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12 Pervasive Myths About Starting a Small Business [New Window]
Business Pundit assembled - and debunked - this list of 12 pervasive myths about running a small enterprise.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:20:05 -0400 Former Jazz Center Arrested For Pot Between His Buttocks [New Window]
Former NBA center Robert Whaley is no stranger to the law. He was arrested in high school, in junior college, and just a few years ago he was arrested for running a drug house, but (butt?) thats nothing compared to his most recent legal run-in.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:20:03 -0400 IT Pros: Macs Cost Less to Manage Than PCs [New Window]
The Enterprise Desktop Alliance recently surveyed 260 IT administrators in the US to find out which computing environment is cheaper to manage: PCs or Macs.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:20:03 -0400 Study Finds Bananas Can Prevent HIV Infection [New Window]
According to the Montreal Gazette, a new study has found that chemicals commonly found in bananas are as potent at preventing HIV as two current synthetic anti-HIV drugs. Researchers think the findings could lead to a cheap new component for applied vaginal or anal microbicides, to prevent HIV from being sexually transmitted.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:20:02 -0400 Mexican tour bus overturns in Texas, killing 2 (AP) [New Window]
AP - A Mexican tour bus carrying about 35 people overturned along a southern Texas highway on Tuesday, killing at least two people and injuring an unknown number of others, an official said.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:15:42 -0400 New York Times urged to issue correction for David Brooks’ column. [New Window]
In his New York Times column today, David Brooks complains that the use of the budget reconciliation process to finish health care reform with a “simple majority” vote will ruin “the remnants of person-to-person relationships” that are left in the Senate. Though he acknowledges that reconciliation has been used plenty in the past, Brooks asserts that the Democrats would be using it in an unprecedented manner: But power trumps principle. In nearly every arena of political life, group relationships have replaced person-to-person relationships. The tempo of the Senate is now set by partisan lunches every Tuesday, whereas the body almost never meets for conversation as a whole. The Senate is now in the process of using reconciliation rule by simple majority to try to pass health care.Reconciliation has been used with increasing frequency. That was bad enough. But at least for the Bush tax cuts or the prescription drug bill, there was significant bipartisan support. Now we have pure reconciliation mixed with pure partisanship.Not only is Brooks “crying in his soup,” but he has his facts wrong. As the Washington Post’s Ezra Klein points out, the highest frequency of reconciliation use “was in the ’80s, not the Aughts.” The 2003 Bush tax cuts were passed on an almost strictly partisan 50-50 vote that required then-Vice President Dick Cheney to break the tie, and the Medicare prescription drug benefit wasn’t passed using reconciliation. Klein concludes that “Brooks isn’t wrong in the sense that ‘I disagree with him.’ He’s wrong in the sense that the column requires a correction.” Designer Builds Coffin For Xbox's Suffering RROD [New Window]
angry tapir writes "The Xbox 360 RROD coffin is created by Aussie designer Alexis Vanamois, and it does exactly what it says on the tin. It's the ultimate final resting place for 'bricked' Xbox 360 consoles that have suffered the Red Ring of Death; it even has a cavity for your controller!" Read more of this story at Slashdot. GOP assails Dems on approach to health bill (AP) [New Window]
AP - Democrats defended plans to push massive health care legislation through the House without a direct vote and Republicans assailed the strategy Tuesday, as both parties fenced ferociously over the health overhaul end game.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:59:55 -0400 Judge OKs settlement in S. Carolina plane crash (AP) [New Window]
AP - A judge has approved a legal settlement for the wife and young son of former Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker's bodyguard, who was killed in a plane crash.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:56:30 -0400 Judge OKs settlement in S. Carolina plane crash (AP) [New Window]
AP - A judge has approved a legal settlement for the wife and young son of former Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker's bodyguard, who was killed in a plane crash.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:56:12 -0400 Larry David working on more 'Curb' [New Window]
Larry David told PaleyFest audience that an eighth season of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" is likely, though ruled out more "Seinfeld" reunion content.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:50:39 -0400 U.S. might boost Iraq force structure during drawdown (Reuters) [New Window]
Reuters - The United States may leave a stronger-than-expected force structure in northern Iraq if the situation requires, even as it reduces troops to targeted levels, a top U.S. general said on Tuesday.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:44:37 -0400 Tiger Woods says returning to golf at Masters in April (Reuters) [New Window]
Reuters - World No. 1 golfer Tiger Woods, who withdrew from the game late last year after a damaging adultery scandal, announced on Tuesday he would make his comeback to professional golf at the U.S. Masters in early April.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:15:28 -0400 10 Frothy Facts about Guinness, St. Patrick's Favorite Beer [New Window]
With St. Patrick's Day imminent, it's time to prime yourself with some basic facts and amusing anecdotes about Ireland's most popular pint: Guinness.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:40:21 -0400 Evidence for life on Mars may be staring us in the face [New Window]
The sulphur compounds that litter the surface of Mars may contain the signature of life
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:40:17 -0400 Judge: Winfrey must defend ex-headmistress's suit (AP) [New Window]
AP - Talk show host Oprah Winfrey must defend a defamation suit over remarks she made about a headmistress at her girls' school in South Africa after a sex-abuse scandal erupted there, a U.S. judge ruled.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:38:30 -0400 Judge: Winfrey must defend ex-headmistress's suit (AP) [New Window]
AP - Talk show host Oprah Winfrey must defend a defamation suit over remarks she made about a headmistress at her girls' school in South Africa after a sex-abuse scandal erupted there, a U.S. judge ruled.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:38:15 -0400 Thai protesters pour own blood at government HQ (AP) [New Window]
AP - Thai protesters seeking a change of government turned to shock tactics Tuesday, pouring gallons of their own blood into a glistening puddle at the gate of the prime minister's office.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:33:33 -0400 Winter storms hit housing starts (Reuters) [New Window]
Reuters - U.S. housing starts fell last month as winter storms disrupted construction and another drop in building permits suggested the weakness would linger.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:28:49 -0400 Netflix Watch Instantly streams to Windows Phone 7 Series! [New Window]
We just got a quick at Netflix for Windows Phone 7 Series, one of the third-party apps Microsoft's showing off here at MIX10, and it looks... well, very Netflixy -- it's red to the bone. Unlike other mobile Netflix apps, this one's got Watch Instantly support and it looks great -- a real testament to the capabilities Microsoft's slinging.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:27:31 -0400 Holding up the health care bill, Rep. Gohmert shouts, ‘I brought an abortion to show you today.’ [New Window]
As House Democrats prepare to vote on health care reform in the next few days, tea party activists protested outside the Capitol this morning, shouting cries of “kill the bill.” Reps. Steve King (R-IA) and Louie Gohmert (R-TX) addressed the crowd to warn about perceived tyranny and to distort the contents of the bill. King claimed it’s a “fact” that the bill “does fund abortion” and “does fund illegals.” Gohmert elicited cheers from the crowd when he made a graphic and disturbing claim about the bill:GOHMERT: I brought the bill that’s being talking about. Now I don’t want to offend anybody, I’m sure that there are people here who think abortion is okay, and I don’t want to make you sick, but I brought an abortion to show you today. [...]Theres a whole lot of demons going on. Theres a lot of demons around here apparently.Watch it:In fact, the bill “very clearly” does not fund abortion. If a health insurance carrier chooses to provide abortion coverage, the bill reads that “the issuer of the plan shall not use any amount attributable to any of the following for purposes of paying for [abortion] services, referring to federal funding mechanisms, such as subsidies to help people afford coverage. The bill creates a clear firewall between public and private money, going even beyond current law. Moreover, pro-life organizations like the Catholic Hospitals Association have endorsed the bill, and pro-life Congressmen like Rep. Dale Kildee (D-MI) and Rep. Jason Altmire (D-PA) agree that the bill does not use tax-payer dollars to fund abortion. Conservatives Who Demanded We Listen To And Stand Behind Gen. Petraeus Now Disregard Him [New Window]
When Vice President Biden recently told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel’s intention to build thousands of new settlements was undermining U.S. interests in the region, he was reportedly conveying the assessment made by Gen. David Petraeus.Foreign Policy’s Mark Perry reveals that Biden’s concerns about Israeli behavior endangering American troops stem from a special briefing delivered in January at the Pentagon. On January 16, “team of senior military officers from the U.S. Central Command [CENTCOM],” acting under the orders of CENTCOM commander General David Petraeus, presented Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Michael Mullen with a “33-slide, 45-minute PowerPoint briefing” outlining the concern that “Israeli intransigence on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was jeopardizing U.S. standing in the region.” The presentation “stunned” Mullen. Perry reports “David Petraeus sent a briefing team to the Pentagon with a stark warning: America’s relationship with Israel is important, but not as important as the lives of America’s soldiers.”After the Obama administration publicly aired its concerns, leading conservatives began quickly attacking. House Republican leader John Boehner (R-OH) said the administration’s admonishments were “irresponsible” and “an affront to the values” of our relationship with Israel. Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) accused Biden of a “double standard,” Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) claimed that the administration was alienating an ally over a protest over a “zoning decision in its capital city,” and Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) effectively told “the White House to be quiet on [the issue].”While conservatives are currently on the offensive against Petraeus’s concerns today, they thought differently in 2007. As the country was heatedly debating our policies in Iraq, leading conservatives demanded that we listen to Petraeus and agree with the views he advocated:– Boehner said in the Fall of 2007 that Petraeus has “earned” the right to be listened to. In a statement put out condemning a Moveon.org advertisement criticizing Petraeus, Boehner said, “I call on my colleagues to listen to what General Petraeus has to say. Hes earned it.” [9/10/07]– Cantor said it was important to show that we “stand behind” Petraeus and his advice on Iraq. During an appearance on PBS’s Newshour, the congressman endorsed the “Petraeus plan for victory” and said that supporting him was a way to “send a message to our troops that we stand behind them.” [3/22/07]– Brownback called Petraeus an “exceptionally smart and thoughtful man.” In a press release lauding President Bush’s appointment of Petraeus as the new top military commander in Iraq, Brownback noted that he knows Petraeus “very well” and that he’s an “exceptionally smart and thoughtful man” who “will do a superb job.” [1/5/07]– Lieberman and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) asked their colleagues to “listen carefully” to Petraeus’s advice on Iraq. In a Wall Street Journal op-ed published in September 2007 titled “Listening To Petraeus” the senators implored their colleagues to “listen carefully” to the General’s advice about how to stablize Iraq. [9/10/07]General Petraeus is hardly the only defense official who has warned that failing to bring a just end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can lead to Muslim radicalization and endanger our troops. In 2004, the Defense Science Board Task Force noted that our “one sided support in favor of Israel” and failure to resolve the conflict was a leading source of “threats to America’s national security.” Given how eager the right was to endorse Petraeus’s Iraq solution in 2007, will they listen to him, CENTCOM, and other defense officials about the dangers of not acting to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? Joe Scarborough endorses repealing parts of Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. (Updated) [New Window]
Today on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, during a discussion on the health care bill currently being considered in Congress, host Joe Scarborough accused progressive contributor Lawrence O’Donnell of being an “avowed socialist, a eurosocialist.” O’Donnell sardonically reminded Scaborough that there is “not a single Republican socialist in the Congress who wants to repeal one sentence of our existing socialist program, in Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.” To O’Donnell’s surprise, Scarborough quickly retorted, “Oh, I do“: O’DONNELL: There’s not a single Republican socialist in the Congress who wants to repeal one sentence of our existing socialist program, in Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. SCARBOROUGH: Oh, I do.O’DONNELL: Oh, would you? Oh, OK.Watch it:Last fall, Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) offered an amendment on the floor of the House of Representatives that would’ve eliminated Medicare. Not a single House Republican voted to repeal the program that their party has fought since its inception, despite the fact that it is, indeed, a single-payer, not-for-profit, “socialist” universal health care system for the elderly. Google Readying To Pull Out of China [New Window]
Sagelinka writes "Both Google and the Chinese government appear to be leaking word that the search firm may soon shutter its operations there as negotiations between the two break down. Google first threatened to halt its operations in China after disclosing in January that an attack on its network from inside China was aimed at exposing the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists. At the time, Google also said it was reconsidering its willingness to censor search results of users in China as required by the government. 'I think Google thought China would be flexible,' said Rob Enderle, an analyst with the Enderle Group. Google has since been negotiating with the Chinese government to find a way to continue operating in the country. Google did not respond today to requests for comment on the state of the negotiations with China." Read more of this story at Slashdot. Blind Soldier Uses Tongue To 'See' [New Window]
Zen found this story about a blind soldier using a lollypop-sized tongue sensor to 'see.' The system actually enables him to walk and read unaided. The guy says, "It feels like licking a nine-volt battery or like popping candy. The camera sends signals down onto the lollypop and onto your tongue, you can then determine what they mean and transfer it to shapes." Read more of this story at Slashdot. MySpace To Sell User Data [New Window]
OnlyJedi writes "Hot on the news of Netflix canceling its latest contest over privacy concerns, news has spread that MySpace is going in the opposite direction. Apparently, the one-time leading social network is now selling user data to third party collection firms. From the article, the data that InfoChimps has listed includes 'user playlists, mood updates, mobile updates, photos, vents, reviews, blog posts, names and zipcodes.' InfoChimps is a reseller that deals with individuals and groups, from academic researchers to marketers and industry analysts. So if you're worried about your data on MySpace being sold off to anybody with a few hundred dollars, now's the time to delete that little-used account." Read more of this story at Slashdot. Blizzard Hopes for StarCraft 2 Mac Beta in April [New Window]
The StarCraft 2 beta is on PC, but Mac users have been feeling left out in the cold. A Q&A at the Battle.net forums gives Apple users some hope to try the game before it launches. "We are currently working on a Mac version of the beta and hope to release it sometime in April," the post states. "Hang in there.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:20:02 -0400 Type 2 Diabetes Study: Drugs Don't Cut Heart Disease Risk (Time.com) [New Window]
Time.com - New data suggest that aggressive drug treatments to reduce known heart-disease risk factors don't actually help Type 2 diabetes patients. Why? And what now?
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:15:00 -0400 Studios, theaters debate DVD release dates (AP) [New Window]
AP - Hollywood studios and movie theaters are trying to come to terms in a debate over how quickly films move from the big screen to DVD.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:11:00 -0400 Doctor says heart groups too cozy with industry (AP) [New Window]
AP - A prominent cardiologist accused leading heart organizations of being too cozy with industry and allowing those ties to influence its policies and education programs for doctors.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:08:58 -0400 Clashes erupt in Jerusalem; US envoy cancels trip (AP) [New Window]
AP - Hundreds of Palestinians in east Jerusalem set tires and garbage bins ablaze on Tuesday and hurled rocks at Israeli riot police, who responded with rubber bullets and tear gas. The heaviest clashes in months broke out as an American envoy abruptly canceled a visit, deepening a U.S.-Israeli diplomatic feud.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:08:40 -0400 Freezing Tumors Shows Promise Against Prostate, Breast Cancer (HealthDay) [New Window]
HealthDay - TUESDAY, March 16 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers have succeeded in freezing away breast and prostate tumors in a small number of patients, opening a promising door to a new generation of cancer treatments.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:03:29 -0400 Are New Chemo Treatments Cost-Effective? (HealthDay) [New Window]
HealthDay - TUESDAY, March 16 (HealthDay News) -- New chemotherapy agents for metastatic colon cancer improve patient survival but are costly, says a new study.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:03:27 -0400 Top 10 Robberies In Movies (Videos) [New Window]
See the best a criminal can be by checking out these top 10 scores.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:00:02 -0400 Broadband plan aims to boost speed, wireless (Reuters) [New Window]
Reuters - U.S. regulators released a blueprint for upgrading Internet access for all Americans, with Internet speeds up to 25 times the current average, expanded coverage and more airwaves for mobile services.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:58:50 -0400 Riots rock Jerusalem as Hamas calls for new 'intifada' (AFP) [New Window]
AFP - Hundreds of Palestinians clashed with Israeli security forces across east Jerusalem on Tuesday in the worst rioting in years as a senior Hamas leader called for a new "intifada," or uprising.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:57:53 -0400 Thai demonstrators in symbolic blood protest (AFP) [New Window]
AFP - Protesters spilled their own blood at the gates of Thailand's government headquarters Tuesday in a colourful act of political theatre designed to propel their fugitive hero back to power.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:56:23 -0400 Break the law and your new 'friend' may be the FBI (AP) [New Window]
AP - The Feds are on Facebook. And MySpace, LinkedIn and Twitter, too.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:51:39 -0400 Gene test 'helps pinpoint right dose of heart drug' (AFP) [New Window]
AFP - A simple genetic test can help pinpoint the precise dose of a potentially life-saving medication taken by millions to ward off blood clotting after heart surgery, a study published Tuesday found.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:51:03 -0400 Did Video Games Wreck 1,000 Marriages? [New Window]
An annual report from a Catholic counseling service claims computer games are partly to blame for complicating wedded bliss.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:50:03 -0400 The East Coast Rapist, Eluding Cops for 13 Years [New Window]
His attacks have spanned 13 years, beginning in Prince George's County in the late 1990s, moving into Virginia and then up to New England. And police know so much about this man. They even have his DNA. But when it comes right down to it, this same man is a frustrating mystery. No one has been able to find him.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:50:02 -0400 Sen. Dodd urges quick action on financial reform (Reuters) [New Window]
Reuters - Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd on Tuesday said Congress needs to fast track financial reform despite Republican pleas to slow down the process to rewrite sweeping new rules.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:41:35 -0400 Woods to return to golf at the Masters (AP) [New Window]
AP - Tiger Woods said Tuesday he will return to golf next month at the Masters, ending a four-month hiatus brought on by a sex scandal that shattered his image as the gold standard in sports.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:06:36 -0400 Anyone Know The Name Of This Wrestling Move? (GIF) [New Window]
The Lunchmeat Sandwich...
