Liberty Newsprint Dec-30-09 by Liberty Newspost

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29/12/09 - 30/12/09

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Sarkozy carbon tax ruled unconstitutional By Lizzy Davies (World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk)

change and violates the equality enjoyed by all in terms of public charges," said the constitutional council in its eleventh hour ruling Submitted at 12/30/2009 9:08:41 AM last night. French court judges tax would Scrambling to salvage a project punish households while letting w h i c h t h e P r e s i d e n t h a d off big industrial polluters vigorously defended against Nicolas Sarkozy's dreams of c r i t i c i s m f r o m o p p o s i t i o n putting France on the frontline of politicians, green groups and the fight against global warming members of his own party, the were in disarray today, after his government insisted today the flagship carbon tax was ruled carbon tax had not been put off unconstitutional two days before for good. "It is a tough fight, but it was due to come into effect. a worthwhile one," said I n a n u n e x p e c t e d a n d spokesman Luc Chatel. Ministers embarrassing blow, the court promised a revised text within responsible for ensuring the weeks. validity of French legislation However, there was little the rejected the reform as ineffective government could do to distract and unfair. from the humiliation of having a It ruled that rather than being the much-trailed reform batted back revolutionary measure Sarkozy by the sages of the august promised, the tax would have let constitutional council. off many industrial polluters, Nor will the hopes of a new and while placing a improved plan do much to calm disproportionately heavy burden h e i g h t e n i n g w o r r i e s o v e r on ordinary households. revenue. Even if a revised "The large number of exemptions proposal is made, the tax – which from the carbon tax runs counter was expected to raise €1.5bn to the goal of fighting climate (£1.34bn) during 2010 – will take

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weeks to reach parliament again and even longer to start boosting state coffers. The opposition Socialist party made no secret of their glee at seeing the right-wing president fall at the final hurdle of his marathon battle to introduce a tax which was opposed by two-thirds of the public. "This is a good decision and shows once again that Sarkozy's way of doing things does not work," the Socialist party's parliamentary leader, Jean-Marc Ayrault, told French radio. "They announce a reform, listen to no one and produce a poor job. It's a real mess." Sarkozy, who has championed the environmental cause with increasing vigour since the strong performance of the French Greens in June's European elections, set out his vision for the carbon tax in September with the zeal of the ecological convert he claims to be. "It's a question of survival of the human race," he said. A tax of €17 (£17.22) per tonne of carbon emissions would

have been levied on oil, coal and gas consumption. But, while green campaigners warned the tax was not high enough to be effective, the Socialists and consumer groups claimed it would lead to an unfair situation in which certain people, such as car-dependant households in isolated areas, would be hit harder than the real culprits. The ruling of the constitutional council appeared to support those criticisms. It said that more than 1,000 of France's biggest polluters could have been exempted from the charges, and that 93% of industrial emissions would not have been taxed. However, many big polluters are required to participate in the EU emissions trading scheme, in which they must buy carbon permits if they exceed pollution targets. Speaking on French radio this yesterday morning, the junior minister for trade and consumption admitted mistakes had been made. "It was perhaps

shocking that the sectors given exemptions were those that polluted the most," said Hervé Novelli. "So we will have to put that right." Sarkozy, who is returning tonight from a Christmas break in Morocco with his wife Carla Bruni, has made no public comment on the setback. But Chantal Jouanno, the junior minister for ecology, said he remained "very determined" to get a carbon tax into law before the summer. • Carbon emissions • Nicolas Sarkozy • France • Climate change • Carbon footprints Lizzy Davies guardian.co.uk© Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions| More Feeds

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Hostage Peter Moore released in Iraq By Mark Tran, Martin Chulov (World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk)

by the Iraqi prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki. "The process of reconciliation is the foundation of the decision of the kidnappers to release him," Miliband said. Submitted at 12/30/2009 9:20:56 AM Moore's captors called the Iraqi IT consultant from Lincoln is government early this morning lone survivor of five taken in and said they were willing to free May 2007 militant raid on h i m i n e a s t B a g h d a d . T h e finance ministry in Baghdad hardline Islamic group known as Peter Moore, the only known t h e R i g h t e o u s L e a g u e h a d survivor from five British insisted on trading Moore for hostages in Iraq, has been Ghazali, who was captured near released in Baghdad. Basra by the SAS along with his The computer programmer was brother Laith al-Ghazali and a captured in the Iraqi capital in senior member of Lebanese 2007 by Shia militants with four Hezbollah in March 2007. other Britons and spent 31 The others Britons captured with months in captivity. The bodies Moore – all security guards – of all but one of the others have were Alec Maclachlan from since been returned to Britain. Llanelli in Wales, Alan Moore, aged 39, was released to McMenemy from Dumbarton in Iraqi officials this morning and Scotland, Jason Swindlehurst and then transferred to the British Jason Creswell. The bodies of embassy in Baghdad. A young Swindlehurst and Creswell were Shia cleric, Qais al-Ghazali, was identified in June, followed by expected to be freed from M a c l a c h l a n i n S e p t e m b e r . American military custody in McMenemy is also believed exchange. dead, though his body has not The British foreign secretary, been returned. David Milliband, said Moore was Until today there had been no in good health and "delighted" to word on Moore's fate since a b e f r e e d . H e w a s i n a DVD was handed to Iraqi "remarkable frame of mind given officials a few months ago the two and a half years that he showing him alive. has had. Real strength, real Senior Righteous League commitment, a real determination members have said Moore did to get back to his life." not know the fate of the other Miilband said the British four, all of whom were almost g o v e r n m e n t h a d m a d e n o certainly killed about 18 months substantive concessions to the ago, according to forensic k i d n a p p e r s a n d a t t r i b u t e d science findings. Moore's release to the process of Moore's father, Graeme, 60, reconciliation being carried out from Wigston, Leicestershire,

said he was "over the moon" at the news. "We are so relieved and we just want to get him home, back now to his family and friends. I'm breaking down, I'm just so overjoyed for the lad. It's been such a long haul. I know that there have been one or two people working in the background to get Peter released. "Peter is a very resilient lad and he always has been because of his background … but I don't know how close he was to those others who have been shot." Graeme Moore said he felt the Foreign Office had been "obstructive" in the effort to secure his son's safe release. Gordon Brown said he was "hugely relieved" by the "wonderful news" that Moore had been released and would be reunited with his family. "They have faced a terrible ordeal and I know that the whole nation will share their joy that he is coming home," Brown said. "At this moment of celebration we also remember the families of British hostages who have been killed in Iraq and elsewhere." There has been a phased release of Shia prisoners from American custody this year, many of whom had been linked to the Righteous League and to the firebrand cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Moore's release had been widely predicted to take place during the Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha, which this year fell in November. As it drew near Moore's captors had grown increasingly

concerned about his psychological state. The net of those who knew his whereabouts was so small that the kidnappers would not risk taking him to a doctor to treat a range of ailments he developed over the past six months. "To an extent the captors had become captive to their hostage," said one senior Iraqi government negotiator familiar with the negotiations. "They wanted to hand him back but they were not going to do so before Sheikh Qais was freed. And the Americans were holding out." Moore is being debriefed in Baghdad by embassy officials, medical staff and police attached to the embassy. He is expected to be flown to Kuwait or Jordan and then home to Britain. He had been working in Iraq as an IT consultant for the country's finance ministry, where he had also been helping install financial software. The five Britons were kidnapped by up to 40 men, many of whom were dressed in Iraqi police uniform, and driven towards Sadr City. Earlier this month a leading member of the Righteous League confirmed for the first time to the Guardian that the group was holding Moore and expressed frustration at delays over the trade for Ghazali. "This was due to be completed at the time of Eid al-Adha," said Salam al-Maliki, a Shia politician who heads the Righteous League's dialogue committee. "It

was not finalised because the Americans did not honour their pledge to release Sheikh Qais. "We have discussed this for many months and there has been progress made. But the sticking point has always been Sheikh Qais." A blueprint for the release of Moore was outlined earlier in the year in an interview given by a senior Righteous League figure to a Saudi website. The interview spelled out a phased series of trades of the five Britons for a large number of Shia Islamist prisoners, culminating in a swap of Moore for Ghazali and Ali Mahmoud al-Dakduk, of Hezbollah. The US military blames Ghazali, his brother Laith and Dakduk for an ambush in the Shia shrine city of Karbala in January 2007 in which five US soldiers were killed. The three were captured three months later by the SAS near Basra. Moore and the four guards were seized in Baghdad in late May the same year to try to secure the militants' release. A promising political career beckons for Ghazali, who has been courted by several Shia factions for a senior role. The former understudy to Moqtada al -Sadr has won favour in Shia Islamic circles in neighbouring Iran. The British government has been repeatedly criticised for its hands -off role in the hostage HOSTAGE page 5

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Pro-government rallies held across Iran (World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk)

Satan. "Enemies of the leader, according to the Qur'an, belong to the party of Satan," Alamolhoda told Submitted at 12/30/2009 8:56:05 AM demonstrators in Tehran in Iran's police chief threatens 'no comments broadcast on state mercy' in crushing opposition television. "Our war in the world protests, as state-sponsored is war against the opponents of rallies take place across country the rule of the supreme leader." Tens of thousands of hardline Police chief General Ismail government supporters turned out Ahmadi Moghaddam warned anti for state-sponsored rallies today, -government protesters to stay some of them calling for the off the streets or face harsh execution of opposition leaders, consequences. At least eight w h i l e I r a n ' s p o l i c e c h i e f people were killed in violence on threatened to show "no mercy" in Sunday, the country's worst crushing any new protests by the unrest since the aftermath of the pro-reform movement. disputed presidential election on Pro-government rallies were 12 June. staged in Shiraz, Arak, Qom and " I n d e a l i n g w i t h p r e v i o u s Tehran, among other cities. protests, police showed leniency. Demonstrators in Tehran chanted But given that these opponents "Death to Mousavi", a reference are seeking to topple (the ruling to the opposition leader, Mir system), there will be no mercy," Hossein Mousavi. Some shouted Moghaddam said, according to "Rioter hypocrites must be the official news agency IRNA. executed" and held up a banner "We will take severe action. The that read: "We sacrifice our blood era of tolerance is over. Anyone for the supreme leader." attending such rallies will be The government gave all civil crushed." servants and employees the day One of those killed on Sunday off to attend the rallies and was the nephew of Mousavi. organised buses to ferry in Iran's deputy police chief, Ahmad groups of schoolchildren and Reza Radan, said Ali Mousavi supporters from outlying rural was assassinated by unidentified areas. assailants and not killed by H a r d l i n e c l e r i c A h m a d security forces. Alamolhoda labelled opponents Ali Mousavi was buried of the supreme leader, Ayatollah yesterday in a hastily organised Ali Khamenei, as supporters of ceremony. Authorities had taken

his body from the hospital earlier in the week in what was seen as an attempt to prevent the funeral from turning into another proopposition protest. The opposition says Ali Mousavi was killed by security forces. The New York Times quoted a family friend saying he was run over by a vehicle outside his home in an assassination. The opposition leader and other family members attended the funeral. Iranian authorities faced uncomfortable questions about a graphic video broadcast on the internet purportedly from Sunday's demonstrations. It showed two white police pickup trucks, with large bullbars on the front bumpers, plowing separately into a group of protesters. One truck is first seen driving into the crowd, then reversing away from a body lying face down on the asphalt. The second truck then speeds up and runs over the body, lying in a pool of blood, as people nearby cry out. The authenticity of the video couldn't be independently verified. When asked about the video and whether police trucks intentionally ran over people, Moghaddam became enraged. "Don't ask lies," he said. "There are no pictures showing police

cars running over people." Radan said police had a video showing a black car running over two people during Sunday's violence. He said the owner of the car had been arrested but provided no other details. Moghaddam said more than 500 protesters who took part in Sunday's demonstrations were arrested, although the number may be higher since hardline Basij militiamen and intelligence agents may have apprehended more people on their own. There are increasing fears Mousavi could also be arrested, following the detention of a number of prominent activists and the sister of Nobel peace laureate Shirin Ebadi. The government has also limited the movement of a leading opposition figure, Mahdi Karroubi, by refusing to protect him when he leaves his home. Karroubi and Mousavi were the two defeated reformist candidates in the disputed June election, which set off the worst unrest in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Authorities were also tightly restricting media coverage of street rallies, internet access in the country is sporadic, as are cell phone and text messaging services. Sunday's deadly protests coincided with Ashoura, the most

Video: David Miliband on the release of UK hostage Peter Moore in Iraq (World news and comment from the Guardian |

Foreign secretary's statement on release of IT worker taken

hostage with four other Britons in Baghdad two years ago

solemn day of the year for Shia Muslims. The observance commemorates the 7th century death in battle of one of Shia Islam's most beloved saints, and it conveys a message of sacrifice in the face of repression. The arrests, along with tough criticism of the US and Britain, added to rising tensions with the west, which is threatening to impose tough new sanctions over Iran's suspected nuclear programme and has criticised the violent crackdown on antigovernment protesters. Yesterday the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, urged the government to keep security forces from using excessive force. She said she was "shocked by the upsurge in deaths, injuries and arrests" and stressed the people have the right to peacefully protest without being beaten and thrown into jail. â&#x20AC;˘ Iran â&#x20AC;˘ Protest guardian.co.ukÂŠ Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions| More Feeds

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Obama must not rush into retaliation | Micah Zenko By Micah Zenko (World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk) Submitted at 12/30/2009 9:00:00 AM

A military strike on Yemen in response to the attempted attack on flight 253 would be a bad short-term solution, as history shows American officials are still unravelling the failed terrorist bombing of a Detroit-bound Northwest Airlines flight on Christmas Day by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. While details remain unclear, it appears that Abdulmutallab received operational guidance and training in Yemen from al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. The revelation of the Yemenibased group's involvement has predictably brought pressure from congressional leaders and policy analysts to "do something" in response, including what is described by one administration official as " visible retaliatory military action". An overt and immediate US military strike in Yemen in response to the failed bomb plot may look increasingly likely, but it would be a bad short-term solution. As recent history demonstrates, counterterrorist strikes in retaliation for specific

terrorist plots or operations have often proven to be militarily ineffective, and unsuccessful in deterring the targeted group from pursuing additional terrorist attacks. Consider three wellknown examples: • In April 1986, the US president Ronald Reagan decided to retaliate against Libya for its involvement in the bombing of a Berlin disco that killed two American servicemen. US aircraft bombed a range of targets associated with the regime of Muammar Gaddafi, including the Aziziyah Barracks compound in Tripoli, where it was believed the Libyan leader lived. The results of the attacks were meagre: Libya's infrastructure was not significantly damaged and Gaddafi survived, becoming more defiant than ever. Moreover, Libya's support for international terrorism increased in direct response, with British and American hostages in Lebanon assassinated by Libyancontrolled terrorist groups, and most significantly, the explosion of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed 270 people. • In June 1993, after Iraqi intelligence agents allegedly plotted an assassination attempt on the former US president

24 hours in pictures (World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk)

George HW Bush during a trip to Kuwait, President Clinton ordered the launching of 23 cruise missiles against one wing of the Iraqi intelligence agency headquarters in Baghdad. The results of this retaliatory strike were a success, though it remains unclear if the cruise missiles played any role. The leadership wing of the Iraqi intelligence headquarters was destroyed, and according to Richard Clarke, counterterrorism tsar to presidents Clinton and Bush: "Subsequent to that June 1993 retaliation, the US intelligence and law enforcement communities never developed any evidence of further Iraqi support for terrorism directed against Americans." • In August 1998, in retaliation for the bombing of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, the US launched 13 Tomahawk cruise missiles against a pharmaceutical plant in Khartoum, Sudan, suspected of producing nerve gas, and 60-70 Tomahawks against three al-Qaida training camps in southern Afghanistan with the intention of killing Osama Bin Laden and other terrorist leaders. While the pharmaceutical plant was destroyed during Operation Infinite Reach, the evidence

supporting its connections to either al-Qaida or nerve gas production quickly evaporated. In addition, the attacks against the al-Qaida leadership killed a few dozen people, including Pakistani intelligence officers training militants to fight in Kashmir. Bin Laden, Ayman alZawahiri, Mohammed Atta – ringleader of the 9/11 attacks – and other key al-Qaida leaders survived, and were certainly not deterred. These examples show that a more prudent immediate response to terrorist plots or operations is to understand why the existing counterterrorism plans and programmes failed, and how they should be adjusted and enhanced. While military force is undoubtedly an essential tool against individuals directly responsible for terrorist plots and operations, responding too quickly allows US adversaries to dictate the terms of US policy, and elevates and emboldens them in the eyes of the world. In October 2000, the USS Cole was bombed while refuelling in Aden, Yemen, killing 17 sailors and wounding 39 others. Four months later, the intelligence community provided conclusive evidence to the Bush White House of al-Qaida's direct

How to Get Banned From LGF A selection of the best images from around the world

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Exhibit T for “Torture Fantasy.”

involvement. Twenty-one months after that, after significantly increasing US counterterrorism co-operation with Yemen and methodically developing sources within the country, in November 2002, a CIA-controlled Predator drone killed Qaed Salim Sinan al -Harethi, the al-Qaida operative responsible with overseeing the Cole bombing. In this instance, military retaliation succeeded. But as the Northwest Airlines plot demonstrates, without a longterm and comprehensive programme to enhance Yemeni security and governance capacity, there is little that the US can do to prevent terrorists from operating there. • Global terrorism • Yemen • US foreign policy • US national security • Al-Qaida • United States Micah Zenko guardian.co.uk© Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions| More Feeds

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GM gives Saab a last-minute reprieve

HOSTAGE continued from page 2

negotiations – it had aimed not to legitimise hostage-taking as a political tactic in Iraq. The By Terry Macalister (World orders. cars last year compared with the recently departed ambassador to Iraq, Christopher Prentice, news and comment from the "The December deadline has 93,000 turned out by Saab. Guardian | guardian.co.uk) been lifted and the final offer Muller has said that if a deal is defended the government's f r o m V i c t o r M u l l e r [ c h i e f achieved, Saab and Spyker Cars stance. Days before leaving Submitted at 12/30/2009 9:21:28 AM executive of Spyker] must be w o u l d o p e r a t e a s s i s t e r Baghdad he said: "It was the General Motors extends the made by 7 January now," said a companies. The Dutch company proper approach and offered the deadline for Saab sale spokesman for GM Europe. He could benefit from the Swedish best chances of making progress. The Saab motor company was w a s n o t a w a r e o f a n y firm's technical resources and its "The way forward has always given a late reprieve when negotiations currently under way distribution network, while been through engagement with General Motors agreed to extend with any other potential suitor S p y k e r w o u l d b r i n g the government of Iraq and they the deadline for a potential suitor a n d h i n t e d t h a t t h e o n l y entrepreneurial skills to Saab. have been very supportive, and in to raise the funds needed to buy stumbling block to a deal with But sceptics question whether a my final meeting with the prime the loss-making Swedish brand. Spyker was whether the Dutch s m a l l D u t c h b u s i n e s s c a n minister we again discussed this GM had originally demanded firm could raise the cash in time. reinvigorate a very much larger and he repeated his commitment that Spyker Cars conclude a deal Spyker had originally hoped to one that has only one new model t o t r y t o b r i n g t h i s t o a by 12 o'clock tomorrow night but receive financial support from the in the pipeline waiting to be conclusion. The best opportunity has now decided that the Dutch European Investment Bank (EIB) launched and which ran up losses has been to try to persuade the sports car company can have for its attempt to buy Saab which of £200m last year. another week. The future of the has run up eight straight years of • Saab 60-year-old Swedish marque and losses for GM. • Vauxhall the 3,400 jobs in that country But the EIB money is apparently • General Motors hang in the balance, though not forthcoming, leaving Spyker • Automotive industry Spyker continues to speak to try to raise alternative cash in • Sweden confidently of its ability to reach the Netherlands and in Russia. • Netherlands some kind of deal with GM. The main investor in the Dutch The US company, which wants car maker is the Russian bank, Terry Macalister By Nicholas Deleon to concentrate on its local brands, Convers Group, controlled by the guardian.co.uk© Guardian News (CrunchGear) such as Chevrolet and Cadillac, Russian entrepreneur, Alexander & Media Limited 2009 | Use of and the Vauxhall and Opel Antonov. His son Vladimir this content is subject to our Submitted at 12/30/2009 8:00:29 AM operations in Europe, said Saab Antonov, a 34-year-old banker, is Terms & Conditions| More Feeds This is a video showing production lines would restart in chairman of Spyker which BlueMaemo, an application that January but only to serve existing produced 43 hand-made luxury allows you to control your PS3

hostage-holders to do the proper and right thing to release [them … through a process of broader national reconciliation]. That is still the best framework for this." • British hostages in Iraq • Iraq Mark Tran Martin Chulov guardian.co.uk© Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions| More Feeds

Video: Is that a Nokia N900 controlling a PS3 via Bluetooth? (Yes.)

Muziic Web app offers Vevo without ads By Matt Rosoff (Webware.com) Submitted at 12/29/2009 1:35:00 PM

The online version of the

YouTube-based music service Originally posted at Digital includes content from Vevo Noise: Music and Tech without pre-roll advertisements, as well as a crossfader. And there's more to come.

should be easy enough to follow. It’s not like too much is going on or anything. The application is totally free, and was developed by Valério Domingos Valério, a Benfica fan. Incidentally, that makes he and I with a Nokia N900. Well, it will mortal enemies, being a former allow you to control any number Sporting season ticket holder. of devices, it’s just that there’s a (And how good is Jorge Jesus? video of it interacting with a PS3. Oh, wait, nobody knows what All hail mighty Bluetooth, king I’m talking about! Woo~!) of the wireless protocols. The video is in Italian, but it

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Could Mobile Payment A New Apple Tablet Computer Could Become a Common, Overwhelm Data Networks Easy Reality? By Tom Johansmeyer (BloggingStocks)

By Brian White (BloggingStocks)

Submitted at 12/30/2009 11:00:00 AM

Filed under: Google (GOOG), Apple Inc (AAPL), eBay (EBAY), Smartphones, Technology Jack Dorsey is accustomed to dealing in small. In 2006, he co-founded social media sensation Twitter, which traffics in content bites that are no more than 140 characters in length. He left his position as CEO a year ago (and remains chairman) and is now focusing on his newest endeavor: mobile payments. He came up with the idea for his new company, Square, a year ago and hopes it will revolutionize how money is exchanged. The first product that Square is bringing to market lives up to its name: it's a small cube-shaped credit card terminal that can plug into an iPhone's headset jack. The problem that the device is intended to solve is the swift and easy transaction of credit card

computer -- one that will "change the world" no less. But nobody is asking the question of usage problems. If an Apple tablet is announced in January and released shortly thereafter, are the wireless networks the device will run on be overwhelmed? Continue reading A New Apple Tablet Computer Could Overwhelm Data Networks A New Apple Tablet Computer Could Overwhelm Data Networks originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 30 Dec 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments

Video: An enthusiastic review of Tekken 6 By Doug Aamoth (CrunchGear)

Everyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s favorite man-child of look at Tekken 6 in his latest indeterminate age or nationality, review. DiiFii, takes an adrenaline-fueled [ YouTube]

By Steven Halpern (BloggingStocks) Submitted at 12/30/2009 12:01:00 PM

Submitted at 12/30/2009 10:40:00 AM

Filed under: Products and services, Competitive strategy, Apple Inc (AAPL) One thing we know: Apple's ( AAPL) iPhone is so massively popular that the network it officially runs on (AT&T's) often has a hard time keeping up. Densely-populated areas have problems with payments for anyone. It was dropped calls and unreliable data inspired by the plight of Dorsey's services since so many iPhone friend, Jim McKelvey, a glass users are choking the network. It artist who lost a $2,000 sale got so bad that AT&T stopped because he couldn't accept credit selling the iPhone from its website this past weekend, card payments. Continue reading Could Mobile seemingly trying to slow sales Payment Become a Common, d o w n b e c a u s e i t s n e t w o r k couldn't handle it. Easy Reality? Could Mobile Payment Become So what happens when Apple a C o m m o n , E a s y R e a l i t y ? releases the next, best thing? The o r i g i n a l l y a p p e a r e d o n blogosphere and tech press are BloggingStocks on Wed, 30 Dec totally psyched over the pending 2009 10:40:00 EST. Please see release of an Apple tablet or pad our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments

Top Picks for 2010: Keegan Resources (KGN)

Filed under: International markets, Newsletters, Commodities, Stocks to Buy, best stocks for 2010 This post is part of a special report, Top Picks for 2010, the 27th annual survey in which TheStockAdvisors.com asks the nation's leading advisors for their single favorite stock for the new year. See all 80 stocks listed here. "Gold will be the primary beneficiary of the massive bailout and stimulus plans enacted by not only the United States, but every industrialized nation across the globe," forecasts Brien Lundin. The mining stock specialist and editor of The Gold Newsletter looks to a small gold exploration and development company as his top pick for 2010: Keegan Resources ( KGN). Continue reading Top Picks for 2010: Keegan Resources (KGN) Top Picks for 2010: Keegan Resources (KGN) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 30 Dec 2009 12:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Comments

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Hewlett-Packard Wanting to Deutsche Bank Still Make a Splash in the Bullish on Best Buy Wireless Tablet Market Too? By(BloggingStocks) Elizabeth Harrow By Brian White (BloggingStocks)

Submitted at 12/30/2009 12:20:00 PM

Submitted at 12/30/2009 11:20:00 AM

Filed under: Analyst reports, B est Buy (BBY), Options, Filed under: Competitive T e chnical Analysis strategy, Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) Deutsche Bank has reiterated its What is Hewlett-Packard ( HPQ) buy rating and a $48 price target up to? Is it, like Apple ( AAPL), trying to bring a digital wireless c o n s t a n t w i r e l e s s a c c e s s , on electronics retailer Best Buy ( tablet pad computer to market? probably using a partner like BBY). The price target implies That's what it seems like from its AT&T ( T) or Verizon Wireless. expected upside of nearly 19% recent trademark applications. Continue reading Hewlett- from BBY's closing price on Dig this marketing line: This is Packard Wanting to Make a Tuesday. my Zeen. It is the key to my Splash in the Wireless Tablet "BBY reported that Black Friday comps were up double digits. Airlife. Oh brother. This is what Market Too? H a r v a r d m a r k e t i n g M B A s Hewlett-Packard Wanting to While we expect some slowdown produce? Maybe Gilette would Make a Splash in the Wireless from that level, store checks be interested in the name for a Tablet Market Too? originally show that trends remain solid throughout December," wrote new razor. But a gadget? appeared on BloggingStocks on Deutsche Bank in a note to Taking note of HP's recent Wed, 30 Dec 2009 11:20:00 trademark applications, one EST. Please see our terms for clients. "This, coupled with an would think it is going to have a use of feeds. Read| Permalink| easy comparison should enable positive high single digit comps wireless gadget of some sort Email this| Comments domestically. We also believe available for sale in the near future. The term "airlife" reeks of

that web sales, which were up 20% in 3Q continue to grow, which helps comps. Also, TV pricing remains relatively rational, which should help offset some of the margin decline from mix to laptops." Continue reading Deutsche Bank Still Bullish on Best Buy Deutsche Bank Still Bullish on Best Buy originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 30 Dec 2009 12:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Comments

Pfizer Discontinues Study of Cancer Drug By Mark Fightmaster (BloggingStocks)

investigational compound that is used as a first-line treatment in patients with advanced nonSubmitted at 12/30/2009 11:40:00 AM adenocarcinoma non-small cell Filed under: Bad news, Pfizer lung cancer (NSCLC). (PFE) The study was terminated Late Tuesday, pharmaceutical b e c a u s e i t m e t p r e d e f i n e d firm Pfizer ( PFE) announced the boundaries for early termination. discontinuation of A4021016, a The Data Safety Monitoring be unlikely to meet the primary Phase 3 trial that was examining Committee (DSMC) found that endpoint of the study. the effects of figitumumab. the addition of figitumumab to Continue reading Pfizer Figitumumab is a n paclitaxel plus carboplatin would

Discontinues Study of Cancer Drug Pfizer Discontinues Study of Cancer Drug originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 30 Dec 2009 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Comments

Innergie mCube Mini Is The World's Smallest Travel Charger For Laptops [Chargers] By Sean Fallon (Gizmodo) Submitted at 12/30/2009 8:58:00 AM

Innergie claims their new mCube Mini is the world's smallest travel charger for laptops. A very good thing, especially if you travel light. I refuse to pack more than one duffel bag no matter how long I'm away. Specifically designed for cars and airplanes, the mCube Mini can be powered by either a 12V or a 15V outlet and can support netbooks and laptops that need up to 65W of power at 15-21V. It also has a USB port so you can charge other portable gadgets at the same time. Again, it's smallâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;60 x 26 x 18mm to be exact, so it's fairly comparable in size to a typical cellphone. Available now for $70. [ Innergie via Slashgear]

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The Crotchbomber Was Just a Lonely Loser Who Needed an Online Friend [Terror] By Jesus Diaz (Gizmodo) Submitted at 12/30/2009 8:05:09 AM

What to do when you "do not have friends, have no one to speak too, no one to consult, no support, and feel depressed and lonely"? Easy: First, put a bomb in your underpants. Then, board an airplane. That's what Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab—the crotchbomber—did, and that's what he wrote about himself. He was just a sad lonely loser trying to find an online friend or a wife. Writing under the name Farouk1986, the fortunatelyfailed terrorist wrote 310 posts in Gawaher's Islamic Forum. His writings, adorned with sad emoticons exactly like the yellow one above, read like this: Sorry to bother you. I'm sure most of the people in this section have way bigger problems than me, so I don't want to take away attention from the more significant issues. Basically, the problem I'm having is that I've been having extreme loneliness...for many

CrunchDeals: Family Guy ‘Dark Side’ plus Season 7 on DVD for $17.48 By Doug Aamoth (CrunchGear) Submitted at 12/30/2009 9:00:00 AM

years. I don't really know what to do because I'm not the type who likes to go out much, and I'm just shy and quiet. Even on the internet, I don't feel comfortable posting much because it exposes myself. Sometimes people are so mean. So I'm trying to figure out what to do. I just wish I had someone to give me attention and stuff. I wish I had someone who would be there to listen to me, and always be nice to me. It really hurts to have someone neglect me or be mean. Unfortunately, a

weakness of mine is that I'm sensitive, but I think I became more sensitive after something bad happened some years ago. I wish I had at least one nice person to talk to, maybe over email or Messenger. Of course, if I could find someone to marry, then Insha'Allah I would have someone in real life to give me all the attention and affection I wanted. So far, the families we've met aren't interested in me, though. So I guess that's my story. I just feel lonely and empty and don't

know what to do. Even when I focused more on my iman and trying to improve myself, it didn't help much, sad to say. I'm sorry that you were such a bloody lonely loser, Faruk, but I feel no sympathy for someone who turns his sadness into so much hate that he decides to take the live of hundreds of innocent people in an airplane. That's not a nice way to make friends. [ Gawaher via Danger Room via Boing Boing]

Ah, here’s a pretty nice deal for Family Guy fans. You can get the new special edition Family Guy Presents: Something Something Something Dark Side Star Wars spoof on DVD for $12.49 but when you buy that DVD plus Season 7 of Family Guy, the total is just $17.48. On the product page, scroll down a little bit to where you see “Best Value” and add the products that way to get the discount. Something Something Something Dark Side[Amazon via FatWallet]

Oh Hello, Saturn, You Look So Makey-Outy Today [Space] By Jesus Diaz (Gizmodo) Submitted at 12/30/2009 8:20:00 AM

This is a unique image of Saturn in natural color, exactly what you would have seen if you were

riding the Cassini spacecraft—wearing your cowboy hat, knitted astronaut sweater, and Star Trek underpants—on November 4 2009.

The image—released last

week—was created by combining three exposures using red, green, and blue spectral filters, which results in a natural view, showing the true color of saturn. Cassini was taken

808,000 miles away, and each pixel in the full resolution image represents 45 miles. [ NASA—Full resolution image]

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Kozmo: That Doomed Dotcom-Era HP files for 'Zeen' and Internet Delivery Service Had Me At 'Airlife' trademarks for "Hello!" [Y2k10] handheld devices By Anna Jane Grossman (Gizmodo)

The Kozmo guys darted around the city on bikes with orange messenger bags. They each had Submitted at 12/30/2009 7:00:00 AM special Kozmo names like Skip When it comes to websites, I've or Spike or Mac. There was had my share of whirlwind something romantic about the romances. CuteOverload and I notion of these young men (and h a d a t h i n g ; S c r a b u l o u s they were mostly men) dipping in whispered sweet nothings in my and out of dozens of people's ear for most of 2007. But no site lives each day. It made me feel ever captured my attention like like I was part of something Kozmo. larger than myselfâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;without Kozmo and its close relative actually having to leave my U r b a n F e t c h w e r e o n l i n e apartment. Each time I went messenger services that would online to order order a video or a deliver any number of household bag of pretzels, it was as if I was p r o d u c t s , f o o d i t e m s , tugging some imaginary string electronicsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;almost anything you that would bring a cute guy to my c o u l d i m a g i n e . A K o z m o door. A cute guy with presents, messenger in your area was no less. dispatched the instant you made Ultimately, Kozmo broke my the order. Delivery was free and heart. It ceased operating in April tipping was discouraged. Genius! '01. The memories, however, will Really, it all seemed to good to live forever: The late-night soup be true. This, it seemed, was why and trashy magazines when I had the Internet was invented. a cold; the time you brought over

Fence (Little Green Footballs)

Annie Hall and a bag of popcorn at 2AM; the many, many Ben & Jerry deliveries. Kozmo, I would rather have shared one lifetime with you than have to face all the ages of this world alone. Anna Jane Grossman has joined us for a few weeks, documenting life in the early aughts, and how it differs from today. The author of Obsolete: An Encyclopedia of Once-Common Things Passing Us By (Abrams Image) and the c r e a t o r o f ObsoleteTheBook.com, she has also written for dozens of publications, including the New York Times, Salon.com, the Associated Press, Elle and the Huffington Post, as well as Gizmodo. She has a complicated relationship with technology, but she does have an eponymous website: AnnaJane.net. Follow her on Twitter at@AnnaJane.

