Liberty Newspost Aug-14-10

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You can take it to the bank: Unbowed Maxine says she won’t cut a deal Susan Cornwell (Front Row Washington)

is below ground. She flayed the ethics committee for having not yet set a hearing in her case. Submitted at 8/13/2010 1:26:18 PM The House ethics panel accused She broke no rules, she has no Waters of three counts of regrets, and she won’t cut a deal breaking House rules earlier this w i t h t h e U . S . H o u s e o f month for allegedly assisting a R e p r e s e n t a t i v e s e t h i c s bank in which her husband was c o m m i t t e e . T h a t w a s t h e a stockholder get help from the message a defiant Democratic federal government. lawmaker Maxine Waters had The case comes on the heels of for the media on Friday. 13 charges by the ethics panel T h e 1 0 - t e r m C a l i f o r n i a against Representative Charles representative brought her Rangel, a New York Democrat, trademark feistiness to a lengthy adding to the woes of President news conference in the bowels Obama’s party in Congress as it of the U.S. Capitol. Her chief of s t r u g g l e s t o m a i n t a i n i t s staff Mikael Moore (who also majority in mid-term elections happens to be her grandson) this fall. went through the ethics charges The charges against Waters against her, and her defense center on whether she helped against them in mind-numbing OneUnited Bank get a meeting detail. with U.S. Treasury officials at “I won’t go behind closed doors. the onset of the financial crisis I won’t cut a deal. I will in the autumn of 2008. The continue to talk about the fact bank, in which her husband held t h a t I h a v e n o t v i o l a t e d stock, later received $12 million anything,” Waters declared at in federal bailout funds. the news conference in the But Waters said on Friday that Capitol Visitors’ Center, which she had called then-Treasury

Secretary Henry Paulson to request that officials meet with the National Bankers Association, which consists of 103 minority banks, not to ask for a meeting with any particular bank. The OneUnited Bank official who later went to the meeting, Robert Cooper, also served at the time as chairmanelect of the association. Neither Paulson nor Waters participated

If she had it to do again, “I would probably do the same thing.” When a reporter asked if she did not think there was at least an appearance of a conflict of interest, Waters shot back: “No, I don’t, and you can’t define appearance.” Asked if her husband still had shares in the bank, she said, “yes he does.” They had fallen in value and “nobody wants to buy them.” Waters, who turns 72 years old on Sunday, said she called the press conference because “if you are going to write about the in the meeting. story, you need to know what Waters added that at the time you are writing about.” But her she placed the call to Paulson, staff did not make it easy for the bank bailout program that some reporters, saying the event later became known as TARP was by invitation only, even as ( T r o u b l e d A s s e t R e l i e f parts of it were shown live on Program) did not yet exist. CNN. The congresswoman said she Photo credit: Reuters/Larry had spent decades “opening Downing (Waters talks with doors and providing access for Federal Reserve Chairman Ben small, minority, and women Bernanke in September 2009) businesses … This is what I do.”


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Washington Extra – cautionary tale Tabassum Zakaria (Front Row Washington) Submitted at 8/13/2010 4:19:07 PM

President Barack Obama signed a $600 million bill to strengthen border security, and just to make sure the message got through, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano took the podium at today’s White House media briefing. Immigration has always been a tough political issue, and in an election year no great strides are expected on major reform before the November vote. “It cannot only be done by Democrats. The Republicans need to come to the table,” Napolitano said. The American consumer is still a cautionary tale. But consumer sentiment appears to have stabilized in August after dropping sharply in July. “Consumers are still cautious, but it is not double-dip material,” said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group. In a separate report, U.S. retail sales rose in July but showed hints of lingering economic softness. And finally, I tried to find something positive to say about Friday the 13th and realized there’s no need, because it’s still Friday! Here are our top stories from today… Obama signs $600 million border security bill President Barack Obama signed

a $600 million bill to beef up security on the border with Mexico, and his aides pressed lawmakers to set aside electionyear politics and work toward broader immigration reform. With illegal immigration seen as a key issue in the November congressional elections, the administration touted the border enforcement plan as laying the groundwork for a revived effort to overhaul the immigration system. For more by Matt Spetalnick, click here. Retail sales tepid but sentiment finds a footing Retail sales rebounded in July but showed hints of lingering economic softness, as did inflation data showing underlying price pressures stuck at their lowest level since the 1960s. The reports offer the latest evidence that the U.S. economy has slowed considerably in recent months, but were sufficiently firm to dispel, for now, fears of a renewed downturn. For the full story by Pedro Nicolaci da Costa, click here. Analysis: Senate ready for round 2 on drilling regulation Lingering concern among voters about BP’s massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico means that efforts to tighten regulations on offshore drilling will continue in the U.S. Congress even with the well plugged and the oil dissipated.

committee. That was the message a defiant Democratic lawmaker Maxine Waters had for the media. The 10-term California representative brought her trademark feistiness to a lengthy news conference in the bowels of the Capitol. To read Susan Cornwell’s full blog, click here. To read more from Front Row Washington, click here. And from elsewhere… New York flight attendant’s But getting major legislation Crawley and Caren Bohan, click angry exit wins him fans p a s s e d w i l l b e a n u p h i l l here. JetBlue flight attendant Steven struggle. With Republicans Clinton prods Netanyahu on Slater, who stormed off his job eyeing gains in the Nov. 2 Mideast peace talks this week with some profanities c o n g r e s s i o n a l e l e c t i o n s , Secretary of State Hillary and a dramatic exit down an Democrats will face fierce Clinton spoke with Israeli Prime inflated emergency chute, has campaign-year opposition on all Minister Benjamin Netanyahu struck a chord with nearly major initiatives. about issues blocking direct everyone who has dreamed of For the full story by Richard peace talks with the Palestinians quitting a job in anger. “Free Cowan, click here. as the Obama administration Steven Slater” t-shirts are on GM IPO seen as victory for boosted pressure for talks to sale, an animated reenactment of Obama on auto bailout begin, the State Department Monday’s exchange between General Motors Co standing on s a i d . C l i n t o n t e l e p h o n e d Slater and a passenger at New its own again in the capital N e t a n y a h u o n T h u r s d a y Y o r k ’ s J o h n F . K e n n e d y markets would be a victory for evening, and also discussed the I n t e r n a t i o n a l A i r p o r t h a s President Barack Obama as he issue with the foreign ministers become an online hit, and begins to trumpet auto bailouts of Jordan and Egypt, State musicians are writing ballads in as a policy success ahead of the Department spokesman P.J. homage to the fed-up flight N o v e m b e r e l e c t i o n s . T h e Crowley said. attendant. Treasury is heavily involved in For the full story by Andrew To read more of this story, click the mechanics of selling its 60 Quinn, click here. here. percent federal stake in GM and What we are blogging… Burger and a statin to go? Or shedding the “Government You can take it to the bank: hold that, please? Motors” label. But the White Unbowed Maxine says she Fast food outlets should hand House says it has no role in the won’t cut a deal out free cholesterol-lowering share offering expected to be She broke no rules, she has no statin drugs to their customers to unveiled next week and floated regrets, and she won’t cut a deal “neutralize” the heart risks of on Wall Street this fall. with the House of WASHINGTON page 3 For the full story by John R e p r e s e n t a t i v e s e t h i c s


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Cyberwar Against WikiLeaks? Good Luck With That

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eating fatty foods like burgers and fries, British scientists suggested. But a few experts say you might want to ask your server to hold the statin at this point. To read more of this story, click

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Kevin Poulsen (Wired Top Stories) Submitted at 8/13/2010 6:30:00 PM

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Not Too Hot, Not Too Cold--How to Please an EV Battery David Zax (Fast Company) Submitted at 8/13/2010 5:35:56 PM

In the coming electric car wars, Coda Automotive, which we've written about before, is one of the scrappiest contenders. The start-up car company wants to take on established giants like Chevy and Nissan, and it’s planning to deliver its first cars to customers by the end of this year (for something like 37 grand, after the federal rebate). Folks who choose to buy electric will probably let appearance be a major deciding factor, and Coda actually takes pride in its plainness. But looking at the inward anatomy of the car is just as important, and Coda has recently filed patents enabling it to give a closer look under the hood. Or under the chassis, rather. The core of the Coda is the battery—700 pounds of cells, five feet long by four feet wide, running beneath the cabin. Batteries, like people, can be

finicky about the weather. If they get too hot, they age prematurely; if they get too cool, you don’t get the range you need. Different EV companies have tackled this problem in different ways. Nissan, for its upcoming Leaf, has opted for a passive thermal management, using just an internal fan to evenly distribute

heat (Wired.com’s Darryl Siry called this “cut[ting] corners on the most critical aspect of electric vehicle technology”). Coda, for its part, is using an active thermal management system: the same HVAC system that cools and heats the car’s cabin also cools and heats the battery. Here’s how it works. Say the

battery is becoming too hot. The car’s HVAC system produces cool air, sending it down to the battery. But here the engineers encountered a sort of spatial puzzle. “Air heats up as it moves along the cooling path,” Coda engineer Broc TenHouten tells Fast Company. The simplest thing might be to simply send the cool air along

the five-foot length of the battery. Rather than do that, Coda’s engineers struck on an idea. Their design pulls the air into the center of the battery, and then has it radiate out through little rivulets across the battery's width. “By shortening the distance the air needs to travel, you reduce thermal gradient in the pack,” says TenHouten. It’s a neat piece of engineering geekery. But it’s hard to imagine that it will make the difference when consumers come to make their choice. With its competitors offering a lower price ($33,500 for the Chevy Volt, and around $25,000 for the Nissan Leaf, after a rebate), Coda may have to make its case that it’s design is superior more loudly and persuasively if it wants to wind up the victorious one in the David vs. Goliath narrative it's concocted for itself.


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Think OPEC Exports Won't Decline? You're Living In A Dreamworld Gregor MacDonald (Business Insider) Submitted at 8/14/2010 8:07:00 AM

At the EIA’s International Energy Outlook(IEO) presentation this May the issue of future oil exports from OPEC nations came up, and in an interesting way. Readers may be familiar with the phenomenon of declining net exports, from major oil producing nations, as a result of internal demand from growing, domestic populations. The phenomenon was modelled last decade by Jeffrey Brown and Samuel Foucher. Their Export-Land Model showed that the rate of decline from oil exporters can become quite accelerated. While that may seem obvious, it was a point worth making last decade when it was widely presumed that gross production from large oil producing nations was largely available for export. The tipping, of both the UK and Indonesia, from net oil exporters to net oil importers should have put an end to such a presumption. More importantly, the rise of domestic oil consumption in Saudi Arabia was also a warning. Saudi oil exports have declined now for five years. Given that Saudi Arabia’s exports have already been in

decline for some time, it was surprising to hear EIA Deputy Administrator Howard Gruenspecht not only fail to acknowledge that fact, but forecast a rather sanguine outlook on future OPEC export supply in the IEO May press conference. It is particularly noteworthy that he gave such an empty and meaningless answer to the questioner, James Schlesinger former Energy Secretary under Carter, who made a point of probing in this

exact area. | see: dialogue starting after the 37:00 minute mark of Video: International Energy Outlook 2010. Secretary Schlesinger:…we see the growth of demand within the OPEC countries, domestic demand, and some of the projections show internal demand in Saudi Arabia rising to 8-9 million barrels a day as opposed to your top projection of 15 million barrels per day…similarly with other OPEC nations …the consequences

being less oil available for export to the international market. Have you factored that into your projections, and what might the implications be? Howard Gruenspecht:…we think that in the OPEC region, there will be an interest in substituting natural gas for the growth in domestic oil demand in the mid-east region, which does tend to free up oil for the world market. And there you have it. An answer that only a post-war

economist could give: soaring domestic demand for oil in OPEC nations, already cutting into exports, will dial back in the years ahead and convert to natural gas–in order to free up oil for exports…to us here in the West! I had to replay the exchange several times, to get the full measure of Greunspecht’s ridiculous answer. Readers are encouraged to listen to the exchange to get THINK page 5


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a full measure of the cavalier manner in which Gruensphect, who is clearly out of his depth, answered Schlesinger’s other questions. While the EIA’s future projections remain a largely theatrical exercise, and are demonstrably unserious, there is another critical resource balance coming into play between Middle East states and the rest of the world in the area of food, and agricultural land. As you might imagine, arable land in the Middle East is not exactly found in an optimal ratio to those growing populations. And this is why Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Saudi investors have gone into Africa. Below is a very good graphic published last year by the Economist Magazine, which accompanied their article: Outsourcing’s Third Wave. According to the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development (AOAD), the Arab nations are suffering from a persistent shortage in all types of farm products and the gap has steadily worsened over

the past two decades. Food imports into the Middle East have soared to new highs, and are now running above $25 billion a year on a net basis. There is a particular need, and shortage, of cereals and grains. Is it any wonder that central and eastern Africa has become a target for Middle East nations, looking to lease easily improved farmland? While the EIA’s IEO 2010 correctly notes the trend to further world reliance on OPEC oil as Non-OPEC oil production growth stalls out, clearly the demographic trends as expressed by food demand are another way to see how wrong the EIA’s forecast has become, about future oil available for export. Also according to the AOAD: The Arab population was estimated at nearly 351 million at the end of 2009. Since 1990, it has grown by nearly 2.34 per cent annually compared with global growth of about 1.16 per cent. Accordingly, not only will Middle East nations need more of their own fossil fuels to fund

domestic construction, but the improvement of leased, foreign farmland to match their above trend population growth will also require fossil fuels. To the declining oil export model of Brown and Foucher, it appears we will need a new model of Increasing Agricultural Imports to the Middle East. As for the EIA’s call that these nations will somehow level off their demand for oil, and switch to natural gas? That makes no sense at all. On a number of levels. The Middle East is not going to voluntarily transition away from oil, even marginally. And, the natural gas that our flaky EIA in Washington imagines will be used to “substitute for oil” will instead be used for new power generation and to make fertilizer. - Gregor Join the conversation about this story »

If Snooki Can Beat Viacom, Is the Hollywood Business Model in Trouble? Steven Mallas (BloggingStocks) Submitted at 8/14/2010 12:10:00 PM

Filed under: Television, Time Warner (TWX), Walt Disney (DIS), Viacom (VIA), News Corp'B' (NWS), Media World I've been thinking about the whole Jersey Shore zeitgeist. You know the show. It's on Viacom's ( VIA) MTV. It's a huge hit, everyone is talking about it and its stars (Snooki, The Situation, etc.). It also was mentioned in a recent conference call the media company had with investors. It was reported that the cast was able to significantly increase its salary for the reality series. When I first heard about the demands, I mused to myself that this was a grand opportunity for Hollywood to say no to minor celebrities. After all, it's just a reality show, folks. Even though Snooki is immensely popular,

there are many more Snookitype individuals out there. Dime -a-dozen comes to mind when thinking of the goofy girl with the poofy coif. Continue reading If Snooki Can Beat Viacom, Is the Hollywood Business Model in Trouble? If Snooki Can Beat Viacom, Is the Hollywood Business Model in Trouble? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 14 Aug 2010 12:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Comments Jersey Shore- Walt DisneyViacom- Time WarnerBloggingStocks

One of Apple's mid-level supply chain managers was arrested for allegedly taking more than $1 million in kickbacks f... (Business Insider) Submitted at 8/14/2010 9:40:03 AM

One of Apple's mid-level supply chain managers was arrested for allegedly taking

more than $1 million in kickbacks from Asian companies that make iPhone

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and iPod accessories. Join the conversation about this story »


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TED and Teaching Ourselves With Technology Anya Kamenetz (Fast Company)

playback music, to improve their English through voice recognition software, to learn Submitted at 8/13/2010 4:27:21 PM about biotech, and even to raise T h e m o s t r e c e n t T E D test scores. g a t h e r i n g , T E D G l o b a l i n The method to his madness is Oxford, highlighted the theme encouraging young people to of the future of education--and e x p l o r e , t o f o l l o w t h e i r Chris Anderson's own talk curiosity, and to collaborate. hinted at how TED sees itself as R a t h e r t h a n e m p o w e r i n g a potential part of that future. teachers with the ultimate Sugata Mitra, of the Hole in the authority to tell students the Wall education project, spoke at right answers and the right T E D G l o b a l . I ' v e b e e n questions to ask, Mitra is fascinated by his work since interested in self-organized Paul Kim,of the Pocket School learning environments enabled project, highlighted him as an by technology where motivated i n s p i r a t i o n w h e n I w a s learners are egged on by interviewing Kim for my A is "grannies" who offer simply for App story. support and encouragement. Back in 1999, Mitra began The idea of self-organizing embedding computers with learning using social media Internet connections in the walls doesn't just offer a lifeline for of playgrounds in slums in kids living in poverty in places India, and then stepping back. with no proper schools. It can He's seen young people using work for surfers, dancers, the computers to record and s c i e n t i s t s , R u b y o n R a i l s

successes, get feedback and encouragement from a community, learn from the best, and try again. And the process is speeding up with the help of Web video and its highbandwidth transmission of information. This is happening among crews of dancers, Musicians, Skateboarders, and, lest you think this is only an athletic endeavor, scientists. [youtube chBaHLkhmYU] Doubtless TED itself, with its library of 700 videos, sees itself as part of this movement of "crowd accelerated innovation." programmers--really anyone parallel those found in John In case you want to participate, who wants to catch a new Hagel and John Seely Brown's check out my video on how to inspiration or learn how to do recent book The Power of Pull. do the perfect TED talk: things a little bit better. In his Namely, that there is a new [twistage a86a331403bed] TEDGlobal talk, according to alchemy of informal learning r e p o r t s , C h r i s A n d e r s o n , going on where people working founder of TED, touched on on ideas can publish quickly, some ideas that to me seem to f a i l f a s t , s h i n e l i g h t o n

Options Update: Apollo Group Volatility Increases; Shares Near 44-Month Low Paul Foster (BloggingStocks)

oversight of federal student financial-aid programs in a letter to Senator Harkin, according to Filed under: Options, U.S. Bloomberg. September put Bancorp (USB) Apollo Group, option implied volatility is at 53, Inc. ( APOL) closed down $1.51 November is at 54; above its 26to $38.96. Education Secretary week average of 48 according to A r n e D u n c a n s a i d h i s Track Data, suggesting larger d e p a r t m e n t w i l l i n c r e a s e price movement. Submitted at 8/13/2010 4:40:00 PM

US Bancorp ( USB) closed down 20c to $22.24. USB overall option implied volatility of 35 is above its 26-week average of 32, according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement. CBOE Mini-NDX-MNX down $1.18 to 182.03; overall

volatility at 20. Options Update is by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com. Options Update: Apollo Group Volatility Increases; Shares Near 44-Month Low originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 13 Aug 2010 16:40:00 EST.

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Facebook's Live Web Video Channel May Not Rock Your Socks Off Kit Eaton (Fast Company) Submitted at 8/13/2010 5:17:16 PM

Today, at 6 p.m. EST Facebook will officially join the real time Web-streaming revolution with the launch of Facebook Live--a dedicated service that will be a vehicle for official Facebook news streams, press events, and special "celebrity events." We've already seen the guts of Facebook Live in action, disguised as a temporary system put in place to broadcast the recent F8 developer conference. Building on the success of that, Facebook has decided to formalize the service as an inFacebook app, with the capability of having live interactions in real-time between the presenter of the Live event and the audience--it's social media video interaction pushed to the max on the world's most popular social network. The Live app can be appended to any Facebook page, which

may well end up as a popular practice since it may let Page owners keep viewers on their page for longer. There's also the option to linkout to the Live stream via Twitter or Google Buzz or so on thanks to a dedicated URL shortener (livestre.am). To kick off the new service, actress America Ferrera will be appearing on the

network. Rival MySpace is still-somewhat oddly, given its failing status--a better home for streaming music and video than Facebook can offer, with its restrictive look and feel and tightly locked-down UI (ultimately the gaudy explosion of nonsense that MySpace's free -form UI allowed may have helped bring its downfall, so we can't blame Facebook too much for avoiding the same trap). Facebook Live could also be a powerful promotional vehicle, full of interesting content, yet at the same time it could quickly turn into a bland and fun-free first Live stream to talk about folks use Facebook. PR affair for the latest celebrity her Sundance Film Festival But is this all Live may turn out what-not, and could end up entry, called "The Dry Land." to be? Web video is a hot topic, being quickly ignored. And this already indicates how with even music giant MTV Watch live streaming video powerful the Web video service c l a m b e r i n g a b o a r d t h e f r o m f a c e b o o k h q a t could turn out to be--thanks to bandwagon at the moment. Yet l i v e s t r e a m . c o m the buzz around the new system, Facebook's not known for its To keep up with this news, Ferrera's film will be getting a skills with embedded media at follow me, Kit Eaton, on huge amount more attention all--so this new effort represents Twitter. than it otherwise may have something of a big step for done. Remember, 500 million Mark Zuckerberg's huge social

Oracle, which is suing Google for patent Oracle-Google Suit Attacks Open Source Software and copyright infringement, briefly David Kravets (Wired Top This entry passed through the faq.php Stories) Full-Text RSS service — if this Five Filters featured disappeared from Google's search engine... is your content and you're article:"Peace Envoy" Blair Gets (Business Insider)

Submitted at 8/14/2010 9:55:03 AM

Oracle, which is suing Google for patent and copyright infringement, briefly

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Scientific Journal Veers Into Demonology, Issues Retraction David Zax (Fast Company)

that it was not written to the highest objective scientific standards. The authors go on to It must get tedious sometimes, present evidence that the woman running a scientific journal--all likely had the flu: “The brief that dull data, all those pesky p- duration, high fever, and abrupt values. Wouldn’t it be cool if c e s s a t i o n o f f e v e r m a k e s science journals had accounts of influenza disease probable.” B i b l i c a l m i r a c l e s , a n d A bacterial illness, the authors speculation on events thousands suggest, is out of the question. of years in the past? That seems But they are willing to take up to be what the editors of the possibility of “whether the Virology Journal were thinking, illness was inflicted by a demon when they decided to publish a or devil,” as reported elsewhere s p e c u l a t i v e a n a l y s i s o f a in the Bible (and they cite 10 Biblical miracle by Ellis Hon et instances in the Gospel, chapter al., of Hong Kong. and verse). But in this particular Even from the very first case, “demonic influence is not sentence of the abstract, which stated”--yup, so it must be the mentions a woman with a fever flu. The paper is surreal in its cured “by our Lord Jesus apparent view that natural and Christ,” it ought to have been supernatural explanations are clear to the article’s reviewers equally valid in a modern Submitted at 8/13/2010 5:32:55 PM

the ‘normal’ business of the journal,” but “the speculations contained within this article clearly would be better expressed outside the confines of a peer-reviewed journal.” Today, the journal issued a formal retraction, saying the article lacked “robust supporting data.” That, of course, was the least of its sins. But apart from being amusing, the whole story raises an interesting question: Has the Internet instituted its own form of peer-review, superior in some cases to the old scientific journal. Robert Garry of Tulane, -fashioned pair of anonymous T h e p a p e r w a s s w i f t l y responded tersely in a post that scholars? eviscerated online, particularly there had been. Soon, though, on the blog Aetiology. On enough of a stir was caused that Wednesday, one reader asked Garry issued an apology on the why there had apparently been journal’s site. The piece was no peer review, but the editor, intended as “a bit of relief from

Comfort Zone Investing: Five Defensive Stocks Ted Allrich (BloggingStocks)

solid balance sheets. Now isn't the time to be too aggressive. With that in mind, here are five F i l e d u n d e r : U n i t e d stocks that made our column Technologies (UTX), Comfort d e d i c a t e d t o c o n s e r v a t i v e Zone Investing investors. With current tough times, and Avista Corp.( AVA): an energy maybe getting tougher with c o m p a n y , e n g a g e d i n t h e deflation as a real possibility, generation, transmission, and investors who think more distribution of energy and defensively may see better energy-related businesses in the segments, Avista Utilities and returns with more conservative United States and Canada. The Advantage IQ. stocks, ones with dividends and company operates through two Continue reading Comfort Zone Submitted at 8/14/2010 10:30:00 AM

Investing: Five Defensive Stocks Comfort Zone Investing: Five Defensive Stocks originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 14 Aug 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Comments BloggingStocks- United StatesBusiness- Canada- Investing

Beyond the Limit Videos (HowStuffWorks Daily Feed) Submitted at 8/14/2010 1:00:00 PM

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Happy Birthday, Social Security: Now Here's 22 Scary Facts About America's Pension Crisis

IBM Acquires Unica, Continuing Its Merger Spree

Michael Snyder (Business Insider)

Tom Taulli (BloggingStocks)

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Submitted at 8/14/2010 1:40:00 PM

Submitted at 8/14/2010 8:44:00 AM

As the first of the 80 million Baby Boomers have begun to retire, it has become increasingly apparent that the United States is facing a pension crisis of unprecedented magnitude. State and local government pension plans are woefully underfunded, dozens of large corporate pension plans either have collapsed or are on the verge of collapsing, Social Security is a complete and total financial disaster and about half of all Americans essentially have nothing saved up for retirement. See 22 scary statistics > So yes, to say that we are facing a retirement crisis would be a tremendous understatement. There is simply no way that we can keep all of the financial promises that we have made to the Baby Boomer generation. Unfortunately, the crumbling U.S. economy simply cannot support the comfortable retirement of tens of millions of elderly Americans any longer. The truth is that we are all going to have to start fundamentally changing the way that we think about our golden years.

Filed under: Deals, Competitive Strategy, International Business Machines (IBM) Aggressive mergers have boosted Oracle's ( ORCL) shareholder returns over the years. Now it looks like IBM ( IBM) wants to do the same. After all, software companies have fairly high margins and stable revenues. Oh, and the industry is still highly fragmented. So, even with the recent market instability, this has been no impediment for IBM's merger Once upon a time, you could have to struggle to stay above spree. And the latest move came count on getting a big, fat w a t e r i n t h e e c o n o m i c this week with the$480 million pension if you put 30 years into nightmare that is coming. deal for Unica Corp. ( UNCA). a job. But now pension plans Part of the reason we have such As a sign of the importance of everywhere are failing. State a gigantic economic mess on the the transaction, the premium and local governments are way is because we have cutting back and are raising promised vastly more than we retirement ages. A majority of can deliver to future retirees. Americans have even lost faith When you closely examine the in the Social Security system, numbers, it quickly becomes Olivia Solon (Wired Top which was supposed to be the clear that a financial tsunami is Stories) most secure of them all. about to hit us that is going to be The reality is that we are so devastating that it will Submitted at 8/14/2010 9:35:00 AM moving into a time when there change everything that we know Sorry, Readability was unable is not going to be such a thing about retirement. Click to see to parse this page for content. as "financial security" as we 22 scary statistics > This entry passed through the have known it in the past. Join the conversation about this Full-Text RSS service — if this Things have fundamentally story  is your content and you're changed, and we are all going to

was a whopping 120%. Continue reading IBM Acquires Unica, Continuing Its Merger Spree IBM Acquires Unica, Continuing Its Merger Spree originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 14 Aug 2010 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Comments IBM- Unica- BloggingStocksCorporation- Oracle Corporation

Letter From Britain: Secrets Of The Ads That 'Stalk' You reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/ faq.php Five Filters featured article:"Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent.


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Peer Index Is "Worth Watching" Fred Wilson (Business Insider)

Steven Mallas (BloggingStocks)

Submitted at 8/14/2010 9:44:00 AM

I've been following Peer Index for a month or so. Peer Index is attempting to "help you discover the authorities and opinion formers on a given topic." The idea is to use the world of social media (blogs, twitter, facebook, linkedin, etc) to determine who are the "authorities and opinion formers" on the web. I like the idea. The execution is the hard part. When I first tried it out about a month ago, I thought the service was too thin. Too few topics and too few "authorities" in each topic. Sometime in the past week or so, they added a bunch of new topics and a lot more authorities in each topic. And they've added a bunch of new ways to navigate the service. I like where they are headed with this. In a perfect world, you could enter literally any topic, like "sushi in london" and find out who the experts are. Then you could follow them, read their opinions on the topic, and

Estee Lauder: Buy or Sell? Submitted at 8/13/2010 5:20:00 PM

possibly even contact them. In order to reach that perfect world, I think they are going to need to open this up. Let the "crowd" source the topics and the authorities and then use their algorithms and systems to maintain the topics and rankings. At least that is my gut on how this would work best. In any case, this one is worth watching. Fred Wilson is a partner at Union Square Ventures. He writes the influential A VC, where this post was originally

published. Join the conversation about this story » See Also: • MBA Mondays: The Differences Between Enterprise Value And Market Value • What Is A Venture Partner And Why Does It Matter To You? • Google's Slide Acquisition Shows Why VCs Need A Liquidation Preference

Filed under: Earnings Reports, Estee Lauder (EL) Estee Lauder ( EL) reported fiscal Q4 earnings on Thursday. They unfortunately didn't meet the market's expectations. Today, the shares are under a bit of selling pressure. But is the dip an opportunity? According to the AP, the yearover-year profit growth wasn't so bad. On an adjusted basis, the beauty business made 29 cents per share in the recently completed quarter versus booking 20 cents per share in the previous year's similar period. Sounds fine, of course, but there is the analyst game to consider. On that front, the

company lost. The call was set at 30 cents per share. For the want of a penny, my friends. Continue reading Estee Lauder: Buy or Sell? Estee Lauder: Buy or Sell? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 13 Aug 2010 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Comments Estee: A Success StoryBusiness- Estee LauderBloggingStocks- Estée Lauder

Robert Pattinson, Bar's Bikini Body, and Britney: This Week in Pictures! PopSugar (PopSugar) Submitted at 8/14/2010 8:00:00 AM

The fun kicked off this week with Sunday's Teen Choice

Awards, where Robert Pattinson caused a stir. Ryan Gosling looked hot during a working weekend in Canada, while Britney Spears enjoyed fun

times with her boyfriend and

Bar Refaeli broke out her bikini for a day of yachting in Sardinia. That's not all that happened - click through to see all the best photos and top

stories! View Slideshow ›


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11

JetBlue flight diverted over unruly passenger (AP) (Yahoo! News: Most Viewed)

more specific about what the passenger was doing that forced the plane to land. WASHINGTON – A JetBlue The passenger may have had an Airways flight from Boston to anxiety attack, according to a the Dominican Republic had to security official familiar with land in the Washington, D.C., the incident who spoke on area Friday afternoon because of condition of anonymity because a n u n r u l y p a s s e n g e r , t h e there had not been an official company and federal officials medical diagnosis. said. No one was hurt. Lleras said Flight 691 was diverted to the flight continued to Santo Washington-Dulles International Domingo just before 2 p.m. Airport and landed at 1:13 p.m. (1800 GMT). ( 1 7 1 3 G M T ) , J e t B l u e JetBlue was already in the news spokesman Mateo Lleras said. this week when flight attendant Lleras said the Transportation Steven Slater went onto the Safety Administration and local public address system Monday law enforcement were notified on a plane at New York's and the passenger was taken into Kennedy Airport after a flight custody. He said he could not be from Pittsburgh, cursed out a Submitted at 8/13/2010 2:26:52 PM

The End of The Influence Project. Long Live Influence! Mark Borden (Fast Company) Submitted at 8/14/2010 8:41:56 AM

The Influence Project concludes this Sunday August 15 at midnight EST. The surge of interest continues and there’s that last minute at an eBay auction feeling pulsing through this network of networks that is the modern Internet. We couldn’t be more impressed with the response: Over 30,000 people signed up and more than 1.2 million people have visited

the site. Fast Company thanks everyone who has engaged in this experiment—fans and critics alike. Next week will be dark on the Influence blog, but it will start again the following week and go through the publication of the November issue where we reveal the results of the project, showcase the collage of participants, and present our findings on the PopSugar (PopSugar) current state of influence online. Submitted at 8/14/2010 11:55:24 Stay tuned.

passenger he said had treated him rudely, and then slid off the plane on an emergency slide. ___ Associated Press Writer Brett Zongker contributed to this report. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/ faq.php Five Filters featured article:"Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent.

