Liberty Newsprint Jan-12-10 by Liberty Newspost

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How well was Palin vetted? McCain, um, doesn’t know By David Morgan (Front Row Washington)

NBC asked whether the book is correct where it describes the vetting process for Palin as hasty Submitted at 1/12/2010 7:04:10 AM and haphazard, with no one Republican John McCain says b o t h e r i n g t o s p e a k t o h e r he doesn’t know whether his husband or her political enemies. former vice presidential running “I wouldn’t know,” McCain m a t e , S a r a h P a l i n , w a s replied. adequately vetted. At least, he Sorry? The Republican Party doesn’t know who says she nominee wouldn’t know if his wasn’t, and he doesn’t care. own running mate had been What he does know is that the adequately vetted? 2008 presidential race was a “I wouldn’t know what the tough fight. But now he’s very sources are, nor care,” the proud and very happy. Any more Arizona senator explained. questions? Get lost. “I am not going to spend time McCain just wouldn’t take the looking back at what happened bait in an interview with NBC’s over a year ago when we’ve got Today show when asked to two wars to fight, 10 percent comment on revelations about unemployment in my state and his failed 2008 White House things to do. I’m sorry. You’ll campaign that appear in the new have to get others to comment.” book, “ Game Change,” by New McCain’s decision to transplant York magazine writer John Palin from political obscurity to Heilemann and Time magazine t h e n a t i o n a l l i m e l i g h t reporter Mark Halperin. undermined his credibility even

Beach 56 (Little Green Footballs)

News and attracting speculation about a possible White House run in 2012. “She will be a major factor in American politics in the future,” McCain predicted, with an apparent air of vindication. “I am proud of everybody in my campaign. I’m proud of the campaign we ran. I’m so proud that I had the opportunity to represent my party in the a m o n g R e p u b l i c a n s . S o m e election. And I’ll always look worried that voters would see the back on that period with pride former Alaska governor as too and with satisfaction. It was i n e x p e r i e n c e d t o b e c o m e tough. But I’m very happy and Veep and possibly, some day, I’m very happy in my new role t a k e o n t h e m a n t l e o f in the Senate and going back and Commander-in-Chief during a fighting the good fight.” Photo Credits: Reuters/Jonathan national emergency. Palin has since become the most Ernst (McCain); Reuters/Brian visible Republican figure in the Snyder (McCain and Palin) and national political firmament, (Palin) publishing a best-selling book, Click here for more political landing a job as pundit on FOX coverage from Reuters

ADVERTISEMENT: (BloggingStocks) Submitted at 1/12/2010 1:00:00 PM

CrunchDeals: Free EyeFi card with 200GB of Google storage at $50 per year By Doug Aamoth (CrunchGear) Submitted at 1/12/2010 9:40:00 AM

On the heels of this recent Google Drive news, I thought I’d pop over and see what all the fuss was about. Lo and behold, I noticed you can get a free Eye-Fi card when you upgrade the storage in your Google account at a $50-per-year-or-higher plan. I seem like the kind of guy who likes Eye-Fi cards and 200GB of cloud storage, so I took the plunge. The 4GB Eye-Fi card normally sells for $100, making this a pretty good deal. Purchase additional storage[Google.com/Accounts]

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Obama’s approval rating dips in CBS poll If You'd Like to Profit from $100 Oil, Consider Shares of BP By Steve Holland (Front Row Washington) Submitted at 1/12/2010 8:30:21 AM

President Barack Obama, about to mark his one-year anniversary at the White House, has seen his job approval rating drop to 46 percent in a new CBS News poll, the lowest recorded in this particular poll. CBS said it is domestic issues that are hurting the president. His approval rating on handling the U.S. economy is at 41 percent and his handling of healthcare is at 36 percent. These are all time lows. The poll comes as Obama seeks to gain congressional passage of a healthcare overhaul in the early weeks of this year. Obama did a little better in his handling of the war in Afghanistan and the threat of terrorism, with 46 percent approving of him on Afghan policy weeks after he announced a troop surge. And 52 percent approved of how he is handling the threat of terrorism in the wake of the Christmas Day attempted bombing of a Detroitbound plane. The Obama White House tends

By Joseph Lazzaro (BloggingStocks) Submitted at 1/12/2010 2:00:00 PM

to shrug off poor poll numbers and keeps its focus on the long view. Republicans, however, are hoping sluggish presidential poll numbers will translate into election victories for them in the November congressional elections. They hope to make inroads into Democratic majorities in the House and Senate. CBS said Obama still receives strong support from Democrats (eight in ten approve), but his

Filed under: BP p.l.c. ADS (BP), Stocks to Buy Are you tired of seeing rising prices at the pump take money out of your wallet? Well, what are you waiting for? Profit from rising oil/gasoline prices by acquiring shares of BP plc ( BP). I put out a buy recommendation on this a p p r o v a l r a t i n g a m o n g stock in March 26, 2009 and if Republicans was just 13 percent, you bought shares at the tie, you a n d j u s t 4 2 p e r c e n t o f are up about 45%. But now, I am i n d e p e n d e n t s a p p r o v e d . reiterating my buy rating at a Independents were key to his price of $41.72. Why buy shares now? I expect 2008 election victory. “The president’s approval rating BP to improve its fundamentals a m o n g i n d e p e n d e n t s h a s over the next 2 to 4 years, with declined 10 points in recent continued, superior oil/natural gas reserve replacement, and months,” CBS said. restructured, more-efficient Here’s a link to the CBS poll. For more Reuters political news, click here Photo credit: Reuters/Jim Young (Obama exiting Air Force One)

Generations [Image Cache] By Mark Wilson (Gizmodo) Submitted at 1/12/2010 11:00:00 AM

Ten years' worth of Apple laptops are stacked high in this shot. I was going to list their

identities, but then I realized the

commenters could probably have more fun with it. Be nice (or funny). [ Flickr via Unplggd]

downstream operations. Revenue will total about $220 to $230 billion in fiscal 2009, but will rebound to more than $300 billion in fiscal year 2010 -- and that assumes that oil will be priced at just $55 to $65 per barrel. Chances are god that crude will likely average a much higher price in 2010, assuming the global recovery does not stall. Continue reading If You'd Like to Profit from $100 Oil, Consider Shares of BP If You'd Like to Profit from $100 Oil, Consider Shares of BP originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 12 Jan 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Comments

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Campbell: Blair wrote letters to Bush in 2002 saying 'we are with you' on Iraq By Andrew Sparrow, Haroon Siddique (World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk)

own role and that of the ex-prime minister in a war that he insisted Britain ought to be "proud" of. But faced by some sceptical questioning from the panel, Submitted at 1/12/2010 11:08:14 AM Campbell struggled at times to Letters raised prospect of British explain the unequivocal nature of military backing for US, Tony claims made about Saddam B l a i r ' s f o r m e r d i r e c t o r o f Hussein's weapons arsenal in the communications tells Chilcot run-up to the war. inquiry Campbell told the inquiry that Tony Blair wrote a series of he would defend "every single private letters to George Bush in word" of the dossier, which he 2002 assuring him "we are described as "conservative". He absolutely with you" in making f u r t h e r m o r e s a i d t h a t t h e sure Iraq disarmed and raising intelligence was presented to the prospect of British military parliament by the then-prime backing, Alastair Campbell said minister in a "cautious" manner, today. but the media had jumped on the But the former Downing Street "45 minutes" claim. director of communications, "At no point did anyone from the giving evidence to the Chilcot prime minister down say to the inquiry into the war, said that the intelligence services: 'You have then-prime minister was hopeful got to tailor it to fit that of a peaceful resolution until the argument,'" said Campbell. eve of the 2003 invasion. Of the "45 minutes" claim, The Blair-Bush letters have not Campbell, who described his role been published. as offering "presentational Campbell also rejected any advice", said: "I don't think we suggestion that the government were ever saying: 'Saddam's got had "sexed up" the 2002 dossier these weapons and he can whack that claimed Iraq could deploy them over to Cyprus in 45 weapons of mass destruction minutes.'" within 45 minutes. But he was less assured when In almost five hours of evidence panel member Sir Roderic Lyne – two more than scheduled – to asked him about the claim in the the Iraq inquiry, Tony Blair's foreword to the dossier by Blair former director o f that the intelligence on WMDs communications mounted a w a s " b e y o n d d o u b t " a n d typically robust defence of his suggested that the claim seemed

difficult to justify in the light of all the evidence. Campbell said the phrase was accurate before seeking to play down its importance, arguing that two words did not materially affect the strength of the dossier. Lyne also pressed Campbell on the basis on which Blair had said Iraq's WMD programme was "growing" when presenting the dossier to parliament despite the description "growing" not being used in the report. Asked a number of times about the evidence for the claim, Campbell repeatedly said it reflected the intelligence given to the thenprime minister and was implied in the report, if not explicit. He denied that Sir John Scarlett, the chief of the security services, would have felt under pressure, consciously or subconsciously, to unduly strengthen the dossier and rejected the idea that the joint intelligence committee (JIC) "would have overstated the case to any degree ... that would hit its credibility". He also said he felt it was "never in doubt" that WMDs would be found in Iraq within a "relatively short timescale" of the invasion and when he was told by Scarlett on 28 April 2003 that there might not be any it was a shock. Referring to the row with the BBC that resulted in the suicide of the government weapons

scientist David Kelly, Campbell said the controversy surrounding the dossier "was in large part caused by a piece of dishonest journalism". He acknowledged that the London Evening Standard had published a misleading headline with respect to the "45 minutes" claim but said it was not his job to correct the story. Asked about the shortening of the time in which it was alleged Iraq could produce a nuclear weapon in the final dossier as opposed to the draft, Campbell said it was nothing to do with him, and would have been a matter for Scarlett. While he said he would defend the September dossier "till the end of my days", Campbell held his hands up with respect to the "dodgy dossier" published in February 2003, which included large chunks lifted wholesale from an academic paper, blaming it on a "mistake" by a member of the Coalition Information Committee. Campbell also said today that there had been no "significant shift" in Blair's attitude towards regime change in Iraq during his April 2002 meeting with George Bush in Crawford, despite earlier evidence to the contrary. The inquiry, led by Sir John Chilcot, was previously told by Sir Christopher Meyer, the then-

British ambassador to the US, that Blair shifted his position at Crawford. A leaked memo that Meyer sent to London about a lunch he had with Paul Wolfowitz, then the deputy US defence secretary, in March 2002, said: "We backed regime change, but the plan had to be clever and failure was not an option." But Campbell described Meyer's evidence to the inquiry as "overstated" and said that the former ambassador to the US had been "churlish" in refusing to accept that Blair had subsequently persuaded Bush to involve the UN. • Iraq war inquiry • Alastair Campbell • Politics and Iraq • Iraq • Politics past • Tony Blair • Foreign policy • Hutton report • Hutton & the BBC • BBC Andrew Sparrow Haroon Siddique guardian.co.uk© Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions| More Feeds

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Fox News debate lacks enlightenment | Barbara O'Brien By Barbara O'Brien (World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk) Submitted at 1/12/2010 10:44:17 AM

I've been embroiled in a 'debate' that started over Tiger Woods's Buddhism, but religions can't be compared in this way Brit Hume, a senior political analyst for Fox News, startled viewers last week when he said the scandal-ridden Tiger Woods would benefit by converting from Buddhism to Christianity. "He is said to be a Buddhist," Hume said. "I don't think that faith offers the kind of redemption and forgiveness offered by the Christian faith. My message to Tiger is, 'Tiger, turn to the Christian faith and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world.'" The camera then cut to the Jewish and visibly embarrassed William Kristol, who mumbled that he hoped Tiger Woods at least returns to golf. Several editorialists called Hume's remark boorish and bigoted. But America's militant

Christians came roaring back, accusing Hume's critics of attacking Christianity. I trust cultural anthropologists have been taking notes. In response to what Hume said, I wrote on my Buddhism website that "Mr Hume is right, in a sense, that Buddhism doesn't offer redemption and forgiveness in the same way Christianity does." But, I went on to explain that Buddhism has its own path to spiritual purification. To my dismay, another Fox News personality named Bill O'Reilly used my words out of context to imply that I had agreed completely with Brit Hume, when I was only conceding a meaningless (to me) doctrinal technicality. I was similarly misrepresented by Peter Sprigg of the conservative Family Research Council, who twisted my words to portray Buddhism as a path without hope. Buddhists, according to Sprigg, believe they are doomed to trudge wearily through one life after another working off evil deeds because they lack redemption. Um, no.

At the New York Times, columnist Ross Douthat argues that Brit Hume began a productive public discussion that should continue. "The differences between religions are worth debating," Douthat writes. "Theology has consequences." Religion shapes the course of lives and nations, after all. I say this is foolish. At different times in my life I have devoutly followed both Christianity and Buddhism, so I know both religions intimately. And I say they cannot be "debated". Buddhism and Christianity have much in common. They both offer salvation. They both value peace and compassion. Large chunks of the Sermon on the Mount would fit comfortably into the Buddhist sutras, with very little tweaking. However, these two great religions are understood and practised within very different conceptual frameworks. They cannot be compared side-byside, as if they were two models of cars, without distorting one to fit into the conceptual framework of the other.

The practice of Buddhism is a means to see deeply into the nature of existence and the delusions that snare us and cause us to harm ourselves and others. Atonement – fully acknowledging and accepting responsibility for our harmful acts – is part of this practice, as is forgiving others and ourselves. Awakening to wisdom liberates us from suffering and from the weary slog through life after life that so distressed Peter Sprigg. By contrast, Christianity is centred in the faith that Jesus offered himself to be sacrificed to redeem the souls of mankind. Salvation, sought through faith and devotion, comes from God's divine mercy and forgiveness. Which is "true"? Here I agree with the late Joseph Campbell: "All religions are true, but none are literal." Buddhism stresses that the truth of enlightenment cannot be contained in words and concepts – which makes "debating" a bit tricky – and instead is found in direct experience. Christianity's doctrines are more easily explained but require believing

improvable things – the existence of God, souls, and eternal life in heaven, for example. How can such things be "debated"? Especially when (as my experience shows) people who already are certain they are "right" have an astonishing ability to misunderstand the other side of the argument? Yes, theology has consequences. So, if religions must be judged, judge them by the conduct of their followers. As Jesus said in Matthew 7:16, you will know true prophets from false ones by their fruits. But no debates for me, thanks. • Buddhism • Tiger Woods • Christianity • Religion • Fox News • United States Barbara O'Brien guardian.co.uk© Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions| More Feeds

Fox News Hires Sarah Palin as an On-Air Contributor By Connie Madon (BloggingStocks) Submitted at 1/12/2010 2:20:00 PM

Filed under: Deals, Media World, Politics, Headline news

Former Governor of Alaska and Republican vice presidential candidate, Sarah Palin, will work for Fox News as an on air contributor. Palin will provide political

analysis and commentary for Fox

News. She will also host a series called: "Real American Stories." Continue reading Fox News Hires Sarah Palin as an On-Air Contributor Fox News Hires Sarah Palin as

an On-Air Contributor originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 12 Jan 2010 14:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments

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General Motors: if Saab bidders are not sound, we won't sell By Andrew Clark (World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk)

Saab customers for at least a decade. "It's not a matter of us looking for money for it," said Reilly, Submitted at 1/12/2010 11:09:39 AM speaking at the Detroit motor • Saab buyer must be good for 10 show, where he warned that years, says GM chief European car sales were likely to • Ecclestone consortium says it drop by up to 10% this year. "It's has made formal offer a matter of somebody having General Motors is willing to sell enough financial depth to run the its ailing Swedish carmaker Saab company." for as little as a dollar, the US He continued: "We have a large corporation said today, but car park of owners around the would not countenance "fly-by- world which we have to support n i g h t " b u y e r s u n a b l e t o and we want to support. And so guarantee a steady supply of if a – I wouldn't say fly-by-night parts and components to Saab – but if a company comes along drivers. that in a year or two decides they Several bidders have expressed can't make a go of it and just i n t e r e s t i n t h e t r o u b l e d closes it down, it's all going to Scandinavian marque, including come back to us." a Dutch sports car firm, Spyker Negotiations continue between Cars, and a Luxembourg-backed GM, Spyker and Ecclestone's c o n s o r t i u m i n v o l v i n g t h e consortium. One of Ecclestone's Formula One billionaire Bernie partners, Lars Carlstrom, told the Ecclestone. Guardian his group had tabled a But Swedish unions have formal offer and intended to get attacked GM for pressing on more information to GM to quell with a liquidation of Saab rather any remaining concern about its than selling it. finances in time for a GM board G M ' s h e a d o f E u r o p e a n meeting on Wednesday. operations, Nick Reilly, insisted "We're going to spice it up a today his "first desire" was to little bit and show a little more to sell Saab, pointing out that interest GM," said Carlstrom. shutting the business would cost Founded 63 years ago, Saab has GM between €50m and €100m. failed to turn a profit since 2001 But the sticking point, he said, and, as the group struggles to was that bidders needed to show turn around its overall finances, t h e " f i n a n c i a l d e p t h " t o GM has lost patience. guarantee a supply of parts to In Europe, the US carmaker

intends to concentrate on Vauxhall and Opel, although some 8,300 job cuts are expected as these marques are restructured in Britain and Germany. Reilly said GM was looking for €2.7bn loan guarantees from European governments including Britain, Germany, Spain, Poland and Austria, and that negotiations varied from "well to a little bit slow", with Germany proving slower to move than other nations. European carmakers as a whole will have to contend with a longterm shift downwards in sales. Reilly predicted vehicle sales in western Europe, estimated at 15m in 2009, would fall by 1m to 1.5m in 2010 as government subsidies for buyers fell away, and that sales levels would not return to the 17m achieved three or four years ago. He said sales of Vauxhall and Opel cars had suffered, albeit modestly, from the uncertainty surrounding GM's future ownership: "I think it's difficult to imagine that there's been zero effect. This has been dragging on for a long time and people will get put off a company whose future is uncertain." Several other European manufacturers have done their best to make a splash at the Detroit motor show. Volkswagen, which is keen to

bolster its presence in the US, unveiled a concept for a twodoor compact car running on hybrid petrol and electric power. Mercedes and BMW showed new models and Mini, which has production based in Oxford, debuted a buggy-style car called the Beachcomber. Experts say the global motor industry is just beginning to turn a corner. Anthony Pratt, senior automotive analyst at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Detroit, said global light vehicle assembly was likely to rise from 57m in 2009 to 63m in 2010, still below the 2007 peak of 69m. "Among the auto companies, there's a sense of relief that they're through 2009," said Pratt. "There's a sense that there are better things to come and that 2009 was a trough year." • General Motors • Saab • Bernie Ecclestone • Vauxhall • Automotive industry • United States • Sweden Andrew Clark guardian.co.uk© Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions| More Feeds

Modern movies set adrift as Atari games By Doug Aamoth (CrunchGear) Submitted at 1/12/2010 10:30:00 AM

Ah, nostalgia. Your gentle touch knows no limits. Today you’ve taken modern movies and shown us what they would have looked like as video games from 30 years ago. Graphic designer Robert Penney has a set of images on his blog categorized as “Retro Games With Modern Themes.” There’s The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift, Cloverfield, Snakes on a Plane, Prison Break, and Avatar. Each cover contains a few nice details like old price stickers, ruffled edges, and scribbled names of former owners and caveats such as “INSTRUCTIONS MISSING!” Good stuff. P e n n e y Design[penneydesign.tumblr.co m via ALBOTAS]

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Iraq war was illegal, Dutch panel rules By Afua Hirsch (World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk) Submitted at 1/12/2010 11:05:43 AM

Inquiry says conflict had no sound mandate in international law as it emerges UK denied key letter to seven-judge tribunal The war in Iraq had "no basis in international law", a Dutch inquiry found today, in the first ever independent legal assessment of the decision to invade. In a series of damning findings, a seven-member panel in the Netherlands concluded that the war, which was supported by the Dutch government following intelligence from Britain and the US, had not been justified in law. "The Dutch government lent its political support to a war whose purpose was not consistent with Dutch government policy," the inquiry in the Hague concluded. "The military action had no sound mandate in international law." In a further twist, it emerged that the UK government refused to disclose a key document requested by the Dutch panel. The document – allegedly a

letter from Tony Blair asking for the support of the Dutch prime minister, Jan Peter Balkenende – was handed over in a breach of diplomatic protocol and on the basis that it was for Balkenende's eyes only, an inquiry official told the Guardian. "It was a surprise for our committee when we discovered information about this letter," said Rob Sebes, a spokesman for the Dutch inquiry. "It was not sent with a normal procedure between countries – instead it was a personal message from Tony Blair to our prime minister Jan Peter Balkanende, and had to be returned and not stored in our archives. "We asked the British government to hand over the letter but they refused," Sebes said. Details of the Dutch inquiry's findings and the refusal of the British government to disclose the letter are likely to increase international scrutiny on the Chilcot inquiry, as it emerged that the UK was instrumental in influencing the Dutch decision to back the war. "In its depiction of Iraq's [weapons of mass destruction]

programme, the [Dutch] government was to a considerable extent led by public and other information from the US and the UK," the Dutch report says. "This report is an objective finding – it was not political, we searched for the truth," said Sebes. "We think that over 10 months the seven members of committee made a real effort to make a finding of high quality." Philippe Sands QC, a professor of international law, who gave evidence to the Dutch inquiry, said: "There has been no other independent assessment on the legality of the war in Iraq and the findings of this inquiry are unambiguous. It concludes that the case argued by the Dutch and British governments, including the then attorney general, Lord Goldsmith, could not reasonably be argued. "This is the authoritative view of seven commissioners including the former president of the Dutch supreme court, a former judge of the European court of justice, and two legal academics." The findings have prompted controversy in the Netherlands, where Balkenende has so far

resisted calls for a formal parliamentary inquiry into his government's decision to back the war. However, the report is likely to influence analysis of the events in the UK, experts say, with senior judicial figures among those concerned that the Chilcot inquiry lacks the expertise on issues of legality in comparison to the Dutch panel. "The findings of the Dutch inquiry that the war had no basis in international law are even more important for a domestic audience in Britain," said Sands. "I do not see how the five members of the Chilcot inquiry, none of whom is legally qualified, could possibly summon the means to reach an alternative conclusion." • Iraq • Law • Tony Blair • Netherlands Afua Hirsch guardian.co.uk© Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions| More Feeds

Why Google will win the smartphone race: Products in the pipeline By John Biggs (CrunchGear) Submitted at 1/12/2010 11:15:55 AM

In the end, Google and Android will own the smartphone market. It won't happen this year and it may not even happen in 2012 but the day is coming when the de facto standard for smartphones. Multiple manufacturers have reported that Android phones are on the way including up to five from Motorola this quarter and a number from Samsung this year. Google also has a number of handsets in for testing and should be rolling them out after the Nexus One.

Rescue Drone Looks Like Luke Skywalker's Landspeeder [Military] By Adam Frucci (Gizmodo) Submitted at 1/12/2010 9:40:00 AM

While this might look like something found on Tatooine, it's actually a new Israeli drone

designed for rescue and cargo operations. It just had its first hovering test, so it may be in the

field before too long. [ Danger Room]

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Tibet to be location of highest airport in the world By Tania Branigan (World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk)

planned for 2011 with a construction period of three years," said Xu Jian, director of the Nagqu committee of Submitted at 1/12/2010 11:15:25 AM development and reform. "It is Chinese plan terminal in Tibet at expected to cost 1.8bn yuan 4,436 metres above sea level [£160m] and cover an area of China is to build the world's 233-266 hectares." highest airport, at an altitude of China announced in 2008 that it 4,436 metres (14,500ft), in Tibet. would build 97 new airports by The construction, at Nagqu, is 2020, so that four-fifths of the likely to be a daunting task given population would be within a 90the altitude and climate, with minute drive of an airport. average temperatures staying "With the airport, Nagqu, which below zero throughout the year. is also on the Qinghai-Tibet The airport will be just 764 railway line, is expected to metres lower than the Mount b e c o m e t h e c e n t r e o f a n Everest base camp on the economic hub in the plateau Chinese side, which is located region," said Tan Yongshou, 5,200 metres above sea level. commissioner of the prefecture. Nagqu is in the centre of the Xu Bo, director of the Tibetan Qinghai-Tibet plateau, about 186 branch of the China civil aviation miles from the Tibetan capital of administration, added: " The Lhasa, with a population of objective for the next stage of 400,000. The airport will be the development is to open direct air sixth in Tibet, and its addition routes from Tibet to south Asian means there will be one airport countries." in each prefecture. The new airport will beat the "The airport construction is current altitude record holder –

Bamda airport in Bangda, Qamdo, which, also in Tibet, sits at an elevation of 4,334 metres. That airport overtook the one at Lhasa, which has been built at a mere 3,600 metres. The plans underline the astonishing speed with which China is unrolling -ambitious infrastructure projects, often under challenging conditions, and, in particular, highlights the rapid development occurring in Tibet. An extraordinary railway line connecting Tibet to the rest of China opened four years ago, and the government is constructing six new rail lines in and around the vast region, which is rich in natural resources. Beijing argues that such changes are needed to boost growth and raise living standards. But opponents claim that the developments are eroding the Tibetan way of life and damaging a fragile environment.

They also believe that the economic benefits of the changes have been overstated. There is particular concern about increased Han migration, made possible by the QinghaiTibet railway. But the railway itself has been a feat of engineering. At its highest point, the Qinghai-Tibet line hits 5,072 metres – a height that is above the peak of any European mountain. • Tibet • Tibet • Air transport • China • Flights Tania Branigan guardian.co.uk© Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions| More Feeds

Make Your Dog Bionic with a Solar Panel [Pets] By Adam Frucci (Gizmodo) Submitted at 1/12/2010 10:20:00 AM

Dogs are lovely creatures, but they aren't all that useful. Sure, they provide companionship, but any animal can do that. That's why I love turning your dog into a cellphone charger using solar panels. [ Recombu via Make]

Toyota Rolls Out a Baby Prius By Chuck Squatriglia (Wired Top Stories) Submitted at 1/11/2010 9:46:00 PM

The FT-CH concept speaks to the company's plan to expand the Prius family with eight new models in the coming years.

Cuomo Demanding Bank Payout Data By Connie Madon (BloggingStocks)

are: Bank of America ( BAC), Bank of New York Mellon ( BK), Citigroup ( C), Goldman Submitted at 1/12/2010 1:20:00 PM Sachs ( GS), JPMorgan Chase ( Filed under: Management, JPM), Morgan Stanley ( MS), Financial Crisis New York State Street Bank ( STT) and A t t o r n e y G e n e r a l A n d r e w Wells Fargo ( WFC). Cuomo is demanding Cuomo's letter specifically information from eight big banks demands: 1. "A description of all which the pools were or will be on how they structured their bonus pools for 2009, including established." 2. "A description of payouts. The banks under order a description of the process by

your bonus program to include cash, stocks and other incentive breakdowns, vesting periods, clawback provisions and any other provisions to tie compensation to performance." Continue reading Cuomo Demanding Bank Payout Data Cuomo Demanding Bank Payout Data originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 12

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Fetching a Pail of Water By Susanna Donald (LWI News Center) Submitted at 1/12/2010 10:10:36 AM

Walking up a hill—really, walking anywhere other than our refrigerators or kitchen sinks—to fetch a pail of water may seem like the stuff of nursery rhymes, but in rural Africa, countless hours are spent each day fetching water from distant (and often polluted) sources. Typically, the task of water-gathering falls to the women and children. When Chris Juhasz began his quest to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro, African’s highest peak, he didn’t know that his path would intersect with theirs. He told St. Louis Public Radio that he was “reading some books about mountain climbing” while training for the Chicago marathon. “I was kind of thinking about what’s next?” he said. (Listen to the whole interview here.) Through his home church, Windsor Crossing in Chesterfield, Missouri, Juhasz

be able to ‘fetch a pail of water’ for those in need. My journey won’t be an easy one, but it pales in comparison to those that face poverty, disease, and death on a daily basis all because of something as simple as lacking clean water to drink.” By climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, Juhasz hopes to raise funding and awareness for LWI; specifically, he wants to raise $16,000 to drill a new well for became familiar with LWI and the people of Tanzania. the global water crisis. The more After months of training and he learned about Tanzania in eager anticipation, on January 5, particular—like the fact that 2010 Juhasz started his climb. approximately 45 percent of the His team reached the summit on population lacks access to clean Sunday, January 10th. You can drinking water—the more his follow the story of the climb quest for Kilimanjaro’s summit here. Because Juhasz is paying became something even greater for the climb himself, any funds than a mountain-climbing raised through his blog or his adventure. First Giving page will go toward On his blog, Juhasz writes, “I his goal of funding a new well in will probably never understand Tanzania through LWI. what it’s like to look at a glass of Five Filters featured article: water as a luxury. It is my hope, Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: however, that through my PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, personal struggle of going up Term Extraction. Africa’s tallest ‘hill,’ that I will

Cadbury Still Doesn't Crave a Buyout By Tom Taulli (BloggingStocks) Submitted at 1/12/2010 1:40:00 PM

Filed under: Kraft Foods'A' (KFT) In the massive crossborder hostile takeover battle, Cadbury ( CBY) again said "no" to Kraft's ( KFT) $16.91 billion offer. Although, in buyout-speak, the response was in a press release that called the deal "fundamentally unattractive" and even "derisory" (yes, the attorneys have spent time at the thesaurus). Why the rebuff? Cadbury reported a healthy 2009 and expects the good times to continue into 2010. In other words, a buyout is not

necessarily evil -- that is, so long if the price is right. Continue reading Cadbury Still Doesn't Crave a Buyout Cadbury Still Doesn't Crave a Buyout originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 12 Jan 2010 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Comments

Haier shows off wirelessly-powered TV By Doug Aamoth (CrunchGear)

Haier is actually being wirelessly powered altogether. The technology comes from MIT Submitted at 1/12/2010 11:00:30 AM spinoff WiTricity, which The future will be wireless. s p e c i a l i z e s i n “ w i r e l e s s That’s what they keep saying, e l e c t r i c i t y d e l i v e r e d o v e r anyway. And while smaller d i s t a n c e . ” devices are relatively easy to In the case of this TV, there’s charge inductively, this TV from a p p a r e n t l y “ a c o i l t h a t i s

and 100W electricity can be supplied from a distance of about 1m,” according to Nikkei. Video is also sent to the TV wirelessly using the Wireless Home Digital Interface (WHDI) which is capable of streaming approximately 1 x 1 foot (30.48 1080p video at 3Gbps from up to x 30.48cm) in size on its back, 100 feet away.

No word on a consumer version of this technology anytime soon but, hey, at least it works. [CES] Haier Develops TV With No Power Plug[Tech On!]

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New MOCA Director Deitch Will Close His Gallery But That Doesn't Quiet Angry Art Mobs By Alissa Walker (Fast Company) Submitted at 1/12/2010 1:55:47 PM

All the critics who were hemming and hawing about newly-named MOCA director Jeffrey Deitch's ability to direct a non-profit museum vs. run a forprofit gallery have less to bitch about. According to the New York Observer, Deitch's gallery Deitch Projects will close by June 1, when he is scheduled to take the oath of office, as it were, in Los Angeles. A press conference this morning at MOCA made the announcment official. Tyler Green at Modern Art Notes has the first interview with Deitch, a massive three-parter published last night, where Deitch reveals that he will provide a list of his entire collection for ethical reasons and does not plan to return to any gallery after his five-year contract is up: "No, I do not intend to go back to art dealing. I've always intended this as a wonderful opportunity, to take on the museum. I always intended to wrap up the commercial side of the gallery to write about this period I've been so involved in." Still, this announcement is a small consolation to critics who are concered about Deitch's ability to make a 180 in his

professional life, as well as the bigger question of what will happen when artists which he has represented are championed through the museum's exhibits. A similar debate raised flags for the New Museum in New York

when it was announced that Jeff Koons would curate a show from the collection of one of the museum's trustees, Dakis Joannou, a move that Deitch later defended during a talk at the Fashion Institute of

Technology. (Ahem, Deitch has or has had business relationships with both Koons and Joannou, as well as MOCA founding chairman Eli Broad, proving that the art world is uncomfortably, unavoidably small.)

A press release from MOCA focused on touting Deitch's contributions as a consultant, writer and critic, and curator-which are no small potatoes, nor NEW page 12

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2010: The Only Year of The E-Reader By Kit Eaton (Fast Company) Submitted at 1/12/2010 2:19:41 PM

The Kindle is looking almost lost now among the flurry of new e-book reading devices just released or due soon. So many are out, in fact, that 2010 is really the year of the e-reader. But only 2010. Because ereaders are doomed. The Business-Centric Plastic Logic Que Plastic Logic's Que e-reader has been long anticipated thanks to its clever flexible screen (the "plastic logic" bit) and elegant design in a market that's often the venue for some very ugly gizmos. When it launched last week it delivered on both those fronts, and surprised on a totally new one: The e-reader device is due soon, but it's been redirected so it's going to appeal almost exclusively for business users. Rich ones, that is. It costs $800. The idea has some merit since the Que can act as a powerful business tool that draws together lots of live data like email, stored data like business document or project archives, and it'll even let you edit the content to a limited extent. Hard to say how well it'll sell though--though it's undeniably neat, it's high price almost makes it a curio that'll only have a tiny market. Many professionals would probably spend a little more, and get a new thin-and-light fully functional laptop.

