Liberty Newsprint Nov-4-09 by Liberty Newspost

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03/11/09 - 04/11/09

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Democrats fire back at Republican health plan By Donna Smith (Front Row Washington) Submitted at 11/3/2009 2:18:42 PM

Democrats, who have been on the defensive in a partisan battle over their sweeping healthcare overhaul, are firing back now that Republicans are preparing an alternative in the U.S. House of Representatives. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told reporters that Republicans will get a vote on their proposal when the House considers the Democratic-written legislation possibly later this week. Hoyer, a Democrat, did not shy away from offering his own opinion about the Republican bill, saying it would allow insurance companies to sell policies across state lines and would “gut consumer protections and encourage a race to the bottom.” Republicans argue the provision would inject more competition

into the market and help lower premiums. But Hoyer said insurers would flock to states with the fewest consumer protections, sell their policies at low prices and that many consumers would discover in the middle of a health crisis that their policies don’t offer adequate protection. Other provisions in the bill, as outlined by House Republican

Leader John Boehner, would encourage insurers to “cherry pick” and enroll the healthiest people, Hoyer said. The Republican proposal also leaves out major market reforms contained in the Democratic bill that would bar insurers from denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions or charging more based on medical history.

A summary of the House Republican proposal is to be made available here. Boehner argued that the Republican plan aims to rein in soaring insurance premiums, but Hoyer and other Democrats say it would do little to expand coverage or make healthcare more affordable. “It doesn’t provide for insurance availability for all Americans,” Hoyer said. “It does little to expand access to coverage or address the $1,000 to $1,100 extra that every American is paying for people who do not have coverage and therefore add to the uncompensated care in hospitals.” Click here for more Reuters political coverage Photo credit: Reuters/Joshua Roberts (House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer is greeted by Speaker Nancy Pelosi at healthcare event)

Apple Stores Will Use iPod Touches as Checkouts By Charlie Sorrel (Wired Top Stories)

One of the great ironies of the success of the Apple Store is that those roving cashiers are using

devices made by — Microsoft. holster-swaying Windows CE No more: the pocket-sized iPod device now in use. Touch is about to replace the hip-

ADVERTISEMENT: (BloggingStocks) Submitted at 11/4/2009 8:40:00 AM

Droid, she does have multi-touch, why are you so cruel to Droid? By John Biggs (CrunchGear) Submitted at 11/4/2009 5:34:49 AM

Rob at Phandroid found an app that only runs under Android 2.0 with multi-touch. That’s right: the Mororola Droid, not just the German Milestone, has multitouch. The app you have to grab is Picsay, a photo viewing app, and it’s all right there, front and center. If you don’t have a Droid, who are you thinking for the Series?

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Virginia shakes off Obama blue, returns to red roots By Tabassum Zakaria (Front Row Washington)

Cramer on BloggingStocks: Stunning elections put health care names back in play By Jim Cramer (BloggingStocks)

Submitted at 11/3/2009 7:06:44 PM

Pundits always use sports analogies for politics, we’re thinking of trying something different — a hair color analogy. Virginia returned to its red roots tonight after an impetuous experiment last year with blue, the state’s political color of a generation ago. OK maybe it doesn’t work as well. To put it more simply, the Republicans won the governor’s race in Virginia. That was in contrast to last year when Barack Obama captured the state which voted Democrat in a presidential election for the first time since 1964. After Virginia was called, Republicans could not hide their glee, joy, smiley faces. And they were quick with reactions to Republican Bob McDonnell’s victory over Democrat Creigh Deeds. Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele issued a statement and repeatedly went on CNN including on the “Larry King

Submitted at 11/4/2009 9:00:00 AM

Filed under: Market matters, Stocks to Buy, Cramer on BloggingStocks From TheStreet.com Network • Health Insurers Don't Deserve Vitriol • Google's Kill Count Grows

Live” show. “It sends a clear signal that voters have had enough of the president’s liberal agenda,” he said. Then he boarded a plane for New Jersey. Hmmm is that a sign? Democrats smiled and acted as if it were no big deal. Really. UNDERSTATED SHRUG. After all, they said, it’s the New Jersey governor’s race that means more because it’s a traditionally Democratic state. And that race hasn’t been called yet. Outgoing Virginia Governor

Tim Kaine who is Democratic Party chairman also appeared on CNN and had this to say about the race to fill his old job. “Creigh was the underdog candidate,” Kaine said. “But not every underdog wins.” Click here for more Reuters political coverage Photo credit: Reuters/Eric Gaillard (hostesses at Monte Carlo ball), Reuters/Hyungwon Kang (campaign signs in Virginia)

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says stocks like WellPoint are buys again because the months of rhetoric will end. Buy WellPoint(NYSE: WLP) ( Cramer's Take). Right now. That's what I thought the moment I saw Chris Christie's shocking triumph in my home state last night. It was a stunning referendum of the anti-jobs nature of health care and how the Democrats are now being tagged with job losses and a health care obsession that hurts hiring. Not everyone has a seat as safe as Nancy Pelosi. Many have seats thought to be as safe as Corzine's.

They have to be shaking today. Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: Stunning elections put health care names back in play Cramer on BloggingStocks: Stunning elections put health care names back in play originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Comments

Hoffman Accuses Dems of 'Stealing the Election' (Little Green Footballs) Submitted at 11/3/2009 1:36:15 PM

Dave Weigel reports that the Doug Hoffman campaign is

accusing the Owens camp of bringing in the dreaded ACORN and stealing the election. PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – At a short press availability in his

campaign office here, NY-23 Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman said that a GOTV volunteer’s tires had been slashed, and all but blamed

Democrats for the dirty trick. “There are reports that they’re bringing in the troops and they’re bringing in ACORN,” said Hoffman. “I think the Democrats

are doing anything they possibly can to steal this election away from the 23rd district.”

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LIVE: New protests in Iran By Matthew Weaver, Saeed Kamali Dehghan (World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk) Submitted at 11/4/2009 6:39:00 AM

Iranian opposition movement returns to street protests today despite threats from security forces, as official rallies mark 30th anniversary of the storming of the US embassy in Tehran. Follow live update 2.34pm: Thousands of protesters are shown here at the crossroads of Valiasr Street and Motahari Street, in Tehran. Some can be heard chanting "no east, no west, a national green government". They also chant that Ayatollah Khamenei is a killer. 2.31pm: The BBC Persian service has published a new collection of photos from today's protests. 2.20pm: "Obviously this was a well planned effort by the government to handle the protests," reports a correspondent for Tehran Bureau who said the demonstrations were much smaller than those in the summer. The writer adds: I got to Karim Khan bridge and saw a large group of police amassed in riot gear. Many green -clad people were moving West, away from Hafte Tir Square, but they were not amassed like the demonstrations in June. Instead, they moved along the sidewalks. I saw less violence than before,

and though I did see the usual old basiji acting as self-appointed police wherever they were, most of them were just pissed off and yelled back at the protesters. 1.56pm: US and Israeli flags are seen burning in the images of official student's day protest, published by Fars news. Like the images and film of the protests it is difficult to verify when they were taken. 1.42pm: Basij forces are shown beating protesters in Tehran in this video purportedly taken today. 1.37pm: The reason we haven't heard much about Mousavi is that he's been barred from leaving his house by the security forces, according to the Czech-based broadcaster Radio Farda. Mousavi's official website confirms that he was prevented from joining the demonstration. 1.03pm: At the official rally pro-regime supporters have been burning US flags and trampling on them, but opposition protesters have stamping on images of Ayatollah Khamenei. 12.56pm: Basij forces carrying batons can be seen in a new collection of photos from today from the dissident news agency Gooya. 12.39pm: School children have also joined protests shouting "Death to the dictator", according to the opposition website Mowjcamp.

Witnesses said student were wearing green on their way to schools. There are also unconfirmed reports that pupils have been writing in green ink today. Teargas was thrown into a Dr Hesabi school in Tehran, according to an unconfirmed report. In the run up to today's protest pupils in Imam Reza School in Mashhad voted for Mousavi in school council elections. And in Kashan, in central Iran, 235 schools were temporarily closed officially to combat swine flu. The opposition see it as way of trying to clamp down on potential protests as there have been few cases of the disease in the region. 12.36pm: Another video from outside Tehran appears to confirm that the protest are not confined to the capital. It shows protesters chanting "down with the dictator" in the southern city of Shiraz. 12.23pm: A 60-year-old woman returned from the demonstrations to describe the violent crackdown in a call to ePersian radio, according to this translation from blogger Homylafayette. I joined the demonstration early today and moved towards 7th Tir Square. There were so many protesters. They must have bought security forces from around Iran and they were merciless. I've gone to all the

demonstrations and I've never seen such violence. We started chanting and they chased us down a dead end. We were all crushed together and the anti-riot forces shot something like 5 tear gas canisters into the alley. I thought my time was over and I would suffocate. Then the antiriot forces came into the alley started beating us with their batons. I was hit on the waist and the mouth. Protesters were all over the city today. They would get beaten in one place, then they'd go to another crossroads and start chanting again. This regime must go! It pained me to see the young people struck like that. I'm going to rest, then I'll go out again, because the protests are going to pick up again. 12.04pm: This would be the biggest opposition demonstration since the rallies in June if the reports of the unrest are correct, the broadcaster al Jazeera claimed. 11.56am: Here's another picture from Soltan. 11.27am: Soltan, a photo-journalist contact in Tehran, took this picture of today's protest . 11.23am: There are unconfirmed reports, repeated by the Times, that those arrested include the mother of Neda Soltan, the student whose shooting in June made her an icon of the protests. 11.14am:

Habiballah Peyman, a senior member of the opposition National Religious Party, has been badly beaten, writes Robert Tait, citing a report on the reformist website Mowjcamp. He was left with a fractured skull after being attacked by proregime vigilantes, who assaulted him with batons and also smashed his glasses. His wife was also hurt in the incident, which apparently happened in the main demonstration commemorating the embassy takeover. Peyman is an outspoken character and has previously spent time in prison for his views. 10.54am: Criticising the supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei used to be taboo. Now protesters are accusing him of being a "murderer". In this video they also shout "his leadership is over". It was apparently taken today in Keshavarz, central Tehran. 10.51am: Barack Obama has issued a statement on Iran. He said: We have heard for thirty years what the Iranian government is against; the question, now, is what kind of future it is for. The American people have great respect for the people of Iran and their rich history. The world continues to bear witness to their powerful calls for justice, and their courageous pursuit of LIVE: page 9

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universal rights. It is time for the Iranian government to decide whether it wants to focus on the past, or whether it will make the choices that will open the door to greater opportunity, prosperity, and justice for its people. In this video protesters chant"Obama, are you with us or against us?" 10.47am: Karoubi's son claimed teargas was directed at his father. In an interview with Radio Farda Mohammad Taghi Karoubi, said: "The official forces directly targeted Mehdi Karoubi and fired teargas toward him." Video shot earlier shows Karoubi on his way to the demonstration. Another video shows a closer view of him being mobbed by supporters. 10.39am: New video purports to show protesters dressing bleeding head wounds after clashes with the security forces. Similar scenes can be seen on Twitpic. 10.32am: Twenty people have been arrested and several injured in the southern city of Shiraz following clashes between protesters and the security forces, according to the reformist website Rahesabz, writes our former Tehran correspondent Robert Tait. The report also said police had fired more than 100 shots in the air to disperse demonstrators. Agents in plain clothes have been filming and photographing the scene. Shiraz, a city for its

Persian poets and relaxed atmosphere, was the scene of particularly violent clashes in the immediate aftermath of June's disputed election. 10.27am: Security forces mainly paramilitary units from the Revolutionary Guard swept through an opposition march in central Tehran, clubbing some protesters and kicking and slapping others, according to Associated Press witnesses. 10.17am: Riot police are seen violently attacking protesters in this video after about two minutes of chanting. Protesters were shouting slogans in praise of Karoubi and Mousavi and were calling for political prisoners to be released. 10.12am: Around 200 protesters gathered outside the headquarters of the official news agency IRNA, it reported. Opposition websites suggest that more people were involved. Striking photos of protests elsewhere have been uploaded to Twitpic. 10.01am: Two bus loads carrying around 50 arrested protesters has been seen near Shahid Shiroudi sport complex in Tehran, according to an update on the opposition forum Balatarin.com. The Guardian's database of those killed and detained in the protests is still being updated. 9.56am: This video gives a better idea of

the scale of today's protests. The protesters are singing a popular Iranian song that has been chanted several times in the past month in protests held in the universities, according to my colleague Saeed. 9.51am: A friend of a usually reliable source on Twitter has been hit in the eye by a plastic bullet and has been take to hospital. 9.42am: "Russian Embassy - nest of spies", chant the protesters in this clip in a twist to the official antiUS slogan. 9.39am: Karoubi has been roughed up by "agitators," according to the reformist website Mowjcamp. His bodyguard helped him leave the scene, it says. There has been little word so far about Mousavi. 9.32am: The Guardian's middle east editor Ian Black has filed a backgrounder on today's protests which is due to be published soon. Here's a preview: Iran-watchers and analysts at home and abroad say today's "nest of spies" events could be a test of how hard the regime is prepared to crack down again after a period of relative calm in recent weeks â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and perhaps provide some clues about apparent disagreements between hardliners and more pragmatic elements. Another point to watch is the coherence of the Greens' leadership: what is the role of

Mehdi Karoubi, another defeated reformist candidate, and of Mohammed Khatami, the former president who Ahmadinejad defeated in 2005? 9.28am: A contact emailed the Guardian from Tehran to report more clashes in Ghaem Magham Farahani street near Hafte Tir Square. Some were covered in blood after being shot at, the witness said He also confirmed that rubbish has been set on fire in the street to help combat teargas. 9.23am: Today anti-regime protests are not confined to Tehran. There have been reports of thousands gathering in the southern city of Shiraz and Isfahan in central Iran, and in this video shows a small opposition rally in the northern city of Rasht. 9.15am: Protesters can be seen fleeing a baton charge in this video, apparently taken today from Karimkhan bridge in central Tehran. (You have to tilt your head to watch it.) 9.10am: Shouts of"down with the dictator" were clearly audible on state TV during live coverage of a speech by the hardliner Haddad Adel at the official ceremony, according to a 12.15pm (local time) update from the blogger Revolutionary Road. 9.04am: Once again news of the protests in Tehran is spreading rapidly on Twitter as Trendsmap

demonstrates. One of the biggest trending topics is#13aban, today's date in the Iranian calender. 8.45am: The first videos claiming to show today's protests are starting to appear on YouTube. This one is appears to have been shot undercover so it is difficult to get a sense of what is going on, but the crowd can be heard chanting "don't be afraid, we are altogether" and "down with the dictator". Fires can also be seen burning in the streets - a sign that teargas has been used as the smoke weakens the power of the gas. 8.39am: Police are wearing teargas masks for the first time, according to an email from a contact in Tehran. He also reports that the security forces are filming protesters and that most of the government buildings in central Tehran are closed. 8.33am: The usually trustworthy opposition website Mowjcamp claims shots have been fired in Hafte Tir Square and that protesters have been injured, according to a translation from Saeed Kamali Dehghan, who is in London after reporting from Tehran. 8.06am: One of opposition leaders Mehdi Karoubi has been seen in Hafte Tir Square, according to ABC reporter Lara Setrakian, citing a LIVE: page 12

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UN to call for Gaza war investigations By Rory McCarthy (World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk)

council, where it is likely to be opposed by the US and China. Israel did not co-operate with Goldstone's investigation and has Submitted at 11/4/2009 6:30:51 AM campaigned vigorously against General assembly expected to his report, which it says is back resolution endorsing u n f a i r l y b i a s e d a n d n o t Goldstone report on alleged war sufficiently critical of Hamas. crimes The Israeli prime minister, The UN general assembly is B i n y a m i n N e t a n y a h u , h a s expected to approve a resolution insisted he will not let any of his this week calling on Israel and soldiers face war crimes charges. the Palestinians to carry out Goldstone said Israel's threeindependent investigations into w e e k w a r i n G a z a w a s a serious allegations of war crimes "deliberately disproportionate committed during the Gaza attack" and that its troops conflict last January. committed grave breaches of the A debate on a highly critical UN G e n e v a c o n v e n t i o n s w i t h report, written by the South " i n d i v i d u a l c r i m i n a l African judge Richard Goldstone, r e s p o n s i b i l i t y " , s u g g e s t i n g begins today, with a vote on a soldiers could face prosecution. resolution likely . Negotiations His report also said Palestinian are continuing on the resolution rocket attacks into Israel, largely and several European countries by Hamas, were war crimes and are trying to change the wording. crimes against humanity because "We're listening to all comments, they targeted Israeli civilians. but the draft resolution as it Goldstone has called on Israel stands, the thrust of it, is asking and the Palestinians to start their for investigation, and there is own investigations into the unanimity on that call," said violations detailed in his report Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian within six months, but this has observer at the UN. "We'll take it yet to happen. If there were no from there." inquiries, he said, the case should A resolution from the general pass to the prosecutor of the assembly would not be legally international criminal court, binding, but would be easier to although it seems likely a US reach than one before the security veto at the security council would

intervene first to stop that happening. Last month his report was endorsed by the UN Human Rights Council, which commissioned his work. The US opposed the council's resolution, while Britain and France did not vote. In Israel the human rights group B'Tselem criticised Israeli military investigations into the war so far. The group said it believed that 21 investigations by the military police had begun, but no charges had been brought. Only one soldier has gone on trial over the conduct of the war, for stealing a credit card. B'Tselem said it believed the military was investigating cases in which Israeli soldiers were accused of firing at Palestinians who waved white flags, and where they were accused of firing flechettes, deadly sharp metal darts loaded into shells, and one case in which a white phosphorous shell was fired into a family house killing six people. None of the investigations looked at policy-making and focused instead on "the lowest echelons only". "Those responsible for policy will not be held accountable for their actions," said B'Tselem,

Nov. 4, 1879: Ka-Ching! The World's First Cash Register By John C. Abell (Wired Top Stories)

The cash register was supposed to put an end to the practice of cashiers pocketing the store

owner's coin. It didn't turn out that way.

calling for an investigation that was independent of the military. Around 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed during the war. The Goldstone debate comes at a time of deadlock between Israelis and Palestinians over peace talks. The two sides have not met for negotiations since December. Although the US had called on Israel to halt all construction in its settlements, Netanyahu has refused. He has offered instead a limited freeze in which work would continue on 3,000 homes and on public buildings as well as on all settlements in east Jerusalem. The Palestinians say they will only resume peace talks if a full construction freeze is announced, in line with the US road map, drawn up six years ago. They were angered when at the weekend Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, praised Israel's offer of a partial freeze as "unprecedented". Today Clinton sought to placate Arab states by saying that the US did not accept Israeli settlements were legitimate and wanted their construction halted "forever". Saeb Erekat, the Palestinian chief negotiator, said the Middle East faced a "critical moment"

and accused Israel of placing a "major obstacle" in the way of peace talks. At a news conference in Ramallah he produced figures showing even with the partial Israeli settlement freeze, projections for construction in 2010 and 2011 were higher than in 2008 and 2009. He said given the failure to agree a two-state solution, which would see Israel and a Palestinian state living side by side, "maybe Palestinians should refocus their attention to the one-state solution where Muslims, Jews and Christians can live as equals." But he added: "I am not walking away … I want to resume negotiations from where we left them in December 2008." • United Nations • Gaza • War crimes • Israel • Palestinian territories • Hamas • Middle East Rory McCarthy guardian.co.uk© Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions| More Feeds

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Mann will testify against Mark Thatcher By Vikram Dodd, Giles Tremlett (World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk)

he would accuse Thatcher and Calil in a British court because he been "under duress" during his imprisonment. "He would say that, wouldn't he," Submitted at 11/4/2009 6:24:17 AM the spokesman said. "I would be Pardoned mercenary says others very interested to know what he accused of Equatorial Guinea will say in the UK. This is coup plot 'should face justice' completely different to what he Simon Mann today vowed he said while in Harare [where would testify in a British court Mann was first imprisoned], against Sir Mark Thatcher and when he said Mark Thatcher and others involved in the 2004 plot Calil had nothing to do with it." to overthrow the government of Mann flew out of Equatorial Equatorial Guinea. Guinea today, but not before he As he prepared to leave the had made statements that brought A f r i c a n s t a t e a f t e r b e i n g closer the prospect of increased pardoned for his part in the coup B r i t i s h p o l i c e i n t e r e s t i n attempt, Mann, 57, said he T h a t c h e r . wanted other people who he Mann said: "As far as I'm alleges were key figures in the concerned, I am very anxious that plot to face prosecution. Calil, Thatcher and one or two of In his trial in Equatorial Guinea the others, should face justice." last year, Mann testified that He said he made statements to Thatcher provided $350,000, British detectives while he was in which was used to buy a small jail and added: "I am very happy plane that was to transport to restate those things in court in opposition leader Severo Moto the UK as a witness for the from Madrid to Equatorial prosecution." Guinea. Scotland Yard is already Mann's testimony named investigating whether the Thatcher as chief financier of the attempted coup was planned in coup as well as British citizen Britain and may reinterview Ely Calil. Both men deny the Mann if he returns to the UK. allegations. Detectives from its counterThatcher pleaded guilty in a terrorism command, SO15, S o u t h A f r i c a n c o u r t t o visited Equatorial Guinea three unwittingly helping fund the times last year. The country's operation. He was fined and president, Teodoro Obiang, said given a suspended sentence. Mann had co-operated with them. A spokesman for Thatcher said Today Scotland Yard said it had the former prime minister's son been liaising with the Crown remained "delighted" at Mann's Prosecution Service over whether release and suggested Mann said SO15 had gathered enough

evidence to bring any charges over the attempted coup. Scotland Yard said it had "monitored" Mann's trial in Equatorial Guinea, where he claimed that others, including Thatcher, were involved. The detectives visited Equatorial Guinea between July and October last year. They first went on 28 July, returning five days later, and then again for 12 days, returning to the UK on 17 September. Their final visit was from 14 to 28 October 2008. President Obiang, in an interview shortly after the British detectives left last year, said Mann had co-operated with British police and named names. He said that could lead to the mercenary's sentence being cut. Obiang said: "Simon Mann has collaborated brilliantly with them and given them information, names and other things, which they didn't know about the case. "We have a law that if someone behaves well or collaborates with the government then we can, in certain circumstances, pardon them or give them a reduction in their sentence." Mann, an ex-army officer, had been due to serve 34 years for the coup attempt, which unravelled when he and a plane full of other mercenaries were arrested in 2004 in Zimbabwe, where they had flown to buy assault rifles, grenades and anti-tank rockets. He said what he had most missed in jail was his wife and children. "I have felt like a guest

here and not like a prisoner," he said. "I have been well treated throughout. I was able to do exercises every morning in my cell, which is why I look fit. The worst thing has been to be away from my wife and children." He had two hernia operations while in captivity, and said: "I am very grateful to President Obiang, who has been very generous and I am glad that what we tried in 2004 [the overthrow of his government] did not succeed." Mann said his first priority was to see his wife Amanda, who lives in Hampshire, and their children. She was pregnant when he was arrested in 2004. "I have a four-year-old child who I have never met," Mann said. "When I meet him he will already be a little man and will have to experience the surprise of meeting his father." Mann, who has South African and British passports, had been expected to fly to Britain today, but other reports suggested he may fly to South Africa with his brother. An Equatorial Guinean government website said Mann had been released to the government of South Africa. â&#x20AC;˘ Equatorial Guinea Vikram Dodd Giles Tremlett guardian.co.ukÂŠ Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions| More Feeds

Options Update: Sears Holding volatility elevated into EPS and holiday outlook By Paul Foster (BloggingStocks) Submitted at 11/4/2009 8:00:00 AM

Filed under: Sears Holdings (SHLD), Options Sears Holding(NASDAQ: SHLD) closed at $68.09. SHLD is scheduled to report Q3 EPS on November 19. SHLD November call option implied volatility is at 49, puts are at 50; December calls are at 52, puts are at 62; verses its 26-week average of 50, according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement. SHLD puts are more expensive than calls because SHLD is difficult to borrow. Financial Select Sector- XLF overall volatility at 41; 26-week average is 43. ISE Sentiment Index-ISEE closed at 154 on 11/3/09. ISEE 10-day moving average is 126. Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com. Options Update: Sears Holding volatility elevated into EPS and holiday outlook originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Comments

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colleague. Callers to the dissident Iranian radio station ePersian radio also report seeing Karoubi among the protesters, according to translations from blogger Homylafayette. The website of ePersian radio seems to be overloaded, but you can listen in here. 8.01am: Five protesters have been arrested, according to Reuters. It also gives more details of clashes and the movements of the security forces outside both the US and Russian embassies. 7.57am: Unsurprisingly the state media is ignoring the opposition protests and focusing instead on the official anti-US rallies. Press TV claims: " Tens of thousands of people from all walks of life and many political persuasions have staged a rally at the site of the former US embassy in Tehran, better known in Iranian history as the 'den of spies'." 7.35am: Police fired teargas to disperse thousands of protesters, a witness told Reuters. Usually reliable sources on Twitter said there has been a

repeated use of teargas in Hafte Tir Square in Tehran. They also report that some protesters have been violently beaten by the security forces wielding batons. Metro stations have been blocked and there's a heavy police presence. 7.30am The Iranian opposition movement has been debating new dates to renew their street protests since they last took to the streets in significant numbers on Qods day in September. They opted for today in attempt to hijack another official rally. It's Students Day when Iran celebrates the 1979 takeover of the US embassy in Tehran with anti-US demonstrations. Here's some of the background: • The defeated opposition candidates Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi have urged their supporters to take to the streets. • Official anti-US rallies are planned to take place outside the US embassy. • Tehran's police force has warned it will"strongly confront" any other gatherings. • Rumours have been flying about what may happen today.

There's speculation that proregime students plan to storm the UK embassy, but there's also talk that opposition protesters may do the same to the Russian embassy. There continues to be tough restrictions on journalists in Iran which means that reliable information is difficult to obtain, so if you are in Iran and have news, please email me at matthew.weaver@guardian.co.uk or post updates or useful links in the comments section below. • Iran • Protest • Mahmoud Ahmadinejad • Ayatollah Ali Khamenei • Middle East • Mir Hossein Mousavi Matthew Weaver Saeed Kamali Dehghan guardian.co.uk© Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions| More Feeds

Like its parts, Precision Castparts is soaring By Joseph Lazzaro (BloggingStocks)

coupled with the need to re-stock inventories of parts bodes well for Precision. The key revenue Submitted at 11/4/2009 9:30:00 AM drivers: 1) emerging market Filed under: Stocks to Buy, economies that are modernizing Technology their airline fleets and increasing With Precision Castparts f l e e t s i z e s a n d 2) Corp.(NYSE: PCP), as air travel Boeing's(NYSE: BA) new 787 goes, so go the profits, which is D r e a m l i n e r , w h i c h s h o u l d why I'm Reiterating my Buy undergo its first test flight by the rating for the company, first end of 2009. recommended on April 20, 2009, Continue reading Like its parts, at a price of $61.92. If you Precision Castparts is soaring bought PCP in April, you're up Like its parts, Precision an impressive 50%. Castparts is soaring originally Precision is a major maker of jet appeared on BloggingStocks on engine components, and PCP will Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:30:00 benefit as engine orders ramp-up EST. Please see our terms for in FY2010. By most measures, use of feeds. Permalink| Email an industrial bottom is occurring this| Comments in the U.S. and global economies in Q3/Q4. Hence, rising demand

Alex Reader Hands-On Lusty Pictures [Ebook] By Jesus Diaz (Gizmodo) Submitted at 11/4/2009 6:23:47 AM

There was a lousy video, but coming from the generation that had crushes on girls with staples

on their belly buttons, I prefer these glossy pictures of the Alex Reader. And I don't mind its extra thickness. Maximum PC got their hands on one, and liked it very much, from

the capacitative screen—running

Android—that can play video to the onscreen keyboard. The only thing they didn't like is that it is thicker than Kindle. Who cares about a few millimeters when you get more usability in return?

I don't. And I like them curvy. [ Maximum PC]

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Judge tells student he could be jailed for urinating over war memorial By Martin Wainwright (World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk)

of local men to fight in both world wars. The judge told Laing, who stood in the dock wearing a suit with a Submitted at 11/4/2009 5:53:03 AM poppy: "Carnage is the name of Carnage firm that organised the organisation who promote Sheffield Hallam University this type of activity and some drinking session is condemned in might say that somebody should court be standing alongside you this A judge hit out today at morning." Adjourning sentence commercially-organised drinking for social inquiry reports, he said sessions for students, as he that all options were open, warned a teenager that he faced including jail. jail for urinating over a war The judge said that the CCTV memorial. images, later published on the District Judge Anthony Browne Daily Mail's website, "will make suggested that entrepreneurs most turn away in disgust, shock f r o m t h e p r i v a t e c o m p a n y and sadness". But he took Carnage UK should have been in account of Laing's contrition and the dock beside 19-year-old prompt guilty plea to outraging Philip Laing, who admitted the public decency. offence while hopelessly drunk. "I have no doubt whatsoever it Sheffield magistrates court heard was the vast quantity of alcohol that Laing, a sports technology you consumed that night that led student at Sheffield Hallam you to behave this way," he said. University, had drunk a bottle of The court heard that Laing had whisky before joining a Carnage no recollection of the incident, on session laid on for students. 11 October, until the university He was caught on CCTV authorities contacted him about soaking a wreath of poppies at the website pictures. the main war memorial in the Ian Conway, prosecuting, said city, which suffered from heavy that Laing had admitted the bombing in the second world offence immediately on arrest war, as well as sending thousands and told police: "I was very, very

drunk, the drunkest I've ever been since I've been at university." There was no premeditation, targeting or political motive involved. In mitigation, Laing's solicitor, Tim Hughes, said: "He was a young man caught up in a culture of drinking far too much." The first-year student's grandfather had fought in the second world war and it was "difficult to articulate just how embarrassed and ashamed this young man is". Laing, who earlier issued a public apology, has been the subject of vitriolic criticism, including a Facebook page calling him Scum of the Earth. He was released on bail until a sentencing hearing on 26 November. • Crime • Alcohol • First world war • Second world war • Sheffield Hallam University Martin Wainwright guardian.co.uk© Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions| More Feeds

Music Video Auteur Sets His Sights on the Movies By Melissa Maerz (Wired Top Stories) Submitted at 11/3/2009 3:00:00 PM

In just one year, Ray Tintori has gone from "totally DIY" to YouTube cult hero to director of a feature film, with Spike Jonze

as the producer, no less.

