Liberty Newsprint Nov-17-09 by Liberty Newspost

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Palin says not focused on 2012 By JoAnne Allen (Front Row Washington) Submitted at 11/16/2009 7:28:51 PM

The 2012 presidential campaign is not on her radar screen, says 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. But she didn’t exactly shut the door on the the possibility of making a run for the White House during her first interview to promote her book, “Going Rogue: An American Life.” Palin told TV talk show host Oprah Winfrey that right now it’s all about the 2010 elections. “I’m concentrating on 2010 and making sure that we have issues to tackle,” Palin said in the interview taped last week and broadcast Monday. “I don’t know what I’m going to be doing in 2012. (Running for president is) not on my radar screen right now.” The former Alaska governor keeps the theme going in an interview with ABC’s Barbara Walters that begins airing Tuesday ( ABC excerpts

released on Monday). Asked whether she wants to be president: “That certainly isn’t on my radar screen right now,” Palin tells Walters. “[But] when you consider some of the ordinary turning into extraordinary events that have happened in my life, I am not one to predict what will happen in a few years.” “My ambition if you will, my desire, is to help our country in whatever role that may be, and I cannot predict what that will be,

what doors would be open in the year 2012,” she said. Palin is popular among many U.S. conservatives and her 12state campaign-style tour to promote the book has political insiders, once again, speculating about whether she will launch a bid for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. A Washington Post/ABC News poll— released on the eve of her book release — found that 60 percent of those polled said Palin

was not qualified to serve as president and 52 percent viewed her in unfavorable terms. Among Republicans, however, her positive rating was 76 percent. In a email sent by her political action committee, SarahPAC, Palin says she’s going to work with like-minded conservatives to help candidates, regardless of party, “who will stand up for our nation.” The message ends with a postpostscript: “P.P.S. Any level of support is welcome! Our Commonsense Conservative cause needs you. As a special offer, on behalf of SarahPAC, we will send you a signed copy of Going Rogue for any donation of $100 or more.” Click here for more Reuters political coverage Photo credit:Reuters/Nathaniel Wilder (Palin in Fairbanks, July 26, 2009) Reuters/KTUU-TV (Palin announcing intent to resign as governor)

ADVERTISEMENT: (BloggingStocks) Submitted at 11/17/2009 2:00:00 PM

56 of the Most Hilarious and Amazing Modern Warfare 2 Easter Eggs You Will Ever See [Photoshop Contest] By Adam Frucci (Gizmodo) Submitted at 11/17/2009 11:00:00 AM

Is it possible to love the results of a Photoshop Contest too much? Because oh man, these had me rolling on the floor. Seriously, you're going to want to check this gallery out. First Place—Jim Chitwood Second Place—Andreas Kokkinos Third Place—Sergio Hikawa

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In the words of a football coach, philosopher, father… By Tabassum Zakaria (Front Row Washington)

Submitted at 11/17/2009 2:00:00 PM

basketball coach John Wooden, Christian pastor Charles Swindoll, humor columnist Dave Barry and American author Mark Twain. The lead in for Chapter 6 is a quote from Palin’s father, Chuck Heath Sr.: “Sarah’s not retreating; she’s reloading!” What do these quotes say about

Palin? Click here for more Reuters political coverage Photo credit: Reuters/Mike Segar (Rodin sculpture “The Thinker” outside Philosophy Department of Columbia University)

Nov. 17, 1790: A Rather One-Sided Affair By Dylan Tweney (Wired Top Stories)

American Electric Power: Safety, dividend, and decent growth are hard to beat By Joseph Lazzaro (BloggingStocks)

Submitted at 11/17/2009 11:28:36 AM

At the start of Sarah Palin’s “Going Rogue,” before the words begin, there’s a map: “The View from the Top of the World.” It shows Alaska closer to the center of the top of the world than Washington, D.C. — deliberate perhaps? Then wandering through the book, the quotes at the start of each chapter caught our eye. There’s the famous words from college football coach Lou Holtz: “I don’t believe that God put us on earth to be ordinary.” Greek philosopher Aristotle: “Criticism is something we can avoid by saying nothing, doing nothing, being nothing.” That is followed by chapters that feature wise words from

It's the birthday of August Ferdinand Möbius, a pioneer in topology and putative inventor of

the Möbius strip.

Filed under: Stocks to Buy U.S. electric power demand may be sluggish, due to the recession, but investors should view that as a temporary phenomenon. True, increased energy efficiency across the U.S. economy will be a trend for the next decade and beyond, but relatively low-cost electric power does not go out of style, which is why I'm reiterating my buy rating for American Electric Power Inc. ( AEP), first recommended on May 4, 2009 at a price of $25.38. If you bought AEP in May, you're up about 25%. AEP's above-average total return on equity story remains intact. Look for an increase in retail electric demand in F2010, and that fact, combined with a decline in operating/maintenance costs, and little impact from greenhouse gas legislation until about 2018 or

2020, translates into a bargain stock at a P/E of 12. Continue reading American Electric Power: Safety, dividend, and decent growth are hard to beat American Electric Power: Safety, dividend, and decent growth are hard to beat originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Comments

The Sega Dreamcast keeps dropping in price By Matt Burns (CrunchGear) Submitted at 11/17/2009 11:18:40 AM

Last time Dreamcasts where spotted for sale, the price was north of $100, but Amazon now

has the system for only $79. It’s NIB too. Ladies, this could make a great Christmas gift for you nerd boyfriend. Everyone loves the Dreamcast. It has a great selection of games

good enough graphics, and 10x the cool factor of a Nintendo Wii. If you’re going to get this system, make sure you get at least a Visual Memory Unit and you (that are very easy to pirate), probably want an extra controller

too. Chances are that local second-hand gaming outlets have those cheap. [ Amazon via DealNews]

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Face down the militarists and get out of Afghanistan. No strings attached | Simon Jenkins By Simon Jenkins (World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk) Submitted at 11/17/2009 10:33:00 AM

Obama must call time on the Afghan war. Retreat can be spun as victory. But it can't be conditional on impossible objectives Go to Washington any time in the past eight years and ask what influence Britain has over America's Afghan policy. The answer is a thumb and forefinger joined in a simple zero. The same was true in Iraq. Ever since Tony Blair kowtowed to George Bush at Crawford in April 2002, Britain has been the patsy, the poodle, the dumb ally in Washington's wars of ideological empire. Britain's military failures in Basra and Helmand, rescued in both by the Americans, increased this subservience. While French and German governments assess their nation's interest, Blair and Gordon Brown have been me-too kids on the block, panting after Washington's every wild venture. Despite 412 British soldiers dead, Brown indicated in his speech on Monday night that nothing had changed. The torture continues. London twitches only when Washington kicks. Almost nothing Brown says on Afghanistan makes sense, and he seems painfully aware of it. He

must say that soldiers are dying in Helmand to make Britain's streets safe, even when intelligence reports say the opposite. He must remain obsessed with "training bases", as if the 9/11 plotters had learned to fly in Tora Bora. He must believe that building an Afghan security force and ridding Hamid Karzai's regime of corruption can be achieved, and that they hold the keys to a British withdrawal. Pigs will fly. Brown must also know that his Foreign Office thinks the Afghan venture mad, and sets up its hapless boss, David Miliband, to repeat that counter-insurgency is counter-terrorism. It is not. It is counter-insurgency. To equate the two is like the Iranian leader, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, blaming foreign states for what is essentially a domestic threat â&#x20AC;&#x201C; in Britain's case from a tiny fraction of its Muslim community. The favoured military option said to be emerging from Obama's agonising review of Afghan policy is to "fall back on the cities". This seems the only way of marrying the military's desperation for ever more troops to the raw, bleeding fact that the Afghan war is hopeless. The killing can go on for ever, but the war is lost. Falling back on cities was the last gasp of the Russians in Afghanistan and the Americans

in Vietnam. It can work if you are a native population ceding countryside to an invader. But in Afghanistan Nato is the invader. Cede the country to the Taliban and you cede every city market place and street corner. It will not work. Nato has hi-tech weapons but it forgot to pack its rucksacks with an old-fashioned, mark one historian. As for the even more desperate idea of "talking to the local Taliban", what do you say to a tiger in mid-leap? Could you eat just an arm and a leg and leave me the rest? It is on a par with Boris Johnson's brainless argument that to pull out would be to betray those who have given their lives so far. Nobody dares call a spade a spade. Were Osama bin Laden given to laughter, which I understand he is not, he would split his sides. The suspense of Obama's "decision" on Afghanistan is acquiring epic proportions. It recalls the Delphic oracle's reply when Croesus asked if he should declare war on Persia. If he does, the oracle said, "He will destroy a mighty empire". It turned out to be his own. We assume Obama favours withdrawal because, if he had thought more troops would defeat the Taliban, it was criminal not to have sent them a year ago. His decision has thus become a trial of strength

between his view and the massed ranks of America's military/industrial complex, with its $1bn-a-day interest in the continuance of war. If militarism wins and Obama commences a 10-year battle over the mountains and plains of Afghanistan, it will spell the end of America's status as cold war victor and putative world policeman. The complex will have him trapped. The Taliban will have him cornered, as will Bin Laden. America's democratic leadership will have been pitted against American militarism â&#x20AC;&#x201C; an informal component of the republic since the founding fathers â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and will have capitulated. So will Britain's compliant party leaders as they continue to utter weekly banalities over the coffins of Wootton Bassett. If, on the other hand, Obama takes courage in both hands and announces a withdrawal, by hook or by crook, next year, the impact will be dramatic. Enemies at home will declare that America's first black president has led his country to defeat. But the boil will have been lanced. Afghanistan and its patchwork of tribal chiefs, warlords and Taliban commanders will have to write "the invaders" out of their script. Karzai must cash in the deals of the past seven years. The Taliban, no longer a monolith,

would forge pacts and coalitions, as they were doing prior to 2001. Terrible things will happen in many places but, as in Iraq, they were bound to happen from the moment the west intervened. An American withdrawal would force Pakistan once again to be the power broker and guarantor of regional stability, albeit on new terms. The Pashtun would lose interest in their al-Qaida guests, who in turn would lose their anti-American rallying cry and seek sanctuary elsewhere. The region would regain an equilibrium it can never achieve under western occupation. Britain and America should demilitarise the war on terror, surely the most counterproductive main-force deployment in recent history. They need no longer rely on grand armies, popinjay generals and crippling budgets; on bringing death, destruction and exile to hundreds of thousands of foreigners in the faint belief that this might stop a few bombs going off back home. They would hand that job to the appropriate authorities; to the police and security services. The modalities of withdrawal need obvious attention. Only idiots talk of leaving "overnight", but only idiots make departure conditional on some FACE page 10

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Nick Waterlow obituary (World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk)

significant political turmoil, marked by the dismissal of Gough Whitlam's Labor government by the governorSubmitted at 11/17/2009 11:19:50 AM general in 1975. In effect, Cultural diplomat and curator of Whitlam's innovative policies on the Sydney Biennale the arts, education and The loss of the art curator Nick Aboriginal rights were defeated Waterlow, who has been found by conservative forces. In dead aged 68, has robbed the intellectual and cultural circles, Australian – and international – the anger that this precipitated art community of an individual became focused on the role of the both pastoral and radical. Under m o n a r c h y i n p o s t c o l o n i a l Waterlow's directorship, the A u s t r a l i a . Sydney Biennale became an In such an environment, being international showcase for British might well have been held contemporary art that challenged a g a i n s t W a t e r l o w , b u t h e Australian attitudes. managed to move this cultural Waterlow's first Biennale, in focus on to the European avant 1979, was entitled European g a r d e a n d i n d i g e n o u s a r t . Dialogue, thereby challenging Dialogue through, and prompted New York's hegemony as the by, the visual arts subsequently international art capital, and came to play a key role in introducing Australian audiences addressing issues of national and to the European avant garde. international significance. Waterlow recalled that the event Born in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, "caused quite a stir and it made W a t e r l o w w e n t t o H a r r o w people sit up; there were even school, in Middlesex, and studied demonstrations. Contemporary French history at the University art became a very hot item. There of Grenoble, in south-east were great expectations then … I France, and Renaissance art at had to walk a tightrope, and they the British Institute, in Florence, were a very persuasive bunch." Italy. He first travelled to Like a number of key British Australia in 1965 to marry critics before him, such as Sir Rosemary (Romy) O'Brien, Kenneth Clark, Bryan Robertson whom he had met the previous and Peter Fuller, Waterlow found year in London, where she was A u s t r a l i a n a r t p a r t i c u l a r l y working as a teacher. They exciting, and he presented it in an returned to England, where international setting: global Waterlow worked for art galleries " r e g i o n a l i s m " r e p l a c e d in London and Oxford. He was "provincialism". But Australia in later appointed senior arts officer the 1970s was subject to f o r t h e M i l t o n K e y n e s

Development Corporation, before settling in Sydney in 1977. Many critics visited Australia for the first time for the 1979 Biennale, resulting in coverage by key international art magazines. The show also saw the first exhibition of Aboriginal art within an international context. Waterlow's next Biennale, in 1986, was entitled Origins, Originality + Beyond, and presented a groundbreaking survey of postmodernism's many guises. Waterlow's 1988 Biennale coincided with the bicentennial of white settlement in Australia. From the Southern Cross: A View of World Art c1940-1988 was a revisionist narrative of 20th-century art, enabling important links between European, American and Australian artists to be reassessed. The centrepiece was The Aboriginal Memorial, 200 hollow log grave posts from Ramingining, in Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. Djon Mundine, then a Ramingining art adviser, had approached Waterlow to propose the memorial. Mundine recalls that Waterlow "understood it right away", linking the concept to the fields of crosses at the Somme, in northern France, that mark the graves of first world war soldiers. The memorial was bought by the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. Based in Sydney, Waterlow

travelled annually to art fairs and exhibitions around the world. Highly respected by his peers, in 2000 he was appointed chair of the Sydney Biennale's international selection committee. He was awarded the medal of the Order of Australia in 1990. He curated many original exhibitions, such as Larrikins in London: An Australian Presence in 1960s London (2003), and held many key posts in the Sydney art world. But Aboriginal art increasingly became his focus, and he acted as a cultural diplomat for it on many projects. Waterlow and his daughter Chloe, a cookery writer, were found stabbed to death at her home in the Sydney suburb of Randwick. Police are searching for Waterlow's son Antony in connection with their deaths. Waterlow is survived by his partner, Juliet Darling, and his two sons with Romy, who died in 1998. • Nicholas Anthony Ronald Waterlow, art curator, born 30 August 1941; died 9 November 2009 • Art • Australia guardian.co.uk© Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions| More Feeds

The Moto Droid’s Ability To Autofocus Varies From Day To Day – No, really. By Greg Kumparak (CrunchGear) Submitted at 11/17/2009 10:44:50 AM

Here's a weird one for you: A few hours ago, Motorola DROID users began reporting that the cameras on their handsets were suddenly.. better. The camera's ability to auto-focus, which I'd railed in our review of the product, seemed to drastically improve overnight. And it did! Most assumed that Verizon and Motorola had managed to sneak out some sort of stealth over-theair update, patching the camera's settings on the fly. A number of sites reported as much. Some even took offense to this idea, declaring that such things shouldn't be allowed without their explicit permission. According to the folks that should know best, there was no over-the-air update at all; the camera fixed itself, and in 24.5 days, it'll break all over again.

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Stop and search of ethnic minority 10-year-olds doubles in London By Vikram Dodd (World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk)

London. There had been 29 youth homicides between January and October 2008, dropping to 11 for the same Submitted at 11/17/2009 10:29:39 AM period in 2009. Metropolitan Police say fewer After the election of the youth murders justify a tactic Conservative mayor of London, critics say can alienate children Boris Johnson, in May 2008, the Police have doubled the number Metropolitan Police introduced of Afro-Caribbean and Asian greater use of stop and search primary school children they stop powers in an attempt to halt the and search in London in the last increase in youth homicides. year, figures released today Johnson had called for tough reveal. action and the Met responded Police say the increased use of with an operation codenamed the controversial powers is to Blunt 2. tackle the carrying of weapons, The figures released today show but critics say it risks alienating that the number of youngsters ethnic minority youngsters. aged between 10 and 17 searched Children as young as 10 were by police rose by 49% to 185,489 stopped 755 times from April from 123,819 in 2007-8. 2008 to March 2009, an increase Ben Bowling, the professor of of 80% on the previous year. criminology and criminal justice Ethnic minority children bore at King's College, London, said: the brunt of the increase. The "Stop and search is a blunt tool number of 10-year-old Asian which can do more harm than children stopped rose 130%, good, especially when it is while there was a 100% increase targeted unfairly against children for Afro-Caribbean children, as young as 10. I'd like to see the compared to a 54% increase for evidence that London's black white youngsters. communities support the Scotland Yard said the tactics widespread searching of 10have reduced the number of year-olds. I think there must be a children being murdered in better way to keep our children

safe." Jenny Jones, a member of the Metropolitan Police Authority, said: "Just one bad interaction can colour a young person's view of police for life. This can be self -defeating – the police may be better off putting more work into schools and multi-agency work." Today police were hunting the attackers of a 16-year-old boy who was stabbed in the stomach while waiting for a bus home from school. He was attacked at Edmonton Green bus garage, north London, after reports of a knife fight at about 4.30pm on Monday. In a statement on the increase in stop and search, the Met said: "The use of stop and search is a powerful tool to combat youth violence and deter the carrying and use of weapons on our streets. This has been stepped up since Operation Blunt 2 and we intend to continue this activity as we believe that it prevents the loss of young lives. "We have gone to great lengths since Operation Blunt 2 started to ensure that all our activities are led by the best possible understanding of the issues. You

Essential Firefox security add-ons By Dennis O'Reilly (Webware.com) Submitted at 11/17/2009 9:00:00 AM

No browser is unbreachable, but the security add-ons available for Mozilla's Firefox browser certainly put the odds in your

can therefore expect more activity in some areas impacting more on certain communities than others as a result." David Michael, a former Met detective chief inspector who is now chair of the Lewisham police consultative group, said increased use of stop and search was very disturbing. "We are all reassured that there has been a decrease in youth murders but no one has presented the empirical evidence showing the nexus with the reduction and increased stop and search of children of tender years." In August the Guardian reported that 2,331 children aged 15 or under were stopped by Met officers using anti-terrorism powers. This included 58 children aged nine or under. • London • Crime • Police • Race issues

NZXT releases the updated Tempest EVO gaming chassis By Matt Burns (CrunchGear) Submitted at 11/17/2009 9:30:45 AM

The NZXT Tempest is a great case. It’s, has tons of room, a sleek look, and amazing airflow. But it seems everyone’s chief complaint is that it’s very loud. The newly redesigned Temptest EVO aims to solve that problem. The new case is almost the same thing except the fans have been reworked to take the noise level down a notch. Plus the side panel now sports a smoked look that’s actually quite attractive. Of course everything else carried over from the original Temptest including a bottom-mounted PSU, E-ATX support, cable management, and pre-drilled for watercooling tubes. It’s $99 and available now.

Vikram Dodd guardian.co.uk© Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions| More Feeds

Fliqz adds video SEO service

By Don Reisinger favor. Originally posted at Workers' (Webware.com) Edge Submitted at 11/17/2009 8:35:35 Company

announces

SearchSuccess tool, which is designed to maximize the performance of videos in search engine rankings.

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Pioneer of personalised genetic tests files for bankruptcy By Ian Sample (World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk)

company said it would now sell "substantially all of its assets", including its huge DNA biobank, which contains genetic Submitted at 11/17/2009 10:58:34 AM information on 140,000 • The business has debts of I c e l a n d e r s . $314m with assets of just $70m The 13-year-old firm had • Firm's biobank has genetic already explored options to sell i n f o r m a t i o n o n 1 4 0 , 0 0 0 or license some of its operations, Icelanders including its drug discovery A pioneering biotechnology wing, after failing to restructure c o m p a n y t h a t s p e a r h e a d e d its debts or obtain more funding. genetic research on common In a filing to the US bankruptcy diseases and offered personalised court in Delaware, the company medical tests has filed for listed assets worth $69.9m bankruptcy. (£42m) and debts totalling The Icelandic firm, deCODE $313.9m. The sale of deCODE's Genetics, was one of the first in assets must now go through an the world to market DNA tests auction process. Investors have for disease risk directly to the been warned that if the company public, and had invested heavily goes into liquidation, any return in basic research to uncover the to stockholders would be "highly genetic origins of conditions such unlikely". as breast and prostate cancer, Rumours have circulated in heart disease and diabetes. scientific journals that the British It has been in serious financial medical charity, The Wellcome trouble since autumn last year Trust, has been in discussions when it informed investors it had with deCODE to take charge of insufficient funds to carry on its biobank if the company closes trading without selling off parts down. A spokesperson for The of its business. Wellcome Trust declined to I n a s t a t e m e n t t o d a y t h e comment.

Sir Alec Jeffreys, the University of Leicester scientist who invented DNA fingerprinting, said deCODE had an impressive record for tracking down disease genes but had failed to turn the knowledge into lucrative drugs. "They also put together a fabulous biobank and it would be a tragedy if all that was lost," he said. One difficulty for any organisation hoping to take over the company's biobank is that in most cases, patients signed consent forms that require their DNA to be returned to doctors once deCODE had used it. If the data moved out of Iceland, it would have to be made anonymous. DeCODE's troubles reflect growing concerns that personalised genetic tests for many diseases are premature. In September, the government's genetics watchdog, the Human Genetics Commission, said all direct-to-consumer tests should be more tightly regulated. "Some tests to say the least, are of doubtful value," said Dr

Frances Flinter, who chaired the Commission's working group. The pressure group, GeneWatch, said despite scientists' hopes, predicting a person's risk of disease has proved to be more complicated than thought. "Most diseases in most people do not depend much on genetic make-up", said Helen Wallace, a scientist at the group. "Diseases often run in families due to shared lifestyles, environments and incomes, not because of genes. Genetic horoscopes are less reliable than predictions of the weather, because biology is complex and poorly understood". • Pharmaceuticals industry • Genetics • Biochemistry and molecular biology • Drugs • Iceland • Credit crunch Ian Sample guardian.co.uk© Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions| More Feeds

The third day of Peek-Mas By John Biggs (CrunchGear) Submitted at 11/17/2009 10:00:17 AM

We’re giving away five Peek Protos this week, one a day, and

we want you to ask us nicely for one so we can give you one. What I’m basically trying to say is that you should respond to this real e-mail address) and also post with a comment (using your

follow CG on Twitter and watch the Gift Guide for more special things. Also check the Twitter stream today and tomorrow.

Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin MM-1: Speakers Too Nice for Your PC [Audio] By Mark Wilson (Gizmodo) Submitted at 11/17/2009 9:51:06 AM

We have few actual specs on these Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin MM-1 USB speakers, but if the high-end computer speakers sound nearly as good as they look, we're in for a treat. Arriving January 2010. [ Ecoustics via Engadget]

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Fury at 'monkey' lyric of Arab pop star

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FACE continued from page 6

unachievable objective, such as more European troops or an operational Afghan army or By Jack Shenker (World news lyrics (one previous hit was community of people, and now honesty in Kabul. Defeat must be and comment from the entitled Hey, Good Little Muslim some of our children are afraid to spun as victory. Retreat must be Guardian | guardian.co.uk) Boy) have earned her the wrath go into school because they know covered by the smokescreen of a of religious conservatives and they will be called monkeys in loya jirga or "surge, bribe and Submitted at 11/17/2009 10:37:47 AM leave". But it cannot be forays into the political arena the playground." • Black Egyptians sue and h a v e a l s o s p a r k e d d e b a t e , The row over Wehbe's song has c o n d i t i o n a l o n f a n t a s y . demand album be banned including her very public praise highlighted a growing sense of This war was never to be won, • Row casts fresh light on racism for Hezbollah leader Hassan c o m m u n a l i d e n t i t y a m o n g any more than that in Iraq. Both in region Nasrallah during the 2006 Nubians in Egypt, a country were neocon nation-building One of the Arab world's biggest conflict between Israel and where the government has stunts that ran amok on too much pop stars has provoked a torrent Lebanon. traditionally promoted a very money. Three million Iraqis, of outrage after releasing a song The latest accusations of racism monolithic brand of nationalism, including almost all Iraq's which refers to black Egyptians came after the release of her new sometimes to the exclusion of Christians, were driven into exile. as monkeys. song, Where is Daddy?, in which religious or ethnic minorities. T h e s a m e i s s t a r t i n g i n Haifa Wehbe, an award-winning a child sings to Wehbe, "Where Despite breaking through into Afghanistan and will become a Lebanese diva who has been is my teddy bear and the Nubian the cultural mainstream – several flood as Nato retreats. That voted one of the world's most monkey?". Nubian novelists are well- nation's agony is not over yet, but beautiful people, is now facing a Wehbe has since apologised r e g a r d e d w i t h i n E g y p t i a n the end cannot begin until the lawsuit from Egyptian Nubians profusely for the offending lyrics, intellectual circles and Nubian invaders depart. That will happen claiming the song has fuelled insisting they were penned by an singers such as Mohammed only when the pain outweighs the discrimination against them and Egyptian songwriter who told her Mounir are among the most pride. The question is, how many made some Nubian children too that "Nubian monkey" was an popular in the country – Egypt's corpses will that take? afraid to attend school. innocent term for a popular estimated two million Nubians • Afghanistan The row has cast fresh light on children's game. That hasn't remain largely invisible on • Iraq the position within Egyptian stopped a group of Nubian television and film, except as society of Nubians, who are lawyers submitting an official lampooned stereotypes. descended from one of Africa's complaint to Egypt's public • Egypt most ancient black civilisations prosecutor and calling for the • Race issues a n d y e t o f t e n f a c e song to be banned. • Pop and rock marginalisation in modern Egypt. "Everyone is upset," said Sayed By Josh Lowensohn Wehbe, a 35-year-old model Maharous, 49, the Nubian owner Jack Shenker (Webware.com) turned actress and singer, is of a coffee shop in Cairo. Adul guardian.co.uk© Guardian News widely regarded as the Middle Raouf Mohammed, who runs a & Media Limited 2009 | Use of Submitted at 11/17/2009 4:00:00 AM East's most prominent sex n e a r b y s t o r e , a g r e e d . " T o this content is subject to our A new semantic search tool symbol and has been no stranger compare a human being to an Terms & Conditions| More Feeds promises to both sort out search to controversy in the past. Her animal is insulting in any culture. results as well as cut down some skimpy outfits and provocative She has denigrated an entire of the need to read them. Is it too good to be true? Originally posted at Web Crawler

• • • • • • • • • • • • • •

US foreign policy Barack Obama Obama administration Defence policy Foreign policy David Miliband Gordon Brown Military US military Nato Taliban Hamid Karzai Osama bin Laden Al-Qaida

Simon Jenkins guardian.co.uk© Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions| More Feeds

Real-time Report: Twitter still newcomer Factery 'missed opportunity' Labs finds you facts for Fortune 100s By Don Reisinger (Webware.com) Submitted at 11/17/2009 10:17:00 AM

They might be the world's largest companies, but that doesn't mean they understand how best to use the popular microblogging tool, according to a new study.

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US Army arrests mother who failed to turn up for Afghanistan deployment

Insider buying lifts Barnes & Noble (BKS)

By Ed Pilkington (World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk)

Submitted at 11/17/2009 1:00:00 PM

she was overburdened and unable to commit for a whole year looking after him. "This is an infant, and they Submitted at 11/17/2009 11:02:26 AM require 24-hour care," Hughes A 21-year-old single mother told Associated Press. "It was serving with the US Army's 3rd very, very stressful, just too Infantry Division is facing a much for me to deal with." possible court martial because The case has highlighted the s h e f a i l e d t o t u r n u p f o r tensions within the US military, deployment to Afghanistan, which has a policy of treating saying that she could not find women personnel with children anyone to care for her infant son. sensitively yet is under extreme Alexis Hutchinson, who serves pressure to maintain troop as an army cook, was meant to numbers in Afghanistan and Iraq. have joined her division for a According to a report last month flight to Kabul on 5 November, f r o m t h e g r o u p I r a q a n d but failed to show up. She was A f g h a n i s t a n V e t e r a n s o f arrested and temporarily placed America, more than 212,000 in custody while her 10-month- women have been deployed in old child Kamani was put into a the US military to the two war daycare scheme on her military zones, making up 11% of the base in Savannah, Georgia. forces there. More than 120 have H u t c h i n s o n d e n i e s a n y been killed, and 600 wounded. suggestion that she was trying to The deployments include some avoid deployment, insisting that 30,000 women who are, like she was only acting out of Hutchinson, single mothers. concern for her boy. She had Hutchinson's civilian attorney, placed him in the care of her Rai Sue Sussman, told the mother, Angelique Hughes, in Oakland Tribune that her client Oakland, California, but after a had gone missing for a day at the couple of weeks Hughes found time of deployment because she

was afraid of what would happen to the child. The lawyer said that Hutchinson had been pressurised to get on the flight even though she had no satisfactory arrangement for his care. Sussman said: "The day before she was forced to deploy, they told her you have a choice to make, but your duty is to get on that plane. She didn't have anyone to take care of her child. She thought they'd put her on a plane and take her child away." An army spokesman said that Hutchinson's deployment has been put on hold while an investigation is carried out. Her child has now returned to Oakland to be with his grandmother. • US national security • US foreign policy • United States • Afghanistan Ed Pilkington guardian.co.uk© Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions| More Feeds

NCSE Breaks Out the Funny (Little Green Footballs) Submitted at 11/16/2009 5:09:39 PM

Here’s some not entirely

unsuccessful science humor from the National Center for Science Education, taking down creationist Ray Comfort and his

ridiculous “special” version of Charles Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species.”[Video]

By Brent Archer (BloggingStocks)

Filed under: Major movement, Good news, Insiders, Options, Technical Analysis Barnes & Noble ( BKS- option chain) shares have been moving sharply higher for the past few days and are continuing that trend today. Company insider and billionaire investor Ronald Burkle reported purchasing more than 4.4 million shares of BKS in the past week alone, valued at $90.2M. When a major holder makes a big purchase like that, it is often a sign of good things to come for that stock, if only because other investors may follow his lead. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish

hedged trade on BKS. BKS opened this morning at $21.00. So far today the stock has hit a low of $20.86 and a high of $21.55. As of 12:30, BKS is trading at $21.43 up 93 cents (4.5%). The chart for BKS looks bearish and S&P gives BKS a negative 2 STARS (out of 5) sell ranking. Continue reading Insider buying lifts Barnes & Noble (BKS) Insider buying lifts Barnes & Noble (BKS) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Comments

Top 10 Bad Messages From Good Movies (Wired Top Stories) Submitted at 11/17/2009 7:08:00 AM

Quality doesn’t generally come into play when it comes to messages in movies: There are plenty of bad movies whose messages are perfectly benign,

and plenty of good movies that have messages you definitely wouldn’t want your kids to take to heart. Here is a countdown of the top ten bad messages in good (and at least somewhat geeky) movies.

