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23 May 2011 22:11

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Culture: Lady Gaga MP3 deal backfires; Amazon users pissed

  • sweet! Lady Gaga’s latest album is on sale for 99 cents on Amazon MP3. What’s more, it comes with a free 20gb of cloud music storage!
  • aww no! The deal was so popular, it clogged Amazon’s servers. Users got cut off mid-download, and are now giving the album negative reviews. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 May 2011 21:51

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U.S.: Silver lining: Financial meltdown saved marriages!

  • 5% of married couples were considering a divorce prior to the recession
  • 38% of those couples put their plans on hold once the recession hit source
  • » Follow our logic here: George W. Bush fancied himself a man of family values, right? And surely, there’s no greater family value than the institution of marriage. The economic policies put forth by Bush plunged our country into a recession, at which point couples that may have gotten divorced stayed together due to lack of funds. So in a weird way, Bush accomplished his goal. He saved marriage! Yay! This theory is perfect!
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 May 2011 20:13

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World: Strauss-Kahn case may change France’s lassiez-faire views on sex

  • 1980 the year rape was formally outlawed in France — which is fairly late by historic standards
  • 75k number of rapes per year, according to France’s own government studies
  • 10% share of victims that file complaints each year, according to French women’s groups source
  • » The catalyst for changing perceptions? French society has long considered sexual matters private, but the Dominique Strauss-Kahn case — taking place in a society with a more stringent view on women’s’ rights — could help change that. While French legislation slowly turns the screws in favor of protecting victims of harassment and sexual abuse, the trial of a very powerful figure could have a lasting cultural effect, according to Claude Katz, a French attorney who focuses on sexual harassment cases. “It will empower victims of sexual abuse in France because if a maid can speak against a powerful man, others will have a stronger voice,” he explains.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 May 2011 16:09

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Politics: 2012 Election: Will T-Paw finally put his name in the hat?

  • YES Tim Pawlenty is officially running for President source
  • » The least surprising item of the day: It’s not as if anybody really doubted that Tim Pawlenty would be running for President, as he’s made that rather abundantly obvious the last year or so (the title of his recent book, Courage To Stand, basically says all you need to know about his ambitions). However, the timing of this official announcement works to Pawlenty’s favor — it comes quickly after the GOP was set reeling by Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels’ decision not to run. Suddenly facing down a field with virtually no electable candidates, save the primary-vulnerable Mitt Romney, Pawlenty is in a prime place to gain ground, if he can get a little buzz going. A tip from us to T-Paw, though — you don’t have a southern accent, and it’s weird to try to pretend otherwise.
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 May 2011 15:42

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U.S.: SCOTUS rules CA prisons unconstitutionally overcrowded

  • “Incompatible with the concept of human dignity”: So said Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the 5-4 Supreme Court majority that ruled California’s state prison system is so overcrowded that they say it violates constitutional rights (the level of health services available to inmates who sorely need them has been a relevant issue of late). As such, the ruling may force the state to release nearly 40,000 prisoners. “The release of prisoners in large numbers … is a matter of undoubted, grave concern, yet so too is the continuing injury and harm resulting from these serious constitutional violations,” said Kennedy. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 May 2011 14:27

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World: Captured Gaddafi soldier claims campaign of rape in Misrata

  • …we shot every one of them in the leg. … Then the officers took the girls upstairs, and we were told to go on the roof [to keep guard] until the officers had finished the rape and then we were told to rape the girls too.
  • A 17-year-old member of Muammar Gaddafi’s forces, currently in opposition custody • Describing what he saw as a soldier. Andrew Harding of the BBC News, who wrote this article, makes the point that he isn’t positive whether the young man was telling the truth, considering the vested interest opposition forces might have in coercing him to portray his former colleagues in the worst possible light. That said, his remarks about what’s been happening in Misrata (through an interpreter) are harrowing. He describes being instructed to rape women, on threat of being beaten if they refused. He admits to committing a rape himself, and claims to have received about $8 reward for it. It’s a gruesome read, but worthy of being informed about. These are hardly the first reports of rape to come out of Libya in the midst of its civil war, but this new suggestion takes the brutality to new, horrible levels. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 May 2011 13:32

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U.S.: Dharun Ravi pleads not guilty in charges from Tyler Clementi’s suicide

  • then Rutgers student Tyler Clementi leapt off a bridge last year, killing himself at the realization that his roommate, Dharun Ravi, had secretly recorded him having sex with a man and uploaded it to the internet. His death originated much public attention to the issue of youths bullied for their sexual orientations.
  • now Dharun Ravi, 19, has pled not guilty to a court in Middlesex, New Jersey. He’s facing down 15 different charges, including invasion of privacy and evidence tampering, and if convicted could serve ten years in prison. The other student involved in the case, Molly Wei, will avoid jail time by testifying against Ravi. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

23 May 2011 11:02

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World: Taliban reportedly attacked Pakistan naval base in retaliation

  • This attack shows that the Taliban have sympathizers and insiders in the security establishment. It also shows that they have become more powerful and sophisticated in their planning and attacks.
  • Islamabad-based security analyst Talat Masood • Putting into perspective the Taliban’s attack on a Pakistani naval base — a siege that lasted nearly 16 hours before Pakistani commandos were able to fend the insurgents off. The attack, reportedly in retaliation for the killing of Osama bin Laden. In fact, they laid it out as such: “Fifteen of our fighters entered the naval air base and we don’t expect them to return,” said Pakistani Taliban spokesperson Ehsanullah Ehsan. “They are there to kill. Our issue with Pakistan is its secular policies and friendship with America.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 May 2011 10:33

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Politics: Shocker: Scott Brown doesn’t support the Paul Ryan Medicare plan

  • Thumbs-up to photo ops, thumbs-down to the Ryan plan. Sen. Scott Brown got into office largely on the promise he’d vote against the health care bill. Since then, he’s followed a strongly moderate path, reaching out to the other side of the aisle more than any other GOP senator. So, it’s with that in mind that you should read the op-ed Brown wrote for Politico, which claims that Medicare has already been weakened by Obamacare, and that at large, the focus should be on removing waste in Medicare. “While I applaud Ryan for getting the conversation started,” he said, “I cannot support his specific plan — and therefore will vote ‘no’ on his budget.” If only Newt Gingrich had this script to read from a week ago. (photo via Flickr user dianezink1021) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 May 2011 10:19

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U.S.: Joplin tornado: Warning sirens not enough with storm this huge

  • At the moment it’s surreal, our landmarks are gone — road signs, places where you know to turn — we’re doing search and rescue, going house to house on that six mile strip.
  • Joplin emergency management director Keith Stammer • Describing the situation in his town this morning. While he notes that all of the alarms went off and gave 20-minute notice of the quickly-approaching storm, it clearly wasn’t enough to protect people from a supremely devastating tornado. It was one of 47 that the storm system produced in the region yesterday — and by far the worst. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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