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Sandusky’s lawyer gives phone number for gay sex line
Jerry Sandusky’s attorney really isn’t doing him any favors.
Sandusky, the former Penn State assistant coach who has been accused of over 50 counts of sexual assault against young boys, waived his preliminary hearing this morning. His attorney, Joseph Amendola, then addressed the media in an impassioned — if horribly misguided — manner.
Amendola announced that anyone who believes that Sandusky is a child molester should call “1-800-REALITY.” The folks at Deadspin did, and this is what they discovered:
1-800-REALITY is a gay sex line that offers “the hottest place for triple-x action … Just 99 cents per minute.”
Whoops.
more
http://blog.sfgate.com/hottopics/2011/12/13/sandusky’s-lawyer-gives-phone-number-for-gay-sex-line/
The 10 Worst Fast Food Trends of 2011
By Nick Rallo Mon., Dec. 12 2011 at 11:01 AM
Last year, Planet Earth sorrowfully asked mankind "Why, dear peoples, why?" after the invention of something sinister and bizarre: KFC's Double Down.
Well, congratulations, 2011: You are the mind-fuck of a fast food year that actually found a way to add to the Famous Bowl, to create McDonald's mind-control television, to create a soda that's "not for women" and to literally, actually vilify vegetables.
[slow clap]
Who knows what they'll do in 2012? Maybe Pizza Hut will build new restaurants actually encased in cheese, and you have to eat your way to the door. Or Taco Bell will synergize with the March of Dimes and create a street made entirely of reinforced taco shell.
For now, though, we're pointing the finger at you, This Year. We're targeting the most insane, over-the-top conceptual abominations (to health and society) and trends released by the fast-moving food industries.
more
http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/cityofate/2011/12/the_10_worst_fast_food_abomina.php
Texas Billboards Blast Community Colleges for Low Graduation Rates
It's no secret that four-year universities are struggling to increase graduation rates, but the situation is even more dire at the nation's community colleges. According to federal data, only 22 percent of community college students complete their degrees within three years. Now, the Texas Association of Business is bringing attention to that state's dismal community college graduation rates through a series of billboards.
The latest ad, running in Dallas, blasts the Dallas County Community College District with the message "8% of DCCCD students graduate in 3 years. Is that fair to the students?" A similar billboard ran in Austin in October advertising that city's 4 percent community college graduation rate.
Bill Hammond, the association's president, says his organization wants to push the state legislature to tie community college funding to graduation rates. "We're looking at a massive shortage of educated workforce unless we increase the productivity of education in Texas," Hammond told The Texas Tribune. "Overall, two-thirds of the jobs of the future will require some post-secondary degree or certificate." TAB believes if the state gets tough on the community college system, the graduation rate could rise to 60 percent.
But Dallas County Community College District Chancellor Wright Lassiter is defending the state's two-year schools. He wrote a letter to the Tribune expressing disappointment that TAB is attacking "the workhorse and largest sector of the Texas higher education system" instead of supporting "investment in community colleges." Lassiter says DCCCD students don't graduate within three years "because they do not or cannot attend classes full-time." He also points out that many students also never graduate from community college because they go on and transfer to a four-year school. "You should ask our students if they think our cost, convenience, flexibility and quality of classes are fair and whether we make higher education accessible," Lassiter wrote.
more
http://www.good.is/post/texas-billboards-blast-community-colleges-for-low-graduation-rates/
Jerry Brown announces new cuts to state spending
Wyatt Buchanan, Chronicle Sacramento Bureau
Tuesday, December
(12-13) 14:21 PST Sacramento --
State spending on higher education, K-12 education, social services, public safety and other programs will be cut by about $1 billion next month because tax revenues coming into California's treasury this year will not meet expectations, Gov. Jerry Brown announced today.
But public schools can breathe a partial sigh of relief: The governor's office said K-12 education will face a $327 million cut from their budgets midyear, instead of the more than $1 billion reduction that would have occurred if revenues had been even worse. That reduction in spending will begin Feb. 1; the other cuts will take effect Jan. 1.
The automatic midyear cuts were included as part of the budget agreement in June to show Wall Street that the state was serious about balancing its budget. In the final days of budget deliberations, state leaders added an additional $4 billion in anticipated revenue assumptions; the trigger cuts were included in the event that $4 billion did not materialize.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/12/13/BAI81MBUEJ.DTL&tsp=1
Apple founding documents sell for $1.6 million
By Mikey Campbell
Published: 05:10 PM EST (02:10 PM PST)
The original contract from 1976 that Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne signed to formally found the Apple Computer Company was sold at auction for more than ten times its estimated value.
When the hammer dropped at Sotheby's books and manuscript auction on Tuesday, the final price of the contract and associated documents came in at $1,594,500 with the buyer's premium, a more than tenfold increase over the $150,000 price tag that experts had initially estimated.
Bidding started at $70,000 for the lot and reached seven digit territory after only ten minutes on the block. The winning offer came from an unidentified phone bidder who paid $1.35 million plus a buyer's premium of $244,500 to own the historic tech documents.