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Ponzi goes green, SEC in pursuit

Costco Wholesale stops carrying Coke

By Tom Johansmeyer (BloggingStocks)

By Beth Gaston Moon (BloggingStocks)

Submitted at 11/17/2009 1:20:00 PM

Submitted at 11/17/2009 12:40:00 PM

Filed under: SEC filings, Scandals, Green Stocks How do you know the green finance sector has arrived? Well, it got its first Ponzi scheme! Allegedly. The SEC filed charges against four people and two companies in a Denver federal court on Monday. Mantria Corp. and its principals, Troy Wragg and Amanada Knorr, stand accused of running raising $122 million from more than 300 investors in what could be a dozen fraudulent offers of securities. Mantria engaged Speed of Wealth LLC, run by Wayde and Donna McKelvy, to dump the cash out of their retirement plans and tap

Filed under: Coca-Cola (KO), Costco Wholesale (COST) If you are hitting Costco Wholesale ( COST) for your Monday Night Football party or their home equity to "invest" in Thanksgiving celebration, you Mantria, which they said was won't be able to get those cases offering returns ranging from of Diet Coke. The warehouse17% to "hundreds of percent" style retailer, which operates more than 550 locations, is no every year. Continue reading Ponzi goes longer carrying Coca-Cola ( KO) products in its U.S. stores. That green, SEC in pursuit Ponzi goes green, SEC in pursuit means no Coke, Diet Coke, o r i g i n a l l y a p p e a r e d o n Sprite, or Dasani water, among BloggingStocks on Tue, 17 Nov other products. 2009 13:20:00 EST. Please see Evidently, the retailer and the our terms for use of feeds. beverage giant are embroiled in a Permalink| Email this| Comments pricing dispute. A statement on the Costco website indicated that "Coca-Cola has not provided

Match Candles Make Lighting Each Cigarette Feel Like Your Birthday [Design] Costco with competitive pricing so that we may pass along the value our members deserve." Continue reading Costco Wholesale stops carrying Coke Costco Wholesale stops carrying Coke originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Comments

By Mark Wilson (Gizmodo) Submitted at 11/17/2009 10:40:00 AM

They aren't carton-lit like real matches, but these match candles($6 for 4 packs) are one way to up the ante on that Zippolighter guy we all know who thinks he's so cool. (The other is lung cancer.) [ Yanko]

Flash 10.1 Is Good News for Hackintosh Netbooks [Hackintosh] By Danny Allen (Gizmodo)

I say almost, because there was still some noticeable frame dropping. But still, I could High-Def Flash video is a stretch actually watch HD flash video on some hacktintosh netbooks, (windowed and full-screen) but Flash 10.1 brings it into the without it stuttering like a realm of possibility. I just slideshow. One issue with installed it on my MSI Wind YouTube: the CPU pretty much running Leopard, and damn: HD went into overload once the YouTube and Vimeo videos were video was playing, and on the almost watchable. third viewing I had to Force Quit Submitted at 11/17/2009 9:10:00 AM

Firefox to wrestle back control. But this is good news for

hackintoshes, and netbooks in general. This is not hardware GPU acceleration (limited to Windows right now), it just seems to be better CPU usage. Earlier today I also posted about AnandTech's Flash 10.1 CPUutilization tests: they still noticed improvements under OS X, too. If you've given Flash 10.1 a try, post a comment here so other

readers can see what sort of netbook you have, and if it's worth trying. For the record, my MSI Wind U100 has 2GB of memory, a 1.6GHz Atom N270 processor, and integrated Intel 945 graphics. (Pic above is of the Dell Mini 9).

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Ultimate Pocket Camcorder Comparison [Battlemodo] By Dan Nosowitz (Gizmodo) Submitted at 11/17/2009 10:00:00 AM

Pocket camcorders are a hot holiday gift, but due to their nearly identical feature sets, it can be tough to tell which is best—so I tested seven of these humble unitaskers to make your decision easier. You're welcome. Pocket camcorders (AKA mini cams or budget cams, or sometimes Flip cams after the pioneer of the category) are simple gadgets. They've got one job to do: Shoot watchable video, often for uploading to streaming video sites. They're also very close to the end of their lifespan, with perhaps only a year or so left before smartphones make them obsolete, but right now they're the easiest and cheapest way to take quick and dirty video. I tested seven of these diminutive camcorders, or more accurately six camcorders and one capable PMP, in five categories: Outdoor, indoor, low light, macro, and sound. The criteria for judging fell mostly to smoothness of video during motion, image sharpness, noise, and color reproduction. Specs like storage capacity, screen size and battery life are mostly the same across the board, although overall, compared to last year, this crop of mini cams are faster and stronger, with beefed up memory and HD sensors. All save the iPod Nano take 720p video (or better) and add HDMI ports and more

memory to accommodate the higher-quality footage. Yet I wasn't really all that thrilled with any of the camcorders—the bar for these cams is so low you could trip over it, and several of them actually did. Battery life was disappointing across the board, as none could break two hours of filming. Anyway, on to the results! Results Choosing between the Kodak Zi8, Flip Mino HD and Flip Ultra

twice as thick as the Mino HD, but even that doesn't really get across how truly large it feels in the hand. It's not particularly heavy, but it is by a long shot the thickest pocket cam here. On the plus side, that girth hides a useful battery—Flip includes a rechargeable pack, but the John Candy HD can also use two AA batteries, which is great since pocket cams have generally abysmal battery life (usually about an hour, though of course they're often rated for double or triple that). Replaceable, cheap batteries are really nice, but some will have to decide whether the William Howard Taft HD's girth is worth that feature. Given its price, I think it is. Video quality is just fine, above average if not particularly impressive on every test, and it, like the Mino HD, is extremely user-friendly. Although that simplicity yields less flexibility and a barebones feature set compared to the Kodak Zi8, it's a good distillation of the aims of pocket camcorders, and its 100% tactile controls are a welcome H D i s t r i c k y . T h e Z i 8 i s Flip Ultra HD: First Place unreliable, but when it's good it's Flip's Ultra HD is the best change from the Mino HD. If unbelievably good; the Mino HD overall choice. It's one of the you're not superficial, it's a very is diminutive, solid and stylish, cheapest cams around (at $150, smart buy. Flip Mino HD: but overpriced and with lousy it's $70 less than it's younger Second Place touch controls; and the Ultra HD brother, the Mino HD), but it tied Flip's Mino HD is the bestis a reliably good shooter with a for the highest score in our l o o k i n g a n d b e s t - f e e l i n g low price and the best controls of lineup, and it features nice tactile camcorder I tried. Its aluminum all, but physically unappealing controls that I much prefer to the body feels solid and expensive, (read: fat as hell). In my opinion, s l e e k e r M i n o H D ' s t o u c h - which might be because it is—at you should never judge a book sensitive exercise in frustration. $230, it's the priciest camcorder I by its obese cover, so the Unfortunately, the Dom DeLuise ULTIMATE page 14 champion is...the Flip Ultra HD! HD is upsettingly fat—about

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ULTIMATE continued from page 13

tested. But I wouldn't be surprised if it sells the best, even though it's not the greatest deal, because it looks (and is) simple, cute, and functional. I won't rehash my review, except to say that I hate those goddamn touch buttons more and more every time I use the Mino HD. They're incredibly sensitive and I guarantee that you will accidentally trigger the playback function more times than you can count. Besides that, it's totally serviceable: It did well on all of my tests, it's thoughtfully designed and stupid-easy to use. But it's definitely overpriced, and I have a hard time recommending it over its physically awkward yet substantially cheaper older brother, the Ultra HD, just for its looks. Kodak Zi8: Third Place Wider and taller than the Flip Ultra HD, though not nearly as fat, the Zi8 packs a 1080p sensor and the largest and best screen of the bunch. The controls are easy and tactile and aside from flimsyfeeling plastic covers over the ports (one of mine already fell off), the hardware is high-quality. The Zi8 snagged the bronze medal, because while its highs were higher than either of the

Flips, its lows were lower—and given how focused and simple this type of gadget is, reliability is worth more than flashing moments of greatness. The Zi8 absolutely rocked in two of my tests, outdoor and macro, with perfect color reproduction and excellent clarity, and it even takes pretty decent still photos (think point-and-shoot circa 2006 quality). But the conditions need to be just right to get the most out of this guy—I first tried it in 1080p mode (neither of the Flips can break 720p) and while picture quality was amazing, scenes with lots of motion were pretty jerky to the point of being distracting. But even in 720p, it was still head-and-shoulders above the competition—but only in outdoor and macro testing. In the indoor test it proved to have difficulty focusing on objects closer than 10 feet but farther than 2 feet away, and low light shooting was distinctly tinted red and a bit dark. It wasn't unusable in any test (unlike the similarly uneven Creative Vado HD) and at $180 it's fairly priced, so I'd still recommend it—but you and I are likely to be more forgiving of the Zi8's flaws than, say, your mom, who just wants a camera

that works pretty well all the time. For her, go for a Flip. The Rest The Creative Vado HD scored pretty high, only a point lower than the bronze medalist Kodak Zi8, but while its design is fairly middle-of-the-road (albeit nice and teeny), its abilities were all over the place. It was one of the worst in standard daytime shooting (it has a hard time with sunlight, a serious problem for a pocket cam) and macro, but was the best at indoor, and while its low light video was a little dark, it was the clearest and smoothest of the lot. It also, likely due to Creative's background in stellarsounding PMPs and sound cards, boasts excellent sound quality. At $150, it's very fairly priced, but I can't recommend a camcorder that mangles sunlight the way the Vado does. Apple's iPod Nano is the only "camcorder" in this roundup to peak at VGA resolution, and aside from a surprisingly strong macro performance, it shows. It turned vibrant colors dull and lifeless, washed out detail and made everything seem darker than it was. It can't compete with the Zi8s and Flips of the world, but it's still usable and incredibly

priced at $150/$180 for 8GB/16GB—if you've got a Nano already, you probably won't need a dedicated cam. Convergence killed the video star, I guess. The JVC Picsio GC-FM1 sucked. It's spectacularly ugly (think Ed Hardy-inspired) and cheap-feeling, with a confusing button layout (unforgivable in a pocket cam) and a high price ($200, or $178 at Amazon). Besides all that, it scored poorly in every one of our tests. Avoid. And finally, the worst—Aiptek's PenCam HD. I wanted to like it, I really did—it's got a tonguedepressor-like design and came with a sweet tripod that attaches to a bicycle's handlebars—but it bombed in almost every one of my tests. The 1.1-inch screen is nearly unusable and battery life barely topped 40 minutes, so it's definitely the loser here. Here's a giant gallery of all 28 videos I took. Don Nguyen assisted with this Battlemodo.

Bad Brick Thread (Little Green Footballs) Submitted at 11/16/2009 2:27:42 PM

It was the power supply brick for

the monitor. Just up and died. The monitor itself is fine, but it won’t be operational for a couple the replacement brick. of days because they had to order

No, not this kind of brick.

Are these Apple's 2009 Black Friday deals? (CNET News.com) Submitted at 11/17/2009 10:22:00 AM

According to purportedly leaked documents on the tech rumor site Boy Genius Report, Apple is gearing up to offer a series of post-Thanksgiving bargains on products from iPods to MacBooks. The deal, allegedly good only on November 27, lists "up to" discounts of 30 percent on iPods (excluding the Shuffle and iPhone), 25 percent on Mac laptops and desktops, and 15percent on accessories, software, and other hardware. The Boy Genius Report Web site says: "One of our connects just hit us up with some intriguing Apple information. According to them, what you see detailed above is a shot of Apple's yearly Black Friday deals. It's reported to be something Apple will email out shortly." Of course, with the vague use of "up to" and no specific products listed, we can't be sure if these will be good deals or not. But if you're interested in being the first in line to check them out, the leaked doc also says that select Apple stores will be opening at 6 a.m. on November 27. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

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Canon EOS 7D impressions for filmmaker wannabes By Chad Mumm (Engadget) Submitted at 11/17/2009 1:28:00 PM

Chad Mumm is our video producer at Engadget, doing work on The Engadget Show and filming shorter-form stuff when we need it. He recently acquired the 7D for personal and work use, and we asked him to put together some thoughts on the camera in terms of using it primarily for video. You can check out our traditional review roundup for the 7D here. These times are strange. Five

years ago if you walked onto the set of a movie, TV show, or music video -- before you got kicked out by a strung out production assistant -- you'd have probably seen a bustling group of workers huddled around a giant camera changing out huge spools with Kodak or Fujifilm logos on them. The RED ONE camera shook up the industry when it was released two years ago and those cans of film were replaced with hard-drives and digital technicians. Now, we're in the midst of another monumental

camera shift, and it's not the 3D revolution that everyone predicted. Nope, in 2009 we make our movies on DSLRs. Just how good are they? Well, the

recently released Canon EOS 7D may just be the new Engadget workhorse. Read on for the inside scoop on our ridiculously cinematic new rig.

Gallery: Canon EOS 7D video rig Continue reading Canon EOS 7D impressions for filmmaker wannabes Filed under: Digital Cameras Canon EOS 7D impressions for filmmaker wannabes originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Comments

Laptop reliability survey: ASUS and Toshiba win, HP fails By Vladislav Savov (Engadget)

whose primary business is selling extended warranties, but that shouldn't completely prejudice us Submitted at 11/17/2009 11:09:00 AM against reaching conclusions on Boy, do we have a nice slab of the basis of the presented facts. data for you to sink your teeth Firstly, netbooks have shown into today. The 3-year service themselves to be on average 20 history of more than 30,000 percent less reliable than entrylaptops has been pored over, level laptops, which in turn are a n a l y z e d , a n d r e d u c e d t o 10 percent more likely to break gorgeous comparative charts, down than premium machines. In which you know you're dying to other words, you get what you know more about. We should pay for -- shocking, right? The note, however, that the service big talking point, though, will was provided by SquareTrade, inevitably be the manufacturer

Keep it gentlemanly, okay? [Via Electronista] Filed under: Laptops Laptop reliability survey: ASUS and Toshiba win, HP fails originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments comparison chart above: here ASUS and Toshiba ( rather appropriately) share the winners' spoils, while HP languishes in the ignominious last place, with

more than a quarter of all laptops expected to suffer a hardware fault of some kind within three years. So, does your experience corroborate / refute this info?

IBM chip to speed medical diagnostic testing (CNET News.com) Submitted at 11/17/2009 10:30:10 AM

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Brazilian Hacking Attempts Fail To Break Brazilian E-Voting, But Do Improve The Process

South Korean researchers devise a safer lithium ion battery

By Mike Masnick (Techdirt) Submitted at 11/17/2009 1:09:17 AM

By Donald Melanson (Engadget)

We pointed out recently that Brazil was allowing groups of hackers and security experts to Submitted at 11/17/2009 2:07:00 PM hack their e-voting machines, While some researchers are something that the e-voting focused on making batteries that industry has always resisted are both safer and longer-lasting, angrily. The e-voting companies it seems like the folks at the have never been able to Korea Atomic Energy Research adequately explain why experts Institute (or KAERI) are simply shouldn't be able to try to hack concerned with making 'em the machines, and all it did was really, really safe. To that end, lead to more distrust over the they've now announced that machines. However, the Brazil they've managed to develop a test has been concluded, and new type of "separator" that is as to when we might actually see there's some good news: no one said to be far more resistant to the new and improved batteries, was able to crack the machines. but KAERI has apparently heat and impact than traditional However, with all the hack By Mark Wilson (Gizmodo) footprint, though, not in that polyethylene separators. Made already applied for the necessary attacks, officials did learn a few we've destroyed our Earth and Submitted at 11/17/2009 9:20:00 AM from a mix of polyethylene, nano patents for the new technique. things are too late kind of way. things that are helping them to -alumina and flourine-based resin [Via Fareastgizmos.com] We've all seen long exposure Or another interpretation of the improve the overall process with that has been subjected to Filed under: Misc. Gadgets photography, allowing you to art might be, nature has a hidden the machines. It's really amazing South Korean researchers devise radiation, the new separator can create shapes with light. But I p o w e r t h a t w e f a i l t o that we still don't have something s u p p o s e d l y h o l d u p t o a safer lithium ion battery don't think any of us has seen acknowledge without shiny similar happening in the US. temperatures of 150 degrees originally appeared on Engadget anything quite like the work of lights. Permalink| Comments| Email Celsius and "considerable outside on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:07:00 Barry Underwood, a landscape At least, those are my reads on This Story impact," and it can apparently be EST. Please see our terms for photographer for our connected, his work (please share yours in applied to all sorts of lithium-ion use of feeds. Read| Permalink| electric world. (More photos:) the comments). You can see the batteries -- including everything Email this| Comments H i s l a n d s c a p e s , w h i l e collection with your own eyes as from phones to laptops to electric painstakingly staged, incorporate it's on display from November cars. Of course, there's no word man-made light with an almost 21st 2009 - January 9th 2010 at eerie naturalness. The glowing Johansson Projects in Oakland, elements that should jar our eyes CA. [ Johansson Projects and By How-To Wiki (Wired Top shares three secrets to how to as electrical protrusions actually B a r r y U n d e r w o o d v i a (ETonline - Breaking News) Stories) multiply big numbers â&#x20AC;&#x201D; without serve to capture nature with a B L D B L O G ] Submitted at 11/17/2009 6:30:00 AM a calculator and faster than even n e w t h e s i s : a s a p l a n e t Submitted at 11/16/2009 5:00:00 PM intrinsically altered by our if you had one. Math wizard Arthur Benjamin

Electrifying Landscape Photography Captures Our Electric World [Image Cache]

Do Speedy Math in Your Head

New Movies on DVD & Blu-ray: November 17

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Magellan debuts GPS app / car kit for iPhone and iPod touch By Donald Melanson (Engadget)

cradle is fully adjustable to accommodate a range of sleeves or cases, and it'll of course also Submitted at 11/17/2009 12:31:00 PM charge your iPhone or iPod M a g e l l a n ' s n e w i P h o n e touch, and give it some amplified navigation app won't do much for sound courtesy of the built-in the iPod touch on its own, but it speaker. The navigation app itself l o o k s l i k e t h e c o m p a n y ' s also seems to be more than ready forthcoming Premium Car Kit to challenge the competition, will in fact work just fine with with it boasting spoken street the handheld out of the box, names, NAVTEQ maps, 3D unlike TomTom's similar Car landmarks, in-app music control, or release date for the cradle just Kit. Otherwise, there aren't a pedestrian mode, and a price yet, but Magellan says it is exactly a ton of surprises, but the tag of $79.99. No word on a price "coming soon" -- iPhone users

can get the app from the App Store right now. [Thanks, djphatjive] Filed under: Cellphones, GPS, Software Magellan debuts GPS app / car kit for iPhone and iPod touch originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments

Master of the Universe? You Need a Carbonite Han Solo Desk By Charlie Sorrel (Wired Top Stories) Submitted at 11/17/2009 5:24:00 AM

Han Solo, as everyone knows, was frozen in carbonite at the end of The Empire Strikes Back. What few know is that he was then installed beneath a glasstopped desk, which is now available for purchase.

Self-powered diaper monitor system Huntsman: 'It's a Good Time to Be in Beijing' automatically detects wet diapers By Serkan Toto (CrunchGear)

electricity following a chemical reaction in the presence of urine. Submitted at 11/17/2009 8:41:57 AM Once this happens, the sensor kit A research laboratory at Japan’s can transmit signals to a receiver Ritsumeikan University has located as far as 3 meters away. developed a monitoring system The university lab says their wet for wet diapers that consists of a diaper monitoring system is still self-powered sensor/transmitter in prototype mode. One possible and a receiver and is supposed to which was co-developed in area for improvement is to add assist staff in hospitals and collaboration with Seiko Epson. circuitry to the sensor system so nursing homes in performing B o t h t h e s e n s o r a n d t h e that a single system can monitor diaper checks with elderly a c c o m p a n y i n g w i r e l e s s a group of people, for example in patients. The sensor kit has to be transmitter are powered by a built a nursing home. placed inside the diaper and -in battery that can generate Via Nikkei[registration required, sends signals to the receiver unit, paid subcription]

(Little Green Footballs) Submitted at 11/17/2009 8:33:09 AM

NBC News political director Chuck Todd is in China with a team covering Barack Obama’s visit, and when they asked US ambassador Jon Huntsman about the craziness wracking the Republican Party back in the States, Huntsman laconically replied, “ It’s a good time to be in Beijing.” By the way, when one of us asked ex-Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, a Republican serving as Obama’s ambassador to

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China, about the current ideological fight in the GOP, he answered, “It’s a good time to be in Beijing.” He seemed genuinely bemused by Palin-palooza, and said every time he gets sucked into paying a tiny bit of attention, he throws himself back into work on China issues. Do remember that Huntsman, a moderate who at one time was seen as a possible 2012 GOP candidate, saw a local Michigan GOP chapter cancel an event with Huntsman due to his centrist views (like his support for civil unions).

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Sports Authority to sell the Wii because, well, it’s an exercise device By Matt Burns (CrunchGear) Submitted at 11/17/2009 10:30:18 AM

Canada gets International Kindle support, no longer feels inferior to Trinidad and Tobago By Joseph L. Flatley (Engadget)

that sound exotic and fanciful to American ears: The Globe and Mail and The National Post. Submitted at 11/17/2009 12:54:00 PM Sound like something you'd like Good news for our Canadian to get into? Yours for $250 USD brethren! While the realization (roughly $265 CDN). Hit the that you'd been excluded from read link to get started. the International Kindle may [Via Boy Genius Report] have angered you, or frightened Filed under: Displays, you, or engendered feelings of H a n d h e l d s shame or lust, all hope is not lost! Canada gets International Kindle We have just got word that support, no longer feels inferior Amazon has added your fine t o T r i n i d a d a n d T o b a g o nation to the list of countries it originally appeared on Engadget will now ship the beloved e- on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:54:00 reader to. And if that ain't EST. Please see our terms for enough, a smattering of your use of feeds. Read| Permalink| native content is being offered, Email this| Comments included a couple of publications

Next time you’re at Sports Authority applying for a hunting license, you could pick up replacement Wii Remote or even the Wii Fit as the retailer is getting into the gaming business. But seriously, this kind of makes sense and has apparently been in the works for months. The Nintendo Wii has long been associated with exercise. It forces players to get up and actually move. In fact, there is a whole

market of accessories built around the Wii Fit. Sports Authority might not have any trouble selling the systems with

Wii Fit if they are marketed with demo units available for shoppers to try out. I, for one, would much rather spend a couple hundred on the Wii than an entry-level treadmill or Stairmaster. The WSJ is reporting that some stores could get the systems as soon as this week and Sports Authority has been working with Nintendo for almost six months. This might help Nintendo push a few more units into homes and regain a dominate position in the gaming console wars.

Because What We All Need Right Now Is an App to Tell Us We're Ugly [IPhone Apps] By John Herrman (Gizmodo) Submitted at 11/17/2009 11:10:18 AM

Fact, maybe: Human beauty has nothing to do with subjective judgment, and everything to do with some obscure mathematical equation. Fact, definitely: There is an iPhone app based on this theory. Designed by giant human baby Ed Nash, above, Fit or Fugly( Fit: Brit., informal: SEXXXY)

judges your attractiveness based on the proportions of your face, processed from a photo and a little user input—to peg exactly

where your nose, ears, eyes and mouth are. Does it work? As a tool for determining objective beauty, possibly. As a tool for planting tiny, fertile seeds of doubt about your attractiveness in your subconscious (and others'!), yeah, sure. A dollar, and you look beautiful today. [ iTunes via Cult of Mac]

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ASUS and Toshiba winners of reliability survey, don’t ask about HP By Matt Burns (CrunchGear)

malfunction rate of the top nine laptop manufacturers. Feel free to read the whole study SquareTrade, proprietors of here, but here are the main extended warranties, just released points. a 3-year study that sheds some • 31% of notebooks suffer a total light on the reliability of laptops failure rate before 3 years a n d n e t b o o k s . T h e m a i n • Netbooks fail 20% more often conclusion that 1 in 3 notebooks than laptops fail within three year should • 5.8% of netbooks malfunction come as no surprise. After all, within the first 12 months they are portable computers that • Asus has the best 3-year get banged around. It’s the nature malfunction rate at 15.6% of the beast. However, the study • HP has the worst 3-year d o e s r e v e a l s o m e o t h e r malfunction rate at 25.6% interesting tid-bits, including a • You might want a warranty handy graph the shows the Submitted at 11/17/2009 9:00:42 AM

Bowers & Wilkins somehow makes PC speakers interesting with MM-1 By Darren Murph (Engadget)

products with lust-worthy designs. Somehow or another, the outfit responsible for the Outside of factory keyboards, dirigible-inspired iPod sound there's hardly anything more system has produced a set of boring than a set of PC speakers. standard computer speakers that They're typically unsightly, add are actually rather inspiring, as to the rat's nest of wires behind the Zeppelin MM-1 touts no your rig and force you into a life extra subwoofer, a simple USB of dependency. And then there's c o n n e c t i o n a n d a n i n b u i l t Bowers & Wilkins, a company headphone socket. There's nary a that excels at pumping out mention of price (trust us, it'll be Submitted at 11/17/2009 11:40:00 AM

up there), but we should hear more when they ship in January. Filed under: Portable Audio Bowers & Wilkins somehow makes PC speakers interesting with MM-1 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments

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Chicago Tribune Columnist: Hey You People Online With Opinions... Get Off My Lawn! By Mike Masnick (Techdirt)

voice and that's bad how exactly? With the advent of Twitter, Facebook, instant messaging and Reader Cannen alerts us to yet texting, now almost any fool can another column by yet another set up his or her broadcast hub. o l d s c h o o l n e w s p a p e r g u y Then the likes of CNN, Fox whining about the fact that "the News, Oprah and even the people" now have the ability to Tribune play right into their have their voices heard. What's hands, giving them instant access funny is that his own column to the rest of the world. I beseech s e e m s t o c o n t r a d i c t h i s the online editors at this paper to statements. Don't get me wrong. I turn off the "comments" after am also an outraged narcissist, each article. If people have but I had to work six-hour shifts opinions about something that in Bakersfield, Calif., to earn my they've just read, let them write a stripes as a communicator. letter to the editor. Yes, but "any Nowadays, having a Twitter page fool" doesn't get quite the qualifies a person to give attention as, say, a fool who commentary on CNN. I am not blasts the fact that people have a interested in the take of @stinky v o i c e i n a m a j o r n a t i o n a l on the Fort Hood shootings or newspaper, right? Who cares any other current events. I am that anyone can say what they watching CNN because I expect want. Most people don't see them to gather the news, not act those complaints. You call it a as a clearinghouse for any " b r o a d c a s t h u b " b u t m o s t bonehead with a computer, a people's Twitter accounts don't cable modem and a half-baked have very many followers. opinion. Ah yes, so because That's not the issue at all. The today it's easier for people to actual complaint seems to be that have a voice, it's bad. Yes, and CNN and Fox and others have you used to walk to school uphill elevated a few of these folks (a both ways in the snow and tiny percentage of the overall television was called radio and population using these tools), and had no pictures. But the world you don't like it because.... what, improves and progress comes exactly? Because they compete along and gives more people a with you in being a public Submitted at 11/17/2009 6:07:00 AM

RealView's V-Screen for PSP review By Tim Stevens (Engadget) Submitted at 11/17/2009 12:04:00 PM

The PSP may be a lot of things to a lot of people, but it's not capable of pumping out images in 3D -- cross your eyes all you want but nothing's going to leap off of that LCD. We'll have to wait for at least another iteration of portables before we can start expecting any miracles in that department, but until then there's the V-Screen! It's a big, sillylooking attachment that pledges to add depth to your PSP games

despite the system's distinctly two-dimensional screen. Is it magic? Is it sorcery? Is it complete bull? You might be surprised. Gallery: RealView's V-Screen Continue reading RealView's VScreen for PSP review Filed under: Gaming RealView's V-Screen for PSP review originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Comments

"fool"? Most of my career has been spent in radio, where call-in comments are somewhat encouraged. The main difference is that we can hang up on people. Ok, let me get this straight. Before you were complaining that CNN and Fox were putting these people on their shows, but then you say at least on radio you could "hang up on people." Do you not sense the contradiction? CNN and Fox can just as easily "hang up" on these people too. So what's the difference? Basically, it sounds like the guy is pissed off that he's no longer the only person with an opinion getting heard. But, of course, he's missing the point in blaming the new technology. Yes, lots of people have a voice, but most still don't get heard very far. The folks who are getting on TV or are making their voices heard are because they're saying something that resonates, whether it's stupid or not. And, no, maybe they didn't have to practice being a public moron in some small town first, but is that really a necessity? Permalink| Comments| Email This Story

