Tunisia President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali has resigned amid riots that have claimed at least 23 lives, the BBC reports. Ben Ali had dissolved the government and promised to quit in 2014 , but his delay tactic was apparently not enough for the disgruntled Tunisian populace, fed up after 23…
Continue reading …We know you’re all anxiously awaiting the Steve Jobs/Rupert Murdoch buddy comedy , but it looks like you’ll have to wait: the moguls have pushed back their launch event for The Daily, Murdoch’s new tablet-only tabloid. The delay is reportedly Apple’s doing; it wants more time to perfect the iPad’s subscription…
Continue reading …Calls for unity are welcome, but it’s time we face facts: America is a country “deeply divided” by “fundamental disagreement about the proper role of government,” writes Paul Krugman in the New York Times . The left believes the wealthy should be taxed to help the poor; the right believes taxing…
Continue reading …A handful of critics enjoyed Seth Rogen’s bumbling reinvention of Green Hornet —but only a handful. The movie’s currently at 44% on Rotten Tomatoes , though to be fair, audiences liked it a fair bit more (71%). Here’s what they’re saying: The first half of the movie has a “genuinely subversive…
Continue reading …Chris Gaida is a celebrity escort—no, not the kind of escort Charlie Sheen favors , the kind that gets paid to squire celebs down the red carpet. “He’s reliable and fast and trustworthy,” says Queen Latifah’s executive assistant, and “he’s not bad-looking either.” An escort’s job is to make sure…
Continue reading …Despite what countless people seem to think, it’s “totally, completely, utterly, and inarguably wrong” to use two spaces after a period, writes Farhad Manjoo in Slate . It’s been the case since the early 20th century, but you wouldn’t know it based on his readers (“In editing letters for my occasional…
Continue reading …After waking to a 4:30am robocall announcing a snow delay, a Maryland dad was fuming—so he decided to make a robocall of his own. The father of five found an online robocalling company and recorded a message to be sent at 4:30am yesterday to school officials, the…
Continue reading …A Justice Department filing yesterday backed the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman. The move appeals a federal judge’s ruling calling DOMA unconstitutional, TPM reports. But the administration asserted that it doesn’t support the act; the filing merely adhered to the executive…
Continue reading …Tennessee Tea Party activists met with lawmakers yesterday to demand the state make a number of changes—including “educating students the truth about America.” What does that grammatically suspect phrase mean? It means that they want textbooks to stop criticizing the founding fathers for their treatment of Native Americans and…
Continue reading …Amid huge riots over poverty, Tunisia’s president has decided to dismiss his government, the AP reports. President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali intends to call legislative elections in 6 months, earlier than planned. Meanwhile, thousands of protesters calling for Ben Ali’s resignation continued to demonstrate in the capital, prompting police…
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