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16 Oct 2011 14:01

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Politics: The good, the bad and the ugly: Clint Eastwood nearly vice-president?

  • So wait, they picked Dan Quayle over this guy? Back in 1988, there was a period where George H.W. Bush’s presidential campaign was looking a little rough, so they considered a variety of skippers to help steer his ship in the right direction. Among the picks, according to former Secretary of State James Baker? Clint Eastwood, who was a budding Republican politician at the time — the mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. “When we were way behind. Honestly, [Eastwood] was suggested in not an altogether unserious – Well, he was a mayor. He was a Republican mayor,” Baker noted. The idea got shot down pretty quick … paving the way for the guy now known for going after Murphy Brown for being a career woman. On the plus side, we got “Unforgiven” out of the deal, so it wasn’t all bad. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Oct 2011 21:40

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World: WTF: Wikileaks diplomatic cable claims Jamaicans are terror threat

  • Although not widely known, Jamaicans have been involved in some of the worst or potentially devastating acts of terrorism of the last decade.
  • A recently-uncovered Wikileaks cable from a U.S. diplomat in Jamaica • Suggesting that Jamaicans are a serious terror threat … a claim that the diplomat makes by linking three separate notable terror incidents in the past decade to people of Jamaican descent: Shoe bomber Richard Reid (his parents were Jamaican), D.C. sniper co-conspirator Lee Boyd Malvo and 2005 London bomber Germaine Lindsay. As Talking Points Memo points out, the ties are weak at best, making this 2010 diplomatic cable a bit of a bizarre footnote in the annals of Wikileaks — one with plenty of bizarre footnotes already. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Oct 2011 10:24

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U.S.: The person who caught Whitey Bulger? A former Icelandic beauty queen

  • plot Suspected Boston mobster Whitey Bulger managed to evade capture for decades. He was accused in at least 19 murders dating back to the 1970s.
  • capture It took police years to catch onto his scent again, and eventually they did … but only after using very targeted TV ads featuring images of his girlfriend.
  • twistThe person who sent in the tip that caught Bulger, finally? She just happened to be a former Miss Iceland. Because, hey, why not? She got a huge reward! source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Sep 2011 15:58

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Politics: Ex-FEMA head Michael Brown rips Hurricane Irene media coverage

  • The guy’s acting like he’s having a hard time standing up, and you see people just strolling along behind him. I thought, what a great contrast. Why didn’t he just stand up and say, ‘We were very lucky’?
  • Former FEMA head Michael “heckuva job Brownie” Brown • Somehow turning media critic after Hurricane Irene (in ripping CNN for their coverage of the storm). Hey, Michael, no offense, but you’re the last person that should talk here. Glad to see that the crisis was weak enough that you can rip the media for the coverage. You and Ray Nagin should probably keep your media commentator cards to yourselves. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Jun 2011 10:43

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Politics: GLAAD president sacked after bizarre net neutrality controversy

  • controversy For some strange reason, GLAAD — an activist group known more for its stance on gay rights than it is on technology-related issues — recently sent out form letters received from AT&T that made it clear they were against net neutrality, and that they supported the merger of AT&T and T-Mobile. Why? And what does this have to do with gay rights?
  • result GLAAD president Jarrett Barrios resigned as a result of the controversy, admitting the group accepted money from AT&T and signed off on letters he didn’t actually understand (because they had nothing to do with gay rights). He also covered up the deed — putting his secretary on the hook when he actually sent out the letters. So he’s out. Oops. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Jun 2011 10:53

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Music: Lou Reed: Metallica collaboration “a marriage made in heaven”?

  • The record, not yet titled, features 10 songs composed by Reed with significant arrangement contributions by the band that suggest a raging union of his 1973 noir classic, Berlin, and Metallica’s ’86 crusher, Master of Puppets.
  • Rolling Stone writer David Fricke • Describing that bizarre Metallica-Lou Reed album the duo collaborated on. May we just say, could you pick two weirder albums to mash up? But that said, both Metallica and Reed seem uber-excited about the project, which is based around a bunch of songs Reed wrote for a German play. “A marriage made in heaven,” Reed said. “I knew it from the first day we played together: ‘Oh, man, this is perfection, right in front of me.’ ” It might be a bit before the project gets out, as neither Reed nor Metallica (who still are a multi-platinum-selling force) currently have a record deal. But then again, both are legendary enough that they probably have the money to start one. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 May 2011 12:35

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World: Navy SEALS didn’t have a tape measure during Bin Laden raid

  • However, the heavily-armed, electronically wired SEALs didn’t come with a tape measure to get an accurate height reading. According to reports, a Navy SEAL of about 6-feet laid out next to bin Laden’s corpse to gauge the Al Qaeda leader’s height. The corpse was several inches taller.
  • An article on CBS’ Dan Farber • Noting the fairly awkward way that they measured Osama bin Laden’s height after the raid that led to his death. Could you imagine? These big hulking men just killed Bin Laden, only to have to force one of them to lay the ground next to him to do rough measurements? That’s weird. source
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20 Mar 2011 20:17

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Offbeat: Weapon of the day: Utah’s official gun, the Browning M1911

  • You’re not a true Utah resident unless you own this gun. Amidst the collective messes taking place in Libya and Japan, you might’ve missed this bizarre piece of news out of Utah. See, Gov. Gary Herbert signed a bill making the Browning M1911 handgun the state’s official gun. See, its creator, John Browning, was born in Utah waaaaay back in 1855 and effectively invented the first automatic and semi-automatic weapons. “The governor has said previously, and still feels, this isn’t about a gun,” said Ally Isom, Herbert’s spokeswoman. “It’s about honoring John Moses Browning and paying tribute to the man as an innovator and entrepreneur and someone who has given a lot to the state of Utah.” But we all know people aren’t going to read that part of the headline. Our quick take: If someone gets killed by a bullet from this gun, does that somehow make it more patriotic? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Feb 2011 11:17

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Politics: Well, that’s pretty hilarious: Blago’s lawyers push against wiretaps

  • Let’s say you’rE Rod Blagojevich’s lawyer. How could you prevent you guy from getting convicted with as little trouble as possible? Oh, there are wiretaps being used as evidence in this upcoming retrial of his, eh? Why don’t we just petition the court to say – hey, these are unfair to our client. They don’t present all the evidence in a fair or reasonable way. And this is why you’re Rod Blagojevich’s lawyer. Because, you know what, a transparent ploy to get the court to drop the key piece of evidence against your client is pretty transparent. But you don’t care. It makes it look like you’re doing something worthwhile for your paycheck. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Feb 2011 20:47

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Offbeat: Who is Gibby Goo Bop and why did he send us this video?

  • So, we usually don’t do this, but we just got an e-mail from this guy named Gibby Goo Bop. Here’s what he wrote: “because the world can get too serious when you love what you do, just realize that everybody will snooze blue… And hey… I made this music video just for you!” It’s the weirdest thing we’ve seen in a while. This wizard dude really likes David Bowie, apparently. Probably Tim and Eric, too. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink
 
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