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Viacom's General Counsel Lecture On Copyright Leaves Out Certain Facts By Mike Masnick (Techdirt)

speech -- and of all the massive extensions and changes in copyright laws over the past 200 Someone once told me that hundred years, almost all have Viacom's top lawyer, Michael served to stifle more speech than Fricklas, has been known to read they have encouraged. Techdirt on occasion. I have no He then trots out the industry's idea if this is true, but it still is own numbers claiming how interesting to watch him give a much copyright contributes to the lecture to some Yale law students economy, even though those where he offers a somewhat numbers are based on a variety of nuanced position on copyright q u e s t i o n a b l e a s s u m p t i o n s , issues (thanks to JJ for being the including the idea that all content first of many to forward the covered by copyright is only v i d e o t o u s ) , b u t w h i c h created because of copyright. repeatedly seems to leave out Along those lines, he also credits certain pertinent facts: He starts copyright for things like the iPod out by saying that he's a strong and the Kindle, saying that no supporter of fair use, and doesn't one's buying those devices just to like the idea of having to get look at them. This is correct -licenses for creating new works - but note the trick. He did not say - but is concerned about the that it was content that drove the "exact copy" problem. So, i P o d a n d t h e K i n d l e , b u t basically he's in favor of fair use copyright. He's wrong. It's for creating new works, but not content. Not copyright. direct distribution. He notes that some say that He discusses copyright vs. free "unlicensed IP" might drive this speech -- and insists that there's i n n o v a t i o n , b u t h e f a v o r s no "tension" between the two "sustainable innovation" (as if (despite many recent studies anyone doesn't). And then he suggesting the exact opposite). makes this odd statement:"A Of course, he does a bit of a twist more sustainable innovation is there, by saying that copyright is one where, if you make an pro-free speech because it creates i n v e s t m e n t , y o u h a v e t h e incentive for speech. The opportunity to make a return." problem with this statement is Now, that's a great (by which we that while that's the theory, the m e a n , u s e l e s s ) s t a t e m e n t , evidence for it is somewhat because it's obviously true. Who lacking. However, there is would ever deny that? But it's a tremendous evidence of cases s n e a k y a n d d i s i n g e n u o u s where copyright is used to stifle statement, because it implies Submitted at 11/17/2009 10:12:34 AM

something that's simply not true: that without copyright or without restrictive licensing, the investors do not have an opportunity to make a return. As we've shown over and over again, plenty of content creators who "free" their IP have not only made a return, but have made a better return than they did under older models that relied on copyright. But it's a sneaky trick that's often used by folks in this debate. You set up this strawman argument and then knock it down, despite the fact that no one ever made the argument, and you argue that something is fact (that you can't make a return) when it's empirically false. It's frustrating that this argument still gets made and people should really start calling the folks who make it out whenever they state such falsehoods. Later, he talks about the "losses" from piracy, insisting that the findings come from a "sophisticated" analysis, not just from counting all downloads as lost sales. Of course, these numbers came from the same study process that led to some results that even the MPAA (of which Viacom is a major member) had to later admit were bogus. This is also the same "sophisticated analysis" that includes ripple effects in one direction only, so it's actually double, triple, quadruple,

quintuple counting some numbers, while totally ignoring how those numbers actually help the industry in other ways. So, sorry if I don't take those loss numbers seriously, no matter how "sophisticated" he thinks they are. They're not. They're only "sophisticated" in how misleading they are. He does have a short discussion on RealNetworks' RealDVD offering, which he implies enables piracy -- even as he admits he wants the functionality, where he could move a copy of a legally purchased DVD to his hard drive for backup or other viewing, but says his "concern" is that people would do this with Netflix DVDs. He believes that the problem with this is that RealNetworks had to break the encryption put in place by the studios. Notice, again, what Fricklas conveniently leaves out. First, he leaves out the fact that it is already legal for people to make backup copies of content they legally own -- but, thanks in part to Hollywood lobbying, Hollywood itself can block that right, simply by putting encryption on something and then saying that you can't circumvent it without breaking the law (thank you, DMCA anticircumvention clause). He also leaves out (conveniently) the fact that RealDVD doesn't actually "break" the encryption and that

the resulting copy still includes DRM that prevents copies. The fact that he's "concerned" about the Netflix model is of no consequence whatsoever. McDonalds is "concerned" about Burger King, but that doesn't give them a legal right to block them from being in business. Then he pulls out the ever popular "$200 million movie" myth, which I thought was a favorite of NBC Universal, but I guess Viacom is going with it now as well. It's not a myth that there are movies that cost $200 million. The myth is that people want movies that cost that much. No one watching a movie cares how much it costs. They want good movies, no matter how much they cost. I'm sure people would like some $1 billion or $100 billion movies as well, but that doesn't mean we need to grant Viacom extra special legal privileges to make sure it can make a $1 billion or $100 billion movie profitably. People like good movies. Viacom wants to make profitable movies. We agree. But the $200 million number is meaningless. There are ways to make good movies for both less and more than $200 million and there are ways to make profitable movies even in the face of piracy. The claim that piracy undermines the $200 VIACOM'S page 25

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STUDY: Most Fortune 100 Companies Don’t Get Twitter By Vadim Lavrusik (Mashable!)

display personality, tone or voice on their account pages,” according to the report, which Submitted at 11/17/2009 6:08:28 AM judged personality based on In August we reported that a w h e t h e r a n a c c o u n t w a s large number of Fortune 100 identified with a personality who c o m p a n i e s h a v e e m b r a c e d posted on behalf of the company Twitter, but how well are they or if it was a “faceless” brand actually using it? A study account. released today(PDF) by Weber However, 32 percent did have Shandwick says the answer is not personalities that were associated very well, and that the majority with their accounts, which might of Fortune 100 companies don’t be a better approach to creating really get Twitter. Though 73 of an account that is engaging and 100 companies had at least one p e r s o n a b l e f o r c o n s u m e r s . registered Twitter account (up P e r s o n a l i t y c a n a l s o b e from 54 reported in an unrelated demonstrated on Twitter via the study released in August), the writing of the actual tweets. The majority of them weren’t using content itself can have a voice Twitter effectively to engage without the page being identified their followers, weren’t tweeting with a specific person, but having often, and didn’t display any a name associated with an personality in their tweets, account adds a more human according to the study. element that acts similar to a O n e m a j o r r e s u l t o f t h i s spokesperson representing a ineffective use seems to be low company. engagement from followers. Out Though tweeting sparingly can of the 540 total Twitter accounts be a good thing, 76 percent of the r e g i s t e r e d b y F o r t u n e 1 0 0 accounts had fewer than 500 companies, 50 percent of the tweets posted. If the companies accounts had fewer than 500 w e r e t r u l y e n g a g i n g t h e i r followers and another 15 percent followers and customers, the weren’t being used at all. number would likely be much L a c k i n g P e r s o n a l i t y a n d higher, though certainly could Tweeting Sparingly depend on how long each The majority of the accounts account had been active. Also, from Fortune 100 companies had fewer tweets sometimes means no personality, but instead less exposure in the wider focused on brand only. Out of the Twitterverse. Missed Business 540 accounts, 53 percent “did not Opportunities

complaints and questions from customers on Twitter. The Result: A Low Following Because so many of these companies aren’t using Twitter effectively, if at all, it makes sense that 68 percent of the accounts had fewer 1,000 followers. This seems to indicate The most popular use of Twitter that the accounts do not provide from companies using it, is as a much value, which can come newsfeed or for developing brand from a dialogue with followers, a awareness. But companies seem service the account provides not to understand how to use the ( s u c h a s c o u p o n c o d e s o r service to increase sales or they customer service), and the quality don’t believe that it’s possible. of information being shared. Though Dell(33 on Fortune 100 In fact, the study found that half list) has used Twitter to sell of the accounts did not score well millions of dollars worth of on engagement metrics used by products, only 16 percent of Twitalyzer, which looks at Fortune 100 accounts used number of links, hashtags, Twitter for sales, special Twitter retweets and references. Being offers, coupons or other special engaged and active on Twitter offers. usually translates to more Another effective use for followers because it gives an b u s i n e s s e s h a s b e e n u s i n g account more exposure and Twitter for customer service. For chances of being retweeted and example, Best Buy (56 on seen by other users (assuming the Fortune 100) u s e s information is valuable). What’s its@Twelpforce for customer the Prescription? service and has some 14,000 Because the analysis was followers. However, only 9 conducted between August 28 percent of the Fortune 100 and September 4, 2009, it’s accounts use Twitter for this possible that some companies purpose. It very well may be that have made some improvements these companies are steering in their approach to Twitter away from customer service within the last couple of months. because to do it effectively, they One thing is for sure, however: a would need additional staff dramatic shift needs to happen s p e c i f i c a l l y t o r e s p o n d t o for most of these companies to

effectively make use of the platform. When these companies do take a look at their strategy and use of social media, they need to realize that the key element missing is conversation. Twitter, and social media in general, is about twoway communication, which is something that all companies need to realize as they constantly evaluate and tweak their social media use. Companies should also reconsider whether to use a person that is identified with an account, which could improve their engagement and build a personable brand. Mashable’s Twitter Guide Book offers a comprehensive resource on how to effectively use Twitter. More business resources from Mashable: - Why Social Media Is Vital to Corporate Social Responsibility - HOW TO: Measure Social Media ROI - 5 Important Web Video Lessons for Small Business Owners - Top 5 Must-Read Social Media Books - HOW TO: Use Twitter Hashtags for Business Image via Chris Spooner. Reviews: Mashable, Twitter Tags: business, fortune 100, study, trending, twitter

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Verizon to AT&T: Stop whining; start investing (CNET News.com) Submitted at 11/17/2009 10:43:15 AM

Verizon Wireless said AT&T is suing the wireless operator not because its recent ads are untrue, but because the truth hurts. In the opening paragraph of its legal rebuttal to a lawsuit filed earlier this month by AT&T, which claims that Verizon is misleading customers by suggesting that subscribers cannot access wireless Internet services throughout its network, Verizon very plainly surmised its argument: "AT&T did not file this lawsuit because Verizon's 'There's A Map For That' advertisements are untrue; AT&T sued because Verizon's ads are true and the truth hurts." The rebuttal filed on Monday in a Georgia district court was in response to two complaints AT&T filed with the court asking that the Verizon advertisements be pulled from the airwaves. AT&T has called the claims in the advertisement "false" and "misleading." And the company claims it has caused "irreparable harm" to AT&T's wireless business. Verizon spokespeople have responded to the press on these claims. But now the company has filed its official response to the

court in a 53-page document that lays out the company's defense. Verizon argues its advertisements are simply pointing out the fact that AT&T has not invested enough in upgrading its network to handle the tidal wave of data traffic experienced by the release of the Apple iPhone, which AT&T sells exclusively in the U.S. Verizon says that it is simply highlighting what many AT&T iPhone customers have already recognized. "In the final analysis," Verizon said in its filing. "AT&T seeks emergency relief because Verizon's side- by-side, apples-to -apples comparison of its own 3G coverage with AT&T's confirms what the marketplace has been saying for months: AT&T failed to invest adequately in the necessary infrastructure to expand its 3G coverage to support its growth in smartphone business, and the usefulness of its service to smartphone users has suffered accordingly. AT&T may not like the message that the ads send, but this Court should reject its efforts to silence the messenger." Verizon's initial advertisement, which began airing on TV November 3, shows two maps with red-and-white splotches

indicating 3G wireless coverage. The white area indicates no 3G coverage, and the red indicates areas where 3G service is available. In the ad, Verizon shows an AT&T map that has lots of white spaces, whereas the Verizon map is almost covered in red. AT&T claims the ad is misleading because it implies that AT&T customers can't use their phones and cannot access the mobile Internet in areas where the carrier does not offer 3G wireless coverage. The truth is that AT&T customers can use their phones and they are able to access the wireless Net using the company's slower EDGE network. Verizon has modified its ad slightly to indicate that the map applies only to 3G coverage and not regular 2.5G service, which is adequate for making voice calls and connecting to the wireless Internet at slower speeds. In its filing, Verizon argues that its ads refer explicitly and solely to AT&T's 3G network coverage. And therefore the advertisements should be evaluated on that basis. Verizon claims that it is a fact that its 3G wireless network covers five times more geographic area than AT&T's 3G network. And because this is an

undisputable fact, the company should be able to use this in its advertisements. Verizon pointed to AT&T's own advertisement claims that it operates the nation's fastest 3G wireless network. "Despite the far smaller size of its 3G network, AT&T has spent tens of millions of dollars making its 3G network, which it dubs the "Nation's Fastest 3G Network," the centerpiece of its national advertising since at least the summer of 2008," Verizon argued. "AT&T now is attempting to silence Verizon's ads that include maps graphically depicting the geographic reach of AT&T's 3G network as compared to Verizon's own 3G network because AT&T does not like the truthful picture painted by that comparison." But AT&T still asserts that the advertisements Verizon is running are misleading. "We filed the lawsuit because Verizon's ads mislead customers into thinking that AT&T does not offer wireless service in the vast majority of the country," said Mark Siegel, a spokesman for AT&T. "We look forward to presenting our case." This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

The Pirate Bay Tracker Officially Shutting Down for Good [BitTorrent] By Adam Pash (Lifehacker) Submitted at 11/17/2009 7:30:00 AM

The Pirate Bay, the largest, most popular BitTorrent tracker on the internet, has faced seriously troubled times this year, and today, the site's operators announce that they're officially shutting down their tracker for good. They're putting a positive spin on things to all-thingsBitTorrent weblog TorrentFreakâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;talking about trackerless solutions that haven't really seen a ton of adoption just yet from users (though trackerless solutions are supported by most popular BitTorrent clients)â&#x20AC;&#x201D;but their tracker's demise will certainly mark the end of an era. The site's still operational for magnet links, but The Pirate Bay tracker (with .torrent file downloads) as you knew it is on its way to Davy Jones' locker, and so on with pirate-speak references. [ TorrentFreak]

Review: 'Assassin's Creed II' Is the Ultimate Killer App By Chris Kohler (Wired Top Stories)

A top-to-bottom update of the 15th-century cloak-and-dagger game delivers, at last, on the

promise of the original. The beautiful and addictive sequel expertly blends a fascinating

story about Knights Templar plots and Renaissance-era conspiracies with engrossing and

near-flawless gameplay.

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TUAW Interview: Fake Steve Jobs By Kent Pribbernow (The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW))

model (also known as a "close follower" strategy) doesn't work anymore. For 20 or 25 years this company just waited for others to Submitted at 11/17/2009 7:00:00 AM innovate, then copied the Filed under: Humor, Cult of innovation and sold it for less Mac, TUAW Interview We got a and this worked great for them. chance to sit down (virtually) But this stopped working right with the unofficial version of around 2000 or so. The rest of everyone's favorite iCEO, via his the world just moves too fast alter ego & consigliere Dan now. Look, they're still trying to Lyons. Fake Steve's perspective catch Google in search, and is always unique and sometimes they've got what -- one percent astonishing; read on. market share? Same thing for TUAW: Fake Steve, thanks for Zune, right? taking time out of your busy Well, keep fighting the good schedule to speak with me. fight on that one, you morons. As Before we begin this, I'd like to for the stores, well, they look start off by saying that, on behalf nice enough, since they copied of everyone, it is wonderful to ours. But in terms of how well see you in good health and back they'll do? Come on. Their stores at the helm of Apple. Phil are a joke and they've arrived too Schiller did a fine job in your late. The whole point of being a absence, but the man has no stage close follower is you have to presence. And Tim Cook's follow closely. We opened our droning voice could put even first store in 2001 and we've got sugar-fed hyperactive children to something like four thousand of sleep -- what a snoozer. them in the United States alone. I First question: Let's talk about know you're going to tell me I'm Microsoft. The company recently a bit off on that number, and, released its newest operating well, maybe so. But I still say system, Windows 7, and with it we've got four thousand stores an experimental chain of branded and if I say it enough times, retail stores that largely copy people will believe me. Anyway, Apple's own concept, right down the other thing Microsoft seems to the inclusion of in-store not to understand is that it's not support centers, called Guru bars. enough just to open a store -- you Your thoughts? need to have something cool to FSJ: Microsoft still hasn't put in that store. That might be a realized that its copycat business problem for them.

shackling iPhone to this single carrier? FSJ: If it is the last thing I do, I will get us off AT&T. By Grabthar's hammer, by the sons of Worvan, this shall be done. Look for news on this early next year. TUAW: Moving on to Google. With the introduction of Android 2.0 and increasing product introductions like the recent Verizon Droid, Google is slowly gaining traction in the market. How badly do you want to drive hat pins into Eric Schmidt's testicles? TUAW: Their mobile strategy FSJ: Well, very badly, except has fallen flat on its face. that Eric Schmidt does not have Windows Mobile, now renamed testicles. Lot of people don't Windows Phone, is clearly way know that. But if he did have behind OSX iPhone. Windows them, yes, I would want to harm Mobile 6.5 is a stopgap measure them. A lot. The guy sat here in at best. Windows Mobile 7 is our board meetings and listened another year away from shipping to all of our product plans and on devices. And with the recent then just stole all of our ideas. I Danger debacle, the future looks mean he sat here -- right here -bleak for Microsoft. Do they t a l k i n g t o m e , a s k i n g m e stand a snowball's chance in hell questions. I'm sorry. This just of ever competing with you? Do gets me really upset. Sniff. Can you even care? we move on? FSJ: Wait a minute. Microsoft Continue reading TUAW makes mobile phone software? I Interview: Fake Steve Jobs didn't know that. Are you TUAW TUAW Interview: Fake serious? Steve Jobs originally appeared on TUAW: Speaking of companies The Unofficial Apple Weblog that are universally despised. (TUAW) on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 Your contract with AT&T, as the 07:00:00 EST. Please see our exclusive carrier for the iPhone, terms for use of feeds. is due to expire soon. Tell me Read| Permalink| Email this| you don't plan to continue Comments

How Microsoft Blew It With Windows Mobile By Brian X. Chen (Wired Top Stories) Submitted at 11/16/2009 9:45:00 PM

Microsoft's Windows Mobile has lost nearly a third of its smartphone marketshare since 2008. Yet Microsoft has been in the mobile OS space longer than anyone else. Here's what the software giant did wrong.

MIT Robot Rides Shotgun to Make Us Happier Drivers By Chuck Squatriglia (Wired Top Stories) Submitted at 11/17/2009 7:27:00 AM

Audi and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology envision a future where robots riding shotgun makes us happier, safer drivers and create a 'symbiotic relationship' between car and driver.

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VIACOM'S continued from page 21

million movie, which is some sort of "necessity," is simply not supported. On top of that, he tosses out the debunked claim that if something is "free" it means it's devalued. That's simply not true, no matter how many times people repeat it. If it were true, and the content had no value, no one would want it. Value and price are two separate things. Then, he discusses the "Kanye West" MTV Video Awards "Imma let you finish..." example, by talking about how Viacom used various filtering tools to pull that clip off of various "unlicensed" user uploaded video sites. But he also talks about how they drove people to use the official Viacom clip, which allowed them to "participate in the benefit" of the video. Now, that's interesting, and it's great that they put their own clips up and made them embeddable. But, again, it's important to note what he left out. In forcing everyone to view the content through Viacom directly, it also increased Viacom's own cost in terms of bandwidth. The

advantage of letting others help host and distribute the content is that it actually eases that cost. His discussion on kicking people off the internet via a "three strikes" mechanism is getting much of the attention on other sites, because he mentions, totally in passing, that suing users "feels like bullying." This may sound like a big deal -- and certainly some other sites (and industry lawyers) are making it out like a big revelation, but it's not. The movie industry has never sued individuals for such things -- only the recording industry has. And even way back in the Jack Valenti days, he talked about why he didn't like the idea of suing individuals. So, this isn't a shift in positioning at all. Rather, it's a repeat of the new silly strategy of some in the industry to try to pretend that kicking people off the internet is"consumer relief." Not quite. Shooting someone in the leg instead of the head is certainly "better," but I doubt that the person shot in the leg considers it "relief." Oh yes, he also fails to explain

how any of that will make more people buy. Towards the end of that discussion, though, he makes another interesting statement, saying that: "there's no way to deal with this problem other than to move viewing into licensed contexts." Except, that's not true. There are other ways. It's called setting up a business model where people actually do have a reason to buy things, whether they view the content in a licensed or unlicensed manner. I recognize he's on the legal side, rather than the business side, but the idea that the "only" way to deal with piracy is to attack it, rather than embrace it, is a position that the industry long ago should have learned was a mistake. His final point is discussing how DRM "enables new business models," and he more or less dismisses criticism of DRM as really just being criticism of "bad" DRM (of which there is plenty). However, what struck me, was how none of the "new business models" he described actually required DRM at all.

You could do them all in some way entirely without DRM. All the DRM does is add restrictions. Of course, rather than adding restrictions, why doesn't the industry focus on employing new business models that give users more and make them want to buy, rather than trying to enforce artificial limitations? On the whole, it is an interesting video, and well worth watching, but it conveniently misstates or leaves out important facts throughout. Unfortunately, the Q&A session that follows the presentation wasn't included, so I have no idea if any of the students challenged some of his assertions or pointed out some of the points that he left out. Anyway, maybe we can hope that Fricklas is, in fact, an occasional reader here and can stop by to address those questions and omissions. Permalink| Comments| Email This Story

Zach Galifianakis interviews Conan and Andy (between two ferns) By Bob Sassone (TV Squad) Submitted at 11/17/2009 2:03:00 PM

Conan O'Brien is a better interviewee than interviewer, as this "Between Two Ferns" interview with Zach Galifianakis shows. He and Andy Richter sat down to chat with Galifianakis at FunnyorDie.com and they touch on everything from The Tonight Show to whether or not Conan touches himself while watching himself. It seems to be all scripted but it's funny (not die). There's a surprise guest star too. Filed under: Video, Web, Celebrities, Reality-Free Permalink| Email this| | Comments

Review: House - Teamwork By Jane Boursaw (TV Squad) Submitted at 11/17/2009 2:06:00 PM

(S06E07) "I'm living my life. For the first time, I'm not going to change that because of how it might affect him -- or you." -Cuddy to Wilson, who asked her

what she sees in Lucas I just want to shove House and Cuddy into a room together and let them figure out their relationship. It's clear that even though she's trying to be happy in her current relationship, she just no matter how much she declares can't get House out of her head,

that she has or is going to. I feel for her, because once they end up getting together -- if they don't by the time the series ends, I'll be ticked -- she'll have a long road ahead of her. Or not. People change. There's a good heart beating inside House's damaged

psyche. It could work. Continue reading Review: House - Teamwork Filed under: OpEd, House, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free Permalink| Email this| | Comments

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Apple giving huge discounts on Black Friday? No way! By Steven Sande (The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)) Submitted at 11/17/2009 2:00:00 PM

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Retail, Rumors, Holidays The boy geniuses over at Boy Genius Report are getting a lot of hits out of a story they ran late yesterday. Apparently, one of their contacts tipped them to a "shot of Apple's yearly Black Friday deals" that is "reported to be something Apple will email out shortly." The email (seen at right, pasted with an editorial comment from yours truly) shows alleged discounts of up to 30% on all iPods (excluding iPhone or iPod shuffle), up to 25% on all Macs, and up to 15% on all accessories, Apple software, and Apple hardware. This will only happen on November 27th and apparently "select" Apple stores will open at 6 AM. Well, most of us here at TUAW are pretty sure this is a fake. A compelling fake, mind you, but an utter fabrication. Why? First reason -- Apple almost never discounts their products, other than selling refurbished equipment on the cheap. That's part of the reason that the company is so successful and has the highest margins in the personal electronics and computing world. Discounts of

"up to 25% on all Macs" are an Apple fanboy's most exciting dream (next to the iTablet, of course), but we doubt if the Cupertino Kids would discount anything more than 5%. Reason two -- Apple Stores are, for the most part, hugely popular anyway. Apple doesn't need to drag in customers on Black Friday by enticing them with wicked discounts. Let's face it, most of the Apple Stores are going to be packed on November

27th, so why would Apple want to create traffic jams and general hysteria by doing something like this? Hell, most of the Apple retail employees would probably quit during Black Friday, leaving the company in the lurch for the rest of the holiday season. Number three -- Historical precedence shows that Apple usually provides discounts on Black Friday, but not as big as BGR is indicating. In 2006, Apple provided free shipping to

shoppers at the online store. Last year, Best Buy discounted up to US$150 on Macs and Apple matched that, but there was no steenkin' 25% discount. And finally, reason number four -- Apple's probably not going to send out anything with that much blank space at the top of it. They're too picky about design. They don't want someone to have to scroll down through an email to read the discounts, even if there is an Apple logo floating around at the top of the email. How sure are we that this isn't going to happen? Well, if it actually happens the way Boy Genius Report says it will, I'll wear a Boy Genius Report baseball cap (provided by BGR, of course) for four hours at Macworld Expo 2010 and give you guys some free advertising. TUAW readers -- what do you think about the discounts? Are they going to happen or not? TUAW Apple giving huge discounts on Black Friday? No way! originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments

Burn Notice returns January 28th, to be paired with White Collar By Robert Seidman (TVbytheNumbers) Submitted at 11/17/2009 10:11:26 AM

BURN NOTICE -- Pictured: (lr) Sharon Gless as Madeline, Bruce Campbell as Sam, Jeffrey Donovan as Michael Westen, Gabrielle Anwar as Fiona -- USA Network Photo: Glenn Watson The Futon Critic reports that USA Networkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Burn Notice will return with the second half of its third season on Thursday January 28, 2010 at 9pm and that it will be paired with the second half of the freshman season of White Collar, which will air at 10pm. White Collar finishes its first half -season on December 4. Psych is expected to return on Friday January 29 at 10pm with the second half of its fourth season. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

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Nasty Old People, Give It Away And Yes, Gartner Is Free To Pray And Releasing Movies For File Pick Which Companies Fit In Its Magic Quadrant Sharing By Mike Masnick (Techdirt)

which really aren't business models at all. While it works Submitted at 11/16/2009 9:48:00 PM sometimes, it's pretty much a We were just talking about some crapshoot, and never strikes me indie filmmakers who were as a real business model. So, on happy with the extra attention the whole, I'm not too surprised they've been getting from having that it didn't bring in much more t h e i r m o v i e " l e a k e d " o n than 20% of its budget in 2 B i t T o r r e n t , a n d weeks (though some compare it ChurchHatesTucker alerts us to to blockbuster movies that can another story of filmmakers often make about the same % of embracing file sharing. This one their budgets in the early going. is actually from a few weeks ago, However, if we compare this but a Swedish filmmaker made a situation to what would have low budget indie film called happened otherwise(i.e., if the Nasty Old People and released it movie were not released this under a Creative Commons way) the situation becomes a license, along with a request for little more interesting. This was a donations. The link is to very low budget indie film that Metafilter where there's an likely would not have received interesting discussion about any distribution at all. At best, whether or not the experiment is the filmmaker perhaps could a "success" or a "failure." It's a have self-printed DVDs, and bit of a mixed bag, as at the time would have been lucky to have of the discussion, the filmmaker sold a dozen or two. She could had made back 20% of the film's have tried to enter it into various budget and there were questions film festivals, but that's quite if it would get much higher. difficult, and even then there's a Thus, it was easy for some to pretty good chance that the quickly call it a clear failure. movie doesn't end up actually Of course, it's not really that making any money. Yet, in this simple. First, I've said for years case, she not only made money that I'm no fan of "give it away from donations, but the film is and pray" business models, getting picked up and shown in

theaters around the world. So, compared to that situation, things actually look better than the alternative. On top of that, while this particular movie may have been a net loss, she could use it for marketing herself. She can go around and show the movie to others, and perhaps use that to get funding for a larger scale project or another film that's released with a bit more of a complete business model. Nasty Old People becomes marketing and a promotion for Hanna Skold. It has to be better resume filler for a filmmaker to talk about tens of thousands of people downloading and watching your film than just going in cold saying you want to make a film. And, in fact, she's already hard at work on a new film script, with many people who became fans of Nasty Old People following along and interested in seeing what the new script is like. So, as a marketing tool, it sure seems like giving this movie away has been quite useful. Permalink| Comments| Email This Story

By Mike Masnick (Techdirt) Submitted at 11/17/2009 4:07:09 AM

Whatever you might think of Gartner's research and its silly "magic quadrant" system, I don't think anyone could reasonably question that it was just Gartner's opinion. Yet, a few months ago, we wrote about a company, ZL, that was so upset that Gartner put it in its niche quadrant, rather than the desired "magic quadrant," that it sued. We didn't expect the lawsuit to get very far (similar lawsuits over how Google ranks companies have been tossed pretty quickly). And, indeed, a judge appears to have found little worthwhile in ZL's lawsuit, quickly dismissing all of the arguments, and noting that Gartner is free to have its own damn opinion, no matter how much others (or the subjects of that opinion) might disagree:"Finally, ZL argues that Gartner's representation that it provides 'highly discerning research that is objective, defensible, and credible to help [customers] do their job better' implies that its Reports contain objective assertions of fact.

Gartner notes that this language appears not in the MQ Report but on its website and that the language describes Gartner's research services generally rather than the MQ Report in particular.... More to the point, the terms 'objective, defensible, and credible' do not imply the assertion of factual information. Gartner argues convincingly that even if its self-description did refer to the statements within the MQ Report, its 'sophisticated readers' -- corporate and government executives and professionals -- would not infer that Gartner's rankings were anything other than opinion." Still, the judge gave ZL an opportunity to amend the complaint, and the statement from the company indicates that it's planning to try to come up with some other ridiculous argument against Gartner. Maybe it should just focus on satisfying what its customers want, and stop worrying about what some analyst at Gartner has to say. Permalink| Comments| Email This Story

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Lawyers Write Law, And Then Are The Only Ones To Make Millions Directly Off Of It

5 apps for Thanksgiving (and not a turkey in the bunch!)

