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08 Sep 2011 10:41

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Politics: Michele Bachmann: Did she hurt herself with last night’s debate?

  • I think the bottom line is, there was enough beating up of each other tonight [between Romney and Perry] that we didn’t have to get in. You know, never interrupt your enemy when they’re in the process of destroying themselves is an old adage.
  • Michele Bachmann campaign consultant Ed Rollins, who recently took a demotion • Discussing Bachmann’s debate performance on Wednesday. Bachmann, once the toast of the campaign, disappeared for long stretches last night, no longer standing out as a frontrunner, leading some to claim that her campaign was “finished.” Rollins apparently feels that way himself, recently calling the race “a Romney-Perry race.” Was it the Newsweek cover that did her campaign in? Or does she need another one of those? source

08 Sep 2011 10:28

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Politics: Why would Obama not curb smog emissions? Gore has a few ideas.

  • Al Gore: He’s not happy with Obama. President Obama has recently halted regulations that would curb “smog-creating emissions until at least 2013“. According to Gore, the “result of the White House’s action will be increased medical bills for seniors with lung disease, more children developing asthma, and the continued degradation of our air quality.” He also likened Obama to George W. Bush, a seemingly low blow. source

08 Sep 2011 10:12

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Offbeat: Gumby wannabe robber: This guy’s headed to the Pokey

  • Gumby attempted a robbery, you guys. Put away your Etch-A-Sketches and your Stretch Armstrongs, boys and girls. Childhood is over. In the San Diego area, a man dressed in a Gumby costume tried to rob a convenience store; he left with nothing, but there’s a $1,000 reward for info related to his eventual capture. Police are taking the matter seriously, however; we know we wouldn’t be able to do so. source

07 Sep 2011 19:52

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Politics: Reagan debate: Three things we’re watching for tonight

  • Perry With Perry making his debate debut tonight, all eyes are on him. A strong performance builds buzz (as in Bachmann’s case). A weak one deflates it (as in Huntsman’s).
  • Paul With media coverage clearly hard to come by despite solid results, Ron Paul needs to drum up some attention. He might have an effective formula in the form of attacking other candidates.
  • Romney No longer the frontrunner, Romney needs to prove that he’s an electable figure not to be ignored. His buzz isn’t gone; some of it’s simply going to Bachmann and Rick Perry instead. source

07 Sep 2011 17:31

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Politics: NBC’s Andrea Mitchell reveals she has breast cancer

  • I had planned to be hiking in Wyoming last week, but instead discovered that I am now among the 1 in 8 women in this country — incredibly 1 in 8 — who have had breast cancer.
  • NBC chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell • Making her diagnosis public on her MSNBC show Andrea Mitchell Reports. She says her prognosis for recovery is “terrific,” as the cancer was detected in a very early stage, and her subsequent advocacy for cancer screenings is worth taking to heart: “…screening matters. Do it. This disease can be completely curable if you find it at the right time.” source

07 Sep 2011 17:24

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U.S.: Government files charges over millions in Medicare fraud

  • 91
    people
    charged with Medicare fraud by the U.S. Justice Department, doctors and nurses among them
  • $255 million the value reaped from the alleged frauds — another crackdown in the hundreds of millions this year source

07 Sep 2011 11:05

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World: Ex-Japan PM Naoto Kan imagined uninhabitable Tokyo post-Fukushima

  • Deserted scenes of Tokyo without a single man around came across my mind. It really was a spine-chilling thought.
  • Former Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan • Offering a truly harrowing vision of a post-Fukushima future for Tokyo. The vision for the 20-million-strong city helped push Kan towards encouraging renewable energy during his final months as Prime Minister, when he was dealing with the march earthquake. We’re with him. That’s a scary thought and it’s understandable why he changed his track as a result. source

07 Sep 2011 10:51

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Biz, Tech: With CEO Carol Bartz fired, is Yahoo preparing to sell itself?

  • fired Last night, Carol Bartz got pushed out at Yahoo, a move that, while swift, wasn’t totally unsurprising — she didn’t exactly win a lot of fans for her handling of the company over the past two years. The stock price went up immediately after the announcement.
  • sold? Now, a Wall Street Journal article uses this phrase: “One of these [independent directors] said Yahoo is open to selling itself to the right bidder.” Yahoo famously dodged a sale to Microsoft in 2008, and since then, their value has declined significantly. Oops. source

07 Sep 2011 10:22

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World: Angela Merkel sticks to her fiscal guns amidst hostile political environment

  • We must make it very clear to people that the current problem, namely of excessive debt built up over decades, cannot be solved in one blow, with things like euro bonds or debt restructurings that will suddenly make everything okay. No, this will be a long, hard path, but one that is right for the future of Europe.
  • German Chancellor Angela Merkel • Arguing, amidst much jeering from leftist opposition parties, that Europe needs to change the way it approaches its growing debt crisis. Merkel argues for long-term fundamental change. “I’m convinced that this crisis, if a great crisis of the western world is to be avoided,” she said, “cannot be fought with a ‘carry on’ attitude. We need a fundamental rethink.” Merkel is facing a parliamentary vote later this month that could prove a great threat to her power, and her party is sinking in the polls right now. She suffered a setback earlier in the day after a court put strict limitations requiring her to get approval from lawmakers to grant future bailout aid to other European countries. source

07 Sep 2011 00:06

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Tech: Michael Arrington to AOL: You guys said editorial independence!

  • cause Facing an editorial crisis caused by the announcement of something called the CrunchFund, AOL forced Michael Arrington to step away from his baby, TechCrunch, in an attempt to ease up on an apparent conflict of interest that gave Arianna Huffington fits.
  • reaction Arrington isn’t having that. Earlier today, he reiterated the editorial independence AOL was supposed to give him. He gave them three options: Keep TechCrunch editorially independent, sell the site back to the shareholders, or he walks. Boom.  source