†26 June, 2012

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reuters: Day Two of Cat Week here on the Reuters Tumblr. Here’s your cat fact and cat photo of the day. Cat fact: Cats once busted an espionage event at the Holland embassy in Moscow, Russia. Two Siamese cats, much to the annoyance of their owners, kept clawing at the walls of the building and meowing. The cat owners investigated and found microphones inside the walls hidden by Russian spies. The cats apparently heard the microphones when they were activated. [source] Photo: Street musician James Bowen busks with cat Bob in Covent Garden in London March 13, 2012. Bowen has written a book named “A Street Cat Named Bob” about the experiences of the then homeless pair and how they met. [REUTERS/Luke MacGregor] FULL FOCUS: The best Reuters photography over the past 24 hours

reuters:

Day Two of Cat Week here on the Reuters Tumblr. Here’s your cat fact and cat photo of the day.

Cat fact: Cats once busted an espionage event at the Holland embassy in Moscow, Russia. Two Siamese cats, much to the annoyance of their owners, kept clawing at the walls of the building and meowing. The cat owners investigated and found microphones inside the walls hidden by Russian spies. The cats apparently heard the microphones when they were activated. [source]

Photo: Street musician James Bowen busks with cat Bob in Covent Garden in London March 13, 2012. Bowen has written a book named “A Street Cat Named Bob” about the experiences of the then homeless pair and how they met. [REUTERS/Luke MacGregor]

FULL FOCUS: The best Reuters photography over the past 24 hours

‡22 June, 2012

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huffingtonpost:

According the American Pet Products Association, 1.4 million people take their dogs to work every day.

Many offices are becoming dog-friendly, as companies realize both the personal and work benefits of allowing dogs to roam the office.

Aside from the occasional barking and shedding, allowing pets at the workplace is said to increase worker productivity, staff morale and camaraderie. Workers who bring dogs to the office may also be encouraged to work longer hours.

As of 2006, one in five business allowed dogs at the office.

I feel like I need to post this somewhere in my office. 

21 June, 2012

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Why immigration is a solution, not a problem

univisionnews:


“Above all, it is the right thing to do, period” — Pres. Obama announcing new immigration measures on June 15th.

By STEPHEN KEPPEL

President Obama’s announcement last week that he would use executive authority to halt deportations and grant work permits for certain younger undocumented immigrants provoked both celebration and outrage.

Read More

15 October, 2011

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“Dear Occupy Wall Street Protesters”

newsweek:

Stay leaderless and anonymous. It appeared at first that not having a leader, a single face people could relate to, would be your fatal flaw. Now it seems to be the mark of your collective genius. The media would pounce on a leader, or leaders, and reduce your entire movement to a life story, a personality. Now they have nothing to grasp but your ideas, and your outrage. Then, too, leaders can be flattered, rewarded, ego-gratified and tamed. Once someone who speaks for you appears (gulp) on the cover of a national magazine, you’re done for.

Don’t give them any kind of story. They’re waiting for it. They’re waiting for the guy who throws the rock, the girl who overdoses, the person who dies suddenly, mysteriously while camping out. Stay controlled. If the unfortunate or tragic thing happens, move on quickly with something dramatic and serious.

Be inclusive. Protest the government’s indifference to the physical and mental health problems and the often-vulnerable financial circumstances of returning veterans. Cry out against the callousness toward the first responders to the Twin Towers on 9/11. Embrace everyone hurt by the greedheads and their political enablers.

Keep your nature mercurial. Drop leaflets off the top of Trump Tower. March (I love you for wanting to do this) on the millionaires’ (billionaires is more like it) homes. Have some real people with real stories—perhaps their faces covered with black hoods as though they were in government custody; you get the idea—tell their heartbreaking tales of losing their homes, their jobs, their uninsured loved ones to illness. Go faster than the nanosecond news cycle. You will drive the News Brain insane.

Come up with a slogan a day. Something like (forgive my forwardness) “No representation without taxation.” Increase and diversify the velocity of your messages to a maddening pace.

- That’s Lee Siegel, writing on the Beast, with a handful of advice for how Occupy Wall Street can avoid cooptation. 

‡15 October, 2011

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What a way to spend a weekend—at a royal wedding. Here’s our full album of exclusive Bhutan wedding photos, taken by Jered Barclay for Condé Nast Traveler.

