Things you should not call 911 about: bad manicures , bad weed , lack of beer. And yet, a 65-year-old Connecticut man did just that. Police say Raymond Roberge called 911 three times on Sunday. When EMTs and firefighters came to his home, he asked them to … go on a beer run…
Continue reading …Just as we’re wrapping up day one of Google I/O 2011, Forbes received an interesting piece of information regarding Chrome OS . According to an unnamed senior Google executive, tomorrow’s keynote will see the launch of a Chrome laptop tagged with an attractive $20-per-month “student package.” If true, this will make a compelling option for laptop-seeking students bounded by a limited budget (booze before books, right?), and Forbes speculates that a similar enterprise offering will follow soon — makes sense considering Google’s already cosying up to businesses with its $50-a-year Google Apps suite. Anyhow, all will be unveiled soon enough — keep an eye out for our Google I/O day 2 liveblog tomorrow for the full monty. Google to offer $20-a-month ‘student package’ for a Chrome laptop? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 May 2011 22:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …WebMD discusses the lifestyle steps that may reduce your need for drugs that treat diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and osteoarthritis.
Continue reading …It was really just too good to be true. The website Coal Cares claims to be an initiative of Peabody Energy, the world’s largest private coal company, offering coal-themed kids’ puzzles and free jazzy inhalers to children who lived within 200 miles of a coal plant and suffered from asthma. (Our favorites are The Bieber,
Continue reading …Even before a SEAL shot Osama bin Laden in the face, Don Shipley was finding 15 to 20 fake SEALs a day. Shipley is one of a handful of people with access to the database of all current and former SEALs, and he’s made something of a hobby out of…
Continue reading …enlarge Yesterday ‘liberal school reform crusader’ Michelle Rhee went to Washington DC alongside Wisconsin governor Scott Walker to accept accolades for their joint crusade against public schools from right-wing organization American Federation for Children. Salon: The “American Federation for Children” — a right-wing “education reform” organization founded and funded by religious right activist multimillionaire Betsy DeVos (former Republican candidate for governor of Michigan and sister of Blackwater founder Erik Prince) and dedicated to electing state legislators who’ll fund Christian schools with taxpayer money and crush public employees’ unions — is having a party in Washington, D.C., today, and they have invited Republican governors who have been working to fix education forever by firing all the greedy teachers and letting profit-seeking private interests manage the schools more “efficiently.” Rhee and Walker joined Pennsylvania governor Tom Corbett to receive an award for their hard work undoing private schools so churches can take them over. The American Federation for Children is a rebranded organization that Devos funded and advocated for over the years — Advocates for School Choice. They’ve simply put a new coat of paint on an old horse and then slapped Michelle Rhee up on their pedestal to add some liberal cred to the whole thing. Advocates for School Choice found their brand a bit tarnished after they were fined $5.2 million for funneling corporate contributions which violated Ohio law into Wisconsin. Scott Jensen, the former Wisconsin Assembly Speaker who recently admitted to wrongdoing in the Wisconsin caucus scandal was also employed by the Alliance for School Choice. He settled the case by paying a fine to the state for using official staff for campaign activities. The lobbyist for the Wisconsin chapter of AFC is also working for Wisconsin Prosperity network , a Koch firm, funded in concert with the DeVos and Walton (Wal-Mart) families. To be honest, I expect extreme right-wingers like Walker and Corbett to be the darling of the DeVos and Koch machines. But let’s get real about Michelle Rhee. She’s as much of a right-wing tool as they are, and no liberal heroine to schools or children. If this doesn’t prove it, I’m not sure what would.
Continue reading …Most comment trolls don’t think they’ll ever have to show their faces to the people they insult. But Louis Bacon, an American billionaire hedge fund manager has received the go-ahead from a London high court to force three websites to disclose the identities of his alleged defamers, the Guardian reports. Bacon received permission to ask publishers behind Wikipedia, WordPress and the Denver Post to track down online commenters who he claims have posted libellous content about him, according to the Guardian. Bacon, now equipped with a Norwich Pharmacal Order, will serve the websites with the order so that he can go after these individuals for defamation. But according to legal experts, it may be a difficult proposition to get these US companies to agree with the UK court order. The Guardian reports that the Wikimedia Foundation, and Automattic (the company that owns WordPress) have stated it will only comply with a US subpoena for such data. Bacon succeeded in making a similar case against a UK-based site, justhost.com, last year. In the US, Bacon would have some precedent for his actions: last year, an Illinois newspaper was forced to reveal the names of online anonymous commenters in a defamation suit. The same happened to an Indianpolis newspaper in March. And last October, a business student was able to get a court to force Google to reveal the names of commenters insulting her on YouTube.
Continue reading …The Dude’s cardigan is going up for auction. The sweater favored by Jeff Bridges’ character in the Big Lebowski will be part of a Hollywood memorabilia auction in Beverly Hills on May 14-15, reports the Oregonian . (The Oregon angle: It was made by a local company.) Starting bid is…
Continue reading …A recent study published in the journal Sex Roles revealed that nearly 30% of young girls clothing had “sexualized” characteristics. Led by Sarah Murnen, a professor of psychology at Kenyon College, a research team studied 5,666 items of young girls’ clothing available on 15 different websites for popular stores in the U.S. The purpose of
Continue reading …Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 It’s Not Mississippi Flood News, It’s A Man In Waders Standing In The River… Louisiana Spillway To Open – Mississippi Flood 2011 Update – 10/05/11 Memphis Spared Mississippi Flood Waters as Defenses Hold … The devastating Mississippi flood have apparently spared Memphis and are headed for Louisiana. Flooding Updates. Mississippi Flood Update Latest update on floods in Mississippi, southern states and east coast. Watch: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 | BetterTheWorld.org See archival footage of the greatest river flood in American history. A New Madrid Earthquake In Memphis And The Mississippi Flood … When considering earthquakes most people think first of places like California or Japan, however, there is a fault below the surface twenty times the size of the San Andreas fault, The New Madrid Fault. Hopefully not now during the … My Gambaru News » Mississippi River nears crest in Memphis, but … John Barry, author οf “Rising Tide: Thе Fаntаѕtіс Mississippi Flood οf 1927 аnd Hοw It Changed America,” ѕауѕ thаt whіlе thе current flood іѕ a long way frοm thе devastation οf 84 years ago, іt wіll still poses a threat. … TJWoodstockNY says: Check this video out — Mississippi Flood http://t.co/F2xisFJ via @youtube TJ Live Acoustic Video of his tune Mississippi Flood …
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