The Magazine-friendly Skiff The Skiff has the benefit of being almost as cleanly designed as the Que, and it's also astonishingly thin--making the Kindle seem a real low-tech porker in comparison. When it debuted at CES lots of attention was thus devoted to its design

and the gorgeousness of its vast high-res 11-inch screen. But the Skiff's real secret is its software that makes it an almost ideal e-reader for magazine or newsprint content. It's capable of rendering faithful greyscale versions of printed content in such high resolution it's almost

like a photocopy, and its clever dynamic advertising engine could transform the way ad placements are embedded into publications. Fiscal backing by Hearst is behind all this, of course, and if anyone has the energy to push the technology forward in this direction, that's

the company to try. The Twin Screen Spring Design Alex Controversy is chasing the tail of the Spring Design Alex, but it's undeniably a damn clever machine--part android 2010: page 13

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NEW continued from page 10

are his accomplishments while at Citibank, where he established a revolutionary-at-the-time program that advised patrons on their purchases. Another question about Deitch's move is how it will affect the fate of the dozens of artists he represents, some of whom, according to the Wall Street Journal, get stipends and free housing. Aaron Rose, an artist and curator whose film Beautiful Losers featured many of Deitch's artists, says Deitch has always been very direct with his artists. "I have many friends and associates who get their bread and butter from Deitch Projects and so far all I have heard is how happy they are for him." At least one of Deitch's artists didn't seem to be overly concerned; Steve Powers posted this quip to Twitter: "jeffrey deitch taps chino to curate graffiti show for moca. This will be called MOCA CHINO." As far as Deitch's art world qualifications, Green, whose Modern Art Notes is a kind of art world barometer, collected the first wave of Web-based criticism and makes a very good point: Deitch should be viewed strictly on his business acumen, not his curatorial merits since

he's being hired as a fundraiser, and a non-profit fundraiser at that: "The difference between the for-profit/business world and the non-profit world and their attendant missions and responsibilities is why there's a discussion about whether it is appropriate to hire a businessman to be a nonprofit/museum director." MOCA may be one museum that's already comfortable blurring the lines between commercial and curatorial. The museum came under fire in 2007 for hosting a functioning Louis Vuitton pop-up store inside the exhibition @MURAKAMI, which sold the many products that artist Takashi Murakami created for the fashion label. Purists thought it was a bad idea to plant in the art world. But this bleeding edge might be a trend, notes Paddy Johnson from Art Fag City: "MOCA [is] the second major museum in less than a week to appoint a head from the commercial world. Bill Moggridge, founder of the design firm Ideo, was appointed director of the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum in New York last week." No one seemed to be concerned that Moggridge's

ability to design and sell a laptop would hinder his abilities to head a museum that collects them. Deitch does mention in his interview one specific commerical idea: Reinventing the MOCA store as a retail concept. Although many were quick to note that Deitch would be the first gallery owner to head a museum, the Internet's response has proven this is not true. Walter Hopps, the famous Ferus Gallery owner in L.A. went on to direct several museums. Richard Flood, who now directs the New Museum, came from a gallery background. Even Ann Philbin, who directs the Hammer Museum and is an old friend of Deitch's, headed a gallery first. But no collector has been as high profile as Deitch. Douglas Christmas, who has directed Los Angeles' longest-running gallery, the Ace Institute of Contemporary Art, since 1966, sees this as a strength, not a detraction. "Jeffrey knows the art world. He has always worked with the best and there's no reason why he wouldn't continue to," he says. "I would believe he would throw some curves into the concept of museum directorship. But I can't imagine

he's going to do anything but a smashingly good job." According to L.A. boosters, Deitch's genre-bending, noprecedent, breaking-withtradition appointment could only really thrive in a place like Los Angeles. "I love that the most interesting conversation about museums is happening in L.A.: How do you balance the primary role of the museum--what's happening within its walls and scholarship--with the culture outside of it?" says Bettina Korek, director of L.A.-based arts resource ForYourArt. "You have to take that into consideration when we're in Hollywood--entertainment happens here!" It's not a connection many artists would like to make, she says: The art world has been exceptionally resistent to a new art reality show, American Artist. Still, some artists are less-thanthrilled that Deitch is being heralded as this "savior" for L.A.'s floundering art world. "MOCA has been one of the great contemporary art museums in the world for over 20 years," says Diana Thater, a video artist based in L.A. "It doesn't require being made into that, it already is." She's concerned his presence

Finally! Comment on Facebook through e-mail By Caroline McCarthy (Webware.com)

A small modification to e-mail Unfortunately, you still can't notifications lets you reply to reply to in-box messages through c o m m e n t s t h r o u g h e - m a i l . e-mail.

Originally posted at The Social

will take the focus off L.A.'s artists and history. "I wonder that MOCA's new director doesn't say he's thrilled to 'join us' instead of excited to 'lead the museum'?" she says. "The first is about art and the art community, the second is about power and commerce. Both are necessary, but art is primary and commerce secondary." To other Los Angeles artists, Deitch's relocation is an informed choice that brings new blood and new ideas to the city-and the global attention surely doesn't hurt. "Jeffrey is an phenomenal businessman. Even more important than that, though, is his reach," says Rose, who thinks Deitch will add a much-needed international perspective to the city's scene. "He's art-savvy, but even more importantly he is worldsavvy...and he has the Rolodex to pull it off." Photo: Patrick McMullan Previously: MOCA Names Jeffrey Deitch as New Director [UPDATED]

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smartphone (without the phone part) and part e-reader. That combination of color LCD and larger e-ink screen makes the Alex a long battery-life multipurpose device. This gives it big potential to be a disruptive influence in the ereader biz: It can run Android apps where its design-clone Nook rival cant, and it can act as a plain e-reader that also lets you listen to MP3s (via a sweet interface that makes Amazon's look stone aged). The new deal with Borders is definitely going to make the device one that the public gets to see the most. The Split-Personality Entourage eDGe This is the oddest e-reader to be shown at CES, though we've heard of it on and off since last year. It's a book-format dual screen device, with one e-reading e-ink screen and one LCD screen for a touchscreen netbook-earning it the label "Dualbook" from Entourage. At CES we learned it's due to ship in

February and it'll cost around $500, which places it at the upper end of the e-reader price market, and the netbook market too, though it'll have the benefits of a bit of both machine. But this split personality might be the Edge's downfall: It results in an ugly device that has two different-sized screens and an uncertain product category--is it an e-reader, or a computer? Will users want this sort of half-andhalf solution, and no particular big-name publisher backing? The Amazon Kindle: What next? Amazon just updated the Kindle DX into an international edition (continuing its badly cocked-up efforts at a global product) but though that's the only sign of a change in the Kindle lineup for ages, you can be sure a new Kindle's on the way. When? Nobody knows. What new tech will it have in it? Nobody knows. What is for certain is that Amazon really needs to step up to the mark with the next Kindle-

-the e-reader marketplace is no longer empty, and there's plenty of hot competition. The Kindle's design and functionality needs to drastically improve, and Amazon needs to look at open book formats. Else the Kindle will lose its coveted top spot really fast. Why All These Gizmos All Doomed With all these new e-readers on the market, calling 2010 the year of the e-reader makes perfect sense. It's an event that's been long foretold--though we won't be seeing the demise of the physical book anytime soon. But I'm going to argue that 2010 is the first and last year of the ereader. Because they'll look awkward and clunky in 2011, and though they'll survive as a tech genre it'll be as useful if niche products. You see 2010 is also the year of the Tablet PC. Or Slate PC or whatever you want to call it--a device that has much of the same form-factor as an e-reader, and which can do all the same clever e-book reading.

And an infinite amount more. And before you go harping on about long battery life and the benefits of e-ink for reading, then slates (if they take tech cues from netbooks, which they will) will have battery life that's just about long enough, and screens that are good enough for reading from--even before considering pixelQI tech. And that's going to seal the deal for millions of consumers. E-books, movies, full Web surfing, emailing, Skype phoning, gaming--all on a slate, with the benefits of multitouch screen and motion-sensing controls. Why buy two devices? Best of all, I made it all the way to the end before even writing the words Apple Tablet or global iSlate. Those words are almost enough by themselves to signify it's game over for the e-reader.

Google Docs gets file storage: Is this the GDrive? By Josh Lowensohn (Webware.com) Submitted at 1/12/2010 8:44:00 AM

Google will soon be letting users upload any and all file types to Google Docs, but is this the long-awaited GDrive? Originally posted at Web Crawler

VigLink monetizes your pages quietly By Rafe Needleman (Webware.com) Submitted at 1/12/2010 5:00:00 AM

New service turns any link to a commerce site into an affiliate link. Originally posted at Rafe's Radar

Facebook’s “Reply by E-mail” Feature Now Live For Everyone By Adam Ostrow (Mashable!) Submitted at 1/12/2010 10:20:53 AM

Facebook has just rolled out the ability for users to reply to comments through e-mail, a feature it began testing last month.

The feature is straightforward. Anytime you get a notification email about a comment on a status update, a photo or a wall post, you can simply reply via e-mail and the post will show up on Facebook. The social network is like your e-mail signature. able to filter out unrelated text

As we noted in our previous coverage, this move is about more than meets the eye. While it’s a useful feature, it also means Facebook is sacrificing shortterm pageviews (by forcing you to log in) for more user interaction.

The same can’t yet be said for Facebook’s mail system, which isn’t getting the reply-by-e-mail functionality with this update. Reviews: Facebook Tags: facebook

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Could Dotcom Investments Drive 2010's Economic Upswing?

Google releases Android 2.1 SDK after complaints

By Kit Eaton (Fast Company)

By David Meyer (Webware.com)

Submitted at 1/12/2010 10:49:12 AM

Was the end of 2009 the end of the start of the upswing, or the beginning of the end of it? New figures released that track fourth quarter venture capital spending make for interesting reading on this matter. Except if you're in cleantech. The data is coming from New York-based research firm ChubbyBrain, and it concerns venture capital funding rounds in Q4 2009. The figures are complex, but there are some fascinating facts buried among them. For a start, the absolute amount of cash concerned fell quarter on quarter between Q3 and Q4 from $6.1 billion to $5.5 billion--but the Q3 figures were artificially boosted by a number of big late-stage investments that came to conclusion at the time, like Twitter's $100m deal. The most promising sign is that the actual number of deals ChubbyBrain tracks rose throughout the year, and peaked in Q4 at 687, a full 84 more than in the same period in 2008. That's an extremely positive sign, indicating that venture capitalists are happy to speculate

Submitted at 1/12/2010 6:06:00 AM

Software development kit is for the version of its mobile operating system that powers the Nexus One smartphone.

Navy Wants Troops Wearing BrainScanners Into War By Katie Drummond (Wired Top Stories) Submitted at 1/12/2010 6:20:00 AM

on companies--and in particular early stage investment deals were on the rise, at 37% in the quarter compared to 29% in Q3. ChubbyBrain is talking this as a sign of increased investor optimism, and that translates into a definite thumbs-up for an economic upswing. But the distribution of the spending across industry sectors tells a very surprising story: Despite strong media attention and rising public awareness of environmental issues, cleantech did particularly badly in the VC

investments--funding dropped 38% over the quarter. Instead VC firms were looking for safer, less capital intensive investments and seem to have settled on an old faithful--internet startups. Spending in this sector rose 40% over the figures for Q3. Is this a sign of another dotcom boom? Not quite--we'd need to see this behavior replicated for several quarters to believe that. But it is a sign that Net startups are now a mature business sector that is a safe target for investment, and that might be an

Video: Highlights, Lowlights From CES 2010 By Brian Chen (Wired Top Stories)

In this edition of the Wired video podcast, senior editor Dylan Tweney sums up the

highlights â&#x20AC;&#x201D; as well as the lowlights â&#x20AC;&#x201D; of CES 2010.

The military pushes for better ways to diagnose, treat and prevent wartime brain injuries. The latest trick: portable, weather-proof, multipurpose brain scanners for troops who may start wearing them into war by early 2011.

indicator that Web companies will be one significant factor in the upswing. Cleantech businesses aren't failing, of course (before you start worrying about environmental disaster), it's just that they're harder to Young People Don't scale...and though they're vital Seek Beaver Like They for eco causes they might not be a useful financial device to help Used To [Branding] turn the economy around. By Ryan Tate (Gawker) [via VentureBeat] Submitted at 1/12/2010 11:21:20 AM

The Beaver magazine changes title: "For whatever reasons, [youth] are turned off by the name."

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Surprise Rumor: iPhone Version 4 in April With OLED, Video-Calling By Kit Eaton (Fast Company)

Pentagon Scientists Target Iran's Nuclear Mole Men By David Hambling (Wired Top Stories)

Submitted at 1/12/2010 1:03:37 PM Submitted at 1/12/2010 4:00:00 AM

This is hot stuff, so it needs to be taken with a healthy dose of skepticism, but the Korea Times is reporting--with extreme confidence--that the fourth gen iPhone will be on sale in April, with a pile of new features. Of course we know Apple's been working on the next-gen iPhone for ages due to natural product development cycles, and clues in the form of iPhone v4 browser identity codes have even turned up in some Web site logs. But apart from lots of speculation, we've heard nothing concrete--as we'd actually expect from Apple's rigid security practices. And now here's the Korea Times talking about apparent talks between Apple and local cellphone provider and exclusive Apple vendor, KT. "Still there are some 3G iPhone stocks. But KT and Apple have reached a broad consensus to introduce the advance models as early as possbile" are the words attributed to an anonymous KT executive. That's possibly believable, even if talking about this stuff is likely

Iran's nuclear facilities may be deeply buried in a maze of tunnels, making them hard to find and even harder to destroy. But the Pentagon is working on some new technological tricks for exactly this kind of mission.

Can you do a good David Caruso impression? By Bob Sassone (TV Squad) Submitted at 1/12/2010 2:00:00 PM

to be breaching many an Apple NDA...yet it tells us nothing about the phone itself. But hang on: The same exec also told the newspaper that there'll be OLED screens, live video chat powers (implying a long-awaited front webcam) and maybe even a removable battery. There's also talk about dual core processors, better graphics chips for higher resolutions and better still imagery from the rear-facing cam. And it's all due April at the earliest--as a test launch to select

users, and to the public in June. And though some of this is highly plausible, and even agrees with some rumors about OLED we've heard before, and recent mention of Apple buying millions of 5-megapixel cameras and Philips LED flash for better iPhone imagery, it all sounds too good to be true. Some of this is bound to be in the next iPhone-but all of it? That goes against Apple's careful incremental update strategy for the device so far. And though moving the

(Some) Electric BMWs to Hit the Road Next Year By Chuck Squatriglia (Wired Top Stories)

BMW plans to release a lowemissions city electric car to a limited number of consumers in

Europe and the United States by next year. It's likely to follow the model of the Mini E release.

iPhone forward to an April launch from its more normal late -Spring cycle would certainly help Apple steal some of the thunder from the Nexus One and other upcoming Android phones, isn't it a bit close to the purported launch date of the iSlate? So color us confused and skeptical. But very very intrigued. [via KoreaTimes] Image via iPhoneFreakz

A lot has been written about the rather............dramatic...........way David Caruso talks on CSI: Miami. Now CBS wants you to show them your best Horatio Caine impression! Just upload a video of yourself by February 22 and you could win $5000! If you need a pointer or two, here's Jim Carrey's take. Filed under: CSI, Video, Celebrities, Reality-Free Permalink| Email this| | Comments

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Facebook is Hiring? We'll Drink to That! By Maccabee Montandon (Fast Company)

unemployment rate held steady at 10%. And it seems that there are even Submitted at 1/12/2010 11:26:35 AM good jobs to be had. Take the Last week's unemployment company that is arguably the n e w s w a s n o t a s r o s y a s most dynamic tech firm around everyone had hoped. Analysts — Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg had been predicting that around and the gang are apparently 8, 000 jobs would be lost in finally ready to get serious about December but the actual figure leaping into the virtual payments turned out to be more like 85, market that's been dominated for 000. But thanks to some recent years by the likes of PayPal. hiring trends, among other After dragging its heels about f a c t o r s , t h e o v e r a l l doing this for years — and then

abandoning the project while its advertising effort took off — Facebook is now hiring several positions for its Payment Operations team. And just what kind of person makes a great candidate for these jobs? Someone with the necessary experience of course, who can "gather and synthesize relevant data, suggesting improvements in the tools and techniques to help scale the team," but who is also " smart as balls" and not

adverse to the idea of relocating to Dublin, Ireland, where much of the operation will be based. Dublin surely makes pragmatic sense for the company, as it continues to expand across the globe, but it also makes a bit of spiritual sense. According to this interview with an anonymous Facebook staffer, the corporate culture at Facebook is redolent of the laissez faire approach favored by Web 1.0 tech outfits. That is, so long as you get your

work done (the Facebooker uses a more pungent phrase to say as much), you should feel free to knock back a couple of pitchers at lunch. Or, in the case of those soon-to-be new hires, a few pints at the pub. The application process is sure to be robust. I m a g e : http://www.flickr.com/photos/bo oleansplit// CC BY 2.0

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Google Docs Gets File Storage: Is This the GDrive? [Google Docs] By CNET (Gizmodo) Submitted at 1/12/2010 9:25:51 AM

Google on Tuesday is making a big move with its Docs service, opening it up to all types of file uploads. This includes photos, movies, music, and ZIP archives, all of which will be stored on Google's servers. Along with opening up Docs to additional file types, Google is also dramatically increasing the size of individual uploads. Where the company will still limit users to 500KB for Microsoft Word documents, and 10MB for PowerPoint presentations and PDFs, the new limit for all other files that cannot be converted into a Google Docs format is 250MB. This is 10 times the size of what's allowed as an attachment in the company's Web mail service Gmail. In a post on the company's blog, Google Docs' product manager Vijay Bangaru said that the new size and file type allowances serve to make Docs a replacement for USB drives, allowing users to access their files between computers. The company is also applying the same permissions-based sharing system it has for documents that it hosts, allowing users to share files with one another. That said, the amount of space for non-Google Docs files that

"Google Pack" software (which includes a handful of Google, and non-Google software installers), was mention of a service called "GDrive." It was billed simply as a tool for online file backup and storage. That included "photos, music, and documents." The software also promised to let users access these files from a variety of locations—including the operating system and mobile phones. Sound familiar? Google Docs now does all those things, at least are stored within Docs will only programs read and write access. " f i l e s " m e n u t o t h e D o c s be 1GB. Users can upgrade This turns Google into more of a interface. It's since been under- with the help of some third-party though, and Google is planning traditional storage provider than utilized as a place for users to programs. However, the one on that. it's ever been, completely cutting store PDFs that could be read remaining hurdle is getting the Just like users can purchase out the need to visit the Docs site w i t h i n G o o g l e ' s d o c u m e n t sync to non-enterprise users, additional space for other Google itself to add or remove files. The viewer. Attempts to upload other which for the time being is not services like Picasa Web Albums only caveat here—and it's a big files that could not be converted happening. and Gmail, users will soon be one—is that users will need to into Google's own formats There is light at the end of the able to rent space from Google. Google Apps premier edition simply did not go through. tunnel though. This year, Google For standard Google Docs users customers to access the API, But do these changes make brings its cloud-centric Chrome t h i s w i l l b e 2 5 c e n t s p e r leaving free users of Docs and Google Docs the long-awaited OS to Netbooks, and you can be gigabyte, per year, while Google lesser Apps subscribers out in GDrive? In a way yes, but it's far sure that storage will be an Apps enterprise users have to the cold. from the game-changing storage important part of the equation. pay $3.50 per gigabyte, per year. Three companies that are service that many thought would It's much easier to sell the idea of That's a hefty price difference, coming out of the gate with come by now. The expectation a cloud-based lifestyle when you but customer support, and a support for this new API are has always been that if Google can give people a place to dump service level agreement that Syncplicity, Manymoon, and came out with its own storage their existing files. This is guarantees uptime add costs. Memeo Connect. All three will service, it would be deeply tied especially true given what could Bangaru says the new file be tapping into it to do things into its properties. And more be a very limited amount of storage features will be rolling like file sync, upload, and importantly, that it would be storage in the first crop of out to users within the "next backup. something readily available to all Chrome OS hardware that will be sporting solid state drives—a c o u p l e o f w e e k s . " I n t h e So is this the GDrive? users. meantime, Google has been busy Signs that Google was readying This time last year the company t e c h n o l o g y t h a t c o s t s readying a new documents API Docs for file storage came in late had alluded to as much, almost considerably more per gigabyte that will take advantage of the July of last year, which is when by accident. Bundled deep within GOOGLE page 18 storage, giving third-party the company quietly added the the code of the company's

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MagicJack femtocell sure to face legal battle royale By Chris Ziegler (Engadget) Submitted at 1/12/2010 1:23:00 PM

Despite MagicJack's official announcement last week of an in -home femtocell for connecting carriers' phones directly to its service, tons of questions remain -- including most of the questions we had when we first heard of the idea. Let's recap those questions and where we stand with each of them, shall we? • Are these guys licensing spectrum from the gub'mint, sublicensing it from carriers, or just going rogue? Going rogue. Historically, this usually ends in an FCC-mandated shutdown -and since both carriers and the CTIA will undoubtedly be throwing a fit that some company is stealing pricey spectrum for its own purposes, we're sure the pressure on the government to act will be quite high. • Are any carriers in on this, and if so, why? Nope, none. The company says that "if they were smart they would take [it] on as a partner, because all [it] could do is enhance the value they create

for their customer," but presently, MagicJack's all alone. • If carriers aren't involved, why would they establish roaming deals that would allow carrierbranded phones and SIMs to roam on MagicJack's rogue airwaves? As far as we can tell, they aren't on any roaming deals. • If they're not working on roaming deals, the femtocells will need to spoof a carrier ID.

Submitted at 1/12/2010 10:52:42 AM

bob buzzed up: US, Mexican officials: Tijuana drug lord captured (AP)

continued from page 17

than platter-based hard drives. Suddenly 25 cents a gigabyte doesn't sound so bad, does it? s u r r o u n d i n g n e t w o r k . Where Google still has a lot of Considering everything else we work to do is unifying its storage know, though, it probably doesn't offerings into one big drive that's play nice -- and without a shared across all of its services. roaming deal in place, they'll As it stands, depending on what need to spoof. That's going to type of media you're giving to rile up both carriers and the Google, and from what service you're uploading it to, there's a GSMA. • Do you get to keep your phone different bucket with a different number when you roam on the limit. This is further complicated MagicFemtocell, and if so, how? by the fact that many of the For incoming calls, probably not, services have trouble talking to unless you forward to the one another. If they did, it would allow Google to group search MagicJack number. indexes into one place where Needless to say, both the users could sift through content carriers and the feds are going to they had stored across all of have a lot to say about this Google's properties. p r o d u c t - - p a r t i c u l a r l y While Google may get there by considering that it hasn't even the launch of Chrome OS, it received FCC approval yet. If it doesn't have to. Just consider keeps marching toward retail, we Tuesday's news proof enough could be gearing up for one of that Google, at the very least, has Furthermore, TDMA femtocells the most entertaining legal the ball rolling. This story originally appeared are virtually impossible to design battles of the year. and install for technical reasons, MagicJack femtocell sure to on CNET which means these would have face legal battle royale originally to be 3G. So MagicJack's going appeared on Engadget on Tue, to offer a UMTS femtocell? It 12 Jan 2010 13:23:00 EST. appears to be a plain-Jane GSM Please see our terms for use of femtocell, which is technically feeds. Permalink| PC World| interesting considering what Email this| Comments we've heard in the past about effectively making a TDMA unit that plays nice with the

Mystery object to whizz by Earth Wednesday (AP) (Yahoo! News: U.S. News)

GOOGLE

11 seconds ago 2010-01- Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: 12T11:20:05-08:00 PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Five Filters featured article: Term Extraction.

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Analyst: Expect Xbox 360, PS3 price cuts this year By Nicholas Deleon (CrunchGear)

more than Sony does. And what’s all this talk about Microsoft releasing an Xbox 360 Submitted at 1/12/2010 10:00:26 AM with a 250GB hard drive? Could Yeah, you probably could have Microsoft be doing that to give guessed that one already, but Xbox gamers the illusion of still now someone from Wedbush being “elite”? So says Mr. Morgan has said it, validating Wedbush Morgan analyst! your opinion in the process. So As for the PSP Go, Sony will the deal is that both Microsoft have to cut the price for that to and Sony are likely to cut the be relevant. price of their respective consoles Sony’s in a weird spot with the this year, probably around PSP Go. It’s clearly aimed at summertime. The thing is, early adopters, but you can only b e c a u s e M i c r o s o f t ’ s get so far relying upon early manufacturing costs are lower, it adopters. The device is supposed has the ability to lower the cost to help Sony user in the era of

download-only games, but doing so will annoy its retail partners (Best Buy, Wal-Mart, etc.), partners it totally needs if it wants the PS3 to continue on its

good run. If Sony says “full steam ahead!”on a downloadonly culture, why should Best Buy bother to stock Sony hardware? With no games to sell,

it has no reason to sell the hardware. Maybe it would be best if retail stores simply disappeared altogether? So there’s an early preview of where consoles are going this year. I can’t think of too many really big games that are scheduled for this year… Mass Effect 2 in a few weeks? I’m totally drawing a blank here. Flickr

Sony Ericsson 'Faith' shows a lot of faith in demand for WinMo 6.5.3 By Chris Ziegler (Engadget)

portrait QWERTY set would represent distinctly new territory for the company if it actually We'd have guessed that the X2's makes it to market (a good deal lukewarm reception would've of leaked Sony Ericssons don't) doomed Sony Ericsson's barely- and would seem to suggest a t h e r e W i n M o s t r a t e g y - - renewed interest in working with especially since they've also got Microsoft going forward -Android and Symbian to worry possibly to get in on this WinMo about -- but here we've got the 7 action everyone's talking about first images of what's said to be these days. The Faith has a 2.4t h e " F a i t h " r u n n i n g 6 . 5 . 3 . inch QVGA display, Euro 3G, Apparently part of the eco- and an honest-to-goodness friendly GreenHeart range, the touchscreen above the keyboard, Submitted at 1/12/2010 12:57:00 PM

giving it access to 6.5.3's headlining feature -- fingerfriendly controls. We'd just as soon see these guys hold off for

7 and focus on Android in the meanwhile, but hey, who knows -- maybe there's some massive, untapped interest in a product

Famous sci-fi flicks recreated with face paint (Holy Kaw!) Submitted at 1/12/2010 9:29:45 AM

A face painter with a fondness for all things geek has employed his skills to create a series of

cool, albeit totally creepy, face styles modeled after famous scifi characters.

Nurture your inner geek. Permalink| Leave a comment »

like this after all. [Thanks, Daniel] Sony Ericsson 'Faith' shows a lot of faith in demand for WinMo 6.5.3 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jan 2010 12:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Daily iPhone Blog| Email this| Comments

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Egg Energy Takes Netflix-Style Approach To Supplying Power In The Developing World [Batteries] By Sean Fallon (Gizmodo) Submitted at 1/12/2010 11:15:00 AM

Created by a team from MIT and Harvard, Egg Energy is taking the Netflix style subscription model and applying it to a very unique for-profit business: supplying energy for populations in developing countries. I'm not sure about the value of a dollar in Tanzania, but the Egg Energy's service seems like a decent deal. For a $27 first-year subscription, customers will get their home wired for electricity and receive a fully-charged,

relatively compact battery that can be swapped out for a fresh one at a cost of 40 cents. The company explains in its executive summary that its target customer spends $5 per month

on kerosene and $3 per month on AA batteries, with an average total of $96 per year for lighting and the use of a radio. But with eight swaps per month, the annual cost of the service in total

is $65. "Switching to EGGenergy therefore saves a typical household $30.60 a year on its lighting and radio needs," says the company. The first Egg Energy distribution center is already up and running on a well-trafficked route in rural Tanzania. They have acquired 60 customers since November and plan a rapid expansion in the coming year. [ Egg Energy on Facebook via Eart2Tech via@Timoreilly via@TomRaferty]

Simon Cowell Opens Up to Ryan Seacrest about Leaving 'American Idol' (ETonline - Breaking News) Submitted at 1/12/2010 8:37:00 AM

Simon Cowell chats with "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest about leaving the judges' table, calling the experience a "bit odd." Cowell announced on Monday that he would be exiting "Idol" after this season in order to bring his British program "The XFactor" over to the states. "I think you got to know when it's time to go," Cowell said while on Seacrest's KIIS FM radio program. "You know about over-exposure, Ryan. I'm on TV too much. ... I genuinely thought people would be sick and tired of me."

Microsoft calls Android 'free like a puppy,' we can't decide if that's a bad thing or not By Paul Miller (Engadget)

the fact that's it's versatile and free -- major motivating factors behind his use of the OS on his In a new brand of competition Edge e-reader device. James says d i s s i n g , J a m e s D e B r a g g a , that Android (like a puppy) is General Manager of Windows great in theory, but a hassle once Consumer Product Marketing, you get it home. Unfortunately says Android "is free like a for him, his metaphor neglects puppy." The comment came in t h e l o v e a n d k i s s e s a n d the context of the CEO of companionship many humans Perhaps James is a cat man? Entourage praising Android for also associate with puppies. Still, we see his side to some Submitted at 1/12/2010 1:46:00 PM

extent: Windows is certainly more mature, supported and capable for powering a tablet device, especially if that tablet needs to perform serious computer-style tasks. Unfortunately, we're not sure if Android, Windows or anything else is really ready to make tablet converts out of us. Now if you'll excuse us, we need to go feed

our free iguana, Ricardo. Microsoft calls Android 'free like a puppy,' we can't decide if that's a bad thing or not originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jan 2010 13:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Laptop| Email this| Comments

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Keepin' it real fake, part CCXLX: Nokia N93 knocked off, with an added Engadget bonus! By Joseph L. Flatley (Engadget)

"Nokia" logo itself. Take a closer look: it's really familiar, right? We're glad to know that we've Submitted at 1/12/2010 12:35:00 PM had such a powerful impact on This strange NOKLA knock-off the KIRF industry-at-large! All combines the Nokia brand-name, that said, we're not here to judge elements of the iPhone's UI, and -- if your self-hatred extends to the admittedly ho-hum specs of your choice in handsets, hit the y o u r t y p i c a l K I R F p h o n e source link to hunt one of these (including a 2.8-inch resistive down for yourself. touchscreen, 1.3 megapixel Keepin' it real fake, part camera, and WiFi). If all that CCXLX: Nokia N93 knocked isn't enough to warn you off this off, with an added Engadget device there's always that weird bonus! originally appeared on fin that extends considerably Engadget on Tue, 12 Jan 2010 from one side -- which can't be 12:35:00 EST. Please see our comfortable when you're trying terms for use of feeds. Permalink to use this phone as, you know, a SlashGear| M8 Cool| Email this| phone. But the most shocking Comments part of this whole mess is the

Free laptops and broadband promised for 270,000 poor UK families By Vladislav Savov (Engadget) Submitted at 1/12/2010 2:14:00 PM

This isn't quite on par with Finland's contention that 1Mb broadband is a "right," but UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown has pledged ÂŁ300 million ($484 million) for the provision of laptops and broadband connections to low income families. The idea is for parents to be connected to their children's school, so that they may access reports and track progress online. We don't know if broadband is going to be quite the panacea that it's being

promoted as, but at least an effort is being made to make internet access truly universal. The new initiative is part of an education bill being debated in the House of Commons right now, but given the PM's low popular and parliamentary approval, there's no certainty that this pledge will come to pass. Let's just hope it does. Free laptops and broadband promised for 270,000 poor UK families originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jan 2010 14:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Guardian| Email this| Comments

The Middle, Cougar Town and Modern Family all get a second season - TCA Report By Joel Keller (TV Squad) Submitted at 1/12/2010 1:16:00 PM

Steve McPherson, ABC Entertainment president, just reported that all three of its remaining Wednesday comedies, Cougar Town, Modern Family, and The Middle, have all been picked up for a second season. McPherson was very happy with the shows' performances and he decided to let everyone know about the renewal right at the top of his conference. More later... Filed under: Pickups and Renewals, TCA Press Tour, Reality-Free, Cougar Town, Modern Family Permalink| Email this| | Comments

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Reading Between The Still Secret Lines Of The ACTA Negotiations By Mike Masnick (Techdirt)

legislative staffer from Rep. Zoe Lofgren's office, Ryan Clough, who tiptoed the line of There's been a lot of back and expressing some concern about forth talk about ACTA and all ACTA, without fully coming out t h e s e c r e c y b e h i n d t h e against it. negotiations on it. But what's The National Journal's Tech really happening behind the Daily Dose has a short summary scenes? Some experts are of the event, but there were a lot pointing out that it's a very more interesting things going on profound shift in US policy -- in the discussions -- which got but done in a way that most pretty heated at times. Metalitz people wouldn't notice unless began with the usual talking they've spent a lot of time points from the entertainment understanding how DC politics i n d u s t r y o n A C T A : ( 1 ) works. B a s i c a l l y , t h e "copyright industries" represent a entertainment industry is driving huge part of the economy and (2) through massive changes behind piracy is a huge problem -- thus, the scenes, and doing so in a way ACTA is important. Love that lets them (falsely) say to the challenged Metalitz on the public "this really doesn't change numbers (and Metalitz simply anything." said he'd have to get back to Y e s t e r d a y I a t t e n d e d a Love on the specifics), and it was fascinating panel discussion nice to see Clough counter about ACTA, hosted by Google Metalitz' numbers by pointing at its Washington DC offices, as out that using the same counting a lead-in to today's World Fair m e t h o d o l o g y a s t h e Use Day event. The four entertainment industry used to participants each brought a claim how "big" the copyright different perspective to the panel, i n d u s t r y w a s , t h e s i z e o f though only one, Steve Metalitz, industries that rely on exceptions a lawyer who represents a to copyright law -- like fair use -c o a l i t i o n o f e n t e r t a i n m e n t are even bigger. Love also industry interests, was there to countered Metalitz' one-sided defend ACTA. Jamie Love of claim of "economic harm" from KEI was his main sparring infringing by pointing out that partner, though Jonathan Band (a almost every "infringement" lawyer representing various tech could be seen as an economic and library organizations) made benefit in some area as well -plenty of insightful points as and discussed how research into well. The final participant was a medical cures -- that was almost Submitted at 1/12/2010 8:40:00 AM

certainly infringing -- was saving lives and how infringing on content for the purpose of teaching was making a smarter society. But where the debate got really interesting, and dug in well beneath the talking points, was when Love and Band (with an occasional hand from Clough) read between the lines to explain how these things tend to work, and what's really going on, including the careful language choices by supporters of ACTA, such as Metalitz. They basically pulled back the curtains on the talking points and what happens in the backrooms during these types of negotiations. Amusingly, many on the panel had seen parts of some of the ACTA documents (briefly), but couldn't talk about them since they had signed an NDA. Band, in particular, kept noting that his comments were not based on the document he signed an NDA over, since he couldn't comment on that, but on a "leaked" copy that hit the internet. As Love and Band pointed out, the fact that they could only discuss the leaked content rather than what had actually been seen only served to highlight the ridiculousness of the process. The key point, raised by both Love and Band, is that there are other forums for discussing international IP protections, such

as TRIPS and WIPO -- both of which have become increasingly more transparent and open to holding discussions with many different parties (including consumer rights people). As an example, Love pointed out that at the most recent WIPO meetings about IP issues, folks from EFF and Public Knowledge participated along with the big copyright interests -- and he noted that as the discussion has become a more open and real conversation (rather than backroom dealing), the folks involved in WIPO and TRIPS are finally paying attention to the real impact of expansive copyright policy. Not only that, but the public has been able to speak up, and what's being said online and elsewhere by people concerned about these issues is being heard within these organizations. But, of course, the copyright folks don't like that. On top of that, Band pointed out, within TRIPS and WIPO there are numerous developing countries who are recognizing -correctly -- that strict IP enforcement is designed solely to benefit a small group of companies in developed nations at the expense of the people in developing nations. Thus, they're starting to push back on IP expansion. Combine all that, and you get ACTA -- an entirely

new forum to take on these issues, which (conveniently) only includes developed nations and leaves out the developing nations who had become so pesky. Metalitz pulled out the "but this won't really change US law" gambit, to which Band pointed out that the real goal here was never to make huge changes to US law, but to eventually force all those developing nations to go along. Basically, you get the developed nations to agree to ACTA, written by the big copyright players, and then you start putting pressure on developing nations about how they need to conform to ACTA as well to join the club. Even worse, the panelists explained multiple ways in which the claim that "this won't change US law" is bogus. First, if that were really true, there would be no reason to keep it secret. Love noted that the only reason to keep it secret is because the industry is "ashamed" of what's in the document, and won't come out and discuss it, knowing that the public would go nuts. Love also pointed out that in what's been leaked in ACTA, what you basically have is all the stuff from previous agreements (WIPO and TRIPS) that the READING page 26

