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04 May 2011 15:52

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Politics: Maddow wants the media to stick to the facts on bin Laden’s death

  • There’s going to be plenty of time to score political points on this. Osama bin Laden is going to be dead forever. Osama bin Laden is never coming back.
  • Rachel Maddow • Discussing attempts in the news media to tilt the facts of the Osama bin Laden raid to suit certain political themes, in her appearance on The Daily Show last night. Maddow is spot on in this analysis, for a very good reason — it’s demonstrably obvious that news agencies since bin Laden’s death don’t have a conclusive, clear view of exactly what went down. This is borne out by the wild conflicts and discrepancies in reporting various details of the operation since word broke on Sunday. Maddow, to her credit, has done two episodes of her show post-bin Laden, and both were earnestly refreshing in acknowledging that waiting for verifiable fact is more useful than rushing to make the story sound cooler, or fit into a political narrative. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Jun 2010 21:31

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Politics: Charles Schumer justifies Gaza blockade with straight-wrong facts

  • Yo, Charles, what happened? The New York Senator, who is Jewish, woefully misinformed a Orthodox Union crowd by saying that most Palestinians don’t support a two-state solution in Israel. Actually, they do. By using this train of thought, he gets to this conclusion: “Since the Palestinians in Gaza elected Hamas, while certainly there should be humanitarian aid and people not starving to death, to strangle them economically until they see that’s not the way to go, makes sense.” It’s no Helen Thomas-level gaffe, sure, but what an awful justification. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Apr 2009 10:16

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U.S., World: Five quick facts on swine flu that you should know

  • The swine flu virus was first isolated in 1930; this is not a new type of virus. source
  • The virus transferred from pigs to humans because it mutated. source
  • You can’t get swine flu from eating cooked pork or handling uncooked pork. source
  • Swine flu symptoms are essentially the same as regular flu strains. source
  • The last outbreak of swine flu happened in 1976. One died. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Apr 2009 01:41

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Offbeat: Five fast historical facts about April Fool’s Day

  • The holiday was invented by monks in the 11th century as a way to control laborers. source
  • Daylight Saving Time used to start on April 1st every year until it was staggered in the 20th century. source
  • The pulling of tricks on April Fool’s Day is a strictly Euro-American tradition. source
  • Families in some Asian nations celebrate by exchanging small, handmade gifts. source
  • In 2004, Monaco banned the holiday after a failed trick left three people dead. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Mar 2009 10:55

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Offbeat: Lest you think we forget, guys: It’s St. Paddy’s Day!

Have a happily green holiday. Here’s some facts and trivia on St. Patrick’s. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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