News

Leave a comment Posted on July 28, 2013July 27, 2013 by Steve Murray Link-Off

Sunday Link-Off: A Different Take

Well, it looks like today will be a busy writing day for me. I have a Formula One post to write for tomorrow. There’s a gaming journalism column that’s probably going to be shorter than I’d like but I’ll try to do it well. Not to mention that I have a couple of reviews that I want up this week.

First, though, it’s time for me to put together the Sunday set of links. Let’s kick this one off with Irina Shayk.

Russia might be very much anti-homosexual but Patrick Burke, founder of You Can Play, says that Russia’s laws don’t mean that countries should punish their athletes by forcing a boycott of the Sochi Olympics. (BuzzFeed)

Bill O’Reilly is saying ridiculous things again. In other news, the sun rose this morning. MSNBC’s Chris Hayes used facts to explain why O’Reilly is wrong. (Mediaite)

Michael Malice takes a rare look inside North Korea and brings back real stories of the people there. (Reason)

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Leave a comment Posted on July 24, 2013July 23, 2013 by Steve Murray Link-Off

Wednesday Link-Off: Apart From the Royal Baby…

I don’t know if you heard but a royal baby was born on Monday. However, since it’s not really a news story and won’t affect 99.99% of us in any way, I won’t be mentioning it here. We have other news that you might have missed. First, though, we have Lithuanian model Edita Vilkeviciute.

Barack Obama might be America’s first black President but he identifies as a black American first. When he says that he could’ve been Trayvon Martin, it’s not hyperbole. (Washington Post)

In case you missed among non-stories, there was a massive breakout of Al Qaeda prisoners from Abu Ghraib prison. (Reuters)

Anthony Weiner is sexting again. This time, he used a pseudonym… Carlos Danger. (Post Politics)

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Leave a comment Posted on July 21, 2013July 20, 2013 by Steve Murray Link-Off

Sunday Link-Off: In Profile

It’s the end of the week so it’s time for the links. While longer form pieces are a little bit harder to write about with none of the usual topics providing much to write about, it should pick up this week.

For now, let’s start the links with Nina Agdal.

Joe Biden might be the butt of many jokes but he just might be the most qualified man to be the next President of the United States. (GQ)

The cover might have been controversial but Rolling Stone magazine did a proper story with their profile of Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. (Rolling Stone)

The EPA headquarters building has been named in honour of Bill Clinton. He’s certainly earned that one. (Washington Post)

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Leave a comment Posted on July 17, 2013July 16, 2013 by Steve Murray Link-Off

Wednesday Link-Off: The Real Point

It’s the middle of the week which means that it’s time for the links. It’s a news heavy set but hopefully you still enjoy. Let’s kick off with South African model Olivia Garson.

The verdict in the George Zimmerman trial certainly brought out some very strong opinions about what this says about race in America. (Gawker)

Is it possible that high levels of news coverage of a trial before it happens could correlate with not guilty verdicts for those defendants. (Washington Post)

A freelance journalist talks about her work in the middle of the Syrian conflict. (Columbia Journalism Review)

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Leave a comment Posted on July 10, 2013July 9, 2013 by Steve Murray Link-Off

Wednesday Link-Off: An Inside Look

It’s the middle of the week which means that it’s time for the links. I think this set of links is pretty solid given the changes in where we’re getting links from. Yes, I’m still going on about having to switch from Google Reader. Damn you, Google! Damn you to hell!

Since Scotsman Andy Murray (AKA Cuz) won Wimbledon, let’s start with Scottish model Amber Anderson.

A look inside the eerily quiet hospital in Lac Megantic following the train explosion. (Toronto Star)

The former military analyst who released the infamous Pentagon Papers says that Edward Snowden made the right call in fleeing America before blowing the whistle. (Washington Post)

Pakistan had a hold of Osama bin Laden ten years ago in a traffic stop. That was just one of a series of incompetent moves that let bin Laden get away. (Daily Telegraph)

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Leave a comment Posted on July 7, 2013July 6, 2013 by Steve Murray Link-Off

Sunday Link-Off: Back Room Politics

Welcome to the first Feedly edition of the link-off. I’ve gone to Feedly to replace Google Reader. It’s not perfect but I think it’s the best replacement. I’m also taking to Reddit to find cool links now too. It’s a bit of a change of sourcing but hopefully you won’t notice too much of a difference.