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IP Lawyer: If You Are Against Software Patents, You Are Against Innovation By Mike Masnick (Techdirt)

that Quinn has now made, saying that true innovators want patents, and only those who don't I used to read a blog by a patent innovate don't like patents: If attorney named Gene Quinn. you are against software patents S o m e t i m e s i t h a d s o m e you are not an innovator. interesting posts on it with a Innovators want patents, those strong pro-patent viewpoint. But who do not innovate and copy too often he would just become a others do not want patents This p a r o d y o f t h e p r o - p a t e n t was in response to Ian Clarke, a position, making declarations well known software developer, that something was fact, when entrepreneur and someone who the evidence suggested has argued strongly and otherwise. Late last year, he articulately against software insisted that it was impossible for patents, pointing out in great a patent attorney to think patents detail, the harm they have done harm innovation. He also to the software industry. Clarke insisted that it was an economic does a good job explaining his impossibility for patents to not position, but Quinn doesn't help innovation. When we bother responding to Clarke p r e s e n t e d a n a w f u l l o t o f directly, but makes up strawmen. evidence to the contrary in the For example, Clarke points out form of numerous studies that that he's raised plenty of money looked at the historical evidence from investors, despite being and made clear -- from a variety against software patents, and of different angles -- that patents Quinn mocks the idea that any do not lead to greater innovation, VCs would fund businesses Quinn responded by saying he without patents: I would love to didn't care about what the studies know who the investors are that said, because he just knew that are willing to provide funding patents increase innovation based for a software business that relies on what he saw. Consider it on trade secrets and copyrights. f a i t h - b a s e d e c o n o m i c s . Naive investors like that would Evidence be damned. Gene c e r t a i n l y b e i n t e r e s t e d i n Quinn is right because he just companies with real protections. knows it (oh yeah, and he profits Simply stated, software cannot from it too...). be adequately protected with Anyway, after that, I realized copyrights, which I am sure you there was no reason to read his know or you should know. blog, but reader Brad points us to Likewise, trade secrets do not an absolutely stunning argument offer much, if any, protection for Submitted at 1/12/2010 7:20:00 AM

software. If the software is released the trade secret would be lost because anyone can get to the code. Note that Quinn is both ignorant of the factual situation (many of the top venture capitalists around are against software patents -- and Clarke lists out his investors, which include top tier VC firms) and then twists the story to something that Clarke did not say. Quinn seems to be of a belief that the only way a software company can be in business is with some sort of gov't backed monopoly to "protect" them. It has apparently not occurred to him that businesses survive not based on protections, but on selling products and services, and you can do that without protectionism. In fact, here in the US, we tend to recognize that competition is a good thing. I'm not sure why Quinn is so against it. Oh yeah, as for VCs against software patents, we've discussed quite a few. Clarke does a nice job responding to Quinn. Quinn -as he has done to me multiple times -- refused to let Clarke's post go live until Clarke complained and noted that it wasn't worth responding any more, leading to this next extraordinary claim from Quinn, who seems more like a parody of the pro-patent side than anyone

arguing seriously: Everyone knows that those who don't want patents just want to copy the work of others. Copyists are not innovators, they are a drag on everyone. Free riders are not innovators. I know you understand that, and suspect that is why you are leaving, having been defeated by logic and rational arguments. Sorry if I hit too close to home. Sorry also that you couldn't stand up to the debate and chose to run and make false allegations in the process. Not surprising though. Funny thing? Those are the same arguments used for ages before Quinn came along. He's copying them. According to his own logic, he's a drag on the system. Also, he went to law school at some point, and was given a bunch of information that he has copied into his brain. Free rider! The debate goes on and Quinn continues to make fantastical assertions like the following: Innovators by definition create things that are innovative, which means they are new, nonobvious and otherwise unique. Those who engage in endeavors that are unique do not begrudge others from obtaining protections themselves, because if what they are doing is really unique there is no skin off their nose for others to obtain protections. An innovator who concerns

themselves with what others are doing and demands they stop obtaining patents are really only logically saying one thing. You shouldn't get a patent and patents shouldn't be issued because I want to copy you and I don't want you to be able to prevent me from doing that. This statement has so little connection to actual innovation (especially as done in the tech world) that it's difficult to think what Quinn is possibly referring to. As anyone who has been near real innovation knows, actual innovation isn't created in a vacuum. It involves building on the ideas of others and doing more with it -- the proverbial standing on the shoulders of giants. But, in Quinn's mind, apparently, standing on the backs of giants is free riding. He goes on in that same comment to accuse Ian of lying in claiming he has raised $15 million from some of the top VCs in the world. This is stunning. Ian is not lying. The facts are not hard to find. Ian is well-known and well-respected, as are many of his investors. Quinn did, of course, try to leave himself an "out" by saying that if Ian is not lying, then his investors are "the most naive investors in the world," yet fails to note that they are actually some of the most LAWYER: page 29

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Zen and the Art of Twitter: 4 Tips for Productive Tweeting By Soren Gordhamer (Mashable!) Submitted at 1/12/2010 10:34:08 AM

Soren Gordhamer is the organizer of the Wisdom 2.0 Conference, which brings together staff from tech companies with neuroscientists, Zen teachers, and others to explore living wisely in our modern age. Mashable readers can use code ‘ Mashable‘ for a discount when registering. Tweeting is easy. Tweeting and using social media with balance and effectiveness — not so easy. Zen teachings have much to offer those of us who wish to make our time on social networks more rewarding and productive. We all have days when we engage social media with a focus and sense of direction that enriches our work and life. We find useful content and have good communication with friends, while also attending to other tasks we need to accomplish. We have other days, however, when we lose focus, and get overwhelmed and lost on social media, and find ourselves at the end of the day usually with more stress, and wondering what we actually accomplished. Below are the top four Zen lessons to help you get the most positivity and productivity out of your social media experience. 1. Approach With a Beginner’s Mind “In the beginner’s mind, there are many possibilities; in the

expert’s, there are few.” – Zen Master Suzuki Roshi It seems that more and more people are claiming to be experts of one kind or another, and many of them are using social media. In fact, recent reports suggest that there are now over 15,700 people claiming to be social media experts on Twitter. There is nothing wrong with experts. I am sure many who claim to be are quite skilled and knowledgeable. However, the question is not only how much we know, but how much are we willing to learn from our time on social media? The person who thinks he “knows” or is an “expert” is often less open to new learning. In the age of social media, things change so fast that what we knew about a subject yesterday may not apply to today. What matters is less about what we knew in the past, and much more about how open we are to learning today. This applies especially to social media. Lesson: Rather than focus on what you know when engaging in social media, focus on what you can learn. 2. Give What You Want to Receive Zen student asks, “I am very discouraged. What should I do?”" Zen teacher responds, “encourage others.” There are countless ways that social media can help us with everything from our business to our social life. However, while there is much to gain from social

us countless ways to share content with people across the world. They do very little, however, to ensure that content is useful or purposeful. There is often the belief that to be active and effective on social media one has to post consistently, letting people know throughout the day media, we could also say there is what we are doing and thinking. much to give to social media too. However, just as great music is From a Zen perspective, it is in part the relationship between important to give what we wish sound and silence, we could say to receive. Want to find more that for Twitter and Facebook customers for your business on updates, what matters is not just Twitter or Facebook? Help the content of our posts, but also others find customers for their the amount of space between business. Feel like you deserve them. I am sure we all likely more praise online? Praise others follow people on Twitter who m o r e . W a n t m o r e p e o p l e may not tweet everyday, but responding to your tweets? when they do, we are excited to Respond to their tweets more. read what they post. It is the Tired of reading meaningless quality of their tweets that tweets? Make the effort to post matters more than the quantity of meaningful ones yourself. them. If we approach social media Lesson: Post not to fill empty focused exclusively on what we space, but to add value. 4. See can gain or what we think we Differently should get, we set up a division “Look out from the frameless in our relationships, one that window of a long pause. Let the often ends up preventing us from images come to you rather than receiving the very thing we seek. chasing outward after them…. If When we give what we want to you want to see differently, receive, it changes the dynamic you’ll have to look differently.” such that, ironically, we are more — Ji Aoi Isshi likely to get what we seek. A key element to Zen is to focus Lesson: Focus not only what not only what exists in the you can gain but also what you external world, but to also be can give. 3. Only Add Useful attentive to the internal lens from Content which we view it. If a cup is “Do not speak unless you can filled half way with water, one improve on silence.” — Zen person could see it as half empty, saying another as half full. The cup, The tools of social media give however, is what it is.

In the same way, we can have a million followers on Twitter, then look at Ashton Kutcher who has over 4 million, and think, “I am way behind” and approach the service with the desire to “catch up.” Or we can have 20 followers, and think, “Cool, twenty people want to read my tweets,” and engage with Twitter from a positive state of mind. The number of followers we have often has little to do with the positive or negative attitude with which we approach the service. What matters is less about our number of followers, and much more about how we “see” or “look” — the mental approach we take. Lesson: Focus more on the mental approach you take, and less on comparing yourself with others. Conclusion Of course we are going to use social media, but the real challenge is doing so effectively. There is an old Zen story about a man riding a horse that is galloping very quickly. Seeing him, a woman asks, “Where are you going in such a hurry?” To which the man replies, “I have no idea. Ask the horse!” There are likely days that if someone asked us what we were doing, we might reply, “I have no idea. Ask Twitter and Facebook!” When we let the horse, or social media, direct us, we get overwhelmed and unfocused, ZEN page 26

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Fair Use And Films: Does Running Everything By The Lawyers Really Improve Your Film? By Mike Masnick (Techdirt)

with lawyers -- even when it came to artistic editing decisions, in order to do their best to keep After the panel discussion on the films "legal." Many in the ACTA, a special "Fair Use Film audience were surprised when Screening" (again, as a part of both said that, in some ways, the World's Fair Use Day) was held l a w y e r s ' d e m a n d s a c t u a l l y in the same building, in the helped them make better films -offices of the law firm Dewey & but Nina Paley (who I finally LeBoeuf, which was quite a lot m e t ) c h i m e d i n f r o m t h e of fun. It really wasn't so much a audience to point out that it "film screening" as it was a panel makes sense that copyright discussion with a few short film lawyers would help in making a c l i p s s h o w n . T h e p a n e l better film about copyright law -consisted of Mark Hosler of the but that was probably one of a b a n d N e g a t i v l a n d a s t h e very small number of situations moderator (who, of course, went where movie makers would through the fair use battles b e n e f i t f r o m t h e e d i t i n g before many of the younger suggestions of a bunch of generation was even born, let lawyers. alone had to consider this stuff), The other thing that came out in a l o n g w i t h B r e t t G a y l o r , the discussion was that both discussing his film RIP: A filmmakers are still a bit unsure Remix Manifesto and Kembrew about the legality of their films. McLeod, discussing his film They both have pretty strong Copyright Criminals. backing from people who insist One point that stood out from their films are above the law, but both McLeod and Gaylor was it's a bit of an open question. the difficulties and legal hurdles Kembrew's film, in particular, each had to go through to even may run into some big questions complete these movies. Since fairly soon. His film will be t h e y d e a l t w i t h s o m a n y airing on PBS next week (check e x a m p l e s o f m a s h u p s a n d your local listings) and while he s a m p l e s , a l l o f t h e l e g a l was careful to try to license questions that applied to the much of the music in the film, it mashups and samples themselves was quite an impossible task. He in some ways applied to the noted how silly it was that if you movies as well. In both cases, want to use a hiphop song that they spent an awful lot of time uses 20 samples, you need to get Submitted at 1/12/2010 9:55:00 AM

licenses for both the recording and the songwriting (publishing) for the song itself and for each of the 20 songs sampled -- and even if you agreed to a $10,000 license per sample for the first 19 rights holders, if the 20th came along and demanded $30,000, you then had to go back and pay all the others$30,000 as well. So his film contains many unlicensed clips -- including one of a George Clinton track, that Bridgeport claims ownership on. You may recall Bridgeport-they're the company that claims to hold the rights to a ton of George Clinton music (though Clinton claims his signature was forged by Bridgeport) and has sued hundreds of hiphop artists who have sampled Clinton's works (Clinton tends to like the fact that hiphop artists sample his music). Kembrew tried to clear the right with Bridgeport, and received an amusing (if troubling) call from someone there after many, many attempts to contact them. After picking up the phone and being told that someone from Bridgeport was getting on the line, suddenly a voice on the other end yelled "DENIED!" After trying to respond to that, the guy against just said "DENIED! No reason given!" and hung up. However, the PBS version is

going forward with that clip included -- though, PBS is lucky in that it (alone) has a compulsory rate that it can pay for publishing (not recording) rights on music. Yet, the DVD copy of Kembrew's movie had to remove that scene and insert a different scene instead. Both Gaylor and Kembrew detailed the insane lengths they had to go through to try to get Errors and Omissions (E&O) insurance, which many places require before showing a film. Kembrew actually was able to secure E&O insurance, though it was quite a hassle. Gaylor tried to, but eventually gave up, as it was just too troubling. He did, however, show a spreadsheet that he had to put together during the process of trying to get it, which went through every clip in the film, detailing where the content had come from, noting the exact length of the content, what it was used for and an explanation of why it was either licensed or fair use. The document was incredible, and Nina asked him to share it with the world so people could understand the level of ridiculousness that filmmakers had to go through. While Gaylor said he would do so, a lawyer in the audience advised him against it, suggesting it might open him up

to a lawsuit. While all of this may have sounded frustrating, the overall tone of the panel was quite optimistic. As in the post we had yesterday about the copyright bubble, the general consensus was that the younger generation today has learned to disregard copyright law. Hosler talked about how he used to have to explain the ins-and-outs of copyright law the high school and college kids when he did presentations on fair use, and now they already get it and already understand how ridiculous the laws are. It's that generation -- the ones who are growing up listening to Girl Talk and who see things like Kutiman as brilliant -- who are now understanding quite deeply what an obsolete concept traditional copyright really is in these situations. As they get older, the panel agreed, the laws would eventually catch up to reality. It might not be pretty, and there were plenty in the older generation who would lash out, misunderstand and react badly -but the end result is inevitable. Permalink| Comments| Email This Story

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ZEN

continued from page 22

copyright industry liked -- but without the consumer protections that were built into both agreements. And then, on top of that, the copyright industry put in dispute resolution concepts that greatly help it, not consumers. Effectively, it's a way to claim that nothing changes -- since it took the parts that favor the industry folks, but leaves out the protections and potentially aspects of the safe harbors. Furthermore, Band and Love took on the fact that it's being called the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, since almost none of that is true. It's got little to do with counterfeiting and little to do with trade. In fact, one of the "talking points" from the entertainment industry is that this is just an "executive agreement" rather than a "trade agreement" (which would require congressional approval). But why shove copyright into what's officially a "counterfeiting" agreement? Because "counterfeiting" is one of those words that no one wants to be in favor of. No politicians will speak out against a treaty supposedly designed to stop "counterfeiting" since people intuitively believe that counterfeiting is bad. As Love explained, it's like calling something "The Patriot Act." No politician wants to vote against something like that, no matter what the details are. He notes, tragically, that the only politicians who have spoken out

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against ACTA have spoken out about the transparency issue -but not about the substance of what's being negotiated. Furthermore, Band pointed out another neat trick used by the entertainment industry with ACTA. Because they can pretend it's not really an intellectual property agreement, but a "trade agreement," they can compare it to other trade agreements that were also negotiated in secrecy. But, as Band notes, this isn't really a trade agreement. There may be good reasons for certain aspects of trade agreements to be negotiated in secrecy, as it actually could involve national secrets. But a multilateral negotiation on IP policy is not a trade negotiation and involves no state secrets. The only other reason to call it that is to pretend that the level of "secrecy" is normal, despite it being a totally different type of negotiation. Again, discussing the idea that ACTA wouldn't "change" laws very much, a lawyer in the audience pointed out how incorrect that statement was, and noted how none of the countries negotiating had clear laws on secondary copyright liability to the level required by the leaked ACTA documents -- and that even in the US secondary liability was far from settled law (and, in fact, aspects of it were disputed in various courts). But by mandating such secondary liability (things like an

"inducement" standard for copyright infringement), it would mandate that countries go much further than they have already, sometimes in massive ways. Metalitz, once again, didn't seem to think this is a problem -misstating the meaning of the Grokster rulings (and the IsoHunt ruling) way beyond what the court intended -- and suggesting that other countries had a moral imperative to put in place similar laws. Not surprisingly, he singled out Canada -- despite Canada's strong copyright laws -- insisting that ACTA "might finally drag them into the 21st century." By putting in place more draconian 19th century monopoly rules designed to prop up one industry? No thanks. All in all, it was an entertaining and enlightening talk. Mostly it was professional, though Metalitz regularly resorted to bizarre personal attacks and sarcastic digs at everyone else. He insisted that those who were complaining about secrecy "just don't want any agreement at all." He mocked Love for claiming that earlier treaties were more open by saying that the anticircumvention clauses came out of "one of those super open treaties that Jamie likes so much," and most obnoxiously of all, when Love asked why the industry and the US government couldn't be more open on these things, Metalitz shot back that the US could absolutely be more

open, "if it felt Jamie's concerns were more important than progressing on an agreement." This suggests that no agreement could be reached if the US government were honest about it. That statement alone should be pretty telling. There was also a really telling Freudian slip at one point by Metalitz, though he didn't realize it, and I don't think most people noticed. In trying to explain why ACTA negotiations made sense, he insisted that because ACTA would benefit some industries deeply, it made sense for countries to meet about it. Notice that he switched from talking about industry at the beginning of the sentence to countries at the end. To him, it's all the same. ACTA is really protectionism for a particular industry. The negotiations are effectively collusion, but perpetrated by gov't officials acting as proxies for industry. I definitely learned a lot at the session, but came out of it more afraid of ACTA than when I went in. But I certainly have a much better understanding of how ridiculous and misleading the entertainment industry's talking points are on this discussion -- and hopefully you do too. Permalink| Comments| Email This Story

and our time is not spent well. Twitter and Facebook are incredible tools, but making the most of our time on them requires paying attention to the mental approach we take. When we engage them with a beginnerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mind, a desire to give, a focus on adding useful content, and a positive state of mind, we will likely have more days guiding the horse than the opposite. More social media resources from Mashable: - The Tao of Tweeting - How Social Media Has Changed Us - 3 Ways Educators Are Embracing Social Technology - 5 Tips for Building Lasting Online Friendships - 4 Steps for Effective Online Networking [img credit: euart] Images courtesy of iStockphoto, webphotographeer, tmarvin, mevans, gchutka Reviews: Facebook, Twitter, iStockphoto Tags: facebook, List, Lists, philosophy, social media, tips, twitter

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Facebook friends Apache with $40,000 (CNET News.com) Submitted at 1/12/2010 10:00:00 AM

Facebook adds Apache to its gold friends list. Web properties used to treat open source as a resource to be strip-mined. Increasingly, however, successful Web companies like Google and Facebook are giving back, helping to replenish the opensource ecosystem from which they derive so much value. Facebook and Apache announced on Tuesday that it is becoming a "gold" sponsor of the Apache Software Foundation, expanding its open-source investments from code to cash. Facebook arguably couldn't exist without open source. As David Recordon, Facebook's senior open programs manager, told me by phone on Monday and writes on Tuesday, Facebook owes a lot (and gives a lot) to open source: From the day Mark Zuckerberg started building Facebook in his Harvard dorm room in 2004, the [Facebook] site has been built on common open source software such as Linux, Apache, memcached, MySQL, and PHP. In that time, we've open sourced more than 20 different technologies, and scaled Facebook to reach over 350 million people around the world.... [I]t's not possible to scale a site

like Facebook simply by sharding your databases, but rather takes a combination of specialized technologies. Open source allows us to not just to make technologies like memcached scale beyond its original intent, but to release technologies like Thrift for others to build upon as well. Take Hadoop, an Apache Software Foundation technology used and initially developed by Yahoo, Facebook, and others to scale their operations. Facebook uses and contributes to Hadoop, but also initiated an Apache Software Foundation-hosted subproject called Hive, a "petabyte scale data warehouse" technology. Facebook joins Hewlett-Packard in sponsoring the foundation at the gold level. (Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo are the "platinum" sponsors.) The cost of gold sponsorship is $40,000 per year and provides little tangible benefit to the sponsoring organization beyond a logo on the foundation's Web site and a quotation for a press release. If that seems skimpy, sponsors like Facebook aren't generally looking to advertise or get other quid pro quo benefits through sponsorship. Among other reasons cited by Recordon, Facebook is contributing both code and cash to Apache because the foundation provides a forum in

is effectively a blanket license to use the software in a hosted environment however one wishes. Facebook prefers Apache, according to Recordon, because it encourages frictionless adoption, a theme I've covered before. According to Recordon: which Facebook is able to Apache is our preferred license. engage different ideas on code We really like Apache because direction and development. It's it's easy to understand (nona l s o a w a y o f f e e d i n g a n lawyers can understand it) and ecosystem that has brought so includes clear patent rights language. Plus, Apache's much value to Facebook. Indeed, Recordon noted that it's contributor license agreement sometimes hard to know in works nicely with it. We'd like advance how Facebook or the the contributions we make to be wider open-source community used as widely as possible, w i l l b e n e f i t f r o m i t s which is more likely to happen contributions. He cited the with a license that is easy to use Cassandra project, similar to and understand. Google's Bigtable technology, I've suggested that theGPL is the which Facebook seeded but new BSD on the Web, but which Rackspace and Twitter apparently Facebook and its peers think that Apache/BSD is have advanced. Intriguingly, Facebook, like the new Apache/BSD. Google, increasingly defaults to Regardless, Facebook's gold sponsorship of the Apache the Apache Software License. Given that Facebook and other Software Foundation is a coup Web companies aren't subject to for open source, and a signal to the requirements of traditional its peers: it's not enough to open-source licensing (i.e., since simply build on open-source they don't actually distribute software. You also have to give software they are not required to back. contribute back), one would Five Filters featured article: assume they would either a) not Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: contribute back at all or b) PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, contribute under a variety of Term Extraction. licenses, given that any of the traditional open-source licenses

FOX Stars Let Slip Details of Network Lineup (ETonline - Breaking News) Submitted at 1/12/2010 10:02:00 AM

From "America's Most Wanted" and "24" to FOX's newest shows, ET is talking to the stars of the network to get the dish on the upcoming season premieres. FOX's new roll-out of shows includes "Human Target" and "Code 58." Starring Mark Valley and Chi McBride, "Human Target" is based on a graphic novel that focuses on a private security expert and bodyguard (Valley) hired to protect. McBride plays "the face of the security company" where Valley's character, Christopher Chance, is the star player. "We protect clients who are in fear of their lives," McBride describes. The new comedic cop show "Code 58" stars former "The West Wing" actor Bradley Whitford and Tom Hanks' son Colin. Whitford plays a seasoned cop who has his own way of doing things, while Hanks plays his partner who is new to the force and is very by-the-book. "Crime fights us," Hanks jokes.

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IBM is the year's patent champ, again (CNET News.com) Submitted at 1/12/2010 10:32:00 AM

IBM is once again king of the patents. For the 17th year in a row, Big Blue earned the most U.S. patents of any company in the world, grabbing 4,914 patents in 2009. Second place Samsung took home 3,611 patents, while Microsoft batted third with 2,906 patents. IBM inventor John Gunnels holds U.S. Patent No. 7,506,196, one of 4,914 patents IBM received in 2009.(Credit: PRNewsFoto/IBM Corporation) Just one of the patents IBM earned for the year was given to Big Blue inventor John Gunnels for an invention to ensure that the internal communications network for the company's Blue Gene supercomputer is running properly. With almost 5,000 under its belt for the year, IBM now owns more than 30,000 U.S. patents. The company noted that in addition to its 2009 patents, it published almost 4,000 technical inventions and products without patent protection last year, all of them freely available to others as a means to kick-start greater innovation in the business world. IBM has been so hot in this area

that it might want to request a patent for its secret on how to earn a patent. Well, actually, Big Blue is going a couple of steps further. The company said on Tuesday that it will offer to sell its patent portfolio management software to companies eager to learn the IBM strategy. The software can help businesses evaluate their own patent portfolios, target opportunities for new patents, and align their business needs with their patent strategies. IBM's own patent professionals developed and use the software to analyze the company's own product portfolio. In addition to selling the software, Big Blue said it will also share its own patent expertise by offering customers advice and training on how to build and leverage their product patents and intellectual property. "We are making our IP (intellectual property) know-how and patent management software available because clients have increasingly approached IBM for insight into how to effectively establish and manage their own patent and IP portfolios," said Kevin Reardon, general manager of Intellectual Property and vice president of Research Business Development for IBM, in a

However, a variety of U.S. companies took home more patents in 2009 than in the prior year. Besides IBM grabbing the top spot, Microsoft earned third place by winning 43 percent more patents for the year. Among the top 50 holders for 2009, Boeing earned 26 percent more patents, Cisco brought home 30 percent more, and GM Global won 68 percent more. Whether more U.S. patents are won by U.S. corporations or foreign firms, earning a patent to protect your own intellectual property is a goal increasingly sought and fought for by many statement. "This approach is companies. consistent with our commitment "Interest in protecting corporate to working with others to intellectual property has become encourage an environment of intense both in the U.S. and collaboration and cooperation in abroad, and as a result we're the patent and intellectual seeing an increased level of patent activity," said Darlene property arena." Slaughter, general manager of Top 10 patent holders for 2009 In other patent news for 2009, IFI Patent Intelligence, in a foreign corporations won 51 statement. "The silver lining may percent of all U.S. patents last be that the high priority foreign year, giving them a slight edge firms place on U.S. patents is a over U.S. firms who grabbed the confirmation of the value and remaining 49 percent, said IFI importance that the U.S. market Patent Intelligence on Tuesday. represents." This marked the second year in a Five Filters featured article: row in which U.S. companies Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: earned slightly fewer patents PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, than did foreign corporations. Term Extraction.

No Holds Barred: FOX Stars Discuss Sarah Palin, Simon Cowell, and Conan O'Brien (ETonline - Breaking News) Submitted at 1/12/2010 9:00:00 AM

Sarah Palin! Simon Cowell! “Glee!” Conan O’Brien? Multiple headlines were made Monday at the FOX TCA’s in Pasadena. The stars from your favorite FOX shows weighed in on the issues. Vice-Presidential nominee Sarah Palin is headed to Fox News. “House”’s Olivia Wilde expressed her allegiance, saying, “I love the Fox network, but I can't say anything about Fox News.” Aisha Tyler of the new show “Archer” did not hold back her opinion: “My only question is, I feel like to be qualified as a pundit, you actually have to have a basic mastery of the English language, so I don't think she's qualified for the job.”

US and UK banks face political heat (Financial Times - US homepage)

By Francesco Guerrera and Justin Baer in New York, and Sharlene Goff in London

Published: January 12 2010 19:13 | Last updated: January 12 2010 19:13

Five Filters featured article: Term Extraction. Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS,

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well respected and successful VCs in the world. But, apparently that's meaningless to Quinn. Later on Quinn again makes the usual fallacy of claiming that any startup that is truly innovative and doesn't get patents would go out of business quickly, because a big "Mega Corp." would just copy the tech and the startup would go under. Of course, once again, the historical evidence suggests otherwise. Does this happen? Sometimes... but rarely. The reasoning is obvious if you've actually been around innovative companies. First, if your idea is truly innovative, Mega Corp. doesn't recognize it until its too late. In typical innovator's dilemma fashion, they dismiss truly innovative products as being "not good enough." By the time they realize what's happening, it's usually way too late to jump on the bandwagon. Second, innovation is not a once-and-

done thing, but an ongoing practice. If big Mega Corp. just copies, by the time they're done copying, the innovative startup is already innovated past that and big Mega Corp. is just playing catchup. Third, by that time, the innovative startup has the reputation as the innovator, and people trust them more than the Big Mega Corp. doing the copying. We've seen this over and over and over again. Gene apparently missed it. From there, the conversation spirals further and further out of control. If you ever want to see what the extreme pro-patent position is, then this is it. It presents no evidence at all (nowhere in any of the posts does Gene back up a point with evidence, but he does, repeatedly insist that "everybody knows" or something is "100% true" when neither is the case). When actual evidence proving him wrong is presented, he either ignores it, pretends it says

something different than it does, or blatantly says that the evidence itself is a lie. Even if you believe in patents (software or otherwise), Gene Quinn is making a mockery of the propatent argument by arguing such things and ignoring any and all evidence that proves him wrong. There may be legitimate arguments in favor of patents out there, but Gene isn't doing that side any favors by making himself look so ridiculous in the face of strong arguments to the contrary. Obviously, I'm pretty strongly in the opposing "camp" on the question of patents, but even I can admit that, as with any monopoly, patents create two countervailing forces. The first increases activity in an area due to the promise of monopoly rents and monopoly profits. The latter decreases activity in an area due to the limitations created by a monopoly, and the power for such monopolies to prevent

competition and continued innovation. The question is which force is stronger. And I've read many dozens of studies and historical evidence and nearly every one points to the latter being the stronger force. I'm willing to be convinced however by compelling evidence in the other direction. However, someone like Quinn doesn't even seem willing to admit that these two forces exist and are in conflict. I don't see how one can argue in favor of patents without at least admitting that the second force exists and has been proven over and over again -- even if you still believe that the first force is stronger. Permalink| Comments| Email This Story

Tila Tequila On Casey Johnson's Death: My Therapist Put Me on Suicide Watch (ETonline - Breaking News) Submitted at 1/12/2010 10:10:00 AM

ET has the latest... Tila Tequila goes in-depth about the death of her fiancee Casey Johnson, opening up about how she and Johnson were planning a family, how the late heiress proposed and how Tequila is now coping with her partner's untimely passing. Tequila tells Peopl e that it took a few days for reality to sink in. "It really hit me when I found all the cards she had written me," she says. "My therapist put me on suicide watch. I've been getting help but I'm fine now. I know Casey wants me to be alive and she hates seeing me like this. She always hated it when she would see me cry."

NC Port Evacuated in Explosives Alert (Little Green Footballs) Submitted at 1/12/2010 10:02:25 AM

The Port of Morehead City in North Carolina has been evacuated, and evacuation warnings have gone out to residents in downtown Morehead City after containers full of the powerful explosive PETN (the same explosive allegedly carried

by the Christmas Day attacker) were punctured: UPDATE 1East US port shut, evacuated in explosives alert. There’s no suggestion of any kind of terrorist connection; this is apparently a legal shipment. RALEIGH, N.C., Jan 12 (Reuters) - North Carolina’s Morehead City Port, a major import entry point for rubber and

other commodities, was closed and evacuated on Tuesday after containers holding explosives were accidentally punctured, authorities said. “As a precaution, they have evacuated the port area … everything indicates this was by accident,” a spokeswoman for the Morehead City Police Department told Reuters.

Morehead City Port is one of the deepest ports on the U.S. East Coast and its traffic includes imports of chemicals. Morehead City Mayor Jerry Jones told CNN that emergency services had sealed off the port area where the explosive substance had spilled from drums onto the port property. “I can confirm it is PETN

(Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate) and it is explosive,” he added. People remaining in downtown Morehead City have been warned to stay away from windows and doors.

