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Sen. Olympia Snowe pledges support for repeal of DADT UPDATED

enlarge Credit: Twitter Press Herald: U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe said Wednesday she would support the repeal of the military policy that prevents gays from serving openly. The announcement came as the U.S. House of Representatives voted on repealing the policy, known as ‘don’t ask, don’t tell.’ “After careful analysis of the comprehensive report compiled by the Department of Defense and thorough consideration of the testimony provided by the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the service chiefs, I support repeal of the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ law,” Snowe said in a statement. U.S. Sens. Susan Collins , R-Maine, and Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., revived repeal efforts by sponsoring a stand-alone bill minutes after a Senate vote on a larger bill that contained the provision failed last week. There’s great momentum finally behind repealing DADT in Congress after the HOUSE just passed Murphy’s standalone bill that seems pretty real. If Snowe and Collins do carry out their plans then it could actually get done. TPMDC writes: Snowe was among several theoretical supporters of repeal who said she voted against cloture because of procedural issues: Sens. Scott Brown (R-MA) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) objected to the time allotted to debate the underlying bill; and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) said that the timing for repeal was, in his view, not quite right. Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) said, on the other hand, that she’d missed the vote because of a dental appointment . So, with Snowe’s support, repeal supporters are within 1 vote of cloture — and a repeal of DADT. UPDATE: Please join the Courage Campaign and Rep. Murphy on a public conference call taking place at 4PM PST. Join the Courage Campaign and Representative Patrick Murphy on a short call today at 7 p.m. EST/ 4 p.m. PST. Sign up filling out the form here.

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Seagate ships 3.5-inch Barracuda Green internal hard drive, leaves and all

Remember the Barracuda LP ? Meet its formal successor. In a bid to generate some interest from upgrading Sierra Club members, Seagate has just introduced the Barracuda Green, described as the world’s highest performance eco-friendly desktop hard drive. Essentially, this 3.5-inch internal HDD aims to split the difference between power and performance, with a 5,900RPM spin speed and the company’s own SmartAlign technology to enable the benefits of the new 4K sector standard. The company claims that it’s whisper quiet in use, and it drains less power than non-Green alternatives. It’s hitting the sales channel now in 1TB, 1.5TB and 2TB sizes, with the big guy topping out at around $120. Ma Earth thanks you in advance for your consideration. Continue reading Seagate ships 3.5-inch Barracuda Green internal hard drive, leaves and all Seagate ships 3.5-inch Barracuda Green internal hard drive, leaves and all originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Dec 2010 18:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

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Drop-Side Cribs Banned Due to Safety Issues

The Consumer Product Safety Commission is banning cribs with drop-down sides because they have been blamed for the deaths of at least 32 infants since 2001.

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Following the Long Trail of Impacts to Reduce Environmental Costs

Photo credit: akeg / Creative Commons This guest post was written by Ken Lanshe, Walmart vice president of global sourcing. Energy is vital. No matter what you do, from reading a book to eating dinner, energy is required at some point to make it possible, and the demand for energy is only increasing as technology advances and the global population grows. While energy does so much to make our li… Read the full story on TreeHugger

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Regulators push for tough conditions in Comcast / NBC deal, aim to protect internet video

Is it the deal that’ll never go through? Some might hope. For the better part of this year, Comcast has been jonesing to pick up a 51 percent stake in NBC Universal (for a cool $13.75 billion), but as you’d expect regulators have been poking and prodding the arrangement from just about every angle . The potential antitrust issues go on for miles, and now officials are paying particularly close attention to how the deal could shape the future of internet video. As you may or may not know, NBC holds a 32 percent stake in Hulu , and in theory, a Comcast buyout would enable it to limit access to other ISPs or force Comcast internet subscribers to also pay for a programming package in order to have access. A new AP report on the topic mentions that the US government is considering forcing Comcast to sell NBC’s Hulu stake as a stipulation for the deal to go through, and moreover, they may insist that Comcast provide online access to NBC Universal’s content library without a cable sub. Currently, Time Warner Cable requires users to sign up cable in order to access ESPN3 — a nasty, strong-arm tactic at its finest — and if the Fed gets its way, it could also set a new precedent for other operators. Needless to say, there’s quite a bit to be sorted before NBC bigwigs take on corner offices at Comcast , and there’s an awful lot at stake along the way. Regulators push for tough conditions in Comcast / NBC deal, aim to protect internet video originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Dec 2010 18:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

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Rep. Patrick Murphy on Repealing ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Chris Geidner has been following this closely: On a 250-175 vote, and with 15 Republicans supporting the measure, the House of Representatives — in a chamber temprorarily presided over by Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) — passed a stand-alone bill aimed at the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy on Wednesday, Dec. 15.