Anyhow, let’s get this show on the road. First, here’s Canadian model Nicole Williams.

Mohamed Morsi is no longer the president of Egypt. Was this another people’s revolution or did the military intervention make this more of a coup in all but name? (Vice)

The story of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden has gotten more interesting. The leaders of Nicaragua, Venezuela and Bolivia have all said they would grant Snowden asylum. The Americans aren’t happy about that. (RT)

And when you’re in the middle of a controversy, recruiting isn’t a good idea. Right, NSA? (The Guardian)

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Leave a comment Posted on July 3, 2013July 2, 2013 by Steve Murray Link-Off

Wednesday Link-Off: With or Without Google Reader

Welcome to the post-Google Reader era of The Lowdown Blog. So this weekend has seen troubles with me finding a new RSS reader and WordPress screw up image embedding so now most of them won’t work in a paragraph. So I don’t know if the linkdump image is going to be to the right of this paragraph or above. It might eventually sort itself out. I’ve noticed that this has gone retroactive so it looks like some update got pushed down that messed up the layout.

Anyway, let’s start this post with Chrissy Teigen.

Getting kicked out of two of the most popular bands of the 90s would completely devastate most men but Jason Everman isn’t most men. (New York Times)

The iWatch isn’t something that Apple has to make for you or me but it has to make it for their investors. (The Atlantic Wire)

The NRA might blame video games but it looks like Newtown school shooter Adam Lanza was a student of mass murders. (Orlando Sentinel)

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Leave a comment Posted on June 30, 2013June 29, 2013 by Steve Murray Link-Off

Sunday Link-Off: Common Sense Prevailing

It’s the last link-off of the Google Reader era. What am I going to do without it? I basically rely on it to help run my blogging pseudo-empire. Well, I’m boned. In the meantime, here’s our pre-Canada Day linkdump. We have our usual Canada Day fare tomorrow with the F1 recap and analysis on Tuesday.

So let’s start off our day before Canada Day post with Canadian model Andi Muise.

Texas governor Rick Perry is just the worst. He thinks filibustering god Wendy Davis should support a near ban on abortions in Texas because she was a teenage mother. What a fool. (Think Progress)

Rather than allow general trolling, two major newspapers used a new commenting system to categorize the people commenting on stories about gay marriage. (Nieman Lab)

Pandora might be great for us as music lovers but it doesn’t pay to have your music on there. (The Trichordist)

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Leave a comment Posted on June 26, 2013June 25, 2013 by Steve Murray Link-Off

Wednesday Link-Off: The Story Beyond The Story

It’s the middle of the week which means that it’s time for some links. Are you ready for life without Google Reader? Because starting next Wednesday, the linkdump might be in some trouble while I figure out how to do RSS without Google Reader. In the meantime, normal programming continues. Since Wimbledon is this week, let’s kick off this post with Maria Sharapova.

Ezra Klien and Evan Soltas have an interesting theory about NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. He doesn’t exist and is actually an NSA creation to distract the press from digging into PRISM. (Wonkblog)

David Gregory thinks Glenn Greenwald should be charged with aiding and abetting Snowden because DG has no respect for journalism. (Freedom of the Press Foundation)

Yesterday, the US Supreme Court axed a key part of the Voter Rights Act. That’s going to allow some serious skewing of electoral districts and may disinfranchise minorities. (The Guardian)

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Leave a comment Posted on June 19, 2013June 18, 2013 by Steve Murray Link-Off

Wednesday Link-Off: Just the Worst

I’m working on a couple of video games post for the next couple of days, including a fun little column about the gaming industry’s obsession with copying Call of Duty. For now, it’s the middle of the week links. Let’s start off with celebrity chef Giada de Laurentiis.

I know that EA is the twice-defending Worst Company in America but the Bank of America really should have won. (The Consumerist)

Dick Cheney thinks that Edward Snowden is a traitor. Says the man who led America into a fictitious war. (Politicus USA)

Bill Nye has gone from the Science Guy to the Science Warrior. He’s not just teaching kids about science but people who should know better like the media and politicians. (New York Times)

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