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30 Jun 2011 11:12

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U.S.: Today is Robert Gates’ last day at the Pentagon. *sniff*

We’re sitting in this coffee shop, blaring Boyz II Men’s “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye To Yesterday” from our tinny MacBook speakers. And crying. We’re getting weird looks, but WE DON’T CARE! source

30 Jun 2011 10:56

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U.S.: Dude who managed to stow away on flight passed security check

  • fail Last Friday, some dude managed to stow away on a Virgin America flight from New York to Los Angeles; he was only caught after passengers started telling flight attendants that his seat was supposed to be empty.
  • double-fail However, Olajide Oluwaseun Noibi’s total security breach went undetected by TSA officials — in fact, despite holding an outdated ticket that wasn’t in his name, he passed through security checks with no issues. *facepalm* source

30 Jun 2011 10:37

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Politics: The Senate’s skipping its upcoming recess, working straight through

  • All because of that pesky debt ceiling thing: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced that the only fireworks members of the Senate would see next week would be strictly of the political kind — all in an effort to solve the pesky debt ceiling issue that’s been dogging Congress for a couple of months. If they can’t figure it out by August, it could have a dire effect on the overall economy, but Republicans want cuts to coincide with any sort of debt ceiling deal. Not every Senator is on board with this recess idea, by the way. We’re feeling less confident about their ability to fix this mess by the day. source

30 Jun 2011 00:35

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U.S.: California Governor: No more tax-free Amazon shopping

  • YES Californians must pay sales tax at Amazon.com source
  • » Starting Friday, California residents (including the author of this post!) will have to pay sales tax on items purchased on Amazon, Overstock, and Internet retail giants located out-of-state. The new rule comes in the form of budget legislation signed into law Wednesday by Governor Moonbeam Jerry Brown. The gov’nah called it a “common-sense idea;” Amazon.com called it “unconstitutional.” The measure could pull in $317 million, but that doesn’t make me feel any less grumpy about having to pay an extra two dollars for my Puddle of Mudd album.