Bizarre trailer for Japanese erotic video game features Obama By Serkan Toto (CrunchGear) Submitted at 11/4/2009 4:21:31 AM

The market for video and computer games featuring erotic content, the so-called eroge, is huge in Japan. As a lot of smaller and independent software companies are battling it out in a highly competitive field, you often come across a lot of bizarre stuff (I’ve heard). School girl- or tentacle-themed games, for example, are especially popular (although the bulk of the latter are being shipped to a person called Bohn Jiggs who lives in Brooklyn/New York, as my industry contacts told me recently). Another of those strange erotic games, called “My Boyfriend Is

the President”, hit Japanese stores on October 30. The plot: Aliens brainwash the entire human population into thinking their leaders are in fact cute girls. I’m not sure what the developers were smoking, but I’m sure this game will become as big as the next Final Fantasy. Now some Japanese geek with too much time on his hands took the original theme song of the game and made his own promo trailer for the movie (caps above). Even the pope makes an appearance. It’s just weird, as you can see here: And here’s the original game trailer with English voice-over, which is just a little less bizarre: Japan Probe via Yamatologic

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Dolly Parton. Tony Blair and Desmond Tutu to discuss religious beliefs on BBC By Sam Jones (World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk)

people from different religions working together. Parton, meanwhile, reveals how she manages to balance her Submitted at 11/4/2009 6:37:33 AM religion with her famously Sheila Hancock will also feature pneumatic image. The singer, in interviews with Fern Britton best known for her songs Jolene Even though his modus operandi and I Will Always Love You, is acknowledged to be fairly f e e l s s h e h a s m a n a g e d t o unfathomable at the best of times, disprove her Tennessee preacher few could have predicted that the grandfather's adage that "a Almighty would recruit a trio as dancing foot and a praying knee unlikely as Tony Blair, Dolly don't fit on the same leg". Parton and Archbishop Desmond Archbishop Tutu, who describes Tutu to explain the importance of a life spent as "a prisoner of faith. hope", jokingly confesses that he The former prime minister, would like to ask God: "Whose country music legend and Nobel side are you on?" peace laureate will appear on a For the fourth Fern Britton new BBC programme in the run- Meets ... programme, the former up to Christmas to discuss their This Morning host will interview beliefs with Fern Britton. Sheila Hancock. The actor, who Blair, who left the Anglican i s a Q u a k e r , h a s l o s t t w o church to become a Catholic husbands to cancer. Following almost two years ago, talks about the death of her second husband, his conversion and his decision to fellow actor John Thaw, she set up a Faith Foundation to get wrote two autobiographical

Ghost Pages: A Wired.com Farewell to Geocities By Matthew Shechmeister (Wired Top Stories) Submitted at 11/3/2009 5:00:00 PM

A piece of the internet's infancy

is lost as Yahoo closes the doors of GeoCities. We take a look back at some archived pages and say goodbye to an old friend.

books. More recently, she has traded the simplicity of the meeting house for a nun's habit and the boards of the West End to play Mother Superior in the musical version of Sister Act. Britton, whose series of four one -hour programmes will be shown on BBC1 later this month, said that there was a pattern to her eclectic guest list. "All the interviewees come from very different backgrounds but what binds them together is the fact that, although their faith has been challenged, they've emerged with strong spiritual beliefs," she said. • BBC • Religion • Tony Blair Sam Jones guardian.co.uk© Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions| More Feeds

Litl Easel Webbook now official, unbelievably overpriced By Thomas Ricker (Engadget) Submitted at 11/4/2009 7:13:00 AM

How much would you pay for a netbook?$200 on contract? Maybe as much as$599 for a socalled premium model? How about $699 -- a price that doesn't even include the $19 remote control? Well, what if we told you that the Litl Webbook, a 1.6GHz Atom-based machine running a proprietary weboptimized OS that pumps accelerated H.264 content at 720p over HDMI-out, has a unique hinge that allows it to bend backwards and stand upright like an easel? Sorry, no touchscreen... but that display is 12.1-inches and you get Flickr and Facebook content as well as

custom "channels" like The Weather Channel displayed in a "fun" and "engaging" way. You can even scroll between content via that baby-blue scrollwheel on the hinge. Not enough? What about the 2GB of storage, 1GB of memory, 802.11b/g WiFi, headphone and USB 2.0 jacks? Still not sold? Us neither. Gallery: Litl Easel now official, overpriced [Via Netbook News] Litl Easel Webbook now official, unbelievably overpriced originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 07:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments

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100,000 Apps Now Available for the iPhone/iPod touch [Apple] By Mark Wilson (Gizmodo)

world's most popular applications store. Submitted at 11/4/2009 5:40:57 AM "The App Store, now with over The unofficial count of Apple's 100,000 applications available, is approved apps had already clearly a major differentiator for t o p p e d 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 , b u t n o w millions of iPhone and iPod Cupertino has confirmed that you touch customers around the can download over 100,000 apps world," said Philip Schiller, in the App Store. That's the Apple's senior vice president of widest selection of Booty Gongs Worldwide Product Marketing. ( a n d o t h e r b o o t y - r e l a t e d "The iPhone SDK created the instrumentation) in the known first great platform for mobile Universe. applications and our customers Apple Announces Over 100,000 are loving all of the amazing apps Apps Now Available on the App our developers are creating." Store "The App Store has forever CUPERTINO, Calif., Nov. 4 changed the mobile gaming /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — industry and continues to Apple® today announced that improve," said Travis Boatman, developers have created over vice president of Worldwide 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 a p p s f o r t h e Studios, EA Mobile. "With a revolutionary App Store, the global reach of over 50 million largest applications store in the iPhone and iPod touch users, the world. iPhone® and iPod touch® App Store has allowed us to customers in 77 countries can develop high quality EA games choose from an incredible range that have been a huge success o f a p p s i n 2 0 c a t e g o r i e s , with customers." including games, business, news, "With 10,000 downloads a day, sports, health, reference and worldwide customer response to travel. App Store users have our I Am T-Pain App has downloaded well over two billion e x c e e d e d o u r w i l d e s t apps, continuing to make it the expectations," said Jeff Smith,

CEO of Smule. "The App Store has given us a unique opportunity to create and grow a very successful business, and we're looking forward to an exciting future." Apple continues to improve search and discovery with new features including Genius for Apps, App Store Essentials selections, sub category listings and more valuable customer reviews. With the recently introduced iTunes® 9, it's also now easier than ever to organize and sync your apps right in iTunes and they will automatically appear on your iPhone or iPod touch with the same layout. The release of iPhone OS 3.0 this summer made over 100 new features available to iPhone and iPod touch users including Cut, Copy and Paste; MMS; landscape view for Mail, Text and Notes; stereo Bluetooth; shake to shuffle; parental controls; automatic login at WiFi hot spots and Push Notifications. These new features have been incredibly popular

with customers and there have already been more than two billion Push Notifications sent to apps available from the App Store. Additionally, the recently introduced In App Purchase feature for free apps means leading developers will now be able to offer customers the choice of buying content, subscriptions and digital services from directly inside their apps. Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.

The Beatles' Catalog, Now on Limited Edition USB Stick [Digital Music] By Danny Allen (Gizmodo) Submitted at 11/4/2009 4:55:40 AM

It's not iTunes, but Apple Corps and EMI are finally offering a legit way to grab digital Beatles tracks. This Apple-shaped stick has FLAC and MP3 versions of the new CD set: all the band's music re-mastered in stereo. FLAC quality is 44.1Khz 24 bit, and MP3 is 320 Kbps. Only 30,000 will be made, and it goes on sale November 8 for $280 (pre-orders are now live). The stick is $60 more than the CD set, but die-hard fans get "all of the re-mastered CDs' visual elements, including 13 minidocumentary films about the studio albums, replicated original UK album art, rare photos and expanded liner notes." [ TheBeatles.com]

Tuesday Afternoon Music: Weezer, '(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To' (Little Green Footballs) Submitted at 11/3/2009 3:13:43 PM

Weezer gets wacky in this song from the new album with one of the grooviest album covers ever, Raditude. (Here it is at the iTunes

Store.) [Video]

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Apple’s 100,000 point lead By John Biggs (CrunchGear) Submitted at 11/4/2009 6:29:32 AM

In this political season, why not talk about the roughest political argument of them all: the real meaning of Apple’s announcement of over 100,000 apps in the app store. Are these apps important because, as Steve Ballmer says, the iPhone doesn’t handle the Internet well? Are these apps a testament to a strong ecosystem? Or are these apps a testament to Apple’s marketing might and the perception that you just might make your millions by selling flashlight app for the Touch. The announcement, which basically says that there are over 100,000 applications available for the iPhone and iPod Touch with some of the true winners – Smule’s I Am T-Pain, for example – getting 10,000 or more downloads a day. Clearly the concept of an app store is compelling. Why, then, hasn’t this taken off in the Windows Mobile space and why hasn’t Anrdoid’s market truly taken off. The singular reason is obviously OS age, in Microsoft’s case, and

HP Envy 14 coming soon? HP support document seems to think so By Matt Burns (CrunchGear) Submitted at 11/4/2009 6:30:30 AM

OS fragmentation, in Android’s case. We’ll ignore Symbian for now because, well, it’s a nice operating system but I wouldn’t want to live there. Microsoft’s Windows Mobile has been around for almost a decade. All the apps that could have been made for it have been made for it and, like a tired mule team the developers just can’t push out any more juice. Sure, you can make plenty of cash in the WinMo arena, but it’s all on your own marketing dime. Apple excels at marketing.

The Price Is Wrong: 13 Overpriced iPhone Apps By Brian X. Chen (Wired Top Stories) Submitted at 11/3/2009 4:06:00 PM

From plain stupid to egregiously

luxurious, these iPhone apps make it to our list of the most overpriced wares sold in the App Store.

In Android’s case you have multiple “branches” of the OS for multiple devices. HTC and Motorola have their own UI tweaks and these branches for programmers to recompile for multiple devices. This, obviously, is a big issue for mom and pop shops run by a few developers and even worse for the 14-year-olds out there building apps in their basements. So Apple’s refusal to expand its product line has finally paid off. By creating a regimented army of drone devices to run its

marketplace they’ve ensured absolute compatibility at the cost of, potentially, consumer choice. But, and I state this only to be devil’s advocate, does this consumer choice come with too great a cost, namely an app ecosystem that underperforms for the average consumer.

HP might not be done with the Envy line. The Envy 13 and Envy 15 might get a sibiling if an entry in an HP support document is to be believed. Sitting right along side current models are two entries that are clearly labeled Envy 14. Hmmm. While I totally believe that HP has more in store for the Envy line, the 14-inch screen size seems a little strange, but not out of question for HP. After all, HP and other PC manufacturers are known for outing every possible combination of hardware and screen size rather than employing Apple’s K.I.S.S strategy. I expected an Envy 17 right away, but it looks like we’ll see a 14incher first, although the timetable is still in question. [ Notebook Review via Engadget]

More Awesome Italian Excess From Lamborghini By Tony Borroz (Wired Top Stories)

The Reventón Roadster is further proof that too much is never enough for the boys from

Sant'Agata.

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Litl Webbook Banks On Cute, Overlooks Practical [NetBooks]

Jon Gosselin & Hailey Glassman: The Meltdown

By Mark Wilson (Gizmodo)

(ETonline - Breaking News)

Submitted at 11/4/2009 5:34:00 AM

How did Asus, Acer and all the other netbook manufacturers miss such an obvious ploy? The word " Litl Webbook" must be the most cutely named gadget since the "Chumby." And it's also an interesting product in its own right. But I did say "interesting," not "buyable." The Litl Webbook is a 12-inch netbook that can flip from laptop to easel, making it ever so more aesthetically pleasing while watching movies or displaying photos. Extra design touches like a nob and optional remote

smooth the transition from laptop to artsy laptop, but the Litl Webbook is not a tabletâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;it lacks those last few degrees of flexibility, plus there's no touchscreen. As for the hardware specs, it's a

typical 1.6GHz Atom, 1GB RAM and...wait...just 2GB of flash storage? Yes. The Webbook wants to be a cloud computing machine that runs widgets (on top of Linux, we assume) instead of a full OS. So you're supposed

to store all of your precious files somewhere else and rely on the service's automatic software updates. The idea is alright, but not for $700. At that price, you're in fullout capacitive multitouch laptop territory. And you know what? Doublechecking my spelling on "Litl Webbook" has gotten super annoying by this point, too. Drop the price by $300, hook a guy up with some extra vowels, and then we'll talk. [ Litl via Slashgear via Netbook Choice]

Submitted at 11/3/2009 5:01:00 PM

Wednesday night on ET: Jon Gosselin storms out on the Mary Hart interview with girlfriend Hailey Glassman! But after the plug gets pulled, is this truly the end? Watch the video for a sneak peek at the rest of the explosive sit-down â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and the meltdown with Hailey over Thanksgiving!

LaCie's Network Space 2 will assimilate your data, resistance is futile By Tim Stevens (Engadget)

drive over USB or as a NAS, with UPnP, DLNA, and iTunes compliance for media streaming It's not as compellingly styled as - but that's old hat. New is the Starck Mobile Hard Drive, integrated torrent support for all nor as ostentatious as the Golden o f y o u r n o n - c o p y r i g h t e d Disk; in fact the Network Space 2 d o w n l o a d n e e d s a n d s o m e is visually identical to the earlier enhanced eco-friendly tweaks, N e t w o r k S p a c e , f e a t u r i n g like the ability to power itself 1TB and there's no RAID in here improvements where it counts: down at certain times of the day to protect your infos, but we're on the inside. The Network Space t h e n w a k e - o n - L A N w h e n not expecting this one to stray 2 can act as either an external needed. Storage is still capped at Submitted at 11/4/2009 9:04:00 AM

too far from its predecessor's $160 mark when released before the end of the year.

Gallery: LaCie Network Space 2 Continue reading LaCie's Network Space 2 will assimilate your data, resistance is futile Filed under: Software LaCie's Network Space 2 will assimilate your data, resistance is futile originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Comments

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Verizon getting a little VAIO P to join its netbook offerings By Tim Stevens (Engadget) Submitted at 11/4/2009 7:44:00 AM

Motorola's DROID is just a few days away from dropping on Verizon, but why pay $299 (minus $100 rebate) for that when you could instead pay $299 (possibly also minus $100) for a fully-featured definitely nonnetbook VAIO P? Yes, Sony's littlest ultraportable looks to be coming to VZW, popping up on a test page in a configuration with 2GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, and Windows 7 Home By Tim Stevens (Engadget) reality, saying it's "not part of the P r e m i u m . S e e m i n g l y ( a n d Symbian UI Roadmap." Carry curiously) no SSD versions will Submitted at 11/4/2009 9:26:00 AM on, then, nothing to see after the be on offer, possibly to keep W h a t d o y o u d o w h e n break but a mobile Web 2.0 pipe down on costs, as the subsidized $299 price is quite a bit lower everyone's talking about the dream. competition's exciting new take Continue reading Symbian than the $800 or more you'd be on navigation? Why, you come Foundation teases augmented looking to buy one new -- not to up with your exciting new angle reality/social networking tool, m e n t i o n a g o o d b i t m o r e that's way cooler than theirs then says you'll probably never get it sit back and guffaw while high- (video) fiving your co-workers. That Filed under: Cellphones, CES seems to be what Symbian Symbian Foundation teases Foundation is attempting here, a u g m e n t e d r e a l i t y / s o c i a l By Associated Press with a teaser of a tool that would networking tool, says you'll (ESPN.com) let you not only easily interact probably never get it (video) with Facebook events but also originally appeared on Engadget Submitted at 11/3/2009 8:13:48 PM get real-time augmented reality on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:26:00 Fast Facts navigation straight to them. It EST. Please see our terms for • The Suns won their seventh looks fancy enough, but there's a use of feeds. Permalink| Email straight regular-season game, big catch: the company has no this| Comments dating back to last season. current plans of making it a • Steve Nash led the Suns with a season-high 30 points on 11-of-

Symbian Foundation teases augmented reality/social networking tool, says you'll probably never get it (video)

appealing than the other netbooks Verizon currently has on offer for the same price. Mind you, that two year wireless broadband contract won't pay for itself... [Via GadgetMix.com] Filed under: Laptops Verizon getting a little VAIO P to join its netbook offerings originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 07:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments

Hot 4th keeps Suns perfect, hands Heat 1st loss 15 shooting and handed out a game-high eight assists. • Dwyane Wade led the Heat with 23 points, but hit just 7 of 18 shots. -- ESPN Stats & Information This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

Woot! USB TV tuner for $20 By Doug Aamoth (CrunchGear) Submitted at 11/4/2009 6:45:00 AM

Whoa, whoa, whoa. You can use your computer to watch TV now? These machines can do anything! To prove that point, Woot.com is selling the ATI TV Wonder USB Digital HDTV Tuner for just $20 plus $5 for shipping. Features include the following: • USB 2.0 HDTV Tuner with remote control • Included 22-inch ATSC antenna with 45-inch coax cable • PVR software, parental controls, Windows Media Center compatibility For $20, this might be something to pick up just to have it. This is a new-in-box product (not refurbished, that is) and the deal is good today only. ATI TV Wonder USB Digital HDTV Tuner[Woot.com]

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Verizon to Double Early Termination Fee [Rumor] By Mark Wilson (Gizmodo) Submitted at 11/4/2009 5:55:50 AM

Now, you can sign a new contract with Verizon, pick any phone and then ditch the service for $175. But according to a leaked doc, those days are numbered. Beginning 11/15, early terminations on contracts with unspecified "advanced device"(s) will be subject to a fee of $350. And while that policy might slow ebay entrepreneurs just looking to make a few easy bucks on a resold Blackberry, it's devastating to the average guy Verizon looking to bump early who just wants to ditch his termination fee to $350 on contract early. 'advanced' devices originally The good news, however, is that appeared on Engadget on Wed, fee will drop by $10 every 04 Nov 2009 08:42:00 EST. month. But still, that's a $110 Please see our terms for use of termination fee in month 23 of a feeds. Read| Permalink| Email 2-year contract...which is clearly absurd. [ BGR] this| Comments

Verizon looking to bump early termination fee to $350 on 'advanced' devices By Darren Murph (Engadget) Submitted at 11/4/2009 8:42:00 AM

You know what's worse than showing your Bitter Beer Face to the world after you passed on Apple's iPhone and let AT&T enjoy the spoils? Raising your early termination fee to stratospheric heights. Just over a year ago, we honestly though this

whole ETF thing was headed in the right direction, as most of the major carriers ( VZW included) sought to prorate contracts in order to lessen the charge as one's contract drew closer to an end. Now, however, Big Red is evidently gearing up to pull a 180, with the slide above showing a $350 ETF for "advanced" devices (read:

probably anything deemed a smartphone). The newly hiked rate will go into effect on November 15th, and while that $350 will decrease by $10 per month over the life of the agreement, this pretty much guarantees that you won't be adding a line, disconnecting and then flipping that phone on eBay. Filed under: Cellphones

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It's Official: HTC HD2 Coming to "Major US Carrier in Early 2010" [Cellphones]

HP Envy 14 on the horizon? By Vladislav Savov (Engadget) Submitted at 11/4/2009 6:45:00 AM

We'll keep this short and sweet - the same amateur sleuths who were responsible for revealing the majority of HP's fall lineup ahead of time are back again, this time indicating a forthcoming Envy 14 model. It doesn't take much genius to find this information out, mind you, as HP's Softpaq support docs just keep coming out ahead of official announcements. Two Envy 14 iterations appear to be in the works, though their specifications remain open to

speculation. There still shouldn't be too much of a wait before finding out if this will be just a range filler or a distinctive advancement in its own right, so we'll leave it to you to decide whether to delay that Envy purchase for just a little while longer. [Thanks, Al] Filed under: Laptops HP Envy 14 on the horizon? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 06:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments

US stocks set to creep higher (Financial Times - US homepage) Submitted at 11/4/2009 6:33:50 AM

US stocks were set to creep higher on Wednesday after rising commodity prices and a rush of positive corporate results overshadowed disappointing jobs

data. Investors will also be waiting for the closing comments from the Federal Reserveâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s two-day policy meeting, expected later in the day. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

By Danny Allen (Gizmodo) Submitted at 11/4/2009 5:18:05 AM

With a 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen and 1GHz Snapdragon processor, the HD2 is probably the best poster child for WinMo 6.5. HTC has now confirmed it's headed State-side, and though no carrier was mentioned, rumors suggest it could be on T-Mobile. The HD2 arrives on T-Mobile in Europe on November 9, and Asia decoding of more video codecs is also getting it this week. So than you'll know what to do with. question: HTC HD2, Sony No mention of price or Ericsson XPERIA X10(1GHz availability yet, but such Snapdragon, 4-inch display, and questions matter not in love. Rachael UI on top of Android), Filed under: Portable Audio, or the Motorola Droid(3.7-inch Portable Video display and Android)â&#x20AC;Śwhich RAmos gives its T10 PMP the gets your vote? Or has something RK treatment, supports video else caught your eye? [ HTC] formats galore originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 08:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments

RAmos gives its T10 PMP the RK treatment, supports video formats galore By Tim Stevens (Engadget) Submitted at 11/4/2009 8:18:00 AM

Good 'ol RAmos, producers of a series of lovely PMPs and MIDs that captivates the eye and, like a chaste romance, will never submit to your touch -- unless you live in Asia or happen to know a guy. The latest is the T10RK, a slight upgrade to the earlier T10, sharing the same simple form and seemingly lovely 4.3-inch, 800 x 480 screen as the earlier model, but now sporting the RK2806 chipset found in the T11RK, allowing for

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MySpace changes terms of use to combat app scams (CNET News.com)

developers." What exactly is he referring to? In many of the most popular (and In the wake of a firestorm over profitable) games built for big just how much of social-gaming social-networking platforms like c o m p a n i e s ' p r o f i t s c a n b e Facebook and MySpace, players attributed to potentially scammy can progress faster in the game offers and incentives, News by either buying virtual goods Corp.'s MySpace has taken a w i t h " r e a l " m o n e y , o r b y stand (and, it could be said, taken completing offers and surveys advantage of the PR opportunity) from a partner company like the by coming out vocally against prominent Offerpal Media. them. Critics say that many of these "We're adding a fifth principle offers aren't actually free, and (to our developer terms of use) unwittingly can sign users up for that clarifies a specific use case expensive subscriptions or that we feel is particularly programs. damaging to the user experience: After a public confrontation promotions that include hidden between TechCrunch's Michael renewals without specific opt-in Arrington and Offerpal CEO Anu w i l l n o t b e p e r m i t t e d , " a Shukla at last week's Virtual company blog post by CEO Goods Summit event in San Owen Van Natta read. "Because Francisco, game makers like it's our belief opt-out offers are Zynga and RockYou put out misleading and do not have the statements saying that they're best interests of the users in cracking down on offers that are mind, we will be updating our potentially misleading. Terms of Use this week to better Could this lead to real industry c l a r i f y t h i s f o r u s e r s a n d changes? Yes. But keep in mind Submitted at 11/3/2009 5:26:00 PM

Video: Concept Symbian Interface Blends Augmented Reality Maps and Social Networking [Cellphones] By Danny Allen (Gizmodo) Submitted at 11/4/2009 6:12:00 AM

The flashy concept was shown at the Symbian Foundation's SEE 2009 keynote last month, and actually looks pretty cool. But is it too little, too late? Only LG, Nokia, Samsung and Sony Ericsson make Symbian phones of note—Motorola axed its line. Samsung puts its TouchWiz UI on top of the dreadful S60 OS, and Sony Ericsson will likely do the same with its Rachael interface. Android is taking off, and even

Nokia is looking to its Linuxbased Maemo OS for its best stuff, like the N900. The Symbian OS still has a big slice of the phone market, but for how long? And the cool UI in this video: The Symbian Foundation says that it's not part of the Symbian UI roadmap, but they hope some of its features and effects make it into their reference UI and/or delivered handsets. Will you still care? [ All About Symbian via SlashGear]

that Facebook, the biggest destination for these social games, already bans this stuff in theory. "Ads cannot be deceptive or fraudulent about any offer made," the company's advertising guidelines read, and adds "if an ad includes a price, discount, or 'free' offer...the destination URL for the ad must link to a page that clearly and accurately offers the exact deal the ad has displayed (and) the ad must clearly state what action or set of actions is required to qualify for the offer." But judging by the amount of sketchiness that allegedly takes place on the platform, it seems like advertisers aren't necessarily following these guidelines. Whether MySpace's stance against them can lead to a legitimate crackdown has yet to be seen. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

Shorthanded Pistons hand Magic first defeat By Associated Press (ESPN.com) Submitted at 11/3/2009 10:28:22 PM

Fast Facts • The Pistons beat the Magic for the fourth straight time and the 17th time in their last 21

meetings. • Rodney Stuckey had 20 points and nine rebounds, with the rebounds being a new career high. • Vince Carter (15 points) now has scored 16 points or fewer in each of his games this season,

while Dwight Howard (eight points, five rebounds, six fouls) recorded his fewest rebounds since Dec. 27, 2008. -- ESPN Stats & Information This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

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Bringing back Mickey Mouse's dark side (CNET News.com) Submitted at 11/4/2009 4:00:00 AM

In a world in which Disney defines its brand and the content it releases under its own name as being aimed at the broadest possible audience, Mickey Mouse is known largely as a feelgood, happy-go-lucky cartoon character. But that's not how Mickey was in the early days. Back in 1928, when he first hit the world stage, he was a very badly behaved mouse. And now, one of the bestknown video game designers in the world wants to bring back a little of bit of Mickey's dark side. And he'll get his chance to make that a reality. Warren Spector, the game designer behind the Deus Ex franchise, is working on a new game, Disney's Epic Mickey, which is being positioned, in part, as a "reimagining" of Mickey Mouse. Planned for a fall 2010 release, Disney's Epic Mickey will be an adventure-platforming game exclusively for Nintendo's Wii. The story is built around a world-crafted by the sorcerer from The Sorcerer's Apprentice--in which a series of forgotten Disney creations live, and thrive. Among those characters is Oswald, Walt Disney's earliest cartoon star. As the years pass and Oswald becomes bitter at Mickey's success, Mickey inadvertently destroys Oswald's comfort zone in the cartoon wasteland and he must face the consequences of

what he has accidentally wrought. "It's a game where we remind (people) that Mickey is a hero who solves problems by dynamically changing the world around him and deciding how to interact with the people and places and problems he encounters in this strange new world," Spector said. In 2005, Spector formed a startup, Junction Point, which Disney bought when it commissioned him to work on the Mickey Mouse game. "I've wanted to work for Disney forever," he said, "so that was not a stumbling point for me at all." And because Spector is a lifelong Disney fan and animation "freak," everything came together in 2007 for him and his Junction Point team to take on perhaps the best-known cartoon character of all time. On Tuesday, Spector talked with CNET News about the project. Q: How did you get involved? Warren Spector: I was out pitching a near-future sciencefiction game and an enormous epic fantasy role playing game, and my agent suggested we talk to Disney. They turned things around and asked me if I wanted to a Mickey Mouse game, and I told them no, because I don't do kids games and Mickey's been kind of a kid property for a long time. But they said, No, no, we want someone to bring Mickey to a gaming audience in a whole new way and make him a hero

for the 21st century. Pretty much at that point, I was in. What was it like to get a chance to re-imagine Mickey Mouse? Spector: How often do you get a chance to work with the most recognizable movie star character property on Earth? That's an opportunity most people never get. There was pretty much no way I could say no. Mickey touches everybody, and none of us will ever meet a human being who doesn't know about this character. What's the best-case outcome for this game, in your fantasy? Spector: The best case is to

or want to be, to look up to as a character whose skin they want to inhabit for awhile, Boy, I can't think of a better (challenge) for someone who tells stories and makes games for a living. The logo for Disney's Epic Mickey.(Credit: Disney Interactive Studios) Why does Mickey need reimagining? And why now? Spector: There's these characters, like Mario and Link (from the Zelda games) and Sonic, and I don't know if it's true, but you've got to believe that those characters--who are three heads tall and cute and iconic--at some level were inspired by Mickey Mouse. So why shouldn't Mickey be at the top of the gaming heap? Mickey deserves to be at the top of the game hero pyramid. What are some of the things you're doing to make this new change the way people think Mickey recognizable for about Mickey Mouse. He's not everyone? just your 8-year-old kid's best Spector: I came into this with a buddy, or a character who pretty good idea of who Mickey teaches infants colors on was. I wanted to remind Mickey Mickey's Clubhouse. He's a hero that it's okay to be mischievous again. In his early days, he and badly-behaved. For so many appealed to every body. From years, he hasn't been allowed to 1928 to the mid-1930s, do anything remotely moviegoers around the world, mischievous. But if you go back everybody, men, women, old, to those early cartoons, he was young, you name it. Everybody very badly behaved, and we've loved Mickey. And the got to let him get back to that. opportunity to bring him back to And in his early cartoons, he was that place, where he's not just an very cartoon-y, he squashed, he icon on a watch or a T-shirt, but stretched. He could remove his is actually a character that people care about in a narrative context, BRINGING page 24

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Microsoft's Mundie: IT needed to solve global woes (CNET News.com) Submitted at 11/3/2009 5:25:00 PM

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-Scientists need the same sort of computer breakthrough that the spreadsheet brought to business users decades ago, says Craig Mundie, Microsoft's chief research and strategy officer. Mundie gave a speech at Harvard University here on Tuesday to discuss coming "disruptions" in computing and to argue that computer science is fundamental to solving daunting global problems, including energy, environment, health care, and education. Without taking advantage of advances in computing, adjacent fields of nanotechnology and biotechnology will not move as fast as they could, he said. At the same time, he lamented how computer science is seen as "so yesterday." "It's stunning how much people want to fund the fads and they don't put any emphasis on how core computing is," Mundie said during questions. "I hope we can come together and realize that we have to invest in the future of computing if we want a future in all these other areas." Craig Mundie, Microsoft's chief research and strategy officer urges students to think about coming disruptions in computing.(Credit: Martin LaMonica/CNET) The Harvard talk was one of four Mundie is giving this week

in an effort to stir excitement in the study of computing, with both computer science students and people in other fields, such as medicine or material science. Less than 100 students and faculty came to the Harvard talk on Tuesday where he demonstrated some of how

Microsoft's research can be applied to energy and the environment. Computing is becoming increasingly embedded in everyday devices, in everything from phones to cars. But even though people are increasingly familiar with digital technologies,

there are still disruptive changes on the near horizon, Mundie said. "We think we understand it but in fact it's at a time that the flux in computing overall is as great as it's ever been," he said. The amount of computation that's available will continue to increase with multicore

processors, which will enable new applications. That includes what Microsoft calls "natural language processing," where people can interact with computers in more intuitive ways than the familiar mouse and MICROSOFT'S page 28