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App Store approvals and the tablet: why it matters By Erica Sadun (The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)) Submitted at 1/12/2010 12:30:00 PM

Filed under: iPod Family, Odds and ends, Other Events, Developer, iPhone, App Store, SDK When iTunes Connect returned after its Christmas break, developers noticed that things had changed quite a bit on the App Store approval front. Applications that had formerly taken ten to fourteen days to work through review were now getting processed in a couple of days or less. The upshot? Happier developers, better bug releases for users, and a healthier App Store ecosystem. There's another consequence of the new, speedier approvals: the tablet. With the device due to ship March/April (late Q1, early Q2), and no announced 4.0 SDK, developers were left wondering how they'd have the time to bring their software up to date. Under the old review process even a single procedural rejection, which are quite common for small GUI details, would have exhausted nearly all of February in non-productive "wait mode".

it's hard to pin down exactly what new features can be leveraged in third party software. But it's a fairly safe bet that nearly all features available on the current iPod touch line will be in play on the new tablet. And that alone is enough to hedge some safe business bets about pushing forward with large screen development. It's still too early for most of us to start playing -- those tightlipped folk have a bit of the wild "Apple will kill me if I speak" look around their eyes -- but it's not too early to begin planning and working. Even without specifics, there are ways to move forward on the development front. Carpe diem. There's not much time left before the yetWith the enhanced review test software. tight-lipped in recent days, unannounced tablet ships. system in place, it's likely that Not that developers are waiting. refusing to talk in any specifics TUAW App Store approvals developers will be able to spend Many devs are already working about how their upgrade process and the tablet: why it matters those extra weeks refactoring o n r e s o l u t i o n i n d e p e n d e n t is proceeding. The rest of us will originally appeared on The their software, allowing it to ship versions of their applications. have to get by on guess work, at U n o f f i c i a l A p p l e W e b l o g in a timely fashion once the They are tasking their designers l e a s t u n t i l t h e p r o d u c t (TUAW) on Tue, 12 Jan 2010 actual device appears on-scene. to re-imagine screens, to test announcement at the end of this 12:30:00 EST. Please see our Apple is expected to push their hand-held cardboard prototypes, month. terms for use of feeds. SDK to developers within two and otherwise start the process of Without specific leaks regarding Permalink| Email this| weeks of their late January scaling their products to new hardware changes (for example, C o m m e n t s product announcement, probably dimensions. will there really be a front facing by 15 February. Assuming a 2 It should be noted that some of video camera? and if so, will April product launch, that leaves the App Store heavyweights expanded Image Picker/Media nearly six weeks to update and have suddenly become quite Player classes support access?),

Casey Johnson's Funeral Held Today (ETonline - Breaking News) Submitted at 1/12/2010 9:54:00 AM

ET has the latest...

Casey Johnson's funeral was held today. A source with knowledge of the situation tells ET that the funeral

for the Johnson & Johnson heiress was held today on the East Coast. Johnson, who was engaged to

Tila Tequila, was found dead at her L.A. home on January 4. She was 30 years old.

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The yin and yang of system specialization (CNET News.com)

at companies like HP and IBM has increasingly aligned with the technology and components used Systems are getting more in their servers. general-purpose. At least in One also sees servers, storage, terms of units sold, servers with and networking coming together two x86 processors dominate the in the form of blades. This is a landscape. bit ironic because blades, as And it's more than just servers. i n i t i a l l y e n v i s i o n e d , w e r e For example, on Tuesday Vyatta i n t e n d e d t o e x p l i c i t l y announced a new series of disaggregate computing from network appliances, the Vyatta networks and stored data. But 3500. These systems, like the outside of high-performance other appliances that Vyatta computing, blades have instead sells, combine standard off-the- come to be an integration point. shelf x86 server hardware with That said, generalization isn't a n i n t e g r a t e d s o f t w a r e the whole story. s u b s c r i p t i o n t h a t p r o v i d e s I'm also seeing a lot of interest networking functions such as i n w h a t a r e s o m e t i m e s Firewall, VPN, IP address called"workload optimized management, administration, systems" today. The basic idea is diagnostics, and so forth. Vyatta straightforward. Different types pitches its appliance as a much of workloads perform better on lower-priced alternative to different types of systems. For dedicated networking hardware example, a system that needs to from the likes of Cisco. handle high-volume financial We've seen similar examples in transactions won't necessarily the storage arena. Sun has look the same as a system that is p e r h a p s b e e n t h e l o u d e s t running financial models instead. proponent of open storage; And we're increasingly seeing its"Thumper" is essentially a very high-scale applications that s t a n d a r d s e r v e r w i t h a include different workloads of mechanical design that's been different types. If you want to optimized to maximize storage get technical, you can think of density. However, even beyond them as composite applications such a clear-cut example, storage or an interrelated catalog of Submitted at 1/12/2010 10:02:00 AM

services associated with a data repository. IBM favors the term "smart applications," which isn't such a mouthful. Whatever you call them, the idea is that one application has different parts as disparate as transaction processing, business analytics, and Web serving. While all of these can be handled by a single type of server, as the scale increases it can make sense to optimize individually for the different workloads. Thus, we're seeing and will continue to see a blurring of the lines between servers, storage, and networking. The strict separation of these functions is a relatively recent development in the history of information technology and isn't an inherent requirement. At the same time, the idea that a single generic server design could be the right tool for every job would have once seemed an odd assertion. And it's one that I'm seeing increasingly challenged again. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

European Rights Holders Drastically Increase Borderline Extortion Pre-Settlement Letters By Mike Masnick (Techdirt) Submitted at 1/12/2010 3:01:27 AM

We've covered in great detail how DigiProtect purposely seeds files of content from its copyright holding partners, in order to send anyone who downloads the content a"presettlement" letter that seems not very different from the traditional extortion "protection" rackets ("pay us, or we'll sue.") Those who don't pay are actually discovering that the presettlement letters may be handed over to collections agencies despite no agreement to pay nor a court order requiring payment. It turns out this shakedown business is quite profitable but of very questionable legality. A new report in Germany is suggesting that DigiProtect and a few similar firms in Europe may have sent out 450,000 such letters last year. Unfortunately, NewTeeVee, in reporting on this, claims that each of these are "P2P lawsuits," but that's not true (and a large part of the problem). Nearly every one of these letters are sent without any corresponding lawsuit. The whole idea is to shake people

down by threatening a lawsuit, but never having to go through the expense of filing one (or the trouble of actually proving the infringement -- which is a big deal since many, many, many bogus letters have been generated, snaring many innocent users). But, with little in the way of penalties for such bogus pre-settlement letters, there's simply no reason not to keep sending them. Apparently, enough people just pay up to make this an incredibly profitable business. However, with the massive increase in such letters, and increasing scrutiny about the whole practice, you have to wonder when European governments will start to crack down on this behavior. It's difficult to see anyone defending these actions with a straight face. They clearly have nothing to do with preventing file sharing or unauthorized use of content, but are very much about just getting people to pay up under the threat of a lawsuit. Permalink| Comments| Email This Story

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Cheap hardware loves Linux, hurts Microsoft

Google Docs Adds Support for File Storage

(CNET News.com)

By Christina Warren (Mashable!)

post. I don't think there will be a year of Linux dominating personal Microsoft used to bury the cost computers until the industry of Windows in the $1,000-plus shifts its fetish from the price of a new PC. But as operating system to the overall personal computers take different device experience. TiVo, and cheaper forms, Microsoft Amazon's Kindle, and a growing Windows is starting to look a array of other Linux-based heck of a lot more devices suggest that people are expensive...and expendable. already exceptionally happy I'm a Linux. Did you running Linux...when Linux isn't notice?(Credit: Amazon) That's the focus of their experience. the argument ZDNet's Adrian The cash that Microsoft will get Microsoft can't abide a world in Kingsley-Hughes makes, and it in from rentals of Windows and which its software isn't front and rings true. Microsoft's earnings Office will, at best, be peanuts. center, from the "Designed for have been slipping as the And hoping that slates will be Windows" sticker on the laptop industry resets to Netbooks and seen as "PC companions" rather to the boot-up screen. Linux, on other low-cost hardware, which than desktop replacements is the the other hand, doesn't mind is forcing Microsoft to cut its sort of thinking that requires being invisible. prices on Windows accordingly. whole handfuls of four-leaf And that is why Linux may just Microsoft may be "beating" clovers. win as hardware prices turn Linux in Netbooks, but it's an Linux, on the other hand, was against Microsoft and device u g l y , P y r r h i c v i c t o r y , a s made for a market just like this. manufacturers look for a willing, Kingsley-Hughes describes: When cost crowds out other robust, invisible partner: one that S o , a w e a k e r e c o n o m y , considerations, consumers and can do what it's told to do combined with having to take a businesses may well discover ( w h e t h e r i t ' s t o g i v e t h e cut on how much it gets for that they really don't need their consumer a quick trip to the Web every Windows license sold menus and applications to run or keep to loading book pages) means that Microsoft is being exactly like they did in the good and not insist on taking all the forced to evolve. Problem is, this old days of Windows XP. attention...and profits. evolution at present consists of No, I'm not calling for 2010 to Five Filters featured article: little more than looking under the b e t h e y e a r o f t h e L i n u x Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: sofa cushions for loose change "desktop," Netbook, or anything PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, that's fallen out of people's else. Kingsley-Hughes rightly Term Extraction. pockets, and lashings of wishful ridicules that notion in a separate thinking. Submitted at 1/12/2010 10:58:23 AM

Submitted at 1/12/2010 9:28:48 AM

Ever wanted to use your Google account as a storage system? Now you can. Google has announced that it will be rolling out a new feature to Google Docs over the next few weeks: the ability to upload files of any type to store in Google Docs. For years, services like Box.net and Dropbox have offered the ability to store files in the cloud that can then be shared with other individuals or accessed easily from other computers. Google has offered Picasa Web Album users the ability to purchase additional storage space for photos, but now that space can be shared across Google Docs, Gmail and Picasa. Free users will get 1 GB of storage to store non-Google Docs files. Google’s pricing is competitive — $0.25 a gigabyte per year (so $5 gets you 20 GB of storage space). The only middling detail is that files can’t be larger than 250 MB. That means that Google Docs and the Google cloud will be perfectly fine for most users, but for individuals who need to frequently share or access files above 250 MB, this probably isn’t going to be the solution for

you. Google is also going to allow users to search for shared or uploaded files using Google’s document search, and common file types will be viewable in the Google Docs viewer. This is a move that users have been asking for for quite some time — and with a competitive additional storage option, we’re sure it will be popular. Even for competing storage and collaboration systems, this offers an opportunity to distinguish features and offerings that Google might not match. What do you think about Google finally adding the ability to store different file types in Google Docs? Will you purchase additional storage options or will you stick with other solutions? Let us know! Reviews: Box.net, Dropbox, Gmail, Google, Google Docs, Picasa Tags: file storage, Google, google docs

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Tech/ Sports/

Count The beats: Training your ear with RelativePitch

Braylon Edwards in court as New York Jets prep for San Diego Chargers

By Matt Tinsley (The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW))

By Associated Press (ESPN.com)

descending and harmonic intervals across four octaves. With in-app volume control, indepth customization of the Submitted at 1/12/2010 11:30:00 AM training mode, and even being Filed under: Audio, Reviews, able to choose the root note of Music Relative pitch, let alone the octave you want to train perfect pitch (some people are from, you'll make strides. born with it, everyone else has to Whether you are a seasoned learn!) is an invaluable skill musician or a complete beginner, required when it comes to Relative Pitch will have you playing an instrument and listening with a sharpened ear understanding the music you are and a greater appreciation of the hearing. Thankfully, Easy Ear music you love. Training has developed a nifty The Relative Pitch app costs little app to help you along with ÂŁ4.99, but there is a lite free all your pitch training needs. version of the app here [ iTunes The idea is to learn how to hear Link] so you can try it out. the difference between two Also, keep an eye out for the musical notes in a given key / revamped Easy Ear Training octave, and be able to identify website launching in the coming what that difference is, based on weeks. the root note. This is otherwise TUAW Count The beats: known as an interval: the space pitch and something that Shawn training and testing. When you T r a i n i n g y o u r e a r w i t h between two notes. For example, calls true pitch. Very interesting! open the app, you kick off with RelativePitch originally appeared T h i s m a y s o u n d r a t h e r the first lesson (of which there a minor 3rd, or a perfect 5th on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (think the Star Wars theme complicated, but really you don't are 14) in the training mode. (TUAW) on Tue, 12 Jan 2010 need to know any of the theory Once the first lesson is complete, tune!). 11:30:00 EST. Please see our For a great description of what when it comes to using the a corresponding test is unlocked terms for use of feeds. an interval is, click here. I also Relative Pitch app. At its to examine what you have Read| Permalink| Email this| came across this iTunes U video simplest, it will help you to hear learned. On passing that test the Comments lesson by Shawn "Thunder" with more detail what it is that next lesson is unlocked, and so forth. W a l l a c e [ i T u n e s L i n k ] you're listening too Relative Pitch [ iTunes Link] Relative Pitch will teach you to describing the difference consists of two main modes: d istinguish ascending, between perfect pitch, relative

Submitted at 1/12/2010 10:30:42 AM

Feely Steps Up In Jets' Win Feely Steps Up In Jets' Win FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- New York Jets wide receiver Braylon Edwards is in Cleveland for a court appearance while the team practices in preparation for its AFC divisional playoff game against San Diego Chargers. Edwards Edwards was at a Cleveland court Tuesday after pleading not guilty in November to a misdemeanor assault charge after he was accused of punching a man outside a downtown nightclub. The former Browns receiver was traded to the Jets two days after he was accused of punching a friend of NBA star LeBron James on Oct. 5. Edwards is expected to return to the Jets' facility later Tuesday, participate in team meetings and receive the game plan for the matchup at San Diego on Sunday. Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

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Does Walmart Want to be the Next Netflix … Again? By Jennifer Van Grove (Mashable!) Submitted at 1/12/2010 10:13:44 AM

Vudu is in “meaningful” acquisition discussions with a potential buyer: superstore retail chain Walmart, according to Peter Kafka at All Things Digital Vudu is an HD-streaming and DVD movie and TV show rental service that’s a cross between Netflix and iTunes, but is currently mostly reliant on partnerships with TV set manufacturers like LG, Sanyo, Toshiba and Sharp for distribution. The company has failed to attract widespread consumer attention and rumors suggest it’s been looking to sell its service. While a seemingly unlikely buyer, especially given the nature of Vudu’s TV manufacturer partner relationships, Walmart could be interested in acquiring the company in the hopes of turning around a failed four-year history in the online and DVD rentals space. Walmart could also

expose Vudu’s arguably superior HD-streaming experience to a much larger audience. Kafka writes: “After trying for two years to compete with Netflix’s DVD-bymail business, Wal-Mart gave up in 2005 and agreed to send its customers directly to Netflix (NFLX). In 2007, with the backing of all the big studios and tech help from Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), the retailer tried to launch a download service, a la Apple’s (AAPL) iTunes. But it abandoned that effort in less than a year. Meanwhile, sources say Vudu has been seeking a buyer–in the form of either a big-box retailer or an electronics manufacturer–for some time without success. Internet

executive Mark Jung ran the company for a year but left in November 2008; founder Alain Rossmann became interim CEO when Jung left and has kept the title since then. Santa Clara, Calif.-based Vudu has raised at least $21 million from Benchmark Capital and Greylock Partners. I’m told that when the company was marketing itself last fall, it was looking for a sale price of $50 million or more. But it may not have much leverage to command a premium.” Should Walmart live by the adage that the third time is a charge, then we can expect to see it go head-to-head with Apple and Netflix and attempt to become an entertainment conglomerate. Of course, it will also have to mitigate deals with the same movie studios that are putting Netflix new release rentals on pause and appease TV set makers already supporting Vudu. Tags: business, Film, tv, vudu, WalMart

“Glee” Returns For a Second Season With an Online Twist By Christina Warren (Mashable!) Submitted at 1/12/2010 9:10:39 AM

If you’re a fan of the TV show Glee, you can start jumping (or singing) for joy: Fox has officially renewed the series for a second season. Not only that, but Glee will be going on a nationwide casting search next month that will include an Internet twist. The producers of Glee are seeking to fill three new roles for the second season of the show and they will be accepting online submissions from amateurs and professionals between the ages of 16 and 26. More details will be announced soon. Online casting calls aren’t exactly new, but the fact that such a big show — Glee was nominated for four Golden Globe Awards last month — is willing to at least entertain the idea of finding someone without using the standard agency process is kind of cool. Granted, our cynical side fully expects the

roles to be cast with professionals, regardless of how the audition tapes find their way to producers, but it’s still a nice touch. Glee has had a strong Internet following since its pilot debuted last May (and was subsequently available for free from iTunes). In August, Fox even tried to add Twitter commentary to reruns of Glee and the sci-fi show Fringe, although that turned out to be a better idea in theory than in practice. Are you a fan of Glee? What do you think about using the Internet to find new talent for network TV series? Let us know! Tags: GLEE, media, television

Alex Burrows Claims Referee Threatened to 'Get Me Back Tonight' By Adam Gretz (Fanhouse Main)

NHL Videos Alex Burrows of the Vancouver Canucks scored two goals during his team's 3-2 Submitted at 1/12/2010 2:05:00 AM loss against Nashville on Filed under: Canucks, Predators, Monday, giving him nine goals

in his past four games. But that's

not why he's making headlines on Tuesday morning. Burrows was at the center of some controversy with referee Stephane Auger that includes

allegations of a pregame threat from a referee out for revenge.

Tech/ Politics/ Economy/

E-reader News Edition

Apple Remote Desktop 3.3.2 update Tea Party Convention now available Closed to the Media By Steven Sande (The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW))

(Little Green Footballs)

Submitted at 1/12/2010 1:30:00 PM

Filed under: Enterprise, Software Update For management of large Mac deployments, one of the more venerable tools for administrators is Apple Remote Desktop. The application not only provides information on the status of every Mac on a network, but allows admins to push software loads, remotely control machines, and do detailed asset management. Yesterday, Apple updated Apple Remote Desktop to version 3.3.2. The new update provides better performance in terms of the remote management tools, as well as better overall stability. There's an update (4.21 MB) to the client software (which is part of the OS and enabled in System Preferences), as well as a much larger update to the administrative software (51.41 MB). The updates require Mac OS X 10.6 or later, Mac OS X 10.5.7 or later, or Mac OS X 10.4.11, or the equivalent Mac OS X Server version. The update requires at least Apple Remote Desktop 3.0 to be installed, although there is some limited

was denied, the paper’s interest in covering its home-state c o n g r e s s w o m a n You have to wonder what n o t w i t h s t a n d i n g ) . they’re afraid of. Convention spokesman Judson W o r d f r o m N a s h v i l l e o n Phillips informs us that most of Monday was that the First the sessions are closed “at the National Tea Party Convention request” of the presenters. next month will be closed to the “Given the media interest, I press, other than for a limited don’t want the sessions disrupted number of “selected” journalists. and overrun with the media,” he No word on who or how many. said. This from the people who This convention is shaping up to brought us last summer’s media- be quite a debacle, with a saturated Town Hall meetings. minimum ticket price of $349. The restrictions apparently And Redstate spokesman Erick apply to the much-anticipated Erickson is actually criticizing with systems with dual graphics speeches by Sarah Palin and Sarah Palin for giving a speech processors or two displays. M i n n e s o t a ’ s o w n M i c h e l e for which she’ll reportedly be Mouse cursor tracking while B a c h m a n n . paid $100,000. controlling remote systems has Organizers say that journalists These “grassroots” events are been improved, and there's more without passes will not be g e t t i n g m o r e a n d m o r e reliable drag-and-drop file copy allowed into the convention at e x p e n s i v e . t o r e m o t e M a c s . Y o u c a n the Gaylord Opryland Hotel. (A download the update at Apple's Star Tribune request for a pass Support Downloads page, and it is also being delivered via Software Update. [via Macworld] TUAW Apple Remote Desktop Foods of the US. 3.3.2 update now available (Financial Times - US Roger Carr, Cadbury chairman, originally appeared on The homepage) also attacked Kraft management, U n o f f i c i a l A p p l e W e b l o g Submitted at 1/12/2010 1:56:13 AM claiming it had a tendency to (TUAW) on Tue, 12 Jan 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our Cadbury on Tuesday committed “overpromise and underdeliver”. itself to a double-digit dividend Five Filters featured article: terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| increase for 2009 as it continued Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: to resist a £10.8bn ($17.4bn, PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Comments €12bn) hostile bid from Kraft Term Extraction. Submitted at 1/12/2010 9:29:36 AM

compatibility with 2.x client software. So, what's fixed in 3.3.2? Setup is improved, with additional support for clients using Network Address Translation (NAT) and better reliability when new client computers are being authenticated to the admin software. Previous versions had issues with reporting failed software installations, issues with reporting of MacBook Air MAC addresses, and some problems with reliability of reporting systems configured with AirPort. Those issues have been addressed in 3.3.2. The fix also provides improvements with the remote assistance features, particularly

Cadbury steps up defence against Kraft

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E-reader News Edition

TUAW Tip: Veency remote controls Eulogy for Miep Gies: your iPhone from your Mac 'There is Nothing Special About Me' By Mike Schramm (The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW))

your iPhone with you. Update: Our commenters come through as always: Rogue Amoeba's Airfoil will Submitted at 1/12/2010 10:30:00 AM supposedly send audio from your Filed under: Hacks, Tips and Mac out to your iPhone, and tricks, Odds and ends, iPhone, while I haven't tried it myself, Jailbreak/pwnage Reader Kevin we're told that the Bose dock will C. sent us a tip the other day -then play that audio for you. So he recently got a Bose instead of playing sound on your SoundDock II, which is a nice iPhone, you can just send it l i t t l e s p e a k e r d o c k , a s a about a year or so ago, you can music from the Mac and control Christmas gift, and he wants to head into your iPhone from your things that way. And Jeff points know: with his iPhone sitting all Mac and do anything you want, o u t t h a t B e l k i n m a k e s a the way across the room, is there from changing tracks in iTunes Bluetooth dongle, so you can any way he can control the to even sending text messages. stream music that way as well iPhone from his Mac? Obviously Here's an older how-to on getting (and just carry your iPhone with there are lots of ways to control it working. you). So there's a few solutions your Mac with your iPhone, Unfortunately, other than that to try. from Apple's official Remote app (according to our research -- TUAW TUAW Tip: Veency to multiple VNC programs on commenters feel free to jump in, remote controls your iPhone the App Store. But in this case, of course), you're out of luck -- f r o m y o u r M a c o r i g i n a l l y we want to go the other way: Apple is fine with sending appeared on The Unofficial control your iPhone's iPod app commands from the iPhone to Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, the Mac, but not the other way 12 Jan 2010 10:30:00 EST. with a Mac. Turns out there isn't a way to do around. Maybe Bose needs to Please see our terms for use of it -- unless you jailbreak your come up with a way for you to feeds. i P h o n e . U s i n g V e e n c y , a stream music over Bluetooth to Read| Permalink| Email this| jailbreak app that Erica covered their speakers so you can keep Comments

(Little Green Footballs)

titled “The Secret Annex,” in 1947. Despite the legendary hardship Miep Gies, who found and she endured during the German safeguarded the diary of Anne occupation, Gies never embraced Frank after her arrest by the the label of a hero. Nazis in 1944, has died at the “More than 20,000 Dutch people age of 100. helped to hide Jews and others in “I didn’t read Anne’s diary need of hiding during those papers. … It’s a good thing I years. I willingly did what I didn’t because if I had read them could to help. My husband did as I would have had to burn them,” well. It was not enough,” she she said in the 1998 interview. says in the prologue of her “Some of the information in m e m o i r s , “ A n n e F r a n k them was dangerous.” Remembered: The Story of the The diary was sheltered in Gies’ Woman Who Helped to Hide the desk drawer and later turned over Frank Family.” to Otto Frank when he returned “There is nothing special about a f t e r t h e w a r a s t h e o n l y me. I have never wanted special surviving resident of the annex. attention. I was only willing to A n n e d i e d a t n o r t h e r n do what was asked of me and G e r m a n y ’ s B e r g e n - B e l s e n what seemed necessary at the concentration camp in 1945. time.” Her father published her diary, Submitted at 1/11/2010 10:36:29 PM

DGA Nominations for the best in TV in 2009 By Allison Waldman (TV Squad) Submitted at 1/12/2010 1:41:00 PM

There's been so much action going on with the TCA and the midseason returns and what-not that we sort of missed the announcement for the DGA

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Television nominations for 2009. It's quite an interesting bunch, as much for what and who's included and who and what were left out. Since the DGA noms come from the directors themselves, these awards are indicative of what the

professionals really think of their peers. Very illuminating, if you

ask me. Check it out, category by category, and feel free to comment on my comments. Continue reading DGA Nominations for the best in TV in 2009 Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Industry, OpEd, Lost, Curb Your Enthusiasm, 30 Rock,

Awards, Breaking Bad, RealityFree, Mad Men, Glee, Modern Family Permalink| Email this| | Comments

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Finally! Comment on Facebook through e-mail (CNET News.com) Submitted at 1/12/2010 10:18:00 AM

An example of replying to a Facebook comment via e-mail. And on that note, yes, stopping by Zeitgeist sounds like a great idea.(Credit: Facebook) A small but notable development at Facebook means that if you're replying to a comment posted on your profile, you can now do so through regular e-mail. A post on the Facebook blog explains it: "These notifications-for comments on such content as status updates, photos, videos and Wall posts--allow you to stay informed about your Facebook friends' activities without being logged in when you're on the go, on your phone or at work. Today, we're launching the ability for you to participate in these conversations by replying directly to these e-

mail notifications." So, basically, if someone comments on something you've posted to Facebook, you can respond and add an additional comment by replying to the email notification that alerted you to it in the first place. Will Facebook make it possible

despite making some tweaks to its messaging system last summer. Don't hold your breath on that one. Keep in mind that Facebook is advertising-supported, and that requiring members to log in to communicate on the social network means they're seeing more ads that they wouldn't be seeing in their e-mail in-boxes. On the flip side, we all know that Facebook isn't just for kids anymore, and many workplaces block access to Facebook and other social networks. Allowing a limited amount of Facebook activity via e-mail could be good to do more--say, respond to for overall levels of that magic private messages--through basic Facebook pixie powder, "user e-mail? Currently, users have to engagement." click the link in an e-mail Five Filters featured article: notification, log into Facebook, Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: and reply through its messaging PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, system. It's something that many Term Extraction. members have wanted, but that Facebook hasn't implemented

LT Dancing Toward Showdown With Jets By FanHouse Newswire (Fanhouse Main) Submitted at 1/11/2010 5:13:00 PM

Filed under: NFL SAN DIEGO (AP) -- The San Diego Chargers watched video Monday of Mark Sanchez, Darrelle Revis and ... LaDainian Tomlinson? Even as they checked out what the New York Jets do best, the red-hot Chargers had more than a few laughs watching a Nike commercial featuring Tomlinson dancing around in a white suit and rapping about his moves on the football field. Called "L.T. Style Electric Glide,'' the video was shot during the summer of 2007 and released on YouTube.com during the weekend.

FLS Launcher Organizes Your Application Shortcuts [Downloads] By Jason Fitzpatrick (Lifehacker) Submitted at 1/12/2010 8:30:00 AM

Windows: If you hate icons on your desktop but you like having them neatly arranged and available, FLS Launcher provides a tabbed interface for icon organization.

FLS Launcher can be launched by clicking on the system tray icon or moving the mouse to the upper-left corner of the screen. Once open you are presented with a tab-based interface which you can customize with additional tabs and with icons for all your favorite applications. tab key or using the greaterThe tabs are navigable via the than/less-than keys. You can

drag, drop, cut, and paste shortcuts between your computer and the launcher, within the launcher tabs, and back out of the launcher. A donation version of the application is available but 90% of the features are available in the free oneâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the donation version adds in keyboard

shortcuts and the ability to customize the mouse-over corner that activates the launcher. FLS Launcher is freeware, Windows only. Have a favorite launcher? Let's hear about it in the comments. FLS Launcher[via Freeware Genius]

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CES Watch: The good, the bad, the ugly By Mike Schramm (The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW))

(Financial Times - US homepage)

Submitted at 1/12/2010 9:30:00 AM

Filed under: Hardware, Other Events, Internet Tools, iPhone, iPod touch CES wrapped up in Las Vegas on Saturday, so here's our third and final wrapup of iPhone and Mac-related accessories from the show. Enjoy! • Posimotion introduced a Helix gaming grip for the iPhone -like the Wii wheel, only for Apple's device. $20, which seems pricey to me. • Don't even bother looking at these high-heeled speakers. • This actually has nothing to do with iPods or Mac, but I just thought it was awesome: A mechanical autotuning system for your guitar. I want one! • Here's a twirling battery concept that could charge your iPhone in a pinch and let you work on that finger strength. • Cydle is a South Korean company that's planning to release this digital broadcast TV

Campbell defends ‘meticulous’ WMD dossier Submitted at 1/12/2010 9:34:15 AM

tuner for the iPhone for $150 in March. Kind of an old-school solution (in 2010, we stream video, not receive it), but it could be cool. • The Fingerist is... well, it's a guitar adapter for the iPhone. Go see for yourself. • Engadget tried out the Mophie TV adapter, VIZIO's iPhone remote app, and the ION iType keyboard and iDiscover piano adapter. • Altec Lansing has some good-

looking speaker systems and headphones. • And finally, Macworld has an overview of the iLounge pavilion itself and how it reflects the market in general. Whew! We weren't even at CES this year, and I'm still feeling the conference hangover. There were definitely a lot of interesting bits of technology introduced, but we have a feeling that the most interesting gadget of the year

A defiant Alastair Campbell, the former Downing Street spin doctor, on Tuesday rejected any suggestion that he “sexed up” the “meticulous” 2002 dossier detailing intelligence on Saddam Hussein’s alleged weapons programmes. In fives hours of combative testimony before the Chilcot inquiry into Britain’s will actually be revealed later involvement in the conflict, Mr Campbell dismissed criticisms this month. TUAW CES Watch: The good, that Tony Blair was long-set on the bad, the ugly originally regime change, saying he was appeared on The Unofficial always determined to find a Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, diplomatic means of disarming 12 Jan 2010 09:30:00 EST. Mr Hussein. Please see our terms for use of Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. Comments

Review: House - The Down Low By Jonathan Toomey (TV Squad) Submitted at 1/12/2010 1:22:00 PM

( S06E11)"You're OK with that right? You're not gonna put a pillow over his face?" - House After a short hiatus, House was

back last night with one of the better episodes this season that still followed the old "mystery patient" formula. However, it expanded upon just the patient du jour with three very entertaining storylines and the hour made a good argument for

why Thirteen and Taub deserved

to come back. While the show can still be nerve-wracking at times, if only because you know it's all building up to House's light bulb moment at the end, it's good to know that the journey to that moment doesn't always have to

be the same. Continue reading Review: House - The Down Low Filed under: OpEd, House, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free Permalink| Email this| | Comments

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AP Summarizes Other Journalists' Article; Isn't That What The AP Says Violates The Law? By Mike Masnick (Techdirt) Submitted at 1/12/2010 5:33:00 AM

Marcus Carab points us to a rather horrifying story about a family suing a funeral home after the funeral home put their grandmother's brain in a bag of personal effects and sent it to them. Yikes. But, ignore the story itself for a moment (if you can). What was interesting from our point of view was that the story was written by the Associated Press, and it's basically a rewrite of a story from The Albuquerque Journal. Here's how the AP points this out: The Albuquerque Journal reported on the lawsuit in a copyright story published Wednesday. Now, there are a few things odd about this. First... it's an odd phrase to use: "in a copyright story." Nearly all news stories are covered by copyright, so why even mention

GDrive Is Here-ish: Google Docs to Allow Users to Upload Any File-Type [Gdrive] By Adam Pash (Lifehacker)

it? But what I find even more amusing is that if you look at the AP report, it's basically just a quick blurb rewrite of the Albuquerque Journal story. It's only 125 words, and just summarizes what the other paper wrote. Why is that amusing? Because that's exactly what the Associated Press has been

Google Docs as a more convenient option for accessing Submitted at 1/12/2010 10:00:00 AM your files on different Google users will soon be able c o m p u t e r s . claiming bloggers unfairly do to to upload any file type to Docs Tech news blog TechCrunch it -- insisting that others simply ( a s l o n g a s i t ' s u n d e r quotes Google Docs product rewriting its stories in short 250MB)—as opposed to the very m a n a g e r V i j a y B a n g a r u blurbs are violating the "hot limited slate of document types emphasizing that this is not the news" doctrine. Apparently, that currently supported (like images, much speculated GDrive, but doesn't apply when the AP does Word docs, PDFs, spreadsheets, they appropriately point out and PowerPoint presentations). that—regardless of what they're it itself? calling it—it sure sounds like the Permalink| Comments| Email Photo from TechCrunch Because Google Docs now GDrive people were expecting. This Story supports files up to 250 MB in Users will get 1GB of free size, which is larger than the storage to hold whatever they attachment limit on most email want, and they can buy more applications, you'll be able to storage space for $0.25 per GB. backup large graphics files, Upload your files and access banks in a tug-of-war over rapid RAW photos, ZIP archives and them anywhere with Google much more to the cloud. More Docs[Official Google Blog] lending. Five Filters featured article: importantly, instead of carrying a Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: USB drive, you can now use PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

China raises bank reserve requirements (Financial Times - US homepage) Submitted at 1/12/2010 11:20:44 AM

China has increased the amount banks must set aside as reserves in the clearest sign yet that the central bank is trying to tighten monetary conditions amid

mounting concerns of overheating and inflation as a result of the credit boom. The People’s Bank of China also raised interest rates modestly in the inter-bank market on Tuesday for the second time in less than a week, as it engages with commercial

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The Hubble Telescope's New Forrester: "The Tech Camera Looks Farther Back in Time Spending Downturn is Over" (Little Green Footballs)

were starting to light up vigorously in larger and larger numbers and that a fog of A great piece at the New York hydrogen that had enveloped Times by Dennis Overbye looks space after the Big Bang fires at the latest research from the had cooled mysteriously Hubble Space Telescope’s new dissipated. Wide Field Camera 3, which is “These are the seeds of the great recording images from a time galaxies of today,” said Garth ever closer to the beginning of Illingworth of the University of the universe itself: With Updated California, Santa Cruz, who Hubble Telescope, Reaching discussed the new galaxies last Farther Back in Time. of its mass, and seem to show the w e e k a t a m e e t i n g o f t h e C r e d i t : N A S A , E S A , S . lingering effects of the first American Astronomical Society Beckwith (STScI) and the HUDF generation of stars to form in the in Washington. “We are pushing Team Astronomers announced in universe in that they get bluer the Hubble to the limit to find these a series of papers over the fall farther back you go in time. objects.” and in a news conference last The new galaxies, along with Richard Ellis of the California week that Hubble had recorded other recent discoveries like the Institute of Technology, one of images of the earliest and most violent supernova explosion of a many astronomers who have distant galaxies ever seen, blurry star only 620 million years after b e e n w o r k i n g w i t h t h e specks of light that burned the Big Bang, take astronomers observations, said, “We’re brightly only 600 million to 800 deep into a period of cosmic reaching the beginning where million years after the Big Bang. history known as the dark ages, galaxies formed for the first The specks are clouds only one- which has been little explored. It time.” twentieth the size of the Milky was then that stars and galaxies Way galaxy and only 1 percent Submitted at 1/12/2010 11:01:08 AM

Detroit Waiting in the Wings By Susan Slusser (Fanhouse Main) Submitted at 1/12/2010 2:00:00 AM

Filed under: Red Wings, FanHouse Exclusive Before Detroit played the Sharks on Saturday, the Red Wings' opponents dismissed the notion "They're not a ninth-place team," of the postseason without the San Jose captain Rob Blake Red Wings. insisted. "They're a playoff

By Mike Melanson (ReadWriteWeb)

peripherals and storage devices will make a comeback, the report predicts. Submitted at 1/12/2010 9:32:00 AM As for "smart computing", a A new report released today by separate report last December Forrester Research is calling the predicted that the technology tech downturn of 2008 and 2009 sector was entering a cycle of "unofficially over." tech innovation and growth "Coming out of a lousy 2009, c a l l e d " s m a r t c o m p u t i n g " . 2010 is looking a lot better," said B a r t e l s d e f i n e s " s m a r t Andrew Bartels, the report's t e c h n o l o g y " a s " a n e w author. "We see 2010 as the first g e n e r a t i o n o f i n t e g r a t e d year in a multi-year growth hardware, software, and network cycle. It's not a simple rebound technologies that provide IT from a downturn." systems with real-time awareness Sponsor of the real world and advanced The report predicts IT growth in analytics to help people make the U.S. to come in around 6.6%, more intelligent decisions." So, more than twice the growth of basically, it's many of the the nominal GDP. Bartels said innovative applications we look that this growth would be led by at here at RWW, from locationtwo primary factors: "smart based iPhone apps to real-time computing" and a rebound in d i a g n o s t i c s o f t w a r e b e i n g mature technologies. implemented in hospitals. "Investments that were planned Bartel said that businesses will to be made were put on the be able to leverage the data shelf," he said. "PCs will do very provided by new applications team." well in 2010 as a rebound." and will be able to run more Then Detroit went out and As the economic downturn ends, efficiently, a change he said we thumped the conference's second we can expect to see a rebound began to see in late 2007, before -place team, 4-1, at HP Pavilion, in mature technologies as repairs the global economic downturn. the Red Wings' fourth win in five and purchases that would have According to the December games. Detroit, which has normally been made were put on report, this new area will struggled to score during several hold until the economic situation promote growth for the next lengthy stretches of an injury- looked more promising. To that seven or eight years. Discuss plagued season, has scored 15 end, a large variety of PCs, goals in those five games.

