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19 Jun 2011 11:02

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Politics: Obama’s gay marriage views: Forward, then back again?

  • To this day, I don’t think Barack Obama has any issue with two people of the same gender getting married.
  • Former Obama aide Kevin Thompson • Regarding the issue of gay marriage, which he taught the then-Senate-candidate about in 2004. Obama’s current position on gay marriage is “evolving” (his words), but there’s evidence that he’s really supported it the whole time, avoiding taking an affirmative stance on the issue mostly for political reasons. Barney Frank, one of the country’s most prominent gay politicians, says that, based on his record, “he was probably inclined to think that same-sex marriage was legitimate, but as a candidate for president in 2008 that would have been an unwise thing to say.” Is it possible that he’s held out on a firm position because he knew it was a possible political landmine? You mean this didn’t seem obvious? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Jun 2011 10:43

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Politics: GLAAD president sacked after bizarre net neutrality controversy

  • controversy For some strange reason, GLAAD — an activist group known more for its stance on gay rights than it is on technology-related issues — recently sent out form letters received from AT&T that made it clear they were against net neutrality, and that they supported the merger of AT&T and T-Mobile. Why? And what does this have to do with gay rights?
  • result GLAAD president Jarrett Barrios resigned as a result of the controversy, admitting the group accepted money from AT&T and signed off on letters he didn’t actually understand (because they had nothing to do with gay rights). He also covered up the deed — putting his secretary on the hook when he actually sent out the letters. So he’s out. Oops. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Jun 2011 19:18

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Tech: Duke Nukem Forever PR firm fired after threatening reviewers

  • We are reviewing who gets games next time and who doesn’t based on today’s venom. Bad scores are fine. Venom filled reviews… that’s completely different. Too many went too far with their reviews.
  • The Redner Group founder Jim Redner • Tweeting his anger with the negative reviews the long-awaited “Duke Nukem Forever” received upon its release. Those were Redner’s last words as 2K Games’ PR guy — his company was ditched not long after. (Because, um, he suggested doing something that’s very unethical.) The game itself, which many reviewers noted seemed to have come from a different era of gaming, received mixed reviews according to Metacritic — few reaching to the point of total hatred. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Jun 2011 18:04

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Biz: United Airlines dodged a bullet with their system shutdown

  • 10k number of flights canceled after a December snowstorm
  • 9k number of flights canceled after a similar January storm
  • 31 number of flights canceled due to United’s data outage Friday source
  • » That doesn’t seem like many, right? Yeah, you’re right … while there were another 105 delayed flights worldwide, the fact of the matter is, it happened on a Friday night – the best possible time for a total system shutdown. While travelers were understandably angry, it was the difference between thousands of angry people and hundreds of thousands of angry people.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Jun 2011 11:17

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U.S.: Report: Hospitals giving out unnecessary double-CT scans

Fun fact about CT scans: They cost lots of money. Also, a chest CT scan has as much radiation as 350 chest X-rays. So why are some hospitals giving them to patients twice? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Jun 2011 10:53

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Music: Lou Reed: Metallica collaboration “a marriage made in heaven”?

  • The record, not yet titled, features 10 songs composed by Reed with significant arrangement contributions by the band that suggest a raging union of his 1973 noir classic, Berlin, and Metallica’s ’86 crusher, Master of Puppets.
  • Rolling Stone writer David Fricke • Describing that bizarre Metallica-Lou Reed album the duo collaborated on. May we just say, could you pick two weirder albums to mash up? But that said, both Metallica and Reed seem uber-excited about the project, which is based around a bunch of songs Reed wrote for a German play. “A marriage made in heaven,” Reed said. “I knew it from the first day we played together: ‘Oh, man, this is perfection, right in front of me.’ ” It might be a bit before the project gets out, as neither Reed nor Metallica (who still are a multi-platinum-selling force) currently have a record deal. But then again, both are legendary enough that they probably have the money to start one. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Jun 2011 21:44

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U.S.: AARP freaks out over Social Security, then backtracks

  • firm For decades, the AARP has pushed against any cuts to Social Security — a cornerstone issue for its base, seniors.
  • evolving Today, however, the group did a startling about-face, claiming that cuts might be needed to ensure its future.
  • receding However, after seniors complained, the group backtracked. As AARP members, we’re beside ourselves. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

17 Jun 2011 17:20

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Biz: AOL Employee: My experience with them really freaking sucked

  • Errors didn’t matter. Grammatical errors — be they major or minor — didn’t matter. The brainless peons who read the website simply wouldn’t notice. What mattered was getting the ‘product’ published.
  • Former AOL TV writer Oliver Miller • Describing his experience with writing for the online megacorp in the pre-HuffPo days. Miller, who says that he was overworked and had to plow through dozens of stories each week, lost his job in an interesting way: He made a stupid aside about Alec Baldwin that the actor saw, then wrote a tirade about … on HuffPo. (Miller didn’t name the actor, but the story was well-circulated. We even wrote about it a long time ago.) After that point, he claims, editors intentionally put errors in his pieces. Miller lost his job five months ago, roughly around the time the AOL-HuffPo merger was announced. (Disclosure: I used to do freelance for AOL News pre-merger, and my experience wasn’t like this at all. It was stressful, but that’s only because I was writing a daily news blog and also working a full-time job at the time.) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Jun 2011 14:36

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U.S.: Pentagon scare: Marine reservist claimed he had explosives

  • claim Someone left a car near the Pentagon early this morning, and authorities thought that it might have a bomb in it. When the owner, a lance corporal in the Marines, was found at the then-closed Arlington National Cemetery and questioned, he claimed that he had explosive material on him.
  • truth Yonathan Melaku, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Ethiopia, carried an unknown quantity of ammonium nitrate, a non-explosive chemical fertilizer often used in explosives, in his possession. While nothing was in his car, he possessed a notebook with al-Qaeda-related notes in it — scary stuff. source
Posted by Justin Jones • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Jun 2011 13:43

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World: Yemen: Allies suggest injured president Saleh will return soon

  • Rebels in Yemen do not welcome this news. A few weeks ago, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh was badly injured and burned in an attack on his palace, forcing him to receive medical treatment in nearby Saudi Arabia — a situation which led to an interim leader and celebrations in the streets. But the celebrations might have been a little premature if there’s any truth to reports that Saleh will return to the country soon, having recovered significantly from his injuries. “He will return home after medical reports said he is getting better,” ruling party official Yasser al-Yamani explained. Protesters rallied in the wake of the news; as you might guess, they’re not ready to welcome him back. source
Posted by Justin Jones • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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