Russians dealt a blow to Vladimir Putin, the longtime president, in elections last week. After years of unquestionable power in Russia, Putin’s glory is finally beginning to decline. His United Russia’s Party in Parliament lost it’s grasp on the legislature, losing it’s majority of 67% to less than 50%. Without his party in power, Putin won’t be able to get things done the way he used to. And when he runs for reelection in March, he’ll face a steeper uphill battle. Some think this is the beginning of a ‘Russian Spring,’ with young people uprising against the government the way they did in the Middle East earlier this year. Putin must think so too, because he ordered students to school on a Saturday to prevent them from gathering. School on a Saturday? Oh helll nooo. Not the way to win students’ approval…

A gunman shot and killed a Virginia Tech university police officer on Thursday, then turned the gun on himself. The event happened only four years after the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre, when 33 people were killed by a disturbed student. The school immediately went on lockdown when the murdered officer Deriek Crouse was discovered. Authorities issued the all-clear four hours later when they found the shooter dead in a nearby parking lot, apparently by his own hand.

A presidential debate scheduled to be moderated by Donald Trump is causing drama within the Republican Party. The event is supposed to be on December 27th, but as that date approaches, candidates are dropping out like players in a never-ending game of beer pong. Ron Paul said the debate would be undignified and “circus-like.” John Huntsman also declined, and famous GOP strategist Karl Rove said it should be cancelled. Newt Gingrich, the current frontrunner, is in though. To me, this sounds like it would be extremely entertaining to watch… so I say why not? Whenever someone says something stupid, the Donald can fire them! And then they can be ejected from the stage! Clearly I have a future in television.

Pic o’ the Week:

REUTERS/ Phil Noble

Male- and female!- Santas ran a 5K in Liverpool, England. I know it’s cold out, but I would not want to run in that outfit!

Another woman accused Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain of sexual harassment in the 1990s. Cain was working as a Washington lobbyist heading the National Restaurant Association at the time. Three of his former female coworkers claim that he acted extremely inappropriately towards them, inviting them back to his apartment, commenting on their appearance, and making overtly sexual gestures. Of course, many are doubting the validity of these claims- the women have yet to come forward and identify themselves. When the news first broke at the beginning of the week, many thought Cain, the frontrunner at the time, was dunzo. Surprisingly, Cain’s lead has actually grown this week. He’s raised an additional $1.2 million in campaign funds and has strengthened poll numbers.

Dippin’ Dots has some serious money problems. ‘The Ice Cream of the Future’?? Not so much. On Thursday, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in attempt to avoid foreclosure. With $11 million in loans, there are serious doubts whether the brand can save itself. I remember the first time I had Dippin’ Dots…my life was never the same again. Well, no, not really…but I really will miss those teensy tinesy pearls of frozen ice cream if the company can’t pull itself together. Where would malls and amusement parks be without them?

Cash-strapped Groupon sold off 4.7% of its shares on Friday. It’s insane to think that Groupon — a coupon service used by almost every city dweller I know — is so in trouble that they had to make the company public. But they did, and it went well. The IPO (Initial Public Offering) opened at a price of $28 per share and closed at $26.11, peaking at a high $31.14 in between. In the end, the IPO made the company $700 million. Enough, hopefully, to salvage the unprofitable coupon website that lost a total of $214 million this year. The price per share means the total company is worth about $13 billion, a number lots of commentators are doubtful of. People just got excited, they say, and bought up the new stocks, but the prices will drop quickly… so sell, sell, sell. Not that any of us probably bought Groupon stock anyway, but hey, you never know.

Andy Rooney, the legendary commentator from 60 Minutes, passed away on Friday at the age of 92. Rooney only stopped delivering his trademark cranky and wry send-offs this year. He started in 1978, and never missed a week, which makes a total of 1,097 different pieces. Rooney was in the army, wrote several books, wrote a newspaper column, and won a Peabody Award, but what really got him famous (of course) was his time at CBS. Here are a couple of my favorite Andy Rooney quotes from over the years: “Over the past few years, more money has been spent on breast implants and Viagra than is spent on Alzheimer’s Disease research, it is believed that by the year 2030 there will be a large number of people wandering around with huge breasts and erections — who can’t remember what to do with them.” “If you smile when no one else is around, you really mean it.”

Pic o’ the Week:

Even though the Occupy movement started on Wall Street, things are really heating up in Oakland. On Wednesday, thousands of protestors headed to the city’s port, eventually closing it down completely. Even worse, things got scary at night, when both police and protestors got increasingly violent.

(Robert Galbraith, Reuters)

This is what $14 Million looks like. (Funny, I thought there would be more gold….)

Is my iPhone really killing me?

Thank God for CollegeCandy, especially now that our favorite magazine is folding.

People say my standards are too high, but would do date this man?

Sleeping in until noon is not bad; it makes you smarter!

Paris Hilton’s mama fights back against John McCain. Looks like the Repubs lost a little financing, eh?

Sexual harrassment is A-OK. In fact, it is necessary for the future of our species. Duh.

Please, Tyra. PLEASE. Don’t ruin this election for the rest of us.

Are you a nailbiter? Smoker? “Like” sayer? Quit that nasty habit overnight!

Don’t mess with Tracy Turnblatt. Fo real.

This past Wednesday, April 16th, Senators Clinton and Obama faced off for the twenty-sixth time.

Now I must admit– I have long since stopped caring about the debates and I am dangerously close to apathy with regards to the DNC.

Moreover, I am of the opinion that after the first few debates they become pointless and simply a chance for candidates to get free TV time.

A debate could be held where moderators ask questions and the studio uses old footage of the candidates answering because seriously guys—THERE IS NOTHING NEW TO ADD!

Take this last debate for instance:

The first portion concerned a controversial comment Obama made two weeks ago while in San Francisco. He stated that small towns in Pennsylvania and elsewhere have been seeing jobs disappear over the past 25 years.

“It’s not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations,”

He later apologized for the poor wording of his statement, saying that the underlying truth of his statement remained unchanged—people are rightfully frustrated because they have seen their way of life drastically and unapologetically changed over the past few years.

Clinton and McCain both took the opportunity to label Obama as an elitist out of touch with the electorate.

The debate, then, was simply a chance for Hilary to continue her attack and Barack to continue his defense.

Moderator George Stephanopolous then turned on the heat asking each candidate if the he/she thought the other could beat Senator McCain.

Are you kidding me? What kind of question is that and why should I as a voter give a damn if Obama thinks Clinton could win or vice versa?

Discussion then turned to good ol’ Reverent Jeremiah Wright. I don’t know about you, but I’m a bit sick of that whole controversy—yes the man made really horribly insensitive comments- concerning HIV and concerning 9/11. But he’s not the guy on the ballot.

Regardless, however, this issue is being beaten to death. The next question Stephanopoulos asked says it all: “Do you think Reverend Wright loves America as much as you do?” – Dear George—as a voter I really don’t care whether Obama or Reverend Wright love America more—love as an emotion has little to do with the nuts and bolts of leadership and governance.

But even when the debate finally got away from the mud-slinging the rest was equally predictable:

Both candidates opposed McCain’s stance on the economy.

Both reiterated their opposition to Iran as a nuclear power.

Both also stated that they were committed to pulling the troops out or Iraq.

So I rest my case—by the 26th time around, a debate is a total waste of time. So why do they happen?

In the end I think it’s simply part of the “great game” of politics. The song that never ends…