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BRINGING continued from page 22

tail and use it as a sword. That was the second thing. And the third leap was mischievous cartoon character made of paint. So we talked about what we could do if we gave Mickey control over the stuff that he's made of and let him paint and then use paint thinner to remove stuff. Were there other things that were essential for bringing Mickey to this medium? Spector: One major challenge was finding a look for him, especially a 3D look. With a couple of rare exceptions, Mickey's always been in 2D and the animators cheated all the time, with the way his ears work and the way his nose fits relative to the rest of his face. In 3D you can't do that, so I looked at the few previous 3D Mickeys and I didn't feel anybody had gotten it right. We went through probably thousands of concepts trying to find the right look.There are a lot of people at Disney who care a lot about Mickey Mouse, and so getting a look that people could get behind was tough. Rendering it in 3D was tough and then getting it to move like a cartoon character was a huge challenge and tons of fun, and you'll tell me if we succeeded. Warren Spector, lead designer on Epic Mickey.(Credit: Disney Interactive Studios) How much control did you have and how much control Disney assert? Spector: I was really worried

about that when I first started on this. There are lines you don't cross with Mickey Mouse, OK? But the thing that surprised me was how far out those lines were and how obvious it is where the lines really are. There are people who say, 'Oh, give Mickey a big knife and put a gun in his hand, and then I'll like him.' Well, come on, nobody's going to do that. And you're not going to make Mickey evil, you know? And when you have an icon, where any combination of three circles defines Mickey Mouse for most people on the planet, you're not going to make his head square. I'd say it was a pretty easily negotiated deal, creatively. Talk more about where the story idea came from? Spector: During a meeting with the Disney guys, they showed us a PowerPoint with the concept of cartoon wasteland, a world of rejected and forgotten Disney creativity. And the foundation was making Mickey relevant to a gaming audience and a modern audience. It was funny because I watched this presentation thinking, Holy Cow, this is phenomenal and the seed of an amazing thing. And then all the execs were saying, Oh, you don't have to use any of that, this is just our think tank's concept. And I'm sitting there, going, Are you guys crazy. That's a great idea. Why would I not use all of that? I just thought it was so funny because they were trying so hard

to make it clear that I had all this creative freedom, and I was like, No, I don't want it, I want this as my starting point. Can you tell me something about working with these famous Disney characters that would surprise us? Spector: I think the thing that surprised me the most is how easy it is to get these characters almost right. It's like, drawing Mickey or any other character in the Disney archives, they are so well known and defined and recognized and have such strong personalities that getting them 90 percent right is very easy. But that last 10 percent that just nails them, that's really, really hard. And that goes for how they look, and how they act and how they move, which is one of the reasons why I was so proud of my animators. I didn't tell them to do this. They came up with this idea on their own, of going back to the old cartoons, and rotoscoping them. They took the old cartoons and took our model and rig and then duplicated classic 2D animation, and composited our guy into classic Disney 2D cartoons. When you couldn't tell if it was our model or the original 2D animation, that was when I knew we had it. Why only the Wii? Spector: At the beginning, it was supposed to be on all platforms. I remember vividly how nervous I was about that. The idea was we were going to do a Wii port and I was never comfortable with that

because the Wii really deserves its own design, something that takes advantage of what the Wii does best. We were talking about this one day and (Disney Interactive Studios executive vice president) Graham Hopper basically said, What does it take to ensure quality? I said, you can never guarantee greatness, but you need enough time and money to be competitive and it helps if you can focus. A single platform would be great. And it was an easy step from there to, Hey, we should do a Wii exclusive. What about the Wii "stalling?" Does that worry you at all? Spector: Yes and no. I've been doing this for 20 years, and I've had this saying, That I just need to sell one more copy of a game than is necessary to get my publisher to fund my next one. So I'm looking at this as, I've got a responsibility to Mickey Mouse and to Disney, and if I do something really good, commercial success will follow. I've got to believe that. And once you start talking about painting, people's hands (on the Wii) just immediately start moving as if they're holding a brush. It just totally works. I think we're on the right platform. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

AT&T Sues Verizon Over 'There's A Map For That' Ad Campaign By Mike Masnick (Techdirt) Submitted at 11/4/2009 12:06:12 AM

Recently, Verizon came up with a rather clever ad campaign, mocking the iPhone ads that claim "there's an app for that" with ads that showcase Verizon's wider 3G footprint, claiming "there's a map for that," and showing the two services' 3G coverage maps side by side: It does a nice job poking fun at one of AT&T's weaker points: its mobile network infrastructure. But apparently, AT&T is not happy with the ad campaign and has sued Verizon over those ads, claiming that it uses an unfair comparison. That's because the maps only show 3G coverage, and Verizon has significantly greater 3G coverage. However, AT&T feels that the map showing its coverage implies, falsely, that AT&T has no coverage outside of its 3G coverage areas. While you can see why AT&T would make this complaint, it does make you wonder if it's really worth the effort to sue. All it's really doing is attracting a lot more attention to the original ad, which does accurately state that it's talking about 3G coverage, not overall coverage, though you can see why some people might not realize that AT&T's network also includes non-3G areas. Permalink| Comments| Email This Story

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The difference a few years makes to open source (CNET News.com) Submitted at 11/4/2009 6:05:00 AM

For those new to open source, whether on the business or development side, it's hard to appreciate just how far the movement has come in the past few years. In 1998, when I had my first taste of open-source software through my company's investment in Cobalt Networks, virtually no one knew what open source was, including nowcommon projects like Linux. Things were a little better in 2000, when I joined a Linux start -up (Lineo), but I spent much of my time working with prospective customers to ease their concerns over open-source licenses like the GPL. The world is open source's oyster. By 2004, when a group of friends and I founded the Open Source Business Conference, there was significant, growing awareness of open source, but its adoption was still stymied by Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt, much of it fomented by Microsoft ( Steve Ballmer in 2001: "Linux is a cancer") and the SCO Group ( lawsuit over the provenance of Linux code in

2003). Today, SCO Group, once a highflier, is struggling for existence. Meanwhile, Microsoft has committed another $100,000 to Apache Software Foundation, has started its own open-source foundation, and has embedded significant bits of open-source code within its proprietary programs, among other things. Linux, for its part, struggled to get noticed in data centers back in 2003. It has since become essential, mission-critical infrastructure across the Global 2000 ranking of public companies We've come a long way. This progress reflects itself in the job market, where Linuxrelated jobs have seen a 6 percent rise in 2009 alone, while Windows-related jobs have plunged by 8 percent, according to data from Dice.com. But it's also evident in enterprises' willingness--even eagerness--to discuss opensource adoption plans. Virgin America CIO Ravi Simhambhatla tells The Register that his need to do more with less drove the company to adopt open source and suggests that the open -source philosophy is a positive, disruptive force:

Our company doesn't need just another IT team, the more and more we get entrenched in the...way of doing things the less and less room we will make for ourselves to be innovative. In 2004, when I was trying to find an IT executive to speak at OSBC, it was a lost cause. No one wanted to paint a legal bull'seye on themselves for SCO or Microsoft. Today, company executives line up to talk up how they're differentiating through open source. Open source has "arrived," and the signs are everywhere, from the U.S. Defense Department's efforts to boost its open-source adoption further to patent-rich Qualcomm's foray into open source. Open source is no longer a question of "why" but rather one of "how." It's the way the industry does business, and the way it does development. No, not everyone in the industry,

all of the time. But for those of us who have been involved in open source for even the past five years, it's amazing to see how much things have changed, which suggests they'll evolve even further. For some within the open-source world, this is unwelcome news. They defined themselves as freedom fighters, battling the forces of proprietary darkness. And as far as good-and-evil metaphors work in technology, they were. But as that world embraces open source, they're largely left bereft of bogeymen, like old soldiers still struggling against an unseen enemy. Winning can be a bit disorienting. All the same, it's time to move on. There are no more vampires to slay, but simply further opensource education to undertake. Enterprises need open source now, more than ever, and they're adopting it now, more than ever. What a long, strange trip it's been. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

Your best 'worst' Google Voice transcription errors By Jessica Dolcourt (Webware.com) Submitted at 11/3/2009 3:54:50 PM

Last week, we shared three of our wackiest mistranscribed voice messages from Google Voice and asked you to pass along the funniest flubs from your own in-box. Your hilarious samples poured in through comments and e-mails. We've rounded up some fine specimens of voice mail meanings that were definitely lost in translation in our gallery. Best 'worst' Google Voice transcription errors-screenshots In defense of Google Voice, computer-aided transcription technology is still maturing. While Google Voice's engine doesn't get it right all the time--or even most of the time in our case --it's better than nothing. At the very least, it produces amusing gems like the ones in our collection. Scroll through the comments for more choice voice-to-text slipups and read about a fee-based alternative visual voice mail transcription to Google Voice, BT's Ribbit, that promises to get transcriptions right and doesn't require an invitation to join.

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Microsoft gives the MSN butterfly a makeover (CNET News.com)

launch. By contrast, Yahoo, perhaps MSN's largest competitor, has bet Aiming to stay relevant, the farm on the popularity of Microsoft is introducing a new Web apps on the home page, look for its MSN.com home redesigning the entire Yahoo page. experience with that in mind. It's Although MSN gets far less still early, but since the redesign attention than the company's went live Yahoo has seen a 20 Bing or Windows Live efforts, percent increase in the amount of the home page remains an time spent on the home page, it important economic engine for With its new look, the home "We were, frankly, at a point said last week. Microsoft's online business, as page has about half as many links where customers are complaining The company has decided to well as a significant source of as the previous incarnation, about the clutter," he said. scrap altogether a more radical search traffic for Bing. focusing instead on a few Microsoft is also trying to tap overhaul that it tested in Brazil. Along with redesigning the categories, such as video, news, into the popularity of social That site, geared towards Brazil's MSN home page, Microsoft also shopping, and search. networks, adding a column on highly social online population, gave the site's butterfly logo a The old site had dozens of text the right-hand side that lets users allowed people to share videos new look.(Credit: Microsoft) links at the top and bottom of the peek at their Windows Live, by dragging the video screen "We believe it's an important p a g e f o r e v e r y t h i n g f r o m Twitter, and Facebook feeds, and onto a contact in one's social asset for Microsoft," said MSN horoscopes to white pages to a even update their status or post a network. general manager Bob Visse. free trial of MSN's dial-up tweet. As before, users can also "It was too radical, even for that The site is still the top portal in Internet service. see a preview of their Hotmail in- audience," Visse said. "It's not about 25 of the 46 markets, with "It doesn't take a rocket scientist box. going to ship for a final release." about 600 million unique users to see this is a very cluttered and But it will take its time in MSN was among the Microsoft globally and 100 million in the busy site," Visse said of the j u m p i n g o n t h e W e b a p p s units hit by companywide layoffs U.S, where it trails Yahoo in existing page. bandwagon, with plans to offer earlier this year, but things have popularity. The company has, in the past, several Silverlight-based apps on stabilized, Visse said. The redesign, which has been in tried to make changes that its the right-hand side of the "I wouldn't say we are growing the works for months, bears quite users saw as too radical, such as a redesigned page at a later date. In h e a d c o u n t , b u t w e a r e n ' t a bit of resemblance to the one 2007 overhaul of Hotmail that the past, MSN users have not r e d u c i n g , " h e s a i d . that Microsoft had been testing in the company was forced to customized their pages to a large The 2009 redesign of MSN France. significantly scale back. Visse degree, and so Microsoft is going features a new logo and new look Microsoft late Tuesday began said he isn't as worried about to take a wait-and-see approach with fewer links and more videos rolling out the new MSN home that, given that users were before it decides whether it will and images.(Credit: Microsoft) page (click for preview), which it already complaining that the site roll out more apps than the This content has passed through s a y s w i l l b e c o m e w i d e l y was both dated and overstuffed Windows Live, Twitter, and fivefilters.org. available in the U.S. early in with links. Facebook apps available at 2010. Submitted at 11/3/2009 8:25:00 PM

Attacks On File Sharing Simply Drive People Further Underground By Mike Masnick (Techdirt) Submitted at 11/4/2009 2:53:36 AM

Admittedly it's just an estimate, but reports coming out of Sweden suggest that, rather than stop file sharing, under the new IPRED law, a growing number of file sharing users have simply gone further underground using anonymizing services. Of course, this shouldn't surprise anyone, as plenty of people have been predicting that's exactly that would happen for the better part of a decade. You would think that folks in the entertainment industry might actually pay attention since those predictions from years back have come true. But instead, they'd rather attack those of us who have pointed out why their strategy isn't working. At what point do they stop and realize that their critics actually are giving them good advice? Permalink| Comments| Email This Story

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Australian Radio Program On 'Piracy' What 60 Minutes Should Have Done By Mike Masnick (Techdirt)

of film and television is something that detracts from the revenue that could go back into On Monday, we wrote about that the industry and could go back that ridiculous attempt by 60 into supporting local video Minutes to do a story about stores, local cinemas and online movie piracy that was basically distribution. Theft is not justified one long press release for the b e c a u s e s o m e o n e i s b e i n g MPAA's position. Facts weren't successful, and that's a really checked, and the reporter, Leslie important point in this debate. Stahl, didn't bother to push back Oscar McLaren (radio host): But on a single claim made by any of it does seem strange that I mean, the (all industry insider) guests. we're told in quite apocalyptic However, Boing Boing points us terms often that the video to a "radio documentary" on industry and the film industry is p i r a c y t h a t w a s d o n e o n really starting to hurt. I don't Australian radio the very same imagine many people would day as the 60 Minutes episode actually be aware that the aired. You may notice a major revenues are in fact going up difference in that the Australian quite steadily and have been for radio folks actually looked at the the past decade or so. facts, invited on people who Adrianne Pecotic: I think the could refute industry claims, and important thing about the losses actually pushed back on claims that are being suffered by the by the industry: Adrianne Pecotic film industry through piracy, is ( f r o m a n t i - p i r a c y g r o u p that individual investors in AFACT): The fact that there is a individual films rely on that level of illegitimate consumption investment in that particular film, Submitted at 11/4/2009 5:32:21 AM

for that film maker, or that investor as their entire revenue. If you're looking at the analysis across the board of the whole industry and whether it is going up or whether more people are consuming films or less people are consuming films, you're not asking the question of whether a particular film has had the opportunity to recoup its proper revenue. Oscar McLaren: For the record, box office sales were also at alltime high levels last year, reaching nearly $1-billion. The program also pushed back against the repeated claim that a download is no different than shoplifting: Oscar McLaren: But many lawyers in the debate argue that stealing a physical object is very different to breaching intellectual property laws.... Jessica Litman: The difference between a song and a cookie is if I eat a cookie, then you can't have it because I've eaten it, it's

gone. But if I listen to a song, you can listen to a song, your friend can listen to a song, anyone can listen to a song, and because intellectual property is capable of being enjoyed by many people at the same time, it's subject to somewhat different rules than cookies. Or houses, or other kinds of property. The report goes in-depth in other areas as well, including a discussion on fair use/fair dealing, the history of copyright (and how it's often been abused in the name of artists, when it really had nothing to do with them) and the importance of mashup/remix culture. It's the sort of report that a program like 60 Minutes could have -- and should have -- done, but did not. Kudos to ABC radio down in Australia. Permalink| Comments| Email This Story

Discount Tickets Available To SF MusicTech By Mike Masnick (Techdirt) Submitted at 11/3/2009 6:03:16 PM

On December 7th in San Francisco, there will be the next SF MusicTech Summit, which is a great event that I've been to a few times before. It really does a great job covering technology and business models that are impacting the music industry in a very positive, productive way. I've had some of the best conversations about the industry with folks at that event. I'll be there again, taking part on a panel, and the organizers have agreed to let Techdirt readers have a 15% discount on tickets if ordered through our site. I hope to see you there. Permalink| Comments| Email This Story

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MICROSOFT'S continued from page 23

graphical user interface. An example is Microsoft's Project Natal, motion-sensing technology where people can use arms and legs to play games. Two other big technology changes, he said, are threedimensional displays and cloud computing, where people can tap banks of servers over the Internet for data-intensive jobs. High-end demos Mundie showed Microsoft Computational Science Studio, a tool designed by Microsoft Research in the U.K. to allow scientists to run complex and data-intensive computer simulations. Science Studio could be used to project the impact of rain forest deforestation in South America on other regions of the world. The tool is designed to help experts from different disciplines create a model around different sources of data and visualize simulations. In this example, the application tapped data centers off-site to run simulations of how changes to the rate of deforestation would affect average temperatures in the U.S.

Generating these models is very practical not just to scientists but to policy makers as well, Mundie said. "Is it better to pay the Brazilians not to cut down trees or to develop genetically engineered crops that can grow in temperatures that are five degrees hotter?" he said. "Those are the kind of choices that our society is going to have to deal with." In another demo, Mundie showed how a researcher can optimize output from a wind farm. Using an 8-processor computer with a threedimensional display and penbased input, Mundie was able to view how different wind turbine blade shapes affect wind flow. Several energy technology companies are already using IT aggressively. The idea of the smart grid is essentially overlaying digital communications and controls onto the electricity grid. Start-up eSolar uses embedded processors on thousands of mirrors to track the sun and generate the most heat possible with its solar concentrator. Cloud computing opens up more possibilities for far-reaching

energy research, Mundie said. One example is TerraPower, a Seattle-area nuclear power company that has attracted Bill Gates and former Microsoft Chief Technology Officer Nathan Myhrvold as investors. TerraPower is designing a "traveling-wave nuclear reactor" that could use the spent fuel from traditional nuclear reactors and make electricity from it for decades. To speed its research, the company is using high-end computation, which only now is accessible to start-up companies because of cloud computing, Mundie said. "These are the types of technologies where scientists, engineers, and computer scientists have to come forward, explore them and, if we can make them work, then of course they represent a real discontinuity in the quest for high-scale, zero carbon energy sources," he said. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

Best of Fall: Buckle Hardware By ELLE.com (ELLE News Blog)

boots, Joe Zee selects the best buckles from fall. —Violet Moon Gayno r Follow ELLE on Twitter.

Submitted at 11/3/2009 1:28:57 PM

When it comes to fall’s heavy hardware, buckles, both big and small, top the list of chic

accoutrements. From Phi’s corset belt to Burberry’s hard-stomping

Court Rules That Using Domain Registration Privacy Services Represents 'Material Falsification' By Mike Masnick (Techdirt)

vague. While CAN SPAM requires a combination of both Submitted at 11/3/2009 7:55:18 PM material falsification and intent to Lots of people use private send spam, it does open up some registration services for domain questions about potential legal names, that lets them register a problems for anyone who uses domain name while keeping their such a private registration service own identities private. There are in a variety of lawsuits (if those plenty of legitimate reasons to do lawsuits are in the Ninth Circuit, so: they don't want spam or they of course). The court does seem want to keep the identity of the to admit that this could cause s i t e o w n e r s a n o n y m o u s . problems, but the job of the court However, in a recent spam isn't to stop those problems, just lawsuit, the Ninth Circuit court of to interpret the law. appeals has said that using such a Separately, in the same lawsuit, service is "material falsification" t h e c o u r t r u l e d t h a t t h e o f i n f o r m a t i o n : [ P ] r i v a t e appropriate "community" for registration is a service that judging obscenity standards in allows registration of a domain e m a i l i s t h e " n a t i o n a l name in a manner that conceals community" rather than the local the actual registrant's identity community. I have enough from the public absent a problems with the whole subpoena. We fail to perceive "community standards" method any vagueness on this point. of judging "obscenity" in the first Based on the plain meaning of place (well, I have trouble with the relevant terms discussed "obscenity" laws entirely), but if above, private registration for the you have to have them, it does purpose of concealing the actual seem that a national standard r e g i s t r a n t ' s i d e n t i t y w o u l d makes more sense than a local constitute "material falsification." standard when it comes to email Defendants assert that many that could go to anyone in any innocent people who privately community. As Thomas O'Toole register without the requisite notes in his writeup, the ruling is i n t e n t m a y b e s u b j e c t t o a bit of a mess, and should keep investigation for violation of § First Amendment lawyers busy 1037 until their intent can be (though, the same is true of any determined, allowing for abuse obscenity laws...). by enforcement authorities. This Permalink| Comments| Email may be so, but it does not make This Story the statute unconstitutionally

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MySpace changes terms of use to combat app scams

Twitter translates into Spanish

By Caroline McCarthy (Webware.com)

clarify this for users and developers." What exactly is he referring to? Submitted at 11/3/2009 5:26:00 PM In many of the most popular (and In the wake of a firestorm over profitable) games built for big just how much of social-gaming social-networking platforms like c o m p a n i e s ' p r o f i t s c a n b e Facebook and MySpace, players attributed to potentially scammy can progress faster in the game offers and incentives, News by either buying virtual goods Corp.'s MySpace has taken a w i t h " r e a l " m o n e y , o r b y stand (and, it could be said, taken completing offers and surveys advantage of the PR opportunity) from a partner company like the by coming out vocally against prominent Offerpal Media. them. Critics say that many of these "We're adding a fifth principle offers aren't actually free, and (to our developer terms of use) unwittingly can sign users up for that clarifies a specific use case expensive subscriptions or that we feel is particularly programs. damaging to the user experience: After a public confrontation promotions that include hidden between TechCrunch's Michael renewals without specific opt-in Arrington and Offerpal CEO Anu w i l l n o t b e p e r m i t t e d , " a Shukla at last week's Virtual company blog post by CEO Goods Summit event in San Owen Van Natta read. "Because Francisco, game makers like it's our belief opt-out offers are Zynga and RockYou put out misleading and do not have the statements saying that they're best interests of the users in cracking down on offers that are mind, we will be updating our potentially misleading. Terms of Use this week to better Could this lead to real industry

changes? Yes. But keep in mind that Facebook, the biggest destination for these social games, already bans this stuff in theory. "Ads cannot be deceptive or fraudulent about any offer made," the company's advertising guidelines read, and adds "if an ad includes a price, discount, or 'free' offer...the destination URL for the ad must link to a page that clearly and accurately offers the exact deal the ad has displayed (and) the ad must clearly state what action or set of actions is required to qualify for the offer." But judging by the amount of sketchiness that allegedly takes place on the platform, it seems like advertisers aren't necessarily following these guidelines. Whether MySpace's stance against them can lead to a legitimate crackdown has yet to be seen. Originally posted at The Social

Job data welcomed as markets await Fed (Financial Times - US homepage) Submitted at 11/4/2009 6:05:55 AM

The “great correlation trade” crunched back into gear on Wednesday as markets successfully negotiated the day’s important batch of data, pushing

equities, oil and gold higher and forcing the dollar lower ahead of an eagerly anticipated announcement from the US Federal Reserve. The US-based ADP employment report showed that 203,000 private sector jobs were lost in October. Although this was

slightly more than the 190,000 forecast by analysts, investors welcomed the fact it represented the smallest number of job losses for the survey since July 2008. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

ballena de fracaso." Unfortunately, that just doesn't have the same ring. Submitted at 11/3/2009 4:22:00 PM But this is not actually the first So how do you say "fail whale" time that Twitter has toyed with en español? Twitter has launched launching a non-English edition. a Spanish translation, according Last year, Twitter board member to a blog post Tuesday(in Joi Ito hyped up the launch of a Spanish) by co-founder Biz standalone Twitter Japan site, Stone. powered by an investment from It's the first of multiple volunteer Ito's Digital Garage, that was -assisted translations for the notable because it was admicroblogging site, the post supported (Twitter still hasn't explained. A look at Twitter's rolled out ads or even said that it public timeline will show that it's will for sure). used in many languages across Biz Stone filled in CNET News the world, but until this point, the on the status of Twitter Japan via T w i t t e r . c o m s i t e h a s b e e n e-mail on Tuesday night: "(It's) English only. Now, users can go doing very well. A few of us into their settings to translate it were there a few weeks ago to into Spanish. launch a brand new mobile This could be key as Twitter service. We had a really fun attempts to grow bigger overseas tweetup in Tokyo." amid allegations that its traffic Twitter hasn't said what the next has plateaued. Facebook, for translations of its site will be, example, saw significant growth though presumably they'd pick a o v e r s e a s w h e n i t s t a r t e d language that's already spoken by l a u n c h i n g u s e r - t r a n s l a t e d many users or one spoken in a versions of its site. region where it hopes to make To better inform the Twittering big inroads. Or they could just be masses, we have gone to the cutesy and launch in Klingon or trouble of plugging the term " fail Pirate. whale" into Google Translate to This post was updated at 10:40 see how you say it in Spanish. p.m. with comment from Biz That didn't go too well with the Stone. algorithm, so we tried "whale of Originally posted at The Social failure" and came out with "la

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Flickr betters its apps, developer showcase By Josh Lowensohn (Webware.com)

also double as a shortcut to viewing other apps made by that same developer. Submitted at 11/3/2009 4:15:00 PM Flickr's new "App Garden" as It seems like everyone has an the company calls it, is much application directory these days, more compact than the services and now Flickr is no exception. directory that came before it. It While not offering up paid third- also adds user interaction to the party services (yet), Flickr on m i x w i t h c o m m e n t s a n d Tuesday unveiled a reworked favoriting.(Credit: CNET) services section dubbed the " One area where the new app A p p G a r d e n " t h a t b e t t e r system has not permeated just yet showcases photo tools, and the is in letting users see what apps people who have created them. their friends and contacts are The new apps directory page using. For instance, Flickr's manages to squeeze just about as activity feed--which gives Flickr many applications into a smaller users a bird's eye view of what space than the old one did. It also their friends are up to, does not gives each app its own page show when a user has favorited where users can add descriptive one of these tools. Users will tags and leave feedback in the only be able to see what apps form of comments. In fact, these they themselves have favorited new pages act just like Flickr from within the App Garden, and photo pages, including giving n o t a l o n g s i d e t h e i r p h o t o registered users a way to favorite favorites. There is also no way to certain apps, which goes towards create collections of apps you promoting up-and-coming apps like to share with others, as you higher up in the showcase. They can do with the recently-released

gallery feature. These things may come in time, but for now it's already a much better system than the previous API services page. Developers have more of a chance to try to convince users to give their app a spin before they ever leave the site, and other Flickr users are now able to chime in and recommend it, either through the new favoriting system, or in the comments. Whether Flickr decides to make some of this user activity a little more public is unclear. After the jump: The before and after of the API services menu, and what's now the App Garden. The old API services page sits on the left, while the newer, smaller App Garden page is on the right. Click to enlarge.(Credit: CNET) Originally posted at Web Crawler

Submitted at 11/4/2009 12:02:00 AM

With Foa Foa down to four tribe members, the merge finally happens on tonight's episode of "Survivor: Samoa."

Last week, Foa Foa voted out Elizabeth Kim, one of the tribe's strongest women players. But this week, it won't matter how strong the tribe is as, following the merge, it is every castaway for themself.

By Don Reisinger (Webware.com)

costs $5 per computer per month for unlimited storage. As compelling as its service Submitted at 11/3/2009 12:56:00 PM might be, Backblaze is O n l i n e - b a c k u p c o m p a n y competing in a crowded space. Backblaze ( Windows| Mac) Both Mozy and Carbonite are announced on Tuesday that it has doing a fine job of attracting o p e n e d i t s s e r v i c e u p t o customers. But by using a flat businesses. Backblaze will rate, Backblaze is hoping to set charge companies a flat fee of itself apart from competing $50 per computer per year. services that charge based on the Backblaze's service mimics amount of data that's uploaded. other, more popular services like Mozy, for example, charges Mozy ( Windows| Mac) and companies a standard fee of Carbonite ( Windows). Users $3.95 plus $0.50 per gigabyte per need only to download its month for its service. uploading software to their While online data storage is computers and create an account. becoming more commonplace, it Once complete, Backblaze starts is still a risk. For its part, backing up the contents of the Backblaze said: "Backblaze goes user's computer to its data center. to great lengths to ensure data is Backblaze backs up all files on safe and to ensure customers are the computer, except for the happy. While we would certainly operating system, temporary give a business a refund if data files, apps, or files over 4GB in was lost (simply out of good size. Uploading is encrypted customer service)...we don't throughout the process and works believe anything can actually with Windows PCs and Intel- cover for the value of the lost based Macs. data." If trouble strikes and a user loses Check out Webware's hands-on some or all of his files, he can review: " Backblaze: Possibly As you can see from the clip, all simply go back to Backblaze's world's easiest online backup" hell breaks loose, and no one can site and download the required Updated at 1:15 p.m. PST with decide who should go home at files. Backblaze already has a comment from Backblaze. Tribal Council. Will it be Laura, consumer-oriented service that Shambo or Erik? And will someone tell Erik, who has the Immunity Idol, and could play it?

After the Merge: All Hell Breaks Loose on 'Survivor: Samoa' (ETonline - Breaking News)

Backblaze unveils online backup for businesses

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Survey: Less than half of touchscreen users prefer touchscreen By Mike Schramm (The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW))

Reason To Have A Distinct Ringtone? So You Can Find Your Mobile Phone At The Dump By Mike Masnick (Techdirt) Submitted at 11/3/2009 9:55:00 PM

Submitted at 11/4/2009 9:15:00 AM

Filed under: Gaming, Hardware, Apple, iPhone, iPod touch Here's a few interesting stats from a survey recently conducted in Europe. These aren't specifically about the iPhone, but given that smartphones relied on buttons almost exclusively before Apple's handheld came along (and nowadays, everyone's bragging about their touchscreen technology), a temperaturetaking on what people think of touchscreen controls is more or less a referendum on what people think of Apple's influence. At least in France, Germany and the UK, reactions are mixed. While 38% of those surveyed say they were planning to get a touchscreen on their next mobile phone, only 47% of people who already owned a touchscreen said they would get another one. In other words, less than half of touchscreen owners thought they'd stick with the technology on their next purchase. Apple remains an anomaly -- both HTC

A guy in Aspen accidentally dropped his mobile phone into the piles of leaves he was raking up, and scooped up the phone and sent it off to the dump... But, amazingly, he was reunited with the phone by calling it and hearing it ring in the piles and piles of recyclables. Apparently, it took about half an hour of dialing/listening/sifting. Of course, there are times when you wonder if it wouldn't just be and Apple have a higher amount of the controls on the iPhone are surprised at all to see future smarter to go get another phone... of current customers planning to e x t r e m e l y i n t u i t i v e ( y o u iterations of the iPhone include Permalink| Comments| Email stick with their touchscreen automatically know now that either a few more buttons, or, This Story interface (with the full numbers pinching equals zooming, and so even better, a few more haptic being released at a conference on). But as nice as touchscreen is, interface technologies. later this month), but the fact there are a lot of functions on TUAW Survey: Less than half remains: current touchscreen mobile phones, from adjusting of touchscreen users prefer users aren't anywhere near 100% volume or changing music tracks touchscreen originally appeared on living button-free forever. on a phone out of sight in your on The Unofficial Apple Weblog Especially as a gamer, that pocket, to hitting exact button (TUAW) on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 m a k e s a l o t o f s e n s e . controls while twitch gaming, 09:15:00 EST. Please see our Touchscreens are great for a lot that work much better with tactile terms for use of feeds. of things -- they allow for feedback. Steve, as he always Read| Permalink| Email this| limitless flexibility in the kinds does, made a big deal about the Comments of interfaces on offer, and iPhone being a one-button especially with multi-touch, a lot interface, but I wouldn't be

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

A colorful graphic print exudes a playful vibe. Photo: Stylesight Think you are Street Chic? E-

mail us your photo and you could

appear in ELLE.com's Street Chic Daily. Follow ELLE on Twitter.