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Gadget and Gear Deals of the Day [Dealhacker] By Jason Fitzpatrick (Lifehacker)

use coupon code ACY93421)

Submitted at 1/12/2010 10:30:00 AM

Deeply discounted computers, peripherals, and printers await inside today's Dealhacker roundup. Here for the freebies? Fair enough, we've got free iPhone games, tv shows, guitar lessons, and over 120 free albums on Amazon.com. Computer Gear! • HP Pavilion Elite HPE-150t Core i5 Desktop for $799.99 + Free Shipping(Regular Price: $1,000) • 16" Toshiba Satellite A500 Laptop for $699 + $24.99 shipping(Regular Price: $979) • 15.6" Toshiba Satellite L500 Laptop for $399 + $24.99 shipping(Regular Price: $499) • 11.6" Dell Inspiron 11z Laptop for $480.11 + Free Shipping(Regular Price: $570) • 10" Acer Aspire One D250 Netbook for $305.02 + Free Shipping(Regular Price: $345) • Dell Studio Core Desktop with Intel Core 2 Quad Processor & 500GB HDD for $449(Regular Price: $544) • 13.3" Dell Vostro 1320 Core 2 Duo Laptop with Dedicated Graphics for $611.40 + Free Shipping(Regular Price: $1019) • 2TB IoSafe Solo Fireproof and Waterproof External Hard Drive (SL2000GBUSB205YR) for $ 3 5 9 . 9 9 + F r e e Shipping(Regular Price: $470) • HP p6370t 2.93GHz Core i3 Desktop PC for $549.99 with

free shipping(Regular Price: $749.99) • HP Slimline s5370t 2.93GHz Core i3 Desktop PC for $569.99 with free shipping(Regular Price: $769.99) • Dell Vostro 220 Mini Intel Dual-Core E5300 2.6GHz Desktop PC w/ 20in LCD $389(Regular Price: $606) • Creative Labs Live! Cam Optia AF 2.0MP Webcam with Autofocus Lens for $39.99 + Free Shipping(Regular Price: $89.99). • Epson Workforce 310 Color Inkjet All-in-One Printer for $89.99(Regular Price: $100). • Logitech Illuminated Ultrathin Keyboard with Backlighting for $54.49 + Free Shipping(Regular Price: $72.50). • 10.1" Acer AOD250-1694 White Netbook for $281.41 + Free Shipping(Regular Price: $328.28). • Dell Inspiron 546 Desktop with Phenom X4 630 2.8GHz and 20" LCD for $599 plus shipping(Regular Price: $868) • 15.6" Acer Aspire Timeline

Home Entertainment Gear! • 32" Toshiba 32RV525R 1080p LCD HDTV for $399.99 + $9.99 shipping(Regular Price: $448) • 32" Sylvania LC321SSX 720p LCD HDTV for $329.99 + Free Shipping(Regular Price: $367) • Klipsch S-1 Synergy Surround Speakers for $139.88 + Free Shipping(Regular Price: $179) AS5810TZ-4274 Laptop for • 13.3" Acer Aspire Timeline • 60" LG 60PS11 1080p 600Hz $ 4 4 9 . 9 9 + F r e e Laptop for $662.64 + Free Plasma TV for $1,399.99 + Free Shipping(Regular Price: $600) Shipping(Regular Price: $750) Shipping(Regular Price: $1550) • 15.6" HP ENVY Core i5 • 2 4 " A c e r P 2 4 4 W b d • 40" Sharp LC40E77U 1080p Laptop for $1,799 with free Widescreen LCD for $169.99 + 120Hz LCD TV for $694.66 + s h i p p i n g ( R e g u l a r P r i c e : Free Shipping(Regular Price: Free Shipping(Regular Price: $795 - use coupon code $2,299.99) $230) • 15.6" HP Envy 15 Core i7 • 24" Dell S2409W 1080p Full B O N U S B U Y ) Laptop for $1299.99(Regular H D f o r $ 1 8 4 w i t h f r e e • Panasonic SC-PT464 5.1Price: $1599) shipping(Regular Price: $279) Channel Home Theater System • 15.6" Lenovo W510 Core i7 • 23" NEC MultiSync f o r $ 1 7 6 . 7 2 + F r e e L a p t o p f o r $ 1 , 5 9 9 + F r e e EA231WMi Full HD LCD for Shipping(Regular Price: $209 Shipping(Regular Price: $2,059) $305 with free shipping(Regular use coupon code BONUSBUY) • 73" Mitsubishi WD-73C9 • 15.6" Toshiba Satellite L505D Price: $379) Laptop for $449.99 + Free • 23" Dell SP2309W Full HD 1080p DLP TV for $1,399.00 Shipping(Regular Price: $580) LCD for $219.99 with free plus free shippng(Regular Price: • 15.6" Dell Inspiron 15 Intel shipping(Regular Price: $319) $1550) C o r e i 5 - 5 2 0 M L a p t o p f o r • Fantom Drives G-Force 2TB • 55" Vizio VF550M 1080p $849.00(Regular Price: $1053) eSATA/USB HDDfor $150 with LCD TV for $1,299.00 + Free • 14" HP dv4 Laptop for free shipping(Regular Price: Shipping(Regular Price: $1398) • 47" LG 47LH30 1080p LCD $ 6 3 6 . 5 8 p l u s $ 9 . 9 5 $200 - use this form) shipping(Regular Price: $800 - • T R E N D n e t S e c u r V i e w HDTV for $799 with free use this form) Internet Surveillance Camera TV shipping(Regular Price: $899.99) • 13.4" MSI Microstar X-Slim - I P 1 1 0 f o r $ 4 4 . 9 9 + F r e e • Asus O!Play High Definition Intel Atom Laptop for $400 with Shipping(Regular Price: $80.21) Media Player (robust feature set) free shipping(Regular Price: • Epson Stylus NX415 All-in- f o r $ 8 9 . 9 9 + F r e e $579) One Printer for $49.98 + Free Shipping(Regular Price: $99) • 13.4" Dell Studio XPS 13 Shipping(Regular Price: $66.30) • 3.5" FLO TV PTV350 Touch Laptop 2.53GHz for $1082 with • HP 3-cell Battery for Mini 110 Screen Personal w/ Subscription free shipping(Regular Price: Netbook for $13 with free GADGET page 43 $1443) shipping(Regular Price: $69.99 -

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Make the Most of Chrome with These 13 Excellent Extensions [Downloads] By Kevin Purdy (Lifehacker) Submitted at 1/12/2010 9:00:00 AM

Shortly after Google Chrome's Extensions gallery opened, we rounded up 18 worthy downloads. Now that Chrome's official add-on market has matured a bit, we've dug up more productive, annoyance-fixing, feature-adding extensions that you should consider adding to your collection. At this point, extensions for Google Chrome work on the Beta and Dev channels for Windows, the Beta for Linux, or the dev channel for Macs. If an extension doesn't work across all platforms, we've noted it at the front of each description. Checkers & notifiers • Google Mail Checker Plus: There are tons of Gmail and Google Apps checkers in the extensions gallery. So why this one? First off, it handles both standard Gmail and (multiple) Google Apps accounts. Second, its roll-down mail notifier lets you actually act on the messages it shows—archive, delete, spam, mark as read, or reply. Third, if you don't ever want to open the Gmail tab, that's fine—you can read the whole message in the checker window. Fourth, and finally, it offers a wide range of icon styles to choose from, so it meshes with whatever Chrome theme and OS you've got going.

Best of class. • Google Calendar Popout: As with Google Mail Checker, this is one of many Google Calendar extensions to choose from. The version made by Google offers a little button badge showing you the time until your next appointment, but for those with multiple calendars, it's a bit annoying, because it only picks up appointments from the primary/personal calendar. This model simply rolls down a minicalendar (which you can turn off in the options), shows colorcoded appointments, and offers the Create Event and Quick Add links that GCal addicts depend on. • One Number: This one's simple. If you're a Google fiend

and more from the background, too, so that's one less taskbar button to deal with. ( Original post) • VidzBigger: This two-for-one add-on reconfigures the layout of YouTube, MetaCafe, and DailyMotion to make the actual videos the (larger) star of the page, and also adds a download link whenever possible to your viewing screen. You can also scroll related videos without having to move your video out of place, which is just the thing for ... terribly unproductive web video binges. Sigh. ( Original post) Other cool stuff who doesn't want blow-by-blow and much more. • IE Tab: Windows only: As you pings and notifiers, One Number • Clickable Links: Forums, blog might expect, IE Tab is just like combines all your Google app c o m m e n t s , r e a l l y o l d its Firefox counterpart: It renders notifications into one handy sites—they're full of links the web page you're looking at in window. ( Original post) written out in text, asking the a separate tab, using Windows' A n n o y a n c e f i x e r s & s i t e reader to precisely copy and load b u i l t - i n I n t e r n e t E x p l o r e r improvers the text in their address bar. This rendering engine. Helpful for • Better Gmail: Our own How- e x t e n s i o n u p d a t e s t h o s e developers, and those 476 To Geek had previously rounded annoyingly non-interactive links remaining sites that refuse to up a Better Gmail for Chrome to to the modern day. accept any browser except IE. complement the popular Firefox • A Bit Better RTM: It simply • Session Manager: Chrome can e x t e n s i o n , b u t C h r o m e ' s tweaks, improves, and makes automatically pick up your tabs extension system and script shortcut-friendly the Remember where you left off, and offers a support has changed quite a bit t h e M i l k w e b a p p f o r t h e decent tab and web history from since then. A very helpful coder convenience of serious task its "new tab page." If you tend to rounded up scripts that are still management. Based on the open tabs in batches, though, or working into another Better popular Greasemonkey script, don't always want to pick up Gmail extension, one that Bit Better moves your list tabs to exactly the way you left it, includes a lot of the things we the left, lets you hide lists you adding Session Manager to like to see available: folder hardly ever look at, and makes Chrome is a nice time saver. hierarchies, mouse-over row nearly every action do-able from MAKE page 43 highlighting, footer appending, a keyboard. It does those things

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service for $234 with free shipping(Regular Price: $249 use coupon code BONUSBUY) • JVC XV-BP11 Blu-ray Disc Player for $119.95 with free shipping(Regular Price: $139.84) • Sharp HT-SB200 Sound Bar with Audio System for $109.99 with free shipping(Regular Price: $144.99) • Logitech Harmony 700 Universal Remote Control for $ 1 0 4 . 9 9 + F r e e Shipping(Regular Price: $130 use this form) Portable Gear! • Fujifilm Finepix Z30 10MP Digital Camera for $99.99 + $6.58 shipping(Regular Price: $155) • TomTom ONE 140-S 3.5-inch GPS w/ Text-to-Speech for $97 + Free Shipping(Regular Price: $117) • Viore PLC7V95 7-Inch

continued from page 42

Handheld LCD TV with Built-in Tuner for $79.95 + Free Shipping(Regular Price: $99). • Fujifilm FinePix Z30 10MP Digital Camera for $79.99 + Free Shipping(Regular Price: $95.95). • Nikon D3000 SLR Digital Camera for $450 with free shipping(Regular Price: $500) • Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS7 10MP Digital Camera for $ 1 2 9 . 9 9 + F r e e Shipping(Regular Price: $172) • Kodak Zi6 Pocket Video Camera for $90 with free shipping(Regular Price: $100) • Kodak Zx1 HD Pocket Video Camera for $99.99 with free shipping(Regular Price: $123) Free Stuff! • The Amazon Groove Dance Mix Mp3 Album, 30 songs for $0(use this form) • Stackus (iPhone/iPod Touch) for $0(Regular Price: $1.99).

• Zaproot, In Gayle We Trust, CRTL, Complete Season 1 for $0 • Download 120 MP3 Albums for Free for $0(use this form) • Penguin Bounce (iPhone) for $0(Regular Price: $.99) • Are You Really On My Side by Silver Swans(download here) • eMusic.com 25 MP3 Download for $0 • Beginning Guitar 101: 12 video lessons for $0(use this form) Thanks Dealzon, TechDealDigger, Slickdeals, Fatwallet, TechBargains, CheapStingyBargains, CheapCollegeGamers, and GamerHotline!

McGwire, La Russa Not Fooling Anybody By Terence Moore (Fanhouse Main) Submitted at 1/11/2010 3:00:00 PM

Filed under: Cardinals, MLB Hall of Fame, MLB PEDs It's nice that Mark McGwire finally admitted on Monday what everybody already knew years ago. Plus, you're always better off telling the truth -- no matter how long you've perpetuated a blatant lie, but none of this

matters. The guy still won't make the Hall of Fame.

Not only that, this is disgusting. I'm talking about everything, ranging from McGwire remaining a coward by announcing through a printed statement to the Associated Press that he spent parts of a decade slamming all of those home runs with a boost from steroids (surprise, surprise) to St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa continuing to insult our intelligence in so many ways.

Open up a batch of tabs, save them to a new session name, and you're up and running. ( Original post) • Everymark: An extension after our own hearts, mostly because these hearts love the light-speedquick Everything search engine for Windows. Everymark aims to provide that same type of as-you -type convenience for your local bookmarks. Chrome's own OmniBar (that's "address bar," for those who don't buy into Google's super-hype terminology) does a decent job of pulling up bookmarks that you're typing for, but Everymark searches the name, the URL, the date modified, and folder names, all at once. • WOT (Web of Trust): This one showed up in early form, but now ranks as one of the best sanctioned extensions to tell you more about where you're going on the internet. Using WOT's research and input from the community, the extension shows you the trustworthiness of whatever page you're looking at, and provides a link to the rating page with more information. • Firebug Lite: In the hearts and

minds of developers who love Firebug, nothing can replace it. But this is a noble first attempt for the Chrome-using set. It comes from the same development team, and it's basically a JavaScript file, molded into an extension, that emulates some of the Firebug features that let you watch in real time as you change a site's code. • uTorrent for Google Chrome: Are you a uTorrent fan who's also a Chrome user? Install this little add-on to your browser and, using the awesomeness of uTorrent's WebUI, you can remotely control your BitTorrent downloads from anywhere in the world (that has web access). uTorrent itself is only for Windows and Mac systems right now, but this extension can be used anywhere Chrome extensions are allowed. What extensions have made their way into your must-have list, or just your Chrome taskbar for now? Tell us, and link, your favorite finds in the comments.

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Properly Care for and Feed Your New HDTV [Maintenance] By Lisa Hoover (Lifehacker) Submitted at 1/12/2010 11:00:00 AM

Back in the day, you bought a new TV, set it up in any old corner of the room, and dusted it whenever you remembered. Plasma TVs need the kid glove treatment, though, if you want to keep them in pristine condition. Photo by lisibo. Plasma televisions are expensive, so they're worth the extra effort it takes to keep yours ship-shape. Wired's How-To Wiki has some great tips for cleaning and maintaining your plasma TV. When you bring it home for the first time, make sure you put the TV somewhere air can freely circulate around it, because all those electronic components generate a lot of heat. (Your owner's manual should tell you what you need to know about properly venting the television so it doesn't overheat.) As for cleaning: To clean your TV you will need a micro fiber cloth as is recommended by the majority of manufactures. In most cases this should be sufficient enough to clean dust and fingerprints from

Going Mainstream: eMusic Signs Deal with Warner Music By Frederic Lardinois (ReadWriteWeb)

the screen, but if you do find that you need more, use only cleaners that are recommended for Plasma screens. These are antistatic cleaners that will not damage your TV. It is also important that you not spray anything directly onto the screen; instead spray the cleaner onto the cloth and then use the cloth to clean the screen. Do not use any type of abrasive cloth to clean the screen, including paper towels. Abrasive cloth can damage your Plasma TV screen.

Hit up the post for more tips for properly maintaining your plasma television and avoiding problems like screen burn-in. If you've got more suggestions for caring for plasma screens, we'd love to hear them in the comments. Clean and Maintain Plasma TVs[Wired How-To Wiki]

From Quirky to Mainstream For eMusic, this transition towards a catalog that focuses Submitted at 1/12/2010 9:30:04 AM more on mainstream tastes has E M u s i c , t h e p o p u l a r been rocky. When eMusic added s u b s c r i p t i o n - b a s e d m u s i c the Sony Music catalog to its service, just announced that it repertoire, the company also had has signed a deal with Warner to raise its subscription prices. Music, the world's third-largest Quite a few of eMusic's most music company. This is eMusic's loyal users were unhappy with second deal with a major record the direction the service was label. In its early days, eMusic going and left the service. So far, mostly focused on featuring however, eMusic's users have music from independent labels. reacted positively to the Warner Since the middle of 2009, deal. Streaming Coming Soon? however, eMusic has worked on According to eMusic CEO expanding its reach by bringing Danny Stein, the company also more mainstream music to its wants to offer a streaming music c a t a l o g . T h e c o m p a n y service in the near future. Stein announced a deal with Sony told Reuters that the company Music in June 2008. still has to work out deals with Sponsor the respective rights holders, Today's deal with Warner Music though. Given that Apple just allows the company to add bought streaming music service 10,000 additional albums from LaLa, it probably doesn't come Warner labels like Atlantic as a surprise that eMusic is also Records and Rhino Records. looking at streaming music. As Thanks to this, eMusic will now consumers warm up to services be able to feature music from l i k e P a n d o r a a n d L a L a , artists like Eric Clapton, the Red download services like LaLa and Hot Chili Peppers and Depeche Apple's iTunes have to react to M o d e . E M u s i c h a s a b o u t the trend. Discuss 400,000 paying subscribers.

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Google Docs: Now for Storage as much as Collaboration By Alex Williams (ReadWriteWeb)

large files can be accessed from anywhere and can be used in a collaborative context. For Submitted at 1/12/2010 6:51:24 AM example, Google Docs users Google is extending Google may store files in a shared folder Docs, allowing any kind of file for group collaboration. to be uploaded up to 250 MB in The capability to upload large size. files will be ready within the The move signifies how Google next few weeks. Users receive 1 Docs is now a storage service as G B i n s t o r a g e . E n t e r p r i s e m u c h a s a c o l l a b o r a t i o n customers will also have the platform. Enterprise customers capability to add additional may now store large files on storage for $3.50 per GB per Google Docs for free or a small year. c o s t . A d d i t i o n a l l y , t h e Companies may use the Google documents may be backed up Documents List API to sync files using third-party applications. and provide additional backups. Sponsor Google is partnering with three Google is promoting the service companies to provide additional as a way for enterprise customer services: to store files without the need for • Memeo Connect for Google a thumb drive. That's a clear sign A p p s i s a n e w d e s k t o p of how traditional storage application that offers an easy devices may be bypassed by way to access, migrate, and online alternatives. synchronize files to Google Docs Until recently, a thumb drive across multiple computers. served as the best way to • Syncplicity offers businesses transport large files. But now, automated back-up and file

Open Source: Facebook Is Now an Apache Software Foundation Gold Sponsor

management with Google Docs. • Manymoon is a project management platform that makes By Frederic Lardinois it simple to organize and share (ReadWriteWeb) t a s k s a n d d o c u m e n t s w i t h Submitted at 1/12/2010 10:42:43 AM coworkers and partners, including uploading files to Facebook just announced that it has become a Gold sponsor of Google Docs. the Apache Software Google Docs is emerging as the F o u n d a t i o n . A c c o r d i n g t o strongest player in the storage Facebook's David Recordon, the a n d c o l l a b o r a t i o n s p a c e . company wants to give back to Competitors like Box.net provide the open source community that similar services but are far allowed Facebook to develop and contribute to projects like the smaller than Google. This is a trend to watch as cloud T h r i f t f r a m e w o r k , H i v e , c o m p u t i n g b e c o m e s m o r e memcached and Cassandra. predominant and the concept of Apache Gold members donate collaborating online becomes $40,000 per year to the project. more palatable. This will be It's worth noting that this is not especially true as it becomes Apache's highest sponsorship apparent how documents can be l e v e l . G o o g l e , Y a h o o a n d accessed anywhere on any Microsoft are platinum sponsors d e v i c e w i t h p o t e n t i a l l y and give $100,000 per year. significant cost savings. Discuss Sponsor In total, Facebook has developed or contributes to over 20 open source projects. Facebook also released the realtime web framework Tornado,

Marc Jacobs Spills on Lara Stone for Vuitton By ELLE.com (ELLE News Blog) Submitted at 1/12/2010 10:21:14 AM

Marc Jacobs went on camera to walk you through the shooting of the new Louis Vuitton ad campaign featuring Lara

Stone. Lara replaces Madonna, and Marc goes on to say how happy he is to be working with the young model this time around. "We decided to create a set, a green set, and work with a very sexy, beautiful, glamorous, and young Lara Stone," said the

Vuitton designer, "who we were very, very happy to have a chance to work with on this campaign." Then we see Lara Stone sitting pretty as she gets done up by the likes of Pat McGrath. Marc thinks that Lara represents

an iconic, modern, sexy beauty that Vuitton customers will want to be like. What do you think? — Rebecca Suhrawardi Austin Follow ELLE on Twitter. Become our Facebook fan!

one of FriendFeed's core technologies, as an open source project shortly after it acquired FriendFeed in August 2009. As Recordon notes in today's announcement, technologies like Hive and Cassandra that were first developed in-house by Facebook are now being used and sponsored by a diverse group of companies ranging from CBS and Rackspace to Digg, last.fm and Twitter. There can be little doubt, however, that open source is, as Apache Foundation chairman Jim Jagielski puts it, "in Facebook's DNA." We can't help but wonder, though, why Facebook didn't decide to go all the way and buy the Platinum sponsorship package. Discuss

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Facebook Blocked at FireWire vs. USB: Which Is Faster? Work? Use Your Email Instead By Charles Moore (TheAppleBlog)

By Mike Melanson (ReadWriteWeb) Submitted at 1/12/2010 10:26:00 AM

In our continuing obsession with all things Facebook, we're looking at a new feature that was just announced by the social networking behemoth that will further enmesh the site into our every waking breath: replying to comments through email. Unless you have changed your settings to stop email notifications, it's likely that you receive an email every time someone comments on your status updates, photos, videos and Wall posts. Before now, the email contained a link that you had to follow, which logged you into Facebook where you could reply. You'll now notice that the email contains a line reading "New Feature: Reply to this

Pro. However, the report also notes that the imminent release of USB Submitted at 1/12/2010 10:30:06 AM 3.0 products in early 2010 Most modern Macs, except for promises speeds greater than the MacBook Air and some FireWire 800 or even eSATA, MacBook models (such as my but suggests that it may be some late 2008 unibody, alas), offer time before Apple begins b o t h F i r e W i r e a n d U S B 2.0 drive is possible, it’s not s u p p o r t i n g U S B 3 . 0 w i t h connections, so when shopping nearly as satisfactory and low- compatible ports (which will be email to comment on this link." for an external hard drive you hassle (or speedy) as booting backwards-compatible for USB Sponsor have plenty of options for from FireWire drives. 1.1 and 2.0 devices on Mac Now, the site has made it something that will work with My gut-level impressions are systems). possible for you to respond to your Mac, notes Macworld’s borne out by Macworld’s lab In the meantime, even a USB these comments directly, by James Galbraith. And these days, t e s t i n g , w h i c h f o u n d , f o r 2.0 only external hard drive is hitting the reply button. All you he adds, USB hard drives are instance, that with a Western the best choice for a backup have to do is enter your response m o r e c o m m o n a n d l e s s Digital My Book Studio 2TB m e d i u m f o r m o s t o f u s , and hit send, and Facebook will expensive than FireWire or even Western Digital My Book Studio especially using Time Machine drive connected to a MacBook in OS X 10.5 and 10.6 But my add your comment to the site. FireWire/USB combo drives. This is big news for all those True, but even though USB 2.0 Pro, copying a 1GB file took 23 recommendation is to spend a Facebook junkies out there who has a maximum theoretical percent less time over FireWire few more dollars if necessary can't get their daytime fix while bandwidth of 480 Mbps, vs. a 400 than over USB 2.0, while and get an external drive with at work because of a company nominal 400 Mbps for FireWire duplicating that file using multiple I/O interface support. firewall, not to mention all the 400, via real-world experience I FireWire 400 on the WD drive Q u a d i n t e r f a c e d r i v e s a r e students who can't check their can attest that USB 2.0 lags well took 10 percent less time than becoming quite popular, able to Facebook for several hours every behind FireWire 400 — to say when run over USB 2.0, and that handle USB 2.0 (and hopefully d a y . W e ' l l s e e w h e r e nothing of the FireWire 800 used FireWire 800 proved 35-58 soon USB 3.0) plus FireWire productivity levels go after this. on all Macs still sold today with percent faster than USB 2.0 in 400, FireWire 800, and eSATA Discuss FireWire support. And adding various tests on the MacBook interfaces. insult to injury, USB 2.0 doesn’t Pro with the My Book Studio. What’s your favorite backup support incredibly useful Target Similar comparative results were medium and I/O interface? Disk Mode. I’ve also found that noted using a compact Verbatim while booting a Mac from a USB portable drive with the MacBook

Fox Renews Glee and Seeks New Cast Members By ELLE.com (ELLE News Blog)

news: Not only has the beloved weekly musical dramedy been renewed for a sophomore season, Submitted at 1/12/2010 7:30:00 AM but (Gleeks rejoice!) Fox is If you’ve been bitten by the launching a nationwide casting performing bug lately ( I was), call to fill three new roles. One must be between the ages of 16 then here comes some Glee-ful catch: McKinley High hopefuls

and 26. Think you’ve got what it takes? Click here for more on how to submit your audition online. Now, if only we didn’t have to wait till April 13 to see new episodes—and our favorite triple-threat teacher.

—Erin Clements Photo: Courtesy of Fox Follow ELLE on Twitter. Become our Facebook fan!

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By the Numbers: Running Windows-Based MMOs On the Mac By Mark Crump (TheAppleBlog) Submitted at 1/12/2010 8:40:10 AM

For 90 percent of my daily toil, OS X is the best platform for me. I use it during my day job, freelance writing, school, graphic design, and the usual goofing off everyone does. However, there is one glaring desire missing: I play Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOs), and the Macnative offerings are slim. I’ve had to result to running games in emulators, virtual disks, and Boot Camp partitions, and after running some numbers I thought I’d share my findings with you. The Games I play the following MMOs: World of Warcraft, EverQuest 1 and 2, Warhammer Online, Lord of the Rings Online, and Dungeons and Dragons Online. Of these, only WoW and Warhammer have native clients. Which means I’m forced to use some sort of emulation to play them. A commenter on Liam’s Windows 7 piece said, “You bought an Apple computer so use the Apple software. If you want it so bad go buy a PC.” For me, Apple and OS X are fantastic for my productivity needs, but when it comes to gaming, sadly, it’s still a Windows world. The Emulators Fortunately, all is not lost. Once Apple went to Intel chips,

running Windows in some sort of emulation became possible. For a gamer like myself, it became a saving grace that let me enjoy OS X for my daily usage, but lets me have my games and play them, too. For the purposes of testing, I played games in the following programs: • CrossOver Games 8.1.3. CrossOver is a Wine-based emulator, so you’re not actually running any Windows code; it’s all handled via the app. • Parallels Desktop 4 version 4.0.3848 with a Windows 7 virtual, • Windows 7 running in Boot Camp on OS 10.6.2. Unfortunately, Parallels can only access a Boot Camp partition officially supported by Apple, so I was unable to test Parallels directly accessing Boot Camp.

one. Since Boot Coomp runs Windows natively, installing all the games tested was very easy — albeit time consuming since they each had to be downloaded off the net. Parallels: Again, very straight forward. The process takes a little longer since it’s running in These were all tested on a 2.26 a virtual environment, and GHz 13 MacBook Pro with 4GB Parallels needs to install the of RAM, a 500GB hard drive Parallels Tools after the setup. I a n d a t n a t i v e 1 2 8 0 × 8 0 0 had no issues installing the r e s o l u t i o n . T h e R e s u l t s games. Really, for all intents and Costs purposes Parallels is just like For Boot Camp, Windows 7 running Windows. Home Professional is $199.99. CrossOver: Well, the install is CrossOver Games is $39.99. q u i c k — y o u j u s t i n s t a l l Parallels is easily the most CrossOver like any OS X expensive. Windows 7 Home program. Getting the games to Professional is $199.99 and run…well, that’s a different Parallels is $79.99. story. While there’s a decent Setting Things Up compatibility listing on Boot Camp: This is the easy C o d e w e a v e r ’ s s i t e , s i n c e

CrossOver is a Wine emulator results are very mixed. If an app has a Gold rating from Codeweaver, it’ll install and run well. Unfortunately, none of the games I tested received Gold ratings so installation was challenging. With DDO and Lord of the Rings, the actual installer won’t work; you’ll have to download the full client off a third-party site. After that, a program called Pylotro is required to launch the game — it’s a custom front end someone wrote to handle the launcher duties. There’s no guarantee an installed game will keep working, either; a previously working EQ2 broke in a patch of CrossOver. Load Times Frankly, the load times were the biggest source of agony during my tests. Not because of the load times, but because the results were hard to sort out because of a lot of variables. Every game is an online-based game, so, to get my character in the game I had to pass an authentication server, several load screens and a character select. Therefore, Internet latency and a whole host of issues come to play. Here’s how I got the numbers. I loaded all the games and timed from when I started and stopped when I was able to control my character in-world. With Parallels and Boot Camp I also

added the boot times of the required OS to the chart. I did this three times and averaged the results. I did notice an odd thing in Parallels: if I rebooted my Mac, the load times for both the OS and the game were significantly longer. However, after further testing I noticed that if I loaded Parallels/Windows 7 and immediately launched a game, the load results were almost double the value above. If I let the OS “sit” for a few, the load times were normal. Rather than report those numbers, I’ll just say this: a watched OS never loads — go get your beverage and snacks while Parallels loads and by the time you’re done the game will load faster. In-Game Performance Boot Camp: Unsurprisingly, the performance here was the best. At high I was getting around 40 FPS, and the game just flew. No issues. Parallels: I’m actually amazed gaming performance under Parallels was decent. With graphics settings on High (but shadows turned off) I was getting around 20 FPS average. Turning down options like view distances got the FPS closer to 30. I noticed no major issues outside of a slight stutter when loading a crowded area. Both NUMBERS: page 51

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Rumor Has It: LED Flash Destined for Next iPhone By Liam Cassidy (TheAppleBlog) Submitted at 1/11/2010 2:00:07 PM

They say the best camera you own is the one you have on you right now. So, unless you habitually carry a high-end DSLR on your person everywhere you go, your best camera is likely your iPhone. And that’s not exactly something to brag about, given how disappointing the iPhone camera can be. That might be changing. According to AppleInsider, Apple is in the market for an LED flash manufacturer: Apple in recent months has moved to procure significant quantities of LED camera flash components that could help the iPhone maker’s next-generation mobile handsets produce superior image and video captures in low-light situations. People familiar with Apple’s initiative claim the electronics maker is seeking allotments of LED camera flash components in the tens of millions for delivery during the 2010 calendar year, meaning future iPhones — and possibly the iPod touch — are the most likely recipients of those parts, due to their sales volume. Those same people say

that Philips’ Lumileds Lighting sector is believed to be the frontrunner for Apple’s business and may have already secured the design win. It’s all good news, of course, but I won’t hold my breath. It took two years for Apple to upgrade the iPhone camera in any significant manner, and even now with the 3GS 3.2 megaxpixels and video recording, the camera is still a colossal waste of time. The 3GS might be the fastest iPhone yet, but the camera app is still painfully slow. If you’re taking an impulse shot with your iPhone (let’s say your cat is doing something unbelievably hilarious and you really must capture it right now, this second) the chances are you’re going to miss the moment. The virtual iris takes an age to ‘open’ as the camera app (and all its autostabilizing algorithms) are loaded into memory. And then there’s the issue with light; unless your cat is doing its unbelievably hilarious thing in the garden, and it’s a blazingly-bright sunny day, and it’s not moving around very much, you’re unlikely to get a good photo. Frankly, the iPhone makes for a lousy point-andshoot camera. “But I didn’t buy my iPhone to

worthwhile with the camera on the next iPhone. The expected upgrade would be a five megapixel sensor with a superbright LED flash. Other mobile handsets (such as the Motorola Droid and the Nexus One) already offer these specs, while Nokia and Sony Ericsson have take pictures,” you might say, been producing decent camera“That’s what I have a real phones for some years now. But camera for!” And that’s true… what if Apple was to surprise us except for those times when you and really upgrade the camera don’t have your ‘real’ camera on w i t h s o m e t h i n g f a r m o r e you. And it is those moments — compelling; how about a real when your iPhone takes just long glass optical assembly — not a - e n o u g h t o b e r o u s e d t o cheap blob of resin atop a CCD? readiness that your cat loses Or what about greatly-updated, interest and wanders off — that s u p e r - r e s p o n s i v e c a m e r a you curse Steve Jobs and all who software that puts even dedicated work for him. point-and-shoot cameras to I ’ v e a l w a y s f o u n d t h i s shame? paradoxical; for a company that Of course, a significantly prides itself on not making improved camera means larger crappy products, that strives to hardware, and Apple is never guarantee a rewarding user going to tolerate a noticeable experience time after time, it has i n c r e a s e i n t h e i P h o n e ’ s given us consistently rubbish dimensions. After all, rightly or camera functionality in what is, w r o n g l y , t h e p e r c e i v e d without a doubt, one of its b e n c h m a r k f o r c o n s u m e r highest profile products. Turning electronics progress is about Point getting things smaller, thinner I’m hopeful that, if true, this and lighter. A Difficult Place rumor marks a turning point, and AppleInsider adds: that Apple is focusing (pun [Rumors indicate Apple] has i n t e n d e d ) o n t h e c a m e r a placed orders with OmniVision, hardware and really aiming its current supplier of CMOS ( s o r r y ! ) t o d o s o m e t h i n g image sensors, for as many as 45

million 5-megapixel parts for the next-generation of the handset due by late spring. The company is also likely to leverage the iPhone’s ambient light sensor, in addition to providing a software switch, to ensure that the LED flash won’t interfere in photos where it isn’t needed. […] And since the same LED flash can also be operated as a continuous light source, it would be suitable for proving light to enhance iPhone video recordings as well — not to mention closing the book on the numerous, dinky iPhone flashlight apps proliferating the App Store. Apple is now in a difficult place with the iPhone. The company is committed to its traditional vision of producing products that are functional and beautiful, and it simply won’t compromise on style; if an improved camera means a bigger iPhone, it just won’t improve the camera until the technology fits its desired form factor. But, in the meantime, that leaves customers frustrated that their superexpensive ‘smart’ phones aren’t nearly as smart as the competition.