Ryan Phillippe Falls Short on Set With Matthew McConaughey

Guess Who Wore a Floppy Black Hat? PopSugar (PopSugar) Submitted at 8/14/2010 12:00:00 PM

Have fun guessing!

AM

Matthew McConaughey and Ryan Phillippe got back to work on The Lincoln Lawyer in LA on Friday. The hot costars rehearsed a physical scene that required Ryan to take a tumble in his leg brace. They have spent plenty of time side by side on set and they're also both competing in our Hottest

physique is head to head with Hugh Jackman in one of the hottest matchups of round two. Get your picks in now for a chance to win Tom Ford sunglasses! To see more Ryan and Matthew S h i r t l e s s M e n b r a c k e t . on set, just read more. Matthew's tan top-half is up View 10 Photos › against fellow actor Mark Wahlberg while Ryan's fit


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Prop 8: Gay-Marriage Opponents May Be Unable to Appeal (Time.com) (Yahoo! News: Most Viewed) Submitted at 8/14/2010 8:35:00 AM

If same-sex weddings resume in California next Thursday, the happy couples may have more names to add to their thank-you lists than that of U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker, the San Francisco jurist who last week struck down the 2008 voterapproved constitutional amendment that made gay marriage illegal. They may have to address new cards to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and California attorney general Jerry Brown. That's because Brown and Schwarzenegger's choosing not to appeal Walker's Aug. 4 ruling - and their contention that the state is ready to begin issuing same-sex wedding licenses immediately - may turn out to be almost as decisive a factor as the historic court ruling last week. That possibility emerged Thursday in an 11-page ruling Walker issued to deny a request by Proposition 8's proponents for him to delay implementing his own ruling allowing gay marriage until they can appeal the case to the Ninth Circuit and perhaps all the way to the Supreme Court.(See why Prop 8 was upended.) But in a twist that caught some experts off guard, Walker not

only denied the motion but did so in a way that raises serious questions whether Prop 8 proponents have any right to appeal the case at all. He ruled that they not only failed to show that the resumption of gay marriage would do them personal, irreparable harm, but that they likely lacked the legal standing to request to appeal. Instead, he suggested, their only remedy may be a political one as unlikely as that may be. "In light of those concerns, proponents may have little choice but to attempt to convince either the Governor or the Attorney General to file an appeal to ensure appellate jurisdiction," he wrote.(See how an unlikely pair of allies are making a Supreme Court case for gay marriage.) Walker's reasoning is this: the actual defendants in the lawsuit brought by two same-sex couples last year weren't the folks who brought Prop 8 to the ballot two years ago. Instead, the suit named Schwarzenegger and Brown. When those two officials declined to mount a defense - an unusual and controversial decision by Brown, whose job normally includes the defense of all state law - Walker allowed the group behind ProtectMarriage.com to step in and defend the case at

trial. But, he said in Thursday's order, just because they were allowed to intervene to defend Prop 8 at trial doesn't mean that they would have independent standing to bring an appeal in the event that the named parties in the case chose not to do so. "When proponents moved to intervene in this action, the court did not address their standing independent of the existing parties," he wrote. "This court has jurisdiction over plaintiffs' claims against the state defendants pursuant to 28 USC S 1331. If, however, no state defendant appeals, proponents will need to show standing in the court of appeals."(Comment on this story.) That could mean trouble for the proponents. Walker gave the proponents until 5 p.m. on Aug. 18 to take their motion for a stay to the Ninth Circuit, where three judges who serve on a monthly motions panel will likely hear it. If they uphold Walker's ruling denying the stay, the only recourse for the proponents will be to ask the Supreme Court to intervene. To do so means asking the justice assigned to the Ninth Circuit to hear the motion. Ironically, in this case, that would be Justice Anthony Kennedy, the court's frequent majority maker who Supreme

Court oddsmakers have long said holds the decisive vote if the question of gay marriage is ever decided there. But if the appellate judges agree with Walker that the proponents lack standing to appeal, the case may never reach the appellate courts at all, at least not on its merits. That would mean a win for gay marriage in California, as it rejoins the five other states (and D.C.) where gay marriage is legal. But it would also mean that the case would have much less national importance. The first federal decision - Walker's - ruling in favor of gay marriage would remain the only one, and would have no direct impact on marriage laws in any other state. And to add another twist, at least one constitutional-law scholar in California is suggesting that by trumpeting the issue of standing, Walker has opened a hornet's nest he may have been better off leaving undisturbed. "If the proponents don't have standing to appeal, then it's entirely plausible that the courts will rule that they did not properly have standing to go to trial," Vikram Amar, a law professor at the University of California at Davis, told TIME Thursday evening. "This is an issue he glossed over when he allowed them to intervene in the

trial." Amar says that if the Ninth Circuit agrees with Walker that the proponents don't have standing to appeal, the judges may well decide they shouldn't have been allowed to intervene in the case at all. If they do, he says, they could decide to vacate the trial entirely, sending it back to Walker to start over. The governor and attorney general would be unlikely to intervene but on the other hand, come November, voters will choose new candidates for both of those offices. In that event, what happens next is anybody's guess. "We're in uncharted waters here," Amar told TIME. See TIME's Pictures of the Week. See the Cartoons of the Week. View this article on Time.com Related articles on Time.com: This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/ faq.php Five Filters featured article:"Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent.


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Obama: Muslims Have Right to Build Place of Worship Near 9/11 Site (Society) Submitted at 8/14/2010 10:06:06 AM

Months into an emotionallycharged debate surrounding the planned mosque and community center near the site of the 9/11 attacks, President Obama declared his support Friday night for the Muslim house of worship.(Photo: AP Images / J. Scott Applewhite) President Barack Obama hosts an iftar dinner, the meal that breaks the dawn-to-dusk fast for Muslims during the holy month of Ramadan, in the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington, Friday, Aug. 13, 2010.(Photo: AP Images / J. Scott Applewhite) President Barack Obama hosts an iftar dinner, the meal that breaks the dawn-to-dusk fast for Muslims during the holy month of Ramadan, in the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington, Friday, Aug. 13, 2010. "Let me be clear. As a citizen, and as President, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country," he said to applause at the White House. "And that includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in Lower Manhattan, in accordance with

local laws and ordinances." His remarks were made at an Iftar dinner to observe the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. "This is America," Obama proclaimed. "And our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakeable." This is the first time the U.S. president weighed in on the controversy over a project called Park51 in lower Manhattan. Muslim Americans are building a community center and mosque two blocks from Ground Zero, where nearly 3,000 people died in the 2001 terrorist attacks. Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, who founded Muslim outreach group the Cordoba Initiative, is spearheading the project. Organizers insist that it is part of an effort to promote tolerance and improve Muslim-West relations. Some religious leaders, including the National Council of Churches, have thrown their support behind the $100 million project, urging respect for Muslim neighbors and for religious freedom. Rick A. Lazio, a Republican candidate for New York governor, has argued, however, that this is not a matter of religion. "With over 100 mosques in New York City, this is not an issue of

innocent men and women and children. In fact, al Qaeda has killed more Muslims than people of any other religion, and that list of victims includes innocent Muslims who were killed on 9/11." Oz Sultan, spokesperson for religion, but one of safety and Park51, tried to clear up what he security," he said in a statement s a y s a r e m i s c o n c e p t i o n s surrounding the project. Friday. Opponents have strongly "We're going to take the due protested the project, calling it steps to make sure that we can insensitive and offensive to the expose as much of this project to everyone ... and to kind of victims of the attacks. Some conservative Christian show that 'you know what give leaders, including Richard Land us a chance, give us a fair shake o f t h e S o u t h e r n B a p t i s t – we're not the terrorists,'" he Convention's Ethics & Religious told CNN recently. Liberty Commission, have While many have questioned argued that the mosque and Imam Rauf's motives and his community center should not be refusal to denounce Hamas, Sultan contended, "Imam Feisal built so close to Ground Zero. Others are convinced the is more of a statesman ... and I project is a political statement or think it is a little bit shorta "victory monument," marking sighted to kind of take someone M u s l i m d o m i n a n c e o v e r who has that sort of a role and put them in the precarious America. While recognizing the trauma slippery slope position of saying and the sensitivities surrounding 'do you condemn this and that 9/11, Obama urged Americans on a global stage' when really t o r e m e m b e r w h o t h e y ' r e his focus is to build bridges." fighting against and what they're Rauf is being sent by the U.S. State Department to foster fighting for. " O u r e n e m i e s r e s p e c t n o "greater understanding and religious freedom," he said. "Al o u t r e a c h " a m o n g M u s l i m Qaeda’s cause is not Islam – it’s communities in the Middle East. a gross distortion of Islam. Also addressing concerns over These are not religious leaders – the source of funding and lack they’re terrorists who murder of transparency, Sultan stressed

that their focus is to get the center and mosque funded domestically with state, local and federal dollars. They have yet to launch their fundraising campaign. "We plan on complying with the Treasury Department and if they say that someone is on a list, their money's not taken. We're not going to take money from anyone who's on a Treasury watch list or any of the Treasury lists," he insisted. Last year, the Cordoba Initiative and the American Society for Muslim Advancement paid $4.85 million cash to Soho Properties, a Muslim-run real estate company and the developers behind the mosque and center, for 45-47 Park Place. Soho also signed a long-term lease on 4951 Park Place. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/ faq.php Five Filters featured article:"Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent.


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Pro-Lifers Blast FDA Approval of 'Abortion Drug' Ella (Society)

of America applauded the approval. "Ella, or UPA, is safe and The U.S. Food and Drug effective at preventing ovulation A d m i n i s t r a t i o n o n F r i d a y and therefore pregnancy in the approved the sale and use of an five days after unprotected "emergency contraceptive" that intercourse," said PPFA Vice opponents are calling the "new President for Medical Affairs abortion drug." Dr. Vanessa Cullins. "Given the "Women deserve better than fact that half of all pregnancies this," said Wendy Wright, in the U.S. are unintended, it is president of Concerned Women vital that women have an array for America. "If the FDA of choices available to prevent deliberately misleads women by unplanned pregnancy. Ella will mislabeling the drug as a become an important option for contraceptive, and does not send women." the drug back for adequate trials Pro-life groups, meanwhile, to determine the possible serious contend that ella operates the complications to women and same way as RU-486, the one their babies, it will be putting legal abortion drug in the United abortion politics above women's States, yet is being prescribed as health." an emergency contraceptive. Called ella, the drug is a " T h e F D A o p t e d a g a i n s t prescription-only product that including the critical fact that prevents pregnancy when taken Ella can cause an abortion on a orally within 120 hours after a baby already implanted in its c o n t r a c e p t i v e f a i l u r e o r mother's womb in the drug u n p r o t e c t e d i n t e r c o u r s e , labeling information," said according to the FDA. Ella is Jeanne Monahan, director of the not intended for routine use as a Center for Human Dignity at the contraceptive. Family Research Council. "The The likely main effect of the difference between preventing drug is to inhibit or delay and destroying life is enormous, ovulation, the FDA stated. and women have the right to Plan B, or the "morning-after know how this drug will act on p i l l , " i s t h e o n l y o t h e r their bodies and on their emergency contraceptive on the b a b i e s . " market and prevents pregnancy Ella, Monahan argues, works up to 72 hours. very differently than Plan B. Planned Parenthood Federation "Plan B cannot terminate an Submitted at 8/14/2010 11:15:50 AM

already implanted embryo, whereas ella can," she said. "Plan B is a kind of progesterone, and progesterone is needed by the uterine lining to grow and feed the embryo. Ella is a selected progesterone receptor modulator (SPRM). An SPRM blocks progesterone receptors and thereby starves a developing baby of this needed protein." The currently legal RU-486 is an SPRM and has resulted in numerous deaths of women. "The FDA advisory panel largely ignored important questions, including impacts on women's health and the abortifacient capacity of Ella," Monahan added. "The FDA and the Obama Administration now follow suit. By approving this drug quietly on a Friday afternoon when most of Washington was on vacation, the Obama Administration and the FDA once again placed politics above science, women's health and informed consent." Critics have also raised concerns that with the approval of ella, the Obama administration has paved the way to "covertly allow federal funding for abortion." In March, President Obama signed an executive order restricting abortion funding under the new health care

reform law. Pro-lifers, however, are still wary that abortions will be covered by tax dollars. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) is calling on Obama to issue an executive order prohibiting federal agencies from providing funding for ella or insurance coverage that includes ella. "Ella might ... be mandated as a preventive service under Obamacare thus forcing insurance companies to cover this new abortion drug," Smith said in a statement. "The FDA is supposed to protect people from dangerous drugs and deceptive marking. Instead, ... they have proven they are willing to be complicit in this abortion coverup. "At a minimum the drug should be classified as an abortion drug," he asserted. The prescription product has been available in Europe since last May. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/ faq.php Five Filters featured article:"Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent.

For A Really Scary Jobs Chart Combine This Recession With The Dot -Com Crash Gus Lubin (Money Game) Submitted at 8/13/2010 3:40:00 PM

A great chart from The Economist show another picture of our dismal jobs growth. Rather than job loss relative to peak employment, it shows job growth following the end of the recession. Job growth has been this bad two times: the last two recessions. We're suffering in this "recovery" because the last recovery was so bad. Don't miss: 23 Occupations That Will Never Recover Join the conversation about this story Âť


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3 kids buy airplane tickets, fly alone to Tenn. (AP) (Yahoo! News: Most Viewed)

wondering how the trip was possible. Southwest Airlines said in a JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Bored statement that the company's on a hot summer day, three policy on minors is similar to Florida youngsters were just other carriers in that it covers sitting around when one sent a children ages 5 through 11 text message to another with an traveling alone, and that the 11adventurous idea. year-old in this case was "Hey do you want to go 2 accompanied by two older Tennessee today," the message companions. The Transportation read. Security Administration does "Sure," the other responded. not require anyone under age 18 Not even old enough to get a to show identification. driver's license, they took a taxi It is still unclear if any of the to the airport Tuesday, bought three should have been allowed tickets with baby-sitting money to purchase tickets. A Southwest and — unbeknownst to their spokesman did not immediately parents, the three (ages 15, 13 r e t u r n a m e s s a g e s e e k i n g and 11) — boarded a Southwest c o m m e n t o n t h a t i s s u e . Airlines flight from Jacksonville Messages left by The to Nashville, according to a TV Associated Press on Friday at news account of the incident. the families' homes were not Nobody asked a question. immediately returned. Nobody asked for identification. In an age of heightened security Not the taxi driver. Not the and terrorism threats, some are ticket counter. Not security concerned that three youngsters officials or flight attendants or could so easily board an airline other passengers. So when they without parental consent. landed in Nashville with just Richard Bloom, an aviation $40 left and their destination, security expert at Embry-Riddle Dollywood, still hundreds of Aeronautical University in miles away, they finally called Daytona Beach, Fla., said while home. this incident amounted to a The jig was up. childhood jaunt, it highlights "I just wanted to fly," 15-year- legitimate safety implications. old Bridget Brown, told WJXX- "The moral of the story is, at TV in Jacksonville. "I had the least in other parts of the world, money." young people are engaged in N o w t h e i r p a r e n t s a r e weapons, planting bombs, Submitted at 8/13/2010 2:32:02 PM

testing security," he said. "The point is terrorist groups, insurgent groups, other kinds of transnational groups, what have you, they read the papers, they watch TV, they look at the security lapses. And they take that information as they develop their own terrorist operations and anti-government operations." The three youngsters certainly had no problem hopping a flight. Brown, with the $700 she had saved, took her 11-year-old brother Kodie and 13-year-old friend Bobby Nolan III to the airport. She said she purchased the three tickets at the Southwest Airlines counter without any problems from the clerk. "He said OK and told us how much it would be and then we paid him," Brown said. "Then he put the flight things on our bags, and then he said, 'You better run because you might miss your flight.'" No issues at security, either. "We just took our stuff out of our pockets, took our shoes off and walked through it," Nolan told the TV station. "And they didn't say nothing." The three arrived in Nashville and, realizing their plan was flawed, finally 'fessed up. Their parents thought they were

merely out playing and had left messages on their cell phones. When they found out they were in Nashville, they were stunned and scared. Nashville airport spokeswoman Emily Richard said the children never left the airport property and were immediately rebooked on return flights. Southwest said it has refunded their airfare. The parents are just glad their children made it home safely. "I never would have dreamed my kids would have got on a plane without me or their mom," James Brown said. "But they did. It was very scary, very scary. Luckily, they're OK." ___ Associated Press Writers Antonio Gonzalez in Orlando, Fla., Matt Sedensky in Miami and Kristin M. Hall in Nashville, Tenn., contributed to this story. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/ faq.php Five Filters featured article:"Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent.

Gwen and Gavin Divide For Dinosaurs and Dinner PopSugar (PopSugar) Submitted at 8/14/2010 9:00:00 AM

Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale took a break from their frequent family outings to go out separately in LA on Thursday night. Gwen met up with girlfriends like Cheryl Hines and Camryn Manheim for dinner and a Lady Gaga concert, while Gavin checked out a new pop-up exhibit by artist Jay Jay Burridge at a Beverly Hills art gallery. Gavin and Gwen have had a full schedule of social events lately, though they are both also focusing on their music - he'll be filming a video and trailer for his new record next week, and she's been spending time in the studio with No Doubt. To see more Gwen and Gavin, just read more. View 10 Photos ›


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American Bar Association Adopts Gay Marriage Resolution (Society)

which was a lead sponsor of the resolution. “I want to commend the The American Bar Association members of the American Bar has adopted a resolution calling A s s o c i a t i o n ’ s H o u s e o f on governments at every level to Delegates for working with the eliminate all the legal barriers New York State Bar Association that prevent to same-sex couples and other bar associations to from being joined in marriage. help in the effort to end this “The American Bar Association injustice against lesbian and gay urges state, territorial, and tribal people and their families,” he governments to eliminate all of added. their legal barriers to civil According to reports, the marriage between two persons r e s o l u t i o n passed o f t h e s a m e s e x w h o a r e overwhelmingly with only vote otherwise eligible to marry,” made against the measure. states Resolution 111, which the Ahead of the resolution’s A B A H o u s e o f D e l e g a t e s passage, the Christian legal adopted Wednesday at its group Alliance Defense Fund a n n u a l m e e t i n g i n S a n stressed that the ABA does not Francisco. speak for all U.S. lawyers and According to a report submitted noted how three-quarters of in support of the resolution, the American lawyers do not belong extension of equal marriage to the ABA. rights to same-sex couples is “The fact that ADF and other consistent with constitutional lawyers disagree with ABA on a principles of equal protection number of controversial issues and due process, as well as the d e m o n s t r a t e s t h e g r o s s s t a t e s ’ s t r o n g i n t e r e s t i n inaccuracy of ABA’s claim that protecting and fostering the it speaks for the U.S. legal family unit. profession,” remarked ADF “The historic action taken today Senior Legal Counsel Doug represents another promising Napier, who resigned from the step on the path toward equal ABA because of its stance on rights for same-sex couples,” controversial political issues. c o m m e n t e d S t e p h e n P . In the past, ABA has advocated Younger, president of the New for abortion rights, civil trial for York State Bar Association, suspected terrorists, and repeal Submitted at 8/13/2010 10:55:01 PM

of the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. The association’s 1992 abortion policy prompted many of its member lawyers to leave and lead to the formation of the prolife National Lawyers Association. “The ABA was not originally designed to endorse political agendas,” Napier explained in a statement last week. “But in recent years, it has joined hands with groups like the ACLU on a number of societal issues and wrongly asserts that it speaks for the legal profession.” “We urge the ABA to abandon its divisive political agenda and return to its original nonpartisan mission…,” the conservative lawyer stated. Notably, the adoption of resolution 111 on Wednesday came one week after U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker ruled California’s Proposition 8 unconstitutional. And the keynote speaker of the 2010 ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco was David Boies, who co-counseled with Ted Olson to overturn Prop. 8. Prop. 8, which California voters passed in 2008, effectively defined marriage in the state’s constitution as the union of one man and one woman.

Last week, however, Walker determined that people of the same sex do have the right to marry and that the decision of the majority to define marriage as the union between a man and a woman violates that right. On Thursday, Walker denied a motion to stay the judgment he made, effectively allowing gay marriages to resume in the state starting next Wednesday. In an 11-page ruling, the judge said proponents of the stay did not show a likelihood of success on appeal nor the possibility of any irreparable harm absent a stay. ADF, which has been defending California’s Prop. 8, announced immediately after Walker’s ruling that it would appeal to the 9th Circuit to stay the trial court’s decision until the case is concluded. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/ faq.php Five Filters featured article:"Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent.

Which Magazine Will You Pick Up This Weekend? PopSugar (PopSugar) Submitted at 8/14/2010 10:00:00 AM

It's the weekend, which means it's time to check out all the covers. Star claims that Prince William's fairy-tale romance is coming to a bitter end, and InTouch reports that The Bachelorette's Ali is being used for fame. Life & Style has the inside scoop on Kim Kardashian's single life, while the Duggar family tells People they're ready to welcome a 20th child. So tell us – which magazine will you pick up this weekend? Which Magazine Will You Pick Up This Weekend? Star- Need to know the latest on Prince William and Kate! InTouch- Ali better beware of Roberto. Life & Style- Something tells me Kim won't be single for long. People- Could the Duggars really have more children?


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NCC Leaders Calls for Respect for Muslim Neighbors Amid Ramadan (Society) Submitted at 8/13/2010 10:54:36 PM

The National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA and Christian leaders in the National Muslim-Christian Initiative are calling upon Christians in America to love their Muslim neighbors amid Ramadan observances and to stand against extremist ideas not peace-promoting Muslims. “As our Muslim neighbors begin their observance of Ramadan with fasting, rededicating themselves to God and God's service, we as Christians are troubled by fellow Christians in the United States who are expressing intolerance against Muslims in words and deeds,” the ecumenical leaders announced in a statement Wednesday as Muslims around the world began to mark the start of Islam’s holiest month. Citing Matthew 22:39, the leaders reminded their fellow believers how Christ has called them to “love you neighbor as yourself." "It is this commandment, more

than the simple bonds of our common humanity, which is the basis for our relationship with Muslims around the world," they stated. That said, the ecumenical figures questioned the antiMuslim tenor of actions and speech regarding the building of the hotly-debated, Muslim-led Cordoba House that seeks construction near the site of the former World Trade Center in New York City. They also decried the antiMuslim actions and plans of “many church leaders and members,” such as those of the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Fla., which plans to hold an "International Burn the Qur'an Day" on Sept. 11 – the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. “Such open acts of hatred are not a witness to Christian faith, but a grave trespass against the ninth commandment, a bearing of false witness against our neighbor," the leaders stated. "They contradict the ministry of Christ and the witness of the church in the world.” In their remarks, the Christian

figures reminded believers that the majority of Muslims – including American Muslims – are against the radical influences of Muslims who embrace terrorism and “teachings counter to the Qur'an and Islam.” They also noted that many Muslims, as well as Jews, Christians, Hindus, and others, lost family members in the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. “We ask all Christians to promote respect and love of neighbor, and to speak and work against extremist ideas, working with Muslims as appropriate, in order to live out the commandment to love our neighbor, and to promote peace,” they concluded. Until Sept. 9, Muslims around the world will be observing Ramadan by fasting, praying, giving to charity, and putting more effort into following the teachings of Islam. From dawn to dusk, Muslims will try to abstain from food, drink, and sexual intercourse. They will also try to overcome emotions such as anger, envy, greed, lust, sarcasm, and gossip in their effort for self-control.

Notably, however, violent demonstrations against Christians are known to increase during Ramadan in predominantly Muslim areas, according to persecution watchdog groups such as Open Doors. According to the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life, the number of Muslims living in the world today is 1.57 billion. More than 60 percent of that figure is in Asia and about 20 percent is in the Middle East and North Africa. Based on Pew’s figures, one out of every four persons in the world today is Muslim. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/ faq.php Five Filters featured article:"Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent.

(Lifehacker) Submitted at 8/13/2010 4:00:00 PM

This week we rounded up our favorite free and cheap iPhone apps, automated your media

Android home screen into shape, and more. More » downloads, whipped your

Net Neutrality Protesters Call for Google to Stand Tall Ryan Singel (Wired Top Stories) Submitted at 8/13/2010 7:50:00 PM

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/ faq.php Five Filters featured article:"Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent.

Obama backs controversial New York mosque project (Reuters: Top News) Submitted at 8/14/2010 12:13:22 PM

U.S. President Barack Obama delivers remarks during the Iftar dinner in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington August 13, 2010. The Iftar dinner celebrates the evening breaking of fast during OBAMA page 18

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the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Credit: Reuters/Jason Reed By Ross Colvin and Jeff Mason WASHINGTON| Sat Aug 14, 2010 1:13pm EDT WASHINGTON(Reuters) President Barack Obama on Friday backed construction of a proposed mosque and Muslim cultural center near the site of the September 11, 2001, attacks in New York -- a project opposed by conservatives and many New Yorkers. "As a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as anyone else in this country," Obama said to applause at an event attended by diplomats from Islamic countries and members of the U.S. Muslim community. "That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances," he said, weighing in for the first time in a national debate that has grown increasingly heated in recent weeks. Earlier this month a New York city agency cleared the way for construction of the community center, which will include a prayer room, two blocks from the site of the September 11 attacks, popularly known as "Ground Zero." "This is America and our

commitment to religious freedom must be unshakable," said Obama, who has made improving ties between the United States and the Muslim world a cornerstone of his foreign policy. Obama was speaking during an Iftar dinner he hosted at the White House. Iftar is the evening meal when Muslims break their daily fast during the holy month of Ramadan. About 2,750 people were killed in the September 11 attacks, when al Qaeda hijackers crashed two passenger planes into the twin towers of the World Trade Center. The attacks deeply traumatized Americans and sparked the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan and the Bush administration's "war on terror." Many families of those killed in the attacks have mounted an emotional campaign to block the community center, calling it provocative and a betrayal of the memory of the victims. Conservative politicians such as former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich, a Republican former Speaker of the House of Representatives, also have called for the project to be scrapped. Mark Williams, a spokesman for the conservative Tea Party political movement, said the center would be used for "terrorists to worship their monkey god."

OBAMA WEIGHS IN In his remarks on Friday, Obama preached the need for religious tolerance and noted that the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution had established the freedom of religion, "and that right has been upheld ever since." The president also stressed that al Qaeda was not synonymous with Islam. "Al Qaeda's cause is not Islam -it is a gross distortion of Islam," he said. "These are not religious leaders -- these are terrorists who murder innocent men, women and children." New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has firmly supported the community center project as have many religious organizations in the city. However, 53 percent of New Yorkers oppose it, according to a Marist Poll this week. The Cordoba House community center is the brainchild of Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, who told Reuters in an interview last month that he had modeled it on the Young Men's Christian Association. Now simply called the Y, YMCA facilities across the United States offer exercise classes, education and community activities. The city agency's August 3 ruling is expected to clear the way for construction of Cordoba House, which will include a 500 -seat auditorium, art exhibition

spaces and a swimming pool as part of a 13-story complex. Since coming into office, Obama, a Democrat, has worked to reach out to Muslims, many of whom felt targeted by the "war on terror" and by the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. In a speech in Cairo in June 2009, Obama called for a "new beginning" in ties between the United States and Muslims, saying extremists had exploited tensions between Muslims and the West and that Islam was not part of the problem. (Writing by Jeff Mason and Ross Colvin, additional reporting by Emma Ashburn, editing by Bill Trott) Aug 13, 2010 9:07pm EDT While a lot has been said about this president’s stimulus incompetence, job creation failure, environmental ineptitude, and bringing the country to edge of bankruptcy with more financial bad news on the way — this latest pontification is downright scary. We can be “politically correct”, or we can exercise due caution. Its the cancer within that has destroyed every great nation on earth and frankly, not sure any of our lawyer-politicians can be trusted. Aug 13, 2010 9:07pm EDT Worship their “Monkey God”? Now as far as I know the Muslims worship the same God as the Christians and the Jews, so where does this concept that

they worship a Monkey God? Is this just out right racist? They oppose Muslims having a Mosque in Lower Manhattan, because they worship a Monkey God? Do they not call Blacks porch monkeys? How far do you go in order to cover up the racism behind these attacks? They should just come out and say that this a country of God fearing Christian White people, and no dark skinned Monkey worshiping Muslims allowed. Aug 13, 2010 9:09pm EDT This is a direct slap in the face. What is Obama thinking. I accually voted for the guy, but this is too much. I don’t care how much sense he makes on other issues. This is just an outrage. I would say the equivalant to puting a Japanese memorial for the bombings of WWII at Pearl Harbor. That’s what kind of a message they are sending. I will never again vote or side with Obama again. He has this one very wrong, and I hope he will not be reelected in 2012. Aug 13, 2010 9:18pm EDT This is where the world will see the true colour of americans. Do they actually believe in religious freedom or is the right to religious freedom applicable only if you are christian and white. When under attack, this country will abandon all freedoms, rights and principles. OBAMA page 22


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BP to proceed with relief well after tests (Reuters: Top News)

kill the well." The Macondo well, a mile down in the Gulf of Mexico, Crew members look over idle blew out April 20 and began oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico spewing oil in what has become near Port Fourchon, Louisiana, the worst offshore oilspill in August 11, 2010. history. Credit: Reuters/Lee Celano The well was provisionally By Chris Baltimore capped on July 15 after spewing HOUSTON| Fri Aug 13, 2010 an estimated 4.9 million barrels 8:42pm EDT of oil into the Gulf, soiling HOUSTON(Reuters) - BP Plc marshlands, fisheries and tourist will proceed with a relief well to beaches along several hundreds kill its blown-out Gulf of of miles (kilometers) of the Gulf Mexico well, the top U.S. spill Coast. official said on Friday. The British energy giant has "Everybody is in agreement that lost more than a third of its we need to proceed with the market value since the explosion relief well," retired Coast Guard and has set aside $32.2 billion to Admiral Thad Allen said. "The deal with clean-up costs. question is how to do it." BP faces hundreds of civil The decision to continue with l a w s u i t s f r o m i n j u r e d r i g the relief well came as Alabama workers, fishermen, investors announced it was suing BP for and property owners seeking to the "catastrophic harm" that the recoup losses. Alabama added to spill had caused the state. that pile by with its suit against Earlier this week Allen had BP and other companies for raised the possibility that the what Attorney General Troy r e l i e f w e l l m i g h t n o t b e King said was "catastrophic necessary because the cement harm. poured into the top of the blown "We are suing them for the Macondo well last week -- the amount it will take to make so-called "static kill" -- might Alabama whole," King said. have permanently killed it. "WANTON FAILURE" But after running pressure tests, The suit, which did not set a BP and U.S. officials agree that damage figure, accuses the the relief well is needed to plug defendants of "negligent or the well 13,000 feet beneath the wanton failure to adhere to seabed, Allen said. The relief recognized industry standards of well is only about 45 feet from care." reaching the Macondo well. The spill has hurt fishing and " T h e r e l i e f w e l l w i l l b e tourism around the Gulf and has finished," Allen said. "We will affected other sectors such as Submitted at 8/13/2010 7:42:49 PM

housing. People and businesses that have sustained losses can make claims against the BP compensation fund administered by Kenneth Feinberg, named by the White House as an independent overseer. But King said Feinberg was undermining efforts by Gulf state attorneys general to make it possible for spill victims to claim damages from the fund while retaining the right to sue BP at a future date. U.S. President Barack Obama, who has faced criticism for being slow to act in the face of the world's worst offshore oil spill, will vacation in Panama City, Florida, this weekend and make a public statement on the recovery effort on Saturday. In Louisiana, the state hit hardest by the spill, U.S. and BP officials met with parish presidents and Gov. Bobby Jindal to discuss long-term recovery plans. The U.S. government will enact an ocean monitoring system to detect underwater plumes of oil that could be harming undersea ecosystems, Allen said. Meanwhile, top-level BP and U.S. officials including Energy Secretary Steven Chu and incoming BP chief executive Bob Dudley on Friday discussed how to proceed with the final well plug, Allen said. Pressure tests completed late on Thursday showed that the well is effectively sealed, with "no

communication with the reservoir," Allen said. But engineers are worried that increased pressure from the "bottom kill" could damage the existing temporary cement plug and perhaps cause about 1,000 barrels of oil trapped in the well shaft to flow into the ocean, Allen said. Engineers are developing procedures to allay such concerns, he said. After Allen gives the order to continue with the relief well, it will take about 96 hours to drill into the Macondo well shaft and perhaps days beyond that to complete the job, he said. (Additional reporting by Anna Driver in Houston, Verna Gates in Birmingham, Alabama, and Matt Bigg in Atlanta; Editing by Bill Trott) Aug 14, 2010 1:17pm EDT Alkan here: Watched Allen’s statement and he says the opposite of what the news services said. He said the pressure “did NOT increase appreciably” during the test. The news services said it did. With diametrically opposed information like this it is hard to say what is best to do. But, if the pressure did not increase that would mean there was no type of leak even in the upper casing above the mile of rock hard cement inside the pipe. That would rule out even a little leak through the pipe. That would be good news, and then because Allen is committed

to using the relief well, he can just intercept the lower annulus, try and pump into it — and if that does not fracture things too badly this whole thing is ended. Going on the present information available, I would declare the Well dead now. The trite “if it ain’t broke” thing applies. The whole problem here is that both BP and the government do not publish or release exact information. They do not specify any details such as charts of pressures, quantities of materials, exact times, and all the other physical quantities needed for the common people involved in this to understand this whole thing. It is a little bit like Hayward’s “little people” who do not matter — or who do not need to know — what WE DO. It is as though — if you are a Gulf resident, then you do not need to know what we are going to do TO YOU next. Holding back “public type” information is this “snobbish” crime. If BP or the government had a Webb site open to the public with this real-time data available, that would show respect for those concerned and who are the victims of this tragedy. Why keep all the details secret — that are required for any true PROCEED page 22


