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23 Sep 2011 21:43

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Politics: UC Berkeley College Republicans hold racially-charged bake sale

  • The pricing structure is there to bring attention, to cause people to get a little upset. But it’s really there to cause people to think more critically about what this kind of policy would do in university admissions.
  • UC Berkeley College Republicans president Shawn Lewis • Discussing his group’s reasoning for having a bake sale where people paid different prices based on their race and gender. The pricing scale’s kinda like this: $2 for whites, $1.50 for Asians, $1 for Latinos, $0.75 for Blacks and $0.25 for Native Americans — with a discount of 25 cents for women of all races. As you might guess, this bake sale, scheduled for Tuesday, is flaring up emotions quicker than a character in the movie “PCU.” It’s not the first time it’s been tried — a couple of other schools have tried the idea, and it’s been shut down at least once. What do you think? Does this seem disrespectful and worth getting angry over, or is there a valid point here? (h/t ProducerMatthew) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Sep 2011 19:35

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Biz: Groupon restates its 2010 revenues … by more than half

  • $713.4 million the amount Groupon originally stated as its 2010 revenues
  • $312.9 million the amount the company changed that to today … damn source
  • » How does one misstate $400 million in revenues? Good question! Let’s ask the COO, Margo Georgiadis, what she thinks happened. Oh wait, she just resigned after five months and went back to Google. Meanwhile, chief executive Andrew Mason says that her departure offers an opportunity “reorganize in a way that reflects our evolving strategic priorities.” Great answer. We learned so much from that statement. (Edit: To explain what happened, when Groupon sold a coupon, they counted the entire coupon as revenue, despite the fact they only got half of the coupon. The SEC said that was a no-no, so now Groupon looks a lot less valuable.)
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Sep 2011 17:50

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Tech: LulzSec arrest: HideMyAss.com fails at basic mission outlined in name

  • what 23-year-old Cody Kretsinger, allegedly one of the key hackers involved in LulzSec’s Sony Pictures hack and subsequent leak of user data, was arrested on Thursday, the FBI says.
  • why Kretsinger reportedly used a proxy server called HideMyAss.com to cover up his identity. But, instead of hiding his ass, the site reportedly cooperated with authorities, meaning his ass wasn’t hid. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Sep 2011 11:07

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U.S.: Jaycee Dugard sues the government for failing to monitor her captor

  • The lawsuit claims the government really failed the recently-freed sexual abuse victim. Why was it that a man convicted of rape and sentenced to 50 years in jail was out after 11 years? And how did the U.S. government, which was supposed to check on him due to the fact that he was a paroled sex offender, miss a giant fortress where Dugard and her two daughters was held hostage for nearly two decades? Why did they miss obvious tell signs, like neighbors calling the police? And why didn’t parole officers come at all some years? These are all obvious questions, and all reasons why Jaycee Dugard, now 31, is suing the federal government. Philip Garrido and his wife Nancy are already in jail for their crimes against Dugard. Now, Dugard’s going after the government. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Sep 2011 09:16

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Politics: Blogger at debate: Booing at gay soldier limited to one or two people

  • I was at the debate, in the audience on the right hand side about halfway back. The person who booed was just a few rows in front of us. The booing got an immediate and angry reaction from nearly everyone sitting around him, who hissed and shushed at him. Lots of loud gasps, ‘Shhhh!’ ‘No!’ ‘Shut up, you idiot!’ etc.
  • Blogger Sarah Rumpf • Discussing what actually happened during last night’s debate, during the infamous Rick Santorum/gay soldier question. We’d like to proudly note that our writer Chris managed to get this right the first time, rather than claiming the entire crowd was booing. Rumpf explains how the spare booing managed to echo through the room so effectively, and then denounces it. “There may be different opinions among Republicans about gays in the military,” she says, “but booing a soldier is not acceptable, and all but one or two people in a crowd of thousands knew that.” (thanks Dave Weigel) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Sep 2011 08:20

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U.S.: Ali Abdullah Saleh returns to Yemen after assassination attempt

  • This video really needs Eminem’s “Without Me” as its soundtrack. Three months after an assassination attempt that nearly took his life and left much of his body burned, Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh is back in Sanaa, looking pretty good for a guy who had 40 percent of his body burned. Saleh returns to Yemen at a time of increased tension in the country —including violence that’s killed over 100 in the past week alone. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Sep 2011 07:52

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Politics: House passes shutdown-averting spending bill … with a catch

  • yeah … The House passed a bill preventing a possible government shutdown, and in the process paying for emergency management funding for the recent spate of natural disasters (like the Joplin tornado and Hurricane Irene). As recently as Wednesday, it didn’t look like it would pass. So what happened?
  • … but Well, the bill includes a politically-charged measure removing funding for green energy projects, like the much-maligned Solyndra debacle. It literally seems like they passed it only because House Republicans could score points off of this. As a result, it likely will not pass the Senate in its current form. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
 
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