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How-To: Image OS X and Boot Camp to a New Mac By Andrew Flocchini (TheAppleBlog) Submitted at 1/12/2010 9:30:13 AM

You get a new Mac and even though you know you should, you don’t want to start over from scratch and reload the whole system. To make matters worse, you have Boot Camp installed and really don’t want to start over on the Windows side. So, here’s how you can image both OS’s to a new machine using free tools. You need to download the Carbon Copy Cloner and Winclone software packages. CCC was created by Mike Bombich and has been used for years to clone Mac machines. It is the standard tool for this job. Winclone is made by Twocanoes Software and this is what we will use to image the Windows Boot Camp partition. Let’s Get Started Lets start off with Winclone first. After you install the app and run it for the first time, it will tell you it needs to download and install NTFSProgs. Click the download button and install NTFSProgs by following the wizard. The NTFSProgs software allows Winclone to properly read NTFS formatted partitions. Now run Winclone again and

select your Boot Camp partition in the Source dropdown. You can write some notes in the Item Description field if you’d like. When you’re ready, click the Image… button. It will prompt you for a name and location to save the image to. Now we wait for Winclone to do its work. When it’s completed, this dialog box will appear. You can now quit Winclone. Carbon Copy Cloner is a little different in that it can image from your old machine to your new one using a Firewire or

network connection. For this tutorial we’ll use the Firewire method. Setup your new machine and connect a Firewire cable between the two Macs. On the new Mac, hit the power button and hold down the “T” key on the keyboard until you see the Firewire symbol on the screen. This boots it into Target Disk Mode where it will act as if it’s just an external Firewire hard drive. On your old Mac we need to launch Carbon Copy Cloner. Your Source Disk drive is your local drive and the Target Disk is the Firewire drive. Click the

Clone button and off we go. After CCC is finished, reboot the new Mac and it should be identical to the original. From here on out, we are done with the old machine. When we imaged the Mac partition, we also brought along the Winclone image with it so now we can restore that image on our new Mac. Launch the Boot Camp Assistant in the utilities folder to create a new Windows partition. Launch Winclone and click on the Restore tab. Click the Select Image button and browse to your Windows image. Mine was in

the Documents folder. Restore it to your newly created Boot Camp partition. You know have a new Mac that’s a complete clone of your old one, Boot Camp and all. Windows will probably complain, as it always does, about drivers. Just insert your OS X DVD while in Windows and let it re-install the Boot Camp drivers for you. Of course, starting over from scratch is cleaner but sometimes you just don’t have the time. Proper cloning offers a reasonably quick solution.

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Rumor Has It: Next-Gen iPhone Named, Dated and Described in Korean Newspaper By Darrell Etherington (TheAppleBlog)

Korea, and Apple Korea as having provided the information. I suppose it’s possible that Apple Submitted at 1/12/2010 9:20:57 AM is more willing to authorize The rumor mill surrounding the product leaks from internal Apple tablet is so intense as to sources in the Asian market, possibly beat out the hype w h e r e c o m p e t i t i o n f r o m surrounding any other Apple e s t a b l i s h e d v e t e r a n s l i k e product to date, but that doesn’t Samsung can be especially mean it’s the only one being fierce. talked about. Today, a Korean While the list of new features source reported details about the doesn’t get into specific detail upcoming iPhone revision, about things like megapixels or which many expect to arrive in p r o c e s s i n g p o w e r , i t s t i l l late June or July. provides a tantalizing glance at Telecoms Korea reported on a the future of Apple’s little story by South Korean local s m a r t p h o n e t h a t c o u l d . newspaper ETNews that details According to ETNews, the the hardware capabilities and iPhone 4G will offer up to twice some new software features of the battery life of the 3GS, the upgraded device. The story something that will come as also maintains that the iPhone welcome news to those of us w i l l i n d e e d b y n a m e d t h e who seem to have their devices “iPhone 4G,” despite it not plugged into the wall more often looking like it will support 4G than not. Two camera modules network connectivity. will also be used, one of which The newspaper article cites will be front-facing to make internal sources at both KT, the video calling a reality, and not exclusive iPhone carrier in South just the one-way kind currently

possibly support mobile TV, which is popular in Asia but has yet to truly appear here in North American markets. Hopefully Apple is also working to bring this feature to handsets on our side of the world, as I would really love to have TV access while enduring especially long commutes. Lastly, the article claims that KT will be offering test models of the new device to corporate customers in April or May, prior to the official launch. This is the one detail in this particular rumor report that strikes me as odd. As far as I know, Apple keeps a very tight leash on its pre-release devices, limiting their distribution mostly (if not made possible by Fring. Video calling will initially be exclusively) to internal testers introduced in the Korean market, and executives. I doubt very according to the paper’s sources, highly that it’d authorize one of probably because the network its carrier partners to go handing infrastructure already exists there out the hardware before it hits to use it, so it makes sense as a the street, whatever the intended test market. The phone will also reason.

Investors pull back after Alcoa disappoints (Financial Times - US homepage) Submitted at 1/12/2010 8:41:44 AM

16:40 GMT. Investors pared back risky bets on Tuesday following a disappointing start to the US earnings season and increasing signs that China is tightening monetary policy. News that results overnight from Alcoa, the aluminium group, missed expectations provided an early excuse for traders to question the robustness of corporate recovery. Equities pulled back from 16-month highs while government bonds saw buying. The dollar stabilised after two days of sharp falls. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

McGwire Much Too Late for Forgiveness By Jay Mariotti (Fanhouse Main) Submitted at 1/11/2010 2:15:00 PM

Filed under: MLB So what should we do now, people? Forgive him, embrace him with a collective hug and point him directly to the Hall of Fame?

What Mark McGwire admitted Monday should have been said with no filters and all exclamation points back in March 2005, inside Room 2154 of the Rayburn Building on Capitol Hill, where he had an opportunity to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the

truth at a monumental Congressional hearing.

Instead, he just perpetuated his long-running lie about steroids and lost his reputation and credibility forever. "Are you taking the Fifth?'' he was asked by Representative Elijah Cummings, a Democrat from Maryland. "I'm not here to discuss the past,"

said McGwire, in the ill-fated statement that will define him forever. "I'm here to be positive about this subject.''

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NUMBERS: continued from page 47

windowed mode and full-screen worked fine. As an added bonus, you can set Parallels to share your OS X and Windows home directories, so any screenshots I took went right into my OS X Documents folder for easy viewing. CrossOver: The performance was about half-way between Parallels and Boot Camp. I was getting just over 30 FPS in the games. There were, however, some significant trade-offs. Neither DDO or LotRO handle windowed mode well — once the window loses focus, you can’t click inside the window when you get back to it. Also, there’s a big issue with LotRO where the screen will go black forcing a reboot. I was able to get around both issues by forcing the virtual to run in a window. The game would think it’s full screen, but the OS treated it as a window. This way I could have access to Skype and if LotRO crashed it didn’t take the entire OS down with it. As I mentioned

earlier, a previously working EverQuest 2 install broke with a recent patch release of CrossOver. Conclusions I used to be a huge fan of CrossOver due to its overall speed and low footprint. However, I’ve had enough and will be deleting the files. The final straw was EverQuest 2 breaking. While it’s cheap, getting a lot of games running is a gigantic hassle and there’s no guarantee they’ll keep working. As an aside, the community on the official forums is very helpful, and just about every issue someone’s had is at least addressed, even if there’s no solution. For now, I’m running my games in Parallels. While the performance isn’t as great as in Boot Camp, the convenience of not needing to reboot is a big bonus for me. Often, I’ll game when taking a break from a project and I’d like to not have to reboot. As an added bonus, it’s

very easy to resize the virtual disk in Parallels. It took less than 5 minutes to add another 32GB to the virtual disk (in Boot Camp, I’d have to repartition and reformat). I’m really surprised at how well these games ran in Parallels. Version 5 claims to add better support for Shader Model 3, so I’m planning on upgrading. I’m not deleting the Boot Camp partition, though. Once Apple releases official support for Windows 7, I plan on reparitioning it to a 100GB partition and have Parallels access that directly. That’ll cover me for the best of both worlds: for every day gaming, I can load Parallels, but if I need it, I can reboot and use the same install files in Boot Camp.

Harold Perrineau and Cynthia Watros to appear in Lost's last season - TCA Report By Joel Keller (TV Squad) Submitted at 1/12/2010 1:01:00 PM

During the fun session for Lost this morning, executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse announced that two favorite cast members will be seen on the show's last season. And since they announced this in front of a room full of 200 reporters, it's safe to talk about it here: Cynthia Watros, who played Libby, and Harold Perrineau, countering, "No, they won't." who played Michael, will both More on the lively panel later. be appearing on the show this Filed under: Lost, TCA Press season. How and why they will Tour, Casting, Reality-Free appear, of course, is a secret. Permalink| Email this| | Cuse and Lindelof even joked Comments about it, with Cuse going "All your Libby questions will be answered," and Lindelof

Warner Bros. lays off staff from Monolith, Snowblind, Surreal By Justin McElroy (Joystiq)

Snowblind Studios and Surreal Software, perhaps best known for the FEAR series, Death Tank Apparently, Warner Bros. didn't and The Suffering, respectively. get the memo that layoffs are so The publisher told Gamasutra, 2009. The publisher has released " w e h a d a f e w t o o m a n y an unspecified number of staffers resources in certain functions Seems logical enough, but that f r o m S e a t t l e d e v e l o p e r s a n d s o m e p o s i t i o n s w e r e doesn't make it any less of a M o n o l i t h P r o d u c t i o n s , eliminated in this process." Submitted at 1/12/2010 2:05:00 PM

their feet. Warner Bros. lays off staff from Monolith, Snowblind, Surreal originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 12 Jan 2010 14:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of bitter pill for those affected. feeds. Here's hoping everyone lands on Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments

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Ageism is becoming an issue for me A Simple Plan For Newspapers to Thrive Online [Media Crack] (Scripting News)

Submitted at 1/11/2010 2:57:04 PM

I've been seeing a lot more ageism lately. By ageism, I mean people saying that my age makes me less intelligent, informed, clued, aware, whatever. It's never rational, not part of an intelligent discussion. I can't probe the people to find out what they mean. I assume they're expressing some frustration and projecting it on me. It happens almost every day. I'm not talking about things happening in my imagination. It's very real and I find it as disturbing as racism, sexism, etc. Only this is one thing that eventually gets everyone, so it's different. Switch gears to the flap over Harry Reid and his comments about President Obama's race. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion of what it means. Mine is that Reid is inarticulate, a bumbler, he screws up this way a lot. I have no idea how a person likes this ends up in his position as Senate Majority Leader, but there you have it. I think Reid was this inarticulate at every age.

race, religion or gender, but agebased insults have no taboo. Bring up ageism and out comes it comes -- it's the one insult that's considered socially acceptable. It's like watching an old movie where women, blacks, Native Americans or Chinese were assumed inferior. Only it's here and now, in 2010. Inside I think of myself as young. At age 54, it's ridiculous that I have to defend against ageism, but there you have it. It's here, so we'll deal with it. You know everyone has only so much time on this planet. If Earlier today I was listening to Talk of the Nation on NPR and you're trying to do good with heard an interview with Keli your life, that's all you should Goff from the Huffington Post. have to know about someone. The interview started with an From there, our struggles or explanation that linked Reid's birthmarks are not issues for embarassing words to his age. others to use against them. She went out on a limb, way too Barack Obama was born halff a r , a l t h o u g h l a t e r i n t h e black and half-white. I was born interview she walked it back a Jewish and white. I care about your ideas, your bit. deeds, your sense of humor. I This led to an afternoon of love that Goff was so generous heated exchanges on Twitter. Lots of nasty stuff was said in defense of Reid, asking where about people of my age, most of was the racism. It was a shame them untrue. What troubles me is she couldn't see her own ageism. t h a t t h e r e i s n o g e n e r a l Here's an MP3 of the segment. acceptance for insults based on

By Hamilton Nolan (Gawker) Submitted at 1/12/2010 11:30:15 AM

In your smiley Tuesday media column: newspapers only sell online subscriptions to lone nuts, Dan Rather loses on appeal, a headline is debated, and Paste magazine lives. So, how's the grand experiment in newspaper pay walls going? Alan Mutter crunches some numbers from a new survey and finds that an average of 2.4% of print subscribers pay for online access. Upside: the price didn't affect subscriber rates too much. So, charge twelve million dollars per online access password and everyone wins. Dan Rather's lawsuit against CBS, which was previously dismissed, has now been turned down on appeal. Forget it, Dan. B I G M E D I A CONTROVERSY: Is this

That rock looks like aâ&#x20AC;Ś By Zack Sheppard (Flickr Blog)

Merkur*, nyaskovic, DMoutray, PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, MPR529, GregoryGHV, Term Extraction. shutterBRI, BenTaher, Amy Submitted at 1/12/2010 10:50:04 AM Dianna, and buikschuivers. Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: Photos from Melville B., Five Filters featured article:

headline awesome or does it suck?"Skywalkers in Korea Cross Han Solo." It's from a WaPo story that is not really about Star Wars! Anyhow some people like it while other headline people are like, it's not so great. Just another crazy day in headline land! Paste magazine, which not long ago was reduced to begging readers for donations to stay afloat, is now well on the road to financial recovery. Amazing! We too are taking reader donations, starting now.

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Has Fox News Gone Rogue on Rupert? [Corporate Intrigue] By John Cook (Gawker)

News from no less authoritative a source than Murdoch's own son -in-law Matthew Freud: Roger Ailes played the part as "I am by no means alone within Rupert Murdoch's political the family or the company in apparatchik — transforming Fox being ashamed and sickened by News into the Republican Party Roger Ailes's horrendous and id to suit his corporate master's sustained disregard of the political interests. But recent journalistic standards that News events suggest Murdoch's no Corporation, its founder and longer in control of the beast he e v e r y o t h e r g l o b a l m e d i a created. business aspires to," said In the endlessly entertaining Matthew Freud, who is married corporate tea-leaving that is to [Rupert Murdoch's daughter d i v i n i n g t h e c o r p o r a t e Elizabeth] Murdoch and whom motivations and agendas behind PR Week magazine says is the News Corp., today's popular most influential public relations theory is that Ailes is out. That's executive in London. what the Daily Beast's Lloyd So what does that mean? Let the Grove and irksome Rupert Kremlinology begin: Michael Murdoch-chronicler Michael Wolff says Ailes just got fired, Wolff think, based on the rather and doesn't know it yet: extraordinary attack leveled by The chances that a statement Murdoch's son-in-law Matthew like Freud's-"ashamed and Freud at the Fox News chief over sickened by Roger Ailes's the weekend. horrendous and sustained The New York Times profiled disregard of the journalistic Ailes on Sunday, laying out the ( s t a n d a r d s " - s o p u r p o s e l y not at all new) case that he is a composed and obviously written, paranoid mad genius whose was issued without agreement, successful merger of political plan, and orchestration, are nil. white rage and flawless tabloid [snip] instincts into the Fox News When Tim Arango, the New Channel is about the only thing York Times reporter who got the keeping News Corp. in the black statement from Freud, called and these days. It was essentially a said he was doing a story on chance for Ailes to piss on the Ailes' rising power, Freud would floor outside his office and have consulted with the rest of officially receive the title of "the the family. James Murdoch most successful news executive would have said to his father of the last 10 years." something along the lines of, B u t t h e p r o f i l e f e a t u r e d , "this is untenable, this idea that seemingly out of nowhere, a bald Roger is the center of the indictment of Ailes and Fox company." Submitted at 1/12/2010 11:24:54 AM

firmament, and that Ailes is paid even more than the boss. And there is the rub. $700 million is a lot of money, even for a man like Murdoch. And while it's difficult to imagine Murdoch countenancing an corporate usurper — just look at how he's shuttled his own children into and out of the family business — the signs that his hands are tied when it comes to Ailes' antics have been piling up. Ailes successfully thwarted Murdoch's instincts to cozy up to Barack Obama, which has paid off in terms of mouth-breathing viewers but left him on the outs with political power, where Murdoch never likes to be. The Murdoch brand of conservatism has always been more a convenient editorial pose than a matter of principle, which explains why he supported Tony Murdoch, who protects nothing insiders thought of Freud's Blair in England, Hillary Clinton so much as his own primacy at assault, and got the same answer, in her Senate bid, and was on the News Corp., and who always couched in terms of the damage verge of instructing the New likes somebody else to do his Ailes' crowing about his own York Post to endorse Barack dirty work, would likely have success has done to Rupert's Obama for president before Ailes said, in his particular patois, considerable ego: convinced him not to, according "umm…goddamn…grump…son "Rupert picked up his Times at t o t h e T i m e s p i e c e . A n y -of-a-bitch…they're gonna say the breakfast table, saw the story newfound dissatisfaction with that? Who put ‘em up to it? above the fold with the big photo Ailes could stem from the fact Okay, okay, do what you want to of Roger, and probably choked that Murdoch suddenly finds do." By which he would have on his coffee," one insider told himself the owner of a fractured meant: "Blow a rocket up his me today, noting that the 78-year and racist populist movement ass." -old media mogul reflexively and zero leverage with the When the Murdoch family bridles when the hired help people who occupy the White wheels begin to turn against you, outshines him. In (literally) the House. Wolff says, they don't stop money shot, the Times reported So if Murdoch is about to turning until you're out the door. that Fox News earns $700 Grove picked up the phone to million in annual profit, the HAS page 55 find out what News Corp. brightest star in the News Corp.

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Sarah Palin's Greatest Challenge Yet: Live TV [Pundits]

MediaDailyNews: Patricia Martin Scholarship Begun For Young Pros, Students

By Pareene (Gawker)

(MediaPost | Media News)

possess already. Sarah Palin's teleprompter experience dates Submitted at 1/12/2010 10:41:00 AM back to her local news days. But Sarah Palin's debut as Fox despite her faculty with a speech, celebupunditician? Tonight's she stumbles when the material O'Reilly Factor. Bill will be very is subpar or when she suspects n i c e t o h e r a n d m a k e h e r the audience is hostile. (And she comfortable, and it will probably soars when the audience is not be that embarrassing. But on adoring, and her speech is nice the other hand, the gal doesn't and mean.) really do live TV. She actually can pull off a [ Update: O'Reilly is, of course, competent-sounding interview, live-to-tape (like a late-night as long as it's with someone show), and Palin's segment may friendly like Greta Van Susteren even be taped before the rest of or Charlie Rose. She was decent the show—we don't know yet. at it in 2006, became a nervous, But one imagines that at some c r a z y w r e c k i n 2 0 0 8 , a n d point in her Fox career she'll e v e n t u a l l y r e b o u n d e d t o have to face a live camera. competency on her book tour. Right?] But these were all pre-taped We've previously examined interviews! Sarah's doesn't do Sarah Palin's lengthy descent live press conferences. She into incoherency, and that d o e s n ' t d o l i v e i n - s t u d i o scientific study forms the basis interviews. She'll do pre-taped— of our response to this news. But like on Oprah—but we are pretty we didn't break down her sure her in-studio with Hannity televised appearances into level in November was, if not the first, of difficulty or skill required. than one of the first live in-studio Reading prepared remarks is a appearances she's done since skill any politician should being selected as John McCain's

running mate. And Hannity, if you are Sarah Palin (or anyone who thinks Obama is a Muslim), is just about the easiest, friendliest interview ever. So, to recap: Late-1980s Palin: pretty good on live TV! Of course, she is reading from a Teleprompter. 2006 Palin: More or less competent at speaking in prepared talking points without becoming too incoherent. 2007 Charlie Rose Palin: Competent in the interview. Rambling but attractively folksy. 2008 Palin reading prepared remarks to adoring crowd: fine. 2008 Palin in pre-taped interviews: Terrible. 2008 Palin speaking extemporaneously: No one knows! 2009 Palin reading prepared remarks: Uhhhhh....? Palin pallin' around with Greta, 2009: Relaxed and casual, but these two are basically old girlfriends from way back at this point.

And Palin on Hannity: as we said, Sean basically asks "is Obama a Muslim who hates America?" and Sarah says "yes, Sean," and Sean reads from her book and is all "why are you so wonderful in every way?" and Sarah's answer is more or less "because of God, Sean, also." So as long as she is only promoting her book, every appearance, she'll do fine! But what is she going to talk about if she does not talk about herself? Literally every issue has to go back to Sarah Palin, her life experiences, her family, her challenges, her enemies. If the topic strays—as it did with Katie!—she freezes. Will they just cut to her after a segment to ask how the story affected Sarah Palin, personally? Probably? There is only one way to find out: watch a clip of this nonsense on the Internet tomorrow morning.

Submitted at 1/12/2010 10:11:22 AM

Helen Lavelle, former chair of the American Advertising Federation's Council of Governors and current Eastern region vice chair, has created an e-commerce Web site, www.theroadsofireland.com, to help fund a scholarship in the name of Patricia Martin, one of the first female chairs of the AAF and Lavelle's mentor. Proceeds from her artwork, which can be purchased at www.theroadsofireland.com, will fund the annual Patricia Martin Scholarship. The AAF will nominate deserving recipients. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

N.Y., Health Officials Settle Over Drug-Flushing (FOXNews.com) Submitted at 1/12/2010 9:30:28 AM

NEW YORK New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has announced a settlement with five health care facilities accused of flushing

pharmaceutical waste. Cuomo announced the settlement with the two hospitals and three nursing homes Tuesday. The facilities were accused of flushing painkillers, antibiotics, antidepressants, hormones and other

pharmaceuticals, putting about 9 million people's drinking water at risk. The facilities are located north of the New York City and within its watershed. The Associated Press reported in 2008 that the drinking water of at

least 51 million Americans Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: contains minute concentrations PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, of a multitude of drugs. Water Term Extraction. utilities, replying to an AP questionnaire, acknowledged the presence of dozens of drugs in their supplies. Five Filters featured article:

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Lost : The Disney Experience [Important Causes]

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HAS continued from page 53

bounce Ailes, it would be after coming to terms with an Submitted at 1/12/2010 11:22:43 AM excruciating Hobson's choice. What does he love more: Power, Ha, here is a funny thing that himself, or money? nerds want. There is some sort of He's confronted similar choices petition making the rounds before, and Ailes and money begging ABC/Disney to build a have come out on top. Murdoch Lost ride at Disney World. Hah! exiled his own son Lachlan to What could such a ride look Australia after Lachlan launched like? Let's imagine! a power struggle with Ailes. Just Honestly the ride we'd be most two months ago, he parted ways interested in would be the Boone with Gary Ginsberg, his chief Carlyle Sexytimes Express, but flack and primary liaison to that could probably only happen Democratic establishment, in a on Pleasure Island, and no one move that at the time Wolff was goes there except for complete hyping as a sign of Ailes' lame-os. (Non-lame-os prefer to ascendancy. And most of the get they drink on at the Grand ostensibly embarrassing details Floridian bar when vacationing in the Times piece about the at Disney World.) But seriously, extent to which Ailes is carrying speaking of Boone, you could do the company were reported something with that scene where then... Smoke Monster! He picks more Others, bang bang blow up polar bear ride or something. A months ago—the fact that Ailes he (SPOILER ALERTZ FOR you up and thrashes you around blow up, you wind up in a pit fancier restaurant called Rose & makes more money than Rupert, THE REST OF THE POST, for a little while but you do not full of bodies and then you go Bernard's, all done up in island for instance, is four months old, GUYS) gets in that little plane die. Then you get in Boone's t r a v e l i n g b a c k i n t i m e — romance shabby-chic. Nerds can as is the fact that without Fox and then it falls and he dies from heroin plane of death and then... zooooommmmm (the ride goes dream, can't they? News, News Corp. wouldn't be a terrible case of plane-squish. Oh, yeah, you see creepy things really fast here) — and you keep Back to the ride, though. m a k i n g a n y m o n e y . A n d (But he's coming back! Eeeee!) like Jacob's house and various jumping to different times and Gawker politico Alex Pareene Murdoch himself as doubled Basically, think of something Dharma stations. Then you are a — oh shit, we forgot you have to made a good point to us just d o w n o n A i l e s ' b r a n d o f like the Jaws ride at Universal Tailie! go back to Earth the mainland, now. The most important, and reactionary ethnic populism, Studios. One of those slowly- Of course there is an Incident — and then crash or explode or thrilling, part of the ride? personally declaring that Glenn driving-around-on-a-mechanized lots of shaking and loud noises disappear or whatever on the "You would wish you could Beck is not a racist and Barack -cart kind of things that takes and scared kids' burying their Ajira flight and... then... well, believe the guy operating the ride Obama is. you through various stages in the faces in their mom's multi- h o w d o e s i t e n d , D a m o n ? when he says he totally knows Freud's broadside certainly movie, in some sad attempt at pocketed khaki shorts that she Carlton? Anyone? Actually, where it's going to end up but foretells a delightful season of weaving a narrative. And by sad, only wears on vacation. There is don't tell us. We don't want to you really wouldn't." corporate intrigue coming at we mean wonderful, because as some sort of battle with the know. Hah/Sigh. News Corp., but it's a bit silly as those rides are (King Others and you get to go It's a good idea! They could premature to be predicting his Kong!) they are also very fun. underwater to the Pearl. Oh and create a whole Lost land. With a death. So yeah. You begin with the the submarine! You go down in little Dharma cafeteria to get *big* plane crash and then you that and then you blow it up. lunchtime snacks. A souvenir are on the deserted island and Then more Smoke Monster, shop called Eloise's. A kiddie

By Richard Lawson (Gawker)

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Seattle Seahawks announce hiring of USC Trojans coach Pete Carroll By ESPN.com news services (ESPN.com)

you know I can't pass up this challenge," Carroll said. Reaction on Carroll Submitted at 1/12/2010 8:34:43 AM Pete Carroll put together an Pete Carroll Resigns As USC incredible run at USC, as Ivan Head Coach Pete Carroll Resigns Maisel notes. But no program As USC Head Coach VIDEO can win it all every year -- and PLAYLIST when it came time to start • Pete Carroll Resigns As USC climbing back up the mountain, Head Coach Pete Carroll Resigns Carroll walked out. Story As USC Head Coach Pete Carroll's resignation is just • Seahawks Make It Official the latest turn in a downward Seahawks Make It Official spiral for USC's athletics • What Is Next For USC? What program. ESPN.com's Pat Forde Is Next For USC? wonders: Do the Trojans have • Dungy Critical Of Misuse Of the right man to clean up the Rooney Rule Dungy Critical Of mess? Story Misuse Of Rooney Rule The human fallout from Pete Carroll's departure from USC LOS ANGELES -- Pete Carroll connects dots to Aaron Corp. loves challenges and the NFL And Charlie Weis. And that's game. The Seattle Seahawks j u s t f o r s t a r t e r s , a s G e n e offered both, and not even Wojciechowski finds. Story Southern California could Pete Carroll had plenty of compete. skeptics when he was announced Carroll ended his nine-year as the USC head coach in 2000. tenure with the Trojans on But, as Mark Schlabach details, Monday, leaving behind a he won over his doubters as he program facing multiple woes took the Trojans on a glorious for a lucrative deal to coach the run. Story Seahawks. The Seahawks were to formally The Seahawks gave Carroll i n t r o d u c e C a r r o l l a t t h e i r added responsibilities equivalent headquarters in Renton, Wash., to a vice president of football on Tuesday at 1 p.m. ET. operations. Carroll will work USC quarterback Matt Barkley alongside whomever Seattle also said quarterbacks coach eventually names as its new Jeremy Bates is leaving with general manager on operations Carroll after just one season. beyond coaching the 53-man The Chicago Bears have been roster. informed that Bates, who was "If you know anything about me, scheduled to interview for their

offensive coordinator's job, has decided to accept the same job with Carroll and the Seahawks, two sources told ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen on Sunday night. A source said Bates was tempted to be reunited with Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, but the long-term security with Carroll was a major factor in his decision to join the Seahawks rather than the Bears. Bates was Cutler's offensive coordinator with the Broncos in 2008. The Bears' options for the position now include Mike Martz, Jedd Fisch and Bill Musgrave, league sources told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter. A source close to USC linebackers coach Ken Norton Jr. confirmed to ESPN's Shelley Smith that Carroll will be taking Norton to Seattle to fill the same role with the Seahawks. Norton recruited Lakewood (Calif.) High School quarterback Jesse Scroggins, who has already committed to USC but is said to be waiting to see what happens with Carroll. Carroll won 97 games, seven Pac-10 titles and two national championships at USC, but the school is under a cloud of NCAA investigation and other scandals. Although the charismatic 58-year -old coach spoke glowingly of his highly successful years in

Los Angeles, he jumped at the best -- and timeliest -- of many offers he's received over the years to return to the NFL. "I do not expect to ever be able to top what we just did," Carroll said. "I think it's just been a beautiful time together. It hurts to separate right now ... but it can't keep on going, because I can't pass up this opportunity." Carroll's departure ends one of the most successful runs in college football history -perhaps right when it was about to become much less fun, considering the just-completed 94 season, USC's worst since his first year at the school. "Every Trojan everywhere owes Pete a big debt of gratitude for what he did for USC and USC football this past nine years," USC president Steven B. Sample said in a statement. "Two national championships, three Heisman Trophy winners, and seven consecutive Pac-10 championships earned him a lasting place in our history." Carroll insisted his decision had nothing to do with the NCAA's lengthy look into his program, denouncing rumors of a rift between him and athletic director Mike Garrett. Carroll said he thought he would be at USC "forever." But Seahawks owner Paul Allen pried the 58-year-old coach out of a comfortable oceanside life

as one of the most popular sports figures in the nation's secondlargest media market, with numerous charity endeavors and a team that helped fill the area's NFL void. The Herd with Colin Cowherd Colin Cowherd examines Pete Carroll's decision to leave USC for the NFL and explains the likely reasons for the move. More Podcasts » He's taking along Bates, who replaced Steve Sarkisian last year. Sarkisian recruited Barkley before jumping ship to the University of Washington last year. "It's kind of disappointing to see them leave," Barkley said. "More than anything, it's a challenge to get better and just reach another level. I came to this school because I wanted to be a Trojan, and nothing about coaches leaving would change that for me." Trojans receiver Brice Butler said it was Carroll's call to make. "[Carroll] doesn't have to apologize," Butler said. "He made the decision that was best for him. You can't cry like a baby. Crying doesn't get you anywhere." Schefter first reported Saturday morning the Seahawks and Carroll had reached an agreement in principle. SEATTLE page 59