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U.N. says no aid yet for 6 million flood victims in Pakistan (Reuters: Top News)

recorded human history. The floods, triggered by torrential monsoon downpours A man rides his donkey cart j u s t o v e r t w o w e e k s a g o , while fleeing from flooded engulfed Pakistan's Indus river village of Karampur, about 70 basin, killing up to 1,600 km (43 miles) from Sukkur in people. Pakistan's Sindh province Pakistan's government, August 14, 2010. overwhelmed by the disaster, Credit: Reuters/Akhtar Soomro has been accused of being too By Robert Birsel slow to respond to the crisis SUKKUR| Sat Aug 14, 2010 with victims relying mostly on 1:10pm EDT the military and foreign aid SUKKUR Pakistan (Reuters) - agencies for help. United Nations aid agencies Anger is spreading, raising the have provided assistance to possibility of social unrest. In h u n d r e d s o f t h o u s a n d s o f Sindh province, flood victims victims of Pakistan's worst complain of looting and there floods in decades but relief a r e s i g n s o f i n c r e a s i n g operations have yet to reach an l a w l e s s n e s s . estimated six million people. Gilani and opposition leader The lives of 20 million people - Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan's most - nearly 12 percent of the popular politician, vowed to p o p u l a t i o n - - h a v e b e e n work together to tackle the disrupted by one of the worst crisis. catastrophes in Pakistan's "Politics at this time is haram history. Six million still need (forbidden by Islam)," Sharif food, shelter and water, the UN said in a joint news conference. said in a statement. Millions of Pakistanis, Highlighting the scale of the frustrated by political struggles disaster, Prime Minister Raza at the best of times, want to Y u s u f G i l a n i s a i d i n a n know when their government Independence Day speech the will help. country faces challenges similar "The government has given us t o t h o s e d u r i n g t h e 1 9 4 7 half a carpet. We have received partition of the subcontinent. rice and medicine from the Thousands of families were government but no tent," said 22 torn apart after the bloody -year-old laborer Zarsheed. partition into Hindu-dominated Pakistani President Asif Ali India and Muslim-majority Zardari drew heavy criticism for Pakistan that led to the flight of going abroad to meet the leaders at least 10 million refugees in of Britain and France as the t h e g r e a t e s t m i g r a t i o n i n crisis unfolded, and not cutting Submitted at 8/14/2010 12:10:15 PM

short his trip. "Despondency is forbidden in our religion. We consider it as a test from Allah for us. This is a test for us and for you," he told flood victims at a relief camp on Saturday. "We will try to meet all your wishes. We will build a new house for you. We will build a new Pakistan." Despite the government's perceived failure in the crisis, analysts say a military coup is unlikely. The army's priority is fighting Taliban insurgents, and seizing power during a disaster would make no sense, they say. It already sets security policies and influences foreign policy, and is described by some as a state within a state. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki -moon is expected to meet Pakistani leaders in Islamabad on Sunday to discuss the flood crisis. ECONOMIC COSTS The economic costs of the flooding are staggering, making it tougher for the government to carry out strategic spending in former Taliban bastions to win public support. The International Monetary Fund has warned of major economic harm and the Finance Ministry said it would miss this year's 4.5 percent gross domestic product growth target. Wheat, cotton and sugar crops have all suffered damage in a country where agriculture is a mainstay of the economy.

Floods have affected about onethird of Pakistan, an area the size of a European country, says the U.N. Clean drinking water is needed for an initial target of six million people. The floods roared down from the northwest to Punjab province to Sindh, where more flooding is expected. Sindh is home to Pakistan's biggest city and commercial hub Karachi. Floods have damaged mostly rural areas there, although concerns are rising that other urban centers are at risk. Pakistanis are still at the mercy of the elements. Scattered thundershowers with few heavy falls are expected in the upper northwest, upper Punjab, parts of the north and Kashmir over the next 24 hours, said the Meteorological Department. Scores of villages have been wiped away. Some people only have a patch of land to stand on. In the town of Muzaffagarh in Punjab, 500 fuel trucks line both sides of a highway. Like about two million Pakistanis, the drivers live in the open, sleeping on mats under their vehicles. Along the same stretch of road, about 5,000 people live in and around the median along a 10 km (6 mile) stretch. Relief groups stop and hand out lentils and bread. Motorists throw water bottles out car windows at children who run alongside vehicles.

(Additional reporting by Aija Braslina in SIGULDA, Tim Wimborne in NOWSHERA, Adrees Latif in MUZAFFAGARH, Robert Birsel in KHANPUR, Zeeshan Haider and Augustine Anthony in ISLAMABAD and Junaid Khan in MINGORA; Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani) Aug 14, 2010 4:07am EDT Has Pakistan asked India to help in this hour of need? If aids from India reach the affected Pakistanis, will these people accept such aids with gratitude and soften their religiouspolitico stand towards their adversary? *We welcome comments that advance the story directly or with relevant tangential information. We try to block comments that use offensive language or appear to be spam and review comments frequently to ensure they meet our standards. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/ U.N. page 22


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Karzai asks Obama for review of Afghanistan war (Reuters: Top News) Submitted at 8/14/2010 9:50:23 AM

U.S. President Barack Obama walks back to the Oval Office after stepping off Marine One on the South Lawn at the White House in Washington July 30, 2010. Credit: Reuters/Jim Young By Andrew Hammond KABUL| Sat Aug 14, 2010 10:50am EDT KABUL(Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai has asked U.S. President Barack Obama to review how the war in Afghanistan is being conducted as civilian deaths continue to rise, Karzai's office said on Saturday. A statement issued by the presidential palace said Obama agreed in a video call to start talking about a review, which Karzai also proposed in a letter. "The two presidents agreed that discussions regarding a strategic review of the more effective ways of fighting terrorism should begin," the statement, written in Dari, said. "The war on terrorism should not be won in the villages of Afghanistan, there should be a strategic review of the method of fighting terrorism," it said, adding they also discussed the parliamentary election on

September 18 and efforts to combat corruption. Civilian casualties caused by U.S. and other foreign forces have been a source of friction between the Afghan government and its Western backers and led to a serious dispute between the two sides last year. With a parliamentary election looming after a flawed presidential poll a year ago, Karzai is under pressure to demonstrate independence from his Western backers. He has pushed reconciliation efforts with insurgents through a peace plan which includes an offer of an amnesty, cash and job incentives to Taliban fighters. Last month, online whistleblower Wikileaks published tens of thousands of classified documents about the war. Wikileaks says it will publish about 15,000 more documents, ignoring demands by Washington to remove the material and return documents to the U.S. government. CIVILIAN SUFFERING The White House said on Friday the leaders discussed efforts to avoid civilian suffering as well as the campaign to defeat the Taliban. It said General David Petraeus,

commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, and U.S. ambassador Karl Eikenberry also took part in the call. "Both leaders agreed that the United States and Afghanistan should continue to work together to keep the pressure on the Taliban and to build Afghan capacity," the White House said in a statement. Such deaths, often caused by air strikes, have angered ordinary Afghans who bear the brunt of the conflict. General Stanley McChrystal, the former commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, issued a new tactical directive last year to limit the use of air strikes after a series of incidents involving civilians. That directive has been tightened even further since Petraeus replaced McChrystal in June. A U.N. report issued this week said civilian casualties had risen 31 percent in the first six months of this year, with 1,271 killed. It said Taliban and other insurgents were responsible for 76 percent of casualties. Deaths caused by "progovernment forces" fell to 12 percent of the total from 30 percent in the same period last year, mainly as a 64 percent fall in deaths caused by aerial

attacks. NATO forces have launched much fewer air strikes due to the tactical directives from issued by the U.S. commanders. Fighting in Afghanistan has intensified despite the presence of almost 150,000 foreign troops. U.S. forces are preparing to start staged withdrawals from July 2011. (Reporting by Andrew Hammond; Editing by Paul Tait) Aug 14, 2010 12:20pm EDT Perhaps our leaders should ask the Afganistan leader, “When are you going to stop the Afganistan and other regional terrorists from killing innocent Afgan civiilians? Another question, why aren’t the people of your country demanding you do something about the continuing acts of terror by the taliban. It is easier to blame those trying to help than accept the responsibility of correcting what is yours. WE train our military to fight and be the best, why do let people wearing suits, that sit thousands of miles away in Washington dictate how a conflict is fought? Military training is proactive, in real world, thanks to Washington, it has become a reactive conflict. That induced delayed reaction is

continually showing a weakness in application, as the rate of American and Allied soldiers killed or wounded continues to climb. And nothing to show for the effort. Support our Troops *We welcome comments that advance the story directly or with relevant tangential information. We try to block comments that use offensive language or appear to be spam and review comments frequently to ensure they meet our standards. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/ faq.php Five Filters featured article:"Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent.


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All those apply only to white people. Everyone else is a second class citizen. If you don’t believe it, incidents like this prove that. Aug 13, 2010 9:25pm EDT Although the opposition to the project is flawed and unwarranted, as a Muslim and a New Yorker, I think it is not a good idea if the majority (supposedly 53%) is against the effort. Th main point of the project is not to serve Muslims directly but to correct misconceptions about the the religion of Islam amongst the common American. However, the existence of a vigorous opposition seems to indicate that a majority of people aren’t interested in such an effort. In the end, such efforts may only flare more paranoia and hatred. And, I, for one, am tired of it. Aug 13, 2010 9:26pm EDT You tell me …just one of the familys that died there are going to open their arms and say come on in…Don’t think so …So how is it that the Prez and the Goverment of NYC…sit there and say its ok???…Hell is everyone asleep here???

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Aug 13, 2010 9:28pm EDT For America, it’s November or never. Pass it along. Aug 13, 2010 9:30pm EDT Personally, I’m ecstatic that obama has launched the first stage of American Islam. We can bring back public executions of thieves and criminals, we can start stoning women who dress like whores, we can start maiming women who cheat on their husbands, and of course force people to start praying 5 times a day. Thank you obama!!! Aug 13, 2010 9:32pm EDT Oh pleaseWhy there- Why so close to the 9-11 site? This is a direct affront to all those who lost loved ones in that terrible incidentTheir leaders say they only want peace and to bring people together? Are they blind- or deaf??? This will only hurt and cause great dissentionTake your mosque and build somewhere elseI strongly oppose this mosque being built by the 911 site- It’s only common sense

people!!! It’s time we the quiet ones start backlashing on thisThis is outrageous and Barack Obama should be ashamed of himself*We welcome comments that advance the story directly or with relevant tangential information. We try to block comments that use offensive language or appear to be spam and review comments frequently to ensure they meet our standards. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/ faq.php Five Filters featured article:"Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent.

understanding? Why speak in generalities and not specifics? Why treat we — little people — like you own us? Look at your paycheck — we little people — are the ones paying you. *We welcome comments that advance the story directly or with relevant tangential information. We try to block comments that use offensive language or appear to be spam and review comments frequently to ensure they meet our standards. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to

our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/ faq.php Five Filters featured article:"Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent.

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faq.php Five Filters featured article:"Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent.

The Bulgari Two-Minute Facelift ELLE.com (ELLE Fashion Blogs) Submitted at 8/13/2010 2:00:00 PM

In Eat Pray Love, Elizabeth

Gilbert jet-sets to the exotic island of Bali. But if hopping a plane to this magical destination isn't possible for you, doesn't mean you can't sample a bit of

paradise. Here, a sneak peek at the Bulgari Hotel & Resort's world-renowned anti-aging facial, given by Balinese therapist Hendrawati—and how

to do it yourself.

(Cooking Light: Editor's Picks)

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Bye-Bye Seymour: Like Any Sensible Narcissist, I’m Locking My Twitter Account Paul Carr (TechCrunch) Submitted at 8/14/2010 12:29:17 AM

I’m hardly the first person to have had the idea: I’m going to shut down my Twitter account. I’m probably not the first to have decided to delete Facebook, Foursquare, Blippy, Google Buzz, LinkedIn or Delicious either. I may be the only person this year to have deleted my Friendfeed account, but only because I’m probably the only person this year to remember that he has a Friendfeed account. No, I would hardly be the first person to decide to embark on a Social Shutdown (as Blippy’s Philip Kaplan termed it) having grown tired of the relentless look-at-me-ism of the Status Update Generation. And I wouldn’t be the first to realise that there’s more to life than feeding the insatiable bloodeating plant of social media – imagine Audrey II in Little Shop Of Horrors– just to keep the fifteen people who care appraised of my every move. But that’s not why I’m doing it. Quite the opposite in fact: I may be the first person to decide to close down most of my social media accounts for purely narcissistic reasons. Huh? What?

Well. This might be news to people who only know me via Twitter, or who assume I write these columns just for the good of my health – but I actually get paid to do this shit. Specifically, I get paid no small amount of money to write about myself: or about technology, or whatever takes my fancy, as seen through the lens of my own experiences. Twice a week I do this for TechCrunch. Less regularly I do it for my publisher: my second memoirstyle book, about my adventures living in hotels, will be published in a couple of months. Narcissism, then, is my stock in trade. The moment people stop being interested in what I do, or what I think about things, then I have no career. For that reason, I have embraced social media wholeheartedly. I’ve looked at bona fide celebrities of the age – Lady Gaga, Ashton Kutcher, Justin Bieber– and I’ve admired how they used Twitter and Facebook and Myspace and the rest to connect directly with the people who buy their music, their DVD’s, their whatever it is Justin Bieber produces. I’ve understood that if I want to build – and keep – an audience, then I have to do the same. I have to tweet every meal, photograph every date, create a

parking tickets. Whatever the excuse, though, the result is the same: people who enjoy my day-job writing are inevitably disappointed by the humdrum reality of my actual life, as laid bare by social media. And if that realisation is jarring for people who follow me on Twitter, I can only imagine how it must feel for people who follow actual celebrities. Take Justin Bieber who this week got into a back-and-forth with some teenagers who claimed, on fanpage on Facebook (actually, happening. Rather than people T w i t t e r , t o b e a t a p a r t y I could never quite bring myself becoming more fascinated by organised by him. Bieber shot to do that one) and I even have my life; the exact opposite back by DM: “I didn’t have a t o s h a r e m y c r e d i t c a r d occurred. “I loved your book, so party. I don’t know who those purchases on Blippy. I started following you on girls are. I’m with 6 of my My publisher understood this Twitter” people would tell me at friends and my family…” He too: as I was finishing my last p a r t i e s . A n d t h e n t h e i r couldn’t let it go at that, though, book, they sent me a cheque to expression would change: “your adding: “what are their twitter encourage me to bulk out my real life isn’t as interesting as names… they are liars.” And with that exchange, Justin blog and create a social media you sound in print.” strategy: safe in the knowledge “No shit”, I’d feel like replying. Bieber – global pop sensation – that any increased awareness of That last book took me a year became Justin Bieber – regular my life would, by extension, to write and spanned almost ten kid on his cellphone, pissed off lead to increased awareness of years of my life, distilled down that people are making shit up my book. It sort-of worked too: into just shy of 300 pages. about him. He’s just like we it was the blog that got me my Included were the drunken fuck were at that age. How dull. most recent gig at the Guardian, - u p s , t h e d i s a s t r o u s Still, at least Bieber has an which in turn lead to me writing relationships, the business excuse for tweeting like a for TechCrunch, where I take failures, the nights in prison teenage: he is a teenager. obvious delight in plugging the cells, but consciously edited out Ashton Kutcher on the other book at every possible juncture. were the boring parts: what I hand… Score one for social media. had for dinner on any given day, If you’re one of the three As I shared more, though, I the uneventful dates, the minor BYE-BYE page 28 started to notice a funny thing s u c c e s s e s a n d o c c a s i o n a l


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Memory Inception: Three Keys To Creating A Great User Experience For Your Product Guest Author (TechCrunch) Submitted at 8/14/2010 12:27:25 PM

Editor’s note: This guest post is written by Dmitry Dragilev, the lead marketer at ZURB, an interaction design firm whose clients have included Facebook, eBay, Yahoo, NYSE, Britney Spears, and Zazzle. They are also behind the Web notation products Notable and Bounce. Ever read a great book? What do you remember about it? Maybe a few dramatic moments, some wild story twists, and most definitely the ending. Your product is just like a book. You’re telling a story to your customers and they’ll remember only a select few moments from what you tell them. What are these moments? Can you use these moments to plant a memory in a customer’s mind? There are millions of books, courses and talks out there about building great products online. An awful lot focus on “user experience” as a silver bullet to delighting customers and driving revenue for businesses. Everyone gets caught up thinking it’s user experience they need to worry about, but it’s what they remember about their experience that’s critical. Their memory is what they’ll draw on to tell other people about it. Their memory is what

they’ll project into the future. We should focus on making experiences happen that plant memories in people’s heads, like in Christopher Nolan’s film Inception. It turns out there are three different kinds of moments in your story customers remember: transitions, Wow moments, and endings. How to plant a memory There are three particular kinds of experiences capable of turning an ordinary moment into a memory that will stick in your customer’s head. Focusing attention on these three experiences will help you create memorable products. 1. Transitions These are similar to those surprising plot twists in a story. Giving customers one sensation and then transitioning to another causes a change customers will recognize and are surprisingly likely to remember. Transitions need a clear end and a new beginning, which will trigger the right-to-left-brain transition and form a memory. Here are some examples of memorable transitions that reinforce the core value of each product: Ever Skype with your grandparents in a remote village in the middle of nowhere? Remember how their still image turned into video for the first

to all of your family and friends? Ever find that awesome movie from your high school years on Netflix and stream it right away? Were you surprised at how good the movie looked? I’m continually impressed each time I open Google Maps on my iPhone and Google something in the area, then hit directions and it fills in Current Location > Search Result and just gets me there, by car or walking. Remember the first time you used Picasa? The first promise t i m e ? T h a t ’ s h o t ! Y o u ’ l l same happens with a product. Picasa had was: “Find all the anticipate this every time you Very little of what you create photos you forgot you had.” The Skype now. for a customer will ever be first run experience delivered Have you tried to use Facetime remembered by them. They will exactly that for a disorganized on the iPhone yet? That initial o n l y r e m e m b e r t h e p e a k user like me. I rediscovered all call transition to the high quality experiences they have and refer sorts of ‘lost’ photos, like an video of the person on the other back to them to sum up their unexpected walk down memory side is extremely memorable. feelings about your product. lane. This is something you’ll be Here are some examples of peak 3. Endings mentioning to your coworkers moments that give customers a If you’ve read a novel you the next day. great story to pass along to their probably remember the ending. But how often do we worry You know how when you type a friends: city into Google Earth and Ever trip over your MacBook about how our customers’ watch the globe spin around to Pro power chord? Remember experiences with a product the country it is in and then how the magnetic power cord ends? That last impression turns z o o m i n t o t h e c i t y ? T h a t came out from your laptop out to be very important. transition is what you probably without bringing it crashing Endings can put a positive spin mentioned to others when you down to the floor? “Wow! on a negative experience or take a positive experience and ruin first described the app. Thank you Apple!” 2. ‘WOW!’ Moments Do you remember the first time t h e w h o l e t h i n g . P e o p l e Ever have a moment when you you won an auction on eBay and remember endings. Here are a just can’t put down the book got your favorite gadget for half few examples of what we’re you’re reading? You’ve got to the price it would cost you in the MEMORY page 32 finish the chapter you’re on. The store? Do you still tell this story


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Startups Or Behemoths: Which Are We Going To Bet On? Vivek Wadhwa (TechCrunch)

Grove wrote a profound essay lamenting the loss of American manufacturing jobs. I share his I knew I would be touching a concerns about jobs. But Andy’s raw nerve with my last two protectionist recommendations posts, on patents. But I was f o r r e s t o r i n g A m e r i c a ’ s r e a l l y s u r p r i s e d a t t h e competitiveness were largely d i v e r g e n c e o f o p i n i o n . based on his flawed premise that Entrepreneurs overwhelmingly companies like Intel create all s u p p o r t e d m y s t a n c e t h a t the jobs—not the startups. I also s o f t w a r e p a t e n t s h a m p e r discussed the tradeoff between innovation and need to be bailing out companies like a b o l i s h e d , b u t f r i e n d s a t General Motors, AIG, and Microsoft, IBM, and Google Citibank and nurturing startups w e r e o u t r a g e d a t m y in this BusinessWeek piece. r e c o m m e n d a t i o n . T h e b i g This question is more important companies’ executives argued than it may seem. that abolishing patents would Kauffman Foundation has done hurt their ability to innovate and extensive research on job t h u s h a m p e r t h e n a t i o n ’ s creation. Kauffman Senior economic growth. (They believe Fellow Tim Kane analyzed a that companies like theirs create new data set from the U.S. t h e m a j o r i t y o f j o b s a n d government, called Business innovations, and they claim that Dynamics Statistics, which without patents they cannot provides details about the age defend their innovations.) I am and employment of businesses not convinced that software started in the U.S. since 1977. p a t e n t s g i v e G o o g l e a n y What this showed was that advantage over Microsoft and startups aren’t just an important Y a h o o , o r m a k e I B M ’ s contributor to job growth: databases any better than they’re the only thing. Without Oracle’s. But I do know one startups, there would be no net thing for sure: it isn’t the big job growth in the U.S. economy. companies that create the jobs or From 1977 to 2005, existing the revolutionary technology c o m p a n i e s w e r e n e t j o b innovations: it is startups. So if destroyers, losing 1 million net we need to pick sides, I vote for jobs per year. In contrast, new the startups. businesses in their first year Let’s start with the question of added an average of 3 million who creates the jobs. This is one jobs annually. of the issues that I recently took When analyzed by company Intel co-founder Andy Grove to age, the data are even more task for, in BusinessWeek. startling. Gross job creation at Submitted at 8/14/2010 9:00:07 AM

employment: we need the entrepreneurs. And there is an important lesson here for the states and cities that offer huge incentives to companies like Dell, Google, and Intel to locate their operations there. The regions should, instead, be focusing on creating more startups, not providing life support to technology behemoths. Now let’s talk about innovation. Apple is the poster startups averaged more than 3 child for tech innovation; it million jobs per year during releases one groundbreaking 1992–2005, four times as high product after another. But let’s as any other yearly age group. get beyond Apple. I challenge Existing firms in all year groups you to name another tech have gross job losses that are company that innovates like larger than gross job gains. Apple—with game-changing Half of the startups go out of technologies like the iPod, business within five years; but iTunes, iPhone, and iPad. overall they are still the ones Google certainly doesn’t fit the t h a t l e a d t h e c h a r g e i n bill—after its original search employment creation. Kauffman engine and ad platform, it hasn’t Foundation analyzed the invented anything earth average employment of all firms shattering. Yes, Google did as they age from year zero develop a nice email system and (birth) to year five. When a some mapping software, but given cohort of startups reaches t h e s e w e r e i n c r e m e n t a l age five, its employment level is innovations. For that matter, 80 percent of what it was when what earth-shattering products it began. In 2000, for example, have IBM, HP, Microsoft, startups created 3,099,639 jobs. Oracle, or Cisco produced in By 2005, the surviving firms recent times? These companies had a total employment of constantly acquire startups and 2,412,410, or about 78 percent take advantage of their own size of the number of jobs that and distribution channels to existed when these firms were scale up the innovations they born. have purchased. They let the So we can’t count on the Intels startups take the risk and prove o r M i c r o s o f t s t o c r e a t e the business models.

This raises an interesting question. Google and Microsoft have always prided themselves for hiring the cream of the crop of software developers. It is ridiculously hard to get a job at either company. But when technology’s top guns join these companies, they seem to make a smaller impact than those that don’t get hired. So would these companies be better served by releasing their most brilliant developers into the wild and arming them with seed financing to start companies? (They could negotiate partial ownership and right of first refusal on acquisition.) We would certainly get more innovation this way. Simply put, if we are serious about lifting the economy out of its rut, we need to focus all of our energy on helping entrepreneurs. Provide them with the incentives (tax breaks and seed financing); education; and infrastructure. And gear public policy—like patentprotection laws—toward the startups. Let’s not bet on the companies that are too big to fail or too clumsy to innovate. Editor’s note: Guest writer Vivek Wadhwa is an entrepreneur turned academic. He is a Visiting Scholar at the School of Information at UCBerkeley, Senior Research Associate at Harvard Law STARTUPS page 27


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Geofencing: What's Next For Location-Based Services? Guest Author (ReadWriteWeb)

(accident locations appear and disappear). This gets very interesting when you Submitted at 8/13/2010 4:05:00 PM incorporate rapidly moving realUntil recently, iPhone location time data, like Twitter feeds. app designs were limited by the Place Geofences constraints of single-tasked OS Place-based geofences use a capabilities: launch Foursquare stream of continuously pushed and check-in, use Yelp find a location to identify when a user nearby place of interest, open enters or exits a place or static another app to update your zone. A place may be the local status and tag it with location. b a r o r e v e n t h e s t a t e o f All of these scenarios require California. Place and zone data users to have a participatory role sources are infinite - from in publishing and sharing. This restaurants and other POIs to works well for some apps that boundaries such as a county, require active engagement such city, zip code, neighborhood, as broadcasting your Twitter y o u r h o m e , s c h o o l , o r status and where you'll be later. w o r k p l a c e . But an entirely new class of If you need more ideas for zone compelling scenarios really d a t a t y p e s , c h e c k o u t shine when you use a UrbanMapping's geodata technology called geofencing to catalog, which lists dozens of leverage background location geodata source types. With and push location updates up to places loaded into a geofencing public and private clouds. service, you can build Sponsor Smartphone apps to trigger Guest author Tasso Roumeliotis when a user enters or leaves the is founder and CEO of Location static area that you care about. Labs, the leader in Location-as-a Your app could send an email, -Service for mobile application text or multimedia alert to the developers. You can follow his user ("Billy has arrived safely at l o c a t i o n s t r e a m o n school!") or trigger an action Twitter:@Tassor The interesting such as updating a database. nuance here is that the geofence Imagine a geofence that location is relatively static (a automatically checks you in to traffic accident doesn't move one of your favorite venues, much), but the geofence time without having to even interact window is extremely dynamic with the Foursquare mobile

client. Or when you leave, it checks you out so your friends aren't wondering where you are. Dynamic Geofences Anyone reading this post has heard of, or probably even used, a mobile app that delivers realtime and right-time information to your smartphone app: weather alerts, Amber Alerts, traffic alerts, emergency notifications. With dynamicfeed proximity-based geofencing and geofencing APIs, it's possible to deliver these dynamic data sources justin-time as mobile users move within geographic proximity of continuously shifting, movingtarget data streams. The interesting nuance here is that the geofence location is relatively static (a traffic accident doesn't move much), but the geofence time window is extremely dynamic (accident locations appear and disappear). This gets very interesting when you incorporate rapidly moving real-time data, like Twitter

feeds. You could imagine realtime location-aware celebrity sighting notifications where I would receive an alert that Lionel Messi (the best soccer player in the world, who lead my beloved Argentina in the World Cup) was spotted and then geo-tagged and tweeted about around the corner from me. Also, think about all the "expiring assets" - movie tickets just before showtime, pizza slices post-lunch rush - these could be fed to nearby subscribers, offering discounts. Or maybe an exclusive Gilt sale that lasts a couple of hours. Peer-to-Peer Geofences With peer-to-peer geofencing, both the geofence location and the time window are regularly shifting - and the goal is to detect "collision" (nearness) of two very dynamic points as, for example, when we want to detect that two friends are near each other. This is a more advanced feature of a geofencing services aPI because it involves a real time comparison of many streams of location data both for location and time collision (it's much less interesting to detect that your friend was here a few days ago). What's Taking So Long? The easy part is coming up with

these use cases. But Android, Blackberry and WinMo have had background process capability for some time - why haven't we seen an explosion of these kinds of apps on those platforms? It turns out that managing background process - especially using location and geospatial calculations - can be very c o m p l e x . N a 誰 v e implementations can be a massive drain on battery life of a phone (leaving the GPS chip on would drain the battery in a few hours). Geospatial calculations can be complex, as is rapid computation of massive amounts of location data. Producing a scalable, commercial-grade solution is a difficult problem. iPhone attempted to solve some of these issues (like battery drain), the solution is far from ideal. For instance, in our early testing, the iPhone background location API was not reliable out-of-the-box for geofencing. We have a long way to go. But the opportunity is huge and obvious, so I expect we will see much innovation in this area in the coming months as the industry moves into Location 2.0. Photo by Yaroslav B. Discuss


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Weekly Wrap-up: Flash For Your iPhone, Paper Books vs. E-Books, Android Trojan, And More... Abraham Hyatt (ReadWriteWeb)

we've made it easy to share ReadWriteWeb posts directly from your iPhone, on Twitter Submitted at 8/14/2010 8:00:00 AM and Facebook. You can also Our top story this week was one follow the RWW team on that must have given Steve Jobs Twitter, directly from the app. nightmares: How to Install Flash We invite you to download it on your iPhone (The Easy now from iTunes. Way). We also continued our Real-Time Web exploration of the significant • Geofencing: What's Next For Internet trends of 2010: The Location-Based Services? dead can speak thanks to the • SPARQLZ Shines as a Vision • Google's New "Chrome to Internet of Things; we've got a for Linked Data Made Easy Phone" Service Should Be on big brand augmented reality marketing roundup; and there More Real-Time Web coverage Every Phone are SPARQLZ in the real-time Internet of Things More Mobile Web coverage Web. Read on for more. • RFID Lets the Dead Speak Sponsor • Sensors On Broadway: Live ReadWriteStart Top Stories of the Week Performances Enhanced by Our channel ReadWriteStart, sponsored by Microsoft • How to Install Flash on your RFID BizSpark, is dedicated to iPhone (The Easy Way) • 5 Ways That Paper Books Are More Internet of Things p r o f i l i n g s t a r t u p s a n d entrepreneurs. Better Than eBooks coverage • 10 Lessons From Finland's • Facebook Launching Official Augmented Reality L i v e S t r e a m i n g C h a n n e l : • Augmented Architecture from Summer of Startups Facebook Live a r c h I N F O R M W i n s A R • Developing a Creative Work Culture • First Trojan for Android D e v e l o p e r C o n t e s t Phones Goes Wild [UPDATE] • Big Brand AR Marketing • Inside the Mind of an Early • The Movement to "Save Roundup: Nike, Ray-Ban & Stage Venture Capitalist Google Wave" More ReadWriteCloud More coverage and analysis More Augmented Reality Our channel ReadWriteCloud, sponsored by VMware and Intel, from ReadWriteWeb coverage is dedicated to Virtualization Check Out The ReadWriteWeb Mobile Web iPhone App • iOS 4.0.2 Released, Fixes and Cloud Computing. We recently launched the PDF Exploit - And Breaks • The Movement to "Save Google Wave" official ReadWriteWeb iPhone Browser-Based Jailbreak app. As well as enabling you to • Groupon + Foursquare = • Google TV Gets A New Logo read ReadWriteWeb while on GroupTabs, Group Deals for - What Do You Think? • Recommended Listening: 10 the go or lying on the couch, Check-Ins

Cloud Computing Podcasts ReadWriteEnterprise O u r c h a n n e l ReadWriteEnterprise is devoted to enterprise 2.0 and using social software inside organizations. • Create Voice Apps From a Point-and-Click Interface with QuickFuse • City of Denver Dives Into the World of Open-Source • McAfee: Malware Threats at All-Time High, IT Managers Targeted with Fake Invoices ReadWriteBiz Our channel ReadWriteBiz is a resource and guide for small to medium businesses. • Project Management Gets an Upgrade With the New Projecturf • Save on Credit Card Processing Fees With TransFS • Wibiya Toolbar Upgrade Brings Live Social Chat to Your Site

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School and Director of Research at the Center for Entrepreneurship and Research Commercialization at Duke University. You can follow him on Twitter at@vwadhwa and find his research at www.wadhwa.com.