By Mike Masnick (Techdirt)

By Dave Caolo (The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW))

districts that favor minority groups, so they are not excluded from local elections. Here's how It's difficult not to become even t h e A P d e s c r i b e s i t : T h e more cynical when you read C a l i f o r n i a s t a t u t e t a r g e t s stories like the following one. c o m m o n l y u s e d " a t - l a r g e " Sent in by Eric Goldman, it's elections -- those in which about a state law in California candidates run citywide or across that was mainly written by two an entire school district. Avila lawyers: Joaquin Avila, a law said that method can result in professor from Seattle, and discrimination because whatever Robert Rubin, the "legal director" group constitutes the majority of for the Lawyers' Committee for voters can dominate the ballot Civil Rights of the San Francisco box and block minorities from B a y A r e a . S o , h e r e ' s t h e winning representation. As a interesting thing: since this state remedy, the law empowers state law has been put in place (seven courts to create smaller election years ago), the only lawsuits have districts favoring minority b e e n b r o u g h t b y R u b i n ' s candidates. committee or Avila and they've Officials in several California made themselves over $4 million communities said they never with a few more lawsuits pending h e a r d c o m p l a i n t s o f v o t e r and a bunch more threatened discrimination until the lawyers (again, all from either Avila or stepped forward. In one case, the Rubin's committee). Tulare Local Healthcare District, What a great deal: write a law, now known as Tulare Regional and then be the only lawyers to Medical Center, was sued even use the law to make millions. though its five-member As for the law itself, it was a law governing board is a rainbow of that apparently very few people diversity -- two emigres from were asking for -- requiring that India, a Hispanic, a black and a state courts carve out specific w h i t e . T h e l a w s u i t a r g u e s Submitted at 11/17/2009 8:55:00 AM

Hispanics, who make up about a third of local voters, have been shortchanged. Of course, there are many reasons why the exact makeup of a governing board might not match the exact percentage of the population (including the simple fact that most people vote on issues, not the ethnicity of the people they're voting for). But, even if there was a problem it seems highly questionable that the two lawyers who wrote the bill are now profiting tremendously from it and appear to be the only ones who do so. It's stories like this one that make us so nervous about so much legislation. This is the type of law they create: it may sound good (who's going to argue against diversity?). But, the actual law appears to have been nothing more than a way for these lawyers to go around collecting millions, while disrupting communities and schoolboards, and sending their taxpayer money to these lawyers. Permalink| Comments| Email This Story

Filed under: Software, iPhone, Holidays, iPod touch Here in the USA we're preparing to celebrate Thanksgiving. The typical celebration includes a turkey dinner, family and football on television (and perhaps a drunken uncle or two). Before you set up the folding card table for the kids, check out these iPhone/iPod touch apps meant to make the day more enjoyable. Thanksgiving Jokes Serving the "perfect" dinner while dealing with annoying relatives is stressful, so cut the tension with corny jokes, courtesy of Thanksgiving Jokes [ iTunes link]. This free app is based on Dustin Kirk's Stacks platform, which puts flash cards on your iPhone or iPod touch. There's a large variety of topics available from math to trivia: nearly 13,000 in total. Dustin breaks from academia with Thanksgiving Jokes and focuses on groan-inducing one-liners. And you thought the turkey was dry. Turkey Recipes http://bit.ly/3E7rWp In my day, recipes were taped to 0 c o m m e n t s S o u r c e : cabinet doors. Today there's www.powermat.com

Powermat.com | Powermat Wireless Charging By twitter:@Powermat (TweetMeme) Submitted at 11/17/2009 6:44:31 AM

RT this message and enter to win a Powermat and receiver of your choice! One winner per week. #powermat

Submitted at 11/17/2009 12:00:00 PM

cooking software and even a dedicated television network. iPhone users can download Turkey Recipes [ iTunes link] for $0.99 and pick from 27 recipes. Once you've selected the one you like (or added your own), you're a click away from generating a shopping list. Back in the kitchen, flick through the easy-to -read instructions (just wipe your hands first) and compare your finished product to the included photo. Just don't be too hard on yourself. Continue reading 5 apps for Thanksgiving (and not a turkey in the bunch!) TUAW 5 apps for Thanksgiving (and not a turkey in the bunch!) originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments

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China’s Share of the App Store: Really Tiny

Verizon to AT&T- 'The Truth Hurts'

By Christina Warren (Mashable!)

By Mel Martin (The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW))

Submitted at 11/17/2009 9:03:43 AM

At the end of October, the iPhone finally came to China, albeit without WiFi. China represents a huge area of potential not just for the iPhone, but for the smartphone market in general. The biggest area of growth in the smartphone market — and a key part of iPhone’s success — are mobile applications. So how are iPhone app sales looking in China, a nation where most software is counterfeit and where there are strict rules on what types of communication is allowed to take place? The Wall Street Journal has looked into the issue and published estimates of the early results. China already has an estimated 2 million iPhones in circulation, but most of them are not running on the iPhone’s official carrier, China Unicom, but are jailbroken and more likely to run pirated applications. Still, the legitimate

app market is growing. Chinese mobile application company 9thQ estimates that $1 million worth of legitimate iPhone apps have been sold so far this year — and that the market could reach $6 million next year. That’s small potatoes in the grand scheme of things — AdMob says the App Store sells $200 million in apps every month, but for a country like China where the iPhone on an official carrier is new — and the concept of paying for software is uncommon — that shows potential. Other Chinese based mobile app companies cite WiFi and lower prices as factors that will contribute to the growth in China’s mobile app market. Still, mobile app developers in

China are already jumping on the platform. Both Chinese-specific companies and ports of Western apps are already starting to appear. Additionally, some Chinese developers are seeing their apps find success outside of China — in English-speaking countries and other parts of the world. One of the biggest hurdles in the legitimate app market is localization. The majority of apps still have English instructions, are priced in Chinese dollars and don’t have Chinese specific UI features. In contrast, pirated apps are available in Chinese and with detailed Chinese instructions. It’s clear that building a booming app ecosystem in China is not going to be as easy as it has been in other parts of the world, but the potential for success certainly exists. What do you think about the future of mobile applications and app stores in China? Let us know! Reviews: App Store Tags: app store, china, iphone

Submitted at 11/17/2009 10:00:00 AM

Filed under: Odds and ends, iPhone Verizon isn't fazed by the AT&T legal claims that the Verizon ads attacking poor coverage are false and misleading. Our sister site Engadget broke the story of the Verizon response to the suit and you can read the it here. Verizon isn't pulling any punches and says " AT&T did not file this lawsuit because Verizon's "There's A Map For That" advertisements are untrue; AT&T sued because Verizon's ads are true and the truth hurts." Then to drive home the point: " In the final analysis, AT&T seeks emergency relief because Verizon's side-by-side, apples-toapples comparison of its own 3G coverage with AT&T's confirms what the marketplace has been saying for months: AT&T failed to invest adequately in the necessary infrastructure to expand its 3G coverage to support its growth in smartphone

Sneak Peek: The Mentalist By Bob Sassone (TV Squad) Submitted at 11/17/2009 1:03:00 PM

CBS is promoting this Thursday's episode of The

Mentalist as "the episode you've been waiting for." Not sure about that, but this preview below does seem rather intense. Three people are murdered in the CBI office

and Red John might be involved? Yikes. [Watch clips and episodes of The Mentalist and other shows at SlashControl.]

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business, and the usefulness of its service to smartphone users has suffered accordingly." Ouch! This latest salvo follows AT&T sending a message to customers complaining about the Verizon ads and telling customers their coverage is great, that they sell more smartphones than Verizon and that the AT&T 3G network is faster. So there. Well AT&T, your move. It's great for the lawyers, and actually, we admit we just love the spectacle. TUAW Verizon to AT&T- 'The Truth Hurts' originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments

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Twitter’s Newest Desktop Client: Seesmic for Windows Launches By Ben Parr (Mashable!) Submitted at 11/17/2009 8:41:02 AM

Among Twitter desktop apps, Seesmic and TweetDeck are the two biggest, built using Adobe AIR, which allows them to work on multiple operating systems. However, AIR has limitations, since it essentially helps port rich Internet applications onto the desktop. Adding plug-ins and drag-and-drop functionality are just two examples. That functionality is about to come to Seesmic though, and its moves today could change the dynamics of the Twitter app race. The company has just announced the launch of Seesmic for Windows on the stage of the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference. This is no Adobe AIR App: this is a fully-functional desktop program that utilizes some of the best features of Windows 7. It is available by request at

can drag-and-drop users into lists and other parts of the app, it uses less memory, and it utilizes several Windows 7 features (e.g. location sensor). Seesmic seems intent on becoming the Twitter app of choice for third party developers. It makes sense: the strategy worked very well for Twitter Seesmic.com Seesmic for Windows, whose itself. Still, it does divide the preview will be available today, company’s attention, especially is a project that has been in the as its competitor TweetDeck has works for months. The goal was a popular iPhone app out on the to allow outside developers to m a r k e t . T h e r e i s a l s o n o more easily integrate their indication if or when a Mac products with Seesmic. The version will be released. We’re going to play with Windows version does that through a plug-in system that’s Seesmic for Windows and give similar to what you’d find in you our assessment. In the F i r e f o x . T w e e t m e m e a n d meantime, let us know what you MrTweet, for example, should be think in the comments. Reviews: available as plug-ins by the final Firefox, Seesmic, TweetDeck, Tweetmeme, Twitter launch. Tags: seesmic, tweetdeck, Seesmic for Windows also boasts some new features and twitter, twitter app improvements from its AIR counterpart. Specifically, you

Julianne Hough Reveals Her 'Dancing with the Stars' Fate (ETonline - Breaking News)

fan favorite Julianne Hough reveals whether she's ready to return or if she's taking another ET hast he latest... season off. As the current season of "No, not next season," she tells "Dancing with the Stars" heats up Ryan Seacrest on his KIIS-FM and comes to a close next week, radio show of whether she'd be Submitted at 11/17/2009 10:01:00 AM

back on the show. And when pressed to reveal whether she'd return the season after that she coyly replied, "We're going to cross that bridge when we get to it."

Verizon Fires Back at AT&T: “The Truth Hurts” By Stan Schroeder (Mashable!) Submitted at 11/17/2009 7:23:40 AM

About a month ago, Verizon started running ads that mocked AT&T’s 3G coverage and, needless to say, AT&T didn’t take it well, responding with a lawsuit and a request to have the ads pulled immediately. Last week, they publicly called the ads“blatantly false and misleading.” Now, Verizon’s responded, basically saying that AT&T doesn’t have a problem with them, but with the truth. From the court filing: “AT&T did not file this lawsuit because Verizon’s “There’s A Map For That” advertisements are untrue; AT&T sued because Verizon’s ads are true and the truth hurts… AT&T now is attempting to silence Verizon’s ads that include maps graphically depicting the geographic reach of AT&T’s 3G network as compared to Verizon’s own 3G network because AT&T does not

like the truthful picture painted by that comparison.” When it comes to mobile coverage, the situation is never black and white. Each company has its own data, almost inevitably skewed to paint a better picture for them. It’ll be interesting to see how the court will decide on this one, but when it comes to AT&T’s 3G coverage, we’ve heard complaints from actual users, and lots of them. Check out the ads that caused all this fuss below, and tell us if you think they’re truthful or not in the comments: There’s a Map for That Misfit Toys Reviews: the complaints Tags: att, verizon

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The Trouble With Hulu... Too Many Competing Interests By Mike Masnick (Techdirt)

Boxee certainly suggested the problem was at a different level than with Hulu management. N e a r l y a y e a r a g o , w e But... with Hulu having most of questioned whether or not Hulu its ownership from legacy could survive. It's not that we industries, combined with having don't think the product is well s o m a n y d i f f e r e n t p l a y e r s done or well liked. Other than involved in the ownership, it the annoying regional restrictions shouldn't come as a surprise at all which pisses off lots of people, that the company is now coming the overall service is quite nice. under pressure to do things The problem is that there are just (subscriptions, limits, etc.) that way too many conflicts to deal will certainly kill off whatever with. The company is owned, in good has been done. And, since large part, by the networks, and some of the pressure is actually that's leading to all sorts of coming from the cable guys as pressure and complaints about well (who view Hulu as a huge By Mike Schramm (The even the Mac Pro. In fact, in the matching up to the Mac Pros how ads are sold and whether or threat), this will only get worse Unofficial Apple Weblog second comparison, when pitted sitting in the lower atmosphere. not there should be a subscription i f , a s i s w i d e l y e x p e c t e d , (TUAW)) up against the single CPU Mac Good stuff. I'm not personally in service. From what I've heard, Comcast completes its purchase P r o , t h e i M a c i s v i r t u a l l y the market for a new computer, the folks at Hulu understand of NBC Universal. Submitted at 11/17/2009 9:00:00 AM identical. Not only is it slightly but man -- if I was ready to spend quite well how an internet-age Permalink| Comments| Email F i l e d u n d e r : D e s k t o p s , cheaper depending on options, $2000 on a quality machine, it's company should act. The This Story Hardware, iMac People have had but you get that nice monitor for tough to consider anything else a c o m p a n y ' s r a t h e r h o n e s t their chances to put their grubby free. better purchase than the new explanation for its fight with hands on those "incredible" Electronista has a much more iMac. iMacs that got released a few qualitative analysis, but they still TUAW iMac benchmarks and weeks ago, and the results are in. love the new machine. Their review say it's a beast originally And they're great, apparently. "biggest" problem (aside from appeared on The Unofficial First up, MacRumors has a the usual complaints about the Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, collection of a few sets of glossy screen and a lack of easy- 17 Nov 2009 09:00:00 EST. b e n c h m a r k s o n t h e n e w to-reach ports) seems to be just Please see our terms for use of (ETonline - Breaking News) Stroup's red hot dresses, to 'Star machines, and the Core i7 the size of it. The 27" iMac is a feeds. Trek' leading lady Zoe Saldana Submitted at 11/17/2009 9:30:00 AM processor(a $200 upgrade from big machine no matter how thin it Read| Permalink| Email this| and "Big Love" actress Chloe the still very powerful Core i5) gets. But they agree: with the i7 Comments It's a fashion face-off for style- Sevigny's all-out bra-out, see especially kicks up the speed to a in there and all of the extra savvy celebs! From 'Public which stars are working the red place where it's competing with options, the iMac is a monster, Enemies' star Marion Cotillard carpet in a similar fashion. and "90210" actress Jessica Submitted at 11/17/2009 7:31:00 AM

iMac benchmarks and review say it's a beast

Movie Star vs. TV Star: Who Wore It Best?

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Internet Explorer 9 not coming at PDC (CNET News.com) Submitted at 11/17/2009 10:21:00 AM

LOS ANGELES--Although Microsoft intends to talk a bit about its plans for the future of Internet Explorer this week, the company won't offer preview code of its next browser, CNET News has learned. The software maker is also not planning to announce a move to the WebKit engine, as some had speculated. Ray Ozzie, speaking Tuesday at Microsoft's Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles.(Credit: Ina Fried/CNET) In his opening keynote at the Professional Developers Conference on Tuesday, Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie pledged that Microsoft will make Internet Explorer the absolute best Windows browser, but did not offer further details.

Google Translate now helps with pronunciation (CNET News.com) Submitted at 11/17/2009 11:08:25 AM

Microsoft is expected to talk more about its browser plans as part of Wednesday's keynote speech. During that talk, he is expected to talk about some--but not all--of its "focus areas" for the next browser version, a Microsoft representative told CNET News. The latest version of IE 8 was released in March and is also

Warrant: Mo. sex abuse case could include slayings (AP) (Yahoo! News: U.S. News) Submitted at 11/17/2009 11:11:10 AM

James W buzzed up: Army suicides to top 2008, but progress

reported (AP) 8 seconds ago 2009-1117T11:25:23-08:00 This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

built into Windows 7. Despite the new release, though, Microsoft faces intense competition from Firefox as well as from Google and Apple. In addition, Microsoft has struggled to get Internet Explorer users to move past IE 6. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

You'll still have to figure out what all the accents mean, but Google now provides a phonetic spelling of translated words.(Credit: Google) Google made several improvements to Google Translate Monday, such as the ability to translate words written with unique character sets with their phonetic spelling. Google has been steadily adding languages to Google Translate over the last couple of years, but if the language used a completely unfamiliar character set--such as the Roman-character based languages like English or Spanish versus Chinese characters--the service was only useful for those trying to write in

the language. Now Google Translate will help those trying to translate English into Chinese for speaking purposes by providing a phonetic version of the translation in Roman characters. Those trying to translate English into Hebrew, Arabic, or Persian will have to wait for the phonetic option, but Google has also added a feature that lets an English (or any other language) speaker phonetically spell out a word in Arabic, Persian, or Hindi and get a translation of that word in its native character set. And for those trying to translate other languages into English, Google has added a link that produces a audio version of the word or phrase in English. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

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Google’s AdMob Launches Interactive Video Ads on iPhone

YouTube Lets Anyone Create Their Own iReport

By Adam Ostrow (Mashable!)

'Dancing with the Stars' Celebs React to Possible Last Dances (ETonline - Breaking News) Submitted at 11/17/2009 9:29:00 AM

"Dancing with the Stars" is down to the wire with only four Submitted at 11/17/2009 10:25:38 AM Submitted at 11/17/2009 9:04:24 AM celebrities left dancing. ET's Mary Hart attended the show Video ads on the iPhone are If you watch CNN, you’ve with friend Marie Osmond, who about to get a lot more like video probably seen iReports – videos spoke with the contestants after ads on the Web: highly submitted by users around the their performances. interactive and hard to just skip world about news events via the "I joke about it but it really was According to the company, the over. AdMob, the company that company’s citizen journalism your fault," Donny Osmond tells ads are optimized based on your c i t i z e n j o u r n a l i s t s t o g e t Google just announced it was website. The site played a key his sister when she mentions the connection, so you’ll likely get a exposure, and YouTube to even buying for $750 million, has role in helping the network mistakes he made in the first higher quality streaming ad if launched an interactive video obtain footage during the Iran further strengthen its lead in dance. Donny says he's you’re on 3G as opposed to online video. The company format for ads running on the election crisis. determined to make it into the top EDGE. notes that ABC News, The Apple device. Now, YouTube is letting anyone three like Marie did. "That's my Overall, it’s certainly not the Much like some of the more launch their own iReport-type Washington Post, and San main motivation. Put me in the least invasive ad format we’ve Francisco Chronicle are among complex campaigns you now see site through a program they’re finals so she doesn't throw it in on sites like YouTube and seen, though it follows trends calling YouTube Direct, which the organizations already using my face for the rest of my life," we’re seeing on the Web with ads MySpace, the ads let users watch they describe as “a new tool that the platform. You can bet a lot he jokes with his sister. becoming bigger and harder to m o r e o u t f i t s – o n l i n e a n d video and perform a number of allows media organizations to Kelly Osbourne said she made avoid. On the other hand, at least actions, like view additional request, review and rebroadcast traditional – will be looking into up part of her rumba dance t h e y ’ r e a d d i n g i n t e r a c t i v e videos, learn more about the ad, YouTube clips directly from ways to use it now that it’s live. because she forgot the steps she components that make the ads Y o u T u b e ’ s p r o v i d e d t h e or respond directly, like by YouTube users.” more engaging than a straight up The potential for this is clearly following demo of how it works: rehearsed. "I did everything I buying an app. wanted to do and more." The ads load before an app commercial. Reviews: MySpace, pretty massive, as it allows news Reviews: YouTube Tap Tap Revenge, YouTube Tags: citizen journalism, video, starts. In the example provided organizations to expand their Tags: admob, advertising, coverage (on YouTube’s dime), youtube by AdMob, the game Tap Tap Revenge is preceded by an ad for Google, iphone, Mobile 2.0 Madden ’10 by Electronic Arts.

Updated:Power Outage = Nielsen Ratings Delays By Robert Seidman (TVbytheNumbers)

final national numbers this afternoon. If the fast nationals wind up getting published before Submitted at 11/17/2009 8:38:21 AM the final numbers, we’ll post a Nielsen suffered some kind of regular overnight report. power outage last night and as a This will cause some delays with result we’re told there will not be the normal weekly ratings any Fast Nationals this morning, information as well. instead they will just publish We’re not sure when data will

begin to flow again, but we’ll keep you updated.

Update (10:15a PT): everything is still delayed. Nielsen sent a note to its clients saying the cause was a power outage in its Oldsmar data center this morning. Everything is back up and running and Nielsen will process the data as soon as possible. Nielsen expects to send

out another update at 4pm ET/1pm PT. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

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Rumor: Apple to release concierge app

'New Moon''s Kristen Stewart: I Am Not an Icon

By Dave Caolo (The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW))

(ETonline - Breaking News) Submitted at 11/17/2009 10:13:00 AM

Submitted at 11/17/2009 11:00:00 AM

Filed under: Retail, Rumors, Software, App Store The Genius Bar is a popular feature of Apple's retail stores. Shoppers can schedule appointments with the resident Geniuses to request repairs, ask for help and so on. The tough part can be getting an appointment, as they fill up fast. AppleInsider is reporting that Apple will release a concierge app meant to make that process easier. They say that the app will let users schedule appointments with both the Genius Bar and One-ToOne and monitor their place in line. No other information was available. Recently, Apple added a service that lets people pick up Macs and iPods ordered online from retail stores, complete with gift wrapping. We'll keep an eye on the App

'The Twilight Saga: New Moon' star Kristen Stewart spoke to Ryan Seacrest, the host of " On Air with Ryan Seacrest," about playing Bella. Here is what she had to say. "I so see why they are obsessed," she says of fans of the 'Twilight' franchise. "It is so weird to get the question: What is it like to be such an icon? I am not an icon. I am playing a character that is an e v e r y t i m e y o u l a u n c h icon. I really like her and love G r a c k l e 6 8 k u n l e s s y o u ' r e her. I think she is a good comfortable using ResEdit (if representation for these chicks." you're using this app, you likely Kristen goes on to explain what are). it is about Bella that she likes: "I I played with this briefly on ny think she has an undeniable G3 and had fun. If you've also presence that every single girl got a basement full of legacy has. It is innately female, even if Macs, give this a try. If only I you are weird, a little awkward still had that Powerbook 150... and self-deprecating. Bella very TUAW Grackle68k: a Classic much owns the fact that she is Mac OS Twitter app originally different. She makes a lot of appeared on The Unofficial mistakes that she owns as well. Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, She is not ashamed of herself and 17 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST. I think that is pretty cool." Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments

Grackle68k: a Classic Mac OS Twitter app Store and let you know when this app lands. TUAW Rumor: Apple to release concierge app originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments

By Dave Caolo (The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)) Submitted at 11/17/2009 1:00:00 PM

Filed under: Software, Internet Tools It's always nice to own the latest and greatest Apple hardware, but some of us still use vintage machines. I've got a G3 All-In-One on my workbench that displays iFixIt PDFs while I work. I'll admit that I've wanted to tweet from that machine from a dedicated app, and now I can. Grackle68k is a Twitter application for OS 9 through System 6. Yes, System 6! It's quite bare bones and low on bells and whistles, but it works. You'll have to enter your credentials

AP source: NYC papers' circulation offices raided (AP) (Yahoo! News: U.S. News) Submitted at 11/17/2009 11:15:04 AM

Cynthia buzzed up: Soldier mom refuses deployment to care for baby (AP)

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Google Sites Just Got a Whole Lot Prettier

Kirstie Alley's 'Cheers' Co-Stars Comment on Her Upcoming Reality Show

By Stan Schroeder (Mashable!)

(ETonline - Breaking News) Submitted at 11/17/2009 9:58:00 AM

Submitted at 11/17/2009 6:29:21 AM

Google Sites, a service that lets you create and collaborate on a simple webpage, as well as embed documents, photos, videos into it, was visually a bland affair…until now. Google has created a template gallery for Sites; when you create a new site, you can now select a template which you can further customize according to your needs. Available templates cover a wide selection of specific needs; you’ll find one for schools, weddings, churches, families, clubs, restaurants, projects and more. Furthermore, the template

gallery is public, and anyone can contribute. Given Google’s popularity, and the fact that Google Sites is a free service, we expect the gallery to be populated with dozens of great looking templates soon. Directions for adding a template to the gallery are here; you can also see an overview of Google Sites Templates in a video below. Reviews: Google Tags: Google sites, templates

Xbox Dashboard Update Brings Last.fm, Facebook, Twitter, and Zune Video to Your TV [Updates] By Adam Pash (Lifehacker)

but the Facebook and Twitter integration looks pretty solid Submitted at 11/17/2009 8:30:00 AM (and let's face it, Twitter and The annual fall update for the Facebook are both determined to Xbox 360 dashboard is here, find a home on every single bringing with it support for electronic device you own). The Last.fm radio, Facebook and Zune marketplace integration Twitter integration, and HD seems like a decent option for streaming through Zune's online instant-streaming HD video marketplace. rentals, though the selection To grab the update, just fire up doesn't look that impressive at your Xbox and sign into Xbox the moment (we still prefer the f a v o r i t e F i e s t a A g e n t o n Live. You should be prompted to Netflix integration). Still, if http://bit.ly/KscBU #fiestafav apply the update, after which you've got a 360, it's certainly a you'll have access to all the new worthwhile update. Xbox.com #fiestamovement 0 c o m m e n t s S o u r c e : features. The Last.fm addition is 2009 Fall Update[Xbox via probably the most exciting Gizmodo] fiestamovement.com update for most of our readers,

ET has the latest... ET was on hand as "Cheers" costars Kelsey Grammer and Ted Danson reunited in Los Angeles at a star-studded event Monday night, where they dished on their former co-star Kirstie Alley's upcoming reality show. "I'll bet it'll be great," Danson told ET of Kirstie's upcoming show. "She is fearless ... her brand of insanity is brilliant. Good for her I wish her all the success." Meanwhile, Grammer didn't think he was fit to give Kirstie tips. "I wouldn't even hazard advice on such a venture!" he said.

Fiesta Movement | The 2011 Ford Fiesta: Votes | FiestaMovement.com By twitter:@ScottMonty (TweetMeme) Submitted at 11/17/2009 8:20:11 AM

Please RT: Vote for your

Sarah Palin: Levi Johnston Doesn't Have Anything on Me (ETonline - Breaking News)

former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin continues to promote her book, sitting Following her interview with down with Barbara Walters to set Oprah Winfrey on Monday, the record straight about claims Submitted at 11/17/2009 7:25:00 AM

made by Levi Johnston that her marriage is on the rocks and that she called her youngest child Trig a derogatory term. Johnston, 19, claimed on "The

Early Show" last month that Palin had called Trig, who is afflicted with Down syndrome, "retarded." "That's heartbreaking to know

that that he would say such a thing and that's not true," she tells Walters, who aired her interview with Palin on "Good Morning America."

