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14 Nov 2010 21:01

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Music: Sigh: Our least-favorite pop star ever prevented fresh World War

  • 1999 A British calvary officer in Kosovo defied orders to have troops seize an airfield overtaken by Russian troops, which could have reignited the Cold War – or worse.
  • 2004 The American general who ordered the strike, Gen. Wesley Clark, ran for president as a Democrat, and lost. Nobody ever heard from that guy ever again.
  • 2005 The British soldier in question released a song with these lyrics: “You’re beautiful, you’re beautiful, you’re beautiful, it’s true.” Yes, that guy. James freaking Blunt. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Nov 2010 10:25

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Tech: Soviet photoshopping technology, circa 1987: This is rad.

  • Who needs Photoshop? Not the Soviets. Years before Photoshop became the photo-editing software du jour, they already had some fairly advanced photo-retouching technology. Sure, the tools were a little big and clunky, but clearly they were ultra-effective. If only they had kept at it a little longer; we might all be speaking Russian at the moment. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Nov 2010 10:17

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World: Russia, Japan having hissy fit over group of tiny islands

  • cause Russian president Dmitry Medvedev visited a group of tiny islands in the massive country’s far east whose ownership is also claimed by Japan.
  • reaction Japan totally freaks out, calling back their ambassador to Russia, saying Medvedev’s visit was “regrettable” because it happened even after warnings. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Oct 2010 10:38

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World: Posted without comment: Video shot after Chechen parliament attack

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14 Sep 2010 11:06

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Tech: Microsoft does the right thing in Russian software license case

  • To prevent non-government organizations from falling victim to nefarious actions taken in the guise of anti-piracy enforcement, Microsoft will create a new unilateral software license for NGOs that will ensure they have free, legal copies of our products.
  • Microsoft Senior Vice President and General Counsel Brad Smith • On the company’s response to a New York Times article alleging that Russian authorities were raiding political organizations under the guise of protecting Microsoft’s copyrights. “Ultimately, our goals are straightforward,” he writes. “We aim to reduce the piracy and counterfeiting of software, and we aim to do this in a manner that respects fundamental human rights.” While the nature of them dong piracy hunts is questionable in the first place, the response to this particular problem is one of the better ones we’ve seen. PR people, take note. This is how you handle a crisis. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Sep 2010 10:55

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World: Russian cops use Microsoft software as vector for raids

  • bad Russian police have been raiding various organizations such as NGOs and newspapers not faithful to the state.
  • worse They’ve been doing it under the guise of looking for unauthorized Microsoft software on their computers.
  • worser The computers often weren’t even looked at before or after they were confiscated. How sketchy is that? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Aug 2010 09:42

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World: Vladimir Putin wants to be Russia’s president again in 2012

  • No, it interests me like … I wanted to say like everyone, but in fact more than everyone else. But I don’t want to make a fetish out of it.
  • Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin • Discussing making another presidential run in 2012. Heh heh, he said “fetish.” Putin would be able to stay in power a full six years if reelected. In other news, he had this to say about Democratic protesters without permits: “If you get (permission), you go and march. If you don’t – you have no right to. Go without permission, and you will be hit on the head with batons. That’s all there is to it.” Heh. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

21 Aug 2010 12:37

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World: Big day for Iran: They’ve opened their first nuclear power plant

  • It only took them 36 years, with the help of Russia. But don’t think the plant is entirely in Iran’s hands right now. In part to appease the rest of the world, Russian technicians will be joint-operating (and playing the role of safeguard) of the plant for the next two to three years. The U.S. is concerned about anything with the words “Iran” and “nuclear” in it, but they have no qualms with the plant itself, because it could bring them under compliance with International Atomic Energy Agency regulations. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Aug 2010 17:56

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World: How many wildfires are currently blazing along in Russia?

  • 368 a satellite said so; blame the worst drought in years source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Aug 2010 10:12

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World: Bad timing: Moscow’s mayor on vacation during huge smogout

  • 700people have died per day in Moscow this Summer source
  • what Moscow has been under a huge cloud of smoke for months, causing heavy smog.
  • why A bunch of peat bogs fires near Moscow have led to record high levels of pollution.
  • reaction After a sports injury, mayor Yury Luzhkov took a three-week vacation to rehab. Oops.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink
 
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