Radio Tray is a Minimal Internet Radio Player for Linux [Downloads] Whitson Gordon (Lifehacker) Submitted at 8/13/2010 3:00:00 PM

Linux: Sometimes, you just want to have the radio playing in the background without a full -fledged media player or Enjoy your weekend everyone. browser eating up resources. Subscribe to the Weekly Wrap- Free app Radio Tray sits in your up menu bar and unobtrusively You can subscribe to the streams internet radio for your Weekly Wrap-up by RSS or by listening pleasure. More » email below. RWW Weekly Wrap-up Email Subscription form: Photo by Ben+Sam Discuss


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people in the world not already following Kutcher (I’m another), then take a moment to browse his latest tweets: with every 140 character nugget, Kutcher becomes less ‘socialmedia savvy husband of Demi Moore who was in that show once’ and more ‘overenthusiastic teenager with a cellphone’. The more we know, the less we want to know. Go a step further. Contrast the hell-raising antics of classic stars like Richard Burton and Oliver Reed, with today’s famous drunks like David Hasselhoff and Lindsay Lohan. Why did the problems of the former only add to their legendary status, while with the latter it only makes us pity them? A difference in acting ability? Well, sure. But mainly it’s because in the case of Burton, Reed et al, fans only read about their heroes misbehavior in newspapers after the fact: stylised accounts of nights spent stumbling out of bars and brawling in the street. With today’s stars, social media – everyone having a camera, and every misstep ending up on YouTube – means that we can actually witness the drunkenness

as it happens, or shortly afterwards. That’s never pretty. Social media allows us to become familiar with people who in a previous life would be unknowable “stars” — and we all know what familiarity breeds. There’s a reason why reality stars fade from the limelight so quickly and why none of the movies on Project Greenlight became a success: to mix a metaphor, you can’t become a star if everyone has seen the sausage being made. In Esquire, S.T. VanAirsdale argued recently that we’re on the cusp of a rebellion against over-exposed celebrities: that tomorrow’s stars will not be Twitter-whores like Bieber and Gaga but virtual recluses in the mould of Greta Garbo and JD Salinger. If that’s true – that fame and fortune will soon be inversely proportional to social media exposure – then God help someone like me: someone who can only dream of the level of success attained by Salinger or, uh, Bieber. Not only is my constant lifecasting boring to tears people who actually want to like me but, worse still, I’m spending hours every week dicking

around keeping those half-dozen profiles up to date when I could be using the time writing another column, or researching another book. You know, something with the potential to actually make me seem interesting. Something that could – probably won’t, but could – one day make me famous. Quelle irony. For that reason, them, as the publication date of my next book approaches, I’ve decided to take precisely the opposite self-promotional strategy to the one I took for the last one. Cue the Social Shutdown: I’ve closed down all of my social media accounts: deleting Foursquare, Plancast, Buzz, Facebook, LinkedIn, Delicious, Blippy and all of the rest. All, in fact, except Twitter. I was going to axe that too, but then I paused: I really enjoy writing those little 140 character updates, for the amusement of friends and because they occasionally allow me to testdrive jokes and ideas before throwing them out to a wider audience (I have just under 10,000 followers – a big number but considerably lower than the readership of even my least

popular TechCrunch post. And a number dwarfed by how many people have read my last book in its various forms). Twitter, then, might survive the cut – but with one significant change: I’m a couple of hundred followers away from reaching 10,000 and after that I’ve decided to lock my account. ( Update: done) Ten thousand is more than enough followers for one person, and it’s a number that will still allow me to have fun with the service – keeping up with friends, testing ideas, responding to amusing @replies – without obsessing about what the wider world will make of my frighteningly mundane life. So that’s that. Finally social media is put back in its place: a closed way to connect with friends old and new, rather than a sprawling, digital reincarnation of Seymour’s plant: demanding my constant attention while at the same time plotting my professional demise. I miss it already. Anyone want to know what I had for lunch?

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Top Summer Scoops (Cooking Light: Editor's Picks)

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Top 10 Ways Your Brain Is Sabotaging You (and How to Beat It) [Lifehacker Top 10] Kevin Purdy (Lifehacker) Submitted at 8/14/2010 9:00:00 AM

An unexamined brain is a tricky thing to carry around. You've got unintentional biases, marketing weaknesses, "overclocking" issues, and all kinds of other mental bugs you may not know about. Here's a helpful list of the mind's weird ways. More »

Be Prepared! Advice for Startups Entering the Mobile Sector Chris Cameron (ReadWriteWeb) A n yPREPARED! f r8/13/2010 e q u e n t7:50:00 r e a dPM page 29e r o f Submitted at


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ReadWriteWeb should know that mobility is one of the most significant trends we've been tracking. One thing we haven't discussed much in the realm of mobile, however, is how startups and entrepreneurs can take advantage and prepare themselves for a venture into mobile. Today I spoke with Steve Eisenberg, a business development consultant for MRN Digital Media, and he was kind enough to share some insights that startups may find valuable before diving into the mobile market head-first. Sponsor Planning Makes Perfect The theme that came up over and over again during my discussion with Eisenberg was that of preparation and planning. This trend in our chat makes sense coming from a business development consultant, but it is a valuable cornerstone for creating a successful business. "For startups, some have to do a better job of putting together a management team. Part of growing down the road for funding is about having a track

record and experience," says Eisenberg. He adds that some small companies are often caught off guard by rapid growth and aren't prepared to staff up or acquire technical resources to scale. Preparing for unexpected growth, he says, requires both foresight and contingency plans. The first step toward achieving this is to setup a solid advisory board - one that will provide valuable advice and set quarterly growth milestones to track progress, adds Eisenberg. Another step in planning for rapid growth and usage is to ensure your apps are battle tested. Eisenberg suggests using a service like Mob4Hire, which will launch its army of mobile users at your app to test it for bugs and endurance while also providing analysis of the usage. The Times They Are a-Changin' Startups entering the mobile space not only have to plan for rapid growth, but also for the equally fast changing nature of the industry itself. As I mentioned in an article earlier this summer, some - Eisenberg

included - believe applications on mobile devices are moving away from native platforms toward web-based development. "The point is ubiquity across as many platforms as possible," says Eisenberg. "The ability to publish once and distribute across multiple platforms makes it easier for whoever wants the app developed. I think that's something that people should consider." Serve the Underserved The other considerations are the common misconceptions about the state of mobile market. While Apple certainly has the largest marketing budget, Eisenberg reminds us that Android, RIM and others are still significant slices of the sector. Additionally, while smartphones have been growing in popularity, the amount of mobile users with standard phones with far lower functionality is still massively more common - especially within specific demographic sectors. "There can still be creative things done with SMS or

pictures," Eisenberg points out. "You could send some a picture of a barcode and it could be scanned at the register. Some can support QR codes as well. I think we will start seeing more instant coupons that are more valuable to a consumer than a basic advertisement." Startups sometimes forget that even small companies (sometimes especially small companies) need to plan carefully for their growth. Whatever your target, and whatever your business, planning is never a bad idea. For more resources surrounding mobile business development, be sure check out Eisenberg's work-in-progress site that will soon be the home to a community of business professionals in the mobile sector. Discuss

From the Tips Box: Network Filters, Status Bar Size, and Saving Electricity [From The Tips Box] Whitson Gordon (Lifehacker) Submitted at 8/13/2010 5:00:00 PM

Readers offer their best tips for getting around some network filters, enlarging the font in Firefox's status bar, and toning down on your PC's power consumption. More Âť

Preserve Old Paperback Books by Turning Them Humanoid robot Nao gets Into Hardcovers [Preservation] Whitson Gordon (Lifehacker) Submitted at 8/14/2010 8:00:00 AM

Paperback books have their

conveniences, but they can also get easily destroyed. If you'd like to keep some of your neardeath paperbacks around, kid-

emotion chip

how to give them some custom, protective hard covers. More Âť (CNET News.com) centric blog Ohdeedoh shows us

Submitted at 8/14/2010 11:03:54 AM

Nao:HUMANOID Do emotionalpage robots 30make


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HUMANOID continued from page 29

better companions?(Credit: Aldebaran Robotics) If you think robots are heartless piles of plastic and silicon, you'd be correct. But soccer-playing humanoid robot Nao has been evolving by developing "emotions" under a European project and is now being used in the U.S. in sessions to treat autistic children. Under the recently concluded Feelix Growing project--aimed at designing bots that can detect and respond to human emotional cues--researchers at the University of Hertfordshire's Adaptive Systems Group and other centers have been trying to get Nao to simulate human emotions. Researcher Lola Canamero and colleagues have been programming Nao, created by Aldebaran Robotics and used worldwide as a research bot, based on how human and chimpanzee infants interact with others. Working with a budget

of some $3.2 million, the researchers have been trying to create robots that can be better companions for people. In a gushing report, the Daily Mail has hailed Nao as "the first robot capable of developing emotions and forming bonds with humans." Robot fans who remember Sony's robot dog Aibo, discontinued in 2006, will recall that it had a range of synthetic emotions and could "grow" emotionally according to how it interacted with its owner. It's no surprise that the researchers have also been experimenting with Aibo, including the cyberpup and Nao in a "robot nursery" designed to incubate emotional behaviors. Nao can so far express excitement, anger, fear, sadness, happiness, and pride, and supposedly has the "emotional skills" of a 1-year-old child. Using its facial-recognition skills, Nao can become attached

to people who help it learn, just like a human infant. When confronted with an unfamiliar situation, or when neglected by its human caregiver, Nao can become agitated. It will remember past experiences it interprets as positive or negative. The Feelix Growing project concluded in May, involving eight universities and robotics firms including Aldebaran. Some researchers working with Nao see it acting as a companion for elderly people, while others believe it can help kids with learning disabilities. Researchers at the University of Connecticut's Center for Health, Intervention, and Prevention ( CHIP) have begun using Nao with autistic children, and early results are intriguing. "Children with autism spectrum disorder typically feel more comfortable with robots than with other people initially, because robot interactions are

simpler and more predictable and the children are in control of the social interaction," CHIP researcher Anjana Bhat was quoted as saying in a release. Nao's nascent emotional intelligence bodes well for its career on the soccer pitch--after all, it's the official platform for the standard league in RoboCup, the biggest robotics competition around. If nothing else, Nao's new emotions might help it become the best faker on the pitch. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/ faq.php Five Filters featured article:"Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent.

Road Trip Pic of the Day 8/14: What is this? (CNET News.com) Submitted at 8/14/2010 10:00:00 AM

If you know what this is and where it's located, you could win a prize in the CNET Road Trip Picture of the Day challenge.(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET) The birds are not scared away from this lion's majestic stance. If you know what this is and where it's located, you could ROAD page 31

Verizon's Fivespot gets FCC approval by way of ZTE Chris Ziegler (Engadget)

what you're looking at above is a non-carrier-branded version of Submitted at 8/14/2010 9:09:00 AM the Fivespot global mobile This actually happened a few hotspot for Verizon that we'd d a y s a g o , b u t s i n c e w e broke the news on last month -admittedly weren't on the and if you sift through the user's lookout for hot filings from manual in the FCC filing, you'll Chinese manufacturer ZTE, we see that this is indeed the same totally missed it until we circled thing as the Verizon device. As back for our FCC Fridays a refresher, this puppy is roundup this week. That's right: supposed to replace the aging

MiFi and offer support for triband HSPA alongside EV-DO

in the event you're dying for some 3G coverage outside the States. We've heard rumors that it's been canceled recently to make room for Big Red's LTE plans, but we're not sure we buy it since widespread LTE coverage is still a long way out - especially in a tiny, sexy, global mobile hotspot form factor like this. And hey, with

FCC approval behind 'em, why not go ahead and release it? Verizon's Fivespot gets FCC approval by way of ZTE originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 14 Aug 2010 09:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| FCC| Email this| Comments


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All six 'Star Wars' films coming to Blu-ray (CNET News.com)

announcing that the movies would be released on Blu-Ray in 2011. 'Star Wars' creator George Not long after, Lucasfilm and Lucas announced on stage at Twentieth Century Fox Home Celebration V that the six live- Entertainment put out a press action films in the saga will be release offering a few more coming out on Blu-Ray in details. According to the release, 2011.(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/ the six films will come out on CNET) Blu-Ray in a boxed set in Fall ORLANDO, Fla.--If you're a 2011, and will be accompanied huge "Star Wars" fan and by some new documentaries, having all six of George Lucas' behind-the-scenes moments and saga's live-action films on VHS more special features. and DVD isn't enough, get I've been covering Celebration ready: The movies are coming V as the last stop on Road Trip out on Blu-Ray. 2010. Stay tuned for a more During a live interview on stage complete story on the Lucas/ a t t h e C e l e b r a t i o n V f a n Stewart interview. convention here conducted by All six 'Star Wars' live-action "Daily Show" host Jon Stewart, films will be released on BluLucas thrilled the crowd by Ray in 2011.(Credit: Daniel Submitted at 8/14/2010 12:29:17 PM

Terdiman/CNET) Since June 23, Geek Gestalt has been on Road Trip 2010. After driving more than 18,000 miles in the Rocky Mountains, the Pacific Northwest, the

northeast. You can follow my p r o g r e s s o n Twitter@GreeterDan and@RoadTrip and find the project on Facebook. And you can also test your knowledge of the U.S. and try to win a prize in the Road Trip Picture of the Day challenge. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/ Southwest and the Southeast faq.php Five Filters featured over the last four years, I've been looking for the best in article:"Peace Envoy" Blair Gets technology, science, military, a n E a s y R i d e i n t h e nature, aviation and more I n d e p e n d e n t . throughout the American

ROAD continued from page 30

win a copy of season 5 of "Weeds," which was provided by Showtime (which is owned by CNET parent CBS). On August 16, Showtime will premiere season 6 of "Weeds," as well as a new show, called The Big C. This is all part of the CNET Road Trip Picture of the Day challenge. If you have those answers, please e-mail them to me no later than 6 p.m. PDT Saturday (to daniel--dot--terdiman--at-cnet--dot--com, and PLEASE include "Picture of the Day" in the subject line). I'll choose a winner at random from among

everyone who sends in both pieces of the correct answer. Please forgive me if you don't hear from me if you're not the winner. I get dozens of responses each day. Also, I've turned off comments because some people have been posting the correct answers there. I hate to shut down discussion, but I want you to figure out the answer on your own. One caveat: No individual can win more than two prizes. But at the end of the trip, I'll draw a name from among all the daily challenge winners and give out

something a little more substantial. On June 24, Geek Gestalt kicked off Road Trip 2010. After driving more than 18,000 miles in the Rocky Mountains, the Pacific Northwest, the Southwest, and the Southeast over the last four years, I'm looking for the best in technology, science, military, nature, aviation, and more throughout the American northeast. If you have a suggestion for someplace to visit, drop me a line. In the meantime, you can follow my journey on Twitter@GreeterDan

and@RoadTrip and find the project on Facebook. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/ faq.php Five Filters featured article:"Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent.


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RFID Lets the Dead Speak Curt Hopkins (ReadWriteWeb) Submitted at 8/13/2010 6:00:00 PM

It's an archetypal scene of transcendent horror: a Nervous Nelly is making his or her way through a graveyard at night. Cue: full moon, owl, ground fog. A branch cracks. Nelly increases speed, heartbeat races, panting increases. A root clutches at Nelly's shoe and he goes over, skidding to a stop in front of a tombstone. The dead rise and speak! AHHHHRRRGGHGHGH! Oh, wait. It's just an RFID chip embedded in the grave marker. Sponsor RosettaStone, a company that creates "technology-enhanced memorial products," has created the RosettaStone Tablet. This RFID chip, located within a grave marker, holds space enough for a photograph and a 1,000 word message. To read the message requires an NFC-RFID enabled smart phone, which you tap against the palm-sized granite plaque that contains the chip. The chip

is advertised as having a weathering resistance of 3,200 years. (Message to our readers in 5,109: check it out, would you?) The plaque itself is engraved with a series of symbols from a menu the company offers. They are designed to commemorate milestones in the person's life marrying, becoming a grandparent, career

achievements, public honors and so forth. Here's a thought, though. There are memorial messages in stone that have lasted 4,200 years and more. Language + stone = forever.(Or close enough for government work.) Tomb markings have lasted through flood and fire and the collapse of civilizations. Is RosettaStone the triumph of hope over reason? Or will the ability to recall electronic messages be with us from here on out? If the latter is the case, will the technology expand to allow additional uploads - video and audio of the deceased and testimonials by succeeding generations of visitors? Either way, for the time being at least, tools like RosettaStone may provide an emotionally powerful sense of immediacy for the living as they mourn those they've lost. Graveyard photo by Josh McGinn Discuss

MEMORY continued from page 24

talking about: Good ending: Becoming a Mayor in Foursquare. What an awesome ending to your hard work of check ins. Folks get excited about this. Bad ending: You’ve been checking in for months and have not received any messages or earned anything for doing it. You’re sick of competing with others without any reward and so you give up. Good ending: You contact the tech expert on Crossloop and get your computer virus removed in 10 minutes. You’ll definitely be telling others about this experience. Bad ending: You contact a tech expert to resolve a problem and you get no response for days. By that time you’ve given up on the service all together. Good ending: You click Google Docs Save and Close button and know that: “Certainty I won’t lose my doc!” Bad ending: You click the Close button on a cloud app doc and are not sure if your changes were saved. Good ending: Flickr’s Contact updates provide a never-ending ending, a continual positive spin

on our initial investment of putting our own pictures in there Bad ending: You keep putting pictures online and don’t hear about any responses to your pictures for months. These examples above form memories in customers’ minds that sell these products over and over again. If you want your product to sell you’ve got to start with focusing on transitions, Wow moments, and endings to make it stick in a customer’s mind. How sure are you that your customers will tell others about these moments versus another one you’d rather they forget? Like the author of a book, you are not just making a product or providing a good user experience, you are giving people a story that will plant memories, and those memories will drive their behavior in the future. Make sure they have good ones. CrunchBase Information ZURB Information provided by CrunchBase


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E-reader News Edition

New Sony Readers coming soon? (CNET News.com) Submitted at 8/14/2010 8:15:00 AM

Sony's current touch-screen ereader, the PRS-600.(Credit: Sony) With both Amazon and Barnes & Noble announcing new ereaders and price cuts in recent weeks, we've been waiting for Sony to bring out its nextgeneration e-readers. Well, rumor has it that we're weeks away from that happening, as the blog Sony Insider is reporting that Sony will announce two new ereaders, the PRS-350 and PRS650. According to Sony Insider's "most trusted sources," the new e-readers will both be e-ink touch-screen models, with a very slim design (10mm), expanded internal memory (2GB), user-interface tweaks, and "competitive pricing." The report states that the PRS-350 will be a 5-inch model with no wireless connectivity and the 6inch PRS-650 will at least feature Wi-Fi and possibly 3G. (Note: even with this report, we wouldn't be surprised if the PRS -350 doesn't have a touch screen). Hopefully, if these are indeed

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Apple manager held on kickback charges Michael Rose (The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)) Submitted at 8/14/2010 9:45:00 AM

touch-screen models, Sony has fixed the contrast and glare issues it was experiencing with the PRS-600's touch-screen. At CES in January some companies were showing touch-screen ereader prototypes that featured displays with improved readability. We'll see if that technology makes its way into Sony's new e-readers. All that said, at the end of the day, at least here in the U.S., the price of the new Readers will most likely determine how successful they are. With Amazon's Wi-Fi-only Kindle at $139 and Barnes & Noble's Wi-

The Mercury News is reporting that Sunnyvale, CA resident Paul Shin Devine, a 37-year-old Apple manager in global supply, has been arrested and charged with accepting kickbacks from Asian suppliers. In return, he provided confidential information that allowed these suppliers to negotiate more advantageous contracts with Apple. Fi-only Nook at $149, we Devine, and his alleged coexpect that Sony's 5-inch model conspirator Andrew Ang of will be priced in that range and Singapore, have been indicted try to gain a competitive by a federal grand jury on 23 advantage with its design. counts including wire fraud, This entry passed through the money laundering and other Full-Text RSS service — if this charges. Devine is being held by is your content and you're the US Marshals Service. reading it on someone else's site, Apple's statement on the matter please read our FAQ page at comes from PR lead Steve fivefilters.org/content-only/ Dowling: "Apple is committed to the highest ethical standards faq.php F i v e F i l t e r s f e a t u r e d in the way we do business... We article:"Peace Envoy" Blair Gets h a v e z e r o t o l e r a n c e f o r a n E a s y R i d e i n t h e dishonest behavior inside or Independent.

outside the company." Devine is alleged to have collected over $1 million in funds from various suppliers in China, Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea during the scheme; the companies involved have not yet been named publicly. Devine opened bank accounts in several countries in his wife's name to disguise the bribes. [via Apple 2.0] TUAW Apple manager held on kickback charges originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 14 Aug 2010 09:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments


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iTut: All of Carter's Tutankhamun Materials Now Online Curt Hopkins (ReadWriteWeb) Submitted at 8/13/2010 8:52:00 PM

When most people think of Tutankhamun, they think, rightly, of the Egyptian king's tomb artifacts: including alabaster jars, gilded chariots and most of all the golden sarcophagus. But powering that astonishing 1922 discovery, and contextualizing it afterward, were the materials generated by the find's lead archaeologist, Howard Carter. In 1995, the staff of Oxford University' s Griffith Institute of Egyptology, the custodians of Carter's papers, started digitizing his Tut archive. The collection included all the photographs, glass negatives, reams of notes and diaries from the 1922 excavation's lead archaeologist, Howard Carter. Now, every bit of it is online at a database titled Tutankhamun: Anatomy of an Excavation. Sponsor Carter's life was a difficult one.

Professionally, as a working class scholar, he relied on the money he got from the dig's sponsor Lord Carnarvon. He was ill-fed and ill-clad much of the time and pushed himself very hard. In the years between the end of the excavation in 1932 and his death in 1939 he was not able to publish much of what he'd learned. So, as famous as Tut became,

and the material remains in the king's tomb, Carter's research languished. Most scholars in the field never saw more than a scant percentage of Carter's work and the public at large was exposed to much less than that. Now, 3,500 note cards, over 1,000 photographs, 60 maps and much else besides is available, in addition to photos of the 5,400 grave objects, to anyone with an Internet connection. The astonishing thing, as the Guardian points out, is the fact that Dr. Jaromir Malek and his staff at the Griffith did this in their spare time. Carter's a hero but no less so are the Griffith staff. They scanned the paper itself in image files and uploaded transcribed and searchable versions of all writing. Tutankhamun mask photo by Flydime| Chariot photo by Steve Parker Discuss

Photoshop Express for iPad is the spawn of the devil, avoid for now Mel Martin (The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)) Submitted at 8/13/2010 9:30:00 PM

It seemed like such a great idea. Adobe was releasing a free photo editing tool for the iPhone and the iPad. Well, Photoshop Express is out, and it's a big, honking dog. It has just about the worst ratings I've ever seen on an app from a big time developer, and those ratings are well deserved. On my iPad it launches, crashes, and then picks another app on my iPad to run. In my case it launches Photogene, another photo editing program. Huh? For those lucky enough to get Photoshop Express running it crashes over and over. And over. Did anybody at Adobe test this thing? I'm sure it will be replaced by a working app at some time, but don't grab this thing unless you are really a masochist. It may be working fine for a few, but for most users the app is a steaming pile of frustration.

You've been warned. Update: Several commenters note that launching the app in landscape mode may avoid the issues, which appear to be caused by PE trying to launch an introductory PDF the first time it's run. TUAW Photoshop Express for iPad is the spawn of the devil, avoid for now originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 13 Aug 2010 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments


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No, Google Didn’t Remove Oracle From Its Search Results Jason Kincaid (TechCrunch)

internal memo with the subject line “FREEDOM” and a link to the Braveheart Theme. Picture this. You’re the world’s That’s the story that biggest search engine, and you IPWatchdog published last just became the target of a night, claiming that Google p a t e n t l a w s u i t t h a t c o u l d “seemingly tampered with [its] p o t e n t i a l l y p u t y o u r search algorithm and database massively successful mobile b y e l i m i n a t i n g O r a c l e operating system at risk. Your altogether” from its search hardware and carrier partners engine (okay, there wasn’t are keenly watching your anything about an internal response, not to mention the m e m o ) . G e n e Q u i n n , t h e constant government scrutiny article’s author, claims to have you see on a day-to-day basis. confirmed the search issue at 3 So, throwing caution to the PM EST yesterday, stating that wind, you pull out your digital it was back to normal a few middle finger and delist your hours later. Unfortunately, it’s opponent entirely from search totally bogus. results, then shoot off an As Giorgio Sironi spells out on Submitted at 8/14/2010 11:50:46 AM

his blog, some trickster used a variety of UTF-8 characters (not from the standard English alphabet) to craft the query, which yielded a mere six results. It’s easy to see why someone

might mistake this at first glance — I suspect IPWatchdog “confirmed” it by clicking on a link to the misleading query, rather than entering it themselves.

However, as far-fetched as all of this may sound, Google has had glitches when it came to searching for competitors. Back when the Palm Pre first made its debut, Google Mobile couldn’t find any results for it. That was pretty clearly a temporary glitch, though, as other queries containing the word “palm”, like “palm tree”, were coming back empty as well. CrunchBase Information Google Oracle Corporation Information provided by CrunchBase

Does the Apple TV need 1080p? Richard Gaywood (The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW))

really that surprising? Everyone automatically assumes 1080p is the natural choice but I'm not sure it's that simple. Submitted at 8/13/2010 4:00:00 PM Engadget's tasty scoop on Notwithstanding (slightly Wednesday suggests that the dubious) recent rumours of a long-rumoured but still-mythical new video codec capable of Apple TV hardware refresh pushing out 4096x2160, iTunes would lack 1080p output. As is today can only offer high fairly routine now, weblogs, definition video in 720p. To forums, and Twitter exploded move that to 1080p would with "ZOMG APPLE #FAIL" require 2.25 times more disk and similar thoughtful criticism. space on the iTunes servers and But assuming it's true, is this the same increase in data

bandwidth between those servers and the paying

customers. Those are not cheap investments. In turn, consumers would see a similar increase in streaming requirements. Xbox Live can stream 1080p video, but it requires 8-10meg broadband, which leaves an awful lot of people out in the cold. It has the option of downloading instead, but if you're out in the sticks on a 2meg stream you're looking at more than eight hours to download your film at 1080p.

You'd best plan your Friday night viewing before leaving for work on Friday morning. TUAW Does the Apple TV need 1080p? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 13 Aug 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments


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Prototype of robot that develops emotions on interacting with humans officially complete Laura June (Engadget)

way that a child does, learning to interact with and respond to the human beings around them. The first prototype of a robot Modeled after human and that can develop emotions as it c h i m p a n z e e c h i l d h o o d interacts with a human caregiver development paths, they are has been completed. A team p r o g r a m m e d t o b e h i g h l y across Europe was led by Dr. adaptable to the people around L o l a C a 単 a m e r o o f t h e them, and to become attached to University of Herefordshire in whatever person is most suited the UK to develop the bot, to its needs and 'personality' w h i c h d i f f e r s i n s e v e r a l profile. Over time, the more significant ways from those that they interact, the more they came before it. These robots learn and bond to the human develop over time in much the b e i n g . T h e s e l i t t l e o n e s , Submitted at 8/14/2010 12:44:00 PM

moreover, are capable of expressing a wide range of emotions, including anger, frustration, fear and happiness.

The next steps are to research the bots' emotional and nonlinguistic behavior, and to move toward combining linguistic and

non-linguistic communication to become further attached and adapted to them. Yes, we want one. Prototype of robot that develops emotions on interacting with humans officially complete originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 14 Aug 2010 12:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| University of Herefordshire| Email this| Comments

Apple supply manager arrested for wire fraud, money laundering Sean Hollister (Engadget) Submitted at 8/14/2010 11:33:00 AM

Ever wonder why -- after years of secrecy -- camera-ready iPod cases began rolling out? The answer could possibly be Apple supply manager Paul Shin Devine, who was just fingered by the FBI and IRS as a fraudulent, money laundering mole. Devine was arrested Friday for allegedly receiving kickbacks from six accessory suppliers in exchange for

confidential information, which apparently gave them an edge in negotiating Apple contracts. "The alleged scheme used an elaborate chain of U.S. and foreign bank accounts and one front company to receive payments," reports the San Jose Mercury News, "and code words like 'sample' were used to refer to the payments so that Apple co-workers wouldn't have been passed along and we become suspicious." Though doubt the indictment will say, a we're not yet sure what specific separate civil suit filed by Apple confidential information might

claims Devine accepted over $1 million in "payments, kickbacks and bribes" over the course of several years. Apple supply manager arrested for wire fraud, money laundering originally appeared TUAW Tips: 25 ways on Engadget on Sat, 14 Aug to check the hardware 2010 11:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. on your iPhone 4 Permalink TUAW| San Jose Chris Rawson (The Unofficial Mercury News| Email this| Apple Weblog (TUAW)) Comments Submitted at 8/13/2010 10:30:00 PM

I received my second replacement iPhone 4 yesterday. Considering the issues my first TUAW page 37


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TUAW continued from page 36

App Review: Set Pro HD Sebastian Blanco (The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)) Submitted at 8/13/2010 8:30:00 PM

The game of Set is now available in more stores than ever before, from big box retailers to independent game stores. Finally, a full-featured digital version is also ready and waiting for your iPad in the App Store. There have been Set apps before, even one officially licensed by Set Enterprises, but this is the real deal. All the criticisms we had of the other Set app, which was iPhone/iPod touch only, are totally wiped away by this new version, and if you haven't been introduced to

this quick-thinking game of finding matches - or if you're already a fan - we have no hesitation recommending the new Set Pro HD app. Yes, it's relatively expensive at $7.99, but it is quite gorgeous and the gameplay is top-notch. Read on to see if it's time to upgrade your Set cards. Gallery: Set Pro HD TUAW App Review: Set Pro HD originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 13 Aug 2010 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments

two iPhone 4 units had, I wanted to make absolutely certain, in as little time as possible, that this replacement unit didn't have anything wrong with it. Before I even picked it up from the store, I started putting together a list of items I needed to test as well as how I would go about doing it. What I came up with is a series of hardware checks that anyone can perform right after taking an iPhone 4 out of the box and syncing it for the first time. This is by no means the only way to test an iPhone 4's hardware for defects, and there are probably more comprehensive methods out there, but the following

procedure is basic enough for almost any user to follow. Plus, it should catch any glaring hardware defects in an iPhone 4 right away. Click "Read More" for the checklist. TUAW TUAW Tips: 25 ways to check the hardware on your Digital Reflex Camera iPhone 4 originally appeared on concept puts the The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 13 Aug 2010 viewfinder on top, 22:30:00 EST. Please see our everything else in a tube terms for use of feeds. Darren Murph (Engadget) Read| Permalink| Email this| Submitted at 8/14/2010 7:11:00 AM Comments Can't say we've ever seen DIGITAL page 38

5 Myths About Green Technology (HowStuffWorks Daily Feed)

technology is the solar panel on your roof or the cell phone in your pocket. Green technology is a broad No agency regulates which term that gets tossed around a p r o d u c t s c a n c l a i m t o b e lot these days. Some people say "green," and there are no official green technology will save our guidelines out there to define planet from climate change. what "green" means. Here we're Others say green technology going to look at green tech will generate new jobs and help myths that consumers -- all of us the economy. Green technology -- are most likely to encounter isn't a magic potion, though. It when trying to make green instead consists of the methods, changes in our high-tech lives. materials and techniques used When buying a new computer for everything from generating you likely consider the price. e n e r g y t o m a n u f a c t u r i n g But do you consider if it's made nontoxic products. Green with recycled materials, Submitted at 8/14/2010 1:00:00 PM

designed to be recycled (or reused), consumes less energy and generates minimal waste and toxic emissions? This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/ faq.php Five Filters featured article:"Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent.


