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17 Oct 2011 10:54

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Offbeat: Phoenix Jones is far from alone in real-life superhero lore

  • The movement has grown majorly. What I tell these guys is, `You’re no longer in the shadows. You’re in a new era. … Build trust. Set standards. Make the real-life superheroes work to earn that title and take some kind of oath.’
  • Writer Edward Stinson • Discussing the advice he gives the large number of real-life superheroes — at least 660 in total, according to RealLifeSuperheroes.org. Don’t let the situation with Phoenix Jones fool you into thinking that Jones is alone. There are superheroes all over the world, and they’re quickly learning that their work is becoming more high-profile. Despite the mocking plots in movies from Blankman to Kick-Ass, real-life superheroes have existed since at least the 1970s, when San Diego’s Captain Sticky paved the way for crime-fighting in a costume. We love the fact that this story exists. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Oct 2011 23:47

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Biz: Publishers freak out because Amazon’s cutting into their territory

  • cause Amazon, with its growing clout as an e-book outlet and ability to work around the traditional system, has made significant inroads as a publisher of books, with at least one bestseller to its name. They will publish 122 books this fall in electronic and physical form.
  • reaction Large publishers and agents are starting to freak out. In one case, Hawaiian writer Kiana Davenport angered the publisher of a forthcoming book and got sued because she dared use Amazon to self-publish an old anthology no publisher wanted. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Oct 2011 14:01

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Politics: The good, the bad and the ugly: Clint Eastwood nearly vice-president?

  • So wait, they picked Dan Quayle over this guy? Back in 1988, there was a period where George H.W. Bush’s presidential campaign was looking a little rough, so they considered a variety of skippers to help steer his ship in the right direction. Among the picks, according to former Secretary of State James Baker? Clint Eastwood, who was a budding Republican politician at the time — the mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. “When we were way behind. Honestly, [Eastwood] was suggested in not an altogether unserious – Well, he was a mayor. He was a Republican mayor,” Baker noted. The idea got shot down pretty quick … paving the way for the guy now known for going after Murphy Brown for being a career woman. On the plus side, we got “Unforgiven” out of the deal, so it wasn’t all bad. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Oct 2011 11:53

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U.S.: MLK memorial dedication: King’s message about reducing poverty

  • We should be reminded of what Dr. King was attempting to do when he was assassinated at 48 years [sic] of age. He was trying to put poverty on the American agenda. If he could speak to us today — and he will be speaking to us on Sunday — he would tell us that we should provide people with a living wage, end the wars, bring the troops home. He would say, ‘Do not forget the least of us.’
  • Rep. John Lewis • Speaking about Martin Luther King Jr. before the hurricane-delayed dedication of the civil rights leader’s memorial. Lewis knows a thing or two about all this civil rights/poverty thing, due to the fact that he marched with King in Selma, Ala. — and notably got injured in the process. (Edit: As one of our readers noted, Lewis incorrectly stated King’s age. He was 39 when he died. He gave his “I Have a Dream” speech, which the dedication was originally timed to celebrate, 48 years ago.)  source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Oct 2011 11:15

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Politics: Herman Cain, deeply tied to the Koch brothers? Say it ain’t so!

  • Cain allegedly has deep ties to the Koch-funded Americans for Prosperity. The currently-soaring presidential candidate has built up his base with GOP voters through an image that he’s a non-politician who’s not beholden to anyone (and makes a good pizza). But Cain has a history with the controversy-laden Koch brothers that he does not promote very heavily — at least not as heavily as his business career. The Associated Press’s article on Cain’s deep ties to Americans for Prosperity found some fairly surprising things:
  • surface Cain has a campaign manager, as well as a number of campaign aides, who once worked for Americans for Prosperity.
  • deeper Rich Lowrie, the apparent Sim City player behind Cain’s easy-to-follow 999 plan, served on AFP’s board of advisors from 2005 to 2008.
  • deepest Cain himself built up AFP in 2005 and 2006, collaborating with Mark Block to build local chapters throughout the country. source
  • » Ties that still stand: While Cain no longer gets paid for his appearances with AFP (he used to, before he started running for president), he is still active with the group. For example, Cain will speak at an AFP event in DC on November 4, despite the fact that most of the other presidential candidates will be at a dinner in Iowa. The caucus is in Iowa; what’s this guy doing in Washington? Wait a second! (photo by Flickr user Gage Skidmore)
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Oct 2011 21:55