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iTunes 9.0.2 adds extra home screens Tweetrad.io: Listen to to app management Twitter Search Results By Mike Schramm (The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW))

should give you some breathing space when dealing with lots and lots of apps. Speaking of buffers, it would Submitted at 11/4/2009 8:30:00 AM also be nice to have a "shelf" to Filed under: iTunes, Software store app icons on while you're Update, iPhone, iPod touch It's moving them around (you can funny -- when the iPhone App use the bottom 4 apps as a Store first opened up, the first minishelf, but that's not really thing I asked for next was a way enough). Maybe you could pile to manage apps from directly them into different areas on a within iTunes. But when that screen and then drag them in the finally did show up, I was still way you want onto your left unsatisfied for some reason. homescreens. Like I said, it's I ' m n o t s u r e w h y - - a p p nicer. Don't get me wrong, I great that we do finally have an management offers drag-and- appreciate that we can manage app management system in drop functionality with your app apps from iTunes, but it just iTunes. But my feeling is that it's icons, and that's about the easiest seems harder than it should be. a l i t t l e t o o m u c h l i k e t h e way to organize things across the Fortunately, iTunes 9.0.2 snuck awkward iPhone-based system, home screens. But for me, it still a few updates to the system under especially with large numbers of seems unwieldy somehow -- our radar last week -- you can apps, to be much help. dragging icons onto full pages now put more than 176 apps in TUAW iTunes 9.0.2 adds extra stlll creates empty pages, and the organizer, and those will home screens to app management dragging icons between screens m o v e o n t o g r a y e d - o u t originally appeared on The homescreens. You can still U n o f f i c i a l A p p l e W e b l o g is awkward to me. I'm not an interface designer, but access them on the iPhone by (TUAW) on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 having more than one home using Spotlight, but those grayed- 08:30:00 EST. Please see our screen open at a time seems like out homescreens only serve as a terms for use of feeds. it would be nice, and being able buffer to hold your overflow apps Read| Permalink| Email this| to assign my own tags and while you're organizing them. Comments categories to apps (combined Doesn't really help the actual with an auto-sort function) seems experience of sorting apps, but it

Cable growth leads Time Warner to boost outlook (Financial Times - US homepage) Submitted at 11/4/2009 4:28:18 AM

Time Warner raised its profit outlook for 2009 boosted by better than expected results at its

cable and films division, even as it reported a 40 per cent lower net income for the third quarter. The owner of People magazine, CNN and the Warner Bros movie studio said it will take a $100m charge for restructuring at its

publishing division in the fourth quarter, which continued to face steep declines in advertising and subscription revenue. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

By Jennifer Van Grove (Mashable!) Submitted at 11/3/2009 5:27:41 PM

Here’s something fun and amusing. We just happened upon Tweetrad.io, a site that treats tweets from your Twitter searches like tunes on an old school radio channel, so tweets are read aloud by an automated Twitter DJ as they roll in. The site is self-explanatory, as you can search for tweets, or select from the pre-programmed channels or trending topics, and listen to the tweets instead of having to waste the effort of actually reading them. It may sound a little a dry in theory, but in practice, it’s absolutely hilarious. Curious about how this funky new Twitter service works? The developer posted a description of it on Hacker News earlier today, saying: “We use a distributed network of converter bots to handle the work queue. Jobs are placed on the queue via api calls from the javascript client that interacts with twitter’s search api directly in order to avoid rate limiting of a centralized search server. Our app server is a lightweight Sinatra service that handles job queueing. We stream the audio

directly from our nginx web server as they become available via the conversion process. We are trying to decide if this app has a real use case or if it’s just a fun thing. One of the ideas we are thinking about is an iphone app for keeping up with your tweet stream on the go. We would love to hear your feedback.” We think it’s both fun and potentially practical, though we don’t have an amazing use case or business model to serve up just yet. We do know, however, that if they release an iPhone app, they’ll have to compete with existing apps like Twuner. Just in case you’re not ready to take our word on how awesome it is, we made a short screencast of Tweetrad.io in action. Check it out below. Image from Ian Hayhurst on Flickr Reviews: Flickr, Hacker News, Twitter Tags: radio, tweetrad.io, twitter

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Do you fear when you fly? There's an app to help that. By Steven Sande (The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW))

available to owners of the iPhone and iPod touch. Virgin Atlantic President Sir Richard Branson provides a Submitted at 11/3/2009 7:00:00 PM video introduction, followed by Filed under: Software, Odds and video-based explanations of ends, iPhone, App Store, iPod what's going on at every phase of touch Fear of flying is nothing to your flight. There's a built-in laugh about. Having a panic FAQ section with answers to attack while on an airplane, or questions such as "What if all the not being able to even board a engines fail?", a set of relaxation commercial flight because of exercises, and even a fear attack fear, are both more common than button (at right) for those scary most people would imagine. One situations that can occur in flight. solution is to learn how to relax, Of course, the app can't be run and to become knowledgeable during takeoff and landing when about the sights, sounds, and you're asked to "turn off all feelings of flying. electronic devices," but hopefully Virgin Atlantic has had an their new knowledge and prove you'll gain enough confidence amazing 98% success rate in to themselves that they can fly through using the app prior to curing fear of flying though its without becoming paralyzed with your flight that you'll be able to Flying Without Fear classes. panic. stay calm. These are seminars held T o r e a c h a m u c h l a r g e r [via CNET] throughout the UK that provide audience, Virgin Atlantic has just TUAW Do you fear when you flight knowledge through a Q&A released the Flying Without Fear fly? There's an app to help that. session with Virgin Atlantic app [US$4.99, iTunes Link]. originally appeared on The flight crews, followed by a While the app doesn't include a U n o f f i c i a l A p p l e W e b l o g psychology session to make visit from a flight crew or a (TUAW) on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 attendees aware of what makes psychologist, it's designed to 19:00:00 EST. Please see our t h e m a f r a i d a n d p r o v i d e make the techniques that have terms for use of feeds. techniques to combat the fear. At been so successful in Virgin Read| Permalink| Email this| the end of the day, attendees are Atlantic's in-person classes Comments taken on a short flight to try out

Dear Hulu: Stop Treating Me Like A Criminal By Mike Masnick (Techdirt)

like WiTopia is some free anonymous proxy -- it's a payservice that has been around for I mentioned recently that, for ages and is used regularly for some idiotic reason, Hulu has WiFi security purposes. Many of stopped letting me view any of its its users are US-based (the content. That's because I use company is based in the US, and WiTopia's VPN service for most of its servers are in the US security reasons. It seems that as well). So, because (gasp!) a plenty of other WiTopia users are small group of people outside the discovering this, as well, and are US might dare to catch a video getting annoyed. The issue is (with ads!!), all of Witopia's US that Hulu wants to block people customers can't watch any from outside the US from content at all? This is the same viewing its content (for licensing ridiculous content industry reasons, even if they're pretty mindset that drives so many pointless in today's world). But, people to unauthorized file for some bizarre reason, it's been sharing: they treat you as a decided that anyone who uses criminal first and force you to any sort of VPN or proxy can't prove you're not (or sometimes, use Hulu at all because they d o n ' t e v e n l e t y o u p r o v e might be coming from a foreign otherwise). The problem the country. I'm sitting here in industry is facing isn't due to California and Hulu tells me I some guy in Europe catching The might be illegally accessing its Colbert Report from across the content, so it doesn't allow it. So, sea. It comes from turning off instead, I don't give Hulu any legitimate customers and users additional ad views and I don't who are sick of being treated like watch the content I wanted to crap. watch. How does that help Permalink| Comments| Email anyone? It appears to make This Story everyone worse off. And it's not Submitted at 11/3/2009 4:30:52 PM

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iPhone Is a Horrible Phone? Well, If Victim of Worst Parking You Look at it That Way… Job Ever Gets a New Car [Video] By Stan Schroeder (Mashable!)

Submitted at 11/4/2009 6:19:24 AM

I’m a relatively new iPhone owner, having had the device since last summer. And yes, it was partly because I waited for Apple to iron out those little bugs and bring the platform to maturity. Surprisingly enough, they did it when it comes to surfing the web or using one of the many available applications, which make the iPhone one of the best handheld internet browsing devices around. Add to that the fact that it’s one of the best multimedia players out there, and it’s enough – for me at least – to proudly start wearing the fanboy badge. But when it comes to the basics – making phone calls – the iPhone leaves a lot to be desired. Cnet UK does a great job at

pinpointing nearly all of the device’s shortcomings, giving it the title of the “ worst phone in the world“. Yes, none of the issues they point out aren’t particularly new, but from my experience, and the experience of many other users I spoke to, they’re very real, and the sheer fact that they exist over two years after the first iPhone was launched is not only newsworthy: it’s unbeliavable. Here’s a short recap of the lengthy list of iPhone problems: poor sound (if you don’t position the phone at that perfect spot), poor microphone, dropped calls,

phone not ringing or reacting to calls at all, and shoddy battery life. I don’t complain about that last bit; it’s a powerful device, and yes, it sucks a lot of battery juice. But I’ve had my share of dropped calls; calls that get cut in the middle for no apparent reason; iPhone getting stuck when you try to end the call, and yes, the worst of them all, calls not getting through at all. Is it my network? I doubt it; I own two more phones, and haven’t had nearly as many problems with them as I do with the iPhone. Does the iPhone really deserve to be crowned the worst phone in the world? Probably not; it’s a very harsh title, but when you look only at the phone-related functions, there are definitely important issues which require a fix. Apple, please take notice. Tags: apple, CNET, iphone

Cross-Country Killings Kick Off a 'CSI' Trilogy (ETonline - Breaking News) Submitted at 11/4/2009 12:01:00 AM

When a woman is killed in Las Vegas and her body is dumped in Miami, it launches an investigation that crosses over from "CSI: Miami" to "CSI: New

York" and wraps on "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation." It is one story, but three episodes. The only constant is that Ray Langston ( Laurence Fishburne) moves through all three episodes, searching for a young girl taken hostage as part

of a human trafficking operation. "Young women are killed and their body parts are strewn all over the country. That is what keeps my character on the move," Fishburne says.

By Jennifer Van Grove (Mashable!) Submitted at 11/3/2009 7:30:08 PM

Todd Jamison just happens to be the unfortunate owner of the crushed 2004 Hyundai Elantra that played a starring role in a recent viral YouTube video. The security footage that was posted to YouTube highlights one of the worst parking jobs ever caught on tape. While the video is actually quite hilarious, the reality is that this was a very real incident that took place on October 22, 2009 in an Ontario, Canada parking lot. But one of the victims of the accident can thank the viral accident for his brand new car. The video in question, included below, shows a BMW mounting two parked cars at an Ontario gym and then driving off without so much as a courtesy note. The original video has now amassed upwards of 1.6 million views, and the 62 year-old woman driver has been arrested for leaving the scene, but Jamison is out one Hyundai.

Not so fast, as the fine folks at Hyundai Canada seized the opportunity to be the heroes in this story, and surprised Jamison with a brand new Hyundai on October 30, 2009. Of course they also set out to capture the moment on film, and that too is on YouTube, and you can watch it below. While there’s no news on what happened to the other injured car, we’re pretty confident that Jamison will now be able to look back at the YouTube video that captured his car’s crushing and laugh. Thanks to Phillip Jeffery for the heads up on this great story. Reviews: YouTube Tags: Canada, hyundai, viral video, worst parking job

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Apple's iTunes Affiliates site briefly subjected to image swaps By Josh Carr (The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW))

on the page. Since the site is intended to let websites display a custom top banner, this was 'as Submitted at 11/3/2009 8:00:00 PM designed' -- at least until Filed under: Hacks, iTunes, jokesters began taking advantage. Apple Our friends over at OS X The trick works (or at least, it Daily passed along their story did) by taking the default URL noting that Apple's site for from the web browser and iTunes Affiliates was vulnerable replacing a few things like the to a cross-site URL trick, letting artist name, album name, album you substitute your own images thumbnail source and the image for the ones normally displayed link.

The Internet moves pretty fast, though. As I was typing this, Apple removed the top banner altogether, preventing the customized image display. No more pranks for us. In any case, OS X Daily pointed out that the image issue could allow malicious folks to redirect would-be Apple visitors to malware sites or other bad destinations. Even an innocent

image viewer that appears within an iframe on a branded page can cause problems; that's what the folks at Wired found out last January, when someone took advantage of their image tool to post a hoax "Steve Jobs had a heart attack" news story. Props to Apple's web development team, though, for taking this down within the ten minutes it took me to finish the

post. TUAW Apple's iTunes Affiliates site briefly subjected to image swaps originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments

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AT&T not happy with Verizon ads: 'There's a lawsuit for that'

'Grey's Anatomy''s $25 Million Surgery

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

(ETonline - Breaking News)

Submitted at 11/3/2009 6:30:00 PM

Filed under: Odds and ends Stung by some pretty aggressive advertising by Verizon, AT&T has had enough and is suing the communications giant for false and misleading claims. AT&T says the ads, which show that AT&T has poor 3G coverage compared to Verizon are causing it to lose "incalculable market share." According to the lawsuit which AT&T filed in Atlanta federal court, a recently broadcast ad campaign shows maps with white spaces that mislead consumers into thinking AT&T has no

spokeswoman Nancy Stark said the ads "clearly state" that voice and data services are available outside 3G areas. She said the ads were intended to tell consumers about coverage for smartphones, which are used for data services. network coverage outside of If you want to see the ad that areas where it offers high-speed sparked the lawsuit, click here. mobile services, known as 3G. [via Engadget] But AT&T argued that its TUAW AT&T not happy with customers can "fully use their Verizon ads: 'There's a lawsuit wireless devices outside of a '3G' for that' originally appeared on coverage area and undisputedly The Unofficial Apple Weblog have coverage in areas depicted (TUAW) on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 by white or blank spaces on the 18:30:00 EST. Please see our m a p s u s e d i n V e r i z o n ' s terms for use of feeds. advertisements." Read| Permalink| Email this| Verizon says the lawsuit has no Comments merit, and Verizon Wireless

some other kid?" Will she do the surgery that could kill the boy, or at best give A $25 million donation to him two more months to live? Or Seattle Grace Hospital from the will she reject the money -- and parents of one of Arizona's ( get in trouble with Richard ( Jessica Capshaw) patients is put James Pickens Jr.) -- and do what in jeopardy when their child she believes is right? takes a turn for the worse, and the Then Richard dumps Izzie's ( father insists that Arizona Katherine Heigl) medical bills on p e r f o r m a l i f e - t h r e a t e n i n g Alex ( Justin Chambers), because surgery on his son. The father she is still MIA and, after all, he angrily confronts her, saying, is her husband. "Do you think I was donating all that money for research to save Submitted at 11/4/2009 12:10:00 AM

Republicans capture two state governorships

Report: PayPal to unveil in-app payment service By Don Reisinger (Webware.com)

purchase products from within a respective application. The service, which has Submitted at 11/3/2009 10:04:00 AM reportedly been in limited testing, PayPal is preparing to launch a i s e B a y ' s b e s t h o p e f o r n e w p a y m e n t s y s t e m t h a t capitalizing on the burgeoning insimplifies the process of buying app payment market, which has products from within an online witnessed Facebook emerge as application, The Wall Street o n e o f P a y P a l ' s s t r o n g e s t Journal is reporting. competitors. According to the report, the new According to The Wall Street service will be called PayPal X. Journal, Facebook's in-app It will allow users to sign in to currency, Facebook Credits, is t h e i r P a y P a l a c c o u n t s a n d now being considered by many

developers that are lured by the social network's size and reach. Sebastien de Halleux, chief operating officer of socialgaming company Playfish, told the Journal that his company is trying out Facebook Credits to possibly replace PayPal. He told the Journal that Facebook's service "can create a lot of value by reducing friction and allowing many more people to spend money." It also helps that Facebook's system, unlike

PayPal, is built into the social network. With PayPal X, it seems the online-payment company is trying to stay relevant in a market that is becoming increasingly complex (and crowded). It should be interesting to see if PayPal X can help PayPal stay relevant--and compete with Facebook.

(Financial Times - US homepage) Submitted at 11/3/2009 10:18:15 PM

Republicans on Tuesday captured two state governorships, including the unseating of the Democratic incumbent in New Jersey, despite energetic efforts by President Barack Obama to secure him a second term. Chris Christie, a former US attorney, defeated Democratic incumbent Jon Corzine in the New Jersey race. Earlier on Tuesday, Bob McDonnell beat Creigh Deeds, his Democratic rival, in Virginia. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

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Microsoft Redesigns MSN, Adds Twitter and Facebook By Ben Parr (Mashable!)

will be staggered over weeks, not hours. Still, we’re fans of what Microsoft has created. They Earlier tonight, Microsoft couldn’t leave it in the form of unveiled the redesign to its the cluttered mess it is currently MSN.com web portal. The new and expect to keep relevant. look is far more minimalistic MSN.com is still one of the than its predecessor, increases its world’s most visited websites in integration with Bing, and adds a the world (80-100 million U.S. social layer to the aging (but still MSN: visitors per month alone, highly popular) Internet gateway. The new design has far less according to Compete), so any A preview of the new MSN.com clutter and far more aesthetic change to it is huge and could can be found here. appeal. It focuses on video, shift the balance of the web in The best way to explain the new importing your social media Bing’s favor. We’ll have to wait changes to the Microsoft start s t r e a m s , a n d l o c a l i z e d and see what effect, if any, this page is to show you a before and customization. Even the iconic change has on either MSN or after comparison. First, here’s MSN butterfly got upgraded. It Bing’s traffic numbers. Reviews: the before shot, as MSN.com is dramatically different than the Bing stands today: current MSN, which is probably Tags: bing, facebook, microsoft, And here is the new, redesign why the rollout of this update msn, twitter

Blondes, Bling & Backstabbing! The New Season of 'The Real Housewives of Orange County'! (ETonline - Breaking News)

Submitted at 11/4/2009 12:03:05 AM

Submitted at 11/4/2009 3:49:00 AM

Don't you wish they all could be California girls? Then you are in luck because the sun-loving, Cali girls of "The Real Housewives of Orange County" are back and better than ever! The pampered O.C. princesses are on the prowl for steamy suburban drama on the fifth season premiere of Bravo's hit show. Fans of the show will get

A look at Apple's iPod touch-based EasyPay system By Dave Caolo (The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW))

given AppleInsider an exclusive look at the thing, and it's pretty cool (that is, if retail hardware is Submitted at 11/4/2009 2:30:00 AM your bag). It's an iPod touch with Filed under: Hardware, Retail, a magnetic stripe reader, a iPod touch Last week, we learned barcode scanner and Apple's that Apple would be revamping proprietary payment-processing some US retail stores, including a software. The iPod rests inside new iPod touch-based point-of- what AppleInsider calls a "slipsale (POS) system. A new on shell" that plugs into the dock scanner accessory allows Apple connector; it includes its own to replace the old Windows CE- b a t t e r y t o p o w e r t h e t w o based sales handhelds. scanning peripherals. Gary Allen of ifoAppleStore has Apple Store employees will use

the devices to accept purchases made with credit cards, debit cards and cash; they can even make returns and activate a new iPhone.

It looks like a clever device. If you see one in the store (or if you use one), tell us what you can. [Via The Apple Blog] TUAW A look at Apple's iPod touch-based EasyPay system originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 02:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments

their fill of the pumped-up drama from Tamra, Lynne, Vicki, Gretchen, and new housewife, Alexis, the 32-year-old mom-ofthree with the rockin' bod! Some more big changes are in store for the girls this season as they bid farewell to longtime housewife Jeana Keough. Tune in to Bravo Thursday, Nov. 5 at 10 p.m. to see how the gals duke it out SoCal style!

Get your thinking caps on, MacHeist 4 is about to begin By Kevin Harter (The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)) Submitted at 11/4/2009 7:45:00 AM

Filed under: Software, Deals Software bundles seem to be all the rage nowadays, but in my humble opinion, MacHeist is still the best. It doesn't just lump a bunch of apps together for GET page 38

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Internet News Record

Apple Holds Entire Beatles Catalog. No, Not That Apple.

Motorola Droid’s New “Stealth” Commercial [Video]

By Stan Schroeder (Mashable!)

By Ben Parr (Mashable!)

Submitted at 11/4/2009 2:50:42 AM

Although it made us remember the decades long legal dispute between Apple Inc. and Apple Corps, settled in February 2007., this apple doesn’t have anything to do with Apple, the computer company (although we reckon that Apple Inc. won’t be particularly fond of this release). We’re talking about a limited edition USB containing remastered Beatles songs and other goodies, shaped like an apple. There will only be 30,000 of these, so if you want one, line up for the release date on December 7 (December 8 in North America). Here’s what the package contains: “re-mastered audio for The Beatles’ 14 stereo titles, as

Submitted at 11/3/2009 11:24:52 PM

Ever since Motorola revealed its new Droid phone through its Droid Does campaign, the buzz surrounding the Google Androidbased smartphone has been accelerating. Whether it’s the well as all of the re-mastered promise of a worthy competitor CDs’ visual elements, including to the iPhone or just the nifty 13 mini-documentary films about commercials, something has been the studio albums, replicated feeding the Droid hype machine. Now the Droid campaign is original UK album art, rare photos and expanded liner about to add another headscratching, eye-popping notes.” When you plug the USB into commercial to its line-up. The your computer, a Flash interface minute-long spot, obtained by will pop up for easy navigation. Boy Genius Report, continues to It’s compatible with PC and Mac, play off themes from the Droid and if the price of 279 bucks Does commercial, but takes its sounds OK to you, you can message to apocalyptic levels (no, really). preorder it here. While we could try to explain Tags: apple, Beatles

GET continued from page 37

special price, but instead, it turns getting a discount into a game. As a recent Mac switcher, I was utterly confused by MacHeist 3, the first edition in which I participated. Someone told me to check out the MacHeist bundle, so I went to the web site to see what applications it contained. But the site didn't tell me. It soon

became clear that I was going to have to work for my software! The whole idea, if you're not familiar with MacHeist, is that you need to complete a series of challenges, labeled "heists," in order to get free software. Yes, free. As in what lunches aren't. And the software isn't anything to sneeze at (neither are lunches, by

the way), as there are always some real gems to be found. Continue reading Get your thinking caps on, MacHeist 4 is about to begin TUAW Get your thinking caps on, MacHeist 4 is about to begin originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 04 Nov 2009

Flickr Opens an App Garden Full of Photo Tools [Photos] By Kevin Purdy (Lifehacker) Submitted at 11/4/2009 5:30:00 AM

There are a whole lot of mobile, desktop, and helper apps tied to the jets, the falling bomb-like Flickr. The team at the photo c a p s u l e s , o r t h e a p p a r e n t sharing service decided to make sentience of Droid, but it’s those apps easier to find and probably best for you to take a install by opening a free "App look for yourselves and for you Garden" to everyone. to be your own judge. Let us Like you might expect, the App know what you think of the Garden is an uncluttered, keencommercial in the comments. looking showcase for the efforts Disclosure: Motorola is currently of Flickr-happy developers and a sponsor of Mashable’s Open companies that have made it easy to download and upload photos Web Awards. Tags: android, droid, Google, t o t h e s e r v i c e f r o m m a n y M o t o r o l a , m o t o r o l a d r o i d , platforms. Apps are tagged by trending, verizon, verizon droid developers, making it fairly easy to find, say, a desktop Mac uploader or Android-based tool. To help users stumble across great apps, Flickr has also started tagging photos with the tools 07:45:00 EST. Please see our they were uploaded with, with a link back to that app in the terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Garden. Share some of your favorite Flickr app finds in the Comments comments, and read up on Flickr's API if you're interested in developing an app yourself. The App Garden[Flickr via Flickr Blog]

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PayPal’s President on the Future of PayPal [Video Interview]

Stuck in the Middle of the Political Goo (Little Green Footballs)

liberal enemies and to organize hateful anti-Obama rallies. Although there is a groundswell By Ben Parr (Mashable!) Hot Air may have put me in their of far right tea party and BeckSubmitted at 11/4/2009 12:34:52 AM “Left Channels,” but Think inspired candidates running for Progress still categorizes me as a o f f i c e i n 2 0 1 0 , v e r y f e w PayPal has been rather busy “conservative” blogger: Think R e p u b l i c a n s r u n n i n g f o r recently. Yesterday at the PayPal P r o g r e s s » D o u g H o f f m a n Congress or Governor have Innovate 09 conference, the eBay Praises Glenn Beck As His signed the 9/12 pledge. Noting subsidiary launched PayPal X, its ‘Mentor’. that he signed a document platform for third party Conservative blogger Charles pledging his “sacred honor” to developers to integrate payment Johnson of the site Little Green uphold Beck’s list of values and services into their own apps. It performed a short interview Footballs reported yesterday that principles, Johnson aptly deems also addressed its growing global discussing the new APIs, the Doug Hoffman, the Conservative Hoffman “The Glenn Beck base by adding support for new ideas he has heard from attending Party candidate in the NY-23 candidate.” currencies, bringing the total d e v e l o p e r s , a n d m o s t special election, signed a pledge Right-wing bloggers have been supported up to 24. importantly, where he believes to uphold Glenn Beck’s 9/12 apoplectic at Johnson for daring With so much happening over at PayPal will be a year and five Project principles in Congress. to observe the fact that Hoffman PayPal, we thought it would be years from now. He even put up The signed pledge is available has been bowing to an extremist a p p r o p r i a t e t o g e t s o m e with my two “last questions.” online, and Hoffman touts his like Beck. They have written that additional details on the new (I’m sorry about that, Scott!) endorsement from the 9/12 Johnson must “hate America” PayPal X platform, as well as The full video interview is organization on his website. Like a n d i s “ i n f u s e d w i t h find out more about the direction below: the lobbyist-planned tea parties, D e r a n g e m e n t S y n d r o m e . ” that PayPal is going. That’s why Tags: ebay, interview, paypal, the 9/12 Project is a creation of I pulled aside Scott Thompson, Scott Thompson Beck, used to go after Beck’s the President of PayPal, and Submitted at 11/3/2009 7:10:11 PM

Far Right Activists on the Rise (Little Green Footballs) Submitted at 11/3/2009 9:40:21 AM

Politico has a piece on the rise of what they’re calling “conservatives,” but what I would call the “far right” — the surging tea party-spawned candidates who are going to make life miserable for the Republican Party (not that they don’t deserve it), and guarantee

the reelection of Barack Obama with their extreme rhetoric and agenda: Uncivil War: Conservatives to challenge a dozen GOP candidates. In what could be a nightmare scenario for Republican Party officials, conservative activists are gearing up to challenge leading GOP candidates in more than a dozen key House and Senate races in 2010.

Conservatives and tea party activists had already set their sights on some of the GOP’s top Senate recruits — a list that includes Gov. Charlie Crist in Florida, former Rep. Rob Simmons in Connecticut and Rep. Mark Kirk in Illinois, among others. But their success in Tuesday’s upstate New York special election, where grass-roots

efforts pushed GOP nominee Dede Scozzafava to drop out of the race and helped Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman surge into the lead on the eve of Election Day, has generated more money and enthusiasm than organizers ever imagined.

How Do You Like Ubuntu 9.10 So Far? [Reader Poll] By Kevin Purdy (Lifehacker) Submitted at 11/4/2009 4:30:00 AM

Karmic Koala has been out for the better part of a week, so everyone's been able to check out what's new and complain about wireless drivers. Now that you've tried it out, what do you think of the Linux OS? How Do You Like Ubuntu 9.10, Karmic Koala, So Far?( trends) If you answered "Other," or you've got a few key gripes about the free operating system, tell us what's imperfect about it, and what's greatly improved, in the comments. If you're feeling up for the comparison, here's what our readers thought of Windows 7 after a few days of use.

Politics/ Tech Tips/ Economy/

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Police Called to NY-23 OmniDiskSweeper Helps You Easily Polling Places Reclaim Disk Space [Downloads] (Little Green Footballs)

voters,” said O’Neill, a St. Lawrence native who has been running the party’s GOTV effort The New York Daily News is for Bill Owens in NY-23. reporting disturbances at some “ A p p a r e n t l y , t h e r e ’ s s o m e polling stations, apparently from w o m a n c l a i m i n g t o b e a anti-abortion “activists” who c o m m i s s i o n e r , ” O ’ N e i l l support Doug Hoffman: Police continued. “Commissioner of Called To NY-23 Polling Sites. what, I don’t know. She’s from I just got off the phone with Texas, I think, and she won’t f o r m e r s t a t e D e m o c r a t i c leave.” Chairwoman June O’Neill, who “This is not the way we roll in informed me the police had been the North Country.” called to at least two polling sites O’Neill also said she had in St. Lawrence County due to received anecdotal reports of o v e r z e a l o u s e l e c t i o n e e r i n g problems at polling sites in (O’Neill called it “voter G o u v e r n e u r , w h i c h i s intimidation”) by Doug Hoffman A s s e m b l y w o m a n D e d e supporters.“We’ve gotten reports Scozzafava’s hometown. But she that people are standing there, couldn’t immediately confirm covered with Hoffman stickers this. and yelling anti-choice stuff at Submitted at 11/3/2009 11:37:14 AM

By Whitson Gordon (Lifehacker) Submitted at 11/3/2009 3:00:00 PM

Mac only: We've all experienced full hard drives, but divining where all your hard drive space has gone is never easy. Freeware program OmniDiskSweeper easily shows you which files and folders are taking up space so you can free it up. We've featured a few disk space utilities for Mac already, most notably previously mentioned GrandPerspective and Disk Inventory X, but OmniDiskSweeper is different. There are no graphical representations, no multiple windows to sort through, just an organized list of the biggest folders on your hard drive. When you first start it up, you choose which disk you want it to scan, and when it's done it shows you a column view of every accessible folder and file on that (Financial Times - US g o v e r n m e n t a n d u n i o n s drive, organized and color coded homepage) vociferously denounced the by size. You can delete the space move, while workers in the UK -eating files and folders right Submitted at 11/4/2009 5:16:52 AM hailed it as “a fantastic decision”. from inside the app, and it will German unions will start a series Russian prime minister Vladimir recalculate the sizes right then of warning strikes on Thursday in Putin said Magna and Sberbank – and there for you. (Note: If you protest against General Motors’ the previous preferred bidders – delete from the program, the files decision to keep Opel and would make a legal analysis of do not go into the trash—they are abandon its sale to Canada’s the situation, according to a immediately deleted.) The app Magna and Sberbank of Russia. spokesman. GM’s surprise step late on This content has passed through Tuesday caused a schism across fivefilters.org. Europe as the German

German unions to strike over GM U-turn

will also let you know if something is a system file or folder, so you don't delete anything important. It's a bit simpler than the aforementioned utilities, but it's also a bit faster. In the end, choosing the best tool for the job all depends on what you need; if you want things organized by file type, perhaps Disk Inventory X is for you. If you need a more indepth and graphical presentation, GrandPerspective is a better choice. But if you want

something that is fast and simple, you can't go wrong with OmniDiskSweeper. And, along with many other utilities offered by The Omni Group, OmniDiskSweeper is now free, so there's no reason not to give it a whirl. OmniDiskSweeper is a free download, Mac OS X only. OmniDiskSweeper[via A Whole Lotta Nothing]

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What's Your Main Operating System? [Reader Poll] By Adam Pash (Lifehacker) Submitted at 11/3/2009 5:00:00 PM

Windows 7 has only been out for about two weeks now, but statistics web site StatCounter reports that Windows 7's OS market share reached roughly three percent by the end of October. So what operating system are you using? We already know that a good 70 percent of Lifehacker readers using Windows have likely already upgraded to Windows 7 (or so you said before its launch), so now we're just checking back in to to see how our crowd of early adopters match up to the entire OS ecosystem in general. (Hell, in May, 35 percent of our Windows users were already using Windows 7 as their primary OS.) I'm using the same

Gmail Prematurely Marking Some Messages as Read [Inboxes] By Kevin Purdy (Lifehacker) OS splits StatCounter uses (XP, Vista, Win7, OS X, and Linux), since presumably it's the most accurate separations in terms of significant popularity. So: What's Your Main Operating System?( answers) Give us the details for why you're using your operating s y s t e m o f c h o i c e i n t h e By Adam Pash (Lifehacker) comments. Top 5 Operating Submitted at 11/3/2009 4:00:00 PM Systems from W42 to W44[StatCounter via Mashable] Unlock your iPhone for nonAT&T carriers, take a look at 60 Minutes' film industry propaganda, and try out Firefox 3.6 beta without losing your stable 3.5 installation. • blacksn0w is live Blackra1n jailbreaks your iPhone 3.1.2 on Windows or Mac, and now there's blacksn0w, a tool to unlock your 3.1.2 iPhone 3G or 3GS for other carriers with ease. [via Gizmodo] • 60 Minutes Puts Forth Laughable, Factually Incorrect MPAA Propaganda On Movie

Submitted at 11/4/2009 6:10:00 AM

Remains of the Day: iPhone Carrier Unlocking Edition [For What It's Worth] Piracy Remember how VCRs destroyed the film industry? Oh wait. [Techdirt] • Mozilla Firefox, Portable Edition 3.6 Beta 1 Want to try out Firefox 3.6 beta but don't want to lose your stable Firefox 3.5 installation? Grab the portable release. [PortableApps] • X11 Chrome Reportedly Outperforms Windows and Mac Versions Apparently Linux may actually be the fastest OS for the Chrome browser—which kind of makes sense, since Chrome OS will be based on a Linux kernel. [Slashdot]

Bloggers, Twitter users, and TechCrunch are reporting that certain Gmail accounts are marking incoming messages as "read" upon delivery, leaving inboxes apparently, falsely empty. Google's Apps Dashboard isn't reporting any problems as of this post, but a blogger reports the problem as IMAP-related, and offers this advice for IMAP users: " ... set the PEEK mode to TRUE if you get an (e)mail's BODY from Gmail." If you've experienced this issue yourself, and maybe verified a fix for it, share it with your fellow Gmail users in the comments.

