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03 Jan 2012 15:10

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U.S.: NASA scientist denounces 2012 apocalypse theories

  • Nibiru is ridiculous because it doesn’t exist — it never existed as anything but a figment of the imagination by pseudo-scientists who don’t seem bothered by a complete lack of evidence.
  • Dan Yeomans, director of NASA’s Near-Earth Object program • Dismissing some of the 2012 apocalyptic theorizing that’s become something of a cultural meme leading up to this year. The fear that Earth will be struck by a planetary body known as Nibiru (also sometimes called “Planet X”) represents one such theory, distinct from  similarly stoked fears about whether the Mayan calendar can somehow forecast the end of the world. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Feb 2011 11:17

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Politics: Well, that’s pretty hilarious: Blago’s lawyers push against wiretaps

  • Let’s say you’rE Rod Blagojevich’s lawyer. How could you prevent you guy from getting convicted with as little trouble as possible? Oh, there are wiretaps being used as evidence in this upcoming retrial of his, eh? Why don’t we just petition the court to say – hey, these are unfair to our client. They don’t present all the evidence in a fair or reasonable way. And this is why you’re Rod Blagojevich’s lawyer. Because, you know what, a transparent ploy to get the court to drop the key piece of evidence against your client is pretty transparent. But you don’t care. It makes it look like you’re doing something worthwhile for your paycheck. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Sep 2010 10:51

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Politics: Group: Tea party, GOP conspiring against Wisconsin voters

  • what A group called One Wisconsin Now claims that the state’s GOP and Tea Party plan to disenfranchise voters using a process called “voter caging.” They also claim to have proof of conspiracy in the form of audio.
  • how Basically, they claim that those involved will use a list of people whose mail was marked as undeliverable to prevent them from voting on election day and to create unbearably long lines. How true is this, anyway? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

17 Jun 2010 10:00

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U.S.: Prop. 8 trial protip: You probably need to present evidence

  • At the end of the day, ‘I don’t know’ and ‘I don’t have to present any evidence,’ with all respect to Mr. Cooper, doesn’t cut it.
  • Lawyer Ted Olson • Arguing during the Proposition 8 trial yesterday against defense lawyer Charles Cooper, who used the phrase “you don’t have to have evidence” to prove that gay marriage is illegal. Now – we could be wrong here, but something tells us that’s a pretty crappy argument to make in any courtroom, in any case. The judge, by the way, was pretty tough with his questioning – on both sides of the coin. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Dec 2009 11:16

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Politics: Video flashback: Joe Lieberman wanted to expand Medicare

  • Why does Joe Lieberman hate America? In this video, Lieberman suggests the very option he publicly killed this week. The uncomfortable kid over to the right just gave the left a ton of ammo in the health care fight by asking this question, even though he called Medicare “Medichoice.”
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Sep 2009 08:36

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World: Scientists freaking out because there’s water on the moon

Water on the moon? Well, that’s kinda impressive. We’d be more impressed if it was already bottled. (We know, we’re hard to impress.) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Sep 2009 10:07

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U.S.: The latest on the Annie Le case: Raymond Clark isn’t talking

  • why? Word from co-workers suggests that Clark was a control freak about his territory in the lab, suggesting that it may have stemmed from a workplace fight over dirty cages. That’s … bizarre.
  • evidence The evidence tying Clark and Le seems substantial: Matching card swipes, Le’s blood on Clark’s boots, Clark’s DNA evidence on Le. Clark, who is in prison, isn’t talking, tough. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

14 Jul 2009 19:25

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U.S., World: According to some fancy math, Iran’s election was likely a fraud

  • His data is highly, highly, highly suggestive that something odd was going on.
  • Political Scientist Henry Brady • On American statistician Walter Mebane’s findings. Don’t ask us to explain all the math ShortForm style, but he dissected some of the numbers from the election in Iran and, in short, things smelled a bit fishy.  • source
Posted by Nathalie Heiberg • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Apr 2009 10:11

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U.S.: Ted Stevens – remember him? His trial’s likely getting dismissed

  • The backstory In case you’ve forgotten, Stevens, the former Alaska senator, was convicted of corruption charges right around election day for apparently taking gifts from Veco, an oil services company. The case managed to do what years of questionable actions by Stevens couldn’t – get him booted out of office by voters after 40 years.
  • Fumbling the case This morning, the Justice Department, citing gross prosecutor misconduct, will be looking to dismiss the conviction, effectively putting Sen. Stevens in the clear. The prosecutors apparently withheld significant evidence and mishandled witnesses. The case would likely not be pursued again, mainly because Stevens, 85, is really freaking old. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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