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31 May 2010 11:26

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Biz, U.S.: Companies trying to “Slapp” out online criticism with lawsuits

  • SLAPP means “strategic lawsuit against public participation.” The whole theory behind it is that people complain in public about a company’s service, and the company sues to get them to shut up. In prior eras, this may have meant speaking out at a city council meeting. Now, it means tweeting about bad service or putting up a Facebook group. Here’s the fate one guy met.

 

  • $118 the amount Justin Kurtz had to pay after a towing company wrongly towed his car from his own apartment complex
  • 12k the number of people who joined “Kalamazoo Residents against T&J Towing”; 800 joined in the first two days alone
  • $750k the amount the towing company sued the Western Michigan University student for defamation source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 May 2010 22:42

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Culture: Missing from this year’s Miss USA pageant: Carrie Prejean

Instead, we have the much-less-controversial Rima Fakih winning the award for both the Michiganders and the Lebanese contingent. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Apr 2010 11:16

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U.S.: Good news: A college is offering grads a refund if you don’t get a job

  • Bad news: It’s a community college. Lansing Community College, in Michigan’s state capital (and within stone’s throw of our alma mater, Michigan State University) will offer the deal on some of the area’s most in-demand technical jobs, including call-center specialists, pharmacy technicians, quality inspectors and computer machinists. None of these jobs pay on average more than $15 an hour in pay, and we’re not exactly talking two-year degrees, even, but you have to remember this is Michigan and Michigan is in dire straits right now. This is good for them. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Apr 2010 00:24

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U.S.: Hutaree militia reportedly thinks the New World Order is coming

  • This is not about militias or a group of militias, but about a group conspiring against the U.S. who have shared beliefs that the New World Order elitists are in charge and seek to have one world government and is working with the U.S. government. Any law enforcement officer is a foot soldier for the New World Order.
  • Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald Waterstreet • Regarding the Hutaree militia, which he certainly set up as not the nicest people in the world. He was in a Michigan courtroom as eight of the nine arrested suspects entered “not guilty” pleas to charges that they planned to kill police officers. The ninth is currently in Indiana. The government claims suspected ringleader David Brian Stone Sr. had some grand plans, including carving their own country for crazy people out of four rural Michigan states, which of course is a great idea because Michigan sucks right now. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 Mar 2010 09:48

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U.S.: Obama reads ten letters a day, but few this powerful

  • In the age of e-mails, Barack Obama still digs the printed letter. He gets thousands a day, but sets aside room to read ten of them. Jennifer Cline, a 27-year-old from Monroe, Mich. wrote one of the lucky ones that had her letter read by the president. Her note, which showed optimism of turning a corner in a situation fraught with adversity, was super-compelling. It’s freaking massive, but this Washington Post article will be the best thing you read today. Trust us. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 3 Comments • Permalink

29 Mar 2010 20:31

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U.S.: Ex-wife of militia leader: My hubby took the crazy a little too far

  • It started out as a Christian thing. You go to church. You pray. You take care of your family. I think David started to take it a little too far. He dragged a lot of people with him.
  • David Brian Stone’s ex-wife, Donna Stone • Regarding Hutaree, which is reportedly a Christian militia group. David Brian Stone (a.k.a. Captain Hutaree, which is like Captain Crunch with more forest) and eight others have been accused of plotting to kill police officers. Because that’s Christian. The group, which says on its Web site that it’s “preparing for the end time battles to keep the testimony of Jesus Christ alive.” They’ve been training regularly since 2008 in the forests of Michigan, as if time stood still since the heady days of Ruby Ridge, Timothy McVeigh, and the Branch Davidian. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Mar 2010 22:22

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U.S.: Did a Christian militia get nailed in a domestic terror raid?

  • 7 were arrested between Ohio,
    Michigan and Indiana source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

21 Mar 2010 16:29

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Politics: Health care good to go: Bart Stupak gets what he wants

  • They stood strong. They stood on the principle of a belief. And I’m proud of them.
  • Michigan Rep. Bart Stupak • At a press conference regarding the deal he made with a number of other congressmen to block funding for abortion in the final bill. Dude stood by his principles and won. Gotta give him credit for that at least. This bill’s likely going to pass tonight, as the vote count is now safely over the magical 216 needed for passage. Interesting political theater today. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Mar 2010 10:11

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U.S.: Holy Crap: Detroit’s ready to bulldoze its vacant neighborhoods

  • Mayor Dave Bing ready to destroy parts of a city he’s an icon of. This map above shows all of the vacant neighborhoods in the city, which has declined in population by half (from 1.8 million to 900,000) since the ’60s. The green areas? They’re at least half vacant (and blighted). You can see the problem already – all the vacated areas are deep within the city, while the populated areas are in the outskirts. That complicates urban planning. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Feb 2010 10:13

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U.S.: Jennifer Granholm calls Obama’s asian carp plan a load of crap

  • The economic damage from these carp coming into the Great Lakes system would be irreparable. They should shut the locks down until they get these other measures in place, and permanently have a solution to separating these two water systems.
  • Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm • Regarding Obama’s $78.5 million plan to prevent ecosystem-screwing asian carp from getting in the Great Lakes. She says it’s not enough. The problem stems from an Illinois canal where the carp are coming from. Granholm – and Michigan – want the canal blocked off from the Great Lakes. Illinois doesn’t. Obama’s from Illinois. You see where this is going. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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