(Source: condenasttraveler)

†7 October, 2011

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minnpost: OccupyMN Day 1: Tweets, photos, and other dispatches Also, check out more of Terry’s protest photos in our OccupyMN slideshow.

minnpost:

OccupyMN Day 1: Tweets, photos, and other dispatches

Also, check out more of Terry’s protest photos in our OccupyMN slideshow.

†5 October, 2011

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minnpost: New report shows dramatic differences in lives of Minneapolis residents of color, whites Median household income is $45,538 and the median home value is $220,900. Almost one-quarter of the city’s residents live in poverty.

minnpost:

New report shows dramatic differences in lives of Minneapolis residents of color, whites

Median household income is $45,538 and the median home value is $220,900. Almost one-quarter of the city’s residents live in poverty.

※16 September, 2011

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Dognappings have risen 49% in the U.S. in 2011.

Watch your dogs, kids! 

Probably watch your kids, too. 

(Source: nprfunfacts)

†13 September, 2011

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shortformblog: thedailyfeed: He didn’t know anyone was watching, but as Robert Peraza, 68, fell to one knee, bowed his head and placed his left hand over his son’s name at the National September 11 Memorial, a photographer with a long lens captured the very private moment. Overnight, the photo went viral, becoming the iconic image of the 10th anniversary of 9/11. [more] An amazing photo. An amazing story. An amazing reflection.

shortformblog:

thedailyfeed:

He didn’t know anyone was watching, but as Robert Peraza, 68, fell to one knee, bowed his head and placed his left hand over his son’s name at the National September 11 Memorial, a photographer with a long lens captured the very private moment. Overnight, the photo went viral, becoming the iconic image of the 10th anniversary of 9/11. [more]

An amazing photo. An amazing story. An amazing reflection.

(via shortformblog)

※23 August, 2011

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5.8 magnitude quake shakes Virginia, felt across Northeastern U.S.

(Source: breakingnews)

※22 August, 2011

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The median wealth of a white family in 2009 was 20 times greater than that of the average black family, and 18 times greater than the average Hispanic family.

nprfunfacts:

In other words, the average white family had $113,149 in net worth, compared to $6,325 for Hispanics and $5,677 for blacks.

That’s the largest gap since the government began collecting the data a quarter of a century ago, and twice what it was before the start of the Great Recession.

†4 August, 2011

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shortformblog: thedailyfeed: Shockingly brazen thieves defaced a memorial that commemorates the collapse of the deadly Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis. Two days after its unveiling, more than two dozen letters had been ripped from the memorial’s granite wall. Designed by local landscape architect Tom Oslund, the letters were part of sentence that read: “Our lives are not only defined by what happens, but by how we act in the face of it, not only by what life brings to us, but by what we bring to life. Selfless actions and compassion create enduring community out of tragic events.” The missing letters, which are valued at $4,000, left behind largely unreadable sentences upon the surface of the black wall. To avoid confusion, officials decided to remove the remaining letters until new ones can be fabricated. This is lame. But at the same time, you gotta wonder why the design made the letters so easy to remove. Not cool. 

shortformblog:

thedailyfeed:

Shockingly brazen thieves defaced a memorial that commemorates the collapse of the deadly Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis. Two days after its unveiling, more than two dozen letters had been ripped from the memorial’s granite wall.

Designed by local landscape architect Tom Oslund, the letters were part of sentence that read: “Our lives are not only defined by what happens, but by how we act in the face of it, not only by what life brings to us, but by what we bring to life. Selfless actions and compassion create enduring community out of tragic events.”

The missing letters, which are valued at $4,000, left behind largely unreadable sentences upon the surface of the black wall. To avoid confusion, officials decided to remove the remaining letters until new ones can be fabricated.

This is lame. But at the same time, you gotta wonder why the design made the letters so easy to remove.

Not cool. 

(via shortformblog)

†1 August, 2011

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stuffaboutminneapolis: A MFD firefighter gives a kitten oxygen after it was found in a house that exploded. 2 people are hurt. via Melissa Martz on twitter. News story here

stuffaboutminneapolis:

A MFD firefighter gives a kitten oxygen after it was found in a house that exploded. 2 people are hurt.

via Melissa Martz on twitter. News story here