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14 Jun 2011 13:54

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U.S.: Girl beats the odds, becomes a rare rabies survivor

  • unfortunateRabies is a disease that usually can’t be cured unless you’re vaccinated right after you get it. That was a problem for an 8-year-old girl in California — she contracted rabies from a feral cat and didn’t realize it. By the time her symptoms — including paralysis — were showing, it was too late.
  • fortunateDoctors placed Precious Reynolds in a medical coma and gave her antiviral medications. They didn’t have much hope for her because only two other people have ever survived the disease without the vaccines. Somehow, Precious beat the odds and survived. Definitely a story to smile about. source
Posted by Justin Jones • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Jun 2011 10:49

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Tech: Google invests a crapload of money in solar power

Google’s $280 million investment in Solar City, which leases solar cells to residential consumers at costs lower than traditional power, could be a long-term boon for green energy. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Jun 2011 10:29

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Tech: Want an unlocked iPhone? Good news. They sell them now.

  • $649 for the right to buy your iPhone 4 unlocked source
  • » Two caveats, though: Before you get too excited about the idea of buying an ultra-expensive iPhone contract-free and untied to a single carrier, two things you should be aware of: First, it only works on GSM networks, so no Sprint or Verizon. And second, while T-Mobile is a GSM network, it doesn’t support the iPhone’s style of 3G, so you’re stuck with last-generation EDGE speeds. But it can be a boon if you’re an international traveler, as GSM networks are the most-common style worldwide.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Jun 2011 10:09

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Politics: Obama: My family would be OK if I were a one-term president

  • Michelle and the kids are wonderful in that if I said, ‘You know, guys, I want to do something different,’ they’d be fine. They’re not invested in daddy being president or my husband being president.
  • President Barack Obama • Claiming that if he wanted to be a one-term president, his family would be totally cool with the idea. While Obama says that he has days “where I say that one term is enough,” he keeps going because of “a belief that the work that we started in 2009 is not yet complete.” A few people on the other side of the aisle would probably welcome the idea of a one-term presidency, too, brah. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Jun 2011 09:50

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Tech: “Duke Nukem Forever,” vaporware no more. You can buy it!

  • It’s here. Finally. In purchasable form. The long-delayed sequel to Duke Nukem 3D finally comes out in the U.S. today. And what better way to celebrate the game’s release than by talking with one of the guys who helped make this epic monstrosity? USA Today chats a little with co-creator Allen Blum on the journey that finally brought the game to stores. Finally. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Jun 2011 23:31

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Politics: T-Paw backs off “ObamneyCare” line

  • [Pawlenty] choked at a critical moment when he wouldn’t repeat the criticisms he’s made of Romney to his face…if you criticize someone when they’re not around, be ready to say it to their face. If you’re not, you’re just not for real.
  • Josh Marshall at TPM • On Pawlenty’s refusal to repeat the phrase “ObamneyCare,” which he coined last Sunday, during tonight’s debate. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Jun 2011 18:02

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Politics: Ferris Bueller 2: Reality or pipedream?

  • “Another Day Off”: Apparently there’s a screenwriter named Rick Rapier who wrote a spec script for a Ferris Bueller sequel, and he’s been shopping it around for years. He claims via Twitter that it’s taking off, though it’s impossible to know if he’s telling the truth or not — what details of the script we’ve heard don’t exactly inspire us, frankly. Apparently Ferris is a mega-rich motivational speaker with a private jet, and former principal Ed Rooney is his stalker. This sounds suspiciously like one of the major criticisms of The Hangover 2; namely, that the sequel is just setting up a façade to have the same plot happen again. Also, considering Ed Rooney actor Jeffrey Jones is now a convicted sex offender, that character may not play like the enjoyably sinister villain anymore. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Jun 2011 17:24

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Culture: LeBron James isn’t (not) bothered by the haters

  • All the people that were rooting on me to fail, at the end of the day they have to wake up tomorrow and have the same life that they had before they woke up today. They have the same personal problems they had today. I’m going to continue to live the way I want to live and continue to do the things that I want to do with me and my family and be happy with that. So they can get a few days or a few months or whatever the case may be on being happy … But they got to get back to the real world at some point.
  • Miami Heat forward LeBron James • Speaking during his post-game press conference after losing the championship to the heavy underdog Dallas Mavericks in six games. This is exactly the sort of remark that feeds the public’s disdain for James, a disdain that’s been steadily growing since his decision to help form a Voltron-style superteam down in South Beach (and being not so humble doing it). What’s especially illuminating about this quote, besides the implication that the common NBA fan rooting against him is probably some tribulation-addled scrub with an unenviable life, is that it completely defeats the point he was trying to make; that he isn’t bothered by people being happy that he lost. “I don’t care what you think, cause you’re a loser with a loser life compared to mine?” Yeah, doesn’t sound like you’re quite at ease with this, man. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Jun 2011 17:02

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Politics: A bumpy ride: Romney unveils new attack ad against Obama

  • Bump in the road: Be warned, you’re going to hear those four words a lot in this new ad by the Mitt Romney campaign. The ad has stirred up some discussion, specifically because it’s making such a strident criticism of such an offhanded turn of phrase. Arguments about the content of the ad aside, though, here’s what we’ll say: This is a poorly constructed piece of political handiwork. The reason being, the ad uses the words “bump in the road” so many times that they begin to lose all impact well before the end (in which it dissolves into a full cacophony of “bumps in the road”). It’s really, really trying too hard, which is something we sometimes think about Mitt himself. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Jun 2011 16:38

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Biz, World: Standard and Poor’s downgrades Greece’s credit rating again

  • Greece’s S&P credit rating now world’s lowest: Standard and Poor’s, the international credit rating agency, has slashed Greece’s rating by three levels, from B down to CCC — their lowest rated nation. They also warned that a potential debt restructuring would likely be viewed as a default, which would cause them to cut Greece further down to SD (selective default) for their credit rating, and D for the nation’s debt instruments. So, on top of this bad news, it seems almost assured to get worse before it gets any better. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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