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20 Jun 2011 22:00

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U.S.: Why would you steal a buck from the bank?

  • On June 9th, 2011, a 59-year-old man with no criminal history robbed a bank of one dollar. The man, who was unarmed, made it clear that he only wanted a single dollar, and calmly waited for the police to arrive after collecting it from the teller. James Verone had been laid off from his delivery job three years earlier, and was subsequently forced to take a position as a convenience store clerk. But this job slowly ate away at his body, and resulted in serious health problems. He couldn’t afford health insurance, and was denied disability. So, Verone intentionally landed himself in prison in order to take advantage of the free health care. The most amazing part? He says now that he doesn’t regret it. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Jun 2011 17:50

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Politics: NRSC’s Twitter retweets fake @BarackObama posts

  • action President Obama recently made it known that he’d be writing some of his own tweets on his popular Twitter account. This is really an inevitable intersection of social media and politics, and we’ll admit, it’s sort of cool to read a tweet sent by a sitting U.S. President.
  • reaction The National Republican Senatorial Committee, conversely, has been tweeting for a while. When Obama started tweeting, the NRSC began retweeting faked posts designed to look like Obama wrote them; they’ve done the same to Harry Reid and Tim Kaine. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Jun 2011 17:07

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Politics: McCain worried about “isolationism” in GOP circles

  • Old school vs. new school: “He [Reagan] would be saying: That’s not the Republican Party of the 20th century, and now the 21st century. That is not the Republican Party that has been willing to stand up for freedom for people for all over the world.” Senator John McCain is right to warn of an “isolationist” streak growing within the GOP, as the default political positioning of the party is now simply the opposite of whatever President Obama supports. Therefore, as Obama continues to wage war (and enter a new foreign conflict in Libya), suddenly the “war party” of the last decade is tilting towards giving peace a chance. This strikes a violent discord with old hands in the GOP, McCain predictably among them — and will continue to cause internal strife for Republicans. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Jun 2011 16:29

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Politics: Ron Paul spokesman criticizes Romney on abortion

  • Given Governor Romney’s past flip-flops on the Right to Life issue and his support for Obamacare-like individual mandates, this stance is very troubling. Right to Life conservatives must question Gov. Romney’s commitment to our cause.
  • Jesse Benton, Ron Paul’s campaign manager • Voicing doubts about Mitt Romney’s commitment to the conservative anti-abortion movement. This line of attack on Romney from the right isn’t unusual, as the former Massachusetts governor was at one time avowedly pro-choice, but now says he’s changed his mind. This highlights an interesting contradiction between professed political ideology and reality, though — there’s a certain inescapable strangeness about a Ron Paul adviser, of all the possible campaigns, being the one to voice this charge. Making abortion illegal (and defunding institutions that provide) is, regardless of one’s feelings on the issue, an enormously “big government” solution. And if there’s one thing Ron Paul opposes in nearly every other circumstance, it’s big government. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Jun 2011 15:17

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World: Report: Mubarak is having major health problems

  • Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak might have stomach cancer. It’s not set in stone, but his defense lawyer says that there’s significant evidence that Mubarak, 83, might have the disease. He’s already been in the hospital for heart troubles, as well as surgery to have his gallbladder and part of his pancreas removed. He’s supposed to go on trial August 3 for killing the protesters who forced him to leave office — but his compounding health issues could put a major crimp in that. source
Posted by Justin Jones • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Jun 2011 14:41

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Tech: Google’s back on the library-digitization tip — in a big way

  • 250,000 books going digital source
  • » These books predate you by centuries: Google is cooperating with the British Library in London to convert their 40 million pages worth of books from 1700-1870 into digital form. These ancient books are out of copyright, so Google won’t have the same issues they’ve had with earlier digitization efforts. This is all on Google’s dime, by the way: They’ve made similar deals with many other outlets — including Stanford and Harvard.
Posted by Justin Jones • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Jun 2011 14:23

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U.S.: NY gay marriage bill to set a precedent about the issue

  • This is not about religion, this is about civil rights.
  • Sharon Baum, a protester for gay marriage in New York • Describing her take on the gay marriage situation. (Another take, from 80-year-old Ginny Winn: “If this passes, we will become Sodom and Gomorrah.”)Tension is growing as the bill to legalize gay marriage hits in a critical stage — one that requires at least some Republican support to make it happen. It’s a key battleground state for the gay rights movement: If gay marriage passes in New York, there’s a good chance it will set a precedent that other states will follow the Empire State’s lead. A large number of people on both sides of this bill have come forward to protest a decision that could go either way at this point. Keep an eye on this today, guys. source
Posted by Justin Jones • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

20 Jun 2011 11:08

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World: Tunisia’s Ben Ali: I didn’t really leave! My plane ditched me!

  • He boarded the plane with his family after ordering the crew to wait for him in Jeddah. But after his arrival in Jeddah, the plane returned to Tunisia, without waiting for him, contrary to his orders. He did not leave his post as president of the republic and hasn’t fled Tunisia as he was falsely accused of doing.
  • A statement by Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali’s lawyers • Claiming he didn’t actually leave Tunisia amid protests as was reported by just about everyone. Instead, he claims he was basically ditched. Seems like a fascinating thing to say … six months after the fact. A Tunisian court is trying Ben Ali in absentia for a series of crimes, including theft and illegal possession of firearms and other things he probably shouldn’t have had. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Jun 2011 10:33

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Biz, U.S.: Supreme Court: Walmart’s massive sex bias lawsuit won’t go forward

  • 9-0 Walmart won’t face a massive class-action lawsuit source
  • » So, what’s next? Well, the 1.3 million women who claimed a role in the discrimination lawsuit can pursue their claims individually, but that probably won’t happen. The stakes are also lower as the scope has been lowered. Walmart also faces less pressure to settle such cases. The decision reverses a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals case that favored the employees in the class-action lawsuit, and would’ve been a huge deal had it been decided the other way.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Jun 2011 10:25

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World: Syria’s Assad makes baby steps towards reform in major speech

  • We meet today in a defining moment in the history of our country, a moment we wish to be a turning point from a yesterday when innocent blood was shed to a tomorrow when we restore the picture of serenity, freedom, integrity and solidarity. We have seen many grave hours; we have paid a grave price.
  • Syrian President Bashar Assad • During a somewhat rambling 70-minute speech — his first in two months —where he promised to allow for political parties in the country, but offered none of the concrete reforms that many hoped for. The speech was occasionally conspiratorial in nature, but less so than many of the president’s previous speeches. Large protests reportedly followed the speech in cities throughout the country. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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