By Vladislav Savov (Engadget) Submitted at 12/30/2009 9:25:00 AM

Having only recently marked its return to the handheld computing space with the iPAQ Glisten, HP seems intent on forging ahead with more hardware in the coming year. The above trademark applications -- filed in September and October 2009 -mark out some very broad categories, but we can narrow them down a little with the help of some context. Given all the industry excitement over tablet devices, the Zeen could well be the name of a forthcoming slateshaped machine and accompanying software, while Airlife seems to be planted firmly in the smartphone arena. The moniker suggests a software ecosystem rather than actual

hardware, but that would make little sense with just one handset out there; if we were the betting type (and believe us, we aren't), we'd probably expect to see more mobiles coming from the computing giant in order to take advantage. Of course, companies don't always follow through on trademark applications, but it sure seems as if HP is casting a wary eye over the burgeoning handheld market (and / or planning to not get left behind in the months ahead). HP files for 'Zeen' and 'Airlife' trademarks for handheld devices originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 Dec 2009 09:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink New York Times| USPTO (Zeen), USPTO (Airlife)| Email this| Comments

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The A-DATA N002 swings for both the USB 3.0 and SATA II teams By Matt Burns (CrunchGear) Submitted at 12/30/2009 7:05:18 AM

A-DATA is looking to the future with the N002. The flash drive kicks it with both USB 3.0 and SATA II interfaces, which means that it must be fast. And it is, friends. A-DATA is claiming it’s really fast. The drive utilizes 8channel architecture to deliver 20 0 MB/s read and 170 MB/s write speeds. Of course if you don’t have USB 3.0 yet, the interface is backwards compatible with 2.0 devices although don’t expect the breakneck speeds. The price and availability haven’t been announced, but expect the model to be available in 64Gb, 128GB, and 256GB flavors. Taipei, Taiwan – December 30, 2009 – A-DATA Technology, the world leader in DRAM modules and flash memory products, launched the industry first ever combo flash drive N002 that features the dual interface of USB 3.0 and SATA II, designed

to maximize data transfer speed to the ultimate. Adopting the industry-leading 8-channel architecture, N002 is able to boost transfer speed tenfold compared to ordinary flash drives with USB 2.0 interface by delivering up to ultra-fast 200 MB/s and 170 MB/s in sequential read/write performance respectively. Ready to hit the market by January, 2010, N002 makes USB 3.0 a reality. It supports all latest platforms that come with USB

3.0 ports, while also being backward compatible with USB 2.0 ports at a lower speed performance. Available in 64GB, 128GB and 256GB, N002 is ideal for users who are thirsty for super-sized storage capacities with unrivaled speed via the innovative USB 3.0 and SATA II dual interface. A combination of speed, storage and portability altogether into one device, N002 is by all means the most effective solution to access and transfer large amount of data, including high-resolution images, multimedia files and whole lot more, at an instant and on the go. Users can also take full advantage of A-DATA’s freedownload value-add software UFDtoGO and the latest Norton Internet Security™ 2010 (60-day trial) to enhance both mobility and security of their A-DATA USB flash drives with just few easy mouse clicks away.

Google plans January 5 Android press event By Tom Krazit (Webware.com) Submitted at 12/29/2009 10:57:00 AM

Next week's event could finally

clear up questions over Google's Android strategy, with expectations that it will use the occasion to launch the Nexus One phone.

Originally posted at Relevant Results

N900 turned into PS3 controller courtesy of BlueMaemo emulator By Vladislav Savov (Engadget)

prove the N900's superiority. You may follow Valério and his ongoing refinement of the app in Submitted at 12/30/2009 8:42:00 AM the Maemo.org link below, or Should you be the sort of person you can jump past the break to who doesn't mind fiddling around see the full controller layout and with alpha level software, you'll an instructional video on how to definitely want to know about the hook things up -- it's in Italian, BlueMaemo Bluetooth emulator. but you should be able to grasp Available via the Extras-Devel what's going on senza problemi. repository on your N900, this app [Thanks, shellshock] allows the device to mimic other Continue reading N900 turned Bluetooth gadgets, such as into PS3 controller courtesy of k e y b o a r d s , m i c e , a n d y e s BlueMaemo emulator indeedy, gaming controllers. Its N900 turned into PS3 controller developer Valério Domingos courtesy of BlueMaemo emulator humbly points out that the originally appeared on Engadget purpose of connecting up to a on Wed, 30 Dec 2009 08:42:00 P S 3 i s p u r e l y f o r m e n u EST. Please see our terms for navigation and easier text input, use of feeds. Permalink Maemo though we've no doubt a few Central| Maemo Italia| Email this| hardcore Nokia loyalists will try Comments using this in an action game to

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Engadget: The Official Blog Partner of CES 2010! By Joshua Topolsky (Engadget)

comes time to hit the floor at CES 2010: we don't accept any hookups or editorial privileges Submitted at 12/30/2009 10:00:00 AM from the CEA. Don't get all Just like last year, Engadget has worried that we've "sold out" or once again been chosen as the let "the man" take control of us, Official Blog Partner of CES! As and don't fret that we're not you probably already know, CES "keeping it real" or "coming is one of the craziest and best correct." Just as usual, Engadget times of the year for Engadget, will be hammering away at CES and while we typically shy away coverage with the kind of from industry partnerships, this unchecked ferocity you're used to combo is a rare distinction we experiencing. Our crack team of wholeheartedly embrace. gadget geniuses will -- in fact -Of course, for you (and us) be storming the floor, bringing nothing much changes when it you the first and best product

news, and generally wreaking havoc on the gadget-loving public just like the CESs of years past. One more note -- as you may

have heard, we were voted Blog of the Decade in Adweek's " Best of the 2000s" poll. We wanted to take a minute and thank the voters, as well as all of our

readers (voters or not); without you guys, we couldn't do what we do, and we'll be working hard to make sure the next decade is even better! Engadget: The Official Blog Partner of CES 2010! originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 Dec 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Press release| Email this| Comments

Palm Pre and Pixi "Plus" Coming to Verizon, and Soon [Rumor]

Report: T-Mobile ready for Google phone launch

By John Herrman (Gizmodo)

By Tom Krazit (Webware.com)

Submitted at 12/30/2009 7:12:08 AM

The Palm Pre is coming to Verizon early next year. We know this. But this morning, BGR gives us something new to be excited about: The Pixi's apparently coming to Verizon as well, and both models get a (titular?) upgrade. Verizon's lineup, according to BGR's tipster, will consist of the Palm Pre Plus (codenam: Russell) and Palm Pixi(codename: Romo), which apparently look exactly like their

non-plus predecessors, and will both run the currentl version of webOS, 1.3.5, at launchâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a fact that jibes with the previouslyannounced "early next year" launch time, since Palm's been

updating the OS at a steady clip. So anyway, what's "Plus" about these phones? It could just be change in moniker, engineered by Palm and Verizon to inject a little energy into their existing

Stiff Snowboard Handles Like a '73 Buick By Adrienne So (Wired Top Stories)

If you're into stiff-as-a-corpse snowboards that handle like a wrecked shopping cart, then the

Chilly dog is definitely the board for you.

lineup, but I'd expect something more more substantive: a faster processor, larger battery and in the case of the Pre, reengineered keyboard are all plausible guesses. Whatever it means, please, Palm, please don't tell me your CES keynote is just going to be a glorified carrier announcement. Palm needs new hardware. We need new hardware. Hardware! Ungghhhhhhhh. [ BGR]

Submitted at 12/29/2009 9:31:00 AM

T-Mobile is telling employees to prepare for the launch of a Google Android phone in early January that will be sold directly by Google, a report says. Originally posted at Relevant Results

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CrunchDeals: Sony VAIO W netbook for $375 (it’s pink, though)

OnLive shows off UI and iPhone use in marathon tech demo (video) Times Square New Year's Eve By Vladislav Savov (Engadget)

plugin, or you can grab the microconsole streaming box for your TV, which Steve suggests Submitted at 12/30/2009 8:01:00 AM might be given away for free Sure, OnLive has already done with OnLive subscriptions. If you live demos of its "cloud gaming" h a v e a n y m o r e u n a s w e r e d service, but it never hurts to get questions, check out the audience another comprehensive 48- Q&A at 33:14, and the full vid minute video on the subject. In a awaits after the break. p r e s e n t a t i o n a t C o l u m b i a Continue reading OnLive shows University, CEO Steve Perlman o f f U I a n d i P h o n e u s e i n goes over the nitty gritty of how marathon tech demo (video) game streaming works, the OnLive shows off UI and iPhone OnLive user interface (11:53), an use in marathon tech demo inevitable Crysis Wars demo (video) originally appeared on (16:35), Brag Clips (17:49), and Engadget on Wed, 30 Dec 2009 of course the iPhone app(19:31). 08:01:00 EST. Please see our Though cellphone integration is terms for use of feeds. Permalink s t i l l l i m i t e d t o p r i m a r i l y Joystiq| Gamertag Radio| Email spectating and social networking this| Comments functions, PCs and Macs can get gaming via a 1MB browser

By Doug Aamoth (CrunchGear) Submitted at 12/30/2009 8:30:00 AM

If you like pink, you can save a heap on Sony’s 10.1-inch VAIO W netbook. The Microsoft Store is selling it for just $374.25 with free shipping. The same netbook is available in white for $499. You’ll recall that the VAIO W features a 1368×768 resolution By Laura June (Engadget) you could always do what we do, screen despite being only 10 and stay home in your jammies inches, as well as a 1.66GHz Submitted at 12/30/2009 11:32:00 AM watching Twin Peaks -- but it's Atom N280 CPU. Other specs Hey, if you're in New York City really up to you. Either way, include 1GB of RAM, 250GB and bored on New Year's Eve, we're glad to see the ball is no hard drive, Windows 7 Starter, w e l l , m a y b e y o u f e e l l i k e longer powered by Dick Clark's two USB ports, Bluetooth, sixworking? Duracell's set up its rage. There's one more shot after c e l l b a t t e r y , V G A o u t p u t , webcam with face tracking, and a Smart Power Lab in the heart of the break. Manhattan, along with several Continue reading Times Square weight of just under three P o w e r R o v e r s , w h i c h a r e New Year's Eve ball drop pounds. stationery bikes that generate brought to you by... some Sony W Netbook VPCW121AX renewable energy when pedaled. furiously pedaling tourists (Pink)[Microsoft Store via You see where this is going, Times Square New Year's Eve dealnews] right? That energy is being stored ball drop brought to you by... up and harnessed by Duracell to some furiously pedaling tourists power the ball we watch drop originally appeared on Engadget every year, which boasts about on Wed, 30 Dec 2009 11:32:00 9,500 LEDs. Fun times, if you're EST. Please see our terms for not adverse to the freezing cold, use of feeds. Permalink Inhabitat| the screaming crowds, the PR Web| Email this| Comments garbage, and the awful music. Or

ball drop brought to you by... some furiously pedaling tourists

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Wiiwaa is the greatest Wii game ever made, we assume By Joshua Topolsky (Engadget) Submitted at 12/30/2009 10:21:00 AM

JO-ZERO: Super-agile, super-cool mini humanoid (video) By Serkan Toto (CrunchGear)

considered super-advanced, but doesn’t move too elegantly Submitted at 12/30/2009 8:40:42 AM either. A big problem almost any robot But Japan-based Himeji nowadays has is limited agility. Softworks raises the bar in that While this isn’t an issue for area. Their JO-ZERO robot kit industrial and other “practical” shows we haven’t reached that robots, humanoids can only move Nureyev level of elegance yet in a slow, mechanical and either, but it’s pretty impressive, chopping motion. Honda’s e s p e c i a l l y s i n c e i t ’ s t h e A s i m o , f o r e x a m p l e , i s brainchild of a small venture. It

can break-dance (sort of) and pull off a number of cool stunts. One of the key points is that JOZERO’s back is bendable, which is not only quite unique but obviously boosts agility quite a bit. He has a total of 20 joints (four in each arm, five in each leg and two in the back) and weighs just 800g. JO-ZERO stands 30cm tall. You

Wiiwaa is a forthcoming Wii game which involves you cramming your Wiimote into the mouth of the bizarre stuffed animal you see... oh just watch the video after the break. Continue reading Wiiwaa is the greatest Wii game ever made, we assume Wiiwaa is the greatest Wii game ever made, we assume originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 Dec 2009 10:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink technabob| Wiiwaa| Email this| Comments

can program him by yourself Dec. 30, 1924: Hubble (Nakamura-san, his inventor, Annnounces says it’s pretty easy) and remote- Andromeda Is a Galaxy control him via infrared. His By Randy Alfred (Wired Top price: $1,300. This video show how JO-ZERO Stories) moves (it gets better later). This Submitted at 12/29/2009 9:00:00 PM is one amazing robot. Hey, man. Not only is our sun not the center of the universe, neither is our galaxy. Didn't even make the front page of the Times.

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Online Holiday Spending Reaches $25 Billion; Shows Strong Growth In Consumer Electronics Sales By Leena Rao (CrunchGear) Submitted at 12/30/2009 9:14:16 AM

The numbers are in. And they look good. It appears that online holiday spending rose slightly this year, by 5 percent, to $27 billion for the shopping season from November 1 through Christmas Eve, according to comScore. For the time period from Black Friday through Christmas Eve, sales showed a slight uptick, rising 3.5 percent. By Vladislav Savov only the HD2 firmware to get With respect to individual (Engadget) WM7. Keep in mind it's still product categories, consumer possible, though not altogether electronics saw yearly sales Submitted at 12/30/2009 10:52:00 AM probable, that this statement growth of slightly over 20 And what do we have here? refers only to the Russian market. percent, while sales of jewelry HTC's Russian contingent has In either case, if you were and watches also rose. From been rather forthcoming with its holding out hope for your Touch reports over the past few months, Windows Mobile 7 plans this Pro 2 or Snap to keep updating the numbers indicated that the morning, which will please HD2 all the way to 7, it seems the odds total online spending would be owners but disappoint many are now officially stacked against higher this year than last, when others. The good news is that you. the U.S. spending was blindsided HTC's flagship WinMo handset HTC Russia says HD2 will get is assured of getting Microsoft's Windows Mobile 7 upgrade, but finest when it comes out, but the other 'communicators' won't bad news is that the rest of the originally appeared on Engadget line will remain stuck at version on Wed, 30 Dec 2009 10:52:00 6.5 or below. Here's the tweet in EST. Please see our terms for (Little Green Footballs) the Queen's own tongue: u s e o f f e e d s . P e r m a l i n k Submitted at 12/29/2009 10:52:17 AM For Diamond 2 firmware is not MobileTechWorld| Twitter| Here’s crypto-fascist Pat “Hitler p l a n n e d . O f t h e e x i s t i n g Email this| Comments Wasn’t So Bad” Buchanan on communicators on the market, MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” show, advocating torturing the NW 253

HTC Russia says HD2 will get Windows Mobile 7 upgrade, but other 'communicators' won't

2-Player Tetris Makes My Head Hurt At The Thought [Gaming] with a crippling recession. The final shopping weekend before Christmas saw a 13 percent growth rate in online spending from the previous year, thanks to the wintry mess that hit the Eastern Seaboard. And the full week posted a 6 percent yearly increase in spending, setting a one-week sales record with more than $4.8 billion in spending. Online sales numbers from Black Friday and Cyber Monday also appeared to be stronger than last year.

Video: Buchanan Advocates Torture for NW 253 Suspect

Scott Brown on Why Some Memes Never Die By Scott Brown (Wired Top Stories)

A mashed, flattened Strong Bad knit cap in a dresser drawer

prompts webstalga about Homestar Runner days.

bomber by withholding pain medicine for his burns — despite the fact that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab is apparently already talking to investigators very freely about his plans and training in Yemen.[Video]

By Kat Hannaford (Gizmodo) Submitted at 12/30/2009 9:00:40 AM

In 25 years, we've seen a lot of bastardizations of Tetris, from ice trays to watches, to furniture and Russian dorm Tetris. But a twoplayer Tetris table? That sounds tricky. Basically, one of the players gets to choose the pieces to send down to the other player, making it exceedingly difficult to get the right pieces to fit. Suddenly Tetris got even more frustrating to play. [ WalYou]

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AT&T Begs FCC to Phase Out Landlines Completely [At&t] By Brian Barrett (Gizmodo) Submitted at 12/30/2009 7:40:00 AM

In a 32-page filing with the FCC last week, AT&T asked that the requirement that it support a landline network be repealed. It's an aggressive bid to get rid of the cumbersome wall jack and move entirely to VoIP. An all-IP phone network may be inevitable someday, but AT&T is clearly hoping for that day to be as soon as possible. Landlines are less efficient and more expensive to maintain for the carrier, and don't add much consumer benefit either. Unfortunately, AT&T's filing doesn't account for the 20% of Americans who currently use only landline connections, and there's no way the FCC is going to leave one in five taxpayers twisting in the wind. The migration seems to be happening

Amazon touts top products of 2009 (CNET News.com)

several Amazon lists included Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007, an Omron Digital The Kindle e-reader, the Pocket Pedometer, and an Nintendo Wii, and an Asus Accutire Programmable Digital Netbook were among the top tech Tire Gauge--the latter two items for Amazon customers in perhaps being of use to tech 2009. types who need to take a long The retail giant touted three walk or drive after a hard day " B e s t o f 2 0 0 9 " l i s t s o n using Microsoft Office. Wednesday, revealing the best The Casio Men's Sea Analog selling, most wished for, and Illuminator Dual LED Dive favorite gift items chosen by Watch made the best-sellers list Amazon consumers for the year. for people who need to keep tabs The company also introduced its on the time while under the sea. Bestsellers Archive, which can On the most-wished-for list was show historical popularity among the Sunforce 50044 60-Watt several categories, including print Solar Charging Kit, designed to naturally anyway: according to books, Kindle books, music tap into the power of the sun to GigaOM, total interstate and downloads, movies and TV charge the battery in your car, i n t r a s t a t e s w i t c h e d a c c e s s shows, and video games. RV, tractor, boat, and other minutes have fallen 42% from Amazon has been relentlessly vehicles on the go. New Super 2000 to 2008. proclaiming the popularity of its Mario Bros also made the cut as A National Broadband Plan has Kindle device, though it just as the most-wished-for video game. been a long time in the works, steadfastly has declined to Amazon's "Best of 2009" lists but we're almost there. It'll be provide actual sales numbers. PC cover all but the last 10 days of interesting to see how much maker Asus, meanwhile, has the year--stretching, that is, from influence Ma Bell can peddle. [ been riding the Netbook craze January 1 to December 22, 2009. GigaOM] and drew top honors in Amazon's The Bestsellers Archive goes computer category with its Eee back in time to the start of PC 1005HA 10.1-inch Netbook. Amazon to unveil the most Nintendo's Wii game console popular items over the long haul. lost some steam during 2009, but In the video game category, the heading into the holiday season W i i c a m e i n a t n u m b e r 6 gave strong signs of regaining its historically and has been on the dominance. top 100 list for 1,128 days. Other top tech items on the Among electronics, Apple's iPod Submitted at 12/30/2009 8:59:00 AM

Rep. King: '100% of Islamic Terrorists Are Muslims' (Little Green Footballs) Submitted at 12/29/2009 4:28:52 PM

Right wing radio fire breather

Mike Gallagher says we should Rep. Peter King (R-NY) says have separate lines at airports for â&#x20AC;&#x153;100% of Islamic terrorists are anyone with the name Ahmed, Muslims.â&#x20AC;? Abdul, or Mohammed. Oh, my aching head.[Video]

In other news, 100% of Popes are Catholic.

Touch 3G takes the second (8GB version) and third (32GB version) slots on the list for 112 days. And for software, MS Office Home and Student 2007 hit the number 2 spot as part of the top 100 for 1101 days. You can also view historical data right in the Bestsellers Archive just by selecting the pulldown menu for year and choosing a different year, as far back as 1995 for books and more recent years for other items. A peek back at 1999, for example, revealed that "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" was the most popular video game of the year. "The Bestsellers Archive reveals the collective interests of our customers back to the beginning of Amazon.com," said Eva Manolis, vice president of Retail Customer Experience, in a statement. "It's a fun experience enabling exploration of bestselling products -- helping customers find their favorites as well as discover those they may not know about." The full 2009 lists can be found on Amazon's news release Web site. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

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Mashable’s Weekly Guide to Jobs in Web Development & Social Media By Tamar Weinberg (Mashable!) Submitted at 12/30/2009 7:19:13 AM

If you’re seeking a job in social media, we’d like to help out. For starters, Mashable’s Job Lists section gathers together all our resource lists, how-tos and expert guides to help you get hired. In particular, you might want to see our articles on How to Leverage Social Media for Career Success and How to Find a Job on Twitter. But we’d like to help in a more direct way, too. Mashable’s job boards are a place for sociallysavvy companies to find people like you. This week and every week, Mashable features its coveted job board listings for a variety of positions in the web, social media space, and beyond. Have a look at what’s good and new on our job boards: Mashable Job Board Listings Insider Writer and Editor at Environmental Defense Fund in New York, NY. We are looking for an experienced communicator to write and edit Insider, the Environmental Defense Fund staff-only intranet. Read more about this opportunity here. Social Media and Community Outreach Manager at Tuvel Communications in Washington DC. We’re looking for a Social

Media and Community Outreach Manager to manage independent contractors on a variety of projects and campaigns. Read more about this opportunity here. Web Producer at X PRIZE Foundation in . The main function of the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE Web Producer is to curate, aggregate, and create high quality content that is organized and accessible through our websites and social media services. Read more about this opportunity here. Metromix Product Analyst at Metromix in Chicago, IL. We’re looking for smart people to help build Metromix into a thriving business with a strong national brand – and have fun doing it. Read more about this opportunity here. Freelance PHP Developer at HUGE in New York, NY. The Freelance PHP Developer will participate in development efforts on projects for external clients. He or she will work with the account team, interaction designers, and graphic designers to design and build interactive solutions for clients. Read more about this

opportunity here. Senior Account Executive at Electric Artists in New York, NY. The Senior Account Executive will support the client’s overall online marketing, PR, social media and promotional initiatives through expert ideation and project management. Read more about this opportunity here. Sports Social Media Project Intern at The Foundation for Tomorrow / Sports Media Challenge in Charlotte, NC. Join the team that plans and executes a comprehensive social media campaign to support this worthy charity event. Read more about this opportunity here. Social Media Editor (Internship) at United Nations Development Programme in New York, NY. The interested candidate will assist the Web team in the evaluation, editing and organization of UNDP’s network of sites Read more about this opportunity here. API Engineer at Network for Good in Bethesda, MD. To support our growing business, Network for Good is seeking an energetic and hardworking API Engineer to

coordinate the development of new partner sites, ensure that partners can easily connect and utilize Network for Good’s API, and implement a strategy for working with outside technical partners. Read more about this opportunity here. Front End Web Developer at Partnership for a Drug Free America in New York, NY. The ideal candidate will have at least 1-2 years of experience as a web developer. Major Responsibilities: Read more about this opportunity here. Online Sales Manager at Earth.org in ANYWHERE. We are a small, open-minded, and dedicated team looking for a few good people to work independently at the workplace of their choice – be it a beach in Goa, a cafe in Paris or your bedroom in San Francisco. Read more about this opportunity here. PHP Web Developer at The Table Project in Minneapolis, MN. We’re looking for an energetic, passionate web developer who deeply loves the Church and online social networking. Read more about this opportunity here. Freelance

Writers at Demand Studios in San Francisco, CA (telecommute). To support the recent growth of these websites and their visitors’ demand for high quality articles, we are looking to add experienced and highly motivated freelance writers to our team. Read more about this opportunity here. Social Media Coordinator at Ashoka’s Changemakers in Arlington, VA. The Social Media Strategist/Community Mobilizer will invigorate Changemakers’ communications strategy for accelerating social change by signaling action opportunities within our community. Read more about this opportunity here. Social Media Manager at Discovery Communications in Silver Spring, MD. The Social Media Manager acts as the primary relationship builder with our communities of fans on sites like Facebook, YouTube and MySpace. Read more about this opportunity here. Online Marketing and Editorial Specialist at Human Rights Campaign in Washington DC. The Online Marketing and Editorial Specialist reports directly to the Marketing Director MASHABLE’S page 17

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and is responsible for ongoing communication of the Human Rights Campaign’s online properties and building online brand awareness. Read more about this opportunity here..NET Information Systems Specialist at Center of Arts Management and Technology in Pittsburgh, PA. The Information Systems Specialist is responsible for design, construction and maintenance of custom database solutions for outside client base relevant to the research and service mission of the Center for Arts Management and Technology (CAMT) at Carnegie Mellon University. Read more about this opportunity here. Deputy Communications Director at Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) in New York, NY. Based in IAVA’s New York City headquarters, the Deputy Communications Director will work closely with the Communications Director and the Communications Associates on all communications efforts for the organization. Read more about this opportunity here. Vice President of Information Technology at Synacor in Buffalo, NY. We are seeking a Vice President of Information Technology who is a highly technical individual, experienced in designing and managing infrastructures that provide a variety of web applications and e-mail services

to millions of individual users, daily. Read more about this opportunity here. Communications Specialist at WWF Canada in Ottawa, CA. WWF-Canada seeks a dynamic, bilingual, well-rounded Communications Specialist with writing and strategic communications experience ideally honed in politics, advocacy or conservation. Read more about this opportunity here..NET Web Developer at Girl Scouts of the USA in New York, NY. The Web Developer designs, develops, and/or tests Web applications. She/He performs maintenance and modification or enhancements for the organization’s existing systems and applications. Read more about this opportunity here. Social Media Outreach Specialist at Citizens Utility Board in Chicago, IL. The Citizens Utility Board, an Illinois-based, non-profit consumer advocacy organization, is seeking a Social Media Outreach Specialist to promote its new energy management web tool (CUBEnergySaver.com) and to help manage its social media presence. Read more about this opportunity here. Marketing Consultant at NAS Recruitment Communications in Cleveland, OH. We are seeking a Marketing Consultant to promote the effectiveness of our innovative

solutions for employment branding, candidate engagement and client return. Read more about this opportunity here. Office Admin at Undercurrent in New York, NY. You are a digitally saavy individual who is passionate about organization, efficiency and workflow. You are ridiculously detail oriented. Read more about this opportunity here. Senior HR Leader/VP Minister of People at Hulu in Los Angeles, CA. We are seeking a world-class senior executive to serve as the company’s full-time leader on all things talent. Read more about this opportunity here. Social Media Specialist at HIV Research Section in San Francisco, CA. The Social Media Specialist will work closely with different study teams to develop online strategies to maximize recruitment efforts as well as maintain an online presence. Read more about this opportunity here. External Relations Assistant at International Monetary Fund in Washington DC. The External Website Section of the External Relations Department is seeking a XHTML/CSS expert for a oneyear contract. Read more about this opportunity here. PHP/Drupal Developer at Chicago Public Radio in Chicago, IL. Chicago Public Radio, (WBEZ

91.5 FM) is seeking to hire a full time Web Developer. Read more about this opportunity here. Interactive Senior Account Executive at BFG Communications in Bluffton, SC. This position works closely with clients, as well as the agency’s account, strategy, creative, design, and tech groups to develop and manage the planning and execution of multiple interactive projects at one time. Read more about this opportunity here. Blogger – IT Security at Alertsec Xpress in Stockholm, Sweden. We are looking for an innovative IT security blogger, preferably with an already established network. Read more about this opportunity here. Marketing Communications and Social Media Specialist at Cheng & Tsui in Boston, MA. The ideal candidate is a talented and results-driven marketing professional who will develop and drive all social media, communications, and messaging strategies. Read more about this opportunity here. Vice President of Marketing/New Media at Statcom/Jackson Healthcare in Alpharetta, GA. As the Vice President of Marketing, you will have the opportunity to create and drive the strategic marketing and new media plan for this early stage, high-growth healthcare software company.

Read more about this opportunity here. Social Media Outreach Expert at MWKS in Los Angeles, CA. We’re seeking an Experienced Social Media Outreach Expert to help us on a digital WOM campaign starting soon for a major retailer. Read more about this opportunity here. Director of Online Media at Corbis in Seattle, WA. The Director of Online Media will be responsible for generating new customers and traffic to Corbis’ web properties with a heavy focus on performance and ROI. Read more about this opportunity here. Community Manager at Corbis in Seattle, WA. Corbis is seeking a social media expert hooked deeply into the digital ecosystem of blogging, social networks and online communities. Read more about this opportunity here. Director of Premium Products and Services at Synacor in Buffalo, NY. We are seeking a Director of Premium Products and Services that will work closely with the Executive Team to define the overall strategy on Premium Products and Services of Synacor. Read more about this opportunity here. Interactive Account Director at Beeby Clark + Meyler in Irvington, NY. MASHABLE’S page 18

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Beeby Clark+Meyler, a fast growing leader in integrated marketing and advertising solutions, seeks an experienced Marketing Consultant to help manage an expanding client base and contribute toward the development of our business. Read more about this opportunity here. Associate at MrYouth in New York, NY. Microsoft is seeking a knowledgeable, charismatic, and motivated student to become a Student Insider and blog about Microsoft’s new software. Read more about this opportunity here. Senior Manager, Product Management, Mobile Payments at Danal in San Jose, CA. The Senior Manager position is a hands-on and highly visible position that is accountable for developing the product requirements and executing product marketing initiatives for the BilltoMobile payment service. Read more about this opportunity here. Mid-to-Senior Level Coldfusion Web Developer at Advanced Media Productions in Natick, MA. Successful and growing Internet Marketing Services company is seeking a talented, self-motivated Coldfusion developer with a minimum of 4 years experience developing ecommerce websites, web applications and intranet/extranets using Coldfusion. Read more about this opportunity here. Director Web

Development at Advanced Media Productions in Natick, MA. Successful and growing Bostonbased Internet Marketing Services company is seeking a self-motivated hands-on Director Web Development to design, build and maintain ecommerce websites, web applications, Intranets, Facebook applications and mobile apps and to manage a team of web developers. Read more about this opportunity here. Interactive Art Director at Bazaarvoice in Austin, TX. Bazaarvoice is looking for a skilled and technically savvy visual/web designer with superior HTML & CSS skills. Read more about this opportunity here. Search Marketing Specialist at iProspect in Chicago, IL. Your primary responsibility encompasses client relationship management and campaign detail project management to successfully implement search engine marketing initiatives. Read more about this opportunity here. Web Content Editor at Yeshiva University in New York, NY. Yeshiva University’s (YU) Interactive Media Team is looking for a Senior Web Content Producer to help us translate the richness and vitality of this amazing institution onto the web. Read more about this opportunity here. Lead Developer at Tasted Menu in Boston, MA. If you are an ace programmer,

database guru, social media junkie, and passionate foodie, this might be your dream job. Read more about this opportunity here. Digital Content Manager at Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc. in Arlington, VA. We are seeking a candidate for the position of Digital Content Manager. The primary role of this mid level position is to coordinate the planning, maintenance, and accessibility of organizational web-based content and content-related services and to ensure the consistency of the organization’s public facing digital operations. Read more about this opportunity here. Email Czar at Village Voice Media in Los Angeles, CA. We want to use your knowledge and experiences to develop targeted email lists and creative, revenue driven email marketing plans. Read more about this opportunity here. Web Editor at SeattleWeekly in Seattle, WA. Seattle Weekly has an immediate opening for a web editor. This position combines online journalism and social media marketing, with the overall goal of growing seattleweekly.com’s readership and community. Read more about this opportunity here. Emerging Media Manager at FKQ Advertising + Marketing in Clearwater, FL. Seeking experienced and

innovative emerging media professional to develop and implement social media strategies and tactics that engage target audiences and provide compelling content for our clients. Read more about this opportunity here. Sales Optimizer at PeaceKeeper Cause-Metics in New York, NY. Eco-Green Cosmetics Company is looking for someone to optimize our sales on the web through social media. Read more about this opportunity here. Product Manager at GOOD in Los Angeles, CA. GOOD is looking for a Product Manager to join our team. We present a unique opportunity for talented individuals who thrive in creative, entrepreneurial environments. Read more about this opportunity here. Executive Assistant at Howcast Media in New York, NY. Our internship program gives students real world experience and exposure to a quickly expanding new media and production company. Read more about this opportunity here. Director, Human Resources at Global Impact in Alexandria, VA. Global Impact, a not-for-profit organization that raises millions annually for those in need, is seeking a Communications Consultant for Web and New Media. Read more about this

opportunity here. Front End Web Developer at The Motley Fool in Alexandria, VA. The Front End Web Developer collaborates with User Experience Designers and Software Developers to build all manner of well-crafted, forward looking things, using modern standards-based techniques and best practices. Read more about this opportunity here. Research Associate at New Media Strategies in Arlington, VA. You’ll research and evaluate online communities and provide internal auditing of individual project components that involve research, among other things. Read more about this opportunity here. Social Media Digital Strategist at Starbucks in Seattle, WA. The Starbucks digital strategy team is looking for seasoned, digital strategists who are passionate about ideating and executing best in class digital marketing experiences. Read more about this opportunity here. Communications Specialist at Crete Carrier Corporation in Lincoln, NE. Develops, maintains and enhances company communication materials to effectively represent the company’s services to customers and prospects. Read more about this opportunity here. Online MASHABLE’S page 24

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Our Favorite Apps: Stuff that stayed on our phones in 2009 By Erica Sadun (The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)) Submitted at 12/29/2009 9:00:00 PM

Filed under: Features, iPhone, App Review As the year draws to a close, we thought we'd shine a spotlight on some of the favorite apps we used this year. These are the "sticky" apps, the ones that lingered on our iPhones after we gave them a preliminary spin. There's so much on the App Store, good, bad and indifferent; here are a few suggestions for items that deserve your attention. • iAssociate [$1.99] Hugely challenging and long-term fun, this Funny-Farm-style game makes you brainstorm out associations from a core word or phrase. ( Original TUAW review) -- Erica Sadun • TrailGuru [ Free] Not a perfect app but a very handy one to keep track of your neighborhood walks. I love the way that TrailGuru lets me post my maps after each walk, keeps track of my average and max speed, and how I can break the walk down into laps. That really helps since I tend to walk in mile-long circles. -- ES • Twittelator Pro [$4.99] I use Twitter a lot when I'm away from home, and Twittelator Pro from Stone Design just keeps getting better. When Twitter changes, Twittelator Pro is usually the first app to support the new features. - Steve Sande

• Dropbox [ Free] In case you haven't already figured it out, I'm a Dropbox fanatic. The iPhone client is fast, free, and makes it easy for me to view, share, or delete files on all of my machines. ( Original TUAW post) -- SS • Doodle Jump [$0.99] All work and no play makes Steve a dull boy, so I have my share of games on my iPhone. As the App Store ad warns, Doodle Jump is addictive. My top score isn't that great, but Doodle Jump keeps me coming back for more. -- SS • BeejiveIM[$5.99] When we're out on the go, we always want to stay connected to each other. Beejive offers many IM features that allow us to do this, including its recently-added group chat support. -- Joachim Bean • MoodAgent[ Free for now] A great little app for creating playlists based on a variety of criteria like tempo, sensuality, mood, etc. Similar to Genius, but I find its playlists to be more apropos in most situations. ( Original TUAW review) -- Brett Terpstra • Instapaper Pro[$4.99] My ultimate read-later collection. Save pages to it from any browser (including Mobile Safari), then read text-only or full versions of them when you're good and ready. It can also output .epub files for Stanza, but the built-in reader has some excellent functionality. ( TUAW Friday Favorite) -- BT • Stanza[ Free] My favorite e-

apps on the store, many with more flexibility and more music discovery power (much love, Pandora), but none with the homemade goodness of the Radio Paradise app. You can instantly mark or buy tracks you like, and the sleep timer feature + the AirCurve acoustic base = bedside music nirvana. --MR • Roambi [ Free] This data visualization app isn't going to entertain you on long trips or sing you to sleep, but give it your business spreadsheets or sales book reader. It's free. 'Nuff said. - p r o j e c t i o n s a n d w a t c h t h e - BT fireworks. Roambi's ability to • B o o k m a r k [ $ 2 . 9 9 ] A n drill down into large data sets a u d i o b o o k s u b - s y s t e m f o r should wow your colleagues at i T u n e s . I t l e t s y o u p l a c e the next quarterly status meeting. bookmarks, always saves your With a $99 Roambi Pro account, place, stays on when the app is you can pull data directly from a closed and lots more. I use it Google Spreadsheet for the every day. ( Original TUAW ultimate in cloud charting. --MR Review) -- David Winograd • Fast Contacts[$1.99] earned a • Boxcar [ Free] Given the spot on my home screen with a choice between burning SMS couple of key features Apple messages to get updates from forgot in the vanilla contact app. Twitter and other networks, or Two useful features: contact u s i n g B o x c a r t o c o n t r o l sorting in numerous ways (even notifications and give me just location) and an event list that what I need... well, it's a keeper, will alert you to birthdays even with the additional costs to (provided you input them). -support more web services. -- Victor Agreda, Jr. Mike Rose • Sally's Spa[$2.99] is one of a • Evernote [ Free] We talk about multitude of time management it all the time, but it's because we games, but it's been a keeper on use it. Evernote gives you a PDF my iPhone. I picked it up back viewer, document management, when it was on sale for 99 cents, notes with geolocation, and all and it was worth the money. The without hassles or aggravation. ( graphics are very nice, and Recent TUAW coverage) --MR updates further tweak the game's • Radio Paradise [ Free] There r e s p o n s i v e n e s s . T h e o n l y are plenty of streaming audio downside is the battery drain. --

Megan Lavey • Currencies[$1.99] was indispensable when I visited my fiancé in the UK in October. The application has a nice interface and is easy to use to switch back among multiple currencies. There are many converters out there, but this one proved to be the most responsive. -- ML • Lose It![ Free] is the best food and exercise journal you can find for the iPhone, especially for the price. The latest version only adds to it by allowing you to share your progress online. It's easy to update and, since you're likely to have your iPhone with you whenever you're eating or exercising, it's hard not to forget to update your food or exercise log throughout the day. -- ML • Sportacular[ Free, Pro available for$1.99] There are a bevy of apps on the App Store designed to give you the scores for your favorite teams when you need them, but this one's the best -- it's quick and easy to use, has a full playing field of features, and hits a home run with free, customizable push alerts whenever you want them. The Facebook integration and social features(discuss games with others online, or chart your predictions over a season) are just extra points on the board. -Mike Schramm • I am T-Pain[$1.99] Ok, yes, it's a joke. But the iPhone has been a breeding ground for innovative OUR page 20

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An application war is brewing in the cloud (CNET News.com) Submitted at 12/30/2009 5:27:57 AM

Today's cloud-computing vendors focus on infrastructure, but that won't be the case for long. It can't be. As competing vendors seek to differentiate themselves, they're going to move "up the stack" into applications. It's like the history of enterprise computing, played out in months and years instead of decades. Just give me my !%!%! apps, already! Oracle arguably set this strategy in motion when it acquired its way to a complete infrastructureplus-applications portfolio to lower customer acquisition costs and improve its competitive differentiation for CIOs. IBM and Microsoft also went that route, though to differing degrees and in different ways. Cloud-computing platform vendors are going to have to do the same thing, except they don't have the luxury of waiting. It's not enough for cloud vendors to build the infrastructure and pray, "Field of Dreams" style, that customers will come. They won't. Not without applications and a host of other issues worked out for them, not by them. Even Google, born in the cloud, recognizes this. Instead of forcing government customers into its public cloud, the company is building a dedicated cloud for government organizations in the U.S.