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:40:02 -0400 Blazing Fast Password Recovery With New ATI Cards [New Window]
An anonymous reader writes "ElcomSoft accelerates the recovery of Wi-Fi passwords and password-protected iPhone and iPod backups by using ATI video cards. The support of ATI Radeon 5000 series video accelerators allows ElcomSoft to perform password recovery up to 20 times faster compared to Intel top of the line quad-core CPUs, and up to two times faster compared to enterprise-level NVIDIA Tesla solutions. Benchmarks performed by ElcomSoft demonstrate that ATI Radeon HD5970 accelerated password recovery works up to 20 times faster than Core i7-960, Intel's current top of the line CPU unit." Read more of this story at Slashdot. 4.4 Earthquake Shakes Los Angeles [New Window]
A light earthquake occurred at 4:04:00 AM (PDT) on Tuesday, March 16, 2010.The magnitude 4.4 event occurred 2 km (1 miles) ENE of Pico Rivera, CA.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:28:49 -0400 Grisham releases 'The Firm,' 22 others as e-books (AP) [New Window]
AP - Best-selling author John Grisham is finally ready to go digital.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:21:59 -0400 Hundreds Sick on Another Celebrity Cruise [New Window]
Hundreds get sick with intestinal bug on 3rd straight cruise on same ship. Travel - Recreation - Specialty Travel - Cruises - Travel Agents
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:13:08 -0400 Top 20 Occupations of Unauthorized Immigrants in US [New Window]
If we kick the illegal immigrants out of the US, who is going to do all this work?
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:10:02 -0400 Bodybuilder Nicknamed "Big Puppy" Beats Up 4-Year-Old Girl [New Window]
Sean "Big Puppy" Madigan sounds like a tough guy with a soft side. But to his four-year-old stepdaughter, the 6'3'', 230lb bodybuilder is just an ***** with a misleading nickname.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:46:50 -0400 Starling snatched mid-air by eagle in spectacular photo [New Window]
This stunning series of images captures the moments a starling is chased down and snatched in mid-air by a bald eagle. (Click through the three photos)
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:45:44 -0400 ESPN reporter Erin Andrews' stalker gets 2 years in prison [New Window]
An insurance executive who secretly shot nude videos of ESPN reporter Erin Andrews has been sentenced to 2 years in prison.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:30:03 -0400 Google appears to drop censorship in China [New Window]
Web sites dealing with subjects such as the Tiananmen Square protests could all be accessed through Google's Chinese search engine Tuesday in defiance of Beijing's censorship rules.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:30:02 -0400 Twitter announces @anywhere platform for websites [New Window]
Twitter has announced its '@anywhere' platform for websites,which allows site visitors to Tweet and follow from sites including Digg, Amazon and eBay.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:28:20 -0400 Iraq progress still "fragile": Petraeus (Reuters) [New Window]
Reuters - Iraq's progress remains fragile and could still be reversed, despite decreased violence, successful national elections in March and other advances, U.S. General David Petraeus said on Tuesday.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:41:25 -0400 Fighting for Tourists in Rocky Point, Mexico [New Window]
In the wake of U.S. travel advisories warning tourists about violence at the Mexican border, business owners in the Mexican town of Rocky Point (Puerto Penasco) are fighting to attract American tourists. Mexico United States border - US-Mexico Border - Mexico - United States - Ciudad Jurez
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:14:39 -0400 EU backs Greek austerity as standby aid readied (Reuters) [New Window]
Reuters - EU finance ministers backed plans on Tuesday by countries in the euro area to help debt-stricken Greece financially if it becomes the first state in 11 years of monetary union to seek such aid.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:14:11 -0400 11th Circuit Eliminates 4th Amend. In E-mail [New Window]
Artefacto writes "Last Thursday, the Eleventh Circuit handed down a Fourth Amendment case, Rehberg v. Paulk, that takes a very narrow view of how the Fourth Amendment applies to e-mail. The Eleventh Circuit held that constitutional protection in stored copies of e-mail held by third parties disappears as soon as any copy of the communication is delivered. Under this new decision, if the government wants get your e-mails, the Fourth Amendment lets the government go to your ISP, wait the seconds it normally takes for the e-mail to be delivered, and then run off copies of your messages." Read more of this story at Slashdot. ThinkFast: March 16, 2010 [New Window]
Tomorrow, C-Span will formally announce completion of the C-Span Video Library as “virtually every minute of its video archives,” covering 23 years of history, have been uploaded onto the Internet. You can see if politicians are saying one thing today, and 15 years ago were saying another thing, said C-Span founder Brian Lamb. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is playing hardball to get the final votes for health care reform, but “Pelosi and her leadership team are warning members that the bill is final” and there will be no more legislative changes made to secure those votes. No horse-trading, a Democratic source with knowledge of leaderships thinking told Politico. They are closed for business.A new study by the UCLA-based Center for Health Policy Research finds that nearly 1 in 4 Californians under the age of 65 had no health insurance last year. The data shows that 8.2 million people were without coverage in the state during 2009; Californians 65 and over were exempted from the research because they are covered by Medicare.“Student lenders are mounting a final push” to derail landmark student lending legislation that would cut out the private lender middlemen from federal student loans. The lending industry is warning of a “government takeover” of federal student loans.After Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) unveiled his new financial reform bill yesterday, business lobby groups immediately moved to oppose specific provisions in the legislation. The National Association of Federal Credit Unions, the Financial Services Roundtable, and the American Insurance Association lodged their complaints against more regulation.Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, is bringing most U.S. Special Operations forces under his control after concerns over continued civilian casualties and unit disorganization. “What happens is, sometimes at cross-purposes, you got one hand doing one thing and one hand doing the other, both trying to do the right thing but working without a good outcome, he said. The White House “renewed its threat to veto the fiscal 2010 intelligence authorization bill over a provision that would force the administration to widen the circle of lawmakers who are informed about covert operations and other sensitive activities.” House Intelligence Committee chairman Silvestre Reyes (D-TX) praised the provision for improving congressional oversight of intelligence activities. “Palestinians hurled rocks and burned tires in several neighborhoods in disputed East Jerusalem” today after Hamas called for a “Day of Rage” to protest the “reopening of a landmark synagogue after 40 years.” About 3,000 officers were deployed to keep order and 49 people were wounded in clashes.The Senate “cleared the way” yesterday for final approval of a Democratic jobs bill, voting 61 to 30 to end debate and proceed. Six Republicans voted in favor of cloture for the bill that includes tax breaks for companies that hire workers “along with an extra $20 billion for highway and transit construction.”And finally: Stephen Colbert reviews Karl Roves new book. “Spoiler Alert: Bush was a great president!” Colbert said. “It’s just like ‘Pride and Prejudice,’ but even more prejudiced!”Follow ThinkProgress on Twitter. 10 Annoying Habits of a Geeky Spouse [New Window]
Everyone has annoying habits, and a sizable part of every successful marriage is learning to live with those things each other does that annoy you. I think it's
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:02:47 -0400 It's Time For One Data Plan to Rule All Our Gadgets [New Window]
If you buy a 3G iPad, you'll be able to purchase data, month by month, from AT&T. Neat! But you already pay for unlimited data access on your iPhone, also from AT&T. So why not have one plan, for everything?
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:02:04 -0400 Study: Gene testing helps get warfarin dose right (AP) [New Window]
AP - Doctors are reporting an exciting win for gene testing and personalized medicine: Checking patients' DNA before starting them on a popular blood thinner helps get the tricky dose right and keep them out of the hospital.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:01:28 -0400 12 Best 'South Park' Political Parodies (Videos) [New Window]
South Park has been at its best when it is mocking the hypocrisy and stupidity of people and their foibles, and nowhere is this more evident than in the many episodes where it has forayed into political parody.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:00:02 -0400 10 Reasons to Love Kathryn Bigelow [New Window]
4. For beating her ex-husband, James "Avatar" Cameron, and not giving him another ego-tastic "I'm the king of the world," opportunity.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 09:59:21 -0400 Woman accused of killing 6 of her infants [New Window]
A 38-year-old woman acknowledged Monday killing six of her newborns, whose corpses were found in plastic bags in her basement, at the opening of a chilling trial in northwest France.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 09:57:42 -0400 Fed seen renewing low rates, extended period vow (Reuters) [New Window]
Reuters - The Federal Reserve is expected to hold interest rates near zero on Tuesday and renew its pledge to keep rates very low for a long time, but it could note a brightening economic picture and hint at being closer to dropping the vow.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 09:45:28 -0400 Plane Kills Jogger in Emergency Landing [New Window]
Plane attempting emergency landing kills man jogging on beach at Hilton Head. Emergency landing - South Carolina - United States - Counties - Business and Economy
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 09:21:29 -0400 Protesters splash blood outside Thai PM's office (Reuters) [New Window]
Reuters - Anti-government protesters poured bottles of their own blood outside the Thai prime minister's office on Tuesday, a "sacrifice for democracy" after demands for elections were rejected.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:24:19 -0400 Change the World -- on Vacation [New Window]
Fairmont recently rolled out 20 new apprenticeship programs at hotels around the world for vacationers who want to get away from it all, but still keep busy. Lodging - Travel - Recreation - Travel and Tourism - United States
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 09:13:39 -0400 Bill Maher: The Health Care Bill isn't going to save money [New Window]
Bill Maher doesn't believe that the health care bill will save money.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 09:09:24 -0400 Social Security to start cashing Uncle Sam's IOUs [New Window]
The retirement nest egg of an entire generation is stashed away in this small town along the Ohio River: $2.5 trillion in IOUs from the federal government, payable to the Social Security Administration. This will cause the deficit, and therefore the debt as well, to increase even faster.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 09:08:43 -0400 Deposit Checks To Your Bank By Taking a Photo [New Window]
Pickens writes "The Mercury News reports that consumers will soon be able to deposit a check by snapping a photo of it with a cell phone and transmitting an encrypted copy to their bank. Although some critics contend paperless deposits are an attempt by the banking industry to eliminate 'float,' the standard one- or two-day waiting period between the time someone writes a check and the time the money is actually taken out of their account, actually remote-deposit capture started out as a way for big companies and financial institutions to process huge numbers of checks without having to ship them around the country. 'Our customers are becoming more and more tech-savvy,' said an SVP for mobile banking at Citibank. 'We're trying to support those people on the go.' Although the process adds a new wrinkle to concerns about fraud and the privacy of financial data, banks and the technology companies helping them say they have largely overcome these concerns. Another bank SVP said, 'For many institutions struggling to raise deposits and differentiate, this is an outstanding offering they can roll out inexpensively [note: interstitial]. It's a sticky product.'" Read more of this story at Slashdot. Eye Popping Pics of Cyborg Animals from Photoshop Contest [New Window]
The Internet loves animals, and it loves photoshop. Worth1000.com decided to harness that double love and start a Photoshop contest to see who could create the coolest robotic animals on the web.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 09:00:03 -0400 World's shortest man dies in his early 20s (AP) [New Window]
AP - The world's shortest man has died in Italy, where he was to take part in a TV show, the program's production company said Tuesday.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 08:56:36 -0400 Housing construction drops 5.9 pct in February (AP) [New Window]
AP - Housing construction fell in February as winter blizzards held down activity in the Northeast and South. The decline highlighted the challenges facing builders as they struggle to emerge from the worst housing slump in decades.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:22:56 -0400 Secret Document Calls Wikileaks Threat to U.S. Army [New Window]
Wikileaks presents a threat to the U.S. Army and publishes potentially actionable information for targeting military personnel, according to a classified intelligence report posted Monday on the whistleblowing site.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 08:40:02 -0400 How to land a plane on a highway. [New Window]
There are no hard numbers on annual occurrences of airplane landings on highways or streets, but a troll through the Federal Aviation Administration's incident database shows that there tend to be more than a dozen such events in any given year...
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 08:30:05 -0400 10 Strange Athlete Superstitions [New Window]
Ten oddball things sports stars do for luck.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 08:30:05 -0400 FCC Tasks ISPs To Put The Pedal To The Metal At 100Mb [New Window]
We're talking about a policy that would task ISPs with putting 100Mbps speeds in place at 100 million American homes within the next decade. Broadband providers are concerned with the cost associated with the FCC's proposal, but should they be? According to ABI Research, global broadband service revenue is expected to exceed $210 billion in 2014.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 08:30:04 -0400 5 People In Your NCAA Pool [New Window]
Whether you like them or not, these are 5 people who might enter your NCAA Pool - and you'll take them because the more people, the bigger the take.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 08:30:02 -0400 FCC's Broadband Plan May Cost You Money [New Window]
At ten minutes past midnight the FCC released their National Broadband Plan. Judging by the available coverage, few reporters spent the night poring over it. The BBC at least posted something in the morning hours, but it quotes Enderle, so that gives you some idea of its sourcing. Business Week notes the plan's cool (not to say frigid) reception among broadcasters. Dave Burstein of FastNet News did some real digging. His take as of 4:00 am Eastern time is that the plan will cost most Americans money, and won't provide much if any relief to the poor. We'll see many more details and nuances emerge over the day. Read more of this story at Slashdot. MPAA boss Glickman says goodbye to Hollywood (AP) [New Window]
AP - Dan Glickman spent his Hollywood years aiming to improve the ratings system that tells Americans what to expect in a movie — and fighting pirates.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 08:15:26 -0400 Bethesda Announces New RPG: Hunted - Preview Inside [New Window]
RPG software giant Bethesda is bringing us a completely new RPG...
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 07:56:09 -0400 "Lost" Shakespeare play to be published (Reuters) [New Window]
Reuters - The discounted claims of an 18th century author to have re-shaped the words of Shakespeare into a play are finally being taken seriously by a respected publisher of the Bard's works nearly 300 years on.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 07:51:45 -0400 Inside the New Digg: An Interview with CEO Jay Adelson [New Window]
At last nights Bigg Digg Shindigg in Austin, TX, Digg CEO Jay Adelson briefly revealed plans for a massive overhaul of the social news site. This morning, I had an opportunity to chat with Adelson in-depth about the new Digg and what users, publishers, and the web as a whole should expect.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 07:20:03 -0400 Hemingway's Key West House Named Literary Landmark [New Window]
Ernest Hemingway's Key West home has been designated a literary landmark. Ernest Hemingway - Key West - United States - Florida - Florida Keys
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 07:12:57 -0400 Amarok 2.3.0 "Clear Light" released [New Window]
The Amarok team is proud to announce the release of Amarok 2.3.0.It brings many goodies like a new toolbar and a new more integratedfile browser.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 07:00:02 -0400 Windows Phone 7 apps have to be approved by Microsoft [New Window]
We just got out of a meeting with Microsoft's Todd Higgs, who dropped a little bombshell on us: the only official way to get apps on a Windows Phone 7 Series device will be to download them from Windows Phone Marketplace.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 06:51:46 -0400 Icebergs carved by the forces of nature [New Window]
These breathtaking photographs capture the natural majesty of enormous icebergs sculpted into architectural forms by the wind and rain of Antarctica. Photographer Steven Kazlowski, 40, witnessed these sights as he toured the world's most southerly continent on a 62-foot engined sailing boat
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 06:20:03 -0400 There Is No Overpopulation Problem...Is There? [New Window]
Fred Pearce argues that the focus on the population "problem" is a matter of the rich "downplay[ing] the importance of our own environmental footprint because future generations of poor people might one day have the temerity to get as rich and destructive as us."