Tech Tips/ Tech News/ Entertainment/

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Yammer Goes Deep: 50,000 Networks Up and Running By Alex Williams (ReadWriteWeb)

Allmyapps Bulk-Installs Your Favorite Apps to Make System Rebuilding Less Painful [Installation] By Jason Fitzpatrick (Lifehacker)

You don't have to install immediately after building your list, you can save your list for Submitted at 11/4/2009 6:30:00 AM later installation. Check out the Windows/Linux: One of the v i d e o b e l o w t o s e e h o w most irritating things about A l l m y a p p s w o r k s : reinstalling your operating For another great time-saving system is installing all the non- bulk installation tool, check out O S a p p l i c a t i o n s y o u l o v e . previously reviewed Ninite. Have Allmyapps lets you select all a way to get your favorite apps your favorite apps and roll them installed quickly? Let's hear into a bulk installer to make about it in the comments. rebuilding easy. Appmyapps is a free web-based At Allmyapps you can browse service and provides bulkover a hundred of popular installation on both Windows and applications in a dozen categories Ubuntu Linux. Allmyapps[via t o b u i l d a m a s t e r l i s t o f MakeUseOf] applications you want to install.

with the average about 25 to 50 people per network. He declined Submitted at 11/3/2009 11:45:56 PM to provide details about the Yammer came to the market number of paying clients but said w i t h o n e o f t h e f i r s t they are showing revenues. But if microblogging services. In the you did the math, it could be span of their existence, a number extrapolated that Yammer has of companies launched their own 1.25 to 2.5 million customers. versions of an activity stream. Hoe many of those are paying for But Yammer looks like they have the Yammer service? the customers to prove they have You look around the Enterprise a hold on their sector of the 2.0 conference and it becomes market. apparent that microblogging is Sponsor the hot feature for companies on At today's Enterprise 2.0 the exhibit floor. conference, Yammer announced A few of these companies started that 50,000 networks have been as wiki providers. They added established with its service. We microblogging, which helped asked Yammer's Steve Apfelberg diversify their products. It's a what the size of these networks strategy that works when larger look like. He said they run from a c l i e n t s w a n t a n a l l - i n - o n e few people to a few thousand,

application. But Yammer says they get feedback from clients who want the Yammer service to go deeper. They prefer Yammer's singular focus. For Yammer, that means deeper active directory integration and fits into enterprise SaaS applications around sales and customer service use cases. That would make sense. Applications of all varieties are integrating into Salesforce.com. For Yammer, Sharepoint integration makes sense, too. By acting as a one point product, a company like Yammer can be flexible in where it integrates. Here's an interview with Apfelberg and a demo of the Yammer service: Discuss

Two More Celebs Sent Packing on 'Dancing with the Stars' (ETonline - Breaking News) Submitted at 11/3/2009 10:00:00 PM

NFL great Michael Irvin and "Iron Chef America" host Mark Dacascos became the next two celebs to get ousted on "Dancing with the Stars"! Michael and his pro partner

Anna Demidova were the first duo booted on Tuesday night after receiving the lowest combined total of judges' scores and viewer votes. The former football star thanked his fans and Anna. Then, Mark and Lacey Schwimmer tried to cha cha their

way passed Aaron Carter and Karina Smirnoff's jive in an elimination dance-off. But the judges, despite giving both duos rave reviews, unanimously voted to keep Aaron and Karina around.

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Amazon Turns Twitter into a Marketplace - Are You Concerned? By Sarah Perez (ReadWriteWeb) Submitted at 11/4/2009 6:20:28 AM

Last night, Amazon sent out emails to their Amazon Associates members touting the latest addition to the company's affiliate program: a new feature called "Share with Twitter." According to the email, participants can generate "tweetable" links to any Amazon product after first logging into their Associates account. By clicking on the "Share with Twitter" button from any Amazon product details page, members are delivered to the Twitter.com website. Here, a shortened link and a bit of autopopulated text are automatically filled in for them in Twitter's "What are you doing?" text box. The included text can be edited to say whatever they want before posting or they can choose to just post as is. After updating Twitter, any person who clicks through on the link and makes a purchase will earn the participant referral fees payable through the Associates program. Sponsor Amazon Associates is Amazon's affiliate program whose original purpose was to help website owners generate links and banner advertisements which they could embed on their sites in order to generate additional income. The

links could be text, images, or combinations of both while the banners were always full-color ads branded with Amazon.com's logo. For the most part, these sorts of advertisements are relatively easy to spot on participating blogs and websites. Save for the image links, which are just a picture of a product, everything else is clearly some sort of standard ad referring you to a particular product or service provided by Amazon. The new Twitter links, however, are a whole new story. If an Amazon Associates member takes the time to re-write the text into their own words, there's virtually no way to know by looking at the post that the Twitter update is actually an ad. Is Amazon Spamming Twitter? In the past, several legitimate companies have diluted the Twitter stream with promotions and contests encouraging Twitter users to "tweet to win" so to speak, by pasting in some sort of marketing message into the "What are you doing?" box or by appending a promotional hashtag to their everyday messages. But unlike these company-run Twitter promotions, there's not a hashtag to use or any specific wording that has to be tweeted in order to participate in the Amazon Affiliate program. All anyone has to do is tweet links along with the message of their

choosing. Because Amazon's marketplace is extensive in terms of the products it sells, there's a wide variety of things which can be promoted. No matter what a Twitterer's particular interest is: music, politics, technology, etc., there's bound to be hundreds of things that could be mentioned in their Twitter stream without the posts appearing to be an ad. In fact, there's a good possibility that they would have been talking about these products anyway throughout the course of the day...they just couldn't have made any money off of them until now. Hidden Advertisements The problem with this sort of "hidden" advertising, though, is exactly that: it's hidden. This is the internet's version of "product placement" - subtle advertising in plain sight yet never clearly identified as such. Was your favorite TV star using a Macbook? Was he drinking a Coke? Already commonplace in Hollywood, these almost subliminal advertising messages permeate our consciousness every time we turn on the TV. Now that same sort of hidden ad will soon show up in the Twitter streams of your favorite tweeters. Soon they'll start promoting a

great book they just read, a DVD they liked, or one of a million other things pulled out of Amazon's vast inventory. None of it will sound out of place given the types of informal conversations that take place on Twitter every day. You won't even know that they're advertising to you until you click through on the link and find yourself on an Amazon.com webpage - and even then, you may not be sure. Was that a referral or were they genuinely just linking to the Amazon website to be helpful? Will the FTC Step In? Another question this raises, at least here in the U.S., is whether or not the FTC will get involved. Having recently taken steps to make sure that bloggers were properly disclosing freebies or payments received by companies whose products were being reviewed on their sites, one has to wonder if they'll now be tempted to monitor the undisclosed advertising that's about to explode on Twitter. Amazon could have avoided the potential threat of government involvement (not to mention the accusations that they're "spamming Twitter") by generating their links using their own proprietary URL-shortening system, something like amzn.com or amz.com for example. That would clearly

identify the tweets' purpose. But instead, they opted to make their links with the URL shortener bit.ly, the one that Twitter itself uses by default. This makes the Amazon links indistinguishable at a glance from any other shortened link posted to Twitter. There's no way to tell if a tweet is an ad unless the Twitter user left Amazon's auto-generated text in place. Of course, no one is going to use that text except the laziest of Twitter spammers - people you're already avoiding. Tell Amazon What You Think with #AMZNSOT Today, many Twitter users are coming out against this new type of Twitter-fueled advertising, registering their complaints via tweets marked with the#AMZNSOT hashtag, the official tag used to give Amazon feedback about the system. These users are already branding this new effort spam, saying things like:"Amazon now gives you cash for spamming on Twitter? Oh, swell," as Twitter user TwitBin says."Does this just mean more Twitter spam as people try to make money?" asks NickHerbert. But there are just as many Twitter users saying nice things about the new system too, calling it "cool," "awesome," "sweet," and even claiming it "rocks." AMAZON page 45

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U.S/International Copyright Treaty Leaked, Trouble Ahead for ISPs & Users By Jolie O'Dell (ReadWriteWeb) Submitted at 11/3/2009 11:12:55 PM

According to once-secret, nowleaked sections of the new, plurilateral Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, global Internet users and ISPs might be in for a world of hurt in the near future. A U.S.-drafted chapter on Internet use would require ISPs to police user-generated content, to cut off Internet access for copyright violators, and to remove content that is accused of copyright violation without any proof of actual violation. The chapter also completely prohibits DRM workarounds, even for archiving or retrieving one's own work. Read on for details and implications. Sponsor The U.S. drafted this chapter under the strictest measures to ensure secrecy. Only 42 specific persons - such as representatives of Google, Intel, Verizon, Time Warner, Sony, News Corp, eBay, the MPAA, and the RIAA - were given access to the document under nondisclosure agreements: a corporate cabal hand-selected

to help review the text of the final agreement. The politicians involved in creating the document are also heavily funded by entertainment, media, and IP corporations such as Sony, Time Warner, News Corp, and Disney. As with other sections of the treaty, portions of this element have been leaked online. As it stands, the leaks suggest Internet users around the world are headed for a new regime of IP enforcement - a culture of invasive searches, minimal privacy, guilt until innocence is proven, and measures that would kill our normative behaviors of file-sharing, free software, media downloading, creative remixing, and even certain civil liberties. Allegedly modeled on sections of the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement, the treaty would require ISPs to police user activity for possible copyright violation, and ISPs would be held responsible for any infringing content being uploaded or downloaded. This all spells a huge boon to the established entertainment industry and a huge burder for ISPs. "In order for ISPs to qualify for a

safe harbor," writes Michael Geist, who has published the substance of the leaked material, "they would be required establish policies to deter unauthorized storage and transmission of IP infringing content. Provisions... include policies to terminate subscribers in appropriate circumstances." That means a three-strikes rule would apply to anyone who was accused of violating copyright in any way; ISPs would be required to terminate the user's account after three complaints from the content owner. For something as culturally accepted as downloading music, a user's entire household could be cut off from the Internet and access to information, communication, personal account management, et cetera. Geist continues, "Notice-andtakedown, which is not currently the law in Canada nor a

requirement under WIPO, would also be an ACTA requirement." In other words, whether or not a piece of content or media violates copyright would be arbitrary; the content would be removed by the ISP as soon as a takedown notice was issued. The takedown would be enforced regardless of considerations such as fair use. This policy, which mirrors the DMCA, would be enforced for all nations participating in the treaty. Finally, the treaty includes a ban on circumventing DRM and other copyright-protecting measures in hardware and software, as well as a ban on the manufacture, import and distribution of circumvention tools. Again, this ban is irrespective of circumstance or content ownership and is inflexible. Our friends at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, arbiters of freer use of copyrighted material, have this to say: U.S. negotiators are seeking policies that will harm the U.S. technology industry and citizens across the globe. Three Strikes/ Graduated Response is the top priority of

the entertainment industry... The ACTA text appears to leave the door open for major changes to the existing national Internet intermediary liability regimes that have been the global status quo since the mid 1990s, and which have underpinned both tremendous Internet innovation, and citizens' online freedom of expression and the rich world of user generated content that we take for granted today. European citizens should also be concerned and indignant. As reported, the ACTA Internet provisions would also appear to be inconsistent with the EU eCommerce Directive and existing national law... Are international treaties governing Internet content and intellectual property even necessary? Insofar as they fly in the face of normative cultural practices and contradict or tighten existing national laws, we find these suggested measures inflexible and unrealistic. But whether they become reality and shape the landscape of the Internet-to-come remains to be seen. Discuss

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The New MSN: Will More White Space and Local News Make You Visit It? By Frederic Lardinois (ReadWriteWeb) Submitted at 11/3/2009 9:01:00 PM

Microsoft just announced a radical redesign of its MSN homepage. Today's MSN homepage for the US market is a busy mix of ads, hundreds of links and some customizable local news and weather widgets. The redesign, which is MSN's first major redesign since 2004, puts a new emphasis on search, local news, video and integration with social networks. The new page features more white space, a tabbed design and a new MSN logo. Sponsor In the US, MSN is one of the top 5 most visited sites on the net with about 100 million visitors per month. According to Microsoft, the MSN homepage is the #1 homepage in 26 markets. This is the first major redesign of MSN since Microsoft introduced the current look in 2004. The company plans to roll this redesign out slowly over the next few weeks - though all users will be able to switch to the new site through a link on the old homepage. Fewer Links - Less Clutter

To make the site less busy, Microsoft has reduced the number of links by 50%. In the old design, the categories were organized in dozens of boxes. This gave the page a very busy look. Microsoft now uses tabs that give the site a more modern look and which also reduce clutter. The new MSN puts a lot of emphasis on search. The new new homepage doesn't just feature a Bing search box on the top. The new MSN has another search box at the bottom of the page and Microsoft also integrated Bing shopping and travel search in other sections of the site. MSN Users Don't Want Customization When we talked to Lisa Gurry, Microsoft's senior director of MSN, she told us that only a very small number of MSN's users actually wanted to spend a lot of time customizing the site. Because of this, the MSN team decided to automate this customization as much as possible through a reverse IP lookup. Through this, the homepage automatically displays local news and weather reports based on a user's location. Those users who want to customize

AMAZON continued from page 43

You can give Amazon your two cents as well by updating Twitter with your thoughts and including interesting if the MSN team just the #AMZNSOT hashtag along added a few features. MSN is with your message. Whether you think the new obviously trying to attract Amazon Twitter integration is mainstream users who don't good or bad, there's no doubt that follow thousands of Twitter u s e r s , b u t e v e n t h e m o s t it will be a major game changer for Twitter. Blurring the lines t h e i r M S N e x p e r i e n c e mainstream Twitter user expects between conversation and ads, to see a reply button in a Twitter extensively can continue to use people seem to think that client. AOL's homepage allows the MyMSN homepage. Flawed Amazon has either created Execution: Facebook and Twitter users to reply right from the something of genius or has Twitter widget. Local News Integration ruined Twitter as we know it. No The new site now puts a lot of Microsoft also added some new one seems to be undecided when social networking functionality to emphasis on local news. The new it comes their feelings about this local edition features extended the MSN homepage. Users can issue. The question is now: weather reports, movie times, now track updates from their which side will end up being in friends on Twitter, Facebook and concerts, restaurant reviews and the majority? Discuss information about local gas Windows Live. MSN's users can prices. For restaurant reviews, also send status updates right f r o m t h e M S N h o m e p a g e . Microsoft takes users to Bing's According to Microsoft, 52% of local search. MSN users are on Facebook and Radical Change The new design is a radical 14% are on Twitter. A few key features are missing departure from the old MSN and from the Twitter integration, some users who were accustomed though. There is no character to the old site will surely feel count, for example, and no easy disoriented when they wake up to way to shrink URLs. There is the new design. also no way to see or send direct Among the large homepages like Yahoo and AOL, the new MSN messages or @replies. While the Facebook widget at now sports the most modern least features a 'comment' link, look. This is not a highly users are still taken to Facebook's customizable, Netvibes-style own site to write their comments. homepage, but MSN's users Overall, the social network aren't asking for this. Discuss integration could be a lot more

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Flickr Sprouts App Garden: Five Cool Apps We Discovered By Jolie O'Dell (ReadWriteWeb) Submitted at 11/4/2009 1:28:05 AM

Flickr, the ever-more-popular photo-sharing service, has a fiveyear history of apps built on its API. From the interesting to the useful to the pretty to the downright silly, these applications make up a colorful and varied ecosystem around the service itself. Flickr has organized these thirdparty apps into a " garden," complete with user favorites, tags, descriptions, and screenshots. The App Garden represents a significant evolution from the former "services" section on the user side, and the revamp includes new features for developers, who can now use the Garden as a tool to help users discover their products. Read on for details and a few spotlighted Flickr apps we thought were fun. Sponsor As Flickr software engineer Mikhail Pachenko wrote on the Flickr developer blog,"We've tried to make things as simple and straight-forward as possible" for developers. On a new Apps By Me page, devs will find their apps are kept private until the creator decides to go public with the product. "When you click on one of your apps," Pachenko continued, "you will be taken to the owner view of your app page. This page is where you tell the world about your app - provide a description,

link to a website, set screenshots, and add tags. When you're ready, change the privacy setting to public. That will make your app visible to other users and allow it to show up in searches." Now, for end users, here are a few apps we picked from the Garden that we think you might like. Bubblr Makes Comics Make comic strips from your or others' Flickr photos with this fun, simple application from Barcelona-based shop Pimpampum. The app allows users to search for photos by user or by tag, string the pics into strips, and add captions, thought bubbles, and speech bubbles. Creations can be shared via a

user's blog, Delicious, or email. Flickr For Busy People Speeds Up Skimming This delightful time-saver shows a compact grid of photos uploaded from a user's contacts during given time periods between 30 minutes and 8 hours prior to the current time. Below each user's avatar is the number of photos uploaded, and the avatars can be clicked to display (or hide) an array of thumbnails to quick digestion of the day's pics. Suggestify Geotags Photos This app lets users geotag other users' Flickr photos by suggesting a location to the photo's owner. That geotag information is stored with

Suggestify until the photo owner approves or rejects the suggestion. If approved, the photo is geotagged and the user who suggested the geotag is credited with a special tag on the photo. Flogr Turns Flickr Pics Into Photo Blogs Flogr is a PHP/MySQL-powered photoblog interface that displays a main photo page with EXIF data and Flickr comments, a customizable thumbnails page of a user's recent pictures, a slideshow component, a tag cloud, and an about page showing the Flickr user's profile. Users can also determine which photos are displayed by telling Flogr to only include images with

certain tags. Flickriver Surfaces Interesting Photos This app is focused on delivering a seamless, quick viewing experience with minimal visual distraction. Users can choose to check out interesting photos filtered by user or by group. They can search for photos or simply browse to discover the most interesting photos on a given day. Flickriver also includes a keyboardoperated slideshow mode. Better still, Flickriver offers a dynamic badge for bloggers to showcase their images. Discuss FLICKR page 47

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CubeTree: Drilling Comments Down to the Cell in a Spreadsheet By Alex Williams (ReadWriteWeb) the new breed of players in the Enterprise 2.0 space that is CubeTree is launching a new defined by conversation more s e r v i c e t o d a y t h a t m a k e s than content. documents into items that can Like a number of the new support comments, adding a new players, CubeTree leverages dimension to how users can activity streams. interact with spreadsheets, slides The company focuses on three on a presentation and other main components: content. Profiles: Users create a profile "Social documents," is what that drills down to where the CubeTree calls the ability for person sits in the office, who is in users to comment on documents. the next cube and other detailed T h e c o m p a n y , w h i c h i s information that gives a picture exhibiting at Enterprise 2.0, is of their work day. It reflects their one of the new players to the activity stream; where they have collaboration space. commented; wiki pages they are Sponsor editing and other information CubeTree considers itself one of Submitted at 11/4/2009 2:07:00 AM

such as picture of whiteboards from meetings. Groups: Formed when a user wants control over who has access to information. Groups may be public, private or extended to partners, customers and other parties outside the organization. Feeds: Collection of activities about the things that interests the user. This may be the people, the groups or topics the user follows. These all appear in an activity stream where users may comment on what appears. Here's a demonstration of the "social document" features that CubeTree is launching today: Discuss

FLICKR continued from page 46

World Series Game 5 Delivers Another Home Run For FOX By Robert Seidman (TVbytheNumbers) Submitted at 11/3/2009 3:15:44 PM

WORLD SERIES DELIVERS ANOTHER HOME RUN FOR FOX 2009 Game 5 Ranks as HighestRated and Most-Watched Game 5 Since 2003 Phillies Force World Series Game Six for First Time Since WORLD page 48

Fundrazr: PayPal's Adaptive Account and Payment APIs Realized By Dana Oshiro (ReadWriteWeb)

Facebook. Sponsor While this may seem like a Submitted at 11/3/2009 4:42:00 PM simple Groups tool, users can C a n a d i a n c o m p a n y add members, create fundraising ConnectionPoint is about to campaigns, generate reports, add unveil its FundRazr Facebook organizational admin and most application as the only service importantly, collect payments. u t i l i z i n g b o t h P a y P a l X ' s Some of the groups who benefit Adaptive Account API and its from Fundrazr include sports Adaptive Payment API. Initially teams, school clubs, charities and launched in private beta at TC50, campaign managers. Members of Fundrazr allows users to collect the company's closed beta fees and donations through i n c l u d e m a j o r u n i v e r s i t i e s

needing to charge fees, political candidates on the campaign trail and national nonprofits looking to overcome donor fatigue in a poor economy. According to ConnectionPoint CEO Daryl Hatton, the beauty of using PayPal X is that users never have to leave the Fundrazr page to setup a PayPal account.

Charities no longer have to redirect donors to external payment sites in order to collect their donations. Instead there's a frictionless process where donors have absolutely no reason to deny payment. To check out Fundrazr's newest feature releases visit the blog at blog.connectionpoint.ca. For an invite to the company's closed beta program email beta[at]fundrazr.com. Discuss

Florida Fans Strike Back on YouTube, Say Georgia Started Cheap Shots By Michael David Smith (FanHouse) Submitted at 11/4/2009 9:45:00 AM

by Michael David Smith Filed under: Florida, Georgia Florida linebacker Brandon Spikes committed one of the dirtiest plays of the year on Saturday when he tried to gouge the eyes of Georgia running back Washaun Ealey, and after video of eye poke was seen by hundreds of thousands of people on YouTube, Spikes was suspended for the first half of Florida's next game. But now Florida fans have struck back with a YouTube of their own that they say shows it was Georgia that made the game dirty. Florida Fans Strike Back on YouTube, Say Georgia Started Cheap Shots originally appeared on Fanhouse NCAA Football Blog on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:45:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Linking Blogs| Comments

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WORLD

Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin to host 82nd Oscars

continued from page 47

2003 2009 WORLD SERIES GAME 5 HIGHLIGHTS The Phillies’ 8-6 victory over the Yankees in Game 5 last night sends the World Series to a sixth game for the first time since 2003. The five-year gap between World Series lasting at least six games is the longest in baseball history. Game 5 of the 105 th WORLD SERIES earned a 10.6/16 average household rating/share, with an average audience of 17.1 million viewers on FOX, ranking as the highest-rated and mostwatched Game 5 since 2003 (13.2/21, 19.9 mill.), including decisive Game 5s in 2008 and 2006. Last night’s YankeesPhillies game rated +10% higher than the two-night average of last year’s Rays-Phillies Game 5 (9.6/14), and +8% higher in average audience (15.8 mill.). Last year’s game was started on a Monday night, suspended due to inclement weather after sixinnings, and completed the following Wednesday. Last night’s game averaged a 10.6/16 with 17.2 million

viewers in prime time, giving FOX another easy household ratings win over the competition. FOX’s 10.6/16 was +14% better than ABC’s second-place 9.3/14. CBS was next at a 7.2/11 with NBC a distant fourth at a 3.5/5, failing to generate even a third of FOX’s delivery. ESPN’s Monday Night Football rounded out the toughest night of competition that this World Series has or will face. ESPN’s Falcons-Saints game earned a 7.7/13 nationally (12.4 million), which is +5% better than the 7.3/11 they posted last year for Colts-Titans opposite Game 5 a year ago. FOX continues to enjoy its best fourth quarter performance in history. Last night’s 5.2 rating in prime time among Adults 18-49 allowed FOX to increase its season-to-date average to 3.8 among Adults 18-49, expanding FOX’s lead over second-place CBS (3.2) to +19%, FOX’s biggest season-to-date lead ever in fourth quarter and the biggest for any network in six years. The Phillies’ 6-1 lead in the third inning dampened ratings growth

throughout prime time to about half of what it has been for the Series’ more competitive games. Last night’s game posted 9.6/15 at 8:00 PM ET and grew to 11.1/18 at 10:30 PM ET, a +16% gain during the prime-time window. To compare, Games 1 and 2 last week grew by an average of +31% from 8:00 to 10:30. Clearly the early offensive outburst had a negative impact on interest. The rating for last night’s game peaked after 11:00 PM ET at 11.6/20 (18.6 million) as the Yankees mounted a late rally and brought the tying run to the plate with two outs in the ninth only to fall short. - PHILADELPHIA topped all markets, as they have for every game of this Series, with a 41.0/56. NEW YORK notched a 28.7/42. 2009 WORLD SERIES-TODATE The first five games of the 2009 Fall Classic have averaged a 11.4/19 household rating/share, 18.7 million viewers and a 6.0 among Adults 18-49. In households, this year’s Series is up +36% in rating over last year

(8.4/14) and +38% in audience (13.6 million), and is the highestrated and most-watched World Series since the Red Sox snapped their 86-year championship drought in 2004 (15.8/26, 25.4 million). If we compare the first five games of the World Series to top-rated season-to-date primetime shows, the World Series would rank No. 2 in households. Excluding the competing markets and Hartford, which is in close proximity to NYC, the top-rated neutral markets to date are: West Palm Beach (14.0/21), Las Vegas (14.0/22), Tampa (13.5/22) and Buffalo (13.4/21). The neutral markets posting the biggest percentage increase year-to-year are: Raleigh (12.3 vs. 5.8, +112%), Buffalo (13.4 vs. 6.9, +94%) and Pittsburgh (8.5 vs. 5.2, +63%). This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

By Robert Seidman (TVbytheNumbers) Submitted at 11/3/2009 4:21:48 PM

via ABC press release: STEVE MARTIN AND ALEC BALDWIN TO HOST OSCAR SHOW, SUNDAY, MARCH 7, 2010 ON ABC Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin will serve as co-hosts of the 82nd Academy Awards®, Oscar telecast producers Bill Mechanic and Adam Shankman announced today. “We think the team of Steve and Alec are the perfect pair of hosts for the Oscars,” said Shankman and Mechanic. “Steve will bring the experience of having hosted the show in the past and Alec will be a completely fresh personality for this event.” “I am happy to co-host the Oscars with my enemy, Alec Baldwin,” said Martin. STEVE page 49

CBS orders a bit more Accidentally on Purpose By Allison Waldman (TV Squad) Submitted at 11/4/2009 9:02:00 AM

CBS Monday night comedies have been doing pretty well so far this season, as far as the ratings are concerned. The Big

Bang Theory is challenging Two and a Half Men for top Nielsens for a sitcom; How I Met Your Mother is doing as well or better than last year, and the new kid on the block, Jenna Elfman in Accidentally on Purpose, has benefited by being smackdab in

the middle of all that established

comic success. CBS has ordered five additional episodes of Accidentally on Purpose. It's not a ringing endorsement, but it does give the show a chance to improve on what it's done thus far. Continue reading CBS orders a

bit more Accidentally on Purpose Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free Permalink| Email this| | Comments

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STEVE continued from page 48

“I don’t play the banjo, but I’m thrilled to be hosting the Oscars – it’s the opportunity of a lifetime,” said Baldwin. Martin hosted the 73rd and 75th Academy Awards shows, earning an Emmy nomination for the first stint. He has also served as a presenter on the show several times, most recently at the ceremony in February when he appeared with Tina Fey. He is currently touring with the bluegrass band Steep Canyon Rangers in support of his latest album, “The Crow: New Songs for the Five String Banjo.” In 1977 and 1978 Martin won Grammys for Best Comedy Recording. He earned a third Grammy in 2001 in the Best Country Instrumental Performance category. In 2007 Martin earned a Kennedy Center Honor. Baldwin was nominated for an Academy Award in 2003 for his supporting role in “The Cooler.” That year also marked his most

recent appearance as a presenter on the show. Baldwin currently stars as Jack Donaghy on the comedy “30 Rock,” a role for which he has won two Emmys (in 2008 and 2009). He earned a Tony nomination in 1992 for his performance in “A Streetcar Named Desire.” Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2009 will be presented on Sunday, March 7, 2010, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide. ABOUT THE ACADEMY The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is the world’s preeminent movie-related organization, with a membership of more than 6,000 of the most accomplished men and women working in cinema. In addition to the annual Academy Awards – in which the members vote to select

the nominees and winners – the Academy presents a diverse yearround slate of public programs, exhibitions and events; provides financial support to a wide range of other movie-related organizations and endeavors; acts as a neutral advocate in the advancement of motion picture technology; and, through its Margaret Herrick Library and Academy Film Archive, collects, preserves, restores and provides access to movies and items related to their history. Through these and other activities the Academy serves students, historians, the entertainment industry and people everywhere who love movies. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

Syndicated Ratings Top 25: Most Syndies down due to MLB playoffs, Wheel of Fortune remains a beast By Robert Seidman (TVbytheNumbers) Submitted at 11/3/2009 8:55:16 PM

For the week ending October 25, most syndicated show were down from the previous week due to competition from Major League Baseball League Championship Series, and also a drop off in the number of average people watching TV. Below is the table of top syndicated shows for the week ending October 25, 2009. For context and additional numbers, check out Broadcasting & Cable’s write-up on the week. Please note that the syndicated weekly results are delayed versus normal reporting. While we get the broadcast and cable ratings for the prior Monday-Sunday period every Tuesday, there is an extra week of lag time with the syndicated ratings and these numbers are not for last week, but for the week before last. So while Friday Night Smackdown! is now counted as a syndicated show and we are seeing the numbers again, they are delayed. The numbers below are for Friday October 23, not October 30. Top 25 Syndicated Shows for the week ending October 25, 2009: -

Please note that the #s for Monday Night Football are the total number both for the ESPN airings and the local markets where the games are syndicated to one of the local affiliates (a rule to ensure the markets playing the game can watch them, even if they don’t have ESPN). As a result Monday Night Football will be at the top of the syndicated lists until football season is over. It’s sort of bogus, but since I can’t break the syndicated portion out, I’m just reporting it as Nielsen does, but you can figure most of the viewing is actually directly on ESPN. For syndicated shows which air on multiple days, the viewership shown is the average of all telecasts. BUENA VISTA items are syndicated packages of old Disney movies. For more information click here. DAD = Disney ABC Domestic Television, SPT= Sony Pictures Television, 2/T=Twentieth Television, ESP = ESPN, CTD = CBS Television Distribution. Nielsen TV Ratings Data: ©2009 The Nielsen Company. All Rights Reserved. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