Google's reasoning? We also want to do our part to make it easier for government to transition to cloud computing. We recognize that government agencies have unique regulatory and compliance requirements for IT systems, and cloud computing is no exception. So we've invested a lot of time in understanding government's needs and how they relate to cloud computing. To help meet those requirements we're taking two important steps.... One step is certification, and the other is dedicated hosting. As much as Google may hope that its other prospective Google Apps customers won't have "unique...requirements," they do (or think they do). it's a losing battle to tell them otherwise, at least in the short term. If an enterprise giant like GE demands a private cloud, GE is going to get it. This same pragmatism will drive Google and other cloudinfrastructure providers to build out their application suites. Why? Because enterprises that move to the cloud expect to see applications follow them there. Today, however, most enterprise applications don't work well in the cloud, leaving would-be enterprises buyers all dressed up with nowhere to go, in terms of the ability to run desired applications. Vendors are jockeying to satisfy this demand for cloud-based applications. Google is already

well on its way with Gmail and the rest of its Apps, and has been in the market lately for more, but others like Cisco, Microsoft, VMware, and IBM will be jumping into the M&A market to round out their offerings in order to deliver increasingly full application suites. Microsoft has been actively courting developers to build cloud-ready applications for its Azure platform, while VMware bought into the Spring developer community for the same purpose. But in the winner-takes-most cloud platform war, the best short -term strategy is to provide applications, and not simply hope they get built. Perhaps this is one reason IBM CEO Sam Palmisano claims to be undisturbed by Google's rise. IBM already has Lotus and more running in the cloud, and has a strong hold on enterprise wallets. Some, like Red Hat or Amazon, may elect to sit it out and stick to their infrastructure-only guns, but such vows of paucity won't help potential service provider customers, and threaten to position them out of the longerterm battle for enterprise

customers. Amazon can afford to refrain from seeking enterprise customers; Red Hat can't. Microsoft is arguably best positioned in such a battle, at least from a portfolio perspective. After all, it has the applications-e.g., Exchange/Outlook, SharePoint, Office--that enterprises already use. What it doesn't have, at least, not yet, is experience running these applications in significant cloud deployments. But that will come. Until it does, expect the big cloud-infrastructure vendors to buy competitive application offerings so as to distinguish their platforms to hosting and service providers. Sure, they can sell hosted Exchange, but that's a recipe for entrenching Microsoft in the cloud, just as happened on the "desktop" and server. Cisco et al. don't have much appetite for reliving Microsoft's glory. Who are the likely targets? Zoho just became belle of the ball, of course, but there are others. I'd expect any application with either a significant following, like Acquia's Drupal, or significant cloud/hosting experience, like SugarCRM ( Disclosure: I am an adviser to SugarCRM), to be up for grabs. Follow me on Twitter @mjasay. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

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music applications, and this, the little app that automatically autotunes your voice to line up with a surprising amount of background music choices, actually appeals to all musicians, from the corporate desk jockey who just wants to yell out "shawwty!" after a hard day at work to the indie musician who wants a cheap autotune sound for their LP. It's a professional piece of software hidden in a very casual product -- an app that's perfect for the iPhone platform. -MS Of course, we want to hear your top picks and can't-live-withoutem apps as well... let us know! TUAW Our Favorite Apps: Stuff that stayed on our phones in 2009 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 29 Dec 2009 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments

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Comedy Duo Hopes Social Media Power Will Secure Slot on Showtime By Christina Warren (Mashable!)

authored a self help book, You’ll Do A Little Better Next Time: A Guide to Marriage & Remarriage Submitted at 12/30/2009 8:43:33 AM for Jewish Singles. Born out of Undoubtedly, social media is a an Upright Citizens Brigade powerful force. It can be used as sketch that thirty-somethings a way to spread breaking news, Chaffin and Denbo created three organize political protests or years ago, Ronna and Beverly is energize campaigns, and, of kind of a mixture of Kath & Kim course, to promote various a n d A b s o l u t e l y F a b u l o u s . brands and individuals. But can Showtime commissioned a pilot social media help a TV pilot in 2008, but declined to pick up ascend from reject bin to series t h e s h o w t h i s p a s t s p r i n g pickup? Jessica Chaffin and (Showtime actually declined to Jamie Denbo — the stars and take any pilots to series, instead creators of Ronna and Beverly— focusing on its existing roster of sure hope so. shows like Dexter, Weeds and The duo is already getting tons Nurse Jackie). of attention for their sitcom; The However, Showtime ended up Wall Street Journal and Mediaite saying it would air the pilot both feature write-ups about the before the end of 2009 for “tax show and its creators’ quest to purposes.” Denbo and Chaffin use social media to put the show then did what any self-respecting on Showtime’s schedule. Thus L.A. comedian would do: They far the two actresses have took their cause to their famous succeeded in getting Showtime to friends and to Twitter. Soon, air the pilot twice and drum up individuals like Diablo Cody, some media coverage in the Mindy Kaling, Rainn Wilson and process. Joel Stein took to tweeting pleas Social Media Takes Aim at to their followers, instructing Prime Time them to DVR and watch the Ronna and Beverly is a sitcom show. Considering that some of a b o u t t w o f i f t y - s o m e t h i n g these individuals have more than Bostonian yentas who have a million followers, it was a good

way to try to spread the word. The pilot aired on December 22 and again at midnight last night. The hope is that the online buzz will translate into offline viewers. Risky Proposition As exciting as it is to frame the Ronna and Beverly campaign as potentially groundbreaking — after all, it would be a great coda to the story to say that a grassroots social media campaign got a show pickup — we’d be remiss if we didn’t point out that this is still a risky proposition, and one that has failed more than once before. Although social media and online campaigns have had an impact on many other mediums, television has remained an elusive nut to crack. Campaigns to get followers to tune into television premieres have consistently failed (or failed to

sustain themselves after the initial flurry is over) and onlinespecific campaigns to take a show to the small screen have been equally unsuccessful. In 2005, Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence — as well as Scrubs and Family Guy writers Neil Goldman and Garrett Donovan — created a pilot for what was then The WB network called Nobody’s Watching. The WB declined to pick up the show, but undeterred, the pilot was leaked to YouTube in June 2006. The show became a YouTube sensation, with coverage across industry magazines, The New York Times and other outlets. In fact, the initial buzz was so strong that there seemed to be promise and confirmation that the show would get picked up by NBC. Despite additional webisodes, plans for a full pickup never actually materialized and the actors and writers all moved on to other projects. Likewise, when TV veterans Marshall Herkovitz and Edward Zwick’s TV show Quarterlife— which was developed alongside a social networking site of the same name — couldn’t get

How Algal Biofuels Lost a Decade in the Race to Replace Oil By Alexis Madrigal (Wired Top Stories) Submitted at 12/29/2009 5:00:00 PM

Biofuels made from algae are touted as a solution to help end the age of oil. But halting a program to develop the tech in

the 1990s may have set back making diesel from pond scum for years. As the program languished, the living archive of

valuable genetic material scientists had collected was largely lost.

network pickup in 2007, it aired on YouTube and MySpace instead. Despite relatively high totals for the webisodes, when NBC actually picked up the show in February 2008, the ratings were the worst for that timeperiod on the network in more than 17 years. The Outcome and the Future Ronna and Beverly won’t necessarily meet the same fate as Nobody’s Watching or Quarterlife, but even if the show does fail to get pickup, the attempt to use social media to try to create or inform an audience won’t be in vain. For Jessica Chaffin and Jamie Denbo, the exposure — online and off — can only be positive. Furthermore, lessons learned about cultivating online communities and spreading the word can be used in future projects as well. What do you think of social media’s potential role in shaping or impacting television programming? Tags: ronna and beverly, Showtime, television, tv, twitter

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Mashable’s Social Media Guide for Journalists By Brenna Ehrlich (Mashable!) Submitted at 12/30/2009 7:44:09 AM

Navigating the journalistic seas this past year has been a particularly challenging/exciting task. As many a publication foundered in the economic benthos, others rode the wave of new technology into previously uncharted waters. Mashable has been there through it all, stepping in to provide journalists with touchstones and compass directions to help them do everything from tell more compelling tales through alternative storytelling to make the most of their Twitter accounts. It’s not enough today to have a good rolodex of sources (seriously, who even has a rolodex nowadays?) and a solid recorder, journalists need to be able to make use of every tool in their arsenal in order to stay afloat in today’s almost real-time media landscape. It’s time to add another factor to the boot leather equation. Here’s how: Add Social Media Tools to Your Belt From making use of social media tools to create and store content (ala YouTube and other video blogs) to tracking down

sources (via Facebook) to publicizing stories and interacting with readers (by logging into Twitter), social media tools have opened up a whole new realm to today’s journalists. Here are some great resources that can teach you everything from how to use YouTube to conduct man-on-thestreet interviews to how to keep up with other journos on Twitter. The Journalist’s Guide to YouTube The Journalist’s Guide to Facebook The Journalist’s Guide to User Generated Video The Journalist’s Guide to Twitter The Complete Guide to Video Blogging Turn Your News Website Into a Community Reading the news these days is becoming less and less about passive consumption and more about interacting with and commenting on what’s going on in your world. Therefore, websites have to be less like art museums (hands-off) and more like those children’s museums of bygone days (hands-on). Check out these great guides to making your publication’s website more interactive — from tapping into local news to riding the Google Wave.

10 Ways Journalism Schools Are Teaching Social Media The Journalist’s Guide to Maximizing Personal Social Media ROI Keep Looking Forward While good writing and solid sourcing will always be the most vital skills a journalist can have, 1 0 R u l e s f o r I n c r e a s i n g it’s prudent to keep those factfinding eyes trained on the Community Engagement 7 Ways to Make News Sites horizon. Try to anticipate trends before they catch on, and More Social How Google Wave is Changing embrace them. Here’s a few ideas to mull over as we sally forth into the News How Social Media is Taking the 2010. I would invest in a solid News Local Become a New New pair of boots, friends, the going’s not going to get any easier. Journalist If you thought Tom Wolfe was 8 News Media Business Trends groundbreaking, take a look at for 2010 what these media mavens are up 10 News Media Content Trends to. Instead of adhering to the to Watch in 2010 strict demarcations between print Is Crowdfunding the Future of and online journalism (which are Journalism? in the process of being blurred, 12 Things Newspapers Should but still have a ways to go), many Do to Survive in the profession are becoming [top img credit: Yan Arief] triple threats (at least!), tackling [ n o t e b o o k i m g c r e d i t : print, broadcast and online g r u n t z o o k i ] journalism. Here’s some tips on [binoculars img credit: gerlos] Reviews: Facebook, Google how to join their lofty ranks. 8 Must-Have Traits of Wave, Mashable, Twitter, YouTube Tomorrow’s Journalist Tags: facebook, journalism, 15 Twitter Users Shaping the media, social media, twitter, Future of Publishing How Programmer/Journalists youtube Are Changing the News

Fraud U: Toppling a Bogus-Diploma Empire By David Wolman (Wired Top Stories)

When spam for an offer to buy a college degree hits George Gollin's inbox, his intrigue turns

to outrage. The physics professor brings down an empire of bogus diplomas, fake universities and

padded resumes.

Musician Christopher Bryant 'Opens For Himself' To Connect With Fans... And To Find New Ones By Mike Masnick (Techdirt) Submitted at 12/29/2009 6:50:00 PM

We're always interested in cool promotional and marketing ideas from content creators, and Hypebot alerts us to the news that musician Christopher Bryant is planning a neat concept for his solo shows: throughout 2010, he'll"open for himself" when playing live. Basically, he's playing two sets, but the first set will all be music by another artist. The first such artist is Ben Harper, who is apparently a huge inspiration to Bryant: Now, of course, this might not sound like anything special. It's just a musician playing a bunch of cover music before playing his own music. But the positioning is quite smart. It's positioned in a different way that draws attention and helps better connect with fans. Not only that, but it helps this up-and-coming musician get some additional attention from fans of a much bigger artist. It's a very smart move. Permalink| Comments| Email This Story

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Demand improving for LCD TVs

Das Cube for iPhone

(CNET News.com)

By Mike Schramm (The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW))

the global flat panel TV market as the transition from CRT to LCD and plasma TVs continues Y e t a n o t h e r c o n s u m e r to drive market growth," said electronics segment is bouncing Hisakazu Torii, vice president of back from the recession--demand T V m a r k e t r e s e a r c h f o r for LCD TVs is showing new DisplaySearch, in a statement. signs of life. "Government stimulus activity is Third-quarter shipments of LCD having a positive effect on TVs rose for the first time in a demand for flat panel TVs in year, according t o both China and Japan, while DisplaySearch's "Quarterly several upcoming analog-toG l o b a l T V S h i p m e n t a n d digital broadcast changes in 2010 F o r e c a s t R e p o r t , " r e l e a s e d are likely to increase demand in Wednesday. That upward motion Western Europe for digital TVs. suggests that TV sales for the Meanwhile, large price declines first quarter of 2010 could in North America have been surpass those of the first quarter driving strong unit demand, of 2009, the first gain in six especially for 19" to 32" sizes." quarters. Price declines of 9 percent this Total TV shipments will climb 6 year for all flavors of TVs have percent in 2010 to reach 218 h u r t r e v e n u e b u t b o o s t e d million units, versus 205 million demand, with 2009 revenue f o r 2 0 0 9 , a c c o r d i n g t o likely to drop 10 percent to $101 DisplaySearch's forecast. LCD billion from $112 billion last TV shipments specifically will year. But prices will not fall as account for around 170 million m u c h i n 2 0 1 0 , s a y s units in 2010 versus 140.5 DisplaySearch, and so continued million this year. consumer demand will reward TV manufacturers and vendors the industry with some sales can thank North America, Japan, growth next year. and Western Europe, where Around 14.6 million plasma TVs consumer demand continues to are expected to ship next year grow. But emerging markets thanks to growing demand in have also developed more of an China. Meanwhile, the older appetite for flat-panel TVs. CRT (cathode ray tube) TV "China is a hot growth engine for continues to hang in there, with Submitted at 12/30/2009 6:43:45 AM

32 million units likely to ship in 2010, predicts DisplaySearch. But that forecast is lower than the company's previous estimate based on declining demand and a dwindling supply of key components. Alternative technologies like LED-backlit LCDs and 3D TVs will play a role in driving growth for the industry. Demand for LED-backlit TVs will jump in 2010, according to DisplaySearch, with just about every TV manufacturer bringing a variety of models and sizes to the market. LCDs with higher frame rates will catch on as manufacturers add higher performance features to their TVs, DisplaySearch said. TVs with 100/120 Hz frame rates will capture 26 percent of global sales in 2009, while those with rates of 200/240 Hz will soak up only about 5 percent. But by 2013, 100/120 Hz TVs will account for 31 percent of global revenue, with 200/240 Hz TVs winning nearly 20 percent. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

It's not quite as simple or addictive as Canabalt-- the controls feel a little floaty, and sometimes the ball you push Submitted at 12/30/2009 10:30:00 AM around will squeeze in between Filed under: Gaming, iPhone, the blocks. A few times while App Store, iPod touch, App playing, it seemed to me that the Review easiest way to win would be to Das Cube[ iTunes link, $1.99] is just swirl the mix around, and a simple little iPhone game that sure enough, when I just rolled comes with a pretty impressive the ball around the screen, I pedigree: it's made by one of the eventually got blocks to crash creators of Aquaria, Mark Johns together randomly. But by the of Space Barnacle, and features time I hit around 60,000 points or music by the composer of so (you can tweet your high C a n a b a l t ' s c r a z y a d d i c t i v e scores, just like Canabalt), I soundtrack. As you can see in the found a little more precision was video above, it's got more in required, but even then, the common with the iPhone post- controls are anything but sharp. apocalyptic running simulator Still, Das Cube is an amusing than the underwater adventure: little mix of music and graphics. your job is to move a little ball Unfortunately, there's no free that can smash together a series trial, but what you see above is of abstract shapes that then what you get: smash shapes explode into points. That's pretty together to groovy techno tunes. much it -- as the game gets If that appeals, you can pick it up tougher (there are two difficulty for $1.99. settings, though I found the TUAW Das Cube for iPhone "Brutal" setting to be only a little originally appeared on The tougher than the "Easy" setting in U n o f f i c i a l A p p l e W e b l o g the first few minutes), more (TUAW) on Wed, 30 Dec 2009 blocks drop, and while you can 10:30:00 EST. Please see our shake the iPhone occasionally to terms for use of feeds. help you clear the screen, if you Read| Permalink| Email this| go too long without matching Comments pieces, your game is over and the high scores are calculated.

People's Processor: Embrace China's Homegrown Computer Chips By Christopher Mims (Wired Top Stories)

China's creating a computer chip that can drive anything from an industrial robot to a

supercomputer is succeeding. It's going to have a profound impact on computers everywhere.

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MASHABLE’S continued from page 18

Marketing Manager at HarperCollins Publishers in New York, NY. The Online Marketing Manager is responsible for creating and executing an overall online plan for HarperCollins Children’s Books vertical websites. Read more about this opportunity here. Sr. Social Media Specialist at MWW Group in New York, NY. It is mandatory for the position of Sr. Social Media Specialist that the candidate come from a PR firm/background. We will also consider candidates from a communications firm. Read more about this opportunity here. Intern: Interactive Developer at Roundarch in New York, NY. The ideal candidate will have practical or work experience developing and supporting enterprise-class web applications and have experience working in structured environments following defined development methodologies including client/server and multi-tiered design and development. Read more about this opportunity here. Web Marketing/Social Media Intern at Pierre Deux in Secaucus, NJ. Established Furniture & Home

Décor company seeking an Internet-savvy, Photoshop and social media-loving online marketing intern to assist with blogging, building our online presence, social media, and administrative duties. Read more about this opportunity here. Creative Services Director at Rackspace Email and Apps in Blacksburg, VA. Develop innovative user experience for existing and future customers that differentiates Rackspace brand versus industry, and more. Read more about this opportunity here. Web Developer at Fenton Communications in New York, NY. We’re looking for a web savvy public-interest minded whiz to help deliver cutting edge online services to leading nonprofits, foundations and socially responsible businesses. Read more about this opportunity here. SEO Analyst at Roundarch in New York, NY. SEO Analyst will be responsible for assisting in strategy, implementation and tracking of all search engine marketing campaigns across multiple clients and search engines. Read more about this

opportunity here. Social Media Manager at PETA in Los Angeles, CA. PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) seeks a Social Media Manager to manage PETA’s social media efforts. You’ll manage PETA’s Social Media Division and its staff members and develop and implement strategies for new online activism and social media efforts Read more about this opportunity here. Mashable has a variety of web 2.0, application development, business development, and social networking job opportunities available. Check them out at Mashable’s Job Board. Got a job posting to share with our readers? Post a job to Mashable today ($50 for a 30 day listing) and get it highlighted every week on Mashable.com (in addition to exposure all day every day in the Mashable marketplace). Tags: career, careers, jobs, mashable

Photo Gallery: 'Tis the Season for Camera Tossing By Steven Leckart and Jon Snyder (Wired Top Stories)

Enjoy a baker's dozen of these luminous confections of swirly lights.

Facebook to Seppukoo: Die! By Stan Schroeder (Mashable!) Submitted at 12/30/2009 6:41:02 AM

Remember Seppukoo, that nifty little service that lets you kill your Facebook identity? Well, Facebook doesn’t appreciate the idea. In fact, Facebook doesn’t want Seppukoo to exist at all, claiming that it violates the statement of rights and responsibilities. Therefore, Facebook has sent a cease and desist letter to Seppukoo, asking the program to stop breaching terms of service. Facebook is claiming that Seppukoo is violating the following terms of service: * Soliciting users’ Facebook login information. * Accessing a Facebook account that belongs to someone else. * Collecting users’ content or information using automated means. * Sending commercial communications. * Using Facebook’s intellectual property. If Seppukoo continues doing business as usual, Facebook will likely sue them. From the letter: “(Facebook will take) whatever measures it believes are necessary to enforce its rights, maintain the quality of its site,

and protect its users’ privacy and information.” In most cases, especially when we’re talking about a non-profit, just-for-fun project such as Seppukoo, the owners would simply shut the site down to avoid trouble. But the folks behind Seppukoo — an imaginary Italian art group Les Liens Invisibles — don’t plan to do that. They’ve replied to Facebook’s lawyers, claiming that they don’t plan to shut down the service, since Seppukoo is solely for artistic purposes. It doesn’t have ads, and the service is completely free. While it’s understandable that Facebook doesn’t want users “ritually killing” their accounts, I don’t really see how what Seppukoo is doing can be considered illegal. Is this another PR disaster in the making? We’ll keep a close eye on this one. Reviews: Facebook Tags: facebook, seppukoo, social networking

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Court Dismisses Defamation Claim Against Consumer Complaint Site, Highlights Section 230 Protections By Mike Masnick (Techdirt)

site, like any other gripes site, is protected from defamation claims by Section 230. It looks like Section 230 Eric Goldman discusses the protections win out again. Some latest ruling, in which the appeals of the regular critics on this site court upheld the dismissal by the like to make odd claims about district court, using Section 230. Section 230 -- insisting the In the ruling, the court rejected Section 230 is quite limited, two specific claims that Nemet leaving a site liable if it cannot made to try to get around Section prove who created the content, or 230. First, Nemet claimed that that it simply does not apply, if since ConsumerAffairs solicits the site in question "helped" c o m p l a i n t s a n d a s k s u s e r s create the content in any way. A questions to draw out the details, new ruling should help clear up it is partially responsible for the those misconceptions. The case content (an attempted misreading involves a car dealer, Nemet of the Roommates ruling). Chevrolet, that was upset about However, the court tossed this n e g a t i v e r e v i e w s o n out, saying that the problem with C o n s u m e r A f f a i r s . c o m . Roommates was that the ConsumerAffairs is one of many questions asked specifically "gripes sites" out there -- with requested illegal information. one interesting distinction. It T h a t i s n o t t h e c a s e w i t h works closely with class action C o n s u m e r A f f a i r s . lawyers to review the gripes and The other attempt by Nemet to seek out opportunities for filing get around the Section 230 issue class action lawsuits. While this was to say that because it may be somewhat distasteful couldn't figure out who one of (class action lawsuits are all too the complaints came from, often much more about getting ConsumerAffairs must have money for the lawyers than made it up, and thus it was liable actually helping the class), the since it created the content. That Submitted at 12/29/2009 10:58:00 PM

Long-awaited Bibble 5 raw photo editor arrives (CNET News.com)

Performance is a major issue for raw processing, a computationally demanding didn't work either. Eric Goldman Bibble Labs has released the c h o r e , a n d B i b b l e a p p e a r s points out how silly this logic is long-awaited version 5 of its particularly pleased with its on the part of Nemet: This s o f t w a r e f o r e d i t i n g a n d performance improvements. The allegation has an obvious (and managing the raw photos higher- software is able to take advantage IMO embarrassing) logic flaw. end cameras can take. of all the processing cores on a Even if Nemet can't use its Bibble 5 adds a number of new 32-core system, according to the records to validate the facts in a features for editing, cataloging, c o m p a n y . A l t h o u g h t h e consumer r e v i e w , and performance. The company incremental benefits of more C o n s u m e r A f f a i r s . c o m ' s had hoped to release Bibble 5 in cores diminish, Bibble boasts its fabrication of the post is only one 2008 but ran into delays. software can scale even as of many possible explanations. Also new is the price. The Pro u n n a m e d c o m p e t i t o r s ' The court notes some other v e r s i o n o f B i b b l e 5 c o s t s performance doesn't get any possible explanations: "the post $199.95, up from $129.95 for better beyond eight cores. could be anonymous, falsified by Bibble 4 Pro; those who bought Bibble's main competitors the consumer, or simply missed Bibble 4 Pro after Sept. 1, 2006, i n c l u d e A d o b e S y s t e m s ' by Nemet." (I would also add the however, get a free upgrade. Photoshop Lightroom, Apple's p o s s i b i l i t y o f w e a k Bibble 5 Lite hasn't been released Aperture, Phase One's Capture recordkeeping by Nemet). So, yet, but the company said Bibble One, DxO Labs' DxO Optics Pro, once again, we see that Section 4 Lite customers may use Bibble several smaller rivals, and 2 3 0 i s w o r k i n g p r o p e r l y , 5 Pro until it is. utilities that often ship with SLRs requiring that liability be One feature of Bibble 5 is and other cameras that can shoot properly applied. It does not selective editing, which lets raw. Raw photographs offer more mean that there is no liability at photographers change only a flexibility and quality but take all -- just that you can't blame the portion of an image. The editing time and effort to process. tool or platform provider for the is nondestructive, which means Via Digital Photography Review work of a user. The user may the changes don't alter the Five Filters featured article: still be liable -- which is fine -- underlying raw file. Another is Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: but the service provider is not. cataloging features to more easily PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Permalink| Comments| Email manage files and sift through Term Extraction. This Story libraries. Submitted at 12/30/2009 8:53:24 AM

Drop Everything and Vote For Hipster of the Decade [Polls] By Hamilton Nolan (Gawker) Submitted at 12/30/2009 8:01:02 AM

Today is the final day of voting for our Hipster of the Decade poll. Carles of Hipster Runoff is

currently winning. If you disagree (or agree, whatever) vote below right now, bitches!

Who is the Hipster of the Decade?( poll)

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Kenya's Anti-Counterfeiting Act Challenged As Violating The Right To Health By Mike Masnick (Techdirt)

We've already seen that lobbyistfunded and promoted reports on Submitted at 12/30/2009 7:01:00 AM the "counterfeiting problem" are As a bunch of countries continue widely exaggerated, and any real to negotiate ACTA, the Anti- "problem" is much smaller than Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, the numbers that get tossed in secrecy, Kenya already has its around. Furthermore, recent own Anti-Counterfeit Act. studies have shown that Michael Geist points us to the c o u n t e r f e i t p r o d u c t s q u i t e news that that particular law is frequently lead to purchases of now being challenged in Kenya the real product in the future (i.e., for violating peoples "right to people aren't "fooled" into buying health." The issue is worth counterfeits -- they know they're following, because it will almost buying counterfeits). But that's c e r t a i n l y b e c o m e a n i s s u e with things like luxury goods. assuming ACTA moves forward. What about drugs? Whenever we discuss ACTA, it's Well, we've already seen that big inevitable that someone stops by p h a r m a c e u t i c a l c o m p a n i e s to say that anti-counterfeiting is conveniently like to use antireally, really important to stop counterfeiting laws not to stop dangerous counterfeit drugs from dangerous counterfeit drugs, but being sold, potentially harming to destroy legitimate generic people. Now, I have no doubt drugs. It's not about making sure that counterfeit drugs may be a that drugs and people are safe -serious problem -- but if that's the but quite the opposite. It's about problem, we should target a limiting competition so that these narrow attack on that problem pharma firms can jack up prices alone, not some wider "anti- even higher. counterfeiting" effort. And that's the issue in Kenya.

About 90% of the drugs in Kenya are generics -- for a very good reason. Those drugs are much cheaper and are helpful in saving many lives. The Kenyan anticounterfeit law makes counterfeiting a criminal issue, rather than a civil one, and gives the power to police and border officials, who have no way of knowing counterfeit from generic, so often label generic drugs as being counterfeits. There are plenty of good reasons to try to stop counterfeit drugs from hitting the market, but if that's the real problem, any solution should be narrowly focused on that specific problem. Unfortunately, since it's quite often the big pharmaceutical lobbyists who help write and push through these bills, that's not how it works at all. Permalink| Comments| Email This Story

Sarah Jessica Parker vs. Paula Zahn: Celebs Go Green in Identical Dresses (ETonline - Breaking News) Submitted at 12/30/2009 6:07:00 AM

It's a fashion face-off for style-

savvy celebs! From 'Sex and the City' actress Sarah Jessica Parker and news anchor Paula Zahn's green get-ups, to Beyonce and

Pussycat Doll Melody Thornton's skimpy styles, see which stars are stepping out in a similar fashion.

