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

19 Jun 2011 11:51

tags

Politics: David Axelrod: None of these GOP candidates really scare us

  • I didn’t hear a lot of ideas. I heard a lot of … pat partisan platitudes. Ultimately, people are going to ask for answers.
  • Obama adviser David Axelrod • Offering his take on the Republican candidates out there at the moment. Pretty much the only one he really had anything nice to say about was Jon Huntsman, a former Obama staffer and current subject of blogosphere love. (Huntsman was an Obama appointee.) But even considering all this, Axelrod openly admits that the economy — particularly the progress made with the economy — remains the key issue. “You get tested in this process,” he says. “Ultimately, I’m very confident about the outcome.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Jun 2011 11:35

tags

World: Fukushima: Complications mar plant cleanup process

  • We’re at a point where merely opening a door can cause a radiation leak of some kind. That’s what plant operators had to deal with today, as they opened the doors to Fukushima’s No. 2 plant to cool things off and let some air inside. They hope to install a cooling system to prevent an explosion in the plant. Meanwhile, they hope to restart the cleanup process quickly, which was recently stalled. To give you an idea of what they need to clean up, let’s put it this way: 110,000 tons of highly-radioactive water, enough to fill 40 Olympic-sized swimming pools which absolutely nobody should swim in. Officials fear that things could get really bad — think water overflowing all over the place — if they don’t act soon to deal with the water. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Jun 2011 11:17

tags

World: Proof that tensions are perhaps a little too high in South Korea

  • cause On Friday, South Korean marines spotted a low-flying plane that they thought was a North Korean fighter jet.
  • reaction The soldiers started firing dozens of shots on the plane — but not a single one connected. This was probably for the best.
  • result See … the plane was not a North Korean fighter jet, but a passenger plane on its final approach. That would’ve been bad. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Jun 2011 11:02

tags

Politics: Obama’s gay marriage views: Forward, then back again?

  • To this day, I don’t think Barack Obama has any issue with two people of the same gender getting married.
  • Former Obama aide Kevin Thompson • Regarding the issue of gay marriage, which he taught the then-Senate-candidate about in 2004. Obama’s current position on gay marriage is “evolving” (his words), but there’s evidence that he’s really supported it the whole time, avoiding taking an affirmative stance on the issue mostly for political reasons. Barney Frank, one of the country’s most prominent gay politicians, says that, based on his record, “he was probably inclined to think that same-sex marriage was legitimate, but as a candidate for president in 2008 that would have been an unwise thing to say.” Is it possible that he’s held out on a firm position because he knew it was a possible political landmine? You mean this didn’t seem obvious? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Jun 2011 10:43

tags

Politics: GLAAD president sacked after bizarre net neutrality controversy

  • controversy For some strange reason, GLAAD — an activist group known more for its stance on gay rights than it is on technology-related issues — recently sent out form letters received from AT&T that made it clear they were against net neutrality, and that they supported the merger of AT&T and T-Mobile. Why? And what does this have to do with gay rights?
  • result GLAAD president Jarrett Barrios resigned as a result of the controversy, admitting the group accepted money from AT&T and signed off on letters he didn’t actually understand (because they had nothing to do with gay rights). He also covered up the deed — putting his secretary on the hook when he actually sent out the letters. So he’s out. Oops. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Jun 2011 19:18

tags

Tech: Duke Nukem Forever PR firm fired after threatening reviewers

  • We are reviewing who gets games next time and who doesn’t based on today’s venom. Bad scores are fine. Venom filled reviews… that’s completely different. Too many went too far with their reviews.
  • The Redner Group founder Jim Redner • Tweeting his anger with the negative reviews the long-awaited “Duke Nukem Forever” received upon its release. Those were Redner’s last words as 2K Games’ PR guy — his company was ditched not long after. (Because, um, he suggested doing something that’s very unethical.) The game itself, which many reviewers noted seemed to have come from a different era of gaming, received mixed reviews according to Metacritic — few reaching to the point of total hatred. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Jun 2011 18:04

tags

Biz: United Airlines dodged a bullet with their system shutdown

  • 10k number of flights canceled after a December snowstorm
  • 9k number of flights canceled after a similar January storm
  • 31 number of flights canceled due to United’s data outage Friday source
  • » That doesn’t seem like many, right? Yeah, you’re right … while there were another 105 delayed flights worldwide, the fact of the matter is, it happened on a Friday night – the best possible time for a total system shutdown. While travelers were understandably angry, it was the difference between thousands of angry people and hundreds of thousands of angry people.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Jun 2011 11:17

tags

U.S.: Report: Hospitals giving out unnecessary double-CT scans

Fun fact about CT scans: They cost lots of money. Also, a chest CT scan has as much radiation as 350 chest X-rays. So why are some hospitals giving them to patients twice? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Jun 2011 10:53

tags

Music: Lou Reed: Metallica collaboration “a marriage made in heaven”?

  • The record, not yet titled, features 10 songs composed by Reed with significant arrangement contributions by the band that suggest a raging union of his 1973 noir classic, Berlin, and Metallica’s ’86 crusher, Master of Puppets.
  • Rolling Stone writer David Fricke • Describing that bizarre Metallica-Lou Reed album the duo collaborated on. May we just say, could you pick two weirder albums to mash up? But that said, both Metallica and Reed seem uber-excited about the project, which is based around a bunch of songs Reed wrote for a German play. “A marriage made in heaven,” Reed said. “I knew it from the first day we played together: ‘Oh, man, this is perfection, right in front of me.’ ” It might be a bit before the project gets out, as neither Reed nor Metallica (who still are a multi-platinum-selling force) currently have a record deal. But then again, both are legendary enough that they probably have the money to start one. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Jun 2011 21:44

tags

U.S.: AARP freaks out over Social Security, then backtracks

  • firm For decades, the AARP has pushed against any cuts to Social Security — a cornerstone issue for its base, seniors.
  • evolving Today, however, the group did a startling about-face, claiming that cuts might be needed to ensure its future.
  • receding However, after seniors complained, the group backtracked. As AARP members, we’re beside ourselves. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
<< newer 
top tags
older >>