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26 Nov 2009 13:05

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Music: Bob Dylan thankful that his weird Christmas album helps the homeless

  • They get food straight to the people. No military organization, no bureaucracy, no governments to deal with.
  • Bob Dylan • Regarding his choice to offer proceeds of his bizarre “Christmas in the Heart” to hungry and homeless charities. He mentioned this in an interview that ran in London’s “The Big Issue” and other similar sold-by-homeless newspapers in the U.S. That’s right, a guy who never does interviews with anyone gave one to a homeless newspaper. Random. But awesome. source

28 Oct 2009 19:55

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U.S., World: Pakistan has lots of American help to topple the Taliban

  • 150 people the number of American Special Forces soldiers and support personnel are helping Pakistan – a number that’s doubled in the last eight months source

20 Oct 2009 09:41

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U.S.: Bailed-out firms in no rush to help the party behind the bailout

  • Having had their hides saved by the Democratic party, it might be suggested that bailed-out firms might try to pat their backs in return in future elections. source
  • However, largely out of fear of further hurting their public image, many bailed-out firms are staying away from a Democratic fundraiser near Wall Street. source

05 Oct 2009 12:00

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About: Feedback wanted: A special query from site founder Ernie Smith

What do you guys want? I (not we, I) love doing this site. But I want to encourage its long-term future. I have a lot of things in the can for the site. But I want to get some thoughts from my readers on how to proceed. Here's a few things on my mind:
  • Building focus Over the last 10 months, the site’s content has been defined by its everything-gets-in atmosphere. It largely focuses on a soft approach to hard news, but the subject matter is very broad otherwise. I’m debating whether it might make sense to have a tighter focus – less sports and music, more hard news and tech. What do you think?
  • Building focus Over the last 10 months, the site’s content has been defined by its everything-gets-in atmosphere. It largely focuses on a soft approach to hard news, but the subject matter is very broad otherwise. I’m debating whether it might make sense to have a tighter focus – less sports and music, more hard news and tech. What do you think?
  • Adding new voices As some of you might know through my usage of bad puns, dirty jokes and left-field explanations, (I think) I’m a funny guy. But I feel like more variety – and more writers – could strengthen the site. (And yes, I’m asking for resumes.) How would you handle writing news in short bites? Think you could do it on a regular schedule? Think about it.
  • Building focus Over the last 10 months, the site’s content has been defined by its everything-gets-in atmosphere. It largely focuses on a soft approach to hard news, but the subject matter is very broad otherwise. I’m debating whether it might make sense to have a tighter focus – less sports and music, more hard news and tech. What do you think?
  • Adding new voices As some of you might know through my usage of bad puns, dirty jokes and left-field explanations, (I think) I’m a funny guy. But I feel like more variety – and more writers – could strengthen the site. (And yes, I’m asking for resumes.) How would you handle writing news in short bites? Think you could do it on a regular schedule? Think about it.
  • Time vs. quality It’s probably obvious, but I spend much of my day trying to make this site happen. It’s lots of work. It’s fun work and I love it. But, I already have a full-time job. And this takes up too much of my life right now. Is it a matter of working smarter vs. working harder? I want to find the right balance. Do you guys have any ideas? Leave a comment.

27 Sep 2009 03:56

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17 Sep 2009 20:55

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Tech: It’s a “new known issue.” Well, that’s good to know. Thanks Twitter!

  • There is nothing our users can do to fix this issue at the moment. Don’t worry though! We have not lost any of your images. They will all come back soon.
  • A status message on Twitter’s help forum regarding the disappearance of background images and avatars • Which is essentially the equivalent of saying that they spilled beer on the server. But doesn’t Twitter use the cloud? We wonder what it’d be like to spill beer on a cloud. Would it just fall through? Would it freeze? Or would it create a frosty brew? The strange things we think of when we’re waiting for our #(^(!@& avatars to return to Twitter. • source

11 Apr 2009 10:32

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U.S., World: Obama: The U.S. needs help from other nations

  • These are challenges that no single nation, no matter how powerful, can confront alone. The United States must lead the way. But our best chance to solve these unprecedented problems comes from acting in concert with other nations.
  • President Barack Obama • In his weekly radio/Interweb address. The president just returned from an overseas trip through Europe and Iraq, so his words carry extra significance. • source
 

10 Apr 2009 11:16

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World: Italy’s billionaire prime minister offers his homes to quake victims

  • Silvio Berlusconi is Italy’s second-richest man. Victims of the devastating Italiian earthquake, which killed hundreds and left thousands more without homes, will be getting some help from P.M. Silvio Berlusconi. “I will do what I can too, by offering some of my houses,” Berlusconi said at a state funeral for the more than 200 killed. 17,000 survivors are currently living in tents, so it’d be a bit of an upgrade for them. source