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McGwire’s Confession Draws Little Sympathy (WSJ.com: The Daily Fix) Submitted at 1/12/2010 7:21:52 AM

It’s been almost five years since Mark McGwire appeared before Congress and uttered the now infamous line, “I’m not here to talk about the past.” On Monday, McGwire finally decided the time was right to fess up to his long-suspected steroid use — a decade’s worth. That includes the formerly magical 1998 season when he swatted a thenrecord 70 home runs in his race with Sammy Sosa for the homerun crown. McGwire even said, ” I wish I had never played during the steroid era.” It’s unlikely McGwire’s belated confession will help him enter Cooperstown one day, but it might make his transition to hitting coach for the St. Louis Cardinals this spring go a little more smoothly. Getty Images Who’d have guessed Mark McGwire had something to hide? Either way, he’s not getting a free ride this morning. “This was not a man who was hauled reluctantly into the wicked current of the steroid era,” Bryan Burwell fumes in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “He was in fact the well-documented drum major leading the parade.” “Since we’re all in the mood for looking back, let’s consider this, Mark: You were the steroid era. Still are,” Yahoo’s Tim Brown writes. “You and every guy who made the same terrible decisions, over and over. We’ve become so

comfortable blaming Bud Selig and Don Fehr, we forget the villains in this. They’re McGwire, Canseco, A-Rod, Palmeiro, Bonds, every man in the Mitchell Report, every player who put a needle in his body and made the next player choose between that and pumping gas for a living, everyone too cowardly to compete straight up.” MLB.com’s Mike Bauman says McGwire’s apology should have been more forthcoming about the competitive edge he got from steroid use. At the Washington Post, Thomas Boswell blogs that McGwire will be welcomed back in baseball, but that his admission drops his chance of going into the Hall of Fame to roughly zero. The Chicago Tribune’s David Haugh doesn’t think McGwire’s confession revealed enough. After all, many questions remain unanswered. “Mark, how many times did you inject yourself during ‘98? And throughout your 16-year career? What was your method? How many other A’s or Cardinals player also used steroids that you know of? Have you apologized to Jose Canseco yet? What about HGH?” Haugh writes. The Miami Herald’s Greg Cote writes, “All the much-belated truth does for Mark McGwire is make him a former liar, not a current one.” Sports Illustrated’s Tom

Carroll, sort of. It’s the new general manager, whoever that will be. It’s John Idzik, to an extent, because he monitors the salary cap and negotiates the contracts. And it’s [CEO Tod] Leiweke, who has added a new task to his assortment of Verducci wonders why McGwire responsibilities: hall monitor. was teary eyed during his He’s in charge of making sure confession if he truly believes they all ’stay in their lanes,’ he steroids didn’t help him hit home said. Good luck, dude.” In the Orange County Register, runs. In the Los Angeles Times, Bill Mark Whicker says Carroll’s Dwyre urges Barry Bonds to legacy keeps him connected to USC. enter the confessional. While Yahoo’s Charles ESPN’s Gene Wojciechowski adds a few more names of Robinson and Jason Cole write that the NCAA will meet next suspected cheats. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s month to consider sanctions Bernie Miklasz says that some against USC over alleged rules critics will never be satisfied, no violations, including those by the m a t t e r h o w M c G w i r e football program, don’t believe the doomsday scenarios for USC apologizes.* * * The Pete Carroll era at USC football, Dave Curtis writes in ended officially Monday after he the Sporting News.* * * signed a contract to coach the Eight teams were jockeying to Seattle Seahawks, a team in need sign Aroldis Chapman, a highly of a turnaround after winning regarded left-handed pitcher who only nine games over the past defected from Cuba. But usual two seasons. The Seattle Times’s suspects like the Yankees or Jerry Brewer isn’t convinced this A n g e l s w h i f f e d . I n s t e a d , means things are looking up in Chapman signed a six-year, the shadow of the space needle. $30.25-million contract with the “Abbott and Costello could have Cincinnati Reds, a small-market had fun with the Seahawks’ new club that hasn’t won a World direction. They could have Series in 19 years, nor had a revised a football version of their winning record since 2000. ‘Who’s on first?’ routine with So while Reds fans walk with a t h i s k o o k y o r g a n i z a t i o n a l spring in their step this morning, restructuring,” Brewer thunders. don’t inquire about World Series “Who’s running the football tickets yet. “The Reds made team? Well, it’s new coach Pete news, all right: Small market team empties wallet on lottery

tickets,” Paul Daugherty writes in the Cincinnati Enquirer. “In time, we’ll learn what it’s like to leave everyone you love and everything you know for a shot at the grandes ligas. We’ll fill in the blanks that started popping up last July, when Chapman bolted the Cuban national team in the Netherlands, just before it was to play in a tournament. We might even learn how a ballplayer from Cuba could not know the name Tony Perez.” Daugherty’s Enquirer colleague John Erardi answers five questions about the Chapman signing.* * * Jayson Williams will serve at least 18 months in prison for pleading guilty Monday to aggravated assault in the shooting death of his limousine driver eight years ago. The New York Post’s Peter Vecsey thinks the former NBA star, who will be sentenced in late February, might find that his stint in prison will help turn his life around.* * * The 30th anniversary of the greatest upset in hockey history is around the corner. Who can forget the brash American amateurs and collegians defeating the mighty Soviet Union, 4-3, on Mike Eruzione’s third-period goal at Lake Placid? In the Boston Globe, Billy Baker catches up with the hockey hero.* * * MCGWIRE’S page 60

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Jose Canseco: Mark McGwire, Tony La Russa lying about PEDs By ESPNChicago.com (ESPN.com) Submitted at 1/12/2010 11:17:20 AM

Mark McGwire admitted Monday to using steroids during his career, but Jose Canseco contends McGwire is not being entirely forthcoming about the matter. ESPN 1000, Chicago Jose Canseco joined "Waddle & Silvy" to address Mark McGwire's admission that he used steroids. More Podcasts Âť Canseco, whose book "Juiced" fueled congressional hearings into performance-enhancing drugs in 2005, revisited one topic Tuesday that he wrote about in the book: that he and McGwire injected each other with steroids in the clubhouse bathroom stalls before games when they were teammates with the Oakland Athletics from 1986-92. McGwire denied that claim in an interview Monday night on the MLB Network, telling interviewer Bob Costas that it wasn't true and that Canseco must have made the claim to help sell "Juiced." "I've got no problems with a few of the things he's saying, but again, it's ironic and strange that Mark McGwire denies that I injected him with steroids. He's calling me a liar again," Canseco said Tuesday on "The Waddle &

Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000. "I've defended Mark, I've said a lot of good things about him, but I can't believe he just called me a liar. "There is something very strange going on here, and I'm wondering what it is. I even polygraphed that subject matter, that I injected him, and passed it completely. So I want to challenge him on national TV to a polygraph examination. I want to see him call me a liar under a polygraph examination." St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa, who managed McGwire and Canseco in Oakland, hired McGwire as Cardinals hitting coach during the offseason. In an interview with ESPN's "Baseball Tonight," La Russa said he didn't know McGwire had used steroids until the slugger admitted as much in a phone call to the manager earlier Monday. "That's a blatant lie," Canseco said. "Tony La Russa was quoted as saying that I was using steroids back then, and I was talking about it in the clubhouse, openly. That's a blatant lie. "There are some things here that are so ridiculous, and so disrespectful for the public and the media to believe. I just can't believe it. I'm in total shock. These guys remind me of politicians that go up and just lie to the public and expect to get

elected." Canseco said he is still a big fan of McGwire, his fellow "Bash Brother" from their days in Oakland, and he believes McGwire would have broken the single-season home run record without using performanceenhancing drugs. McGwire said Monday that he used steroids to keep his body healthy in order to remain in the lineup, not to pad his power numbers or break records. To that end, Canseco said he is convinced McGwire is "the exception" to players who might use or have used performanceenhancing drugs. "He's such a talented individual," Canseco said. But Canseco expressed resentment with a perception that he needs to defend what he wrote in "Juiced." "I'm tired of justifying what I've said," Canseco said. "I've polygraphed, I've proven that I'm 100 percent accurate. I never exaggerated. I told it the way it actually happened. I'm the only one who has told it the way it actually happened. Major League Baseball is still trying to defend itself. It's strange. All I have is the truth, and I've proven that." Canseco also took issue with Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig, who Canseco always has claimed knew about the sport's steroid

problem and looked the other way during the era. "I think eventually Bud Selig has to resign," Canseco said. "This is far from over. There's a list out there of [103] players. The last five to eight years there may have been some players elected to the Hall of Fame that were on that list. Nonetheless, if that list is not divulged, there will continuously be players who are inducted into the Hall of Fame who will probably be on that list." On Monday, McGwire called Pat Maris, the widow of Roger Maris, who had held the home run record with 61 in 1961, and admitted taking steroids. "I felt that I needed to do that," McGwire told Bob Costas in a MLB Network interview. "They've been great supporters of mine. She was disappointed and she has every right to be." Told by Costas that certain Maris family members have said that they now consider Roger Maris' 61 the authentic home run record, McGwire responded: "They have every right to." Maris' son Rich told the San Francisco Chronicle that McGwire was "pretty choked up" when he called Pat Maris. "My mom was very touched by his call. She felt sorry for Mark - that he's going through this. She conveyed that we all make mistakes and move on from

there," Rich Maris told the newspaper. "[McGwire's steroid use] is something we thought all along. It wasn't so much a surprise, but I feel bad for Mark. He's a very genuine guy and we're close to him -- we love him like a brother. I'm glad he got it out," Maris told the newspaper. McGwire, who is eighth on the all-time home run list with 583 homers, was not elected into the Hall of Fame in his fourth year of eligibility. In voting that was announced on Jan. 6, he received 128 votes (23.7 percent) in the balloting, 10 more than last year and matching the total from his first two times on the ballot. Indians Hall of Famer pitcher Bob Feller, 91, doesn't believe McGwire's admission will help him much with voters. "It'll help him some, but not very much," Feller told Willie Weinbaum of the ESPN Enterprise Unit. "I wouldn't vote for him and I don't think he'll get into the Hall of Fame in my lifetime." Ralph Houk, Maris' manager with the Yankees in 1961, told ESPN that he does not think the legitimacy of McGwire's home run totals is changed by his admission of using performanceenhancing drugs and that the effects of such drugs -- whether JOSE page 61

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SEATTLE continued from page 56

Next up for Leiweke is to hire a general manager. The Seahawks have at least four interviews to conduct to find the general manager who will work with Carroll. Former Titans GM Floyd Reese is scheduled to interview, along with Giants personnel man Marc Ross, Packers executive John Schneider and Omar Khan, a contract administrator with Pittsburgh. Seattle forced out general manager and president Tim Ruskell on Dec. 3. R e a c t i o n f r o m ESPNLosAngeles.com Pete Carroll leaves royalty status at USC to become a civilian coach in a thankless NFL. Arash Markasi looks at the transformation. Story Several USC players were upset that they had to hear about their coach leaving from Internet reports and TV. Mark Saxon talked to them. Story Who replaces Pete Carroll at USC? ESPNLosAngeles.com columnist Ramona Shelburne goes through the list. Story ESPNLosAngeles.com takes a look back at the Pete Carroll era through photos, starting with his hiring in 2000 right up through his decision to leave USC for Seattle. Chronology Garrett brushed past dozens of reporters after Carroll's news

conference, maintaining his largely silent public stance about his troubled department, which sanctioned its own men's basketball program recently in an attempt to assuage the NCAA. "I'm working on the next step, and when I finish, you'll hear about it," Garrett said. "I don't talk about my search." Garrett's search for a replacement is likely to be speedy, with national signing day looming Feb. 3 and several recruits already wondering about their tentative commitments to USC. Barkley and tailback Allen Bradford said they planned to be on the phone with every recruit, encouraging them to stick with the Trojans. Oregon State's Mike Riley fell off the list of possible successors when it was announced Sunday night that he had signed a threeyear extension through at least 2019. Instead, Riley, who was a finalist for the Trojans' job in 2000, will stay in his hometown. "Due to the fact there is a lot of speculation on my future, I want to make it known that I'm very excited to be coaching at Oregon State University and I anticipate doing so for a long time," Riley said in a statement released by the school. Sources close to Riley said he was intrigued by the USC job,

but loved coaching in Corvallis and the idea that he could finish his career there. Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher is a former USC player and California native, but previously said he wasn't interested. Jacksonville Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio, another former USC star with no college coaching experience, might be the most interested target for Garrett, though Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver is thought to want Del Rio back for an eighth season. Weaver and Del Rio are expected to meet Tuesday. Carroll's players were disappointed by the news. The group that straggled into Heritage Hall for an afternoon meeting chose USC largely on the strength of Carroll's success and charisma, but returned to classes Monday with no idea what was next. "I kind of didn't want to come to the meeting today, but it's something you've got to do," said Bradford, who will be the Trojans' top returning rusher with Joe McKnight's early departure for the NFL. "How he got us training and competing, I don't think that's ever going to leave us. The new coach coming in is going to see this team is hungry and wants to win." Bradford planned to hold a

players-only meeting in the locker room after Carroll's farewell address. "Well, I'm not surprised," junior running back Marc Tyler told ESPNLosAngeles.com's Ramona Shelburne. "I think by now most guys wanted it to hurry up and happen so we can see who is going to coach us next." Sophomore defensive end Malik Jackson said while he was a little surprised, he understands why Carroll is leaving. NFC West blog ESPN.com's Mike Sando writes about all things NFC West in his division blog. â&#x20AC;˘ Blog network: NFL Nation "I can't believe we're one of those teams looking for a new coach," Jackson told Shelburne. "I'd heard about it all weekend, but I'm still kind of surprised. "I don't blame him though. We all have to make decisions in our lives. If I could've said something that'd make him come back, I would've. But I'm not mad at him. He has to do what he thinks is best for himself. Everybody does." Carroll is no stranger to the NFL, having served as the head coach for the Patriots from 1997 to 1999 and for the Jets in 1994. He was the Jets' defensive coordinator from 1990 to 1993 after stints as the defensive backs coach for the Vikings(1985-89)

and Bills(1984). The USC program, meanwhile, is now leaderless at a difficult time. The school has been under NCAA scrutiny for several years as the organization investigates allegations former Trojans tailback Reggie Bush received improper benefits from a marketing agent. Another potential NCAA problem arose last month when McKnight was forced to sit out the Emerald Bowl while the school investigated his use of an SUV that was not registered to him. McKnight, along with star wide receiver Damian Williams, declared for the NFL draft as juniors last week. Information from ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter, ESPN's S h e l l e y S m i t h , ESPNLosAngeles.com's Ramona Shelburne and The Associated Press was used in this report. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

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Green Bay Packers' Charles Woodson named defensive player of the year By Associated Press (ESPN.com)

beat up -- and it's great to be recognized." He doubled the number of votes Submitted at 1/12/2010 10:50:50 AM for New York Jets cornerback NEW YORK -- In his own Darrelle Revis in becoming the view, Charles Woodson put first Green Bay winner since together his best pro season in Reggie White in 1998 and just 2009. How appropriate, then, the second Packer in the 36-year that he is The Associated Press history of the award. 2009 NFL Defensive Player of Woodson, the 1997 Heisman the Year. Trophy recipient, is the first The versatile Woodson tied for cornerback chosen as the top t h e l e a g u e l e a d w i t h n i n e defensive player since Deion interceptions, returning three for Sanders in 1994. touchdowns, and was a key to After a disappointing the Packers' turnaround on performance by the Packers defense. His role in Green Bay's defense in Sunday's 51-45 performance -- second in the overtime playoff loss at Arizona, league in overall defense, first in Woodson is more motivated than interceptions (30), takeaways ever to pursue the one honor that (40) and turnover margin (plus- has eluded him in his career: a 24) -- earned Woodson 28 votes Super Bowl victory. Tuesday from a nationwide panel "That's it," Woodson said. o f 5 0 s p o r t s w r i t e r s a n d "Especially now, to get this broadcasters who cover the NFL. award, I've done everything an NOT EVEN CLOSE individual can do." Charles Woodson, in voting by How much longer will he play? a n a t i o n a l p a n e l o f 5 0 "I'm just going to keep taking sportswriters and broadcasters, is shots until I get back to the only the second Green Bay Super Bowl -- and win it," Packer to win in the 36-year Woodson said. history of the award. He got the honor in great part "It's a great honor," Woodson because of the way he anchored said in a telephone interview a defense in transition. Woodson Tuesday. "I felt like I put a lot was used in a variety of ways by into the game, mentally and new defensive coordinator Dom physically -- your body's always Capers as Green Bay made the

switch to a 3-4. At times, the unit was shaky -- except for Woodson, who played the role of cover cornerback, blitzer, runstuffer and ballhawk. "Any time you go out there on the field, you go out there to win the game, of course," Woodson said, "but you go out there to be consistent and a reliable player. And that's what that award is. You go out there, you can make plays and can continue to make them through the season and you're mentioned as far as being Defensive Player of the Year, you know you're doing some things right." The Packers went 11-5 during the season, including taking seven of eight games in the second half of the schedule to secure an NFC wild-card berth. In that span, Green Bay allowed 15.6 points per game. Take away a last-second 37-36 loss to Pittsburgh, and the number becomes a minuscule 11.4. Woodson had 63 unassisted tackles and 18 assists, according to the Packers, plus 21 passes defensed, four forced fumbles and one recovery, two sacks for 18 yards and three quarterback hits. "I've said it before, he's had two or three games that I can't

imagine any defensive player in the league having better games," said Capers, who also coached Rod Woodson(1993) and Jason Taylor(2006) when they won the award. "I think it speaks volumes when he was player of the month in September and came back and got player of the month again [in November]." In his third season, Revis established himself as the league's premier cornerback, taking away such prime threats as Steve Smith, Randy Moss, Andre Johnson, Terrell Owens, Chad Ochocinco and Marques Colston. He had six picks, returning one for a TD. Denver linebacker Elvis Dumervil, who led the league in sacks, and New Orleans safety Darren Sharper, who tied with Woodson for the interceptions lead and also ran back three for scores, each got three votes. Minnesota end Jared Allen received the other two votes. Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

MCGWIRE’S continued from page 57

An attack by separatist rebels in Angola on Togo’s soccer team last Friday left the team’s driver and two team officials dead, and led to the team’s withdrawal from the Africa Cup of Nations. For many, this raises questions about South Africa’s ability to protect players during the World Cup in June, but in the Journal, Gabriele Marcotti writes that those fears appear misguided. – Tip of the Fix cap to reader Don Hartline. Found a good column from the world of sports? Don’t keep it to yourself — write to us at dailyfix@wsj.com and we’ll consider your find for inclusion in the Daily Fix. You can email Garey at ris84rap@gmail.com.

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The Count: Warner’s Playoff Brilliance Continues (WSJ.com: The Daily Fix) Submitted at 1/11/2010 1:27:11 PM

In between being intercepted on the first play of the game and stripped of the ball on the last play, Aaron Rodgers was terrific in the best game of the NFL’s wild-card weekend. But Kurt Warner was better — historically good. He completed 29 of 33 passes for 379 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions, with a 154.1 passer rating. It was, by at least one measure, one of the two best playoff performances by a quarterback in history. Associated Press Kurt Warner celebrated his near-flawless performance against Green Bay. Before Warner’s big game, 10 other quarterbacks in the last 50 years had a passer rating above 150. But nine of those QBs did so in a game in which they threw 25 or fewer passes for fewer than 300 yards. It’s easier to sustain that level of play when given fewer opportunities to mess up. Warner threw 33 times, while his team ran the ball just 23 times. The only other QB to sustain such a high level of excellence over more than 25 attempts in a playoff game was Peyton Manning, who completed 22 of

26 passes for 377 yards and five touchdowns, with no picks, against Denver in 2004. (Manning and Warner also have the only two other playoff games with at least 310 yards and a rating of 140 or higher.) The passer rating, incidentally, doesn’t account for sacks, but both QBs were excellent at eluding the rush — Warner was sacked just once for four yards, while Manning wasn’t sacked at all. Rodgers on Sunday exhibited his characteristic reluctance to throw the ball under pressure, taking five sacks and fumbling on that game-deciding play. Manning’s and Warner’s performances were also two of just 13 by a QB in the past halfcentury, in the regular season or postseason, to feature at least five touchdown passes and more touchdown passes than incompletions, without an interception. Four of those 13 performances came 25 years ago or more, including by Hall of Famers Frank Tarkenton and John Elway. But nine others were delivered by active quarterbacks in the past six seasons. One was by Ben Roethlisberger, last year’s Super Bowl champion whose Steelers just missed this year’s playoffs.

He’d also have 41 TDs and a passer rating of 104.6. Just four seasons since 1920 have featured at least 4,000 passing yards, 40 touchdowns and a rating of 100 or higher — Marino’s, one by Brady, one by Manning and Warner’s own 1999 season. Another pair came off the arm of Warner’s been aided by some Tom Brady and another from favorable playoff venues. Seven Carson Palmer. Those two of his 12 games have come at quarterbacks lost this weekend. home — including three in the (Brady certainly didn’t play like last two seasons, despite the an MVP in his loss Sunday to the Cardinals’ NFC-worst record Baltimore Ravens.) And five among playoff teams each more came from QBs who will season — three in neutral be in action next weekend — stadiums at Super Bowls, one on W a r n e r , D r e w B r e e s — the road in a dome and one on W a r n e r ’ s o p p o n e n t n e x t the road in a warm climate. weekend — and Manning (three Though the Packers this season times). It may not be the golden had the NFL’s No. 6 ranked pass age of punting, but it’s certainly defense, according to Football Outsiders, they had played only a golden age of passing. Warner’s latest terrific playoff one game in a dome against a top game improves an already QB — their former teammate sterling career playoff record Brett Favre, who played nearly through 12 games. Extrapolated flawlessly in a 30-23 win. t o 1 6 g a m e s , W a r n e r ’ s (Warner attempted only six performance against some of the passes before leaving the prior NFL’s best defensive teams in week’s Packers-Cardinals game the postseason would compare to rest for the rematch.) And favorably to some of the best Green Bay was below average at regular seasons of all time. He’d defending passes deep up the have 4,996 passing yards, more middle, which Warner exploited than any season but Brees’s last repeatedly on Sunday. year and Dan Marino’s in 1984.

JOSE continued from page 58

pills (amphetamines) taken in the 1960s or steroids in later years -are questionable. "I think [McGwire] broke [Maris'] record fairly," Houk told ESPN. "I wouldn't be concerned about it. [McGwire] was a good hitter that deserves everything he's got," Houk said. Information from ESPN's Willie Weinbaum and The Associated Press was used in this report. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

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Jack Del Rio denies receiving offer to coach USC Trojans By ESPN.com news services (ESPN.com) Submitted at 1/12/2010 11:06:31 AM

Del Rio Denies Contract Offer Del Rio Denies Contract Offer VIDEO PLAYLIST • Del Rio Denies Contract Offer Del Rio Denies Contract Offer • Latest On Del Rio Latest On Del Rio Del Rio JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio denied Tuesday that he has been made an offer by USC to replace Pete Carroll as Trojans football coach. According to an unattributed report in the Los Angeles Daily News, the newspaper said USC presented a formal offer to the 46 -year-old Del Rio -- who played linebacker at USC but has never coached in college -- on Monday. "All of those things are manufactured," Del Rio, who played at USC from 1981 to 1984, told WJXT of Jacksonville. "The only thing I can tell you is I've been busy

working on the Jaguars for 2010. We're busy at work, trying to build this thing strong. Mike and Mike in the Morning ESPN.com senior NFL analyst John Clayton says there is a big meeting Tuesday in Jacksonville that should determine the fate of coach Jack Del Rio, who could end up replacing Pete Carroll at USC. Clayton also updates the latest in Buffalo and Oakland. More Podcasts » "All of those other things are a figment of other people's imaginations." Del Rio is scheduled to meet with Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver to discuss his future with the franchise on Tuesday. Del Rio has three years and $15 million remaining on his contract and would be owed all of that money if he were fired. The Jags (7-9) finished the season on a four-game losing streak and faded out of playoff contention in Del Rio's seventh year as coach. Weaver declined to speculate on Del Rio's future. "Look, you know I'm not going to get into those things," he said,

according to The Associated Press. "Jack Del Rio is our coach right now." Jacksonville last made the playoffs in 2007 and fans' discontent seemed to reach a crescendo in '09, when Jacksonville blacked out nine of 10 home games. Ticket prices have been cut for 2010 in an attempt to lure back some of the 17,000 season-ticket holders who did not renew last year. With Del Rio possibly out of the picture, former San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions coach Steve Mariucci and USC have been in contact in recent days, two sources told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter. Mariucci works as an analyst at NFL Network, but he has expressed an interest in returning to coaching with the right opportunity. Information from ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter and The Associated Press was used in this report. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Broken Sword: Director's Cut going to iPhone too By Xav de Matos (Joystiq)

Software founder Charles Cecil teased more classic remakes could potentially be explored if Today, Revolution Software-- p r o j e c t s a t t h e t i m e s a w the team behind the tremendous commercial success. Considering Beneath a Steel Sky iPhone how solid its first iPhone effort remake -- announced Broken was, we're hoping this is the start Sword: The Director's Cut will of re-introducing gamers to the be remastered for iPhone and entire Broken Sword legacy. iPod Touch devices and released Now if someone would only within the next month. Like the remake the Gabriel Knight (already available) Nintendo DS series, we'd sleep better at night. and Wii versions of the remake, Gallery: Broken Sword: The Broken Sword: The Director's Director's Cut (iPhone) Cut for iPhone sports an updated Broken Sword: Director's Cut l o o k , D a v e G i b b o n s ( going to iPhone too originally Watchmen) art and a redefined appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 12 control scheme, thrusting the Jan 2010 13:15:00 EST. Please fourteen-year-old adventure see our terms for use of feeds. game into the modern screen- Read| Permalink| Email this| tapping era. Comments In February 2009, Revolution Submitted at 1/12/2010 1:15:00 PM

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The Word of the Decade is... (Holy Kaw!) Submitted at 1/12/2010 10:35:03 AM

EA: Medal of Honor, Dead Space 2, Crysis 2 before March 2011 By Ben Gilbert (Joystiq) Submitted at 1/12/2010 12:45:00 PM

During EA's half-hour investor callstravaganza yesterday, CEO John Riccitiello unleashed a flurry of game titles set to be released in the company's "FIscal 2011." For EA, that falls anywhere between April 1, 2010 and March 30, 2011 -- a window that now holds the release of "a great new version of Medal of Honor, a revitalized Need for Speed, Sims on console, FIFA in a World Cup year, an innovative and new take on Madden, Dead Space 2, Crysis at full margins, a new MMA game, and many others."

Google! The American Dialect Society (ADS) has selected “google” (the verb, not the noun) as the hottest word of the decade. Reflecting our increasingly wired society, ADS chairman Grant Barrett said the selection “is a product of the Information Age, Considering this laundry list of By Justin McElroy (Joystiq) heartthrob Shawn Elliott -- a sort where every person has the games is getting little more than of Irrational Games audio ability to satisfy curiosity and to a 12-month window for release, Submitted at 1/12/2010 12:15:00 PM magazine presented with a Life we're taking the logical next step It's a great time to be a fan of Well Wasted/This American Life broadcast to a select following, and throwing darts at images of Irrational Games. Not only has flavor. The first episode centers both via the Internet.” the games on our cork-board the developer recently gotten its on abandoned ideas, including a Google edged out other 2000s calendar. According to our nomenclature back into shape, game that blends SWAT, X-Com buzzwords “9/11, “blog”, “text”, impeccable aim... everything is it's got a gorgeous new website and zombies. And that we want “Wi-Fi” and “war on terror” for the honor. coming out in November. Not full of secrets and stories behind right now, please. The ADS also announced the helpful! several projects (for example, Irrational Games has new “Word of the Year,” with [Via Eurogamer] Chief Ken Levine promises to website, podcast ... and an EA: Medal of Honor, Dead talk about Irrational's new a b a n d o n e d z o m b i e g a m e “tweet” taking the prize over Space 2, Crysis 2 before March project there ... eventually). originally appeared on Joystiq on “ f a i l ” , “ b i r t h e r ” , “ H 1 N 1 ” , 2011 originally appeared on H e c k , t h e r e a r e e v e n Tue, 12 Jan 2010 12:15:00 EST. “public option” and “Dracula Sneeze.” Joystiq on Tue, 12 Jan 2010 a c h i e v e m e n t s ! Please see our terms for use of Do you agree with Google 12:45:00 EST. Please see our Perhaps most exciting is a feeds. nabbing top honors? Any terms for use of feeds. p o d c a s t c a l l e d I r r a t i o n a l Read| Permalink| Email this| a d d i t i o n s ? Read| Permalink| Email this| Behavior-- helmed by former Comments Oodles of Google. Comments 1UP Yours and GFW Radio Permalink| Leave a comment »

Irrational Games has new website, podcast ... and an abandoned zombie game

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Make Better Challenge, Day 1: Closet Clean-Out By ELLE.com (ELLE News Blog)

the closet but as you can see it, ago, which forced me to give um, broke. Unfortunately, rather Submitted at 1/12/2010 6:30:00 AM away a lot of stuff but I still have than fix the situation (ugh, just an overabundance of items (the had a Jersey Shore flash, need to At the start of every year, I shoes in the photo below are stop watching) I simply stuffed typically make the same only half my collection—the all my sneakers, boots, sandals, resolutions as I did 12 months other half is currently at a shoe and heels in a pile on the floor. before (apparently, I’m not so repair shop getting re-soled and GO TO THE NEXT PAGE TO good at following through on my re-heeled). In fact, when faced S E E M Y U N O R G A N I Z E D goals). That’s why I’ve decided with the reality of New York R A C K O F S H I R T S , to tackle ELLE.com’s City closet space (see photo of S W E A T E R S , a n d C O A T S regimented 21-Day Make Better Voila! This is my my tiny wardrobe) I went Challenge. insurmountable rack of clothes. straight to Target, where I So hmm, let’s see what Day 1 Again, as you can see, I am not purchased an industrial-size is… Eek. Day 1 involves closet so into color coordination (as clothing rack. organization, one of my major Day 1's tip suggests I should be). —Emily Hebert weaknesses. I’m always amazed By Griffin McElroy (Joystiq) Forget color-coordination—my Oops. As for jewelry, which I If you need something ambient at how organized designers’ idea of organizing is simply by didn't show in these pics, I to listen to during your daily Submitted at 1/12/2010 1:45:00 PM closets are in ELLE.com’s clothing type, if that! I hang all simply have one big jewelry chamomile bath, the soundtrack Wardrobe Chic column (see my dresses, jeans, and skirts in box—no compartmentalized The prolific composer Jack Wall w i l l a l s o b e a v a i l a b l e t o Vena Cava designer Sophie my not-so-big closet and stuff trays. Good idea, though. A trip will be droppin' mad orchestral download from the usual online Buhai’s uncluttered collection). random articles of clothing, to Bed Bath & Beyond is beats on the soon-to-be-released retailers on January 19. Or you And I’m a total hoarder when it clutches, belts, etc. in the shelf definitely in my future! Mass Effect 2, according to a could just, you know, leave the comes to clothes (fashion trends above. As for my shoes, I Follow ELLE on Twitter recent EA press release. Though game running in the other room are cyclical, right?). I moved to a initially had a useful rack inside you may not be familiar with the with the volume turned way up. new apartment a few months name, you're probably familiar Your choice! with his work -- Wall produced Jack Wall scoring Mass Effect the scores for Jade Empire, 2, score the soundtrack yourself Splinter Cell, Myst III and co- on Jan. 19 originally appeared on (Holy Kaw!) The experts say a sizable booty composed the accompaniment Joystiq on Tue, 12 Jan 2010 is preferable over a helpless for the original Mass Effect. So, 13:45:00 EST. Please see our Submitted at 1/12/2010 11:16:00 AM muffintop because research has you know he's already got terms for use of feeds. If you consider “Baby Got shown that carrying extra weight experience with theremins and Read| Permalink| Email this| Back” your personal theme song, around the waist increases the other sci-fi synthesizers, which is Comments then you could have added risk of diabetes and heart important for this kind of work. protection against cardiovascular disease. and metabolic diseases. British Plenty of health news and scientists have found that views. carrying extra weight in the hips, that fat in the thighs contains an Photo credit: Fotolia butt and thighs helps the body anti-inflammatory agent that Permalink| Leave a comment » soak up harmful fatty acids and prevents clogged arteries.

