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21 Apr 2011 21:14

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Politics: Paul Ryan not running for president, and other town hall fun

  • We don’t have the presidential candidates right now. The field hasn’t materialized yet, so we’re out there doing it ourselves.
  • Rep. Paul Ryan • Speaking yesterday at a town hall meeting in Clinton, Wis., where he noted that he had no plans to run for president. (We’ve said our peace, bro. You’re making a mistake.) Earlier in the week, Ryan was at the tail end of a chorus of boos, at a town hall in Milton, Wis., for his stance on tax cuts for the wealthy. But as Dave Weigel notes, other members of Congress who voted for Ryan’s budget plan didn’t face anything even resembling the rage-filled summer of 2009, where Barney Frank compared a woman to a “dining room table.” Guess those angry people have to start trying harder. (thanks handlebarr) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Apr 2011 20:32

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Biz: Colt 45 Blast: Endorsed by Snoop Dogg, not endorsed by Illinois

  • Meet the new Four Loko: Our friends at Pabst may not promote the heck out of PBR, at least obviously, but they are promoting this Colt 45 derivative really heavily, using Snoop Dogg to push Blast onto unsuspecting youths who missed out on Billy Dee WIlliams. The drink, which doesn’t have caffeine, does have 12 percent alcohol concentration — enough for Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan to compare a single can to a six-pack of beer. It’s not Loko. It’s a Blast. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Apr 2011 16:34

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Biz: Mattel corporation handed legal defeat over Bratz dolls

  • Mattel suffers surprise defeat in court: The toy juggernaut waged a seven-year legal battle with MGA, a much-smaller company. At stake was claim to the Bratz empire, the line of glammed-up dolls that during the middle of the last decade was worth over $1 billion. MGA won today by jury verdict; they found Mattel had misused MGA’s trade secrets (MGA accused Mattel of entering toy fairs with fake credentials). The price for Mattel is $88.4 million, which is a lot to lose over nabbing a concept as elementary and obvious as Bratz. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Apr 2011 14:41

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World: TEPCO releases Fukushima Daiichi footage shot by robots

  • What’s it look like inside Fukushima Daiichi? Well, at least some of it looks like this, This footage from TEPCO shows a couple of robots that are working in one reactor — even though it’s not especially illuminating from an information standpoint, it’s yet very haunting footage. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Apr 2011 14:23

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Biz: Running the NYT paywall has higher cost than you might expect

  • $13 million to run the New York Times paywall in 2011 source
  • » This is a hefty figure. And it’s not the whole enchilada — the Times spent a lot getting it together, on top of the incremental costs involved. But it doesn’t necessarily spell problems for the new system — the Times has netted about 100,000 digital subscribers since instituting the paywall, reportedly enough to break even on the operating costs after the first quarter of 2011. That said, we suspect not many casual observers expected this high a cost would be absorbed simply to keep up the paywall, and having the spoils of your first 100,000 subscribers be a financial wash is something we doubt the Times relishes. But we think people need to give this time.
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Apr 2011 13:53

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Politics: Former NM Governor Gary Johnson will run for President

  • Gary Johnson saddles up: The former New Mexico governor made it official today — he’ll be running for the GOP nomination in 2012. Johnson’s cut from a libertarian cloth, but has the sort of ideological tether to that philosophy that may make some traditional, establishment Republicans antsy; Johnson is in favor of legalizing marijuana, for example, and contradicts the party’s usual hard-line stance on Mexican border security and fence-building (a pitch which prompted CPAC to awkwardly “play him off” the stage). Given his stance on legalizin’ it, though, we wish he’d gone full-bore and announced his candidacy yesterday. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Apr 2011 13:31

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World: Libyan rebel forces win strategic victory at Tunisian border

  • Libyan rebels claim Tunisian border post: The deputy leader of the rebel forces that seized this strategic piece of land, giving his name as Youssef, said they had killed about ten pro-Gaddafi soldiers in the process, and injured twenty-five. Their ability to hold this post is key, as open access to Tunisia allows more freedom of movement (Tunisia is likely now concerned about being able to support the increased influx of refugees, which should have a much easier time migrating), and gives them a new avenue to receive medical supplies. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

21 Apr 2011 11:12

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Politics: This just in: Allen West causes orificial secretions

  • The idea of an Allen West/Herman Cain all-black conservative ticket would titillate me to the point of secretions coming out of every orifice.
  • Andrew Breitbart • On who he’d like to see on the GOP ticket in 2012. Lovely imagery aside, this sort of reasoning is a reflection of the belief, common amongst some conservatives, that all the GOP needs to do to win over certain demographics is nominate members of those demographics to high-profile tickets. This isn’t the case, as McCain’s VP pick in 2008 proved all too well. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Apr 2011 10:35

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World: Japanese government creates Fukushima no-go zone

  • 12 miles away from Fukushima? Don’t get any closer source
  • » The penalties: People who violate this rule could face a fine of up to ¥100,000 (roughly $1,220) or 30 days in jail. On top of the possibility that you might get affected by radiation. (EDIT: This post was edited to remove a two-second quip that probably requires a post of its own.)
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Apr 2011 10:24

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World: Tim Hetherington: Libyan government sorry “someone died”

  • We do not kill anyone that does not fight us. We need to check the circumstances in which [these] journalists died. And it’s war of course. People die from our side, from their side, people get caught in the middle. We need to check the circumstances. But of course we are very sad that someone died.
  • Libyan spokesperson Moussa Ibrahim • Expressing remorse for the deaths of Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros in the broadest of terms. They’re sad that “someone died.” If that was the case, why are people dying? Not just journalists. Citizens. This is the same guy who tried to blame the victim in that terrible rape case a few weeks ago. For some reason, we’re not buying his broad apology. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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