Although gay marriage and adoption by same-sex couples are still not fully sanctioned in the real world, things are different in at least one corner of the virtual realm . Take “Fable III,” for example, which gives gamers free rein … (continued) Related Entries October 23, 2010 Ugandan Paper Stirs Gay Witch Hunt October 20, 2010 ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Back in Effect
Continue reading …It hit theaters in 1985 but ‘Back to the Future’ is still a quotable film that ranks as one of many people’s favorites. The cast reunited on Monday in New York for the launch of the film’s 25th anniversary Blu-ray disc. (Oct. 26)
Continue reading …Republicans pulled off a pretty neat trick, running up huge deficits and then making it their party’s big issue. Not to be outdone, the Democrats have managed to make $1.3 trillion look small. The deficit actually shrank in the last fiscal year, according to the Treasury, and revenues were up. Here’s the hitch: We were still $1.294 trillion in the hole, and it’s easy to shrink a deficit when the previous year’s shortfall included part of TARP and the stimulus on top of lousy tax receipts and the odd trillion for the military. Consequently, both Democrats and Republicans are already campaigning on the news that the astronomical deficit is smaller.
Continue reading …Photo: GulfofMexico2010 It’s a cliched slogan applied to a novel idea — and the result is a memorable bit of anti-oil spill message (not to mention a surefire PR coup). Artist Anthony Burrill took the ageless adage “Oil & Water Do Not Mix”, created a stark design, and used actual oil from the BP Gulf spill to print 200 posters. The following video shows how he did it:… Read the full story on TreeHugger
Continue reading …Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton made it clear on Tuesday that Washington sees a distinction between Bushehr and other nuclear tracks it suspects are meant to give Tehran potential pathways to weapons. (Oct. 26)
Continue reading …Philip Klein at American Spectator looks at the election night plans for the Speaker and the next Speaker: While Republicans have announced that they want to be cautious not to repeat the celebratory images of Democrats partying in 2006 given the economic environment, it’s clear by their choice of venue for their election evening gathering that they’re gearing up for a much bigger night than Democrats. You can tell a lot about a political party’s expectations based on how they plan to spend election night. I remember noticing this back in 2006, after spending the earlier part of that election evening at the National Republican Senatorial Committee headquarters in DC, where a handful of reporters gathered and Elizabeth Dole would pop down every few hours to chat. Then, later in the evening, I wandered over to the Hyatt Regency where Democrats had rented out a massive ballroom, and Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Rahm Emanuel and Harry Reid took the stage with a rock star reception from the audience. However, ABC reports that this time Nancy Pelosi is expected to attent a “Speaker’s Cabinet Election Watch Reception” at the Liaison Hotel, a boutique hotel on Capitol Hill with a total of 10,000 square feet of event and meeting space, according to its website. By contrast, John Boehner will be at a Republican gathering at the downtown Grand Hyatt, which boasts 42,000 square feet of event space plus an additional 7,609 square feet of prefunction space. It certainly sounds like Nancy is not expecting to have much to shout about that night.
Continue reading …Photo: Toyota, if this is really the Prius MPV… Some Have Been Waiting a Long Time for a Hybrid Minivan Autoblog Italy has a supposedly leaked pic of what could very well be the Prius hybrid’s big brother, a Prius MPV with three rows of seats (we mentioned it here: Worldwide Prius Sales Top 2 Million, 2 New Variants Rumored for 2012 ). Google Translate reveals that this hybrid MPV would have “the Prius hybrid HSD platform, composed of 1.8 to Atkinson cycle engine combined with an electric module with a to… Read the full story on TreeHugger
Continue reading …Photo: Mazda Testing Methodology Matters Mazda’s press release about the next general of its “2″ model has been spreading around the net like wildfire in the past few days, and sadly, it seems that many of these stories omit some important facts and focus on “70 MPG OMG LIKE HYBRID!”. While Mazda’s announcement is exciting, I think it’s important to set the record straight and have realistic expectations about what kind of fuel economy the next Mazda2 will deliver…. Read the full story on TreeHugger
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