Thomas Jefferson Decided The Hemp Brake Was Too Important To Patent By Mike Masnick (Techdirt)

Dope column, which is mostly about George Washington and Thomas Jefferson's exposure to We've had plenty of discussions marijuana, but there is one about Thomas Jefferson's views interesting part about how on the patent system. He is, Jefferson refused to patent his clearly, the father of the patent "hemp brake" patent, because he system in the US. While he was found the invention to be "too incredibly skeptical of the idea of important": Jefferson invented a g r a n t i n g a n y m o n o p o l i e s better "hemp brake" to separate originally, he did come around to the fibers from the stalks, accept patents in very limited something he thought was so circumstances, and when he important agriculturally that he oversaw the patent system, he refused to patent it. Combined was careful to make sure that the with the Franklin quote, this is downsides of such monopolies quite telling. In both cases, they were limited. Separately, for realized that the invention could many years, I've heard the story be a lot more useful if it were not of how Ben Franklin purposely limited. This goes against claims decided not to patent his stove by patent supporters that (1) an invention, stating:"As we enjoy invention is not a "real invention" g r e a t a d v a n t a g e s f r o m t h e if it's not patented and (2) the inventions of others, we should patent system is necessary for be glad of an opportunity to serve better dissemination of ideas. It's others by any invention of ours; nice to see (yet again) that and this we should do freely and T h o m a s J e f f e r s o n , d e s p i t e generously." However, I had not overseeing the early years of our heard of a similar story involving patent system, clearly was quite Thomas Jefferson refusing to skeptical of the actual benefits of patent certain inventions he came such a system. up with as well. Reader jprlk Permalink| Comments| Email points us to a recent Straight This Story Submitted at 12/30/2009 2:02:10 AM

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Yet Another Attempt At Ad Supported Music By Mike Masnick (Techdirt) Submitted at 12/29/2009 8:52:00 PM

Back in October, we wrote about plans for yet another "free, but ad supported" music download startup, but didn't see how the economics could work out. That site, FreeAllMusic, is apparently now getting set to launch, but it still doesn't make much sense to us. Basically, you can download music (two of the four major labels have signed up) for free -and it's not encumbered by DRM (that's good), but you have to sit through some sort of video ad before you can get the music and you are limited in how much music you can download. The site's CEO claims "We have made this process easier than stealing." We'll ignore the confusion (most likely intentional) about the difference between infringement and "stealing" and focus on all the other problems with this service. First of all, it's not easier

than infringing. You have to sit and watch an ad. You don't have to do that on file sharing networks. Second, the assumption behind the service is that people would use this the same way they use iTunes: meaning only a very small number of downloads per month. Initially, that means 20 downloads per month, total, and no more than five per session. That may be how people use iTunes, but that's because each download costs money in iTunes. One of the reasons people prefer file sharing systems is because they're not limited that way and can really easily sample lots of music quickly. But the biggest problem with this concept remains with the basic economics. Since the argument remains the same as I stated a few months back, I'll just repeat it: You've got the record labels, who are used to getting approximately $0.67 per downloaded song. Assuming that

needs to be made up by the ad (and even ignoring any profit for the site), then every single ad shown needs to cost that same $0.67. Translated into traditional ad terms, that's a CPM of $670. Yikes. I don't know any advertiser will to pay anything close to that -- even if it's targeted and you have a half decent chance of the person paying attention. Most CPM ad rates online these days are in the sub-$5 area. Convincing advertisers to jump to a $670 CPM on an unproven model? Good luck. I'm all for experiments and new business models -- especially those that make use of free music. I just don't see this particular one getting very far. The economics are just not that compelling for anyone involved. Permalink| Comments| Email This Story

Blonde Charity Mafia Canceled, The Jeff Dunham Show canceled too By Robert Seidman (TVbytheNumbers) Submitted at 12/29/2009 9:57:02 PM

[ fivefilters.org: unable to

retrieve full-text content] The renew The Jeff Dunham Show CW makes it officially official: for a second season. it's not airing Blonde Charity Mafia. Separately Comedy Central announced it wouldn't

Weather Channel Marriage Proposal: Touching With a Chance of Viral Status [VIDEO] By Brenna Ehrlich (Mashable!) Submitted at 12/30/2009 9:01:39 AM

First Twitter, then Foursquare, now the Weather Channel? People are broadcasting their wedding proposals all over the place these days. That’s right, the other night Weather Channel meteorologist Kim Perez’s beau, police Sgt. Marty Cunningham (best name EVER), asked her to marry him during a routine forecast. Good thing she said yes, otherwise Cunningham’s disposition would have been cloudy with a serious chance of all-out mortification. Social media and viral videos have taken the place of the jumbotron when it comes to marriage proposals, allowing one to sound one’s not-so barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world. In today’s look-at-me society, public proposals are probably the least offensive byproduct. Meaning that even the most hardened of cynics can admit that they’re kind of sweet. Check out Cunningham’s proposal below (I personally enjoy that the weather map reads

“ ring ing in the New Year”), and then dive right into our list of even more social media wooers. What’s next? Entire domains dedicated to popping the question? More Wedding Bells and Whistles CONGRATS: Mashable Marriage Proposal Live at #SocialGood [Video] Man Proposes Marriage via Foursquare Check-In Did We Just Witness a Twitter Marriage Proposal? Successful Marriage Proposal on Twitter Today: We #blamedrewscancer Just Married: Groom Changes Facebook Relationship Status at the Altar [VIDEO] Tags: facebook, foursquare, twitter, viral video

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LinkedIn app releases version 3.0 for Is It Illegal To Commit the iPhone Seppukoo On Your Facebook Account? By Mike Schramm (The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW))

(sounds like the same kind of functionality as Bump). But most of this stuff is just more "me, too." Instead of sharing photos Submitted at 12/30/2009 9:00:00 AM and status updates with my work Filed under: Internet Tools, acquaintances, how about some iPhone, App Store LinkedIn has more functionality exclusive to always seemed like the "me too" just them? of social networks, in my mind. Of course, even more than They started out as a site more demographics, the thing that about careers and job matters most about social networking, but with the big networks is how many contacts growth of Facebook the last two you actually have on them. If years, it seems like they're you're a big LinkedIn fan and working as hard as they can just have a huge network in there, to keep up with what's going on you'll definitely want to get this over there. And that seems to be update right away. the case with their updated TUAW LinkedIn app releases iPhone app as well, just released ask me, is in its demographic -- version 3.0 for the iPhone on the App Store [ iTunes link, Facebook is where I share with originally appeared on The free]. There's a lot of new my family and friends, and U n o f f i c i a l A p p l e W e b l o g features, but as TechCrunch's LinkedIn seems to be where I (TUAW) on Wed, 30 Dec 2009 MG Sielger points out, they're have connected with coworkers 09:00:00 EST. Please see our very similar to what's already in and colleagues. And they hint at terms for use of feeds. the great Facebook app: a that a little bit in this release: Read| Permalink| Email this| revamped UI, the ability to there's a feature where you can Comments comment on status updates, share share contacts across Bluetooth, which seems like a good idea for pictures, and so on. The power of LinkedIn, if you the upcoming convention season

By Mike Masnick (Techdirt)

memorial page on its site and sends the page to all your Facebook friends. Fun stuff. Facebook is known for not Except, of course, Facebook looking kindly (and for going doesn't want people deleting their legal) on sites that attempt to do accounts, and so it blocked p a s s t h r o u g h l o g i n s t o d o Seppukoo. Now, the battle of something with a Facebook words is heating up and lawyers account. I can understand why are getting involved. Facebook they don't like these other has issued a cease and desist, services, but it's difficult to see insinuating that it will take what's illegal about them. The Seppukoo to court for violating next potential legal battle F a c e b o o k ' s " r i g h t s a n d apparently may be between responsibilities" if it doesn't stop Facebook and Seppukoo, a fun offering the service. I'm still site that offers users an amusing quite confused as to what legal way to close and delete their leg Facebook has to stand on Facebook account by having it here. I can understand why it commit a virtual suicide: The doesn't like what Seppukoo is site, Seppukoo.com, offers ritual doing... but that doesn't mean it's suicide for Facebook users' illegal. virtual profiles by deactivating Permalink| Comments| Email your account. And it doesn't stop This Story there. If you're willing to end it all, the site will feature a RIP Submitted at 12/30/2009 5:08:16 AM

iPhone Sales in China Are Finally Picking Up By Stan Schroeder (Mashable!) Submitted at 12/30/2009 7:20:12 AM

After initial reports that iPhone sales in China are nothing short of abysmal, things are finally starting to look better for Apple’s

handsome smartphone. iPhonAsia reports that at this time, China Unicom has managed to sell approximately 300,000 iPhones, which — while still a very low number considering the size of the Chinese market — is definitely

better than the results in the first couple of weeks.

China Unicom seems to have we’ve learned that the iPhone has managed to pick up speed by all but conquered Japan. Is China launching a 46-city iPhone next? roadshow/education campaign. In Tags: china, iphone the first 40 days, 100,000 iPhones were sold in China, but in the next three weeks, the number has tripled. Recently,

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TUAW Tip: Sync your bookmarks to an iPhone or iPod touch with Xmarks 'I'm on a Mac' parody video makes noise By Mike Schramm (The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW))

Shawn0(via the good folks at Lifehacker) presents a quick workaround to get your Xmarkssynced bookmarks up and Submitted at 12/30/2009 11:00:00 AM running on your iPhone. Filed under: Tips and tricks, Unfortunately, he uses Internet Internet I'm an avid user of Explorer to do it, but given that Xmarks(formerly Foxmarks) as we're all on Macs, I discovered are probably many of you. I that it worked just fine with browse the Internet regularly on Safari. Set up Xmarks on your three different computers, and so Safari installation, sync it up with it helps immensely to have all of your usual bookmarks, and then my Firefox bookmarks and set iTunes to sync your mobile passwords synced. But the one browser's bookmarks with Safari. fly in my ointment has been my The one big drawback is that i P h o n e ' s m o b i l e S a f a r i you'll have to start up Safari installation -- because I don't every once in a while to make usually use Safari as my browser, sure your changes get all the way I haven't yet figured out a way to out to the mobile device, but get all of my usual bookmarks on that's better than not having them to the iPhone. synced up at all. Until now: this writeup by And yes, you MobileMe users

Lehman Europe set to return assets (Financial Times - US homepage) Submitted at 12/29/2009 10:59:40 AM

Lehman Europe set to return

assets By Anousha Sakoui in London Published: December 29 2009 18:59 | Last updated: December 29 2009 18:59

are laughing at us Xmarks users right now, because Apple's service syncs all of these things automatically. But I've never known Xmarks to go down, and this solution costs the low, low price of free per year. If, like me, you haven't landed on a solid way to sync bookmarks out to the mobile browser yet, here you go. TUAW TUAW Tip: Sync your bookmarks to an iPhone or iPod touch with Xmarks originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 30 Dec 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments

By Mike Schramm (The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW))

and edits that come close). It's all done by the Pantsless Knights (who've created another Macrelated parody rap video before), Submitted at 12/29/2009 8:00:00 PM and it's worth a watch. Filed under: Humor, Odds and Personally, while I was a big fan ends, Music of the original Lonely It's just incredible how fast some I s l a n d / S N L v i d e o a n d i t s things can transmit themselves skewering of hip hop posturing, I around the ol' blogosphere -- think the whole meme is more or when I first saw this silly parody less played out by this point. But song video over on Laughing these guys put a good Mac spin Squid last night, I chuckled and on it anyway. "A nano in pink." figured I'd share it for you all on Ha. TUAW the next day. But of TUAW'I'm on a Mac' parody course since then it's been all video makes noise originally over the place. For a silly parody appeared on The Unofficial of a song that was already a silly Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, parody, it's really gotten around. 29 Dec 2009 20:00:00 EST. Just in case you haven't seen it, Please see our terms for use of it's now posted after the "read feeds. Five Filters featured article: more" link below (put there Read| Permalink| Email this| Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: because while there isn't actually Comments PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, any NSFW language in the video, there are a lot of bleeps Term Extraction.

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China Unicom has now sold 300,000 iPhones By Michael Grothaus (The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)) Submitted at 12/30/2009 9:30:00 AM

Filed under: iPhone Things started off looking grim for the iPhone when it went on sale in China in October of this year with sales of only 5000 phones in the first week. Forty days after the initial launch however, China Unicom reported they sold 100,000 iPhones. Now, just twenty days after that 100,000 mark, Dan Butterfield over at iPhonAsia.com is reporting a surge of iPhone sales equaling 200,000 in the last three weeks. That brings China Unicom's iPhone sales to 300,000. in just two months. This really isn't surprising (CNET News.com) which is more than twice as Dirt 2 and UFC 2009 Undisputed c o n s i d e r i n g t h e m a s s i v e many downloads as 2008's most- placed in fourth and fifth places, popularity of the iPhone with Submitted at 12/30/2009 7:15:32 AM pirated game, Spore. The Xbox respectively. some of China's neighbors and Over 4 million unauthorized 360 version of Modern Warfare 2 TorrentFreak also evaluated the another pretty big country. d o w n l o a d s . . . a n d was downloaded 970,000 times. most pirated games on the Wii. It also looks like China Unicom counting.(Credit: Infinity Ward) Those numbers are all the more Not surprisingly, it was the New is putting their money where Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 impressive when one considers Super Mario Bros. that took the t h e i r m o u t h i s w h e n t h e y has set several records this year, that the game was downloaded top spot with 1.15 million said"iPhone will become China's including the most units sold in a over a period of just two months. downloads. It was followed by best-selling smartphone." This single month (over 6 million in TorrentFreak also released its Punch-Out, Wii Sports Resort, week they've kicked off a 46-city November alone). But according findings for other top pirated House of the Dead: Overkill, and roadshow tour to promote the to TorrentFreak, a site that covers games. The Sims 3, Prototype, Mario Power Tennis. iPhone to prospective buyers the world of torrent downloads, Need for Speed Shift, and Street Five Filters featured article: the game was also the most Fighter IV rounded out the list of Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: pirated title of 2009. most-pirated PC games. Street PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, According to the site, Modern Fighter IV and Prototype were Term Extraction. Warfare 2's PC version was second and third on the mostdownloaded on torrent sites a p i r a t e d X b o x 3 6 0 g a m e s , whopping 4.1 million times, following Modern Warfare 2.

Modern Warfare 2: Most pirated game of 2009

across the country. TUAW China Unicom has now sold 300,000 iPhones originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 30 Dec 2009 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments

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The Complete National Geographic Collection on a Hard Drive

Appeals Court Says Tasers Can Be Excessive Force

By Stan Schroeder (Mashable!)

By Mike Masnick (Techdirt)

Submitted at 12/30/2009 1:52:39 AM

National Geographic, the legendary yellow magazine that’s been an important part of many a young nerd’s childhood, has been around since 1888. Even if you have a very large room dedicated to storing the magazine, that’s a lot of issues. Thanks to modern technology, however, you can now have all those issues on one 160 GB hard drive, and it’ll still leave you a full 100 GB to spend on data of your choice. Besides all the issues, and the accompanying maps (which, some would say, are just as valuable as the mag itself), this collection will get you an app that helps you search through this

Submitted at 12/30/2009 8:23:00 AM

Taser is notoriously defensive about any claims that its supposedly "non-lethal" devices have ever caused anyone to die. Yet, there is a ton of evidence vast amount of text and photos, a concerning people who have died trivia game, and the ability to after being tazed. There are even personalize your collection by cases where the company has had saving your favorite articles. courts overrule medical You’ll also get a DVD with a examiners forcing them to National Geographic behind-thechange the "cause of death." scenes documentary, and all of Now, as Karl Bode points out, an this will set you back for appeals court has ruled that using $199.95. If you’ve been late with By Megan Lavey (The Among the app's features are a Taser can constitute excessive your Christmas gifts, this is a Unofficial Apple Weblog sharing articles through Twitter, force. The ruling doesn't say that p e r f e c t c h a n c e t o r e d e e m (TUAW)) Facebook or e-mail, the ability to T a s e r s a r e a u t o m a t i c a l l y yourself. tip Engadget on breaking news, excessive force, but suggests that Submitted at 12/30/2009 12:00:00 PM Tags: hard drive, national and the ability to bookmark and the overall circumstances behind geographic Filed under: iPhone, iPod touch view articles offline. A full list of the use need to be taken into O u r s i s t e r s i t e , E n g a d g e t , features can be found here. consideration, and if the victim is unveiled its iPhone app [ iTunes TUAW Engadget releases not acting in a threatening way, l i n k ] t o d a y . T h e f r e e a p p iPhone app originally appeared u s e o f a T a s e r m a y b e functions in the same way as the on The Unofficial Apple Weblog inappropriate and excessive. current TUAW app [ iTunes link] (TUAW) on Wed, 30 Dec 2009 Permalink| Comments| Email by delivering a constant stream 12:00:00 EST. Please see our This Story of news from the site. Engadget's terms for use of feeds. year as they jam again from Sin app will cover news from the Read| Permalink| Email this| City during " Dick Clark's New main site, Engadget Mobile and Comments Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Engadget HD. Seacrest 2010." Bandmember Fergie will serve as a co-host of the December 31 broadcast on ABC.

Black Eyed Peas 'Pump' up the Volume in Vegas (ETonline - Breaking News) Submitted at 12/30/2009 3:50:00 AM

The Black Eyed Peas got their “Boom Boom Pow” on during a stop of their E.N.D. World Tour at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas on Tuesday night. The group “gotta feelin’” that 2010 will be a good

Engadget releases iPhone app

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California Science Institute Sued for Canceling Creationist Film (Little Green Footballs) Submitted at 12/29/2009 5:03:09 PM

The California Science Center in Los Angeles is being sued by a right wing group called the American Freedom Alliance (that claims to be “non-partisan”), for canceling a “documentary” film that features anti-evolution propaganda from the creationist “think tank” known as the Discovery Institute. L.A.’s California Science Center will start the new year defending itself in court for canceling a documentary film attacking Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. A lawsuit alleges that the stateowned center improperly bowed to pressure from the Smithsonian Institution, as well as e-mailed complaints from USC professors and others. It contends that the center violated both the 1st Amendment and a contract to rent the museum’s Imax Theater when it canceled the screening of “Darwin’s Dilemma: The Mystery of the Cambrian Fossil Record.” The suit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court by the American Freedom Alliance, an L.A.-based group described by senior fellow Avi Davis as a nonprofit, nonpartisan “think tank and activist network promoting Western values and ideals.”

The AFA seeks punitive damages and compensation for financial losses, as well as a declaration from the court that the center violated the Constitution and cannot refuse the group the right to rent its facilities for future events. But digging into the article a bit further reveals the reason for the cancellation: the Discovery Institute playing their same old dishonest games, giving themselves a false aura of respectability by misrepresenting the event as being sponsored by the Smithsonian. And it’s not the first time they’ve tried to glom onto the Smithsonian’s reputation. On Oct. 5, the science center, one of 165 national affiliates of the Smithsonian that enjoy special access to loans from its massive collection, received an alert — and a complaint — from Harold Closter, director of the Smithsonian’s affiliates program. Closter gave the science center the head’s-up about a news release that had been issued not by the AFA but by the Discovery Institute, a Seattle-based think tank that promotes intelligent design and whose researchers are featured in “Darwin’s Dilemma.” In an e-mail that’s an exhibit in the lawsuit, he wrote that the news release wrongly implied that the California Science Center is “a West Coast branch of the

Smithsonian, and that the film showing is a Smithsonian event.” Closter asked science center officials to correct the error but did not mention canceling the screening. The Smithsonian has a history with the Discovery Institute: In an embarrassing episode in 2005, it approved Discovery’s rental of an auditorium at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History for a screening of a different film promoting intelligent design. That led to an outcry from the scientific community. But, having signed a contract, the Smithsonian allowed the screening to go forward, trying to distance itself from the event by returning the $16,000 rental fee and emphasizing that the Smithsonian did not endorse the screening. The California Science Center, in contrast, canceled the AFA’s screening on Oct. 6, saying that the AFA had violated its rental agreement. Science center President Jeffrey Rudolph said in a statement entered in the case file that the news release violated a standard contractual requirement: All promotional materials for outside users’ events must be submitted to the museum before they can be made public. The lawsuit filed by the American Freedom Alliance is a study in creationist paranoia,

claiming there’s a conspiracy of “Darwinists” out to get them, and denying that the contract violation (which they apparently do not dispute) was the reason for the cancellation: The AFA’s suit, filed Oct. 14, contends that the contract issue was a “false pretext” and that pressure from the Smithsonian and the academic community was the real reason for canceling the film. It alleges that Rudolph first met with museum board members, then “contrived a justification” — the unauthorized news release — for preventing the screening. The AFA says that it should not have been held responsible for a release that it didn’t issue itself. The AFA alleges that in failing to be honest and open about its reasons for negating the contract, the science center committed a contract fraud that should now expose it to punitive damages on top of the $75,000 or more that Davis says the AFA lost by hastily having to transfer the $20 per ticket screening to a smaller space at USC’s Davidson Conference Center, where the pro -Darwin Imax film could not be shown properly. Rudolph declined to comment last week, saying in a prepared statement that the screening “was canceled because of issues related to the contract.” The Smithsonian is not a

defendant in the suit. The huge, Washington, D.C. research and museum institution is federally chartered and receives part of its funding from the federal government. The suit contends, however, that the Smithsonian was part of “a broad network of Darwin advocates [that] … jointly conspired” with the California Science Center to stop its film screening. A spokeswoman said the Smithsonian had no comment. UPDATE at 12/29/09 5:55:14 pm: The movie, by the way, is an extended exercise in quote mining, crappy animation, and creationist talking points about the so-called “Cambrian Explosion.” Here’s the trailer, which starts with an infamously out-of-context quote from Stephen Jay Gould that creationists love to repeat even though it’s been demonstrated over and over to be highly misleading, and not at all representative of Gould’s true opinion:[Video] More on this bogus “documentary” here; it appears that the filmmakers misled scientists into appearing in the film: Have creationists tricked scientists yet again? Cambrian Confusion: Some answers, more questions

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Hitchens on Our Absurd Ideas of 'Security'

Obama Statement on Christmas Day Attack

(Little Green Footballs)

illusion can be met with relative ease if you pay enough people to Submitted at 12/29/2009 9:54:45 AM stand around and stare Again, Christopher Hitchens significantly at the citizens’ cuts through the nonsense: The toothpaste. My impression as a truth about airplane security f r e q u e n t t r a v e l e r i s t h a t measures. intelligent Americans fail to Why do we fail to detect or protest at this inanity in case it is defeat the guilty, and why do we they who attract attention and d o s o w e l l a t c o l l e c t i v e end up on a no-fly list instead. punishment of the innocent? The Perfect. answer to the first question is: It was reported over the weekend Because we can’t—or won’t. The that in the aftermath of the answer to the second question is: D e t r o i t f i a s c o , n o o f f i c i a l Because we can. The fault here is decision was made about whether not just with our endlessly to raise the designated “threat incompetent security services, level” from orange. Orange! who give the benefit of the doubt Could this possibly be because it to people who should have been would be panicky and ridiculous arrested long ago or at least had to change it to red and really, their visas and travel rights really absurd to lower it to revoked. It is also with a public yellow? But isn’t it just as opinion that sheepishly bleats to preposterous (and revealing), be made to “feel safe.” The immediately after a known demand to satisfy that sad Muslim extremist has waltzed

through every flimsy barrier, to leave it just where it was the day before? What nobody in authority thinks us grown-up enough to be told is this: We had better get used to being the civilians who are under a relentless and planned assault from the pledged supporters of a wicked theocratic ideology. These people will kill themselves to attack hotels, weddings, buses, subways, cinemas, and trains. They consider Jews, Christians, Hindus, women, homosexuals, and dissident Muslims (to give only the main instances) to be divinely mandated slaughter victims. Our civil aviation is only the most psychologically frightening symbol of a plethora of potential targets. Read the whole thing…

boards a plane with dangerous explosives that could have cost nearly 300 lives, a systemic President Obama is making failure has occurred. And I another statement on the failed c o n s i d e r t h a t t o t a l l y terror attack on Christmas Day, u n a c c e p t a b l e . and he isn’t mincing words about The reviews I’ve ordered will the failures of the system that’s surely tell us more, but what’s supposed to identify possible already apparent is that there was threats. a mix of human and systemic Here’s a thread to discuss. failures that contributed to this Quote: potential catastrophic breach of What’s also clear is this: when security. We need to learn from our government has information this episode and act quickly to fix on a known extremist, and that the flaws in our system because information is not shared and our security is at stake and lives acted upon as it should have are at stake. been, so that this extremist Submitted at 12/29/2009 1:34:37 PM

Recite the Alphabet While Chewing to Eat Less [Mind Hacks] By Kevin Purdy (Lifehacker)

The UK edition of Men's Health offers a few tips on eating without eating too much. They Do you tear through tasty food, cite this bit of science for the only to realize 20 minutes later quirky suggestion of reciting the that, well, your probably didn't alphabet: need that much? Chewing big Masticating while mentally bits of food at least 25 times reciting the alphabet could help might help—and that's nearly a you feel fuller for longer, says a full alphabet countdown. study in the American Journal of Photo by TheGiantVermin. Clinical Nutrition. Participants Submitted at 12/30/2009 5:30:00 AM

who chewed nuts 40 times, rather than 25 times reported greater

satiety. But maybe you're at a business lunch, or want to chime in on what your friend is telling you. We'd suggest reserving the 25count bites for when the other person is making a point—or combining the alphabet chew with the thoughtful sandwich pause technique. Hitting 25 on every single bite might be very

annoying, but every so often, it might help you realize just how much you're putting down. Got your own tricks for teaching yourself that you've had enough? Pass the salt and share them in the comments. 4 Winning food combinations[Men's Health UK via Lifehacker AU]

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How to Start Freelancing (Without Quitting Your Job) [Career] By Gina Trapani (Lifehacker) Submitted at 12/30/2009 9:00:00 AM

Got a job that's totally boring but pays the bills? Hold onto it. But don't use it as an excuse NOT to go after your dream of being selfemployed doing something you love. A common misconception about successful independent workers is that one day, in dramatic fashion, they quit their dayjob, hung a shingle, and lived happily ever after. The truth is, most freelancers start off moonlighting, volunteering, interning, and doing client work at night and on weekends in addition to a nine-to-five gig. If you fantasize about living the freelancer life, you can do the same—even in a recession, starting now. Let's turn some of your free time into a new career without giving up the steady paycheck. Freelancing in a Recession: Inroads and Safety Nets Armies of employees have gotten laid off in the past year, and when you're one of the survivors still on payroll, the natural instinct is to feel grateful you were spared, hunker down, and not make a peep. The idea of looking for contract work when the unemployment rate is so high may seem ludicrous. However, there are contracts to be had. Freelancers cost companies less than full-time employees, and major waves of layoffs often create opportunities for

contractors to fill in the gaps. Doing freelance work in a time of job insecurity benefits you in two ways. First, it diversifies your income stream. When you freelance on the side, you don't depend on a single check to pay your bills. If you do get let go or have to take a salary cut or furlough, the side income softens the blow to your bank account. Secondly, freelancing for clients is the best way to show off what you can do to potential employers. When you freelance you're in constant "interview" mode, hoping to get re-hired or recommended to other clients. If

you lose your job or decide to leave, you've essentially already interviewed for your next gig. The point here is that even in a recession, freelancing is far from impossible—in fact, it's downright smart. Put Yourself on the Market The tough part about becoming a freelancer—especially for introverts—is putting your name out there and having to hustle to sell your services. In addition to whatever work you do, being a freelancer means you also have to be a salesperson. How you should put yourself on the market and showcase your

a photographer, include a gallery of your best photos; a programmer, a list of projects you've contributed to; a project manager, a list of companies you've worked for. If showing off actual work you've completed isn't possible, gather together some testimonials from folks you've worked for that get across your best skills. Don't do anything crazy like advertise your services in the newspaper or on Craigslist right away. The best way to find work is through people you know and referrals from happy clients. How to Find Contracts—and When to Work Pro Bono Once you're officially on the market, it's time to get some clients. Remember that old saying about who you know versus what you know? It's so true. In my experience, referrals from people you know—the most offerings depends on your field. v a g u e a c q u a i n t a n c e s , If you have no idea where to even—yield the best business start, find some great freelancers opportunities. Let your friends, that do what you do, and follow business associates, former cotheir example. It's probably safe workers, fellow book club to say you'll need some kind of members, and the guy sitting web site, business card, and a next to you at the barber shop portfolio or CV. Don't skimp on know you're available to do this stuff: Instead of settling for a f r e e l a n c e w o r k . D o n ' t b e free hosting account somewhere, annoying, but don't be shy, spend the $20 to register a either. People are much more domain name and put together at l i k e l y t o h i r e s o m e o n e l e a s t a o n e - p a g e w e b s i t e recommended by someone they describing who you are, what trust, so it's up to you to work y o u o f f e r , a n d c o n t a c t your network. When you do, information. (It's more important remember that other freelancers than ever to have a say in what HOW page 35 Google says about you.) If you're

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HOW continued from page 34

are not your competition—they're your friends. Knowing other contractors who do the same or similar work just widens your pool of contacts and potential clients. Be generous and send referrals their way, and they'll return the favor. When you've exhausted referrals from folks you know in person, you can try advertising your services more broadly, but use the right outlets. The key is to find your audience. A freelance web designer, for example, will find a different potential clientele on Haystack than on Craigslist. Figure out where your ideal clients look for contractors and get yourself listed there. If you're just starting out and need to fill in your portfolio AND kickstart potential referrals, consider doing pro bono work for a non-profit or deeply-discounted work for a desirable client. I hate advising fellow freelancers to charge anything less than what they're worth, but the reality is that sometimes you have to give something away to prove yourself and earn opportunities down the road. (In fact, I was in the right place at the right time to start Lifehacker precisely because of a barely-paying internship.) You don't have to work for free on an ongoing basis

to use this strategy: try speaking at a local event for free (and mention that you're for hire), or offer a free trial of your services for potential clients. But remember: Only give these freebies to good prospects. Pricing Yourself: When Time Really Is Money Even after seven years of freelancing part and full-time, answering the question "What's your rate?" is still a challenge for me. Your hourly rate will depend on the project, your industry, market, location, the economy, your experience, and how deeppocketed your client is. Pricing conversations can be a scary game of chicken that take pluck, confidence, and a strong sense of self-worth to navigate. As a general rule, when you're quoting an hourly rate, overestimate both time and money. When you're just starting out, the tendency is to underprice yourself because you really want to score the contract and you're optimistic about the number of hours it'll take to complete. However, you'll forget to take into account things like taxes and time for administrative tasks. As you get more experience, you'll adjust your prices, learn how to read different types of clients and what their budget range will be,

and have enough confidence to walk away from contracts that aren't worth taking. I'm much more likely to do interesting work for lower prices, but I'll only take on tedious stuff that's well-paid. When it's time to ask for the upper range, I use an unscientific method: I quote the highest rate I can while still keeping a straight face. When it comes to scheduling, don't forget that you'll be doing this work at night and on weekends, and things almost always take longer than your initial gut estimate. So, overestimate the number of hours a job will take. It's always better to set expectations and deliver early than have to pull an allnighter and barely break even. The Financial Life of a 1099er Sending out invoices and chasing down unpaid ones, filing quarterly estimated taxes, itemizing tax deductions, managing your own retirement fund, collecting 1099 forms—these are all necessary parts of a freelancer's financial life. Do yourself a favor and put a good system in place for making sure 1.) that you're getting paid for the work you do by invoicing promptly and following up and 2.) that you're putting aside money to pay

estimated taxes on that money. Once you get that system down—and it should be easier with the cushion of a dayjob's steady paycheck—you'll be ready to face the "feast or famine" state that is a full-time freelancer's financial reality later on. I use a simple "Waiting for payment.txt" file and schedule calendar reminders to check that list once a month and pay my estimated taxes each quarter. Start slow, see how your side gigs affect your financial picture, and work from there. With your dayjob in hand, you can start your freelance career with less pressure to make loads of money right away; you'll be able to get the word out, establish a client base, build a portfolio, and set your prices on your own time. Do you moonlight as a freelancer? What's your best piece of advice for those just starting out? Let us know in the comments. Gina Trapani, Lifehacker's founding editor, welcomes you to the ranks of the self-employed. Find her at Smarterware and on Twitter.

A Death Leads the Pink Team to 'The Biggest Loser' (ETonline - Breaking News) Submitted at 12/30/2009 12:01:00 AM

Sherry, 51, and Ashley Johnston, 27, lost a husband and father respectively, and packed on the pounds. Now, they feel that they want to be done with being out of breath and overweight, so they auditioned for "The Biggest Loser." "When Ken died, he was the love of my life," Sherry says. "We were married for 18 years. When he died of melanoma cancer, it was devastating. He fought so hard. He was the rock that held us together. I went off the radar. I didn't go out of the house for four months. I fell out of life. [Ashley and I] have worked really hard to getting back to wanting to live again. One of the things I do now is a grief ministry because I know how far off it can go." Sherry, who is a petite 5 feet 1 inch tall, tipped the scales at 218 pounds at he first weigh-in. Daughter Ashley, who is 5 feet 5 inches tall, weighed 374 pounds. "My goal is 130," Ashley says. "That is 244 pounds to lose. But it is totally do-able. Especially when you are here and focusing on yourself. You don't have temptations outside of this place. At home, I am going to have to kick it, too."

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Use Google Suggest to Find Software Alternatives [Search Techniques] By Kevin Purdy (Lifehacker) Submitted at 12/30/2009 7:00:00 AM

You've got a file that needs opening, or a piece of software that, frankly, sucks. Want to find a better, or maybe free, alternative? One reader has found Google's auto-completing "Suggest" feature a great recommendation engine. We'll let reader Alex tell the tale himself: Mainly, this tip is for when you're looking for a list of products that all fall into a single category. All you have to do is type a single example of the product, followed by " vs", and you'll get a pretty exhaustive list of alternatives. For instance, let's say you're looking for new text editors. The one you're familiar with is notepad++. Go to the Google home page and type: "notepad++ vs" and wait a moment. The autocomplete will pop up with a list: Textpad Notepad2 UltraEdit PSPad

Notepad GNU Boosts Basic Text Editing on Windows [Downloads] By Kevin Purdy (Lifehacker)

offer everything that Notepad++ does, but that's kind of the point—it's a different layout and Windows: What's the most setup, and one newcomers might popular and powerful editor on find pretty useful. W i n d o w s a m o n g t e x t The one drawback, for English aficianados? Notepad++, by a speaking users at least, is the hithefty margin. Want something a and-miss translation of some of smidge less menu-rich and, well, Notepad GNU's more obscure different? Notepad GNU is a features. You'll be able to grope v e r y c l e v e r , o p e n s o u r c e your way around in the linguistic alternative. dark, most likely, but if you Notepad GNU has a lot to speak Russian and like the app, recommend on its own, including by all means—offer to help with o p t i o n a l b a c k g r o u n d the translation. transparency, loads of HTML Notepad GNU is a free and other code-minded plug-ins, download for Windows systems a menu that can quickly send a only. It comes packaged in a file to a browser or other app R A R c o n t a i n e r , o d d l y (even Notepad++), and all that enough—you can easily unpack text tweaking tools you need it for free using 7-Zip. Notepad without the Office integration GNU[via Download Squad] nonsense you don't. It doesn't Submitted at 12/30/2009 5:00:00 AM

Programmer's Notepad ... There—you now have a list of further research topics. For a slightly bigger list you can pick one of your results and repeat the process - In this case, type "jedit vs". I recently used this in a quest to find a self-hosted equivalent of github that would host some of my code. "github vs" gave me a much larger number of products to research than any single web page had been able to provide

me. As Alex further notes, this system is sometimes better than even the Wikipedia pages that are just giant lists of software compared by features, since those pages are often subject to bias on the part of the selective crew of Wikipedia editors. Know another search project that the Google Suggest box is perfect for? Tell us in the comments.

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Keep a "Clean" Credit Card to Dig Out of Debt [Credit Cards] By Kevin Purdy (Lifehacker) Submitted at 12/30/2009 6:05:00 AM

If you're forced into carrying a balance on a credit card, paying it off while making purchases can seem like an endless two steps forward, one step back. Consumer writer Bob Sullivan suggests keeping a "clean card" to get ahead. Sullivan, author of Stop Getting Ripped Off: Why Consumers Get Screwed, and How You Can Always Get a Fair Deal, writes at The Consumerist blog that the key to paying off a card with a balance is to stop using it, so as to avoid accruing day-to-day interest charges that start the month you can't pay the balance. For small items of convenience that you know you can pay off by the end of the month, carry a separate "clean card.": Card one is a "charge card." You make all your workaday purchases with this card. You vow to whatever God you believe in that you will pay off this card

Google City Tours Adds Walking Directions, Custom Maps [Travel] walking directions into your itinerary. And if you're a My Submitted at 12/30/2009 8:00:00 AM in full every month on time. To emergency purposes that you Maps nerd who's picked out spots make sure you do that, you sign can't pay off in full within thirty Six months after launching City to visit on your own, you can up for electronic bill pay at your days. Then you put it back in Tours in Labs, Google's Maps import it and lay those map bank and send a payment to the your wallet, purse, or holster, team has tweaked the interface points over the cities that Google credit card firm automatically with the safety latch on. and made it more friendly to how has picked out, so you get a mix every month five days before the Going cash-only until you pay people actually vacation: head to of suggestions and pre-picked due date. You make the payment off a credit card is an idealistic a city, pick places to go, and get favorites. for your average budgeted but often unmanageable solution precise directions to them. There's more to the latest a m o u n t ; y o u c a n a l w a y s to debt problems. This seems like At launch, City Tours did a upgrade, detailed at the blog post manually adjust the amount. a nice halfway compromise. How decent job of knowing neat below. Have you used City Tours Card two is a " line- of- credit To Save Money Using A "Clean" places to go inside a city, and for a a real, honest-to-goodness card." You pull it out for big, Credit Card[The Consumerist] even knew (sometimes) when vacation? Tell us what works, they were open and what they and what you needed to DIY, in cost. All it did for the traveler, the comments. Plan a trip in one though, was tell you how far c l i c k [ G o o g l e L a t L o n g v i a Lakers to their seventh straight -- ESPN Stats & Information apart those destinations were. D o w n l o a d S q u a d ] win over the Warriors. Five Filters featured article: Now City Tours includes detailed • Bryant has seven 40-plus point Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: games this season, tops in the PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, NBA. Term Extraction. • Bryant is averaging 38.2 points over his last five games, but the Lakers are 3-2 in those games.

