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Obama: GM Stock Sale a Success for His Policy

President Barack Obama on Thursday welcomed the return of a rejuvenated General Motors to the US stock market, calling it a beginning of seeing ‘some of the tough decisions that we made in the midst of the crisis pay off.’ (Nov. 18)

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Verizon launching ’4G’ smack talk campaign against AT&T

Never ends, does it? The top four carriers in the US love slinging mud, but the trash-talking between Verizon and AT&T is always particularly vicious — and it’s showing no signs of ebbing. As you might expect, Verizon intends to use its new LTE network as a weapon in the fight, and like both Sprint and T-Mobile, Verizon will be very loudly labeling it “4G” to the ITU’s chagrin . The latest promotional posters compare maps of Verizon’s combined 3G / LTE network with AT&T’s 3G-only network, but considering how limited Big Red’s initial LTE launch is, there really isn’t much difference with what they’ve shown in the past . The posters also proudly proclaim Verizon as having “the fastest 4G network in America,” which is false on at least one level — LTE isn’t really 4G, as we said — and remains to be seen on another. At any rate, as always, it’ll be interesting to see how AT&T responds. Nerd fight! [Thanks, Kal] Verizon launching ’4G’ smack talk campaign against AT&T originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Nov 2010 18:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

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An Inside Look at LA’s Community of Visionary Activists

Photo credit: Astig!! / Creative Commons It’s interesting to me that many people judge Los Angeles without really knowing her. She really is the City of Angels. I’ve lived in Los Angeles for going on a dozen years now, and at long last I can affirmatively state that I have found “my tribe.” I’m referring to a group of like-minded people, who I am honored to call my friends and colleagues. These angels possess the qualities that I most admire in people: Social and environmental consciousness, spiritual, activists, c… Read the full story on TreeHugger

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With as much right-wing propaganda as has been pumped into our system, I’m a bit surprised at these CNN poll results, but I’m also quite pleased. Will the President get this message? Greg Sargent: A new CNN poll finds the public doesn’t agree with the GOP on two major lame duck session issues: Only a third want all the Bush tax cuts to be extended, while less than a third oppose repealing DADT. I saw Andrea Michell get pissed off at John McCain for blocking DADT repeal when she had on Lieberman earlier this week. Her comments come at about the 4:09 mark. Mitchell: With all due respect, I was kind of stunned because, what about Mike Mullen? Admiral Mullen is the Chairman of the joint Chiefs. They report to him. If it’s good enough for him and for Robert Gates and if this is what the survey says that we understand is coming out in December, then why isn’t it good enough for John McCain? Even Joe agreed with her. Reality doesn’t matter with the GOP. And much to the chagrin of Village elites, John McCain is part of that un-reality. Here’s another pretty surprising result. Fifty percent of Republicans think the tax cuts should be extended regardless of income.” I believe it signals that middle class Republicans (yes, they do exist) understand that the Bush tax cuts are not benefiting our society and by the cover of an anonymous poll were willing to give an honest response. You’d figure that at least 80% of Republicans would be for extending the Bush tax cuts. It’s too bad they still won’t vote with what would work to improve their lives instead of buying into the propaganda totally. Too much capital has been spent on destroying the progressive message. I think the religious right has a lot to do with this. The big question is: Will the Obama administration push back? Dianne Feinstein has now come out to join Senator Merkley and asked that a vote be taken to extend the middle class tax cuts. “I don’t see the logic in delaying tax cuts for middle class Americans as part of an effort to make sure that the rich get richer. I would caution my Republican colleagues against holding middle-class tax cuts hostage for the benefit of the two percent of Americans who have the privilege to be wealthy.” I understand getting something done is much different than moving forward, but at least they can hone their message accordingly and force the Republicans to either vote or obstruct. I’ve received many emails from C&L readers that have said they are even willing to lose their middle class tax cuts if the Bush tax cuts are not extended, and I think that’s a powerful message. Email from C&Ler Steve: I am one of those caught in the middle class… Obama’s tax cuts nets me about $50 a month… Not an insignificant amount BUT… I would GLADLY give it up if that means the million/billionaires get taxed at the 2001 levels… I think there should be a demonstration to Pay More Taxes… As everyone knows, the Bush tax cuts for the rich people has hurt this country more than just about anything… All the lying republicans want to do is repel the Bush tax cuts… Let’s get a survey going and see how many of us progressives in the middle class would give up our meager tax cuts in order to get the millionaire/billionaires paying their fair share… This is a courageous stance to take and I know many more who feel this way. This would be an interesting poll question to ask, and I bet the Beltway Village would not enjoy the responses because it would destroy the comfy right-wing-elite narrative that they have been conditioned to expect from the American people. Who’s really willing to give up what for the benefit of our country?