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ADL Special Report: A Year of Growing Animosity (Little Green Footballs)

trample on individual freedoms and civil liberties, due to some sinister agenda, and they see his The Anti-Defamation League economic and social policies as has released a detailed report on manifestations of this agenda. In the increasing anger and hostility p a r t i c u l a r a n t i - g o v e r n m e n t among the right wing, singling activists used the issue of health o u t m a n y o f t h e s a m e care reform as a rallying point, personalities and issues on which a c c u s i n g O b a m a a n d h i s LGF has been focusing recently. administration of dark designs This is the index page with r a n g i n g f r o m “ s o c i a l i z e d summaries of the main points: medicine” to “death panels,” Rage Grows in America: Anti- e v e n w h e n t h e O b a m a Government Conspiracies. administration had not come out Since the election of Barack with a specific health care reform Obama as president, a current of plan. Some even compared the anti-government hostility has O b a m a a d m i n i s t r a t i o n ’ s swept across the United States, intentions to Nazi eugenics creating a climate of fervor and programs. activism with manifestations Some of these assertions are ranging from incivility in public motivated by prejudice, but more forums to acts of intimidation common is an intense strain of and violence. anti-government distrust and What characterizes this anti- anger, colored by a streak of government hostility is a shared p a r a n o i a a n d b e l i e f i n belief that Obama and his conspiracies. These sentiments administration actually pose a are present both in mainstream threat to the future of the United and “grass-roots” movements as States. Some accuse Obama of w e l l a s i n e x t r e m e a n t i plotting to bring socialism to the government movements such as a United States, while others claim resurgent militia movement. he will bring about Nazism or Ultimately, this anti-government fascism. All believe that Obama anger, if it continues to grow in and his administration will intensity and scope, may result in Submitted at 11/17/2009 10:06:12 AM

an increase in anti-government extremists and the potential for a rise of violent anti-government acts. The ADL is right on target when they identify Glenn Beck as one of the primary mainstream media promoters of extremist ideologies and conspiracy theory paranoia: The most important mainstream media figure who has repeatedly helped to stoke the fires of antigovernment anger is right-wing media host Glenn Beck, who has a TV show on FOX News and a popular syndicated radio show. While other conservative media hosts, such as Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, routinely attack Obama and his administration, typically on partisan grounds, they have usually [But not always… --ed.] dismissed or refused to give a platform to the conspiracy theorists and anti-government extremists. This has not been the case with Glenn Beck. Beck and his guests have made a habit of demonizing President Obama and promoting conspiracy theories about his administration. On a number of his TV and radio programs, Beck has even

gone so far as to make comparisons between Hitler and Obama and to promote the idea that the president is dangerous. The whole thing is very much worth reading, so here are direct links to all of the report’s sections: Index / Summary Introduction Part One: Anger in the Mainstream The Tea Parties The Town Hall Meeting Disruptions A Building Anger The “Birther” Movement The Influence of the Mainstream Media Part Two: Anger on the Fringes Alex Jones, the Conspiracy King Conspiracy Theories Imagine Government Plots Conspiracy Theories Prompting Action: The Iowa National Guard Conspiracy Theories Prompting Action: Richard Poplawski Resisting the Government The Oath Keepers The Three Percenters The Resurgence of the Militia Movement

Equity markets cool after hitting new highs (Financial Times - US homepage) Submitted at 11/17/2009 8:41:22 AM

16:35 GMT The global risky-

asset rally was suffering a hangover on Tuesday following the exuberance of the previous session. After hitting new highs for the

year on Monday, US stocks dollar. trundled lower, mimicking This content has passed through European and Asian bourses, fivefilters.org. following a decline in commodity prices on the back of a stronger

Pedro Martinez Plans to Pitch the Entire 2010 Season By Knox Bardeen (FanHouse) Submitted at 11/17/2009 10:00:00 AM

by Knox Bardeen Filed under: Phillies, NL East Pedro Martinez couldn't find a suitable employment opportunity prior to the 2009 Major League Baseball season, so he sat out until the Phillies came knocking in July. The 38-year-old pitcher started nine games, posting a record of 5-1 with a 3.63 ERA and helped the Phillies make a championship run that fell just a little short. Through his agent, Fern Cuza, who spoke to FOXSports.com, the three-time Cy Young Awardwinner has made it clear that he would like to pitch in 2010. And Martinez wants to pitch the entire season this time. Pedro Martinez Plans to Pitch the Entire 2010 Season originally appeared on Fanhouse MLB Blog on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Linking Blogs| Comments

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Build a Cheap But Powerful Boxee Media Center [Media Center] By Kevin Purdy (Lifehacker) Submitted at 11/17/2009 9:10:00 AM

Adam thinks XBMC is the best media center around, but I roll with Boxee for its awesome streaming web content. Here's how I turned a relatively cheap yet powerful home theater PC into a DIY Boxee Box for my HDTV. Why go with Boxee? A few reasons, really: it's free to download, it's got a ton of great applications and add-ins, and it was, like XMBC, built with a big -screen interface in mind. When I was done installing it on top of a basic Ubuntu desktop, I had a system that could easily handle 720p and even (with some very easy overclocking) 1080p video files, run Hulu streams in full screen with very little glitching, and let me show off Flickr streams, Facebook photos, Pandora or Last.fm music, to name just a few of many content streams. Plus, with Ubuntu installed and set up, you can easily run any other Linux app on your TV—like Hulu Desktop, a hugescreen Firefox, or whatever you can imagine. You could, of course, wait for the first official Boxee Box to be unveiled in December, then shipped sometime later. This way, however, you get a seriously powerful HTPC that

can run most any media center, and tears up HD video streams while doing so. Many thanks to the fine posters at the Boxee and Ubuntu forums, where I found needed help and inspiration. This ASRock how-to, and wake-on-LAN tutorial, in particular, were lifesavers. What You'll Need • • ASRock Ion 330: Like Adam's pick of the Acer Aspire Revo, my HTPC comes with an NVIDIA ION graphics chip that can handle meaty HD video and export through an HDMI cable. My similarly sleek and (mostly) quiet-running system costs $350, $150 more than Adam's ($160 if you absolutely must have it in white), but it's beefier: 2GB of

Setting up Ubuntu is something I've done many times, and it's just as easy on this system. Here's the quick walk-through: Install Ubuntu From a Thumb Drive or CD Ubuntu, like XBMC, can run entirely off a thumb drive, or be installed to a hard drive. We're going for the latter option here. 1. Create your Ubuntu installation media: The fastest and quickest installation is to put the Ubuntu 9.04 desktop ISO you downloaded on a thumb drive using the free Unetbootin tool on a Windows or Linux system. You can also have Unetbootin automatically download Ubuntu RAM (up to 4GB supported), a set-up ASRock in a bit. dual-core Intel Atom 330 CPU • Ubuntu 9.04: You'll want the 9.04 for you, or burn the ISO to a that runs at 1.6 GHz out of the "PC Desktop CD" ISO image, CD or DVD, but thumb drive box, but can be overclocked to which you can download directly installations are much faster and 2.2 GHz from a simple BIOS or through BitTorrent. Boxee will don't require wasting a disc. switch, a 320 GB hard drive, and soon update to support Ubuntu 2. Set up your ASRock a DVD-RW drive. Unlike his 9.10, the most current release, but Take the unit out of its box, and Revo, my ASRock doesn't come for what you're using it for, you'll find a location for it where it can breathe and exhaust a little—not w i t h U S B p e r i p h e r a l s o r hardly notice. Windows XP, but, then again, • A thumb drive or blank CD: flush against a corner, in other we'll only need a USB keyboard The USB drive should be at least words. Plug in an ethernet cable and mouse for a little bit with this 1GB in size, and formatted to straight from your router (or Wiproject. FAT 32 for easy compatibility. Fi bridge), and connect it to your • USB keyboard and mouse: For • An IR receiver and Windows TV via an HDMI cable. You'll the Ubuntu installation process Media Center remote: Just like also need to plug in a USB a n d B I O S t w e a k s . A f t e r Adam, I'd go with this cheap keyboard and mouse to get everything's set up, you'll be able receiver+remote solution, though through the initial setup. Make to control everything via remote anything that claims Media sure all the connects are snug and screen access, SSH terminal, or Center compatibility will be not stretched, then plug in your your infrared remote. much easier to set up with Linux USB thumb drive, or power it on • Boxee for Ubuntu Linux: We'll and Boxee. BUILD page 38 detail how to install it in our just-

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and insert your CD/DVD. 3. Install Ubuntu Make sure your TV is switched to the HDMI source your ASRock box is plugged into. After you power on the ASRock, hit F11 immediately on your keyboard to open the boot options, then select your USB drive. You'll be launched into Ubuntu's setup screen. Choose your language, then select the "Install Ubuntu" option. You'll launch into a bare-bones Ubuntu desktop and then into the installer application. Most U.S. users can hit Next through the first three language/location/keyboard screens. When it comes time to partition your system's hard drive, though, I'd recommend splitting it into three parts: One for the Ubuntu system, one for a swap partition, and another NTFS-formatted drive for your media. Why NTFS? It makes sharing media from your HTPC box to Windows computers easier, and it can hold gigantic files—like the kind of highresolution videos you'll be viewing. If media sharing isn't a concern for you, go ahead and tell Ubuntu to use your whole hard disk. Otherwise, choose the "Specify Partitions Manually," click on the big, unallocated space in the next screen, and hit "Add" at the bottom. Set up Ubuntu's own partition like so: Hit "OK," then create another partition, about 2 GB, or 2,000 MiB in size, and choose "Linux

swap" under the "Use As" heading. Finally, add one more partition by hitting "Add," choose NTFS as its format, and have it use all the rest of your space. Click through the rest of the setup process, wait for it to finish installing, then reboot your computer and remove your thumb drive or CD when asked to do so. Setting up Ubuntu When your system boots up next time, you'll get a menu asking which system you want to boot into, with a 10-second timer before it heads to default (which we'll fix soon). Log in with the username and password you gave during setup—something else we'll get to optimizing. One quick little command we have to run before getting started: Hit Alt+F2, check the "Run in Terminal" box, then enter this line and hit Run: sudo apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recvkeys CEC06767 That authenticates a repository with some necessary graphics drivers to install software on this system. Now, down to the real business. Head to the System menu in the upper-left corner, mouse over the Administration sub-menu, then choose Software Sources. On the first tab, check off the "Proprietary drivers for devices" and "Software restricted ..." options. Head to the Updates tab, and check the unchecked items. Finally, head to the "Third-Party Software" tab.

We're going to add in three lines to this list by hitting the "Add" button at bottom-left and pasting in this text. The first is Boxee's Ubuntu repository for Ubuntu 9.04, and the other two are a Ubuntu repository for the NVIDIA ION chipset inside our HTPC, known as "VDPAU" hardware. Here's all the lines in one spot: deb http://apt.boxee.tv jaunty main d e b http://ppa.launchpad.net/nvidiavdpau/ppa/ubuntu jaunty main d e b - s r c http://ppa.launchpad.net/nvidiavdpau/ppa/ubuntu jaunty main Hit Close, and agree to Reload your software list when prompted. Now head up to System->Administration and select Update Manager. You'll get a list of everything that needs updating, and it might be rather long. Install the updates, then make a cup of coffee or tea while you're waiting. When you get back, you should be updated and ready to actually install some new stuff. Installing Video Drivers and Boxee Let's do this. Head to System>Administration, then select Synaptic Package Manager. Click the "Search" button at the top right, and in the dialog that pops up, change the "Look in:" to "Maintainer," and search for "Snider." In the results that come back, check off these packages to install. There might be newer

versions of them to try out, but I know these work with this system, on this version of Ubuntu, running this version of Boxee: • nvidia-glx-185 • libxine1, libxine1-x Back at the Synaptic main screen, hit "Search" again, change the "Look in:" to Name, and search for mplayer. Check off the version with "+svn2009" trailing in the "Latest Version" column for installation. Search again for boxee, then check to install it. If you're looking to use an infrared remote, also search out and install the lirc package and whatever dependencies it asks for. Ubuntu's own wiki offers a guide to getting set up with LIRC. Finally, hit "Apply" in the top toolbar to install all these things on your system. Convenient Tweaks Once Synaptic is done installing those goodies (or while it's running, if it's taking a while), head to the System>Administration menu again, and open Login Window. Head over to the Security tab, and enable timed and automatic login for your username: Assuming you don't expect a burglar to break into your house, fire up your HTPC and start watching your Blu-Ray rip of "Up," you should be fine with these options. They free you from needing a keyboard or mouse to get into Ubuntu, and automatically log you in when

resuming from a suspend. Next up, let's speed up that bootup process with a quick GRUB menu edit. Hit Alt+F2, and enter this command: gksu gedit /boot/grub/menu.lst In the editor that pops up, head down just a bit to the "## timout sec" section, and change the value there to 0. Just one section down, remove the "#" from in front of "hiddenmenu," if it's there. Two quick fixes, to make HDMI audio work perfectly for both Ubuntu and Boxee. First up, follow this Boxee forum poster's instructions to set up a .asoundrc file that tells Ubuntu how to route its sound. Next, open up a terminal (Applications>Accessories->Terminal), type in alsamixer and hit enter. Hit your right arrow key over to where you see the columns for "IEC958," and be sure none of them read "MM," or muted. If they do, hit "M" to unmute them. Hit the escape key when you're done. Your second-to-last tweak makes Boxee run right at startup. Head to System>Preferences, choose "Startup Applications," and hit "Add." Give it a name like, oh, Boxee, and make the command /opt/boxee/run-boxee-desktop. Hit OK on that screen, then close out your Startup Applications. Now, for the final piece: Remote desktop access from any other computer on your network. Head BUILD page 40

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Gadget and Gear Deals of the Day [Dealhacker] By Jason Fitzpatrick (Lifehacker) Submitted at 11/17/2009 10:00:00 AM

We've got HDTVs, laptops, and electronic gadgets galore in today's deal roundup. Can't be parted from your cold hard cash? Grab a coupon for some free cake and a Beastie Boys album. Computer Gear! • Gateway ZX4800-02 Desktop with 20" Touchscreen LCD for $599.99(Regular Price: $649) • 18.4" HP dv8t i7 Laptop for $1,099.99 with free shipping(Regular Price: $1,499.99 - use coupon code NBTY349821) • 15.6" HP dv6t i7 Laptop for $914.99 with free shipping(Regular Price: $1,314.99 - use coupon code NBTY349821) • 15.6" Gateway MD7309u Laptop for $399.99(Regular Price: $459.99) • 13.3" Dell Inspiron 13 Laptop with Pentium Dual Core 2.1GHz for $699 + Free Shipping(Regular Price: $894) • 11.6" Dell Inspiron 11z Laptop with High Definition WLED Display for $499 plus shipping(Regular Price: $607) • 26" ASUS VW266H Widescreen LCD for $239.99 + Free Shipping(Regular Price: $296 - use coupon code EMCMMMP65- use this form) • 25.5" Asus LCD with Speakers for $240 + Free Shipping(Regular Price: $285 use coupon code EMCMMMP65

and this form) • 24" Dell UltraSharp U2410 Widescreen LCD for $549.00 + Free Shipping(Regular Price: $719) • 19" Samsung SyncMaster LD190N LCD for $99.99 + Free Shipping(Regular Price: $133 use coupon code EMCMMMP28) • 2TB Seagate Barracuda LP ST32000542AS 3.5" Hard Drive for $159.99 + Free Shipping(Regular Price: $180) • 150GB Western Digital VelociRaptor WD1500HLFS 3.5" Hard Drive for $149.99 + Free Shipping(Regular Price: $170 - use coupon code EMCMMMP38) • Logitech Cordless Desktop Wave Pro for $59.99 + Free Shipping(Regular Price: $90) • Logitech G9 Laser Gaming Mouse for $34.99 with free shipping(Regular Price: $99.99 use coupon code SVN9846) Not Computer Gear! • 58" Panasonic VIERA TCP58S1 1080p Plasma HDTV for $1,595.05 with free shipping(Regular Price: $2,299 use coupon code AFL5) • 52" Sony BRAVIA KDL52S5100 1080p LCD HDTV for $1219.99 + Free Shipping(Regular Price: $1299 use coupon code: 3A825) • 50" Samsung PN50B450 720p

Plasma HDTV with Samsung 5.1ch DVD Home Theater for $799.98(Regular Price: $999) • 46" Samsung LN46B550 1080p LCD TV for $869.00 + Free Shipping(Regular Price: $988 - use coupon code EMCMMMP36) • 40" Sony BRAVIA KDL40V5100 1080p 120Hz LCD TV plus Sony BDP-N460 Blu-ray Player for $879.99(Regular Price: $1058) • Polk Audio Monitor 60 Speaker for $109.99 + Free Shipping(Regular Price: $193 use coupon code EMCMMMP33) • Philips Streamium Network Music Player for $70 + Free Shipping(Regular Price: $149) • Samsung BD-P3600 Netflixready Wi-Fi Blu-ray Player for $219 + Free Shipping(Regular Price: $249) • Kodak Zi8 1080p High Definition Pocket Video Camera w/ 4GB SD Card for $149.99 + Free Shipping(Regular Price: $189) • Sunpak SF-150-42001SL 15" Digital Picture Frame for $80 + Free Shipping(Regular Price: $120 - use this form) • Sungale 7" Touch Screen eBook Reader for $199.99 + Free Shipping(Regular Price: $240) • Ultimate Ears MetroFi 170 Noise Isolating Earphones for $39.99 with free $25 Amazon

Gift card, free $5 Amazon MP3 download and free shipping(Regular Price: $49.99) • TomTom XXL 540S 5-inch Text-to-Speech GPS for $210(Regular Price: $260) • Shure SE115 Sound Isolating Earphones for $59.95 + Free Shipping(Regular Price: $100) • Creative Zen Mozaic 16GB MP3 Player for $99.99 + Free Shipping(Regular Price: $149)

Tiger Woods Chucks Driver Into Gallery By Ryan Wilson (FanHouse) Submitted at 11/17/2009 11:00:00 AM

Free Stuff! • PocketCPR for iPhone for $0(Regular Price: $5.99) • Crest Extra White Plus Scope Sample for $0(use this form) • The Book of Illumination, Galley Copy from Random House for $0(use this form) • Galley Copy of New World Monkeys from Random House for $0(use this form) • Piece of Chocolate Cake at Romano's Macaroni Grill for $0(use this form) • Download Beastie Boys Doublecheck Your Head album for $0(use this form)

by Ryan Wilson Filed under: Golf Tiger Woods won the Australian Masters Sunday, and for his troubles he got a see-through globe and a mustard yellow jacket. And unlike John Daly's appearance at the Australian Open last December, Woods made it through four rounds without having to smash anybody's camera. Instead, he chucked his driver into the gallery after a poor tee shot during Saturday's round. Video indictment of his blatant disregard for human life after the Thanks Slickdeals, Fatwallet, jump. TechDealDigger, TechBargains, Tiger Woods Chucks Driver Into C h e a p S t i n g y B a r g a i n s , Gallery originally appeared on C h e a p C o l l e g e G a m e r s , a n d Fanhouse Backporch on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST . Please GamerHotline! see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Linking Blogs| Comments

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BUILD continued from page 38

to the System->Preferences menu, select Remote Desktop, and configure your system to accept remote desktop connections, with a password for safety. If you're the geeky type who knows how to remotely administer a system by SSH command line, be sure to install the openssh-server package in your Boxee box. Finally, if you're using a Microsoft Media Center remote with your Boxee box, and you've plugged in your USB IR Receiver, you should be good to go in Boxeeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;it automatically works with the Media Center setup. If you're using something different, like a Hauppage remote, this guide might point you in the right direction. Myself, I mainly use the free Boxee Remote applications found in both the Android Market and

Apple App Store to control Boxee and type in text with little fuss. Running Boxee Reboot your system, and you should shoot through Ubuntu's boot-up process, arriving straight at Boxee's log in screen. The only major tweak you'll need to make is to Boxee's audio setup. Head to the Settings menu in the lower-left corner, then to Hardware, and then to the audio tab. Set your settings to look like those on the left, or, in text form: Digital Off Off default default From there on out, Boxee should be your multimedia workhorse. You can suspend it and wake it up with the power button (or a wake-on-LAN tool, as detailed at the Ubuntu Forums). You can use it to download torrents,

directly drop files into it over SFTP, give it more video feeds, and other tweaks we've covered in our Apple TV/Boxee guide, and in Adam's XBMC guide(the latter mostly for the SFTP guide). If you want to actually use your Ubuntu desktop on your TV, just exit out of Boxee from the log-in screen or the main menu That's just my own little Ubuntu/Boxee/HTPC setup, but I think it works quite nice. Anything I download can be transferred and played, and any broadcast shows I miss can be caught on Hulu, CBS, PBS, or any of Boxee's other great apps. Got a killer media center setup of your own to share? Tell us about it, and link it, in the comments.

Sahara cocaine plane crash probed (BBC News | Americas | World Edition) Submitted at 11/17/2009 4:51:59 AM

The UN is investigating the crash in the Sahara desert of a cargo plane, which is thought to have been carrying cocaine from Venezuela. Alexandre Schmidt from the UN drugs agency told the BBC that the plane could have carried up to 10 tonnes of cocaine, which has not been found. West Africa has become a major

Google Translate Adds As-You -Type Translations, Phonetic Pronunciation [Languages] By Kevin Purdy (Lifehacker)

translating to Arabic, Persian or Hindi, there's also an option to type out the way words sound transit point for Latin American Mr Schmidt said the plane was cocaine. then burnt, leaving little evidence Google Translate added a few and have Google guess at what features to its main web home, word you're trying to enter when But Mr Schmidt said the size of for investigators. the plane which crashed in Mali, No bodies were found at the including instant translations as you lack the specific keyboard. Google runs down its latest near Gao, came as "a complete crash site and it is not known you type. What's really helpful is surprise". what happened to the unloaded a bit more tucked away: phonetic improvements in this quick video pronunciations for non-Roman overview: He said that the engine numbers shipment What features would make were being checked to confirm Most cocaine is transported from alphabets, like Chinese, and textthe type of plane and whether it Latin America to West Africa by to-speech pronunciations for Translate more helpful for the way you use it? Share the had originated in Venezuela. small planes or boats, before translating to English. The plane, made by Boeing, being trafficked on to Europe. Heading to a country with an suggestions in the comments. A alphabet nothing like yours is n e w l o o k f o r G o o g l e seems to have encountered Print Sponsor problems after taking off from a This content has passed through intimidating, so Google's Roman- Translate[Official Google Blog ized pronunciation guides are via Download Squad] remote air strip 15km from Gao fivefilters.org. certainly helpful. For those and was ditched in the desert. Submitted at 11/17/2009 8:00:00 AM

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Run Kindle for PC in Linux with WINE [Linux Tip] By Kevin Purdy (Lifehacker)

Monster Hunter pillow will give you nightmares

Submitted at 11/17/2009 7:00:00 AM

Reader Gene told us that Kindle for PC is "more important than people realize." That's because the desktop app runs almost seamlessly in Linux with one WINE tweak, making Kindle a great little laptop or netbook reading option. To install Kindle for PC on your Linux system, make sure you've got WINE installed. Most major distributions (Ubuntu, Fedora, openSUSE) offer WINE in one of their repositories, or have versions custom-made for them. Need more help? We've previously written up a guide to installing and running WINE, which should help you get through. With WINE installed, download the Kindle for PC installer, then double-click on the .exe file you downloaded. WINE will pick it up and install it in its virtual C:/ drive. The one issue you'll encounter is that Kindle will automatically start up and ask

By JC Fletcher (Joystiq) Submitted at 11/17/2009 11:30:00 AM

you for your username and password, even though you can't see the fields; you can quit the app and fix that, or just type in your username, hit Tab, then your password, and then quit. Head to your system's menu and then to the WINE folder, and hit "Configure WINE"â&#x20AC;&#x201D;if you don't see it, just run winecfg from a terminal or Alt+F2 prompt. In the "Applications" tab, hit "Add Application," then navigate to

Kindle for PC in your virtual Windows drive, which is at C:\Program Files\Amazon\Kindle for PC\KindleForPC.exe by default. Hit OK, select KindleForPC.exe back in the Wine configuration window, and change the "Windows Version" drop-down at the bottom to Windows 98. Head back to your WINE menu, run Kindle for PC, and now all your controls and buttons should be showing up

correctly. You can now send books and sample chapters from Amazon's Kindle store to your PC. If you've already installed Kindle for PC in a Windows machine and tied it to your account, be sure to send your Kindle items to your Linuxbased reader (which was "Kindle for PC 2" in my case). Got a clever use of the faux-Kindle in Linux? Tell us about it in the comments. Thanks, Gene!

Street Chic: New York By ELLE.com (ELLE News Blog) Submitted at 11/17/2009 4:00:00 AM

A denim vest and sky-high heels

add a double dose of style to black basics. Photo: Kelly Stuart Think you are Street Chic? Email us your photo and you could

Chic Daily. Follow ELLE on Twitter. Become our Facebook fan! appear in ELLE.com's Street

Capcom's Monster Hunter Furu Furu Pillow is officially the most terrifying pillow we've seen today. What appears in the games as a winged, eyeless wyvern(called Khezu outside of Japan) has been transmuted into a tube with a lamprey mouth. That you put on your bed. And look at when you wake up. We suppose it would be better used as an accent pillow on a couch or something, especially if you don't want anyone to use your couch ever. Japanese Monster Hunter fans will be able to bring this abomination into their lives, in white or red, on January 29, for ÂĽ9,240 ($103.52). [Via Andriasang] Monster Hunter pillow will give you nightmares originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments

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Reflective Roadway Tape Lights Your Bike Day or Night for Cheap [DIY] By Sarah Rae Trover (Lifehacker) Submitted at 11/17/2009 10:30:00 AM

Bike lover Scott was in need of some safety modifications for his bike. Rather than go with the regular old reflectors, Scott enlisted the help of his local traffic office for a free and seriously reflective alternative. Bike modification weblog Bike Hacks showcased Scott's ingenious idea of heading to his local traffic office for the leftover scraps from the cutting of road signs. What is normally thrown away looks to be a great safety upgrade to his set of wheels.

Read about the free reflective street sign material and went down to my local traffic office (which happens to be about a quarter mile from my house – perfect). The lady working at the

started to apply it to my bike which just so happens to be a 7 month old single speed Globe that I couldn't be more pleased with. Although we're unsure if the traffic department nearest you is as willing to hand out their leftovers, we might suggest telling them they're for the modification of your bike so you don't look like a vandal ready to graffiti up the town. If stickers front was very helpful and even aren't your idea of a good time, went to the back right then and try making your own mini bike there. She emerged with a large light to make yourself visible to box of white and yellow scraps others you share the road with. that were mostly large rectangles, I l l u m i n a t e d B i k e F o r easily over 10sq ft in total! Just F r e e [ B i k e H a c k s ]

STUDY: Most Fortune 100 Companies Don't Get Twitter By twitter:@mashable (TweetMeme) Submitted at 11/17/2009 5:08:36 AM

In August we reported that a large number of Fortune 100 companies have embraced Twitter, but how well are they actually using it? A study released today (PDF) by Weber Shandwick says the answer is not very well, and that the majority of Fortune 100 companies don’t really get Twitter. Though 73 of 100 companies had at least one registered Twitter account (up from 54 reported in an unrelated… 5 comments Source: mashable.com

Rackspace Adds More Cloud-Based Services, Moves Down the Collaboration Path By Alex Williams (ReadWriteWeb)

services provider. Sponsor Pat Mathews, president of email Submitted at 11/17/2009 4:00:23 AM and apps for Rackspace said this Rackspace is launching a new is exactly what is happening. service called " Cloud Drive," "We are definitely moving down that allows businesses to store, the collaboration path with Cloud share and back up files in the Drive," Mathews sad. Rackspace cloud. In reality, Rackspace is Rackspace is one of the world's following a natural progression. largest hosting companies but With the ability to move IT to the with more services being offered cloud, Rackspace will have to in the cloud, it is starting to look deepen its collaboration service. like it is also establishing a For instance, search is not a part presence as a collaboration of the current offering. But it is

Some of the features that are part of Cloud Drive include: • Synchronized folders across part of the roadmap and will one or more computers. become a critical service for • Syncronized version control to customers as they move their m a k e s u r e c o l l e a g u e s a r e files to the cloud. It's a focal working with the most recent r e a s o n w h y c o l l a b o r a t i o n files. providers like Box.net put a • Automatic data backups in the h e a v y p r e m i u m o n s e a r c h . event of a hardware failure. Customers need the capability. Without it, the information can Complementing Cloud Drive is end up in folders without ever Rackspace Server Backup, which backs up applications and being touched again. protects file server data. Its

primary function is to back up Windows or Linux data. Bot Cloud Drive and Rackspace Server Backup are powered by Jungle Disk, which Rackspace acquired last year. Rackspace Cloud Drive costs $4 per user, per month. Rackspace Server Backup costs $5 per server, per month. Discuss

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See Adobe AIR 2's Best New Features Demoed in 9 Sample Apps By Sarah Perez (ReadWriteWeb) Submitted at 11/17/2009 6:05:08 AM

Today Adobe released new beta versions of the company's Flash Player and AIR. The Flash Player 10.1 technology now includes HTTP streaming and hardware decoding of H.264 video. The company plans to bring the updated Flash Player to mobile devices too, starting with the Palm Pre and then completing versions for other major smartphones by the first half of 2010 (with the notable exception of the iPhone, of course). However, out of the two updates, it's Adobe AIR 2 that received the biggest overhaul. The new runtime allows developers to create entirely new types of applications that simply weren't possible using AIR 1. What sort of apps are those? Adobe's gallery of sample apps should give you some ideas of what's to come. Sponsor 1. Mass Storage Detection In Adobe AIR 2, apps can now detect when a mass storage device has been inserted into the computer. That means the app can "see" your USB flash drives, external drives, and even some digital cameras. For example, developers could build an app that recognizes when your Flip camera is plugged in and lets you

automatically upload videos to YouTube. To demo this capability, Adobe has released FileTile, a sample app that does just this (minus the video uploading). FileTile recognizes external devices and lets you see the files and open them with their default application. Download Installer| Source 2. Native Process API The native process API allows developers to better integrate their AIR apps with existing code libraries or extend their apps using native code. With the new native process API, this can now be done without compromising the cross-platform capabilities of AIR which allows it to run on Windows, Mac, and Linux. Developers using this new functionality can now deploy their apps with operating-specific installers like .exe, .dmg, .rpm, and .deb instead of an .air installer file. To demonstrate the native process API, Adobe released SearchCentral, an application that taps into Mac OS X's Spotlight feature for desktop searches. It also lets you do web searches on Google and Wikipedia. Installer| Source| How to Here's a video explaining in more detail how the native API works: 3. Microphone Data Access Like it sounds, the microphone

data access feature lets you acquire the sound data from a computer's microphone without the need of a server. For example, a developer could build a note-taking application that lets users record audio clips even when they're offline. To get started, a simple app called Microphone is now available which does recording and playback with variable playback speeds supported. Download Installer| Source| How to 4. Drag-and-Drop Support for Remote Files The new "file promises" feature of AIR 2 lets you drag remote files out of an AIR application. A file promise, as described by Adobe's Christian Cantrell, is "what you put on the clipboard when you want the user to be able to drag and drop files that do not yet exist, or that exist elsewhere (not locally on your machine)." It's a promise to deliver a file at some point, but not an actual file. For example, an app could generate a CSV file but only

when a user tries to drag and drop the file. It could also refer to files on a remote server, like an FTP server. When a user grabs that remote file and pulls it into the AIR app, the app could then download the data. It even supports files accessible via a URL like those hosted on Google Sites. Unfortunately, this feature is Windows and Mac only. A sample app called S3E provides a graphical front-end to your Amazon S3 account to demonstrate this feature. Download Installer| Source| How to 5. Peer-to-Peer Networking Capabilities Adobe AIR 2 also adds support for new networking capabilities including UDP, secure sockets and peer-to-peer. To demonstrate the possibilities, Adobe released KeePIPE, a javascript app that lets users on the same network share files using peer-to-peer technology. It also lets VMWare users transfer files between a virtual machine and a host computer. Download Installer| Source| Read me 6. Multi-Touch Perhaps the most exciting enhancement in AIR 2 and in Flash Player 10.1 are the new multi-touch APIs. In Windows 7, AIR apps can respond to multitouch and in both Windows 7 and Mac OS X Snow Leopard, they can respond to gestures.