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 06:10:02 -0400 Police: Woman hit sister with toilet lid (w/ Mugshot) [New Window]
Police arrested an Iowa City woman after she allegedly struck her sister with the lid of a toilet tank. Bonus mugshot of the suspect with a ***** grin.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 05:40:04 -0400 UK Internet Filtering Bill Watered Down [New Window]
superapecommando writes in with news that in the UK, Liberal Democratic peers will soften their filtering amendment to the Digital Economy Bill, to allow those wrongfully accused of illegal filesharing to sue the rightsholders in court. The previous version of the Bill had drawn instant criticism from some of the world's largest technology companies, including eBay, Google, and Yahoo, who signed an open letter against the filtering proposal. Blogger Glyn Moody summed up opposition to the Bill, stating that in its previous form, it was "utterly one-sided, where the only winners are a music recording industry too lazy to change, and the losers are everyone else." Read more of this story at Slashdot. ABBA, Hollies, Genesis, Iggy Pop enter Rock Hall (AP) [New Window]
AP - An English band steeped in harmony, a reggae pioneer, progressive rockers who thrived despite a defection, four Swedes who combined their nation's traditions with their rock heroes and a man who prowled a ballroom floor singing "I Wanna Be Your Dog" wouldn't seem to have much in common.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 03:39:24 -0400 Golden Nanocages To Put the Heat On Cancer Cells [New Window]
ElectricSteve writes "Researchers have been searching for a highly targeted medical treatment that attacks cancer cells but leaves healthy tissue alone. The approach taken by scientists at Washington University in St. Louis is to use 'gold nanocages' that, when injected, selectively accumulate in tumors. When the tumors are later bathed in laser light, the surrounding tissue is barely warmed, but the nanocages convert light to heat, killing the malignant cells. ... Although the tumors took up enough gold nanocages to give them a black cast, only 6 percent of the injected particles accumulated at the tumor site. They would like that number to be closer to 40 percent so that fewer particles would have to be injected. They plan to attach tailor-made ligands to the nanocages that recognize and lock onto receptors on the surface of the tumor cells. ... The scientists at WUSTL have just received a five-year, $2.1M grant from the National Cancer Institute to continue their work with photothermal therapy." Note that Gizmag features a stupid Subscribe nag that covers your screen after about a minute; sounds like a job for NoScript. Last year we discussed somewhat similar research using titanium dioxide nanoparticles to target a particular kind of brain cancer. Read more of this story at Slashdot. New HIV infections increasing among homosexuals (AP) [New Window]
AP - New HIV infections are increasing among homosexuals, drug users and prostitutes who don't seek help because of laws that criminalize these practices, the head of the U.N. AIDS agency said Monday.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 06:38:10 -0400 Fed weighs how and when to signal higher rates (AP) [New Window]
AP - Debate is heating up within the Federal Reserve over how and when to signal that the days of record-low interest rates are numbered.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 09:24:22 -0400 2 Drugs Fail to Prevent Diabetes in the Overweight (HealthDay) [New Window]
HealthDay - SUNDAY, March 14 (HealthDay News) -- Hopes that two available drugs could help prevent diabetes and the problems it causes in overweight people with poor sugar metabolism have been dashed by a major international study.
Mon, 15 Mar 2010 23:49:35 -0400 Health Tip: Buying Baby's Car Seat (HealthDay) [New Window]
HealthDay - (HealthDay News) -- Car safety seats, like the infants and children they protect, come in lots of different shapes and sizes.
Mon, 15 Mar 2010 23:49:28 -0400 Driving With Early Alzheimer's May Be Ill-Advised (HealthDay) [New Window]
HealthDay - FRIDAY, March 12 (HealthDay News) -- Elderly people with failing memories often keep driving, but a study of Alzheimer's patients suggests the risk of getting lost -- even on familiar streets -- may be greater than once thought.
Mon, 15 Mar 2010 23:49:22 -0400 Repeated Anesthesia May Hamper Children's Learning Ability (HealthDay) [New Window]
HealthDay - MONDAY, March 15 (HealthDay News) -- Brain stem cell loss is the reason why repeated anesthesia causes memory and learning problems in children, Swedish researchers suggest.
Mon, 15 Mar 2010 23:49:21 -0400 Erectile Dysfunction Plus Heart Disease Raises Death Risk (HealthDay) [New Window]
HealthDay - MONDAY, March 15 (HealthDay News) -- Men suffering from both cardiovascular disease and erectile dysfunction are at greater risk for heart attack, stroke, heart failure and death, a new study finds.
Mon, 15 Mar 2010 23:49:13 -0400 AP Source: Jackson in $200M-plus recording deal (AP) [New Window]
AP - The estate of Michael Jackson has landed the late King of Pop the biggest recording deal in history: a $200 million guaranteed contract with Sony Music Entertainment for 10 projects over seven years, according to a person familiar with the deal.
Mon, 15 Mar 2010 23:00:59 -0400 Ushahidi Crowd-Sources Crisis Response [New Window]
We mentioned late last year how open source software called Ushahidi — which means 'testimony' in Swahili — developed for election monitoring in Kenya was being used to similar effect in Afghanistan. Now reader Peace Corps Online adds a report from the NY Times that Usahidi's is now becoming a hero of the Haitian and Chilean earthquakes. "Ushahidi is used to gather distributed data via SMS, email, or web and visualize it on a map or timeline. The program was developed after violence erupted during Kenya's disputed election in 2007. Ory Okolloh, a prominent Kenyan lawyer and blogger, had gone back to Kenya to vote and observe the election. After receiving threats about her work, she returned to South Africa where she posted her idea of an Internet mapping tool to allow people to report anonymously on violence and other misdeeds. Volunteers built the Ushahidi Web platform over a long weekend, and the site began plotting on a map, using the locations given by informants, user-generated cellphone reports of riots, stranded refugees, rapes, and deaths. When the Haitian earthquake struck, Ushahidi went into action receiving thousands of messages reporting trapped victims; the same happened following the Chile earthquake. The Washington Post also used Ushahidi during the recent blizzards to build a site to map road blockages and the location of available snowplows and blowers. 'Ushahidi suggests a new paradigm in humanitarian work,' writes Anand Giridharadas. 'The old paradigm was one-to-many: foreign journalists and aid workers jet in, report on a calamity, and dispense aid with whatever data they have. The new paradigm is many-to-many-to-many: victims supply on-the-ground data; a self-organizing mob of global volunteers translates text messages and helps to orchestrate relief; then journalists and aid workers use the data to target the response.'" Read more of this story at Slashdot. Armey Accuses ‘Destructive’ Tancredo Of Alienating Hispanics [New Window]
Today, at a luncheon at the National Press Club on the future of the Republican Party in Washington, FreedomWorks chairman and tea party strategist Dick Armey slammed former Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO) and other anti-immigration activists for “alienating a ‘natural’ constituency [Latinos] that could help the party win elections.” Armey admitted that as House leader, he made sure Tancredo didn’t have a stage to speak on. The Daily Caller reports:Former Republican House leader Dick Armey said staunch anti-immigration opponents such as Rep. Tom Tancredo are destructive to Republicans and are alienating a natural constituency that could help the party win elections. Who in the Republican Party was the genius that said that now that we have identified the fastest-growing voting demographic in America, lets go out and alienate them? Armey said, referencing Hispanics, during a luncheon in Washington at the National Press Club.When I was the majority leader, I saw to it that Tom Tancredo did not get on the stage because I saw how destructive he was, Armey said of the Colorado congressman and 2008 Republican presidential candidate known for his opposition to illegal immigration. [...]Armey also said the Republican Party is the most naturally talented party at losing its natural constituents in the history of the world. This party was born with the emancipation proclamation and cant get a black vote to save its life. How do they do that?In an interview with Charlie Rose that aired earlier this month, Armey listed Tancredo (R-CO) as representing part of the tea party tent that he feels uncomfortable with. In 2006, Armey referred to Tancredo as the cheerleader of jerkiness in the immigration debate. Armey’s remarks have clearly made “nativist-extremist” groups that are trying to exploit the momentum of the tea party movement nervous. Americans for Legal Immigration (ALIPAC) quickly came to Tancredo’s defense and started urging its members to attack Armeys immigration position. According to ALIPAC, Armey has been fighting to keep the illegal immigration issue out of the Tea Party movement. On an organizing conference call hosted by NumbersUSA, callers dismissed Armey as not being a “true tea party patriot,” but also sought tips on how to translate their anti-immigrant views to fit the tea party narrative. “Well be a whole lot better off if when [sic] we talk about illegal immigrants we leave off the Hispanic-Latino stuff,” advised NumbersUSA executive director Roy Beck.More on The Wonk Room. XML Co-Founder Joins Google, Blasts iPhone [New Window]
conner_bw writes "XML co-founder Tim Bray has taken the job of 'Developer Advocate' at Google. Don't other companies call that position 'Evangelist?' Because he sure doesn't mince words against the iPhone in his first sermon: 'It's a sterile Disney-fied walled garden surrounded by sharp-toothed lawyers. The people who create the apps serve at the landlord's pleasure and fear his anger.'" Read more of this story at Slashdot. China To Connect Its High-Speed Rail To Europe [New Window]
MikeChino sends in this excerpt from Inhabitat: "China already has the most advanced and extensive high-speed rail lines in the world, and soon that network will be connected all the way to Europe and the UK. With initial negotiations and surveys already complete, China is now making plans to connect its HSR line through 17 other countries in Asia and Eastern Europe in order to connect to the existing infrastructure in the EU. Additional rail lines will also be built into South East Asia as well as Russia, in what will likely become the largest infrastructure project in history." They hope to get it done within 10 years, with China providing the financing in exchange for raw materials, in some cases. Read more of this story at Slashdot. Lieberman Criticizes Administration For Publicly Clashing With Israel: ‘Sometimes Silence Is Really Golden’ [New Window]
Last week, the Israeli government announced that it had approved settlement expansion in East Jerusalem and the West Bank just as Vice President Biden arrived in the country to propel Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Biden quickly condemned the move, saying that “the substance and the timing” of the announcement “undermines the trust we need right now and runs counter to the constructive discussions.” Later, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the Israeli move “insulting” and “a very unfortunate and difficult moment.” Israel’s U.S. ambassador reportedly described U.S.-Israeli relations as in a state of “crisis.” Now, conservative Israel supporters are pinning the blame on the Obama administration for the spat for daring to publicly air its differences with the Israeli government. Making reference to Clinton’s remarks, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), who himself enjoys airing public disagreements with Obama, urged the White House to be quiet on Israel: “It was a dust-up, a misunderstanding. (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu has apologized, and the timing was unfortunate. But the second round of criticism is unproductive. I make one appeal — sometimes silence really is golden.”In a press release, the Israel lobby organization AIPAC offered similar remarks. “The Obama Administration’s recent statements regarding the U.S. relationship with Israel are a matter of serious concern,” the statement read, adding that the “Administration should make a conscious effort to move away from public demands and unilateral deadlines directed at Israel.” On Fox News Sunday yesterday, the Weekly Standard’s Bill Kristol stated bluntly that the dust-up was all Obama’s fault. “This is a fight that the White House has picked,” he said. “I do not know, honestly, why the president chose to pick a big public fight just when it was all dying down with Israel.” It’s unclear why critics believe the White House “picked” the fight considering that Israel agreed in November to to curb settlement growth in partial fulfillment of Israels obligations under the Bush administration road map.The administration is speaking up in defense of U.S. interests in the region. CentCom commander Gen. David Petraeus said recently he “worries” about the “lack of progress in resolving the issue” for U.S. forces in the region and that he believes “that Israeli intransigence on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was jeopardizing U.S. standing in the region.” The Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz editorialized yesterday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s settlement policies are “leading to Israel’s increasing international isolation and threatening its key security interests in the name of an extreme right-wing ideology.” Rove: Obama ‘let a cowboy president…violate a fundamental principle of the Constitution.’ [New Window]
Today on ABC’s Topline, former top aide to President Bush Karl Rove provided one of the more bizarre attacks on the Obama administration regarding the recent U.S.-Israeli diplomatic spat, claiming that the cause of the dispute arose because White House aides didn’t do “their homework in advance.” If they had, Rove said, they wouldn’t “get caught by surprises like this.” Rove did not explain however, how doing more homework would have prevented a decision that was made by the Israeli government. But as another example of the alleged sluggish work ethic of White House staffers, Rove cited the administration’s handling of the Honduran military coup, which, ironically, he described in terms that one might ascribe to his former boss:ROVE: We saw it in Honduras. Where rather than monitoring the situation, they [the Obama administration] let a cowboy president try to act in an extra-constitutional way to violate a fundamental principle in the Constitution, all without having done their homework in advance.Watch it: Bethesda Unveils New Co-op Dungeon Crawler [New Window]
Bethesda Softworks took advantage of the recent Game Developers Conference to take the wraps off a new game called Hunted: The Demon's Forge that they're partnering with development studio inXile to create. It's planned for the PC, Xbox 360, and PS3, though no release window has been set. It's a third-person action game with a swords & sorcery setting, and it features two heroes as they fight their way through monster-filled dungeons. The game is designed such that two users can play together online (no split-screen), each controlling one of the heroes. ShackNews summed it up thus: "From what I saw, Hunted rolled up ideas from a number of different games to create its modern reinterpretation of the dungeon crawl. There was the raw action appeal of wading through waves of goblins, spiders, and related denizens. The skill system and weapon upgrades bring in the character development side from a role playing game. And the co-op design with its warrior and archer dynamic introduces the reward of playing together like an MMO." Read more of this story at Slashdot. REPORT: A Closer Look At Consumer Protections In Dodd’s Financial Reform Bill [New Window]
This post was co-written by David Min, Associate Director for Financial Markets Policy at the Center for American Progress Action Fund, and Pat Garofalo.After months of intractable negotiations with Republicans that went nowhere, and growing impatience from Americans irate that regulatory reforms for Wall Street still had not been completed, Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) today introduced his latest financial reform bill. Consumer advocates are approaching the bill with caution, as the proposal lacks a stand-alone Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA), such as was proposed by the Obama administration and passed by the House of Representatives.The Dodd bill instead creates a Bureau of Consumer Protection inside of the Federal Reserve, which has been heavily criticized for its past regulatory failures and for a culture that is seen as apathetic or even antagonistic to the concerns of consumer protection. Much like West Berlin during the Cold War, the Dodd Bureau would be surrounded by a hostile culture, and the loss of even one element of its independence could cause its downfall.So the key is whether the new Bureau will it be sufficiently empowered and isolated from that hostile culture to be effective. Longtime consumer protection advocate Elizabeth Warren has listed four criteria for an effective consumer financial protection regulator: 1) an independent director appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate; 2) independent budget authority so it is not prone to the whims of the appropriation process; 3) independent rule-making authority; and 4) independent enforcement powers. A close reading of the Dodd bill shows that his Bureau largely meets these tests (and, in fact, Warren has cautiously praised the new bill). Here is how Dodd’s Bureau compares to the CFPA included in the financial reform bill passed by the House last year and the Obama administration’s initial financial reform proposal.ProvisionSenate Bureau of Consumer ProtectionHouse Consumer Financial Protection AgencyAdministration Consumer Financial Protection AgencyPresidentially Appointed DirectorYes, confirmed by the Senate.Yes, confirmed by the Senate.Yes, confirmed by the Senate.Independent source of fundingYes, from the Federal Reserve Board budget.Yes, from the Federal Reserve Board budget.Yes, with fees on “entities and transactions” within the financial system.Rule-making AuthorityWrites rules, but rules can be vetoed by a two-thirds vote of a newly created council of bank regulators.Full rule-making authority.Full rule-making authority.Covering Non-Bank Financial FirmsRules apply to all banks, non-bank home lenders, and other “significant” non-banks.Rules apply to all banks and non-banks, with some select exemptions (auto dealers, for example)Rules apply to all banks and non-banksEnforcement AuthorityOnly enforces rules for banks with more than $10 billion in assets. All others are overseen by their current regulator.Only enforces rules for banks with more than $10 billion in assets. All others are overseen by their current regulator.Full enforcement responsibilities.Unfortunately, because the Bureau is going to be housed in the Fed, it is going to need every single one of those robust independence measures to ensure that it is not co-opted by a larger regulatory body that hasnt historically been sympathetic to consumer concerns, and which is already dealing with a number of other major missions, including being designated the primary systemic risk regulator. In this environment, it is easy to see how a Fed-dominated Bureau would be ineffective.Dodds Bureau as currently constructed is a good one, but if any of its key features are watered down, even a tiny bit, it will quickly become a bad proposal. So why go through all of these bells and whistles to establish independence for a Bureau within the Fed? Why not just establish a stand alone agency? And at the end of the day, how many Republican votes have been won by putting the Bureau within the Fed? Pirate Bay Legal Action Dropped In Norway [New Window]
superapecommando writes "Copyright holders have given up legal efforts to force Norwegian ISP Telenor to block filesharing site The Pirate Bay, one of the parties to the case said. The copyright holders, led by Norway's performing rights society TONO and by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry Norway (IFPI Norge), have lost two rounds in the Norwegian court system, and have now decided against appealing the case to Norway's supreme court." Read more of this story at Slashdot. WATCH: Body Scans: Invasion or Safety? [New Window]
Chicago's O'Hare Airport begins using full body scanners. United States - Business - Transportation and Logistics - Aviation - Airports
Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:01:47 -0400 Indonesia’s largest Muslim group calls for welcoming President Obama and condemns hardline protests. [New Window]