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Cholera Protesters Launch Attacks in Haiti

Protesters in Haiti’s capital are lashing out at UN peacekeepers and the government, blocking roads and attacking foreigners’ vehicles. (Nov. 17)

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On Wednesday's Joy Behar Show on HLN, guest Helen Fisher, a Rutgers University professor, compared having a large family to littering, “as if we've got too many people on this planet to begin with.” Fisher also bizarrely stated that ” for billions of years, we [humans] ended up having one or two children per woman .” Host Joy Behar devoted the last two segments of her program to how women are trending away from having children. Besides Fisher, she brought on author Rachel Shukert and Laura Scott, who manages the “Childless By Choice Project” blog . Near the middle of the second segment, the host blurred the line between typical large families, most of whom have children by natural means, and celebrities such as the “Octo-Mom” and Kate Gosselin and her family. This is where Fisher made her extreme leftist remark: BEHAR: What about these people who are overpopulating- the Gosselins, the octo-moms- these people who have been vitro with hundreds of things in there- you know what I mean? What's up with that? [ Video embedded below the page break ] read more

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Nokia says ‘very small’ number of N8s aren’t turning on, warranty will cover it

We’ve been getting a few tips this week — and seeing a few things on Twitter — saying that N8s are failing in noticeable quantities, but we wanted to hold off until we’d figured out what was really going on. Well, Nokia’s own Niklas Savander is commenting on the situation now — so we’d say it’s definitely real — though he’s insisting the number of affected units is “very small” and that the company’s normal warranty rules apply, so owners of dead units should contact their local support number. That’s all well and good, but getting service on a paperweight is still a bummer, especially when said phone is your primary means of communication — so let’s hope these guys turn around serviced devices in a hurry. What do you call a dead N8, by the way? N8 owner: A tragedy iPhone owner: DOA Android owner: About as useful as any other N8 N900 owner: A missed opportunity Store sales rep: Dummy unit Symbian Foundation employee: Justice Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo: Karma A goat: Dinner [Thanks, John] Nokia says ‘very small’ number of N8s aren’t turning on, warranty will cover it originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Nov 2010 17:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

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Recessions Are Not Good for Your Mind

According to the government agency with the fun acronym SAMHSA, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2009 was no party in terms of adult Americans’ mental health. One in five adults, in fact, suffered from some kind of mental illness, and it just might be the case that external circumstances such as relentless unemployment and health care issues could have played a role.

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Obama: Russia treaty is national security imperative

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama ramped up his push on Thursday for the Senate to pass a new nuclear arms treaty with Russia, calling it a national security imperative that the pact be ratified this year. U.S. President Barack Obama walks to the White House in Washington November 14, 2010. Obama ramped up his push on Thursday for the Senate to pass a new nuclear arms treaty with Russia, calling it a national security imperative that the pact be ratified this year. (REUTERS/Joshua Roberts) Obama held a high-profile meeting with former Republican and Democratic secretaries of state at the…

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U.N. panel condemns Myanmar election, rights abuses

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – A U.N. General Assembly committee on Thursday condemned Myanmar’s recent election that pro-democracy parties said was rigged to preserve authoritarian rule in the Southeast Asian country. Election officials work at a vote counting centre in Yangon November 7, 2010. A U.N. General Assembly committee on Thursday condemned Myanmar’s recent election that pro-democracy parties said was rigged to preserve authoritarian rule in the Southeast Asian country. (REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun/Files) Myanmar’s biggest military-backed party earlier this month won the first…

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