In this video (below), Adobe's Kevin Lynch demos a multitouch app on an HP TouchSmart computer: Obviously, Adobe is excited about this new feature, too, because they've released not one but four sample applications that demonstrate multi-touch in action: • GeoTest: Lets you move images around the screen using a built-in physics engine. Download Installer| Source • PhotoPhysics: A multi-touch app with a built-in physics engine. Download Installer| Source • SpriteFract: A multi-touch app with a built-in physics engine that demonstrates a mousecompatible, direct-manipulation interface. It also uses PixelBender to asynchronously process a large amount of geometry data. Download Installer| Source • TouchTest: Lets you drag, scale, and rotate images on the screen. Download Installer| Source Other Features Other features in Adobe AIR 2 include the following (courtesy of Rob Christensen): • A new API lets you open documents with its default application SEE page 47

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Online Petition Demands Apple Approve iPhone Apps By Sarah Perez (ReadWriteWeb)

iTunes library. Unlike the DJ applications already available in the App Store, these new apps let Submitted at 11/17/2009 7:37:12 AM users mix their own tracks while Three iPhone application o f f e r i n g f e a t u r e s l i k e developers are cited in an online s i m u l t a n e o u s p l a y b a c k o f petition which asks Apple to multiple tracks, pitch, fade, approve their apps, all of which tempo, and more. Other DJ have been sitting in limbo for applications, on the other hand, months on end. The developers only let users mix loops that have are awaiting word about their no rights associated with them. new DJ applications which let The rights issue may be one of users mix loops of their own the problems causing the delays. iTunes tracks stored in their It's highly likely that the labels iPhone or iPod Touch's music don't want their artists' songs to library. be used in this way without some In this case, it's speculated that sort of controls in place - if they the holdup either has to do with deem to allow this type of rights issues surrounding the interaction at all. If that's the music or possibly the way the case, though, the developers apps in question access the music simply want Apple to tell them library. But without word from so. Apple, the developers can't be Another explanation for the sure. The delays have angered delay may have to do with fans, too, one of whom created Apple's current ban on dual the petition in hopes of forcing access to the iPhone's music Apple's hand. library via third-party Update: One of the applications applications. In order to work was just approved. Click through around this ban, the developers for more info. came up with an alternative Sponsor method which involves Why the Delay? transferring music over Wi-Fi The three developers mentioned instead. Of course, Apple may in the fan-posted petition include see this "workaround" as just a Amidio, Pajamahouse Studios, loophole allowing the developers and Musicsoft Arts. All three to break the rules while not have created DJ applications technically violating any of which tap into a users' own Apple's edicts. But again, without

word from the company itself, there's no way to be sure. The Petition Although the developers themselves aren't behind the online petition, they've been frustrated for some time regarding the delay. For example, a posting on the Sonorasaurus blog reads: "We have been waiting about 3 months now with no word on if we are approved and when we can release. It is nice to see other people taking issue with Apple's system and their interest in getting DJ apps on the platform. So to whomever thought to include us in their petition: Thank you." The petition itself isn't a kindlyworded plea for Apple's attention either, but an angry letter demanding that attention instead: There are more than 20 million of iPhone and iPod Touch users in the world, but there is no decent DJ MP3 application on iPhone/iPod Touch. Why? Because Apple doesn't approve any of them! At least two quality DJ MP3 applications - Touch DJ (www.amidio.com) and S o n o r a s a u r u s (www.sonorasaurus.com) are held "in review" since the

beginning of the September. That's 8 weeks in limbo which is insane. The developers of the apps are now facing serious troubles because a lot was invested into the production of the apps. Moreover, Apple doesn't specify any reasons for such delays. There's simply no information about what is going on. This is all really weird and absolutely unfair. Later, the petition writer adds that they had become aware of a third application, DJ Player, which was also waiting approval. Similar Apps Already Approved What's really strange about this current delay, writes a blogger on Sonorasaurus.com(the app from Pajamahouse Studios), is that there are applications which have already been approved by Apple that offer similar features as their new app. For example, the Quixpin DJ uses the same mixing feature, Deadmau5 Mix uses the same packaged songs feature, and Air Sharing uses the same file uploading via HTTP feature. And Musicsoft Arts already has an app called the DJ Spooky The Secret Song which uses the same codebase as the yet-to-beapproved DJ Player application. UPDATE: Oddly enough, of the three apps in question, Amidio's application was approved first,

having just launched today in the App Store. Are the others far behind? Did the petition catch Apple's eye or is this just a coincidence? We'll have to stay tuned to the other developers' websites and Twitter accounts to know for sure. Fans Care, Too Regardless of what happens, though, it's an interesting development to see fans getting involved in complaining to Apple instead of just the developers themselves. Although we've already seen high-profile pullouts from notable Apple developers like Joe Hewitt who created the iPhone's Facebook application and Rogue Amoeba's Paul Kafasis who quit after a three-and-a-half month delay in app approval, we've rarely heard complaints from users outside the tech blogosphere demanding the same. Could this mean "regular" folks are now becoming aware of Apple's issues too? Possibly. The 272 people who have signed the petition aren't all Apple developers or tech pundits. They're just people who want these apps approved. Hat tip to iLounge for pointing to this petition. Discuss

This Microsoft store is trying too hard By twitter:@crunchgear (TweetMeme)

This is embarrassing. Not only are the Microsoft Stores a clear copy of Apple Stores, but now

the employees are trying to be spontaneous and stir up customer reactions with a weird

b a s t a r d i z a t i o n o f I m p r o v www.crunchgear.com Anywhere. 0 comments Source:

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Factery Labs Makes Other Search Engines Look Incomplete By Marshall Kirkpatrick (ReadWriteWeb)

has cancer - over and over again. Compare that with the Factery results page - I don't even need to Submitted at 11/17/2009 4:10:38 AM click through if I don't want to, I Most text excerpts that appear on feel like I got a great overview of search results pages aren't very the story just from my search useful. Imagine if instead your page. Perhaps that's a problem search engine showed a list of for a publishing industry that clear sentences summarizing the already says it's scared of search contents of each link on that engines - but as a reader it sure search result page. That's what a isn't my problem, it's great. Why new service called Factery Labs would I want Google News to aims to provide for any service tell me where I can go to find that utilizes the API it's launching information if someone else will today. just give me the information? You give Factery a list of links The company's test demo and a keyword and it will build searches Twitter and Yahoo Boss an index of all the facts asserted - neither search is as exciting as in those links about your topic of I'd hoped 100% of the time, but interest, delivered in XML or it's often remarkably good. JSON format. The service can F a c t e r y i s a l s o t e s t i n g a n run on top of a search engine but interesting integration with could also be used in any number Silverlight stream reader Sobees, of other ways. I've been feeling in which linked pages from unsatisfied with other search T w i t t e r o r F a c e b o o k a r e engines all day since seeing a annotated with automatically Factery demo Monday morning. extracted highlights via Factery. Sponsor I expect a whole lot of After building that "fact index," companies are going to at least Factery ranks the links submitted try this API out and I'm excited by the quality and density of facts to see the results. related to query on the page. How This is Unlike Other RealCompare the search results page Time Search Services on Google News for "Paul Allen" Factery is talking a lot about its to the information that Factery ability to analyze links shared extracts from links being shared over Twitter, but that's probably on Twitter about Paul Allen. The just because Twitter is easy for Google News page tells you people to understand. The fact is, nothing, except that Paul Allen the service can perform on-

members of congress. One tab in the app is a search for your congressperson in the news. Unfortunately, the page excerpts demand analysis of text behind give no indication why the any set of links. That's what politician you searched for differentiates it from other real- appeared in that news story - just time search engines like OneRiot, that their name did, somewhere. which also analyzes the text of That search is powered by a pages linked to on networks like Yahoo API, probably BOSS, but Twitter and offers an API to it's not any fun to use at all. How display real-time search results unsatisfying, I thought, when I on other sites. Competitor could have a list of key facts Collecta analyzes Twitter streams concerning my search query in in real time and offers an XMPP the list of links that the search API to push new search results brought back. But that was live to any page. yesterday, and Factery is just Factery is a different kind of launching today. animal, though. It's more like a The possibilities are truly smart search inside any other endless. That's probably why search. It doesn't even have to be Ron Conway, one of the leading search, though. The company i n v e s t o r s i n t h e r e a l - t i m e talks a lot about how they make e c o n o m y , j o i n e d o t h e r s i n mobile reading more efficient by investing in the company. With pulling the salient information up $1.2 million in the bank, Factery to the surface of a page, instead is a modest developer play with a of requiring mobile readers to whole lot of potential. load multiple pages. Give Factery's API a try and let I thought of five or six different us know what you think. It's free ways I'd like to use it just while to use; the company says it may talking to the company on the start inserting "sponsored facts" phone. (I'm not going to share (isn't that an interesting phrase) those here, either. I think some into results later but things like c o u l d o f f e r a n i m p o r t a n t business model and to a lesser competitive advantage.) I'd Love degree de-duplication are still to See This Work Everywhere works in progress. I sure do love Yesterday I was testing a new this idea. Discuss Android app from the Sunlight Foundation that lets you track

2 Charged at Alabama Club After Nudity Complaints (FOXNews.com) Submitted at 11/16/2009 10:47:35 PM

DOTHAN, Ala. Houston County officials say the manager and a dancer of a newly opened club were arrested after the sheriff's office received complaints about nudity. Houston County Sheriff's Capt. Antonio Gonzalez said deputies arrested 39-year-old Michael Gene Cox of Lynn Haven, Fla., at the club near Madrid on Saturday night and charged him with running a business that allowed too much nudity. The Dothan Eagle says detectives charged Cox with a felony violation of the antiobscenity act. Cox was released from the county Jail after he posted a $2,500 bond. Gonzalez says detectives also charged a dancer, 33-year-old Cynthia Elaine Best of Cottondale, Fla. with felony possession of cocaine. She also was released after posting a $2,500 bond. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

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Seesmic Goes Native: Launches Windows-Only Twitter Client By Frederic Lardinois (ReadWriteWeb) Submitted at 11/17/2009 8:30:44 AM

At Microsoft's Professional Developer Conference, Seesmic's founder and CEO Loic Le Meur just announced that the company will release a native Windows version of its popular Twitter client later today. Seesmic developed this client on top of.NET. As Le Meur told us yesterday, the new client will be faster and use significantly less memory than the current AIR client. In addition, Seesmic will now also feature a Firefox-like plugin infrastructure that will allow developers to extend the application through a new, builtin API. Sponsor As usual, Seesmic will first make this new Seesmic for Windows client available to members of its Team Seesmic beta test community. Signing up for Team Seesmic is easy and you will immediately get access to all of Seesmic's public beta products. Le Meur told us that a native Windows client was something

feel is similar to the AIR app, the Windows client also features vertical tabs in the sidebar that allow users to quickly switch between different views (all, that Seesmic's users had been accounts, userlists and searches). requesting for quite a while. The Plugins for Seesmic Seesmic team worked on this For developers, of course, the new client for the last few new plugin infrastructure also months, though the company means that they can now offer managed to keep this their services directly in a Twitter development under wraps and client. The current version today's release comes as a already showcases plugins from surprise. While there are quite a TweetMeme and MrTweet. few good native Twitter clients According to Le Meur, this will for OSX, the most popular also allow other Twitter-like Twitter clients on Windows are services to build their own currently AIR apps. Features plugins and build their own Being a native client, Seesmic columns in Seesmic without can now also make use of some having to establish a formal of Windows' built-in features like relationship with the company. In a system-wide spellchecker or a few weeks, Seesmic will launch Windows 7's location services. a plugin gallery to showcase While Twitter hasn't launched it's these extensions. What About the location API yet, Seesmic will AIR App? now be able to tab into this data Seesmic will continue to develop quickly. its Adobe AIR client for the time The new client will also allow being, though chances are that users to drag and drop their the company is also looking at friends' avatars into user lists. developing a native Mac client. Just like the current beta version Discuss of its AIR app, Seesmic for Windows will support Twitter's userlists and while the look and

Betaworks, Cuban Invest in Real-Time Transformer Superfeedr By Marshall Kirkpatrick (ReadWriteWeb) Submitted at 11/17/2009 10:55:01 AM

Superfeedr, a service that transforms a wide variety of feeds into normalized XMPP or Pubsubhubbub format, announced a seed round of funding from some very highprofile backers this morning. Betaworks, backers of Twitter, Bit.ly, Tweetdeck, Twitterfeed, Tumblr and more, and Mark Cuban, have invested in Superfeedr's parent company Notifixious. Superfeedr offers services to both publishers and subscribers, current marque users include SixApart, Adobe, Twitterfeed and Posterous. Notifixious founder Julien Genestoux first met Betaworks CEO John Borthwick at our event last month, the ReadWrite Real-Time Web Summit. Sponsor Superfeedr is one of a number of real-time as a service providers, related if different competitors include Notify.me and Kaazing. These services offer developers plug-and-play real-time publishing and subscription, allowing them to instead focus on building the features they can offer the most unique value from.

"We do something stupid so you don't have to," is a slogan used on the Superfeedr website. If there's a downside to using the service it's reliance on a third party for critical syndication functionality. Superfeedr experienced an outage for several hours earlier this month. Genestoux blogged about the problem and eventual solution on the company blog. Genestoux says he plans to build out hardware and personnel with the backing. These relationships will also facilitate important introductions to potential customers and offer big validation of the Superfeedr service. Superfeedr is one of ten companies profiled in the case studies section of the forthcoming ReadWriteWeb research report on the state of the real-time web market, which will be published later this month and can be pre-ordered here. Discuss

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Google Scholar Gets Smarter: Now Features Legal Opinions By Frederic Lardinois (ReadWriteWeb) Submitted at 11/17/2009 9:36:48 AM

Google just announced that it now features legal opinions in Google Scholar. Starting today, Google Scholar will feature the full text of legal opinions from US federal and state district, appellate and supreme courts. Through this, users can now easily find the text of Roe v. Wade or Brown v. Board of Education, for example. Google Scholar also lists other legal opinions and journals that cited these opinions. In addition, users can also do standard keyword searches to find legal documents. Sponsor Users can easily restrict searches

to opinions from federal courts or courts in certain states. In addition to finding the case and legal opinion, Google Scholar also displays related documents in a sidebar, as well as a list of cases where a certain opinion was cited. Google's Anurag Acharya also notes that a lot of these opinions are surprisingly readable. As Google points out in the announcement, finding these legal opinions has typically been difficult. Now, the company makes it very easy to find any legal opinion about Napster, for example. Google notes that it hopes that access to this

information will allow regular citizens to "learn more about the laws that govern us all." It's interesting to see that Google continues to add more and more public data to its repositories. Just last week, Google added data from the World Bank to its search results. Earlier this year, Google also started to include data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau's Population Division. Google didn't go as far as integrating these legal opinions on its search results page yet - though for searches for Roe v. Wade or Miranda v. Arizona, these results could really enhance the current search results. Discuss

New York Newspaper Offices Raided in Corruption Probe (FOXNews.com) Submitted at 11/16/2009 10:31:53 PM

NEW YORK A law enforcement official says the New York Police Department raided circulation offices at some of the nation's largest newspapers as part of a union corruption probe. The official says the offices of The New York Times, the New York Post, El Diario and the Daily News of New York were raided Tuesday. The official spoke to The Associated Press on the condition

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• Global error handling • Enhanced printing support, including vector printing support on Mac and new APIs to query the local machine for a list of printers or print without a dialog box. • WebKit in AIR 2 is now based on the version shipped with Safari 4.0.3 which includes support for JavaScript profiling, SquirrelFish Extreme JavaScript engine performs 50% faster using

SunSpider tests, CSS3 Module support (2D transformations, transitions, animations, gradients, zoom and WebKit CSS selectors), styling scrollbars via CSS and Canvas enhancements. • IPv6 format addresses can now be used with all APIs that accept an IP string as input. • Increased maximum size of NativeWindow: AIR 2 apps can have a window size of 4095 x 4095 where before the maximum

was 2880 x 2880. • DNS lookup • Network interface enumeration • Database transaction savepoints • Screen reader support in Windows • IME API and IME text input enhancement • Smaller runtime installer sizes • More efficient CPU usage and reduced memory size

Adobe AIR 2 is available for download here on Adobe Labs. You can send Adobe feedback here or participate on the user-touser forums here. Discuss

of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing. The official says the newspaper delivery system around the city is under investigation and the news organizations are not involved. The 1,600-member union that delivers papers was previously accused by the Manhattan district attorney's office of being run by the mob. Calls to the four newspapers weren't immediately returned Tuesday. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

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TweetDeck for iPhone Gets Facebook Integration By Darrell Etherington (TheAppleBlog) Submitted at 11/17/2009 11:20:48 AM

The iPhone isn’t capable of true multitasking if you’re running a legit, non-jailbroken device, so you can’t do something like, say, have Facebook and Twitter open at the same time. Thanks to the latest update, though, for TweetDeck for the iPhone(free, iTunes link), you can experience most of the advantages of that hypothetical situation using only one app. The newest version of TweetDeck for iPhone has lots of new features, but by far the most significant is the ability to add columns that show updates from your Facebook friends (and MySpace, too, if you’re a musician or a 13 year-old who somehow got transported to the future from the year 2000). You can read updates, yes, but you can also do wall posts, comment on things, and update your own status, all without leaving the app. You can even “Like” someone’s status update from the zoomed in view. Really, if you use

Facebook the way I do these days (never opening the inbox, browsing the news and live feeds like they were slightly broken Twitter feeds and occasionally doing a wall post or two if something catches my eye that needs direct address. My Inbox has become a wasteland of lost and unread missives, and I rarely look at event or other invitations,

unless prompted to do so in real life or on Twitter. When you hit the compose button, you’re taken to the usual window, but now at the top you can opt to post your status update to one, some, or all of the accounts associated with your TweetDeck installation. It’s very handy if you want to post an update across more than one

Twitter account, or if you’d like to selectively push some of your Twitter updates to your Facebook without using an extra plugin and the #fb tag, for instance. Other new features include landscape keyboard support (via a button, not the accelerometer, which is actually better in my opinion), 12seconds.tv integration for 3GS video tweeting, and an option to save draft tweets you’re working on. Should give you a chance to rethink that disparaging comment about your workplace you’re thinking about posting. Bit.ly URL shortening with click tracking is also a new feature, as is the ability to add a column devoted exclusively to trending topics. It’s a good update, but I still don’t think it can replace Tweetie 2 as my primary client. If I was a social media manager at a company in charge of maintaining multiple Twitter streams for different lines of business, TweetDeck would be my go-to application, but as it stands, it’s just more meat than I can generally chew.

Chinese court rules against Microsoft (Financial Times - US homepage) Submitted at 11/17/2009 10:37:10 AM

A Chinese court has ruled that Microsoft infringed a Chinese software maker’s intellectual

property rights in a surprise decision that has renewed worries among foreign patent experts about China’s management of IPR disputes. Microsoft’s use of two Chinese fonts developed by Zhongyi

Electronic, a Beijing-based software company, was not covered by a licence agreement between the two, the Beijing No 1 Intermediary People’s Court said in a verdict, and therefore infringed Zhongyi’s intellectual

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UBS outlines ambitious plans for return to growth (Financial Times - US homepage) Submitted at 11/17/2009 10:29:10 AM

UBS outlined a bold set of growth targets on Tuesday, including ambitions to generate SFr15bn ($14.8bn) of pre-tax profits within three to five years, as the troubled Swiss bank sought to take back the initiative after weeks of bad news encompassing regulatory fines and deep losses. UBS’s new profit target equates to a 15-20 per cent return on equity, which is towards the higher end of what rival banks are expected to achieve and would mark a dramatic turnround. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

Apple’s App Store Approval Process Now Includes an Automated Layer By Darrell Etherington (TheAppleBlog) App Store developers now have APPLE’S page 49 Submitted at 11/17/2009 7:32:20 AM more to contend with than just

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Apple’s Black Friday Sales Leaked Early

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the fickle tastes of the humans Apple has reviewing submissions. Now, submissions By Darrell Etherington would result in a $500 discount also go through an automated (TheAppleBlog) on the Core i5 27-inch iMac, or a filter that determines whether or $250 discount on the entry-level not the app is obeying the rules Submitted at 11/17/2009 7:36:57 AM MacBook. Compare that to a and not using any of Apple’s If you’re planning your holiday $101 discount on the MacBook private APIs, which is a no-no, shopping but want to get a good last year, and a $101 discount on according to the developer agreement. grasp of the budget available to the top model iMac. The news comes via a you in advance, it helps to know The teaser image leaked by BGR what kind of deals you’re going is fairly convincing, in that it conversation that occurred to get. Luckily, Apple’s Black does seem to use design cues and between developers on Twitter. Friday discounts have been aesthetics currently favored by Craig Hockenberry, best known leaked early, so you can factor in Apple in its marketing materials, for Twitterific, guessed that the those price reductions while but it’s hard not to be skeptical in App Store now contains a you’re figuring out how pinched the face of sound business sense mechanism to check submitted you’re going to be financially — considering Apple’s previous code against proper framework come January. Black Friday discounts, and the use, and John Gruber responded Apple hardware Boy Genius Report got the early fact that last time I checked, it that Apple has in fact recently tip-off, from an anonymous The sales seem to be available in really wasn’t in a position to need begun to do just that. source. It comes in the form of Apple retail stores only, since the to offer big price cuts to bolster The specific function of the new automated component is to check what looks like a flyer image, poster also states that “Select sales. detailing some pretty significant Apple stores open at 6 am,” and a If these do prove true, I’ve been submissions for private API calls. discounts on all things Apple, line at the bottom advertises the putting a new Time Capsule or If it finds any, the app is rejected basically. They’re deep enough new availability of in-store gift- Airport Extreme purchase on the outright. Presumably, such a that you’d probably do well to wrapping. Last year we saw back burner for quite some time check would be run at the hold off any Mac or iPod-related online Black Friday discounts, now, and that 15 percent off is beginning of the review process, purchase for at least another 10 though, so it’s possible we’ll see nothing to sneeze at, given thereby cutting down a lot on the days just in case. Apple’s usual reluctance to offer number of submissions that must them again. Here’s what we’re looking at, if If these deals do indeed come to any kind of price cut at all. be reviewed by actual human beings. In other words, it’s a the rumors prove true: pass, they would be pretty Anyone else planning on making • Up to 30 percent off all iPods s i g n i f i c a n t c o m p a r e d w i t h a purchase if these discounts volume compensation strategy on (excluding iPhone and iPod previous Black Friday sales by really do apply? Something you Apple’s part. It’s also technically fair, since shuffle) the Mac maker. Twenty-five w o u l d n ’ t b u y o t h e r w i s e , Apple has said all along that • Up to 25 percent off all Macs percent off of all Macs is a very p e r h a p s ? private APIs are off-limits. The • Up to 15 percent off all good discount, for example, and published reason being that accessories, Apple software and Apple can’t confirm that said APIs will remain stable from release to release of the iPhone OS, meaning that something based on them might break every time an update rolls out. By

forcing developers to stick with the public APIs, Apple is trying to ensure that some stability exists for end-users who depend on the hundred thousand apps or so available now in the App Store. Despite being technically fair, the move feels a little unfair to developers, since Apple hasn’t exactly been consistent about enforcing the rules regarding private APIs up till now. One reason could have been that spotting their use just isn’t that easy, which the computer filter now rectifies. But it seems clear that Apple also looked the other way in at least a couple of cases when it suited it to do so, like with Google’s mobile search app, hence my suggestion that this has more to do with reducing workload using a non-arbitrary filter than anything else. While the introduction of an automated layer does, on the surface, seem to guarantee a level of fairness, it also probably isn’t very encouraging to developers, who now essentially face a firewall before they gain access to individuals they can actually talk to about what’s wrong with their submission. Expect more headaches for the App Store team as the fallout for the implementation of this measure.

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MTV Networks Acquires Exclusive Television Rights to Michael Jackson’s This is It By Robert Seidman (TVbytheNumbers)

Jackson. The arrangement also extends to Viacom’s BET Networks, including its newest Submitted at 11/17/2009 8:15:32 AM channel, Centric. Channels and via press release: premiere dates will be announced MTV NETWORKS ACQUIRES at a later time. EXCLUSIVE TELEVISION “The film is a true testament to RIGHTS Michael’s musical genius, TO C R I T I C A L L Y passion and commitment to his ACCLAIMED CONCERT FILM c r a f t , ” s a i d V a n T o f f l e r , MICHAEL JACKSON’S THIS President of the MTV Networks IS IT Music Group. “Michael Jackson NEW YORK, NY, November has always been inextricably tied 17, 2009 – MTV Networks (a to our viewers as they witnessed division of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, his evolution from a talented V I A . B ) , h a s a c q u i r e d t h e performer to a global icon who exclusive United States television redefined music. Now, with this rights to air one of the most film, we can help give his fans a anticipated films of the year — c h a n c e t o s e e h i s f i n a l Michael Jackson’s This Is It. performance.” The critically acclaimed and THIS IS IT, premiered commercially successful film nationwide on October 28, becomes available to MTV earning the #1 box office spot for N e t w o r k s i n 2 0 1 1 , a n d the weekend and offering continuing through the entire six- Jackson fans and music lovers year network window. The deal everywhere a rare, behind-theincludes all domestic channels scenes look at the performer as under the MTV Networks he developed, created and umbrella, including MTV, VH1, rehearsed for his sold-out, VH1 Classic and Palladia and historic comeback concerts that rounds out the music networks’ would have kicked off this past commitment to celebrating the summer at London’s O2 Arena. life and legacy of Michael Chronicling from March through

June, 2009, the film is produced with the full support of the Estate of Michael Jackson and drawn from more than one hundred hours of behind the scenes footage, featuring Jackson rehearsing numerous songs for the show. Audiences are given a privileged and private look at Jackson as he was never before seen. In raw and candid detail, Michael Jackson’s This Is It is the last documentation of Michael Jackson at work, capturing the singer, dancer, filmmaker, architect, creative genius and great artist at work. Kenny Ortega, who was both Michael Jackson’s creative partner for the concert tour and the director of the stage show serves as the film’s director, and Randy Phillips, Kenny Ortega and Paul Gongaware are producers. Executive producers are John Branca and John McClain. The film is being distributed worldwide by Sony Pictures Releasing. One of the best reviewed film of the year, Michael Jackson’s This Is It has already reached $222.6 million in box office receipts worldwide.

The deal was brokered by Sony Pictures Television and Ben Zurier, Executive Vice President, Program Strategy, VH1, VH1 Classic & Palladia for MTV Networks. MTV Networks will also collaborate with Sony Pictures Entertainment in marketing the DVD release of the film in early 2010. About MTV Networks MTV Networks, a division of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), is one of the world’s leading creators of entertainment content, with brands that engage and connect diverse audiences across television, online, mobile, games, virtual worlds and consumer products. The company’s portfolio spans more than 150 television channels and 400 digital media properties worldwide, and includes MTV, VH1, CMT, Logo, Harmonix, Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, Nick Jr., TeenNick, AddictingGames, Neopets, COMEDY CENTRAL, SPIKE, TV Land, Atom, GameTrailers and Xfire. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

US urges China to strengthen renminbi (Financial Times - US homepage) Submitted at 11/17/2009 6:51:08 AM

President Barack Obama on Tuesday urged China to

strengthen its currency as tensions over exchange rates and trade broke through a carefully orchestrated show of cooperation between Washington and Beijing.

Mr Obama made his comments after a three-hour meeting on Tuesday in Beijing with President Hu Jintao, during which both leaders pledged to work together on a long list of

pressing international issues. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

Lazard names Kenneth Jacobs as Wasserstein successor (Financial Times - US homepage) Submitted at 11/17/2009 10:51:37 AM

Lazard has picked veteran dealmaker Kenneth Jacobs to be its new chief executive to replace Bruce Wasserstein, whose unexpected death last month had raised questions about whether the investment bank could maintain its recent momentum. Mr Jacobs, who headed Lazard’s North American business with a low-key leadership style, had been an early candidate to succeed Mr Wasserstein, the legendary dealmaker who wrested control of the firm earlier this decade and launched its initial public offering. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

Cast Versions of “Endless Love”, “I’ll Stand By You,” “Crush,” “Lean on Me,” and others featured on Wednesday’s Glee via pressCAST release:page 51 CAST

VERSIONS

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“ENDLESS LOVE,” “I’LL STAND BY YOU,” “CRUSH,” “(YOU’RE) HAVING MY BABY” AND “LEAN ON ME” AND CAST MASH-UP OF “DON’T STAND SO CLOSE TO ME/YOUNG GIRL,” AMONG SONGS FEATURED IN “GLEE” WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, ON FOX Columbia Records and Twentieth Century Fox Television today released select songs on iTunes featured in this week’s episode of GLEE, including cast versions of Diana Ross and Lionel Richie’s “Endless Love,” The Pretenders’ “I’ll Stand By You,” Jennifer Paige’s “Crush,” Paul Anka’s “(You’re) Having My Baby” and Bill Withers’ “Lean On Me,” as well as a cast mash-up of The Police’s “Don’t Stand So Close To Me” with Gary Puckett and the Union Gap’s “Young Girl.” In this week’s all-new episode, airing Wednesday, Nov. 18(9:0010:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX, WILL (Matthew Morrison) splits the Glee Club into pairs to sing

their favorite ballad, but when one kid gets sick, he’s forced to step in and winds up in a sticky situation. Meanwhile, FINN (Cory Monteith) and QUINN (Dianna Agron) have to face the music when dinner with her parents (guest stars Gregg Henry and Charlotte Ross) goes awry. In addition to these new songs, cast versions of Ike & Tina Turner’s “Proud Mary,” “Defying Gravity” from Broadway’s “Wicked,” Billy Idol’s “Dancing With Myself,” Young MC’s “Bust A Move,” Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline,” Sisqo’s “Thong Song,” Jill Scott’s “Hate On Me,” The Supremes’ “You Keep Me Hangin’ On,” Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown’s “No Air,” Avril Lavigne’s “Keep Holding On,” Queen’s “Somebody To Love,” Heart’s “Alone,” Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’,” “Maybe This Time” from “Cabaret,” Céline Dion’s “Taking Chances,” Rihanna’s “Take A Bow,” Carrie Underwood’s “Last Name,”

Jazmine Sullivan’s “Bust Your Windows,” Kanye West’s “Gold Digger,” REO Speedwagon’s “Can’t Fight This Feeling,” SaltN-Pepa’s “Push It” and Duffy’s “Mercy,” as well as mash-ups of Bon Jovi’s “It’s My Life” with Usher’s “Confessions Part II” and Beyoncé’s “Halo” with Katrina and the Waves’ “Walking on Sunshine,” are also available for purchase via all digital service providers. “Glee: The Music, Volume 1,” which features music heard in the first season of the series, is currently available for purchase. Released on November 3, the album sold in excess of 113,000 units in its first week alone and garnered an astounding No. 4 spot on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart. And for fans who just can’t get enough of GLEE’s high-spirited music, “Glee: The Music, Volume 2” hits stores on Tuesday, Dec. 8. GLEE, the genre-defying new musical comedy series, follows an optimistic teacher who – against all odds and a malicious

cheerleading coach – attempts to save McKinley High’s Glee Club from obscurity while helping a group of aspiring underdogs realize their true star potential. Starring Dianna Agron, Chris Colfer, Jessalyn Gilsig, Jane Lynch, Jayma Mays, Kevin McHale, Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, Matthew Morrison, Amber Riley, Mark Salling and Jenna Ushkowitz, GLEE is produced by Ryan Murphy Television in association with 20 th Century Fox Television. Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan are co-creators of the series. Murphy, Falchuk and Dante Di Loreto serve as executive producers, while Ian Brennan serves as co-executive producer. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

wfh (working from home) By Zack Sheppard (Flickr Blog) Submitted at 11/16/2009 12:55:58 PM

Working from home today? Show them how it’s done in the telework / telecommute / workfrom-home group. Photos from mccun934, sean dreilinger, jocelyndale, Bareg L Noor, limahuli, lwaldal, and wrumsby. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

Colin Quinn remembers Ken Ober in his special way By Danny Gallagher (TV Squad) Submitted at 11/17/2009 2:28:00 PM

The sudden and shocking of passing of TV writer, producer and host Ken Ober turned a lot of heads. Here's one of Ober's head (ahem) getting turned, for a

change. Collin Quinn, Ober's longtime friend and Remote Control cohost, posted a hilarious picture on his Twitter page of himself, Ober and the uber-cute Kari Wuhrer on the set of their equally hilarious game show. I'm tempted to let Bob use this

for our weekly Subtle Subtitles post, but am worried the funniest

of the comments will get us banned from every library in the country assuming, of course, that reading is still going on in America's libraries. Continue reading Colin Quinn remembers Ken Ober in his special way Filed under: Other Comedy

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What's On Tonight: Merry Madagascar, 90210, Sherri, The Good Wife By Bob Sassone (TV Squad)

• Bravo has a new Tabatha's Salon Makeover at 10. • MTV has a new episode of The Hills at 10, followed by a new episode of The City. • Also at 10: A&E has a new Parking Wars.

