Read a little. Learn a lot. • Tightly-written news, views and stuff • Follow us on Twitter • Be a Facebook Fan • Tumble us!

08 Apr 2010 10:52

tags

U.S., World: U.S., Russia hang out, catch up, sign big-deal nuclear pact

  • “Hey Dmitry, I’m already here, might as well sign this thang!” While you were being completely unproductive this morning, playing Farmville and catching up on “Saved By the Bell” reruns, our boy Obama was signing a treaty with Dmitry Medvedev to severely scale back both countries’ nuclear ambitions. It’s the first arms treaty the two countries have signed in about 20 years. You should follow his example. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Apr 2010 01:57

tags

U.S.: Dear “misunderstanding bomber”: Next time, use nicotine gum

  • We admit it, we were watching a movie when this happened. It was called “The Foot Fist Way.” It stars Danny McBride as a tae kwon do instructor. It was entertaining, but not nearly as entertaining as this mess of accidental terrorism. Like that movie, this story had an anticlimactic ending. Here’s a timeline:
  • 5:19 Plane leaves Reagan National Airport in D.C. and heads to Denver; happens daily.
  • 8:30 Dude lights a smoke because he can’t wait a #(&(&@ hour for the flight to land.
  • 8:40 Military escorts the flight to Denver because they think he has a friggin’ bomb.
  • 10:07 ABC reports that dude is the second coming of the shoe bomber. Others follow.
  • 11:00 It’s proven he didn’t have a bomb, but instead an insane nicotine habit. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Apr 2010 11:05

tags

U.S.: Debt-ridden California owes a lot of money in pensions

  • $500
    billion     amount the state owes in
    pensions, according to a Stanford
    University study
  • 2,000%
    increase     the amount California’s
    pension burden increased between 1999 and 2009 source
  • » Why is this bad for California? David Crane of the L.A. Times notes that this pension burden is what’s really holding the state back. Because they have this huge albatross on their back, they’re forced to cut other, arguably more important things, like education.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Apr 2010 10:57

tags

U.S.: Random French tourist: I’m not a hero. I just wanted to help.

  • I don’t really think I’m a hero. Anyone would do the same thing. … I was just happy that I was able to help her, and I am just happy that the family has been reunited.
  • Julien Duret • Regarding a crazy rescue he played a part in over the weekend, where he jumped into NYC’s East River to save Bridget Sheridan, a toddler who had fallen in. And just as quickly as he rescued her (but fortunately not before the New York Daily News caught video of his rescue), he disappeared. Dude was on vacation and it was his last day in NYC. He didn’t realize he was a hero until he got back to France. But he seemed modest about his feat. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Apr 2010 23:16

tags

U.S.: The Navy gets subs ready for the ladies by banning smokes

  • ladies The Navy, for seemingly forever, avoided putting women on subs because the quarters were so tight. Time for a change, dudes.
  • smokes Those same tight quarters are why the Navy plans to block smoking on subs. Some say it’s welcome; others are complaining. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Apr 2010 22:40

tags

U.S.: Births: Fewer births, but the moms were a little older

  • -2% decline in births across the board in the U.S. last year
  • 40+the only age group that had any increase in birth rate source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Apr 2010 12:20

tags

Tech, U.S.: Twitter can’t believe Federal Court’s net neutrality decision



Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

06 Apr 2010 10:57

tags

U.S.: Obama decides to fix U.S.’s Nuclear Posture, cut back big time

  • We are going to want to make sure that we can continue to move towards less emphasis on nuclear weapons … [and to] make sure that our conventional weapons capability is an effective deterrent in all but the most extreme circumstances.
  • President Barack Obama • Discussing his decision to scale back the nation’s nuclear powers, limiting exactly when the weapons can be used. Don’t think he’s going to go all soft on us, though. He’s leaving an exception for “outliers like Iran and North Korea” just in case they decide to try any funny stuff. You know, like threatening to drop a nuke on the U.S. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Apr 2010 10:42

tags

Biz, U.S.: Awful mining disaster not good for Massey Energy’s stocks

  • 9.8% dip in price just this
    morning alone source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Apr 2010 08:45

tags

U.S.: 25 dead, 4 missing in West Virginia mining explosion

  • West Virginians are tough, we will bind together.
  • West Virginia Rep. Nick Rahall • Regarding yesterday’s mine explosion in Montcoal, where 25 miners died. A day after a much happier ending for a mine explosion in China, where over 100 miners were rescued, the community around Performance Coal Company is in mourning, largely unable to rescue those inside the mine due to high methane levels making it hard to breathe and raising the chances of another explosion. The mine, by the way, has a long history of safety problems and just last year, parent company Massey Energy had to pay $382,000 for safety violations. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
<< newer 
top tags
older >>