Next week, President Obama plans to visit Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country, where he spent much of his childhood. Upon the announcement that the President would return to the island nation for an official visit, several hardline Islamic groups began calling for protests against visit. But in a positive sign of the impact Obama’s visit is having in the Muslim nation, Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia’s largest Islamic organization, has called on Indonesian Muslims to welcome Obama and has condemned the hardliners’ protests:Nahdlatul Ulama deputy chairman Maskuri Abdillah said the visit would strengthen frayed ties between the United States and the Muslim world. “We call on all Muslims in Indonesia not to join any protest rejecting the visit of President Obama to Indonesia,” he told AFP.“This call has been made following our concerns about a number of protests by some Muslim groups who stand against the visit. “We must welcome Obama as his visit will be positive in terms of the US relationship with the Muslim world.”Thousands of demonstrators from radical Muslim group Hizbut Tahrir, which aims to establish an Islamic caliphate, rallied against Obama on Sunday, tearing US flags and calling America a terrorist state. Such groups have little support in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country where Obama lived for four years as a child.The reaction of Nahdlatul Ulama to Obama is a marked contrast from its persistent skepticism of President Bush. In 2003, the chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama told Bush that the United States should stop seeing Indonesia as a “terrorists’ nest, because Indonesia is a terror victim.” Some aspects of austerity drive to end on March 31, says FM [New Window]
Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday said some aspects of austerity drive will come to an end on March 31, amid speculation that ministers and bureaucrats may not need... Spreadsheet [New Window]
A recent survey of about 3,500 Internet users in the US by Merkle, a customer relationship marketing agency, found out.. Canada Pension set to pump $100 m into Ramnath fund [New Window]
Canada Pension Plan (CPP), among the world's largest investors with assets worth $124 billion under its belt, is investing $100 million in the new private equity firm.... Column: Why finmin must lead the FSDC [New Window]
Two kinds of reasons drive the need for better regulatory coordination in finance. The first is the Indian problem of having a large number of financial regulators. Quick View [New Window]
Autocomponent manufacturer Bosch India on Monday lifted the lockout it has declared at its Naganathapura plant near Bangalore. CAG takes on Punjab Roadways [New Window]
The Comptroller and Auditor General has rapped the Punjab State Transport Undertakings for incurring heavy losses due to high cost of operations and their declining share.... Ringing out loud: RComm reaches 100-m subscribers [New Window]
The country's second largest mobile operator, the Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communications (RComm), on Monday said it has reached 100-million subscriber mark within seven years of.... Capacity addition could cap Baltic Dry Index gains [New Window]
Baltic Exchange freight Index, which tracks rates to ship dry commodities, rose almost 7.5% last week from 3,242 on.... CIL objects to Vedanta's plant site in West Bengal [New Window]
State-owned Coal India Limited has raised objections to the choice of site for Vedanta Aluminium Limited's proposed plant at Bidhanbag near Asansol in West Bengal, saying that it... Jharkhand seeks NGO help for improving farmers financial plight [New Window]
Jharkhand minister for agriculture and animal husbandry Mathura Prasad Mahato said here today (on Saturday) that his department would seek the help of NGOs in the state in.... Broadcasting norms could be overhauled [New Window]
Prior experience in broadcasting sector of both the applicant company and its promoters may be included in the revised licensing norms of the television sector. Column: All mining rights should be auctioned [New Window]
According to a news report in The Indian Express on Monday, the ministry of mines is planning to hand over mineral... Airline traffic dips 4% in February [New Window]
Air traffic in India has dipped 4% to 38.63 lakh passengers in February from 40.87 lakh in January, according to the data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation Foreign universities get the go ahead from Cabinet [New Window]
Getting a degree from the best of foreign universities just got easier. Bright students aspiring to study at Harvard or Cambridge but lacking the means to relocate will be able to.... SC upholds CERCs power to cap trading [New Window]
In a big setback to power trading companies, such as the Tatas group and Reliance, the Supreme Court on Monday held that the electricity tribunal has no jurisdiction to look into the.... IOB ups depost rates, Central Bank cuts rates for doctors [New Window]
Indian Overseas Bank on Monday revised the rate of interest on deposits effective March 15. For deposits of less than Rs 1 crore for tenure of 270 days and less than one.... GoaFest 2010 [New Window]
Goafest has had its supporters and its detractors. BrandWagon talks to Colvyn Harris, CEO, JWT, who is also the chairman of Goafest. Also, the views of two agency heads... UBS pays $52 m in bonuses [New Window]
UBS AG, the Swiss bank that last month reported a third consecutive annual loss, paid 54.9 million Swiss francs in bonuses and other awards to executive board members for 2009. Millers stuck with high-cost cane [New Window]
Indian millers are facing the prospect of lower margins in coming quarters as the recent steep fall in prices has saddled them with cane bought at the height of the price boom this year. Goafest 2010 Shifting Sands [New Window]
It's a triumphant advertising fraternity that's coming together to celebrate creativity at the Utorda Beach in Goa next month Pachauri not to quit IPCC [New Window]
Apparetly buoyed by government support, Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change chief RK Pachauri on Monday said he was in no mood to follow the footsteps of Yvo de Boer.... Maya targets Congress at rally, under oppn attack over Bareilly [New Window]
Under attack over the communal violence in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati on Monday held a rally in Lucknow in a big show of strength and slammed the Congress for pushing the women's reservation Bill. Truant MPs, partners force govt to defer nuclear-liability Bill [New Window]
With Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee joining the Opposition BJP and the Left in opposing the Civil Liability for... Report card [New Window]
The interest for the media industry has increased considerable in the last years. In particular, during the last decade, the media industry of many countries around the world has.... Indias private sector key to development in Africa: Krishna [New Window]
The Centre on Monday said the country's private sector has a key role to play in supporting capacity building and skills development initiatives in Africa. Insurance sector IPO norms likely next month [New Window]
The initial public offer guidelines for the insurance sector is likely to announced next month, the Insurance Regulatory... Made full disclosure of existing buildings: Infy [New Window]
Even as the stalemate over the legality of Infosys Technologies' Chandigarh special economic zone campus continues, the country's second largest IT firm has... Shanghaied by billionaires [New Window]
It happened on March 5, as Hong Kong's chief executive visited Beijing. There, local media confronted Tsang with an... Focused on staple diet of serials [New Window]
The Zee Entertainment Enterprises stock has risen 205% over the past one year with the company making news for several reasons. Service tax on realty likely to be intensely debated [New Window]
In a significant change in taxation of transactions for sale of property before construction is completed, the Finance Bill 2010 proposes to levy service tax deeming such transactions as ''services''. Ranbaxy, Takeda settle patent row [New Window]
Ranbaxy Laboratories on Monday said it has settled a patent litigation with Japan's largest drugmaker Takeda Pharmaceuticals on the $3.4 billion blockbuster drug Actos... Happy birthday, global stock rally [New Window]
The global stock rally is one-year old. World stock markets closed at their low for the crisis 12 months ago on March 9. Tata Motors global sales spurt 59% in February [New Window]
Homegrown auto major Tata Motors on Monday said its global sales was up by 59% in February to 89,768 units on robust demand for both commercial and passenger vehicles. IndusInd Bank likely to raise Rs 300 cr from tier-II bonds [New Window]
IndusInd Bank plans to raise Rs 300 crore through tier-II bonds in the home market, which would help the bank shore... ICICI Bank aims at 15% growth [New Window]
After having raised its ratio of low-cost deposits and pared unsecured loans, ICICI Bank plans to grow its balance sheet size by 15% in 2010-11, improving upon this year's flat growth. Bhel to build IOCs captive power plant [New Window]
Public sector power equipment manufacturer Bhel has won a Rs 3,348- crore turnkey contract from Indian Oil Corporation for setting up a captive power plant at its upcoming Paradip refinery in Orissa. Sweet revenge [New Window]
What should one do when the woman of the house loses control over the remote control and declares a 'non-cooperation movement'? Indian M&As set for a record year [New Window]
With economic recovery underway, companies are increasingly looking at mergers and acquisitions in both the domestic and international markets. Radio bets big on classified ad format [New Window]
In a bid to shore up its advertising revenues and mop up new clients, the Rs 840 crore Indian radio industry is aggressively marketing the classified advertising format. Kent RO sets up 3rd plant in Uttarakhand [New Window]
To increase the production capacity, water purifying devices firm Kent RO Systems has set up its third manufacturing facility in Roorkee. Bits & Bytes [New Window]
Montblanc has launched Homme Exceptionnel, the new male fragra-nce. The fragrance reflects the sophistication of... Now, FCI mulls e-auction of coarse grain [New Window]
As the government plans to sell wheat under the open market sale scheme (OMSS) from Tuesday through the e-auction process for the first time, the Food Corporation of India... More teeth for Sebi to trail funds [New Window]
Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India could soon get more teeth to monitor the end-use of money raised through initial public offerings by companies. The ministry of corporate affairs, which currently performs this role through the registrar of companies, wants Sebi to be roped in for this task, since companies divert funds through complex mechanisms that require expert hands to track. Sources said a proposal to this effect was mooted last Monday at a meeting convened by MCA secretary R Bandyopadhyay and attended by officials of Sebi and RBI, as members of the coordination and monitoring committee on vanishing companies. HCC to buy 66% stake in Karl Steiner for Rs 150 cr [New Window]
In an all-cash deal, Hindustan Construction Company Ltd is acquiring 66% stake in Karl Steiner AG (KSAG), a realty firm in Switzerland for about 33 million CHF(Rs 150 crore). Mutual funds entice customers with gold schemes [New Window]
Mutual funds (MF) are trying out ways to lure investors into the gold funds. If investors are not willing to go to the exchange to buy gold funds, asset management companies.... FE Editorial: Mine by auction [New Window]
As The Indian Express reported yesterday, the mines ministry is planning to hand out licences for minerals other than coal to those 'first in the queue'. Such a provision will be part of.... JP Morgan Asset Mgmt invests in China, India [New Window]
JP Morgan Asset Management has invested almost a quarter of its $860 million Asian infrastructure fund in China and India assets, as part of efforts to complete investments in the next two years. Gold jewellery biz may grow 30% [New Window]
Gold jewellery business is expected to grow by up to 30% during Akshaya Tritiya, a festival considered auspicious for.... US, UK move closer to losing AAA credit rating [New Window]
The US and the UK have moved "substantially" closer to losing their AAA credit ratings as the cost of servicing their debt rose, according to Moody's Investors Service. Media & entertainment space will see some significant consolidation [New Window]
The Indian media and entertainment industry is expected to grow in strong double digits in the next few years, after having seen off a rough patch in 2009. Court bars Cadila from selling drug [New Window]
With the Supreme Court refusing to give any relief to Cadila Healthcare Ltd on Monday, the pharma major cannot sell its anti-depressant drug Venz OD for another three months. Inflation nears 10%, but govt doesnt see rate hike [New Window]
The core inflation rate for the economy has almost reached double-digits. Latest wholesale price-based monthly inflation data released by the government on Monday said the rate..... Port sector will see an investment of Rs 14,000 crore this year [New Window]
In his first full-fledged interview after being appointed shipping secretary in November 2009... Exports to get a boost as work on Baddi trade centre takes off [New Window]
Exporters of the Baddi industrial belt in Himachal Pradesh may soon find a solution to their woes as after facing much delay, work has finally started at the site of the proposed Baddi trade centre. Soap wars: playing out all over again [New Window]
Last week, the Hindustan Unilever stock lost more than 7%, closing at Rs 219.65 on the National Stock Exchange. Nod to draft Bill for safety on national highways [New Window]
The government on Monday approved a draft bill to set up a body to suggest measures for improving safety aspects of national highways in the country. Finance companies steal the limelight at IIM-K hiring [New Window]
The finance companies hogged the limelight at IIM-Kozhikode placements. It was a jumbo batch at IIM-K this time with 32% more students than the previous year, but all 250.... ABW Infra set to invest Rs 1,000 cr in Gurgaon [New Window]
Realty firm ABW Infrastructure on Monday said it will invest Rs 1,000 crore in developing a 105-acre integrated township in Gurgaon. Oil cos hike fuel price by 2.4% [New Window]
For the second time this month, state-owned oil retailers on Monday raised aviation turbine fuel price by 2.44% in step with firming global rates. Jairams Vedanta statement not based on facts: Orissa minister [New Window]
The Orissa government on Monday joined issue with Union environment and forest minister Jairam Ramesh on the Vedanta alumina project issue. State steel and mines minister... Googles China talks on, despite pullout signs [New Window]
Google said on Monday it remained in talks with the Chinese government about censorship of its Chinese-language search portal, despite mounting signs the company could soon shut the site. Now, just put up your FDI proposals online [New Window]
Finance secretary Ashok Chawla on Monday launched a website of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board to enable foreign investors file applications electronically. Bonds rise, Re falls [New Window]
10-year bonds rose for the first time in four days on speculation yields near their highest level in almost 17 months... UK firms bet big on India; eye partnerships [New Window]
They are among the top companies in the automotive, aerospace and manufacturing sector in UK and are keen on being part of the India growth story. We have a lot of loyal customers in this part of the world [New Window]
The UK's super luxury auto giant Bentley launched its Rs 2.9-crore Mulsanne on Monday for the Indian customers and is set to hit the Indian roads by October-November 2010. Quick View [New Window]
Fun Cinemas launched a five-screen multiplex at AlphaOne in Amritsar on Monday. The multiplex which was inaugrated by deputy chief minister of Punjab Sukhbir Singh Badal will start... Pharma, healthcare scrips at 52-week high [New Window]
Pharma and healthcare companies are making a strong comeback on the bourses. At least one of these companies have been hitting their 52-week high every day since the last... Oh, Brother! [New Window]
It sounds distinctly unpromising. A nine-volume, 2,200-page report by a court-appointed examiner into the causes of... Quick View [New Window]
The country's top two commodity exchanges MCX and NCDEX will raise the open position limit for crude palm oil futures from April 1 in an effort to increase trading volume. World View [New Window]
Facebook CEO and founder has been named as the Media Person of the Year at the 57th Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. The award is given to a prominent... Oscar night TV ads: a sense of deja vu [New Window]
It is rare to see an actress on the Oscar red carpet wearing her gown from the previous year. Why, then, were there so many retreads among the commercials that appeared on... NMDC issue priced at Rs 300; shares dip 5% [New Window]
The stock of NMDC came off by 5% to close at Rs 344.60, after the issue price for the follow-on public offer (FPO) was fixed at Rs 300 per equity share. FE Editorial: Brute majority [New Window]
The government seems to have gone completely cold on accepting the recommendations of the Kirit Parikh Committee report proposing the deregulation of oil prices. The PDS system will now have to be conceived differently [New Window]
Kaushik Basu, chief economic advisor in the finance ministry, foresees a political consensus emerging on subsidy reform. Vegetable oil imports down 8% to 0.7 mt [New Window]
India's vegetable oil imports in February fell 8% to 700,769 tonne from a year ago as higher purchases in the previous months pushed up port stocks, the Solvent Extractors.... Satyam case: SC refuses bail to Raju [New Window]
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to grant bail to disgraced Satyam Computers founder and ex-chairman B Ramalinga Raju, the prime accused in the multi-crore financial.... Column: Slipping on oil [New Window]
Public sector oil-marketing companies may find themselves too financially crippled to implement expansion plans if the government fails to take a decision on the... Nitish-Sharad row: a conflict that may not end in a split [New Window]
While the Women's Reservation Bill has led to unrest in all major political outfits, for the Janata Dal (United), it has precipitated a serious crisis that threatens to tear the party... Facebook to enter Asia with Hyd office [New Window]
Social networking giant Facebook has decided to open an office in Hyderabad, making it the company's first office in Asia, further underlining India's importance in the global.. Advance tax collections look up [New Window]
Impressive advance tax payments by a veritable cross-section of corporate India in the fourth quarter of this fiscal reinforced the belief that the economy is on the path of fast recovery. Letters to the editor [New Window]
Apropos of the article 'Budgeting for simpler tax codes', the idea of a GST regime is good for the industry. Mob culture and new media [New Window]
It all started with an innocuous meeting for coffee. And ended up being an exercise in online brand reputation management. I am referring to the situation faced by Cafe Coffee Day... Quick View [New Window]
Australia's Arrow Energy is set to reject as too low a $3-billion joint takeover offer from Royal Dutch Shell and PetroChina, a... Quick View [New Window]
Reliance Industries and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemical Ltd have committed to buy up to 45% of the crude oil... JREDA runs out of cash, but firm on solar power plans [New Window]
The Jharkhand Renewable Energy Development Agency is said to be penniless today even though it still has the ambition to float a tender to electrify with solar energy 44.... AIG holds back $21 m from fin units payout [New Window]
American International Group Inc is holding back $21 million from retention bonuses due by Monday to current and former employees of its Financial Products unit, a source familiar with... EU finance ministers to avoid bailout for Greece [New Window]
European finance ministers will work on still-secret plans to help Greece overcome its debt crisis on Monday, while... Apollo wont sell stake to Parkway [New Window]
India's largest healthcare group, Apollo Hospitals, has ruled out selling its stake in the seven-year-old Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals, a 50-50 joint venture with Parkway Health of... UK firms bet big on India; eye partnerships [New Window]
They are among the top companies in the automotive, aerospace and manufacturing sector in UK and are keen on... India Inc can now file CSR report online [New Window]
To make the corporate social responsibility compliance easier for companies, the ministry of corporate affairs is soon going to come out with an e-form under MCA-21.... IPL III bowls over 43% more viewers [New Window]
Riding on the fast-paced growth of direct-to-home services and digital cable, especially in the metros, has helped the third-edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL III) reach... Quick View [New Window]
The stock market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India has asked mutual funds to compulsorily provide... Labour minister evasive in Question Hour, Speaker intervenes [New Window]
Labour minister Mallikarjun Kharge came under attack from BJP and Left MPs for his inadequate answers to pointed queries during Question Hour in the Lok Sabha on Monday. We plan to explore new ventures [New Window]
Punjab National Bank has identified new opportunities arising out of global slowdown and converted it into business... SC to consider recall of SIT probe against Modi [New Window]
Six days before Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi was to appear before the Special Investigation Team.... Arteries improve after smokers quit, study finds (AP) [New Window]
AP - Quitting smoking can turn back time.
Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:06:10 -0400 Continental Airlines to Charge for Food [New Window]
Continental to join the food-for-sale crowd; No more free food for many. Continental Airlines - Airline - Business - Recreation - Technology
Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:49:07 -0400 Republican AG Orchestrating Fight To Invalidate Health, Energy Reform Floats Support For Birther Lawsuit [New Window]
Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R-VA) has positioned himself as the leader of a state-based movement on the right to invalidate key progressive reforms. Announcing a lawsuit to undermine the Environmental Protection Agency’s power to regulate carbon emissions, Cuccinelli recently filed a petition claiming that global warming is “unverifiable and doctored” science. Cuccinelli has also promised to use the state’s recently passed “state sovereignty” law — crafted with the help of health insurance lobbyists and a right-wing front group Cuccinelli claimed membership to while in the legislature — to file a lawsuit against implementing health reform in Virginia. Now, according to audio uncovered by blogger Not Larry Sabato, Cuccinelli is floating his support for yet another fringe conservative idea: the “birther” movement. In an audio clip allegedly recorded during the transition period after his election last year, Cuccinelli is asked how he could legally challenge President Obama’s citizenship. Cuccinelli lays out the legal framework, then adds that such a suit could occur because the “speculation” that Obama is from Kenya “doesn’t seem beyond the realm of possibility”:Q: What can we do about Obama and the birth certificate thing? Because that’s–CUCCINELLI: It will get tested in my view when someone, when he signs a law, and someone is convicted of violating it and one of their defenses will be it is not a law because someone qualified to be President didnt sign it.Q: Is that something you can do as Attorney General? Can you do that or something?CUCCINELLI: Well only if there is a conflict where we are suing the federal government for a law theyve passed. So its possible. [...] Well, thats a good question. Not one Ive thought a lot about because it hasnt been part of my campaign. Someone is going to have to come forward with nailed down testimony that he was born in place B, wherever that is. You know, the speculation is Kenya. And that doesnt seem beyond the realm of possibility.Listen here:Cuccinelli’s encouraging words for the paranoid birther movement isn’t the first time he has indulged in right-wing conspiracy theories. People for the American Way’s Right Wing Watch blog reports on a video from 2009, when Cuccinelli told a crowd that he was considering not registering his son for Social Security because the registration number “is being used to track you.” He also claimed that many others are not registering for Social Security numbers for the same reason.While Cuccinelli continues his far right quest of tearing down health reform, clean energy reform, and even the President’s legitimacy, Virginia is struggling. Residents are facing skyrocketing health insurance premiums, with new rate hikes from Blue Cross Blue Shield expected in April. Clean energy reform would help reverse Virginia’s current rate of unemployment — currently 6.9% — by adding nearly 45,000 jobs and unleashing $3.9 billion in investments. Senate GOP Candidate Carly Fiorina Flip-Flops On Cap-And-Trade [New Window]
In pursuit of the California Republican Party nomination for the 2010 Senate, Carly Fiorina has abandoned her support for cap-and-trade legislation. The former Hewlett Packard executive hopes to unseat Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), who has championed clean energy legislation as the chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee. In a new online advertisement created by Sen. Jim Inhofe’s (R-OK) nephew Fred Davis, the Fiorina campaign portrays Boxer as a giant floating head ominously looming over California. A gravel-voiced narrator claims that Boxer is “indifferent” that her climate policies “would take already painful jobless numbers and make them dramatically worse”:NARRATOR: Proclaiming a cap-and-trade bill would clean the environment, indifferent that it would take already painful jobless numbers and make them dramatically worse. BOXER: “That’s where you’ll have a little bit of an increase in electricity prices…” NARRATOR: Even President Obama says electricity rates will skyrocket. And the Wall Street Journal says it is likely to be the biggest tax increase in history.However, less than two years ago, Fiorina was singing a different tune. Speaking at the 2008 Republican National Convention in Minneapolis, MN, she praised Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) cap-and-trade plan as something that would “both create jobs and lower the cost of energy”:I know John McCain. And in 2013, America will be more energy-independent because of his determination that we must power our own country, and his long-standing commitment to protecting our environment. John McCain will create a cap-and-trade system that will encourage the development of alternative energy sources. He will help advance clean coal technology, and nuclear power. And all of this will both create jobs and lower the cost of energy. Watch a montage:Like McCain’s plan, Boxer’s climate legislation marries a market-based cap on carbon pollution with support for alternative energy sources, including nuclear power and advanced coal technology. The revenues generated from a cap on carbon pollution will protect electricity consumers from the cost of investing in new jobs and ending dependence on oil, as Boxer has explained last year:We must get these greenhouse gas emissions out of the air because if the planet continues to warm, we’re in a whole lot of trouble. Pretty much everyone agrees on that. Now, that means we have to move to clean energy and away from imported oil and those Middle East dictators. That’s good. We’ll move to clean energy. It will be better for our health and our families. That’s good. What about this transition period, as we move away from the dirty fuels and dirty coal to clean coal, to clean fuels, to solar, wind and geothermal? That’s where you’ll have a little bit of an increase in electricity prices. However, with a cap-and-trade system, you will have an incoming stream of revenues just as you do from the acid rain program, an incoming stream of revenues. And those revenues will make consumers whole. They will never pay any more. And that’s just the facts.Analyses by the Environmental Protection Agency, Energy Information Administration, Union of Concerned Scientists, and the Congressional Budget Office show that Boxer (and Fiorina circa 2008) is indeed telling the facts.However, Fiorina 2010 seems to have decided to get her policy advice from one of her first endorsers, global warming denier Jim Inhofe.Cross-posted on The Wonk Room. Bachmann: Americans ‘Have Standing To Sue’ If House Uses Self-Executing Rule To Pass Health Care [New Window]
Last week, Politico reported that House Democrats had discussed the possibility of avoiding a direct vote on Senate health care bill by using a “self-executing rule,” which would call for the Senate bill to be automatically attached to reconciliation legislation if the House votes to pass a package of fixes being negotiated between the two chambers. “In other words, Bill A would just become part of Bill B if the House passes Bill B, and the Senate could then vote on a reconciliation package before sending it to the president,” wrote Politico’s Patrick O’Connor to explain the process. House Republicans coined this proposed maneuver the “Slaughter Solution” after House Rules Chairwoman Louise Slaughter (D-NY), claiming it was a “scheme” to “bend the rules” in order to pass health care reform. On Friday, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) attacked the proposal as “breathtakingly unconstitutional,” telling right-wing Minnesota radio host Chris Baker that “it would destroy Article I, Section 7, Clause 2 of the United States Constitution.” “No one’s ever seen anything like this before,” said Bachmann.When Baker suggested that someone should be “arrested” if a “self-executing rule” is used, Bachmann declared that the parliamentary procedure would give every American “standing to sue against this bill”:BAKER: Is there any point in which these people should be removed?BACHMANN: Well, you’re right. It’s as though the people’s representatives are irrelevant because they want what they want and that has more in common with Chavez in Venezuela than it does with the way that we do business here in the United States. Yes, what, I believe, what could happen is if they decide to go down this very bad road, pass a rule that says that we’re just going to pretend that the bill is already passed, if they do that then American citizens have standing to sue against this bill because everyone will be negatively impacted because of the bill. It will impose the mandates, it will jack up everyone’s insurance premiums and taxes. So people would have the right to sue. So you will see, you’ll see scores of people filing lawsuits against this and it will be just tied up in knots. I mean, we’ve had nothing but division and disruption and frustration and it’s just been chaos here in Washington, DC.Listen here:The Wall Street Journal reported today that the House isn’t likely to go the “self-executing rule” route. Instead, “Democrats now envision the House passing the Senate version of the legislation, then taking up a narrow package of budget-oriented changes. If the House approves the changes, they would go to the Senate.”But if Democrats do end up using the Slaughter method, it would not be the unprecedented, unconstitutional event that Bachmann describes. In fact, as Time’s Karen Tumulty points out, another name for the “Slaughter Solution” could be the “Dreier Doctrine,” named after former Republican Rules Committee Chairman Rep. David Dreier (R-CA). Tumulty writes that self-executing rules are “something that House members tend to complain about when they are in the minority — and use at will when they are in the majority.” As Don Wolfensberger, the former staff director of the House Rules Committee, wrote in 2006, “When Republicans took power in 1995, they soon lost their aversion to self-executing rules and proceeded to set new records under Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA).”Transcript: BACHMANN: Now they want to say that they’ve passed it without having the House vote on it.BAKER: Now how do you do this? How do you pass a bill without voting?BACHMANN: Well, you can’t. It’s a fiction. It’s impossible. It would destroy Article I, Section 7, Clause 2 of the United States Constitution. That portion of the Constitution mandates that that any member of Congress’ name, like Michele Bachmann, has to be recorded next to a yes or no vote. And so, if you believe the bill is passed, you’d have to have a recorded vote to point to. And what they want to do is pass a rule of debate. So, they would want us to vote on a rule that just talks about the parameters of debate. This is how long we’ll debate. This is how many amendments you can offer. And on that rule they want to say that they will stipulate that we’ve already passed the bill. So we’ve passed a rule about the debate, but in the rule they’ll say, well, the bill’s already been passed. It..itBAKER: This, this is dishonest as it gets.BACHMANN: It it it doesn’t get anymore dishonest. It’s breathtakingly unconstitutional. But they can’t do that because how can you vote just for a rule on how we’re going to debate. It’s putting the cart before the horse because in that rule you’re saying the bill’s already been passed. It, that’s why it’s a fiction. It’s impossible to do and I think even the mainstream liberal press out here were, their jaws went slack. They, they just couldn’t believe it. I mean no one’s ever seen anything like this before.BAKER: Yeah. Oh my gosh, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann with us here on the Chris Baker radio show.BACHMANN: And it shows how desperate they are to pass this. They’re so desperate, they can’t get their votes together. The Democrats in the House are so embarrassed of this bill, they don’t want their name next to a recorded vote and that’s why they want to figure out some way to say they passed it without actually voting for it.BAKER: Well, this is reallyBACHMANN: It’s weird. It’s weird.BAKER: Well, first of all, has anyone calling them out on this? I mean, is anyone standing up and saying, listen you can’t do this?BACHMANN: Well, I think a number of us are. I’ve been trying to get on every media I can nationally and locally to tell people what they’re doing here this week and I think that’s why we’re going to see so many people at the rally tomorrow. Because this is just, this is beyond anyone’s thinking. I mean there’s a woman who came up to me yesterday, long-time working here at the Capitol. She’s non-partisan, been here for years. She had tears in her eyes and she said to me, “what are they doing to my country? Don’t they think they have to even follow the laws anymore?” I mean, this is just making it up out of the air. Pass a rule that says we’ve already passed a bill that we haven’t.BAKER: But, here’s what I don’t understand. So you have that horrible Senate bill and then you have the President’s little list of what he would like. Like a Christmas list. And they’re treating his Christmas list as if it’s an actual piece of legislation, it seems like.BACHMANN: They are. They’re treating it like it is a bill, but the Congressional Budget Office tells us how much a bill will cost and they’re throwing their hands up saying, “we can’t do this. We can’t look at this little 11 or 12 pages of bullet points and tell you how much a bill is going to cost.” Because see what they want to do is they want to pretend that they’ve passed bill and then later after wards they’ll figure out what’s in it and how much it’s going to cost. That’s why you heard Speaker Pelosi this week say, “let’s pass the bill and then we can, that way we’ll know what’s in it.”BAKER: Ugh. Now, is there a point where someone can get arrested.BACHMANN: Hehe.BAKER: Now, I’m serious. Congresswoman Michele Bachmann here with us on the Chris Baker program. I mean, there’s procedure, there’s agreement, there’s disagreement and then of course there’s tactics, which we’ve seen in this health care debate.BACHMANN: Then there’s corruption. BAKER: Right, absolutely, there’s corruption, but at some point can the American people demand that as an example Nancy Pelosi be removed from office. I mean, this is a woman who clearly has zero respect for the American citizen. I mean you can’t govern without the consent of the governed. So, obviously these are people who are hell bent on bringing this legislation forward and passing it in any way possible. It’s almost like it’s a superficial passing of the legislation. And is there any point in which these people should be removed?BACHMANN: Well, you’re right. It’s as though the people’s representatives are irrelevant because they want what they want and that has more in common with Chavez in Venezuela than it does with the way that we do business here in the United States. Yes, what, I believe, what could happen is if they decide to go down this very bad road, pass a rule that says that we’re just going to pretend that the bill is already passed, if they do that then American citizens have standing to sue against this bill because everyone will be negatively impacted because of the bill. It will impose the mandates, it will jack up everyone’s insurance premiums and taxes. So people would have the right to sue. So you will see, you’ll see scores of people filing lawsuits against this and it will be just tied up in knots. I mean, we’ve had nothing but division and disruption and frustration and it’s just been chaos here in Washington, DC.BAKER: Well, I see nothing but deceit. I mean, I just, I’m watching absolute deceit and tactics that I haven’t seen since I was a kid watching the old Soviet Union. It seems that everything, is you know, it’s a central planning committee.BACHMANN: Yes. It is. It is. The World's 12 Kinkiest Sex Museums [New Window]
"Let's talk about sex baby, let's talk about you and me..." These were hip-hop trio Salt-n-Pepa's famous words from their one hit wonder, "Let's Talk About Sex." Sex. It's a topic that's often touched upon, joked about and skirted about, but never really openly discussed. But today, the spread of sex museums is challenging the once taboo nature of sex by bringing it out in open. From age-old electric anti-masturbation machines to modern-day S&M portraits, erotic exhibits are taking center stage in the museum world. ABC News has compiled a list of 12 of the world's kinkiest museums that are worth the tease. Museum - Sexual intercourse - American Broadcasting Company - Hip hop - Sexuality
Mon, 15 Mar 2010 13:22:14 -0400 Pink Everest: Nepal Lobbies For Gay Tourists [New Window]
Nepal wants to paint Mount Everest pink to attract gay tourists. Mount Everest - Nepal - Mountaineering - climb - Asia
Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:44:22 -0400 Mile-High Celebrity Tweets [New Window]
With wireless Internet now on most flights, everybody from businessmen to vacationers are logging on. Celebrities -- including Kim Kardashian, Apolo Ohno, Lauren Conrad, Jimmy Fallon, Mick Jagger, Mariah Carey, Dr. Drew Pinsky and Ludacris have also tweeted their thoughts about everything on Twitter while high in the skies. Drew Pinsky - Twitter - Kim Kardashian - Jimmy Fallon - Apolo Anton Ohno
Mon, 15 Mar 2010 11:25:42 -0400 Tea Party activists distribute signs paid for by the RNC at ‘Take The Town Halls to Washington’ event. [New Window]
Tea Party activists from across the country have come to Washington for a three-week long “Take The Town Halls to Washington” rally, an effort to lobby undecided House Democrats to vote against health care reform. At a press conference for the event on Friday, the Daily Caller spotted signs and buttons clearly paid for by the Republican National Committee. Activists distributed “red-white-and-blue buttons and signs emblazoned with the words ‘Listen to Me!’” — an official RNC slogan — with disclaimers at the bottom of the signs reading “Paid for by the Republican National Committee:”Michael Patrick Leahy, an organizer of the Take the Town Halls to Washington project that is bringing Tea Party activists to the capital to lobby Democrats on President Obamas health-care bill, admitted that the RNC did provide the signage, but said he didnt know the details of the arrangement with Republicans and couldnt explain how the signs got there. They just showed up, he said.An RNC official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told The Daily Caller that the signs were given to the group at its request. [...]Leahy downplayed the significance of the items, explaining, Were taking help from anybody that has an interest in this cause.The Tea Party movement claims to be an independent, grass roots coalition unrelated to either party, but this is not the first time activists have been caught using materials or logistical support provided by Republican operatives or Republican-aligned corporate front groups. For example, many large Tea Party protests have used signs and buses provided by groups like Americans for Prosperity. Germans to Debt-Ridden Greeks: Sell the Acropolis [New Window]
Greece's tourism slogan is "a masterpiece you can afford." But when they coined the phrase, they were probably not thinking of selling Greek islands at cut-rate prices.As Prime Minister George Papandreou heads to Germany tomorrow to ask German Chancellor Angela Merkel for help in the Greek debt crisis, two members of her coalition have some advice: sell off your islands to pay off your debt. The comments, by two members of the German parliament, were published in the German newspaper Bild under the provocative headline: "Sell your islands, you bankrupt Greeks! And sell the Acropolis too!" One parliamentarian, Frank Schaeffler, told the newspaper, "the Greek government has to take radical steps to sell its property for example its uninhabited islands." Greece - Acropolis - Business - Germany - Financial Services
Mon, 15 Mar 2010 10:21:32 -0400 Apple and other advertisers have ‘abandoned’ Fox News because of Glenn Beck. [New Window]