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DIGITAL continued from page 37

How would you change Apple's HDMI-equipped Mac mini? Darren Murph (Engadget)

things even further if given the key to Cupertino's design labs. Submitted at 8/13/2010 11:00:00 PM Would you have added a BluApple's newest Mac mini is a ray option? Maybe an OTA TV distinct and welcome departure tuner? Thrown any other ports from the comparatively bulky on the rear? Beefed up the GPU white Mac mini of yesteryear, a little? Trimmed things down and while we appreciate the for a cheaper entry-level model? unibody construction, inbuilt SD Go on and vent in comments card reader and HDMI port, below -- hugs are free and asking $700 and up for a limitless. headless PC without tons of How would you change Apple's oomph is still asking a lot. HDMI-equipped Mac mini? We're curious to know if your originally appeared on Engadget new Mac mini has been treating on Fri, 13 Aug 2010 23:00:00 you well (as an HTPC or EDT. Please see our terms for otherwise), and moreover, we use of feeds. Permalink| | want to know how you'd change Email this| Comments

anything like this before... well, aside from those cameras of old that forced you to look down into the viewfinder while cradling the camera against your gut. In fact, that's exactly the experience that Yaniv Berg is attempting to recreate here, with his Digital Reflex Camera concept shaped more like a periscope and less like a camera. In theory, at least, all of the hardware would be encased in a tube, and if you flip the camera, the LCD turns into a display, creating an undercover spy device of epic proportions. Naturally, there's probably no

hope that this will ever hit retail, but feel free to check back a few score from now to see just how close this was to predicting the future. Digital Reflex Camera concept puts the viewfinder on top, everything else in a tube originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 14 Aug 2010 07:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for Evelyn Rusli (TechCrunch) use of feeds. Permalink Switched| Yanko Design| Email Submitted at 8/13/2010 11:05:04 PM this| Comments For the last 30 or so hours selfdescribed Apple fanboy MG

Droid 2 Gets The MG Siegler Treatment (TCTV)

DROID page 39

How Recessions Work (HowStuffWorks Daily Feed) Submitted at 8/14/2010 1:00:00 PM

--On Jan. 21, 2008, stock prices tumbled around the world. Most analysts pointed to fears surrounding the United States economy and a possible recession as the reason for the drop. Ironically, economic conditions in the United States were affecting the world economy on a day when its own markets weren't even in session -- they were closed for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday. Three days later, news outlets were already reporting a new economic stimulus package, designed in part to try to prevent a recession. This isn't the first recession

news in recent memory. On Nov. 26, 2001, the news media announced the United States was officially in a recession and had been since March of that year. To most Americans, this wasn't all that surprising: Rising unemployment and a weak stock market had been in the news for months. -Both the 2008 market drop and the 2001 news blitz raised a lot of questions. Who decides when the economy is in recession, and on what grounds? What actually constitutes a recession, anyway? When a nation's economy enters a recession, is life guaranteed to get harder for most of its citizens? And how often does a recession lead to a depression? In this article, we'll find out

what recessions are, see why they occur and examine the criteria economists use to identify them. We'll also look at the effects of recession as well as explore some of the ways a country can turn the economy around again.This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/ faq.php Five Filters featured article:"Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent.


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DROID continued from page 38

Siegler has put his iPhone 4 aside ( Jason Kincaid and Greg Kumparak held him down while two interns broke his Kung Fu grip) to give Motorola’s Droid 2 a proper test drive. The verdict? A definite step above the HTC EVO 4G. If you read MG’s review of the EVO back in May, you know he gave HTC’s bundle of joy a merciless, swift kick to the head. Thus, saying Siegler prefers the Droid 2 to the EVO, probably doesn’t say very much. To get a more nuanced review, we enlisted MobileCrunch editor,

Greg Kumparak to go one-onone with MG. Click above for their full review of the Droid 2 and a discussion on Google Voice Actions, the Android ecosystem and yes, those rampant Verizon rumors. CrunchBase Information MG Siegler Greg Kumparak iPhone Google Apple Information provided by CrunchBase

'So You Think You Can Dance' Contest Winner Diary TV Squad Staff (TV Squad) Submitted at 8/14/2010 6:00:00 AM

Filed under: Contests and Giveaways, Features We gave one lucky fan the chance of a lifetime -- VIP access to the'So You Think You Can Dance' season finale -- and boy what a performance that was. Check out Heather "Nikki" D.'s account of her thrilling experience meeting her favorite dancers, the famous judges and seeing the exhilarating finale unfold live.

(Be sure to check out our interview with the winning dancer here.) Permalink| Email this| Linking Blogs| Comments

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Happy Birthday, Social Security: Now Here's 22 Scary Facts About America's Pension Crisis Michael Snyder (Money Game) Submitted at 8/14/2010 8:44:00 AM

As the first of the 80 million Baby Boomers have begun to retire, it has become increasingly apparent that the United States is facing a pension crisis of unprecedented magnitude. State and local government pension plans are woefully underfunded, dozens of large corporate pension plans either have collapsed or are on the verge of collapsing, Social Security is a complete and total financial disaster and about half of all Americans essentially have nothing saved up for retirement. See 22 scary statistics > So yes, to say that we are facing a retirement crisis would be a tremendous understatement. There is simply no way that we can keep all of the financial promises that we have made to the Baby Boomer generation. Unfortunately, the crumbling U.S. economy simply cannot support the comfortable retirement of tens of millions of elderly Americans any longer. The truth is that we are all going to have to start fundamentally changing the way that we think about our golden years.

Once upon a time, you could count on getting a big, fat pension if you put 30 years into a job. But now pension plans everywhere are failing. State and local governments are cutting back and are raising retirement ages. A majority of Americans have even lost faith in the Social Security system, which was supposed to be the most secure of them all. The reality is that we are moving into a time when there is not going to be such a thing as "financial security" as we have known it in the past. Things have fundamentally changed, and we are all going to

have to struggle to stay above water in the economic nightmare that is coming. Part of the reason we have such a gigantic economic mess on the way is because we have promised vastly more than we can deliver to future retirees. When you closely examine the numbers, it quickly becomes clear that a financial tsunami is about to hit us that is going to be so devastating that it will change everything that we know about retirement. Click to see 22 scary statistics > Join the conversation about this story »


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Think OPEC Exports Won't Decline? You're Living In A Dreamworld Gregor MacDonald (Money Game) Submitted at 8/14/2010 8:07:00 AM

At the EIA’s International Energy Outlook(IEO) presentation this May the issue of future oil exports from OPEC nations came up, and in an interesting way. Readers may be familiar with the phenomenon of declining net exports, from major oil producing nations, as a result of internal demand from growing, domestic populations. The phenomenon was modelled last decade by Jeffrey Brown and Samuel Foucher. Their Export-Land Model showed that the rate of decline from oil exporters can become quite accelerated. While that may seem obvious, it was a point worth making last decade when it was widely presumed that gross production from large oil producing nations was largely available for export. The tipping, of both the UK and Indonesia, from net oil exporters to net oil importers should have put an end to such a presumption. More importantly, the rise of domestic oil consumption in Saudi Arabia was also a warning. Saudi oil exports have declined now for five years. Given that Saudi Arabia’s exports have already been in

decline for some time, it was surprising to hear EIA Deputy Administrator Howard Gruenspecht not only fail to acknowledge that fact, but forecast a rather sanguine outlook on future OPEC export supply in the IEO May press conference. It is particularly noteworthy that he gave such an empty and meaningless answer to the questioner, James Schlesinger former Energy Secretary under Carter, who made a point of probing in this

exact area. | see: dialogue starting after the 37:00 minute mark of Video: International Energy Outlook 2010. Secretary Schlesinger:…we see the growth of demand within the OPEC countries, domestic demand, and some of the projections show internal demand in Saudi Arabia rising to 8-9 million barrels a day as opposed to your top projection of 15 million barrels per day…similarly with other OPEC nations …the consequences

being less oil available for export to the international market. Have you factored that into your projections, and what might the implications be? Howard Gruenspecht:…we think that in the OPEC region, there will be an interest in substituting natural gas for the growth in domestic oil demand in the mid-east region, which does tend to free up oil for the world market. And there you have it. An answer that only a post-war

economist could give: soaring domestic demand for oil in OPEC nations, already cutting into exports, will dial back in the years ahead and convert to natural gas–in order to free up oil for exports…to us here in the West! I had to replay the exchange several times, to get the full measure of Greunspecht’s ridiculous answer. Readers are encouraged to listen to the exchange to get THINK page 43


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Retail Sales Rise Less than Expected in July noreply@blogger.com (Michael Shedlock) (Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis)

building materials, which are the figures used in calculating gross domestic product, sales dropped 0.1 percent in July after a 0.3 percent rise the prior month. Submitted at 8/13/2010 1:30:00 PM Once gain ever optimistic Economists at Morgan Stanley economists were off on the high in New York were among those side as Retail Sales Rise Less lowering their estimate for Than Forecast Sales at U.S. consumer spending this quarter retailers rose less than forecast after the report. and consumer confidence held “It doesn’t look like it will be a n e a r a n e i g h t - m o n t h l o w , good back-to-school season, so i n d i c a t i n g t h e e c o n o m i c that will probably lead to slowdown will persist into the i n c r e d i b l e b a r g a i n s ” a s second half of 2010. companies try to trim stockpiles, Purchases in July climbed 0.4 s a i d S c o t t B r o w n , c h i e f percent, led by autos and economist at Raymond James & gasoline, figures from the A s s o c i a t e s I n c . i n S t . C o m m e r c e D e p a r t m e n t i n Petersburg, Florida. For more on Washington showed today. A back-to-school sales from a preliminary sentiment index for G a l l u p p o l l , p l e a s e s e e August rose to 69.6 from 67.8 Consumer Spending Slumps the prior month, according to Even With Back-to-School data from Thomson Reuters/ Underway; Cisco, IBM Sales University of Michigan. Suggest Corporate Spending Economists forecast retail sales Slowdown w o u l d r i s e 0 . 5 p e r c e n t , Census Bureau Retail Sales according to the median of 77 Report projections in a Bloomberg Inquiring minds are digging News survey. Estimates ranged into the July Advance Monthly from a 0.1 percent drop to a 0.9 Retail Sales Report for further percent gain. June sales were economic clues. revised to show a 0.3 percent The U.S. Census Bureau drop rather than the previously announced today that advance reported 0.5 percent decrease. estimates of U.S. retail and food Influence on Growth services sales for July, adjusted Excluding autos, gasoline and for seasonal variation and

holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $362.7 billion, an increase of 0.4 percent from the previous month, and 5.5 percent above July 2009. Total sales for the May through July 2010 period were up 5.9 percent from the same period a year ago. The May to June 2010 percent change was revised from -0.5 percent to -0.3 percent. Retail trade sales were up 0.4 percent from June 2010, and 5.9 percent above last year. Nonstore retailers sales were up 12.6 percent from July 2009 and gasoline stations sales were up 12.2 percent from last year. Retail Sales Up How Much? Retail sales are highly likely to be up from the early 2009 bottom, but the pertinent questions are 1. By How Much? 2. From What Bottom? The problem is the Census bureau methodology is fatally flawed. Survey Description Methodology Each month, questionnaires are mailed to a probability sample of approximately 5,000 employer firms selected from the larger Monthly Retail Trade Survey (MRTS). Firms

responding to MARTS account for approximately 65% of the total national sales estimate. Advance sales estimates are computed using a link relative estimator. The change in sales from the previous month is estimated using only units that have reported data for both the current and previous month. There is no imputation or adjustment for nonrespondents in MARTS. The total sales estimate is derived by multiplying this ratio by the preliminary sales estimate for the previous month (derived from the larger MRTS sample). Sales Tax Collections The accurate way to judge retail sales is by state sales tax collections, adjusted for increases in sales tax rate. The Census survey misses the effect of companies that have gone out of business such as Circuit City and all kinds of small stores in vacant strip malls everywhere. Moreover, some of that Circuit City business went to places like Best Buy and Walmart, increasing same store sales at those stores. Some of those sales also vanished. I discussed this last month in • Did Retail Sales Rise or Did

Tax Rates Go Up? • Rockefeller Institute Confirms Rising Retail Sales a Mirage In case you missed those articles, please take a look. Retail sales, as poor as the the government reports are, are even worse if you look at things from a sales tax collection standpoint. Mike "Mish" Shedlock h t t p : / / globaleconomicanalysis.blogspo t.com Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. V i s i t h t t p : / / www.sitkapacific.com/ account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.


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Former Bank Regulator William Black: U.S. Using "Rally Stupid Strategy" to Hide Bank Losses - Will Produce Japanese Style Lost Decade noreply@blogger.com (Michael Shedlock) (Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis)

Partial Transcript AAron Task: Should we be surprise there are not more bank failures? William Black: Not Submitted at 8/14/2010 12:14:00 PM A a r o n T a s k h a s a n i c e Surprised,we should be upset interview with former bank there are not more bank failures. regulator William Black on The industry has used its our"Really Stupid Strategy" to political muscle to get Congress Hide Bank Losses 109 U.S. t o e x t o r t t h e f i n a n c i a l banks have failed so far this accounting standards board to year, 23 in this quarter alone. gimmick the accounting rules so These failures may not cost that banks do not have to depositors, but they do come at recognize their losses. a steep cost to the FDIC. As Aarron Task: In practical terms, d i s c u s s e d h e r e w i t h what does the gutting of that V a l u E n g i n e ’ s R i c h a r d rule mean for the banks? Suttmeier, the FDIC Deposit William Black: Capital is Insurance has already spent d e f i n e d a s a s s e t s m i n u s $18.93 billion this year, “well liabilities. If I get to keep my above the $15.33 billion prepaid assets at inflated bubble values assessments for all of 2010.” that have nothing to do with The situation is likely even their real value, then my worse than the FDIC portrays, reported capital will be greatly says William Black Associate inflated. When I am insolvent I Professor of Economics and still report that I have lots of L a w a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f capital. Missouri-Kansas City. Aaron Task: You are saying the “The FDIC is sitting there FDIC is intentionally keeping knowing that it has both the foreclosures down because it residential disaster and the knows it does not have enough commercial real estate disaster money to pay off depositors [and] knowing it doesn’t have who are insured by the FDIC? remotely enough funds to pay William Black: That is correct for it,” he says. William Black and that is going to make with Aaron Task Video ultimate losses grow. It also

means we are following a Japanese type strategy of hiding the losses and we know what that produces - a lost decade, which is now two lost decades. Your listeners and viewers if they are stock types, look at the Nikkei. It lost 75% in nominal terms and has stayed that way for 20 years. I real terms it lost 85% of its value. This is a really stupid strategy. And it's ours. Aaron Task: You can just keep kicking this down the road and have stagnant economic growth? William Black: Geithner's original estimate was $2 trillion and of course things got much worse that their original estimates. The IMF estimates were in the $3 trillion range. So, there are trillions of dollars of unrecognized losses under these guy's scenarios. There is a huge slug, far more than they can pay for. What they are doing instead is these stupid subsidies for the biggest banks, with essentially no political oversight. It works, for the banks but it's really bad for the economy. It diverts moey from small businesses, large businesses, and entrepreneurs. Aaron Task: What does it say to you that Tim Geithner and Larry Summers are still on the job?

William Black: Well I said it from the beginning, Geithner and Summers were selected and promoted, and the same is true with Bernanke, because they are willing to be wrong and have a consistent track record of being wrong. That's useful for senior politicians but disastrous for the country. Mike "Mish" Shedlock h t t p : / / globaleconomicanalysis.blogspo t.com Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. V i s i t h t t p : / / www.sitkapacific.com/ account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.

'Big Brother 12' Spoilers - Head of Household Farm Competition Jackie Schnoop (TV Squad) Submitted at 8/13/2010 2:00:00 PM

Filed under: Spoilers, Summer TV They've gone and done it again. They ended the'Big Brother 12' live show with an HoH competition underway, yet not completed. They're either out of ideas for short competitions or, by leaving viewers with a cliffhanger, they're hoping to increase the ratings for Sunday night's show. While it would be a hoot if the hamsters all got so tangled up in their ropes that they were still struggling by Sunday night, we all know that's not the case. The competition is over and there's a new Head of Household in place. Plus, that HoH has chosen three people to be Have Nots. You can wait until Sunday night when it airs on television or ... you can keep on reading. Beware -- extreme spoilers ahead! Permalink| Email this| Linking Blogs| Comments


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THINK continued from page 40

a full measure of the cavalier manner in which Gruensphect, who is clearly out of his depth, answered Schlesinger’s other questions. While the EIA’s future projections remain a largely theatrical exercise, and are demonstrably unserious, there is another critical resource balance coming into play between Middle East states and the rest of the world in the area of food, and agricultural land. As you might imagine, arable land in the Middle East is not exactly found in an optimal ratio to those growing populations. And this is why Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Saudi investors have gone into Africa. Below is a very good graphic published last year by the Economist Magazine, which accompanied their article: Outsourcing’s Third Wave. According to the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development (AOAD), the Arab nations are suffering from a persistent shortage in all types of farm products and the gap has steadily worsened over

the past two decades. Food imports into the Middle East have soared to new highs, and are now running above $25 billion a year on a net basis. There is a particular need, and shortage, of cereals and grains. Is it any wonder that central and eastern Africa has become a target for Middle East nations, looking to lease easily improved farmland? While the EIA’s IEO 2010 correctly notes the trend to further world reliance on OPEC oil as Non-OPEC oil production growth stalls out, clearly the demographic trends as expressed by food demand are another way to see how wrong the EIA’s forecast has become, about future oil available for export. Also according to the AOAD: The Arab population was estimated at nearly 351 million at the end of 2009. Since 1990, it has grown by nearly 2.34 per cent annually compared with global growth of about 1.16 per cent. Accordingly, not only will Middle East nations need more of their own fossil fuels to fund

domestic construction, but the improvement of leased, foreign farmland to match their above trend population growth will also require fossil fuels. To the declining oil export model of Brown and Foucher, it appears we will need a new model of Increasing Agricultural Imports to the Middle East. As for the EIA’s call that these nations will somehow level off their demand for oil, and switch to natural gas? That makes no sense at all. On a number of levels. The Middle East is not going to voluntarily transition away from oil, even marginally. And, the natural gas that our flaky EIA in Washington imagines will be used to “substitute for oil” will instead be used for new power generation and to make fertilizer. - Gregor Join the conversation about this story »

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Divorce Diaries: The Better Half WomansDay.com Editors (Daily Woman's Day Blog) Submitted at 8/13/2010 1:30:00 PM

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Treasury Rally Continues in Normal Snack Smart: Food Fashion; No Reason to be Short Blogger Friday! Treasuries WomansDay.com Editors (Daily Woman's Day Blog)

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Shedlock) (Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis)

Submitted at 8/13/2010 2:00:00 PM

Submitted at 8/13/2010 2:28:00 PM

In the wake of anemic retail sales in July, treasuries could have been expected to rally and they did. Yield Curve as of 2008-08-13 Curve Watchers Anonymous notes that the biggest treasury gains (drops in yield), occurred on the longest durations. This is a normal yield curve reaction. This is in contrast to the pattern we have been seeing for weeks, with the middle of the curve reacting the strongest. Here is a chart over time from Front Running the Fed - Who Knew? Once again the 7-year treasury is in the sweet spot. click on chart for sharper image Yield Curve May 2009 Thru Present click on chart for sharper image The 30-year long bond has finally broken through that shelf at the 4% mark. There is plenty of room for further rallies is the economic data remains weak.

There is no reason to expect anything other than weakness, thus no reason to be short treasuries here. Mike "Mish" Shedlock h t t p : / / globaleconomicanalysis.blogspo t.com Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific

Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. V i s i t h t t p : / / www.sitkapacific.com/ account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.

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• Don't Miss This: What’s your favorite road-trip tip? Join the conversation on Facebook! • Don't Miss This: Learn about all of the fantastic new books from Woman's Day editors. • Don't Miss This: Download WD's free Cooking Assistant app for the iPhone™ and iPod touch™ today! • Don't Miss This: Sign up for a free WD newsletter to get all our best tips delivered straight to your inbox! This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/ faq.php Five Filters featured article:"Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent.


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Rabid Power Consumption Puts Fact or Fiction: The China On Course For A Very Strong Great Depression Q3 (HowStuffWorks Daily Feed) Submitted at 8/14/2010 1:00:00 PM

Vincent Fernando, CFA (Money Game) Submitted at 8/14/2010 6:35:00 AM

Chinese power consumption continues to confirm the nation's high level fo GDP growth. July consumption rose 13.94% year over year according to the latest release from the National Energy Administration. It was also 10.68% higher than in June. Tellingly, the fastest growing segment of power consumption is industry, where many suspect overcapacity for some segments. China Daily: Electric power consumption in the first seven months reached almost 2.4 trillion kWh, up 20.25 percent compared with the same period last year. Primary industry consumption grew 6.13 percent year on year to reach 56.6 billion kWh in the first seven months. During the same period, industrial use of electricity was 1.81 trillion kWh, up 22.69 percent, while tertiary industry

power consumption stood at 249.1 billion kWh, up 15.39 percent. Household power consumption rose 13.07 percent to reach 283.8 billion kWh in the first seven months. Note that the latest consumption figure is slightly higher than the 12% year over year growth rate of power production previously reported

by the National Bureau of Statistics. Given that July is the first month of the third quarter, suffice to say that at the current rate Chinese economic growth is still chugging along, so far at least. Join the conversation about this story Âť

The infamous stock market crash that triggered the Great Depression happened almost 80 years ago, but it still looms large in the world's mind. Are today's economic woes going to spiral us into another one? We wouldn't touch that issue with a 10-foot pole, frankly -- so we're just going to stick with history for this quiz. Can you separate Great Depression fact from fiction? Earn a point for every right answer! Save your score at the end of the quiz. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're

reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/ faq.php Five Filters featured article:"Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent.


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Bond Yields Expose A Europe Tearing Itself In Half

Real or Fake: $3.2 Million Turtle Tunnels

Vincent Fernando, CFA (Money Game)

Conn Carroll (The Foundry: Conservative Policy News.)

Submitted at 8/14/2010 7:30:00 AM

Submitted at 8/13/2010 1:00:24 PM

The German economy just recorded the fastest quarterly GDP growth rate in 23 years... meanwhile Greece's economy continues to shrink. France is doing relatively well also, while Ireland's finances are under renewed scrutiny. Nothing shows the growing divide between stronger and weaker European nations better than bond yields, whereby those for some economies are falling, as investors become more confident, while other nations' yields are now rising, as investor worries intensify. Bloomberg: Bond yields in France, Germany and Belgium fell to record lows while Irish borrowing costs rose at an auction of bills. A report two days ago showed the Greek

Posted August 13th, 2010 at 2:00pm in Ongoing Priorities Print This Post Last week, Sens. Tom Coburn (R-OK) and John McCain (RAZ) released a report detailing 100 wasteful economic stimulus projects including $144,541 in stimulus funds to study the effect of cocaine use on monkeys. But that is just the tip of the iceberg. The creative team at Bankrupting America has highlighted some other big government spending doozies and turned them into this

economy shrank for a seventh quarter, sending the yield premium investors demand to hold the country’s 10-year bonds rather than bunds to the highest since the European Union announced a 750 billioneuro ($957 billion) package for the region’s most indebted nations. ...

The yield on 10-year German bonds fell 12 basis points from last week to 2.39 percent as of 5:20 p.m. yesterday, after earlier reaching a record low of 2.37 percent. Greek 10-year bonds yields climbed 30 basis points to 10.55 percent. Read more here > Join the conversation about this story »

hilarious but troubling video. You can track and share more leftist spending disaster’s at Bankrupting America’s Spending #FAIL Map. And be sure to also check out Heritage’s 50 Examples of Government Waste. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/ faq.php Five Filters featured article:"Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent.

Celebrity News From PopEater: Aug. 13 TV Squad Staff (TV Squad) Submitted at 8/13/2010 3:00:00 PM

Filed under: Celebrities and Gossip Want to know what's going on with your favorite TV stars when the cameras aren't rolling? Check out the latest

celebrity news from our friends at PopEater.com. o. Elisabeth Moss, Fred Armisen separate after 10 months of marriage o. Zac Efron wants to follow in Will Ferrell's steps and take on the 'Man Vs. Wild' challenge. Bear Grylls says bring it!

o. Let's all say it together now: Ricky Gervais won't be replacing Steve Carell on 'The Office'! OK?! Instead, he's taking 'The Office' to China. o. According to a friend, Dina Lohan is upset and feels "ambushed" by how Matt Lauer

treated her on 'Today' o. A celebrity posting naked pictures of herself is guaranteed to cause a stir, yet Teri Hatcher claims to be "surprised" by the hubbub she's created Permalink| Email this| Linking Blogs| Comments


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Daily Buzz: 5 Things You Didn't Know About Left-Handers WomansDay.com Editors (Daily Woman's Day Blog) Submitted at 8/13/2010 2:00:00 PM

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Jersey Shore Nets Record 5.5 Million Viewers Natalie Abrams (TVGuide.com: Breaking News) Submitted at 8/13/2010 6:46:00 PM

Aug 13, 2010 07:46 PM ET by Natalie Abrams • Tweet

Jersey Shore Jersey Shore has done it again. The MTV reality show drew 5.5 million viewers Thursday, This entry passed through the setting a new series record. Full-Text RSS service — if this Season 2 premiered two weeks is your content and you're ago to 5.3 million viewers, reading it on someone else's site, Shore's previous high. please read our FAQ page at Jersey Shore cast adds Deena; fivefilters.org/content-only/ sounds off on authenticity, faq.php Obama and the art of "Snookin'" Five Filters featured Last week saw a slight dip to article:"Peace Envoy" Blair Gets 5.03 million viewers. Perhaps an Easy Ride in the the Ronnie- Sammie Independent. "Sweetheart" reunion and subsequent explosion in Thursday's episode boosted viewership. Or maybe it was the failed MVP night, which resulted in the chicken cutlet

incident. Grenades! Shore notched a 5.3 rating in MTV's core 12-34 demographic, edging Fox's So You Think You Can Dance and CBS' Big Brother for the third straight week. Read our recaps to catch up on all things Jersey Shore Meanwhile, Big Brother pulled in 7.9 million total viewers, beating out So You Think You Can Dance's finale, which drew 7.2 million viewers, up 33 percent from last week. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/ faq.php Five Filters featured article:"Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent.

GoG.com chops 30% off Phantasmagoria 1 and 2 Richard Mitchell (Joystiq)

can snag one the FMV fad's brightest and most controversial stars, Roberta Williams' There just isn't enough full Phantasmagoria, and its sequel motion video in games anymore. for only $11.18. The offer hurry ... the pendulum is Now, thanks to GoG.com, you expires Monday though, so Submitted at 8/14/2010 9:00:00 AM

swinging. GoG.com chops 30% off Phantasmagoria 1 and 2 originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 14 Aug 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for

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Friday Bake-Off: Everyday Chocolate Cake WomansDay.com Editors (Daily Woman's Day Blog) Submitted at 8/13/2010 3:00:00 PM

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Soap Round-Up: Liam Is Ridge's Son on 'B&B' ... and More Allison Waldman (TV Squad) Submitted at 8/14/2010 4:00:00 AM

Filed under: Recaps Welcome to the Soap Round-Up, our weekly recap of all the soap action this past week. Each week, we sum up all the best stories from each and every soap, from'All My Children' to'The Young and the Restless.' If you don't want to know what This entry passed through the aired already, consider this a Full-Text RSS service — if this SPOILER ALERT. ... Oh, one is your content and you're last thing, please comment and reading it on someone else's site, join the conversation. please read our FAQ page at For instance, what do think of fivefilters.org/content-only/ the shocker ending on Friday's faq.php 'The Bold and the Beautiful' Five Filters featured when Liam stopped Ridge from article:"Peace Envoy" Blair Gets punching him in the face by an Easy Ride in the declaring that he's his son? Independent. What? Really? 'The Bold and the Beautiful' Stephanie slapped Brooke, standing up for Hope. Ridge refused to rehire Steffy despite her ownership stake in Forrester. Bridget and Owen bonded over

their baby kicking. Brooke was upset that Donna sold her Forrester stock to Bill. Bill told Steffy he could clear her name with Ridge. Stephanie learned Liam was involved in altering the Brooke video. Permalink| Email this| Linking Blogs| Comments


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Will Medicare Checks in the Mail Help Democrats? (Newsmax - Inside Cover) Submitted at 8/14/2010 3:01:06 AM

A check from Uncle Sam gets your attention, even if the money doesn't help that much with the bills. More than 750,000 Medicare recipients with high prescription costs each got a $250 government check this summer, and 3 million-plus more checks are going out to people who land in the program's anxietyinducing coverage gap. Democrats, running scared in an election year, are trying to overcome older people's mistrust of the new health care law, which expands coverage for younger generations by cutting Medicare payments to hospitals and insurers. Will the ploy work? "It's like a teaser," says Virginia Brant, 65, of Glendale, Ariz. "You go to Vegas and they give you the free spin on the wheel. We have had our teaser — the $250 — for us to say, `Gee, look at what we have coming.'" Brant spent hers to help pay down a credit card she keeps for medications. The checks arrive with a letter addressed directly to each beneficiary and signed by Kathleen Sebelius, President Barack Obama's health

secretary. The money is "to bring you some needed relief on your prescription drug costs ... the first step toward closing your coverage gap," Sebelius says. Then comes the pitch: "Stay tuned for more information ... on how this new law will help make Medicare more financially secure and provide you with higher quality and more affordable health care." The Obama administration and Democrats in Congress are paying close attention to seniors. Actor Andy Griffith — TV's sheriff of Mayberry — stars in a reassuring ad about the health care law. Officially keyed to Medicare's new benefit year, it's running nationwide at taxpayer expense. Democratic lawmakers, in their home districts for August, are holding information sessions for older people about the law, along with 'birthday parties' for Social Security, which turned 75. Behind the hoopla, the reality is modest. The $250 check, for example, is just a fraction of what many people in the prescription coverage gap have to pay. The gap starts after Medicare beneficiaries and their insurance plan have spent $2,830 on medications. Once total

spending reaches $6,440, Medicare's catastrophic coverage kicks in, and people pay only a small amount. That means the "doughnut hole" is $3,610 this year. Medicare beneficiaries pay full freight. A previous Congress, led by Republicans, came up with the idea to control costs. It's never been popular. Anna Bollerman, a retired real estate agent from Bayville, N.J., said her check barely made a dent, but it still mattered. "Two-hundred-and-fifty dollars looks pretty good when you're almost broke," said Bollerman, 81. A doubter on the health care law, she said she was surprised to get her check quickly and efficiently. "It feels better," said Bollerman. "At least it indicates that they are listening, and they are trying to get it working." She won't say how she'll vote in November. The $250 is a down payment under the health care law to begin closing the doughnut hole. Next year, the law provides a 50 percent discount on brand name drugs in the gap, and a smaller break on generics. Discounts gradually increase until the gap is closed in 2020. "I may be dead by then," scoffs Deborah Johnson-Scheid of Raleigh, N.C.

