about infrastructure: AT&T is trying hard to play catch-up with Verizon, which not only has more customers and bandwidth, but also now has the iPhone. The bummer for T-Mobile users is that AT&T’s monthly rates are far higher than T-Mobile’s, which as you might guess has people worried. While T-Mobile has tried to get ahead of talk like this, the concerns are enough that many analysts are warning that the deal won’t go through.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Mar 2011 20:17

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Offbeat: Weapon of the day: Utah’s official gun, the Browning M1911

  • You’re not a true Utah resident unless you own this gun. Amidst the collective messes taking place in Libya and Japan, you might’ve missed this bizarre piece of news out of Utah. See, Gov. Gary Herbert signed a bill making the Browning M1911 handgun the state’s official gun. See, its creator, John Browning, was born in Utah waaaaay back in 1855 and effectively invented the first automatic and semi-automatic weapons. “The governor has said previously, and still feels, this isn’t about a gun,” said Ally Isom, Herbert’s spokeswoman. “It’s about honoring John Moses Browning and paying tribute to the man as an innovator and entrepreneur and someone who has given a lot to the state of Utah.” But we all know people aren’t going to read that part of the headline. Our quick take: If someone gets killed by a bullet from this gun, does that somehow make it more patriotic? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Mar 2011 12:30

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World: Survivors still getting rescued in Japan, nine days after the quake

  • In case you need a reminder of the concept of keeping hope alive, watch this. These are people who got rescued NINE DAYS after the quake. And one of the people, an elderly woman named Sumi Abe, was 80. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Mar 2011 12:18

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World: Arab League: We wanted a no-fly zone in Libya, not airstrikes

  • What is happening in Libya differs from the aim of imposing a no-fly zone, and what we want is the protection of civilians and not the bombardment of more civilians.
  • Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa • Speaking about the current airstrike campaign in Libya. It’s important to note that the Arab League — who, as you might remember, wanted a no-fly zone in Libya — is speaking out against the current campaign. Moussa says he’s also calling for an emergency Arab League meeting. So this could become more of a “thing” than it already is. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Mar 2011 11:54

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Politics: Adm. Mike Mullen: Operation Odyssey Dawn could end in stalemate

  • Well … that’s reassuring. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” this morning that a stalemate in Libya was possible. He also noted that the mission, by the way, has a short, narrow scope, which, again, contradicts its name. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Mar 2011 11:42

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World: Japan finds more radiation-laden foods, limits their sale

  • bad As we reported yesterday, a number of food items from the region near Fukushima — including milk and spinach — had high levels of radiation in them, leading to considerable concern in Japan.
  • worse Now, more foods have tested positive for radiation — including canola and chrysanthemum greens. Now, Japan has restricted sales of food from anywhere near Fukushima. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Mar 2011 11:22

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World: Japan quake: A massive death toll, with thousands more missing

  • 8,450 the official death toll from the quake so far
  • 12,931 the number of people still missing over a week after the quake
  • 118,000 support personnel are on the ground assisting in the recovery source
  • » A huge relief budget, still not enough: The city of Sendai, which is roughly the center point of the quake and Tsunami, has gathered an extra budget of roughly $220 million. Even that will likely not be enough. “No one believes this will be enough to cope with reconstruction,” said a Sendai city spokesperson. “This disaster will cause severe damage to city finances.”
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

20 Mar 2011 11:08

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World: Libya: Gaddafi’s grumpy, calling attacking allied nations “terrorists”

  • You have proven to the world that you are not civilized, that you are terrorists — animals attacking a safe nation that did nothing against you.
  • Muammar Gaddafi • Offering, on Libyan state television, his personal assessment of the countries currently bombing the heck out of Libya. According to CNN, an image of a fist crushing a plane that said “USA” – which kinda looks like this — flashed on the screen. No symbolism in that whatsoever.  source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Mar 2011 22:51

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U.S.: New Mexico: Undocumented immigrants can still get licenses

  • 3 states let undocumented immigrants get licensed, including New Mexico
  • pushed New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, who made a hardcore push against illegal immigrants a cornerstone of her campaign, pushed to block undocumented immigrants from getting driver’s licenses.
  • blocked However, Martinez’s plan stalled in the state senate, where Democrats hold control. While concessions were made, members couldn’t agree, and the bill died on the vine without a vote. source
  • » Immigrants’ rights groups cheer: While Martinez, a Republican, is licking her wounds, advocates for undocumented immigrants have a right to cheer today. “This goes to show that you come in with a radical, extremist agenda, you’re going to get push-back because New Mexico is not a radical extremist state,” said Somos un Pueblo Unido head Marcela Diaz. By the way, amongst border states, New Mexico is the only one that allows immigrants to get licenses.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Mar 2011 19:50

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World: Operation Odyssey Dawn’s cost (already!): Over $62 million

  • 110 number of Tomahawk missiles that have been fired by U.S. forces over Libya so far
  • $569,000 the cost of each of those missiles, according to the U.S. Navy’s own fact file on the missiles source
  • » Oh, and there are other costs, too: It costs a fighter jet thousands of dollars an hour just to get off the ground — for example, according to a 2009 estimate from The Washington Post, an F-22 (one of the types of fighter jets in use over in Libya) costs around $44,000 per flying hour. And that’s not even discussing manpower or intelligence or other technologies in use. War is expensive. Even a couple of hours in.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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