Jack Wall scoring Mass Effect 2, score the soundtrack yourself on Jan. 19

A big butt is good for your health

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Sam Shepard’s Day Out of Days By ELLE.com (ELLE News Blog) Submitted at 1/12/2010 9:17:32 AM

People say Hollywood crushes are a silly pastime, a waste of misguided, pointless affection that won’t lead to anything but regrettable late night postings on fan site guestbooks and awkward explanations when the real love in your life finally realizes why there is a giant framed (autographed) poster of say, oh I don’t know, Mandy Patinkin on your bedroom wall. Though I take their point, I don’t totally agree: Two of my longest running actor admirations have unexpectedly enlightened me in ways I never would’ve otherwise been enlightened. Through Patinkin (whom I first discovered as cantankerous surgeon Jeffrey Geiger on Chicago Hope) I came upon musical theater, Stephen Sondheim’s songwriting, and the other life of the inimitable Patti

Lupone, who, up until I bought my first recording of the original Broadway production of Evita, I naïvely thought existed only as Corky and Becca’s Mom on Life Goes On. The second of my admirations goes to Sam Shepard, the actor whose performance—and let’s be honest, rugged, Tom Skerritt meets Scott Glenn good looks—in the 1983 movie The Right Stuff made quite the impression on little ol’ boy crazy me. “He writes, too,” my Mother told me one afternoon. “He writes very well, in fact.” Of course when I first ploughed through Buried Child, the play that had won Shepard his Pulitzer, my middle school mind didn’t pick up on much less appreciate the complexity of the story. But as I grew older and read more of his work (and reread Buried Child), I began to hear his literary voice, which even from his earliest plays, has been strong, unpretentious, and

Shepard’s unique, economic way of stitching a story. He’s not too good to end a sentence with a preposition, to use pleb colloquialisms, or to inject unnecessary f-bombs. I never know how much of Shepard’s writing is autobiographical (he’s quite adept at blurring those lines), but he writes with the kind of authority that makes you believe—and with the kind of depth that makes you think. Day Out of Days is available now in hardcover. —Johanna Cox, Junior Editor Day Out of Days book jacket; Shepard at Sundance in late ’06; Shepard and his longtime partner, actress Jessica Lange, singular. though varied in theme from back in ‘84 Today, Shepard releases his hallucinations involving talking, Photos: Courtesy of Random newest book, Day Out of Days, a severed heads to discovering and House and WireImage collection of almost poem-like adopting Dostoyevsky’s most F ollow ELLE on Twitter. short stories, many of which used word (p. 155 for the Become our Facebook fan! don’t even reach the length of a a n s w e r ) t o p a s t o r a l N e w page. About half are written in Mexican scenery out the side first-person, the other half in window of a pick-up truck, are third, and the stories themselves, all coherently hemmed in by

Golden Globe Fashion Wish List By ELLE.com (ELLE News Blog)

Lacroix Haute Couture, Cameron Diaz in Chanel Haute Couture, and Maggie Gyllenhaal in Submitted at 1/12/2010 8:47:29 AM Lanvin (this look, in particular, At last year’s Golden Globes, a incited strong, sometimes harsh, small group of young stars reactions). For the 67th Globes, rocked some decidedly bold red airing this Sunday, I have my carpet choices that still, to this heart set on seeing a handful of day, stand out in my mind. The young stars wear looks by a few Chloë Sevigny, Anna Paquin, three chicest, in my opinion, hot young designers. Here, what and Marion Cotillard in come were Freida Pinto in Christian I hope to see Carey Mulligan,

Sunday (I love the idea of a short dress on the red carpet— rememer the Calvin Klein mini Sarah Jessica Parker wore postOscars in 2001?) —Violet Moon Gayn or My red carpet wish list, clockwise from left: Carey Mulligan in Cushnie et Ochs, Marion Cotillard in Jason Wu, Chloë Sevigny in Prabal Gurung,

and Anna Paquin in Jen Kao Runway photos: Imaxtree; Carey Mulligan, Chloë Sevigny, and Anna Paquin: Retna; Marion Cotillard: Getty Images Follow ELLE on Twitter. Become our Facebook fan!

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Bird-Plane Strike Incidents Soar Toward 10,000 (FOXNews.com)

dramatic river landing. But when a Sikorsky helicopter crashed en route to an oil WASHINGTON platform last January after hitting WASHINGTON -- Reports of a red-tailed hawk near Morgan airplanes hitting birds and other City, La., the two pilots and six w i l d l i f e s u r g e d l a s t y e a r , of seven passengers were killed. including serious accidents such The lone survivor was critically a s b i r d s c r a s h i n g t h r o u g h injured. cockpits and crippling engines in Why the increase in bird-strike f l i g h t , a c c o r d i n g t o a n reports? Associated Press analysis of new Airports and airlines have government data. More than a become more diligent about d o z e n s t a t e s a c r o s s t w o reporting, said Mike Beiger, migration routes from Minnesota national coordinator for the to Texas have seen the highest airport wildlife hazards program increases. at the Agriculture Department. "Birds and planes are fighting for Experts also blame increasing a i r s p a c e , a n d i t ' s g e t t i n g populations of large birds like increasingly crowded," said Canada geese that can knock out Richard Dolbeer, an expert on engines on passenger jets. bird-plane collisions who is Reports of bird strikes through advising the Federal Aviation July have doubled in at least 17 A d m i n i s t r a t i o n a n d t h e states since 2005, including A g r i c u l t u r e D e p a r t m e n t . many along the Mississippi and The government's tally for all c e n t r a l m i g r a t o r y f l y w a y s bird strikes last year could reach running across the central U.S. or even exceed 10,000 for the The 17 states are: Arkansas, f i r s t t i m e - - w h i c h w o u l d Colorado, Delaware, Iowa, represent about 27 strikes every K a n s a s , M a i n e , M i c h i g a n , day. There were at least 57 cases Minnesota, Mississippi, North in the first seven months of 2009 C a r o l i n a , O k l a h o m a , that caused serious damage and Pennsylvania, South Carolina, three in which planes and a South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, c o r p o r a t e h e l i c o p t e r w e r e Wisconsin. destroyed by birds. At least eight The surge in reports for 2009 -people died, and six more were expected to be as much as 40 hurt. percent higher once the final The destroyed planes include the accounting is in -- comes in spite Airbus A320 that, with 155 of government concerns that passengers and crew, went into disclosing details about such the Hudson a year ago this week strikes would discourage reports after hitting a flock of Canada by airports and airlines out of geese. No lives were lost in that worries about lost business. The Submitted at 1/11/2010 11:49:24 PM

previous high was 7,507 strikes in 2007. After US Airways Flight 1549 landed in the Hudson on Jan. 15, the AP asked the government for its data, including details about more than 93,000 strikes since 1990. Even after the FAA agreed to turn over the records to the AP, it quietly proposed a new federal rule to keep the information secret. But Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood intervened and ordered the release. LaHood recently included the disclosure in a list of the department's leading safety accomplishments for last year. "Going public doesn't appear to have harmed it, and every indicator I have is we have an increased industry awareness on the importance of reporting," said Kate Lang, FAA acting associate administrator for airports, in an interview. Not all airports have been diligent. Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, for example, showed 46 strikes during the first seven months of 2008 but only 12 for the same period in 2009. When the AP asked about the decline, the airport said there were 28 strikes -- not 12 -during that period in 2009 but the airport had neglected to report more than half of them. A spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, John Kelly, said the reporting failure was an oversight and the airport would

immediately file the missing incidents. The authority manages the airport, which last year had one of the highest rates of bird strikes in the country. Dolbeer, the government's birdstrike expert, said a spate of serious collisions that took place miles away from airports was especially troubling. On Nov. 4 over eastern Arizona, for instance, air cargo pilot Roger Wutke had just begun a descent from 11,000 feet in his twin-engine Beechcraft turboprop when a western grebe -- a two-foot-long water bird -crashed through his windshield. The bird hit Wutke, knocking off his glasses, breaking his radio headset and splattering him in blood. Unable to see out much of the shattered left windshield and unable to hear air traffic controllers, Wutke still managed to land the plane safely. "I don't know how I did it," Wutke, 26, said in an interview. "It was pretty rough." Two days earlier, a Delta Air Lines jet en route from Phoenix to Salt Lake City with 65 passengers struck grebes at about 12,000 feet. The impact tore a 21 -inch hole in the MD-90's fuselage, forcing pilots to declare an emergency and return to Phoenix. On Nov. 14, a Frontier Airlines Airbus A319 en route to Denver collided with a flock of snow geese at about 4,000 feet, forcing the shutdown of one engine. The

other engine was also struck but didn't lose power. The plane returned to Kansas City for an emergency landing. The FAA has mostly focused on keeping birds away from airports, where most strikes take place. But grebes and snow geese are migratory birds and were flying miles away from airports when these collisions took place -- evidence that more attention is needed to reduce the threat of wildlife strikes away from airports, Dolbeer said. The FAA said it is cracking down on airports who have had serious bird strike incidents but failed to complete required assessments of risks from birds. The agency identified 91 airports that should have conducted formal assessments but didn't, Lang said. The agency is working on a proposal to make the assessments mandatory for all commercial airports. It's also testing different bird-detecting radars, which enable workers to find birds and chase them away. Some airports are replacing shrubbery that attracts birds and insects that other birds eat. In some cases, airports bring in predatory hawks to chase away flocks of smaller birds. In the first seven months of 2009 there were 4,671 wildlife strikes reported in the government's data, an increase of 22 percent over the same period BIRD-PLANE page 74

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Some fear Kan. ruling may spur abortion violence (AP) (Yahoo! News: U.S. News)

dispute: On a balmy Sunday morning, Roeder got up from a pew at Wichita's Reformation WICHITA, Kan. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; A judge's Lutheran Church at the start of decision to allow a confessed services and walked to the foyer, killer to argue that he believes where Tiller and a fellow usher the slaying of one of the nation's were chatting. Wordlessly, he few late-term abortion providers pressed the barrel of a .22-caliber was a justified act aimed at handgun to Tiller's forehead and saving unborn children has pulled the trigger. upended what most expected to Prosecutors charged Roeder be an open-and-shut first-degree with first-degree murder. The 51murder case. year-old from Kansas City, Mo., Prosecutors have challenged the later admitted to reporters and in ruling that allows Scott Roeder a court filing that he killed Tiller. to tell a jury that the fatal The prosecution stands ready shooting of Wichita doctor with more than 250 prospective George Tiller was voluntary witnesses to prove it. m a n s l a u g h t e r . A T u e s d a y But what had been expected to hearing is scheduled to allow be a simple trial was altered Roeder's defense attorneys to Friday when Sedgwick County respond. Judge Warren Wilbert decided Some abortion opponents were he would allow Roeder to build a pleasantly stunned and eager to defense case calling for a lesser watch Roeder plead his case. c h a r g e o f v o l u n t a r y Tiller's colleagues and abortion manslaughter because Roeder rights advocates were outraged sincerely believed the May 31 and feared the court's actions slaying would save unborn give more than tacit approval to children. further acts of violence. Kansas law defines voluntary "This judge has basically m a n s l a u g h t e r a s " a n announced a death sentence for unreasonable but honest belief all of us who help women," said that circumstances existed that Dr. Warren Hern of Boulder, j u s t i f i e d d e a d l y f o r c e . " A Colo., a longtime friend of conviction could bring a prison Tiller's who also performs late- sentence closer to five years, term abortions. "That is the instead of a life term for firsteffect of the ruling." degree murder. The facts of the case are not in Prosecutors argued Monday that Submitted at 1/12/2010 10:18:54 AM

such a defense should not be considered because there is no evidence Tiller posed an imminent threat at the time of the killing. "The State encourages this Court to not be the first to enable a defendant to justify premeditated murder because of an emotionally charged political belief," the prosecution wrote. Defense attorneys filed a motion Tuesday arguing that in Roeder's mind, the "imminence of danger" Tiller posed to fetuses was greater than mere fear of future harm because Tiller's clinic was performing abortions. "It had staff. It had a practitioner. It had a budget. It had clientele. It assumedly had a schedule of pending abortion procedures. In the mind of Mr. Roeder, the victim presented a clear danger to unborn children," the defense wrote. As events unfold inside a Wichita courtroom, the Kansas Supreme Court was considering a challenge from four media outlets, including The Associated Press, over the judge's decision to bar reporters from witnessing jury selection. But key questions being asked outside the courtroom have galvanized both sides of the abortion debate. Will the judge's decision

embolden militant anti-abortion activists and lead to open season on abortion providers? Does the Justice Department plan to file charges against Roeder under federal statutes guaranteeing access to clinics? And what does it portend for the unfolding case itself and the inevitable legal challenges to the nation's abortion laws? Hern, the doctor in Colorado, said it's irrelevant that Wilbert won't decide until after the defense presents its evidence whether to allow jurors to actually consider a conviction on the lesser charge. "The damage is done: The judge has agreed to give him a platform," Hern said. "It is an act of incomprehensible stupidity on the part of the judge, but he is carrying out the will of the people of Kansas who are trying to get out of the 19th century." The Feminist Majority Foundation also denounced the ruling, saying Wilbert essentially was allowing a justifiable homicide defense. The group urged the Justice Department to file federal charges under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. Justice Department spokesman Alejandro Miyar declined to comment, citing an ongoing investigation.

The Rev. Don Spitz of Chesapeake, Va., who runs a Web site supporting violence against abortion providers, said he and other activists from the Army of God plan to quietly observe the court proceedings. "I am flabbergasted, but in a good way," Spitz said of the judge's decision. Spitz acknowledged Wilbert's decision may influence some people who in the past wouldn't kill abortion providers because they risked a sentence of death or life imprisonment. "It may increase the number of people who may be willing to take that risk," he said. In Des Moines, Iowa, militant anti-abortion activist Dave Leach agreed the decision opens the door to presenting the same evidence as in a case of justifiable homicide. It was Leach who wrote the 104-page legal brief Roeder signed and submitted to the court in which he admitted killing Tiller. "The closer we come to a court actually addressing these issues, the less danger abortionists are going to be in," Leach said. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

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Iran bomb blamed on US and Israel (BBC News | Americas | World Edition) Submitted at 1/12/2010 6:39:02 AM

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. BBC Persian's Sadeq Saba says the attack is surrounded by mystery Iranian state media have accused Israel and the US of being involved in a bomb attack which killed an Iranian physicist in Tehran. State broadcaster Irib quoted Iran's foreign ministry spokesman as saying there were signs of Israeli and US involvement "in the terrorist act". The US state department dismissed the allegation as "absurd". Masoud Ali Mohammadi described as a "devoted revolutionary professor" - was killed by a remotely-controlled bomb. The implication was clear - it was a Western plot to sabotage Iran's nuclear programme. But as so often in Iran, there was more to it. According to British academics, Mr Mohammadi is an expert in another branch of physics, and highly unlikely to be involved in nuclear research. At the same time, the reformist movement issued what it said was evidence that Mr Mohammadi supported their presidential candidate MirHossein Mousavi in last year's election.

It all added to suspicions created by the unusually prompt and thorough coverage of his death in the Iranian media. Whatever actually happened, the opposition will certainly fear this killing will be used as an opportunity for a new crackdown. Reports in the Iranian media described Mr Mohammadi as a nuclear physicist, but it appears that his field of study was quantum theory. There was also confusion as to whether the attack had any political overtones. One university official said Mr Mohammadi was not a political figure. But other reports said his name appeared on a list of academics backing opposition

leader Mir Hossein Mousavi before the 2009 presidential election. Tensions have been high in Iran since the disputed election led to mass protests against the government. Mr Mohammadi, who worked at Tehran University, "was killed in a booby-trapped motorbike blast" in the city's northern Qeytariyeh district, state-run Press TV reported earlier. It showed pictures from the scene of the blast, saying windows in the nearby buildings had been shattered by the force of the explosion. 'Triangle of wickedness' Local media reports say the bomb was attached to a motorcycle parked outside Mr

powers' elements". The BBC's Tehran correspondent Jon Leyne, who is in London, says Iran usually refers to its enemies in the West as "the arrogant powers". The opposition in Iran will fear that Tuesday's blast will be used against it as part of a crackdown, our correspondent adds. Police sealed off the area and launched an investigation into the incident. Some conservatives have suggested that the People's Mujahideen Organisation - a banned militant group opposed to the Tehran government - was involved. The group denied the accusation. No-one has claimed responsibility for the blast and at Mohammadi's home, although this stage there could only be one agency said it had been speculation as to possible planted in a rubbish bin. motives for the attack, Irib later quoted Iran's foreign correspondents say. ministry spokesman as saying There has been much that "in the initial investigation, controversy over Iran's nuclear signs of the triangle of activities. wickedness by the Zionist Tehran says its nuclear regime, America and their hired programme is for peaceful agents, are visible in the terrorist energy purposes, but the US and act". other Western nations suspect it Press TV quoted security of seeking to build nuclear officials at the scene as saying weapons. that the equipment and system of In December, Tehran accused the bomb used in the attack had Saudi Arabia of detaining an been related to a number of Iranian nuclear scientist and foreign intelligence agencies, handing him over to the US. particularly Israel's Mossad. Saudi Arabia denied the claim. In its earlier report, Irib said Mr Print Sponsor Mohammadi "was martyred this morning in a terrorist act by antiIRAN page 70 revolutionary and arrogant

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3 Men Apparently Abduct Wrong Guy in N.J.

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Muller said "yes," they shot him with a stun gun and bound his hands and feet, authorities said. KANSAS CITY, Mo. Three Authorities would not say western Missouri men charged Monday why the men were with kidnapping a man in New looking for a Jeff Muller. Jersey and driving nearly 1,200 Once in the getaway car, miles before he was rescued Muller's captors falsely told him apparently abducted the wrong his wife was being held hostage guy, authorities said Monday. at the couple's home, police said. Douglas Stangeland, 46, of His wife arrived at the pet store N e v a d a , M o . , a n d L o n n i e about two hours later and found S w a r n e s , 4 4 , a n d A n d r e w it locked and dark. Police found Wadel, 21, both of Rich Hill, Muller's eyeglasses and lunch in appeared in court in Missouri's the parking lot, where his vehicle Miller County on charges of first also was parked and locked. -degree kidnapping. Authorities Mueller, of Sussex County, N.J., said none of the men had said the suspects drove through attorneys and all were being held the night, held a gun against the without bond. victim and threatened to harm "Based on the investigation thus him. far, we believe this to be a case Peckman, the Vernon County of mistaken identity," said sheriff, said authorities suspect Gregory Mueller, an assistant t h e m e n w e r e h e a d e d t o prosecutor in Sussex County, Stangeland's Nevada, Mo., home N.J., where the three men are before they had car trouble charged. Saturday in the small town of Vernon County, Mo., Sheriff Lake Ozark, about 115 miles to Ron Peckman described the three the east in Miller County. as "bumbling idiots." A convenience store clerk saw T h e s u s p e c t s a l l e g e d l y Muller attempt to escape and approached pet store owner Jeff called police. When officers Muller, 59, of Newton, N.J., arrived, the suspects were trying outside his business there Friday to restrain the bruised Muller, morning and asked if he was Jeff police said. Muller, Newton Police Chief Muller was in shock and had a John Tomasula said. When "glazed over look about him" Submitted at 1/12/2010 6:32:22 AM

after the rescue, said Lake Ozark Police Chief Mark Maples. His kidnapping story gained credibility when authorities confirmed he had been reported missing in New Jersey. "We were thinking it might be the next Sunday night movie," Maples said. "It's that strange truthfully." Muller flew home Sunday. Messages left Monday at his New Jersey home weren't immediately returned. Peckman said his department also was investigating whether the three men were involved in a home invasion in November in which the homeowner was shot in the hand. He said Stangeland had a vending machine route and didn't know whether the other two men worked. The Miller County prosecutor's office said Swarnes agreed Monday to return to New Jersey, where the charges were filed, but Wadel and Stangeland declined to waive extradition. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Economic History of the World by Alan Beattie. • Biographies and narratives. 800-CEO-Read selected the best The Match King: Ivar Kreuger, business books of 2009. These the Financial Genius Behind a are the winners in the eleven Century of Wall Street Scandals categories: by Frank Partnoy. • Entrepreneurship and small • Current interest. Too Big to business. Escape from Cubicle Fail: The Inside Story of How Nation: From Corporate Prisoner Wall Street and Washington to Thriving Entrepreneur by Fought to Save the Financial Pamela Slim. System—and Themselves by • Leadership. Maestro: A Andrew Ross Sorkin. Surprising Story About Leading • Personal development. Power by Listening. of 2: How to Make the Most of • Management. The Four Your Partnerships at Work and C o n v e r s a t i o n s : D a i l y in Life by Rodd Wagner & Gale C o m m u n i c a t i o n T h a t G e t s Muller, Ph.D. Results by Jeffery Ford & Laurie • Innovation and creativity. The Ford. Design of Business: Why Design • Marketing and advertising. T h i n k i n g I s t h e N e x t Trust Agents: Using the Web to Competitive Advantage by B u i l d I n f l u e n c e , I m p r o v e Roger L. Martin. Reputation, and Earn Trust by by • Big ideas. What Would Chris Brogan & Julien Smith. Google Do? by Jeff Jarvis. • Sales. A Seat at the Table: How Top Salespeople Connect Total coverage of startups and and Drive Decisions at the finance. Executive Level by Marc Miller. Permalink| Leave a comment » • Finance and economics. False Economy: A Surprising Submitted at 1/12/2010 9:25:00 AM

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Soldiers close shops in Venezuela (BBC News | Americas | World Edition) Submitted at 1/12/2010 1:23:14 AM

Government inspectors backed by soldiers have shut more than 70 shops in Venezuela accused of trying to cash in on last week's currency devaluation. Soldiers have been on the streets to check prices as people queue to buy imports, fearing prices could rise. Devaluing the bolivar by at least 17% will aid competition and cut reliance on imports, President Hugo Chavez says. On Sunday he warned that businesses engaging in what he called speculation would be shut down or taken over. As soon as trading started again after the president's comments a series of supermarkets and other businesses across Venezuela were taken over by government tax inspectors. State-run news agency ABN said food, car parts and other businesses were temporarily closed "for changing the price of products and for speculation". The National Guard stepped in at three superstores belonging to the Exito supermarket chain. State television showed the

alleged rises in prices on everything from plasma television screens to packets of cereal. The bolivar's official exchange rate, which is set by government decree, had been held steady at 2.45 to the US dollar since the last devaluation in March 2005. But on Friday, President Chavez announced that it would now have two rates - 2.60 to dollar for "priority" imports, and 4.30 to the dollar for other items considered non-essential - a 50% devaluation. The BBC's Will Grant, in Venezuela, says that since the devaluation was announced long queues have formed outside outlets selling electronic goods and technology. Customers fear that significant price rises are on their way. Venezuela already has the highest rate of inflation in Latin America - currently at about 25%. President Chavez says that these measures will rein it in but many economic analysts predict that it will only get worse in the short term. Oscar Meza, director of a Venezuelan economic think tank, Cendas, predicted the move

would push annual inflation above 33%. 'Irresponsible policy' "It's impossible for prices not to be adjusted," he told the Associated Press. "If they aren't adjusted, they'll disappear." President Chavez dismissed the criticism on Sunday on his weekly television and radio programme, Alo Presidente, saying there was "no reason for anybody to be raising prices". He urged his supporters to "publicly denounce the speculator" and warned business owners that he had asked the military to formulate an "offensive plan" that would see them "take over any business, of any size, that plays the bourgeois speculation game". Luis Ignacio Planas of the opposition Copei party said the government was "acting like a pickpocket, sticking its hands in the pockets of Venezuelans, taking their money to continue financing and paying for an irresponsible economic policy". Print Sponsor Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Explosives alert closes US port (BBC News | Americas | World Edition)

allegedly used by a Nigerian man accused of trying to destroy an airliner about to land in Detroit Submitted at 1/12/2010 10:25:39 AM on Christmas Day. A major US port in the state of Reports say there is no sense of North Carolina has been closed panic in Morehead City. a f t e r c o n t a i n e r s c a r r y i n g Resident Drew Hall told the explosive material were found Associated Press news agency by punctured in Morehead City. phone: "Everybody is going People have been told to leave about their business. Why get the area. The chemical involved, nervous? Things happen. You known as PETN, is a powerful can't freak out in times like this." explosive. Are you in the area? Were you The mayor said a forklift e v a c u a t e d ? S e n d u s y o u r o p e r a t o r h a d a c c i d e n t a l l y comments using the form below. punctured at least one container. A selection of your comments No injuries are reported. may be published, displaying The Morehead port - one of the your name and location unless deepest on the US East coast - is you state otherwise in the box a m a j o r e n t r y p o i n t f o r below. commodities. The BBC may edit your A police spokesman told comments and not all emails will Reuters news agency: "As a be published. Your comments precaution, they have evacuated may be published on any BBC the port area... everything media worldwide. indicates this was by accident." Five Filters featured article: P E T N , o r p e n t a e r y t h r i t o l Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: tetranitrate, is used both in PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, military ammunition and for Term Extraction. industrial explosions. It was also the substance

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Damaged container of explosives shuts down NC port (AP)

Record profit for US central bank

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Submitted at 1/12/2010 10:18:38 AM

MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Officials shut down a North Carolina port and urged people to leave the area Tuesday after a forklift operator punctured at least one container filled with a powerful explosive. The material was pentaerythritol tetranitrate, but it's not clear what form it was in, Mayor Jerry Jones said. The chemical is also known as PETN, the substance authorities say was part of a device a Nigerian man used to try to bring down a Detroit-bound Northwest flight on Christmas Day. PETN is often used in military explosives and found inside blasting caps. It is also the primary ingredient in detonating cords used for industrial explosions. Jones said the damage appeared to be an accident and there were no concerns about terrorism. He said a dock worker punctured a container as he was unloading barrels of the chemical. Any accident involving hazardous materials must be reported immediately to the

Morehead City Fire Department. "That's how we found out about it," he said. "We don't think there's a danger. Everything is under control. But you have to be careful." Officials had earlier said nine containers were punctured, but Jones said he was not sure exactly how many were damaged. He said he did not know the chemical was being shipped through the port, but whoever was shipping it should have contacted the city's emergency management department. A telephone message left for Morehead City Fire Chief Wes Lail was not immediately returned. Karen Fox, a spokeswoman with the North Carolina State Ports Authority, said the chemical was being unloaded in Morehead City. But she said she did not know where the shipment came from or where it was headed. " Explosive materials are handled routinely at the port," she said. Meanwhile, police told people near the port to stay away from windows and doors. Officers were sent downtown to knock on

doors and relay alert and evacuation recommendations. About 8,800 people live in the coastal town. Morehead City police spokeswoman Amy H. Thompson said people close to the port were leaving, but she did not know how many. The Morehead port is one of the deepest on the East coast. Its Web site says its top import last year was sulfur products and the top export was phosphate. Locals said there was no sense of panic. Drew Hall, who answered the phone at Crystal Coast Jamboree, a concert hall near the port, said she could see police lights. "Everybody is going about their business," said Hall, 27 who has lived in Morehead City her whole life and does not remember a similar incident. "Why get nervous? Things happen. You can't freak out in times like this. If you freak out, you're going to go down." Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Submitted at 1/12/2010 7:00:49 AM

The Federal Reserve made a profit of $52.1bn (ÂŁ32.2bn) in 2009, a rise of 47% over the previous year. The sum allowed the central bank to pay a record $46.1bn to the US Treasury last year. That was the largest amount ever paid by the central bank since its creation in 1914. The record figure was largely thanks to its attempts to support the financial system throughout the ongoing financial crisis. The Fed funds itself from its own operations and returns any profits to the Treasury department. Taxpayer gains The figures suggest that US taxpayers have, so far, gained money from the US government's action in propping up the system. Some of the profit has come from interest earned on

government bonds and mortgage -related securities - including those of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The emergency lending programmes instituted by the central bank during the last year's financial crisis helped swell the Fed's balance sheet to more than $2tn. They were designed to keep down interest rates and get banks lending to each other again, hoping to spark an economic recovery. The Fed could also lose money on its holdings if it sells them at a time when they have fallen in value. The Fed also earned money from its emergency loans to banks and other firms, such as the giant carmakers. It charged both interest and fees on these. Print Sponsor Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

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Court Reinstates Death Sentence for Ohio Neo-Nazi (FOXNews.com)

woman. The 1983 trial became a public spectacle as Spisak celebrated CLEVELAND The Supreme his killings in court and openly Court on Tuesday reinstated for a discussed his hateful views. He second time the death sentence e v e n g r e w a H i t l e r - s t y l e of a neo-Nazi convicted of mustache, carried a copy of murdering three men in Ohio Hitler's book, "Mein Kampf" more than a quarter century ago. during the proceedings and gave The justices ruled unanimously the Nazi salute to the jury. that a federal appeals court The 6th Circuit once before had wrongly set aside the death thrown out Spisak's sentence sentence of Frank Spisak. only to be reversed by the The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Supreme Court. Appeals in Cincinnati found Spisak, who has called himself S p i s a k ' s t r i a l l a w y e r w a s Frances Anne, blamed his crimes ineffective and that his jury on a mental illness related to a received faulty sentencing sexual identity crisis. instructions. Cleveland's Cuyahoga County In an opinion by Justice Stephen Common Pleas Judge Brendan Breyer, the high court said the Sheehan, who was 15 when 6th Circuit should have deferred Spisak was tried for killing his to state court rulings that upheld father in a men's bathroom at Spisak's death sentence. Cleveland State, said his family Spisak was convicted of three would be relieved to have the murders at Cleveland State lingering case move ahead. University over a seven-month "We're hoping that this chapter period in 1982 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; crimes he said can be put behind us and that the were motivated by his hatred of Ohio courts will follow through gays, blacks and Jews. At the with Supreme Court statements," same time, Spisak claimed his said Sheehan, who developed an crimes were sparked by mental interest in the law during the illness related to confusion about Spisak trial. his sexual identity. He wants to The case's duration has been have surgery to become a difficult on his family, Sheehan Submitted at 1/12/2010 9:12:45 AM

BIRD-PLANE continued from page 66

in 2008. More serious accidents increased over the same period by 36 percent. Officials are still manually adding paper reports said. "Here again is another chapter for the second half of the year, where you know a family who and they said online reports has moved forward in their lives indicate an even larger increase has to go back to a dark part in over that period. t h e i r t i m e a n d r e h a s h The database includes collisions with all wildlife -- deer and something," he said. Spisak's attorney, Michael coyotes on runways, for example Benza, said he was disappointed -- but historically 98 percent of the court didn't agree that the reported incidents involve birds. performance of Spisak's trial In one case, according to the lawyer had harmed his chances. government reports, a bald eagle Benza had argued that that was sucked into the right engine S p i s a k ' s a t t o r n e y , T h o m a s of a United Airlines Boeing 757 Shaughnessy, who died in 1997, that had just taken off from failed to argue that various Denver International Airport and circumstances in his favor meant caused $14 million in damage. Spisak should escape the death The plane, with 151 passengers penalty. Shaughnessy described a n d c r e w b o u n d t o S a n Spisak at trial as "demented" and Francisco, returned to Denver. Last month, a Continental "undeserving of sympathy." "It's very troubling that a lawyer Airlines Boeing 767 with 134 can stand up and say the things passengers struck birds after that the lawyer said in this case taking off from Newark Liberty to the detriment of the client," International Airport in New Benza said. The case is Smith v. Spisak, 08724. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Jersey, damaging one engine. The plane dumped 9,700 gallons of jet fuel over a warehouse district west of Newark before returning to the airport. The data showed 218 airports reported fewer strikes during the first seven months of 2009, but 351 airports reported more strikes; 59 reported no change from the same period the previous year. Denver recorded more bird strikes in the first seven months of 2009 than any other airport with 273, an increase over 223 during the same period in 2008. It is spending more money and has hired a second biologist. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

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Court reinstates death sentence for Ohio neo-Nazi (AP) (Yahoo! News: U.S. News)

woman. The 1983 trial became a public spectacle as Spisak celebrated CLEVELAND – The Supreme his killings in court and openly Court on Tuesday reinstated for a discussed his hateful views. He second time the death sentence e v e n g r e w a H i t l e r - s t y l e of a neo-Nazi convicted of mustache, carried a copy of murdering three men in Ohio Hitler's book, " Mein Kampf" more than a quarter century ago. during the proceedings and gave The justices ruled unanimously the Nazi salute to the jury. that a federal appeals court The 6th Circuit once before had wrongly set aside the death thrown out Spisak's sentence sentence of Frank Spisak. only to be reversed by the The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Supreme Court. Appeals in Cincinnati found Spisak, who has called himself S p i s a k ' s t r i a l l a w y e r w a s Frances Anne, blamed his crimes ineffective and that his jury on a mental illness related to a received faulty sentencing sexual identity crisis. instructions. Cleveland's Cuyahoga County In an opinion by Justice Stephen Common Pleas Judge Brendan Breyer, the high court said the Sheehan, who was 15 when 6th Circuit should have deferred Spisak was tried for killing his to state court rulings that upheld father in a men's bathroom at Spisak's death sentence. Cleveland State, said his family Spisak was convicted of three would be relieved to have the murders at Cleveland State lingering case move ahead. University over a seven-month "We're hoping that this chapter period in 1982 — crimes he said can be put behind us and that the were motivated by his hatred of Ohio courts will follow through gays, blacks and Jews. At the with Supreme Court statements," same time, Spisak claimed his said Sheehan, who developed an crimes were sparked by mental interest in the law during the illness related to confusion about Spisak trial. his sexual identity. He wants to The case's duration has been have surgery to become a difficult on his family, Sheehan Submitted at 1/12/2010 8:45:26 AM

said. "Here again is another chapter where you know a family who has moved forward in their lives has to go back to a dark part in their time and rehash something," he said. Spisak's attorney, Michael Benza, said he was disappointed the court didn't agree that the performance of Spisak's trial lawyer had harmed his chances. Benza had argued that that Spisak's attorney, Thomas Shaughnessy, who died in 1997, failed to argue that various circumstances in his favor meant Spisak should escape the death penalty. Shaughnessy described Spisak at trial as "demented" and "undeserving of sympathy." "It's very troubling that a lawyer can stand up and say the things that the lawyer said in this case to the detriment of the client," Benza said. The case is Smith v. Spisak, 08724. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Religion and women (Holy Kaw!) Submitted at 1/12/2010 11:19:00 AM

Theoretically, one of the reasons religions appealto people is that they provide moral and ethical guidance. However, they also perpetuate bad things—for example, the oppression of people. This is what former president Jimmy Carter recently said about religion and women:“Women are prevented from playing a full and equal role in many faiths, creating an environment in which violations against women are justified. The

belief that women are inferior human beings in the eyes of God gives excuses to the brutal husband who beats his wife, the soldier who rapes a woman, the employer who has a lower pay scale for women employees, or parents who decide to abort a female embryo.” Read this very interesting op-ed piece by Nicholas Kristof called“Religion and Women” to learn more. Coverage of religion. Photo credit: Fotolia Permalink| Leave a comment »