Submitted at 11/17/2009 12:21:00 PM

• At 8, ABC has a new V, then new episodes of Dancing with the Stars and The Forgotten. • CBS has a new NCIS at 8, followed by new episodes of NCIS: Los Angeles and The Good Wife. • NBC has Merry Madagascar at 8, then new episodes of The Biggest Loser and The Jay Leno Show. • FOX has a new, two-hour So You Think You Can Dance. • The CW has a new 90210 at 8, followed by a new Melrose Place. • PBS has a new Nova at 8, then a new Frontline. • AMC has the finale of The

Prisoner at 8. • At 9, Syfy has two new episodes of Scare Tactics. • Discovery has a new Dirty Jobs at 9, followed by a new Ghost Lab. • BBC America has a new Dragon's Den at 9. • At 10, FX has a new Sons of Anarchy. • Spike has a new ECW at 10. • Lifetime has a new Sherri at 10.

Friends reunion update: it probably won't happen (but not because of the actors) By Bob Sassone (TV Squad) Submitted at 11/17/2009 1:30:00 PM

So this is the 9,327th article that has been written about a possible Friends reunion. A lot of fans would like to see one but it seems that there have always been one or two holdouts that are Check your local TV listings for preventing a reunion from taking more. place. But those holdouts might After the jump, the late night not be the actors themselves. talk shows. Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe) tells US Continue reading What's On that a reunion, whether on TV or Tonight: Merry Madagascar, on the big-screen, will probably 90210, Sherri, The Good Wife n e v e r h a p p e n b e c a u s e t h e F i l e d u n d e r : L a t e N i g h t , creators (Marta Kauffmann and Programming, Celebrities, Talk David Crane) don't think it's a Show, What To Watch Tonight, good idea. Kudrow isn't sure how Reality-Free a reunion would work anyway, P e r m a l i n k | E m a i l t h i s | | but she seems to be up for it if Comments they can do something interesting. Would you want to see a reunion? Friends is one of my

favorite shows, but I'm wondering how they could do a reunion. Would it be the same without the old set (Monica and Chandler bought a house and Joey moved out to L.A. to...well...star in a short-lived sitcom)? They'd have to get Central Perk in there somehow. Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Celebrities, Reality-Free Permalink| Email this| | Comments

CBS's Sunday flip-flop: Cold Case for Three Rivers By Allison Waldman (TV Squad) Submitted at 11/17/2009 11:50:00 AM

Sundays have always been a good night for CBS. It's been a good day for years, thanks to the NFL. Traditionally, the football games bleed right into prime

time, which commences at seven o'clock because of 60 Minutes. Even in the days when CBS broadcast Sunday night movies, the network has done well on that night of the week. However, the advent of the NBC Football Night in America has the ABC lineup and Fox's put a dent in CBS's strength. Also animation domination are no

slouches either. So, CBS is going to do something to bolster Sundays. Three Rivers and Cold Case will switch time slots. . Continue reading CBS's Sunday flip-flop: Cold Case for Three Rivers Filed under: Other Drama

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Heather-riffic: What Will Locklear’s Return Mean For Melrose Place Ratings? By Bill Gorman (TVbytheNumbers) Submitted at 11/17/2009 8:40:31 AM

Heather Locklear returns to Melrose Place tonight to reprise her role as Amanda Woodward. What will she do for the ratings? More importantly, what does she need to do to save the show? Here are last week’s final numbers for Melrose Place: - 1.275 million viewers - 0.9/1 HH - 0.7/2 A18-49 - 0.8/2 A18-34 - 1.2/3 W18-34 For the season to date, the CW is averaging a 1.2 rating for adults

18-49 and a 1.5 rating for adults 18-34 (sadly, we don’t have a season average for women 1834). With Melrose Place currently averaging a 0.73 rating for adults

week’s rating is only 53% of the CW season average. That 0.8 rating needs to increase by almost 70% to put it in a range that would signal renewal. For all her star power, I just don’t see increases like that being sustainable. For tonight’s episode, I’ll guess a 1.2 rating for adults 18-49, a 1.2 rating for adults 18-34, and a 1.5 rating for women 18-34, trending downward sharply next week. 18-49 (including a single repeat), You can track my weekly I think Heather would need to prognostications on Melrose increase the show’s 18-49 rating Place’s chances in the CW’s to a 1.1 to make it odds on for Renew / Cancel Index. renewal. That’s almost a 50% This content has passed through increase. For adults 18-34, last fivefilters.org.

Has Weis Run Out of Chances at Notre Dame? (WSJ.com: The Daily Fix) Submitted at 11/17/2009 7:33:00 AM

That annual rite of recent Novembers, the Notre Dame Survival Watch, is in full swing. Associated Press Charlie Weis, HAS page 54

The Count: The Gutsy Call Belichick Didn’t Make (WSJ.com: The Daily Fix) Submitted at 11/16/2009 2:28:12 PM

Much of the sports media is questioning New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick’s decision to go for a first down with a six-point lead and 2:08 to play against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday night. But another gusty call Belichick could have made but didn’t could have cost the Pats. Associated Press After Kevin Faulk failed to gain the first down, should the Pats defense have hurried up a Colts TD? Twice Pats defenders tackled Joseph Addai at the one-yard

line. The first time, there were about 75 seconds left on the clock. The second time, there were 36. By the time the Colts scored the go-ahead touchdown and extra point, just 16 seconds remained, and that proved too little time for Tom Brady to lead a drive to set up an attempt for a game-winning field goal. Allowing an opponent to score and seize the lead is even more unconventional than going for it on fourth-and-two from your own 29-yard line. But it may have been the best bet for the Pats to retain a chance to win, as some posters at PatsFans.com argued. Once Addai made it to

above-average offenses — which make both an Indy TD and a Pats FG more likely — and letting Addai score on that first run would have added two percentage points to New England’s probability of winning. the one-yard line, a go-ahead The problem is, this would have touchdown seemed like a given, t a k e n s o m e v e r y n u a n c e d so, this line of reasoning goes, coaching from Belichick, and better to get the TD over with s i m i l a r t h i n k i n g f r o m h i s tacklers. “Can players make such and get the ball back. Chuck Bower o f a split decision on a binary zeusfootball.com ran the numbers situation: ‘Either I stop him for league-average teams and exactly at the 1 yard line or let found differently — tackling him score?’ ” Bower wrote in an Addai was the right move. But email. “For example, if they plug in the Colts’ and Pats’ could have tackled him at the

three-yard line, they’re better off not letting him score.” Further reading: A decision in the 1998 Super Bowl to let the winning points score was blasted at the time. If you still can’t get over Belichick’s fourth-down call, here’s statistical analysis on whether it was the right call from Mike Harris, Wayne Winston, Brian Burke, zeusfootball and Chase Stuart. And you can debate the call with fellow Journal readers here.

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seen here after his team’s loss Saturday at Pittsburgh, has almost perfected his post-game grimace. Expectations are always high in South Bend, and the Fighting Irish haven’t lived up to them under Charlie Weis, whose fifth season there could be his last. Given recent history, his dismissal won’t be a surprise. Bob Davie lasted five years, George O’Leary resigned without even coaching a game after it was discovered he had embellished his résumé and Tyrone Willingham survived only three seasons. The Irish’s last national title came in 1988. One reason why Weis’s future looks dicey: Notre Dame has suffered losses to Navy twice in the past three years, including a 23-21 upset two weeks ago. Then there was last week’s 27-22 loss to Pittsburgh. “Charlie’s the guy who’s going to take the fall,” Dan Shaughnessy writes at Sports Illustrated. “… The Pitt defeat means that Charlie’s teams have lost eight straight against top 10 competition. Weis’ 2007 team might have been the worst Notre Dame team ever. Last year’s home loss to Syracuse represented the Irish’s first-ever loss to an eight-loss team. Fifteen losses in two seasons (2007,

2008) is a Notre Dame record. Weis is 1-10 lifetime against top 10 teams and he has the same record (35-25) that got Davie fired.” The Chicago Tribune’s David Haugh argues against bringing Weis back for a sixth season, saying Weis is more suited to the pro game than to the college game. Of course if the Irish banish Weis, the question becomes who would next want to enter a place with so much pressure. FanHouse’s Terrance Harris says enticing Bob Stoops from Oklahoma is highly unlikely for a number of reasons. Finally, while it might be another season to forget in South Bend, it’s also been a forgettable season for college football in general, the Washington Post’s John Feinstein writes.* * * Two days later there’s still much chattering over New England coach Bill Belichick’s decision to gamble on fourth-and-two late in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game at Indianapolis. The risk failed, and the Colts scored a touchdown to steal the game. Not everyone thinks Belichick made a bad choice to go for it deep in his own territory. Sports Illustrated’s Joe Posnanski says the Patriots’ best chance was to go for it on fourth down. Not so, the

Washington Post’s Michael Wilbon blogs. The Journal’s Carl Bialik focuses on a different gutsy call Belichick could have made but didn’t. At Yahoo Sports, Dan Wetzel says the head linesman, not Belichick, made a bad call on that pivotal play. If you couldn’t stomach Baltimore’s 16-0 shutout of Cleveland on Monday night, ESPN’s James Walker recaps a game that featured “the hopeful vs. the hopeless.”* * * It was an impressive and memorable debut for Kentucky’s John Wall. His 15-foot jumper at the buzzer saved the Wildcats in their too-close-for-comfort 72-70 victory over huge underdog Miami (Ohio) on Monday night. The Lexington Herald-Leader’s Mark Story says Wall lived up to the hype.* * * Baseball has retired Jackie Robinson’s No. 42. Hockey has retired Wayne Gretzky’s No. 99. Now LeBron James wants the NBA to retire No. 23 to honor Michael Jordan’s career and contributions to the game. James is already willing to switch from 23 to 6, the number he’s worn for the U.S. Olympic team. The Chicago Tribune’s Rick Morrissey disagrees. “There’s a very good chance another player will come along soon to make us think Jordan is the second-best

player in NBA history,” Morrissey writes. “Some people believe that player already is here — James. Or maybe Kobe Bryant. Or, who knows, maybe Bucks rookie guard Brandon Jennings, who dropped 55 points on Golden State on Saturday.” There’s no such player in New York, however (except one of those guys visits). While the Knicks are a hopeless 1-9 already, New York magazine’s Will Leitch thinks true fans can endure another tumultuous season.* * * Something’s definitely not working when, less than two years into a four-year contract, a soccer manager is sacked, as they like to say in Europe. That’s what transpired Monday when Scotland fired George Burley. It was bad enough that Scotland failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. But losses in a couple of recent friendly matches precipitated Burley’s ouster. In the Scotsman, Ross Malcolm says Burley was destined to fail.* * * Mornings, circa 1989: Make coffee, grab sports section of newspaper, read game stories, devour box scores. Mornings, 2009: Make coffee, power up computer, seek interesting sports reads. Game stories and box scores? That’s so

last night. Game stories are a throwback to another era, certainly, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be relevant for today’s sports fan. The National Sports Journalism Center’s Jason Fry, a Fix alumnus, makes a passionate plea for a reinvented game story. His colleague Dave Kindred says it’s wrong to say game stories are unnecessary because “Everyone Already Knows What Happened.” We don’t. Readers who aren’t getting information from newspapers likely are going to the Internet. In the New York Times, Noam Cohen discovers that ESPN columnist Bill Simmons is among the best-known sports columnists, and his success has come despite most of his work not appearing in print. – Tip of the Fix cap to reader Don Hartline and 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.

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Cincinnati Bengals sign Larry Johnson By ESPN.com news services (ESPN.com) Submitted at 11/17/2009 10:34:19 AM

Johnson Insurance Policy For Bengals Johnson Insurance Policy For Bengals VIDEO PLAYLIST • Johnson Insurance Policy For Bengals Johnson Insurance Policy For Bengals • Bengals Sweep Steelers Bengals Sweep Steelers Former Kansas City Chiefs running back Larry Johnson signed a one-year contract Tuesday morning with the Cincinnati Bengals. Mike and Mike in the Morning ESPN.com senior NFL analyst John Clayton weighs in on the Browns, Larry Johnson, Bill Belichick's decision to go for it on fourth down against the Colts and the four coaches who could

be fired after just one season on the job. More Podcasts » Because NFL veteran contracts are guaranteed at the start of the regular season, Johnson will collect $4 million from the Chiefs and earn an additional $255,290 from the Bengals, the veteran minimum for the remainder of this season. Money was not an issue for Johnson to sign with the Bengals. It was the opportunity to continue playing this season that convinced him to sign. Johnson flew to Cincinnati on Monday to meet with the Bengals. Coach Marvin Lewis has told Johnson, who was released by the Chiefs, that he would be fourth on the team's depth chart at running back. Starter Cedric Benson, who strained a hip muscle in Sunday's win in Pittsburgh that left the

Bengals (7-2) in control of the AFC North, is expected to practice on a limited basis this week. Lewis said there's a chance he could play Sunday in Oakland. The Chiefs released Johnson last Monday, the day he was due back from his second (two-week) suspension in the past 12 months. His last brush with controversy occurred two weeks ago, when he posted on his Twitter account a gay slur, insulted followers and questioned the competence of Chiefs coach Todd Haley. John Clayton is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com. Information from ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter and The Associated Press was used in this report. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish coach Charlie Weis says he doesn't believe a decision has been made yet on whether he'll be back By ESPN.com news services (ESPN.com) Submitted at 11/17/2009 10:53:01 AM

Will Weis Coach Irish In 2010? Will Weis Coach Irish In 2010? SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis says he doesn't believe a decision has been made yet on whether he will be back with the Fighting Irish in 2010. Weis said at his weekly news conference Tuesday that he thinks he'd know if a decision has been made. Athletic director Jack Swarbrick has said he will evaluate the program after the season. The Irish (6-4) have lost two straight games, to Navy and Pittsburgh. With two games left in his fifth season as coach, Weis has the same 35-25 overall coaching record that got Bob

Davie fired eight years ago, and the same .583 winning percentage that got Tyrone Willingham fired five years ago. Weis said he won't reflect on the season until after the final game. His job security remains a popular topic nationally. Meanwhile, Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops denied a report that he has told "confidants" he'd be interested in coaching Notre Dame if the job opened up. "That's some guy making something up. I'm not answering stuff like that," Stoops said after practice Monday. "There's not even a job up there at Notre Dame. That's ridiculous." Information from The Associated Press and ESPN college football reporter Joe Schad was used in this report. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

Footprints in the Snow: Cubs By Matt Snyder (FanHouse) Submitted at 11/17/2009 9:00:00 AM

by Matt Snyder Filed under: Cubs, NL Central Footprints in the Snow is FanHouse's look at the paths to be forged by MLB teams this winter as they look ahead to 2010. Considering the Cubs were probably the most disappointing

team in baseball in 2009, they definitely have their work cut out for them this offseason in order to return to being a legitimate contender. I guess Cubs fans should take solace in the fact that a winning season was considered a colossal failure -- after all, they have had a winning record in three consecutive seasons for the first time since the Nixon administration now. It's simply a

sign that the bar has been raised in Wrigleyville. No longer

content to play "lovable losers," Lou Piniella's Cubs are determined to win it all. New owner and lifelong Cubs fan Tom Ricketts has guaranteed the Cubs will win a World Series under his watch. After altering the best Cubs team since 1945, general manager Jim Hendry has to find a way to get some of that magic back in 2010. He'll have to start by unloading

one of the biggest mistakes of his career. More Footprints in the Snow Footprints in the Snow: Cubs originally appeared on Fanhouse MLB Blog on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Linking Blogs| Comments

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Pat Barry: From Rice to Pittsburgh Steelers Riches safety Troy Polamalu questionable 'at best' By Ray Hui (FanHouse)

Submitted at 11/17/2009 1:50:00 PM

by Ray Hui Filed under: UFC, FanHouse Exclusive UFC heavyweight Pat Barry earned a $120,000 bonus on top of his $14,000 fight purse for his victory last month at UFC 104 in Los Angeles. A dramatic increase in wealth and recognition, especially for someone who, a week prior, had nothing to his name, was eating rice and ketchup, and was still hopelessly awaiting acceptance from a former mentor. Barry improved his MMA record to 5-1 by stopping former training partner Antoni Hardonk in the second round with punches. For Barry, who has been competing since 2002, it took much more than a single training camp and enduring two accidental eye pokes and leg kicks during the fight for his big payday. "People think it took seven-and-a -half minutes to make all this money," Barry told FanHouse. "It took seven years to make this.

By Associated Press (ESPN.com) Submitted at 11/17/2009 10:25:04 AM

This wasn't seven-and-a-half minutes of work. This is seven years straight -- no family, not around my friends, not married, I got no kids. It's just me on the grind, chasing the dream. It took seven years to finally make a payday." Pat Barry: From Rice to Riches originally appeared on Fanhouse MMA Blog on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:50:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Linking Blogs| Comments

PITTSBURGH -- Steelers star safety Troy Polamalu hasn't been ruled out of Sunday's game at Kansas City despite injuring his left knee for the second time this season, though coach Mike Tomlin says he is questionable "at best." AFC North blog ESPN.com's James Walker writes about all things AFC North in his division blog. • Blog network: NFL Nation Polamalu, a five-time Pro Bowl player, missed four games earlier this season with a medial collateral ligament tear. He strained the posterior cruciate ligament while tackling running

Submitted at 11/17/2009 7:44:22 AM

Today brings good news for PC

users everywhere. Seesmic is launching a native desktop client for Windows. Seesmic’s founder and CEO Loic Le Meur made the announcement today at

Microsoft’s Professional Developer Conference in Los Angeles. Le Meur says that providing a desktop client that was native for Windows was of

(MediaPost | Media News) Submitted at 11/17/2009 9:53:02 AM

Cartoon Network has a deal with Kids Foot Locker that has the retailer plugging the latest movie in the "Ben 10" franchise, while the network will look to drive traffic to the stores. Through Dec. 6, customers that purchase a pair of the iconic Converse Chuck Taylor shoes will receive a poster for the "Ben 10: Alien Swarm" film that airs Nov. 25 on Cartoon. As part of the arrangement, the network will air spots backing Converse and the retailer, while tune-in signage will appear in 300 stores. John O'Hara, general sales manager at Cartoon Network, states: "It's a strategic marketing alliance that not only continues to increase ("Ben 10's) exposure, but also rewards fans through an immersive experience." The "Ben 10" animated franchise has been on Cartoon since a pilot in late 2005; a successor series airs on Fridays in prime time. The first seriesrelated film aired in 2007. Besides the Foot Locker link, Cartoon is promoting the latest live action film's debut in theaters huge importance because 80 and on online gaming sites, percent of Seesmic users run among other venues. This content has passed through their apps on a… fivefilters.org. 1 comment Source: www.techcrunch.com back Cedric Benson on Cincinnati's first possession Sunday and did not return. The latest injury is not as bad as initially feared, Tomlin said, because it did not affect the previously injured ligament. However, it seems likely the Steelers won't rush back one of the NFL's most versatile defensive players and will sit him out at least a week. Polamalu missed five games with knee and rib injuries in 2007 but played every game last season as the Steelers won the Super Bowl. Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

Seesmic Launches Native Twitter Client For Windows By twitter:@TechCrunch (TweetMeme)

MediaDailyNews: Cartoon Network's 'Ben 10' Fits Foot Locker

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Kansas City Royals' Zack Kansas City Chiefs receiver Dwayne Bowe Greinke wins American suspended four games League Cy Young Award By Associated Press (ESPN.com)

points in balloting released By Associated Press yards in the Chiefs' other win, at Tuesday by the Baseball Writers' (ESPN.com) Washington. Association of America. The 25-year-old Bowe is in his Submitted at 11/17/2009 11:11:23 AM Submitted at 11/17/2009 11:20:10 AM Hernandez drew two firsts, 23 third year in the NFL, all with seconds and one third for 80 KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Kansas Kansas City. He was a first- AL Cy Young Voting C i t y C h i e f s w i d e r e c e i v e r round draft pick in 2007 out of Royals ace Zack Greinke won points. The Detroit Tigers' Justin D w a y n e B o w e h a s b e e n LSU, where his 26 touchdown the American League Cy Young suspended for four games for receptions are a school record. Award overwhelmingly Tuesday. Verlander was third with the remaining first-place vote and violating the NFL's policy In his 40-game NFL career, he A breakdown of the voting: NEW YORK -Zack Greinke nine thirds for 14 points. He was against performance-enhancing has 189 catches for 2,483 yards has won the American League followed by the New York substances. (13.1 ypc) and 16 TDs. Bowe The Chiefs are coming off a 16- Cy Young Award, beating out Yankees' CC Sabathia with 13 T h e t e a m a n n o u n c e d t h e 10 victory over the Raiders F e l i x H e r n a n d e z a f t e r a points and Toronto Blue Jays' suspension Tuesday and said it heading into a home game spectacular season short on wins Roy Halladay with 11 points. The NL winner is announced would have no further comment. against Pittsburgh. Kansas City but long on domination. Greinke had a 16-8 record with a Thursday. Bowe has been a bright spot in has won just five of its past 35 2.16 ERA for the Kansas City Copyright 2009 by The an otherwise dismal season for games. the Chiefs (2-7). He leads the C o p y r i g h t 2 0 0 9 b y T h e Royals. Hernandez went 19-5 A s s o c i a t e d P r e s s with a 2.49 ERA for the Seattle This content has passed through team with 33 catches, including A s s o c i a t e d P r e s s fivefilters.org. six catches for 91 yards last This content has passed through Mariners. Greinke received 25 first-place weekend in a victory at Oakland. fivefilters.org. votes and three seconds for 134 He also had a season-high 109

Brands on Twitter: 76% of Accounts are Infrequent Users Advertising Age DigitalNext By twitter:@bViral (TweetMeme) Submitted at 11/17/2009 4:50:09 AM

Most companies fail to realize Twitter's full potential as a market engagement platform. Brand-squatted accounts remain an issue for many companies. For those that are on board, many more are largely tepid accounts with limited activity and interactivity (76% of accounts tweet infrequently). Even more telling is how companies apply currently traditional marketing practices to this new mediaâ&#x20AC;Ś 0 comments Source: adage.com

AL Cy Young Award: Kansas City Royals' Zack Greinke By Ed Price (FanHouse) Submitted at 11/17/2009 2:01:00 PM

by Ed Price Filed under: Royals, MLB Awards With his American League-best 2.16 ERA, Royals right-hander Zack Greinke became the first starter to win the AL Cy Young Award with fewer

than 18 wins. In results announced Tuesday, Greinke received 25 of 28 firstplace votes. Mariners ace Felix Hernandez got two first-place votes and finished second in the balloting, and Detroit's Justin Verlander received one firstplace vote and finished third, one Sabathia. Greinke was 16-8, and his point ahead of Yankees lefty CC

relatively low win total was due to a poor Kansas City offense. The Royals averaged 3.8 runs scored in his starts, tied for the worst run support in the AL. Greinke had six starts in which he allowed fewer than two runs but did not get a win. AL Cy Young Award: Kansas City Royals' Zack Greinke

originally appeared on Fanhouse MLB Blog on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:01:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Linking Blogs| Comments

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Fantasy Football Waiver Alex Ovechkin Set to Chat, 6 PM ET Make Grand Return By R.J. White (FanHouse) Submitted at 11/17/2009 9:30:00 AM

by R.J. White Filed under: Expert Chats If you ever picked a week to be on top of your waiver game, it would be this one. The list of wounded players stretches almost as long as a TD pass against the Redskins: Ronnie Brown, Michael Turner, Cedric Benson, Julius Jones, Brian Westbrook, and on it goes. You probably won't be able to snag Brown's backup -- after all, Ricky Williams was a top-12 back heading into Week 10 -- but what should you do about the other situations? Come join us at 6 PM ET, and we'll help set your waiver claim priority list for Week 11. We'll also help with any other fantasy

By Christopher Botta (FanHouse)

Gearbox: Borderlands fastest-selling new IP of 2009

Submitted at 11/17/2009 11:40:00 AM

by Christopher Botta Filed under: Capitals NEW YORK -- Washington Capitals superstar Alexander Ovechkin will make his return to the lineup on Tuesday night in Madision football questions you may have. Square Garden against the New I'll dole out one piece of advice York Rangers. right now: don't pick up Larry Ovechkin, who is still tied for Johnson. Seriously, just forget the NHL lead in goals with 14, missed six games over the last 15 about him. Fantasy Football Waiver Chat, 6 days with what the Capitals PM ET originally appeared on termed an "upper body strain." Fanhouse Fantasy Football on His return is not just at one of the Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:30:00 EST world's more famous arenas, but . Please see our terms for use of can be seen on VERSUS. In Ovechkin's three previous feeds. Permalink| Email this| Linking appearances on the league's national cable partner this season, Blogs| Comments he has a combined six goals and

By James Ransom-Wiley (Joystiq) Submitted at 11/17/2009 1:30:00 PM

two assists. In his last five games at Madison Square Garden -including last year's playoffs -Ovechkin has four goals and four assists. Alex Ovechkin Set to Make Grand Return originally appeared on Fanhouse NHL Blog on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:40:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Linking Blogs| Comments

Gearbox has declared that Borderlands, the studio's original RPG-FPS ("RPS") hybrid, is the current leader in the annual undercard, the race to fastestselling new IP of the year. While it might not make it onto a second-printing retail box, the accolade is still significant, as it implies that a new game has at least been noticed among the GEARBOX: page 59

Review: Assassin's Creed 2 By Justin McElroy (Joystiq) Submitted at 11/17/2009 12:00:00 PM

Just for a second, think about the pitch meeting for the first Assassin's Creed. "Well, he's an assassin, right? But he doesn't have guns or anything, instead, he's got knives and parkour. Oh, and the game takes place in 12th Century

Jerusalem. Can we have millions of dollars now?" When you think about what a big risk Assassin's Creed was, you could almost forgive Ubisoft if it wanted to rest on its laurels for the second game and make it a well-earned, slightly updated victory lap to celebrate having But worry not, friends. Ubisoft and pushed the series forward so the guts to follow through on an h a s t a k e n t h e r o u g h e r b u t far with Assassin's Creed II that ultimately more rewarding path, it leaves the original looking like original vision.

a mere proof of concept. Continue reading Review: Assassin's Creed 2 Review: Assassin's Creed 2 originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Comments

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GEARBOX: continued from page 58

Nintendo's Fils-Aime: 'effectively marketed' third-party titles can sell on Wii By Ben Gilbert (Joystiq)

about the subject. When questioned as to why major titles like Grand Theft Despite slow to non-existent Auto IV and Assassin's Creed 2 sales for several high-profile aren't headed to his company's third-party Nintendo Wii titles, console, he explains it as a the company's US head, Reggie measure of long lead times rather Fils-Aime, still believes that third than technological inability. -party publishers on Nintendo's "Typically decisions are being console can be successful. made two years prior ... and so Speaking with Kotaku, Fils-Aime the decisions two years ago were s a y s h e ' s " e x t r e m e l y that those types of games would disappointed" with the lack of not be effective on the platform." major third party games on the And though the subject isn't Wii. He even goes so far as to directly broached, Fils-Aime say he's spoken (presumably remains steadfast that third-party q u i t e s t e r n l y ) w i t h " e v e r y titles can be successful on the publisher who makes content that Wii ... with the right marketing. is not available on my platform" " H i g h - q u a l i t y , e f f e c t i v e l y Submitted at 11/17/2009 12:30:00 PM

marketed against our installed base, will sell. Period. End of story." It would appear then that Boom Blox, The Conduit, No More Heroes, and a mess of other third -party titles, had some truly ineffective marketing by Reggie's standards. Nintendo's Fils-Aime: 'effectively marketed' third-party titles can sell on Wii originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments

familiar franchises that dominate the monthly sales charts. What better hook to land a publisher when pitching a sequel? Going by not entirely public NPD sales figures (in North America), Gearbox has determined that Borderlands had the most launch-week sales of any new IP in 2009. The only other title that could contest that would be Prototype, which enjoyed greater sales on the Xbox 360 platform (but just by 1,900 units) than did Borderlands when comparing the two games' respective launch months (419.9k vs. 418k units). However, Prototyp e, which released June 9, was available at retail for 11 more days during its launch m o n t h t h a n w a s Borderlands(October 20). While we don't know total sales of

either title during their launch months (both were released on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC), it's reasonable to assume that Borderlands is the fast-selling new IP (during a launch week), if not the best-selling one in combined platform sales for a launch month in 2009. So, congratulations! But watch out for Dragon Age: Origins-- we hear it's fast, too. Gearbox: Borderlands fastestselling new IP of 2009 originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments

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Sucker Punch hiring network Hackers create dueling programmer, adding online New Super Mario Bros. support to next game By Griffin McElroy (Joystiq)

will have some form of online mode. Submitted at 11/17/2009 1:00:00 PM We know, we know -- that's a Normally, we wouldn't write a whole lot of assumptions. Still, story simply stating that a we're sticking to the old adage of developer's next, unannounced "when you assume, you make an title will include some form of a s s o f y o u a n d m e , b u t online multiplayer support -- sometimes, you can totally h o w e v e r , b a s e d o n t h e predict things before they happen c l i f f h a n g e r e n d i n g f r o m by simply making an educated InFamous(and the apparent re- guess." We'll contact someone casting of Cole MacGrath's voice over at Sucker Punch to try and actor) it would be completely help our chances. logical to assume that Sucker [Via CVG] Punch is working on a sequel to Sucker Punch hiring network its electrified superhero sim. programmer, adding online Therefore, one might also assume support to next game originally that the company's recently appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 17 posted job listing, which requests Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please t h e s e r v i c e s o f a n e t w o r k see our terms for use of feeds. programmer who has "experience Read| Permalink| Email this| building on-line components of Comments video games," means InFamous 2

Wii level editors By JC Fletcher (Joystiq)

must reiterate, these are awesome, and we appreciate the Submitted at 11/17/2009 2:00:00 PM efforts of hobbyists everywhere Well, that didn't take long. On who immediately make games the very day that New Super better with their work. Check out Mario Bros. Wii was released in example videos of both (with North America, hackers Virus s o m e N S F W l a n g u a g e i n and Vash released Tanooki, a annotations) after the break. program that allows users to [Via Gemaga] design their own levels in place Continue reading Hackers create of the game's existing locales. dueling New Super Mario Bros. Coder Treeki also announced Wii level editors Reggie!, yet another level editor Hackers create dueling New for New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Super Mario Bros. Wii level Whichever wins, everybody editors originally appeared on wins. Joystiq on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 Of course, these programs, while 14:00:00 EST. Please see our awesome, are pretty impractical terms for use of feeds. for most of us, given that they Read| Permalink| Email this| run on a computer and thus work Comments only with emulation. But, we

Guess This Part, Win a Tool By Vin Marshall (Popular Science - New Technology, Science News, The Future Now) Submitted at 11/16/2009 1:30:51 PM

Since we inaugurated Guess This Tool, you've all proven way too hard to stump, so for this week's contest, we're mixing it up a bit and giving you a mystery part rather than a tool. Again, the first to tell us in the comments what it is we're looking at here with the highest level of precision will win a Stanley FatMax 24-inch Level. Good luck! UPDATE: It seems as if our use of the word "part" was misleading here. Think part as in "part used in the making of stuff" as opposed to part as in "part of a machine." Also, in reference to @GTO's comment, the hole in the center and the threads go all the way through. Keep up all the good guesses!