The legally-binding document signed by the three co-founders was originally owned by the Wayne, who was granted a 10% stake in the company after having successfully persuaded Wozniak, who at the time worked for Hewlett-Packard, to join Apple.
more
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/11/12/13/apple_founding_documents_sell_for_1_6_million.html
New super PAC roars to Newt Gingrich's aid
By Melanie Mason
December 13, 2011, 11:33 a.m.
A new super PAC has arrived to come to the aid of Newt Gingrich’s ascendant presidential campaign, one that is well-positioned to tap into the donor network the former House speaker has cultivated since leaving Congress.
The group, called “Winning Our Future” is led by Becky Burkett, who has experience in soliciting big checks for Gingrich-backed endeavors. She was previously handled donor outreach for Gingrich’s Washington-based nonprofit, American Solutions for Winning the Future. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the group raked in $28.2 million in the 2010 election cycle, including $1 million from Las Vegas Sands Chief Executive Sheldon Adelson and six-figure checks from companies such as Peabody Energy.
(Does all the “winning the future” talk sound familiar? It’s also President Obama’s catchphrase for promoting American innovation, a theme unveiled at last January’s State of the Union address. Gingrich has used the phrase for years, even penning a 2005 book with that title.)
“We are motivated by the fact that Americans must make the right choice next November at the ballot box or this great nation will not be recognizable,” Burkett said in a statement. “What is so exciting is that more and more Americans are beginning to realize that Newt Gingrich is the right choice and Barack Obama is the wrong choice. And so, we are proud to be part of an effort to enhance the momentum he has created."
more
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-new-super-pac-newt-gingrich-20111213,0,6306495.story
Billionaire Paul Allen launches new commercial space company
Seattle billionaire and Microsoft Corp. co-founder Paul Allen is launching a new commercial space travel company that would carry tourists into orbit with the help of Southern California aerospace pioneer Burt Rutan.
The Huntsville, Ala., company, named Stratolaunch Systems, promises to bring “airport-like operations to the launch of commercial and government payloads and, eventually, human missions.” The company plans for a first flight within five years.
In a news conference Tuesday, Rutan and former NASA chief Mike Griffin said they joined Stratolaunch as board members. Along with Allen, the trio introduced the company’s novel idea of launching payloads into orbit aboard what would be the largest aircraft ever flown.
The plane is set to have a wingspan of 385 feet and be powered by six engines found on Boeing Co.’s 747 jumbo jets. The wingspan is 67 feet longer than Howard Hughes’ H-4 Hercules, dubbed Spruce Goose, and bigger than the length of a football field.
The plane will be developed by Mojave-based Scaled Composites, an aerospace design shop founded by Rutan in 1982.
more
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/money_co/2011/12/paul-allen-stratolaunch-systems-burt-rutan-space.html
Trillion-Dollar Jet Has Thirteen Expensive New Flaws
By David Axe Email Author December 13, 2011
The most expensive weapons program in U.S. history is about to get a lot pricier.
The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, meant to replace nearly every tactical warplane in the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, was already expected to cost $1 trillion dollars for development, production and maintenance over the next 50 years. Now that cost is expected to grow, owing to 13 different design flaws uncovered in the last two months by a hush-hush panel of five Pentagon experts. It could cost up to a billion dollars to fix the flaws on copies of the jet already in production, to say nothing of those yet to come.
In addition to costing more, the stealthy F-35 could take longer to complete testing. That could delay the stealthy jet’s combat debut to sometime after 2018 — seven years later than originally planned. And all this comes as the Pentagon braces for big cuts to its budget while trying to save cherished but costly programs like the Joint Strike Fighter.
Frank Kendall, the Pentagon’s top weapons-buyer, convened the so-called “Quick Look Review” panel in October. Its report — 55 pages of dense technical jargon and intricate charts — was leaked this weekend. Kendall and company found a laundry list of flaws with the F-35, including a poorly placed tail hook, lagging sensors, a buggy electrical system and structural cracks.
more
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/12/joint-strike-fighter-13-flaws/
Study confirms alcohol can lead to unsafe sex
by Michael Henrich
Posted: 12.13.2011 at 4:53 AM
Consuming alcohol is now directly linked to having unsafe sex, according a study published in the January issue of the journal Addiction.
"In other words, the more you drink, the stronger becomes your intention to engage in unsafe sex," editors wrote in a summary published on the journal's website.
Researchers said unprotected sex is the most important pathway to HIV infection and therefore this research about the impact of alcohol should be included in HIV prevention materials.
The study examined the results of 12 experiments that tested the cause-and-effect relationship between unsafe sex and alcohol consumption, the journal's editors wrote. An increase in blood alcohol level of 0.1 mg/mL resulted in a 5% increase in the likelihood of engaging in unprotected sex, the study concluded.
"This result also helps explain why people at risk often show this behaviour despite better knowledge: alcohol is influencing their decision processes," said Dr. J. Rehm, the study's Principal Investigator.
http://www.northwestohio.com/news/story.aspx?id=696626#.Tue-LmBxudy
From the department of obvious science conclusions...
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