At 51, she is on Medicare because of a medical disability due to severe complications of Lyme disease. Her medications are very expensive, and she compared her $250 check to the minimum wage. "I'm not impressed at all," said Johnson-Scheid. "I appreciate Obama trying, but it still does not help the people who are on drugs that cost $800 or $1,000." Jesse Thomas, 65, from Mount Vernon, N.Y., said the message is more important than the amount printed on the checks. "My take on the $250 is that it doesn't help when you have extraordinary expenses, like I do," said the former Wall Street financial manager. He's using his to help pay for asthma drugs. But Thomas doesn't dismiss the political gesture. "It's like a reminder so people don't totally despair of the new law," he said. "It's a reminder to senior citizens that the law is alive, and here is something to show for it." Polls show Obama and the Democrats are in trouble with seniors. June's AP-GfK poll found 56 percent opposed the new health care law, as compared with 42 percent of the U.S. population as a whole. White House official Stephanie Cutter, who manages

communications strategy on health care, is under no illusions. "I think this is going to take time," said Cutter. "This is a landmark reform and it will take time for people to understand exactly what's in it. That's why we are concentrating on implementing the bill as effectively as possible." That means the checks will keep coming. —— Online: Health care law: http:// www.healthcare.gov Medicare: http:// www.medicare.gov Andy Griffith ad: http:// tinyurl.com/22wnrrp © Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/ faq.php Five Filters featured article:"Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent.


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Brown, Couples Urge Speedy Return to Gay Marriages (Newsmax - Inside Cover) Submitted at 8/14/2010 3:03:18 AM

Saturday, 14 Aug 2010 08:03 AM The attorneys who who successfully sued to strike down California's same-sex marriage ban have joined Attorney General Jerry Brown in urging a federal appeals court to quickly allow gay marriages to resume in the state. Theodore Olson and David Boies, the high-profile lawyers representing two couples, told the appeals court that same-sex couples are being hurt every day Proposition 8 is enforced and should not be denied their civil rights while the ban's sponsors pursue an appeal of last week's decision overturning the 2008 measure. "Indeed, the only harm at issue here is that suffered by Plaintiffs and other gay and lesbian Californians each day that Proposition 8's discriminatory and irrational deprivation of their constitutional rights remains in force," the lawyers argued in a filing late Friday. Brown, who is the Democratic

nominee for governor, said in a separate filing that there was no reason for the 9th Circuit to grant the emergency stay request because state and local agencies would suffer no harm by being required to sanction same-sex marriages. County clerks across the state already are gearing up to do so next week, he said. The swiftly drafted legal papers came in response to efforts by same-sex marriage opponents to get the 9th U.S. Court of Appeals to block a lower court judge's ruling striking down Proposition 8 as unconstitutional from taking effect next week. If the 9th Circuit refuses to intervene, it would clear the way for same-sex couples to marry starting after the close of business Wednesday. Protect Marriage, the coalition of religious and conservative groups that sponsored Proposition 8, has appealed U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker's Aug. 4 ruling that found the voter-approved law unconstitutional. After Walker said on Thursday that he planned to finalize his ruling on

Wednesday at 5 p.m., the group's lawyers also the 9th Circuit to prevent any gay marriages while the appeal is pending. They argued the appeals court should grant an emergency "to avoid the confusion and irreparable injury that would flow from the creation of a class of purported same-sex marriages." Depending on how the 9th Circuit rules, same-sex couples could begin tying the knot in California as early as next week or have to wait while the appeal works its way through the court and potentially the U.S. Supreme Court as well. Walker, however, has expressed doubts over whether Protect Marriage has the right to challenge his ruling if neither the attorney general nor the governor elect to do so. Both officials refused to defend Proposition 8 in Walker's court and have since said they see no reason why gay couples should not be able to tie the knot now. Although he allowed the group to intervene in the trial, the judge said the appellate court

would have to make its own determination that same-sex marriage opponents would be injured if gay couples could wed, a claim Walker explicitly dismissed in his decision invalidating Proposition 8. The ban's backers addressed the potential for such a roadblock in their emergency stay request, saying California's strong citizen initiative law permits ballot measure proponents to defend their interests if state officials will not. "Proponents may directly assert the states interest in defending the constitutionality of its laws, an interest that is indisputably sufficient to confer appellate standing," they said. Theodore Boutrous, a lawyer with the legal team representing same-sex couples, said that keeping Protect Marriage from moving forward with an appeal was not necessarily the top priority of the plaintiffs. "We believe that Chief Judge Walker's ruling last week on the merits provides a powerful record on appeal, and we want the appellate courts to address the merits of Proposition 8,"

Boutrous said. "The standing issue that Chief Judge Walker identified provides another potential weapon in our arsenal that will be part of the appellate arguments." California voters passed Proposition 8 as a state constitutional amendment in November 2008, five months after the California Supreme Court legalized same-sex unions and an estimated 18,000 samesex couples already had married. —— © Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/ faq.php Five Filters featured article:"Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent.


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Obama Claims GOP Trying to Destroy Social Security (Newsmax - Inside Cover) Submitted at 8/14/2010 3:01:36 AM

Saturday, 14 Aug 2010 08:01 AM President Barack Obama used the anniversary of Social Security to trumpet Democrats' support for the popular program and accuse Republicans of trying to destroy it. Seventy-five years after President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Social Security into law, Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address Saturday: "We have an obligation to keep that promise, to safeguard Social Security for our seniors, people with disabilities and all Americans — today, tomorrow and forever." Some Republican leaders in Congress are "pushing to make privatizing Social Security a key part of their legislative agenda if they win a majority in Congress this fall," Obama said. He contended that such privatization was "an illconceived idea that would add trillions of dollars to our budget deficit while tying your benefits to the whims of Wall Street traders and the ups and downs of the stock market." Most Republicans, in fact, are wary of touching that idea, because Social Security is

virtually sacrosanct to voters, particularly seniors. Nonetheless, Democrats have been able to seize on the issue because of a proposal by Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, the top Republican on the House Budget Committee, that would allow younger people to put Social Security money into personal accounts. Ryan's idea is similar to a proposal pushed unsuccessfully by former President George W. Bush. It's not been endorsed by party leaders and has attracted only a small number of GOP cosponsors. With Social Security's finances strained, policymakers talk frequently about the need to address the solvency of the entitlement program. How to do so is less clear, as Obama's comments Saturday underscored. Obama said he's "committed to working with anyone, Democrat or Republican, who wants to strengthen Social Security." But he proposed no ideas for doing that. Many Democrats adamantly oppose any cut in benefits to reduce costs and some won't accept a gradual increase in the retirement age, something that was done in the last overhaul in 1983. Republicans say an

increase in Social Security taxes is out of the question, even for the wealthy. Unless Congress acts, Social Security's combined retirement and disability trust funds are expected to run out of money in 2037. At that point, Social Security will collect enough in payroll taxes to cover about three-fourths of the benefits. Obama has created a bipartisan fiscal commission that is supposed to come up with recommendations in December on improving the government's troubled finances and has said everything should be on the table. Republicans used their weekend address to accuse Democrats of pursuing an "extreme ideologically driven agenda" that threatens the nation's economic recovery. "I am deeply concerned about the direction we're heading in right now," said former Rep. Pat Toomey, speaking for the GOP. "That direction is being driven by extreme policies that are coming from one-party domination of government in Washington. ... It's time we put some real checks and balances back in place this November." Toomey, the GOP Senate nominee in Pennsylvania, focused on bailouts for

mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as well as the car companies; the economic stimulus legislation that has failed to cut unemployment rates; and Obama's health care law. "Now, where do all these bailouts, takeovers and spending sprees leave us?" Toomey asked. "They leave us with a weak economy without job growth and with a mountain of debt for our kids." —— Online: White House: http:// www.whitehouse.gov/ GOP address: http://tinyurl.com /25warlp Social Security: http:// www.ssa.gov/ © Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/ faq.php Five Filters featured article:"Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent.

PS3 250GB on sale for $300 at Kmart David Hinkle (Joystiq) Submitted at 8/14/2010 10:00:00 AM

In the market for a new PS3? Kmart is offering the 250GB model at a $50 discount, bringing the cost of the console down to $300. Now, think about what else that $300 could get you and you'll realize it's a pretty decent deal: • A 32GB iPhone 4 • A new puppy • Two tickets to the Justin Bieber concert (nosebleeds) • A Kinect Xbox 360 bundle All of those things are fine, don't get us wrong, but you've gotta keep this in mind: none of them will let you play Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. Just saying! PS3 250GB on sale for $300 at Kmart originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 14 Aug 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Comments


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The Incandescent Bulb Ban: Another Regulatory Overreach Nicolas Loris (The Foundry: Conservative Policy News.)

Security Act of 2007 placed stringent efficiency requirements on incandescent Submitted at 8/13/2010 3:00:49 PM bulbs in an attempt to phase Posted August 13th, 2010 at them out between 2012 and 4 : 0 0 p m i n E n e r g y a n d 2014 and replace them with Environment Print This Post more expensive but more energy Is the modern incandescent -efficient bulbs, the most light bulb ready to retire from p o p u l a r b e i n g c o m p a c t society and find its final resting f l u o r e s c e n t b u l b s ( C F L s ) . p l a c e i n t h e h a l l s o f t h e Critics of CFL bulbs argue that American History Museum? exposure to mercury vapor is Politicians seem to think so, but dangerous if the bulbs are consumer behavior indicates broken, and others complained otherwise. According to an a b o u t C F L b u l b s c a u s i n g article in The New York Times, migraines and epilepsy attacks, Despite a decade of campaigns resulting in medical groups by the government and utilities asking for exemptions for those to persuade people to switch to w i t h h e a l t h p r o b l e m s . e n e r g y - s a v i n g c o m p a c t Proponents of CFL bulbs argue fluorescents, incandescent bulbs t h a t t h e i n c r e a s e d e n e r g y still occupy an estimated 90 efficiency will offset the higher percent of household sockets in sticker price, but critics argue it the United States. Aside from will take an exceptionally long the aesthetic and practical time where people use lights objections to fluorescents, old- infrequently, such as closets and style incandescents have the attics. advantage of being remarkably In effort to meet tougher cheap. regulations, the new The government solution to incandescent light bulbs are also replace incandescent bulbs is to selling at record rates, but also r e g u l a t e t h e m o u t o f t h e at record prices. A new bulb marketplace and forcefully presented by Philips Lighting’s restrict consumer choice. The Halogena Energy Savers is E n e r g y I n d e p e n d e n c e a n d selling at 20 times the price of a

regulations through market innovation. Yet there is only so much that the industry can do to stay a step ahead of legislation, and whether incandescent bulbs will survive the government’s regulatory whip remains to be seen. A few dollars more here and there may not seem like much, but CFLs sell at around $1 each. Although fluorescent bulbs are currently not favored by households, they could soon become the chosen bulb, an unnatural leaning that will create false information for the light bulb market. If consumers truly preferred fluorescents to incandescents, they would purchase them standard bulb($5 compared to without any legal incentive. Yet 25 cents)—an immense price they do not. Many prefer the increase for a 30 percent s o f t y e l l o w l i g h t i n g o f e f f i c i e n c y i m p r o v e m e n t . incandescents to the unnaturally However, the new bulbs last white light of fluorescents. More three times as long as a standard m i g h t p r e f e r t h e s i m p l e bulb, bringing the price ratio affordability of incandescents. down to less than seven times Demand for cheap incandescent the price of a standard bulb. light bulbs is not going to Although this law could mean change because of legislation the end of a century-old industry (and, in fact, could lead to and all the jobs that go with it, hoarding), so the only option b u l b m a n u f a c t u r e r s a r e left to environmentalists is to demonstrating a remarkable remove the incandescent light resilience against needless bulb from the market altogether

and make it impossible for consumers to light their houses inexpensively. This is one example of the absurdity of federal regulations and how bureaucrats pointlessly try to change human behavior. The regulatory burden grew tremendously during President George W. Bush’s tenure and is only getting worse under President Obama’s. It is a trend that restricts freedom and choice in the marketplace and costs taxpayers billions of dollars. It is a trend that the government should reverse. Kelsey Huber co-authored this post. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/ faq.php Five Filters featured article:"Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent.


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President Obama’s $1 Billion Earmark Brian Darling (The Foundry: Conservative Policy News.)

global clean energy economy This project was an earmark in the stimulus according to a Submitted at 8/14/2010 10:00:29 AM Washington Post story dated Posted August 14th, 2010 at March 6, 2009: 11:00am in Ongoing Priorities Deep inside the economic Print This Post stimulus package is a $1 billion Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) likes prize that, in five short words, to say that Congressional shows the benefits of being in earmarking has become the power in Washington. The g a t e w a y d r u g t o f e d e r a l funding, for “fossil energy overspending. Is there any research and development,” is better evidence of this theory likely to go to a power plant in a then President Barack Obama’s small Illinois town, a project $1 billion earmark for a special whose longtime backers include project in Illinois that was a group of powerful lawmakers slipped into his failed $862 from the state, among them billion stimulus? According to President Obama. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, On page 139 of the President’s the Obama Administration stimulus plan, Public Law 111awarded $1 billion on August 5 5, you can find the earmark: th for a Carbon Capture and “For an additional amount for Storage Network in Illinois: ‘Fossil Energy Research and Today’s announcement will Development’, $3,400,00,000.” help ensure the US remains According to a Department of c o m p e t i t i v e i n a c a r b o n Energy press release, this one constrained economy, creating billion dollar earmark is being jobs while reducing greenhouse p r o v i d e d t o “ F u t u r e G e n gas pollution. This investment A l l i a n c e , A m e r e n E n e r g y in the world’s first, commercial- Resources, Babcock & Wilcox, scale, oxy-combustion power and Air Liquide Process & plant will help to open up the Construction, Inc. to build over $300 billion market for FutureGen 2.0, a clean coal c o a l u n i t r e p o w e r i n g a n d repowering program and carbon position the country as a leader d i o x i d e ( C O 2 ) s t o r a g e in an important part of the network.” The Department of

Energy projects 1,900 jobs as a result of $1,000,000,000 in new spending. This works out to about a half million dollars per job. Senator Coburn said of the $1 billion earmark: This costly and gratuitous earmark further calls into question the integrity of the Recovery Act. This decision appears to have more to do with politics and geography than science. FutureGen 1.0 was called ‘YesterGen’ because it had little scientific value. Now, taxpayers are being forced to finance the largest pork-barrel project in our nation’s history with borrowed money. Adding another $1 billion to our debt for a dubious project will only delay our recovery. The Hill reports that problems have emerged with the implementation of this earmark. A long-troubled federal project to demonstrate the viability of capturing carbon from coal-fired power plants and socking it away underground has hit a new snag. The town of Mattoon, Ill., wants no part of the Energy Department’s revised “FutureGen” project after seeing its role in the program change and shrink. Last week DOE

rolled out a revamped version of FutureGen, the program to build a next-generation coal plant with a consortium of power and mining companies. DOE scrapped plans for building FutureGen from the ground up in Mattoon, where local officials were excited about the jobs that would come with it. This is the same project initiated by the Bush Administration, then canceled in 2008 because of cost overruns. Now Mattoon, Illinois is rejecting the project. With unemployment today at 9.5% and a failed stimulus plan, it would seem like a good time to take a second look at this program to potentially cancel this waste of taxpayer dollars. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/ faq.php Five Filters featured article:"Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent.

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Quick Seafood Dinners (Cooking Light: Editor's Picks)

Time: 30 minutes Prep Pointer: You’ll get more juice from a room-temperature lemon. Serve with Charred Vegetable Rice: Cook 1 cup long-grain white rice according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Heat 1½ tablespoons olive oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add ½ cup thawed frozen whole-kernel corn and ½ cup chopped zucchini to pan; sauté 3 minutes or until vegetables are charred. Stir in ½ cup halved grape tomatoes and 13 cup chopped green onions; sauté 1 minute or -until tomatoes almost wilt. Combine vegetable mixture, rice, and ¾ teaspoon salt. View Recipe: Pan-Grilled Halibut with Chimichurri Next Seafood Arrabbiata This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/ faq.php Five Filters featured article:"Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent.


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Russian Deployment of S-300 Missiles Threatens U.S. Interests in the Caucasus Ariel Cohen (The Foundry: Conservative Policy News.) Submitted at 8/13/2010 2:00:43 PM

Posted August 13th, 2010 at 3:00pm in American Leadership Print This Post On Wednesday, Gen. Alexander Zelin, the commander of the Russian Air Force, announced that Moscow had deployed a state-of-the-art S -300 (SA-20 Favorit) longrange air defense system in Abkhazia, a region of the Republic of Georgia that Russia has occupied since the August 2008 war. Since then, Russia recognized breakaway Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent republics. According to Zelin, the task of the air defense systems is “to prevent violation of Abkhaz and South Ossetian airspace and to destroy any aircraft intruding into their airspace no matter what their purpose might be”. However, there is much more than the defense of Abkhazia to the Russian deployment. Taken together with the S-300 base in Armenia, it extends the strategic air space over South Caucasus and over parts of the Black Sea, furthering Russian control. The response from the Obama Administration was faint. P. J.

Crowley, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State and State Department spokesman said: “I believe it’s our understanding that Russia has had S-300 missiles in Abkhazia for the past two years.” He later claimed that this is “not necessarily” a new development. This is another example of the Obama Administration’s “don’t let your missiles interfere with my reset policy” approach. However, with this move Russia is yet again flagrantly violating the August 2008 ceasefire agreement, negotiated by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. It called upon both countries to withdraw troops to pre-war positions and restore status-quo ante bellum. In addition, Russia has built up to five military bases in Abkhazia and South Ossetia in the past two years alone. Although the range of the system is about a 120 miles, the deployment has to be seen in the context of recent Russian policies in the Caucasus. Moscow negotiated a contract extension for basing troops in the Armenian Gyumri military base till 2044. It will assume joint control over Armenian borders. As the leading member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, Russia controls

denying the United Space airspace and over-flight options. The surveillance aspect is no less important—depending on the actual deployment of the air defenses: associated radars will be able to picture or “paint” much of western Georgia and the adjoining Black Sea coastline. The ultimate objective for Moscow is to become an uncontested hegemon in the South Caucasus. And of course this has potential implications in case of an Iranian contingency. The Russians are committed to deployments in the Caucasus that lead to the strategic denial of U.S. power projection in that region. This bears on the U.S.’s future ability to resupply Afghanistan; to use power to disarm a nuclear Iran; to ensure energy supply from the Caspian; and to help pro-Western friends and allies. These are hardly great accomplishments for the Obama “reset” policy”. air space over Armenia. Now region, which connects the This entry passed through the Moscow is reportedly selling an Atlantic (via the Black Sea and Full-Text RSS service — if this S-300 air defense system to Mediterranean) with the energy is your content and you're Azerbaijan. riches of Eurasia. As President reading it on someone else's site, There is a clear strategy behind Medvedev stated in his post-war please read our FAQ page at these actions. While Secretary 2008 speech, this is “a zone of fivefilters.org/content-only/ of State Hillary Clinton hails Russian exclusive interests”, faq.php “soft power” in the Caucasus, where it is willing to use force. Five Filters featured Moscow engages in a hard, Most importantly from the article:"Peace Envoy" Blair Gets classic political-military power perspective of the United States, a n E a s y R i d e i n t h e projection in this strategic Russian actions are aimed at I n d e p e n d e n t .


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Put Up or Shut Up Neera Tanden (The New Republic - All Feed)

progressive values, he’s given in. I completely disagree, and I Submitted at 8/14/2010 12:09:02 AM understand the White House’s Over the last week, there has concern with the left’s turn been a lot of consternation in the against it. On a practical level, progressive community over liberal angst could do real White House Press Secretary damage to Democrats this Robert Gibbs’s interview with election season by sapping The Hill in which he aired a energy from voter turnout series of grievances with the efforts. Many progressives, left. Gibbs offered several however, don’t seem to realize caustic comments, perhaps that this would also harm their inartfully stated, that captured c a u s e . A f t e r a l l , w o n ’ t a the White Houses’s frustration Republican Congress be much, with the fact that the president, much worse than a Democratic long-attacked as a socialist by one? (Further food for thought: the right, is now also being I f t h e p r e s i d e n t w a s t h e assailed as a capitulator by the capitulator some on the left left. accuse him of being, would his Indeed, some liberals have actions have spawned the Tea argued that, on issue after issue, Party that attacks him daily?) the president has “caved.” These Amid this intensifying friction, liberals believe that Obama Obama staked out a bold, should have fought for a public progressive, even unpopular option, and that he walked away position Friday night when he from a winnable fight to get it. spoke out in favor of the Islamic Rather than waging war for center near Ground Zero. “The

principle that people of all faiths are welcome in this country and that they will not be treated differently by their government is essential to who we are. The writ of the founders must endure,” the president said. The question now is … whither liberals? Here, we have a moment in which the President has done exactly what the left has been asking him to do—fight for liberal values. He defended the core constitutional right of religious freedom. And, as he did in his famous speech on race in Philadelphia over two years ago, the president spoke last night on behalf of tolerance and against fear. We know the left can organize on Obama’s behalf: Think tanks like the Center for American Progress (my employer), grassroots groups, advocacy organizations, and a thriving blogosphere helped usher him

into the White House. Yet, in the last year, it is the Tea Party that has been demonstrating in the streets, seemingly more able to influence the public mood than the left. This has only hindered progress on important liberal policies and principles. In the wake of Obama’s speech last night, the onus is now on progressives to organize against the coming Republican onslaught from the likes of Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich—to stand up and say that Obama is right. The left has demanded fire in the belly from Obama. But will it actually have the president’s back when he shows it? This is a crucial test. Neera Tanden is the chief operating officer of the Center for American Progress. She served in the Obama and Clinton administrations.

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Anti-Ground Zero Mosque TV Ad Planned (Newsmax - Inside Cover) Submitted at 8/13/2010 4:29:52 PM

Friday, 13 Aug 2010 09:29 PM New York's Conservative Party is planning a television ad campaign to pressure a New York City utility to use its power to block a proposed mosque near ground zero that the ad says is planned by an "un -American" Muslim leader. The ad states "patriotic Americans" want "real answers" about the cultural center proposed for lower Manhattan in a building partly owned by Consolidated Edison. Plans call for the Muslim center to include a mosque in the building about two blocks from the Sept. 11, 2001, attack. ANTI-GROUND page 56

Patricia Arquette, Thomas Jane Split Again Natalie Abrams (TVGuide.com: Breaking News)

"The split is completely amicable and their prime focus is their daughter," his rep tells the magazine. "They ask that Submitted at 8/13/2010 8:31:00 PM Patricia Arquette and Thomas their privacy be respected at this Jane time." Patricia Arquette and Thomas Patricia Arquette calls off Jane have called it quits again, divorce this time deciding to get a The Medium star, 42, filed for but the two later reconciled. The divorce, according to People. divorce from Jane , 41, in 2009, actress and Jane, who stars on

HBO's Hung, have a 7-year-old daughter named Harlow. Reps for the couple did not immediately respond to TVGuide.com's request for comment. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site,

please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/ faq.php Five Filters featured article:"Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent.


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ANTI-GROUND continued from page 55

The ad asks viewers to contact the utility, which has more than 3 million customers, at a phone number provided on screen and is the first effort to try to get customers to target the company. The Conservative Party's statewide ad to begin running next week says Republican candidate for governor Rick Lazio, the Conservative nominee, is asking the right questions about the effort and who or what groups will fund it. The utility has said it is legally bound to accept the plans to sell the building under an agreement with its tenant. "My hope is Con Ed would be civic minded and not participate in the sale," New York Conservative Party Chairman Michael Long told The Associated Press. "Our little twist is creating a grass-roots effort to put pressure on Con Ed."

Long said the ad will run statewide in all TV markets on cable television including in New York City where Con Edison has its customer base. Long said it will be a "significant" buy, but said he wasn't yet sure of the total cost. Con Edison said Friday in a statement that its action is "consistent with the law and our core beliefs." If an independent appraiser approves of the price, the property will be sold, the company said. "We will not allow other considerations to enter into this transaction," the utility said. "This is New York, a rich diverse city. Con Edison's values call for respecting people without regard to their racial, ethnic, or religious orientation. They are all our customers." The ad will come after President Barack Obama on Friday sought to speak up for religious freedom at a dinner

celebrating the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. The $100 million proposal has ignited tensions nationwide and polls show a slight majority of New Yorkers oppose the mosque if it's located so close to the site of the Sep. 11 attacks. © Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/ faq.php Five Filters featured article:"Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent.

Castle Taps Charmed Star to Play Beckett's Boyfriend Kate Stanhope (TVGuide.com: Breaking News) Submitted at 8/14/2010 9:35:00 AM

Victor Webster Castle has tapped Victor Webster to play the new boyfriend of Beckett ( Stana Katic), a show rep says. The Charmed vet, 37, will play Josh Davidson and make his first appearance in the fourth episode of the season, according to Entertainment Weekly, which first reported the casting. Watch full episodes of Castle "There's an element of mystery to him," executive producer Andrew Marlowe tells EW. "He's more of a motorcycle guy ... a person that is going to intrigue Castle, because he's going to see a different side of Beckett." Castle returns on Monday, Sept. 20 at 10/9c on ABC. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this

is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/ faq.php Five Filters featured article:"Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent.


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The Good Wife Executive Producer Says Alicia's Ties to Peter Will Be Problematic in Season 2 Kate Stanhope (TVGuide.com: Breaking News)

against her and her burgeoning legal career. She will also have to figure out what their future is as a couple. Submitted at 8/13/2010 6:04:00 PM The Good Wife "What is the next manifestation Has Alicia Florrick ( Julianna of that relationship? He's out of Margulies) found her groove? jail, he's going to be setting When we left Alicia at the end upon what his next professional of Season 1, her financially track will be," Zucker says. distraught firm had found a life "They are not at all the same preserver in attorney Derrick people they were before this Bond ( Michael Ealy), and her whole maelstrom began. ... husband, Peter (Chris Noth), Suddenly they're different had been acquitted and released people. How does the from jail. relationship accommodate that But things won't stay peaceful and what does it transform for long, executive producer into?" D a v i d W . Z u c k e r t e l l s and different intentions to the track, suddenly everything gets The Good Wife returns on T V G u i d e . c o m . A l i c i a ' s table. Zucker reveals that the shifted, which is how things Tuesday, Sept. 28 at 10/9c. confidence continues to grow, m e r g e r w i l l b e t h e m o s t started last year when she This entry passed through the " b u t s h e ' s g o i n g t o b e unsettling for Diane and Will, discovered the competition." Full-Text RSS service — if this confronted with a whole new and even while Alicia may have The Good Wife casts role that is your content and you're intensity of challenges" when a new ally in Derrick, doesn't "immediately impacts" Alicia, reading it on someone else's site, The Good Wife returns next mean she'll be immune to this executive producer says please read our FAQ page at month, he says. One of her tumultuous getting-to-know-you Alicia's home life will also fivefilters.org/content-only/ bigger hurdles will be her period. change dramatically following faq.php newfound partnership with "The ink isn't dry on the Peter's re-entrance into the Five Filters featured Derrick's firm, which will bring contract. They've come together political arena. article:"Peace Envoy" Blair Gets many road bumps to the new out of dual necessity, but they're "His new campaign is going to a n E a s y R i d e i n t h e Lockhart, Gardner and Bond. assessing one another in terms expose [the Florrick family] to I n d e p e n d e n t . Michael Ealy joins the cast of of what the expectations are and the public in regular intervals," The Good Wife orienting to the politics of the Zucker says. Being married to a "It's first perceived as a relief," office," Zucker continues. "As former state's attorney helped Zucker says, but each firm soon as [Alicia] feels she may Alicia at work last year, but her brings a very different agenda have gotten herself on a secure ties to Peter will start to work

How to Boil and Eat Lobster (Simply Recipes) Submitted at 8/14/2010 9:58:47 AM

Years ago, my first job out of college was in Boston; I lived the North End, above D'Amore's Italian restaurant on Salem Street, right across from a little fish market. This was a magical time, to be in one's early 20s, exploring the back streets of Boston, feasting on the sights, sounds, and smells, alone or with friends. I was amazed that I could buy fresh lobster across the street from where I lived, at the fish market, for $4.99 a pound, still a luxury at that time, but within reach. (This summer, 27 years later, I bought lobster for $5.99 a pound, a bargain for this Californian!) That summer as often as I could I rounded up friends to enjoy a lobster feast. I still have the big aluminum pot I used. Continue reading "How to Boil and Eat Lobster" Âť


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What's On Tonight: 'The Cupcake Girls,' 'The Dish,' 'Being Human' Rich Keller (TV Squad) Submitted at 8/14/2010 7:30:00 AM

Filed under: TV Previews Here's tonight's lineup of new shows and events (all times Eastern). Check your local TV listings for additional information. * = Series/Season Premiere ** = Series/Season Finale If the list of new shows seems a bit dull to you, you can always tune into Discovery Health where tonight is 'Sexed Up Saturday,' featuring shows on cybersex addiction and four women who have Persistent Sexual Arousal Syndrome. Ah, Saturday! 8:00 to 9:00 NBC:'Gymnastics: Visa Championships'-- Two hours Univision:'Sabado Gigante'-Three hours Animal Planet:'Last Chance Highway' DIY:'Dream House'-- 8:30 start G4:'Ninja Warrior'-- Two episodes Style:'How Do I Look?' TLC:'Dateline: Real Life

Social Security at 75: A good time to review your retirement plan Consumer Reports Shopping Blog (Consumer Reports) Submitted at 8/13/2010 1:43:15 PM

Mysteries' 9:00 to 10:00 FOX:'America's Most Wanted' BBC America:'Being Human' Bio:'Celebrity Ghost Stories' CNBC:'The Suze Orman Show' G4:'Ninja Warrior'-- Two episodes Hallmark:'Class'-- A law student helps a single mom find a job with benefits as part of his public advocacy class; two hours HGTV:'Curb Appeal: The

Block'-- 9:30 start Style:'Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?' We:'The Cupcake Girls'*-- Two episodes 10:00 to 11:00 Animal Planet:'Pit Boss' Bio:'My Ghost Story' HGTV: Color Splash: Miami' Style:'The Dish' Permalink| Email this| Linking Blogs| Comments

