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27 Sep 2011 10:35

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Politics: New Jersey’s controversial “Snooki subsidy” gets vetoed

  • Chris Christie was expected to sign this bill. But Christie, facing sudden political pressure to run for president, let the $420,000 in tax credits for another season of “Jersey Shore” feel the pain of the veto. Why? “I have no interest in policing the content of such projects,” Christie said in a news release. “However, as chief executive I am duty-bound to ensure that taxpayers are not footing a $420,000 bill for a project which does nothing more than perpetuate misconceptions about the state and its citizens.” This is a reversal for Christie — he previously claimed he couldn’t veto the bill because, while he didn’t like the show himself, the program didn’t discriminate based on content. What, do you not like seeing The Situation’s chiseled abs, Chris? (photo via Rachel Kramer Bussel) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 Sep 2011 10:13

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U.S.: NYT indirectly calls Occupy Wall Street protesters stupid

  • So even as the members of Occupy Wall Street seem unorganized and, at times, uninformed, their continued presence creates a vexing problem for the Police Department.
  • New York Times writer Joseph Goldstein • In an article about the NYPD’s seemingly poor handling of Occupy Wall Street. The article as a whole makes intelligent and understandable points (and goes in-depth about the use of pepper spray on Saturday), but this particular line really bothered us. This comes off as The New York Times ripping the dirty hippies for being dirty hippies, which is just an approach they should not take here. It’s condescending and shows a lack of respect for the protesters. What if they just dropped a line like that into an article about the Tea Party? It’d get savaged by the blogs! Instead of just interviewing your sources at the NYPD, Mr. Goldstein, why don’t you interview the protesters (who, we don’t know if you’ve noticed, have been clamoring for media attention), instead of discretely calling them idiots? You did it before, with this article. This piece feels like you’re writing an article about one side of the story. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 Sep 2011 01:38

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Tech: Too social? Spotify and Facebook get too friendly for some users’ taste

  • Not cool. My Spotify account isn’t linked to Facebook, and it’ll stay that way, thankyouverymuch. If I didn’t have an account already, this would prevent me from signing up.
  • A Get Satisfaction user • Venting about Spotify’s Facebook-only signup option for new users. On top of that, Spotify recently started cross-posting what songs users are listening to on Facebook, which might be a little to personal for some people. Whistling Britney Spears while you work? Have a soft spot for Depeche Mode? Now all your friends will know, too. Follow these steps to stop or limit Spotify oversharing. source
Posted by samimain • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 Sep 2011 00:54

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Politics: When it comes to fundraising, Obama’s still got the magic touch

  • $5 million in donations in two days; he’s makin’ it look kinda easy source
  • » So far, so good for Obama: With a successful West Coast swing (helped in large part by an up-to-$35,800-a-plate dinner in San Diego), President Obama is well on his way to reaching his goal of $55 million in the third quarter of 2011, which Reuters claims is “a more modest total that they say reflects the fact he was stuck in Washington for most of July by a bitter budget debate with Republicans.” Sure, modest total.
Posted by samimain • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 Sep 2011 00:42

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Culture: Dancing With the [CENSORED]: Nancy Grace has a moment

  • Nancy’s grace slipped tonight. Poor taste, sorry.  On tonight’s episode of “Dancing With the Stars,” Nancy Grace had a slight wardrobe malfunction. Faster than you can say “Casey Anthony trial,” producers had to cut to a “static shot of the audience” to prevent potential FCC freakouts. After the performance, Judge Bruno Tonioli quipped: “It was a bit top-heavy at times, my darling. And I got an eyeful! I couldn’t miss that. But it really is great to see you taking over the dance floor and performing.” Sleep tight, America! source
Posted by samimain • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Sep 2011 21:33

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Politics: Obamacare likely headed to the Supreme Court pretty soon

  • what The Obama administration has decided not to ask an appeals court to re-hear arguments over his lightning rod of a health-care bill.
  • why The president probably plans on taking it to the Supreme Court. Just in time for the 2012 election, guys! This should be fun. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Sep 2011 21:19

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U.S.: U.S. Army cutting nearly 9 percent of its forces by 2016

  • 50k number of troops the U.S. Army plans to trim from its roster
  • 8.6% the share of the Army being cut over the next five years
  • 22k number of soldiers getting cut in the first round source
  • » Going on a diet: With over half a million soldiers, the U.S. Army isn’t lacking in warm bodies, but those numbers went way up in recent years, in part due to the troop surge in Afghanistan. With the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan winding down, the Army is ready to move on. “We feel that with the demand going down in Iraq and Afghanistan, and given the time to conduct a reasonable drawdown, we can manage (the force reduction) just as we have managed drawdowns in the past,” noted Lt. Gen. Thomas Bostick. Is this nearly enough?
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

26 Sep 2011 20:38

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Biz: Meet the country’s most innovative/sketchy payday loan lender

  • According to the Wall Street Journal, Scott Tucker has a really impressive story. Tucker, a late-blooming race star who scored a third-place finish at the Rolex 24 at Daytona endurance race earlier this year, only picked up auto racing about five years ago, and he’s earned such fame that he had a documentary about his life air on the Discovery Channel. But here’s the part this storyline doesn’t tell us — how he got here. Sure, the WSJ’s story calls him a “private investor,” but the Center for Public Integrity notes he earned his significant fortune — enough to start up his own auto-racing team — by running a payday lending company. This company uses partnerships with Native American tribes as a front to get around laws designed to protect consumers — allowing his company to do incredibly sketchy things, such as hiding its address and shielding itself from lawsuits using shell companies. Somehow, this is legal. And Tucker won’t be talking about it himself. “Due to a confidentiality agreement, I am not permitted to discuss the business of my employer,” he said about his businesses. Read the report at the source link — the first part in a series. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Sep 2011 17:41

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World: Libya’s transitional council says no to Lockerbie inquiries

  • Suggesting that the Lockerbie case is closed is ludicrous. I am not surprised that the new interim government might want to avoid getting involved, but this is a miserable attempt to avoid a perfectly reasonable request for any information or evidence that there might be in Libya. Perhaps there is nothing.
  • Pamela Dix, sister of a Lockerbie victim • Decrying a refusal by Libya’s National Transitional Council to give Scottish prosecutors access to any newly discovered evidence relating to the Lockerbie bombing. The prosecutors had been hoping to find new evidence implicating other figures in the plot, for which Abdel Basset al-Megrahi was convicted in 2001. The NTC’s interim justice minister, Mohammed al-Alagi, stated that “the case is closed,” which prompted the above response. Libya’s interim leader, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, claimed in March that he had evidence of Gaddafi’s involvement, which does make this a bit hard to answer for. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Sep 2011 11:31

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Tech: Tumblr scores another massive funding round, making them super-rich

  • $85 million amount raised by Tumblr in a funding round just today
  • $30 million amount raised by Tumblr in a prior funding round earlier this year source
  • » Total funding? $125 million: With a growing, increasingly diverse audience, Tumblr’s latest funding round could help the brand blow up to new heights and in new directions. It’s happened pretty fast, too. Well, at least that’s what founder David Karp thinks: “Tumblr has come far since we began our journey. From the early users signing up to easily share all of the things they cared about, to the global community today where creators have an incredible opportunity to reach an audience of hundreds of millions, it’s been a remarkable four years.” Suggestion to David and Tumblr: Don’t get all Scrooge McDuck on us and start swimming through the funding round. NYC doesn’t have enough space for a giant money bin anyway. Instead, focus on uptime, possibly buying Missing e from Jeremy Cutler, and giving content creators a way to turn their hard work into more than just a hobby.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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