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20 May 2010 22:12

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U.S.: Texas’ Board of Ed about to pass controversial textbook changes

Fans of politicized textbooks, you’re in luck. Despite protests, Texas’ outsize influence is likely about to set the agenda for classrooms nationwide. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 May 2010 20:59

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Politics: Rand Paul upset that he only got a day on top of the mountain

  • I thought I was supposed to get a honeymoon. When does my honeymoon start after my victory?
  • Kentucky Senate candidate Rand Paul • Talking to our boy Wolf Blitzer about how his last couple of days went after winning the Republican primary. It hasn’t been good. He’s been taking heat left and … well, mostly left … for comments that he made regarding the 1964 Civil Rights Act in the last couple of days. He suggested that businesses shouldn’t have to allow everyone in. And who does he blame? The messenger. “I think what troubles me is that the news cycle has gotten out of control,” he continued. “For several hours on a major news network [MSNBC] yesterday, they reported repeatedly that I was for repealing the Civil Rights Act. That is not only not true, never been my position, but is an out and out lie. And they repeated it all day long.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 May 2010 10:48

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Politics: Rand Paul’s honesty on the Civil Rights Act bites a little hard

  • Could Rand Paul saying that businesses shouldn’t have to serve black people be misconstrued as racism? One could argue, in fact, that you could take the “mis” off the front of that. Remember – this guy is probably going to be a Senator. There’s a lot to take from this clip, but our favorite bit is Maddow asking this pointed question: “But isn’t being in favor of civil rights but against the Civil Rights Act a little like saying you’re against high cholesterol but you’re in favor of fried cheese?” Paul is just being honest, but man, it makes Paul look BAD. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 May 2010 10:25

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World: Pakistan’s a nation of young, social-networking-loving people

  • 170M the population of Pakistan, which is more than just the Taliban
  • 25M the number of people currently on the Internet in Pakistan
  • 60% the share of the population currently under 25 source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 May 2010 10:13

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Politics: Additional comments on “Everybody Draw Mohammed Day!”

  • It’s a noble cause, but right now it feels like trolling. Look, we think free speech is great and want to encourage it, but this whole controversy feels like an excuse not to defuse a free speech issue, but to amplify it. In that NYT article we just posted, there was a quote from Twitter which sort of said it all. “One day,” the user said, “they will ban breathing in Pakistan.” You want to promote free speech? Fight for this guy, who just wants to watch a clip of a dog riding a skateboard. Don’t fight against him. Enable him. People like him will eventually encourage the cause you’re fighting for if you help him out. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 6 Comments • Permalink

19 May 2010 23:02

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World: “Everybody Draw Mohammed Day!” Tomorrow promises bad things

  • 4/23A misguided artist draws a picture parodying the South Park Mohammed thing and sets 5/20 as a date for everyone to draw Mohammed. It gets attention because she sends it to blogs.
  • 4/24 Afraid of the monster she just created, she disowns the picture she personally sent to the blogs and calls it a joke that got out of hand. It doesn’t matter; the idea has already taken hold.
  • 5/19 Pakistan bans Facebook – the entire site – because of the fan page for this thing which has gotten out of hand in a way only things on the internet can. There are videos, too. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 May 2010 22:13

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U.S.: The sad tale of Aiyana Jones: From tragedy to lawsuits in three days

  • sunday The Detroit police breaks into a home searching for a murder suspect and accidentally kills the 7-year-old girl.
  • monday People hear about what happened, and get angry and upset about the tragic circumstances. It’s a very sad story.
  • tuesdayTwo lawsuits are filed on behalf of the family, who is now represented by Jack Kevorkian attorney Geoffrey Fieger. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

18 May 2010 21:39

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Tech: Facebook finally admits that their privacy settings are confusing

  • Now we’ve heard from our users that we have gotten a little bit complex.I think we are going to work on that. We are going to be providing options for users who want simplistic bands of privacy that they can choose from and I think we will see that in the next couple of weeks.
  • Facebook head of public policy Tim Sparapani • Regarding the site’s fairly complex privacy options. People have been complaining, and now there are tools out there that allow you to easily sort through the options because Facebook made them too complex. With all the other crap going on, they need to do something to ease privacy concerns or they’re screwed. At least they realize it. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 May 2010 21:30

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World: The Red Shirts are screwed: Thailand pulls out the tanks

Is it us, or does this have the makings of a major human rights violation? Hopefully this ends well for everyone involved, especially the Red Shirts. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 May 2010 10:18

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Culture: Charlie Sheen decides not to cut down “Two and a Half Men”

  • Dude was talking about leaving the series. Look, Charlie Sheen‘s had a weird year. He’s been the subject of domestic violence calls (and hilarious mug shots). Some guy ganked his SUV and drove it down a cliff. And he’s constantly in the tabloids. It’s hard to forget sometimes that he still has time for a hit series. But the “Two and a Half Men” star will stay with the show for at least two more seasons, building it’ll likely be on for nine total. Well, as long as that domestic violence trial in Aspen goes his way. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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