Social Security at 75: A good time to review your retirement plan Just in time to celebrate Social Security's birthday on Saturday, I got my annual benefits statement in the mail. Aside from giving me a shapshot of my eligible earnings since my first high school job (at Altman's department store, now sadly defunct), it provides a lot of interesting information about how much I can expect to receive per month if I begin collecting early (age 62), on time (in my case, just short of age 67), or after age 70. Just waiting a bit longer can make a big difference in your payout. As our Consumer Reports Money Lab shows, you'll get a bigger overall payout over your lifetime by delaying those payments. Of course, that assumes Social Security survives—hardly a

proposition that's guaranteed. For that reason, we recommend several courses to improve the chances of a satisfying and comfortable retirement. Check them out here: A happy retirement What succeeds over time Six steps that work The case for diversification —Tobie Stanger Subscribe now! S u b s c r i b e t o ConsumerReports.org for expert Ratings, buying advice and reliability on hundreds of products. Update your feed preferences


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Hands on: BlackBerry Torch 9800 smart phone Michael Gikas (Consumer Reports)

dial pad for making calls (sadly, an increasingly rare feature on smart phones) and the end (hang Submitted at 8/13/2010 1:10:08 PM -up) key, which also server as Hands on: BlackBerry Torch the Torch's home button. 9800 smart phone The RIM Search. Tapping the magnifying B l a c k B e r r y T o r c h 9 8 0 0 glass on the upper-right-hand smartphone. corner of the display launches (Click to enlarge.) universal search. The searches Photo: Research in Motion a r e t h o r o u g h , t h o u g h t h e (RIM) presentation is lacking. Instead The BlackBerry Torch 9800 of actually showing you the esmart phone is living up to my mails, songs, and other items in favorable first impressions, your search terms, the search though my I did stumble upon a engine merely produces icons of few minor bumps as my fingers apps that contain those words, poked, jabbed, and swiped its with the number of occurrences sleek surface. underneath—for example, the Navigation. Getting around on text-message icon with the the Torch is incredibly easy. number "2" in parenthesis. The touch screen was quite Another disappointment: At the responsive, and you can perform Torch preview earlier this just about any operation with month, the presenter said t a p , p i n c h , o r s w i p e . A universal search would also navigation bar at the bottom of search out those terms with third the screen shows the icons of - p a r t y p r o g r a m s , s u c h a s frequently used applications, Slacker. I couldn't get my websites, and contacts, which review unit to do that. you can peruse by swiping your Text entry. Typing on the Torch finger to the left or right. It's is a mixed bag. The physical also quite easy to navigate with keyboard is adequate, though the phone's more traditional narrow. The keys are raised and BlackBerry controls, such as r e a s o n a b l y s p a c e d , w h i c h running your finger over the helped minimize typing errors. trackpad to scroll, summoning The virtual keyboard is another task options by hitting the menu story. In portrait mode (when button, and backing out of a you hold the phone vertically), function by hitting the return the virtual keys proved much key. The most welcomed legacy too narrow to hit without controls are the green send key m a k i n g m i s t a k e s . ( T h i s that automatically produces the k e y b o a r d i s t h e p e r f e c t

are quite clear, and an asterisk that appears next to the icon of messaging accounts, such as Facebook, tells you of recent activity. Tapping the lower region of the quick-access area produces a preview of the messages, with the page descending like a curtain (a trick borrowed from the Android candidate for Swype. See our operating system). Tapping the video, " Verizon's Samsung upper region yields controls for Omnia II Swype Feature" on network options and the phone's Y o u T u b e . c o m f o r a alarm clock. demonstartion of how the Web browsing. The Torch's Swype keybaord works.) Web browser is top notch, on a Tilting the phone sideways to par with what you'll find on landscape mode automatically iPhone and Android smart widens the virtual keyboard to a phones. The Torch also supports more practical size. As with tabbed browsing. And you can Android phones, the predictive- easily jump from page to page text feature produce multiple by hitting the new tab icon on word choices as you type, which the top right area of the display. can normally save time if you're Double-tapping the screen typing long words, such as automatically rewraps a column "Thanksgiving." However, the of Web text to fill the screen. program leaves no space for the One glitch: Sometimes the next word, which means you virtual keys would not allow me c a n e n d u p t y p i n g to enter type in the search fields "thanksforyourkindthoughts" if of web pages. Switching over to you're not careful. the physical keyboard solved the Alerts, notifications. The problem. Torch's quick-access area at the Camera. The Torch has a hard top of the display does an button for launching the still and outstanding job of keeping you video cameras, and you can apprised of the phone's status easily switch between the two (battery, network connections, by hitting the menu button. d a t e , e t c . ) a s w e l l a s Controls were responsive, and notifications about your e-mail, there are options for sharing pics t e x t , a n d s o c i a l - n e t w o r k and videos via e-mail and accounts. The status readouts YouTube. But, it's behind still

behind the curve when compared with smart phones from Apple, HTC, Motorola, and Samsung, which can now shoot video in HD and can share their content with HDTVs either wirelessly or with an HDMI cable. Bottom line: The Torch is an excellent set of training wheels for traditional BlackBerry users interested in tapping the more promising world of touch-screen smart phones. But BlackBerry has to pick up the pace to catch up with multimedia powerhouses coming from Apple and Android phone makers. —Mike Gikas Next Steps • Cell Phone Buying Advice: • Types of Cell Phones| • Cell Phone Features| • Cell Phone Brands All Cell Phone Ratings Subscribers can view and compare all Cell Phone Ratings. Recommended Cell Phones Look at the ones that we chose as the best of the best. Subscribe now! S u b s c r i b e t o ConsumerReports.org for expert Ratings, buying advice and reliability on hundreds of products. Update your feed preferences


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Some good news for air travelers, some not so good Consumer Reports Shopping Blog (Consumer Reports)

more than three hours. Consumers Union supported such measures, which took Submitted at 8/13/2010 1:06:45 PM effect in April. Some good news for air This dramatic decrease in travelers, some not so good The lengthy delays is being viewed latest statistics on airline as a victory by some proponents performance have brought some of the DOT's new rule, though it good news concerning lengthy seems much too early to draw tarmac delays generated by the l o n g - t e r m c o n c l u s i o n s . nation's largest carriers—in fact, However, the 18 large domestic it's news that seems to have airlines that report to the DOT surprised the industry. indicated they canceled 1.5 The August edition of the Air percent of their scheduled Travel Consumer Report from domestic flights in June, the t h e U . S . D e p a r t m e n t o f same percentage canceled in Transportation indicates there June 2009, so the contention were only three domestic flights that the tarmac rule would lead delayed for more than three t o m a s s i v e c a n c e l l a t i o n s hours in June, the most recent has—so far—not been proven. month for which data are L a s t m o n t h t w o a v i a t i o n available. That contrasts with consultants issued a study 268 such flights in June 2009, asserting that "pronounced and and five such flights in the s e r i o u s t r e n d s i n f l i g h t previous month, May 2010 c a n c e l l a t i o n s a t t r i b u t a b l e (although the DOT reports "a directly to tarmac delay limits" subsequent DOT investigation had emerged. The release of the determined that four of the five latest DOT findings this week May flights were misreported by prompted a response from the the airline"). Business Travel Coalition, As we noted in July, extended which stated: "This is very tarmac delays are being closely positive news for consumers and watched by regulators, airline w o u l d a p p e a r t o p o i n t t o executives, and industry v a l i d a t i o n o f D O T ' s analysts because new consumer implementation-timetable of protections from the DOT 120 days for airlines to adjust to prohibit domestic flights from the new 3-hour rule. However, remaining on the tarmac for it's premature for a victory lap

among supporters of the new rules as two full months of data is insufficient to draw definitive longer-term conclusions." The DOT's monthly report now details "chronically late flights" delayed for more than 30 minutes more than 50 percent of the time for two or more months. In June, there were 17 such flights, though none were chronically delayed for three consecutive months or more. Among other key findings from the Air Travel Consumer Report for August: • Overall on-time performance for the largest airlines was 76.4 percent in June, higher than the 76.1 percent mark recorded in June 2009.• Baggage handling improved as well, with the largest airlines posting a mishandled rate of 3.72 reports per 1,000 passengers, down from 4.26 in June 2009. • During the second quarter, the number of involuntarily bumped

passengers fell compared to the same period last year, to 1.06 per 10,000 passengers from 1.43.• Consumer complaints soared in June, with 958 in total, or 1.67 per 100,000 passengers boarded. This contrasts with 503 total, or 0.97 per 100,00 passengers boarded in June 2009. Total complaints about airline service (including those filed against foreign airlines, travel agents, tour operators, etc.) nearly doubled year-overyear, from 748 to 1,419. • Incidents involving pets increased slightly, with six animal deaths reported in June, up from five incidents reported in June 2009.• Complaints about treatment of passengers with disabilities also rose, with 60 such complaints reported in June, up from 55 in the same month last year. • Complaints from passengers alleging discrimination rose sharply: 22 filings, versus 10 in June 2009. —William J. McGee Subscribe now! S u b s c r i b e t o ConsumerReports.org for expert Ratings, buying advice and reliability on hundreds of products. Update your feed preferences

Blue Pearl Robotic Pool Cleaner (Woot! - One Day, One Deal) Submitted at 8/14/2010 12:00:14 AM

Melodi! Go get me something to eat! And make it snappy! I can’t go because I’m setting up this Blue Pearl Robotic Pool Cleaner! I’m making it possible for the kids to have fun in the pool again! Oh c’mon I’ve been up all morning with this thing! I can’t drive anywhere, I’m soaking wet! I’m soggy and h u n g r y ! C o m e o o o o o o o o o o o o o n ! JUST GO DOWN THE STREET AND GET ME SOME CHICKEN MCNUGGETS, WOMAN! Oh my, you are kidding me. HOW LAZY ARE YOU THAT YOU CAN’T DRIVE TO A MCDONALD’S AND PICK UP SOME TASTY CHICKEN MCNUGGETS FOR YOUR LOVING HUSBAND WHO HAS BEEN BUSY SETTING UP A FREAKING ROBOT TO CLEAN HIS- OUR POOL?! I DON’T CARE WHAT TIME IT IS! JUST MAKE WITH THE NUGGETS! AND A COKE! Thank you! Jeez, what was her problem?! What’s the worst that BLUE page 63


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Sound Byte: Prevent cell phone "bill shock" Paul Eng (Consumer Reports)

available today and... into tomorrow. The show airs on over 160 AM and FM radio Sound Byte: Prevent cell phone stations around the U.S., on "bill shock" Click here to play SIRIUS XM Satellite Radio, the Sound Byte: Preventing radio stations in Germany, cell phone bill shock.(MP3 Bermuda, New Zealand, Canada software required.) and several other sources podcast: Consumer Reports Click this link to listen to the including Mobile Broadcast Have you ever opened up your clip. (You'll need software, such Network, BeOS Radio, Sprint monthly cell phone bill and said, as iTunes or Quicktime or Every week, Consumer Reports R a d i o , T i V o , a n d m a n y "What the...?!?" If you have, RealPlayer or an MP3-capable experts produce a short (less others—every weekend. "Into you're in good company. More Web browser to play the file. than two minutes in length) Tomorrow" is also heard around than 30 million Americans have Right-click the link with your audio segment which cover a the world on the Armed Forces experienced cell phone " bill mouse and choose "save as..." to wide variety of issues regarding Networks in several other shock," according to a recently download the Sound Byte to c o n s u m e r e l e c t r o n i c s a n d countries. You can also catch all released survey by the FCC. your computer or MP3 player technology. These small "sound Into Tomorrow episodes on the (Adobe Acrobat or similar for later listening.) For the bites" can be heard on Into Web. (The most recent show is software required.) c o m p l e t e t h r e e - h o u r I n t o Tomorrow with Dave Graveline. usually added about three or E l e c t r o n i c s E d i t o r P a u l Tomorrow show featuring this The Sound Byte that is featured four days after it has been in the Consumer Reports broadcast on the radio.) Reynolds tells you how to avoid segment, click here. cell phone overages in this Got a cell phone bill-saving tip Electronics Blog is a segment S u b s c r i b e n o w ! Sound Byte for the " Into you want to share? Or maybe that aired on last weekend's Into S u b s c r i b e t o T o m o r r o w w i t h D a v e you have a topic you'd like us to T o m o r r o w o v e r - t h e - a i r ConsumerReports.org for expert G r a v e l i n e " r a d i o s h o w . cover for a future Sound Byte? b r o a d c a s t . Ratings, buying advice and About Into Tomorrow His advice includes five tips, Weigh in below! reliability on hundreds of among them: Until next week... Happy Now in its 15th year, Into products. Update your feed Tomorrow with Dave Graveline preferences • U s e w e b s i t e s s u c h a s weekend, everyone! covers the Latest in Consumer BillShrink, which help you —Paul Eng Electronics & Technology analyze your monthly wireless About Sound Bytes Submitted at 8/13/2010 1:18:45 PM

bills and help you find the best wireless service plan to match. • With a smartphone, install a free " minute tracker app." You'll find such apps for iPhones, BlackBerries, and Android smartphones.

For the weekend: Berry good for you rss@consumerreports.org (Consumer Reports) Submitted at 8/14/2010 4:59:59 AM

For the weekend: Berry good for you Berries taste great, especially in the summer when they’re freshest. But they’re also developing a reputation as nutritional powerhouses with special health benefits. Some of that is just hype, of course. Juice from the acai FOR page 62

Flash In The Brain Pan: Solipskier (Woot! - One Day, One Deal)

Solipskier has you playing… the snow! Submitted at 8/13/2010 2:00:00 PM Yes, say goodbye to boring oldWell, it's Friday at last, which style skiing games where you means you've earned a game control the skiier. Solipskier that can you can play until five starts a new trend by giving you o'clock. One of those "Flash but mastery of the terrain. Lay the also on iPhone" kinda games, snow to help the always-moving

you get rainbows! But if you make the skiier fall, he falls into eternal darkness. There are gates to cross, areas that are snowproofed, and the option to let go of the button, skier progress. If you do well, which makes the skiier do tricks. Just be warned: when you

let go of the button, you stop making snow! Don't worry, even though you'll to screw it up the first five or six times, you'll still be having fun. And at least it's not Battle Of The Cheetos.


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berry, for example, might be high in antioxidants but there’s little evidence it has the special weight-loss or other powers that are often touted in Internet ads. Still, growing research does suggest that in addition to providing vitamins and minerals, berries contain a variety of other phytonutrients, or plant-based chemicals, that might keep us healthy in a number of ways. Here’s a rundown on the evidence, plus some advice on how to choose and store berries. Urinary-tract infections. Cranberry and blueberry juices can prevent bacteria from adhering to the bladder wall, which may help prevent UTIs. Look for drinks that list the juices as their first or second ingredient. Memory. Blueberries and strawberries contain polyphenols, substances that might reduce inflammation in blood vessels in the brain. And a recent study found that a glass of blueberry juice with each meal every day for three months improved the memory of nine

people who were experiencing mild memory loss. An unpublished study of 3,774 people in Chicago linked the regular consumption of strawberries to a slightly slower rate of cognitive decline in women as they got older. Cancer. Animal and laboratory studies suggest that certain compounds in blueberries and strawberries might prevent the growth of breast and colon cancer cells. Heart disease. Animal studies conducted by researchers from the National Institutes of Health suggest that a blueberryenriched diet might offer some protection against heart attacks. Shopping for berries

varieties to avoid harmful pesticides, especially for blueberries and strawberries. • Remember that whole berries tend to have more nutrients and fiber than juices and juice drinks, as well as fewer calories and less sugar. For more diet and nutrition tips, sign up for our mobile Health Alerts. And, we'd like to hear from you: What's your favorite berry variety and how do you prefer to eat them? In yogurt? On ice cream? Baked in a pie?

This article first appeared in the August 2010 issue of Consumer Reports On Health. Subscribe now! • Look for plump, firm fruit S u b s c r i b e t o with a sweet aroma. Store them ConsumerReports.org for expert u n w a s h e d i n a n a i r t i g h t Ratings, buying advice and c o n t a i n e r i n y o u r f r i d g e . reliability on hundreds of • Opt for fresh or frozen berries products. Update your feed instead of jams or jellies, which preferences are often packed with added sugar. And the heat used to make them might reduce their vitamin C content. • Splurge on the organic

PGA Championship in a Fog Mick Elliott (FanHouse Main) Submitted at 8/13/2010 8:03:00 PM

Filed under: PGA, PGA Championship SHEBOYGAN, Wis. -- PGA Championship week began with such promise. Whistling Straits buzzed with interest, intrigue and more than a little bit of controversy. Then the golf started. And stopped. And started. And stopped. Even under the best of circumstances it was doubtful the PGA could hold its early pace. After sex, lies and veggiegate dominated pre-tournament interest, the actual golf had a lot to live up to. So far it hasn't. Of course, there really hasn't been that much golf. After two days of play in the

rural heather lands of Wisconsin, where the people are friendly and the mosquitoes are large and plentiful, there remains a long way to go just to reach the halfway point of the year's final major. Elliott: Kuchar Holds Lead| Tiger Quells Doubts More: PGA Championship Leaderboard| Photos The PGA Championship is in a fog. Thursday's and Friday's play have been delayed a combined total of five hours and 56 minutes by three stoppages inflicted by a heavy morning soup rolling off Lake Michigan. Add on the excessively slow play generated in part by the artificially rough terrain and long distances between holes, and Friday ended with 78 players still on the golf course.


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could happen? Back to the pool! Warranty: 1 Year Aquatron Features: • Brush, vacuum and microfilter dirt debris and contaminants from the pool’s floor, walls, and waterline-all in approximately 3 hours • Can maneuver turns in the pool without walls or pistons • “Hex Wheels” – Heavy Duty Stainless Steel supported wheel tubes • Equipped with PVA brushes that will operate in any type of pool surface • State of the art obstacle sensor will prevent the machine from getting stuck on ladders or other obstructions in the pool • Filters 4200 gallons of water an hour • Cleans 3500 square feet per hour • Filter bag can filter debris up to 2 microns small • Fully independent from your pool filtration system • 24v DC oil free high speed

brushless drive motor • Requires no installation and no supervision; just place unit in water, plug it in, and turn it on • Saves energy (costs pennies a day to operate) • Engineered for reliable worry free operation; oil-free drive motor • Operates using a standard household 110v AC outlet, the power supply steps down the power output to 24v DC, and does not require any additional electrical work • Swivel on cord – no more cord tangling • Approved for use by ETL, CSA, TUV, CE, GS Additional Photos: • Package Contents: Aquatron RBUS3BP Blue Pearl Robotic Pool Cleaner, Power Supply and Filter Bag • Aqua Power Supply • Pool Cleaner Filter • Pool Cleaner In Use • Packaging

Specifications: • Cord Length: 60 Feet • Suction Power: 4200 gallons per hour • Cleaning Coverage: 3500 square feet per hour • Filter Porosity: 2 microns • Unit Weight: 16.5 lbs. without cord • Electronic Requirements: 115v/60hz • Drive Motor: 24v DC Oil Free High-Speed Brushless • Pump Motor: 24v DC High Flow In the box: • (1) Aquatron RBUS3BP Blue Pearl Robotic Pool Cleaner • (1) Power Supply • (1) Filter Bag • Operating Instructions Discuss this product Price: $399.99 I want one!

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2010 NFL training camp: Carolina Panthers' Jonathan Stewart cleared to practice Associated Press (ESPN.com)

Panthers in rushing last season and joined DeAngelo Williams as the first teammates in NFL Submitted at 8/14/2010 11:58:28 AM history to each rush for more Updated: August 14, 2010, than 1,100 yards. 12:58 PM ET Defensive end Tyler Brayton SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- sat out Saturday after spraining Carolina Panthers running back his left ankle in Thursday's Jonathan Stewart has passed his preseason loss at Baltimore. physical and is cleared to Copyright 2010 by The practice for the first time since A s s o c i a t e d P r e s s having offseason heel surgery. This entry passed through the S t e w a r t p a r t i c i p a t e d i n Full-Text RSS service — if this individual drills, but was held is your content and you're out of team work Saturday reading it on someone else's site, morning. It's the first time please read our FAQ page at Stewart has practiced since late fivefilters.org/content-only/ last season because of chronic faq.php pain in his left Achilles tendon Five Filters featured and heel. article:"Peace Envoy" Blair Gets Stewart rarely has practiced the a n E a s y R i d e i n t h e past two plus years, but has I n d e p e n d e n t . played in all 33 regular-season and playoff games. He led the

Use Your Basil Bounty (Cooking Light: Editor's Picks)

dark purple leaves offer mildly spicy hints of clove, licorice, There are more than 60 types of mint, and cinnamon. Best uses: basil, all members of the mint Its complexity shines in salads, family. Here are three you’re baked goods, and beverages. most likely to see at gourmet • Thai(bottom right): Small, groceries, farmers’ markets, and pointed leaves with serrated nurseries. edges have peppery anise flavor. • Purple Opal(top): Its large, Best uses: A hint of spicy heat

makes this basil at home in Asian dishes. • Sweet Italian(left): This selection (aka Sweet Genovese) is the most common variety of basil, known for its licoriceclove flavor. Best uses: Its clean, bright flavor makes it an ideal match for fresh tomatoes,

or use it in Italian or Thai dishes. Next Purple Basil Lemonade This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at

fivefilters.org/content-only/ faq.php Five Filters featured article:"Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent.


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2010 Basketball Hall of Fame: Karl Malone, Scottie Pippen inducted into Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Associated Press (ESPN.com)

international basketball. "Pretty good way to go out, winning the gold medal," Bird Submitted at 8/14/2010 8:17:25 AM said. Updated: August 14, 2010, 9:17 Fighting a bad back and nearing AM ET Pippen, Malone, Dream retirement, Bird had to be talked Team Enter HOF into playing in Barcelona by Scottie Pippen, Karl Malone Johnson, his friend and a rival and Dream Team members since their college days. Magic Johnson and Larry Bird "I called your butt up and I said speak after induction to the you're going to play, we need Basketball Hall of Fame Tags: this thrill one more time," Pippen, Malone, Dream Team Johnson said. Enter HOF Their predecessors from the SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- Larry 1960 Olympics, a group led by Bird stopped just short of calling Oscar Robertson and Jerry the Dream Team the best squad West, also were enshrined ever assembled. during the ceremony at With the talent standing behind S y m p h o n y H a l l . D r e a m him, he wouldn't get much Teamers Scottie Pippen and argument if he had.[+] Enlarge Karl Malone were inducted as AP Photo/Elise Amendola individuals. Magic Johnson, left, and Larry Pippen opened his acceptance Bird, right, each took a turn at speech by praising Jordan, his the podium as the 1992 Dream fellow six-time NBA champion Team was enshrined in the from the Chicago Bulls for Naismith Memorial Basketball being "the best teammate." Hall of Fame on Friday. "MJ, you have touched so many The members of the 1992 people's lives, but none quite Olympic champions joined him like mine," Pippen said. on stage Friday as they were A little-known player from inducted into the Naismith Central Arkansas when the Memorial Basketball Hall of Bulls got him in 1987, Pippen Fame. Michael Jordan, Magic was the first player inducted. Johnson and the rest of the With Jordan standing nearby on f a m e d s q u a d w e r e B i r d ' s stage as his presenter, Pippen t e a m m a t e s i n h i s l a s t said he would "cherish their competitive games, a powerful relationship forever." and popular group widely "Who knew that No. 23 would credited for the growth of be here 23 years later presenting

Bird seized on that to get the last word on the debate of which was the better team. "I don't know who had the best team, but I know the team in 1960 was a hell of a lot tougher than we were," he said. "I couldn't imagine the '92 team getting in a covered wagon for eight days, going across the country, jumping in the Atlantic Ocean, swimming for six days, then walking 3,000 miles to the Coliseum in Rome for a dollar a day." Cynthia Cooper, the first Hall of Famer from the WNBA, me to the Naismith Basketball Malone also thanked late Utah Hall of Fame?" Pippen said. Jazz owner Larry Miller for c o a c h B o b H u r l e y o f S t . The presenter does not speak, believing in him. Malone is a Anthony's High School in New and Jordan also didn't speak two-time MVP and second on Jersey, and Lakers owner Jerry w h e n t h e D r e a m T e a m the league's career scoring list, Buss also were inducted. Dennis assembled on stage. His remarks and said his success came from Johnson, former Baltimore l a s t y e a r d u r i n g h i s staying true to his Louisiana Bullets star Gus Johnson and Brazilian Maciel "Ubiratan" enshrinement speech drew some roots. criticism after he singled out "I hope I did it the way my peers P e r e i r a w e r e e n s h r i n e d individuals whose slights had did it before me," Malone said. p o s t h u m o u s l y . provided him with motivation. "I didn't do anything but try to Dennis Johnson, who died in 2007, was a favorite teammate Malone struggled with his play hard." emotions throughout his speech, Earlier Friday, West said he of Bird's and respected for his especially at the end when he believed his group of college tenacious defensive play. His recalled his mother, saying she players that won its eight games wife, Donna, cried during a had died seven years ago Friday. in Rome by 42.4 points per morning press conference at the "I'm here because of her," he game was "the greatest amateur Hall of Fame as she tried to offer thanks for her husband's said. team that ever played." “ West also talked about the long-awaited induction. I hope I did it the way my peers difficult conditions they faced Sheridan: Stellar Class Enters did it before me. I didn't do 50 years ago, when they were Hall anything but try to play hard.�-- housed in dorms without air ESPN.com's Chris Sheridan Karl Malone on his playing conditioning and had a per diem 2010 page 67 career of $1 a day.


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Dickey tosses 1-hit shutout as Mets blank Phils Associated Press (ESPN.com) Submitted at 8/14/2010 8:13:22 AM

Game Information Stadium Citi Field, New York, NY Attendance 35,440 (84.4% full) - % is based on regular season capacity Game Time 2:09 Weather 75 degrees, cloudy Wind 8 mph Umpires Home Plate - Ed Rapuano, First Base Tom Hallion, Second Base Ron Kulpa, Third Base - Lance Barksdale Associated Press NEW YORK -- From the very first knuckleball that R.A. Dickey floated toward the plate, he could tell this would be trouble -- for the Philadelphia Phillies, that is. Fast Facts • R.A. Dickey is 5-1 at home this season. • Cole Hamels is 2-7 in his career vs. the Mets, including 03 this season. • New York won consecutive games for the first time since June 22-23. • The Mets have four shutouts in their last seven games, three of them by 1-0 scores. -- ESPN Stats & Information Dickey threw a one-hitter, allowing only a solid, sixthinning single to pitcher Cole Hamels, and the New York Mets shut out the Phillies once again at Citi Field, 1-0 on Friday night."I knew, from the way it Dickey said.The Mets blanked felt out of my hand, I had a the high-scoring Phillies for the chance at a special night,"

fourth straight time at home. East rivals 16-0 during a threeNew York outscored their NL game sweep in late May, a

string started by Dickey. David Wright and Carlos Beltran hit consecutive doubles with two outs in the sixth for the lone run. Despite having Mike Hessman lose a home run on a video replay reversal, the Mets posted their first two-game winning streak since June 22-23."It's been a long time coming," Dickey said.The Mets and San Diego are the only teams in the majors that have never pitched a no-hitter, and Dickey's bid ended with one out in the sixth.Hamels, a career .146 hitter coming into the game, lined a clean single that strongarmed right fielder Jeff Francoeur handled at medium depth, and he looked at first base before deciding not to try a heave.Dickey wound up tossing the 35th one-hitter for a franchise that began play in 1962. Spoiled by a pitcher's hit, of all things."I could pretend it didn't happen and call it a nohitter," Dickey kidded, "or get real mad at Frenchie because he didn't throw him out at first."Francoeur, in fact, likes to try that play. Not this time, though."I didn't want to take a chance," Francoeur said. "He was already close enough to the bag."Said Hamels: "I never want to see a no-hitter by the other pitcher."This marked the fourth time in the majors since 1990 that there was a one-hitter in DICKEY page 67


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2010 PGA Championship: Tiger Woods licks chops for third round after firing 70 Associated Press (ESPN.com)

didn't were Padraig Harrington, who had gotten himself back to even par only to double-bogey Submitted at 8/14/2010 12:22:02 PM the 18th hole. British Open Updated: August 14, 2010, 1:22 champion Louis Oosthuizen, PM ET U.S. Open winner Graeme SHEBOYGAN, Wis. -- Now McDowell, defending PGA that the fog has lifted at the champ Y.E. Yang and Ryder PGA Championship, things are Cup captains Corey Pavin and getting interesting. Colin Montgomerie also missed Matt Kuchar held onto his lead the cut. without hitting a shot, Jim Furyk Players will go off of both tees climbed up the leaderboard with and in groups of three Saturday a flurry of birdies and Tiger afternoon in hopes of making up Woods is on the prowl with two some of the time lost in the long rounds in the books. And after fog delays that delayed the start two days of wind, rain and fog, of play Thursday and Friday. conditions are just about perfect Kuchar was at 8 under after a for the big names to make some 69 Friday, and had to wait until big moves when the third round lunchtime to see if his lead begins Saturday afternoon. would hold up. "With the dots where they are It did. for this afternoon, there's some Furyk birdied four of his first really tough pins, but there's five holes after play resumed some pretty accessible pins," Saturday morning, finishing Woods said of the third-round with a 68 that got him to 6 setup at Whistling Straits. "Pins under. J.B. Holmes(66) is also at that you can take, be pretty 6 under, trailing Kuchar by two aggressive at. You'll probably strokes and Nick Watney by see some pretty good scores this one. Bubba Watson(71), Vijay afternoon." Singh(66) and Ryan Palmer(68) Seventy-two players made the joined the big group at 5 under. cut at 1 over. Among those who But the biggest mover was

Woods. The turmoil in his personal life has spilled over onto the golf course, and he arrived at Whistling Straits fresh off the worst performance of his career. After showing flashes of his old masterful self in the first round, Woods was back to the unpredictable play that's dogged him all season. It looked like more of the same Saturday, when he had to scramble early just to make the turn at even par. But he settled down with a birdie to start the back nine, and his 70 has him at 3 under -- close enough that Kuchar and everyone else ahead of Woods ought to keep an eye on him. This was the first time he was under par in back-to-back rounds since the Memorial. And it could have been even better. After hitting to 8 feet for a birdie on 17, he pulled off a spectacular 5-wood out of the bunker on 18. "I had no play straight at it," Woods said of the bunker shot. "I couldn't build a stance. But because of the slice I had to

play, I had a stance for that. And so I went in and tried to play it and I pulled it off." Almost made birdie there, too, but his long putt stopped a few inches short of the hole. "As I explained earlier ... I was hitting it great and putting like a dog. And look where I was," Woods said of his recent struggles. "I'm not hitting it well here and I'm putting well, and I'm right in the ballgame." The fog that has wreaked havoc on tee times at the PGA and further muddled what was already a wide-open championship finally lifted Saturday, and the golfers who came back early to finish their second rounds found far more favorable conditions. The wind that had been gusting Friday night was down to a whisper, the humidity was less oppressive and skies were mostly clear. "Today was pretty much perfect," Holmes said. "A little bit of breeze, but not much. The greens were good. So it was an opportunity to make some birdies."

Furyk had birdied No. 9 just before the horn blew Friday night, and picked right back up Saturday morning with a birdie on his first hole. He bogeyed the par-5 11th, picking the wrong target on his second shot and landing in the rough. But he rebounded with three straight birdies, giving him seven for the round. "In a stretch of nine holes -over two days," Furyk said. "The only disappointing part is I played the par-5s 1 over -- three pars and a bogey, which is poor. But the other 14 holes I played beautifully and scored very well." Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/ faq.php Five Filters featured article:"Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent.


