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18 May 2011 17:35

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Politics: Kirk Cameron feels disadvantaged against Stephen Hawking

  • “Like bullying a blind man”: That was what former sitcom actor and adamant Christian activist Kirk Cameron complained it was like to say anything negative about Stephen Hawking. “He has an unfair disadvantage, and that gives him a free pass on some of his absurd ideas.” It’s a crass and lowly insult to Hawking to suggest that he’s the benefit of an “unfair disadvantage,” which clearly refers to his ALS. Especially because it implies that he’s the beneficiary of some sort of sympathy within the scientific community, as opposed to what he is; the owner of a magnificent mind that’s he’s used to bettering humankind. Whatever you might say about Growing Pains, we reckon that contribution doesn’t measure up. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 May 2011 16:58

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Politics: GOP braces for damage from Gingrich remarks

  • Newt tries to stop the bleeding: There’s a problem that Newt Gingrich created in his criticisms of the Paul Ryan budget that goes very far beyond Newt himself — a rapidly approaching torrent of Democratic ads using his words against any Republican opponent who supported or voted for said budget. This stern denouncement is an attempt to blunt that effect, but will it work? Not on Senator Chuck Schumer, at least: “What Newt seems to realize is that it would be impossible to win the White House if they embrace the Ryan plan. If Republicans make endorsing the Ryan plan the standard in the Republican primary, it will make the nominee unelectable.” source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 May 2011 16:32

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Politics: Newt Gingrich, Beverly Hills Housewife

  • Everything about Newt Gingrich–the operatic temperament, the multiple divorces, the six-figure credit line at Tiffany’s, the ego, the solipsism, the sheer haplessness and capacity for self-delusion–it all summons up the ‘Real House Wives of Beverly Hills.’
  • TNR’s Johnathan Cohn • It may sound like a pithy, superficial comparison, but Cohn backs up his argument effectively: “They’re all aging, camera-hungry divas who used to be something that they can’t seem to let go of…they remain the stars of their own universe, blind to the indifference of the world around them…They’re always causing scenes, having fights, and then apologizing to their “frenemies” but not really meaning it.” Sounds spot-on to us. We’d add one more: Like Gingrich, the Housewives are highly entertaining to watch, but ultimately irrelevant in the 2012 presidential election.   source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 May 2011 16:14

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World: A little good news coming out of Tripoli

  • 4 journalists freed from their detention by Gaddafi’s military source
  • » At long last: Gaddafi’s authorities have set Nigel Chandler, Manu Brabo, Claire Gillis and James Foley free — and authorities said that they may stay in the country if they wish (though journalistic professionalism aside, one could understand if they didn’t especially want to). Brabo, Gillis and Foley were all captured near Brega on April 5th. As for Chandler, however, who Libyan authorities believed worked with the BBC (they have since said they have no journalist in their employ by that name, and no other organization has claimed him), no location of his detainment is yet known. The four are now under consular care of Tripoli’s South African embassy.
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 May 2011 15:28

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Politics: Lars von Trier dishes up Hitler sympathy at Cannes

  • What can I say? I understand Hitler, but I think he did some wrong things, yes, absolutely. But I can see him sitting in his bunker in the end. He’s not what you would call a good guy, but I understand much about him, and I sympathize with him a little bit. But come on, I’m not for the Second World War, and I’m not against Jews. I am very much for Jews. No, not too much, because Israel is a pain in the ass. How can I get out of this sentence? … OK, I’m a Nazi.
  • Lars von Trier • Giving a pretty good impression of verbal self-destruction in just a handful of seconds. Von Trier has already apologized for this dispiriting and horrible speech, on the heels of organizers of the Cannes Film Festival, which von Trier was speaking at when he let this slip, called his performance “disturbing.” source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 May 2011 12:43

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Tech: Sony’s PlayStation Network troubles aren’t over yet

  • PSN hacked again…kind of. PlayStation Network was down again today, but not for the familiar reason of widespread hacks. A newly discovered exploit allows people to change account passwords armed with nothing but an email address associated with the account and the owner’s date of birth — both of which hackers obtained in the larger exploit earlier this month. Gaming Nyleveia.com discovered the newest flaw and contacted Sony about the problem. The network then went down again, apparently so Sony could fix it before it got out of hand. It’s important to know that the network wasn’t actually hacked again — hackers stole no new information, but instead discovered a new exploit that’s now being fixed. Sony is going to have a rough time recovering from all of this. source
Posted by Justin Jones • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 May 2011 11:19

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World: Poll: Many French people think Dominique Strauss-Kahn was set up

  • 57% of French voters think Dominique Strauss-Kahn was set up in the IMF leader’s sexual assault case
  • 70% of French voters in the Socialist Party (the politician’s own party) think the same thing source
  • » Another conspiracy theory flourishes: French society is one where conspiracy theories like this can flourish — in part due to mistrust of business and political elites. But the fall of a man expected to run for president has many in absolute disbelief. “It highlights France’s denial . . . People do not want to believe it and it is interesting from the collective psychology point of view,” said Jérome Sainte-Marie of the polling group CSA. If it makes you feel better, French people, the U.S. loves its conspiracy theories too.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

18 May 2011 10:43

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World: Slate’s French site names victim in Dominique Strauss-Kahn case

  • Did you guys know there was a French version of Slate? It’s true. And while it shares the same hue of purple as the mothership, it’s editorially independent and the Slate company owns a tiny 15 percent share of the product. Anyway, the site yesterday published an article noting the reported victim’s name in the Dominique Strauss-Kahn scandal (which we will not link directly here; if you’re interested, you can dig yourself) — a usual no-no in the world of journalism. And one that a few other outlets have also broken. But why Slate.fr, which carries the rep of a highly-regarded site that would never do something like that? According to an interview by The Atlantic Wire, the site’s founder, Eric Leser, says they did it to fight buck against the conspiracy theories that have grown around the story in France. “The story that we have published is proving that all of [these] theories are false,” he said. “That’s our main reason.” Do you guys agree with this stance? Do you think Slate.fr is making a mistake by publishing this? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 May 2011 10:17

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World: Reported al-Qaeda leadership change suggests a major rift

  • appointment According to many independent but unconfirmed reports, al-Qaeda’s new interim leader is Saif al-Adel, an Egyptian militant wanted in the bombings of two U.S. embassies in 1998 — al-Qaeda’s best-known attacks before 9/11.
  • slight If this is the case, it would be a major slight for Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden’s longtime right-hand man. Both men, however, are longtime senior members of the group, and a permanent change in structure is still forthcoming. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 May 2011 10:00

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Politics: Newt Gingrich’s day: From apologies to embarrassing bills to glitter

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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