Kobe scores season-high 44 to carry Lakers By Associated Press (ESPN.com) Submitted at 12/30/2009 8:51:24 AM

Fast Facts • Kobe Bryant had season highs in points (44), assists (11) and free throws made (16) to lead the

By Kevin Purdy (Lifehacker)

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Use the Policy Editor to Restrict Drive Access in Windows [Windows Tip] By Jason Fitzpatrick (Lifehacker) Submitted at 12/30/2009 6:30:00 AM

Windows only: If you have a computer that multiple people access and you'd like to keep them from accessing a certain drive on your computer, a simple edit in the Local Group Policy Editor can make that happen. If you're running Windows 2000 and aboveâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;unfortunately excluding Windows Vista and Windows 7 home editionsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;you can easily restrict access to local drives by changing a flag in the Local Group Policy Editor,

which is launched by typing gpedit.msc in the run box, and selecting which drives you would like to restrict. Over at How-To Geek they explain: Now navigate to User

Configuration \ Administrative Templates \ Windows Components \ Windows Explorer. Then on the right side under Setting, double click on Prevent access to drives from My

Computer. From there you can access the drive restriction options seen in the screenshot above and select which drives you would like to restrict. For a screen by screen walk through and additional tips, check out the full guide at HowTo Geek. Have another trick or tip for security Windows using built-in tools? Let's hear about it in the comments below. How To Restrict Access To Drives In My Computer In Windows[via HowTo Geek]

Submitted at 12/29/2009 4:20:00 PM

Looking to spruce up that bland PowerPoint presentation for your next meeting with possible investors? Or do you need highquality photographs for your product's homepage or blog? Lifehacker recently profiled Sprixi, a free use image search engine, is an excellent source for finding just the right image to add those finishing touches.

Developed by Sydney, Australia -based company Thirsty Minds, Sprixi crawls Flickr and OpenClipArt.org for images licensed under Creative Commons and implements a user -based recommendation system to produce relevant results. While viewing photos, you can tell Sprixi whether or not an image is a useful result. Based on this data, Sprixi displays the most relevant images as rated by users at the top of the results. Sponsor

The crowdsourced curation of images is what elevates Sprixi above other image searches. A Google Image search for "baseball" returns photos of varying qualities of balls, players, fields, video games and team logos. The same search on Sprixi uncovers a stunning photograph

(ETonline - Breaking News) Submitted at 12/30/2009 7:43:00 AM

ET goes in depth into the 2001 cocaine arrest and 1996 DUI arrest of Charlie Sheen's wife Brooke Mueller, who accused the actor of domestic abuse related to a Christmas Day 2009 incident. Mueller was arrested in MiamiDade County, FL, in 2001 for possession of cocaine. Bond was set at $5,000 for that arrest. See Mueller's mug shot above. That charge was later dropped. Mueller was also arrested in 1996 in Palm Beach, FL, at age 19 after allegedly crashing a rental car into a sign and failing a sobriety test. According to officers, Mueller's Breathalyzer results registered .052 and .050, and she confessed to police that she had consumed 1 1/2 glasses of wine, adding that she had of a baseball laying in grass that taken the prescription drug Vicodin. According to the report, has a "usefullness" rating 25.7. With no login required to "She also stated that she had used browse and download photos, marijuana and cocaine before on Sprixi displays the copyright experimental use. She also stated information of each photo and that she was worried that some can even embed the information Rohypnol had been placed in her into the photo for you, making drink." the process of giving credit quick and painless. Discuss

Sprixi Makes Searching for Free Photos Smart, Fast and Painless By Chris Cameron (ReadWriteWeb)

Inside Brooke Mueller's Past Cocaine and DUI Arrests

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10 Things You Need for Your Social Media Road Trip By Jolie O'Dell (ReadWriteWeb)

learned this year while tripping around for soymilk company 8th Continent. Ford recognized the Submitted at 12/30/2009 12:44:50 AM public's fascination with road trip Ever since two friends and I -related media with its highly staged a two-week jaunt around successful Fiesta campaign this the Midwest to attend a great new year, which involved mini-trips conference earlier this year, I've and missions documented on been more and more aware of a YouTube. These trips capture a growing trend: the social media great audience, both regionally road trip. with one-on-one interactions in While on the road this year, I've communities and internationally come upon long-term social as curious and amused Internet media road warriors such as users stumble upon and share Mark Simonds of the Twitter related content. More on that Road Trip, brand ambassadors later. s u c h a s S a r a L o p e z a n d As promised, here are ten mustconference-hoppers such as Dave haves for planning and executing Delaney. I think we've all heard a successful social media road a b o u t T a r a H u n t ' s w i d e l y trip. 1. Get sponsorship. publicized karaoke/book promo Remember the part where I told tour. There's even a SxSWi you that social media road trips session about the phenomenon are great for brands? These days, this spring. For folks intent on brands are often more than packing up the hardware and willing to help a geek out with hitting the road, here are ten tips gas money, hardware, goods and for success. services in exchange for a little Sponsor light plugging now and then. If These road trips are great for there's a good fit between your making new connections with trip and a brand, from soft drinks interesting people and forming to software, don't hesitate to ask mutually beneficial relationships, for a partnership. 2. Plan for as my RoadTwip gang did in WiFi. Nashville. They're great for This might be your biggest finally meeting up with longtime challenge. Whether you're using (or not so longtime) online Bluetooth, a MiFi device, a USBfriends in real life, as we did in connected wireless modem or Toledo. They can give a person simply tethering to your mobile some perspective on tech " phone, make sure your preferred scenes," especially in terms of method works and that you have engendering respect for non- a backup. We also recommend Silicon Valley communities. downloading WeFi in case your Even better, it's great for brands, plans fail and you need to find as our friend Sara Lopez has emergency coffee house WiFi in

a strange place. 3. Have a mission and destination. One great piece of advice my road team got from NorthStar Manifesto founder Duke Stump was to define our purpose before our itinerary. Another important part of these trips can be a geographical highlight, such as a conference, a hometown or a tech hub. It'll solidify your position and help you focus your content. 4. Meet everyone and go everywhere. Part of the excitement of a social media road trip is accepting unexpected invitations and discovering friends in strangers. Entering into situations with an open mind is the best way to use your trip as a learning experience. While on the road, I met up with just about everyone I could, and I got to see amazing new hardware, apps, innovators and entrepreneurs as a result. 5. Plan for power. Power is up there with WiFi as one of the primary pain points of being on the road. We recommend packing extra battery units and chargers (you lose them at home, and you'll most certainly lose them on the road). Definitely invest in a 12V

adapter so you can charge devices while mobile, but know that one adapter may only charge a certain number or type of device. E.g., mine can handle a laptop, an iPod, and a curling iron, but on two laptops, it blows a fuse. And yes, you'll want to pick up a pack of fuses for your 12V adapter, too. More tech and media tips coming right up on page two. 6. Deviate from your plan, map and schedule. Some of the best moments of my own social media road trips were completely unplanned. Get curious, pull over now and then, make a few extra stops and definitely get in touch with new people. Although it's vital to have a timeline for your travels, don't forget to smell the roses; great opportunities will present themselves when you allow for serendipity. 7. Make content creation your job. The biggest difference between a social media road trip and a nongeek vacation is the work you'll put into creating and publishing content. You'll be pumping out pics, videos, tweets, blog posts, live video chats and every kind of app update imaginable while you're on the road. You need to do this well and consistently. Make sure you've got the hardware and software for the job, and since your time on the road is limited, prioritize posting content over lame stuff like eating and sleeping, which isn't really bloggable, anyhow. (Just

kidding - but you know what we mean.) 8. Make sure your network works. This section isn't (only) an AT&T slam. Almost any network can let a user down in the uninhabited wilds of Iowa. If you're traveling with buddies, it can help to have a diverse representation of networks in case one person's cell reception fails in a critical moment. Also, not all WiFi devices will work all over the country; for example, Cricket's wireless Internet connection devices only work in certain major metro areas. Check with your provider to make sure your network is going to be reliable for your entire route. 9. Plan for mobile site and server maintenance. If you are the kind of geek who runs one or several websites or your own servers, you'll want to keep an eye on your babies while away from home. For this item, it's all about the SSH. Get a client that jives with your mobile, and as with every other tech solution we've recommended so far, test it before you drive off into the sunset. 10. Use an aggregator to push mobile updates all over the place. Whether you're using a service like PixelPipe or something more like FriendFeed, you're going to want your content to get all over the tubes without your having to duplicate your efforts. Test out some solutions for one-click, THINGS page 42

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Twitter 2.0: API Rate Change Could Lead to a World of New Apps & Features By Marshall Kirkpatrick (ReadWriteWeb) Submitted at 12/29/2009 6:00:16 PM

One of the best things about Twitter is its wildly creative ecosystem of applications built by people outside the company. Those apps have been constrained, though, by technical limits imposed on retrieving data from Twitter. Those limits are just about to be raised much higher and developers tell us that a whole new world of applications and features may become possible. Twitter's Director of Platform Ryan Sarver followed up on earlier public announcements this weekend with an email to developers explaining plans to raise the limit on the number of times an application can request information from Twitter for a single user to 10 times what it is today (from 150 req/hr to 1500/hr), and to offer everyone the same kind of paid access to the full "fire hose" of user updates that Google and Bing enjoy. People who build cool Twitter apps say this is very big news. Sponsor Twitter developers say the new changes could lead to: • Richer functionality for apps and services, beyond new user interfaces.

• More development around new

features like retweets and Lists.

•

More real-time user

TWITTER page 42

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Top 5 Web Trends of 2009: Mobile Web & Augmented Reality By Richard MacManus (ReadWriteWeb)

of list, it's also a collection of posts that examine the fundamental issues that continue Submitted at 12/29/2009 2:00:00 PM to shape the Web. We hope you This week ReadWriteWeb is enjoy reading them again and we r u n n i n g a s e r i e s o f p o s t s look forward to bringing you analyzing the five biggest Web more Web products and trends trends of 2009. So far we've analysis in 2010. Happy holidays explored these trends: Structured from Team ReadWriteWeb! Data, The Real-Time Web, Apple Dominates Mobile Web, Personalization. The fourth part But Android on The Rise... of our series is on Mobile Web. We named Apple our Best Bigco We're including Augmented of 2008, mostly due to the Reality in this category, as we success of the iPhone and think it's a key element of where accompanying App Store. By the Mobile Web is heading circa most statistics, Apple is in a 2009. fairly dominant position in the In April we reported statistics Mobile Web. At the beginning of from browser company Opera the year we reported data from showing large growth on the A d M o b ( a l e a d i n g m o b i l e Mobile Web. According to advertising marketplace) showing Opera, there was a 157% increase that Apple has a 48% market in usage of their Opera Mini web share of smartphone traffic in the browser from March 2008 to United States. That figure doesn't March 2009. What's driving that just come from the iPhone, but growth is devices like the iPhone, the iPod touch too. new mobile operating systems By June 2009, Apple's share of l i k e A n d r o i d , a n d h o t smartphone traffic in the U.S. applications like Augmented had surged to 64%. Perhaps more Reality. significantly though, Apple's Sponsor share of worldwide smartphone Editor's note: This story is part traffic had increased to 47%. This of a series we call Redux, where i s i m p o r t a n t , b e c a u s e we'll re-publish some of our best internationally other smartphones posts of 2009. As we look back were utilized much more than in at the year - and ahead to what the U.S. before the iPhone next year holds - we think these arrived. are the stories that deserve a However, Apple can't afford to second glance. It's not just a best- rest on its laurals. Google's

"Facebook Connect for Mobile Web" enables developers to add a Facebook Connect button to their apps in order to make them more social. Probably of most interest is watching the up and coming Mobile Web startups. We've had our eye on Brightkite for some mobile OS Android has been time, but perhaps the trendiest m a k i n g r a p i d p r o g r e s s . startup right now is Foursquare. According to the latest Admob It's a location-aware social app statistics available, for July '09, for the iPhone, but only available requests from the Android in a limited number of countries Operating System increased 53% currently. Augmented Reality month over month and Android Augmented reality, the addition now has 7% worldwide OS of a layer to the world on your share. The iPhone OS dropped mobile device, has been a very slightly to 45% worldwide and hot trend this year. As we noted in August, it is in everything 60% in the U.S. Bigco Initiatives & Trendy from mobile apps to kids toys. Many people think that "AR" Startups All of the big Internet companies will soon be talked about by h a v e s t r o n g M o b i l e W e b everyone the way they used to initiatives. We discussed Apple talk about "social media" and "Web 2.0" before that. That and Google above. Yahoo continues to push Mobile remains to be seen, but there's no Web, which currently goes under denying there is a lot of interest in AR right now. the OneConnect brand. Microsoft has announced a As we reported at the end of number of mobile initiatives this August, the AR apps are starting year, including a mobile version to flow into Android (the early o f M i c r o s o f t O f f i c e a n d leader in this space) and iPhone MySpace bringing its platform to devices. We reported that the Paris Metro Subway was Windows Mobile phones. Earlier this month Facebook apparently the first AR-enabled announced a mobile expansion of app to be accepted into iTunes. their Facebook Connect platform. Then came a new Yelp app with AR, which any 3Gs owner can

turn on by shaking their phone. Presselite, the company that made the Paris Metro Subway app, followed up with a London Bus app for the App Store. Conclusion Clearly mobile devices are an increasingly important way to access the Web. Many of our readers have smartphones nowadays, a good proportion of them being iPhones or Android devices (our statistics prove this). And there is no shortage of mobile web applications flowing into the App Store and Android's marketplace - not to forget Nokia and other prominent mobile manufacturers. What's perhaps most encouraging however, is the entirely new class of mobile apps we're seeing. Augmented Reality is the most obvious example. It's been a big year for mobile, with much promise to come. ReadWriteWeb's Top 5 Web Trends of 2009: • Structured Data • The Real-Time Web • Personalization • Mobile Web & Augmented Reality • Internet of Things Discuss

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TWITTER

THINGS

continued from page 40

experiences. â&#x20AC;˘ Improved viability for the Twitter API.

application layer which wouldn't be possible without a 10x API limit. I'm interested to see how the API scales with these new The Twitter API gets hit every API limits." time an application wants to look Loic Le Meur, Seesmic up a user's friends, their updates, "The increased API limits allow their bio information and more. apps to come up with new If you're building an application interaction models for Twitter, that analyzes, cross-references and also to catch up on all the and offers useful and fun insights new features Twitter added (new and features based on those types RTs, lists), which couldn't be of information, then current API supported properly with 150 limits are a constraint on how requests per hour. " much analysis you can perform, Justyn Howard, SproutSocial bake-down and present to your "On the 10x increase - Not too users. Raising the limits on many people bump into the d e v e l o p e r a c c e s s t o u s e r authorized limit today unless they information will enable more run multiple apps, but that was processing to be done behind the by design. All of us developers scenes and more magic to be built in controls to limit the calls, presented to end-users of Twitter which has left power users apps. constantly slamming the refresh We spoke to some of our button. So this does a couple of favorite developers about both things: 1. It allows developers to the API limit increase and the fire loosen the logic throttling API hose access. Here's what they calls which will create a closer to had to say. real-time experience for the endIain Dodsworth, Tweetdeck users. 2. Also opens some new "Not wishing to overstate the opportunities on cool things we case but these changes will allow can do which require the user for the next generation of Twitter API vs. Search (some things you app. So far the ecosystem has can't get from the open API's, mainly concentrated on providing you need to use the user's numerous new UIs onto Twitter account to do them). 3. Will open (with pretty good success I might the doors for more secondary add). Potentially the 10x API will apps, where users previously signal a shift towards richer couldn't have more than one or f u n c t i o n a l i t y & s e r v i c e two [different Twitter apps] open d e v e l o p m e n t : T w i t t e r without hitting rate limits, you'll 2 . 0 . [ e m p h a s i s a d d e d ] see more people using niche apps "We're already working on in the background if they provide functionality which mines and some capability beyond what analyses Twitter data within the Seesmic, Tweetie and Tweetdeck

continued from page 39

offer." On Access to the Firehose for Everyone Kevin Marshall, co-founder of innovative social graph parsing application provider Wow.ly, builds apps that have a clear need for increased rate limits. "This is great," he told us, "because the 150 per hour limit in conjunction with various API features (for example, the social graph API) makes it very difficult to pull off some more 'advanced' features I would like to build." On offering the Firehose to everyone, Marshall had an unusual and interesting response that demonstrates the maturity that this ecosystem is developing. It's not a simple matter of everyone chasing thoughtlessly after the real-time stream."The more I do with and around social data, the less interested I seem to become in 'realtime' and the more interested I become in 'over time.' When I first started hacking on Twitter (and Facebook) apps, I was in love with the idea of parsing and analyzing data in real -time and I was very link/content focused. But the more I build and use these tools, the more I see the value in the history and the trails of the data set - especially when you consider that we are all living in a more asynchronous world then ever before thanks to things like blogs, Tivo, Hulu, iTunes, and other media-ondemand stuff. I don't think it's really so much about 'what are you doing right now' as it is 'what have you done that's interesting

to me right now?'...and I think you get that by aggregating and analyzing." None the less, many developers will welcome the opening of previously selective fire hose access. Mailana founder Pete Warden says even his seedfunded company is looking forward to ponying up some cash. "This may sound counterintuitive as a starving entrepreneur," he told us, "but the best guarantee the API will stay open and available is if Twitter makes money from it." "It gives developers the chance to move from being charity-cases to paying customers, and so gives Twitter a lot more reasons to listen to what we want. Anyone who wants to deal with the flood of data from the firehose already has to invest in some beefy hardware, (my server and bandwidth bills are thousands of dollars a month) so reasonable fees from Twitter shouldn't raise the barrier to entry by much." These changes are expected to go live soon and we look forward to seeing what they enable new and old Twitter apps to do. You can find and follow the RWW team on Twitter here. Discuss

cross-site publishing of pics, posts and videos, and be sure it'll be quick and simple from your mobile device. Those are the words of wisdom I can offer right now, and probably what I'll be sharing at SxSW in a few months. If you've got more helpful hints from your own journeys, please let us know in the comments! As an eleventh bonus tip, be prepared for failure. Your car will get a flat tire, you'll argue with your road buddies, you'll miss a meetup due to weather or oversleeping - things will go horrifically wrong. And in the end, it'll be just fine anyhow. Discuss

Chief gets nearly 3 years in ParkerBroderick case (AP) (Yahoo! News: U.S. News) Submitted at 12/30/2009 8:58:27 AM

V buzzed up: Balihoo Predicts Top Local Marketing Trends for 2010 14 seconds ago 2009-1230T09:25:02-08:00 Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

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The Perils of 3rd Party APIs By Dana Oshiro (ReadWriteWeb)

carrier dependent. In retrospect, there is no difference between Verizon Wireless and Facebook Submitted at 12/29/2009 3:00:00 PM in this context." In 2006, Flickr co-founder This week, Totlol CEO Ron Ilan C a t e r i n a F a k e c o i n e d t h e set the blogosphere abuzz in a term"BizDev 2.0" when looking blog post describing his latest at the phenomenon of supplying issues with YouTube. commercial API keys to startup In July 2008, unbeknownst to partners. Said Fake, traditional Ilan, Google was about to change business development meant its YouTube terms of service. "trying to get hopelessly According to the startup overbooked people to return your entrepreneur and father of two, email. And then after the deal I l a n f o u n d h i m s e l f i n a was done, squabbling over who predicament. He had originally dealt with the customer service. planned to find sponsorship for [It's] much, much better this his community of curated toddler way!" Three years later, many -appropriate YouTube videos; are finding that while APIs are however, the new YouTube ToS great biz dev tools for the larger restricted commercial use and his provider, startups can often suffer ability to monetize. In one fell under the thumb of their platform swoop from the API provider, his keepers. entire business model and Sponsor livelihood changed. Unwilling to In November ReadWriteStart violate the new terms, Ilan began spoke to Lookery CEO Scott work on a subscription model. Rafer about his company's Says Ilan, "When publishing a shutdown. Rafer counts his public API, a company forms a dependency on a single platform relationship with a s b e i n g o n e f a c e t o f h i s developers. To quote from the downfall. Said Rafer, "I've ranted movie Love Actually - I love that for years about how bad an idea word 'relationship'. Covers all it is for startups to be mobile- manner of sin doesn't it? The

content in ways that are consistent with the YouTube's Terms of Service and great for users." relationship is by definition McIntosh plans to monetize his asymmetrical, as in me (one service via video insertions in person) with them (the world's Redux's television mode and most powerful company). I think promotional items displayed in the API provider should be at the real-time Redux feed similar least as honest and open as the to Digg's latest ad efforts. But the startup. I don't know how question is whether or not ToS Facebook and Twitter are with can affect these revenue streams their API users, but I guess they as well. You never believe your home is can't be worse." going to be damaged by an Similar to Totlol, entertainment community Redux offers a earthquake, but for some it c o m m u n i t y w h e r e u s e r s happens. If you build on a aggregate niche video content platform you don't control, is this from third party sites. While akin to laying your foundation on much of the content comes from a fault line? If you've got sites like YouTube and Vimeo, suggestions on how to mitigate Redux CEO David McIntosh has this type of risk, let us know in a decidedly different view of the the comments below. YouTube didn't respond by press YouTube ecosystem. S a y s M c I n t o s h , " W e ' r e time to our request for comment c o m m i t t e d t o a d h e r i n g t o but we'll update this post if we YouTube's Terms of Service as it get a response later. exists today, and as it may Disclosure: RWW is sponsored change in the future. We believe by API management service that there are many awesome Mashery.com. Discuss opportunities for 3rd parties to monetize around YouTube

Ryan Seacrest Previews His 'Rockin' New Year's Eve' (ETonline - Breaking News) Submitted at 12/30/2009 12:02:00 AM

With 2010 just days away, Ryan Seacrest is dishing about his starstudded TV special, " Dick Clark's New Yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2010." "What happens is, the night before New Year's Eve, Dick goes to sleep and he prays that it's going to be miserably cold and wet for me, and I'm not kidding -- he wants me to earn it! He's been out there for some brutally cold New Year's Eves," Ryan says. "What's great about being in New York City in Times Square on New Year's Eve is that no matter how cold it is, you're packed with a million-plus people and the energy is unlike any other place in the world on that night," he adds.

S#!% just got real in the Time Warner/Fox price fixing fight By Danny Gallagher (TV Squad) Submitted at 12/30/2009 9:02:00 AM

No, that's not an altered image of a ransom note clipped from a clever New York Times article or a Photoshopped jpeg cooked up

by our art department. Truth be told, those guys ate some mystery Chinese take-out in the office fridge and haven't been heard from since. Time Warner has pulled out all the stops in their ongoing battle with Fox over licensing fees by

They even went so far as to present their customers with a faux ransom note that demands the money or "you'll never see Fox again." Give Time Warner Cable one more day and they'll accusing them of holding their start mailing their customers viewers' favorite shows hostage. severed toes.

Filed under: Industry, Cable/Satellite, Reality-Free Permalink| Email this| | Comments

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Your Cyborg Eye Will Talk to You By Dana Oshiro (ReadWriteWeb) Submitted at 12/30/2009 8:00:00 AM

Just as many of us are getting used to augmented reality applications for cellphones and digital cameras, Babak Amir Parviz and his University of Washington students are taking it one step further. The group is working on a human machine interface where LEDs are embedded into contact lenses in order to display information to the wearer. You heard right, in a few years your cyborg eye will talk to you. In an article with the IEEE Spectrum, Parviz relays the challenges of custom-building semi-transparent circuitry into a polymer lens roughly 1.2 millimeters in diameter. Sponsor Editor's note: This story is part of a series we call Redux, where we'll re-publish some of our best posts of 2009. As we look back at the year - and ahead to what next year holds - we think these are the stories that deserve a second glance. It's not just a bestof list, it's also a collection of posts that examine the fundamental issues that continue to shape the Web. We hope you enjoy reading them again and we

must be fabricated from scratch. 2. Physical Constraints: The group must attempt to fit transistors, radio chips, antennas, diffusion resistors, LEDs and photodetectors onto a minuscule polymer disc. Additionally, the team is required to control lens look forward to bringing you position and light intensity more Web products and trends relative to the pupil. And finally, analysis in 2010. Happy holidays because the lens is so close to the corneal surface, the group must from Team ReadWriteWeb! Says Parviz, "We're starting with project images away from the a simple product, a contact lens cornea using either micro-lenses with a single light source, and we or lasers. a i m t o w o r k u p t o m o r e 3. User Safety: In addition to sophisticated lenses that can p r o t e c t i n g t h e e y e a g a i n s t superimpose computer-generated chemicals, heat and toxins, the high-resolution color graphics on lens components must be semitransparent in order for the a user's real field of vision." For now, Parviz mentions that w e a r e r t o v i e w t h e i r single pixel visual cues for s u r r o u n d i n g s . gamers and the hearing impaired "We already see a future in are already quite possible with which the humble contact lens the lens prototypes. The group becomes a real platform, like the has also experimented with non- iPhone is today, with lots of invasive biomonitoring including developers contributing their checking glucose levels for ideas and inventions. As far as we're concerned, the possibilities diabetics. Some of the obvious challenges extend as far as the eye can see." of building an augmented reality And you thought the iPhone SDK was a tough nut to crack. contact lens include: 1. The Need for Custom Parts: For Parviz's complete sevenRegular circuitry and LEDs are page article, check out the IEEE incompatible with regular contact Spectrum's Biomedical page. lenses. Every piece of this project Discuss

iPhones Share Data with SwapKit Protocol By Dana Oshiro (ReadWriteWeb) Submitted at 12/29/2009 5:55:55 PM

Emanuele Vulcano is making waves with his latest Infinite Labs release. The grad student recently released SwapKit- a new iPhone OS exchange protocol that allows developers to share data between locally installed iPhone apps. Sponsor SwapKit is a unique protocol in that it allows developers to transcend the walls of the iPhone OS and pluck information from across a local network. In his own Mover application, Vulcano allows iPhone app users to add photos, videos or contacts to Mover's table. From here you can slide your various forms of media to nearby Mover app users. The result is a Bump-like application

Heimlich Maneuvers in the Dark [Open Caption] By Brian Moylan (Gawker) Submitted at 12/30/2009 7:29:26 AM

[ Leighton Meester narrowly

escaped being the first known Rock Band-related choking fatality thanks to a fast-acting fan who saved her life at Klutch

Image via Pacific Coast News] nightclub in Miami last night.

interface that allows for easy flow between devices. The Mover app will ship with SwapKit support in its next update. In this case, the application will use SwapKit's built-in UI to identify the sending and receiving app using a grand total of two lines of code. SwapKit is available as a binary package or you can view the source repository in GitHub. The API documentation is also available on Vulcano's Infinite Labs site at infinitelabs.net/swapkit/docs/api. Below is Erica Sadun's TUAW demo video of the protocol. Discuss

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Like AT&T, O2 Feels the Strain, but Doesn’t Whine About iPhone Customers By Liam Cassidy (TheAppleBlog) Submitted at 12/29/2009 12:31:58 PM

Shortly before Christmas, my iPhone started misbehaving. I’d get an odd little notification message popping up on the screen telling me it “Could not activate cellular data network.” Despite not usually getting odd little errors on the iPhone, I didn’t worry too much about it. After all, I assumed, it is the holiday season; people are calling family and friends more than at any other time (well, except, perhaps, for New Year’s Eve). I just assumed it would right itself. 24 hours later it was still misbehaving, but by that time I’d finally snapped and decided to look into it. A call to O2 resulted in a recorded message that was played before the usual welcome message; “We are experiencing some difficulties,” an overly sympathetic voice cooed, “We apologize to our customers for any inconvenience this might have caused.” (I’m paraphrasing, of course). I didn’t stop there — I asked the mighty Google for more information, and it turns out those ‘difficulties’ affected quite a number of O2’s customers, both iPhone and otherwise, judging by the 20-odd page discussion that was raging on O2’s official support pages.

Tech news site V3.co.uk published several notices from O2 during the outages, which began rather hopefully: We’re sorry that some mobile customers have had problems with data today – these services will be back up tonight. …but ended on a decidedly more sullen note; The system fault has been fixed and internet connections are gradually being restored. MMS and Visual Voicemail remain affected. We’re working on these as a priority. Thankfully the problem was cleared up reasonably swiftly. Something to do with incorrectly assigned IP addresses, or leaves on the line (trust me, if you’re British that’s hilarious!) While some tech sites are reporting on the data outages in London in much the same tone they would AT&T’s lackluster services in New York or San Francisco, I must offer my own (admittedly anecdotal) evidence to the contrary; my partner and I are both iPhone-toting, datahungry technophiles who just happen to live in London. And this is the first time this year we’ve experienced any truly memorable disruption to O2’s data network. For clarity: I’m not saying we haven’t suffered the occasional dropped-call here and there. We have — at a rate of perhaps one dropped call every

upgrades that have taken place. From Reuters; The company [O2] had invested 30 million pounds ($48 million) in its London network to meet demand [...] and 200 extra mobile base stations had been installed. Sounds impressive, no? But I wonder… that’s an awful lot of money, and an awful lot of new base stations. That sort of massive investment into network expansion was likely planned years ago as part of the company’s long-term growth strategy. Indeed, such a huge investment plan could easily have predated the 2007 introduction of the iPhone, and the subsequent explosion in smartphone other month. You see, when all is AT&T in the States; smartphone a d o p t i o n . said and done, the O2 network is ownership is on the rise and However, I’m not beating up on normally exemplary (as it should smartphone owners use a lot of O2. It might be feeling the same be, considering how much we data, relative to the amount pain AT&T has so publically pay them). consumed by so-called ‘feature suffered in recent months, but at Still, O2 has been reaching out phone’ customers. The network least it’s not reacting the same to its customers, cap in hand, carriers simply aren’t prepared way AT&T’s CEO Ralph De La doing that quintessentially British for this. Historically they’ve Vega did, with barely-concealed thing…apologizing. In a Reuters never had to provide this much threats of data-caps and tiered r e p o r t p u b l i s h e d t o d a y bandwidth and their business pricing plans for smartphone O2’s Chief Executive Ronan models (typically structured into users. Dunne is quoted saying: five year plans that don’t change AT&T’s message (at least how it Where we haven’t met our own much in-between revisions) comes across to me) has mostly high standards then there’s no simply don’t make adequate (if been along the lines of, “You q u e s t i o n , w e a p o l o g i z e t o any) provisions for the scale of iPhone customers are a nuisance, customers for that fact. But it n e t w o r k i n v e s t m e n t a n d you’re to blame for all our would be wrong to say O2 has improvement that data-hungry network problems, so you’ll have failed its customers en masse. devices like the iPhone demand. t o p a y u s m o r e m o n e y ! ” The story is much the same here Still, that doesn’t stop their LIKE page 46 in the UK for O2 as it is for e x e c s b r a g g i n g a b o u t t h e

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Apple DIY Projects for the New Year By David Klein (TheAppleBlog) Submitted at 12/30/2009 8:11:02 AM

One of my new year’s resolutions is to pursue more DIY projects. This includes things like putting Jolicloud on my Hackintosh netbook, swapping out the hard drive on my iMac, and, most importantly, doing something with my old Apple hardware. I currently own a Powerbook G4 and a Blue and White G3 Tower. By Liam Cassidy availability of an 8GB iPhone clearly new. Which clearly They are sitting in a closet (TheAppleBlog) 3GS. An eagle-eyed customer in indicates that the sale of the collecting dust. I would love to G e r m a n y p o s t e d o n t h e iPhone 3G [S] 8GB immediately find something truly unique to do Submitted at 12/30/2009 6:43:52 AM apfeltalk.de discussion board that imminent. with the computers. The easiest The iPhone 3GS has never been his refurbished 8GB iPhone 3G .david’s mind is made up; he’s answer is “turn them into available in anything other than a r r i v e d s p o r t i n g a S K U certain this means an 8GB servers.” In fact, we published an 1 6 G B a n d 3 2 G B c a p a c i t y packaging label describing iPhone 3GS is on the way. article a few years ago with models, leaving the 8GB shoes to s o m e t h i n g t h e s a m e , o n l y Another possibility, of course, is similar suggestions — music be filled with its older brother, different — an 8GB iPhone 3G that this is a typo. But I tend to servers, file servers, etc. My goal the iPhone 3G. S. a g r e e w i t h m y T e u t o n i c is to do something creative with And that was just fine for a Image by .david at apfeltalk.de neighbor. Apple’s next revision while. The problem now is that The customer, known as .david to the iPhone is not too far away, LIKE we’re just months away from a on the Apfeltalk.de message and it makes sense to establish continued from page 45 new iPhone, and then what will board, had this to say (translation the 3GS feature-set as the de- Conversely, O2’s message reads, we have? Three models of by Google via Gizmodo): facto for all iPhones moving “You iPhone customers chew iPhone on the market? Each with Seems to be an iPhone 3G (back forward. Because, y’know, through a terribly high volume of slightly different capabilities? and no compass, FW) 3.0.1 on it. that magnetometer makes a data that sometimes causes us Catering to slightly different However, the packaging is difference! problems – we’re sorry we capacities? That’s just not the clearly designed for an iPhone What’s your take on this? weren’t ready for that, and we’re Apple way. 3G [S] 8GB. Ordered was a Obvious indicator of things to working on it” If this terrifying prospect was refurbished 3G iPhone 8GB. c o m e , o r s o m e d i s p a t c h Color me biased. But tell me you keeping you up at night, rest Vote: who have a refurbished technician’s unfortunate miseasy, because news from Europe iPhone 3G in a new packaging of type? of an innocuous packaging the packaged iPhone 3G [S] mixup hints at the upcoming 8GB, because the enhancement is

Packaging Mixup Hints 8GB iPhone 3GS on the Way

the hardware and put them on display. Leaving them in the closet is boring. Here’s my favorite project for the Powerbook: the WallMac. Basically, I would reverse the Powerbook’s monitor and then put the laptop inside a thick frame. A wireless keyboard and mouse would control everything. As for the Blue and White Tower, my favorite DIY project idea is the BlueIce. The case was converted to become transparent, and some neon cold-cathode light tubes and LEDs were inserted into the case. What do you think? Are there any other projects I should know about? What do you do with your old Apple products?

don’t think AT&T could learn something about good PR from their British counterparts.