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which a pitcher got the only hit, STATS LLC said. Atlanta's Tim Hudson was the last pitcher to throw that kind, broken up by Jason Jennings' hit for Colorado on May 1, 2006.Hit hard by the Phillies in his last start, Dickey (8-5) baffled them all evening, striking out seven and walking one in his second career shutout -- his other came in 2003 with the Texas Rangers. The 35-yearold righty threw 105 pitches, all but three of them knucklers.This was the Mets' major leagueleading 18th shutout this year, with Johan Santana throwing one in New York's previous game.The Phillies came to town after totaling 21 runs in a threegame series against the Los Angeles Dodgers."It's just a matter of time," Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel said. "When we score, it's going to come in bunches."When you talk about one hit, you've got to give the guy credit. It wasn't like we were hitting rockets," he

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said.The win provided some much-needed relief for the Mets. The last couple days have been dominated by news of closer Francisco Rodriguez's arrest on a charge of third-degree assault against his girlfriend's father -suspended for two days, the reliever is set to rejoin the team Saturday.Hamels (7-9) has not won in six starts despite pitching well. He gave up five hits in seven innings and struck out eight and again was the victim of poor run support.The Mets swiftly struck with two outs in the sixth. Wright broke an 0-for15 slump with a liner that sailed over center fielder Shane Victorino for a double and Beltran followed with a double beyond the leap of left fielder Raul Ibanez. Wright casually strolled home, not that he needed to sprint to score.Hessman, whose 329 career minor league home runs are the most among active players, looked as if he might

have his 15th lifetime major league homer after launching a drive to left in the fifth. As he circled the bases, Ibanez complained that a fan reached over a railing above the wall and interfered.Three umpires went to watch a replay while Hamels threw some warmups. The trio of umps returned and huddled again on the field before pointing Hessman to third base with his first big league triple. In all, Hamels went more than 10 minutes between pitches.Crew chief Tom Hallion declined comment on the ruling.Hamels needed a moment, too, after being hit by Wright's line drive in the fourth.Game notes The Mets plan to select the contract of left-hander Pat Misch from Triple-A Buffalo and have him start Saturday night against Roy Halladay. Rodriguez will be reinstated from the restricted list while left -handers Raul Valdes and Hisanori Takahashi will be

optioned to Buffalo. ... The last time a team was shut out four straight times at an opponent's ballpark was 2004 when the Minnesota Twins blanked the Kansas City Royals at the Metrodome, STATS LLC said. Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press New York Mets' R.A. Dickey delivers a pitch during the first inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia...(AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/ faq.php Five Filters featured article:"Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent.

was in Springfield, Mass., on Friday as Karl Malone, Scottie Pippen and the Dream Team headlined a star-studded 2010 Hall of Fame class. Story The focus this year was on teams more than individuals. All the living players from the 1960 champions were in Springfield, including Hall of Famers Walt Bellamy and Jerry Lucas. Robertson, a co-captain of the team along with West, agreed and urged all players to take part in the Olympic experience if they have the chance. "I think that any time an athlete gets an opportunity to play for your country, he should accept it," Robertson said. Charles Barkley, the leading scorer in Barcelona, might agree. He called the summer of 1992 one of the greatest times of his life, and pointed to the Dream Team's 10 individual Hall of Famers as proof of its 2010 page 68

The Old Republic's advanced Jedi Knight classes revealed Griffin McElroy (Joystiq) Submitted at 8/14/2010 1:30:00 PM

When it comes down to it, the two specializations for Star Wars: The Old Republic's Jedi Knight class really determine what kind of a person you are in real life. For instance, are you an introspective, thoughtful soand-so who prefers to hang near

the back of a crowd, supporting your friends with encouraging words, ala the Guardian? Or do you like wildly flailing two lightsabers, like the Sentinel? Well, which is it? Compassion, or two lightsabers? Check out the game's official see what kind of hardships (and site for more details on these Sandships) the Jedi Knight will two advanced classes, and check h a v e t o f a c e i n T h e O l d out the trailer after the jump to

Republic. Continue reading The Old Republic's advanced Jedi Knight

classes revealed The Old Republic's advanced Jedi Knight classes revealed originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 14 Aug 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Comments


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Even With Bum Knee, Chipper Jones Donovan McNabb, Kevin Kolb Get Off to Good Will Keep Playing Mickey Mantle Terence Moore (FanHouse Main)

(shown at right on Friday with Braves' GM Frank Wren) formed one of his crooked yet Submitted at 8/13/2010 7:31:00 PM infectious grins before adding, Filed under: Braves, MLB "I've made up my mind that I'm Injuries ATLANTA -- He'll going to go through the rehab return next spring for an 18th process like I'm trying to get season with the Atlanta Braves, ready for spring training. I'll just and he should. Not only that, spend another half hour or hour Chipper Jones will prosper in more (at spring training) trying the aftermath. For one, doctors to rehab a bum knee. have the right stuff these days to "It's not that big of a deal." heal everything that ails this Actually, it is, because we're future Hall of Fame third talking about Larry Jones Jr., the baseman. For another, he has the most underrated great player of right attitude to make everything our time. defensive play of his life. Said Here's all you need to know: work. Consider that a strikingly J o n e s , w h i l e p a u s i n g a n d Right down to his various leg cheerful and reflective Jones smiling along the way, "It's and feet issues through the h u d d l e d w i t h a b u n c h o f shocking. It's something I years, Jones is Mickey Mantle inquiring minds on Friday in a wouldn't wish on my worst in so many ways, but mostly in back room of Turner Field three enemy, having to go through all baseball ways. As Braves days after he ripped the ACL in of this rehab. It's so extensive, manager Bobby Cox often says, his 38-year-old left knee. The but it is what it is." "Chipper always has reminded injury occurred in Houston on Then, with surgery slated for me of the Mick, you know?" what otherwise was the best early Saturday morning, Jones

Starts in New Roles David Elfin (FanHouse Main) Submitted at 8/13/2010 10:35:00 PM

Filed under: Eagles, Redskins, NFL Training Camp Donovan McNabb enjoyed a happy debut in Washington Friday night, completing five of eight passes for 58 yards and a touchdown to receiver Anthony Armstrong on his two series as the host Redskins routed the bad and battered Buffalo Bills 42-17. Kevin Kolb, the young quarterback who replaced McNabb in Philadelphia, was 6for-11 for 95 yards while producing field goal on each of his series for the Eagles against the visiting Jacksonville Jaguars in a game the Eagles would win 28-17. Fair to say that both franchises are feeling good about the first results with their new starters at the NFL's most important position. "It was an exciting time," said

the 34-year-old McNabb, the Eagles' starter for the previous decade-plus. "When you play your first game with a new ballclub it takes you back to the first game you played. Your adrenaline is high and you have to settle down a little bit. The second time we went out ... it led to us putting up some points. There are a lot of things we have to work on, but I thought offensively we were able to progress."

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greatness. So were the team's eye-popping stats: 117.3 points per game, a victory margin of 43.8 per game. Still, Barkley said it wasn't quite that easy. "That was probably one thing

that we never got credit for. It's easy to sit there and say you're going to win every game by 40 or 50 points, but we went out and actually did it," he said Friday morning during the press conference. "We knew we were

going to win the games, but to play at such a high level the entire time was incredible." Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this

is your content and you're a n E a s y R i d e reading it on someone else's site, I n d e p e n d e n t . please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/ faq.php Five Filters featured article:"Peace Envoy" Blair Gets

in

the


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How Ellen DeGeneres got Matthew Perry his role in Fable novel announced, includes in-game Fallout: New Vegas Andrew Yoon (Joystiq)

called Fallout 3. I'm not affiliated with this game at all, I Submitted at 8/14/2010 8:00:00 AM just love it. But I signed it, so it Who should ex- Friends star looks like I created it." Matthew Perry thank for landing Apparently, that act earned him his latest job, a role in Fallout: the good graces of Bethesda and New Vegas? Not his agent. Obsidian, leading to his eventual According to senior producer casting as Rat Pack-esque Jason Bergman, Perry's role was character Benny. With his name cemented thanks to talk show now cemented in the game's host Ellen DeGeneres. On the credits, he'll able to give away April 24, 2009 show, Perry signed copies of New Vegas... appeared not only to promote 17 and actually have it mean Again, but he also gave Ellen an something. Xbox 360 system with a copy of How Ellen DeGeneres got the game. Matthew Perry his role in "I played this video game so Fallout: New Vegas originally often that I injured my hand so appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 14 severely that I had to go to a Aug 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please hand doctor and get injections in see our terms for use of feeds. my hand because I love this Permalink| Email this| video game so much," Perry told C o m m e n t s Ellen at the time. "The game is

weapon for Fable 3 Griffin McElroy (Joystiq)

redeemable code which unlocks a heretofore unrevealed in-game weapon in Fable 3. We really Your friendly neighborhood hope it's powerful, so when bookstore's shelves will soon be we're playing with our friends, stocked with yet another game- and we're killing stuff with to-prose adaptation -- this time greater efficiency than them, we a r o u n d , i t ' s a c o m p l e t e l y can say "we guess the pen really original story set in the Fable is mightier than the sword," and universe, titled The Balverine then we'll both share a brief, Order. The book will be penned polite laugh. by Peter David, who has written Fable novel announced, roughly a billion novels and includes in-game weapon for comic books, one of the most Fable 3 originally appeared on recent of which being the five- Joystiq on Sat, 14 Aug 2010 part Halo: Helljumper series. 11:30:00 EST. Please see our According to Amazon, The terms for use of feeds. Balverine Order is set to ship on Permalink| Email this| October 5. As an added bonus, C o m m e n t s the book will include a Submitted at 8/14/2010 11:30:00 AM

Saturday 2hour Tour de NY (Scripting News) Submitted at 8/14/2010 12:13:24 PM

Not sure how many miles cause we had an equipment malfunction with EveryTrail, but it was a two-hour ride. Let me tell you where I went. Rode cross-town on 10th St to 4th Ave, across 14th St, continued on Park Ave, to 65th St, where I turned west. Rode SATURDAY page 70


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across the park on the car road, not my plan, but it worked out. Then I stopped to take in the view on Central Park West and somehow the trip got stopped. That much was 4.9 miles. Then I looped south and around the bottom of the park, swung up the east side and rode all the way up to the top of the park. Saw a beautiful swimming pool, huge, and not too crowded. This is where I discovered that I had had the malfunction. Started up EveryTrail for the second leg. Went across 110th to Riverside Drive. Then headed south, crossed over to the

greenway at the boat harbor, then headed south down the usual route. Stopped at the heliport to rest and shoot a video of a helicopter landing. The second part was 7.1 miles. Looks like the uncounted part of the trip is almost exactly 4.0 miles. So the total for the day is: 16.0 miles. I think I might take it easy tomorrow. PS: Just noticed Google can send maps to cars now.

What's On Tap For the Next Ten Years of Astronomy? Find ExoEarths and Figure Out Dark Energy Rebecca Boyle (Popular Science - New Technology,

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Paypal Might Help Google Make Android Purchases Easier [REPORT] Jolie O'Dell (Mashable!)

App Store. In a word, Paypal in the Android Market would make the For many users, one of the Android Market a better place, biggest pain points in owning an and quickly, too. Android device can be the We’ve reached out to both experience of buying a non-free Paypal and Google for comment mobile app from the Android or confirmation; we’ll update Market. this post if we hear back from Paypal might be stepping in to them. (Update: A Google make that process significantly representative told us that the simpler. company does not comment on The process currently requires a for online and mobile purchases rumor or speculation; we’ll have not insignificant amount of of over the past decade. In 2007, it to wait and see if Bloomberg’s time and patience because it was seven times larger than sources are correct.) i n v o l v e s u s i n g a G o o g l e Google Checkout in terms of As a diehard Android user Checkout account to seal the number of users, and currently, myself, I’d be happy to see a deal. If you don’t have a Google many e-commerce sites using Paypal option for the Android Checkout account already, you Google Checkout and Paypal Market. have to create one using a debit options still report significantly Fandroids, do you think you’d or credit card; a bank account higher numbers for Paypal. buy more apps from the Market To put it bluntly, if more if Paypal were integrated for an alone isn’t sufficient. (Only TMobile users can bill their average smartphone users have easier checkout process? Let us Android Market app purchases Paypal accounts, using Paypal know what you think in the as the payment method for the comments. Reviews: Android, directly to their carrier.) For a new Android user, this is A n d r o i d M a r k e t w o u l d Android Market, App Store, an inconvenient sticking point drastically reduce the friction Google when trying to purchase a inherent in the app purchasing More About: android, App, mobile app for the first time. process. Reducing friction Google, Mobile 2.0, payment, Bloomberg is now reporting means more apps will be sold. paypal that Paypal and Google are in This means more developers For more Mobile coverage: talks to suss out a better will make more money, which • Follow Mashable Mobile on payment solution for Android means the Android platform will Twitter device owners. These users become more attractive to • Become a Fan on Facebook “may be able to pay for apps mobile developers overall. And • Subscribe to the Mobile with PayPal as soon as this that in turn would create a channel year,” according to Bloomberg’s larger, more diverse Android • Download our free apps for Market that would stand a better iPhone and iPad sources. Paypal has become one of the chance of becoming truly more standard payment methods competitive with the iTunes Submitted at 8/13/2010 11:15:31 PM


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ALMA Sunrise ALMA (ESO/ NAOJ/NRAO) Survey of scientists compiles astronomical wishlist for the next decade The future of astronomy is an amped-up search for exoplanets and for a greater understanding of how the universe formed and evolved, according to a sweeping survey released today. The much-anticipated Astro2010 Decadal Survey obtained wide input from the astronomy and astrophysics communities about which science projects the U.S. government should prioritize in the next 10 years. Their wish list includes two new telescopes -one on earth, one in space -- that should help scientists investigate dark energy, supernovae and exoplanets. It's interesting to note how astronomers' interests have shifted in the past decade -during the last survey in 2001, most people had never heard of dark energy or extrasolar planets, and research into the topics was only just beginning. Now, astronomers' top priorities are settling questions about the nature of dark energy and

determining the prevalence of Earth-like planets (meaning Earth-sized as well as Earthesque in composition). At the top of the list is the Wide -Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST), previously known as the Joint Dark Energy Mission. Not to be confused with NASA's orbiting Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), the new, $1 billion-plus space telescope will enable researchers to study dark energy, find exo-Earths, and survey multiple galaxies, including the Milky Way. Here on Earth, astronomers favor the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, a massive wide-field optical scope that will also help investigate dark energy. The goal is to deepen our understanding of how the first stars, galaxies and black holes formed; to unravel the physics that drive these processes, including gravity; and to find the closest habitable Earth-like exoplanets so scientists can study them in greater detail. Interestingly, both top-priority telescopes are already under way -- as Nature News points

out, the report doesn't include new specialized projects to answer two of the biggest questions in science. Roger Blandford, a Stanford professor who served as chair of the committee that wrote the report, acknowledges that astronomers are watching their budget: "The program of research that we recommend will optimize the science return for future groundbased projects and space missions in a time of constrained budgets and limited resources," he says. A committee of 23 scientists from universities and private industry divided into five panels: planetary systems and star formation; stars and stellar evolution; galactic neighborhood; galaxies across cosmic time; and cosmology and fundamental physics. Each subgroup asked a single key question, and came up with four areas of science that address it. Along with WFIRST, astronomers recommend an enhanced NASA Explorer program, which supports cheaper small- and mid-sized missions that reap great rewards.

Astrophysicists would also like to build LISA, the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna, which could enable detection of gravitational waves, called "ripples in space-time." You can download the summary of the report here. Existing and future observatories, like the Kepler telescope, the Atacama Large Millimeter Array and the WideField Infrared Survey Explorer, are already helping us solve some of these mysteries. But the next generation of observatories will take it to a new level, possibly answering our deepest questions about the nature of matter, the origin and expansion of the universe, and even life beyond Earth. By 2020, who knows what new questions will arise?


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Electrically Stimulating the Brain Can Boost Visual Memory 110 Percent Rebecca Boyle (Popular Science - New Technology, Science News, The Future Now) Submitted at 8/13/2010 1:46:54 PM

EEG Electrodes via Flickr/ delta avi delta Literally donning an electrodestudded thinking cap can improve your memory by 110 percent, according to a new study by Australian researchers. The method applies electricity to the head to inhibit a specific region of the brain that has been implicated in autism. The finding is a follow-up to previous research at the same lab that shows certain types of brain stimulation can unlock savant qualities in people who had not previously exhibited them. Richard Chi, a Ph.D. student at the Centre for the Mind at the University of Sydney, wondered if inhibiting a specific brain area could improve memory as well as perceptual skills experienced by people with autism, New Scientist reports.

In the study, 36 volunteers examined a series of slides containing shapes that varied in number, size and color, according to New Scientist. Then they were shown five "test" slides, some of which included the study slides, and some that did not. They were asked if they could remember any of the original "study"

slides. Then they donned an electrode cap that transmitted a weak electrical signal, in a method called transcranial direct current stimulation. One group received signals that boosted their right anterior temporal lobes, and suppressed activity on their left ATL. A second group got the opposite treatment and a third

was a placebo group. The first group's shaperecognition scores improved by 110 percent, the study found. Both sides of the anterior temporal lobe are important for memory processing -- the left ATL deals with context, while the right ATL is associated with visual memory, New Scientist says. Chi's team says inhibiting activity in the left ATL reduces the confusing influence of context, cutting down on visual memory errors. People can more easily perceive the literal details of what they're seeing. The team has already shown that low-frequency magnetic pulses can inhibit false memories, also by temporarily inhibiting the left ATL. People with autism have lesions on their left ATL, New Scientist reports. [ New Scientist]


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This Week in the Future, August 9-13, 2010 <a href="http://www.baarba rian.com/">Baarbaria n</a> (Popular Science New Technology, Science News, The Future Now) Submitted at 8/13/2010 4:27:59 PM

This Week in the Future, August 9-13, 2010 Baarbarian Powered by butter and screwed into the sandy ground -- is this what Max Headroom foretold two decades ago? Welcome to the future. This week in the future on PopSci:

• Prototype Coffin Screws Into the Ground to Save Space • Tomb-Bot Will Be the First to Enter Final Secret Chambers of the Great Pyramid

Moves Proven Enough to Solve Any Rubik's Cube Position • How Max Headroom Predicted My Job, 20 Years Before It Existed Leave a comment (any comment) to put your name in the pile; we'll randomly choose and announce our winner right here. And, if you just can't wait that long, you can buy the shirt • To Test New Tech, for yourself here. Good luck! Researchers Churn an 800Until next time, enjoy our past Pound Butter Sculpture into weekly illustrated roundups Biodiesel here. • God's Number Revealed: 20

Achtung! Bad journalism ahead! Mollie (GetReligion)

Okay, you know what to do — give us your best ideas for additional warning labels. Anyone who is part of the Winner gets nothing save GetReligion community likely bragging rights — but have fun has a few pet peeves about anyway! Written by: Mollie on media coverage. We joke about August 14, 2010. the need for a GetScience, This entry passed through the GetMath and GetStatistics to Full-Text RSS service — if this complement GetReligion. is your content and you're There’s nothing more painful reading it on someone else's site, than watching some beat please read our FAQ page at reporters try to write about fivefilters.org/content-only/ budgets, for instance. Now, faq.php interviews with subject, most of the reporters we are British head of International questionable content. Five Filters featured I figured it was time to fix that, important questions were not article:"Peace Envoy" Blair Gets privileged to cover do very good Talk Like a Pirate Day: work under unbelievably trying It seems a bit strange to me that so I made some stickers. I’ve asked,” “Warning: Journalist a n E a s y R i d e i n t h e the media carefully warn about been putting them on copies of hiding their own opinions by I n d e p e n d e n t . circumstances. And yet something tells me that and label any content that the free papers that I find on the using phrases like ‘some people readers here might enjoy these involves sex, violence or strong London Underground. You c l a i m ’ , ” a n d “ W a r n i n g : Statistics, survey results and/or warning labels developed by language — but there’s no might want to as well. geek comedian Tom Scott. He similar labelling system for, say, Some of my favorites include equations in this article were might be better known as the sloppy journalism and other “Warning: To ensure future sponsored by a PR company.” Submitted at 8/14/2010 10:10:17 AM


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Taking the path of Zen Mollie (GetReligion) Submitted at 8/13/2010 2:54:17 PM

American obituary writers have nothing on the Brits, where you may be excused for thinking you’re reading a roast rather than a tribute. I’m glad we have a more respectful tradition, but sometimes the obit can come off a bit dry. But this obituary in the Los Angeles Times was a captivating read. It tells some highlights of the story of Robert Aitken’s life. One of the first Americans to be “fully sanctioned” as a master of Zen Buddhism, Robert Baker Aitken Roshi died last week at the age of 93. Elaine Woo began with his significance to the community: Aitken was one of the first Americans to be fully sanctioned as a master of Zen Buddhism and trained several generations of Zen Buddhist teachers. He established the Honolulu center as a lay community that was particularly notable for an egalitarian approach that was welcoming to women. “He made Zen Buddhism workable for Westerners,” said Michael Kieran, who studied under Aitken and now oversees Diamond Sangha’s main temple as master teacher. “He removed

a lot of the patriarchal language from the tradition, which had been mainly transmitted to us through the monastic tradition.” Known for his commitment to social justice, Aitken helped found the Berkeley-based Buddhist Peace Fellowship. He also wrote 13 books, including “Taking the Path of Zen” (1982), a classic primer on Zen practice, and “The Mind of Clover” (1984), a highly regarded exploration of Buddhist ethics. It may have been helpful to include a bit more about his activism in support of Native Hawaiians and gays, but it’s always a challenge to fit everything in. There’s also his significance as a teacher. I’ve read that in addition to his formal students, he was generous with his time and wisdom with others. Or since he’s in the Harada-Yasutani tradition, maybe we could learn who some of his famous students are. The obit did mention some of his teachers. What I liked best was the dramatic conversion story she included: His introduction to Zen came with the outbreak of World War II, when he was a civilian construction worker on Guam. He was captured by Japanese

troops in 1942 and spent the duration of the war in an internment camp in Kobe. In the camp, a Japanese guard lent him a copy of British scholar R.H. Blyth’s “Zen in English Literature and Oriental Classics.” Aitken was fascinated and read the book many times. After the 10th reading, the world “seemed transparent,”

Aitken wrote years later, “and I was absurdly happy despite our miserable circumstances.” A prison camp conversion — fascinating. And then he ends up actually meeting Blyth, who was detained as an enemy alien, and decides to learn meditation under a Zen master. We learn many details about his path and his liberal activism, including

anti-draft efforts and anti-war efforts. There was one thing I was confused by in the last paragraph: Aitken’s first marriage, to Mary Laune, ended in 1953. He married Anne Hopkins in 1957; she died in 1994. He is survived by his son from his first marriage, Thomas, and three granddaughters. Isn’t it customary to explain how a marriage ends? Did Mary Laune die? Did they divorce? It seems key information, particularly with the mention of children from the marriage. I’m trying to think of the journalistic reason for not including this detail. In any case, this obituary was a nice tribute to an influential and significant Zen Buddhist. Written by: Mollie on August 13, 2010. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/ faq.php Five Filters featured article:"Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent.


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One Man Will Try to Tweet the Bible Over Three Years Jolie O'Dell (Mashable!) Submitted at 8/14/2010 2:04:45 AM

File this under “people with good intentions, a whole lot of commitment and an Internet connection.” A UK worship director has planned to tweet the Christian Bible — or summaries of each chapter, at least — from Genesis to Revelation, one chapter each day. The project started just a few days ago and will end on November 8, 2013. If you like, you can follow the account,@BibleSummary. In an interview with the Telegraph, the account’s creator, Chris Juby, made the salient point that the Christian Bible holds an important role in Western literature. “The Bible underpins so much of our culture” he said. “People like Shakespeare and Dickens made casual references to what we would now regard as obscure passages of scripture.” Juby’s first tweet reads: Gen1: God created the heavens, the earth and everything that lives. He made humankind in his image, and gave them charge over the earth. less than a

minute ago via Bible Summary Bible Summary biblesummary Summing up scores of verses in a single tweet is a daunting task, but Juby said he hopes his Twitter account will inspire his fellow Christians and others to read the Bible in its entirety. “My summaries are no substitute for the real thing,” he concluded. Other similar accounts exist on T w i t t e r . There’s@VersesFromBible and@Daily_Bible, which tweet passages from scripture in 140c h a r a c t e r installments.@BiblePromises features daily tweets of Bible verses categorized by theme (Hope, Courage, etc.). And if you’ve got time for more than 140 characters, you can try@One_Year_Bible, which links to daily sections of scripture to read if you’d like to read through the entire Christian Bible in one year. But of course, Twitter is for more than just the canonized books of one religion. If you want to get daily doses of the Qu’ran, you can check out@Quran. You can find

“The love of heaven makes one h e a v e n l y . ” –#WilliamShakespeare less than a minute ago via API Shakespeare Quotes shakespeare_IQ The very nature of services like Twitter inspires people to share what they’re passionate about, and Juby’s committed to quite an undertaking in expressing his passion through this medium. snippets of Jewish sacred texts What do you think of his at@BiblicalTanakh, or you can efforts? Do his actions inspire follow the Buddhist words of you — either to read more of the wisdom on the Dalai Lama’s religious texts of your choosing official Twitter account. or to start a marathon Twitter If you’re of a more secular or account to celebrate a passion agnostic persuasion, you might on your own? Let us know your like the less religious but still thoughts in the comments. v a l u a b l e m e d i t a t i o n s [img credit: geowombats] at@Shakespeare_Quo,@Science Reviews: Mashable, Twitter Wisdom,@OscarWilde,@Philo_ More About: bible, quotations, Q u o t e s o r @ Q u o t a t i o n s . religion, trending, twitter Alternatively, you can search for For more Social Media your favorite writer or coverage: inspirational figure on Twitter. • Follow Mashable Social If he or she doesn’t have an Media on Twitter account, there might be a bot • Become a Fan on Facebook tweeting relevant quotations and • Subscribe to the Social Media links. You can also check out channel Mashable’s list of motivational • Download our free apps for Twitter users, such as Tony iPhone and iPad Robbins and Chicken Soup for the Soul author Marci Shimoff.

Foursquare + Groupon = “It” Startup GroupTabs Jennifer Van Grove (Mashable!) Submitted at 8/13/2010 9:18:37 PM

This post is part of Mashable’s Spark of Genius series, which highlights a unique feature of startups. The series is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark.. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here. Name: GroupTabs Quick Pitch: GroupTabs members check in for group deals at bars and restaurants. Genius Idea: Group buying, deal-a-day sites and locationbased services are two of the hottest trends on the block in 2010; they’re both attracting major attention from investors and advertisers alike. While Groupon and its many clones and competitors — even FOURSQUARE page 76


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Yelp, OpenTable and Zagat want a piece of the action — offer up big deals, few have tapped into the power that location-based services (LBSes) could add to the mix. And the LBSes themselves, including Foursquare, Gowalla, Brighkite and a host of others, have only scratched the surface of location -based marketing potential. Enter GroupTabs. The service adds a group-buying layer to checkin services such as Foursquare and Gowalla. If enough people check in to the same bar or restaurant at a given time, they could unlock a big discount, such as two-for-one cocktails or dollar beers. The GroupTabs service essentially lets merchants activate deals after a set number people check in to their venue, all the while encouraging patrons to spread their checkins via social media to encourage a swarm-like effect. Here’s how it will work: Location-sharers can sign up for a GroupTabs account, link their Twitter and Foursquare accounts (more social sites coming soon) and then RSVP to available GroupTabs deals. Come deal

time, members can check in to a venue via the HTML5 mobile site gtb.me— which is limited to GPS-enabled devices to eliminate cheating. If enough people check in, the GroupTabs deal is activated, and everyone who is checked in gets to take advantage. GroupTabs deals have yet to go live. Interested parties can sign up now and look for the service to activate its first deal in New York on August 18. Merchants curious about creating a deal can e-mail sales@grouptabs.com to connect with the team. The idea is has built-in payoffs for customers and merchants, and it certainly works to further drive home the value of location -sharing services such Foursquare, on whose API the service is reportedly built. We can only hope that it spreads like wildfire so that more location-based group deals come to neighborhoods near the rest of us. You can watch the service’s South Park-themed commercial clip below. What do you think of GroupTabs? Is this a service you’d use? If you’re well-versed

in the startup economy, is this a company you’d invest in? [ img credit: Matt From London] Sponsored by Microsoft BizSpark BizSpark is a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today. Reviews: Foursquare, Gowalla, Twitter, Yelp More About: checkins, foursquare, groupon, grouptabs, lbs, location, spark-of-genius For more Tech coverage: • Follow Mashable Tech on Twitter • Become a Fan on Facebook • Subscribe to the Tech channel • Download our free apps for iPhone and iPad

Google Officially Acquires Social Currency Company Jambool Ben Parr (Mashable!) Submitted at 8/13/2010 7:05:26 PM

The rumors have been confirmed: Google has acquired Jambool, the company behind virtual currency Social Gold. Jambool made the announcement in an open letter from its founders, Vikas Gupta and Reza Hussein. “Our vision is to build world-class products that help developers manage and monetize their virtual economies across the globe,” the founders said in their letter. “When the opportunity arose to join forces with Google to execute against this vision, we couldn’t pass it up. We are thrilled to bring the Social Gold platform to Google’s global users.” The company also released an FAQ explaining what’s happening next to its users. The thirteen-point Q&A really boils down to one key takeaway, though: Social Gold will continue to operate as it always has and will continue to process payments. In other words, Google will not be shutting down the product anytime soon. News of the acquisition broke earlier this week. Google was rumored to have paid out $70

million in the deal. Jambool is best known for its Social Gold platform, which allows games and virtual worlds to create their own virtual currencies, including inapplication payments and virtual economy analytics. The company has raised approximately $6 million in two funding rounds. Reviews: Google, news More About: acquisition, Google, jambool, social good, virtual currency For more Business coverage: • Follow Mashable Business on Twitter • Become a Fan on Facebook • Subscribe to the Business channel • Download our free apps for iPhone and iPad


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Google Rebuts Oracle Lawsuit, Invokes Open-Source Defense Ben Parr (Mashable!)

Why is this lawsuit only being filed now, three years after Android’s introduction? It has a Hours after Oracle filed suit lot to do with the high cost of against Google for patent patent lawsuits; they take infringement, Google has made millions in research and legal it very clear that it will stand its fees, not to mention it takes a ground. significant amount of a “We are disappointed Oracle company’s time to pursue a has chosen to attack both patent lawsuit. As CNet points Google and the open-source out, Sun Microsystems didn’t Java community with this have the financial capability to baseless lawsuit,” Google said patent issues, the suit also wage war against Google. in a statement. “The open- claims Java is “copyrightable” Oracle, with its greater financial source Java community goes rather than strictly FOSS and strength and experience in beyond any one corporation and accuses Google of copyright patent lawsuits, can. And while works every day to make the infringement for using Java’s the suit could cost Oracle web a better place. We will code without any license. millions, the payout would be Google’s response to the even greater if it can show that strongly defend open-source standards and will continue to lawsuit doesn’t come as a Google willfully infringed on work with the industry to surprise; any concession even Oracle’s Java-related patents. develop the Android platform.” insinuating that it did anything Reviews: Android, Google The lawsuit focuses around the wrong could cost the company More About: android, Google, Java platform, which Oracle millions in either a judgment or Google Android, java, oracle acquired when it bought Sun a settlement. It’s likely Google For more Tech coverage: Microsystems earlier this year. w i l l a r g u e t h a t i t ’ s n o t • Follow Mashable Tech on Oracle’s argument is rather committing patent infringement Twitter s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d : G o o g l e because Java is an open-source • Become a Fan on Facebook “ d i r e c t l y a n d r e p e a t e d l y software; Google mentioned • Subscribe to the Tech channel infringed Oracle’s Java-related open-source standards not once, • Download our free apps for i n t e l l e c t u a l p r o p e r t y ” b y but three times in its statement. iPhone and iPad utilizing it in the Android Sun released most of Java’s o p e r a t i n g s y s t e m a n d t h e code as open-source software in Android SDK. In addition to 2006. Submitted at 8/14/2010 12:34:42 AM

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