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22 Mar 2011 13:03

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U.S.: Blago runs up against no-nonsense judge in retrial

  • NO Rod Blagojevich won’t get his corruption retrial canceled source
  • » “…intended for an audience other than the court.” When Rod Blagojevich and his legal team requested that his retrial be canceled and that the judge proceed to sentencing on the lone conviction from his first trial, lying to the FBI, that was the response Judge James Zagel gave in shooting the idea down. First of all, we didn’t realize you could try to pitch such a self-serving idea to a judge, although in this case it failed pretty epically, so maybe you really can’t. But moreover, this doesn’t bode well for Blagojevich — despite escaping the fullest punishment last time, and the media tour he’s gone on since to be thought of as “that funny corruption guy” instead of an unprintable expletive, if he’s staring down a stern judge and a new jury, anything could happen (remember, Blagojevich’s last trial was deadlocked by just one of the twelve jurors insisting his innocence).

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?
  • Adding new voicesAs 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. qualityIt’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.

13 May 2009 09:01

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World: The Taliban makes a series of threats to Pakistan. Jerks.

  • the request The Taliban, in response to attacks on them, wants all Malakand Division-based Pakistani parliament members – both national and provincial – to resign from their posts in three days.
  • the threat “Otherwise,” threatened Muslim Khan to CNN, “we will arrest all their families,and we will destroy all their buildings.” Clearly, Khan has been taking advice on hostage negotiations from “Die Hard.” source