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20 Jul 2011 14:27

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World: Somalia faces worsening famine, UN calls for action

  • 3.7 million Somalis face famine; UN says response is lacking source
  • » And it’s getting worse: Famine is a pervasive and devastating problem, and it’s presently burgeoning in Somalia, as well as Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, North and South Sudan, and Djibouti, to varying extents. The situation in Somalia is rapidly worsening, to boot — the U.N. believes that should food shortages continue unchecked for another one or two months, it will spread from its current concentration (mostly in Southern Somalia) and grip the entire country. The U.N. highlighting this reflects that urgency, as they’d like to see some international mobilization to ease this humanitarian crisis. Whether that happens remains unknown; it’s clear the U.N. feels the response has been far too anemic at this point.
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Jul 2011 13:59

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World: David Cameron regrets hiring guy that made his office look bad

  • Thought of the day: They have more fun raggin’ on world leaders on the other side of the pond. As for the clip itself, Cameron makes a point to emphasize that, Andy Coulson, the former “News of the World” editor who worked for him, didn’t do any wrong on his watch. “Of course I regret,” he said, “and I am extremely sorry, about the furor it has caused.” Well, duh. What else is he going to say? “Oh yeah! Andy was a great hire! He made my office look smashing! We got such good publicity from hiring that Andy Coulson! He was the sugar in my office’s tea!” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Jul 2011 13:24

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Tech: Apple does a bunch of updates (OSX Lion!), kills off a classic breadwinner

  • cool While exterior changes didn’t happen (did it need any?) the new MacBook Air is a heckuva lot faster and comes with solid-state drives by default.
  • cooler The Mac Mini, sort of the redheaded stepchild of the Mac line, also got a fresh upgrade — notably without an optical drive of any kind.
  • coolest Mac. OSX. Lion. In the Mac App Store. You don’t even need to leave your apartment to upgrade it, guys. Do it naked if you want. source
  • » It’s so hard to say goodbye … Not all changes were in the form of hello, however. The polycarbonate MacBook, a stalwart of the line since Apple’s move to Intel, is gone, effectively replaced by the MacBook Air. It’s the first time in a decade that Apple hasn’t sold a white plastic notebook of any kind. A sad day, but one full of new beginnings, right?
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Jul 2011 12:04

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Tech: Hacker arrests apparently nail a bunch of hangers-on

  • It does look like some of these guys (hackers) were just fools. The PayPal attack in particular. It looks like these bozos must have just said ‘Cool, an attack on PayPal. You can use my machine.’ I think it makes it a lot less likely that that people will join the next digital lynch mob.
  • Former Homeland Security official Stewart Baker • Discussing the nature of the 14 people arrested yesterday in connection with a wide-scale attack on PayPal and other services late last year — a form of retribution, reportedly coordinated by Anonymous for PayPal taking away Wikileaks’ main source of funding. A couple other folks were arrested, too, in a series of raids that represent the largest law-enforcement response to the spate of large-scale hackings that have cropped up since late last year. But if Baker is right, they may not have gotten anyone of note — but a bunch of dudes who fed into the mob mentality. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Jul 2011 20:35

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U.S.: House passes doomed “Cut, Cap and Balance” bill

  • 234-190 on rigid partisan lines; duh source
  • » The odds of this passing the Senate? Zero. The House has been known for their symbolic votes this term — ones which please the base but not won’t do much else. The bill cuts many Democratic investment priorities — but most notably, takes a long-term hatchet to Medicare. Not so much, kids. Not so much.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Jul 2011 15:28

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World: Recap: Key highlights from Rupert Murdoch’s hearing

  • hearing Today was a pretty harrowing day for News Corp’s Rupert Murdoch. He went before the British parliament with his son James regarding the ongoing phone hacking scandal.
  • result Both Rupert and his son maintained they didn’t know anything. James talked a lot more than his dad — but paused when a member of parliament obliquely compared the scandal to Enron.
  • dessert? Toward the end of the hearing, someone snuck in and gave Rupert a pie to the face — a not-so-tasteful distraction that nearly overshadowed the fairly serious situation at hand. source
  • » If the hearing wasn’t enough to make Murdoch sweat, LulzSec might be able to do the trick. They’re reportedly going to release a whole bunch of emails from News International staffers. Those emails will show what various people in the organization know, if they know anything about the phone hacking. They’ve already released Rebekah Brooks’s email password.
Posted by Justin Jones • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Jul 2011 14:42

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U.S.: Mitch McConnell’s “Plan B” may not be enough to secure U.S. credit rating

  • McConnell plan may not be enough for Moody’s: Some cautionary news on the United States’ triple-A credit rating today — Moody’s has been pretty open in saying the U.S. is risking a downgrade over the expanding debt and deficit. Senator Mitch McConnell’s fail-safe debt limit plan, which amounts to a transfer of power from congress to the President, would only occur if the “grand deal” President Obama yearns for (which would deeply cut spending and increase revenues at about a 3:1 ratio respectively) fails to catch on. Moody’s analyst Steven Hess estimates a whopping $4 trillion in deficit reduction might be needed to secure the triple-A rating. “I’d rather not opine on numbers in between,” he said. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

19 Jul 2011 13:39

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Politics: Study: Correlation between secondhand smoke, early hearing loss

  • Further research is needed to demonstrate a causal link, but in the meantime to protect your child’s hearing, and health, it would be advisable to avoid smoking around them.
  • Dr. Ralph Holme, of Action on Hearing Loss • Speaking about recent studies which indicate a strong correlation between the secondhand smoke exposure of teenagers, and hearing loss. The doctor makes a very worthwhile point when he emphasizes further research is needed — the distinction between correlation and causation is something we feel is too often overlooked in media coverage of health-related studies. That said, his conclusion is still the prudent one; put the cigarette out when you’re hanging out with kids and teens. Seeing as this is hardly the only risk associated with smoking on the whole, this probably isn’t a case where a slew of new studies need to come out to warrant some lifestyle adjustments. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Jul 2011 01:50

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Politics: The Best Two Sentences of the Night

  • Responsibility without conviction is weak, but it is sane. Conviction without responsibility, in the current incarnation of the Republican Party, is raving mad.
  • George Packer • On how each party is handling the (possible) debt ceiling increase. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Jul 2011 23:38

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Politics: Cantankerous Corker Criticizes Colleagues

  • Basically, most Senators in this body are nothing but two-bit pawns…to lay out the groundwork, if you will, for 2012 election.
  • GOP Senator Bob Corker • Saying what everyone knows but rarely acknowledges: If a presidential election wasn’t lurking around the corner, this whole debt ceiling debate would be playing out much differently. This is really harsh language for a senator, especially when used in reference to his colleagues. Last week, Corker accepted blame, on behalf of the Republican party, for bringing our country to the brink of another economic collapse. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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