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

05 Oct 2011 11:24

tags

World: Greek austerity protests: Tens of thousands take part in massive strike

Roughly 16,000 people showed up for protests in Athens, and another 10,000 showed up in the northern city of Thessaloniki. The protests are in reaction to expected job cutbacks due to austerity measures. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Oct 2011 10:53

tags

Politics: Three fairly edgy things Roger Ailes said in his AP interview

  • one On networks that criticize Fox News: “Everybody who’s getting their ass beat vilifies the opponent. This is the first rule of fighting.” Boom.
  • two On an anchor he thinks does it wrong: “Wolf Blitzer is an excellent reporter, but he’s not a star.” He says his back is to the camera too much.
  • three And the coup de grace, on one of his most notable hires: “I hired Sarah Palin because she was hot and got ratings.” Whew. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Oct 2011 10:38

tags

World: Amanda Knox, now out of jail, has massive debts to pay back

  • $1 million in legal costs incurred by Knox and her family source
  • » Two words: Book deal. Ananda Knox’s freedom wasn’t cheap, but it was a financial burden Knox was willing to pay. Her family had to foot most of the bill: Her parents both had to get second mortgages and dip into their retirement savings; her grandmother had to get a $250,000 loan. Fortunately for Knox, her story will prove to be very valuable to publishers. Sources say that she already started working on a memoir while in prison.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Oct 2011 10:18

tags

Culture: Will “The Simpsons” end due to a salary fight? Quite possibly, kids.

  • what “The Simpsons” is facing some significant budgetary issues, and Fox is trying to figure out a way to cut costs so the show remains profitable. If it can’t, the 23-year-old show, which predates every other scripted show on the prime-time schedule, will face cancellation.
  • why The big problem is that the voice actors on the show, who fought for higher wages (and won) many times, are being asked to take significant cuts in salary (they make $8 million per year), which they’re fighting. Also, it probably doesn’t help that ratings are down. source
  • » Putting the D’oh out to pasture? The Simpsons is still widely-regarded, but with roughly 500 episodes under its belt, Fox may be ready for the next step in the “Simpsons” phenomenon — its own cable network. It’d be interesting if the salary battle is really an excuse to end “The Simpsons” outright.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Oct 2011 01:01

tags

Biz, Tech: Could Bank of America’s debit card charge push us to digital wallets?

  • It may be too early now to talk about the Law of Unintended Consequences, but years from now, we may owe a debt to reforms like Dodd-Frank for finally weaning us off the physical wallet and encouraging us to experiment with the new technologies helping to create the Digital Wallet.
  • The Washington Post’s Dominic Basulto • Arguing that Dodd-Frank’s side effects — such as Bank of America‘s decision to start charging people for the right to use a debit card — will be great in the long run, because it will push consumers and businesses to stop relying on banks for these sorts of services, instead going for phone-based options, provided by companies such as Google or Square, instead. Basuito compares Bank of America’s controversial move to Netflix‘s price-raising scheme, and suggests it will hurt them long-term. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Oct 2011 20:42

tags

Politics: Suddenly surging in the polls: Herman Cain. Herman Cain?!

  • He’s tied with Mitt Romney for first in one poll and ahead of Rick Perry in another. Months ago, Herman Cain‘s presidential campaign seemed like something of an underdog, with many people unaware of the former pizza chain executive. Now, with multiple straw-poll wins under his belt, the non-politician is within shouting distance of the lead. RealClearPolitics has him in third place, but if you take out the two oldest polls listed, he rises to second, ahead of Rick Perry, thanks in part to consistent poll numbers and Perry’s own faltering of late. Cain’s worth watching, suddenly. Wow. (photo via Gage Skidmore) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Oct 2011 20:00

tags

Culture: NBA players, owners face big day for fate of new season

  • Each side understands exactly what’s at stake and where potentially there is movement in order to try to get a deal done… We both understand that if we don’t make our best offers in the next few days, we’re going to be at the point where we’re going to be causing damage to the game, to ourselves, and they’re going to be out paychecks.
  • NBA Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver • Discussing the negotiations between NBA players and team owners, which have reached a critical stage with the regularly scheduled start of the season looming. Ownership claims to have lost a combined $300 million last season, and have pushed for new rules on the salary cap and division of revenues, wanting to guarantee the players only 46% of team revenue rather than their former 57%. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Oct 2011 18:09

tags

World: Islamic militants detonate truck bomb in Somali capitol

  • Be warned, the video shows some graphic images from the scene. The truck bomb attack killed at least 70 people, and injured dozens more, the most deadly terrorist attack in Somalia in five years. The militant Islamist group Al Shabaab has claimed responsibility, just two months after they retreated from the capitol of Mogadishu, pledging to wage guerilla war against the weak and tenuous interim government. Said a BBC journalist on-site: “…I genuinely feel, it is the worst incident I have seen here in Mogadishu.” source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Oct 2011 15:12

tags

Politics: House GOP triples budget to fight same-sex marriage

  • $1.5 million in funding to prevent gays from marrying source
  • » Don’t forget, this is taxpayer money, allocated by House Republicans to their legal counsel to defend DOMA in court. It was originally capped at $500,000, but that limit has since been tripled.
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Oct 2011 14:37

tags

Politics: Polling roundup: Cain continues to surge

  • 3 states in which Herman Cain now leads everybody else source
  • » All aboard the Cain Train! Republicans in North Carolina, Nebraska, and West Virginia want Herman Cain as their nominee–he leads all of his opponents in a new PPP poll. A Washington Post/ABC poll released today showed Cain tied with Perry for second nationally, and two polls last week also showed evidence of Cain Fever sweeping the nation. This seems to be at the expense of Rick Perry, who’s collapsing just as fast as Cain is rising (in North Carolina alone, more than half of his supporters have abandoned him, and a Fox News poll last week showed him losing ten points in a month). Romney is still the (perpetually-endangered) frontrunner, but there’s a plausible argument to be made that Cain is now in the top-tier of candidates. Of course, the same thing was once said of both Donald Trump and Michele Bachmann, so take that as you will.
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
<< newer 
top tags
older >>