Since Glenn Beck called President Obama a “racist” with “a deep-seated hatred for white people, or white culture” in July 2009, a campaign initiated by Color of Change has compelled “more than 200 companies” to join a boycott of Beck’s Fox News show. In August, when just 33 companies had left the program, Fox News spokeswoman Irena Briganti told the AP that the network wasn’t losing any revenue from the boycott because the companies had “simply requested the ads be moved elsewhere.” But the Washington Post’s Howard Kurtz reports today that Apple, along with a “handful” of other advertisers, have “abandoned” the entire network:More than 200 companies have joined a boycott of Beck’s program, making it difficult for Fox to sell ads. The time has instead been sold to smaller firms offering such products as Kaopectate, Carbonite, 1-800-PetMeds and Goldline International. A handful of advertisers, such as Apple, have abandoned Fox altogether. Network executives say they believe they could charge higher rates if the host were more widely acceptable to advertisers.Kurtz reports that “there is a deep split within Fox between those — led by Chairman Roger Ailes — who are supportive” of Beck “and many journalists who are worried about the prospect that Beck is becoming the face of the network.” While Beck touts the support of Fox executives, some Fox journalists told Kurtz that they think Beck “uses distorted or inflammatory rhetoric that undermines their credibility.” Fox Senior Vice President Bill Shine said “that last fall a vice president was assigned ‘to help keep an eye on that program’ and review its content in advance — a full-time job.” ThinkFast: March 15, 2010 [New Window]
In an interview with The New Yorkers Jeffrey Toobin, Justice John Paul Stevens - who will soon turn 90 years old — announced that he plans to retire soon. You can say I will retire within the next three years. Im sure of that, Stevens said. Asked about President Obama, Stevens added, I have a great admiration for him, and certainly think hes capable of picking successfully, you know, doing a good job of filling vacancies.The Obama administration’s early opportunity to reshape America’s judiciary “appears close to slipping away, due to a combination of White House inattention and Republican opposition,” the Los Angeles Times reports. “It’s just a missed opportunity,” said University of Chicago professor Geoffrey Stone, who signed a letter to Obama late last month urging him to act with “far more energy and dispatch.” Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren told the Israeli consuls general in a conference call this weekend that the U.S.-Israel relationship is in a “crisis” moment. “The crisis was very serious and we are facing a very difficult period in relations [between the two countries],” Oren was quoted as saying by someone on the call.“Three people connected to the U.S. Consulate in Mexico’s deadliest city, Ciudad Juarez,” including two U.S. citizens, were shot and killed Sunday. In a statement released the same day, the White House said it “shares in the outrage of the Mexican people at the murders of thousands in Ciudad Juarez and elsewhere in Mexico.”Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) had “no kind words” for President Obama’s efforts to reform immigration, accusing him yesterday of “paying lip service only for temporary political reasons.” Graham is working with the White House on the issue, “but you wouldn’t know it from his comments.”“Under the cover of a benign government information-gathering program,” Defense Department official Michael D. Furlong has “set up a network of private contractors in Afghanistan and Pakistan to help track and kill suspected militants.” Some U.S. officials “say they became troubled that Mr. Furlong seemed to be running an off-the-books spy operation” and they are unsure who authorized his work.Senate Republicans “remain deeply divided” over how to handle earmarks and will meet this week to decide whether to “follow their House counterparts and impose a moratorium on the practice.” “Were going to discuss it and see what to do. We have different views within our caucus,” said Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN).Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-CT) is expected today to unveil legislation to overhaul the financial regulatory system. The bill “is likely to be more modest than either the Obama administration’s proposal last summer or a plan Dodd pushed last fall” and is “expected to abandon the stand-alone Consumer Financial Protection Agency.”A new report from the nonpartisan National Security Archive has found “mixed results” from President Obama’s pledge to make the federal government more transparent. “Agencies are talking the talk, but few yet are walking the walk,” said Thomas S. Blanton, the Archive’s director.And finally: An extended outtake sequence from Funny or Dies Presidential Reunion is making the rounds on the internet. The clip features George Bush Sr., played by comedian Dana Carvey, mistakenly calling Barack Obama Borat.Follow ThinkProgress on Twitter. Travel Etiquette: Wake a Sleeping Passenger? [New Window]
Answers to whether or not wake someone mid flight, how to avoid bringing back a bag of gifts for everyone at the office, and more travel etiquette answers. United States - Travel - Oceania - Recreation - Airline
Mon, 15 Mar 2010 09:22:16 -0400 Study: Mini clip is safer than heart-valve surgery (AP) [New Window]
AP - Many Americans with leaky heart valves soon might be able to get them fixed without open-heart surgery. A study showed that a tiny clip implanted through an artery was safer and nearly as effective as surgery, doctors reported Sunday.
Mon, 15 Mar 2010 08:17:44 -0400 Studies: Intense treatment doesn't help diabetics (AP) [New Window]
AP - Key results from a landmark federal study are in, and the results are disappointing for diabetics: Adding drugs to drive blood pressure and blood-fats lower than current targets did not prevent heart problems, and in some cases caused harmful side effects.
Sun, 14 Mar 2010 19:20:51 -0400 Podesta Responds To Roberts’ ‘Troubling’ Comment With Call For Supreme Court To Be Televised [New Window]
At the State of the Union earlier this year, President Obama denounced the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling that invalidated a sixty-three year-old ban on corporate money in federal elections as the members of the court looked on. “I don’t think American elections should be bankrolled by America’s most powerful interests or, worse, by foreign entities,” said Obama. “They should be decided by the American people.” At the University of Alabama this week, Chief Justice John Roberts called the scene at the State of the Union “very troubling.” “To the extent the State of the Union has degenerated into a political pep rally, I’m not sure why we’re there,” said Roberts. On Fox News Sunday today, Center for American Progress President and CEO John Podesta said Roberts’ complaint was “a little disingenuous” and suggested that the Supreme Court open its hearings to television cameras:PODESTA: Well, look, I think it’s a little disingenuous. I don’t think Justice Roberts, Chief Justice Roberts, felt too bad when he was at President Bush’s pep rallies. But I would actually offer him a compromise, which is the Supreme Court stop going to the State of the Union and in exchange they start broadcasting, on C-SPAN or otherwise, their decisions. So that when they issue a decision reversing a hundred years of precedent, let all this corporate money flow into the political system, do it on television so the American people can see it.Watch it: Host Chris Wallace appeared to agree with Podesta’s call for greater transparency at the Supreme Court, telling guest Dana Perino that she’s “a Fox News contributor” and the network wants the Supreme Court on television. “I know that you do, but I’m more of a traditionalist,” responded Perino, who was shaking her head as Podesta spoke.Speaking of being “disingenuous,” at the beginning of the discussion on Roberts’ comment, Weekly Standard editor and Keep America Safe board member Bill Kristol said he had “mixed feelings” on the dust up because while he thought the State of the Union venue wasn’t “quite appropriate,” he thinks “judges and lawyers are awfully hyper-sensitive to any criticism.” “I do think the whole legal profession has gotten a little bit full of itself,” said Kristol, acknowledging that he has “a slight self interest” in the making that point. Recently, Keep America Safe was strongly criticized by lawyers across the political spectrum for questioning the loyalties of lawyers in the Justice Department. Graham: ‘No Way In The World’ Is Massachusetts’ Health Care Plan Similar To The Democratic Proposal [New Window]
Giving this week’s GOP address, Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) bashed Democratic efforts to reform health care as a “bitter, destructive, and endless drive to completely transform Americas healthcare system.” Saying Democrats should scrap their plan and start over, Brown said, “This, above all, was the message that the people of my state sent to the president and the Congress in the election over a month ago.”Senior White House adviser David Axelrod responded to Brown’s comments on ABC’s This Week, noting that that Brown’s state has a health care plan that is very similar “to the one we’re trying to enact here,” and Brown “voted for it”:AXELROD: Let me note that Senator Brown comes from a state that has a health care format in his state that is similar to the one we’re trying to enact here. People in his state are overwhelmingly in support of it. He voted for it and said he wouldn’t repeal it. So we’re just trying to give the people in america the same opportunities that the people in Massachusetts have. To get health insurance at a price they can afford. This bill is important for the American people.Appearing after him, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) called Axelrod’s comments “complete spin” and said, “no way in the world is what they did in Massachusetts like what we’re about to do in Washington:”GRAHAM: And the interview I just heard is spin, campaigning. I thought the campaign was over. Are you trying to tell me and the American people that Scott Brown got elected campaigning against a Washington bill that really is just like the Massachusetts bill? The American people are getting tired of this crap. No way in the world is what they did in Massachusetts like what we’re about to do in Washington. We didn’t cut Medicare — they didn’t cut Medicare when they passed the bill in Massachusetts. They didn’t raise $500 billion on the American people when they passed the bill in Massachusetts. To suggest that Scott Brown is basically campaigning against the bill in Washington that is like the one in Massachusetts is complete spin.Watch a compilation:In fact, the plan implemented by former Republican Gov. Mitt Romney in Massachusetts is very similar to the Democratic proposal. Both plans require people to purchase coverage and both provide affordability credits to those who cant afford insurance. Both create insurance exchanges, both establish minimum creditable coverage standards for insurers, and both require employers to contribute towards reform. The Wonk Room’s Igor Volsky created a chart outlining the similarities between Romney’s plan and the Senate bill that passed in December and will become the foundation of national health care reform.Graham cites only two issues to support his claim: Medicare cuts and tax raises “on the American people.” But of course, no state has the authority to either change Medicare or raises taxes on all Americans.Even conservatives see the similarities between the two plans. “[T]he public option has now vanished from the Obama plan. Which means that the federal plan bears a closer family resemblance than ever to Romneys idea,” former Bush speech writer David Frum observed. American Spectator’s Philip Klein said there “ain’t” any substantial differences between the plans. The key parts of the Democratic proposal are the same as “those elements [that] formed the core of Romneycare,” Klein adds. Rove Falsely Claims Bush Administration Never Said Iraqi Oil Revenue Would Help Pay For War [New Window]
In his new book and in recent media appearances promoting it, former top Bush aide Karl Rove has been revising the history of the Iraq war, particularly regarding the issue of Saddam Hussien’s alleged weapons of mass destruction. Today on NBC’s Meet the Press, Rove continued with his Iraq war history revision campaign. Noting that the Bush administration had mishandled the management of the war, host Tom Brokaw mentioned that “the cost of the war skyrocketed almost from the beginning. There was not a sharing of the oil revenue that a lot of people had promised.” But Rove flatly denied that the Bush administration said Iraqi oil revenues would help pay for the war: ROVE: No, no. Tom with all due respect that was not the policy of our government that we were going to go into Iraq and take their resources in order to pay for the cost of the war. … [T]he suggestion that somehow or another the administration had as its policy, Were going to go in to Iraq and take their resource and pay for the war” is not accurate. Watch it:Rove’s claim is simply not true. In fact, days after the U.S. invasion, then-Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz told a congressional panel that Iraqi oil revenues would help pay for reconstructing the country, i.e. a cost of the war. “The oil revenue of that country could bring between 50 and 100 billion dollars over the course of the next two or three years. We’re dealing with a country that could really finance its own reconstruction, and relatively soon,” he said. One month before the war, then-White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said Iraq “is a rather wealthy country. … And so there are a variety of means that Iraq has to be able to shoulder much of the burden for their own reconstruction.”Since the start of the Iraq war, the U.S. has spent tens of billions of dollars in reconstruction costs. Air Force sergeant discharged under DADT after police see her marriage license and out her to the military. [New Window]
Air Force Sgt. Jene Newsome never told anyone in the military that she is a lesbian, but she nevertheless received an honorable discharge from the military under the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) law. The Air Force found out about Newsome’s marriage to another woman when police officers in Rapid City, SD, discovered her marriage license after they came to her home for other reasons: The Rapid City Police Department says Newsome, an aircraft armament system craftsman who spent nine years in the Air Force, was not cooperative when they showed up at her home in November with an arrest warrant for her partner, who was wanted on theft charges in Fairbanks, Alaska.Newsome was at work at the base at the time and refused to immediately come home and assist the officers in finding her partner, whom she married in Iowa — where gay marriage is legal — in October.Police officers, who said they spotted the marriage license on the kitchen table through a window of Newsome’s home, alerted the base, police Chief Steve Allender said. The license was relevant to the investigation because it showed both the relationship and residency of the two women, he said.Newsome and the American Civil Liberties Union have filed a complaint against the police department, “claiming the officers violated her privacy when they informed the military about her sexual orientation.” Newsome also believes that “the officers were retaliating because she wouldn’t help with her partner’s arrest.” Allender “said the department was finishing its internal investigation and has determined the officers acted appropriately.” While the Pentagon does its full review of how to repeal DADT, Defense Secretary Robert Gates has suggested no longer expelling someone based on third-party outings. 10 Great Places to Find a Lucky Charm [New Window]
Wednesday might be St. Patrick's Day, but you don't have to be Irish to be favored by fortune. Whether you smooch them, tickle them or jitterbug around them, good-luck monuments can leave you feeling, well, lucky. Irish people - st patrick's day party - Holidays - Saint Patrick - Saint Patrick's Day
Sat, 13 Mar 2010 23:22:46 -0500 Obesity, Drinking a Double Threat to the Liver (HealthDay) [New Window]
HealthDay - THURSDAY, March 11 (HealthDay News) -- Obesity plus daily drinking boosts the risk of liver disease in men and women, researchers report in two new studies.
Fri, 12 Mar 2010 23:49:28 -0500 iPad Now Available for Pre-Order [New Window]
Starting today, you can pre-order your iPad from the Apple Online Store and have it delivered free to your door. Or buy it at your favorite Apple Retail Store starting April 3.
Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:06:07 -0500 New and Improved FileMaker Pro 11 [New Window]
FileMaker, Inc. announced this week the immediate availability of FileMaker Pro 11. Packed with new and innovative features led by charting, on the fly reporting, a new Quick Find capability, and a host of productivity tools for easier database creation, FileMaker Pro 11 makes using databases easier and quicker than ever.
Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:12:25 -0500 Final Cut Studio at the Oscars [New Window]
CNET News reports that 9 out of 10 of this years nominees in the Documentary Feature and Documentary Short categories used Final Cut Studio to make their films, including category winners The Cove and Music by Prudence.
Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:08:25 -0500 Homeless Man Lives off Frequent Flier Points [New Window]
For Jim Kennedy, an unemployed 46-year-old California man, the recession has meant using his 1-million-mile-plus stockpile of hotel and airline points to put a roof over his head. Homelessness - California - Airline - Hotel - Frequent-flyer program
Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:45:57 -0500 Advertisement: [New Window]
Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:53:49 -0500 PHOTOS: Beware of Drunks Crossing the Street! [New Window]
See the world;s most bizarre signs. These odd and strange road signs will make your head spin. Traffic sign - Road - Business - Recreation - Signage
Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:53:49 -0500 PHOTOS: Top 17 Ways to Celebrate St. Paddy's [New Window]
From parades to drinking to music, celebrate St. Paddy's Day in style. Holidays - Saint Patrick's Day - Christianity - Classroom - Religion and Spirituality
Fri, 12 Mar 2010 08:31:12 -0500 Justin Parties in Sin City as Jessica Rumors Fly [New Window]
Justin Parties in Sin City as Jessica Rumors Fly
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 06:10:16 -0400 Posh 'Shocked' Over Death of Ex-Boyfriend Corey Haim [New Window]
Posh 'Shocked' Over Death of Ex-Boyfriend Corey Haim
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 06:10:16 -0400 WATCH: Rooftop Nudity Covers NYC [New Window]
The cast-iron statutes are the city's latest public art installation. Public art - New York City - Art - Visual arts - Installation art
Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:20:21 -0500 London in Style: By Bike [New Window]
If you have a limited time in London and don't know how to see all the city's sites, taking a bicycle tour through London's landmarks may be the solution. London - Bicycle - England - Cycling - Sport
Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:56:23 -0500 Check Out America's Healthiest Vacations [New Window]
Some people dream of touring ancient ruins, modern cities or the great art museums of the world. But a growing number of travelers look to be active and learn something new and healthy while on vacation. Weight loss - Health - Shopping - Supplements - Programs
Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:42:17 -0500 Do needle-exchange programs really work? (Reuters) [New Window]
Reuters - Needle-exchange programs designed to cut injection drug users' risk of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and other infections do seem to reduce needle sharing, but there is only limited evidence that they lower disease transmission, a new research review concludes.
Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:26:24 -0500 PHOTOS: Michael J. Fox Hits St. Barts Beach [New Window]
Want to vacation like a celebrity? Than look no further than the exclusive Saint Barthlemy, better known as St. Barts, in the French West Indies. Among those celebs recently seen there are: Alessandra Ambrosio, Gwen Stefani, Gavin Rossdale, Beyonce Knowles, Jay-Z, Usher, Paul Allen, Lindsay Lohan, Miranda Kerr, Derek Jeter, Minka Kelly, Mariah Carey, Nick Cannon, Star Jones and Rachel Zoe. Caribbean - French West Indies - Gwen Stefani - Gavin Rossdale - Saint Barthelemy
Thu, 11 Mar 2010 09:52:53 -0500 Miu Miu's Regal Pop (Fashion Wire Daily) [New Window]
Fashion Wire Daily - It was 1960s modernism meets Louis XIV at the latest collection of Miu Miu, the final show of Paris fashion week that ended Wednesday evening, March 10.
Thu, 11 Mar 2010 08:32:00 -0500 Jake Gyllenhaal Makes Most of Eligible Bachelor Status [New Window]
Jake Gyllenhaal Makes Most of Eligible Bachelor Status
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 06:10:16 -0400 In the Footsteps of Moses, Climbing Mount Sinai [New Window]
Ascending Mount Sinai in the dark, cold night for a warm sunrise. Mount Sinai - Moses - Religion and Spirituality - Old Testament - People
Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:38:07 -0500 Advertisement: [New Window]
Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:09:33 -0500 WATCH: Unruly Passenger Removed From Plane [New Window]
Pilot forced to return to the gate after an incident with an unruly passenger. Genealogy - Emigration and Immigration - Passenger Lists - Transportation - Oceania
Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:09:33 -0500 WATCH: Spring Break Travel Deals [New Window]
Gabe Saglie from Travelzoo on the hottest destinations. Travelzoo - Travel - Recreation - Travel and Tourism - Travel Services
Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:29:51 -0500 Why Was It the Worst Travel Week Ever? [New Window]
Rick Seaney was particularly amused at how absurd some of last week's true tales sounded. You know, the bizarre incidents involving fake pilots, mini-controllers and more. United States - Recreation - Aviation - United Airlines - Southwest Airlines
Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:57:38 -0500 PHOTOS: Lavish Mega-Yachts [New Window]
These giant yachts are eye-turning behemoths that give their owners a luxurious way to travel on the high seas or just party. Yacht - Boat - Business - Watercraft - Consumer Goods and Services
Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:39:33 -0500 PHOTOS: World's Most Extreme Travel Adventures [New Window]
Travel Adventures Around the World Travel - Recreation - Travelogues - Around the World - Tourism
Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:54:01 -0500 Google Train Tour Winds Through Russia [New Window]
In collaboration with the Russian Railway, Google has launched a new Web site that lets visitors simulate every inch of the historical journey on the Trans-Siberian Express from Moscow to Vladivostok. With 150 hours of high-definition video, people with an Internet connection can pretend they're gazing out at the Volga River, Babarinskaya steppe and Barguzin mountains. Google - Vladivostok - Moscow - Trans-Siberian Railway - Russian Railway
Tue, 09 Mar 2010 10:48:36 -0500 PHOTOS: OJ, RFK, Manson Family Are Vegas Headliners [New Window]
Robert F. Kennedy - Charles Manson - Crime - Murder - Los Angeles Police Department
Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:35:47 -0500 iPad Available in US on April 3 [New Window]
Apple today announced that its magical and revolutionary iPad will be available in the US on Saturday, April 3, for Wi-Fi models and in late April for Wi-Fi + 3G models. In addition, all models of iPad will be available in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK in late April. Beginning a week from today, March 12, US customers can pre-order both Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + 3G models from Apples online store or reserve a Wi-Fi model to pick up on Saturday, April 3, at an Apple retail store.
Fri, 05 Mar 2010 12:09:14 -0500 PHOTOS: World's Strangest Hotels [New Window]
Ever feel as if every hotel room looks like the last one you checked into? Next time, consider spicing up your travel by staying at one of these unique hotels, where style often trumps all else. Travel and Tourism - Business - Hotel - Accommodation - Allegedly Unethical Firms
Fri, 05 Mar 2010 09:27:05 -0500 Apple Worlds Most Admired Company [New Window]
For the third year in a row Apple has been named the Worlds Most Admired Company by Fortune Magazine this year by the widest margin ever. What makes Apple so admired? Fortune explains: Product, product, product. This is the company that has changed the way we do everything from consume music to design products to engage with the world around us. Apple also ranked #1 in Innovation among all companies.
Thu, 04 Mar 2010 13:30:24 -0500 Angelina Jolie [New Window]
Next to "Liv Tyler", "Angelina Jolie" is the only actress of her generation who can thank her famous father for the lips that have become her trademark. The actress was born Angelina Jolie Voight to the pillow-lipped "Jon Voight" and actress Marcheline Bertrand on June 4, 1975, in Los Angeles.Raised mostly by her mother after her parents divorced while she was still a baby, Jolie moved around a lot with her mother and brother. She also did a fair amount of traveling as a professional model, living in such... [more]
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 06:09:59 -0400 Sandra Bullock [New Window]
Giving new meaning to the term America's Sweetheart, "Sandra Bullock" won over scores of filmgoers and critics with her wholesome, exuberant portrayals of ordinary women in extraordinary circumstances. Since her breakthrough role as "Speed"'s unwitting heroine, Bullock has enjoyed the type of popularity that was in the past reserved for actresses along the lines of "Mary Pickford" or "Shirley Temple".Born in Washington, D.C., on July 26, 1964, Bullock was the elder daughter of a vocal coach dad and an... [more]
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 06:09:59 -0400 Kristen Stewart [New Window]
A fervent surfer who bears a striking resemblance to the young "Jodie Foster", "Kristen Stewart" was poised to become a preteen star with her role opposite Foster in "David Fincher"'s atmospheric thriller "Panic Room" (2002). A resident of Los Angeles, Stewart's nascent acting career got off to a promising start when she was cast in two vastly different films. Eschewing fluffy kids' movies, Stewart played troubled single mother "Patricia Clarkson"'s tomboy daughter in independent film darling "Rose Troche"'s... [more]
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 06:09:59 -0400 Jay Leno [New Window]
A popular comedian during the 1970s, "Jay Leno" is best known as the man who replaced "Johnny Carson" at the helm of The Tonight Show in 1992. Leno was born James Douglas Muir Leno to parents of Italian and Scottish heritage (Leno is particularly fond of discussing the Italian part) in New Rochelle, NY, but was raised in Andover, MA. During the year in which he was establishing his standup career, Leno was performing 300 nights throughout North America. He made his television debut on the "Merv Griffin Show"... [more]
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 06:09:59 -0400 Conan O'Brien [New Window]
If Richie Cunningham and "Phyllis Diller" mated, would it equal "Conan O'Brien"? It's probably not a good enough match to poop on, but definitely one that has brought some laughs to television audiences everywhere. Conan Christopher O'Brien was born April 18, 1963, in Brookline, MA, to Ruth, a lawyer, and Tom, a doctor. He has three brothers, two sisters, and his cousin is comedian "Denis Leary". At Brookline High School, he was on the debate team and served as editorial editor on the Sagamore. After high... [more]
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 06:09:59 -0400 Kim Kardashian [New Window]
Kim Kardashian, the wealthy daughter of the high-powered defense attorney Robert Kardashian and Kris Kardashian (and the stepdaughter of Olympic athlete Bruce Jenner), grew up in Beverly Hills, CA, and attended an exclusive all-girls Catholic high school in the City of Angels. As a young woman, Kardashian worked at her father's music marketing firm, Movie Tunes, then parlayed her entrepreneurial instincts into a successful career as a wardrobe stylist for television programs, magazine photo layouts, and... [more]
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 06:09:59 -0400 Brittany Murphy [New Window]
"Brittany Murphy" first came to the attention of film audiences as Tai, one of "Alicia Silverstone"'s airhead friends, in the 1995 comedy "Clueless". Though convincing as a dim-bulb character, "Murphy" cuts dramatically against this grain off-camera, as a ferociously intelligent and ambitious young performer who had acting in her blood from early childhood. As a teenager and young adult, she gave expression to the scope of her talent and versatility with a series of engaging film and television... [more]
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 06:09:59 -0400 Jennifer Aniston [New Window]
Jennifer Aniston makes a good case for proving that acting talent can be absorbed by osmosis. From her father John Aniston's stardom on Days of Our Lives to her godfather Telly Savalas, the actress was surrounded by plenty of inspiration from an early age. As Aniston attended the Rudolph Steiner School as a child, she was interested in many forms of art and proved to be a talented painter, eventually having one of her pieces displayed at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. Acting also appealed to her, and... [more]
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 06:09:59 -0400 Miley Cyrus [New Window]
The daughter of country-music superstar Billy Ray Cyrus, Miley Cyrus got her start in the entertainment industry on an episode of her father's PAX TV medical series Doc before appearing in Tim Burton's fantastical 2003 adventure Big Fish. A fateful appearance as the character Hannah Montana in the Disney Channel series The Suite Life of Zack and Cody followed in 2006, and her character proved so popular that a spin-off series called Hannah Montana was launched shortly thereafter. In the series, Cyrus portrayed... [more]
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 06:09:59 -0400 Jennifer Love Hewitt [New Window]
Personifying the type of teen spirit most commonly found in Noxzema ads and pep-squad meets, actress "Jennifer Love Hewitt" has brought new meaning to the word "effervescent." The '90s saw Hewitt go from relative obscurity to a bona fide teen queen, to say nothing of one of the most frequently enshrined actresses on the internet. Hewitt was born on February 21, 1979, in Waco, TX. She made her first appearance on television in 1984 in the show Kids Incorporated (which, coincidentally, once guest-starred... [more]
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 06:09:59 -0400 George Clooney [New Window]
"George Clooney" embodies one of Hollywood's most formidable renaissance men. As a remarkably intelligent and capable actor, and a director of surprising skill and intuition, Clooney has almost completely exempted himself from criticism. In light of these qualities, the thespian's formidable charm and devastating physical appeal seem, astonishingly, to be almost incidental.As the son of broadcast journalist Nick Clooney and the nephew of chanteuse "Rosemary Clooney", "George Clooney" entered the... [more]
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 06:09:59 -0400 Lindsay Lohan [New Window]
Child actress "Lindsay Lohan" was already an experienced performer when she made her feature debut in the 1998 remake of The Parent Trap. Born in New York City, Lohan began modeling at age three. After appearing in numerous TV commercials, Lohan moved to series TV with a role on the soap operaAnother World from 1996 to 1997. Cast as The Parent Trap's scheming twin sisters after a six month search for just the right girl, Lohan succeeded in filling "Hayley Mills"' shoes, winning over audiences with her pert... [more]
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 06:09:59 -0400 Robert Pattinson [New Window]
London-born Robert Pattinson found his acting niche almost instantly, kicking off his career with a string of fantasy roles. After catching the acting bug through amateur theater, the young thespian made his first film appearance at the age of 18, appearing in 2004's Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King, based on a Nordic legend. He followed this up by joining the Harry Potter franchise the following year, playing Cedric Diggory in Goblet of Fire, as well as the subsequent movies. Having captured the hearts of many... [more]
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 06:09:59 -0400 Health Tip: If You Have Nasal Congestion (HealthDay) [New Window]
HealthDay - (HealthDay News) -- Nasal congestion, often called a stuffy nose, can be caused by a bacterial infection or virus, allergies or the common cold.
Wed, 03 Mar 2010 23:50:21 -0500 PHOTOS: Visit Alice's Wonderland [New Window]
With Disney's Alice in Wonderland movie, many hotels and restaurants and even a department store are trying to re-create Tim Burton's magic for their guests. Tim Burton - AliceInWonderland - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Johnny Depp - Movies
Wed, 03 Mar 2010 11:38:57 -0500 PHOTOS: India's Festival of Colors [New Window]
Holi: The Hindu Festival of Colors Holi - Arts - Music - India - Movies
Wed, 03 Mar 2010 09:48:21 -0500 10 Billionth Download for iTunes [New Window]
The New York Times caught up with 10 billion song download winner Louie Sulcer and asked him about his prize, a $10,000 iTunes gift card. Says the 71-year-old Sulcer,I dont think Ill have to worry about buying birthday and Christmas presents anytime soon.
Mon, 01 Mar 2010 12:52:08 -0500 Fashion's latest fixation: 3D (The Newsroom) [New Window]
The Newsroom - Burberry has become the premiere brand to break through fashion week's fourth wall this season by staging the world's first-ever global 3D fashion show. (To note, the British fashion brand wasn't the only one to engage with the technology conceived more than half-a-century ago: Los Angeles tailored menswear label Native Son's New York Fashion Week presentation included a multi-dimensional video that required 3D glasses for viewing.)
Fri, 26 Feb 2010 11:49:17 -0500 iTunes Store Tops 10 Billion Songs Sold [New Window]
Apple today announced that music fans have purchased and downloaded over 10 billion songs from the iTunes Store, the worlds most popular online music, TV, and movie store.
Thu, 25 Feb 2010 12:53:08 -0500 PHOTOS: Brrrr! Gorgeous Ice and Snow Festival [New Window]
Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival Ice - Business - Recreation - Art - Ice Climbing
Wed, 24 Feb 2010 20:32:19 -0500 PHOTOS: Winter Weather Around the World [New Window]
Winter Weather Around the World - A historic snowfall dumps more than two feet of snow on Washington, D.C. and other surrounding regions. Thousands gather in Dupont Circle for a snowball fight. Weather - The Earth - The Atmosphere - Kids and Teens - School Time
Wed, 24 Feb 2010 16:38:08 -0500 PHOTOS: Vancouver 2010: Olympics Highlights [New Window]
Here are some of the 2010 Winter Olympics highlights from Vancouver. The U.S. is in the lead with most medals won so far with 14. 2010 Winter Olympics - Vancouver - United States - Olympics - Sport
Sun, 21 Feb 2010 17:45:07 -0500 PHOTOS: Carnival in Rio [New Window]
Carnival in Rio: Carnival is the biggest and most popular celebration in Brazil, running all over the country from February 12 to 16. Brazil - Carnival - Rio Carnival - South America - Rio de Janeiro
Tue, 16 Feb 2010 13:56:07 -0500 PHOTOS: Johnny Weir's Fashion on Ice [New Window]
Johnny Weir takes to the Winter Olympic ice in Vancouver with another set of unique outfits. Johnny Weir - Winter Olympic Games - Olympics - Sport - Figure skating
Thu, 11 Feb 2010 16:45:28 -0500 PHOTOS: Blizzard Pounds the East Coast [New Window]
blizzard, storm, snow, East Coast, Washington, New York, Boston, delays New York City - New York - East Coast of the United States - United States - East Coast
Thu, 11 Feb 2010 13:19:23 -0500 Introducing Aperture 3 [New Window]
Apple today introduced Aperture 3, the next major release of its powerful photo editing and management software. Aperture 3 offers more than 200 new features including Faces, Places, and Brushes. A 30-day trial is now available for download.
Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:00:00 -0500 PHOTOS: Top 10 Sexiest Hotels in America [New Window]
Looking for that sexy getaway for Valentine's Day? Well, look no further. Online travel review site TripAdvisor has rummaged through its user reviews and picked America's 10 sexiest hotels. TripAdvisor - Review site - Hotel - Valentine's Day - Holidays
Tue, 09 Feb 2010 07:31:02 -0500 PHOTOS: 'Lost' -- Find Your Own Island Escape [New Window]
ABC's 'Lost' came back Tuesday with the premier of its final season. Season 6, episode 1 had Jack, Hurley, Sayid, Sawyer, Kate, Locke and Ben an of course the island. But what about your own island escape? Check out these great 'Lost' island escapes. Lost - Hugo "Hurley" Reyes - Sayid Jarrah - John Locke - James "Sawyer" Ford
Wed, 03 Feb 2010 04:31:11 -0500 PHOTOS: Top 18 Ways to Pamper Your Valentine [New Window]
Talk about love: here are 18 amazing ways to pamper your valentine. These spectacular Valentine's Day getaways will sweep your sweetheart away. valentines day - Holidays - People and Society - Kids and Teens - Holidays and Special Days
Tue, 02 Feb 2010 07:02:35 -0500 Architecture in Motion: RTKL and iPhone [New Window]
In its offices from Baltimore to Shanghai, international architecture firm RTKL uses iPhone to stay in touch, access apps that enable creative collaboration, and travel with ease.