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FDA Targets Tainted Dietary Supplements

The FDA today announced new steps to target harmful products marketed as dietary supplements, including the possiiblity of launching criminal investigations against companies endangering public health.

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Dynamic Eye LCD sunglasses blot out the sun, not the rest of your life (video)

Those giant Chanel sunglasses you bought for $450 may make you look happening at the pool, but did you notice the extra squint-lines you’re getting thanks to their barely-there tinting? Not cool, and that wouldn’t be a problem with Dynamic Eye shades. The concept model above admittedly looks worse than that pair of knockoff Oakleys you got for $20 from some mall kiosk, but that’s hugely better than the early prototype demonstrated below, ready for its cameo in Revenge of the Nerds V: Nerds Hit the Beach . The concept is simple: each lens is an LCD that creates a dark box over the sun, blotting out the biggest source of glare and allowing the rest of the glasses to remain rather less tinted. They’re even said to work at night. It’s a project the company has been working on for years and still has many months of development left, but it feels close enough to ask for your help via Kickstarter. If you’re feeling generous, a $400 donation will ensure you get one of the first pairs to roll off the assembly lines — or you can just chip in $10 for now and get an e-mail telling you when you can order. Probably the safer way to go. Continue reading Dynamic Eye LCD sunglasses blot out the sun, not the rest of your life (video) Dynamic Eye LCD sunglasses blot out the sun, not the rest of your life (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Dec 2010 18:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

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Oh noes! The War On Christmas takes a slightly bizarre variation as first Sen. Jon Kyl and then Sen. Jim DeMint complain that it’s just not right to make them vote on the START treaty during the Christmas season. I mean, what will Baby Jesus think ? To Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s suggestion that the Senate come back the week after Christmas isn’t just a way to complete a busy lame duck agenda — but an attack on people of the Christian faith . “It is impossible to do all of the things that the majority leader laid out,” Kyl said today, “frankly, without disrespecting the institution and without disrespecting one of the two holiest of holidays for Christians and the families of all of the Senate, not just the senators themselves but all of the staff.” Not one to miss this opportunity to proclaim his Christian superiority against those mean little heathen Democrats, Jim DeMint quickly jumped on to the “Who Cares About Nukes?” sleigh : Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) called Democrats’ push to force through an arms control treaty and an omnibus spending bill right before Christmas “sacrilegious,” and warned he’d draw the process out to wage his objections. “You can’t jam a major arms control treaty right before Christmas,” he told POLITICO. “What’s going on here is just wrong. This is the most sacred holiday for Christians. They did the same thing last year – they kept everybody here until (Christmas Eve) to force something down everybody’s throat. I think Americans are sick of this.” I think Americans are definitely sick of something, but making Republicans work during the latter half of December is not one of them. Maybe they should be grateful they have a job at all. Way too many Americans don’t during this sacred holiday, and nothing the Republicans are doing will make that better. As Democratic strategist Karen Finney tweets: So the Demint/(Kyl) position on START is that a peace treaty is inconsistent with Judeo-Christian values during the season of peace. Exactly. And just because it’s the holiest of holidays and voting for critical peace treaties would be sacrilegious, doesn’t mean that it’s not prime fundraising time. This Christmas, preserve that blessing by giving them the same gift your parents and grandparents gave you: the gift of Christmas future. By making a contribution to the Republican National Committee, you’ll be providing the resources that we need to continue to protect the America you know and love. You’ll also be ensuring that your children and grandchildren will be able to give future generations the same Christmas you’ve given them. And at that, Baby Jesus wept.

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Since When Does Interpol Care About Women?

Laura Flanders points out that Interpol’s pursuit of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange over sexual assault allegations is yet another example of women’s bodies serving ulterior political motives. Where is Interpol, Flanders asks, for the sexually assaulted women of the U.S. military or those in Haitian refugee camps? Related Entries December 15, 2010 Army of Fun December 14, 2010 ‘Assangination’: From Character Assassination to the Real Thing

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