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Anil Dash, tear down that wall (Scripting News)

were both ways to keep people in line. Om, whose career could suffer for saying he agrees, said Anill Dash ran a piece this he agrees. In public, for everyone evening about Twitter's to see. That's a mensch. Suggested User List. Anil Dash who is trying to build He gets that he didn't do a career bridging the tech world anything to earn his placement on and government cannot afford to the list. He talks about washed-up appear to be in the pocket of a actors who are on the list who single tech company, yet that is use their follower numbers as exactly how it appears. And supposed evidence that they still further, I know from talking with have pull with the people. SULhim that he understands this. Yet celebs sell tweets for thousands a he remains on the list, and is pop. A kid sold his SUL- Dan Bricklin says Anil is being a keeping the account that got enhanced feed to Microsoft. All mensch, but that's ridiculous. inflated. this stuff makes you nauseous, You want to see a mensch. Let The only thing he can do that and presumably it makes Anil ill me show you a mensch. has any integrity, and allows his too -- so why is he still on the Om Malik is on the list so he has career to remain on track, is to list? 1.2 million followers. I happened not only ask to be removed from Further, he says that Twitter will to notice this the other day while the list, but delete the account kill the list any day now, but conversing with him on Twitter. I that got the benefit of being on doesn't address the fact that said what I felt, I was pissed at the list and start over. There are people who were on the list will him for feeding at the trough that no shortcuts possible here, imho. be walking around with hundreds way. After a series of tweets I o f t h o u s a n d s o f u n e a r n e d concluded that position on the followers. SUL and links from TechMeme Submitted at 12/29/2009 8:25:16 PM

Review: Better Off Ted - It's Nothing Business, It's Just Personal By Mike Moody (TV Squad) Submitted at 12/30/2009 1:04:00 AM

(S02E04) So Better Off Ted is all but dead. OK, maybe that's not entirely true, but the writing is on the wall. ABC has opted to burn through the show's remaining episodes by double-running'em every Tuesday through the end of January. (They're doing the same thing with Scrubs.) Considering that BoT only kicked off its current season last month, it's probably safe to assume that a third season isn't in the cards. Sorry, Tedheads. I'm just as bummed about this as you are. Hopefully the powers that be will give creator Victor Fresco another shot at a series. After this and Andy Richter Controls the Universe, you can officially count me as one of the guy's biggest fans. That's not to say that he can't let

me down every once in a while. Tonight's episode seemed to be missing something. The brisk humor was there, but the jokes were more cutesy than funny. We spent very little time with Phil and Lem, and the Veridian commercial was MIA, again! Continue reading Review: Better Off Ted - It's Nothing Business, It's Just Personal Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Episode Reviews, Reality -Free Permalink| Email this| | Comments

Best TV of the '00s: Dramatic Actor By Jane Boursaw (TV Squad)

was it a tough choice. From a meth-making chemistry teacher to a damaged 1960s ad More of our best of the decade exec, the guys populating the coverage, which started on dramatic actor category in our Tuesday. You can read the other best of the decade are nothing posts at the link above. Here, we short of brilliant. talk about the best dramatic It's hard to choose favorites actors of the decade. And, boy, when you're dealing with the Submitted at 12/30/2009 11:06:00 AM

likes of Jon Hamm, Bryan Cranston, Mark Harmon, James

Gandolfini, and many others, but the TV Squad team has spoken. Did your favorites make our list? If not, feel free to add them in the comments below. Continue reading Best TV of the '00s: Dramatic Actor Filed under: OpEd, Law and Order, Lost, Rescue Me, Doctor

Who, NCIS, Breaking Bad, Reality-Free, Mad Men Permalink| Email this| | Comments

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Stats Junkie: A Look at Syfy’s Top Scripted Shows for 2009 – Warehouse 13, Battlestar Galactica, Stargate Universe and Eureka By Robert Seidman (TVbytheNumbers)

worst-performing of the four scripted Syfy shows that ranked in the top 50. A Look at the Median Ages Live+SD • Warehouse 13: 51 • BSG: 43 • SGU: 46 • Eureka: 51

Submitted at 12/29/2009 9:18:04 PM

I got a pretty detailed look at the top 50 scripted shows on basic cable for the year with adults 1849, and four of them were on Syfy. I have both the Live+SD and the Live+7 viewing and I’m going to talk about both, primarily because Syfy is an interesting network when it comes to DVR viewing, especially for certain shows. All the numbers here are for the first telecasts of original episodes and not any of the encore airings. With Live+SD viewing, Warehouse 13 was Syfy’s #1 show for the year with adults 1849 averaging 1.197 million and edging out Battlestar Galactica’s 1.158 million. But in Live+7 viewing, the order was reversed with Battlestar Galactica on top with 1.710 million adults 18-49 versus Warehouse 13’s 1.622 million. Stargate Universe was the third best scripted show with adults 18 -49 on Syfy averaging 1.040 million Live+SD adults 18-49 and 1.433 million Live+7. Eureka was #4 either way with an average of 975,000 adults 18-49 with Live+SD viewing and an average of 1.384 million with

Live+7 • Warehouse 13: 50 • BSG: 42 • SGU: 45 • Eureka: 49 18-34 viewing (rank in parenthesis is for all scripted shows on basic cable) Live+SD • Warehouse 13: 454K (#25) • BSG: 449K (#26) • SGU: 430K (#28) • Eureka: 352K (#35)

Live+7 viewing. So how did these shows rank against all of the basic cable scripted universe and not just on Syfy? Warehouse 13 was #22 in Live+SD viewing with adults 1849, BSG was #23, SGU was #24 and Eureka was #28. BSG was #BSG was #19 with adults 18-49 in Live+7 viewing, Warehouse

13 was #21, SGU was #24 and Eureka was #25. Gender Lines Drawn for SGU: Women like it MUCH less, Young Men, MUCH more Some of you love SGU, and some of you love to hate it! It would be interesting to see the comments pro and against sorted by gender. In the ratings there is

a clear divide. It’s Syfy’s most popular show with young men 18 -34 in Live+SD viewing, and young men 18-34 are pretty much the holy grail of advertising since they are oftcited as the most elusive group to reach with television advertising. But with women 18 -49, and 18-34, SGU was the

Live+7 • Warehouse 13: 631K (#23) • BSG: 680K (#21) • SGU: 600K (#25) • Eureka: 540K (#31) Men 18-49 Live+SD • Warehouse 13: 693K (#14) • BSG: 731K (#11) • SGU: 715K (#13) • Eureka: 573K (#21) STATS page 49

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STATS continued from page 48

Live+7 • Warehouse 13: 944K (#12) • BSG: 1.102M (#7) • SGU: 983K (#10) • Eureka: 806K (#17) Women 18-49 Live+SD • Warehouse 13: 504K (#23) • BSG: 427K (#29) • SGU: 325K (#37) • Eureka: 402K (#31) Live+7 • Warehouse 13: 678K (#24) • BSG: 608K (#26) • SGU: 450K (#35) • Eureka: 578K (#28) Men 18-34

Live+SD • Warehouse 13: 273K (#17) • BSG: 268K (#19) • SGU: 312K (#14) • Eureka: 229K (#24) Live+7 • Warehouse 13: 372K (#17) • BSG: 423K (#13) • SGU:417K (#14) • Eureka: 327K (#19) Women 18-34 Live+SD • Warehouse 13: 180K (#31) • BSG: 182K (#29) • SGU: 117K (#45) • Eureka: 123K (#43)

• BSG: 257K (#28) • SGU: 183K (#38) • Eureka: 213K (#33) Finally, I know some of you would like to see how Sanctuary fared along all these same lines, but because it was not among basic cable’s top 50 scripted shows with adults 18-49 for 2009 in the spreadsheet I saw, I can’t tell you. Sorry Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

The Envelope Please: Steven Spielberg & Nicole Kidman to Present Golden Globes (ETonline - Breaking News)

Worthington's blockbuster film 'Avatar' and Kidman's musical 'Nine' are nominated for awards Hollywood heavyweights Steven by the Hollywood Foreign Press Spielberg and Nicole Kidman Association. and rising star Sam Worthington The "67th Annual Golden Globe join an already stellar lineup of Awards" will be held on January presenters at the Golden Globes, 17 and broadcast live on NBC according to the Associated from the Beverly Hilton. Press. Submitted at 12/30/2009 3:59:00 AM

Live+7 • Warehouse 13: 260K (#27)

Help us come up with a contest to give away some Chuck goodies By Robert Seidman (TVbytheNumbers) Submitted at 12/29/2009 9:44:42 PM

A TV by the Numbers fan on the crew of Chuck sent us some very cool stuff so we could have a contest with cool prizes. There are the season one and two comic books, which are probably pretty rare collectibles since each are autographed by all nine of the principal actors. Then there’s an authentic Chuck tie and Buy More pocket protector

(with a couple of pens, natch). Normally we’d just do a guess the ratings contest and have 1 st prize be your pick of the comic books (the first season book is much thicker on thicker stock, with Season 2 a more traditional comic book), 2 nd prize being the other comic book and third prize being the tie and pocket protector. Oh yeah, we also have a season one DVD. But I don’t like the thought of some chucklehead picking a

number like 2.021 million, and then having the Sunday afternoon Wild Card game be some dramatic double overtime game

there’s still a little bit of time, so you can offer up your suggestions. One caveat: if your idea is something that winds up being a lot of work for us to administer, fugghedaboutit. Otherwise, we’re open to suggestions. Whatever the contest, as is typically the case, it’s only open to people in the United States. that goes until 9pm ET only to Five Filters featured article: have chucklehead win the prize. Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: We still might go the “guess the PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, ratings” route anyway, but, Term Extraction.

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Stats Junkie: True Blood, Burn Notice and Sons of Anarchy top scripted cable shows of 2009 with adults 18-49 By Robert Seidman (TVbytheNumbers) Submitted at 12/29/2009 6:59:31 PM

Three shows I really enjoy topped the scripted cable world with adults 18-49 in 2009. The first airing of new episodes of the second season of HBO’s True Blood topped all scripted cable shows for 2009 with adults 18-49 with an average 3.522 million (includes week’s worth of DVR viewing, and the rest of the numbers listed are Live+7, too). Season three of USA’s Burn Notice was second with adults 18 -49 with 3.339 million, followed by the second season of my favorite show, FX’s Sons Of Anarchy.

True Blood was also the number one show with adults 18-34 with 2.013 million, followed by South Park’s 1.796 million and Sons of Anarchy with 1.655 million. Among Men 18-49, Sons of Anarchy led with an average of

1.655 million and Burn Notice with 1.606 million. With Men 18-34 South Park led with an average of 1.292 million, followed by Sons of Anarchy with 1.058 million and Entourage with 1.007 million. With Women 18-34, ABC Family’s The Secret Life of the American Teenager led with an average of 1.037 million, followed by True Blood with 1.035 million and Army Wives 1.979 million followed by True with 796,000. Blood with 1.751 million and Five Filters featured article: South Park with 1.742 million. Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: With Women 18-49, True Blood PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, l ed the field with an average of Term Extraction. 1.770 million, followed by Lifetime’s Army Wives with

Leach's Lawyer Takes Camera Inside the 'Shed' and 'Closet' By Michael David Smith (Fanhouse Main) Submitted at 12/30/2009 2:40:00 AM

Filed under: Texas Tech The attorney for Texas Tech coach Mike Leach is fighting in court to get the suspended coach back on the sideline in time for the Alamo Bowl. And he's also fighting in the court of public opinion to combat reports that Leach locked wide receiver Adam James in rooms described as a "shed" and an "electrical closet." The attorney, Ted Liggett, escorted a local television reporter and cameraman inside the rooms in question and said that it's not accurate to call them a shed or a closet.

New York Times looks at the spoilers of the decade By Danny Gallagher (TV Squad)

Sopranos for me. Thanks, Grey Lady! The paper's ArtsBeat blog has Submitted at 12/29/2009 8:00:00 PM declared an official moratorium It should go without saying that on spoiler complaints and given w e h e r e a t T V S q u a d a r e "amnesty" for their readers to infinitely familiar with spoilers, talk about the best surprise so naturally this New York endings in the last decade. What Times article caught my eye. are your favorite TV endings that Even if it did spoil the end of The you now have the right to spoil

the hell out of for people too lazy to get up and discover them for

themselves? And it should go without saying: don't complain about how any of the comments below have spoiled anything for you. The only way I could make the spoiler warning any bigger is by typing the word "SPOILER" in all caps and pasting over and over in this post. Filed under: Other Drama

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Stats Junkie: Sons Of Anarchy No. 1 Scripted Show on Basic Cable for 2009 With Adults 18-49 in Live+SD Viewing By Robert Seidman (TVbytheNumbers)

to 2.443 million. Fear not True Blood fans. It was still number on on all of cable Submitted at 12/29/2009 8:30:26 PM with adults 18-49 for Live+SD Earlier, I posted a bunch of stats viewing with 2.977 million for 2009 that were based on average adults 18-49 viewers for Live+7 viewing. But, I didn’t the first airing of original realize the spreadsheet I had also episodes. had a Live+Same Day DVR What’s it mean that SOA fared viewing tab. And there, Sons Of better in Live+SD viewing? Anarchy season 2 was the #1 Probably not a whole lot, though scripted show on basic cable, if SOA had more live viewers edging out Burn Notice season 3 (unfortunately I didn’t see the with adults 18-49 2.564 million Live averages) that’s good news

for advertising sales when it comes to people not skipping ads on their DVRs. On average, almost 300,000

more adults 18-49 watched Burn Notice on their DVRs after the night it aired (but within a week) than watched SOA after the night

What's On Tonight: Charlie Brown, Inside The NFL, Real World By Bob Sassone (TV Squad)

Imploders at 10.

Submitted at 12/30/2009 12:12:00 PM

• Travel Channel has a Man vs. Food marathon all night. • At 8, ABC has Happy New Year, Charlie Brown. • ESPN has the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl at 8, Arizona vs. Nebraska. • At 9, PBS has a new P.O.V. • Discovery has two new episodes of Everest: Beyond the Limit at 9. • History Channel has two new episodes of Jobsite at 9. • Also at 9: Showtime has a new

Inside The NFL. • At 9:30, A&E has a new Dog The Bounty Hunter, followed by a new Steven Seagal: Lawman. • At 10, ABC has a new Eastwick.

• TBS has two new episodes of Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns at 10. • MTV has the season premiere of The Real World at 10. • TLC has a new episode of The

Check your local TV listings for more. After the jump, the late night talk shows. Continue reading What's On Tonight: Charlie Brown, Inside The NFL, Real World Filed under: Late Night, Programming, Celebrities, Talk Show, What To Watch Tonight, Reality-Free Permalink| Email this| | Comments

it aired. I really enjoy both shows, but since SOA is my favorite (though I love me some Burn Notice) it was one last chance in 2009 to show it a little love. #1 and not just with me, but with adults 18-49 (who watched live or the same night it aired on their DVRs)! Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Wall St opens lower as global shares fall (Financial Times - US homepage) Submitted at 12/30/2009 7:43:56 AM

Wall Street opened lower on Wednesday after the stronger dollar dragged down commoditybased stocks. Less than an hour after the opening bell, the S&P 500 was down 0.1 per cent at 1,124.79 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average had also lost 0.1 per cent to 10,537.63. But the Nasdaq was 0.1 per cent higher at 2,290.43. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

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NBC News roasted for Letterman's extortionist practicing checkbook says he's innocent because journalism in Goldman case of ...Tiger Woods?!? By Danny Gallagher (TV Squad)

Submitted at 12/30/2009 10:02:00 AM

When I heard the news that NBC's news division had hired a private jet to entice David Goldman to grant them his one and only interview as he flew to Brazil to pick up his long lost son, I was shocked. A news organization has enough money to pay for its own private plane?!? I didn't think ANY news outfit would have enough money to pay for its own private bathrooms. The Society of Professional Journalists has issued a public statement criticizing the news division for using an "extensive gesture" to score an exclusive with Goldman and thus

By Danny Gallagher (TV Squad)

Submitted at 12/30/2009 8:05:00 AM

Although it was reported that Brooke Mueller, the wife of Charlie Sheen, recant her account of domestic abuse, her attorney tells ET the real story! Her attorney Yale Galanter tells

By Associated Press (ESPN.com) Submitted at 12/30/2009 9:07:10 AM

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Bobby Bowden is having his final Submitted at 12/30/2009 8:02:00 AM practice as Florida State's football coach. The scary-looking man to the The Seminoles took the field for right who looks like he's trying to their last full-scale session of the swallow your soul through your season Wednesday morning, two computer screen has made one of days before they'll face West his boldest statements yet. Virginia in the Konica Minolta "jeopardized its journalistic Robert Halderman, the man Gator Bowl in the game that will independence and credibility in federal prosecutors have fingered close Bowden's storied coaching its initial and subsequent a s t h e D a v i d L e t t e r m a n career. reports." extortionist, has laid (ahem) a Bowden announced his Did NBC cross a line or should claim on his case that uses Tiger tiniest bit of sense if the person the reporter with the biggest bank Woods' recent trysts as evidence Letterman was having sex with retirement earlier this month. account score the scoop? to back up his innocence. was Halderman. Actually, forget Bowden says he hadn't thought Filed under: News, Industry, His attorneys claim since Woods I just said that. Whoops, too late. about Wednesday's practice in Reality-Free paid one of his gaggle of secret F i l e d u n d e r : L a t e N i g h t , any nostalgic terms, preferring that the focus stays somewhat on P e r m a l i n k | E m a i l t h i s | | girlfriends to keep things quiet, C e l e b r i t i e s , R e a l i t y - F r e e Comments that should earn their client a getP e r m a l i n k | E m a i l t h i s | | the football team. Florida State will have a light, out-of-jail-free card for making C o m m e n t s closed walk-through session the same gracious offer to Thursday, the same day that Letterman. That only makes the Bowden will serve as grand marshal of the Gator Bowl parade. Copyright 2009 by The ET that Brooke did not recant the after she called 911. He claims Charlie to resume contact with A s s o c i a t e d P r e s s story she told the police on that Brooke "soft-pedaled" her each other, "so they can work on Five Filters featured article: C h r i s t m a s D a y . H o w e v e r , story to a female officer hours resolving the conflicts in their Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: "Brooke did minimize her story, after the 911 call -- but insists she marriage," he says, calling what PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, like many wives in a similar did not recant. happened on Christmas "one bad Term Extraction. situation do, when they realize In new details, Galanter says he night." their husband could go to jail," he will file papers with the Aspen adds. He says his client didn't court this morning, asking the realize Sheen would be arrested judge to allow Brooke and

Charlie Sheen's Wife 'Did Not Recant' 911 Call (ETonline - Breaking News)

Bobby Bowden in last Florida State Seminoles practice of career

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Manifestos Are Dumb: A Manifesto [Manifestos] By Hamilton Nolan (Gawker)

speech, which, despite having an obvious grain of truth, is also, you know, obvious. And trite, at Never in history has anything this point. Not manifesto-worthy! good come from a "manifesto." "Who anticipated Gawker and its Their effects range from vision of the world in the late misguided repression (political 1990s?" Hmm. All the dudes manifestos) to mere annoyance who wrote for Spy? We don't (college student-written have a new vision. We just write manifestos). Oh look, a new on these new-style computer "manifesto" is out! " A Slowmachines, now! Mark Twain Word Movement." First ever would have been a great Gawker good manifesto? No. writer. He even wrote a media The primary problem with manifesto of his own, way back manifestos is that the designation in 1863: of any written work as a LITERARY MANIFESTO "manifesto" is an uncannily Our duty is to keep the universe accurate predictor of unearned thoroughly posted concerning authorial pretensions of grandeur murders and street fighters, and (*furiously Googling to make balls, and theaters, and packsure I have never written a trains, and churches, and lectures, "manifesto"*). Today on and school-houses, and city Forbes.com (one of the media's military affairs, and highway foremost purveyors of traffic- slow time to enjoy good old slow Panorama, namely that the newspaper. It was an incredibly robberies, and Bible societies, whoring instalisticles, btw), media, which is, like Slow Food, physical quality of a newspaper f a n c y b o o k o f e s s a y s , o n a n d h a y - w a g o n s , a n d t h e Trevor Butterworth writes " Time a mark of a refined palate which and the aesthetic pleasure of newsprint. And a book staffed thousand other things which it is for A Slow-Word Movement," you savages should learn to like. reading can make people so by, essentially, volunteers. It is in the province of local reporters which is—woops—subtitled "A Who will save the old slow excited about journalism that not reproducible on a large scale. to keep track of and magnify into media? Dave Eggers. t h e y ' l l b u y i t — n o t j u s t So why doesn't Butterworth just u n d u e i m p o r t a n c e f o r t h e media manifesto." Darn. But as the historian Michael conceptually, but in terms of urge people to read more books instruction of the readers of a Butterworth thinks that, thanks and fewer blogs? That would great daily newspaper. the the changing online internet Schudson has argued, it's simply parting with cash. unrealistic to expect the public to Eggers could well be the Alice obviate the need for "A media We're still doing the same shit media, etc., "generation Google" read newspapers as a daily Waters (queen of American slow manifesto." So FORGET IT. almost 150 years later. There's is just furiously Googling, like a man checking to make sure he personal moral commitment to foodies) of the news media, Instead, Butterworth gives the ol' yer slow-word movement. doesn't have any embarrassing democracy. Instead, look to what McSweeny's its Chez Panisse. Facebook/ Twitter/ YouTube/ "manifestos" floating around out Dave Eggers has brilliantly Problem: as Choire pointed out, blogs/ warp speed of media has there, and is not taking the good, shown with the San Francisco Panorama was not really a changed things blah blah blah Submitted at 12/30/2009 9:23:37 AM

Street Chic: Miami By ELLE.com (ELLE News Blog) Submitted at 12/30/2009 4:00:00 AM

A full-length dress perfectly spotlights a punchy geometric print. Photo: Kelly Stuart

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mail us your photo and you could appear in ELLE.com's Street Chic Daily. Follow ELLE on Twitter.

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The Incredible Shrinking Weinstein Co. [Flameouts] By John Cook (Gawker) Submitted at 12/30/2009 7:55:39 AM

After the dismal opening of atrocious musical Nine, the Weinstein-hating community is on tenterhooks awaiting at last the loathsome duo's spectacular implosion. Alas, it appears that the Weinsteins will dwindle away with a whimper, not disappear with a satisfying bang. The New York Post's Peter Lauria reports that the Weinsteins are searching yet again for ways to keep cash coming in and stave off creditors, but they've got some leverage: Ambac, the company that insured the Weinstein's $500 million debt to Goldman Sachs and other creditors, is itself on the verge of bankruptcy. So if Goldman et. al. calls in their chits, they would be facing something approaching a total loss: According to sources, the current thinking is that since Ambac's own financial troubles likely mean that the insurer can't repay the $500 million in debt in full, and the studio's current assets are likely worth less than that amount, the best thing to do is let Harvey and Bob have a few more chances at bat in the hopes of hitting another home run on par with Inglourious Basterds. That's another way of saying

Perfectly Imperfect Finish to Patriots' Flawed Dream By Thomas George (Fanhouse Main) Submitted at 12/30/2009 4:00:00 AM

Filed under: Giants, Patriots Over the next two weeks, FanHouse will be covering the top sports stories of the decade. In this installment, Thomas George looks at the most memorable NFL game of the decade. The National Football League that: "Let's keep throwing good seed corn by selling off the keeps the Weinsteins alive as story of the decade developed on money after bad." Lauria reports foreign rights to their films. That long as their creditors are willing, a warm night on Feb. 3, 2008, in that there are a few different minimizes risk on flops like but makes the likelihood that Glendale, Ariz. Its origin was in a options on the table for keeping Nineâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the company sold off they'll ever hit enough paydirt to 2007 season-opener when the the Weinsteins solvent, but the foreign rights for $50 million, a e s c a p e t h e c y c l e o f d e b t New England Patriots defeated upshot is that they can only good chunk of the film's $64 increasingly remote: The more t h e N e w Y o r k J e t s i n t h e afford to release eight more films million production budget, movies the make, the more Meadowlands. Soon afterward, at their current burn rate, and the making it less painful when they money they need. The more the Jets accused the Patriots of company's creditors are trying to have to pull it back from 1,400 money they need, the more rights illegally taping their signals. The charge, simply, was come up with a way to afford screens nationwide to 800 or so they sell. The more rights they c h eating. them an additional four to six next month because no one is sell, the less money they make. releases a year to increase the going to see it. Etc. That's a strategy for slowly chances that one of them will But it means selling away the wasting away. Bankruptcy would come up roses and make, oh, upside on hits like Inglourious be much more fun. maybe $500 million or so. Basterds, which made $300 But at the same time, the million, half of which went to Weinsteins have been eating their Universal. It's a strategy that

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The Rich and Dying Choose Money Over Life [Greed] By John Cook (Gawker) Submitted at 12/30/2009 8:45:51 AM

Because Congress is populated by venal idiots, the estate tax expires on January 1, 2010 only to rise again on January 1, 2011. So rich old people everywhere are deliberately engineering their lives to end during the next calendar year. From the Wall Street Journal: Starting Jan. 1, the estate tax â&#x20AC;&#x201D; which can erase nearly half of a wealthy person's estate â&#x20AC;&#x201D; goes away for a year. For families facing end-of-life decisions in the immediate future, the change is making one of life's most trying episodes only more complex....

One wealthy, terminally ill realestate entrepreneur has told his doctors he is determined to live until the law changes. "Whenever he wakes up," says his lawyer, "He says: 'What day is it? Is it Jan. 1 yet?'"

Nothing staves off the allure of death's sweet and final embrace like the prospect of your heirs retaining an additional 45% of your estate above $3.5 million. Conversely, nothing rushes you into the arms of eternity like a

looming tax hike: The situation is causing at least one person to add the prospect of euthanasia to his estate-planning mix, according to Mr. Katzenstein of Proskauer Rose. An elderly, infirm client of his recently asked whether undergoing euthanasia next year in Holland, where it's legal, might allow his estate to dodge the tax. His answer: Yes. 2010 Trendwatch! Lots of money-obsessed assholes will die next year. That's a good thing, right?

MediaDailyNews: 'Jeff Dunham, 'Blonde Charity Mafia' Whacked (MediaPost | Media News) Submitted at 12/30/2009 6:31:30 AM

Comedy Central isn't renewing the "The Jeff Dunham Show" for a second season. Comedian Dunham and his puppets got lots of attention, but most reviews were bad. Ratings, after the initial premiere of 5.3 million, dropped away, reports AP. Also, "Blonde Charity Mafia" has been canceled by the CW, which is set to air "Fly Girls," about Virgin Airlines' party girl flight attendants, instead. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Annoying Hippie Capitalist Steps Down as Whole Foods Chairman [Small Victories] By Pareene (Gawker) Submitted at 12/30/2009 8:26:05 AM

We won! Sorta! After complaining about both the annoyingness of Whole Foods CEO John Mackey and the media trend of finding it surprising that he is right-wing (he is a CEO) Mackey has stepped down as Chairman of Whole Foods.

What is fun is that we won and unions won! The shareholder activists of ctW Investment Group, who manage union pension funds, have been agitating for Mackey to step down as chairman for months, because apparently it is bad to be both chairman and CEO. And company, because he keeps Mackey's recent publicity blitz blowing everyone's mind by both has not been very good for his

being a vegetarian and namechecking Hayek. (Well, the ill will was fueled mostly his fullthroated support for a marketbased approach to ensuring that no one gets any health care unless they are directly employed by him.) Of course as founder and stillCEO Mackey will still probably get all the space he could ever

want in the op-ed section of the Wall Street Journal, as his company's stock plummets because the people who can still afford to pay too much for fancy fancy arugula don't like him anymore.

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Colleges Not Interested in Shorter, Younger Favre By Ryan Wilson (Fanhouse Main) Submitted at 12/30/2009 2:30:00 AM

Cunning Teens Robbing America Blind [Kids These Days] By Hamilton Nolan (Gawker) Submitted at 12/30/2009 7:40:32 AM

Researchers have discovered that teenagers have very acute perceptions of risk. Other researchers have discovered that retail employees are incredibly successful thieves. These researchers should talk to each other! 1. Health researchers did a big

survey of teenagers and their "perception of risk." Most said smoking a pack or two of cigarettes a day was pretty risky, but far fewer thought getting drunk once a week or smoking weed once a month was very risky. Which is absolutely accurate, contrary to the general tone of this lame-o news story! Teenagers know exactly what they can get away with.

2. Who's stealing all the shit that gets stolen from big retail stores? The crooked-ass teen and postteen employees: " larcenous employees averaged $1,890 in theft, compared with $438 for shoplifters." 3. Kids these days! Q.E.D. [Pic via]

Filed under: College Sports, High School Dylan Favre is a senior at St. Stanislaus High in Bay St. Louis, Miss. Earlier this month he quarterbacked the football team to the 4A state championship, setting just about every record along the way. Oh, and he's Brett's nephew. Still, despite the pedigree -- and a senior season that included 63 touchdown passes, 5,589 passing yards and 1,265 rushing yards (including 18 rushing TDs) -colleges aren't beating down Dylan's door. In fact, just the opposite: they're ignoring him. The reason: at 5-11 he's too too short to be a legit FBS quarterback. That's the thinking, anyway. Via SI.com's Andy Staples: Favre is living proof that when seeking quarterbacks, FBS coaches value their precious measurables more than production. ... So far, Southern Miss, Tulane and FCS school Northwestern State have been the only schools willing to offer Mississippi's reigning Mr. Football a scholarship to play quarterback. ... In a way, Dylan is glad he's had to fight so hard for every

scholarship offer. "I don't want them to give me a shot because of my last name," he said. "I don't think that has anything to do with it. I think I've done enough getting the grades and the ACT score, winning championships and breaking records. I've done enough that if my last name was Johnson, at least I deserve a shot. That's all I want." And then there's this: "Just as Dylan's uncle refused to go to the bench against Carolina earlier this month, Dylan refuses to accept a position switch. The younger Favre caught the eye of Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt at a camp earlier this year. Nutt asked Favre if he'd consider playing defense in college. 'I told him just like I told everybody else,' Favre said. 'If I'm not playing quarterback, then I'm not playing.'" Sounds familiar.

