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25 Aug 2011 15:34

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Politics: Syrian protesters chant about Gaddafi’s fall, say Assad is next

  • Bye bye, Gaddafi, Bashar your turn is coming.
  • Chanting by anti-Assad Syrian protesters • A show of an often apparent aspect of the uprisings throughout the Arab world in 2011, but still one that bears further notice as protests in Syria continue to be met with deadly force by the government. Namely, the extent to which each uprising inspires and fuels the next — from Tunisia forward, to Egypt, Libya, the upheavals in Yemen and Bahrain, and Syria, protesters have at times been buoyed and given resolve by victories and protests in foreign lands. The ability of a movement to stay cohesive in the face of such violent force can demand a ton of bravery and human solidarity, so it’s a boon that those besieged by the government in Syria can take heart in the fall of another of the region’s longtime dictators. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Aug 2011 15:04

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Culture: Angela Merkel is Forbes’ most powerful woman in 2011

  • germany German Chancellor Angela Merkel received the top spot on the Forbes list of the 100 most powerful women in 2011. Merkel’s position as a leader in the EU has grown amidst the dire economic crises facing some other member states.
  • america The second-place spot was given to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, though she’s not the only politically minded American woman on the list — GOP candidate Michele Bachmann clocks in at #22, and Sarah Palin at #34. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Aug 2011 10:44

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Biz: Unemployment claims rise based on a single company’s labor issues

  • what Even though investors were expecting a drop in first-time jobless claims last week to roughly 400,000, they actually went up to 417,000 — up 5,000 from the prior week. Wait a second …
  • why Simple — Verizon workers went on strike, and 8,500 of them filed unemployment benefits (12,500 filed the week before). They’ve since gone back to work, so expect this to change next week. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Aug 2011 10:31

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Biz: Warren Buffett invests a ton of cash in struggling Bank of America

  • $5 billion investment from Warren Buffett to Bank of America source
  • » Giving it to the needy: Our boy Warren Buffett, who recently took the U.S. government to task for not raising taxes on the rich, is giving a big cash infusion to a company that’s struggling build confidence in investors. It’s taken a hit on the stock market — its shares are down nearly 30 percent since the beginning of August and it just announced some huge job cuts — and it owns a couple of properties, Countrywide and Merrill Lynch, noted for their spectacular combustions during the financial crisis. Buffett’s deal is pretty sweet — a 6 percent annual dividend and a 5 percent premium if he buys back the stock — but he nonetheless sounds like he’s doing it out of respect for the company. “I am impressed with the profit-generating abilities of this franchise, and that they are acting aggressively to put their challenges behind them,” Buffett said in a statement. “Bank of America is focused on their customers and on serving them well. That’s what customers want, and that’s the company’s strategy.”
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Aug 2011 20:45

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Tech: “You can’t connect the dots looking forward. You can only connect them looking backwards”

  • Here’s Steve Jobs in 2005, passing on some wisdom to newly minted Stanford grads. It’s a very nonconventional college commencement speech, a fact that becomes obvious as soon as Jobs says that dropping out of college was one of the best decisions he ever made. He also explains how a spontaneous decision to drop in on a calligraphy class helped shape the future of home computing, and his comments about retroactively connecting the dots of our past decisions is one of the more insightful things we’ve heard in a while.  source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Aug 2011 13:05

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Culture: Pat Summitt on early-onset dementia: “Sometimes I draw blanks”

  • I just felt something was different. And at the time I didn’t know what I was dealing with. Until I went to Mayo, I couldn’t know for sure. But I can remember trying to coach and trying to figure out schemes and whatever and it just wasn’t coming to me, like, I would typically say, ‘We’re gonna do this, and run that.’ And it probably caused me to second-guess.
  • Tennessee women’s basketball coach Pat Summitt • Describing the process that led to her diagnosis for early-onset dementia. Summitt, a 59-year-old legend who’s the winningest coach in college basketball history (men or women) doesn’t plan to hang it up despite the setback, however — she led her team to a solid 34-3 record last season, even as she was dealing with memory problems. She’s willing to change up her duties some to accommodate for the issues, but she’ll stay on the sidelines going forward. Good for her — and good luck as she keeps up the good fight. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Aug 2011 11:03

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U.S.: Hurricane Irene possibly about to ruin your weekend, East Coasters

  • Yeah, that’s possibly heading for DC, too: Days after the U.S. capitol felt an earthquake for probably the first time ever, they may just have to deal with a Category 2 hurricane. Hurricane Irene, which has been picking up steam for a few weeks days, looks most certain to hit North Carolina as a Category 3, and will likely go up the coast, possibly hitting such hurricane-prone locales as DC, NYC and Boston along the way. Hoping it’s just a brush, kids. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

24 Aug 2011 10:38

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U.S.: Budget deficit: Smaller than previous years, still pretty freaking huge

  • $1.28 trillion deficit in ’11, down slightly from ’09 & ’10 source
  • » A report full of mediocre news: The Congressional Budget Office’s report on the deficit notes that while the deficits will be smaller over the next decade — by $3.3 trillion over ten years — as a result of the arm-twisting budget deal passed earlier this month, another $3.5 trillion in deficits will be added on top of everything else. Oh, and lest you think that $1.28 trillion is a small amount, it’s only small compared to the prior two years, which were basically the two largest yearly deficits on record. So this total redefines “smaller.”
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Aug 2011 10:16

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World: From the scene: Trapped journalists at the Hotel Rixos in Tripoli

  • What a sad little sign: It may say the word “TV” on it, but the hand-scrawled sign that the journalists put up in this video really says so much more — for example, “we’re desperate,” “let us out,” “we didn’t sign up for this,” “I want to see my family,” “this is unfair treatment,” and “we hope to get out of this alive.” Never have two letters said so much. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Aug 2011 09:55

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World: Rixos hotel crisis: Trapped journalists fear for safety in luxury Tripoli hotel

  • We are not being allowed to leave. We want to leave. We are obviously in a very fragile position.
  • CNN reporter Matthew Chance • On the situation in the Rixos hotel in Tripoli, where roughly 30 journalists have been stuck for a number of days — unable to leave the luxury hotel due to Gaddafi loyalists blocking their departure. The journalists, who have been wearing bulletproof vests and helmets during the day (and sleeping in hallways, so as not to get hit by shards of glass from fighting), have been relegated to finding random foods inside cabinets. They have enough to last a few more days; but after that … These guys need your thoughts. These are the people that make this coverage possible. Let’s get them home safe. Somehow. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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