Mon, 01 Feb 2010 18:06:32 -0500 Apple Launches iPad [New Window]
Apple today introduced iPad, a revolutionary device for browsing the web, reading and sending email, enjoying photos, watching videos, playing games, reading e-books, and much more. Its high-resolution Multi-Touch display lets you interact with content including 12 innovative new apps designed especially for iPad and almost all of the 140,000 apps available on the App Store. At just 0.5 inches thick and 1.5 pounds, iPad is thinner and lighter than any laptop or notebook. iPad will be available at the breakthrough price of just $499.
Wed, 27 Jan 2010 14:33:02 -0500 Apple Reports All-Time Highest Revenue and Profit [New Window]
Apple today announced financial results for its fiscal 2010 first quarter. The company reported its highest quarterly revenue and profit to date and outlined new accounting standards.
Mon, 25 Jan 2010 20:33:57 -0500 Logic Pro 64-bit the talk of the NAMM music show [New Window]
Last weeks update of Logic Pro to include 64-bit support is getting rave reviews at the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) trade show, according to The Loop. Music industry professionals like audio engineer CJ Vanston tout Logic Pro 9.1 as a game changer, noting that the 64-bit gauntlet has been thrown down by Apple with Logic.
Wed, 20 Jan 2010 14:10:04 -0500 The Apple App Store Economy: Infographic from gigaom.com [New Window]
A clever new infographic from gigaom.com shows how the App Store puts more than 100,000 apps at your fingertips and generates millions of dollars for app developers worldwide.
Fri, 15 Jan 2010 20:25:01 -0500 A Guided Tour in the Palm of Your Hand: iPod touch at the Cooper-Hewitt [New Window]
Design USA: Contemporary Innovation at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York offers visitors an iPod touch on which to access exclusive exhibition content. The iPod touch supplements the physical exhibition with a wealth of interviews, slide shows and snippets of performances, all related to the 78 architects and designers represented in the show. Available free, this device sends the traditional audio guide the way of the one-horse buggy.
Fri, 15 Jan 2010 15:22:19 -0500 Apple Releases New MobileMe Gallery App [New Window]
Today, MobileMe introduced a new Gallery app for iPhone and iPod touch. The app features iPhone- and iPod touch-optimized controls and beautiful gallery displays that make browsing photos and videos easier and more interactive than ever before. The Gallery app is free for MobileMe members and available now on the App Store in iTunes.
Thu, 14 Jan 2010 13:00:00 -0500 Introducing Bento 3 Contact and Customer Manager [New Window]
Now available for download, FileMaker Bento 3 Contact and Customer Manager is the fast, free, and easy way to get instant access to contact and customer details. View call history, notes from meetings and conversations, upcoming to-do items, related documents and files, important emails, sales opportunities, receipts, and more. This download includes a free trial of new Bento 3 for Mac.
Wed, 13 Jan 2010 12:00:00 -0500 PHOTOS: Subways Around the World Go Pants-Free [New Window]
Subway riders around the world drop their pants for improv comedy during No Pants Day in New York, London and Mexico City. Comedy - Arts - Performing Arts - Recreation - Clubs and Venues
Mon, 11 Jan 2010 11:53:41 -0500 PHOTOS: World's Fastest Trains [New Window]
See the world's fastest trains. High-speed rails have shortened the trips between the world's major cities. Train - Recreation - Trains and Railroads - Rail transport - Directories
Mon, 11 Jan 2010 02:23:14 -0500 PHOTOS: World's Top New Year's Parties [New Window]
Learn about the world's top New Year's Eve parties. Ring in 2010 with these incredible New Year's Eve celebrations. New Year - People and Society - Kids and Teens - Holidays and Special Days - Holidays
Thu, 24 Dec 2009 12:04:33 -0500 iPod touch + Edu Apps = Happy Students [New Window]
Julio Ojeda-Zapata (twincities.com) reports that the iPod touch has taken classrooms by storm in several Minnesota K-12 schools, increasing student enthusiasm and engagement and offering new ways to teach children with special needs.
Tue, 22 Dec 2009 19:10:00 -0500 PHOTOS: Spectacular Holiday Hotel Displays [New Window]
From model trains to trees and gingerbread homes, these resorts deck the halls for Christmas and the holiday season. Train - Recreation - Models - Railroad - Shopping
Tue, 22 Dec 2009 14:32:53 -0500 Camera Pro Preaches iPhone Photography [New Window]
Thomas Houston (switched.com) reports that Pro photographer Chase Jarvis has created Best Camera, an iPhone app that lets you shoot, apply multiple filters and effects, and share via Facebook, Twitter, e-mail, and the Best Camera photography community. In an accompanying video, Jarvis discusses mobile photography, shooting, and his new app.
Fri, 18 Dec 2009 20:25:05 -0500 Global Mobile U [New Window]
As one of the largest research universities in the United States, the University of Washington brings together 65,000 students, faculty members, and administrative staff. From the laboratory to the dormitory, this thriving academic community stays connected with iPhone and the universitys proprietary m.UW app, which gives students and staff mobile access to campus maps, news, directories, course schedules, and lectures.
Wed, 16 Dec 2009 15:30:16 -0500 PHOTOS: Santas Can Be Naughty or Nice [New Window]
Revelers in red wreak havoc in SantaCon, the world's largest pub crawl. Pub crawl - SantaCon - England - Business and Economy - Restaurants and Bars
Thu, 10 Dec 2009 17:25:18 -0500 How the iPhone Could Reboot Education [New Window]
Brian X. Chen (wired.com) reports that Abilene Christian University has just finished the first year of a pilot program in which 1,000 freshman students each received a free iPhone or iPod touch to explore how the always-connected devices might revolutionize the classroom experience with a dash of digital interactivity. Says Bill Rankin, a professor who helped plan the initiative: I think this is the next platform for education.
Wed, 09 Dec 2009 20:50:31 -0500 PHOTOS: 10 Best Travel Gifts Under $30 [New Window]
The 10 best travel gifts for under $30. SmarterTravel has the perfect holiday gift for that frequent flier in your life. Gift - Shopping - Business and Economy - Gift Baskets - Flowers and Gifts
Tue, 01 Dec 2009 09:54:30 -0500 Harper s'excuse pour l'incident du Komogata Maru; excuses aussitt dnonces [New Window]
Le premier ministre Stephen Harper a prsent des excuses, dimanche, pour l'incident du Komogata Maru de 1914, au cours duquel des centaines d'Indiens la recherche d'une meilleure vie au Canada ont t [...]
Sun, 03 Aug 2008 21:53:00 -0400 Yves Bolduc est dsign candidat la succession de Philippe Couillard [New Window]
Entour de militants enthousiastes, le ministre de la Sant Yves Bolduc a officiellement t dsign dimanche soir candidat libral dans la circonscription de Jean-Talon Qubec. Pour faire bonne [...]
Sun, 03 Aug 2008 21:46:00 -0400 Immigration: Facebook peut servir prouver son orientation sexuelle [New Window]
Les gais et lesbiennes qui prsentent une demande d'asile titre de rfugi au Canada se tournent dsormais vers les nouvelles technologies pour faire avancer leur cause. Facebook, le populaire site [...]
Sun, 03 Aug 2008 18:46:00 -0400 Qubec : un motocycliste gravement bless [New Window]
Qubec, un motocycliste repose entre la vie et la mort la suite d'une perte de contrle.C'est dans une courbe de l'autoroute Charest, en direction est, la hauteur de l'autoroute Robert-Bourassa, [...]
Sun, 03 Aug 2008 18:04:00 -0400 La qualit de l'eau dans certaines rgions du Canada laisserait dsirer [New Window]
Certains experts croient que les Canadiens, et plus particulirement ceux qui vivent dans de petites communauts, jouent aux ds lorsqu'ils boivent l'eau de leurs robinets. Harry Swain, qui a prsid [...]
Sun, 03 Aug 2008 16:14:00 -0400 La chef du PQ Pauline Marois passe l'ponge sur la controverse McCartney [New Window]
Pour viter une nouvelle "affaire McCartney", les dputs du Parti qubcois devront l'avenir observer scrupuleusement leur "devoir de rserve" l'gard des ptitions en tous genres qu'on leur prsente. [...]
Sun, 03 Aug 2008 15:42:00 -0400 Jean Charest se montre du et inquiet du lourd bilan routier [New Window]
Le lourd bilan routier du long cong de la construction force le gouvernement revoir son approche, en matire de scurit routire. Le premier ministre Jean Charest promet de s'entretenir avec la [...]
Sun, 03 Aug 2008 15:41:00 -0400 Jean Charest freine l'ardeur des jeunes libraux pour un Qubec bilingue [New Window]
Le Qubec bilingue, tel que rv par les jeunes libraux, n'adviendra pas de sitt. Le premier ministre Jean Charest a rappel l'aile jeunesse de son parti, dimanche, que le franais au Qubec tait [...]
Sun, 03 Aug 2008 14:16:00 -0400 Des lobbyistes de compagnies cellulaires pourraient influencer Ottawa [New Window]
Des hauts fonctionnaires des ministres de la Sant et de l'Industrie sigent aux cts de puissants groupes de pression de l'industrie des tlcommunications au sein d'un comit de sant charg d'valuer [...]
Sun, 03 Aug 2008 08:59:00 -0400 La forte pluie de samedi cause des inondations Montral [New Window]
La grande quantit de pluie reue samedi aprs-midi a caus de nombreux problmes dans l'est de Montral. cause des prcipitations importantes, quelques segments des autoroutes 40 et 25 ont t ferms.Les [...]
Sun, 03 Aug 2008 06:07:00 -0400 Tragdie au Manitoba : un enregistrement de la GRC sur le Net [New Window]
Un enregistrement dtaill de la transmission radio entre policiers de la Gendarmerie royale du Canada (GRC) concernant l'homme qui a dcapit Tim McLean s'est retrouv sur Internet samedi.Plusieurs [...]
Sat, 02 Aug 2008 21:59:00 -0400 Les jeunes libraux veulent l'immersion en anglais en 6e anne du primaire [New Window]
Les jeunes libraux sont passs un cheveu, samedi, de recommander au gouvernement d'imposer le bilinguisme intgral tous les enfants du primaire, de la premire la sixime anne. Aprs deux votes [...]
Sat, 02 Aug 2008 17:15:00 -0400 Manitoba : le prsum meurtrier sous haute surveillance [New Window]
Vince Weiguang Li, l'homme qui aurait dcapit un passager dans un autobus au Manitoba, passera la fin de semaine en prison sous surveillance vido.L'homme est aussi tenu l'cart des autres pris [...]
Sat, 02 Aug 2008 15:38:00 -0400 St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu: mort d'un homme devant les policiers [New Window]
La Sret du Qubec a pris la relve des policiers municipaux de St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu dans le dossier du dcs d'un homme la nuit dernire.Vers 23 h 40, un individu se serait bless gravement avec [...]
Sat, 02 Aug 2008 13:38:00 -0400 Aroports: un rapport est attendu cette semaine sur une possible fraude [New Window]
Le ministre canadien des Transports, Lawrence Cannon, affirme que le gouvernement fdral enqute sur les kiosques d'enregistrement libre-service l'Aroport international de Toronto, qui auraient peut-tre [...]
Sun, 27 Jul 2008 22:00:00 -0400 Foresterie en C. B.:des militants pro environnement lancent un ultimatum [New Window]
Une nouvelle guerre pourrait clater dans les forts de Colombie-Britannique. D'un ct, des militants pour la dfense de l'environnement, de l'autre, deux socits forestires: les deux parties s'opposent [...]
Sun, 27 Jul 2008 19:41:00 -0400 Le Canada n'a pas craindre de se mettre dos les E. U., dit Wilkins [New Window]
Le Canada n'a pas craindre un refroidissement de ses relations avec son voisin amricain s'il dcide de rapatrier un Canadien qui a dj t considr comme un membre d'al-QaJida, et dont le nom figure [...]
Sun, 27 Jul 2008 18:32:00 -0400 Un congrs de pharmacologie runit 1700 participants cette semaine Qubec [New Window]
Qubec accueille depuis dimanche un important congrs qui regroupera 1700 participants de 83 pays. Il s'agit de la 9e Confrence mondiale de pharmacologie clinique et thrapeutique, la plus importante [...]
Sun, 27 Jul 2008 18:01:00 -0400 Les conservateurs veulent des prcisions au sujet du virage vert libral [New Window]
Le gouvernement conservateur affirme que le chef du Parti libral du Canada (PLC), Stphane Dion, doit prciser si son projet de taxe sur les missions carboniques prvoit des ententes particulires avec [...]
Sun, 27 Jul 2008 17:48:00 -0400 Gatineau : le corps d'un homme est retrouv dans un spa [New Window]
Les policiers de Gatineau enqutent sur la mort d'un homme de 33 ans.L'individu a t retrouv sans vie dans un spa, dans le secteur Hull.Aucune trace de violence n'tait visible sur le corps.Le [...]
Sun, 27 Jul 2008 17:02:00 -0400 Prsum enlvement St-Sauveur : Un canular... [New Window]
Samedi soir, la Sret du Qubec (SQ) a annonc que les allgations de la fillette de 12 ans, qu'on aurait tent d'enlever St-Sauveur, sont non fondes.Rappelons que peu aprs 18 h, la jeune fille [...]
Sat, 26 Jul 2008 21:26:00 -0400 L'International des Feux Loto-Qubec : au tour de l'Autriche [New Window]
Ce samedi soir, c'est la firme autrichienne Pyrovision GmbH qui illuminera le ciel de la mtropole dans le cadre de L'International des Feux Loto-Qubec prsent par TELUS. Pour accompagner le spectacle [...]
Sat, 26 Jul 2008 18:50:00 -0400 Les employs d'htels manifestent Montral [New Window]
Des syndiqus d'une douzaine d'htels montralais ont manifest ce vendredi devant certains tablissements. Ils voulaient ainsi dnoncer la lenteur des ngociations qui visent renouveler les conventions [...]
Fri, 25 Jul 2008 21:57:00 -0400 Gang de rue dans Saint-Michel: 12 arrestations [New Window]
Le Service de police de Montral a annonc ce vendredi avoir procd plusieurs arrestations dans le milieu des gangs de rue. En tout, 12 membres prsums d'un gang du quartier Saint-Michel ont t [...]
Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:26:00 -0400 La direction du SPVM veut une diminution des poursuites [New Window]
Les dirigeants du Service de police de la ville de Montral veulent mettre un frein aux poursuites, en raison du danger que cela encourt et des actions en justice qui peuvent en rsulter. Comme le [...]
Thu, 24 Jul 2008 20:46:00 -0400 Libration de Dave Hilton : Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu inquiet [New Window]
Les organisations de protection des victimes sont inquites de la libration ce jeudi de Dave Hilton. Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu, prsident de l'Association des familles de personnes assassines ou disparues [...]
Thu, 24 Jul 2008 19:54:00 -0400 20 mois de prison pour Vincent Raphal Duval [New Window]
Au Palais de justice de Montral, Vincent Raphal Duval, ce ressortissant belge arrt la mi-juin Montral dans un htel de la rue Saint-Hubert en compagnie d'une jeune fille de 13 ans, a t condamn [...]
Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:49:00 -0400 Agression Sainte-mlie-de-l'nergie : les deux suspects restent en prison [New Window]
C'est ce mercredi que les deux jeunes hommes de 18 et 19 ans accuss pour une sauvage agression Sainte-mlie-de-l'nergie survenue la semaine dernire revenaient en cour. Ils ont subi leur enqute [...]
Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:35:00 -0400 Les saisies de tabac de contrebande sont cinq fois plus nombreuses depuis deux ans [New Window]
Les saisies de tabac de contrebande sont cinq fois plus nombreuses depuis deux ans au Qubec. Comme le rapporte en exclusivit la tlvision de Radio-Canada ce mardi soir, les saisies visant les cigarettes [...]
Tue, 22 Jul 2008 22:04:00 -0400 Le procs de David Pelletier retard [New Window]
Au Palais de justice de Longueuil, le procs pour dlit de fuite d'un jeune homme a t report ce mardi.C'est que l'valuation psychiatrique de David Pelletier, 19 ans, n'est pas complte. Le tout [...]
Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:57:00 -0400
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