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Premier League Diary: Liverpool 1, Aston Villa 0 (WSJ.com: The Daily Fix) Submitted at 12/29/2009 10:30:58 AM

Associated Press Fernando Torres (right), shown in a September Champions League match, scored the only goal as Liverpool beat Aston Villa today in Englandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Premier League. The Journal provides minute-byminute analysis of Liverpoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 10 victory over Aston Villa in an English Premier League soccer match at Villa Park in Birmingham, England. Journal staffer Dave Kansas offers commentary on the game and the telecast. 1:41 pm | Pregame | by Dave Kansas Aston Villa and Liverpool face off today in one of the more crucial English Premier League matches in the crowded Christmas calendar. Both American-owned teams find themselves among a clutch of squads battling for a key top-four spot as the season moves into its second half. Liverpool, one of England's most successful clubs, was picked by many to win the league this year. Instead, the team that boasts striker Fernando Torres and midfielder Steven Gerrard has struggled, beset by injuries and bad luck. Liverpool is already out of the Champions League and now sits in eighth place, seven points behind fourth -place Tottenham Hotspur. Their 2-0 weekend win over minnowish Wolverhampton did

nothing to dispel concerns that the season may be lost. A victory today is vital to Liverpool's hopes of climbing back into the top four. Aston Villa sits above Liverpool in fifth place. Its 3-1 win over Liverpool in August foreshadowed a strong start to the season. However, a 3-0 loss to Arsenal on Sunday knocked Aston Villa down into fifth place, two points behind 'Spurs. Villa's strong run has led to the inevitable injuries and physical knocks. Striker Emile Heskey may not be available. Separately, Villa midfielder Ashley Young is suspended for picking up too many yellow cards, while Liverpool will be without midfielder Javier Mascherano. 2:46 pm | Pregame | by Dave

Kansas Snow coming down at Aston Villa. Heskey is not available for Aston Villa. Otherwise fairly full -strength side for both sides. The snow isn't settling or building, but may be a distraction. Liverpool in white, Aston Villa in their traditional home red and blue. 2:49 pm | 1st minute, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas We're off. Very windy as well as snowy. Tough conditions as Villa pushes forward to win a corner. 2:50 pm | 3rd minute, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas This is mostly Villa. They are probing, passing, threatening as Liverpool struggle sto find the gears. Downing takes a shot from outside the box, hard hit off a Liverpool defender and out of

bounds for a throw-in. 2:51 pm | 4th minute, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas Villa's John Carew backheels across the box nicely, but it just rolls into Pepe Reina's hands. 2:53 pm | 5th minute, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas Snow, wind. Big flakes. Could see something very sloppy today, goal-wise. Corner won by Liverpool, first real threat. Gerrard's kick comes back to him, he sends it back in the box and Fernando Torres whiffs the bicycle try. Better from Liverpool. 3:03 pm | 11th Minute, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas While Villa has controlled much of the early play, Liverpool has looked dangerous on quick counters a couple of times. But

nothing very close for the Reds so far. 3:03 pm | 12th minute, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas Good run from Liverpool. Gerrard down the right side to Dirk Kuyt who wins a corner. The corner by Gerrard is cleared by Villa's Dunne. 3:04 pm | 13th minute, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas Right down the other way as Carew breaks free down the right side the big striker wins a corner. Downing finds Dunne with the corner but Reina makes a very nice save off Dunne's header. 3:04 pm | 15th minute, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas Alberton Aquilani pushes forward for Liverpool and wins a PREMIER page 58

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PREMIER continued from page 57

free kick from about 35 yards out. Gerrard's kick skips off the Villa wall for a corner. Gerrard again takes the kick and it's (eventually) cleared by Villa. Better from Liverpool. 3:05 pm | 17th minute, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas Bottom-line: this snow-filled affair at Villa is still tied at 0-0. Steven Gerrard just had the best chance. His sudden strike from a standing start from 25 yards out was tipped over by Brad Friedel. After struggling early, Liverpool are getting the upper hand. 3:07 pm | 20th minute, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas Villa getting some more control again, but they lack menace. Forays forward are steadily snuffed out so far and outside set pieces they've not really threatened as much as their possession would indicate. 3:10 pm | 22nd minute, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas Great shot of Liverpool manager Benitez under a ledge, shielding himself from the flurries. This looks more like a Vikings football game than an English football game. Just need Bud Grant! (Showing my age...) 3:11 pm | 23rd minute, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas Best chance for Villa. Agbonlahor works well down the right side, making use of his speed. His pass finds Milner in the middle, who skids his shot right at Reina. 3:14 pm | 26th minute, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas Yossie Benayoun bundled down

by Luke Young and Liverpool with a dangerous free kick about 25 yards out. And Liverpool cleverly moves the ball off the kick to Gerrard, who blasts it off a Villa player for a corner. 3:16 pm | 27th minute, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas First corner off a Villa player leads to a second and the result is a goal kick. Gerrard's corners not threatening much. 3:17 pm | 28th minute, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas Ooooh, very nice from Villa. Nigel Reo-Coker down the left side finds Stiliyan Petrov, who chests the ball and then tries to bicycle the ball into the net, but the acrobatic try goes wide. 3:19 pm | 29th minute, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas Oh my! Corner from Milner scoots over the goalcrease and somehow Downing is left unmarked. His blistering halfvolley is saved (hits?) Reina. Bullet dodged by Liverpool. 3:20 pm | 32nd minute, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas Seeing a replay, that Reina save looks more remarkable. Primarily a product of good positioning, but still a very good stop. Martin O'Neill couldn't believe it. 3:21 pm | 34th minute, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas Pretty clean game so far. Lots of back-and-forth, not a lot of chippiness. At the same time, not a lot of multi-pass offensive flourishes, either. 3:23 pm | 35th minute, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas Ooh, Liverpool this time. Kuyt

across the middle, Villa flailing as Benayoun heads to Torres, whose header has no juice and Friedel saves easily. Have to think one of these teams will break through before halftime. Pretty evenly matched. 3:26 pm | 38th minute, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas Nice work from Milner again as he feeds the ball into the box after a nifty move down the left side. But it's headed wide by Petrov. 3:28 pm | 40th minute, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas A bit chippier now. Dunne slams into Lucas and Lucas goes down in a heap. Yellow to Dunne. Seemed a bit harsh, but Dunne got away with spikes on Kuyt earlier. 3:31 pm | 42nd minute, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas Agbonlahor, showing his speed, races from midfield with the ball down the right side, but it all goes for naught as Liverpool recovers. Moments later, Lucas picks up a yellow card for a touch challenge on Agbonlahor. So much for the lack of chippy play! 3:31 pm | 42nd minute, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas Agbonlahor, showing his speed, races from midfield with the ball down the right side, but it all goes for naught as Liverpool recovers. Moments later, Lucas picks up a yellow card for a touch challenge on Agbonlahor. So much for the lack of chippy play! 3:32 pm | 43rd minute, 0-0 | by

Dave Kansas Nice from Liverpool. Kuyt to Benayoun to Gerrard at the top of the box, who slides it through to Torres. But Friedel is quick off his spot to beat Torres to the ball. Missed chance. 3:34 pm | 45th minute, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas One minute added time. 3:35 pm | 45th plus one, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas Bit of a scare as a horrid Villa backpass nearly plays Torres in, but Friedel gets to the ball first -outside the box and only just -- to clear. 3:35 pm | Halftime, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas And that's the half. 0-0. It is indeed that close at snow-filled Aston Villa. One goal could be enough in these conditions. 3:50 pm | 46th minute, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas Back underway at Villa Park. Crowd understandably lingering a bit on the concourses in this chill weather. Snow still falling. 3:52 pm | 46th minute, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas Sloppy start to play. Villa just played on Sunday, Liverpool on Saturday. Tired legs could tell the tale. Villa surrendered three second-half goals at Arsenal Sunday. Liverpool won 2-0 against Wolverhampton Saturday. 3:54 pm | 48th minute, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas Corner to Villa. Downing's kick headed away for a Villla throwin. 3:55 pm | 49th minute, 0-0 | by

Dave Kansas Indifferent start continues, but Villa is starting to get the better of things. Similar to the first-half openeing spell. 3:57 pm | 50th minute, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas Reina has lost some studs or one stud, as the Brits call cleats. He is getting that fixed. Makes you wonder what he did at halftime. Odd delay which will give us a few minutes of stoppage time. Villa crowd unhappy. 3:58 pm | 52nd minute, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas Reina's all put together again and we're back at it. 3:59 pm | 54th minute, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas They will not be peppering the year-end highlight with the last few minutes. The number of missed passes indicate players may be a bit groggy. Or cold. 4:01 pm | 55th minute, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas Reo-Coker steals a Liverpool pass and races with the ball from his own end to the edge of the Liverpool box, where he promptly gives it away. 4:03 pm | 56th minute, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas Gerrard takes a Liverpool corner and it hits...the other corner flag for a Villa throw. Emblematic. This is where the well-lubricated crowd should start yelling "come on....anyone!" 4:06 pm | 59th minute, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas It's not pretty, but Liverpool is PREMIER page 61

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Texas Tech Red Raiders coach Mike Leach files for restraining order to coach Valero Alamo Bowl By ESPN.com news services (ESPN.com)

2013. The clock is ticking on a portion of that contract. If Leach is the Submitted at 12/30/2009 9:03:41 AM coach as of Thursday, the school Mike Leach Anticipates Firing owes him an $800,000 bonus. Mike Leach Anticipates Firing A source close to the family of VIDEO PLAYLIST Adam James, the player • Mike Leach Anticipates Firing involved, told Schad that the Mike Leach Anticipates Firing player was treated • James Addresses Situation At inappropriately while injured, Texas Tech James Addresses including being confined to a Situation At Texas Tech room for a long period of time • Joe Schad Updates Texas Tech because he could not practice. Situation Joe Schad Updates Leach's attorney, Ted Liggett, Texas Tech Situation said Tuesday that keeping the • Mike Leach's Attorney Speaks receiver inside during practice Mike Leach's Attorney Speaks was better for the player than letting him remain outside. LUBBOCK, Texas -- The James is the son of ESPN lawyer for Mike Leach says the college football analyst Craig suspended Texas Tech coach did James. nothing wrong in how he treated University officials suspended a p l a y e r w i t h a " m i l d " Leach on Monday while the concussion, and Leach is seeking school investigates complaints a court's help in allowing him to from James and his family about coach in Saturday's Valero how the player was treated. Alamo Bowl. Griffin: Can Leach Survive? H o w e v e r , L e a c h a n d h i s How did a smart man wind up in attorneys anticipate Texas Tech this situation -- a year of will try to fire the coach in the d i s c o n t e n t e n d i n g w i t h near future, multiple sources tell a l l e g a t i o n s o f p l a y e r ESPN's Joe Schad. mistreatment? Blog Leach led Texas Tech to the best The motion for a temporary season in program history last restraining order, which would year, going 11-2. But he and the allow Leach to coach in the bowl university were at odds for game, was filed Tuesday in months over negotiations for a Lubbock. Originally, an incontract extension. In February, chambers hearing was set for 11 Leach and the school agreed to a a.m. ET Wednesday in the 99th five-year, $12.7 million deal that D i s t r i c t C o u r t , b u t e a r l y could keep him there through Wednesday morning, Judge Bill

Sowder ordered the hearing open to the public. A person close to the inquiry told The Associated Press that Leach was "begged to work something out to avoid a confrontation." The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing. That person also said Leach late last week postponed a meeting related to the inquiry and refused to sign a letter saying "no one injured would be returned to work out without doctors' permission." The school's attorney left a voice mail message with Leach's attorney late last week that the university needed a letter of apology by noon Monday, the person said. It did not arrive. "That's when they made the decision to suspend [Leach], thinking that would bring him to his senses," the person said. In an affidavit included with his injunction request, Leach says he "would never intentionally harm or endanger a player" and that he has been "forced into this situation without being afforded any process." He wrote "absolutely" no evidence had been given to him that showed he had violated any university rules or standards. "I have never and would never intentionally harm or endanger a

player. I am committed to Texas Tech University and the well being of my football players. I have been forced into this situation without being afforded any process," he said. "Not being allowed to coach immediately will cause irreparable harm because preparation for the game is ongoing and it will be over on January 2, 2009. Every minute of preparation is critical to be ready for the game." Defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill was chosen by the university to be the interim coach when Texas Tech plays Michigan State in the Alamo Bowl. A source close to the family told Schad that James sustained a concussion on Dec. 16, was examined on Dec. 17 and told not to practice because of the concussion and an elevated heart rate. The source said Leach called a trainer and directed him to move James "to the darkest place, to clean out the equipment and to make sure that he could not sit or lean. He was confined for three hours." According to the source, Leach told the trainer, two days later, to "put [James] in the darkest, tightest spot. It was in an electrical closet, again, with a guard posted outside." Dr. Michael Phy, a Texas Tech physician, examined James on Dec. 17, diagnosed him with a mild concussion and made

recommendations regarding level of activity and treatment, according to a memo Phy wrote Dec. 25. In the memo, reviewed by Schad, Phy wrote that "no additional risks or harm were imposed on Adam [James] by what he was asked to do." Liggett told Schad that while James was secluded twice, the circumstances were not as portrayed by the source close to the family. Liggett said James "was placed in an equipment room as it was much cooler and darker" than the practice field "after a doctor had examined him and returned him to the field." Liggett said that on that day, a trainer was posted outside the room and that James was provided ice. Liggett said that James was secluded for one to two hours. Galloway & Co.: 12/29 The lawyer for Mike Leach calls in as Chip Brown tries to sort out the situation at Texas Tech. More Podcasts » Liggett said that on another occasion, James was placed in a "press room with air-conditioning and a stationary bike he could use." A person close to the inquiry told the AP that James spent two hours Dec. 17 in a shed the size of a one-car garage that was TEXAS page 62

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Report: Admissions exemptions benefit athletes at top football schools, according to AP review By Associated Press (ESPN.com)

standards for "special admits" in both 2004 and 2007, but from 2004 through 2006, Crimson Submitted at 12/30/2009 7:46:53 AM Tide athletes were still more than If grades make you a long shot 43 times more likely to benefit for college, you're much more from such exemptions. likely to get a break if you can Alabama coach Nick Saban play ball. offered no apologies. An Associated Press review of "Some people have ability and admissions data submitted to the they have work ethic and really NCAA by most of the 120 never get an opportunity," he schools in college football's top said. "I am really pleased and tier shows that athletes enjoy happy with the job that we do strikingly better odds of having and how we manage our students admission requirements bent on here, and the responsibility and their behalf. accountability they have toward The notion that college athletes' academics and the success that talents give them a leg up in the they've had in academics." admissions game isn't a surprise. The NCAA defines special But in what NCAA officials admissions programs as those called the most extensive review designed for students who don't to date, the AP found the practice m e e t " s t a n d a r d o r n o r m a l is widespread and can be found entrance requirements." The in every major conference. NCAA says such exceptions are The review identified at least 27 fine as long as schools offer the schools where athletes were at same opportunities to everyone least 10 times more likely to from dancers, French horn benefit from special admission players and underrepresented programs than students in the minorities as they do to fleetgeneral population. footed wide receivers and 300That group includes 2009 Bowl pound offensive linemen. Championship Series teams Texas was one of seven schools Oregon, Georgia Tech and that reported no use of special Alabama, which is playing Texas admissions, instead describing for the national title Jan. 7. "holistic" standards that consider At Alabama, 19 football players each applicant individually rather got in as part of a special than relying on minimum test admissions program from 2004 scores and grade-point averages. to 2006, the most recent years But the school also available in the NCAA report. acknowledged in its NCAA T h e s c h o o l t i g h t e n e d i t s report that athletic recruits

overall are less prepared. At Texas, the average SAT score for a freshman football player from 2003 to 2005 was 945 -- or 320 points lower than the typical first -year student's score on the entrance exam. School officials did not make coach Mack Brown or athletic director DeLoss Dodds available to comment. In all, 77 of the 92 Football Bowl Subdivision schools that provided information to the AP reported using special admissions waivers to land athletes and other students with particular talents. The AP spent three months obtaining and reviewing the reports through state public records laws. Ten schools did not respond to the AP's request and 18 other schools, including Notre Dame, Pittsburgh and USC, declined to release their reports. The reports do not identify specific students who benefited from admissions waivers, but they are identified by sport in many cases. The NCAA sets minimum eligibility standards to compete once a student is in college, but leaves admissions decisions to individual schools and does not compare "special admits" across schools. Kevin Lennon, NCAA vice president for academic and membership affairs, noted that NCAA schools face penalties,

including losing scholarships, if athletes' graduation rates are too low or if they fail to show adequate progress toward a degree. "While it's an institution's decision on who they bring in, we're most interested in what they do once they get there," he said. "And if they're not successful, there are consequences." At California, one of the country's most selective public universities, Golden Bear football players were 43 times more likely to gain special admissions than non-athletes from 2002-04. "It doesn't matter to us if that student is a junior Olympian in taekwondo or the best oboe player in the United States or someone who can really run fast and jump high," said Walter Robinson, admissions director at Cal. "We still look at that student with the same consideration: Can that student be successful at Berkeley if admitted?" While schools can tout the high graduation rates of athletes, they are not required to track the academic performance of special admits -- and few do. The AP review also found wide variance in how schools compile admissions data for NCAA review. The NCAA asks schools to provide the annual percentages of special admits for all freshmen

and all freshmen student-athletes on scholarship as well as a breakdown by individual sports. But some schools only supply raw numbers, not percentages. Other schools, such as Florida, say they don't track special admissions outside athletics. And several schools report no special admissions but describe in great detail remedial efforts and other programs that adhere to the NCAA's definition of special admissions. Gerald Gurney, incoming president of the National Association of Academic Advisers for Athletics, favors a return by the NCAA to the minimum test score requirement abandoned several years ago. He said the NCAA's "virtually open admissions standards" threaten academic integrity. "Special admissions, in and of itself, isn't something to be ashamed of. It does add value to a university," said Gurney, senior associate athletic director for academics and student life at Oklahoma. "However, when you have students who need such a great deal of remediation, it jeopardizes the very essence of the university." Six schools besides Texas reported no use of special admissions on campus: Air Force, Connecticut, Kansas State, REPORT: page 66

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PREMIER continued from page 58

starting to push forward more, showing a bit more teeth. Torres squanders a chance outside and to Friedel's left. Villa is a bit on the defensive. Still feels like a sloppy, quirky goal will decide this. 4:07 pm | 61st minute, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas Reina goal-kick bounces off Villa players until it finds Gerrard, who is tripped badly by Cuellar. Free-kick Liverpool from about 30 yards. 4:09 pm | 63rd minute, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas Aquilani takes the kick and sails it over. Chance squandered. 4:11 pm | 65th minute, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas Liverpool seems skilled at bringing the ball forward (naturally), but the attacks break down badly as they near the box. Story of their difficult season, I suppose. 4:13 pm | 67th minute, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas This is a game where fresh subs might tell. Maybe we'll soon see Ngog for Liverpool. 4:14 pm | 68th minute, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas Milner wins a corner and the ensuing kick lands in Reina's hands...but he drops it, only to recover it quickly again. Quirky goal goes wanting for Villa, which has not shown a great deal of recent spark. 4:16 pm | 69th minute, 0-0 | by

Dave Kansas Just like that Villa rises up. A through ball to Agbonlahor, who speeds past Carragher and takes a sharp shot that Reina saves. The ensuing corner glances off Carew and juuuuusssst ekes wide. Maybe the lads are waking up? 4:17 pm | 71st minute, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas Aston Villa sub. Marc Albrighton comes on for Nigel Reo-Coker. 4:19 pm | 72nd minute, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas Play now moving in Villa's favor. Looked like a handball by Liverpool's Agger in the box. But no call. Shortly thereafter Agbonlahor crosses just over Carew's head. The Villains are coming alive now. 4:20 pm | 74th minute, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas Another foray by Milner and Carew is snuffed out by Johnson. Villa must be mindful of Liverpool on the counter even as they press forward. 4:21 pm | 75th minute, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas Feeling like an NBA game where the two sides fence a bit until the closing minutes and then suddenly let loose. 4:22 pm | 76th minute, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas Ryan Babel on for Aquilani as Liverpool tries to rediscover its offensive prowess. 4:26 pm | 78th minute, 0-0 | by

Dave Kansas Liverpool now starting to get the better of it, winning a throw in deep in the Villa end. Steven Sidwell comes on for Villa's Stewart Downing. 4:26 pm | 80th minute, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas Liverpool wins a quick corner and takes it quickly, but Babel misses the cross. Game now happening in front of Friedel. In truth, Liverpool nees this game more than Villa. 4:29 pm | 83rd minute, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas Villa is really on the back foot, but Liverpool can't unlock the door. They are working Torres wider, but he can't find an opening. 4:30 pm | 84th minute, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas Johnson's drive forward ends badly. Goal-kick to Friedel. Wasn't clear where he was going. It's like Liverpool loses track of things as they near the Villa goal. 4:33 pm | 85th minute, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas Glen Johnson goes down after a good sliding tackle on Agbonlahor. Play stopped. Tack on Reina's "shoe" issue early in the half and we could have five minutes stoppage time. Still a long way to go. 4:33 pm | 87th minute, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas Villa sends the ball forward and Agbonlahor receives a Warjock

pass at the edge of the box, but he can't find anything but Reina with his shot. Should've done better. 4:34 pm | 89th minute, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas Corner to Liverpool squandered when Insua sails it wide of goal. 4:36 pm | 90th minute, 0-0 | by Dave Kansas Free kick to Villa at the edge of the box, but Milner can't find anyone with his kick. Ensuing corner cleared by Liverpool. 4:37 pm | 90th plus two, Liverpool 1-0 | by Dave Kansas Goal! Liverpool 1-0. 4:40 pm | 90th plus three, Liverpool 1-0 | by Dave Kansas Cruel, cruel for Aston Villa. Trying to clear the ball, Dunne kicks it off a teammate and the ball ricochets to Torres at the right edge of the box. He has a bit of work to do, but skillfully slots it to Friedel's left for the goal. 4:41 pm | 90th plus five, Liverpool 1-0 | by Dave Kansas Villa pushes forward, but it's not enough. The goal that decides it was indeed quirky. The ball went into the mixer and emerged at the foot of Torres, Liverpool's gifted striker. 4:41 pm | Final, Liverpool 1-0 | by Dave Kansas Game over. 1-0 Liverpool. 5:12 pm | Postgame, Liverpool 1 -0 | by Dave Kansas Liverpool scratched out a crucial

1-0 victory over Aston Villa with a stoppage-time goal from Fernando Torres. The win, which came amidst snow flurries at Villa Park, gives Liverpool hope that it can still climb into a top-four spot despite a brutally difficult season. Liverpool now trails fifth-place Aston Villa in the Premier League standings by two points and fourth-place Tottenham by four points. Both teams had chances, with Liverpool’s Pepe Reina stopping a Stewart Downing strike in the first half and Aston Villa’s Brad Friedel keeping Torres out on more than one occasion. After fighting back-and-forth like two punch-drunk fighters, the game’s lone score came as one might expect: on a quirky series of events. Already into stoppage time, a Villa clearance bounced off two players before landing at the feet of Torres at the right edge of the box. The talented striker moved toward the goal and beat Friedel with a low shot to the far left corner. Villa mustered little in response during the final two minutes and the match was over in cruel fashion for the home side.

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filled with coolers and the player was "caught" sitting down on one. All the coolers were removed, the person said, and the door to the shed was closed with James inside. On Dec. 19, James was taken to an electrical room but the buzz was too loud, so he was taken to a press room where all the furniture was removed and he was told not to sit down, the person said. The person close to the inquiry told the AP that Craig James called to report the allegations on Dec. 19; a university attorney interviewed him and his son Dec. 20; Leach was questioned Dec. 20 or 21; and trainers, student trainers and the doctor who examined Adam James also were interviewed. Jerry Turner, vice chairman of the university system's board of regents, said the investigation is being handled by the school president's office, with the assistance of its general counsel and athletic director Gerald Myers. The NCAA is letting Texas Tech conduct its investigation and has not gotten involved, NCAA spokesman Cameron Schuh said. A Big 12 spokesman did not

immediately return an e-mail seeking comment. Turner declined to comment on whether, if true, the incidents might lead to Leach's departure from Tech. "We haven't gotten to that point, of course," Turner said. "This is an ongoing inquiry, and I certainly do not want to prejudice the results of the inquiry." A blizzard in Lubbock last Wednesday and the Christmas holiday prevented the initial inquiry from being completed before school president Guy Bailey decided to suspend Leach on Monday. Turner said Bailey conferred with him, fellow regent Larry Anders and Myers. "It was more of a decision of the president with a sounding board review of the others," Turner said. He said he did not know "who else needs to be contacted, what other files need to be reviewed" as the inquiry moves forward. "I really don't know what's next on the agenda," he said. In an e-mail written to the school on Dec. 26 that was obtained Tuesday by Schad and ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach, current Tech inside wide

receivers coach Lincoln Riley referred to James as "unusually lazy and entitled" and said he has been worried about James' effect on the rest of the receivers because of "his weak and conceited attitude." In a separate e-mail to the Texas Tech AD, Riley wrote: "Two practices before Adam James claimed he had a concussion, Coach Leach and I were forced to discipline him for poor effort from the previous practice and poor effort during the early drills of that day. This has been a common theme about Adam's work ethic and attitude during his entire career." Texas Tech players, speaking to reporters Tuesday for the first time since Leach was suspended, declined to discuss the incident or James. Cornerback LaRon Moore called Leach "different" but said the coach only wants the best from his players. "He goes about it an unconventional way," Moore said. "But all he wants to do is push us, and we've talked about it with the coaches. That's just his way of doing it. He tries to push us, tries to make us better and tries to make us men and get the best of our ability out of us."

James was with the team in San Antonio as it prepares for Saturday's bowl game. Asked if it was awkward for James to be around the team, McNeill said, "I hope not." Tech is the second Big 12 school to launch an internal investigation into a coach's treatment of his players. On Nov. 16, Kansas investigated Mark Mangino, who was the national coach of the year and got a big raise when he went 12-1 in 2007. Players said he was insensitive, though others defended him. Mangino resigned Dec. 3 after reaching a settlement with the school that was later disclosed as a $3 million buyout. James played behind former Texas Tech wide receiver Eric Morris, who defended Leach on Tuesday and said his former coach would never jeopardize the well-being of his players. Morris, who graduated last year, described the electrical closet inside the stadium as a roomy enough space where the visiting media gathered for interviews after games. Morris said Leach mostly relegated injured players to what the team knew as "Muscle Beach" -- an area beside

the practice field where those not healthy enough to play did strength and conditioning work. Morris said Leach liked to keep injured players close so they could encourage their teammates and not "just be sitting around inside doing nothing." Liggett said Leach's contract calls for him to receive a $800,000 bonus if he is Texas Tech's coach Friday. Turner was uncertain whether the suspension meant Leach would not be eligible for the bonus. Liggett seemed certain. "It's our position that, of course, he's the head coach, and of course, he's owed the money," he said. Joe Schad covers college football for ESPN. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

In '00s, Wings Did Everything Right By Bruce Ciskie (Fanhouse Main)

interesting decade for the NHL. They canceled an entire season, watched Sun Belt teams win the Submitted at 12/30/2009 4:00:00 AM Stanley Cup while others were Filed under: Devils, Penguins, mired in failure, welcomed a and opened shiny new arenas. R e d W i n g s I t ' s b e e n a n bevy of new stars to the league

Teams have alternated between to make an argument against the being dominant and being putrid, Detroit Red Wings. Of course, b u t w i t h a f e w n o t a b l e that doesn't mean you can't try. exceptions. When looking at candidates for NHL team of the decade, it's hard

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Source: Jason Bay, New York Mets agree on multiyear deal By Jerry Crasnick (ESPN.com) Submitted at 12/30/2009 5:41:10 AM

Mets Land Jason Bay Mets Land Jason Bay Free-agent outfielder Jason Bay has reached agreement on a fouryear, guaranteed $66 million contract with the New York Mets, a baseball source confirmed to ESPN.com Tuesday. The agreement will become official once Bay passes a physical exam sometime next week, the source said. The deal includes a vesting option year that could increase Bay's overall payout to slightly more than $80 million over five years. WFAN was the first to report the agreement had been reached. Bay, a three-time All-Star, hit .267 with 36 home runs and 119 RBIs for the Boston Red Sox in 2009. Bay and outfielder Matt Holliday were the most hotly pursued position players on the free-agent market this winter. Exclusive company With the new deal, Jason Bay has the sixth-highest average annual payout among free-agent

left fielders. And at $66 million, he also has the Mets' secondhighest free-agent contract since 1990, surpassed only by Carlos Beltran ($119 million, in 200405). A look at the highest payouts (starting with the first year of the deal): It's believed that Bay's vesting option provision includes readily attainable targets based on plate appearances. Bay has averaged 154 games a season since 2005 with Pittsburgh and the Red Sox, so he should have a good chance of making the option vest if he stays healthy. Mets general manager Omar Minaya, chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon and several other principals in the deal are traveling or in the middle of holiday plans, so Bay's physical exam isn't expected to take place until early next week. The Mets expect Bay to add thump to an offense that ranked last in the major leagues with 95 home runs in 2009. New York's lineup was decimated by injuries to center fielder Carlos Beltran, shortstop Jose Reyes and first baseman Carlos Delgado, and manager Jerry Manuel's team ranked 25th in the big leagues

with 671 runs scored. Bay has been maligned in some quarters for his subpar defense, but the Mets analyzed the metrics and found that he suffered in Boston from the "Fenway Park factor.'' They think his perceived lack of range in left field was accentuated by the minimal area of ground he had to cover in Fenway. The Mets also expect that Bay's ability to pull the ball will help him in pitcher-friendly Citi Field, which is spacious in the gaps but plays fairer to hitters down the lines. At the beginning of the freeagent process, many observers believed that Bay was destined to return to Boston. But after the Red Sox spent $82.5 million on free-agent starter John Lackey and $15.5 million on outfielder Mike Cameron, it became clear that Bay's tenure in Boston had reached an end. "It's definitely going to be tough for all of us," Red Sox infielder Kevin Youkilis said, according to the Boston Globe. "Jason was a close friend. A joy to play with him. Great ballplayer. "But it's a business, things happen. It's one of those business

moves on each side. It just didn't work out right. I wish him the best in New York. Hopefully we get to see him in the World Series." Bay underwent shoulder surgery in 2003 and arthroscopic knee surgery in 2006, and the Red Sox reportedly had enough concerns about his long-term health to hold firm at a four-year contract offer rather than the five-year deal that Bay was seeking. Bay's agent, Joe Urbon, recently spoke to the Red Sox about a possible reunion. But with Cameron, Jacoby Ellsbury and J.D. Drew in the outfield mix, a Red Sox official said it was a "long shot" for Bay to return to Boston. Bay, 31, broke into professional ball as a 22nd-round draft pick with the Montreal Expos in 2000. The Mets acquired him in a trade in March 2002, but sent him to San Diego four months later as part of a five-player deal with the Padres. In his next stop, with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Bay made two All-Star teams and posted backto-back, 30-homer, 100-RBI seasons in 2005 and 2006. The Mets have had a relatively

slow winter, but the Bay signing gives the team the impact bat Minaya had been seeking. New York is now expected to turn its attention to adding a catcher -with Bengie Molina a prime target -- and acquiring an innings -eating starter for the back end of the rotation. Free agents Jon Garland and Doug Davis are among the possibilities. Bay's .676 slugging percentage with runners in scoring position last year ranked second in baseball behind Albert Pujols' .697. Since 2005, Bay is tied for fourth among big league outfielders with 155 home runs, and ranks fifth with 514 RBIs. Bay, a native of Trail, British Columbia, is the first native Canadian to play for the Mets since shortstop Brian Ostrosser, an Ontario product, went hitless in five at-bats in 1973. Jerry Crasnick covers baseball for ESPN.com Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

College Humor writes a complaint to Mario Bros. Plumbing By David Hinkle (Joystiq) Submitted at 12/30/2009 12:45:00 AM

We've all seen Super Mario Bros. parodies before -- some that even make Mario a pretty

sick and deranged dude. Been there, done that. But, what makes this College Humor video so special -- aside from its unusually grody depiction of the brothers We won't spoil it for you, so Mario -- is its surprise ending.

you'll have to click on over if you 00:45:00 EST. Please see our want to check it out. terms for use of feeds. C o l l e g e H u m o r w r i t e s a Read| Permalink| Email this| c o m p l a i n t t o M a r i o B r o s . Comments Plumbing originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 30 Dec 2009

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Mets’ Signing of Bay Evokes Bronx Cheers in Queens (WSJ.com: The Daily Fix)

farm system in the last quarter century. “[David] Wright and [Jose] Reyes represent the only Money’s never an issue when an worthwhile thing the Mets can underperforming big-market call their own,” Yahoo’s Jeff baseball team sees an opportunity Passan writes. “Since 1985, the to spend even more. Take the Mets have signed and developed New York Mets, a team that five players who later wore their s e e m s t o h a v e a l m o s t uniforms in an All-Star game. trademarked the term “throwing Five. Wright, Reyes, Todd good money after bad.” This is a Hundley, Edgardo Alfonzo and team that spent almost $1.1 Bobby Jones. Even Kansas City billion on salaries in the past can say it has passed eight decade yet made the playoffs homegrown All-Stars through its only twice. That’s not a good system.” return on investment. Associated The New York Post’s Joel Press How long before Jason Bay Sherman says the Bay signing agrees to return a portion of his has a lot of downside. While salary in exchange for the Mets Greg Prince, blogging at Faith bringing their gargantuan left- and Fear in Flushing, likes the field wall in closer to home plate, d e a l , h e s a y s t h e M e t s a la Fenway? desperately need upgrades at Injuries played a big part in other positions, too. 2009’s brutal 70-92 record, with Sports Illustrated’s Lee Jenkins eight players starting at least says Bay is a better fit at Citi seven games in left field. The Field than another prized free Mets hope that problem is solved agent, Matt Holliday, would be. with the signing of slugger Jason In Boston, the Herald’s Steve Bay to a four-year contract worth Buckley says Bay’s better option $66 million, pending completion would have been to re-sign with of a physical. the Red Sox and play at hitterFor some pundits, though, friendly Fenway Park.* * * there’s a lot not to like about West Virginia almost fell from general manager Omar Minaya’s college basketball’s unbeaten latest signing. It shows how little ranks Tuesday night, but thanks the Mets have gotten out of their to Da’Sean Butler’s 20-footer Submitted at 12/30/2009 7:57:22 AM

Clay sees problems with the Wildcats’ three-point defense heading into Saturday’s showdown with Louisville. At CBS Sports, Gary Parrish traces the stunning rise of the USC Trojans (8-4) after a slow start.* * * with two seconds left, the The BCS Championship game Mountaineers rallied from a five- on Jan. 7 between Alabama and point deficit in the final minute to Texas can’t come soon enough subdue unranked Marquette, 63- for most fans. Until then, lesser 62. Up next for No. 6 West bowls have the spotlight. On Virginia: Friday’s tussle at No. 4 Tuesday night, John Clay rushed Purdue, also unbeaten. In the for 121 yards and two scores in Wheeling News-Register, Jim No. 24 Wisconsin’s 20-14 Elliott says luck may have played victory over No. 14 Miami in the a role in the Mountaineers’ win Champs Sports Bowl. In the Milwaukee Journal— the Golden Eagles missed a few late free throws — but the Sentinel, Michael Hunt hopes the Badgers soon play in a BCS more talented team prevailed. No. 5 Syracuse also stayed game after a decade in the unbeaten with a 80-73 victory wilderness. over Seton Hall. The Pirates’ In the Miami Herald, Greg Cote three losses have been by seven laments the down ending to what or fewer points to Top 25 teams. was a pretty good season for The Star-Ledger’s Brendan Hurricane football.* * * The much-anticipated fight Prunty laments that this Seton Hall team, possibly on the brink between Floyd Mayweather Jr. of breaking through, will have to and Manny Pacquiao in March in wait even a week for its next Las Vegas remains in limbo, but chance to beat an elite Big East the Nevada Athletic Commission has ordered blood tests from both program, Connecticut. No. 3 Kentucky routed hapless fighters in an effort to save the H a r t f o r d , 1 0 4 - 6 1 , b u t t h e mega-bout. Pacquiao’s reluctance Lexington Herald-Leader’s John to take blood tests has people in

the Mayweather camp wondering whether Pacquiao is using illegal drugs. Yahoo’s Kevin Iole thinks Mayweather adviser Al Haymon is being hypocritical in insisting on Olympics-style drug testing for this fight when another of his fighters, Andre Berto, faces Shane Mosley, who has admitted to using steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs, on Jan. 30.* * * It’s long been argued that professional sports were immune to hardship during a recession. But that wasn’t the case in 2009, when leagues suffered from lower attendance and sponsorships, and trimmed staffs. Even the Los Angeles Lakers, who are generating healthy profits and are worth over $600 million, were in cost-cutting mode, Baxter Holmes writes in the Los Angeles Times. – Tip of the Fix cap to fellow Fixer David Roth. 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.

Blow to Sarkozy as court rejects carbon tax (Financial Times - US homepage) Submitted at 12/30/2009 5:22:30 AM

President Nicolas Sarkozy’s

plans to make France the biggest economy to levy a carbon tax from January 1 were struck down on Tuesday night by the country’s constitutional council,

forcing the government into proposing new measures. The council, which rules on the validity of laws passed by the French parliament, said the tax

on emissions by households and businesses – a flagship measure of the government’s 2010 Budget – violated the principal of equality because of its many

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

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The Count: Golden Age of Punting May Be Short -Lived (WSJ.com: The Daily Fix)

the average has slipped to 44.1 yards per punt, and Lechler is averaging 51.1 yards per punt, The current state of NFL off the record pace. But the punting? It is the best of times, it general point (made earlier in the is the worst of times. Punters are season by Cold, Hard Football booming the ball farther than Facts and ESPN) still stands: ever, and serving a vital role on Punters are better than ever. bad teams. Yet the signature play Two sidebars to the SI article, of the season so far was a coach’s t h o u g h , p o i n t t o a m o r e decision not to punt in what c o m p l i c a t e d p i c t u r e . O n e seemed like an obvious punting introduced a punter rating akin to situation. Other coaches also are the quarterback rating the NFL thinking twice about punting. It uses to rank its passers. “Like the is the age of wisdom, it is the age quarterback rating, this isn’t a of foolishness. Teams are using perfect system — it doesn’t take and avoiding punting with more into account factors such as intelligence, yet too many of outkicking your coverage,” SI them won’t opt to keep the ball wrote. Still, it gives a general until desperation has set in and it picture of the spread of kicking is essentially too late. Associated success in the league. And the P r e s s S h a n e L e c h l e r i s spread is quite narrow. Of the 29 challenging the record for punters who met SI’s criteria of average punt yardage. at least 40 punts, the lowest-rated “Statistics suggest that this is the kicker came in at 25.98, and the golden age of NFL punting,” highest had a rating of 41.24, on Sports Illustrated reported earlier a scale between -68.1 and 100. this month. “During the first 12 By contrast, the difference weeks of the season, the average between the highest-rated passer punt went 44.3 yards, a half yard and the 29th-rated passer is about farther than the record set last three times as great, on an even year. Punters were on pace to tighter scale, from 0 to 158.3. drop 868 balls inside their Much of the spread in passer opponents’ 20-yard lines, 103 rating reflects variation in overall more than the league mark set in team offense, while punting is 2007. And the Raiders’ Shane more an accurate reflection of the Lechler was on course to equal or punter’s skills. Still, with so break the season record of 51.40 many punters producing such yards per punt set 69 years ago similar results, it’s hard for any by Sammy Baugh.” Since then, one punter to get the attention Submitted at 12/29/2009 10:17:13 AM

that Drew Brees or Brett Favre does. The other SI sidebar noted that teams are attempting more fourth -down conversions than ever before since the NFL began tracking the stat in 1991, most notably Bill Belichick’s decision to go for it on fourth down-andtwo with a six point lead late in the fourth quarter against the Indianapolis Colts. This merely reflects a slow assimilation of a growing body of research showing that teams punt too often. SI referred to one study that “noted 1,068 instances between 1998 and 2000 in which NFL teams facing fourth down had a better chance of making a first down than they did of

turning the ball over; still, 959 times the team punted.” That’s not quite right. The study found that in those instances, teams would have a higher probability of winning if they went for it than if they kicked, and it covered field goals as well as punts. But the general point stands: Teams punt too much. Brian Burke, who has written about this extensively on his blog Advanced NFL Stats, did find that teams are going for it more often. “The revolution is here — it’s just moving in slow motion,” he wrote. As a sign of how slow, he found that teams only eschew the kick regularly when their chance of winning is 1% or below. “That is way, way too late,” he wrote. He told me that of 2,179 punts through the first 15 weeks of the season, 892, or 41%, shouldn’t have happened because teams would have helped their win probability more by going for it. NFL coaches and general managers inevitably will start to take heed of such analyses. Sure, some of them may want to adjust their win probability calculations to account for the high quality of their punting game and low quality of their offense, but it appears likely that the golden age of punting will be short-lived.

