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23 Aug 2010 20:13

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U.S.: Why did a federal judge rule against Obama’s stem cell policy?

  • what A federal judge granted an injunction against Obama’s carefully worded embryonic stem-cell policy, which largely reversed Bush’s controversial policy.
  • why The judge found that the policy allowed for the destruction of the stem cells, which is a no-no thanks to the Dickey-Wicker Amendment, a yearly budgetary rider. source
  • » An interesting wrinkle: The two researchers who filed the suit, while both being against embryonic stem cell research, didn’t do it for moral reasons. Instead, Dr. James Sherley and Theresa Deisher work with adult stem cells and were afraid that Obama’s new rules would cut into the funding for their work because of increased competition. In other words, they’re selfish.
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03 May 2010 17:06

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Tech: Could Apple face antitrust issues over the Flash thing?

  • MAYBE the feds are on the case source
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18 Apr 2010 10:11

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U.S.: Fun fact: Obama had NASA frantically removing scenery (for naught)

  • monday The Orion space capsule was not to be a part of Obama’s Thursday speech (which upset many). So NASA was trying to remove all signs of Orion from the building.
  • thursday Obama gave a speech in front of a backdrop that included the Orion capsule – after the administration did an about-face on the program (which surprised many). source
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19 Mar 2010 08:54

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Politics: A synopsis of every major White House internal debate this year

Obama: “I want to do this.” Rahm: “I think it should be done this way.” Axelrod: “I like the basic concept, but that may not work. What about this?” Now extend that over a year. source
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27 Feb 2010 13:11

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U.S.: The military realizes that social media actually a good idea

  • The finally unblocked Twitter, Facebook and so on. About time. For three years, if you used a military computer, you couldn’t access sites like Twitter and Facebook, despite the obvious advantages they offer. No longer. “The purpose of the policy is to recognize that we need to take advantage of these Internet-based capabilities,” said deputy assistant secretary of defense David Wennergren, “These Web 2.0 tools need to be part of what we use.” Even with the possibility of info leaks, we’re glad the military finally changed this policy. It came later than it should’ve. source
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23 Feb 2010 21:27

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U.S.: Fun fact: Until today, female soldiers couldn’t serve in subs

  • We wonder if they had a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy for that. The military is nothing if not a slow-moving machine, submerged in its own policy, deep in a ocean of bureaucracy that keeps their policies airtight. Well, change is taken place on submarines. Why so long for women’s liberation to hit the deep ocean, despite 15 percent of sailors having girl parts? Well, subs are tightly packed, and soldiers living on them often share the same bed in shifts in a policy called “hot bunking.” That’s what she said. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink

14 Feb 2010 21:28

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Culture: Southwest Airlines throws off the wrong fat guy: Kevin Smith

  • Hey @SouthwestAir I’ve landed in Burbank. Don’t worry: wall of the plane was opened & I was airlifted out while Richard Simmons supervised.
  • Director Kevin Smith • Regarding a harrowing experience where he was booted from a flight because he was too fat, according to the pilot. He later got on another flight, but not before he tweeted about it to his 1.6 million followers on Twitter. The director, who helmed the upcoming Bruce Willis/Tracy Morgan awesomefest CopOut, says he’s not that fat yet. In case you’re wondering, Southwest responded, claiming they’ve had the “persons of size” policy for 25 years now. Our question: Where’s your private jet, Silent Bob? source
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07 Feb 2010 19:29

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U.S.: A Super Bowl for policy wonks: Left vs. Right, in Obama’s house

  • Get yo popcorn ready! Today, during a pre-Super Bowl interview on CBS, Obama said that on Feb. 25, he would be hosting a live, televised debate for Republicans and Democrats to work out their differences on health care. In the White House. “If we can go step by step through a series of these issues and arrive at some agreements, there’s no reason we can’t do this faster than it took last year,” he said. Maybe so, but man, we can’t wait to watch this. The Q&A with the Republicans? Just a warm-up. source
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26 Oct 2009 20:29

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U.S.: Ahahahahaha. The pilots who missed their stop? On their laptops.

  • The pilots are likely gonna lose their jobs. We sure hope so. Last week, the uproar over a plane that disappeared just before it was supposed to land initially had people thinking the plane was hijacked. Then, the pilots were drunk. Then, the pilots were arguing. Here’s what it really was: The pilots were on their laptops, while one was showing the other Delta Air Lines’ new scheduling system – which is changing for the pilots due to the continuing merger of Delta and Northwest Airlines. We’re not sure if we believe this. We bet they were just playing Canabalt. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Oct 2009 10:31

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Politics: What’s the upside to the White House’s “War on Fox News”?

  • If the White House could persuade moderates that any story originating with Fox is politically motivated and hence suspect, it might reduce the initial impact of Fox-generated content. What the White House appears to be trying to do is reduce the migration of stories from Fox to other cable, broadcast, and print.
  • Kathleen Hall Jamieson • The director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, describing why the Obama administration seems to be so quick to go after Fox News, even though it’s a fairly controversial tactic. Maybe it’s self-preservation, since they seem to be going after Obama administration officials. Maybe it’s pushing for the moderates, not the far right. There has to be some upside here. • source
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