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Fox Up Sharply vs. Last Fall, Stretches Youth Demo Leads After 6 Weeks By Bill Gorman (TVbytheNumbers) Submitted at 11/4/2009 6:00:20 AM

Season To Date Ratings As good as Fox’s luck was with the baseball ALCS games, their luck with the World Series might turn out much better. If the Phillies can win Wednesday, and force a game 7, Fox might hold onto the adults 18-49 and 18-34 leads for the rest of the season (it’s a given they’ll take them when American Idol appears, regardless). A huge week of baseball and football(through November 1, 2009) stretched Fox’s lead in adults 18-49 and 18 -34, and closed a bit of the gap with CBS in adults 25-54. CBS is well ahead average viewership and I don’t think even a seven game World Series can close that gap in a week. You can see past week’s broadcast network primetime season to date average TV ratings results here. Ratings Increase / Decrease: 2009-10 Season vs. 2008-9

Season Fox’s improvement vs. last fall in all the main adult demo groups continues to grow. Only the CW is ahead in any demo group, but they should be well ahead of last season across the board considering their automatic boost to their seasonal ratings averages just by dumping Sunday nights. Compared to last season, the CW’s current situation has got to be a disappointment. And while the entertainment

press continues harping on NBC’s ratings drop from last season (with good reason!), there’s still nary a whisper about ABC’s declines which continue just behind NBC’s. CBS is now down in all the main adult demo groups vs. last season, but not nearly as much as ABC and NBC. Each rating point is a percentage of the US TV population in that demographic group and equals: 2.90 million viewers, 1.32

million adults 18-49, 0.68 million adults 18-34 and 1.24 million adults 25-54. Sadly, we will no longer be having a Tiny Network Showdown! since MyNetworkTV ratings averages are no longer being reported by Nielsen, since they are no longer classed as a network but are now a “programming service”. And we are no longer seeing Univision season to date averages for last season, so I cannot do a

comparison. Note that the chart includes RATINGS not VIEWERSHIP as was typical in our weekly network ratings posts prior to July, 2009. Nielsen TV Ratings Data: ©2009 The Nielsen Company. All Rights Reserved. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

The best of WoW.com: October 27 - November 3, 2009 By Mike Schramm (Joystiq) Submitted at 11/4/2009 3:00:00 AM

That right there's a big ugly frost dragon named Sindragosa, and with the newest patch headed to the World of Warcraft(we expect

it sometime this December), we'll be bringing her down. It won't be easy, but then again, WoW players have Joystiq's own WoW.com to guide them. You can read all about that fight, the new patch, and other popular

stories in the World of Warcraft

on our weekly roundup after the break. Continue reading The best of WoW.com: October 27 November 3, 2009 The best of WoW.com: October 27 - November 3, 2009 originally

appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 03:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments

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Review: Dexter - If I Had a Hammer By Danny Gallagher (TV Squad) Submitted at 11/4/2009 5:20:00 AM

(S04E06) "We both have skeletons, which means we both get a closet to keep them in." Dexter on him and Arthur Mitchell, the Trinity Killer Now that Dexter and his faithful followers have discovered Trinity's true identity as a family raising, student teaching, hymn congregation leading all around nice guy, it's made him twice as creepy. The fact that he can turn such a blind eye towards causing so much painful mayhem and in the blink of that eye pretend that

on his weakened prey. I'm sure part of him feels the need to put this man out of our misery and avenge the attack on his sister, but now he sees him as a mentor, a role model, a zen-like Yoda who can teach him how to strengthen his mask while he's doing the bidding of his "Dark Passenger." But will this moment of philosophy for madmen drag things down to a screeching halt? Continue reading Review: everything is all rainbows and walking around in his skin, both jellybeans twists my spine into a figuratively and (I sure hope not) Dexter - If I Had a Hammer Filed under: Dexter, Episode monkey fist. John Lithgow has literally. not only reached into the bloody Now that Dexter is on the hunt, Reviews, Reality-Free Permalink| Email this| | depths of this depraved character, he seems more reserved, held but he's done a marvelous job of back and less willing to pounce C o m m e n t s

Review: V - Pilot (series premiere) By Jason Hughes (TV Squad) Submitted at 11/4/2009 1:30:00 AM

(S01E01) We were promised a modern re-imagining of the classic '80s V mini-series, and that's exactly what we got. Gone were the allusions to World War II Nazism and the treatment of Jews in Europe. Instead, we're offered allusions to the war we've been fighting for eight years now. I wasn't sure how they could modify the storylines from the series I remembered to accurately

find parallels to our war on terrorism, and the terrorist movements themselves, but they did. And they did it all while staying true to the struggles and

fears that's kept the original series fresh in our minds for 26 years now. Even better, I watched this with my 10-year old son who's never

The Sims transformed into a horror movie By Alexander Sliwinski (Joystiq) Submitted at 11/4/2009 6:00:00 AM

"They won't let me pee, they won't let me sleep, they won't let me eat." - doomed Sim citizen Ah yes, the life of a Sim. Not so funny when one sees what life would be like if our actions were controlled by the unholy Plumbob (which is itself seen the original, and he was controlled by little Damian Van absolutely riveted. Everything I Horne of 999 Wisteria Lane). We loved about V back then is here, understand that CollegeHumor and there's so much more to get was trying to be funny in its The excited about. I always thought V Sims movie clip, but it actually should be an ongoing series, and e n c a p s u l a t e s t h e p a i n a n d even though we eventually got suffering of every Sim murdered one, I think this time they've by sadistic teenage girls around the world. Watch the full clip finally got it right. Continue reading Review: V - after the break. Save a Sim. Continue reading The Sims Pilot (series premiere) Filed under: OpEd, Episode transformed into a horror movie The Sims transformed into a Reviews, Reality-Free, V P e r m a l i n k | E m a i l t h i s | | horror movie originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 Comments 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments

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Review: The Biggest Loser - Week Eight

I'm glad to see Betty Draper get a backbone

By Jason Hughes (TV Squad)

By Jane Boursaw (TV Squad)

Submitted at 11/4/2009 2:00:00 AM

Submitted at 11/4/2009 8:02:00 AM

(S08E07) As promised, absolutely everything Biggest Loser was transported to our nation's capitol, Washington DC, for the week. The contestants had to deal with vacation eating, exercising, and even their challenges and the weigh-in happened surrounded by national monuments. It was a pretty exciting thing for our contestants, and even Bob and Jillian were somewhat in awe of the majesty of where they were. The episode wasn't as emotionally gripping as it's been the last few weeks, but I think a lot of that has to do with the distractions of everything that was going on this week. It's hard to have an emotional breakthrough when you're away from the comfort of the Ranch and the Biggest Loser Gym, and

The assassination of JFK on Sunday's episode of Mad Men may have been the catalyst for Betty Draper's "awakening," but it's been a long time coming. Here comes my rant: I, for one, am sick and tired of seeing the women in this show get walked all over! I know it's the way things were back then, but the times they are a changin', so I'm hoping we'll get to see more women stand up and take charge of their lives. I was cheering when Betty stood up to her lying, cheating, skank of a husband Don and told him she didn't love him anymore. Bonus points for driving off to meet your lover, Betty. Hopefully, he won't cheat on you. Now if Joan would leave her loser fiance who raped her at the

all the trappings that have come to make these contestants feel at home. So I found myself worried as to what would happen after a week of chaos when these guys got up on that scale. Continue reading Review: The Biggest Loser - Week Eight Filed under: OpEd, The Biggest Loser, Episode Reviews Permalink| Email this| | Comments

To Jon Gosselin’s (and Gossip Girl’s) ratings chagrin, Kate (and TLC) doesn’t need him By Robert Seidman (TVbytheNumbers) Submitted at 11/3/2009 10:21:30 PM

office and then went about his business like nothing happened -that'd be the icing on this women's movement cake. I'd say that she and Roger Sterling belong together, but she's too good for him. Filed under: OpEd, Reality-Free, Mad Men Permalink| Email this| | Comments

While still way,way off the record-breaking ratings of Jon & Kate Plus 8’s season premiere in May that averaged 9.8 million, la familia Gosselin, or at least Kate Gosselin, have rebounded from ratings lows. The viewer numbers have doubled in recent weeks from the lows where the Gosselins were averaging less than 2 million viewers. Monday night’s special, Kate: JON page 53

James Franco goes from movies to soap to 30 Rock By Allison Waldman (TV Squad) Submitted at 11/4/2009 9:28:00 AM

Wouldn't you love to know who's giving actor James Franco career advice these days? I'm not knocking him or her, but I'd love to figure out the strategy. Or

maybe this is just Franco being Franco (like Manny being Manny, for you baseball fans out there)? James has just started filming his two-month arc on General Hospital-- check out the first pic (right) -- and now Michael Ausiello reports that James

Franco will do a guest spot on 30

Rock. How's that for a career trajectory -- from box office bonanza ( Spider-Man) to Oscar feature ( Milk) to daytime soap ( General Hospital) to Emmy-winning sitcom ( 30 Rock). He's like a human pinball machine looking for a perfect score!

Continue reading James Franco goes from movies to soap to 30 Rock Filed under: OpEd, Daytime, Celebrities, 30 Rock, Casting, Reality-Free Permalink| Email this| | Comments

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JON continued from page 52

Her Story averaged nearly 3.8 million viewers and a 1.7 adults 18-49 rating. In head-to-head competition at 9pm on Monday night, Kate: Her Story dominated The CW’s Gossip Girl in most ratings categories and as ratings supplier extraordinaire “ Travis Yanan” noted, Kate and TLC hit The CW’s Gossip Girl where it hurts: with CW’s target demo of Women 18-34.

Maybe Gossip Girl should be looking to stunt-cast Jon Gosselin: All ratings are Live viewing plus same day DVR viewing This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

'The Biggest Loser: Second Chances' Review: Californication Scoreboard - Glass Houses (ETonline - Breaking News)

6 wk 7 By Danny Gallagher (TV in the back of my brain, but it How did your faves rank on the wk Squad) w a s y a n k e d i n t o m y "The Biggest Loser" scale 8 consciousness by Becca and her tonight? wk Submitted at 11/4/2009 6:00:00 AM snooty, drugged-up pal Chelsea. Here's "The Biggest Loser" 9 wk(S03E06) "L.A. is no place to Both of them are really starting to weigh-in 411 up to Nov. 3, 2009: 10 wkraise a daughter...or a dad." - piss me off. They are vapid, - Strt. 11 wkHank to Karen whiny and annoying. In other Wt. 12 Sean Algaier If I ever procreate and God w o r d s , t h e y a r e p e r f e c t wk 444 422 411 405********--* curses me by turning said C a l i f o r n i a n s . 1 Antoine Dove offspring into a female teenager, Continue reading Review: wk 367 349 341 330********--* the last place I would raise her is Californication - Glass Houses 2 Amanda Arlauskas 250 244 240 Los Angeles. In fact, I would get Filed under: Other Comedy wk 235 230 224 218 214 207**** as far away from that cesspool of Shows, Episode Reviews, Reality 3 Rebecca Meyer 279 261 255 248 pretentiousness and greed as -Free wk 244 237 232 223 219**** Daniel possible; its literal polar opposite, Permalink| Email this| | 4 Wright 312 300 293 287 287 276 in fact. That's right, I'd actually C o m m e n t s wk 277 272 261**** Shay Sorrells raise her in the Indian Ocean. 5 476 459 443 437 432 416 411 The idea had always been hidden wk 402 393**** Allen Smith 325 Submitted at 11/3/2009 10:01:00 PM

306 296 292 285 278 270 262 253**** Abby Rike 247 232 221 216 213 208 204 201***** Rudy Pauls 442 414 400 388 377 369 355 341 332**** Dina Mercado 253 245 237 234 229 223 218 ****** Mo DeWalt 355 336 327 326 318 312******* Tracey Yukich 238* 228 217 213 206 202 197 194**** Liz Young 267 257 247 243 240 232 228 221 218**** Danny Cahill 430 406 394 390 282 372 357 345 333**** Julio Gomez 407 394 375 364********* Alexandra White 309 296***********-

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Cleveland Browns coach Eric Mangini struggles with ouster of GM By ESPN.com news services (ESPN.com)

most of his news conference politely deflecting questions about why the decision was Submitted at 11/3/2009 3:58:34 PM made. What's Next For Cleveland? He was asked if there were legal What's Next For Cleveland? reasons why he couldn't address BEREA, Ohio -- Cleveland Kokinis' exit. Browns coach Eric Mangini is "There's really a variety of not offering any details about the reasons," he said, "and I'll just team's unexplained dismissal of leave it at that." his friend, general manager Mangini deflected several George Kokinis. questions about Kokinis' stunning Kokinis was on the job for less departure. The team has not said than a year when he was relieved if he was fired or resigned. of his duties Monday. The Kokinis was hired in January, Browns, who have a bye this two weeks after Mangini became week, went about their business Cleveland's coach. He previously Tuesday as rumors swirled about worked with the coach under Bill Kokinis, the events that led up to Belichick in Cleveland in the his departure and who -- or if -- 1990s. anyone will replace him. Team and league sources told "Anytime a decision like this is ESPN's Chris Mortensen and made it is difficult personally and Adam Schefter that Kokinis professionally," Mangini said. refused to resign when pressed "George is a friend of mine and I by owner Randy Lerner, who respect him and I wish his family then persisted in seeking a well. I can tell you that for a dismissal "for cause," citing variety of reasons things didn't Kokinis for failing to meet the work out. You never go into a specific standards as dictated by situation like this with the his contract. The team's security intention of it not working out. and legal department were "We felt that, organizationally, reviewing phone records to build this was the best decision in order its case against Kokinis, a team to move forward." source said. That was about as deep as Multiple media reports initially Mangini would venture into the reported Kokinis had been fired. Kokinis matter. Mangini spent Television station WKYC and

the Cleveland Plain Dealer first reported Monday night that Kokinis was ushered out of the Berea facility by security around lunchtime Monday. In a statement, the Browns said: "Cleveland Browns general manager George Kokinis is no longer actively involved with the organization. In response to rumors and reports that Kokinis was escorted out of the building today, the Browns deny those reports. In the interest of protecting the parties involved we will withhold further comment." Lerner told the media after Sunday's loss to Chicago that changes were coming. Lerner was not available for comment Tuesday. A team spokesman said there was no immediate plans for Lerner to address the media. Lerner did spend two hours meeting with two disgruntled season-ticket holders, who have been urging Cleveland fans to stay out of their seats for the Nov. 16 kickoff against Baltimore in protest of the team's futility. "Dawg Pound Mike" Randall said Lerner was open to their ideas and gave them a few of his own. "He's trying to get the Browns on the right track," Randall said.

"He wants it to happen now. He cares deeply." Ernie Accorsi, former general manager of the New York Giants, Baltimore Colts and Browns, is being sought by Lerner as a consultant, a league source said. Accorsi could not be reached for comment. Accorsi has served in a consulting capacity on numerous occasions for teams and has an alliance with former Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar, who was hired by Lerner as a consultant on Oct. 17. Lerner told the Plain Dealer and Akron Beacon-Journal on Sunday he would like to bring in a "strong, credible, serious leader" to help run his team. Lerner did not expand on who that person might be or if that person currently worked for the Browns. "The highest priority that I have is a strong, credible, serious leader within the building to guide decisions in a far more conspicuous, open transparent way," Lerner said Sunday, according to the Plain Dealer. "I can maybe defend decisions by saying I've sought advice and I've brought people in, and we've gone to see people -- and I think my highest priority is to have a stable figure that represents the

voice that explains the decisions." Mangini said he would not be resistant to the Browns giving final personnel decisions to someone else in the future. "My goal is to win and my goal is to improve," he said. "There's never opposition to someone that can help us achieve that goal. That's true here. It was true in New York with the Jets." For now, Kokinis' parting is just more of the same for the Browns. "It doesn't affect me," tight end Steve Heiden said. "I can speak for myself on this because I've been here a while and I've seen some changes. I can't control anything that goes on anywhere else besides at this locker. That's the truth and that's all I'm trying to do. "I'm in my bubble and I'm staying there." Information from The Associated Press, ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen and ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter was used in this report. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

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The Count: Manuel May Have Overused Lee in Game 5 (WSJ.com: The Daily Fix)

That jump later in the game is typical of all major-league pitchers, who this year saw their I t m a y h a v e l o o k e d l i k e OPS rise by 81 points the third Philadelphia Phillies manager time through the lineup compared Charlie Manuel sent Cliff Lee out to the first time. Some of that to pitch the eighth inning, despite reflects that pitchers are less his ace’s workload of 103 pitches likely than other batters to bat through the first seven. But three times or more, but the jump Manuel was also answering was still 68 points in the AL, Yankees fans’ chants of “we d e s p i t e t h e p r e s e n c e o f a want Pedro” a little early, if not designated hitter. And these on purpose. By that point in the numbers may understate the game, as Lee faced the Yankees’ effect as pitchers tire and batters lineup for the fourth time in the g e t u s e d t o t h e i r s t u f f . game, he could be expected to Presumably starting pitchers who pitch about as well as the 38-year didn’t make it that far through the -old Martinez, who is slated to lineup had, on average, worst start Game 6 on Wednesday in stuff than those who did — the Bronx. Reuters Did Cliff Lee a s s u m i n g m a n a g e r s w e r e throw too many pitches in Game watching their pitches and not the 5 against the Yankees? box score. In his career, Lee has been very Lee ended up yielding three runs effective when facing opposing in that eighth inning before lineups the first two times. He’s giving way to Chan Ho Park, held opponents making their first who this year yielded an OPS of plate appearance of the game to just .650 for batters facing him a n o n - b a s e - p l u s - s l u g g i n g for the first time in a game. Since percentage of .706, and those Lee would be a valuable asset in m a k i n g t h e i r s e c o n d p l a t e Game 7, it would have been appearance to .713. But by the sensible to lift him earlier — as third time through the lineup or early as the fourth inning, by one later, Lee yields an OPS of .780 analysis. But Manuel couldn’t — similar to Martinez’s overall see that the guy in Lee’s uniform OPS-against of .789 this year. was no longer, by the 8th inning, Submitted at 11/3/2009 2:21:28 PM

as good a pitcher as the one who started the game — and that a fresh Lee, good to go through the Yankees lineup twice in a possible Game 7, would be far more valuable. Thanks to the Phillies’ productive bats, Lee won his fourth postseason game in four starts and was named by Fox as the player of the game. But “a pitcher who gives up five runs is nobody’s idea of a hero,” ESPN’s Rob Neyer notes. Neyer nominates Chase Utley, who hit two home runs to build his total for the series to five, and his career World Series total to seven — a new record for a second baseman, in just 10 games. Utley and teammate Jayson Werth each have two multi-home-run games this postseason. Phillies batters have the last five multi-homer postseason games, and six of the last eight. No one has hit more

than Utley’s five homers in any postseason series (Reggie Jackson had five for the Yankees in the 1977 World Series, and Ken Griffey, Jr. had five in the 1995 AL division series against the Yankees). Utley will have at least one more game to set a new mark. For the game, Utley contributed nearly a quarter of a win, according to win probability added, though the first four games were practically a wash thanks to his duds in the Phillies’ losses in Games 2 and 3. That might make it tough for Utley to win the series MVP award if the Phillies lose, as some have suggested he might. Lee has contributed 0.6 win in his two games, and Alex Rodriguez, Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui each have contributed about as much in win probability as Utley. Not so for Yankees captain Derek Jeter, whose bat has actually cost the Yankees overall, thanks largely to his ninth inning double play on Monday. Rodriguez’s fine play in the series and throughout the postseason could be “the stake in the heart” for the notion that ARod can’t hit in the clutch, Joe

Sheehan writes in Baseball Prospectus. Elsewhere in baseball analysis: J.C. Bradbury says A.J. Burnett’s rough start in Game 5 vindicates Manuel’s position not to pitch Lee on three days’ rest. But in four regular-season career starts with three days’ rest, Burnett had been extremely effective. And overall, starting pitchers with three days’ rest have shown little fall-off in performance in the postseason. Meanwhile, if even more attention is paid to pitch counts and days of rest, and MLB runscoring remains high compared to historic averages, we may not see many more 300-game winners. Tommy Bennett examines the fate of the excellent starting pitchers on the last team to beat the Yankees in the World Series: the 2003 Florida Marlins. One of them, Burnett, helped beat the Yankees again last night, this time while wearing pinstripes. Going into last night’s game, how surprising would a Phillies series win have been? Less surprising than a home run in any given Barry Bonds at bat during his record-setting career.

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Syracuse loses exhibition stunner vs. Division II Le Moyne

Around the Net In Media: Bloomberg To Build Out 'BusinessWeek'

By Associated Press (ESPN.com)

(MediaPost | Media News)

It was just one of those days for Le Moyne basketball. The kids will remember this forever." Submitted at 11/4/2009 5:29:21 AM Wes Johnson, who led Syracuse ESPNEWS Highlight Of The with 34 points, hit a 3 from the Night ESPNEWS Highlight Of left corner to put Syracuse ahead The Night 79-78 with 22 seconds left. SYRACUSE, N.Y. -Then Christopher Johnson C h r i s t o p h e r J o h n s o n a n d responded with his sixth 3Laurence Ekperigin hooted and pointer of the game, which came hollered as they skipped off Jim from the left side after Syracuse's Boeheim Court, huge smiles K r i s J o s e p h b a c k e d o f f creasing their faces and defensively. seemingly as stunned as the "We were sort of out of whack a O r a n g e a t w h a t h a d j u s t little bit," Christopher Johnson transpired. said. "Everyone was rushing. But Johnson scored 17 of his 22 as soon as I caught the ball, I saw p o i n t s i n t h e s e c o n d h a l f , an opening and I just let it fly. including a 3-pointer with 8.3 Luckily, it went in." seconds remaining, and Division After Wes Johnson missed a 3, II Le Moyne stunned No. 25 Can Ozkaner added a free throw Syracuse 82-79 in an exhibition with 1.3 seconds left for Le game Tuesday night. Moyne and Syracuse had its first "We've got an experienced preseason exhibition loss since a group," Le Moyne head coach setback against the Harlem Steve Evans said. "Did we ever Globetrotters six years ago. think that a day like this would "Le Moyne really outplayed us happen? Probably not. But we from the beginning of the game put together a game plan. We to the end," Syracuse coach Jim didn't want to play Syracuse's B o e h e i m s a i d . " T h e y [ t h e way. We wanted to play our way. Orange] are very, very young

mentally. They really have got to grow up. We couldn't stop them on the dribble. That's something we've been looking at in practice." Ekperigin had 20 points and 11 rebounds, Damani Corbin had 11 points and five assists and Kevin Roth added 10 points for Le Moyne, which outscored Syracuse 42-30 in the paint. Andy Rautins had 13 points and Rick Jackson finished with 10 points and eight rebounds for the Orange, who led 47-37 early in the second half. But the Dolphins, who play across town, never let down. Three 3s by Christopher Johnson helped narrow the gap and a three -point play by Ekperigin gave Le Moyne a 56-55 lead with 8:41 remaining. The Dolphins, who repeatedly took advantage of Syracuse's man-to-man defense with drives and back-door cuts, went up 7671 after Ekperigin converted a lob from Corbin with 57.9 seconds left and held on. "It's very disappointing," said

Wes Johnson, in his first season after transferring from Iowa State. "Hopefully, we can learn from this and move in the right direction." "It's just embarrassing the way we played," said Rautins, born and raised in Syracuse. "It's embarrassing to ourselves and our fans. It wasn't luck that they won. They came out and beat us fair and square." Evans said he wasn't really looking forward to reading and watching the news on Wednesday. "I feel bad that the story tomorrow will be, 'What's wrong with Syracuse basketball?' I don't think there's anything wrong," he said. "They've got tremendous players. It's an exhibition game. They're young. They're going to be terrific." Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

Submitted at 11/3/2009 7:24:49 PM

Bloomberg intends to make BusinessWeek bigger, glossier and more international. Chief content officer Norman Pearlstine promised his staff Nov. 3 that Bloomberg would double the story count and expand its global coverage. As for the Web, Bloomberg plans to keep most of the magazine's content free, but will charge users roughly $100 a year for access to a deep specialized content area. The changes would move BusinessWeek in the direction of The Economist, for which Pearlstine has expressed admiration and which is envied for its high subscription price, robust circulation growth and strong advertiser appeal. Pearlstine also said he expects to have a new editor on board by Dec. 1 and that Bloomberg's and BusinessWeek's ad sales staffs would remain separate. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

Around the Net In Media: 'Vibe' is Back-With Chris Brown Cover (MediaPost | Media News) Submitted at 11/3/2009 7:26:19 PM

Vibe magazine is coming back from the dead on Dec. 8 with a buzzworthy cover subject: Chris Brown. In June, Brown pleaded

guilty to assaulting fellow performer Rihanna. Vibe will return to print with a wider editorial focus encompassing not only music but fashion, politics, culture, arts and sports. At the same time, the

new print product will take a backseat to the companion web site. "Vibe.com is really the hub. That's where everything needs to go back to," says editor in chief Jermaine Hall. The old Vibe died last June, but

two months later InterMedia Partners, the private equity fund, stepped in and bought the brand's assets. Now the print edition is coming back with a reduced frequency, four issues next year compared with the 10 once

planned for 2009, and a smaller paid circulation guarantee, 300,000 now compared to 600,000 at shutdown. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

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Georgia running back Washaun Ealey says Florida linebacker Brandon Spikes shouldn't be suspended By Associated Press (ESPN.com) Submitted at 11/3/2009 2:11:03 PM

ATHENS, Ga. -- A most unlikely person came to the defense of Florida linebacker Brandon Spikes, who was suspended for half a game for apparently trying to gouge the eyes of Georgia running back Washaun Ealey. Ealey said Tuesday he doesn't believe Spikes should have been suspended. In fact, Ealey seemed surprised the play from Saturday's game drew so much attention. SEC blog ESPN.com's Chris Low writes about all things SEC in his conference blog. â&#x20AC;˘ Blog network: College Football Nation Florida coach Urban Meyer on Monday suspended Spikes for the first half of this week's game against Vanderbilt after the defensive captain stuck his hand in Ealey's helmet and appeared to try to stick his fingers in Ealey's eyes. Ealey says he doesn't agree with those who have said the

suspension was not stiff enough. "That really didn't matter to me," Ealey said of the suspension. "That's their decision. He shouldn't, I think, get suspended at all. We were just out there playing football." Ealey said he had his eyes closed when Spikes stuck his hand in his helmet and he wasn't hurt. "He really didn't gouge my eyes," Ealey said. "He really didn't get a chance to get close to my eyes." The freshman said he believes similar incidents happen all the time. "I'm pretty sure it goes on back and forth," he said. "We probably do it and other teams do too. It's all football. We're just out there trying to have fun." Top-ranked Florida beat Georgia 41-17. The Bulldogs play Tennessee Tech on Saturday. On Monday, Spikes issued an apology. "I accept responsibility for my actions and I accept the consequences of my actions," Spikes said. "I would like to apologize to my team and the coaching staff and Washaun Ealey. Football is a very physical and emotional game, but there is

no excuse for my actions." The Southeastern Conference issued a statement on Monday saying it reviewed and accepted the discipline handed down by Florida. Meyer said he believed Spikes retaliated after getting his helmet ripped off and eye poked earlier in the game. Georgia coach Mark Richt said Spikes' "helmet went flying off ... and there was one time he got hit with his helmet off." "It was totally unintentional," Richt said. "They were totally just playing ball. That might have got him bent out of shape. I don't know about all of that." Ealey carried 17 times for 70 yards against the Gators. "It was just a lot of emotion in the game," he said. "We were out there fighting. It was a big rivalry game. Everybody was just out there talking trash back and forth. ... We were just out there playing football and having fun." Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

Older, Wiser, Better? Pedro vs. Pettitte By Jeff Fletcher (FanHouse)

turn to the 37-year-old Pettitte, while the Phillies will lean on 38year-old Martinez to try to force by Jeff Fletcher a Game 7. The matchup would Filed under: Phillies, Yankees, have plenty of drama because of World Series the situation in the series, but it NEW YORK -- Pedro Martinez certainly has an added bit of and Andy Pettitte both used the texture because of what could be same word to describe how they the final major league game for felt about getting the assignment either or both of these iconic to pitch Game 6 of the World pitchers. More Coverage: Playoff Series: "Blessed." Pulse| Phillies Take Game 5| Martinez, understanding the Short Rest Issues? similarities between the pitchers Older, Wiser, Better? Pedro vs. go beyond their statistical Pettitte originally appeared on r e s u m e s , a d d e d a n o t h e r Fanhouse MLB Blog on Tue, 03 description: "Two old goats out Nov 2009 23:00:00 EST . Please there doing the best they can and see our terms for use of feeds. having fun with it." Permalink| Email this| Linking With the Yankees looking to Blogs| Comments close out their 27th World Series title on Wednesday night, they'll Submitted at 11/3/2009 11:00:00 PM

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Fantasy Football Cut-NFlames' Swine Flu Clinic Not Piggish, Just Go: Chris Chambers Resurfaces in Kansas City Celeb Reality By Christopher Botta (FanHouse)

By Knox Bardeen (FanHouse) Submitted at 11/3/2009 11:30:00 PM

by Knox Bardeen Filed under: NFL Sleepers, NFL by Christopher Botta Waiver Wire, NFL Start 'Em Sit Filed under: Flames, NHL 'Em Cut-N-Go is Fantasy Injuries, NHL Media Watch Football FanHouse's weekday Don't blame the Calgary Flames roundup of the NFL news with for swiping swine flu shots for fantasy football impact. their players, coaches, staff asked for treatment. Why a squad Cinderella had her glass slipper members and their families. from Alberta Health provided the and some enterprising Blame the culture of celebrity. Flames with their own clinic is restaurateur decided many years Since most hockey players are something the agency will have ago that chicken wings and beer big stars north of the border, to explain. One suggestion for went great together. It doesn't blame Canada. Blame Alberta the investigators: start with the happen often -- when two things Health Services, the agency team's head physician. Those come together to create a perfect responsible. docs tend to be deeply connected. fit. When it does happen, you But don't get all high and mighty Flames' Swine Flu Clinic Not should thank your stars. a b o u t t h e F l a m e s g e t t i n g Piggish, Just Celeb Reality Chris Chambers is doing just vaccinated while thousands of originally appeared on Fanhouse that after he was claimed off Alberta residents waited all day NHL Blog on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 waivers Tuesday by the Kansas or were turned away at clinics 23:30:00 EST . Please see our City Chiefs. It may be a stretch to throughout the province. The terms for use of feeds. call this a perfect fit, but there hockey team did not ask for Permalink| Email this| Linking aren't too many teams in the NFL preferential treatment. They only Blogs| Comments Submitted at 11/3/2009 11:30:00 PM

where Chambers could have gone and actually produced. The receiver-needy Chiefs are one of those few places. Fantasy Football Cut-N-Go: Chris Chambers Resurfaces in Kansas City originally appeared on Fanhouse Fantasy Football on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Linking Blogs| Comments

Battle for Big East Gets Even Bigger By Brett McMurphy (FanHouse) Submitted at 11/4/2009 8:00:00 AM

by Brett McMurphy Filed under: Big East NEW YORK -- Last season, Pittsburgh made the NCAA tournament's Elite Eight. This year, the Panthers aren't even picked to finish in the top eight of the Big East Conference. Such are the occupational BATTLE page 59

Former Top Recruit Scott Quits Colorado By Terrance Harris (FanHouse)

Colorado over Texas and Southern California two years ago. Submitted at 11/3/2009 10:25:00 PM But it was the fairy tale that was by Terrance Harris never realized as injuries and Filed under: Colorado, Big 12 It questions about his physical seemed like a sign of positive conditioning clouded a two-year things to come in Boulder, Colo., career. Scott, easily the biggest when Parade All-American and most high-profile recruit of informed the coaching staff running back Darrell Scott chose Dan Hawkins' Colorado tenure, Tuesday that he is leaving the

program. Hawkins said in a released statement the sophomore "is leaving for assorted personal reasons." He assumed Scott would be transferring to school closer to his Ventura, Calif., home. Former Top Recruit Scott Quits Colorado originally appeared on

Fanhouse NCAA Football Blog on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:25:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Linking Blogs| Comments

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Some Chin Music for Chase Utley? By Matt Snyder (FanHouse) Submitted at 11/4/2009 9:10:00 AM

by Matt Snyder Filed under: Phillies, Yankees, AL East, NL East, World Series Phillies second baseman Chase Utley is having quite the World Series. The perennial All-Star is hitting .333 with 5 home runs, 8 RBI and a disgusting 1.651 OPS. Needless to say, he's as locked in as anyone in the series. Four of those round-trippers came in the two Phillies victories (two in each), which illustrates the point that it is paramount for the Yankees to stop him in order to win Game 6. Doing so is easier said than done, but former Yankees pitcher and World

BATTLE continued from page 58

hazards of playing in the biggest and baddest basketball league in the land. "You can go from first to 10th in this league in one season," Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin told FanHouse. "Pittsburgh went to the Elite Eight last year and they're picked to finish ninth in the league this year. "Not only is it hard to climb in this league, it's just as easy to fall."

