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09 Aug 2011 17:08

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Tech: Researchers find DNA nucleobases in fallen meteorites

  • Big discovery, big implications? Suffice to say, this video is absolutely worth the full 2:50 if you have it to spare, and maybe even if you don’t. Researchers funded by NASA have discovered DNA nucleobases (commonly referred to as the “building blocks” of DNA) within fallen meteorites. Without climbing too far out on any limbs pending further research, at minimum this is fascinating knowledge about the nature and possible origins of DNA, and of life. Give it a look! source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Aug 2011 14:31

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Politics: Warren Jeffs, leader of fundamentalist Mormon group, gets life in prison

  • Warren Jeffs convicted of child sex abuse: Sentencing came down today on Warren Jeffs, the 55-year-old leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (or FLDS). The FLDS is a group separate from mainstream Mormonism, which operated a ranch in West Texas in which authorities reportedly found “women dressed in frontier-style dresses and hairdos” as well as “underage girls who were clearly pregnant.” Jeffs himself had two underage brides, which led to the child sex abuse charges. He railed in court against what he called religious persecution in this matter, but that argument left the jury cold — they took just a half-hour to sentence Jeffs to life in prison. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Aug 2011 11:13

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World: Deal of the day — Somalia offers rebel soldiers conditional amnesty

If soldiers choose to renounce the rebels and put down their guns, Somalia will look the other way and not charge them with any crimes. Wonder if this will get rebels to switch sides. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Aug 2011 10:46

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World: Tottenham community activist: We must move beyond this moment

  • We cannot afford to be divided in our pain and pursuit of justice and unity that involves every aspect of our community — from our grass roots groups, our businesses, our politicians and our police. Police need our consent, and the community needs good policing because the night Tottenham burned, all civilians needed each other.
  • Community activist Symeon Brown • Offering his take on the situation in London, where protests against a man’s death in Tottenham, north London descended into chaos on three consecutive nights. Brown’s take, which he wrote for CNN, notes that “We must reclaim the streets in London” — that is, move beyond the violence currently engulfing the streets. Brown compares the spark for the violence, the shooting death of local resident Mark Duggan, to the deaths of Cherry Groce and Cynthia Jarrett, which led to two separate 1985 riots in London, one of which led to the death of police officer Keith Blakelock. “Although we have lost buildings and landmarks that have been a part of Tottenham’s heritage,” he argues, “the spirit that saw us overcome the deaths of Cynthia Jarrett and PC Blakelock in 1985 is all we have.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Aug 2011 22:21

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Tech: CyFi: 10-year-old girl pretends to be a hacker at DefCon

  • Everyone’s a hacker with sunglasses: This anonymous girl figured out that she can turn off the wi-fi and change the time on her phone, allowing her to cheat on numerous timing-based Farmville-style games on the iPhone and Android. Now, after she puts on these glasses and attends DefCon, CyFi is suddenly a “hacker.” And suddenly this trick, which has been around since the days of Commander Keen, is a “zero-day exploit.” Kevin Mitnick is currently rolling in his dusty 286 Compaq. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Aug 2011 21:21

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World: Libyan rebels dissolve cabinet after death of important general

  • The interruption is not good. But this is not something we are going to worry about. This is not going to stop us.
  • Libyan rebel finance committee member Mazin Ramadan • Discussing the dissolution of the Libyan rebels’ own cabinet — which occurred as the result of the death of Gen. Abdul Fattah Younes, the Libyan general who defected to the rebel side. They were sacked for the vague “improper administrative procedures” reason. Whatever happened, the fact of the matter is, dissent amongst Libyan rebels at this critical juncture could have the potential to damage the long-term prospects of the movement. This could be bad. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Aug 2011 15:54

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World: U.S. plans to ease Somalia’s burden just a little bit

  • $100 million in U.S. aid could head Somalia’s way source
  • » Will this be enough to help? Joe Biden’s wife recently visited Somalia to highlight how bad things are. In case you don’t know, here are some numbers: Aid is only reaching 20% of the people who need it, more than 12 million people need aid in the Horn of Africa, and over 640,000 children are acutely malnourished. Let’s just hope that this aid can actually reach those who need it.
Posted by Justin Jones • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

08 Aug 2011 14:31

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U.S.: President Obama tries to reassure after credit rating downgrade

  • No matter what the agencies say, we will always be a AAA country.
  • President Barack Obama • Talking about the S&P’s downgrade of the United States in a speech today. He explained that they didn’t downgrade us because they didn’t believe that we would default on our debt, but because our politics get too much in the way — and because the threat of default was used as a bargaining chip. He also talked about our real challenge — long term deficit reduction. He stuck to his guns on policies like tax  cuts for the wealthy, and also said that we need to keep unemployment benefits around to keep our recovery going. However, just from this speech it’s clear that it isn’t going to be easy. It’s evident that despite the fact that Obama has good intentions, the politics simply aren’t going to change overnight. Obama also honored the troops that died in the helicopter crash over the weekend, which was well-deserved and moving. source
Posted by Justin Jones • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Aug 2011 11:10

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Biz: AIG sues Bank of America claiming they got massively defrauded

  • Defendants were engaged in a massive scheme to manipulate and deceive investors, like AIG, who had no alternative but to rely on the lies and omissions made.
  • A legal complaint filed by AIG • Revealing that the company, which still has a freaking massive taxpayer bill to pay off, plans to sue Bank of America for $10 billion dollars, claiming “massive fraud” on the mortgage debt AIG insured while the companies Countrywide and Merrill Lynch were still independent. (To put it simply, AIG feels that the companies lied about the quality of the debt, making them sound better than it was.) AIG is still working on paying back roughly $182.3 billion in bailouts, so the $10 billion would help. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Aug 2011 10:22

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Biz: As stocks go to hell, gold reaches new record high — and then some

  • $1,718 Glenn Beck was right or something source
  • » This is worth keeping an eye on: With the U.S. dollar facing new scrutiny as a result of the S&P’s credit downgrade, gold prices will reflect more than ever as a bellwether of how investors feel about paper currency. And so far, it’s not looking good. (Note: Price above reflects per-ounce price of gold, which means that if you had a pound of gold sitting around your apartment, you’d have one really expensive paperweight.)
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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