Here are your Darwinia+ Achievements By David Hinkle (Joystiq) Submitted at 12/30/2009 1:45:00 AM

Now that Darwinia+ has passed Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade certification process, you likely have your passport ready for the upcoming trip to Darwinia's action RTS battlefields. According to Xbox 360 Achievements, lending a helping hand to your stick brethren in need won't just net you the warm fuzzies, but will also reward you with some Gamerscore. There's 200 to be had in total, rewarding players for things like saving Darwinians, crushing invading ant hordes and winning matches on every map in the game. It's a nice, varied list that doesn't look like it encourages too much grinding -- well, except for the Stick Man Slaughter Achievement, which requires you to kill 65,536 enemies. Here are your Darwinia+ Achievements originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 30 Dec 2009 01:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments

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REPORT: continued from page 60

Purdue, Tennessee and Virginia. The AP review also identified eight schools where athletes were no more likely than other students to get a break with special admissions: Arizona State, Arkansas State, Boise State, Iowa, Kent State, Mississippi State, New Mexico and West Virginia. At South Carolina, AllAmerican linebacker Eric Norwood recently graduated early with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice. Norwood was twice denied admission to South Carolina before being accepted as a

special admit. The school softened special admission standards in 2007 after coach Steve Spurrier threatened to quit when two recruits who met NCAA eligibility requirements were turned down. "When I got here I applied myself," Norwood said. "I had great support from the academic staff, great support from the football staff. And my teammates, they held me accountable." South Carolina athletic director Eric Hyman dismissed critics who call special admissions simply a way to land athletes.

"It's also a way to get better artists, better musicians," he said. "It's not all athletes. If you graduate, if your people are successful, there's going to be more flexibility. And that's what we've done." Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

In Vegas, Hockey Burns Midnight Lamp By A.J. Perez (Fanhouse Main) Submitted at 12/30/2009 4:00:00 AM

Filed under: Minor League Hockey LAS VEGAS -- The clock hadn't even hit midnight when Idaho Steelheads winger Adam Huxley and Las Vegas Wranglers forward Kyle Hagel dropped the gloves. Two seconds in, the seventh late -night ECHL game the Wranglers have hosted at the Orleans Arena was already a crowd-pleaser, even if a large portion was still waiting to purchase tickets. "At this time of night, there isn't a lot to do other than gamble," By Clay Travis (Fanhouse feel even sicker. You could have s a i d D e r i c V o e l k e r , v i c e Main) thrown away all the investment president of operations for the b o o k s , t u r n e d o f f C N B C , Wranglers. Submitted at 12/30/2009 12:00:00 AM eschewed buying stocks on The announced attendance of Filed under: Alabama, Florida, margin never even walked into a 4,603 won't be the largest crowd LSU, Tennessee, SEC, Bowl bank to take out a mortgage loan of the season for the Wranglers, Games Chances are, if you're or set up a home equity line. who see a dip in corporate and anything like the rest of us, your And you could have still group sales for the midnight investments haven't done much returned 32 times your initial games. That's not to say some in the BCS era. At best, your down the housing market. investment over the past 11 investment returns have been But odds are, like us, you didn't. years. middling. Never has a zero And right now, as the decade Sound too good to be true, like percent return looked so good. comes to a close, you're staring at I'm pitching you a pyramid But maybe that's not you, maybe your 401k or your kid's college scheme built on a mountain of you're an investing genius. fund or your depleted stash of air? Maybe you poured money into beer money and thinking to All you needed to do was bet on technology stocks during the yourself, "How could I have been the SEC to win the five title NASDAQ's rise and sold out at so stupid?" games the league has been the perfect time, or maybe you Don't worry, I've got the cure for featured in during the BCS era. were the only real estate guru out what ails you. Or, more likely, there who cashed out before the something that will make you sub-prime implosion brought

In Title Game, SEC Is Money

groups didn't make it out, including the casts of some Cirque du Soliel shows and employees from a nearby adult novelty store. Since it was about 1 a.m. in Sin City when the groups' attendance was broadcast via the scoreboard and by the team's P.A. announcer, you can guess which got the largest ovation.

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Ochocinco: Revis Couldn't Cover Me in a Phone Booth By Dan Graziano (Fanhouse Main) Submitted at 12/30/2009 3:40:00 AM

Filed under: Bengals, Jets FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- In what may have been the greatest midweek opposing player conference call in NFL history, Bengals receiver Chad Ochocinco on Wednesday dazzled the New York Jets media with 20 minutes of playoffcaliber trash talk. Known for elaborate post-touchdown celebrations, Ochocinco says he'll don a Bengals fire helmet, climb on the goal post and shush the home crowd ala "Fireman Ed" if he scores Sunday night against the Jets. He also said his one-on-one matchup with Pro Bowl cornerback Darrelle Revis is going to be "better than Pacquiao-Mayweather," and indicated somewhat strongly that he thinks he can win it.

"Darrelle Revis couldn't cover me in a brown paper bag on the corner of a Manhattan street in a telephone booth," Ochocinco said. " And I love him. I call him 'Master-Lock.' Master-Lock Revis has locked up a lot of great receivers this year. But not this week."

Naughty Dog's Evan Wells talks writing, pacing of Uncharted 2 By Richard Mitchell (Joystiq)

beginning of production, Wells notes that having a fully fleshed out script can cause trouble if Truth be told, there's so much changes have to be made in the info contained in G4's massive middle of development. interview with Naughty Dog co- Wells also discusses the pacing president Evan Wells that we of the game, which he likens to couldn't possibly encapsulate it pulp novels and movies like all in one headline. Naturally, it Indiana Jones. He admits that all focuses on Uncharted 2, Uncharted 2's treasure hunting which has been raking in awards mechanic can actually slow the left and right as 2009 comes to a pacing. Should Naughty Dog close. Among other things, Wells work on another Uncharted-- and discusses the script, which the we get the feeling they just might team actually wrote as the game -- Wells says the treasure hunting was being developed. While could be improved, perhaps by there was a rough outline at the making more hidden treasures Submitted at 12/29/2009 11:45:00 PM

available only after the first playthrough. Other topics covered include the complexity of the train level, sales numbers and how far Naughty Dog thinks it can push the PS3 hardware. Uncharted fans should definitely give it a read. Naughty Dog's Evan Wells talks writing, pacing of Uncharted 2 originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 29 Dec 2009 23:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments

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Modern Warfare 2 reigns over UK charts for seventh week Study: Playing puzzle games will make you better at puzzle solving By Randy Nelson (Joystiq)

performed more accurately on two spatial relations tests after spending time playing a puzzle [ flickr: Stephen Hampshire] g a m e , b u t w e r e f a s t e r a t Wheaton College psychology completing the tests after sitting professor Rolf Nelson has come down with an action game. to a startling conclusion based on In one test, participants were the outcome of a recently tasked with clicking on a spot conducted study: Playing games where a target had briefly flashed makes people better at playing ... on-screen; the second required g a m e s . A c c o r d i n g t o them to choose from four shapes GamePolitics, the study results -- t h e o n e t h a t m o s t c l o s e l y p u b l i s h e d i n t h e j o u r n a l matched a target shape -- so, Perception(subscription required) essentially, they were playing -- showed that its 20 participants puzzle games after playing ... Submitted at 12/30/2009 3:45:00 AM

puzzle games. We're puzzled by the fact that Professor Nelson hadn't himself realized much sooner that, hey, this Professor Layton game tape is making me better at these here tests. [Via GamePolitics] Study: Playing puzzle games will make you better at puzzle solving originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 30 Dec 2009 03:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments

By Alexander Sliwinski (Joystiq) Submitted at 12/30/2009 12:00:00 PM

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 may have only sold 2,000 more units than FIFA 10 during the week ending December 26 in the UK, but it was enough for Infinity Ward's unstoppable shooter to hold the top spot for a seventh week. Meanwhile, with no high-profile releases following the solstice, the rest of the chart appears to be a dance of all the other titles moving up and down a couple notches. Assassin's Creed 2 climbs back up two spots to third, with the next four spots occupied by Wii titles. Wii Sports Resort, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter

Games, Wii Fit Plus and New Super Mario Bros Wii hold spots four through seven, respectively. The only real mover is James Cameron's Avatar, which used those long blue legs to reach eighth place. Gallery: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (11/10/09) Source-Call of Duty is in 7th heaven [Chart Track] Source-- All formats chart [Chart Track] Modern Warfare 2 reigns over UK charts for seventh week originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 30 Dec 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Comments

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2009's Most Memorable Skin -Baring Looks

Rumor: Picross 3D in Europe this February By JC Fletcher (Joystiq)

based on clues about how many in each row or column should be numbered. But Picross 3D starts Picross 3D for DS was one of with cubes instead of squares, the titles announced by Nintendo with each mark chipping away at at E3, but not dated or mentioned the cube to reveal a voxel-based again, like Line Attack Heroes, 3D object. Monado: The End of the World, There is no release date, and, until recently, WarioWare rumored or otherwise, for North DIY. According to posts on America, though the game was C u b e d 3 a n d N e o G A F , t h e announced for release here. puzzler will be out on February 5 Gallery: Picross 3D (DS) -- in Europe. Though Nintendo Rumor: Picross 3D in Europe UK still lists the date as "TBA", this February originally appeared Cubed3 reports that Nintendo has on Joystiq on Wed, 30 Dec 2009 confirmed the February 5 date. 10:00:00 EST. Please see our Picross 3D, developed by HAL terms for use of feeds. Laboratory, is based on the Read| Permalink| Email this| familiar Picross puzzle, in which Comments players make marks in squares Submitted at 12/30/2009 10:00:00 AM

Today only: Castle Crashers for $7 on XBLM By Richard Mitchell (Joystiq)

this game. They like it so much that they build costumes of their favorite characters. With only two days of daily If you don't have it yet, you need holiday deals left, it looks like that kind of joy in your life. Microsoft decided to make Shortcut: Add Castle Crashers to t o d a y ' s a d o o z y . L i k e t h e your 360 download queue[Via headline says, today's deal is Xbox.com] Castle Crashers for a mere 560. Today only: Castle Crashers for That's sevenearth dollars and, $7 on XBLM originally appeared more importantly, a substantial on Joystiq on Wed, 30 Dec 2009 savings over the usual 1200($15) 11:00:00 EST. Please see our p r i c e t a g . I f y o u h a v e n ' t terms for use of feeds. experienced the co-op glory, now Permalink| Email this| is the time. Trust us, people like C o m m e n t s Submitted at 12/30/2009 11:00:00 AM

By ELLE.com (ELLE News Blog) Submitted at 12/30/2009 7:30:00 AM

2009 was the year of attentionseeking attire. Leading the pack, of course, was Lady Gaga. The queen of no-pants shocked and charmed the masses over the past 12 months with her outrageous outfits. But, Lady Gaga wasn't the only sexed-up starlet of '09. Angelina, Blake, and Kate proved, in a less in-your-face way, that a slit here and a plunge there can be plenty alluring. Click here to vote for your favorites. â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Violet Moon Gayn or Photos: Blake Lively and Angelina Jolie: Getty Images; Kate Hudson: Retna Follow ELLE on Twitter. Become our Facebook fan!

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NY's Tavern on the Green restaurant bites the dust (AP) (Yahoo! News: U.S. News)

entered for her first time in late December. "It reminds me of a restaurant in Warsawâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; the NEW YORK â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Tavern on the grandeur and the colors." Green, once America's highest- She came for lunch a few days grossing restaurant, is singing its after Christmas, whose green and culinary swan song. white colors fill the Tavern's year The former sheepfold at the edge -round wonderland of lights, of Central Park, now ringed by flowers and ornamental curved twinkling lights and fake topiary bull's-eye mirrors. animals, is preparing for New Hanging over the main Crystal Year's Eve, when it will serve its Room, an all-glass dining area, is last meal. Just three years ago, it a century-old chandelier made of was plating more than 700,000 green glass, said to have been meals annually, bringing in more owned by an Indian maharajah. than $38 million. Two elk decked with red and But that astronomical sum wasn't green ornaments stand at the enough to keep the landmark entrance, and outside is a huge restaurant out of bankruptcy King Kong topiary. court. Its $8 million debt is to be Former owner Warner LeRoy, covered at an auction of Baccarat befitting his heritage as son of a and Waterford chandeliers, producer of "The Wizard of Oz," Tiffany stained glass, a mural searched the globe for the depicting Central Park and other whimsical goods after he took over-the-top decor that has over the Tavern's lease in 1973. bewitched visitors for decades. He died in 2001, and his wife, Even the restaurant's name is up K a y L e R o y , a n d d a u g h t e r for grabs. At stake is whether Jennifer LeRoy are now the another restaurateur taking over owners. the 27,000 square feet of space, As the end of the family's owned by the city, can reopen as operating license approached, the Tavern on the Green. city sought competing bids. For 75 years, since it first The LeRoys lost to Dean Poll, o p e n e d a m i d t h e G r e a t who operates the stylish Loeb Depression, the Tavern has Boathouse restaurant overlooking attracted clients from around the the Central Park lake and offered world. to invest $25 million on Tavern "This reminds me so much of renovations. The city awarded Poland!" exclaimed Vermont him a 20-year license in August, resident Meg Kearton as she citing his significant capital Submitted at 12/30/2009 9:19:19 AM

investment and vision; the new Tavern will incorporate green building technology while a conservatory-style dining space will complement the original Victorian architecture. Poll also plans an outdoor cafe, bicycle racks and new public restrooms. The LeRoys, employing more than 400 unionized workers with full benefits, couldn't match that. As the recession hit, they accrued more than 450 debtors. A spokeswoman for the company running the Tavern on the Green auction said the LeRoys couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday. The decisive moment in the intellectual-property dispute comes in January. That's when a Manhattan federal judge will either side with the city and rule that the moneymaking name Tavern on the Green, valued at about $19 million, belongs to whomever operates the space or say the LeRoys own it. If the city loses, Poll will use the name Tavern in the Park, creating a new menu of American cuisine with fresh seasonal ingredients and reopening by March, said his attorney, Barry LePatner. "We're going to bring the park into the restaurant," said LePatner, by eliminating the thick shrubbery around the premises to reveal Sheep

Meadow, where the animals grazed until 1934, housed in the 19th century Victorian Gothic shed that is part of the restaurant. Everything that fills the current restaurant will be for sale starting Jan. 13, at a Guernsey's auction. Some of the items were once a backdrop for private milestone events as well as public celebrations from film productions and political gatherings to the special carbloading dinner on the eve of the New York Marathon. Recently, as many as 1,500 meals could be served a day, with dinner entrees costing $26 to $42 on a menu heavy with meat and potato dishes, plus standard seafood and a few forays into foreign fare such as risotto. Not everyone drips with praise for this "tourist trap," as one blogger on the Web site Yelp called it. A fellow Yelp blogger didn't mince words: "Besides my risotto being just eh, and besides finding a small bug on my plate, I had a fiasco getting my jacket from the coat check." That didn't deter a smiling Diane Allen-Smith from coming for a lunch with her husband in December, three years after their Tavern wedding, on a visit from Boca Raton, Fla. "Our wedding food was wonderful," she said. "And we

didn't have to do anything for the rest." A New York magazine reviewer once asked, "So what if the Eisenhower-era menu is strictly an afterthought?" But the things that annoy some about Tavern on the Green are exactly what made it irresistible to fans, including three generations of a family from New York's northern suburbs. "My parents brought us here," said Lisa Holz, who brought along her daughters, 4-year-old Kayla and 7-year-old Erika, and her husband and parents. It would be her last time at the old Tavern on the Green, and she got sentimental. "When I was little," she said. "I remember getting tears in my eyes when I looked at all the lights and colors." ____ On the Net: Tavern on the Green: http://www.tavernonthegreen.co m (This version CORRECTS SUBS 27th graf to correct name to Erika, sted Lisa. AP Video. Moving on general news and financial services.) Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

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Graceland Too attracts offbeat tourism in Miss. (AP) (Yahoo! News: U.S. News)

between Elvis Presley's birthplace in Tupelo, Miss., and the King's final home and resting HOLLY SPRINGS, Miss. – Paul place, the unaffiliated Graceland M a c L e o d i s a p e r p e t u a l l y mansion in Memphis, Tenn. caffeinated Elvis fanatic who's Until Graceland Too became a taking care of business 24-7-365 magnet for offbeat tourism, Holly at the antebellum home he calls Springs was best known for its "Graceland Too." traditional — and tastefully kept Pound on the door at any hour — white-columned antebellum — seriously, it's OK to arrive at 4 homes. in the morning — and the 67- "He's our number one attraction," year-old former auto worker will says Suzann Williams, assistant e s c o r t y o u t h r o u g h h i s director of the local tourism discombobulating, floor-to- bureau. ceiling collection of photos, She says that people call daily records, figurines, cardboard wanting information about cutouts, candy wrappers, clocks Graceland Too, and that the and other random kitsch featuring Japanese and the British are the the King of Rock 'n' Roll. largest groups of overseas "I'd give my life right now if I visitors. MacLeod doesn't have a could bring this guy back," telephone, but the tourism folks MacLeod says in his auctioneer's take him notes to let him know staccato, his gray hair slicked visitors are coming. back in a '50s style. MacLeod is so obsessed that 36 MacLeod says he rarely leaves years ago, he named his only son Graceland Too, sleeps only after the man he considers the sporadically and is fueled by 24 world's greatest entertainer and cans of Coca-Cola a day — a humanitarian. claim at least partially verified by "My son was born Elvis Aron the aluminum pull-top tabs he Presley, with one A for Aron," he collects in sandwich bags and the says, noting the spelling Presley stacks of flattened red cardboard used for years. "I didn't put the boxes on the back porch. other A to his name until Vernon Graceland Too is in Holly Presley put it on his son's grave." Springs, a northern Mississippi Floors creak beneath visitors' town of 8,000. It's a convenient feet as they walk through the 157 s t o p f o r f a n s o n a n E l v i s -year-old home warmed by space pilgrimage, sitting about halfway heaters that sit perilously close to Submitted at 12/30/2009 4:01:42 AM

raggedy shag carpet and stacks of papers and magazines. For $5, visitors get to experience sensory overload, harshly lit by unshaded bulbs. Doorways are decorated with several Elvis-patterned curtains in '70s-era hues of turquoise and lime. There are photocopies of a newspaper with MacLeod's alltime favorite headline: "Elvis Presley Excites Girls, Scares Critics." A poster-sized display in the entryway declares — sans punctuation — "The Universes Galaxys Planets Worlds Ultimate Elvis Fans." "My ex-wife told me, 'Make up your mind. Either me or the Elvis collection.' So that put an end to that," MacLeod says with a chuckle. MacLeod says he has owned his home since the mid-1970s, and that he's had 368,000 visitors since he started opening it to strangers since the late 1980s or early 1990s. Heaven help the fact-checker who'd have to verify the statistics he tosses out during his tours, which typically last an hour and a half. Fans say the random, nonstop flow of information is part of the campy appeal. Garreth Blackwell, a 27-year-old journalism teacher at the nearby

University of Mississippi, said he has been to Graceland Too a halfdozen times and recently took his wife and three friends for a nighttime tour. "It's kind of hard to talk about this guy, because you come enough you hear the same things over and over again," Blackwell says. "It kind of puts that in your mind, 'Well, maybe this is all true.' You don't ever know. But it doesn't matter because it's a good time." MacLeod says that he became an Elvis fan when he was 13, and that he attended 120 Elvis concerts. In Graceland Too, MacLeod claims to have 35,000 records and 25,000 CDs. He says he has 185,000 square inches of carpet that once was in Graceland. He constantly monitors radio and TV broadcasts and records any mention of his idol, claiming to have 31,000 videotapes and 43,000 audio recordings. Then there's the scrapbook filled with teensy slivers of paper — 1 million mentions, he says, of the name Elvis Presley. "There's my burial suit up here to come back and haunt my exwife," MacLeod says, pointing to a gold number in one of the front rooms. Robert Lopez of Los Angeles, who has performed 21 years as

El Vez, the Mexican Elvis, says he has toured Graceland Too at least a dozen times and is attracted to its folk-art oddness. He once donated one of his stage outfits to MacLeod's collection — a maroon crushed-velvet jumpsuit with a cape featuring a sequined Virgin of Guadalupe. He says Elvis MacLeod is a walking encyclopedia about Elvis Presley who helped his father give tours for several years, but was a calmer presence: "The son would translate in a slower monotone: 'What my father said was ...,'" Lopez recalls. The younger MacLeod moved to New York in the 1990s, and a phone listing for him could not be found. Lopez also cautions that Graceland Too "might be a slight warning about what too much love can do." The ceiling of the TV room is covered with baseball card-size Elvis pictures and visitor comments printed on fluorescent pink, blue and yellow paper. Wrote one man from Pensacola, Fla.: "This Elvis shrine is as close to Heaven as an Elvis fan can get. This is the ULTIMATE." Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

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US/UK 'special relationship' was under strain (BBC News | Americas | World Edition) Submitted at 12/30/2009 1:09:36 AM

Newly-released documents have revealed the UK's "special relationship" with the US was under strain at the height of the Northern Ireland Troubles. The National Archives files show the murder of Lord Mountbatten by the IRA in 1979 did not prompt the response from the US that the UK had hoped for. While president Jimmy Carter expressed his "profound sadness" at the death, he made no reference to terrorism. Downing St privately said his failure to condemn the IRA was a "deficiency". The murder of Lord Mountbatten by the IRA on 27 August 1979 sparked shock and anger around the world. The Queen's cousin and former governor of India was killed in a bomb blast on his boat off County Sligo. One of Lord Mountbatten's twin grandsons and a 15-year-old local boy also died in the explosion. President Carter wrote to then prime minister Margaret Thatcher expressing his "profound sadness" at the "tragic

death" of the 79-year-old earl. But an internal Foreign Office letter shows officials were thrown into a quandary. "President Carter's message is notable for making no reference to the circumstances of Lord Mountbatten's death," said a Foreign Office official. "There's no mention of murder or terrorism, no condemnation of those who indulge in violence." The US State Department's initial response to the murder was "similarly deficient", the letter says, but the department later issued a second statement "condemning the organisations which indulge in violence and asking Americans not to support them". A letter was also sent from Mrs Thatcher's office to the Foreign Office, noting: "Like you we have been struck by the lack of reference in the message to the circumstances of Lord Mountbatten's death: no mention of murder or terrorism, no condemnation." The office suggests drawing attention to the second State Department remarks in the reply to President Carter, adding: "This might serve to show that we have noted the deficiency in the president's form of words." IRA support

The Mountbatten incident followed an already tense few weeks in Anglo-American relations. Documents show that in July 1979, a row broke out over the provision of weapons to Northern Ireland's police force, the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC). The US government refused to approve a request from Britain for new Ruger guns for RUC officers - prompting consternation across the Atlantic. British politicians feared there would be serious repercussions, given that pro-IRA IrishAmerican groups were supplying paramilitaries with weapons and money. Foreign Secretary Lord Carrington sent a telegram to the then Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, asking: "I wonder whether you have given full weight to the consequences of such a decision becoming public knowledge. "It would certainly be seen as a sharp shift in US policy, and could only greatly encourage the Provisional IRA. "I must leave you in no doubt of the appalling effect I believe such a decision would have on British public opinion and of the consequential damage to AngloAmerican relations."

'Black population' The documents show Mrs Thatcher was also becoming angry at what she saw as interference by the US. In 1979, Governor Hugh Carey, a prominent Irish-American, invited Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Humphrey Atkins, and the Irish foreign minister to New York to discuss the Troubles - much to the PM's annoyance. Notes show Mrs Thatcher insisted that "Northern Ireland was part of the United Kingdom and she herself would not think of discussing with President Carter, for example, US policy towards their black population". When Mr Atkins tried to argue that the governor could be a key ally in trying to achieve peace, documents show the PM was unmoved. "She was not in the habit of discussing the internal problems of the US with the Americans and they should not attempt to do so with us," minutes state. "The Americans must be made to realise that for so long as they continued to finance terrorism, they would be responsible for the deaths of US citizens as well as others. "Governor Carey had already got away with a great deal so far as

UK public opinion was concerned. The Americans must be brought to face the consequences of their actions." 'Handled the gun' The row over the RUC's weapons was still raging in December that year and was the subject of a discussion at the White House between Mrs Thatcher and President Carter. Records of the conversation show that the PM insisted "the RUC was not a sectarian force" and it already had 3,000 of the guns in question, so it "seemed very strange" to deprive those yet to get them "of the right to defend themselves effectively". The file notes that she told the president: "She herself had handled both the gun which the RUC at present used and that which was on order. There was no doubt that the American Ruger was much better." President Carter said he himself wanted to approve the supplies, but did not believe a sufficient number of Congressmen agreed, given the strength of the IrishAmerican lobby. Print Sponsor Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

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US 'aware of Nigerian attacker' (BBC News | Americas | World Edition) Submitted at 12/30/2009 8:37:34 AM

The US was aware that "a Nigerian" in Yemen was being prepared for a terrorist attack weeks before an attempted bombing on a US plane. ABC News and the New York Times say there was intelligence to this effect, but its source is unclear. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab flew from Lagos to Amsterdam before changing planes for a flight to Detroit on which he allegedly tried to detonate a bomb. The Netherlands is to introduce body scanners on US flights within weeks. Dutch Interior Minister Guusje Ter Horst said Mr Abdulmutallab did not raise any concerns as he passed through Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport to board the flight. She said the airport would be able to use body scanners on all flights to the US from the airport in three weeks. Nigerian authorities also said they would start using the machines next year. Obama denounces lapses US President Barack Obama has said security failures were unacceptable. He has said a systemic failure allowed Mr Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian, to fly to the US on 25 December despite family

members warning officials in November that he had extremist views. The source of the intelligence about "a Nigerian" in Yemen was reported as coming from the Yemeni government or from US intercept intelligence, which can refer to intercepted e-mail and phone calls. Mr Obama said he wanted to know why a warning weeks ago from Mr Abdulmutallab's father did not lead to the accused being placed on a no-fly list. "We need to learn from this episode and act quickly to fix flaws in the system," Mr Obama said. "When our government has information on a known extremist and that information is not shared and acted upon as it should have been, so that this extremist boards a plane with dangerous explosives that could have cost nearly 300 lives, a systemic failure has occurred." Some passengers and crew tackled Mr Abdulmutallab in his seat about 20 minutes before landing in Detroit as he allegedly tried to detonate explosives in his underwear. Initial investigations found he had used the explosive PETN and a syringe filled with liquid. The Dutch interior minister described the bomb as professionally made but executed in an "amateurish" way. Mr Abdulmutallab has reportedly told investigators that

he trained in Yemen with alQaeda. He was living in Yemen from August to early December, the foreign ministry said, according to an earlier report from the official Saba news agency. He had a visa to study Arabic at an institute in the capital, Sanaa. CIA spokesman George Little earlier said the agency had become aware of Mr Abdulmutallab in November when his father, who had lost contact with him, visited the US embassy to seek help in finding him. He said the agency had ensured the Nigerian's name was added to the government's terrorist database, and was forwarded to the National Counterterrorism Center. Nigerian airports 'safe' Meanwhile, Nigeria has rejected suggestions that its airport security was lax in allowing Mr Abdulmutallab to begin his journey from Lagos. Information Minister Dora Akunyili told the BBC: "We are not disorganised and our airports are very safe." Ms Akunyili said CCTV footage from Lagos airport showed Mr Abdulmutallab from check-in through to boarding the plane. Lagos airport security has been tightened since the incident. Civil Aviation Authority head Harold Demuren said the Nigerian airports authority had begun the process of acquiring

full body scanners and would start using them at all international airports. It also emerged on Wednesday that a Somali man had tried to board a commercial flight from the Somali capital, Mogadishu, in November, carrying powdered chemicals, liquid and a syringe materials that resembled those used by Mr Abdulmutallab. The plane was due to fly to the northern Somali city of Hargeisa, then to Djibouti and Dubai. The African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia confirmed that the man was arrested before boarding the 13 November flight. He is in custody in Mogadishu. US officials have learned about the Somali case and are investigating any possible links with the attempted attack in Detroit, the Associated Press news agency reported. Somalia's UN-backed government is fighting an Islamist insurgency and only controls a small part of Mogadishu, including the area around the airport. There are daily flights to neighbouring countries such as Djibouti and Kenya. Print Sponsor Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Search Warrants Sealed in Susan Powell Case (FOXNews.com) Submitted at 12/30/2009 3:16:49 AM

SALT LAKE CITY Search warrants in the case of a 28-yearold Utah woman missing for three weeks have been sealed. Susan Powell was last seen on Dec. 7, when husband Josh Powell says he left their suburban home in West Valley City about 12:30 a.m. to take their two boys camping in freezing conditions. She was reported missing the same day when she failed to show up for her stockbroker job and her kids weren't dropped off at day care. Josh Powell returned later that evening to find his wife missing. He has been named a person of interest in the case, but not a suspect. Police have searched the Powell home and van. The 3rd District Court clerk's office said Monday that the search warrants have been sealed by a judge. Click here for more on this story from Fox13now.com. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

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Docs in Fatal Sweat Lodge Case Reveal Past Problems (FOXNews.com)

hotter than in years past, but Ray repeatedly told participants, "You are not going to die. You might PRESCOTT, Ariz. Documents think you are, but you're not released in the investigation of a going to die." fatal sweat lodge ceremony show Mercer's wife, Debra, told that people lost consciousness investigators that one man and others suffered broken bones emerged from the sweat lodge at past events led by self-help halfway through the October guru James Arthur Ray, but Ray ceremony believing he was largely ignored the medical having a heart attack and would problems that arose. die. She said that instead of Three people died after an Oct. 8 summoning medical aid, Ray sweat lodge ceremony that was said "It's a good day to die," the highlight of Ray's five-day according to a search warrant "Spiritual Warrior" event at a affidavit. retreat he rented near Sedona. When Ray was advised that two The Yavapai County sheriff's participants were unconscious office has focused a homicide near the end of the two-hour investigation on Ray, who has ceremony, Debra Mercer said made millions of dollars by Ray did not appear overly convincing people his words will concerned and said they would lead them to spiritual and be OK until the end. financial wealth. A message left Monday at a In documents released Monday, phone listing for the Mercers was a man Ray hired to build the not immediately returned. sweat lodge told investigators No charges have been filed. The that he was hesitant to assist with investigation, including hundreds the ceremony for a third year of interviews, is expected to be because participants previously turned over to prosecutors next had emerged in medical distress, month. Sheriff's officials said and emergency help wasn't they would have no further summoned. Theodore Mercer comment until then. said the latest ceremony was Ray has hired his own Submitted at 12/30/2009 3:12:47 AM

investigative team to determine what went wrong. Brad Brian, an attorney for Ray, said in a statement Monday that Ray's representatives have been working with Arizona authorities to determine the facts, and he urged people not to jump to conclusions. Brian said he believes the investigation will show "that the Sedona tragedy was a terrible accident that no one, including James Ray, could have seen coming." Authorities and participants have said no one was forced to remain in the sweat lodge, but they were highly encouraged to stay inside. Sheriff's officials said they found nothing to explain how the three people — Kirby Brown, 38, of Westtown, N.Y.; James Shore, 40, of Milwaukee; and Liz Neuman, 49, of Prior Lake, Minn. — died other than the extreme heat inside the pitchblack sweat lodge — a 415square-foot makeshift sauna covered with tarps and blankets and heated with hot rocks. Authorities have interviewed most of the more than 50 people who attended the event and

detailed about a dozen of the interviews in documents released Monday after a judge ruled last week that they be made public. Some of the people told investigators that Ray responded to cries for help from a man who was burned and warned other participants not to leave the sweat lodge during eight 15minute rounds so they wouldn't also be scorched by the hot rocks in the center. Others who were interviewed by investigators described suffering broken bones at other Ray-led events after being instructed to break bricks with their hands. Others said they vomited and slipped into altered states of consciousness. Mickey Reynolds, who attended Ray's 2005 "Spiritual Warrior" event said it was implied the sweat lodge was safe since Ray had done the ceremonies before. Reynolds told investigators there was no discussion of safety procedures or a plan if something went wrong. The owner of the Sedona retreat, Amayra Hamilton, said she told Ray in 2005 that he would have to change his ceremonies after a

man became severely ill and she saw improvements the following year. Richard Wright said he took part in the latest sweat lodge as a test of courage, enduring seven of eight 15-minute rounds. The Fort Lauderdale, Fla., resident told The Associated Press participants never were asked to provide emergency contacts or answer questions about their health, and they never were given a clear picture of the effects of a sweat lodge. Instead, they took Ray's word that vomiting and passing out were normal, he said. "We all chose what we did," Wright said. "But again, if you make a choice with only having half the story, have you really made a choice?" Click here for more from MyFoxPhoenix.com. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Maryland Sex Offender Denies Killing Kidnapped Girl (FOXNews.com) Submitted at 12/30/2009 6:59:40 AM

SALISBURY, Md. An attorney for a man charged in the disappearance of an 11-year-old Maryland girl says his client

denies harming the child. Authorities say Sarah Haley Foxwell was abducted from her home last week. Her body was found in the woods on Christmas Day after a search that involved thousands of volunteers.

Registered sex offender Thomas Leggs Jr. was charged with kidnapping and burglary a day after the child was reported missing. His public defender says Leggs "has denied and continues to

deny any involvement in this crime." The 30-year-old is being held without bond. Police say he is being separated from other inmates. SLIDESHOW: Police Search for

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