Battle for Big East Gets Even Bigger originally appeared on Fanhouse NCAA Basketball Blog on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Linking Blogs| Comments

Series Champion David Wells has an idea: a little old fashioned "chin music." Some Chin Music for Chase Utley? originally appeared on Fanhouse MLB Blog on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:10:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Linking Blogs| Comments

Amazon ranks Call of Duty-est towns in America, large dining utensils in the lead By Griffin McElroy (Joystiq) Submitted at 11/4/2009 2:00:00 AM

Grand Forks, North Dakota is a small city with a population just over 51,000 -- a large portion of which are students at the University of North Dakota -that's tucked within a much larger rural portion of the state. It's not the first city to come to mind when you think of prestigious national honors in the technology

sector. However, according to online retailer Amazon, which has been vigilantly tracking the geographic location of Modern Warfare 2 pre-orderers, it's currently the Call of Duty-est town in America. Amazon will continue to rank American cities based on per capita Modern Warfare 2 preorders until the game is released, and has agreed to ship a $5,000 gift card to a charity of its

choosing which serves the winning town. We hope Grand Forks manages to hold its top position in the rankings, if only

because it desperately needs something to put on its city limits signs. You know, something more inspiring than "Welcome to

Grand Forks: We've Got a Pretty Good College, Here, We Guess." Amazon ranks Call of Duty-est towns in America, large dining utensils in the lead originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 02:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments

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Around the Net In Media: Steve Martin, Alec Baldwin To Host Oscars (MediaPost | Media News) Submitted at 11/3/2009 7:27:41 PM

It's history: Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin are joining forces to co-host the 82nd Annual Academy Awards. The only time two hosts have shared the same locale on Oscar night was at the first ceremony in 1929, presided over by Douglas Fairbanks and William C. DeMille. As a solo act, Martin hosted the Oscars in 2001 and 2003, earning an Emmy nomination for his first turn at bat. Although Baldwin hasn't hosted the show, he has appeared as a presenter, By JC Fletcher (Joystiq) Live Arcade, taking orders for a most recently in 2004. C o l l e c t o r ' s D V D , a n d Martin and Baldwin have had Sloan walking a demonic version Submitted at 11/4/2009 9:15:00 AM participating in a charity drive plenty of practice with live TV, of Los Angeles, solving murder T o c e l e b r a t e t h e 2 0 t h with the Wallace& Gromit leading the list of repeat hosts on mysteries with a caduceusshaped staff dipped in angel anniversary of the Wallace & Children's Foundation and Penny NBC's "Saturday Night Live." blood. We assume this because Gromit series, Telltale Games is Arcade (to which your full- And of course, there is the we laid out the design doc pretty offering Episode III of its season purchase will contribute). inevitable banter between the two clearly in our letters, and we can't Wallace & Gromit's Grand The discount and free game will wits, which is supposed to drum fathom why CBS would want to Adventures series, Muzzled!, for only be available until November up anticipation for the awards free! If you've been curious about 8. disappoint us. show. Says Martin, "I am happy Continue reading CBS bringing how polite bumbling and cheese Free Wallace & Gromit episode to co-host the Oscars with my Diagnosis Murder, some other l u s t t r a n s l a t e i n t o g a m e and more for 20th anniversary of enemy Alec Baldwin." Baldwin mechanics, now's your chance to series originally appeared on volleys back, "I don't play the stuff to gaming platforms Joystiq on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 banjo, but I'm thrilled to be CBS bringing Diagnosis Murder, find out. some other stuff to gaming The company is also marking the 09:15:00 EST. Please see our hosting the Oscars." platforms originally appeared on a u s p i c i o u s o c c a s i o n b y terms for use of feeds. This content has passed through Joystiq on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 discounting the full season of the Read| Permalink| Email this| fivefilters.org. 05:00:00 EST. Please see our PC version to $20 (from $35), Comments releasing the whole set on Xbox terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Comments

CBS bringing Diagnosis Free Wallace & Gromit Murder, some other stuff episode and more for 20th anniversary of series to gaming platforms By Justin McElroy (Joystiq) Submitted at 11/4/2009 5:00:00 AM

CBS announced today that it's bringing a wide array of its TV programming to the video game world, mainly via the PC, Wii and DS. As you can see after the break, the company revealed equally insipid-sounding game versions of Survivor, Hollywood Squares, The Amazing Race, and Criminal Minds, but we don't see how we're supposed to care about any of it when it was also revealed that a Diagnosis Murder game is in the works. We're assuming it's a Visceraldeveloped "dark" take on the DM mythos, with a Gothic Dr. Mark

Game/

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Rumor: Car punching returns in Super Street Fighter IV By Justin McElroy (Joystiq) Submitted at 11/4/2009 9:45:00 AM

While Street Fighter may be the perfect symbol of man's inhumanity to man, we always considered SFII's bonus stage (which used the punching of a car as a John Henry-esque metaphor for the struggle to maintain humanity in the face of an industrial age) as the more poignant symbolism. Capcom appears to agree, as some new Famitsu scans seem to indicate sought to blend the realms of that the car-punching bonus stage film and games. So, if you will return in Super Street Fighter happen to hear a theme from The IV. Also depicted is the barrel Sims playing in the background smashing mini-game, though that of a pool insurance ad, or that doesn't represent anything ... armed forces ad suddenly makes except that it's fun to smash you want to play Battlefield, you'll know why. [Via Big Download] Deal to see EA music licensed for TV commercials, movie trailers originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 04:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments

Deal to see EA music licensed for TV commercials, movie trailers By Alexander Sliwinski (Joystiq) Submitted at 11/4/2009 4:00:00 AM

Electronic Arts has signed on the dotted line for Extreme Music to represent its catalog of 2,000 original pieces of music for five years. Variety reports that Extreme will place the publisher's owned music in things like television commercials, movie trailers and anything else that Extreme sees fit -- and to which EA agrees. EA has obtained original pieces of music over the years from many A-list Hollywood composers, as the publisher has

barrels. Rumor: Car punching returns in Super Street Fighter IV originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments

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“Who Shot Rock & Roll" Opens at Brooklyn Museum

Designer David Koma on X-Factor

By ELLE.com (ELLE News Blog)

is the intimacy of the subjects. I’m still haunted by Ian Tilton’s photograph of Kurt Cobain Submitted at 11/3/2009 3:16:10 PM having a backstage-breakdown This weekend I went to the moments after a performance: Brooklyn Museum to see the new Cobain is collapsed on the floor, exhibit “Who Shot Rock & Roll: fists clenched, face distorted with A Photographic History, 1955 to anguish. Some of my other the Present.” The show’s goal is favorites are a second portrait of to recognize those photographers John Lennon taken by Richard who documented rock Avedon, in which Lennon’s eyes music—the artists who have hypnotize with their tranquility, contributed some of the most 105 photographers that make for and Don Hunstein’s shot of Bob iconic and recognizable images a colorful and narrative journey Dylan walking with his girlfriend in the world. For example, Bob into the life of rock stars, d o w n a s n o w y s t r e e t i n Gruen’s hugely popular image of legends, and gods. Six genres of G r e e n w i c h V i l l a g e . J o h n L e n n o n w e a r i n g t h e photographs are featured: behind The exhibit is open through sleeveless I Love New York T- the scenes, young musicians at J a n u a r y 3 1 s t 2 0 1 0 a t t h e shirt, which in the exhibit is the beginning of their careers, B r o o k l y n M u s e u m . displayed alongside a contact live performances, crowds and — Angela Bliumis, Editorial sheet that offers refreshingly new fans, portraits, and conceptual Assistant and silly images of Lennon from images and album covers. What Follow ELLE on Twitter. that shoot. Shots like these makes this collection so powerful Become our Facebook fan! comprise a total of 175 works by

Submitted at 11/3/2009 1:30:04 PM

It's impossible not to write about this— everyone here in London has something to say regarding Cheryl Cole wearing the David Koma dress on X-Factor. XFactor is our version of American Idol and part of Simon Cowell's media empire (he is also a judge on the show) and mega-stars like Whitney Houston and Beyonce have performed on its stage. David graduated last year from the MA Fashion course at Central Saint Martins (he was a classmate of Michael van der Ham's and one year ahead of me) and the very dress that Cheryl wore came down the Saint Martins catwalk last spring. Everyone has debated the dress high and low because it's so nonmainstream and from a newbie designer, and truth be told, the UK public was not feeling the look one bit. But Cheryl is not the only fan of David; his

collection in is stocked in Browns and Lady Gaga has even sported his wares, so he definitely has fashion fans out there. —Rebecca Suhrawardi Austin Photo: Getty Images Follow ELLE on Twitter. Become our Facebook fan!

Glee's First Soundtrack Hits Shelves By ELLE.com (ELLE News Blog) Submitted at 11/3/2009 2:46:22 PM

As a self-diagnosed Gleek (it’s truly a disease; I even dressed as a slushie-clutching Rachel Berry for Halloween), you can imagine

my shortness of breath when I found Glee: The Music, Vol. 1 in my inbox today. It’s the first installment from the hit highschool-musical-gone-awry FOX show and includes covers of Kanye West’s “Gold Digger,” Journey’s “Don’t Stop

Believin’,” and even Kristin Chenoweth singing Cabaret’s

“Maybe This Time” during her Assistant appearance on the show. Kristin, Follow ELLE on Twitter. doing Liza, on Glee, the greatest Become our Facebook fan! musical show of our time? Someone cool me down with a grape slushie. Volume 2 hits December 8. — Julie Vadnal, Editorial

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Pretty New Things to Counter the Cold By ELLE.com (ELLE News Blog) Submitted at 11/3/2009 3:03:18 PM

Cold weather always sounds like a great idea until it actually arrives, and then inevitably, we’re all complaining about how quickly the summer passed us by. Thankfully, pretty clothes and accessories have a way of dulling the pain of dry skin, holiday weight-gain, and exorbitant electric bills. Given that Geithner hasn’t found a way to reverse that whole recession situation, however, few if any of us are

buying anything new—especially if the purchase in question can’t pull double-duty at work and at play. To their credit, designers hi and lo have listened and designed accordingly, coming up with an

even more expanded middle ground between casual and formal. A few of my favorites this season: Stay warm and pretty this season

with items like these (clockwise from top left): cutout turtleneck by Narciso Rodriguez, zip-up neck warmer by General Idea, studded driving gloves by 3.1 Phillip Lim, sweatshirt jacket by Helmut Lang, silk skinny pant by Vince, shaped collar coat by Martin Grant, and buckled ‘Maribel’ bootie by Loeffler Randall — Johanna Cox, Junior Editor Follow ELLE on Twitter. (BBC News | Americas | Become our Facebook fan! World Edition)

Republicans win key US elections Submitted at 11/4/2009 5:52:34 AM

Christian Louboutin Celebrates Barbie By ELLE.com (ELLE News Blog) Submitted at 11/3/2009 9:54:26 AM

"Barbie is such an icon, how could I resist a collaboration?" asked Christian Louboutin, regarding his latest fashion fling with the reigning queen of plastic beauty. She has been celebrating her fiftieth all over the world, from an epic show during New York Fashion Week to her very own windows at Colette in Paris, and she's still celebrating her half

-centenarian year in style. Louboutin has customized three different Barbies, each inspired by a different iconic diva, like Marilyn Monroe or Nefertiti, but

of course it wouldn't be right if she only came with one pair of shoes, so she comes with four pairs of the little Loubs, each in their little box delicately wrapped

in tissue. The shoe designer and the doll even posed for a calendar. So? Is that enough to get you thinking of perfect holiday gifting? If so, head over to Net-a -Porter on December 7th, where you can purchase the dollcalendar-shoe set for a mere 100 pounds. —Rebecca Suhrawardi Austin Follow ELLE on Twitter. Become our Facebook fan!

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. Victory speeches: Bob McDonnell, Chris Christie and Michael Bloomberg Republicans have scored victories in two key US elections for governor, one year after Barack Obama was voted in as president. In Virginia, Republican candidate Bob McDonnell won by a comfortable margin, while another, Chris Christie, ousted the Democrat governor in New Jersey. In New York, independent Mayor Michael Bloomberg narrowly won a third term over Democrat challenger Bill Thompson. But Democrats won a traditionally Republican House seat in New York. Correspondents say the REPUBLICANS page 65

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German fury over GM Opel U-turn (BBC News | Americas | World Edition) Submitted at 11/4/2009 4:37:38 AM

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. Ellesmere Port staff react to the GM U-turn General Motors' (GM) decision to hang on to its European car unit Opel, including Vauxhall, was welcomed in the UK but met with anger in Germany. Unite union chief Tony Woodley, a former Vauxhall worker, hailed the news as a "fantastic decision". But unions in Germany said workers would begin walk-outs from Thursday in protest at GM's decision. The German government, which had backed the sale of Opel, demanded GM repayment of a 1.5bn euro ($2.2bn; ÂŁ1.3bn) loan. "General Motors' behaviour shows the ugly face of turbocapitalism," said Juergen Ruettgers, premier of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where there are fears that the Opel plant in Bochum could face closure. 'Totally unacceptable' General Motor's (GM) decision to keep Opel and Vauxhall rather than sell the two marques to Canadian parts maker Magna and Russian Sberbank, seems logical. GM never really wanted to get rid of its European operations, fearing it would hamper its global competitiveness, in particular in Russia - which is expected to emerge as Europe's

largest market over the next few decades. But the American automotive giant was forced to agree to sell Opel and Vauxhall ahead of bankruptcy proceedings during the spring, as US taxpayers were loath to also bail out GM's foreign operations. In Europe, Germany in particular had been prepared to dig deep into its pockets to ensure Opel's survival in the run-up to a general election in September. Opel still needs large cash injections, though whether Germany will still be willing to deliver them now that election has been won is another matter not least since any funds injected by European taxpayers at this point would help bolster a GM

majority-owned by US taxpayers. The German government has also responded angrily. "We will get back taxpayers' money," German Economy Minister Rainer Bruederle said. Mr Bruederle is attending a government meeting on Wednesday to discuss GM's decision and press it to reveal its new plans as soon as possible. "The behaviour of General Motors towards Germany is totally unacceptable," he said. "General Motors alone is responsible for this development. Only yesterday the workers signalled that they were prepared to consider wage sacrifice as a solution. It's up to General Motors to go back to the workers."

German leaders and labour unions had favoured the deal as the best way to save German jobs as it included a guarantee that no German factory would be closed. German strike action Industrial union IG Metall said workers at Opel's four German plants would halt work - socalled "warning strikes" - on Thursday. Other plants in Europe would follow on Friday, it said. Opel employs a total of 54,000 workers across Europe, with 25,000 based in Germany. In the UK, its Vauxhall brand employs 5,500 people across two plants in Luton and Ellesmere Port. The decision to sell Opel to Magna had been controversial because of the German The German government had government's offer of the 4.5bn provided the 1.5bn-euro bridging euros in loans. loan to Opel to keep it afloat The European Commission during the long, drawn out warned last month that Berlin's negotiations over the past few offer of this aid may breach months to find a buyer. European competition rules, GM first said in March that it although the German government wanted to offload Opel, which i m m e d i a t e l y d e n i e d a n y includes Vauxhall, when the US w r o n g d o i n g . f i r m e n t e r e d a p e r i o d o f But on Tuesday the US giant bankruptcy protection that said it had now decided not to eventually saw it emerge with the sell the business because of "an US government as its biggest improving business environment shareholder. for GM over the past few After months of negotiations, months", and would now be GM finally agreed to sell the seeking aid for Opel from all the brands to Canadian car parts European states where it has maker Magna in September, with operations, including Germany. the German government pledging The BBC's Berlin correspondent Magna 3bn euros in loan Steve Rosenberg said the guarantees on top of the existing GERMAN page 69 bridging loan.

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gubernatorial defeats are a setback for Mr Obama, who had campaigned in both states for his party's candidates, as he tries to reform healthcare, pass a climate change bill and rally support for his handling of the war in Afghanistan. In reality the Virginia and New Jersey polls were not simply a referendum on Mr Obama. Exit polls in both states showed a small majority still approved of how he is running the country. It is the economy that seems to have been the main concern - that and a host of parochial and even personality issues. All in all it looked like a good night for Republicans - except there was a sting in the tail. It came in upstate New York's 23rd congressional district, which has been in Republican hands for more than a century. Last night it voted Democrat thanks largely to a bitter row within Republican ranks. It was hardly a good night for President Obama. But it could have been much worse. While local issues have been paramount in these races, Republicans said the momentum was now behind them ahead of next year's crucial mid-term elections. Meanwhile in Maine, voters in a referendum rejected a same-sex marriage law passed by state lawmakers earlier this year. The law was put on hold when conservatives launched a petition to repeal it. In New Jersey, the incumbent

Democratic Governor Jon Corzine had fought a bitter campaign against his Republican rival Chris Christie, not only attacking him over his ties to former President George W Bush and his views on abortion and healthcare, but also poking fun at his weight. Mr Christie was ahead with about 50% of the vote when Mr Corzine conceded. Mr Obama had thrown his weight behind Governor Corzine, repeatedly travelling to New Jersey to back the former Goldman Sachs chief executive on the campaign trail. 'Warning shot' But Democrats played down Tuesday's gubernatorial defeats. "These races turned on local and state issues... and despite what some will certainly claim, the results are not predictive of the future or reflective of the national mood," said Democratic Party chairman Tim Kaine. However, the Republicans said it was a "warning shot" to the White House. "[Voters] are tired of the spending, tired of the waste and tired of the over-reach they see coming out of Washington," said House deputy Republican leader Eric Cantor. In Virginia, Democratic party candidate Creigh Deeds lost in a landslide to his Republican rival, former attorney general Bob McDonnell. Only last year President Obama became the first Democratic candidate to carry the state since

1964, although its last two governors have been Democrats. But independent voters who supported the president in the 2008 election seem to have switched their support to the Republican party candidate in this race. In other results: • Democrat Bill Owens won the House of Representatives seat for New York state's 23rd congressional district, defeating Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman • California Lt Gov John Garamendi won a special election to a Northern California congressional seat, keeping the district in Democratic hands • In New York city, independent Mayor Michael Bloomberg won a closer-than-expected race for a third term. With nearly all votes in, he had beaten Democrat Bill Thompson by 51% to 46% • In Atlanta, councillor Mary Norwood could become the city's first white mayor in a generation if she wins a December run-off against Georgia Senator Kasim Reed, after neither received more than half the votes cast Mayoral elections were also held in Houston, Boston, Detroit and Pittsburgh. Tuesday's results are being pored over for clues as to how the two main parties will fare in the 2010 mid-terms. The entire House of Representatives, about a third of the Senate and two-thirds of governors faces the vote next

year. Independents have expressed reservations about the president's healthcare efforts and the federal deficit under his leadership. Tuesday's elections provided the first tangible evidence that Republicans can win [independents'] support with the right kind of candidates and the right messages. That is an ominous development for Democrats if it continues unabated into next year. The Washington Post's Dan Balz says Mr Obama may be losing the vital support of independent voters. The Republican victories set the stage for [the party] to raise money, recruit candidates and ride the excitement of an energised base heading into next year's mid-terms. But a Democratic victory in upstate New York - after an ideologically pitched battle between moderates and conservatives over how best to lead Republicans back to power - signalled the Republican Party faces continued upheaval. Adam Nagourney in the New York Times says Republican infighting could hamper hopes of an opposition comeback next year. In the short term, the off-year results will surely colour perceptions within the Washington Beltway, as Obama and the Democratic-run Congress strive to pass landmark healthcare reform legislation, then turn to a major bill to fight global warming. The outcome is

unlikely to make things easier for the White House and its allies. The Los Angeles Times predicts choppy waters ahead for the White House. Perhaps most striking were economic views. Voters who expressed the highest levels of economic discontent heavily favoured the Republican candidates in both states underscoring the challenge Obama and his party may face in 2010 if economic attitudes don't improve. ABC News analyst Gary Langer says it's the economy, stupid. The votes tonight are antiincumbent votes in protest at economic crisis and the slow pace of recovery. And they are not, it seems to me, some national referendum on Obama's first nine months. In fact, Obama's approval ratings in both Virginia and New Jersey are respectable and strong, with unemployment headed to 10%. Andrew Sullivan in The Atlantic says it was not a referendum on Obama. Did you vote in any of the elections on Tuesday? What do you think of the election results? How important are they for Republicans and Democrats? 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. REPUBLICANS page 67

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GOP sweep: Big governor victories in Virginia, NJ (AP) (Yahoo! News: U.S. News)

Garamendi, also a Democrat, won a special election to a vacant congressional seat, Ohio voters WASHINGTON – Independents approved casinos and a slew of who swept Barack Obama to a cities selected mayors, including historic 2008 victory broke big New York, which gave Michael for Republicans on Tuesday as Bloomberg a third term. the GOP wrested political control The outcomes of Virginia and from Democrats in Virginia and New Jersey were sure to feed New Jersey, a troubling sign for discussion about the state of the the president and his party electorate, the status of the h e a d i n g i n t o a n i m p o r t a n t diverse coalition that sent Obama midterm election year. to the White House and the limits Conservative Republican Bob of the president's influence — on McDonnell's victory in the the party's base of support and on Virginia governor's race over moderate current lawmakers he Democrat R. Creigh Deeds and needs to advance his legislative moderate Republican Chris priorities. Christie's ouster of unpopular His signature issue of health care New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine reform was dealt a blow hours was a double-barreled triumph before polls closed when Senate for a party looking to rebuild Democratic leader Harry Reid after being booted from power in signaled that Congress may not national elections in 2006 and complete health care legislation 2008. this year, missing Obama's Elsewhere on Tuesday, Maine deadline and pushing debate into voters rejected a state law that a congressional election year. would allow same-sex couples to Democrats in swing-voting states wed. If supporters had prevailed, and moderate-to-conservative it would have marked the first districts may be less willing to time that the electorate in any back Obama on issues like health state endorsed gay marriage. care after Virginia and New And Democrat Bill Owens Jersey showed there are limits to captured a GOP-held vacant 23rd how much he can protect his rank Congressional District seat in and file from fallout back home. N e w Y o r k i n a r a c e t h a t The president had personally highlighted fissures in the campaigned for Deeds and Republican Party and illustrated Corzine, seeking to ensure that hurdles the GOP could face in independents and base voters c a p i t a l i z i n g o n a n y v o t e r alike turned out even if he wasn't discontent with Obama and on the ballot — and voters still Democrats next fall. rejected them. Thus, the losses C a l i f o r n i a L t . G o v . J o h n were blots on Obama's political Submitted at 11/4/2009 3:33:23 AM

standing to a certain degree and suggested potential problems ahead as he seeks to achieve his policy goals, protect Democratic majorities in Congress and expand his party's grip on governors' seats next fall. Interviews with voters leaving polling stations in both states were filled with reasons for Democrats to be concerned and for Republicans to be optimistic, particularly about independents — the crown jewel of elections because they often determine outcomes. Independents were a critical part Obama's victory in Virginia, New Jersey and across the country. But after more than a year of recession, they fled from Democrats in the two states, where the economy trumped all. The Associated Press exit polls showed that nearly a third of voters in Virginia described themselves as independents, and nearly as many in New Jersey did. They preferred McDonnell by almost a 2-1 margin over Deeds in Virginia, and Christie over Corzine by a similar margin. Last year, independents split between Obama and Republican John McCain in both states. In Virginia, McDonnell won by big margins in rapidly growing, far-flung Washington, D.C., suburbs — places like Loudoun and Prince William counties— that Republicans historically have won but where Obama prevailed last fall by winning

over independents and swing voters. Republicans swept all three statewide Virginia offices up for election: governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general. "Bob McDonnell's victory gives Republicans tremendous momentum heading into 2010," declared Haley Barbour, chairman of the Republican Governors Association. "His focus on ideas and pocketbook issues will serve as a model for Republicans running next year." Said Tim Kaine, the Democratic National Committee chairman and the term-limited Virginia governor: "We are disappointed." In both states, the surveys also suggested the Democrats had difficulty turning out their base, including the large numbers of first-time minority and youth voters whom Obama attracted. The Virginia electorate was whiter in 2009 than it was in 2008, when blacks and Hispanics voted in droves to elect the country's first black president. Democratic victories in both Virginia, a new swing state, and New Jersey, a Democratic stronghold, in 2005 preceded big Democratic years nationally in 2006 and 2008. Tuesday's impact on Obama's popularity and on the 2010 elections could easily be overstated. Voters are often focused on local issues and local personalities. Yet, national issues, like the

recession, were clearly a factor, with voter attitudes shaped to some degree by how people feel about the state of their nation — and their place in it. And, voter attitudes — particularly among independents — could bode ill for Democrats in moderate districts and in swing states like Ohio, Colorado and Nevada, should they remain unchanged when the party seeks to defend its turf next fall. In 2010, most governors, a third of the Senate and all members in the House will be on ballots. It's also difficult to separate Obama from the outcomes after he devoted a significant chunk of time working to persuade voters to elect Deeds in Virginia and reelect Corzine in New Jersey. More than four in 10 voters in Virginia said their view of Obama factored into their choice on Tuesday, and those voters roughly split between expressing support and opposition for the president. People who said they disapprove of Obama's job performance voted overwhelmingly Republican, and those who approve of the president favored Deeds, the Democrat. The Obama factor was similar in New Jersey, though there were slightly more voters who said the president did not factor into their choice. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

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Defeat in Maine a harsh blow to gay-marriage drive (AP) (Yahoo! News: U.S. News)

less-than-expected margin in the state's biggest city, Portland. "The institution of marriage has The stars seemed aligned for been preserved in Maine and supporters of gay marriage. They across the nation," declared had Maine's governor, legislative Frank Schubert, chief organizer leaders and major newspapers on for the winning side. their side, plus a huge edge in Attention will now turn to other campaign funding. So losing a states, including California— landmark referendum was a w h e r e S c h u b e r t w a s a n devastating blow, for activists in instrumental strategist a year ago Maine and nationwide. in the successful campaign to In an election that had been overturn cost-ordered same-sex billed for weeks as too close to marriage. call, Maine's often unpredictable Gay-rights activists have been voters repealed a state law planning to go back to the ballot Tuesday that would have allowed in California, either in 2010 or same-sex couples to wed. Gay 2012, in another attempt to marriage has now lost in all 31 legalize gay marriage. But the states in which it has been put to Maine result was not the victory a popular vote — a trend that the they had been hoping for to fire g a y - r i g h t s m o v e m e n t h a d up their troops. believed it could end in Maine. Brian Brown of the National "Today's heartbreaking defeat Organization for Marriage, a unfortunately shows that lies and conservative group that steered fear can still win at the ballot substantial funds to fight gay box," said Rea Carey, executive marriage in both California and director of the National Gay and Maine, was elated by Tuesday's Lesbian Task Force. result, saying it shows that "that With 87 percent of the precincts even in a New England state, if reporting, gay-marriage foes had the voters have a chance to have 53 percent of the vote. They their say, they're going to protect prevailed in many of Maine's far- and defend the commonsense flung small towns and lost by a definition of marriage." Submitted at 11/4/2009 6:14:00 AM

REPUBLICANS continued from page 65

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At issue in the referendum was a law passed by Maine's Legislature last spring that would have allowed gays to wed. The law was put on hold after conservatives launched a petition drive to repeal it. Five other states have legalized gay marriage — starting with Massachusetts in 2004, and followed by Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Iowa— but all did so through legislation or court rulings, not by popular vote. In contrast, constitutional amendments banning gay marriage have been approved in all 30 states where they have been on the ballot. Brown said "out-of-touch legislators" are a principal reason same-sex marriage has taken hold in New England. "What we're saying is give us a chance to take our message to the people and let the people decide," he said. He also suggested that the outcome in Maine will give pause to lawmakers in New York and New Jersey, where gaymarriage legislation is pending. Richard Socarides, who was an adviser on gay-rights issues in the Clinton administration, said

the loss in Maine should prompt gay-rights leaders to reconsider their state-by-state strategy on marriage and shift instead to lobbying for changes on the federal level that expand recognition of same-sex couples. In Maine, gay-marriage supporters conceded early Wednesday. "We're in this for the long haul," said Jesse Connolly, manager of the pro-gay marriage campaign. "For next week, and next month, and next year — until all Maine families are treated equally. Because in the end, this has always been about love and family and that will always be something worth fighting for. A similar note was sounded by Democratic Gov. John Baldacci, who signed the bill into law last May and spoke out in defense of the law. "If we don't get to the top of the mountain tonight, we've made a significant stride. And we're going to get there," he said late Tuesday. "We will get to the top of the mountain." Both sides in Maine drew volunteers and contributions from out of state, but the money

edge went to the campaign in defense of gay marriage, Protect Maine Equality. It raised $4 million, compared with $2.5 million for Stand for Marriage Maine. Stand for Marriage based many of its campaign ads on claims — disputed by state officials — that the new law would mean "homosexual marriage" would be taught in public schools. That was the same theme used to persuade Californians to reject gay marriage. Elsewhere on Tuesday, voters in Washington state voted on whether to uphold or overturn a recently expanded domestic partnership law that entitles same -sex couples to the same stategranted rights as heterosexual married couples. With half the precincts reporting, that race was too close to call. In Kalamazoo, Mich., voters approved a measure that bars discrimination based on sexual orientation. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

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No bond for rapist who had 10 bodies at Ohio home (AP) (Yahoo! News: U.S. News)

are expanding their search of a convicted rapist's neighborhood Submitted at 11/4/2009 5:58:20 AM and his neatly kept home, where CLEVELAND â&#x20AC;&#x201C; A rapist who 10 bodies have been found in the lived at a Cleveland house where basement, buried in the backyard, 10 bodies were found has been in an upstairs living room and in ordered held without bond. a crawl space. Anthony Sowell appeared In addition to the four latest Wednesday before Municipal bodies they found buried in the Court Judge Ronald Adrine (AY' backyard of Anthony Sowell's - d r e e n ) o n f i v e c o u n t s o f home on Tuesday, authorities aggravated murder. found a skull wrapped in paper The 50-year-old Sowell looked inside a bucket in the basement. s t r a i g h t a t t h e j u d g e a s a Sowell, 50, a registered sex prosecutor asked that he be held offender, was charged Tuesday without bond and described him with five counts of aggravated as an "incredibly dangerous murder and, in a Sept. 22 attack threat to the public." that led to the search of his home, Sowell has been in jail since last with rape, felonious assault and week after police recovered the kidnapping. He wasn't at the bodies of six women from his house when police arrived home. Thursday but was arrested Authorities dug up four more Saturday blocks from his home. bodies Tuesday and found a skull Sowell is scheduled to make his in his basement. first court appearance Police plan to resume a search of Wednesday on the charges. t h e h o u s e W e d n e s d a y a n d Police, asked if Sowell was expand their search of vacant cooperating, said Tuesday night homes in the neighborhood. that he had asked for an attorney. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS Court records didn't indicate who UPDATE. Check back soon for was representing him. further information. AP's earlier Investigators worked late into story is below. the evening Tuesday searching CLEVELAND (AP) â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Police the Sowell property, squeezed

between a sausage store and another house in an inner-city neighborhood of aging homes, some boarded up and abandoned. Police searched vacant homes within a quarter-mile Tuesday, looking for more bodies. Police Chief Michael McGrath ordered the search expanded another quarter mile and said firefighters also will search in the walls and floors of Sowell's home on Wednesday. "It appears that this man had an insatiable appetite that he had to fill," McGrath said. The Cuyahoga County coroner hasn't identified any of the bodies but is trying to do so through DNA and dental records. The six found last week were black, and five were strangled. "What kind of man was this?" wondered Regina Woodland, who lives about two blocks away. "He couldn't have been human." A crowd of around 100 people milled about and chatted near the home Tuesday evening. A short while later, around 50 people joined hands and put their arms around each other in the middle of the street and prayed aloud.