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World: Iraq War: Conflicting reports on forthcoming troop departures

  • claim Both the Associated Press and the New York Times report that, despite prior reports to the contrary, the U.S. will not keep troops in Iraq past 2011 due to significant security concerns.
  • rebuttal However, a Reuters article says that both the White House and Pentagon deny this fact, claiming that no decision has been made. Which major news outlet do you believe on this issue? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Oct 2011 14:47

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U.S.: Brutal incident at NYC McDonald’s: Self-defense or unchecked violence?

  • There is video of this on YouTube. We’re linking it instead of posting it, because it’s that violent and difficult to watch. Here’s what happened: Two customers got unruly after a McDonald’s employee wouldn’t give them their food until he could check the $50 bill they handed over. The customers started slapping him, and then jumped over the counter to confront him. What these unruly customers didn’t know is that the employee, Rayon McIntosh, recently got out of jail for manslaughter, and the incident set him off. He got a hold of a metal pole and started beating them savagely. One of the customers suffered a broken arm and fractured skull. The result? Both the customers and McIntosh got charged, in McIntosh’s case with felony assault. The chain and franchise owner have both come out against McIntosh’s actions, but the video itself seems to support a reasonable cause for self-defense, even if McIntosh’s own reaction was too heavy-handed (to put it lightly). Watch the video and see what you think. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Oct 2011 14:14

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World: Italian officials separate peaceful Occupy protesters from violent groups

  • Those who are carrying out what is nothing less than urban guerrilla warfare are hurting the cause of people around the world who are trying to freely express their discontent with the world economic situation.
  • Italian Democratic Party leader Pierluigi Bersani • Separating the violent protesters in Rome from the overall occupy movement, while noting the damage they’re causing to the larger, nonviolent movement. Rome mayor Gianni Alemanno made a similar distinction, noting that “There are groups of violent people that need to be isolated.” It’s a good sign that Italian officials can see the difference between a peaceful movement and the violent elements attempting to co-opt it for their own reasons. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Oct 2011 13:42

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World: Occupy movement gains massive international footprint

  • 82 number of countries taking part in the October 15 protests, a global offshoot of Occupy Wall Street
  • 951 number of cities where protests are taking place today — amazingly, it started with just one about a month ago
  • six number of continents that have some sort of event going on today; maybe Antartica has one too, possibly? source
  • » Highest and lowest saturations: While North America, Europe and South America have a particularly high number of protests, Africa, Asia and the Middle East are looking a little thin. Australia’s somewhere in the middle. While many of the protests have been peaceful, some have gotten violent, most notably in Rome, where anarchists drew attention away from peaceful protests.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Oct 2011 00:33

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Biz: Peanut butter cups run dry? Prices increase on the nutty stuff

  • $450 the price per ton of runner peanuts, the kind of peanuts generally used to make peanut butter, last year
  • $1,200 the price per ton of runner peanuts this year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture source
  • » Raise prices? That’s nuts! The result of a fairly weak peanut harvest? You might have to reach for another product next time you want to make a sandwich. Kraft plans to raise prices of its Planters peanut butter by 40 percent next month; Peter Pan, the peanut butter that never grows up, will fly to a 20 percent higher price, and damn skippy, the makers of Skippy are watching the situation closely. The spread on this one is that it’s pretty likely your cookies are going to be less awesome next time around. Bummer. We kinda like your cookies.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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