Read a little. Learn a lot. • Tightly-written news, views and stuff • Follow us on TwitterBe a Facebook FanTumble us!

16 Jun 2010 11:15

tags

U.S.: The Prop. 8 trial hits the closing arguments. What’s next?

  • A final decision will be coming in a few weeks. A lot of people are watching California’s gay marriage trial, and it’s one that should have a lot of fireworks. In the closing arguments, Judge Vaughn Walker is looking to see if gay marriage threatens the institution of marriage, if being gay is a choice, and if California voters were justified in banning gay marriage. Today could change everything. source

16 Jun 2010 10:33

tags

U.S.: WTF: Seattle cop punches girl in face OVER JAYWALKING

  • Does not matter what kind of cop you are. Does not matter the situation. Does not even matter that the girls were being resistant. Definitely DOES matter that it happened in broad daylight in front of a large group of people. Jaywalking is an offense that does not lead to punching. This cop should get fired. source

16 Jun 2010 10:08

tags

U.S.: Hippie takeover: D.C.’s plastic bag tax, S.F.’s cell phone radiation law

  • 5¢ amount shoppers have to pay to get a plastic bag at any store in D.C.; yes, it’s annoying, but at least it’s encouraging people to use fabric bags instead source
  • $300 amount cell phone companies could soon pay in San Francisco for not posting information about cell phone radiation levels; this also sounds annoying source

15 Jun 2010 11:04

tags

U.S.: Holy crap: Here’s the video of Gen. David Petraeus fainting

  • Wow, this looks bad. John McCain went white during the hearing when questioning the general on Afghanistan. After a few minutes, Petraeus was feeling better, eating and drinking water. He apparently didn’t eat breakfast before the hearing. Still, an immensely harrowing clip. source

15 Jun 2010 10:57

tags

13 Jun 2010 11:58

tags

U.S.: Obama wants BP to set aside oil spill money in an escrow account

Because, let’s face it guys, these pelicans deserve millions of dollars in damages after the crap they’ve been through. And humans, too. source

13 Jun 2010 10:56

tags

U.S.: This angry, not-in-my-backyard quote is about an oil spill

  • This is extremely harmful. I want to know when are you going to send someone to my backyard and clean up my mess because I can’t even live in my house because of the smell.
  • Salt Lake City resident (and biology teacher) Peter G. Hayes • Regarding an oil spill by Chevron that has greatly damaged the city’s Red Butte Creek. Chevron blamed an undetected underground leak for the issue, which spilled 50 gallons of crude oil a minute into the river. What oil spill did you think we were talking about? It’s not that one, although that one is pretty awful. This is the other one. source
 

12 Jun 2010 13:21

tags

U.S., World: David Cameron’s folks: Obama’s beef not with Britain, but with BP

  • President Obama said to the Prime Minister that his unequivocal view was that BP was a multinational global company and that frustrations about the oil spill had nothing to do with national identity.
  • A statement from David Cameron’s office • Discussing what Obama and Cameron talked about today. We could have told you this before the president even picked up the phone. “The President made clear that he had no interest in undermining BP’s value,” the note added. As we noted last night, the company is just as much American as it is British at this point. source

12 Jun 2010 13:13

tags

Biz, U.S.: U.S. to BP: Please come up with a plan or we’ll kick your ass

  • 48 hours or the Gulf of Mexico gets it (oh wait, too late) source

12 Jun 2010 12:33

tags

U.S.: Alvin Greene case: Why is the filing fee so much, anyway?

  • 1% the percentage of your salary per year set aside for the filing fee in South Carolina
  • $10k the cost of filing for the Senate in South Carolina – the amount Alvin Greene paid
  • $3,480 the cost of filing for the House in South Carolina – less because it’s only two years source
  • » Is this the same everywhere? No. Most states charge a modest (less than $500) fee to get on the ballot. And three states (Arizona, New York and Michigan) don’t even have the fee at all. In fact, only one other state charges as much as South Carolina for their Senate filing fee – Florida, which charges 6 percent of the first year’s salary.
  • » A way out for Alvin: Pretty much because the Democrats think he’s in over his head, they’re willing to give him back his fee if he really wants to quit. And based on horribly uncomfortable interviews like this one, we can’t imagine why he wouldn’t want to quit.