One of those in the crowd, Antoinnette Dudley, 29, lives a few houses away. She said she could smell a terrible odor like something was dead all summer. She said she saw Sowell only a few times, mainly drinking beer while he sat on his porch. "I didn't think he was that sick," she said. As a registered sex offender, Sowell was required to check in regularly at the sheriff's office. Officers didn't have the right to enter his house, but they would stop by to make sure he was there. Their most recent visit was Sept. 22, just hours before the woman reported being raped. For the past few years, Sowell's neighbors thought the foul smell enveloping their street corner had been coming from a brick building where workers churned out sausage and head cheese. It got so bad that the owners of Ray's Sausage replaced their sewer line and grease traps. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

3 College Softball Players Found Dead in Their Vehicle (FOXNews.com) Submitted at 11/4/2009 3:26:08 AM

Three North Dakota college softball players believed to have been on a stargazing trip were found dead inside a Jeep after signals from their last desperate phone calls helped lead authorities to a rural farm pond. The vehicle was found submerged in only about 12 feet of water. The cause of the deaths was not immediately known Tuesday when the bodies were discovered. Investigators were scheduled to hold a news conference Wednesday morning. Autopsies were planned. Police Lt. Rod Banyai said he believed the women were inside the Jeep when they called for help late Sunday night, but he did not know whether the vehicle was under water when the calls were made. "At this time, foul play is not suspected," Banyai said Tuesday night. Investigators were working to determine whether the vehicle had any defects or whether alcohol was involved, he said. The victims were Kyrstin Gemar, 22, of San Diego; Afton Williamson, 20, of Lake Elsinore, Calif.; and Ashley Neufeld, 21, of Brandon, Manitoba. The Dickinson State University students were believed to be in COLLEGE page 70

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Sheriff: 3 ND students likely didn't see pond (AP) (Yahoo! News: U.S. News)

Manitoba. The bodies of the women and Neufeld's dog were Submitted at 11/4/2009 5:58:08 AM found inside the SUV after DICKINSON, N.D. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Three signals from their last desperate college softball players found phone calls late Sunday helped dead after their sport utility lead authorities to the farm. vehicle went into a pond on a Police Lt. Rod Banyai said North Dakota farm during a authorities do not expect autopsy stargazing trip likely drove results for a week or two. The straight into the water in the dark, autopsies will help determine the authorities said Wednesday. exact cause of death and whether Stark County Sheriff Clarence the women were under the Tuhy said the women's SUV was influence of drugs or alcohol. found resting on its wheels Authorities have said there is no Tuesday in about 10 feet of water indication they were. The North hidden by tall grass, with the Dakota Highway Patrol also will doors and windows closed. examine the 1997 Jeep Cherokee "When you're not familiar with to determine if the vehicle an area like that it would have malfunctioned, Banyai said. been very easy to drive into," The students were believed to be Tuhy said. in the Jeep when two of their The sheriff said the Dickinson friends received telephone calls State University students were on late Sunday before the lines private property. He stopped q u i c k l y w e n t d e a d . P o l i c e s h o r t o f s a y i n g t h e y w e r e described the first as a "very trespassing. scratchy" call for help in which No foul play is suspected in the one of the students said they were deaths of Kyrstin Gemar, 22, of near water. San Diego; Afton Williamson, Tuhy said the calls, which 20, of Lake Elsinore, Calif.; and authorities were able to track to Ashley Neufeld, 21, of Brandon, cell phone towers, were critical in

leading searchers to the vehicle. He said it wasn't clear if emergency crews might have been able to reach the women had they called 911 instead of their friends. "There could have probably been some location formed out of that (Sunday night) but if it would have been timely enough, I don't know," he said. University President Richard McCallum said classes were canceled Wednesday and a memorial service was being planned on campus Thursday. "It is times like this that we realize our sense of humanity and our sense of connection," he said. Family members of the women planned to visit the site on Wednesday northwest of Dickinson, a city of 16,000 people that is about 100 miles west of Bismarck. Gemar's father, Lenny, said Tuesday night after a prayer service on campus that "it's the worst day of my life." Neufeld's mother, Bev Neufeld, said her family was trying to be

strong. "That's what she would want, and we have so much support here (on campus)," she said. "We know how much Ashley loved this school. I would just like everybody to remember Ashley's smile and personality." The 2,700-student university listed Gemar as a senior business major who played third base on the softball team. Neufeld was a senior outfielder working on a psychology degree, and Williamson, a junior, was a pitcher majoring in psychology with a minor in coaching. "I'm sure it will be difficult for quite a while. But we know that they'll be there with us. They would want us to play," softball teammate Jessica Huseby of Hamilton, Mont., said after the prayer service. "We just know they're going to be the 10th, 11th and 12th players on the field with us." This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

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decision was a "huge embarrassment" for Germany's recently re-elected Chancellor Angela Merkel. "Her government had lobbied hard in support of the Canadian car parts supplier. The governor of the state of Hesse, where Opel has its headquarters, also said he was 'shocked and angry'." Russian Prime Minister Vladmir Putin also waded into the row, saying he was "surprised" by the decision. State-owned Sberbank, the country's largest lender, was to have backed the Magna takeover. "According to our information the Magna-Sberbank consortium is intending to carry out discussions with General Motors very soon and carry out a deep legal analysis of the situation," Mr Putin's spokesman added. 'We know them' However, some workers arriving this morning at Ellesmere Port, where they make the Astra model, were less than GERMAN page 70

Strike-crowded Philly commuter train catches fire (AP) (Yahoo! News: U.S. News)

The cause of the blaze was unknown, but it was possibly an electrical fire, said Richard P H I L A D E L P H I A â&#x20AC;&#x201C; A Maloney, a spokesman for Philadelphia commuter train S o u t h e a s t e r n P e n n s y l v a n i a c a u g h t f i r e W e d n e s d a y , Transportation Authority. He did complicating the morning rush not elaborate. already hampered by the city's Flames could be seen shooting transit strike. Officials said no from the front of the SEPTA injuries were reported. regional train shortly after 7 a.m. Submitted at 11/4/2009 6:12:09 AM

Wednesday. A big cloud of smoke also billowed from the train, which was heading east from the Overbrook station in West Philadelphia toward the Amtrak station in Center City. William Rafferty, 27, of Pottstown, a lab technician at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, said he had to calm

down another passenger on the packed train, and he saw other passengers kicking out the removable emergency windows. Once outside the train, he took a picture of the front of it with flames and smoke. "I already texted in the photos to my boss. I said 'This was my train,'" he said. "He said he'll see

me when he sees me, so I'm going to start making the hike." Rafferty esimated that it would take about an hour to walk to his workplace. "It started to smoke while were stopped at the (Overbrook) station," said paralegal Laura STRIKE-CROWDED page 71

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the white 1997 Jeep Cherokee when two of their friends received telephone calls late Sunday night. But the lines quickly went dead. Police described the first as a "very scratchy" call for help in which one of the Dickinson State University students said they were near a lake and water. Gemar's father Lenny told Fox News on Tuesday that new information from Verizon helped investigators narrow their search. "There were calls made from two different girls to two different girls," Kyrstin Gemar's father Lenny told Fox News. "It was very apparent from both calls that there was some kind of an emergency." Banyai said the pond where the women were found was a couple miles off a road on a farm northwest of Dickinson, a city of 16,000 people. It's about 100 miles west of Bismarck and 60 miles east of the Montana state line. Banyai said "pings" â&#x20AC;&#x201D; signals sent between cell phones and

provider towers â&#x20AC;&#x201D; from the women's phone calls helped narrow the search area. Searchers found vehicle tracks leading into the pond Tuesday afternoon. "After that was located, the plane flew over the top and it could see that there was a white object in the water," Banyai said. The vehicle was pulled from the pond about two hours later. Gemar's father, Lenny, had said it was not uncommon for his daughter and her friends to go stargazing on the spur of the moment. Tuesday night, Lenny Gemar was among those who attended a prayer service inside a packed Dickinson State student center ballroom. "It's the worst day of my life. A parent shouldn't be burying a child. Kyrstin had such a bright future ahead of her," he said. Neufeld's mother, Bev Neufeld, said her family was trying to be strong. "That's what she would want, and we have so much support here (on campus)," Bev Neufeld said. "We know how much Ashley

loved this school. I would just like everybody to remember Ashley's smile and personality." The 2,700-student university listed Gemar as a senior business major who played third base on the softball team. Neufeld was a senior outfielder working on a psychology degree, and Williamson, a junior, was a pitcher majoring in psychology with a minor in coaching. "I'm sure it will be difficult for quite a while. But we know that they'll be there with us. They would want us to play," softball teammate Jessica Huseby of Hamilton, Mont., said at the prayer service. "We just know they're going to be the 10th, 11th and 12th players on the field with us." The Associated Press contributed to this report. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

how their plans affect its British workers. "I have always said that if the right long-term sustainable solution is identified, then the government would be willing to support this," Lord Mandelson said. Mr Woodley told the BBC that GM's news was an "incredible turnaround".

"The decision is in my view a fantastic decision and the right decision for General Motors themselves," he said. "There's no logic in breaking up the company. I believe it is the right decision in spite of a good deal that we'd struck with Magna." GERMAN page 71

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enthusiastic about the latest twist in the saga over GM's European operations. "Hopefully it's good news but there are no guarantees," one employee told the BBC. "Whoever was going to own us, there's still going to be cutbacks." Business Secretary Lord Mandelson he was keen for "very early discussions" with GM over

Japan 'has no time' to meet US (BBC News | Americas | World Edition)

within the Japanese government about the direction of policy. The top US diplomat for Asia, Submitted at 11/4/2009 2:30:27 AM Kurt Campbell, will visit Tokyo Plans for a Washington meeting for talks on Thursday, the State this week between Japanese Department has said. Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada US Defence Secretary Robert and US Secretary of State Hillary Gates was recently in Tokyo Clinton have been dropped. urging Japan to honour a 2006 Japan's government said the agreement on relocating a US talks had been cancelled because a i r b a s e t o a n o t h e r p a r t o f of an inability to co-ordinate O k i n a w a . schedules. During his election campaign, The meeting had been planned to new Prime Minister Yukio take place before US President Hatoyama said he wanted a more Barack Obama visits Tokyo next equal security relationship with week. the US - and promised a more Ties between the countries have "autonomous" foreign strategy. been strained by a row over a US The US has been Japan's key military base on Japan's Okinawa security ally since the end of island. World War II, and there are "The visit this time was cancelled currently some 47,000 American as the Japanese side could not co- troops in the country, most of ordinate the timing amid various them on Okinawa. Their presence scheduling demands such as provides Japan with a security p a r l i a m e n t a r y s e s s i o n s , " guarantee. Hirofumi Hirano, the chief Another sticking point between cabinet secretary, told reporters. the US and Japan is the new "I don't think it will affect government's decision to end an relations between Japan and the Indian Ocean refuelling mission U n i t e d S t a t e s , " t h e t o p in support of the war effort in government spokesman said. Afghanistan. Japan wants to offer C o r r e s p o n d e n t s s a i d t h e more civilian aid instead. cancellation was partly because Print Sponsor the Diet, Japan's parliament, was This content has passed through in session, but also because there fivefilters.org. appeared to be disagreement

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US praises China's space progress (BBC News | Americas | World Edition)

amazing progress in its space programme over recent years. But he added: "Where they're Submitted at 11/4/2009 1:24:28 AM heading... is one of those things China has made dramatic that a lot of people would like to improvements in its military understand better." capabilities in space, according to Both countries have tried to a senior US general. improve military relations that G e n e r a l K e v i n C h i l t o n , were recently characterised as commander of US Strategic "on-again, off-again" by US Command, also said the US Defence Secretary Robert Gates. would like more information Last week Gen Chilton hosted a about China's intentions. visit to US Strategic Command The comments come shortly by Chinese General Xu Caihou, a f t e r C h i n a ' s a i r f o r c e vice-chairman of China's Central commander, Xu Qiliang, said M i l i t a r y C o m m i s s i o n , t h e military competition in space was country's military decisiona "historical inevitability". making body. The two countries have recently But while the trip was an effort been looking to improve military to improve military ties, it is ties. clear the two sides are also Speaking to reporters, Gen e x p a n d i n g t h e i r a r e a s o f Chilton said Beijing had made c o m p e t i t i o n i n t o s p a c e .

In 2007 China surprised the world by shooting down one of its own defunct weather satellites. And earlier this week Gen Xu Qiliang said competition in this area would continue. "Military competition has shifted towards space. Such a shift is a major trend now, and such expansion is a historical inevitability," he told state-run media. "To some extent, if you control space you can also control the land and the sea, and you will be in an advantageous position." Print Sponsor This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

GERMAN continued from page 70

Unite, the main union at Vauxhall, last month reached a deal with Magna to limit job cuts at the two factories to just 600 people, and all through voluntary redundancy. John Featherstone, Unite's convenor at Ellesmere Port, said he believed there would still be some restructuring in the UK, "but I am pleased we will be dealing with GM because we know them and we understand their culture - and they know us". What is your reaction to the announcement? Do you work at Vauxhall? Were you concerned that a possible sale would have put your job at risk? Please send us your comments

using the form below. A selection of your comments may be published, displaying your name and location. If you would like to remain anonymous, please say so in your message. 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.

STRIKEcontinued from page 69

Bryans, 37, and conductors soon told everyone to move to one of the rear cars. She eventually moved all of the way to the final car and got out when the train stopped and was evacuated. "You could smell something, but I thought it was the brakes," said Cynthia Reid, 55, who works in a community college financial aid office and was in the second car on her commute from Thorndale in Chester County. Black smoke began pouring out soon after the train pulled out of the station, she said.

"I don't understand why we even left the station," Reid said. "I have no idea how I'm getting in to work today." The sudden strike called early Tuesday by Transport Workers Union Local 234 all but crippled the agency, which averages more than 928,000 trips each weekday. The transit agency's largest union walked away from negotiations on a new contract over disagreements on wage, pension and health care issues. Regional rail service is still operating because their workers

are represented by a different union, but trains have been delayed as they experienced larger-than-normal crowds. Union workers, who earn an average of $52,000 a year, are seeking an annual 4 percent wage hike and want to keep the current 1 percent contribution they make toward the cost of health care coverage. Their contract expired in March. SEPTA was offering an 11.5 percent wage increase over five years, with a $1,250 signing bonus in the first year, and

increases in workers' pensions, Maloney said. The strike also affects buses that serve the suburbs in Bucks, Montgomery and Chester counties. A 2005 SEPTA strike lasted seven days, while a 1998 transit strike lasted for 40 days. This content has passed through (BBC News | Americas | fivefilters.org. World Edition)

Ohio rapist charged with murder Submitted at 11/3/2009 3:43:46 PM

A convicted rapist living in an Ohio house where several bodies OHIO page 72

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have been found has been charged with five counts of aggravated murder, US police say. Anthony Sowell, 50, was also charged with rape, assault and kidnapping, police spokesman Lt Thomas Stacho said. Mr Sowell, a registered sex offender, is due in court on Wednesday. Police said on Tuesday they had possibly found another four bodies and a skull on the property. The bodies of six women were found there last week. Police Chief Michael McGrath said the latest bodies were found

buried in the back garden of the house, in the city of Cleveland, and the skull was in a bucket in the basement. Addressing a news conference, he said detectives were searching the home and backyard for further evidence. Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. Police Chief Michael McGrath described police operations at the house The BBC's North America correspondent Matthew Price says the nondescript wooden house on a residential street is slowly giving up its secrets. Our correspondent says people

living nearby held a vigil outside the house this week, in memory of those found so far. Some clutched photographs of women who have gone missing from the area in recent years. Mr Sowell - who spent 15 years in prison for a 1989 rape - was arrested on Saturday not far from his home. Print Sponsor This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

American elections: The shine coming off (The Economist: News analysis)

Virginia and New Jersey. Last year Mr Obama won in Virginia in a particularly sweet moment Submitted at 11/3/2009 10:02:54 PM for his party. This time the American elections Republican, Bob McDonnell, Nov 4th 2009 trounced the Democrat, Creigh From Economist.com Voters Deeds, by 59% to 41%. In punish Barack Obama and the northern corners of the state, Democrats in two states, but offer which form part of Washington's solace in New York suburbs and are vital to A Y E A R a f t e r w i n n i n g Democratic chances in statewide America's presidential election, contests, the Republican did even B a r a c k O b a m a a n d t h e better in some places, winning Democrats have suffered two big defeats in governors races in AMERICAN page 73

The App Garden By Josh Nguyen (Flickr Blog)

We’re happy that starting today, these creations will now have a home on Flickr, within a place Since the launch of our API in we call the App Garden. A u g u s t 2 0 0 4 , s o f t w a r e If you’re a developer and are d e v e l o p e r s h a v e b u i l t a n d looking for information about innovated on top of Flickr’s open how to use our APIs and submit API. The results continually your application into the App amaze us because they have Garden, head on over to our enhanced the Flickrverse, Developer Blog for more enabling our members to do more i n f o r m a t i o n . with their photos. Gorgeous, fun, If you’re looking for neat ways remarkable and useful things — to do more with your photos, their applications. We hope these labors of love are certainly developers are beginning to seed you’ll enjoy new ways to browse, deserving of more recognition. the App Garden and showcase view, upload, download, analyze Submitted at 11/3/2009 11:57:32 AM

and make stuff (whew!) with your photos as much as we do. So take a stroll, try some applications, and come back to see how the Garden grows! If you’re keen to learn more, here are FAQs to get you started. If you noticed bugs or have feedback about the App Garden, mosey on over to the Help Forum. How’d you upload that? In addition to Flickr’s official uploadr, there are quite a few other uploading tools created by

developers with different options and features. If you ever wondered what other people are using to upload you can now see that on the photo page, for apps that have created a page in the garden. If you don’t want this to show you can turn it off in your account settings. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

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Loudoun county by 61% to 39% for example. In the much deeperblue state of New Jersey, the loss was narrower for the Democrats. Chris Christie, the Republican, won with 49% of the vote, defeating Jon Corzine, the incumbent governor, who picked up around 45%. There were also various mayoral contests on Tuesday November 3rd. In New York Michael Bloomberg won a third term, but by a much narrower margin of victory than had been expected. Mary Norwood led the field in Atlanta but faces a run-off on December 1st, which if she wins will make her the first female white mayor in the historically black city. And in Houston Annise Parker picked up 31% of the vote and faces Gene Locke in a run-off on December 12th, which if Ms Parker wins would make her the first openly gay person to be elected to the mayor's office in Texas's largest city. The biggest drama of the night came from upstate New York where the Democrats won a special election to fill a vacancy

in a congressional district. The election, in a Republican stronghold, attracted attention because of the intervention of national conservative figures, such as Sarah Palin, who urged party members to reject the official Republican candidate, whom they described as too moderate, and instead support a candidate from a rival Conservative party. The Republican candidate pulled out of the race on October 31st and then backed the Democrat, Bill Owens, who was declared the victor on Tuesday. The significance, if any, of these off-year elections will now be debated. The Republican wins will boost party morale and make Mr Obama seem a little bit more mortal. Mr Obama's supporters point out that the governors elections were flavoured by distinctly local issues. Yet in Virginia exit polls indicated that almost a quarter of respondents said they had used their vote to register disapproval with the president (18% voted to express support for Mr Obama). The races clearly show an electoral

limit to Mr Obama's star appeal. The Democratic loss in Virginia had been predicted for weeks, if not months. But in New Jersey the race had tightened considerably and Mr Obama attended two rallies for Mr Corzine over the weekend in an attempt to enthuse the Democratic faithful. His efforts came to naught. Two broad points have emerged from this election night. The first is that the Democrats are now considered to own the economyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;trying to blame George Bush for the country's economic ills, as Mr Obama tried to do in New Jersey, will not wash with swing voters. In Virginia, moderates and independents warmed to Mr McDonnell's themes of reduced taxes. The economy will doubtlessly improve before next year's mid-term elections, but Mr Obama's ambitions for government spending trouble many centrists. The other point is that Sarah Palinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s broadside against the Republican candidate in upstate New York has established her

beyond doubt as the leading player in Republican politics, much to the chagrin of party grandees. There is nothing new about conservative insurrection in the party. The contest in New York is somewhat reminiscent of Pat Buchanan's rebellion against the party establishment in the New Hampshire primary in 1992, except that conservatives have ditched their pitchforks for iPhones. But the danger for the Republicans remains the same now as then; the pursuit of an ideologically pure conservatism will turn away moderates and independents. The Republicans lost the 1992 presidential election, and they lost the 23rd congressional district in upstate New York on Tuesday. Back to top ^^ Readers' comments The Economist welcomes your views. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

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Research Brief: Social Media Retail Ads Offer Online Holiday Shopping Incentives

MediaDailyNews: Cross -Media Analytics Can Better Assess Campaigns

(MediaPost | Media News)

Submitted at 11/4/2009 6:15:47 AM

According to results of Shop.org's eHoliday Study, conducted by BIGresearch, 47.1% of retailers surveyed will be increasing their use of social media this holiday season. 60.3% of retailers said they have added or improved their Facebook page, and 58.7% their Twitter pages this year. 65.6% have added or enhanced blogs and RSS feeds. In addition, to provide consumers with an extra incentive to start shopping, 34.3% of retailers say they will offer holiday deals earlier this year. Shoppers will see changes in retail marketing and promotions this holiday season in response to economic uncertainty. Free shipping offers will abound this holiday season: • 79.4% of online retailers will offer free shipping with conditions* at some point during the holiday season • 57.4% also plan to offer free shipping without conditions • 35.7% said their budgets for free shipping are higher than last year • 30.0% said free shipping

offers will start earlier than a year ago Scott Silverman, Executive Director of Shop.org, says "Retailers... have created promotions and incentives to help Americans save money this holiday season... combining new initiatives with tried-and-true tactics to make their companies stand out." Online retailers are also compensating for the economy by making operational changes to help them protect their profits. According to the survey, 41.4% of retailers have scaled back on inventory levels and 22.9% have hired fewer people in their stores. According to the survey, 45.8% of online retailers expect their holiday sales to increase at least 15% over last year, while 33.9% expect sales to grow up to 14%. As a testament to the economy and the maturity of online retail, just one in five online retailers expects sales to be flat or decline. In addition to a strong focus on sales and free shipping, many online retailers have revamped their websites this holiday season to make it easier for people to shop. According to the survey,

many retailers have added or revamped their sites' : • Shopping cart (45.2%) • Search capabilities (44.3%) • Suggested items (42.9%) • Customer ratings and reviews (40.6%) • Featured sale pages (37.1%) Largely due to the convenience of the web, 26.7% of online shoppers said they plan to spend a larger portion of their holiday budget online this year. Reasons behind why people will spend more online range from the ability to shop at all hours of the day, to shoppers feeling it is easier to compare prices, to Americans' insatiable appetite for free shipping. Others said they will spend more online because it's simply more convenient for them, they don't want to fight crowds in stores, or because it's easier to find items. Of the 5.7% of people who plan to spend less of their holiday budget online: • 22.8% said that they'll pull back due to expensive shipping charges • 12.5% say they like to see or handle items before they buy • 10.8% prefer a store

experience

Submitted at 11/4/2009 4:30:03 AM

A fraction of shoppers said they hesitated to shop online due to concerns about security (1.1%), credit card theft (0.6%), privacy (0.1%) or concerns about retailers tracking online activity (0.1%). Phil Rist, Executive Vice President, Strategic Initiatives, BIGresearch, said "...many people will start their holiday shopping online to find deals, search customer reviews to select products, and get gift ideas... " According to the survey, 67.3% of shoppers will use a credit card for some online purchases this holiday season, and 35.6% will also use a debit card, while 33.9% will use PayPal for purchases. In addition, 11.5% of shoppers plan to use a gift card or gift certificate to pay for holiday items online this year. For additional information, please visit the National Retail Federation here. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

Media departments are no place for guessing. With millions -even tens or hundreds of millions -- at stake, clients want hard data showing that their budgets are being well spent. Yet for too long, media executives have been forced to rely on indirect information to judge a campaign's post-buy effectiveness. If sales or awareness goes up, things must be working -- even though dozens of non-advertising factors affect such measurements. If all GRP goals are fulfilled, the ad spend is a success -- even though it only proves people saw the ads. To be sure, all these metrics are important. But to complete the picture, it's critical to look at what advertising is meant to impact: consumer behavior. And thanks to cross-media analytics tools, reliable measures finally exist to calculate true payback of media investments. In the new world of media analytics, online and offline data are married to create an amazingly accurate picture of what a campaign is accomplishing. Everything from site analytics to competitive media buys, ad server stats to MEDIADAILYNEWS: page 75

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CRM, store sales information to traditional ratings results, is integrated with the agency's media purchase data to create multi-source insight into campaign effectiveness. Dedicated analytics products now exist that let researchers and planners not only evaluate campaigns post-buy but monitor them as they unfold using near real-time data. What's more, the same information can be used to model alternatives, demo hypothetical buys, and make changes midstream if a campaign isn't reaching objectives. Because they are a direct measure of consumer interest, Web analytics play a key role in the new cross-analytics paradigm. But it's not enough to look solely at the client's Web site activity; additional measures need to be included. As many as 10 to 20 discrete data sources may be needed to generate the insights necessary to make effective changes. Additionally, in order to evaluate and determine the

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year for the e-reader space" with new tablets and dual-screen readers emerging. But Epps pointed out that, right now, most of the announcements are reaching the industry, not consumers. For the consumer, she said, the e -reader category is still largely the Kindle, but a few developments could make big

drivers of consumer activity within the media mix, advertisers need access to granular data across disparate systems to formulate a perspective on creative and messaging effectiveness. Advertisers are already benefiting from online/offline data integration. In one case, a major healthcare services provider was looking for a way to reduce its cost of obtaining qualified leads through its advertising. Its target was $100 per lead; by obtaining real-time visibility into its campaign performance and making a factbased, strategic shift from national TV to its bestperforming DMAs, the advertiser decreased its cost-per-lead by 21% in the first month, from $112 to $89. Moreover, it maintained an average 13% decrease in each of the next four months. Together, the cost-per-lead improvement, combined with a more effective local television buy, produced millions in

additional revenue. Efficiencies are further gained by being able to measure lead flow and predict future revenue generation as the leads flow through the conversion process. That's the kind of results clients hunger for -- and agencies can now reliably generate with the right technology solutions. Today's multi-source analytical tools also provide much needed objectivity and credibility for media personnel. Instead of planners analyzing media buys -a potential conflict of interest -these comprehensive, exhaustive solutions are neutral in stance. In the end, all anyone wants is the simple truth about how well a campaign is performing, or whether a shift in strategy is warranted. Advanced crossmedia analytics can finally provide both. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

New Multimedia Device Joins Parade of E-Readers (Enterprise Security Today) (Yahoo! News Search Results for e-readers)

Creative Labs' fan site Epizenter.net originated the Mediabook report, and quotes Submitted at 11/4/2009 12:08:50 AM Willie Png, vice president of The e-reader market is getting s t r a t e g i c b u s i n e s s , a s yet another entry, with a report downplaying the Kindle as "just that Creative Labs is unveiling a another electronic device which tablet. The device, called a displays books in text." By Mediabook, was shown at the contrast, Png told the site, the Singapore-based company's Mediabook will allow the merger general meeting last week. of "videos, pictures, text and Although Creative hasn't made services into one device that an official announcement, news s u p p o r t s a m e d i a - r i c h reports indicate that the e x p e r i e n c e . " Mediabook has a touchscreen, Epizenter also reports that Internet connectivity, slots for Creative is in discussion with a SD memory cards, text-to-speech variety of publishers about capability, and is based on the providing content. company's Zii technology. LCD or Electrophoretic? Kindle 'Just Another Electronic There was also no word on what Device' kind of screen the Mediabook There was no word on the would use. Sarah Rotman Epps, Mediabook's launch date, but the an analyst with industry research e-reader category is already firm Forrester, pointed out that, beginning to have more than a while LCD screens are good for few entries. There's the best v i d e o a n d g r a p h i c s , known, Amazon's Kindle, as well electrophoretic screens have as Sony's recently updated e- higher contrast and make reading readers and the newly released text easier. differences. She said one would and an E Ink display. nook from Barnes & Noble, She noted that E Ink, a company be if Apple decides to make e- Ross Rubin, director of industry among others. based in Cambridge, Mass., "now publications a big category on analysis for consumer technology There are also reports that has about 100 percent market iTunes, in which case "Apple at NPD Group, noted that t i r e m a k e r B r i d g e s t o n e i s share" in electrophoretic screens, would become a major player Google's open-source operating developing a flexible e-book but that will change next year as overnight." system, Android, is increasingly reader, although so far it's only a competition heats up. The other development, she said, showing up on these devices. He prototype. And there have been In general, she said, 2010 is is if BlackBerry maker Research pointed out that Barnes & many reports that Apple is shaping up to be "an interesting in Motion or another smartphone Noble's nook is Android-based, preparing to enter the market maker decides to release a double early next year with its own NEW page 76 NEW page 75 -screen device, with both a LCD tablet e-reader.

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as is Creative's recently released Zii Egg, which features 1080p high-definition video and is described by Creative as a "StemCell Computer." Rubin noted that several of Creative's Android-based devices, like those based on Zii technology, have been more focused toward developers and

not yet released to a mass market in the U.S. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.