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Activision pulled MW2 'No Russian' scene in Russia on Vivienne Westwood advice of 'local counsel' Presents Anglomania By Alexander Sliwinski (Joystiq)

Submitted at 11/17/2009 11:00:00 AM

Activision has confirmed that it decided to remove the controversial"No Russian" scene from Russian versions of Modern Warfare 2, noting that there was no influence from the Russian government to do so. In a statement to Eurogamer, the publisher explained that Russia does not have a formal ratings board and that the company decided to block the scene "after seeking the advice of local counsel." The publisher's statement went on to explain that the console

versions of the game had never been released in the region and that the alteration would only affect the PC version, which was released on November 10 -which wasn't too long before hackers turned their attention to the other things that had been removed from the popular shooter. Activision pulled MW2 'No Russian' scene in Russia on advice of 'local counsel' originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments

By ELLE.com (ELLE News Blog)

backstage, and parked herself with her husband to watch the show. Submitted at 11/17/2009 9:30:16 AM The affair started with a cocktail In the true rebellious style that is reception, followed by the V i v i e n n e W e s t w o o d , t h e Anglomania collection, and d e s i g n e r p r e s e n t e d h e r ended with a live acoustic set by Anglomania collection last night up-and-comer Dionne Bromfield. at the Selfridge's car park, sans Why all the fanfare? Because Fashion Week, making it clear Anglomania is expanding their that Dame Viv still walks to the space at Selfridge's and also beat of her own drum. because it's the 100th anniversary The collection was attended by of the department store, both of more than five hundred well- w h i c h d e f i n i t e l y c a l l f o r wishers and fans who included c e l e b r a t i o n . Julia Restoin-Roitfeld, British â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Rebecca Suhrawardi Austin singer Little Boots, and a bevy of Tracey Emin and Vivenne loyal Selfridge's customers, who Westwood w e r e i n v i t e d t o e n j o y t h e Photo: Ian West spectacle. Dame Viv took a back Follow ELLE on Twitter. seat, or rather a front-row seat, Become our Facebook fan! opting out of the production

Saks Fifth Avenue's Flashy Dress Sneakers By ELLE.com (ELLE News Blog) Submitted at 11/16/2009 3:35:05 PM

Nobody has shown more dedication to the dress sneaker over the past year than Saks Fifth Avenue. Climb to the sixth floor of Manhattan's retail behemoth, and you'll see a king's ransom in gold, silver, patent and snakeskin kicks lining the walls of the foyer. It's a colorful pick-me-up from the graying autumn outsideâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a literal flash of retail therapy. And this season, it's about to get flashier. Last week, Saks released four new Jump high tops designed by SAKS page 62

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Style Wars: Coming to a City Near You By ELLE.com (ELLE News Blog)

Stella McCartney’s Sexy and Sweaty New Videos By ELLE.com (ELLE News Blog)

streets below. Once on ground level, I plan on keeping my heart rate up by jogging down to the Submitted at 11/17/2009 5:44:00 AM Adidas store where I’ll outfit After a long hiatus from working myself in sleek leggings, boxyout, my lazy bones just got a jolt yet-shrunken jackets, and secondof energy thanks to Stella skin zip-back tanks, just like McCartney’s new videos for her Anouck. For an easier way to get spring 2010 Adidas collection. your hands on the current The 5-part series (which shows collection, click here. model Anouck Lepère sexily —Violet Moon Gaynor sweat through cycling, running, Anouck Lepère looking sexy and yoga, and even a triathlon) makes s w e a t y i n o n e o f S t e l l a me want to sprint down the 45- McCartney's chic Adidas videos flights of stairs that separate the Follow ELLE on Twitter ELLE offices from the city

houseofdiehl.com for information on Style Wars’ upcoming events in Los Angeles (November 17) and San Francisco (November 21). —Erin Clements Photo: Stephen Dux

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the Black Eyed Peas' Taboo, a virtuoso in dressing up streetwear if ever there was one. The sneakers—in gold and black metallics with exposed zippers and lush lining—are definite attention-grabbers. But let's face it, if the shoes don't grab you, then Taboo might just do it himself. So just go pick up a pair, because you do not want to piss off a Black Eyed Pea. If you

(Yahoo! News: U.S. News) Submitted at 11/17/2009 6:24:41 AM

Submitted at 11/16/2009 2:48:12 PM

Style Wars, House of Diehl’s nightlife-meets- Project Runway DIY fashion competition, is making its way through a fivecity tour that kicked off in Miami November 4th. The sartorial smackdown, which challenges emerging designers to create couture pieces out of recycled materials, sashayed into New York nightspot Don Hill’s last week; contestants faced off before judges Jenny Shimizu, Rebecca Weinberg, and Elettra Rossellini, while LCD Soundsystem’s Nancy Wang deejayed. Click through to see video footage from the evening (top honors went to Dominique Auxilly), and visit

New mammogram advice raises questions, concerns (AP)

don't believe us, just ask Kathy Lee. —Nojan Aminosharei, Editorial Intern Follow ELLE on Twitter. Become our Facebook fan!

NEW YORK – For many women, getting a mammogram is already one of life's more stressful experiences. Now, women in their 40s have the added anxiety of trying to figure out if they should even be getting one at all. A government task force said Monday that most women don't need mammograms in their 40s and should get one every two years starting at 50 — a stunning reversal and a break with the American Cancer Society's longstanding position. What's more, the panel said breast self-exams do no good, and women shouldn't be taught to do them. The news seemed destined to leave many deeply confused about whose advice to follow. "I've never had a scare, but isn't it better to be safe than sorry?" asked Beth Rosenthal, 41, sitting in a San Francisco cafe on Monday afternoon with her friend and their small children. "I've heard of a lot of women in their 40s, and even 30s, who've gotten breast cancer. It just doesn't seem right to wait until 50." Her friend agreed. "I don't think I'll wait," said Leslie DavidJones, also 41, shaking her head. For most of the past two NEW page 63

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decades, the American Cancer Society has been recommending annual mammograms beginning at 40, and it reiterated that position on Monday. "This is one screening test I recommend unequivocally, and would recommend to any woman 40 and over," the society's chief medical officer, Dr. Otis Brawley, said in a statement. But the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, a government panel of doctors and scientists, concluded that such early and frequent screenings often lead to false alarms and unneeded biopsies, without substantially improving women's odds of survival. "The benefits are less and the harms are greater when screening starts in the 40s," said Dr. Diana Petitti, vice chair of the panel. Breast cancer survivors who were diagnosed at a young age were among the more vocal critics of the new guidelines. "This sure seems like a big step backwards to me," said Debbie Hayes, who was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer at age 33 after finding a lump during a selfexam. A mammogram, ultrasound, biopsy and finally a mastectomy and chemotherapy followed. "People are being diagnosed even in their early 20s," said Hayes,

now 53 and a volunteer coordinator for the Chicagobased Breast Cancer Network of Strength. "Mammograms are a key element of that." But another breast cancer survivor thought the new guidelines sounded about right â&#x20AC;&#x201D; even though she was diagnosed at age 37, two years ago. "They seem pretty sensible to me," said Claire Mayne, of San Francisco. "The death rate is not going down because of the earlier mammograms. I'd feel comfortable telling a friend to wait until she was 50." Mayne was more doubtful, though, about the advice on selfexams; that's how she found her own cancer. Most women in their 40s interviewed for this article said they planned to stick with the old m a m m o g r a p h y recommendations, at least for now. "I have two young children," said Amber Smart, a 47-year-old mother in Agoura Hills, Calif. "There's a lot of years left that they need me." She's been having mammograms every six months, since she was 44, to make sure that certain dense areas of her breasts aren't cancer. "I think it's kind of sad that they're basically saying, 'We can't

afford to pay for the few people who may have it in their 40s, so a few people are going to die,'" Smart said. Judy Finley, a flight attendant from Dallas, called the new recommendations "a terrible idea," and said she was especially worried that insurance companies might "pick up on this and quit paying for mammograms from 40 to 50." "I think it would be really sad," said Finley, who was walking through the Crown Center mall in Kansas City, Mo. "And I don't know how the U.S. government or a panel of government officials can think they know better than the American Cancer Society." But there were those who saw the new guidelines as potentially a relief, a development that could save women from endless stress, false positives and perhaps needless procedures. "I can't tell you how many friends I have who've gone through severe worries from false scares," said Maren Waxenberg, a Manhattan mother. "At least three of them have had biopsies. And it turned out to be nothing." Waxenberg herself, 46, has not yet had a mammogram. "I'm not concerned at this age," she said. "I plan to do it, but there's no sense of urgency."

The new guidelines are for the general population, not those at high risk of breast cancer because of family history or gene mutations. They say: _Most women in their 40s should not routinely get mammograms. _Women 50 to 74 should get a mammogram every other year until they turn 75, after which the risks and benefits are unknown. (The task force's previous guidelines had no upper limit and called for exams every year or two.) _The value of breast exams by doctors is unknown. And breast self-exams are of no value. Medical groups such as the cancer society have been backing off promoting breast self-exams in recent years. Decades ago, the practice was so heavily promoted that organizations distributed cards to be hung in the shower demonstrating the circular motion women should use to feel for lumps. As for mammography, the panel's new recommendations are more in line with international guidelines, which call for screening to start at age 50; the World Health Organization recommends the test every two years, and Britain says every three years. They were sharply challenged by

the cancer society on Monday. "The task force advice is based on its conclusion that screening 1,300 women in their 50s to save one life is worth it, but that screening 1,900 women in their 40s to save a life is not, Brawley wrote. That stance "is essentially telling women that mammography at age 40 to 49 saves lives, just not enough of them," he added. But Dr. Amy Abernethy of the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center agreed with the task force's changes. "Overall, I think it really took courage for them to do this," she said. "It does ask us as doctors to change what we do and how we communicate with patients. That's no small undertaking." __ Associated Press writers Marilynn Marchione in Milwaukee, Stephanie Nano in New York, Evelyn Nieves in San Francisco and Heather Hollingsworth in Kansas City, Mo., contributed to this story. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

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Led by China, carbon pollution up despite economy (AP) (Yahoo! News: U.S. News) Submitted at 11/17/2009 11:15:09 AM

WASHINGTON – Pollution typically declines during a recession. Not this time. Despite a global economic slump, worldwide carbon dioxide pollution jumped 2 percent last year, most of the increase coming from China, according to a study published online Tuesday. "The growth in emissions since 2000 is almost entirely driven by the growth in China," said study lead author Corinne Le Quere of the University of East Anglia. "It's China and India and all the developing countries together." Carbon dioxide emissions, the chief man-made greenhouse gas, come from the burning of coal, oil, natural gas, and also from the production of cement, which is a significant pollution factor in China. Worldwide emissions rose 671 million more tons from 2007 to 2008. Nearly three-quarters of that increase came from China. The numbers are from the U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory and published in the journal Nature Geoscience. According to the study, the 2008

emissions increase was smaller than normal for this decade. Annual global pollution growth has averaged 3.6 percent. This year, scientists are forecasting a nearly 3 percent reduction, despite China because of the massive economic slowdown in most of the world and in the United States. The U.S. is still the biggest per capita major producer of manmade greenhouse gases, spewing about 20 tons of carbon dioxide per person per year. The world average is 5.3 tons and China is at 5.8 tons Last year, the U.S. emissions fell by 3 percent, a reduction of nearly 192 million tons of carbon dioxide. Overall European Union emissions dropped by 1 percent. The U.S. is still the No. 2 biggest carbon polluter overall, emitting more than the next four largest polluting countries combined: India, Russia, Japan and Germany. China has been No. 1, since pushing past the United States in 2006. The world remains on a dangerous path, despite the recession, scientists said. "There's a very clear gap between the path we are on and the path

we should be on if the goal is to limit global warming to 2 degrees (1.3 degrees Celsius)," said Le Quere, who also works for the British Antarctic Survey. The world has spewed 715.3 trillion tons of industrial carbon dioxide since 1982, which is the same amount civilization produced in all the previous years, said study co-author Gregg Marland of the Oak Ridge National Lab. Outside scientists said the study was thorough and the results sobering. "Basically these numbers are screaming out at decision makers that whatever they are doing now is not working," said University of Victoria climate scientist Andrew Weaver, who wasn't involved in the study. The report comes as countries from around the world prepare for a December U.N. conference on reducing carbon emissions. Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen of Denmark, who will host the conference in Copenhagen, said Tuesday that President Barack Obama supported his proposal for a sweeping political deal that would include commitments by

industrial countries to reduce carbon emissions and to provide funds for less developed countries to fight the effects of global warming. Obama, who was in China, said after a meeting with President Hu Jintao Tuesday that he wanted an all-encompassing agreement in Copenhagen, even if it falls short of a legal treaty. And he said he wants something "that has immediate operational effect." Le Quere said the numbers point specifically to developing world as the cause for the most recent growth. China is opening up new coalfired power plants at a breakneck pace and carbon dioxide emissions in that country have doubled since 2001. Not all the emission increases in China and other developing countries come from new power plants. About one-quarter of the emissions growth is because western countries, like the United States, buy more manufactured products from those countries, Le Quere and Marland said. "We're shipping our emissions offshore," Marland said. Other countries beside China to increase their carbon dioxide

emissions by more than 5 million tons in 2008 were India, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, South Africa, South Korea, Indonesia, Iran, Poland, Mexico, Canada and the Netherlands. The paper also raised concerns because it shows that the percentage of carbon dioxide emissions that hang in the air — compared to those sucked into the oceans and forests — is growing. Fifty years ago, only 40 percent of carbon dioxide emissions stayed in the air. Now in this decade it's up to 45 percent, Le Quere said. That steady rise is alarming because the more carbon dioxide in the air, the warmer it gets, and the warmer it gets, the higher percentage of carbon dioxide stays in the air, Le Quere said. It's a feedback loop that is not good news for global warming, she said. ___ On the Net: Nature Geoscience: http://www.nature.com/ngeo This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

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China and US 'to work together' (BBC News | Americas | World Edition) Submitted at 11/17/2009 12:42:04 AM

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. President Hu: "Our two countries need to oppose and reject protectionism" The presidents of China and the US have agreed to work together to tackle some of the world's most pressing problems. On climate change, Barack Obama said both sides agreed on the need for a comprehensive global deal in Copenhagen next month, not a political statement. Mr Obama and Hu Jintao also agreed to push for North Korea to re-enter stalled talks on its nuclear programme. But underlying tensions were referred to, with Hu Jintao calling for joint opposition to trade protectionism. The two leaders held two hours of talks in Beijing's Great Hall of the People, on the edge of Tiananmen Square. Both leaders then held a joint media event at which they read out statements, but took no questions from listening journalists. Mr Obama came to China for his first visit as president emphasising that China was now a major player on the world stage - and he turned to that point again in Beijing. "The major challenges of the 21st

Century from climate change to nuclear proliferation to economic recovery are challenges that touch both our nations, and challenges that neither of our nations can solve by acting alone," he said. With world leaders meeting in Copenhagen next month to discuss how to tackle global warming, climate change is perhaps the most pressing issue to resolve. Mr Obama appeared to raise hopes that a deal could be struck in Copenhagen. "Our aim there is not a partial accord or a political declaration, but rather an accord that covers all of the issues in the

negotiations and one that has immediate operational effect," said Mr Obama. The comment seemed to be at odds with a much less ambitious statement from world leaders, including Mr Obama and Mr Hu, on Saturday at the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (Apec) forum. Tibet tension Standing next to President Hu, Mr Obama also took up a theme that has previously proved contentious between the two countries. He said China should resume talks with representatives of Tibet's exiled leader the Dalai Lama to resolve differences over

the Himalayan region. China says the Dalai Lama is trying to split Tibet from the rest of the country and last year said previous talks had achieved nothing. President Hu said China and the US would hold talks about human rights and religious freedom. But, in an indication of China's rising power and influence, he said the two counties should now treat each other as equals. "We will continue to act in a spirit of equality, mutual respect and non-interference in each other's internal affairs," said Mr Hu, who spoke first at the media event.

He added that "trade friction", which has recently increased between China and the United States, should be resolved on an "equal footing". "I stressed to President Obama that under the current circumstances our two countries need to oppose all kinds of trade protectionism even more strongly," he said. Later in the day, Mr Obama met the chairman of China's parliament, Wu Bangguo, and attended a state banquet. The US leader, who is not being accompanied by his family on the tour of China, is also fitting in visits to the Forbidden City and the Great Wall of China. Mr Obama earlier visited Japan and Singapore on what is his first visit to Asia as US president. He is scheduled to fly to South Korea after leaving China on Wednesday. Are you in China? What is your reaction to the agreement between the China and the US to work together to tackle the world's most pressing problems? Send us your comments using the form below. The BBC may edit your comments and not all emails will be published. Your comments may be published on any BBC media worldwide. Print Sponsor This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

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Woman Accused of Helping Kidnap Palin says 2012 run not Smart Pleads Guilty on radar (FOXNews.com) Submitted at 11/16/2009 10:43:08 PM

SALT LAKE CITY A woman charged in the 2002 kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart pleaded guilty Tuesday as part of a deal with federal prosecutors and asked Smart to forgive her for all the pain she had caused. Wanda Eileen Barzee apologized in court, saying she was "humbled as I realize how much Elizabeth Smart has been victimized and the role that I played in it." "I am so sorry, Elizabeth, for all the pain and suffering I have caused you and your family," Barzee, 64, said. "It is my hope that you will be able to find it in your heart to forgive me." Smart, now 22 and preparing to serve a mission in Paris for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints, was not in court. But her father, Ed Smart, made a statement there. "I just hope that Wanda realizes what she did and that it was absolutely wrong and absolutely horrible," he said. SLIDESHOW: The Elizabeth Smart Saga Barzee, who wore a black skirt

and black flats, pleaded guilty to charges of kidnapping and unlawful transportation of a minor in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City. Sentencing for Barzee was set for May 19. She could have faced a life sentence for the kidnapping charge and up to 15 years for the other count. However, under the plea deal, she is expected to receive 15 years in prison, with credit for about six years already served. Barzee will be returned to the Utah State Hospital until her sentencing. She also will plead guilty in state court under the plea deal to one count of conspiracy to commit aggravated kidnapping and will cooperate in the case against her estranged husband, Brian David Mitchell. Smart was 14 when she was taken at knifepoint from the bedroom of her Salt Lake City home, sparking a search that riveted the nation. Nine months later, in March 2003, Barzee and Mitchell were arrested after they were spotted walking on a suburban street with Smart. Barzee's role in the abduction has garnered less attention than

Mitchell's. At a hearing last month, Smart said that within hours of the abduction, Mitchell took her as a polygamous wife and then raped her. Smart said Barzee washed the teen's feet and dressed her in robes before the ceremony. Barzee often became upset over Mitchell's relationship with Smart, but that sentiment would never last, Smart said. A 10-day competency hearing in Mitchell's case is set to begin Nov. 30 in federal court. Mitchell, 55, and Barzee were indicted on federal charges in March 2008. Mitchell, a one-time itinerant street preacher, is accused of taking Smart as a wife in order to fulfill a religious prophecy included in a 27-page manifesto he wrote called "The Book of Immanuel David Isaiah." Smart said she was raped daily by Mitchell throughout her nine months of captivity. She said he threatened to harm her if she ever tried to escape. Click here for more from Fox13Now.com. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

(BBC News | Americas | World Edition)

screen right now." 'Heartbreaking' The BBC's Paul Adams in Submitted at 11/16/2009 5:04:48 PM Washington says some Former US vice-presidential conservative Republicans wish candidate Sarah Palin has said a Mrs Palin would run for the run for the White House in 2012 White House in 2012, believing is "not on my radar screen right that she, more than anyone, now". embodies the values they cherish. In an interview with US TV talk But our correspondent adds show hostess Oprah Winfrey, the other Republicans regard the former Alaska governor also did prospect with undisguised horror, not rule out one day standing for believing the former governor of president. Alaska would simply lead the Mrs Palin, who quit as the party into oblivion. governor of Alaska this year, is Mrs Palin also said she was currently on a media tour to upset at the behaviour of her launch her memoirs. grandson's father, Levi Johnston. She remains extremely popular Mr Johnston, who fathered the a m o n g m a n y A m e r i c a n child out of wedlock with Mrs conservatives. Palin's daughter Bristol, is to be a Mrs Palin was appearing on the model for Playgirl magazine. talk show to promote her 413- Mrs Palin said she found it "a bit page autobiography, "Going heartbreaking to see the road that Rogue: An American Life". he is on right now". Asked about a White House run In her autobiography, Mrs Palin in 2012, she said she was describes tensions during the focusing her efforts on mid-term Republican campaign when she elections next year in which stood as Senator John McCain's Republicans hope to make Republican running mate. i n r o a d s i n t o D e m o c r a t i c She says she was left with an majorities in Congress. expenses bill of $50,000 "I'm concentrating on 2010 and (ÂŁ30,000) when the Republicans making sure that we have issues lost, although Mr McCain's office to tackle," she said in the has denied this. interview, broadcast on Monday. Print Sponsor "I don't know what I'm going to This content has passed through be doing in 2012. [Running for fivefilters.org. president is] not on my radar

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Woman pleads guilty to charges in Smart kidnapping (AP) (Yahoo! News: U.S. News) Submitted at 11/17/2009 10:56:38 AM

SALT LAKE CITY – A woman charged in the 2002 kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart pleaded guilty Tuesday as part of a deal with federal prosecutors and asked Smart to forgive her for all the pain she had caused. Wanda Eileen Barzee apologized in court, saying she was "humbled as I realize how much Elizabeth Smart has been victimized and the role that I played in it." "I am so sorry, Elizabeth, for all the pain and suffering I have caused you and your family," Barzee, 64, said. "It is my hope that you will be able to find it in your heart to forgive me." Smart, now 22 and preparing to serve a mission in Paris for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints, was not in court. But her father, Ed Smart, made a statement there. "I just hope that Wanda realizes what she did and that it was absolutely wrong and absolutely horrible," he said. Barzee, who wore a black skirt and black flats, pleaded guilty to

charges of kidnapping and unlawful transportation of a minor in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City. Sentencing for Barzee was set for May 19. She could have faced a life sentence for the kidnapping charge and up to 15 years for the other count. However, under the plea deal, she is expected to receive 15 years in prison, with credit for about six years already served. Barzee will be returned to the Utah State Hospital until her sentencing. She also will plead guilty in state court under the plea deal to one count of conspiracy to commit aggravated kidnapping and will cooperate in the case against her estranged husband, Brian David Mitchell. Smart was 14 when she was taken at knifepoint from the bedroom of her Salt Lake City home, sparking a search that riveted the nation. Nine months later, in March 2003, Barzee and Mitchell were arrested after they were spotted walking on a suburban street with Smart. Barzee's role in the abduction has garnered less attention than

Man Arrested in Murders of Reality TV Prostitute, 3 Others (FOXNews.com) Submitted at 11/17/2009 9:17:06 AM

OKLAHOMA CITY A suspect in the killing of four people in Oklahoma City, including a prostitute featured in the HBO reality series "Cathouse," turned himself in to authorities on Tuesday, police said. An arrest warrant was issued earlier for David Allen Tyner, 28, of Locust Grove, on six murder complaints, because authorities say two of the victims — 22-year olds Brooke Phillips and Milagrous Barrerra — both were pregnant. Tyner has not been formally charged with any crime. Phillips and Barrerra both died from gunshot wounds, police Sgt. Gary Knight said. Phillips had worked at the Moonlite BunnyRanch, a legal brothel near Carson City, Nev. that is featured in the HBO series. The identities of the other two victims have not been released. Firefighters discovered the four bodies Nov. 9 in a burning home on the city's southwest side. Knight said police have not determined a motive in the killings, but said Tuesday investigators believe there was

more than one suspect. "We don't believe he acted alone," Knight said. "We've identified the one suspect, but that doesn't yet tell us what his motive is for doing this." Tyner surrendered to the Mayes County Sheriff's Office and is expected to be returned to Oklahoma County later Tuesday, Knight said. He said he does not know if Tyner has hired an attorney. Efforts to identify the victims has been slow because all four bodies were badly burned, Knight said. "Often times these investigations are like a big puzzle to solve, and certainly that can present a challenge, but not a challenge that we can't overcome," he said. Police interviewed 31-year-old Jose Fernando Fierro, who rented the home and was the only person to survive the fire, but said he is not a suspect, said his attorney, Shawn Jefferson. Jefferson said Fierro was lucky to escape, but declined to discuss details of what Fierro told police or other aspects of the investigation. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

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Reports: Army to Investigate Hasan's Chile denies Peru Career spying claims (FOXNews.com)

can we do to stop it from happening again," an anonymous Army official told the Post. WASHINGTON The Army The doctors who oversaw w i l l c o n d u c t a n i n t e r n a l Hasan's medical training had investigation to examine whether discussed at a meeting concerns it missed warning signs about about Hasan's overly zealous Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the man religious views and strange accused of killing 13 people in behavior months before the the Nov. 5 shooting spree at Fort attack, a military official told The Hood, Texas, two newspapers Associated Press last week. reported Monday. Hasan also was characterized as a Citing anonymous officials, The mediocre student and lazy Wall Street Journal said the worker, but the doctors saw no probe would focus on Hasan's six evidence that he was violent or a years at Washington's Walter threat. The military official spoke Reed Medical Center, where he on condition of anonymity worked as a psychiatrist before because the official was not he was transferred to the Fort authorized to speak publicly Hood army post in July. about the meeting. The Washington Post reported The FBI learned late last year of that Gen. George W. Casey Jr., Hasan's repeated contact with a the Army's chief of staff, is radical Muslim cleric in Yemen forming the investigative panel. who encouraged Muslims to kill It "will look longitudinally across U.S. troops in Iraq. President Hasan's entire career to figure out Barack Obama already has how did this happen and what o r d e r e d a r e v i e w o f a l l Submitted at 11/17/2009 5:05:37 AM

intelligence related to Hasan and whether the information was properly shared and acted upon within government agencies. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Thursday will hold its first public hearing about the incident. Obama on Saturday urged Congress to hold off on any investigation, pleading for lawmakers to "resist the temptation to turn this tragic event into the political theater." Lt. Col. Richard Spiegel, an Army spokesman, would not confirm the Army probe but told the Journal: "We're going to take a hard look at ourselves and the non-criminal aspects of this case. We are still developing what that hard look is going to look like." This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

(BBC News | Americas | World Edition) Submitted at 11/17/2009 12:32:29 AM

The Chilean government has held talks with its ambassador to Peru amid an escalating spying scandal between the two South American neighbours. After the talks in Santiago, Chile reiterated its position that it had nothing to do with the scandal. Peru has arrested one of its own air force officers, Victor Ariza Mendoza, and accused him of passing secret information to the Chilean military. It has demanded a full investigation from the Chilean government. After the spying scandal erupted at the weekend, Peruvian President Alan Garcia cancelled a scheduled meeting with his Chilean counterpart Michelle Bachelet at the Apec summit in Singapore, and announced he was returning to Lima a day early to deal with the case.

On Monday, he accused Chile of acting like a tinpot republic and of offending Peruvian sovereignty. The Chileans say Peru's response is over the top and have urged restraint. The spying scandal is the latest in a long line of diplomatic spats between the two countries. They have been mired in a border dispute since the late 19th Century when Chile defeated Peru in the War of the Pacific and annexed some of its land. They also disagree on their maritime border, and are currently seeking a resolution in the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Tensions were further strained following a military exercise staged by Chile last month near the disputed border with Peru. Print Sponsor This content has passed through fivefilters.org.